Latest / Serious Lady Business / How Women Can Take Control of Their Health Without Adding More to Their Plate with Anja Skodda
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- LESLIE YOUNGBLOOD (00:01) Hey there, I'm Leslie Youngblood and this is Serious Lady Business, the podcast where we get real about what it takes to build a business as a woman today. From late night Google searches and client curveballs to the wins that make it all worth it, I'm talking about the stuff no one puts in the highlight reel. Each week, I'm bringing you honest conversations, lessons learned and stories from women who are out here doing the work. Messy, meaningful and unapologetically bold. Whether you're just dreaming about starting a business or deep in the grind, this podcast is your space to feel seen, supported, and fired up. Because let's be honest, this journey is hard, hilarious, and absolutely worth it. So let's dive in. Leslie Youngblood (00:45) Welcome to Serious Lady Business. I'm Leslie Youngblood, your host, feminist and founder of Youngblood MMC, a marketing media and content agency. Today we are joined by Anja Skodda. Anja is a bioengineer, entrepreneur and product visionary working at the intersection of longevity science, biological age and precision health for both humans and animals. She's the founder, CEO and chief scientist of Happy Bond AI and director of product development at Live slash Epimorphy. where she's building next generation diagnostic platforms rooted in genomics, epigenetics, and microbiome science. has launched more than 15 consumer health products from concept to market, translating complex biology into real world personalized insights. Her work is redefining preventative care in women's health and pet longevity and pushing science into places it's long overdue. Anja, welcome to Serious Lady Business. Anja Skodda (01:42) Thank you. Thank you for having me. Leslie Youngblood (01:43) my goodness, of course I love that a woman is leading the way in those facets. And I think, you know, the topic of women and our health and we're hearing terms and we need to be more proactive about health. And I feel like it's at the forefront and very timely for us to have this conversation. If a woman listening right now only interacts with her health through annual doctor visits, what is she missing and why does that matter? Anja Skodda (02:08) Yeah, that's a great question. I mean, I'm not talking that the healthcare is not something that you should do, your annual physical and everything, it's great to have. What they're missing is that we're really looking at one point in time in that full year, which is really just a snapshot of what's going on. And many times it's also very limited in data, which on my experience is mainly a pretty narrow blood screen and a normal checkup, but not really other data points that is a whole system, right? We're not just one data point. We really have so many systems that all have to work together, especially as a woman with our complexity and hormone shifts, and that all relate to different systems in the body. So for me, you really missing out on tests like how's your microbiome, many early signs are even anchored in the vaginal microbiome. Leslie Youngblood (02:35) Right? Hmm. Anja Skodda (03:02) Just those simple tests or biological age, I'm sure many of your listeners have been doing tests like that, heard about it, especially in the longevity space. That is something you can really see early signs what could happen where there is not really a symptom yet. And many times in the traditional healthcare, it's more of sick care and reactive health, more than preventative health. So we're looking at... Leslie Youngblood (03:24) Right? ⁓ Anja Skodda (03:28) Is it normal or not normal? This binary results are not really giving you the complexity that our body, especially for women, deserves. And looking at only these two things, it's going to be, are you sick or you're not? But there's many, many shifts in between that ⁓ I think are very important to observe and track over time. So they're definitely missing out on a lot if it's just the annual fit. Leslie Youngblood (03:44) Sure. Last. Anja Skodda (03:53) physical and I think we shouldn't rely on that anymore. Leslie Youngblood (03:57) Right, I mean, that is so profoundly true where it's just a single snapshot once a year, maybe if you make it to that appointment, right? Because we know life gets busy and we know we don't put ourselves first in that. But also four as. Anja Skodda (04:06) Exactly. Leslie Youngblood (04:13) advance as healthcare is and science is, we still have a very limited understanding of the human body and how something can be prevented through just looking at the microbiome, like you said, that can start there and then it becomes symptoms. And when you're going to the doctor and you're saying, I'm having these symptoms, it's already progressed to where you're managing something that's already happened. Can't we be more proactive instead of reactive about that? So I just, It's so cool. I love science so much because I feel like we're always learning. It's always advancing. And you know, it's about time that there was a lot more focus on women specifically. And we've been hearing these terms microbiome, biological age, like you mentioned, epigenetics. more over the last few years, and I'm sure more as we move forward. In simple terms, can you tell us what these are, number one, and then what they tell us about our bodies that traditional tests do not? Anja Skodda (05:07) Yeah, mean the microbiome is really something that is very kind of new to science, even though it's been there for ages and forever since we live and we're living with it and it's in a very important part in our body. There are different microbiome types. Most prevalent is obviously our gut, but our oral health has a microbiome, our vaginal health has a microbiome, even ⁓ men have microbiomes and prostate. So there are a lot of... Skin has a microbiome, so we have all of these great microbiomes that work together. Many times, all these ⁓ metabolites, hormones, lot of peptides are produced in the microbiome through our bacteria, right? They live with us in a positive way. Sometimes we get pathogens which disturb the system. You have a stomach bug or an infection in the vagina. BV or any STIs. So that can disturb the microbiome. And what we're learning more and more, and there's still a lot to discover, especially in the gut microbiome, but if that system is all in balance and works together, and we're not destroying it through environmental stressors, through diet, through stress itself, or other toxic pathogens or substances, it basically keeps us healthy and running. And if we disturb it, early disease starts there. Like, I think it's more more prevalent that we're seeing that many, many of our known nowadays disease starts so early, that could be probably in the future, ⁓ we can detect that early on in the microbiome. And through the microbiome, keeping it healthy should be a goal for everyone to keep your microbiome in balance, to stay healthy and be able to fight pathogens or disease, any symptoms, any shifts, even when we age. So microbiome is a really, really interesting field and it's huge. So I'm not saying we know it all. It's really, there's a lot of specialists that trying to decode that. And epigenetics, I would always describe that as you know your genetic code, right? You got that from your parents and it's not changeable. This is what the cards you've been dealt with. Leslie Youngblood (06:57) Yeah. Mm-hmm. Anja Skodda (07:18) but they only determine so much on your health and future and risk factors. And they're not changeable, but the epigenetics show how the lifestyle, how you're aging, how diet, how environment are actually shaping you and shaping your aging trajectory. So that is changeable and it's different for everyone. So I think the epigenetics is also a very, very interesting field where there's more and more advanced Leslie Youngblood (07:33) you Anja Skodda (07:46) signaling that we might even see any changes before we can even detect that in the blood. So I think it's really important to test both of those all the time. ⁓ Leslie Youngblood (07:56) Right. Definitely. And then our biological age. Does that mean so somebody is 30? You and me, we're 30. And then, but their biological age may be 50 because they don't eat right and exercise. that like specifically what the biological age is Anja? Like how that works or? Anja Skodda (08:14) Correct, it actually shows you, I always like to say it shows you how you're aging. Is your pace faster than it should be or is it slower? Like there a lot of these biohackers that are trying to slow down their aging pace. And yes, it's definitely you can influence it. There are certain genetic factors that, know, there's some of when you see the centenarians, people that get over a hundred, they have a really good genetic heart set dealt with and they also many times somehow age slower because of the epigenetic but it is most of the time you can influence it, you can change it through lifestyle and obviously if you always lived in a very healthy way, ate the right diet, moved, exercised, I know this is kind of boring to hear because every time people talk about health it's always about good diet, eat healthy, move, sleep, you know, but it's actually true. These three things are not expensive. You don't need a longevity clinic for it, but they can make a huge impact on the way you ageing. Social contacts, that's something that people forget about too. It's all, like I said, a system and it has to all work together. If we really healthy but never speak with people, don't interact, have no... Leslie Youngblood (09:07) boring things. Right. Anja Skodda (09:32) social contact, that's not unhealthy either and can reflect on your aging pace as well. So we can definitely change our biological age, even if you would now be older than your chronological age, there is a way you can change that and slow it down and there are many ways today and many treatments that can influence that. Leslie Youngblood (09:38) Yeah, that's a meaning. I think, I mean, I think... I really think that we're going to see, and I would love to hear your perspective. I feel that we're going to see so much more of that in the next few years. I feel we've made such advances in, I don't know if it's a craze or it's a thing, but you see fitness influencers and I feel women are much more comfortable going for Botox and plastic surgery. And you see these women in their 50s, 60s, 70s looking amazing and so youthful. And I think that the more conscious we get about that, how do we proactively manage our biological age and kind of set that in rewind. I'm surprised it's not a bigger conversation right now. And I think it's just going to get bigger as we move forward. What's your perspective? Anja Skodda (10:38) for sure, but I will say talking about aesthetic, we really talking about the inside of our body and that's what sometimes frustrates me that it's all about the outside look, like how do we look, how do we appear and yes there are many many tools in our time that we can use to blur that and you know make us look better, but the inside of our body doesn't lie and there's nothing we can really Leslie Youngblood (10:47) Oh, oh, nice. Anja Skodda (11:04) cover or fake if we don't do the work. Which it will reflect in your outside as well, I'm sure, but there's definitely something that is missing that we only project. And I think that's especially gone for women. You know, we've been compared and judged forever on looks and appearance for many, many reasons. But I do think more looking on the inside will then make you feel Leslie Youngblood (11:05) Yeah. Mm-hmm. Anja Skodda (11:29) good to the outside and it's not always size, skin, age. It's also how you act and how you present and how you feel. And if you're feeling good inside, it reflects to your outside. Leslie Youngblood (11:33) Yes. Mm-hmm. I love that. think that is so true. Beauty is an inside job. Longevity, living, aging is an inside job. that's really profound and important to keep in mind. And yeah, you can get all the Botox and plastic surgery in the world, but if you're not taking care of yourself from the inside out, mentally, physically, spiritually, right? everything altogether. And I think that that is really... exciting to know that we're seeing this synergy of all those facets of medicine and health coming together right now. You know, something that again, a couple more, I don't want to say buzzwords, but things that we talk about more now that when I grew up, we didn't talk about or even in the past five years, menopause, paramenopause, which is great, but fertility hormones and gut health are still often ignored. Why are these systems so connected, Anja? Anja Skodda (12:29) Well, mean, everything starts with us as women with different hormones than men. And we go on through these phases of first menstruating, getting into puberty, becoming a woman. You know, I have a teenage daughter at home, I'm experiencing that firsthand, how the hormones are shifting and coming in. And it's hard to deal in the beginning. So. Leslie Youngblood (12:47) Sure. ⁓ I remember. Anja Skodda (12:51) And the same way, you know, over life, you want to get kids, you look into your fertility, the hormone shifts again, and then perimenopause becomes early and earlier for people, and it actually starts pretty early than what we thought before. And all these small transitions, basically, it is led by hormones, but all that placed together with the body. I mean, you might be knowing that people that live a very healthy, balanced life, Leslie Youngblood (13:05) Yeah. Anja Skodda (13:18) might have a later menopause or not so much perimenopause symptoms. So there's definitely a system that plays together and it's connected, especially with the gut. We produce an estrogen there, it's the estrobalone, so the microbiome for estrogen goes into the vaginal microbiome. If there are hormonal shifters, you definitely have more risk for infection. there's reoccurring BV, which can lead to other things that can be harming for fertility. So everything is definitely connected and we have to keep always coming back to balance. We really have to balance the systems to be happy. And then they can really manage that stress or whatever comes upon them like a pathogen. Leslie Youngblood (13:54) Mm. Anja Skodda (14:03) invading or just mental stress can really change your hormone levels and all that can shift things and kind of ⁓ bring it out of balance and then you're vulnerable. So I think this whole shift of a woman's life even to post-menopause, it's very fascinating and I'm extremely, I'm very concerned why we didn't look at that earlier. I know you're probably aware that many clinical studies Leslie Youngblood (14:04) Yeah. Mm-hmm. Anja Skodda (14:28) women were excluded because of the complexity and they didn't want to mess up their results. Instead of looking into the system to be really interesting, I mean we can get so many answers from this complexity of shifts and lifestyle. Women also have three different changes in aging, basically waves of aging. Leslie Youngblood (14:36) Mm-hmm. Anja Skodda (14:51) ⁓ compared to men that only have two times in their life where that wave comes in. Which you can see kind of as a transition that that is one time in your life where you age a little faster or there's a real step to it. So we have three of those points and obviously we have more complexity in the hormones and how that goes up and down. I think there's, I'm very happy that people talk about perimenopause and menopause. Leslie Youngblood (14:51) Bye. Really? Anja Skodda (15:17) My mom never talked about that when I was young. Now I'm asking her all these questions, but it wasn't really a subject when she was young that people talked about or doctors talked about. So I'm excited that this is a subject that people really engage with and women are openly talking about it. And fertility is another one that I think is not talked enough about and it's declining and there are many reasons why. Leslie Youngblood (15:20) Right. Thanks. Anja Skodda (15:43) It's definitely not the women's fault. Leslie Youngblood (15:46) Really? What is it the external factors for men? what is it? What's the problem? Anja Skodda (15:51) Well, at least there two in this, right? This is 50-50. I think they have to also look more sorrow at the men. No. But if you think about the environment and how fertility is declining in younger women, it is definitely what we eat, how we are exposed to microplastics, forever chemicals, so many toxins that are now living with us daily. Leslie Youngblood (15:58) Sure, well yeah, 100 % it's not just our fault, like we're like one piece of the puzzle. We're not here. I'm sure we're Anja Skodda (16:19) and just distress we're living in. I think there are so many factors that just could be naturally avoided and we wouldn't be in this position. So it's definitely not the women's fault. Leslie Youngblood (16:29) Right, no, yeah, I completely agree. Do you know the three stages of women's aging versus the men's too? Anja, can you talk to that? I'd be so curious to know what are those three stages? How do I avoid? That's impossible. Anja Skodda (16:41) Well, straight in, shouldn't have said that. I mean, as a scientific, it's something that is in research. Don't put me on this time of my life. I'm aging. It's more to see as a wave. You we have certain times, maybe early 30s, where we see our first kind of aging wave. I think for women, then it's again the beginning of the 50s and later in the 70s. Leslie Youngblood (16:55) Thank Anja Skodda (17:03) So we have three of those steps where ⁓ men have them very differently and at different times. That doesn't mean you're in this case, you're going to age fast. But in the epigenetics and the methylation of the DNA, we see those waves in those times more prevalent. Again, that doesn't mean that everyone ages at this time and we're all different. But it's an observation that kind of fits to our outer and... Leslie Youngblood (17:23) Right. Anja Skodda (17:27) aesthetic way of looking at how do we feel. Leslie Youngblood (17:30) Yeah, that is so cool. Science is just so cool. And I just think it is fascinating the more we learn about the human body and to your point how women were included in clinical studies because we were too complex or they didn't want to mess up with the data that always confounds me because I say what could be more fascinating than that than studying women? I mean, who's not up for a challenge or that curiosity to to explore that and that we are so different than men and whether it's running shoes and we distribute our weight differently. So we need a different type of running sneaker to the way that we're aging in different waves from men. I mean, it is just fascinating. And I know you come from a deep science background, Anja, tissue engineering, cell culture. What originally drew you to science? Anja Skodda (18:15) You mean picking science as my Leslie Youngblood (18:18) Profession. Were you always into science as a kid? Anja Skodda (18:21) I'm a big animal lover, I spent most of my childhood on the horseback. So very passionate horseback rider, but I always loved genetics. Even in high school and middle school, I loved all the genetic terms and how we, even the Mendocin rules, all that I was really fascinated about. And when it came to picking where to go to college and what to do, I actually picked that because of the genetics. I wasn't aware that this was an engineering task. So it was kind of both. And it was a mix of biology and engineering. So basically in cell culture, we are versed to build ⁓ big bioreactors to go into scale and produce cell cultures to produce certain proteins for medication. That will be the... the end scale, but we did lot of research on that. And my research in the end was really based on ⁓ rheumatoid arthritis and joint issues. yeah, kind of, the genetic field just really fascinated me and that's why I wanted to learn more about it. And then I really liked Pharma and wanted to work there and I did. And then I went back to the university because that was better. Leslie Youngblood (19:17) Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah, I love that. mean, you feel businesses in both pet longevity and women's health. What is it? Is it the genetics? Is that the common thread that connects those two worlds for you? Tell us a little bit about that. Anja Skodda (19:44) I mean, when I did my education in science and I went to school in Europe, I really got frustrated in the end with the science being very granular and academics are great and really, you know, going a long way on the research side. But then there's not so much actionable items and really the path to how can we use this knowledge now in our daily lives. So that disconnect really frustrated me in the end of being in that science world. And I had my own story with my dog, Tony, that suffered from arthritis pretty early on. And I kind of wanted to do something and thought, wow, this is my field. Why don't I have a product that I can give him to actually help him, which created my first company with pet health. And we have two patents on a joint supplement. for dogs and it brought him back within a week. So that kind of spiked my interest in why can we not have more things that we can take out of the academia and the science and this deep research that will take many, many years to get to be the medication. But sometimes it can be as simple as a supplement. And how can we connect science with our daily life to make a better impact? And that's what I really Leslie Youngblood (20:36) Wow. Mm-hmm. Anja Skodda (21:00) fell in love with to do that. Leslie Youngblood (21:03) Yeah, and I think that speaks to your work because a lot of your work or huge part of your work focuses on home testing. so in bringing that accessibility that is so critical for every single person, every single woman, know, tell us more about how you specifically decided to focus on that because I think that's like the perfect segue from what you just shared about why you chose to do what you do. Anja Skodda (21:26) Yeah, home testing, I mean, just going back to a woman's life and being it with a partner, with family, with animals, a job or just being a home mom, we're busy, right? We run the life, we still on the other hand want to be fit, healthy, aesthetically pleasing. So all these things keep us busy. And I think many times as we are the caretakers of the family, Leslie Youngblood (21:44) Thank Mm-hmm. Anja Skodda (21:51) Most of the time we forget about us and our health. And I myself had two health scares because I didn't think about me. Because I believe many people think or many women think it is too egoistic to think about themselves and put money for their wellness. And I'm hoping that is shifting. But do we really have time to go to the doctor? Do we really do all these checkups that we should have? Leslie Youngblood (21:58) Mmm. Anja Skodda (22:14) And we have no time to do that on the other hand, like busy lives, stressful, have to juggle with a lot of stuff. And especially as a business owner, I felt, isn't there a way that we can test at home and get more data points despite that, you know, most of us now wearing wearables, we can at least track our sleep and heart rate and cycle changes, which is great. But if we can add more at home testing that people can access really easily that is, ⁓ Leslie Youngblood (22:32) True. Anja Skodda (22:40) affordable, and actually actionable. So you can understand the results. You don't have to sit with your doctor or go to another appointment. You can sit at home, you can read it. And you know, AI, wonderful tool now that people can actually do a lot of research, always take it with a grain of salt. But you know, there's there's a lot we can learn, and at least access the studies and get it explained. So I like that idea of Leslie Youngblood (22:54) Sure. Sure. Anja Skodda (23:07) doing a test at home, sending it in, I'm in comfortable place. I'm not in any way in a doctor's office and someone does a vaginal swab. I think it's much more enjoyable, comfortable to do it at home. So sending that in and then getting the result sent to you and items that you can do and recommendations, I think that's gonna be the future in many ways. Leslie Youngblood (23:20) uh-huh, Yeah, definitely. Because like you said, so many women feel overwhelmed by the idea of one more thing to manage. And I think that speaks to more of a reframe that we need. How do we go from tracking it that's stressful or one more thing versus something that's supportive and something that's important for them to do? Anja Skodda (23:52) Yeah, I mean, and I'm going back to the, you said the physical, the annual physical, many times women are not even taking serious about symptoms because they just say, well, that's normal. That's just your age. That's just this. And I think if we would come with more preparation and more data, it would be a different conversation because we wouldn't just come with Leslie Youngblood (24:13) Mm. Anja Skodda (24:15) or we have the symptoms, we would say, here, I track this over time, this is what I'm seeing. And then there could actually be a real conversation because it's not, it's just in your head. This is real and we have tracked data over time and we can actually show this and there's a way better idea of where we're standing and why this could be. So I think the more data we can collect about ourselves and know about ourselves, the better it is. Obviously, has to be that the physician and your doctor also engages with that. ⁓ That is another point that probably needs education. But know yourself. I'm always saying, you are your best doctor. And you feel that the most. You feel changes. You know what is not normal for you. And why? Just finding that why with very Leslie Youngblood (24:46) I'm getting it. Mmm. Anja Skodda (25:03) non-invasive test opportunities and you know maybe if there's the answer. Leslie Youngblood (25:09) Right, right, where I think so many times we made an amalgamation of a lot of different things where we think, what am I trying to say? Where, I'm sure I'm fine, or I'm sure this is nothing, or I'm too busy to really give this attention, I'll pay attention to this later, and then you kind of get scared because you don't want it to be something really big, but then you also sort of gaslight yourself into thinking, this is fine, and I remember, I think an important example of this is when I... appendicitis. I came down with appendicitis out of nowhere and I started to not feel good. And one, I felt guilty about missing work, right? Like, no! And I had to get my kids to school and then I thought, maybe this is the flu because my stomach started to feel really weird and I was having pain. I'm like maybe this is the flu, maybe I have a virus. And then you think, no, this is pain, this, I don't think this is normal, but how do I know this is normal? Should I go to the doctor? And I'm very fortunate that my husband is in healthcare. Anja Skodda (25:46) Yeah, of course. Leslie Youngblood (26:05) He's a paramedic firefighter. So he's like, that's not normal. You need to go to the emergency room. And I remember feeling so relieved when they, after I waited eight hours in the emergency room and finally got my test back and they confirmed, yes, you have a pedicitis. You need to have surgery right now. was like, thank God I'm not crazy. thank God it wasn't just gas or something, right? And so it's like. Anja Skodda (26:07) nice. You All right. Yeah. Leslie Youngblood (26:27) So when you have something at home that you can track your data with and go to your healthcare provider and say, this is facts, right? this is real. it's so kind of like take some of that. anxiety over, I being a, you know, emotional or a rational woman coming in and saying, you know, for this or that or whatever it is. But it doesn't, but then I think it doesn't matter. Who cares? You should advocate for yourself even if you don't have that data. But it just makes it so much easier and just has that additional support for us when we go and see our healthcare providers and to know and understand truly what is going on inside of us. So I think that's just incredibly important for everybody to go. And so I don't have an ⁓ Anja Skodda (27:03) Right. Yeah. my God. Well, but I totally agree with you and preventative care, right? I don't even want to just talk about monitoring disease or going to the doctor because you have symptoms. You want to, you have to treat your body that is, you know, it's the only luxury you have. It doesn't matter how much money you have. If you don't treat your body right, you will get sick. And to prevent that, I think just Leslie Youngblood (27:16) it. rights. Anja Skodda (27:31) put the work into it and really read the early signals. And that's why these at home tests are so great. I'm always advocating not to until, I have a symptom now I'm going to do this at home test. I'm seeing this as, okay, I'm going to do this test twice a year and I'm just going to monitor, is there a shift? Am I changing? Do I see any things that are uncommon or not good in, especially in the vaginal microbiome hormonal shift? are really important and they can be reflected in the vaginal microbiome. And having a very intact and healthy microbiome is protective and that all plays together with the gut. So I think that can be early signs and I wouldn't wait until because if someone will ask me why would I take, when do I do this test if I have a yeast infection or I have any problems, I would always say no, I would just take it just for your own knowledge. Where are you? Leslie Youngblood (28:25) Mmm. Anja Skodda (28:27) You know, there's a lot of information in the report ⁓ and just monitoring that part of your body can give you a lot of answers. Leslie Youngblood (28:28) right? It's almost like ancestry.com where you just like to have the answers. Where do I come from? Or like, what is in that family tree? it's just giving you a baseline for some of the information. And again, something that you couldn't easily do. And I think also having those answers and getting that baseline. It helps your mental health too, because then you think, okay, so this is where my numbers are right now, and I have to worry about anything, or okay, this is good information. And so it kind of will relieve some of the anxiety you may have not knowing about what might be going on. oh, I was, I'm having... exhaustion or you know, these mood swings because of this is going on in my body. And I just thought I was being crazy, right? Because that's the default, right? You know, you're just a crazy lady. But no, it's because it's like scientifically tied to things that are going on and changes in your body. So I just think that is so important as well. Anja Skodda (29:34) Yeah, I totally agree. Leslie Youngblood (29:35) I know you said before Anja, where you've said you can't show up for your family or your business if you're not healthy. How has that belief shaped how you live and work yourself? Anja Skodda (29:46) Oh, yeah, it probably shifted a lot. think when I started that journey as an entrepreneur with Happy Bond, I really exhausted myself and just worked and really wanted to be successful and do it all. I wanted to be a good mom, a good wife, dog mom, doing it all, and then be present on speaking opportunities, podcasts, pitching to investors. and always be your perfect self but it really took a toll on my health. So I had two health scares to that journey that really brought me back to the point where maybe I should pay for that massage once in a while and not just once a year for my birthday. And maybe it is worth it to take a little self-care and not thinking that it's like selfish. is actually so important because if you're not working and showing up and that's Leslie Youngblood (30:23) Right. Anja Skodda (30:36) when I was sick, really realized like, okay, now what? Who's gonna do all this if I'm not? So it really brought me back to that point that sometimes you just have to sit back and not feel guilty if there's a day where you just relax and not do anything and do something for you, for yourself, be it a stroll at the beach or go on shopping or being with your daughter or just do nothing, just be by yourself. I think we just have to really... Leslie Youngblood (30:52) Mmm. Mm-hmm. Anja Skodda (31:01) really live that and take care of ourselves because otherwise nobody will. It's not, it's, you know, the healthcare system definitely won't until there's something wrong. So we have to, we have to just really be preventative. And I think especially women, it is so obvious how health can shape and how you feel can shape your success and your wellbeing and even success in a relationship. you constantly, ⁓ Leslie Youngblood (31:11) Mm-hmm. Mmm. Mmm. Anja Skodda (31:27) at the edge, on the edge on how you feel and disturbed and stressed, how is that going to be being in a relationship with you? So I think the stress and dealing with all that is getting much easier if you feel healthy, if you're optimised, if you take care of a lot of things. I mean, at home test is one thing, but diet, and I know that's a very complex exercise. Leslie Youngblood (31:35) Right? Mm-hmm. taking a walk, right? Just walking this way. Mm-hmm. Anja Skodda (31:53) walking wonderful, being with your dog or your pet, if you have pets, is known to calm your nerves and produce oxytocin. it's just really fascinating to me that women all over again always be the caretaker and they're very good at it, but they always forget about themselves. And I'm seeing the shift being different and I'm really excited about that, that we're actually allowing ourselves and getting a lot of tools nowadays to really do this. That's why many women conferences, not only women health, but women owned businesses have always like a wellness part in there, which I love. And I know men will laugh about that. it's a woman thing because they do a facial, but it is really, it is good for us in our health and what is good for us should be, we should do it because then we thrive in business and other parts of life. yeah. Leslie Youngblood (32:27) Yeah. Yeah. Yes. Sure. Anja Skodda (32:44) to invest in yourself. I can just say that. Leslie Youngblood (32:44) Yeah. I completely agree. For the woman listening now, right now, who knows that she's putting her health last, what's one realistic first step she can take starting this week, Anja? Anja Skodda (32:57) Well, I'm probably biased with testing, but I mean, unless you're already doing your best diet and moving, I definitely would take one of our tests. Biological age is a great start just to know where you're at. I know many people get a little scared. They don't want to know. But the beauty in that is it's not the ancestry test that says this is it. You actually Leslie Youngblood (33:09) Mmm. street. Anja Skodda (33:20) can change this. And even though the genetic code can tell you, you have a higher risk for something and you can act on it, the epigenetics are really much more changeable and movable than genetics because it just depends on your lifestyle. And I have a good example for that because we do have the same test for pets, for dogs, and they are obviously way faster in their metabolism. Leslie Youngblood (33:41) Mm-hmm. Anja Skodda (33:44) And they also are the best patients because they won't open the fridge, they don't drink the wine and they are walking. So they really do what we tell them. So we seeing an incredible in slowing down in aging pace with pets when they change to a healthy diet and when they go for walks, they lose weight. We see a clear correlation with dogs that are obese or that are just overweight. Leslie Youngblood (33:47) Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Mmm. Anja Skodda (34:10) aging faster. So we can just correlate that to our own health. Yes, we might not see the changes within three to six months like a dog, unless we really stick to that diet and do that big change. But if it is hard, but if we if we kind of, you know, the 80 20 rule, I always like to say that, you know, 80 % are really good, but 20%, I, I do indulge in something that I shouldn't do. So I think you need to have that Leslie Youngblood (34:21) It's hard. Anja Skodda (34:38) Also for your mental health, has to be a little fun and enjoyment in life that is also important. But if you see that with a dog, I would always say, you know, check if you haven't done so check your biological age, see your prediction. Where are you aging slower or faster? We also have a really great epimetabolic index that can basically show you how much risk you have to get problems with the metabolic disease like diabetic. being diabetic or be pre-diabetic. And it's a really good predictor that shows that way earlier than a blood screen or blood values will do. ⁓ So there's a couple of also genetic traits in that test. And then of course, as a woman, I always think the vaginal microbiome, I think that's something that even though we go to the doctor and yearly checks, that's something they don't do. It's not comparable to a pub smear, which we do detect HPV, but Leslie Youngblood (35:14) me. Mmm. Anja Skodda (35:33) way more strains than in the usual PAP, also the ones that are not extremely concerning. But I think it's just really interesting to see and compare where's your hormonal shift, am I in good health? And then obviously the gut test is also one of my favorites because that gave me so many answers and ⁓ diet predictions and how I actually react to certain certain foods that I didn't know. And I think there's a lot there that all combines with each other because obviously the vaginal and the gut microbiome are connected. So if it's just one test and there is the issue of, you know, I'm not always feeling great gut wise, I would start with the vaginal and then work myself from there. Leslie Youngblood (36:04) Thank That's true. And again, because you may think, I feel like I'll say something to my husband, like, don't think I should. I don't think that sits right with me. don't. I'm like, you're just stop. Like, you're just being silly. But like a test like that can say, no, this is actually going to be something that doesn't work well or that. you know, not conducive to your gut biome. And you can be like, ⁓ I should stay away from seeds or whatever it is that does that. And so you may just be again, thinking it's in your head when really there are tests that are science backed and can really help you with the data to improve the quality of your life and the longevity, you know, of those things. You want to live a long life, but you also want to live a quality of long life. You don't want to be bedridden and live a life that doesn't seem very fun. Anja Skodda (37:02) That's Leslie Youngblood (37:03) So I think that's fantastic advice on you. Anja Skodda (37:05) Yeah, and going back to the diet, just to one correction there, I'm a big fan of not eliminating any foods that are healthy and whole foods, but it might be at a point of time in your gut microbiome that you cannot digest it right because your microbiome composition at this time is not right for this food, but you can train your microbiome. It's kind of like you have never eaten fiber, which is not good. Leslie Youngblood (37:13) I love Anja Skodda (37:34) You shouldn't start with 40 gram fiber a day because it won't be very for you. So getting some foods that you might react to, maybe there's a way to reprogram or relearn, but that really depends on the composition of your microbiome and getting that knowledge on, ⁓ maybe I just don't have that bacteria that breaks that down, but maybe I can get it if I... Leslie Youngblood (37:37) Yes. ⁓ Wow. Ow. Anja Skodda (38:00) slowly increase this. So I wouldn't, I'm not a big fan of eliminating any whole foods unless there is a real allergy ⁓ ground for that, but yeah. Leslie Youngblood (38:08) Yeah. Fascinating. That is so cool. Right. And I think I love our listeners to hear that too, just because something might not be. know, conducive or good for you. Now it doesn't mean you can't, like you said, like train your body or like get that good bacteria to, know, you kind of have that. It's not like you're done. Nope, sorry, can't have this ever, ever again, right? It's like about learning and making smart adjustments. And that's why so many bad diets don't work because they're so strict and then you mess up and you're like, I'm done because I can't stick to this diet. It's all about making it like you said, 80 20, making good choices in understanding. And, you know, that nothing can be super strict for forever. It's very difficult, especially if you're a business owner, a partner, a mom, you know. all the things. but good health is attainable and you have these incredible tools now that can help you live an even better life. And so I just think that's fantastic. So Anja, tell us what is next this year? What are you excited about that's coming ahead, whether it's for happy bond or live epimorphy? Anja Skodda (39:14) Well, I'm excited about relaunching a couple of new tests this year and also doing a lot of more enhancement on how we develop and how we deliver your results and how women can interact with us and their health. So I'm excited about that. That's probably more later this year, but we're working hard on that. We have some really exciting ⁓ studies ongoing in the pet space that are also exciting for me to get back to my favorite subject, helping dogs. So live longer and bringing that longevity science into the pet world. You know, check out, sign up for our newsletters. We really send you great contacts and content for your lifestyle, for just very basic, understandable science that you can learn and understand more and then dive deeper if you wish. But I think... Yeah, I'm excited about that and we just launched our live woman and our new biological age test that we overhauled. We are looking at a sex specific biological age, specifically for women because we do age different as we all know, but even in epigenetics there are big shifts and signs that we are different and that's another exciting subject that I'm hoping to launch very soon. Leslie Youngblood (40:21) Mm-hmm. Anja Skodda (40:31) with more biomarkers for home testing that can give you maybe a deeper understanding on your reproductive organ health and all these fun things. Yeah. Leslie Youngblood (40:41) I love it. I love it. That is amazing. And before we wrap up, I would love for you to share, where can our listeners follow up with you? The websites where they can sign up for that newsletter. And we will also drop these in the show notes as well. Anja Skodda (40:51) For our human page is livebio.com and if you want to know how old your dog is or how old he's aging, it's at livepet.com and happybond is happybond.com for nutrition, food and supplements for your pet. Leslie Youngblood (41:06) Perfect, I love that. And again, we will make sure to drop those in the show notes so you all can continue to connect and learn and improve your life, improve your pet's life. Anja, what an incredibly fascinating conversation. You are so amazing and accomplished. Thank you so much for joining us today and sharing your journey on Serious Lady Business. Anja Skodda (41:24) Thank you so much for having me. It's always a pleasure to talk about women's health and pets. Leslie Youngblood (41:29) Heck yeah. Yes it is. It sure is. Thank you. Cheers Anja. Anja Skodda (41:33) Cheers. Leslie Youngblood (41:35) Thanks for tuning in to Serious Lady Business. If you loved this episode, be sure to follow or subscribe so you never miss a moment of the real, raw, and really wonderful sides of female entrepreneurship. And hey, please leave a review if you're feeling generous. It helps more amazing women find us and join the conversation. You can also connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube at at Serious Lady Business and get all of the updates at SeriousLadyBusiness.com. Until next time, keep showing up, keep building, and keep being your seriously amazing self.