Ready to stop playing food detective and actually feel good, enjoying food again? If you're exhausted from cutting out every food under the sun and still dealing with food sensitivities, this episode is for you.
Jenn Trepeck is joined by the Autoimmunity Nutritionist, VJ Hamilton on Salad With a Side of Fries for an honest talk about gut health, chronic fatigue, and why that endless list of food sensitivities might not be about the food at all. VJ gets personal about her own autoimmune disease journey and shares the functional medicine secrets that have helped her and her clients ditch the restrictions and heal the root cause. Together, they break down nutrient depletion, inflammation management, digestive issues, and simple daily habits that support root cause healing without making you feel like a failure every time you eat.
What You Will Learn in This Episode:
✅ Why nutrient depletion and digestive issues are often the real culprits behind food sensitivities—not the foods themselves—and how to address nutrient absorption at the cellular level
✅ How to support your gut health through simple daily practices like stewed apples, bone broth, and vagal tone exercises that regulate your immune system support
✅ The connection between stress management, shallow breathing, and chronic fatigue, plus practical ways to calm your nervous system and improve digestion
✅ When to temporarily eliminate trigger foods while working on root cause healing versus living in permanent inflammation management restriction mode
The Salad With a Side of Fries podcast, hosted by Jenn Trepeck, explores real-life wellness and weight-loss topics, debunking myths, misinformation, and flawed science surrounding nutrition and the food industry. Let’s dive into wellness and weight loss for real life, including drinking, eating out, and skipping the grocery store.
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Nutrient depletion is often the real issue behind food sensitivities, not the foods themselves
05:32 VJ's journey from CPA to Autoimmunity Nutritionist after multiple autoimmune disease diagnoses
10:20 Why physicians focus on symptoms instead of root cause healing for inflammation management
14:57 Common signs of gut health issues: brain fog, anxiety, chronic fatigue, and digestive issues
17:50 Why autoimmune disease affects women more than men: hormones, stress, and X chromosomes
23:14 How to heal instead of restrict: addressing gut microbiome imbalances and nutrient absorption
28:20 Simple daily practices for gut health: stewed apples, bone broth, omega-3s, and polyphenols, and why movement is key to feeling well
33:16 Stress management through vagal tone stimulation: deep breathing, gargling, and singing
36:40 Improving nutrient absorption by eating in a rested state and chewing food properly
40:01 Working on the gut so you can reintroduce foods
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
💎 Food sensitivities often stem from gut microbiome imbalances, inflammation, or poor nutrient absorption rather than the foods themselves—healing your gut can help you reintroduce foods you once reacted to.
💎 Supporting vagal tone through simple practices like deep belly breathing, gargling, and singing helps shift your body from fight-or-flight to rest-and-digest, dramatically improving digestive issues and immune system support
💎 Nutrient depletion happens not just from inadequate intake but also from poor digestion, wrong nutrient forms, or inability to utilize nutrients at the cellular level—addressing root cause healing requires looking beyond what's on your plate
💎 Temporary food sensitivities elimination while working on underlying gut health is different from permanent restriction—the goal is always to heal and reintroduce, not live in limitation forever
ABOUT THE GUEST:
VJ Hamilton, AKA The Autoimmunity Nutritionist, is the founder of the Autoimmune Nutrition Clinic and a leading expert in autoimmune disease, specialising in skin disorders, chronic fatigue, joint health, and digestive issues for both men and women. As a Registered Nutritionist with a Medical Science degree (BSc) in Biochemistry & Immunology and a Certified Functional Medicine Practitioner at the renowned Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM), VJ uses evidence-based nutritional therapies to support her clients in transforming their health.
After overcoming her own experience with multiple autoimmune conditions, including alopecia areata, psoriasis, and post-viral chronic fatigue syndrome, VJ has been symptom-free for over ten years. She now supports others through her clinical work and her membership in The Root Reset® Circle, helping people take a personalised, root-cause approach to autoimmune health and regain confidence and control over their well-being.
VJ also hosts the highly regarded podcast The Autoimmune Reset®, where she provides expert insights into managing autoimmune diseases and offers practical advice to improve their health and well-being. She has been featured in Vogue, GQ, Cosmopolitan, and The Telegraph and is the co-author of Empowerment in Health & Wellness. A passionate advocate for autoimmune health, VJ has hosted a variety of corporate and in-person events, as well as webinars on topics such as menopause, arthritis, and inflammatory skin issues.
RESOURCES:
Become a Happy Healthy Hub Member
Jenn’s Free Menu Plan
A Salad With a Side of Fries
A Salad With A Side Of Fries Merch
A Salad With a Side of Fries Instagram
About Uncomplicating Wellness
Text ‘Book’ to 833-801-0500
GUEST RESOURCES:
The Autoimmunity Nutritionist - Website
The Autoimmune RESET - Podcast
The Autoimmunity Nutritionish - YouTube
VJ Hamilton - Autoimmune Expert BSc - Instagram
VJ Hamilton: The Autoimmunity Nutritionist - Facebook
The Autoimmunity Nutritionist - LinkedIn
The Autoimmune Forum | Unite, Support & Thrive with Autoimmune Disease | Facebook
QUOTES:
03:17 "We're going to give everybody options instead of continuously removing foods from their life." - Jenn Trepeck
14:03 "Doctors are focusing on the symptoms and addressing those specific things, maybe removing triggers versus saying okay, let's get to the underlying issue to truly heal." - Jenn Trepeck
23:26 "The reason that we are reacting to so many foods is often that there is an underlying imbalance in the body, which for the most part is in the gut." - VJ Hamilton
23:40 "A lot of times the recommendation is to remove gluten, remove dairy, and people start to feel some relief and then they say, okay, this is just going to be the rest of my life." - Jenn Trepeck
27:14 "You may remove certain foods so that we're not continuing to assault the system while we do things to heal, and then the objective would be that we heal and we could potentially add some things back in." - Jenn Trepeck
31:26 "Movement is really key. If you're not moving, it means that your lymphatic system can become quite sluggish, and this helps to move immune cells around the body and helps to detoxify and get rid of the waste." - VJ Hamilton
SEO KEYWORDS:
Jenn Trepeck, Salad With A Side Of Fries, Nutrition Nugget, Health Coach, Weight Loss For Real Life, Autoimmune Disease Nutrition. Stop Eliminating Foods, Gut Health, Nutrient Depletion, Chronic Fatigue, Food Sensitivities, Inflammation Management, Root Cause Healing, Digestive Issues, Immune System Support, Vagal Tone, Stress Management, Nutrient Absorption, Functional Medicine, Autoimmune Recovery, Gut Microbiome, Autoimmune Nutrition Clinic, Food Elimination Diet, Gut Barrier Function, Short Chain Fatty Acids, Histamine Intolerance, Brain Fog Solutions, Joint Pain Relief, Chronic Inflammation, Psoriasis Treatment, Alopecia Areata, Functional Medicine Practitioner, Digestive Enzyme Support, Lymphatic System Health, Blood Sugar Regulation, Perimenopausal Symptoms, Gut Brain Axis, Stomach Acid Levels, Microbiome Balance, Anti-Inflammatory Diet, Nervous System Regulation, How To Heal Autoimmune Disease Naturally, Stop Food Restriction Start Healing
