Sleep has a vital role to play when it comes to your health and well-being in your life. Many people struggle with their sleep. If you are concerned about better sleep lately, this episode is just for you. This week on the Curious women podcast, we are joined by Teresa DeNike, Sleep Coach & Clinical Sleep Educator and the founder of Sleep Better NYC, which provides sleep coaching, care coordination, and therapy monitoring. 

Teresa is a board-certified clinical sleep health educator. She is not a physician but has been working with physicians. She is an expert in sleep apnea, sleep hygiene, mindset for sleep, and the overall well-being of her patients. She has been working in the field for 14 years with patients and doctors who have patients. When she realized that not enough information was being shared with people about the area, but people had a lot of questions to ask her about their sleeping, she decided to start full-time sleep coaching. She works with patients but created some online courses because it's accessible for everyone to get in touch. She aims to educate people and spread awareness about sleep, mental health, and possible sleep disorders.

[05:31] Getting to Know Teresa -  Teresa’s career journey as a professional sleep coach and how she came to start Sleep Better NYC.

[08:06] Sleep & Caffeine – How Caffeine affects the quality of sleep and what we should do to use Caffeine without letting it prevent us from having a healthy sleep routine.

[15:00] Perfect Sleep – Teresa shares her thought on the ideal sleep conditions and how it differs from person to person.

[19:30] Simple Tips for Better Sleep – Teresa dives into some of the simple things we can do to improve our sleep.

[24:55] Sleep Talking – The scientific background of talking in your sleep and some, how stress and diet effects it and how to prevent it.

[29:30] Insomnia – What insomnia is, and how to prevent insomnia.

[35:50] CBT as a Remedy – How we can use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy as a remedy for insomnia.

[38:54] Sleep Apnea – What is sleep apnea, how it originates, most common signs of it, and available remedies.

[52:25] Diagnosis – What you should consider when deciding whether you should get tested for a sleep-related issue.

Resources

Connect with Teresa Power DeNike BS CCSH

Instagram https://instagram.com/sleepbetternyc

Quiz - Sleepy or Something Else

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Prenatal nutrition is a multifaceted and intricate field. You have probably been given a lot of well-intentioned advice about what to eat (or what not to eat), but unfortunately, much of it is outdated or not supported by evidence. In today's episode of the Curious Women podcast, we talk about healthy eating during pregnancy, recovery, and breastfeeding with Lily Nichols. Lily is a Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist, Certified Diabetes Educator, researcher, and author passionate about evidence-based prenatal nutrition and exercise. Also, her work is well-respected for its research orientation, thoroughness, and commonsense because she draws from both modern scientific literature and the knowledge of traditional cultures.

[03:01] Background – Lily shares her background in premarital and postpartum nutrition.

[09:14] Major Myths - Lily explains the most prevalent false beliefs she observes among her people and the most recent research regarding the foods we are advised not to consume during pregnancy.

[12:36] Eggs and Fruits -  Why are eggs, fruits, and vegetables singled out during pregnancy?

[17:39] Infections -  Lily outlines a range of pregnancy-related concerns, including those related to food poisoning.

[24:09] Non-Negotiable Foods - Most important foods that should not be avoided while pregnant.

[30:40] Vegetarians -  Lily provides guidance to vegetarians who want to include nutrient-dense foods in their diet.

[39:00] Nutrient Reserves -  If you are fit enough to conceive a child, you almost certainly have some nutrient reserves stored away in your body.

[50:52] Alcohol -  Lily expresses her view about the consequences of alcohol consumption during pregnancy.

[55:35] Postpartum Support -  Is there anything, in particular, that should be kept in mind to maintain breast milk supply or to support the woman's body postpartum?

Resources:

Connect with Lily:

Instagram: instagram.com/lilynicholsrdn/?hl=en

Website: lilynicholsrdn.com/

Mentioned in the episode:

Real Food for Pregnancy: The Science and Wisdom of Optimal Prenatal Nutrition: goodreads.com/book/show/38726601-real-food-for-pregnancy

031 Prenatal Vitamins with Ayla Barmmer: What You NEED Know Before Buying: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/031-prenatal-vitamins-with-ayla-barmmer-what-you-need/

This week on the Curious women podcast, we have a short episode with Kylie and Meg, hoping our listeners take a break and catch up with the previous episodes. Furthermore, at the end of the episode, Kylie and Meg are going to reveal what to expect on our next week’s episode.

In this episode, we cover,

[02.20] Celtic women – Kylie dives into how she went to see one of the performances of Celtic Women, Irish women’s singing group.

[09.13] Gilmore Girls – An American comedy-drama series.

[11.14] Olipop – A soda made with plant fiber and prebiotics.

[23.08] Ballroom dance – Kylie talks about her favorite things about Brian, her fiancé.

[25.26] Coming week – We talk about the next episode they are going to have for people who are interested in nutrition during pregnancy and postpartum.

Resources

https://drinkolipop.com/

You may have a lot of plans for your life. Like all the other plans that you have, planning a meal happens to bear a great deal of importance. Planning a meal has numerous benefits, but it mostly includes having a healthy body. This week on the Curious women podcast, we are having an interesting conversation about a meal planning session for gut, hormone, and skin health.

Meg is the founder of Meg The Dietitian. Meg used to have a lot of acne. According to her, she tried all the treatments that could be found but eventually get back to the same result. She studied nutrition at school and was finally fed up with all the things that she did to get rid of her acne and came to realize that the root causes of acne are gut issues, inflammation, trouble detoxing, underlying conditions, and hormonal imbalance. Now, she has developed a science-based protocol to help other women who have the same acne problem just like she did once. She helps women to control their acne and grow their self-confidence back through her “clear skin program”.

Kylie is a registered dietitian and trained as a nutrition certified practitioner. She has a master’s in Nutrition from Scranton. She has been diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis; an autoimmune disease in which the thyroid gland is eventually destroyed. Once the treatments she received were thoughtless and not acceptable, she took control of her health and start working on her food and gut. Now, she helps people who have gut disorders and autoimmune diseases by searching for root causes and listening.

In this episode we cover,

[10.05] Nutrient-dense food – Starting the conversation, Meg explains what does means by nutrient-dense food.

[12.49] Breakfast suggestion – Kylie and Meg dive into ‘almond butter on toast with fruit’ as their suggestion for breakfast and what kind of other syrups and creams you can use for your breakfast.

[15.35] Normal breakfast – Meg and Kylie dive into their normal breakfast routine what they like to eat, what ingredients they use, and how they use them.

[23.36] Pumfu – A tofu made with pumpkin seeds that are rich in antioxidants, omega-3, omega-6, and fatty acids.

[25.39] Snacks – Both Meg and Kylie share what kind of snacks they like to eat and why.

[30.09] Lunch - Most of the time people have a hard time with lunch. Meg and Kylie share what they normally do for lunch.

[37.56] Between lunch & dinner – Everyone likes to eat snacks. Mostly it could be in between a major meal of the day. Both Meg and Kylie share what they get for snacks between lunch and dinner.

[41.22] Butter board trend – A customizable spread with any of your favorite toppings. It’s suitable for both large and small crowds.

[45.11] Dinner – Meg and Kylie then dive into what they usually get for dinner and how they are preparing it.

[52.43] Dessert – Everybody like dessert. Just like snacks. Desserts conclude a meal. Wrapping up the conversation, Meg and Kylie share what they like to get for dessert after dinner.

Resources

Connect with Kylie and Meg

https://www.linkedin.com/in/megthedietitian/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylie-fagnano-33325b146/

https://www.stratanutrition.com/

https://www.megthedietitian.com/

When reproductive health is compromised, it is often a symptom of a more systemic issue. Even if having children isn't on your mind, learning about and taking care of your reproductive health is still vital, as several fertility-related statistics provide valuable insight into your health. This week on the Curious women podcast, we will be joined by a remarkable guest, Ayla Barmmer, MS, RDN, LDN, is a registered dietitian nutritionist, functional medicine practitioner, and the founder, and CEO, of FullWell, a fertility wellness, and education brand.

Nutritional science, functional medicine, and evidence-based holistic remedies have been Ayla's work, improving people's health and giving them more agency. Also, Ayla has steered her nutrition and wellness practice, Boston Functional Nutrition, to great success. The firm focuses on women's health and infertility and has benefited hundreds of people looking for compassionate, tailored care. She also co-founded the Women's Health Nutrition Academy, which gives dietitians/nutritionists, midwives, doulas, and other healthcare professionals focusing on women's health access to in-depth, evidence-based continuing education courses.

[06:15] Introduction – Ayla talks about her background, including her life up to this point, the work she is doing, and the things that fascinate her.

[11:10] Fertility – Ayla provides an abundance of fertility-related information. She further elaborates on the need for iron supplementation during and after pregnancy.

[15:01] Iron Supplementation – Ayla offers a comprehensive overview of her recommendations as well as the important considerations that must be made about iron supplementation throughout the prenatal period.

[24:11] The Serving Size of Prenatal – Alye stresses the factors contributing to the increased portion size of prenatal vitamins. She also emphasizes the significance of methyl folate, calcium folate, and folic acid regarding nutrition.

[34:27] Pre-Conception Nourishment – Alya talks about diet and lifestyle choices associated with pregnancy, mentioning the importance of pre-conception nourishment in reducing the risk of experiencing a miscarriage or other form of pregnancy loss

[37:38] Role of Men – Ayla discusses the significance of men's involvement in pregnancy and how the health and quality of sperm might affect the success of a pregnancy.

[41:39] Other Factors - Alya points out a few things that both men and women should consider before and during pregnancy besides supplements.

[44:06] Diet Quality - Ayla shares her views on nutrient density and what, in her opinion, constitutes a nutrient-dense diet.

[46:51] Personal Care Products – Ayla describes how she assists her clients in evaluating personal care goods.

[49:05] Fatty Acids – Ayla outlines the importance and impact of omega three fatty acids on nutrition.

[54:21] More Info - Ayla discusses how listeners can connect with her and her work by learning more about them.

Resources:

Connect with Ayla:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ayla-barmmer-ms-rd-ldn-6824382b/

Website: fullwellfertility.com/

Mentioned in the Episode:

Blog: fullwellfertility.com/blogs/blog

Boston Functional Nutrition: bostonfunctionalnutrition.com/

Women's Health Nutrition Academy: whnacademy.com/

The cervical mucus test is keeping track of how your cervical mucus varies throughout your menstrual cycle. This week on the Curious women podcast, we are having an amazing guest who is the CEO of KEGG; a medical-grade fertility device that gives you personalized fertility tracking through the cervical fluid. Kristina joins us today to dive into the KEGG device and how it helps women to have a close eye on being fertile and other concerns regarding cervical mucus.

Kristina was a person who travels a lot. Due to the stress and traveling, her cycle was not regular, and found out tracking vaginal fluid might help but there was no device to do that. She completed her training on the Creighton Model and the Sympto-Thermal Method of fertility awareness and after some time identified that those methods are not easy to learn. She spent 7+ years working on eBay and Amazon and decided to create KEGG. Kristina currently lives in San Francisco, California, the United States with her husband.

In this episode we cover,

[08.49] Background -  Starting the conversation, Kristina dives into her story, how she got into the field and how KEGG started.

[19.39] The device – Kristina shares KEGG helps you to get the data of your vagina without going to a doctor.

[21.17] Being empowered – Kristina dives into what the device can currently offer for any woman who uses it like, the possibility of having infections, PCOS, conceiving, and more before going to the doctor.

[23.36] Tracking – Kristina dives into the methods by which women can track cervical fluid and how difficult it is to track it for women who have irregular periods.

[32.21] Birth control – We dive into how women are used to getting birth control which doesn’t fix problems because it only conceals the problem.

[35.26] What is KEGG – Kristina dives into what KEGG is, how it works, what benefits women can get from it, and how it served women including herself.

[41.27] Pelvic floor – Pelvic floor holds the weight of everything when you are pregnant. Kristina shares how women get problems in the pelvic floor after childbirth and how to avoid that.

[46.09] Manual cervix fluid tracking – Kristina shares how to both track manual cervix fluid and KEGG tracking and how it helps fertilization.

[56.09] Processing with knowledge -  Kristina dives into how women should know about things like egg quality, and timing to conceive because most women get frustrated after the first four months due to the lack of knowledge.

Resources

Connect with Kristina

https://kegg.tech/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinacahojova/

https://twitter.com/kristincahojova?lang=en

https://www.ease.com/

Chart your fertility

https://www.instagram.com/fertilitycharting/?hl=en

Period Guru

https://mobile.twitter.com/jennalongoria

https://www.instagram.com/jennalongoriahealth/?hl=en

Fix Your Period By Nicole Jardim

https://books.google.lk/books/about/Fix_Your_Period.html?id=xs-lDwAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y

Although most of our modern medical remedies are made in labs and factories, the origins of medicine are deeply connected to natural herbs. This week on the Curious women podcast, we have an amazing guest who passionately explores the healing capabilities of herbs. Lindsay Knecht joins us today to dive into how to forage for herbs, the nutritional and medical benefits they can bring to our lives, and how to get yourself familiar with five common herbs you can find easily.

Lindsay is a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner and a Certified Nutritional Herbalist. She became interested in the power of natural healing with herbs and foods while her dad was struggling with late-stage cirrhosis of the liver in 2010. She has since achieved many certifications in related fields and now loves helping women with their adrenal health and gut issues through Nutritional Therapy and clean living. She also teaches online workshops regularly covering a variety of herbal and nutritional topics.

Originally from Texas, Lindsay now resides in Western Colorado with her husband and their two dogs. They enjoy the many outdoor activities that Colorado has to offer, including foraging, camping, hiking, rock climbing, kayaking, and more.

In this episode, we cover:

[09:30] Becoming a Herb Fairy – We start the conversation with a brief look at Lindsay’s journey as a nutritional herbalist and how she became interested in plants & herbs.

[12:53] Nutritional Herbalism – Lindsay explains what nutritional herbalism is and how it can help us.

[16:40] Plants Around You – How to identify and familiarize yourself with plants around you that provide medicinal benefits.

[21:42] Dandelion – Lindsay dives into the medicinal benefits of the Dandelion plant, how it can be added to food, and how to find them.

[30:33] Plantain / Plantego – We talk about the most common types of Plantain and the nutritional benefits it brings.

[36:53] ChickWeed – Lindsay dives into another herb that helps improve your digestive system and kidneys and how to find them.

[43:45] Purslane – We talk about the nutritional properties of the Purslane plant, which parts of it we can use, and how we can add it to our food recipes.

[48:55] Red Colver – How Red Clover helps us overcome sinus and throat-related issues and how to make a tea out of Red Clover.

Resources:

Connect with Lindsay

Website: www.LindsayKnecht.com

Herbs mentioned in the episode

Common Purslane

Red Clover

Plantago

Chickweed

Dandelion

Whether or not you have experience with breathwork, it is an incredibly accessible method for resetting your neurological system. The founder of ThetaBreathworkTM, Beatriz Boas, joins today's episode of the Curious Women podcast to discuss her mind-blowing insights on mentality and manifestation. Through customized ThetabreathworkTM, Beatriz assists 7-figure business entrepreneurs in taking aligned action, generating tremendous impact and income, and taking aligned action. Also, she enjoys expanding her knowledge and helping others on their transformational journey by igniting new neural pathways for sustainable behavior change through breathwork. In this episode, we explore some of the fantastic science behind breathwork.

[05:45] Background – Beatriz shares her past, including who she is, where she comes from, what she does, and pivotal turning points in her life.

[25:39] Theta Healing – Beatriz explains what Theta healing is and does it work. Moreover, she further elaborates on the difference between breathwork and theta breathwork.

[47:05] Breathing and Nervous system - Beatriz describes the importance of breathing in all aspects of our lives, including our emotions, thought processes, and response to stimuli.

[49:44] The Method – Beatriz walks us through the process of how breathwork can benefit us and how we can incorporate it into our everyday lives.

[01:00:55] Experiment – Beatriz demonstrates a practical application of breathwork so the audience can experience the resulting serenity.

Recourses:

Mentioned in the episode:

Curious Women Podcast: youtube.com/channel/UC2zvacVlJfvb62M2AwLJwYg

Connect with Beatriz:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/beatriz-b%C3%B4as-6a3b97b2

This week on the Curious Women podcast, we’re having a fun conversation with Kristi Jones, the founder of Ease. Ease is a handheld device that helps relieve symptoms of constipation, PMS, gas, bloating, and abdominal pain by activating acupressure points on the stomach. Kristy came up with the idea of creating this device through her own experiences of dealing with uncomfortable digestive and menstrual symptoms. Throughout the episode, we dive into major causes of constipation and cramps, how the Ease device works and how to use it.

[12:08] Kombucha – Kristi talks about her go-to drink, Kombucha, and why she loves it.

[17:26] Getting to Know Kristi – We start the conversation with a brief look at Kristi’s background, how she came up with her acupressure device, and how to use it.

[24:07] Causes of Constipation – Kristi dives into the major causes of constipation, medications available for constipation, and why women are more prone to constipation.

[28:36] Initiating Bowel Movements – How Kristi’s acupressure device helps users initiate bowel movements.

[31:02] Menstrual Cramps – Kristi dives into how pressure points could be used as a method of relief for menstrual cramps.

[39:12] Usage of Ease – We talk about how the Ease device could be used in different ways for pain relief as well as helping with bowel movements and how to discover what’s best for you.

[42:48] Acupressure – What acupressure is, and how pressure points are connected to different functions of our body.

Resources

Get Ease: gowithease.com/products/ease-acupressure-device

Connect with Kristi:

Instagram: instagram.com/shopgowithease

Dr E is a firecracker, comedian and potential future mayor of Staten Island (just ask her). She truly is one of a kind in what she does and she does it with such intention and focus. She is more fierce than fluff and here to talk to Kylie & Meg today about her functional approach to Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. Dr. Efrat LaMandre, PHD owns and operates her own Medical practice, EG Healthcare, which provides pediatric, adult and geriatric care to over 20K patients. In addition to her primary care practice, she has taken conventional medicine to the next level with her signature process The Knew Method. Dr. E is co-chair of the Staten Island Hospital Board of Trustees. She at also serves as the President of the Nurse Practitioner Association State Board. In addition, she is Clinical Faculty at Wagner College. She is also the Primary Care Provider for the City University New York, College of Staten Island Athletic Department. Efrat owns a Medical Scribe company, HawkScribes, that allows providers fo focus on their patients instead of charting. Dr. E is also a public speaker and offers consulting services to other nurse practitioners who are opening up their own practices.

You can connect with Dr E and her team on TikTok, YouTube and IG @theknewmethod , check our her website www.theknewmethod.com or grab a copy of her book The Knew Method!

TLDL takeaways/action steps:

1) So many people are unwell but not sick. There's no room in conventional medicine for those who are unwell but NOT sick OR those who are both unwell and sick but want alternatives to medication

2) Hashimoto's: your body attacks your thyroid, stops reducing thyroid hormone (T4). From a functional perspective, Hashimoto's is due to leaky gut (Dr E specifies gluten consumption here too). It starts with a source of inflammation which can be gluten sensitivity, toxins, mold, etc. The exposure is usually never addressed and eventually the body starts producing antibodies against the thyroid

3) Typical Hashimoto's patient: cold all the time, trouble losing weight, tired, family thyroid issues, hair thinning, fatigue. This patient may be symptomatic for YEARS before a diagnosable "illness" is actually diagnosed

4) Typically conventional doctors only do TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) test. You can ask your provider for the antibody test if you actually want to do something about it (if positive). 

5) It starts with a source of inflammation which can be gluten sensitivity, toxins, mold, etc. The exposure is usually never addressed and eventually the body 

6) If you're not feeling WELL - "I don't feel good ITIS", as Dr E puts it:

      STEP 1: Get the full conventional workup done- you want to know 100% that there is no pathology

      STEP 2: "Clean up" your diet/heal gut

          i.) Dr E's definition of a "clean"diet is an intense (but brief!) elimination period; no gluten/dairy/grains or legumes for 30 days. Then reintroduce "intensely"

          ii) She also mentions using short chain fatty acids, pre/probiotics when appropriate and usually after the reintroduction phase

          iii) Dr E encourages intermittent fasting, particularly an 18:6 schedule for her autoimmune patients

     STEP 3: Conventional testing: ferritin, CRP, H pylori, lime disease, check for gingivitis (gum disease); if you are 40+ or have/suspected PCOS hormone panel is helpful too

     STEP 4: Functional testing: Mold, heavy metals