Kate Kordsmeier: Are You Using “The Pill” As A Bandage Solution?
May 14, 2019
Taking your health into your own hands sounds like a phrase that is said and never acted upon because one might not know what it means to do so… but what if it didn’t have to be unknown. You know your body better than anyone and this could be the empowering experience that you’ve been waiting for.
This happened to our guest Kate Kordsmeier, creator of Root + Revel, four years ago when she was tired of not feeling comfortable in her own body due to irregular cycles, breakouts, anxiety and bad digestion. And you won’t believe what it all came back to… her gut function!! In this episode, you will find what it means to “take your health into your own hands” by learning where to start, what to put into your body + how it can change your life.
MEET KATE
For nearly a decade, Kate was a full-time freelance food and travel writer and recipe developer. After being diagnosed with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), Leaky Gut Syndrome (IBS) and hypothyroidism, she learned to heal her symptoms naturally and created her blog Root + Revel to share what she’s learned to the masses. Through simple, natural and holistic lifestyle changes, she has seen first hand the power of nutrition and how the food we eat affects the way we feel.
KATE'S STORY
About four years ago, Kate’s body was a mess. She was experiencing irregular cycles, breakouts, anxiety and bad digestion. Nothing in her body felt right and she was turned away by a lot of mainstream doctors. After feeling like she had tried everything, she found a book called Woman Code and it talked about how to naturally balance your hormones while learning what they’re responsible for in your body. That opened Kate’s eyes up and led her to find a holistic doctor that diagnosed her with PCOS, hypothyroidism and leaky gut. Her doctor created a natural treatment plan that allowed her to get off all prescription medication and heal her body naturally.
LET’S TALK ABOUT THE PILL
It’s easy for a woman to go to the doctor and be put on the pill to help “fix” a symptom. But really, it masks the symptoms by synthetically altering your hormones and ignoring the underlying issue of what’s really going on in the body. Kate feels like birth control pills are that immediate gratification type of fix; the same way that caffeine fixes energy.
The pill is classified as a carcinogen, which puts it in the same class as tobacco and asbestos. Birth control can mask + enhance underlying symptoms without you even realizing it leaving you unable to tune in to what’s going on in your body.
Gut comes up in many of the conversations that we have on The Core Connections Podcast… and birth control is no different. Birth control can impact your gut function because of the hormone receptors in the digestive tract. This can lead to things such as candida, yeast overgrowth, estrogen dominance and more.
80/20 RULE
Because Kate has no gluten allergies, she likes to follow the 80/20 rule. This rule is known as the Pareto principle and can be used in many areas of life; however, in regards to nutrition, this rule applies to eating clean, healthy, gluten-free (whatever way you define your healthy eating) 80% of the time while giving yourself the ability to let your hair down the other 20%.
Why does Kate like this rule? It allows her to not have freedom with her food while. Because of her rule-breaking personality, if she were to tell herself, “You can never have gluten,” that’s all she would be able to think about. By telling herself, “You could have gluten, but you don’t have to,” it allowed her to have a better relationship with her food for her sanity’s sake.
START TO DETOXIFY YOUR LIFE
Supplements and food drove Kate and I’s conversation, but one thing she wants to bring awareness to is the toxins that can be found in personal care products + cleaning products. Just like our food, fewer ingredients are going to be less harsh on your body.
To begin to detoxify your life, Kate wants you to look at the products that you use daily. Specifically, on the personal care side of things is to start with products that you put on your skin and that stay on your skin, such as moisturizer. And then as you run out of your products, start to replace them with less toxic options. Now, this will take time, but you just have to start!
Kate’s top recommended products at the moment are…
Kate loves that you can buy anything from them and know that it’s nontoxic. It’s a one-stop-shop as they make everything from skincare to make-up to hair care. She also recommends this is you are just starting to detox your products because they have already done all of the research for you.
Kate describes this company’s products as, “basically edible,” because of the natural and simple ingredients that they use. They are also very high-performing.
EPISODE QUOTES
MENTIONED IN EPISODE
KATE'S LINKS
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The material contained within is provided for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. You should seek prompt medical care for any specific health issues and consult your physician before beginning a new regiment or purchasing any product(s).
