Catholic Sobriety

Speaker 1 0:00

Welcome to the Catholic Sobriety Podcast , the go-to resource for women seeking to have a deeper understanding of the role alcohol plays in their lives , women who are looking to drink less or not at all for any reason . I am your host , christi Walker . I'm a wife , mom and a joy-filled Catholic , and I am the Catholic Sobriety Coach , and I am so glad you're here . Are there any holistic changes that you can make to ensure that your efforts to drink less or not at all are successful Nutritionally speaking ? Is there anything that you can do not only to combat cravings for alcohol , but for sugar and carbs as well ? Well , I've got great news for you you are going to get answers to those questions and more .

Speaker 1 0:56

Today , I have the incredible Rita Johnson joining us . She's a devoted wife and mother of five who is on a mission to empower women to reclaim their health naturally , with her expertise in the Creighton model and nutritional therapy , rita's dedication to holistic wellness shines through as she guides women towards understanding the importance of personalized health approaches beyond conventional methods . Get ready to embark on a journey towards discovering God's plan for your health , alongside Rita's inspiring insights and resources . Welcome , rita . Thank you so much for being here . Thank you , christy , I'm so excited to join you today . So how did you become interested in holistic health and wellness , and what prompted you to use your knowledge to help other women experience naturally healing their bodies ?

Speaker 2 2:00

Yeah , like a lot of women that I find or I come across in the functional medicine , natural medicine space , it really was my own personal health journey . So after we had well , I had started let me back up a little bit really enjoyed that , allowing a way to participate and helping women that are struggling to conceive and giving them resources within the teachings of the Catholic church that could help them to dive deeper into why and what else was going on , and so that really lit a passion in me for diving deeper into things . And then , throughout the course of the years of teaching Creighton , I saw all these ways that when women would make different lifestyle changes , dietary changes , they would see a difference in their charting . Sometimes that was it became easier to read and sometimes it was the fertility window became more apparent . And then , after we had our fourth kiddo , we were struggling with secondary infertility .

Speaker 2 3:03

So we had almost five years in between number four and number five , and in the middle of that I just I'll never forget I was frustrated , month after month , that we weren't getting pregnant , and I was . I'd never experienced anything like that before , because our first four are about seven years apart , and so I felt frustrated . And then one morning I woke up and I thought , gosh , when was the last day I felt good , I really felt good , and I realized that I couldn't remember . I didn't know the last day that I had felt good . And why was I frustrated that we weren't conceiving when I didn't even feel the most days ?

Speaker 2 3:39

And so I really that launched me on my own personal health journey , and it was really difficult for me to find somebody in the functional medicine space that was really helping me dive deep into what was going on with my health , that was also in uniformity with my Catholic faith , that wasn't doing things that violated my faith or made me feel like , okay , if you believe that about this , what else do we disagree on ? Am I entrusting to your care that I maybe shouldn't ? And so it took me a really long time to really work on stabilizing my physical health . And then , of course , as the Lord does , it was really this full mind , body , soul , spiritual journey that he had me on for a really intense year , and at the end of that I feel like he woke me up to dreaming for what he had placed on my heart , the ways that he had called me to help others .

Speaker 2 4:32

And then , as I emerged from that feeling so much stronger , so much more energetic , so much more capable of giving to others , not just to my family he really showed me that he wanted me to become a part of that solution . And so I had been praying for a long time . I was always really interested in holistic medicine and particularly holistic nutrition , and I had picked out a program for years and it just was never the right time . And then it was like the Lord just opened that door and it was so obvious that was the next step in my journey . And so that was three years ago now and it's just been such an amazing wild ride of entrepreneurship and everything else that goes with it . It's been such a gift .

Speaker 1 5:11

That is so great , that's so beautiful and I love . Sometimes when we're going through something , like when you were going through the secondary infertility , you're like what ? Like why is this happening and what's going on . But sometimes hopefully most of the time we can see God's plan in it , like later on , and it's very evident that that trial and everything you had to go through and those realizations , like you were being guided that whole time and equipped so that you could then help other Catholic women do the same , and I think that's for God's glory , obviously .

Speaker 1 5:50

But it's such a beautiful thing when we can really step into that desire we have on our heart and sometimes we don't even really know what that is until we go through it , so that's so great . But I'm wondering and I didn't ask you this question or tell you that I was going to ask this question , but because you are a fertility expert and you could be like I don't know but and I'm past fertility age , so I don't think about this a lot , but I know that some of my listeners do Can you think of any ways that alcohol adversely impacts a woman's ?

Speaker 2 6:29

that alcohol adversely impacts a woman's , oh yeah for sure . So I support a functional medicine doctor that works in California , and one of the first things she has people do when they come to her program is she has them eliminate alcohol and caffeine , in addition to gluten and dairy and in part because those things are so highly inflammatory . But also with alcohol , along with caffeine , they really impact things like our adrenal function and our blood sugar regulation , which I'm going to kind of talk about more a little bit later . But both of those things I want you to think about anytime .

Speaker 2 6:56

I talk about insulin resistance or insulin dysregulation and adrenal function . Those are really things that are upstream , if you will , from our sex hormones , and so we oftentimes think like , oh gosh , I don't have enough progesterone . Or look at these signs in my chart , maybe I don't have enough estrogen . But what we don't often think about is the precursors that have to be there in order for us to make enough estrogen and progesterone . So that's something I'm always thinking about when I work with somebody is , if insulin is dysregulated , if adrenal function is impaired , then we're going to have an impact on your sex hormones as well .

Speaker 1 7:34

Yeah , and that makes total sense , so yeah . So if you're having trouble trying to conceive and you're still drinking alcohol or caffeine or the other things she mentioned , then it might be good to cut those out and see how things go for you . So , in general , how does eliminating alcohol impact a woman's nutritional needs and overall health ?

Speaker 2 7:57

Yeah . So I like to think about it from the before we eliminate it . If it's not eliminated when we're drinking , especially so bio-individual , how much is too much for one person to the next ? Some of those things that start to go wrong are things like we'll definitely see some gut inflammation . I talk a lot about the correlation between gut health and your hormonal health .

Speaker 2 8:22

Again , thinking back to what I was just saying , like if we're not absorbing our nutrients because our gut is so inflamed , then we're not going to be able to do basic functions , and oftentimes , again , people come to this place of like oh shoot , I might have a vitamin deficiency or I might have a mineral deficiency . But that's actually not the big thing I'm concerned about . What I'm concerned is why aren't you absorbing your vitamins and minerals from the food you're eating ? And alcohol in particular is highly inflammatory to the digestive tract , and so we see that a lot of times develop . Then we'll have , and there are particular nutrient deficiencies that develop as a result of drinking alcohol .

Speaker 2 8:59

But that is one big thing , and the other one is that , as we're consuming alcohol , when they've studied this , like in rats for instance , they found that time and time again the rats had insulin dysregulation and eventually ended up getting type two diabetes .

Speaker 2 9:14

And so we know that alcohol is preventing our body from being able to utilize insulin and be sensitive to it , and so insulin resistance is really the start of that progression that leads to type two diabetes . But more than that , when we really feel good , like when our energy is stable throughout the day , when we're functioning at a higher capacity , we have what's called metabolic flexibility , which is the exact opposite end of the spectrum from type two diabetes , so we always want to be focusing on working towards that . So those are some of the things I'm thinking about . When someone comes to me and they say I have a drink a day , or I have multiple drinks a day , then I'm thinking okay , how severe has your dysbiosis , your blood sugar dysregulation , gotten as a result of these things ? So definitely , conversely , if we take out the alcohol , then we need to work towards reducing the inflammation in the gut and re-regulating that blood sugar level .

Speaker 1 10:14

I don't think that we really think about it that much . I heard somebody say and I'm probably completely off that we think a lot of times when a lot of my clients , when they're drinking , it's usually in the evening , it's usually like after the kids go to bed , and then our bodies have to process all of that and then , like what you're talking about , with our insulin levels and our the inflammation and everything our bodies then have to like digest that during sleeping . And I heard a lady say that having a couple of glasses of wine like doesn't seem like that big of a deal , but it's almost like eating three candy bars , like right before you go to bed . And I was like , oh my gosh , like I've never thought of that and I don't think other people think of it that way either .

Speaker 2 12:07

Yeah , particularly depending on what you choose to drink . For sure , if it's a lower sugar wine , it's going to have a little less of an impact of the blood sugar regulation , but that's not what a lot of people are choosing . Even things like beer has a high amount of sugar in it , and so , yeah , we oftentimes do like overlook that .

Speaker 1 12:25

Yeah , so , because we're mentioning like sugar , I know a lot of my clients when they reduce or eliminate alcohol from their lives or from their diet , they then start craving sugar and carbs like ferociously , and they're almost like well , it's better that I'm eating all this sugar versus drinking , and that might be fine for the beginning , but you can't go on that route forever . So can you explain why they might be turning to those sugar and carbs and how it affects their bodies ?

Speaker 2 13:04

Yeah , so there's a few things I'm thinking of . So definitely sugar when we're just in general , when somebody tells me that they have a lot of sugar cravings , our body a lot of times if it needs more dietary fat , whether it needs us to consume more or it needs us to be able to break it down so we can absorb it so there's dysfunction in the digestive tract . When we have sugar cravings it's our body's need for fat and it can actually metabolize sugar and give us cholesterol . It just does a really poor conversion of it and unfortunately we have a lot of other byproducts that result as well , and so we have a lot more storage adding on and then , in addition to that , the insulin spikes from consuming sugar . So it's much better to first try some good quality fats is the first thing I would suggest .

Speaker 2 13:53

Now , if that sugar and carb craving is from dysregulated adrenals

Understanding Adrenal Health and Cravings

Speaker 2 13:59

which is really when we're talking about , especially drinking in the evening our cortisol levels throughout the day , which we know alcohol interferes with . Cortisol levels throughout the day , which we know alcohol interferes with when our adrenals are really compromised , then that will oftentimes result or have sugar and carb cravings . Our body's just trying to make up for a deficit . But another thing I'm thinking of , too , is a possible candida overgrowth . So when we're thinking about our microbiome , candida is one of those things that is always present , but if we have too much of it , then it can lead to an overgrowth . And candida is a type of yeast , and so that yeast is going to crave things like sugar and simple carbohydrates that it can . Then turn into sugar .

Speaker 2 14:42

So the first thing I would say is try some additional dietary fat and good quality sources of fat , not seed oils or things that are going to be highly inflammatory . Go for things like grass-fed butter , coconut oil , olive oil , some good quality sources . If that's not enough , if you still notice that it's not helping to curve any of those sugar cravings , then we need to look at some of these other things Like do you need support digestively to break down that fat and or is there something going on in your gut microbiome that's causing you to crave these things ?

Speaker 1 15:15

Yeah , that that's great . And then when you've mentioned adrenals a few times and I remember seeing , I don't really understand that yet . So I'm really appreciating your explanation of it . But I did see a woman one time that said , if you're having trouble with that , to have , like I think she said , like orange juice and coconut water , is there something that women could drink , maybe in the evenings , in lieu of alcohol to help with their adrenals ?

Speaker 2 15:48

Yeah , so I'm not always a huge fan of adrenal cocktails , which is what she's referred to . Blood sugar , even something like orange juice , can cause a really intense spike in the body . So , that being said , adrenals do need things like electrolytes to be sure that they're functioning properly . In terms of supporting adrenals , I think a lot more about lifestyle things and I can talk about that more in a minute . But going to your question like what could you possibly do that would be supportive ? I would do some more like coconut water is a great source of electrolytes I'm a big fan of .

Speaker 2 16:24

There's a lot of really clean electrolyte supplements . There's this one called Element L-M-N-T , just doesn't have the vowels . There's a real salt puts one out called Relight , things like that they tend to . If you have more of the salty cravings , especially if and this is sometimes the case too even if you're craving simple carbohydrates , sometimes I'll notice that I want , like potato chips and my body really needs protein . It's a learning process to be able to hear like okay , I have this craving for this thing , and then pause and reflect and think , oh gosh , I didn't eat very many grams of protein this morning , or I didn't do very much of that today .

Speaker 1 17:01

No wonder .

Speaker 2 17:01

I'm craving something like potato chips which has more of that umami flavor , and so that's a good time to go for like . I'm a big fan of , like unflavored mineral waters , but you could take some electrolyte mix and mix it in with some mineral water or some just regular carbonated water . Even if you wanted some citrus in there too , it feels maybe a little bit like a treat kind of thing at the end of the day , but then it also doesn't have that sugar content that's spiking your blood sugar as well , right .

Speaker 1 17:29

Yeah , I'm glad that I asked that because I know I've seen it circulating , like on those , like you said , adrenal cocktails on Pinterest and then , like I said , that other lady that I watched and I just wasn't sure . But instead of like self-diagnosing ourselves and saying , oh I'm tired , so maybe there's something , maybe my adrenals are dysregulated or maybe I do have candida , but you don't know for sure , or you're not processing protein , I know that this is work that you do with your clients , but how would a woman go about finding out even that something was off with these things ? Is there testing or things to look ?

Speaker 2 18:08

for , yeah , definitely , there definitely are tests available . Functional lab tests are super helpful , doing things like a GI stool map , and that's probably my favorite one . There are different plethora of types of stool testing and to varying degrees of efficacy or different types of situations where somebody might recommend this one over that one . But also , if you're talking to somebody who really gets gut stuff , you may also be able to find the support you need without needing the testing . But there's so many times when I'm meeting with someone and I'm like we could do the test and that might help us to get a better picture at X , y and Z . But symptomatically , there's a lot that we can hear what's going on and the ways that our body needs to be supported , and so that's where I would say , if you're working with somebody that's really knowledgeable about their stuff , that should be a huge guiding light for you to be able to know the ways that your body is dysregulated . Now , when I talk about some of these things like GI inflammation , and one of the things I think about , particularly related

Managing Gut Health and Alcohol Consumption

Speaker 2 19:15

to alcohol consumption , is a condition that we have developed called hypochlorhydria , where basically our body , because it's not breaking down foods into its different micronutrients then we stop making enough stomach acid . And stomach acid is critically important in our digestive process . Right , it's towards the top of our digestive process . Everything else depends on it . And if we're not making enough stomach acid , we're not going to break our foods down and we're going to have a whole kinds of hypoclorhydria . And it's also something that's common and it happens as we age , right as we enter into , like perimenopause and beyond , it's more likely that our body , as it remodels hormonally with all the changes we go through into menopause , that digestion is dysregulated as our body's remodeling , and so that's a common symptom that we see even losing a taste for meat . So there are certain things that you can know like okay , this is part of the problem , even sorry .

Speaker 2 20:23

One more big one that I see all the time is a history of digestive problems , heartburn , or what's sometimes called silent heartburn . You'll go to the doctor there's just problems , and they scope you and they're like yeah , you've definitely been having a heartburn and you've never felt it in your life , but they can show pictorially that there is a problem . That's actually a sign that we need more stomach acid , and it's this catch 22 , where , if we don't have enough stomach acid , we can't break down the nutrients , we need to make more stomach acid and then it just continues to cycle around , right ? So there are things like that that I can tell you a list of symptoms and then you could be like , okay , this is a problem , I need to work on supporting my body in this way , and that's really helpful .

Speaker 2 21:03

But then there are the tests as well . That can especially if somebody's had some problems for a really long time and there are some other things that we may say . You know , this might also be a problem for you . We could try to throw some darts in the dark and see how efficacious that is . Or we could do the more robust GI mapping and see , like what , get the picture of what's going on in the gut , if that makes sense .

Speaker 1 21:25

Yeah , that does , and I love all of that . Thank you so much for that information , and I think the important thing too is that it sounds like a lot right now , but I would venture to guess that once you really start to feel good and start to realize what's affecting and how it's affecting you , then women are more in tune with their bodies . So when something is off then it's easier to take care of it before you know it gets too out of hand or it becomes too problematic .

Speaker 2 22:00

For sure 100% .

Speaker 1 22:01

So when a woman does make the decision to drink because not all of my clients eliminate it completely , but they usually try to minimize those times when they do consume alcohol , minimize those times when they do consume alcohol Is there anything that like should do or could eat or ways to care for themselves after either the evening before they go to bed or even in the morning that is going to help just help with the effects of the alcohol on their body effects of the alcohol on their body .

Speaker 2 22:38

Yeah , the first thing I would say is choose your drinks wisely . Going for something that's lower in sugar is going to make a big difference . So , like a drier red wine is going to be a lot easier on your body than a mixed drink that has a lot of sugar-laden liqueurs in it , things like even if you did like something like a mimosa , like orange juice and champagne , that's also going to be better than things that are artificially sweetened or have cane sugar in them . So that's the first thing . The second thing I would say is always be sure that you're hydrating as you're drinking . It tends to happen so often that we don't realize that , even just with one drink , that we need to drink even more water , because alcohol is a diuretic , which means that it's pulling water out of our body . Oftentimes we think of a diuretic like , oh great , that's going to help me go to the bathroom , and that's true , but we also then need to be sure we're replenishing the water that is stripping out of our body as it is eliminated as well , our body as it is eliminated as well .

Speaker 2 23:37

The other thing I would say is really be sure that you're prioritizing eating adequate amounts of protein . That's something I see women not doing very often is eating a really low protein diet , and that's going to help to stabilize your blood sugar as well . So I frequently talk to women that say that if they have a drink in the evening , that they're up in the night and that's a sign that your blood sugar is dysregulated . So at least pairing it with a meal . That's a lot better than having it on an empty stomach and then pairing it with something like a protein , which oftentimes goes well right , Like if we're going out for a nice fancy steak dinner and you want to have a glass of wine , that's much more preferable than having a glass of wine on an empty stomach .

Speaker 2 24:19

Doing things like that and then the following day I think again just really being intentional about rebalancing your electrolytes or taking some type of electrolyte supplement in the morning , getting adequate protein that next morning too . Those things are really huge In terms of gut inflammation . If you're more susceptible to that some of us just are like we just have stomachs that are easily upset Then I would say to really focus on doing some things that are going to help calm and soothe that . So whether that's soup with bone broth in it , whether that's a collagen supplement particularly the next morning doing things like that that are going to help support that a little bit . And then there's , of course , like gut healing supplements that you could focus on incorporating that time as well .

Speaker 1 25:00

Yeah , that's very helpful and I think I love that you mentioned the hydrating . I don't know if it's like something that we just tell ourselves , like you should only you shouldn't have alcohol in an empty stomach but there's real science behind it and we're hearing from an expert like that's very wise and it'll be very helpful in being able to metabolize that and not just have it hit our system and wreak havoc all over the place . And then , when you were mentioning water , I would guess , like if you know that you're going to go out in the evening , maybe keeping well hydrated throughout the day , do you think that you're going to go out in the evening , maybe keeping well hydrated throughout the day ? Do you think that would help as well ? Yeah , definitely , yeah , okay .

Speaker 1 25:43

So you mentioned sleep quality , and that is something that comes up over and over again , because a lot

Improving Sleep Through Nutrition and Lifestyle

Speaker 1 25:50

of women drink in the evenings to help them fall asleep , because you know , our minds are racing , the day has been crazy A lot of times .

Speaker 1 26:01

They're just reaching for something that is going to help calm their nerves , calm them down .

Speaker 1 26:06

They can just maybe veg out in front of the TV and that kind of thing , and a lot of women come to rely on it as a way of falling asleep , but the thing I hear time and time again is that it helps them fall asleep , but then they're having wakings or unrestful sleep , which I understand is just kind of part of the our body's processing the alcohol and it disrupts our sleep receptors or transmitters or whatever it is . It disrupts our sleep and we wake up . So a lot of people will wake up , especially between 1 and 3 , and not be able to get to sleep , or if they back to sleep , or if they do , it's very unrestful . So in what ways does a balanced diet or ensuring that we're taking the right nutrition into our bodies and caring for ourselves , how can that , first of all , help women be able to fall asleep without having to sedate themselves with alcohol ? And then how can the foods that we're ingesting also help us just have better sleep in general ?

Speaker 2 27:21

Yeah . So the first thing I would say is there's really two big things I'm thinking of . The first one is that , going back to that , balancing your blood sugar , that happens a lot where our blood sugar , whether it drops really low or shoots up really high , will wake us up , and sometimes we wake up and our mind's racing . Sometimes we wake up and we think it's because we have to go to the bathroom and then we're up for a long period of time and we're just like thinking about all these things and those are hallmark signs that it's your blood sugar and so knowing that alcohol can dysregulate your blood sugar in and of itself . Now you can support that a little bit more by being sure you're balancing things like your macronutrients throughout the day . So macronutrients are really like the protein , fats , carbohydrates in what you're eating , and what I would say is , generally we need to be eating a whole lot more protein and good , healthy fats and a whole lot less carbohydrate sources and I'm not one that says I'm not a huge proponent of keto , because I think restricting veggie sources of carbohydrates is not good for any of us but definitely focusing on am I getting enough protein during the day so that can help regulate your blood sugar levels , even if you have a drink at night . The other thing is to be mindful of . We have times pair drinking with not great snacking .

Speaker 2 28:37

So part of going back to my story , actually , when we were struggling with secondary infertility , I'll never forget I went to a wedding and my fourth was super little . She was like five or six weeks old , and the day before I had been in my sister-in-law's wedding and then the next day I was at my cousin's wedding and they served this beer I'd never had before and I never liked beer and I fell in love with this . This was a part of my story and so I really loved that beer . And I spent the summer with my family , who really loves beer , and so they always made sure that we had this beer . That Rita actually likes a beer , and so when I would , when I would have a beer I didn't want to like , just drink the beer right , then I wanted to have potato chips and I wanted to have like the junk food that goes along with it , right ?

Speaker 2 29:18

Well , what a lot of that stuff is doing is it's also just regulating our blood sugar , because we're causing these simple carbohydrates are going to spike our insulin levels and then later in the night what tends to for one person to the next , they'll either go hypo , so their levels are so low that it wakes them up because their body's like well emergency , or they go too high and likewise your body sees that as an emergency , and so pairing that with those kinds of snacking habits is also really can be really disruptive to your sleep as well . Going back to when I was talking about the adrenals before , adrenals are really what dictate your melatonin and your cortisol . So , for the novices amongst us , in the morning our cortisol should be high , and that's really what allows for us to feel alert and awake in the morning . Throughout the day , cortisol levels curve down as melatonin increases , and then , as we're going to bed in the evening is when our melatonin should be the highest and our cortisol should be the lowest , and then overnight , they recycle . If we're doing things like drinking alcohol consistently , it's going to impact your adrenals by depleting them of what they need to be supported . So when we're talking about electrolytes , we're talking about diuretics . This is what this is doing . It's really impacting those circadian rhythm . Okay , so doing things that are going to support your adrenals are really critical as well , and , as I mentioned before , that's more lifestyle factors .

Speaker 2 30:36

So we do have to be intentional about not staying up super late , trying to go to bed about the same time every day , trying to wake up about the same time every day , and we don't have to be perfect there , but you know , when we're very widely , that's going to make a difference . This is think of it as downstream or down a waterfall . I like to picture as a waterfall because if our blood sugar is going to be at the height of this insulin is known as the queen hormone melatonin , cortisol these are hormones too . But if our blood sugar is dysregulated , it's going to impact everything lower downstream and then also going back to hormonal shifts that happen in perimenopause and endomenopause . And then also going back to hormonal shifts that happen in perimenopause and endomenopause our adrenals if they're dysregulated as we go through perimenopause you're going to have a much time going through perimenopause Then that would definitely be something that would tell me all right , we really need to support your adrenals in these ways .

Speaker 2 31:40

And so , taking a long look at your circadian rhythm , reducing alcohol and caffeine Again , we don't have to be perfect here , we don't have to say like , I never drink coffee , but just trying to drink coffee in the morning and maybe trying to reduce that to one or two cups If you tend to be somebody that's more of a four or five cupper . Same thing with alcohol Reduce the sugar content . Sugar is going to stress out your adrenals . And then also , in terms of lifestyle stuff , look at how are you handling your stress . It is something that it's .

Speaker 2 32:09

We get this habit of unwinding with alcohol . But how else could we do that better habit of unwinding with alcohol ? But how else could we do that better ? Right , we could obviously spend some time with the Lord in meditative prayer , going over our day , doing more of a examination of conscience , spending some time reading quietly whether that's for pleasure or from scripture , just incorporating some of these other things that really allow for our body and our mind to be at peace , and that's the other thing I would say . There , too , is I'm sure you talk a lot about this in other places too . But like , just how can we really be intentional about cultivating what we're trying to run from and take that back ?

Speaker 1 32:46

Yeah , absolutely , and it's about creating new habits and finding new ways of doing things , because it is comfortable to keep turning back to the thing , even if it doesn't make us feel good . Sometimes we don't even realize that's the thing that's not making us feel good , but it's like putting on a pair of just like worn sweatpants that you just feel super comfortable in , but now they have holes and they're not really serving you anymore and you should probably have something else . Those habits just become almost a comfort . So once we start feeling better and we can rewire our brains to not instantaneously turn for that comfort but turn for to something else , and then that becomes our coping mechanism , or that becomes , but it's healthier , or it becomes a way of like oh , you know what I'm starting to feel ? This this is what I've decided I'm going to do . I'm going to go for a walk , or I'm going to chat with my husband or I'm going to whatever it is .

Speaker 1 33:45

I think it's just a matter of making those changes . Just like we have to do with our dietary changes . You're like , oh , gluten isn't really great for my body . Now I have to take it out and do something else . But I think sometimes we just are so used to not feeling well that we forget what it's like when we do feel well . And then , when we do feel well , it's like oh my gosh , I had no idea that this is what was happening .

Speaker 2 34:11

That was , you know , kind of going back to that a little bit too . I honestly forget that this is a part of my story , but but when I started working with the functional medicine doctor they suggested they said I think maybe you should , you know , cut out all gluten , like I really think that's bothering you , and all I could think was , oh gosh , I don't want to give up my . I would have like one beer probably like five nights a week , like it was pretty consistent . Oh really , I have to give that up . And I was so sad , it was so hard .

Speaker 2 34:39

But I found , when I overhauled my evening routine , right , I stopped Netflix in the evening and I started like making a cup of tea and reading a book and that helped , like balm to my soul , a little bit right , and then eventually it became that I felt so much better I didn't realize I was nauseous all the time . I was , you know , dealing with all these other symptoms and as they started to subside , that's when you see like , oh wow , I really was dealing with a lot of garbage , and I see that so often as I'm working with women too . I'm like you have . It's so exciting that you have such a long way to go to feel better and they're like I just don't know if it's possible , but it is . There's so much healing . God made our bodies to heal and it's incredible the healing power that we have .

Speaker 1 35:26

Yeah , absolutely , and when we feel that great , then it makes it all worth it , even though you have to get really comfortable with discomfort at first . But it's just temporary , because once you're over on the other side then that just becomes your routine and you get really used to feeling so much better and it's so , so good for us so , and for those around us too , because maybe then we're not grumpy because our tummies hurt or whatever .

Speaker 2 35:56

But first you've had this experience in your own life , christy . But I think then too , people start to see , like I think sometimes people look at oh , you have a family and you're running a household and you have a business , like how do you do all that ? But as you start to feel better , you start to see that's possible for me too , yeah , and then you want to share it with other people .

Speaker 1 36:15

You're like this is the best thing ever , like you have to try this to share it with other people . You're like this is the best thing ever , like , you have to try this , amen . So I get the sense that you're . Let's get whatever nutrients we need out of foods , but are there supplements ? Would you ever recommend supplements , or is that something that people should pretty much stay away from unless their practitioner recommended them ?

Speaker 2 36:39

I definitely work with supplements a good bit , especially as we're working towards healing or rebuilding , repairing . And if you are somebody that is like you know what , I'm going to keep drinking I'm going to do it more moderately , but I'm going to keep drinking then I definitely would say a B complex is really important . If you're in your fertile years , then be sure that it has at least 250 milligrams of folate , not

Optimizing Gut Health and Nutrition

Speaker 2 37:03

folic acid . Folate is a lot easier for our body to absorb or folic acid is the synthetic version of folate . That's huge . And then , really , looking at digestively , if you're having problems , we need to dive deeper into that . And again , if you decide you don't want to give up drinking , it's just important not to disregard that and not feel like you have to wait until you are ready to be completely sober before you can work on healing your gut .

Speaker 2 37:29

That's not the case either . We can make big strides there , but definitely incorporating a nutrient-dense whole foods diet is always the first step Getting lots of different colors in your veggies , getting good sources of protein . I believe that animal sources of protein are the best because God made them for nourishing our bodies , and so when animals are raised in the ways that the Lord designed them to be raised , then they can really nourish and support our bodies . So doing that first is always of critical importance . But then , yeah , if we're not digesting or absorbing or we're doing things that are counteracting some of those nutrients , then we do need to be sure that we're supplementing back in .

Speaker 1 38:07

Okay , that's , those are really great tips . And then if somebody is , let's say that they're pretty healthy , like they're exercising how they should , their nutrition is pretty on point , they feel good for the most part and they do want to have an occasional drink , or they do want to drink maybe weekly . Do you ? Is there like any people ask me this all the time and I'm like I'm not the right person to ask but is there any like healthy amount , like of drinking , or healthy relationship with alcohol that somebody could have where ? And I'm sure it depends on the person's body and how they metabolize and , like you were saying , if you have less sugar in the alcohol that you're consuming . But is there any kind of a guide Like if you drink X amount of ounces of alcohol per week , then that's probably an okay amount for your body to metabolize properly ?

Speaker 2 39:08

Yeah yeah , this is a tricky one because it's very bio-individual , so it's very unique from one person to the next . Personally , that's like you've a bit more described me like in my relationship with alcohol . I can have a glass of wine and I'm not . Sometimes I feel like a little tipsy , but very seldom , honestly , and so I know , when I pair it with food and I'm diligent about these other things , that it's okay for my body to be able to handle that . Now I've talked to other women that have a glass of wine and they get really flushed , they get really hot , they respond really quickly the next day , they feel really hungover even after just one glass of wine .

Speaker 2 39:44

These things are a sign that your body is not tolerating alcohol and if you continue to drink in that state , that's going to continue to cause problems and a lot of times these initial symptoms something we don't often think about is these initial symptoms are signs of disease early on , right , and so if we don't stop and listen to them , eventually we're going to go to the doctor and get some really bad news on some labs or get some news that we're just we feel like was completely blindsiding us , but it's just because we've ignored our body for all these years .

Speaker 2 40:16

So so definitely like really paying attention to how your body feels . Some person like for me personally , I could never have a beer that is just beyond beyond what my body can tolerate , and somebody else might feel that way with something that has a higher sugar content . They may even feel that way with wine , and so just really listening to your body . If you're waking up in the middle of the night , if it's really disrupting your sleep in these ways , then that too is a sign that something is off when you do things in that way and we need to make some adjustments .

Speaker 2 40:47

It's really so unique from one person to the next is what I would say .

Speaker 1 40:51

Yeah , I think the key takeaway from that is what you said , like pay attention , like just pay attention to your body , pay attention to how you're responding to things and what still feels good . Like you were saying , some women get really flushed or they're not feeling well . So if you're having those types of symptoms , then it might be time to look at it , because maybe you're not giving your body time to even like recover from that . So you've talked quite a bit about gut microbiome and I think you even touched , maybe , on how having a good gut microbiome can help us with cravings . But can you talk just a little bit about how our diet can like , what are some things that we can eat or regularly consume to ensure that we do have a healthy gut ?

Speaker 2 41:48

Yeah , so the first things that come to my mind are things that are not good for gut health . So I feel quite contrary today , sorry .

Speaker 1 41:59

I keep answering your first question the opposite way .

Speaker 2 42:02

So definitely , things that are highly inflammatory , that are going to cause lining in our digestive tract . The mucosal layer on the inside that helps us to absorb our nutrients , especially vitamins and minerals , is the most sensitive tissue in and around your whole body , and so it's very susceptible to inflammation . And so things that are definitely going to cause inflammation , that are going to make it harder for your body to absorb those nutrients and then also impact the microbiome , the diversity I like to think of it as like a garden , so like the flowers in your garden are going to be things like sugar , like gluten , like alcohol , and so we have to be really intentional about being sure that we're limiting or eliminating those things , because that does make a big difference .

Speaker 1 42:49

That's so helpful . I have to tell you , like probably the last year to like year and a half is when I finally I guess I just started learning about gut health more . I never thought about it before and I'd be like , oh my stomach . I just lived with my stomach being achy or not feeling well or having low energy , and I had no idea until I started diving into it how much better I would feel once I started eliminating those things that were impacting me .

Speaker 1 43:19

And like the things that I can eat like my mom can't eat , they'll affect her , and vice versa , she can eat like oats and all those things and those types of things , unless they're cooked in a certain way , affect me , not in the best way , and so it really is just like this learning process of trying things and the gut is just so I didn't realize it just like impacts all our entire being , and so I love what you're doing . I love all the information that you've provided . I know that my listeners and those watching on YouTube are going to find so much value and learn so much more about themselves and be able to , like you were saying , pay attention to their bodies and start asking themselves some really good questions . So I'm sure that people are so excited listening to you and now they're wondering how do I find out more about Rita ? So you have the floor . Tell them all the things and where they can find you .

Speaker 2 44:22

So you can find me over at healthandhormonesorg is my website . I'm also on Instagram and Facebook Divine Mercy Nutritional Care , also on YouTube under Divine Mercy Nutritional Care , and you can always email me too . My email is help at healthandhormonesorg .

Speaker 1 44:41

Well , that does it for this episode of the Catholic Sobriety Podcast . I hope you enjoyed this episode

Catholic Sobriety Podcast Promotion

Speaker 1 44:47

and I would invite you to share it with a friend , who might also get value from it as well , and make sure you subscribe so you don't miss a thing . I am the Catholic Sobriety Coach , and if you would like to learn how to work with me or learn more about the coaching that I offer , visit my website , thecatholicsobrietycoachcom . Follow me on Instagram at thecatholicsobrietycoach . I look forward to speaking to you next time , and remember I am here for you , I am praying for you . You are not alone . Thank you .