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In this episode, I share with you why I am so passionate about nutrition and how it led me to create this podcast. You’ll learn a little bit about how my interest in nutrition began and where I went to learn all I could to teach my clients how to start feeling better!

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Topics discussed in this episode:

• I share my personal journey of discovering the connection between food and how it makes me feel. (0:30)
• I emphasize the concept of food as medicine and how to feel good in the present while also promoting long-term health. (2:00)
• I speak about the need to listen to people's stories, respect their comfort foods, and find personalized solutions to help them make positive changes in their lives. (5:00)
• I acknowledge the challenges and misinformation surrounding diets and nutrition and aim to provide evidence-based information and navigate the complexity of different dietary approaches to help individuals find their own path to wellness. (9:00)
• I discuss the role of food in bringing people together and creating positive experiences and memories. (15:12)

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Transcript:  

Hi, I'm Dr. Cheryl Bothwell, and welcome to The Wellness Table, where you can expect conversation about real food for real people. I want you to walk away from each episode feeling empowered and ready to feel good. Let's get started.

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Welcome to The Wellness Table. Hi, I'm Dr. Cheryl Bothwell, and I'm so excited to start this incredible podcast. It's all about real people. I think one of the reasons that I ended up pursuing nutrition and loving food as medicine and really believing in it began when I was a young child. And I very quickly learned that my body responded really differently than my friends and other people around me, of being very sensitive to what I ate.

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And so I would just observe that, um, boy, when I ate a meal and it was a birthday party and everybody's having this delicious birthday cake, I'm feeling... kind of sick at the party or not really feeling good and it kind of became known that I was the kid that Didn't eat a lot of sugar or I didn't eat a lot of birthday cake and I would start to realize that I don't really like cake or I don't like doughnuts and I begin to think of these foods that I don't like and As I got a little bit older, I began to recognize that I didn't like them Not because I didn't like the taste, but I didn't like how they made me feel.

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And I began to connect the dots between, at a very early age, between what I ate and how I felt pretty quickly after those meals. And then I would see other people that could eat the very same thing and just pig out on all of these foods and just love them and enjoy them and feel great. And so I began to see the differences in how everyone's body And so I just began to explore, boy, why do I always feel kind of off a little bit when I eat certain foods?

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And so I just really got interested in food at a very young age. I began to even read things about it in magazines and things when I was probably eight, nine, ten years of age. I have my Cheetos story that most of my patients or anybody that knows me connects, uh, Cheryl and Cheetos, um, pretty much all of my life.

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So I will get up in a day and I will say, Uh, this is a Cheetos kind of day and it's sort of almost a joke. One day I was sitting on a bus and my mom was feeling like she had to be a good mother. She wanted me to have breakfast every day. So good moms, good parents give their kids breakfast every day and I felt better.

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When I didn't eat breakfast most of the time and I would end up with a stomachache or a headache or something like this on the way to school, or carsick or something on the bus. So one day I decided – you're not supposed to eat on the bus – but I grabbed my bag of cheetos and that became my cheetos story of my whole life because I grabbed a bag of cheetos and I began to learn very quickly that If I had the wrong meal prior, which I now understand what that is, a bag of Cheetos fixed everything and it became my medicine.

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And so I would be starting to get a headache or starting to feel a little nauseated and I would grab a bag of Cheetos and be like, quick fix, this was great. And then I began to hear, you know, in health class, well, Cheetos aren't very good for you. And, um, I think this is what was so interesting to me is that I was so excited to find a medicine.

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for feeling good. I stopped having migraine headaches. I stopped having car sickness. If I could just eat Cheetos on a windy road, then I didn't have the car sickness. So for me, Cheetos was sort of, uh, it was part of my, uh, first aid kit really in life. And so that's really the beginning of my story where I really was intrigued about food.

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And the very quick response that my body had and then I began to meet other people that would say I don't really feel as good when I eat breakfast either. And so I'm like, boy, I think I'm on to something. And so I just began to learn more about nutrition and try to find out how could I take these Cheetos and find another food that might do the same thing, but also might be health promoting.

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And I think that began my journey in “how can we feel good right now?” Because if someone wanted to take my Cheetos away, I'm going to fight for them. Um, that wouldn't be something that would want gone in my life. But if I could find a replacement and you could show me that I could feel even better. And then live longer…then I’m in!

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And that became my journey, really, of food is medicine. But it needed to taste good, and it needed to work now. Not just stop me from having a heart attack when I'm 65, when I'm 18 years old, and I just feel better eating my Cheetos right now. And then I began to see that other people had their Cheetos.

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And so my story is, what are your Cheetos? And if we can figure those out together, That was the secret to improving people's life. And that's why I like to talk about real people, real health. It's about feeling good today and living longer tomorrow and not giving any of it up. And at the same time, absolutely loving and craving the food that you eat.

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So this really led me to freshman year college. I was all about what's the degree that I can take the most nutrition classes and learn the most about the science. I was in math, science. It's kind of brain and so I love numbers and I pursued a bachelor's degree and nutrition dietetics and I became a registered dietitian and I really learned how food could be medicine and help in all kinds of areas with diabetes.

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And if we looked at managing blood sugar and it was really exciting to see how medical nutrition therapy was really the most powerful food and to see that I love learning it. I was a great. And so when I first graduated, I always love to tell this story that I'm a brand new graduate, I'm a brand new registered dietitian, start my own outpatient clinic, first patient comes in, and she's starting her story of I'll do anything that you say.

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But I won't give up Oreo cookies. And it was like, literally my first day, first patient, where I've got all this great stuff that I've learned in school. I went to Loma Linda University, and I'm like, ready to really let everybody, change the world. The excitement of it all. And I think what I really learned very quickly was, how could I hear everybody's story, and how could I find out how I could help them individually of doing a little bit more of something.

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That really could help them feel well today. And this Oreo cookie is another story that I often talk about where Somebody has connected Oreo cookies and the father daughter relationship and her father had passed away. And she wanted to sit like she did when she was a little girl and eat Oreo cookies because she had just lost her dad.

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And I began to realize that this was, wow, this was a lot more than nutrition. So now I go from, it's all about the food. And then I begin to see real people and I realize, oh, there's also this other side that, there's also that comfort. So the food is the cure. It can be the poison to actually shorten your life.

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It can be the cure to actually... improve or save your life, but this comfort part comes in and it's like we really are connected to home or something that we might not even realize. And for this first patient that I came across, it was. These Oreo cookies, I'll do anything that you say, but I'm not going to give them up.

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And I went on this journey of helping her improve her health. And we began to add two apples before she would eat her Oreo cookies. And the story kind of goes on where I then created this, eat two apples, and then start eating your dinner. Or then eat that snack that you want, and you're going to eat less of it.

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So it was like, Fertilizing the grass instead of trying to pull the weeds and I just found her life to really turn around and it was really exciting But I learned something that I've I can't leave out the comfort So that's another really important part to this beyond just the therapy or prevent disease or treat disease but I had to remember the real people behind it and that food was as It's really more sensitive to us and intimate than politics and religion to take away something that people love to eat.

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And so I learned that very quickly that I had walked into a very sensitive like landmine topic. And the other thing I learned is that everybody eats. So everybody is a nutritionist, and if this worked for my aunt or this worked for somebody else, then this is the, this is the best diet. So I began to see all the misinformation and people, because I'm a dietician, it was like, well what is the best diet then?

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There's so many diets out there, and what should we all eat, and tell me what not to do, and tell me what to do. Or another statement I would get is, is this a good food, or is this a bad food? And I was supposed to like demonize all the bad. And then approve all the good and it was almost like the people that would come to my clinic were people that had done really well that week.

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They would come back for their appointments because they wanted to show that they had lost that five pounds and they were super proud of it. But I began to look at the people that didn't come back. What about that attrition? The people that all of a sudden they just disappeared. And where were they? And I began to wonder, who am I missing?

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And like, how can I help the people that are giving up? Or they, they just can't make change. And I saw that making a change in what we eat Wow, it's really, really hard. And I actually got a little discouraged with it after a few years of, of practicing and doing a lot of nutrition therapy. And I find that a lot of dietitians, it's like, how are we going to even do this?

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Because we're talking about food. And so it's almost easier to talk about There's a lot of intuitive eating out there right now, or a lot of dietitians are leaning into that. Like it should be a shame free. We, we're not here to shame you. Like we're here to free you from that inner police that saying you're bad or good.

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If you gained weight or lost weight, or you ate that cupcake or not. And so I love that whole philosophy, but I still know that food does heal. And so how do we find that mix and how could I answer the question? Why are there so many diets? Even ask 10 physicians and you'll get a different answer of what they recommend to eat if they even know, um, or even have time to even talk about that in a short visit.

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So that began my journey like, I've got to be able to answer this question and I'm kind of responsible for this since I'm the specialist. of nutrition. Like there's surgeons out there and they know that's who I go to. If I need a new knee, I'm going to go to this surgeon. But when it comes to nutrition, who are the experts?

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And I think there's a lot of dietitians that get very overwhelmed with While we're supposed to tell them not to do this and to do this, and I think we're just trying to do that a little bit different now. But when it still came back to the best diet, it's easy to kind of like, Ah, I'm not going to lay my hat in one of these corners because I'm going to turn somebody off.

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And that's what led me to say, I've got to go and do my doctorate and study. All the diets and get the real proof for myself firsthand. Like, why is this study saying that if I eat high protein and high fat, that I am going to lower my cholesterol. And when I look at this study over here. I lower my cholesterol by eating a low fat diet.

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It'd be the exact opposite results. And so I'm looking at it with my bachelor's degree in nutrition and dietetics. And I couldn't explain to somebody why the research could give me such a different outcome. So I knew I needed to learn how to do research myself. I needed to know the statistics. I needed to know if this was a good study or not.

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And that's why I went in and did my doctorate in clinical nutrition. And, uh, I went to Rutgers. I spent... seven years. Um, I never thought I was going to get out. Um, it was like doing original research. Um, there's a clinical residency with it as well. But in my original research, I was able to actually look at what the best diets were.

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And then I saw the need in that program for a score where people don't aren't going to always have the money or the time or the access or insurance covering. Nutrition. So I began to see like, they're not going to be able to come to a dietician, um, and have their insurance cover it. So then only people that have the cash are going to be able to afford it.

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And so this became a real burden on my heart that, um, a lot of people do not have access to good nutrition, knowledge, information, education from the people that are experts if you're trying to use your insurance card. So I know what you might be thinking is why do we need another show on health and wellness and food?

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And I really want to answer that question to show you what you're going to find here that will be very different than something that you may have seen anywhere on any of the other shows or any of the other people That you've talked to and that is me sharing with you my experience in Really helping you find your way to wellness, because if this becomes your journey and you find your way there and I can just help coach that journey and give you good information and be a good resource.

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But in that journey, you find your way to wellness. What I have found with the people that I have worked with is that now you're connecting the dots between how I feel and what I'm doing. And when you can get those dots reconnected in life. You'll never want to go back. Health behavior change doesn't even become a challenge because I know I feel better now and I know exactly the formula to feel good.

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And you can't even take that away from someone. People will fight to hold on to that. That's like me holding on to my Cheetos that makes me feel better. So connecting the dots between how you feel is what this show will be all about. And what diet culture is all about is disconnecting the dots. You don't really feel hungry.

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You're not really supposed to just experience that pain, um, because it'll make you lose weight. But this is all about how to really experience feeling good right now and connecting those dots. So this show is very much going to be for you. And those of you that are looking to feel good and finding those secrets to your personal success and feeling good and living longer.

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So one of the things I love about food is how it brings people together. And so I have used food as a way to bring my kids around the table and have family times and I just find that when I'm making food, I find the kitchen is a place for me to really show my love to my family. And so for me, food is a super recharge thing.

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And I like for, as I've talked to different people, for some people, the kitchen can be stressful. Some people, the kitchen is relaxation, but any way that you can get people. And if you're looking to how can I bring, uh, I just say manipulate to bring my kids home, um, or how can I get people around the table that I love?

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That's what makes me happy. And I have found food is the way to do it. So if you're looking for a way to bring your kids home or to create these special moments that I say are around the table, which is part of the wellness table, it's like. I can use the food and you can use really good food to bring people together and to create gatherings that Really create lifetime special memories and to me, that's where food is more than just taste and, um, more than just medicine, but it really is the happiness and for me, and I think for you, you're going to find that food probably is a part of some of your happiest moments in life.

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And so that's another thing I want this show to be about is to really look at food and happiness and addition to. being healthier. So one of my most exciting things about starting the Wellness Table podcast is that I wanted to be able to bring nutrition education, trusted nutrition information to be accessible to everyone.

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And right from the comfort of your home, wherever you're at, while you're exercising, you can listen to this wherever you are, while you're traveling. and be able to get this great cutting edge nutrition from a trusted source. And that's to me, the heart of the show. And I want this community to know that you can ask any questions, we want to be able to answer your questions.

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But another part that's really going to be a part of this podcast, that I think is really exciting is that I want this to also be about food, bringing people together. So not just the therapeutic side of food and the medicine inside of food, but also That food is comfort and so I think when you're bringing people together and you're thinking about what do I serve them, it's it's Christmas, it's birthdays, it's a special evening and it's going to be really delicious food that brings people together and so it's really fun to talk about food and to be able to share food that is comfort and at the same time, you know, letting your family taste some delicious food that's also very healing for them and to expose them to that and to be able to create happy memories.

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So I'm a big fan of food is happiness and it is also medicine. So, I can't wait to meet with you weekly on this podcast and remember to follow, subscribe on YouTube, um, to follow us on Instagram, on Dr. Cheryl Wellness, where every single day we're creating wellness posts to inspire healthy eating and healthy living every single day.

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And I'm excited to see you next week on the podcast.