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The Plant Centered and Thriving Podcast
Welcome! If you're looking for plant-based inspiration, you've come to the right place! This podcast is here so you don’t have to feel alone on your plant-based journey. You'll hear from individuals who have taken the leap to go plant-based, why they did it, the struggles they faced, their words of wisdom for you, and how they're thriving now.
The Plant Centered and Thriving Podcast
Ignored and dismissed by western doctors, this 30 year old Canadian found her way to a plant-based diet to heal herself. Now she is helping others heal, too.
"I realize plant-based thinking should be applied to every niche"
Chanelle grappled with eczema and hormonal chaos for many years. When trying to seek medical intervention she was dismissed by doctors and given little hope her ailments would be resolved. Chanelle took this as a sign to dive into her own research. She also sought more holistic approaches that suggested nutrition could be her saving grace. By removing animal products in addition to some other lifestyle changes, Chanelle was able to heal. Her own journey was so tumultuous, that she was inspired to go back to school and become a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and Functional Hormone Educator in order to help others like herself.
If you want to connect with Chanelle, visit the following:
Instagram: @chanellelagasse
Website: www.evergreennourishco.com
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WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!
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Plant Centered Nutrition Essential Resources:
Welcome to the Plant-Centered and Thriving Podcast. I'm your host, ashley Kitchens. I'm a plant-based registered dietitian and virtual nutrition mentor. I was raised on an Angus cattle farm, grew up with a lot of GI issues and used the power of plant-based eating to promote healing. Here you'll find inspiration, ideas and encouragement for your own plant-based journey. I'm so thrilled you're here today. Let's get started.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the show Plant-Centered Listener. My name is Ashley and I am your host today. Today I have a story from a very special guest who walked into her doctor's office, had been struggling with eczema for quite a while and her doctor opened up a textbook, showed her a picture of someone who was having a severe case of eczema, told her her case was not severe enough and basically sent her on her way. She went through steroid cream after steroid cream. She tried a lot of different modalities and nothing seemed to work. So you can kind of see where the story is going. Right. I'll let Chanel tell the rest, but I do want to introduce you to Chanel, who now is a registered holistic nutritionist, functional hormone educator and founder of Evergreen Nourish Co, which is an online nutrition counseling practice with a focus on hormone health and transitioning to a plant-based lifestyle.
Speaker 2:Chanel resides in Manitoba, canada, and she graduated from the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition in 2022 with a diploma in natural nutrition with distinguished merit and a holistic culinary certification. This spring, in 2024, she will also be graduating with a bachelor's degree of environmental studies in environmental health from the University of Manitoba, and we talk about some of the things that she's learning in her environmental health classes, and some of them were a little shocking. Chanel began her own plant-based journey in 2018, when going through health issues which she discusses further, and this led her to pivot her career to combine her passions for both overall health and the environment. Please join me in welcoming Chanel and her story. I'm curious because I know that you have sort of a backstory as to why you went plant-based and everything, so I would love for you to kind of just give us an idea of what kicked off this journey for you.
Speaker 3:I feel like for me, it was pretty interesting because I almost had a health journey that was going parallel with this environmental journey, literally. As I was having all these health issues, I saw a natural path and I was told to cut out certain foods because I had a lot of inflammation in my body. If I take a step back further, actually so in 2018, I was 25, I already had been struggling with eczema for a long time and I had sort of started a health journey trying to eat better. I was not a nutritionist yet and I decided I also wanted to go off the birth control pill. I had been on it for a decade for acne, even before I was sexually active. I was told to go on it and I just started learning about how that impacts your fertility and just like mood and everything. I had had a lot of anxiety in my early 20s, so I was like you know what I'm done. I just you know I was married, I just whatever, like I just want to go off of it and when I did that, my entire body just like went a little bit haywire. I mean, I had like inflammation in my neck, like I was like red and had itchy eczema all over the place, and my doctor was not helping me at all with, you know, all they were doing were giving me steroid creams, which also were contributing, you know, to even more eczema, and it would just come back, you know, with a vengeance. So so then I had cut out.
Speaker 3:Like you know, they, the naturopaths, told me, like, try to cut out, you know, inflammatory foods, so like red meat and eggs and dairy. I had never, you know, been restricted previously with any food. I didn't have food allergies. I grew up with the mother with food allergies, though, so I was bit familiar with it. But it was tough and at the same time, you know, I was trying to buy more locally. I was learning a lot about climate change and the environment, so that was about in December of 2018. And then, a few months later, I was watching all these documentaries and I was like, you know, I'm really only eating like honey and fish out of like the animal products. Yeah, so I was like, why? Like, why I don't really need to be, because I was really aligning, you know, with the vegan movement. I've always been really into environmentalism, so I decided to take the leap that spring. I cut out fish and you know honey, I wasn't having much of anyway, so I became vegan in 2019.
Speaker 2:And yeah.
Speaker 3:So it was pretty interesting how those kind of you know came about at the same time my environmental journey and my health journey and I did eventually, like you know, bring back a lot of the foods but not the animal products. I was like off like gluten and tomatoes, like all the nightshades, you know, the typical things that they get you to try to cut out and I don't know really if that was helping. I think I just was, you know, had to go through that cycle from having taken steroids for a lot of my life, from the creams and everything, and I had, you know, kind of like the steroid withdrawal that they call. So I had to just go through that and, you know, heal my gut as well, because I had had a lot of gut issues as well, from antibiotics and all the things and obviously the steroids to throughout my life. So that was something I had to work on and, yeah, it eventually got way better.
Speaker 3:I lost my period when I went off the birth control pill for over a year. I got my period back. So, yeah, it's quite interesting. And then in 2020, I decided I wanted to go back to school and become a nutritionist. So that is how that all happened.
Speaker 2:Yes, it's like a whirlwind of a couple of years to get there Before December 2018, was there any of your doctors? Or, like the research that you came upon? If you did any like, indicate that, hey, the food that you're eating might be contributing to some of these issues?
Speaker 3:No, like the whole reason why I had seeked out like alternative practitioners was because, really, the doctors were basically like there's nothing like to do. I literally had a dermatologist one time. You know it was quite debilitating, like it would you know ooze, it was on my thighs. I would be depressed from it because of all that inflammation going on in my brain too. And the doctor the dermatologist literally opened up a page of a textbook of like a hospitalized case and was like this is what a severe case is. Like You're not a severe case.
Speaker 3:And I was like this is literally impacting my daily life, like I'm depressed, like you know, like it's hard to know how to dress because, like you know, my skin is like not okay and it was, yeah, very frustrating to have that type of treatment. So that's when I started doing a bit more of my own research. I did find, you know, stuff about hormones or the birth control pill, and that's kind of what started the whole journey. Because, yeah, until then, you know, I was kind of just living my life with anxiety and with, like the PMS and all the things and thinking this is fine. You know it's not fine, but I guess this is just how it is.
Speaker 2:Yeah, this is my life, basically.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so, yeah. So that's why you know that happened. And then, yeah, you know, fast forward, you know, five years later and I'm a hormone nutritionist and helping folks, you know, eat more plants and fix their hormone issues as well. So it's kind of been really cool, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's unfortunate but also fortunate in a way, that you have to kind of go through some of those trials and tribulations to kind of get to where you're at now for you to figure out. Oh, this is my passion and my purpose, because I sort of like had to walk through the valley in order to get to, like, the mountaintop, to be able to help other people sort of overcome what I was going through in a way.
Speaker 3:Absolutely yeah.
Speaker 2:And to be maybe that sounding board too that maybe you didn't receive with some of your healthcare providers that you were like really looking after. And I know so many people listening to this show who have been on the show before have a similar story, where it's like they either had to go above and beyond to figure out what the heck was wrong with them or they had to seek out other medical providers, or even both, to get to this place where they were able to heal or start their healing journey.
Speaker 3:Absolutely Like. I just feel like. You know I grew up my mom, you know health is one of her values as well, and you know we always advocated for ourselves. But a lot of people don't know, you know how to do that or don't have access to be able to do that. And I just think back about like if I had an advocated for myself and done my own research. You know, I have a background in health, I've been a dental hygienist for eight years, so I had that under my belt. But for a lot of people that's that doesn't come naturally. They don't know how to seek help and you know, then maybe I wouldn't be where I am now. Right, I know I would be because I, you know, when you don't advocate for yourself, you don't have, you know, other options, so you just feel really stuck in that cycle.
Speaker 2:Yep, yeah. So congrats on almost celebrating your five-year anniversary of being vegan. That's so exciting. How was that transition for you? I mean, at one point you know you had cut out a lot of different foods, including nightshades and different things, and you started introducing those back in. It sounds like those in gluten, right.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I only started eating gluten again, like last year, because I wasn't sure I was like what if it is why my eczema is better? Right, you always have kind of that thought. Even though I'm not celiac, I've been tested a few times, yeah, so it was interesting, because then when you're vegan and something else, then it makes it even tougher sometimes to find options, you know, at restaurants and everything. It was definitely, you know, like trial and error trying to find things that are tasty. And I mean it's come such a long way with vegan options available in the grocery stores, like it's a lot better now for sure.
Speaker 2:Yeah, how are things up in your area?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so I'm in Manitoba, canada, so the biggest city is Winnipeg, and it's actually pretty good. Like we've got, you know, a lot of different grocery store chains that have, you know, vegan cheeses and milks and lots of you know like meat alternatives and things like that too. I don't think it's as good as in the States, from what I hear and from like what I see online. But, yeah, I mean, I eat primarily whole foods as well, like we do eat some, you know, processed stuff for sure. But we actually have in Manitoba this group of organic farms that grow like pulses and legumes and everything, and so every year it's actually the end of the month for filming recording this in January.
Speaker 3:So at the end of the month I'm picking up my CSA for grains and legumes from Manitoba farmers. So it's really awesome that you know that last almost a whole year for my husband and I. So we got, like, you know, black beans and oats or you know, gluten free oats too, for people that need it, gluten free oats and different flowers, different corn products like corn grits and things like that. So, yeah, it's really great to have that as an option. They also sell their products in some grocery stores locally as well. So yeah, so I feel good about that, you know, but that's where we get most of our legumes and everything, so yeah, it's nice to be able to support your local farmers, Absolutely yeah.
Speaker 2:So that one box that you get at the end of January that will last you for the entire year.
Speaker 3:Mostly, there's a few things that we have to top up. So like they don't have chickpeas, so we got chickpeas separately at the grocery store. So things like that. Like obviously we, you know, we have to buy all the fresh food as well, but in terms of like legumes and like flour, we don't need to buy at all separately, which is really nice. And they have lots of lentils in there. Lots of you know a few different kinds of beans. They rotate their crops, right, so it's not always the same every year. So, yeah, so I'm very fortunate to have that available.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, that's awesome for anyone listening to. I mean, that's a great idea if you do have some local farmers in your area who provide a CSA box or provide some sort of produce box. Sometimes it's nice to have that, whether you get it once a month, every other week or even like once a quarter, just to supplement the foods that you already buy at the grocery store. Yeah, which fun fact, maybe. So I went to Iowa to making sure it was Iowa in the Idaho. It was Iowa, I'm pretty sure to visit with Quaker Oats, and what I didn't know was that all of our oats, or all Quaker's oats, come from Canada.
Speaker 2:They are all grown there Like apparently as far up as you can go without being in the I don't know wilderness tundra bush type thing, yeah, so that was pretty fascinating.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, I didn't realize that because I just assume a lot of those places in the states like that are agriculture heavy would have oats too, but like, maybe they just grow better up here. I don't know.
Speaker 2:Apparently. I mean, at least that's what Quaker does. So it was really neat to find out. They just ship them down by the semis and like these big train, what I don't know those are called train cars basically and yeah, that's where we get all of our oats, which I think is pretty fascinating.
Speaker 2:Awesome Fun fact there Well, I know people listening and sometimes I get this question even on social media is what was it like even taking the certification or going through the courses to get your certification and to become a registered nutritionist? Because I know there are people out there who are curious about even in the states taking a nutritionist certification, and there are questions like well, if I'm vegan or if I'm passionate about plant based eating, is this something that is maybe going to kind of go against how I feel? But how was it for you and what was your program like too?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so I studied at the Cain School of Natural Nutrition. They are the biggest school across Canada. They have several campuses, and then I did the online campus technically, and it was quite good. There's 18 different courses that you have to go through, so you do get like a really wide range of education. There's also one called Eco Nutrition, which is my favorite. We read a book all about like the Blue Zones type of thing and the centenarians and all the things, so it was quite cool. No, I think I'm mixing up two courses. Actually that was the one about aging. Hang on, okay, there was a different book. I forgot the title, but there was a different book and actually that one went over like CAFOs and different things like that, which was really interesting. I know you, being from North Carolina, are obviously very familiar with that.
Speaker 2:Yes, which that stands for confined animal feed operations. For anyone who doesn't know yes, so that was interesting.
Speaker 3:Already I, like you know, I was already vegan, so I already knew a lot about that.
Speaker 3:But obviously the aging one was really great too, because they went over these Blue Zones, which obviously are also plant based areas. Yeah, I felt really like validating because in a way in my head I was like, even if I don't, you know, go through with, like working as a nutritionist, I just feel like this is really interesting for me to learn because of everything I've been through, and to get that validation like is this the right thing to do? You know, like when you just watch documentaries and do your own research, sometimes you're kind of like, is this right? Like, because then you hear the opposite views and you're like I don't know anymore. So just getting you know the validation that like, yes, like plants are full of nutrients, you know, and you can have a healthy, sustainable plant based diet.
Speaker 3:Even like the first book, like it was like Intrune Intrusion One and I opened the book and it was like something about the environment, was like in the preface and I was just like I sent a picture of that to my friend Roxanne and I was like, oh my God, this feels so alive, Like yes.
Speaker 2:Yes, so I would hope that they're talking about that more and more. I went to school eight long time ago, like over a decade ago, and so that wasn't as prevalent, and neither was even talking about plant based eating, just because that term wasn't even used very often back then, but I'm glad to hear that it sounds like it's being talked about more, which is just fantastic because, yeah, it needs to be.
Speaker 3:Absolutely yeah.
Speaker 2:And it sounds like this course, even though it wasn't 100% plant based, it was still helpful, like you still came out of it, obviously with your degree, but you didn't. It didn't impede on you, on your morals or like you being vegan or like being pro plant based.
Speaker 3:Not at all. Yeah, and there was even a second part of the program that was like a culinary training, and actually one of the instructors in there is a vegan nutritionists himself. So it was pretty good because all of the culinary training was actually pretty much plant based. So, yeah, just learning different techniques that now I can, you know, teach clients as well, so yeah, so it was really great that way.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and like you were saying too, like even if you didn't come out practicing and starting your practice, it was still a helpful course. I know some people, even listening, have thought about maybe taking like the e Cornell course which is through Colin Campbell. Just because some of these courses you do learn so much like sometimes there's only so much research and so many documentaries we can watch, it's nice to go through a course and learn from the best of the best in the plant based world, just to further our education. So I know those options are always out there for anyone who wants to kind of expand on their knowledge, which is great.
Speaker 3:Absolutely yeah.
Speaker 2:What are some common concerns or questions that you receive from your ideal clients or some of the people that you work with?
Speaker 3:It's funny because I actually kind of shifted my ideal client. Over the you know almost two years that I've been doing this, I did start wanting to do more like plant based coaching, which I don't know if it's just in my area, but it hasn't been like that fruitful. So I did shift to working primarily in the hormone space, which, you know, obviously, with my own health routine, was a really big passion of mine. So about a year ago I started with that being more my ideal client, just somebody who is, you know, going through hormone imbalances, you know period issues, things like that wanting to conceive or already pregnant and just wanting to improve their nutrition status and lifestyle, which is really awesome. But yeah, I actually didn't start off with that as my niche. I was actually more in the plant based space. But now I feel like I kind of realized, you know, plant based thinking kind of should be applied to every niche in a way. Yeah, definitely, no matter what someone struggles with, it is, you know, eating more. Plants like here are the plants that will get you the nutrients that you maybe are lacking. So I do, you know, kind of do that type of work now, but I do still see some clients that are in my, you know, plant based program, which is evergreen evolution. So right now I have a lady who's trying to lower her cholesterol, I have somebody who's pre diabetics, so that one has like even more support, just like one on one support, because they are making so many changes, whereas my hormones program there's like a big video component to it as well. Yeah, so I really love how it's you know, holistic I am a holistic nutritionist that touches on a lot of different areas of your lifestyle sleep, stress, all the things plus, obviously, the nutrition counseling as well. So, yeah, so it's been really fun to kind of you know, I'm pretty new when you think about it. I, you know, it's only been a couple years and I'm giving myself grace for that because I'm still kind of getting, you know, my feet wet and everything, but it's been really awesome to be able to do this work Like it's literally my dream job. So it's, yeah, it's, it's been really amazing.
Speaker 3:I never thought I would be a business owner actually. So even when I was in nutrition, like like studying it, I was like, yeah, I'll just like work in a clinic, but I really wanted to, really like. I was like, okay, if I'm doing this, I'm going like all the way. I was like I want to align what I'm doing every day. Otherwise I'll end up in the same cycle where you're just seeing, like, client after client after client, and if you don't feel like you get to give them everything that you want to give them, like it's going to be that type of you know, day to day job.
Speaker 3:So I was like I guess I'm doing this, you know, I guess I'm opening up my own practice and being able to line it to my values of environmentalism and eating plant-based and all the things. Not all my clients are fully plant-based by any means. It's probably like 75% vegans, vegetarians and then 25% not. Yeah, pretty much exactly how I wanted to set it up. From the start, I was like I'm doing it the right way, you know, so that I feel really aligned in what I do every day.
Speaker 2:Yes, yep, and I could not agree more that it's it's good to give yourself permission to also shift kind of who you're working with or who your ideal client is or what you're passionate about, because that is just going to light you up all the more in your business. I just feel like that's so important. So I think it's wonderful that you kind of started out in one space but you sort of were open to receiving. Hey, I, you know I'm kind of passionate about hormones and women's health and different things, and I'm going to allow myself to also encompass that into my practice.
Speaker 3:Yeah, absolutely. I felt called like I took additional training to be like a functional hormone educator and that just really pulled me in that direction where I was like, okay, yes, I feel like this is even more aligned and I can still do, you know, the plant based coaching on the side as well all within my one practice, not having to be, yeah, so focused on just like the veganism part, which I obviously love and am, but it's just maybe the world's not ready yet, I don't know. Yeah, sure.
Speaker 2:Yep, but I can definitely relate. I mean so, when I first was going through my program, I wanted to be. I wanted to be a couple different things a sports dietitian and a beef lobbyist. So I wanted to promote eating beef. And I looked back and I'm like, was I thinking I was raised on a nice cattle farm and so like that was my passion and, yeah, that has shifted a big 180. So I definitely can relate to just kind of just shifting some things around, maybe not that drastically, but just being open to kind of what comes your way. And especially when you go through healing and a health issue, I feel like that just kind of deepens your roots and wanting to do something that's similar to what you've gone through as well.
Speaker 3:Yeah, absolutely. It just feels, you know when, when you're able to relate to the client on that level, it's just probably feels so much more genuine to like from the client's perspective. You definitely feel like more of a connection to the client and have so much more you know experience with it as well. So that's been really great.
Speaker 2:Yeah good, so is there any advice that you would give to someone who is kind of just struggling in the areas that, like, of your expertise, whether it's related to hormone-related concerns or even infertility issues? Like, is there any kind of piece of advice that you commonly give out that would be beneficial to our listeners?
Speaker 3:A lot of the population is on the birth control pill, for, you know, usually years, and for a lot of people they were never told that that, you know, uses up a lot of nutrients, depletes nutrients in their bodies when they are on the pill.
Speaker 3:So even if they have come off of it or want to come off of it, oftentimes there's going to be symptoms, because you have to make sure that you are nourished and you know, and even for that your gut health needs to be on par, because if your gut health is not good, you're not necessarily absorbing the nutrients as well either. So, yeah, so definitely the first thing we'll do is you know they have questions about, you know how can I regulate my periods, but we have to definitely look at what their gut health looks like and what their nutrients are looking like, because if they've never, you know, supplemented or eaten lots of foods in, like zinc for example, zinc is a big one that the pill depletes and is related to a lot of different hormone things like even like skin health and making progesterone and everything. So, if you know, zinc is very, very low, especially in plant foods. You know there's pumpkin seeds, but it's not in huge amounts in plant foods. People will say like eat oysters you know beef liver.
Speaker 3:So definitely zinc is a big one that will go over in terms of you know. If they ask how can I even start? It's like well, maybe you need a little bit of help from a supplement or two to make sure that you know even your vitamin D levels. You know you need to make sure that you're getting what you need. Living in Canada, we don't have as much sunlight. You know we're in the Northern hemisphere, so definitely vitamin D is a big one too. So we do go over you know their entire medical history and you know what their food looks like day to day and go from there, because for some people it's stress, for some people it's the nutrients, for most I would say it's multiple things, right? So looking at it from a holistic perspective of the whole body, versus just focusing on you know your, your, you know sex hormones themselves or just you know your reproductive system, definitely helps to balance everything and get results too.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it sounds like you're getting like a much clearer picture, or like a big picture of what's going on, versus like just focusing on one little thing when it could be tied to so many other things that are coming on in the body, or even externally, if someone, if someone is working with you and they, they do want some sort of like contraception. What do you, if you don't mind sharing, what do you often recommend? That maybe is something that's a bit more natural.
Speaker 3:Yeah, great question. So, yeah, definitely some people are wanting to go off the pill but don't necessarily want a baby, right? So obviously this comes up because, you know, I'm 30, a lot of people my age are either like ready to have kids or like not ready to have kids or not having kids at all. So definitely, you know, we discuss this and the main thing I would recommend to them is condoms and then also tracking your fertility. So it's become so much more available.
Speaker 3:I feel like there's so many apps I see now that like, oh, I haven't even heard of this one yet to track, like, your temperature.
Speaker 3:So they have different thermometer, like bands and stuff like that that you can have on that tracks your basal temperature so that you have a clue.
Speaker 3:You know, it's nothing is 100%, neither is the pill, but to have a clue of when you're ovulating, because it'll track when you have a little jump in your temperature and then, yeah, and then you kind of know what your window is, your fertile window, so that you know, okay, well, I'm just gonna abstain or I'm gonna use a condom those few days so that you're able to prevent pregnancy, and yeah, and then obviously everybody's different. Like, some people choose to have a copper IUD and I think no matter what, like every form of risk control will have pros and cons. So that's obviously something that we discuss together and obviously, you know, I'm not a doctor, so I don't prescribe or anything. So they obviously are encouraged to discuss it with their doctor if they do have a certain concern about the medication itself. But yeah, in terms of like more natural options, then yeah, definitely tracking your temperature and condoms would be like the best bet.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. Well, I think that's nice too, that you're actually have, you're able to have this open dialogue about contraception, versus being like, oh, the pill is like the one and only thing that you're supposed to do, or get an IUD type thing, like there are other options out there that you can explore and that won't have a as much of an impact, if any, on your hormonal health or on your health in general.
Speaker 3:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2:So I know that you're also working on your environmental health degree. I'm curious how that's going and if you could kind of give us a couple things that you've learned that you think would be really helpful.
Speaker 3:So I started studying that when I was still in nutrition. I was like probably three quarters done my nutrition program and I kind of realized that I wanted to have like the environmental background as well, because you know there was that equal nutrition course in my nutrition program at CSNN, but they're, you know I wanted more. So I was like you know what I'm gonna. I have already some university courses under my belt, so I looked into my local university what I would need to actually complete a degree in environmental studies and my focus area is environmental health. So I've been part time studying on the side as well as entire time as I'm building my business. So I learned a lot of hats. It's been a lot. At the end of April 2024, I'll be done my courses, so congratulations.
Speaker 3:I love learning, like I think lifelong learning is so important and with environmental health being my focus area, I got to learn a lot more about, you know, toxicology and basically just how our environment is impacting our health. So those courses directly went into my hormones program. I definitely already incorporated so much of that knowledge in there, because we think of food, we think of stress, but sometimes we forget that other things in our environment there's a lot of chemicals in our food. There's a lot of other things plastics that we're exposed to all the time that have environmental impacts but also health impacts. So I really feel like this degree kind of tied my two passions together. Yeah, so already been incorporating that knowledge on how even just endocrine disruptors in the environment can impact your health and everything.
Speaker 2:Yeah, if you don't mind sharing what are some common endocrine disruptors.
Speaker 3:So one that most people have heard of is BPA, which is in a lot of plastics. A lot of plastics now will say like BPA free, but a lot of the time there's just like other similar compounds, like similar chemical structures, to BPA in it still. So, in general, plastics like plastics and food shouldn't really go together, especially if you're heating anything or like drinking out of a plastic bottle in a hot car. There's been links with, like breast cancer, actually with that. There's also phthalates in a lot of skincare as well, which is a pretty common one.
Speaker 3:Phthalates are in a lot of things, and that's another one that can disrupt your hormones. So a lot of the time those compounds can basically go onto your cell and act like a hormone. So sometimes that makes your body think, oh, I don't need to think as much of this hormone because it has a similar shape to the hormone. Or sometimes then your body thinks, wow, there's a lot of hormones in here and we'll start doing something different. So yeah, it's pretty interesting how so many compounds in our environment impact us and, yeah, even just like air pollution things in the air impacts us as well, and with climate change, that is all changing as well. Things are getting worse in terms of the air quality and everything, and even water quality.
Speaker 3:So it's very interesting and definitely there's certain things too, like in fish. Because they have a lot of fatty tissue, they absorb a whole bunch of these compounds into their flesh and then if you eat that flesh, then you're getting all those compounds into your own flesh and that has impacts as well. So that was really really again validating for me. To learn about all of this and be like this is exactly what I'm passionate about, so it's been fun.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and our oceans are nowhere near as clean as they used to be. So this is what it's hard to explain why fish oil. People think it's so healthy quote healthy. It's often recommended by doctors and different things, but it's like I think a lot of people just don't realize that there is a lot of contaminants in fish oil and you're better off doing algae oil or something that's like sustainably grown and sourced and all that stuff.
Speaker 3:Absolutely yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, cool, oh, my goodness. Well, I am so excited for you. I'm incredibly thrilled just that you were able to go to school, pursue your passion, create this business that you didn't think you were going to create, and be a business owner. You're doing a lot right now and it sounds just really incredible. So, yeah, thank you so much. Thank you. So someone wants to connect with you, or maybe they're in, like, the Winnipeg area where you live, and would love to work with you, which, by the way, can anyone across Canada work with you?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so because my practice is fully online, I actually see clients in the States as well, so anywhere across Canada, worldwide. Technically, most clients find me online, especially through Instagram. So you can find me on Instagram at Chanel Legacy it's C-H-A-N-E-L-L-E-L-A-G-A-S-S-E, and you can also check out my website, wwwevergreennursecocom.
Speaker 2:Wonderful, and we'll put those links in the show notes so if you're interested in connecting with Chanel, you can easily access her. Thank you, chanel, so much for coming on and sharing your story. I appreciate you and I guess we'll just catch you on Instagram.
Speaker 3:Sounds great. Thanks so much, ashley. You're super inspiring to me, so thank you for having me.
Speaker 2:Absolutely All right. Thank you so much for tuning in today and we will catch you on the next episode.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much for listening to the Plant-Centered and Thriving podcast today. If you found this episode inspiring, please share it with a friend or post it on social media and tag me so I can personally say thank you. Until next time, keep thriving.
