Episode 16: The Importance of Diet for Chronic Pain
Transcript…
In this episode, you will learn:
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Foods you want to stay away from
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Foods that help reduce inflammation
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Foods/supplements that have an analgesic effect
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How to bring awareness to what you are already eating and how it impacts your body
Episode 16: The Importance of Diet for Chronic Pain
Katie: This is the pain changer podcast episode 16. They say you are what you eat. I’m not sure that’s true. Or I would be something between a sweet potato and a marshmallow. If so, what I do know is that the impact of diet and chronic pain is absolutely mind blowing. Today’s guest is going to tell us all about it. You won’t want to miss this one.
Katie: Joining me today is Coral Simpson. Coral is in southern Utah and as a mother of two teens…talk about stress. She is a lifelong knowledge seeker and is passionate about expanding her understanding of how to be a better human. She is an integrative nutrition, health coach and cognitive movement level two practitioner. Both modalities truly focused on the individual as unique and not a one size fits all. She loves sharing about how food is one of the main catalysts for mind body health. Welcome to the pain changer podcast, Coral, I am so excited to have you join me today.
Coral Simpson 1:28
Yes, Katie, thank you so much. Me too. I’m here and ready to go.
Katie Wrigley 1:33
I know I get to work with you all the time. You’re one of my favorites to do trades with and everything. And I learned so much from you. Every time we do a session whether I’m practitioner, you’re practitioner, the way that we just start flowing together. So I am so excited to have you come on to the show today to share a lot of your knowledge with the audience.
Coral Simpson 1:53
Oh, yes. Thank you, Katie. And I ditto. I’ll just say ditto, the flow is there.
Katie Wrigley 1:59
So would you mind telling us a little bit about yourself and how you became interested in nutrition and in fact, the movement?
Coral Simpson 2:06
Yeah. So I actually started with cancer. So 12 years ago, when my son was born, I had a rare form of cancer called cutaneous lymphoma. Anaplastic large cell lymphoma, and it was cutaneous. Anyways, I underwent chemotherapy. And in that path, I gave all my power to the doctor to save me, I wanted them, anything and everything went with whatever they said. But halfway through the chemo treatments, I certainly had some anxiety attacks and some different issues because my body was literally like “no more”. You know what, so it was leading me to do my own research. So I was researching, but I was more Carl’s Jr, woman. And that’s who I was before was like, why you go like, I just want what I want, and for you to give me this. So anyway. And I never put a thought to any of this. And so I started really getting into food, I started looking at the effects of food and herbs and different things on how to build my immune system. And it just led me down a path to where I ended up becoming a health coach later on after I went through the healing journey, but I switched from regular processed foods to organic foods, I started reading labels on foods, and if you can’t pronounce it, you probably shouldn’t eat it. You know, all sorts of things. And what I found is I did end up with five rounds of chemotherapy, but I think I did so well. One, positive mindset but two because I did switch. I started juicing, which you’re very familiar with. And I did a 14 day juice, detox basically, during that time, and the way I felt doing that, I knew I might there’s something here, you know, there’s a link of how we feel and what we’re putting in and, and what I eat, you know, anyways, I’ll go down tangents, but that is really the base of where I got started into how food affects our bodies and in mind, and from there in 2015. I got into the school Integrative Nutrition for Health health coach, I can’t say correctly. But anyways, that is a whole body approach is Mind Body spiritual. It’s not just, there isn’t a one way. In fact, we had to try all these different diets that are out there, there’s hundreds and we had one of the assignments is you just keep trying these different ones. So we actually know what the experience is like. And what you find is there isn’t one diet, there isn’t one way of eating. Each person really is unique. And there are commonalities there are general rules, but the base is really that so that’s kind of how I got into the food aspect.
Katie Wrigley 5:04
I think that was awesome. And actually, you brought up another question. But before I go to the question, I love what you said there is, it’s not one diet fits all. So Atkins won’t work for everybody. Keto won’t work for everybody. Doing a balance won’t work for everybody. Like it’s, it’s going to vary person to person, which is why having someone who is in tune is so important to help guide you, you know, and learning to be in tune with your own body so you can guide yourself.
Coral Simpson 5:34
Most important is that and that is what it is, is we want everything fast, right? We want the answer right now. And that’s what I want. Give me the pill. But that’s not it. It is about experience experimenting, it is about checking things out in your body, it’s about removing things and then putting them back in. It’s about just the possibility that you have the power like you’re saying to heal yourself. And I firmly believe we do. And I, I yeah, I think you do as well.
Katie Wrigley 6:01
Yes, absolutely. I mean, we’re both proof of that. So I want to go back to what you touched on initially. So you were diagnosed with cancer during your pregnancy with your son.
Coral Simpson 6:14
But yes, I was. No, take it back. I had cancer during the pregnancy with my Son. One month after he was born is when I got the diagnosis. And so that was traumatizing because I was an advocate for nursing. And so one month after he was born is when I was to start because they start you on chemo right away. It’s like we got to get you in. So I was only able to nurse him for one month. There was a mess. That’s a train wreck time in my life. But yeah, it was very intense. And there’s a lot there. I keep saying that. But that’s true.
Katie Wrigley 6:51
Well, and I want to touch on like what a lot is. So your daughter is older than your son. Right. So this was your second pregnancy or do I have them reversed with your kids?
Coral Simpson 7:00
No, you’re correct. Okay. Selena my daughter. Yeah.
Katie Wrigley 7:05
You had a toddler, a newborn, a husband, and cancer. Yep. That’s a lot.
Coral Simpson 7:12
It was a lot. And it’s, however, we all know, it has led me to here. I wouldn’t be here in this mindset and in view of the life that we have, if that had not occurred. So I you know, but there’s but yes, it was one of the most stressful times I can ever say in my life. You know, you’re facing death. Sure, just a little thing, you know?
Katie Wrigley 7:39
That or getting on stage. Yep. Those are equally scary to people.
Coral Simpson 7:42
Yeah. And that your children might not have you as a mother. And then it was a control of the leap for sure. And, but it did empower me to become my own advocate. In the healthcare system, I took back my health myself, using allopathic and holistic, you know, like, I am not saying you wouldn’t go that route, but I learned, they’re human. They make mistakes, you know, all that, because the end of that part of chemo is that I ended up flying to New York to see a specialist because the cancer is rare. And there’s a specialist there. John Hopkins, anyhow, I was advised to cease chemo because it actually wasn’t necessary. So it was too aggressive for what I had. So I ended up finishing the cancer that was on my skin cutaneous with radiation. And to my leg is the last lesion that I had. And so it was, that’s where the wakeup came. But,, my family that, you know, it also taught me, Katie, and is to accept help. And even though I still have, you know, we always have barriers, and I still have some probably helped barriers. But so many people just want to be able to assist in some way, and allowing people to deliver meals, allowing people to come in even clean, there were so many beautiful acts of service that our family received. And it was, it was an amazing time two is the worst and stressful, but it was also very amazing of where the human spirit and what others are wanting to do what we want to do to assist each other. You know,
Katie Wrigley 9:25
I love all of that the fact that you took one of the most stress or the most stressful time and your words, and you were able to find beauty in it, even as it’s going on with all these compassionate people that wanted to help you. And that that’s a testament to your mindset and really being able to take you know, what one could only really look at as a giant pile of shit and turning it into this beautiful outcome. And so how many years are you cancer free now, Coral?
Coral Simpson 9:54
Oh, geez. Well, I’m 12.
Katie Wrigley 10:00
Whoo, nice!
Coral Simpson 10:02
I know because my son is 12.
Katie Wrigley 10:03
Easy to count. Right?
Coral Simpson 10:05
You know, you go five years with a lot of checkups and oh my gosh, you just become a specimen really, you’re always going in you know. And so now I don’t do that, but I’m not advising you not to. But if I had I would if I felt my body was telling me to. But I take care of myself now to the point, mind body that I don’t even know, that fear’s not even there. Like it’s not even a question in my mind. Not to say it’s impossible. But I’m pretty good
Katie Wrigley 10:36
Nice. And as we know, there’s a lot of emotional links, but we will cover that in a different episode. Right? So happy for you that you were able to take this time in your life and make something beautiful from it. You know, and a lot of your story resonates with me like I too, have really taken control and become my own health advocate. And what that looked like with health care costs is I went from maxing out my health care for five years, which is not a good feeling. People are like oh, you give free health care. No, I paid for it the first two months of the year, it wasn’t free. I just had two months to pay for it instead of 12. But this is not free. This is max out of pocket has been hit, boys and girls. That’s not free. That’s a big expense in a short time. But I’ve gone, I have a physical in two weeks, because a yearly checkup and I’m so excited because I think it’s going to show I’m healthier than I’ve ever been. And then I have someone that watches my hemochromatosis. It’s the end of March. I can’t tell you the last, I think it was maybe 2006 was the last time I’ve gone this long in between doctor’s visits to a point my doctor doesn’t know me like the back of their hand when I walk in. And it’s beautiful. Yes, that’s amazing. taking ownership and saying what can I do empowering ourselves. So I love that. I love that you were able to do that for yourself, too. So what are some foods I want to keep this talk on on diet and everything that you’re able to directly help people with today? What are some foods that people in pain want to absolutely avoid at all costs.
Coral Simpson 12:16
So again, with a one size fits all, the one thing that I absolutely can say without a doubt, because we’ll go into a little bit more expanding on this. But it’s Sugar, sugar, refined sugar, there used to defend it be like but it brings joy and and yes, everything. So I don’t want to be where somebody is militant about it. Because we can do things gradually, we do things, everything if we do it in an easy way of tapering off and switching in alternative adding in things like fruit, and then maybe switching from straight white sugar to refined sugar to honey. Or if you can’t stand honey, then stevia, stevia or you know, there’s so many things now out there. But the refined sugar is a massive inflammation in the body, it is hard on the gut lining. You can see the effects, I see it in my children, I don’t need to show me that if they eat a lot of sugar, their brain is totally different and their mood is totally different. And then their cravings are totally different. And the way they are energy is totally different. So that’s sugar is my one answer for sure.
Katie Wrigley 13:29
And I hope you weren’t going to say that because you know, there’s also like you said there’s Oh, you know, there’s also a psychological factor was sugar and it’s highly addictive. So you know, you mentioned juicing a while ago. So I did a 30 day juice fast at the start of this year and it has completely reset my taste buds and it is on April 10 Will mark, today’s March 31. Just so we can put this in time for everybody. So in 10 more days, it will be 60 days after the juice fast. My weight is still the same, I gained like two pounds back which I don’t even count that as gaining it back. And I’m still eating on a bad day. 50% vegetables on a good day I eat 100% vegetables. And it’s nice now and the few times where I’ve indulged in sugar. Oh, I feel it, you feel the toxicity of it and you want more and more and more immediately.It’s like as soon as it goes down, it’s like, I want more. I want more.
Coral Simpson 14:32
Oh, you go and think about it. People you know, you can eat a whole three slices of the cake well in you can’t do that you couldn’t but I mean somebody when you get you keep going on this trail and you can eat these massive amounts and it’s the brain wanting the release, you know, once the good feeling good chemicals and it’s suppressing that your body is beyond full. Yeah, so yeah, it’s a tricky thing. And there is the benefit of sharing and a birthday cake celebration or something like that you’re saying, but we can all just have a little piece. In fact, let me give you a little tidbit. If you took the size of Andy’s meant that they give you a nice, I’m not condoning that either, but you took a piece of cake, or, or whatever it is, and you took 33 bites of that. I mean, this is tiny, like little teeny teeny bites, you will be satiated. Now, the trick is to stop your brain before you take the big bite. But if you can do that, you can still enjoy that little bit, your body’s going to be able to assimilate whatever, and you’re going to get the joy from it. So that’s just one thing to do immediately, is take tiny, tiny bites of these things that they love that they can’t say no to, and see, try 33 and see if you can control it to a bite.
Katie Wrigley 15:53
Wow, that is amazing. I’m totally going to try that. I hadn’t heard that before. Thank you for sharing that.
Coral Simpson 15:59
Yea, just try it. Try it once and see. There’s no harm either way.
Katie Wrigley 16:04
Yeah, I’ll wait for my next sugar craving to kick up because it’ll come again. It’s just what I decide to do with it the same as all of us can decide in the moment what to do with it, you know, but you made a good point as being militant is going to do the reverse of what you’re actually trying to do with diet shifts, being militant is going to make you feel restricted. And in like you’re deprived, which is going to make you seek out the food that is the worst for you. So as you’re making these changes, do it slowly, one food at a time. And you can also do it in moderation. Like a great example. So I also am a sugar addict. But if I don’t watch myself, and I decided last week since I’ve been so good on diet, I’m like I really want something to treat myself. What I wound up getting are these dark chocolate covered blueberries that have a little bit of cane sugar that are added into them. But it has the benefit of the blueberry. It has the benefit of the dark chocolate, and I got a small container versus the king sized Snickers that would have been before like I deserve this. And then I undo everything healthy. I did for myself all that one giant, gluttonous, delicious, amazing candy bar that is wreaking havoc on my body.
Coral Simpson 17:19
So true. Yeah, no. And that is the thing is it is just tapering off. And what you do when you add in like you added in the 30 day 30 day juice fast. But you don’t even have to do that. If you start adding in more vegetables in your day as my leafy greens, you start adding in bitter things that are a little bitter. I mean, it’s weird too, because it depends on your sugar level. It’s hard like, it tastes terrible. But if you can just put your mind on just doing a little bit just adding that in, you will turn off the cravings, more you will turn off that need for it because the body does and what we start our day with matters. Yeah, if we start with a doughnut, guess what, watch your whole day. If you do that, you watch what you go through that day, you are going to have more sweet cravings than you ever had. If you start today with a nice glass of warm lemon water, not that other people would say it’s nice, but I do, you’re going to have a whole different frame. If you can even have a veggie soup or you know just something that’s savory, your day’s going to be different than if you started with something that’s going to turn to sugar in your body fat, or sugar straight up.
Katie Wrigley 18:29
Yeah. And I love that you brought that up. So I’ve really seen that in myself. So I’ve made a concerted effort in my breakfast that I’m not having something really starchy. Yeah, so I actually start out with a prebiotic and probiotic which really makes my tummy feel like just set up for success for the day. And I feel like I’m so much better hydrated too. And then I’ll have my chai tea. And I have homemade nut milk in it with a little bit of maple syrup. And it almost tastes like dessert to me because it’s so delicious. And it’s my reward for starting off my day with healthy things for my body. And that sets the stage for the day. And then I want chia pudding with fruit and nuts. And I want avocado toast with healthy sourdough bread. And I want to have vegetables for dinner. Whereas, the day I started with a bagel and cream cheese which wasn’t even refined sugar, as we tend to think of it it was just refined flour
Coral Simpson 19:25
Refined flour though is not the same but your body processes it very fast
Katie Wrigley 19:31
And cheese, cream cheese processed again. I wanted chocolate. I wanted sugar. I was in a bad mood. My energy was low. I didn’t want to do anything. The plans that I had for the day went to crap because I threw myself off by starting with a bagel instead of something healthy. And I’m like, I still look back at that day and I’m like, wow, that’s a serious difference. Like it’s just crazy.
Coral Simpson 20:06
It’s fantastic that you were able to notice it. And you did that because you had just come off the juice fast. So you were very heightened awareness of what you’re putting in. And for you to notice that so the thing is, most of us don’t notice most of us go through just on autopilot. And we think it’s our mood always but our mood is affected by it. So it is real that you get in and you just like what but if you can just make little adjustments like you did, where you will just even noticing is the first adjustment. Just notice, that’s the best thing is to notice how you feel and what after you eat something. Start journaling, you know, take a food journal and write for three days what you eat and how you felt. And that shows you and just hard concrete proof that there’s an effect of food and, and pain.
Katie Wrigley 20:46
I love that great suggestion to start to just bring awareness. And again, anytime we’re talking about awareness, this is awareness without judgment. This is curiosity. Yeah, what am I putting into my body? What is the effect? Not Oh, my God, why’d I put this in my body, I’m such an idiot, no, don’t do it yourself. It’s just going to make you want to eat more of whatever you probably shouldn’t have eaten in the first place. But take that time and get aware and I do want to touch on, you do not have to do a 30 day juice fast reset. That was something I chose to do for a few reasons, it was to support someone I love. And I had been dealing with long standing fatigue, and high stress levels. I’m starting a business that is not without stress, anybody who’s done this knows this. And I was still struggling despite doing a lot of self care. And one of the amazing things is, I guess I had had this, this ache in my body all the time that it didn’t even realize was there until it was gone. And sleep improved. And because of the awareness and really saying like I did not want to do another 30 day juice fast. That was a big commitment. It took a lot of time. I made every juice myself, it was very expensive. This is not something I want to do year after year, like I may do it sometimes. But what I am still doing is I’ve integrated juice, like you were saying it that continues to be in my diet. And that continues to make me crave those phytonutrients, those greens. Yes, kale is like the nastiest thing in the world that you can hide inside a delicious smoothie with berries, and nuts, and nut milk and all kinds of wonderful things that you won’t even touch or feel or taste the kale at all. But your body still gets the benefit of it.
Coral Simpson 22:28
That was perfect, Katie and that’s a big thing as a health coach that I would do with working with someone right off is to add a piece of kale in a smoothie or something like that, because yeah, you’re just adding it in and then the body goes, Oh, what’s this? You know, and then so slowly, the taste buds do adjust or not slowly, sometimes fast. But anyways, they adjust and then it’s not a big deal anymore. And you feel so good because you’re actually taking a step of your own that you can, it doesn’t have to be kale it can be any, you know, leafy green,
Katie Wrigley 22:58
Yeah, your leafy green of choice. If you were anti kale and I was anti kale for a long time. There are other greens that will have good benefits as well. So whatever your green of choices, shove in a whole bunch of fruit and a whole bunch of stuff you like the taste of, that’s good for you, and you get the benefits of that as well.
Coral Simpson 23:18
Well, I want to say something about greens too, with some people who have free radicals, right and antioxidants. What the heck is that? Okay, so when we eat things, oxidation, think of a rusty car. Yes, oxidation is part of that process that makes the rest and then it just you know, eats away basically. So leafy greens and things that have phytonutrients and antioxidants. When you eat those, they reduce the oxidation that’s taking place from the refined foods from the things that are inflammatory in the body. And so that is what you know, that is the biggest perk of vegetables. If I can have one food that everyone should eat to reduce pain and inflammation is green. Greens. Nice. That’s the biggest thing phytonutrients absolutely and antioxidants absolutely are going to help everyone if you think too about what vegetables do you know people fiber every fiber you know take them you so don’t you know if you can if you have to do what you got to do, but Picture like a street sweeper and the little your body when you eat these things, just picture like little street sweepers going down your into your intestines and just helping keep the intestines clean and cleaning, you know, keeping things moving and reducing inflammation at the same time. So and getting nutrients, our bodies require nutrients, minerals, but they require it to be optimal.
Katie Wrigley 25:29
You know, and if we start in, we can start to think about food as fuel, right, your body is the vessel, let’s say you know, and maybe you don’t have huge dreams or huge goals right now maybe you’re in a place where you may feel stuck. But the best way to get unstuck regardless of where you are, is to feel your body with what you need. And the way that I hear this and you know, it’s kind of, use the moon as an example, is you can’t expect to get to the moon without rocket fuel. Rocket. Yeah, the highest caliber of food that you can get, you can’t donuts are not rocket fuel. Sugar is not rocket fuel, my beloved Snickers bar, not rocket fuel. I’m gonna eat it on days that I need to perform. Like, earlier this week, I had eight calls in one day, my calendar was insane. I ate vegan all day, and didn’t even think about it. Because well, from one I’ve mapped all that in cognitive movement, which is a discussion for other episodes in there. Yes, but instinctively intuitively, I knew that that was the best way to feel my body. And so I had avocado in there, I had chia pudding, I had some nuts, I had fruit. I had my chai tea that’s got a little bit of caffeine in the morning. I’ve actually started to take a supplement that reduces the oxidative stress in the body, which is amazing. I can’t believe how much better I feel again, like I just keep peeling back layers of wellness as I dive deep into this nutritious route. And, yeah, it’s, it’s been awesome. So I’m really, like really focused on diet
Coral Simpson 27:06
I love that too Katie, because you can choose your level. And we always do your comfort level. If this is where you feel you’re optimal than that. That’s it. But there is always another level to everything in life. But it doesn’t mean that you’re not doing it right. If you’re not there, it’s your level, what you resonate with, how you feelin your body. And your body lets you like you’re talking about now you’ve added this supplement. And that is amazing. And you’re you notice and so you’ve just gradually level to another level, you know, and it didn’t. It was painless.
Katie Wrigley 27:39
Yeah and it really is. And, you know, one of the things where I tripped myself up is if I start to identify myself, I’m a vegetarian, I’m a this I’m a that, I immediately want whatever I’ve excluded. Yes, just saying I’m trying to listen to what my body wants me to eat. I hardly eat meat, because hemochromatosis is a condition where I don’t metabolize iron. So unless I want to give blood all the time, which I have been bled like a stuck pig. My levels go way up a lot. Or they were. Since the juice fast, I have not needed a phlebotomy and I was on an every three months schedule, I got blood work, I think it was six weeks after the fast or something, and my saturation was 60% lower than it normally is. And that difference is the difference between me getting to keep all my blood and me having to give a pint of it to the trash can because they don’t reuse it in the state that I live in.
Coral Simpson 28:34
Amazing. Amazing.
Katie Wrigley 28:36
It blows my mind. But I don’t want meat, which is the more amazing thing. But if I were to call myself a vegetarian, I would have chicken for dinner tonight. Like I know that about myself.
Coral Simpson 28:47
Well, it’s true of all of us. But the thing, the beautiful thing about that too is if you start thinking of chicken, then maybe your body is asking you to have some, if you start thinking of hamburgers, maybe your body’s asking you to have some of that. But you that’s paying attention, that’s you being in sync with your body and going okay, and allowing it so again, I’m 100% on board with there is no label. You will find a way that you you feel the best. And that’s kind of your thing, but to say that that’s what I am no, because then you’re limiting yourself and your brain doesn’t want limitation. So definitely reset. I love it.
Katie Wrigley 29:26
Awesome. This has been a great conversation. I want to keep continuing this a little bit longer. So continuing along this line, what are some of the foods that people can eat that are going to positively impact inflammation and actually help reduce the level of inflammation? What are some foods that help with that?
Coral Simpson 29:48
Well, the ones I’m going to speak of most people have heard of, of course, because it’s all out everywhere, but there’s a reason for it and that would be what there. One is ginger. Ginger is but not everybody can handle that for the heat, you know, so there’s other things out there but ginger is such an anti inflammatory. It is calming on the stomach if done right if you eat it straight or raw, I mean that’s not how I recommend. But you could find ways to do that David sell well anyways. Ginger is one I would definitely say you can start adding into dishes, you just use it as a little spice side thing and that is going to do wonders. Turmeric is everywhere because it’s everywhere. It’s in Costco. Yeah, so Turmeric is a massive anti-inflammatory herb that is a route that has been used in Iveta for millennial and it is still you know, but here it is in America now finally, you know, but then it’s blasted everywhere. But I myself had a flare up about seven years ago of the skin cutaneous thing I was talking about. But I never went. I didn’t go to the doctor at that time. But this is an odd tangent. But anyways, that’s when I really started taking turmeric and it went away, whatever it was, it went away. I’m not condoning or saying that’s what somebody should go do. But I’m just saying, I know that’s what I added in, and it reduced the inflammation outside on my skin of whatever was going on. And so I am very much a proponent of it and I use it regularly in my cooking if I can add it in. I do. I wanted to say something, most people may not know or eat, is alcohol and sugar depletes magnesium in our body, our soils are already depleted of magnesium because of the way we grow our agriculture, right? So most people have a deficiency in magnesium. I’m not saying everyone, that’s why Epsom salt baths are amazing, but something you can eat that is really high in magnesium, you may or may not like it, but pumpkin seeds, and also sunflower seeds. So those two are really good sources of magnesium and magnesium calms down inflammation, it calms the nerves, it lets everyone relax. That’s why everybody says they’re taking a soak, you know, that sort of thing. So those are some foods that are the four main things I would say if people could add in little bits at a time and see if they notice a difference.
Katie Wrigley 32:22
Nice. And it my 12 year old sense of humor just went off in my head that magnesium also helps you poop.
Coral Simpson 32:31
It does! You gotta be aware. If you take a supplement of magnesium, there’s different forms of it. And magnesium citrate is a brand there’s a brand called calm, and that if you do have IBS or something, it’s not recommended to take that form of magnesium. There’s a magnesium stary. But ultimately, if you have digestive stuff, an Epsom salt bath is the best. But you always need to do your own research on if it’s something contra indicated for your health condition. So just put that in there always because it is real, because you are unique. You are not one size fits all but magnesium is a really big source of reducing pain. And there’s many ways of getting it.
Katie Wrigley 33:15
Yes. And I actually have natural calming supplements. So in the juice fast, my body just stopped moving things through. That’s just the way my body works. Other people have the exact opposite and they can’t stop going to the bathroom when they’re on a fast. I needed the calm you know, but I have also been diagnosed with IBS C, which my mom jokingly says, you know, “You were born constipated”. “Thanks, Mom.” Which I guess is just rare but you know, I was telling her the other day like how many vegetables I eat and outta nowhere she’s like “I bet you’re pooping well too”, “Sure am mom, thanks.” But much to that point, my body loves that natural calm. And sometimes I’m like, this seems like a good idea tonight. And I listen to that, and I will take it before bed.
Coral Simpson 34:02
That’s the best way to do it too is not necessarily every day is when you feel that it’s right. And since we’re talking about poop really fast. It’s a massive indicator of how you’re doing, you know not to get too detailed but you just, you know it should be well formed. I’ll just put it that way. And you can tell by what you eat, how it’s going, you know? Yep, we’ll go down a different way. But I just wanted that it’s a real thing. It’s something when I started as a health coach was every time I talked to somebody, I’m asking them about that, because it does matter. Yeah, we all poop it but it really is important.
Katie Wrigley 34:40
Nice fun. No one really likes to talk about their bathroom issues. You know, that’s a pledge I made to myself a while ago as I’m going to talk about the things that no one else wants to talk about because it’s important. We need to be able to check these things like I’m not expecting anybody to shave their head right in front of the toilet and examine it like you don’t need to do that. But if you’re struggling, or if it’s liquid, either end of the spectrum, those are pointing to your body giving you a message there. He has a message. That is not what your bowel movements should look like. So there’s something in there you can adjust. And there can be long standing digestive issues you could have. Oh, gosh, trying to think… gastroparesis, Is that what it’s called?,
Coral Simpson 35:33
Are you talking about GERD?
Katie Wrigley 35:38
No it’s not GERD. It’s like part of your gut is paralyzed. You have a completely different digestive function and can lead to diverticulitis. I’m blanking on what the condition is called. Now. I think it’s gastroparesis.
Coral Simpson 35:47
Yeah, it probably is a paresis, but I’m not super familiar with the paralysis.
Katie Wrigley 35:55
Right. But it’s, you know, it’s a condition, when I read about it, it’s something that can be temporary if you make changes, but it can also linger as well. But that’s the first example that came to mind because I knew someone who had it. Fiber aggravates that condition. So people who have that have to be very careful on their fiber consumption, but higher fat, higher protein contents work very well with that kind of gut, you know, and I bring that up as as the point of you know, your body is going to be different, your body is going to be uniquely yours. So around that that is how you want to be able to address that is around like, like I said, I’ve hemochromatosis meat is not going to be my best protein source. But nuts, avocado, chickpeas. I love chickpeas like every form of chickpeas you could possibly get, love them. Those are all fantastic protein sources for me and my body loves fiber. Chickpea is half protein fiber. I love chickpeas. And they’re very good for me.
Coral Simpson 37:02
And the bottom line like what you’re saying is experiment, start experimenting. We do this every single day we eat. There’s many ways of doing it. There’s water fasting, there’s intermittent fasting, there’s juice fasting, and you don’t even have to do any of those. There’s keto, there’s paleo, there’s vegan, there’s vegetarian. But all of it is an experiment. You are the subject. So each one of us does. If we can just start playing around that and make it into something as an experiment, but fun. Then you can add the changes in. And once you click your brain to see how the body responds, then it’s not a thought, you don’t have to think about it any more. You just naturally go and do it. And so that’s, that’s a big takeaway I wanted for sure I wanted to say.
Katie Wrigley 37:54
And that’s not going to happen as one of the first steps. It starts with awareness. And then it starts with you continuing to build awareness. And then you will get to the automated portion, which is where you are, which is where I am. But it took a while. I had a lot of resistance to changing my diet because I kept trying to define it. And once I stopped doing that, and just listened to what my body wanted and let go of judgment, then it suddenly became easier, but that was years.
Coral Simpson 38:22
And one other thing I want to say, something everyone can do is water. If we’re dehydrated, certainly pain can be kicked up with a migraine headache. Literally, if you’re super dehydrated your brain does shrink a little and that can actually cause headaches and it’s not saying everybody walking around has that but I can tell the difference if I’ve been out doing exertion that in the headache coming isn’t just because I’m out in the sun, no, it’s because I’m dehydrated. So one thing people can do, period, is to start monitoring how much water you drink and see how you feel if you add more in. Also, I will say one other thing, these artificial things we add into things to make them taste better like Crystal Light, aspartame, into different things you know those things are massive pain triggers, and cancer agents. Those really do need to be looked at and see how you can weaned down. So say for instance you don’t like water a beautiful way is put peppermint put put some mint leaves in your water and let it sit and then you have infused water or berries or there’s so much you can do lemon yeah that it makes it more natural and if you have to use those things to drink water didn’t start there. You know if you’re already doing and if you’re drinking only some so I’m going on a lot on this water thing but it’s something everyone can do and you might not look at it like food, but it is certainly something that affects how we eat when we eat as well and it is something everyone can do.
Katie Wrigley 39:55
And there are actually natural water enhancers too. So I looked into that for one of my clients actually, because they were using the Mio drops, and they have aspartame in them. And this client also has severe chronic pain, which has started to shift but very severe. And when he mentioned, like, Oh, those are going to need to go. He’s like what, like, those are going to need to go. He’s like, I don’t like water. I’m like, let’s look for a natural one, I believe it’s just called natural lemon, you can get it on Amazon, it is the same price as Mio. So most things tend to be more expensive when they’re healthier. That’s just the way it is. Unfortunately, it’d be way cheaper to live off of Cheetos and Doritos, and your body’s gonna be a mess.
Coral Simpson 40:39
And that is it’s about paying now or paying later, right? So it might be cheaper now but in the long run, when you’re having diabetes, or some other chronic thing, it’s not really worth it at all.
Katie Wrigley 40:51
Right, exactly. It’s more of like a small investment in your health now in order to avoid something worse down the road. But what I love is that these drops or I think they’re the little powder packets is how they come. But it is the exact same price as the same drops the Mio drops you can get with aspartame, which has been shown to cause cancer in lab rats. So yeah, this massive influx of autoimmune disease as people are consuming more and more aspartame, like coincidence? Probably not.
Coral Simpson 41:25
But it goes back to if you can’t recreate it in your kitchen or if you can’t read what the ingredient is, your body doesn’t know what it is either. We have evolved into where we are now. But these are things that we’ve created synthetically. The body will do what it can. It will store in fat cells to protect you, it will flush as much as it can, it will do what it can because the whole point of having a body is to be here, right? So it is always working in our favor. When we have ailments, when we have symptoms. It’s the body saying Hey, pay attention. So it’s something that is totally within our power and just paying attention. Like you’re saying,
Katie Wrigley 42:07
Absolutely agree. This has been awesome. So one thing I want to leave everybody with before we get into where they can find you. So we’ve talked a lot about things that we want to avoid. Sugar is the one. Things that can positively impact inflammation: Do any foods come to mind, Coral, that have a pain relieving or analgesic effect?
Coral Simpson 42:31
Well, that’s the thing we’ve kind of discussed a little earlier, like you’re saying willow bark is actually the natural derivative for aspirin and those sorts of things. Really, the magnesium thing is what I would say is it’s even it is that, because it is a calming, calming thing. And you can do that with seeds. Like I’m saying pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds, but an actual effect. Like what you’re saying is somebody goes, ooh, if I go eat cherries, you know, there’s things there are things but I haven’t come across something that is so profound, where I’m like, yeah, go, you know, yes, ginger, yes, those things, but it’s, I haven’t personally experienced or seen it where somebody is, and just in ginger instantly and go, Whoa, my, my elbow feels great. You know, it’s, it’s slow, and it’s building up, and it’s reducing the inflammation is what my experience is. So that’s the broad answer for that question.
Katie Wrigley 43:26
Yeah, so this is something that I tell people, and I’ve mentioned this in other episodes, as well, one of the roles of pain management is patience. And that applies with diet to any shift that you make too quickly, you’re not going to want to sustain anything that is too drastic, you’re probably going to have some resistance so have patience, modifying your diet as well. And that is the key to success with everything, allowing yourself grace, allowing yourself the space to be able to have the ability to make these changes and sustain them over time. If you do this all overnight, you will revert. Trust me, I tried that when I was disabled, I threw everything at it plus the kitchen sink. I continued on my wellness path, but a lot of the things I had started initially fell off and I had to bring them back in again gradually over time, and that’s okay. It still helped me. Just be aware of everything that you are starting to change and do it at a slower interval.
Coral Simpson 44:31
Yes. So I’ll give a recap real fast. So just for all inclusive, I guess, if you can start your day with if you like lemon, start your day with some warm lemon water if you can, it helps detoxify the liver is hydrating, and it’s also helping your stomach acids most people actually suffer from they think it’s too much acid it’s actually too low stomach acid processing so you can try it if you don’t like it then don’t do it. But starting your morning with hydration and If you can add lemon, beautiful or mint, or some other beautiful thing that you love or drawn to lavender, whatever. So starting with hydration, hydrate throughout the day, you’re going to see a difference in your whole life. If you keep hydrated, you will absolutely guarantee your appetite, everything but also inflammation in pain as well. Leafy green vegetables, green vegetables, they always say the rainbow Absolutely. But if you can’t get the rainbow in, get the green leafy vegetables. added one thing at a time if you don’t eat vegetables, if you hate them, add in the you know corn and that’s not green, but just add in things that are not your norm. And slowly do it to where it becomes the norm. Smoothies are amazing juices, amazing juice because you’re getting the nutrients power packed in that your body’s not having to digest. So that’s that but you don’t have to do it. Smoothies are amazing because you can get berries. Berries are very good antioxidants. So getting in greens, replacing sugar. As much as you can start with fruit. Fruits are the best you know, and there’s no limit on fruit if you are okay, there’s a caveat to that if you’re diabetic you need to pay attention. But if you’re eating tons of sugar, and then you’re complaining because you eat three oranges, stop, eat the three oranges you know or whatever if you need to satiate that craving that you have. But also there are alternatives. Stevia like I said, a stevia I say different ways, honey is a better thing than refined sugar. What else was in there a magnesium, Epsom salt baths is not food. But you can eat the food of pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds to get more magnesium in your diet. They have other benefits too. And journaling. Give it a try, a food journal for three days and just see your moods and your foods and see what you notice. And not just your mood, pain and food see if there is a correlation. So that’s my recap. And I don’t know if I missed anything. But I just wanted to do that.
Katie Wrigley 46:58
That was a great recap. Thank you so much for that Coral, I really, really appreciate it. So thank you again for joining me today. So Coral, where can the audience find you if they want to follow up with you and start to learn more about how they can modify their diet to improve their overall health and wellness? Where can they find you, Coral?
Coral Simpson 47:28
First, thank you, Katie, this has been a true pleasure. I’ve enjoyed this whole conversation I could talk all day about like you said earlier, I feel the flow too. And I just love it. So thank you very much for having me here. And as you said, we are both cognomovement practitioner twos, which is a pretty amazing modality, health coaching as well. You can find me on my website, which has been revamped. But it is weareonehealth.com. You can email me at weareonehealth@gmail.com and you can find me on Instagram. I’m most active there on social media. And who knows maybe I’ll be back.
Katie Wrigley 48:09
Awesome, yes, I think you probably will. And just to reiterate, for those who want to follow Coral and I invite you, you know she’s a fellow cognomovement practitioner. And if you really resonated with her message today, I encourage you to reach out, whether it’s for diet or cognomovement. Coral is absolutely amazing. Like I said at the start, I learn something from her every time we talk, which is at least once a week. If I don’t get my weekly dose of Coral, things just feel off. So you can find her at Weareonehealth.com or email weareonehealth@gmail.com and @weareonehealth on Instagram. So she makes it super easy, same handle to find her everywhere that you could possibly want to find her. Thank you so much, Coral.
Coral Simpson 48:50
Thank you, Katie. Thank you so much.
Katie Wrigley 48:51
As always, we appreciate every five star review we get drop us one for your chance to be called out as a listener of the week. If you were chosen as our listener of the week, we will send you a small gift as our thank you for being a part of our community and helping to spread the word that we can accept the diagnosis without accepting the prognosis. Thank you as always for joining me today. And until next week. Never forget that chronic doesn’t have to mean permanent. If you want any more of my tips and tricks flowing into your life, then I invite you to connect with me and follow me on social media. Just go to KatieWrigley.com/connect and follow the links to whatever your favorite social platform is to follow.
