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Ep 56: Why you need mineral support even if you eat healthy · Love Your Gut

• 0:03
  Dr. Heather Finley: Welcome to the Love Your Gut Podcast.
• 0:05
  Dr. Heather Finley: I'm your host, Dr.
• 0:06
  Dr. Heather Finley: Heather Finley, registered dietitian and gut health specialist.
• 0:10
  Dr. Heather Finley: I understand the frustration of dealing with GI issues because I've been there and I spent over two decades searching for answers for my own gut issues of constipation, bloating, and stomach pain.
• 0:21
  Dr. Heather Finley: I've dedicated my life to understanding and solving my own gut issues.
• 0:25
  Dr. Heather Finley: And now I'm here to guide you.
• 0:28
  Dr. Heather Finley: On this podcast, I'll help you identify the true root causes of your discomfort.
• 0:33
  Dr. Heather Finley: So you can finally ditch your symptoms for good.
• 0:36
  Dr. Heather Finley: My goal is to empower you with the knowledge and tools you need so that you can love your gut and it will love you right back.
• 0:43
  Dr. Heather Finley: So if you're ready to learn a lot, gain a deeper understanding of your gut and find lasting relief.
• 0:48
  Dr. Heather Finley: You are in the right place.
• 0:50
  Dr. Heather Finley: Welcome to the love your gut podcast.
• 0:55
  Dr. Heather Finley: Welcome back to the next episode of the love your gut podcast.
• 0:58
  Dr. Heather Finley: I am so glad to be back with you kicking off a couple weeks series on minerals.
• 1:05
  Dr. Heather Finley: So minerals are something that has been quite a hot topic over on Instagram.
• 1:10
  Dr. Heather Finley: And I thought I would just dedicate a couple episodes to various topics, including today's topic, which is why you need mineral support.
• 1:20
  Dr. Heather Finley: Even if you eat healthy, We've seen this so many times including myself.
• 1:25
  Dr. Heather Finley: I'm also going to be doing an episode reviewing my own HTMA mineral results and my postpartum mineral plan.
• 1:32
  Dr. Heather Finley: I'll be doing an episode about hypothyroidism and specific minerals for hypothyroidism or Hashimoto's.
• 1:42
  Dr. Heather Finley: And then some, the last episode of this series will be the best minerals to support constipation, diarrhea, and other gut issues.
• 1:53
  Dr. Heather Finley: So stay tuned.
• 1:55
  Dr. Heather Finley: If you are interested in minerals and specifically those topics, those episodes are coming to you soon over the next couple of weeks.
• 2:03
  Dr. Heather Finley: So be sure to tune in.
• 2:04
  Dr. Heather Finley: There'll be dropping weekly and I'd love it if you would share it with a friend and somebody who could benefit from it.
• 2:10
  Dr. Heather Finley: So today I'm so glad you're here.
• 2:13
  Dr. Heather Finley: We are going to be talking about a topic that's super close to my heart.
• 2:17
  Dr. Heather Finley: One that I think you will resonate with and why minerals are absolutely completely foundational to both gut health and hormone health and optimal energy.
• 2:27
  Dr. Heather Finley: If you feel like you're doing quote unquote, all the right things.
• 2:31
  Dr. Heather Finley: But aren't seeing results or if you're really tired of being told that your labs are normal when you know something isn't right you've kind of tried so many things then this episode is for you So I want to share a little bit of my own journey.
• 2:46
  Dr. Heather Finley: I No, many of and I have a couple episodes on this way back at the beginning when I started the podcast, but I have my own journey with GI issues.
• 2:56
  Dr. Heather Finley: Honestly, as I was probably exactly where so many of you are right now, I spent 20 years struggling with gut issues.
• 3:05
  Dr. Heather Finley: I had tried everything you could think of different diets, elimination plans, detoxes, Supplements, probiotics, but nothing seemed to work.
• 3:16
  Dr. Heather Finley: And looking back, I can see that a huge part of why I stayed stuck was because I was constantly running on empty.
• 3:25
  Dr. Heather Finley: But it was really celebrated.
• 3:26
  Dr. Heather Finley: I was the type A overachiever, even in high school.
• 3:31
  Dr. Heather Finley: I was the Energizer Bunny, it was, I kind of even going into college had this motto of I can sleep when I'm dead and how many of us have kind of identified with that as our, as a piece of our identity of I, I can do it all.
• 3:48
  Dr. Heather Finley: I was at the time, especially in my early twenties, when my GI issues were their absolute worst, I was over exercising, under eating.
• 3:56
  Dr. Heather Finley: I was following these strict elimination diets because I thought that's what I had to do to get rid of my GI issues.
• 4:03
  Dr. Heather Finley: I was thinking that I was doing the best thing for my body.
• 4:05
  Dr. Heather Finley: And I honestly.
• 4:06
  Dr. Heather Finley: I honestly want to just go back to that 20 year old Heather and give her a big hug and tell her like, look at what you've done now, 15 years later, I was draining myself so much burning through my energy reserves and minerals in my mineral stores.
• 4:25
  Dr. Heather Finley: Really without replenishing them because I had no clue.
• 4:30
  Dr. Heather Finley: Even as a nutrition major, this is what honestly blows my mind is I spent four years and so much money in college studying nutrition.
• 4:41
  Dr. Heather Finley: And we probably had one lecture on minerals and even now looking back, even in like nutritional biochemistry which I had the pleasure of teaching actually last spring as an adjunct at TCU, where I went to college, I looked at it from such a different angle.
• 5:03
  Dr. Heather Finley: Because every graph at every metabolic process, you will see that minerals are the cofactors for all of that.
• 5:11
  Dr. Heather Finley: And like, why was that brushed over?
• 5:13
  Dr. Heather Finley: Why did nobody talk about that?
• 5:16
  Dr. Heather Finley: There's such a broad overview, but when you really zoom in, it's like minerals are what make the body run.
• 5:23
  Dr. Heather Finley: So back to kind of my story, it wasn't just the diets, the workouts, my sleep was terrible.
• 5:29
  Dr. Heather Finley: It was, so inadequate.
• 5:31
  Dr. Heather Finley: I was not giving my body the chance to rest and repair.
• 5:34
  Dr. Heather Finley: I was a competitive swimmer my whole life and in college and my body was just used to honestly running on adrenaline.
• 5:41
  Dr. Heather Finley: I didn't know any different.
• 5:43
  Dr. Heather Finley: The thought of rest actually terrified me and I know so many of you can relate to that.
• 5:49
  Dr. Heather Finley: If you do, you're not alone.
• 5:51
  Dr. Heather Finley: And I promise that there is hope and the thought of rest now is so delightful.
• 5:56
  Dr. Heather Finley: But the more we neglect sleep, the more we deplete ourselves over time, the more we deplete our minerals.
• 6:03
  Dr. Heather Finley: And it's really nearly impossible for our bodies to function properly.
• 6:08
  Dr. Heather Finley: When I, was kind of at the pit of my G.
• 6:13
  Dr. Heather Finley: I.
• 6:13
  Dr. Heather Finley: Issues in my early twenties.
• 6:15
  Dr. Heather Finley: I felt absolutely hopeless and defeated.
• 6:18
  Dr. Heather Finley: Every time I went to a doctor, I'd get my labs drawn.
• 6:21
  Dr. Heather Finley: They would say everything was normal, but I knew deep down that something was wrong.
• 6:25
  Dr. Heather Finley: My energy was so bad.
• 6:27
  Dr. Heather Finley: I was living on coffee and a prayer.
• 6:30
  Dr. Heather Finley: My gut issues were relentless.
• 6:32
  Dr. Heather Finley: I just couldn't seem to break away from that cycle.
• 6:36
  Dr. Heather Finley: And it's really exhausting when you're told that medication is your only option when you know that's not the solution you're looking for.
• 6:44
  Dr. Heather Finley: And that's not going to help you because, if your labs are normal, then how is this medication actually supposed to help you?
• 6:52
  Dr. Heather Finley: So it really wasn't until I started learning More about minerals and understood that my body was just super depleted and missing the raw materials that it needed to heal, that I really began to see real change.
• 7:05
  Dr. Heather Finley: So today we're going to dive into why that is, why minerals are so essential for both gut and hormone health and why really without them, all the diets, all the protocols, I don't care.
• 7:17
  Dr. Heather Finley: How good your protocol is or how quote unquote clean you eat.
• 7:22
  Dr. Heather Finley: If you're depleted, then it's going to be like, what did our parents used to tell us?
• 7:27
  Dr. Heather Finley: Like walking uphill both ways in the snow or something.
• 7:30
  Dr. Heather Finley: You'll try everything without getting anywhere.
• 7:33
  Dr. Heather Finley: And I really want to help you avoid those same struggles because it's miserable.
• 7:37
  Dr. Heather Finley: So let's talk about why minerals are foundational to health.
• 7:41
  Dr. Heather Finley: Think of minerals like the building blocks of your body.
• 7:44
  Dr. Heather Finley: So they're kind of like the little nuts and bolts that keep everything working smoothly.
• 7:48
  Dr. Heather Finley: They help our body to do a lot of important things that keep you feeling good.
• 7:52
  Dr. Heather Finley: For example, minerals are like the little helpers that keep your digestion moving and they keep our hormones balanced.
• 7:58
  Dr. Heather Finley: They give us energy without adequate minerals.
• 8:01
  Dr. Heather Finley: It's like trying to build a Lego set.
• 8:03
  Dr. Heather Finley: and it has missing pieces or like trying to complete a puzzle and then you're missing two pieces at the end and you're so frustrated.
• 8:10
  Dr. Heather Finley: If you've been there, you get that feeling.
• 8:12
  Dr. Heather Finley: It just doesn't work, right?
• 8:13
  Dr. Heather Finley: Like it doesn't look complete.
• 8:15
  Dr. Heather Finley: Nothing works.
• 8:16
  Dr. Heather Finley: So our bodies need these minerals to stay strong.
• 8:19
  Dr. Heather Finley: To manage stress, to keep our energy up, and even digest food properly.
• 8:24
  Dr. Heather Finley: Unlike some things, our bodies cannot make their own.
• 8:28
  Dr. Heather Finley: So just like certain vitamins that our bodies can make, like vitamin K2, etc.
• 8:34
  Dr. Heather Finley: Our bodies cannot make minerals.
• 8:37
  Dr. Heather Finley: So unless you're eating them, or taking a supplement, then It's like needing gas for your car.
• 8:43
  Dr. Heather Finley: Your body's not just gonna, or your car's not gonna just miraculously fill itself with gas.
• 8:47
  Dr. Heather Finley: You have to stop and get gas.
• 8:50
  Dr. Heather Finley: So we have to fill our mineral tank by eating the right foods and sometimes by taking supplements if we're really low.
• 8:59
  Dr. Heather Finley: But what are minerals?
• 9:00
  Dr. Heather Finley: Minerals are natural elements found in the earth, water, plants.
• 9:05
  Dr. Heather Finley: They're tiny, but they're very mighty.
• 9:07
  Dr. Heather Finley: And when we eat foods grown in the ground, like vegetables, grains we, nuts, etc.
• 9:14
  Dr. Heather Finley: We get those minerals into our body.
• 9:16
  Dr. Heather Finley: So some important ones are magnesium, potassium, and sodium.
• 9:21
  Dr. Heather Finley: And if you tune in to the next episode where I talk about my postpartum mineral consumption.
• 9:27
  Dr. Heather Finley: Journey, you'll learn a little bit more about those minerals specifically.
• 9:32
  Dr. Heather Finley: So each mineral has a special job they keep our systems running, they keep our heart beating muscles working.
• 9:38
  Dr. Heather Finley: But let's talk specifically from a gut health, energy and hormone perspective, why these are helpful.
• 9:44
  Dr. Heather Finley: So for our gut to digest food.
• 9:47
  Dr. Heather Finley: Minerals like magnesium and potassium are super important because they calm our digestive system.
• 9:53
  Dr. Heather Finley: They help things move smoothly.
• 9:55
  Dr. Heather Finley: They help loosen things and they keep the train kind of running on time.
• 9:59
  Dr. Heather Finley: Without minerals, you can feel bloated, you can feel constipated, you can have stomach cramps.
• 10:04
  Dr. Heather Finley: Magnesium helps draw water to the bowels.
• 10:07
  Dr. Heather Finley: Potassium helps your gut muscle.
• 10:10
  Dr. Heather Finley: Yes.
• 10:10
  Dr. Heather Finley: Your gut is a muscle to actually contract from an energy standpoint, minerals like sodium and potassium give us energy because they help our cells get the right balance of water and nutrients.
• 10:23
  Dr. Heather Finley: So you can think of yourselves right now, if you're super dehydrated and mineral depleted, they're like shriveled up little raisins.
• 10:29
  Dr. Heather Finley: We want our cells to be like grapes.
• 10:32
  Dr. Heather Finley: We don't want raisins.
• 10:33
  Dr. Heather Finley: So they're kind of these sodium and potassium are kind of like the charging stations for your Tesla.
• 10:38
  Dr. Heather Finley: They keep your energy up.
• 10:40
  Dr. Heather Finley: They keep your cells energized.
• 10:42
  Dr. Heather Finley: When you are low on these minerals, you might feel tired.
• 10:45
  Dr. Heather Finley: You might feel like your phone battery is always on empty, which That's the case for me.
• 10:50
  Dr. Heather Finley: My phone is always on less than 10 percent battery.
• 10:54
  Dr. Heather Finley: Not a fun place to be.
• 10:55
  Dr. Heather Finley: Hormones.
• 10:56
  Dr. Heather Finley: For your hormones to stay balanced, you need minerals like zinc, magnesium, copper, so many minerals to make sure your body's actually producing the right amount so that things like mood, sleep, skin, All those things stay on track.
• 11:12
  Dr. Heather Finley: You actually cannot make hormones without adequate minerals.
• 11:17
  Dr. Heather Finley: You cannot make energy without adequate minerals.
• 11:21
  Dr. Heather Finley: You can't even produce things like stomach acid without adequate minerals.
• 11:26
  Dr. Heather Finley: So you could be doing all the protocols in the world, taking hormone balancing supplements or Doing a protocol for H.
• 11:35
  Dr. Heather Finley: pylori or SIBO or whatever it might be, perhaps the reason that your symptoms either aren't getting better or are coming back is because your body actually lacks that foundational mineral support to do what it needs to do.
• 11:50
  Dr. Heather Finley: Let's list off four reasons why your minerals could still be low, even if you eat quote unquote healthy.
• 11:58
  Dr. Heather Finley: Cause this is the type of client that we see.
• 12:00
  Dr. Heather Finley: They're like, I eat really healthy.
• 12:02
  Dr. Heather Finley: I, I do all the things.
• 12:03
  Dr. Heather Finley: Why am I so mineral depleted?
• 12:06
  Dr. Heather Finley: Why is my body not absorbing these things?
• 12:09
  Dr. Heather Finley: And there's a few reasons and there's more than four, but here are the top four.
• 12:13
  Dr. Heather Finley: Number one is stress.
• 12:15
  Dr. Heather Finley: When you're stressed, your body actually uses up more minerals.
• 12:19
  Dr. Heather Finley: So it's like when you're on a road trip and you need to stop for gas more often, stress burns through magnesium, potassium, specifically those minerals, but others faster, which means you need to be even more intentional about your mineral intake when you are stressed.
• 12:38
  Dr. Heather Finley: And I'm not just talking about you're stressed about your job.
• 12:41
  Dr. Heather Finley: Other stressors can include your training for a marathon, you are pregnant, you're trying to conceive, perhaps you're going through GI issues, so you have SIBO or other underlying GI issues perhaps you've been exposed to mold, maybe you just are a mom of several kids and life's just busy.
• 13:03
  Dr. Heather Finley: That's a stress.
• 13:04
  Dr. Heather Finley: That's stress.
• 13:04
  Dr. Heather Finley: The second reason can be actually digestion and absorption.
• 13:08
  Dr. Heather Finley: Sometimes your bodies don't absorb all the minerals from your food because your digestion isn't working properly.
• 13:15
  Dr. Heather Finley: So for example, if you have bloating, constipation, even especially diarrhea.
• 13:22
  Dr. Heather Finley: And you're going to the bathroom more frequently, you might not be able to break down and absorb minerals in your food properly.
• 13:28
  Dr. Heather Finley: So your mineral needs are going to be higher.
• 13:31
  Dr. Heather Finley: The next and third reason could be soil quality.
• 13:34
  Dr. Heather Finley: And it's super interesting.
• 13:36
  Dr. Heather Finley: The soil grows our food and our soil is just not as mineral rich as it was years ago.
• 13:42
  Dr. Heather Finley: So even if you're eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, etc.
• 13:48
  Dr. Heather Finley: They're not as mineral rich as they used to be.
• 13:50
  Dr. Heather Finley: So you actually have to eat more to get that amount of minerals that you might need.
• 13:55
  Dr. Heather Finley: And then lastly, it could be diet related.
• 13:58
  Dr. Heather Finley: There's certain types of diets, foods, et cetera, like elimination diets.
• 14:03
  Dr. Heather Finley: Low carb diets that are going to cut out mineral rich foods.
• 14:07
  Dr. Heather Finley: If you're eating mostly raw veggies or a lot of fiber without enough balance, that's also going to make it harder for your body to absorb minerals.
• 14:17
  Dr. Heather Finley: I know I have plenty of other episodes on variety, etc.
• 14:22
  Dr. Heather Finley: If you are eating the same thing every day, You're perhaps missing out on some of the minerals that you might need.
• 14:29
  Dr. Heather Finley: Stress, digestive issues, soil quality, and different diets can make it harder for your body to keep and get the minerals that it needs, which is why focusing on mineral balance can be such a game changer for your health.
• 14:44
  Dr. Heather Finley: So I want to talk about some of the main mineral balances and their impacts that we often see.
• 14:49
  Dr. Heather Finley: Number one is high doses of magnesium.
• 14:53
  Dr. Heather Finley: Either you're taking high doses of magnesium for constipation or maybe sleep.
• 14:58
  Dr. Heather Finley: Magnesium is often one of the first things that people try for constipation, especially if you're looking for something more quote unquote natural than Miralax or something else.
• 15:07
  Dr. Heather Finley: Which, that's not a bad option.
• 15:09
  Dr. Heather Finley: Magnesium is great.
• 15:10
  Dr. Heather Finley: It helps relax muscles.
• 15:12
  Dr. Heather Finley: Makes it easier to go, but sometimes you could be taking a lot.
• 15:16
  Dr. Heather Finley: We have seen clients taking 1200 milligrams of magnesium and still constipated.
• 15:22
  Dr. Heather Finley: Number one, you have to look at the form.
• 15:24
  Dr. Heather Finley: I have another podcast episode on the different types of magnesium.
• 15:28
  Dr. Heather Finley: So I'll link that in the show notes.
• 15:29
  Dr. Heather Finley: But magnesium needs other minerals.
• 15:33
  Dr. Heather Finley: Like sodium and potassium for absorption.
• 15:36
  Dr. Heather Finley: So we've actually seen several clients that are able to cut their magnesium dose in a third by supporting their other minerals.
• 15:46
  Dr. Heather Finley: When your other minerals are low, it's like trying to get your car to move.
• 15:49
  Dr. Heather Finley: without gas.
• 15:50
  Dr. Heather Finley: You can add a lot of magnesium but it's just not going to move the way that it would if it actually had fuel.
• 15:57
  Dr. Heather Finley: So the mineral balance really matters.
• 16:01
  Dr. Heather Finley: Your minerals are like a symphony.
• 16:02
  Dr. Heather Finley: They all work together.
• 16:05
  Dr. Heather Finley: Low potassium is another mineral imbalance that we see, and it's really a big deal.
• 16:10
  Dr. Heather Finley: Potassium is so key for so many things.
• 16:13
  Dr. Heather Finley: It energizes us, it hydrates us, it helps with your heartbeat.
• 16:18
  Dr. Heather Finley: When potassium is low, you'll feel tired, maybe crampy, maybe dizzy.
• 16:23
  Dr. Heather Finley: It's one of the minerals that you'll really notice when it's low because it affects how every single cell in your body works.
• 16:30
  Dr. Heather Finley: Potassium also helps balance out sodium.
• 16:33
  Dr. Heather Finley: So if it's too low, you might feel bloated.
• 16:36
  Dr. Heather Finley: You might feel puffy.
• 16:38
  Dr. Heather Finley: We see this with a lot of our hypothyroid clients.
• 16:41
  Dr. Heather Finley: They're super puffy.
• 16:42
  Dr. Heather Finley: They feel swollen and they start really pushing potassium and all of a sudden the swelling goes away.
• 16:49
  Dr. Heather Finley: We also see this sometimes when people push sodium too fast.
• 16:53
  Dr. Heather Finley: Even if they're low in sodium, on an htma test or something if they are doing this sodium way too fast, we need to focus on potassium first and all of a sudden the puffiness and the swelling goes away.
• 17:08
  Dr. Heather Finley: Potassium is really important for muscle contraction, especially like your gut muscle.
• 17:13
  Dr. Heather Finley: So if you struggle with gut motility, potassium is a big one.
• 17:17
  Dr. Heather Finley: Another one is salt.
• 17:19
  Dr. Heather Finley: How many of you raise your hand if you are scared of salt still?
• 17:23
  Dr. Heather Finley: The 90s made us so afraid of salt, but it really is essential.
• 17:27
  Dr. Heather Finley: It helps keep our blood pressure stable.
• 17:29
  Dr. Heather Finley: Obviously, if you have high blood pressure, this is a different conversation, but it helps us to stay hydrated.
• 17:35
  Dr. Heather Finley: It helps get energy to our system.
• 17:37
  Dr. Heather Finley: cells.
• 17:38
  Dr. Heather Finley: Obviously this is a Goldilocks mentality.
• 17:40
  Dr. Heather Finley: Too much can cause issues, but too little can also leave you feeling really weak, tired, or lightheaded.
• 17:47
  Dr. Heather Finley: We see a lot of clients that eat a very whole foods based diet, which is great, but they're not salting their food and they become very sodium deficient.
• 17:56
  Dr. Heather Finley: And they're like, why am I so tired?
• 17:59
  Dr. Heather Finley: You also lose lots of salt between sweat and stress hormones.
• 18:03
  Dr. Heather Finley: So if you exercise and you are sweating a lot.
• 18:07
  Dr. Heather Finley: Or if you live in a hot climate and you sweat a lot, your sodium needs are going to be higher.
• 18:13
  Dr. Heather Finley: And if you're stressed, you are going to have a higher sodium loss.
• 18:19
  Dr. Heather Finley: So rather than avoiding salt, we need to pair it with other minerals like potassium to stay balanced.
• 18:25
  Dr. Heather Finley: It's good to use a mineral rich salt like Celtic salt or Redmond salt.
• 18:32
  Dr. Heather Finley: And then next up is some of the ratios.
• 18:35
  Dr. Heather Finley: So like I mentioned, minerals really work together.
• 18:39
  Dr. Heather Finley: So we're not just focused on one mineral.
• 18:42
  Dr. Heather Finley: We want to look at how are they all working together.
• 18:45
  Dr. Heather Finley: So specifically one that we see is sodium and potassium.
• 18:48
  Dr. Heather Finley: Like I mentioned, when sodium is too high and potassium is too low, you might feel puffy or bloated.
• 18:54
  Dr. Heather Finley: Your heart and your blood pressure can be affected.
• 18:57
  Dr. Heather Finley: So it's not really just getting enough of one or the other.
• 18:59
  Dr. Heather Finley: It's about the balance between the two.
• 19:02
  Dr. Heather Finley: Another that we see is the balance between copper and zinc.
• 19:06
  Dr. Heather Finley: If you take a multivitamin, your homework is to go look at your multivitamin and look and see if it has copper and zinc.
• 19:14
  Dr. Heather Finley: Copper and zinc are two minerals that work very closely together.
• 19:18
  Dr. Heather Finley: Zinc is probably more common or familiar to you.
• 19:23
  Dr. Heather Finley: It's great for your immune system, your skin, your energy.
• 19:27
  Dr. Heather Finley: But copper is often forgotten, and you cannot really supplement zinc, or you should not supplement zinc without supplementing copper.
• 19:37
  Dr. Heather Finley: Because the higher zinc goes, the lower copper will go.
• 19:40
  Dr. Heather Finley: You need to do this together.
• 19:42
  Dr. Heather Finley: Copper helps things like blood health, collagen production, So if you're concerned about skin or wrinkles, copper is a big one, but like I said, there's a balance there.
• 19:51
  Dr. Heather Finley: So too much zinc can push down copper levels, making it harder for our body to make enough energy.
• 19:58
  Dr. Heather Finley: Copper is really helpful for fertility.
• 20:01
  Dr. Heather Finley: So it actually helps with the implantation.
• 20:06
  Dr. Heather Finley: So low copper can be part of maybe the reason someone might.
• 20:09
  Dr. Heather Finley: Be having trouble getting pregnant zinc is especially important.
• 20:13
  Dr. Heather Finley: I think we often think of for immune health, but also hormone health, skin health, et cetera.
• 20:18
  Dr. Heather Finley: And then the last part that we often see, which this mineral might not be super familiar to you.
• 20:25
  Dr. Heather Finley: So maybe learning something new today, but.
• 20:28
  Dr. Heather Finley: Cobalt.
• 20:29
  Dr. Heather Finley: Cobalt is a trace mineral that is needed in super tiny amounts, but it can actually tell us a lot about how your liver and your stomach are working.
• 20:38
  Dr. Heather Finley: We see this a lot on the HCMA test.
• 20:40
  Dr. Heather Finley: Cobalt is a part of vitamin B12.
• 20:42
  Dr. Heather Finley: It's key for energy and brain function.
• 20:45
  Dr. Heather Finley: If cobalt or B12 levels are low, it can signal that our liver might need support or that our stomach acid levels are low, which is going to affect overall.
• 20:55
  Dr. Heather Finley: mineral balance.
• 20:56
  Dr. Heather Finley: So low stomach acid means that we can't absorb certain minerals, which can cause a ripple effect on things like energy digestion, mineral balance.
• 21:05
  Dr. Heather Finley: So cobalt is really helpful because it will give us clues about whether we're getting nutrients that we need from our food.
• 21:12
  Dr. Heather Finley: So some of these mineral imbalances might just show us, how Each mineral is playing a specific role in our body, what we can do to help you feel your best.
• 21:24
  Dr. Heather Finley: Our bodies need the full mineral team working together.
• 21:28
  Dr. Heather Finley: So you might be thinking how do I know if I have mineral imbalances?
• 21:32
  Dr. Heather Finley: So I want to kind of go through this like little symptom checklist.
• 21:36
  Dr. Heather Finley: So are you experiencing any of these issues from a gut health standpoint, bloating gas, constipation, diarrhea, stomach aches, low appetite.
• 21:46
  Dr. Heather Finley: Cravings for sweet and salty foods, recurrent GI issues, food in your stool, just poor digestion, feeling like things kind of sit like a brick in your stomach.
• 21:59
  Dr. Heather Finley: Any of those can indicate a need for minerals.
• 22:02
  Dr. Heather Finley: Lack of gut motility, gastroparesis type symptoms, from a hormone perspective, irregular or painful periods, a lot of PMS or PMDD symptoms, irritability, fatigue, low energy, low sex drive, difficulty concentrating, brain fog and then from an energy standpoint.
• 22:21
  Dr. Heather Finley: Standpoint, maybe you feel unusually tired, you feel sluggish, you have muscle cramps, weakness, trouble sleeping.
• 22:27
  Dr. Heather Finley: Maybe you wake up not feeling rested, you're dizzy or lightheaded.
• 22:31
  Dr. Heather Finley: If you're nodding with any of these symptoms, it might be a sign that you need ral support and that your minerals are out of balance.
• 22:40
  Dr. Heather Finley: I have several different resources that can help you including our mineral guide.
• 22:45
  Dr. Heather Finley: We also have our upcoming Black Friday sale, which I'll tell you more about.
• 22:49
  Dr. Heather Finley: And you might be thinking can't I just run a blood test to check my minerals?
• 22:54
  Dr. Heather Finley: Blood tests can often miss an important piece of the picture.
• 22:58
  Dr. Heather Finley: And I want to break down just the difference between blood testing and hair testing.
• 23:05
  Dr. Heather Finley: Our bodies are incredibly resourceful.
• 23:08
  Dr. Heather Finley: They will keep prioritizing the blood levels of minerals.
• 23:12
  Dr. Heather Finley: in a normal range, even if that means pulling them from our tissues.
• 23:16
  Dr. Heather Finley: So for example, let's use iron.
• 23:18
  Dr. Heather Finley: Iron is a mineral.
• 23:19
  Dr. Heather Finley: Your blood might show normal levels of iron, but that does not give you the whole picture.
• 23:24
  Dr. Heather Finley: You could still have low iron stores in your body which is what really counts for energy and overall health.
• 23:31
  Dr. Heather Finley: Same thing with potassium.
• 23:33
  Dr. Heather Finley: If your potassium levels are off in your blood work, we have a very serious problem usually.
• 23:39
  Dr. Heather Finley: But low potassium on an HTMA is really just kind of a warning signal like, hey, I don't have a lot of reserves.
• 23:47
  Dr. Heather Finley: So let's work on that.
• 23:48
  Dr. Heather Finley: So this means that by the time blood work shows something is off, the mineral issue has likely been present for a long time.
• 23:56
  Dr. Heather Finley: And chronic deficiencies can lead to more serious health issues.
• 24:00
  Dr. Heather Finley: So hair testing can help identify these problems before they escalate, or in a lot of cases, they can also help give us more insight into the whole picture.
• 24:10
  Dr. Heather Finley: So hair testing like htma or hair tissue mineral analysis really can just provide a broader overview of your mineral status by showing the level stored in your body's tissues and that way we can see patterns and trends over time we can predict potential deficiencies before they become a major concern.
• 24:30
  Dr. Heather Finley: We can also be a lot more proactive and have a more comprehensive overview of all the minerals and the symphony of how they're all working together.
• 24:39
  Dr. Heather Finley: So minerals in the blood are looking at your immediate needs.
• 24:42
  Dr. Heather Finley: Minerals such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, they're crucial, right?
• 24:47
  Dr. Heather Finley: For immediate physiological functions.
• 24:49
  Dr. Heather Finley: The body regulates these very tightly to ensure.
• 24:53
  Dr. Heather Finley: nerve transmission, muscle contraction, blood sugar they can fluctuate also throughout the day.
• 24:59
  Dr. Heather Finley: So your hydration, your diet, your physical activity, all can affect the levels of minerals in your blood.
• 25:08
  Dr. Heather Finley: So if you're dehydrated on the day that you give blood, it will show up on your blood work.
• 25:13
  Dr. Heather Finley: These are going to provide just a mineral snapshot at that given moment of, what's going on at this moment versus long term nutritional status.
• 25:23
  Dr. Heather Finley: So the difference here then is minerals in the tissues are more The reserves.
• 25:29
  Dr. Heather Finley: So tissues, including liver, bones and muscles hair, et cetera.
• 25:34
  Dr. Heather Finley: These serve as reserves that can draw the body can draw on when needed.
• 25:40
  Dr. Heather Finley: So these stores are really essential for long term health and stability and the mineral levels in these tissues can indicate chronic deficiencies or imbalances that might not be as apparent in a blood test.
• 25:55
  Dr. Heather Finley: Because, for instance, if your body has been pulling calcium from your bones to maintain blood levels, you may end up with healthy blood calcium, but weakened bones.
• 26:07
  Dr. Heather Finley: We've seen this quite a bit with osteoporosis, osteopenia, and then we've also seen it with iron and iron issues as well.
• 26:16
  Dr. Heather Finley: So hair testing, And just looking at mineral levels in the tissues is going to look at kind of this insight into long term nutritional status and can help us just to identify some of these patterns that could manifest as symptoms.
• 26:32
  Dr. Heather Finley: So one is not necessarily better than the other, they're just looking at different things.
• 26:37
  Dr. Heather Finley: And sometimes, especially with iron issues, it can be helpful to compare the hair and the blood to see the whole picture.
• 26:45
  Dr. Heather Finley: So blood tests can offer a really quick view of mineral status, but they can be pretty misleading if we're relying on them solely for our health assessment, and we're not getting all the minerals from a blood test, so the two of them together can work.
• 27:01
  Dr. Heather Finley: Great.
• 27:02
  Dr. Heather Finley: So how do we actually practically focus on mineral repletion?
• 27:07
  Dr. Heather Finley: Number one is through food.
• 27:09
  Dr. Heather Finley: So we want to include very mineral rich foods.
• 27:12
  Dr. Heather Finley: Things like leafy greens, nuts, seeds, mineral rich salt, potassium rich foods like bananas, sweet potatoes, avocados citrus foods like orange, etc.
• 27:24
  Dr. Heather Finley: Copper rich foods like nuts, cashews seeds, even shellfish, oysters and then calcium rich foods as well.
• 27:33
  Dr. Heather Finley: We also want to focus on making sure that our bodies are hydrated.
• 27:38
  Dr. Heather Finley: So hydration is going to help maintain that balance.
• 27:42
  Dr. Heather Finley: But it's not just about drinking plain water.
• 27:44
  Dr. Heather Finley: You might find that if you drink plain water all day, especially if you filter your water, that you're still constantly thirsty.
• 27:53
  Dr. Heather Finley: Mineral mocktails beverages that have electrolytes and minerals can be Delicious and a great way to stay hydrated.
• 28:00
  Dr. Heather Finley: We also don't want to overdo it.
• 28:02
  Dr. Heather Finley: Sometimes we have clients that are drinking way too much water because of the thirst issue.
• 28:08
  Dr. Heather Finley: They're drinking 160, 200 ounces of water a day.
• 28:12
  Dr. Heather Finley: And they're like, I'm still so thirsty.
• 28:15
  Dr. Heather Finley: We actually want to cut back on the water intake and focus more on minerals and getting your body to actually absorb the water.
• 28:23
  Dr. Heather Finley: So your cells are kind of going from that grape or their raisin to the grape.
• 28:28
  Dr. Heather Finley: And then, like I mentioned, making sure that if you're filtering your water, which is a great thing, that you're actually replenishing those minerals.
• 28:37
  Dr. Heather Finley: Sometimes we do need to fill in the gap.
• 28:39
  Dr. Heather Finley: So even if you have the best intention, with your diet, supplementation can be helpful.
• 28:46
  Dr. Heather Finley: You can think of it.
• 28:47
  Dr. Heather Finley: Kind of like a big ditch in your yard.
• 28:49
  Dr. Heather Finley: It didn't get there overnight, years of elimination diets restricting food groups, stress, lifestyle factors.
• 28:58
  Dr. Heather Finley: These can cause mineral deficiencies to accumulate over time.
• 29:02
  Dr. Heather Finley: I'd also add in their pregnancy, giving birth, et cetera.
• 29:07
  Dr. Heather Finley: Just as you would need to kind of fill that ditch gradually in your backyard, supplementing minerals can help restore balance and it can help you to feel a lot better.
• 29:20
  Dr. Heather Finley: So I want to give you a practical example and a case study.
• 29:24
  Dr. Heather Finley: So I'm going to share a story with you about our client, Sarah, we'll call her Sarah.
• 29:30
  Dr. Heather Finley: Sarah had been struggling with bloating and constipation for many years.
• 29:34
  Dr. Heather Finley: And like many women, you're probably nodding your head.
• 29:37
  Dr. Heather Finley: She tried tons of diets, supplements.
• 29:40
  Dr. Heather Finley: Nothing really seemed to work.
• 29:42
  Dr. Heather Finley: She had tried high fiber diets, low carb diets, lots of supplements, high doses of magnesium.
• 29:48
  Dr. Heather Finley: She really thought that the magnesium would solve her constipation issues, but really kind of despite all of this, she just remained really stuck.
• 29:57
  Dr. Heather Finley: Every time she visited her doctor, her labs looked normal, even her colonoscopy was normal, which is great.
• 30:03
  Dr. Heather Finley: She had ruled out all the really serious things, but why was she so constipated?
• 30:08
  Dr. Heather Finley: Why did she feel tired?
• 30:09
  Dr. Heather Finley: Why did everything come back normal, even though she really didn't feel normal?
• 30:15
  Dr. Heather Finley: So when she came to us, she just said, please fix my constipation.
• 30:19
  Dr. Heather Finley: That's my main concern.
• 30:21
  Dr. Heather Finley: But we ended up fixing a lot more than that.
• 30:23
  Dr. Heather Finley: So we started with HTMA, which might seem kind of crazy.
• 30:26
  Dr. Heather Finley: Why would you start with HTMA when somebody's constipated?
• 30:30
  Dr. Heather Finley: But why we did that is because minerals are foundational to every metabolic process in the body.
• 30:37
  Dr. Heather Finley: And we knew, okay, she's not responding to this high dose of magnesium.
• 30:41
  Dr. Heather Finley: What's going on with her other minerals.
• 30:44
  Dr. Heather Finley: She was severely deficient in sodium and potassium.
• 30:48
  Dr. Heather Finley: And like I mentioned at the beginning of this episode, those are critical for magnesium absorption.
• 30:55
  Dr. Heather Finley: And this was definitely contributing to her constipation and bloating.
• 30:59
  Dr. Heather Finley: So she was a little scared at first especially when our recommendation was to increase her sodium intake and the potassium less scary, but this was going to help her absorption.
• 31:12
  Dr. Heather Finley: It was going to help her muscle contractions and.
• 31:15
  Dr. Heather Finley: Not just focusing on magnesium.
• 31:18
  Dr. Heather Finley: Was going to really help comprehensively support her minerals.
• 31:22
  Dr. Heather Finley: So once we began to support Not only just sodium and potassium, but also all the other minerals and the balance of minerals She noticed huge changes So her bloating and constipation gradually improved constipation definitely improved a lot faster than bloating, which is pretty typical bloating is usually the last thing, but it really didn't stop.
• 31:45
  Dr. Heather Finley: She experienced much better sleep, a lot of mood improvement, and she felt more resilient to stress.
• 31:54
  Dr. Heather Finley: So she felt more energetic.
• 31:56
  Dr. Heather Finley: She felt less overwhelmed by her daily stressors.
• 32:00
  Dr. Heather Finley: So I think the takeaway here is that we often look for really quick fixes with diets and supplements.
• 32:06
  Dr. Heather Finley: But really true healing lies in addressing the foundational elements of our health like minerals and it actually makes things so much more simple.
• 32:17
  Dr. Heather Finley: Think about how much time she spent thinking about the food she couldn't eat or thinking about, okay, what is the next supplement that's going to help me?
• 32:26
  Dr. Heather Finley: By doing a simple test and looking at what her mineral levels actually were.
• 32:31
  Dr. Heather Finley: She.
• 32:32
  Dr. Heather Finley: Not necessarily shortcutted because she had spent so much time, but she finally got the answers that she'd looking for.
• 32:39
  Dr. Heather Finley: And she got out of that cycle of just trial and error.
• 32:43
  Dr. Heather Finley: And I think that I could tell you hundreds of stories like this.
• 32:48
  Dr. Heather Finley: If you're relating to this at all, it might be worth, Looking at how your mineral status is impacting your overall health, regardless of if you're struggling with energy issues, hormone issues, or GI issues.
• 33:02
  Dr. Heather Finley: So I hope that this encourages you.
• 33:05
  Dr. Heather Finley: This is where our mineral guide can really provide some valuable insights and support you on your journey.
• 33:11
  Dr. Heather Finley: You can download the mineral guide using the link in the show notes.
• 33:16
  Dr. Heather Finley: But thank you for joining me for this episode.
• 33:19
  Dr. Heather Finley: I hope that you loved it.
• 33:21
  Dr. Heather Finley: If you had any insights, please feel free to reach out and share what was insightful to you.
• 33:27
  Dr. Heather Finley: And then the last thing that I want to share with you is that don't forget Black Friday is just around the corner.
• 33:35
  Dr. Heather Finley: This is our once a year HTMA sale.
• 33:39
  Dr. Heather Finley: This is an excellent opportunity to gain insights on your mineral levels and help you know exactly what you need to do.
• 33:46
  Dr. Heather Finley: So make sure you're on our email list.
• 33:48
  Dr. Heather Finley: If you've downloaded the mineral guide, then you are on the email list and you will be the first to know we will have 30 spots.
• 33:55
  Dr. Heather Finley: This will include the HTMA test as well as a one on one consult to review your health history, your concerns, questions, your results, and your specific plan.
• 34:05
  Dr. Heather Finley: So until then, take care of your Love your gut and it will love you right back.
• 34:10
  Dr. Heather Finley: I'm giving you a thumbs up because you just finished another episode of the love your gut podcast.
• 34:16
  Dr. Heather Finley: I am so excited because black Friday is just around the corner.
• 34:20
  Dr. Heather Finley: And honestly, Thanksgiving and black Friday are some of my favorite days of the year.
• 34:25
  Dr. Heather Finley: The buzz on Instagram has been wild with questions about our black Friday specials.
• 34:29
  Dr. Heather Finley: And guess what?
• 34:30
  Dr. Heather Finley: The answer is a resounding yes.
• 34:33
  Dr. Heather Finley: So make sure that you're part of our email list to be the very first in the know about our fantastic.
• 34:39
  Dr. Heather Finley: Black Friday deals on HTMA or hair mineral testing.
• 34:43
  Dr. Heather Finley: You do not want to miss out on these gems.
• 34:45
  Dr. Heather Finley: I promise the link to join our email list is in the show notes below.
• 34:50
  Dr. Heather Finley: And as always remember that when you love your gut, it'll love you back.
• 34:53
  Dr. Heather Finley: And that's what we're all about.