What if your weight struggles, cravings, emotional eating, and stubborn belly fat were never about discipline — but about stress?
In this episode, I’m breaking down the one hormone that quietly controls your metabolism, hunger signals, fat storage, emotional regulation, and eating behaviors — your stress hormone.
This conversation goes far beyond food rules and diet culture and into the real driver of self-sabotage: your nervous system state.
In This Episode, I’ll Teach You:
Why Cortisol Is the Master Hormone
Cortisol isn’t the enemy — it’s your body’s survival hormone. But when it stays elevated, your body shifts into protection mode, prioritizing survival over fat release, digestion, and emotional regulation.
When cortisol is high:
Fat storage is favored
Your body isn’t broken — it’s responding exactly the way it was designed to.
How Chronic Stress Drives Emotional Eating
I explain how constant stress — emotional, psychological, physical, or environmental — creates a cycle of:
Blood sugar spikes and crashes
Intense cravings
“Out of control” eating moments
Shame and self-blame
And why trying to diet from this state only makes the cycle worse.
The Hidden Reason Willpower Fails
When cortisol is elevated, the prefrontal cortex goes offline — the part of your brain responsible for logic, decision-making, and restraint.
That’s why you can know exactly what to do… and still feel unable to stop.
This isn’t a character flaw — it’s biology.
How Cortisol Impacts Other Hormones
You’ll hear how chronic stress disrupts:
Thyroid hormones → slowed metabolism
Insulin → blood sugar chaos and fat storage
Estrogen → PMS, PCOS symptoms, water retention
Muscle tissue → metabolic slowdown
When one hormone becomes dysregulated, it creates a cascade throughout the entire body.
Why Weight Gain Often Shows Up in Your 40s
It’s not “just menopause.”
This phase of life often comes with:
Increased emotional responsibility
Caregiving stress
Loss, grief, or major life transitions
The nervous system adapts to chronic survival mode — and the body responds accordingly.
How to Begin Regulating Cortisol
Healing doesn’t start with harder workouts or stricter diets.
It starts with:
Nervous system safety
Thought awareness
Reducing perfectionism
Nourishment (not restriction)
Rest and recovery
Addressing unresolved emotional stress
Health truly begins from the shoulders up.
Closing Reminder
Your body is not working against you.It’s responding to stress the only way it knows how.
When you create safety — everything changes.
Listen to more episodes at makepeacewithfood.com/podcast or subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcast, and YouTube.
Listen to more episodes at www.makepeacewithfood.com/podcast or subscribe to me on Spotify, Podcast, and YouTube so you never miss an episode!
Join my Facebook Community: www.myfoodfreedomlifestyle.com
Work with me: www.sherryshaban.com/transform
Go deeper: www.makepeacewithfood.com
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In this episode, Sherry talks with Amy Stein, an herbalist, energy medicine educator, trauma-informed breathwork facilitator, and motivational speaker, to explore what it really means to heal — beyond symptoms, diagnoses, and willpower.
This episode is a powerful reminder that your body is not broken — it’s communicating.
What You’ll Hear in This Episode
Amy shares her personal journey of growing up immersed in Western medicine, only to find herself chronically ill in her mid-20s — mirroring the very patients she once worked with. What followed was years of unanswered questions, standardized protocols, and the painful realization that being “too sensitive” was never the problem.
Together, Sherry and Amy unpack the deeper layers of healing — trauma, safety, energy, breath, and the body’s innate intelligence.
Key Topics We Explore:
1. When the Body Speaks — and No One Listens
Amy describes what it’s like to experience invisible illness and autoimmune symptoms in a system that only validates what it can measure. This conversation will resonate deeply with anyone who has felt dismissed, unseen, or told “everything looks normal” when it clearly isn’t.
2. Trauma Isn’t Just What Happened — It’s the Body’s Response
This episode gently dismantles the idea that trauma has to be “big” to be real.
Trauma can be grief, chronic stress, dieting, emotional suppression, or even daily traffic.
The body doesn’t distinguish between past and present — or perceived and real threats.
What matters is how the nervous system responds.
3. Safety, the Nervous System & Why Healing Can Feel Impossible
Sherry and Amy explore why true healing can’t happen in fight, flight, freeze, or fawn — and why so many people stay stuck in survival mode for decades.
You’ll hear how:
Restriction (including dieting) can be traumatic to the body
Feeling unsafe in your body drives self-sabotage
The body prioritizes survival over thriving
And why learning to feel safe again is foundational for healing, weight regulation, and emotional freedom.
4. Why Awareness Alone Isn’t Enough
Many people in therapy develop deep awareness of their triggers — yet remain stuck.
Amy explains how repeatedly retelling trauma without engaging the body can actually re-traumatize the nervous system, and why healing must include the physical and energetic body — not just the mind.
5. Breathwork: The Most Accessible Healing Tool We Have
Breathwork becomes the heart of this episode.
Amy explains why breath is so powerful:
It directly regulates the nervous systemIt brings awareness back into the body
It requires no equipment, no story, and no perfection
Unlike meditation, breathwork allows movement, sound, emotion, and release — giving the body permission to process what it’s been holding for years.
6. Energy Medicine, Ancient Wisdom & Trusting What You Can’t See
This conversation bridges ancient healing systems — herbalism, meridians, energy medicine — with modern nervous system science.
Amy shares how combining:
Plant medicine
Energy medicine
Breathwork
Trauma-informed support
created the breakthroughs that traditional medicine never could.
Powerful Takeaways
Your body is not failing — it’s communicating
Trauma is stored energy that needs movement, not suppression
Healing requires safety, not force
The body leads; the mind follows
Simple tools can create profound shifts
You don’t need to be “fixed” — you need to be supported
Closing Reflection
Healing isn’t about arriving at a destination — it’s about learning how to meet yourself with awareness, compassion, and trust.
As Amy reminds us:
“As long as you’re in a physical body, healing is part of the journey.”
This episode is an invitation to stop outsourcing your power — and begin listening to the wisdom that’s been within you all along.
In this powerful conversation, Sherry sits down with Josh Dech—holistic nutritionist and gut health specialist—for a deep exploration of joy, inflammation, trauma, nutrition, and the true root causes of chronic disease.
What begins as a lighthearted exchange about energy and joy quickly unfolds into one of the most comprehensive, grounded discussions on gut health you’ll hear—blending science, clinical experience, and humanity.
Joy Is a State, Not a Circumstance Josh opens by sharing why it feels natural for him to say life is “great,” even during stressful seasons. Joy, he explains, is not the absence of hardship—it’s a chosen state of being. Happiness may change with circumstances, but joy can exist alongside difficulty. This mindset alone sets the foundation for healing.
From Paramedic to Root-Cause Healing Josh shares his journey from paramedic to holistic nutritionist, witnessing firsthand how Western medicine often manages symptoms without restoring health. A pivotal moment came when he worked with a 57-year-old woman on 26 medications who—through lifestyle and nutrition changes—went on to break powerlifting world records. That experience shattered the myth that it’s ever “too late” to heal.
Inflammation Is Not the Enemy One of the most important reframes of the episode: inflammation is not the problem—it’s the signal. It’s your body trying to heal. The real question becomes, what is the body responding to? You can’t numb pain and expect healing; you must remove the thorn.
The Gut Disease Spectrum Josh explains how gut dysfunction exists on a spectrum—from bloating, constipation, and diarrhea to IBS, Crohn’s, and colitis. When root causes go unaddressed, irritation can progress into autoimmune disease, leaving many people mislabeled as “genetic” or “incurable.”
Why Gut Disease Is Exploding In the last 30 years, gut disease has increased fivefold worldwide. Over 50% of cases are in North America, alongside rising pesticide exposure, ultra-processed foods, chronic stress, trauma, and hustle culture. This is not genetics—it’s environment.
Trauma, Stress & the Nervous System Josh explains how emotional trauma, grief, chronic stress, and even generational experiences can directly impact gut bacteria, immune response, hormones, and inflammation. Healing must address both biology and lived experience.
Functional Medicine vs. Sick Care Western medicine asks, “What’s the diagnosis?” Functional medicine asks, “Why did this begin?” Healing requires understanding history, not just assigning labels.
Is There a Point of No Return? Josh answers clearly: only if an organ has been removed. Even autoimmune disease is only about 25% genetic. The rest is modifiable. He shares stories of people reversing decades of Crohn’s and colitis—becoming symptom-free and medication-free.
Nutrition Is Not One-Size-Fits-All Food is a tool, not a religion. Plant-based and animal-based approaches can both be healing depending on context, gut integrity, and nervous system state.
How You Eat Matters Digestion begins before the first bite. Eating in stress shuts digestion down. Chewing, slowing down, and eating in safety are foundational to healing.
Food Quality & Modern Farming Josh emphasizes prioritizing food quality, reducing pesticide exposure, and choosing real food over convenience.
Hormones Are Downstream Hormonal imbalances are symptoms—not root causes. Address inflammation, gut health, and stress, and hormones often regulate naturally.
Listen to more episodes at makepeacewithfood.com/podcast or subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcast, and YouTube.
Listen to more episodes at www.makepeacewithfood.com/podcast or subscribe to me on Spotify, Podcast, and YouTube so you never miss an episode!
Join my Facebook Community: www.myfoodfreedomlifestyle.com
Work with me: www.sherryshaban.com/transform
Go deeper: www.makepeacewithfood.com
Share your biggest takeaway and tag me on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn
In today’s powerful episode, I sit down with someone whose story moved me deeply — Jonathan Mclernon, an emotional eating coach who has lost over 100 pounds and, more importantly, rebuilt his relationship with himself after surviving a brutal trauma that nearly took his life.
What struck me most about Jonathan isn’t just his expertise, but the profound self-awareness and compassion he has cultivated through some of the darkest moments a person can experience.
This conversation is for anyone who has ever wondered why they sabotage, why they eat to soothe, why certain patterns feel impossible to break — and why “just try harder” has never been the answer.
What We Explore Together
1. The Trauma That Changed Everything
Jonathan shares the moment he was nearly killed in South Africa and how the aftermath — the fear, the anger, the anxiety — led him into emotional eating and rapid weight gain. As he spoke, I could feel the weight of those emotions, and also the courage it takes to revisit them so others can feel understood.
2. Why Emotional Eating Is Not About Food
What I love about Jonathan’s work is how aligned it is with mine: Every behavior makes sense when we understand the story behind it.
He explains how food became his escape when his mind no longer felt like a safe place — and how many of us repeat this pattern, not because we lack discipline, but because we lack relief.
3. The Radical Power of Compassion
Jonathan describes compassion as the turning point in his healing — compassion for the men who hurt him, but even more powerfully, compassion for himself. It reminded me so much of what I teach: Healing begins when we stop punishing ourselves and start understanding ourselves.
His coach modeled compassion in a way that dismantled years of shame and self-loathing — and it was this emotional safety that finally allowed him to change.
4. The Real Story Behind Before-and-After Transformations
Jonathan hosts a podcast called Between the Before and After, where he explores the messy, uncomfortable, human parts of transformation.
He shared a metaphor I loved — the “tunnel of sewage”: Transformation isn’t a rainbow into the clouds. It’s wading through discomfort, setbacks, emotions, and old beliefs… but it’s where the $10 million life is waiting.
This honest conversation reminded me how important it is to normalize the hard parts — because the hard parts are where transformation is actually happening.
5. Healing Identity, Victimhood, and Self-Worth
We talk about the seductive nature of victimhood, how it provides significance, and why many of us cling to identities that hurt us. And we explore what happens when we choose to shift our significance onto something greater — our children, our purpose, our integrity, our desire to serve.
Jonathan’s story is a living, breathing example of that shift.
Key Takeaways
Emotional eating is not a flaw — it’s a coping mechanism for unmet emotional needs.
Compassion is the foundation of all lasting change.
You cannot hate yourself into a version of yourself you love.
Healing is not linear — setbacks are part of the nervous system reorganizing.
You can forgive without excusing.
Your transformation is not supposed to look perfect.
Listen to more episodes at makepeacewithfood.com/podcast or subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcast, and YouTube.
Listen to more episodes at www.makepeacewithfood.com/podcast or subscribe to me on Spotify, Podcast, and YouTube so you never miss an episode!
Join my Facebook Community: www.myfoodfreedomlifestyle.com
Work with me: www.sherryshaban.com/transform
Go deeper: www.makepeacewithfood.com
Share your biggest takeaway and tag me on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn
In this powerful episode, I sit down with Corinna Bellizzi — an omega-3 expert, industry pioneer, and pro-planet health advocate who’s spent over 20 years transforming essential fats. We explore resilience, health sovereignty, sustainability, and the nutrient most people are deficient in: omega-3s.
1. Corinna’s Story: Curiosity & Grit
Corinna’s career wasn’t built on luck, but on:
Insatiable curiosity
Refusing the first “no”
She shared how being told she’d “never be a runner” led her to finish the Boston Marathon, showing her belief that most people are capable of far more than they think. Her superpower? Seeing possibility where others see barriers.
2. Scaling a Tiny Omega Company
Corinna grew one of the world’s top omega-3 brands from under $1M to over $100M across 36 markets. Her approach combined sales mastery, education, science-first messaging, and sustainability advocacy. But even the best fish oil companies had ecological costs, leading her to algae — the original source of EPA and DHA.
3. Fish Oil vs. Algae
Key point: Fish don’t make omega-3s — algae does. Algae-based omegas are:
3x more bioavailable than fish oil
Free from microplastics & heavy metals
Ethical and sustainable
Part of a regenerative system that helps the planet
At Orlo Nutrition, Corinna is pioneering polar lipid omega-3s, which the body absorbs far better than fish oil or krill.
4. Signs of Deficiency
Omega-3 deficiency is common due to cooking oils, low fish intake, and nutrient-poor foods. Symptoms often hidden in “normal” struggles: brain fog, low mood, poor sleep, dry skin, inflammation, joint discomfort, cravings, hormonal imbalances, and slow recovery. Every cell needs omega-3s — without it, inflammation and cellular rigidity rise.
5. Omega-3 Index Test
The Omega-3 Index Test measures EPA & DHA in red blood cells:
Optimal: 8–12%
Average American: 3–4%
Corinna’s result: 6.37% on two Orlo softgels daily, moving to three brings her into the optimal zone. Orlo includes two Omega-3 Index Tests in the first six months.
6. Why Most Supplements Fail
Low doses, poor bioavailability, and synthetic forms mean many supplements don’t work. Corinna explains why bioavailable omegas, methylated B vitamins, and quality greens are worth it — not for biohacking, but for basic human function.
7. Investing in Health
We reframed supplement cost:
“Expensive compared to what? Prevention always costs less than correction.”
Small, consistent investments in real food + smart supplementation save money and health long-term.
8. Corinna’s Four Health Pillars
What you eat
What you drink
How you move
How you sleep
Omega-3s support cellular function, recovery, mood, hormones, sleep, and cognition. You don’t need 30 supplements — just the right few consistently.
Key Takeaways
Omega-3 deficiency is a hidden health crisis
Algae-based omegas are cleaner and more effective than fish oil
Prevention is always cheaper than treatment
Small, consistent health investments compound over time
Listen to more episodes at makepeacewithfood.com/podcast or subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcast, and YouTube.
Listen to more episodes at www.makepeacewithfood.com/podcast or subscribe to me on Spotify, Podcast, and YouTube so you never miss an episode!
Join my Facebook Community: www.myfoodfreedomlifestyle.com
Work with me: www.sherryshaban.com/transform
Go deeper: www.makepeacewithfood.com
Share your biggest takeaway and tag me on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn
In this episode, Sherry sits down with Adam Hart, a personal transformation coach, to explore the journey from burnout, self-sabotage, and anxiety toward emotional freedom and self-mastery. Adam shares his story of hitting rock bottom in Toronto, discovering rock climbing, and how that experience became the foundation of his approach to transformation.
Through his story, listeners learn how stress, ADHD, depression, and addictive patterns hijack the nervous system—and how small, consistent interventions can reset energy, emotions, and choices.
1. From Burnout to Transformation Adam reflects on mid-20s burnout and the physical, emotional, and mental collapse that led him to discover the importance of presence and nervous system regulation. Sherry relates her own burnout experience, creating a shared space for listeners who’ve been there.
Key takeaways:
Burnout often appears gradually, creeping into life.
The mind feeds off fight-or-flight energy, reinforcing anxiety and unhealthy habits.
Awareness of your mind is the first step to reclaiming control.
2. The Power of Rock Climbing Adam found relief from anxiety through rock climbing, which became a form of therapy. Climbing helped him:
Pause before reacting
Manage adrenaline and stress responses
Step back from self-sabotaging thoughts
Presence in climbing taught him emotional regulation, forming the foundation for helping others transform behaviors and energy.
3. Introducing Heart Flow Adam shares his 33-second breath practice, Heart Flow, designed to:
Reset the nervous system
Pause self-sabotaging reactions, like sugar cravings
Connect with desired emotions in the present
Consistent practice of Heart Flow allows you to choose love over punishment, building resilience and self-mastery.
4. Transforming Habits and Cravings Adam explains how the nervous system drives habitual behaviors, particularly dopamine-driven patterns like sugar, shopping, or other addictions. By creating a pause and training the brain to respond differently, you can:
Break automatic reactions
Align with your desired emotional state
Transform habits without guilt or restriction
5. Manifestation and Emotional Frequency The conversation explores the link between nervous system and manifestation:
Emotional frequency, regulated by the nervous system, impacts what you attract.
Children naturally experience joy and abundance; adults often resist due to conditioning and limiting beliefs.
Retraining the nervous system and cultivating presence helps manifest the life you desire.
6. The Cultural Lens Adam and Sherry discuss modern pressures—from social media to processed foods to artificial light—that subtly keep us in fight-or-flight mode. Understanding these influences is essential to reclaim autonomy over your nervous system and emotional state.
Your Takeaways
Awareness of your mind is the first step to transformation.
Small, consistent practices like Heart Flow reset the nervous system.
Emotional presence enables conscious choices over automatic reactions.
Releasing resistance allows joy, abundance, and self-directed manifestation.
Understanding and mitigating environmental stressors empowers lifelong vitality.
Journal Prompts
Where in my life am I reacting automatically instead of choosing love?
How can I create small pauses in stressful moments today?
What emotions do I want to cultivate in the present moment?
Which behaviors are driven by my fight-or-flight system, and how can I transform them?
Listen to more episodes at www.makepeacewithfood.com/podcast or subscribe to me on Spotify, Podcast, and YouTube so you never miss an episode!
Join my Facebook Community: www.myfoodfreedomlifestyle.com
Work with me: www.sherryshaban.com/transform
Go deeper: www.makepeacewithfood.com
Share your biggest takeaway and tag me on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn
In this conversation, Sherry sits down with Natalie Jurado, founder of Be Rooted In, to explore one of the most overlooked yet life-changing minerals: magnesium.
If you’ve struggled with anxiety, insomnia, panic attacks, burnout, muscle cramps, headaches, hormonal imbalance, chronic stress, or that “tired but wired” feeling… this episode will open a new door.
Natalie shares her journey — from sleeping only two hours a night and having public panic attacks to reclaiming her nervous system, peace, and vitality through magnesium.
1. Natalie’s Story: From Panic to Peace
Natalie describes a season of snapping at her kids, constant anxiety, panic attacks in grocery stores, lack of sleep, and juggling business and motherhood. After countless tests and dismissals, a customer suggested magnesium. Within a week of topical magnesium chloride, her sleep improved from two hours to six, and panic attacks stopped — sparking her life’s work.
2. Why So Many Are Magnesium Deficient
Magnesium is stored mostly in muscles (60%) and bones (40%); only 1% is in the blood, so deficiency often goes undetected. Deficiency is common because: chronic stress, caffeine, alcohol, sugar (54 molecules of magnesium per sugar molecule), and exercise drain magnesium. Getting enough through food alone? You’d need 10 cups of raw spinach daily. No wonder 70% of people are deficient.
3. Stress, Cortisol & Magnesium
Magnesium supports the parasympathetic nervous system — “rest, digest, repair.” Stress burns magnesium, which makes regulating stress harder. Magnesium acts as a brake for the nervous system, and deficiency keeps us stuck in fight-or-flight. Culturally, we normalize burnout; magnesium offers a physiological path back to calm.
4. Symptoms of Deficiency
Common signs include headaches, migraines, insomnia, restless legs, cramps, inflammation, hormonal imbalance, anxiety, and depression. These are not “normal” — they are signs of a depleted nervous system.
5. How Do We Know If We’re Getting Enough?
Food high in magnesium includes leafy greens, nuts, seeds, and dark chocolate. But stress, diet, lifestyle, and environment affect absorption, and food alone may not suffice.
6. Types of Magnesium
Natalie breaks down 11 types:
Avoid: Oxide (4% absorbed), Carbonate — mostly wasted.
Prefer: Glycinate (sleep, anxiety), Malate (energy, muscles), Threonate (brain fog), Sulfate/Epsom (baths, cramps), Chloride (creams, transdermal).
7. Daily Magnesium Routine
Natalie spreads doses: cream after morning workout, supplement with breakfast, cream again in evening, and leg/foot application before bed to maximize absorption.
8. Dosage
RDA is 350–400 mg for healthy people. Chronic stress, caffeine, sugar, exercise, or sweating increases needs. Natalie takes 700–800 mg/day. Magnesium is hard to overdose — the body self-regulates.
9. The Heart Behind Her Work
Natalie’s mission: stop unnecessary suffering, provide the information she lacked, and reduce needless doctor visits. Her work is service.
10. Where to Find Natalie
Website: BeRootedIn.com
Social: @berootedin
Your Takeaways
Anxiety and exhaustion aren’t “just” what they seem. Normal symptoms aren’t always normal. Magnesium is essential for stress recovery, sleep, nervous system regulation, hormones, and mental health. Lifestyle factors impact magnesium needs. Don’t let others define what’s normal for your body. This episode is a permission slip to rethink your symptoms and reclaim calm.
This episode will change how you think about gluten forever.
If you’ve feared wheat…
If you’ve struggled with bloating, fatigue, pain, constipation, diarrhea, brain fog, or inflammation…
If you’ve avoided bread for years…
Today’s conversation will feel like freedom.
I sit down with Cindy Anderson, founder of Manny’s Choice and self-proclaimed “good gluten” advocate, who went from severe gluten intolerance and breast cancer to discovering a completely different kind of wheat — one that nourishes the body instead of inflaming it.
This episode gently dismantles everything we’ve been taught about gluten and offers hope for anyone trapped by their symptoms.
1. Cindy’s Story: Severe Gluten Intolerance, Breast Cancer & a Search for Answers
Cindy didn’t start a company — she tried to save her health. She shares how she went from:
Violent diarrhea
Migraines
Bloating
Joint pain so severe she felt “90 years old”
Itchy skin and rashes
Brain fog
…to discovering she could eat gluten freely in Italy without a single symptom. This breakthrough revealed the truth about American and Canadian wheat — and how it’s been altered beyond recognition.
2. The Real Problem Isn’t Gluten — It’s What We’ve Done to Wheat
Cindy explains why North American wheat causes extreme reactions:
1950s nuclear food testing altered wheat’s genetic “essence”
“Dwarf wheat” engineered for profit, not health
Modern milling burns the kernel, destroying nutrients
Gluten concentrated 50–500x higher
Synthetic folic acid sprayed on wheat — up to 80% of people can’t process it
Roundup forces faster harvesting and remains on grain
Potassium bromate added to most breads
Her passion isn’t for blaming gluten — it’s for exposing the deception and preventable harm.
3. The European Difference
European, Egyptian, and certain Middle Eastern wheat follow traditional farming and milling:
No nuclear-altered seeds
No rapid-burn milling
No chemical sprays
Nutrient-rich soil
Natural gluten levels
Even those with Hashimoto’s, arthritis, brain fog, gut issues, or autism sensitivities often see dramatic improvements switching to these flours.
4. Why Bread Used to Be Nutritious
Bread isn’t supposed to hurt — it’s meant to nourish. Natural wheat is:
Anti-inflammatory
Mineral-rich
Grounding
Gut-supportive
Toxin-binding
A complex carbohydrate your brain needs
Cindy shares stories of:
Arthritis disappearing after 25 years
Diabetics whose blood sugar stays steady
Children with autism who remain calm on Italian heritage wheat
These aren’t just recipes — they’re revelations.
5. The Emotional Connection to Food
I share my own fear of gluten and symptoms — chronic pain, bloating, sleep issues. Cindy explains why:
We’ve been marketed to fear gluten
We’ve blamed a natural molecule for chemically altered wheat
Healing your relationship with wheat mirrors healing your relationship with food itself.
6. Manny’s Choice: Clean, Pure European Flour
Cindy’s company was born from personal need and community demand. Her mixes are:
100% European wheat
Free of preservatives, GMOs, synthetic agents
Simple (9 ingredients vs. 47 in major U.S. brands)
Beginner-friendly
Crafted for health and joy
Yes — I made the waffles with egg whites and loved them.
7. Coupons & Links
Website: www.mannyschoiceflour.com
Coupon code: MPWF for 10% off
Whether baking bread, artisan loaves, sourdough, or pizza, this is the place to start.
8. What This Episode Is Really About
This isn’t just gluten — it’s about making peace with food, releasing fear, and reconnecting with nourishment.
“In this short time, I feel like I’ve made peace with gluten. And that’s huge for me.”
If you’ve feared gluten, avoided bread, felt betrayed by your body, or longed to enjoy food again — this episode will give you hope and a path forward.
What if the pain you're trying to outrun is actually the doorway to your deepest healing?
In today’s episode, I sit down with the incredible Clint Hatton, a coach, speaker, and author whose life story is a powerful testimony to how trauma can shatter us or reshape us into something extraordinary. Together, we explore how pain—whether it comes from childhood trauma, addiction, loss, or unresolved emotions—can become a catalyst for purpose, compassion, and profound personal transformation.
As I speak with Clint, we journey through the very real layers of emotional pain: the kind that numbs us, the kind we fear, and the kind that ultimately has the power to awaken us. Clint shares his remarkable path—from a youth marked by chaos, addiction, and instability, to the devastating loss of his oldest son, and finally to the courageous choice to face pain rather than flee from it.
This conversation is raw, human, and deeply honest. If you’ve ever tried to avoid your pain, numb it, suppress it, or outrun it… this episode will speak directly to your heart.
Listen to the full episode to experience the entire story and its powerful insights.
Topics Covered:
How unprocessed childhood trauma shapes emotional patterns in adulthood
The link between pain avoidance and addictive or compulsive behaviors
Clint’s 9-year battle with meth addiction—and the moment that changed everything
How the loss of his son became a turning point rather than an ending
Choosing life, resilience, and meaning after unimaginable grief
Why suppressing emotion keeps the nervous system in protection mode
What it actually looks like to sit with pain instead of escaping it
Developing healthy emotional coping strategies after trauma
Turning tragedy into purpose without spiritual bypassing
How vulnerability creates safety, connection, and long-term healing
Why experimentation—not restriction—is the way forward
Listen to more episodes at www.makepeacewithfood.com/podcast or subscribe to me on Spotify, Podcast, and YouTube so you never miss an episode!
Join my Facebook Community here: www.myfoodfreedomlifestyle.com
Work with me: www.sherryshaban.com/transform
Want to go deeper? Visit www.makepeacewithfood.com to learn more!
Share your biggest takeaway and tag me on social media: Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn
Have you ever wondered why “eating clean” still isn’t working for you?
In this episode, I sit down with nutrition expert Andrea Nicholson, who shares her powerful journey through decades of trial-and-error diets, mystery symptoms, conflicting nutrition advice, and the moment she finally discovered what her body actually needed.
We explore why mainstream diet rules often fail, how to recognize when your nutrition isn’t serving you, and what it really takes to find the right plan for your unique biology.
This conversation is raw, real, and packed with insights that challenge everything you’ve been taught about “healthy eating.”
Listen to the full episode for the complete conversation and deeper insights!
Topics Covered
Why “perfect diets” stop working — and what that really means
The danger of following generalized diet advice
Why plant-based, low-fat, or high-fiber diets can work… until they don’t
How gut health, digestive enzymes, and microbial diversity impact nutrition
Signs your diet isn’t right for you (even if it’s “healthy”)
The role of stress, sleep, and lifestyle in digestion and inflammation
Why we must evolve our nutrition as our body and life change
How testing, data, and curiosity can guide sustainable breakthroughs
Releasing old beliefs around carbs, fats, and protein
Why experimentation—not restriction—is the way forward
Listen to more episodes at www.makepeacewithfood.com/podcast or subscribe to me on Spotify, Podcast, and YouTube so you never miss an episode!
Join my Facebook Community here: www.myfoodfreedomlifestyle.com
Work with me: www.sherryshaban.com/transform
Want to go deeper? Visit www.makepeacewithfood.com to learn more!
Share your biggest takeaway and tag me on social media: Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn
What if your greatest pain is also the doorway to your greatest resilience?
In this episode, I sit down with Danielle Matthews, a remarkable woman who rebuilt her life after a traumatic brain injury turned her entire world upside down. Together, we explore what happens when your identity is stripped away, when doctors tell you “this is your new normal,” and when you’re left choosing between surrendering to circumstance or reclaiming your inner power.
Danielle’s story mirrors so much of my own journey after being hit by a car—and our shared experience opens a profound conversation about healing, resilience, and the unshakeable strength that emerges when everything familiar falls apart.
Stay with us to hear how meditation, mindset, and unlearning society’s medical conditioning helped Danielle transform her trauma into her purpose.
Listen to the full episode to dive deeper into Danielle’s powerful healing journey and the mindset shifts that change everything.
Topics Covered:
Danielle’s traumatic brain injury and the invisible symptoms no one could see
The emotional collapse after losing identity, independence, and career
How the medical system often overlooks neuroplasticity and the brain’s ability to heal
Why society gives doctors total authority—and how we can reclaim our power
Learning to separate your identity from your circumstances
Meditation as a turning point: calming the nervous system and lifting depression
The athlete mindset: pushing forward, seeking answers, and refusing to settle
How trauma becomes a gateway to expansion, growth, and purpose
Listen to more episodes at www.makepeacewithfood.com/podcast or subscribe to me on Spotify, Podcast, and YouTube so you never miss an episode!
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What if the symptoms you’ve been dismissing for years are actually your body’s SOS signal?
In this episode, I sit down with Anna Pinnock, a registered nutritional therapist who helps people heal autoimmune diseases, thyroid conditions, and chronic health issues by getting to the root cause. Anna’s own healing journey began with a Hashimoto’s diagnosis in her early twenties—followed by years of fatigue, bloating, hair loss, and doctors telling her “everything looks normal.”
Her story is one of deep self-discovery, functional nutrition, trauma healing, and the realization that food, stress, and the nervous system play a far bigger role in autoimmune conditions than most of us realize.
We explore how stress suppresses thyroid function, how gut inflammation drives autoimmune flares, why complex carbohydrates triggered years of unresolved symptoms, and how changing her diet transformed her life—and eventually guided her into the world of nutritional therapy.
Listen to the full episode to learn how to support your thyroid, heal your gut, and take back control of your energy and health.
Topics Covered:
Anna’s 15-year journey with Hashimoto’s disease
Why so many thyroid symptoms get dismissed as “normal”
How stress and trauma suppress thyroid function
The link between cortisol, metabolism, and chronic fatigue
The Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD): how it works and who it helps
Gut inflammation, malabsorption, and persistent bloating
Why dietary healing must be paired with stress regulation
How to reintroduce foods after an elimination protocol
Why one-size-fits-all diets don’t work
Functional testing and the power of individualized nutrition
Becoming open-minded in healing and alternative modalities
The 4 pillars everyone with autoimmunity must address
Listen to more episodes at www.makepeacewithfood.com/podcast or subscribe to me on Spotify, Podcast, and YouTube so you never miss an episode!
Join my Facebook Community here: www.myfoodfreedomlifestyle.com
Work with me: www.sherryshaban.com/transform
Want to go deeper? Visit www.makepeacewithfood.com to learn more!
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Are your best years really behind you—or just beginning?
In this episode, I had the pleasure of talking with Jan Saunders, an adventurer, vegan advocate, and wellness inspiration. We discussed how to reinvent yourself, stay resilient, and find purpose—especially after 50.
Jan’s story is amazing. From growing up as a nature-loving tomboy to navigating menopause, career changes, injuries, and big life transitions, she shares how curiosity, courage, and a love of nature guided her journey. She shows that it’s never too late to create a life full of adventure, health, and meaning.
In this episode, we talk about her experiences with ultra-running, going vegan, advocating for animals, and building a new career and lifestyle that matches her values. You’ll come away inspired to start your own adventure—no matter your age.
Topics Covered:
How childhood curiosity and a love for nature can give you resilience and joy for life.
Why courage matters more than fear when trying new things—whether it’s fitness, life changes, or adventures.
How to navigate menopause, body changes, and mindset shifts to stay confident and healthy in midlife.
Jan’s journey to becoming vegan at 50, and how to approach plant-based eating in a sustainable, ethical way.
How she reinvented her career, created a new income stream, and found purpose after major life transitions.
Practical advice for postmenopausal women on bone health, strength, and consistent self-care.
Why creating your own adventures at any age is the ultimate form of freedom.
Listen to more episodes at www.makepeacewithfood.com/podcast or subscribe to me on Spotify, Podcast, and YouTube so you never miss an episode!
Join my Facebook Community here: www.myfoodfreedomlifestyle.com
Work with me: www.sherryshaban.com/transform
Want to go deeper? Visit www.makepeacewithfood.com to learn more!
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Because diets disconnect us from our body’s natural wisdom. They teach us to ignore our hunger, to fear food, and to rely on willpower instead of trust.
In this episode, I sit down with Gin Stephens, New York Times bestselling author and one of the most trusted voices in the intermittent fasting world. Gin opens up about her decades-long struggle with yo-yo dieting and how discovering intermittent fasting completely transformed her relationship with food.
What I love most about Gin’s story is that it isn’t about another plan, program, or rule—it’s about reconnecting with your body. We talk about what it means to truly hear your hunger cues, why fasting is a powerful way to rebalance hormones like insulin and leptin, and how learning to trust your body again leads to lasting health and natural weight balance.
If you’ve ever felt like your body is working against you—or like you’ve “tried everything” and nothing sticks—this episode will help you understand why. And more importantly, it will help you see how healing your metabolism and nervous system can help you stop the cycle of starting over again and again.
Topics Covered:
Why diets cause hormone and hunger signal resistance
How to hear, listen to, and trust your body’s fullness cues
What “appetite correction” really means and how it happens naturally
Why patience is essential during your fasting adaptation phase
The truth about “clean fasting” and how insulin affects fat burning
Why you must get healthy to lose weight (not the other way around)
How to break free from the “fix it fast” mindset and find freedom for life
Listen to more episodes at www.makepeacewithfood.com/podcast or subscribe to me on Spotify, Podcast, and YouTube so you never miss an episode!
Join my Facebook Community here: www.myfoodfreedomlifestyle.com
Work with me: www.sherryshaban.com/transform
Want to go deeper? Visit www.makepeacewithfood.com to learn more!
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What truly drives you to take care of yourself?
In this episode, I dive deep into the real reason behind lasting consistency — uncovering your Big WHY. So often, we start our health and fitness journey focused on appearance or quick results. But the truth is, sustainable transformation only happens when your “why” runs deeper — when it’s connected to something truly meaningful.
I share my personal story of finding my own Big WHY — the moment I realized I never wanted to depend on anyone for the simplest tasks again — and how that clarity has fueled my consistency through pregnancies, injuries, and every season of life.
You’ll also learn how to stay consistent without pushing through burnout, why honoring your body is key, and how tuning in to your energy each day can help you create long-term results that actually last.
Tune in to the full episode to discover how to uncover your Big WHY — and use it to build unshakable consistency in your health and self-care journey.
Topics Covered:
How to uncover your Big WHY behind your goals
Why consistency matters more than intensity
How to stay motivated through challenges and setbacks
Listening to your body’s signals for movement and rest
How to build sustainable habits by tuning in to your body’s wisdom
The connection between self-awareness and long-term health success
Listen to more episodes at www.makepeacewithfood.com/podcast or subscribe to me on Spotify, Podcast, and YouTube so you never miss an episode!
Join my Facebook Community here: www.myfoodfreedomlifestyle.com
Work with me: www.sherryshaban.com/transform
Want to go deeper? Visit www.makepeacewithfood.com to learn more!
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Have you ever stopped to wonder what’s actually in the food you eat every day? In this episode, I uncover the truth about real food and processed food—and how understanding the difference can completely change how you feel in your body.
I share why so much of what we see on grocery store shelves isn’t really food at all, but “food-like substances” our bodies struggle to recognize. You’ll learn how eating more whole, natural foods—the kind our grandparents ate—can boost your energy, improve your sleep and digestion, and even regulate your mood.
And this isn’t about perfection or restriction. It’s about reconnecting with how food makes you feel instead of what the scale or calorie tracker says. I even share how I enjoy my birthday cake guilt-free—and why that balance matters.
Listen to the full episode to discover how choosing real food can help you reclaim your energy, vitality, and intuitive connection with your body.
Topics Covered:
The difference between real food and processed food
Why most modern foods are “food-like substances”
How your body recognizes nutrients, not calories
The power of eating like your grandparents did
The benefits of eating colorful, whole foods (“eating the rainbow”)
How processed foods affect energy, mood, and digestion
Balancing nourishment with pleasure (yes, even cake!)
Reconnecting with your body through intuitive eating
Listen to more episodes at www.makepeacewithfood.com/podcast or subscribe to me on Spotify, Podcast, and YouTube so you never miss an episode!
Join my Facebook Community here: www.myfoodfreedomlifestyle.com
Work with me: www.sherryshaban.com/transform
Want to go deeper? Visit www.makepeacewithfood.com to learn more!
Share your biggest takeaway and tag me on social media: Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn
Have you ever felt like your body was trying to tell you something—but you brushed it off until it got louder?
In this episode, I explore how our bodies communicate through subtle signals long before discomfort, cravings, or self-sabotage show up. I share how ignoring these messages pulls us out of balance—emotionally, physically, and spiritually—and how tuning in can guide us back to calm, connection, and confidence.
You’ll learn how to recognize the difference between your body’s loving wisdom and the harsh voice of your inner critic (what I call the imp), and why so much of our struggle with food, energy, and motivation comes from living in protection mode instead of safety mode.
Listen to the full episode to reconnect with your body’s cues and discover how safety, not discipline, leads to true freedom.
Topics Covered
The body’s innate wisdom and how it communicates through cues
How ignoring your body leads from emotional imbalance to physical pain
The “voice of the imp” and how to recognize self-sabotaging thoughts
How thoughts create emotions—and emotions shape behavior
The role of the nervous system in cravings, fatigue, and unwanted habits
The difference between protection mode and safety mode
How to shift your inner language to restore calm and self-trust
Listen to more episodes at www.makepeacewithfood.com/podcast or subscribe to me on Spotify, Podcast, and YouTube so you never miss an episode!
Join my Facebook Community here: www.myfoodfreedomlifestyle.com
Work with me: www.sherryshaban.com/transform
Want to go deeper? Visit www.makepeacewithfood.com to learn more!
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After 25 years in the fitness and health industry, I can confidently say — diets don’t work. They create confusion, guilt, and a scarcity mindset that disconnects us from our body’s natural wisdom. In this episode, I share why I’m anti-diet — not because I’m against health or structure — but because I’m against anything that keeps us trapped in shame, fear, and food obsession.
You’ll learn how diet culture conditions us to distrust our own bodies, how it fuels emotional eating and binge cycles, and how true transformation starts when we stop trying to fix ourselves and start reconnecting to what our body actually needs.
Listen to the full episode now and start releasing the diet mindset for good.
Topics Covered:
Why diets fail in the long run — even when they “work” at first
How the scarcity mindset created by dieting leads to binge eating
The real reason you’ve lost touch with your hunger and fullness signals
How to rebuild body trust and independence from food rules
Why does your body count nutrients, not calories
How to become the person who naturally embodies health and freedom
Listen to more episodes at www.makepeacewithfood.com/podcast or subscribe to me on Spotify, Podcast, and YouTube so you never miss an episode!
Join my Facebook Community here: www.myfoodfreedomlifestyle.com
Work with me: www.sherryshaban.com/transform
Want to go deeper? Visit www.makepeacewithfood.com to learn more!
Share your biggest takeaway and tag me on social media: Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn
What if the right diet isn’t about cutting carbs, counting macros, or giving up your favorite foods—but about understanding what truly works for you?
In this episode, I unpack why restrictive diets fail and how the “can’t mindset” wires your brain to crave the very foods you’re trying to avoid. You’ll learn how to shift from restriction to intuition, discover the difference between can’t and don’t, and finally build a way of eating that feels effortless, enjoyable, and aligned with your body.
Because health isn’t a rulebook—it’s a feeling. Listen to the full episode now
Topics Covered:
Why does restriction create the “can’t mindset”
How diets trigger cravings and binge behavior
The difference between can’t vs. don’t when it comes to food
Why there’s no one-size-fits-all diet
How to use body awareness to guide your eating
Redefining health as a feeling, not a number
Listen to more episodes at www.makepeacewithfood.com/podcast or subscribe to me on Spotify, Podcast, and YouTube so you never miss an episode!
Join my Facebook Community here: www.myfoodfreedomlifestyle.com
Work with me: www.sherryshaban.com/transform
Want to go deeper? Visit www.makepeacewithfood.com to learn more!
Share your biggest takeaway and tag me on social media: Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn
Have you ever thought that the gut issues you’re facing right now might actually trace back to unresolved past trauma or dysregulated emotions?
Gut health is fascinating—there’s so much new research surfacing. And in this episode, I learned more than ever about how a dysregulated nervous system, often rooted in early trauma or chronic stress, can set the stage for major gut disruption. We often call it dysbiosis and try to “fix” it with diet or supplements—but when we only approach it from a biological angle, and ignore the psychological and emotional roots, the healing remains incomplete.
I’m joined by Martha Carlin, founder of The BioCollective, who sh ares the deeply moving story of her husband’s Parkinson’s diagnosis at just 44 years old—and how their search for answers uncovered the profound connection between trauma, the nervous system, and the microbiome.
Together, we unpack how emotional stress, toxic exposures, and processed foods silently shift the body’s internal balance, sometimes decades before symptoms show up. Martha also introduces two groundbreaking probiotic innovations she helped develop—“microbial teams” designed not just to add bacteria, but to restore the body’s internal pharmacy and repair gut-brain communication.
This is a conversation that’s both scientific and profoundly human—reminding us that true healing happens when we address not only the gut, but also the mind and heart.
Listen now on Make Peace With Food to discover how healing your gut could be the missing key to regulating your nervous system—and reclaiming your vitality.
Topics Covered:
How gut imbalance affects nervous system regulation
The link between unresolved trauma and microbiome dysfunction
How toxic load and processed food disrupt gut health
The surprising connection between Parkinson’s, stress, and sugar cravings
The role of bio-individuality in choosing the right diet for gut health
The creation of microbial team-based probiotics
How belief, mindset, and emotional healing change physical outcomes
Want to experience the probiotic blends transforming the way we understand gut and brain health? Visit BiotiQuest®, Check out BiotiQuest® here.
Listen to more episodes at www.makepeacewithfood.com/podcast or subscribe to me on Spotify, Podcast, and YouTube so you never miss an episode!
Join my Facebook Community here: www.myfoodfreedomlifestyle.com
Work with me: www.sherryshaban.com/transform
Want to go deeper? Visit www.makepeacewithfood.com to learn more!
Share your biggest takeaway and tag me on social media: Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn