Let's Talk Thyroid with Carrie Vitt

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September 28, 2022 - Episode #102 - Let's Talk Thyroid with Carrie Vitt
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Do you have difficulty losing weight, constantly feel fatigued, you struggle with depression, anxiety and have problems with sleep?  It could be your thyroid.  A small butterfly shaped gland that is responsible for making hormones that control so many vital functions including regulating your metabolism.  Today’s guest is Carrie Vitt, Nutritional Therapy Practitioner.  Let’s talk Thyroid on the Healthy Harmony podcast. 

Carrie is a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, cookbook author and publisher at DeliciouslyOrganic.net with over 20 years of experience.  After struggling with several chronic health issues, she turned to a real food diet and detoxification practices. Carrie has been able to turn around IBS, chronic migraines, Hashimoto's disease, severe asthma and eczema.  She currently practices at Our Well House in Frisco, Texas and has some fantastic online resources that you can find at www.deliciouslyorganic.net

In this podcast, we unpack
          - Signs and symptoms of inadequate thyroid hormones

• - Bloodwork needed to assess thyroid function
• - Steps to heal your thyroid
• - Value of consuming organic food
• - How to grocery shop on a budget

 
Before you go, I want to give you a quick reminder.  You only have 3 days left to enter the incredible prize giveaway.  We extended the deadline because some were having problems with leaving a podcast review so we opened up a new way for you to share the Healthy Harmony podcast and be entered to win! If you have missed the details.  Simply to go Inspire Healthy harmony on FB or Instagram or check out the details below. 

Grand Prize - A Stanley 40oz cup, Pique tea, Bed of Nails Acupressure Mat, Plant Therapy essential oils diffuser and essential oil set, Nodpod eye pillow, dry brush for lymphatic drainage, LMNT electrolyte packets, Magnesium Pack that includes: Magnesium Soak, Magnesium Body Spray, Magnesium Muscle Creme, and a Magnesium Body Lotion.​ 

2nd Prize - A Stanley 40oz cup, Pique Tea, Nodpod eye pillow, Alarm clock (that simulates sunrise), dry brush, LMNT electrolyte packets and magnesium pack.​

3rd Prize - A Stanley 40 oz cup, pique tea,  LMNT electrolyte packets and a magnesium pack

Here is how you can be entered to WIN...

​Remember, deadline to enter is September 30th at 2pm Central Standard Time and winners will be announced on the podcast on October  4th.

Read Full Transcript below
​

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​FULL TRANSCRIPT

September 28, 2022 - Episode #102 - Let's Talk Thyroid with Carrie Vitt

Speaker 1:
Do you have difficulty losing weight? Constantly feel fatigued. You struggle with depression, anxiety, and have problems with sleep. Hey, it could be your thyroid. It's a small butterfly shaped gland that is responsible for making hormones that control so many vital functions, including regulating your metabolism. Today's guest is Carrie Vitt, nutritional therapy practitioner. Let's talk thyroid on the Healthy Harmony podcast.
 
Speaker 1 (00:41):
Hey, friend, Welcome to the Healthy Harmony podcast, Simple holistic wellness for women. I'm your host, Jennifer Picket, Dietitian turned functional medicine health coach. When it comes to your wellbeing, do you know what to do, but have a hard time actually doing it? Have you sacrificed your own health for the sake of taking care of everyone else? Are you tired and overwhelmed? But also, are you looking for answers ready to take a small step? Holistic wellness doesn't have to be time consuming, or overly complicated. In this podcast, you will discover simple tips to help you take control of your overall wellness. I want to help you make a shift from knowing what to do to actually doing it. If you are ready to feel better, make healthier decisions, address the obstacles standing in your way, and live a life of freedom and harmony, my friend, You are in the right place.
 
Speaker 1 (01:48):
Just to give you a quick reminder, you only have three days left to enter the incredible prize giveaway. We extended the deadline because some people were having problems leaving a podcast review. So we opened up a new way for you to share the Healthy Harmony Podcast. I mean, honestly, the last thing you need is some time consuming process to leave a review or enter the prize giveaway. We wanna make it as easy as possible so you can be entered to win. If you've missed the details. If you are ready to enter this incredible prize giveaway, simply go to inspire healthy harmony on Facebook, on Instagram, or check out the website, inspire healthy harmony.com, and you can be entered to win. Today's guest is Carrie Vit. She is a nutritional therapy practitioner, cookbook author, and publisher @deliciouslyorganic.net. After struggling with several chronic health issues, Carrie turned to a real food diet and detox and has been able to reverse ibs, chronic migraines, thyroid disease, and eczema. She currently practices at our wellhouse, located in Frisco, Texas, and has a tremendous online following with fantastic resources available on her website. I love her simple approach to taking control of your health, and I am so thrilled she is with us today. I'm so excited to have my friend and holistic nutritionist here today. Carrie Vitt. How are you, Carrie?
 
Speaker 2 (03:25):
I'm doing well. Thank you so much for having me today.
 
Speaker 1 (03:28):
I'm excited we get to do this. We always have such great conversations, and now we just kind of get to do that with a recording device. So I think everybody's gonna absolutely love this conversation.
 
Speaker 2 (03:38):
I'm excited,
 
Speaker 1 (03:40):
<laugh>. So, um, obviously you are very, very highly experienced, highly educated, um, and you have a, a massive online following. You are literally educating people every single day. But this comes from a, uh, a history of having a tremendous struggle. So will you just share that struggle with us?
 
Speaker 2 (04:01):
Yeah, definitely. So it started a while ago, <laugh>. Um, actually back in high school I was struggling with ibs, uh, and had that for years. And then, uh, about 10 years later, um, I, after the birth of my second child, I started having chronic migraines and they were 24 7. And I also had a toddler at the time. So that was quite the challenge. And, uh, was going to, uh, neurologists and trying to, you know, get help and, you know, they put me on medications and I was on three daily meds and was still getting them about four times a week and felt drugged all the time. And, um, went in for another appointment and the doctor said, I wanna put you on another medication, like an additional, like a fourth. And I just, I just said, No thanks, and not with any idea what I was gonna do. I just said, No, thank you. And I remember walking down that white tiled, you know, fluorescent lit hallway thinking, I gotta figure out something because I, this can't be my life. This is miserable.
 
Speaker 1 (05:13):
This can't con, this can't continue. Right? Right.
 
Speaker 2 (05:15):
This cannot, I can, like, I can't even be a mom to my kids, you know? And so went home and that very day, there was a newsletter in the mail back when we got newsletters in the mail. Yes. And it was, it was like 20 years ago. Um, it was a focus on the family newsletter, and there was this tiny little paragraph that said, you know, you should think about going organic for the health of your family. Now, 20 years ago, organic was considered kind of like snooty. It was, I really thought it was just when you wanted to pay more for your food.
 
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Right? Yeah, me too. Yeah.
 
Speaker 2 (05:52):
Had no idea. So I thought, Oh, that's kind of interesting. So I called my friend Karen, um, she's a dear, dear friend of mine, and I knew that she like, Okay, amazing cook, amazing. But like her, her food was kind of different, you know? And I always thought it was a little weird <laugh>. Yes. Um, she and I laugh about it now, it's all good, you know. But I called her up and just said, Hey, do you think that my food could have anything to do with my migraines? And she said, Oh, definitely. And she said, I'm bringing over resources. And so she was so sweet. She loaded up her three kids in the car, immediately came over that afternoon with this huge stack of books, and she was like, Start reading. And I said, Okay. And the first one I started with was the Maker's Diet.
 
Speaker 2 (06:37):
And that just like, completely opened my eyes. And then I was like reading through Nourishing Traditions and I just like reading it. I was like, this resonates with me. I, this also seems weird, right? And that's how I cook now. But like at the time I was, you know, I, I ate processed food and all that type of stuff. So even just organic whole, all real food seemed kind of odd to me. But I was like, I, I like this. This resonates with me. I wanna, I wanna do this, and I'm gonna have to baby step it. So I first started with just switching the main foods. I was eating to organic. That's all I did. I was still doing white flour, white sugar, not soaking anything, you know, no properly prepared food, just <laugh> just switching to organic. And within two months I got off of all of my medications.
 
Speaker 2 (07:24):
Um, my, oh my goodness, migraines cleared and my IBS cleared. So obviously the toxic load in my system had just gone overboard. And it was the toxins, the pesticides, herbicides, things like that, and the food that were causing my migraines and my ibs. I still am like stunned that that was the root cause of my ibs. Um, it's never come back, thankfully. Uh, so that is crazy. I know. It was, it was, it was mind boggling to me. And I thought, Well, gosh, I mean, other people need to know about this, you know? And so I, I'd grown up in, um, well, my mom had taught me how to cook when I was very, very little. So I had a love for cooking. And, uh, so I just thought, you know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna start, uh, teaching cooking classes. And so, um, while I was studying, I just started studying and studying and studying all these topics.
 
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Cause it was just so fascinating to me. I could not get in enough knowledge in my brain about nutrition and real food and how to properly prepare foods and all that. So I started teaching these small little cooking classes outta my house. I'd probably have eight to 10 women every week. And, um, it was a lot of fun. And then I heard of these things called food blogs, <laugh>. And I fight, Well, gosh, I could start a food blog and I could just put this information about healthier food on there. And then like my friends could use that website, never thinking that anyone else would ever really Oh my goodness. Yeah. So I got that started. That was 14 years ago that I started the blog. And, um, things were chugging along. And then I, back in oh eight, I went in for a filling removal. Um, they were swapping it out for a new filling and it was an amalgam filling. And at the time I did not know that amalgam is 50% mercury, that's five 0%. Oh. And, um, I didn't know you're supposed to go to a dentist who is properly trained, who's gonna take all the right precautions. I mean, I knew nothing. Right, right.
 
Speaker 1 (09:32):
Well, they don't take no one, no one tells us this. No, no one tells us this.
 
Speaker 2 (09:36):
No. Nobody talks about it. And so, um, it was a really large filling in a molar, like it filled up most of the molar inside. And so they just drilled and drilled. It was a three hour appointment. And, um, I just sat there and like breathe in the fumes as they were drilling and drilling. And as soon as I sat up from the chair, I was, I told them, I was like, Something's wrong with me. I don't feel good. And I got home, I had zero energy. I was in bed for an entire week. And I just remember thinking like, why would I take a filling this bad? Like, this makes zero sense. Not knowing what was in that filling, you know, it just, I didn't know. So then my health just very rapidly deteriorated. Um, insomnia, depression, my hair falling out. Uh, one of the worst symptoms for me was I had hives from the neck up.
 
Speaker 2 (10:29):
So they covered my neck and all of my face. Um, my face felt like it was burning 24 7. All of my skin peeled off twice a day. And, you know, of course it was red inflamed. And I also became sensitive to every single food on the planet. Um, and I'm not exaggerating when I say that. If I ate lettuce, I would break out my hives. If I meat, I'd break out my hives. I even became sensitive to tap water. I couldn't even be around. Like, if somebody was washing dishes and there was steam coming up from the hot water, I'd break into hives. I mean, it was a mess.
 
Speaker 1 (11:04):
Oh my goodness.
 
Speaker 2 (11:05):
So I basically just, you know, I would get my girls off to school and then I would lay on the couch all day with ice packs on my face. And I slept with ice on my face and took an insane amount of Benadryl. Cause I didn't know what the heck to do. Yeah. Uh, and, um, started going to doctors. I mean, this was a, you know, a horrible part of this was that I couldn't get any doctors to just listen to me. Um, they kept kind of blowing me off. They kept telling me I had dry skin. And I was like, I, I know I don't have dry skin. You know, like when, you know, you know, <laugh>. And about nine months in, took nine months to find a doctor who would actually just listen. And, um, we ran like all the allergy testing. Right.
 
Speaker 2 (11:54):
Cause it was like, Okay, I must have allergies. I was negative for everything. And then the doctor was like, you know, I've heard of this. You know, I've heard of people having hives, um, as an extreme side effect of our symptoms, Sorry, you have Hashimoto’s. Mm-hmm. So testing me for that, I was positive. Mm. So finally I had at least a diagnosis. Yeah. Um, I think that, that's so helpful to at least just kind of know what's going on. And they offered me thyroid medication and I was already coming from the perspective that food can heal that. Like you can change things from the inside out. So I asked the doctor, like, Well, how is this gonna heal my thyroid? Please explain to me what that, how that works. And he was like, Oh, that, that's not how it works. Like your thyroid's eventually gonna stop working and you're gonna be on meds the rest of your life. So once again, I just said, No, thank you. And I found myself for the second time walking down a white tile fluorescent hallway going, I don't know what I'm gonna do, but I gotta figure this out. So I went home, called my best friend Karen. Right. Again,
 
Speaker 1 (12:57):
<laugh>, thank goodness for Karen.
 
Speaker 2 (13:00):
Thank goodness for Karen. Yeah. And she had been so sweet. I mean, throughout this whole process, she called me every single day to check in. She was the only friend that really, really just stuck by my set or stayed by my side. Uh, so I just, you know, of course just cry my eyes out. I'm like, I don't know what I'm gonna do. I have this thing called Hashimotos. Um, they, they just wanna give me a medication. I just don't want to do that. And she said, My sister is a holistic nutritionist. Um, I already talked to her about you and made an appointment for you. Which that's a pretty darn good friend.
 
Speaker 1 (13:33):
Yes, it is
 
Speaker 2 (13:34):
I started working with Kim, um, out in California. And, uh, put, she put me on like a, a grain free, nutrient dense diet. And, um, and also very specific supplements for the things that were going on in my body at that specific time. Uh, and it took about four months until I saw my hives start to dissipate. And then about nine months, the hives completely went away. And Thank you Lord, They've never come back. And then we had to keep digging into, you know, okay, well what's the root cause? Cause it's not like the hush motives was gone. Right. I still had and all that. Thank goodness. I was feeling better though. Cause then it was like, Okay, well now I can work with my practitioner to kind of like, think about this harder and dive in a little bit more. Cause at the beginning I was really just trying to survive. And, um, so we figured out, uh, it was from that filling removal. And so, you know, we went through, looked at a calendar and she was just like, Just let's go through your full health history. We have to put the pieces together. And, um, I was like, Oh wait, that day I went to the dentist. That's when everything started. Uh, and so basically we did testing and stuff and I just, I had an overabundance of heavy metals in my system and Mercury crazy.
 
Speaker 1 (14:52):
So, and so, uh, if she hadn't known to do the heavy metal testing, then this would've continued.
 
Speaker 2 (15:00):
I mean, not necessarily the heavy metal testing if she hadn't have known to just go through my whole health history.
 
Speaker 1 (15:04):
Yes. Yeah.
 
Speaker 2 (15:05):
Because most practitioners don't do that.
 
Speaker 1 (15:08):
You're, oh, you're so right. Well, only, only the practitioners that are in this, you know, holistic world, the naturopath world or the functional medicine world, are gonna dig that deep and ask the question why. And that's what you needed. Because you said your doctors were not listening again, you know, for the second time they weren't listening. And, you know, just kinda writing this off. And, and again, that's why I love, you know, what we do, this world we live in because we're asking the question, why, why is this happening? Yeah.
 
Speaker 2 (15:37):
Yeah. My motto was like, ask why until you can't ask why anymore.
 
Speaker 1 (15:41):
Oh, I like that. Yeah.
 
Speaker 2 (15:43):
Keep asking why you're gonna get to the root, you know? Um, and so that's basically what she was doing with me <laugh>, you know, and just digging and digging and digging. And, you know, it was a good hour conversation of just going through all the things. And so, uh, yeah. So I had to do a lot of just very gentle drainage, gentle detox therapies. She, um, was a wonderful holistic practitioner who just really understood how to do things very slowly and gently because, you know, detoxing tissues in the body from things like heavy metals is, you know, no joke. You gotta go very slowly and make sure that like the gut's okay. And the detox pathways are open and all sorts of stuff. Um, so it took two years of working with her until I started to see antibodies go down. And I remember that day I got my blood work back and they'd come down by like a thousand points and I balled my eyes out. I actually called her cause we were becoming good friends at the time, called her and left her a voicemail. When I'm crying, she thought something was wrong. I totally freaked her out <laugh>. And I was actually calling her to tell her like I was so thankful for her. Oh. Uh, and then it took a few years after that until like things went into remission. Um, I mean, at one point my TSH was 68.
 
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Oh heavens. Yeah.
 
Speaker 2 (16:58):
Yeah. Um, and I never went on meds. Uh, that is for some people. And I think it can be an incredibly helpful tool. It just, it just wasn't for me. I just didn't, I just didn't wanna do that, you know?
 
Speaker 1 (17:10):
Yeah. Yeah.
 
Speaker 2 (17:10):
So, my goodness. Um, and now I live in, I call it maintenance mode, you know, uh, where I make sure that I'm eating that good nutrient dense diet, that I'm getting good sleep, that I'm keeping my stressors down, you know, all the things. Um, so that I can, you know, continue in the direction that, that I've been going. So when that, through that whole experience, of course, you know, before I started that little food blog and, uh, was teaching in my, in my home and stuff. And then I was like, Okay. So then I wrote like a second cookbook and um, went back to school and got my nutritional therapy certification. And Kim mentored me for many years. I joined her practice and worked there for many years. Uh, and she, unfortunately, she passed away kind of suddenly about four years ago.
 
Speaker 1:
Mm. I'm so sorry.
 
Speaker 2 (18:04):
Well, thank you. Thank you. I miss her every day. I really do. Uh, I'm so thankful for the time that she invested in me and I, you know, now it's really my mission to go out and, and just teach everyone what she taught me and help them. Um, and I'm really, really thankful that that is what I get to do every day. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, I'm sad that thyroid disease is such a problem right now. Um, and pretty much I would call it an epidemic. Um, but really thankful that I get to bring hope and help other people.
Speaker 1 (18:37):
Yes, for sure. So, so let's dig into that whole topic of thyroid, uh, disease and even thyroid insufficiency. Yeah. What are the main symptoms that someone is experiencing when, um, that would give them an indication, Hey, something is off here with the thyroid?
 
Speaker 2 (18:54):
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, there are over 300 symptoms, which is kind of wild. Some of the most common ones would be, um, brain fog, fatigue, weight gain. I would say those are like the three top ones. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, it can also just be like, you just feel off, your energy is drained. Um, you're starting to struggle with multiple things like insomnia and digestion issues and your hair's falling out and um, and things like that.
 
Speaker 1 (19:24):
And I think every woman who's listening right now is sitting there like nodding her head like, Oh my goodness, she just went down the list of my symptoms. That's what I'm experiencing. Um, cuz I think so many of us have thyroid disease, we have thyroid insufficiency. Uh, so how would one go about, um, like re moving towards resolution? So I want us to talk about blood work. Yeah. You know, uh, so often a woman is told that her blood work is normal. You know, she might even say, Hey, is this my thyroid? And she gets her blood work done, and the doctor says, Your blood work is normal. So let's talk about the normal, the difference in normal versus optimal.
 
Speaker 2 (20:03):
Yes. So labs, I just found this really interesting when I learned this, is that number one, like the ranges. So when you look at your lab report, you'll see that number, and then over on the right, you're gonna see it numbers and parentheses, Right? That's like the lab range. So those ranges can differ depending on the lab you're at, which is kind of interesting.
 
Speaker 1 (20:23):
Oh my goodness.
 
Speaker 2 (20:24):
Yeah. Kind of interesting. And then also, um, they, those numbers are for people that are, aren't feeling well, right? It's not okay, when the body is healthy and vibrant, what are the optimal numbers? That's not what you're seeing. So this range is just kind of this kind of normal-ish range, but it's not optimal. Right? There's a, there's just a really big difference. So for example, um, tsh, you know, for some labs they'll say, you know, normal between one and 10, some is like one and eight, some is one to five. I mean, they're all kind of a little bit different. But optimal would be about 0.5 to around to. So knowing like those optimal numbers can be really helpful and empowering because you can look at those things and then have a better conversation with your, your doctor. Also, I have to say, um, my number one, uh, pet peeve <laugh> is when a client comes in and they've been told that like, they're not making enough thyroid hormone, they're on thyroid medication, and their thyroid hormones were never tested. So TSH is a pituitary hormone. It's not a thyroid hormone. So TSH can give you a tiny little window into like maybe what might be happening with thyroid hormones, but it's not a thyroid hormone. You have to test like free T4 and free T3 to know what's going on with thyroid hormones.
 
Speaker 1 (21:57):
Okay. So that was my next question, so thank you. You know, what else? So, uh, TSH is thyroid stimulating hormone, and then you're saying, so that needs to be checked, however, that is mostly a pituitary hormone, not a thy, not necessarily a thyroid hormone. Right? And then we also need to check a free T3 and free t4. What are, what are any of those other lab values that need to be analyzed?
 
Speaker 2 (22:21):
I would also recommend reverse T3 and then, um, TPO antibodies and then thyroglobulin antibodies. It's usually TG B. Um, that can give you a good snapshot into how your thyroid is doing. And uh, then I would also recommend as with that, like a CBC, CMP with phosphorus, vitamin D lipids and an iron panel. That way you can get like a really good idea because for example, like elevated cholesterol is a symptom of thyroid disease. So sometimes they do lipids, they don't do thyroid hormones, and then, you know, they're told like, Oh, your cholesterol's high, like, stop eating these foods when like actually they have thyroid disease. Right? Um, or like low iron can cause hypothyroidism. So if your iron's low, then that's really good to know, you know what I mean? So just like having, um, a good snapshot, uh, that's a great way to be able to sit down with your, with your doctor and, and they can get a good look at all the different things that are going on. And I would say if you're wanting someone to really look at root causes, you do have to go to a functional, uh, practitioner.
 
Speaker 1 (23:39):
Definitely. Definitely. Because everyone else is just gonna, they're, they only have a certain number of labs they look at. They're just not gonna dig deep. They're not gonna ask the question, why. And that is the difference between traditional medicine and functional medicine. Functional medicine always asks the question, why, why is this happening? So it's like, you know, I describe functional medicine is like medical detectives, we wanna get to the root of this, what's really going on here? That traditional medicine, it's just a very, very broken system. And I hope everyone is really starting to see this. Um, so you brought up phosphorus. So let's talk about like why you, why you wanna see phosphorus. What does that link there? If you're running blood work, what does that link with phosphorus?
 
Speaker 2 (24:21):
Well, because calcium and phosphorus work together, right? And so if you get calcium done, um, then you have no idea, well, what's the ratio with phosphorus? And if it's high, maybe is it because phosphorus is low? Or if it's low, is it maybe because phosphorus is high. So, you know, nutrients work together, they never work in isolation. Yes. And so we always wanna know like, well, what are the other ones? What else is going on? And again, that's, that's like getting out that magnifying glass and being that detective and trying to figure out like, okay, what are all the different root issues that are going on?
 
Speaker 1 (25:01):
So let's, let's shift our, our conversation a little bit because most of your healing journey revolves around food. And I love how it started there by simply switching your diet to organic back when this was not a trending thing, Right. <laugh>, I mean, now it's a little bit more of a trend, but, um, let's talk about some things that are wrong with the standard American diet. What is wrong with how we eat right now?
 
Speaker 2 (25:23):
Yeah, I mean, some of the big ones I would say is the big push for, um, to eat canola oil, corn oil, vegetable oil, soy oil. Um, so you might hear them called pfas. Those are poly unsaturated fatty acids. So the ones you wanna avoid are like the processed ones, like the ones that I had just listed. Um, there's just such a big push for those and they're in like every single processed food.
 
Speaker 1 (25:51):
It's incredible. Yeah. They're everywhere. Everywhere.
 
Speaker 2 (25:55):
Yeah. And they're very inflammatory for the body. Um, not helpful, not nourishing at all. Uh, also just a big emphasis on grain for so long, right? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, um, don't or eat so much grain. Right. So many carbohydrates. I really, I should correct myself not grain. It's so many carbohydrates. Yeah. Um, and uh, and then also, you know, just the sugars. I mean, there's so many things that are wrong. Uh, I I think those are some of the top ones. And then also just the fear still of saturated fat, you know? And Yes. Yeah. I mean that has been debunked. That was a hypothesis from Ansel Keys back in the 1950s. And if you look at the actual data, I mean, he just, like, he lied. I mean basically, you know, his hypothesis wasn't proven and he botched the data, um, on purpose supposedly, at least from the things I've read. And, uh, you know, and then the American Heart Association ran with it.
 
Speaker 1 (26:57):
You know, it's awful. It's awful how we've been deceived. And I, you know, something that I find myself talking about to clients every day as we encourage real whole foods and to step away from this standard American diet with all the processed foods, we have to understand how this big food industry works and it's just about profit. It is not about people. It's not about your health, it's just about profit. Yeah. And that these items are being made to look like they are healthy, that they are good for you. So there's a lot of good marketing mastermind behind that. So it, uh, they use the right colors, they use the right phrases so that you are led to believe, oh, this is a good healthy choice for me and my family when it is anything. But, so that term is called health washing and we've gotta be aware of what we're up against here when it comes to marketing and we can't fall prey to that. So, um, I'm glad you kinda outlined some of those things that are wrong with our standard American diet.
 
Speaker 2 (27:55):
Yeah.
 
Speaker 1 (27:56):
Part of your journey was choosing organic food. So let's kind of dive into this whole like, toxicity component and why it is important to choose organic foods. Like what's wrong with conventionally raised fruits and vegetables?
 
Speaker 2 (28:11):
Yeah, I mean, I think people just don't realize that the stuff that they spray on 'em, um, that have all these synthetic chemicals in the form of like pesticides, herbicides, things like that, um, they are endocrine disruptors so they can cause hormone imbalance. They change your microbiome so they can kill off, uh, the good bacteria. They can cause overgrowth of bad bacteria, things like that. So there'd be an imbalance in your microbiome, Right. Which can make a big impact on, in how your immune system works. Um, I mean, those are the two big, big things. And then also it's just, you know, put it's, we're we're exposed to so many toxins all day, so we really don't wanna also be adding to that toxic load, you know? Yes. Um, with our, with our food. So everybody, it's kind of like we all our bodies are like a cup, you know?
 
Speaker 2 (29:02):
And, and we're exposed to toxins every day. I mean, it's in the air, it's in the wa it's everywhere. You can't avoid all of them. Right, Right. Um, but it's like every single body is like a cup and it's like the toxins, it's another drop of water and it's another drop of water. And eventually everybody gets to the point where then boom, it starts overflowing. You know, for me, I was kind of young <laugh> when that started happening. For others they might be older. Uh, so I just think it's important to, you know, day to day be making choices with your food that's not going to increase your toxic load, you know? That's true. Yeah. Uh, and you know, I recommend, I know that especially with food process, prices going up like that can get very expensive and all that type of stuff. You know, if you want just a place to start, you can start with looking up the dirty dozen and the Clean 15.
 
Speaker 1 (29:55):
So I love those two list. Yeah,
 
Speaker 2 (29:57):
Yeah.
 
Speaker 1 (29:57):
That, those two list. Yes. Yeah.
 
Speaker 2 (29:58):
And I, well I didn't start there. I don't know if those existed when I got started with all of this
 
Speaker 1 (30:04):
<laugh>. Probably not. Yeah, probably not. So it's nice that we have those. So tell everyone where they can find those two lists. So the Dirty Dozen is the, the dirtiest, uh, fruits and vegetables, the ones that you always need to buy organic. Right? Right. And then the Clean 15 are those that you don't necessarily have to buy organic. You might be able to purchase those conventional.
 
Speaker 2 (30:24):
Yeah. Yeah. I will say that on that the clean 15 two foods on there that I was like, Huh, that's kind of weird, is corn and papaya. And both of those are usually gmo.
 
Speaker 1 (30:36):
Interesting. I thought the same thing. So when I saw corn especially, um, that, that hit, that got on my radar, I was like, Wait a minute, why are we, Cause corn, like you said, is a, is a genetically modified crop. It's a very cheap crop. So I mean, you're gonna, it's just we're not getting any benefit None from corn.
 
Speaker 2 (30:54):
No. And it, you know, gmo, from how I understand it from the reading and stuff I've done, I mean it actually, like, there's Roundup growing inside of it. Right. So then when they spray it with Roundup, the corn doesn't die. So no word. You have to think, well then what's that gonna do if I eat it? You know? Right. So, uh, but that's a really good place to start those two lists. Um, Yeah.
 
Speaker 1 (31:19):
And those lists are found on the, uh, EWG Environmental Working Group. EWG Healthy Living app is the app. And then the website is ewg um, dot org if I'm not mistaken. So that's where you can find those lists. Those are very, very helpful. Um, so that's a great starting point. And I just like how you said we cannot be adding to our toxic globe. Like at some point we've gotta look at overall toxicity in the body and uh, and be like, wait a minute. I mean I am, my body is just a toxic burdened mess. I gotta do something to, you know, to help dial this back and look at what I'm putting in my body. But, you know, you brought up something, you know, which is so important cuz I think so many of us are overwhelmed right now because the cost of food Yeah. Is so very high. So what are your tips for saving money?
 
Speaker 2 (32:08):
Yeah, I mean there's so many things you can do, which is really, really nice. Um, one, you know, meat is so expensive, right? And I started doing this, God probably 15 years ago, is buying meat directly from the farm a lot. Especially if you wanna get organic pasted, like well raised meat. And um, now if you get on a website, you're gonna see that they're like, buy a whole cow. And you're like, I don't have $3,000 just sitting around. But what can do do is you go in with friends on it, and I've done this so many times, so you just ask your friends like, Hey, do you wanna go in on this with me? And you know, for years I would have, you know, it'd be like six families and we would all like chip in the money and then, you know, I would be usually one of the ones that would get in the car and we'd all split the gas, right? Go get the meat, bring it back, and then literally divvy it up on the driveway. <laugh>,
 
Speaker 1 (33:03):
I love it. I love it. And
 
Speaker 2 (33:05):
Then we'd all put it in our freezer. So I mean, I, you know, that's a really great tip for, for bigger families and stuff. Um, finding like, uh, co-ops in the area and one of the best ways just start asking around. I mean that's how I have found some of the best resources for stuff like that. Go to the farmer's market, um, create relationships with them. Other little things you can do is, you know, buy real food. Like process food actually is, it's pretty expensive. Like when you break,
 
Speaker 1 (33:35):
It's not cheap. It's not cheap.
 
Speaker 2 (33:37):
Not, And, and we think it is, we've really been trained to think it is. Cause we're like, Oh, that bag of chips that's only, you know, 1 99. But yeah, you eat that and like, you're not gonna be full. You're gonna need to eat more things. Right? But when you break it down, um, really side by side, anytime I do this, even if it's like a fast food meal and then you compare it to like, well what if I made this at home? If you break it down price per meal, uh, the real food always wins. I mean, so if you're buying whole meat and whole vegetables and fruits and whole dairy and eggs and things like that, you actually are gonna save a lot of money. And I, I've talked to so many friends, so many clients who were eating, you know, processed foods and then they made the switch. And I've heard back from so many people throughout the years saying, I was worried that it was gonna cost more. And many of them said either it costs less or they're spending about the same.
 
Speaker 1 (34:34):
Yes. And I think we have to shift our mindset too because we, I mean, we have the mindset of, Oh my goodness, I can't afford to eat healthy, I can't afford to eat healthy. But let me tell you, fast food is not cheap. Even the cheapest of the cheap fast food is still not cheap. It's still not inexpensive. And, um, and processed foods are not cheap. <laugh> now they're cheap to make the, but the, those things are marked up. So a bag of chips, you know, the cookies, the process, you know, boxed mails in the middle of the grocery store, um, those are va those are pretty expensive. And so we have to make that shift to eating real whole foods. And what I've noticed, cuz I love how you guys like, you know, bought a cow, you know, and split that up between families.
 
Speaker 1 (35:14):
What we've noticed in our family is as we make an investment and we are buying higher quality mate, for instance, you don't eat as much because you are very, very satisfied. And so there's a very big difference in satisfaction. You kind of alluded to that when you said, Hey, that bag of chips, it might be a little bit cheaper, but like, you're still hungry, you're not satisfied. So I think the satisfaction component is, is important here too. It's our, um, it's our, it's our taste buds. The more junk you eat, the more junk you crave. Bottom line. Yeah. When you start eating healthier, the, you know, you start to crave those healthy foods. And so I know that's something that you and I both talk about every single day to our clients. So outside of food, what are the other primary lifestyle factors that make the biggest difference for thyroid health?
 
Speaker 2 (36:06):
Mm. Well, number one, I would say sleep. You know, if you're not getting a good eight hours of sleep, then start there. You know, I mean so many people are, they're struggling so much and they're not sleeping as well, right? Um, and they're just going out there trying to find the next supplement, the next thing, the next thing to do. Like start just focusing on your sleep without good sleep every night. I mean, it's foundational for healthy body. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So making that a priority. I have articles on literally every topic that we're talking about today on my site. So I have a great one on theso and very, very practical tips, um, steps that you can take. That would be number one. Number two is look at your stressors. And this is the part that like nobody wants to talk about or think about, but stress plays a massive impact in our health. Like massive. Um, the nervous system controls every organ and system in the body. That's actually in Grey's Anatomy, the textbook
Speaker 2 (37:16):
Not the TV show. No. Um, but so when you think about it, like if we are stressed and our nervous system is dysregulated, this can affect everything. This can cause thyroid disease, this can cause digestive issues. In fact, I would say after five years of working, like with clients one on one in my practice, like the number one issue I see when people have digestive things and especially like extreme digestive issues and doctors are like, Well, we don't know what's wrong with you. It's just stress. They're just in a hurry all day long. They never sit down. Yeah. And so a question I always ask is how, how many times during the day do you sit down? And usually they say, I don't. And so that's a, that's a stressor, you know? And it's important to understand that stress looks different for every single person. It could be emotional, it could be mental, um, stress is even it's cold and you're freezing that day. That's a stressor for the body. Or you ate an insane amount of sugar <laugh>. That's a stressor.
 
Speaker 1 (38:15):
Like that's a stressor. Yeah. Yeah.
 
Speaker 2 (38:16):
It can be all sorts of different things. Um, and then the third one I would say, and I feel like these are kind of combined, is just being outside and moving your body. And I'm not, you know, saying you have to do any sort of certain kind of exercise. I'm just saying move, you know, like just getting outside, being in the sunshine and just moving, whether it's you're on a walk, whether you're gardening, whatever it is, you know, or you know, you are working out Pilates, lifting weights, whatever it is. But, um, those are just foundational things that are really hurried culture has gotten away from. And I just, I see it over and over and over that it just plays such a big part in people's health and, and with my clients, I mean, yeah, food's a huge part, but like I'd say the other 50% is lifestyle. And when they start making positive lifestyle changes like their health, just, they just feel better. Body's just being given what it needs.
 
Speaker 1 (39:13):
I ju and you know, I say all the time when you feel better, it is easier to make good healthy decisions. Oh yeah. So that's why, you know, all of this really does go together. And sometimes it's those just foundational. It's those things that almost seem too simple. Like really, are you gonna tell me about stress again? Are you gonna tell me about sleep again? But those are the things that make the biggest difference. And you and I see it every day with our clients. This has been such a, uh, an awesome conversation. I know everyone has learned so, so much. I always love talking to you about this stuff. And you've, you, you alluded to your website, you have got such an amazing website. It is chockful of such great information. So I wanna make sure that everyone knows about your website and you also have a thyroid health resource that is available to people. So tell everyone about that.
 
Speaker 2 (40:02):
Yeah, so I mean, my site is deliciously organic.net. Somebody's squatting on.com <laugh>, but go to deliciously organic.net. And I have hundreds of recipes, dozens and dozens of health articles. And then I have lots of other resources. I do have an online thyroid course. So if you have been looking for help and just, you wanna know step by step what you need to do to help your thyroid adrenals for hormone balance, gut health detox, I cover all of it in the course. And we have a private online community that comes with that for members. And it really is a lovely community of people. They're so encouraging and helpful towards one another. I also have like free classes, free cheat sheets. Like if you just go to my website and you start poking around, you're gonna find all these things. I'm also over on Instagram as Carrie Vitt and on Facebook as deliciously organic.
 
Speaker 1 (40:57):
Love it. Love it. Such great resources. So thank you so much for coming on today. As we, as we part ways, do you have any like final words of encouragement for our listeners today?
 
Speaker 2 (41:08):
Yeah, I would say, you know, if you, you know, arch are really struggling with whatever it is, I just want you to know there is hope and every small little change that you make is a step in the right direction. So even if you know, next week you're like, I'm gonna start buying, I love apples, I'm gonna start buying organic apples instead of conventional, that's a really great step and just to keep moving in that direction and all those little steps are going to, to really add up.
 
Speaker 1 (41:42):
I love it. Thank you so much for joining us today. I really appreciate it. And guys, listen, I will, um, make sure that everything she talked about, all of her resources are listed in the show notes so you can get to those very easily and access those cause I know you wanna take advantage. Carrie, thank you so much for joining us today. I appreciate it.
 
Speaker 2 (42:01):
Thanks so much for having me. This was really fun.
 
Speaker 1 (42:05):
I hope you have some really good thyroid takeaways from that podcast. I think you're getting the message loud and clear. You need to be your own best advocate. You cannot leave your health up to a very broken healthcare system. That is why I continue to bring you experts and simple holistic health advice to put the power in your hands as you're researching and making decisions for your health and your family's health. Okay? Don't forget to enter and win the prize giveaway. And join me next time as I announce the winners and as we talk about sugar cravings. Yes, it's October. We're gonna go there. Let's talk sugar cravings. Until then, have a healthy and happy day. Bye y'all.