February 24, 2025 • 26 mins
It's here! Part Two with Lacy Davidson Ferguson, Holistic Practitioner, Registered Dietitian, and Yoga Teacher. BTW, did we mention she's also a wife, a co-business owner with her husband, and has two fantastic kiddos!
Join us as we explore the engaging parallels between parenting and personal growth, with a nod to the timeless wisdom of older generations. We dive into the complexities of the supplement industry, advocating for a foundation of whole foods and quality, evidence-based supplements. Aging gracefully becomes a focal point as we discuss the importance of maintaining muscle and adapting to our bodies’ evolving needs, while resisting societal pressures for excessive supplementation. Discover how continuous learning extends beyond formal education in the field of nutrition, and learn how you can connect with Lacey online for a transformative virtual coaching experience: https://www.lacydavidsonferguson.com/
Please be sure to checkout our website for previous episodes, our psych-approved resource page, and connect with us on social media! All this and more at www.thelylaspodcast.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello Lylas listeners .
Today we are picking up wherewe left off last week with part
two of our episode with MrsLacey David Ferguson talking
about holistic living.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Follow us on socials, try to learn something and
welcome to Lylas so when I movedback to huntington three years
(00:35):
after um, I started gradschooling in california.
I just finished my rytregistered yoga training and I
found Studio 8, which is a spacethat Sarah and I share in
common and hold dearly in ourhearts, and I started teaching
yoga there and that's reallywhere I started to build and
(00:57):
find this sense of community.
I think, like I.
Finally, I felt like I was apart of something that was
bigger than me and Joan, whoowns Studio 8, she had a mural
on the wall that said be thechange that you want to see in
the world.
You know the famous Gandhiquote and I love that and
(01:17):
embrace that to this day.
That's a big part of who I amand what I do.
While I was teaching at studio,a park came to one of my,
literally burst in the door toone of my classes, um, and, and
we were married I don't knowfive years later or something
like that.
So, um, so.
So yoga has been and and hasbecome a big part of what I do
(01:41):
on multiple, multiple when itcomes to working with clients or
, you know, just friends andfamily.
Yoga is definitely thefoundation of my philosophy.
Like maybe people from anutrition perspective.
Don't necessarily seek me outbecause of my yoga background,
(02:02):
but it's definitely thefoundational philosophy of how I
work with people, you know,letting them kind of set the
pace and set the tempo and cometo their own conclusions and
kind of discover what it is thatmakes them tick, as we're
unwinding their nutritionalhabits and building, you know,
(02:23):
new ones at the same timeunwinding their nutritional
habits and
Speaker 3 (02:26):
building, you know new ones at the same time.
That's beautiful.
Have you found that, as you dothese kind of workshops and you
know community events, thatpeople are receptive?
Are you noticing like a changeand that people really are
gravitating to this idea of whatwe're putting in our bodies and
and a more holistic lifestylein general?
Speaker 2 (02:47):
The crowds that I might attract, or the, the, the
positions that I put myself inkind of guarantee that the
audience is there to do the work.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
You know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Like right For.
For, for instance, when I gotmy first job as a registered
dietitian, I knew for a factthat I did not, like I couldn't,
physically and mentally, workin a hospital where people were
sick and didn't have an interestin hearing what I had to say.
Like they were sick, they werethere to rest and get IVs and
(03:21):
get meds and get out of thereright.
Like they could care less aboutwhat I had to say about
nutrition.
Um, but I worked in outpatientand so people had to be willing
to show up, like they had to bewilling to book the appointment
and come and and and chat aboutwhat was going on and and, um,
you know, hear me out on what Ithought might help them change
(03:42):
change course.
So stack the deck, I think, isthe word, that, the phrase that
I was looking for in thebeginning I tried not to put
myself in a position where I'mgoing to get like booed off
stage and rotten tomatoes thrownmy way.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
Processed food thrown at you.
Speaker 4 (04:03):
Oh, that's funny, yeah, well, and I think that
from that you found a differentniche too, because eventually
you ended up leaving theoutpatient world Right and just
wanted to different community,yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
I did, yeah, so exactly I, I, I kind of delved
deeper, even even from there, um, and and found that the folks
that I want to work with maybearen't, aren't even necessarily
coming to an outpatient settingright Like they right now.
(04:37):
All of my, all of my clientsare virtual, and mostly I work
with folks who have some sort ofcardio metabolic concerns.
So you know, heart health,diabetes, um, maybe they want to
lose weight, but, uh, in mostcases that the root cause of all
(04:57):
of those things lies muchdeeper and and that's what I get
excited about helping them touncover.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
I love that.
That's what I get excited abouthelping them to uncover.
I love that.
I think most you said theyreach or they come to you
because they have some sort ofcardiac, you know, health issue.
You know.
Interestingly enough, today is11 years.
My dad passed away from a heartattack and he was not
overweight.
Like you know, he wasn't a manthat would have sought out
necessarily somebody forsomething like that and would
(05:27):
you say that's true for peopleLike you tend to put those two
things together right, Likeheart health and obesity, or at
least in my mind you do.
Do those two things always gotogether or not have heart
issues and not be overweight?
Speaker 2 (05:45):
That is such a great question and I think it's a huge
misnomer and, largely from apublic health perspective, our
fault and when I say me, our,like practitioners, you know the
medical community we've paintedthis picture that being
overweight is what leads tothese other conditions, and
that's absolutely 100% not thecase.
(06:07):
Right, it's like, ultimately,all of us have these.
You know, some degree of animbalance in our body.
Malnutrition is is, you know,probably leading the charge in
that imbalance, but anoverburden of you know toxins or
you know pesticides orpollutants.
You know toxins or you knowpesticides or pollutants, you
(06:27):
know, you name it in addition tonot enough of the right
nutrients.
And so these imbalances at thecellular level, like deep, deep
in our tissues, right, theymanifest in different ways
depending on the person.
So for some people it lookslike weight gain, for other
people it looks likehypothyroidism, For some people
it looks like heartattackroidism, for some people
it looks like heart attack orstroke, or you know all of the
(06:49):
things that that precede thathypertension, all of those
different things.
And so that's a big passion ofmine is like helping people to
understand that the diagnosis oreven the symptoms aren't
necessarily what we should belooking at or attacking.
It really goes much deeper.
(07:10):
However, the solution is oftenalways so much simpler than what
we're sold, than the narrativethat we're sold, that it has to
be complicated, that we have tocut it out or, you know,
medicate it out or numb it out,and oftentimes it's really just
(07:31):
a matter of getting back in syncwith nature's cycles and what
nature has to offer us andreally leaning into that.
Sorry, that was kind of a Spoketo my heart.
Speaker 4 (07:45):
That was beautiful.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
I can get on tangents , if you let me Sorry.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
I love that and I think for me.
I mean, you know you're alittle bit younger than we are,
but when you talk about some ofthe things that we can do on a
cellular level, what are somethings just off the top of your
head that you think of areimportant for midlife women to
be considering as part of theirdaily habits?
Speaker 2 (08:14):
Yeah, Um, really not all that different than the
things that you would want yourkids to do, right, like I think
it's.
It's easy for us.
You know, I went to thepediatrician with my kids and
they give me the five, four,three, two, one.
I probably butchered that.
It's something like that of,like you know, five fruits and
veggies, down to three, twohours of screen time and no
(08:38):
sugar sweetened beverages orsomething like that.
I forget how it goes.
I'm not a very good patient.
I've never heard this.
That's interesting.
But anyway, I think to myselfokay, two hours of screen time,
doc, at what point does thatchange?
Right, like, when does itbecome okay that kids only get
two hours of screen time?
But you and I are working menand women, and we're staring at
(09:00):
a screen for at least eighthours, right, like, when does
that become okay?
So you know, simple things thatwe can do.
We can obviously dwell in thatand I don't recommend that, like
it is what it is.
I'm very fortunate to be able towork remotely and use the
screen and raise my kids the waythat I want to, but at the same
time, you know, being outsidemore like being in the sun.
(09:22):
The sun is our fuel source, itis our lifeline.
Just like, no different thanthe trees outside, like there
are no leaves on the trees whereI am, because there's not a lot
of sun, but in the summer, whenthere's more sun, there will be
leaves, and so our bodies arebuilt by the same design.
Like the more that we're in thesun and absorbing the rays, the
(09:44):
more vitamin D that our bodymakes.
It doesn't matter how muchvitamin D we take, it matters
how the sun activates it in ourphysical being, and I think more
of that will continue to becomeapparent through science.
I think science will catch up tonature eventually and show us
all of these things with proof.
But to get back to the point, Ithink more time in the sun,
(10:08):
more clean water, more fresh,wholesome foods, you know we
don't have to be tyrants, wedon't have to.
You know, totally live off theland and you know, only eat what
we raise.
I think it's.
It can be very simple to askourselves like where can I make
(10:28):
subtle shifts that make me feela lot better?
Speaker 3 (10:33):
Can you just explain what you mean by clean water,
like when you say does that meanlike filtered water, like out
of your refrigerator, becausenow it's like stay away from
bottled?
Speaker 2 (10:44):
water right.
Speaker 3 (10:47):
So what do you consider?
Clean water, yeah wow, greatquestion.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
So you know, for a long time fluoride was a
mandated requirement to be inour water and pretty soon
fluoride will be removed fromall city water sources because
we know now that it's linked toall sorts of neurodegenerative
conditions in children andadults, and so that's just one
(11:15):
thing that ends up in our waters.
It's mandated to be in our water, right?
So having a clean source,whether it's from your city tap
and all you can do is put acarbon filter on it, or you have
a well that's drilled out of a,you know, from the top of a
(11:36):
mountain, from a pure, from thetop of a mountain, from a pure,
pristine spring source, you knowthat that would be probably the
the ultimate, but doing thebest you can in the situation
that you're in, right Like again, not stressing about it, not
dwelling on it.
Just like, where can I makeimprovements if I'm drinking out
of plastic all the time?
Can I just switch to a glassbottle?
(11:57):
You know, if I have regular tapwater, can I put a carbon
filter on and remove some of theimpurities or toxins that might
be in it?
Do I have the income or themeans or the interest to get a
Berkey water filter Like that's,you know, the gold standard for
really removing all of thethings.
So there's a lot of differentways that you could improve
(12:22):
water, in my opinion, but justdrinking more of it probably is
the best thing that any of uscould do.
Speaker 3 (12:32):
I love that you say that, though, like what's
accessible to you and don't getcaught up in you know the
highest quality water, like thebest that you can do, right,
we're all making, we're alldoing the best we can with what
we have, and I love that messagewhen we apply it, even to
things like nutrition, right,because if you're like most of
(12:52):
us, it's like we're all in orwe're all out, right, and so
just that idea of like itdoesn't have to be perfect, but
like some step in the rightdirection is better than nothing
.
Speaker 4 (13:03):
Yeah, gosh, it's so great, lacey, I loved having you
on here.
I just feel I think one thingis that I want to be you
whenever I grow up, because tohave some of those insights you
talked about, like in your earlytwenties and I'm still, like I
don't know, mid 40s and notthere yet it's just so cool to
hear you be so wise.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
Never, always, always learning, always the student.
Speaker 3 (13:28):
I would say she's a pretty fabulous mom too.
I feel like she probablylearned a lot from Miss Jeannie.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
This is true.
Yes, yeah, I've been surroundedI'm so fortunate by all the
awesome people in my life.
You know I've had amazingmentors over the years and you
know people went to Californiaand sort of like, discovered who
you were and.
Speaker 3 (14:02):
But in my mind you're .
I think you were maybe likefive or six years old and we
pulled up on the farm and youwere like riding your horse bear
back around the backyard.
So I was like you've kind ofalways been this girl, at least
in my mind.
You know people like freeze intime in your brain, um, but like
that's, if I think of LaceyDavidson, I think of you just
riding that horse around thebackyard.
(14:23):
I was like well, look at her.
I was like I wanted to be.
And that was, you know, 30 yearsago.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
I love it.
So my daughter is two and mymom is telling me all the time
she just says this is littleLacey, like this is exactly how
you are.
The time she she just says thisis little Lacey, like this is
exactly how you are.
Because she is so strong willed, like she, there is, there is
no negotiating, like she hasmade up her mind and this is
what she's going to do.
She has the biggest attitudeand is so sassy and I'm like
(14:51):
what are you talking about, mom?
And you know you don't rememberyourself at two or at five, and
I think there's this whole likeforgetting ourselves.
You know, and maybe that's partof the you know schooling or
peer pressure, or you know allof the things that happen as you
transition through latechildhood and adolescence.
(15:14):
But I think it really is moreof a rediscovering, as you just
said, like rediscovering who youreally are, who you were all
along.
Speaker 3 (15:23):
Right, Right, yeah, but I have to know has your mom
found the fountain of youth?
Because I swear that woman hasnot aged.
I'm like are you BenjaminButton?
What's happening here?
I don't know how she does it,she's.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
she's very kept with with her secrets.
But she's my most with with hersecrets.
But she's my most willingpatient all the time, Like if
there's some, if there's somenew theory that I want to test,
she's, she's always down to likesip the Kool-Aid.
Speaker 3 (15:50):
So I love it.
Well, it's working.
Whatever your Kool-Aid is, I'dsay bottle that and sell it.
Speaker 4 (15:59):
We're ready.
Speaker 3 (16:01):
I have one more question.
I know we're coming up on ourtime limit here, but I wanted to
ask your thoughts onsupplements.
Are you a supplement person?
Is there any like things thatyou personally take every day?
Speaker 2 (16:21):
personally take every day?
That's a great question.
So I'm definitely a food firstkind of gal Like I.
Um, I never generally recommendtaking supplements blindly and
I never generally recommendtaking supplements until you've
done the work of either undoingor improving, uh, the standard
American diet Right.
Um, to me it's like vacuumingthe floor with my on.
(16:44):
It's like you're just kind ofthrowing more fire or more more
fuel on the fire, without reallyaddressing the root of what's
what's causing the problem.
And so I like for folks to kindof, and so I like for folks to
(17:11):
kind of go through a period ofreally nourishing their bodies
with real whole food and findinga rhythm in shopping and
cooking and preparing andenjoying the process of doing
that.
And then, if there's still gapsor there are very specific
issues that we're trying totarget, then I think supplements
are a really awesome tool inour toolkit, just like
medications.
You know I made the stab atmedicines earlier, but I'm
totally not anti them Like.
(17:32):
I'm pro them when it makessense to have them right, like
when we really need them so thatthey can work their magic and
be potent and powerful.
So the other thing aboutsupplements I'll say is quality
is really important.
So supplements are, by andlarge, not regulated by any by
(17:53):
the FDA.
You're kind of innocent untilproven guilty in the supplement
industry, and so finding asupplement brand that has a
science-backed board, that'sthird-party tested, that has a
robust evidence-based backgroundto back it up, and that you
know what's in there is actuallywhat you're buying, that to me
(18:17):
is really important, reallyimportant.
I even, like you, know findinga local herbalist in your
community to get supplements andor you know herbals from like.
To me, that's just likeshopping with a local farmer.
You know what you're getting.
You know you can talk to themabout it.
You can hear stories of howit's helped other people and
(18:40):
what specific blends orcombinations that they might
recommend that you didn't eventhink about when you were just
looking at.
You know what the big box storehad on the shelves.
So, yeah, that's kind of my myoverview take on supplements.
Speaker 3 (18:53):
I agree, as I get older, though, I feel like and I
mean so, you know, obviously onsocial media you see a lot of
people pushing different typesof supplements and I feel like
we're in the target zone rightnow.
You're like you're over 40.
You better take everythingright, like your muscle is gone
and you should eat protein fromthe time you wake up till the
time you go to sleep.
That's what it feels like.
(19:14):
But you know, and I do findthat I'm starting to incorporate
some things, just to kind ofplay with it and see if I notice
a difference, I'll start, youknow, one new thing and see if
it has the intended effect thatI'm that I'm looking for.
But it does seem that as we getolder, we're being bombarded
with like, oh, you need this andthis and this, and you know, if
(19:36):
you're eating a pretty nutrient, dense diet, you know I feel
like most of our vitamins.
But for me now, as a 42 yearold woman, um, it's more about,
like, muscle, maintaining muscle, and like, um, you know, just
trying to, I don't know like notfall apart.
(19:57):
Yeah, it sounds like you think,oh, you, you're only 42, but
you do start to notice thingsafter you turn 40, like things
definitely change and your bodychanges and and you do start to
say, okay, maybe I do needsomething else.
Is that something typicallythat a dietitian would work with
somebody on specifically, or isthere a different type of
(20:19):
practitioner you would go to tofind out if you specifically
need supplements?
Speaker 2 (20:26):
So I think up until I went to school to become a
dietitian, even during my timein training like it was it
wasn't ever a big part of thecurriculum like everything that
I know and most of what Ipractice today.
I didn't learn during mytraining Like it's all been
post-education that I've soughtout.
(20:47):
You know additional informationfrom experts.
But yeah, I think nowadays alot of it's becoming easier for
dietitians to get theinformation.
It's becoming easier fordietitians to partner with
companies like Fullscript andhave access to a dispensary that
just drop ships the supplementsthat you might recommend to
(21:07):
your patients.
So I think more dietitians thannot today, especially who are
working, you know, virtuallyonline, are kind of niching down
and working with a specificaudience, are are more up on on
supplements than than they usedto be and there's just more
knowledge out there today thanthan we used to have years ago.
(21:30):
It's more accessible.
Speaker 3 (21:32):
Yep, apparently they're paying more attention to
women's bodies, because nowit's all about perimenopause.
Yeah, yeah, you know.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
So.
So you asked me are there anythat I take?
And I didn't answer that.
And and I do from time to time.
You know, again, I'm a foodfirst kind of person and so I
challenge myself.
I, you know, I challenge thefolks that I work with, but I
challenge myself to say, well,is there a way that you could
get more of that from food?
So I take collagen from time totime, cause it's a great
protein source.
(22:02):
But I also ask myself, like,could I just chew on that chewy
part of the roast, like, andactually eat it, instead of
cutting it off?
Like, could I just eat thatmore?
Like, could I take the time tothrow my bones in the crock pot
and make a batch of bone brothand get the collagen in that way
?
So for me, and I think for mostpeople, it's a matter of what's
(22:26):
more convenient, and sometimesit's just more convenient to
throw a scoop of collagen in asmoothie than it is to cook a
roast with meaty cartilage inthe crock pot or to eight-hour
stew a chicken back or a pot ofchicken backs to make bone broth
.
So, um, so that's one that Itake.
(22:47):
I usually encourage people ifthey're not eating fish, um two
or three times a week, buttaking a fish, a high quality
fish oil supplement, is not abad idea.
Um, and I'm not opposed topeople taking vitamin D.
You'll find that most peopleare most everybody would would
be below what they need on theirlabs for vitamin D and
magnesium.
But to that I would say are youspending enough time in the sun
(23:11):
?
Because it doesn't matter howmuch you take, it has to be
activated by the sun.
And are you getting your handsdirty, like, can you get in the
dirt?
Do you have some minerals thatyou could, could consume?
You know, if you get in in thedirt, do you have some um
minerals that you could, couldconsume?
You know, if you're growingyour own carrots in your
backyard kitchen garden, like,can you just eat a little of
that dirt?
You know, can you sprinkle some, some mineral salts into your
(23:35):
water, like there?
There are um, maybe not easierways, but there are more
efficient ways to get thosenutrients back into our body
that aren't supplements.
It just takes a little moreknow-how and work to make it
happen sometimes.
Speaker 3 (23:54):
I love it Eat dirt.
I had to laugh because I loveto grow lettuce in my kitchen
garden.
That's one thing that growsreally well here in Charleston
and I would.
When I worked in schools, Ioften had students who would eat
lunch with me in my office andone day I had brought these
(24:16):
lettuce wraps in and I hadprobably just like, picked it.
I probably washed it, I'm notsure, but I went to take a bite
and the biggest slug you haveever seen was in this lettuce
and you have never seen littlegirls squeal so loud.
They came unglued.
It took me a while to go backto eating lettuce.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
I'll be honest, like it was, it had that gone in my
mouth, I'm telling you Listen,girl, try owning a farm to table
restaurant where the lettuce isbrought in fresh from your
farmers.
Like we've had an oopsie or two.
We've had customers who got asalad and you didn't believe
there was a slug on it.
Speaker 3 (24:56):
So it happens.
It happens to the best of us.
It's not just me, then.
Okay, see, I was trying to eatthe dirt Lacey, that's what it
was.
I was trying to get thoseminerals in and the slug came
with it.
You probably would have beenbetter off with it in the end?
Probably, but oh, I tell you.
That was so funny, too funny.
Speaker 2 (25:13):
I've so enjoyed I could talk to you for like three
hours I.
Speaker 3 (25:17):
Call me anytime, let's chat.
I definitely next time.
Every time I come home I'm like, hey, let's go out to out Wayne
and everybody's like that's afar drive and I'm like, no guys,
but let's go.
But I do, I love what you'redoing, I think it's amazing for
the community and I just I thinkit's pretty awesome.
So, like Sarah, I want to beyou when I grow up.
(25:44):
Or ride back at you guys.
Ride and bear back in mybackyard, all right.
Well, that's all we've got forthis week.
Y'all Lacey real quick.
Before we sign off where canpeople find you on social media
or your website?
Where can we find you?
Speaker 2 (26:00):
So I'm on social media Facebook and Instagram.
I'm just Lacey DavidsonFerguson.
If you want to work together,my website is
LaceyDavidsonFergusoncom.
There's some links there thatyou can shoot me a message and I
can get you on my list.
Speaker 3 (26:15):
Do you work with people outside of West Virginia?
Speaker 2 (26:19):
I do, yeah, all of my , all of my consults are virtual
.
I have both group andone-on-one coaching services.
So, um, uh, there's there'sreally no limit to to what we
can accomplish.
Speaker 3 (26:33):
Yeah, Awesome, love it Awesome.
Well, we appreciate you so much.
Thank you so much.
Thank you, guys All rightLila's out.
Hello Lylas listeners .
Today we are picking up wherewe left off last week with part
two of our episode with MrsLacey David Ferguson talking
about holistic living.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Follow us on socials, try to learn something and
welcome to Lylas so when I movedback to huntington three years
(00:35):
after um, I started gradschooling in california.
I just finished my rytregistered yoga training and I
found Studio 8, which is a spacethat Sarah and I share in
common and hold dearly in ourhearts, and I started teaching
yoga there and that's reallywhere I started to build and
(00:57):
find this sense of community.
I think, like I.
Finally, I felt like I was apart of something that was
bigger than me and Joan, whoowns Studio 8, she had a mural
on the wall that said be thechange that you want to see in
the world.
You know the famous Gandhiquote and I love that and
(01:17):
embrace that to this day.
That's a big part of who I amand what I do.
While I was teaching at studio,a park came to one of my,
literally burst in the door toone of my classes, um, and, and
we were married I don't knowfive years later or something
like that.
So, um, so.
So yoga has been and and hasbecome a big part of what I do
(01:41):
on multiple, multiple when itcomes to working with clients or
, you know, just friends andfamily.
Yoga is definitely thefoundation of my philosophy.
Like maybe people from anutrition perspective.
Don't necessarily seek me outbecause of my yoga background,
(02:02):
but it's definitely thefoundational philosophy of how I
work with people, you know,letting them kind of set the
pace and set the tempo and cometo their own conclusions and
kind of discover what it is thatmakes them tick, as we're
unwinding their nutritionalhabits and building, you know,
(02:23):
new ones at the same timeunwinding their nutritional
habits and
Speaker 3 (02:26):
building, you know new ones at the same time.
That's beautiful.
Have you found that, as you dothese kind of workshops and you
know community events, thatpeople are receptive?
Are you noticing like a changeand that people really are
gravitating to this idea of whatwe're putting in our bodies and
and a more holistic lifestylein general?
Speaker 2 (02:47):
The crowds that I might attract, or the, the, the
positions that I put myself inkind of guarantee that the
audience is there to do the work.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
You know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Like right For.
For, for instance, when I gotmy first job as a registered
dietitian, I knew for a factthat I did not, like I couldn't,
physically and mentally, workin a hospital where people were
sick and didn't have an interestin hearing what I had to say.
Like they were sick, they werethere to rest and get IVs and
(03:21):
get meds and get out of thereright.
Like they could care less aboutwhat I had to say about
nutrition.
Um, but I worked in outpatientand so people had to be willing
to show up, like they had to bewilling to book the appointment
and come and and and chat aboutwhat was going on and and, um,
you know, hear me out on what Ithought might help them change
(03:42):
change course.
So stack the deck, I think, isthe word, that, the phrase that
I was looking for in thebeginning I tried not to put
myself in a position where I'mgoing to get like booed off
stage and rotten tomatoes thrownmy way.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
Processed food thrown at you.
Speaker 4 (04:03):
Oh, that's funny, yeah, well, and I think that
from that you found a differentniche too, because eventually
you ended up leaving theoutpatient world Right and just
wanted to different community,yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
I did, yeah, so exactly I, I, I kind of delved
deeper, even even from there, um, and and found that the folks
that I want to work with maybearen't, aren't even necessarily
coming to an outpatient settingright Like they right now.
(04:37):
All of my, all of my clientsare virtual, and mostly I work
with folks who have some sort ofcardio metabolic concerns.
So you know, heart health,diabetes, um, maybe they want to
lose weight, but, uh, in mostcases that the root cause of all
(04:57):
of those things lies muchdeeper and and that's what I get
excited about helping them touncover.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
I love that.
That's what I get excited abouthelping them to uncover.
I love that.
I think most you said theyreach or they come to you
because they have some sort ofcardiac, you know, health issue.
You know.
Interestingly enough, today is11 years.
My dad passed away from a heartattack and he was not
overweight.
Like you know, he wasn't a manthat would have sought out
necessarily somebody forsomething like that and would
(05:27):
you say that's true for peopleLike you tend to put those two
things together right, Likeheart health and obesity, or at
least in my mind you do.
Do those two things always gotogether or not have heart
issues and not be overweight?
Speaker 2 (05:45):
That is such a great question and I think it's a huge
misnomer and, largely from apublic health perspective, our
fault and when I say me, our,like practitioners, you know the
medical community we've paintedthis picture that being
overweight is what leads tothese other conditions, and
that's absolutely 100% not thecase.
(06:07):
Right, it's like, ultimately,all of us have these.
You know, some degree of animbalance in our body.
Malnutrition is is, you know,probably leading the charge in
that imbalance, but anoverburden of you know toxins or
you know pesticides orpollutants.
You know toxins or you knowpesticides or pollutants, you
(06:27):
know, you name it in addition tonot enough of the right
nutrients.
And so these imbalances at thecellular level, like deep, deep
in our tissues, right, theymanifest in different ways
depending on the person.
So for some people it lookslike weight gain, for other
people it looks likehypothyroidism, For some people
it looks like heartattackroidism, for some people
it looks like heart attack orstroke, or you know all of the
(06:49):
things that that precede thathypertension, all of those
different things.
And so that's a big passion ofmine is like helping people to
understand that the diagnosis oreven the symptoms aren't
necessarily what we should belooking at or attacking.
It really goes much deeper.
(07:10):
However, the solution is oftenalways so much simpler than what
we're sold, than the narrativethat we're sold, that it has to
be complicated, that we have tocut it out or, you know,
medicate it out or numb it out,and oftentimes it's really just
(07:31):
a matter of getting back in syncwith nature's cycles and what
nature has to offer us andreally leaning into that.
Sorry, that was kind of a Spoketo my heart.
Speaker 4 (07:45):
That was beautiful.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
I can get on tangents , if you let me Sorry.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
I love that and I think for me.
I mean, you know you're alittle bit younger than we are,
but when you talk about some ofthe things that we can do on a
cellular level, what are somethings just off the top of your
head that you think of areimportant for midlife women to
be considering as part of theirdaily habits?
Speaker 2 (08:14):
Yeah, Um, really not all that different than the
things that you would want yourkids to do, right, like I think
it's.
It's easy for us.
You know, I went to thepediatrician with my kids and
they give me the five, four,three, two, one.
I probably butchered that.
It's something like that of,like you know, five fruits and
veggies, down to three, twohours of screen time and no
(08:38):
sugar sweetened beverages orsomething like that.
I forget how it goes.
I'm not a very good patient.
I've never heard this.
That's interesting.
But anyway, I think to myselfokay, two hours of screen time,
doc, at what point does thatchange?
Right, like, when does itbecome okay that kids only get
two hours of screen time?
But you and I are working menand women, and we're staring at
(09:00):
a screen for at least eighthours, right, like, when does
that become okay?
So you know, simple things thatwe can do.
We can obviously dwell in thatand I don't recommend that, like
it is what it is.
I'm very fortunate to be able towork remotely and use the
screen and raise my kids the waythat I want to, but at the same
time, you know, being outsidemore like being in the sun.
(09:22):
The sun is our fuel source, itis our lifeline.
Just like, no different thanthe trees outside, like there
are no leaves on the trees whereI am, because there's not a lot
of sun, but in the summer, whenthere's more sun, there will be
leaves, and so our bodies arebuilt by the same design.
Like the more that we're in thesun and absorbing the rays, the
(09:44):
more vitamin D that our bodymakes.
It doesn't matter how muchvitamin D we take, it matters
how the sun activates it in ourphysical being, and I think more
of that will continue to becomeapparent through science.
I think science will catch up tonature eventually and show us
all of these things with proof.
But to get back to the point, Ithink more time in the sun,
(10:08):
more clean water, more fresh,wholesome foods, you know we
don't have to be tyrants, wedon't have to.
You know, totally live off theland and you know, only eat what
we raise.
I think it's.
It can be very simple to askourselves like where can I make
(10:28):
subtle shifts that make me feela lot better?
Speaker 3 (10:33):
Can you just explain what you mean by clean water,
like when you say does that meanlike filtered water, like out
of your refrigerator, becausenow it's like stay away from
bottled?
Speaker 2 (10:44):
water right.
Speaker 3 (10:47):
So what do you consider?
Clean water, yeah wow, greatquestion.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
So you know, for a long time fluoride was a
mandated requirement to be inour water and pretty soon
fluoride will be removed fromall city water sources because
we know now that it's linked toall sorts of neurodegenerative
conditions in children andadults, and so that's just one
(11:15):
thing that ends up in our waters.
It's mandated to be in our water, right?
So having a clean source,whether it's from your city tap
and all you can do is put acarbon filter on it, or you have
a well that's drilled out of a,you know, from the top of a
(11:36):
mountain, from a pure, from thetop of a mountain, from a pure,
pristine spring source, you knowthat that would be probably the
the ultimate, but doing thebest you can in the situation
that you're in, right Like again, not stressing about it, not
dwelling on it.
Just like, where can I makeimprovements if I'm drinking out
of plastic all the time?
Can I just switch to a glassbottle?
(11:57):
You know, if I have regular tapwater, can I put a carbon
filter on and remove some of theimpurities or toxins that might
be in it?
Do I have the income or themeans or the interest to get a
Berkey water filter Like that's,you know, the gold standard for
really removing all of thethings.
So there's a lot of differentways that you could improve
(12:22):
water, in my opinion, but justdrinking more of it probably is
the best thing that any of uscould do.
Speaker 3 (12:32):
I love that you say that, though, like what's
accessible to you and don't getcaught up in you know the
highest quality water, like thebest that you can do, right,
we're all making, we're alldoing the best we can with what
we have, and I love that messagewhen we apply it, even to
things like nutrition, right,because if you're like most of
(12:52):
us, it's like we're all in orwe're all out, right, and so
just that idea of like itdoesn't have to be perfect, but
like some step in the rightdirection is better than nothing
.
Speaker 4 (13:03):
Yeah, gosh, it's so great, lacey, I loved having you
on here.
I just feel I think one thingis that I want to be you
whenever I grow up, because tohave some of those insights you
talked about, like in your earlytwenties and I'm still, like I
don't know, mid 40s and notthere yet it's just so cool to
hear you be so wise.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
Never, always, always learning, always the student.
Speaker 3 (13:28):
I would say she's a pretty fabulous mom too.
I feel like she probablylearned a lot from Miss Jeannie.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
This is true.
Yes, yeah, I've been surroundedI'm so fortunate by all the
awesome people in my life.
You know I've had amazingmentors over the years and you
know people went to Californiaand sort of like, discovered who
you were and.
Speaker 3 (14:02):
But in my mind you're .
I think you were maybe likefive or six years old and we
pulled up on the farm and youwere like riding your horse bear
back around the backyard.
So I was like you've kind ofalways been this girl, at least
in my mind.
You know people like freeze intime in your brain, um, but like
that's, if I think of LaceyDavidson, I think of you just
riding that horse around thebackyard.
(14:23):
I was like well, look at her.
I was like I wanted to be.
And that was, you know, 30 yearsago.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
I love it.
So my daughter is two and mymom is telling me all the time
she just says this is littleLacey, like this is exactly how
you are.
The time she she just says thisis little Lacey, like this is
exactly how you are.
Because she is so strong willed, like she, there is, there is
no negotiating, like she hasmade up her mind and this is
what she's going to do.
She has the biggest attitudeand is so sassy and I'm like
(14:51):
what are you talking about, mom?
And you know you don't rememberyourself at two or at five, and
I think there's this whole likeforgetting ourselves.
You know, and maybe that's partof the you know schooling or
peer pressure, or you know allof the things that happen as you
transition through latechildhood and adolescence.
(15:14):
But I think it really is moreof a rediscovering, as you just
said, like rediscovering who youreally are, who you were all
along.
Speaker 3 (15:23):
Right, Right, yeah, but I have to know has your mom
found the fountain of youth?
Because I swear that woman hasnot aged.
I'm like are you BenjaminButton?
What's happening here?
I don't know how she does it,she's.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
she's very kept with with her secrets.
But she's my most with with hersecrets.
But she's my most willingpatient all the time, Like if
there's some, if there's somenew theory that I want to test,
she's, she's always down to likesip the Kool-Aid.
Speaker 3 (15:50):
So I love it.
Well, it's working.
Whatever your Kool-Aid is, I'dsay bottle that and sell it.
Speaker 4 (15:59):
We're ready.
Speaker 3 (16:01):
I have one more question.
I know we're coming up on ourtime limit here, but I wanted to
ask your thoughts onsupplements.
Are you a supplement person?
Is there any like things thatyou personally take every day?
Speaker 2 (16:21):
personally take every day?
That's a great question.
So I'm definitely a food firstkind of gal Like I.
Um, I never generally recommendtaking supplements blindly and
I never generally recommendtaking supplements until you've
done the work of either undoingor improving, uh, the standard
American diet Right.
Um, to me it's like vacuumingthe floor with my on.
(16:44):
It's like you're just kind ofthrowing more fire or more more
fuel on the fire, without reallyaddressing the root of what's
what's causing the problem.
And so I like for folks to kindof, and so I like for folks to
(17:11):
kind of go through a period ofreally nourishing their bodies
with real whole food and findinga rhythm in shopping and
cooking and preparing andenjoying the process of doing
that.
And then, if there's still gapsor there are very specific
issues that we're trying totarget, then I think supplements
are a really awesome tool inour toolkit, just like
medications.
You know I made the stab atmedicines earlier, but I'm
totally not anti them Like.
(17:32):
I'm pro them when it makessense to have them right, like
when we really need them so thatthey can work their magic and
be potent and powerful.
So the other thing aboutsupplements I'll say is quality
is really important.
So supplements are, by andlarge, not regulated by any by
(17:53):
the FDA.
You're kind of innocent untilproven guilty in the supplement
industry, and so finding asupplement brand that has a
science-backed board, that'sthird-party tested, that has a
robust evidence-based backgroundto back it up, and that you
know what's in there is actuallywhat you're buying, that to me
(18:17):
is really important, reallyimportant.
I even, like you, know findinga local herbalist in your
community to get supplements andor you know herbals from like.
To me, that's just likeshopping with a local farmer.
You know what you're getting.
You know you can talk to themabout it.
You can hear stories of howit's helped other people and
(18:40):
what specific blends orcombinations that they might
recommend that you didn't eventhink about when you were just
looking at.
You know what the big box storehad on the shelves.
So, yeah, that's kind of my myoverview take on supplements.
Speaker 3 (18:53):
I agree, as I get older, though, I feel like and I
mean so, you know, obviously onsocial media you see a lot of
people pushing different typesof supplements and I feel like
we're in the target zone rightnow.
You're like you're over 40.
You better take everythingright, like your muscle is gone
and you should eat protein fromthe time you wake up till the
time you go to sleep.
That's what it feels like.
(19:14):
But you know, and I do findthat I'm starting to incorporate
some things, just to kind ofplay with it and see if I notice
a difference, I'll start, youknow, one new thing and see if
it has the intended effect thatI'm that I'm looking for.
But it does seem that as we getolder, we're being bombarded
with like, oh, you need this andthis and this, and you know, if
(19:36):
you're eating a pretty nutrient, dense diet, you know I feel
like most of our vitamins.
But for me now, as a 42 yearold woman, um, it's more about,
like, muscle, maintaining muscle, and like, um, you know, just
trying to, I don't know like notfall apart.
(19:57):
Yeah, it sounds like you think,oh, you, you're only 42, but
you do start to notice thingsafter you turn 40, like things
definitely change and your bodychanges and and you do start to
say, okay, maybe I do needsomething else.
Is that something typicallythat a dietitian would work with
somebody on specifically, or isthere a different type of
(20:19):
practitioner you would go to tofind out if you specifically
need supplements?
Speaker 2 (20:26):
So I think up until I went to school to become a
dietitian, even during my timein training like it was it
wasn't ever a big part of thecurriculum like everything that
I know and most of what Ipractice today.
I didn't learn during mytraining Like it's all been
post-education that I've soughtout.
(20:47):
You know additional informationfrom experts.
But yeah, I think nowadays alot of it's becoming easier for
dietitians to get theinformation.
It's becoming easier fordietitians to partner with
companies like Fullscript andhave access to a dispensary that
just drop ships the supplementsthat you might recommend to
(21:07):
your patients.
So I think more dietitians thannot today, especially who are
working, you know, virtuallyonline, are kind of niching down
and working with a specificaudience, are are more up on on
supplements than than they usedto be and there's just more
knowledge out there today thanthan we used to have years ago.
(21:30):
It's more accessible.
Speaker 3 (21:32):
Yep, apparently they're paying more attention to
women's bodies, because nowit's all about perimenopause.
Yeah, yeah, you know.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
So.
So you asked me are there anythat I take?
And I didn't answer that.
And and I do from time to time.
You know, again, I'm a foodfirst kind of person and so I
challenge myself.
I, you know, I challenge thefolks that I work with, but I
challenge myself to say, well,is there a way that you could
get more of that from food?
So I take collagen from time totime, cause it's a great
protein source.
(22:02):
But I also ask myself, like,could I just chew on that chewy
part of the roast, like, andactually eat it, instead of
cutting it off?
Like, could I just eat thatmore?
Like, could I take the time tothrow my bones in the crock pot
and make a batch of bone brothand get the collagen in that way
?
So for me, and I think for mostpeople, it's a matter of what's
(22:26):
more convenient, and sometimesit's just more convenient to
throw a scoop of collagen in asmoothie than it is to cook a
roast with meaty cartilage inthe crock pot or to eight-hour
stew a chicken back or a pot ofchicken backs to make bone broth
.
So, um, so that's one that Itake.
(22:47):
I usually encourage people ifthey're not eating fish, um two
or three times a week, buttaking a fish, a high quality
fish oil supplement, is not abad idea.
Um, and I'm not opposed topeople taking vitamin D.
You'll find that most peopleare most everybody would would
be below what they need on theirlabs for vitamin D and
magnesium.
But to that I would say are youspending enough time in the sun
(23:11):
?
Because it doesn't matter howmuch you take, it has to be
activated by the sun.
And are you getting your handsdirty, like, can you get in the
dirt?
Do you have some minerals thatyou could, could consume?
You know, if you get in in thedirt, do you have some um
minerals that you could, couldconsume?
You know, if you're growingyour own carrots in your
backyard kitchen garden, like,can you just eat a little of
that dirt?
You know, can you sprinkle some, some mineral salts into your
(23:35):
water, like there?
There are um, maybe not easierways, but there are more
efficient ways to get thosenutrients back into our body
that aren't supplements.
It just takes a little moreknow-how and work to make it
happen sometimes.
Speaker 3 (23:54):
I love it Eat dirt.
I had to laugh because I loveto grow lettuce in my kitchen
garden.
That's one thing that growsreally well here in Charleston
and I would.
When I worked in schools, Ioften had students who would eat
lunch with me in my office andone day I had brought these
(24:16):
lettuce wraps in and I hadprobably just like, picked it.
I probably washed it, I'm notsure, but I went to take a bite
and the biggest slug you haveever seen was in this lettuce
and you have never seen littlegirls squeal so loud.
They came unglued.
It took me a while to go backto eating lettuce.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
I'll be honest, like it was, it had that gone in my
mouth, I'm telling you Listen,girl, try owning a farm to table
restaurant where the lettuce isbrought in fresh from your
farmers.
Like we've had an oopsie or two.
We've had customers who got asalad and you didn't believe
there was a slug on it.
Speaker 3 (24:56):
So it happens.
It happens to the best of us.
It's not just me, then.
Okay, see, I was trying to eatthe dirt Lacey, that's what it
was.
I was trying to get thoseminerals in and the slug came
with it.
You probably would have beenbetter off with it in the end?
Probably, but oh, I tell you.
That was so funny, too funny.
Speaker 2 (25:13):
I've so enjoyed I could talk to you for like three
hours I.
Speaker 3 (25:17):
Call me anytime, let's chat.
I definitely next time.
Every time I come home I'm like, hey, let's go out to out Wayne
and everybody's like that's afar drive and I'm like, no guys,
but let's go.
But I do, I love what you'redoing, I think it's amazing for
the community and I just I thinkit's pretty awesome.
So, like Sarah, I want to beyou when I grow up.
(25:44):
Or ride back at you guys.
Ride and bear back in mybackyard, all right.
Well, that's all we've got forthis week.
Y'all Lacey real quick.
Before we sign off where canpeople find you on social media
or your website?
Where can we find you?
Speaker 2 (26:00):
So I'm on social media Facebook and Instagram.
I'm just Lacey DavidsonFerguson.
If you want to work together,my website is
LaceyDavidsonFergusoncom.
There's some links there thatyou can shoot me a message and I
can get you on my list.
Speaker 3 (26:15):
Do you work with people outside of West Virginia?
Speaker 2 (26:19):
I do, yeah, all of my , all of my consults are virtual
.
I have both group andone-on-one coaching services.
So, um, uh, there's there'sreally no limit to to what we
can accomplish.
Speaker 3 (26:33):
Yeah, Awesome, love it Awesome.
Well, we appreciate you so much.
Thank you so much.
Thank you, guys All rightLila's out.
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