If tretinoin wasn't on your radar before this episode, it will be now! Tretinoin is a prescription-strength topical cream or gel. It's used mainly to treat acne, sun-damaged skin, and fine wrinkles… But it has some nasty side effects! Sold as the “miracle” cream, today we cover why it can be damaging and some other alternatives to taking medicated skin treatments.



I would love to know your thoughts inside the Gut Health Solutions Facebook group on high strength (or any strength vitamin A cream) and what your experience has been!



Nat & I cover:
Root causes of skin dysfunction
Skin & time frames
Impairment of the skin barrier
3 layers of the skin barrier
How to heal the skin barrier
Adverse reactions to skincare
Negligent prescribers
Alternatives to medicated treatments
What to look for in skincare

If tretinoin wasn't on your radar before this episode, it will be now! Tretinoin is a prescription-strength topical cream or gel. It's used mainly to treat acne, sun-damaged skin, and fine wrinkles… But it has some nasty side effects! Sold as the “miracle” cream, today we cover why it can be damaging and some other alternatives to taking medicated skin treatments.
 
I would love to know your thoughts inside the Gut Health Solutions Facebook group on high strength (or any strength vitamin A cream) and what your experience has been!
 
Nat &amp; I cover:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Root causes of skin dysfunction</li>
<li aria-level="1">Skin &amp; time frames</li>
<li aria-level="1">Impairment of the skin barrier</li>
<li aria-level="1">3 layers of the skin barrier</li>
<li aria-level="1">How to heal the skin barrier</li>
<li aria-level="1">Adverse reactions to skincare</li>
<li aria-level="1">Negligent prescribers</li>
<li aria-level="1">Alternatives to medicated treatments</li>
<li aria-level="1">What to look for in skincare</li>
</ul>

Living with IBS, digestive pain and hormonal imbalances are considered “normal” for many females. But as a former sufferer, I (Sheradyn) am here to break the trend and educate you on what is actually causing your symptoms. Leading you beyond pills, painful periods & parasites, I will be sharing interviews & conversations with women’s health experts as well as inspiring you with real-life stories. If you’re looking to use nutrition & a natural approach to heal your body and want real talk, with real women, hit that subscribe button now.

Living with IBS, digestive pain and hormonal imbalances are considered &ldquo;normal&rdquo; for many females. But as a former sufferer, I (Sheradyn) am here to break the trend and educate you on what is actually causing your symptoms. Leading you beyond pills, painful periods &amp; parasites, I will be sharing interviews &amp; conversations with women&rsquo;s health experts as well as inspiring you with real-life stories. If you&rsquo;re looking to use nutrition &amp; a natural approach to heal your body and want real talk, with real women, hit that subscribe button now.

Empowered Hormones with Sheradyn Dekker

#127 Skin barrier dysfunction & tretinoin with Natalie Martin

You train hard.
You eat “clean.”
You try to stay disciplined.

So why do you still feel out of control around food?

In this episode I’m joined by Elin Granstrand, founder of one of Australia’s leading binge eating recovery programs for health-conscious women.

And we’re unpacking a truth most of the fitness industry completely misses…

Under-eating and overtraining are two of the biggest drivers of binge eating.

Not lack of discipline.
Not “poor willpower.”
Your biology.

We talk about what actually happens inside the body when restriction, intense training, and chronic dieting collide.

Because when the female body feels deprived… it fights back.

And that’s when the binge cycle begins.

Inside this conversation we cover:

• Why disciplined women who train regularly still struggle with binge eating
• The biological drivers behind binge cycles
• How restriction and overtraining disrupt female hormones
• The role of leptin, ghrelin, cortisol and blood sugar crashes
• Why PMS cravings and IBS flare-ups often follow binge episodes
• What’s actually happening in the body before a binge starts
• Why shame keeps women trapped in the cycle
• How to fuel training properly without triggering binge behaviour
• What food freedom actually looks like for active women

If you’ve ever thought:

“Why can I be so disciplined everywhere else… but not with food?”

This episode will likely hit home.

And more importantly…
It will show you why you’re not broken.

LINKS TO ELIN
@elingranstrand

LINKS TO SHERADYN:
Assess your gut health in 3min HERE
Follow me on Instagram HERE. 
Join my Private Gut Health Facebook group HERE.
Book a Free Gut Health Planning Session HERE.

Podcast

Empowered Hormone Podcast
Hosted by Sheradyn Dekker

You train hard. You eat &ldquo;clean.&rdquo; You try to stay disciplined.
So why do you still feel out of control around food?
In this episode I&rsquo;m joined by Elin Granstrand, founder of one of Australia&rsquo;s leading binge eating recovery programs for health-conscious women.
And we&rsquo;re unpacking a truth most of the fitness industry completely misses&hellip;
Under-eating and overtraining are two of the biggest drivers of binge eating.
Not lack of discipline. Not &ldquo;poor willpower.&rdquo; Your biology.
We talk about what actually happens inside the body when restriction, intense training, and chronic dieting collide.
Because when the female body feels deprived&hellip; it fights back.
And that&rsquo;s when the binge cycle begins.
Inside this conversation we cover:
&bull; Why disciplined women who train regularly still struggle with binge eating &bull; The biological drivers behind binge cycles &bull; How restriction and overtraining disrupt female hormones &bull; The role of leptin, ghrelin, cortisol and blood sugar crashes &bull; Why PMS cravings and IBS flare-ups often follow binge episodes &bull; What&rsquo;s actually happening in the body before a binge starts &bull; Why shame keeps women trapped in the cycle &bull; How to fuel training properly without triggering binge behaviour &bull; What food freedom actually looks like for active women
If you&rsquo;ve ever thought:
&ldquo;Why can I be so disciplined everywhere else&hellip; but not with food?&rdquo;
This episode will likely hit home.
And more importantly&hellip; It will show you why you&rsquo;re not broken.
<hr data-start="1914" data-end="1917">
LINKS TO ELIN
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">@elingranstrand</li>
</ul>
LINKS TO SHERADYN:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Assess your gut health in 3min <a href="https://sheradyndekker.com/gut-health-quiz/">HERE</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">Follow me on Instagram<a href="https://www.instagram.com/sheradyn_functionalnutrition/?hl=en"> HERE.&nbsp;</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">Join my Private Gut Health Facebook group<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/412163273677745"> HERE.</a></li>
<li>Book a Free Gut Health Planning Session <a href="https://sheradyndekker.com/gut-health-session/">HERE.</a></li>
</ul>
<hr data-start="2228" data-end="2231">
Podcast
Empowered Hormone Podcast Hosted by Sheradyn Dekker

Under-Eating, Overtraining & the Binge Cycle w/ Elin Grandstrand

#195 Under-Eating, Overtraining & the Binge Cycle w/ Elin Grandstrand

Your acne might not "just" be hormonal. You can balance your blood sugar, take all the zinc in the world, and track your ovulation until you're blue in the face but if there is a deeper driver impacting your hormones from the gut, your skin will not budge.

Today’s episode is personal. For four years, I struggled with acne. As a practitioner, the identity clash was real. I was doing "everything right" the clean diet, the omegas, the nervous system work yet my skin still wouldn't shift. It wasn't until I stopped guessing and actually looked at my microbiome data that everything changed.

In this episode, we cover:


The Internal Shame: The reality of dealing with acne as an active, health-conscious woman and why "just wash your face" or "cut dairy" is often the most frustrating (and ineffective) advice.


The Microbiome Turning Point: What my comprehensive stool test actually showed methane overgrowth and infections—even though I didn't have "textbook" bloating or constipation.


The "Science" of the Flare: How methane overgrowth and low diversity trigger inflammatory cytokines and endotoxins that show up directly on your face.


The Hormone Recycling Loop: Why estrobolome dysfunction means your gut is literally recycling old hormones back into your system, wrecking your skin and your cycle.


The Targeted Intervention: The exact 8-week herbal protocol, specific probiotic strains, and hormone support I used to finally move the needle.


The "Stress" Trap: Why hand-balling the blame to "stress" is often a lazy way to avoid looking deeper at what is actually going on in the body.

You don’t need more discipline. You don’t need to cut more foods or buy another expensive serum. You need better data. Your skin isn't broken; it's just sending you a signal that your gut-immune-hormone loop is out of sync.

P.S. If you’re done guessing and want an actual plan to fix your skin and gut properly, let’s look at your data. You can book a free Gut Health Planning Call and we'll map out the root cause. 

Book here

LINKS TO SHERADYN:
Assess your gut health in 3min HERE
Follow me on Instagram HERE. 
Join my Private Facebook group HERE.
Book a Free Gut Health Planning Session HERE

Your acne might not "just" be hormonal. You can balance your blood sugar, take all the zinc in the world, and track your ovulation until you're blue in the face but if there is a deeper driver impacting your hormones from the gut, your skin will not budge.
Today&rsquo;s episode is personal. For four years, I struggled with acne. As a practitioner, the identity clash was real. I was doing "everything right" the clean diet, the omegas, the nervous system work yet my skin still wouldn't shift. It wasn't until I stopped guessing and actually looked at my microbiome data that everything changed.
In this episode, we cover:
<ul data-path-to-node="4">
<li>
The Internal Shame: The reality of dealing with acne as an active, health-conscious woman and why "just wash your face" or "cut dairy" is often the most frustrating (and ineffective) advice.
</li>
<li>
The Microbiome Turning Point: What my comprehensive stool test actually showed methane overgrowth and infections&mdash;even though I didn't have "textbook" bloating or constipation.
</li>
<li>
The "Science" of the Flare: How methane overgrowth and low diversity trigger inflammatory cytokines and endotoxins that show up directly on your face.
</li>
<li>
The Hormone Recycling Loop: Why estrobolome dysfunction means your gut is literally recycling old hormones back into your system, wrecking your skin and your cycle.
</li>
<li>
The Targeted Intervention: The exact 8-week herbal protocol, specific probiotic strains, and hormone support I used to finally move the needle.
</li>
<li>
The "Stress" Trap: Why hand-balling the blame to "stress" is often a lazy way to avoid looking deeper at what is actually going on in the body.
</li>
</ul>
You don&rsquo;t need more discipline. You don&rsquo;t need to cut more foods or buy another expensive serum. You need better data. Your skin isn't broken; it's just sending you a signal that your gut-immune-hormone loop is out of sync.
P.S. If you&rsquo;re done guessing and want an actual plan to fix your skin and gut properly, let&rsquo;s look at your data. You can book a free Gut Health Planning Call and we'll map out the root cause.&nbsp;
<a href="https://sheradyndekker.com/contact-form/" data-hveid="0" data-ved="0CAAQ_4QMahgKEwi1wvzmwe6SAxUAAAAAHQAAAAAQggM">Book here</a>
LINKS TO SHERADYN:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Assess your gut health in 3min <a href="https://sheradyndekker.com/gut-health-quiz/">HERE</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">Follow me on Instagram<a href="https://www.instagram.com/sheradyn_functionalnutrition/?hl=en"> HERE.&nbsp;</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">Join my Private Facebook group<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/412163273677745"> HERE.</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">Book a Free Gut Health Planning Session<a href="https://sheradyndekker.com/gut-health-session/"> HERE</a></li>
</ul>

Your Skin Won’t Heal Until You Test Your Gut

#194 - Your Skin Won’t Heal Until You Test Your Gut

If you’ve spent years "doing the work" the diets, the supplements, the protocols but your gut symptoms and anxiety still won't budge, this episode might be the missing piece of your puzzle. We often talk about the gut-brain axis, but we rarely talk about what happens when the body doesn't feel safe enough to heal.

Joining me for this deep dive is Liz McComish, an Integrated Trauma Healing Practitioner and Master of Counselling. Liz’s journey from battling addiction, eating disorders, and years of talk therapy to finding true healing through somatic work is incredibly powerful. We’re unpacking why traditional "talk therapy" often falls short and why your nervous system might be stuck in a survival loop that’s actually blocking your physical recovery.

In this episode, we cover:


The Somatic Shift: Why healing isn’t just a "top-down" process and why we must include the body to resolve deep-seated triggers.


Survival Mode as a Default: How to recognize the signs that you’re living in a constant state of fight-or-flight without even realizing it.


The "Safe Place" Connection: What it actually means to feel safe—mentally, emotionally, and physiologically—and how that safety dictates your digestion and hormone health.


Intergenerational Conditioning: How childhood experiences and family patterns shape your health outcomes and stress responses decades later.


Shadow Work & Health: How suppressed parts of ourselves show up as physical symptoms, burnout, and chronic gut dysfunction.


Healing in the Present: Why you don’t always need to dig through every detail of your past to heal; instead, we look at how your body is reacting now.

True healing isn’t about biohacking your body into submission; it’s about becoming your own safe place. If you feel "broken" or like you’ve tried everything, Liz’s message is a beautiful reminder that your body isn't working against you it's just waiting for safety.

P.S. If you’ve realized that stress and your nervous system are the biggest drivers of your bloating, let's look at your unique case. You can book a free Gut Health Planning Session with me to map out a path to safety and healing. Book here.

LINKS TO LIZ
Website: lizmccomish.com
Social links: lizmccomish_somatics

LINKS TO SHERADYN:
Assess your gut health in 3min HERE
Follow me on Instagram HERE.
Join my Private Gut Health Facebook group HERE.
Book a Free Gut Health Planning Session HERE

If you&rsquo;ve spent years "doing the work" the diets, the supplements, the protocols but your gut symptoms and anxiety still won't budge, this episode might be the missing piece of your puzzle. We often talk about the gut-brain axis, but we rarely talk about what happens when the body doesn't feel safe enough to heal.
Joining me for this deep dive is Liz McComish, an Integrated Trauma Healing Practitioner and Master of Counselling. Liz&rsquo;s journey from battling addiction, eating disorders, and years of talk therapy to finding true healing through somatic work is incredibly powerful. We&rsquo;re unpacking why traditional "talk therapy" often falls short and why your nervous system might be stuck in a survival loop that&rsquo;s actually blocking your physical recovery.
In this episode, we cover:
<ul data-path-to-node="4">
<li>
The Somatic Shift: Why healing isn&rsquo;t just a "top-down" process and why we must include the body to resolve deep-seated triggers.
</li>
<li>
Survival Mode as a Default: How to recognize the signs that you&rsquo;re living in a constant state of fight-or-flight without even realizing it.
</li>
<li>
The "Safe Place" Connection: What it actually means to feel safe&mdash;mentally, emotionally, and physiologically&mdash;and how that safety dictates your digestion and hormone health.
</li>
<li>
Intergenerational Conditioning: How childhood experiences and family patterns shape your health outcomes and stress responses decades later.
</li>
<li>
Shadow Work &amp; Health: How suppressed parts of ourselves show up as physical symptoms, burnout, and chronic gut dysfunction.
</li>
<li>
Healing in the Present: Why you don&rsquo;t always need to dig through every detail of your past to heal; instead, we look at how your body is reacting now.
</li>
</ul>
True healing isn&rsquo;t about biohacking your body into submission; it&rsquo;s about becoming your own safe place. If you feel "broken" or like you&rsquo;ve tried everything, Liz&rsquo;s message is a beautiful reminder that your body isn't working against you it's just waiting for safety.
P.S. If you&rsquo;ve realized that stress and your nervous system are the biggest drivers of your bloating, let's look at your unique case. You can book a free Gut Health Planning Session with me to map out a path to safety and healing. <a href="https://sheradyndekker.com/contact-form/" data-hveid="0" data-ved="0CAAQ_4QMahgKEwiZouGz1POSAxUAAAAAHQAAAAAQ9Qc">Book here</a>.
LINKS TO LIZ
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Website: <a href="https://lizmccomish.com/">lizmccomish.com</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">Social links: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lizmccomish_somatics">lizmccomish_somatics</a></li>
</ul>
LINKS TO SHERADYN:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Assess your gut health in 3min <a href="https://sheradyndekker.com/gut-health-quiz/">HERE</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">Follow me on Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/sheradyn_functionalnutrition/?hl=en">HERE.</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">Join my Private Gut Health Facebook group <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/412163273677745">HERE.</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">Book a Free Gut Health Planning Session <a href="https://sheradyndekker.com/gut-health-session/">HERE</a></li>
</ul>

The Nervous System Block: Is Trauma Stopping Your Gut From Healing?

#127 Skin barrier dysfunction & tretinoin with Natalie Martin

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Empowered Hormones with Sheradyn Dekker

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