The Impact of Gut Health on Mental Well-Being with Jacqui Meehan

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Jackie Meehan (1:00): The makeup of our gut really plays an an integral role in our mental health. If there's inflammation in the gut, that inflammation makes its way to the brain. Inflammation in pain often leads to things like depression, anxiety, not being able to know when you're hungry or full. You know, there's so many downstream effects and it really is such a beautiful illustration of how our bodies are so connected. It's not like we have this separate brain and separate gut system.

Jackie Meehan (1:30): Like, they are constantly talking to each other about what's going on.

Kendra Chapman (1:38): Welcome to the Go Slow to Go Fast lifestyle podcast, where we trade burnout for balance, hustle for harmony, and learn to live with intention one slow breath at a time. I'm your host, Kendra Chapman. And today, we're diving deep into the world of gut health and functional nutrition with my guest, Jackie Meehan. Jackie is a gut health specialist and functional nutritionist helping women heal through mindful change in sleep, nutrition, movement, stress, mindset, and hydration. Off the mic, Jackie lives the slow life on her Northern California homestead, growing heirloom apples and flowers, a beautiful reflection of her commitment to cultivating health from the ground up.

Kendra Chapman (2:27): So grab a cozy cup of tea, settle in, and let's explore how slowing down and listening to your body can lead to deep sustainable wellness. Jackie, I just wanna say thank you for agreeing to sit down with us today on the go slow to go fast lifestyle podcast.

Advertiser roll (2:44): Oh, thank you for having me. I'm so excited for our conversation.

Kendra Chapman (2:47): So before we get into it, I usually ask my guests how they are going slow to go fast these days. So give us an idea of how it looks for you right now going slow to go fast?

Jackie Meehan (2:58): So I was thinking about this question, and to go fast, to me, is having the energy to accomplish my goals, to spend time with friends, to get up and exercise, to feel inspired and motivated in my life. And I really think it's necessary to have a connection to my body, to be able to listen to it, to listen to the signals that it's trying, to tell me what it needs. And so in order to to hear those signals, I really think you need to slow down. You need to listen. Our brain is constantly in contact with our gut, our heart, our nervous system.

Jackie Meehan (3:34): And so if you're able to actually slow down, your body will always tell you what it needs. And so I think in order to have the energy and the motivation to do all the things that I wanna do in my life, it really requires a little bit of slowing down.

Advertiser roll (3:49): Yeah. So what does that look like for you when you're slowing down?

Jackie Meehan (3:53): You know, just I think it requires some moments by yourself and to really listen. Listening to if my body needs rest, listening to maybe if I need to go spend some time outside or maybe I need an extra long hug that day. But, yeah, I think it really is about listening and being in moments of quiet with yourself.

Kendra Chapman (4:18): I think we underestimate how healing a hug can be, an I extra long mean, I think I read it a long time ago that it increases all kinds of good things for our body, including, I think, hemoglobin, but it just, you know, obviously it's nice to sink into a hug with somebody that you trust and care for. So that's how you go slow, go fast by listening first, which I think for some listeners and viewers out there, it might sound great, but they just maybe haven't figured out how to do that. But I think we'll dive into that a little bit more as you talk through gut health today, and just really leaning in and listening to our bodies.

Advertiser roll (5:02): Definitely, Definitely. Yeah.

Kendra Chapman (5:04): So can you kind of walk us through how your personal health challenges, your journey shaped your current approach to wellness for our listeners and viewers?

Jackie Meehan (5:16): Definitely, I'd love to. So I've had a somewhat long and arduous journey with my health throughout the last decade. It's been a kind of a roller coaster of health issues from an inflammatory bowel disease diagnosis when I was in my early twenties and Hashimoto's to a lot of hormone craziness in my late twenties, PCOS and premenstrual dysphoria disorder. So throughout those stages of like dealing with health issues, honestly, a lot of the time I was focused on symptoms and I think that in a way is natural. It's typically how we're indoctrinated into our health system.

Jackie Meehan (5:53): You know, when we go to speak with many doctors about our health, it's typically about addressing symptoms, you know. And so even when I started to take a more natural or holistic approach to my health for a while, was really focused on symptoms like herbs to treat inflammation or dietary changes, you know, to like try to improve symptoms. And there was a real transition in my health and my ability to heal when I started to actually dig in a little bit deeper to find like what is the real root to what is causing these imbalances in my body. And so I've learned that real healing comes from, honestly, willingness to make meaningful change in habits, making changes in things like sleep, movement, hydration, nutrition, of course. But even just my beliefs about myself in healing and healing trauma, cultivating healthy relationships, it's really a whole package when it comes to if you wanna make these meaningful changes in your health.

Jackie Meehan (6:53): And then the other game changer for me in understanding the deeper root cause of my health issues was functional testing. Was such an important part for me and my healing journey.

Kendra Chapman (7:03): You've skimmed the surface on so many areas that I like to dive into with my guests. So I'd like to just kind of lean in more on gut health with you today and why it's so important for all of us. Like, why is our we hear about the gut and how we need to really focus on our gut, but why do we need to make it a focus point in our life?

Jackie Meehan (7:28): Our gut health is is so important to everything. And this is if I could throw out a term from high school bio, we are heterotrophs. This means we are organisms that depend on consuming other organisms for for the energy our bodies require. So in order for our body to do this, we need a system that can digest what we eat and turn it into energy in our own bodies. So our gut health is essentially how well is our digestive system able to break down and assimilate the foods that we eat.

Jackie Meehan (8:03): You know when we most people take this for granted until there's issues and those issues might be over things like bloating or bowel movement irregularity might tell you something's going on with your digestive system. But even, I mean, really any chronic health disease, things even down to just fatigue is ultimately a sign that either you're not feeding your body the right things it needs to thrive, or there's something going on with your digestive system where it's not able to break down and properly absorb the nutrients that you're eating. And the other really important aspect of gut health is actually one of defense. So our digestive system is a tube that goes through our body that is constantly being exposed to potential pathogens that are found in our food and water. So to protect our bodies from these potentially harmful bacteria, fungus, or viruses, seventy percent of our immune system is actually found in and around our gut.

Jackie Meehan (9:07): So if you, you know, don't have good gut health, if you don't have a strong immune system there, or if there's other breakdowns where you don't have enough stomach acid or bile imbalances and inadequacies in your beneficial microbes, then the gut's immune system can get overwhelmed. And that's when infection can take place, which creates inflammation, which can drive a whole host of other health issues in our bodies.

Kendra Chapman (9:33): So that, I think that definitely sheds a little bit more light on why it's so important. I mean, there's so much going on in our gut and I don't think we, we just take our bodies for granted because they just work on autopilot. Right. And knowing that there's 70% of our immunity depends on our gut health. That's huge.

Kendra Chapman (9:53): And I also, I was taking notes while you're talking. You said that what we have to at least kind of have an idea if we have enough bile in our gut, which I want to kind of check-in on that before we go to the next question. How would you know that? Is there a diagnostic you can take for that or you just kind of have to know the signs and symptoms?

Jackie Meehan (10:13): So bile is one of the unsung heroes of digestion. It's produced from cholesterol in the liver and then is stored in our gallbladder. And anytime we eat a meal that contains fat, there's a signal to the gallbladder to release bile. Bile is sort of an emulsifier that breaks down fats and allows us to digest them. But it also has a lot of other important roles like that's where a lot of the toxins that are supposed to be excreted from the body are packaged with.

Jackie Meehan (10:45): So, it's a part of our detoxification pathway. So, what are some signs and symptoms that you're not making enough bile? So, if you're having issues with digesting fats, so if you're eating like a particularly fatty meal and you're feeling like a lot of bloating afterwards or discomfort, constipation is often a common sign that you're not making enough bile. But also since bile is needed to digest fats, it's also needed to really absorb a lot of fat soluble vitamins like vitamin A, D, E and K, which you know play important roles in our immune system and our skin health. One sign could be having like really brittle nails and really dry skin.

Jackie Meehan (11:25): But yeah, bile also has this self cleaning aspect and it helps helps prevent overgrowth of harmful bacteria. So small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, you know, which we can get into as well. But SIBO is often tied to not having enough bile. So really, there are so many things that could be related to not producing enough bile, but also actually a very telltale sign which if we're gonna get a little bit graphic on the digestive health side is floating or greasy stools. That's often a sign that you're not digesting your fats because there's fat in the stool which is causing it to float.

Kendra Chapman (12:03): Okay. Well, I'm a mom of boy, so, you know, you can't gross me out. But, I mean, for the viewers and listeners out there, this is going to be probably, you know, it might be a little stomach turning, you know, to hear some of these things, but it's good for our gut health. I was recently sharing with Jackie that I had gotten a stomach virus last week and you know how that might go. Might, you know, get to the point where you're on empty and then, you know, there might be some other things that come out, unfortunately.

Kendra Chapman (12:33): So what can we do when we become sick or we think because of what you've just shared, that we might not have enough bile. What can we do to increase bile in our body? Is there anything in particular So that might

Jackie Meehan (12:48): having a diet that contains fats is important, but there's also a lot of bile stimulating foods that you can eat. So things like beets or bitter foods like citrus or bitter green. There's also a lot of like nice tincture formulas that you can take that are really good in a little bit of water and having that before a meal can be really good at, supporting digestion and bile flow.

Advertiser roll (13:14): That's good to know. So something like grapefruit would be good. Yeah. Mhmm. Okay.

Jackie Meehan (13:18): It's it's the, like, bitter part of it, you know, like the outside of it.

Kendra Chapman (13:22): Okay. Okay. So that was a little sidetrack, but you did mention bile. I thought, oh, let's jump

Advertiser roll (13:29): in on that for just a minute. Always down to talk about bile.

Kendra Chapman (13:33): Well, I mean, it's obviously an unsung hero in our gut health, so it's good to know. Okay. So, knowing that there's so many intricacies of gut health, so we're just skimming the surface here. It's an hour podcast, tops. So, if you want to know more, I'm going make sure all of Jackie's contact information is in the show notes, but let's talk a little bit about that gut brain connection and how it's impact on, you know, when we're dealing with any kind of stress.

Kendra Chapman (14:02): Cause I, you know, I've, I've seen that there's good stress and bad stress. You're going to have stress in your life. You can't avoid stress. So stress management is something that, you know, we've heard it's kind of a buzzword. So could you explain a little bit about gut brain connection and its impact on stress management these days?

Jackie Meehan (14:21): Definitely. It's it's such a fascinating topic and the research just continues to like, I think, blow everyone's minds. But to even just start with the basics, because our gut is so important to our survival, there is an intricate nervous system surrounding it called the enteric nervous system, which is in constant communication with our brain. And primarily the enteric nervous system talks to a nerve called the vagus nerve, which is the longest nerve in our body. And when there's stress in the gut, maybe because of inflammation due to an infection, This is kind of what you were experiencing last week with that stomach bug.

Jackie Meehan (14:59): So the gut is then communicating to the brain that that there's stress there and the brain then relays to the rest of the body that we need to respond. So responding could look like vomiting or running to the toilet for immediate evacuation. You know, these are the ways our gut is communicating with our brain and then the brain to the rest of the body. But then the communication also goes the other way where when we're experiencing stress, you know, often due to things in our external environment, maybe you're having an argument or you're late to an event, the brain then can signal to your gut and you might experience like gut feelings like constriction in your gut or suppression of appetite. So really these systems are gut and our brain are in constant back and forth communication with each other.

Jackie Meehan (15:54): When someone is chronically stressed, this impacts the brain in countless ways. One example is when you're going through a. Particularly stressful time in your life, you might be producing a lot of these stress hormones, one of them being cortisol. And cortisol is also being sensed by the gut. And that changes the acidity of the gut.

Jackie Meehan (16:16): It changes how much blood and oxygen is surrounding the gut. And so it's changing the environment. And that environment selects for certain species of microbes that are going to proliferate. And something that is so crazy to me is these microbes living in your gut produce these metabolites and many of them are identical to the neurotransmitters that our bodies produce. Things like dopamine and GABA and serotonin.

Jackie Meehan (16:42): And these metabolites are actually being absorbed and about 40% of the metabolites in your bloodstream are produced by the gut, the microbes in your gut, and they're actively affecting things like your mood. And so what's kind of crazy is so you're really stressed. The stress is affecting the environment in your gut. Your gut is then selecting for certain types of microbes, and they found that chronic stress selects for more inflammatory and harmful microbes. And so those more harmful microbes are producing metabolites that neurotransmitters that can affect mood, increase depression and anxiety.

Jackie Meehan (17:24): So it can be this actual like feedback loop where your chronic stress is making your gut microbes, you know, quote stressed, which is making you more stressed.

Kendra Chapman (17:34): Well, and it's like inviting all the baddies into the party, really, into your gut. Oh, okay. That's a great explanation. So there's even more reasons why we need to be in tune with our stress levels and being aware because we don't want the certain microbe, like what you said, certain microbiome? No, microbes.

Kendra Chapman (17:58): Certain aggressive microbes are gonna be ruining your gut because of the stress.

Advertiser roll (18:05): Exactly.

Kendra Chapman (18:06): I had to put that into lay terms. Thank you.

Advertiser roll (18:08): Thank you for doing that.

Kendra Chapman (18:10): Okay. I mean, I love the science behind it and it makes sense. I mean, I grew up in a science household and all of these terms are like very familiar, but I have to put it into common wording too, just for, you know, those of us out there that may not have that background. But it makes sense because it means that what we're doing is we're changing the makeup of our gut with our stress.

Jackie Meehan (18:34): Right. If there's inflammation in the gut, that inflammation makes its way to the brain. Inflammation in the brain often leads to things like depression, anxiety, not being able to know when you're hungry or full. You know, there's like so many downstream effects, and it really is such a beautiful illustration of how our bodies are so connected. It's not like we have this separate brain and separate gut system.

Jackie Meehan (18:59): Like, they are constantly talking to each other about what's going on.

Kendra Chapman (19:03): Which again, you know, the whole point of our body being so miraculous and on autopilot is because of that connection and everything in between with the vagus nerve. So it's all playing a part right down to our organs. So this is fascinating. So knowing that all of these parts of our body have to work together in synchronicity, and when one thing is off, there could be other things that go off. That's when you start getting those warning signs.

Kendra Chapman (19:32): And so those of you out there listening or watching on YouTube, you're probably wondering, how am I going to know, you know, besides the symptoms that Jackie has shared already that I might need to get tested? Is there any kind of background that you can give us on how functional testing would provide that clarity to manage those chronic conditions?

Jackie Meehan (19:52): Yeah, definitely. So I use functional testing in my practice and one of my favorites is something called the GI MAF, which is a stool test that allows us to see what's going on with the gut microbiome. And as I've like alluded to, your microbiome plays such an important role in your health. The beneficial microbes in your gut have a lot of anti inflammatory effects. They produce these some of them produce these things called short chain fatty acids, which short chain fatty acids essentially are like the food for your gut cells, for your colon cells.

Jackie Meehan (20:27): And so if your colon cells don't have the right food, then they're not healthy, you know? And as we've said, gut health is so important. So really supporting the gut microbiome so that it can support you is important. Anyways, the the GI map allows us to see what's going on with the beneficial community. It also allows us to see if there's infections present, things like H pylori or parasites, bacterial or fungal overgrowths.

Jackie Meehan (20:58): So many of these things can be big drivers for inflammation throughout the body. And so I find this test to be really invaluable for people who are having a lot of mystery symptoms or autoimmune stuff or skin stuff. It also can be a great window because it gives some information on how well you're digesting your food. So it can be really instrumental in figuring out what kind of supplementation might help, you know, get digestion running better so that you're more well resourced to begin the healing process. So I I really like that functional test.

Jackie Meehan (21:32): I also really think functional blood work can be so great and understanding what's going on in the body. Unfortunately, when you get blood work done in most doctor's offices, they're using something called just like the typical lab range. And these are based the lab range is based on the averages of population data. And unfortunately, as a as a society, we are becoming more and more sick due to things like the standard American diet, people just not moving, chronic stress. And so if you're basing your health on what the average population is, it really might not reflect what is actually optimal.

Jackie Meehan (22:12): And so through functional blood testing, we're looking at ranges that are a lot more narrow and you can identify imbalances in the body before it becomes disease and try to address them, which can get you like so much further in understanding how to approach healing.

Kendra Chapman (22:29): And I love that, you know, these days it seems like there are more opportunities for folks to get out there and learn more about functional medicine versus the other type of medicine they may have been accustomed to in just our Western society and, you know, traditional methods. So, if there is somebody out there listening who may not really understand what functional medicine is, Can you just share a quick overview of that? And then I'd like to kinda get into, like, maybe any other suggestions you might have about a healthy lifestyle just to be more proactive.

Jackie Meehan (23:06): Definitely. So the functional medicine approach is really about treating the body as an integrated whole system. And it's about taking because often when you, when you're working in the more conventional healthcare system, they're looking at certain body systems, body parts. Like if you're having a heart issue, let's only look at your heart. If you're having a colon issue, let's just look at the colon.

Jackie Meehan (23:31): But in functional medicine, we really look at the body as a whole that can be supported with looking at all the systems and how they're interconnected. It also recognizes that each person is an individual and might require a different approach rather than like a template approach. We're looking at someone really in as a whole person, their lifestyle, their diet, all the things that I've mentioned before, and just, the approach should be bio individual rather than just generalized.

Kendra Chapman (24:04): I like that definition. That's helpful. So let's say somebody is interested in learning more. They start working with your practice. What could they expect to maybe be the first couple of steps of how to start working with you?

Jackie Meehan (24:21): To work with me, we generally start with a call where we kinda dive into like what your goals are and what your main symptoms are. And then we take a look at what their their diet is like. I have everyone fill out a food journal. And this is an important, I think, tool for so many people who are trying to learn more about their health, whether you're working with a practitioner or just figuring this out on your own. But if you can log your food habits over a week, it really can be such good information and understanding how food is affecting you.

Jackie Meehan (24:56): Using AI is kind of a helpful adjunct tool where you can put in your food diary into something like chat GPT and ask it to calculate like your macronutrients and micronutrients. Because oftentimes we might think we're eating a balanced diet, but there's a lot of holes in it. And so actually writing it down and being more mindful of what your diet is like can be a great place to start. And then I kind of depending on what people are going through, we run different functional tests. But I really, in in addition to the functional tests, think it's important to dig into, yeah, the a lot of the lifestyle factors that I mentioned earlier on because they're they're so instrumental to to healing.

Jackie Meehan (25:38): Like, can't really you could have the best diet ever, but if you're not sleeping, you're probably not gonna make a lot of progress. Or if you're sitting down at a desk and not getting up for eight hours and not drinking water, we're not getting anywhere. So that's kinda what we do in in working together as we really work on the foundations of health, which are movement, hydration, nervous system regulation, diet. And sleep. So those are the things that we really focus on, but for people who are just trying to improve their health and where where can they start?

Jackie Meehan (26:15): I really love the theme of your podcast to really slow down. And I think this really applies to to gut health, especially the way that we approach eating especially. So slowing down when you sit down to eat your food, being present, making sure you're chewing thoroughly, appreciating food. These are all aspects of digestion that are often taken for granted. But if you're just rushing through your food, you're not really able to digest it very well.

Jackie Meehan (26:46): And so that's such an important part of things. And then what you choose to eat is obviously gonna be pretty important. Eating a balanced meal with a lot of plants. There's a lot, you know, some controversy these days on like, what is the best meal? Some people are really into the more like carnivore side.

Jackie Meehan (27:05): Some people are raw vegan. I believe that eating a diet that is balanced with lots of plants is good for nearly all people. Fiber is so important for detoxification as well as feeding the beneficial microbes in your gut and fiber comes from plants. So eating a diverse plant diet, I think is good advice for just about everyone. You know, not everyone is in the same place in their health.

Jackie Meehan (27:32): So I encourage everyone to listen to their bodies. But another important aspect of digestion health is actually giving our bodies time to rest in between meals. So avoiding snacking. Our gut actually has this really brilliant self cleaning self cleaning mechanism called the migrating motor complex, which can only actually do its this self cleaning job when you're in a fasted state. So if you're constantly eating, constantly snacking, it really like prevents this self cleaning mode from taking action.

Jackie Meehan (28:06): And this is like a pretty important part for preventing infection and really keeping good health in our gut. And so I think if you're able to go three to four hours in between meals, some people are more hypoglycemic and so like I'm saying, listen to your body. But if you're able to, that can be really good for your health. So those are some things I think that most people can try to implement.

Kendra Chapman (28:29): Do you prescribe to any of the science behind, bone broth being a healing component?

Jackie Meehan (28:37): I love bone broth. It's a healing and nurturing food. So again, everyone's gonna be a little bit different. And for some people, bone broth is is gonna be such an amazing healing food. However, to make bone broth, you're you're letting bones sit in like, you know, you're cooking them down for a long time.

Jackie Meehan (28:58): And this process actually creates a lot of this chemical called histamine. And a lot of people who are actually suffering from gut health problems are having an issue with too much histamine. And so they might be drinking tons of bone broth trying to heal their gut and they just feel terrible. They're having like skin flares and things are just getting worse. If you're someone that is consuming bone broth and noticing that it's not helping, it may be that you're dealing with a histamine issue.

Jackie Meehan (29:27): In which case there is an option called meat broth, which is really similar. You just take meat with some bones and you cook it for a much shorter time. And you get a lot of those healing nutrients, a lot of good amino acids and stuff like that in the meat broth without the histamine.

Kendra Chapman (29:43): That's good to know. What about prebiotics and probiotics? Would you suggest any, like, like that those are good to do? Do you say that there needs to be a certain count of, I think it's, what is it? Live?

Kendra Chapman (29:58): Can't think

Jackie Meehan (29:59): of live culture. Again, this is really a bio individual thing where. So prebiotics essentially are the food to feed your gut microbes and prebiotics are different types of fiber typically. And I love prebiotics. Prebiotics, I think that most people really could benefit from taking them.

Jackie Meehan (30:21): However, like if you have SIBO or a lot of imbalances in your gut, certain types of fiber might cause a lot of bloating and discomfort. And so you might have to to avoid those foods for some time. So this is kind of where I think functional testing like this dual test I mentioned earlier can be so such a game changer because you can understand what's going on with your gut and the right approach to healing it. But in general, for people who are not dealing with chronic bloating and things like that, I do think prebiotics are amazing. Some good ones that I really like are unsweetened applesauce.

Jackie Meehan (31:01): That that's a really good one. And then probiotics are also it's a kind of a nuanced and complicated topic because a lot of the probiotics are not really regulated. A lot of them aren't really doing anything. And so making sure you're getting them from a company that's done the right testing and is reputable, I think is important. If you're someone that's again dealing with histamine issues, taking a probiotic might make things worse.

Jackie Meehan (31:29): So in general, a lot of people who want to just get started with the probiotic, I would recommend looking for a spore based probiotic. And those are really good at sort of conditioning the gut to be a good environment to kind of build upon and get a lot of those commensals going in a healthy ratios and a good population going.

Kendra Chapman (31:49): Last thoughts to share with our listeners and viewers before we wrap.

Jackie Meehan (31:53): Well, having gone through, like so much of a roller coaster in my own health journey, I do think that a lot of people can often feel discouraged and feel like maybe healing isn't possible for them. They're just going to have to accept feeling like, you know, tired and just inflamed all the time. And I I would just like to say that healing is absolutely possible. Your beliefs about it are actually one of the first places to start, but it really is about being open to change. You can't heal in the same environment that you got sick in.

Jackie Meehan (32:30): And so being willing to take inventory on your daily habits and prioritizing your body, your health, because I mean, only get one body and it's such a resilient and beautiful gift. And so when you're able to actually slow down and listen to what your body needs, man, so much healing is possible.

Kendra Chapman (32:53): And I think that you've shared throughout our conversation that it's really about a balance, making sure that you have a balanced diet, that you are incorporating a variety of foods and that you are reading your labels carefully. You're looking at where you're getting your food from, you're writing it down, if you can keep a journal and be mindful of what you're doing every day, just to get an idea of what is causing any symptoms that you might be seeing. And then if you want to know more, you can always reach out to a functional nutritionist like Jackie to take action so they can feel better. That's the whole point of this conversation today.

Jackie Meehan (33:33): Absolutely. Yeah. Thank you so much.

Kendra Chapman (33:35): What an inspiring and insightful conversation with Jackie Meehan today. I love how she breaks down gut health in such a grounded and approachable way, reminding us that healing isn't about quick fixes, but about consistent intentional choices that support the body's natural wisdom. If today's episode resonated with you, make sure to connect with Jackie and explore her functional nutrition work. She's truly a guide for anyone ready to take back their health from the inside out. As always, thank you for listening to the Go Slow to Go Fast Lifestyle Podcast.

Kendra Chapman (34:15): If you've enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, or share it with someone who's ready to bring more balance and nourishment into their life. And remember, the light in me honors the light in you. And as you head into the rest of your week, let your light shine through. Until next time, take it slow, take care of yourself, and remember, sometimes slowing down is the fastest way to lasting change. Thanks for listening.

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