This video by Dr. Deb Ford explains that difficulty losing weight, even when eating clean and exercising, is often due to hidden chronic inflammation in the body. She describes how this inflammation raises cortisol, interferes with insulin, slows thyroid function, and damages the gut, making it hard to burn fat. The video identifies key culprits like sugar, refined carbs, unhealthy seed oils, gut imbalances, environmental toxins, sleep deprivation, and stress, and offers natural solutions through functional nutrition, including specific dietary changes, gut and liver support, stress management, exercise, and targeted supplements.
Key Takeaways
1
Chronic inflammation, not a lack of discipline, is often the hidden reason for stubborn weight loss, low energy, and accelerated aging.
2
Chronic inflammation negatively impacts weight loss by raising cortisol, interfering with insulin, slowing thyroid conversion, and damaging the gut barrier.
3
Sugar and refined carbohydrates are major culprits that spike insulin and trigger the immune system to release inflammatory compounds, hindering fat burning.
4
Seed oils like cottonseed, corn, canola, soybean, safflower, and sunflower can oxidize when heated, creating free radicals that cause widespread inflammation.
5
Hidden food triggers and gut imbalances, often caused by a compromised gut barrier, can lead to food-driven inflammation even from healthy foods.
6
Environmental toxins like pesticides and plastics can overwork the liver, leading to system-wide inflammation and impaired detoxification and hormone balance.
7
Sleep deprivation and chronic emotional stress elevate cortisol, raise blood sugar, make the gut leaky, and halt fat loss.
8
Functional nutrition focuses on identifying root causes through testing and restoring balance with an anti-inflammatory diet (like green keto), gut and liver support, and nervous system calming techniques.
9
Wise supplementation with omega-3s, multivitamins (with D3/K2), curcumin, magnesium glycinate, NAC, resveratrol, and quercetin can accelerate healing while lifestyle changes form the foundation.
10
When inflammation decreases, fat loss becomes a natural side effect of improved overall health, with benefits like better sleep, energy, reduced pain, and mental clarity appearing within weeks to months.
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Hello my friends. This is Dr. Deb Ford,
0:03
dietician and doctor of clinical
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nutrition with today's nutrition where
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we uncover the real science behind
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feeling vibrant, strong, and in control
0:14
of your health. Let me start with a
0:16
story I hear almost every week. A woman
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tells me, "I'm eating clean. I'm
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exercising. I'm doing everything right,
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but I'm still tired. I'm achy. and the
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scale is just stuck. She's counting
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calories, skipping desserts, yet the
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scale won't budge, and her clothes fit
0:39
the same. The truth, it's not a lack of
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discipline. It's probably hidden
0:46
inflammation. The body isn't ignoring
0:50
your efforts, it's trying to protect
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you. So today we're going to walk
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through the silent saboturs. Those
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inflammatory triggers that block weight
1:00
loss, drain your energy, and accelerate
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aging. And finally, I'm going to tell
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you how to calm the fire naturally
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through a functional nutrition lens.
1:13
Now, mind you, all inflammation is not
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bad. Like anything, chronic is what's
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bad. If your body's built-in repair crew
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is fighting acute inflammation, that's
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good. You scrape your knee or you're
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fighting a virus. Inflammation brings
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healing. But the problem comes when the
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immune system doesn't shut off. When the
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firefighters stay on duty long after the
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fire should be out, that's chronic
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inflammation. the slow, silent kind that
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damages cells and turns off fat burning.
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And here's how it does it. It raises
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cortisol, your stress hormone that
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stores the belly fat. It interferes with
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insulin, locking fat inside the cells.
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It slows thyroid conversion, leading to
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fatigue and brain fog, and it damages
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the gut barrier, creating even more
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immune chaos. You can't lose weight
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because your body thinks it's in danger.
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Before you burn fat, you have to put out
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the fire. So, let's look at the hidden
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saboturs. Expose the biggest culprits of
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chronic inflammation that keeps the fire
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smoldering. Biggest culprit, as far as I
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can see, sugar and refined carbs. The
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average American eats over 150 pounds of
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sugar per year.
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Most of it is hidden in sauces, breads,
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drinks. It could even be juice or honey
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or too much fruit. Sugar spikes insulin
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and that is going to signal your liver
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to make more fat and your immune system
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to release inflammatory cytoines.
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Even healthy grains and juices can
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perpetuate inflammation if your
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metabolism is already insulin resistant.
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When you switch to a low carb keto green
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plan where you're balancing protein,
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fat, and fiber, insulin stabilizes, and
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the liver fat begins to melt away.
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Within 2 to 3 weeks, people often see
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lower triglycerides, steadier energy,
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and fewer cravings. Within 3 to four
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months, if they've had fatty liver and
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there's been no fibrosis, fatty liver
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can be reversed. I don't know why most
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doctors don't address this in the
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current sick care system. They wait
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until there's a disease that needs a
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sledgehammer to control it. often
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because it's too late to fix even though
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it is super easy to fix when it's early.
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The old adage, how does it go? An ounce
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of prevention. Well, now, okay, now the
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next offender, seed oils, and damaged
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fat. The three C's, cotton seed, corn,
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and canola. The three S's, soybean,
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safflower, and sunflower, are marketed
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as hearthealthy,
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but they easily oxidize and turn rancid
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when heated. Not to mention the toxic
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chemicals like hexane and bleaches that
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are used in manufacturing. This creates
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free radicals that inflame everything
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from joints to artery walls to lungs and
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impair mitochondrial function. Is it any
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wonder that fatigue and achiness is
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rampant? So, in contrast, we use olive
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oil, avocado oil, grass-fed butter, and
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omega-3s like quality flax oil,
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sardines, salmon, anchovies. I've
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learned to love anchovies, by the way.
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And you're going to extinguish
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inflammation. Think of it this way. If
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sugar is the gasoline on the flyer, seed
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oils are the spark. Check your pantry.
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Look at every label. Inflammation often
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hides on the box and on the bottle.
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Fresh food is best. You don't even have
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to read a label when you've got fresh
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food. Next, we have to address hidden
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food triggers and gut imbalance. This is
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one of the biggest aha moments for my
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clients. Even healthy foods can become
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inflammatory if your gut barrier is
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compromised. Here's how it works.
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Stress, antibiotics, alcohol, or gluten
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can weaken the intestinal lining,
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allowing food particles, inflammatory
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compounds, toxins, and bacteria to slip
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back into the bloodstream. You could
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imagine here comes a piece of apple.
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Your immune system flags it as an
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invader, creating fooddriven
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inflammation.
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That's why I rely on the elimination
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diet, gold standard for identifying food
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sensitivities.
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For 3 to four weeks, we commonly remove
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triggers, gluten, dairy, corn, soy,
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peanuts, processed sugar, seed oils. And
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if you want, we can reintroduce them one
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at a time to observe reactions. Often
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people feel so great on the elimination
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diet, they kind of stay there more often
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than not. But it's not about
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restriction, it's about discovery. After
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the elimination phase, people often
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notice clear skin, easier digestion,
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effortless weight loss. Not because
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they're eating less, but because the
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inflammation is gone. To support this,
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there's a lot of GI testing we can do.
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GI map, GI effects, all of them are good
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to assess gut bacteria, yeast, hidden
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pathogens that can fuel inflammation,
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parasites even. When we balance the
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microbiome, immune system quiets down
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and then weight starts to move again.
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And you can't forget the next culprit,
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environmental toxins,
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the liver. It's the command center for
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detoxification, hormone balance, and fat
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metabolism. In today's world, it is
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overworked. Pesticides, plastics,
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cleaning chemicals, personal care
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products, and if the liver is clogged,
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it can't process hormones or eliminate
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waste effectively. And that inflammation
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spreads systemwide. You can't detox. If
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you keep putting it in, you never get
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ahead. So, we got to swap the plastic
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for glass. Use natural cleaning
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products. Drink filtered purified water.
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Support detox pathways with cruciferous
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vegetables, green tea, and I love my
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heavenly cleanse shake. Your liver loves
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greens, hydration, fiber. You got to
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treat it kindly and it will reward you
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with glowing skin,
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slower aging, and a calmer metabolism.
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Next culprits are sleep deprivation and
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stress. Few people realize that
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emotional stress is a strong
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inflammatory trigger. When cortisol
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stays elevated, blood sugar goes up, gut
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becomes leaky, and fat loss grinds to a
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halt. Sleep deprivation amplifies this
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effect. Just one night of poor sleep
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raises inflammatory cytoines 25%.
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One night. So if you're not sleeping,
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your metabolism is literally inflamed.
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So you've got to support the hibernate
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step. Create that beautiful sleep
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routine so your body can get used to it,
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know what to expect. Maybe you need to
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use a little magnesium glycinate or any
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number of products we carry at the shop.
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Dim the lights and screens at least an
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hour before bed. Pray. Breathe. Let your
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nervous system settle. Let it get used
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to this routine. It may take a while to
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build new pathways, but it will. It
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takes time and patience. Drugs often
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have the side effect of increasing the
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risk of dementia. And who wants to take
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that risk? Think of peace and quiet as
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anti-inflammatory
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medicine. So now we've uncovered the
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saboturs. So let's switch to solutions
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because it's not about taking a pill.
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Although we have many natural
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supplements that can kind of bridge the
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gap while you're correcting the
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imbalance, but it is ultimately about
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giving your body the right environment
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to heal. Remove those barriers so your
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body naturally does what it does well,
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heal. Functional nutrition focuses on
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identifying root causes and restoring
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balance through lifestyle and nutrition.
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I like to number one test not guess. If
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you've got stubborn inflammation, let's
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get data. Ask for the function health
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test. That's going to give you your
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highly sensitive C reactive protein,
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fasting, insulin, probably more
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important than hemoglobin A1C or blood
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sugar, triglycerides to HDL ratio,
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thyroid panel, TSH, free T3, reverse T3,
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vitamin D levels, liver enzymes,
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ferotin, and your vitamin levels.
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Testing gives direction. You'll know if
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the inflammation is coming from the gut,
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the liver, insulin resistance, or
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something deeper.
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Step number two, got to have an
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anti-inflammatory diet. I love my green
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keto diet. That's that's my wheelhouse.
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You got to have good, healthy protein.
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Wild fish, pastured eggs, grass-fed
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meats, and maybe some plant proteins,
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fats, good old olive oil, avocado, nuts,
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seeds, coconut, flax, omega-3 oils.
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Carbs, lots of non-starchy carbs, lots
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of veggies, small servings of low sugar
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fruits like berries and melons and
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flavor. Herbs and spices heal. Turmeric,
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ginger, garlic, rosemary, cinnamon. I
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believe this is the acharoli secret. All
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of these concentrated phytonutrients
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from herbs and spices. I will not go a
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day anymore without either rosemary and
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curcumin. But all the other ones are
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unsung heroes too for health protection.
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You just have to avoid certain things.
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Refined grains, sugar, seed oils,
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processed food, and excess alcohol.
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Within 2 weeks, blood sugar drops and
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inflammation markers start to normalize.
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After eight weeks, energy, wow,
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skyrockets. stubborn weight starts
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releasing. Your body can count on it. It
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is no longer in fight or flight. Then we
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also can't forget we need to support the
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gut and liver detox. The gut, it's where
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inflammation starts and the liver is
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where it ends. Hypocrates knew this 400
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BC. He said all disease begins in the
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gut and modern life plays havoc on our
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gut. So, the daily essentials for the
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gut, probiotic rich foods. I love
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bubbies. They make a great sauerkraut
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and pickles and they do in a way that
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preserves the probiotics. When you've
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got kimchi and kefir if you tolerate it
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or cocoa june, coconut yogurt, three
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ingredients, probiotics, you've got
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coconut, and you've got tapioca to
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thicken it. And then fiber from greens,
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from chia, flax, avocado. These fibers
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feed the healthy gut bacteria. And then
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bone broth. Really good for gut repair.
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Then for the liver, cruciferous
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vegetables, broccoli, kale, cauliflower,
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cabbage, Brussels sprouts, and then
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lemon water in the morning. I love it in
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hot water. You can also throughout the
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day drink green tea or milk thistle tea.
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That's going to improve glutathione.
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that is the master antioxidant that your
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liver makes. I love my heavenly cleanse.
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It's a great shake that supplies not
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only the necessary protein but all of
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your phase 2 detox nutrients
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and then calming the nervous system.
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Chronic stress tells your body hold on
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to everything. It stays in survival
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mode, not longevity mode. It must
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survive. So to get into the longevity
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mode, deep breathing, gratitude,
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journaling, prayer, a little time in
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nature lowers cortisol and activates
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that parasympathetic nervous system, the
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body's wonderful rest and digest repair
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mode. That's the longevity mode. I often
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tell clients, you cannot heal in the
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same environment that made you sick.
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That includes the mental environment.
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What are you thinking? Do you keep
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thinking the same negative thoughts all
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the time? We got to restructure all of
14:45
that. A little movement is important. We
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got to move to heal. Exercise isn't
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punishment. It's circulation.
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Movement pushes oxygen and nutrients
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into the tissues and it moves the waist
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out. But over exercise can increase
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inflammation. So balance is key. bris
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walking, fabulous, 30 minutes a day.
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Move like you are late for an
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appointment. In medicine, one of the
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predictors of longevity is gate speed.
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Can you walk fast? You're better off.
15:16
Besides, you want to get a little glow
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going. That gets the lymphatics moving.
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Resistance training couple three times a
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week. Stretching, yoga for flexibility,
15:25
and cortisol balance. This combination
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lowers that C reactive protein, boosts
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insulin sensitivity, and strengthens the
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energy mitochondria.
15:37
We might want to supplement wisely while
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food and lifestyle is the foundation.
15:43
Sometimes targeting nutrients will
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accelerate healing. My favorite ones,
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omega-3, barlines, omega-3, thousand
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milligram EPA, DHA. It's going to lower
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the inflammatory cytoines. You know,
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food is good, too. I'm going to eat
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either sardines or anchovies about every
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day, like they do in naturoli. I also
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love the one E multivitamin. Covers all
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the essentials. Got to make sure you
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have D3 and K2. That's going to modulate
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the immune activity and tell the calcium
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to go to the bones. Curcumin, my
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favorite. Terry Natural's BCM95.
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I take it every day. Powerful
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anti-inflammatory.
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And this week, I don't know what's going
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on, but we have sold so much of that
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extra strength curcumin. Love it.
16:33
Magnesium glycinate. Uh, that's
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important for over 300 enzyatic
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reactions. Our soil is very deplete in
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that. Almost anybody is going to need
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extra magnesium. And then we've got
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knack an acetylcyine that also boosts
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glutathione for liver. Resveratrol. You
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can get it in food, but sometimes we
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need a little extra resverrol and
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corsetin. Talk about longevity. That's
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one of the keys, but always
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personalized, but these are safe
17:03
evidence-based starting points. So, some
17:06
realistic expectations and results, what
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you can kind of expect because
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inflammation usually doesn't disappear
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overnight, but your body does start
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healing quickly. Within a couple weeks,
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sleep, energy improve. Four to six
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weeks, joint pain, bloating, and
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cravings decline. At 8 to 12 weeks,
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weight begins to release. Labs improve
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and mental clarity returns. Sometimes a
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lot faster, I got to tell you. But we're
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not forcing the body. We're allowing it.
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When inflammation drops, fat loss is
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simply a side effect of better health.
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Healing. It's not just physical. It's
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emotional. It's spiritual. Your body was
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created with extraordinary wisdom. It
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wants balance. It wants to heal. But we
17:57
have to give it what it needs.
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Inflammation is just the body's cry for
18:01
restoration.
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It's not punishment, but it's
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protection. It's simply saying, "Pay
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attention. Remember, you are fearfully
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and wonderfully made. Taking care of
18:12
your body is not a tour. It's really an
18:15
act of stewardship. So, call to action
18:19
this week. You know, pick one of these
18:22
to work on. Remove the inflammatory
18:25
foods, the sugars, the seed oil, the
18:27
processed carbs, or try the elimination
18:29
diet to uncover hidden food triggers.
18:32
Maybe go as far as the keto green
18:34
plant-rich diet. Maybe support the liver
18:36
and gut every day. Maybe you need to
18:39
work on your sleep and manage stress.
18:42
Maybe you need to move your body more
18:44
with love rather than punishment. If
18:47
you'd like guidance, support, or
18:49
accountability, you can join my weight
18:51
loss for life and longevity program.
18:53
Love to have you. We'll work through the
18:55
elimination diet, lab testing,
18:57
supplements, and personalized coaching
18:59
every step of the way. Friends,
19:02
inflammation
19:04
may be silent, but it's not permanent.
19:07
You can calm it, reverse it, and reclaim
19:09
your energy without extreme diets or
19:12
deprivation. When the fire inside your
19:15
body cools, everything works better.
19:17
Your hormones, your metabolism, your
19:19
mood, and your mind. So, let's choose
19:22
peace on your plate, in your schedule,
19:25
and in your thoughts. Because when your
19:27
body feels safe, it starts to heal.
19:30
Until next time, this is Dr. Deb
19:33
reminding you to live heavenly. Love
19:36
yourself through every season and
19:38
remember, healing begins when you start
19:41
listening to your body. If you've
19:43
enjoyed today's show, share it with a
19:45
friend who's struggling with
19:47
inflammation or weight loss resistance.
19:50
You can find all my episodes of Today's
19:52
Nutrition on Spotify, on Apple Podcasts,
19:56
or on YouTube under Dr. Deb Ford, where
20:00
good energy meets good
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Weight Loss Resistance
Deb Ford DCN RDN
28 views
Oct 26, 2025
20:02
Let me start with a story I hear almost every week. A woman tells me, “I’m eating clean. I’m exercising. I’m doing everything right — but I’m still tired, inflamed, and stuck.” She’s counting calories, skipping desserts, yet the scale won’t move and her clothes fit the same. The truth? It’s not a lack of discipline — it’s hidden inflammation. Your body isn’t ignoring your effort; it’s trying to protect you. Today, we’re going to talk about the silent saboteurs — the inflammatory triggers that block weight loss, drain your energy, and accelerate aging — and how to calm the fire naturally through a functional nutrition lens.