The Primal Shift: Primal Living in the Modern World

Today we have Karen Faisandier joining us from Wellington, NZ.

Karen is a born and bred NZ'er, mother of two, and Director of a private psychology practice based in the Wellington CBD.

While she is a conventionally-trained clinical psychologist specialising in addiction, her interest in nutrition in health care led her into the study of nutritional and environmental medicine and its application to psychology.

Karen is passionate about forging an “integrated” and ancestral approach to individual adult psychological assessment and treatment. This involves the evidence-based application of nutritional, nutraceutical, and ancestrally oriented lifestyle interventions so as to assist people to understand, prevent, and recover from psychological distress.

We chat with Karen about:

Karen's interest in addiction

How Karen came to make her Primal Shift

Integrating an ancestral and ACNEM approach into her clinical practice

The impact of caffeine on sleep, the stress response, nutrient absorption and other behaviours

Karen's research and professional experience with drug addiction

What the main underlying factors are that can create addictions are

Sex addiction, should it be an addiction? And what the prevalence of different sexual behaviours is

Is it an addiction? Ask does it cause distress and impairment for someone and does it cause a loss of control?

Attachment theory of addiction

Is there such a thing as sugar addiction?

How gut health and nutritional deficiencies can affect into addictions

Can addiction shift from one thing to another? Alcohol to sugar

Anxiety and depression

Allergies and intolerances

Psychoneuroimmunology

Practical approaches people can take to strengthen their mental health - diet and identifying any deficiencies and intolerances, reducing stress

When to seek professional support

Links:

Karen's clinical psychology clinic in NZ: The Integrative Practice

Ecology Skincare

One of our primal shifts is the primal detox shift and it’s one of the more involved lifestyle shifts we can make, so today we have with us Alexx Stuart from Low Tox Life.

Alexx is a health coach, recipe creator, avid researcher and an educator in the wellness space. She’s also worked in the cosmetics industry and hospitality industry. So she’s come into contact with a whole lot of toxins ...and felt the health effects of that exposure.

Now Alexx is all about helping people make the best choices they can, and doing so happily without fear or guilt, when it comes to food, sustainable living, personal care & cleaning products.

We chat to Alexx about:

How Alexx's past experience has influenced what she does now, and

How she came to make her primal shift and help other people make positive change

Consumer awareness driving accountability and change in the corporate world

3 questions to ask yourself before buying: who makes it? how do they make it? do they align with my values

What low-tox living is - careful consideration for the foods we eat, the products we put on ourselves, the things in our environment and what goes on in our minds

What are all the different ways we can be bombarded by toxins in our environment?

In the home: Synthetic scents and air fresheners, dust, electrical devices, cleaning products

Natural aromas, essential oils, getting air flow through the house and switching the modem off overnight, looking into your products

Where people can start, some good first steps...

Detoxing from social media

What does Alexx's daily routine look like now?

The benefits of earthing

Making conscious and low-tox choices for clothing

Alexx's Go Low Tox Course

Links:

Alexx's website and podcast: Low Tox Life

Documentary: The Disappearing Male

Go Low Tox Course

In this episode, Crystal and Jo have a chat about the value of friendship.

As ‘sisters from another mister’ they will share their own friendship journey as well as discussing how intimate friendships and strong social connections have played a vital part in human evolution.

We Chat About

Reflecting on our own friendships

How Crystal and Jo met

Finding like-minded (new) people

Using social media to connect with people - the pro's and cons

Online personas vs authentic selves

How friends shape our mood, values, and habits

Benefits of friendship

Blue zones and friendship

The impact of social isolation

Quality over quantity in friendships

Vulnerability and authenticity

Evolutionary perspective on friendship

The culture of networking and referral systems (personally and professionally)

How to know when you're in a toxic friendship

How to cultivate and nurture friendship when life is crazy

Caveman TV

The importance of face to face interactions

Think about the top five people in your life

 

Links

Mark Sisson - The Primal Connection

Dallas Hartwig - More Social, Less Media

AHSNZ  - YouTube Channel

Chip and Dan Heath  - Switch

Dan Buettner - Blue Zones

Ecology Skincare

In today’s episode we're going to be talking low-tox skincare... because as the creator of Ecology Skincare, one of the most common topics I get asked about, is which skincare ingredients should we avoid and how can we choose more natural skincare options.

And it’s natural that once we get our nutrition dialled in, once we’ve cleaned up our diet and we’re looking better, feeling better and have more headspace ...that we then take a look at what other aspects of our lifestyle we can “clean up” ...and for both of us skincare was a biggie!

The average woman uses 12 products containing 168 different ingredients daily" ~ The Environmental Working Group (EWG)

We chat about:

Where we started when we started thinking about going low-tox

Overusing coconut oil on the skin and how natural products can be still really irritating for people with eczema or sensitive skin

What we used to use on our skin and how that's changed over time

How deodorants work and the quest to find a good natural deodorant that doesn't irritate

What comedogenic is - aka acne causing ingredients

Defending against scaremongering, what really affects absorption into the skin

How to simplify your skincare regime, using less products and using them less often - like using Konjac Sponges for cleansing

The Dirty Dozen Ingredients to avoid in your skincare and personal care products and their better alternatives

#1 Sodium Lauryl Sulphate and sodium laureth sulphate

#2 Parabens

#3 Fragrance or Parfum

#4 DEA, TEA and MEA

#5 Phthalates

#6 Formaldehyde releasing preservatives (Quaternium-15, DMDM hydration, Diaziolidinyl Urea (Germall), Sodium hydroxymethylglycinate (suttocide)

#7 Mineral oil, petrolatum, paraffin oil

#8 PEG

#9 Triclosan

#10 Coal tar and coal tar dyes (look for p-phenylenediamine, aminophenol, diaminobenzene and colors that begin in “CI” followed by a 5 digit number e.g. CI 19140)

#11 Silicones and silioxones

#12 BHA and BHT

How to start making the transition and simplifying your skincare regime

What 'green washing' is

Scrutinising the top 1/3 of ingredients more than the rest of the ingredient list. These ingredients account for 95% of the contents of the product ~ Nicole Biljsma

Crystal's eBook: Natural Skincare Secrets for Women with Sensitive Skin, use the promo code LOVETPS to get it for free

 

Links

The Environmental Working Group

The Chemical Maze

Ecology Konjac Sponges 

David Suzuki's Dirty Dozen Ingredients to Avoid

The Ecology Bathroom Detox Checklist

Ecology Skincare Blog [VIDEO]: How to interpret labels and choose better Personal Care Products 

Nicole Biljsma: Healthy Home, Healthy Family book

Abode cleaning products 

Crystal's eBook: Natural Skincare Secrets - use the promo code LOVETPS to get it for free

In this episode, we chat to Lulu Loya Wu all about the important, but often overlooked, role of emotions when it comes to eating.

Lulu is a certified Eating Psychology Coach. Addressing not only the lifestyle/nutrition factors, but also the deeper aspect of our relationship with food and our bodies. This helps people create lasting change and breaking free from the physical and emotional ups and downs of dieting and other struggles with health.

Lulu has a background in Law and treaty negotiations. It was her personal challenges with food and body that inspired her to become a coach.

 

We chat with Lulu about:

Lulu's primal shift

The common struggle of disordered eating

Transitioning from a career in law to nutritional coaching

What is 'Eating Psychology'?

The limitations of willpower when it comes to food restriction

Lulu's approach with clients - living more in the body instead of the mind

Emotional eating is not abnormal

Our relationship with food is largely unconscious

Why Lulu thinks food addiction isn't a real addiction

What tools does Lulu use with clients to help them get in touch with their unconscious drivers with food

Fizzy highs vs deep joy

How to cultivate deep joy

What does Lulu do to look after herself?

Yoga Nidra

How to start the journey - reaching out

Trusting intuition

Is eating 'bad food' with a good attitude better than eating 'good food' with a bad attitude

Highly sensitive people tend to have more digestion issues

What's Lulu got planned for the coming year?

 

Links

Lulu Loya Wu

Lulu's talk 'Our Love Affair with Speed' from AHSNZ Wellington Conference 2015

Psychology of Eating

Yoga Nidra

The Last Best Cure by Donna Jackson Hakazawa

When the Body Says No: Exploring the Stress - Disease Connection by Gabor Mate

Ecology Skincare

In this episode, we chat to  Rebecca Coombes from the Healthy Gut about gut health and SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth). SIBO is something that Jo and Crystal both had some personal experience with, and it’s a condition that’s not commonly discussed but probably more common than people realise.

Rebecca is an author, entrepreneur and passionate foodie. She turned her health around after a lifetime of chronic illness and founded The Healthy Gut, where people can learn about gut health and the impact it has on our general health and happiness. Rebecca is also the author of the world’s first cookbooks and cooking show for people with SIBO!

 

 

We chat with Rebecca about:

How did Rebecca make her primal shift?

Why did Rebecca turn her passion into her profession?

What is SIBO?

SIBO symptoms

How is SIBO diagnosed?

The link between SIBO and 'leaky gut'

Main causes of SIBO

The challenges of treating SIBO

The psychological impact of living with SIBO

Making food 'sexy' again on a SIBO diet

The importance of stress management when treating SIBO

How to talk to friends and family about living with SIBO

Helpful resources

SIBO recovery timeframe

Treating SIBO: botanical herbs versus antibiotics

The link between endometriosis and SIBO

The link between SIBO and other chronic bowel conditions (Crohn's Disease, Ulcerative Colitis)

Upcoming SIBO event in Australia for practitioners

Links

Rebecca Coomes 

SIBO Symposium

Dr Allison Siebecker

SIBO Test

Ecology Skincare

Today we are super lucky to have not 1 ...but 2 fantastic guests with us ...the founders of the awesome brand 180 Nutrition and the masterminds behind the industry's cleanest protein superfood.

Guy and Stu are joining us today to chat about health, the business of health and productivity hacks.

Guy Lawrence has a ton of experience as a health and fitness coach ...he loves Crossfit, TRX and jumping into icebaths

And Stuart Cooke is a graphic designer and father of 3 girls with a keen interest in health and wellness ...and together they’ve made 180 Nutrition into a successful and thriving business!

We chat about:

What the go is with ice baths and controlled cold exposure

How the boys came to make their primal shift

And how they met, started their bro-mance and their nutrition empire

What makes their health business work so well

Why education and empowering people with knowledge is so important to them both (like with their health sessions podcasts)

Cutting through confusion, allowing for individualism and self-experimentation

What are the most common mistakes they see people making with their health and their expectations

Taking small steps and going from there

How the boys "walk their talk", structure their day and manage everything they have going on with the business and their daily lives - Guy meditates, Stu makes sure he gets quality sleep

How Stu ensures a good night sleep - he shares his best tools and tips

Tips for switching off the internal business chatter

Guy's best tips for forming the meditation habit

The relaxation response

Best productivity hacks - apps, planning, outsourcing, turning off notifications, checking email

What is one small thing people can do to get them moving in the right direction - in health and business

What's coming up for 180 Nutrition?

Links:

180 Nutrition

Health Sessions Podcast episode with Crystal

Meditation Struggles: 5 Key Factors That Helped Me Greatly

In this episode,  we chat about how to de-stress the easy way with Dr Linda Wilson.

Linda is the author of ‘Stress Made Easy – Peeling Women Off The Ceiling’. She has a degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine and 17 years clinical experience as a stress management specialist.

In that time, Linda has found that the capacity to change your mind ….changes your world and she’s helped hundreds of clients better identify, understand and manage their stress.

Linda also has a weekly radio show focusing on stress management, health and wellbeing.

We chat with Linda about:

How did Linda come up with the name of her book

Linda's personal journey from high pressure corporate life to traditional Chinese medical practitioner

What is stress?

Why do we react to stress the way we do?

Linda's approach to working with people: re-programming the internal environment

What is happening to our brain when we're stressed?

Faster EFT: Emotional Freedom Technique

Using the mind to change the brain

How long does the Faster EFT process take?

How quickly will people see / feel results using Faster EFT?

Finding where stress manifests in the body through pain and/or illness

Reconnecting the mind and body

The importance of self-care

Can our awareness of stress make us more stressed?

The benefits of being in nature and walking

Adaptability Model : Assess, Distill, Associate, Process, Test

How superhighways (neural pathways) are created and strengthened in the brain

What is tapping?

How does Linda manage her own stress and demands of life

 

Links

Dr Linda Wilson

Ecology Skincare

Kelly McGonigal - TED Talk

Today we’re chatting with good friend of the show Irena Macri from Eat Drink Paleo.

Irena joined us back in Episode 23 to give us the low down on healthy travel hacks, so check that one out if you’re planning a trip...

But just to remind you, Irena is a bestselling author of the ‘Eat Drink, Paleo’ cookbook and her newest book Happy Go Paleo. She’s a contributor to the Happy Body Formula and is also an all round health nerd and global nomad who can find a decent coffee anywhere in the world!

We chat with Irena about:

What she's been up to lately

How the Paleo movement is different in the UK, EU and AU

How Irena sees the "Paleo" label and how she eats

Trends in the health world: gut health was big in 2015, fibre is big in 2016

Fibre in buckwheat and resistant starch in potatoes

Meat free Mondays

How to properly prepare legumes and deactivate phytic acid

Raw food vs cooked

Souping vs juicing

Trends in the real food world: jackfruit, sweet potato toast, sourdough, buckwheat, seaweed pasta, turmeric, mushroom tea, Hawaiian foods, cloud bread

What's the go with nut milk, is almond milk or macadamia milk good for us?

 What does an average day look like for Irena Macri?

Irena's tips for distressing before bed and getting a good night's sleep

Go-to meals and Irena's tips for meal prep

The Happy Body Formula - next intake September 2016, then January 2017

7-Day challenges ongoing

 

Links:

Eat Drink Paleo website

Happy Go Paleo Cookbook

The Happy Body Formula

Irene's recipe for Cloud Bread

FREE 7-Day Healthy Eating Challenge

In this episode we have Lynda Griparic joining us from Northern NSW to talk to us all about poo!

Lynda is a qualified Naturopath, Nutritionist, Writer and Speaker with over 14 years of experience in the health industry. Lynda specialises in constipation, gut health and weight loss. She has extensive experience in running healthy, effective and sustainable bowel care and weight loss programs and has expertise in investigating and treating the underlying causes of weight gain, metabolic problems and gut disturbance.

We chat with Lynda about:

Why naturopaths are so fascinated with poo

Lynda's personal experience with disordered eating and constipation

What happens if we're not going to the toilet regularly - the effect of constipation on the body

Inflammation and toxicity that arises with constipation

Estrogen dominance, weight gain and constipation

How often should we go to the toilet? Is there such a thing as "normal"

What can we do to get things moving again? - Fibre, breath work, apple cider vinegar, resistant starch, probiotics, magnesium bisglycinate

How movement, dance and Yin Yoga can improve bowel movements

What can cause constipation? - anaemia, dehydration, medications, nervous system dysfunction, stress

Why is stress so closely linked to constipation? fight/flight vs rest & digest

80% of serotonin is made in the gut!

Why can a FODMAP intolerance affect bowl movement towards constipation or diarrhoea

Should we use coffee as a "crutch" to get things moving?

Yay or nay for colonics

Are squatty potties really helpful or just a gimmick - thumbs up for squatty potties!

Soluble vs insoluble fibre

Links:

Lynda Griparic 

Ecology Skincare

Mineral Bath Salts - Epsom Salt (magnesium sulphate) and Dead Sea Salt

BetterMe Tea

Could SIBO Be The Cause Of Your Belly Gurgles and Farts? 

10 Surprising Causes Of Constipation + How To Fix It 

Is Eating Fibre For Good Health Overrated?