Nutrition, Libido, and Perimenopause with Rita Johnson

How does nutrition impact our hormones for libido and perimenopause thriving? 

Sarah is joined by Catholic nutritionist Rita Johnson of the Health and Hormones podcast to chat about how what you eat can impact your libido and perimenopause hormones. 

Along the way they chat about the power of dreaming, mindset shifts, and four high-protein breakfast ideas to anchor your blood sugar and set you up for a stable day... the kind of day more likely to leave with with some extra energy for intimacy at the end of it, if you want!

You can find Rita at https://healthandhormones.org.

Interested in the 5-day Perimenopause Workshop that Rita, Sarah, and other Catholic experts are offering Jan. 26-30? All sessions will be recorded so you can catch the replays. Walk away with a workbook full of practical strategies.

https://healthandhormones.org/perimenopause-workshop 

Want Rita's free handout on hormone health?

https://birdsend.page/forms/9473/cDk9YT4KSn

MORE RESOURCES

Free Enhancing Marital Intimacy Guide for Catholic Women: 9 Skills for Body, Mind, and Spirit (for married and engaged women)

Do you want to know what is allowed for Catholics in the bedroom? The "What's Allowed List" answers 20+ questions about what is licit and illicit. ($10)

Model-free lingerie! Get 10% off with my affiliate link for Mentionables.

Transcript

Sarah: 0:50

I am so excited to be talking today with Rita Johnson, a Catholic nutritionist and fertility care NFP practitioner. Rita is here to share with us about hormones and thriving and perimenopause and menopause. And Rita, I'm just really happy to have you on and to talk with you. Thanks for coming.

Rita: 1:08

Thanks for having me, Sarah. I'm so excited to be here.

Sarah: 1:11

As a nutritionist, uh, who specializes in helping women thrive and who has this beautiful knowledge of our hormo hormones, what is, what are some things that you wish every woman would know about her hormones and how to support them? Well with nutrition?

Rita: 1:27

Yeah. So I think the number one biggest thing is that, um, you know, so often when we're struggling with something or symptoms feel really heavy and we go to the doctor and we get an answer of like, okay, your hormones are off. Then we feel like, oh, we found the thing. This makes sense. This is the problem is, but the reality is, is that. Your hormone imbalances are not the root cause for your health issues. And that's the biggest thing I wish women understood more, is that if our hormones are off or low or imbalanced, it's actually not the crux of the issue. We need to dive deeper into the why. Why is your body not supported enough so that your hormones can be balanced?

Sarah: 2:07

Wow. Yes. So it's just like a, a late indicator right. Of um. Something deeper. And so when we look at, yeah, what are some of these deeper causes that could be at work here?

Rita: 2:21

Yeah. So, and this is really where, and, and also the why. It's, it's so much easier to say in a snap a, a soundbite, okay, you just need to go on HRT or you just need some post peak progesterone. Um, but the reality is, is that it could be because you have unresolved trauma, right? You could have spiritual trauma that is, um, telling your body constantly that you're not safe. You could have. Digestive issues that are impairing your body's ability to break down your foods and your, um, you know, even supplements if you're taking supplements to be able to break down and absorb those things. So you have the co-factors you need to make hormones. Um, it could be that your blood sugar is so imbalanced that it's constantly telling all of the cells in your body that it's not safe, right? Through this constant state of chronic. Inflammation, which is the result of dysregulated blood sugar. Um, we're, we're giving our body these signals that something is wrong, something is not safe, and the result is our hormones are imbalanced, or our body stops making enough hormones to be able to function optimally, ovulate, and feel well.

Sarah: 3:26

Yeah. Well, um, well, I'm just going to share that I've been working with you and it's been really wonderful. I'm so thankful to, you know, have your support as I myself, make my journey through perimenopause and my motivation has just been to prepare for as gentle a transition through menopause as possible. Just getting all the help I can. I'm really grateful too, just as I learned that I am, um, I've got insulin sensitivity to have your support to help me know, you know, how to eat, to, um, to work with that and support my body as best as possible, but with my work in helping women in my my delight course. Um, so many women, you know, feel like they are low libido or that they have no libido. A lot of times there can be social and emotional factors to that. What is going on in your relationship with your husband? What go is going on in your beliefs about sex or about desire? And how it works. But there can also be this real physical aspect as well. Um, I'd just love to hear some stories re tell us a story. Do you have some stories of women you've worked with, um, and they found through this work that they were able to address some underlying they nutritional or physical causes or realize, oh, there's, you know, there actually is something. Emotional or relational, um, psychological that I need to work on. And, you know, since we address the physical issues that help them flourish with their libido or flourish with, um, perimenopause and menopause.

Rita: 5:00

Yeah, definitely. I mean, honestly, my, my own personal story was, was very much that, so, um, my husband and I are Oh, that's cute. Celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Um, in, in this coming June. And, um, you know, when I was. It, it really was. Um, it, it was a while ago now, but it was about 15 years ago. My health really kind of bottomed out. Wow. Um, it was after having my second, so I had two very littles. Um, and, uh, we were moving, we were listening to our house for sale and I just had a girlfriend say something to me one time and she was like, Rita, you just, you shouldn't be this exhausted. Um, and it, it was. Something that kind of caught me in my tracks. And,'cause she also had little kids and her husband was in law school and she had a lot going on too, and I was like, oh, I shouldn't be like, no one else would had said that to me. Um, but it's, it's interesting now being able to look back on my younger self and see the ways that like, it wasn't just, I was physically suffering, my kids were suffering because I couldn't show up and be the mom that they deserved, but my marriage was really suffering too. I felt like my husband and I, like we. He thought that we had this great communication, but, but we really didn't. And we were having a, a bit of a breakdown at that time. Um, and in part because I didn't, I didn't know how to communicate about it. And as I physically was able to go through the process of it was really this deep healing of my gut that I needed to do. Wow. Long story short, I had like a huge canida overgrowth and, some other things that just like I had a rash that showed up on my face that would not go away. Just like a lot of things that I was carrying that I needed to lay down. And then really the Lord just. Set me on this beautiful journey of physical healing, but then spiritual healing and healing my, my mind of all the lies that I was believing, and that was when he like really told me to, to start this business. And, there was so many beautiful miracles that worked in that time. But now I can look back on that time and see the ways that I didn't have a desire to be intimate with my husband. I didn't have, um, the ability to see the ways that that was hurting him. I didn't have the, um, the, not only the, the lived experience of seeing, uh, both of our parents got divorced within our first year of marriage. Like we didn't have the lived experience of. What does a healthy, beautiful, holy marriage look like or strive for? How do you do that? Um, and yet now I think that the Lord has brought us to this place. We're still healing. We're still growing. I'm still figuring out how to communicate better with my husband, but, but my desire for him has increased so much, and our ability to connect and to come together as one is. Something that's, it was so painful, especially at that time. I'll never forget our fifth anniversary. It was the height of pain, and then we went on a trip and I was like, I just don't want, I don't want to do this. Of course, and it's painful. Yeah. Yes, yes. But instead it, he has just used it as, as such a redemption and such a way that now that I am at this place of, um, I know what works really well for my body and I know what doesn't serve my body well. I know. Mm-hmm. The things that I have to, they're non-negotiables for me. And if I avoid those and, you know, don't like flirt with fire, um, I feel good. I have, I have high energy. I'm able to, you know, homeschool the kids and juggle all that comes with having six kids and run a business. And I'm not depleted. At the end of the day, I have more to pour out to my husband, and that's because of this healing journey, and that's why I'm so passionate about. About doing this work to Sarah because we know how transformative those things are and to help other women find their non-negotiables. They're things that they can have a wonderful Christmas and they just know the things that they're not going to, you know, flirt with, and the rest is gonna be great.

Sarah: 8:58

Yes. Oh, that is wonderful. Thank you so much, Rita, for sharing your own story there. And I was just thinking of similarities with my own, just earlier on in our marriage, which is when my parents also got divorced and we went through a lot of a big move. Had two little girls at that point and life circumstances that were very drained for us. For me, my libido never really took a hit. That was always something God has blessed me, you know, with, or, I dunno, maybe I didn't initiate as much, but, but I, I went. I suffered a time of depression. I really had to learn about like what will get me well and started a journey of learning about self-care, learning about what will help my thriving so that I can live this beautiful life that I have and have been given. And it was through those times of suffering, including a time when my husband and I weren't connecting emotionally very well. Amidst all these challenging life circumstances, that's actually what sparked us to go on a journey of learning more about the relationship skills that we needed for our own marriage. And then little knowing, of course, this would turn into a passion and a, a desire to serve that eventually would become our, you know, our main ministry. Um, but God can really use these times of suffering if we. Seek help and healing. If we have the kind of mindset where we realize like, this is a problem and I don't have to keep living with it. I can find solutions. I can look for help. That's what you did when your friend told you, you don't have to be this tired. You stopped accepting that, oh, this is normal. This is just how life is now. That's really wonderful. Um, and I just wanna encourage anyone who feels like they're in the trenches now with like just slogging through a really difficult season. You could. Who knows, this could be something that prompts you to seek answers and help and support that can help not only you for now, but then also be a blessing for many others, which is how God tends to work. You know, that he, his blessings expand and grow. Um, I'm curious, Rita, if you don't mind sharing what you said about unpacking more about the lies you were believing. As you were in that time.

Rita: 11:09

Yeah. Yeah. So I definitely, um, you know, now the work that I have, um, the many years since then, um, gosh, let me think. It was probably 2019. Um, I did, uh, I don't know if you've heard of the Woman's School, probably Yes, I have. I've been through it too. Mm-hmm. Yes. So I went through the women's school and that really showed me ways that, um, I, I. I used to, I joke now about the way that I was before, um, where my husband would like come into a room and he would have this big dream and it was like so random and he would just be like, Rita, what if we do this thing? And I was like, oh, this is the practical reasons why that will never happen. And I, ouch was just the popper of the dreams. I just, yes, that was our dynamic. And going through the woman's school, I started to learn how to dream. Ooh. And I started to realize why I could never dream, and it really, really revolved around lies that I believed about God's providence, lies that I believed that, you know, all these reasons I wasn't safe. And so we had to have more money in the bank account or we had to have, you know, whatever things that I thought would make us safe when if we're just safe. Because of who got he made us and the journey that we have on, if we're just cooperating with him, then those things don't matter. And yes, we have to be prudent with what we're given and we have to be, you know, good stewards of our financial gifts and all of these things, but. It, it no longer became where my safety lies. Um, and to the point where, um, so I am pretty sure that was 2019. Uh, no, it, it must have been 2018. My husband was working for a non-for-profit at the time and making very little money. Um, and, uh, and he, he believed it was worth the sacrifice. And, um, one day he came home from work and he said, Rita, I think we need to homeschool our children in such a way that we can just take them to Italy for a month. We need to teach them Italian and just go to Italy. Oh. And, and he was like, uh, okay. And he was like, you didn't just say no. And I was like, no, I just, okay, let's, how do we do that? And he was like, what? Oh, what do you mean how we do that? You gave him space to was, yes. It was just this pivoting point that I was like, okay, maybe, maybe we could, um, and it, God is so good in. 22, we ended up taking five children. And, um, and it really was this, this, um, fulfilling of a dream. But it wasn't until I was able to lay down those, those lies and trust in what God's providence for us was that I was able to see the way that the Lord was shepherding our hearts through some really hard things in ways that we, of course had to, had to sacrifice in other ways. Right. Um. But it was so worth it. And now that, and I know you know this, Sarah, now that my oldest is about to graduate high school, I'm so thankful that we have that. We had that opportunity to do that when the kids were young enough that we could say, Hey, we're gonna go. Yeah. Like we're just leaving on a plane and you have to tell your friends, I won't see you for a month. Like now. That would be much more difficult to do. Yes. With a senior in high school and you know, everything in between. But we just did it and um, and the Lord was just so, he blessed us so abundantly in that time and Drew, drew our family so close together. And it was just such a gift that we were able to experience that with them all in that time. And that really was because I was finally able to lay down those lies of, of God's providence and who he made and why he made me, um, and allowed for me to let him transform and do these amazing things in my life.

Sarah: 15:01

Oh, that's so beautiful. I am a huge believer in the power of dreaming as well. And we have a similar story. We actually took our five kids to France for five weeks in 2024. And that had been a dream as well that we just, you know, have become practiced now at dreaming and about thinking like, what would that take? Do we, you, you know, let's go ahead and dream. And one thing I thought was really helpful in the women's school was. Teaching us to practice good affirmations. Like I have abundant energy, I have abundant time, like these things are possible and I think that's something useful for women to think about in regards to their daily life and their love life. What would your life be like if you really believed you had abundant energy? I can feel desire for my husband. Can you envision and dream about what would an amazing love life look like for you? For you, one that you would be happy with as the wife, with your husband and your connection. So that's just, yeah. Dreaming is so powerful. So beautiful. So beautiful. Yeah. Okay. Well, Rita, what should we be eating to support our dreams, our thriving, our flourishing in this beautiful life? What can we be eating to help support our hormones and our libido and our perimenopause transition to really, yeah. And I'm sure it depends woman to woman, right?

Rita: 16:25

Totally. I, I definitely think that, um, although there are not a, you know, I, I don't believe there's a certain diet that's perfect for everyone. Um, you know, whether that's keto or paleo or carnivore or whatever. Um, but in general. We should all be eating breakfast. We should aim for 30 grams of protein by 10:00 AM. Um, you know, it's, if you don't feel hungry right away in the morning, then that's something we might need to support your body's ability to break food down better. Um, it's important for us to know these things so we don't get discouraged. Sometimes when women try to increase protein, they feel like. So hard for them to digest. It just sits there like rocks. That's a sign we need to support digestion. It's not a sign you're stuck. It's not a sign. You can't do this. It's not a sign you can't support your body. Um, but that is it's recommended recommendation number one, 30 grams of protein before 10:00 AM. Eat breakfast every day, all of you then supporting your body. And I've been really

Sarah: 17:21

loving that actually, uh, like this, this part of like working on my nutrition. I'm really enjoying this. Big, hearty breakfast. You know, not just two eggs, but like three eggs plus maybe two scoops of collagen in my tea for that extra 10 grams of protein. Um, or like a protein smoothie with lots of protein plus some hemp parts. I just really love the big satisfying breakfast that carries me through all the way till lunch. I feel like I am showing up well with the kid, you know, my kids and the things that I need to do in the morning. Um. Yeah, I love it. It feels very grounding to me. And you had told me that like, it might be hard for your body to digest all that, and my body's like, no, bring it. We love this. I don't feel that like it's sitting there like rocks. But I had had another friend who's a nutritionist tell me to, or tell women in general to try to eat within the first hour of waking up. Do you think that is a good idea as well, or does it just as long as it's before 10:00 AM It's okay.

Rita: 18:23

Yeah, totally. I think it's a great idea, especially if you tend to be somebody that just starts with a cup of coffee and then waits for a while to eat. I think that's really important. Um, you should always try to marry caffeine with food. Um, don't have it on an empty stomach. You can do like collagen in your coffee and that can kind of be a little cheat hack. Mm-hmm. Um, but definitely, you know, the sooner upon waking the better. Um, and if it's by 10:00 AM that you're, you know, if you are like, I just can't get 30 grams in my breakfast. Then grab a little snack to be sure that you're hitting those goals by 10. Um, it's just really supportive for your energy production for the day. Um, it's supportive for your adrenals, which are going to be responsible for your sex hormones. Um, and when I'm thinking about adrenals, I'm thinking a lot about libido. That's one of the first signs if our adrenals are not supported, is that our libido is low. And so that can be, you know, this really quick response if, um, you are wondering like, do my adrenals need additional support? Start with more protein earlier in the day. Um, and I'll say too, for myself, um, Sarah, when I would, you know, jump right into homeschooling my kids without having 30 grams of protein, or if we just ate like bowls of oatmeal or something for breakfast. Mm-hmm. Um, it was usually the days that I was gonna snap at the kids over the math books. Right. It was usually the day that I was gonna yell at the 5-year-old that couldn't remember the sound of the letter. Aw. It was just, I've been there in the past. Yes, yes. Yeah, it's hard. It's hard, but if we can support our bodies, we can stabilize our energy and our emotional output as well. And that makes for a more peaceful, restful home life.

Sarah: 19:56

Absolutely. And if you are feeling like energized and supported through your morning, not snapping at your kids. That's just gonna all add up cumulatively to how you're gonna feel, you know, around 10:00 PM or 11:00 PM whenever you are crawling into bed at the end of the day, and you and your husband are thinking about whether or not you're gonna connect, uh, with marital intimacy or not, right? Like, not just how your blood sugar is and your energy, but like how many times did, was there, you know, flaring tempers in our home with, with the kids. Like I'm totally, I realized before I learned as much as I have now about blood sugar, I started to get hints and I realized when I was in the thick of homeschooling my kid, my oldest kids were like middle school grade, school-ish level. I learned like, Ooh, the time I most likely to snap and lose my temper is while I'm getting lunch ready. Me and my oldest both have strong personalities and I realize like maybe we are both hangry. Maybe any little bit of tension that comes up, I just let it go until after we've eaten. That was a game changer for me. It was so, it was like, this is not a problem solving time right before lunch. This is a get lunch on the table and eat and just save the rest,

Rita: 21:13

just like bedtime. Right. We don't, we don't solve problems at bedtime. We're just like, no. The 5-year-old has to go to bed.

Sarah: 21:18

Like, that's exactly. Oh my gosh. But who would've guessed that getting your 30 grams of protein before 10:00 AM could really help your libido later that night. Yeah, so that's a nice actionable tip that I really wanna encourage. I know you had told me like maybe do your three eggs. This is another idea for your 30 grams of protein breakfast, three eggs, plus some sausage. I like that one too.

Rita: 21:43

Yeah. Another one I'll do sometimes is I actually have a recipe for a breakfast meatloaf that we cook in the crock pot overnight. And then I'll just cook it one time and then slice it and put it in the freezer so I can just grab slices out and I'll pan fry'em in the morning and then put like tomatoes and sauerkraut with that. Um, that's really yummy and an easy way to, we'll just take like some pork sausage and some seasoning and egg and then, um, throw that in and let it cook overnight. You know, we will still sometimes do things like oatmeal, but I'm putting a lot of gel. Or collagen and then some nut butter in there. Um, and I do tend to try to have some type of meat next to it. Um, we'll do an overnight, uh, chia pudding and I'll add some protein powder in there. Mm-hmm. Um, I know you mentioned smoothie Sarah, too. That's a great one. Again, like, just be sure that you're feeling satiated, you're drinking it slow enough that your digestive enzymes are breaking it down. Otherwise it can just like, make us really hungry later'cause we're not, you know, slowing that down in that process.

Sarah: 22:40

I think I messaged you on your, your, you know, client platform that I had actually tried to reduce the calories on my smoothie, erroneously thinking calorie count. Like I had just gone back to this old habit from a previous bad diet that I had where I was calorie counting. And so I'm like, oh, I'll put in less hemp hearts and flax seeds in my smoothie. And then I was hungry mid-morning, so thank you for replying to me and saying, oh, that's why calorie countings not really very helpful for us. Um, but yeah, I have to have. Two tablespoons of hemp hearts and two tablespoons of flax seeds in my smoothie, um, to really feel satiated and I'm learning now, oh, it's the fiber and the fat from those, those like stay in my stomach and help it feel full and happy. Yeah.

Rita: 23:24

Yeah. And if you're, if you're worried, if you're not getting enough healthy fats, some signs of that are sugar cravings. Um, our body can convert sugar to fat, but it does a poor job of it. Um, but it will. It's smart enough that it will say, okay, I need more fat. Get me that sugar, get me that chocolate. Um, and so if you are, you know, going back to Sarah's example with the hemp hearts and the flax seeds, um, if you aren't having enough healthy fats and smoothie, which is easy to do, if you just have like a protein powder and greens and fruits and you know, whether you do water or milk or whatever. It's easy to not have enough healthy fats in there. Um, and so if you find yourself craving something later, then that could be because you didn't get enough healthy fats in. Um, it could also be, you know, if you're not metabolizing your fats well, that's always, um, something else that could becau causing that as well.

Sarah: 24:11

Great. Now, what's one other actionable, doable tip that most women could do that would help most women's libido, thriving hormones, all of that?

Rita: 24:22

Yeah. I'm gonna give you two. So one I would say is eat more non-starchy veggies. Mm-hmm. Um, color matters. So try to eat more of the rainbow. Um, that's going to make a big difference with your mineral intake. So adrenals are very responsive. Responsive to minerals. If we're imbalanced in our minerals, our adrenals aren't getting what they need to make those hormones to help support our energy levels throughout the day. Um, can you, so we definitely wanna be sure we're

Sarah: 24:49

getting, can you break it down for us? What this, what are the starchy vegetables, some examples, what are the non-starchy vegetables that we should be focusing on? Yeah.

Rita: 24:56

Yeah. So star Chief. I'm thinking more about root vegetables. Mm-hmm. Um, so I'm primarily talking, when I say non-starchy, about things that are going to be more minerally dense, so leafy greens, broccoli, carrots, you know, um, anything that would go on. Think of anything that would go on a salad. Obviously root vegetables could go on a salad. Um, and those aren't bad. Those are good too. But I'm just talking specifically to our non-starchy friends. Um, so I want you to think about things like if you're making a pot of chili, um, how can I add. Can I get some sneaky veggies in here? If you're putting a salad on the table, can I add some different colors to it? Um, and it might be, you know, sometimes, um, it might just be one more. I'm just gonna throw a carrot on here. I'm gonna throw a, a yellow bell pepper because I have carrot and I have greens. Um, it might just be. Or it might be, you know, multiple green things on the salad. Um, but those little things matter a lot, and that's going to help be sure that your body's getting what it needs. Um, my, my family teases me that I like to see how many veggies I can get into things. So my husband usually makes beans and rice on Fridays when we're, when we're doing beans and rice. And I made it one week and I had some zucchini in the fridge that. Like, yeah, my, yeah, I needed to use it up. And so I was like, oh, I'm gonna throw some zucchini in my beans and rice. Yeah. And my kids are eating it. They're like, what's this? And I was like, zucchini. And they're like, mom, why don't mess with dad's beans and rice? It's like, well, the zucchini I think tastes great and then, but like we can add these other things there. And I, you really could not taste the zucchini. It did not make, give it a bad flavor. Zucchini so mild.

Sarah: 26:30

No, I'm worse because I try to put kale into everything. I'll like chop it up real fine and slip it into everything. And I have, some of my kids are like, look, mom, just gimme a handful of kale. I will eat it. Watch, I'm eating it. Okay. But keep it out of my, you know, skillet lunch or whatever we're making.

Rita: 26:49

So funny. So funny. So yeah, just adding, you know, adding some more vegetables, more color to foods is huge. The other thing to support your adrenals is being sure, looking at the salt that you're using in your kitchen. Ooh. Um, so when I talk about minerals with adrenals. I'm thinking a lot too about our, um, electrolytes, right? So we have our, not just our sodium, our potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, um, and the best way to get that is through salts that are not, um, they've not been refined to the point where it's. Only sodium. So things like Celtic sea salt, redmond's, real salt, pink Himalayan sea salt, um, salt that when you look at it in a glass jar, it has color to it. Um, the color is the mineral content and that's going to help your body be able to utilize water well and it's going to help support your adrenals. So when people talk about adrenal cocktails, um, they're talking about high dose of minerals in a small, a small amount of. Water, right. Or a small drink. Um, and you can do the same thing by eating different salts in your kitchen. Um, recently I had somebody ask me. If I was concerned about heavy metals in, um, there was some research done on, um, a specific type of sea salt that had a higher concentration of heavy metals. I try to diversify the type of salt I'm using in my kitchen. So we have Celtic sea salt, we have pink Himalayan salt. Um, I'll use iodized salt if my husband's brining something for smoking. Um, you know, we use these different salts for different. Things. And that helps to be sure that we're not just eating, you know, pounds of Celtic sea salt specifically, or this one specifically. Um, and we're also getting that diversity in our diet as well. Um, and then sometimes it's still helpful to have an additional electrolyte supplement, especially if you're sweating a lot or nursing or pregnant, have a very high need for electrolytes. Um, that's when I would add in an additional electrolyte supplement. But a lot of times we can get what we need through our salts.

Sarah: 28:47

You know, I just really love that Redmond real salt. They, it's delicious. You know, you, you, they have on the bottle to do the taste test challenge and taste some side by side with generic, you know, iodine or like the, you know, the, the blue cans of salt from the store. And it really is so much more tasty, like the flavor is fuller and more complex. But that's a really great tip too, to not just lean. On one kind of salt, but diversify your salt intake. I love it. Yeah, that's great.

Rita: 29:19

And it doesn't take much. It's one of those things that it's like, you know, I just have a little jar of calic sea salt. I'll throw pinches of that. If I'm making a pot of soup, something that's warm, that will break it down the big chunks, if I wanna grind it. So I have a fine amount, I'll use my pink Himalayan salt shaker. You know, I'll, I'll just use different ones for different things.

Sarah: 29:37

Oh, so you could put the ch the larger chunks of Pink Sea, uh, the Himalayan Salt. Oh, I didn't realize that Into your, your cooking, your soup or whatever, because there's enough time for it to melt down. Wow. That's really cool. Yeah. Yeah. I love it. Okay. Would the next level be probiotics? Would you, would that be like an additional tip you would give or, they seem very like popular these days. Yeah. For gut health? Yes. Or like, good question, fermented things, you know, like kimchi or keer, or. What are they? Yeah. Yogurts.

Rita: 30:11

Yeah. Yeah. So, yes. Uh, and a caveat. So yes, eating more lacto fermented foods is so good for our gut microbiome. Um, it's really a way that we can repopulate if, um, if it needs support. Um, so if there's not enough beneficial bacteria, adding more into that process is gonna go a long way. Um, and with that diversity is key again. So, you know, don't just eat. Yogurt. Don't just eat sour cow from green cabbage. Um, eating different vegetables that have been fermented, different sources of bacteria, that's gonna be helpful. So add some kombucha and some, you know, pickled carrots and some homemade pickles and some yogurt. Like kind of all the things. Um, that being. Some people find that they don't feel well eating lacto, fermented foods. Um, and again, that's not something to be discouraged by. It's something that either it's too much for you for where you're at. If somebody has a lot of like very low beneficial bacteria, adding probiotics can make them not feel good. Um, or if somebody has some other type of, you know, dysfunction in their gut, that is, um. Kind of getting stirred, the pot is getting stirred by adding bacteria to it. So, um, for example, something like a candida overgrowth, if somebody is struggling with candida, even if they don't know it and they add a bunch of beneficial bacteria from lacto ferments that can actually spike the candida and cause some pretty gnarly die off reactions. Um, and so it's just something that I would say, okay, hold up on that and find somebody that can help walk alongside you with that process.

Sarah: 31:49

Really great to hear. And speaking of that, how can women listening find you if they would like your support walking with them on their thriving and nourish and Yeah. Their nourishment?

Rita: 32:02

Yeah. Yeah. So, um, I am over@healthandhormones.org. Um, my podcast is hosted there, health and Hormones, um, and my business is Divine Mercy, nutritional care. It's all. They're on health and hormones.org. Um, but I'm on social media and YouTube, so feel free to, to reach out any way that I can be helpful.

Sarah: 32:21

Great. What is it? Health and hormones on YouTube and social media as well.

Rita: 32:26

It is Divine Mercy, nutritional care on social media and YouTube. Um, but I do have a freebie. I'll send your listener, Sarah, um, all about, uh, balancing our hormones naturally. So I'll send you that as well.

Sarah: 32:39

Wonderful. I'll link that in the show notes. Thank you so much, Rita. This has really been wonderful. So everybody eat vegetables, get your protein before breakfast or your protein, your high protein breakfast, and yeah, be well. Thank you.

Rita: 32:53

Thank you, Sarah.