Hi, friends. Welcome to the Life with Loverly podcast. I’m Brittany, a wife, mom, and lifestyle entrepreneur here to help you discover your best daily style and encourage you to try new things when getting dressed each day. I took a tiny following on social media and turned it into a community of over one million amazing women, and I am so glad you’re here. I’ll be sharing my heart with you beyond the 15 seconds on Instagram, so we’ll be diving into things like personal growth, friendships, motherhood, marriage, and of course, the business of blogging. Really, this space is here to serve as your go-to resource to building a life you adore while sprinkling some kindness to others along the way. Grab an iced coffee and let’s do life together. I’m Brittany, and this is the Life With Loverly Podcast. Hi, friends. Welcome back to the Life With Loverly Podcast. I’m so excited for today’s episode because we’re diving into a conversation that feels both really personal and really practical. My guest is Jess Sepel. She’s a clinical nutritionist, the founder of JS Health, and someone I’ve been following and learning from for years as I’ve worked to better understand my own body, energy, and relationship with food. I’ve been consistently taking her supplements and using her haircare products, and I can’t tell you the change I’ve seen in both my hair and body. Jess is known for her gentle, no-pressure approach to wellness. And in this episode, we talk about how to banish the 3:00 PM slump, the number one supplement for a nervous system reset, overcoming fad dieting, her late morning drink that she swears by for energy, and her specific wind down routine. Whether you’re deep in your wellness journey or you’re just starting to get curious about what works for your body, I think you’ll find so many helpful takeaways in this chat. Here’s my conversation with Jess. Hi, Jess. Welcome to the Life with Loverly podcast. I’m so happy to have you on today.

Oh, I’m so honored that you would have me on your podcast. I know when we met, I was just such a fan girl, and just I feel like we really connected. Your energy is so beautiful. So thank you for having me.

Of course. For those of you guys who aren’t aware, we met, I guess it was almost two years ago now.

I think.

Or a year and a half ago when we were in Arizona, and your team and you just did this lovely speech for our group. And I just was like, it was so nice to have some intimate one-on-one time with somebody who has created this amazing brand and hearing from the founder and creator. It was just such a gift. Oh, thank you. Since that time, I’ve obviously continued to follow along. I know I have so many people who watch and listen to this podcast who are huge fans of yours. So they’re going to absolutely love diving into the nitty-gritty on nutrition and some behind the scenes things for today. So I think it’s going to be really great. So let’s go a little further back and talk to me about where you’re originally from and your origin story.

Yes, I know that we had so much fun on that trip. I was actually born in South Africa and spent my childhood there until I was 13 years old. And we immigrated from South Africa to Australia when I was 13 because of the crime in South Africa and just safety. But 13 is a very interesting age to be immigrating.

No kidding.

Oh my gosh, it was a lot, a big life change. And at that very same time, my body was changing from puberty and I felt very insecure. I was freaking out by my hips growing. I didn’t know what was happening. And literally at the age of 13, I must have been one of the youngest amongst my friends. I discovered fat dieting as a way to control probably my changing environment, but to try and be thinner because I honestly thought that being thinner would make me more lovable. I was watching fashion TV all those years ago. I was reading those trashy celebrity magazines, and I saw the lemon detox diet and Adkins diet, and they promised the results of looking like those skinny models. And I just felt that I needed to be thin, as I say, in order to be loved and appreciated. And that really started the beginning of a very long, hard journey of probably 10 years of fat dieting. I was very, just going back again, the way I was brought up was actually in a healthy household. I had a mom who was always cooking healthy, nourishing foods. When I would get home from school, there was whole wheat rye bread with a tuna salad. We were not deprived in any way. If we went to birthday parties, we were absolutely granted to eat whatever we wanted to eat on. I remember Fridays and Saturdays, we could go up into the pantry and have some treats. So I grew up living the healthy life. My grandmother was always practicing yoga, drinking lemon juice as she woke up with her vitamins. And I remember she would have a tray of papaya, I think that’s what you call it in the US, with a lemon drink and a tray of vitamins as our family holidays. A lot of our family holidays were spent hiking and just living the healthy life. So when I was 13 and discovered fad dieting, unfortunately I lost that sense of the healthy life and balance. And I really became an extreme fad dieter weighing myself every single day. The number on the scale often say literally was the determination of my self-worth. Literally, the number was one or two pounds over what I wanted to be. I suddenly just did not feel good enough. And as I always say as a nutritionist now, what people know is that every fad diet literally says something completely almost opposite to the other one. So by the end of it, I was just afraid of all the foods. And I developed disordered eating, I developed really bad body dysmorphia, just feeling totally disconnected from my own body. And as I said, that lasted at least 10 years.

Yeah. Well, and I feel like that time too, I mean, it’s so hard. There’s so many changes within your middle school, high school years. Social pressures are happening. I feel like that’s probably, this is unfortunately common for some kids, and it just is so sad to know. How did you get out and come out on the other side of that after that 10-year period?

And you have kids, you see it. I mean, there wasn’t even social media at the time, so imagine this day and age would be even more difficult to navigate because I was lucky and fortunate enough to not have the inundation of social media. So what happened was after school, I actually knew I wanted to be a nutritionist from the age of 14. I went to a yoga retreat with my grandmother because this healthy grandmother for one of my birthdays. I was 14 and we went to this yoga retreat and a nutritionist came and gave a lecture, gave a talk. And I literally remember turning to my grandmother and saying, “I want to be like her one day.” So my goal was always just to be a really good nutritionist in private practice. I knew, again, as I say, from the age of 14, 15, 16, I wanted to also do psychology because being in private practice with that psychology background and nutrition was my absolute dream. And then so after school, still very much a fad dieter though, I decided to study health and nutrition. So I studied for five years. I did a Bachelor of Health and then two years of nutritional medicine. So a lot of that might’ve been my fad dieting, wanting to know more about nutrition. I was very obsessive. I was so obsessed with it in an unhealthy way, but at the same time, this was the way I was brought up. The healthy life really was very interesting to me. I always wanted to learn about, “Oh my gosh, can papaya help with digestion? How come lemon juice and in hot water? Why is protein so good for your mood?” I was always just very curious by it, probably because of the way I was brought up, but also a bit of it was an unhealthy obsession. I remember being in my lectures with my diet Coke and can of tuna and diet jelly. I remember sitting in the car park at university, what you call college, eating my diet jelly with my diet yogurt because I was so obsessive. But then I was going into these health lectures learning about the human body and how important nutrients and minerals and whole foods are for the body to function. So what happened was in my fourth year of study, I think that’s when things started to change because that’s when I was really learning about nutrition and whole foods. And I started documenting, I was starting to transition in a healthy way. I had met my husband at the time. I was so happy. I was in therapy trying to uncover where my relationship with food got so strained, and I was studying nutrition. And I would literally sit in my lectures and learn about the importance of fats, the importance of proteins, the importance of fiber for your digestion, how if your gut microbiome is well taken care of, that is linked to mood and your immune system and your skin and how important it is to eat good fats for your hormones and your period health. And I had actually cut out all these foods. So I actually remember having panic attacks in my classes because as a fat diet, I had basically cut out all the important food groups that actually help your body to function and thrive. And I was low mood, my hair was brittle, my skin was just not, it was very dull. I remember really struggling with my sleep. And as I say, low mood, just not feeling great. And then you go to nutrition classes and learn about the importance of these whole foods. So I started changing and transitioning from being this fad dieter to becoming more of a whole food balance eater very slowly. I would start incorporating fats back into my diet. Instead of exercising twice a day, I would exercise once a day. I was deciding to not follow the fad diets in the magazines and just really leaning on my nutrition studies. And I started documenting this transition in a blog, and that’s literally how it started. In my opinion, it’s how I started and how I was unique. As I said, your relationship with food is the foundation of a healthy life. We need to get that right first. Why are you almost treating yourself in this way and believing that these fad diets will promise you these results? Or if you look a certain way, you’ll be more loved and appreciated, getting to the root of it and understanding that your body is a temple and how are we going to nourish that relationship for the rest of time? And I always also say the healthy life is a forever life. It’s something that we want to know we can practice in a realistic way, in a practical way for the rest of time. And that is when we really see results. When I give my customers and clients principles that they can easily follow into their everyday lifestyle.

Yeah, no, it’s so true. Okay. So how long after nutrition school did you start taking nutrition clients and what were some of the common themes you saw women struggling with?

Yes, very soon after. As I say, my absolute dream in life was to be a nutritionist in private practice. And I would say that’s still my dream. I do a little bit of consultations with few clients and celebrities, but everyone in my team knows I literally light up. If I’m doing a consultation in my work week, it’s my favorite day of the week. I was going to say, we should probably do a session of a consultation with your client. Because my favorite thing to do, I was like, I need to finish my studies and get right into it. I feel like I even started taking clients because I was actually a food coach during that. I was just way too passionate. I’d already had so much experience. I was ready to dive in pretty soon after my studies, and that was it. I had a little tiny private practice at the bottom of my parents’ house in their rumpus room, and I was ready to go. And it’s funny because Jay’s health vitamin supplement range is literally a result of all the issues that I was seeing. And it was so clear to me. It was definitely a relationship with food and disordered eating, really struggling with their weight, but just my passion was helping women have a better relationship with food. And then of course, gut health, digestion, bloating, skin health, hair loss, inability to sleep and stay asleep, mood, stress, anxiety. So these were just bang, the most common issues that women were facing. And I also say my private practice years were definitely, honestly, probably the best years of my career because I got to see face-to-face like this with you, Brit, what women were struggling with. Online, I’m so lucky. I still have the most amazing relationship with my community like you do where I can talk to them and they’ll tell me what they’re struggling with. But when you are face-to-face with someone and they’re telling you that their bloating is truly is having such a negative impact on their quality of life or their skin breaking out is really affecting their confidence or not sleeping is really affecting their mood, which has such a negative effect on the rest of their day and the rest of their life and their relationships, you just are so excited to help them. And I saw the way that nutrition, lifestyle adjustment and supplements, good quality supplements, we’re very lucky in Australia because supplements are a listed medicine. I saw the way that they transformed my client’s life. So that face-to-face seeing, okay, they would come to me, I’d write up a program for them. I would see them every week or every two weeks and seeing that true change or if someone really had disrupted sleep, and I would literally just take them from their three cups of coffee a day to one to two, and already seeing the change in their sleep and energy, or giving them a probiotic, a really, really good probiotic in a balanced dose, multi-strain, and seeing the way that their gut microbiome would transform and suddenly their digestive discomfort would decrease. And this is why I think people do love JS Health. It’s because they’re very small, and in Australia’s at the time in particular, there were very small changes, transitions, additions that I would give to people that would make such a huge difference. And I say that as a nutritionist all the time. You don’t need to make these big extreme changes. It’s literally one or two changes a week. You wouldn’t believe how far that goes in the body. The body listens very fast and very carefully. The body will respond faster than you think to small changes and adjustments.

Well, especially when you’re giving your body what it really needs. I mean, it’s begging you for some of these supplements and then you start doing that and it’s like, thank you. See, here’s the changes we’re making because of that.

There’s nothing like supporting women to feel better. For me, it’s literally, it’s my why, it’s what I do, it’s what I love. And as I say, sometimes they have the smallest additions and changes that make the biggest difference.

Let’s get into some of the basics of wellness. Can we break down gut health a little bit? I feel like the word microbiome is thrown around a lot, but can you actually define it for us?

Yes. It’s really just a host of bacteria. It sounds a little bit gross, but we want to have a nice balance of good bacteria and not so good bacteria. I don’t even like to call them bad because the body, I have so much respect for the human body. And if I think about the gut microbiome, I can’t tell you how blown away I am when I think of the gut microbiome just because it hosts 70 to 80% of our immune system. It’s where some of our serotonin is made, which is our feel good hormone. We now know 100%, and I can send the articles, the link between our gut microbiome and our skin by the root of inflammation. So if our gut microbiome is signaling inflammation, it can affect the skin such as dermatitis, acne, even eczema. So we need to attend to the gut microbiome. As I say, when I see people getting sick often or presenting with low mood, my first question, sorry, it’s getting sick often, breaking out, or presenting with low mood, my first question always is, how is your gut health? And often I know immediately they’ll answer, “Not so good.” It’s not just digestive discomfort. They’ll be presenting with, as I say, those other issues. So as I say, it’s just a host of bacteria. And what happens with American diet, stress, sometimes genetics? It is not easy to maintain that gut microbiome. It’s not easy to. We want to feed those good bugs. The problem is things like fiber feed those good bugs, but people are not eating enough fiber. And whole foods do really feed. Think of sometimes when I’m eating my breakfast of maybe it will be overnight oats with protein and I add in flaxseed and chia seeds. I’m literally thinking in my mind, of course I’m a nutritionist, so this is why I’m thinking it. But I’m thinking, wow, this is feeding. Even adding banana in there, it’s a prebiotic. This is feeding the good bugs in my gut microbiome. And then what is a probiotic? A probiotic is reinoculating the gut with that beneficial bacteria if someone is presenting with not having enough beneficial bacteria. And as a nutritionist or a naturopath or a doctor, we can see when someone is presenting with not enough good bacteria. And what does that look like? Digestive discomfort after meals, irregular bowel movements, sometimes constipation, sometimes diarrhea, and going between the two. Reflux, as I say, skin breakouts, sometimes low mood, getting sick very often. I have a friend who gets sick all the time, and I just know that if she took her probiotic daily, I get my team to take our probiotic every single day during the winter months because I just know they’re going to get sick less often. So that’s how we know if someone needs those good bugs. And as I say, for the majority of people, they’re not eating a diet that’s probably supporting their gut microbiome. Even amino acids also support our gut, mostly the gut lining. So getting those amino acids in, if somebody’s presenting with food sensitivities and having an immune reaction to certain foods, I really want to jump in there and fix their gut lining. And amino acids is a great way to do that. Glutamine is one of the incredible amino acids I use in a lot of our. Actually in our Vitalix, I put glutamine in. It’s a great one for the gut. So yeah, that’s how our gut microbiome is. It’s just gut microbiome is, sorry, I said that with a weird accent. Our gut microbiome is a host of bacteria. And so we really just want to feed the good bugs and then sometimes reinoculate with that probiotic. And I have to say in the supplement world, the research behind probiotics is undeniable. It’s part of what I call the vital trio, probiotics, magnesium, fish oil. The research and science behind those three is undeniable. And I’ll say from anecdotal experience doing this for nearly 15 years, there is no doubt that when people take those three, they just feel better. Totally. And the thing about a probiotic though, and I’ve been hearing this a lot in the US, because some of the brands do have sometimes too much for someone. And I think thanks to my many years in private practice, I’ve seen when a probiotic doesn’t always work for someone, and that’s often when it’s just a little bit too much in the beginning. We need to find a probiotic that is in the middle of the dose, not too low and not too high, but also multi-strain. I’m very obsessed with using an amazing mix of the Bifidobacteria with lactobacillus. It’s finding that really sweet balance. And as I say, not everyone reacts well to something that potentially is too much of a high dose initially. So our probiotic is in the middle, and we need to give probiotics time. At least two to four weeks is when I start to see a difference with my customers.

Well, and I think that’s one thing that’s interesting too, is in our culture, everybody wants immediate results. Instant gratification. I took magnesium last night and I need to know that it’s working today. And it’s like, okay, hold on. It takes time, but also we’re trying to reverse some of these bad habits that have been created or these. It all works together with the whole foods that you’re eating, the supplements that you’re taking. So while you can make little changes, it does need to like –

Give it time.

All kind of happen.

100%.

And you have to give it time.

I think especially I get excited to support gut health, if I’m being honest. Because it’s the one category I have found huge success with, with my customers, with those small changes and additions, putting a good probiotic in, just sweeping up the diet a little bit, adding more fibers into their breakfast even just as a start, reducing stress. We know that cortisol and IBS are linked, irritable bowel syndrome, that we know that there’s a correlation there. So how do I reduce their stress? And it’s something that excites me because I think gut health is something, and as you know, our very popular detox and de-bloat, sometimes it’s too popular for my liking, but the fentanyl on there really does reduce abdominal bloating. No one at the time, I couldn’t find a formulation on the market for de-bloating. That’s how that formulation came to life. In my eyes, it is definitely the first de-bloating formulation on the market. And that’s because of the calmative effects of fenyl in that three grams for the two tablets, just relieving that digestive discomfort. It’s also got glutamine in there. And then if we pair that with a probiotic, it can just go such a long way with someone presenting with really unfortunate digestive discomfort symptoms or digestive issues.

So one thing that you also talk a lot about is getting blood work done. For somebody who maybe doesn’t know where to start, what are some key markers that they should ask for when they go to get a blood panel drawn?

Yeah, I’m pretty obsessed with the blood tests too much so as in I’m obsessed with analyzing them. I literally get my friends and my team to send me their blood tests. I just love it. I don’t like people to get too obsessive about it though. Working with a really good nutritionist and naturopath. Of course, I would start with a full blood count. That’s what we call it in Australia, just to check. We’re going to check your metabolic markers. I’d like to check your insulin, your glucose, cholesterol, making sure your immune system is in a good place. I do love to check thyroid, especially in this day and age, but not just the TSH. TSH, T3, T4, thyroid antibodies, Hashimoto’s is definitely on the rise from what I’m seeing. So really that’s why working with a functional medicine doctor in the US is probably the goal if you’re looking to really dive deep because they’re going to request blood tests that go a little bit above and beyond just a panel, just a basic panel. Yeah. It depends on what someone’s presenting. I don’t want to just get a blood test for everything and anything. If someone’s presenting with low energy, I’ll definitely check their ferritin levels, which is the iron storage. I like that to be around 70. Again, if someone’s presenting with feeling tired, I want to get that thyroid panel, the TSH, the T3, the T4, probably B12 as well. But it will be dependent on what someone is struggling with, and then I would look into the bloods. But I definitely encourage your community to go and work with a functional medicine doctor or nutritionist or naturopath to look into what bloods are necessary. That’s probably the best approach. And then we go from there. And then we see vitamin D is a great one to test, of course. We know so many people are low in vitamin D, and just supplementing for a period of time can support your body in so many great ways. So yeah, those are sort of the basics. Vitamin D, ferritin, thyroid, an immune panel, depending again on the symptoms. A gut microbiome test. Of course, I used to do them when I was in private practice, but sometimes I just want to start simple. When it’s too complicated, I sometimes work with doctors I don’t like to treat myself. And it’s interesting when a doctor starts overwhelming a patient with too many tests and too many things, sometimes people just want to go the other way. So I want to start simple and say, “Well, let’s see if we can do things with the diet and supplementation first.” I may order a few blood tests, but if I’m diving straight into a gut microbiome test, it’s just overwhelming, a stool test. It’s a lot for a client to have to think about. And I think they sometimes just put it in the two hard baskets. So I try and start really, really simple. Let’s maybe just add the JSL vitamins probiotic, and maybe I’m just going to add fiber to your breakfast. I’m going to add one or two tablespoons of chia seeds and flaxseeds, which is just immediate great way to introduce fiber or increase fiber into someone’s diet. I’ll start with that. And maybe if they’re presenting with digestive discomfort after meals, I will add the detox and debloat, but I’ll also look into their meals and seeing is there something that’s triggering that digestive discomfort or that bloating? People don’t even realize chewing gum, sometimes sparkling water, diet sodas. These are things that can cause bloating and reflux. Sometimes even depending on the person, black tea can aggravate reflux. So I’ll see if I can do a diet and then I’ll add the supplements in where needed. So people probably don’t realize because we’re such a big vitamin company now, I actually have a less is more approach to taking supplements. I like to listen to the person and then we supplement depending on their needs. And as I say, let’s start with the Vital Trio is a really good base, a very good magnesium, not just any magnesium that actually has bioavailable forms of magnesium at a dose that your nervous system’s going to feel. Probiotic, multi-strain, not too much and not too little. I love that 35 CFU billion count. Multi-strain, really. I don’t even use acidophilus, which is one of the most known probiotics. It’s a cheaper probiotic you get in our industry because I just see better results with other strains. And then fish oil. But again, not just any fish oil, heavy metal tested, sustainably sourced. Is it coming from small fish? We want to know that it’s friend of the sea certified. We want to know that it’s at 1.5 grams per soft gel. We want a really strong dose in there if we’re trying to reduce inflammation or support joint health or skin health, depending. So start with a vital trio as a base of supplements, and then depending on symptoms, we may give other supplements.

Yeah. No, I love that. I’ve heard you mention in the past too about iodine, zinc, and selenium being key for thyroid function.

Yes, definitely.

Can you break that down a little bit?

Yes, minerals. I mean, they literally support the thyroid to make thyroid hormones. So we need exactly what you just said, selenium, zinc, iodine to help to produce healthy thyroid hormone. And we need selenium for the conversion. So T4 converts into T3. T3 is the active thyroid hormone that goes into the cell. We actually need selenium for that conversion. And so definitely if you are presenting with low thyroid or your blood panel is showing, we may start with the supplement first because you may just be low in those minerals. So we will start with a formulation that has iodine, selenium, zinc. If someone is presenting with Hashimoto’s though, more of the autoimmune side, iodine doesn’t always work for them. So I’m very careful. Iodine can sometimes help, but it can sometimes worsen. So that’s the one time iodine is a very, very tricky mineral. I often say it’s one that we need to be cautious of depending on someone’s profile. Yeah, so those are the ones that support the thyroid. If someone needs medication, that’s okay. We work with the doctor on that. But yeah, I love those. I mean, minerals, it’s why JSL vitamins, heroin energy is so popular because we use a special kelp. And kelp, what is kelp? Kelp is a seaweed, but it is just so mineral rich. And I say people presenting. I mean, when I was in private practice, I tried everything, trust me, biotin, silica, collagen to help people grow their hair. And I started accidentally prescribing kelp because they were showing low inserted minerals. And I would see their hair grow like wildfire, literally myself. And I was giving it to my cousins and my sisters and I was like, “What is going on?” And we see now that minerals, iodine, they are involved in helping our body produce healthy hair follicles. And in my opinion, honestly, nothing works like kelp when it comes to growing thicker, stronger hair. But that just shows, again, the power of minerals. I always have said, if you’re presenting with brittle nails, hair falling out, we really want to infuse the body with minerals. That’s the key. Yeah.

Okay. Let’s talk about magnesium. I know we’ve mentioned it a few times here, but let’s break it down even further. Okay, so there are obviously so many types of magnesium out there, and I know people struggle. And anytime I’ve even shared the magnesium that I’ve taken from JS Health, people will ask, how do you know which one to take? I feel like there’s just too many choices, but can you break down your top three types of magnesium and when you should use them?

Yes. I call magnesium the magic mineral. I’ve been calling it the magic mineral before I even had a supplement line, honestly, because I think of magnesium as the repair mineral. I think about it as the nervous system mineral. It involves in over 300 different biochemical pathways. So think about that because look how much it’s used in the human body. And we’re living in a world where the truth is people need nervous system support. People are stressed, people are tired. How are we going to calm down the nervous system? I’ve never seen people complain more about sleep disruption, waking up tired, not being able to fall asleep, high cortisol. This is a result of the nervous system not being nourished. So that is why at the moment in particular, I just have such a love for magnesium because of the way it supports the nervous system, but it’s also known to support muscle relaxation and energy production. So people will say, but if I take magnesium, will I wake up feeling tired? No. In fact, what people notice is the opposite. They wake up feeling more energized because the way it is repairing the body overnight probably. Now, yes, not all magnesiums are created equal. We want to look for magnesiums the body knows how to actually absorb. I have always found the greatest success with the three. Glycinate in particular for the nervous stem, citrate and chelate. They are my favorite three forms. The body really knows how to absorb them. Something like magnesium oxide will probably just go straight through the system and have a laxative effect, but it’s the cheapest in the magnesium industry. So people laugh in my. I mean, I’m always choosing the most expensive ingredients literally in the industry because we want to know that people are going to feel the magnesium. But also the dose of magnesium really does matter because I often say you feel a product through its dose, three grams of fennel and detox and de-bloat. That’s why people have such quite an immediate de-bloat effect. 400 milligrams of magnesium in our powder or two tablets, that’s a very. We know it’s in private practice, that’s the dose I would give. That’s a therapeutic high strength dose. That is the dose that my clients are going to feel in their nervous system, in their sleep, and their energy and their muscle relaxation. So dose really matters and form really matters. So we have a powder version or a tablet version. There are other magnesiums on the market that I’m sure are great high quality. We just actually launched into era one and I’m so happy because we’re sitting next to two of my other favorite reputable brands in the industry. I’m very old school. I like very old school traditional brands. And ours is triple form. And bless you.

Thank you.

Bless you. I know I’m also having a bit of a cold. Bless you.

Thank you.

Actually, if anybody is struggling with hay fever, by the way, just in general, what’s happening a lot is definitely take a probiotic every day.

Yeah, good to know. I’m going to tell my mom that.

I’m going to send you a probiotic.

Please.

So magnesium. Yeah. I think if anyone listening who’s just feeling a little bit tired, not sleeping well, disrupted sleep, stressed, I think I would just start there. Just start with magnesium, a good quality magnesium. It’s just amazing how that little mineral will support so many different aspects of the body.

I agree. And I feel like I noticed immediate results when I started the JS Health. I like just like the-

The tablets.

Yeah, the tablets. But it also, you can get it in the powder form. So for somebody who drinks a tea before they go to bed, mixing it in, it’s just an easy flavorless way to get your magnesium in.

Ours is actually raspberry lemonade, but people are obsessed with our magnesium because I do my little trick, which is I do warm chamalti, not too hot, so it doesn’t affect the stability of the magnesium. And so this is a little trick. Everyone try this. Do a camomal tea, but just do half boiling water, half regular water. So it’s sort of warm. And then you do a scoop of our magnesium powder. So it’s got this very subtle raspberry lemonade flavor and it’s just the best, I call it the magnesium moment. It’s just like the day. I work till 70, 7:30 most days, and it marks the moment in my day where I can go, take a breath. Okay, now we’re all about our nervous system. I actually should talk about my wind down routine even now or another time. But it’s so important to get that melatonin going, our sleep hormone, and calming down the nervous system at around that 7:00 PM zone because people think they can just jump into bed at night and fall asleep and stay asleep. It just doesn’t work like that in this day and age with social media, scrolling, stress, inundation. We have to understand that when the sun starts going down, we need to start preparing our minds and our bodies for a sleep. We have to start actually actively calming down the nervous system. And that’s what I’m not seeing. So people, their day will finish at 7:00, 7:30. Okay, maybe they’ll have a rushed dinner. They’ll be scrolling endlessly on their phones. They’re starting to talk about stressful finance things, probably just too much inundation. So I’m like, let’s do magnesium, was doing a social media switch off. I switch my social media and phone off every single night at 80 PM. Now that may be extreme for people, but I know that that’s my time to do that because I’m a sensitive sleeper too. And if I don’t do that, my sleep is disrupted. Yeah. I have a magnesium Epsom salt bath. I have had a JSL dinner of some sort with protein. We need those protein. We need amino acids to help make tryptophan, which helps to make melatonin. People don’t know that amino acids are very important at dinnertime. I want to probably avoid refined sugar, especially if I’m not struggling to fall asleep and stay asleep, but I’m going to do everything I can to wind down. So I do a stretch practice, yin yoga. I do deep belly breathing. As I said, I’m having a bath. I am watching my favorite TV shows because that’s a way for me to calm down and relax. I’m all about TV shows if it’s a way to relax. And I’ve had my magnesium probably around that 7:00 PM zone that’s ready. People honestly say, especially when they have our powder, they start to feel this immediate calming relaxation effect, which magnesium really does. It can actually sometimes make people feel sleepy. So your question was, when should I take magnesium? I do prefer people to take magnesium at night because it can have a little bit of a sedating effect, a relaxation effect, I should say. Now people will say, but should I take it after a big intense workout? Yes, you can. You can put it in your water bottle with your electrolytes and take it after a big workout if you know you’re going to be really working your muscles. I had a big muscle workout on Sunday and I probably should have taken my magnesium because I’m really sore today, but just note how you feel after taking it. If it’s going to make you sleepy all day, then we’ll just adjust that. But I do prefer in general people to take magnesium in the evening, either after their dinnertime or in that evening time when they’re starting to slow down. Sometimes I drink it as I get home from work while I’m making dinner.

Yeah. No, that’s a great, I feel like I’ve always taken it a lot closer to bed. It’s always felt like, oh, okay, I’m getting ready to, before I brush my teeth and get in bed, I’m going to drink this. That’s great. That’s great. But doing it even a little earlier could –

Calm things down.

Yeah, I’m going to try that.

See, I love it because you’re so in tune with your body, just let’s test it. Let’s test the 7:00 PM while you’re making dinner or while you’re eating and then verse just before bed. It kind of depends on the person. For me, I have such an active mind. I need to start calming down my mind and body early so I can fall asleep and stay asleep. Very true. So let’s see. We’ll work. We also have our deep sleep tablet, so anyone who’s struggling, we have a more potent formulation that’s a bit stronger specifically for sleep and calms down the mind.

Interesting. Okay. So in general, right now, what are five of your favorite wellness products?

Ooh, that’s a good question. Definitely magnesium, number one. Just across the board. It’s just supporting so many people with their nervous system. So just look for a good high quality one. The second one, ooh, I think on the same note is Epsom salts. I just love to have a bath. I think it’s such a great way to just treat yourself at the end of the day, a nice magnesium bath with a chamomile tea. You’ll see, Britt, I’m actually very simple. I can’t even think of wellness products or I’m not even someone who accumulates different things. Okay, for me, I’ve been calling it the natural Gatorade. So a lot of people are very tired at the moment. I’ve been making this drink every morning. I’m sitting on it now, which is a combination of our VitaliX formulation, but I don’t have electrolytes in my range. I’ve been using a brand called Waterboy. But I call it, as I say, the JS Health Natural Gatorade. So combining Vitalex, it’s got a very special Siberian ginseng in there and a lot of other nutrients, minerals, and antioxidants and collagen, marine collagen. And then I combine it with electrolytes and sometimes a probiotic. And I cannot tell you the difference in my energy all day. So combining that, I think you’ll love that powder because it’s all about skin glow and age defiance and energy. It’s actually energy, skin, gut health, all in one. But I combine it with the electrolytes and I just noticed the most incredible energy through the morning. So that’s one of my hacks.

When’s the best time to drink that? In the morning?

Mid-morning. I love it. Mid to breakfast time. Yeah, because I just noticed there’s stable energy through the day. I’ll send you some of the sachets. It’s one of our products that I feel like unfortunately the USA, it’s actually very popular in Australia, but the USA customers just don’t know enough. It’s probably one of our most potent formulations, an antioxidant blend with a really special marine collagen. It’s a wild cod three grams in the marine collagen world. That’s a very therapeutic dose, plus antioxidants, plus gut health ingredients. It’s very, very, very beautiful formulation. It’s probably one of my favorites.

Sounds awesome.

But combine that with electrolytes, I don’t know what it is, this combination. My energy is incredible. I don’t want to talk too much about my own products, but I do a conditioner mask once a week. I worked with this incredible French scientist and we developed really incredible natural clean haircare that’s really performance-based because it’s infused with incredible vitamins like vegan keratin and vitamin C and vitamin E and B5. And I do this mask once a week and it’s all about strengthening the hair and also taking care of the scalp. So I do that once a week. Am I allowed to say sleep is my biggest wellness product? So true. It’s the best, freest way to take care of your health. I don’t sleep well. Unfortunately, so much just go, I’m having more coffee. I’m not making the best diet choices. I’m not exercising. I feel low. My sleep. So that’s why this wind down routine is just so important because it’s allowing people to fall asleep and stay asleep. And then I always say it’s worth deleting your social media at APM. It’s worth not checking your phone. Why? Because if you have a deep sleep, everything the next day is better. Everything, your mood. It’s so true. And I’ll often say is how you start your day really sets the tone. So I also have a little morning routine in ritual where I don’t check my social media or my emails, anything until after a 40-minute morning routine. So that’s like 20-minute workout, maybe a walk in nature, a coffee, Jay’s health smoothie, maybe my natural Gatorade, deep belly breathing, shower. And then nine o’clock when I’m at my desk, okay, I’m welcoming in the world of inundation of everything. But how we start our day, how we finish our day, I think people, that’s a simple, simple way of really taking care of our health. And so sleep. Sleep is my major, major, major health product and hack. That’s my everything. What am I up to? How many have I saved?

I love that. I think that’s five.

Okay.

It’s a good one.

A protein-rich snack at four or 5:00 pm.

Oh, yes. What is that? You mentioned that earlier, but what’s your suggestion there?

I mean, as a nutritionist, I see so many people trying to skip snacks, skip meals. People have a lot of fear around snacking, but I discovered this little trip, which is this 4:00 to 5:00 PM zone where people, their blood sugars start dropping a little bit. They’re tired, they’re coming out of a big day, and they try and get to dinner, and then they sort of overeat to dinner or maybe struggle to make the best choices at dinner. So 10 years ago, I used to write about it in my books. I didn’t even mention earlier that I was an author before I started JSL Vitamins. That was really how I started my career. So I used to write about all these tips in books, and one of them was this 4:05 PM snack. So if people embraced this protein-rich snack, it would stabilize their blood sugar levels. It’d be something they could look forward to, but we noticed how much it influenced their nighttime. We found that they would make better choices at dinner. They wouldn’t overeat at dinner. And we also anecdotally have found that they don’t crave sugar after dinner as much when they have this 4:05 PM protein-rich snack. So what’s a protein-rich snack? It could be some Greek yogurt with cinnamon and berries. It can be a boiled egg or two. It can be crackers with some cheese. Cheese is very protein-rich. It can be yesterday I was having crackers with cottage cheese and some sliced tomato on top. It can be a protein bar. It can be a protein shake. It can be something that’s just protein, whatever. Even a handful of nuts and protein bars in your bag if you’re traveling on the go picking up kids. But it goes a really long way. So that’s one of my big ones. I must have that protein-rich snack every day, especially when I’m working.

So would you say we usually eat dinner 5:30 to 6:00. So do you think if I did that around 3:00 or 4:00?

3:30 or 4:00. I feel for you around that 3:30 zone is when you’re going to. Because you’re probably dipping a little bit at that time. Oh, if anyone is dipping at that time, I’m obsessed with banishing the 3:0 PM slump. So if people are dipping around that 3:30 time, we need to ask about the coffee first. So a lot of people have coffee after lunchtime. And what I’ve noticed, again, anecdotally, is it actually doesn’t support their energy through the afternoon. It often does the opposite. It actually makes people feel more tired. It might give you an initial search. I’ve noticed that before. Yeah, it might give you a surge for maybe 10 minutes, and then people start feeling actually quite tired. So I love the JS Health rule is one to two cups of coffee a day before midday. This is really going to support the melatonin cortisol cycle. This is supporting our circadian rhythm. So try and anyone out there who’s feeling tired, especially in the afternoon, let’s bring coffee to the morning and stopping it by midday. That’s one thing. Then what does your lunch look like? Is it protein? Does it contain protein, fiber, and good fats? These are the macronutrients that stabilize our blood sugar levels. If you’re just having a salad with some seeds, a lot of people say, “I’m so healthy. I just have a salad.” And I’m like, “What’s in the salad?” And they’ll say, “Greens, cucumber, carrots.” And I’m like, “Okay, great. So where’s the protein?” Actually, sometimes they’ll have the protein, they’ll have a little bit of chicken or a little bit of salmona and say, “Okay, so where’s the good fats?” And they’re not having the avocado, or even just a drizzle of olive oil. Having good fats at lunchtime, I’ve noticed, really supports energy through the afternoon. Then I would say if you are really struggling with low energy in the afternoon, you should have my natural Gatorade I was talking about, the Vitali X collagen antioxidant blend with electrolytes then. If you’re really struggling with that afternoon slump, let’s bring it to the afternoon and replace it with that coffee that you’re going to have in the afternoon, and then we’re going to have this protein-rich snack. All of that will change your afternoon, guys.

Yeah. Well, and there’s so many times I feel like I’m wanting an afternoon drink, but not necessarily coffee, but it feels like that’s sometimes the only. I don’t want a soda, but I want –

Something. You’re craving something.But no water. I can just imagine you’re going to pick up the kids. Okay. I’ll tell you another thing I love to do is I make a homemade chai, and you can put that in your cardinal if you’re picking up the kids around that time. So I would recommend either if you want a cold drink, an electrolyte blend with a Vitalix. Also, because the Siberian dinsing in there, it’s very stable energy through the afternoon. Otherwise, I make an oat milk chai. So I get this chai blend on Amazon. I can send you a photo of it. It’s a delicious cinnamon, cardamom, gingerblend. And then I froth up milk just with my Nespresso milk frotha. And I do cinnamon and a little honey. And the chai blend that I get is really clean and caffeine-free. So make a chai, almost like your own homemade chai latte. And that is a delicious thing to look forward to in the afternoon. I do that a lot. So a little bit of honey, a little bit of cinnamon, the chai mix, and hot oat milk. That sounds good. I also feel like you feel almost like a hug in the afternoon.

I literally tell this to my husband. I’m like, “It just feels like a hug. I just love this first sip of a coffee or whatever.” And he’s like, “Okay.”

And I’m only suggesting these things if you’re someone. Some people metabolize caffeine better than others. So if you’re someone who doesn’t sleep so well, doesn’t get low energy, doesn’t crave sugar and salt, okay, but these people are rare. So I think if we can just try and keep caffeine out of the picture from midday, I’m a balanced nutritionist. I’m still encouraging coffee, guys. I’m not saying to let go of coffee. Thank God I’m not telling anyone to not have their coffee. I love my coffee in the morning. But just understand that it can have. Caffeine stays in the bloodstream for up to eight hours. That’s a long time. Think about that. So if you’re having coffee at three, oh my God, count it, four, five, six, seven, that’s nine, 10 o’clock when you’re starting to try wind down. Caffeine may still be in your bloodstream at that time.

Right. Yeah. There’s been so many times I’ve had a later afternoon coffee, and then 11 o’clock I’m just like, my eyes, I just can’t fall asleep. And I’m like, “wass it worth it? No.”

Exactly. So have my little homemade caffeine-free try. And also another thing is the adrenal glands. Cortisol, just understand that when cortisol is pumped out of our adrenal glands too much, which we need cortisol to wake up in the morning, get adrenaline, go for the day. Cortisol helps us in the morning, but we need to bring down cortisol. And what happens is it stays high for too long causing adrenal fatigue. So signs of adrenal fatigue is actually waking up tired and getting that second wave of energy at 11 o’clock. So just on that note, if you’re struggling with that picture of waking up tired but getting this energy at night, something’s going on with the adrenal glands. So let’s support cortisol with caffeine management, with deep belly breathing. I love adaptogenic herbs for the adrenal glands. There’s a product we have called Daily Energy. You can use that one or any adaptionic herbs you trust, and then magnesium. These are some of the ways to support that adrenal gland function, just so you know. I mean, everyone I’m meeting is really struggling with their adrenal glands and cortisol.

Okay. So what about for our listeners who might be pregnant? Would you say the supplements are okay for them to use? Is there anything they should stay away from during that time?

I’m not a fan of pregnant people taking anything but their prenatal. And sometimes their prenatal, sometimes it does, it doesn’t. Fish oil, EPA and DHA can absolutely support. So on top of a prenatal, maybe fish oil. I love choline. So if it’s not in the prenatal, we do it separately. I think the brand I really like at the moment is called Parallel. Parallel Prenatal. I’ve actually recently heard that. Yeah, because it’s got enough of the others. It’s got the other minerals that I was seeing not lacking in other prenatals here in the US. I mean, I’m just too particular. I mean, we want the methylfolate. We don’t want just any folate. I think parallel was the one I was quite impressed with. So I actually just don’t want pregnant women taking anything but they’re prenatal and maybe a fish oil. And some doctors will recommend a magnesium depending on their sleep. And often from my experience, doctors have deemed it as absolutely safe and okay, but I always want the doctors to check on these things before – Make that decision. But I want to keep it simple with pregnant women. I really, really do. I think prenatal, if it’s a good prenatal, it should be giving your body everything it needs. If I was pregnant today, I would say I would take a prenatal, a fish oil blend and magnesium, and I would probably also take a probiotic.

I’ve had two children and after I’ve had them, my hair or just – Postpartum. Things. When is it safe to then start some of the supplements, like the hair supplements? Hair and MG.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Again, so that postpartum hair loss is just such a thing to the confidence. I want to send my love to all those postpartum moms out there because when you are in that newborn base and then your hair is falling out in the shower, it can be really hard to manage. Yes. So probably it really depends on breastfeeding. Again, when the breastfeeding zone, I actually like to encourage people to continue their prenatal for three to six months afterwards because we’re getting the mineral. See, luckily I actually care about I’m not just here to create a supplement brand, I’m here to actually just educate. We want the minerals. We want those minerals. And see, the prenatal has the minerals I’ve been talking to. It has IDine, it has selenium, it has zinc. So I like people just to continue their prenatal for around three months. So I would say around, depending on breastfeeding, if you’re still breastfeeding, I still want to check with your doctor if they’re happy for you to take hair and energy. But if you’re not breastfeeding anymore, then that’s a good safe time to embark on hair and energy, which contains kelp and zinc. It’s the most simple formulation. It’s one capsule a day, by the way. I think the reason why in the US people are loving hair and energy is because it’s just one potent capsule a day. A lot of them are like four or five. No one can sustain that for a long period of time. But I will say what I am so proud of is the way hair and energy has helped postpartum hair loss. With our scalp serum, we know the importance of taking care of the scalp microbiome, which was developed by the most amazing scientists, our scalp serum with hair and energy. So if anyone is struggling with postpartum, have a look at the reviews that really supports. But let’s stay on the prenatal for as long as we almost can after giving birth. We need those minerals.

So back to the haircare, the shampoo and conditioner is actually one of my must-haves. Really? I use that. Yes. So I don’t wash my hair. I probably wash my hair two times a week, and I use the JS Health shampoo first. Oh my God, I’m on it. To just get my hair clean. The cleanses. And cleansed from all the buildup. And then I’ll use my second shampoo, which is more for color protection or something like that. But I always start with the JS Health. And I actually wash both of my kids’ hair with the JS Health shampoo and conditioner.

Well, so, I’m glad because it’s so clean, free of the nasties, the PEGs, the sulfates, all of that. The parabens, I’m just so honored that you actually like it. So the reason why I think the shampoo condition is so loved is because of the way it really attends to the scalp. And our scalp has its own microbiome. We were talking about the gut microbiome. Your scalp has its own host of bacteria. And what happens is when there’s a negative buildup of not so good bacteria can cause oily hair, it can cause hair loss, it can cause inability to grow healthy, thick, shiny hair. So our scalp serum is, oh my God, it’s going off because I think of the way it’s supporting the scalpel that has seven scientifically backed actives in there. But the shampoo conditioner is the OG we created nearly five years ago by the same scientist. And I will say the shampoo really cleanses the scalp and then the conditioner really nourishes the scalp. And I think the combination of hair and energy with the shampoo and conditioner is really a palpa. I’m so grateful that you love it. And also we don’t use no synthetic fragrances in there too, which is very important to me. So kids, it’s funny that you say that because all of my best friends, they actually also use the shampoo condition on their kids’ hair. I actually use the shampoo as a bubble bath because it’s so clean. Squeeze it into your bath. Great idea. It creates the best bubbles. And the other thing about the conditioner, it’s very rare to find a clean conditioner that detangles. Have you noticed that? When clean conditioner leaves your hair, I washed it last night. Clean conditioner actually normally leaves your hair feeling very, what’s the word? Dry and not naughty. Ours really detangles.

Yeah, no, one of my daughters has crazy hair. And so being able to have a good one that keeps her hair detangled has been key. And definitely notice to that. Okay, good. I’m so glad. It’s truly, I think you guys sent it to me at some point last year and then I’ve been like. It’s funny, we were talking in my office about if you go to Amazon and see what are your most repurchased things on Amazon.

No, that is the biggest compliment because I know that you get sent everything and anything. So the fact that you like it is such a compliment. Thank you.

Well, and I tell the girls too in my office, I’m like, I don’t know, sometimes it’s hard for me to try a new product. I get things in and I commit to it and I like it and it works. And so if I ever take a teeter off – Have you tried our sculpture? I end up loving it.

I’m going to send that to you today. No, I haven’t. Just three to four drops into the scalp.

Just the shampoo.

It’s the simplest thing. It is so potent. It is crazy the difference you see in the hair volume and density. The scalp, attending to the scalp is more about the health of the hair. It’s more about the anchoring of the hair. It’s creating an environment in the scalp that’s going to help the follicles grow in a healthy way.

So we’ve got to wrap this up. I feel like we should do a part two because I feel like I have so many more questions and things that have popped up that I’m like, wait, we need a link.

You know what we should is we should. I don’t know how, can you, because my favorite thing to do is answer nutrition questions. Could we get your top, maybe your community could give us their top nutrition questions?

Yes.

And then we can just answer them Q&A.

Elizabeth, we will figure out a way to do that. I think that would be –

Those do well.

So great when people know that their questions actually being answered, feel for a real nutritionist.

Totally. I think they just feel heard. That’s what I always say if I’m doing a talk. I always say I don’t want to give a talk. I want to have a Q&A because when you listen to, that’s when people feel heard. But also what someone asks is often what another 10,000 people are struggling

With. Totally. Well, and then it spawns ideas of like, “Ooh, I had that question, but what about specifically to this?” Exactly. So totally get that. Okay, we’re going to put this on the books and do a part two. Yeah, I would love to. I definitely, I want to keep going personally.

Okay, good. I’d be honored.

So to wrap up all of my podcast interviews, I always ask one question and that is what is the most meaningful act of kindness that somebody has extended to you that has had a lasting impact on your life?

That’s so beautiful. I think it’s honestly my husband who I love so much coming into the business because I could never have created Jay’s Health Vitamins without him. He was in his own tech startup. He was in his own career, and he came and helped me in the early days when I was building a program. Initially before the vitamins, I had an eight-week program helping my clients just live the healthy life step by step. Week one, week two, week three was gut health, energy, relationship with food had all different pillars. And he just would just help me on the weekends and help me. And then eventually when we started the vitamin range, he came in. I promise you, because we never knew we would have success. So trust me, he did it out of the kindness of his heart because he just really believed in me and my mission to help women to feel well. So I can’t think of another one, but when I think of kindness, I do think of my husband. He’s the kindest human, and he’s always trying to support me and my vision. As I said, we didn’t know the potential of JSL Vitamins. Trust me, I wanted to be in limited pharmacy in Australia, the tiniest place in the world, and just wanted to be in my local pharmacies. That was the biggest dream we had for JSL Vitamin. So the kindness of him supporting me, believing in me, trusting me, I think that’s had the lasting effect for sure is that.

I absolutely get that. My husband works behind the scenes at Leverly Gray too, and he’s now such a huge part of the brand. And I’m like, “We could not do this without you.” And I mean, I feel like similar to how your husband just started helping and doing things.

Because there’s no one who roots for us more. Yeah, totally. There’s no one who really backs us the way that they do. And often that they don’t. The silent ones. Dean doesn’t get recognized for all the work that he does nearly as much as he should be. I know. I’m sure you feel the same.

I know. I need to go home and say thank you for being here.

But they probably don’t like to have the public attention, but we can go home at night and say thank you.

Exactly. Exactly. Well, Jess, this episode, I’ve learned so much personally. I know we’ve talked face-to-face before, but it was just such an honor to spend time with you again today. And I’m really looking forward to a part two, so we are definitely going to make that happen.

That would be a dream. Thank you so, so much for having me and supporting our brand. It truly means so much as a female founder. From female founder to female founder.

Yes.

It really means so much to me. Thank you.

Absolutely. And for those listening, we will add all of the JS Health information, the the Instagram accounts, the website, everything you need to know and where you can go to purchase JS Health vitamins and supplements and some of the other products that we talked about, all of that will be linked below in the show notes so you can take a look there. But Jess, thank you again for coming on.

Thank you so, so much for having me.

All right friends, we’ll talk to you soon. Hi friend. If you’re loving the show, will you go find that follow button on your podcast app? This will ensure that you won’t miss a single episode. I love having you in this community. Until next time. This season of Life with Loverly is produced by Elizabeth Evans Media Productions.