Don’t Miss These Thoughts

1. Paola on Instagram HERE
2. Work virtually with Paolo HERE

Don’t Miss These Thoughts

1. Who is Paola Xhuli?
2. What is a cell and how does it relate to our body as a whole?
3. What are mitochondria and what are their roles in cells?
4. How does gut dysbiosis and mitochondrial dysfunction build off of one another?
5. What are the main factors leading to mitochondrial damage?
6. What are some changes we can make in order to prevent mitochondrial damage?
7. What are some signs of cellular dysfunction?
8. What tests can be done to test for cellular dysfunction?
9. How does food play into cellular health?
10. What are some of the best foods to support our mitochondria?
11. What are some lifestyle habits that can boost cellular health?
12. What does Paola incorporate in her daily life for her own mitochondrial health?
13. How can EMFs affect our cells?

Cells are known as the smallest living units in our body.

They are the foundation for our entire body as they clump together to form each of our organ systems.

Healthy cells build healthy tissues, which build healthy organs, which build healthy organs systems, which makes an all around healthy you! 

• Cells → Tissues → Organs → Organ systems → Body!

One aspect of cells that Paola draws special attention to is the mitochondria. 

• Organelle responsible for cellular energy
• Provides 90% of our body’s energy
• More mitochondria= more energy
• Healthy mitochondria= more energy
• Gut dysbiosis directly connected to mitochondrial dysfunction
• Mitochondrial dysfunction correlated with chronic conditions such as IBS or IBD

Cellular dysfunction can be the root cause of virtually any symptom. 

“If you are having symptoms, there are cells that are dysfunctional”

Paola Xhuli

If cells are damaged, then there will be damage to the organ as well- which can show up in any place in the body.

The body’s cells are the first place that health issues start.

There are some factors to be aware of that can easily cause this cellular damage.

1. Free radicals

• molecules found in the body that are missing electrons and take it from other molecules
• often damage protein
• radicals can be produced by mitochondria but also when exposed to environmental toxins

1. Infections

• stealth infections in particular
• pathogens such as parasites, yeast, fungi, bacteria, viruses

1. Dysregulated immune system

• immune system can either overreact or under-react
• results in autoimmune disorders or insufficient immune response

1. Environmental pollutions

• mold, mycotoxins, heavy metals, organic pollutants
• harmful toxins can interfere with cellular health

As you can see the risk for cellular damage is high, as many of us are exposed to these issues on a regular basis.

However Paola emphasizes several steps you can take to minimize damage:

• Reduce exposure
  • remove mold source
  • switching to more organic produce
  • filtering your water → HUGE exposure
• Reducing inflammation through connection with nature
  • grounding reduces inflammation
• Including a more nutritious diet 
  • limits free radicals
• Minimize stress
  • TRAUMA CAN BE STORED IN THE BODY!
• Cellular detoxification
  • using binders with the help of a qualified practitioner

One of the most common causes of cellular dysfunction Paola mentions is chronic inflammation.

Many people struggling with digestive concerns face the battle of almost constant inflammation.

This occurs due to an overactive immune system, that sends out an immune response to cells even when there is no immediate cause to.

This can result in damage of healthy body cells and eventually tissue.

Here are some common inflammatory diseases:

• diabetes
• heart disease
• allergies
• autoimmune disorders

All of these can result in an increase of inflammation and long lasting damage.

To combat some of this inflammation you can follow an anti-inflammatory diet with anti-inflammatory foods, which minimizes food that is known to increase immune responses.

This encourages you to eat foods such as olive oil and good fats, tomatoes, and berries. It minimizes processed foods and fried foods that is proven to cause a flare-up of inflammation.

Another great choice is just switching to a mediterranean diet. This diet is proven to be anti-inflammatory by minimizing salt intake and increasing fatty acids, polyphenols, vitamins, and minerals. The emphasis on good fats such as olive oil is extremely helpful for minimizing inflammation.

Sources: HERE and HERE

Paola mentions several food choices that can help support healthy cells or a “cellular healing diet.” Notice how this closely aligns with an anti-inflammatory diet. Lots of overlap!

• Nutrient dense diet
  • choosing foods that contain many different nutrients
  • whole grains, diverse fruits and vegetables
• Whole foods
  • emphasis on unprocessed foods, as close to nature as possible
  • combination of plant and animal products
  • animal nutrients are easier for our body to absorb
  • plants contain probiotics and fiber that we need
• Eating enough
  • making sure to support your cells with adequate fuel

Some of her favorite nutrient dense foods are animal products; grass-fed meat and organ meats, raw dairy, starchy vegetables, fermented foods, fruit, dark chocolate, and green tea.

Each of these foods is supportive of cellular maintenance as well as gut health.

Other foods that have cellular healing benefits are:

• leafy greens (high vitamin C, folate, magnesium)
• eggs (protein for cellular support)
• wild-caught salmon (protein and vitamins)
• nuts (healthy fats)
• chicken and turkey (amino acids)
• cruciferous vegetables (antioxidants- help prevent oxidative stress)

Some easy way to incorporate these foods into your diet are adding a serving of almond milk to your coffee or tea, adding some spinach to your smoothie, or having a boiled egg as a snack.

Also for a yummy way to eat cruciferous vegetables such as your Brussels sprouts – try air frying them or cooking them in olive oil.

As a rough rule of thumb, most nutritionally dense foods will fall into the category of optimal cellular nutrition. Feed your cells, friends!

Source

Paola mentions 3 supplements to help obtain essential nutrients for optimal health:

1. Spore-based probiotic (A Gutsy Girl’s choice probiotic is the Just Thrive Probiotic HERE — use code AGUTSYGIRL at checkout to save 15%)
2. Magnesium – because we don’t get enough + soil has been depleted of this nutrient (A Gutsy Girl has her own magnesium supplement which you can get HERE)
3. Beef liver – for those who just cannot seem to tolerate the whole beef liver food (A Gutsy Girl loves the Desiccated Liver Capsules from Perfect Supplements HERE – use code GUTSY10 at checkout to save 10%)

GET THE A GUTSY GIRL MAGNESIUM HERE

There are also small changes you can implement into your daily life to support optimal mitochondria functioning. 

• fasting- intermittent fasting
• sun exposure- especially during sunrise and sunset (red light)
• cold exposure- increases mitochondrial activity
• regular exercise- any form of exercise, improves function and structure

Some other tidbits Paola recommends is to prioritize time outdoors, minimize time on electronics, and optimize sleep.

All of these small changes can help bump up your cells, which helps support a healthy gut!

Electronics in particular have a negative effect on our cells, with more and more research coming out on it.

These EMF waves have been found to affect our cells on a cellular level.

Paola recommends to unplug your Wifi when possible, turn your phone on airplane mode, and stay away from electronics as much as physically possible to protect your cells.

Cellular health and gut function are directly related.

Since cells make up the tissue found in our GI tract, they are essential to the function of our digestive system.

By ensuring that our cells are in good health, we can help create the foundation for our gut healing journey.

Here are some simple things you can do to make sure you are on the right path:

• Check your diet- try to remove inflammatory foods such as processed grains and man-made fats
• Incorporate more fresh fruits and veggies
• Be intentional about spending time in the sun
• Make sleep a priority!!!!

While Paola does say that any symptom leads her to believe in some sort of cellular dysfunction, she also recommends a couple of tests to check for internal markers.

• Organic Acid Test
  • urine test that checks for nutritional adequacy and has many markers of mitochondrial activity
• Heavy metal and mycotoxin exposure
  • toxins can cause cellular damage
• GI Map
  • can help further find internal markers of dysfunction

These help look at the human body from a microscopic scale, which could give you a good starting place for your healing journey.

Some of the most common symptoms are low energy levels and brain fog.

Chronic fatigue syndrome is another strong indication of cellular dysfunction.

Want to learn even more about the gut and ways to heal it?

Learn all the secrets via my signature book, A Gutsy Girl’s Bible: a 21-day approach to healing the gut. Grab your copy on Amazon HERE.

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Wrap Up

Time to wrap this up. As always, a huge goal for this show is to connect with even more people. Feel free to send an email to our team at [email protected]. We want to hear questions, comments, show ideas, etc.

Did you enjoy this episode? Please drop a comment below or leave a review on Apple Podcasts.

Bio: Paola Xhuli

Paola is a Functional Nutritionist and Detox Specialist that specializes in stimulating the body’s natural self-healing and self-regulating mechanisms to tackle health issues and symptoms.

Her main research focus areas are mitochondrial health, gut health, parasites, drainage & detox, and hormonal imbalances.

If you liked this episode, you might also enjoy:

1. Micronutrients and the Gut
2. Viome Gut Microbiome Test Reviews {2022}
3. Best Place to Buy Grass Fed Beef {Online in 2022}

Xox,
SKH

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