Episode 178: Giving Your Body the Best

doTERRA: According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, about three fourths of the population has an eating pattern that's too low in vegetables and fruits and too high in sugars, saturated fats, and sodium. Getting the best nutrition for you and your family can be tricky. But today, we're going to discuss a few ways to make it easier.

Welcome back to Essential Oil Solutions with doTERRA, the podcast where you'll hear exciting, useful, and simple everyday uses for essential oils from experts in the field. If you like what you hear today, rate, review, and subscribe wherever you listen. We always appreciate hearing from you.

Today, we're excited to talk to Catherine Carrigan about what you can do to get proper nutrition for you and your family. Catherine, thank you so much for being here with us today.

Catherine Carrigan: Thank you! I'm so excited to be here with you guys.

doTERRA: This is an exciting topic, and it's one that I think overwhelms a lot of people because it can seem so complicated. Why is nutrition so important to our overall health?

Catherine: Yeah, so I love this topic, and I'm really glad that we're talking about this today. Nutrition is so foundational for good health. And what I love is doTERRA has a wellness pyramid with the prime example of eating right at the very bottom of it to talk about how it's very foundational in stabilizing all the other wellness tiers that support good health. So nutrition is foundational.

Nutrition is also really important for an overall body, healthy mind, and it affects everything that we do, so our energy levels, our mood, our sleep and just how we function overall. Oftentimes people think about nutrition as just eating and eating food, but it's so much more. Actually, by definition, nutrition focuses on the process of eating and consuming the right kind of foods and the right kind of nutrients that our body needs. So think in terms of nourishment for our body. And I've heard it said before as nutrition is information for our cells. So good nutrition helps our bodies overall, really what we need for it to grow properly and to feel our best.

doTERRA: Yes, I think that's a beautiful way to put that. So you mentioned the nutrients that our body needs. Why is it that it's so difficult for us to get those nutrients?

Catherine: So that's a great question. And it's a big one, actually, because there's really a lot to unpack with it. And I'll do my best to really generalize why it can be a challenge. But first, let me just say how important it is to make nutrition a priority, and when it's a priority, you tend to focus on it, and you put more time and more attention because you really understand its value.

Make Nutrition a Priority

So in answering this question, there's more of like a micro answer to it and then a macro answer. So the micro level of this question is really when you focus on the priority of nutrition and making it a priority, it eliminates a lot of the things that can make it difficult, like the excuses that come up. For example, “I don't have time to eat well,” or “I'm always busy just working all the time,” or maybe, “It's too expensive,” or whatever. We might put those roadblocks in front of us and make it more difficult than it has to be. So sometimes we can be our own blocker of good nutrition, right? We make it difficult for ourselves with these things and these stories we tell ourselves.

The Standard American Diet

But there's also a macro level of why it can be difficult to get the nutrients—is here, especially in the US, we have the standard American diet, also known as the SAD diet, right? That makes sense. But if you're not familiar what the standard American diet is, basically it's high amounts of processed foods, refined carbohydrates in our diet, added sugars, refined fats or cooking oils, high-fat dairy products, red meat, all of that you find in the standard American diet.

So what it's not is it doesn't emphasize enough the importance of fresh fruits and vegetables, lean protein, healthy fats and healthy cooking oils, things of that nature, where our body is just going to get way more nutrition. When you think of a standard American diet, I think of the typical like burgers, fries, milkshakes, fast food, right?

doTERRA: Right.

Catherine: And we're missing a lot of the really good stuff that our body needs to thrive. So there's also an imbalance of omega-6 and omega-3 in the standard American diet. So and that impacts our metabolic health or metabolic functions and cellular functions, so, and I should say many other functions within our body to be really optimal. So all of this in combination, from the micro level to the macro level, can get in the way and make it really difficult for us to get the nutrients that we need.

doTERRA: Now all of that kind of sounds like we're up against some pretty big odds. But what lifestyle choices can we make to help ourselves get the best nutrition?

Catherine: Oh, I love that you ask that question. It’s so good, and it's so important because you're right. We're up against a lot. But I think start by recognizing, like I mentioned before, that good nutrition carries tremendous value for our health and so making it a priority, realizing that it's worth your time. It's worth the effort. It's worth the planning.

Fuel and Nourish Your Body

And think in terms of when you look at nutrition and with what you're going to eat or consume or drink, think about what is going to fuel and nourish my body, not just how something is going to taste, but how it's really going to feed all the cells in your body. It makes you look at things a little bit differently and maybe take a pause.

A good example for this would be soda, for example. This is very common. But if you look at soda and you look at, OK, how is this going to nourish my body? You might be more apt to making and swapping out a better selection, since soda—I've heard it described as like a chemical soup. When you think of it like that, there's really no nutritional value in soda. There's nothing good. Just spikes your blood sugar and then crashes and then you're tired. So when you think of, OK, what can I select and add that would be more beneficial for my body? You make different choices.

Plan and Prep

Some other things that we can do and making lifestyle choices would be taking that time to plan and prep, like maybe choosing one day a week where we can set aside some time just to plan and healthier meals, snacks. Think about things again that we can add in. Because it's not always about—nutrition isn’t always about what we take out. It’s also what we can add. And so that really helps you with saving time in the long run and making better decisions for your nutrition.

Create Habits and Rituals

So that is part of the whole lifestyle with it, as well as creating habits and rituals surrounding your lifestyle choices to make it easier on yourself. So some examples might be—we haven't talked much about supplements, but I feel like that kind of packs in with nutrition. But setting out your supplements in the kitchen with your water, you know, not just keeping them locked away somewhere else in your house, but somewhere where you can see it creates that habit, that ritual of consuming that, right?

Something else would be to blend up a smoothie after a workout or when the kids come home from school for a nutrient-dense snack. That's something that I like to do with my family. And these kinds of habits help you add in more nutrition and just add so much more to what you're already doing throughout your day. But you might not if you didn't have it out and didn’t become a habit or a lifestyle.

Invest in Nutritional Products

Also, I want to kind of wrap this up with investing in lifestyle and nutritional products that allow it to be easier. And this is where I really appreciate doTERRA because they have made this nutrition that is, you know—nutrition, like we were saying, can be really complicated, overwhelming. There's a lot to it. And doTERRA has simplified it for us. They've really made it easier, but in an elevated way with these high-quality supplements and wellness products, especially their Nutrition Line.

So they have the Protein powders, the Greens, the Fiber that are delicious. My whole family loves them, and I just love that, in terms of again, what we can add, they've really made that simple and easy for us and adding that to our lifestyle has been just a real blessing.

doTERRA: Absolutely. And that is all fantastic advice. Now, another aspect of feeding ourselves is watching out for maybe some hidden toxins. So what can we do to try and avoid those toxins in our diet?

Catherine: Yeah, so the very first thing is just the need to recognize what our primary sources of toxins are and where they come from in our diet, in our food or drink, and that—I believe there's a growing awareness of pesticide use and heavy pesticide use in conventional products. So there's that. Simply switching to things that are organic whenever possible will help with that toxin burden that comes in our diets.

Fruits and Vegetables

Even if you're just sticking to a list, just to give you a great resource, the Dirty Dozen List, where you can find on EWG. The Dirty Dozen is basically what are the top produce that are the highest in pesticides and toxins. So things like, things that you would want to buy organic, like your strawberries or apples or grapes and so forth, your greens when they get very specific. So just a way that we can avoid what we're consuming in terms of what is heavily sprayed with toxins.

Dairy and Meat

Now there's also dairy and other—if you choose to eat meat and whatever your diet, what your diet looks like, things of that nature, you have to think in terms of what is the animal consuming as well would be what your body would be consuming. So toxins show up in things like our dairy products. So it is important to choose organic whenever possible because it does impact what's in those, those products and that food. And being picky about your meat and being picky about your fish as well. There's something called POPs, which is persistent organic pollutants.

And I know, this is a lot of information, but it's basically products and byproducts of the human industrial process, so they don't break down all the way or at all in the environment. And so they end up in our body. So a very simple way is again, organic, grass-fed, grass-finished and avoiding farm-raised because those are the highest in POPs and go opt for wild-caught fish, especially salmon is a really popular one that it’s very high in. So if you can go for a wild-caught instead of farm-raised fish and salmon, you're going to be avoiding a lot of the toxins.

Processed and Packaged Foods

So and then limiting processed or packaged foods. So you want to read labels go for, opt for organic again, non-GMO things of that nature. We're still kind of learning about all of those things and how they impact our bodies and lessen your exposure to things like your preservatives and additives and food dyes. All of those things, things that were meant to improve the shelf life of that food were not meant to improve the shelf life of your body.

doTERRA: I love that, and I think it is a lot of information, but it's information that is so important for us to know because when we know more, we can make better choices and take better care of our bodies.

Catherine: Absolutely!

doTERRA: Now you mentioned a few different doTERRA products throughout those questions, so I want to focus on that now. What are your favorite doTERRA products to help you get balanced nutrition?

Catherine: Yes, this is very exciting because—I want to be fully transparent with you—with my kids, I have very picky eaters. I'm a mom of three, and all three of my kids are in elementary grades, very picky. And without doTERRA’s products, I don't believe that they would be reaching their daily nutrient goals. So I'm just so grateful that we have these products.

Children’s Supplements

So a few of them that I want to really make a highlight of is—and we're going to be talking about supplements too because they really go in and fill the gaps of all of the things we might not be able to consume day to day to get those nutrients that we need. For my kids, and bringing them into this conversation would be the a2z vitamins. They take those every day.

The IQ Mega—I had mentioned previously, the omega balance between the omega-3 and then the omega-6 is something that the standard American diet does a very poor job of. So the IQ Mega is such a great supplement to add in with my children and with myself, as well as we do probiotics and all that.

DigestZen TerraZyme^® and doTERRA Lifelong Vitality Pack ^®

But gut health as well is really important and also our body breaking down our food and getting all of those nutrients. So with that also the TerraZyme for myself. So that helps. It's not always just what you eat, but also what you digest. So personally, I love the TerraZyme, Lifelong Vitality supplements as well, adding those in.

Nutrition Line

And then the Nutrition Line. So with the Nutrition Line, I said I have very picky eaters, especially my oldest son. So he's 11. He loves the Chocolate Protein powder, and I’m so grateful that he loves it. It's so delicious. So we do a protein smoothie before any of his athletic events, and I try to fit it in throughout the week as well, like as an after-school snack and all of that. And all of my kids enjoy it.

Peanut Butter Cup Smoothie Recipe

So I want to give you guys our favorite. It’s called a Peanut Butter Cup Smoothie. OK, but it's healthy! So it's using doTERRA’s Chocolate Protein, so just the one scoop of that and then about a cup or two of just vanilla almond milk. I throw in a handful of fresh greens, whatever I have in the fridge. Spinach, mixed greens, whatever you've got, a frozen banana, some peanut butter, just a tablespoon or so, or just a spoonful if you're in a hurry and not really measuring. And sometimes we'll add some chia seed or ground flax. But I gotta tell you, it is delicious. And you talk about nutrient dense. It's just incredible.

doTERRA Protein

What I love the most about doTERRA’s protein. They have the vanilla and chocolate. They have the vegan as well. But the high-quality ingredients is something that I was really looking for and the taste as well was super important. So because obviously you want to love it so that you enjoy it and you make it all the time. So I love that.

doTERRA Greens and Fiber

I want to mention too the Fiber and the Greens. I had my kids taste test everything, and it all passed. There was nothing that they really—at first about the Greens, I think that was different. It hit them different because they were used to the old formula that doTERRA had. But then they told me how much they thought the new doTERRA Greens were a little bit sweeter. They really took to it, and sometimes we add that into our smoothies as well. So they get that extra dose of all of those amazing nutrients from the greens. So your body ends up craving it. So it's just a powerhouse that we have with the doTERRA Nutrition Line.

Just to wrap it up, I really am grateful that doTERRA has so many of these wellness and lifestyle products because they make it so simple, especially for me being a mother of three just on the go. It just really gives me that assurance that our family is getting what they need in terms of nutrition. So we have a great offering of products. I probably rattled off like five or so products I couldn't—I'm glad you didn't ask me to pick like two. I would’ve been in trouble.

doTERRA: Absolutely. And I totally agree. It's such a nice, wonderful way to have options and go-tos for your family and find what fits for you. I think it's wonderful.

Catherine: Yeah, absolutely.

doTERRA: Catherine, it has been great to talk to you today and learn a little bit more about what we need to avoid and what we need to prioritize when we're optimizing our nutrition.

Catherine: Yes, thank you so much. Thank you for the opportunity to share and to bring up this very important topic today. Appreciate you guys.

doTERRA: Thanks for joining us and congratulations on living a healthier lifestyle with essential oils. If you liked what you heard today, rate, review, and subscribe wherever you listen. Also, if you want to try any of the products you learned about, go to doterra.com or find a Wellness Advocate near you to place an order today.