Healing Inside Out: Whole Foods and Nutrition with Autumn Smith of Paleovalley

00:00Real quick, the only ask I could ever have of you guys is to help spread the word so we can help more women lose body fat, build muscle, reach their goals, and feel insanely confident. And the only way we can do that is if you rate, review, and share this podcast. So the single thing I ask for you to do is if you could leave a review. It will take you 10 seconds, and it will mean the absolute world to me and may change the world of someone else. These guys were marketers, William Proctor and James Gamble, and they saw a huge marketing opportunity. They absolutely convinced the American public that this was a cleaner Crisco. But if you've seen what's happened in our health since 1900, as these vegetable oils have supplanted animal fats, it's not a good thing.

00:42And so there's just like this convergence of all of these different narratives that aren't necessarily rooted in true science and reality that have created this mainstream perception that meat is destroying our health. We know though that dietary fat, dietary cholesterol, and even dietary saturated fat, the evidence against them has basically crumbled. And so what we used to believe that was wrong with animal fats, we're now realizing maybe not so much.

01:12Hey, everybody. Welcome back to The WarriorBabe Show. Or if you are listening for the first time, welcome to the show. Today, we have a very special guest here with us, Autumn, who is the co-founder of Paleo Valley, a company renowned for its dedication in providing high-quality nutrient-dense food products. And with a background in holistic nutrition and certification as an eating psychology coach, Autumn is part of the macro.

01:42She's passionate about empowering individuals to achieve optimal health through better nutrition and lifestyle choices. And together, her husband, Chaz, they started Paleo Valley together to offer convenient, healthy snacks that align with the Paleo lifestyle. So their products, which are behind me, you guys, so freaking good. They include grass-fed beef sticks, superfood bars, various different types of supplements, all crafted with organic, whole food ingredients. And we know that we love just those words right there.

02:14And we're thrilled here to have Autumn on the show today to share her journey, her insights in holistic health, and tips for maintaining a nutritious diet. So, Autumn, please, thank you so much for being here. And everybody listening, please join me in welcoming Autumn to the show. Thank you, Nikki. Such a pleasure to be here. We love what you're doing and are just really excited about this podcast. So thank you for having me. Of course. Yeah, we're excited, too, as well. So why don't we just kick it off by asking?

02:45I'm very curious. This is the first time I'm meeting you. So I'm selfish in the way that I want to know more about you and why you became so passionate about health and fitness. And where did it all start? Yeah, it all started when I didn't feel well. When I was about 10, you know, much of my younger years, I had digestive issues that doctors labeled as irritable bowel syndrome because they didn't really know what was going on. I was just bloated and I had like intermittent pain. And it was so bad that sometimes my mom, one time I asked her to take me to the emergency room because I was sure there was something seriously wrong with me.

03:19And they told me, take some vino, right? You've got inadequate or like kind of disorganized digestion, which doesn't really mean anything. So I didn't know what to do. And so we continued on that path and I just kind of started to believe life was going to be like that. And when I got in my teens, I started to develop mental health issues that I now know are potentially related, at least in some ways, to what was going on in my gut. And they did traditional talk therapy and psychiatry and antidepressants and nothing really seemed to help.

03:50And I think I just kind of became more and more hopeless and then got into substance abuse and was a real pill in high school. So much so that my parents actually kicked me out of the house before I graduated. And fortunately, I still loved learning and dance and wanted to become a professional dancer. So I made my way to Los Angeles. I finished college. And while I was dancing, I met my husband, Chas. And when he got close enough to me, he said, you are suffering. You're putting on a good show, right?

04:20You know, but you are definitely not thriving. And how do we get you there? And so we went to doctors in Los Angeles who offered very little solutions. But online in 2007, he found some people who are using diet to treat digestive issues, which at that time was very novel and surprising and didn't seem like it could possibly be effective to me. But when I eliminated a lot of the foods that were problematic for me and stuck to a whole food dietary template, my digestive issues were gone in 30 days. And I was so blown away that I shared it with, you know, hundreds of my friends on an online forum.

04:55And so many of them saw positive impacts that I thought, you know, I'm really we're really on to something here. And I was working as a celebrity fitness trainer. And I'd always been fit, but I wasn't always well. And so even though I love Tracy Anderson and I had so many amazing opportunities, I decided to quit that job and go back to school. And I got my master's. And literally this morning, I am submitting my dissertation. I will finally have my doctorate in holistic nutrition. It's been like a 10-year learning, I know. And the reason I got into, we got into physical products is because I went on a world tour

05:29with Jennifer Lopez in 2012, right after I realized how important dietary change was for me. And I could not always, I couldn't find the foods to maintain the state of health that I had achieved on the road. We were in a different country every day sometimes. So when I got back to the United States, my husband and I decided, you know, we don't have prior experience in food manufacturing, but we really want to figure out how to make this kind of lifestyle accessible for people, clean options, just readily available for them to take on the road or do whatever they want.

06:03And so Paleo Valley was just founded because I discovered the healing power of whole food. And I wanted to hold on to it and share it with anyone and everyone who wanted to live that lifestyle. Wow. That's so inspiring. One, two, thank you for sharing that story. And then two, you said that you were fit, but not well. Oh, that's, I'm sure so many people can resonate with that because the fitness industry, you know, there's so many things that you could follow and go down the rabbit hole of trying to be on trends or quick fixes or whatever have maybe that people are,

06:41people are experiencing, but to get to the well aspect, that's, that's inspiring. It's like, it's a lifestyle at that point. And so you and Chaz then started Paleo Valley. So how, why, like you started to share that little story there, but like the why was more so rooted into all of the things that you were experiencing for yourself along your journey? Is that the why? And then how did you guys do it? No background. Like that's so inspiring. You know, I'm sure there's some entrepreneurs listening to this. Like, how do I just get started on something like that?

07:13Okay. Well, I'll tell you. So first it was when, when I was in France, when we were in Paris, France on tour and Chaz was like, okay, I'm going to come over because I was struggling. Like I said, to find high quality options. I was eating pistachios and apples. And he's like, I'm going to bring you some beef sticks, some clean beef sticks. And he did. He brought me a suitcase full. And when I got there and I started eating them, I realized, oh my gosh, I'm still having a lot of digestive issues. And these are grass fed beef sticks. Like what's the deal? Because as a fitness trainer, I know I wanted a really high quality source of protein.

07:44It's just, it's very important for my mental health, physical performance, all of the things. And so we looked into what the ingredients could potentially be that were causing that. And we found one called encapsulated citric acid, which is actually the industry standard. It's the way they preserve almost every beef stick on the market. And it's basically derived from genetically modified corn and hydrogenated oil. They take these beads and they coat them. They put them into the meat and then they melt it, which drops the pH. And when we talked to the manufacturer, I said, oh, this could be, this is interesting.

08:16And he said, yeah, you don't have to label it though. So it's no big deal. Like, and it'll just say citric acid. People will think it's from lemons of lives. I'm like, oh yeah, well, I'm not interested in like deceiving people. And if this potentially was harmful for me or, you know, causing digestive issues that I want to remove it. And how do we do that? And they said, oh, basically you can't. It's far more lucrative, meaning, you know, the process of not using it takes about four times as long. But because I had used a paleo template, I decided, oh, well, what did our ancestors do with meat?

08:48Because we're not using encapsulated citric acid forever and they were fermenting it. And so we, I literally, we got on the phone and we probably called 200 different manufacturers, most of whom turned us down. But one person was willing to take a chance and said, oh, ferment your beef sticks. And so we started with a beef stick and all we wanted to do is ferment it. That was the differentiating factor. And people, you know, honestly, we came up with this ad where I told the story about what encapsulated citric acid was, why we created it. And it really resonated with people.

09:19So we had one ad that kind of like really helped propel us into the marketplace. And then as we moved along our journey, we realized, okay, well, I got pregnant and I had very low energy levels. And how could I improve them? Well, eating organs. I'm not someone who likes organ meats. And so, and I was taking liver and freezing it into balls and like just trying to throw it in my mouth every morning. And it was painful. But, you know, I just realized when I ate liver, I felt profoundly different, especially throughout my pregnancy.

09:50So we, you know, we freeze dried liver. We were like maybe the first or second organ complex on the market like 10 years ago. They're just now having a heyday. But before organ meats freeze dried, that was a really novel thing. So that was our second one. And basically we had just, as we've moved along and as I've learned more and more about the ingredients and the foods that you can add into the diet that most people aren't consuming, organ meats, fish roe, spirulina, bone broth.

10:20Like how do we create options that are not only easily accessible, but that are also delicious? And that's all we've done is we've just, what do we need? What do we want to feed to our child? What are our friends saying that they want? And luckily, you know, we've been doing this a while. And so we have a very loyal following and an email list that kind of tells us what they like and what they don't. But that's all we've done. And we've expanded, you know, and we've been really, really lucky. I think I think at the end of the day, the core reason we've been successful so far is because we never sacrifice the integrity of our products.

10:58Yes, there are much easier ways, you know, much more lucrative ways to make our products. And as you see, most companies, as they scale, they make those compensations and they start buying into that, you know, reducing the margins or increasing the margins on their product. But we're never going to do it because I'm going to eat the product. And I'm that person who reacts to, you know, anything. My body just feels differently. And that's, you know, not always felt like a gift. But I think when I apply it to this, it is a gift.

11:29So and it's yeah, it's literally a family company. It's not just me and my husband. It's my sister, my brother-in-law, my other brother-in-law. You know, I mean, it's it's a family business and we're really passionate about it. Ladies, are you feeling frustrated with body changes you're experiencing during menopause? It's time to take control. If you're between 45 and 65 years old and tired of struggling with body fat and muscle loss, Warrior Babe is here for you.

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12:34That's WarriorBabe.com forward slash apply. All right, let's get back to the show. Wow, that's so cool. That's very inspiring story. This is what she's talking about as a beef stick. You guys, it's absolutely delicious. I have tried so many beef sticks in the space. And I have to say, not only do I love this, but my dog will not. I've had many beef sticks in this house. Like my dog will not leave me alone to have some of this.

13:07So I have to, I have to share. So this is delicious. And that's so interesting about the liver and all like, I have felt that to my core. I actually got chills when you were just talking about that. I was like, I see it all around now. And I'm like, I don't want to have to do that. No, but it's profound. I remember the first time I actually forced myself to eat liver. And my husband often tried to like hide it in a meal, which is almost impossible. But I felt like this, like vitality. I was like, it made me literally do a happy dance.

13:39And especially for people with iron related issues, you know, the synergy of the nutrients in liver and the fact that it has, you know, higher natural levels of B12 and vitamin A. Um, it's, uh, profoundly invigorating and it has an anti-fatigue factor, which I'm sure you understand because athletes have been using them for, for a very long time because of that anti-fatigue factor. Yeah. Incredible. I also love that you said there too, you were a little bit ago, you were like, you know, you're going to eat this stuff. You walk the talk. I think that's so important when, you know, you're making, you're either like in the fitness

14:12space, like for awesome warrior, babe, like I'm not, you know, going out and eating whatever I want, like I have a, I have a routine. Like I follow my workouts. I do, I eat right. And then I preach it and walk it. And then you do the same thing. You're going to eat your products, which is, I think an amazing quality. Yeah. It's funny because at first it was a struggle, right? We had our cheat weekends and it, but soon you really start to notice like, oh, I don't feel as good. I don't think as well, like, you know, and I don't, I'm not as kind or patient a parent,

14:42you know, when I don't feel my best. And so, yeah, it just kind of is a self perpetuating. Once you experience life in a very different way, I just, I don't even want to go back. Like my son has a, had a birthday party this weekend and you know, I'll have like three bites of cake and be like, okay, I feel good. Yeah. Yeah. Awesome. Now you're kind of just talked on some of the aspects of the things that you will experience when you are eating better. So what is the impact of high quality ingredients on like health and wellness? Like how can eating the right things make people better?

15:16Yeah. Well, our body is literally built from the food that we're consuming, including our brain, right? So everything is going to function better. Your energy production is going to be more efficient. You're going to bounce out of bed instead of like having to peel yourself out of bed. Right. And you are going to your muscles, your tendons, your ligaments, your joints. I've noticed so many people who used to have pain and be able to not move very well, like my husband, and then adding something like collagen, high quality protein, you can move

15:46better. You can think better. Our brain is, you know, 60% of it's fat. And what we're consuming is then going directly into creating our brain. The protein we consume is the, and the amino acids specifically is the basis of our neurotransmitters. So the way our brain communicates, the way our brain is built, the way that our body is built, this is all coming directly from the foods that we're choosing to put into our body. And so, and it's also, you know, you can get more granular, which I did stabilizing your

16:18blood sugar, right? That profoundly impacts your mood, your energy levels, everything, your performance, your sleep quality, it's your risk for disease. And then, you know, making sure that you have all the nutrients. I mean, many of us are nutrient deficient between, you know, like people have set up to 90% of us are deficient in at least one nutrient. And, and then again, are we eating things that are creating inflammation in the body that is creating more work for our body or, you know, hampering our immune function.

16:50And so what we're eating is talking directly to ourselves and literally creating the health or lack thereof within our entire body. Yeah. And you mentioned earlier at the beginning, what you were experiencing personally was the gut issues that you were experiencing, like you had, and then that it translated to the mental. I mean, like we, that's like our second brain down there, the gut. Yeah. They actually call it that it's your entire nervous system. It is our second brain and it is there connected to by the vagus nerve, right? So they used to think that message messages primarily went from the brain to the gut, but

17:25now we know just as many, if not more messages come directly from the gut to our brain. And then our gut actually is a place where, you know, our serotonin is created. Some of our dopamine is created. And also it houses, you know, 80% of our immune system is here. And when that immune system is out of whack or we're eating foods that are creating inflammation, that immune or that immune activation, that inflammation can go to the brain and can negatively impact the brain function. And so, yeah, this is a two line, this is like a two way street of communication all the time.

17:59And I sincerely believe that if I had understood this connection and been able to address my gut issues as a youngster, my parents would have had a very much easier time with me. When you shared your story, I totally resonated with it. So hardcore. Yeah. And I also think it's, it's, it's like really frustrating because I see so many kids today suffering my, my son's generation and people not even looking to diet, you know, schools

18:34skipping over all of these foundational things, diet, sleep, screen time, you know, and just going right into more traditional therapies, which definitely have their place. But I just, that's like one of my main missions is to help people understand that there's a lot you can do before we get there that can maybe be all you need to do. Not always, but in my case, definitely was. Yeah. Can you share a little bit about, um, how you guys source?

19:04Like how, how do you guys make these, the, find the best ingredients, right? Because I, I'm always telling me that's like, okay, I'm going to try something new, but the ingredients is like the first thing I look at, because if it's a laundry list of ingredients, like I'm, I'm not going to put that into my body. I don't want my body to be consuming that type of stuff. If I can't even pronounce half of the things on the ingredient list, like it shouldn't be, we shouldn't be consuming it. So how do you guys like source and choose the best ingredients? And then like, when it comes to your guys's approach for creating healthy snacks, like how

19:36do you guys do it? Hey, Hey, just want to drop a huge appreciation to you guys listening to the show. It means a lot. I hope you guys are enjoying it and there's so much more to come with it. If you are enjoying it, hit the subscribe button. I'd appreciate that tons. And also it would help this podcast reach others who need to hear these messages too. Thanks so much guys. Let's get back to the show. Yeah. Oh, that's such a good question. So basically we want to be the company that always prioritizes health over profit. And like I said, it's a very, very hard thing to do.

20:07And yeah, a lot of these stabilizers and other random ingredients end up there because, oh, well, it makes the machine flow better or, oh, it allows it to mix better. You know, and I get that, you know, some people really value that. But for us, it's like, no, we just want it to be as minimal as possible. And only the ingredients that are not only going to not hurt you, but are going to add something. That's one of the things we've, we've really had a focus on is when I would use to pick a protein bar because as a fitness trainer, I used to live on them, protein or carbohydrate

20:39bar. It was like everything, you know, started to be gluten-free, grain-free, soy-free, whatever, all the free things. But what, what was actually in there? It was like, you know, maybe some almonds and some eggs. You know what I mean? And we wanted spirulina and blueberries and kiwi and collagen protein. And we wanted to really add the foods again, that we're going to bring vibrant health. So we started there. Also, you'll, you'll often see companies, you know, one or two main organic ingredients. And then if you look on the label, most of the other ones are not. And we really, we want all of our ingredients if commercially available, because sometimes they're

21:14not, but we will always use organic ingredients, of course, you know, and the ones that aren't necessarily organic will be tested for pesticides, right? If they're not available, the second best thing is, can you test and make sure that the levels of the things you don't want in there aren't in there? And when it comes to animal products, that's kind of one of our other primary focuses, because we see a lot of people, you know, not paying attention to where their meat comes from, where their animal products come from. And there are dramatic differences there. And I'm actually doing my dissertation on that very thing.

21:45So, you know, the differences between conventionally raised beef and grass-fed beef there, there's a lot of them, right? And even within grass-fed beef, there's differences between beef raised in a monoculture or beef raised on diverse pastures with rotational grazing. And then also a lot of people source grass-fed beef that's from outside the country. And for us, it's really important to prioritize American-raised, regeneratively raised grass-fed beef. And that's what we try to make. Old pastured chicken, pastured poultry, all of our collagen comes from 100% grass-fed.

22:19And finished beef, because all beef is grass-fed for the beginning of its life, because, you know, cows start their lives on grass. But it's that finishing diet that really matters. And grass-fed doesn't, that regulation has gone away as of 2016. So it doesn't really tell you about what the animal's eating. So we go beyond, like, just being able to label grass-fed. And we want to actually ensure that our animals are grass-fed and finished, that our chickens and our pigs are roaming on pastures as they're supposed to. They're never confined. They have a healthy, happy life.

22:50People are taking care of them. And so, yeah, we just don't cut corners on our ingredients, not only because we're eating them, but also we prioritize the health of the planet, too. We don't want to use pesticides. We don't want to be giving our animals hormones. We don't want to feed them a grain diet, because not only can it create changes in the final product, but also the use of pesticides, herbicides, insecticides on growing the corn and soy in animal feed is very environmentally destructive. And so we just, we were flabbergasted to hear that, you know, the dwindling levels of topsoil

23:25that are happening because of our conventional agricultural practices might lead to a day where our son can't even grow his own food or his generation. And that, that terrified us. And so, yes, it's, it's human health centric and planetary health centric. And because we're eating them and consuming them and really dedicated to future generations, being able to nourish themselves. We just don't cut corners. It's just kind of our, our thing. Thank you. Thank you for sourcing quality, amazing ingredients.

23:56And then going into that elaborate story, you know, people don't, that's why I love podcasting. That's why I love meeting people that are behind the brand that, you know, do the work and actually do the great work of sourcing the good things that we're putting into our body. So thank you for that. Because, and like I said, guys, like this stuff is, it's one thing that I've tried many of these things and the products, but when, even the way you're on that, you're just sharing this right now, it's like, this is something that I will be putting into my body. And I encourage everybody to check out paleo Valley in the link to the links are in the

24:31description below this podcast. But, and I'm not just saying like, I'm like very genuine in the fact that like, this is some good quality stuff. And then it just goes back by what you just said and how you guys source it. I think that's so freaking important. Everything that you just said there, but most specifically. The finished aspect, the grass fed grass finished. I think this is becoming more well, like more known in the space. People were all like grass fed, grass fed, grass fed meats, grass fed that, like everybody's looking at grass fed, but the way that you just explained that, yeah, sure.

25:03Everybody's all the animals start eating in the grass, but how about what they eat for their entire life and the duration while they're alive? It's it's. Yeah. Go ahead. It's important. And you know what? Um, and when it comes to animal products, organic products can be still fed grain and they can still be kind of confined. So they only have to be on pasture for, you know, 120 days and they can be fed, um, corn and soy that is organic. And obviously they're not giving the antibiotics and the chemicals and the pesticides aren't on their feed. And that's a good start.

25:33But yes, grass fed and a hundred percent grass fed and regeneratively raised. These are all terms that lack definition that you have to be really mindful of, or I would help, or I would love to encourage people to be mindful of because it does change the fatty acid profile. We can talk about it. We're producing, we're publishing a paper on this very soon. And so, um, the differences can be really dramatic and, um, kind of exciting because grass fed and finished beef can be a great source of omega-3 fatty acids that most people consume, you know, think are primarily coming from fish and up to 90,000 Americans are deficient

26:07in these or die every year because of omega-3 fatty acid deficiency. And so there is value in beef beyond what we normally think of it. And that's especially true when it's raised in, in ways that are, you know, compliant with agroecological principles. Yeah, please dive in. What are the benefits? Why, why should everybody eat meat? Oh, meat. Oh gosh. You know, I don't know if you even know, but we're doing a series, a docuseries called rethink meat. I don't know if you knew that. No. Okay.

26:37Yeah. We're just finishing episode six, but it literally, because when we started wild pastures, which is our other company, it's a meat delivery service and we're only sourcing from America and regenerative farmers. And whenever people unsubscribe, we say, why, why'd you unsubscribe? And so many people were telling me we're going vegan for the planet. And I thought, oh no, right. I'm living in this bubble where I understand this and it's getting, you know, the message is getting out of there, but there are still so many people who think that animals are inherently destructive to the environment. So I don't know if you've ever heard of Alan Savory.

27:09Have you heard of him? No. You guys. Okay. Everybody, you need to go listen to his YouTube video. So he was a rangeland ecologist and he grew up in Africa and loved animals, loved the environment and the mainstream in his community. And what you hear today, animals are killing the environment. And so he believed that. And he decided, decided with the input of other scientists to kill 40,000 elephants, because he believed if he did that, that it would improve the environment.

27:41And guess what? It did not. The land deteriorated and it got worse. And what he realized after studying the work of Andrew Wasson in France and is that it's not animals. It's the management of those animals. It's humans, right? Are you putting them in a feedlot? Are you taking them off of pasture? Are you letting them graze continuously? Which just means, are you not moving them? Are you letting them choose? Because animals will just go graze the same thing over and over and over if they're not moved. Because animals in the wild would be moving, right?

28:12They'd be going to a plot of land, consuming it, defecating and moving on because of predators. And so he created this system called holistic management, which mimics these predatory prey cycles and this movement of animals in a way that absolutely rehabilitates environment. Rather than disturbs them and deteriorates them. So animals in healthful, raised in ecologically compliant and beneficial ways is absolutely critical for the environment, but also for human health.

28:43And so the really interesting thing I learned during this whole docuseries is that the reason we believe meat is bad is not rooted in science necessarily, right? Meat is essential. We've been consuming it for millions of years. Some people believe it's responsible for the development of our brains. But also that, you know, there's certain nutrients, zinc, iron, vitamin B12, you know, that we just can't get without animal products. And when we started to believe they were bad was a lot of it was rooted in religion.

29:14I don't know if you know this. Have you heard this story? No. Okay. So it's a fascinating thing. And we go through this history. I'm not going to go too in depth, but the Seventh-day Adventist church, there's a guy named Dr. Gary Fetke. And he was an orthopedic surgeon in Australia. And he was amputating his diabetic patients. And he noticed through his own experimentation that a low-carb diet was helpful for his health. And he started telling his diabetic patients, maybe you should reduce the amount of sugar you're consuming.

29:46And the dietician there turned him in to the board. And he suffered four years of litigation and became the first medical doctor ever silenced from talking about nutrition, which was kind of crazy, right? Because all he said was, cut out sugar. And so his wife, Belinda Fetke, watched him go through all of this litigation. And he was presenting this valid scientific research. And today, even the American Diabetes Association, they note that low-carb diets can be helpful, right?

30:18But he was presenting this science until he was blue in the face. And she really did a deep dive into like, where did this belief come from? Like, what is driving this? And she found the Seventh-day Adventist was playing a huge role in our perception of meat. And that their prophetess, Ellen G. White, believed she had a vision from God. And she decided that meat was kind of a sinful food. And that she believed it led children to masturbate and led to sinful desires.

30:49And so actually, John Harvey Kellogg, who was a student of Ellen G. White, and he created Kellogg's to reduce the frequency, you know, give kids an alternative so they wouldn't have these lustful desires. And anyway, so the Seventh-day Adventists are very, very influential in dietary policy on our dietary guidelines committees. One of them founded the American Diabetetics Association. And they have hundreds of hospitals throughout the world. And so that is one factor driving our belief. The other one is, you know, Crisco and the fact that we created these alternative fats.

31:23And because of the advent of hydrogenation and there wasn't any scientific substantiation to their benefits. These guys were marketers, William Proctor and James Gamble. And they saw a huge marketing opportunity. They absolutely convinced the American public that this was a cleaner. Crisco, mind you, which was originally 50% trans fat, was a cleaner and more healthful alternative to animal fats. But if you've seen what's happened in our health since 1900, as these vegetable oils have supplanted animal fats, it's not a good thing.

31:57And then we, of course, have this plant-based market, right? We have animal rights activists and environmental activists who don't yet understand that there are ways to raise animals that are not only not harmful, but are very beneficial. And so there's just like this convergence of all of these different narratives that aren't necessarily rooted in true science and reality that have created this mainstream perception that meat is destroying our health. And we could go into the other research around Ancel Keys. And, you know, and we know, though, that dietary fat, dietary cholesterol, and even dietary saturated fat, the evidence against them has basically crumbled.

32:35And so what we used to believe that was wrong with animal fats, we're now realizing maybe not so much. And that meat contains highly bioavailable nutrients that we can't get anywhere else. And also that when people consume less dietary protein, you know, their appetite might be enhanced, right? They might need to eat more. And there's something called the protein leverage hypothesis, which just states we're eating for amino acids. And so removing meat and relying on a more plant-based diet might actually be prompting people to eat more in certain circumstances.

33:10So, so many reasons that meat's important. And I did do an episode on veganism, and I'm not, I'm not, I don't want to tell people what to eat. The only time I ever get concerned is for kids, for kids and for pregnancy. My son went to school and there was a girl who stated there's a club and you can't be in it if you eat meat. But there are very well documented irreversible changes in kids due to B12 deficiency. You know, if the mother's B12 deficient and if they are B12 deficient and iron and ultra, you know, long chain omega-3s.

33:45So animal products are really, really, really, really important. And they've sustained us for millions of years. And they're absolutely not driving the increased risk of disease that we're seeing today. There's a lot of other factors at play, but I hope people will stop fearing meat. That is especially that, that is raised in ecologically responsible ways. Wow. Thank you so much for sharing that perspective. One. Two, but it's rooted in science. You know, it's like, I want people to change their, not change their perspective.

34:16Well, I mean, like just have valid reasonings why they're thinking the way that they're thinking in terms of things. Like, where is it actually coming from? Is it coming from just like, you know, stories that they've heard throughout the years that aren't rooted in science? Or is it actually coming from what you're saying, which is in science? And then I absolutely love what you said was like, I'm not telling anybody what to eat. You know, everybody has a preference of what they want. But when it comes to like the science of our bodies and pregnancy and kids as they're growing, I think those are some very, very logical reasons to, you know, to be rooted in, in, in the science aspect for, for just overall health.

34:52So science, baby, freaking love science. Thank you for sharing that perspective. You're so welcome. I know you just hear so many loud voices that are, you know, passionate, but not always accurate. Yeah. Okay. So I want to actually go, go switch over to one. Actually, do I want to go, I want to go back and actually pick your brain on the omega threes that you, that statement you made there. And then I was like, wait, we switched to me, but I really wanted to know me, but I really want to go back to the omega threes too as well.

35:22So can you actually share what you're writing? Oh my goodness. Yeah. I'm so fascinated by this topic. Okay. So omega three fatty acids. It's interesting because Harvard researchers suggested up to 90,000 Americans die every year because of this deficiency. And yet we're not really told to consume specifically omega three fatty acids. We're told to eat polyunsaturated fatty acids, but that's omega sixes and omega threes. Right. And we know that advent of seed oils, we're consuming a lot more fatty acids of the omega six type. And that the balance between omega six and omega three is really important.

35:52We used to eat one to one, one omega three for every omega six. And now we're consuming way more omega sixes. Now these fats have very different roles in our body, right? Omega six fatty acids get into our cell membranes and they create in general, a more inflammatory response that lasts longer. Right. Whereas if you can have a higher proportion of omega three in your fatty acids or in your cell membranes, it's, it's a smaller, it's a more damp, um, and a resolution of inflammation.

36:24And so omega threes are essential for the health of our brain, for the health of our cardiovascular system and our immune system. And there have been, if you haven't read the book, Omega Balance yet by Dr. Anthony Holbert, I really hope that you do. He's actually a zoologist and he talks about this balance. There's a lot of scientists studying this balance and, and really at the heart of it saying two things. Yes. Watch your intake of omega sixes, but more importantly, I think is really focusing on omega three fatty acids.

36:54Now, why beef is important is because there are plant forms of omega three fatty acids. Alpha linolenic acid is the plant based form and you'll find it in greens, right? But the conversion to the longer chain forms like EPA, DHA, and even DPA is limited. You know, rates below 15% are converted, but we need those fats for the health of our immune system and for the health of our brain, DHA, and for the health of our eyes. Very important. And so beef, when it's raised on grass can be considered, there was a paper out of the UK because we don't really have a recommendation exactly for how many omega threes you can have or you should have, but, but they do there.

37:35And grass fed beef can be considered a good source of omega three fatty acids. And some people, many of us are just not eating the amounts of fish that would be helpful for our health. And, you know, omega three fatty acid supplementation, there are limitations there, right? You know, some trials show benefits. Some trials don't. We know that food based sources are always the best. And we also have studies that show when you eat a conventional beef or grass fed beef, the levels of omega threes in your blood rise significantly, which is really important because some people will argue, oh, well, the absolute amounts of omega threes and beef aren't that high.

38:15But as we know, it's not always about the amount. It's about how well your body uses it. And it seems like beef, your body is able to use those omega threes really, really well. And so omega three fatty acids are just something I've really been focused on and I've gotten really nerdy about it. I've even been started testing my omega three fatty acid index. If you want to go into that, we don't have to. But suffice to say, I really hope people start incorporating more food based omega threes into their diet. Research has shown if you have pain, like pain or allergies or autoimmunity, there's even mechanisms, proposed mechanisms by which it reduces your appetite.

38:54Where it can actually make you lose weight in every mental health. I mean, there's some really cool research with Joseph Hiblin out of the NIH. He used to work at the NIH and he's done a lot of research around omega three fatty acids and mental health and hostility and aggressiveness and ADHD. And the results are really, really impressive when you increase the amount people are certain populations are consuming. Um, so yeah, I can't say enough good things.

39:24It's something I'm absolutely obsessed with and grass fed beef can be a good source if you don't like fish and you don't want to take fish oil supplements. Um, and especially when it's raised in ways that are, you know, grass fed, grass finished on our paper also found, this is really interesting that the omega six to omega three fatty acid ratio was even better. Um, when there were a lot of plants, a diversity of plants in, in the animals diet. And so it's not only just like one type of grass, it's like diverse pastures seems to make an even more profound impact and longer grazing durations.

40:01So. Omega three. Yeah. It's fascinating. I'm on this omega three tray right now. And then, and I just started giving like totally side note, but I just started giving my dog more omega threes because his skin, he was getting, it was dry. It was flaky. He was having allergies and I just started popping in more of that. I'm like, and it's better. Wow. It's crazy. You know what? We actually, we have a fish oil supplement or not official supplement, a fish row supplement. And we give it to our dog every single day because she had a hip pain and that, and the turmeric, we also give our dog turmeric and the organs.

40:37Um, she doesn't, she, she walks better. She doesn't have pain like she used to. So yeah. Oh, that's a good future for paleo Valley dog stuff. You know, we've thought about it. We've definitely thought about it. We've even started beginning. Cause yeah, I mean, our whole animal utilization is really, really important to us. And so you can put, use things for dog food, especially when they're raised really well, um, that human consumers might not be as into, but yeah, I mean, I think that we'll eventually move in that direction. Oh, so cool. Yeah. I was hoping my dog daily, daily.

41:08He already eats it. Ours too. Um, okay. So I do want to circle to, I do want to circle to the whey protein as this is like, so delicious. The vanilla flavor. I don't have the vanilla flavor with me right now because I ran out of it because I consumed the whole bag. Cause that delicious. Um, and mixed with like a banana or anything that you want to put inside of it. It's, it's yummy for a post-workout, but let's, let's jump on this. The colostrum, why the class, what is class?

41:39It's a big craze in the space right now. Why, what is it? And why is it in the protein powder? Yeah. Ooh, I love that question. So yes, colostrum is like mother's first milk. It's called liquid gold because it is basically responsible for the maturation of the infant's immune system. It's full of immunoglobulins like IgG, IgM, IgA, that all kind of, they create this new resistance for the import. Like it, it gives the immunity from the mama to the baby for those exposures from the mama to the baby.

42:11Um, they also have growth factors like insulin, one like growth factor that helps heal the skin. And, um, it also contains just a wealth of proteins in this like colostrin and other things that have well-demonstrated benefits. Lactoferrin is another, it's an antimicrobial, antiviral, antifungal substance. And so basically colostrum can help improve your body's ability to heal, improve the response of your immune system. There's even evidence improves performance, um, and improves, you know, also, uh, protein, protein synthesis.

42:44And so colostrum is just a wealth of immune supportive factors and other nutrients that can supercharge your immune system and just your overall health. But whey also contains a lot of those too. The problem is with a lot of them, they're not processed in a way that maintains the integrity and the biological activity of the many compounds it contains. And one really cool trial that I always like to talk about with colostrum is, and the history of it is that it was actually what people used before the advent of antibiotics.

43:17So it was something people would take. And there's been a, there was a trial in Italy, I believe it was in the early 2000s where they looked at older individuals who consume collagen or who had a flu vaccination. And they actually found that the people who had colostrum fared better, had a reduced incidence of flu, um, even when compared with those who had a vaccination. So not saying don't get a vaccination. I'm just saying that colostrum is very powerful and has been recognized historically for that ability.

43:48And now it's having a resurgence, but we put it in the protein powder because whey protein, right? Obviously already immune supportive. There's compounds we can talk about in that too. But we thought, what if we gave everybody a shot of collagen at the same time, just in their daily protein shake and helped rehabilitate their immune system and function of their gut? I mean, what could potentially happen? And so we were just really excited about making it again, easy to have delicious and just something that is a part of your daily routine. Love it.

44:18And it's delicious. Yes. I love it so much. The vanilla. It does. It tastes like ice cream. That was, that's one of my favorite things we've ever created is the vanilla way for sure. Guys, that's what I was telling Autumn right before we hopped onto recording. I was like the, the vanilla protein powder tastes like a dessert. Like, and it's hard to find good quality protein powder that tastes good. You know, there's some that's very bland. There's some that's just like, like it, you got to like hold your nose and down it.

44:49But this is not like that. And it's especially hard too. Like it doesn't have artificial sweeteners, right? Because sometimes they like taste good, but then it's like, there's, you know, sucralose or I don't know, aspartame. Like those things don't work for me and then they lead to gut stuff. And so, no, we just use monk fruit. That's organic milk powder. That's so good. It's the coconut milk powder. It's the monk fruit. Basically. Yeah. And just organic flavoring. And the natural ingredients.

45:19Five ingredients on this. I love that, Autumn. Five ingredients. Yeah. Yeah. Not a list. Yeah. The fewer, the better. That's always our motto. Simple. Yeah. Amazing. So you're a huge advocate for mental health. What are, this is the last question I want to ask you. What are three things that you wish people knew about the link between diet and mental health? Oh, I love this. Well, these three things are just the things, the stages that I went through to rehabilitate my mental health in a dietary way.

45:52Okay. So the first one was just removing that we now know depression for at least a subset of those who are depressed. This might not be true for everyone is rooted in inflammation, right? That people, when you create inflammation, you can create depression. They used to think it was because you were sick or something. But we're seeing that when you shut off that inflammation, that people can become less depressed or can potentially feel better. And so, again, every single thing you're putting into your body, if it's full of inflammatory ingredients, right, it could potentially be creating inflammation.

46:25But also, different foods are inflammatory for different people. And my food, my, was garlic, right? So it's very strange, considered very healthful and is great for other people. But it took me identifying gluten and garlic as two of my inflammatory triggers before my mental health started getting better, before my skin started getting better. And so, just reminding people, right, you know, processed foods, sugar foods, seed oils, those ingredients for sure. But also, sometimes it's foods that you might not suspect that your body just isn't loving.

46:58And so, identifying your sources of inflammation, whether they be dietary or environmental, really, really important. The second one was stabilizing blood sugar. So there's a big, I don't know if you've ever been on a blood sugar roller coaster or recognized it as such. But if you're consuming a lot of carbohydrates, your energy goes up for a while and then you crash. And a lot of people just think this is normal, right? They do this throughout the day. They need a nap. They get hangry. But there's a link between even, you know, diabetics.

47:30People who have these blood sugar swings have higher rates of depression, right? And when you stabilize blood sugar, you can feel your mood improves. And so, when I switched to a paleo diet, I was still eating a ton of dried mango, you know, just things that were still not keeping my blood sugar stable. And so, I eventually wore a glucometer and really got very in touch with what put my blood sugar out of whack. Because, again, that's different for everyone.

48:01And eating inflammatory foods, inflammation, they did this really cool study in Israel where they put a bunch of blood sugar monitors on a lot of different people. And for some people, bananas caused inflammation and a blood sugar rise. And some people could eat cookies better than bananas and it created less of a blood sugar response. So, just becoming acquainted and just noticing your response to different foods. Always prioritizing protein. That's the core of all of my meals and my snacks. They're pretty much always protein-centric.

48:33And if I didn't want to eat a beef stick or, you know, tuna or herring, I've really gotten into herring lately, then I'm not really that hungry, right? So, I'll skip a snack. So, anyway, just, you know, and that can be the simple step you take. You don't need to eliminate carbohydrates. I also noticed a really profound impact that I could eat far more carbohydrates than I thought I could after testing as long as I've paired it with protein. So, that was really cool. And the last thing is there's really well-documented evidence that nutrient deficiencies lead to mental health issues. They've actually done an analysis out of 2018, the most mental health supportive foods.

49:09And they categorize them in different ways. Like, there's leafy greens. There's really colorful vegetables over here. So, those are very important. But then also, in animal foods, it was kidney, heart, liver, all these organ meats, and fish, right? And grass-fed beef has also been found to be a very mood-protective food. Dr. Felice Jacka did some research where she expected that beef would be associated with more depression and anxiety. And she actually found the opposite, which is really, really interesting to her.

49:39So, iron, really important for the health of the brain. I've noticed, you know, focus issues for people just like lethargy. B12, vitamin B12. There are some crazy stories about mental health issues with B12 deficiency, paranoia, you know, just a range. DHA, obviously, that really important long-chain omega-3 fatty acid deficiency. They've actually seen supplemental EPA. I believe this study was in EPA, which is the long-chain fatty acid that comes before DHA, was able to reverse depression.

50:15And, again, we've talked about omega-3s, but a lot of people are really, really deficient in omega-3 fatty acids. So, if we can identify and avoid as often as possible inflammatory foods, whatever that is for us, stabilize our blood sugar, and then cover, make sure that we're not only just not eating inflammatory or problematic foods, but we're also really adding in nutrient-dense foods, organ meats, high-quality fish, collagen, all the things, you know, that we have basically lost touch with as a culture,

50:45then I think we create a nice foundation for our brain and body to have everything that it needs to really feel good. Because as we were saying, like, our physical and our mental health, they're the same. We often like to put them in silos, right? But it comes from the same thing. Yeah. Amen to all of those. Love them. So, as we wrap up today, actually, I said I had wanted to ask you one last question, but I actually have another question for you. As we wrap up the podcast today, what are some of your favorite, personal favorite snacks from Paleo Valley?

51:20Oh, that's so good. Okay. My absolute favorite and something I have every single day is the bone broth, the chocolate bone broth. I put it in water. What'd you say? I'm going to have to get that. Oh, you have to try it. I mean, I am obsessed. And so many people are. Dr. Drew, I don't know. I was such a fan of his, and I met him recently, and he cannot stop talking about our chocolate bone broth. But, yeah, you can put it in water. You can put it in milk. You can put it in almond milk. You can put it in a smoothie. People make brownies out of this because it is so darn delicious.

51:54And we all know collagen, right? Health of our hair, skin, our nails. It actually improves glutathione production. The glycine is calming. It helps your sleep. I mean, so many good things. So that one I have every single day. Um, the other ones is, oh, our chocolate superfood bars. I just love them. They're my dessert. And I chop them up into little pieces every single day. And then I just put them in the freezer or whatever. And it's just like whenever I need just like a diversion from work or just a moment of joy. I have a little bit of that.

52:26And my last one, my last snack. I mean, oh, gosh. I'm also obsessed with venison sticks right now because the venison are just incredible. And venison, they sold out. Like we had no idea about, they're back in stock now, but we had no idea how the response would be. But they are absolutely delicious. And then my last one that, you know, I don't talk about as much, but is superfood golden milk. Turmeric, so turmeric, one of the most well studied anti-inflammatory substances. It has so many different benefits for the gut, for the brain, for the people wear it on their skin.

53:00I mean, it's just, it's amazing. But you don't want to eat turmeric every day, right? I mean, it just gets old. And so we created turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, and then we put it in coconut milk powder and then added functional mushrooms. So it's kind of like a little delicious morning drink if you want to. If you want to, you know, take it out of your coffee or replace with your coffee or at night or just like an after dinner drink. It's just like a nice way. It's absolutely delicious, too. It's one of my favorites. And if you haven't tried it, I'll send it to you because that's kind of one of our more like under the radar.

53:34But it's really gaining in popularity because it's absolutely wonderful. Oh, amazing. Yeah, I'm definitely going to add some of the ones that you already noted there to the list of what I want to try next. Oh, and I forgot. We have a coffee, too. Oh, that's what I'm drinking right now that has the mushrooms, of course. And then something called neurofactor because most coffee just uses the bean. But we use the whole coffee fruit because the coffee fruit actually has a lot of polyphenols, which is one of the main compounds in coffee that's response for its benefits. And it's actually been shown to improve BDNF or brain fertilizer production pretty significantly.

54:09And I noticed it's a pretty dramatic change. And, of course, it's organic. Right. And we roast it using solar power and all the things. But it's really delicious, too. And low acid. I'm always surprised at the feedback that people take. But it's like, this is the only coffee I can drink that doesn't upset my stomach. And so coffee, too. Coffee, coffee. Yeah. My listeners know this, but I gave up coffee three weeks, four weeks ago. Oh, my gosh. You know what? I only do decaf. Did you do it for the caffeine thing? I did it for the caffeine thing. I'm giving it a try.

54:39Seeing how it's going. I gave it fully. I tapered down because I was consuming so much. And then with the last 10 days, I've been completely caffeine free. You know what? I've been caffeine free since I had my son. He's nine. So I love it. Yeah, that was another one of the things that was really impacting my mood. I already am so energetic and I run a little hot, you know? So it was just like it was pushing me. I was like stealing my energy from tomorrow. And then I'd wake up grumpy and I'd do too much. And yeah, I was just like stuck in this cycle. I never go back.

55:10And I even like sometimes I'm like, oh, just let's try it. And it takes me out of sync with like my body's natural rhythms. And it impacts my sleep and most definitely my mood. So you got to keep me posted. I hope that you like it because I love life over here. I just do the decap. Yeah. Yeah. I resonate so hard with everything that you just said. And I'm loving it so far. Initially, the hump was a little rough, but I'm past it now. And I feel so much more calm. Like my head's clear. Like I have clear thoughts. Like and I'm already just like you said, very energetic. So it's been nice.

55:45Yeah. Well, Autumn, thank you so much for being here today. And for sharing all of the insights that you did share. It's been insanely valuable. Everything that you dove into the perspectives, the insight. You guys definitely, the listeners that are listening, go check out the Paleo Valley items that are going to be linked in the description below. We have a little special offer too for you guys. Autumn, thank you so much. Where can everyone find you to like hang out with you on social? We're going to be in the link below. Oh, this is so fun.

56:16And well, online, you can hang out with me at paleovalley.com, wildpastures.com. Or if you have questions or concerns, people all the time, email me at autumn at paleovalley.com. And I will respond. But if you're local to the Denver, Boulder area, we have a restaurant, wildpasturesburger.com. Or, you know, and you can come there. And it's awesome. We only cook the fries and tallow. It's all sourced from American regenerative farms. We don't have any sugar, refined sugar in the place, even though we actually had a child write a letter to us recently saying, please just add a little sugar. Like, why no sugar? Because his parents loved to eat there so much.

56:47But the food is delicious. The sauces are made all in-house. And we actually have milkshakes from organic milk that are sweetened with monk fruit that are absolutely delicious. So you can find us there too. Nice. Cool. Autumn, thanks for being here. Appreciate you. Thanks, Nikki. It was a pleasure. So much fun. Hey, guys. Real quick. If you're interested in taking your body to the next level, lose body fat, build more muscle, feel more confident, do it alongside one of our 30-plus professional coaches.

57:20Work one-on-one with her to eliminate all of the guesswork that you may have. And all you need to do is just do the work that she tells you to do to get to those goals of yours. Now, to learn more, click the link below this podcast and apply to our VIP program right now.

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