Episode 121

Where Does the Food Go?

Published on: 24th November, 2021

Eat for nutrition! Think about your macronutrients and micronutrients! We hear this all the time. But HOW does it all happen? How does your omelet turn into fuel for your cells? What actually happens to get our broccoli from the way we eat to the way our bodies can use it? This episode has your answers! Included is not just the anatomy and physiology of the gastrointestinal tract but the daily steps we can take to ensure proper function plus tools for extra support and repair. After all, perhaps it's not so much about what we eat...but what we absorb!     

Outline:

  • Welcome back & intro today's topic
  • Welcome back, Christine
  • The why behind today's topic, normalizing signs of GI upset & dysbiosis
  • The digestive process from a Chinese Medicine perspective
  • The purpose of digestion
  • Part 1 of the GI System: Cephalic, upper heater
  • Mechanical & chemical mechanisms
  • The senses
  • How taste works
  • Moving food through the esophagus
  • The impact of stress
  • Part 2 of the GI System: Gastric, middle heater
  • Stomach, gall bladder, pancreas
  • Organs vs glands
  • Acid reflux, gastritis, inflammation
  • The size of the stomach & feeling full
  • When someone doesn't have a gall bladder
  • Part 3 of the GI System: Intestines, lower heater
  • Small intestine & large intestine
  • Absorption
  • Lymph system
  • Your colon
  • The role of stress & exercise
  • What can we do daily for our GI health
  • Exercise
  • Massage
  • Hydration
  • Relaxation
  • Nutrition: fiber
  • Chewing gum
  • A note of caution on antibiotics/medications
  • How to add probiotics to support
  • Recommendations for extra GI support & repair
  • Aloe
  • Digestive Enzymes
  • Fiber powder
  • Probiotics & chewable probiotics
  • Final thoughts

Links:

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Quotes:

"Western medicine compares us to each other...Eastern medicine compares us to how the body was designed to function." – Jenn Trepeck

"Normalizing GI upset is a disservice to us all."   – Jenn Trepeck

"Ever look at food or smell food and get hungry? That's your digestion turning on!"  – Jenn Trepeck

"The body produces about 8oz of digestive juices from the pancreas each day."  – Jenn Trepeck

"If we have a smoothie or a juice, it does  impact the fiber content of our vegetables and fruits."– Jenn Trepeck

"Generally, take probiotics during the course of antibiotic treatment and for 6 months after."– Jenn Trepeck

"Chew your food."– Jenn Trepeck

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About the Podcast

Salad With a Side of Fries Nutrition, Wellness & Weight Loss
Nutrition tips that actually work. Real-life healthy eating, balanced diet tools, and weight loss tips you can use today with coach Jenn Trepeck.*

If you have searched for nutrition tips, tried to keep a healthy lifestyle, or felt stuck following popular weight loss tips, this podcast is for you. Get straightforward wellness advice that works in real life, plus strategies for a balanced diet, sustainable healthy eating, and a smarter approach to fitness and nutrition. Is your diet making you hungrier, crankier, or less healthy? Tune in and find out.*

Free gift: Schedule a 15-minute curiosity call with Jenn to explore what is possible for you. https://asaladwithasideoffries.com/contact/

Welcome to Salad with a Side of Fries, where wellness meets real life. Award-winning host Jenn Trepeck, health and lifestyle coach and author of Uncomplicating Wellness, cuts through the noise with clear answers you can trust. Ranked in the top 1.5% of podcasts worldwide, the show won Ear Worthy’s Best Health Podcast in 2024 and 2025 and was nominated for Best Independent Podcast both years. Jenn also won Women Who Podcast’s Stellar Interview award in 2025 after being named one of Podcast Magazine’s 40 under 40 in 2022.

Jenn’s motto is “wellness without the weirdness.” With more than 17 years coaching after solving her own food struggles, she knows how confusing the industry can be. Each week you get the foundations of a balanced diet, sustainable healthy eating, metabolism basics, and long-term holistic health, plus straight talk on fad diets and supplements.

What you will get by listening:
✅How to eat and how to cheat, guilt-free
✅Nutrition tips that work in the real world
✅Weight loss tips that are effective, never restrictive
✅How to build a balanced plate at home, on the road, and eating out
✅Smart strategies for sustainable habits that include your favorite foods
✅Evidence-based insights on fitness and nutrition
✅Conversations about holistic health that go beyond food
✅Wellness advice you can use right away


About Jenn Trepeck:
Jenn is a health coach, speaker, and consultant who blends humor with practical science. She has helped thousands improve energy, metabolism, and confidence in their choices through one-on-one coaching, group programs, her book, and this podcast.

Connect with Jenn and the show:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenntrepeck/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saladwithasideoffriespod
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jenntrepeck
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JenniferTrepeck/
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/425796548337541/
Website: https://asaladwithasideoffries.com/

If you are ready to trade guilt for freedom, confusion for clarity, and boring salads for fries on the side, press play. Health gets doable here.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This podcast and its guests are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

About your host

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Jennifer Trepeck

“My passion for nutrition and helping others stems from “kicking my food issues” with my own weight management saga.” ~ Jenn

I believe that the greatest accountability is paying it forward! That’s why I teach the nutrition education we are all supposed to know but no one ever taught us, along with the science behind food, fitness, and health.

After I graduated from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business, I founded Better Life Now LLC while working full-time in hedge funds. In 2019, I took my practice from side-hustle to full-time self-employment and launched my podcast, Salad With a Side of Fries. On the show, we offer science-based tips and tricks for how to achieve wellness and weight loss for real life – because who wants a life without fries or dessert?!

Topics we tackle on the podcast include debunking fad diets, food myths, misinformation in marketing, bad science, and general nutrition. I encourage guests whose expertise is different from my own focus on weight management to bring their unique, fact-based perspectives to talk about subjects they are educated in and passionate about.

Due to my decade-long experience of working with clients, I have gained insight into the health and food industry and the how-tos of building a business.

Some specific health and wellness topics I can speak to include debunking fad diets, exposing the BS we are fed by the food and diet industry, how the people around us can positively and negatively impact our health journey, and shifting mindsets in order to overcome inappropriate barometers of success to instead achieve happy, healthy, and meaningful change.

On the subject of business, I can help you by teaching my critical pieces every entrepreneur should know, how to make your side-hustle into your full-time job, ways to sustainably achieve success without burning out, contemporary networking, and how to prioritize wellness while pursuing your projects.

When I find some free time, I’m typically working out at Physique57, discovering hidden gem restaurants in NYC, or traveling to spend time with friends and family.

I’d love to have an in-depth conversation with you, whether it’s leveling up in business or debunking food myths!