"I realize plant-based thinking should be applied to every niche"
Chanelle grappled with eczema and hormonal chaos for many years. When trying to seek medical intervention she was dismissed by doctors and given little hope her ailments would be resolved. Chanelle took this as a sign to dive into her own research. She also sought more holistic approaches that suggested nutrition could be her saving grace. By removing animal products in addition to some other lifestyle changes, Chanelle was able to heal. Her own journey was so tumultuous, that she was inspired to go back to school and become a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and Functional Hormone Educator in order to help others like herself.
If you want to connect with Chanelle, visit the following:
Instagram: @chanellelagasse
Website: www.evergreennourishco.com
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to the Plant-Centered and Thriving
Podcast.
I'm your host, ashley Kitchens.
I'm a plant-based registereddietitian and virtual nutrition
mentor.
I was raised on an Angus cattlefarm, grew up with a lot of GI
issues and used the power ofplant-based eating to promote
healing.
Here you'll find inspiration,ideas and encouragement for your
(00:23):
own plant-based journey.
I'm so thrilled you're heretoday.
Let's get started.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Welcome to the show Plant-Centered Listener.
My name is Ashley and I am yourhost today.
Today I have a story from avery special guest who walked
into her doctor's office, hadbeen struggling with eczema for
quite a while and her doctoropened up a textbook, showed her
a picture of someone who washaving a severe case of eczema,
(00:51):
told her her case was not severeenough and basically sent her
on her way.
She went through steroid creamafter steroid cream.
She tried a lot of differentmodalities and nothing seemed to
work.
So you can kind of see wherethe story is going.
Right.
I'll let Chanel tell the rest,but I do want to introduce you
to Chanel, who now is aregistered holistic nutritionist
(01:12):
, functional hormone educatorand founder of Evergreen Nourish
Co, which is an onlinenutrition counseling practice
with a focus on hormone healthand transitioning to a
plant-based lifestyle.
Chanel resides in Manitoba,canada, and she graduated from
the Canadian School of NaturalNutrition in 2022 with a diploma
(01:32):
in natural nutrition withdistinguished merit and a
holistic culinary certification.
This spring, in 2024, she willalso be graduating with a
bachelor's degree ofenvironmental studies in
environmental health from theUniversity of Manitoba, and we
talk about some of the thingsthat she's learning in her
environmental health classes,and some of them were a little
(01:53):
shocking.
Chanel began her ownplant-based journey in 2018,
when going through health issueswhich she discusses further,
and this led her to pivot hercareer to combine her passions
for both overall health and theenvironment.
Please join me in welcomingChanel and her story.
I'm curious because I know thatyou have sort of a backstory as
(02:14):
to why you went plant-based andeverything, so I would love for
you to kind of just give us anidea of what kicked off this
journey for you.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
I feel like for me, it was pretty interesting
because I almost had a healthjourney that was going parallel
with this environmental journey,literally.
As I was having all thesehealth issues, I saw a natural
path and I was told to cut outcertain foods because I had a
lot of inflammation in my body.
If I take a step back further,actually so in 2018, I was 25, I
(02:44):
already had been strugglingwith eczema for a long time and
I had sort of started a healthjourney trying to eat better.
I was not a nutritionist yetand I decided I also wanted to
go off the birth control pill.
I had been on it for a decadefor acne, even before I was
sexually active.
I was told to go on it and Ijust started learning about how
(03:08):
that impacts your fertility andjust like mood and everything.
I had had a lot of anxiety inmy early 20s, so I was like you
know what I'm done.
I just you know I was married,I just whatever, like I just
want to go off of it and when Idid that, my entire body just
like went a little bit haywire.
I mean, I had like inflammationin my neck, like I was like red
(03:30):
and had itchy eczema all overthe place, and my doctor was not
helping me at all with, youknow, all they were doing were
giving me steroid creams, whichalso were contributing, you know
, to even more eczema, and itwould just come back, you know,
with a vengeance.
So so then I had cut out.
Like you know, they, thenaturopaths, told me, like, try
to cut out, you know,inflammatory foods, so like red
(03:53):
meat and eggs and dairy.
I had never, you know, beenrestricted previously with any
food.
I didn't have food allergies.
I grew up with the mother withfood allergies, though, so I was
bit familiar with it.
But it was tough and at thesame time, you know, I was
trying to buy more locally.
I was learning a lot aboutclimate change and the
environment, so that was aboutin December of 2018.
(04:15):
And then, a few months later, Iwas watching all these
documentaries and I was like,you know, I'm really only eating
like honey and fish out of likethe animal products.
Yeah, so I was like, why?
Like, why I don't really needto be, because I was really
aligning, you know, with thevegan movement.
I've always been really intoenvironmentalism, so I decided
(04:38):
to take the leap that spring.
I cut out fish and you knowhoney, I wasn't having much of
anyway, so I became vegan in2019.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
And yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
So it was pretty interesting how those kind of
you know came about at the sametime my environmental journey
and my health journey and I dideventually, like you know, bring
back a lot of the foods but notthe animal products.
I was like off like gluten andtomatoes, like all the
nightshades, you know, thetypical things that they get you
to try to cut out and I don'tknow really if that was helping.
(05:12):
I think I just was, you know,had to go through that cycle
from having taken steroids for alot of my life, from the creams
and everything, and I had, youknow, kind of like the steroid
withdrawal that they call.
So I had to just go throughthat and, you know, heal my gut
as well, because I had had a lotof gut issues as well, from
antibiotics and all the thingsand obviously the steroids to
(05:35):
throughout my life.
So that was something I had towork on and, yeah, it eventually
got way better.
I lost my period when I went offthe birth control pill for over
a year.
I got my period back.
So, yeah, it's quiteinteresting.
And then in 2020, I decided Iwanted to go back to school and
become a nutritionist.
So that is how that allhappened.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Yes, it's like a whirlwind of a couple of years
to get there Before December2018, was there any of your
doctors?
Or, like the research that youcame upon?
If you did any like, indicatethat, hey, the food that you're
eating might be contributing tosome of these issues?
Speaker 3 (06:12):
No, like the whole reason why I had seeked out like
alternative practitioners wasbecause, really, the doctors
were basically like there'snothing like to do.
I literally had a dermatologistone time.
You know it was quitedebilitating, like it would you
know ooze, it was on my thighs.
I would be depressed from itbecause of all that inflammation
going on in my brain too.
(06:33):
And the doctor thedermatologist literally opened
up a page of a textbook of likea hospitalized case and was like
this is what a severe case is.
Like You're not a severe case.
And I was like this is literallyimpacting my daily life, like
I'm depressed, like you know,like it's hard to know how to
dress because, like you know, myskin is like not okay and it
(06:56):
was, yeah, very frustrating tohave that type of treatment.
So that's when I started doinga bit more of my own research.
I did find, you know, stuffabout hormones or the birth
control pill, and that's kind ofwhat started the whole journey.
Because, yeah, until then, youknow, I was kind of just living
my life with anxiety and with,like the PMS and all the things
and thinking this is fine.
(07:17):
You know it's not fine, but Iguess this is just how it is.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
Yeah, this is my life , basically.
Speaker 3 (07:23):
Yeah, so, yeah.
So that's why you know thathappened.
And then, yeah, you know, fastforward, you know, five years
later and I'm a hormonenutritionist and helping folks,
you know, eat more plants andfix their hormone issues as well
.
So it's kind of been reallycool, yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
Yeah, it's unfortunate but also fortunate
in a way, that you have to kindof go through some of those
trials and tribulations to kindof get to where you're at now
for you to figure out.
Oh, this is my passion and mypurpose, because I sort of like
had to walk through the valleyin order to get to, like, the
mountaintop, to be able to helpother people sort of overcome
what I was going through in away.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
Absolutely yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
And to be maybe that sounding board too that maybe
you didn't receive with some ofyour healthcare providers that
you were like really lookingafter.
And I know so many peoplelistening to this show who have
been on the show before have asimilar story, where it's like
they either had to go above andbeyond to figure out what the
heck was wrong with them or theyhad to seek out other medical
providers, or even both, to getto this place where they were
(08:25):
able to heal or start theirhealing journey.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
Absolutely Like.
I just feel like.
You know I grew up my mom, youknow health is one of her values
as well, and you know we alwaysadvocated for ourselves.
But a lot of people don't know,you know how to do that or
don't have access to be able todo that.
And I just think back aboutlike if I had an advocated for
myself and done my own research.
You know, I have a backgroundin health, I've been a dental
hygienist for eight years, so Ihad that under my belt.
(08:51):
But for a lot of people that'sthat doesn't come naturally.
They don't know how to seekhelp and you know, then maybe I
wouldn't be where I am now.
Right, I know I would bebecause I, you know, when you
don't advocate for yourself, youdon't have, you know, other
options, so you just feel reallystuck in that cycle.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Yep, yeah.
So congrats on almostcelebrating your five-year
anniversary of being vegan.
That's so exciting.
How was that transition for you?
I mean, at one point you knowyou had cut out a lot of
different foods, includingnightshades and different things
, and you started introducingthose back in.
It sounds like those in gluten,right.
Speaker 3 (09:25):
Yeah, I only started eating gluten again, like last
year, because I wasn't sure Iwas like what if it is why my
eczema is better?
Right, you always have kind ofthat thought.
Even though I'm not celiac,I've been tested a few times,
yeah, so it was interesting,because then when you're vegan
and something else, then itmakes it even tougher sometimes
to find options, you know, atrestaurants and everything.
(09:46):
It was definitely, you know,like trial and error trying to
find things that are tasty.
And I mean it's come such along way with vegan options
available in the grocery stores,like it's a lot better now for
sure.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
Yeah, how are things up in your area?
Speaker 3 (10:02):
Yeah, so I'm in Manitoba, canada, so the biggest
city is Winnipeg, and it'sactually pretty good.
Like we've got, you know, a lotof different grocery store
chains that have, you know,vegan cheeses and milks and lots
of you know like meatalternatives and things like
that too.
I don't think it's as good asin the States, from what I hear
and from like what I see online.
(10:23):
But, yeah, I mean, I eatprimarily whole foods as well,
like we do eat some, you know,processed stuff for sure.
But we actually have inManitoba this group of organic
farms that grow like pulses andlegumes and everything, and so
every year it's actually the endof the month for filming
(10:44):
recording this in January.
So at the end of the month I'mpicking up my CSA for grains and
legumes from Manitoba farmers.
So it's really awesome that youknow that last almost a whole
year for my husband and I.
So we got, like, you know,black beans and oats or you know
, gluten free oats too, forpeople that need it, gluten free
oats and different flowers,different corn products like
(11:06):
corn grits and things like that.
So, yeah, it's really great tohave that as an option.
They also sell their productsin some grocery stores locally
as well.
So yeah, so I feel good aboutthat, you know, but that's where
we get most of our legumes andeverything, so yeah, it's nice
to be able to support your localfarmers, Absolutely yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
So that one box that you get at the end of January
that will last you for theentire year.
Speaker 3 (11:32):
Mostly, there's a few things that we have to top up.
So like they don't havechickpeas, so we got chickpeas
separately at the grocery store.
So things like that.
Like obviously we, you know, wehave to buy all the fresh food
as well, but in terms of likelegumes and like flour, we don't
need to buy at all separately,which is really nice.
And they have lots of lentilsin there.
Lots of you know a fewdifferent kinds of beans.
(11:53):
They rotate their crops, right,so it's not always the same
every year.
So, yeah, so I'm very fortunateto have that available.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
Yeah, yeah, that's awesome for anyone listening to.
I mean, that's a great idea ifyou do have some local farmers
in your area who provide a CSAbox or provide some sort of
produce box.
Sometimes it's nice to havethat, whether you get it once a
month, every other week or evenlike once a quarter, just to
supplement the foods that youalready buy at the grocery store
.
Yeah, which fun fact, maybe.
So I went to Iowa to makingsure it was Iowa in the Idaho.
(12:25):
It was Iowa, I'm pretty sure tovisit with Quaker Oats, and
what I didn't know was that allof our oats, or all Quaker's
oats, come from Canada.
They are all grown there Likeapparently as far up as you can
go without being in the I don'tknow wilderness tundra bush type
(12:45):
thing, yeah, so that was prettyfascinating.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
Yeah, yeah, I didn't realize that because I just
assume a lot of those places inthe states like that are
agriculture heavy would haveoats too, but like, maybe they
just grow better up here.
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
Apparently.
I mean, at least that's whatQuaker does.
So it was really neat to findout.
They just ship them down by thesemis and like these big train,
what I don't know those arecalled train cars basically and
yeah, that's where we get all ofour oats, which I think is
pretty fascinating.
Awesome Fun fact there Well, Iknow people listening and
sometimes I get this questioneven on social media is what was
(13:22):
it like even taking thecertification or going through
the courses to get yourcertification and to become a
registered nutritionist?
Because I know there are peopleout there who are curious about
even in the states taking anutritionist certification, and
there are questions like well,if I'm vegan or if I'm
passionate about plant basedeating, is this something that
is maybe going to kind of goagainst how I feel?
But how was it for you and whatwas your program like too?
Speaker 3 (13:45):
Yeah, so I studied at the Cain School of Natural
Nutrition.
They are the biggest schoolacross Canada.
They have several campuses, andthen I did the online campus
technically, and it was quitegood.
There's 18 different coursesthat you have to go through, so
you do get like a really widerange of education.
There's also one called EcoNutrition, which is my favorite.
(14:07):
We read a book all about likethe Blue Zones type of thing and
the centenarians and all thethings, so it was quite cool.
No, I think I'm mixing up twocourses.
Actually that was the one aboutaging.
Hang on, okay, there was adifferent book.
I forgot the title, but therewas a different book and
actually that one went over likeCAFOs and different things like
that, which was reallyinteresting.
I know you, being from NorthCarolina, are obviously very
(14:30):
familiar with that.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
Yes, which that stands for confined animal feed
operations.
For anyone who doesn't know yes, so that was interesting.
Speaker 3 (14:37):
Already I, like you know, I was already vegan, so I
already knew a lot about that.
But obviously the aging one wasreally great too, because they
went over these Blue Zones,which obviously are also plant
based areas.
Yeah, I felt really likevalidating because in a way in
my head I was like, even if Idon't, you know, go through with
, like working as a nutritionist, I just feel like this is
(14:57):
really interesting for me tolearn because of everything I've
been through, and to get thatvalidation like is this the
right thing to do?
You know, like when you justwatch documentaries and do your
own research, sometimes you'rekind of like, is this right?
Like, because then you hear theopposite views and you're like
I don't know anymore.
So just getting you know thevalidation that like, yes, like
plants are full of nutrients,you know, and you can have a
(15:21):
healthy, sustainable plant baseddiet.
Even like the first book, likeit was like Intrune Intrusion
One and I opened the book and itwas like something about the
environment, was like in thepreface and I was just like I
sent a picture of that to myfriend Roxanne and I was like,
oh my God, this feels so alive,Like yes.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
Yes, so I would hope that they're talking about that
more and more.
I went to school eight longtime ago, like over a decade ago
, and so that wasn't asprevalent, and neither was even
talking about plant based eating, just because that term wasn't
even used very often back then,but I'm glad to hear that it
sounds like it's being talkedabout more, which is just
fantastic because, yeah, itneeds to be.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
Absolutely yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
And it sounds like this course, even though it
wasn't 100% plant based, it wasstill helpful, like you still
came out of it, obviously withyour degree, but you didn't.
It didn't impede on you, onyour morals or like you being
vegan or like being pro plantbased.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
Not at all.
Yeah, and there was even asecond part of the program that
was like a culinary training,and actually one of the
instructors in there is a vegannutritionists himself.
So it was pretty good becauseall of the culinary training was
actually pretty much plantbased.
So, yeah, just learningdifferent techniques that now I
(16:37):
can, you know, teach clients aswell, so yeah, so it was really
great that way.
Speaker 2 (16:41):
Yeah, and like you were saying too, like even if
you didn't come out practicingand starting your practice, it
was still a helpful course.
I know some people, evenlistening, have thought about
maybe taking like the e Cornellcourse which is through Colin
Campbell.
Just because some of thesecourses you do learn so much
like sometimes there's only somuch research and so many
documentaries we can watch, it'snice to go through a course and
learn from the best of the bestin the plant based world, just
(17:03):
to further our education.
So I know those options arealways out there for anyone who
wants to kind of expand on theirknowledge, which is great.
Speaker 3 (17:09):
Absolutely yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:11):
What are some common concerns or questions that you
receive from your ideal clientsor some of the people that you
work with?
Speaker 3 (17:18):
It's funny because I actually kind of shifted my
ideal client.
Over the you know almost twoyears that I've been doing this,
I did start wanting to do morelike plant based coaching, which
I don't know if it's just in myarea, but it hasn't been like
that fruitful.
So I did shift to workingprimarily in the hormone space,
which, you know, obviously, withmy own health routine, was a
(17:39):
really big passion of mine.
So about a year ago I startedwith that being more my ideal
client, just somebody who is,you know, going through hormone
imbalances, you know periodissues, things like that wanting
to conceive or already pregnantand just wanting to improve
their nutrition status andlifestyle, which is really
awesome.
But yeah, I actually didn'tstart off with that as my niche.
(18:02):
I was actually more in theplant based space.
But now I feel like I kind ofrealized, you know, plant based
thinking kind of should beapplied to every niche in a way.
Yeah, definitely, no matterwhat someone struggles with, it
is, you know, eating more.
Plants like here are the plantsthat will get you the nutrients
that you maybe are lacking.
So I do, you know, kind of dothat type of work now, but I do
still see some clients that arein my, you know, plant based
(18:25):
program, which is evergreenevolution.
So right now I have a ladywho's trying to lower her
cholesterol, I have somebodywho's pre diabetics, so that one
has like even more support,just like one on one support,
because they are making so manychanges, whereas my hormones
program there's like a big videocomponent to it as well.
Yeah, so I really love how it'syou know, holistic I am a
holistic nutritionist thattouches on a lot of different
(18:47):
areas of your lifestyle sleep,stress, all the things plus,
obviously, the nutritioncounseling as well.
So, yeah, so it's been reallyfun to kind of you know, I'm
pretty new when you think aboutit.
I, you know, it's only been acouple years and I'm giving
myself grace for that becauseI'm still kind of getting, you
know, my feet wet and everything, but it's been really awesome
(19:09):
to be able to do this work Likeit's literally my dream job.
So it's, yeah, it's, it's beenreally amazing.
I never thought I would be abusiness owner actually.
So even when I was in nutrition, like like studying it, I was
like, yeah, I'll just like workin a clinic, but I really wanted
to, really like.
I was like, okay, if I'm doingthis, I'm going like all the way
(19:30):
.
I was like I want to align whatI'm doing every day.
Otherwise I'll end up in thesame cycle where you're just
seeing, like, client afterclient after client, and if you
don't feel like you get to givethem everything that you want to
give them, like it's going tobe that type of you know, day to
day job.
So I was like I guess I'm doingthis, you know, I guess I'm
(19:52):
opening up my own practice andbeing able to line it to my
values of environmentalism andeating plant-based and all the
things.
Not all my clients are fullyplant-based by any means.
It's probably like 75% vegans,vegetarians and then 25% not.
Yeah, pretty much exactly how Iwanted to set it up.
From the start, I was like I'mdoing it the right way, you know
(20:15):
, so that I feel really alignedin what I do every day.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
Yes, yep, and I could not agree more that it's it's
good to give yourself permissionto also shift kind of who
you're working with or who yourideal client is or what you're
passionate about, because thatis just going to light you up
all the more in your business.
I just feel like that's soimportant.
So I think it's wonderful thatyou kind of started out in one
space but you sort of were opento receiving.
(20:38):
Hey, I, you know I'm kind ofpassionate about hormones and
women's health and differentthings, and I'm going to allow
myself to also encompass thatinto my practice.
Speaker 3 (20:47):
Yeah, absolutely.
I felt called like I tookadditional training to be like a
functional hormone educator andthat just really pulled me in
that direction where I was like,okay, yes, I feel like this is
even more aligned and I canstill do, you know, the plant
based coaching on the side aswell all within my one practice,
not having to be, yeah, sofocused on just like the
(21:09):
veganism part, which I obviouslylove and am, but it's just
maybe the world's not ready yet,I don't know.
Yeah, sure.
Speaker 2 (21:17):
Yep, but I can definitely relate.
I mean so, when I first wasgoing through my program, I
wanted to be.
I wanted to be a coupledifferent things a sports
dietitian and a beef lobbyist.
So I wanted to promote eatingbeef.
And I looked back and I'm like,was I thinking I was raised on
a nice cattle farm and so likethat was my passion and, yeah,
that has shifted a big 180.
(21:38):
So I definitely can relate tojust kind of just shifting some
things around, maybe not thatdrastically, but just being open
to kind of what comes your way.
And especially when you gothrough healing and a health
issue, I feel like that justkind of deepens your roots and
wanting to do something that'ssimilar to what you've gone
through as well.
Speaker 3 (21:56):
Yeah, absolutely.
It just feels, you know when,when you're able to relate to
the client on that level, it'sjust probably feels so much more
genuine to like from theclient's perspective.
You definitely feel like moreof a connection to the client
and have so much more you knowexperience with it as well.
So that's been really great.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
Yeah good, so is there any advice that you would
give to someone who is kind ofjust struggling in the areas
that, like, of your expertise,whether it's related to
hormone-related concerns or eveninfertility issues?
Like, is there any kind ofpiece of advice that you
commonly give out that would bebeneficial to our listeners?
Speaker 3 (22:33):
A lot of the population is on the birth
control pill, for, you know,usually years, and for a lot of
people they were never told thatthat, you know, uses up a lot
of nutrients, depletes nutrientsin their bodies when they are
on the pill.
So even if they have come off ofit or want to come off of it,
oftentimes there's going to besymptoms, because you have to
(22:53):
make sure that you are nourishedand you know, and even for that
your gut health needs to be onpar, because if your gut health
is not good, you're notnecessarily absorbing the
nutrients as well either.
So, yeah, so definitely thefirst thing we'll do is you know
they have questions about, youknow how can I regulate my
periods, but we have todefinitely look at what their
gut health looks like and whattheir nutrients are looking like
(23:15):
, because if they've never, youknow, supplemented or eaten lots
of foods in, like zinc forexample, zinc is a big one that
the pill depletes and is relatedto a lot of different hormone
things like even like skinhealth and making progesterone
and everything.
So, if you know, zinc is very,very low, especially in plant
foods.
You know there's pumpkin seeds,but it's not in huge amounts in
(23:38):
plant foods.
People will say like eatoysters you know beef liver.
So definitely zinc is a big onethat will go over in terms of
you know.
If they ask how can I evenstart?
It's like well, maybe you needa little bit of help from a
supplement or two to make surethat you know even your vitamin
(23:58):
D levels.
You know you need to make surethat you're getting what you
need.
Living in Canada, we don't haveas much sunlight.
You know we're in the Northernhemisphere, so definitely
vitamin D is a big one too.
So we do go over you know theirentire medical history and you
know what their food looks likeday to day and go from there,
because for some people it'sstress, for some people it's the
(24:18):
nutrients, for most I would sayit's multiple things, right?
So looking at it from aholistic perspective of the
whole body, versus just focusingon you know your, your, you
know sex hormones themselves orjust you know your reproductive
system, definitely helps tobalance everything and get
results too.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
Yeah, it sounds like you're getting like a much
clearer picture, or like a bigpicture of what's going on,
versus like just focusing on onelittle thing when it could be
tied to so many other thingsthat are coming on in the body,
or even externally, if someone,if someone is working with you
and they, they do want some sortof like contraception.
What do you, if you don't mindsharing, what do you often
recommend?
That maybe is something that'sa bit more natural.
Speaker 3 (24:57):
Yeah, great question.
So, yeah, definitely somepeople are wanting to go off the
pill but don't necessarily wanta baby, right?
So obviously this comes upbecause, you know, I'm 30, a lot
of people my age are eitherlike ready to have kids or like
not ready to have kids or nothaving kids at all.
So definitely, you know, wediscuss this and the main thing
I would recommend to them iscondoms and then also tracking
(25:20):
your fertility.
So it's become so much moreavailable.
I feel like there's so many appsI see now that like, oh, I
haven't even heard of this oneyet to track, like, your
temperature.
So they have differentthermometer, like bands and
stuff like that that you canhave on that tracks your basal
temperature so that you have aclue.
You know, it's nothing is 100%,neither is the pill, but to have
(25:41):
a clue of when you're ovulating, because it'll track when you
have a little jump in yourtemperature and then, yeah, and
then you kind of know what yourwindow is, your fertile window,
so that you know, okay, well,I'm just gonna abstain or I'm
gonna use a condom those fewdays so that you're able to
prevent pregnancy, and yeah, andthen obviously everybody's
different.
Like, some people choose tohave a copper IUD and I think no
(26:05):
matter what, like every form ofrisk control will have pros and
cons.
So that's obviously somethingthat we discuss together and
obviously, you know, I'm not adoctor, so I don't prescribe or
anything.
So they obviously areencouraged to discuss it with
their doctor if they do have acertain concern about the
medication itself.
But yeah, in terms of like morenatural options, then yeah,
definitely tracking yourtemperature and condoms would be
(26:27):
like the best bet.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
Yeah, yeah.
Well, I think that's nice too,that you're actually have,
you're able to have this opendialogue about contraception,
versus being like, oh, the pillis like the one and only thing
that you're supposed to do, orget an IUD type thing, like
there are other options outthere that you can explore and
that won't have a as much of animpact, if any, on your hormonal
health or on your health ingeneral.
Speaker 3 (26:46):
Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (26:47):
So I know that you're also working on your
environmental health degree.
I'm curious how that's goingand if you could kind of give us
a couple things that you'velearned that you think would be
really helpful.
Speaker 3 (26:58):
So I started studying that when I was still in
nutrition.
I was like probably threequarters done my nutrition
program and I kind of realizedthat I wanted to have like the
environmental background as well, because you know there was
that equal nutrition course inmy nutrition program at CSNN,
but they're, you know I wantedmore.
So I was like you know what I'mgonna.
(27:19):
I have already some universitycourses under my belt, so I
looked into my local universitywhat I would need to actually
complete a degree inenvironmental studies and my
focus area is environmentalhealth.
So I've been part time studyingon the side as well as entire
time as I'm building my business.
So I learned a lot of hats.
(27:40):
It's been a lot.
At the end of April 2024, I'llbe done my courses, so
congratulations.
I love learning, like I thinklifelong learning is so
important and with environmentalhealth being my focus area, I
got to learn a lot more about,you know, toxicology and
basically just how ourenvironment is impacting our
(28:01):
health.
So those courses directly wentinto my hormones program.
I definitely alreadyincorporated so much of that
knowledge in there, because wethink of food, we think of
stress, but sometimes we forgetthat other things in our
environment there's a lot ofchemicals in our food.
There's a lot of other thingsplastics that we're exposed to
(28:22):
all the time that haveenvironmental impacts but also
health impacts.
So I really feel like thisdegree kind of tied my two
passions together.
Yeah, so already beenincorporating that knowledge on
how even just endocrinedisruptors in the environment
can impact your health andeverything.
Speaker 2 (28:40):
Yeah, if you don't mind sharing what are some
common endocrine disruptors.
Speaker 3 (28:44):
So one that most people have heard of is BPA,
which is in a lot of plastics.
A lot of plastics now will saylike BPA free, but a lot of the
time there's just like othersimilar compounds, like similar
chemical structures, to BPA init still.
So, in general, plastics likeplastics and food shouldn't
really go together, especiallyif you're heating anything or
(29:06):
like drinking out of a plasticbottle in a hot car.
There's been links with, likebreast cancer, actually with
that.
There's also phthalates in alot of skincare as well, which
is a pretty common one.
Phthalates are in a lot ofthings, and that's another one
that can disrupt your hormones.
So a lot of the time thosecompounds can basically go onto
your cell and act like a hormone.
(29:28):
So sometimes that makes yourbody think, oh, I don't need to
think as much of this hormonebecause it has a similar shape
to the hormone.
Or sometimes then your bodythinks, wow, there's a lot of
hormones in here and we'll startdoing something different.
So yeah, it's prettyinteresting how so many
compounds in our environmentimpact us and, yeah, even just
(29:50):
like air pollution things in theair impacts us as well, and
with climate change, that is allchanging as well.
Things are getting worse interms of the air quality and
everything, and even waterquality.
So it's very interesting anddefinitely there's certain
things too, like in fish.
Because they have a lot offatty tissue, they absorb a
(30:13):
whole bunch of these compoundsinto their flesh and then if you
eat that flesh, then you'regetting all those compounds into
your own flesh and that hasimpacts as well.
So that was really really againvalidating for me.
To learn about all of this andbe like this is exactly what I'm
passionate about, so it's beenfun.
Speaker 2 (30:32):
Yeah, and our oceans are nowhere near as clean as
they used to be.
So this is what it's hard toexplain why fish oil.
People think it's so healthyquote healthy.
It's often recommended bydoctors and different things,
but it's like I think a lot ofpeople just don't realize that
there is a lot of contaminantsin fish oil and you're better
(30:52):
off doing algae oil or somethingthat's like sustainably grown
and sourced and all that stuff.
Speaker 3 (30:58):
Absolutely yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:00):
Yeah, cool, oh, my goodness.
Well, I am so excited for you.
I'm incredibly thrilled justthat you were able to go to
school, pursue your passion,create this business that you
didn't think you were going tocreate, and be a business owner.
You're doing a lot right nowand it sounds just really
incredible.
So, yeah, thank you so much.
Thank you.
So someone wants to connectwith you, or maybe they're in,
(31:21):
like, the Winnipeg area whereyou live, and would love to work
with you, which, by the way,can anyone across Canada work
with you?
Speaker 3 (31:27):
Yeah, so because my practice is fully online, I
actually see clients in theStates as well, so anywhere
across Canada, worldwide.
Technically, most clients findme online, especially through
Instagram.
So you can find me on Instagramat Chanel Legacy it's
C-H-A-N-E-L-L-E-L-A-G-A-S-S-E,and you can also check out my
(31:49):
website, wwwevergreennursecocom.
Speaker 2 (31:52):
Wonderful, and we'll put those links in the show
notes so if you're interested inconnecting with Chanel, you can
easily access her.
Thank you, chanel, so much forcoming on and sharing your story
.
I appreciate you and I guesswe'll just catch you on
Instagram.
Speaker 3 (32:04):
Sounds great.
Thanks so much, ashley.
You're super inspiring to me,so thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (32:08):
Absolutely All right.
Thank you so much for tuning intoday and we will catch you on
the next episode.
Speaker 1 (32:16):
Thank you so much for listening to the Plant-Centered
and Thriving podcast today.
If you found this episodeinspiring, please share it with
a friend or post it on socialmedia and tag me so I can
personally say thank you.
Until next time, keep thriving.
Welcome to the Plant-Centered and Thriving
Podcast.
I'm your host, ashley Kitchens.
I'm a plant-based registereddietitian and virtual nutrition
mentor.
I was raised on an Angus cattlefarm, grew up with a lot of GI
issues and used the power ofplant-based eating to promote
healing.
Here you'll find inspiration,ideas and encouragement for your
(00:23):
own plant-based journey.
I'm so thrilled you're heretoday.
Let's get started.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Welcome to the show Plant-Centered Listener.
My name is Ashley and I am yourhost today.
Today I have a story from avery special guest who walked
into her doctor's office, hadbeen struggling with eczema for
quite a while and her doctoropened up a textbook, showed her
a picture of someone who washaving a severe case of eczema,
(00:51):
told her her case was not severeenough and basically sent her
on her way.
She went through steroid creamafter steroid cream.
She tried a lot of differentmodalities and nothing seemed to
work.
So you can kind of see wherethe story is going.
Right.
I'll let Chanel tell the rest,but I do want to introduce you
to Chanel, who now is aregistered holistic nutritionist
(01:12):
, functional hormone educatorand founder of Evergreen Nourish
Co, which is an onlinenutrition counseling practice
with a focus on hormone healthand transitioning to a
plant-based lifestyle.
Chanel resides in Manitoba,canada, and she graduated from
the Canadian School of NaturalNutrition in 2022 with a diploma
(01:32):
in natural nutrition withdistinguished merit and a
holistic culinary certification.
This spring, in 2024, she willalso be graduating with a
bachelor's degree ofenvironmental studies in
environmental health from theUniversity of Manitoba, and we
talk about some of the thingsthat she's learning in her
environmental health classes,and some of them were a little
(01:53):
shocking.
Chanel began her ownplant-based journey in 2018,
when going through health issueswhich she discusses further,
and this led her to pivot hercareer to combine her passions
for both overall health and theenvironment.
Please join me in welcomingChanel and her story.
I'm curious because I know thatyou have sort of a backstory as
(02:14):
to why you went plant-based andeverything, so I would love for
you to kind of just give us anidea of what kicked off this
journey for you.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
I feel like for me, it was pretty interesting
because I almost had a healthjourney that was going parallel
with this environmental journey,literally.
As I was having all thesehealth issues, I saw a natural
path and I was told to cut outcertain foods because I had a
lot of inflammation in my body.
If I take a step back further,actually so in 2018, I was 25, I
(02:44):
already had been strugglingwith eczema for a long time and
I had sort of started a healthjourney trying to eat better.
I was not a nutritionist yetand I decided I also wanted to
go off the birth control pill.
I had been on it for a decadefor acne, even before I was
sexually active.
I was told to go on it and Ijust started learning about how
(03:08):
that impacts your fertility andjust like mood and everything.
I had had a lot of anxiety inmy early 20s, so I was like you
know what I'm done.
I just you know I was married,I just whatever, like I just
want to go off of it and when Idid that, my entire body just
like went a little bit haywire.
I mean, I had like inflammationin my neck, like I was like red
(03:30):
and had itchy eczema all overthe place, and my doctor was not
helping me at all with, youknow, all they were doing were
giving me steroid creams, whichalso were contributing, you know
, to even more eczema, and itwould just come back, you know,
with a vengeance.
So so then I had cut out.
Like you know, they, thenaturopaths, told me, like, try
to cut out, you know,inflammatory foods, so like red
(03:53):
meat and eggs and dairy.
I had never, you know, beenrestricted previously with any
food.
I didn't have food allergies.
I grew up with the mother withfood allergies, though, so I was
bit familiar with it.
But it was tough and at thesame time, you know, I was
trying to buy more locally.
I was learning a lot aboutclimate change and the
environment, so that was aboutin December of 2018.
(04:15):
And then, a few months later, Iwas watching all these
documentaries and I was like,you know, I'm really only eating
like honey and fish out of likethe animal products.
Yeah, so I was like, why?
Like, why I don't really needto be, because I was really
aligning, you know, with thevegan movement.
I've always been really intoenvironmentalism, so I decided
(04:38):
to take the leap that spring.
I cut out fish and you knowhoney, I wasn't having much of
anyway, so I became vegan in2019.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
And yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
So it was pretty interesting how those kind of
you know came about at the sametime my environmental journey
and my health journey and I dideventually, like you know, bring
back a lot of the foods but notthe animal products.
I was like off like gluten andtomatoes, like all the
nightshades, you know, thetypical things that they get you
to try to cut out and I don'tknow really if that was helping.
(05:12):
I think I just was, you know,had to go through that cycle
from having taken steroids for alot of my life, from the creams
and everything, and I had, youknow, kind of like the steroid
withdrawal that they call.
So I had to just go throughthat and, you know, heal my gut
as well, because I had had a lotof gut issues as well, from
antibiotics and all the thingsand obviously the steroids to
(05:35):
throughout my life.
So that was something I had towork on and, yeah, it eventually
got way better.
I lost my period when I went offthe birth control pill for over
a year.
I got my period back.
So, yeah, it's quiteinteresting.
And then in 2020, I decided Iwanted to go back to school and
become a nutritionist.
So that is how that allhappened.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Yes, it's like a whirlwind of a couple of years
to get there Before December2018, was there any of your
doctors?
Or, like the research that youcame upon?
If you did any like, indicatethat, hey, the food that you're
eating might be contributing tosome of these issues?
Speaker 3 (06:12):
No, like the whole reason why I had seeked out like
alternative practitioners wasbecause, really, the doctors
were basically like there'snothing like to do.
I literally had a dermatologistone time.
You know it was quitedebilitating, like it would you
know ooze, it was on my thighs.
I would be depressed from itbecause of all that inflammation
going on in my brain too.
(06:33):
And the doctor thedermatologist literally opened
up a page of a textbook of likea hospitalized case and was like
this is what a severe case is.
Like You're not a severe case.
And I was like this is literallyimpacting my daily life, like
I'm depressed, like you know,like it's hard to know how to
dress because, like you know, myskin is like not okay and it
(06:56):
was, yeah, very frustrating tohave that type of treatment.
So that's when I started doinga bit more of my own research.
I did find, you know, stuffabout hormones or the birth
control pill, and that's kind ofwhat started the whole journey.
Because, yeah, until then, youknow, I was kind of just living
my life with anxiety and with,like the PMS and all the things
and thinking this is fine.
(07:17):
You know it's not fine, but Iguess this is just how it is.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
Yeah, this is my life , basically.
Speaker 3 (07:23):
Yeah, so, yeah.
So that's why you know thathappened.
And then, yeah, you know, fastforward, you know, five years
later and I'm a hormonenutritionist and helping folks,
you know, eat more plants andfix their hormone issues as well
.
So it's kind of been reallycool, yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
Yeah, it's unfortunate but also fortunate
in a way, that you have to kindof go through some of those
trials and tribulations to kindof get to where you're at now
for you to figure out.
Oh, this is my passion and mypurpose, because I sort of like
had to walk through the valleyin order to get to, like, the
mountaintop, to be able to helpother people sort of overcome
what I was going through in away.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
Absolutely yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
And to be maybe that sounding board too that maybe
you didn't receive with some ofyour healthcare providers that
you were like really lookingafter.
And I know so many peoplelistening to this show who have
been on the show before have asimilar story, where it's like
they either had to go above andbeyond to figure out what the
heck was wrong with them or theyhad to seek out other medical
providers, or even both, to getto this place where they were
(08:25):
able to heal or start theirhealing journey.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
Absolutely Like.
I just feel like.
You know I grew up my mom, youknow health is one of her values
as well, and you know we alwaysadvocated for ourselves.
But a lot of people don't know,you know how to do that or
don't have access to be able todo that.
And I just think back aboutlike if I had an advocated for
myself and done my own research.
You know, I have a backgroundin health, I've been a dental
hygienist for eight years, so Ihad that under my belt.
(08:51):
But for a lot of people that'sthat doesn't come naturally.
They don't know how to seekhelp and you know, then maybe I
wouldn't be where I am now.
Right, I know I would bebecause I, you know, when you
don't advocate for yourself, youdon't have, you know, other
options, so you just feel reallystuck in that cycle.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Yep, yeah.
So congrats on almostcelebrating your five-year
anniversary of being vegan.
That's so exciting.
How was that transition for you?
I mean, at one point you knowyou had cut out a lot of
different foods, includingnightshades and different things
, and you started introducingthose back in.
It sounds like those in gluten,right.
Speaker 3 (09:25):
Yeah, I only started eating gluten again, like last
year, because I wasn't sure Iwas like what if it is why my
eczema is better?
Right, you always have kind ofthat thought.
Even though I'm not celiac,I've been tested a few times,
yeah, so it was interesting,because then when you're vegan
and something else, then itmakes it even tougher sometimes
to find options, you know, atrestaurants and everything.
(09:46):
It was definitely, you know,like trial and error trying to
find things that are tasty.
And I mean it's come such along way with vegan options
available in the grocery stores,like it's a lot better now for
sure.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
Yeah, how are things up in your area?
Speaker 3 (10:02):
Yeah, so I'm in Manitoba, canada, so the biggest
city is Winnipeg, and it'sactually pretty good.
Like we've got, you know, a lotof different grocery store
chains that have, you know,vegan cheeses and milks and lots
of you know like meatalternatives and things like
that too.
I don't think it's as good asin the States, from what I hear
and from like what I see online.
(10:23):
But, yeah, I mean, I eatprimarily whole foods as well,
like we do eat some, you know,processed stuff for sure.
But we actually have inManitoba this group of organic
farms that grow like pulses andlegumes and everything, and so
every year it's actually the endof the month for filming
(10:44):
recording this in January.
So at the end of the month I'mpicking up my CSA for grains and
legumes from Manitoba farmers.
So it's really awesome that youknow that last almost a whole
year for my husband and I.
So we got, like, you know,black beans and oats or you know
, gluten free oats too, forpeople that need it, gluten free
oats and different flowers,different corn products like
(11:06):
corn grits and things like that.
So, yeah, it's really great tohave that as an option.
They also sell their productsin some grocery stores locally
as well.
So yeah, so I feel good aboutthat, you know, but that's where
we get most of our legumes andeverything, so yeah, it's nice
to be able to support your localfarmers, Absolutely yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
So that one box that you get at the end of January
that will last you for theentire year.
Speaker 3 (11:32):
Mostly, there's a few things that we have to top up.
So like they don't havechickpeas, so we got chickpeas
separately at the grocery store.
So things like that.
Like obviously we, you know, wehave to buy all the fresh food
as well, but in terms of likelegumes and like flour, we don't
need to buy at all separately,which is really nice.
And they have lots of lentilsin there.
Lots of you know a fewdifferent kinds of beans.
(11:53):
They rotate their crops, right,so it's not always the same
every year.
So, yeah, so I'm very fortunateto have that available.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
Yeah, yeah, that's awesome for anyone listening to.
I mean, that's a great idea ifyou do have some local farmers
in your area who provide a CSAbox or provide some sort of
produce box.
Sometimes it's nice to havethat, whether you get it once a
month, every other week or evenlike once a quarter, just to
supplement the foods that youalready buy at the grocery store
.
Yeah, which fun fact, maybe.
So I went to Iowa to makingsure it was Iowa in the Idaho.
(12:25):
It was Iowa, I'm pretty sure tovisit with Quaker Oats, and
what I didn't know was that allof our oats, or all Quaker's
oats, come from Canada.
They are all grown there Likeapparently as far up as you can
go without being in the I don'tknow wilderness tundra bush type
(12:45):
thing, yeah, so that was prettyfascinating.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
Yeah, yeah, I didn't realize that because I just
assume a lot of those places inthe states like that are
agriculture heavy would haveoats too, but like, maybe they
just grow better up here.
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
Apparently.
I mean, at least that's whatQuaker does.
So it was really neat to findout.
They just ship them down by thesemis and like these big train,
what I don't know those arecalled train cars basically and
yeah, that's where we get all ofour oats, which I think is
pretty fascinating.
Awesome Fun fact there Well, Iknow people listening and
sometimes I get this questioneven on social media is what was
(13:22):
it like even taking thecertification or going through
the courses to get yourcertification and to become a
registered nutritionist?
Because I know there are peopleout there who are curious about
even in the states taking anutritionist certification, and
there are questions like well,if I'm vegan or if I'm
passionate about plant basedeating, is this something that
is maybe going to kind of goagainst how I feel?
But how was it for you and whatwas your program like too?
Speaker 3 (13:45):
Yeah, so I studied at the Cain School of Natural
Nutrition.
They are the biggest schoolacross Canada.
They have several campuses, andthen I did the online campus
technically, and it was quitegood.
There's 18 different coursesthat you have to go through, so
you do get like a really widerange of education.
There's also one called EcoNutrition, which is my favorite.
(14:07):
We read a book all about likethe Blue Zones type of thing and
the centenarians and all thethings, so it was quite cool.
No, I think I'm mixing up twocourses.
Actually that was the one aboutaging.
Hang on, okay, there was adifferent book.
I forgot the title, but therewas a different book and
actually that one went over likeCAFOs and different things like
that, which was reallyinteresting.
I know you, being from NorthCarolina, are obviously very
(14:30):
familiar with that.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
Yes, which that stands for confined animal feed
operations.
For anyone who doesn't know yes, so that was interesting.
Speaker 3 (14:37):
Already I, like you know, I was already vegan, so I
already knew a lot about that.
But obviously the aging one wasreally great too, because they
went over these Blue Zones,which obviously are also plant
based areas.
Yeah, I felt really likevalidating because in a way in
my head I was like, even if Idon't, you know, go through with
, like working as a nutritionist, I just feel like this is
(14:57):
really interesting for me tolearn because of everything I've
been through, and to get thatvalidation like is this the
right thing to do?
You know, like when you justwatch documentaries and do your
own research, sometimes you'rekind of like, is this right?
Like, because then you hear theopposite views and you're like
I don't know anymore.
So just getting you know thevalidation that like, yes, like
plants are full of nutrients,you know, and you can have a
(15:21):
healthy, sustainable plant baseddiet.
Even like the first book, likeit was like Intrune Intrusion
One and I opened the book and itwas like something about the
environment, was like in thepreface and I was just like I
sent a picture of that to myfriend Roxanne and I was like,
oh my God, this feels so alive,Like yes.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
Yes, so I would hope that they're talking about that
more and more.
I went to school eight longtime ago, like over a decade ago
, and so that wasn't asprevalent, and neither was even
talking about plant based eating, just because that term wasn't
even used very often back then,but I'm glad to hear that it
sounds like it's being talkedabout more, which is just
fantastic because, yeah, itneeds to be.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
Absolutely yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
And it sounds like this course, even though it
wasn't 100% plant based, it wasstill helpful, like you still
came out of it, obviously withyour degree, but you didn't.
It didn't impede on you, onyour morals or like you being
vegan or like being pro plantbased.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
Not at all.
Yeah, and there was even asecond part of the program that
was like a culinary training,and actually one of the
instructors in there is a vegannutritionists himself.
So it was pretty good becauseall of the culinary training was
actually pretty much plantbased.
So, yeah, just learningdifferent techniques that now I
(16:37):
can, you know, teach clients aswell, so yeah, so it was really
great that way.
Speaker 2 (16:41):
Yeah, and like you were saying too, like even if
you didn't come out practicingand starting your practice, it
was still a helpful course.
I know some people, evenlistening, have thought about
maybe taking like the e Cornellcourse which is through Colin
Campbell.
Just because some of thesecourses you do learn so much
like sometimes there's only somuch research and so many
documentaries we can watch, it'snice to go through a course and
learn from the best of the bestin the plant based world, just
(17:03):
to further our education.
So I know those options arealways out there for anyone who
wants to kind of expand on theirknowledge, which is great.
Speaker 3 (17:09):
Absolutely yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:11):
What are some common concerns or questions that you
receive from your ideal clientsor some of the people that you
work with?
Speaker 3 (17:18):
It's funny because I actually kind of shifted my
ideal client.
Over the you know almost twoyears that I've been doing this,
I did start wanting to do morelike plant based coaching, which
I don't know if it's just in myarea, but it hasn't been like
that fruitful.
So I did shift to workingprimarily in the hormone space,
which, you know, obviously, withmy own health routine, was a
(17:39):
really big passion of mine.
So about a year ago I startedwith that being more my ideal
client, just somebody who is,you know, going through hormone
imbalances, you know periodissues, things like that wanting
to conceive or already pregnantand just wanting to improve
their nutrition status andlifestyle, which is really
awesome.
But yeah, I actually didn'tstart off with that as my niche.
(18:02):
I was actually more in theplant based space.
But now I feel like I kind ofrealized, you know, plant based
thinking kind of should beapplied to every niche in a way.
Yeah, definitely, no matterwhat someone struggles with, it
is, you know, eating more.
Plants like here are the plantsthat will get you the nutrients
that you maybe are lacking.
So I do, you know, kind of dothat type of work now, but I do
still see some clients that arein my, you know, plant based
(18:25):
program, which is evergreenevolution.
So right now I have a ladywho's trying to lower her
cholesterol, I have somebodywho's pre diabetics, so that one
has like even more support,just like one on one support,
because they are making so manychanges, whereas my hormones
program there's like a big videocomponent to it as well.
Yeah, so I really love how it'syou know, holistic I am a
holistic nutritionist thattouches on a lot of different
(18:47):
areas of your lifestyle sleep,stress, all the things plus,
obviously, the nutritioncounseling as well.
So, yeah, so it's been reallyfun to kind of you know, I'm
pretty new when you think aboutit.
I, you know, it's only been acouple years and I'm giving
myself grace for that becauseI'm still kind of getting, you
know, my feet wet and everything, but it's been really awesome
(19:09):
to be able to do this work Likeit's literally my dream job.
So it's, yeah, it's, it's beenreally amazing.
I never thought I would be abusiness owner actually.
So even when I was in nutrition, like like studying it, I was
like, yeah, I'll just like workin a clinic, but I really wanted
to, really like.
I was like, okay, if I'm doingthis, I'm going like all the way
(19:30):
.
I was like I want to align whatI'm doing every day.
Otherwise I'll end up in thesame cycle where you're just
seeing, like, client afterclient after client, and if you
don't feel like you get to givethem everything that you want to
give them, like it's going tobe that type of you know, day to
day job.
So I was like I guess I'm doingthis, you know, I guess I'm
(19:52):
opening up my own practice andbeing able to line it to my
values of environmentalism andeating plant-based and all the
things.
Not all my clients are fullyplant-based by any means.
It's probably like 75% vegans,vegetarians and then 25% not.
Yeah, pretty much exactly how Iwanted to set it up.
From the start, I was like I'mdoing it the right way, you know
(20:15):
, so that I feel really alignedin what I do every day.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
Yes, yep, and I could not agree more that it's it's
good to give yourself permissionto also shift kind of who
you're working with or who yourideal client is or what you're
passionate about, because thatis just going to light you up
all the more in your business.
I just feel like that's soimportant.
So I think it's wonderful thatyou kind of started out in one
space but you sort of were opento receiving.
(20:38):
Hey, I, you know I'm kind ofpassionate about hormones and
women's health and differentthings, and I'm going to allow
myself to also encompass thatinto my practice.
Speaker 3 (20:47):
Yeah, absolutely.
I felt called like I tookadditional training to be like a
functional hormone educator andthat just really pulled me in
that direction where I was like,okay, yes, I feel like this is
even more aligned and I canstill do, you know, the plant
based coaching on the side aswell all within my one practice,
not having to be, yeah, sofocused on just like the
(21:09):
veganism part, which I obviouslylove and am, but it's just
maybe the world's not ready yet,I don't know.
Yeah, sure.
Speaker 2 (21:17):
Yep, but I can definitely relate.
I mean so, when I first wasgoing through my program, I
wanted to be.
I wanted to be a coupledifferent things a sports
dietitian and a beef lobbyist.
So I wanted to promote eatingbeef.
And I looked back and I'm like,was I thinking I was raised on
a nice cattle farm and so likethat was my passion and, yeah,
that has shifted a big 180.
(21:38):
So I definitely can relate tojust kind of just shifting some
things around, maybe not thatdrastically, but just being open
to kind of what comes your way.
And especially when you gothrough healing and a health
issue, I feel like that justkind of deepens your roots and
wanting to do something that'ssimilar to what you've gone
through as well.
Speaker 3 (21:56):
Yeah, absolutely.
It just feels, you know when,when you're able to relate to
the client on that level, it'sjust probably feels so much more
genuine to like from theclient's perspective.
You definitely feel like moreof a connection to the client
and have so much more you knowexperience with it as well.
So that's been really great.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
Yeah good, so is there any advice that you would
give to someone who is kind ofjust struggling in the areas
that, like, of your expertise,whether it's related to
hormone-related concerns or eveninfertility issues?
Like, is there any kind ofpiece of advice that you
commonly give out that would bebeneficial to our listeners?
Speaker 3 (22:33):
A lot of the population is on the birth
control pill, for, you know,usually years, and for a lot of
people they were never told thatthat, you know, uses up a lot
of nutrients, depletes nutrientsin their bodies when they are
on the pill.
So even if they have come off ofit or want to come off of it,
oftentimes there's going to besymptoms, because you have to
(22:53):
make sure that you are nourishedand you know, and even for that
your gut health needs to be onpar, because if your gut health
is not good, you're notnecessarily absorbing the
nutrients as well either.
So, yeah, so definitely thefirst thing we'll do is you know
they have questions about, youknow how can I regulate my
periods, but we have todefinitely look at what their
gut health looks like and whattheir nutrients are looking like
(23:15):
, because if they've never, youknow, supplemented or eaten lots
of foods in, like zinc forexample, zinc is a big one that
the pill depletes and is relatedto a lot of different hormone
things like even like skinhealth and making progesterone
and everything.
So, if you know, zinc is very,very low, especially in plant
foods.
You know there's pumpkin seeds,but it's not in huge amounts in
(23:38):
plant foods.
People will say like eatoysters you know beef liver.
So definitely zinc is a big onethat will go over in terms of
you know.
If they ask how can I evenstart?
It's like well, maybe you needa little bit of help from a
supplement or two to make surethat you know even your vitamin
(23:58):
D levels.
You know you need to make surethat you're getting what you
need.
Living in Canada, we don't haveas much sunlight.
You know we're in the Northernhemisphere, so definitely
vitamin D is a big one too.
So we do go over you know theirentire medical history and you
know what their food looks likeday to day and go from there,
because for some people it'sstress, for some people it's the
(24:18):
nutrients, for most I would sayit's multiple things, right?
So looking at it from aholistic perspective of the
whole body, versus just focusingon you know your, your, you
know sex hormones themselves orjust you know your reproductive
system, definitely helps tobalance everything and get
results too.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
Yeah, it sounds like you're getting like a much
clearer picture, or like a bigpicture of what's going on,
versus like just focusing on onelittle thing when it could be
tied to so many other thingsthat are coming on in the body,
or even externally, if someone,if someone is working with you
and they, they do want some sortof like contraception.
What do you, if you don't mindsharing, what do you often
recommend?
That maybe is something that'sa bit more natural.
Speaker 3 (24:57):
Yeah, great question.
So, yeah, definitely somepeople are wanting to go off the
pill but don't necessarily wanta baby, right?
So obviously this comes upbecause, you know, I'm 30, a lot
of people my age are eitherlike ready to have kids or like
not ready to have kids or nothaving kids at all.
So definitely, you know, wediscuss this and the main thing
I would recommend to them iscondoms and then also tracking
(25:20):
your fertility.
So it's become so much moreavailable.
I feel like there's so many appsI see now that like, oh, I
haven't even heard of this oneyet to track, like, your
temperature.
So they have differentthermometer, like bands and
stuff like that that you canhave on that tracks your basal
temperature so that you have aclue.
You know, it's nothing is 100%,neither is the pill, but to have
(25:41):
a clue of when you're ovulating, because it'll track when you
have a little jump in yourtemperature and then, yeah, and
then you kind of know what yourwindow is, your fertile window,
so that you know, okay, well,I'm just gonna abstain or I'm
gonna use a condom those fewdays so that you're able to
prevent pregnancy, and yeah, andthen obviously everybody's
different.
Like, some people choose tohave a copper IUD and I think no
(26:05):
matter what, like every form ofrisk control will have pros and
cons.
So that's obviously somethingthat we discuss together and
obviously, you know, I'm not adoctor, so I don't prescribe or
anything.
So they obviously areencouraged to discuss it with
their doctor if they do have acertain concern about the
medication itself.
But yeah, in terms of like morenatural options, then yeah,
definitely tracking yourtemperature and condoms would be
(26:27):
like the best bet.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
Yeah, yeah.
Well, I think that's nice too,that you're actually have,
you're able to have this opendialogue about contraception,
versus being like, oh, the pillis like the one and only thing
that you're supposed to do, orget an IUD type thing, like
there are other options outthere that you can explore and
that won't have a as much of animpact, if any, on your hormonal
health or on your health ingeneral.
Speaker 3 (26:46):
Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (26:47):
So I know that you're also working on your
environmental health degree.
I'm curious how that's goingand if you could kind of give us
a couple things that you'velearned that you think would be
really helpful.
Speaker 3 (26:58):
So I started studying that when I was still in
nutrition.
I was like probably threequarters done my nutrition
program and I kind of realizedthat I wanted to have like the
environmental background as well, because you know there was
that equal nutrition course inmy nutrition program at CSNN,
but they're, you know I wantedmore.
So I was like you know what I'mgonna.
(27:19):
I have already some universitycourses under my belt, so I
looked into my local universitywhat I would need to actually
complete a degree inenvironmental studies and my
focus area is environmentalhealth.
So I've been part time studyingon the side as well as entire
time as I'm building my business.
So I learned a lot of hats.
(27:40):
It's been a lot.
At the end of April 2024, I'llbe done my courses, so
congratulations.
I love learning, like I thinklifelong learning is so
important and with environmentalhealth being my focus area, I
got to learn a lot more about,you know, toxicology and
basically just how ourenvironment is impacting our
(28:01):
health.
So those courses directly wentinto my hormones program.
I definitely alreadyincorporated so much of that
knowledge in there, because wethink of food, we think of
stress, but sometimes we forgetthat other things in our
environment there's a lot ofchemicals in our food.
There's a lot of other thingsplastics that we're exposed to
(28:22):
all the time that haveenvironmental impacts but also
health impacts.
So I really feel like thisdegree kind of tied my two
passions together.
Yeah, so already beenincorporating that knowledge on
how even just endocrinedisruptors in the environment
can impact your health andeverything.
Speaker 2 (28:40):
Yeah, if you don't mind sharing what are some
common endocrine disruptors.
Speaker 3 (28:44):
So one that most people have heard of is BPA,
which is in a lot of plastics.
A lot of plastics now will saylike BPA free, but a lot of the
time there's just like othersimilar compounds, like similar
chemical structures, to BPA init still.
So, in general, plastics likeplastics and food shouldn't
really go together, especiallyif you're heating anything or
(29:06):
like drinking out of a plasticbottle in a hot car.
There's been links with, likebreast cancer, actually with
that.
There's also phthalates in alot of skincare as well, which
is a pretty common one.
Phthalates are in a lot ofthings, and that's another one
that can disrupt your hormones.
So a lot of the time thosecompounds can basically go onto
your cell and act like a hormone.
(29:28):
So sometimes that makes yourbody think, oh, I don't need to
think as much of this hormonebecause it has a similar shape
to the hormone.
Or sometimes then your bodythinks, wow, there's a lot of
hormones in here and we'll startdoing something different.
So yeah, it's prettyinteresting how so many
compounds in our environmentimpact us and, yeah, even just
(29:50):
like air pollution things in theair impacts us as well, and
with climate change, that is allchanging as well.
Things are getting worse interms of the air quality and
everything, and even waterquality.
So it's very interesting anddefinitely there's certain
things too, like in fish.
Because they have a lot offatty tissue, they absorb a
(30:13):
whole bunch of these compoundsinto their flesh and then if you
eat that flesh, then you'regetting all those compounds into
your own flesh and that hasimpacts as well.
So that was really really againvalidating for me.
To learn about all of this andbe like this is exactly what I'm
passionate about, so it's beenfun.
Speaker 2 (30:32):
Yeah, and our oceans are nowhere near as clean as
they used to be.
So this is what it's hard toexplain why fish oil.
People think it's so healthyquote healthy.
It's often recommended bydoctors and different things,
but it's like I think a lot ofpeople just don't realize that
there is a lot of contaminantsin fish oil and you're better
(30:52):
off doing algae oil or somethingthat's like sustainably grown
and sourced and all that stuff.
Speaker 3 (30:58):
Absolutely yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:00):
Yeah, cool, oh, my goodness.
Well, I am so excited for you.
I'm incredibly thrilled justthat you were able to go to
school, pursue your passion,create this business that you
didn't think you were going tocreate, and be a business owner.
You're doing a lot right nowand it sounds just really
incredible.
So, yeah, thank you so much.
Thank you.
So someone wants to connectwith you, or maybe they're in,
(31:21):
like, the Winnipeg area whereyou live, and would love to work
with you, which, by the way,can anyone across Canada work
with you?
Speaker 3 (31:27):
Yeah, so because my practice is fully online, I
actually see clients in theStates as well, so anywhere
across Canada, worldwide.
Technically, most clients findme online, especially through
Instagram.
So you can find me on Instagramat Chanel Legacy it's
C-H-A-N-E-L-L-E-L-A-G-A-S-S-E,and you can also check out my
(31:49):
website, wwwevergreennursecocom.
Speaker 2 (31:52):
Wonderful, and we'll put those links in the show
notes so if you're interested inconnecting with Chanel, you can
easily access her.
Thank you, chanel, so much forcoming on and sharing your story
.
I appreciate you and I guesswe'll just catch you on
Instagram.
Speaker 3 (32:04):
Sounds great.
Thanks so much, ashley.
You're super inspiring to me,so thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (32:08):
Absolutely All right.
Thank you so much for tuning intoday and we will catch you on
the next episode.
Speaker 1 (32:16):
Thank you so much for listening to the Plant-Centered
and Thriving podcast today.
If you found this episodeinspiring, please share it with
a friend or post it on socialmedia and tag me so I can
personally say thank you.
Until next time, keep thriving.
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