Emily: 0:00

Hey. Nice. So today I'm going to interview Vanessa about her area of expertise, but I'll start. Are you excited?

Vanessa: 0:11

I'm pretty JAST um, because this is obviously one of my favorite topics, so I've been pretty jazzed all day. I had some caffeine today also. So I'm feeling extra jazzed and I mean, I'm not sure how many times I can say. Um, but before we get into the meat and bones of things, I wanted to talk about something because I'm going through something kind of strange. Um, and I know other people have been through this too, and I'm kind of curious on knowing Emily's process with this as well.

Emily: 0:46

What is this?

Vanessa: 0:48

So I'm painting my laundry room and I feel like a lot of people have a more calculated decision-making process when they pick paint colors. But I kind of just like walk into a room and I'm like, this room feels this color. And then I go out and buy it. Or the closest thing that I can find in the store. So I wanted to paint my laundry room white, but then I went to, Lowe's made like a weird decision and saw this Hunter's white, that looked like kinda nice, had like a hint of like a darker green in it. I put it on my wall and, um, Aye. I feel like I was like, did I pick like a poopy color? And like, I'm not saying poopy and like a juvenile way to say I don't like it. Like, did I pick an actual feces adjacent color to paint my laundry room?

Emily: 1:49

Which would honestly be sort of on-brand for you because that's something that you talk about a lot within relation to your job. Like that's a big symptom and something that you talk to clients about. So that actually doesn't surprise me, that you would select that.

Vanessa: 2:08

I know, but I just, I don't, I don't know if I want to see this color every day. I'm super curious. Can you guys let us know what your process for picking paint colors is? Because I feel like mine is starting to break down. Um, I think it was working well for me for a while, but, uh, yeah. Tell me, tell me how you pick. Okay. Because I'm, I'm looking at feces now. So something, something went astray.

Emily: 2:36

Yeah. Well, you want to know, you know, like I've never painted anything since I live in an apartment, but. I think Vanessa you'd probably know, like I would just kind of play fast and loose and pick at random just by the way, like when we were in college and we would take tests and I would like slip around the book a bunch, like if there was like a big booklet and I'd like, do like five questions in the front and then six questions on the vac and just like hop around the whole test with no order, like whatsoever. Which is a very anti dietician type of thing to do. Cause dieticians like don't operate like that. And Vanessa would just be sitting next to me, like stop rustling around.

Vanessa: 3:19

the thing is I'm not even a super type a person, but that the Russling the back and forth. I mean, you guys. This woman, Oh, this woman used to throw her credit card in her papers and everything in her backpack. Willy nilly, no folders, no folders.

Emily: 3:43

barely, we barely had any papers to carry. Like it was all virtual. Like I'm not going to go have this whole system just for like one packet every five days,

Vanessa: 3:53

not even a folder insight. I think I gave you a folder at one point, because I was like, I can't keep watching. You just shoved these papers and cheer backpack, like who raised you? You animal.

Emily: 4:08

my mom also would be very horrified to know that I did that. So there you go.

Vanessa: 4:12

Oh, okay. Well, anyway.

Emily: 4:15

This will, this will be more organized then either a paint process or test taking skills, maybe. Let's get after it. Welcome to wellness myths today is going to be pretty fun because I get to interview Vanessa about an area that she has tons of knowledge on and specializes in. So today we're going to really do a deep dive into PMs pre-menstrual syndrome. And, but also just to get us started, can you define or sum up PMs for our listeners?

Vanessa: 5:01

Yes. So a PMs is a group of symptoms that affects people who menstruate. And it's some fun little symptoms that a lot of times you get before your period like breast tenderness, mood swings, irritability, cramping, headaches, bloating, , all of those fun things that a lot of people associate their period with.

Emily: 5:24

So, is there any amount of normal PMs, like, should we just expect and kind of accept certain ailments around our period? Like you mentioned those breast tenderness, cramps, et cetera.

Vanessa: 5:39

Yeah. So the answer to that is definitely not. And this is something that a lot of people wrongly believe, even myself. I remember having these kinds of conversations with you even, and saying that every. But he has a little bit of PMs, like stop, stop complaining about your PMs. It's fine. You get a little bit of pain before your period, like work through it. Like I was a real hardo about, um, yes, but no amount of PMs is normal. It's very common. Like I said, over 90% of people are getting PMs, but it's not normal. It's just common.

Emily: 6:19

I really don't know anyone that has the easiest periods in the world and has literally zero side effects, to their cycle at all. And since there are so many different aspects of our cycle, can you define each part of a monthly cycle?

Vanessa: 6:36

for each part of the monthly cycle, I think it's really empowering and important to know these different parts because your energy is going to go up and down with your cycle.. So we can't, , we can't expect for our energy levels to be at this constant, like really high place all the time. So I think in understanding your cycle, it helps you understand times of the month where you might feel less social or you might feel less energetic or you might, you know, feel like you need to do a yin yoga class instead of a hit class., I think it's for me, at least it's really empowering to know that. Cause it's not like, Oh my gosh, I suck. I have no energy today. and when I say cycle, I want to be really clear here. A lot of people think of their cycle as just their period. So your cycle is actually the full 24 to 38 days, um, that you're going through the different phases of your menstrual cycle. Okay. So day one of your cycle is going to be the first day that you bleed., so this is menstruation. Typically this is going to be around one to five days., and this is a time we think of as winter. Then we move into spring, which is our follicular phase., so that's going to be around six to day, six to 14. estrogen is rising during this time. So a lot of times you'll feel your energy rising as well. Obviously, nation is summer. So observation is like your time to shine. Uh, you're feeling great. Estrogen is peaking , and that's around day 15. Did they? 17, and then we're going to. Start having our estrogen decrease in our luteal phase , which we also think of as fall., and this is a phase rate, our last phase right before menstruation starts again. And this is when progesterone levels should , raise after ovulation.

Emily: 8:38

So now that our listeners are familiar and have labels for each phase of the cycle, can you tell us some tips that you use to nourish the body at each part of your cycle in order to help balance and maybe even decrease PMs symptoms?

Vanessa: 8:55

Yeah, absolutely. So I'll start with menstruation., so since we're bleeding during this time, um, we want to include lots of high iron foods., and you want to also think about foods that are more anti-inflammatory, especially if you have cramps or things like that. So things like ginger teas and tumeric can be really helpful during that base. , typically during your menstrual phase,, your energy is going to be pretty low., so a lot of times you might want to plan your workout accordingly. So you might want to opt for like a yin yoga class versus like your super hot, sweaty, hot yoga class that you normally go to, or even take rest on those days., totally normal and fine to feel low energy. That should be normalized., there's nothing wrong with you. If you have tons of energy while you're on your period, that's fine also. But like I said, your hormones are low during this time, so you can expect your energy to be lower as well.

Emily: 9:54

Yeah, I feel like it's really hard because we kind of like give this advice to people. Oh, , you know, take it easy and all these de-stressing things. And sometimes it can just be really hard to honor those dips and energy when so much is expected of us at all times. And it's not like society is, , giving you the day off because you have your period. so. It's I feel like it's important that people are just doing all that they physically can that day. And sometimes , you have the extra time to just relax and chill and figure it out. And then sometimes, you know, we're forced to kind of push through that and that's really hard.

Vanessa: 10:30

Yeah. And even on the other side of that, I like to be clear about. You know, I don't want, if you're on your period and you're like, I feel fine. I want to go to my workout class. But Vanessa said that my hormones are low right now. And I shouldn't, I'm just saying in general, most people are going to feel low energy, if you feel great and your energy is good and you want to go to your workout, do that, listen to your body. So I'm not telling you that you shouldn't work out during this time., but again, like you're saying., it's perfectly understandable. And, , it would, I think really help if our society understood that too, , that we're most likely going to have low energy. And so, you know, maybe don't, uh, plan a big presentation during this time, if you can help it.

Emily: 11:20

Yeah, definitely.

Vanessa: 11:23

We'll move into the flicker color phase. So this is our phase that is following and kind of intermingles a little bit with your menstrual phase. So during this phase, estrogen is rising., so you're going to start to get a little bit more energy , and you want to eat foods that are high in protein, high in fiber. You want to be nourishing those,, gut and liver detox pathways. As your estrogen rises. And then, um, after that, so obviously nation , so obviously, you know, like, I don't know if you ever have this time, but. Ambulation is that time when you wake up in the morning and you look in the mirror and you're like, girl, I woke up like this, like I feel. Like a superstar. My skin is glowing. I'm beautiful. Everybody loves me. Oblation is summer. It's your time to shine. You can do super fun workouts that are different. You're a lot of times feeling lots of energy. Oblation is it's. It's all that. Um, but this phase is also really short. So the egg dropping? Um,

Emily: 12:42

it's like, it's like, basically you've got, you've got about like a two, three day window when you feel great.

Vanessa: 12:51

no. Okay. I should say you should feel pretty good energy during your follicular phase to you, but like the ambulation is like the height of it all. You're at the top of the mountain peak things are great. Then after ovulation, we move into the luteal phase. So our estrogen is decreasing. Our progesterone is rising. Um, progesterone depends on ambulation. So if you don't ovulate, you don't get progesterone. We want progesterone. Um, it's our calming hormone. It's kind of like what makes us feel cozy and good. It's going to raise your temperature a little bit. So you might feel a little bit hungrier during this phase, which is completely fine honor, that. You may actually be burning, , a few more calories, just naturally, your BMRs are rising., Emily: how much, because I know people extra calories could we potentially be requiring or burning during this space? So it could be around 300.

Emily: 13:52

That's a lot.

Vanessa: 13:53

Yeah. Yeah. And so it's important to honor that., and so if you are feeling in more, , I guess evidence that if you are feeling hungrier, it's not always made up, you know, like this is something, , your body biologically needs more food. So it's not like you're just making this up in your head.

Emily: 14:15

Totally. I think it's also, it reminds me so much of. With intuitive eating and just nutrition in general, how we explain to people it's not about like your day to day calorie intake, it's more about your week to week. So like, , you could have a day when you feel so hungry all the time and you're like, geez, what's going on? This is so weird. Um, I feel like I'm eating way more than I should, but like, Then the next day you feel lower and appetite, and then it starts to make a little more sense, like, okay, well, this is just kind of how my body works. I know for me, that's so true., so it's important to note that it's not just your daily calories or it's really over the whole week, that things matter when it comes to, , your energy intake.

Vanessa: 15:01

Absolutely. And. During the luteal phase, some foods that you'll want to focus on are magnesium, rich foods., so that can be like dark chocolate,, and also incorporating again, kind of those anti-inflammatory foods. Omega-threes like walnuts and fatty fish., and those kinds of things should keep those PMs symptoms that, , you might start feeling during the luteal phase at Bay. Now PMs symptoms are going to be. Another thing. That's very individual. So the root cause of European Ms. Symptoms could be very different from mine., so I can't really give like a, you know, a structured plan on this podcast of how you can beat PMs, but, following your cycle and nourishing throughout your cycle is a really good start.

Emily: 15:52

and I think that's like a good thing to point out too , we always are talking about giving blanket advice is not a good practice. And so if you see that that's kind of, The alarm bell that should be going off. Okay. If someone says I can cure my PMs with just this, that doesn't really make any sense because they don't know your individual hormone levels. And until you know that there's not a whole lot that you can do with assured results.

Vanessa: 16:18

Exactly and I mean, hormone imbalances are more than just hormone imbalances. So there's something underneath that that's , you're causing a hormone imbalance, right? It's not an isolated incident. So whatever is causing that might be different for me than it is for you. For example, it could be issues with your thyroid. It could be issues with your gut. It could be issues with your liver. It could be a lot of different things. So , the imbalance of your hormones, like I said, is just a signal to you that something deeper is happening.

Emily: 16:57

Totally. And I think this is a great segue into our next topic., a lot of people are prescribed birth control to regulate cramps or their hormones. And is that a good option in your opinion?

Vanessa: 17:14

Taking birth control to regulate cramps or hormones is not a good option. Um, birth control is very good at preventing pregnancy. Period., you're not regulating your hormones because , what's happening. If you're using hormonal birth control, you are just stopping ovulation and you are introducing synthetic hormones to your system that are , basically telling your own hormones to like, you know,

Emily: 17:45

Take the day

Vanessa: 17:46

sit down right. Take a seat. We've got it here., and the hormonal birth control is just going to do the work for them., so that maybe sounds good to you. You're like, well, if mine aren't doing the right thing, , then maybe I need something else to do it for me. Hormonal birth control can have a lot of the same side effects or worse side effects as PMs. So you could still be getting breast pain and cramps and, , all sorts of issues., and then you're shutting down your natural hormone function. And when you. And I mean, not even to mention to the,, nutrient depletions that the pill can cause that are almost never talked about., Emily: I never had any, I had a and she never brought that up to me at all that you can be deficient. And how about telling our listeners some of the deficiencies you can watch out for, if you do take the birth control pill, okay. Yeah. So the list is quite long., so the nutrient depletions you'll want to watch out for are going to be your B vitamins, vitamin E magnesium, zinc, selenium, . So that's a pretty long list of some pretty important nutrients., so I know, you know, for me, if someone was putting me on the pill, especially as. A really young person, which happens a lot., I would want to know that, , a lot of times people are put on the pill before their hormones even have time to regulate, , which can cause some pretty horrendous issues when they decide to get off the pill in the future.

Emily: 19:19

Yeah. And I think that's like kind of a whole separate conversation that. You know, maybe we could have Megan back on the podcast for our pelvic floor therapist, just about the fact that a lot of times parents are just so afraid of their child becoming pregnant, that they're like, Oh, let's just throw them on this. And then everything will be okay., not realizing that there's a lot of things that come along with it.

Vanessa: 19:42

Right. And that even kind of moves us back to our education system on this kind of thing and knowing those phases of your cycle., I know for me, I was never taught about the phases of my cycle when I was in health class in high school. I had no idea about that., and. Really, you can only get pregnant on about five or six days out of the month., the idea of the only way to prevent pregnancy is by abstinence or being on a pill, , or having injection or something else going on is completely wrong.

Emily: 20:22

totally.

Vanessa: 20:24

I think it would be, , it would help our society a ton., if we started that kind of education at a really young age, , and I'm not saying that I'm, you know, super against birth control or anything like that., I think birth control definitely has its time in place. I'm happy that we have it in certain situations., but it's important to be aware of the side effects of birth control and., kind of make , , an educated decision based on that. So, like I said, birth control is great for, , preventing unwanted pregnancies, solving any other hormonal issues, not so much.

Emily: 21:03

It makes me think about how I feel about yogurt because, and you know, I'm going to go with this. It's like, , we're kind of fed this. Narrative that yogurt is like really healthy for us all the time. Like every morning you should just wake up and eat a thing of yogurt or whatever. That's like an a set you. Right. But it bothers me because sometimes there's so much added sugar in yogurts that, , people don't even realize you're basically eating like a candy bars worth of pure sugar right in the morning, which if that's what you want to choose. Cool. But I just want you to know. That that's what's in there and the marketing has been so intense that it's just such a health food that I feel like, you know, consumers have a hard time discerning, you know, what is really in this and what it's really doing. And I think that's why it just reminds me of birth control in that way.

Vanessa: 21:59

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. It's like you have cramps. Okay. Here's birth control.

Emily: 22:04

Right.

Vanessa: 22:05

I mean, there's a lot of times there's very little conversation past that.

Emily: 22:11

right. And it's just so accepted that they're like, okay, well this is easy. They can get you out the door and it's the simplest option,

Vanessa: 22:19

in the same way, like in your example, that doesn't mean yogurt is always bad.

Emily: 22:25

right? Exactly. Yup. There's plenty of yogurts that are low in sugar, and there's plenty of people that are totally fine with eating that much sugar in their morning. Yogurt. And that's awesome. If that's what makes you eat breakfast in the morning, if that's like the only source of probiotics you can have. Great., I just want you to have the full picture of what's going on so that you can make that choice. So basically yogurt and birth control are the same thing. So what can people do? Who've seen multiple doctors and are just told, take birth control or take ibuprofen for their PMs. What would be the next step for them?

Vanessa: 23:04

Yeah. So the next step for them is. You want to find the root cause of your PMs? So, like I mentioned before, this could be very different for everyone., there's nothing wrong with taking a Motrin here and there. If you have really bad cramps and you feel like you need that, , But that's not getting to the root of your issue. You're just covering up your symptoms. So you're probably going to have cramps again in the future., it would help you more to talk to someone, figure out what's going on , and build from there. See what you can do to resolve those issues.

Emily: 23:41

Yeah. And do you think , maybe you could explain a little bit about the testing that you do with your clients, the Dutch.

Vanessa: 23:48

Yeah. So, , I actually have two different tests that I've I'm working with now. So the Dutch test is a urine sample or multiple urine samples., and this shows us a really nice look at all of your hormones. So estrogen, all of the estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, cortisol. So that way we can say, okay, your So we need to work on that. Or your progesterone is low, or you have no progesterone, which means you're not ovulating., so it gives us a lot better view into what's happening versus just guessing like, Oh, you have these symptoms, you know, maybe your estrogen is high. It lets us know, okay, your estrogen is high. It looks like it's because of this reason. And we can go from there., I also do a test called GI map, , and that test all of the bacteria in your gut., so it's gonna test good bacteria. It's going to look at opportunistic bacteria. It's gonna look at your stomach acid and the reason I like this one, you might be thinking like, Why are you testing the gut? I thought you looked at hormones again, like I mentioned before, hormone imbalances are kind of like whispers that something deeper is happening for a lot of people. That thing that could be happening is starting in the gut. So gut imbalances are a huge cause of hormone imbalances. So that test can really let me know what we need to focus in on there and help resolve your hormone imbalance in that way.

Emily: 25:28

Yeah. And I think for a lot of people, they're just so confused on where they can begin. And it's kind of funny because as I said, we, I talk about supplements and before we even get into that , I personally really struggled with cramps. It's kind of like the only PMs thing that I really get my energy feels pretty even, um, otherwise, like I'm just chilling on my period. It's fine. But the cramps thing really does bother me and debilitates me. I have to take a lot of Motrin and it's a whole thing. So I started taking the supplement. It was just a random gummy vitamin , And I realized that my cycle had lengthened so much and I was waiting and waiting for my period. And I was like, why isn't it coming?, and then when I was looking at the ingredients with Vanessa, she had mentioned how one of the ingredients can delay ovulation if you take it for too long, which we don't really want., and so it was just a perfect example of being like, okay, if you just take a random supplement with no actual targeting, okay. You know, it can have an adverse effect, it can do nothing and then you're wasting your money., so that was just kind of eyeopening to me on why you need all of the testing to find out what's really going on.

Vanessa: 26:44

Yeah, for sure. And a lot of times with those kind of more trendy supplements that are like, this is horrible and balancing and they have a lot of different things in them. A lot of times, those. Tend to be targeted towards people who have estrogen excess , which is pretty common. But if you have low estrogen, for example, like you're thinking. I'll take this hormone It could potentially cause a lot of harm because it's actually for someone that has estrogen excess, cause they're thinking, Oh, a lot of people have estrogen excess.

Emily: 27:19

right. And that's going to deliver a more favorable result and it might be like , Oh, your friend tried this and it was so great. And even for me, I didn't really get those effects for like months until I was taking it for a while. And then I kind of slowly realized, Oh, maybe this is the culprit. And it totally was., but so that being said, are there any supplements you recommend for PMs or what pops up commonly?

Vanessa: 27:44

So this is going to be the most dietician answer ever. So I don't really recommend any supplements across the board because. Obviously it's super individualized. I'm not a bro at GNC my friends. So I'm not going to tell you all the, take something in particular, but I will add this kind of yet with a big butt. And I think Emily can probably guess what I'm going to say here, because I talk about it kind of a lot, but my favorite supplement is magnesium. The reason for that is most people are deficient, , because of soil depletion and magnesium is involved in so many enzymatic reactions in the body that we need. We need it. And a lot of us just aren't getting it enough from our diet.

Emily: 28:34

Yeah. And there's really, there's a few different types of magnesium. So could you explain a little bit about what type people should be looking for?

Vanessa: 28:43

Yeah, so definitely a type you want to avoid, which is in it's cheap. So, , you'll see it in supplements a lot is magnesium oxide., so magnesium oxide can cause a lot of GI distress, so you'll probably get bad diarrhea., You want to go more towards, , magnesium citrate or magnesium glycinate?, so the citrate, it also can cause a little bit of loose stool, but it can be good for people if you have some constipation, it can be really helpful there., if you don't have any GI issues like constipation, , and you don't need anything with any laxative effect, I would recommend magnesium glycinate. So for most people, it's pretty safe to say that you are not getting enough magnesium. So, , it's, it's a good supplement to take., it can also be really helpful in supporting sleep.

Emily: 29:42

Yeah, and I think it's., like we said before, generalized advice can be really unhelpful and toxic and kind of have a negative effect., so it's almost kind of rare when we are able to say something like , most people struggle with this just based off of our modern diets. Um, so magnesium is definitely unique in that way.

Vanessa: 30:04

Yeah. And stress depletes, magnesium. We all have enough of that to go around.

Emily: 30:08

Yeah, totally., so why do some people have zero PMs? Is this genetic? Is this lifestyle based? What's the deal?

Vanessa: 30:20

So I think these are just the lucky ones among us., I would say it's probably a combination of all of those little bit of genetics, a little bit of lifestyle., You know, like anything everyone's a little bit different, so we're not all going to have the same symptoms., so yeah, definitely a combo we know genetics has to do with pretty much everything. So.

Emily: 30:43

Yeah, totally.

Vanessa: 30:44

I mean, we even know , , what our moms eat well, where in utero can or eat or experience can change us. So, , genetics are huge.

. Emily: 31:00

Speaking of childbirth, do PMs symptoms decrease after childbirth. I hear this a lot. I've heard, , friends report this to me that healthcare providers have told them, Oh, don't worry. Once you become pregnant and have your first baby, you'll probably be totally cured of your PMs symptoms. And I would love for you to shed some light on that.

Vanessa: 31:25

Yeah, so this is not a very funny answer., it could really go either way., no one can really guarantee that your hormones are going to shift in a way that you don't have any PMs at all after giving birth., and on the same token, they can't really say that. They are going to change a ton. So it could go either way. It could stay the same., there's no scientific evidence, at least not that I've seen, , that says your PMs symptoms will be cured after giving birth.

. Emily: 31:59

And it's a little bit confusing because things are kind of regulating to your new, normal after your body has gone through this huge experience. So it seems a little bit confusing that we would know where your hormones are going to end up after this kind of wild card experience.

Vanessa: 32:17

Yeah, a wild card experience. That's right. Way different for everyone. You know, some people might experience like this beautiful birth where the birds were chirping and angels were singing and then other people experienced birth as this horrible, traumatic thing that they wish to never experience again. So it, I mean, it's just, everybody's different. I don't think, , I could say or tell anyone in good conscience, like, Oh, just wait until this time everything's going to be better then. I mean, after having a child that might mean way more stress. In most cases, it does, it might mean way less sleep. In which cases it does. All of which is not going to be helpful with PMs.

Emily: 33:04

right. And it almost seems like like lazy care. Where they like a provider can just be like, Oh, well, you'll just wait until after you have your first baby, it'll be better. I mean, what if this person isn't trying to get pregnant for five years? What if , they don't want to wait? Why wait?

Vanessa: 33:20

want to get pregnant at all?

Emily: 33:23

Right. So they're just supposed to be miserable, right?. So. We've spent so long talking about how everything is really individualized, but what are some practical steps to take charge of your hormones? And that's something that everyone can do.

Vanessa: 33:42

Yeah. So I think a really good place to start is number one, improving sleep. Two reducing stress and three balancing your blood sugar. So those are three steps. I think everyone should take. When I list those out like that, I, by no means think, or I'm saying that they're easy. I know those are not easy things to do necessarily., but it's a really, really good place to start., a lot of people don't want to talk about stress. They kind of just want to get to the nuts and bolts of nutrition. Like, yeah, I'm really stressed out, but , I don't really want to talk to you about that. I want to talk about nutrition. And listen, I'm a dietician. My whole life is nutrition. I love nutrition. I love food. I love talking about food, but we can't talk about nutrition until we address the stress because it's not going to matter. Okay. If your body is super stressed out, it's not going to matter., you could be eating the most hormone and friendly diet in the world, but if you're stressed to the max, you're not going to reap the results. You're just not.

. Emily: 34:50

Honestly, to me, it's irresponsible to even bother giving that information, knowing that this person is in this crazy stress. Tornado, because a lot of the times too, it can make people more stressed to be following all these different rules. I know in my own practice, it's , okay, until we heal the relationship with food, we can't even move into nutrition yet because , I can sit here and talk to you all day long about it. But if we're not starting from a good foundation, nothing really matters. So even though I know people are just so desperate to just hear those keys to the kingdom, basically, it's not going to make a difference until we address other things. So that makes a lot of sense.

Vanessa: 35:33

Yeah, and, and sleep is huge too. I think as a society, we're moving more towards a place of where we understand sleep and think sleep hygiene is. Something that's really important, but I think we used to have this , you know, I'll sleep when I'm dead kind of thing. Um, and we need sleep seven, eight hours every night, maybe more for you. and that's just a non-negotiable and I will add the caveat. I know, , if you have small children, that can be really difficult and maybe not possible, but if you are able to. I know it can be really a learning to , watch another episode on Netflix or, , read that last chapter of the book. We've all done it. We all do it sometimes, but you will thank yourself later. If you turn it off and allow yourself to get more sleep.

Emily: 36:30

those are great tips, Vanessa. And I'm so happy that we are finally talking to you about one of your biggest passions today on this episode. So thank you for letting me interview you.

Vanessa: 36:44

You are very well awesome. Emily . If you want to talk to me more about PMs or , , hormone issues or hormones in general., you can find me on Instagram at nutrition for gals. Or you can look me up on my website, which is WW dot nutrition for gals.com. I'm happy to chat with you. if you have any questions and I'd love to work with you, one-on-one, if that's something you're interested in.

Emily: 37:08

That's awesome. She's going to test you. You're going to find out the root cause of your problems, and then you're going to take some action.

Vanessa: 37:16

Yes

Emily: 37:16

get ready.. thank you for listening to this week's episode of wellness myths. If you like what you hear, we would really appreciate you writing us a review., we're actually gonna do something kind of fun today and where we read our favorite reviews at the end of the episodes.. Vanessa: it's so encouraging And especially with this kind of platform, we don't get any real time feedback, , or a ton of feedback at all. So seeing the reviews is so encouraging it, , definitely pushes us forward to , find more guests and talk about more topics and keep educating you guys. definitely. So this review is titled excited to learn every week. Okay. Wellness Smith's has taught me so much about many topics. I didn't know. I was interested in pelvic floor therapy. Sign me up. I especially loved the natural beauty episode. The beauty industry has played into my fears and it's reassuring to hear an expert say that things like sweating and aging are normal. Love what you guys are doing, and can't wait for more content. Thank you so much, Dan and Russ, we really appreciate all of your sweet words and we hope to hear more from our listeners in the future.

Vanessa: 38:40

Please remember to subscribe, rate and review. If you love our podcasts too., Emily: See you next time.