Prenatal Wellbeing for The Working Mothers

In today's busy world, prenatal wellbeing is crucial for mothers who often carry a lot on their shoulders and may experience stress, which is not always good for growing families. 🌍 During my book writing journey, I interviewed Dr. Leslie Hulsko, an anthropologist, who highlighted the transfer of emotional health from grandmothers to their grandchildren, and the impact of today's health on pregnancy, child development, and future generations. 

In this episode, we welcome Nikki Burnett, a Functional Nutritionist, Health Detective, Founder of Taste Life Nutrition, and creator of Soulful Conception. We will delve into the following topics: 🎙️💡

What is Soulful Conception? 🌟
Why is it important to understand the root cause of chronic diseases or stress that could prevent pregnancy? 💔🚫
Why should chronic conditions be addressed prior to pregnancy? 🤰
What role does nutrition and lifestyle play in prenatal health? 🥦
Tips for preconception planning, which can significantly reduce negative outcomes. ✅⏱️👍

Nikki Burnett is a Functional Nutritionist, Health Detective, Founder of Taste Life Nutrition, and creator of SoulFul Conception – PurposeFull Living for a Healthy Body, a Healthy Pregnancy, and a Healthy Baby. Her program focuses on preconception planning for growing families as well as future. She is also the host of Taste Life Nutrition Radio and Podcast which streams live every Thursday at 10am MT. 

Learn more about Nikki at:

https://www.tastelifenutrition.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikki-burnett-tastelifenutrition/
https://www.instagram.com/tastelifenutrition/
 https://twitter.com/tastelifenut

Join us as we explore these important aspects of prenatal wellbeing with Nikki Burnett. 🎧💖

🌟 🌟 🌟 If you liked this episode and would like to learn more about wellness training and workshops offered by 9 to 5 Wellness, email us at info@aeshathair.com. You can learn more about our programs at: https://toneandstrengthen.com/workshops-trainings/. 🌟 🌟 🌟

My passion is helping organizations create a culture of wellness, and I do this by setting up health programs that prioritize the most important asset they've got – their employees. Cheers to a healthier and happier journey ahead!

🌟 🌟 🌟 You can learn more about ME- the host at https://www.aeshatahir.com

Follow me on IG and LI to learn more

https://www.instagram.com/tone_and_strengthen/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/aeshatahir/

Transcript

 Welcome to the nine to five wellness podcast,  a show about corporate wellness solutions with innovators and forward thinking leaders who are at the forefront of the workplace wellness movement.  I'm your host Aesha Tahir. 

 Today on the show, we are going to be talking to Nikki, who is a functional nutritionist, who is a. health detective, founder of taste, life, nutrition and creator of soulful conception, which is purposeful living for a healthy body, a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby.

In my experience, working with busy desk bound professionals and Offering programs as a wellness consultant to the corporations. I have found that a lot of  women at this time are facing this challenge where they are trying to balance work and And plan for growing families. So her program actually focuses on the preconception planning for growing families.

She is a host of Taste Life Nutrition radio and podcast, which streams live on Thursdays at 10 a. m. Mountain time.  Welcome Nikki. I'm so excited to have this conversation with you today.

Yeah. Thank you. I'm excited to be here. I've been looking forward to this for weeks.  Yeah. And so have I. So You know, feeling is mutual. Thank you so much for taking the time out and coming on the show. So I was reading about your bio and I noticed that you have been a functional nutritionist for For 25 years.

So you have 25 years of experience and I would love to learn what was the story behind the inception of soulful conception?  So a little bit of clarity because I, I, I think in clarity is important. So I have been studying nutrition for 25 years. I've been in practice as a nutritionist for almost 10.

So  I don't want, I don't anybody think that I've actually been practicing. I love the transparency. Oh my gosh. So I've been, I've been in exercise and wellness industry for 10 too. So that's awesome. We kind of started at the same time and, and even 10 years is a lot because I have been. Trying to keep track of like, you know, my clients and I'm really big on data.

So I was counting and I have served over 500 individual clients and then the workshops and stuff like, you know, so the impact is huge. So that's awesome. So tell us the backstory. I like to learn about, you know, the journey of the entrepreneur themselves.  So  yeah, it's, it's interesting because soulful conception has been without the name.

It's been in my mind for.  A long time, you know, it started when I was actually an undergrad. And which, you know, Was how much I believe that the miracle well that creation is such a miracle It's this beautiful god given gift that we experience every day single day. And there has to be such perfection that happens in order to create all these little humans.

And it's just, it's, it's, it's magical. And I just completely fell in love with it. So  fast forward now is my time, you know, as you know, I I'm practicing functional nutrition. I'm, I'm working with clients, mostly women. I do work with men as well, but what I've, what I found a lot in working with my women  Is there like I have got this autoimmune condition and I have these symptoms or I have this this, you know Gut junk that's really bringing me down.

I'm having a really hard time  One day I want to get pregnant and how am I going to do both? And really it's difficult because we have we're dealing with symptoms and junk and disease in these people things that are hard on the body. The body is like,  making babies is the last thing that I want to do right now.

And so sometimes it then becomes difficult. And so I wanted to, it finally just sort of all came together in this beautiful little soulful conception  program that is really about addressing  You know, the physical, let's get, let's address your symptoms. And if we, if you want to, you know, we can do labs, we can, we can do all of the things to understand the root cause.

That's who I am. That's how I'm trained is understanding the root cause. And then let's also look at your lifestyle. Let's look at your mental and emotional health. And then, although this is not my expertise, let's look at your spiritual life and your relationships and your, you know, your biomechanics, your movements, your exercise.

All of these, your financial life, right? All of these things that play a role in impact. I'm sorry. I have, we have crazy mosquitoes here right now, which is not a Colorado thing. And I have one just buzzing right around me anyway.  So it's this, it's, it's, it's,  it's bringing together all of the things that are so beautiful about  preparing for pregnancy.

But then at the same time, it's. It's, it's, I want to bring an awareness to people about the amount of control that they have over their own  body, which is in an amazing amount of control over the pregnancy, over the delivery, over the child as it grows.  And then for what the data shows, Generations, my health today, your health today, those of us, I'm not one of those now, but those who are in that place where they're growing their families, they can impact seven generations.

And it's this beautiful, magical  thing that we're like, I do have control. It's all up to me. It's not up to anybody else. It's up to me and what I put in my body, what I put on my body, how I deal with stress, how I move my body. I can go on and on, but that's sort of where it came from.  

 You had this idea, like the seed was there for a very long time and you're right. It is a miracle, right? Creating life, like bringing new life into the world is a miracle. And when our bodies are under stress, definitely that's the last thing your body would like to do. And the stress could be physical, it could be emotional, mental, right?

And for my listeners, they're mostly corporate professionals. going through a lot of stress daily because, because they have a lot of work on their plate and then they go home, their wives and their mothers, right? So there's a lot on their shoulders. And that stress Can lead to, as you said generational health issues, which we are seeing today a lot of like autoimmune diseases, chronic diseases.

When I was writing my book, Unhunched,  I interviewed an anthropologist Dr. Lesleya,  and she mentioned to me that how grandmother's emotional health and physical health gets transferred to her grandchildren because the 7 million eggs that the woman is born with, they are implanted when she's in utero. 

 Various studies have proven it. So how  the health today is impacting the pregnancy, the mother, the baby, and the success of the health of generations to come..  How are the chronic health issues that we are seeing today?

How are they impacting the future generations? Yeah. So  I think what we, so much of what we  believe is stressful is, is that it's work, it's, it's life, it's kids, right? But, but what also is stressful and it starts to just sort of create that continuous, Mounting burden on the body is that the toxins that are in our life that we're exposed to creates stress, which creates a burden.

The, you know, potential mycotoxins, the the toxins in the environment, the toxins that are in our food, the toxins that are in our skin. And sorry, I see that in our skincare products, right? So what we're putting on our body our shampoo, our deodorant, perfume, perfume.

And it's, I don't know if you do it, but I'm like, just nobody wear perfume. It's in cologne. It is so, so hard on the body. All of these things. Also, many of them are what's called endocrine disruptors. And so endocrine disruptors means that it doesn't allow our natural.  Hormones are natural estrogens to do their job.

And so then we have these crazy hormonal fluctuations for men for women For children, and so it also then creates it continues to create that stress and that burden on the body So we want to  there the so much of it is the understanding that we have  So much power and taking a lot of this, that stuff out of our lives and reducing that burden so significantly, you know, we can't change what's in the air, unfortunately, you know, without,  well, we just can't, it's  hard.

But we can change what's in our environment, in our home. We can change, you know, what we bring into the home. We can change what we put on our yard. We can change the food that we buy. And, you know, just looking at the.  Meat, for instance, you know, there are still those who don't understand the difference between conventional and and pasture raised meat when very simply, there's a lot more to it, but it's biochemical.

So you, you eat an animal who is inflamed. We're going to be inflamed. It's just simple biochemistry. Right? So it is  taking all of this burden off the body, which is then is going to reduce symptoms. If you have an  autoimmune condition,

 But we can start to bring those antibodies down. We can start to calm the immune system. We can allow for the symptoms that are presenting, whether it's mental and emotional symptoms, if it's GI symptoms, if it's pain we can start to calm the body  and allow for over time,  the epigenetics expression.

Of genes that might be negative. We can turn those off and create positive. And so just a really quick  explanation. So we know what our genetics are. So, but we have our epigenome, which essentially locations on top of genes that turn on and off. And they are what. allow for the expression of genes. And so  it is, this is the beautiful part of it and why I love epigenetics so much.

It's because  we have the control over how they express for the most part. It's what we eat. It's what we do. It's how we think. It's how we move. It's our stress. It's trauma, which we don't always have so much control over, but all of these things that are our life and our lifestyle.  Those are the things that turn genes on and off.

And so that means that if we are suffering with symptoms now, suffering from an autoimmune condition, because we have the potential in our epigenome for an autoimmune disease, we can turn that stuff around by addressing it through, you know,  All kinds of things, but, but changing those things in the lifestyle that are problematic.

It's, you know, it goes back to the miracle of creation. We can create. our health to a large degree, or we can create dishealth to a large degree.  Yeah, I really like  how you just discussed and broke down the environmental aspects of  our well being. And you're right, we do control them, right?

What we put on our skin, which is a, I heard it's a 7 billion industry just in North America. And I was like, whoa. That's a lot of money being spent on skin products. But you know, it's true. Like, and then what we eat, I was looking into this for a patient. I, I'm a nutritionist and I help people who are on weight loss medication. 

So I do the cognitive behavior therapy in conjunction with it. And she couldn't lose weight. Like, you know, she just was having issues losing weight. And we started looking into pseudo estrogens that you just talked about and, you know, just removing the conventional meat from her diet  that helped her lose weight. 

So it's, it's amazing, like the,  things we are putting into our body and even our habits. I,  you know, in my book, I talk about it, like, you, you control your work environment to a large extent. So can we take those steps? And  there is help out there. Professionals like you. Let's talk about the chronic conditions prior to pregnancy and how do they impact the pregnancy and the health of the mother and baby.  So,  you know, it can be it can be such a frustrating situation because, you know, when the body is focused on one thing, it's  or maybe lots of things, right?

And it's not going to focus on these things over here.  And so the goal.  I think I already said this, but the goal is to understand the root cause so we can address the root cause and then allow the body to do its job. And so, you know, suffering with whatever chronic condition  it is impactful negatively because the body's like, I don't, I don't know how to, How to create when I'm trying to keep you alive, right?

The body's first goal is to keep you alive. And it's, it's, I think too,  that so often we're trying to fight the body instead of having that understanding that.  The body is here to protect us. The body's here to help us. It wants to be here. It wants to do all the things it's supposed to do. But symptoms are, you know, I do knock on  whatever I can knock on.

It's like the body knocking on your door saying, dude,  I need you to get involved now because I can't do this on my own anymore. You know, it's going back to learning how to listen to our bodies. You know, I think historically we've, we've had, we have so much of this beautiful plant medicine because of how people used to listen to their bodies and they knew what they needed to, to listen to their bodies.

to eat in order to bring balance back to the body. And we don't have that as much anymore. We have, okay, well, I have this pain. I'm going to go take ibuprofen. I have this pain or this, you know, this heartburn. I'm going to go take an antacid. That could be a whole talk in and of itself for sure. But instead of trying to find the quick fix.

Let's, let's, let's ask the question, which is go, you know, digging for the root causes. Ask the question. Why?  Even if you go to the doctor and the doctor says you have this disease, ask why? Never ever, ever stop asking why, because it will go deeper and it will go deeper. And I'm still learning to go deeper and deeper.

Right. And so  we have to, we have to take those symptoms and say, what's going on. If I don't know, who can I find that can help give me some guidance? And I might've gotten off on a tangent there, but, but the point is just, we need, we, we have to, and I'm still learning, we're all learning, but to listen to our body, what is trying to tell us, because.

It's, it's, it's trying to work for us, not against us.    Knowledge is power. Yes. Oh, can, can you gain power? Like, you know, can you ask your doctor about it? Can you ask? Coaches like us about it.

Can you, you know, that's how you get to that point where you understand what your body needs, because to your point with the lifestyle we have right now, we have lost the awareness.  Of our body and I talk about this in my book too, that's self awareness about what is happening in your environment and now how it is impacting your body, which in my case, as a movement specialist, it shows up as in form of pain, 

you know, pain is a marker our bodies are is trying to tell us. Oh, well, I'm done like you need to take care of me now, like, you know, you can't delay me anymore. So I can only imagine the impact it would have on a mother to be.  If she's going through so much stress or she has chronic conditions  such as musculoskeletal diseases or autoimmune diseases, and those are not easy on, you know, a human body.

 I actually just saw somebody today who has MS. It's not easy on your body. So now on top of it, if you're trying to get pregnant. Well,  your body's going to fight you.  what are a few tips that you would like to share with our listeners today?

Who are trying to grow their family at this time? And, you know, they know that they, they  help like, you know, at this point, they're like, okay, we have enough knowledge to know that we can change our environment. We want to take some actions. So what could we do? Two or three quick action steps that our listeners can take today. 

So one of the things that I want to start with is a stat that I think is really important, but it shows, it shows, the data shows that making five lifestyle changes while planning for pregnancy can decrease negative outcomes by 80%.  so  it is a big deal and can have major impact.

I don't believe in a lot of black and white black and white You have to get rid of gluten and dairy. I don't care if it's straight from the cow I don't care if it's you know Heirloom grains you have to get rid of gluten and dairy because for you and for your situation It's inflammatory and it will continue to create a problem.

So that's that's one tip that people hate  But I say it all the time because there's so many people suffering with autoimmune conditions today.  So beyond that you know,  we talked about so much of these really beautiful basics, but watching what you're putting on your skin, watching what you are, Watching your thoughts.

What are you saying to yourself that is negative? What are you doing? How are you beating yourself up? These things are stressful and they're inflammatory and that it creates this inflammatory cascade So, you know, what are you doing? You know treating yourself,  you know, like the miracle that you are Right.

I mean that's in in all ways. We're all these really beautiful miracles that we get to sit here and and and And help others and grow businesses and create and do, and all of the things that we're put here to do. It is, it is a miracle. So that's what I would hope for is that we treat ourselves like one you know, watch the shampoo that you're using, watch the detergents that you use.

Have a, I have really quickly, I have a client who was using what she thought was a good detergent and she had around her, her, her underwear line. And she was literally peeling. And it's because of the detergent. So  imagine what it's doing to the inside, if it's doing that to the outside. So there are these things, so many things that we have that we can pull in and change so quickly that can make massive differences in our health,  the health of the pregnancy and the baby and the health of generations. 

Yeah, I love it. I love all the tips that you gave. And especially. The mental health part and the self talk, right, which we do a lot of like, once you become aware of how you're talking to yourself, then, you know, like, Oh, most of the thoughts that come to our head are negative. And I suggest to my clients to journal it when it starts happening, journal it.

And, you know, what's the reason, why do you think like that? Like, why are you thinking like that? Once you start finding out the cause, then you stop. You're like, Oh no, it's, it actually isn't, you know, A real fact. It's just that I'm trying to put myself down and that comes down to the mind body connection, right?

Yeah, the thoughts that you're going to have, they're going to have an impact on your health.  So  where can our listeners learn more about? these tips about your programs. Yeah. How can they connect with you? Yeah. So I'm tastes like nutrition everywhere, right? So the website is tastes like nutrition, all of the social media, the radio show the podcast, it's all tastes like nutrition.

So you can find me anywhere. Information about the, about soulful conception is going to be on the website under programs. I also will have we, we hit on this a little bit, but one of the things that I like to, for people to understand when it comes, you know, I can talk all day long about the stuff that's in your, your, your products that you, maybe you love and you think they're doing these amazing things for you, but they're actually super toxic.

So I put together it's a pretty robust,  List of toxins that are, you know, food toxins body care products, environmental toxins that I put together so you can take that and kind of look at your ingredients. It is not extensive because it would take up books probably and a lot of the stuff hasn't been tested.

But one of the things to, to keep in mind, and I think probably one of the best tips is to take your products and whether it's an ingredient or the product itself and go to environmentalworkinggroup. org or   EWG. org. And you can put it, I mean, I just put in my search bar, EWG and TIDE.

Right. Or whatever it is you want to put in. And that's going to be an amazing guide to help you understand what you should not have in your environment or in your food. But you know, I can, I, you know, I have this list that I can, I'm happy to, to give that I think can be really beneficial just so you, I mean, I think it's an eyeopener to me, it's an eyeopener of what is out there that.

Is just, you know, constantly creating,  you know, a toxic burden.  Yeah, Nikki, I would love to actually have that list too, because you're right.  Although I'm a coach and I have a degree in this, but I am always learning. Like  the new data starts coming out and, and you're not always aware of your habits too, I talk to my guests, like you, you know, You bring awareness to us, too.

So I'm like, oh, yeah. I actually saw a client yesterday. She was on a vacation and she used a different detergent. I don't know exactly which brand it was, but she broke out, her whole body broke out into hives. So, you know, the doctors told her she has dermatitis and stuff. And now she is  like, yes, of course.

And it's been like three weeks and she still has those hives.  So you're right. Like all of these products that we are consuming, we are putting on our bodies, we are washing our clothes with,  they have a direct impact on our health and wellbeing. And  going back to just, you know,  completing the circle here.

If you are a woman of childbearing age and you're trying to grow your family, you know, these are the things you should consider,  like, how are they impacting your body? And are they putting more stress on your body? And if they are, then that means that you know, they can impact the wellbeing of  wellbeing of you, your baby and your whole family.

So thanks for, you know, sharing the, these tips for journey to motherhood, which is, you know, remarkable and transformative experience as we talked about. And as.  my listeners, who are preparing for pregnancy, it's essential to prioritize your physical, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing. And I know that Nikki can help you with that.

So thank you so much for coming on the show today, Nikki. Yeah. Thank you. 

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