I love trying new things and this episode is my annual roundup of the products that actually earned a spot in my real life this year.

In this episode, I’m sharing my Favorite Things of 2025, including gut-friendly staples to nervous system supports, mineral must-haves, mom life helpers, and business tools that genuinely make life easier.

Here’s the important part:
You don’t need gadgets or a ton of products to heal your gut. The foundations matter most: sunlight, nervous system regulation, laughter, and solid routines. These products simply support that work.

To keep it simple and not overwhelming, I gave awards in each category:

• a Gold Medal if you only choose one
• a Runner-Up
• and Honorable Mentions for everything else that made the list

If you’re someone who loves trying new things (like me), or you just want a short list of what’s actually worth it, this episode is for you.

Quick note on links

This episode is not sponsored. Some links on the product page are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you choose to purchase through them. Thanks for supporting the podcast and my small business.

Links

• View my Favorite Things of 2025 (all products linked here)
• Follow me on Instagram

Grab a walk, a coffee, or your favorite mineral mocktail and listen in.

If the holidays always feel like the hardest time of year for your gut with the bloating, the constipation, the fatigue, the heaviness after meals then this episode will feel like a deep breath.

The truth is… the holidays aren’t the problem.
Restriction, stress, poor digestion, and an unsupported gut foundation are.

In today’s episode, Dr. Heather breaks down exactly how to support your gut through the holidays without eliminating foods, micromanaging your plate, or white-knuckling your way to January.
You’ll learn what your symptoms are really trying to tell you and the simple things you can do right now to feel more grounded, nourished, and supported.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why minerals are your holiday superpower
• Digestion habits that actually move the need
• What your bloating timing reveals
• Sticky stool and bile support
• Travel-friendly gut support
• Why December is actually the best time for testing

Ready to stop guessing and start supporting your gut for real?

For December only, when you apply to gutTogether® this week, you’ll receive 3 extra weeks inside the program so that you can tart January with answers and not another quick fix that doesn't work

Apply for 1:1 support inside gutTogether®

Connect with Dr. Heather

So many women do everything right — eat well, exercise, get their labs checked — and still feel tired, puffy, bloated, or frustrated when their skin flares and their energy crashes. And when bloodwork comes back “normal,” it’s easy to feel confused or even dismissed.

This conversation brings so much clarity to what your body may actually be asking for: mineral support.

In Part 2 of Heather Brown’s HTMA review, we unpack her real mineral test results and explore how hidden imbalances — like high calcium, low sodium + potassium, a high magnesium burn rate, and iron–copper issues — can quietly contribute to symptoms like low energy, stubborn acne, difficulty recovering from workouts, and feeling like your usual habits just aren’t working anymore.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why “normal” bloodwork often misses mineral imbalances — and how HTMA fills the gaps
• What a high magnesium burn rate tells us about stress and adrenal load
• Why low sodium and low potassium matter for energy, blood sugar, and overall resilience
• How long-term fasting can become a stress when your system is depleted — and the signs to look for
• Why acne may be connected to mineral imbalance vs. food triggers alone
• The role of sleep, morning sunlight, circadian rhythm, and joy in restoring your adrenals

If you’ve been wondering why your energy is low, your skin isn’t cooperating, or your usual routine isn’t giving you the results it used to, this episode will help you understand what your minerals might be trying to tell you — and where to go from here.

Listen to Part 1 of this episode with Heather Brown on the Healthy by Heather Brown podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mineral-deficiency-is-it-the-root-of-your/id1638763905?i=1000738241297

Want to understand your own mineral patterns like Heather did?

Join the waitlist so you are the first to know about our Black Friday Sale!

You’ll get your own mineral test, personalized interpretation, and a customized plan to support metabolism, stress, digestion, and energy.

(Last year it sold out fast! Once the 50 spots are gone, they’re gone.)

Connect with Dr. Heather:

• 💻 Website
• 📸 Instagram

Connect with Heather Brown:

• Heather Brown's ebooks & products: https://www.mylifewellloved.com/product-category/digital-products/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/healthybyheatherbrown/

So many women move through pregnancy feeling exhausted, puffy, bloated, and overwhelmed by symptoms that never quite make sense. And when labs come back “normal,” it’s easy to feel confused or even dismissed. This conversation brings clarity to what your body is actually asking for: minerals and electrolytes.

In this episode, we talk through why electrolytes for pregnancy matter far more than most people realize, how fatigue and bloat are often rooted in mineral depletion, and why supporting minerals can completely change how you feel during pregnancy and postpartum.

We unpack what it looks like to enter pregnancy already depleted, how those symptoms get louder as the months go on, and why simple electrolyte support can improve energy, digestion, hydration, skin, and even hair growth. You’ll also hear how personalized mineral support through HTMA testing can help you understand what your body needs so you can finally feel better.

Inside this episode, you’ll learn:
• Why normal bloodwork doesn’t always show mineral imbalances
• How low electrolytes contribute to fatigue, puffiness, and digestive issues
• The connection between electrolytes and better stomach acid, hydration, and blood sugar
• Simple ways to support sodium, potassium, and magnesium during pregnancy
• What a custom mineral blend is and how it can replace multiple supplements
• How electrolytes support postpartum recovery, milk supply, and hormone balance

If you’ve been wondering why you still feel tired, bloated, or dehydrated no matter how healthy you eat or how much water you drink, this episode will help you understand what your body has been trying to tell you.

Want to understand your own metabolism and mineral patterns?

Join the waitlist so you are the first to know about our Black Friday Sale!

You’ll get your own mineral test, personalized interpretation, and a customized plan to support metabolism, stress, digestion, and energy.

(Last year it sold out fast! Once the 50 spots are gone, they’re gone.)

Connect with Dr. Heather:

• 💻 Website
  
  
• 📸 Instagram

Weight Loss Resistance, Stress, and the Mineral Patterns Behind a “Stuck” Metabolism

Today’s episode features an incredibly relatable story from Lindsay, a marriage and family therapist, military wife, mom of two, and someone who felt like she was doing everything “right”: eating well, following the plan, exercising, pushing herself… and still gaining weight, feeling exhausted, and being told her labs were “normal.”

After pregnancy and years of intense stress, deployments, and living abroad, her body felt completely out of control. Doctors offered restrictive diets, a thousand-calorie meal plan, and no real answers. Even after following those recommendations perfectly, nothing changed.

What did change?
Seeing her HTMA results and finally understanding why her metabolism was struggling and what her body needed to feel safe enough to start healing.

In this episode, Lindsay shares:
• What weight loss resistance felt like when nothing worked
• How chronic stress, postpartum depletion, and metabolism are deeply connected
• Why “normal labs” don’t tell the full story
• The moment she realized she wasn’t crazy and that she was actually depleted
• The difference mineral repletion made in her energy, digestion, mood, and confidence
• How improving her health shifted her marriage, parenting, and work life
• How she maintained her progress months later

Want to understand your own metabolism and mineral patterns?

Join the waitlist so you are the first to know about our Black Friday Sale!

You’ll get your own mineral test, personalized interpretation, and a customized plan to support metabolism, stress, digestion, and energy.

(Last year it sold out fast! Once the 50 spots are gone, they’re gone.)

Connect with Lindsay

Find her on Instagram: @marriedafterkids
Website: www.marriedafterkids.com

Her work supports couples navigating the stress and identity shifts that come with parenting and she shares how her own healing journey has made her a better partner and parent.

In today’s episode, I’m joined by my mom, aka the one and only Queen Alice, to share her hilarious (and kind of wild) story about how supporting her minerals completely changed her health.

For years, she struggled with intense leg cramps, we’re talking full-body, middle-of-the-night, can’t-move kind of cramps. Doctors told her to drink more water, stretch, or just “deal with it.” But nothing worked… until we ran an HTMA test and discovered the real root cause: mineral depletion from years of stress.

You’ll hear:

• The moment we both realized something had to change (it involved an “exorcism-level” leg cramp)
• How stress, dehydration, and even margaritas were making things worse
• Why her magnesium was high but still not working and what that actually means
• The surprising benefits she noticed after balancing her minerals (better sleep, calmer moods, no more cramps!)
• How she titrated her custom mineral blend after her body said “uh, too fast!”
• Some sweet and slightly emotional memories about my journey as a shy child who is now an entrepreneur

If you’ve ever dealt with leg cramps, restless sleep, anxiety, or constant dehydration no matter how much water you drink this episode will help you connect the dots and see how simple mineral support can change everything.

✨ HTMA Black Friday Sale
We’re opening 50 spots for our biggest sale of the year on the HTMA Bundle which includes your mineral test, personalized results, and custom recommendations.
Join the Waitlist Here

Waitlisters get first access when doors open. Once those 50 spots are gone, the sale closes until 2026.

Connect with Dr. Heather:

• 💻 Website
  
  
• 📸 Instagram

When Lacey started losing handfuls of hair postpartum, she thought it had to be a hormone problem. Her labs were “normal,” her doctor told her to give it more time, and yet, she didn’t feel like herself.

That’s when we ran an HTMA test (Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis) and found what was really going on beneath the surface: extreme mineral depletion from pregnancy, breastfeeding, stress, and lack of sleep.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• How mineral depletion can mimic hormone issues like hair loss, fatigue, anxiety, and poor sleep
• What a “four lows” pattern means on an HTMA test and why it’s so common for moms
• How quickly Lacey started feeling better once she replenished her minerals
• The surprising benefits she noticed beyond hair growth including better digestion, energy, and calm

If you’ve ever wondered why your labs look normal but you still feel off, this episode will show you how looking at your minerals can finally give you answers.

✨ Join the HTMA Bundle Waitlist for Black Friday
We’re opening just 50 spots for our biggest sale of the year on the HTMA Bundle, which includes your mineral test, personalized results, and custom recommendations.

Join the Waitlist Here
Once spots are gone, the sale closes, so make sure you’re on the list!

Connect with Dr. Heather:

• 💻 Website
  
  
• 📸 Instagram

What if the biggest thing holding you back from healing isn’t your diet, your labs, or your supplement routine, but your beliefs about what’s possible?

In this episode, Dr. Heather shares a deeply personal look at how she went from being the “shy girl” no one expected much from, to struggling with gut issues and exhaustion, to finally building a thriving practice, all by learning to stop defending her limitations.

You’ll learn how the stories you tell yourself shape your physiology, why your nervous system can’t heal when it feels unsafe, and the small mindset and lifestyle shifts that can completely change your trajectory.

If you’ve ever caught yourself thinking, “Must be nice for her…” — this one’s for you.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• The difference between limitation and belief, and how both impact healing
• The science behind how your thoughts create neural pathways that shape your body’s response
• Real stories of fear, grit, and consistency from Dr. Heather’s own healing and business journey
• How to retrain your nervous system to feel safe enough to heal
• Five practical steps to start shifting from comparison to curiosity (and bring joy back into the process)
• Why the most successful clients aren’t the ones with the most resources, but instead they’re the ones who can hold the vision that healing is possible

Resources & Links Mentioned:

• ✨ Apply for gutTogether® VIP
  (Our 6-month high-touch program includes personalized testing, mineral and gut protocols, and integrated nervous system coaching.)
• 💬 Follow Dr. Heather on Instagram
  for more daily gut and hormone tips
• 🔍 Take the free quiz to uncover what might be keeping you stuck

Share this episode:

If this conversation helped shift your mindset, share it with a friend or tag @drheatherfinley