Just Ingredients

Thirty-two doctors. That’s how many Jess saw while her son was vomiting nightly, losing his hair, and covered in eczema, and not one of them would consider that food might be the cause. She trusted her gut anyway, and she was right. If you’ve ever been dismissed by a doctor, you need to hear this story. What really got me was how deep corn runs in our food system, from carriers and processing aids to natural flavors, and how none of it has to show up on a label. This is exactly why I’m so passionate about label transparency. Jess is a fierce, loving mom who turned her family’s hardest season into a company, and I think you’ll walk away inspired and a little more label-savvy. Here are a few of my biggest takeaways from our conversation: Trust your gut. Jess was dismissed by doctor after doctor when she suspected food was the root cause of her son’s symptoms. Her advice to parents: a mother’s (and father’s) intuition matters, so hold your ground when something doesn’t feel right. Corn hides almost everywhere. With 1,800+ corn derivatives, it can show up in maltodextrin, citric acid, natural flavors, vitamin D carrier oils in milk, enriched flour fortifications, and even machine processing aids that never have to be listed on a label. “Natural” doesn’t mean what you think. Terms like “clean” and “no fluff” aren’t regulated, and many brands don’t even know what’s in their own natural flavors. Jess’s rule for Cob is simple: if you wouldn’t find it in your own kitchen, it doesn’t go in the product. Sorghum is an ancient grain worth knowing. It’s naturally gluten-free and non-GMO, pops just like popcorn, can be made into tortilla chips, and is a low-resource, drought-resistant crop.  Listen and share this one with anyone you know struggling with food allergies.  Meet Jessica: Jess Davidoff is the founder and CEO of Cob, a snack brand making corn-free, gluten-free snacks from the ancient grain sorghum.  A serial entrepreneur and Princeton graduate, Jess developed the concept after her son’s corn allergy diagnosis led her to overhaul her family’s entire diet. After testing her popped sorghum at a Hamptons farmers market in 2024, she brought on tennis champion Novak Djokovic as co-founder. Djokovic also led the company’s $5 million seed round.  Today Cob offers popped sorghum in four flavors and a sorghum tortilla chip. Jess lives in Sag Harbor, New York, with her husband and two sons.  Connect with Jess Davidoff:Website: cobfoods.comInstagram: @cobfoodsAlso available on Amazon and in specialty stores nationwide Shop our show sponsor:  Active Skin Repair: Get 20% off your order at ActiveSkinRepair.com with code JUSTINGREDIENTS. You can also find Active Skin Repair on Amazon and at your local CVS. Looking for more Just Ingredients content?  Instagram Stories: @just.ingredients Podcast Instagram: @just.ingredients.podcast Facebook Community: Join our group Watch on YouTube: youtube.com/@Just.Ingredients Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Doctors told Ashleigh Di Lello she wouldn’t live past her teenage years. She went on to become an elite athlete and Broadway performer, and today she teaches how the brain-body connection affects stress, pain, and emotional healing. In this conversation, she opens up about her first and second health journeys that brought her to a place of real surrender, and how she chose to rewire again. I loved how she explained the brain in such a simple, practical way, and how beautifully she ties neuroscience and faith together. I think this episode will give you a lot of hope. Here are a few of my biggest takeaways from our conversation: The brain does what it practices. Ashleigh compares the brain to AI: it's only as good as the prompt we give it. The thoughts and responses we repeat become the pathways our brain defaults to. Our bodies hold onto emotional experiences. Stress we carry emotionally doesn't just stay in our minds. It can show up in how our bodies feel day to day. Regulating and rewiring are not the same thing. Regulation is like turning down the volume on a loud stereo. The stress is still there, but it's not overwhelming. Rewiring goes deeper and changes the way we habitually respond to stress, trauma, and conditioning over time. Knowing the "why" makes your practices more powerful. Tools like breathing, grounding, and cold therapy can support your nervous system, and understanding what you're doing and why helps magnify their impact. Healing starts with compassion. Ashleigh reminds us to meet ourselves with kindness, especially in the hardest seasons. Share this episode with a friend who needs hope on their health journey, and follow the Just Ingredients Podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify so you never miss an episode. Meet Ashleigh: Ashleigh Di Lello is a Brain Coach and the founder and creator of Bio Emotional Healing®, a neuroscience-based method that helps clients around the world work through emotional trauma, limiting beliefs, anxiety, and the effects of chronic pain and illness. Despite being told by doctors she wouldn't live past her teenage years, she refused to give up and discovered the power of rewiring the brain-body connection. She went on to become an elite athlete, TV and Broadway performer, entrepreneur, Brain Coach, and keynote speaker. Ashleigh's mission is to bridge neuroscience, faith, and human transformation. Connect with Ashleigh Di Lello: Free Brain-Body Blueprint: https://ashleighdilello.com/freeblueprint/ Website: https://ashleighdilello.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashleighdilello/ Shop our show sponsor: Active Skin Repair: Get 20% off your order at ActiveSkinRepair.com with code JUSTINGREDIENTS. You can also find Active Skin Repair on Amazon and at your local CVS. Looking for more Just Ingredients content? Instagram Stories: @just.ingredients Watch on YouTube Facebook Community: Join our group Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode was such a fun change of pace. Instead of a doctor or scientist, I sat down with three health and wellness friends, Wasim, Jazz, and Amanda, who flew in from across the country to be here. Each of them shared how they got started, and I learned things I never knew, like the accident that completely changed Jazz’s path. We talked about what drives us crazy in the health world, how to sort through all the noise, and what you can stop stressing about. Here are a few of my biggest takeaways from our conversation: Ingredients matter, not just calories. Calories only tell part of the story. What’s actually in your food matters just as much. Ditch the all-or-nothing mindset. You don’t have to change everything at once. Jazz and Amanda both encourage starting where you feel comfortable and keeping a few simple health habits you can lean on when life gets busy. Use common sense to cut through the noise. Ask who funded the study, look up how a food is actually made, and pay attention to how your own body responds. Even healthy foods don’t work for everyone. Small changes at home add up. Simple shifts in your environment, like your lighting, your water, or keeping a calm, tidy space, can make a bigger difference than you’d expect. Tune in now and share this one with a friend! About Wasim Syed: Wasim, known online as @imjustwasim, is a lifestyle and wellness content creator focused on helping people make cleaner, more informed choices about food, ingredients, and everyday products. Through simple, easy-to-understand content, he shares healthier swaps, ingredient education, and practical ways to live a more intentional, non-toxic lifestyle. About Jazz Leaf: Jazz ditched the 9-to-5 grind after years in corporate America to pursue her passion: cooking. She is a Certified Nutritional Therapy Practitioner and a former private chef for NBA athletes. After years of meal prep, catering, cooking classes, and private cheffing, she is now a full-time recipe creator. Jazz specializes in quick, beginner-friendly healthy recipes that take 30 minutes or less and use 10 ingredients max. She’s also a mom to a 3-year-old! About Amanda Rocchio Amanda Rocchio (Meixner), aka @MeowMeix, is a nutrition creator who started MeowMeix while meal prepping for work. She spent years thinking “healthy” meant restriction and dieting. After recovering from an eating disorder in high school, she realized real health is about fueling your body with the right foods and understanding why they matter, and that’s what she loves most about what she does. Today, over a million people follow her for real-food guidance, simple recipes, healthy swaps, and practical nutrition tips. Connect with Wasim Instagram: @imjustwasim YouTube: @imjustwasim Facebook: imjustwasim Connect with Jazz Blog: jazz-leaf.com Substack: jazzleaf.substack.com Instagram: @jazzleaf_ TikTok: jazz_leaf Pinterest: jazz_leaf YouTube: @JazzLeaf Facebook: jazzleafeats Connect with Amanda Blog: meowmeix.com Instagram: @meowmeix TikTok: @meowmeix YouTube: @amandameowmeix YouTube Shorts: @amandameowmeix/shorts Facebook: amandameowmeix Shop our show sponsor: Head to paleovalley.com/justingredients, or use code justingredients at checkout for 15% off your first purchase Looking for more Just Ingredients content? Instagram Stories: @just.ingredients Podcast Instagram: @just.ingredients.podcast Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Just.Ingredients Facebook Community: Join our group Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This conversation is one I truly believe can change lives. Dr. Stephanie Culler helped me see that a baby's gut bacteria are one of the most overlooked pieces of their health. The first 1,000 days of life shape so much more than I ever realized. What struck me most is that so few parents, and even pediatricians, are hearing about this research. I walked away wishing every pediatrician could hear it, and every mom too. Share this one with all your friends with littles! Here are a few of my biggest takeaways from our conversation: The first 1,000 days matter more than we realize. A baby's gut microbiome is built during this early window. What happens there is connected to their digestion, immune system, and brain development, and its effects can reach into adulthood. Babies today have different gut bacteria than babies a generation ago. Stephanie led the My Baby Biome study, the largest U.S. study to profile the infant gut microbiome. It found that many babies today are missing key bacteria that used to be common. C-sections, antibiotics, and feeding choices all shape a baby's gut. Knowing how they affect gut bacteria simply helps parents make informed decisions. Gut bacteria are the missing piece alongside nutrition. Gut bacteria play an important role in how a baby digests and uses that nourishment. We talk about how to make sure a baby's gut microbiome is in a good place! Gut health matters at every age. We also talked about adult gut health, why fiber is so important for feeding good bacteria, and why researchers are paying close attention to the rise in colorectal cancer among younger adults. Tune in now and share this one with a parent friend who needs to hear it! About Dr. Stephanie Culler Stephanie Culler, Ph.D., is the co-founder and CEO of Persephone Biosciences, where she is pioneering microbiome-based medicines to transform human health. She is the lead author of the My Baby Biome study, the largest U.S. study to profile the infant gut microbiome, and her work spans applications from infant health to oncology. Stephanie earned her Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology and has authored more than 20 scientific publications and patents. Connect with Stephanie Website: persephone.bio Instagram: @persephone.bio Shop Persephone on Amazon Shop our show sponsor Skout Organic: Use code JUSTINGREDIENTS to save 20% skoutorganic.com to stock up for fall. Looking for more Just Ingredients content? Instagram: @just.ingredients Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Just.Ingredients Facebook Community: Join our group Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I loved having two of my internet friends here in Utah to record this episode! Hunter and Jasyra's stories reminded me so much of how I got started on Instagram. None of us set out to become "health influencers." We each just wanted to share what had helped us on our own health journeys. They both started out struggling with their own health, and they used those struggles as the push to learn, make changes, and share what they found with all of us. This episode is a good reminder that everyone starts in a different place., what matters is that you start. I loved this conversation and learned so much more about both of them than I knew before. I know you'll walk away feeling encouraged instead of overwhelmed. Here are a few of my biggest takeaways from our conversation: Your health struggles can become your motivation. Hunter and Jasyra each share the personal health stories that started their journeys, and how those hard seasons turned into the reason they now help others live healthier. Everyone starts in a different spot, and that's okay. There's no perfect starting line. Wherever you are right now is a good place to begin, and comparing your journey to someone else's only gets in the way. Small swaps at home add up. We talk about the simple changes they've each made at home that ended up making a bigger difference than they expected. It's proof that you don't have to overhaul everything at once. How to decide who to listen to when the health world gets loud. With so much conflicting information online, Hunter and Jasyra share how they sort through the noise and decide which voices they trust. What to stop stressing about. They share the one thing they wish their followers would stop worrying about, plus what they're most excited about in the health world right now. Tune in now and share this one with a friend who needs to hear it. About Hunter Stoler Hunter Stoler is a New York City–based certified health coach and the creator behind @healthwithhunter. After his own health struggles, including weight gain, stubborn acne, and constant fatigue, Hunter changed his lifestyle and went from studying information science to becoming a health coach. Today he shares simple, practical swaps that help people focus on the health basics that matter most. About Jasyra Santiago-Hines Jasyra Santiago-Hines is a former registered nurse who spent 10 years working in hospital care, including neonatal intensive care. After her daughter Zoe was born prematurely in 2020, Jasyra began exploring natural remedies, supplements, and toxin-free living. Today you can find her on Instagram @iamjasyra where she teaches parents about non-toxic products and natural remedies and shares safer alternatives to help families feel confident taking care of their health. Connect with Hunter:Instagram: @healthwithhunter https://healthwithhunter.com/ Connect with Jasyra: Instagram: @iamjasyra https://iamjasyra.com/ Shop our show sponsor: Q for Quinn has stylish basics for the entire family without compromising on comfort or health. Use code JUSTINGREDIENTS for 10% off your order at qforquinn.com. Looking for more Just Ingredients content? Instagram Stories: @just.ingredients Podcast Instagram: @just.ingredients.podcast Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Just.Ingredients Facebook Community: Join our group Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices