The Gut is the Center of Everything with Nurse Krysti Jonas

The Gut is the Center of Everything with Nurse Krysti Jonas

Meet Krysti

When you are a nurse in a system that fails you, it makes you rethink your career and this is exactly what happened to Krysti. 

Today we are get to hear her story and how she was a traditional nurse for 13 years in all areas from ICU to Home health. About her own health scare experience in the traditional healthcare system with severe, chronic diverticulitis and how she decided to become the leader of her own health and left the system. Not just in her own healing journey but in her career and practice. Krysti is a wealth of knowledge and such an empowering woman. If you are looking for someone who actually cares about you as a whole human, Krysti’s new nationwide practice might just be the perfect fit for you. I cannot wait for your to listen in!

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Transcript:

Juniper (00:08.501)

Welcome to the podcast, Krysti. I am so happy to have you here and to learn about your experience and your aha moments. And I feel like we all go on our very own, very different journeys to arrive in very similar places of becoming the leader of our families and of our own wellness. And I'm so excited for our audience to hear your journey.

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (00:38.37)

Thank you so much for having me. I'm stoked to be here and honored to be a part of your amazing podcast. And I'm, I'm ready to jump in.

Juniper (00:48.501)

Okay, well, I introduced you briefly in the intro, but maybe in your words, you can tell us who you are and where people can find you. Because a lot of times, I know when I'm listening to podcasts, I'm like, who is this person? I wanna like connect a face to this voice as I'm listening, but those points of contact aren't usually shared until the end. So maybe just briefly, you can share who you are and where people can find you.

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (01:19.69)

Yeah, so first and foremost, I'm a mom of two. I have a seven-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son who have also joined me on this journey as well as my wonderful husband. And we actually moved cross country three years ago from Indiana to Florida, which was a whole journey in and of itself and could be a whole podcast. And then I'm also a nurse as well. And I've been a nurse for about 13 years and in healthcare for 15, started as an aide.

I've done pretty much everything except mom-baby. So started in critical care right off the bat. The adrenaline junkie in me took me to that route. And then I dabbled in different things, surgical, clinic, ambulatory services. I've even done legal nurse consulting. So many different areas I've worked in. And then...

As we get into my story more, it's kind of just slowly been a progression since the beginning actually to bring me to where I am today with the functional and lifestyle medicine as being the root cause of medicine. There is a place for traditional medicine in the world, but I believe that we have become dependent on it to a point where it's actually just making us more sick. So.

Juniper (02:38.125)

Well, what a gift it is to have someone who, on the episode, who had Earl Mount Podcast, who's come from a more Western traditional background and has found yourself here, because that is, I feel like most of us make pretty big swings, but that's like as big as it gets. And I can't wait to just dive into your story and for everybody to hear what got you here.

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (02:58.624)

Yeah.

Juniper (03:08.333)

really fast, where can people find you on Instagram if they wanna just see who you are while they're listening to us chat?

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (03:16.082)

Yes, so on Instagram, I'm @krystijonas Also, you can search the mindful health nurse, and you'll likely find me there as well with hashtags or just searching that. And that's pretty much where I'm at right now. Easy peasy.

Juniper (03:35.877)

Amazing. Okay. Well, let's jump right into like, into your journey of what got you here. What was your label moment that really woke you up that you needed to be your own health leader?

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (03:53.938)

Yeah, so the light bulb moment kind of started when I started nursing, actually. Like I said, I was in the critical care unit and in a small town. And so we would see regulars and I would notice, you know, things like hypertension out of control being like, why aren't these people being informed that, you know, if you take your medication, for one, that can help you prevent from an ICU stay, but also that hypertension isn't. Yes.

Juniper (04:21.829)

Hey, Christy, I think you cut out for a minute. So I'll just, that's okay, I'll just like cut this. What does this look like on your side? Do I look blurry to you or do you look blurry to you?

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (04:26.811)

Oh, okay. I'll start over.

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (04:37.298)

No, but I did see a little jump and then it came back on.

Juniper (04:40.801)

Okay, cool. So I'll just cut it where I said, so what was your light bulb moment? So I'll just let you start that. I'm so sorry.

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (04:49.066)

It's okay. No, it's probably me too. Who knows? Um, so really the light bulb moment started when I started nursing 13 years ago in the ICU. We, in a small town, we have, unfortunately, we would have regulars. Um, and they would come in for things like hypertension being out of control. And I always thought to myself, why are they continually coming back? You know, for one side, they can continue. They take their medication is actually very cheap.

Juniper (05:12.461)

I don't know what's happening. It cut out again.

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (05:15.711)

No.

Juniper (05:17.321)

Like I didn't, I heard you say I started when I started nursing 13 years ago and then just now. Um

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (05:23.918)

Weird. Can you hear me? Yeah, okay, that's on there.

Juniper (05:27.221)

I can hear you great.

Okay, we're gonna take this one more time and we've got it. This is just so powerful, I wanna catch it.

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (05:33.778)

Okay. So my light bulb moment really started about 13 years ago when I started nursing in the critical care unit. Being in a small town, we unfortunately saw patients over and over again. And a lot of times it was for things like hypertension being out of control. And when I would step back and look at this, I would think one simple thing of...

taking your medication regularly is one way to prevent, you know, being in the critical care, but also there was an education piece that I just felt was missing that these patients didn't realize that they didn't have to have hypertension. There was ways to not have this. And so that gap in the healthcare system really showed me there's something missing. And so I, you know, I continue to learn and everything in that Western medicine. And then...

I also, that kind of kept unfolding as I reached out to physicians for my symptoms that I was having of fatigue or, my stomach wasn't feeling right, things like that. And I was just being brushed off as you're a new mom or you're working in ICU, so you're tired. These are all normal things, but I felt that it was odd. I was only in my 20s. I shouldn't feel like I'm 110 years old and wanna sleep all the time. But, the reality was that they were just, they didn't have a clue what I needed. And so this brings me to about two and a half years ago when I had my first episode of what's called diverticulitis, which involves the gut lining. It's a weakening of the gut lining.

Juniper (07:13.621)

Oh my gosh, I don't know why this is so shaky.

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (07:20.206)

do I need to stop moving?

Juniper (07:23.661)

Well, so we got like the part so good and then it said, and then what started for you, like when you started talking about like your own health, it just like went.

Juniper (07:43.285)

Uh oh, let's see. Recording continues smoothly, live video return when your internet improves.

Well, okay, so did your video go away of you?

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (07:57.646)

Uh-uh. No.

Juniper (08:00.629)

Okay, well, I can hear you better, but I can't see you. So maybe this is okay, because I don't actually use this video. I'll just use the recording.

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (08:04.724)

Oh, weird.

Juniper (08:11.137)

So if this happens again, I'm gonna see if it will allow us to just record voice, although it makes it so much better when we can see each other. Okay, so these people didn't know that there was something they could do more than medicating for hypertension is where we lost you. I'm so sorry.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (08:19.028)

Okay.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (08:29.794)

Mm-hmm. Okay, that's okay. And so I noticed this huge gap that they, there wasn't education from the clinic side. And so that was just one start, one step in starting me to realize there's something missing here and what we've got going on. And so then that brought me forward to when...

 

During that time, I was also having a lot of fatigue and I was having some gut issues. And so I went to the doctor like anyone would and it just seemed like they were brushing it off because it was just because I was a critical care nurse or I was a new mom with a young baby. And yes, I could be tired from those things but I felt like it was even stronger than that. It was more than just that I was a new mom. And so I just took it as it was and went on with my life.

 

And then about two and a half years ago, it kind of is when everything really shifted. I had, we were in the midst of moving actually across country and I had severe abdominal pain so bad that I actually went to the hospital and turns out that I had what's called diverticulitis. And what that is, is a weakening of the gut lining. First you form little pouches on the gut lining and then things like stool can get caught in those little pouches and become inflamed.

 

And so this had become so inflamed that there were tiny micro tears, if you will, in my gut lining. So some of the contents of stool and things were going into the abdominal cavity of my body. And that resulted in a three-day hospital stay with IV antibiotics and fluids. And that was the really start. And that was a big impact, but...

 

Juniper (10:08.177)

Wow.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (10:15.318)

Again, nothing really from the healthcare system that we have that said, hey, you should change your diet or you should work on your emotional health, your mental health, things like that. And so I kind of changed a little bit, but went on with my life. Then really hit home in 2022 when it was my birthday. I was turning 39 and I had a major attack.

 

It was also Mother's Day weekend and I got to spend seven days in the hospital with IV antibiotics. And almost to the point where I had to have emergency surgery. So it was quite severe. But thankfully, by the universe, by my mindset that I had already been working on, I did not require that. And I noticed during my stay, again, there wasn't much education around anything other than

 

You need to eat low fiber. You need to eat, you know, like white bread so you can digest it. Wasn't really much information to like send me. And then when I could eat, they brought me chicken that was not edible or digestible. So that's a whole nother story. But during that time, one thing I noticed looking back is that I really didn't watch TV. And in a past life, I probably would have just watched TV and, you know, relaxed, but really dove into

 

Juniper (11:13.683)

Oh my gosh.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (11:36.658)

meditating, listening to motivational podcasts, listening to your podcast actually as well. And it just kind of made a shift in me that this isn't what I wanna live with and this isn't how I want my kids to end up like. And so I really dove deep into the root cause of why a 39 year old would have such severe colon issues. And so from there, I...

 

went on to seek help guidance from specialists like a rheumatologist.

 

Juniper (12:10.966)

Uh oh, pause one second.

 

Juniper (12:16.493)

Okay, I think it's back, you're moving.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (12:18.894)

Okay. So that drove me to...

 

Juniper (12:21.417)

Um, so it started cutting. It started cutting when you said, um, instead of TV, you, you started listening. You were meditating and listening to educational podcasts.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (12:34.786)

So as I started listening to meditations and motivational podcasts in regards to, health, wellness, mindset, also listening to this podcast, really just open.

 

Juniper (12:47.385)

I wish there was a magic way.

 

Juniper (12:52.161)

Like on here, I'm seeing that it says that your internet isn't stable.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (13:00.854)

I'm on 5G. Let me...

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (13:07.77)

Let me, no, I mean it's on the extender, maybe if I put it on the regular? Let me try that, hold on.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (13:28.498)

Okay, let's try that one. Okay, so instead of watching a lot of TV, I decided to implement listening to meditation, informational, educational podcasts, like Follow Your Gut, and it really just flipped a switch in me that this does not have to be my way of life, and I didn't want it for me or my children because I know that this was.

 

Juniper (13:32.721)

Okay, perfect.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (13:57.11)

just gonna be passed on like it had been passed on to me. And so by doing that, I also decided that why is a 39 year old having so many issues with her gut that shouldn't be this way? So I dove into the specialist of the Western world. I went to a rheumatologist, we did some allergy skin testing and a little bit more deep dive into like thyroid and autoimmune and turns out it was

 

could be related to an autoimmune condition called Hashimoto's. But once I got all that information, it was like, okay, here you go. Just get your thyroid tested, then that was it. And I paused in there and I asked, well, what about food? Because I had already researched everything that I needed to do. And she's like, oh yeah, I saw some changes with people going into remission if they do paleo or whatever. But that was it. And so...

 

I never went back there. It was a hot mess there anyways, the organization was terrible. So, but that was like really that light bulb moment of spending my birthday and Mother's Day in the hospital instead of going to Disney World like we were supposed to. And that just lit a fire in me to change it. And so then from there, basically I waited and I ended up having surgery to remove that portion, which it ended up being

 

Juniper (15:24.609)

Uh oh, it just changed again. It was so good.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (15:25.162)

way worse than I they had anticipated. I needed my appendix out as well because it was all so inflamed it skipped again, didn't it?

 

Juniper (15:33.705)

Yes. It was it was so good. Like I could see you so clear.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (15:34.534)

Yeah, I felt it. I saw it. Crap. I don't understand.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (15:42.658)

Hmm.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (15:45.966)

I don't understand.

 

Juniper (15:49.754)

I know.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (15:57.074)

I mean, I can try a different room.

 

Juniper (16:02.957)

Well, it's so silly, right?

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (16:05.918)

Yeah, I would think so.

 

I don't have a huge house, so it's not like I'm far from everything.

 

Juniper (16:11.573)

Um, I know it's not like you're so far. Um, well, it's just more, it's so annoying because you're like in your flow and I just wanna keep feeling it, but it'll be, I can just like, as I'm listening, I'll just like cut these silly little pieces out and.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (16:18.542)

Thanks for watching!

 

Juniper (16:35.745)

So maybe we just have to keep stopping and restarting and it's totally okay. It's maybe it like, maybe it allows for the message that's supposed to be fully shared.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (16:41.238)

That's okay.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (16:50.202)

We'll go with that. I like it.

 

Juniper (16:54.617)

um hearing your experience like totally brings tears to my eyes because

 

These light bulb moments are so hard and so shaking. And I can like go back to that time and feel that with you of being kind of abandoned by the world that you committed yourself to in your most vulnerable time. And you going to nursing school and

 

Juniper (17:34.849)

you know, sharing so much of your time in your life to healing others alongside a system that completely failed you. I can only imagine like how terrible that felt because, you know, I experienced that with my son but it's not a system that I had, you know, partnered with in the way that you had and...

 

The feeling of abandonment is terrible. And I'm so sorry that you went through that, but so grateful for you being vulnerable to share your experience and also that you had that experience so that you can heal not only yourself, but your children and what's possible for you. And...

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (18:17.262)

Frozen.

 

Juniper (18:32.397)

Now the impact that you get to make in the world by going on your own journey is so wildly beautiful. So I'm gonna, Christie and I were just talking on a part that I'm gonna cut out because our internet is a little bit unstable and it keeps getting a little choppy. So we keep re-recording parts. But what I said to Christie is, maybe this is just happening because, you know, it's helping us repeat ourselves and share an even stronger message.

 

and share what somebody out there really needs. And the same is true when we go on these health journeys, right, is that these journeys freaking suck. Like this is so annoying that our recording is choppy and you're in your flow and it keeps cutting out and.

 

But I really believe that all of our experiences happen how they're supposed to. And my health journey with my son and myself, what a gift it is for me to live through that and to share the healing and follow your gut when be here if it weren't for our experience. And you, this...

 

new evolved version of Christie wouldn't be here if you didn't go through this and you didn't hit that rock bottom light bulb moment where you're like what the hell like why is nobody asking me or talking about how to heal me why are they just prescribing me things why aren't we diving deeper and so you know i'm sharing this because for so many people i know that i was there

 

I'm guessing that you were probably there. When you are in the midst of it, it can be so lonely and scary and isolating.

 

Juniper (20:30.037)

And it's part of the journey. And that is why we are here having this conversation is to hold space for anyone who's in the midst of it with your own health or with your child's health is we have all been in that space and the new crazy powerful version of you is going to come through on the other side of this. So with that, Kristi, keep going with your experience and

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (20:54.078)

Yeah, absolutely. And when you were frozen, shoot, when you talked about.

 

Juniper (21:00.049)

what what's led you here. So you made it you made it. Oh crap mine cut out now.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (21:03.62)

It cut out.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (21:08.542)

Well, I think it's my end. I think it's my end, but what led me here? Where, what led you to, what led me to only?

 

Juniper (21:14.497)

Okay, so, yeah, so beyond the hospital, beyond, you know, the possibility of Hashimoto's, what, what came next?

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (21:28.382)

So besides all of that, I knew that it all stemmed from what I was putting into my body. That was kind of a leading point, you know. Our GI tract not only is in our gut, but it starts with our mouth. It's the center of everything. Oh my gosh.

 

Juniper (21:39.214)

It just got out.

 

Juniper (21:50.237)

Oh no, it's cut out, Christy.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (21:56.947)

such as life. Oh my goodness.

 

Juniper (22:00.837)

Okay, so it cut out when I mean basically when you started

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (22:07.378)

Okay. So, here we go. Okay, come on internet, you can do it. Okay, there we go. So really.

 

Juniper (22:10.118)

Giggle

 

Juniper (22:18.329)

You can do it, internet.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (22:20.502)

It all started with me realizing, you know, what goes in my body is a huge and important piece to my overall health and wellness. And, you know, we always talk about our gut being the center of our health, but it literally is the center when we start with the mouth. It's in the middle of our face, you know, and then our gut is in the middle of our abdomen, and then everything comes out the center. And...

 

Then I dove deep into the foods that we have, how it's processed, where it's grown from, internet. And did I freeze?

 

Juniper (22:59.225)

Yeah.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (23:02.664)

Let me go to another room. Maybe that's it. Oy, oy, oy.

 

Juniper (23:07.865)

Okay.

 

Juniper (23:13.316)

I know.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (23:16.294)

Let me go right next to the thing here. Maybe this will be better. Um, Southwest Florida by Tampa, St. Petersburg.

 

Juniper (23:18.965)

Where are you in Florida?

 

Juniper (23:27.093)

Okay. Do you like it?

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (23:33.194)

I enjoy the weather for sure and there's lots to do. Yeah, I try not to get into politics. That's a whole nother thing.

 

Juniper (23:45.453)

Hehehehe

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (23:47.234)

So anyway, let's see if this works.

 

Juniper (23:48.524)

Okay.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (23:53.387)

What was I talking about?

 

Juniper (23:56.249)

Christy, that whole last section was like so choppy. So just start over like, yeah, like beyond Hashimoto's and still they're not really be, you're still left hanging.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (24:02.106)

So about what led me.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (24:13.23)

So beyond all of those potential diagnoses, I knew they weren't going to define who I was. And I knew that it all really started with what I was putting in my body. Looking back over the years, I was raised on processed food. No fault to anyone. That's just what it was back in the 80s and 90s. And so I really dove into where food comes from.

 

what's actually in the ingredients and how are those things that are in the ingredients like oils processed? And that just set me on a rabbit hole of eating clean and really looking into what goes into your body. We always talk about the guts, the center of our health and really all aspects are, our mouth is in the center of our face, our intestines are in the middle of us and then how it comes out is in the middle of us as well. So in all of that, it goes out into the body.

 

Um, you have a brain gut connection. And if you notice, and you really pay attention, if you eat a little more sugar, um, you'll notice that your brain isn't, it doesn't fire as fast or your mood shifts completely different. Um, we always talk about the sugar crash. Like it's, it's a thing and it is connected to your gut and your brain. And so that was really where everything started is, um, and then listening to something that you talked about that always sticks with me is the, the growing foods versus the non-growing foods as

 

rather than good versus bad, I find that that's more powerful because it doesn't have that negative connotation. And especially with teaching my children this, it helps them to understand it better. That it's not necessarily bad, we don't wanna eat it all the time, but it's not gonna help you grow, expand your brain, be as strong as you want to be able to do, the things that you love in your life. And so that's really kind of what led me to where I am with pushing for

 

everyone to eat those growing foods and understand what is on the label and where it comes from and what it's actually doing to your body because I'll tell you it is changing your body whether you think it is or not. It's absorbed through your gut which most of us have what we call leaky gut which is where things from your gut that you take in leak out into your system and a lot of that is where the disease and inflammation are coming from.

 

Juniper (26:31.941)

So I wanna just go in a little bit deeper on this because it's really quite an honor to have a nurse on the show. You have a different level of...

 

Juniper (26:50.241)

trying to figure out the words to use. You have more credentials than I do. I am always very transparent that I am just an intuitive mom who had an experience and I learned a whole lot and I'm here to share what I've learned. But you have so much education on the human body. And while there's a huge gap in our education system.

 

on nutrition and more than how to treat patients, you, I feel like have this gift, you have a lens to learn through from a nurse's perspective that is very different than mine and very different from a lot of our listeners. And so first,

 

I really just am so grateful to have you here. And can we expand further? I wanna hear, I wanna learn from you right now. I want our audience to learn from you about the gut through your words. And you just touched on it, but I wanna go further. I wanna go deeper into this because I'm always talking about the gut brain connection, the gut skin connection, the gut.

 

the connection between everything, but there is so much value in hearing it through a different perspective and different words and your education and your past gives you so much. What is the word that I'm looking for? It's different, right? Like.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (28:43.614)

A different perspective.

 

Juniper (28:45.741)

It's a different perspective. And I feel that we live in a culture that very, I mean, we are all conditioned to think we need to go to professionals and professionals who have been to many, many years of schooling to learn their profession, they are the most credible source. And while in many cases that is true, to some extent, I firmly,

 

believe that we know best for ourselves and we are our best advocates and our children's, but living in this culture where we prioritize these certifications so heavily, I sometimes feel intimidated showing up with my voice because I don't have those credentials and they haven't been part of my journey.

 

But you do, and we have arrived here in a very similar place. And so I feel that your voice is very, very powerful because you have both.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (29:53.718)

Yeah, I totally get that. And I agree with the alphabet soup behind people's names. At times I feel similar that like, oh, how can I be so credible when I don't have this certification or I don't have MD behind my name? But the reality is, is it all comes back to just learning it, the physiology. And then also I think the experience on top of it, personally, as well as years of doing nursing,

 

can be even more credible because there's a passion and an emotion behind it. And when we have that emotion behind it, it really, it takes hold more, especially for me. And in regards to like the science part, the research, there's always a gray area in research, which I think is where that experience part comes in. And then also, it takes like 10 to 17 years for things that are researched to come out into the world. For example, leaky gut, like,

 

I know when I've listened to things and read things like 10 years ago, people would laugh at that, be like, what are you talking about? This leaky gut. It's true. It's a real thing. Like if you look at the gut lining, there are junctions. And when you take in toxins, for instance, pesticides that are in your food, that starts to weaken the gut lining because the gut lining is strong, but it's not super thick. It's not like a bone. So it's a tissue. And so when

 

that starts to, things start to penetrate that or, you know, heavy stool because you don't have enough fiber or water sits there too long, it weakens it and then it opens. So it's like a little door. And when that junction is weak, that's when things start to go out into your cavity and then into your bloodstream where it's not supposed to go. And that is when the inflammation in your body will start. That's when you'll start to see things come out on your skin, eczema, acne, things of that nature will start to come out and...

 

It is fixable. It really is. It's just, you have to focus on what you're putting in your body and learn about the fact that is a real thing and that your gut really is the most important, one of the most important in my opinion, organs in your body. Because like I said, it feeds everything. You know, you put it in your mouth, you chew it, you taste it, all that, but it is already going into your bloodstream. And then your liver has to absorb things and process things. And then it all gets dispersed.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (32:20.054)

But if your gut is leaking, your gut is supposed to get rid of waste. It's not supposed to give you good things. Like it's not supposed to put things out into your body. It's supposed to get rid of, you know, take all the good nutrients and put all the bad ones out. But we're getting bad nutrients because, and toxins because it's broken. You know, our little door, our junction is broken.

 

Juniper (32:41.041)

So I heard you say a little bit ago that most people have leaky gut. So I talk about this a lot that the majority of our population has a gut imbalance of some severity. And when I say gut imbalance, this is, that's kind of like an umbrella for leaky gut, for candida yeast overgrowth, for whatever is imbalanced in the gut, whatever is happening that should not be happening.

 

And balancing the gut means healing the gut, healing leaky gut, healing Candida yeast overgrowth. And so I, in my research, I learned this. I learned how susceptible we all are to gut imbalance, leaky gut, yeast overgrowth, whatever that imbalance may entail. But...

 

So can we just have this conversation for a second? Like what you have learned and that most people have leaky gut.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (33:47.954)

Yeah. And I mean, like you said, that's a blanket statement, but just knowing what I know about our food source. I know most people my age and our age growing up, a lot of us were on canned food, processed food, because it was toted as the best way to do it. And the government decided this is the way we need to feed all these people. And we're going to feed grains to all of our animals. And then that's the best way to get enough food to people faster. And

 

when you look at those things, those are known to cause inflammation. And that inflammation is going to weaken the gut lining. And when that happens, it's just a fun mess.

 

Juniper (34:30.005)

So that's a really cool perspective to look at it. Like we could look at, we could like break down different generations and excuse me, and kind of like connect the dots. Right. And so I mean, when you are saying that, what I'm thinking is, yeah, like growing up in the eighties and nineties, excuse me, we, that is like, you know, I remember like slim fast drinks and slim fast bars and low fat and

 

You know, and then like the low sugar, their sugar substitutes came in and holy heck, like it wreaked havoc on our generation. And then you think back even further. So to our parents' generation, where it actually started pretty good for them. And so maybe this is true for...

 

most people in our parents' generation. But you know, thinking of my dad, he lives in this headspace of full trust for food pyramids and the, you know, the system. Because that's just what you do. You just listen and they know best and that's just how it is. And you know, I think as time has gone on, it has become more and more

 

money driven, you know, the initiative behind food recommendations and how things are created and processed. But but my dad's knowledge hasn't evolved with that. He still lives back to like the meat and potatoes. And that's just what it is. It's just, you know, you can buy a box of mashed potatoes at the grocery store and it never even dawns on him to

 

to read the ingredients, that it could possibly be more than just potatoes. And so I feel that generation has been sideswiped and he doesn't have this part of him that I have and that our generation has of like, wait a minute, I'm gonna question that for a second and learn about it myself. He does not have that.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (36:38.647)

Mm-hmm.

 

Juniper (36:55.605)

And so his gut is a hot mess. And I'm continuously like, okay, let's do another rebalance because he'll come to me like, I've got all these symptoms. Look at my back, I've got this rash. I've got these things coming up. I haven't pooped in three days, I'm so grumpy. Except he doesn't have those words, I'm so grumpy. I can just like feel his grumpy. And...

 

And so that whole generation, our food is not what our food once was. And it's really, really sad because that hasn't, uh, the knowledge of that hasn't like my dad doesn't have that knowledge. And so I can support him in rebalancing. It's got over and over and over. And.

 

He'll make great improvements, but he'll never heal because he's still getting his crap food that he thinks is what he needs.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (37:59.566)

Yeah. And to his defense in that generation, the, if we take a step back, the soil back then compared to now is drastically different. You know, if they did do mean potatoes, they definitely had more minerals, they had minerals in their food. Um, well then, you know, as the box food started coming in and things like that happened. But at the same time, like, you know, they're

 

Juniper (38:14.058)

I was just thinking that.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (38:28.754)

if they ate the whole food, it was actually nutritious. It was nutrient dense. And so that's a huge difference too. But like you said, if they just take it at face value that their food, you know, they're eating the same thing they did 50 years ago, but it's not the same food. And I even talk to friends now who are also in healthcare and they're like, why would I do it now? Why would I test for parasites now? We'd never had to do it again. And I was like shocked and I'm like, wait a minute.

 

Juniper (38:46.393)

E.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (38:56.03)

No, because our food source is so different. But then again, like me two and a half years ago, I wouldn't have known that. I had no clue. I just went along. Yeah.

 

Juniper (39:04.677)

Totally. Well, because we do, because we're just going along and marketing is so insanely powerful. And we are taught, we are conditioned to believe that these are the foods that we need. And going back to the quality of our soil and the meat and my potatoes that my dad ate as a child, those were nourishing to his body. Not only because...

 

the soil was dense in nutrients, but because it hadn't sat on a shelf, it hadn't been highly processed and now contains 10% potato and 90% lab-made fillers. And not only that, but those potatoes, they weren't sprayed with Roundup. And so not only was it more nutrient dense, but also it was dense with...

 

natural good bacteria. And I talk about this a lot, how our foods are now very much lacking the beneficial microbiome that it once had. And so we can't depend on our food to get

 

bacteria that our body needs to sustain balance and that's where supplementing comes in.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (40:33.718)

Yeah, I absolutely agree. I know in the past I had, you know, every now and then grabbed probiotic or something, just because we learned a little bit about it in pharmacology, but not really, or nutrition. But anyways, you know, when I'd have an antibiotic, I'd be like, oh, I need this. But once that, you know, severe gut infection happened, I really dove deep into it. And then by researching, listening to you and researching on my own, learning that there are...

 

numerous different types of bacteria that you need in your gut. Um, and the difference between a spore forming or non spore forming is huge because if you're taking something that has a gajillion, you know, billion bacteria, but you only get a quarter of it, is it really worth your time? No, it's not. And you know, some people say better something than nothing, but really it's not because invest in something that is actually going to help you heal and give you.

 

proper bacteria. I mean, it makes sense to me. I'm not gonna go buy a half-ass one and oops, sorry. And, you know, do it that way. So, okay. But yeah, I mean, quality is definitely important. And that's one thing that led me to only was that, you know, third-party testing is huge.

 

Juniper (41:38.509)

That's okay. They fly all the time for me too.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (41:54.826)

Because not only are you guys looking at it, this is a good one, but someone who's not invested in the actual company is looking at it and saying, yes, this is quality. This is exactly what you're getting. And a lot of people, I didn't realize how many people didn't realize that if you buy it off the shelf at a store, you may not be getting what's actually in there at all. Or a very tiny portion. And then you wonder why, you know, your vitamin D is low or you still don't feel any better on it.

 

Juniper (42:16.214)

Isn't it crazy?

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (42:25.282)

So.

 

Juniper (42:26.293)

It is absolutely wild to me. And I actually, you know, the deeper I get into my business, the more my awareness has expanded of just how little regulation there is for...

 

foods too, but also supplements. And like it is absolutely shocking to me, you know? So like my Balance CBD, for example, I could, you know, the hemp plant is a very absorbent plant and it's been used for a really long time to, you plant it in a field and it leeches all the toxins out of the field. Well, that hemp plant is now a concentrated toxic plant and they've been doing this worldwide for a really long time.

 

Well, now there's this booming industry for that hemp plant, which is CBD. And so I could look like this is why you see CBD at the gas station for a really low cost and why even at like, even at health food stores, you can find CBD, but you have to be really careful because unless if it is like, you know, where it is grown and how it is grown.

 

you can be sure as heck that you are ending up with a bottle of concentrated toxins. It pulls heavy metals, toxins out of those fields. And so I could honestly, balanced CBD is really expensive for me to source. It's grown in Colorado. It's like my third party testing is really extensive and I have a hold a very, very high standard for my CBD because of this. But I could literally buy CBD from China.

 

it in my same bottle with my same label and nobody would ever know. Like that is how little regulation there is and how scary it is and how important it is to

 

Juniper (44:30.325)

you know, purchase what you can trust.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (44:33.49)

Yeah, I absolutely agree with that. And it was interesting. I didn't know that whole side of hemp being used to pull the toxins out of the fields. That's very interesting and definitely eyeopening. So I can explain that to others who start to want to do CBD or already are, and really, you know, just kind of put that light bulb that maybe you should be investigating where it's coming from a little bit more. Um, if you're not.

 

getting the effects of what you're wanting because it's interesting. They'd love to know what they're actually feeling and what it's doing to their body.

 

Juniper (45:07.301)

Yeah.

 

Juniper (45:12.669)

Yeah, because I mean, isn't that's just like part of especially like, and it makes me, it's sad saying this, but like holistic wellness, I feel like there's this whole CBD, for example, right? Like where we as consumers can so easily be taken advantage of and we are spending our energy to purchase something to enhance our health. When a lot of what is available

 

is actually very detrimental to our health. And it's just so important. It's so important. And that is exactly why I started only, was because I got to experience the power of an alkaline based silver, and a spore forming probiotic, and a pure CBD, and the quality, like, you know, when my naturopath ran out,

 

I didn't know where else to go. It wasn't available. And I knew that it was my mission and my purpose to make the absolute best quality available to people so that you can actually heal with peace of mind that these supplements, like you can trust these. I trust them enough to give to my family every single day. And so selfishly, I created them for myself so that I could have that peace of mind.

 

And now sharing is really, really beautiful. And so speaking of supplements, I know that you reached out to me and you got a subscription to the Women's Gut Rebalance Kit. Will you share your experience, how many rebalances you've done, what you're doing today, how rebalancing your gut has been part of your healing journey?

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (47:06.878)

Yeah, so not even kidding. I think I was still in the hospital after my surgery in July of 2022, and I was ordering the Rebalance Kit because I knew after all of that, I had nine weeks of oral antibiotics plus probably four or five other weeks earlier in the year of antibiotics. And I know it takes a couple of years just for like a week of antibiotics to get out of your system. So I'm like, I really got to get on this. So

 

Juniper (47:28.369)

Wow.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (47:35.646)

I did the cleanse. I started the first rebalance. Yeah.

 

Juniper (47:37.617)

Can I pause you right there? Sorry, Christy, I think this is gonna blow people's mind. Will you repeat that? How long does it take for antibiotics to get out of your system?

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (47:49.838)

takes about seven to 10 days, or sorry, seven to 10 days worth of antibiotics can take about two years to get out of your system and to recover the good bacteria that you also took out with the bad bacteria.

 

Juniper (48:04.505)

Wow, okay, thank you.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (48:06.378)

Yeah. So I started my first rebalance in August of that year and I did that. And, you know, I did, I wasn't on point with the dietary changes. I did as much as I possibly could. Um, but I still felt a difference. Um, the mood shifted, um, my pre-menstrual symptoms started to decrease, um, which a lot of, um, moodiness, like a roll crazy roller coaster had subsided. Um.

 

So I've done that rebalance three times now. My kids have done it once as well as my husband. And we take it daily, every day, simply to help heal the gut because I know the importance of it to have all around health as well as supporting the immune system with kids going to school. I really focused on, you know.

 

loading them up, if you will, with that prior to starting school and then daily. And honestly, they've had maybe one cold, um, compared to their peers that have had multiple and even missed days. Um, we had a little flu outbreak and knock on wood because of what we're doing. Um, they honestly did not get it. So it's truly a testament. And the reason it's so important for the immune system, because the immune system lies directly outside of the gut.

 

Juniper (49:24.113)

Amazing.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (49:31.766)

70% of it is right there. So when I talked about those junctions being opened or weakened and those toxins hitting the immune system, that suppresses the immune system's ability to fight off infections. And so that's really a huge thing that I've learned over the past few years with not only my health, but then the good old fun COVID virus and all that, it all comes down to how supported your immune system is to be able to tackle those things.

 

Juniper (49:59.057)

Okay, so for anybody listening who is new and has not gotten the women's or children's gut rebalance kit, so there's a different dosage recommendation while you're rebalancing. And so what, Chrissy, you said you've done three rebalances? Okay. And then what she's currently doing is what I call maintenance dosing. So it's...

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (50:16.962)

Mm-hmm. In a year and a half. Yeah.

 

Juniper (50:27.777)

It's just a smaller dose. And this is what my family does every day too. We just take a very small dose of cleanse, one nourish probiotic, and we take Balanced CBD. I know that you do. I'm not sure if your family does. But we do, okay. So this is maintenance dosing. And this is because our gut bacteria naturally fluctuates. You know, even remove everything external and environmental.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (50:38.802)

Yes, I do. My kids don't yet.

 

Juniper (50:57.345)

our hormones change, our immune systems change, and then add in environmental, and we are exposed to different stresses. We are exposed to different, you know, flus and colds and bacterias, and all of that combined with our food really lacking, you know, the natural bacteria that it once had.

 

this maintenance dosing really helps to maintain our gut health and our immunity. So I love this and I love getting messages from you on Instagram is more at the beginning, but like just like the changes that you see. And sometimes when we...

 

You know, we go through the rebalance and we're in the maintenance. And this happens for me all the time where like this just becomes your new normal. And. I find myself all the time, like, is this is doing anything anymore? Life is so good. Like, do we still need this? What are we like? We're good. Um, and so I know for me, like, there are moments where I'm reminded of like, Holy cow, this is so powerful. And so do you have like any.

 

um, any memories or thoughts that come to you right now of like being able to use the supplements for your family and like noticing a shift. So maybe I'll let you think on it for a second and I'll share one of mine. So for me, when you know, this actually happened this last week over Christmas, we

 

My son was just having this like explosive moment. You know, there's a lot of stimulation over Christmas and a lot of difference and our rhythm is different. And naturally he was just, you know, he just had a moment. But I sat down with him and we talked about it and I am always really encouraging to my kids to like, for them to make the connection.

 

Juniper (53:09.945)

So we talked about the foods that we've been eating and if he feels like himself on the inside and does he have any ideas of what might be happening deeper than the superficial thing that caused this explosion. And he was able to say, I had like two piece of cake yesterday and I didn't sleep good last night and.

 

I don't really feel like myself inside. And so we were able to kind of dissect it together and he had a dose of cleanse and a nourish probiotic. And we just kind of sat it through together. And within 10 minutes, he was just like back and he was himself the rest of the day. And it's really cool to have those moments. And at the end of the day to connect and talk about, you know, is he feeling like himself again? And

 

you know, what helped shift that. It's okay. This is, I love that your dog's there. This is real life. And so I love this. Oh.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (54:16.27)

I don't even know whose dog that is.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (54:20.398)

It's not my dog.

 

Juniper (54:23.189)

hilarious that makes it even funnier. But just there's moments like that come up where I'm reminded how wildly powerful our guts are.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (54:40.042)

Yes, and similar to you, my son, when he did the rebounds, I really noticed their moods weren't as quick to turn. And also during that time, we had started limiting the gluten that we took in because I know in my soul that is a huge part of why my kids are the way they are sometimes, as well as sugar. And so during that time, we, you know,

 

limited that significantly compared to what they were taking in. And I could tell that their moods were a lot better. They were able to communicate better with me. And so knowing that I know that it's, it's a huge teaching lesson for me to help them understand that. Do you remember when we did that and you, you were able to talk to me a little bit easier and you, your mood was a little more stable and we can get back to that. We can have that on the daily.

 

Um, it's just going to take a little work. Um, and like adults, you know, Getting rid of old habits is challenging. So I try to give myself and my kids grace because this is a huge shift. Like, you know, we, we did the, the non-growing foods for awhile. And so we're slowly shifting into eating the more fresh foods and things like that. So shifting into taking these supplements daily is a big thing. So we did the rebounds, but then I felt that it'd be.

 

a little easier transition to keep that maintenance dose every day. And then within the next few months or so, we'll likely add on, um, another rebalance for everybody because they're in that daily habit. Um, and they do notice a change, um, when they do take it and it's their morning shot, it's like a little fun thing and they take it and

 

plug their nose because they think it tastes gross for some reason, even though I mix it with juice. I think it's psychological at this point, but I'm like, it's apple juice. So I don't know what you're talking about. But I think that they do notice a big difference, whether they like to admit it or not.

 

Juniper (56:41.774)

Oh, that's amazing.

 

Juniper (56:49.229)

Well, and I mean, you really touched on a part that's really hard for people. I think, you know, we do have our habits and especially, you know, our culture is very like wheat and sugar. Like those are like the staples and everything. And it's really hard to just suddenly eliminate those. But when you do starve that bad bacteria, yeast, mold and parasites while supplementing.

 

The shift is so crazy. And I love like your approach of doing the rebalance and then just maintaining and then rebalancing again. A lot of, you know, I'm like, my brain works in this very extreme way of like, this is what we're doing forever and this is how it is and bless my family there along for the ride. But that is not like.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (57:21.344)

Mm-hmm.

 

Juniper (57:46.149)

how everybody works and that's beautiful. And there's so many benefits to like, you know, ebbing and flowing and you know, rebalancing and then maintaining with supplements, but you know, allowing wheat and sugar and the foods that are more cultural foods. And then coming back to rebalance again, that's like a really beautiful and I think feasible way for so many people because my like,

 

extreme way that my brain works is not practical for everybody and it doesn't need to be. And so I love that you shared that. Kristi, I know that you have somewhere to be. So I have, I think, like two more questions for you. One, this is kind of short because we have gone, we've really touched on this, but how has focusing on your gut and healing your gut and your families

 

How has that changed your life?

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (58:48.27)

Um, healing our guts has really, it's really just opened up our minds to a different world in all honesty, because like I said before, you dive into what you're putting into your body that's causing, you know, the bad bacteria to overtake the good bacteria essentially. And so by changing that it's, it's allowing our minds to see a different future and have a generational change. Um, that will allow us to.

 

not have to worry about retirement of going to doctors all the time or, you know, you know, making sure we're not in a nursing home when we're old. Like, because we're taking care of ourselves now, you know, 10 years down the road, what we do now is going to affect us in 10 years. So I really think that's a huge change for us to focus on what goes in our in our body as well as on our body because it all it all shifts that.

 

Bacteria and like I said, it's all a part, it's the center of all of our health. The, what we put it in, how it digests, how it absorbs and how it comes out is all a center. And changing that focus to that has really shifted our household. And then we also joke because I always tell people to check your poop when you're in my house because I'm gonna ask you what it's like because it's a window to your health as well. So I can tell if...

 

you've had too much sugar or too much fat, that kind of thing. So it's a running joke, but in all seriousness, it is very important and it all is linked together.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (01:00:29.658)

to be able to live the way we want to live.

 

Juniper (01:00:33.937)

Well, I'm amazed with you and I'm kind of dying laughing inside because I'm also a proud poop detector. And I feel it is this like lost tool that so many people are like really grossed out by, but it is not. It is so like, it is such a, it is a natural part of every living thing. And it is truly the best window into our health and what is going on. And

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (01:00:43.15)

Thanks for watching!

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (01:00:48.782)

Totally.

 

Juniper (01:01:03.449)

The last thing I wanna touch on that you just said is I love this visual of our gut being the center. So I always like talk about it as like the root and the center of our health, but I've never like actually connected that to being the like actual physical center of our body, like the placement. Thank you, I really, that perspective is like, that's such a nice visual.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (01:01:21.3)

Mm-hmm.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (01:01:28.918)

Yeah, it came to me the other day. I'm like, it literally, literally is the center. Like your mouth is in the center of your face. That's where it all starts. Goes through the whole system in the center and comes out the center. So it just, it makes sense. And it's all connected. It absorbs it, processes it, it does everything.

 

Juniper (01:01:44.452)

It's

 

Juniper (01:01:50.453)

Oh, I really like that. So thank you. I might use it. Um, okay. So I know that your journey has, um, like it didn't end with you. You have now created something really powerful and amazing to share with others. You have left Western nursing. So can you share a little bit about that?

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (01:01:52.75)

Sure. Absolutely.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (01:02:16.714)

Yeah, so about a year and a half ago, I retired from the hospital, I call it, and started working for a company that does more wellness. But on the side of that, I also started developing my own functional and lifestyle medicine practice. And I actually found an amazing nurse who created the exact program that I wanted to create, but she did it. So I was like, I'm not about recreating the wheel.

 

And so that has led me to be able to start my own functional medicine practice, the mindful health solutions. And within that, um, really focus on the eight foundational, um, pieces of wellness. You know, we look at wellness or health and we think, Oh, nutrition and exercise. Just get that. It's, it's a lot more than that. I can tell you from experience, it's about your sleep. You have to get the sleep. Um, uh, nutrition, not only what you're putting in your mouth, but like I said,

 

Also how you're digesting that food. Are you digesting it? Are you chewing enough? How are you detoxing? Detoxing is huge because if things are settling in you, it's going to make you sluggish. It's not gonna make you work very well. Also focusing on the stressors in our life that are current as well as past because that holds in us. Then also our movement. Movement isn't the same for everyone.

 

Yes, we need to work on our skeletal muscle mass for just longevity and strength and flexibility, but how you do that is up to you. If you're not a gym person, okay. If you're more of a, you know, using your own body weight to do that, to create it, then so be it. That is one thing that we all need to work on is figuring out what movement works better for us. And then also the environment you're in. Are you in an environment that is going to support

 

you changing and making these shifts in your life, whether it's your physical environment as well as your community of people around you because proximity is power. If you're with people who aren't trying to level up their life and be better and feel better, then maybe that's not where you need to be. But at the same time, you can also be a leader for them as well. So focusing on these foundations is one huge thing that I implement with my clients.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (01:04:38.606)

And I'm not about telling people what to do. I'm about educating them to empower them. So that way they can have their vitality, how they wish to see it. So we really, it's a big collaboration and we work together to personalize your healing journey because it is a journey, it's a process, just like life. People always say, it's never ending. And I'm like, yes, it's never ending because it's life and you wanna continue to live even if it's a challenging thing.

 

you wanna continue to live. So I'm like, yes, I love it. Yes, it's a challenge, but I'm gonna take it because I'm living. And so working together so that you can thrive how you wanna thrive. Because we always, a lot of people we talk about, oh, I wanna be skinny like I was before and this and that, but you're not the same person you were 10 years ago. You have grown so much and had so many experiences in the last 10 years that the new, more fit, more...

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (01:05:36.538)

more, the stronger person that you become and can become is way better than you could have been 10 years ago when you were a size eight or whatever you want to be. But the big thing is that it's a process and I like being along that journey with people and educating them about what their labs actually mean. You know, you go to the doctor, they're like, you're fine. No.

 

I'm always like, well, what was your actual number and this and that? Like, I wanna know these things. And so we dive deep into not only like labs, the general Western traditional medicine labs, but then there's some added labs that look at a more holistic view of like inflammation. We can look at your hormones, the bacteria in your gut. We can definitely look at that because a lot of that is probably a root cause to, you know.

 

your emotions, your, you know, I don't want to say diagnosis, but different emotional things that are going on, your moods and things can be linked to bacteria in your gut. Um, so that's really a huge thing in my practice that I am big on the education for my clients to empower them to make their own decisions. Um, obviously I don't diagnose or treat, so I always recommend that you collaborate with your provider. Um,

 

But in the long run, it's really up to you and you taking that education and empowering yourself to feel the way you wanna feel.

 

Juniper (01:07:10.221)

Well, that is absolutely amazing. I am, as a friend, so proud of you for doing this, for creating something that actually can support people in healing instead of just treating like our system is so good at. And every time we chat back and forth, I am blown away with you.

 

you have, did you, you got like a new, did you get a functional medicine nurse practitioner certification or what is that?

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (01:07:51.199)

No, so it's a functional nurse program. RNs can do it as well. Basically, we have the ability through different companies, a lab company to order labs under a physician, as well as the functional medicine testing we can order under a physician's name as well. And being that I'm in Florida and a compact license, I can do this throughout the United States.

 

legally, safely, all of that kind of thing. And really the thing is that I'm not diagnosing, but I'm actually educating you on what those tests mean. And then from there can provide wellness, nutrition recommendations that could help. Essentially a lot of it boils down to the inflammation that's in the body.

 

Juniper (01:08:38.585)

Well, this is really remarkable because I know that the majority of people listening, myself included, because our wonderful naturopath was hired, feels like I don't really know where to go. Like, you know, I've recently been talking about, you know, I self-diagnosed myself with PMDD and you messaged me like, I don't know, like, let's look into this more. Like what is actually happening here? And

 

So we're gonna start working together and like do a hormone, like look at my hormones and look at different things and how amazing for us to have you as a resource of someone that we can come to because I know that so many people listening are like myself, like I don't have a practitioner to be totally honest that I will take any lab results too, but I trust myself enough to know that

 

you know, whatever you educate me on and whatever you teach me, I can make those decisions for myself and be the leader of myself. And so I'm sharing that because a lot of us don't have a health care provider that we trust. And I know for me, if I like, it can be very confusing when

 

we are educated on something and then we take it somewhere else and our system is so closed-minded to then be told completely different information than what our intuition knows is just really, really hard. And so I'm not trying to deter anyone from taking whatever it is, you know, your lab results or maybe you start working with Christie or, you know, even

 

the supplements and the gut rebalance kit, you know, a lot of people like wanna take that to a healthcare provider to make sure that it would be safe for them. And I absolutely encourage you to do that if that is what feels like what you need, but it's also really okay and powerful to take it to yourself and to be your leader and to trust yourself and...

 

Juniper (01:10:57.777)

Chrissy, I'm so excited for us to start working together and that you are available to any listeners who are looking for somebody to kind of hold their hand while they dive deeper into their own health. So thank you.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (01:11:16.746)

Yes, absolutely. Yes, for sure, for sure. And I want to commend you for educating yourself to the point where you're able to trust your decision with any healthcare or wellness type things, because that is a huge step to be able to trust yourself enough to be okay with not needing the approval of someone with an alphabet behind their name.

 

That is a challenging part. And I sometimes grapple with that as well. Even being a nurse, I still do. But the fact of the matter is that I've done the research, I've had the experience and I do trust myself. And that's something else that I will work on with clients is that you know more, like you said about yourself, than you actually know. I mean, you just have to know that gut intuition, no pun intended, is...

 

is true and it's real and it's raw and it's actually where you need to be.

 

Juniper (01:12:18.949)

Well, and the more like, you know, I wasn't born this way. Like this is something that has evolved for me since my child's health struggles almost, that started almost 10 years ago. Like it's been, it's been this evolution and it's been this process of me getting here. And the thing I want to say about that is the more we learn and the more we educate ourselves,

 

the stronger and the more we trust ourselves. And so I love that your practice is educating people because that is the most empowering thing we can share. That's why I have this podcast is to empower women with the information that I've learned so that you can trust yourself. It is the most liberating thing. When something comes up for my kids, I go inside. My first...

 

I'm not like instantly going out and be like, who do I need to go see? What do I need to go do? It's right here. And you know, of course I'm like open to exploring further and to running some labs with you and learning more. We're always learning, but it's this really powerful gift that we can give ourselves and we're never done learning. And the more we learn, the more independent we can be. So

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (01:13:46.547)

Absolutely, I completely agree.

 

Juniper (01:13:47.881)

Okay, Kristi, you have to go. And I'm so grateful for our time together. Thank you. The last thing I need to ask is, do you have a website? Can I link it in the show notes for our listeners if they want to? What is working with you? What does that look like?

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (01:13:50.751)

Mm-hmm.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (01:13:54.85)

Thank you.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (01:14:06.206)

I don't have a website quite yet, but there will be plenty of information coming on my Instagram and then hopefully within the next couple of months I will have the website up and running. So if they just want to reach out to my Instagram, I will also have my link tree will have information about kind of generally what it looks like to work with me. And then

 

Juniper (01:14:09.378)

Okay, that's okay.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (01:14:30.378)

you know, if they want to schedule a discovery call, consultation call, just to get to know each other, see what we're all about. We can most certainly do that as well.

 

Juniper (01:14:40.561)

Amazing. So I'm going to put your Linktree link right in the show notes so people can come like and I'll put your Instagram there so people can easily find you and work with you if that feels aligned. Thank you, Christy. I'm so grateful for your time.

 

Krysti Jonas I The Mindful Health Nurse (01:14:53.485)

Awesome. Thank you so much. Same here.