Gut Health 101: Why You're Doing All the Right Things But Still Don't Feel Well with Tiffany Giganti

Gut Health 101: Why You're Doing All the Right Things But Still Don't Feel Well

Graced Health Podcast

Amy Connell, Host

Tiffany Giganti, Guest

Amy: I am thrilled to have Tiffany Giganti today with us to talk about achieving harmony in our gut, otherwise known as gut health. Tiffany is the founder of Your Functional Health Mentor and is a certified functional nutrition counselor who helps women cut through the wellness noise and finally understand what their bodies have been trying to tell them. We talk all the time on here about listening to our body. Tiffany's gonna help us listen to our body. After years of struggling with her own symptoms and not getting answers, she went back to school and discovered why so many women do all the right things, yet still don't feel well. Through her immersive guided 10-week Gut Harmony program, she empowers women with the education to understand their unique bodies at a level they were never taught so they can resolve the root causes of their health issues and build lasting vitality now and as they age. Tiffany, this is gonna be a good one. Welcome.

Tiffany: Thank you.

Amy: Okay, let's dive in because you said something in that intro that I think is gonna resonate with a lot of women, and this is the concept of "I'm doing all the right things." Like I'm doing the healthy things, but we still don't feel well. So tell us why so many people are doing all of the right things, but still not feeling well.

Tiffany: Yes, so that was totally me. I felt I had tried all the things, yet my nagging health issues just kept growing and that's actually what led me into this line of work. I was looking for a new functional health practitioner, someone who looks at your body as a whole rather than individual parts. And if you're familiar with this space, functional practitioners are hard to find and even harder to get into. So after being on the waitlist for—actually, I was on a couple waitlists for far too long—I decided I would go back to school and learn about my body for myself. Even though I initially only planned to use the information to heal myself, I sat alongside doctors, nurses, other healthcare practitioners who all wanted to bring this functional perspective into their practices. But I was only a couple weeks into my classes when I was so struck by this information, Amy. I just knew that I needed to bring this information to other women who are like me and thinking they're doing all the things, all the right things, and yet still struggling with chronic health issues and no answers.

So all of that to say, even though I've said those words before, that I'm doing all the right things, now that I understand health from a functional perspective, here's the thing: you can do all the right things according to generalized, conventional standards, but they can be all the wrong things for your unique body and your physiology. I think you and your community—we're all about the same age—we all grew up hearing, "You are what you eat," which is cute, it's clever, it's catchy, but it's not exactly right. The saying should actually go, "You are what your body can do with what you eat." So—

Amy: I like that.

Tiffany: I think that's where so many women are stuck, is that these conventional recommendations give us very generalized advice. But in order to truly do all the right things, they need to be the right things for your body, taken into account your entire health history, your lifestyle, and all the other factors that make you you.

Amy: I so resonate with that and, you know, there are some foods that are generally accepted as really healthy foods and I so wish I could have them, and they don't make me feel well. It takes a lot of energy and discernment to figure that out on your own. And I also love just your desire to take what you've learned and pass it along to other women. I feel the same way whenever I do any kind of continuing education about strength training, and particularly strength training for women in menopause, I'm like, we need—you know, people need to know this. And so I respect that about you and I feel the same way about my own little corner of the world.

Tiffany: Yeah. Yeah. It's almost painful to hold it in when you're like, the world needs to know this.

Amy: It's so true. That's a great word. It's painful to hold it in because there's so much good stuff and it's not ours to hold either, right? Like we don't get to be the gatekeeper of stuff once we know it. We want to help people out for sure. You know, so we're talking some about overall health and then of course gut health is a word that we have been hearing for a while, and I think it's like the snowball is getting bigger. You know, we're realizing even more and more how important it is to have just strong gut health. So talk to us about the connection between gut health and overall health in a way that most people haven't heard before.

Tiffany: Sure. So using another catchy phrase, I think we've all heard the phrase "food is fuel." So if you don't mind, I'm gonna get a little nerdy on you here for just a minute, because when we pull back the hood and look at what's really going on inside our body, it really brings this cliché to life. Every single thing you put in your mouth is what your body has to work with. Each food contains the raw materials your body needs in order to either fuel your body or to inhibit your body's processes from working properly. So when we talk about gut health, it really is synonymous with overall health because your gut and the digestive process is the vehicle by which that food is broken down into its smallest, microscopic components, then absorbed through your gut wall, enters your bloodstream, and is distributed throughout your body to be used by all of your body's various processes—from energy production to brain health, to hormone balance, to immunity, everything, even back to creating proper digestion and gut function, gut function. So gut health is—

Amy: You're so excited about it that you can't even get the words out.

Tiffany: I know. Gut health is so critical. It is. If we want overall health, we have to—gut health is the foundation. And you know, Amy, I often hear women say like, "Oh no, my gut's fine, but I really need help. I struggle with brain fog or fatigue, or joint pain, or fill in the blank." My answer is then your gut isn't fine because everything comes back to the gut and I'll even throw out, you know, just as an example, myself. My own health issues, some of those that I was struggling with, I did have obvious gut issues. I had food sensitivities that I couldn't identify. I had bloating, I had gas, and then I had perimenopause symptoms that were creeping in—brain fog, mid-afternoon fatigue. I had post-nasal drip, and I even had a couple toes that would go numb at random times. When I slowed down and I stopped trying to tackle each individual symptom, and instead I focused on my gut health, I was able to correct 99% of those issues. Even the numbness in my toes, which seems completely unrelated to my gut. Our gut gives us what—what enters our mouth and the function of our gut is what gives our body everything it needs to do what it needs to do.

Amy: Oh yeah, everything is so connected and you're right. That is the area to focus on the most. And, you know, we are recording this right after the Thanksgiving holidays, and of course my eating is different and I don't have, you know, I still maintain like there are no good and bad foods and you know me well enough because, you know, we've worked kind of behind the scenes on some stuff. However, there are foods that help us feel better, feel and function better than others. And that's unique to everybody. But I can tell just with my allergies flaring up when I've been, you know, having—so having some food that tastes wonderful and I am not, you know, I don't feel guilt eating them, but my body lets me know like, all right, you know, we've had enough, we've had enough, you know. Which leads into, you know, as we are thinking about our gut health and considering like, well, like you talked about, like people are like, "Oh, it's fine." Like, I mean, let's be honest, 'cause I don't have a problem saying like, my poops are fine, so my gut health is fine, right? Like, I assume that that's kind of what you're talking about. You're just being more womanly than I am about it.

Tiffany: You said it before I did.

Amy: I have no problem talking about poop, and I have the worst potty humor in my house of four or three—two boys and then my husband anyway. So we're talking about gut health, and I have heard you talk, Tiffany, about the Big Three, as it relates to gut health and how to, you know, maybe identify it or support your gut health. So tell us what those three are and briefly explain them.

Tiffany: Sure. So on the heels of your last question, we established that gut health is paramount to all health. And so my Big Three—I call them the non-negotiables—are sleep, poop (there, I said it), and blood sugar balance. If you can master these, you will be giving yourself the best chance for long-term health and vitality. And the thing is, they're not independent. They are all connected because everything in our body is connected, so sleep impacts your poop and your blood sugar balance. Your blood sugar balance impacts your sleep and your poop. And poop impacts the others as well. So sleep—they're also important. We could do a whole podcast, we could do a ton of podcasts on just sleep and poop alone, each of them individually. But short, little kind of high-level summary: sleep is when repair, detoxification, and restoration happens. And as women, our to-do list is a mile and a half long at all times, and we often—at least I'll speak for myself—I used to see sleep as the one thing that can flex in my day, but truly we need to be protecting our sleep like our life depends on it. And I know that sounds dramatic, but it actually does because sleep is truly when your body resets. And let's talk about hormones specifically. So, okay, I'm gonna little nerd out on you here too. I love the nerdy science.

Amy: No, yes.

Tiffany: I love the behind the scenes, the why, what's going on here. So talking about hormones related to sleep, our earth rotates on its axis, right? And that rotation gives us night and day, and darkness and daylight is what drives our circadian rhythm. And our circadian rhythm is what determines our body's cortisol pattern, or it's one of the things that determines it. Cortisol is our body's stress hormone. It should be higher in the morning when you're awake and then lower at night so you can sleep. Now, keep in mind our hormones are like a mobile on a baby's crib. So if you disrupt one, you disrupt them all. So the more we can honor our sleep cycles and our body's natural circadian rhythm, fall in line with that, the better all of our hormones stay in check. So that's just one example of an impact that sleep has. But it's also the biggest time for detoxification for our body—eliminating all the toxins you've taken in that have entered your body and also just the natural byproducts of your body doing its job. It's just like a factory. It creates waste. And so sleep is the time that your body is able to detox that. Then poop is when those toxins get eliminated. So having a regular poop schedule, or poop rhythm, is paramount to getting those toxins out of your system. But beyond that, poop is an excellent indicator of your overall gut health, which—gut, as I mentioned before, it's the portal for the nutrients to get distributed throughout your body. So when you're properly eliminating, it's a good indicator that your food is getting broken down, properly absorbed and assimilated throughout your body. And then lastly, blood sugar balance. Oh my gosh, we don't have enough time to go into all the impacts that blood sugar has on our body.

Amy: Growing up, I thought that blood sugar only applied to diabetics. That's just, that's all we heard. I mean, that's all we heard it in relation to.

Tiffany: Right, exactly. But in fact, we all need to be managing our blood sugar because blood sugar dysregulation has wide-reaching impacts from afternoon fatigue to trouble sleeping to your hormones, your brain function, and then long-term disease. So those are the Big Three. You asked about sleep, poop, and blood sugar balance.

Amy: Okay, those are really good and I know you could probably talk on and on about all three of those. So thanks for making them relatively brief. I do have a couple comments. One is we had a great interview with Morgan Adams just—if you want to hear a little bit more about sleep—in season 15, episode one. So you can go back and if you're listening, you're like, "Ooh, but I need some more sleep tips," go check her out. That was really good. And you know, the other thing too, Tiffany, that I think is really important to our community is with regard to blood sugar balance and perimenopause and menopause, our estrogen impacts our blood sugar. So it's important that we pay more attention to it as we are getting older. I mean, I know you know this, and I guess I'm looking to you for confirmation because I want to make sure that I'm right on this. You're nodding your head, so yes, not—

Tiffany: Yes. So blood sugar impacts your hormones, hormones impact your blood sugar. Like, I cannot overemphasize that everything is connected. You can't underestimate the impact that things have on other things in your body. It's incredible how smart our bodies are.

Amy: I know God did some good things with our body. It's, yeah, it is, it's fascinating. Totally fascinating. Tiffany, you have shared—because you and I are in a small group of entrepreneurs who are focusing on our different businesses and we're all kind of related in, you know, we're all somewhat similar. So I do have the pleasure of getting to work with you in other areas, but we were talking one time and you were saying how frustrated you get with the wellness industry and, you know, I did an episode on "the wellness industry has lost its mind" because it kind of has. But—

Tiffany: Well spoken.

Amy: One of the things that the wellness industry does is it pitches all of these supplements for gut health. So I would love for you to talk some about that. Like what—I mean, you kind of get your bee in a bonnet about that. And I think it's fair. I'm not making fun of you. I think it's totally fair. It's like, I mean, it's like people walking around in weighted vests thinking that they're gonna do all the things that they need to do for stronger bone health. And I'm like, that's not the magic wand. And a supplement is not a magic wand. So I'm not—I'm with you, sister, I'm with you. But tell me, tell us, what is so frustrating to you about that.

Tiffany: Yes. So you mentioned your episode on "the wellness world has gone mad." I loved it. I love the title too. Great episode. And I was like, preach, yes, during that. So, yes, the supplement world, everything—the wellness world is loud. And it's really supplements for all things—gut health, immunity, inflammation, hydration. All of it has me frustrated. Uh-oh, I already feel like I should be bringing my soapbox over. Like I feel myself stepping up.

Amy: Yes, go for it.

Tiffany: The reason I'm frustrated is because it's distracting people from creating true lasting health. And before I go any further, let me make this clear. I am not anti-supplement. The right supplement for the right reason at the right time can serve a very important role in your health. It needs to be purposeful. The thing is, is that the wellness industry, or I'll call it wellness industry, has gotten so loud lately and the slinging of supplements is a big piece of that noise that's creating confusion. It's causing people to spin their wheels and ultimately it's not creating true lasting health.

So here's what's happening, Amy. Conventional healthcare and pharmaceuticals—well, here's one element of what's happening. Everything is multifaceted, but conventional healthcare and pharmaceuticals are generally an X for Y approach to healthcare. You have this, you need that. You have an infection, you need an antibiotic. You have a sore throat, you need a painkiller. As more and more people are deciding to find alternatives to pharmaceuticals, which, by the way, I'm not against pharmaceuticals. There is a time and a place for them. But what's happening is, as people are moving away from pharmaceuticals, as a society, we're now using supplements as the new quick fix, the new X for Y. So these supplements are being used as an X for Y solution, but with a healthy label attached to them. What they're actually doing is instead of resolving the root cause, I see supplements—you know, so using your question about gut health, I see supplements that are promising to heal your gut, and those may provide some relief or be some level of supportive. True long-term gut health doesn't come in a bottle. And I see anti-inflammation supplements. Again, inflammation is caused by the inputs your body is receiving. To truly heal at the root level and create lasting health, you need to change the inputs and the environment within your body. That's what's gonna calm your inflammation, not something in a bottle. So, oh, and then like hydration supplements, just flip them over and look at the ingredients. Chances are, it's not stuff you really want to be putting in your body, so it's just—all the supplement world is so loud and you really have to follow the money. They're here to sell us something. They're trying to sell us a symptom or a solution to a symptom. But really, if you are taking a supplement to address a symptom, that's a sign that you should be slowing down, backing things up, and actually focusing on healing at the root level first. Supplementation, generally speaking, doesn't come before doing the work to create a diet and lifestyle that supports your unique body's ability to function optimally.

And then, so the thing that I think people forget is once you've done that work to create a diet and lifestyle that works for you, you likely will find that you don't need the supplements you're seeing as you scroll your social media. And if you do need extra support, your body is now clear and it's functioning in a way that it's able to properly use the supplements that you do give it. So, I'll kind of stop there 'cause I could go on and on. But yes, supplements are kind of a hot topic for me right now.

Amy: Understandably. It's funny, as you were talking, I thought, you know, I think the point too that you're making is also supplements are there for in addition. So I just, I was like, what's the definition of supplement, Google? And it's something that completes or enhances something else when added to it. We can't just pop a pill, take a supplement, drink a thing, drink a green juice, without doing some of the other things. And so I think your soapbox is well deserved, and it's something that we forget because the industry is screaming at us so loudly. And I'm with you. I mean, Tiffany, I take supplements. I mean, I did a whole episode back in season 22, episode nine, "What You Need to Know Before Purchasing Supplements." Like I'm not anti-supplement, but I am with—I've had friends like send me things like, "What do you think of this?" And so my first question is always like, is it third-party tested? And this friend has a varied diet. She has—I mean, I was like, I know you, I know how you eat. I just don't think that this is something that you need. And you know, it might just make you have really expensive urine. So she opted out of that.

Tiffany: And it's hard, Amy, because we are inundated with these messages and it is so easy to just get drawn into the shiny object.

Amy: Absolutely.

Tiffany: We need to just bring it back to basics and really learn to listen to our own body.

Amy: Yeah. Okay, so with that said, what are some signs that our own body might be asking for support, before these things become a totally major issue? So, you know, I think when we think of gut health again, we think, well, are my poops fine? Yes or no? Then my gut is fine, yes or no. Like it seems the easy thing is to make it very linear, but I know that it's more complicated than that. So tell us what some of the signs are in our own—that our own bodies may be giving us that we might need to focus some more on our gut health.

Tiffany: I'll use a one-word answer.

Amy: Of course.

Tiffany: Anything. If you have a symptom, your body is communicating with you. And we need to bring it back to the gut. So, and so let me use this as an analogy for this. You will often hear me talk about the tree of health. So imagine your symptoms, whether it's bloating, gas, fatigue, depression, anxiety, food cravings, acne, perimenopause symptoms, trouble sleeping, you name it—imagine a tree, and each of those symptoms is a branch on the tree. If you had a tree in your backyard and you noticed a branch looked unhealthy or it wasn't producing leaves, would you go trim the branch and assume the rest of the tree would remain healthy? Probably not. You know, because when we think about plants, we know that the health of the tree or the health of the plant depends on the health of the soil that it's growing in and its environment. When it comes to our health and we get caught up in the busyness of life, we forget that the same is true of us and our bodies. So if you have a symptom, a branch on a tree, and you simply focus on addressing it, making it go away, it's like playing whack-a-mole because you may have made the ugly branch go away, but you haven't addressed the soil or the environment that's allowing that symptom to express itself. So what's gonna happen is a new symptom will crop up later, one that likely seems totally unrelated to your first symptom, but they both have the same root causes. So there's a good chance that when you have any little nagging issue or big nagging issue, it's going to evolve into major issues over time. So the sooner that you can create that diet and lifestyle that honors your unique body, the sooner you'll be able to create the proper environment for the tree of you to thrive.

Amy: Okay, so you said anything, Tiffany, but can you give us a few more specific ways or specific signs that your gut health might not be optimal right now that might surprise us?

Tiffany: So I think the ones that we would commonly think of as being gut related are the bloating, the gassiness, the irregular stools. If you're not eliminating one to three times a day, that's actually a normal elimination schedule. I'll call myself out here. I used to go maybe twice a week. That's what I have done my entire life. So I just thought that was me. That was my body. But once I started truly focusing on my gut health, I am like clockwork now. So—

Amy: Oh yeah.

Tiffany: And I will tell my husband I'm proud of my poops and he looks at me strange. But truly, I have done the work to help my body function the way it's designed. So not only from a timing perspective, but also a texture perspective. If you've never heard of the Bristol Stool Chart, that gives you the consistency of stools so that you know which are the ideal—within the ideal range of consistency that we want to be striving for. So, let's see. We've talked about the obvious ones, then we also have, you know, being midlifers here, we've got the brain fog, we've got the mid-afternoon crash, we've got the cravings. These are all things that, amongst many others, tie back to the health of our gut.

Amy: Okay, I will put a link to the Bristol Stool Chart for anyone who wants to get nerdy with Tiffany and I and check that out to check the quality of your bowel movements. Okay. So you have basically—you had your own issues. You went back to school. You learned all the things of how to heal your own body. You decided you couldn't gatekeep this, you couldn't keep it inside. You had to share it. And so now you have created your own signature program called Gut Harmony. Tell us about Gut Harmony for someone who is ready to investigate their own body, to learn about their own body, with the knowledge behind it.

Tiffany: Sure. So Gut Harmony, yes, is really my desire to bring everything that I learned through my schooling to the laypeople, to everyone, so that we can all have this information and we can learn how to listen to our own bodies. So Gut Harmony is not your typical, you know, quick fix or protocol or diet. It's not that kind of a program. It's a new approach to your healthcare focused from a functional perspective, helping your body function the way it's supposed to. So if you're over all the diets, protocols, supplement packs, all the wellness noise that promises health—but as we know at our age, we've learned it doesn't create true lasting health—then Gut Harmony is a perfect space for you. What it is is it's a 10-week guided immersive journey to understand the root causes of your chronic health concerns and reclaim your health. So during our 10 weeks together, you're gonna learn about your body. I went nerdy on you here during this podcast, but we're gonna get nerdy together. During our 10 weeks, you are gonna learn about your body at a deeper level than ever before. You're going to ensure your digestive system is functioning properly and you're gonna restore balance in your gut. You're going to implement the foundational diet and lifestyle changes that your unique body needs in order to address the root causes of your health concerns, calm your inflammation, and reclaim your health so you can have lasting vitality. Not only now, but as you age. So that's kind of what the program does. Now, I know that we all have different schedules and you're probably wondering about how does it actually work. Everything is virtual. You can do it on your own time. And so kind of to give you a visual of how the program looks, you'll get weekly video lessons to watch that include that deep education on what's going on inside your body so you can understand your body. And you'll get—weekly, and I guess I should say, in those lessons, then you'll have action items that you can implement into your own life. We will have weekly office hours where you will have access to me as a practitioner to ask your questions. It's your chance to pick my brain. And if you're not available during those office hours times, that's not a problem. You can always submit your questions early and then watch the replay and then—healing does not happen in isolation. It truly happens in community. So you're going to have access to a private Facebook group where we can collaborate and you can get inspired, ask questions, and you also have a Health Hive of peers, which is really just another word for a small group to lock arms with as you go through this. My mission in all of this is truly to empower you to be the CEO of your own health so you can reclaim your health now and create that lasting vitality as you age. So that's what the program's all about. You can learn more about Gut Harmony and enroll on my website, which I believe, Amy, we're gonna put that in—

Amy: The show notes. Yeah.

Tiffany: Perfect. Perfect. And then, since this podcast is going to be airing in early January, I will let you know that enrollment is open right now, but if you happen to be listening to—so I guess I should say enrollment for my winter cohort is open right now. It starts in mid-January. But if you're listening to this podcast during a time that enrollment isn't open, go ahead and you can add yourself to the waitlist on my website. That way you'll be the first to know when the next cohort opens.

Amy: That's very good. And I will say that I participated in your program in Gut Harmony and went through and, you know, it reminds me of a time I was talking with a friend and she happened to be leaving and we were talking about strength training and she said, you know, the thing is you can tell me that I need to be strength training and you can tell me that I need to be pulling, but I need to know the why and the why behind what I'm doing. If you are someone, listener, dear listener, who likes to know the why behind the guidance of a health professional or of someone who cares about you, then this is the program for you. Tiffany gets really granular in the best, most accessible type of way. So Tiffany, you do a great job explaining everything. I learned a lot. It was, I mean, it's just a great quality program and I think it's appropriate for anyone who feels like they have a good relationship with food and is—I know a lot of us in this community are coming in from different phases of getting rid of diet culture, and I know Tiffany, you are not in diet culture as well, but if you know, it's for someone who feels at peace with food and also at enough peace to say like, okay, I'm gonna avoid this right now. Right now until I learn more about my body. And I'm not—it's not gonna flip a switch in my brain for me. So I do want to just, I think it's only fair that we say like, yes, there is gonna be some elimination for a period of time. And so I want you, if you're listening and you're interested, I want you to be in the right place to be able to participate in that where it doesn't feel wrong in your gut, but not like your heart, I guess I should say. Does that sound fair and right to you, Tiffany?

Tiffany: Very much so. Yes.

Amy: Okay.

Tiffany: And thank you for the kind words. What I was hearing from my clients and friends and everyone as I was building the program is I want to know the why. We've heard our whole lives do this, do this, do this. But no one has ever taken the time to stop and back it up and explain why. And so that is a key component of the program.

Amy: Yeah, well the other thing is we ingest things in 30-second or 60-second soundbites and it's very hard to get the why behind that, which is one reason why I love podcasting so much, 'cause we can talk about this stuff. But your course takes it to a whole new level and I do highly, highly recommend it. And so I will put the link to learn more about Gut Harmony. Tiffany, you've been super generous and you've given my community $50 off the program. So with code AMY, just A-M-Y, you can get $50 off this phenomenal program. It's great value and guys, I know that you'll learn a lot about your own body and how food relates to you in this program if you get it. Tiffany, I know that sometimes people need a little bit of time to digest—now I'm using more gut words, but to—

Tiffany: It's in our lingo.

Amy: It is in the lingo, but you know, we need some time to kind of think about things. So if they're not quite ready for that, and I hope they are, but if they're not quite ready for that, you do have a great free download on your website called a Midlife Starter Guide to Reclaiming Your Health. So tell us just really briefly about that, and we'll put the link to that in the show notes as well.

Tiffany: Sure. So yes, be sure to go out to my website. You can grab that, download it for free. It is really, it's a 27-page document, so I like to explain the why behind things and give you more than just the cursory things to do. I like to give you information, tangible information to hold onto. So it talks about really the current state of where our culture is, and it's not our fault that our health is the way it is because we're surrounded by this, but then it also gives you three really simple, or I won't say really simple, but three basic foundational things that you can start applying into your life right now to make great improvements to your health.

Amy: Okay. That's really good. So yeah, 27 pages. I've seen it. It is meaty, but it's good. Like in all the best ways. Okay. Tiffany, we've talked a lot about gut health. I'm wondering, and you know, I always ask a one simple thing question at the end, which I still will, but in terms of simplicity, 'cause we like that around here, what's one simple thing that people can do right now to start improving their gut health or their energy levels?

Tiffany: A foundational thing I wish I had known years and years and years ago, super simple: eat protein, fat, and fiber at every meal and snack. These three are like BFFs. They work together to enhance your nutrient absorption, balance your blood sugar. They each digest at different rates, and so together they're gonna help keep you feeling satisfied, energized, focused between meals and support that optimal digestion. So every time you grab something to eat, make sure it's got protein, fat, and fiber, and that will be gold for you.

Amy: Yeah, that's one of the first things that I coach when I'm coaching for nutrition. So I'm with you. Okay. I've got some questions I ask all my guests. I love learning about people's tattoos because I have found that generally people will have a meaning behind a tattoo if they're gonna put something on their body for the rest of their life. So I was wondering, if you have a tattoo, would you mind sharing it and the meaning behind it? But if you don't have one and you had to get one, what would it be and where would it go?

Tiffany: I don't have a tattoo, but that doesn't mean that I don't have a Pinterest folder with like 47,000 tattoos saved. I think about it and think about it, and then I chicken out. So, if I were to get one, if you wanted to peek into my Pinterest folder, it would have two different themes going on. One is the quote from Footprints, and I would want to get it on the upper outside of my foot. It says, "It was then that you carried me." I love that. And the second option that I have is—and I haven't figured out what this looks like—but my kids' fingerprints or some kind of a flower with representation of my kids, and it would be colorful and that one would probably go on my ankle.

Amy: Okay. All right. Either one of those. I love them. Okay, Tiffany, can you tell people really quickly where they can get ahold of you or where they can connect with you?

Tiffany: So my name is Tiffany Giganti, and Giganti is spelled like gigantic without the C. So my website is tiffanygiganti.com. And that's also where you can find the information about Gut Harmony, the free starter guide, all of that good stuff. And then if you're a scroller and you want to get bite-size information, you can check me out on Instagram, follow me over there at Tiffany Giganti.

Amy: Okay. All right. That sounds good. Last word comes from you. We've talked about a lot. What is one simple thing you want us to remember about our conversation? Big or small, but just one simple thing.

Tiffany: So we've talked a lot about just kind of hard-hitting gut stuff, but I think it's important to remember that no matter what your health concern is, you are not broken. Your body is not working against you. It's simply communicating with you, and we have not been taught what's going on in there, and how to listen to our body and respond to what it's telling us. So once you put on, I encourage everyone to put your blinders on to all the wellness noise in the world. Tune out the conventional guidance, set aside all the cultural norms in society. Slow down, back things up, and learn how to live in true partnership with your body. That's when you can start helping your body truly function the way it was designed.

Amy: Well said. Okay. That is all for today. Go out there and have a graced day.