Carbs, Anxiety, and Your Brain with Priscilla Swahn

By February 4, 2025

Transcript

Leanne Vogel [00:00:00]

Today on the Healthful Pursuit podcast, I’ll.

Priscilla Swahn [00:00:04]

Get myself keto cookies, right? And they’ll come in a nice little cute bag and they’re like five servings. I’ll have it all because it’s only 2 grams of net carbs for a serving or only 10 for the entire bag, right? And I’m like, oh, these are so good. They’re cookies. And then I eat the entire bag because it’s keto cookies. What the heck? It’s okay. But it still has an effect on the brain. The brain can still register it as sugar, whether we believe it or not. And then it has all the other additives in there that can cause inflammation in the brain.

Priscilla Swahn [00:00:35]

So you might not see the whole improvement in ADHD or anxiety. Even though you might think it’s keto. You’re hitting your macros.

Leanne Vogel [00:00:44]

Welcome back.

Leanne Vogel [00:00:45]

This week we’re diving into a fan favorite replay from 2021. I can’t even comprehend how it’s almost 2025. This episode we launched with Priscilla, the incredible mind behind Keto Girl Nutritionist. Priscilla’s journey is so inspiring. She went from struggling with emotional eating and hormone imbalances to helping women transform their lives through sustainable ketogenic diets. In this episode we talk about the root cause of mental health struggles, the brain’s relationship with carbs, inflammation, responsible supplementation, and so much more. If you’re curious about how keto can support your brain, hormones and overall health, this conversation is a must. Listen.

Leanne Vogel [00:01:25]

So let’s cut over to our time with Priscilla from 2021.

Leanne Vogel [00:01:33]

Hey, my name is Leanne and I’m fascinated with helping women navigate how to eat, move and care for their bodies. This has taken me on a journey from vegan keto high protein to everything in between. I’m a small town holistic nutritionist turned three time international bestselling author turned functional medicine practitioner offering telemedicine services around the globe to women looking better their health and stop second guessing themselves. I’m here to teach you how to wade through the wellness noise to get to the good stuff that’ll help you achieve your goals. Whether you’re seeking relief from chronic ailments, striving for peak performance, or simply eager to live a more vibrant life, this.

Leanne Vogel [00:02:10]

Podcast is your go to resource for.

Leanne Vogel [00:02:12]

Actionable advice and inspiration. Together we’ll uncover the interconnectedness of nutrition, movement, sleep, stress management and mindset, empowering you to make informed choices that support your unique health journey. Think of it as quality time with your bestie mixed with a little Med school.

Leanne Vogel [00:02:31]

So you’re empowered at your next doctor.

Leanne Vogel [00:02:32]

Visit, get ready to be challenged and encouraged while you learn about your body and how to care for it healthfully. Join me as we embrace vitality, reclaim our innate potential, and discover what it truly means to pursue healthfulness. Hey, Priscilla, what’s going on? Hey.

Priscilla Swahn [00:02:59]

I’m doing well. How about yourself?

Leanne Vogel [00:03:00]

I’m so good. Thanks for coming back on the show.

Priscilla Swahn [00:03:03]

Absolutely.

Leanne Vogel [00:03:05]

Today I wanted to talk about. Well, you actually suggested chatting about mental health because you’re starting to see this a lot more and more in your practice. And so we wanted to touch on mental health. We’ll probably throw in a whole bunch of other things, but I’d love for you to just take a moment to introduce yourself. I know I just read your bio and everything, but if you want just in your own words, tell us who you are, what you do, what you’re passionate about.

Priscilla Swahn [00:03:29]

Absolutely. So I am keto girl nutritionist. I love what I do because I love just making keto, not just like, here’s your macros, here’s protein and carbs, blah, blah, blah. I love to get to the root cause of weight loss because I know for women it’s complex, it’s not a one size fits all. So that’s what I do. I’m passionate about it because I’ve seen the benefits of keto helping women with their hormone balances, pcos, hypothyroidism, high cortisol, stress levels like we previously talked about, but now it’s transitioning into also mental health issues. Like, sure, if you have a hormone imbalance, you’re going to have some mental health issues going on, some anxiety and all that other great stuff. But some people just purely have the mental health issue going on.

Priscilla Swahn [00:04:15]

Like weight isn’t too much of a factor for them, it’s just the mental health. And so that’s what I’ve been seeing more and more of with psychologists and psychiatrists referring clients to do keto because they’re seeing the amazing benefits of keto. So, yes, that’s what I love about keto. That’s the kind of clients I work with. So I’m super excited to talk more about that with you this time.

Leanne Vogel [00:04:35]

Yeah, that’s so exciting. And in fact, I hired a dietitian a while back to help me because sometimes it’s nice to just sit back, relax and have somebody take care of you and maybe point out things that you need, that perhaps as a practitioner, sometimes you get blind and you’ve been looking at your own stuff. So long. It’s nice to have feedback. And I had a long conversation with her about the carbohydrates and the function of the brain, and we disagreed. She was like, no, no. Carbohydrates should not make your brain do anything funky. And I’m like, no.

Leanne Vogel [00:05:05]

Like, this is the reason why I eat a ketogenic diet and a low carb diet. Because when I am on carbs, I am not the same person mentally. Like, I am more overwhelmed, I’m more anxious. I nag on my husband more, I get, yeah, overwhelmed and anxious a lot more. My ADHD skyrockets. Like, I have such a hard time just staying focused on one task. Are these sort of things that you’re seeing people come to keto because of?

Priscilla Swahn [00:05:32]

Exactly. So that’s one of the things. Like, they come to keto for the weight loss. Right. They’re like, I’m tired of the way, you know, going up and down. Or they want to lose X, Y and Z. But the reason why they’re really staying is for the mental health reasons. Because we all know calorie counting works.

Priscilla Swahn [00:05:47]

Until it doesn’t. Right. It doesn’t work for most women long term. And the biggest problem is it doesn’t provide the brain with the fat that’s calming, which we can talk more about. And so, yeah, absolutely. I would 100% say that all of my clients, at the end of working with me, it is the mental health. They are like, I feel so good. Like, sure, I love the weight loss, but the mental health reason is why I want to keep doing this.

Priscilla Swahn [00:06:12]

Like, I just have more energy. I don’t have the anxiety and the panic attacks. You name it. Like, it’s so much better. And it’s just a beautiful thing to see that transformation.

Leanne Vogel [00:06:23]

Yes, completely. And something that you said, too, with the brain and fats. And why are we seeing this? Like, I get this question a lot. Like, why do carbs make me crazy? Like, what’s happening? And why are we seeing these changes as we start to bring fats into the picture?

Priscilla Swahn [00:06:39]

Right. So correct me if I’m wrong, but has mental health like anxiety and depression not skyrocketed over, like, the last 20 years? Like, we’re seeing a pandemic, in my opinion. Like, people are wanting antidepressants. They’re feeling stressed and anxious all the time. Then are we doing more research? Maybe, but I think there’s a correlation with that and the obesity epidemic as well. We’re eating more sugar, we’re eating more refined carbs and mental Health is skyrocketing at the same time. So I think there’s a correlation for sure with the sugar and mental health. For sure.

Leanne Vogel [00:07:17]

Yeah. And when we even think of Alzheimer’s, understanding that a lot of doctors are now calling IT diabetes type 3, that these brains cannot run on glucose, and that’s why we’re seeing this deterioration. And so if you just think we’re not talking about as far as dementia, but if our brain cells can run on either ketones or glucose, and we know that ketones are a more clean, burning fuel, then it would make sense that when we have ketones that our brains are functioning a lot better. And a really good thing that I encourage my clients to do. You know, when we first start going and they’re like, I don’t know, is keto right? For me, I’m not sure this is going to help. Sometimes I’ll recommend they grab some exogenous ketones and fast for the morning. As long as they can try to take it and just have some exogenous ketones just a little bit. If the package says have a teaspoon, I’m like a quarter teaspoon.

Leanne Vogel [00:08:11]

Add some to water and just take notice of your brain. Just how fast can you recall your aunts and uncles in your family? Or what do you have on your planner? Or a quick memory game of, okay, what are you doing on Wednesday? Say it all out loud, close your eyes and repeat it. Like, how quickly are you able to recall this information? And it is amazing the difference. And that’s just a little bit of exogenous ketones, right?

Priscilla Swahn [00:08:36]

I mean, like, It’s. I call B.S. on the whole, glucose carbs are the primary source of energy for the brain. We’re going to touch it. Come on. If your body in starvation mode goes to ketones, it starts using that as the primary source of fat and it’s protecting the brain. That’s why. Why would that not be the preferred source of fat? Like, yes, we can get all the research on all the crap, but I’m just saying a powerful impact on the functioning of the brain, protecting it.

Priscilla Swahn [00:09:07]

And in my opinion, it really is the preferred source of fuel because fat is calming. So many times we’re seeing, like, the neurotransmitters, we can get technical called gaba being so deficient and not working like it should be. And that just has. When you’re on a keto diet, they see those happy feelings, those happy neurotransmitters called gaba, they greatly increase because a lot of mental health Issues stem from inappropriately being able to utilize glucose as energy. And so carbs. So they’re not actually able to use carbs. So, yeah, diabetes of the brain. Exactly what I think.

Leanne Vogel [00:09:46]

And so you mentioned at the beginning, kind of with your practice, and I love this about your work, and it’s something that I attempt to do as well, is, yeah, we have a bunch of stuff going on, but what’s at the root cause of these issues, and I think, especially with mental health, there’s usually a bunch of causes to these issues. Yes, it is carbohydrates, but oftentimes too, when we look at mental health, would you say that there’s also nutrition deficiencies that are kind of at play also when it comes to mental health issues?

Priscilla Swahn [00:10:14]

Oh, yeah, absolutely. Like, I mean, I always love it if, you know, a client has any labs. I am a guru at labs. I’m like, okay, let’s figure this out. Let’s see what’s going on. Of course, we can always check the thyroid issues or anything going on with pcos, but kind of getting more root down to check, checking their zinc levels, the vitamin D3 and iodine and all these other ones, and vitamin B12, and just kind of looking at those as well. And there is oftentimes they’re greatly deficient in those as well.

Leanne Vogel [00:10:46]

Yeah, I’m glad that you brought up vitamin D. I’ll include this in the show notes. But there was a paper that was done in 2015, a review study, and it said that people that are lower in vitamin D show a higher propensity toward anxiety disorders. And I mean, there’s one lab that I’ve seen in the 13 years I’ve been doing this work. One lab, I saw it last week, and this woman had perfect vitamin D levels. And I was like, I had to double take. I’m like, are you sure this is right? Did you just test this? Like, how is this? Is this okay?

Priscilla Swahn [00:11:18]

Yeah, it never happens. Like, everyone. Everyone I always see has to be put on vitamin D of some sort. Like, even, like, there’s research done that, like, I’m in San Antonio. So even in a hot climate like San Antonio, I guarantee you the majority, like 85%, at least, if not more, are vitamin D deficient. You know, it’s like, you can be outside and you’re not absorbing it like you should. It really comes from the diet. Doesn’t matter how long you’re outside or not.

Leanne Vogel [00:11:45]

Yeah. My vitamin D journey has gone on for a really long time. I was diagnosed with very, very Severe, severe, low vitamin D levels. And no matter what I did, shots, supplements, going out in the sun, it did not help. And it wasn’t until I massively increased my animal protein consumption and went into the sun and got on a proper supplement that I was able to level it off. Now I’m sitting around 90, which is awesome and has never happened in the history of my life. But also what I think a lot of people do with vitamin D is they just go on, I mean, like 10,000 IUs every day, all the time. And I have concerns over that also.

Leanne Vogel [00:12:26]

What do you do in your practice and what’s your kind of recommendation on vitamin D as we know that it helps our mental health so much.

Priscilla Swahn [00:12:33]

Right. I think 10,000 is a bit much in my personal opinion. I think something around like 2000, 2000 IUs a day is very maintainable for the long term. And vitamin D3, because there’s another one called D2 and that’s more used, I would just use it for like a month at a really high dosage. And it’s not meant to be used over a long period of time. So D3 is, is the one that you use consistently for a long period of time. And it’s usually by month two of taking that in conjunction with changing their diet and keto and all the good stuff that they’re like, okay, I am getting more energy, I’m feeling better, I’m sleeping better.

Leanne Vogel [00:13:09]

Yes. To touch on the sleep that’s so important. I’m totally with you in that camp. How I raised my vitamin D from the very, very low level was 5,000 IUs a day. And I checked my vitamin D monthly. And once I got up to that level, I went down to a thousand. And I’m so happy that you mentioned the D3K. Like, I do D3K2 and that combination is like, it’s just perfect.

Leanne Vogel [00:13:31]

And I also, I think another deficiency that’s huge that you touched on also a zinc zinc deficiency. And women who have hormonal birth control, we know that their zinc is going to be lower because it increases their copper. Do you know of the signs of zinc deficiency or kind of what people should be looking for when it comes to zinc and mental issues, that’s a.

Priscilla Swahn [00:13:55]

Little harder, but a big one is anxiety and irritability just kind of like the little mood swings that are subtly going on and they can turn into big things and you just feel like, why am I crazy? Does it feel like there’s a full moon out every day? That’s kind of how women would equate, in my opinion, the zinc deficiency going on.

Leanne Vogel [00:14:14]

Yeah. So we’re going to include a bunch of different. Like you shared some papers. I’m going to include some. Zinc deficiency also can lead to depression, increased anxiety, irritability, emotional instability. Oh, this is an interesting one. Induce defects in social behavior. So maybe that’s our next piece to this is.

Leanne Vogel [00:14:35]

Did you notice when you started eating enough fat? I know for me I could actually be around people.

Priscilla Swahn [00:14:40]

Yeah. Did you notice this? I’m not gonna lie. I literally felt like within two months after going keto, I went from an introvert to an extrovert. Like, I was like, I used to want to be a homebody. I didn’t want to go out. I never felt like it. And then I was like, oh, I want to go out. I want to see people, I want to be out, have a drink.

Priscilla Swahn [00:14:58]

I don’t mind loud music now. Like things like that used to really like tick me and I just couldn’t handle it. Like it would almost put me into like an anxiety attack if I did it too much. And so it was just crazy how literally it can change your whole personality in a sense.

Leanne Vogel [00:15:19]

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Leanne Vogel [00:16:11]

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Leanne Vogel [00:16:24]

I remember when we were living in Montreal. I was vegan at the time and I had been vegan for about eight years and we went to this mall and I remember feeling so incredibly overwhelmed and there was so many people and so much noise that those sorts of environments where I was around a lot of people, like I Would avoid them at all costs. Like it made me really overwhelmed and really terrified. And about, I would say about six or seven months into my keto journey, I remember making a video and I didn’t realize until that moment somebody had asked me a question about mental health and I was like, wait, that doesn’t happen anymore. Like I can, I can handle all the noises and I can stay focused and I’m not so overwhelmed around people.

Priscilla Swahn [00:17:02]

Yeah, I mean literally like fat, it goes beyond just like being another energy source and weight loss, it literally is calming and changes. It just brings about a chill personality. That’s how I would like that is the easiest way. I just developed more of a I am Zen, I am chill, whatever. I didn’t care. It was just so relaxing compared to previously from my low calorie diets that I had been on or just low carb but not increasing the fat. But I was always still on edge and still had that anxiety. Then just seeing that beautiful transition to keto, it is so life changing completely.

Leanne Vogel [00:17:41]

And I think also too, when I’m going to paint a picture. So a woman goes on the ketogenic diet and she’s there for weight loss. But then like us, it sounds like she starts noticing I’m not weird around people, I can focus, I’m feeling so much better. And then the birthday cake rolls around or the event rolls around and she’s nervous because, oh my gosh, if I eat these carbohydrates, what’s it going to do to my brain? Do you have any advice for that person who, I mean, it’s a delicate balance between wanting to live your life but also knowing that when you have those carbohydrates, you’re not going to feel so great. What’s kind of your approach when it comes to that?

Priscilla Swahn [00:18:19]

So it depends, right? That’s my answer for everything. But it really depends your journey and when you’ve started, how far you’ve come in being keto. Right. If you’re a newbie and let’s say you have a history of binge eating and you’ve only been on keto for like three weeks. Right. You already know it’s amazing. But you’re around the birthday cake. I would caution maybe now is not the best time to have that birthday cake quite yet because you still aren’t there, you might feel overwhelmed, you might get, oh, I gotta have more sugar.

Priscilla Swahn [00:18:50]

But I would say more for an individual that’s I guess around like two months, you know, a little more fat adapted, they’re More confident and listening to their body’s fullness. And they can really tell that’s. By the time I have a client that will go out, they’ll have that piece of cake. And they’re like, whoa, I had just like a half a piece or a quarter of a piece, and that was too much. But I could stop because my brain just told me that was enough. And so that’s just, like, cool. Like, they can still go out and enjoy the things. It’s just.

Priscilla Swahn [00:19:18]

It’s not addicting anymore. And their brain is the one that tells them more than the stomach.

Leanne Vogel [00:19:23]

I’m glad that you mentioned the addictive piece, which is something we haven’t talked about yet as it relates to even mental health on a ketogenic diet. Something I’ve noticed for myself personally and also my clients. There’s that funky transition where we go keto and all we want is carbohydrates, but then it kind of lulls down and you’re like, I’m not that interested in this, actually. Or you have a little bite and you’re like, no, I’m good. And that to not be crazy around food is a huge mental health benefit, at least for myself.

Priscilla Swahn [00:19:52]

Absolutely. Like, one of my best stories as a girl. She does have pcos, right? And one of the biggest things she struggled with was binge eating, as especially around the time her period rolled over, because she just would have those intense cravings, and it was just a mess, which we. After month three, she would literally get to her period, and she said, I decided to have a bite of my husband’s chocolate bar. I tasted it, and I’m like, this isn’t even good anymore. I don’t want anymore. And so that’s just the beautiful transition that she went through from day one to just month three. She didn’t even like the taste of a Snickers bar anymore.

Priscilla Swahn [00:20:26]

And she felt in control, unrelieved.

Leanne Vogel [00:20:29]

Oh, you know what? We. I have a very similar story. Kevin and I were on our second keto book tour, and this was like, we had done all the US we were just starting Canada. We were going from Victoria to Vancouver or Vancouver to Calgary, I can’t remember. And our flight got upgraded, which was awesome. I love when that happens on tour because you’re so tired. You’ve been on a billion planes. And we sat down first class, and they’re going around with this big basket of large chocolate bars, and you can have as much as you want.

Leanne Vogel [00:21:00]

And Kevin, ever since I remember we’ve been together, I think 14 years now. He had a Kit Kat bar every day. Every day he would go to iga, it’s like a grocery store in Canada, and he would get a Kit Kat bar and a water, and he would eat that on his way home from work every day. And so Kevin had gone keto on the tour because he was like, I’m around a bunch of keto people, you’re talking about keto. I probably should try this keto thing. And so he had been keto for about 40 days. And we jump on the plane and the lady comes by with the big kick out bars and he’s like, no, thank you. And I was like, what? And he’s like, I just don’t feel like it.

Priscilla Swahn [00:21:43]

No. That’s the biggest fear when you go keto is I’m going to have to say no to all the foods I love, all the carbs. But the thing you don’t realize is those foods that you love now most likely are going to be few and far four months later, three months later, like, they just aren’t going to be your favorite foods anymore. And like, it’s hard because people don’t realize that. And then once they’re there, they’re like, this is freaking amazing. Like, I love other foods better for me than that. And so it’s really cool.

Leanne Vogel [00:22:15]

Yes, completely. And I guess it’s worth noting specifically as we are starting our ketogenic diet. But something I’ve noticed, especially as it relates to mental health, is, and we touched on this a little bit with vitamin deficiencies, mineral deficiencies, but also, if we are not eating quality food, there might be a woman listening that’s like, what the heck? I’m still dealing with anxiety and overwhelm. Perhaps my child has ADHD and we’re trying, but it’s not working. Do you feel like food quality has a role to play for the results that we experience as it relates to our mental health?

Priscilla Swahn [00:22:49]

Absolutely. So just like when it comes to weight loss, the biggest thing I always tell clients, if you’re not losing weight on keto, most likely you have inflammation going on. Okay. Because if you have inflammation or you have a vitamin deficiency, even that can be out of whack. Weight loss is not going to fall off. And the main reasons for the inflammation are, well, if you have a hormone imbalance, we do know gluten, dairy can be big reasons for the inflammation. But also highly processed keto snacks, like, they’ll even have gluten in them or they have all these chemicals in them. They’re like, what is that? I can’t even pronounce it.

Priscilla Swahn [00:23:24]

And so they’re contributing to the reason why you’re not losing weight. I see that all the time. So, yes, absolutely.

Leanne Vogel [00:23:31]

Yeah. And I think we can get so tied up. And I mean, I still do this. It’s been eight years. I know better. But some company will send me something, like, if I get a perfect keto box. In fact, I just got a new box of perfect keto bars. And I’m like, leanne, only eat one because one is nice, but eight in a day is not okay.

Leanne Vogel [00:23:51]

It’s just not okay. And I think we get so comfortable with keeping our diet the same or relying on the same foods that we don’t get that variety that’s required.

Priscilla Swahn [00:24:01]

And it’s really easy. I’ll do the same thing. I’ll be like, okay, I’ll get myself keto cookies, right? And they’ll come in a nice little cute bag, and they’re like five servings. I’ll have it all. Because it’s only 2 grams of net carbs for a serving or only 10 for the entire bag. Right? And I’m like, oh, these are so good. They’re cookies. And then I eat the entire bag because it’s keto cookies.

Priscilla Swahn [00:24:21]

What the heck? It’s okay. But it still has an effect on the brain. The brain can still register it as sugar, whether we believe it or not. And then it has all the other additives in there that can cause inflammation in the brain. So you might not see the whole improvement in ADHD or anxiety, even though you might think it’s keto, you’re hitting your macros. So I always spend less time on. Let’s count the macros on. More time on the quality of food.

Leanne Vogel [00:24:50]

And what that looks like awesome. And so we’ve talked about nutrition deficiencies, rather a little bit of inflammation. Do you recommend testing? Like, the whole test. Don’t guess. Is really where I try to put myself, because oftentimes clients will be like, it’s totally fine. Everything’s okay. And I’m like, but is it? I think we should test this before we put you on a vitamin D, because if your levels. I mean, it’s very rare, like I said, that vitamin D is going to be high, but we should not be supplementing with vitamin D if it’s high enough.

Priscilla Swahn [00:25:22]

Right.

Leanne Vogel [00:25:22]

So what’s your feeling on testing?

Priscilla Swahn [00:25:25]

So, yes, when it comes to food, there’s nothing wrong with experimenting with it, you know, cutting out some gluten and dairy to see how you feel and watching the quality of food without getting tested, that is perfectly fine. But it’s more for, okay, what’s going on, you’re not losing that weight as well or kind of like, why aren’t we seeing the changes? And that’s before I ever put anyone on any type of vitamin or mineral. Even though it’s not a drug, I still consider it a form of a drug. Right. Because our bodies get out of whack if we’re deficient, so they’re gonna be out of whack if it’s too high. So I do love labs for that reason. I turn into a little lab geek and get excited when I’m like, ooh, these are the ranges that you’re in. So yeah, absolutely.

Priscilla Swahn [00:26:07]

I think it’s a great call.

Leanne Vogel [00:26:09]

Yeah, it’s kind of playing that as somebody who has a one on one practice. Also, it’s so fun to take your clients through that process and educate them on what to look for on their labs. Because those numbers that we see on the panels are based on a bunch of sick people going in, getting tested, and then they make those ranges. But there are optimal ranges, not only for healthy people, but for each individual. Like for example, with my thyroid, I know that my free T3 has to be considerably higher than what even my holistic practitioner would say is okay. But I know that if it’s not at that level for me, I’m not going to feel optimal. And so it’s kind of that we were talking about before we started recording, like how great it would be if people had about $500 in a side bank account every three months that we could do testing. But it does get very expensive.

Priscilla Swahn [00:27:00]

Yes, absolutely. You know, it really just depends, like with yourself having a thyroid issue or are you a fairly common healthy individ individual? It really just depends. And I do love it for my girls with hypothyroidism. Like I had a client, like she was slowly, slowly seeing weight loss and inches loss and she’s like, you know, she had lost maybe 16 pounds in four months, which for hypothyroidism is amazing. Like, we gotta celebrate that. But for her, she’s like, it’s not as fast as, you know, X, Y and Z. Who does keto? Right. They’re not losing like 30 pounds or whatever in the time.

Priscilla Swahn [00:27:34]

So I was like, well, let’s go get your labs tested. And so she went to this holistic doctor that I refer a lot of my clients to and her doctor said, oh my God, you’re no longer hypothyroid. You’re actually hyperthyroid. We have to take you off of your levothyroxine. So that. Because your thyroid hormones have literally balanced out being on keto. So her. In her mind, she was having slow success, but her.

Priscilla Swahn [00:27:57]

In the end, her thyroid hormones had literally balanced out. And so that was just a beautiful thing. She actually got to get off of her medicine. And. Yeah, that was after four months.

Leanne Vogel [00:28:08]

That’s interesting. I’m just so curious why she would have been put on levothyroxine as a hypothyroid. Did she have Hashimoto’s?

Priscilla Swahn [00:28:16]

She did have some variation in that, yes.

Leanne Vogel [00:28:18]

Okay. Okay.

Priscilla Swahn [00:28:19]

Yeah.

Leanne Vogel [00:28:19]

Because anytime I see that on a panel, I’m like, and can we talk to your doctor about being put on desiccated or armored thyroid and p. Thyroid?

Priscilla Swahn [00:28:28]

Yeah. And unfortunately, a lot of doctors do put them on high level thyroxine, which it’s not my favorite completely.

Leanne Vogel [00:28:34]

Me neither. And that’s, I think, another piece of the mental health thing. I mean, I have a couple of experiences. Oh, man. I think because you’re a health practitioner, you like. I mean, I run my labs, like full, complete labs every three months. And I’m always kind of playing with things and levers and discovering new things I can test for. And we were talking earlier that I just got certified to read Dutch panels, which has been so fun to add to my practice and also just for me to understand it all.

Leanne Vogel [00:29:04]

And when I was in Canada, I was on a desiccated thyroid. And when we came down to the US And I couldn’t get my thyroid capsules, I switched over to, was it NP Thyroid first? Yes, NP thyroid. Same component of desiccated thyroid. I looked at all like, I looked at actually how they compound it, what the ingredients were, how the. I don’t even know what it’s called. The chemistry, the chemical makeup of this supplement, it was the same girl. I went crazy. I was so depressed.

Leanne Vogel [00:29:37]

I was depressed, I was moody. I felt completely out of control mentally. And months went by, and my husband, just on the off chance, he’s like, didn’t you change your thyroid? Should you, like, test it or something? Like, what’s going on? I’m like, oh, my gosh. Gosh. It’s the thyroid medicine. I’m not on the right dosage. And that was just rocked me. And it’s unfortunate.

Leanne Vogel [00:29:58]

The thyroid is such a tricky, tricky thing to balance, but can cause a lot of mental issues if not properly medicated or not Properly supported. Would you agree?

Priscilla Swahn [00:30:08]

Oh, absolutely. It’s like the fine balance. Right. Because I have worked clinically even with, like, hyperparathyroidism and hypoparathyroidism. So it’s a little different. Different type of thyroid, but you still are working with vitamin D, you’re working with calcium and then these other minerals. And it’s like every time you feel like you’re moving one, decreasing one, and it’s just like. But it can be a beautiful thing when you finally get it balanced out and you’re like, they feel good, they’re happy, and the weight is stabilizing.

Priscilla Swahn [00:30:35]

And it’s like, okay, I did my job. I’m so happy it worked out in the end.

Leanne Vogel [00:30:39]

Yes. And it takes a lot of finessing and. And when it comes to thyroid, I think, and I hate to kind of take this stance because I usually don’t take a black and white stance. I have not been able to for myself personally and my clients, fix the thyroid, support the thyroid without testing multiple times. Would you agree?

Priscilla Swahn [00:30:59]

Absolutely.

Leanne Vogel [00:31:00]

Yes.

Priscilla Swahn [00:31:00]

Because it can be a finicky thing. It might be a little lower than a little higher. And you just have to consistently. I mean, when I work clinically, monthly. Monthly, where I did that, because they would just change. They would go up a little bit, go down a little bit, and then once you had it right, then you would maybe wait like three months to redraw them again, you know, but it’s always that you do have to keep an eye on it, for sure.

Leanne Vogel [00:31:22]

Yeah. And I mean, oh, this is such a pain point for me, working with clients who their doctor puts them on just Synthroid, let’s say, for example, and it’s like, let’s test another six months to a year.

Priscilla Swahn [00:31:35]

Yep.

Leanne Vogel [00:31:36]

What? No. And I think especially when I go through very stressful periods, like, for example, when I’m on tour and I have to be on. On the last two tours, I doubled my thyroid medication. It needed to be doubled because of the stress.

Priscilla Swahn [00:31:52]

Wow. But at least you knew that like you knew yourself. And that’s always the biggest thing. I always tell clients, you gotta know yourself. And then once you know yourself, you know how much and how little you’re your own practitioner. Right. You’re the doctor of yourself. But it’s not just something you learn overnight.

Priscilla Swahn [00:32:08]

You’ve got to practice it and know yourself. It takes time.

Leanne Vogel [00:32:12]

Yes, completely. And I guess since we talked a little bit about testing, what do you recommend for thyroid testing? That’s like the kind of the. Go to thyroid tests now.

Priscilla Swahn [00:32:23]

That’s not my specialty when it comes to the hypothyroidism. I leave that up to my functional medicine doctor for sure. But she definitely tracks the cortisol, the T4, the T3, TSH. But those are the main ones that I’m like, okay, what else do you have?

Leanne Vogel [00:32:37]

I’m the same. I think the biggest pain point is when people diagnose thyroid issues with just tsh. I think the initial test. No, I disagree with what I’m about to say. I’m like, if you just want to test the TSH and then if it’s off, test everything else. But the TSH can be quote, unquote balanced. But as soon as you look at that free T3 or free T4, you’re going to know you kind of need the big picture when you’re looking at the thyroid. Would you agree?

Priscilla Swahn [00:33:04]

Oh, absolutely. Yeah. Because, like, I’ll have individuals say, I don’t think I have a thyroid issue. But then we’ll look at, okay, maybe they did for themselves take like a food sense sensitivity, you know, out there, some tests out there, and I look at them, you know, I take them with a grain of salt. Not all of them are very accurate, but I’ll look at them. I’m like, it looks like you have sensitivities to the same foods that my hypothyroid patients typically have. And so once we work with that alone and then they finally get tested and they find, oh, I do have these off. The T3 and T4 is.

Priscilla Swahn [00:33:33]

It was. Even though the TSH was like, okay, whatever, you know, with the normal doctor, then they’re like, okay, I do gotta watch these foods. I do have hypothyroidism. And I didn’t know that.

Leanne Vogel [00:33:44]

Yeah, I’m one of those patients always. It’s like, if I’m dealing with something, I hope that there’s a problem. I hope that there’s a diagnosis so that I can fix it or manage it. So I don’t feel this way anymore.

Priscilla Swahn [00:33:57]

I mean, there is nothing worse than feeling like you’re crazy. You’re like, something’s wrong with me. I just want to put my finger on it. And so that’s what they always say. Once you have a diagnosis of some sort. I feel like you feel empowered and relieved. Like, sure, it can be a little shocking at first, but then you know what you have and you know that you just need to learn how to manage it completely.

Leanne Vogel [00:34:18]

Since we’ve talked a bunch about responsible supplementation has definitely come up another Experience that I had personally last March, which put me into a huge depressive state, which was actually horrible. I was put on a high dose methyl folate, and I knew nothing about folate at the time. My folate level was low. The doctor was like, here you go, here’s 5,000. Is it micrograms? Folate? I’m pretty sure micrograms. Maybe it’s milligrams, doesn’t matter. Anyways, I went nuts. I was a mess.

Leanne Vogel [00:34:51]

And it took me months to figure out again that it was a supplementation. And now I have now figured out that I have the MTHFR mutation. I can’t have that much folate. And so I think really the point of this conversation is like, just because people say, oh my gosh, you need the methylated folate or you need the vitamin D or you need this, that. And the other thing, if you’re not testing and you’re not understanding these high doses of things, it can really mess up your brain.

Priscilla Swahn [00:35:20]

Absolutely. Like, there was a time I was like, well, fish oil is good. So I just grabbed the highest dosage of Omega 3 I could find, literally in a week. I was super anxious and feeling depressed. And it’s like, then I later learned, well, that was too high for me. And you also need some vitamin D3 and a little bit of calcium. They all need to work together.

Leanne Vogel [00:35:39]

And so.

Priscilla Swahn [00:35:40]

So it’s finding that balance. And just because you’re like, oh, they always say on the news or in the magazines, have more fish oil, have more omega, like, it doesn’t always just work as simply as putting yourself on the highest dose. That’s why I do consider, you know, vitamins and minerals are just like medicine. They really are.

Leanne Vogel [00:35:58]

Yes, completely. And it’s so great that we have access to them and that we can use them and that they’re tools that we have available. But. But it’s kind of discouraging. And I’m sure you’ve seen this in your practice also. What? I started working with a client recently, and on her form it said that she was taking dim. And so that always raises a little red flag. And I’m like, okay, we got to have a conversation about this dim and why she started it.

Leanne Vogel [00:36:20]

She just saw an ad that said all women have high estrogen and if you don’t want cancer, put yourself on dim. And she’s been taking it for years.

Priscilla Swahn [00:36:28]

Yeah. And, you know, sometimes the easiest thing that we think in our minds, well, I’ll change my diet when I change my diet. But the easiest Thing for me to do is, is grab that supplement and start taking it or whatever. And the diet. Diet needs to be number one in conjunction to drawing your labs and figuring out, okay, what do I need to work on? So, absolutely.

Leanne Vogel [00:36:53]

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Leanne Vogel [00:37:23]

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Leanne Vogel [00:38:11]

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Leanne Vogel [00:38:16]

And you mentioned sleep a little bit ago and a lack of sleep or inability to sleep or getting up, tossing and turning in the middle of the night. All those things can definitely affect. Affect our overall mental health. What has been your experience with sleep quality in your practice?

Priscilla Swahn [00:38:33]

So, yeah, they’re definitely inversely related. You know, they both affect each other. You can have poor sleep quality, gain weight, throw your hormones off mental health. So it’s like a vicious little cycle going on, and it can raise your stress hormones. So the biggest number one thing I see is absolutely keto. Like, I want my clients first. Say, I want them to plan out every night they’re gonna go to bed. Like, if they have been averaging like five hours every.

Priscilla Swahn [00:38:59]

I’m like, okay, might not be realistic to get you to go to eight hours every night. Let’s increase that to where you go to bed 30 minutes this night. Try it For a week. Then let’s increase it again. But absolutely. First getting that sleep scheduled in and then in conjunction working with keto because fat, it just really relaxes the brain and calms it. So it kind of turns off the whole thinking at night, viciously going and can’t turn it off mentality where it actually will relax you, it calms you and then you’re able to actually finally start getting that quality sleep. In addition to planning out when you’re going to bed and increasing that amount of time.

Leanne Vogel [00:39:39]

I love the idea of planning when you’re going to go to bed. I just got into this practice a couple of months ago completely by accident. I started reading the Bible before bed and my day ends at 8pm Like I don’t care what’s going on, whatever’s happening, I’m going to my bed and I’m reading my Bible. And since doing that just inadvertently, I’m going to bed consistently at 10 o’clock every night. And it’s been months and it’s so consistent and I just, I love it. It’s great. I always just would go to bed like whenever I was tired. I wouldn’t have any structure.

Leanne Vogel [00:40:15]

And having that plan and structure of this is what I do at 8pm nothing gets in the way of that has been been so incredibly helpful for my personal sleep.

Priscilla Swahn [00:40:25]

And for you probably reading the Bible is therapeutic and relaxing to you instead of reading the news or checking your social media. Right. So yeah, absolutely different. Yes, absolutely. Finding that thing that’s like it puts you in that happy spot where you’re at ease and you’re calm and you find that peace. So that does having that habits that lead you to bed does absolutely make the difference.

Leanne Vogel [00:40:49]

Difference too completely. And I’m sure you deal with this in your practice also hot flashes and sleeping. Do you have clients that just cannot sleep because of their hot flashes and kind of. What are the tools that you’re doing to help with that? Because that will make you feel completely not okay mentally.

Priscilla Swahn [00:41:07]

Yeah, I mean for the most part. I mean perimenopause, menopause, post menopause, those are definitely the ones for sure that will struggle with it. But more so I see that mostly in week one and two just, just transitioning into keto, having all the weird funkiness and so yes, hot flashes are absolutely one of them. The biggest thing that I see that will help with hot flashes. Well, turning down the AC to like 60 at night, sure that’ll help. But just having enough fat and having your bone broth Making sure you’re getting the collagen, something about the electrolytes. Those can very beneficial for helping reduce that type of symptom, in my opinion.

Leanne Vogel [00:41:48]

Awesome. Yeah. In my practice too, I’ve been using a lot of maca. I’ll include it in the show notes. Actually, a lot of my clients use MACA to help with the hot flashes. I find that really helps. And CBD also to just like, get them asleep. Like, let’s get you asleep.

Leanne Vogel [00:42:06]

Because I find women who are in that age group are usually kind of in that place where their work is quite stressful and they’re very overwhelmed and they’re trying to coordinate a lot of their house stuff. And their kids are like teenagers or young adults. So there’s like a lot of stuff going on. Like just getting them in bed and getting them to sleep with something like a CBD has been really helpful.

Priscilla Swahn [00:42:29]

And what is your experience with.

Leanne Vogel [00:42:31]

Oh, I use Eaton Hemp. That’s what I find. Like, there are so many. Do you find this with CBD oils? Like, there’s so many garbage brands, and they’re all like, we’re the best, but there’s no science behind them. And I was just so incredibly frustrated with the CBD market in general. It’s like snake oil. It’s horrible.

Priscilla Swahn [00:42:48]

I mean, like, yeah, I was like, for supplements or any even keto products out there, it’s finding that clean substance that is minimal, extra additives and is the pure stuff. That’s what it comes down to in the end. So that’s awesome.

Leanne Vogel [00:43:02]

Yeah. And like, honest companies, it’s so important. And I’m sure you also in your practice is like, aligning yourself with awesome companies and not even just the company, but. But the people that work at these companies, who’s the owner? How do they run their business? How do they take care of their employees? What kind of programs do they have? Like, all of that makes a difference. And I take that stuff really seriously. Because you’re recommending. I mean, some CBD oils are $150 each. People are putting a lot of money into this.

Leanne Vogel [00:43:31]

It has to be good and it has to work because it’s your name on the line and you want to make sure they’re cared for.

Priscilla Swahn [00:43:37]

Absolutely. Yeah. For sure.

Leanne Vogel [00:43:38]

Sure. Completely. Okay, so we talked about responsible supplementation. And really just testing is also really important. What about beyond nutrition? I’ve been really fascinated in helping my clients and just helping people in general to kind of see what behaviors they’ve been kind of like, that have supported them. Into the type of lifestyle that they have. Very similar to what you said, like planning out when I’m gonna go to bed and planning out what I’m going to make for dinner. So you’re not at 5:00.

Leanne Vogel [00:44:08]

Like we have no food in the house, what am I doing? Like all these different behaviors. Do you find that also in your practice, like really coaching people through the planning and the structure and the behaviors that support their mental wellbeing?

Priscilla Swahn [00:44:21]

Absolutely. That is like whenever there’s a hiccup or oh, I’m just getting busy, I’m like, well, did you make a plan for it? Did you have a plan in place? It kind of like meal planning, like you gotta plan out your life and have just a weekly idea and write it it out initially. What does that look like? And that goes for exercise. What type of exercise you do, how often you do it, what makes you the happiest or having non food rewards. It’s all those things you got to think about, plan about and not just let a situation pop up, grab you by surprise and you just go. So yes, planning.

Leanne Vogel [00:44:56]

That’s my favorite, the stuff catching by surprise. I think the ticket for me is whenever I say I’m going to blah, blah, blah, what’s your plan? I just won’t eat. That is the worst plan.

Priscilla Swahn [00:45:07]

Yep. And that’s literally what was happening. I had a client like that, you know, throughout the holiday. She’s like, I’m trying to follow the meal plan but it’s really hard. She kept going over to her family that lived close by. And so I said, well, what’s your plan? Well, I don’t know, I’m just gonna go there. They have snacks out all the time. There are some that I like or there’s snacks there that you can always eat.

Priscilla Swahn [00:45:29]

And she is like, well, not always. So I was like, well, how about you have a plan that every time you go over you contribute and take one of your snacks that you know that you can eat and enjoy and that you love while having a good social time. And she was like, oh yeah. And then she started losing that weight because she had a plan, she did it and she got to contribute and feel good at the same time. It wasn’t like she’s going to an event and just acting like I can’t eat that. She contributed and shared.

Leanne Vogel [00:45:57]

Yeah, that’s the best thing is the sharing. And I mean it’s so rare that living on a boat and having people constantly coming to our home or going to their home, it’s very social lifestyle. And I’ve met hundreds of people and I’ve been on hundreds of people’s boats and they’ve been on ours. And it’s never this uncomfortable thing when I’m like, I brought over pork rinds. Want to see what this tastes like with chimichurri? And everyone’s like, yeah, yeah, what is that? What is a pork rind? I don’t understand, how do they make this? And it’s fun to get to educate other people on the decisions that we’re making and why we make these choices. And nine times out of ten say it’s like a husband and wife. The wife is like, why do you eat like that? Like, what’s going on there? And then it starts a conversation. She’s like, I feel this way too.

Leanne Vogel [00:46:40]

And oh my gosh, I struggle with this also. And it’s never been a problem.

Priscilla Swahn [00:46:44]

Absolutely. And if you do, for instance, ever have that one individual that’s like, well, I’ve heard, blah, blah, blah, keto is horrible, blah, blah, blah, it’s their problem. They’re self deflecting. They have their own insecurities. Just turn the conversation around, don’t worry about it. Because again, sometimes it can be like politics and religion and people are just spotting their ways and. But yes, I have found that it’s.

Leanne Vogel [00:47:06]

Very few and far completely. Where can people find more from you, connect with you? What do you have going on? How do people work with you? Tell us all the things.

Priscilla Swahn [00:47:16]

Absolutely. So I’m on social media @ketogirlnutritionist and that’s also my website and I would love to have you. I have a group program that is three to six months and I work with ladies specifically who are balancing hormones to lose weight, all the good things, pcos, hypothyroidism. But then I also do work with clients that I do get that want to work on bipolar, schizophrenia, PTSD and tailoring the keto diet specifically for that so that they do feel better. So yes, I would love to have you stop by and say hi.

Leanne Vogel [00:47:49]

Amazing. I will put all those links. If you’re watching the video, you can find it down below on YouTube and if you’re listening to the audio, I’ll be sure to add all your special places where people can connect with you in the show notes so you guys can watch for that. And Priscilla, thank you so much for coming on the show again.

Priscilla Swahn [00:48:04]

Absolutely. Thank you for having me.

Leanne Vogel [00:48:07]

I just love taking episodes from the archives and bringing them back up on your feed if you want to check out out Priscilla’s work, you can check her out on Instagram, Keto Girl Nutritionist and also her website ketogirlnutritionist.com also in the show notes you’re going to see a supplement recommendation and on that link if you click that link, it’ll ask you to set up an account and you’ll get 20 off all supplements on that site through fullscript. And my dispensary has like a bunch of different protocols and things you can use to get you started if you need more direction on that front. Okay, we will see you back here next week. Bye.

Leanne Vogel [00:48:50]

Thanks for listening to the Helpful Pursuit Podcast. Join us next Tuesday for another episode of the show. If you’re looking for free resources, there are a couple of places you can go. The first to my blog healthfulpursuit.com where you’re going to find loads of recipes. The second is a free parasite protocol that I’ve put together for you that outlines symptoms, testing and resources to determine whether or not you have a parasite, plus a full protocol to follow to eradicate them from your life if you need to. That’s available at healthfulpursuit.com parasites and last but certainly not least, a full list of blood work markers to ask your doctor for so that you can get a full picture of your health. You can grab that free resource by going to healthfulpursuit.com labs the helpful pursuit Podcast, including show notes and links, provides information in respect to healthy living recipes, nutrition and diet and is intended for informational purposes only. The information provided is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment, nor is it to be construed as such.

Leanne Vogel [00:49:53]

We cannot guarantee that the information provided.

Leanne Vogel [00:49:55]

On the Helpful Pursuit Podcast cast reflects.

Leanne Vogel [00:49:57]

The most up to date medical research. Information is provided without any representation or warranties of any kind. Please consult a qualified health practitioner with any questions you may have regarding your.

Leanne Vogel [00:50:08]

Health and nutrition program.

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Happy Keto Body Promotion - 12 Week Video Program

Hi! I'm Leanne (RHN FBCS)

a Functional Medicine Practitioner, host of the Healthful Pursuit Podcast, and best-selling author of The Keto Diet & Keto for Women. I want to live in a world where every woman has access to knowledge to better her health.

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