April 30, 2024 • 13 mins
Have you ever stopped to consider if the health issues running in your family are truly inevitable, or if there might be a pathway to change your destiny? Laurel Hernandez, a dedicated holistic nutritionist from Calgary, joins us to explore the profound impact of food on our well-being, and how it can be a catalyst for preventing hereditary diseases. Armed with not only knowledge but also the lived experience of managing health as a mother, she's here to share her insights and offer guidance with a blend of professional expertise and personal compassion.
This episode isn't about generic nutrition advice that you've likely heard time and again. Instead, Laurel breaks down the custom-tailored approach she takes in creating meal plans that focus on metabolism and gut health, addressing the root causes of health issues rather than just the symptoms. It's a conversation that challenges the status quo and shines a spotlight on the holistic connection between the food we eat and our body's intricate systems. Tune in for an enlightening discussion that promises to reshape your understanding of nutrition and empower you to live a healthier, more vibrant life.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Okay, hey, everyone, welcome to another episode of
Living a Full Life.
Special guest this week Laurelfrom my hometown up in Calgary,
and she's going to go intoholistic nutrition and how it is
and how it works.
But tell us a little bit aboutyou.
How'd you get into this and howyou help people?
Speaker 2 (00:27):
started.
Back in my early 20s I justkind of noticed within my own
family, around me, all thehereditary diseases that
people's family members weregetting.
I decided that you know, likethere has to be a connection,
there can't just be.
Oh yeah, this diabetes runs inmy family.
I'm going to get it for surelater on.
Heart disease runs in my family.
I'm going to for sure get itlater on.
I'm gonna get it for sure lateron.
Heart disease runs in my family.
I'm gonna for sure get it on.
I stumbled upon holisticnutrition and, yeah, I took the
(00:49):
course and it just opened myeyes to how many chronic
diseases are actually caused byinherited food choices For the
most part.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
So yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
I have two Girls.
I've got a three-year-old and asix-month-old, so I'm right at
postpartum motherhood stage oflife right now.
So been a whirlwind, but Iwouldn't change it for anything
yeah, what in your life got youinterested in it?
Speaker 1 (01:17):
did you have to deal with any of your own health uh
issues to to?
I find a lot of people who getinto functional medicine or
holistic nutrition or any typeof I mean this isn't a get on
the internet and get yourcertificate over the weekend
type thing.
This is like you're delvinginto a program to really learn a
lot about it.
What in your life connected youto maybe looking into dive
(01:37):
deeper into nutrition?
Speaker 2 (01:39):
I think it had a lot to do with the diseases that run
in my family.
We've got hypothyroidism, we'vegot type 2 diabetes, cancers
galore, all that stuff and thatstuff started to really scare me
in my young adult life and Iwas like there's got to be a way
to make this happen to me.
(01:59):
So I at first was looking intohow I could prevent that from
happening, and then I realizedthat there's a way that I could
help other people prevent stufflike that from happening to
themselves.
So I went and did the holisticnutrition course with the
canadian school of naturalnutrition, which is a full
one-year course, and then whenyou graduate you have a full
(02:21):
diploma in nutrition and theability to actually make meal
plans and stuff like that forpeople and and guide them
through whatever chronic illnessthey may have or weight loss or
gut issues, and right, yeah,and what would be the difference
?
Speaker 1 (02:37):
I mean nutritionists have been around forever.
I mean people have beenreferred to.
Sometimes you need a medicalreferral to see one.
Through my career there's beena lot of disappointment in the
nutrition field because it'susually a little cookie cutter
or it might be the diabeticthing where they're like just
follow the Canadian Food Guideor the American Food Guide or
the American DiabetesAssociation and people
(02:59):
surprisingly don't get theresults that they're looking for
.
But how has it changed overthese years and why is something
like holistic nutritionprobably something people should
maybe look into?
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Well, holistic nutrition starts with helping
the body and realizing thateverything in the body is
connected.
We're not just going to sitthere and treat a symptom like
okay, I'm overweight.
Okay, well, let's just countyour macros and you'll lose
weight.
Holistic nutrition is more so.
Let's figure out what'shappening with your metabolism,
let's figure out what'shappening with your gut, and
we're actually going to fixthese issues so that they don't
(03:31):
happen again.
And what I like about holisticnutrition is we have the ability
to work with whole foods andlike foods from nature, whereas
a lot of the time, when peopleget their nutrition
certifications online and stufflike that, they're either
teaching from the Canada foodguide or the American food guide
(03:53):
I'm not too sure, um or they'reteaching straight up macro
nutrient information and notreally treating the body as a
whole.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
Yeah, I find.
I find the macro it's not aboutprotein, carbs and fat.
I mean, it's so much deeperthan that.
And you see people going on themacro diets and forgetting to
eat fruits and vegetablesbecause the bread got them what
they needed for the carbs forthe day, and you're like, oh my
gosh, we're, we're going thewrong way.
(04:22):
So I mean that's one thing asan adult, you can take control
of your own health.
You can make your own decisions.
You can hire.
You can not hire.
You can look into beinghealthier.
You don't have to be, I guess.
But what happens when it comesto your kids and parents that
might be struggling with foodand struggling with, you know,
helping their kids not just toeat better, but sometimes kids
go through some chronicconditions as well.
Are you familiar with any ofthat stuff?
Speaker 2 (04:44):
Yeah, so I have worked with kiddos that maybe
suffer from celiac disease aswell as chronic gut issues.
I've been working with kiddosthat may struggle with ADD and
ADHD, just trying to, you know,assist them with reducing
symptoms and living I don't knowa more normal lifestyle if they
(05:07):
don't have to be fullymedicated.
I will say, like with me, Iwill never, ever, tell someone
to stop their medication andjust do this nutrition plan.
Anytime I'm talking withsomeone or someone's parents,
it's okay, let's try out thisnutrition plan, but it needs to
be with the assistance of adoctor before we're just going
to say, yeah, get off yourmedication and, you know, live
(05:29):
your life that way.
So it definitely is is somethingthat I have to be mindful of,
working alongside otherhealthcare professionals,
because I'm not yeah, I'm notjust going to say, yeah,
holistic nutrition is the onlyway, and I'm going to get you
these results, just like this,like it has to be has to be
assisted with a medicalprofessional when it comes to
(05:50):
diseases.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Yeah, that's cool.
So I mean this could be usedfor anyone.
I mean, I'm sure there's somethings you run into as kids.
As you work with kids you knowthey're not as easy as adults.
But when it gets into holisticnutrition, what separates that
afar from any other type ofprograms that don't just fit on
a pamphlet and say, hey, takethis home and eat like this?
What separates holisticnutrition compared to everything
(06:15):
else?
Speaker 2 (06:17):
The whole foods focus and the… focus and the focus on
healing the body as a whole.
Essentially, we're not justtake one thing that's a symptom
and treat that.
We're going to say, okay, thisis happening with this part of
your body which is connected tothis, which is connected to this
, and we're going to treat it asa whole.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
Got it, and it's always through food or do you
work with supplements, andnutritional supplements as well?
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Yeah, so the focus mainly is through whole foods.
We like to make sure that weget most of the nutrition that
we're getting from foods, butthe reality of the situation
nowadays, honestly, our soilsare so depleted that it's hard
for us to even get the fullnutrition from our veggies and
our fruits.
So I do use supplementationsecondary to that of nutrition
(07:05):
from foods.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
Right, great, you're covering all the bases.
I love it when kids don't workwell with the programs that are
laid out in front of them,because I work with a lot of
kids and rarely does it go theway we plan on day one.
How do you, how do you workwith parents with that?
Speaker 2 (07:22):
I like to do baby steps.
I would hate to just give, likethis, full meal plan to like a
seven or eight year old and belike you have to eat like this.
No kid is going to.
Okay.
That sounds great, so it's more.
So you kind of have to treatthem like you would a toddler or
like a six month old whenyou're introducing you know, one
at a time, let's get used tothe idea and then we'll
(07:43):
incorporate this and you keepadding on and then you keep
slowly taking away those onesthat maybe are causing them harm
, like food dyes and candies andstuff like that.
But it can't be cool,especially with kids.
You can't do that.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
No.
What does it look like workingwith you?
Is it weekly?
Do people tune in with youweekly or connect with you on a
certain frequency?
How does that look If somebodywere to work with you?
How often do you connect?
How long do programs usuallytake?
How do you reassess?
I mean, let's just give peoplekind of a guide on what holistic
nutrition really does.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
Yeah, so I have a couple of options.
It depends on how much peoplewant to see me.
If they're annoyed at me,that's fine.
So I'll be having my own likeonline programs that you can
click on and download for justquick gut health or quick like
weight loss meal plan orwhatever like that.
So I'll have those that you candownload and you don't ever have
(08:38):
to talk to me, or you cancontact me and we can do a 30
day, 60 day, 90 day program,depending on how chronic things
may be with you or your kids,and we meet weekly with the
first 30 days, and then biweekly and then every four weeks
, just to kind of taper off, butnot to the point where people
(08:59):
feel like they're alone.
At the end, I want people to belike yeah, I have a good, solid
foundation with me or my kids,I feel comfortable in this, but
I, I'm always reachable.
So if you haven't worked withme in a month and you're like
you know what, like I have morequestions or whatever, like I'm
can always reach out to me and II usually do like video chats
with people so they can, uh, seeme face to face and stuff like
(09:20):
that.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
So right, yeah, who's been the funnest clients to
work with?
Who do you enjoy thoroughlyhelping?
Speaker 2 (09:27):
uh, I think it's the moms, because I'm right there
with them.
So it's.
You know we can joke aboutpostpartum and all the things
that come with it.
I'm I'm right in the thick ofit.
So that's been the most funpart for me and I think um just
kind of helping them see theother side, like postpartum
isn't forever.
You're not going to feel thisway about your body forever.
(09:49):
You're not going to feel thislack of energy forever, like
it's, it's temporary.
And I think it's reallyrewarding seeing that light come
back into their eyes like, ohmy gosh, like I I'm through that
tunnel and now I can finallybreathe again and enjoy this
next stage of my life.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
So very cool.
Yeah, it's great, I mean, andit's just trying to bring
awareness to this and holisticnutrition.
As a service provider myself, Imean, you stick to your lane,
you do what you have as aservice, but then you just know
that there's so much more thatpeople need to do when it comes
to their health.
We try and nudge people in theright direction all the time, so
this is more for people lookinglike, yeah, I got to do
(10:29):
something with my nutrition, andthe nice thing about it is it
can be done virtually, so youcan call Laurel at any time and
connect with her online and shecan guide you in the right
direction or maybe even help youthrough what's going on there
as well.
So, just bringing a light toholistic nutrition and you
probably know why I pickedholistic and why this excited me
a little bit.
It's the holistic part, not thenutrition part, because we truly
(10:50):
believe in that.
I mean our food has to comefrom the earth and they can't be
coming from a box or a pancakeor whatever it is that we cheat
to.
So micronutrients is the nameof the game.
And yeah, you're right, you'vegot to supplement, you've got to
do all this other stuff, andthese kids need our help.
So that's why we're here.
Uh, what, how do people connectwith you?
(11:10):
What are your handles?
What's your website?
What's all that stuff?
You can kind of spell it out.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
Yeah, so my website is yet to be live.
I have probably another monthbefore I have my full like
downloadable nutrition packagesready, so when those are ready
then I will post the website andI'll post those.
So for now I'm working solelythrough Instagram at
holistically Laurel handle, andthat's where people can contact
(11:36):
me.
I also have an email addresswhich is laurelnutrition at
gmailcom, so people want toconnect or questions or anything
like that, they can reach outto me there as well.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
Great, yeah, I'll put those in the handles.
I'll put those in the text aswell, so people can just click
on them and go from there.
Great Thanks for your time anddoing this.
I mean bringing some light toholistic nutrition and parents
out there.
I mean there are tools andservices out there that are not
with your PCP.
So if you're frustrated, that'swho you call.
You call Laura and she'll helpyou out.
Yeah, thanks for doing this.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
Awesome.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
Of course, see ya.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
All right, bye.
Okay, hey, everyone, welcome to another episode of
Living a Full Life.
Special guest this week Laurelfrom my hometown up in Calgary,
and she's going to go intoholistic nutrition and how it is
and how it works.
But tell us a little bit aboutyou.
How'd you get into this and howyou help people?
Speaker 2 (00:27):
started.
Back in my early 20s I justkind of noticed within my own
family, around me, all thehereditary diseases that
people's family members weregetting.
I decided that you know, likethere has to be a connection,
there can't just be.
Oh yeah, this diabetes runs inmy family.
I'm going to get it for surelater on.
Heart disease runs in my family.
I'm going to for sure get itlater on.
I'm gonna get it for sure lateron.
Heart disease runs in my family.
I'm gonna for sure get it on.
I stumbled upon holisticnutrition and, yeah, I took the
(00:49):
course and it just opened myeyes to how many chronic
diseases are actually caused byinherited food choices For the
most part.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
So yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
I have two Girls.
I've got a three-year-old and asix-month-old, so I'm right at
postpartum motherhood stage oflife right now.
So been a whirlwind, but Iwouldn't change it for anything
yeah, what in your life got youinterested in it?
Speaker 1 (01:17):
did you have to deal with any of your own health uh
issues to to?
I find a lot of people who getinto functional medicine or
holistic nutrition or any typeof I mean this isn't a get on
the internet and get yourcertificate over the weekend
type thing.
This is like you're delvinginto a program to really learn a
lot about it.
What in your life connected youto maybe looking into dive
(01:37):
deeper into nutrition?
Speaker 2 (01:39):
I think it had a lot to do with the diseases that run
in my family.
We've got hypothyroidism, we'vegot type 2 diabetes, cancers
galore, all that stuff and thatstuff started to really scare me
in my young adult life and Iwas like there's got to be a way
to make this happen to me.
(01:59):
So I at first was looking intohow I could prevent that from
happening, and then I realizedthat there's a way that I could
help other people prevent stufflike that from happening to
themselves.
So I went and did the holisticnutrition course with the
canadian school of naturalnutrition, which is a full
one-year course, and then whenyou graduate you have a full
(02:21):
diploma in nutrition and theability to actually make meal
plans and stuff like that forpeople and and guide them
through whatever chronic illnessthey may have or weight loss or
gut issues, and right, yeah,and what would be the difference
?
Speaker 1 (02:37):
I mean nutritionists have been around forever.
I mean people have beenreferred to.
Sometimes you need a medicalreferral to see one.
Through my career there's beena lot of disappointment in the
nutrition field because it'susually a little cookie cutter
or it might be the diabeticthing where they're like just
follow the Canadian Food Guideor the American Food Guide or
the American DiabetesAssociation and people
(02:59):
surprisingly don't get theresults that they're looking for
.
But how has it changed overthese years and why is something
like holistic nutritionprobably something people should
maybe look into?
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Well, holistic nutrition starts with helping
the body and realizing thateverything in the body is
connected.
We're not just going to sitthere and treat a symptom like
okay, I'm overweight.
Okay, well, let's just countyour macros and you'll lose
weight.
Holistic nutrition is more so.
Let's figure out what'shappening with your metabolism,
let's figure out what'shappening with your gut, and
we're actually going to fixthese issues so that they don't
(03:31):
happen again.
And what I like about holisticnutrition is we have the ability
to work with whole foods andlike foods from nature, whereas
a lot of the time, when peopleget their nutrition
certifications online and stufflike that, they're either
teaching from the Canada foodguide or the American food guide
(03:53):
I'm not too sure, um or they'reteaching straight up macro
nutrient information and notreally treating the body as a
whole.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
Yeah, I find.
I find the macro it's not aboutprotein, carbs and fat.
I mean, it's so much deeperthan that.
And you see people going on themacro diets and forgetting to
eat fruits and vegetablesbecause the bread got them what
they needed for the carbs forthe day, and you're like, oh my
gosh, we're, we're going thewrong way.
(04:22):
So I mean that's one thing asan adult, you can take control
of your own health.
You can make your own decisions.
You can hire.
You can not hire.
You can look into beinghealthier.
You don't have to be, I guess.
But what happens when it comesto your kids and parents that
might be struggling with foodand struggling with, you know,
helping their kids not just toeat better, but sometimes kids
go through some chronicconditions as well.
Are you familiar with any ofthat stuff?
Speaker 2 (04:44):
Yeah, so I have worked with kiddos that maybe
suffer from celiac disease aswell as chronic gut issues.
I've been working with kiddosthat may struggle with ADD and
ADHD, just trying to, you know,assist them with reducing
symptoms and living I don't knowa more normal lifestyle if they
(05:07):
don't have to be fullymedicated.
I will say, like with me, Iwill never, ever, tell someone
to stop their medication andjust do this nutrition plan.
Anytime I'm talking withsomeone or someone's parents,
it's okay, let's try out thisnutrition plan, but it needs to
be with the assistance of adoctor before we're just going
to say, yeah, get off yourmedication and, you know, live
(05:29):
your life that way.
So it definitely is is somethingthat I have to be mindful of,
working alongside otherhealthcare professionals,
because I'm not yeah, I'm notjust going to say, yeah,
holistic nutrition is the onlyway, and I'm going to get you
these results, just like this,like it has to be has to be
assisted with a medicalprofessional when it comes to
(05:50):
diseases.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Yeah, that's cool.
So I mean this could be usedfor anyone.
I mean, I'm sure there's somethings you run into as kids.
As you work with kids you knowthey're not as easy as adults.
But when it gets into holisticnutrition, what separates that
afar from any other type ofprograms that don't just fit on
a pamphlet and say, hey, takethis home and eat like this?
What separates holisticnutrition compared to everything
(06:15):
else?
Speaker 2 (06:17):
The whole foods focus and the… focus and the focus on
healing the body as a whole.
Essentially, we're not justtake one thing that's a symptom
and treat that.
We're going to say, okay, thisis happening with this part of
your body which is connected tothis, which is connected to this
, and we're going to treat it asa whole.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
Got it, and it's always through food or do you
work with supplements, andnutritional supplements as well?
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Yeah, so the focus mainly is through whole foods.
We like to make sure that weget most of the nutrition that
we're getting from foods, butthe reality of the situation
nowadays, honestly, our soilsare so depleted that it's hard
for us to even get the fullnutrition from our veggies and
our fruits.
So I do use supplementationsecondary to that of nutrition
(07:05):
from foods.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
Right, great, you're covering all the bases.
I love it when kids don't workwell with the programs that are
laid out in front of them,because I work with a lot of
kids and rarely does it go theway we plan on day one.
How do you, how do you workwith parents with that?
Speaker 2 (07:22):
I like to do baby steps.
I would hate to just give, likethis, full meal plan to like a
seven or eight year old and belike you have to eat like this.
No kid is going to.
Okay.
That sounds great, so it's more.
So you kind of have to treatthem like you would a toddler or
like a six month old whenyou're introducing you know, one
at a time, let's get used tothe idea and then we'll
(07:43):
incorporate this and you keepadding on and then you keep
slowly taking away those onesthat maybe are causing them harm
, like food dyes and candies andstuff like that.
But it can't be cool,especially with kids.
You can't do that.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
No.
What does it look like workingwith you?
Is it weekly?
Do people tune in with youweekly or connect with you on a
certain frequency?
How does that look If somebodywere to work with you?
How often do you connect?
How long do programs usuallytake?
How do you reassess?
I mean, let's just give peoplekind of a guide on what holistic
nutrition really does.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
Yeah, so I have a couple of options.
It depends on how much peoplewant to see me.
If they're annoyed at me,that's fine.
So I'll be having my own likeonline programs that you can
click on and download for justquick gut health or quick like
weight loss meal plan orwhatever like that.
So I'll have those that you candownload and you don't ever have
(08:38):
to talk to me, or you cancontact me and we can do a 30
day, 60 day, 90 day program,depending on how chronic things
may be with you or your kids,and we meet weekly with the
first 30 days, and then biweekly and then every four weeks
, just to kind of taper off, butnot to the point where people
(08:59):
feel like they're alone.
At the end, I want people to belike yeah, I have a good, solid
foundation with me or my kids,I feel comfortable in this, but
I, I'm always reachable.
So if you haven't worked withme in a month and you're like
you know what, like I have morequestions or whatever, like I'm
can always reach out to me and II usually do like video chats
with people so they can, uh, seeme face to face and stuff like
(09:20):
that.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
So right, yeah, who's been the funnest clients to
work with?
Who do you enjoy thoroughlyhelping?
Speaker 2 (09:27):
uh, I think it's the moms, because I'm right there
with them.
So it's.
You know we can joke aboutpostpartum and all the things
that come with it.
I'm I'm right in the thick ofit.
So that's been the most funpart for me and I think um just
kind of helping them see theother side, like postpartum
isn't forever.
You're not going to feel thisway about your body forever.
(09:49):
You're not going to feel thislack of energy forever, like
it's, it's temporary.
And I think it's reallyrewarding seeing that light come
back into their eyes like, ohmy gosh, like I I'm through that
tunnel and now I can finallybreathe again and enjoy this
next stage of my life.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
So very cool.
Yeah, it's great, I mean, andit's just trying to bring
awareness to this and holisticnutrition.
As a service provider myself, Imean, you stick to your lane,
you do what you have as aservice, but then you just know
that there's so much more thatpeople need to do when it comes
to their health.
We try and nudge people in theright direction all the time, so
this is more for people lookinglike, yeah, I got to do
(10:29):
something with my nutrition, andthe nice thing about it is it
can be done virtually, so youcan call Laurel at any time and
connect with her online and shecan guide you in the right
direction or maybe even help youthrough what's going on there
as well.
So, just bringing a light toholistic nutrition and you
probably know why I pickedholistic and why this excited me
a little bit.
It's the holistic part, not thenutrition part, because we truly
(10:50):
believe in that.
I mean our food has to comefrom the earth and they can't be
coming from a box or a pancakeor whatever it is that we cheat
to.
So micronutrients is the nameof the game.
And yeah, you're right, you'vegot to supplement, you've got to
do all this other stuff, andthese kids need our help.
So that's why we're here.
Uh, what, how do people connectwith you?
(11:10):
What are your handles?
What's your website?
What's all that stuff?
You can kind of spell it out.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
Yeah, so my website is yet to be live.
I have probably another monthbefore I have my full like
downloadable nutrition packagesready, so when those are ready
then I will post the website andI'll post those.
So for now I'm working solelythrough Instagram at
holistically Laurel handle, andthat's where people can contact
(11:36):
me.
I also have an email addresswhich is laurelnutrition at
gmailcom, so people want toconnect or questions or anything
like that, they can reach outto me there as well.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
Great, yeah, I'll put those in the handles.
I'll put those in the text aswell, so people can just click
on them and go from there.
Great Thanks for your time anddoing this.
I mean bringing some light toholistic nutrition and parents
out there.
I mean there are tools andservices out there that are not
with your PCP.
So if you're frustrated, that'swho you call.
You call Laura and she'll helpyou out.
Yeah, thanks for doing this.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
Awesome.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
Of course, see ya.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
All right, bye.
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If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Nikki Glaser Podcast
Every week comedian and infamous roaster Nikki Glaser provides a fun, fast-paced, and brutally honest look into current pop-culture and her own personal life.