Cycle Wisdom: Women's Health & Fertility

64. Stress, Sugar, Hormones and Gut Health: Functional Nutrition with Victoria Peck-Gray, Part 2

Dr. Monica Minjeur & Victoria Peck-Gray, RD Episode 64

Part 2 of my visit with Victoria Peck-Gray, a functional medicine dietitian and founder of Wonderfully Made Nutrition. Victoria shares her insights on overcoming resistant weight loss, balancing hormones, and restoring gut health through a functional medicine approach. With a focus on personalized nutrition, advanced lab testing, and targeted supplementation, she explains how nourishing our bodies can unlock their potential for optimal health. Tune in to learn about root-cause wellness and transformative health strategies.

 Find out more about Wonderfully Made Nutrition:

website: www.WonderfullyMadeNutrition.com

Instagram: @wonderfullymade.rd

Monica:

Talk to me about nutrient deficiencies. So obviously there's lots of different things that can cause that, but what's the best way that you recommend for people to get tested for nutrient deficiencies and are there certain nutrients in particular? Because, you know, you can read all about 7 million different things online where they talk about, Hey, pay attention to this, eat more of this. Take this supplement. What's your approach as far as evaluating what nutrient deficiency do I have as well as, what are the common ones that we should be looking at or thinking about especially for women during their reproductive years.

Victoria:

So I'll go into testing first. There's a wide variety of ways we can test. I'd say the more kind of conventional or common approach would just be doing regular blood work, but, but making sure we're getting a little more of the comprehensive blood work done. So not all nutrients are best tested in like just a regular blood test. So like basically the serum of our blood, that's not always the best way to capture True nutrient levels of certain nutrients. for example, like magnesium actually the best way to do is really more like testing intracellular levels of that mineral so not all nutrients are best tested in the blood. However a few of them, like B12 is a good one. We could definitely test for that in the blood. And then we could also do other markers. That can kind of help us infer potential other nutrient deficiencies. For example, if someone has, high homocysteine levels that's typically thought of as like a cardio metabolic risk factor. However, it could also just mean that someone has some nutrient deficiencies going on too. They could have, especially the B vitamins, B12, B6 and folate as well. So sometimes I like that even if someone is high in that and they have a couple other signs and symptoms going on, I might think, Hey, this might be more B vitamin issue going on here. So there are some, regular blood work labs that we can get tested for, for sure. In addition to that, I would say, we can do actual micronutrient testing and intracellular micronutrients so actually testing inside the cell, that's a little more specialty lab testing. I do find that to be really awesome. Obviously, you know, for the price point, it doesn't always match for some people. So but it can be really cool for us to see that actually also do some hair mineral testing too, which It's becoming a little bit more mainstream. I would say it's a little more confusing. I think for some people to understand that, but the hair is an interesting way to test for certain nutrients. We can only test for minerals. That actually can tell us how much nutrients are actually flowing in and out of those hair cells. And that can tell us are we using up a lot more? So for example, I have clients who do this testing and they might have super high magnesium levels on the mineral test. And then they're like, Oh my gosh, should I stop taking magnesium or am I eating too much? And typically it's like, no, you're actually just burning through a lot of it. And that's your body is still using up a lot, but guess what you're on track for a deficiency in the future or in the near future, if we keep up with this. So that could actually be another way to test for it too. So there are ways to test. I actually do a lot of kind of inferences based on really good verbal assessment talking to my clients, you know, again, going back to that context of their health history to if they have real chronic stress history, I'm already thinking about what gets depleted more during times of stress, B vitamins, magnesium, even sodium and potassium, which I know is Maybe it's strange to talk about, but those core minerals, those core electrolytes, often get used up a lot more during that time. We might actually want some repletion of those and especially if they have digestion issues, that they might not be absorbing things properly. Now doing a nutrient analysis, we can do that in terms of what are they currently eating? That's not always a great understanding of their past, but if we do a nutrient analysis now, and I just do that, they track really diligently for a week. And then I look at, specific nutrients over that course of the week. If they're already not getting enough nutrients, Currently from that, I'm like, okay, well, then you're still not getting enough of these nutrients. That's like a really, good sign that we need to replete some things too. I would say it's definitely multifactorial or there's a lot of different ways we can infer what nutrients might be low. And then if we can go based on symptoms too, again, if someone's having constipation. Magnesium is almost always needed for repletion. I think a lot of people that we work with but you know, if they're constipated, we might want to use some magnesium in a very structured way to kind of see if that would also support gut motility. But then that can also have obviously an impact on Good blood sugar balance, and even of hormone signaling as well.

Monica:

walk me through the process if I'm somebody who says, Hey, I would like some help with working on my diet, on my nutrition, and I'm trying to get pregnant, just from a high level. What does that look like when a client first comes to see you? What's the process look like? What are your sessions? Kind of, what are you looking at in general? And obviously I know it's going to be different for every person, but just kind of a high level overview would be great.

Victoria:

After we do, that whole assessment of health history, then we're just going to want to say like, okay, walk me through what you typically eat in a day. And I, you know, give me the dirty details of it too. You know, like tell me everything, tell me what if you don't have that one morning or if you have a busy morning, what are you eating instead? Right. So they really walked me through the entire day. And that is super helpful because they'll let me know like, oh, well, you know, I. sometimes eat this meal and it's like, Oh, that sounds great. But then they're like, but actually most of the time I'm eating this other thing because I'm running out the door or actually oftentimes I'm really, not eating for the first three or four hours of waking up because I'm busy or I don't really feel like I have, enough hunger. They're walking me through this whole day and what I'm looking for is Are they getting enough overall food? So are they even getting enough calories? But I don't typically like to talk about calories upfront with my clients. I just think it gets really distracting. Even if they have a weight loss goal, I don't think calories is something we need to even talk about for a while because within those calories, what is making up those calories I'm looking for? Are they getting enough protein? healthy fat and fiber in there as well. So are they getting enough? And then are they also eating in a way that is causing blood sugar balance? Again, protein, fat, fiber supports that blood sugar balance, but then also are they eating in a way that's very erratic throughout the day? Are they having too much time between meals? You know, could they actually be causing some of those cortisol imbalances going on too? And then of course, are they having foods that also might be contributing to some issues more particularly are there a lot of refined foods that are really nutrient deficient? That could also be spiking blood sugar, or they also have more inflammatory ingredients in them. But also, is someone reacting to certain foods? So, you know, don't have to go into food sensitivities, but that could also be another point of, you know, looking at here too. So, I want to look for sufficiency overall. And oftentimes, I feel like there's a lot of insufficiencies going on. From many different angles there.

Monica:

I get a lot of women that come to me and they say, Hey, I feel like I have gut imbalance or I'm not absorbing well in my GI tract. And I've heard about, read about, done a test for, think that I have GI parasites. Bacterial overgrowth candida. Tell me your thoughts on, some of that testing. Cause I know that's not necessarily conventional mainstream, but there's some women that are convinced, like, that's why I'm having absorption problems. what are your thoughts on that?

Victoria:

I think that oftentimes gut issues are actually present. I think it's present in a lot of people. However, why is it present in the first place I think sometimes We talk about all the root causes and sometimes my clients are like, oh, yeah Okay, my gut issues must be the root cause it might be Causing a lot of symptoms that they're occurring now, but it Might not actually be the root. It's still maybe their gut issues happen because of other things going on too, right? Even blood sugar imbalances can cause eventually gut imbalances too. Sometimes we don't have to understand the total story. We don't always have to have that perfect closure But gut issues are often going on. I would say in terms of testing though There are a plethora of tests out there and not all of them are created equal and I would say There's some tests that are similar that they're very much more clinical and actually useful in terms of they tell us what levels of these bacteria do you have? Do you have h pylori overgrown in your gut? Do you have an over overgrowth of candida? Whatever it might be Then there's other gut tests. I'm not going to name names but there's other tests that are a little bit more wellness oriented They're just kind of giving you, Hey, based on your results, you should eat more of this food. You should get more of that food. I don't love those tests. I think that there's probably utility for it. If someone's really just looking to optimize and they don't have a lot of significant symptoms going on, then maybe those are helpful. I think they're still in the infancy stages though with those testing. However, there's more clinical stool tests that really show us. actual gut imbalances, not only bacteria, parasites, or other things going on, but also like intestinal health markers. I love to use a GI mat stool test. They also, you know, give you a marker for gluten sensitivity in there. It's just one marker and gives a full understanding of it. But it's one marker for gluten sensitivity. That can be really helpful for someone to know if that's going on. It also shows, you know, If you're producing enough digestive enzymes, that's a huge one. And then there's a lot of other patterns on there that kind of help us to infer stomach acid levels, which, as I mentioned, stomach acid, I talk about it all the time with my clients because it's that first real need, that first domino in that digestion cascade. If we don't have enough stomach acid going on, That can absolutely open up the door to a lot of bacterial imbalances. I also assume, I don't know what happened in the past for everyone, but I can assume for a lot of people that stomach acid was probably one of the first things that got out of balance. Why? Well, nutrient deficiencies and stress can actually cause a lot of stomach acid imbalances in the past. And then over time, it's not just stomach acid anymore. It could be, okay, now the bacterial issues are going on and that's kind of really driving the symptoms now. But again, we kind of have to work backwards.

Monica:

Yeah. Well, and I think for a lot of women, the gut kind of becomes this black box, right? Where you're like, it's a huge area. There's so much, and it's like, it's hard to pinpoint a lot of that to know. You know, kind of like you had mentioned earlier, what came first? Did the absorption issues come first? Or did the Lack of enough nutrients come first and then they kind of feed off of each other. And it's hard to know sometimes where to get back to. The basics. So I love that. I think I already know the answer to this just based on kind of your general approach to things, but just wanna confirm for our listeners as far as when you're talking about food changes and meal planning just want to confirm you're not talking about or recommending any particular brand supplements. You're more talking about how do we get back to basics with whole foods and focusing on what is sustainable longer term rather than just for a season of life. Is that accurate?

Victoria:

100%. Yeah. There's no specific dietary approach. I mentioned the words, the four method, and that's just kind of like my four step process. I think it's just that really works with our biology I just kind of talk about that four step process, so there's no specific diet No specific supplement or brand anything here. We really want to understand what's personally going on in their body however, I did mention that there are some really, really common patterns I see with blood sugar imbalances, with inflammation or nutrient deficiency. So I often at least want to understand what is going on in those particular realms for them, how much blood sugar imbalance is going on. Also, where is that coming from? For some people, it's really obvious, like, Oh yeah, they're having a lot of carbohydrates out the day, like way more in excessive amounts, not enough protein. You know, they're having,, really clear, obvious, a lot of added sugar, you know, that can be going on. But then there's also a lot of the other subtle issues too, that might not be for everyone. They're like, no, I'm really tightened up my diet, so to speak, you know, over the years. And I still feel like I'm having blood sugar imbalances, whether it's through symptoms or through testing. And that's when we kind of need to look deeper at how are they eating throughout the day? The timing of it the types of foods that they're having. And then also, again, our nutrient deficiency is really playing a role kind of in the background there.

Monica:

Yeah. Which I think is so important. You know, oftentimes when women come to us, they've maybe seen, two or three other places first and they said, Oh, well, I had to just go on this particular meal plan or took this supplement every day. And, you know, not only is that a huge cost over time, but we want something that's sustainable and that you can feel like, Hey, I can still enjoy meals and family time and, you know, going out with friends in a way that's not just, okay, I have to stick to this one particular brand of thing and I think it becomes. This lifestyle, which then says, Hey, I can do this and I can sustain this, and really empowering women to say, I got this and my body can heal in this way. That's natural and good for me long term. If we look at that from a bigger standpoint I think it's important to realize. If somebody says, Hey, I've achieved success in working with you, what's kind of the big takeaway that you give to them? That's like, Hey, this is what I want you to have felt like you achieved when you, when you get to a point of feeling like we're good, I can graduate.

Victoria:

Well, so as you mentioned, sustainability is a huge factor and I really want them to feel like. They have gotten to a place where they are thriving. Like they have one throughout that process. They probably have had some, mindset changes where they're like, Oh my gosh, I finally believe that I can actually thrive. Like my body is actually capable of this. I think so often women find that Oh, my body must be different. My body is broken now and it's irreparable. And maybe I just need to like. It's more about they're like, oh, I'm just gonna manage things. It's like, I really believe that we can actually restore. And I know that you believe that too, for sure. But I think that the sustainability piece is a big one, especially when it comes to nutrition, because, you know, they might be coming to me because they are looking to try to conceive, but they might also have a history of like, yo yo dieting or trying a lot of different specific diets. And so often these don't work in the longterm because I often say they don't help you graduate from the diet. Like the diet is often so much like a do this until you've got somewhere and then that's it. We don't have another step for you. When I work with my clients, it's like I want the process that you take to get to your goals to also be the same nutritional process you do in the longterm. That's a really cool because it doesn't mean that you hit your goal. And then all of a sudden you have to like almost start a new program that teaches you how to do now the maintenance. It's like, it should be the goal setting that ends the goal animation. It should be. Similar principles might not exactly similar, but again, going back to those foundations of getting enough protein, fat fiber, the reason I start with my clients and everyone on that is because that is the most simple framework to how to build a meal. And my particular goal for my clients is I want you to understand how to truly build a healthy meal that supports blood sugar balance, keeps inflammation at bay, gets enough nutrients in. And I want you to be able to do that. Literally anywhere you're at whether you're at home cooking dinners, you know when you're shopping and you know What foods to buy whether you're at a party whether you're at an airport, you know, that's a difficult one But there are ways to actually do that when you're traveling and you're not in your similar context at home I want you to really feel confident knowing that I know if I had a whole buffet of food in front of me, I would know how to look at that and say, okay, I know what to pick. And I wouldn't be overwhelmed. I wouldn't be confused. I wouldn't be, duped by certain nutrition dogma or myths. It's like I want you to really feel confident and knowing exactly how to build a meal. So that's a huge piece of it for working with a lot of my clients. I think that overall, I want them to have that confidence moving forward and be like, yep, I know how to build a meal. And I also know that if I don't, follow that to a T or if I have days, I'm like, you know, I really didn't like how I ate yesterday. I want them to feel like, oh, okay. The very next meal is their next opportunity to go back to the foundations. I always say we're not trying to do all or nothing. It's not like you have to make up for it. You never have to make up for it. It's like, you want to go right back to those core foundations, right back to the center. It's like, okay, oh, next meal. I'm just going to go back to eating protein, fat, fiber, really make sure I'm getting enough of those. I'm good to go.

Monica:

Oh, I love that. Information we should all have and probably should have all learned when we were much younger and to set the set the groundwork. so Victoria, if people would like to work with you or would like to hear more about you or follow what you do, where can they find you?

Victoria:

Yeah, you can find me on my website. wonderfullymadenutrition. com. So that's wonderful with another L Y at the end, wonderfullymadenutrition. com. And then I'm also on Instagram at wonderfullymade. rd. And I post a lot in there about metabolic health and blood sugar balance. So really kind of keeping it to those core, simple first steps to really help people get started with that process. And then of course, you know, working with me, We do that, but we also go deeper if needed for different people, whether it's functional lab testing getting, nutrient testing or something like that. I work with people one on one for coaching and then I do have a group program that I'm hopefully going to be rebooting again soon. I've just been, getting back in the swing of things now. So yeah, you can find me in those places though.

Monica:

Awesome. Well, thank you so much for your time today. This has been great. I'm super excited for our listeners to be able to hear more about this. You know, we talk about it, but I hit the tip of the iceberg. So this is a really great resource for our clients. So thank you so much for your time today. I appreciate it.

Victoria:

Thank you.

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