WEBVTT

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This is the tricky part. Iron deficiency actually

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presents very similarly to hormonal fluctuations

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and changes. Because especially for women in

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our 40s, everything falls down to either burnout

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or it's perimenopause. And one of the biggest

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factors is an iron deficiency and anemia. That

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sounds serious. And a number is not a number.

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So just doing a set of bloods and saying, oh,

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everything's in the black is not always desirable.

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or optimal. If you're a woman in your 40s who's

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constantly tired, struggling to focus or feeling

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like your energy just isn't what it used to be,

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then this episode is for you. Because for so

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many of us, we're quick to blame hormones, stress

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or the chaos of midlife. But there's one piece

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that often gets overlooked and that's iron. Low

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iron doesn't always show up as full -blown anemia.

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Sometimes it looks like brain fog, breathlessness,

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poor sleep, low mood or that feeling of dragging

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yourself through the day, even when you're doing

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all right. And in your 40s, with changing periods,

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shifting hormones and busy lives, your iron source

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can quietly take a hit without you realising

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it. Today we're diving into this with Dr Tash

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Morando, menopause lead and lifestyle medicine

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specialist to unpack why women in their 40s are

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especially vulnerable to iron depletion, what

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symptoms you should stop ignoring and how to

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rebuild your energy properly, not just patch

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it up with coffee and sheer willpower. Before

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we get into it, if you're finding value in these

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conversations, please do like this episode, share,

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follow, and subscribe wherever you listen to

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The 40s Formula. It genuinely helps more women

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like you find us. And don't forget, we created

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a free guide packed with practical insights from

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some of our incredible guests. You can download

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our free ebook via the link in our show notes.

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It's such an easy way to start making small changes

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that actually move the needle. Hi, Dr. Tash.

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We're so excited to welcome you back to the Fortin's

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Formula. A two -timer. Thank you so much for

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having me back. believe it's been two years oh

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my gosh neither can we neither can we you're

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one of our ogs and we're always grateful to you

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for that thank you and congratulations and everything

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you've achieved over the last couple of years

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fantastic thank you so much right so we wanted

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to get you back because the conversation we want

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to have today is about iron and i feel like people

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talk about it people hear from their doctors

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oh your iron is low but i don't know if they

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really take it seriously why do women need to

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listen to this conversation today Fundamentally,

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iron is our oxygen transporter system. I mean,

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that sounds serious. It does sound serious. So

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think of having a whole heap of taxis in the

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body, taking that oxygen from the lungs all the

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way from our head to our toes. And if we have

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less of a transport system, we end up with less

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oxygen. And if it's less oxygen in the brain,

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we end up with brain fog, fatigue. issues with

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cognition, we're going to feel more tired, you

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may feel breathless, the impact on your gut health,

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and also exercise tolerance reduces. I mean,

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that one makes sense to me. You know, can't lift

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iron with no iron. But the gut health, what's

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that about? A lot of our neurotransmitters need

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iron as a core factor for the enzymes to create

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what is needed. And that's the conversation between

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the gut and the brain as well, including dopamine,

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adrenaline, noradrenaline, all of these. Which

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is why for me, 70 % of the body's function is

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in the gut. So we need to look after our gut

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as well. Yeah. I never even connected though,

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iron and the gut. I kind of have because, so

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I do. suffer from low iron i am a meat eater

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i you know i feel like i'm doing the right things

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but every few months i'm like oh god it's time

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for time for another iron infusion because something's

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not right and then the only thing i can think

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of is something's going on in my gut because

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it's an absorption absorption problem and not

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a lack of iron ingestion problem and this is

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where when you break it down a low iron in the

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body can be as a result of not having enough,

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not absorbing enough, or you're losing more than

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you can actually consume or have. That's what

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I'm pretty sure is my issue, by the way. I think

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I lose more than I could possibly keep topped

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up. But what's the difference? I learned today

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about the difference between on your blood work,

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how low iron is going to show up, right? So there's

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the ferritin number, there's the iron number,

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and there's the transferritin. And these can

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all be... put together, they can give you a different

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equation, right? What are the differences in

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those blood markers? So this is where it's important

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not to just test one thing, right? Because if

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we were only looking at hemoglobin, for example,

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which is our anemia marker, it takes a long time

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for that to drop. So think of ferritin as our

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iron store. So we want that jar to be full. Otherwise,

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what happens is as soon as that gets depleted,

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that's when we end up actually being anemic.

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So a lot of women will have an iron deficiency

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sometimes even years before they become anemic.

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But the symptoms can start when they're actually

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iron deficient rather than waiting until they're

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anemic. It's funny because a lot of the symptoms

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that you mentioned, the brain fog, the tiredness

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and the lack of sleep, that all sounds very similar

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to perimenopausal symptoms. Now how, obviously

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testing is, is that the only way that they can

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figure out whether it's perimenopause or if it's

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an iron thing? Are there other signs that might

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kind of help guide as to what's going on? This

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is the tricky part because especially for women

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in our 40s, everything falls down to either burnout

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or it's perimenopause. Whereas for me as a family

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physician, first things first is we rule out

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organic causes. We don't just assume. Because

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iron deficiency actually presents very similarly

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to hormonal fluctuations and changes. But if

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we don't correct the iron deficiency or the anemia,

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There's no amount we can do from a hormonal management

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point of view to have that patient feeling as

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optimized as possible. So it's really important

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to look at other things that could be causing

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it. And one of the biggest factors is an iron

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deficiency and anemia. Have you had a patient

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whose iron was the problem, you corrected it

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with an iron infusion, and they had relief of

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those symptoms? Is that a common pathway of treatment?

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So a low iron level, yes. Anemia, yes. It doesn't

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mean they automatically need an iron infusion.

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Because iron infusion is a medical treatment.

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So it needs to be for the right person at the

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right time. So who would the right person be

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and what is the right time? What is the right

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time, sure. So this is where we have to look

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at the person as an individual. Is this, as I

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mentioned earlier, is this an absorption issue?

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Is this, are they losing more than they can actually

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keep up with? And what is their tolerance to

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actually first -line treatments, like looking

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at the nutrition piece, which usually comes under

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maintenance, but it's also oral supplementation.

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Because a lot of people don't tolerate oral iron.

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So you end up with symptoms like nausea, constipation,

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and not forgetting black stool. Yeah, that's

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what pops in my head. Which is manageable, right?

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It's just something you notice and we just let

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someone know so they don't worry about it. Yeah,

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you don't freak out. It's like eating beets.

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You're like, oh, I'm dying. No, it's just beets.

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So it's really looking at tolerance and then

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looking at numbers. And a number is not a number.

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So you've got your reference range, which a lot

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of the times is just far too big, for example.

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So just doing a set of bloods and saying, oh,

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everything's in the black. is not always desirable

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or optimal. So we have to be clear with that.

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So we were speaking earlier about ferritin. Ferritin

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is a marker of iron store, right? And that's

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really, really important. But if you look at

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it from a reference range point of view, for

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it to be low, you're looking at something like

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15 or 20, depending on the reference range you

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use. So depending on the reference range, right?

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Whereas to really... optimize it we want that

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number to go above 50 to 70 i've now changed

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my tune where i'm even looking at over 80 to

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100 see that really that is such a big difference

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yes can you explain to our listeners why the

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reference range and the optimal range is so different

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and it's a hard one because labs have their reference

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points because it's looking at a population level

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and looking at sort of the norms of that. But

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each person is different. If you're pregnant,

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there are other things to look at, right? The

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dilutional effect. When you're in perimenopause,

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going into that late perimenopause -menopause

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transition, especially with heavy bleeding. you're

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losing a lot of iron you're losing blood so how

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do we then stay on top of that so that the symptoms

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that are coming from an iron deficiency iron

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deficiency anemia and the anemia is usually a

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later stage plus your perimenopausal symptoms

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so it's very tricky how about for women with

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endometriosis typically accompanied with heavy

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bleeding is that do you see more iron deficiency

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or functional iron deficiency in those women

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The difficulty here is in endometriosis, there's

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significant inflammation. Ferritin is also what's

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called an acute phase reactant. So it goes up

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in inflammation because the body is trying to

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retain its iron stores. So the ferritin shows

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up as high. It's showing up as high, but is it

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actually high? Exactly. So this is where we couple

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it with an actual inflammatory marker, which

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is CRP, to see is this... a true depiction of,

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oh, I've actually got really good or extra iron

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stores, or is this inflammation related? So we

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have to look at that overall picture. So we could

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be misleading, is what you're saying. For women

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with endometriosis, their ferritin number might

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not be telling the whole story. And it's just

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inflammation in general. And as we age, inflammation

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is part of that. So that could be someone who

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might have arthritis or any other forms of inflammatory

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conditions. Yes. could have a normal looking

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ferritin, which isn't actually normal. Or even

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a higher ferritin. And that's what we usually

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see is a raised ferritin from a reference range

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point of view. But then we need to decide, is

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this a true depiction of ferritin or is this

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an inflammatory process? Is this a general sort

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of across the board thing? Or is this a... What

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I'm trying to say is if a woman went to her...

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standard gp um you know who sees i don't know

00:11:38.500 --> 00:11:40.759
20 patients in a day i don't know it's 20 a lot

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20 yeah any test doctor says no i'm like that's

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insane no you're right there's a big difference

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between seeing 40 60 patients a day versus you're

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really looking at precision medicine yes right

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really looking at the person sat in front of

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you N equals one. How do I get this person optimized

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for them as an individual? And that's the difference.

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Standard panels may not include things like ferritin,

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which is why it's important to look at that bigger

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picture. That's also the other reason we shouldn't

00:12:15.639 --> 00:12:17.500
be just going and getting blood test panels,

00:12:17.600 --> 00:12:20.320
looking at the results, going, oh, everything's

00:12:20.320 --> 00:12:23.200
in the black. I'm good. But why do I still feel

00:12:23.200 --> 00:12:25.870
so? crappy yeah because that's the big thing

00:12:25.870 --> 00:12:27.669
in the u .s now right there are all these services

00:12:27.669 --> 00:12:30.750
now offering ad hoc blood work so you just you

00:12:30.750 --> 00:12:33.190
order it online they i'm not sure exactly how

00:12:33.190 --> 00:12:34.750
they do it i guess you go to a lab and get it

00:12:34.750 --> 00:12:38.289
drawn but the point is like it's it's a middleman

00:12:38.289 --> 00:12:41.909
service with no physician So you get results.

00:12:42.029 --> 00:12:44.870
No, exactly right. So it's like you just get

00:12:44.870 --> 00:12:47.529
all these reference range results and you're

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just left kind of, I don't know, chat GBTing.

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I'm not sure what they do with them, honestly.

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But again, this is where AI definitely plays

00:12:52.850 --> 00:12:56.610
its part. And I'm a huge advocate for my patients

00:12:56.610 --> 00:13:00.470
taking charge. looking at things and going but

00:13:00.470 --> 00:13:02.529
why yeah because that's what we need to get down

00:13:02.529 --> 00:13:05.330
but why the but why the root cause of the problem

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yeah and how do we how do we actually manage

00:13:08.129 --> 00:13:10.610
it so i actually enjoy patients coming in and

00:13:10.610 --> 00:13:13.250
saying actually i have chat gpt this and this

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is what it says great let's look at it together

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how do we break it down even further because

00:13:18.570 --> 00:13:22.289
80 is the history yeah right we can do every

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test under the sun yes however The person sat

00:13:26.580 --> 00:13:29.000
in front of us knows themselves better than anyone

00:13:29.000 --> 00:13:31.360
else, and it's that listening bit, which is also

00:13:31.360 --> 00:13:34.039
the fun part. Yeah, it is. And I think with chat

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GPT or just AI interventions generally, I think

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you're absolutely right. I think it's a way to

00:13:39.620 --> 00:13:42.039
empower yourself with the next question. I think

00:13:42.039 --> 00:13:44.019
that's the best thing about chat GPT or whatever,

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is that they prompt you for what you then might

00:13:46.440 --> 00:13:47.980
want to ask, and you're like, oh, I should know

00:13:47.980 --> 00:13:50.200
this. But what you were just talking about, for

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example, the interplay of inflammatory markers

00:13:52.659 --> 00:13:56.730
and iron. That's something that is, you need

00:13:56.730 --> 00:13:59.309
a physician, you need a professional there to

00:13:59.309 --> 00:14:01.690
even suggest that level of nuance. And then when

00:14:01.690 --> 00:14:04.210
you know the questions to ask, you get better

00:14:04.210 --> 00:14:06.990
information. Exactly. And it's also finding that

00:14:06.990 --> 00:14:09.350
right person who's thinking in that 360 way.

00:14:09.370 --> 00:14:13.990
Yeah. Right. As I said, yes, women in their 40s

00:14:13.990 --> 00:14:18.600
and older. It's not just about hormonal shifts

00:14:18.600 --> 00:14:21.279
and changes. I know that's coming from me. But

00:14:21.279 --> 00:14:27.460
it's also looking at the bigger picture because

00:14:27.460 --> 00:14:31.399
we can so easily miss things. And the two big

00:14:31.399 --> 00:14:34.279
ones for me, it's an iron deficiency plus or

00:14:34.279 --> 00:14:36.580
minus with an anemia, which is where then the

00:14:36.580 --> 00:14:38.940
hemoglobin is dropping as well, which then has

00:14:38.940 --> 00:14:41.980
this more of a systemic effect and symptoms.

00:14:43.159 --> 00:14:47.080
and thyroid dysfunction. So these two, we miss

00:14:47.080 --> 00:14:49.139
these two, and then other vitamin deficiencies,

00:14:49.139 --> 00:14:52.580
including vitamin D, B12, folic acid. These are

00:14:52.580 --> 00:14:54.659
things we can correct. They're organic causes.

00:14:55.080 --> 00:14:58.759
Correct that. It might not be the only factor,

00:14:58.840 --> 00:15:02.179
but at least you're looking at root cause issues

00:15:02.179 --> 00:15:06.259
and moving on from there. Yeah, you're not left

00:15:06.259 --> 00:15:09.220
wondering so much. Are you seeing then there's

00:15:09.220 --> 00:15:11.860
an overlap between these conditions when you

00:15:11.860 --> 00:15:15.279
are presented or when a female who's in her 40s

00:15:15.279 --> 00:15:18.320
comes to you? And, you know, it's not just the

00:15:18.320 --> 00:15:20.960
perimenopause and it's not just the thyroid and

00:15:20.960 --> 00:15:23.279
it's not just the iron, but it's kind of like,

00:15:23.379 --> 00:15:25.519
actually, I'm really sorry, but it seems to be

00:15:25.519 --> 00:15:29.100
everything. And that is predominantly what we

00:15:29.100 --> 00:15:31.299
see. And that's the beauty of being a practicing

00:15:31.299 --> 00:15:34.059
clinician is I'm seeing this day in and day out.

00:15:34.259 --> 00:15:39.519
So you're looking at. data points you're looking

00:15:39.519 --> 00:15:42.980
at trajectories you're looking at that bigger

00:15:42.980 --> 00:15:46.460
picture and coming up with the plan for that

00:15:46.460 --> 00:15:48.139
person sat in front of you and that's going to

00:15:48.139 --> 00:15:50.580
change from person to person but you're constantly

00:15:50.580 --> 00:15:53.039
learning and then you're looking into the research

00:15:53.039 --> 00:15:58.980
you're reading up you're finding ways and a lot

00:15:58.980 --> 00:16:02.919
of women don't tolerate oral iron but it's finding

00:16:02.919 --> 00:16:05.340
we have various options so it's how do we find

00:16:05.340 --> 00:16:07.679
what works for you And if it's not something

00:16:07.679 --> 00:16:10.539
that's working, then we have the option from

00:16:10.539 --> 00:16:12.879
a medical management point of view to utilize

00:16:12.879 --> 00:16:16.679
the iron infusions. So does that mean that men

00:16:16.679 --> 00:16:20.419
tolerate it better? We don't need to use it as

00:16:20.419 --> 00:16:22.720
much in men, right? Because they're not bleeding.

00:16:23.960 --> 00:16:27.379
But yes, I mean, this is where actually, and

00:16:27.379 --> 00:16:30.759
also from a hormone point of view, that's why

00:16:30.759 --> 00:16:33.159
if you look at a standard reference range, even

00:16:33.159 --> 00:16:36.940
for hemoglobin, The reference range is higher

00:16:36.940 --> 00:16:39.820
for men. And this is very much hormonally driven.

00:16:40.259 --> 00:16:41.919
Interesting. I never would have thought that.

00:16:42.139 --> 00:16:43.539
I would have just assumed that women needed to

00:16:43.539 --> 00:16:48.679
be higher because, oh my God, that's, wow. Mind

00:16:48.679 --> 00:16:51.679
blown. All this talk about reference ranges and

00:16:51.679 --> 00:16:54.299
ferritin and hemoglobin and stuff. What would

00:16:54.299 --> 00:16:57.340
you say to the listener? And we get this patient

00:16:57.340 --> 00:16:59.120
a lot, which is why I'm asking, I know this person

00:16:59.120 --> 00:17:02.700
exists in volume. That's like, oh, you know,

00:17:02.700 --> 00:17:04.200
I want to come in and tell you about my symptoms,

00:17:04.240 --> 00:17:06.380
but I don't want to do all the blood work stuff

00:17:06.380 --> 00:17:08.819
like, you know, or I had my blood work done last

00:17:08.819 --> 00:17:13.000
year. So, you know, it's fine. Like how how would

00:17:13.000 --> 00:17:15.619
you encourage someone to get more investigative

00:17:15.619 --> 00:17:19.019
with their health? I think start with the history.

00:17:19.759 --> 00:17:22.400
Right. Always start with the history. Then comes

00:17:22.400 --> 00:17:24.819
the examination and then come up with the plan

00:17:24.819 --> 00:17:29.319
together. Right. Look at. historical data because

00:17:29.319 --> 00:17:31.839
you can see trends i love to see trends and i'm

00:17:31.839 --> 00:17:34.640
you know hoping one day we have a full -on dashboard

00:17:34.640 --> 00:17:37.319
that i can look at 30 years worth of data just

00:17:37.319 --> 00:17:40.599
sat in front of me and yes we're working on that

00:17:40.599 --> 00:17:44.099
but i think once patients are on board and they

00:17:44.099 --> 00:17:47.539
see these trends and they hear it in a way that

00:17:47.539 --> 00:17:51.380
makes sense to them they will be on board to

00:17:51.380 --> 00:17:53.599
actually get what needs to be get needs to get

00:17:53.599 --> 00:17:55.259
done at the end of the day it's about feeling

00:17:55.259 --> 00:17:57.910
as good as possible forever That for me is gold,

00:17:58.029 --> 00:17:59.630
quality of life. And that's probably what it

00:17:59.630 --> 00:18:02.410
is, too, is that they need somebody to tie together

00:18:02.410 --> 00:18:04.950
those pieces of their history so that it feels

00:18:04.950 --> 00:18:07.410
relevant. Because if we just keep saying, oh,

00:18:07.430 --> 00:18:08.950
you know, like, yeah, reference changes aren't

00:18:08.950 --> 00:18:10.829
always correct. And, you know, you need to get

00:18:10.829 --> 00:18:12.789
X, Y, Z on your blood work and make sure that's

00:18:12.789 --> 00:18:14.309
all there. Then it's like people tune that out.

00:18:14.369 --> 00:18:16.289
But when you're like, hey, actually, if you look

00:18:16.289 --> 00:18:18.430
at the trend over, let's say, the past 30 years,

00:18:18.470 --> 00:18:20.589
if we had that wonderful. And then this is how

00:18:20.589 --> 00:18:23.230
you felt and this is how you changed it. Then

00:18:23.230 --> 00:18:25.690
there's value. Exactly. And it's also about that

00:18:25.690 --> 00:18:28.869
feeling. Right. You know when you feel good and

00:18:28.869 --> 00:18:31.130
you know when you don't. Sometimes you can't

00:18:31.130 --> 00:18:34.069
quite put your finger on the why. And that's

00:18:34.069 --> 00:18:37.069
where then we go digging. Yeah. Would you say

00:18:37.069 --> 00:18:39.390
that then women in their 40s are more vulnerable?

00:18:39.390 --> 00:18:42.230
Is that like the most vulnerable time or does

00:18:42.230 --> 00:18:45.809
it just vary based on time of life and what's

00:18:45.809 --> 00:18:49.049
happening? And this is throughout our life cycle.

00:18:49.369 --> 00:18:53.009
Right. Starting periods, depending on a background

00:18:53.009 --> 00:18:57.910
of endometriosis. heavy bleeding, what happens

00:18:57.910 --> 00:19:02.509
if you're pregnant, postnatally, if there is

00:19:02.509 --> 00:19:06.049
bleeding there, nutritional deficiencies, then

00:19:06.049 --> 00:19:09.970
coming into perimenopause, bleeding irregularities,

00:19:10.089 --> 00:19:14.210
fibroids, endometrial polyps, especially with

00:19:14.210 --> 00:19:16.609
the fluctuations in hormones that can happen.

00:19:16.970 --> 00:19:20.289
And very interestingly, I was at the Aging Research

00:19:20.289 --> 00:19:22.750
and Drugs Development Conference in Copenhagen

00:19:22.750 --> 00:19:29.420
in August. And two PhD students presented a paper,

00:19:29.640 --> 00:19:34.119
a poster, on looking at biomarkers, blood test

00:19:34.119 --> 00:19:38.099
markers, that they looked retrospectively at

00:19:38.099 --> 00:19:41.400
women in perimenopause and then postmenopause.

00:19:41.480 --> 00:19:43.099
And they compared. So say there were over 100

00:19:43.099 --> 00:19:48.799
biomarkers. Everything got worse postmenopause,

00:19:48.960 --> 00:19:53.559
including inflammation, your blood sugar, cholesterol,

00:19:53.700 --> 00:19:58.650
etc. The only couple that got better, iron and

00:19:58.650 --> 00:20:02.990
hemoglobin. Ferritin is up and down because as

00:20:02.990 --> 00:20:05.769
we get older, inflammation goes up, so that ferritin

00:20:05.769 --> 00:20:09.089
can go up as well. But when we stop bleeding,

00:20:09.369 --> 00:20:12.130
those two markers get better. Everything else

00:20:12.130 --> 00:20:15.059
gets worse. Women expect the worst except for

00:20:15.059 --> 00:20:17.859
you. Yeah, except it might not be anemic anymore,

00:20:17.980 --> 00:20:21.440
so bravo. Oh, man. I mean, okay, this is a show

00:20:21.440 --> 00:20:25.519
about iron, but I do have to ask, is there anything

00:20:25.519 --> 00:20:28.819
that women can do for other markers to improve?

00:20:29.180 --> 00:20:32.039
What would you say has the biggest impact on

00:20:32.039 --> 00:20:34.559
overall improvement other than stop bleeding?

00:20:35.460 --> 00:20:38.680
As a lifestyle medicine physician, I have to

00:20:38.680 --> 00:20:40.440
talk about the six pillars of lifestyle medicine,

00:20:40.640 --> 00:20:44.619
right? Number one is sleep. Got to aim and prioritize

00:20:44.619 --> 00:20:47.980
that sleep. Quality, aiming for, I'm going to

00:20:47.980 --> 00:20:49.900
say, seven to nine hours. However, I appreciate

00:20:49.900 --> 00:20:52.519
how difficult this is. But it's about routine

00:20:52.519 --> 00:20:56.700
and consistency. Number two is nutrition. Focusing

00:20:56.700 --> 00:21:00.380
and prioritizing protein and fiber. Not forgetting

00:21:00.380 --> 00:21:02.799
fiber. We're going back to gut health here, right?

00:21:03.339 --> 00:21:07.160
Number three, movement. And that is key. It's

00:21:07.160 --> 00:21:11.539
building muscle, building strength, resulting

00:21:11.539 --> 00:21:16.509
in endurance. And that helps to reduce inflammatory

00:21:16.509 --> 00:21:20.730
markers, reduces insulin resistance, gives you

00:21:20.730 --> 00:21:22.390
a lot more energy, which means you can do other

00:21:22.390 --> 00:21:25.289
things. But unfortunately, if you're not eating

00:21:25.289 --> 00:21:28.670
right and sleeping sufficiently, you can't exercise

00:21:28.670 --> 00:21:32.170
your way out of this. Also managing stress, having

00:21:32.170 --> 00:21:35.589
the right group of people around you, not smoking.

00:21:36.069 --> 00:21:39.450
I have to say not drinking, but again, it's looking

00:21:39.450 --> 00:21:43.269
at really minimizing. And then not doing drugs.

00:21:43.650 --> 00:21:46.089
I mean, I feel like you've just basically told

00:21:46.089 --> 00:21:48.890
us everything that we need to know. We can stop

00:21:48.890 --> 00:21:50.910
this conversation now. All I'm hearing is just

00:21:50.910 --> 00:21:53.789
stay in the gym. Make your social connections

00:21:53.789 --> 00:21:56.170
there. Won't be smoking or drinking alcohol in

00:21:56.170 --> 00:21:57.769
there. So, you know, just stay in the gym. You'll

00:21:57.769 --> 00:22:00.690
be fine. That's my strategy up to this point.

00:22:00.910 --> 00:22:02.349
So Amanda, you know how I've been on this journey

00:22:02.349 --> 00:22:04.390
about improving my sleep? Oh, you have been obsessed

00:22:04.390 --> 00:22:07.420
about it lately. Well, I have found something

00:22:07.420 --> 00:22:11.339
that has been incredible. Cozy Earth bed sheets.

00:22:11.680 --> 00:22:13.779
That's saying a lot because you are really picky

00:22:13.779 --> 00:22:16.099
about your sleep setup. Exactly. These sheets

00:22:16.099 --> 00:22:18.559
are made from bamboo viscose. They are naturally

00:22:18.559 --> 00:22:21.819
breathable and I get the perfect night's sleep.

00:22:22.019 --> 00:22:25.140
They keep me cool all night. Oh, and I've been

00:22:25.140 --> 00:22:27.519
eyeing the pajamas too. They are so chic and

00:22:27.519 --> 00:22:30.420
super cozy. It's a total game changer and so

00:22:30.420 --> 00:22:33.319
relaxing for the evenings. And what's crazy is

00:22:33.319 --> 00:22:35.380
that Cozy Earth actually ships to Singapore,

00:22:35.579 --> 00:22:39.660
orders over $560 ship free, and in the US orders

00:22:39.660 --> 00:22:42.140
over $50 ship free. And did you know you can

00:22:42.140 --> 00:22:46.240
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00:22:46.240 --> 00:22:50.480
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00:22:50.480 --> 00:22:53.740
and use that code TFF today. Right, so you mentioned

00:22:53.740 --> 00:22:55.940
our favourite thing, which is protein and fibre.

00:22:56.180 --> 00:22:58.380
And I think this brings us really nicely into

00:22:58.380 --> 00:23:00.859
our next segment, which is called Fuel Your 40s,

00:23:00.859 --> 00:23:02.539
and it's sponsored by The Meat Club. And The

00:23:02.539 --> 00:23:05.829
Meat Club provides sustainably sourced... Protein

00:23:05.829 --> 00:23:08.150
and produce. Yeah. Both. So you can get your

00:23:08.150 --> 00:23:10.269
protein and your fiber in direct to your door.

00:23:10.410 --> 00:23:14.450
And if you use code TFF20, you can save $20 off

00:23:14.450 --> 00:23:15.990
your first order. And they actually have a question

00:23:15.990 --> 00:23:18.670
for you. And that question is, from your experience,

00:23:18.970 --> 00:23:21.890
how significant is dietary iron from red meat

00:23:21.890 --> 00:23:24.630
supporting ferritin levels in midlife women?

00:23:24.869 --> 00:23:28.509
And can women use food strategically to help

00:23:28.509 --> 00:23:31.690
treat their iron stores long term? Absolutely.

00:23:32.849 --> 00:23:39.319
Whole foods. As a lifestyle medicine physician,

00:23:39.539 --> 00:23:43.619
I will advocate for, yes, predominantly plant

00:23:43.619 --> 00:23:47.839
-based whole foods. However, it also needs to

00:23:47.839 --> 00:23:50.519
be in a way that is sustainable for you. We also

00:23:50.519 --> 00:23:52.480
need to think about planetary health, obviously.

00:23:53.339 --> 00:23:58.259
Looking at it from animal sources versus plant

00:23:58.259 --> 00:24:02.099
sources, when it comes to iron, you've actually

00:24:02.099 --> 00:24:05.859
got heme iron. and non -heme iron. And the absorption

00:24:05.859 --> 00:24:07.480
is very different. So if we're looking at it

00:24:07.480 --> 00:24:12.539
from an animal -based, you're getting that heme

00:24:12.539 --> 00:24:15.380
iron, which actually gets absorbed, broken down,

00:24:15.480 --> 00:24:21.400
utilized, probably up to 30 % more, because it's

00:24:21.400 --> 00:24:24.420
coming from the hemoglobin and myoglobin from

00:24:24.420 --> 00:24:27.740
animal sources. You're looking at your lean meats,

00:24:27.900 --> 00:24:31.940
seafood, as well as... poultry so does it does

00:24:31.940 --> 00:24:33.779
it matter then how it's cooked and i'm wondering

00:24:33.779 --> 00:24:36.299
like should i be eating a bloody steak or you

00:24:36.299 --> 00:24:39.000
know could i have um you know a well -cooked

00:24:39.000 --> 00:24:41.519
chicken breast you know like does it matter like

00:24:41.519 --> 00:24:45.539
in terms of how you get your your protein or

00:24:45.539 --> 00:24:48.599
where you get your protein from not where yeah

00:24:48.599 --> 00:24:52.000
asking for the liver king right yeah should we

00:24:52.000 --> 00:24:54.220
be eating straight beef liver or can we cook

00:24:54.220 --> 00:24:56.920
it yeah this again comes down to gut health i

00:24:56.920 --> 00:24:58.720
don't have a straightforward answer there are

00:24:58.720 --> 00:25:02.059
people who tolerate meats cooked one way others

00:25:02.059 --> 00:25:05.230
who do the other way But it's also looking at

00:25:05.230 --> 00:25:07.430
the non -heme sources through your plant -based.

00:25:07.670 --> 00:25:10.369
Because in order to actually digest and process

00:25:10.369 --> 00:25:12.730
all your protein, you need to make sure you're

00:25:12.730 --> 00:25:15.430
getting your fiber, right? We've got to protect

00:25:15.430 --> 00:25:19.809
our gut. So being smart about it. Yes, everyone

00:25:19.809 --> 00:25:22.009
talks about spinach. And as soon as I saw your

00:25:22.009 --> 00:25:24.549
note about that, I went, oh, Popeye. That's always

00:25:24.549 --> 00:25:27.089
posed into my head. It's like, you know, he downed

00:25:27.089 --> 00:25:31.349
those spinach. Muscles up. But it's looking at

00:25:31.349 --> 00:25:35.240
your... your legumes, your nuts, vegetables,

00:25:35.720 --> 00:25:38.740
fruits, and also fortified cereals. But from

00:25:38.740 --> 00:25:42.079
an absorption point of view, that non -heme isn't

00:25:42.079 --> 00:25:44.799
actually giving us everything we need. So we

00:25:44.799 --> 00:25:46.680
can be smart about it. So this is why it needs

00:25:46.680 --> 00:25:50.099
to be sustainable. Think of having lentils. Add

00:25:50.099 --> 00:25:51.519
some bell peppers. You're getting that vitamin

00:25:51.519 --> 00:25:57.440
C, right? Have a kiwi after. And then when you're

00:25:57.440 --> 00:25:59.720
also looking at things like tannins, your tea

00:25:59.720 --> 00:26:03.259
and coffee, calcium -based foods as well, it

00:26:03.259 --> 00:26:06.180
reduces the absorption. So this doesn't mean,

00:26:06.220 --> 00:26:08.519
oh, you have to do this, you have to do that.

00:26:08.700 --> 00:26:11.279
Do what is sustainable for you and make it count.

00:26:11.339 --> 00:26:13.900
Be smart about it. We're all living really busy

00:26:13.900 --> 00:26:18.160
lives. I now look at it as build your bowl plant

00:26:18.160 --> 00:26:22.359
-based and then use your topping as your meat,

00:26:22.440 --> 00:26:24.980
your fish, so your seafood and your poultry.

00:26:25.559 --> 00:26:28.220
And do it in a way that works for you. I'm a

00:26:28.220 --> 00:26:30.140
big bowl builder. We got bowls in the fridge

00:26:30.140 --> 00:26:32.799
right now, actually. We do, we do. Waiting for

00:26:32.799 --> 00:26:35.519
us. So it's funny, you mentioned tea and coffee.

00:26:35.700 --> 00:26:38.059
Now, actually, one of the things when I kept

00:26:38.059 --> 00:26:41.759
having depleted iron stores was I looked into

00:26:41.759 --> 00:26:46.339
why could that be? And I was told that, you know,

00:26:46.339 --> 00:26:49.140
tea and coffee does deplete. not deplete it um

00:26:49.140 --> 00:26:51.700
it reduces the absorption that's right yes and

00:26:51.700 --> 00:26:53.579
i was like oh that's interesting because after

00:26:53.579 --> 00:26:56.039
i eat especially not so much in the evening but

00:26:56.039 --> 00:26:59.079
sort of you know my earlier in the day meals

00:26:59.079 --> 00:27:01.200
i will always have a tea and coffee afterwards

00:27:01.200 --> 00:27:03.480
and i was like oh no i now need to change my

00:27:03.480 --> 00:27:05.480
tea and coffee habit has it made a difference

00:27:06.160 --> 00:27:11.140
No, because I keep. If I have done that, maybe

00:27:11.140 --> 00:27:14.000
perhaps. I thought I didn't, you know, see it

00:27:14.000 --> 00:27:16.279
through. I was like, I'll just get the infusion.

00:27:17.039 --> 00:27:20.000
I mean, but the other part of this is also as

00:27:20.000 --> 00:27:24.720
we age, we end up with changes in stomach acid,

00:27:24.839 --> 00:27:27.740
right? So if you then take something to reduce

00:27:27.740 --> 00:27:30.559
the stomach acid, that reduces the absorption

00:27:30.559 --> 00:27:33.680
of iron. because we need our stomach acids for

00:27:33.680 --> 00:27:36.359
the absorption side of things. Inflammation also

00:27:36.359 --> 00:27:38.640
increases, which changes the gut health, which

00:27:38.640 --> 00:27:41.660
means the absorption there, from a microbiome

00:27:41.660 --> 00:27:44.460
point of view, changes as well. Stress plays

00:27:44.460 --> 00:27:47.680
a huge factor, right? We're in a sandwich generation,

00:27:47.980 --> 00:27:50.039
so you're managing aging parents and a lot of

00:27:50.039 --> 00:27:53.309
the times young families. probably working full

00:27:53.309 --> 00:27:56.390
time having to manage that managing home life

00:27:56.390 --> 00:27:58.970
as well it's a lot and then have to think about

00:27:58.970 --> 00:28:01.150
oh hold on i need to get my x amount of this

00:28:01.150 --> 00:28:03.869
in my nutrition i need to make sure i add my

00:28:03.869 --> 00:28:06.769
vitamin c i can't have this with this it's a

00:28:06.769 --> 00:28:11.509
lot of processes so make it count for you as

00:28:11.509 --> 00:28:15.460
an individual don't over complicate it I feel

00:28:15.460 --> 00:28:17.299
like it is. I feel like life is complicated,

00:28:17.619 --> 00:28:19.880
isn't it? It is and it isn't. You know, I feel

00:28:19.880 --> 00:28:22.019
like this is something that comes up so often

00:28:22.019 --> 00:28:24.420
in working with clients is that they're like,

00:28:24.480 --> 00:28:26.039
oh, yeah, there's too many things to think about.

00:28:26.099 --> 00:28:27.500
But I'm just thinking about what you just said

00:28:27.500 --> 00:28:30.279
about lentils and a kiwi. OK, so let's say you

00:28:30.279 --> 00:28:32.019
are vegetarian. You get a lot of non -heme iron

00:28:32.019 --> 00:28:33.500
sources. You need to make sure you're absorbing

00:28:33.500 --> 00:28:38.740
them fully. So you just have kiwis on execution

00:28:38.740 --> 00:28:41.559
at your house. You have a bowl of kiwis. You

00:28:41.559 --> 00:28:43.180
grab one before you leave for work every day.

00:28:43.500 --> 00:28:45.759
like this doesn't have to be a whole freaking

00:28:45.759 --> 00:28:48.859
thing it's like you learned this one thing now

00:28:48.859 --> 00:28:50.940
i have kiwis on you know in a bowl at my house

00:28:50.940 --> 00:28:53.839
and that's it and then that you just do that

00:28:53.839 --> 00:28:56.480
forever meaning like it's not like oh next week

00:28:56.480 --> 00:28:57.940
it's going to be bananas and then week after

00:28:57.940 --> 00:28:59.900
that it's like no that will always have vitamin

00:28:59.900 --> 00:29:02.500
c like from today until the day we die right

00:29:02.500 --> 00:29:05.099
and if you are enjoying you know your non -heme

00:29:05.099 --> 00:29:07.819
sources of iron you then just have that which

00:29:07.819 --> 00:29:10.640
you know is a verified vitamin c source And make

00:29:10.640 --> 00:29:12.539
it a habit. And then it's like you don't ever

00:29:12.539 --> 00:29:15.519
think about that again. I think the barrier to

00:29:15.519 --> 00:29:19.079
entry is often the first step and not the actual

00:29:19.079 --> 00:29:21.500
execution because it's really not difficult.

00:29:22.079 --> 00:29:24.579
But it's not difficult for us because we've been

00:29:24.579 --> 00:29:27.279
doing it. It's now part and parcel of what we

00:29:27.279 --> 00:29:30.700
do. Very true. It was absolutely an issue for

00:29:30.700 --> 00:29:34.500
me even a few years ago. It is about that habit.

00:29:34.579 --> 00:29:37.599
And then when you notice things getting better,

00:29:37.700 --> 00:29:40.430
you're feeling better. So I normally break things

00:29:40.430 --> 00:29:43.450
down into three monthly blocks because you can

00:29:43.450 --> 00:29:46.430
never get everyone doing everything all at the

00:29:46.430 --> 00:29:48.990
same time. It's mind boggling. So true. So choose

00:29:48.990 --> 00:29:52.849
one, two, maybe three things at the most. Three

00:29:52.849 --> 00:29:56.309
monthly blocks. Come back, reassess how you're

00:29:56.309 --> 00:29:59.390
feeling. Do we need to do any actual physical

00:29:59.390 --> 00:30:04.589
biomarkers to check, to show you that you are

00:30:04.589 --> 00:30:06.329
feeling better? And oh, look, it's showing in

00:30:06.329 --> 00:30:09.940
your numbers as well. you just mentioned that

00:30:09.940 --> 00:30:11.799
yeah looking at your biomarkers oh you are feeling

00:30:11.799 --> 00:30:14.279
better is that a thing then does someone come

00:30:14.279 --> 00:30:16.299
in and say oh I feel fine you show them their

00:30:16.299 --> 00:30:18.839
numbers and be like actually your numbers are

00:30:18.839 --> 00:30:20.960
like ridiculous I don't know how you're you're

00:30:20.960 --> 00:30:23.359
basically surviving the day and then they're

00:30:23.359 --> 00:30:26.599
like oh I do feel shit and then vice versa and

00:30:26.599 --> 00:30:28.420
I feel really rubbish but you're like wow but

00:30:28.420 --> 00:30:32.380
your iron is optimal yeah yeah so do people see

00:30:32.380 --> 00:30:35.990
their results and and kind of just Be like, oh,

00:30:36.109 --> 00:30:37.809
I feel this way or I don't feel this way. Are

00:30:37.809 --> 00:30:40.569
they influenced by this? Yeah. I think this is

00:30:40.569 --> 00:30:43.329
also where we sometimes don't actually know how

00:30:43.329 --> 00:30:46.470
good or not so good we're feeling. That's being

00:30:46.470 --> 00:30:49.730
that intuitive, right? We also do take a lot

00:30:49.730 --> 00:30:52.289
of things for granted. And I think we feel like

00:30:52.289 --> 00:30:57.130
we have a lot more store than we do. especially

00:30:57.130 --> 00:30:59.509
when we're juggling so many things yeah i can

00:30:59.509 --> 00:31:01.670
imagine as a woman you're like no i'm fine you

00:31:01.670 --> 00:31:04.109
know i i can do all of this stuff and maybe even

00:31:04.109 --> 00:31:06.069
a high achieving woman like i bet she always

00:31:06.069 --> 00:31:08.950
feels great you know yeah but it's also until

00:31:08.950 --> 00:31:12.609
you feel better yeah yeah you won't actually

00:31:12.609 --> 00:31:14.509
know where your starting point is because we

00:31:14.509 --> 00:31:18.119
just get so used to doing and going And feeling

00:31:18.119 --> 00:31:20.160
a certain way, we just think, yes, I'm functioning.

00:31:20.220 --> 00:31:22.079
I'm doing everything I need to do. I'm performing

00:31:22.079 --> 00:31:24.880
fine at work. I'm getting through my sports,

00:31:24.960 --> 00:31:28.059
my exercise. I'm sleeping all right. But it's

00:31:28.059 --> 00:31:31.099
that optimization piece, right? There's normal.

00:31:31.500 --> 00:31:33.319
Yeah. And then there's how do we go for gold?

00:31:33.480 --> 00:31:35.720
Well, you just said getting through. Like if

00:31:35.720 --> 00:31:37.440
you, if every time you work out, you feel like

00:31:37.440 --> 00:31:39.500
you're just getting through your workout. Like

00:31:39.500 --> 00:31:41.400
I would argue that you're probably not optimized

00:31:41.400 --> 00:31:43.119
in something. And it could be sleep. It could

00:31:43.119 --> 00:31:46.980
be iron. But getting through is like. It's like

00:31:46.980 --> 00:31:49.839
the surviving versus thriving. It's like, I don't

00:31:49.839 --> 00:31:52.039
want to just get through my day. I want to feel

00:31:52.039 --> 00:31:54.900
good. But it's feeling that difference, though.

00:31:54.940 --> 00:31:58.720
A lot of us don't. And there are so many things

00:31:58.720 --> 00:32:00.880
going on that you don't have the headspace to

00:32:00.880 --> 00:32:04.799
actually sit and think, can I actually feel better?

00:32:05.299 --> 00:32:07.759
Until somebody sits you down and has a conversation.

00:32:08.299 --> 00:32:10.299
Look at the number. You can do better. Okay,

00:32:10.339 --> 00:32:12.519
all right. All right, someone's come to you.

00:32:12.700 --> 00:32:14.819
They are feeling shit. They're very aware that

00:32:14.819 --> 00:32:17.779
they're feeling shit. their blood biomarkers

00:32:17.779 --> 00:32:19.839
have confirmed that their iron levels are low

00:32:19.839 --> 00:32:23.480
can they just eat steak and and start feeling

00:32:23.480 --> 00:32:26.200
better instantly like how much time do you have

00:32:26.200 --> 00:32:29.180
to give it to start to feel the effects of you

00:32:29.180 --> 00:32:30.920
know like how long does it take for your ferritin

00:32:30.920 --> 00:32:33.920
levels to come up if you were to go down the

00:32:33.920 --> 00:32:35.720
nutrition route so whether it's having spinach

00:32:35.720 --> 00:32:37.460
or whether it's having steak or having spinach

00:32:37.460 --> 00:32:43.079
steak and kiwi together This again is very individual,

00:32:43.240 --> 00:32:45.880
right? You're looking at it. So the red blood

00:32:45.880 --> 00:32:48.160
cell, the turnaround of a red blood cell is 120

00:32:48.160 --> 00:32:51.059
days. That's a long time. Yeah, that is. So this

00:32:51.059 --> 00:32:54.400
is why we also need to look at when we do these

00:32:54.400 --> 00:32:57.039
tests and checks. With ferritin, depending on

00:32:57.039 --> 00:32:59.700
whether it's nutritionally and looking at topping

00:32:59.700 --> 00:33:03.490
up that store. versus an iron infusion iron infusions

00:33:03.490 --> 00:33:06.130
obviously work quicker yeah but it is a medical

00:33:06.130 --> 00:33:08.170
management and i want to make this clear because

00:33:08.170 --> 00:33:10.190
this isn't just a fad where you just go oh i

00:33:10.190 --> 00:33:12.230
need an infusion let me go get it so you can't

00:33:12.230 --> 00:33:15.849
just get a wellness trend yeah sorry i'll get

00:33:15.849 --> 00:33:18.069
my iron infusion done this is about because there

00:33:18.069 --> 00:33:20.029
are also you know there are reactions that can

00:33:20.029 --> 00:33:22.930
happen as a result of it and if we just go and

00:33:22.930 --> 00:33:25.509
get an infusion without a proper conversation

00:33:25.509 --> 00:33:27.589
and knowing why we're doing it and then monitoring

00:33:27.589 --> 00:33:32.559
and tracking after There can be side effects.

00:33:32.599 --> 00:33:34.960
There can be issues that happen also in the future.

00:33:35.960 --> 00:33:39.619
From a nutrition point of view, I find nutritionally

00:33:39.619 --> 00:33:41.799
that is more from a maintenance point of view.

00:33:41.960 --> 00:33:46.960
We need to look at the cause of why we don't

00:33:46.960 --> 00:33:50.400
have enough iron stores. And if we're anemic,

00:33:50.680 --> 00:33:53.079
correct that. We need to get to the root cause

00:33:53.079 --> 00:33:55.960
of the problem. Once we've corrected it, we've

00:33:55.960 --> 00:33:59.079
got our levels to a certain point. That's where,

00:33:59.099 --> 00:34:01.539
for me, nutrition plays a huge part. I would

00:34:01.539 --> 00:34:04.440
agree so much. I mean, we just had a client in

00:34:04.440 --> 00:34:05.880
today, right? We were looking at her blood work

00:34:05.880 --> 00:34:08.619
from July to now, which is November, the time

00:34:08.619 --> 00:34:12.019
of this recording. And, you know, her iron was

00:34:12.019 --> 00:34:14.940
slightly lower than it was in July. And she was

00:34:14.940 --> 00:34:16.820
like, oh, well, you know, the week leading up

00:34:16.820 --> 00:34:18.420
to the blood test, I didn't eat any red meat.

00:34:18.500 --> 00:34:22.260
And it was like. It's not that it's like that

00:34:22.260 --> 00:34:25.019
week without your red meat was not actually what's

00:34:25.019 --> 00:34:26.780
doing that. You know, it's, it's a long, much

00:34:26.780 --> 00:34:29.639
longer term. And again, she was, she was testing

00:34:29.639 --> 00:34:31.619
the waters without supplementation was the whole

00:34:31.619 --> 00:34:33.619
point from July to now. And so we said, if, if

00:34:33.619 --> 00:34:35.420
it continues this downward trajectory, it's going

00:34:35.420 --> 00:34:36.960
to be time to supplement. And she's like, Oh

00:34:36.960 --> 00:34:38.559
no, it's just because I didn't eat any red meat

00:34:38.559 --> 00:34:40.880
that week before. It's not that, you know? So

00:34:40.880 --> 00:34:43.960
I think there is maybe an over connection, over

00:34:43.960 --> 00:34:47.519
connection. Great. Between what I just ate and

00:34:47.519 --> 00:34:49.550
what my iron levels are. And I think, When you

00:34:49.550 --> 00:34:52.150
just said about it's really the maintenance solution

00:34:52.150 --> 00:34:55.690
once the actual levels are topped up. But it's

00:34:55.690 --> 00:34:58.650
first knowing what that level needs to be, right?

00:34:58.789 --> 00:35:02.190
A lot of us will run a lot lower than we need

00:35:02.190 --> 00:35:05.469
to be. And there's a difference between the amount

00:35:05.469 --> 00:35:07.190
of activity you're doing as well. And research

00:35:07.190 --> 00:35:11.409
shows an iron deficiency alone impacts athletic

00:35:11.409 --> 00:35:14.309
performance. 100%. Right? You know that. 100%.

00:35:14.309 --> 00:35:17.090
I know that. We do. Lifting while pregnant? My

00:35:17.090 --> 00:35:21.590
iron's never been lower. For me, I needed the

00:35:21.590 --> 00:35:23.570
medical treatment of an iron infusion after delivering

00:35:23.570 --> 00:35:27.010
because compound lifting through pregnancy with

00:35:27.010 --> 00:35:29.130
the increased blood volume followed by the blood

00:35:29.130 --> 00:35:31.769
loss, no question. For me, that was a definite

00:35:31.769 --> 00:35:34.829
and obvious thing that I needed, but I think

00:35:34.829 --> 00:35:37.510
a lot of women can connect those three things,

00:35:37.650 --> 00:35:39.590
activity, pregnancy, postpartum, blood loss.

00:35:40.190 --> 00:35:43.480
It's looking at that bigger picture. So basically,

00:35:43.559 --> 00:35:46.280
if you are exercising, working out on a regular

00:35:46.280 --> 00:35:49.579
basis, you need to really monitor your iron levels.

00:35:49.699 --> 00:35:51.139
It's funny, isn't it? Because you wouldn't, again,

00:35:51.219 --> 00:35:53.940
connect. You wouldn't think, oh, my iron will

00:35:53.940 --> 00:35:56.400
get depleted by exercising. No, you think I'm

00:35:56.400 --> 00:35:58.940
like building it somehow. Yeah, like I have a

00:35:58.940 --> 00:36:00.440
bigger muscle, so there must be some iron in

00:36:00.440 --> 00:36:04.079
there. And also one of the other things you mentioned,

00:36:04.119 --> 00:36:06.619
you were talking about reactions with the iron

00:36:06.619 --> 00:36:10.099
infusions. I actually do. I get a rash. I have

00:36:10.099 --> 00:36:13.059
to take antihistamines because I get a rash.

00:36:13.219 --> 00:36:15.679
And one of my friends, she went in for an iron

00:36:15.679 --> 00:36:17.639
infusion. I actually don't know what happened,

00:36:17.719 --> 00:36:20.940
but she had some big, I don't know, looked like

00:36:20.940 --> 00:36:24.739
burns, but black patches. Tattooing, yes. Oh,

00:36:24.780 --> 00:36:26.340
is that a thing? Can you tell us about that?

00:36:26.559 --> 00:36:28.460
Yeah, so this is, and this is why I said this

00:36:28.460 --> 00:36:31.179
is a medical management. We do a lot of counselling.

00:36:31.670 --> 00:36:34.170
before we send someone in for an iron infusion.

00:36:34.469 --> 00:36:36.389
There's a lot of conversation. There's a doctor

00:36:36.389 --> 00:36:38.869
on site. There are nurses watching. We do a little

00:36:38.869 --> 00:36:42.829
test run. We make sure you're okay. And because

00:36:42.829 --> 00:36:48.449
it can, that the iron itself can result in changing

00:36:48.449 --> 00:36:51.230
the pigmentation of the skin, which may not go

00:36:51.230 --> 00:36:54.170
away. Yeah. She was getting laser done to try

00:36:54.170 --> 00:36:58.199
to remove it. Wow. Which is why I said we need

00:36:58.199 --> 00:37:00.300
to have the proper conversations. There's a written

00:37:00.300 --> 00:37:04.199
consent form, a discussion that comes with it,

00:37:04.260 --> 00:37:08.119
and monitoring after. So who is then the right

00:37:08.119 --> 00:37:12.900
candidate for an iron infusion versus actually

00:37:12.900 --> 00:37:16.380
just taking supplements? Looking at it from an

00:37:16.380 --> 00:37:18.820
absorption point of view, so are they actually

00:37:18.820 --> 00:37:22.880
absorbing nutritionally? Yes. Are we able to

00:37:22.880 --> 00:37:26.670
maintain? Yes or no. are they losing blood quicker

00:37:26.670 --> 00:37:30.789
than they can actually supplement? A lot of women,

00:37:30.949 --> 00:37:32.909
a lot of people actually don't tolerate oral

00:37:32.909 --> 00:37:34.949
iron. You get that, as I mentioned earlier, the

00:37:34.949 --> 00:37:38.130
nausea, constipation. So it's looking at all

00:37:38.130 --> 00:37:40.030
of that, looking at the numbers, looking at the

00:37:40.030 --> 00:37:44.369
symptoms, also looking at are they anemic? Because

00:37:44.369 --> 00:37:47.550
the majority of, we're talking about women here,

00:37:47.710 --> 00:37:51.590
will have an iron deficiency. for a long time

00:37:51.590 --> 00:37:54.170
before it impacts the actual blood clout, their

00:37:54.170 --> 00:37:57.869
hemoglobin. Because at times, if they are losing

00:37:57.869 --> 00:38:04.150
that much blood, they may even need blood being

00:38:04.150 --> 00:38:06.449
given back to them, right? Rather than just being

00:38:06.449 --> 00:38:08.869
an iron infusion. Wow, so like a blood transfusion.

00:38:08.949 --> 00:38:11.010
Blood transfusion. Wow. Okay, so this is where

00:38:11.010 --> 00:38:13.849
we need to look bigger picture, right? And it's

00:38:13.849 --> 00:38:15.969
a conversation. I have a lot of women who actually

00:38:15.969 --> 00:38:19.570
sat there going, you need an iron infusion. They're

00:38:19.570 --> 00:38:21.849
like, no, thank you. Fine. How do we make this

00:38:21.849 --> 00:38:24.010
work for you? Oh, yeah. Right. I have others

00:38:24.010 --> 00:38:26.369
who don't need one. And we're coming down the

00:38:26.369 --> 00:38:30.409
door for it. So then it's going through the risks

00:38:30.409 --> 00:38:34.909
versus benefits and deciding together for that

00:38:34.909 --> 00:38:38.059
person sat in front of me. what is in their best

00:38:38.059 --> 00:38:39.780
interest that's funny you know talking about

00:38:39.780 --> 00:38:41.860
blood transfusion did you know i'm a universal

00:38:41.860 --> 00:38:44.840
blood donor i didn't but my kids are oh negative

00:38:44.840 --> 00:38:48.519
yeah so i made some which is great because i'm

00:38:48.519 --> 00:38:51.340
not so my um so my husband and the twins are

00:38:51.340 --> 00:38:53.739
b negative so that's obviously quite a rare blood

00:38:53.739 --> 00:38:56.119
group and i was like okay well you know at least

00:38:56.489 --> 00:38:58.309
You know, there's three of them. And then myself

00:38:58.309 --> 00:39:01.170
and Kyan, my eldest son, are O negative. So I

00:39:01.170 --> 00:39:03.369
was like, right, we can give to everybody, but

00:39:03.369 --> 00:39:05.510
only the two of us can give to each other. And

00:39:05.510 --> 00:39:08.409
now I know your kids are. Yeah, my kids. We have

00:39:08.409 --> 00:39:10.769
a good supply over here. Should your patients

00:39:10.769 --> 00:39:13.840
need anybody, call us up. This time of year gets

00:39:13.840 --> 00:39:16.980
so chaotic. School holidays, parties, work deadlines.

00:39:17.179 --> 00:39:18.940
It's mostly me running around trying to remember

00:39:18.940 --> 00:39:21.559
where I hid the kids' presents. Same. So I've

00:39:21.559 --> 00:39:24.159
decided that December is officially my self -care

00:39:24.159 --> 00:39:26.400
season. And Love Indus is honestly perfect for

00:39:26.400 --> 00:39:28.119
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00:39:28.239 --> 00:39:31.820
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00:39:31.820 --> 00:39:34.820
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00:39:34.820 --> 00:39:37.420
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00:39:37.420 --> 00:39:39.739
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00:39:54.760 --> 00:39:57.699
forget to pop in the code TFF at checkout. So

00:39:57.699 --> 00:40:02.420
you talked about anemia. How does that, how does

00:40:02.420 --> 00:40:06.050
that show up in comparison or, you know? differently

00:40:06.050 --> 00:40:09.469
to low ferritin like if someone had full -blown

00:40:09.469 --> 00:40:13.190
anemia what would they be feeling like what would

00:40:13.190 --> 00:40:15.670
they be seeing how is it different this comes

00:40:15.670 --> 00:40:18.829
down to whether it's an immediate or acute anemia

00:40:18.829 --> 00:40:22.130
because somebody's losing significant blood or

00:40:22.130 --> 00:40:25.269
whether they have a chronic anemia okay chronic

00:40:25.269 --> 00:40:28.349
means their level has been running low for a

00:40:28.349 --> 00:40:31.829
long time And therefore the body has adjusted

00:40:31.829 --> 00:40:35.989
and adapted. So very similarly to where you don't

00:40:35.989 --> 00:40:39.590
know how good you can feel until you feel it.

00:40:40.309 --> 00:40:43.710
Whereas others, when it's acute, meaning it happens

00:40:43.710 --> 00:40:47.070
quicker, you go, ooh, yes, I'm feeling tired.

00:40:47.190 --> 00:40:51.070
I'm not sleeping. Not just tired, it's exhaustion.

00:40:51.789 --> 00:40:54.389
The brain fog that comes with it's very similar

00:40:54.389 --> 00:40:57.710
to perimenopause. And it can impact the heart.

00:40:57.909 --> 00:41:01.159
So you can feel shorter breath. can get palpitations.

00:41:02.360 --> 00:41:06.000
By the time the skin starts to look pale, I mean,

00:41:06.019 --> 00:41:08.000
your levels have dropped pretty significantly.

00:41:08.000 --> 00:41:10.039
And I know we're specifically talking about iron

00:41:10.039 --> 00:41:12.920
deficiency here, but this is something we can

00:41:12.920 --> 00:41:16.019
correct then pretty quickly. This is very embarrassing.

00:41:16.099 --> 00:41:17.980
But if you've heard this, then maybe it'll be

00:41:17.980 --> 00:41:20.320
less embarrassing. Did you guys ever have, when

00:41:20.320 --> 00:41:23.800
you were in school, the anemia test? Where if

00:41:23.800 --> 00:41:26.019
you take a copper penny, this is now sounding

00:41:26.019 --> 00:41:28.480
very American as I just said it. You put a copper

00:41:28.480 --> 00:41:30.800
penny on your skin and if it leaves a mark, you're

00:41:30.800 --> 00:41:33.360
anemic. Really? I'm going to try this. Any American

00:41:33.360 --> 00:41:35.780
listeners, please somebody reach out and back

00:41:35.780 --> 00:41:38.099
me up on this. But it was like a schoolyard trick.

00:41:38.420 --> 00:41:40.039
It's like you do the penny and then it was like,

00:41:40.059 --> 00:41:42.099
you're anemic, you're anemic. Like we even knew

00:41:42.099 --> 00:41:44.519
what it meant. And also like that's even a thing.

00:41:44.559 --> 00:41:46.840
How did that even come up in conversation? But

00:41:46.840 --> 00:41:49.039
it was a thing. It was like a penny on the, again,

00:41:49.159 --> 00:41:51.579
Americans, old Americans like myself, please

00:41:51.579 --> 00:41:53.639
tell me you've done this or heard this. Is this

00:41:53.639 --> 00:41:55.949
a thing or is it just like? the leggies you know

00:41:55.949 --> 00:41:57.630
like oh you've got the leggies is that what it

00:41:57.630 --> 00:41:59.889
was i think it's a fake thing but like how would

00:41:59.889 --> 00:42:02.170
we even connect that to anemia like how would

00:42:02.170 --> 00:42:03.989
we connect a copper penny and anemia that we're

00:42:03.989 --> 00:42:06.110
gonna have to yeah this is gonna be like a snopes

00:42:06.110 --> 00:42:08.030
.com situation i feel like i missed out yeah

00:42:08.030 --> 00:42:11.150
i'm gonna try it out now that the penny's been

00:42:11.150 --> 00:42:12.909
uh you know it's not being manufactured anymore

00:42:12.909 --> 00:42:14.989
then look if it works that means i don't need

00:42:14.989 --> 00:42:17.969
to have a blood test that's what i'm saying so

00:42:17.969 --> 00:42:20.389
how valid is the penny test oh this completely

00:42:20.389 --> 00:42:26.989
defeats our conversation today One of the things

00:42:26.989 --> 00:42:30.929
that we like to do on the show is a little segment

00:42:30.929 --> 00:42:35.349
called Hot or Hype. Now, we want to throw out

00:42:35.349 --> 00:42:37.869
some trending topics or some things that we've

00:42:37.869 --> 00:42:39.889
heard about. And we want to find out from you

00:42:39.889 --> 00:42:42.469
whether you think it's hot or hype. Sure. All

00:42:42.469 --> 00:42:46.130
right. So first thing is... Penny test. The penny

00:42:46.130 --> 00:42:51.849
test. Hot or hype. Had to think about this. Well,

00:42:51.869 --> 00:42:53.909
you're going to check in and let us know about

00:42:53.909 --> 00:42:55.530
that one. What about beef liver supplements?

00:42:55.690 --> 00:42:57.989
Can you use that as a natural iron booster? Hot

00:42:57.989 --> 00:43:00.429
or hype? So I'm going to say hot, but with a

00:43:00.429 --> 00:43:04.409
caveat. Okay. Purely because beef liver is actually

00:43:04.409 --> 00:43:06.949
one of the most potent team sources you can have.

00:43:07.610 --> 00:43:10.409
However, it's not something everyone enjoys.

00:43:10.550 --> 00:43:12.690
No, yeah. And also we need to think of it from

00:43:12.690 --> 00:43:16.070
an overall health benefit point of view, digestion,

00:43:16.429 --> 00:43:19.179
absorption, gut health. and this is where that

00:43:19.179 --> 00:43:23.019
supplement side plays a part for me a supplement

00:43:23.019 --> 00:43:29.119
is to supplement not instead of right so it's

00:43:29.119 --> 00:43:32.559
really looking at that so say you're vegetarian

00:43:32.559 --> 00:43:36.320
you're vegan And then how do you really optimize?

00:43:36.880 --> 00:43:39.420
But you still may not want to take a beef liver

00:43:39.420 --> 00:43:41.659
supplement. Yeah, I mean, I guess if you're vegan,

00:43:41.780 --> 00:43:45.500
you will. So that's where the caveat is, is absolutely

00:43:45.500 --> 00:43:47.780
from a heme source point of view. My goodness,

00:43:47.840 --> 00:43:50.039
the hemoglobin and myoglobin you get from beef

00:43:50.039 --> 00:43:52.760
liver is fantastic. But it's very individual.

00:43:52.960 --> 00:43:55.420
I wish I could eat it. I wish I honestly wish

00:43:55.420 --> 00:43:57.760
I could take down some liver and just enjoy it.

00:43:57.760 --> 00:44:01.820
But I don't. I get it encapsulated. No, encapsulated

00:44:01.820 --> 00:44:04.239
for sure. But I mean, I wish I could eat beef

00:44:04.239 --> 00:44:06.519
liver like my husband. Like he's fine with all

00:44:06.519 --> 00:44:09.880
the organs, all the beef. Yeah. I just, I like

00:44:09.880 --> 00:44:14.280
literally. I have, so I tried to get it, chop

00:44:14.280 --> 00:44:17.039
it up and put it into spaghetti bolognese because

00:44:17.039 --> 00:44:19.280
I thought that could be a way. But you still

00:44:19.280 --> 00:44:21.119
taste it, right? It's still liver -y. I can taste

00:44:21.119 --> 00:44:23.340
it. Yes. And you know, like I'm just, I just

00:44:23.340 --> 00:44:25.519
don't like offal. I've tried, I've tried so hard.

00:44:25.579 --> 00:44:27.219
I want to like it, but again, I can't. Particularly

00:44:27.219 --> 00:44:29.880
liver because of that metallic liver -y taste.

00:44:29.940 --> 00:44:32.500
It is, it's very individual. Yeah. If you've

00:44:32.500 --> 00:44:34.820
grown up with it, if it's part and parcel of

00:44:34.820 --> 00:44:39.139
your... natural taste was. I really wish it was,

00:44:39.199 --> 00:44:41.059
genuinely. But it's also about how much you're

00:44:41.059 --> 00:44:43.239
having, right? Because you have to think of it

00:44:43.239 --> 00:44:46.159
from an overall... benefit point of view yeah

00:44:46.159 --> 00:44:49.059
and not overdoing it so again back to the liver

00:44:49.059 --> 00:44:51.519
king we don't need to take a live raw beef liver

00:44:51.519 --> 00:44:54.579
on air and take it down but you know what i can

00:44:54.579 --> 00:44:57.119
eat though is liver pate because i guess you

00:44:57.119 --> 00:44:59.179
know it's pork liver or chicken liver chicken

00:44:59.179 --> 00:45:01.840
liver yeah i still think it's beef liver yeah

00:45:01.840 --> 00:45:05.840
i think scrap that right what about menstrual

00:45:05.840 --> 00:45:07.679
support gummies you know like you can get these

00:45:07.679 --> 00:45:10.400
these really cute little sweet tasting gummies

00:45:10.400 --> 00:45:13.820
do they help to rebuild your energy levels i'm

00:45:13.820 --> 00:45:16.650
going with hype you said you you had hype as

00:45:16.650 --> 00:45:19.130
soon as you said gummy yeah right yeah and that

00:45:19.130 --> 00:45:21.329
sweet tasting you just don't know what's in it

00:45:21.329 --> 00:45:23.349
that sugar content probably just sugar isn't

00:45:23.349 --> 00:45:27.130
it to be honest it's really looking at what works

00:45:27.130 --> 00:45:29.630
for you yeah um try and looking at it from a

00:45:29.630 --> 00:45:32.690
nutrition whole food base first as your maintenance

00:45:33.739 --> 00:45:36.519
rather than having to supplement with something

00:45:36.519 --> 00:45:38.860
like a gummy because we really don't know how

00:45:38.860 --> 00:45:41.260
much is actually in it and what's in it. A lot

00:45:41.260 --> 00:45:43.179
of supplements, that's the issue we have is we

00:45:43.179 --> 00:45:45.019
actually don't know what's in it because nothing

00:45:45.019 --> 00:45:49.960
is, not many supplements are actually, what's

00:45:49.960 --> 00:45:52.559
the word? Not many supplements. Third party tested.

00:45:52.719 --> 00:45:55.139
Third party tested, right? So from a supplement

00:45:55.139 --> 00:45:57.460
point of view, it's looking at what has been

00:45:57.460 --> 00:46:00.219
third party tested and what works for you from

00:46:00.219 --> 00:46:03.079
a digestion point of view as well. So don't get.

00:46:03.500 --> 00:46:07.340
caught up in their pretty packaging. Right, I

00:46:07.340 --> 00:46:09.760
know we can't expect about this, but iron infusions

00:46:09.760 --> 00:46:12.980
as a wellness trend, hot or hype? Hype. It's

00:46:12.980 --> 00:46:15.719
life changing for the right person, but it needs

00:46:15.719 --> 00:46:19.500
to be part of medical management. So just make

00:46:19.500 --> 00:46:22.340
sure you see your doctor, have a conversation

00:46:22.340 --> 00:46:26.000
and get what you need as an individual. This

00:46:26.000 --> 00:46:28.280
is not about your friend or your sister, sibling,

00:46:28.440 --> 00:46:31.800
family member. This is about you at this point

00:46:31.800 --> 00:46:35.199
in time. and what is in your best interest. What

00:46:35.199 --> 00:46:37.539
about the, well, I don't know if it's a fact,

00:46:37.579 --> 00:46:40.800
but plant -based sources are inferior to animal

00:46:40.800 --> 00:46:43.360
-based sources for iron. Hot or hype? I have

00:46:43.360 --> 00:46:46.360
to say hot because it's biologically true, right?

00:46:46.440 --> 00:46:49.199
Because we spoke earlier about non -heme iron

00:46:49.199 --> 00:46:52.239
and heme iron, and how actually the non -heme

00:46:52.239 --> 00:46:55.380
from plant -based sources, you're probably getting

00:46:55.380 --> 00:46:59.659
about maybe 2 % to 10%. Yes, we can optimize

00:46:59.659 --> 00:47:02.159
it as best as possible with the vitamin C sources,

00:47:02.219 --> 00:47:06.679
whereas with the heme iron sources you get from

00:47:06.679 --> 00:47:11.659
animal -based sources, you're getting probably

00:47:11.659 --> 00:47:18.380
about 20 -30 % for you. So double, triple, quite

00:47:18.380 --> 00:47:21.039
a bit more. What about someone who says, right,

00:47:21.099 --> 00:47:24.000
I have fortified cereal in the morning with a

00:47:24.000 --> 00:47:27.250
big old... Glass of orange juice. Who's a glass

00:47:27.250 --> 00:47:30.829
of beef liver? Big old beef liver on the side.

00:47:32.050 --> 00:47:34.849
Is that optimal, would you say, in order to get

00:47:34.849 --> 00:47:38.570
your iron -vitamin -C combo? Comes down to what's

00:47:38.570 --> 00:47:43.230
actually in the fortified cereal. Okay. Plus

00:47:43.230 --> 00:47:46.150
the amount of orange juice you're having. Big

00:47:46.150 --> 00:47:50.440
old glass. Exactly. Different people. will have

00:47:50.440 --> 00:47:54.059
their glycemic index when it comes to the orange

00:47:54.059 --> 00:47:56.900
juice as well so it's knowing whether it's suddenly

00:47:56.900 --> 00:48:00.300
spiking your sugar not And it's not just about

00:48:00.300 --> 00:48:02.139
orange juice as vitamin C. I haven't even mentioned

00:48:02.139 --> 00:48:04.400
orange juice, right? We were talking about bell

00:48:04.400 --> 00:48:08.119
peppers and kiwis. We were. Purposely. Because

00:48:08.119 --> 00:48:10.000
I hear it a lot, you know, like people are like,

00:48:10.000 --> 00:48:11.480
oh, I need to have my iron supplements. I'm going

00:48:11.480 --> 00:48:12.800
to have it with a glass of orange juice. And

00:48:12.800 --> 00:48:14.860
I'm like, oh, you know, maybe the orange juice

00:48:14.860 --> 00:48:16.599
isn't the best option. I hear that all the time,

00:48:16.619 --> 00:48:18.480
by the way. And it's also with that fortified

00:48:18.480 --> 00:48:20.760
cereal, if you're adding dairy into it, you're

00:48:20.760 --> 00:48:23.139
adding yogurt, that's your calcium. Best way

00:48:23.139 --> 00:48:26.440
really for an iron oral supplement is on an empty

00:48:26.440 --> 00:48:30.079
stomach. with the vitamin C source. But that's

00:48:30.079 --> 00:48:32.199
where that discomfort can often come in, right?

00:48:32.260 --> 00:48:33.739
And that's why a lot of people don't talk about

00:48:33.739 --> 00:48:36.599
it. So what you're saying is cereal with orange

00:48:36.599 --> 00:48:42.119
juice, not the milk. No cereal, no orange juice.

00:48:42.360 --> 00:48:44.300
Let's come up with something better that has

00:48:44.300 --> 00:48:47.719
better protein sources and fiber. There you go.

00:48:47.800 --> 00:48:51.280
I like that. I hope I haven't offended anyone.

00:48:52.000 --> 00:48:57.199
No, not at all. Right, so... i know we kind of

00:48:57.199 --> 00:48:59.380
did touch upon it with when amanda spoke about

00:48:59.380 --> 00:49:01.659
you know grabbing your kiwi but a lot of the

00:49:01.659 --> 00:49:03.400
times like you said you know it's about building

00:49:03.400 --> 00:49:06.440
in habits but women are busy you know we like

00:49:06.440 --> 00:49:08.400
you mentioned we're the sandwich generation we're

00:49:08.400 --> 00:49:10.579
working we're looking after kids we've got loads

00:49:10.579 --> 00:49:13.599
of shit going on rather than going for the three

00:49:13.599 --> 00:49:15.539
monthly iron infusion which obviously is not

00:49:15.539 --> 00:49:18.880
a wellness trend that we now know about How can

00:49:18.880 --> 00:49:21.360
we how can we do it in a way so that it's sustainable

00:49:21.360 --> 00:49:24.119
and we can actually optimize? Yeah. What are

00:49:24.119 --> 00:49:27.300
our pro iron choices on a day to day basis? It's

00:49:27.300 --> 00:49:29.860
about routine. Right. We were talking about building

00:49:29.860 --> 00:49:33.119
habits. It's looking at what you enjoy. So plant

00:49:33.119 --> 00:49:35.880
based wise, we've got the legumes, you've got

00:49:35.880 --> 00:49:38.440
your nuts, your vegetables, your green leafy

00:49:38.440 --> 00:49:41.340
sources. Yes, your fortified cereals, your fruits.

00:49:41.760 --> 00:49:45.280
How do you build that in to your day to day?

00:49:45.710 --> 00:49:47.889
Right. Whatever time you break your fast. So

00:49:47.889 --> 00:49:50.710
say you have three meals a day. Build it plant

00:49:50.710 --> 00:49:54.989
based first and use your lean meats, your poultry,

00:49:55.130 --> 00:49:58.329
your seafood as your topping. And it's being

00:49:58.329 --> 00:50:01.429
organized. The last thing and it's really hard

00:50:01.429 --> 00:50:06.570
because meal prep is boring. Right. But when

00:50:06.570 --> 00:50:10.409
it's done and you've got it in place, it makes

00:50:10.409 --> 00:50:12.829
a huge difference because it's grab and go. So

00:50:12.829 --> 00:50:16.039
you don't have to think all the time. And it's

00:50:16.039 --> 00:50:20.619
having that routine and consistency, which then

00:50:20.619 --> 00:50:22.460
also means your body knows what it's getting

00:50:22.460 --> 00:50:25.940
and when it's getting it. And we live in Singapore

00:50:25.940 --> 00:50:28.519
where, yes, we have access to more help, which

00:50:28.519 --> 00:50:31.159
makes a big difference. We've also got meal prep

00:50:31.159 --> 00:50:34.619
services. And actually, you can really be smart

00:50:34.619 --> 00:50:37.519
about going out and having a meal. I always say

00:50:37.519 --> 00:50:40.199
just take a step back and go, right, what do

00:50:40.199 --> 00:50:43.760
I normally not have? What's green? What's protein?

00:50:44.099 --> 00:50:47.260
How do I build this meal? But you need that extra

00:50:47.260 --> 00:50:51.679
millisecond to think about it, especially when

00:50:51.679 --> 00:50:55.079
we're busy. And as a family, we should all be

00:50:55.079 --> 00:50:57.239
doing the same thing. This isn't about, oh, the

00:50:57.239 --> 00:51:00.000
kids are this, I'm this, my partner's this, or

00:51:00.000 --> 00:51:02.739
we live with extended family members, they will

00:51:02.739 --> 00:51:04.980
have this. It's getting everyone on board so

00:51:04.980 --> 00:51:07.670
that it makes life a lot easier. Yeah, I mean,

00:51:07.690 --> 00:51:08.929
I always say, I'm like, the kids are going to

00:51:08.929 --> 00:51:11.190
eat what we're going to eat. My sister was talking

00:51:11.190 --> 00:51:13.869
about we're going to be going out for a meal

00:51:13.869 --> 00:51:16.619
when we're in the UK for... this should have

00:51:16.619 --> 00:51:18.019
already happened this i can say it for like for

00:51:18.019 --> 00:51:22.780
my dad's birthday and um and you know she was

00:51:22.780 --> 00:51:24.679
like oh you know will the kids eat a race dinner

00:51:24.679 --> 00:51:26.260
i'm like yeah they're gonna eat what we're eating

00:51:26.260 --> 00:51:28.059
like they're not gonna get chicken nuggets and

00:51:28.059 --> 00:51:30.300
chips i'm sorry guys you know if you want to

00:51:30.300 --> 00:51:33.840
set set your kids up for better health in the

00:51:33.840 --> 00:51:35.900
long run get them eating what you're eating and

00:51:35.900 --> 00:51:37.480
that also means don't eat chicken nuggets and

00:51:37.480 --> 00:51:40.659
chips and the planning aspect you know i i hear

00:51:40.659 --> 00:51:43.420
like i hear you on the busy mom thing the busy

00:51:43.420 --> 00:51:45.659
the sandwich generation i hear it i live it I

00:51:45.659 --> 00:51:48.659
get it. But I will argue and I will always counterpoint

00:51:48.659 --> 00:51:52.090
that the busier you are. the more streamlined

00:51:52.090 --> 00:51:55.610
your processes have to be. So when you're telling

00:51:55.610 --> 00:51:57.849
me you're too busy to meal plan, you're not busy

00:51:57.849 --> 00:52:00.250
enough then because I am so damn busy that I

00:52:00.250 --> 00:52:02.489
live and die by my plans, right? Meaning I have

00:52:02.489 --> 00:52:06.030
to have my meals executed on repeat to maintain

00:52:06.030 --> 00:52:09.269
the level of execution and professionalism that

00:52:09.269 --> 00:52:11.969
I demand out of my life. And that's just what

00:52:11.969 --> 00:52:13.690
it is. So it's like when I hear I'm too busy,

00:52:13.769 --> 00:52:15.849
what I hear is like, you're not streamlined enough

00:52:15.849 --> 00:52:18.309
because truly busy people have that shit on lock.

00:52:18.489 --> 00:52:20.449
Yeah, because they need to. Otherwise, they won't

00:52:20.449 --> 00:52:22.510
get through their day, right? That's it. Or their

00:52:22.510 --> 00:52:24.329
week. And, you know, like I take time out on

00:52:24.329 --> 00:52:26.110
a Sunday. Like on a Sunday, I'll sit there and

00:52:26.110 --> 00:52:28.269
I'll plan the week. And it'll be like, right,

00:52:28.650 --> 00:52:30.610
we're having this protein on rotation, these

00:52:30.610 --> 00:52:33.369
vegetables on rotation. And then everything's

00:52:33.369 --> 00:52:35.230
done. The shopping is done. I mean, I've got

00:52:35.230 --> 00:52:36.550
a meat club subscription, so I don't have to

00:52:36.550 --> 00:52:38.510
think about the food delivery. So, you know,

00:52:38.550 --> 00:52:40.869
there's all of that stuff sorted. So, again,

00:52:40.969 --> 00:52:42.650
everything's streamlined and I don't have to

00:52:42.650 --> 00:52:45.530
waste time thinking about things. And how much

00:52:45.530 --> 00:52:46.849
time does that take you? Like realistically?

00:52:47.500 --> 00:52:49.059
How much time are you devoting to what you just

00:52:49.059 --> 00:52:50.420
said? I mean, the thing is, obviously, I've been

00:52:50.420 --> 00:52:52.659
doing it a long time. It doesn't take that long

00:52:52.659 --> 00:52:54.019
because I'm like, all right, chicken. This is

00:52:54.019 --> 00:52:56.199
what we have with chicken. This is what we have

00:52:56.199 --> 00:52:58.539
with beef. So it's literally a few meals that's

00:52:58.539 --> 00:53:00.760
on rotation. But, like, even more than 30 minutes.

00:53:00.920 --> 00:53:03.659
No. There you go. Like, I mean, you can definitely

00:53:03.659 --> 00:53:06.099
find 30 minutes on a Sunday where you are bullshitting

00:53:06.099 --> 00:53:08.980
on your phone. Yeah. Oh, God, yeah. Real talk.

00:53:09.199 --> 00:53:11.119
Like, you know, like, I think, again, the perception

00:53:11.119 --> 00:53:13.460
of, like, you know, putting together the bowl

00:53:13.460 --> 00:53:16.579
of kiwis. Like, it's literally buying a bag of

00:53:16.579 --> 00:53:18.739
kiwis, carrying them to your house, putting them

00:53:18.739 --> 00:53:20.719
in a bowl. Like, the reality of that execution

00:53:20.719 --> 00:53:22.880
is two minutes. But everyone's at a different

00:53:22.880 --> 00:53:28.199
phase. So it's fine. that from you know where

00:53:28.199 --> 00:53:32.260
that where each person is and working with that

00:53:32.260 --> 00:53:34.940
yeah it's when you get used to it and you are

00:53:34.940 --> 00:53:37.659
where you are in your action maintenance phase

00:53:37.659 --> 00:53:43.079
fantastic But when you're still in pre -contemplation.

00:53:44.239 --> 00:53:46.980
That's where I am with beef liver. Liver King's

00:53:46.980 --> 00:53:48.559
like, why can't you just get a beef liver? And

00:53:48.559 --> 00:53:51.420
I was like, I'm not there yet, King. Pre -contemplation.

00:53:51.420 --> 00:53:53.300
So this is where I'm actually really working

00:53:53.300 --> 00:53:57.360
out. Because I can't sit with someone who has

00:53:57.360 --> 00:54:01.679
no concept or is not ready and say, it's this

00:54:01.679 --> 00:54:04.489
easy to do. because it won't work they're never

00:54:04.489 --> 00:54:07.429
coming back fair point right so it's really going

00:54:07.429 --> 00:54:09.969
okay what do you think you're in a position to

00:54:09.969 --> 00:54:12.489
think of and do one thing first thing start with

00:54:12.489 --> 00:54:15.469
one anything that's it and then we build on that

00:54:15.469 --> 00:54:18.530
and it takes time yeah right it all of this takes

00:54:18.530 --> 00:54:21.750
time we were all somewhere we are now where we

00:54:21.750 --> 00:54:24.659
are yeah and yes we can push ourselves to do

00:54:24.659 --> 00:54:27.019
even better in the future, you've got to start

00:54:27.019 --> 00:54:28.780
somewhere. That's why I love when you earlier

00:54:28.780 --> 00:54:31.280
made your point about moving in kind of three

00:54:31.280 --> 00:54:34.039
-month or 12 -week increments. You know, thinking

00:54:34.039 --> 00:54:36.579
about the year in quarters is really helpful

00:54:36.579 --> 00:54:39.099
for health habits because it gives you kind of

00:54:39.099 --> 00:54:42.099
an extended timeline, a gentle on -ramp to get

00:54:42.099 --> 00:54:45.190
that first thing mastered. and then it's not

00:54:45.190 --> 00:54:46.909
that short -term thing either you know where

00:54:46.909 --> 00:54:48.690
you're like i need it i need it now things gotta

00:54:48.690 --> 00:54:51.889
change in two weeks yeah 30 days of xyz ah i'm

00:54:51.889 --> 00:54:53.449
ready you know it's gonna be the new year soon

00:54:53.449 --> 00:54:55.809
i'm ready for all the the quick fixes to come

00:54:55.809 --> 00:54:58.630
banging down our doors right we've done this

00:54:58.630 --> 00:55:00.969
before and we're gonna do it again now and that

00:55:00.969 --> 00:55:06.090
is us asking you dr tash what is a your 40s formula

00:55:06.090 --> 00:55:09.210
what would you say to our listeners who want

00:55:09.210 --> 00:55:14.329
to thrive in this decade what is What is your

00:55:14.329 --> 00:55:17.690
mantra? What is your go to? So I had to really

00:55:17.690 --> 00:55:20.250
think about it this time, actually, compared

00:55:20.250 --> 00:55:22.329
to what what we were talking about last time.

00:55:22.570 --> 00:55:27.650
So I'm going with listen, investigate and optimize.

00:55:28.210 --> 00:55:31.409
Right. So listen to what your body is telling

00:55:31.409 --> 00:55:34.590
you. You know yourself better than anyone else.

00:55:34.829 --> 00:55:38.650
Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Investigate

00:55:38.650 --> 00:55:43.889
the root cause with proper testing. and don't

00:55:43.889 --> 00:55:46.210
just patch symptoms this is the sort of princess

00:55:46.210 --> 00:55:49.329
and the pea scenario right we don't need 100

00:55:49.329 --> 00:55:51.329
mattresses we just need to take the pee away

00:55:51.329 --> 00:55:54.230
oh god that would have been oh my god okay that's

00:55:54.230 --> 00:55:59.909
like genius and finally it's optimize and this

00:55:59.909 --> 00:56:03.710
is about looking at medical management but really

00:56:03.710 --> 00:56:07.489
it's that foundation of what we are in control

00:56:07.489 --> 00:56:10.570
of which uh which is actually our lifestyle yeah

00:56:11.009 --> 00:56:13.389
And how do we then go for gold when it comes

00:56:13.389 --> 00:56:15.710
to quality of life? Feel as good as possible

00:56:15.710 --> 00:56:17.789
forever. And that's it. That is what we all want.

00:56:18.409 --> 00:56:20.929
Yes. And it's funny. I'm going to go back to

00:56:20.929 --> 00:56:23.710
your princess and the pea mattress. No, because

00:56:23.710 --> 00:56:25.570
it really took me back to when I was a kid because

00:56:25.570 --> 00:56:27.269
I used to love that story. But you know why I

00:56:27.269 --> 00:56:29.579
loved it? Because I thought, God, that. Bed sounds

00:56:29.579 --> 00:56:33.340
so comfortable. I love those odor mattresses.

00:56:34.940 --> 00:56:37.719
Thank you so much for joining us again, Dr. Tash.

00:56:37.760 --> 00:56:39.800
It was such a pleasure having you on the show

00:56:39.800 --> 00:56:41.840
again. Thank you so much for having me. It's

00:56:41.840 --> 00:56:44.400
been great being back. Thank you. Thank you.

00:57:14.539 --> 00:57:17.280
My eyes are going like this. Oh my God. This

00:57:17.280 --> 00:57:19.840
is why now we need to make sure we put it in

00:57:19.840 --> 00:57:21.920
there. So I just read it and I'm reading it and

00:57:21.920 --> 00:57:24.059
it's more natural. Versus like the thinking.

00:57:25.079 --> 00:57:27.719
Bad morning to have done leg day. My legs are

00:57:27.719 --> 00:57:30.619
still shaking. We will not make you stand or

00:57:30.619 --> 00:57:33.139
jump or anything like that. You need to put your

00:57:33.139 --> 00:57:34.119
legs up or anything like that.