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Sabrina Brown on Personal Transformation, Hormone Health & Feminine Biohacking
29 Plays21 days ago
What happens when you realise that something you once believed was right for you is no longer supporting your health or happiness? In today's conversation, Sabrina Brown shares her journey from being a passionate vegan advocate to becoming a leading voice in feminine biohacking and women's wellness. We talk about navigating big life changes, rebuilding your health, balancing hormones, fertility, nutrition, burnout, and the importance of community and self-discovery. Sabrina opens up about the challenges she faced, the lessons she learned along the way, and how embracing change helped her create a life that feels more aligned and fulfilling.
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Transcript
Introduction and Meeting Sabrina Brown
00:00:00
Speaker
I have a very special guest today, s Sabrina Brown, or Positive Lady on Instagram, as you might know her. We met, how many years ago was that? Like eight years ago?
00:00:11
Speaker
Yeah. And let me tell you the story. Yeah, please, please. and So it was a casting for a pilot. I think it was for an actual network, maybe the BBC or something like that. And it was at WeWork Studios in Old Street, Farringdon area.
00:00:29
Speaker
And it was like improv, just not no script, improv, cry your eyes out, basically. So we were both coming out of the room TSM Studio. It was quite a fun experience.
00:00:42
Speaker
I know. Crazy times. Crazy times and long transformation since then. Because I've been following your journey on Instagram all this time. And occasionally we message and like, how are you doing? Like, I'm in Portugal. I'm in Bali.
00:00:59
Speaker
Everywhere. Which I
Is Change Beneficial?
00:01:00
Speaker
love. And... be to love and There are a few things that, especially following the conversation that we just had, i wanted to start with talking about change and what what it means to actually want to change.
00:01:17
Speaker
Is change always good for you? And is change always what you think it is? Because sometimes we have this perception that change will transform our lives. So, you know, we start eating healthy and We, you know, change our diet or change our skincare routine, something simple like that, or move to a different country, right?
00:01:37
Speaker
And it doesn't actually. Great questions. I feel like my second name could be change. I've changed a lot. Well, they do say every cell in your body changes Every seven years, you're like a completely different human. So it's only natural to want to change.
00:01:55
Speaker
Is change always good? What is good and bad? We can debate that. I think change is the only constant in this life. And people who don't change or they avoid change, they kind of get left behind. And, you know, they're those people that are like, oh, back in my day. You know? Yeah. But I think it's, you know, as you said, sometimes we think change is good and then it turns out to have the counter effect. But I think everything happens for a reason and we have to go through those pains potentially and that
00:02:36
Speaker
challenge that will teach us something and it certainly has led me where I am
Vegan Journey and Health Challenges
00:02:44
Speaker
today. i wouldn't have been here if I hadn't made those changes that were kind of wild and crazy and talking about how I went vegan. This was now probably 10 years ago I went vegan and And then I was vegan for seven years, basically, and it was great at the beginning. i loved it You know, i had so much energy. i was so lean. i was very much a part of the vegan community and it was a great community to be in ah And i inspired so many people to eat less meat and go vegan.
00:03:17
Speaker
And it was, you know, my identity for a really long time. And I started... having these health challenges that I didn't really notice until it was almost too late because it they happen so gradually and so slowly that I think as humans, we underestimate when things start showing up in our health. Mm-hmm.
00:03:43
Speaker
And we don't take them seriously or they become so normalized after a while that we don't actually address them. And it's just becomes the new normal.
00:03:55
Speaker
But I still kept having these thoughts of like, this is not how I should be feeling 29. I shouldn't be taking naps at 30 when I'm doing everything right and eating right the most healthy way.
00:04:12
Speaker
And my skin was really, hot you know, so bad, like acne. I looked so frail, like I was so pale and like gray almost. And I looked very, very old. I look back on it now. And I see the photos and videos now and I'm like, oh my gosh, like poor her. Like I just want to give her a hug and just be like, it's going to be okay.
00:04:38
Speaker
But I think what really... I guess sparked it is my mom and my grandma being really worried about me and seeing me and being like, you don't look well, like you are teeny tiny, like you just, you don't look healthy. And I didn't feel healthy and had a lot of gut problems.
00:05:00
Speaker
I wasn't absorbing nutrients, wasn't absorbing food at the end of my vegan journey. And I had to change again. and it was funny because it was seven years of being vegan, right? So it's almost like poetic after seven years to go back to eating a whole foods animal based, not just animal, but you know, I guess whole foods with animal products included again.
00:05:29
Speaker
And here I am now, i think two and a half years later and thriving and not needing naps and glowing skin, if I say so myself. And just like, yeah, just feeling hundred times better and being able to share this journey and my transformation with others, I guess, is probably the biggest blessing out of all this.
00:05:57
Speaker
Were you hard on yourself when you moved back? Because I was actually not vegan, but vegetarian for a brief period of time. And I moved back to London um when I separated with my ex-boyfriend. And I started eating meat all this time and now I'm eating meat again. And there was like this period of time where I was a bit hard on myself.
00:06:21
Speaker
Were you hard on yourself?
Facing Guilt and Criticism for Dietary Changes
00:06:23
Speaker
the guilt that you feel when your identity is shifted again, it's really hard because i i was so such an advocate about it on Instagram and I felt so much shame and guilt around sharing that I had changed back to not being vegan.
00:06:46
Speaker
And when I finally was ready to share, ah i was getting a lot of hate and bullying and that was to be expected, of course. Even friends who kind of you know, distance themselves from me. The most um comments that I get when I share my transformation from being sick to healthy again, how I healed myself through nutrition, through feminine biohacking, but is that I just wasn't educated enough about what I was eating and that's why i wasn't feeling well and that it was my fault basically and that veganism is the only way and the only way to be healthy and that I just lacked knowledge and it's so interesting because
00:07:37
Speaker
I get it. I was angry too as a vegan. I wasn't angry at people. Like I wouldn't have left comments on people's page, but I remember how I was feeling as a vegan person and I was angry at what was happening, you know, and I was angry because I was malnourished.
00:07:53
Speaker
And I didn't have proper nutrition, so i had anxiety, i had some, you know, angry thoughts because my body was just not getting the nutrients it needed.
00:08:04
Speaker
We have beliefs about what's right or wrong. And the process of changing our beliefs is so big, right? Like, I remember when I became vegetarian, it was like, oh my gosh, this is like, this is my new life. Mm-hmm.
00:08:20
Speaker
like you saying, it's an identity and it's like a path you walk in life where you associate, you kind of base all your, a lot of your decisions of that and,
00:08:34
Speaker
There's this thing when you then go back and it's like, oh, so who am I now? And there's this, what's the word? You're kind of trying to discover yourself again and who you are and like what your beliefs are Because this is who you were, like your entire identity. And it's a very interesting thing because sometimes, like you were saying, I still...
00:08:59
Speaker
You know, when the even when I get an email for a casting, it's like, what yeah what are your dietary requirements? And I say, none. And I feel like, okay. Like, you know, on a different note, you're doing all these amazing things. So how did you get here?
00:09:17
Speaker
I took the DLR. but and Just kidding. That's the train station. um No. I think...
00:09:28
Speaker
How did I get here? That's a big, big question. i would say a mixture of constant change.
00:09:39
Speaker
Again, I feel like my life is just like one change after the other. i kind of do these changes without thinking about it too much. I just kind of go for it and then think about how it's going to work out later. but I basically was working as a model and actress in London for a long time. And during the pandemic, I went to Bali with my backpack and i was like, okay, I'm just going to go there for the you know lockdown and then I'll be back.
00:10:12
Speaker
But I arrived there and I didn't want to leave. And they ended up staying for a whole year. And then I was like, okay, need to come back to London. What about acting? um i was modeling in Bali, but you know, still not as much happening as in London, right? So I came back to London, was working a lot. Like my career was, you know, popping off and i was on some movies, like and Netflix, like la la, a few things. And I wasn't feeling fulfilled.
00:10:41
Speaker
I felt really lonely. really, really lonely that year. i just wanted to get back to Bali because I saw that there was a difference.
00:10:54
Speaker
Here it's very much about hustle, hustle, hustle, right? And in Bali, it was like, chill, chill, chill. There was such a better work-life balance. Like I would work, I don't know, two, three times on a photo shoot per week and then chill the rest of the time. And I was like, wow, this is great. think this is...
00:11:14
Speaker
What? I can do that? You know, whereas here and London, I used to work like two jobs a day. i would do like modeling and then events work in the night. And like, you just, I don't know. I was just like the busier were the better. Right. And you need a lot of money also to live in London.
00:11:32
Speaker
So I then went back to Bali after that year in London and sort of moved there. Right. And I loved it. It was so good. And it sparked like, okay, what am I going to do now? Because i was still modeling there, but there was no more acting and I needed to find a new career path because modeling is, you know, it's fun. But I feel like after a while,
00:12:00
Speaker
You know, you never know what's going to happen, right? As as you get older. Never. I don't know what I'm doing next week. Exactly. So i had a few different ideas. i for what One of them was i was going to create a jewelry bri brand.
00:12:18
Speaker
um I love hand chains. You know, we already had like designs. I got some prototypes. But then I was like, you know what? That's not my passion. Yeah. Like I want to really, I've always been the kind of person like I want to really do something that I love and that I'm passionate about, that I'm excited about. I don't want it to feel like work.
00:12:37
Speaker
That's why acting was so perfect. Modeling was great. And I just took some time for myself there while I was modeling to like figure it out. And I guess kind of like a sabbatical in a way.
00:12:49
Speaker
And i started sharing some mindset videos and stuff. You know, I enjoyed that. And then i just started sharing some health videos and biohacking stuff and...
00:13:05
Speaker
In the beginning times when i was still vegan, i was kind of biohacking like a man. ah you know, there i wasn't that aware yet about the feminine ways to do that. But yeah, i just started sharing that and it really resonated with people. And I kept going and going and going. And then, yeah, it just sort of blew up and I started working with great people.
00:13:30
Speaker
companies that I really love and making marketing campaigns for them. And last year i launched my course, Timeless Woman, which is a feminine biohacking course.
00:13:43
Speaker
So that was really exciting to help women optimize their health and You know, so many women are burnt out and they don't have the lifestyle habits to understand what to change. And I just put everything together that I learned on myself and through research in the last like five years.
00:14:02
Speaker
And yeah, it's it's been great. It's been a wonderful journey so far. And now I'm back in London, which is great. Which is why met on Monday. Yes.
00:14:14
Speaker
At a fitness event, which is amazing. Talking about serendipity, right? Because this episode alone has been me ah in the making for about maybe six or seven months when I first messaged you.
00:14:29
Speaker
And then we just randomly see each other. And that's the thing, like, universe works in mysterious ways, right?
Women’s Health and Medical Research Gaps
00:14:36
Speaker
What is it about women that... Because also when it comes to research, I guess most research is not specifically for women. And then it's like, you know, they're hormones. You have periods and things like that. It's like very different. 90% of research is done on men.
00:14:52
Speaker
Even research where it says it's been done on women is actually done on women that are in menopause so that they don't have their menstrual cycle. Because...
00:15:04
Speaker
Women who menstruate, it's really, really difficult to do research on them because of the fluctuations that we go through on a week-to-week basis. So there's definitely a lot of medical misogyny going on because that's why we see so much PCOS, endometriosis, women suffering in silence and and suffering with pain and issues that shouldn't be happening. You know, they tested the pill on men in 1950s. Sorry, what? Yeah. Yeah.
00:15:33
Speaker
yeah
00:15:36
Speaker
I know. Why? and they um i've never taken the pill in my life. Oh my God. Lucky you. I did try. And the reason i stopped is because I kept forgetting to take it.
00:15:49
Speaker
Which is not great. That's great. No, that's great. Because it saved you from all the side effects. and What is the most common side effect that happens from the pill? There's so many, but you know it's ah ah it's a carcinogen, first of all. the The list of side effects is like this.
00:16:08
Speaker
But it it masks any symptom that you have because most women who go on birth control is because of some symptom, right? Either PMS, acne, of course, they also don't want to get pregnant, but a woman can only get pregnant around six days per month, whereas men can get a woman pregnant every single day. So who should really be taking birth control?
00:16:31
Speaker
But there's no birth control for men, right? There isn't because they did a test. They did do a like a prototype for birth control for men, but they took it for a couple of weeks and they were in light discomfort, so they discontinued.
00:16:48
Speaker
There's a few things happening when you're on birth control. First of all, ah women, we will be attracted to someone more similar to our genetics because the hormones, ah pheromones that we're attracted to will get disrupted with a birth control. So a lot of women, actually, there's been studies that when they come off of birth control,
00:17:15
Speaker
they're not even attracted to their partner anymore. it creates a lot of deficiencies, is nutrient deficiencies in your body as well when you're on the pill. can make you and anxious, depression, ah that's what I experienced, and ah pains.
00:17:31
Speaker
There's a lot of different symptoms that people get and most women don't know that it's from their birth control. it also creates this thing of you just don't have your normal cycle and you want to have your cycle. You want to go through the ups and downs without being on birth control because that's your superpower as a woman. And when you don't have that, it's like you're numbing your superpower. And maybe that is why there's birth control so that we don't use our superpower or we numb, we're numbed to it as women.
00:18:06
Speaker
Everything around women, periods, hormones, it's kind of like a taboo topic. So like it people, you don't really talk about it. Well, I think now we are, thankfully. But still, it's kind of a negative connotation.
00:18:22
Speaker
Yeah, I think the conversation is getting better for sure. And more people are talking about it. I think men are starting to want to understand a little bit more, but um and lot has to be done. i mean, ideally what we want to see is Children are like teenagers having proper education on their hormones and boys being a part of it because otherwise they don't know what's happening. And actually for them, it's such a advantage to know like, you know, this is happening this week and this is why women are the way they that they are.
00:19:00
Speaker
And they're not just like every day the same like men, you know? and that would be amazing. And then, I mean, I remember, i i wish I had this information when I was a teenager, right? Because you just get told like, sex is bad, use protection. Like,
00:19:19
Speaker
you get your... I got my period so young. I was... How old were I 10. No, sorry, I was 11. 11. That's still really young. I got it when I was 13. And remember i was so happy and I was happy until it started being extremely painful immediately. then I was like, oh, I could have waited bit longer.
00:19:41
Speaker
and I know. i didn't know anything about it. i feel like my mom didn't really tell me much either. Did your mom tell you much about it? I mean, I was excited to get it, right? So I must have known what it is. However, i didn't know the reality of it. I'm like, oh it's it' really like super painful and it will stain a lot of things.
00:20:03
Speaker
A lot of things.
00:20:08
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, that's true. That's true. And sleeping is not going comfortable. but Yeah, I mean, i think... Again, if we had more education on it there wouldn't be so much pain around it because i used to have such painful periods, like debilitating pain where I couldn't sleep. i had to take ibuprofen twice, three times per day.
00:20:34
Speaker
And now nothing. What did you do about that? Lifestyle changes. Yeah. I need to know more about that. You want to track your cycle so that you know in which part of your cycle you are in. And when you reach luteal phase, which is roughly like, let's say day 16 to day 28, you're
00:20:58
Speaker
if you have a regular cycle. This is where you want to start slowing down. So not going full speed ahead. You want to give yourself a little bit more rest. You want to sleep a little bit longer. Maybe you need to add more complex carbs because your metabolism is faster during that part of the month. Your temperature is going to be higher and you need to eat more food, like 10% more calories.
00:21:26
Speaker
So when women say, oh, I'm just starving, like, yeah, you are because you need more food. And then a lot of women, what they do is they'll cut more food and then their body will complain with pain, with PMS.
00:21:41
Speaker
And, ah you know, there's a lot of things that you can do. I have a guide that shows you exactly what what to eat during each phase of your cycle, literally like breakfast, lunch, dinner, because I know how important it is to nourish your body because food is medicine. And if you use it wisely, it can heal you.
00:22:06
Speaker
So there are a few things that you can do. And yeah, I think it's also about testing your hormones, doing a Dutch test. I don't know if you've heard of the Dutch test. So the Dutch test is really interesting because it tests you two different parts of your cycle. So during like day three and day, I believe 21.
00:22:29
Speaker
So because our ah cycle, our hormones fluctuate throughout our cycle, we're You want to be testing throughout different times to see like your estrogen levels and your progesterone levels.
00:22:43
Speaker
And with this test, you'll be more likely to see where something is off balance because off balanced hormones, they create, you know, multitude of things basically. And that can be a cause of PMS. And yeah, there's a lot of things to do. It's not normal. Is it easy to get that test then?
00:23:02
Speaker
Yes. Right. You can even do it with the NHS. Really? For sure. But it is not normal to have period pain. It's normal to have discomfort, but not pain.
00:23:15
Speaker
Like pain where you're like crunched up or have to take in ibuprofen. That is not normal. That should not happen. you know, like periods and also fertility is a big topic. And I know you also talk about fertility.
Fertility and Societal Pressures
00:23:30
Speaker
And it's very interesting because I'm 35 myself and fertility is a question because I'm also single at the moment. So it's like, you know, thinking, i am thinking about my fertility and what it will look like in the future.
00:23:44
Speaker
What is something that you've discovered about fertility on your journey? I would say, again, hormones are the CEOs of your body. the better you take care of your hormones, the more fertile you will be, the later onset of menopause you will have. Because there are so many women nowadays who are going into perimenopause around 35 years.
00:24:08
Speaker
starting because they don't take care of their bodies. They live like a man. They don't cycle sink. They just hustle, hustle, hustle, and they push their bodies to burnout and to yeah perimenopause. And it's really sad because, you know, a lot of women,
00:24:30
Speaker
We have a lot of pressure as women as well, right? To look young, to have the career, to have the family, to everything, right? But instead of just thinking about how can I look young using...
00:24:45
Speaker
medical procedures, beauty treatments, beauty products, it comes from within. You know, like the the stuff you put on top is, it can help a little bit, but not if your cellular energy and your hormones are off.
00:25:01
Speaker
Then it's just masking it, right? So again, we need to look at our hormones, we need to look at our cellular health, and we need to stop acting like small men. I've been thinking about this so much recently, fish especially the fertility part. Because of this, you know, also societal pressure and things like that, because you can, unfortunately, it seems like as a woman, you can just have children younger and sometimes men can have children so much older. It's like, but it's what it is.
00:25:35
Speaker
Yeah, I think nowadays, you know, women are, there are women who are much healthier. And i think there's nothing wrong with having a child in your 40s, you know, if that's what happens, you know, you never know the timing of your life.
00:25:54
Speaker
It's more about I think people need to understand that they need to prepare for pregnancy. So you want to get into the best shape of your life, into the best health, or like really optimize everything in your body, man and woman, right? Because men, 50% is on the man. The sperm quality affects fertility so much. It affects the pregnancy way more than people think, right? It's always like, oh, the woman needs to be healthy. But what about the man? If the man is like, Like running on coffees, not exercising, eating like shit, ah partying, i don't know, doing all these things, stressed, that's going to affect the pregnancy and the baby just as much as the woman's health.
00:26:40
Speaker
And, you know, men need to take responsibility for their part too. And that's why i believe doing like a a health glow up together before you want to, you know, conceive is just going Make your chances so much better and your chances for a healthier baby will improve drastically.
00:27:04
Speaker
you know There's also this documentary, I don't know if you've seen it, the Plastic Detox on Netflix. It talks about how plastic really is affecting
Plastic's Impact on Health and Fertility
00:27:13
Speaker
everyone's life. is everything, right? Yes.
00:27:15
Speaker
And it follows basically a small recap. It follows ah three couples or four couples who have been trying to conceive but can't. And ah this woman, the researcher on plastic and how it affects our bodies, she transforms their lifestyle and does like a swap of their home care, ah beauty care, all these products in their homes that are...
00:27:40
Speaker
ah creating environmental toxic load on their body. So they do a testing before and after And before they do the swaps, it's like really high environmental toxin level. And after like three months, it drops down drastically and they're able to conceive.
00:27:58
Speaker
So this is another factor that people often don't look at when trying to conceive and looking into their health, right? It's like there's so many factors nowadays to take into consideration, which is why i am so obsessed with biohacking because You kind of have to in 2026. Like if you're not biohacking, what are you doing? You do. I mean, even sometimes you chop on a plastic board and... No, as no, that no. think Plastic is in everything, right? know, but don't use don't use a plastic chopping board, girl.
00:28:34
Speaker
no Throw it out. i know. Because I can, you can see the plastic like coming off. You're literally just chopping plastic into your food. Yeah. Nice. I think it's, I think the statistic is every week of you using the chopping board is like a credit card worth. I don't know. Maybe that's too much, but it's a lot.
00:28:55
Speaker
It's, it's unnecessary. It's such a small swap, you know, even like the coating, you know, of the, of the pants better to use stainless steel. Yeah.
00:29:05
Speaker
<unk> and also non uh not to use non-stick exactly because that non-stick just ends up being in your tummy great in your body i mean when you think about oh yeah so i was speaking to someone on the podcast actually about you know the importance of detoxing and when people like oh back in the day and we were talking about how back in the day things were not as they are now it was not there was basically no plastic in anything There was nothing. i think it it started like 1940s, 50s, something like that.
00:29:39
Speaker
Like polyester clothing and things like that. when When I was growing up, it was like everything was, you know, proper materials and there was no. I mean, also, i don't think I went to the supermarket.
00:29:53
Speaker
Not me specifically, but like the clothes we had until i was eight. I was eating like homegrown food or like. bread from the local person who was doing that and the cheese from the local person who was doing the cheese that was it sounds dreamy and then ate I discovered Kit Kat or something like that don't know like you know the shop and oh I want all these sweets it's addictive it's made to be addictive right me Yeah, I know. it's like you can't compare our grandmother's life to ours. Even our mom's, right? They had such a different way of life.
00:30:36
Speaker
And i think it just changed drastically in like the last 20 years. Like all the plastic everywhere without thinking about the consequences it's going to have in our bodies. Yeah.
00:30:48
Speaker
even sperm has declined by 50 percent in the last 20 years like the quantity and the quality and the quality there's a lot of men ejaculating a lot on you know porn and stuff so but yeah so like consumption yeah which is another thep topic and that's a whole yeah that's a whole other conversation It's rough out there.
00:31:14
Speaker
But you kind of have to laugh about it because like, what else are you going to do? Well, that's the thing, right? You can sometimes get overwhelmed with information. or And then you get depressed because it's seemingly negative, right? But yeah you can't change anything with that.
00:31:32
Speaker
With just feeling negative. Yeah, yeah. For sure. You can't change anything. You have to like actually... go and do things and like you know change things about your diet or the clothing you wear wear purple oh yeah so that's the thing i don't know if we mentioned it before but today we just yeah both wearing purple without planning to i know like how we randomly met on monday obviously without planning to synchronicities yes Yeah, i love it. And we have like that similar journey with vegan vegetarians. Is there something that you discovered recently? It's almost like a hack.
00:32:15
Speaker
You know, something like a superfood. Oh, yeah. So i love sardines. Sardines are... a superfood, multivitamin for women. I'm obsessed with everything that they can offer you. And they're super high in omega-3s, great for skin health, inflammation, has so many nutrients, and also very low heavy metals for fish.
Nutritional Benefits of Sardines
00:32:42
Speaker
So this is something that I eat like two times per week at least. And I supplement with omega-3s as well, but sardines are great. I love oysters. Oyster maxing is the thing.
00:32:55
Speaker
um They are so nutritious. And I mean, I love food. I'm such a foodie. My friends actually just came back from Portugal and they brought me...
00:33:06
Speaker
canned sardines because yeah because they have them they know because i live there and they're like in the whole shops you have it's so actually beautiful packaging but sardines actually discovered from you because i saw your post right yeah and then i started making sardine salads myself yay and i'm obsessed no i don't like oysters but sardines it was from you i you know i got them from you i lovemp them I have them with pepper and onion and shallot. Is that how you pronounce it?
00:33:38
Speaker
And it's actually very tasty. I think I need to make a sardine dinner tonight because I'm like frothing right now. And also they're so cheap. They're affordable, you know? yeah If people sometimes say, oh, but living healthy is very expensive because it could be. Yeah.
00:33:55
Speaker
That is very cheap. Like sardines are the cheapest canned food you can buy in the supermarket, basically. True. But please make sure to only buy sardines either in brine or an extra virgin olive oil.
00:34:08
Speaker
Don't buy them with any additives, any chemicals and sunflower oil. It's a no-no. yeah so i know listened I listened to you.
00:34:20
Speaker
And I've been eating my sardines and sometimes people are like, what are you eating? It's delicious though. yeah they have a particular smell they the smell is but actually they taste yeah yeah it's true they don't taste as bad as they smell they taste great yeah they they smell off potato yes yes exactly and then you try them you're like it's a good secret well not secret anymore but yeah it's great i love it obsessed
00:34:51
Speaker
I was, oh, it's something that I heard. Now I just remembered it. About, i think it was on a podcast or I have no idea where heard this, but someone said to eat sugar, if you want to eat sugar, drink vinegar before.
00:35:06
Speaker
um I am not a fan of that. Apple cider vinegar is so acidic yeah and it's not something that you just want to take willy nilly two, three times per day. Honestly, it so bad for your mouth as well to to have so much ass acidity in your mouth. And there's other ways to balance your blood sugar that are less harmful, such as if you want to basically every meal that you have, ideally you want to start with a little fiber.
00:35:36
Speaker
So just a little side salad, you know, you could add a little vinegar on your side salad, but just to have it raw is kind of intense. ah So yeah, a little side salad, and then you have your protein, your carbs last if possible.
00:35:52
Speaker
And then if you want to have something sweet, pair it with some fat, then it spikes, ah it it blunts the blood sugar spike. So something sweet, maybe it's like a cake, have it with a yogurt or something.
00:36:06
Speaker
And, um, yeah, I don't know about apple cider vinegar. It's, it's, I, I say, nay. I remember years ago when I was doing my vegetarian journey, like eight, nine years ago, apple cider vinegar was so big. Like everyone's drinking it. You know how everyone's drinking it? Yeah. Yeah.
00:36:27
Speaker
There was one specific brand that everyone was just drink buying and drinking. The Mother or ya Apple. i don't know. It was like a health food. Yeah. Yeah. But it's funny how... Like kale, remember?
00:36:40
Speaker
Kale used to be, like, so trendy. Spirulina as well. Spirulina is great. I will say that. Yeah, but it's very, like, not very tasty. No. I remember, like, ah I had a friend and we did all the fats. So it's apple vinegar. Okay, we did we do that. So apple cider vinegar, we do that. Then we did the spirulina. Then we did... i don't know what we're doing. Everything that's, like, a Just following the trends. Yeah, because some I guess also because you're always trying to figure out how to be better, how to feel better. Like you were saying, like i don't want feel tired. oh my i don't want my skin to be like so shit because it's breaking out and it's horrible and it's,
00:37:22
Speaker
Like, my skin is actually so dehydrated. I did a blood test. Blood test that showed that I'm dehydrated. i guess you need more electrolytes. Because also I recently discovered that actually just drinking water doesn't hydrate you.
00:37:40
Speaker
It's like, great. Well, that's very useful. it's It's not great. But yeah, you should these get some electrolytes. Because i drink a lot of water.
00:37:52
Speaker
But it doesn't go into your cells, I guess. It just probably is flushed out. Yeah, and well, yeah, exactly. Just gets shed. Shedding water. have I do. I do sweat. Yeah, yeah. Great. So you do really need electrolytes because when you're sweating a lot, you need electrolytes.
00:38:11
Speaker
I'm finding out so many things. he I'm sharing so many things. Great. It's not good if you're not sweating. The strangest thing is when I go to the sauna and then obviously I sweat in the sauna, but then some people don't.
00:38:25
Speaker
Yeah, that's not good. That means their lymphs are not open. Their lymphatic drainage is closed. blocked. You just recirculate toxins in your body if you don't sweat.
00:38:36
Speaker
All these like normal things that and nobody thinks about. no You'd never think about. Like wearing polyester in the sauna. I mean. And just. reabsorbing plastic into your skin. People don't think about that. I think i said ah I said to someone, and also because, you know, in like Germany, for example, you don't really wear anything. But it's because of that.
00:39:00
Speaker
Yeah. To not reabsorb all the things you wear. It's like, why isn't everyone doing that? How old is at least cotton? It's good. Exactly. Exactly. i actually got a 100% organic cotton swimwear.
00:39:15
Speaker
two weeks ago a week ago and it's so comfy and it's so good because sometimes you can't go in nude sometimes you're in a mixed sauna right and you have to yeah cover up in certain countries so i'm really happy about it it's a game changer because once you know it's like you you just you feel icky if you're wearing a sauna and sweating If you're wearing a sauna?
00:39:42
Speaker
see If you're in the sauna and sweating, you feel icky. Let's edit that. that Or let's keep it in, I don't know. You know like, you you think about changing big things sometimes and actually it could be like the smallest thing that makes a difference. Like not wearing polyester to the sauna.
00:40:04
Speaker
i said I'm realizing that sounds so privileged. So, you know, when I go to the sauna, I don't know where I asked. But I think saunas should be accessible to everyone.
00:40:16
Speaker
There are some saunas, you know, public saunas too. There are communal saunas. Exactly. Like different areas where you can go and like, think it's a membership, but like it's ah very affordable. Yeah. And then also there are community thing.
00:40:29
Speaker
Like at the very beginning when you were talking about one of the reasons you moved back out of London because of loneliness.
Building Community to Combat Loneliness
00:40:36
Speaker
And that's such a big issue, especially in like in London, actually it is because like you were saying, everyone is like hustling and connection isn't really that prevalent. Yeah. So things like that. And like that's why I go to a choir because the sense of community is everything.
00:40:54
Speaker
That's so beautiful. So you sing in a choir? Yeah, it's a community choir. I love that. It's so nice. It's amazing. And it's like that kind of real connection when you go and like... And it's people that you might you wouldn't have... You wouldn't think you have anything in common with.
00:41:12
Speaker
Like completely different ages. and You know, because you can also, because you can do so much, but then if you're feeling lonely, if you're feeling empty, there's this kind of growing ball inside of you that is very damaging. We need to be connected and we need to be in communities. 100%. 100%. we were made to be in community.
00:41:38
Speaker
And modern society is disconnecting us from that. And it's really, really sad. And You know, community is everything and it's one of the predictors of a long life. I'm glad that you have yours with your choir. That's beautiful. We're singing Bohemian Rhapsody. next is Where is it? It's in North London. Nice.
00:42:04
Speaker
Not going to stay You can message me on Instagram if you want to. Yeah. And maybe share. But there's so many of them, like choirs, you know, saunas, community saunas. like it's It's important yeah to not think that doing one thing is, you know, like even like, you know, food or, you know, just like changing the clothes you wear. Your whole life has has to...
00:42:34
Speaker
serve it's true for sure we're multi-dimensional humans you know we're not meant to just do one thing forever and never change again goes back to change is the only constant and being uncomfortable and growing is a part a beautiful part of the human experience and we need to challenge ourselves more to get out of our comfort zone because that's where the magic happens You're comfortable with change now?
00:43:07
Speaker
I mean, yeah. do you so Do you get excited by change? i do I do. get excited by change and then sometimes I get overwhelmed by it and overstimulated and i just have to come back to myself.
00:43:21
Speaker
and to my nervous system practices. And just reminder, you know, last year I was traveling so much and I felt so unsettled because i hadn't found a new home base yet.
00:43:34
Speaker
And someone said something really powerful to me. They said, home is where you are. And if you feel comfortable in yourself, you can make any place your home.
00:43:45
Speaker
And I really took that in and it made me feel comfortable so much better and now I just keep remembering that anytime that I do feel unsettled because i do really crave stability and a more permanent home base but right now that's just not in my plans so I'm just ah taking it as it comes and enjoying this this freedom that I have and this opportunity
00:44:18
Speaker
When you're looking for that stability in a place that's outside of yourself, it may mean that you're not grounded. Because I had that myself as well. In the past, I would want something to provide stability for me, to give me a sense of security and safety. Because I felt so unsafe and like just scared and lonely. and like do You know the little child that's like, oh. I'm alone nobody loves me that kind of thing nobody loves me and nobody takes care of me so then you're looking for that outside of you but when you ground yourself and you feel enough and you feel safe then home can be where you are
00:45:05
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, you your body is the only home. the the like Not the only home, but like your body. You know what I'm trying to say? I just need a home you have. yeah Because what's that? The walls, they're not yeah just walls.
00:45:20
Speaker
So it's true. i think it's it's easy to get so caught up in...
00:45:28
Speaker
Where you want to go that you forget where you are right now is already such a blessing and your previous, not previous self, but your past self or your inner child would be ecstatic to know like, oh my God, is our life now, right?
00:45:47
Speaker
Do you remind yourself of that and like enough? Probably not as much as I should because I'm such a like forward thinker. yeah But when I do, it's like, you know?
00:46:04
Speaker
And then it's like, ah.
00:46:07
Speaker
I went to a retreat, what was it, one or two weeks ago, and we were talking about that so much, you know, the inner child and how to be there for inner child, you know, like that kind of, physical you know, like when you actually physically hug yourself, and it's not you.
00:46:24
Speaker
You imagine like that little version you in the moment where they were scared or alone, like, A moment that created like trauma that, you know, you carried.
00:46:37
Speaker
And that just doing that is like so powerful because you can feel it, you do it. And then, you know how we really want someone to come and like hug us and because we feel safe. If we actually do it like that enough, we feel safe. You know that we actually are required. Yeah.
00:47:02
Speaker
it to have eight hugs per day that last at least 10 seconds that's actually the bare minimum and we don't get that and hug each other yeah i was gonna say that when you were talking about the hug was like we need to hug after for at least eight seconds because that's when the oxytocin is released you know I'm hug deficient, Ben. I'm also hug deficient.
00:47:27
Speaker
I need more hugs. We can hug. We will hug. That's so sweet. We will hug.
00:47:39
Speaker
But not on camera. but huh
00:47:44
Speaker
Laughing is good, too. All this kind of like energetic thing and... it It's so powerful. what was it? I had this thing on Facebook like years ago. Laughing me it makes my brain cells giggle. um Something like that. That's cute. I don't know if that's the exact quote, but... And that made me laugh as well. That's cute.
00:48:05
Speaker
Life and your journey is is an all-encompassing thing. It's not like one field, right? And it includes change and getting comfortable with change.
00:48:18
Speaker
Because, like, speaking for myself, and I used to be so uncomfortable with change. I spent four and a half years working retail at a tube station. Not even, like, an actual store. Like, in the middle of the walking path. Because I was scared going and doing what I wanted to.
00:48:36
Speaker
Because change... Oh, yeah, I think i we were talking about this before. We need to, or as human beings, we normally associate a lot of pain with the process of change, with living stability or security or safety and you know coming out of that like bubble.
00:48:57
Speaker
But that bubble is like the worst place we can be Agreed. think it's almost like, you know how our brain just wants to keep us safe, even if we're in pain or in discomfort.
00:49:09
Speaker
So if we do try to change something, I mean, it's funny because I feel like a lot of people, they try to change others, but then they don't stop to think how difficult it it is to even change yourself, let alone someone else, you know? And I think it's more about understanding that you have to move through that uncomfortable stage when you are changing and that pain and discomfort or whatever you want to call it. Maybe that suffering.
00:49:38
Speaker
Because otherwise you will just suffer in what you already know because your brain wants to keep you safe. Because for the brain, right, everything that's new is like, danger!
00:49:49
Speaker
Lion. Yeah. it's going to eat me. Exactly. And then 30 years, we did this amazing exercise at the retreat where it was like you had to imagine yourself in the future. But the worst version, like if you don't change, the worst possible thing.
00:50:08
Speaker
Like you've realized you've just started deteriorating. And it's like, I mean, I'm like, my fist. And it's it's so, because it was also a little bit of hypnotherapy. So you you can really imagine it it's so grotesque of an image because that's like, that's the reality of not changing.
00:50:28
Speaker
Because if you don't do something now, it doesn't seem big because the result doesn't really come now. But in like 20 years, It's crazy. And, you know, time is moving so quickly. It's almost like it's not affecting you now, but...
00:50:46
Speaker
I will in a moment, you know, definitely better to move through the discomfort than to stay in it. What's the the way you deal with discomfort?
00:50:58
Speaker
I believe that i had such an interesting and unique upbringing where I was forced to always be in discomfort. We would move either apartment or city every single year.
00:51:13
Speaker
And I would change schools every single year. I was in nine different schools in my childhood. So I was just used to that discomfort from a young age.
00:51:27
Speaker
And I just kind of learned to, it was like normalized, I guess. So whenever there is something that is challenging, I believe that it's a lesson for me to move through. and I just, I just have a different mindset to it, I guess, you know, and it's all ah almost like,
00:51:50
Speaker
Every challenge is teaching me something new and I can either look at it as, you know, something negative or I can look at it as something positive or I can look at it in a neutral way if it's really bad and be like, okay, but it's just a moment in time and it's just, you know, it's like a wave of emotions. You know, if you're like, let's say going through something, it's not like you're going to feel that way forever. So it's, it's constantly, you're moving through it, let's say, that makes sense. Yes.
00:52:20
Speaker
It's something I'm discovering for myself. That's why we met on Monday. Because, you know, there's something. like I feel like people, you know how but like you bump with people over the period of your life. And there's always a reason for it.
00:52:33
Speaker
That's true. What's next for you? What can we expect from you now?
Embracing Change and New Opportunities
00:52:37
Speaker
A lot of things in the pipeline. Lots of traveling. Moving. Moving.
00:52:44
Speaker
ah But also I am very excited about a few different events that I have coming up. I'm going to have meetup with a London community, which obviously you're very much invited as well.
00:53:00
Speaker
I am planning on hosting a retreat somewhere, like a biohack, feminine biohacking retreat and maybe a book.
00:53:13
Speaker
who knows? The world is my oyster. yum, yum, yum. You do love oysters. we'll see. We'll see. But honestly, i I'm a yes person. So just let's see what the opportunities are.
00:53:30
Speaker
i think I might steal that from you. I'm a yes person. love that. I say yes first, even if I'm not ready. And then I'll figure it out. It's just like having the confidence of an average man.
00:53:41
Speaker
But it is true. Yeah. It is so true. Women overthink everything. Like, that's the superpower that men have. Okay, I'm saying it is. It really is a superpower. I'm not dissing men.
00:53:55
Speaker
Men have so much confidence even when they are not qualified. Exactly. And I love that for them. That's amazing. And I wish more women had that because we have such an imposter syndrome, a lot of us women. And we just hide from opportunities and we don't take them on because we think we're not ready or we can't do it.
00:54:18
Speaker
We're actually just creating this our own worst enemy pretty much, right? Like we're holding ah ourselves back, but we need to say yes.