[00:00:00] In today’s episode, we are in conversation with Rachel Muzzy, who will break down the ins and outs of how people are disconnected from their bodies, discussing how she approaches the root cause of gut issues so symptoms can be healed for good and some practical steps you can use to tune back into your body’s hunger satisfaction and even digestive cues. Stay tuned. Podcasting from Dallas, Texas. I am Shireen, and this is the yumlish Podcast.

[00:00:32] Yumlish is working to empower you to take charge of your health through diet and exercise and reduce the risk of chronic conditions like type two diabetes and heart disease, we hope to share a unique perspective and a culturally relevant approach to managing these chronic conditions with you each week.

[00:00:58] Rachel is a functional dietitian specializing in gut health and GI issues such as IBS, bloating and GERD she believes that you shouldn’t have to sacrifice your favorite foods, wearing what you want and enjoying life because of gut issues and bloating. Rachel helps her clients take control of their gut symptoms using gut testing and holistic root cause approaches. Welcome Rachel.

[00:01:22] Rachel: Thank you.

[00:01:23] Shireen: Such a pleasure having you on So Rachel, seems like you have a huge background in just helping people understand their gut health better. What originally inspired you help us understand your why, like what really inspired you to pursue a career, first as a dietitian, and then weave your way into gut health specifically?

[00:01:43] Rachel: Yeah, well, as a dietitian, I initially wanted to go into sports nutrition, and then kind of found worked in that area, and just found out it wasn’t something I loved. I just loved the sports and exercise piece and fitness piece. So nutrition was kind of a entry into that. And then as I went through school, those specific interests in nutrition evolved, and I eventually was introduced to functional nutrition. So I’d kind of experienced the sports world. Didn’t love it as much as I thought I would. And then was introduced to functional nutrition, which to me, just means we’re trying to understand all the different puzzle pieces of someone and put those together and that really guides the interventions and the nutrition strategies and lifestyle strategies that we implement. And I just love that, because I love doing simple things that get people results and myself results. And I found that there were so many small things that people could do to really impact their health, their gut health, and kind of take control of things. And I just think that is really important to share those tools with people, because sometimes feeling better is a lot simple that more simple than we make it. So that’s how I kind of got into the functional space, and why I really love that.  But then, even within GI and working with gut issues, one of the first clients I worked with actually had bloating and constipation and a ton of gut issues. And honestly, it wasn’t an area I was super familiar with, but we did a lot of work together, and I learned a ton from her. She was really stressed out about what she was eating. She was trying to follow restrictive diets, but it wasn’t really helping, and so we did stool testing. Since then, I’ve used stool testing for years, and we just learned so much about her gut and her body. And then I really had my eyes opened into how those little things or they sound little, bloating, reflux, whatever, doesn’t seem like that big of a deal, but it really does impact your day to day life, how you feel in the clothes that you wear, where you’re eating, what, how you think about the next meal you’re going to eat, and if that’s going to be a stressor or not, planning your life around the bathroom. So I’ve realized how much of an impact that was having on her and seeing her progression and how much she got control back over things, and then also understanding more about the gut and how it really is a foundation for our health as a whole. So whether you have GI issues or maybe working on other you know, blood sugar or lowering your heart disease risk. You know, the gut is really involved in a lot of different stuff. We have to digest and absorb our nutrients. So I just thought it was really cool entry point that could impact people in so many different ways, from relieving symptoms to then kind of having these unexpected impacts of improving energy and things like that. So that was how we got here.

[00:04:41] Shireen:Thank you for, for sharing that. You know, you mentioned something that I wanted to, I want to double click on just a little bit you mentioned. You know, sometimes it can show up as, like, bloating. You may not think much of it, but there’s a lot more at work there. Can you help us understand why gut health even matters? Like, why should you even think about it twice?

[00:04:59] Rachel: Yes, that is a great question, and something that we don’t think about a lot, but we are, we are all eating throughout the day. We have to eat for our survival, and part of that process is we have to be able to digest food. We have to get nutrients out of it. We have to get those things into our body so our body can then use them to build muscle or bite inflammation and do all of these critical things. And so I always think of the gut as kind of this first entry point of our body getting proper nourishment. And so I think sometimes we underestimate how much something like bloating is it’s a huge sign that something is off in your gut. Things aren’t moving through correctly, and that could be interfering with your digestion. That could be interfering with our gut microbiome. So that is the community of bacteria, fungi, yeast. It sounds freaky that we have all these living things in us, but it’s totally normal. It’s actually very beneficial for us because we evolved with these bacteria. They benefit us. We benefit them. And so that microbiome has tons of links to our mental health, our blood sugar, so many different things, inflammation in the body. So what happens in the gut doesn’t really stay in the gut. It really influences the rest of our body’s systems, and so having good gut health is just going to lead to feeling better across the board.

[00:06:30]Shireen: You know, you mentioned that we are really disconnected from our bodies. What are some of the common ways in which you maybe see that disconnection? Or perhaps the better question is, how do we reconnect back with our bodies?

[00:06:44]Rachel: The ways that I’ve really seen the kind of disconnect is really sometimes going down the Google hole, or now with targeted ads and these types of things, you know, you search bloating, and all of a sudden, all these supplements are coming in your direction. And so that is, we’ve, we’ve started to kind of look for that easy button. And I don’t blame anyone for this, like I want things, I want to feel better as fast as possible. But sometimes it’s meaning, okay, we start with adding in a supplement, versus maybe looking at our diet and lifestyle and things that we can do. Or it’s sometimes that we’re so loaded and uncomfortable, we have all these GI symptoms, that all of a sudden it’s like I don’t even know if I’m hungry anymore. I don’t even know if I’m full. I didn’t eat that much, but I feel super full, but I eat. And sometimes that can also happen where we’ve been kind of living with dealing with the symptoms, and then that’s kind of dictating our life versus what sounds good to us and what our body needs. And so sometimes it’s a matter of putting in some habits to kind of start bringing things back online, get your appetite back. And then it can also be a matter of doing some things to support your gut so that those symptoms aren’t interfering as much with your hunger and fullness cues and having regular bowel movements.

[00:08:11] Shireen: That’s interesting. And when we’re talking about making that connection, where do you even begin? Because it feels like it’s a lot to do and try to figure out what exactly is going on. Where does one start?

[00:08:25] Rachel: Oh my gosh, yeah, it can definitely be overwhelming, especially for you again, going on Google, it’s like we’re trying to help ourselves, and I don’t blame anyone, but it can lead to, sometimes, a lot of confusion and overwhelm and almost over complicating things. So a couple of things that I really like to start with. Is, when you go to eat your meal, taking three deep breaths before you eat, that actually calms down our body. And some of us are kind of living in fight or flight. Maybe we’re really busy, have a stressful job, maybe our calendar is just packed or maybe, I don’t know, we’ve just been living in fight or flight. Some people really resonate with that, or it should just be, we’re distracted. We’ve got kids in the house. We’re eating really quickly to just get to the next thing. So taking a couple deep breaths stimulates what we call our rest and digest. So sometimes people are familiar with our fight or flight feeling more stressed, but our rest and digest is kind of on the other side of the teeter totter, and the more we can feel kind of calm and relaxed, especially around meals, if we’re having GI issues, the better we’re going to set ourselves up for digestion. Because the more calm and relaxed we are, then our body’s like, you know what? I’m cool, I’m safe. I don’t need to run from a tiger. Let’s get our digestive juices going. Let’s kind of activate our GI muscles so we can kind of move food along properly. And so those three deep breaths before you eat can go a long way. Along with some other things, like putting away distraction. So if you are someone that just tends like eating a meal is happening on the side. Side, and you’re more so focusing on email, scrolling on your phone. I always say, let’s kind of flip things, try and make your food your main focus. And other things are kind of on the side if, if we can’t get rid of them, you know, sometimes we gotta work. And then the last thing kind of going along with those meal habits, but chewing to applesauce consistency, it’s and it sounds easier than I guess sometimes, especially, I’m fast eater, so I’m always staring at everyone else while they’re finishing their meal. But if you are con chewing to that more mushed up texture you are pre digesting your food, you’re gonna feel better.

[00:10:37] Shireen: Love it. You know, you mentioned something in passing, which is supplements. I’m sure you get this question like all the time, tell us more about supplements, how they can or can’t be helpful, and where do we start again when it comes to supplements, if you do recommend them?

[00:10:54] Rachel: Yeah, it is definitely a big question, because I’m really big on personalizing your supplements, and that can be tricky and kind of intimidating to do on your own. So I think sometimes the problem with supplements is we kind of start buying different random things. We have, again, good intentions of, you know, I want to fix my bloating. I want to have regular bowel movement, whatever it is. But, and the marketing is really good. And I have a lot of money.

[00:11:24] Shireen: And, no, truly, I mean, it makes there’s a few brands, even as I ask you this question that I’ve been hit with on social media and otherwise that are hitting me up for, you know, to buy their supplements.

[00:11:35] Rachel: Yes, exactly. So it can be hard to kind of weed through what’s good and bad on your own. I mean, I think for most people, a probiotic of some sort is not going to be bad. Again, we can sometimes start with food of a daily, you know, yogurt, cottage cheese, fermented food, sauerkraut, kimchi. So that’s one thing where, you know, you can do supplements, probably most are gonna be okay. But when I’m working with my clients and we’re using a probiotic a lot of times, we have a stool test, I can see which types of bacteria are low in their gut or high, and we can kind of choose, actually, is a probiotic supplement? Gonna make more sense, what strain of a probiotic supplement? And then we can, for some people, a probiotic actually isn’t the best, and actually focusing more on a fiber is going to be ideal. Again, ideally, we’re doing that on top of foods that support those things. So that is where I do use probiotics and certain fibers, but, but it’s kind of personalized. I can give some kind of general of like constipation. You know, there’s a brand called Sun fiber. I tend to use a lot. It’s very well tolerated, especially for people with sensitive guts to sometimes can’t do a lot of fiber. On the other side, psyllium husk is something that I’ll use a lot for diarrhea and bulking stool, and again, with foods that ideally are doing those things. But that’s just an example with probiotics fibers. I mean, there’s so many other supplements. And my biggest thing whenever you go to buy a supplement or add one in. Or if I’m working with someone, and we’re looking at a list of, hey, I’m taking these five things, and I’m looking at this list of theirs. You know, I’m always asking, Why? Why are you taking this? And then, do you feel different? Are you noticing a change? Are you noticing an improvement? And then just kind of weeding things out through that. Because if someone’s like, you know, supplements, like, 60 bucks a month, I’m like, Whoa, and you’re not even feeling any difference. Like, okay, let’s kind of wean off of that, or kind of wrap it up. I’m like, if you don’t feel a difference taking something, not to say that’s always the case, but most of the time, then I want to focus on other more specific things, and especially if I know your diet, maybe I know you know you’re lacking certain foods, then we can add in something to fill in the gaps. Then that’s really where I like to go towards with supplements. Did that help? It’s a, it is a big topic, so…

[00:14:21] Shireen: Yeah, and it’s super helpful. It is, and, like I said, like, I think some of these companies like market so well, and they’re really sharp on the marketing, which, like, it makes you believe that you really need something when you may really not. Which also takes me to my next question, which is around, you know, you mentioned looking at some of the root causes rather than just managing symptoms right, like, getting right to, like, what is, in fact, causing x so can you help us understand, what are some common reasons people struggle with some of the symptoms that you mentioned, bloating, constipation? What are some of the reasons if we really want to take a look at our diet?

[00:14:55] Rachel: So a couple of the main reasons I’m actually going to start something non diet, which. Is stress is a huge contributor. And I think something sometimes we connect stress and gut issues, but I think sometimes people don’t recognize it on maybe a broader scale. So that’s where I kind of build up this timeline, when I work with someone and I ask them when their symptoms started, when they were say, if there was a time where it’s like, I’ve dealt with this for five years, but a year ago really kicked up. So I will ask about those timelines, and then I will in my questionnaires, or just chatting with someone, also ask, what was going on around that time? What was your stress like? What was your lifestyle like? Sometimes someone’s like, I was working two jobs and in a toxic relationship. Whatever it is, there’s so many different things, but sometimes we can really see, oh, that was going on for a while. These gut symptoms really kicked up. And so that is, can also be huge piece of healing is kind of getting our stress under control. Doesn’t mean never being stressed, but kind of recognizing the impact it might be having and using some, again, kind of simple, doable tools to help support your stress levels. Diet wise, some big things that I see can be lacking fiber, lacking variety in our diet, those things, lacking plants in our diet, sometimes those things are going to, those have a very big benefit for that gut microbiome, that community of all those living bacteria and fungi and yeast. So if we are eating more packaged processed foods that are a little bit lower in fiber, maybe higher in added sugars and sometimes, again, it’s not that eating those and having them as part of our diet is always a bad thing. But if that’s really, you know, the basis of our diet and the foundation we might not be getting the foods that really feed our gut bacteria. So that’s plant foods, fruits, veggies, nuts, beans, seeds, grains, herbs and spices too. And so sometimes our gut just hasn’t gotten the diet it needs to really flourish. So that is another aspect. And then the last thing that sometimes we kind of underestimate is sometimes being on antibiotics frequently or long term. So antibiotics, they’re really good at their job of killing bacteria, which can be really good. So it’s again, not to say that we should never take antibiotics and never use them. But I have clients sometimes come to me, and they’ve been on antibiotics five times in the past year or two. And every time we take an antibiotic, granted, there’s variation depending on the type, but that can sometimes it can kill the bad bacteria and the problem, but it can also sometimes take out some of the good guys in that process, and so then maybe we also have a more processed food as our foundation of our diet. Then all said around antibiotics, our gut is kind of getting attacked and then also not getting the nourishment that it needs to really flourish and grow and have a really resilient and diverse microbiome, then maybe we’re stressed on top of all that. So there’s usually multiple things at play. Those are a couple of the big ones that I like to look for, but there’s other kind of sneaky things that can come in there. And you know, it’s always interesting to again, map out that kind of timeline. And I think that’s something people can do on their own too, is just kind of jot some things down in a notebook. Okay, when did this start? When did I start feeling bloated? Okay, what was going on, like, a year before that? And, you know, sometimes there is ties, not always, not always obvious, but it can still kind of be a good practice to just, again, get a little more in tune with your body, maybe some things that might be impacting your gut.

[00:19:09] Shireen: I love this emphasis on getting more in tune with your body, and I’m so glad you said jotted down a notebook like you’re not pushing another app or, you know, so people can go download, like, one of those hundreds of apps which, like, you log all a bunch of stuff and you still have no idea what’s going on with you, which also takes me to my next question, which is, can you share some practical first steps that can help people just really tune back in right? Get again to that root cause. Tune back into hunger satisfaction or even digestive cues without any apps.

[00:19:43] Rachel: The tools that I mentioned earlier around meals, with the deep breathing and putting away distractions, I really recommend starting there. That is one of the things I’ll recommend to people and I hear back the most of I just started breathing before my meals. Already feel so much better. Because oftentimes eating can just be a box to check, and we are not even taking a minute to breathe. We’re not even taking a minute to feel our fullness or hunger. Maybe, if we’re in one of the more extreme ends, sometimes we’re just eating because, well, I mean, there’s times we just need to eat, because that’s the time we can eat, but I really think taking that moment before is makes a huge difference. And then you can also do that kind of mid meal, and then even afterwards. Doesn’t have to be written down in a notebook, but you can kind of start this like hunger and fullness log, and you can rate on a scale of one to 10. And that way, you know, okay, going into this meal, I was a eight, I was super hungry. After this meal, I was a two, and I was super full. And then you kind of realized, wow, when I was really, really hungry, I kind of overeat a little bit, and rushed and ate really quickly, and now I’m kind of uncomfortable, maybe having more GI symptoms come up. So that can be one tool that can go a really long way, is kind of just slowing down around meals. Whatever you can kind of pick and choose from those things that I mentioned. But those are a couple ways. The other thing food wise, I would suggest, is just starting to add variety to your diet. One of the things that has the most beneficial impact on our gut is the diversity of plants that we have in our diet. So sometimes people think, oh, that means I need to eat tons and tons of vegetables. And that’s not necessarily the case. When we say plants, fruits, veggies, nuts, beans, seeds, grains, might be missing them. I said beans and I Yeah, so increasing our plants, and that might be, you know, buying things that are in season. That might be okay. I always buy frozen strawberries at the grocery store. I’m gonna get frozen blueberries this time. There’s slightly different nutrients in those. It could be buying something that’s maybe a greens mix, if you always get the same greens. So I think looking at things that you’re already eating, asking yourself, do I eat the same things all the time and then just rotating or switching out a little something here or there? Or if you notice, I don’t even have a plant at this meal, I’m eating pasta for dinner. But I could, I could maybe throw some greens in there. Or I could chop up an onion and throw that in the sauce, or I could microwave some frozen veggies on the side. I think there’s sometimes some simple ways and starting small, starting with things you’re already eating you already like looking for little swaps can end up adding a lot of variety to your diet

[00:22:59] Shireen: and keeping the same taste profile that you’re already used to. So it doesn’t have to be like drastic in any way. Yes, you can start small.

[00:23:07] Rachel: Yeah, exactly.

[00:23:11] Shireen: Okay, perfect. Well, with that, we are toward the end of the episode today, Rachel, can you tell us? How can our listeners connect with you and then just learn more about your work?

[00:23:20] Rachel: Yeah. So the main way I am on Instagram @bloat.free.nutritionist, that’s mostly how people find me. So that’s kind of how people know me, is bloat free nutritionist. And you can go kind of binge my reels. That’s what people tell me they do all the time. They’re like, I just like, went through your whole page because I’ve been making content on there for years now, so there’s just some fun, goofy stuff. So that’s the main way. And then on for my Instagram, I have links to my email list and ways to work with me. So that’s really a good starting place. I do have a website, Rachel Muzzy nutrition.com so you can learn more about my services there, but sometimes Instagram was just the best way to get a little more acquainted. And you can always shoot me a DM and let me know you listen to the podcast or send me any questions.

[00:24:11] Shireen: That sounds fantastic. Rachel, thank you so much for your time and walking us through gut health and just helping us understand that it you know, it’s the small steps that can help get us to where we need to get to. It does not have to be a complete overhaul. So that’s my one key takeaway to our listeners, thank you for tuning in to another episode of The Yumlish podcast. It is that time to ask you a quick question. You’ll head over to our social media and answer it, which is pretty much what’s one signal from your body or one symptom that you may have? So it could be hunger cues, energy dips, bloating could be anything that you are going through right now that just feels the hardest for you to understand right now. Again, I’ll repeat the question. So what is one signal from your body again, a hunger cue, an energy dip, bloating, constipation, could be anything that just feels the hardest for you to understand in your health. Right now, find this podcast post on our social media at yumlish, on Instagram, on Facebook. Comment below to tell us and answer this question. We’ll continue the conversation there. Rachel, thank you so much again.

[00:25:13] Rachel: Thank you.

[00:25:18] Thank you for listening to the yumlish podcast. Make sure to follow us on social media, @yumlish_ on Instagram and Twitter and @yumlish on Facebook and LinkedIn for tips about managing your diabetes and other chronic conditions, and to chat and connect with us about your journey and perspective. You can also visit our website, yumlish.com for more recipes advice and to get involved with all of the exciting opportunities yumlish has to offer. If you like this week’s show, make sure to subscribe so you can hear more from us every time we post. Thank you again, and we’ll see you next time. Remember your health always comes first stay.

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• Website URL: www.rachelmuzzynutrition.com 

• Instagram URL: @bloat.free.nutritionist