What Really Matters When Choosing Supplements with Kat Schneider

Not all supplements are created equal, and the pretty bottle on Instagram is not a good enough reason to buy it.

Kat Schneider is the founder and CEO of Ritual, the number one clinically studied prenatal supplement brand in the US. After struggling to find a prenatal she could actually trust during her own pregnancy, Kat built a company from the ground up with transparency, safety, and real science at its core.

In this episode, Katie and Cris sit down with Kat to break down what you actually need to know before putting any supplement in your body. From decoding certifications and clinical studies to understanding heavy metals, supply chain transparency, and why most studies weren't even done on women, this one is going to change the way you shop the supplement aisle for good.

In This Episode We Cover

• What certifications to look for on supplement labels and why they actually matter.
• Why the term "clinically studied" is more misleading than you think.
• The truth about heavy metals in supplements and why transparency in sourcing is everything.
• Why "organic" on a supplement label doesn't mean what you think it does.
• How most nutrition studies have been done on men and why that's a problem for women.
• Why getting back to the basics of foundational health will always trump the latest supplement trend.

Resources & Links Mentioned

• Ritual supplements at ritual.com 
• Ritual on Instagram @ritual
• Help Yourself: The New Rules for Wellness by Kat Schneider (available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and local bookstores).

Work With Us + Connect

• Ready to get to the root of what's going on with your skin? Check out our courses, functional testing, and programs here.
• Follow Katie on Instagram: @katiestewartwellness
  
  
• Loved this episode? Leave us a review, it truly helps more people find the show! 🙏

You don't need to be bloated, constipated, or running to the bathroom for your gut to be driving your acne. Shocking? Maybe. Important? Absolutely.

In this episode, Katie and Cris break down the digestive red flags most people are completely overlooking, why your gut is almost always part of the acne picture, and how your gut, brain, and skin are all in constant conversation with each other. If you've ever said "I don't have gut issues" and dismissed it as a root cause, this one's for you.

In This Episode We Cover

• The digestive red flags that signal your gut needs attention, even if you feel "fine."
• Why constipation and diarrhea both drive inflammation, hormonal imbalances, and acne.
• How upper digestion is the most overlooked piece of the gut health puzzle.
• The non-digestive symptoms that are secretly pointing back to your gut.
• Why food sensitivities are a symptom of poor gut health, not a diagnosis.
• The gut-brain-skin axis and how stress, digestion, and your skin are all connected.

Things We Mentioned:

• Bristol Stool Chart
• Clearer Skin in 30 Days
• The Clear Skin Coach custom AI tool
• The GI Map Testing Package
  
  

Work With Us + Connect

• Ready to get to the root of what's going on with your skin? Check out our courses, functional testing, and programs here.
• Follow Katie on Instagram: @katiestewartwellness
• Loved this episode? Leave us a review, it truly helps more people find the show! 🙏

Sometimes the thing standing between you and clear skin isn't doing more, it's doing less.

In this episode, Katie and Cris sit down with client Tay, a functional diagnostic nutrition student who came in with a mountain of labs, a hefty supplement stack, and skin that was still struggling. Tay shares her journey from years of cystic acne and overwhelming protocols to finally finding clarity, both in her skin and her mindset, through simplification, surrender, and learning to trust her body.

In This Episode We Cover

• Why having all the knowledge and all the supplements still wasn't enough to clear Tay's skin.
• How simplifying her protocol down to the basics was the turning point in her journey.
• The role of mindset, nervous system safety, and self-talk in clearing chronic acne.
• What the HTMA revealed about Tay's stress patterns and emotional landscape.
• Why bowel health and digestion were the foundation of everything in her protocol.
• The mindset shift that helped her stop controlling her acne and start trusting her body.

Things We Mentioned

• The Clear Skin Solution
  
  

Work With Us + Connect

• Ready to get to the root of what's going on with your skin? Check out our courses, functional testing, and programs here.
• Follow Katie on Instagram: @katiestewartwellness
• Loved this episode? Leave us a review, it truly helps more people find the show! 🙏

Your skin was "fine" on the pill, so why is it freaking out now that you've come off it?

In this episode, Katie and Cris get real about what's actually happening in your body when you go on or come off the birth control pill, and why your doctor's answer of "just go back on it" is keeping you stuck. From gut health to hormonal rebounds to the supplement mistakes that make things worse, this one's packed with the honest conversation you wish you'd had before you ever took that first pill.

In This Episode We Cover

• How the birth control pill impacts your gut microbiome, liver, and hormones.
• Why post-pill acne isn't just a hormone issue, it's a root cause issue.The most common mistakes people make when coming off the pill (hint: it involves DIM and period gummies).
• Why jumping straight to a DUTCH test might be doing you more harm than good.
• What "calming the terrain" actually means and why it's your first step.
• Why your sex hormones are downstream and what to work on first.

Things We Mentioned

• 🎉 New Course | How to Come Off the Pill Without Wrecking Your Skin
• HTMA Testing
• DUTCH Testing

Work With Us + Connect

• Ready to get to the root of what's going on with your skin? Check out our courses, functional testing, and programs here.
• Follow Katie on Instagram: @katiestewartwellness
• Loved this episode? Leave us a review, it truly helps more people find the show! 🙏

If you're finding chunks of hair in the shower and quietly panicking, this episode is for you.

In this episode, Katie and Cris break down why hair loss and thinning is never random, and what your body is actually trying to communicate through it. From mineral deficiencies and stress loads to iron, thyroid, hormones, and blood sugar, they're walking you through how to read the signals and what to start doing about it from the inside out.

In This Episode We Cover

• Why hair loss is information, not just a cosmetic problem, and how to start reading the signals.
• How the location of your hair loss can point to specific root causes in the body.
• The connection between chronic stress, mineral depletion, and your hair follicles.
• Why under-eating is one of the most overlooked drivers of hair thinning.
• How iron, thyroid, blood sugar, and androgens all play a role in hair loss.
• Why hormonal transitions like postpartum, perimenopause, and coming off the pill can trigger shedding.

Things We Mentioned

• Clearer Skin in 30 Days
• The Clear Skin Coach custom AI tool
• The HTMA Testing Package
• The DUTCH Testing Package
  
  

Work With Us + Connect

• Ready to get to the root of what's going on with your skin? Check out our courses, functional testing, and programs here.
• Follow Katie on Instagram: @katiestewartwellness
  
  
• Loved this episode? Leave us a review, it truly helps more people find the show! 🙏

Savannah's been dealing with acne since middle school. She's tried Proactiv, prescription topicals, birth control, esthetician peels, and literally everything the internet told her to try. So when she says this journey changed her life... she means it. In this episode, Savannah joins Katie and Cris to get real about what six months of inside-out skin work actually looked like, and spoiler: the biggest shifts had nothing to do with skincare.

In this episode:

• Why doing "all the things" (we're talking whole food plant-based, clean supplements, monthly peels) still wasn't cutting it, and what was actually going on beneath the surface.

• The wild connection between unprocessed trauma, a calcium shell on your HTMA, and why your skin won't budge, no matter how clean you're eating.

• How three back-to-back cycles with zero breast tenderness and manageable periods showed up after years of debilitating PMDD, without the pill or an SSRI.

• The real reason Savannah kept putting it off, and the mindset shift that finally made her say "okay, let's do this" (hint: it wasn't just about the money).

• What "cocooning" actually looks like in real life, and why the emotional work might just be the most important part of your whole skin journey.

Let's Connect

• Come hang out with Katie on Instagram.
• Ready to go deeper? Explore courses, testing, and programs here.
• Grab the free Gut Loving Cheat Sheet here.

If you've ever felt like you're doing everything "right" but still can't lose weight, clear your skin, or feel like yourself again - this episode is for you. Katie and Cris sit down with Elizabeth Aylor, a certified strength and conditioning specialist and functional diagnostic nutrition practitioner, to dig into what's actually going on beneath the surface. Spoiler: it's probably not a calorie problem.

What Katie & Cris break down in today's episode:

• Why extreme elimination diets like carnivore don't fix the root cause - they just remove the symptom temporarily.
• How mold toxicity could be the hidden reason you're not losing weight, sleeping well, or feeling like yourself.
• The thyroid testing gap most doctors miss - and why your labs might look "normal" when they're really not.
• Why eating more food (not less) helped over 2,000 of Elizabeth's clients lose 5 to 40 pounds in 90 days.
• The mindset shift that changed everything for Elizabeth - and why believing you can't get better might be keeping you stuck.

If this episode resonated, we'd love it if you left a rating or review. It helps more people find the podcast, and we're really grateful you're listening.

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Follow Elizabeth Aylor:

• YouTube: https://youtube.com/@elizabethaaylorfitness
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/elizabethaaylorfitness
  
  

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• Follow Katie on Instagram
• Work with us inside The Clear Skin Solution
• Grab the free Gut Loving Cheat Sheet

If you’ve been feeling like you need a second mortgage just to fix your skin, you’re not alone. In this episode, we’re getting honest about why wellness feels so expensive and what you actually need to focus on first. Because clear skin shouldn’t feel unattainable.

What Katie & Cris break down in today’s episode:

• The hidden costs of holistic care - and why it feels so personal.
• Why skipping foundations keeps backfiring on your acne journey.
• The mindset shifts that can change your results fast.
• How fear of food and flare-ups keeps you stuck.
• What affordable, high-value support can actually look like.

If this episode resonated, we’d love it if you left a rating or review. It helps more people find the podcast, and we’re really grateful you’re listening.

If you’re done spinning your wheels, this is your next step.

Set your foundations and join us in Clearer Skin in 30 Days 

You can eat all the "clean" food in the world and still break out. If you've been doing everything right with your diet but your skin isn't improving, this episode is for you. Katie and Cris are breaking down what actually matters when it comes to skin nutrition, and spoiler: it's not just about eating organic.

What Katie & Cris break down in today's episode:

• Why your body doesn't care how clean your diet is if you're not digesting it properly.
• The real reason stomach acid matters more than you think, and what happens when you're low.
• How poor fat digestion could be causing congestion around your temples and messing with your hormones.
• Why zinc supplements aren't the answer, even though the internet says they are.
• What magnesium actually does beyond helping you sleep, and why coffee drinkers need more of it.

If this episode resonated, we'd love it if you left a rating or review. It helps more people find the podcast, and we're really grateful you're listening.

What We Mentioned

• Functional Nutrition Skin Institute (Code KATIE saves 10%)

Let's Connect

• Follow Katie on Instagram
• Work with us inside The Clear Skin Solution
• Grab the free Gut Loving Cheat Sheet

If you're dealing with acne as an adult, you probably feel really alone in it. You scroll social media and see all these perfectly filtered faces and think something's wrong with you. But here's the thing: you're not the only one going through this. Hailey tried everything before finding what actually worked, and her story might just sound a lot like yours.

Here’s a break down in today's episode:

• Why Hailey's intermittent fasting routine was actually backfiring and how eating more throughout the day helped her skin, digestion, and those binge eating patterns she thought she had.
• How her HTMA revealed she was way more stressed than she realized, even though she didn't feel stressed at all.
• Why one gut protocol wasn't enough and how multiple rounds of testing showed what her body really needed.
• The moment she realized she didn't have to control everything and could actually trust the process and her support team.
• All the unexpected byproducts of her acne journey that changed way more than just her skin.

If this episode resonated, we'd love it if you left a rating or review. It helps more people find the podcast, and we're really grateful you're listening.

Follow Hailey Rowe:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/hailey_rowe
• Website: https://haileyrowe.com

Let's Connect

• Follow Katie on Instagram
• Work with us inside The Clear Skin Solution
• Grab the free Gut Loving Cheat Sheet