b'Today, I am delighted to have Maria Emmerich joining me. Maria is a nutritionist who specializes in the ketogenic diet and exercise physiology. She struggled with her health and weight throughout childhood. That led her to become such a passionate nutrition expert. \\u201cMy goal is to help transform people\\u2019s lives and start living again!\\u201d Maria specializes in brain neurotransmitters and how food can increase mental wellness. Her expertise has sent her around the world speaking about ketogenic diets. She has also cooked with Halle Berry and writes for Halle\\u2019s website.\\nTwenty-three years ago, Maria was twice her size, and she had some serious issues going on. The doctor told her she had PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome), which is type-2 diabetes that affects female fertility. She also had acid reflux, depression, and IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome). The doctor told her she was doing nothing wrong. Those were just the cards she was dealt.\\xa0\\nShe took her dog to the vet the same week because it was losing its hair, and the first question he asked her was what she was feeding it. When she changed the dog\\u2019s diet, its hair grew back. That got her thinking, so she started doing some research. She discovered that PCOS was caused by too much caffeine, sugar, and carbohydrates, which was what she was living on. She was only sixteen at the time, but she started making some dietary changes.\\nBe sure to join us today to hear Maria\\u2019s inspiring story and find what she has to say about healing yourself with the food you eat.\\nIN THIS EPISODE YOU WILL LEARN:\\n\\nMaria shares her background story.\\n\\nThe journey towards health and wellness does not happen overnight. Some aspects evolve and shift over a lifetime.\\n\\nMaria discusses how she discovered the benefits of the ketogenic diet and what motivated her to stick to it.\\n\\nWhy you should avoid processed foods even if they claim to be ketogenic.\\n\\nWhat makes women different.\\n\\nSome of the mistakes Maria sees women making when they come to keto that cause them to assume that keto is not working.\\n\\nMaria has a free macro calculator on her website.\\n\\nMaria talks about what alcohol does to our bodies and sleep patterns.\\n\\nMaria shares her thoughts on bioidenticals versus supplementation, as women make the transition from being fertile to perimenopause to menopause.\\n\\nMaria talks about the protein-sparing fast and shares some strategies for fasting successfully.\\n\\nConnect with Cynthia Thurlow\\nFollow on Twitter, Instagram & LinkedIn\\nCheck out Cynthia\\u2019s website\\nConnect with Maria Emmerich\\nOn her ketomaria.com\\nOn her Keto-adapted website\\nOn Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter\\nMaria\\u2019s free e-book'