Episode 141: Supporting Your Body with the Best Nutrition

doTERRA: Every day we are surrounded by poor food choices. So how do we make the right choices for ourselves and our bodies? Today, we'll discuss how you can make the best nutritional choices every day. 

Welcome back to Essential Oil Solutions with doTERRA, the podcast where you'll hear exciting, useful, and simple everyday uses for essential oils from experts in the field. If you like what you hear today, rate, review, and subscribe wherever you listen. We always appreciate hearing from you.

Today, we're excited to talk to Sharon McDonald about supporting your body with the best nutrition. Sharon, thank you so much for being here with us today.

Sharon McDonald: Thank you for having me! I’m so happy to be here.

doTERRA: Now, my first question is kind of a big one, and that is why is nutrition so important? And what problems could the lack of good nutrition cause?

Sharon: So nutrition is another window to the soul from my experience. And when our nutrition is in line, our whole body can really communicate with itself and be able to really move the dial, whether the immune system needs to go up or it needs to come down, it just can take care of so much. So nutrition is the hub for all of that.

And a lack of good nutrition, right, whether it is whether it's our cells, whether it's our body's ability to, you know, the thyroid to function well, the gut to move things, the mitochondria to give all the information that is necessary to the muscles and everything that makes us move and function relies on that nutrition and that absorption.

doTERRA: So what are some of the roadblocks that people might encounter when it comes to getting this optimal nutrition?

Soil Quality

Sharon: Well, let's look at the nutrition of our soil. I think that's really the basis of what we really need to look at. I was just talking to a friend the other day, another nutrition lover, and she was talking about how the soil in her area was really rich and really black. And that's the way it was where I grew up in Washington State. And the richer and the darker and the blacker it was because the decomposing leaves and whatnot can really tell the health of the forest when you see this really deep, rich dirt and the same in your field when you're growing food. And we live in Vermont and there—it's granite here. So there's lots of rock and you have to bring these nutrients in with composting from your forest or wherever you're going to do, bringing muck in and whatever.

Check the Ingredients

The roadblock that we have is that the nutrition value of our food is so low that we really have to pay attention to eating quality food, but just paying attention to eating nutritious foods first before we go to the sweets and the other things. And that right there, that roadblock is important and sugar is in everything.

So getting savvy with looking at labels and really understanding what you're putting in your body and why your body reacts, I believe is one of those situations where we can—it becomes a roadblock, and we can learn how to navigate that when we understand what we are putting into our bodies and why.

And to simplify this, I think a lot of people, when they start thinking of nutrition, they really get a little worried, like, well, a nutrition label doesn't really say what's really in it. But it actually does. If sugar is in the last part—this is my easy navigation for my clients when I work with nutrition clients—if the first three ingredients have sugar in them, you need to be thinking about something different to eat.

Opt for Whole Foods

And the closer to nature that the food you put into your body is, the better off you're going to be. You're going to get good nutrition if you can keep those two things in mind, and looking at that, you really can navigate better. And so processed foods and genetically modified foods, they're not going to talk to your body the way it needs in your own bio, in your gut—isn't going to respond to that food and absorb nutrients if it's genetically modified, if it's been redistributed several times and processed several times, you're just not going to get the value out of that nutrition that's necessary.

So that's why our gut health is so incredibly important and have the nutrients that we get from our supplements and from the food. And really, the food is the first thing. Right? The other things are secondary defenses that we can use to navigate that.

doTERRA: I think all of that is absolutely key. So you mentioned processed foods and these additives that have been put in there. What can we do to try and avoid some of these toxins in our diet?

Make Enzymes a Priority

Sharon: I love that question. Thank you. I feel that when we are looking at toxins, we just need to know, again, going back to what's natural and what's not. And so if you're looking for a defensive, first of all, look again at your labels, sodas, sugar, processed foods. Those are toxins, and your body will recognize those as toxins. And if you're trying to flush those out, there are lots of things that you can do to help your body flush those things out, like really high-density enzymes. That's one of the very key things is enzymes being able to penetrate the gut and move your food.

Take Care of Your Gut

But I always tell people when they're looking at what they can do for food is the more white things you eat, it becomes like glue to your gut lining. When your little villi in your stomach can't move food through, and they're not wiggling and free—like little tentacles on a starfish, if you turn a starfish over, they have those little tentacles that help them stick to shells and whatever they need to do, to attach to, to get nutrients—it's the same with our stomach. And it's just like that. Those little villi act like that.

And so when my kids keep asking for sugar or a lot of floury, and it's not the flour isn't good for us, it's just in super, super small quantities, white flour in particular. We've got spelt flour, we have cassava flour, we have almond flour. We have flour from a lot of different places that we can utilize.

So what I do is I give them white flour and water, and I have them play with it, and it becomes super pasty. Right? And I said, “This is like papier mâché.”

And they were like, “Yeah, it's like papier mâché, when we make a pinata!”

When this gets into your gut lining and it stays there, it creates a toxic overload for the gut, and the gut can no longer absorb nutrients. And so it's not like we need to be afraid of our food. We just need to be able to counteract this. So eating those things very sparingly and eating a lot of fruits and vegetables first and then protein, that right there, and lots and lots of water—clean, freshwater that is filtered for chlorine. You don't want chlorine in that water. You want to be able to have free, clean, freshwater. And when you can do those three things right there and then add in the protein with that, then you can start to get rid of these toxins.

Get Back to the Basics

And a lot of people get caught up and in pH balance, and they get caught up in a lot of other trendy things. But when you really get down to it, go back to the basics. Do you have fruit in your diet? How many times a day are you eating that? What’s your vegetable intake? Can you increase that? You should be increasing that.

When you look at the other chemicals that are in tea, coffee, other drinks, soft drinks that your drinking, water is the best—is really the very best thing you can be drinking. And really herbal teas are the best and watching out for those kind of chemicals, too. You know, we just live in a society that wants to just mass produce everything and really just being cleaner and more thoughtful and more mindful about the nutrition we put in allows our whole body and mind to work properly.

And that's how we avoid those toxins is just being mindful about what does the label says? How close to nature is it already? And keeping those three things in line of have I had enough water, what's my fruit intake, or what's my vegetable intake? And then eat meat sparingly and those things. And if you don't, watch your protein. Right? You can load up on beans and legumes and those types of proteins for your protein. But it's a smaller portion of our diet, period, that keeps the toxins away.

doTERRA: I love that. I think that philosophy is wonderful. Now, Sharon, the last thing I want to go over with you is how can doTERRA products help us get balanced nutrition?

Sharon: I'm a big fan because I've had really bad digestive issues throughout my life, and so it's been a really big treat to be able to utilize citrus oil specifically as I get my day started, a glass of warm water. I love Ayurvedic practices. Not all things, I kind of pick and choose.

Be Mindful

And I think that's something that as you start going down this path, you'll start to pick and choose the things that really do make your body feel better, that it's about being mindful. And for me, I have to start my digestive system off with warm water, not hot, but I can really drink it, and I like to put chia seed in that with Lemon essential oil under my tongue. And I chase that down, and I drink a good 16 ounces of that water. What that does is that chia seed acts as a protein. So I can quickly get that in if I haven't gotten that before. Everybody—my body has this protein in it, and I can get everybody moving and get life on and then come back and really feed myself properly. Those chia seeds are a natural way to get good protein.

And using those citrus oils, my favorite isn't just Lemon. I really love Grapefruit specifically for my situation. It really, really helps my digestive tract to run properly. And that warm water just kind of gets everything moving from being asleep all night.

The other thing that I like to start my morning off with, and this is going to sound different, and I don't—I would love to hear from anybody who does this, but I have found that cold in any time of the day really isn't awesome for me. I have to have warm or room temperature, so I drink and TerraGreens® like tea. And have you ever heard of anybody doing that?

doTERRA: I haven't.

TerraGreens

Sharon: And it's the only way I like to TerraGreens. I can tolerate TerraGreens, but like I said, icy cold, there's something that changes when you turn it into a tea. So I put it in a glass, a half of a scoop, in my coffee mug, and I fill it halfway up with hot water, and then I fill it up with cold water that’s room temperature. And then I can drink it, and I just whisk that all together, and I will drink two of those before I actually eat my meal.

And people are like, “Wait a minute. Can you even get any food in?” And that's what—you're getting, your fruits and vegetables right there in that little niche. And so now I've got protein with my chia seeds, and then I have my TerraGreens.

And then I can go back, and I can say, “OK, now what am I hungry for at this point?” And then is it oats today? Is it going to be a hardboiled egg? Is it going to be a fried egg? Is it going to be avocado on toast? Is it going to be more fruit in a smoothie? Like, what is it?

That's how I drink my TerraGreens, and that's how I get my nutrients right there in that very, very beginning. And those two products, citrus oils, like I said before, and then TerraGreens are critical for me to get my day started. That's just there. And then I start—then I can take my supplements after I get a little bit more protein in. And that really has helped my digestive system really run.

Slim & Sassy^® V Shake and Slim & Sassy^® TrimShake

And if I find myself, this is a little trick that I do. And it's not because I am a depriver all the way. I mean, when you first get up, your body needs attention right away. And it's in a fasting mode. And a lot of people are doing intermittent fasting, which is fine, but the V Shake is in an excellent way to grab something right away that's the hands on. And you can have the V Shake, you can have the Trim Shake, vanilla or chocolate. You can combine the two or the three. You can throw TerraGreens in there if that's what you like.

There are so many things that you can do on the go that get that nutrient balance in check. It just starts off right away in the morning. And not everybody built like that. Not everyone's philosophy is that way, but it's being mindful. So whatever you're doing, doing it mindfully. And what is it? I stop and ask myself, “What am I needing next?” Right?

So that's where I think a lot of people just “What's available? OK, so it's goldfish because that's what I put my kids' lunch. Oh, it's the crust of the sandwich because my eight-year-old won't eat the crust of their sandwich, so I cut it off.”

DigestZen TerraZyme^®

You know, whatever it is for us, we all have our thing. But being mindful really helps us. And so when we look at those doTERRA products, after we get that initial nutrition in, it's what is next, enzymes. Critical. TerraZyme, it replenishes critical tissues and helping organs function the way that they need to.

doTERRA Lifelong Vitality Pack^® and DigestZen^®

And then our Lifelong Vitality is also critical. And what's your calcium intake? How is your digestive system working? Do you need extra support from DigestZen?

So I'm a big softgel fan and that helps me tick. And so I consume a lot of those softgels in the morning. And so we just have to, like, space it out and process how our body processes. But by doing it mindfully, we can start the day off with some beautiful products from doTERRA. And then being mindful again at lunchtime, taking those enzymes, you need additional support for upset stomach, too much acid.

And so when we get to dinner, it's what is this? So I always encourage people to think about the vegetables and the fruit first. You know, eat those first. If you're really craving a piece of chocolate, make sure you have those fruits and vegetables first and then your protein. Sit on it and then ask yourself, “Is that really what I'm wanting?”

Maybe you need a grain, maybe you need some couscous or a little bit of rice, and maybe you need something that is going to be really nutrient-dense there too. What can you add to your diet with the other products that doTERRA has? And that's where we can get that balanced nutrition.

doTERRA: I think all of that is absolutely incredible advice. And Sharon, thank you so much for spending some time with us today and teaching us a little bit more about how we can help balance the nutrition in our life.

Sharon: I'm glad to be here. Thank you!

doTERRA: Thanks for joining us and congratulations on living a healthier lifestyle with essential oils. If you liked what you heard today, rate, review, and subscribe wherever you listen. Also, if you want to try any of the products you learned about, go to doterra.com or find a Wellness Advocate near you to place an order today.