Rivkah Sherr Is Leading the Way with Support Systems & Growing Community for Gluten Sufferers -

Join me as we sit down with Rivkah Sherr, Community Cultivator and Wellness Advocate for those who suffer with Gluten Intolerance, Celiac Disease, and Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivities. It's always so amazing when people have a challenge and when they have a transformation or they find something, their first thought is, "Now I need to help other people with this." Her community designed to share information and help support others living a gluten-free lifestyle. They provide a welcoming and safe place to discuss and share recipes, questions, and anything gluten-free along with 64,000 other gluten sufferers on her "Gluten Free Lifestyle & Support" Facebook group! You can find her at Gluten Free Lifestyle & Support | Facebook. 

Transcript

Hello and welcome to Reboot Radio. I'm your host, Sheila Keilty, the UN-Diet Coach. 

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Sheila

This is Sheila Keilty, The UN-Diet Coach. I am here on this episode today to talk to Ms. Rivkah Sherr. Hello Rivkah. 
 
 

Rivkah

 Hi Sheila. Thanks for having me. 

 Sheila

Oh, I'm very happy to have you here. Rivkah is such an impassioned, amazing person that I've met in my journey in the holistic community, and I wanted to share with you her origin story.

I'm always curious about what makes people tick, what was their journey that got them to where they are today, and she is just killing it out there really bringing people together and helping people get the resources and the information and the education they need. Rivkah is a community cultivator and wellness advocate, and I'd like to welcome Rivkah Sherr. Hello Rivkah. 

 Rivkah

Hi. Thanks for having me. 

 Sheila

So tell us what is it that you do and how did you become that amazing thing? 

 Rivkah

I cultivate community and a wellness advocate, but basically I see everything that I’ve been through in life and had a challenge with. I sort of created community around and try to get resources to help people. So my first thing was leaving my community of origin. I joined a organization that helped people with that, and I became a mentor and I'm still part of that organization. I went through infertility and I did a lot of advocacy work.

I created a support group that I ran for three years. I did research. I did consulting. Because that was part of my journey. And then I had a friend that I went to school with and she was celiac. And when I was a housewife, I used to bake and cook and she would say, send me recipes and what could you help me with?

And I would send her information and I felt it didn't go anywhere. So I decide I'm going to put it into a group and at least I'll be able to find it. And basically after that, the group really grew. There seemed to be a need and an interest. And over a few years it grew to 63,700 people that had, are currently in there.

It's a group that helps people. It's, you know, supportive. And it became its own big project. At this point, I'm looking to take it to next level, to bring in resources, to bring in education, to bring in solutions. That will help people really adapt to this way of life to get a better quality of life and to figure out how do they get there?

How do they help themselves, their family the people around them and how do they feel better and do better for themselves? While dealing with this diagnosis. Yes. 

Sheila

I love it when people have a challenge and when they have a transformation or they find something, their first thought, and these are my favorite people on the planet, like Rivkah, first thought is I need to help other people with this. This was so helpful. There have to be other people who are kind of lost. And you had said your friend was Celiac for the people listening. Yes. Who don't know what, what is Celiac and what is your community for? 

 Rivkah

Okay so basically Celiac is when they have a gluten allergy or sensitivity depending, and they can't really tolerate it and therefore, when they eat that, their whole system gets really inflamed and they really can't tolerate it. So there's lots of different levels. In the beginning it was it evolved. I said it was gluten free recipes and then people would come in and support each other. So I said, gluten free recipes support.

And then we named it gluten-free lifestyle and support because we want to incorporate other things that this affects, so we can bring that like it's on your umbrella.  It's like these are all the things that could help you in living this lifestyle and getting you to your optimal health goals.

Sheila

Absolutely.  People with Celiac Spru do not have an enzyme that's required to digest the lectins in grains. And the biggest lectin out there is gluten that we know of. And it's very hard for any human on the planet to digest. Lectins are natural inflamers" of our gut. They poke at our gut. They can create leaky gut and all kinds of things. And it gets put under the umbrella of gluten-free many times. Oh, you have a gluten-free sensitivity. You don't have Celiac Spru which is an actual disease.

It's not just, oh, you're sensitive. It's an, you get tested for it. There's a small intestine biopsy that can be done. It's an actual disease and glutens can kill people with it, it really is very serious. But then there is a whole spectrum of gluten-free sensitivity.

And you know, from a health coach perspective, I tell people, stay away from grains. Grains are the seeds of little short, tough plants and they're ground up because they're hard for us to digest. They have to be ground. We can't just eat them whole. They poke at our intestine and they create inflammation for everybody on the planet.

Every human has some level of sensitivity to lectins. They're high in beans in different places, but actual gluten, which Celiac Spru people at that form of lectin. Is what Celiac spruce sufferers suffer with. But gluten-free has been so ubiquitous out there, it's been taken over by marketing companies and big food.

They're like, Ooh, people are going gluten-free. And what's frustrating is you think you're just buying something gluten-free. And so it's going to take care of your inflammation in your gut, but it's full of all kinds of junk. It's because marketing and big food have taken over and has usurped something that started out so well meaning that must be frustrating for a lot of people, Rivkah, who are trying to be gluten free.

Rivkah

Yeah. So I, I feel like there's, there in the group sometimes it's like there's different camps, listen, and it’s a hard thing to  accept and to do and they're  purest and people say you just have to be healthy and   eat natural things and cut those out.

And then there are people that want things that they're used to but then it's very expensive and then it's really not the healthiest. There's comorbidities like diabetes, and then there's also dairy sensitivity. There's different camps on this. I believe ideally doing the natural way is probably the best way.

But we don't tell anybody like what to do, but it is hard and it is hard for people. Ideally that could be good. I think educating and encouraging and having people understand what does what and how different things go in different places could really help them to get to that place.

There's lots of things involved. It's a health journey, there's a mindset journey, there's a mindset piece. There's all different kinds. So it's sort of like, well hey, I guess you could say a lifestyle, but there there's a bigger piece and there's a lot of different parts to it and it's a process and it's a journey in and of itself of  how do I get there?

How do I figure that out? Even for me it's been a health journey just in my life things that I went through and taking charge of my health and my mental health to get myself to that better place that I want to be is also  a whole journey. So I definitely understand and definitely relate. Yeah. 

Sheila

There's a spectrum of people out there with 63,000 people in your Facebook group community. Yeah. That's huge. Congratulations. That is a big, wonderful accomplishment on your part. But you're dealing with a spectrum of people who are mildly sensitive to severely Celiac. People who are looking for swaps, all of it.

Like they think the answer yes. Because the marketing says all you have to do is have this Healthy Choice, gluten-free cupcake and you'll be fine. You know, it's, there's this marketing that says all you need is a swap. You'll be fine. 
 
 

Rivkah

Yeah. But then it's interesting because then they come back with a product. They're like, did you try this product? Because then I still had a reaction, then this still happened. Mm-hmm. And you know what I'm saying? Over time really seeing that and seeing what people ask, that's sort of like, yeah, that's the challenge. The truth is, the ideal thing is to like really go the most natural, go the most of what's going to work with your system and also individualize things like that.

Mm-hmm. But, um, that's really like the best way to go because Yeah. The substituting and all that stuff, there's still always going to be a point. 

 Sheila

 Yeah. That's a slippery slope for so many reasons. 

Rivkah

Yeah
 
 

Sheila

Because then you get stuck into that marketing loop with big food. I'd look into all of them and see how much is doing things like, usurping gluten free and making it some truly bastardized, really toxic swamp of marketing. And people are busy, people are not feeling good. They're busy. They get gluten sensitivity. Ah, you must be gluten sensitive. It's gotten well, well maybe it's that kind of diagnosis from their doctors in the five minutes they have with them in a room. And they're running down the aisles of the grocery store with the kids and they're yelling and you're just, it says gluten free.

You go, yeah, throw that in there. They know we're busy. They know we're going to grab something.

Rivkah

Even for me, I had issues with sugar, I had gestational diabetes. Mm-hmm. Like, I don't buy any of those things. Yeah. I can, the cereal doesn't work for me.  Certain things that are high. Yeah. First of all, I'm sensitive to everything, so if it has anything artificial, I know right away anything that's high glycemic is an issue for me. So it's like, I don't even when they say those things, I don't even go down that road.

Yeah. And I'm also trying to teach my son. You know how much sugar they have in there.  Look how much sugar you're supposed to have a day and make a decision. 

Sheila

It's great that you're teaching them how to read labels, because step one that I always tell everybody Yeah. Is become a label reader. Take your education into your own hands. And there's so much marketing. There's a money motive in our medical system. Doctors Oh yeah. Are controlled by pharmaceutical companies and they're using a lot of stale science. They walk in with their prescription pat out. Like, what kind of pill can I throw at you?

Rivkah

I told my doctor, no, no drugs. How are we making this? That we don't have to take any, But it's up to us to find people like Rivkah ladies who are out there who t each you and are about the education of this myriad education that Rivkah had and putting it out there on this group and saying, here's what I've learned. You have to know after all these years of doing this, here's what I've learned. Number one, educate thy selves. Women like learn how to read a label. Learn the 187 ways sugar is listed. The 15 ways gluten containing foods are listed. Even if it says gluten free, there's certain ones that pass like that 2- 3% standard that they allow. So you really need to look at things with a grain of salt and 

Sheila

You know, it doesn't have a label Rivkah? The food on the outer aisles of the store. 

Rivkah

This is the big discussion and this is what's talked about time and time again of Yes. What, what are those other things ingredients look like? This is where you should be shopping for your food. And for some people it is hard. I think there's the education piece. The coming to terms with it, working on your mindset,  really understanding,  not being overwhelmed and saying, let's see how we could bite this bit by bit. And really what's going to get us to that place with our mind, with our body, right. Exercise, all kinds of things. I started I walk three miles a day. There's a lot of things that I started doing to really help myself really get to that next place to understand of like, how could we go there and do, you know. 

 Sheila

That’s empowering when you can take your health into your own hands. You know that. Yeah. You can create the future for yourself, the kind of mom grandmom someday you want to be, and to be able to have those authentic choices available to you, because you are making those tough choices. I always say pick your hard. Change is hard. You know, what's harder? The consequences of not making that change.

Rivkah

This is what a lot of people say. It's wellness or illness, and I see it, you know, like, 

 Sheila

Oh, I love writing that down. 

 Rivkah

I, you know, I, I go swimming with the seniors in my development. And this woman, she is just like, every day the doctor. And I'm like, if you're not taking this in your hands, and I didn't always do this, you know, I went through a lot of things in life and then I went through Covid was really bad. And then I realized if I don't take this in my hands, this is going to be b ad. And that's why like I'm on this health journey every day. Rain, shine, doesn't matter every day. The walking, every day, the, the swimming every day the food part is hard. I'm not going to tell you it's not, but every day trying to get to that place because you know, I have an opportunity to today to make it better to, yeah, put it there or to do it.

And I have a young child and to help him to educate himself. 

Sheila

 That's a challenge. Also cooking for a, a child and you're cooking for yourself and he may or may not be needing to be gluten free, but glutens are, you know, those lectins are bad for anybody. So it's great to teach him.

My mother used to call, um, my house, the house of no food, joy. She'd come over and she's like, where are the crackers? Where are the cookies? Where's the bread? You know, she'd open my cupboards and she goes there's no food joy all ingredients. 

Rivkah

Yeah, we don't. We don't, yeah, we don't have that in our house, because then we would eat it all.

But also it's like, yes, exactly. What do you have in your house? What kind of foods did you grow up with? Mm-hmm. Now we're in Passover. Passover was always. In a way a better holiday because you're, you take a lot of those things out and I like the pure foods because you do feel better on those.

Yeah. It's a challenge to sugar all that stuff. It's, it's a big challenge. And we're not going to say it's not everywhere. You have to make the choice. And that's why, you know, we all, I say I want to live on a farm one day and just live off the land! (laughter) 

Sheila

 Wouldn't that be wonderful? Oh, that would be the best. I don't think that's in my future.  But I get all my produce and meat delivered as locally as possible and just raised my standards and it is, a project to feed yourself well, but the benefits, the dividends that you get from doing that, like with Rivkah, she made that decision. She pulled the trigger and said, you know what, I want a better quality of life. And that is up to me. It's not a pill. Yes.

It's not in being, just closing my eyes and pretending it doesn't happen, I'll just be fine. Yeah. I'll just be fine. Yeah. When you embrace it, you acknowledge it, you make the lifestyle changes. Rivkah is living that life that has possibility. Ladies listening. Yeah, it is possible no matter where you are starting from.

And Rivka talk to us about where you started. Like where were you when you started this? I mean, what, what was life like before you made those decisions in that journey? 

Rivkah

Okay. So yeah. Until now, there was just like, there was a lot of things going on.

So like the gluten free part in the Celiac is not specifically for all cloud days? Not specifically. It wasn't specifically my journey. Mm-hmm. But I'm still on because that I sort of like did for my friend and that's how it came to be. But my own health journey happened where there was a lot of stress, there was a lot of things going on.

When I went through the infertility, it was a lot of stuff that I had to put into my body and I think the breaking point then I got a divorce. There was a lot of life stuff happening, and then I had my son and I had gestational diabetes. I think when I got Covid and it was really, really bad and I think that was the breaking point where I realized that, and I would get sick like every month, and my immune system was so low that I think that's what got me to that place where I got it.

And I was like in the I C U and it was, it was really bad. My. Yeah. So I think at that point I realized, I'm like, I have to take this in my hands and say, yeah, I'm going to go there and do something different and be on top of it. So I did raise my immunity to a certain degree, but my perfect and all there, no, but I started with something that I was willing to do and I kept at it and I put it in a way of this is something I'm going to be willing to do every day and I kept going with it. And of course every day I want to like, Increase something else and take it more next level and understand more. But I think that was like really the turning point. So now it's like, last month I did 94 miles, which is, which is a big, big, big deal. And I look towards the future of what else could I do?

I work a lot also, like I said, on mental health. But I really have to lose like 50 pounds and all that. But it's like, we're going to, we'll talk, we'll talk, we'll talk, but, um, I think I'm on the road somewhere where I’m heading in that direction. Yeah. And since then I haven't really gotten really sick too much.

I feel like it's on the right path, and it's all, a lot of things all together. Yeah. Yeah. 

Sheila

It's a, it's a marathon, not a sprint. Yeah. And there are a lot of people who are sick who don't make those decisions and make those tough choices to have improved immunity, to take a, a fundamental approach like that and say, I'm rebuilding my foundation from the ground up. I am rebuilding. And that takes a while. People say It's been a week and I don't feel better. It's like, Yeah, it takes a while to turn this barge around that we're on and takes a lot to heal your gut. It takes up to six weeks once you start taking the right kind of foods in and to heal your gut takes six weeks and a minimum sometimes up to, yeah, three or four months. It depends on how long you've been ill then you made all these changes. You're one of the amazing few actually make those life changes and not just cookie swaps. You actually made changes in your life and are dedicated, like you say, rain or shine. You're like the postal service. You are out there delivering on your health, right?

Yeah. And then even more special, you were sick. Very, very sick. You decided to make a change, which is amazing. Congratulations. I try to get people to do that all day, every day. Change management is hard. Yeah, you did it. And it's, those are the people I'm looking for. The people ready to make those changes out there. But then you did the amazing thing of saying, I had this amazing transformation, this amazing journey. I'm reaping the rewards of it. I'm going to help other people do that too.

That is, so commendable.  Nobody does that. So few people actually say, and now I'm going to help other people with it. And you're just a blessing to so many people who are out there right now who are listening saying, I've had this problem for a long time. I've been sick for a long time. I don't know why.

In whatever way, inflammation, there's just something that doctors can't figure out. Maybe I can do what Rivkah did, and you're going to inspire some people listening to this today. I know it because she's a special person, people, she is someone to watch in her space about what she's doing. And we're getting to the end of our time, but I just wanted to ask you, Rivkah, how can people find you? What's on the boards? Like what's coming up in Rivkah world? 

Rivkah

So basically you could always find me under my name on Facebook, under Rivkah Sherr. The group is Gluten Free Lifestyle and Support. I am currently working on bringing Next Level. Don't have all the details yet, but I am work currently working on because we made this group because it supported people for so long. To take it to next level where there's education, where there's opportunity, where there's opportunity for transformation. So we could really help people get to their optimal health goals. And that's a project I've been working on for a bit. And I continue to work on, and I hope to bring to fruition very soon. There's a lot of value in it now, and then we're going to take it next level up. So that's the plan so far. That's fall. 

Sheila

Oh. Oh. We'll have to have you back on when you launched that so we can tell people about this amazing new, new place where people can get help.  Education is key. Yes. I will put the links, check the transcript, everybody. If you're listening, it's like, how can I find Rivkah and find this amazing group? All the links are going to be in the transcript, so you'll be able to find her. That way as well. Rivkah, thank you so much for joining us today.

Rivkah

It's been a pleasure. Thank you. 

Sheila

Absolutely inspirational, wonderful talk. Thank you for your time. 

Rivkah

Thank you. That is great. 

Sheila

Okay. Take care.   

So take care. This is Coach Sheila Keilty. Have a great day. Bye now. See you next time on Reboot Radio.