Episode 88
Table of Contents:
In this episode:
Today I have an amazing conversation with Mira Dessy, a nutrition educator know as the "Ingredient Guru."
We discussed how to become an empowered shopper and the importance of being your own health advocate. Mira shared her personal story of being diagnosed with multiple autoimmune diseases and explained how they are all connected to the immune system. We also touched on various topics, including the importance of reading ingredient labels, avoiding harmful additives, and making small, sustainable changes to our diets.
During our conversation, Mira emphasized the need to find a doctor who is a good fit and can act as a partner in one's health journey. She also explained the challenges of navigating social situations while accommodating others' needs and maintaining one's own health goals. Additionally, we discussed the addictive nature of hyper-palatable and processed foods and how they can hinder a person's efforts to switch to real, whole foods.
We also touched on the challenges of getting family members to buy into changing their eating habits. Mira encouraged finding teachable moments and sharing information to help family members understand the importance of making healthier choices. We agreed that it takes time for everyone to adjust, but eventually, adopting healthier habits becomes a natural part of the household.
Throughout our conversation, we emphasized the importance of taking responsibility for one's health and diet choices. We suggested making small, sustainable changes rather than overwhelming oneself with a complete overhaul. It is essential to prioritize self-care and advocacy for one's own health before attempting to care for others. Remember, even small changes can lead to a healthier lifestyle overall.
In conclusion, I hope this conversation has provided valuable insights on how to become an empowered shopper and your own health advocate. Remember to educate yourself, read ingredient labels, and make small changes towards a healthier lifestyle. Thank you for tuning in!
We discussed how to become an empowered shopper and the importance of being your own health advocate. Mira shared her personal story of being diagnosed with multiple autoimmune diseases and explained how they are all connected to the immune system. We also touched on various topics, including the importance of reading ingredient labels, avoiding harmful additives, and making small, sustainable changes to our diets.
During our conversation, Mira emphasized the need to find a doctor who is a good fit and can act as a partner in one's health journey. She also explained the challenges of navigating social situations while accommodating others' needs and maintaining one's own health goals. Additionally, we discussed the addictive nature of hyper-palatable and processed foods and how they can hinder a person's efforts to switch to real, whole foods.
We also touched on the challenges of getting family members to buy into changing their eating habits. Mira encouraged finding teachable moments and sharing information to help family members understand the importance of making healthier choices. We agreed that it takes time for everyone to adjust, but eventually, adopting healthier habits becomes a natural part of the household.
Throughout our conversation, we emphasized the importance of taking responsibility for one's health and diet choices. We suggested making small, sustainable changes rather than overwhelming oneself with a complete overhaul. It is essential to prioritize self-care and advocacy for one's own health before attempting to care for others. Remember, even small changes can lead to a healthier lifestyle overall.
In conclusion, I hope this conversation has provided valuable insights on how to become an empowered shopper and your own health advocate. Remember to educate yourself, read ingredient labels, and make small changes towards a healthier lifestyle. Thank you for tuning in!
Other Resources:
Connect with Mira Dessy
Episode Transcript
Julie Michelson: [00:00:00] Welcome back to The Inspired Living with Autoimmunity podcast. I'm your host, Julie Michelson and today we are joined by Mira Dessie, the ingredient guru, and we're talking about becoming an empowered shopper to improve your health.
Mira gives us tips and tricks to navigate the grocery store and truly know what we're eating.
Mira, welcome to the podcast.
Mira Dessy: Thank you so much for having me on, Julie.[00:01:00]
Julie Michelson: I would love for you to, to allow listeners to get to know you a little bit by sharing your journey and your story, because it is so specific. How, how did you become the ingredient guru?
Mira Dessy: Well, it was a long and winding path.
I was not always in the field of nutrition or holistic health. I actually used to be a database administrator for an international research firm.
And the interesting thing is, at that time we were doing a lot of the things.
We belonged to A C S A, we had a vegetable garden. I canned, I baked all of our bread, you know, all those wonderful things. And so I was of course patting myself on the back that, you know, I'm taking care of myself and my family
and. Over time, I began to get sicker and sicker. I wound up beginning to have massive amounts of pain and fatigue, [00:02:00] digestive disorders, all kinds of things, and essentially at a certain point, had an implosion, if you will, of my immune system.
And to make a very long story a little bit shorter, the end result was I was diagnosed with five different autoimmune disorders. My primary was ulcerative colitis, and you know, I'm, I'm. One of the things I like to encourage people to remember is if you're diagnosed with one autoimmune disorder, chances are it's not hanging out by itself.
It's that our medical system likes to put them into categories, so treat them as if they're each separate. However, your immune system is your immune system, and it's either functioning the way it's designed to or it's not.
Julie Michelson: I love that you said that. Yes. I get that all the time too. I don't have a diagnosis yet. Can you help me? Or, you know, what about this diagnosis versus I'm like, it's yes. Let's go, let's, [00:03:00] let's fix it now.
Mira Dessy: Right.
And you know, I, I think, so for me, the part of the challenge was along the way to getting sicker and sicker. I would go to the doctors and my labs would come by. Oh, you're fine. You know? And then I started, and this breaks my heart because it happened to me. It has happened to many of my clients, and it not only breaks my heart, it, it just pisses me off
was the, you know, may, maybe you should talk to somebody.
Julie Michelson: and it might be in your head.
Mira Dessy: me. I know.
And I live inside my skin. I know how my body is supposed to feel.
Julie Michelson: all do. Even if somebody tries to tell you other, I was, I was also the person with multiple autoimmune and beautiful labs.
Mira Dessy: Yeah. Yeah. And, and at a certain point though, you get to the, I couldn't function. I was living my life on the sofa.
I had to choose between was I gonna do laundry that day or was I gonna make dinner?
Julie Michelson: Yeah, I was sleeping, I was resting while my kids were at school so that I could take [00:04:00] care of them when they came home. And then, you know, pray they'd wanna go to bed early.
Mira Dessy: And, and,
Julie Michelson: yeah.
Mira Dessy: and I remember, you know, my kids standing over me going, get up. I need you. And I'm like, I can't. Like it's, and I, you know, it's, it's very challenging. It's so hard when you're going through that because then you start beating yourself up and
going, what's wrong with me?
Julie Michelson: You start questioning. I remember a conversation I had with my best friend and I was like, maybe I'm depressed. And she said, well, let's, let's talk it through. And I'm like, well, you know, the pain, the fatigue, I could check all the boxes. And she goes, yep, but are you depressed? And I'm like, well, no.
But they, they think I might be, you know, she's like, no, no, no. Um, yeah. And, and it, what pisses me off is that you having five diagnoses isn't even unusual like you would think that should be. Almost unheard [00:05:00] of, and at the very least, alarming for the doctors. But it's not, it's like you said, you know, even if there's so,
Mira Dessy: Well,
Julie Michelson: so how did you go
from
Yeah. On the
couch?
Mira Dessy: the, the, the, one of the things that caused that, that coin to flip, if you will,
in one week I had two medical appointments. The first one was with my rheumatologist who said to me, I. I wanna prescribe a medication for you, but I don't know if your endocrinologist will like it, so I'm not going to do it, and I'm not a very confrontational person.
So I was just kinda like, okay. But then as I was driving home, I was like, wait, wait a minute.
Julie Michelson: Did you just say you're not gonna do your job?
Like
Mira Dessy: why? Why would you tell me if you're not gonna do anything? Like what does that do for me?
And secondly, aren't you both doctors, don't you people talk to each other? And the answer of course is no.
The second appointment was with a brand new to me, cardiologist, and I thought he was gonna wanna hear my whole story. So I walked in already to like, share, and he [00:06:00] went, Mrs. Dessie, you are getting older. I
was 42 years old. And that was what it took for me to get mad.
And then I started screaming at my insurance company and advocating for myself.
Wound up getting, you know, some, some high level sort of testing and all of that came back with two things from all of that. One was a few of my, my. You know, protocols were changed, but I, I was encouraged to advocate for myself because I realized that I really had to be the most active participant in my own healthcare and the startling awareness that nobody was talking about food.
And
Julie Michelson: Even with a gi, that's the part
Mira Dessy: yeah.
Julie Michelson: that, uh
Mira Dessy: Right, and no, [00:07:00] nobody, nobody really talked about food.
And as I began to dive in, I began to realize there were a whole bunch of things that were still in my pantry that were really bad for
you. And I began to clean up my diet. I realized I needed to know more. I went back to school, became a nutrition educator, and then from there began unintentionally, but began my own practice.
And then because of my beautiful clients wound up writing a book because I had to say the same thing over and over and
over. It looks like there needs to be a book. So that was when I wrote the pantry principle, and that basically just launched me down the path to becoming the ingredient guru.
Julie Michelson: I love it. I, I love it. And I, I share that my oldest son from birth was a projectile, vomiter, horrible reflux, terrible, poor little thing. Terrible GI system, skinny, you know, just, and. Saw the best air quotes experts. [00:08:00] Um, and of course they medicated the snot out of this poor baby. And he usually, the, you know, even infants that have reflux, it'll correct.
Um, I mean, he was still medicated as a toddler. Nobody ever asked me, and I didn't know enough back then. No one ever said, what is he eating? Nobody said to me when I was nursing, what are you eating?
Mira Dessy: Right.
Julie Michelson: Nobody ever said, it turns out, you know, hindsight's 2020 poor has celiac, and it, it took 12 years to finally figure out, oh, maybe what you're eating.
Mira Dessy: and part of the challenge is even if you know that tiny bit, to go to your doctor and say, Hey, I think I may have some food sensitivities. I think there's an issue with this, or whatever. They go, nah, you know,
Julie Michelson: Yeah. That's not enough to,
Mira Dessy: Right, and, and so it really becomes,
Julie Michelson: we're not, I'm not [00:09:00] bashing doctor. I
live with one like to, to be fair,
Mira Dessy: I have been the
Julie Michelson: it's the system.
Mira Dessy: Wonderful medical care.
Yes. I think the challenge is doctors are very, very good at what they do. What they do does not typically include nutrition.
Julie Michelson: Right.
Mira Dessy: Which is why I love my current GI Doc because he is more functionally minded and he
Julie Michelson: He's a unicorn.
Mira Dessy: you know, pay attention to FODMAPs if they have gastrointestinal issues
and that kinda thing.
Yes. So like that's great, but that also again requires being an advocate for yourself and saying, okay, I'm seeing this doctor right now, not the best fit for me, not the best partner for me. I'm going to continue to look and see if there are other options
Julie Michelson: Yes. And I love that you use that word partner because that's, that's the key and that's a shift from how we were taught to, you know, work with our [00:10:00] doctors. They knew everything and we were supposed to just do what they say, take what they tell us, you know? Um, and that really, that that's the perfect, you know, your doctor should be your partner in your health journey and your wellness.
So I love that, that you used that word.
Mira Dessy: And, and I, you know, I want to also fast forward all these years later and tell you that my last colonoscopy, cuz at this point I've had a number of them, uh, with a diagnosis of ulcers, colitis that happens. Uh, but my last colonoscopy, I was told that there are no more signs of ulcerative colitis in my system.
Julie Michelson: Oh, wait a minute. I'm sorry. The body can heal.
Mira Dessy: You know, and, and, and here's the thing. There are admittedly varying degrees. The colon is very long, and different sections can be
more impaired than others. Like some people do require surgery, some people require lifelong medication. I was able to get off medication [00:11:00] and I was able to restore gut function.
Um, but it, it is possible for that to happen.
Julie Michelson: It is. And I tell people, and people read my story and they know, you know, I got off of 10 prescriptions and, and they'll come to me and say, yeah, I wanna do what you did. I wanna get off my meds. And I'm like, I just wanted to feel well, like that was a side effect of correcting the underlying drivers. And, and so, you know, sometimes it takes lifestyle and medication.
Sometimes the medication is that bridge while things are healing. Um, but there's no, uh, To me, like the win isn't, there's no judgment. Are you on medication or are you not on educa on medication? It's what is your quality of life? And is life getting bigger and better as we age? Or is it getting smaller?
That's, that's what I look at. So I love that you said that, you know, it is, it's all different degrees. Um, but it is [00:12:00] crazy thinking that like your intestines can heal. Of course they can.
Mira Dessy: and, and even more than that, I also, like when I'm working with clients, I really like to encourage them that. Anything that we can do to improve where you are right now is worth doing. Can I guarantee that you're gonna get off medication? No. Can I guarantee that things are going to go back to the way they were however long ago it was?
Before you go say, no, I can't. But if we can do things so that you are actually nourishing your body so that you are practicing self-care, getting good quality sleep, doing all these things that support a balanced body state. You are going to feel better to some degree and, and that's better than where you were.
Like that's the goal is just to feel better and to make sure that you're doing the best you can to take care of yourself.
Julie Michelson: I love that. And every little inch we move the needle gives us more energy and motivation to address [00:13:00] more things in other areas. And, and so it, it is, it's a, it's totally a pro. It's a lifelong, I'm still always adjusting. I feel amazing. I didn't know I could feel this well at 54, you know, really. But I'm also still always looking for the, like, what else can I do?
And, and we're never done in the sense that if I go back to living how I was living before, I will go back to being as sick as I was. I mean, it, it's, I have to protect all those things you were talking about. Not just what I eat, but how is my sleep and you know, am I moving the right way? Am I managing my stress?
And there's no one, stress isn't static.
Mira Dessy: Right
Julie Michelson: You know, and so I may have a great stress management routine, and then I, I may need to uplevel sometimes. So, or also human, not perfect. Maybe it's slipping and I'm not paying attention. Just time to [00:14:00] adjust.
Mira Dessy: And, and that's exactly what I was gonna say too, because
it, we are human and we are in situations sometimes where challenges come up. And again, being your own advocate is one of the biggest things you can do. In the beginning of a journey where you are changing your food, changing your holistic health patterns, really paying attention to all of that, that we've operated on by autopilot for so long, typically, you are going to run into either a provider, a friend, a neighbor, or a family member who's gonna go, oh, You're so hard to feed, like really, do you have to do all this?
Or is it really how A little bit is not gonna kill you.
Julie Michelson: Right.
Mira Dessy: And so what happens is you start getting into this, I feel guilty because I'm forcing other people to accommodate me. And then learning ways to meet your own needs without having to overwhelm other people. And I love that. You know, in the beginning.
I [00:15:00] will admit that my family was kinda like, but we, we like Captain Crunch and
Julie Michelson: Oh, but you had to let it get soggy first, sir. It would scratch up the roof of your mouth. I joke with people like I was not born a health coach. I ate. You know, all the
Mira Dessy: all the things.
Julie Michelson: dis things I find disgusting now. I thought were delicious back then. You know, I couldn't even imagine. Um,
Mira Dessy: but learning, learning how to make those changes and then learning how to advocate for yourself and also learning where you need to flex. So
recently, for example, I was at a birthday party with a family member and it was a big celebration. Lots of family around, I. And I really knew that I wanted to participate.
And so I said to them, I am going to have one bite of cake to celebrate you, cuz it was not the kind of cake that I would make and want to eat, but it's, that's about celebration, that's about being human. And really that one bite was totally fine. It's not like I ate it and [00:16:00] I'm like, man, I wish I could have a whole slice of cake.
Like I didn't. Because that's the other thing that happens is as we begin to nourish our body, as we begin to take care of ourselves, a lot of those cravings, a lot of that, oh, gotta have it, that goes away.
Julie Michelson: It does. It really does. And I will qualify that by, I will not take the one bite because I have Celiac and I'll be
Mira Dessy: Right? So
for you, that's not an option,
Julie Michelson: and that, but that's so empowering to know, right? Like. Maybe I'll have a bite of cheese
or, you know, I know where I can sneak a little something once in a blue moon. And, and I always say, you know, there's certain things that aren't gonna make me sick.
Like something like gluten, um, and, and dairy, I said cheese, but that, that really wouldn't be my sneak. It would probably be a tomato. Um, But also it, it's that the power of knowing what the, you're gonna be [00:17:00] dealing with. So maybe it's not gonna make you feel sick, but maybe your brain's not gonna function that well.
So don't do that right before you get up in front of an audience. Right. Like really
Mira Dessy: Oh, absolutely.
Or finding other ways. You know, can you bring a gluten-free cupcake
and celebrate that way? Can
Julie Michelson: Yeah, absolutely.
Mira Dessy: or offer an option? You know, I also, when I was visiting with this family, I offered to make brunch one day, and I don't think anybody there paid attention, but it was a gluten free
Julie Michelson: Right. And that's the other thing I, I think, you know, first we have to retrain and get over this, like apologizing for taking care of ourselves and, and be okay with not everyone's gonna understand, right? Or support or, or whatever. But also we make good food.
And it's real food and even people with terrible diets enjoy it.
And you don't have to explain, well, this is grain-free and this is, I have friends that [00:18:00] don't eat real food.
And they come over and they eat the cassava tortillas with the homemade wa and they don't say like, Ew, where's the corn? Right. Like it's, um, so I, I think like you said, if they don't, especially if they don't know if some people, if you tell them like, I'm gonna make a gluten-free brunch for you.
They've already
put it in their head. Yeah. They're, they're just thinking, oh, that's gonna be gross. I know.
Mira Dessy: And, and I I love also that when we make good, delicious food and we simply serve it without having to apologize, without having to explain, but we can all enjoy it together. Nobody questions it. They just wanna sit down and enjoy a meal with you.
Julie Michelson: Right, and that's, it's the connection. It's not really the food. Yes, we have memories tied to foods and I joke I've yet to have a client that, you know, a salad is what gives her that gooey feeling about [00:19:00] her mom. So, you know, it's never a salad. But it will maybe our kids or their kids. Um,
Mira Dessy: and, and I think the other thing too is, like you said, for you with celiac disease, that's a huge issue. You know, for me, I just know there's all the ingredients, all the challenging non-food things that they do to food. I'm very sensitive to that. I, people like me, I consider us the, the canaries in the
coal mine of food, you know?
Julie Michelson: Let's talk about the non-food ingredients because you know, we're chatting cuz we're talking about real food and we know what we're talking about. And you can pick on gluten, you can pick on dairy or sugar or any of it, but, but really, I. Let's, let's talk about, you know, from the perspective of the ingredient guru.
Uh, what is, what is real food like when I say, oh, we're talking about real food, not, you know, what are those things? What are share with [00:20:00] us?
Mira Dessy: Sure. Well, and, and just to back up and finish, what I was going to say though is that I know that I cannot add those other things back in because if I do, it is a slow decline back to living my life on the sofa,
and I refuse to go back there. So
Julie Michelson: and you don't have to.
Mira Dessy: I don't, right. I don't have to. And
so I define real food as. Either unprocessed or low processed with no non-nutritive added ingredients.
Julie Michelson: Awesome.
Mira Dessy: for example, I'm pretty sure everybody listening knows that things like artificial colors, artificial sweeteners and artificial flavors are not real food. It kind of says so in the name,
Julie Michelson: But what about natural flavors?
Mira Dessy: I love that you brought that up.
Yes. Because part of the challenge is
natural is one of those wonky terms that [00:21:00] encompasses just about anything.
Julie Michelson: Yes. It's a catchall,
Mira Dessy: yeah, it is. And I will also say that this is like a really great place to talk about this. You can only control what you can control. In my home, in my own home, I can control everything. If I'm out or if I'm at somebody else's house, there's only so much that I can do.
I. So the, the goal is to be as avoidant as possible for those things that are not food, but to not freak out. We don't wanna develop orthorexia where we can't go anywhere or eat anywhere except our own home, and we can only eat certain things. Like that becomes very restrictive and very overwhelming. I.
However, I do encourage avoiding anything that says natural because you never know what it is. An example of that is natural vanilla flavor could be something called cast. Now, here's the thing. Cassium by itself is [00:22:00] apparently not harmful for you. What I object to is they don't tell you what it is. They just hide it because they know if people went and looked it up to see what it was, They would not eat it.
It is the anal gland secretion of beavers. I call it beaver
Julie Michelson: You don't want that.
Mira Dessy: I, you
Julie Michelson: You're right. I don't think anybody would ever go and order that.
Mira Dessy: well, so here's the weird thing. There is a liquor over in Scandinavia that is made with cast and they proudly announce it on the label. Um, yay
for
them.
Julie Michelson: tastes like vanilla,
Mira Dessy: Probably does. Uh, so not, not my choice, but, but again, they're hiding it.
And so some of the natural flavorings can be true extracts from you, steep something and you get the essential oils out of it, and it, you know, becomes a flavor, a fragrance, whatever. However, because of the [00:23:00] federal guidelines behind what constitutes a natural flavor, they can do so many things to it and add so many chemicals and in extract it, and manipulate it in so many ways that all of a sudden it bears no resemblance whatsoever to what it started from.
And so we wanna watch out for that.
Julie Michelson: Yes.
Mira Dessy: also, Really strongly encourage people to look at the ingredient panel, cuz most people when they go, oh yeah, I read labels. I, I am really good about reading labels and what they're re and they are and I congratulate you for that. Like, that's great. However, what they're talking about is the nutrition panel.
Julie Michelson: Mm-hmm.
Mira Dessy: The nutrition facts, how many calories, how much sugar, how much fat, all of that. That's only a tiny piece of what's going on. And that, by the way, can be very misleading. We can go back to
that in just a minute. Uh, but the real information about what you're consuming is those ingredients,
Julie Michelson: Yes. It.
Mira Dessy: you need to read that.
Julie Michelson: Yeah, I, I listeners [00:24:00] know I've shared this before, but when my daughter was in high school, so to me it was like my crowning moment as a mother. She called me during lunch cuz she and her friends had gone to the grocery store to pick up snacks for lunch, not really lunch. And she said, I. You've ruined my life. I was all, you know, I, I don't even remember what it was. That wasn't even the important part, you know, I, I, I wanted such and such, and then I read the ingredients and now I couldn't possibly eat it, you know? And it was like, yes, shit. Gonna be okay.
Mira Dessy: My job here is done.
Julie Michelson: Yeah, mic drop. I love it. I dunno. And, and, um, let's talk a minute and we, we kind of hit on it with the natural flavor and, but, but let's talk about a little deeper in the, you know, the information is in the ingredients.
Um, I, I hate to to sound all conspiracy [00:25:00] theorists, but do you think the marketing on the front of the package is often misleading?
Mira Dessy: Oh, absolutely. Manufacturers use that to manipulate and misguide you on a regular basis. So that is something called front of package labeling. And they, first of all, food producers spend tons of millions of dollars a year. To try to figure out what are the words that are going to attract us? What are the things that are going to encourage us to want to buy their product, and hopefully encourage us to pay no attention to what's on that ingredient panel.
Julie Michelson: Mm-hmm.
Mira Dessy: And as an example for that, I used that, you know, a couple of decades ago, fiber was the big thing. Everybody needed to get enough fiber. So you would look at bread or cereals or other processed foods and it would tell you, oh, made with so many whole grains, made with so many grams of fiber, all that kind of stuff.
But if you flipped it around, often the [00:26:00] number one ingredient was still enriched wheat flour,
like, A highly processed, high glycemic, non-nutritive food. Uh, and now we've gone through several iterations where different things have been important.
And the big thing at the moment is protein. Uh, I mean, my, my joke is, you know, with apologies to Dave Berry, cuz I borrowed it from him.
I think they would put protein in shoe polish if they thought it would sell more. You know, I mean they, they wanna use whatever words they think we are paying attention. Keto is the other big thing. They're making keto everything
Julie Michelson: Well, and vegan. I have, I'm not even kidding you. I've seen vegetables labeled as vegan. I'm like, how could they not be vegan? Their vegetables. And my favorite, I actually took a, a, a picture, um, And sent it to a few people in my life that understand me. There's a product called Don't Come After Me. Uh, just eggs.
Just eggs. [00:27:00] And it looks like it comes in a plastic bottle. Not great right there, but it looks like eggs. It just looks like, you know, raw scrambled eggs. There is not an egg. Well, it's not eggs, it's an
Mira Dessy: No, it's plant-based
Julie Michelson: and it's called just eggs. It should be called just not eggs like, but that's, it's such a, it, it's for me like such a shining, like there's misleading and then there's like actually just opposite of true
Mira Dessy: right. Well, and the
and the thing that I struggle with is food producers look for a couple of things. One is they want it to be a, a, a trend, not a fad. A
fad is something that comes and goes very quickly and maybe they can capitalize on it, but in the long run it doesn't really do a lot for them. Trends are things that stick around either because a larger segment of the population needs to eat that way and is grateful that they've started doing this or because other [00:28:00] people who had not considered doing that before have been attracted to that idea.
Julie Michelson: Right.
Mira Dessy: Gluten-free is a very good example of that. There is a segment of the population that must eat gluten-free. It's very important to them. Otherwise they are horrifically ill. And then there are some people who have, um, you know, they're, they're not diagnosed with any sort of disorder that precludes adding gluten, but they know they feel better when they don't eat it.
Julie Michelson: Right.
Mira Dessy: So they, they don't have a specific diagnosis and then there are other people who are like, you know, I just, I like the idea and it tastes good, and so I'm gonna do that. So that has become a trend. They love that. So now one
Julie Michelson: I still wouldn't eat most of that stuff,
Mira Dessy: I wouldn't either, cuz it's highly processed,
right? But I'm just saying they're looking to capture larger and
larger market share. So now one of the things that's happened is plant-based looks like it's at that tipping point
to become a trend rather than a fad,
because more and more people are jumping on that bandwagon, [00:29:00] and so they have begun going after larger and larger segments of the grocery store to try to figure out how they can make it.
You
know, vegan or plant-based, using those two terms interchangeably to try to attract larger market share. Because unfortunately, a lot of people seem to think that food producers are in the business of making food and they're really not.
They're in the business of making money.
Food
Julie Michelson: make food.
Mira Dessy: their product.
Yes,
exactly. know, And, and so that's why we have so many different things that we see now, and it gets very confusing sometimes, like you said, because they're misleading about what's in there. Um, one of my least favorite things at the grocery store now is the bizarre number of beyond, you know,
Julie Michelson: Oh.
Mira Dessy: beef, chicken, whatever
type
Julie Michelson: beyond, beyond
food,
Mira Dessy: And, and there and there are more brands coming to [00:30:00] market going after that segment and all of a sudden you can have, you know, burgers and, and steaks and chicken and all these things that are not meat. And my thing
Julie Michelson: and I don't understand. I I have, maybe you could explain it to me. Um, and I. I don't judge what anybody chooses to eat or not eat. That's not true. Not anybody. If you're eating real food and you're, you're making choices for whatever reason, great. The part I don't understand is if you don't wanna eat meat, why do you want a burger?
Like, I don't, I don't get that part.
Mira Dessy: And, and I think the reason they, the reason food producers are trying to tap into that is because they're hoping to attract enough
Julie Michelson: Meat eaters.
Yeah.
Mira Dessy: They're enough omnivores to go, Hey, sure, you can be omni all you want, but you know, sometimes maybe you want a little break, come over and have our product
Julie Michelson: Right. And they're marketing. It is healthier. And it is
nuts.
Mira Dessy: it's [00:31:00] not.
Julie Michelson: No,
Mira Dessy: not. And, and so again, it's about market share. It's about what they're doing. The one of the latest products that I just did a mini rant about on my YouTube channel was a breakfast cereal that is supposed to help you sleep better.
And Oh, yes, they put melatonin in it.
Julie Michelson: Come on. And then you're
supposed to have it in the
morning.
Mira Dessy: you're supposed to have it at night? No, you're supposed to have it at night before you go to bed. It's like a little s snack you can have, so you can have cereal in the morning for
Julie Michelson: Oh,
no.
Mira Dessy: you could finish your day with another bowl of cereal. And there's massive amounts of sugar in it.
So I don't care how much melatonin they put in there. It's an exploded grain and it's got a lot of sugar. And it's like the last thing you should be eating before you go to bed. not
Julie Michelson: my gosh.
Mira Dessy: should be eating. It is the, the thing you
Julie Michelson: Do not, just don't do it. Yeah.
Mira Dessy: You know, and, and they do that because, I mean, the cereal isle has become
Julie Michelson: sleep is [00:32:00] so important, so I'm being healthy. Cause
now I
Mira Dessy: what I was gonna say is the cereal aisle has become an alleyway at the grocery store.
There's, you know, hundreds of different kinds of cereal and they've pretty much tapped that out. So now if they wanna grow, they have to figure out what's the next thing we can do? Well, let's figure out how to get people to eat more cereal.
I know maybe they should eat it at bedtime.
Julie Michelson: It's, it's insane. Well, and they're tapping into the, again, it's that idea of, that's the part that frustrates me the most is. Marketing to people who are trying to make a health conscious choice. Right? Oh, I, you know, I understand sleep is an important part of overall health. I'm gonna buy this garbage cereal and eat that at night before I go to bed and really mess with my system.
But it, it's just frustrating to me. Worse than, you know, you wanna buy a box of donuts, buy a box of donuts, and tell yourself you're having the donuts. But that marketing of, of [00:33:00] products, I won't
even
Mira Dessy: manipulates you into thinking that you're doing something that's good for you
Julie Michelson: someone's actually taking that extra minute to try to make the better choice, which goes back to the way to do that is to turn the box around and read the ingredients.
Mira Dessy: Yes.
And, and the other thing that I will share also, and this taps back into what we were talking about before, the more you start to include real whole foods, getting enough vegetable content, getting good quality protein, getting clean fats into your diet, the better you feel, the less you want those things.
And it gets to the point where, I mean, I love going to the grocery store cuz I love seeing all the stupid stuff they're doing and I just like read the packages and take pictures and it's great. But I don't buy them. I don't want them. As a matter of fact, I'm in the middle of doing a piece about cereal that I'm working on and I had to ask my neighbors if they would bring me cereal boxes cuz I wasn't [00:34:00] gonna buy
Julie Michelson: Right. I refuse to spend my money on this.
Mira Dessy: Yeah.
Julie Michelson: I love that. So this sounds so cliche, um, but this idea of shopping the outside of the grocery store, is that something you believe in?
Mira Dessy: I love that you brought that up. Oh my gosh. So there are some benefits to shopping the perimeter of the grocery store. And you know, I will, first of all, I want to address, a lot of people go, oh, they put the milk in the back cuz you have to walk all the way to the back. It's a ploy to get you into the grocery store.
No, it's convenient because the back is where the loading docks are
Julie Michelson: Right, and the refrigerated
walk-ins.
Mira Dessy: And the freezers typically are closest to the loading doors, so that's why they're there. But typically, you walk into usually the produce side of things, and then there's a certain path that you go around.
Maybe you go through the the deli or the bakery or whatever, and then you walk your way around. There's a couple of things that you have to watch out for in the perimeter of the grocery [00:35:00] store. However, one is. Grocery per manufacturers or grocery stores. Grocery chains have learned that people are saying, oh, I only shop the perimeter.
Like it's the healthiest place. I don't go in the middle of the store. So they, their job is to sell more stuff. Their margins are very thin, something like 3%. And so the more they can sell you, the better they do. They have started doing something called product creep. So product creep is where, let's say you walk into the produce section and it's strawberry season, and all of a sudden there's this new little refrigerated case in the produce section and it's got those little squishy spongy things that are supposed to be angel food cake and cans of whipped cream,
Julie Michelson: Cool
whip.
Mira Dessy: time for strawberry shortcake.
And the strawberries are fragrant because they're fresh, they haven't been held over. You know, and then force ripened, they are literally fresh and they are the most fragrant. They're gonna be all year round and it just attracts you. And you're like, oh yes, strawberry berry shark [00:36:00] cake, I'll just buy some of this and this.
Or you get over to the, the vegetable section and all of a sudden now there's a whole case that has salad dressings in. It didn't used to be there.
You know, so they, they put things from
Julie Michelson: or, yeah.
Mira Dessy: right, exactly. So they
put things from other sections of the grocery store into. The perimeter to try to convince you to buy more products.
And then the other thing that we need to keep in mind is, yes, there are more whole foods in the perimeter, but you still have to know the quality of what you are getting Is your dairy free of added hormones and antibiotics and other things like that for your produce? Are you aware of the dirty dozen, those 12 fruits and vegetables that are most likely to be contaminated by pesticides?
You really need to buy those organic.
If you know, so just being aware of what's in each of the different sections and how to make the best choice for you.
Julie Michelson: I love that. I, I love the, [00:37:00] and yeah, it's not like, oh, but it was on the outside, so I'm sure this whipped cream is good for me. Like there is, and that's the thing. It's just like being your own advocate. You know, with your healthcare, it's the same. It is on us to do a little bit of our homework. We have to, we have to, you know, take responsibility for what we're buying and what we're putting in our mouth.
Mira Dessy: And I would also encourage anybody who's listening to this, please don't feel that you have to like, throw out everything that's in your pantry. Go to the grocery store, spend seven hours there, like carefully micromanage your grocery shop and then come home. Cuz that's exhausting. And, and I don't know anybody who could stick to that.
The goal is, I. One thing that's important to you. So if your family consumes a lot of dairy products, then look at how do we make the healthiest dairy choices that we can if your family is going. Away from all of the ready, carby, [00:38:00] starchy things. Finding those better options for you. Learning about the dirty doesn't like pick one thing and master that before you go on to another section of the grocery store.
Cuz if you try to do it all at once, it's not sustainable. But if you make those baby steps, every single thing that you do eventually down the road when you look back becomes a lot of things.
Julie Michelson: I love that. Yeah. And I like the, that advice of, there's so many things that you've said that mirror the way I live and work with my clients around toxins. Same thing, right? To me, no, we can't avoid toxins. We can't live in a bubble. And if we did, what would it be made out of? Um, you know, but I want my home to be my haven.
That is where. I, I am as close to perfect as you can be because this is where I spend all my time, and then I have that resilience to take the hits in the outside [00:39:00] world.
Right. And you're saying that it's the same thing with, and so I'm always looking for bang for the buck. Like, I love, uh, when people are looking at cleaning products, I love starting with detergent because it touches everything.
You're sleeping on your sheets, you're wearing your clothes, you're
drying off, you
know,
Mira Dessy: drying off with a
Julie Michelson: Yeah, and that's essentially, it's that same idea and I, I wouldn't say throw out everything in your home and go spend, you know, $2,000 with, on all clean stuff. No, it's a process
and, and like you said, every, every step really does have more and more lasting impact.
And so I'd love that. That's your same approach with, with the food. Like at home you're really careful. Let's not make yourself crazy, you know, somewhere else. And if we try to, you know, change it all up at once, we're gonna do it for like a week and we're going to hate life and we're never going do it again.
We're
Mira Dessy: you [00:40:00] have to do what works for you, because what works for one person isn't necessarily the answer for someone else. And
that's, I think, part of where people get so overwhelmed because there's so much that you can address and trying to figure out where to start, what's the best thing for you.
Julie Michelson: Yeah.
Mira Dessy: And, and that's where you really, again, you step into that self-advocacy role where you really step up and you think, what do I need?
How do I take care of myself? And then from there, it's kind of like, you know the other analogy that I like for this, when when you travel on the airplane, everybody's heard this talk a million times. Nobody listens anymore, but put your own mask on first and then somebody else's. Well, it's the same thing when it comes to health and wellbeing and how you nourish your family.
Take care of yourself first, get yourself strong, and then from there, be able to make decisions that then can support those you love.
Julie Michelson: Well, and you know, and I know because we lived it, that, that when you don't, you can't take [00:41:00] care of everybody else anyway. So, um, you become a better mother, wife, partner, friend, daughter, whatever. Um, fill in the blank. When you take care of yourself first and your teeth teaching your children by example to do the same.
Mira Dessy: Mm-hmm. Absolutely.
Julie Michelson: which is is amazing. Know, um, I, we joke cuz I, my oldest who has celiac and when he was sick, he did outgrow his, his GI symptoms. Um, probably at around age four. I. And so then it really didn't seem like celiac at all. And, but he, you know, right before middle school, toward the end of elementary school, started being homesick a lot.
Um, and again, no GI symptoms. What did I do? I did what my mother did. I gave him saltines. I gave him, you know, I gave,
it's like the running joke in our head, you know, you felt me. Holy crap. You were trying to kill me. You know, like, no, I did [00:42:00] what? And so we're, we're changing the cycle when you start bringing in the real food and teaching kids to read labels.
And it just becomes that, that's they're not having to relearn everything, you know, decades later.
Mira Dessy: Exactly.
Julie Michelson: Yeah. Yeah. Uh, so such gold. I love it. That's amazing. And I, I'm assuming I know the answer to this, but obviously. My audience is autoimmune or touched by autoimmune. Your life has been, as has mine, but what about the people that, well, how do you get buy-in from the people that think they feel?
Well?
Mira Dessy: I love that you asked that because that is, you know, so my, my area of focus is gut health and chemical cleanup. And frequently, you know, I have someone who's come to see me because they're having issues or they've been referred to me by somebody else, [00:43:00] and the rest of their family is like, oh, you're gonna take away the food that I love.
Oh, you know, whatever. Because some of these foods too, are. So addictive. There's
Julie Michelson: They are.
Mira Dessy: much, salt, hyper palatable, and we really do become addicted to them.
Julie Michelson: Well, they're literally designed in a lab for us to become addicted to
Mira Dessy: yes, they, they are. And so that's where I. You know, I feel having backup is always a good idea.
Julie Michelson: Mm-hmm.
Mira Dessy: And my book, the pantry principle has the backup because there's all the research, all the studies, all the information, and I encourage them to start sharing that with their family. And, you know, I, I love it when someone says to me, Oh, you know, my husband really resisted for the longest time.
The other day we went to the store, we were looking for something, it had kean in it, and he put it back and I'm like, yay
Julie Michelson: Yes.
Yeah.
Mira Dessy: Time and at, at a certain point, you have to sometimes say to your family, this is what [00:44:00] I need to do to get healthy, so I'm gonna ask you guys to support me and be on this journey with me so that I can be healthy.
But then along the way, you also find teachable moments or ways to share information. My husband will say that I overshare, but
Julie Michelson: Oh, I, yeah, you and me both sister.
Mira Dessy: But you know, to just find ways to help them understand because one, it is hyper palatable. Two, we're frequently changing years of eating experience,
Julie Michelson: Yes.
Mira Dessy: and that doesn't change overnight.
Julie Michelson: Right. Yeah. But have you ever, I literally don't think I've ever, no matter what the resistance was in the beginning, you know, uh, partners, family, spouses, everybody does end up really becoming very fond of real food.
Mira Dessy: Yes.
Julie Michelson: said, it's a process and it takes [00:45:00] time, but I've never had anybody, like there's, I've never had somebody have a holdout in their family.
Mira Dessy: Yeah.
Julie Michelson: just, it really does eventually trickle down, at least within the household.
Mira Dessy: Right within, within the household? Yes. And, and there may be extended family members who will accommodate you when you're around kind of thing,
Julie Michelson: Right.
Mira Dessy: go back to what they're doing when you're not around. And that's fine. That's their choice. But at, at the very top of that chain is the, this is what I need to do.
I mean, I have. Sometimes if I'm going to be someplace for an extended period of time, I have offered to go grocery shopping for them so that I can choose the things that I want.
Uh, you know, but it, it's really just about doing the best you can and like you said, in your home environment, making that what serves you best.
Julie Michelson: I love that. A and where you need to, I told you before we hit record, I'm in [00:46:00] about an hour leaving for the airport and I'll be with family, um, for the weekend and um, I am bringing food. I'm bringing food in my suitcase,
you know, not just in my carry-on, but because then they don't have to worry about it.
And I can say, you know, and then there's no poor meal. I can't eat the, no, I have my clean protein in my bag. I, you know, I, I have the things that I know will keep me feeling well and healthy. And so, you know, that's a di not everybody needs to go to that length. Um, I'm going to, you know, Come back home and get right back to work.
And I wanna feel, well, I, that's my priority. Um, and then there's no, I'm not gonna shame anybody. People always think I'm judging, you must get this too. I'm judging what they're eating. No, I'm not. I
don't
care.
Mira Dessy: I, I got to a point where, you know, I. I would sometimes go out with friends and we'd [00:47:00] be at a restaurant and everybody would just sort of be looking
Julie Michelson: yeah.
Mira Dessy: you know, and I'm, what are you guys waiting for? They're like, we wanna see what you're gonna order.
I'm like, please order what you want. And it finally got to a point where I was like, you know what?
Unless you're paying me, I don't really care what you're eating.
Julie Michelson: Right,
right.
Mira Dessy: if you are paying me, there is no judgment because you are learning how to eat differently. Like please don't choose based on what I do, because the other thing is what I do may not be a good fit for you. What
Julie Michelson: Exactly.
Mira Dessy: sensitive to nightshades and I happen to love them and I'm ordering a, you know, an eggplant cap.
Like, sorry,
Julie Michelson: Right. Yeah. No, it's so true. So I'm so glad. I'm so glad. I'm not alone. We overshare and we don't care what you're doing unless you want help. That's different. That's
very
Mira Dessy: and and the other thing is those people who do choose to work with practitioners like us, are here because unfortunately, the rest of the medical system has underserved you. You're here because you want to make a change. You [00:48:00] just need a guide. You need someone to support you while you do this, to help you learn how to navigate this often confusing and overwhelming.
Julie Michelson: Yeah. And to keep you from trying to do all of it at once.
Mira Dessy: At once. Right?
Julie Michelson: We were just talking about cuz it's not gonna work.
Mira Dessy: Right.
Julie Michelson: I find sometimes I, you know, I'm like, wow, the basis of my job is like reeling people in, you know, educate and then reel them in and let's slow this path down a little bit.
Mira Dessy: Right. And, and even more than that is also remembering, getting people to remember to congratulate themselves for what they've
accomplished. Because I find also often, you know, um, you get to a certain point with a client and they're like, oh, I can't believe this is taking so long. It's like, wait, let's stop.
Let's review. Where
have we. Come from like, what have we done? Look at all these things that you accomplished and look at how much better you are feeling now
Julie Michelson: yeah.
Mira Dessy: because of that. [00:49:00] And they all of a sudden their eyes kind of brighten up a little bit and they smile And it, because we are so forward focused in our
culture, it's
like once we've accomplished something that's been there, done that,
Julie Michelson: I on the target, you know, like, yeah. And it is, it's a long road and it's a lot of little wins and milestones along the way.
Mira Dessy: Yes. We have to remember to look back and see where we've
been.
Julie Michelson: Love that. That's, that is, that is the other really big part of our job. So you've already given us so many things people can just, you know, take and run with.
But that's just the way I design the podcast. I always put my guest on the spot at the end and ask for that. One step listeners can take today. So it could be something you already gave us or could be something totally outta left field.
Mira Dessy: You know, I really feel the one best thing that you can do is make a habit of reading the label of [00:50:00] anything you put in your pantry.
So when you buy it, look at that label. Even if you are not ready to make changes based on what is going into the pantry right now, to get into the habit of reading that label so that as you learn more, you can begin to spot things and go, oh wait, that has polysorbate 80 in it.
I really don't wanna eat that anymore. Or, oh, this has monosodium glutamate, you know, or a, a. Form of it, and I don't want to eat that anymore. But if you get in the habit of reading the label, then that makes it that much easier to make those changes once you're ready to make that shift.
Julie Michelson: I love that. And that is, it's the essential first step. It, it's, you know, because you, you are not gonna know until you start reading the labels. Um, but I love that, that you highlighted, you're not saying, you know, don't bring any of these things into your house. Just start to learn, create that habit [00:51:00] of reading the labels, the ingredients.
Mira Dessy: the ingredient panel on the label. Yes.
Julie Michelson: Ah, I love it.
Mira Dessy: Thank you.
Julie Michelson: Thank you so, so much. You and I could talk for hours and hours and
hours
Mira Dessy: This is great.
Julie Michelson: best practices. Um, but I love it because you know much like probably your husband would agree, not, not everybody wants to hear the same person share and share and share and share. Um, and so I, I just love that you, you gave us so many tips and tricks today and really just.
Incredible advice for not trying to go overboard and sabotaging ourselves.
Mira Dessy: Yeah. Thank you.
Julie Michelson: Mi, thank you so much for joining us. Oh, before we go, I, I almost ran myself. For those that listen on the go, we're gonna have links and things, but where's the best place to find you if they're not gonna pull up show notes.
Mira Dessy: Sure the, so the best place to [00:52:00] find me is the ingredient guru.com, and you know, that has, My, my blog links to social, I
mean, I am on Instagram and YouTube and all of that as the ingredient guru, but if you start with the website, you'll pretty much get to everything else.
Julie Michelson: I love that. That's keep it. Keep it simple. Keep it easy. Thank you again for joining us today.
Mira Dessy: Thank you so much for having me on. It was super fun to talk with you.
Julie Michelson: My pleasure. For everyone listening, remember, you can get those show notes and transcripts by visiting inspiredliving.show. I hope you enjoyed this episode as much as I did. I'll see you next week.
Mira gives us tips and tricks to navigate the grocery store and truly know what we're eating.
Mira, welcome to the podcast.
Mira Dessy: Thank you so much for having me on, Julie.[00:01:00]
Julie Michelson: I would love for you to, to allow listeners to get to know you a little bit by sharing your journey and your story, because it is so specific. How, how did you become the ingredient guru?
Mira Dessy: Well, it was a long and winding path.
I was not always in the field of nutrition or holistic health. I actually used to be a database administrator for an international research firm.
And the interesting thing is, at that time we were doing a lot of the things.
We belonged to A C S A, we had a vegetable garden. I canned, I baked all of our bread, you know, all those wonderful things. And so I was of course patting myself on the back that, you know, I'm taking care of myself and my family
and. Over time, I began to get sicker and sicker. I wound up beginning to have massive amounts of pain and fatigue, [00:02:00] digestive disorders, all kinds of things, and essentially at a certain point, had an implosion, if you will, of my immune system.
And to make a very long story a little bit shorter, the end result was I was diagnosed with five different autoimmune disorders. My primary was ulcerative colitis, and you know, I'm, I'm. One of the things I like to encourage people to remember is if you're diagnosed with one autoimmune disorder, chances are it's not hanging out by itself.
It's that our medical system likes to put them into categories, so treat them as if they're each separate. However, your immune system is your immune system, and it's either functioning the way it's designed to or it's not.
Julie Michelson: I love that you said that. Yes. I get that all the time too. I don't have a diagnosis yet. Can you help me? Or, you know, what about this diagnosis versus I'm like, it's yes. Let's go, let's, [00:03:00] let's fix it now.
Mira Dessy: Right.
And you know, I, I think, so for me, the part of the challenge was along the way to getting sicker and sicker. I would go to the doctors and my labs would come by. Oh, you're fine. You know? And then I started, and this breaks my heart because it happened to me. It has happened to many of my clients, and it not only breaks my heart, it, it just pisses me off
was the, you know, may, maybe you should talk to somebody.
Julie Michelson: and it might be in your head.
Mira Dessy: me. I know.
And I live inside my skin. I know how my body is supposed to feel.
Julie Michelson: all do. Even if somebody tries to tell you other, I was, I was also the person with multiple autoimmune and beautiful labs.
Mira Dessy: Yeah. Yeah. And, and at a certain point though, you get to the, I couldn't function. I was living my life on the sofa.
I had to choose between was I gonna do laundry that day or was I gonna make dinner?
Julie Michelson: Yeah, I was sleeping, I was resting while my kids were at school so that I could take [00:04:00] care of them when they came home. And then, you know, pray they'd wanna go to bed early.
Mira Dessy: And, and,
Julie Michelson: yeah.
Mira Dessy: and I remember, you know, my kids standing over me going, get up. I need you. And I'm like, I can't. Like it's, and I, you know, it's, it's very challenging. It's so hard when you're going through that because then you start beating yourself up and
going, what's wrong with me?
Julie Michelson: You start questioning. I remember a conversation I had with my best friend and I was like, maybe I'm depressed. And she said, well, let's, let's talk it through. And I'm like, well, you know, the pain, the fatigue, I could check all the boxes. And she goes, yep, but are you depressed? And I'm like, well, no.
But they, they think I might be, you know, she's like, no, no, no. Um, yeah. And, and it, what pisses me off is that you having five diagnoses isn't even unusual like you would think that should be. Almost unheard [00:05:00] of, and at the very least, alarming for the doctors. But it's not, it's like you said, you know, even if there's so,
Mira Dessy: Well,
Julie Michelson: so how did you go
from
Yeah. On the
couch?
Mira Dessy: the, the, the, one of the things that caused that, that coin to flip, if you will,
in one week I had two medical appointments. The first one was with my rheumatologist who said to me, I. I wanna prescribe a medication for you, but I don't know if your endocrinologist will like it, so I'm not going to do it, and I'm not a very confrontational person.
So I was just kinda like, okay. But then as I was driving home, I was like, wait, wait a minute.
Julie Michelson: Did you just say you're not gonna do your job?
Like
Mira Dessy: why? Why would you tell me if you're not gonna do anything? Like what does that do for me?
And secondly, aren't you both doctors, don't you people talk to each other? And the answer of course is no.
The second appointment was with a brand new to me, cardiologist, and I thought he was gonna wanna hear my whole story. So I walked in already to like, share, and he [00:06:00] went, Mrs. Dessie, you are getting older. I
was 42 years old. And that was what it took for me to get mad.
And then I started screaming at my insurance company and advocating for myself.
Wound up getting, you know, some, some high level sort of testing and all of that came back with two things from all of that. One was a few of my, my. You know, protocols were changed, but I, I was encouraged to advocate for myself because I realized that I really had to be the most active participant in my own healthcare and the startling awareness that nobody was talking about food.
And
Julie Michelson: Even with a gi, that's the part
Mira Dessy: yeah.
Julie Michelson: that, uh
Mira Dessy: Right, and no, [00:07:00] nobody, nobody really talked about food.
And as I began to dive in, I began to realize there were a whole bunch of things that were still in my pantry that were really bad for
you. And I began to clean up my diet. I realized I needed to know more. I went back to school, became a nutrition educator, and then from there began unintentionally, but began my own practice.
And then because of my beautiful clients wound up writing a book because I had to say the same thing over and over and
over. It looks like there needs to be a book. So that was when I wrote the pantry principle, and that basically just launched me down the path to becoming the ingredient guru.
Julie Michelson: I love it. I, I love it. And I, I share that my oldest son from birth was a projectile, vomiter, horrible reflux, terrible, poor little thing. Terrible GI system, skinny, you know, just, and. Saw the best air quotes experts. [00:08:00] Um, and of course they medicated the snot out of this poor baby. And he usually, the, you know, even infants that have reflux, it'll correct.
Um, I mean, he was still medicated as a toddler. Nobody ever asked me, and I didn't know enough back then. No one ever said, what is he eating? Nobody said to me when I was nursing, what are you eating?
Mira Dessy: Right.
Julie Michelson: Nobody ever said, it turns out, you know, hindsight's 2020 poor has celiac, and it, it took 12 years to finally figure out, oh, maybe what you're eating.
Mira Dessy: and part of the challenge is even if you know that tiny bit, to go to your doctor and say, Hey, I think I may have some food sensitivities. I think there's an issue with this, or whatever. They go, nah, you know,
Julie Michelson: Yeah. That's not enough to,
Mira Dessy: Right, and, and so it really becomes,
Julie Michelson: we're not, I'm not [00:09:00] bashing doctor. I
live with one like to, to be fair,
Mira Dessy: I have been the
Julie Michelson: it's the system.
Mira Dessy: Wonderful medical care.
Yes. I think the challenge is doctors are very, very good at what they do. What they do does not typically include nutrition.
Julie Michelson: Right.
Mira Dessy: Which is why I love my current GI Doc because he is more functionally minded and he
Julie Michelson: He's a unicorn.
Mira Dessy: you know, pay attention to FODMAPs if they have gastrointestinal issues
and that kinda thing.
Yes. So like that's great, but that also again requires being an advocate for yourself and saying, okay, I'm seeing this doctor right now, not the best fit for me, not the best partner for me. I'm going to continue to look and see if there are other options
Julie Michelson: Yes. And I love that you use that word partner because that's, that's the key and that's a shift from how we were taught to, you know, work with our [00:10:00] doctors. They knew everything and we were supposed to just do what they say, take what they tell us, you know? Um, and that really, that that's the perfect, you know, your doctor should be your partner in your health journey and your wellness.
So I love that, that you used that word.
Mira Dessy: And, and I, you know, I want to also fast forward all these years later and tell you that my last colonoscopy, cuz at this point I've had a number of them, uh, with a diagnosis of ulcers, colitis that happens. Uh, but my last colonoscopy, I was told that there are no more signs of ulcerative colitis in my system.
Julie Michelson: Oh, wait a minute. I'm sorry. The body can heal.
Mira Dessy: You know, and, and, and here's the thing. There are admittedly varying degrees. The colon is very long, and different sections can be
more impaired than others. Like some people do require surgery, some people require lifelong medication. I was able to get off medication [00:11:00] and I was able to restore gut function.
Um, but it, it is possible for that to happen.
Julie Michelson: It is. And I tell people, and people read my story and they know, you know, I got off of 10 prescriptions and, and they'll come to me and say, yeah, I wanna do what you did. I wanna get off my meds. And I'm like, I just wanted to feel well, like that was a side effect of correcting the underlying drivers. And, and so, you know, sometimes it takes lifestyle and medication.
Sometimes the medication is that bridge while things are healing. Um, but there's no, uh, To me, like the win isn't, there's no judgment. Are you on medication or are you not on educa on medication? It's what is your quality of life? And is life getting bigger and better as we age? Or is it getting smaller?
That's, that's what I look at. So I love that you said that, you know, it is, it's all different degrees. Um, but it is [00:12:00] crazy thinking that like your intestines can heal. Of course they can.
Mira Dessy: and, and even more than that, I also, like when I'm working with clients, I really like to encourage them that. Anything that we can do to improve where you are right now is worth doing. Can I guarantee that you're gonna get off medication? No. Can I guarantee that things are going to go back to the way they were however long ago it was?
Before you go say, no, I can't. But if we can do things so that you are actually nourishing your body so that you are practicing self-care, getting good quality sleep, doing all these things that support a balanced body state. You are going to feel better to some degree and, and that's better than where you were.
Like that's the goal is just to feel better and to make sure that you're doing the best you can to take care of yourself.
Julie Michelson: I love that. And every little inch we move the needle gives us more energy and motivation to address [00:13:00] more things in other areas. And, and so it, it is, it's a, it's totally a pro. It's a lifelong, I'm still always adjusting. I feel amazing. I didn't know I could feel this well at 54, you know, really. But I'm also still always looking for the, like, what else can I do?
And, and we're never done in the sense that if I go back to living how I was living before, I will go back to being as sick as I was. I mean, it, it's, I have to protect all those things you were talking about. Not just what I eat, but how is my sleep and you know, am I moving the right way? Am I managing my stress?
And there's no one, stress isn't static.
Mira Dessy: Right
Julie Michelson: You know, and so I may have a great stress management routine, and then I, I may need to uplevel sometimes. So, or also human, not perfect. Maybe it's slipping and I'm not paying attention. Just time to [00:14:00] adjust.
Mira Dessy: And, and that's exactly what I was gonna say too, because
it, we are human and we are in situations sometimes where challenges come up. And again, being your own advocate is one of the biggest things you can do. In the beginning of a journey where you are changing your food, changing your holistic health patterns, really paying attention to all of that, that we've operated on by autopilot for so long, typically, you are going to run into either a provider, a friend, a neighbor, or a family member who's gonna go, oh, You're so hard to feed, like really, do you have to do all this?
Or is it really how A little bit is not gonna kill you.
Julie Michelson: Right.
Mira Dessy: And so what happens is you start getting into this, I feel guilty because I'm forcing other people to accommodate me. And then learning ways to meet your own needs without having to overwhelm other people. And I love that. You know, in the beginning.
I [00:15:00] will admit that my family was kinda like, but we, we like Captain Crunch and
Julie Michelson: Oh, but you had to let it get soggy first, sir. It would scratch up the roof of your mouth. I joke with people like I was not born a health coach. I ate. You know, all the
Mira Dessy: all the things.
Julie Michelson: dis things I find disgusting now. I thought were delicious back then. You know, I couldn't even imagine. Um,
Mira Dessy: but learning, learning how to make those changes and then learning how to advocate for yourself and also learning where you need to flex. So
recently, for example, I was at a birthday party with a family member and it was a big celebration. Lots of family around, I. And I really knew that I wanted to participate.
And so I said to them, I am going to have one bite of cake to celebrate you, cuz it was not the kind of cake that I would make and want to eat, but it's, that's about celebration, that's about being human. And really that one bite was totally fine. It's not like I ate it and [00:16:00] I'm like, man, I wish I could have a whole slice of cake.
Like I didn't. Because that's the other thing that happens is as we begin to nourish our body, as we begin to take care of ourselves, a lot of those cravings, a lot of that, oh, gotta have it, that goes away.
Julie Michelson: It does. It really does. And I will qualify that by, I will not take the one bite because I have Celiac and I'll be
Mira Dessy: Right? So
for you, that's not an option,
Julie Michelson: and that, but that's so empowering to know, right? Like. Maybe I'll have a bite of cheese
or, you know, I know where I can sneak a little something once in a blue moon. And, and I always say, you know, there's certain things that aren't gonna make me sick.
Like something like gluten, um, and, and dairy, I said cheese, but that, that really wouldn't be my sneak. It would probably be a tomato. Um, But also it, it's that the power of knowing what the, you're gonna be [00:17:00] dealing with. So maybe it's not gonna make you feel sick, but maybe your brain's not gonna function that well.
So don't do that right before you get up in front of an audience. Right. Like really
Mira Dessy: Oh, absolutely.
Or finding other ways. You know, can you bring a gluten-free cupcake
and celebrate that way? Can
Julie Michelson: Yeah, absolutely.
Mira Dessy: or offer an option? You know, I also, when I was visiting with this family, I offered to make brunch one day, and I don't think anybody there paid attention, but it was a gluten free
Julie Michelson: Right. And that's the other thing I, I think, you know, first we have to retrain and get over this, like apologizing for taking care of ourselves and, and be okay with not everyone's gonna understand, right? Or support or, or whatever. But also we make good food.
And it's real food and even people with terrible diets enjoy it.
And you don't have to explain, well, this is grain-free and this is, I have friends that [00:18:00] don't eat real food.
And they come over and they eat the cassava tortillas with the homemade wa and they don't say like, Ew, where's the corn? Right. Like it's, um, so I, I think like you said, if they don't, especially if they don't know if some people, if you tell them like, I'm gonna make a gluten-free brunch for you.
They've already
put it in their head. Yeah. They're, they're just thinking, oh, that's gonna be gross. I know.
Mira Dessy: And, and I I love also that when we make good, delicious food and we simply serve it without having to apologize, without having to explain, but we can all enjoy it together. Nobody questions it. They just wanna sit down and enjoy a meal with you.
Julie Michelson: Right, and that's, it's the connection. It's not really the food. Yes, we have memories tied to foods and I joke I've yet to have a client that, you know, a salad is what gives her that gooey feeling about [00:19:00] her mom. So, you know, it's never a salad. But it will maybe our kids or their kids. Um,
Mira Dessy: and, and I think the other thing too is, like you said, for you with celiac disease, that's a huge issue. You know, for me, I just know there's all the ingredients, all the challenging non-food things that they do to food. I'm very sensitive to that. I, people like me, I consider us the, the canaries in the
coal mine of food, you know?
Julie Michelson: Let's talk about the non-food ingredients because you know, we're chatting cuz we're talking about real food and we know what we're talking about. And you can pick on gluten, you can pick on dairy or sugar or any of it, but, but really, I. Let's, let's talk about, you know, from the perspective of the ingredient guru.
Uh, what is, what is real food like when I say, oh, we're talking about real food, not, you know, what are those things? What are share with [00:20:00] us?
Mira Dessy: Sure. Well, and, and just to back up and finish, what I was going to say though is that I know that I cannot add those other things back in because if I do, it is a slow decline back to living my life on the sofa,
and I refuse to go back there. So
Julie Michelson: and you don't have to.
Mira Dessy: I don't, right. I don't have to. And
so I define real food as. Either unprocessed or low processed with no non-nutritive added ingredients.
Julie Michelson: Awesome.
Mira Dessy: for example, I'm pretty sure everybody listening knows that things like artificial colors, artificial sweeteners and artificial flavors are not real food. It kind of says so in the name,
Julie Michelson: But what about natural flavors?
Mira Dessy: I love that you brought that up.
Yes. Because part of the challenge is
natural is one of those wonky terms that [00:21:00] encompasses just about anything.
Julie Michelson: Yes. It's a catchall,
Mira Dessy: yeah, it is. And I will also say that this is like a really great place to talk about this. You can only control what you can control. In my home, in my own home, I can control everything. If I'm out or if I'm at somebody else's house, there's only so much that I can do.
I. So the, the goal is to be as avoidant as possible for those things that are not food, but to not freak out. We don't wanna develop orthorexia where we can't go anywhere or eat anywhere except our own home, and we can only eat certain things. Like that becomes very restrictive and very overwhelming. I.
However, I do encourage avoiding anything that says natural because you never know what it is. An example of that is natural vanilla flavor could be something called cast. Now, here's the thing. Cassium by itself is [00:22:00] apparently not harmful for you. What I object to is they don't tell you what it is. They just hide it because they know if people went and looked it up to see what it was, They would not eat it.
It is the anal gland secretion of beavers. I call it beaver
Julie Michelson: You don't want that.
Mira Dessy: I, you
Julie Michelson: You're right. I don't think anybody would ever go and order that.
Mira Dessy: well, so here's the weird thing. There is a liquor over in Scandinavia that is made with cast and they proudly announce it on the label. Um, yay
for
them.
Julie Michelson: tastes like vanilla,
Mira Dessy: Probably does. Uh, so not, not my choice, but, but again, they're hiding it.
And so some of the natural flavorings can be true extracts from you, steep something and you get the essential oils out of it, and it, you know, becomes a flavor, a fragrance, whatever. However, because of the [00:23:00] federal guidelines behind what constitutes a natural flavor, they can do so many things to it and add so many chemicals and in extract it, and manipulate it in so many ways that all of a sudden it bears no resemblance whatsoever to what it started from.
And so we wanna watch out for that.
Julie Michelson: Yes.
Mira Dessy: also, Really strongly encourage people to look at the ingredient panel, cuz most people when they go, oh yeah, I read labels. I, I am really good about reading labels and what they're re and they are and I congratulate you for that. Like, that's great. However, what they're talking about is the nutrition panel.
Julie Michelson: Mm-hmm.
Mira Dessy: The nutrition facts, how many calories, how much sugar, how much fat, all of that. That's only a tiny piece of what's going on. And that, by the way, can be very misleading. We can go back to
that in just a minute. Uh, but the real information about what you're consuming is those ingredients,
Julie Michelson: Yes. It.
Mira Dessy: you need to read that.
Julie Michelson: Yeah, I, I listeners [00:24:00] know I've shared this before, but when my daughter was in high school, so to me it was like my crowning moment as a mother. She called me during lunch cuz she and her friends had gone to the grocery store to pick up snacks for lunch, not really lunch. And she said, I. You've ruined my life. I was all, you know, I, I don't even remember what it was. That wasn't even the important part, you know, I, I, I wanted such and such, and then I read the ingredients and now I couldn't possibly eat it, you know? And it was like, yes, shit. Gonna be okay.
Mira Dessy: My job here is done.
Julie Michelson: Yeah, mic drop. I love it. I dunno. And, and, um, let's talk a minute and we, we kind of hit on it with the natural flavor and, but, but let's talk about a little deeper in the, you know, the information is in the ingredients.
Um, I, I hate to to sound all conspiracy [00:25:00] theorists, but do you think the marketing on the front of the package is often misleading?
Mira Dessy: Oh, absolutely. Manufacturers use that to manipulate and misguide you on a regular basis. So that is something called front of package labeling. And they, first of all, food producers spend tons of millions of dollars a year. To try to figure out what are the words that are going to attract us? What are the things that are going to encourage us to want to buy their product, and hopefully encourage us to pay no attention to what's on that ingredient panel.
Julie Michelson: Mm-hmm.
Mira Dessy: And as an example for that, I used that, you know, a couple of decades ago, fiber was the big thing. Everybody needed to get enough fiber. So you would look at bread or cereals or other processed foods and it would tell you, oh, made with so many whole grains, made with so many grams of fiber, all that kind of stuff.
But if you flipped it around, often the [00:26:00] number one ingredient was still enriched wheat flour,
like, A highly processed, high glycemic, non-nutritive food. Uh, and now we've gone through several iterations where different things have been important.
And the big thing at the moment is protein. Uh, I mean, my, my joke is, you know, with apologies to Dave Berry, cuz I borrowed it from him.
I think they would put protein in shoe polish if they thought it would sell more. You know, I mean they, they wanna use whatever words they think we are paying attention. Keto is the other big thing. They're making keto everything
Julie Michelson: Well, and vegan. I have, I'm not even kidding you. I've seen vegetables labeled as vegan. I'm like, how could they not be vegan? Their vegetables. And my favorite, I actually took a, a, a picture, um, And sent it to a few people in my life that understand me. There's a product called Don't Come After Me. Uh, just eggs.
Just eggs. [00:27:00] And it looks like it comes in a plastic bottle. Not great right there, but it looks like eggs. It just looks like, you know, raw scrambled eggs. There is not an egg. Well, it's not eggs, it's an
Mira Dessy: No, it's plant-based
Julie Michelson: and it's called just eggs. It should be called just not eggs like, but that's, it's such a, it, it's for me like such a shining, like there's misleading and then there's like actually just opposite of true
Mira Dessy: right. Well, and the
and the thing that I struggle with is food producers look for a couple of things. One is they want it to be a, a, a trend, not a fad. A
fad is something that comes and goes very quickly and maybe they can capitalize on it, but in the long run it doesn't really do a lot for them. Trends are things that stick around either because a larger segment of the population needs to eat that way and is grateful that they've started doing this or because other [00:28:00] people who had not considered doing that before have been attracted to that idea.
Julie Michelson: Right.
Mira Dessy: Gluten-free is a very good example of that. There is a segment of the population that must eat gluten-free. It's very important to them. Otherwise they are horrifically ill. And then there are some people who have, um, you know, they're, they're not diagnosed with any sort of disorder that precludes adding gluten, but they know they feel better when they don't eat it.
Julie Michelson: Right.
Mira Dessy: So they, they don't have a specific diagnosis and then there are other people who are like, you know, I just, I like the idea and it tastes good, and so I'm gonna do that. So that has become a trend. They love that. So now one
Julie Michelson: I still wouldn't eat most of that stuff,
Mira Dessy: I wouldn't either, cuz it's highly processed,
right? But I'm just saying they're looking to capture larger and
larger market share. So now one of the things that's happened is plant-based looks like it's at that tipping point
to become a trend rather than a fad,
because more and more people are jumping on that bandwagon, [00:29:00] and so they have begun going after larger and larger segments of the grocery store to try to figure out how they can make it.
You
know, vegan or plant-based, using those two terms interchangeably to try to attract larger market share. Because unfortunately, a lot of people seem to think that food producers are in the business of making food and they're really not.
They're in the business of making money.
Food
Julie Michelson: make food.
Mira Dessy: their product.
Yes,
exactly. know, And, and so that's why we have so many different things that we see now, and it gets very confusing sometimes, like you said, because they're misleading about what's in there. Um, one of my least favorite things at the grocery store now is the bizarre number of beyond, you know,
Julie Michelson: Oh.
Mira Dessy: beef, chicken, whatever
type
Julie Michelson: beyond, beyond
food,
Mira Dessy: And, and there and there are more brands coming to [00:30:00] market going after that segment and all of a sudden you can have, you know, burgers and, and steaks and chicken and all these things that are not meat. And my thing
Julie Michelson: and I don't understand. I I have, maybe you could explain it to me. Um, and I. I don't judge what anybody chooses to eat or not eat. That's not true. Not anybody. If you're eating real food and you're, you're making choices for whatever reason, great. The part I don't understand is if you don't wanna eat meat, why do you want a burger?
Like, I don't, I don't get that part.
Mira Dessy: And, and I think the reason they, the reason food producers are trying to tap into that is because they're hoping to attract enough
Julie Michelson: Meat eaters.
Yeah.
Mira Dessy: They're enough omnivores to go, Hey, sure, you can be omni all you want, but you know, sometimes maybe you want a little break, come over and have our product
Julie Michelson: Right. And they're marketing. It is healthier. And it is
nuts.
Mira Dessy: it's [00:31:00] not.
Julie Michelson: No,
Mira Dessy: not. And, and so again, it's about market share. It's about what they're doing. The one of the latest products that I just did a mini rant about on my YouTube channel was a breakfast cereal that is supposed to help you sleep better.
And Oh, yes, they put melatonin in it.
Julie Michelson: Come on. And then you're
supposed to have it in the
morning.
Mira Dessy: you're supposed to have it at night? No, you're supposed to have it at night before you go to bed. It's like a little s snack you can have, so you can have cereal in the morning for
Julie Michelson: Oh,
no.
Mira Dessy: you could finish your day with another bowl of cereal. And there's massive amounts of sugar in it.
So I don't care how much melatonin they put in there. It's an exploded grain and it's got a lot of sugar. And it's like the last thing you should be eating before you go to bed. not
Julie Michelson: my gosh.
Mira Dessy: should be eating. It is the, the thing you
Julie Michelson: Do not, just don't do it. Yeah.
Mira Dessy: You know, and, and they do that because, I mean, the cereal isle has become
Julie Michelson: sleep is [00:32:00] so important, so I'm being healthy. Cause
now I
Mira Dessy: what I was gonna say is the cereal aisle has become an alleyway at the grocery store.
There's, you know, hundreds of different kinds of cereal and they've pretty much tapped that out. So now if they wanna grow, they have to figure out what's the next thing we can do? Well, let's figure out how to get people to eat more cereal.
I know maybe they should eat it at bedtime.
Julie Michelson: It's, it's insane. Well, and they're tapping into the, again, it's that idea of, that's the part that frustrates me the most is. Marketing to people who are trying to make a health conscious choice. Right? Oh, I, you know, I understand sleep is an important part of overall health. I'm gonna buy this garbage cereal and eat that at night before I go to bed and really mess with my system.
But it, it's just frustrating to me. Worse than, you know, you wanna buy a box of donuts, buy a box of donuts, and tell yourself you're having the donuts. But that marketing of, of [00:33:00] products, I won't
even
Mira Dessy: manipulates you into thinking that you're doing something that's good for you
Julie Michelson: someone's actually taking that extra minute to try to make the better choice, which goes back to the way to do that is to turn the box around and read the ingredients.
Mira Dessy: Yes.
And, and the other thing that I will share also, and this taps back into what we were talking about before, the more you start to include real whole foods, getting enough vegetable content, getting good quality protein, getting clean fats into your diet, the better you feel, the less you want those things.
And it gets to the point where, I mean, I love going to the grocery store cuz I love seeing all the stupid stuff they're doing and I just like read the packages and take pictures and it's great. But I don't buy them. I don't want them. As a matter of fact, I'm in the middle of doing a piece about cereal that I'm working on and I had to ask my neighbors if they would bring me cereal boxes cuz I wasn't [00:34:00] gonna buy
Julie Michelson: Right. I refuse to spend my money on this.
Mira Dessy: Yeah.
Julie Michelson: I love that. So this sounds so cliche, um, but this idea of shopping the outside of the grocery store, is that something you believe in?
Mira Dessy: I love that you brought that up. Oh my gosh. So there are some benefits to shopping the perimeter of the grocery store. And you know, I will, first of all, I want to address, a lot of people go, oh, they put the milk in the back cuz you have to walk all the way to the back. It's a ploy to get you into the grocery store.
No, it's convenient because the back is where the loading docks are
Julie Michelson: Right, and the refrigerated
walk-ins.
Mira Dessy: And the freezers typically are closest to the loading doors, so that's why they're there. But typically, you walk into usually the produce side of things, and then there's a certain path that you go around.
Maybe you go through the the deli or the bakery or whatever, and then you walk your way around. There's a couple of things that you have to watch out for in the perimeter of the grocery [00:35:00] store. However, one is. Grocery per manufacturers or grocery stores. Grocery chains have learned that people are saying, oh, I only shop the perimeter.
Like it's the healthiest place. I don't go in the middle of the store. So they, their job is to sell more stuff. Their margins are very thin, something like 3%. And so the more they can sell you, the better they do. They have started doing something called product creep. So product creep is where, let's say you walk into the produce section and it's strawberry season, and all of a sudden there's this new little refrigerated case in the produce section and it's got those little squishy spongy things that are supposed to be angel food cake and cans of whipped cream,
Julie Michelson: Cool
whip.
Mira Dessy: time for strawberry shortcake.
And the strawberries are fragrant because they're fresh, they haven't been held over. You know, and then force ripened, they are literally fresh and they are the most fragrant. They're gonna be all year round and it just attracts you. And you're like, oh yes, strawberry berry shark [00:36:00] cake, I'll just buy some of this and this.
Or you get over to the, the vegetable section and all of a sudden now there's a whole case that has salad dressings in. It didn't used to be there.
You know, so they, they put things from
Julie Michelson: or, yeah.
Mira Dessy: right, exactly. So they
put things from other sections of the grocery store into. The perimeter to try to convince you to buy more products.
And then the other thing that we need to keep in mind is, yes, there are more whole foods in the perimeter, but you still have to know the quality of what you are getting Is your dairy free of added hormones and antibiotics and other things like that for your produce? Are you aware of the dirty dozen, those 12 fruits and vegetables that are most likely to be contaminated by pesticides?
You really need to buy those organic.
If you know, so just being aware of what's in each of the different sections and how to make the best choice for you.
Julie Michelson: I love that. I, I love the, [00:37:00] and yeah, it's not like, oh, but it was on the outside, so I'm sure this whipped cream is good for me. Like there is, and that's the thing. It's just like being your own advocate. You know, with your healthcare, it's the same. It is on us to do a little bit of our homework. We have to, we have to, you know, take responsibility for what we're buying and what we're putting in our mouth.
Mira Dessy: And I would also encourage anybody who's listening to this, please don't feel that you have to like, throw out everything that's in your pantry. Go to the grocery store, spend seven hours there, like carefully micromanage your grocery shop and then come home. Cuz that's exhausting. And, and I don't know anybody who could stick to that.
The goal is, I. One thing that's important to you. So if your family consumes a lot of dairy products, then look at how do we make the healthiest dairy choices that we can if your family is going. Away from all of the ready, carby, [00:38:00] starchy things. Finding those better options for you. Learning about the dirty doesn't like pick one thing and master that before you go on to another section of the grocery store.
Cuz if you try to do it all at once, it's not sustainable. But if you make those baby steps, every single thing that you do eventually down the road when you look back becomes a lot of things.
Julie Michelson: I love that. Yeah. And I like the, that advice of, there's so many things that you've said that mirror the way I live and work with my clients around toxins. Same thing, right? To me, no, we can't avoid toxins. We can't live in a bubble. And if we did, what would it be made out of? Um, you know, but I want my home to be my haven.
That is where. I, I am as close to perfect as you can be because this is where I spend all my time, and then I have that resilience to take the hits in the outside [00:39:00] world.
Right. And you're saying that it's the same thing with, and so I'm always looking for bang for the buck. Like, I love, uh, when people are looking at cleaning products, I love starting with detergent because it touches everything.
You're sleeping on your sheets, you're wearing your clothes, you're
drying off, you
know,
Mira Dessy: drying off with a
Julie Michelson: Yeah, and that's essentially, it's that same idea and I, I wouldn't say throw out everything in your home and go spend, you know, $2,000 with, on all clean stuff. No, it's a process
and, and like you said, every, every step really does have more and more lasting impact.
And so I'd love that. That's your same approach with, with the food. Like at home you're really careful. Let's not make yourself crazy, you know, somewhere else. And if we try to, you know, change it all up at once, we're gonna do it for like a week and we're going to hate life and we're never going do it again.
We're
Mira Dessy: you [00:40:00] have to do what works for you, because what works for one person isn't necessarily the answer for someone else. And
that's, I think, part of where people get so overwhelmed because there's so much that you can address and trying to figure out where to start, what's the best thing for you.
Julie Michelson: Yeah.
Mira Dessy: And, and that's where you really, again, you step into that self-advocacy role where you really step up and you think, what do I need?
How do I take care of myself? And then from there, it's kind of like, you know the other analogy that I like for this, when when you travel on the airplane, everybody's heard this talk a million times. Nobody listens anymore, but put your own mask on first and then somebody else's. Well, it's the same thing when it comes to health and wellbeing and how you nourish your family.
Take care of yourself first, get yourself strong, and then from there, be able to make decisions that then can support those you love.
Julie Michelson: Well, and you know, and I know because we lived it, that, that when you don't, you can't take [00:41:00] care of everybody else anyway. So, um, you become a better mother, wife, partner, friend, daughter, whatever. Um, fill in the blank. When you take care of yourself first and your teeth teaching your children by example to do the same.
Mira Dessy: Mm-hmm. Absolutely.
Julie Michelson: which is is amazing. Know, um, I, we joke cuz I, my oldest who has celiac and when he was sick, he did outgrow his, his GI symptoms. Um, probably at around age four. I. And so then it really didn't seem like celiac at all. And, but he, you know, right before middle school, toward the end of elementary school, started being homesick a lot.
Um, and again, no GI symptoms. What did I do? I did what my mother did. I gave him saltines. I gave him, you know, I gave,
it's like the running joke in our head, you know, you felt me. Holy crap. You were trying to kill me. You know, like, no, I did [00:42:00] what? And so we're, we're changing the cycle when you start bringing in the real food and teaching kids to read labels.
And it just becomes that, that's they're not having to relearn everything, you know, decades later.
Mira Dessy: Exactly.
Julie Michelson: Yeah. Yeah. Uh, so such gold. I love it. That's amazing. And I, I'm assuming I know the answer to this, but obviously. My audience is autoimmune or touched by autoimmune. Your life has been, as has mine, but what about the people that, well, how do you get buy-in from the people that think they feel?
Well?
Mira Dessy: I love that you asked that because that is, you know, so my, my area of focus is gut health and chemical cleanup. And frequently, you know, I have someone who's come to see me because they're having issues or they've been referred to me by somebody else, [00:43:00] and the rest of their family is like, oh, you're gonna take away the food that I love.
Oh, you know, whatever. Because some of these foods too, are. So addictive. There's
Julie Michelson: They are.
Mira Dessy: much, salt, hyper palatable, and we really do become addicted to them.
Julie Michelson: Well, they're literally designed in a lab for us to become addicted to
Mira Dessy: yes, they, they are. And so that's where I. You know, I feel having backup is always a good idea.
Julie Michelson: Mm-hmm.
Mira Dessy: And my book, the pantry principle has the backup because there's all the research, all the studies, all the information, and I encourage them to start sharing that with their family. And, you know, I, I love it when someone says to me, Oh, you know, my husband really resisted for the longest time.
The other day we went to the store, we were looking for something, it had kean in it, and he put it back and I'm like, yay
Julie Michelson: Yes.
Yeah.
Mira Dessy: Time and at, at a certain point, you have to sometimes say to your family, this is what [00:44:00] I need to do to get healthy, so I'm gonna ask you guys to support me and be on this journey with me so that I can be healthy.
But then along the way, you also find teachable moments or ways to share information. My husband will say that I overshare, but
Julie Michelson: Oh, I, yeah, you and me both sister.
Mira Dessy: But you know, to just find ways to help them understand because one, it is hyper palatable. Two, we're frequently changing years of eating experience,
Julie Michelson: Yes.
Mira Dessy: and that doesn't change overnight.
Julie Michelson: Right. Yeah. But have you ever, I literally don't think I've ever, no matter what the resistance was in the beginning, you know, uh, partners, family, spouses, everybody does end up really becoming very fond of real food.
Mira Dessy: Yes.
Julie Michelson: said, it's a process and it takes [00:45:00] time, but I've never had anybody, like there's, I've never had somebody have a holdout in their family.
Mira Dessy: Yeah.
Julie Michelson: just, it really does eventually trickle down, at least within the household.
Mira Dessy: Right within, within the household? Yes. And, and there may be extended family members who will accommodate you when you're around kind of thing,
Julie Michelson: Right.
Mira Dessy: go back to what they're doing when you're not around. And that's fine. That's their choice. But at, at the very top of that chain is the, this is what I need to do.
I mean, I have. Sometimes if I'm going to be someplace for an extended period of time, I have offered to go grocery shopping for them so that I can choose the things that I want.
Uh, you know, but it, it's really just about doing the best you can and like you said, in your home environment, making that what serves you best.
Julie Michelson: I love that. A and where you need to, I told you before we hit record, I'm in [00:46:00] about an hour leaving for the airport and I'll be with family, um, for the weekend and um, I am bringing food. I'm bringing food in my suitcase,
you know, not just in my carry-on, but because then they don't have to worry about it.
And I can say, you know, and then there's no poor meal. I can't eat the, no, I have my clean protein in my bag. I, you know, I, I have the things that I know will keep me feeling well and healthy. And so, you know, that's a di not everybody needs to go to that length. Um, I'm going to, you know, Come back home and get right back to work.
And I wanna feel, well, I, that's my priority. Um, and then there's no, I'm not gonna shame anybody. People always think I'm judging, you must get this too. I'm judging what they're eating. No, I'm not. I
don't
care.
Mira Dessy: I, I got to a point where, you know, I. I would sometimes go out with friends and we'd [00:47:00] be at a restaurant and everybody would just sort of be looking
Julie Michelson: yeah.
Mira Dessy: you know, and I'm, what are you guys waiting for? They're like, we wanna see what you're gonna order.
I'm like, please order what you want. And it finally got to a point where I was like, you know what?
Unless you're paying me, I don't really care what you're eating.
Julie Michelson: Right,
right.
Mira Dessy: if you are paying me, there is no judgment because you are learning how to eat differently. Like please don't choose based on what I do, because the other thing is what I do may not be a good fit for you. What
Julie Michelson: Exactly.
Mira Dessy: sensitive to nightshades and I happen to love them and I'm ordering a, you know, an eggplant cap.
Like, sorry,
Julie Michelson: Right. Yeah. No, it's so true. So I'm so glad. I'm so glad. I'm not alone. We overshare and we don't care what you're doing unless you want help. That's different. That's
very
Mira Dessy: and and the other thing is those people who do choose to work with practitioners like us, are here because unfortunately, the rest of the medical system has underserved you. You're here because you want to make a change. You [00:48:00] just need a guide. You need someone to support you while you do this, to help you learn how to navigate this often confusing and overwhelming.
Julie Michelson: Yeah. And to keep you from trying to do all of it at once.
Mira Dessy: At once. Right?
Julie Michelson: We were just talking about cuz it's not gonna work.
Mira Dessy: Right.
Julie Michelson: I find sometimes I, you know, I'm like, wow, the basis of my job is like reeling people in, you know, educate and then reel them in and let's slow this path down a little bit.
Mira Dessy: Right. And, and even more than that is also remembering, getting people to remember to congratulate themselves for what they've
accomplished. Because I find also often, you know, um, you get to a certain point with a client and they're like, oh, I can't believe this is taking so long. It's like, wait, let's stop.
Let's review. Where
have we. Come from like, what have we done? Look at all these things that you accomplished and look at how much better you are feeling now
Julie Michelson: yeah.
Mira Dessy: because of that. [00:49:00] And they all of a sudden their eyes kind of brighten up a little bit and they smile And it, because we are so forward focused in our
culture, it's
like once we've accomplished something that's been there, done that,
Julie Michelson: I on the target, you know, like, yeah. And it is, it's a long road and it's a lot of little wins and milestones along the way.
Mira Dessy: Yes. We have to remember to look back and see where we've
been.
Julie Michelson: Love that. That's, that is, that is the other really big part of our job. So you've already given us so many things people can just, you know, take and run with.
But that's just the way I design the podcast. I always put my guest on the spot at the end and ask for that. One step listeners can take today. So it could be something you already gave us or could be something totally outta left field.
Mira Dessy: You know, I really feel the one best thing that you can do is make a habit of reading the label of [00:50:00] anything you put in your pantry.
So when you buy it, look at that label. Even if you are not ready to make changes based on what is going into the pantry right now, to get into the habit of reading that label so that as you learn more, you can begin to spot things and go, oh wait, that has polysorbate 80 in it.
I really don't wanna eat that anymore. Or, oh, this has monosodium glutamate, you know, or a, a. Form of it, and I don't want to eat that anymore. But if you get in the habit of reading the label, then that makes it that much easier to make those changes once you're ready to make that shift.
Julie Michelson: I love that. And that is, it's the essential first step. It, it's, you know, because you, you are not gonna know until you start reading the labels. Um, but I love that, that you highlighted, you're not saying, you know, don't bring any of these things into your house. Just start to learn, create that habit [00:51:00] of reading the labels, the ingredients.
Mira Dessy: the ingredient panel on the label. Yes.
Julie Michelson: Ah, I love it.
Mira Dessy: Thank you.
Julie Michelson: Thank you so, so much. You and I could talk for hours and hours and
hours
Mira Dessy: This is great.
Julie Michelson: best practices. Um, but I love it because you know much like probably your husband would agree, not, not everybody wants to hear the same person share and share and share and share. Um, and so I, I just love that you, you gave us so many tips and tricks today and really just.
Incredible advice for not trying to go overboard and sabotaging ourselves.
Mira Dessy: Yeah. Thank you.
Julie Michelson: Mi, thank you so much for joining us. Oh, before we go, I, I almost ran myself. For those that listen on the go, we're gonna have links and things, but where's the best place to find you if they're not gonna pull up show notes.
Mira Dessy: Sure the, so the best place to [00:52:00] find me is the ingredient guru.com, and you know, that has, My, my blog links to social, I
mean, I am on Instagram and YouTube and all of that as the ingredient guru, but if you start with the website, you'll pretty much get to everything else.
Julie Michelson: I love that. That's keep it. Keep it simple. Keep it easy. Thank you again for joining us today.
Mira Dessy: Thank you so much for having me on. It was super fun to talk with you.
Julie Michelson: My pleasure. For everyone listening, remember, you can get those show notes and transcripts by visiting inspiredliving.show. I hope you enjoyed this episode as much as I did. I'll see you next week.
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Mira Dessy
Mira Dessy is The Ingredient Guru, a nutrition, educator, author, and popular public speaker. She knows that it's not just what you eat, but what's in what you eat that is a foundational piece of the wellness journey. Lara has worked with clients for over 16 years, helping them find real food solutions to chronic health issues.
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