Are Seed oils toxic? Healthy fats & toxic fats with Dr. Lulu Shimek

This episode comes from a listener question about seed oils and if they are toxic or not (shout out to Roxy for the question!). Lunden welcomes Dr. LuLu Shimek onto the show to discuss this topic because this is totally her area of expertise.

Here's what we cover in this episode:

1. What are the best dietary oils for optimizing healthy hormones?
2. Which oils are toxic to the body?
3. Are there different oils that should be used to cook different foods?
4. Why is it important to buy organic oils? 
5. What are your top three oils to take as a supplement and what are the hormonal benefits?
5. What is the seed rotation diet and how do those seeds oils balance the hormones?
 

Dr. Lulu Shimek is a Naturopathic Physician and expert in women’s health and genetic analysis, working with patients experiencing chronic disease: hormonal imbalance, thyroid disorders, gastrointestinal dysfunction, depression, anxiety and fatigue. She believes that once we dive deep down to the root of the problem of the distortion and ignite our bodies innate ability to heal, we see unimaginable changes in our well being.

Dr. LuLu’s book Detox. Nourish. Activate: Plant & Vibrational Medicine for Energy, Mood & Love focuses on using botanical medicine and other natural modalities to heal the whole body by optimizing vitality, increasing wellbeing and enhancing cellular performance.

Connect with Dr. Lulu
Website: doclulu.com
Twitter: @drlulushimek
Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drlulushimeknd/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dr.lulushimek/
Instagram: @drlulushimek
Podcast: The Genetic Genius
Youtube: Dr. LuLu Shimek
Book: Detox Nourish Activate: Plant & Vibrational Medicine for Energy, Mood, and Love
 

Transcript

Lunden Souza: [00:00:00] Welcome to Self Love and Sweat the podcast, the place where you'll get inspired to live your life unapologetically, embrace your perfect imperfections, break down barriers, and do what sets your soul on fire. I'm your host Lunden Souza.

Lunden Souza: [00:00:20] Hey, have you grabbed your free self love and sweat monthly calendar yet? This calendar is so amazing. It comes right in your inbox every single month to help you have a little nugget of wisdom, a sweaty workout, a mindset activity, just a little something. Something to help keep you focused and motivated and keep that momentum towards your goals. So every day when you get this calendar, you'll see a link that you can click that will lead to a podcast episode or a workout or something that will be very powerful and quick to read. And then you'll also see on the top left corner of every single day there's a little checkbox in the calendar. And what that is, is that's for your one thing. You can choose one thing every month, or it can be the same something that you want to implement and make this something that you can easily implement, like daily meditation or getting a certain amount of steps or water, for example, and staying hydrated and even taking your supplements. This can be something, if you want to get more regular, doing a particular habit and routine, you can choose what that checkbox means. So if you want your self love and sweat free monthly calendar delivered right to your inbox every month on the first of the month, go to lifelikelunden.com/calendar. Fill out the form really quickly and you will have your calendar and your inbox within a few short minutes. That's lifelikelunden.com/calendar Go get yours for free and enjoy this episode everyone.

Lunden Souza: [00:02:06] Today's guest on the podcast is Dr. Lulu Shimek. She is a naturopathic physician and expert in women's health and genetic analysis, working with patients experiencing chronic disease, hormonal imbalance, thyroid disorders, gastrointestinal dysfunction, depression, anxiety and fatigue. She believes that once we dive deep down to the root of the problem of the distortion and ignite our body's innate ability to heal, we see unimaginable changes in our well being. Dr. Lulu's book Detox nourish activate paint a vibrational medicine I'm sorry plant and vibrational medicine for energy, mood and love focuses on using botanical medicine and other natural modalities to heal the whole body by optimizing vitality, increasing well-being, and enhancing cellular performance. I'm so excited to have you here today on the podcast. Dr. Lulu, how are you doing? Where are you in this world, you little wanderlust discovered hip soul. 

[00:03:05] Dr. Lulu 

That's right. Thank you, London, for having me on. And I'm super excited to be here today. And I'm at home right now and my home in Asheville. I've been doing lots of traveling, so I'm going to be drinking tea today during our talk just to make sure my my voice is really clear because of the traveling kind of did me in this year a little bit. 

[00:03:24] Lunden Souza 

Yeah, I totally feel you. And yeah, I feel free to sip. I have my my tea here too, but I feel the same sometimes when we're talking. We're educating. It's like, Oh, we have to remember too, that it's not just a matter of like, Yeah, like our physical recovery, maybe after a workout or whatever, but thinking about our voice and nurturing that there too. Sometimes I feel like I'm like, Welcome to the podcast. It's a little like Scratchy, but. 

[00:03:47] Dr. Lulu 

I'm so excited to.

[00:03:48] Lunden Souza 

Have you. So stoked to have you here today. So Dr. Lulu and I met through Best Holistic Life Magazine, where we both contribute for that awesome publication. And then I found out that she lives in Asheville, which is where my boyfriend lives. And so we got to spend time in real life, which is something that I don't always get to do with people I love from the Internet, you know? And so it was fun to spend some time with her. And then I got a DM from a listener of the podcast, and it was actually an article that I didn't read, to be honest, because I get a lot of stuff. I don't know about you, Dr. Lulu, but I get a lot of articles sent to me or like products like, can you check this label and see if it's good, you know, and that's kind of a lot. So sometimes I don't always dive deep into every question that I get like that. But I love using it for podcast episodes because I know if people are concerned on the topic or one person's concerned on the topic, there's a lot. So the article was our seed oils toxic? The latest research suggests? Yes. So I got this article and she's like, Hey, I've been reading about seed oils. I thought it could be an informative podcast and if we could talk about it. So I was like, Oh, I know exactly the doctor, I want to talk to you. I hit up Dr. Lulu and she was totally on board to talk about this. So Dr. Lulu, what are seed oils? Are they toxic? And like, let's just kind of start there. 

[00:05:06] Dr. Lulu 

Yeah, that's a great question. London and thanks for whoever sent that in because is a really important topic, especially especially as we're in an age of really wanting to eat healthy food for our hormones and seeds. One of the reasons why that article is out is because they're being grown in a way that's not organic. So they're being sprayed. And also they are being they're GMO, the genetically modified seeds. And then when we're taking a seed. So let's kind of like backtrack about why we take a seed, right? So when we're taking a seed, it's used basically as a form of fat. Now that's we're talking about the specific pufas. So like the essential fatty acids, that's what we use seeds for. They can help with hormones, they can help with the brain neurotransmitters, they help our cellular membrane, all those really great things we need fats for. So if we're thinking about taking a fat from a seed and we took something that was toxic, so our cells have basically a fatty layer around them, a phospholipid bilayer and that layer, since it's fat, when we take a fat that then is laden with toxins and chemicals, our body absorbs that immediately into the system. Does that make sense? 

[00:06:21] Lunden Souza 

Yes. So the way that it's grown and let's say the chemicals that they're putting on it, then when we ingest the fat because it's so vital to our bodies, it's like you said, that lipid layer around the cell almost reminds me, I don't know, like a lotion or like a lubricant to be around. But it's almost as if, like then the toxic lipids that you're mentioning are attaching to these vital places in our body, and that's causing the disruption. Am I hearing you correctly? 

[00:06:46] Dr. Lulu 

Yeah, totally. So when you're using or buying essential fatty acids, so there's different types of fatty acids. So we're mainly talking from the seeds using omega threes and sixes and nines. Not the sixes are mainly our seeds. And so when we're using those seeds, like let's say almonds or Brazil nuts or chia seeds and flax seeds when they are sprayed with chemicals, it's basically just like everything that I just mentioned about the benefits then has that layer of toxicity intertwined with it, right? Increasing inflammation because we want to use essential fatty acids for many things. But one of the main things we use them for is to decrease inflammation. But when we use them with toxins, it increases the inflammatory markers in the body. 

[00:07:31] Lunden Souza 

Got it. And so the phase that you mentioned, omega three, six and nine for those listening, that probably sounds familiar and I know I take a supplement and omega three, six and nine supplement, and those are the forms that our body loves. But when we're consuming them, like you mentioned, after being drenched in toxins and processed, our body doesn't respond as optimally. And I personally so I know from experience, you know the the yeah. What can happen when your hormones can be completely out of balance. I had horrible cystic acne. I was playing this tug of war battle with birth control and trying to manage like feelings, hormones, but also looks and things like that. So I know from that journey of really going in and just trying to find the purest, most organic chemical free products when it came to foods, personal care products, all those things was so powerful. And so what happens to our hormones and what symptoms can we may be experiencing if we and I know that it can't we can't pinpoint and be like, I mean, maybe we can. I don't know. I'm asking you, but like you had too much seed oil. So this is this because of this, right? We're I know that we're kind of like a toxic soup and there's a lot of things going into it. And it's hard to say if the seed oil is going to tip the scale or if another, you know, a toxic thought or something that might be stressing us out. So like, where do we start with or let's say, what happens to our hormones when we're continuously consuming products? Yeah, without knowing their impact. And then where would be like the place to start if we noticed some of these symptoms? Do we just completely get rid of seed oils? Is there a substitute that we can have instead? 

[00:09:20] Dr. Lulu 

Yeah, great question. So when it comes to knowing if the seeds are or other essential oils, essential fatty oils specifically and fats are not basically doing harm or not doing what you want them to do for your hormones, it's it's kind of can't necessarily narrow that down. It's more blanketed for hormonal imbalance. Right. And so from hormonal imbalance, maybe, for instance, your cycles are a little off. Maybe you're having a 36 day cycle. Maybe you're having, like you said, maybe having acne during different times of the month. Maybe you're having a lot of PMS, really bad cramping where you have two days where you can't get out of bed. Maybe you're having really heavy bleeding, where you're going through many different pads and tampons throughout the day. So there's lots of different kind of like signs that your body says, okay, this isn't quite quote unquote normal. Right? And we all have different cycles. But there is a norm that as women that we fall in. Right. So when you start to have these things and you probably if you're listening out there, you probably know if you're having these things right, maybe you're having extra migraines, like I said, cramping, PMS, super moody, all these things can be a sign and you can to really identify. You want to do some testing, right? That's number one. You want to do some hormonal testing. Now, if you're if you're not doing that, you can still use diet, nutrition, exercise as a way to bring those hormones back into balance. And using healthy fats is really important because when we eat a healthy fat, our liver then takes that healthy fat and makes it into cholesterol, which we need cholesterol, because from that cholesterol we then make our hormones and use those hormones to balance the body. 

[00:11:04] Lunden Souza 

Yes. And so people hearing cholesterol. And I think sometimes, you know, just based on, I don't know, the ebbs and flows of the industry, some people it's like cholesterol, you know, But we need it, right? So we need it, as you mentioned, it's critical in the production of our hormones. And we can see I think I just think of Legos sometimes it's just like there's certain Legos that fit and go together and you can see that clearly and then you can see when certain ones are off, like the building blocks are off based on. And I like how you kind of painted that picture for us because it's like, okay, the foods that we're eating, you. 

[00:11:41] Lunden Souza 

Our program or we have the fats, right? And then they're giving us this particular cholesterol, which is then programming for this particular hormone to engage or not engage or fire or wire in the way that it's not are supposed to are not supposed to. And I think that sometimes. 

[00:11:57] Lunden Souza 

You know, I found it frustrating for a little while until I found it empowering. And I just realized finding it empowering was just so much better. But, you know, like you mentioned, there's a lot of symptoms that we can find when it comes to hormonal or hormonal imbalance and hormonal dysfunction. And I think that a lot of what you mentioned, a lot of women can raise their hands for. Right. And so what I found the most empowering on my journey was just like one thing at a time and get excited about it and celebrate it. So I remember when I was like OC Nomos with the, you know, drugstore skin care. I'm going to buy clean, nontoxic beauty products, okay, no more plug ins. I'm going to take those out and I'm going to use my essential oils. And that's when I learned about essential oils and getting all the diffusers involved for cleansing for clean smells. I remember just really getting serious about the water I was consuming and being really mindful of my quality water. Right? So this is another one. These seed oils, these things we might be already cooking with, it might be autopilot. 

[00:13:01] Lunden Souza 

Maybe you have the sunflower oil, the grapeseed oil, whatever. That's your go to your canola oil. So this is a moment to not feel overwhelmed by, oh, my gosh, everything's toxic and harming me. But it's a moment to be like, Hey, okay, when I go shopping, I'm going to do one next thing better. So I'm going to swap out this oil for this oil. So I always found that super helpful because it's kind of like, I don't know, you can go down a rabbit hole of thinking that everything's toxic. And then I'm like, What's more toxic? Like thinking everything's toxic or the actual products? And so I like to say that because I think one little baby step at a time. So why is it important for us to get organic oils when we're swapping out the canola as the seed oils for better options? What are we going to choose? Where are we going to find that? At the stores? And I know a lot of the other options are so delicious, like avocado oils, one of my face. Right? So tell us about that. 

[00:13:51] Dr. Lulu 

I love avocado oil. And I think one piece that I want to mention, too, is like there's different types of fats, right? So we mentioned the omega threes and sixes. Those are going to be your poly unsaturated fats, right? So then we have our mono unsaturated fats. This is going to be your olive oil, like you mentioned, the canola oil, hazelnut oil, almond oil. So those that's that next level and we can use those in smaller amounts right when we want to really focus on the healthy fats, those omega threes and sixes coming from the seeds, the cold water fish. Now the other piece is when we have saturated fats, so saturated fats, these are going to be from our animal protein, beef, lamb, chicken, butter, all of those things. And so those are going to be ones we still want to use with our daily diet, but we don't want to use them in excess because then our body is going to be and like you said, with those Lego building blocks, that's how a chain is of a fatty acid basically has stacks. You could think of it like that. So when we're using something like a saturated fat, it's like more stacked. So our body has to work harder basically to kind of break that down. 

[00:15:00] Dr. Lulu 

It doesn't absorb it in the same way. And then we have our nasty hydrogenated hydrogenated oils and trans fats, right? These are going to be super toxic for the system and those are going to be found in everything that basically is processed and the reason that they were developed by the cooking industry. Right. The Mr. Joe out there wanted to make a product taste better. So they add in hydrogen hydrogenation, and that makes it really toxic for ourselves. And that's like breads, muffins, cookies, crackers, chips, anything. So when you're reading those labels, it's like all those fried foods. So that's kind of like the breakdown of fat. So the trans fats and saturated is the farthest away. So if you're starting slow out there and eliminating first you want to eliminate those, right? And then you want to have smaller quantities of the other fats and then really focus on getting the omega threes and the omega sixes for your hormones. Now, I know that was kind of like the long answer for your question, but then if we look at those healthy fats, the omega threes in the sixes, we really want to focus on organic and you can read the labels. But the other piece is like if you're getting, let's say. 

[00:16:12] Dr. Lulu 

Fish oil supplement, I think you mentioned you were taking one, so you're taking a fish oil supplement, one. You want to make sure that it's organic, it's been it's unfiltered, but they're filtering out the mercury that's really specific. So it's been a cold water press and there's different ways. And so when you're buying a fish oil supplement or an omega three supplement one, it needs to be refrigerated in the store and not you don't want to buy something off the shelf that's been in any way heated because that damage, especially in plastic, it damages the oil that you're ingesting. And then also, if it's been in a plastic container, it's going to have all those plastics absorbed right into the oil. So those are two things right away that I recommend buying something that's been refrigerated, buying something in a glass container and not a see through container. Right. Because you want to really protect it. And then when you buy it and store it, you also want to store it in the refrigerator so that you're not then taking something that goes rancid, basically. Does that make sense? 

[00:17:09] Lunden Souza 

Yes. Yes. So you're referring are you talking about like liquid fish oil? Yeah. Okay. 

[00:17:14] Dr. Lulu 

Exactly. 

[00:17:15] Lunden Souza 

The one I take is not what you mentioned. So I'll be referring back to what you said, but my boyfriend takes one that is a liquid one that's in the fridge. It's in a dark container and it also tastes good. It has like a mango smoothie flavor, so it tastes like you're almost eating yogurt. And I say that because maybe someone listening is like, what, Liquid fish oil? Like, I just like, maybe that's a recipe for grossness. But yeah, that one actually tastes. Yeah, like it's like mango sherbet or something. And it tastes just like a thick spoonful of yogurt. Pretty much like there's, like, no trace of fish at all. So I think that's helpful just to let people know. But. Right. But yeah, okay. So that's something to look for. And what you mentioned to before, that was like checking the ingredients on the foods that we're eating because a lot of those seed oils can be hidden in the ingredients. And I think that's best practice beyond the seed oils to look at the nutrition facts and at the ingredients, because sometimes, like you mentioned breads or frozen food items or things like that, it's not just what you see that's in the ingredients. When you look at the ingredient list, you'll find the sunflower oil, sometimes canola oil. That'll be like the first ingredient on the list sometimes. And for those listening that don't know, it goes in order of biggest, to least in terms of what's in the food. So when you see an ingredients list and the first ingredient is canola oil or sugar or cane sugar or certain things like that, that is the most prominent ingredient. 

[00:18:47] Lunden Souza 

And then the lower it gets on the list, the less they are using of it. And so I've seen, you know, your eyes get really opened when you start to look for those things. And it can be, like I said, a little frustrating because it could be that a lot of the items that are our go to items that we think are healthy, that we enjoy, that we make that are easy, we know where to find them right in the aisle might not be the best options for us. And we get a chance to change. We get a chance to choose better when we know better. And I think that's really important too. Like I said, those little steps. Okay, now we learn a little bit. Now, next time you go to the store, look at those ingredients, try to swap out different items. I know you're always sharing great stuff on social media, Dr. Lulu, for like, you know, better options. But what are some other resources or ways besides looking at the ingredient list? Like, is it the case that like, I don't know, 99% of all processed food has these hidden oils? Should we stay away from that completely? What are maybe some best practices eating wise that we can that we can implement that? Yeah, that help us kind of avoid some of those foods without feeling like, oh man, we can't eat nothing. 

[00:19:54] Dr. Lulu 

Right? Totally. Yes. So, you know, in a real world, most people don't avoid all processed foods. Now, that is generally what I recommend is is making your own thing like. But if you're going to eat, let's say you're going to eat a ship, for instance, you know, like maybe some healthy, non-GMO, organic corn chips. So you want to look at what oils are using with that now. Canola oil, I think is one of the worst oils to to have as an ingredient, because if you and you can Google it, if you watch the YouTube process about how it's made, it's really highly chemically made now. And so they use a lot of canola oil in food. And so it's a it's very toxic to the system. So when you're looking at things and your ingredients, look for the oils that you want to be in your foods and then you're probably going to have to spend a little more outside the box or in the box to look like. For instance, I like the brand siete. They make a grain free and chip and they're made with avocado oil, an oil that I know is organic. It's going to be a good source. It's not going to become toxic when heated. So there's lots of things you want to look at. So I would say if you're looking at the food box and just what you said, London, you're looking to see what oil is used first in the number one ingredient and then the sugars, and then make some on your own and see what that looks like. Maybe you're like, okay, maybe once a week I buy a bag of chips and I eat that. But maybe you're like, you know, maybe I think I'll start making my own kale chips or something. You know, where you're making when you choose the oils and the ingredients, it actually allows you to have a much better place of fat and you can choose what goes in it. 

[00:21:37] Lunden Souza 

Hey, really quick, I want to interrupt the podcast for just a minute to tell you about one of my favorite supplements for hair, skin, nails, digestive and gut health, and that is snap supplements, super greens with collagen. Now, if you're following me on social media, you've probably seen me post about this a bunch because honestly, this product tastes amazing and it's jam packed with nutrients, like I said, to support healthy hair, skin and nails. It helps support detoxification, a healthy immune system. And there's even probiotics in there for a healthy gut. It's non-GMO, no sugar added, soy free, grass fed collagen. And every scoop is going to give you a seven grams of protein. And this is why I love it, because it's not like a protein shake. It's just a scoop of powder. It tastes amazing. I put it in water, or if I want more hydration, I'll put it in coconut water and mix it up. And it's like having a nice, refreshing beverage that's packed with a bunch of super greens and protein. So what I'm super excited about is that for listening to the podcast, you'll get this discount here nowhere else, but for listening to the podcast. You can save 25% off on all your SNAP supplement purchases, including the super greens with collagen, and you do that by using Code  LUNDEN25 at checkout. That's LUNDEN25 for 25% off at checkout. You can shop on snap supplements or you can shop on my website lifelikelunden.com/supplements and you'll see there there's already an additional 10% taken off. But you because you're a podcast listener, you're going to get 25% off when you use the code. LUNDEN25 at checkout LUNDEN25 at checkout to get your snap supplements, super greens and collagen and all your snap supplements for 25% off. Now let's get back to the show.

[00:23:20] Lunden Souza

Yeah, and it just puts some awareness consciousness really in your food of what you're eating and things because a lot of those convenience foods I find can really be eaten mindlessly too. It's like, well, now you see it, now you don't The Houdini bag of chips, right? You're like, Oh, yeah, that's weird, you know? So it's a moment to and I love that in life coaching and what I do, it's just like, how can we like, intercept those moments where it's like, Oh no, here's what I normally do, but I'm going to replace something else instead, and just kind of allowing that to, yeah, like to heal within your habit system and what you're doing. It's like we're going to extract that and put this in instead and just getting ourselves to choose that next best thing. Yeah. One thing that you mentioned that I, that stuck in my head and I wanted to. 

[00:24:22] Lunden Souza 

Bring it up because okay, so we've talked about seed oils and seeds and I know that you had mentioned before, you're like almonds, Brazil nuts, chia seeds. Sunflower seeds are almonds and Brazil nuts that we call nuts. Are those actually seeds? Is that in the seed family? Because I know sometimes we think things are vegetables that are actually fruits, blah, blah, blah. So I think it's always nice to like really know. 

[00:24:46] Dr. Lulu 

Right? Yes, that's great. So there's a difference between those Some of them, some of the seeds are omega threes and more of those seeds are omega threes than opposed to omega sixs. Those are going to be more of your your nuts. But for instance, like pumpkin seeds, those fall into our omega six category. I love using pumpkin seeds. They have a lot of zinc, really great for boosting the immune system. So some of the seeds and nuts kind of rotate into different categories. Let's say, for instance, like walnuts, that's going to be an omega three. Really great for the brain. A really great. Alternate if you're not eating any fish. So if you're looking at I say it's better to kind of have this whole gambit and making sure you're getting a good combination of seeds and nuts. So that way you're really getting all the omega threes and the omega sixes together because sometimes it's hard to remember like the categories. But most of the seeds and nuts are in both categories. I'm sorry, Bones. Some of the seeds are in one category in some or the other. That's why we can use them for different types of the month for our hormones because like, yes, sesame seeds are going to help with this type, this type of hormone production as opposed to pumpkin seeds like that. 

[00:25:59] Lunden Souza 

Yeah. Yeah. And I love that segue into this topic of seed cycling or seed rotation. I remember you and I incorporate a lot of nuts and seeds in my diet currently, but I haven't intentionally seed cycled like I did when I first was on this journey in Quest and really trying out different things. But I remember it being so much fun and so powerful and really, yeah, it was a very powerful tool in my toolkit to find hormone balance. So yeah. Tell us about seed cycling. I remember just carrying like two little containers, little stackable like to go containers and one had I can't remember. I'm going to see if I can remember what the first two I guess it was. Pumpkin and flax seeds are the first and then sesame and sunflower for the second half of your cycle. Yes. So I remember putting a mixture of both of those seeds in containers and then using them for like salad toppers or throwing them in a smoothie just to incorporate regularly. So how can seeds help us with our cycle, our menstrual cycle, our hormonal balance? What's that?

[00:27:08] Dr. Lulu 

Oh, that's such a great question. And I love using seed cycling. It's so fun and so easy. It's and I find it really empowering because you're taking something that, you know, like it's a food, it's a whole anytime we eat a whole food for our hormones, it helps us to have more awareness and it's empowering. So from the seed perspective, we're using the omega threes and the Omega sixs to help with estrogen and progesterone production. So like you said, we use the pumpkin seeds in the flax seeds, some sesame seeds and then sunflower seeds. So one thing you have to know is when you're cycling. So step number one is keep a track with either a flow app or something, some app on your phone to know when you're cycling, when you're bleeding. So day one is going to be the start of your menstrual cycle. That's when you're going to be having the sunflower seeds so you can bring in those sunflower seeds during the menstrual phase. Then as you move into the follicular phase, which is usually around 7 to 10 days, that's after you finish your bleeding. Then you're going to start the pumpkin seeds. Then as you move into ovulation, which for most people is around 3 to 5 days. So you need to know when that is keeping track. 

[00:28:14] Dr. Lulu 

Usually in the middle of your cycle you can see that with a change in your cervical fluid, however you're keeping track, or maybe you're using a basal thermometer. That's when you're going to move into the flax seeds. Those are going to be really great for really helping to nurture the hormones and helping with ovulation so you can. And then the last piece is in the luteal phase. So after you're ovulating, before menses, you're going to bring in the sesame seeds. So super easy to bring those in and you and I really suggest grinding them up. That's a really great way. Or like you said, putting them on salads. When you grind them, you don't want to heat them, You don't want to heat seeds. You want them to be really nice and raw. Because remember how we talked about the fats. They're really important for pure quality and when heated, it can damage the quality of the oil, right? So when we eat those seeds during different times of the month, it helps with estrogen and progesterone production and helps balance hormones. So it can help with PMS, can help with our cycling and help with bleeding. It can help with our skin, all of those different things. 

[00:29:13] Lunden Souza 

Yes, I love that. And I love all of those seeds. I love that you mentioned grinding them up because I had heard that too, especially with the flax seeds that having them ground up unlocks some more of those fats versus eating the seeds Whole is great for fiber, right? They'll probably look the same as they did on the way in, on the way out. 

[00:29:31] Dr. Lulu 

And that's powerful. 

[00:29:32] Lunden Souza 

Too, right? Get a little fiber fiber in our life. But I remember that, too. And so that's cool to to have that strategy because, you know, I'm speaking to my former self, too. And anybody now where you're just like, I just want, you know, these feeling. I want to have everything fixed. And it was just like a moment where I had to be like, slow down, sister self and just one thing at a time, one little step at a time. And these tweaks with nutrition, I'm telling you, were huge, huge. Especially for my mood. I noticed that tremendously. That was what I was always struggling with, with this tug of war with with birth control, of course I had acne, but even after that went away, it was like always this mood. And so as soon as I was like, okay, I need to check the quality of my supplements. Oh my gosh. Doctor Lulu, What I was pumping into my body thinking, you know, more protein. And this really early on in my life, just like trying to have all the supplements to burn all the fat, build all the muscle, try to be a fitness, you know, like you have this physique that's just like not healthy, quite frankly. Right. And then yeah, and then just like looking at the personal care products I was using, right, Like so many things, but it really was just one thing at a time. 

[00:30:48] Lunden Souza 

And I noticed most with nutrition when I was like, okay, you know, we have to find ways to. I mean, there's always ways, right? There's a lot of even community ways too, that I've been involved with in Orange County, because sometimes even eating organic or being able to purchase like even Siete de, which is the brand you mentioned that I love, yet they chips, they're tortillas, all the things. I mean, that's pricey, right? It's not as cheap as grabbing the Lay's bag of chips as it is this chip. In fact, you could probably get five bags of Lay's for one bag of seat, right? Sometimes. Right. So that's also something I want to bring to the table, because we find ways we will find a way. There was an organic farm I had I found that was their their mission was to get the organic farm to be at the food bank so that the food banks can start to give away and donate more quality food versus just like preserved, you know, canned foods and things like that. I know there's a lot of like imperfect foods which you can get great quality food, but it's like the one that looks like the misfit. So they don't put it in the grocery store because it's not shiny and sexy, you know? So there are so many ways that we can get creative to buy things that, yeah, quite frankly, right now they are more expensive if you just go, you know, straight to the most convenient store. 

[00:32:06] Lunden Souza 

But there are ways to figure out how to make that work. And sometimes, you know, I realize, too, you know, a lot of a lot of people that I was around and even myself sometimes not so much anymore, to be honest, because for me, that style of living is my priority. But it's like on a weekend you could easily spend a couple hundred bucks on like Uber going out to dinner drinks, all the things that those were things I had to keep in mind to where I was like, okay, if I want to have these quality supplements that I don't just pick up on sale at the drugstore, but our very quality, right. Talk to Dr. Lulu, listen to a podcast, get that really good quality stuff, quality food, It's not always super cheap. And so I think that's important to say too, is like a lot of these eating habits and how we're treating our bodies like that. We're in autopilot and it's time to switch that autopilot and change how we kind of show up in the world, I think. Right? So if we show up, you know, putting all of our money and convenience food and going out and being out and like all this stuff, well, of course we're not going to have the money to nurture. 

[00:33:12] Lunden Souza 

And I started small to it was like some things I could afford. I was in college at the time, like some stuff I could afford to buy organic, some stuff I couldn't. Sometimes I'd go with my friends and we'd buy like organic products in bulk and split it like at the farmer's market because we would get a better deal. Like it was just really important for me to find a way, because I knew that, because I talked about my mood. I just knew that like the London I knew I was and wanted to shine was like in there. But it was somehow blocked behind a lot of toxic product, toxic thoughts, a lot of things that I'm so grateful for. The tools I have now to kind of like excavate that onion there. But I think that's important to mention. And you work with a lot of patients too, who probably have to transition into different products, different ways of living, different ways of purchasing. And so how can we empower those listening to be like, Hey, there are options, there are ways to make it work? You and I, when we went on our hike, you were showing me, Oh, these mushrooms, you were cutting them off and you can cook them like this and this is good for this. So it's like it might be even in our own backyard. Right? 

[00:34:11] Dr. Lulu 

Right. Yeah. I think the main thing and I love that point that you talked about, about things can be expensive when we're trying to move out of the norm of the, like you said, the latest potato chips. Right. Which is they're able to make them inexpensive because they have crap in them. Excuse my French, but. Right. You know, that's why they can make them cheap. And unfortunately, those things are cheaper for us to buy. But when we're talking about really making healthy choices, I always recommend going to your whole foods, you know, not like I'm not talking about the Whole Foods Market, making whole food choices and really looking at those and buying organic where you can the most. So, you know, maybe you're using the Dirty Dozen or something that that is your list and one healthy meats and organic meats. I think that is where if you're eating meat, always make sure you're getting healthy organic grass fed meat, number one, then all of your fats are organic. So you want to make your choices with excuse me, where they really matter. Right? And so when you're buying Whole Foods, stay away from the processed foods. Those are going to be way more expensive for you. Cookies, chips, crackers, because they're have a much smaller market like this. Yet they foods or anything else that's gluten free, but they're processed and your body is not going to appreciate them as a whole food and break them down the same way. 

[00:35:35] Dr. Lulu 

So healthy fats, we're talking about healthy fats, healthy meats, and then the top foods. I always recommend personally root vegetables. I think those are really important to get organic. So those are your carrots, your beets, because they're in the soil, right? They're soaking up everything then your leafy greens because and you can grow those in your garden, especially like you, London in California. You know, if you're somewhere and I can I have a hydroponic garden in my house. And I also work at a farm so I can grow those things. But maybe you can't have in your space, but have a little tiny garden, maybe with your neighbor or your community, you know, find ways that you can not cut corners, but that you can really grow something yourself. And the other piece is fruits. I think if you going to the farmer's market buying local fruits that aren't transported and sprayed and again those toxic. So I would myself and what I recommend to my patients is to start at one place like okay, maybe you're going to first switch out all of your toxic grains that you're buying into something that's organic and healthy, right? One category at a time to make it simple. Otherwise, it's so overwhelming. You're like, I can't do this. 

[00:36:48] Lunden Souza 

Yeah, totally. And I think, yeah, switching one thing at a time, like we mentioned with other stuff is powerful for your nutrition too, because like you said, you get to stay with one category and then sometimes I find different brands and I'm like, Oh, I didn't like that one, but I liked this one. So it gives you some time to like, acclimate and choose a particular. Like I just found a really great lentil pasta that I love and it's like the consistency is perfect. It's not weird or gritty because sometimes the alternatives that are like healthier don't always taste great. So it's nice to be like, okay, I just want to find a good option for a healthy pasta replacement, or I want to find my new oils that I'm going to do next. So I'm going to pick at that there. So I feel like that's the that's been the most helpful mindset to adopt for fitness, for nutrition, for hormone balance, for everything is just like continue to learn a little bit more so you can do better and then continue to do a little bit better and just kind of like have that flow be open because we're always learning. And I just feel like, yeah, and fitness, nutrition a lot. It's like we've I mean, we've succeeded, I think, in this space. And you and I been around for a while because it's like we're able to admit like, Oh, hey, yeah, what we thought before is not what we know now. 

[00:38:04] Lunden Souza 

Let's continue to learn what we know now. What's the latest research saying? What are we learning? What are we, how are we growing? And then how can we implement versus being like, wait, you know, I thought this was supposed to well, maybe at one point the media, the messaging said that that was the health food, but hey, we're going to learn better so that we can do better. And I think that's really like that mindset is like one thing at a time and continue to learn. Be flexible in your mindset, especially when it comes to this stuff because things are changing frequently and our bodies are very unique compared to someone else. So it's like the timeline of what might work and how long it's going to take to work might be different. I had a lady reach out to me asking me about some supplement that she bought and like how long it was going to take to work. And I'm like, Well, if you're consistent, you know, sometimes it takes 30 days, sometimes it can take a while for some of these things to get into our system. So just, yeah, being consistent. I don't know where I was going with that, but I think just yeah, being consistent and one little baby step at a time and not expecting like, huh, clean slate, you know, rip. 

[00:39:04] Lunden Souza 

The tablecloth out from the table and voila, everything's new. That's overwhelming. That can be really expensive. You might not even like the choices you made. When you're substituting all the things. So be consistent and see what you like and get your friends involved. Because I love the idea of like a community garden or, you know, this person might have eggs and you might have veggies, so you do like a little swap. And that really builds community, which I think is sometimes really missing in so called communities, if you will. 

[00:39:33] Dr. Lulu 

Yeah, that's great. I was in a cooking club when I lived in Oregon with my friends. A bunch of us girlfriends got together and we decided that we would each pick a night. And then there was I think there were six of us, and we each made a healthy meal to serve, you know, basically, like each person would come by at, at the they all picked it up at my house and then you would pick up your your your meal. And so that was a really great way for us to experiment with different foods together and but also really get in the circulation of healthy food. So that's some kind of that. Not suggesting maybe that everybody out there do that. But you know something where you're maybe cooking with a friend or cooking with a family member or cooking with your neighbor, you know, making a huge pot of something really healthy. I like to use my insta pot and I'll make, you know, a really healthy meal that I can freeze and use for a couple of days because we're all so busy. That's the other piece to London. It's like, you know, we can have this big dream about how healthy we're going to eat, but do we have time to make the healthy food? I always hear that from patients. I don't have time to do X, Y, Z, Right. We have to, but you have to want to make the time for your health. So but if you can find little ways to make it easier for yourself, I always make double of whatever meal I really like and then I can freeze it and have for another night when I'm so busy. Like, Oh yeah, remember I made that awesome butternut squash soup. Now I can have it, you know, next week. 

[00:41:00] Lunden Souza 

Yes. And soups and stews and things like that. Especially during this time when we're recording it, It's fall. It's very nurturing and warming. And yeah, you can easily just store it in the freezer and have leftovers. That's such a great point. I'm so glad you mentioned that. So when we're buying two, even like fresh produce, Whole Foods, things like that, they of course go bad faster than something that has a two year expiration date that can live on the shelf forever. So that's nice to like, cut things up, create. I used to when I lived in Austria, I would make a lot of goulash, which I loved. And so putting that like in the freezer and having that is always really good. So think about that too. For those of you listening for you and your neighbors, it's like, what can you each make in bulk share with each other? Have so that way you do have home cooked healthy, you know, as organic as possible. Meals available quickly, conveniently for yourself or your neighbors, maybe a family members that live in the area. So creating that kind of rotation or that mindset, like you said, if I like something, I always make double and I always call someone to see if they want some too, and they do vice versa. So I think that's a really nice a nice mindset to adopt is cook more, make more, save it, have it for later, have it more convenient for you like your your own convenience meals that you made instead of going to the grocery store and opening up their freezer. 

[00:42:16] Dr. Lulu 

Yeah, so true. And then you can add in those healthy fats that we've been talking about. Like, you know, if you're going to be sprinkling in some of those seeds over this meal that you already made, or maybe you're stirring in some coconut oil, you know, things that you can add in those fats or like making a healthy smoothie, adding and all your fats to that. So it tastes good, right? You mentioned the fish oil. I think that there are a lot of people don't like to take fish oils or that specific reason. And so they you can have a fishy taste or you'll burp up the fishy flavor so you can buy the flavored ones like you mentioned. Just make sure it doesn't have a lot of added sugar and then adding them to a smoothie. I think that is the best way to hide the flavor using your really great quality fruits. Maybe some greens. You're not going to taste the fish oil once it's mixed in with everything else. 

[00:43:03] Lunden Souza 

Yeah, good point. So we don't have to go up it down. Big one, big spoonful of like grown up medicine. We're all go. Yeah, go. Doctor Lulu, thank you so much for your time today and for being here and just sharing so much wisdom and your genius. I'm so excited to hang out again when I'm back in North Carolina and go on a little adventure with you, but let everybody know where they can find you. Dr. Lulu has a podcast. She's on social media. Where can we connect with you? 

[00:43:30] Dr. Lulu 

Sure, Yeah. Thanks for having me. It's been so fun to talk about Fats. I love them. They're fabulous. And you listeners can find me on my website, which is Doc Lulu, Doc, Lulu, Super easy. And then Instagram at Dr. Lulu Schmidt s h i k and really easy to find there. And then also my podcast is The Genetic Genius, and that's also on Instagram or on my website too. And I have lots of really fun guests talking about all types of alternative health from body, mind and spirit. 

[00:44:01] Lunden Souza 

Yeah. Thank you so much for being here. And thank you for your wisdom. Thank you, Roxy, for the question for sending that in. And for those of you listening, you can always. I don't want to open your floodgates of your DMS, but I know that you're very active with people who are who are asking questions and wanting to serve on your podcast. If you guys have any at least open my doors on Instagram, you can DM me on at life like London to give any feedback you would want for podcast topics or things like that. I think it's really awesome to know what you're thinking and what you want to learn more about. And yeah, most of the time I don't always know the answers, but I am lucky. I feel like over the years to have a network of awesome people like you, Dr. Lulu, where I can really be like, Hey, I don't know the answer, but I know someone that I really trust that can help us with this answer. So thank you for being here. Thanks, Roxy, for that question, and thank you guys for listening. Connect with Dr. Lulu. Listen to her podcast. You'll find all those links in the show notes and yeah. Have a great. 

[00:45:00] Dr. Lulu 

Day. Bye. Thank you, Lunden. 

[00:45:03] Lunden Souza 

Thank you so much for listening to Self Love & Sweat THE PODCAST. Hey, do me a favor. Wherever you're listening to this podcast, give. Us a review. This really helps a lot and share this. With a friend. I'm only one person and with your help we can really spread the message of self love and sweat and change more lives all. Around the world. I'm London Sousa, reminding you that you deserve a life full of passion, presence. And purpose. Fueled by self love and sweat. This podcast is a Hitspot Austria production.