Exploring Holistic Health with Jennifer Roelands: A Journey to Well-being

Episode Overview

Episode Topic

In this captivating episode, host Surani Fernando explores the fascinating world of holistic health and wellness with Jennifer Roelands, a renowned medical advisor at Physicians Choice. Together, they delve deep into the intersection of modern medicine and ancient practices, shedding light on the pivotal role of nutrition in optimizing health and well-being. From Jennifer’s personal journey with infertility to her expertise in integrative and functional medicine, listeners are in for an enlightening discussion that transcends conventional medical approaches.

Lessons You’ll Learn

Throughout the episode, listeners will gain invaluable insights into the holistic approach to health and wellness. Discover the profound impact of nutrition on fertility and overall health, as Jennifer shares her own transformative experience. Learn about the importance of personalized medicine and the power of individualized treatment plans tailored to each patient’s unique needs. Explore the emerging trends in the holistic health industry and gain practical tips for navigating the abundance of health information available online.

About Our Guest

Jennifer Roelands is a highly respected medical advisor at Physicians Choice, with a background in obstetrics and gynecology, integrative medicine, and functional medicine. With a deep commitment to holistic health, Jennifer brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to her practice, empowering patients to take control of their health and well-being. Her journey from struggling with infertility to becoming a passionate advocate for nutrition-based healing serves as inspiration for listeners seeking a holistic approach to health.

Topics Covered

Throughout the episode, Surani and Jennifer cover a wide range of topics, including the role of nutrition in fertility and overall health, the importance of personalized medicine, and the evolving landscape of holistic health. They delve into the science behind Physicians Choice’s supplements and initiatives, highlighting the company’s commitment to evidence-based research. From discussing the gut-brain connection to exploring innovative developments in the field, this episode offers valuable insights into the future of holistic health and wellness.

Our Guest: JenniferRoelands-Holistic Healing Odyssey

Episode Transcript

Surani Fernando: Welcome to another episode of Holistic Health Habits, the podcast where we explore the latest trends and timeless practices in holistic health and wellness with a focus on nutrition. I’m Suren Fernando, your host and guide on this journey to better health and well-being. And today we have the pleasure of speaking with Jennifer Rowland, medical advisor at Physicians Choice. Physicians choice manufactures professional grade supplements and nutritional products where clinical research is the cornerstone of ingredient selection, where premium IP protected ingredients are backed by clinical research to show efficacy and support real life use. With a medical background and a deeper commitment to holistic health, Jennifer brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to our discussion. Jennifer, thanks for coming on to the podcast. It’s great to have you here.

Jennifer Roelands: Thank you so much. I’m happy to be here.

Surani Fernando: Great. So just to kick us off with this discussion, I’m so curious about your background as a physician and what experience is in your life led you to join Physicians Choice as an advisor? Yeah, so.

Jennifer Roelands: I’m double boarded in OBGYN as well as integrative medicine. So a two year fellowship in holistic medicine. I’m also a functional medicine trained in North American menopause, trained. So I have my own medical practice where I see both men and women for integrative medicine consults do IV therapy, nutrition. So I’m really into whole body medicine. And that all evolved because when I was about 14 years ago, I struggled with infertility. And as an OBGYN, you know, it’s sort of like, wait, I should be able to do this? I teach people this all day. I help women get pregnant, why can’t I get pregnant? And I was struggled with trying to get pregnant, and my own OBGYN had said, you know, you’re young, you’re healthy, it’ll all work out. But ultimately, I actually felt like I had PCOS. And I ran my own labs and found that I did. I had high testosterone as well as Hashimoto’s, so I had a thyroid problem and PCOS. Oh, wow. Was not helping my fertility. Yeah. And at the time I had done everything right and had a baby. But afterwards I noticed, you know, I I’m on medications.

Jennifer Roelands: Just like I tell patients all day, I’m on a birth control for PCOS. I’m on thyroid medicine for Hashimoto’s. But I still feel terrible, like I don’t feel good. I was drinking 4 or 5 cups a day of coffee. I was just dragging and feeling miserable despite my labs that were normal. And so I just knew from that perspective there was something I was missing as a physician, something I was missing as a patient. Something has to be more than just medications that we do in Western medicine. So I really dove into nutrition and realized for the first time ever, I’d never heard this in medical school that like, food matters. Yeah, but it’s actually medicine and that this is part of your health. And you have to take that into account. You can take all the medications in the world, but if you eat terrible, it’s never going to work. You’re never going to feel it. So ultimately, I ended up going down this path of integrative medicine and functional medicine and really understanding there’s so many foundations to health besides just medications.

Surani Fernando: Yeah, and that’s so true. Like, I mean, I didn’t study medicine, I studied medical sciences. You know, I went to school with a lot of now now doctors. But yeah, when you think about it, a lot of it you do learn a little bit of nutrition. But, you know, a lot of the focus in Western medicine, I’ve covered the pharmaceutical industry for like 15 years. It’s yeah, it’s very much about symptom, like putting the Band-Aid on the symptom. And then you go back and it’s like so much is actually a, you know, like you’ve got to go. A lot of diseases are created by the diets that that are, you know, fueling the diseases. So it’s like it’s definitely a really interested in, like your background as a physician, but then also taking it into the holistic approach. So, just, you know, just to tell us a little bit more about Physicians Choice as well. You know, how does it fit into the broader holistic health field and what sets it apart from the rest of the pack? Yeah.

Jennifer Roelands: So I’m a medical advisor. So there’s a group of advisors that consists of a lot of different specialties that help advise that company. And what I love about that company is that they really dive into the data, the science behind what are the probiotics that are useful for different issues, like what is it to be a woman? What is it to be a man? What is it to be a child? Like? What does this matter as far as the microbiome and what we can do to enhance the microbiome, to help people’s health overall? So I, I find that that company has very high standards for trying to bring as much data. Now, you know, in the world of pharmaceuticals, we have to remember that, you know, nutrition based companies are going to be less science and less clinical trials than, say, metformin or diabetes drugs. Right? You just cannot compete in the same realm. The money is not the same. So and I often tell patients too, when I’m advising them about supplements and herbs and things to take that, you know, there’s never going to it’s. Difficult to to take a traditional medication and put it against an herb, because it is just not going to be someone who’s going to do that trial. It’s generally there isn’t, I should say. So I like that they are very much into bringing as much science backed information as we can about the role of probiotics, about the role of the microbiome in overall health. And and yeah, it’s been a great relationship to help advise them. I’ve also advised other companies, Halen and some other companies with sort of options for holistic health as well.

Surani Fernando: Okay And, you know, holistic health combines, you know, the traditional practices with modern science. Can you discuss, you know, how this integration has evolved historically and how it’s currently shaping the industry? What sort of things you’ve seen? Yeah, you know.

Jennifer Roelands: Patients are really driving a lot of what we’re doing now. You know, Covid, for better or for worse, really got people online and really got them to realize that they have access to things they didn’t have before. And a lot of even medical even companies, biotech companies have now done this direct to consumer kind of, option. So you can, you know, you can order your own blood tests, you can order your own supplements, you can order your own genetics tests, like, you can order a lot of things. You can order your own Dutch test, like you can order these tests that before I say before Covid. Now there are there were options, but it just wasn’t so accessible. And now patients are realizing that they can be their own advocate and really push for that type of medicine. And so I love it. I’m, I’m excited that sort of patients are driving these things and I hope that we continue to have good information like online. You know, I watch I do some videos for Instagram. And so sometimes I get a little frustrated because I’m like, don’t talk about this.

Jennifer Roelands: This is not Science backed. But the more of us that sort of have this, uh, medical background can really bring this information out to people. And it’s been amazing. The, I think the last several years, just the explosion of good information about what patients have and what they can do and they have control.

Surani Fernando: Yeah. What would you say about, you know, all the information that’s out there that sometimes is a little bit contradictory? I mean, there’s a lot of patients, you know, just consumers have a lot of access to, you know, digesting the information, but they may not be digesting it correctly. And there might be different people with different messages. How do you how does one navigate all of that? And what’s the message there to, you know, who they should be listening to, what they should be following

Jennifer Roelands: Yeah, I mean, I Think it does make some of us a little crazy with the messages that are out there about restrictive dieting especially. Which drives me crazy when I see women talking about PCOS and they say, you can’t have this and you can’t have this, and you can’t have this and you can’t have this. I mean, it’s like, you know, where’s the data behind that? There isn’t. And so it does make me a little crazy when I hear that. But ultimately, the more people that have that information that are out there putting themselves out there to discuss it, patients will be able to decipher, okay, here’s a lady who has done a weekend training telling me I should be gluten free, dairy free, soy free, egg free, chicken free, everything free. And here’s a medical doctor who has board certifications that’s telling me, here’s the real data behind it and make a choice. So I do. You know, you can’t get rid of false information online, but you can certainly read between the lines. And I always tell patients when they’re following someone online that find out their background, find out where they’re coming from, find out where they’re getting their education. What is the if it’s someone who’s, you know, a fitness instructor and they did a weekend course on menopause, that’s not really a person. I think that should be telling you what to take for menopause. You know, like I think you have to sort of read between the lines to see who is it that’s speaking to you.

Surani Fernando: Yeah And also, I guess, you know, the power of maybe anecdotal evidence. I mean, I guess, you know, there’s you’ve got people that are saying this approach, there’s no evidence behind it because as you said, like you don’t . They’re the funds and the resources aren’t there to do the clinical trials that the pharmaceutical companies can do. And, you know, then there’s always there’s these anecdotal stories and testimonial testimonials that maybe you wouldn’t be able to say yes. Like it hasn’t been statistically significantly proven that this is the case. But can you talk a little bit about like how you, um, adopt, you know, what you’re seeing in anecdotal evidence and how you navigate your practice with that. And, and, and, you know, advising patients on what paths they should take with their nutritional journey.

Jennifer Roelands: For nutrition specifically, or alternative medicine options.

Surani Fernando: Um, it could be both. 

Jennifer Roelands: yeah. So for nutrition, you know, we discuss a lot of times what is the what what science is available. Right. So for example PCOS, there is no sort of randomized clinical trial that says that, you know, keto is better than low carb, which is better than high fat on a PCOS specific. Elation. But we do know those patients tend to be pre-diabetic. They tend to have cholesterol issues, tend of hypertension, they have a metabolic type syndrome. And so we do have randomized clinical trials on diabetics. And so we can sort of extrapolate information on things that may be useful like a locally glycemic index for PCOS patients specifically. So there are ways to sort of educate the patient about here’s the here’s what could work for you. But I am also very, you know, I believe in personalized medicine. I believe that, you know what? I have PCOS in the next lady next to us PCOS. We may not have the same nutrition and you have to find out what works for that or that person specifically. And so it is very personalized and I do that with my patients. I talk to them like it’s all good if I tell you to eat broccoli, but if you eat broccoli, it’s never going to happen, right? What’s the point? So we have to be able to work with, uh, that patient and where they’re coming from, where they are, maybe cultural influences, maybe resources.

Jennifer Roelands: Right. Not everybody can go to Trader Joe’s and organic markets and all this stuff. So we have to work within the confines of what someone can do. From alternative medicine. I do a lot of alternative medicine just doesn’t have those clinical trials behind it. But, you know, you have thousands of years of eastern medicine using it. So acupuncture would be a great, uh, a great example. You know, it’s the essentially it’s sort of FDA approved with insurance for pain. Right? But I don’t know anybody who would deny that acupuncture is great for stress, the great for people who have high stress levels. Can I can I tell you that there’s clinical trials behind that? No. But, you know, in the eastern medicine philosophy, they’ve been using it for a long, long, long time to help with cortisol regulation. So, you know, I think as long as you explain to the patient what we do know, what we don’t know, and here’s the risks and benefits. That’s really the most important part, because most of these things, it’s really about, you know, what is the benefit versus the harm for someone. Someone tried acupuncture downsides. It may be a little uncomfortable, a little, not something they enjoy, but there’s not a lot of downsides to trying it for stress.

Jennifer Roelands: Yeah, yeah, yeah Or sauna or cold plunge or some of these alternative medicine breathwork. I can’t even think of. One downside to breathwork. There’s just no side effects. So like there’s no downside to trying some of these alternative medicine options because they’re not going to cause any harm.

Surani Fernando: Yeah, definitely. And just I mean, going back To physician’s Choice, can you provide some examples of specific products or initiatives at Physician’s Choice that illustrate some of the, you know, helpful innovations in the field?

Jennifer Roelands: Yeah. So they have.A women’s probiotic that I love that I talk to patients about. They actually have two ones, a, you know, a women’s overall health probiotic. And then there’s a vaginal probiotic. So it’s actually specifically in my mind as a clinician for women who have recurrent BV recurrent infections, maybe they’re having issues that, you know, they need to sort of get the microbiome in the vagina to be a little bit more, hearty. So I like that one because I often, you know, patients tolerate it well. And, and it goes really well for trying to help patients kind of get things back in order. And then the women’s health one has, you know, additional ingredients in it that are helpful for women as well. So I, I think that they have a lot of really great products that are very useful, and they’re innovation. They’re looking to make things that are, you know, really focusing on the gut brain connection in the future. So things for mental health and for stress. And you know, that kind of I think area in medicine is really a huge demand. I mean, there’s just a lot more anxiety these days. And I think that if we can understand and we can focus on the the power of your gut for your mental health, I think that would go a long way for a lot of different conditions.

Surani Fernando: Yeah, definitely I think, you know, this might be far off, but, you know, reading a few things with what they’re trying to find, the connection between the gut health and, and Alzheimer’s and things like that, like that. Then maybe a connection looking forward to seeing how that progresses. Because I know that’s, you know, in, in all fields, a disease that, you know, is high on the list to, to find a solution for. So but, you know, looking ahead, what do you see as the, the most exciting future prospects in the holistic health industry? And are there any ground breaking developments on the horizon where Physicians Choices is tapping into advanced research?

Jennifer Roelands: I think the Things on the horizon, I think you’re going to see more direct to consumer marketing than, you know, companies that are not, I mean, that are bypassing the physician, right? Where you have to go to your doctor to get an order for something. I think you’re seeing more and more, at least in the last several years, I’ve seen more and more sort of direct to consumer marketing. being able to order your own stuff, order your own, labs, get your own information. I think that’s going to be here to stay. Um, because I think patients. Well, and rightfully. So there are not a lot of people who do integrative health as physicians. So, you know, if you go to your typical doctor, you’re not going to even be able to talk about nutrition because they’re not educated in nutrition. They’re just not. Yeah. I mean, so I think that’s going to be something we’ll see more and more of innovation in this sort of direct to consumer model and maybe even more, I mean, very cool. Coming out, I saw that there was a pap smear you can do at home device that’s being developed currently. That’s very close to coming out on the market, which. Fascinating right.

Surani Fernando: Like, yeah. Yeah, definitely. Is it as painful as it is normally it.

Jennifer Roelands: Doesn’t look it seems much more simple. But you know, things like that. Like how crazy cool is that in biotech, right. To think like, you know, you can do give access to some people who can’t get to who can’t get into the doctor. I mean, yeah, you know, even in even in a very populated area, like I live in Los Angeles, there’s still people who tell me to take some 3 to 6 months to get into their doctor. I mean, and we have a medical clinic on every corner in Los Angeles, like, they’re everywhere. So, you know, access, I think, is an issue. As you know, the health care system is sort of being burdened. And I think that you’re going to see more of this sort of direct to consumer models. I would love to see more in the perimenopause menopause space. I would love to see more innovation in that space, with education, with just I think there’s a lot more discussion recently with having some celebrities that are being involved. They realize I’m in menopause, I’ve got to do something .About it.

Jennifer Roelands:  yeah, but I think that there’s still some misinformation about especially hormone replacement therapy. And you know what? What are the options for someone you don’t have to suffer. And I think a lot of that would be great to see more innovation in that arena for, you know, women, especially as it relates to testosterone. Because I think testosterone is a is, you know, we don’t have an FDA approved testosterone, which is sad in my mind.

Surani Fernando: Yeah. Okay. Yeah.

Surani Fernando: And how is Physicians Choice preparing for future trends and keeping ahead of the curve? What can we expect to see from the company in coming years?

Jennifer Roelands: Yeah I think that.

Jennifer Roelands: There, you know, again, trying to focus on mental health for sure is a big aspect of understanding. How do we how do we affect it. By looking at the gut. How do we how do we change those. You know, our our unfortunately, our diet in the United States is terrible in our for most people. And so how do you then do something that’s kind of, in a way, a low hanging fruit, a probiotic is not a very expensive option. It’s not a very difficult thing for patients to take. So how do we then use what the knowledge that they have to be able to offer something that’s going to help overall. So I think you’ll see a lot of in that space for them. You know, a stress relief formula, an anxiety formula, maybe even a I mean, a cognitive sort of boost like a cognitive area. And I know that they’re looking at sort of what are the different bacterial strains that matter for those particular things that we know for, you know, I think microbiome research is also relatively an infant. And understanding the the value of the microbiome, I think is still kind of a very emerging topic as well. Right? I mean, you never heard about this ten years ago. No one ever talked about the gut brain connection ten years ago. And I’m sure there were people shouting from the rooftops about it. I’m sure there were. But really, you just didn’t hear as much as you are now realizing how much that our neurotransmitters are made in the gut are sex hormones are metabolites in the gut. We really need to have that connection be, um, important.

Surani Fernando: Yeah, definitely. I’m definitely looking forward to see how that seeing how that research evolves. Um, and as an expert, you know, we have a lot of listeners that that may be holistic health professionals, you know, wanting some tips and advice. Um, how would you say they can prepare for upcoming changes and advancements in the overall health and wellness conversation and better navigate a continuously evolving landscape which also includes, you know, balancing that need for the Western medicine as well as holistic, you know, alternative practices, health practices.

Jennifer Roelands: Yeah, I think as a Practitioner, you kind of have to find the space that you’re comfortable practicing in, right? So there is a even though we have a lot of we have lifestyle medicine, integrative medicine, functional medicine, regenerative medicine, we have all these sort of areas that are very similar. There is kind of a difference in philosophies between them. So I think that as a practitioner, you kind of have to find your tribe, find the people that kind of align with your practice values, your practice goals, and then you’ll, you know, and then from I mean, I’m, you know, 15 years as a gynecologist, but I certainly still have mentors. I look forward to like people who I go, I’m following you, I’m listening to your podcast. I’m following what you’re doing because I know those people are a couple years ahead of me and that sort of education curve. And so I think that’s important to find that group of people that you can kind of grow and learn with, but also someone as a mentor that you can say, hey, this is you know, I’m getting diving more into advanced cardiac panels. How do I learn about this? You know, how do I sort of get into this thing? Because as you see more and more patients in this space, you kind of have to expand a little bit about what your comfort zone is, because you’ll see patients with very complicated histories. And so as a, you know, as a gynecologist, I end up seeing stuff for hypertension and high cholesterol and things that aren’t were my usual 15 years ago, but now they’re part of my practice.

Surani Fernando: Yeah, And you mentioned something earlier about, you know, like in medicine and when you’re training you just don’t learn about nutrition. Is that something that is changing? As you know, we’re understanding that it needs to be sort of. There are so many elements to overall health and wellness. And, you know, are you are you seeing yourself, you know, trying to to tap into the, you know, traditional medical field to say like, hey, we’ve got to add all of this. We’ve got to think about these things and not just put Band-Aids on on symptoms.

Jennifer Roelands: Yeah, you know, the best in my mind. The best thing is to get into training, to get to get at where the new doctors are being trained. And so there are, you know, integrative medicine like Andrew Weil, the program I graduated from, they’re actually going into residencies and making it part of their wellness curriculum. So residencies now have this sort of wellness that they have to do with residents to keep them healthy. And so they’re incorporating their information into their wellness program. And so those patients, those new doctors are getting sort of, uh, a little bit of what’s what, what is available and what’s out there. So I think you have to get to the medical students. You got to get to the, the residents to try to sort of bring this type of medicine. And I do think there are organizations who are really trying to get into that curriculum to help them learn, because you’re not going to get into medical school. I think it’s going to be hard to get nutrition specifically because we’re very pharma focused. But giving someone a taste of it as a resident or a medical student, I’m like, oh, did you know that for Hashimoto’s, you should think about.

Jennifer Roelands: You know.Foods that are going to affect their inflammation and causing them inflammation, which then causes their antibodies like. So you can kind of I think more exposure will help. Then you have, you know, for me, like I talk about it all the time, I go to like physician moms groups are all like, go to a function with Western medicine doctors. And I’m like, no, no, no, no, no talking about it. And I, you know, I try to be I know, that we have a difference in philosophy. So I try to just talk about it. If people want to ask me questions, great. And, you know, we just kind of try to bring the conversation more into how, um, some of these things can help. And, and I think even doing that one physician at a time will make them think a little differently about their patient and hopefully bring more of these things into the mix. Yeah. But yeah, I don’t I bridge I think it’s really important with us practitioners to bridge the gap between Western medicine and us. We don’t want to feel I don’t want to be over here on my island and they’re over there on their islands. We need to bridge that gap and understand how how much some of these things can help their patients if they’re open to it.

Surani Fernando: Yeah, definitely. Yeah. And you Know, it’s really interesting as well because you come from a women’s health background. And I think like, you know, historically a lot of the research out there hasn’t really it’s been sort of like a blanket sort of research, not focusing on like the differences that we might have. Um, as women with, you know, the different hormones and things like that. Personally, personally, just speaking from, you know, managing my cycle and understanding how nutrition really impacts how my cycle is. And that’s something like I only really learned, you know, very late in life. And it would have been nice to, you know, have some of these resources, you know, people talking about these sorts of things, um, you know, to not just have the pharmaceutical world as the solution for, for these kinds of problems. So would you say that, you know, in the the women’s health field, things are evolving the way that you would like to see it?

Jennifer Roelands: I would like to see it faster. I mean, let’s I mean, let’s be honest, women’s health research is very underfunded. Very I mean, we weren’t even and I don’t remember the exact date, but in the 90s, we were not required to be in a clinical trial until the 90s as a woman. Right. So, like, you could approve a drug and never have a single female in your clinical trial? I mean, that is.

Surani Fernando: That’s crazy. What, like, why was.

Surani Fernando: Why did that even Happen?

Surani Fernando:  but yeah.

Jennifer Roelands: Yeah so, you know, because no one wants to mess with the cycle. They don’t want to deal with all the things that can happen. But you know, so I mean the 90s wasn’t it that long ago. So I think that, you know, and here I am talking about FDA approved testosterone. Like there’s no testosterone for females. Like that’s some of the I just think we’re really, really behind on women’s health research. There’s no FDA approved PCOS drug. 1 in 10 women know PCOS drug like. I mean, I just think that we’re really behind in sort of the pharma world with women’s health. And but I see like some sparks in the horizon. You know, Halle Berry just pushed this bill through Congress to try to get funding for menopause care. And, you know, really was an advocate. So we need more and more and more of that demand to so that we can have this push that says we need to understand how women are different than men, and we’re not little men. So we need to understand what are the differences, how do we how do we get how cool would that be to be a cycle specific drugs, like how how.

Surani Fernando: Would that be to be like.

Jennifer Roelands: Here’s your PMDD drug. That’s for your luteal phase. Like that would be great. Um, so I mean, I hope to see things like that evolve, um, in my lifetime. And hopefully the more noise we make, the more things will happen.

Surani Fernando: Yeah, definitely.

Surani Fernando: And just moving on to, um, the last few minutes in terms of practical tips and advice, can you share some best practices for integrating holistic health products into daily routines? What advice do you have for maximizing their benefits?

Jennifer Roelands: Yeah, I mean.

Jennifer Roelands: you Can’t you have to have the basics. So you have to have the basics of nutrition, of movement, of sleep, of stress, you know, reduction smart supplements. Like you have to have that basic foundation in all aspects of health. So you know, I can to me it doesn’t it doesn’t work if I just discuss medications with a patient, I need to talk to them about when do they sleep, how much do they sleep, what’s going on in their life? What are the dynamics of their family? How much stress do they have? Do they? What do they eat? I mean, like all the weight? Do they eat like all these questions that aren’t asked typically in most doctor’s office we have to do that. And we also have to have the time to talk to patients. I think that’s the biggest hurdle in medicine is the time, right? You have to see somebody in 5 to 8 minutes. You just don’t have time to do it. So we have to evolve medicine to be where we have time with patients to listen to them, to ask them questions and to be able to really hear what someone says. So I think those tips are, you know, as if you’re if a practitioner is listening to this, trying to figure out how to do that in their practice, to really do whole body health, you really need to have that time to do it.

Surani Fernando: Yeah. And in terms of, you know, the products and the supplements, is there anything that you would say, you know, because obviously there’s there’s a whole lot that people can be taking. But for some people that are not so into the field, you know, and they just want an introduction. Are there any types of supplements that you think like, you know, everyone should be like prioritizing these or any like technologies or devices, anything that, um, people can prioritize?

Jennifer Roelands: Oh, I love techie stuff.

Jennifer Roelands: I use it all the time. For me, I have an aura ring. I use a continuous glucose monitor a lot. Um, for me to understand, I’m in perimenopause, so I want to know what foods. What foods loved me back, right?

Surani Fernando: Yeah. What foods are going to love me back?

Jennifer Roelands: So I use a lot of tech in my practice, but also in, um, in my own health to understand my sleep. How good is my sleep? What interventions do I need to do for my sleep? So I use the aura ring a lot. For that I use the CGM or continuous glucose monitor, which I wear a lot to understand. What are the foods that I need to learn to pair better, or the timing of the foods or the types of foods that work for me. I use heart rate variability monitors to understand, like the stress level of my resiliency and how well I am as far as getting metabolically fit, because, you know, you go through your 40s and things kind of start to to derail a little bit. So to kind of put things back, I use that a lot with my patients and also with myself as well.

Surani Fernando: Yeah.

Jennifer Roelands: And supplements. I think the most important thing is look into the company. Don’t just buy something on Amazon. You really need to know what is the quality of the company. Do they do third party testing? Do other people test their products to see if it’s a good quality, making sure that they have not a bunch of fillers and stuff? Because sometimes I step off, you look in these inactive ingredients and they put a bunch of stuff in their fillers. Yeah, and a lot of people have allergies and they don’t realize that there are things like corn or wheat or something as a filler. And then they’re getting they think the medication is a problem, but it’s really the fillers that are in those. So you have to just be really, uh, you got to turn the bottle over. You got to read the label and understand the label.

Surani Fernando: Is there anything that people should watch out for? That’s common, where you would see, like in the mass production of different supplements, like a specific, specific ingredients that people should be looking out for.

Jennifer Roelands: Well, even medications like, uh, people who are gluten free, I, you know, it’s there’s some synthoids that have gluten in them, like there’s some some you have you have to really look at those inactive ingredients and supplements and medications to see if they have fillers that may be causing you, uh, side effects may be causing you problems as well. So I always think it’s important for people to really look at the label, make sure if. You’re on a medication and say you find a manufacturer that doesn’t have the fillers, make sure that when you go to refill at Walgreens or wherever else that you’re seeing, that that’s the same company, because they often switch companies on you, and then you don’t realize that you’re getting exposed to something you you wouldn’t get. So you got to pay attention to what you put in your body. It’s not a matter of just sort of picking it up off the shelf.

Surani Fernando: Yeah. And would it be a case of, you know, if the ingredients list is longer than alarm bells should go off like more or is that not the case with, with supplements.

Jennifer Roelands: Well, so for Example, like a multivitamin could have 15 things in it. So I don’t know that I would limit it and say 5 or 3 or, or those things. I do think the other downside to supplements is a lot of companies put in very minimal amounts of that ingredient, that it’s not really therapeutic. Right? I see that with women’s stuff all the time. They’ll bring me like hormone harmony or whatever and say, what do you think about this? And I say, well, that has 50mg of chaste berry that’s going to do nothing for you. So like, you know, you have to make sure if you’re taking it for a therapeutic reason, that it’s at a therapeutic dose, and a lot of supplements will kind of put, you know, a little bit of this and a little bit of this and a little bit of this.

Jennifer Roelands: But it’s not.

Jennifer Roelands: Actually at a dose that’s going to do anything for you. So what’s the point? Right. Of course you don’t feel any different because you’re taking a 10th of what the therapeutic dose is. So it’s not always better to have this combination of a bunch of things put together, unless it’s at a therapeutic level.

Surani Fernando: Right? Yeah. That becomes quite difficult.

Jennifer Roelands: Yeah. And that’s where working with a provider is really important. Because, you know, if I, I often will get patients that come in and they have the box full of supplements. Right. They have the little tones.

Surani Fernando: This is what I’m taking. Yeah.

Jennifer Roelands: And I’ll go through and go, wait, you have three vitamin A’s. You have ashwagandha, which is very minimal. Like you have this sort of over here, too much, way too little of this one. Like let’s consolidate down to the minimum amount, because in truth, most humans can’t take multiple supplements. They forget. So we have to sort of minimize what you can, what you take and really make it effective if you’re going to take it.

Surani Fernando: Yeah. And it definitely.

Surani Fernando: Does seem like a bit of a minefield out there. Like you can educate yourself and what sort of supplements you do need. But then when it comes to choosing one that fits, you know, your budget and your access wherever you live, it can be quite difficult. But you know you’re with Physicians Choice. I assume that there are resources that, you know, support patients, consumers to to offer help to them, to stay informed, to make better decisions on the best products they they use. Can you talk a little bit about that?

Jennifer Roelands: Yeah, they have a fantastic website that goes through kind of the first of all lists, all the ingredients in each one of those things. And, and the, you know, the amounts, which is important, but also talks about the inactive ingredients that are in there as well. And then there’s a resources online about, you know, here’s the choice that might be for you. Like, is it better to have a vaginal probiotic or a women’s health probiotic? Is it better to have the 60 billion product or the men’s health one like it has information and resources online about who this product is intended for? For that, but with any supplements, even with physician’s choice, I still always advise people to make sure your physician is aware. Whoever your physician is is aware of what you’re taking, to make sure it’s appropriate for you as well.

Surani Fernando: Yeah, definitely.

Surani Fernando: All right. Well, this has been so interesting. I could talk to you for hours.

Jennifer Roelands: Just.
Surani Fernando: About my own stuff, so. But I won’t, you know, bore listeners with that. But, yeah, this has been, like, really great. Thank you, Jennifer, for sharing your insights and expertise with us today. We appreciate your time and contribution, and we’re excited to see the continued impact of physician’s choice in the holistic health industry. To our listeners, thank you for tuning in. If you enjoyed this episode, please follow or subscribe to this podcast. For more discussions on holistic health focused on nutrition and visit our website or follow us on social media to stay updated. But for now, I’m Surani Fernando. Take care and stay healthy.