Girls With Guts cover logo

Vanessa Bighinatti: Using Food As Medicine

49m · Girls With Guts · 26 Apr 10:29

In this episode, the Gutsy Gals are joined by Vanessa Bighinatti, a holistic health and wellness coach who takes pride in helping others heal their bodies naturally through nutrition and mindset. 

Vanessa was only in her twenties when she received her Lyme diagnosis, and she revealed to us the debilitating symptoms she lived with for YEARS (and how she was even bound to a cane at one point!) Then, one day she decided enough was enough. She changed her diet and witness dramatic results - and the rest is history!

In this conversation, she explains to us how food can be medicine for any ailment (sweet potatoes to help with depression?!), the importance of being your own advocate, even the importance of mindset. Vanessa also adds in a little chat about Reiki, which Alanna is a BIG advocate of!

This is one of the most educational episodes to date! We hope you feel inspired to try changing your relationship with food after this conversation, and maybe move towards eating for a better life and healing <3

The episode Vanessa Bighinatti: Using Food As Medicine from the podcast Girls With Guts has a duration of 49:09. It was first published 26 Apr 10:29. The cover art and the content belong to their respective owners.

More episodes from Girls With Guts

Lauren Nichols: Fighting for Advocacy for Long COVID Patients

On this week’s episode, Alanna and Nicole are joined by Lauren Nichols, whom Alanna found on Instagram via hashtags, in the middle of COVID lockdowns. Lauren suffers from and is an advocate for Long COVID – in fact, she is one of the first persons known to be suffering from this disorder.

In this episode, she explains her optimal health prior to having COVID (she was healthy other than having insomnia). She shares with us how she was one of the first people in the country to be infected with COVID – and doctors didn’t take her seriously at first because she presented with severe GI issues and not respiratory symptoms. From there, she continued to get worse instead of better – and hasn’t been “normal” since.

Her symptoms didn't start there. As the conversation builds, we learn about the consequences of her lingering symptoms, including her stroke, how it takes her hours just to get out of bed each day, and so much more.

Lauren also revealed to us details about the toll that COVID takes on the reproductive system, especially in women, which many tend to ignore.

This is a timely episode with summer gatherings and barbecues here for the ne

 

If you want to learn more about the podcast and the hosts, visit our website at www.girlswithgutspodcast.com.

 

Follow us on social media!

Instagram: @girlswithgutspodcast

Twitter: @girlswgutspod

Facebook: www.facebook.com/girlswithgutspodcast

Alanna’s Instagram: @alannamartella

Nicole’s Instagram: @thenikkidee

 

Lauren’s Socials:

Instagram: @laurenthemedium

 

Body Politic Socials:

Instagram: @wearebodypolitic

Website: www.wearebodypolitic.com

Leslie Jacobs Toole: I have the BRCA Gene - So I Got a Double Mastectomy

On this week’s episode, Nicole and Alanna are joined by Leslie Jacobs Toole, a local Cincinnati momma with a story to tell.

She had actually followed Alanna for a while on social media and once she learned of GWGP, she reached out to share her  BRCA Gene story with the gals. Being a topic both Alanna and Nicole were not very familiar with, it was a no-brainer to have her on the show.

In this episode, Leslie shares with us about her long family history with breast cancer - including her mother, who was diagnosed with breast cancer at the young age of 34. After witnessing her mother's suffering, she recognized the very real possibility she could have the BRCA Gene and also develop cancer like her mother. Against her mother's blessing, Leslie got tested - and the test came back positive. Then, in 2012 at the age of 24, she took her own health into her hands and got a double mastectomy. We were so blessed that Leslie felt comfortable enough to share the vulnerable details of how cancer and BRCA has affected her life - and we think others who are in a similar position will feel comforted and seen by her kind testimony - including how neglecting her emotional healing led her down a path that eventually led to her sobriety (7 years now!)

If your family has been touched by breast cancer and you're curious about the BRCA gene, then this is a wonderful conversation that you absolutely won’t want to miss!

 

If you want to learn more about the podcast and the hosts, visit our website at www.girlswithgutspodcast.com.

 

Follow us on social media!

Instagram: @girlswithgutspodcast

Twitter: @girlswgutspod

Facebook: www.facebook.com/girlswithgutspodcast

Alanna’s Instagram: @alannamartella

Nicole’s Instagram: @thenikkidee

 

Leslie’s Socials:

Instagram: @leslieajacobs

 

Bright Pink, A Supportive Community for Breats and Ovarian Cancer:

Website: https://www.brightpink.org/

Instagram: @bebrightpink

Krista Deveau: My Pregnancy with an Ostomy

Our first-ever guest on the podcast is back and better than ever! If you haven’t listened to the first episode with Krista Deveau, now is a great time to do just that (note: it’s not necessary to listen to the first one to understand this episode, it will just give you more of an overview on Krista’s health story/background). In her second round with the Alanna and Nicole, Krista shares with us what it is like being pregnant with her ostomy bag. She tells us how she discovered she was pregnant, how her food tolerances have changed (i.e. she can eat A LOT MORE now!) and soo much more.

If you have ever thought getting pregnant with an ostomy bag can’t happen, Krista is here to prove to you it absolutely can, without issue.

This is a wonderful episode that you won’t want to miss, because Krista is just so darn likable! She makes everyone want to be her friend and we know you’ll leave the episode feeling the same.

 

If you want to learn more about the podcast and the hosts, visit our website at www.girlswithgutspodcast.com.

 

Follow us on social media!

Instagram: @girlswithgutspodcast

Twitter: @girlswithgutspodcast

Facebook: www.facebook.com/girlswithgutspodcast

Alanna’s Instagram: @alannamartella

Nicole’s Instagram: @thenikkidee

 

Krista’s Socials:

Instagram: @my.gut.instinct

Alyssa Sabo: Pursuing My Comedy Dreams After a Liver Transplant

Whew. Be ready to laugh, to cry, to feel all the feels in this week’s episode! Alanna and Nicole are joined by Alyssa Sabo, Nicole’s friend, who is a comedian/actress/writer based in LA. What many people don’t know about Alyssa is that she received a life-saving liver transplant in 2011 because of Wilson’s Disease.

Alyssa shares with us her wild story of the emergent diagnosis, how she was in a coma for weeks and her healing following the liver transplant.

She discusses her lifestyle following transplant, stories of relapsing and so much more.

You’ll leave this episode absolutely adoring Alyssa and wanting to root for her (and wanting to watch her on Gaslit). This is a can’t-miss episode!

 

If you want to learn more about the podcast and the hosts, visit our website at www.girlswithgutspodcast.com.

 

Follow us on social media!

Instagram: @girlswithgutspodcast

Twitter: @girlswithgutspodcast

Facebook: www.facebook.com/girlswithgutspodcast

Alanna’s Instagram: @alannamartella

Nicole’s Instagram: @thenikkidee

 

Alyssa’s Socials:

Instagram: @alyssasabo

Facebook: @alyssasabocomedy

TikTok: @alyssasabo

Website: www.alyssasabo.com

Megan Marsiglio: Bathroom Anxiety and Breaking the Taboo on Poo

This is probably the wildest episode yet. Truly. We get pretty raw about all things poop-related. It's even hard to type.....such a taboo subject!

Alanna and Nicole are joined by Megan Marsiglio -- a mom, wife, entrepreneur, gut health advocate, and along with Nicole, a fellow Crohn-y. 

This episode gets real down and dirty! For years, Megan felt extremely isolated and humiliated about having a digestive issue - feeling like she was the only person who was anxious about making it to the bathroom "in time." As she slowly began opening up about her Crohn's Disease and what she was dealing with, she discovered how many others dealt with the same issues, and how many kept it to themselves due to embarrassment. It was then that she realized she had to do something to increase the conversation and push awareness - and became the founder of The Gut Gazette. 

In this episode we chat about bathroom anxiety when it comes to going at the workplace, when you’re dating, when you’re driving on a highway and have GOT TO GO NOW, etc. We even cross the lines of pooping your pants.

This episode is not for the faint of heart, BUT it is so incredibly important to realize our bodies NEED to poop to survive and it should be something that is celebrated and not frowned upon!

 

If you want to learn more about the podcast and the hosts, visit our website at www.girlswithgutspodcast.com.

 

Follow us on social media!

Instagram: @girlswithgutspodcast

Twitter: @girlswgutspod

Facebook: www.facebook.com/girlswithgutspodcast

Alanna’s Instagram: @alannamartella

Nicole’s Instagram: @thenikkidee

 

Megan's Socials:

Instagram: @thegutgazette and @bloommagency

Website: www.thegutgazette.ca

Every Podcast » Girls With Guts » Vanessa Bighinatti: Using Food As Medicine