In the last part of this 3-part empowering conversation with Dr. Anya Szigeti, DC, DABCI, a chiropractic internist and functional-medicine nutrition expert, we unpack the often-overlooked link between gut health and hormone balance in PCOS. Together we debunk trendy parasite cleanses, probiotic fads, and “quick-fix” supplement stacks, while spotlighting the real keys to long-term healing: testing before guessing, tuning into your body’s signals, and giving yourself permission to rest. Dr. Anya shares her own Hashimoto’s wake-up call, explains why symptoms are “secret messages” (not annoyances to silence), and leaves you with the reminder that you have far more power over your health than you’ve been led to believe.
Key Takeaways
Episode Highlights
| Time Stamp | Topic |
|---|---|
| 0:01 – 1:33 | Why gut health is the unsung hero in PCOS management |
| 1:33 – 4:10 | The dangers of “more supplements, fewer foods” & restrictive cleanses |
| 4:13 – 6:05 | Sauerkraut as a low-risk starter probiotic — and a diagnostic clue |
| 6:08 – 7:15 | Red-flag marketing: if it needs a flashy ad, pause before you buy |
| 7:15 – 12:41 | Healing is non-linear: rest, grace, and celebrating micro-wins |
| 12:45 – 17:34 | Busting myths: “It’s all in your head” and calories-in/calories-out |
| 17:36 – 19:18 | Dr. Anya’s resources, new community, and bestselling book |
🔗 Connect with Dr. Anya Szigeti:
*Website: www.backtohealthfunctionalmedicine.com
*Appointment Booking: https://backtohealthfunctionalmedicine.janeapp.com/
*Best-Selling Author - "You Can’t Outrun Your Fork”
*Holistic Hashimoto’s Healing Community on Skool
*IG https://www.instagram.com/dr.anyaszigeti/
*FB https://www.facebook.com/theszigetimethod
📢 Don’t forget to:
(0:01 - 1:33) Hey there and welcome back to PCOS Unfiltered, where we ditch the fads and get real about healing with PCOS. I'm your host, Lindsie, and today's episode is extra special because I'm joined by Dr. Anya Szigeti, a chiropractic internist specializing in functional medicine and nutrition. We're diving into the role of gut health on hormones and PCOS. You're going to walk away with real world insights, a few laughs and lots of empowerment. So let's jump in. So what are some common mistakes that women make when trying to fix their gut that may actually make things worse? So unfortunately, one of the things that I see is over supplementing without testing and cutting out too many foods and creating like that restrictive fear-based mindset and trying like harsh cleanses. Like I think parasite cleanses are the big thing right now. Everyone's like freaked out about parasites. And again, that's right up there with candida. If you have a healthy, resilient immune system, your body can flush out those parasites. If your immune system isn't good, we have a lot more to worry about than just parasites. Let's get your immune system resilient again, and then it can handle all the stuff that life throws at it.
(1:33 - 4:10) Yeah. That's where we also have to kind of do some, I don't want to say, some digging, like just self-reflecting on our own too, because yeah, either you get into that restrictive mindset, you can't stick with it. Like you were talking about your patient. And I feel like, I mean, for me, it was super easy, but I've realized like giving up things, but for others, I've realized it's definitely not that easy. And so that's where we have to really think like, what is our attachment to that food? And sometimes it can be something really deep. Like, is there some emotional connection there that's making us go back to that food? Or is it just your habit? Because your mind likes to keep you safe. So when you wake up every morning, you go right to the coffee machine first, that's what it's used to. And that's what it wants to make sure that you keep doing. And so, yeah, you have to kind of do some self-reflection there too. I've mentioned journaling before, again, that can be a love-hate relationship, but even just jotting down a few of those things, especially around food and connections to food, that can be very eye-opening as well, along with that food timeline tool too. Absolutely. So how do you feel about over-the-counter gut supplements or probiotic trends? Are they helpful or are they just hype? I think that there are some that are helpful, but I also know that without knowing what your specific imbalances are, many of them can do more harm than good. So we think about the body, the body loves balance. And if we take probiotics, for example, they aren't one size fits all at all. And unfortunately, some manufacturing companies found that certain strains were considered to be beneficial, and they were also very easy to grow in a lab and mass produce cheaply. So you will find those very easily on any store shelf. But that's typically one of the most common overgrowths that I see on my diagnostic testing, and it can come with unpleasant symptoms. So the testing that I do, the lab has figured out that there are certain ranges of beneficial bacteria that the body loves. But again, too much is a problem and too little is a problem. So it wants to be within that range. So this particular strain, I will often see it elevated because it's in just about every type of probiotic that's commercially available.
(4:13 - 6:05) So, yeah, that's, that's my caution with that is, you know, you can get probiotic rich foods. And I think that that's a better choice for somebody that maybe is just starting out or, you know, hasn't done testing. Because that way the body can almost kind of pick and choose what needs and keep what it needs. So things like sauerkraut, for example, I love sauerkraut, like you can make your own very easily. It's a, you know, probiotic rich food that typically doesn't cause any issues. If it does cause gut symptoms, that's just a way to let you know that you have deeper imbalances that you need to work on. So that's just simply like, you know, an easy alert system to say, Oh, okay, by, you know, a couple bites of sauerkraut, I get bloating, then, okay, I definitely have some imbalances that I need to maybe, you know, hire someone to investigate further and figure out what's going on. Yes. Yeah, I love this topic of like supplements. And yeah, especially with some of the trends and, you know, all that stuff around it, because it's well, I'm not against them, but it can, it can be one of those quick fixes still, you know, yeah, it's not a prescription, but it can still kind of be one of those quick fixes. So if you're not doing all that other work and just taking the pill or, you know, the supplement, the, whatever it is, the injection, you know, like you're, you're not, you're, you're not going to fix anything longterm. Sure. You might feel better in the short term, but longterm, you're not going to fix anything could even be doing more damage in the longterm. Yeah. There's still like a lot of other stuff that has to go along with those supplements. And unfortunately, I think a lot of, a lot of them get used misused, you know, to just heal in the moment, you know, or try to fix something in the moment. Yeah. You can't out supplement support diet.
(6:08 - 7:15) I was waiting for that. But also just something that just something to think about if something has a commercial or like, Oh, like you're getting pinged on it from social media ad or something like that. I would, I would give that an extra pause because you have to think about where are, you know, where's that company's priorities? Is it in the advertising dollars or is it in your health? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You said that to me a long time ago. I feel like a long time ago now, but yeah, I mean, when you think about it, you know, there's fast food commercials, there's lots of prescription commercials with when they list all the side effects and then, yeah. And then now we are seeing these supplement you know, commercials on our, I think a lot more on social media, but yeah, that's when you have to really think if they have to have a commercial for it, is it really that good for us for sure? Exactly.
(7:15 - 7:46) Um, so how do you encourage women who feel discouraged when they don't see results right away? This is a big one. And this was a big one for me too, because, um, you know, we, we're very productivity focused and results focused in this country, but healing is not linear. Just like I was saying with the hair, skin and nails piece, the body is going to focus its energies and resources on what it knows is the most important.
(7:47 - 12:41) And that's often not what our goals are. Fortunately, um, our bodies are smart. They're beautiful. They are working for us, not against us. And very often we need to actually get the frick out of the way and let it do its thing. And this can be, you know, on my journey was very challenging for me because our bodies need rest when we're healing. And I was not good at resting or pausing at all. Terrible at it actually. I've learned to be better. That's part of the process of the healing journey is learning what your body is asking for, and then actually giving your body that. So giving your body a chance to rest and heal was super huge for me. And it's huge for my patients because a lot of my patients are very much like me for type a go-getters productivity, you want to see results. And those are the ones that we need to meditate the most of it. It's really impossible, but we have to, you know, give our body what it needs and that's, what's asking for. Um, and so just, you know, have that jump to a reminder. Our bodies are working for us. It's working towards balancing. Um, even small improvements mean progress and celebrating every little win. Um, but then again, giving yourself grace for, you know, the, the beautiful storms and ebbs and flow of life that come and they're going to come and, you know, just breathing through them and, and, uh, just knowing that your body is healing. Yeah. Yeah. That was one huge thing for me on my journey that because your body's been, my body's been telling me something for years. I wasn't listening. Once I finally had my wake-up call, I was so much more in tune with my body. And so then, and I wouldn't say it was like hyper, you know, cause you can obviously like take that to the extreme, but it was just then like something gets off. You know, I noticed a skin rash or something. Like I can think of the time I was going through another stressful moment and my skin was telling me something. And like, then I was able to say, you know what? Okay. Something is off again. And I need to, yeah, I really need to evaluate, you know, what I'm doing and, and how to decrease my stress and manage my stress. And, um, yeah. And you definitely become more in tune with, with what your body is, is telling you for sure. Yeah. I definitely look back on my diagnosis of Hashimoto's with different, you know, emotions at different phases of my life. And I had this discussion with one of my patients last week and I was like, the emotion that I'm having right now, I used to have anger. I used to be pissed off. I used to be, you know, play the pity party of like, why me? I'm like, healthy. I'm doing all the things like, how did this happen? Like I did, I went off that, but most recently I'm feeling gratitude. I'm grateful for it because it was a freaking wake up call. Yeah. Terrible path for my health and terrible choices. And so I needed to be slapped back onto tracks. And I'm very thankful that I did. And I'm thankful that I changed the course of not only my health, but the trajectory of my life as well. And I'm so, you know, blessed and grateful for where my life is now and the things I'm able to do and the people I'm able to help. And it's just, it's beautiful. So I'm grateful for it because had I not had that diagnosis, I don't think I'd be where I am today. Yeah. I love that. I'm right there with you. I mean, yeah. Like I've said, I've said it from, I mean, once I started my health coaching practice, but I just feel like everything has led me to this, you know, from being in healthcare and a nurse. I mean, I was, I was in, you know, bedside cause I was CNA before I was a nurse, like almost 20 years basically. And then to the gym where I thought it was all about exercise and fitness, and that's what was going to make you healthy, you know, it's a, yeah, finally having my wake up call during that time. Um, it's just all kind of taught me something along the way and, and led me to here and Benny and, you know, helps me, um, helps my ability to help my patients even more for sure. Um, so what's one myth you'd love to bust about gut health or hormone healing? I'm sure you, I'm sure you probably have more than one, but let's see. I'm going to share a couple. Okay. One is that it's all in your head or that you just need to lose weight. Like the whole, um, exercise more, eat less.
(12:45 - 13:10) Um, and like the, all in your head, I was told that too, when I would go to my doctor with my laundry list of symptoms and they're like, no, we'll just pick one and we'll focus on that today. And I'm like, no, but they're all, they're all me. Um, because like symptoms, you know, not that with holistic functional medicine, I'm not chasing symptoms, but symptoms are real.
(13:10 - 13:19) They're real signals. They're secret messages from your body that it's asking for help. That something is going on, that something's out of balance and it needs our attention.
(13:19 - 17:34) So when we ignore them, we mute them, we attempt to silence them with, you know, over the counter or prescription, et cetera, our bodies are just going to keep turning up the volume until it gets our attention. Yeah. Um, I talk about this in my, the first, I have like a three-part series, you know, um, in my, the very first episodes of my podcast, but deep down, like if you know, something is going on and the doctor is saying, Oh, you know, all your labs look fine. No, you need to do some more, some more in-depth research. And that can even be on your own, take control of your own health. I mean, there's so much stuff out there and yes, you do have to be cautious, but I feel like you can still start doing your own research and start, start learning. Um, because yeah, unfortunately traditional medicine just looks at like individual things and they don't put the big puzzle together. Um, and yeah, I can get lost. And then of course going into the, the weight loss piece for sure. Yeah. You know, maybe, maybe calories in versus calories out, like worked way back in the day, but it's not that simple anymore. And especially that's when I think a lot of the sensitivities and intolerances tie, you know, tie into that because it's not that simple anymore. Um, weight watchers, weight watchers was huge. Um, back in the day, I think just about every client, potential client that I've talked to has tried weight watchers. Um, yeah, because you could still eat some of those bad things, but yeah. Um, but it's unfortunately just not that way for most of us anymore. Yeah. Um, so what's one truth you want every woman with PCOS to know when it comes to her gut and long-term health? Oh, I love this. Um, the biggest truth that I want literally every woman to know is that you have more power over your own health than you've been led to believe. And if we talk about the gut, it's not just the digestive organ. It is literally like a command center. It's actually been the second brain, or it might even be the first brain, depending on which way you look at it. Um, and then really focusing on leaning into your intuition, leaning into your symptoms. What are, what is your body trying to tell you? You live in your body, you know it better than anybody else. And I think that again, another, you know, thing that we've been misled in our society is to mute and mask and stuff everything down and just ignore it. But when you really lean in and tune in and whether it's through meditation or journaling or quiet time or whatever you need to do to just really tune into yourself and learn yourself, that, that changes everything right there because then, you know, that something's off and you can advocate for yourself. You can do the research and dive. And that's what I had to do, you know, really dive in for my own health because my doctor was running labs and keep telling me everything's normal. Everything's normal. I'm like, no, literally like, I feel like complete garbage. Like something is off. Something's wrong. I'm way too young to feel this tired. Like, yeah, not good. And so I had to research what tests for my MD to even run for me to get my diagnosis. And so I went to her and begged and I'm like, please run these tests that are literally like not like they're $10, $15. Like it's not expensive. I don't know why you're not, I run them on every female patient, unfortunately, because, especially photos is so, so prevalent and so under-diagnosed. But, you know, just, again, just trust in yourself and be your own advocate and lean into what your body is trying to tell you and, you know, reach out to resources that are here to help you and guide you on this journey. Yeah. It's a good way to end it. Last question, where can listeners learn more about your work and connect with you? So I'm trying my best to be great with social media.
(17:36 - 19:18) Talking about it before we reported it is definitely, you know, a struggle for both of us. We're both introverted and it's hard to really put ourselves out there. But I try to be on Instagram and Facebook educating as much as I can. I do have a lot of information on my website. I'll share all the links with Lindsay so she can put it on. And then I did just launch a holistic Hashimoto's healing community for us women dealing with hypothyroidism Hashimoto's to help to grow and thrive together. And, you know, we, I don't think we really touched on it at all, but I do have a bestselling book. You can't outrun your fork. It's on Amazon and it has, it's basically the guidebook that I wish I had when I was starting my health journey. It shares a lot about my health journey things I learned along my health journey and lots of resources for shopping, prepping, and then a hundred plus of my favorite anti-inflammatory gluten-free recipes that are delicious and easy to make and don't have crazy ingredients that you can find relatively easily. And so if you're just starting out on your journey and want some guidance and delicious recipes, it's a good, it's a good place to start. Yes. Love the recipes on that one. That's, that's, yeah, that's a huge one. Yeah. I mean, I think that is all we have hint, hint. There might be another one because as Dr. Anya talked about with Hashimoto's finding a lot of women that have Hashimoto's and PCOS together. So I think Dr. Anya might be a guest in the future as well.
(19:20 - 19:51) Wow. What an amazing conversation. Big thanks to Dr. Anya for sharing her time, her wisdom, and her heart with us today. I hope you're feeling as inspired and empowered as I am. If you'd like to connect with Dr. Anya, you can find all the info in the show notes. And if you loved today's episode, don't forget to subscribe, share it with a friend who needs to hear it and leave a quick review. It helps us reach even more amazing women, just like you. Until next time, keep nourishing your body, healing your heart and thriving unfiltered and unstoppable.