In this deeply personal and eye-opening episode of PCOS Unfiltered, Lindsie sits down with holistic nutritionist and wellness consultant Laura Heflin to explore what it really means to heal your relationship with food, your hormones, and your body. After years of restrictive dieting, eating disorder struggles, hormonal imbalances, miscarriages, and feeling completely disconnected from herself, Laura shares how everything changed when she stopped trying to control her body—and started listening to it instead. Together, they unpack the truth about intuitive eating, the dangers of diet culture, and why “healthy” is not one-size-fits-all. From adrenal PCOS and nervous system healing to histamine intolerance and food sensitivities, this conversation challenges the idea that there is one “right” way to eat or heal. If you’ve ever felt like you’re doing everything “right” but still don’t feel well… this episode will help you understand why—and what to do instead.
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The content shared on PCOS Unfiltered is for informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare professional before making changes to your diet, exercise, or treatment plan.
(0:00) It took me getting in the kitchen and reintroducing food I had been truly afraid of because, unfortunately, (0:08) when you are 19 years old and you type into Google, how does a 19-year-old lose weight? (0:13) The first thing it's leading you to is the Atkins diet or weight loss. (0:17) I was counting. (0:18) I did probably almost anything you can think of.(0:21) I restricted and I counted and I measured and it was so, it was obsessive, it was depressing, (0:27) it was awful. (0:27) And so it took time. (0:30) Welcome back to PCOS Unfiltered, where we go beyond the diagnosis and start asking deeper (0:36) questions about our health, our habits, and the messages our bodies are trying to send (0:40) us.
(0:41) I'm your host, Lindsie, nurse turned health coach, mindful eating advocate, and author (0:46) of Healing Beyond the Diagnosis. (0:48) Today's episode is such an important conversation because we're talking about something that (0:52) so many women struggle with, but rarely feel safe talking about openly, our relationship (0:58) with food, our bodies, and the pressure to constantly follow the next best health trend. (1:04) My guest today is Laura Heflin.(1:06) Laura is a holistic nutrition and wellness consultant, author, and host of the Live Healthy (1:12) with Laura podcast. (1:13) Through her work, she helps people rebuild trust with their bodies, reconnect with nourishing (1:18) foods, and step away from the rigid fear-based approaches to health that so many women have (1:24) been taught. (1:26) Laura's journey into this work is deeply personal.(1:29) After experiencing major health challenges from a young age, including surgery, hormonal (1:34) imbalances, cystic acne, an eating disorder, depression, miscarriages, and eventually a (1:41) diagnosis of adrenal PCOS, she found herself searching for answers beyond what traditional (1:46) medicine alone was offering. (1:49) Through years of learning, healing, and listening more closely to her own body, Laura discovered (1:54) something powerful. (1:55) The body often knows exactly what it needs, but we've been conditioned to stop listening.(2:01) In this episode, we talk about Laura's journey through eating disorder recovery, hormonal (2:06) healing, PCOS, miscarriages, and chronic symptoms that didn't make sense at first. (2:11) We also dive into intuitive eating, the dangers of rigid diet culture, the role of stress (2:18) and the nervous system in hormone health, and how learning to trust your body can transform (2:22) the way you approach food, energy, and healing. (2:25) This conversation is full of powerful reminders that your body is not the enemy, healing is (2:31) not linear, and sometimes the most important step in your health journey is learning how (2:35) to listen again.(2:36) As a reminder, the content shared on PCOS Unfiltered is for informational and educational (2:42) purposes only. (2:43) The views and opinions expressed by the hosts and guests are not intended to serve as medical (2:49) advice.
(2:50) Always consult with a qualified healthcare professional before making any changes to (2:54) your diet, exercise, or treatment plan.(2:56) The information shared is based on personal experience and expert interviews and is not (3:01) a substitute for professional medical guidance. (3:04) So let's get into it. (3:05) Here's my conversation with Laura Huffman.(3:15) Welcome, welcome back and welcome to Laura. (3:20) I'm super, super excited that we, I think, align in a lot of ways with things and I just, (3:28) I'm super excited for the listeners to hear your story. (3:31) So let's start there.(3:36) You know, what is your story? (3:38) Can you walk us through your journey? (3:41) And I know you shared with me, you were going through a lot. (3:46) You had PCOS yourself, some issues, you know, all that stuff. (3:51) So let's start there and share with the listeners.(3:53) Yeah, I think the earliest, I think like the farthest back I should go is really age 11, (3:59) 12. (3:59) When I, I had a traumatic, I say traumatic, but it was planned, but a traumatic back surgery (4:05) that put me in a body cast for a year, really put my body through a lot of stress. (4:11) It was a nine hour surgery.(4:13) And from that point, my menstrual cycle started full, full blown. (4:18) And I was then before we knew it covered in scars and cystic acne and really not doing (4:25) well and got issues and all kinds of things that I think, you know, might've been underlying, (4:33) but really like the trauma of the surgery, I think threw my body into a disarray when (4:38) it came to my hormones. (4:39) And so then I, you know, we went through a whole lot of things and my parents helped (4:44) me the best they could, but I was thrown on Accutane and which now has a black box warning (4:49) from certain things and side effects.
(4:51) And I experienced some side effects from that. (4:54) And it was just hormonally, it was like a salmon swimming upstream from the age of 11, (5:00) 12. (5:02) And you know, and then I get my cycle and it was, you know, I'm just dealing with a (5:07) lot of pain.(5:08) And, but again, nobody was talking about anything like that to me. (5:10) And I really didn't talk about it to anyone because I thought this was normal. (5:15) And I got to the place where I was just you know, I got married really young and we suffered (5:21) a miscarriage.(5:22) But again, people have miscarriages. (5:24) So again, a lot of things I just accepted to be as normal. (5:28) And I didn't, I was not involved with the functional medicine space.(5:32) Like I wasn't, I wasn't familiar like I am now. (5:35) I do work as a holistic nutrition and wellness consultant in the, that space. (5:40) And now I know so much and I know we can ask the question why, but at the time, you know, (5:46) my parents are amazing.(5:47) My dad's an amazing Western medical doctor, but like they're not trained to ask why. (5:51) And so I just experienced a lot of things. (5:54) And then at the age of 19, I battled an eating disorder and I lost my menstrual cycle for a (6:00) long time.(6:01) And that hormonal imbalance on top of my other hormonal imbalances really through my (6:08) neurotransmitters, my mental health into this array as well. (6:12) And so I started dealing with a lot of debilitating, dark depression, anxiety, chronic (6:19) fatigue. (6:20) And so it was like, really, I got to a breaking point of hardly being able to get out of bed (6:28) at 19 and, and being so miserable, not just physically anymore.(6:33) And I think my turning point was I was now mentally, I felt like I had, I didn't know (6:37) who I was despite my hormonal imbalances leading up to age of 19, before my eating (6:44) disorder, I was still happy. (6:45) I was still able to experience life and see the colors. (6:51) At the age of 19, though, I became a different person because I was no longer able to (6:58) experience joy because I was battling crippling depression, but I was not willing to talk (7:03) to anybody about it.(7:04) I was so, and this is the part I'm very vocal about. (7:07) I was so ashamed, which we should never be ashamed of our struggles because I believe (7:12) God wants us to speak them out to get help. (7:14) We're not meant to live and stay this way, but I was ashamed and I didn't know I could (7:20) talk about it.(7:21) So I, it was a really lonely journey. (7:24) Loneliness is a huge part of my journey because I didn't, I wouldn't say nobody would (7:29) have heard my story, but I didn't allow myself to share it. (7:33) So, so the age of 20 years old, after a year of battling my disorder and miscarriage, um, (7:41) I, one day we are taking my grandma out to dinner.(7:45) You know how we have those, like life gets foggy, but there's those few aha moments where (7:50) you're like that moment changed me. (7:53) So we're out to dinner with my grandma who I miss so much. (7:56) This is before kids.(7:58) I now have a beautiful, beautiful rainbow baby is a girl and a boy. (8:01) But, um, but I did, I will say I did suffer for more miscarriages after that. (8:06) It ended up being, I have a clotting issue, um, and low progesterone and a lot of things.(8:11) But in between that time I did get well. (8:15) Yeah. (8:15) And so we went, we went to dinner with my grandma and it was really special because (8:20) my, I had not been eating for a year.(8:23) I had not touched carbohydrate. (8:24) I'll just tell you, I was so, there was so much food fear. (8:28) And one day my husband's like, why don't you just order something you really want on the (8:32) menu? (8:32) Like he didn't know how bad my disorder was at the time I had kind of played it off, but (8:35) he could tell it was being very restrictive.(8:38) And I remember ordering lasagna and taking like my first bite and being like, what have (8:44) I been doing?
(8:46) Where, why have I, I have not enjoyed food in an entire year. (8:50) And it was like this moment where I was like, I wonder if I could actually get well and (8:54) enjoy food in a different way and still love my body. (8:57) I don't, I don't think this restrictive thing is loving my body.(9:00) I think I've been hating on my body this whole time. (9:02) And, um, I guess I should go back and say, when I got married, I started living like (9:07) him and eating like him for a year. (9:08) And I put on some weight.(9:09) That was really what triggered my, my eating disorders. (9:11) Then I got quote, quote healthy. (9:14) And I went way on the other end of the spectrum in an unhealthy way.(9:18) And it was not good. (9:19) So that leads me up to 20 years old. (9:22) My husband says, I think you seem to be really enjoying life again.(9:25) You're seeing me, you're in the kitchen, you're playing with whole foods. (9:29) Why don't you go help other people? (9:32) Because you just walked through a lot that I had finally shared with him, you know, more. (9:36) And he was like, you walked through a lot.(9:38) Why don't you go help people? (9:39) Well, my dad being a family physician, he was like, Hey, if you want to go down the (9:44) nutritionist route, I'd love to have you here helping my patients. (9:48) And so the rest was history and live healthy. (9:50) Laura was born, um, 15 years ago.(9:54) So August, 2020, I don't know what that would be, but it's been 15 years. (9:58) So I'm very, that's where I am. (10:00) And ever since then, I've been making my own hopeful recipes, helping clients one-on-one.(10:04) Um, I now work at an amazing holistic wellness clinic. (10:07) Um, uh, and I, I podcast as well and write books. (10:11) So it's just been a beautiful unfolding, um, ever since.(10:16) Yeah. (10:16) So after you had that lasagna, like what, like tell me about the journey even beyond (10:23) that. (10:23) I mean, I'm sure it wasn't super easy.(10:25) Yeah. (10:27) So I had restricted for so long and I knew I wasn't healthy. (10:31) I knew I wasn't well because I didn't have a menstrual cycle and I knew my depression (10:34) hit really hard when I stopped feeding myself.(10:38) So I could see the timeline. (10:40) I would go off of my day. (10:42) I would ask myself, how little can you get by today? (10:44) And what, you know, it was really, really depressing, really sad way of living.(10:47) And it was never about loving myself. (10:49) It was about looking at myself with hate, hatred, really, truly, and not loving myself (10:54) the way God made me and looking at that number on the scale as a definition of who I was. (10:59) And, um, so it, it was definitely a journey.(11:01) I will not downplay that. (11:03) It took me getting in the kitchen and reintroducing food. (11:08) I had been truly afraid of, because unfortunately when you are 19 years old and you type into (11:13) Google, how does a 19 year old lose weight? (11:16) The first thing it's leading you to is the Atkins diet or weight.(11:19) I was counting. (11:20) I did probably almost anything you can think of. (11:24) I restricted and I counted and I measured and it was so, it was obsessive.(11:29) It was depressing. (11:30) It was awful. (11:30) And so it took time for me to throw out the numbers completely and start breathing around (11:36) food and then asking my body, what makes you feel good? (11:40) When I got my cycle back, I started seeing, okay, I really do need healthy, whole foods, (11:45) carbs.(11:46) I need protein. (11:47) I need to eat breakfast.
(11:48) I can't just live off of caffeine.(11:51) And it got me thinking like, if I can heal, how many other women are out there suffering (11:56) with all these issues as well? (11:58) And depression. (11:59) And if my depression can get better and you know, my cycle can come back and my skin can (12:03) clear up because I'm embracing whole foods that I believe God put on this planet to (12:08) heal us, to feed us. (12:09) When I wasn't afraid anymore.(12:11) I mean, I got better results eating and I was like, what is happening here? (12:15) I spent a year depriving myself and I look better and feel better eating. (12:20) God made whole foods. (12:21) So it was like probably a year after that of healing my mental health as well, of healing (12:27) my relationship with food.(12:28) It wasn't, yeah, it wasn't just the, I can't talk lasagna. (12:33) It was, but that was a very pivotal moment because I allowed myself to relax and breathe (12:38) around food. (12:39) And I just remember feeling like so happy and good for the first time that it was like, (12:45) not about the lasagna, but it was, it was like, you gave yourself room to breathe and (12:49) you probably ate something.(12:51) Your body's been needing, you know, you've been eating some carbs. (12:53) You've been eating some healthy fats. (12:55) You've been avoiding so many things that I think it was that moment for me.(13:00) I'll just never forget. (13:02) Yeah. (13:02) Yeah.(13:03) And I mean, and you even mentioned about, you know, the calorie counting and whatever (13:07) you want to say, macro counting and Adkins stuff, you know, of course I'm sure on the, (13:13) on previous episodes, you know, I feel about that. (13:15) I just, I'm so glad we're aligned and I'm so glad you're coming on my podcast as well. (13:20) Yeah.(13:21) Yes. (13:21) You know, it might work for some people it might, but like, I think in general, it's (13:26) just one more thing to add to somebody. (13:29) Yeah.(13:30) It's not sustainable and you're also not a number. (13:34) That's the thing is like our bodies are ever changing. (13:37) What I might've needed last week, my body based on where I am in my cycle or in my energy (13:42) output this week could be a little different.(13:45) Based on the weather, based on the amount of mental health, you know, like our body will (13:49) speak to us if we allow it to. (13:52) And so I think when we tie ourselves to rigid numbers of points or macros of any sort, we're (13:58) robotically going about life and expecting our body to just be this programmed machine (14:04) that it's not, you know? (14:06) And so that's why my entire company is intuitive living, intuitive eating, because our bodies (14:13) are speaking to us and trying to guide us every day, but we have shut them out and we've (14:19) tuned up the noise, turn up the noise of the health space. (14:21) And so we're turning our own body out, tuning our own body out.(14:24) And it's this very toxic, vicious cycle that I see all the time. (14:30) Yeah.
(14:31) Now tell us you were diagnosed with PCOS.(14:34) Yeah. (14:35) So ironically, my sister had it. (14:38) And so I guess I should backtrack.(14:41) So I get well in the sense of I start healing, but then we started having miscarriage after (14:46) miscarriage. (14:47) And don't get me started on the fact that you have to lose three pregnancies to get (14:53) help now that's changed down to two. (14:55) But I don't think that's right.(14:56) I think people should be able to get their hormones tested without that. (15:00) But I had a form of PCOS called adrenal PCOS. (15:05) I say had because it's an admission, but I guess I could say I still have it.(15:09) My sister, see, I didn't ever expect myself to have this because my one sister had the (15:14) classic symptoms of PCOS, the grapes on your ovaries and the ultrasound and the acne or (15:21) I'm sorry, I had acne, but the hair, facial hair, all that. (15:24) And I didn't have any of that. (15:26) And so I had the acne, but that went away.(15:30) But it was just one of those things where I was like, well, I don't have all these systems (15:34) I've had since before. (15:35) But I don't have the classic cysts, if that makes sense. (15:37) So I just never thought I had it.(15:41) Well, come to find out, I finally see an amazing functional doctor who does all the testing (15:47) and my DHEA was through the roof. (15:49) So yes, my testosterone was where it should have been, but my DHEA was through the roof. (15:54) Needless to say, cliff note version, one of the ways I healed myself in that way is (15:59) lots of nervous system somatic work to heal my nervous system, to heal my adrenals.(16:05) So my adrenals would not be overproducing that mother hormone. (16:10) So and I will just say like in the midst of all of this, I was seeing other doctors that (16:17) meant well, but would throw herbals at me that weren't helping because I ended up getting (16:22) way, way worse. (16:25) And so it was one of those things that I think everyone means well, but we have to be thorough (16:30) and look at blood work before you throw somebody on that.(16:33) I was very estrogen dominant.
(16:35) And so then what came to be is I also found out I had the MTHFR gene mutation, as well (16:40) as MTRR, as well as COMT. (16:43) And the more we know about COMT, you can't detox estrogen properly or stress hormones.(16:47) Needless to say, I couldn't detox my stress and therefore it presented in my adrenals (16:54) with really high DHEA. (16:56) So all of that lead led me down the road of eventually having five centimeter cysts and (17:01) things would pop up and then we traced it back. (17:04) But it wasn't the classic PCOS that I was expecting, if that makes sense.(17:09) And so it really, it was confusing to have normal testosterone, but yeah, so I wasn't (17:16) familiar that there were other forms of PCOS. (17:18) And so yeah. (17:20) And so once I healed my hormones and my DHEA went back to normal and I did have to do (17:24) blood thinners while pregnant and progesterone suppositories, I did have my rainbow babies, (17:29) but it was a long journey for sure.(17:33) Yeah. (17:34) Yeah. (17:35) That's one thing.(17:35) That's why, I mean, I think there's so many more women out there that, that happens that (17:40) we don't even realize because you don't need the cysts on your ovaries to be diagnosed (17:44) anymore. (17:45) Right. (17:45) Or you can be lean.(17:47) Like I'm pretty lean and that's just me genetically. (17:51) I mean, I take care of myself, but like in general, so I, you know, but you don't have (17:55) to battle your weight or have facial hair to have PCOS. (17:59) And that was something I didn't know.(18:01) Yeah. (18:02) Yeah. (18:04) So tell us about more about the intuitive eating, you know, I mean, for me, you know, (18:13) probably a lot of other people that might've heard of like mindful eating, they might be (18:19) similar in the same way, but but how would you define that? (18:24) Let's just kind of start there.(18:26) Yeah. (18:27) We are all bio individuals. (18:29) And so like what my body is asking for can vary from day to day.(18:36) And it can also vary from my, my, my sister, my best friend, my mom. (18:40) And I think, unfortunately, our health space has become so noisy and it's a billion dollar, (18:45) trillion, however many dollars industry now, because it's not, they're not making money (18:51) off of your clarity. (18:52) It's off your confusion.(18:53) And nobody, nobody's going to make money off of telling you to trust yourself. (18:57) You know, they want you to buy their product. (18:59) And so I was, again, buying products that I thought I needed or accounting apps or whatever (19:05) And what it came down to really is pausing and asking my own body questions.(19:10) Like, how do I feel? (19:11) Okay. (19:11) I feel really good today. (19:12) I'm feeling energized.(19:14) My skin's glowing. (19:15) I'm not having any, you know, constipation or stomach pains. (19:18) What is happening? (19:19) Let me ask myself some questions.(19:22) What did I eat? (19:23) What did I not eat today? (19:25) What time did I go to bed? (19:27) What did I do for my mental health today? (19:29) And so I started piecing together what my body loved and what it didn't love. (19:33) And really teaching my clients in this way.
(19:37) But, you know, some, we are all individuals.(19:40) I do eat for my blood type most of the time. (19:43) I'm blood type A. (19:44) And so, you know, I do really well on fish and lots of plants and all of that. (19:50) But I, you know, there's, so I don't do well eating red meat four or five times a week, (19:54) but I can have it a couple of times a week.(19:55) And it's, again, it's about saying, well, how do I feel? (19:58) And I think we need to take ownership. (19:59) And we, of our health, but also we need to be empowered and know we are meant to feel well. (20:04) We do not need to walk around feeling depleted, exhausted, sick, depressed, overweight.(20:10) All of those are accepted in our society as normal. (20:14) And there's a prescription that a doctor can, would be happy to give you for that. (20:18) But there's actually a reason why your body is presenting in a way that's not the healthiest.(20:25) And so I always say, you know, we'll talk to people all the time. (20:29) I've spent so much time in the gastro doctor and my stomach's been a mess. (20:32) And not one person's told me to ask my body a question about how I, (20:36) when I would have a GI issue, what I eaten before.(20:39) And I, I sit there and I'm blown away every time I hear that. (20:42) Cause it makes no sense that if your body is telling you something right first, it whispers, (20:47) then it's yells and it screams. (20:49) If your body's screaming at you, then we're not asking why that boils my blood, to be honest, (20:55) because I've helped people through the grace of God.(20:59) I've been able to help people that have been in doctor's offices for a long time, (21:03) actually pinpoint which foods their bodies liked and did not like. (21:08) And so one thing that I should share that is a huge part of my journey that led me to intuitive (21:15) eating is I have something called histamine intolerance, but which later led to mast cell (21:20) activation syndrome when I got COVID about five years ago. (21:24) So a lot of healthy foods.(21:26) And again, this is why we have to be careful to not label what a healthy diet for one person is (21:31) versus the next based on my gene mutations. (21:34) I struggled to detox histamine.
(21:36) Well, a high histamine diet is what a lot of cardiologists will hand you.(21:39) And I don't do well on a lot of spinach or avocados or tomatoes or red wine all in one (21:45) day. My body can handle a little histamine here, a little here, but you know, here I was early on (21:51) my journey thinking I was making a healthy choice because I was following a diet online. (21:57) Well, I was scrambling my eggs with spinach every morning.(22:01) I was putting lemon water, a lemon in my water. (22:05) I was, you know, eating lots of histamine, high histamine foods and feeling I was having (22:10) skin reactions and my gut was messed up and I was anxious. (22:15) This is again, while I'm trying to care for myself, I didn't know what happened.(22:18) So this got me to pause and realize something was wrong. (22:23) And I had to shut out all the noise. (22:25) I, I, one day it was like, I don't care how well I supposedly am eating.(22:29) Something is wrong. (22:31) And so when I started writing down when I ate and I saw the trend of histamine, this (22:35) is before I ever knew I had some of my gene mutations, um, I started piecing together. (22:41) My body did not like a high histamine diet.(22:43) Whereas my husband, for instance, can eat all the histamine he wants and feel fine. (22:49) And so I started realizing, I don't care how many people are putting apple cider vinegar (22:52) in their water or lemon juice in their water first thing, my body can, does not appreciate (22:56) that. (22:57) And it gave me this ability to tune out all the noise and trust my body.(23:03) And so I just wanted to share that piece that, um, the low histamine diet, like acknowledging (23:08) what histamine was doing in my body, regardless of how healthy the diet was, was one of the (23:13) most pivotal moments. (23:15) And so, yeah, I have some clients that can eat, you know, they eat so differently, but (23:19) it's like what works for them. (23:21) And I help them tune in and not to ask what that is.(23:25) Yeah. (23:26) Yeah. (23:26) That's, I mean, super important.(23:27) That's a lot of, you know, what I talk about as well.
(23:30) And I learned the hard way, you know, myself too. (23:34) Yeah.(23:34) Like I started just putting two and two together thinking, oh, I think this is gluten. (23:39) Like, I don't think I can have gluten anymore, you know? (23:41) But for years I went about thinking you were just supposed to eat and feel terrible after (23:47) you ate. (23:48) Like that was normal.(23:50) I mean, Lindsay, one thing I'm talking to clients about quite a bit is there's a big (23:55) sourdough trend right now and it's fantastic if it works for you and it's terrible if it (24:01) doesn't. (24:01) And it does not work for me. (24:03) When we actually went to Ireland a few months ago and there was sourdough, like at every (24:06) restaurant, don't get, I don't know why I didn't know it was a thing in Ireland, but (24:09) everybody's having sourdough and I feel horrible coming home.(24:12) I mean, to be honest, but I knew what I had done, but it's fermented and it does contain (24:15) gluten. (24:16) And here's the thing, just because it's trending does not mean it works for you. (24:20) And so I always say, okay, I'm happy you're in the kitchen.(24:24) I'm happy you're doing these things, but how do you feel? (24:27) And it's almost like they don't know they're allowed to pause and ask because they think (24:31) they're doing something wrong if they're not following what everybody else is doing. (24:34) It's like, no, you know, for me, sourdough bread does not make me feel good. (24:38) And so it doesn't mean it's bad.(24:40) It's a bad food, but many people struggle with gluten. (24:44) Many people struggle with histamine and have no idea that their skin rashes or anxiety or (24:49) insomnia or gut dysbiosis is linked to something they're eating that they think they should (24:57) be eating. (24:58) That's the thing.(24:59) It's, I think if I could speak to any person right now, it's the one that is trying to (25:03) be healthy that doesn't feel good because those are the people that I think are struggling (25:08) the most. (25:09) It's obvious if we're eating ultra processed food and not drinking water and drinking alcohol (25:13) and living off caffeine, you're not going to feel well. (25:16) But what about for the person like me in the past? (25:20) This was me.(25:21) I was eating as well as I possibly could to my knowledge. (25:25) And I actually got worse before I got better because I didn't know my body was not agreeing (25:31) with some of these foods that contain certain chemicals. (25:34) And so I think we have to educate on plant chemicals and we have to educate on histamine (25:39) and we need to look outside of the box.(25:43) And I just want to say that if anybody is listening and they're not feeling well and (25:48) they're listening to, they're following a diet trend that their doctor or their best (25:52) friend told them to do, they've not quite gotten it right for their body. (25:55) And they need to keep asking questions because I thought something was wrong with me because (26:02) I was not able to eat this way. (26:04) Like I was like, who doesn't who can't handle who breaks out in hives with lemon juice in (26:08) their water? (26:08) Everybody's doing lemon juice in their water.(26:10) It's good for your liver.
(26:11) It wasn't good for me. (26:12) So I just wanted to speak that loud because it's not your fault, but there's a reason (26:19) you're not feeling well.(26:21) Yeah, super important. (26:22) Side note, I have a gluten-free sourdough starter that I'm in love with. (26:26) Oh, really? (26:27) See, I haven't done a gluten-free one yet.(26:29) I really would love to. (26:31) I love to be in the kitchen. (26:33) I'm good to know.(26:34) Love to. (26:35) Bread's amazing. (26:36) I mean, at least for me.(26:38) I love bread. (26:39) I eat bread like all the time, but they're like gluten-free. (26:43) Yeah.(26:45) Thank you so much for listening to this episode of PCOS Unfiltered. (26:50) I hope this conversation with Laura encourages you to take a step back from all the noise (26:54) in the health world and start reconnecting with the one voice that matters most, your (26:59) own body. (27:00) One of my favorite takeaways from this episode is the reminder that healing doesn't come (27:04) from chasing every new trend or forcing yourself into rigid rules.(27:08) It often begins with slowing down, paying attention, and asking simple but powerful (27:13) questions like, how do I actually feel?
(27:16) What is my body trying to tell me? (27:18) Your health journey doesn't have to be perfect. (27:20) It doesn't have to follow a straight line, and it certainly doesn't have to look like (27:24) anyone else's. (27:26) If this episode resonated with you, I'd love for you to share it with a friend, take (27:30) a screenshot, and tag us on social media, or leave a review so more women can find (27:34) these conversations and begin reconnecting with their own bodies as well.(27:38) You can connect with Laura through her website, livehealthywithlaura.com, listen to her podcast, (27:44) Live Healthy with Laura, and check out her book, including her newest release, Just Jump, (27:49) An Overthinker's Guide to Getting Unstuck. (27:52) I'll make sure all of those links are included in the show notes for you. (27:55) And as always, remember, your body is not broken, your symptoms are not random, and (28:01) sometimes the most powerful thing you can do for your health is learning to trust yourself (28:05) again.(28:06) I'm sending you so much love, and I'll see you on the next episode of PCOS Unfiltered. (28:11) Nourish. (28:12) Heal.(28:13) Thrive.