Latest / Everyday Ancestral with James Barry / Living With Ulcerative Colitis: What Helped After 15 Years | Chloe Melas

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Living With Ulcerative Colitis: What Helped After 15 Years | Chloe Melas · Everyday Ancestral with James Barry

• 0:00
  As our food, environment, and lifestyle have industrialized, inflammatory bowel diseases have become increasingly common.
• 0:09
  Chloe, when you look at your own experience, what do you think modern life has made harder on the gut that our ancestors may not have had to contend with?
• 0:21
  Microplastics.
• 0:23
  Okay, I mean, let's just talk about our use of plastics.
• 0:27
  I can't tell you how many antibiotics I took in my 20s.
• 0:30
  I'm now 40 years old.
• 0:32
  All sorts of things I look back on and think about the stress in my life, honestly, like quality of air.
• 0:41
  All sorts of things, I believe, have disrupted my microbiome.
• 0:46
  And, you know, just not eating adequately, not getting enough rest.
• 0:50
  And then, you know, what's in our food and how that is just changing.
• 0:56
  Even compared to how my mom grew up in the 60s and the 70s, like her cereal...
• 1:03
  The branding might look the same as what I'm giving my two little boys, but dude, the ingredients are so not the same.
• 1:11
  So no wonder I'm the first person in my family on both sides to be given this honor of living with IBD.
• 1:21
  When did you first realize something was really wrong?
• 1:26
  It was when I was 25 years old and there was blood when I went to the toilet.
• 1:32
  And when I wiped, it was on the toilet paper just a little bit.
• 1:37
  I thought maybe it was a hemorrhoid.
• 1:39
  I honestly was not scared in the least.
• 1:42
  And I just ignored it.
• 1:45
  You know, I had bigger things to worry about, like my career and my dating life and my social life and what I was going to be doing on Friday night.
• 1:53
  I finally told my mom about it, who growing up took my brother and I to the doctor constantly.
• 2:00
  And...
• 2:02
  That is a habit that I have also just been trying to break as I raise my two boys.
• 2:08
  But my mom, although a nervous Nellie and a bit of a hypochondriac, she did say you need to go see a gastroenterologist.
• 2:17
  And I eventually did go to one.
• 2:19
  Um...
• 2:20
  Luckily, at the time, I was diagnosed with something called proctitis, which is an inflammation of the rectum.
• 2:27
  And no one knows what causes it.
• 2:30
  It's like these tiny little ulcers in the, like, almost imagine them as canker sores in your rectum.
• 2:37
  And what's really terrible about that is when you're inflamed in that area, you're
• 2:42
  it makes your rectum contract so that therefore you become constipated and it's hard to pass stool.
• 2:49
  So on top of just being uncomfortable, you're not emptying your bowels.
• 2:54
  So I actually became addicted to laxatives in my 20s as well.
• 2:59
  So it was this very vicious cycle.
• 3:02
  When I was diagnosed with proctitis,
• 3:05
  They did a short scope called a sigmoidoscopy.
• 3:08
  It's a shorter version of something called a colonoscopy.
• 3:12
  So you can actually be awake for it.
• 3:15
  I did not want to be awake for it.
• 3:17
  So they put like a little camera inside your anus and they look around and
• 3:24
  The GI at the time, who was a bit of a jerk, to be honest, just was like, you have proctitis.
• 3:31
  Take these suppositories, which are these little medicated, almost enemas.
• 3:35
  Imagine you would use them like as a child if you were constipated or something.
• 3:40
  And he sent me on my way and he didn't seem worried about it.
• 3:44
  So I didn't take the medicine very well.
• 3:48
  I didn't want to use it.
• 3:49
  I didn't want to put medicine in my butt because why would you?
• 3:53
  And that was one of my biggest mistakes.
• 3:55
  So what took the longest to get the answers about then?
• 3:57
  You got this one diagnosis.
• 3:59
  You didn't take the medicines.
• 4:00
  And clearly that wasn't the end of the issues.
• 4:06
  Nobody asked me what I was eating.
• 4:08
  Nobody asked me about, you know, my recent rounds and rounds of Z-packs and antibiotics.
• 4:14
  Look, I grew up in a very slow pace in the South.
• 4:18
  I grew up in Atlanta, Georgia until I was 10.
• 4:20
  Then I lived in Dallas, Texas from 10 to college.
• 4:24
  And then talk about real slow, I went to college in Alabama at Auburn University.
• 4:29
  I was not ready when I moved to New York and the stress of the city, the crazy long hours.
• 4:37
  I worked at a startup website.
• 4:40
  It was intense.
• 4:41
  And I was getting sick constantly, James.
• 4:43
  And I was always going to urgent care and getting Z-Packs.
• 4:48
  or ciproflaxin.
• 4:50
  And I always had an upper respiratory issue, always like an ear infection, sinus infection, chest issue, virus, but they would give me an antibiotic anyway.
• 5:01
  And I started noticing, you know, blood in my stool.
• 5:04
  Eventually though, you know, the blood didn't stop for a
• 5:10
  And I ignored it.
• 5:11
  Like, I know that sounds insane and incredibly irresponsible.
• 5:16
  But if anybody remembers being in their 20s, it's easy to just ignore stuff.
• 5:23
  And I wasn't in pain where I couldn't function.
• 5:26
  It was uncomfortable, but I was able to, you know, move along in my life.
• 5:31
  And then I eventually went to a different GI.
• 5:34
  This GI was like, dude, you need a colonoscopy.
• 5:38
  Like we're going all the way in.
• 5:39
  And so that's when he was like, you don't have proctitis.
• 5:44
  Whatever that was has now spread.
• 5:47
  That inflammation has now gone up the left side of your colon and you have left-sided ulcerative colitis.
• 5:52
  And I was like, WTF is that?
• 5:55
  Like what?
• 5:58
  And that was a huge wake-up call for me.
• 6:01
  You spent much of your career on television, you know, looking completely healthy.
• 6:04
  And there's this presentation kind of aspect to it.
• 6:07
  But clearly what was going on, you know, on the insides was very blunt, was very real for you.
• 6:14
  What has that taught you about kind of the invisible illness?
• 6:18
  You know, I've been trying to think, James, about like, what's my thesis here?
• 6:21
  I actually just got goosebumps.
• 6:24
  Like, why did I write this book?
• 6:26
  Right.
• 6:26
  Like, why am I talking about it?
• 6:30
  You know, when I was Googling a few years ago after my friend Judy and I said maybe we should write a book about what it's like living with IBD, I was a little hesitant, even though it was my idea.
• 6:40
  I was sort of like, ah, like, what if I, why?
• 6:43
  Why would I share these personal things?
• 6:45
  What would I even write about?
• 6:46
  What would we say?
• 6:48
  And I started Googling around because initially I wanted to interview celebrities with IBD for the book.
• 6:55
  Guess what?
• 6:56
  No one wanted to talk about it.
• 6:58
  There's nobody with IBD talking about it outside of like Pete Davidson and a couple athletes who I commend all of them.
• 7:06
  Pete Davidson has Crohn's.
• 7:08
  Mr.
• 7:09
  Beast has Crohn's.
• 7:10
  But where were the women and the women with big jobs and kids?
• 7:16
  I couldn't find them.
• 7:18
  And.
• 7:18
  I don't know if you remember last year on TikTok, hot girls have IBS was trending like crazy.
• 7:23
  And I'm so glad that people are talking about IBS, which is irritable bowel syndrome.
• 7:29
  It's not a disease, but it is an awful, awful syndrome.
• 7:32
  That's great.
• 7:33
  45 million Americans suffer from IBS.
• 7:36
  And that's when I just was like, you know what?
• 7:39
  I'll just do it then.
• 7:40
  Fine.
• 7:40
  I'll just share my story.
• 7:42
  So that hopefully people come forward and we build community and people see that like, oh, wow.
• 7:50
  Wait, what?
• 7:51
  Chloe, who goes on NBC News and has these adorable kids, great fashion sense.
• 7:59
  No, I'm just joking.
• 8:01
  Is running to the bathroom like 25 times a day sometimes.
• 8:04
  Yeah.
• 8:07
  with blood in her stool.
• 8:08
  And I don't know, I hope that that gives hope to somebody out there that you can live a big, beautiful life while also suffering with chronic illness.
• 8:19
  But that's been like the hardest part.
• 8:20
  This has been a big secret of mine.
• 8:23
  It's been my darkest secret that honestly, I think I've been in denial for 15 years until now, now that I'm actually saying it out loud.
• 8:30
  I have a gift for you.
• 8:31
  It's called the Freedom Meets Guide.
• 8:33
  And it's all about reclaiming your health, eating the most nutrient-dense traditional foods, bone broth, organ meats, raw milk, and more.
• 8:41
  See, these are the foods that built strong and resilient people for generations.
• 8:45
  And this guide will help bring them back into your life.
• 8:48
  Whether you're just starting out or you're deep into ancestral lifestyle, this is the roadmap.
• 8:55
  And all 24 pages of it are available for download for free via the link in the description.
• 9:00
  Look, start feeding your body what it really needs.
• 9:04
  You deserve it.
• 9:06
  Why did the shame stop you from talking about it or asking about it?
• 9:11
  And in general, why do you think people feel so much shame?
• 9:14
  Because nobody wants to talk about their bathroom habits.
• 9:17
  Like, that is the least sexy thing.
• 9:19
  I mean.
• 9:20
  But it's something we do every day.
• 9:23
  For some people, multiple times.
• 9:24
  And yet, you're right.
• 9:25
  It's still this taboo topic.
• 9:28
  Well, what I think is really interesting and what I would love to start in terms of this education is, yes, I think we've been hearing for a while how important it is to get colonoscopies.
• 9:39
  And now they've lowered the age to have those covered by insurance, I believe, to 45 years old, which is wonderful.
• 9:58
  is your daily health report card love it yes yes you can learn what's in like what's going on in your whole body based on your stool like
• 10:09
  I have to tell you something.
• 10:11
  I did not have a stool test done until I got one done myself this past year.
• 10:17
  That's like crazy to me.
• 10:19
  And I'm not here to criticize my doctors because I love them.
• 10:22
  And I interviewed some of them for the book.
• 10:24
  But like, there's a problem.
• 10:27
  Why was there just there's blood?
• 10:28
  Take steroids.
• 10:29
  Like I try to get tested every few years, you know, blood, stool, urine.
• 10:34
  What I'm trying to find is that, or what I'm about to work with is the person that's kind of adept at the hormones and the peptides, which is kind of more modern medicine, but then is also adept at the functional stuff because finding the two together is very challenging.
• 10:49
  Absolutely.
• 10:50
  And I'm really happy that there are doctors, even ones who've been working for decades in the field.
• 10:56
  There's a woman named Dr. Ellen Sherrill.
• 10:58
  She's like an OG GI here in New York City.
• 11:02
  And I found her when I was doing research for the book.
• 11:05
  And she's super cool, but she's not old school.
• 11:09
  She's adapted and she's talking about stool tests and what you're eating and are you getting enough fiber and, you know, your sleep habits.
• 11:18
  And same with my third doctor I write about in the book, Dr. Thomas Ullman over at Montefiore.
• 11:24
  He was the one who started telling me, are you eating enough fiber?
• 11:28
  Like, are you doing this?
• 11:29
  Are you doing that?
• 11:31
  And that was a huge wake up call for me, fiber and psyllium husk is actually, I'm
• 11:36
  drastically improved my symptoms and my life.
• 11:39
  I really think a lot of this is diet.
• 11:41
  I don't believe that me personally, there is a genetic component to living with Crohn's and colitis.
• 11:48
  But for me, I believe as an armchair expert that this is all environmental.
• 11:54
  So not just food, but environmental specifically?
• 11:58
  All of it, environmental and diet.
• 11:59
  Okay.
• 12:00
  So what changed when you started talking more openly about
• 12:04
  You know, I'll never forget when the Today Show did an article about me living with IBD a couple of years ago.
• 12:11
  And that's really what kicked all of this off because I posted something on Instagram and they saw it.
• 12:18
  And they said, we want to do an article.
• 12:20
  And I was like, okay.
• 12:23
  I don't really think anybody's going to be interested in my IBD story, but let's do it.
• 12:27
  And they put up this really great article.
• 12:30
  And literally, I got a Google alert that afternoon and People Magazine did a story on me.
• 12:35
  And my DMs were popping off from people in the hospital, parents, teens, all sorts of stories, my uncle, my aunt, my daughter, my aunt.
• 12:49
  Me.
• 12:50
  I have gotten messages from people saying, I'm in the hospital right now.
• 12:55
  I just had bowel resection surgery.
• 12:57
  I have an ileostomy.
• 12:59
  I have been living with ulcerative colitis for years, and I've never heard anybody be so open about it.
• 13:06
  Thank you.
• 13:07
  Can you send me the book now?
• 13:10
  And I'm like, I wish I could send you this PDF right now, but you do have to wait until November 10th.
• 13:17
  If this book helps one person, that's great.
• 13:19
  But also, I don't want to get emotional, but like this has really helped me.
• 13:23
  This has been such a healing process for me.
• 13:26
  I was at an Auburn football game the other weekend with my kids and my son Leo's nine.
• 13:31
  We were walking back from the game to the hotel and he looked at me and he goes, am I going to be sick like you?
• 13:38
  Yeah.
• 13:39
  when I get older and, uh, you know, I hope not.
• 13:46
  I mean, I think it's a fear anyone living with chronic illness or having lived with a parent that's had chronic illness, um, it feels right that they're worried that that's going to happen to them.
• 13:59
  It almost seems like it's that you feel like your body is betraying you.
• 14:04
  Did you find that?
• 14:05
  Yes.
• 14:07
  I'm in the middle of a flare right now.
• 14:09
  And a flare is when your symptoms are active.
• 14:12
  And so like my face is breaking out.
• 14:16
  I've definitely noticed that my hair has like gotten brittle because of like medications I've been on.
• 14:23
  I'm definitely iron deficient.
• 14:25
  I know that through blood work with my endocrinologist, I've had issues at times with my B12 intake.
• 14:32
  I don't
• 14:33
  Definitely have gone through all the stages of grief.
• 14:37
  And I am in a really healthy mental state right now, but this is my new reality.
• 14:43
  I actually spoke to somebody the other day.
• 14:45
  He's the president of the New York chapter of the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation, which...
• 14:51
  15 years, I never checked out that foundation once, right?
• 14:55
  Because that's how much I wanted to avoid all of this.
• 14:59
  He has had over 100 hospitalizations, dozens of surgeries, and he had surgery earlier this week.
• 15:06
  He's a banker down on Wall Street.
• 15:10
  Good looking guy.
• 15:12
  You would never know.
• 15:13
  Like you would never, ever know.
• 15:15
  And I think like I have had a lot of resentment, you know, but when I look at everybody else's life, I would always pick mine.
• 15:25
  What have you changed?
• 15:26
  Like, are you changing?
• 15:27
  Are you eating differently?
• 15:28
  Are you living differently?
• 15:29
  Please, you know, just share the gamut of what you're doing differently now.
• 15:34
  Sure, I know the things that I need to do, but I don't always do them.
• 15:40
  So I'm not gonna sit here and say that I'm living, you know, a truly straight and narrow path every day.
• 15:48
  I know that not drinking alcohol is really, really good to reduce my inflammation.
• 15:55
  I know that getting eight hours of sleep is what I need.
• 15:59
  My husband can function on like five hours.
• 16:02
  I need eight.
• 16:03
  When I start not getting good sleep and I'm stressed, especially if I'm traveling or traveling for work, that's when like the wheels start falling off after a couple days or like a week or so.
• 16:15
  And I'm like, okay, I've had a couple of margaritas with my girlfriend last week.
• 16:20
  I haven't been sleeping.
• 16:22
  And I start to like notice, you know, my face breaking out.
• 16:25
  I also have
• 16:33
  several years ago in 2021.
• 16:35
  And I was actually so inspired by fiber that I called a couple friends of mine who had worked in the CPG space.
• 16:43
  And I was like, why is my GI recommending I take these other brands that have fiber?
• 16:52
  dyes and sugar in them because my husband's telling me I need to take psyllium husk and what he just gave me helped me so much.
• 16:59
  But why is there not a mainstream brand?
• 17:02
  So I actually am the inspirational co-founder of a brand called BioMe and it's a clean fiber brand.
• 17:10
  I don't run it.
• 17:11
  Obviously, I'm, you know, full-time journalist.
• 17:14
  Honestly, eating more protein, cooking my vegetables,
• 17:19
  I take magnesium.
• 17:21
  Magnesium really helps me stay regular.
• 17:24
  I wish I could sit here and tell you that I'm drinking like a gallon of water a day.
• 17:28
  I'm not.
• 17:30
  I drink my coffee.
• 17:31
  I'll have an occasional glass of wine.
• 17:33
  But honestly, it's like total lifestyle.
• 17:37
  That you need to take a look at.
• 17:38
  But I am all for like traditional medicine.
• 17:41
  If I'm going through a really, really, really bad flare, like, and I need steroids, I'm going to go get steroids.
• 17:48
  I did try getting on a GLP-1 to see if it would help me with my inflammation.
• 17:53
  I lost some weight.
• 17:55
  I'm in the middle of a flare though right now.
• 17:57
  So I can't sit here and say that the GLP-1, I wanted to try it as an experiment because we write about it in the book.
• 18:03
  And I went to my endocrinologist and I qualified.
• 18:06
  I can't sit here and tell you just yet if I think it's actually helped with my IBD.
• 18:11
  What do you think is keeping you from being even more disciplined with these learnings?
• 18:17
  Well, I'm in therapy once a week, but why am I not more diligent?
• 18:21
  To be honest with you, I think it's really hard with these.
• 18:25
  My husband would say are excuses, but I think it's really hard when you're raising young kids and when you're working a full time job.
• 18:32
  And some mornings I wake up super early and some days are really good and I'm drinking my water and I've taken my celium husk and I've, you know, gotten a good night's sleep.
• 18:43
  And then there's other nights where I'm like, hey, I want to go to this work event and I don't get home till 1130 at night and I'm up at six and I've gotten no sleep and I skip breakfast and I'm.
• 18:56
  You know, it's a domino effect, but I always try to correct the course, and I'm definitely living healthier than I did in my 20s.
• 19:04
  But I'm not some robot, unfortunately.
• 19:09
  It does speak, though, to the fact that a lot of us in modern society, particularly women, feel like they are put in that role.
• 19:17
  And so it's projected on them.
• 19:19
  And then, of course, they feel it as well, which is you got to be everything.
• 19:23
  Do you ever question like what a more traditional role, like more the way the ancestors, would that help this process of you taking care of yourself?
• 19:31
  Because that's kind of the thing that gets sidestepped.
• 19:35
  I think about it a lot.
• 19:36
  I joke to my husband that if I quit my job and we move to Hawaii, I swear to you, call me in a year.
• 19:42
  I think I will be so much better.
• 19:46
  I definitely joke to my girlfriends that I wish I just didn't have any professional ambitions.
• 19:54
  I can't help it.
• 19:55
  I wanted to pursue journalism since I was in high school and the assistant editor of my high school newspaper.
• 20:01
  It's just in me and I love my job.
• 20:04
  But also, James, I'm not going to be working forever.
• 20:08
  At some point I will retire.
• 20:10
  And I think it's going to set a really great example for my boys to see their mom in a role like this.
• 20:17
  And they get to
• 20:24
  something falls.
• 20:25
  It's like not seeing my kids enough or leaving work a little early because I need to get back.
• 20:30
  Like, it's very hard to do both things well.
• 20:34
  But I work actually with mainly women.
• 20:36
  And it's an issue that I know so many of us deal with.
• 20:39
  But
• 20:41
  Also, modern society, compared to our ancestors, the cost of living is so expensive.
• 20:47
  You need a dual-income household.
• 20:49
  Look at just, like, the prices of our groceries these days.
• 20:52
  And so, luckily, there's a bit of a role reversal in my house.
• 20:57
  My husband's an entrepreneur.
• 20:58
  He works from home.
• 20:59
  And he...
• 21:00
  makes the kids lunches almost every day.
• 21:03
  He's making dinner and he's coaching soccer and he's with them constantly.
• 21:07
  So I take on a little bit more of like, I'd say the masculine in terms of just the traditional, like leaving the home, but like he's incredible and he has an incredible
• 21:18
  health and wellness company, and he's awesome.
• 21:20
  But he also is like, this is your dream.
• 21:23
  And I love that for you.
• 21:24
  And I'm happy that I get to pick my hours and I can be there more for the kids.
• 21:29
  But like this morning, it's picture day.
• 21:32
  And I woke up extra early so that I could take the kids to school for picture day and be with them for breakfast this morning.
• 21:41
  And then I came in for this.
• 21:43
  And then I'll make it tonight for soccer.
• 21:46
  And this weekend, I have no plans.
• 21:47
  I try not to make any plans on the weekend, and I'm just going to be on the field.
• 21:53
  I think if I was home all day too, it would be really meaningful to be able to be home constantly.
• 21:59
  But I know I would miss a lot of this.
• 22:02
  My wife and I were in a similar situation where I was the stay-at-home parent, and she was the breadwinner for a very long time, actually, as I kind of got my health back.
• 22:11
  But it begs the question, how do we exist or coexist in this modern life and yet still exhibit self-care?
• 22:21
  I do love that corporations, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, are having shorter work weeks in terms of like allowing people to work from home.
• 22:30
  Right.
• 22:31
  And so I see that here.
• 22:32
  I see that all over my job since I'm on the air.
• 22:35
  I don't I don't have that opportunity where I work.
• 22:38
  It's really family friendly.
• 22:40
  And they're super cool when I'm like, hey, I have a soccer game or, hey, I have a doctor's appointment.
• 22:45
  Or, hey, I got to get to something with my kids.
• 22:48
  I have very open conversations now that I don't think I felt comfortable doing in my 20s.
• 22:52
  There's a lot more awareness, I think, with health and wellness, especially in the younger generation and setting those boundaries.
• 22:59
  It's actually quite impressive.
• 23:01
  You know, you bring something really important up.
• 23:03
  Do you think this experience helps you be more of an advocate for what you need, not just health-wise, but just as a woman and a human being in society?
• 23:14
  Amen.
• 23:15
  Yes.
• 23:15
  This has put everything into perspective for me.
• 23:18
  My health is important.
• 23:20
  I had to go to a doctor's appointment last night, actually.
• 23:24
  Believe it or not, it was in the evening.
• 23:25
  I had to have like some imaging done.
• 23:28
  But I had like a couple work events and I had to skip them, you know.
• 23:32
  And I had to kind of dip out of work a little early to get over to this scan that I had to do.
• 23:38
  It's something that I probably would have put off in my 20s.
• 23:42
  Ulcerative colitis has taught me a lot of valuable lessons.
• 23:45
  And I'm also really grateful because as terrible as my days have been over the last 15 years, I had an incredible period of remission during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• 23:56
  Why?
• 23:56
  Because I was getting more rest and I was home and I wasn't burning the candle at both ends.
• 24:02
  And I was able to really focus on my nutrition at my house and I increased mycelium husk.
• 24:07
  I was in remission for years, years.
• 24:11
  Wow.
• 24:12
  So that must have been even more challenging once you got out of remission.
• 24:17
  The flare, actually, my first flare in years actually just started a few months ago.
• 24:21
  And I've been trying to pinpoint it.
• 24:23
  I think it's the stress of this book tour.
• 24:26
  Yeah, I was going to say it's probably connected to the book.
• 24:28
  Isn't that it?
• 24:29
  That's a double-edged sword.
• 24:31
  I know.
• 24:32
  I know.
• 24:33
  It's like God is reminding me about these symptoms so that I can talk about them in real time to refresh my memory.
• 24:40
  But there's so many people out there who've had to have bowel surgeries.
• 24:44
  And I'm lucky in the respect that I haven't had that.
• 24:48
  I also have been able to avoid biologic medication, which is awesome.
• 24:54
  For me, but obviously for others, it's been great for them to be on those, right?
• 24:59
  And so hopefully I can keep my inflammation and disease under control.
• 25:06
  And I'm actively, actively, actively working with my doctors to figure that out.
• 25:10
  And to be honest with you, during this book tour, I think I'm going to be getting a colonoscopy.
• 25:14
  And I might just film it for everyone.
• 25:17
  Well, it's okay.
• 25:18
  So your book deals with things people often avoid talking about, like bathrooms, bloating, dating, sex, travel, fertility, parenting.
• 25:26
  So what part of living with IBD do you think people are least prepared for?
• 25:32
  All of it.
• 25:33
  I mean, when you are diagnosed with something like IBD, I don't think anything prepares you for it.
• 25:38
  Because now you're like, wait, what is this?
• 25:42
  Nowadays, you can ask chat GPT.
• 25:44
  Like, tell me everything I need to know about IBD.
• 25:46
  Back in the day, I was reading, like, message boards.
• 25:48
  Yeah.
• 25:49
  late at night, written from people all over the world.
• 25:52
  You know, at 2 a.m., I'm like doom scrolling.
• 25:54
  You know, all of it has been a massive education.
• 25:57
  And for everybody, everybody's story is a little bit different.
• 26:00
  And we went through IBF for our kids due to some male factor infertility issues with my husband.
• 26:06
  And it was just like a huge challenge.
• 26:08
  back then, you know, when I was trying to deal with IVF and your crowdsourcing information.
• 26:14
  But when we were writing this book, Judy and I, we wanted the book to not just be about IBD.
• 26:18
  So we broadened it to IBS, celiac diverticulitis, which a lot of people 60 and over deal with.
• 26:27
  And of course, colon cancer, which it's the number one cancer killer of men and women under 50 in the United States now, which is just...
• 26:38
  wild.
• 26:39
  It's very disturbing how pervasive and how this is a growing issue.
• 26:45
  It doesn't seem to be getting better despite all our awarenesses.
• 26:48
  So I think just instinctively, I want to ask you, so someone newly diagnosed with IBD, what would you tell them to not be ashamed of?
• 27:00
  Well, first of all, I would tell them that they need to look at their life and they need to make changes.
• 27:04
  So I would immediately look at your diet.
• 27:07
  I would immediately look at the amount of sleep that you're getting.
• 27:09
  I would try to cut out as much of processed foods that you can.
• 27:13
  I would cut out alcohol.
• 27:15
  I would definitely talk to your doctor about fiber because it doesn't work well for everybody and can actually...
• 27:24
  make symptoms worse for some people.
• 27:27
  So I would take a look at your life.
• 27:29
  But also when it comes to medication, though, take it, be diligent about it and get a second opinion if you feel like your doctor doesn't have the bedside manner that works for you.
• 27:40
  Because my doctors didn't have the right bedside manner.
• 27:43
  And I'm really glad that I eventually found somebody who did.
• 27:47
  But it took me a while.
• 27:49
  So I think that's really important, too.
• 27:51
  How would someone know?
• 27:52
  Are there specific questions they should ask their doctor to see if they're the right fit?
• 27:59
  Or how does one know?
• 28:01
  If you feel like you're being rushed, if you feel like the doctor is being dismissive or, you know, just think they're rude.
• 28:08
  You know, you're not you feel anxious going to talk to this person.
• 28:11
  You don't feel like they really care.
• 28:13
  And I work better in environments.
• 28:16
  I know doctors are busy and they have a million patients, but I need somebody that feels like they're going to kind of.
• 28:22
  hold my hand through it.
• 28:23
  It makes it better for me.
• 28:24
  But there are GI therapists out there who specialize in this.
• 28:29
  And I think that the mental health aspect, we write about that in the book, is incredibly important.
• 28:34
  And the mind-gut connection with your vagus nerve is a real thing.
• 28:38
  Your stomach is constantly sending signals to your brain.
• 28:41
  So if your gut is off,
• 28:44
  Your mood being off too, you're not imagining that.
• 28:48
  That's real.
• 28:48
  And the receptors going back and forth, it's all connected.
• 28:52
  And a lot of experts in our book talked about how IBS is believed to be
• 29:00
  an issue with the signals between the gut and the brain with irritable bowel syndrome, not IBD.
• 29:07
  So there's a whole other topic here in terms of mental health and the gut-brain access.
• 29:15
  So for someone listening who looks fine on the outside but knows something isn't right, what immediate steps can they take this week to just start advocating for their health?
• 29:29
  If you have blood in your stool, you have to go to a gastroenterologist that is a specialist
• 29:36
  for your GI tract.
• 29:39
  And you have to find someone.
• 29:41
  You must go.
• 29:43
  If you want to go to your primary care physician first and get a referral to a GI, and they can help find the right one for you.
• 29:51
  But you have to get checked out.
• 29:53
  Doesn't matter if somebody tells you it's a hemorrhoid.
• 29:56
  If your OBGYN or your primary care doctor tells you it's probably just a hemorrhoid,
• 30:03
  I still would go see a GI.
• 30:05
  Why?
• 30:05
  Because there are two friends of mine, Brooks and Sarah, who started World Class Clothing, a nonprofit.
• 30:14
  They were in their 30s and diagnosed with advanced stages of colon cancer.
• 30:18
  Their initial symptoms were dismissed.
• 30:21
  We love our doctors, but you can't trust everybody.
• 30:25
  And I mean that with respect.
• 30:27
  So second opinions are important.
• 30:28
  Specialists are important.
• 30:30
  I love functional medicine doctors.
• 30:32
  I think they're incredible.
• 30:34
  And I think that if you want to go the functional medicine route, that is awesome.
• 30:38
  But you need a diagnosis first.
• 30:40
  And you've got to go to a GI and figure out what you have.
• 30:44
  It's not just one thing.
• 30:45
  It's not like drink this, eat this, and everything's going to be great.
• 30:50
  You got to do it all.
• 30:51
  The sleep, what you're eating, the hydration, the fiber, the protein.
• 30:56
  And we love our doctors, right?
• 30:58
  Like traditional medicine is not something that we should be scared of either.
• 31:01
  It doesn't.
• 31:02
  can save your life.
• 31:04
  So I am all about the combination of it all, like a GI Rubik's Cube.
• 31:10
  The numbers are terrifying, and I am really disturbed by it, and I'm terrified at what the numbers are going to be in a couple years.
• 31:20
  So here's a question I ask everyone.
• 31:23
  If you could wave a magic wand, bring back one ancestral practice, what would that be and why?
• 31:29
  Well, I think it's something that I could do, but sitting around the campfire, telling stories at night with your community, I think that we all are so siloed and the pandemic really showed us that.
• 31:44
  Yeah.
• 31:46
  Human connection is so important.
• 31:48
  And I really believe having your tribe is so important for your mind and your body.
• 31:56
  The simple things, just sitting down for a minute and sharing and talking with others.
• 32:02
  And there's something about a campfire that I'm really into.
• 32:06
  So to be honest with you, that's what it is.
• 32:09
  But I don't think it's something that I have to wave a magic wand for.
• 32:12
  I think I need to just go do it.
• 32:14
  I need to build a fireplace.
• 32:15
  Well, and that's the challenge for you, right?
• 32:18
  In these next few months, as your book gets ready to fully launch, and as you're going through this crazy schedule of promotion, I hope that you take that time to recreate that fire and just sit around and calm your nervous system and, of course, keep speaking your truth, but in a parasympathetic mode way.
• 32:37
  Well, thank you so much for joining me, Chloe.
• 32:39
  It's wonderful to get to meet you.
• 32:42
  And I'm so grateful for you speaking your truth and getting this book out.
• 32:46
  It's not an easy thing to share, you know, share such inner process.
• 32:51
  Tell us about it.
• 32:52
  Where can people order it?
• 32:55
  Is there pre-order happening?
• 32:56
  It's available for pre-order everywhere books are sold.
• 33:00
  Amazon, Target, Walmart, Barnes & Noble, you name it.
• 33:03
  Pre-orders are so important.
• 33:04
  So if you're listening, definitely order it.
• 33:07
  You'll get it the week of November 10th.
• 33:09
  And on November 10th, it would be available everywhere books are sold.
• 33:14
  So in your local bookstore, I'm hoping.
• 33:17
  And we also just launched our website, thegirlsguidetoguts.com.
• 33:22
  And there's a link there where you guys can order and follow me on Instagram because I'm sharing a lot of stories from the book on my socials.
• 33:30
  Well, all the best to you.
• 33:32
  And thank you again for spreading this very important word.
• 33:35
  And thank you all for joining us.
• 33:37
  It's always meaningful to have people on this journey.
• 33:41
  And as usual, stay curious.
• 33:46
  Thank you so much for joining me on Everyday Ancestral.
• 33:50
  If you enjoyed this episode, hit subscribe so you don't miss the next one.
• 33:54
  You can find the show notes, links, and resources mentioned at eatpluck.com.
• 33:59
  That's E-A-T-P-L-U-C-K dot com.
• 34:05
  And hey, if you know someone who'd get something out of this, share it with them too.
• 34:11
  Stay curious, live well, and keep it ancestral.