Episode 57
Table of Contents:
Table of Contents:
In this episode:
In this episode:
Shawn Borup, is the founder of Show Me Healthy Living. For three decades, she has researched, studied, and practiced the healing power of food and taught kids and adults how to eat more real food at every meal. She is a Healthy Living Coach, Certified Fermentationist®, Real Food Chef, and is living proof that implementing simple healthy habits promotes optimal health and wellbeing.
Today, we are talking about using real food to promote healing.
Shawn struggled with illness and asthma growing up, and when her daughter struggled with the same, she was determined to find the better way to heal.
Having grown up on the standard American diet, and taken many rounds of antibiotics, Shawn decided to create a different reality for her children.
Eliminating white sugar and white flour was where Shawn started.
White flour is all starch, which can stick in the intestines and create a swampy environment.
How do we change our eating habits? It takes patience.
Shawn recommends swapping out your sugar for raw honey, local if possible. We need to include live, raw, single ingredient foods. Adding foods like bananas and butternut squash in baking to sweeten baked goods is one of Shawn's tricks.
Sugar is so addictive that to change your habits it is important to get it out of your house.
Today's wheat is not what we used to eat. It is not sprouted, it has higher gluten, and higher starch.
Our bodies don't recognized processed, GMO, foods as food, which triggers immune response and lends to autoimmunity.
We need to be replenishing our systems with good foods that feed our gut and nourish our bodies.
If we aren't eliminating properly and regularly, we cause inflammation.
We aren't eating enough fiber.
We get half or less the recommended amount.
Exercising supports our perspiration pathways and we need to be sweating.
In order to heal we need to look at what we are putting on our fork.
Everyone has gifts to share, and we need to feel well to do it.
Fermented foods feed your good bacteria.
Sour kraut, kefir, yogurt
Just a little bit daily!!
You can make nondairy yogurt.
Go from the SAD diet to the RAD diet!
Keep your energy up… avoid those sugar dips.
If you aren't ready to make your own fermented foods, look for:
If you eat dairy...be sure to look for grass fed products.
Today, we are talking about using real food to promote healing.
Shawn struggled with illness and asthma growing up, and when her daughter struggled with the same, she was determined to find the better way to heal.
Having grown up on the standard American diet, and taken many rounds of antibiotics, Shawn decided to create a different reality for her children.
Food as Fuel
You wouldn't knowingly put the wrong type of gasoline in your car...don't put the wrong fuel in your body!Eliminating white sugar and white flour was where Shawn started.
White flour is all starch, which can stick in the intestines and create a swampy environment.
How do we change our eating habits? It takes patience.
Shawn recommends swapping out your sugar for raw honey, local if possible. We need to include live, raw, single ingredient foods. Adding foods like bananas and butternut squash in baking to sweeten baked goods is one of Shawn's tricks.
Sugar is so addictive that to change your habits it is important to get it out of your house.
Today's wheat is not what we used to eat. It is not sprouted, it has higher gluten, and higher starch.
Our bodies don't recognized processed, GMO, foods as food, which triggers immune response and lends to autoimmunity.
We need to be replenishing our systems with good foods that feed our gut and nourish our bodies.
If we aren't eliminating properly and regularly, we cause inflammation.
We aren't eating enough fiber.
We get half or less the recommended amount.
Exercising supports our perspiration pathways and we need to be sweating.
In order to heal we need to look at what we are putting on our fork.
Everyone has gifts to share, and we need to feel well to do it.
Fermented foods feed your good bacteria.
Sour kraut, kefir, yogurt
Just a little bit daily!!
You can make nondairy yogurt.
Go from the SAD diet to the RAD diet!
Keep your energy up… avoid those sugar dips.
If you aren't ready to make your own fermented foods, look for:
- Glass Jar
- Raw (unpasteurized)
- Local when possible
- Watch out for fillers! Especially in plant based milks and alternative products.
- Read labels!
If you eat dairy...be sure to look for grass fed products.
Take this 1 Step!
Get refined sugar and flour out of your house and add in more real foods.
Other Resources:
Other Resources:
Connect with Shawn Borup
Connect with Shawn Borup
Watch this interview:
Watch this interview:
Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Julie Michelson: Welcome back to the inspired living with autoimmunity show. I'm your host, Julie Michelson. And today we are joined by Shawn Borup, founder of show me healthy living. And we're talking about food is fuel and the healing power of single ingredient. Whole foods from what to avoid, to what to include. Sean guides us on how to make the dietary changes that will allow us to all feel our best [00:01:00] and share our gifts with the world.
[00:01:02] Sean welcome to the podcast.
[00:01:04] Shawn Borup: Thank you so much, Julie. I'm I'm just so pleased to be here.
[00:01:09] Julie Michelson: So excited for our conversation today. I didn't share with you that, that I grew up. My stepfather had a restaurant. It was really three restaurants and one. So I didn't realize that created a passion for food. Back then, I, I can connect those dots now. So I love just the passion, the wisdom, the expertise that you're bringing for the audience today.
[00:01:36] And we, we we're chatting before I hit record. I will do my best to stay on task. Cuz I have so many areas I wanna talk to you about. But first I wanna know, how did you get passionate about this? How did you get so involved in helping people eat healthy?
[00:01:55] Shawn Borup: Yeah, I, I grew up a really sickly [00:02:00] child. I had severe asthma and I just was, I, I felt like I was sick all the time. And then when I started having my own children and then they had issues starting to show up I, I remember you know, going to a birthday party with my daughter and. Because she had asthma so bad too.
[00:02:23] You know, every time she ate all of the things that everyone else was eating, then her symptoms would get worse and we would pay the price. So once I learned how to get refined sugar out, I remember making her her very special cupcake and we would go to parties and, and I took it out of my bag when it was, you know, time to celebrate the birthday.
[00:02:45] And the mom sitting next to me said, you know, what is that? And I said, this is a cupcake that my daughter can eat. That doesn't make her sick. And, and so that, you know, that reminds me of when she was a [00:03:00] few years before that I was sitting in the rocking chair one night about 3:00 AM, giving her another breathing treatment. And just thinking to myself, I wonder if there's a better way and. Then that thought just kept reoccurring. And until it was, I know there's, there's gotta be a better way and I'm, I'm going to find it. I was so scared, you know, watching her little face and her lips turned blue. And because that took me back because I remember as a child not being able to breathe and I was in the hospital, I was in an oxygen 10.
[00:03:36] And the, there was a zipper on the side where my parents could put their hand in and hold my hand. And I remember looking up into the side and alls I could see was plastic and I just wanted to go home. And it was, it was really, really hard as a child, not understanding why I was sick. [00:04:00] And my earliest recollection is when I was about 18 months old.
[00:04:03] That was back in the day when parents could not stay overnight with your child. And I remember standing in the crib screaming, mommy, mommy, and watching my mom walk away. And. Then the door closed. And so when people ask me why I do what I do that's just a little background of the, the things that, you know, the journey that I've had and, and with my own kids and the miracle.
[00:04:30] Of it all. Julie is when we started focusing on the food, which was like a foreign concept to me because, you know, my mom bless her heart. She did the best she could, but, but she just did not know. I was just raised on the standard American diet. We had a. Small little garden. I grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada.
[00:04:48] So we had a small little garden in the backyard and, you know, we, we grew carrots and some lettuce, but I mean, it was very minimal in when I was growing up. I mean, it was all about canned food. Frozen [00:05:00] foods were, you know, big, like the, the TV dinners were just, yeah, coming. They were just popular. You know, all of that.
[00:05:06] And so we, as, you know, as a family and we just ate this standard American diet and so had, had never considered that, that food. And then as a sick child, I went on so many antibiotics that my, my entire immune system. Was so compromised all the time, because it was a chronic, you know, round the it was a, a cycle, right.
[00:05:30] That you get on and you, you feel like you're in this hamster wheel and you can't get out. And so it was, so it was such a miracle to see that shift when we changed our food, when we got. You know, things out of our diet that need, that were making us sick. And we put things in that our body really needed that like the right kind of fuel the way I teach kids is would you ever go to the gas station and fill up your tank with gasoline?
[00:05:55] You know, and you know, it. It's an, you know, obvious [00:06:00] answer, but it helps them to understand that there is certain fuel for certain things. And when we don't use the right fuel, it's just like, I remember one time our, one of our boys put diesel in fuel in his car. Right. And then he's calling dad, Hey, you know the car won't start, you know, same kind of concept.
[00:06:18] Like when we understand as humans, what food is really. Truly fuel it's it's like a whole new world opens up and, you know, in working with, you know, with chronic health conditions, why food is, you know, there's so many other parts of the puzzle, but food is such a big piece because we do it multiple times, every single day.
[00:06:40] Julie Michelson: Absolutely. And I love the, the food as fuel is one of the biggest mindset shifts that I help people, you know, step into because that that's not usually how they show up at my door. You know, food is soothing food, you know, [00:07:00] food is everything. Fuel. And, and we, you know, we definitely, we need that fuel. Which leads me to my, my, where I wanna start.
[00:07:10] So often talk about hamster wheels. You know what you, you mentioned standard American diet, which is a, just a, you know, full of high carbs, processed grains, sugars, bad fats, all of it. But I wanna start with just this most, to me, the simplest to understand, to just carry the, the fuel theme. Is this sugar addicted?
[00:07:36] Piece of the standard American diet. And, and that cycle of, you know, well, in theory, glucose is fuel. It's a fuel our body can use. And, and I'm not, it's, I'm not talking about, you know, when we produce glucose, cuz we, we have a stress response or so I try not to do the whole, like all [00:08:00] sugar is evil.
[00:08:01] But we get into this inflamed addicted cycle. And as you know, when most people find me, they're exhausted, fatigue is such a big part of the autoimmune experience, no matter the diagnosis. So let's, let's start with sugar. And, and why is that something we decided we wanna talk about?
[00:08:26] Shawn Borup: Yeah, I, you know, I started a Facebook group years ago called sweet life without sugar. Because I, I knew from my own experience and what I had gone through with my own children and just talking with people and how much they struggle with it is that that is, and, and, and personally, that was the first thing we did, you know, so when I started this journey, the first thing I did was I removed refined sugar.
[00:08:52] And refined flour from my kitchen. And it was just, we just no longer brought it in. If there was a treat to be, you know [00:09:00] eaten, it was out of the house because if it's in your kitchen, you're just, you know, you're gonna go automatically to that. Like the brain's gonna, the brain just fires up when it sees a package of Oreos.
[00:09:10] I don't know how else to explain it. You know, that's why, you know the, all of these types of whether it's sugar or high fructose corn syrup or. Corn syrup solids, or you know, all of these different types of sugar, which by the way, there's over 80 different names. And there's so many of them used today that people don't even know that are sugar that it is, you know, that's maddening because the way that food is marketed today is they're very, very clever.
[00:09:36] There's a lot of trickery out there. And, and if we have time, maybe we'll talk a little bit just about tips for navigating through a grocery store, because that is so. Overwhelming. I remember the first time going with my, you know, my new shift to my new lifestyle and reading labels for the first time. I mean, actual ingredients
[00:09:55] Julie Michelson: Yes. The label on the back,
[00:09:57] Shawn Borup: Yeah, everything [00:10:00] was, oh, gotta put that back. Oh, gotta put that back. I mean, that's what I felt like. I, it, it was a high level of frustration, but, but just to make it simple, the first thing I did was I got rid of white sugar and I got rid of white flour. Why white flour people think of white flour as well.
[00:10:16] That's in breads and you know, those type of things, unfortunately, and even wheat flour and that this is another trickery that. Teacher listeners, if you don't see the word whole in front of the word wheat, then you are eating white flour that has been colored with a caramel coloring, which you know, it just makes insult to injury.
[00:10:36] Right? That much worse. So I removed those things from my kitchen, which, you know, you use this flower, right. To make pancakes, you know, biscuits, whatever you, you use it for multiple things. And so. What, unfortunately what happens? White flour or just regular wheat flour, they have taken the brand and the germ out of that grain out of that product, because those are the things that have a [00:11:00] shorter shelf life.
[00:11:01] And of course we know that for food manufacturers, it's all about the money. And so. They can't have their product going bad. It has to be able to, you know, be transported, transported hundreds of miles, if not thousands, and then sit on the shelf and then it has to still look good, taste, good, smell, good.
[00:11:18] Everything. When you bring it home and you know, to be in your cupboard. So. That's, what's left in this flower is just the starch. And if you are, you know, if you've, if you used white glue in school grade schools, like I did the paste. Okay. That is basically flower and water. Okay. And that.
[00:11:40] Julie Michelson: used to eat it.
[00:11:41] Shawn Borup: Yeah, right, exactly. But that's what it is. It is a sticky glue. And so what happens is we have to remember that in our gut 80% of about 80% of our immune system lives in our gut. And we have 30 to 35 feet. I mean, wrap your head around that 30 to 35 feet [00:12:00] of intestines that our food has to travel through.
[00:12:03] So if we're eating a lot of white flour or wheat flour that is all this starch that it turns to glue. It is sticking in our intestines. It gets stuck. And that is a creating a, an environment for a swamp and in swamps, that's where infections live. Right. And so there is it, it's just when you get educated and just understand just some basics of what is in some of the basic foods that are used, you know, so just overused in today.
[00:12:35] Traditional diet. Then you kind of can understand why we're seeing so much illness and so much, you know, obesity and type two diabetes in young, young people, which, you know, I mean, the list just goes on and on you and I, we could talk about this forever, but anyways, that's the first thing that I did. And so how, how do you do that?
[00:12:56] I mean, this, it, that is hard when you, that is what, you know, [00:13:00] we do what we know. We, we have a comfort cycle. Right of the way we do things in our life for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks. And, you know, we know that as humans, we are creatures of habit. And so changing habits is it is a definite shift. And if we don't see any benefit in changing that habit, then we don't have the motivation to keep that habit going.
[00:13:21] And so that it, you know, it, but it, it takes just a little bit of patience. And that's why I always tell people, don't beat yourself up. You just go forward, you do the best you can. Every single. And you try to do it's with all in all areas of our life. We try to be, you know, I just say 1% better. Like, you know, just let me be 1% better today of a human being, you know, in all areas.
[00:13:45] Julie Michelson: Yep.
[00:13:45] Shawn Borup: So, so anyways, what, what did I do? How did I change that? So I started using local, raw honey. And why local, raw honey. Because when we eat honey, that is local and raw raw [00:14:00] means it's been unpro. It's been unheated because typical honey, like in the bare little plastic bottle, that's really thin.
[00:14:07] And in this really light color, Unfortunately that honey's been heated. And so all of the enzymes that are naturally in that honey have been destroyed. And why are those enzymes important? Well, is those enzymes that help to in the digestion of every cooked food that we eat. So just think about what you ate yesterday, how much cooked food did you eat?
[00:14:29] Did you eat any raw food at. The average American doesn't eat any vegetables and the vegetables that they eat are potatoes and ketchup. So you know, it's pretty, it's pretty sad, but because our bodies need these enzymes, they are very, very important in our bodies. Production of amino acids.
[00:14:45] Again, we create we, we make amino acids. Those are the building blocks of protein. And, you know, there's just so many, so many reasons why we need to eat live food, right. One ingredient food. And so I switch [00:15:00] to local raw honey, and also the, because it's local. You can. Get a lot of benefit to seasonal allergies, pollens that come, you know, your body in other words, gets the nourishment that it needs so that you don't go into you know, have these overreactions, you know, as the seasons change.
[00:15:20] So eating local honey, and, you know, I teach the kids, I at the Y M C a and I will hold up this container of honey and, and ask them to read where this honey is from. And they will say Montana. And I said, is Montana close to where we live? And they'll all kind of start laughing. Yes, we live in Montana, but I want them to appreciate, you know, the if, if everyone was sourcing their food, you know, close to where they.
[00:15:45] We would be so much healthier. We would feel so much better on a day to day basis, but so going back to sugar so local raw honey was a sweetener that I used. But I also started noticing that there were foods like [00:16:00] bananas. Butternut squash, beets and carrots, like all these real foods that are naturally sweet.
[00:16:06] And do you know that you can make a wonderful brownie with butternut squash as you know, as most of the sweetener? I mean there anyways, I, I just started a little bit, you know, again slowly at a time we got rid of our pancake mix, right. That was already done for us. And. We, I started using oats and I would put the oats in the blender and make a, a coarse flour.
[00:16:30] And we started making oatmeal pancakes. And instead of buying Mrs. Butterworths and Jemima maple syrup that we had grown up on, which by the way
[00:16:39] Julie Michelson: not maple syrup.
[00:16:41] Shawn Borup: 2%. Yeah. 2% local
[00:16:43] Julie Michelson: we were a log cabin, family, and boy was I sad when I found out that that wasn't maple syrup
[00:16:49] Shawn Borup: I know. Right. And so the other 98%, just for listeners that, that is made up of two things, sugar and chemicals, that's what's in there
[00:16:57] Julie Michelson: And corn say were even worse. I would say [00:17:00] even worse. Corn syrup and chemicals.
[00:17:02] Shawn Borup: is exactly. And you know I'm not sure when high fructose corn syrup or corn, corn syrup first was, was the craze. And then they figured out that high fructose OSE current syrup was, Hey, A whole bunch sweeter and cheaper and faster to make than regular corn syrup. So they switch to that, which, you know, we have seen a rise in children's ability to pay attention their, you know just all of this stuff shows up irritability.
[00:17:29] Julie Michelson: Illness, autoimmunity, all of it. It all, it all connects.
[00:17:34] Shawn Borup: And so, and I've noticed go ahead.
[00:17:37] Julie Michelson: probably laughing right now, cuz they're like, you know, is she telling us to eat whole wheat flour? Julie's always saying gluten free gluten. In free, you have autoimmunity different thing right now we're focusing on real food and why the whole food is so much different than, than the processed parts.
[00:17:55] And I want that butternut squash. Brownie recipe from you because [00:18:00] for the first I, we have, I can't even believe the abundance of butternut squash we have growing right now.
[00:18:06] Shawn Borup: Oh,
[00:18:07] Julie Michelson: I've never, we never planted it before and it has literally taken over my yard and I'm so excited,
[00:18:14] Shawn Borup: And here's another thing I do that I love to do with butter and squash is I actually make a sauce, a cheese sauce for you know, either and, and most of the time going back to, you know, gluten free most of the time, I just naturally eat that way. And and, but I make a cheese sauce that is the main ingredient is butternut squash and to go on either you know, zucchini noodles or some brown rice noodles, and it tastes amazing.
[00:18:42] It, it's an amazing, like macaroni and cheese sauce, if you will, but I I'm glad you brought up the, you know, the, the wheat and the, you know, not eating gluten. Because I just wanna touch on that for a minute, just to give everyone a little bit of education. So once upon a time, the way that wheat was grown [00:19:00] was they would hand cut it.
[00:19:02] Right? And so when, when they hand cut it, then it would lay on the field overnight and it would begin to sprout and before it was taken in and processed. And so then you. So there was already a lot of nutrients already in that food. And, and you know, this is a whole nother topic that I'd great. Be grateful to come back and talk about was what, what is the point of sprouting and soaking and all of these things that used to happen back in the day.
[00:19:35] And all of a sudden today we have all of these stomach issues. And so it's like, I can't have beans. I can't have gluten, you know, the list goes on and on. And a lot of it is in how we prepare. That food first. It is, it goes back to the soil and what's happened to our soil, how food is grown, but then it's that whole process thing.
[00:19:53] So just focusing on wheat here, today's wheat is they have added in more gluten on [00:20:00] purpose for years. And the reason why is because it makes it easier to use
[00:20:04] Julie Michelson: In this, in this country. They've done it. They've done it in this, in the United States. And, and that's the important, how do we know? Because I, people travel elsewhere that have quote unquote gluten sensitivity and even celiac, and they can enjoy wheat in other
[00:20:23] Shawn Borup: can enjoy weight. Exactly. So I, you know, I myself have experienced some, you know, bloating and just from Just really uncomfortable stomach things when I have just eat regular wheat. And so I stopped it completely, you know, just to stop the bleeding. Right. And, and then as I, and then I experimented, I got some en corn wheat Encor is an ancient wheat that was grown, you know, Like wheat should be grown.
[00:20:50] And, but it is, you have to, you have to look for it today. It's not gonna be at your grocery store on your grocery store shelf, but Encor wheat is, [00:21:00] is the type of wheat that always used to be around. In other words, it has lower gluten. It has lower starch. It's easier to. All of these things. And then I soak and sprout it and I make sourdough and I, I am happy to say that I, I am able to consume that type of wheat, but yeah, as far as any other wheat out there I have a picture of a hamburger bun that came from a fast food re.
[00:21:28] And this man put it in one of those cases that, you know, you put professionally signed basketballs or footballs to protect it. He put this hamburger bun in this case and he left it there and he looked at it every year. Well guess what? Nine years later, it still looked exactly the same as it did the day he bought it.
[00:21:48] And that my friends is not. Real food that, and, and that is the type of wheat that is so chemically Laden with with, you know, not real [00:22:00] food. And so that's why that bun can look that way. That is the why we have so much gluten sensitivity today and, you know, just issues with it because they have gone.
[00:22:12] Hybridized are all of our, we and changed it to the point and then put it in everything. Right. It's like in so many things that we eat on a daily basis. And so we have our, our bodies have just get to a point where they're like, Hey, we, we can't. Filter all this, all the toxins in this food out because it's, we're constantly taking it in.
[00:22:33] And so I'm glad you brought that up because yeah, so many people, especially if you have an autoimmunity, that's one of the first things you're gonna stop eating to feel better,
[00:22:42] Julie Michelson: Well, and to heal even, even if you don't notice. I mean, that's the, for me, the, I joke, you know, every diet should be individual. But the, the one thing to avoid, if you have auto immunity would, would be gluten because, because of the impact it has on the gut [00:23:00] and, and leaky gut I wanna highlight two things.
[00:23:02] One thing that you said when talking about this experiment, if you will, with the hamburger bun you said. So important for listeners to hear like a hundred times the body doesn't recognize it as food. And it's not just gluten, it's all of this processed food that we're talking about is we're creating an immune response when we're eating things that aren't recognized as food it's, it's a foreign intruder and your body is supposed to fight.
[00:23:30] And so this is why you mentioned eating live food. You mentioned eating single ingredient food, which is what I would call real food. Because the a, we, you know, it's loaded with nutrients and enzymes and things that we need and can use. And B it, it's not sending off alarm be. All the time. And I can't, I wanna, I don't wanna dive too deep because there's so many other things I wanna talk about, but since we opened the, the wheat and gluten [00:24:00] door you know, and you, you alluded to it as well.
[00:24:03] The, the GMO issue with the wheat that we get in this country is huge. And, and I don't know the answer, is it really because we have higher gluten content in our wheat, or is it because it's loaded with glypho. And, and is, you know, we're adding in just exorbitant amounts of other toxins, which again is illegal in other countries.
[00:24:24] And so it's hard to you. Can't separate it out at
[00:24:27] Shawn Borup: No, you can't Julie. And I really think it is what you just said. Is it one or the other? I, or both. And I really believe it's both. I think it is, you know, we already, they were already changing our wheat. And then now all of a sudden they're dumping glyphosate. You know, the reason why they use glyphosate so much, is it dries the grain out faster so they can get their product to the shell faster because it's all about the money.
[00:24:49] Again, they care nothing about our health. And so the glyphosate is. When bugs consume that literally it splits their stomach open. And if that [00:25:00] tells you what it does to them, what is it doing to the human microbiome? And you know, you and I were talking about this earlier about, we have to create the environment.
[00:25:09] Where our immune system can STR be strengthened. And, and then after we create that environment, like you said, from removing these things that are causing us symptoms like for, you know, gluten, for instance, you know, we remove these foods first and then we're, we're trying to create this environment where we can strengthen our immune system.
[00:25:29] And then we have to replenish a, constantly this to keep this environ. In, you know, where it is so that when the bad guys, you know, in Vegas us, I always teach people. We have two teams that live in our gut. We got the bad guys and the good guys and which, which team are you feeding? You know, you can just go down all.
[00:25:47] If you're eating a lot of acidic food, you know, if you go from. Coffee to gluten-free donut to you know if you're eating, gluten-free processed food, you're probably still experiencing a lot of symptoms and it's because[00:26:00] they've figured out a way to make it gluten-free, but to still fill it full of.
[00:26:05] Additives and fillers and, and preservatives that your body, again, going back to that, it can't recognize it as food. So your body's like, what am I gonna do with this? It will store it for a period of time until then something happens where it's gonna try to push it out. And then that's when symptoms show up.
[00:26:22] And you know, we have to remember, we have five major organs of elimination and, you know, inflammation is constantly. Being built in our system when our organs of elimination are not working, you know, our colon. So that's the first thing. So when people come to me and they've got skin eruptions and they wonder what they're eating, that's making this rash or this bump or whatever, then I go back and I, my first question is.
[00:26:51] Are you pooping, you know, and they just kinda look at me like, you know, are you pooping every day? And because I've had some people say, well, my doctor said I that [00:27:00] pooping three or four times a week is just my normal. And I just wanna like fall over because that is not normal. That is common today. And we are even, you know, giving children laxatives and medication to make them poop.
[00:27:13] That is just wrong. Because again, we've taken out so much of the fiber. Processed food is taken out the fiber, because like I was explaining before though German, the brand of any grain or the skin, like we, we dig into a potato. We don't eat the skin or the apple, you know, we just buy apple juice or apple sauce.
[00:27:34] And the problem is, is the re and then we wonder why our blood sugar still spikes. Right. For example, it's because the. At least half of the fiber is in, in the skin or right underneath the skin of all fruits and vegetables. And so where, where possible we need to consume that skin so that we can get the, the fiber that we need.
[00:27:55] But we, as a, as Americans, we are getting half or less of the [00:28:00] recommended amount of fiber. And I believe that that is one of the things that drives chronic. Leads to autoimmunity is that we have our bodies again, cannot recognize all of this foreign food. And so we're not our, our, or our organs of elimination are not working.
[00:28:17] So just to go back and finish that your colon is your first one. Like you should be eliminating about two and a half pounds of toxins every day through your colon. And next would be your skin. Your skin is your largest organ of your body. And so your skin is also, that's why it's good to, you know, that's why exercise is so important so that we can sweat and, you know, get, it's not just about getting your heart rate up.
[00:28:41] Like you need to be sweating too, even if it's for a short period of time, your and your skin, if your skin's working right. And, and when you when people tell me they have a rash, I'm like, that's terrific, because that means that your, your other organs of elimination are working well enough to kick it out.
[00:28:59] That just means [00:29:00] because after your skin comes, your lungs, your lungs are next, then your kidneys, and then your lymphatic system. So Julie, so many people that come to you, their problems are all the way in your lymphatic system. So that tells. Their kidneys, their lungs, their skin, and their colon are overworked and they are not keeping up.
[00:29:19] And so that's one of the things that is very helpful for us to understand about how our body works. Like when symptoms do show up, like we need to take care of these organs that, because they're all one big family, they all work together. So when one is affected, it's eventually gonna affect another and then another.
[00:29:36] And that's why, what Julie and I do. We, you know, it's not. It, it is about treating symptoms, but it's really not. The, the end goal is to create the right environment where the body can heal itself and do what it's supposed to do. And in order to do that, we have to look at what we're putting on our fork.
[00:29:56] You know, every single day, it really does matter. And I [00:30:00] don't mean you have to be perfect at it. I'm not, I don't wanna say that. I'm just saying it does matter. And so it's worth. Putting the right kind of fuel in our body. Because when we do, then we sleep better. We poop better, we feel better. And then we get to, everyone has a gift to share.
[00:30:17] That's why I tell people you have so much to give, to make this world a better place. And when you don't, when you feel like crap, you, you can't give your best. It's just, it just doesn't happen.
[00:30:30] Julie Michelson: So well said and that's, that is why we do what we do so that everybody can share their gifts. And, and. We know, you know, nothing happens in a void. So when you were sharing the, your journey about, you know, taking sugar out, you were like, oh, but I can use, you know, local, raw honey. And not only am I getting the sweet, you know, the, some of the sweet that I want.
[00:30:56] But you're you found a way to do it. That's full of [00:31:00] enzymes, helping boost your immune system. All, all the good things. And I, I want to, we don't have enough time to dive deep, but I wanna touch on, we're talking about removing and, and, and sometimes what we remove, what someone needs to remove at least temporarily is a healthy, nutrient done vegetable.
[00:31:19] It just depends on how far down the road they are, how many sensitivities they have which is. That's a, that's a whole nother topic, but most with auto immunity, by the time they know they have auto immunity, they, they have, we know they already have leaky gut. And therefore if they've tried to move away from the standard American diet and are including a lot of really good things, they may have some sensitivities to those really good things.
[00:31:45] But. Not just what we're keeping out. You mentioned, because you mentioned that we've got, we all have the good bugs, the bad bugs and that's okay. That's good. We don't, you're never gonna get rid of all the bad bugs. But just by [00:32:00] creating this void doesn't mean. That you're gonna get that balance of good bugs that you want.
[00:32:05] And I know that that fermentation is a specialty of yours and I, I want you to, to, if there's a way to kind of briefly introduce listeners to fermentation and, and why this is so important for our gut health and our overall health.
[00:32:23] Shawn Borup: Yeah, I would love to. So my the, how I got into fermentation is that. And gut crash. And it was as a result of some emotional trauma. And so, you know, I don't wanna dismiss like, Things that are going on in our life. Like, we all have stress. If you're breathing, you have stress and we have good stress. We have bad stress and we may not realize that emotional trauma can physically like really tear our health down.
[00:32:49] And that's what happened to me. And so like digestion just stopped. Like everything stopped working in me. I couldn't even hold down water and I got real and this was several years ago. And [00:33:00] so of course. You know, being the foodie that I was, I was like, okay, I've gotta, I've gotta figure out, figure this out and fix it.
[00:33:07] And so I discovered fermented foods and I slowly rebuilt back my my gut, you know, I, my, the, my gut bacteria was just not, not balanced. And again, If you are experiencing sugar, sugar, craving sugar, cravings is a number one sign that you have an unbalanced environment in your gut. And hypocrites said, all disease begins in the gut.
[00:33:31] And so I add to his statement that that means all healing begins in the gut. And so fermented foods, the magic of them is that this good team of guys that we have, you know, I, you know, you picture. The sword and the breast plate, right. And the shield and everything. That is our good guys. And they are there to fight off the bad guys.
[00:33:53] And if like Julie said, we do need a balance, but we just need more good guys and less bad guys. And [00:34:00] unfortunately the standard American. Diet creates exactly the opposite more bad guys, you know, and fewer good guys. So what fermented foods do is they basically give our good guys the fuel that they need to stay to replenish because they need replenishing like every 24 hours.
[00:34:20] And so, and you'll hear the word prebiotics, you know, that has kind of Showed up in the past few years and they're foods like onions and garlic and apples, those all contain prebiotics and the prebiotics are food for the, you know, the probiotics and they all work together. To CR so that these good guys are strong enough so that when viruses do come by, you know, we're all gonna catch viruses.
[00:34:47] It's just a fact of life. We are going to our, our bodies have the need to cleanse and to, you know, flush out toxins. And so, but when that happens, what's great about having. A [00:35:00] good environment that we've been talking about in our gut and fermented foods is one of those things that if we're eating them on a daily basis, we're constantly replenishing what these good guys need to create to keep this environment strong and stable.
[00:35:14] Because again, we're all exposed, whether it's through the air and the water and our. Food or, you know, just the environment and we're all exposed to toxins and the body is a miracle machine. It knows exactly what to do with those and how to get them out. But when it is when so many of our major organs are overloaded and they can't keep up that toxic of that toxic load, that's when symptoms manifest and we don't feel.
[00:35:41] Whether it's a headache or it's something really, really severe in, you know, with, with auto, you know, autoimmune disease where it affects our daily life. And so things like yogurt and Keifer and sauerkraut other fermented veggies. What's so great about sauerkraut is I will make like a half a gallon jars at a time and [00:36:00] I'll make several of them and they will stay for.
[00:36:04] Al, I would say almost a year in my refrigerator, so I can make a whole bunch at a time. And then it's not that it's done for months. Right. And it's just, you just need a fork full, you know, I lo I know a lot of people that pay a lot of money every month to take a probiotic, but a fork full of my sauerkraut, which is literally pennies a day.
[00:36:26] Talk about eating on a budget. It has more probiotics. In that forkful then this 70, $80 a month probiotic pill. And, but there's little things, you know, that we need to understand about, you know, fermentation and if you overeat it, then it will cause symptoms as well. So it's all about, you know, just your body, your, your gut just needs a little bit.
[00:36:50] And, but, you know, making homemade yogurt the first time I made homemade yogurt, Julie. I was kicking myself because it was so [00:37:00] simple and it took, so it took so little hands on time because then the yogurt did, you know, ferment that's what's so beautiful about fermentation is you do a little bit of prep anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour of, of putting this together.
[00:37:12] And then it does all of the work after that. And you just wait and the same thing with yogurt and Keefer. And, but I was kicking myself because it was such a simple process. And I, I, I was thinking, why didn't I start doing this 20 years ago?
[00:37:26] Julie Michelson: It's intimidating and, and I'll because I'm me and I can't help it all throw out there. You know, you can use alter, you can make coconut yogurt. It doesn't have to
[00:37:36] Shawn Borup: And, and I,
[00:37:37] Julie Michelson: have to be dairy based.
[00:37:39] Shawn Borup: Yep. You can make you can make non-dairy yogurt. You can make non-dairy cheese. I once, and that's why I started my company, Julie, which is show me healthy living because you can go on and watch a a video on how to do something. But chances of you actually.
[00:37:54] Carrying that through and taking action are not very probable because we all have good [00:38:00] intentions and then life takes over. So I'll just tell you one of my favorite experiences was with a mom and her eight year old daughter in Northern Ireland. They were in their kitchen. I was in mine in Montana and this little girl could not have eggs and she could not have dairy.
[00:38:17] And of course you could not have gluten well together. The three of us made a cauliflower pizza crust with non-dairy cheese and a flax egg. And to see this little girl's face, light up was just, it was just magical. It was a magical moment.
[00:38:33] Julie Michelson: And that's why you do this,
[00:38:35] Shawn Borup: That's why I do this. Yep. And this little girl was able to have pizza.
[00:38:38] And so there, there are ways around every food sensitivity to still eat real food. And so you can go from the sad diet, which is what I call the standard American diet. To the real American diet, which is the rad diet. And that is that's possible for everyone, no matter what illness, chronic illness you are doing, [00:39:00] you know, dealing with or food sensitivities.
[00:39:02] And that is the beauty about you know, eating real food is that we can experience that. Like, we can feel that rush of energy from real food rather than. Drop of energy that happens when we eat something that's processed and then our blood sugar caves after, you know, a, a short amount of time.
[00:39:23] Julie Michelson: that's a great point for something listeners can, can pay attention to, you know, if you eat lunch and then you want a nap,
[00:39:31] Shawn Borup: Yeah.
[00:39:31] Julie Michelson: the like there's a clue. If you eat anything, fill in the BA blank. I wanna. Circle back to the, the yummy fermented foods for people who aren't ready to dive in and make yogurt or sauerkraut.
[00:39:45] Do you have some tips for listeners? If they're like, Ooh, you know that that's not even part of my diet I'm not ready to jump in and make it, what can they be looking for to make sure that they're actually getting what, you know, the probiotics and the, [00:40:00] and the things that we're talking.
[00:40:01] Shawn Borup: Great question. So we'll start with sauerkraut. So there's a lot of, you know, I remember sauerkraut when I was growing up and it was just in the little plastic bag, you know, in the store and it just looked gross to me. I wouldn't even I wouldn't even, you know, look at it. Number one is when when cabbage and.
[00:40:20] You know, which is the base of your sauerkraut. When that is put in plastic, whether it's a plastic jar plastic bag that actually damages a lot of the probiotics, if not all of them. So you wanna look for sauerkraut that is in a glass jar. So that's number one tip. And then you wanna look for the word raw because if it's not raw and unpasteurized, Then the pasteurization process will also damage if not kill off all of the, the good probiotic bacteria, which again, you know, we have over a hundred trillion, you know, cells, you know, but we have more bacteria than we do [00:41:00] cells.
[00:41:00] And so this back, that's why this bacteria is so important in our gut. And that's what fermented foods, any kind. Probiotic food is what I call them. Anything that's cultured that is gonna go in and help balance out all of the other foods that we eat that cause so much acidity. And it's, it's the acidity in our foods.
[00:41:19] A lot of it that will that's what feeds these bad guys and makes them stronger. And so you know, you wanna look for it's in a glass jar, it's raw and pasteurized that that's when, and then. My, my third thing was, is it would be to try to find it at your local farmer's market, where it's made, right where you live.
[00:41:40] And like, I even have some stores here in Montana that I can go to that are an hour away. So it's an hour drive, but they have local, raw unpasteurized sauerkraut and kimchi. Kimchi is like a spicy version of, of sauerkraut. You
[00:41:57] Julie Michelson: the Korean sauerkraut
[00:41:58] Shawn Borup: Right. And you just have [00:42:00] to be watch out because sometimes they do add sugar, but here's the thing in fermentation.
[00:42:05] They eat all of the sugars out, which is another thing that happens in Keifer. So you may be, if you're a lactose intolerant or you can't, you know, eat dairy. Keer may actually work really well with you. Again, it's something that is very individual. We are all individual. And so you have to try that food out on yourself, but that is the beauty of of culturing food.
[00:42:27] Fermentation is it goes in and it eats all the sugars and it eats all the starches. And remember starches, turn to sugar. Right. You know, that's why white flour or any kind of flower, it's so important to get out of your kitchen because it turns to sugar in a very short minute, amount of time and goes into the bloodstream, which, so it gives you the same type of it.
[00:42:49] It of reaction. As your body does to sugar. And so that's the beauty. So for fer, for fermented foods, those are my suggestion. As far as [00:43:00] cultured foods like yogurt and Keifer. Yes, they do make some that are dairy free. And the only thing you have to really watch out is what are they, what additives or fillers are going in there.
[00:43:11] Today gums all kinds of Z Anthem gum GU gums. The list goes on lo
[00:43:16] Julie Michelson: Or, and even worse care Jean, like yeah.
[00:43:20] Shawn Borup: Yeah is a horrible, horrible
[00:43:22] Julie Michelson: Yeah.
[00:43:22] Shawn Borup: hormone disruptor. It disrupts all of your good guys. It, you know, it creates an unbalanced gut. So you really have to look at those and remember on your ingredient list. What is listed at the very top. That is the most, if that's in that food and then it goes down from there.
[00:43:37] So if you're seeing something at the very end, although that's still not a good ingredient, at least it's not towards the top. So that is just another tip for reading ingredient labels. But for me, if I see it on there at all, Kara genian or any of these fillers, it's just going back on the shelf. You guys, I make homemade almond milk in eight minutes, eight minutes.
[00:43:58] And that includes cleaning my [00:44:00] blender. Okay. So eight minutes. Hands on time. It is like I just tell myself, you have no excuse for buying almond milk at the store that they have to put additives in, or, you know, whether it's almond milk or Oak milk or any of these milks, these plant-based milks that are popular today.
[00:44:16] I'm finding that a lot of people are still having symptoms show up. And it's because again, like we've talked about earlier, Julie, your body cannot recognize it if it's not a real food. And so it says, what are we gonna do? And so it will store it for a time until there gets too much. And then that is when chronic illness and disease are gonna show up because these symptoms show up and then we're like wondering why we're sick and it's because the body can only handle so much over time before it kind of, you know, says enough is enough.
[00:44:47] And you know, that red light goes on. That alarm goes on. Right.
[00:44:52] Julie Michelson: Critical level
[00:44:53] Shawn Borup: Exactly. So as far as if you do eat dairy, you want to look for yogurt that is made [00:45:00] from a hundred percent grass fed cows. You can also buy sheep yogurt. You can buy goat, milk yogurt, but again, cows, and this is a whole nother conversation, but I'll just lightly say cows are raised today in an environment where they are given hormones to make them produce more milk and faster.
[00:45:18] Again, it's all about the. These poor cows get sick. They get infections in their ERs. And so they pump 'em through antibiotics. One of the things that has really been hitting me hard lately is that we take antibiotics when we are really sick and our body needs help. But 80% of all antibiotics today that are consumed are given to livestock.
[00:45:40] And so if you've gotta re-listen to that, okay. 80% are given to livestock. That means all the meat and the dairy that we consume. Much of that is full of antibiotics and we are taking all of that into our own bodies. And then again, our bodies have to figure out what to do with it. And so you can kind of get a picture of [00:46:00] why we are so talk.
[00:46:02] We live in such a toxic ridden society, everything we're trying to navigate. So you wanna make sure if you do, if you're buying dairy yogurt or Keifer, you always wanna buy plain, never buy sweetened because they, I don't care if
[00:46:14] Julie Michelson: own stuff in it. Put
[00:46:15] Shawn Borup: Right. I don't care if it is honey, or even if it's honey, it is still way, way too much sugar.
[00:46:21] And that's another thing is, you know if you are vegan, of course you are not going to eat, honey. You wanna make sure you substitute a hundred percent maple syrup. It's still sugar you guys. And so we wanna minimize that. And maybe you sweet. You can sweeten with real dates. There are anyways, there are other ways to do it, but you've gotta look for you've gotta read on these containers, how this food is processed.
[00:46:44] Like what, how do they care for their cows? And that's another thing of, if you have access to a local dairy, go to the dairy, talk to them, you know, I, I
[00:46:53] Julie Michelson: how the cows are living.
[00:46:54] Shawn Borup: yep. Get to know your local
[00:46:56] Julie Michelson: do where, where I get meat that like, I [00:47:00] know, I know where it grew up. Like, I, we, we check it out and, and that's the whole, you know, you're, you're eating whatever they ate as well. We are way over time and I don't, I don't wanna keep you longer than promised, but I need to, as this is a trick question, cuz you've already given listeners.
[00:47:17] So much to take action on. But if you had to pick either from what you've already said or something else, if they do one thing, what's one step listeners can do starting today.
[00:47:30] Shawn Borup: Starting today. I would, you know, take this one step is so important and I know that some of you live with people that are really adamant about the things that they want to
[00:47:42] Julie Michelson: Attached
[00:47:42] Shawn Borup: But most of you are, are the head of the household, the mom, or the dad that is. Listening to this, this conversation get refined sugar and refined flour out of your house and get more real one ingredient foods, bring in more fruits and vegetables.
[00:47:58] Have them have a, a bowl of [00:48:00] fruit sitting on the counter, because again, yes, there's sugar in that banana and that apple, but this is sugar that it, your body knows exactly what to do with. and it will actually give you, like, we were talking at the very beginning, the body needs fuel. We need glucose. We need fuel for energy.
[00:48:17] Let's get it from the right food. So if, if that means taking it to your local food pantry, if it's something that's unopened, do that, if it means pouring your, taking your five pound of white sugar and powdered sugar and putting it in the trash, do that, whatever it takes, but just make a decision today.
[00:48:36] That in your kitchen, you are going to use real food, sugar, and get away from this sugar that is going to not only destroy your gut bacteria, but it's going to exacerbate any chronic condition in your body. And so this is how you can, and, and again, remember the generations coming be after us. They're learning from us.
[00:48:57] They're watching what we do. So if we want [00:49:00] them to be healthier, if we want them to have a it really doesn't matter your, the length of your lifespan. It is, it is how well you're living in the time that you're here. Let's give that next generation the best. If we can give them by teaching them how to eat real food and why that matters.
[00:49:19] Julie Michelson: I love that. Amazing. I knew you couldn't just do one thing. I love your one thing had like five things in it.
[00:49:26] Shawn Borup: It does it's cause it's, it's all related, but thank you for your patience. And again, Julie, and I said, you know, we could talk about this for
[00:49:33] Julie Michelson: All day. I know. I know. And, and so, you know, guys just pick any, any of the amazing info that, that Sean gave you and make that one start with one thing, like make that one up level that will lead you to a whole food, real food, single ingredient diet. So for those that, listen on the go and aren't gonna check the show notes.
[00:49:56] Where's the best place to find.
[00:49:58] Shawn Borup: So my website is show me [00:50:00] healthy living.com. And I will tell you we're in the middle of a rebranding. And revamping. So stay tuned for that, but you can go on my website@showmehealthyliving.com and just get on my email list so that you can receive my emails. I send out recipes and health tips on a, on a regular basis.
[00:50:19] And then also my Facebook group is sweet life without sugar. I am live every Thursday. At 6:00 PM mountain time, and I show you how I clean out my fridge and have zero waste and great taste because the average American family throws away about $2,000 worth of food every year. That is a nice vacation.
[00:50:39] And so I show you how to do that. And just to, to inspire you, we share things in the group about eating real food and what difference it makes in how we feel every.
[00:50:50] Julie Michelson: Amazing. Sean, thank you so much for giving listeners so many actionable items and just a, a way to [00:51:00] totally reset their health.
[00:51:02] Shawn Borup: You're sure. Welcome Julie. Thanks again. It was, it was such an honor to be here with you today.
[00:51:07] Julie Michelson: For everyone listening. Remember you can get the show notes and transcripts by visiting inspired living.show. I hope you had a great time and enjoyed this episode as much as I did. I will see you next week.
[00:01:02] Sean welcome to the podcast.
[00:01:04] Shawn Borup: Thank you so much, Julie. I'm I'm just so pleased to be here.
[00:01:09] Julie Michelson: So excited for our conversation today. I didn't share with you that, that I grew up. My stepfather had a restaurant. It was really three restaurants and one. So I didn't realize that created a passion for food. Back then, I, I can connect those dots now. So I love just the passion, the wisdom, the expertise that you're bringing for the audience today.
[00:01:36] And we, we we're chatting before I hit record. I will do my best to stay on task. Cuz I have so many areas I wanna talk to you about. But first I wanna know, how did you get passionate about this? How did you get so involved in helping people eat healthy?
[00:01:55] Shawn Borup: Yeah, I, I grew up a really sickly [00:02:00] child. I had severe asthma and I just was, I, I felt like I was sick all the time. And then when I started having my own children and then they had issues starting to show up I, I remember you know, going to a birthday party with my daughter and. Because she had asthma so bad too.
[00:02:23] You know, every time she ate all of the things that everyone else was eating, then her symptoms would get worse and we would pay the price. So once I learned how to get refined sugar out, I remember making her her very special cupcake and we would go to parties and, and I took it out of my bag when it was, you know, time to celebrate the birthday.
[00:02:45] And the mom sitting next to me said, you know, what is that? And I said, this is a cupcake that my daughter can eat. That doesn't make her sick. And, and so that, you know, that reminds me of when she was a [00:03:00] few years before that I was sitting in the rocking chair one night about 3:00 AM, giving her another breathing treatment. And just thinking to myself, I wonder if there's a better way and. Then that thought just kept reoccurring. And until it was, I know there's, there's gotta be a better way and I'm, I'm going to find it. I was so scared, you know, watching her little face and her lips turned blue. And because that took me back because I remember as a child not being able to breathe and I was in the hospital, I was in an oxygen 10.
[00:03:36] And the, there was a zipper on the side where my parents could put their hand in and hold my hand. And I remember looking up into the side and alls I could see was plastic and I just wanted to go home. And it was, it was really, really hard as a child, not understanding why I was sick. [00:04:00] And my earliest recollection is when I was about 18 months old.
[00:04:03] That was back in the day when parents could not stay overnight with your child. And I remember standing in the crib screaming, mommy, mommy, and watching my mom walk away. And. Then the door closed. And so when people ask me why I do what I do that's just a little background of the, the things that, you know, the journey that I've had and, and with my own kids and the miracle.
[00:04:30] Of it all. Julie is when we started focusing on the food, which was like a foreign concept to me because, you know, my mom bless her heart. She did the best she could, but, but she just did not know. I was just raised on the standard American diet. We had a. Small little garden. I grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada.
[00:04:48] So we had a small little garden in the backyard and, you know, we, we grew carrots and some lettuce, but I mean, it was very minimal in when I was growing up. I mean, it was all about canned food. Frozen [00:05:00] foods were, you know, big, like the, the TV dinners were just, yeah, coming. They were just popular. You know, all of that.
[00:05:06] And so we, as, you know, as a family and we just ate this standard American diet and so had, had never considered that, that food. And then as a sick child, I went on so many antibiotics that my, my entire immune system. Was so compromised all the time, because it was a chronic, you know, round the it was a, a cycle, right.
[00:05:30] That you get on and you, you feel like you're in this hamster wheel and you can't get out. And so it was, so it was such a miracle to see that shift when we changed our food, when we got. You know, things out of our diet that need, that were making us sick. And we put things in that our body really needed that like the right kind of fuel the way I teach kids is would you ever go to the gas station and fill up your tank with gasoline?
[00:05:55] You know, and you know, it. It's an, you know, obvious [00:06:00] answer, but it helps them to understand that there is certain fuel for certain things. And when we don't use the right fuel, it's just like, I remember one time our, one of our boys put diesel in fuel in his car. Right. And then he's calling dad, Hey, you know the car won't start, you know, same kind of concept.
[00:06:18] Like when we understand as humans, what food is really. Truly fuel it's it's like a whole new world opens up and, you know, in working with, you know, with chronic health conditions, why food is, you know, there's so many other parts of the puzzle, but food is such a big piece because we do it multiple times, every single day.
[00:06:40] Julie Michelson: Absolutely. And I love the, the food as fuel is one of the biggest mindset shifts that I help people, you know, step into because that that's not usually how they show up at my door. You know, food is soothing food, you know, [00:07:00] food is everything. Fuel. And, and we, you know, we definitely, we need that fuel. Which leads me to my, my, where I wanna start.
[00:07:10] So often talk about hamster wheels. You know what you, you mentioned standard American diet, which is a, just a, you know, full of high carbs, processed grains, sugars, bad fats, all of it. But I wanna start with just this most, to me, the simplest to understand, to just carry the, the fuel theme. Is this sugar addicted?
[00:07:36] Piece of the standard American diet. And, and that cycle of, you know, well, in theory, glucose is fuel. It's a fuel our body can use. And, and I'm not, it's, I'm not talking about, you know, when we produce glucose, cuz we, we have a stress response or so I try not to do the whole, like all [00:08:00] sugar is evil.
[00:08:01] But we get into this inflamed addicted cycle. And as you know, when most people find me, they're exhausted, fatigue is such a big part of the autoimmune experience, no matter the diagnosis. So let's, let's start with sugar. And, and why is that something we decided we wanna talk about?
[00:08:26] Shawn Borup: Yeah, I, you know, I started a Facebook group years ago called sweet life without sugar. Because I, I knew from my own experience and what I had gone through with my own children and just talking with people and how much they struggle with it is that that is, and, and, and personally, that was the first thing we did, you know, so when I started this journey, the first thing I did was I removed refined sugar.
[00:08:52] And refined flour from my kitchen. And it was just, we just no longer brought it in. If there was a treat to be, you know [00:09:00] eaten, it was out of the house because if it's in your kitchen, you're just, you know, you're gonna go automatically to that. Like the brain's gonna, the brain just fires up when it sees a package of Oreos.
[00:09:10] I don't know how else to explain it. You know, that's why, you know the, all of these types of whether it's sugar or high fructose corn syrup or. Corn syrup solids, or you know, all of these different types of sugar, which by the way, there's over 80 different names. And there's so many of them used today that people don't even know that are sugar that it is, you know, that's maddening because the way that food is marketed today is they're very, very clever.
[00:09:36] There's a lot of trickery out there. And, and if we have time, maybe we'll talk a little bit just about tips for navigating through a grocery store, because that is so. Overwhelming. I remember the first time going with my, you know, my new shift to my new lifestyle and reading labels for the first time. I mean, actual ingredients
[00:09:55] Julie Michelson: Yes. The label on the back,
[00:09:57] Shawn Borup: Yeah, everything [00:10:00] was, oh, gotta put that back. Oh, gotta put that back. I mean, that's what I felt like. I, it, it was a high level of frustration, but, but just to make it simple, the first thing I did was I got rid of white sugar and I got rid of white flour. Why white flour people think of white flour as well.
[00:10:16] That's in breads and you know, those type of things, unfortunately, and even wheat flour and that this is another trickery that. Teacher listeners, if you don't see the word whole in front of the word wheat, then you are eating white flour that has been colored with a caramel coloring, which you know, it just makes insult to injury.
[00:10:36] Right? That much worse. So I removed those things from my kitchen, which, you know, you use this flower, right. To make pancakes, you know, biscuits, whatever you, you use it for multiple things. And so. What, unfortunately what happens? White flour or just regular wheat flour, they have taken the brand and the germ out of that grain out of that product, because those are the things that have a [00:11:00] shorter shelf life.
[00:11:01] And of course we know that for food manufacturers, it's all about the money. And so. They can't have their product going bad. It has to be able to, you know, be transported, transported hundreds of miles, if not thousands, and then sit on the shelf and then it has to still look good, taste, good, smell, good.
[00:11:18] Everything. When you bring it home and you know, to be in your cupboard. So. That's, what's left in this flower is just the starch. And if you are, you know, if you've, if you used white glue in school grade schools, like I did the paste. Okay. That is basically flower and water. Okay. And that.
[00:11:40] Julie Michelson: used to eat it.
[00:11:41] Shawn Borup: Yeah, right, exactly. But that's what it is. It is a sticky glue. And so what happens is we have to remember that in our gut 80% of about 80% of our immune system lives in our gut. And we have 30 to 35 feet. I mean, wrap your head around that 30 to 35 feet [00:12:00] of intestines that our food has to travel through.
[00:12:03] So if we're eating a lot of white flour or wheat flour that is all this starch that it turns to glue. It is sticking in our intestines. It gets stuck. And that is a creating a, an environment for a swamp and in swamps, that's where infections live. Right. And so there is it, it's just when you get educated and just understand just some basics of what is in some of the basic foods that are used, you know, so just overused in today.
[00:12:35] Traditional diet. Then you kind of can understand why we're seeing so much illness and so much, you know, obesity and type two diabetes in young, young people, which, you know, I mean, the list just goes on and on you and I, we could talk about this forever, but anyways, that's the first thing that I did. And so how, how do you do that?
[00:12:56] I mean, this, it, that is hard when you, that is what, you know, [00:13:00] we do what we know. We, we have a comfort cycle. Right of the way we do things in our life for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks. And, you know, we know that as humans, we are creatures of habit. And so changing habits is it is a definite shift. And if we don't see any benefit in changing that habit, then we don't have the motivation to keep that habit going.
[00:13:21] And so that it, you know, it, but it, it takes just a little bit of patience. And that's why I always tell people, don't beat yourself up. You just go forward, you do the best you can. Every single. And you try to do it's with all in all areas of our life. We try to be, you know, I just say 1% better. Like, you know, just let me be 1% better today of a human being, you know, in all areas.
[00:13:45] Julie Michelson: Yep.
[00:13:45] Shawn Borup: So, so anyways, what, what did I do? How did I change that? So I started using local, raw honey. And why local, raw honey. Because when we eat honey, that is local and raw raw [00:14:00] means it's been unpro. It's been unheated because typical honey, like in the bare little plastic bottle, that's really thin.
[00:14:07] And in this really light color, Unfortunately that honey's been heated. And so all of the enzymes that are naturally in that honey have been destroyed. And why are those enzymes important? Well, is those enzymes that help to in the digestion of every cooked food that we eat. So just think about what you ate yesterday, how much cooked food did you eat?
[00:14:29] Did you eat any raw food at. The average American doesn't eat any vegetables and the vegetables that they eat are potatoes and ketchup. So you know, it's pretty, it's pretty sad, but because our bodies need these enzymes, they are very, very important in our bodies. Production of amino acids.
[00:14:45] Again, we create we, we make amino acids. Those are the building blocks of protein. And, you know, there's just so many, so many reasons why we need to eat live food, right. One ingredient food. And so I switch [00:15:00] to local raw honey, and also the, because it's local. You can. Get a lot of benefit to seasonal allergies, pollens that come, you know, your body in other words, gets the nourishment that it needs so that you don't go into you know, have these overreactions, you know, as the seasons change.
[00:15:20] So eating local honey, and, you know, I teach the kids, I at the Y M C a and I will hold up this container of honey and, and ask them to read where this honey is from. And they will say Montana. And I said, is Montana close to where we live? And they'll all kind of start laughing. Yes, we live in Montana, but I want them to appreciate, you know, the if, if everyone was sourcing their food, you know, close to where they.
[00:15:45] We would be so much healthier. We would feel so much better on a day to day basis, but so going back to sugar so local raw honey was a sweetener that I used. But I also started noticing that there were foods like [00:16:00] bananas. Butternut squash, beets and carrots, like all these real foods that are naturally sweet.
[00:16:06] And do you know that you can make a wonderful brownie with butternut squash as you know, as most of the sweetener? I mean there anyways, I, I just started a little bit, you know, again slowly at a time we got rid of our pancake mix, right. That was already done for us. And. We, I started using oats and I would put the oats in the blender and make a, a coarse flour.
[00:16:30] And we started making oatmeal pancakes. And instead of buying Mrs. Butterworths and Jemima maple syrup that we had grown up on, which by the way
[00:16:39] Julie Michelson: not maple syrup.
[00:16:41] Shawn Borup: 2%. Yeah. 2% local
[00:16:43] Julie Michelson: we were a log cabin, family, and boy was I sad when I found out that that wasn't maple syrup
[00:16:49] Shawn Borup: I know. Right. And so the other 98%, just for listeners that, that is made up of two things, sugar and chemicals, that's what's in there
[00:16:57] Julie Michelson: And corn say were even worse. I would say [00:17:00] even worse. Corn syrup and chemicals.
[00:17:02] Shawn Borup: is exactly. And you know I'm not sure when high fructose corn syrup or corn, corn syrup first was, was the craze. And then they figured out that high fructose OSE current syrup was, Hey, A whole bunch sweeter and cheaper and faster to make than regular corn syrup. So they switch to that, which, you know, we have seen a rise in children's ability to pay attention their, you know just all of this stuff shows up irritability.
[00:17:29] Julie Michelson: Illness, autoimmunity, all of it. It all, it all connects.
[00:17:34] Shawn Borup: And so, and I've noticed go ahead.
[00:17:37] Julie Michelson: probably laughing right now, cuz they're like, you know, is she telling us to eat whole wheat flour? Julie's always saying gluten free gluten. In free, you have autoimmunity different thing right now we're focusing on real food and why the whole food is so much different than, than the processed parts.
[00:17:55] And I want that butternut squash. Brownie recipe from you because [00:18:00] for the first I, we have, I can't even believe the abundance of butternut squash we have growing right now.
[00:18:06] Shawn Borup: Oh,
[00:18:07] Julie Michelson: I've never, we never planted it before and it has literally taken over my yard and I'm so excited,
[00:18:14] Shawn Borup: And here's another thing I do that I love to do with butter and squash is I actually make a sauce, a cheese sauce for you know, either and, and most of the time going back to, you know, gluten free most of the time, I just naturally eat that way. And and, but I make a cheese sauce that is the main ingredient is butternut squash and to go on either you know, zucchini noodles or some brown rice noodles, and it tastes amazing.
[00:18:42] It, it's an amazing, like macaroni and cheese sauce, if you will, but I I'm glad you brought up the, you know, the, the wheat and the, you know, not eating gluten. Because I just wanna touch on that for a minute, just to give everyone a little bit of education. So once upon a time, the way that wheat was grown [00:19:00] was they would hand cut it.
[00:19:02] Right? And so when, when they hand cut it, then it would lay on the field overnight and it would begin to sprout and before it was taken in and processed. And so then you. So there was already a lot of nutrients already in that food. And, and you know, this is a whole nother topic that I'd great. Be grateful to come back and talk about was what, what is the point of sprouting and soaking and all of these things that used to happen back in the day.
[00:19:35] And all of a sudden today we have all of these stomach issues. And so it's like, I can't have beans. I can't have gluten, you know, the list goes on and on. And a lot of it is in how we prepare. That food first. It is, it goes back to the soil and what's happened to our soil, how food is grown, but then it's that whole process thing.
[00:19:53] So just focusing on wheat here, today's wheat is they have added in more gluten on [00:20:00] purpose for years. And the reason why is because it makes it easier to use
[00:20:04] Julie Michelson: In this, in this country. They've done it. They've done it in this, in the United States. And, and that's the important, how do we know? Because I, people travel elsewhere that have quote unquote gluten sensitivity and even celiac, and they can enjoy wheat in other
[00:20:23] Shawn Borup: can enjoy weight. Exactly. So I, you know, I myself have experienced some, you know, bloating and just from Just really uncomfortable stomach things when I have just eat regular wheat. And so I stopped it completely, you know, just to stop the bleeding. Right. And, and then as I, and then I experimented, I got some en corn wheat Encor is an ancient wheat that was grown, you know, Like wheat should be grown.
[00:20:50] And, but it is, you have to, you have to look for it today. It's not gonna be at your grocery store on your grocery store shelf, but Encor wheat is, [00:21:00] is the type of wheat that always used to be around. In other words, it has lower gluten. It has lower starch. It's easier to. All of these things. And then I soak and sprout it and I make sourdough and I, I am happy to say that I, I am able to consume that type of wheat, but yeah, as far as any other wheat out there I have a picture of a hamburger bun that came from a fast food re.
[00:21:28] And this man put it in one of those cases that, you know, you put professionally signed basketballs or footballs to protect it. He put this hamburger bun in this case and he left it there and he looked at it every year. Well guess what? Nine years later, it still looked exactly the same as it did the day he bought it.
[00:21:48] And that my friends is not. Real food that, and, and that is the type of wheat that is so chemically Laden with with, you know, not real [00:22:00] food. And so that's why that bun can look that way. That is the why we have so much gluten sensitivity today and, you know, just issues with it because they have gone.
[00:22:12] Hybridized are all of our, we and changed it to the point and then put it in everything. Right. It's like in so many things that we eat on a daily basis. And so we have our, our bodies have just get to a point where they're like, Hey, we, we can't. Filter all this, all the toxins in this food out because it's, we're constantly taking it in.
[00:22:33] And so I'm glad you brought that up because yeah, so many people, especially if you have an autoimmunity, that's one of the first things you're gonna stop eating to feel better,
[00:22:42] Julie Michelson: Well, and to heal even, even if you don't notice. I mean, that's the, for me, the, I joke, you know, every diet should be individual. But the, the one thing to avoid, if you have auto immunity would, would be gluten because, because of the impact it has on the gut [00:23:00] and, and leaky gut I wanna highlight two things.
[00:23:02] One thing that you said when talking about this experiment, if you will, with the hamburger bun you said. So important for listeners to hear like a hundred times the body doesn't recognize it as food. And it's not just gluten, it's all of this processed food that we're talking about is we're creating an immune response when we're eating things that aren't recognized as food it's, it's a foreign intruder and your body is supposed to fight.
[00:23:30] And so this is why you mentioned eating live food. You mentioned eating single ingredient food, which is what I would call real food. Because the a, we, you know, it's loaded with nutrients and enzymes and things that we need and can use. And B it, it's not sending off alarm be. All the time. And I can't, I wanna, I don't wanna dive too deep because there's so many other things I wanna talk about, but since we opened the, the wheat and gluten [00:24:00] door you know, and you, you alluded to it as well.
[00:24:03] The, the GMO issue with the wheat that we get in this country is huge. And, and I don't know the answer, is it really because we have higher gluten content in our wheat, or is it because it's loaded with glypho. And, and is, you know, we're adding in just exorbitant amounts of other toxins, which again is illegal in other countries.
[00:24:24] And so it's hard to you. Can't separate it out at
[00:24:27] Shawn Borup: No, you can't Julie. And I really think it is what you just said. Is it one or the other? I, or both. And I really believe it's both. I think it is, you know, we already, they were already changing our wheat. And then now all of a sudden they're dumping glyphosate. You know, the reason why they use glyphosate so much, is it dries the grain out faster so they can get their product to the shell faster because it's all about the money.
[00:24:49] Again, they care nothing about our health. And so the glyphosate is. When bugs consume that literally it splits their stomach open. And if that [00:25:00] tells you what it does to them, what is it doing to the human microbiome? And you know, you and I were talking about this earlier about, we have to create the environment.
[00:25:09] Where our immune system can STR be strengthened. And, and then after we create that environment, like you said, from removing these things that are causing us symptoms like for, you know, gluten, for instance, you know, we remove these foods first and then we're, we're trying to create this environment where we can strengthen our immune system.
[00:25:29] And then we have to replenish a, constantly this to keep this environ. In, you know, where it is so that when the bad guys, you know, in Vegas us, I always teach people. We have two teams that live in our gut. We got the bad guys and the good guys and which, which team are you feeding? You know, you can just go down all.
[00:25:47] If you're eating a lot of acidic food, you know, if you go from. Coffee to gluten-free donut to you know if you're eating, gluten-free processed food, you're probably still experiencing a lot of symptoms and it's because[00:26:00] they've figured out a way to make it gluten-free, but to still fill it full of.
[00:26:05] Additives and fillers and, and preservatives that your body, again, going back to that, it can't recognize it as food. So your body's like, what am I gonna do with this? It will store it for a period of time until then something happens where it's gonna try to push it out. And then that's when symptoms show up.
[00:26:22] And you know, we have to remember, we have five major organs of elimination and, you know, inflammation is constantly. Being built in our system when our organs of elimination are not working, you know, our colon. So that's the first thing. So when people come to me and they've got skin eruptions and they wonder what they're eating, that's making this rash or this bump or whatever, then I go back and I, my first question is.
[00:26:51] Are you pooping, you know, and they just kinda look at me like, you know, are you pooping every day? And because I've had some people say, well, my doctor said I that [00:27:00] pooping three or four times a week is just my normal. And I just wanna like fall over because that is not normal. That is common today. And we are even, you know, giving children laxatives and medication to make them poop.
[00:27:13] That is just wrong. Because again, we've taken out so much of the fiber. Processed food is taken out the fiber, because like I was explaining before though German, the brand of any grain or the skin, like we, we dig into a potato. We don't eat the skin or the apple, you know, we just buy apple juice or apple sauce.
[00:27:34] And the problem is, is the re and then we wonder why our blood sugar still spikes. Right. For example, it's because the. At least half of the fiber is in, in the skin or right underneath the skin of all fruits and vegetables. And so where, where possible we need to consume that skin so that we can get the, the fiber that we need.
[00:27:55] But we, as a, as Americans, we are getting half or less of the [00:28:00] recommended amount of fiber. And I believe that that is one of the things that drives chronic. Leads to autoimmunity is that we have our bodies again, cannot recognize all of this foreign food. And so we're not our, our, or our organs of elimination are not working.
[00:28:17] So just to go back and finish that your colon is your first one. Like you should be eliminating about two and a half pounds of toxins every day through your colon. And next would be your skin. Your skin is your largest organ of your body. And so your skin is also, that's why it's good to, you know, that's why exercise is so important so that we can sweat and, you know, get, it's not just about getting your heart rate up.
[00:28:41] Like you need to be sweating too, even if it's for a short period of time, your and your skin, if your skin's working right. And, and when you when people tell me they have a rash, I'm like, that's terrific, because that means that your, your other organs of elimination are working well enough to kick it out.
[00:28:59] That just means [00:29:00] because after your skin comes, your lungs, your lungs are next, then your kidneys, and then your lymphatic system. So Julie, so many people that come to you, their problems are all the way in your lymphatic system. So that tells. Their kidneys, their lungs, their skin, and their colon are overworked and they are not keeping up.
[00:29:19] And so that's one of the things that is very helpful for us to understand about how our body works. Like when symptoms do show up, like we need to take care of these organs that, because they're all one big family, they all work together. So when one is affected, it's eventually gonna affect another and then another.
[00:29:36] And that's why, what Julie and I do. We, you know, it's not. It, it is about treating symptoms, but it's really not. The, the end goal is to create the right environment where the body can heal itself and do what it's supposed to do. And in order to do that, we have to look at what we're putting on our fork.
[00:29:56] You know, every single day, it really does matter. And I [00:30:00] don't mean you have to be perfect at it. I'm not, I don't wanna say that. I'm just saying it does matter. And so it's worth. Putting the right kind of fuel in our body. Because when we do, then we sleep better. We poop better, we feel better. And then we get to, everyone has a gift to share.
[00:30:17] That's why I tell people you have so much to give, to make this world a better place. And when you don't, when you feel like crap, you, you can't give your best. It's just, it just doesn't happen.
[00:30:30] Julie Michelson: So well said and that's, that is why we do what we do so that everybody can share their gifts. And, and. We know, you know, nothing happens in a void. So when you were sharing the, your journey about, you know, taking sugar out, you were like, oh, but I can use, you know, local, raw honey. And not only am I getting the sweet, you know, the, some of the sweet that I want.
[00:30:56] But you're you found a way to do it. That's full of [00:31:00] enzymes, helping boost your immune system. All, all the good things. And I, I want to, we don't have enough time to dive deep, but I wanna touch on, we're talking about removing and, and, and sometimes what we remove, what someone needs to remove at least temporarily is a healthy, nutrient done vegetable.
[00:31:19] It just depends on how far down the road they are, how many sensitivities they have which is. That's a, that's a whole nother topic, but most with auto immunity, by the time they know they have auto immunity, they, they have, we know they already have leaky gut. And therefore if they've tried to move away from the standard American diet and are including a lot of really good things, they may have some sensitivities to those really good things.
[00:31:45] But. Not just what we're keeping out. You mentioned, because you mentioned that we've got, we all have the good bugs, the bad bugs and that's okay. That's good. We don't, you're never gonna get rid of all the bad bugs. But just by [00:32:00] creating this void doesn't mean. That you're gonna get that balance of good bugs that you want.
[00:32:05] And I know that that fermentation is a specialty of yours and I, I want you to, to, if there's a way to kind of briefly introduce listeners to fermentation and, and why this is so important for our gut health and our overall health.
[00:32:23] Shawn Borup: Yeah, I would love to. So my the, how I got into fermentation is that. And gut crash. And it was as a result of some emotional trauma. And so, you know, I don't wanna dismiss like, Things that are going on in our life. Like, we all have stress. If you're breathing, you have stress and we have good stress. We have bad stress and we may not realize that emotional trauma can physically like really tear our health down.
[00:32:49] And that's what happened to me. And so like digestion just stopped. Like everything stopped working in me. I couldn't even hold down water and I got real and this was several years ago. And [00:33:00] so of course. You know, being the foodie that I was, I was like, okay, I've gotta, I've gotta figure out, figure this out and fix it.
[00:33:07] And so I discovered fermented foods and I slowly rebuilt back my my gut, you know, I, my, the, my gut bacteria was just not, not balanced. And again, If you are experiencing sugar, sugar, craving sugar, cravings is a number one sign that you have an unbalanced environment in your gut. And hypocrites said, all disease begins in the gut.
[00:33:31] And so I add to his statement that that means all healing begins in the gut. And so fermented foods, the magic of them is that this good team of guys that we have, you know, I, you know, you picture. The sword and the breast plate, right. And the shield and everything. That is our good guys. And they are there to fight off the bad guys.
[00:33:53] And if like Julie said, we do need a balance, but we just need more good guys and less bad guys. And [00:34:00] unfortunately the standard American. Diet creates exactly the opposite more bad guys, you know, and fewer good guys. So what fermented foods do is they basically give our good guys the fuel that they need to stay to replenish because they need replenishing like every 24 hours.
[00:34:20] And so, and you'll hear the word prebiotics, you know, that has kind of Showed up in the past few years and they're foods like onions and garlic and apples, those all contain prebiotics and the prebiotics are food for the, you know, the probiotics and they all work together. To CR so that these good guys are strong enough so that when viruses do come by, you know, we're all gonna catch viruses.
[00:34:47] It's just a fact of life. We are going to our, our bodies have the need to cleanse and to, you know, flush out toxins. And so, but when that happens, what's great about having. A [00:35:00] good environment that we've been talking about in our gut and fermented foods is one of those things that if we're eating them on a daily basis, we're constantly replenishing what these good guys need to create to keep this environment strong and stable.
[00:35:14] Because again, we're all exposed, whether it's through the air and the water and our. Food or, you know, just the environment and we're all exposed to toxins and the body is a miracle machine. It knows exactly what to do with those and how to get them out. But when it is when so many of our major organs are overloaded and they can't keep up that toxic of that toxic load, that's when symptoms manifest and we don't feel.
[00:35:41] Whether it's a headache or it's something really, really severe in, you know, with, with auto, you know, autoimmune disease where it affects our daily life. And so things like yogurt and Keifer and sauerkraut other fermented veggies. What's so great about sauerkraut is I will make like a half a gallon jars at a time and [00:36:00] I'll make several of them and they will stay for.
[00:36:04] Al, I would say almost a year in my refrigerator, so I can make a whole bunch at a time. And then it's not that it's done for months. Right. And it's just, you just need a fork full, you know, I lo I know a lot of people that pay a lot of money every month to take a probiotic, but a fork full of my sauerkraut, which is literally pennies a day.
[00:36:26] Talk about eating on a budget. It has more probiotics. In that forkful then this 70, $80 a month probiotic pill. And, but there's little things, you know, that we need to understand about, you know, fermentation and if you overeat it, then it will cause symptoms as well. So it's all about, you know, just your body, your, your gut just needs a little bit.
[00:36:50] And, but, you know, making homemade yogurt the first time I made homemade yogurt, Julie. I was kicking myself because it was so [00:37:00] simple and it took, so it took so little hands on time because then the yogurt did, you know, ferment that's what's so beautiful about fermentation is you do a little bit of prep anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour of, of putting this together.
[00:37:12] And then it does all of the work after that. And you just wait and the same thing with yogurt and Keefer. And, but I was kicking myself because it was such a simple process. And I, I, I was thinking, why didn't I start doing this 20 years ago?
[00:37:26] Julie Michelson: It's intimidating and, and I'll because I'm me and I can't help it all throw out there. You know, you can use alter, you can make coconut yogurt. It doesn't have to
[00:37:36] Shawn Borup: And, and I,
[00:37:37] Julie Michelson: have to be dairy based.
[00:37:39] Shawn Borup: Yep. You can make you can make non-dairy yogurt. You can make non-dairy cheese. I once, and that's why I started my company, Julie, which is show me healthy living because you can go on and watch a a video on how to do something. But chances of you actually.
[00:37:54] Carrying that through and taking action are not very probable because we all have good [00:38:00] intentions and then life takes over. So I'll just tell you one of my favorite experiences was with a mom and her eight year old daughter in Northern Ireland. They were in their kitchen. I was in mine in Montana and this little girl could not have eggs and she could not have dairy.
[00:38:17] And of course you could not have gluten well together. The three of us made a cauliflower pizza crust with non-dairy cheese and a flax egg. And to see this little girl's face, light up was just, it was just magical. It was a magical moment.
[00:38:33] Julie Michelson: And that's why you do this,
[00:38:35] Shawn Borup: That's why I do this. Yep. And this little girl was able to have pizza.
[00:38:38] And so there, there are ways around every food sensitivity to still eat real food. And so you can go from the sad diet, which is what I call the standard American diet. To the real American diet, which is the rad diet. And that is that's possible for everyone, no matter what illness, chronic illness you are doing, [00:39:00] you know, dealing with or food sensitivities.
[00:39:02] And that is the beauty about you know, eating real food is that we can experience that. Like, we can feel that rush of energy from real food rather than. Drop of energy that happens when we eat something that's processed and then our blood sugar caves after, you know, a, a short amount of time.
[00:39:23] Julie Michelson: that's a great point for something listeners can, can pay attention to, you know, if you eat lunch and then you want a nap,
[00:39:31] Shawn Borup: Yeah.
[00:39:31] Julie Michelson: the like there's a clue. If you eat anything, fill in the BA blank. I wanna. Circle back to the, the yummy fermented foods for people who aren't ready to dive in and make yogurt or sauerkraut.
[00:39:45] Do you have some tips for listeners? If they're like, Ooh, you know that that's not even part of my diet I'm not ready to jump in and make it, what can they be looking for to make sure that they're actually getting what, you know, the probiotics and the, [00:40:00] and the things that we're talking.
[00:40:01] Shawn Borup: Great question. So we'll start with sauerkraut. So there's a lot of, you know, I remember sauerkraut when I was growing up and it was just in the little plastic bag, you know, in the store and it just looked gross to me. I wouldn't even I wouldn't even, you know, look at it. Number one is when when cabbage and.
[00:40:20] You know, which is the base of your sauerkraut. When that is put in plastic, whether it's a plastic jar plastic bag that actually damages a lot of the probiotics, if not all of them. So you wanna look for sauerkraut that is in a glass jar. So that's number one tip. And then you wanna look for the word raw because if it's not raw and unpasteurized, Then the pasteurization process will also damage if not kill off all of the, the good probiotic bacteria, which again, you know, we have over a hundred trillion, you know, cells, you know, but we have more bacteria than we do [00:41:00] cells.
[00:41:00] And so this back, that's why this bacteria is so important in our gut. And that's what fermented foods, any kind. Probiotic food is what I call them. Anything that's cultured that is gonna go in and help balance out all of the other foods that we eat that cause so much acidity. And it's, it's the acidity in our foods.
[00:41:19] A lot of it that will that's what feeds these bad guys and makes them stronger. And so you know, you wanna look for it's in a glass jar, it's raw and pasteurized that that's when, and then. My, my third thing was, is it would be to try to find it at your local farmer's market, where it's made, right where you live.
[00:41:40] And like, I even have some stores here in Montana that I can go to that are an hour away. So it's an hour drive, but they have local, raw unpasteurized sauerkraut and kimchi. Kimchi is like a spicy version of, of sauerkraut. You
[00:41:57] Julie Michelson: the Korean sauerkraut
[00:41:58] Shawn Borup: Right. And you just have [00:42:00] to be watch out because sometimes they do add sugar, but here's the thing in fermentation.
[00:42:05] They eat all of the sugars out, which is another thing that happens in Keifer. So you may be, if you're a lactose intolerant or you can't, you know, eat dairy. Keer may actually work really well with you. Again, it's something that is very individual. We are all individual. And so you have to try that food out on yourself, but that is the beauty of of culturing food.
[00:42:27] Fermentation is it goes in and it eats all the sugars and it eats all the starches. And remember starches, turn to sugar. Right. You know, that's why white flour or any kind of flower, it's so important to get out of your kitchen because it turns to sugar in a very short minute, amount of time and goes into the bloodstream, which, so it gives you the same type of it.
[00:42:49] It of reaction. As your body does to sugar. And so that's the beauty. So for fer, for fermented foods, those are my suggestion. As far as [00:43:00] cultured foods like yogurt and Keifer. Yes, they do make some that are dairy free. And the only thing you have to really watch out is what are they, what additives or fillers are going in there.
[00:43:11] Today gums all kinds of Z Anthem gum GU gums. The list goes on lo
[00:43:16] Julie Michelson: Or, and even worse care Jean, like yeah.
[00:43:20] Shawn Borup: Yeah is a horrible, horrible
[00:43:22] Julie Michelson: Yeah.
[00:43:22] Shawn Borup: hormone disruptor. It disrupts all of your good guys. It, you know, it creates an unbalanced gut. So you really have to look at those and remember on your ingredient list. What is listed at the very top. That is the most, if that's in that food and then it goes down from there.
[00:43:37] So if you're seeing something at the very end, although that's still not a good ingredient, at least it's not towards the top. So that is just another tip for reading ingredient labels. But for me, if I see it on there at all, Kara genian or any of these fillers, it's just going back on the shelf. You guys, I make homemade almond milk in eight minutes, eight minutes.
[00:43:58] And that includes cleaning my [00:44:00] blender. Okay. So eight minutes. Hands on time. It is like I just tell myself, you have no excuse for buying almond milk at the store that they have to put additives in, or, you know, whether it's almond milk or Oak milk or any of these milks, these plant-based milks that are popular today.
[00:44:16] I'm finding that a lot of people are still having symptoms show up. And it's because again, like we've talked about earlier, Julie, your body cannot recognize it if it's not a real food. And so it says, what are we gonna do? And so it will store it for a time until there gets too much. And then that is when chronic illness and disease are gonna show up because these symptoms show up and then we're like wondering why we're sick and it's because the body can only handle so much over time before it kind of, you know, says enough is enough.
[00:44:47] And you know, that red light goes on. That alarm goes on. Right.
[00:44:52] Julie Michelson: Critical level
[00:44:53] Shawn Borup: Exactly. So as far as if you do eat dairy, you want to look for yogurt that is made [00:45:00] from a hundred percent grass fed cows. You can also buy sheep yogurt. You can buy goat, milk yogurt, but again, cows, and this is a whole nother conversation, but I'll just lightly say cows are raised today in an environment where they are given hormones to make them produce more milk and faster.
[00:45:18] Again, it's all about the. These poor cows get sick. They get infections in their ERs. And so they pump 'em through antibiotics. One of the things that has really been hitting me hard lately is that we take antibiotics when we are really sick and our body needs help. But 80% of all antibiotics today that are consumed are given to livestock.
[00:45:40] And so if you've gotta re-listen to that, okay. 80% are given to livestock. That means all the meat and the dairy that we consume. Much of that is full of antibiotics and we are taking all of that into our own bodies. And then again, our bodies have to figure out what to do with it. And so you can kind of get a picture of [00:46:00] why we are so talk.
[00:46:02] We live in such a toxic ridden society, everything we're trying to navigate. So you wanna make sure if you do, if you're buying dairy yogurt or Keifer, you always wanna buy plain, never buy sweetened because they, I don't care if
[00:46:14] Julie Michelson: own stuff in it. Put
[00:46:15] Shawn Borup: Right. I don't care if it is honey, or even if it's honey, it is still way, way too much sugar.
[00:46:21] And that's another thing is, you know if you are vegan, of course you are not going to eat, honey. You wanna make sure you substitute a hundred percent maple syrup. It's still sugar you guys. And so we wanna minimize that. And maybe you sweet. You can sweeten with real dates. There are anyways, there are other ways to do it, but you've gotta look for you've gotta read on these containers, how this food is processed.
[00:46:44] Like what, how do they care for their cows? And that's another thing of, if you have access to a local dairy, go to the dairy, talk to them, you know, I, I
[00:46:53] Julie Michelson: how the cows are living.
[00:46:54] Shawn Borup: yep. Get to know your local
[00:46:56] Julie Michelson: do where, where I get meat that like, I [00:47:00] know, I know where it grew up. Like, I, we, we check it out and, and that's the whole, you know, you're, you're eating whatever they ate as well. We are way over time and I don't, I don't wanna keep you longer than promised, but I need to, as this is a trick question, cuz you've already given listeners.
[00:47:17] So much to take action on. But if you had to pick either from what you've already said or something else, if they do one thing, what's one step listeners can do starting today.
[00:47:30] Shawn Borup: Starting today. I would, you know, take this one step is so important and I know that some of you live with people that are really adamant about the things that they want to
[00:47:42] Julie Michelson: Attached
[00:47:42] Shawn Borup: But most of you are, are the head of the household, the mom, or the dad that is. Listening to this, this conversation get refined sugar and refined flour out of your house and get more real one ingredient foods, bring in more fruits and vegetables.
[00:47:58] Have them have a, a bowl of [00:48:00] fruit sitting on the counter, because again, yes, there's sugar in that banana and that apple, but this is sugar that it, your body knows exactly what to do with. and it will actually give you, like, we were talking at the very beginning, the body needs fuel. We need glucose. We need fuel for energy.
[00:48:17] Let's get it from the right food. So if, if that means taking it to your local food pantry, if it's something that's unopened, do that, if it means pouring your, taking your five pound of white sugar and powdered sugar and putting it in the trash, do that, whatever it takes, but just make a decision today.
[00:48:36] That in your kitchen, you are going to use real food, sugar, and get away from this sugar that is going to not only destroy your gut bacteria, but it's going to exacerbate any chronic condition in your body. And so this is how you can, and, and again, remember the generations coming be after us. They're learning from us.
[00:48:57] They're watching what we do. So if we want [00:49:00] them to be healthier, if we want them to have a it really doesn't matter your, the length of your lifespan. It is, it is how well you're living in the time that you're here. Let's give that next generation the best. If we can give them by teaching them how to eat real food and why that matters.
[00:49:19] Julie Michelson: I love that. Amazing. I knew you couldn't just do one thing. I love your one thing had like five things in it.
[00:49:26] Shawn Borup: It does it's cause it's, it's all related, but thank you for your patience. And again, Julie, and I said, you know, we could talk about this for
[00:49:33] Julie Michelson: All day. I know. I know. And, and so, you know, guys just pick any, any of the amazing info that, that Sean gave you and make that one start with one thing, like make that one up level that will lead you to a whole food, real food, single ingredient diet. So for those that, listen on the go and aren't gonna check the show notes.
[00:49:56] Where's the best place to find.
[00:49:58] Shawn Borup: So my website is show me [00:50:00] healthy living.com. And I will tell you we're in the middle of a rebranding. And revamping. So stay tuned for that, but you can go on my website@showmehealthyliving.com and just get on my email list so that you can receive my emails. I send out recipes and health tips on a, on a regular basis.
[00:50:19] And then also my Facebook group is sweet life without sugar. I am live every Thursday. At 6:00 PM mountain time, and I show you how I clean out my fridge and have zero waste and great taste because the average American family throws away about $2,000 worth of food every year. That is a nice vacation.
[00:50:39] And so I show you how to do that. And just to, to inspire you, we share things in the group about eating real food and what difference it makes in how we feel every.
[00:50:50] Julie Michelson: Amazing. Sean, thank you so much for giving listeners so many actionable items and just a, a way to [00:51:00] totally reset their health.
[00:51:02] Shawn Borup: You're sure. Welcome Julie. Thanks again. It was, it was such an honor to be here with you today.
[00:51:07] Julie Michelson: For everyone listening. Remember you can get the show notes and transcripts by visiting inspired living.show. I hope you had a great time and enjoyed this episode as much as I did. I will see you next week.
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Shawn Borup
Shawn Borup, founder of Show Me Healthy Living, loves to feel her best every day and have sustained energy so that she can experience life to its fullest and live free of chronic illness and disease. For three decades, she has researched, studied, and practiced the healing power of food and taught kids and adults how to eat more real food at every meal. She is a Healthy Living Coach, Certified Fermentationist®, Real Food Chef, and is living proof that implementing simple healthy habits promotes optimal health and wellbeing. Her mission is to teach families worldwide how to get back in their kitchen to create easy whole food meals in 30 minutes and take charge of their health to feel their best!
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