Episode 11: Happy Gut, Happy You

In this episode, Dr. Kacey shares insights from a recent talk she gave to teenage girls—and why this conversation matters for all of us.

Because gut health isn’t just about digestion.

It impacts how you feel:

•  Physically 
•  Mentally 
•  Emotionally 

Including things like energy, mood, focus… and even how you see yourself.

If you’ve ever struggled with:

•  Brain fog or lack of clarity 
•  Mood swings or emotional ups and downs 
•  Feeling disconnected from your body 

This episode will help you understand how your gut plays a central role in all of it.

And more importantly—how small, simple shifts can begin to support your metabolism, hormones, and brain in a way that actually changes how you feel day to day.

This is a conversation worth hearing—and sharing.

🧠 Your Next Step (Start Here)

👉 The Weight, Energy & Stress Reset Guide ($9.99)
A simple, practical way to begin supporting your gut, stress response, and energy—without overwhelm. Click Here to grab yours.

🔬 Want to Understand What’s Driving Your Symptoms?

👉 Adrenal Optimization Test (AOT)
If your energy is inconsistent, your mood feels off, or your body feels reactive—this test gives you insight into your stress response and cortisol rhythm. Click Here to order yours.

👉 Mineral Analysis (HTMA)
For deeper insight into long-term stress, gut support needs, and metabolic resilience. Click Here to order yours.

🌿 Deeper Support

👉 Memory Momentum Method
A structured approach to support brain health, clarity, and long-term cognitive resilience. Click Here to learn more.

👉 The Anchored Journey (1:1 Care)
A personalized, lab-driven plan to help you restore your metabolism, hormones, and brain—with expert guidance every step of the way. Click Here to learn more.

🛍️ Support Your Body

👉 Get Healthy Store (Practitioner-Grade Supplements)
Targeted support for gut health, energy, hormones, and brain function. Shop Here

📩 Stay Connected

👉 Dr. Kacey’s Corner (Weekly Newsletter)
Weekly tools, insights, and real talk to help you feel like yourself again. Click Here to get your weekly dose.

📚 Recommended Resources

“Safe Hormones, Smart Women” – Lindsay Berkson
https://amzn.to/3vEuikF

“The End of Alzheimer’s Program” – Dale Bredesen
https://amzn.to/3TT5COB

“First Survivors of Alzheimer’s” – Dale Bredesen
https://amzn.to/3TTNuEq

“How to Do The Work” – Nicole LePera
https://amzn.to/4c61Tno

Gut health isn’t just about your stomach.
 It’s about how you think, feel, and show up in your life.

And when you start supporting it—
 everything else begins to follow.

Connect with us:

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:10

Hey there, wellness warriors, and welcome to the Anchor to Wellness Show, your compass in the sea of holistic health. I'm Casey Wallace, and I'm your passionate advocate for vibrant well-being. And after witnessing countless patients caught in the cycle of sick care model, I became really disenchanted with the conventional healthcare system. It's a system where people aren't truly getting better, they're just simply managing symptoms. But I refuse to accept this as the norm, and I'm determined to shift the paradigm from sick care to well care. I have embarked on a journey into the realms of functional medicine and holistic health, and in each of these episodes, we will dive deep into the latest research, debunking myths, and unlocking the secrets to optimal wellness. From brain health to hormone balance, we'll cover it all with a blend of science, soul, and a dash of controversy. Together, we're making waves to reclaim control of our health destiny and anchor ourselves to wellness. So whether you're seeking clarity on brain fog or ready to reclaim your vitality, you're in the right place. So let's make waves and set sail towards a life anchored in wellness. I recently gave this talk to a group of teenage girls at a camp, and I thought it would be great for everyone to hear. There are so many mental health issues in our world, and I just wanted to give some practical insight on why this could be happening. I'm a strong believer that our gut plays a pivotal role in our mental health, and a happy gut can usually help us to feel better on all levels, physically, emotionally, and mentally. So if you know someone who is struggling, pass this episode on to them. This can be profound for our young people because they are dealing with so much. They have so many pressures, and we will discuss some simple action steps to put into place to help the gut be healthier. Even just small, simple things can lead to big changes. I'm a doctor who specializes in something called functional medicine, and that means that I look at the whole person, mind, body, spirit, and especially their lifestyle when I'm helping people to stay healthy or to get healthy. Today we're going to talk about some really important topics: gut health, emotional health, and even our body image. These might sound like big, complicated ideas, but don't worry, we'll break them down together and make it easy to understand. When I was young, I didn't know how much my gut affected my emotions or even how I felt about my body. I wish someone would have told me what I'm going to share with you. And my goal is to give you some useful tips and some knowledge that can really help you feel best both inside and out. I would like to share a little bit about my faith journey and how I think it played a huge role in my life so far. I've been a Christian for as long as I can remember, and God has been an integral part of my journey. I thank God so much for introducing me to functional medicine because it has truly saved my life. For many years, I suffered from a condition called irritable bowel syndrome or IBS. I went through all the treatments that traditional doctors could offer, but nothing seemed to work. It was really, it was a tough time for me. But then I started learning about functional medicine, which looks at the whole person, mind, body, and spirit. I decided to do my own gut testing and my own work, and I literally almost cried when I got my results back. It felt like God had led me down a path to truly learn how to heal myself. And through this journey, I have learned so much about how the gut can impact our mental and emotional health. Now I am healthier than I have ever been. I believe that my faith has been a crucial part of my journey, helping me understand more about healing and guiding me to help others in mind, body, and spirit. And I am so grateful to be able to share this knowledge. And I hope it can help you on your journey to health and happiness. So let's talk about why this is important. Understanding our gut health and emotions and body image, they're all connected. It's really important to understand why they're all connected and how they're all connected. We have to think about having a better mood and mental health. And did you know that the gut and brain are constantly talking to each other? A healthy gut can help you feel happier and less stressed. Eating the right foods can boost your mood and help with overall feeling better and even help with anxiety and depression. Because most of the gut is part of our whole gut-brain connection. And serotonin, which is a feel-good hormone, is largely produced in the gut. So you can see if your gut's not healthy, you're not going to have serotonin as much and you're not going to feel good. So we can also think about feeling confident about our body, and it's easy to feel pressured by what we see on social media and TV. But when you take care of your gut, it can help your skin look better and make you feel more comfortable in your body. And we're going to talk about how to focus on health instead of our looks overall. We also want to talk about having more energy and better focus. Do you ever have you ever felt tired or like it's hard to concentrate? A healthy gut can give you more energy and help you stay focused. It's great for doing well at school or work or even in any activities that you really love to do. I want to talk about how this can benefit you overall. We are going to learn about how healthy eating habits are really good for the gut and how to make smart choices that keep you feeling your best. And we're going to talk about how we can improve our self-esteem. And by understanding how we can take care of our body from the inside out, we can build confidence and a positive self-image. Also, we have to learn about stress management. And I'm going to talk about simple ways to manage stress and stay calm, which is so important for our overall well-being and a huge part of our gut health. Because if you don't have a healthy gut, you're going to feel more stressed. And if you're more stressed, it's hard to have a healthy gut. So we want to really be able to take care of that. Remember, taking care of your gut isn't just about avoiding stomach aches, it's about feeling good emotionally and physically. And I want to leave here today with some practical tips and tools that you can start using right away to improve your health and happiness. So let's talk about what is gut health. Gut health is about keeping our digestive system working so well that you can feel your best. And inside your gut, there's a whole world of tiny living things called the microbiome. These include bacteria, fungi, and other microbes that help break down food, protect against harmful germs, and even talk to your brain. This microbiome is our little helpers. There are trillions of these tiny superheroes living inside our intestines. That's our microbiome. These good bacteria and other microbes are like your gut's defense system. They are a whole team that work together. They help digest your food. They make vitamins, they help you absorb your food. Food is fuel, so we want to use the right fuel to help fuel the whole system. And the immune system is largely housed in the gut, so we can keep our immune system stronger if our gut is healthier. Our gut is not just for digesting food, it is a big part of our immune system. Special immune cells in the gut protect you from infections and keep everything in balance. And when your gut is healthy, it helps your whole body stay strong and fight off sickness. And then let's talk about neurotransmitters. Think about the word neurotransmitter. Neurotransmitter. So we're transmitting information down neurons, which are our cells in our nervous system. Did you know that that gut and brain, they're always chatting? It is such a true thing. There's a reason why we say we have a gut feeling about something. Your gut has its own nervous system that talks to your brain through these chemicals called neurotransmitters. These chemicals can affect how you feel emotionally and even how well you think and learn. Neurotransmitters are also part of how we feel mood-wise, and we can feel good if our neurotransmitters are doing what they're supposed to be doing. Understanding how to take care of your gut means you can help these tiny little superheroes be happy and work hard for you. And when your gut is healthy, it can make a big difference in how you feel every day, physically and emotionally. So let's talk about why digestion is important. Digestion is like the body's engine, it's breaking down the food you eat into nutrients that your body can use for energy growth and repair. But it's not just about getting energy. Good digestion is key to overall health in many ways. When we talk about the need for nutrient absorption, we also need to realize that when eating healthier, we are giving our body the building blocks it needs to run all the systems our body needs. If we're eating junk food, then that's just like putting junky fuel in a car. It's not going to run appropriately. When food is properly digested, nutrients like vitamins and minerals and proteins are absorbed into our bloodstream. And these nutrients are essential for every part of your body to work well, from your brain to your muscles and everything in between. We also can think about digestion as a fueling up of our body's gas tank. When digestion is efficient, you feel more energetic and you're ready to take on the day's activities, whether it's playing a sport or studying, doing work, or just having fun with friends and family. And the immune system is housed in our gut. So good digestion helps keep the immune system strong. It helps us to be healthy, fight off infections, even helps with allergies. There's so many things that we need the immune system in the gut to do, and that's why it's so important to keep our gut healthy. And believe it or not, your gut and brain are best buddies, and they can communicate through nerves and chemicals affecting your brain, your mood, your stress levels, and even how well you think and learn. A healthy gut means a happier brain. Your digestive system also helps remove waste and toxins from your body. When digestion is sluggish, these toxins can build up and make you feel tired, sick, or just not your best. Taking care of your digestion isn't just about avoiding stomach aches, it's about making sure your whole body runs smoothly and feels great. By eating well, staying hydrated, and taking time to relax, you can support your digestion and enjoy better overall health. I do want to talk a little about the role of poop in bowel health. So let's, if that makes you uncomfortable, I'm sorry, but poop is very important to talk about. And literally one of the first questions I ask people is what does your poop look like? Your poop can tell you a lot about your overall bowel health and even your overall health. So consistency is important. Healthy poop is usually soft but formed. It will look like a smooth sausage or soft serve ice cream when it comes out of the machine. It should not be too hard or too loose. The color of your poop is important. Normal poop is usually brown, but slight variations in the shade are normal depending on your diet. Green can indicate you're eating a lot of leafy greens, red might mean you've eaten beets, or you could it could indicate even bleeding. So it might not be from those beets. So if you feel like something's abnormal here, then you need to get help with that. So what makes gut health so important? It's not just about a happy tummy, it's keeping your whole body in top shape. We want to balance our microbiome. Those are those trillions of bacteria. We can do that through foods like yogurt, kefir, and vegetables that give those that give those microbes nutrients that will help keep them strong and happy. Fiber-rich foods, fiber is like superheroes for the gut. It helps keep things moving smoothly and feeds those good gut bacteria. So these are foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and beans that are packed with fiber. So try to include them in your meals every day. I like to talk about a rainbow diet, eating a rainbow of foods every day. Think about getting every color of the rainbow, and that will really help to increase the amount of fiber you're getting in your diet. And then we look about probiotics. Probiotics are live bacteria that are found in foods like yogurt, sauerkraut, and kombucha. They help boost your gut guts. Good bacteria. And they are found in foods like garlic, onions, and bananas. And together, probiotics and prebiotics make a really powerful team for gut health. I know you've heard this a million times, but drinking plenty of water helps keep your digestive system running smoothly. It helps break down food, absorb nutrients, and flush out waste. So think about drinking at least eight glasses of water a day. That would be about 60 ounces if you are sweating more profusely. You need to do more than that. I usually say drink about half your body weight in ounces every day. So that means if you weigh 150 pounds, you should drink about 75 ounces of water. And maybe more if you're really active or you're getting hot and sweaty every day. And also exercise. Exercise isn't just good for your muscles, it's good for your gut too. Moving your body helps keep digestion regular and even supports that healthy microbiome. You could be dancing, playing sports, or going for a walk. Find activities that you enjoy and get moving. Think about movement throughout the day. Try not to just do a 30-minute workout and then just sit on the couch the rest of the day. Just movement throughout the day can be super beneficial so the gut doesn't just kind of sit there. Um, believe it or not, stress really can affect your gut health. When you're stressed, your gut can get upset. So finding ways to relax and manage stress like deep breathing or yoga or talking to someone you trust can help keep your gut healthy and happy. Taking care of your gut health isn't hard. Just focus on eating lots of fiber, probiotics, and staying active, being hydrated, all those things can make a huge difference, and your gut will thank you. You will feel better on the inside and out. I do want to kind of switch gears and talk about how gut health affects our emotional well-being. We've kind of alluded to that gut brain axis, and there is a reason why we get a gut feeling about something. It turns out there's a that's a there's a good reason for that, as we've kind of already alluded to, and that is that our gut and our brain are always talking to each other through that special communication system called the gut brain axis. And it's just like a superhighway of nerves and chemicals that connect your gut, your stomach, intestines, and all that directly to your brain. This superhighway sends messages back and forth all the time. When your gut is happy and healthy, it sends messages back to your brain, making you feel good and ready to take on the day. And your gut can affect how you feel emotionally. The good bacteria and other microbes in your gut produce chemicals called neurotransmitters. These chemicals can impact your mood and emotions. For example, serotonin, that's that feel-good neurotransmitter. It's mostly made in our gut. So if your gut is out of balance, it will send a signal to your brain that may make you feel stressed, anxious, or even sad. And that's why taking care of your gut health is so important for your overall well-being. By eating healthy foods that support your gut, like fruits, vegetables, probiotic rich foods, you can have you can keep this communication system strong and your mood bright. So next time you have a gut feeling, remember it is your gut and your brain working together to try to keep you feeling your best. So let's talk about that impact and how the gut affects our anxiety, depression, and stress. And that is so important to know that our if our guts are not happy, it's very hard to feel good mentally and emotionally. If that gut bacteria is out of balance, it triggers what's called inflammation in our bodies. And this inflammation can send signals to our brain, and that makes us feel a little more anxious and stressed. And you can then see how that circles back around and with that whole gut brain axis, makes our gut not healthy. So it's just a terrible cycle to be in. So we really want to try to break that cycle. A healthy gut with plenty of good bacteria can help reduce inflammation and support a more balanced mood. Because the serotonin, which is that happy hormone that is mostly produced in our gut, good bacteria in our guts help produce that serotonin, and that lifts our mood and reduces feelings of sadness. When your gut microbiome is imbalanced, it can affect serotonin production, and that can lead to feelings of depression. So you can see how it is all interconnected. Neurotransmitters are like these messengers between the brain and the body, and they they do help to regulate our mood and energy levels. And I want to spend a minute talking a little more about serotonin and dopamine because they are heavily influenced by the gut and largely affect how we feel. Serotonin is made, about 90% of the body's serotonin is produced in the gut, and this is a neurotransmitter that helps regulate mood, sleep, and appetite. And that healthy gut microbiome helps support the production of serotonin. And dopamine is another important neurotransmitter that affects our motivation, pleasure, and reward. The balance of that gut bacteria can influence dopamine levels, impacting how you feel motivated and satisfied. So that's why certain foods do make us feel better, is because they do hit dopamine receptors, which are responsible for motivation, pleasure, and reward. So if we're trying to keep that all balanced, we probably won't crave as much bad food and sugary foods. We won't be looking for those dopamine hits as long as our gut bacteria and our guts overall are staying healthy. So this is things like eating balanced meals, good proteins, good healthy fats, a good amount of fiber. Think about the rainbow, like multiple colors from the rainbow and those probiotic rich foods like yogurts and fermented vegetables. I will say yogurt can be bad. So look at the labels, make sure it doesn't have a ton of sugar because sugar is largely contributing to the downfall of our healthy microbiome. So make sure that the yogurt is not just cram-packed with sugar. If it has any type of cookies or candy on it, it is not a healthy yogurt. You want to also look for things that have live cultures. That is things like Greek yogurts or even kombucha, things like that. We also want to be thinking about managing our stress. We've alluded to this, like a healthy balance of those neurotransmitters are here to promote that emotional well-being. And understanding all of this can show us that it is important to nurture our gut and not just feed our guts junk food all day and give ourselves some good healthy foods and not just eating junk and sugar and processed foods all day. And our gut is happy. When it's happy, we will feel more happy as well. So we've talked about some things we can do, but here are some very practical tips you can do to help your gut, and that is eating the variety of fruits and vegetables, not just a bunch of sugar and processed foods. Think about those colors, fiber, vitamins. This provides antioxidants. It helps us to stay healthy and boost our moods. We've alluded to fermented foods like probiotics. These give you good bacteria. We want to avoid too much sugar and processed foods. They can really upset the balance of bacteria in our gut and lead to inflammation. There's a lot of push right now that our food system is creating a lot of addictions with foods. It's not even really our faults. They're just putting more and more addicting substances into our foods, and that is making us crave even more. So you can see you crave the food, you mess up your microbiome, therefore, you get more inflammation, therefore, you don't feel as good. You don't have as much serotonin, you don't have as much dopamine, so you crave more foods to try to help that, to try to help that dopamine hit, you know, get that hit with chocolates and sugars and things like that. So really figuring out how to decrease the amount of sugars in your diet and eating less processed foods is so important for long-term health. So looking at things like proteins and healthy fats, we have to get away from eating so much sugar. If a food has over, you know, five or 10 grams of added sugars, it's probably not something you want to be eating. Total sugars in a day stay less than about 100 grams, 150 grams if you're really active. But my goodness, added sugars, definitely look at the labels and stay below 25 grams of added sugars per day. There's no reason why we should be getting added sugars in our healthy foods, like even like nuts and our yogurts and things like that. Like that's crazy that the food industry is doing that. And then I also want to really allude to how we really need to be mindful and practice relaxation techniques. We live in a busy society. I will challenge you to stay. Off social media for a day or two, a week, if you're feeling down and out, really focusing on yourself, giving your brain a break from being overstimulated because it can really wreak havoc on your overall health, especially your gut health. And that just completely compounds on itself. We've definitely talked about how this just perpetuates a cycle. So practicing mindful activities, even just some deep breathing throughout the day, having some time for meditation, just putting on an app to help you focus and to be able to refocus your mind. And it really will help you manage your stress levels and support a healthy gut-brain connection. I cannot say enough about practicing some sort of relaxation techniques. Quit being so overstimulated. Try to just be quiet, enjoy the sunshine, do whatever it is that's not just constantly stimulating your brain. We are not made for constant stimulation. So taking a break from screens and social media is so important here. By making these simple changes, we can nurture a happy gut and mind. And remember, even just small steps can lead to big improvements in how you feel. So I want to talk a little bit about our body image because body image is how we see and feel about our bodies. It's influenced by our thoughts and our feelings, perceptions, and our beliefs about our appearance. And our body image can affect our self-esteem, confidence, and overall well-being. Having a positive body image means feeling comfortable and accepting of our bodies regardless of its size, shape, or appearance. It's about appreciating what our body can do and focusing on health rather than just how it looks. And society and media have portrayed unrealistic standards of beauty and perfection. Images in magazines, social media, TV shows, and movies can create pressure to look a certain way, often very different from what's realistic for most people. I want you to think about a moment here. Like when you take a picture of yourself, how likely are you to put some sort of filter on it to make the way you look be look different? Like most a lot of people are doing that, and we cannot compare our, you know, real to their fake. So just don't compare that. We have unrealistic expectations and standards when it comes to comparison. We're constantly exposed to these idealized images, and that can lead to comparing ourselves unfavorably to others, which perpetuates everything we've already talked about. We can also be overly self-critical, feeling like we don't measure up to these standards can create negative feelings about our body, which again perpetuates this entire cycle. And we often start to pursue extreme diets and behaviors to achieve standards that can really harm our overall physical and mental health. So I really want to focus more on promoting a positive self-body image. We want to focus on health. So shift the focus from our appearance to overall health and well-being. Celebrate what your body can do, like being strong and active and capable. Always think about like, is this food I'm getting ready to eat or this activity that I'm doing right now, is this supporting health, or is this creating some sort of toxic issue within my body? So we need to be critical of some of the media messages that we're seeing and recognizing that those images are often edited or unrealistic. So be careful what you're comparing yourself to in the first place. Don't even compare, but be careful if you are. Practicing self-care activities that nurture our mind and body, like being active and relaxing and spending time with supportive friends and family. So by understanding body image and its influences, you can take steps to cultivate a healthy and positive relationship with your body. Remember that true beauty comes from embracing and caring for yourself just as you are. We also want to talk about the role of gut health and our skin health. If you have a lot of acne, it is highly likely that you have an imbalance in your gut microbiome because that's leading to inflammation. And that is leading to inflammation in the skin, and that can look like things like acne or skin changes. If you have a healthy gut with plenty of good bacteria, it can help reduce inflammation and support clearer, healthier looking skin. Things like the foods we've talked about can really help support that gut and a natural glow. Maintaining a healthy gut is also crucial for managing our weight and supporting our overall physical wellness. That gut microbiome plays a role in how your body absorbs nutrients and regulates metabolism. Imbalances in the gut bacteria may contribute to weight gain or even difficulty losing weight. So eating that balanced diet can be very important along with being active and managing our stress because it's all a cycle. And if we have healthy digestion and nutrient absorption, we will have those building blocks necessary that are essential for our energy levels and vitality. So by taking care of your gut health through these nutritious eating and staying hydrated and managing our stress, we can support our body's ability to function optimally and maintain physical wellness. So understanding the connection between gut health and physical appearance highlights the importance of nurturing our guts for both internal and external health benefits. By making smart choices that support our gut, we can promote a healthier overall well-being. So we want to embrace our uniqueness, celebrate what makes us unique, our talents, our personalities, our inner strengths. Remember that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes and colors. Remember to practice self-compassion, be kind to yourself, treat yourself with the same compassion and understanding that you would offer a friend, challenge your negative self-talk and replace it with positive affirmations. Focus on your health rather than on what your physical appearance is. Focusing on nourishing that body can help us to feel better overall. And we want to set realistic goals to help us feel good and be healthier. So staying active, practicing mindfulness, these all are things that can help our overall well-being, helps our gut, helps our minds mentally, emotionally, physically feel so much better. Promoting self-love, focusing on health, building healthy habits, we can cultivate a positive body image and enhance our overall well-being. You're worth it. Your worth is not defined by your appearance by by but by the unique qualities that make you who you are. So if you're having any trouble in this area, be sure and seek out support. I really want to emphasize the importance of seeking help and talking to trusted adults if you have concerns, if you're feeling down or depressed, really seek out some help here. We can really help to try to transition this and help turn you around and take care of yourself through this process and realize how all of this is all interconnected. But reach out if you need anything. Thank you for joining me on this episode of the Anchor to Wellness Show. Together, let's anchor ourselves to a life of vibrant well being. Until next time, take care, stay curious, and embrace the journey to holistic vitality. Stay anchored and stay well.