01;05;06;09 – 01;05;20;27
Synergee
welcome, Synergee listeners. We are so excited that you are here today with us again. Our conversation today is about freedom. Freedom from food, noise, from constant cravings, and from the exhausting cycle of restriction and willpower.
01;05;20;29 – 01;05;44;21
Synergee
Joining us today is Sarah Kennedy, CEO of Calo Curb, a global leader and plant based appetite support. Sarah brings a powerful perspective that you are going to want to hear to the conversation around metabolic health not as a quick fix, but as a way to restore calm, clarity and confidence in the body. If you’ve ever felt like your hunger signals were working against you instead of for you.
01;05;44;22 – 01;05;52;01
Synergee
This episode will challenge the narrative and offer a refreshing and grounded approach to appetite, balance and self connection and integrative/holistic therapy in Ridgeland MS.
01;05;52;04 – 01;06;09;01
Synergee
We are so happy to have you here. Sarah, joining us today, if you don’t mind. We always love starting out with what inspired you to lead Calo Curb and how is your professional journey shaped, or how has it shaped the way that you think about appetite, health, and women’s wellness health services in Ridgeland MS?
01;06;09;07 – 01;07;53;00
Synergee
And if I’m saying it wrong, please correct me because I love saying it right every time.
01;09;16;09 – 01;09;22;00
Synergee
That’s incredible. So I feel like your story is going to resonate with so many, especially women.
01;09;22;00 – 01;09;49;19
Sarah Kennedy
I think men struggle to get to your point. But I think for women, we’re so body aware so early. And as our bodies start to change, I think the default was don’t eat that cookie. You know, be careful what you’re eating, watch what you’re eating. But we really weren’t taught about how to nourish our gut microbiome in a way that supports GLP one production and hunger signaling, and then we’re taught as a society just to ignore symptoms.
01;09;49;21 – 01;10;13;25
Sarah Kennedy
So we’re not in touch with how our body feels. Oftentimes with food in this physiology. And, what most people don’t realize is that appetite is controlled by your hand. Right. So yeah, Thomas. And, you know, it’s evolutionary, in doubt because it made us go off and hunt. You know, if you reduce your calories by 25%, your hunger will double over four months.
01;10;17;18 – 01;10;45;12
Sarah Kennedy
It’s kind of keeping you out to hunt, you know? So otherwise, you know, I wish I would be lying in a cage. But you know what? Training. I’m not going to go out. So this is actually, you know, so it is a primitive evolutionary mechanism that kept us alive. But of course, in this modern world, when we’re surrounded by food, obviously highly processed, you know, and every time we have that can go, oh, well, I can do something about it.
01;10;45;14 – 01;11;03;01
Sarah Kennedy
So it’s important to understand the physiology. It’s not your fault if you break a diet. It’s not your fault. It is what you wait for. I think it’s important you have to choose the right one. But that hunger actually kept you alive through evolution.
01;11;03;03 – 01;11;13;09
Synergee
So, Sarah, when someone is always thinking about food planning, restricting, craving, yet how do you believe that that impacts their mental space and their emotional energy?
01;11;13;11 – 01;11;36;07
Sarah Kennedy
You know, it’s the constant noise and there is no I’m sure you’ve seen that. But actually it has been published. A simple tick quiz, to say what your hunger noise is. And this is actually verified and published time. And we’ve used it in this book because, you know, you will have some freedom to not let me, you know, I forget to eat.
01;11;36;09 – 01;11;48;01
Sarah Kennedy
You know, I don’t know anyone like, but, you know, there are maybe they’re lying. They probably wouldn’t have survived through evolution. They okay.
01;11;48;04 – 01;11;57;00
Sarah Kennedy
it takes up an enormous amount of space, and you’re thinking about when am I going to eat things? What am I going to eat? Where am I going to get this?
01;11;57;02 – 01;12;18;10
Sarah Kennedy
And then it might be just that, right, I don’t care, I just want to eat something. And that is one of the key feedbacks we get with chemicals. You take a noise from, you take the noise. So if I can just explain why that happens, it is, as I said, it was developed by the New Zealand government 15 years ago.
01;12;18;12 – 01;12;43;23
Sarah Kennedy
And it was they had a grant called Food where the crop was given to a group of very talented scientists, who are employed by the government, and it was called food for Appetite Control. And they had the hypothesis that they would find a natural plant based extract which suppressed hunger or reduced hunger. And the handbook from evolution and the press.
01;12;43;23 – 01;13;01;29
Sarah Kennedy
In times of famine in the Scottish Highlands, people choose very, very special berries to suppress hunger. And I say, Charles, was he considered to give it to his mistresses to, well, you know, the typical is not that my body doesn’t Typekit himself, belly up in the Kalahari Desert, tribesmen will chew very, very potent cactus, before they get him.
01;13;09;02 – 01;13;18;17
Sarah Kennedy
That was the origin of food here. So there was that. And then there was some very early work done on mice with precious substances.
01;13;18;19 – 01;13;31;15
Sarah Kennedy
So the head that they got the $20 million grant, then this grant was 22 million. They did some incredible things. And what they showed was we have a case about work done through our gastrointestinal tract.
01;13;31;18 – 01;14;07;05
Sarah Kennedy
And once again, that is an evolutionary protection mechanism because Jupiter was associated with toxic or could be associated with so you have 25 taste buds on your tongue. And in fact interesting enough for those are substances. And they go right through your gastrointestinal tract. So they took 300, gastrointestinal biopsies from humans and showed this right down through the gastrointestinal and at different parts of the track.
01;14;07;07 – 01;14;22;26
Sarah Kennedy
They were these different pull ups. So if you make something very bizarre, you’ll put it on. If you eat something very close to your stomach, you’ll probably feel nauseous because your body is like, don’t eat anymore.
01;14;22;28 – 01;14;48;01
Sarah Kennedy
It goes to your up, up up up up up up what you were doing. So the start of your gastrointestinal tract, it will release your appetite suppressing hormones. Cc k glp one and, p y y. So that’s really important. I wasn’t doing that because it was trying to signal to you here not to eat anything more.
01;14;48;08 – 01;14;50;04
Synergee
So he was this link.
01;14;50;06 – 01;15;11;12
Sarah Kennedy
So even with these Bob’s food, they grew a model, an integral new model that they tested, a thousand different extracts on. So. And the only two and one was a potato oxalate, which is great, but that creates poisonous sugar present. And the second one was, a whole pig straight.
01;15;20;18 – 01;15;48;03
Sarah Kennedy
And because they were planted so greasy and green on a hot New Zealand, they didn’t test on number 50. So, and then they found one. So what it’s actually doing is stimulation, your own taste or appetite suppression. Who lives in your gastrointestinal tract to reduce your appetite.
01;15;48;03 – 01;15;57;08
Unknown
And that’s why we feel so fast. So they then took the spike, did some work on formulation and everything that they did.
01;15;57;11 – 01;16;20;17
Unknown
And they took it into their first human clinical trial. Now, this was a big trial and a very expensive trial because, Kenya lives, you don’t take blood from the subjects, I think, every 20 minutes and then had to analyze. And so the appetite suppresses hormones and this is quite involved and, you know, obviously very expensive.
01;16;20;19 – 01;17;01;02
Sarah Kennedy
But what they found is it didn’t even have a nice name. Was given an hour before and into lunch, entirely for snack and increased CC. Okay. Which is a very powerful appetite suppressant. By 600%. And he won by 600% and p y y by about 200. So, and to the, so about 4 to 5 hours, I had this wonderful grace which is right above your own endogenous or natural relations and they go on an average of an 18% reduction in calorie intake.
01;17;01;08 – 01;17;09;26
Sarah Kennedy
Now, if you compare that to a similar blue tide. So lots of what goes into what goes on keeps about 24%, 24, 25%.
01;17;09;29 – 01;17;26;06
Synergee
So we, not we, should be noticing that a hormone, which stimulates the wrong the whole bunch. We’re using an evolutionary mechanism which was secretory, which kept us alive. We didn’t push aside.
01;17;26;09 – 01;17;36;09
Sarah Kennedy
And what we did was super stimulating, both for taste and for symptoms. Quite interesting, though. As I said, it’s an evolutionary mechanism. But as we evolved, plants evolved. I’m really fascinated by that, because plants make themselves cool when they don’t want to be ancient. So if you think of an apple tree, the leaves are quite good, but the apple is very juicy because it wants you to eat the apple to spread the sage.
01;17;56;00 – 01;18;21;22
Sarah Kennedy
So the strawberries, same as anything like that. So I would love revolution because we evolved to do that. And there, we don’t have to, because we think it could be toxic, but the plants might have like that. So yeah, it’s fascinating. So that was the first and that is when it was presented to me and I was like, wow, this is extraordinary.
01;18;21;24 – 01;18;43;09
Sarah Kennedy
And since that time we’ve gone down three more human clinicals and showed some, fantastic, you know, reduction in craving reduction and hunger, with and with just unblinded, fourth human clinical, which was, a long term, 150 patients, men and women over six months.
01;18;43;16 – 01;18;50;10
Synergee
So when we think about taking something like a curb, it’s a short acting GLP one stimulant, correct?
01;18;50;16 – 01;19;10;09
Sarah Kennedy
Correct. Versus taking something like a GLP one injection. That’s a long acting and that is synthetic. So I’ve seen a few patients that have been on the GLP ones and they come off and they tell me their hunger is just like they didn’t really have hunger before. They had the food noise before, but not true hunger.
01;19;10;11 – 01;19;14;25
Sarah Kennedy
And they’re saying that hunger is just unrelenting.
01;19;14;27 – 01;21;02;08
Sarah Kennedy
But what, of course, is happening whenever you’re taking something a coma, whenever you have it, you separate your own natural relief.
01;21;22;23 – 01;21;59;13
Synergee
So we often talk about that whole difference between fullness and satiety being very different. Right. So in satiety being satisfied you know after a meal, not wanting and craving for more things, which is oftentimes what drives most people just crazy. So and that relationship to leptin as a hormone in ghrelin. Right. So I was just wondering if you have found there to be an improvement in leptin sensitivity, with the use of blocker at all.
01;21;59;16 – 01;22;32;23
Synergee
Okay.
01;22;32;26 – 01;23;09;28
Synergee
say anything, I say anything, and, And that is. So we are improving your gut brain integrative/holistic therapy in Ridgeland MS.
01;23;10;01 – 01;23;25;18
Synergee
Yes. And you know, my question around that was we do see a lot of leptin resistance years before we see insulin resistance. And. Right. So I do believe that this would be something that people would be able to utilize.
01;23;25;23 – 01;23;37;21
Synergee
Now, of course, I’m kind of extrapolating here, but, to improve that leptin sensitivity in the future hopefully reduce risk of diabetes.
01;23;37;23 – 01;24;50;10
Synergee
Blood sugars vary.
01;24;50;13 – 01;25;09;22
Synergee
So when we think about aging, you said it’s just aging. I was like, darn it. So as we see hormonal shifting, say the perimenopausal phase, you know, we start seeing muscle mass loss. We start seeing metabolism, weight gain. We lose about 3% of our lean body mass a year if we’re not careful.
01;25;09;22 – 01;25;27;00
Synergee
Right. And so with the introduction of these GLP ones, we’re seeing a lot of muscle loss in someone that’s not being diet diligent. So as we cut calories, if we’re taking something that is suppressing the appetite, are we seeing muscle loss on Calo Curb?
01;25;27;05 – 01;25;35;28
Sarah Kennedy
That’s a problem. That’s another study that hasn’t been published that we’ll have to bring you back for all of that.
01;27;05;08 – 01;27;40;06
Synergee
So when I first implemented her, I was an early adopter, I would say, of integrating it into the practice. And as with everything, you know, I address. And Kelly is very, skeptical, of course. And, you know, trying a little bit at a time with specific clients that we work with. And when I first implemented it, the challenge I faced was not really understanding the dosing and the variability of dosing.
01;27;42;16 – 01;30;07;07
Synergee
So I would love for you to speak to that, because there might be other people listening that tried it and didn’t get a result, and it may be because it wasn’t done properly. So let’s talk about that if you don’t mind.
01;30;07;09 – 01;30;27;22
Synergee
Yeah. So I had people that didn’t respond. They didn’t have side effects. They just didn’t respond. And I wasn’t quite sure whether I needed to step up and how much. And the other thing is, is that I, the population that I treat, and I would be curious to understand this a little bit better if I live in the number one retirement community in the entire United States.
01;30;27;22 – 01;30;30;15
Synergee
So my average client is right now, I would say 60s, and up and up. I mean, my oldest client is in their 90s and there are chronic conditions. I’m just curious if that also affects taste. And I’m just wondering if that also is a piece of the equation too.
01;32;59;04 – 01;33;15;19
Synergee
And in a normal dose of skepticism, I mean, I would like to say we get paid to be that way, right? We really do. And our clients rely on that because we are going to do that. You know, that’s what we all should be doing. That’s what we teach them to do. I mean, there are so many people out there influencing based not on hard data, not real science, not practicality, not not true.
01;33;21;10 – 01;33;38;24
Synergee
And so, yeah, I mean, I think that we need to be that way. And I love that I was provided the opportunity to do that years ago when you guys first came out. And I could give that a try and I could begin to look at it. And now you have so much more coming out now.
01;33;38;24 – 01;33;41;17
Synergee
So and then now we have you here because we can challenge you with all of these awesome questions that I’m sure other people are asking.
01;34;33;26 – 01;34;44;18
Sarah Kennedy
I love that. So when we think about those bitter taste buds that you were talking about, I’m just fascinated. There was a test where you and I used Pathway Fit that reported bitterness.
01;34;44;18 – 01;34;49;14
Sarah Kennedy
It was a genetic test that recorded bitter tasting. And I just remember that being one of the biomarkers that we actually looked at and didn’t really have relevance to why that was important. Right. That didn’t make it okay. They taste bitter. But it’s interesting that that correlates to how they respond. Dose effect of the clicker. Really, really interesting because there is such a variation.
01;35;06;24 – 01;36;19;25
Sarah Kennedy
Yeah, I’ve had an obsession. I think we have 1 to 25 taste receptors for bitter.
01;36;19;28 – 01;36;23;26
Sarah Kennedy
little surprised, right?
01;37;47;25 – 01;38;01;09
Synergee
And amazing biology. Right. This amazing biology. And the thing is that 200 extra calories until you know whatever is usually more than that. I think that there was a very kind number.
01;38;01;12 – 01;38;13;17
Synergee
It’s certainly not nutrient dense. And that’s what makes it even worse. It’s comfort foods and sugar as you said. So they’re getting more calories and not wise nutrients at all.
01;38;14;21 – 01;38;17;16
Synergee
And then the bellies.
01;38;17;18 – 01;39;37;04
Sarah Kennedy
Yeah.
01;39;37;06 – 01;39;54;24
Synergee
So you’ve mentioned mood a few times. So I want to get back to the mood. Obviously this isn’t a formula. So is there any effect on mood or calmness
01;41;58;20 – 01;42;54;00
Sarah Kennedy
Well what is absolutely fascinating is that more than just curbing appetite and lowering food noise and giving you that sense of freedom, it does so much to actually repair the body as well.
01;42;54;02 – 01;42;57;12
Synergee
Exciting.
01;42;57;15 – 01;43;09;05
Synergee
Can we speak to the difference between the, direct to consumer version and the professional version of the clicker curve? Would that be okay to talk about?
01;44;50;27 – 01;45;03;04
Synergee
And we are grateful for your position as a company recognizing that because it is just a I don’t want to even say just because it’s not just a tool in the toolkit. It’s a really awesome tool
that we have in the toolkit. And we do need to, to judiciously use and at the same time make sure that the timing is right and the combinations of other things, the levers that we’re pulling at the different times that we’re pulling them.
01;45;19;16 – 01;45;33;26
Synergee
And so I’m excited to have that dosing. And I’m excited about the way that it’s delivered, it’s also delivered in a kit that also we can use to titrate up all in one. Right?
01;45;34;02 – 01;45;59;11
Sarah Kennedy
Yep.
01;45;59;13 – 01;46;32;00
Synerge
Are there any absolute contra indications that you have, that you have that you would, you would say about this product, anyone that you absolutely would not use it in.
01;46;32;02 – 01;47;03;16
Synergee
So you’re speaking of active ulcerative colitis, active Crohn’s, active diverticulitis. You know, we have the luxury of again, as practitioners utilizing tools in the toolbox and diagnostics to understand through markers like cow protection and lactoferrin, lysozyme and others what degree of IBD a person is at. And we always start with a foundation. Always. Anyway, because you’re going to get a better outcome if you keep the foundation, the foundation, and you work on that first right.
01;47;03;16 – 01;47;04;15
Synergee
Gut health is first.
01;47;25;01 – 01;47;52;01
Synergee
That’s right. And for our listeners, you know, you make your own GLP one in your gut. And so we have an abundance of it typically when we’re younger and the things that we do with our life. So as Sarah was mentioning, lack of sleep, stress response, poor quality diet, all of those things hinder and then comes along menopause, perimenopause, right where estrogen starts playing a part and we start seeing even more challenges.
01;47;52;01 – 01;48;14;06
Synergee
So it’s a real struggle, I think, for that age group particularly and for that gender particularly, it’s a big significant time. When we see things change, we see the tools that we used to use do not work anymore. So this is you listening. Just lean in and know that working on the foundation is extremely important. And these are tools that we’re talking about.
01;48;14;06 – 01;48;56;07
Synergee
It’s a tool that can be available to you to use as part of a treatment plan. But we always want to make sure we’re working on that foundation.
01;48;56;10 – 01;49;08;21
Synergee
There is a bright side, right? We now have the availability to test our hormones, to take some really nice supplemental bioidentical hormone replacement therapy that can really even things out for us.
01;49;08;23 – 01;49;20;23
Synergee
And with the knowledge of how does the foundation affect us? You know, Lori and I both use aura rings in our practice for a biometric tracking so we can see, you know, how they are adapted to stress?
01;49;21;00 – 01;49;33;08
Synergee
What is their sleep pattern like? You know, how are they? How are they really functioning from a metabolic standpoint, in addition to all the other tests that we do? I think having the wearables really helps us navigate that better.
01;49;33;12 – 01;50;03;02
Sarah Kennedy
Yeah.
01;50;03;04 – 01;50;11;29
Sarah Kennedy
I’m so glad you brought that up. Because I do think sometimes we take for granted the amazing things we have access to in the US, and we just do. And what message are we sending? Right. It’s almost like it’s your fault.
01;50;54;16 – 01;50;58;14
Synergee
Well, and a lot of women take that on, right? They do believe it is their fault. And I hear that every week from patients coming in. You know, if I could just do better.
01;51;03;20 – 01;51;07;27
Synergee
I know what to do. I just can’t do better. And that makes me sad for them right up there with you. So it makes me very grumpy. So, you know, I think it’s.
01;52;05;01 – 01;52;27;16
Synergee
And we have an obligation and a privilege as well to stand together. And Kelly and I talk about this a lot as practitioners that are out there being asked, you know, is, is this right for me and helping people navigate those decisions. But it is a tool we have in the toolbox. And that’s a beautiful thing. But the reality is, there are other tools in the toolbox, too.
01;52;27;18 – 01;52;51;06
Synergee
There are risks to every decision, and benefits to every decision come alongside a qualified health care practitioner that can help you make the decisions that are right for you, your biology, and kind of, you know, back to that whole it’s not your fault, you know, the food industry here. You know, you guys have peer, you know, peer meat, you, I mean, other things like there’s purity in some of your food.
01;52;51;06 – 01;53;09;07
Synergee
We don’t have that right. So, you know, there’s some things that are very different that are a blessing. But we as practitioners really do have to hold that, that level high, even to our peers.
01;53;09;10 – 01;53;24;09
Sarah Kennedy
Yeah.
01;53;24;11 – 01;53;44;18
Synergee
Yeah. And a way to do that is one of the ways that you just mentioned today. Like you’ve offered a solution in this product.
01;53;54;01 – 01;55;31;12
Synergee
So as we’re wrapping up today, we want to ask you a question to end with. So we know that you’re a busy lady. You’re traveling, you know, internationally quite often you’re running a company. What are the things that help you stay grounded?
01;55;31;15 – 01;55;53;00
Sarah Kennedy
Yeah. So the right tool at the right time. Right. You mentioned we used to run. We used to do all these things in our 30s and 40s. That doesn’t work so well beyond. And we have to shift gears and recognize that we’re at a different stage. And our body needs different things to maintain that muscle mass, protect our stress response, and live our best life.
01;55;53;02 – 01;55;59;05
Sarah Kennedy
And we do, and we do. That’s right. What’s the process? Yes, lots of tools.
01;55;59;08 – 01;56;18;14
Synergee
Well thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to share what you have. And thank you for being a pioneer. And that whole story of, of converting from veterinarian medicine into the health and wellness space, I feel like that was a pretty cool, fun fact that I did not know.
01;56;18;17 – 01;56;40;18
Synergee
So that was it really. Yeah. So thanks for sharing that too. And I look forward to future conversations, because we’re just going to have to circle back because data is data, and we have to let you have a platform to share it in support of women’s health services in Ridgeland MS.
01;56;40;21 – 01;57;06;27
Synergee
The Synergee Podcast is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing, or other professional health care services, including the giving of medical advice and no doctor patient relationship is formed. The content of this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical condition they may have, and should seek the assistance of their health care professionals for any such conditions.
