Last year when I was probably at the peak of my issues, my health issues with mold, I went to a live event in Phoenix called BBD Live.

And I met two very instrumental people, in my personal life, even though it was a business event.

And one of those people was Darla, who I am interviewing today here on the podcast.

Um, she is the nutritionist I've been working with since January two.

Deal with all of these mold issues and other midlife, hormonal, things that I think are probably very important for any woman in, , her thirties, forties, and beyond, to be aware of.

So whether you are feeling tired all of the time and you suspect mold, or you're just a mom running a business and creeping into that midlife era, this episode is going to illuminate some things that you might want to pay attention to.

So I am super thrilled to finally introduce you to Darla and have her on the podcast here.

In this episode I am sharing.

The symptoms that I was dealing with, some of the tests that we ran to uncover what my body needed, and we talk about the impact of stress on your body as well as changes in hormones and how that can affect how you function.

I'll see you on the other side.

Let's dive in.

Hey, Darla, how are you?

Good.

How are you, Serena?

so excited to have you here.

It's been a while since we've chatted except right before we hit record.

We probably should have just recorded that whole conversation.

Um, but yeah, welcome to the podcast.

I'm super excited to share you your wisdom, and your energy with my audience, with my listeners here.

So go ahead and tell us what you do, who you help, and how you do it.

I'm so excited.

Thank you for having me.

so I'm Darla Gki.

I've been a dietician for 16 years and I practice a little different than other dieticians.

I do more functional medicine, herbal medicine, things like that.

And so I help mostly women who.

are just fatigued, tired, burned out, and sometimes they don't even realize that nutrition is the answer to their problems.

But I basically help rebuild women so they can thrive and feel amazing again.

Yes.

Love it.

So, I figured we should start off by, I wanted everyone to know who they're listening to.

Maybe I should have teased it more by like, starting off with like how we met and everything.

So LA was it last year?

It was last year at BBD Live.

feels like so long ago.

Almost felt like two years ago.

Yeah.

That's crazy.

So last December, I went to BBD Live.

So for anyone listening, BBD Live is a, a live event for only students of business by design.

With James Wedmore.

And, I went to BBD Live and I've been going for a few years now 'cause I've been in his program for a while.

And, I go back every year because the live experience as you know, is like, it's like none other.

It's, it's wild.

It's, it's very impactful.

And usually when I go to BBD Live, I'm generally in a slump in my business of like.

Inspiration wise where I'm just like, it's like the end of the year things are like slowing down and, I always need that inspiration when BBD Live comes around.

So that's why I always go and it always proves that like, I always end up meeting somebody at BBD Live that I needed to meet.

Mm-hmm.

And this particular, this particular BBD Live, I met you and someone else that I had been going through, like if you've been listening to the podcast for any amount of time, or reading my emails or anything or following me on social.

I was living in a house, for two years with toxic mold.

Mm-hmm.

And so I went to BBD live towards the end of living in that house.

And, when I went.

When I showed up there, I was like very fatigued, but I was like, I need to be here anyways, so I made it happen.

Sarita.

Yeah, I know we were talking about this earlier and honestly the reason it was easy is because it's only two hours away and then also I al I knew at this point I was living in the mold and so when I traveled was the only time I actually felt almost normal because I wasn't sleeping in that environment and breathing it in all day.

Yeah, that makes sense.

so I was really looking forward to staying in a hotel and getting good sleep.

Yeah.

Uh, but I met you and this other woman who really was like.

Personal.

Like normally I'm like, oh, I'm gonna get whatever I need to business wise from these conferences.

But like that particular one, I got what I needed on a personal level, and that was like around the mold stuff.

So I met, I don't remember if I met you first or the other girl that I met, but she and she happened to work for a law firm who helps people.

With getting out of moldy homes and getting out of the lease and all that kind of stuff.

So it was just like very synchronistic.

Totally.

I remember you telling me you met her.

Yes.

Yeah.

That's really cool.

yeah, so I met you guys and I ended up at lunch next to you.

It was like a big group of us that ended up sitting together at lunch.

And I sat right next to you and we started talking, and I like, was like, oh yeah, I just had this like gmap test done.

So for the listeners, do you wanna go into like what those tests are and I, I don't know like how we should like jump around in this, but basically I had already knew that I was dealing with the mold and I had connected with another like, nutritionist online and had these tests ordered.

but I hadn't like locked in, like actually working with them, it was like their initial process was you pay for the test, you get the results back, and then we go through them and then you can like work together or whatever.

So I hadn't like locked in working with them.

I literally just got the test results back, like right before I got there.

Yeah, And you, we were talking and you offered to just like read them and interpret them for me and I was like, this is amazing.

yeah, yeah.

Um, over lunch.

that was a really bad business model on their part 'cause.

Yeah.

locked you in before they ordered the test, but I digress.

But yeah, we were sitting there and you're like, no, I have this GI Map test and I have this mycotoxin test.

And I was like, give it here.

I was like, do you have the results?

Let me see these.

Because I know I'm, I think I'm just protective of women like so many practitioners.

We'll prey on people that are not feeling well to just sell you like a thousand supplements or here's this really expensive protocol, sometimes it helps and sometimes it doesn't.

But you just dropped like five grand.

Yeah.

So that's why even though I had just met you, I was like, oh my gosh, she's living in mold.

She's a mom, she's a business owner.

You know?

I was like, here, let me help you.

And just to see like what insight I could give you and you know, offer a little, a little help from whatever I could do.

Yeah.

yeah, it was never my intention to like steal you as a client or anything.

It was more just like, Hey, we're at lunch, you're telling me your story.

Like, yeah, I'd be happy to look at your test results, Yeah.

I'm the same way.

I love helping people.

Like when I go to networking events, I'm like, tell me what's going on with your business.

Like, how can I help?

Like, I don't know, it's just.

We have these gifts and we don't always have to like We, we don't have to sell them, exactly.

Like just serving is, and I mean, and it works wonders because I was like, well, now I know exactly like how you operate and like, I know you get me, you understand you're a woman.

This other provider was a male.

No shade at all, but like.

It is just different working with them.

Like someone who understands you as a mom, as a business owner, like all these, factors.

And we just really connected.

And you live in the Phoenix area and it's like we're in the same time zone, Right.

Yeah.

so it was like easier.

So yeah, we,, connected that way and and then I ended up signing on with you as like one of your one-on-one clients.

And now we are, let's see, it's September.

So I think, when did we start working together in January?

It was before I actually moved out, but I had been, I had just gotten word when I got to, like right before that event, I had just gotten word that my offer was accepted on the house that I was buying.

So I knew there was an end in site and I was like, all this stuff was happening all at once.

And so we start, I think we started working together in around January.

'cause I was still living in that house and we, you helped me figure out a protocol of like how to support it, to support my body while I was still living there.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Um.

uhoh.

so yeah, that was really helpful.

And then, yeah, and then we were still working together when I moved.

into my new home and stuff.

So, yeah, it's been just like a huge blessing to have met you and to be, be able to work with you and to honestly like to have the means to work with.

View one-on-one has also, like I've been, I'm still in the process of working with that law firm and like gathering documentation.

And like the other day, like not that long ago, maybe a week or two ago, I sat down and actually compiled all of the expenses.

I am sure it added up.

knew it was gonna be a lot, but I was like, dang, it would be really nice to get paid back for all of this.

Yeah.

Yeah.

It's wild.

I mean, and, and you can't even get paid the, the stress that you were going through navigating all of this.

'cause it wasn't just you, Serena, it was your kids too, Yeah.

And they're still having, I mean, my kids are also still having lasting symptoms from it.

so yeah, I guess let's start with, there's a couple things that played into, like.

Getting to this point with my health, but like I've generally been like a very healthy person.

And that's what, that was one of the like alarming things that for me that was like, my kids aren't usually the type to, to get sick.

I am not usually the type to get sick, but as soon as we moved into that house.

All of us were getting sick like frequently, like every month.

Yeah.

my kids were missing days upon days of school every month.

And I even took them to the doctor and was like, is this normal?

They're missing a lot of school.

And they're like, oh yeah, that's normal for school aged children.

I'm like, that's not normal for, like, I have a, a much older child.

She never missed school for being sick.

Yeah.

It's not like they're in preschool or something, it was out of control.

And so it was like.

Okay.

And then I got like bronchitis in the middle of the summer and lost like two thirds of my hair and that.

what I remember at our conversation at lunch.

I remember you bringing up the hair.

Yeah.

And that's what those two events like are what really like, sent me over the edge to like look deeper.

I was like, there's something in this environment and I had been going through like life stuff and so I just chalked it all up to stress, right?

Because that, and that's what the doctors would say.

You're just stressed, you're going through a lot right now.

You moved, you're.

And you know, you left a relationship, blah, blah, blah.

Like it's just stress.

And I was like, okay.

Like, and we believe it, right?

Because that can, and I, I run a business, I have three kids.

Like there's a lot going on.

Of course it could probably be stress, but it was stress and an environmental factor.

Exactly.

Yeah.

Yeah.

'cause I work with women that are stressed out all the time.

Right.

Stress is super depleting.

I look at their minerals, I look at all kinds of things to kind of build them back up.

Then you add mold on top of that, and that's just a whole nother level.

That's why I was like, Serena, I don't know how you were functioning.

I, I know.

how are you momming and doing the business and the podcasts and the this and the I was barely, at that point, I really was barely functioning.

I have a team, so they were heavily supporting me and and I was really, like, there were, there were spurts where I would have enough energy to do things like, for example, BBD Live.

I knew going to that, I was like, I know I need to be here, so I'm gonna make it happen.

But I know I'm gonna pay for it on the backend.

When I get home, I'm gonna be in bed for a week Yeah, yeah.

Right?

I was Yeah.

so, I made a lot of sacrifices like that where I was like, okay, if I wanna do this, I know I'm gonna pay for it.

So I have to make sure.

That I have the systems set up on the other end to support me and like I don't have calls, I don't have things that are needed of me, other than my kids.

And even with them, like they're a little older now, so they're able to like get their own snacks and stuff like that.

But yeah, I was barely functioning Yeah.

Yeah.

So yeah, let's talk about the, the stress.

So if someone's listening and they're like, I, I'm, I know I don't have a mold issue or whatever, so I don't really wanna hear about that, but there is something that y'all should be listening about and that is stress and burnout and what it can do to your body.

Yeah, so if you remember Serena, we obviously did like the mold protocol, the push catch, all that kind of a liver detox.

then when you were done with that, I was like, Serena, I really need to test your minerals, Yeah.

right?

I was like, it's time because beyond mold, I knew you were a mom, you were a business owner, you were going through a lot, and just burning that candle at both ends.

still normal stress involved here.

And stress is so depleting.

It depletes our minerals.

And minerals really run the show when it comes to your biochemistry, your metabolism, your thyroid health, your adrenal health, like your, your brain, your mental clarity, everything.

So that's usually the first thing I wanna look at is someone's mineral patterns and what's being used up, what's being depleted, what's in excess if they're taking supplements.

But stress also depletes your protein.

And protein is needed for hair, skin, nails, organs, tissues, muscle building for everything, right?

So I think people don't realize that too.

It's like we need to be eating more protein and being mindful of that when you're stressed out and then replenishing those minerals because they deplete so quickly.

especially women.

Yeah.

just burn through them so, so fast.

Yeah.

And so talk about the relationship between, 'cause I know there's a lot floating around online right now.

I came across, I've been coming across these like Instagram memes of like, you've been sorted into one of four houses like Harry Potter, but like.

Yes, house is like the midlife mom, right?

Midlife woman of like, one house is like, you're a plant mom.

Now one house is like, you're focusing on your protein Yes.

lifting weight.

training Yeah.

Yes.

But let's talk about like why that is extra important for a woman in midlife.

So pretty much at like 30 we start slowly losing muscle and slowly, I hate to say we start falling apart, but we start to, go into more of a breakdown phase of life versus a building phase, right?

Like our children are in that building phase, they're growing, they're still very, much.

their bodies, but around 30 we start to break down.

when we hit 40 perimenopause and then we get even a hormonal shift that starts exacerbating that, you start losing muscle that much faster.

So that's why not only do you have to strength train even to just maintain, like some women, I don't even focus on building.

I'm like, let's just maintain what we have.

But you have to be eating sufficient protein to help that maintenance as well.

And then like I just mentioned, the stress depletes the protein.

So not only are your hormones shifting, you're in your forties or fifties now.

You have this greater, , stress level at this age that is breaking things down even faster.

Okay.

So it's really a combination.

Like some women, I know they're in that like sandwich generation, like they've got older parents they have to care about, but they also still have children they have to care about.

So they're really stretched both ways.

Plus they're trying to figure out their own, own stuff going on, um, and all the other things that come with adulting.

So the stress level's high.

themselves is often low, right?

Not a lot of women, whether you're a mom or not, just I think women in general don't prioritize themselves enough.

So I see women like, oh, I just had, you know, string cheese and some crackers, and that was my lunch.

And I'm like, that's not a lunch, and it's not enough protein, right?

That's me.

Like, yeah, just had peanut butter and some apples and you know, off I went and I'm like, okay, that's a great snack.

So what did you eat for lunch?

So that was my lunch.

so I think women in general, like, especially when we're busy, we just don't prioritize that kind of stuff.

Right.

Yeah.

and I know the thought of like counting macros and weighing your food like that feels really daunting for a lot of women.

I don't really make them do that, but, just being more aware of what does 30 grams of protein look like.

Yeah.

let's, let's talk about that for a minute.

Like, what does that look like?

How much, you know.

can you get that at every meal every day?

Right?

That's kind of what I map out.

Like in your case, Serena, because we had to really bring the inflammation down for you, which that's a whole nother piece we could talk about too.

But, inflammation was really keeping you feeling amazing.

Like even after clearing out some of that mold, you were still very inflamed.

So that's why we had to like, pull out the gluten, the dairy, all those things for a little while.

So again, having someone to help you map that out is so key, Yeah.

Yeah, absolutely.

That was so helpful, especially because your approach was.

Not just like, here's a new meal plan.

It was like, what do you currently normally eat and feed your kids?

That's not going to, how can we just modify what you're already doing so it's not gonna disrupt and like completely change how you're operating because that's just a recipe for failure to.

And that's what I see most practitioners do, unfortunately, especially like naturopaths or functional doctors.

They're not dieticians, right?

So they just say, Hey, Serena, here's your, you know, go gluten-free, dairy free.

See you in three months, bye.

you're like, what does that mean?

How do I do that?

So that's where I've.

Really, really like take it upon myself to walk you through, like, what do you have for breakfast?

Okay, let's tweak this and this.

What do you guys have for lunch?

What do your kids eat?

What do you eat?

Right?

Let's do this and this.

So I try to make it as easy as possible for people.

that was like such a game changer for me because there's no way I would've stuck with it otherwise Yeah.

I would've.

Yeah.

You're like, we eat pasta and cheese every day.

What do you mean nolu?

No dairy.

What are you talking Yeah.

It's like, And which is like, it's crazy now.

I've gotten so used to finding the substitutes or just cutting certain things out.

That, and it, I started feeling so much better that I was like, it's, I don't even wanna add it back.

And then I, I have added certain things back and then I feel the difference.

So I'm like, okay, still not time.

Still not time.

I mean, you're also a special case because of the mold.

Yeah.

that mold can stay in your body for a long time.

It can take a long time to clear it.

It's not like a one and done situation.

Yeah.

Remember I told you when we first started working together, I'm like, this could probably take a year, Serena.

Right?

I was pretty honest Yeah.

you're not gonna just bounce back in two months.

This is gonna take time.

Yeah.

Um, but for my non mold clients, like usually by the three month mark, they're feeling, uh.

Completely, you know, like a different person.

Yeah.

energy's better, they're sleeping better, their mood is better.

so many things improve from there.

Yeah, I, I noticed that pretty much, there definitely was like a big jump of improvement when I just moved into a different environment Yeah, and then like continued the process.

There's days where it does kind of catch up with me again, but they're fewer and farther between.

but one thing that's still.

It's an issue and you probably witnessed it earlier when we were talking.

I was like, I was thinking of something and it totally escaped me.

Like the brain fog and like the inability to like recall words and remember certain things.

That shit has not gone away.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And it's hard 'cause How old are you now?

Serena?

38, I'll be 39 this year.

39.

Okay.

You're like just barely starting that perimenopause phase of life, which happens to now piggyback this whole mold situation.

sometimes even hormonal shifts in women can cause that memory Yeah.

temporary, right?

People think they're going through, like, they're gonna have dementia at 40.

I'm like, no, it's just hormone shifts.

but yeah, you lose, you lose your, your.

Cognition a little bit your memory, and it's just because your brain is also recalibrating sometimes to those hormone fluctuations.

Interesting.

Well, that's, so it's hard to tell with you if it's a mold, byproduct that's still hanging out, lingering, mm-hmm.

it's like your hormones are starting to shift Yeah.

you're creep into 40.

Yeah.

So.

So, we kind of brushed over the mold stuff.

Can you talk about.

Why, like how mold can affect your, like the why.

Why am I working with a nutritionist instead of a doctor on this?

Yeah, good question.

mold, I mean.

Not everyone is super sensitive to mold.

Let's just start Yeah.

Some people have mold in their home and they barely have symptoms.

That doesn't mean it's good for you, but they're just processing it better.

Some people like you, Serena, are very sensitive to mold.

It has to do one with how just your genetics as well.

Like how well do you detox?

How well is your liver able to process it?

How well is your body able to clear it?

Your body was not able to clear it very well.

So for you it was accumulating, you know, in your body, the toxins, the mold, toxins.

It's not like you have mold growing in your body.

to clarify that, it's the, the toxins that the molds produce that your body can't keep up with.

So.

Your body, especially your liver, needs a lot of detox support and that's where.

I could show you a list that I had, but needs so many vitamins, minerals, amino acids, you know, phytonutrients, antioxidants, all of these things are, that are related to nutrition in order to function and process well.

So giving you, you know, doctors can't give you a prescription to detox mold Right.

there's.

Nothing exists like that.

Right?

So it was more like, okay, step one, we have to get you out of that environment.

Or at least try to clean up that environment as much as possible, Mm-hmm.

the filters and stuff like that.

Yeah.

And then supporting your body to clear it as efficiently as possible.

when I met you, I think your liver was just overwhelmed.

You were getting a lot of those kind of toxic symptoms.

like a lot of nasal stuff, you know, people get headaches, they get the brain fog, like they just feel very toxic.

Yeah, it was, clearing it.

yeah, just for the listener, my symptoms were.

A lot of like respiratory stuff.

Like I said, I got bronchitis, but then I continued to have like, but even before and after that I was like, I was constantly in an allergic reaction.

And part of that is also because the, the particular mold that was growing.

And circulating in the air in my home was penicillium, which I'm actually allergic to penicillin, and that's derived from that mold.

So it was like a compounding effect of like, I was literally in a allergic response and my body wasn't able to like detox because of my genetics and all of that.

So, those were heavy symptoms.

Skin.

I was getting like eczema patches all over, you know, my face and my body and like then the hair loss and, brain fog was a big one.

My migraines were out of control.

Normally, I, I will only get a migraine maybe once a month, you know, around my cycle, but now I don't.

Now I haven't even gotten any since I've been out of, maybe I've had like one since I moved out and I was getting them like weekly there.

And if anyone has a migraine, you know how debilitating that can be.

It's like, it's not just the day of the migraine, it's like a migraine hangover the next day and like it's just.

Yeah.

And it's hard when you have kids because they don't care how loud they are.

Yep.

Um, and everything's magnified.

those were some of the major symptoms.

Brain fog, depression, like, it was just, they're, they're weird symptoms that not everybody gets the same symptoms either, like, so it's hard to diagnose.

And you brought up a good point, Serena, about, You were living in a, like an allergenic environment basically.

even I get clients who may not have mold, but they still have really high histamine levels from the stress in their life, the food they're eating, you know, environmental things.

And again, it goes back to supporting your liver, clearing all of that 'cause.

broken down in the liver.

Okay.

even though I was trying to clear mold for you, we were also helping your histamine levels to come down too.

Got it.

So yeah, people just think, oh, I have allergies all the time, and I just have to live with it.

Or my doctor gives me an allergy shot, and I'm like, your liver is screaming at you and you're Yeah.

like you're not detoxing.

And so histamine is just accumulating Yeah.

Interesting.

Yeah.

Yeah, so I don't know where we were in that conversation.

Speaking of brain fog.

Um, but yeah, those were, those were kind of my symptoms.

and then because of that also, like, correct me if I'm wrong, I've done, you know, a lot of like listening and reading and, and stuff around this because I've been dealing with it.

But, one of the things that alerted me to that it was possibly.

Some sort of environmental, factor was I had gone to get blood work done and, with my, primary provider and like, they were like, okay, you're low in like vitamin D and zinc and some other like things that.

I, you know, needed to start supporting.

And so I did that and like religiously took my vitamins between for like four to five months.

Went back for blood work and virtually hardly any of it had changed.

And so my.

Provider was like, well, this could indicate an absorption issue.

And I was like, what is absorption issue?

Google, please tell me like, like what causes absorption issues?

And that's when like the mold thing started coming up too.

So how does that, is that related to the liver and the detoxing thing or is it a different.

It is in indirectly.

So because your body was trying so hard to clear this mold, you were using up those resources very quickly.

I was saying like stress is depleting, but also having to clear toxins all the time is super depleting.

So, like for example, when I run a mineral test, I can see where.

person's mineral levels are like, are you burning through them right now or are you already on the other side of that where you're completely depleted?

Hmm.

if you are already depleted in certain minerals and your doctor's like here, just take some, if your dose wasn't high enough, it was just basically keeping you like at the same place because you were burning just as much as you were taking Versus saying you need, you know, when I put you on certain minerals after we did your mineral test, I was like, you need like 500 milligrams of this not 100.

Yeah.

you know, like sometimes you have to go to very therapeutic levels to replenish and really support your body.

Yeah.

again, depends what the person is going through, how quickly they're, they're burning through those things.

But Yeah.

you were definitely using it up.

And this is one of those things that like, I encourage anyone listening, like if you are feeling like depleted or, and we'll get into probably adrenal fatigue and what that looks like in a minute.

But if you're feeling depleted, don't just self.

diagnose or self-medicate, quote unquote by like going to your pharmacy and just getting some, like multivitamins because the stuff off the shelf really, like even the stuff that you were prescribing me, I couldn't get any of that locally.

Like I have.

You have to order some of it online when it's at those higher levels that you need.

So number one, like get the tests done and work with someone that can help you.

Figure out what you actually need so you're not wasting money.

That was the other thing.

I was wasting money on supplements, trying to help myself with what I had been learning about mold and all of that.

But every, but everybody's different Yeah.

People waste a lot of money either on their own trying to figure it out, or going to like a really expensive practitioner who's almost, sometimes they're really expensive and still not that effective.

Right?

Like you have to be careful kind of who you work with, I guess.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Just like, just like any profession.

like any professional, right?

Yes.

Yeah.

So, that brings us to like the adrenal.

fatigue.

Like what is that?

What is that and what does that look like in people?

So if you ask your regular doctor or conventional practitioner, they're gonna tell you it's not real.

yet when you talk to women who are.

Really tired and can't get outta bed, they're gonna be like, hell yeah, this is real.

Yeah.

so adrenal fatigue just means that you've been in a high stress state for a really long time and you've already pumped out all the cortisol and basically you're on that back end of it now, where your adrenal glands are so tired and exhausted that they can't even pump cortisol out anymore.

So your cortisol is now flatlined.

Cortisol serves a purpose.

Like we do need a little jolt of cortisol in the mornings to give us that morning.

You know, that, that feeling of being awake and that pep in our step and let's get our day going.

So when you don't have that in the morning, you are like, I just wanna go back to bed, or I can't even get out of bed of feeling.

Right.

So, adrenal fatigue is real.

your adrenal glands are also really sensitive to minerals.

So most of the women that are the most tired or have adrenal fatigue, crave a lot of salt.

And that's 'cause your adrenals burn up.

Sodium.

When we're stressed, our body actually will try to retain some of that sodium because we're just using it up.

So much.

So that's when you get like water retention, people cortisol face, that kind of stuff.

But it's just your body trying to retain salt.

'cause it knows the adrenal glands are gonna need more of it.

salt your food, put salt in your water if you're a high stress person,'cause you probably need salt.

and then magnesium is the other mineral that gets used up by those adrenal glands.

So for my really high stress clients, I'm like, here's your magnesium supplement.

Add some salt to your food, your water, et cetera.

Those are the two minerals that I recommend the most for adrenal fatigue.

How does, because I know one of the things that you had me, do like religiously and I still do it, is electrolytes.

Yes, So how does that play into things and how important.

um, the one I gave you specifically was really high in potassium.

And then I have you add a little extra sodium or a little pinch of salt to it.

but potassium and sodium are like the little gatekeepers of your cells.

They're the ones that say, Hey, nutrients can come in, or hormones can come in, or certain things can't.

regulate what goes in and out of your cells.

So when you're really low in sodium or potassium, you're gonna be a mess.

Like you might feel like you have thyroid issues, but you don't, your thyroid looks normal, or you're really tired because you're not getting the nutrients or even the glucose or the sugar into your cells because nothing, you know, there is no gatekeeper to let it in.

so I really also emphasize potassium, sodium, I should say potassium, sodium, and magnesium for most women.

a lot of women tell me, but I eat bananas every day.

You know, isn't that potassium?

And usually my response is, we need closer to 4,000 milligrams a day.

And your banana's about 400.

Wow.

So one banana's great.

Like I'm not gonna take away the banana, but we need to a lot more potassium sources to that, and it can get overwhelming.

So that's where electrolytes just.

it in a little quicker and at Yeah.

Yeah.

easier if you can pop it in your water then you're still eating avocado or bananas or potatoes or tomatoes or whatever that has potassium in it.

I eat a lot of potatoes now because I'm also still not really doing gluten.

Occasionally I'll have, like, I save up my, gluten.

It's one of those things I'm like, I know if I do it, I'm gonna pay for it.

So like I save it up for stuff that like really matters to me or if like, I'm gonna go out and I know that like.

There's something on the menu I really want.

like the other day I was like, I am, I used up my, my gluten dollars on a tortilla, but it was really good.

It was good.

Yes, it was worth it.

but yeah, I'm still, yeah, I still do a, a lot of, I do electrolytes every day and, um, and I'm it's so simple potatoes.

a magnesium supplement, an electrolyte powder that's high in potassium, you gotta check the ones you're buying.

Um, Yeah.

Don't do liquid people IV has like nothing in and it's just sugar.

yes.

And then people love Element, element T, which is all salt, it's all sodium.

It has very little potassium in it.

again, it depends, like this is where I like to test someone and then tell them what they need and which ones are best for them.

But.

The one I recommend the most is called Potassium cocktail, Yeah.

and that's the one I think you have Mm-hmm.

that one's really high in potassium.

And then it's easy to just add a pinch of sea salt to balance out the salt potassium level in it.

Yeah.

but if someone loves Element and they're super like on board with Element, then I just have a mix it with coconut water and that will Okay.

level up So awesome.

That's good to know.

adjustments.

Right.

Either way.

doesn't have to be complicated.

but yeah, I think women really benefit from just taking, like I said, an electrolyte powder of some sort every day, a magnesium supplement every day.

And then the rest of it, I, I'd say we test and not guess what's Yeah.

Yeah, absolutely.

I always, I also religiously take my magnesium because if I don't, I'm like, I get restless legs also, and that tends to help.

So anyone listening, if you like, can't fall asleep at night because you feel like your legs itch and you just need to move.

That's restless legs.

I don't know how else you explain it.

It's weird.

It's almost painful.

and it's very mineral related yeah.

So, okay.

So if someone is listening and they're like, oh my gosh, I need Dario's, Ella's help with all of my things that I'm going through, and all that, what do you have going on?

How can people get in contact with you?

How can they work with you?

yes.

So, one of the things I have going on right now is called a midlife wellness audit, where basically I have you fill out my assessment form, like the same one you filled out Serena.

And then I send you a video going over your assessment form with everything, like what you're eating, your meds, your supplements, and I give you my 2 cents, my feedback on it what I would recommend.

So that way.

It's only 57 bucks, and you can see kind of what my recommendations would be, how I work, how my brain works when I'm looking at it and playing detective and putting it all together.

And then you can decide if you wanna jump into something bigger and do some additional testing, or if you're like, you know what, she's not for me.

Yeah.

only out 57 bucks.

Yeah.

But, Highly worth it.

Go get your wellness audit done, just to have the understanding of what's going on with your body.

If that's all you do, at least you then have information.

Because a lot of people dunno where to start.

They don't know what they need to do.

they don't know if they should go to their doctor or a naturopath or if they need to run tests.

So it's like, okay, 57 bucks.

I'll look through everything that you send me and give you my, my feedback on it.

Yeah, such a deal.

Yeah.

And where can people connect with you online?

nutrition for perimenopause on Instagram.

And then my website is sara vita nutrition.com.

If they wanna check out, you know, all night, my full bio and everything else, you can go to my website.

Cool.

We'll link all of that in the show notes.

Thank you so much for coming on.

I know we had to reschedule once or twice.

I really appreciate you.

Summer was crazy.

Summer, summer's always crazy.

But yeah, make sure you guys connect with Darella and you again for coming on.

this has been fun.

Thank you so much.

Talk to you soon.