#394: A Special Announcement; Cortisol & Weight Gain; & Citric Acid, GMO Corn, & Mold

Topics

1. News and updates from Diane [1:57]
   1. Balanced Bites Meals
   2. Balanced Bites Spices
   3. Baby Making and Beyond
2. The end of an era [5:54]
3. Cortisol and weight gain [17:07]
4. Citric acid, GMO corn, and mold [26:41]
5. An Instagram account I'm digging [34:34]

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You’re listening to the Balanced Bites podcast episode 394.

Diane Sanfilippo: Welcome to the Balanced Bites podcast. I’m Diane; a certified nutrition consultant, and the New York Times bestselling author of Practical Paleo and the 21-Day Sugar Detox. My newest book, Keto Quick Start, released on January 1, 2019. I live in San Francisco with my husband and fur kids.

Liz Wolfe: I’m Liz; a nutritional therapy practitioner, and author of the Wall Street Journal bestseller Eat the Yolks; The Purely Primal Skincare Guide; and the online program Baby Making and Beyond. I live on a lake in the mystical land of the Midwest, outside of Kansas City.

We’re the co-creators of the Balanced Bites Master Class, and we’ve been bringing you this award-winning podcast for nearly 8 years. We’re here to share our take on modern healthy living, answer your questions, and chat with leading health and wellness experts. Enjoy this week’s episode, and submit your questions at http://blog.balancedbites.com or watch the Balanced Bites podcast Instagram account for our weekly calls for questions. You can ask us anything in the comments.

Remember our disclaimer: The materials and content within this podcast are intended as general information only, and are not to be considered a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Before we get started, let’s hear from one of our sponsors.

Liz Wolfe: Today’s podcast is sponsored by Vital Choice wild seafood and organics. America’s leading purveyor of premium, sustainable seafood and grass-fed meats, and a certified B corporation. Their popular Vital Box program delivers top customer favorites directly to your door. Any mix of wild salmon, fish, and shellfish that you prefer. Vital Choice offers a wide range of wild seafood; from top shelf Alaskan salmon and halibut, to Portuguese sardines and mackerel. Plus, mouthwatering grass-fed meats and poultry. Be sure to save 15% on one regular order with the promo code BBPODCAST or get $15 off your first Vital Box with the promocode BBVITALBOX from now through the end of the year.

1. News and updates from Diane & Liz [1:57]

Liz Wolfe: Alright. So, hi Diane!

Diane Sanfilippo: Hi!

Liz Wolfe: What’s happening over there?

Diane Sanfilippo: Oh, you know. A little of this, a little of that. We’re in high gear with Balanced Bites food things. It’s kind of crazy. I feel like this year was a little bit of something that I did not necessarily predict for my business. And it’s all about the spices and the meals and everything kind of coming full circle on Balanced Bites. So yeah, big stuff happening there.

We’ve got rainbow pack of the spices, which are like the bags that we’re doing so you can actually try more flavors without spending a whole paycheck on spices. So those are back in stock. And Balanced Bites meals are plugging away and charging along. And we have new websites loading or launching for both.

And as of the time that this episode will air, April 4th will be our original air date for this episode. I don’t know if both of the sites will be up yet, the new ones. So you’ll go ahead and keep shopping where you were. But we will have new websites launching for both meals and spices. Just a heads up on those. We can’t ship those together, because spices are obviously not a refrigerated product, and the meals are totally fresh; refrigerated, frozen, etc.

So, if you are looking to order spices and meals, they are shipped separately. So we do have separate shops for them. But you’ll find that the experience of heading over to www.blog.balancedbites.com and being able to find them will be much, much easier. I know folks have been confused about how to order all of that stuff. So it will be much easier.

So this is kind of the big thing for me for this year. Just building up my own businesses again, which is kind of crazy, kind of fun. If you're not already on the email list for Balanced Bites where I’m sending all food related stuff, like sending recipe inspo. How to use the blends. All that kind of stuff is over on the Balanced Bites email list. And as a lot of folks have noticed, my main emails have really been a lot more kind of personal development, entrepreneurship, etc. focused. So if that’s not your jam, totally get it. That’s cool. But if you want recipes and food related stuff, you can hop over to the Balanced Bites list. And that’s kind of the big stuff.

And we’ve got more big stuff that we’ll talk about in a few minutes. What’s going on over by the lake.

Liz Wolfe: I’m not pregnant. {laughs}

Diane Sanfilippo: {laughing} What?

Liz Wolfe: Oh, yeah. More big stuff, and then…

Diane Sanfilippo: Oh {laughing}.

Liz Wolfe: At least five people were like; oh, I wonder if Liz is pregnant. No, I’m not. So what’s going on over by the lake? We launched, or we’ve rolled out extended content to all of our Baby Making and Beyond betas, and the program is up and running. There are hiccups, obviously. I think that’s to be expected. It’s brand new when you launch to however many people. But we have made it available; our core four content is available. Fertility, pregnancy, birth, and then postpartum will be close behind if it’s not already up by the time this episode airs.

We have gotten some really good responses from people, and we’re building it out quickly, which I’m really excited about. And it’s just; it’s here. And it’s kind of; it’s funny. It’s almost anticlimactic. Because we’ve been talking about it so long and now it’s just kind of; it showed up, and now it’s here. So it’s very exciting, and that’s really going to be my baby going forward, I think, for a while, just really fine tuning and adding all of the information that people are asking for. You think you’ve put everything you could possibly put into something, but people still have really great questions. And so we’re just going to continue to develop it and work on it. It’s all very exciting.

Diane Sanfilippo: I love that.

Liz Wolfe: Yeah.

Diane Sanfilippo: Yay.

2. The end of an era [5:54]

Liz Wolfe: Ok. So friends, listeners, community. We have some big news to share today. It’s sort of a mixture of happy and sad for all of those involved. And I think perhaps, Diane, you should be the one to break the news.

Diane Sanfilippo: Why me? Wait, what?

Liz Wolfe: Because it’s Balanced Bites.

Diane Sanfilippo: I have a pit in my stomach right now. It’s so weird.

Liz Wolfe: Everybody already figured it out. I know.

Diane Sanfilippo: I’m not pregnant either. {laughs}

Liz Wolfe: {laughing}

Diane Sanfilippo: So, we are wrapping up this podcast in just a handful more episodes. This is episode 394. Next week is 395, which is an episode with Kelly; how do you say her last name?

Liz Wolfe: Kelly Tennent.

Diane Sanfilippo: Kelly Tennent. Ok, so Liz and Kelly Tennent next week. The following week you’ll hear from myself and Cassy Joy; many of you know her. Have listened to her on the show before. And then the last four episodes, Liz and I will just be classic Liz and Diane. Last four episodes.

Liz Wolfe: {laughs} Classic!

Diane Sanfilippo: Classic. But we’re going to wrap it up at episode 400. It just kind of felt like the right time. The right episode number. It’s almost 8 years of podcasting. Which; Liz, do you remember when we first started the show that people thought there was a paleo podcast critical mass, 8 years ago?

Liz Wolfe: Yep. I do.

Diane Sanfilippo: So for anyone who is like; are there too many people doing XYZ thing that I want to do? Listen. We started this 8 years ago, and people asked us that question. And since then, we’ve won a lot of awards for this show. Which is kind of bonkers. {laughs} Because we’re constantly recording in a closet/home office. I’m not even joking; Liz is actually in her closet right now.

Liz Wolfe: Literally. It’s best sound absorption you could possibly ask for without having an actual podcast studio.

Diane Sanfilippo: It does sound awesome. And there’s definitely a lime green tutu to your right.

Liz Wolfe: Oh yes. There’s an assortment of tutus. We restrict my daughter to three princess dresses at a time, and if she wants to swap one out, she can come into my closet and she can trade one.

Diane Sanfilippo: It’s like the Target dressing room. {laughs}

Liz Wolfe: Basically, yes. You're so right. There’s precedent for this. I’ll need to clue her in on that. Because she was really not happy with the arrangement. But I felt at a certain point you just have to; not necessarily stop raising a total spoiled brat, but at least try and hide the evidence a little bit. {laughs}

Diane Sanfilippo: Well, it only stands out because your closet full of red, black, royal blue, and stripes. And then there’s the lime green tutu.

Liz Wolfe: Yep.

Diane Sanfilippo: Anyway. So yeah, we’ve been talking about this for a little bit. But it just felt like; you know what, 8 years, 400 episodes seems like a really good time to wrap it up. And in a couple of weeks you’ll hear from myself and Cassy Joy, and we just hit this evolution where; I don’t know. I want to talk about different things. Liz is going to working on different things. Cassy and I have talked about how we both want to have a show where we kind of talk shop and personal development and Liz will obviously still be popping herself in there and featured, so you’ll still hear from Liz from time to time, whenever she wants. She can pop in.

But yeah, we’re starting a new show that’s inspired a bit by this show, but a totally different set of topics. Not necessarily health focused. But there will be little bits of health here and there thrown in. But yeah, I don’t know. What do you want to say about it?

Liz Wolfe: Well, it’s so bitter sweet. I’ve been doing this for almost as long as I’ve been married, first of all.

Diane Sanfilippo: {laughs}

Liz Wolfe: I’ve been doing this for so many years.

Diane Sanfilippo: I’ve been your work wife for that long.

Liz Wolfe: Yes! And people need to understand that we are still the dearest of friends. This has nothing to do with {laughs} anything like we don’t want to work together anymore. It’s just; it’s time. And when we were thinking about; when we were kind of talking about doing something special for episode 400, both of us were kind of like; you know what? It actually feels like it’s time. 400 felt like a big, big number and a good point to say; this has been amazing. What’s next? So that’s it.

But it’s very bittersweet. It’s sad. And I’m glad you're giving me the opportunity to still maybe pop in every now and then.

Diane Sanfilippo: Yeah, I’m going to have to figure out ways to rope Liz in to talking to me more every single week. {laughing}

Liz Wolfe: Oh, don’t you worry.

Diane Sanfilippo: But yeah. I mean, we’re always chitchatting about lots of things. So yeah, it’s definitely bittersweet. Like I said, I have a pit in my stomach. This has been our home base. This has been the thing that we really; I don’t know. We’ve connected so many of you around for so long. Luckily, we have email and social media and all of that.

And, of course, for those of you who were here for health, but really kind of stuck around for the conversations around mindset, personal development, business, all of that. Definitely join us over on the new show. It’s called Driven with Cassy Joy and Diane. Or maybe with Cassy and Diane. I don’t know. It’s definitely called Driven. And you’ll hear a funny story about how we came up with the name for that, actually, on a drive between two cities in Texas one day.

I’m super excited. But I’m also; I don’t know. I like sameness, so it’s going to be weird.

Liz Wolfe: Yeah. It’s going to be weird not having to think about this. Every week.

Diane Sanfilippo: I will still be thinking about a podcast every week. {laughs} It’s just a different show.

Liz Wolfe: That’s true. That’s true. You will. But it is very odd. This has been such an integral part of both of our lives for such a long time. We’ve obviously cultivated an amazing community around it. And neither of us are stopping being part of this community or stopping the work that we’re doing. We’re just expanding in certain places and putting a; I don’t know. A nice, whatever, punctuation at the end of the sentence. And just so, so grateful for this whole experience.

I remember when I was first told that you were interested in potentially doing a podcast with me. I remember the bathroom I was in {laughs} when I read that text message. I remember our first conversations, and where I was. Just thinking; you know, I used to call myself, I think, your sidekick in our early episodes. And I feel like I really came into my own, and my confidence and what I know and what I had to share with people really elevated over the course of the podcast. And it’s been a really pivotal thing for me. So I will always be so, so grateful for it. And hopefully pop into your Driven podcast to say hello here and there, so people know what’s going on with me and I can share what I’m learning and whatnot.

And I think on that note we should definitely encourage people; anybody that has loved this podcast and anybody that has been following us for a long time. If you're not already on our email lists; get on the email lists. Because now that’s how we will let you know what’s going on.

Diane Sanfilippo: Mm-hmm. For sure.

Liz Wolfe: Yeah. We love all of you, by the way!

Diane Sanfilippo: {laughs}

Liz Wolfe: We should really acknowledge this amazing group of listeners that we’ve had. Some of whom have been with us since the beginning. So, so grateful for letting us into your podcast app, into your cars, your drive home.

Diane Sanfilippo: Your workout.

Liz Wolfe: Yes.

Diane Sanfilippo: Your bathroom!

Liz Wolfe: Your bathroom.

Diane Sanfilippo: I listen to podcasts in the bathroom. On a flight. I mean; look, we still have a lot of episodes left. But we wanted to be able to break the news together, because I know Cassy and I mention it on our episode. We couldn’t not mention it. So we wanted to make sure that we had this chat. But yeah, we still have a handful of great episodes coming up. So, oh my goodness. Yeah, it feels weird. It’s like, I can’t stop talking about the fact that we’re talking about this. It’s good.

Liz Wolfe: We’re going to take it all the way through to the finish line, though. We’re not like; oh, ok. We’re done.

Diane Sanfilippo: Yeah.

Liz Wolfe: Like you said, we’re not going to give two weeks’ notice and be like; but I’m actually going to be done tomorrow.

Diane Sanfilippo: Yeah. We’re going strong the last four episodes will all be Liz and I; good old fashioned. I mean, I don’t know what kind of Q&A we’ll do. We’ll see what comes in. I think we do have to go out with a bang, though. I think we should talk about some really, I don’t know, juicy topics. We’ll see what comes up.

Liz Wolfe: Yeah. We should definitely get juicy about it.

Diane Sanfilippo: {laughs}

Liz Wolfe: Now I can’t believe I said that phrase. That’s ridiculous. Come on.

Diane Sanfilippo: {laughing} So what we should do for the last four episodes is really just talk about housewives.

Liz Wolfe: Yeah. I’d be up for that.

Diane Sanfilippo: Because our aspirations throughout this show have at different points in time, Liz and I have joked that we should just start a whole podcast about the Real Housewives. But unfortunately, many of you know our voices way too well so we couldn’t; unless we did an autotune thing, and just had our voices changed and no one would ever know. We would just say it’s like two totally different people.

Liz Wolfe: We did talk about that. I think a podcast like that would involve much less emotional capital than this one. Obviously, we pour our heart and souls into this one. I would feel very comfortable showing up half drunk for a Real Housewives podcast.

Diane Sanfilippo: {laughing}

Liz Wolfe: I think we should do it.

Diane Sanfilippo: Strongly considering it.

Liz Wolfe: It would be like a 5-minute episode every week.

Diane Sanfilippo: Yeah! {laughs}

Liz Wolfe: I could do that.

Diane Sanfilippo: It would be like the text thread that we have about the episodes.

Liz Wolfe: Exactly! Yes.

Diane Sanfilippo: Except, let’s just sit down and record it. And if you're half drunk, it’s ok. And if I’m in the bathroom, it’s ok. {laughs}

Liz Wolfe: It’s fine.

Diane Sanfilippo: Having the conversation.

Liz Wolfe: Yeah. See, we’re good idea machines over here, people.

Diane Sanfilippo: Yeah.

Liz Wolfe: {laughs} You have not heard the last.

Diane Sanfilippo: This show is rapidly declining.

Liz Wolfe: Indeed it is.

Diane Sanfilippo: Alright. We’ll take a break. And come back.

Liz Wolfe: The Balanced Bites podcast is sponsored in part by the Nutritional Therapy Association. The NTA trains and certifies nutritional therapy practitioners and consultants (including me; I’m an NTP), emphasizing bio-individuality and the range of dietary strategies that support wellness. The NTA emphasizes local, whole, properly prepared nutrient dense foods as the key to restoring balance and enhancing the body’s ability to heal.

The NTA’s nutritional therapy practitioner program and fully online nutritional therapy consultant program empower graduates with the education and skills needed to launch a successful, fulfilling career in holistic nutrition. To learn more about the NTA’s nutritional therapy programs, go to http://www.NutritionalTherapy.com. Registration is now open for their May class through April 26th. You can learn more and save your seat by going to nutritionaltherapy.com.

3. Cortisol and weight gain [17:07]

Liz Wolfe: Alright, folks. Let’s jump into question number one for this episode. This is about cortisol levels and weight gain. “Hey ladies! My question is about stress and cortisol levels. I’m a 25-year-old high school math teacher. I’ve been active as long as I can remember, running cross-country in high school and college. I’ve also done the whole yoyo dieting; losing 10 pounds and gaining ever since I graduated high school. Last summer I started a paleo diet and dropped 10 pounds. I’ve been consistent with this diet and find it easy to maintain. However, every year I start teaching and gain the weight back, despite eating and working out the same. I was wondering if this could be the reason I’m holding onto fat in my belly and back area. I’m at a loss here as to why I can’t keep the weight off this time around, even though I’ve found a healthy diet and consistent workout regimen. Thank you!”

Any thoughts Diane?

Diane Sanfilippo: Well, yes. {laughs} So, having a stressful time; for sure. This is where we do store body fat related to stress, right around the midsection. And really, gaining weight is totally; it’s so related to stress that every time we talk about people trying to balance calories and macronutrients; as much as that is obviously part of the picture. Not overeating is part of the picture; absolutely if you're under a bunch of stress it’s really, really hard to either lose weight or keep weight off.

So I think that’s something that we can’t undervalue and we can’t discount. And I think it’s also important to just be a little bit forgiving of yourself. Make sure you have the clothes that you're going to need for work that will fit, and not stress out about it.

Did you want to throw something in?

Liz Wolfe: I just can’t imagine; I’m thinking back to myself in my math class in high school. And to me I feel like that could be a stressful environment. And also I think if you are one of those teachers who is empathetic and kind wants their students to do well, it’s probably like multifaceted. You’re probably taking on stress from students. Math is a tough subject. I don’t know. Just; my hats off to all teachers, number one. And how stressful it can be.

One thing I neglected to read and I probably should have, now that I’m looking at it, is, “I exercise 5 times a week, Orange Theory meets treadmill class or a body building workout. And take my dog on long walks two to three times a week.” It might be that during that adjustment period of coming back to school; which, it’s just sad. Summer is over and now we’re back to school and whatnot. Maybe just in that transitional period, you just go a little bit easier on it. I’m not 100% sure if she’s saying she exercises five times a week at the Orange Theory, or if she’s saying five times; three of those days is walking those dogs and two days is Orange Theory.

Diane Sanfilippo: Right. Including that.

Liz Wolfe: But if it’s five days of Orange Theory, that might be something to step back with during that transitional period. And just be really aware of your sleep, and how much your putting your body through and all of that. And really bring a lot of mindfulness into that transition from doing one thing into doing another.

Diane Sanfilippo: Mm-hmm. This is stuff that we talk about in the Master Class quite a bit when we talk about stress. And my analogy for it is a stress beaker, where we’re pouring in little bits. So she’s a math teacher, not a chemistry teacher. {laughs} But this is like my chemistry class; pouring in little bits of stress in; imagine it in liquid form. And it’s just like; different stressors are pouring on top of one another. And I really do think at different points in time, we have a hard time quantifying how much different things are stressful to us.

So exactly the point you made about how empathetic she is. The more empathetic she is to her students; and honestly the more you care about your job, the more it will have; the emotional stress will have a physical reality with your body. So there’s that.

I do also think; you mentioned sleep. Maybe she doesn’t realize that she’s sleeping a little less. Or the quality of her sleep isn’t as good as it was before. And obviously during the summer, when teachers are off and you're not as stressed, perhaps, you might be sleeping much better. So all of these things that combine to be stressful to the body; including the stuff that we can perceive as stress. Just like the schedule, and the kids, and everything that’s going on, and the testing, and everything. I think we need to make sure that we’re not underestimating the stress that we are experiencing.

So to that end; I love the strength training and the dog walks for maintaining fitness and being in a place where you're keeping your body strong and you're keeping your metabolism in a great place. I think that if you're going through this few weeks of the transition where you feel like; you know what? Just getting into the new year, the new school year is crazy. Maybe you scale back on/don’t attend something like Orange Theory. But really focus more on the body building type workouts.

I really think, and this is something that I did when I was rewriting Practical Paleo. I was following body building workouts for several months. Really not doing any kind of high intensity interval training. Not doing really any cardio whatsoever. Maybe a little bit of walking or just; I mean, I say jogging and I mean the speed at which you can no longer just walk. That tiny clip above walking.

Liz Wolfe: That’s called race walking. {laughs}

Diane Sanfilippo: Ok.

Liz Wolfe: I don’t know.

Diane Sanfilippo: Like in When Harry Met Sally when Billy Crystal and whatever the other guy’s name is. {laughs}

Liz Wolfe: Oh, poor guy. He’s the only one I don’t know his name. Yes, exactly. I had a client who was a race walker, by the way. It was pretty cool.

Diane Sanfilippo: So, anyway. Just like a tiny bit faster than that to the point where I actually need to kind of levitate just a bit off the treadmill where it’s not just walking. But I’m just saying; warmed up and then really just the body building style workouts where you do get a little bit of that heart rate increase, but not to that crazy high intensity place. But you are increasing your heart rate to a good place. You're breaking a sweat. But for the most part, what you're doing is keeping your heart and your muscles in shape without pushing your adrenaline.

And I think that’s the thing that people need to remember, and that’s the downside of something like CrossFit or Orange Theory. When you're under stress otherwise, I think pushing your adrenaline is not a good idea. Because if you're dealing with stress all day, as kids are coming back to school. Or for me, like when I’m writing a book. I feel like I’m running all day just because of the stress that I’m experiencing mentally and emotionally. So the last thing I want to do is then go run and experience a high intensity workout. But I do need to make sure that my muscles and my heart are getting that exercise.

So, I want to encourage you to maybe do something. What I did was the RP workouts. So if you go to my website, and you search for workout template. I don’t know what you’ll find it under. But I know folks are still finding it there. It was renaissance periodization is the name of the company. I wouldn’t recommend at this point following their meal plan, but I would recommend their workout program. I really thought it was excellent.

It’s a linear progression for body building. Very easy to select your type of workout, your movement, how long you’ve been training, the weights, etc. And build your own workout around the type of equipment that you can access in an excel spreadsheet. I just really loved being able to do that and make it work for me. So I think that that might be really helpful. And then doing your dog walks; you know, maybe instead of two to three times, maybe it’s every day you get in a nice dog walk outside, as long as the weather is nice.

So anyway. Those are the tips that I have. I think it would be really good to just get super honest with yourself about the stress that you're under and recognize that all of the stressors, whether emotional or physical, do add up physically to your body. Stressful thoughts manifest physically in the body. So, it might not be a time to be doing those high intensity interval workouts. Because that actually; sometimes people think of it as calorie burning and it’s all “good” for weight loss. But ultimately, if it’s increasing the cortisol output, that’s not going to actually result in fat loss, because we need to have this calming effect overall. So that’s a lot.

But there’s lots of episodes. Also, if you head back to the archives on weight loss resistance, on stress and weight loss. And I think you can probably also find some; not probably. For sure, there’s some on like adrenals and adrenal health. And you might be able to learn a little bit from those episodes, too.

Liz Wolfe: I have a math analogy, like your beaker analogy.

Diane Sanfilippo: Yeah, ok. What is it?

Liz Wolfe: Just say; the limit does exist.

Diane Sanfilippo: {laughing} Wait, that was a math analogy and a Mean Girls reference in one. What?

Liz Wolfe: All. In. One. I like all these ideas. I think it’s nice to sometimes; not commemorate but really acknowledge transitions in life with some kind of; I don’t know. Living with great intention during a period of time. So I think these are great ideas.

4. Citric acid, GMO corn, and mold [26:41]

Liz Wolfe: Alright. Next question. This is about citric acid. “What are your thoughts on citric acid? I had always assumed it was naturally derived from citrus fruit, as the name suggests. But after doing some research, discovered it’s actually produced primarily from fermented aspergillus mold. Gross! The mold is said to be filtered out after the fermentation process is complete. But can they really get all that mold out? Many natural food products contain citric acid, including non-GMO sources. Are they safe to consume?”

And interestingly, I’m pretty sure that citrus fruits are name after the fact; because they contain citric acid, and not the other way around. I could be wrong; not 100% sure. That’d be something to Google. But my thoughts on this; and perhaps you have more to say, Diane. I don’t know. It’s one of those things that I think about when I look at an ingredients list and I see citric acid. I do tend to make sure it’s like non-GMO, because I’m pretty sure non-GMO citric acid is not derived from mold. So that’s basically all I’ve got. Just in general, I try to avoid foods with citric acid.

For example; when we used to do those baby food pouches. There are a couple better options on the market now; Serenity Kids and Once Upon a Farm, I don’t believe, use any citric acid. But when I was first starting to tote those around with me in case of emergency, I would always pick the ones with lemon juice concentrate in them instead of citric acid. I have no idea if it made any difference whatsoever. But it was just one of those little quirks I developed when reading labels. But I do generally try to either not buy stuff with citric acid in it. Or, if I’ve got to, make sure it’s from a non-GMO product. Or if it’s those little baby food pouches, look for something with lemon oil instead of citric acid.

Diane Sanfilippo: So my take on this; I remember when I read the Omnivore’s Dilemma. You know, on a beach vacation, as one does. Because that’s beach reading for someone like me {laughs}.

Liz Wolfe: Yeah.

Diane Sanfilippo: I did read a fiction book I think, once, on vacation. {laughs}

Liz Wolfe: That’s good. I think my honeymoon read was like Primal Body, Primal Mind, or something.

Diane Sanfilippo: I’m just not that into fiction. I want to be.

Liz Wolfe: I kind of am now. But it feels like a luxury.

Diane Sanfilippo: OK.

Liz Wolfe: Do you agree?

Diane Sanfilippo: I’m not a hater. I just; I feel like if I’m going to focus my eyes on words on a page, I kind of want to learn something. Or I’ll listen. I really like listening to an autobiography type book.

Anyway. I don’t know. We all have our thing. So I read the Omnivore’s Dilemma on vacation many years ago. And the thing that really stuck with me from Michael Pollan was talking about the prevalence of corn and corn derived ingredients, and obviously specifically things like GMO corn. We’re not talking about sweet corn, like jersey corn that you would wash and eat, and it’s organic. It’s not the same thing as genetically modified corn that is used to produce things like corn syrup, citric acid, corn oil, etc. That’s a non-edible type of corn if you were to just grab it from the field; just so folks know. And if you want to read more about that, or learn, definitely read the Omnivore’s Dilemma. I think it was a really fantastic book. And I think it stands the test of time.

But they really; Michael Pollan really details how, if you were to do some testing and see how much corn in any of our system, or do a hair analysis and look for traces of corn DNA, so much of what many of us ate many years ago. Maybe not those of you listening to this show now, perhaps. But a lot of the foods that we were eating were corn based. And citric acid is definitely one of those known to be sourced from things like GMO corn.

Now, if it is something that’s organic citric acid, or it says non-GMO citric acid; I mean, I feel like you are not going to know the source unless you really figure out what this company is using. I’m not really sure about the mold factor. I think if you’re somebody who is sensitive to it, then definitely be cautious. I really have been more concerned about whether or not I’d be eating GMO corn sourced citric acid.

Now, the way that I approach that in my everyday life from a practical perspective is; if it’s something that I’m buying regularly at the grocery store. You know; every week, every couple of weeks. Something that; typically if it’s something that I’m sharing with you guys, saying that I love this product, I’m trying to avoid citric acid.

Now, that being said, let’s say I’m on vacation, and I’m trying to buy some clean pasta sauce in a grocery store. And the only options I find are one that actually is organic, it’s made with olive oil, it has no other strange ingredients but it says citric acid. Or there’s one that says it’s made with soybean or canola oil, and no citric acid. I will pick with one with citric acid over the one with poor quality, polyunsaturated fatty acids. Does that make sense?

And I feel like a lot of times, when it comes to this idea of choosing something with citric acid, we’re looking for the better bad, in a sense. I mean, we’re obviously not just picking our chicken; do we take the one with or without citric acid. It’s always going to be a packaged food. So in this case, where you're picking a packaged food, you really just have to look at; what are the ingredients? Is there one that doesn’t have any additives that I’m questioning? Then obviously go with that one.

In the event that you have some additives in this one, and you're comparing it to a different one. For me, polyunsaturated oils like corn, soybean, canola, etc., anything hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated. Those are the things that I avoid as paramount. As often as I can read them on the label, I will not choose them. Citric acid is something that; you know what? If it’s there, and this is the option that I have, then it is something that I would probably consume. But something that I’m going to buying every single week for my house, I really try not to.

I think there are some canned products, like artichoke hearts or even some frozen artichoke hearts, for example, from Trader Joe’s that have citric acid, I’ve not been able to find some that have no additives. I was, years ago, but that’s another one where it’s like; this is kind of the cleanest I can find. And I’m not really willing to buy four artichokes, steam them, get the hearts out, to get the artichoke heart. So, again, you kind of have to go based on that.

But if this is an issue of; you’re really overly concerned about mold because you know that you have. And I don’t mean overly; like, more than you should be. I just mean; it’s a really high priority for you. And if you're concerned about, then just avoid the ingredient altogether. But the safety is always going to be something that we can’t determine that, 100%, for any one person. Right? Because what’s safe for one really may not be safe for someone else. So that’s kind of how I weigh that decision.

Diane Sanfilippo: Today’s podcast is sponsored by Perfect Keto. Dr. Anthony Gustin and his teams have created a line of supplements that are super clean and effective, no matter what your dietary needs. I’ve been blending their MCT oil powder into my matcha latte lately. Not only are MCTs; medium chain triglycerides; a premium source of your body’s preferred type of energy, and help to fuel your brain and body, but there’s also no added taste. It makes your coffee or matcha wonderfully creamy. Check them out at PerfectKeto.com and use the code BALANCED for 20% off at Perfect Keto; and their sister site, Equip Foods.

5. An Instagram account I’m digging [34:34]

Liz Wolfe: Ok. Let’s move on to some fun stuff. Let’s move on to a fun little question. What, Diane, is your favorite Instagram account to follow currently?

Diane Sanfilippo: Ok. So, I have one that I’m really digging. I have a few that I’m digging, but this one in particular. It’s Amber Rae. She’s an author. And she wrote a book called Choose Wonder Over Worry. I believe it actually came out pretty close to when Keto Quick Start came out. But her Instagram account is just Hey Amber Rae. And I have shared some of her posts before. We’ll share her maybe over to the Balanced Bites podcast Instagram. But she does a lot of posts around things like anxiety. Things like boundaries.

And one of my favorites from her is where she shares how to set boundaries. And she has these three columns, where it says I value, and it lists four different things. And it says, so I need, and it lists four different things. And it says, and will honor by, list four different things. So for example, she says; and this is her own. She filled it in and she gives you a blank to fill in. It says; I value my wellbeing, so I need rest, play, and off hours, and will honor this by not working on weekends. And that’s just her example of how she can create boundaries for her own wellbeing and what that really looks like.

And I love that this is the topic of boundaries, which you guys know is a favorite topic of mine. It’s also really practical and really approachable. So check her out, Hey Amber Rae. Really love her stuff. And it’s a great Instagram account to follow.

What about you? I know you’re really big on the ‘gram, so you know.

Liz Wolfe: I know, I’m just all day on the ‘gram. I’m not great at catching up with things on Instagram, but I always do love to see what my Baby Making and Beyond partner, Meg Reburn is putting up there. Meg the Midwife. She’s going to be sharing a lot more from Baby Making and Beyond going forward. But she just shares some really, really just beautiful thoughts about life, and birth. She’ll share some photos from births that she’s attended. Obviously, with permission. She’ll share some of the amazing stuff;

I mean, she’s like an adventurer. She’s like a rock climber. She goes up to random places in the mountains and just skis down the mountains. I don’t even know if it’s a real ski slope or if it’s just like; hey, we got dropped here. Now let’s go down. She’s that cool. So I always enjoy watching what she has to say. It’s just such a great mix of content.

Diane Sanfilippo: Love it.

Liz Wolfe: Well that’s it for this week then. You can find me, Liz, at http://realfoodliz.com/ and Diane at http://dianesanfilippo.com. Join our email lists for free goodies and updates that you don’t find anywhere else on our website or on the podcast. And of course, because you want to keep in touch with us going forward. While you’re on the internet, leave us an iTunes review. See you next week.