How to Eat to Change How You Drink with podcast guest

Brooke Scheller, DCN, CNS, is a Doctor of Clinical Nutrition, author, and the founder of Functional Sobriety, a nutrition-based program for alcohol reduction. After finding freedom from alcohol in 2021, Dr. Brooke took her experience in sobriety and applied her expertise in nutrition and functional medicine to help others change their relationship with alcohol. Her approach improves brain health, mood, energy, focus, gut health, and hormone balance. Dr. Brooke’s expertise extends beyond theory, rooted in her personal transformation, resulting in improved brain health, mood, energy, focus, gut health, and hormone balance.

In this episode, Dr. Brooke and I talk about her book “How to Eat to Change How You Drink,” misconceptions around moderate drinking, the four drinking archetypes, her journey to stopping drinking, the need for individualized support, the impact of alcohol on gut health and neurotransmitters, nutritional strategies when cutting back on alcohol, and more. Enjoy the episode!

Episode Highlights

Dr. Brooke’s relationship with alcohol throughout the years and why she decided to stop drinking

Why Dr. Brooke believes it’s now easier than ever to cut back or stop drinking

Challenges in defining moderation and what research now shows about the effects of alcohol consumption

Clearing up common misconceptions about alcoholism

Assessing the impact of alcohol on your life

The three primary drinking archetypes: the social drinker, the stress drinker, and the habitual drinker

How we can benefit from individualized guidance rather than the traditional black-and-white view of alcoholism

The need to make alcohol’s impact on health a core part of the discussion in the wellness world

How alcohol affects your gut health and neurotransmitters

Challenges with reducing your alcohol intake when drinking has been a big part of your life and relationships

The importance of finding a community of like-minded people to support you on the journey

How Dr. Brooke’s life changed after she stopped drinking

Nutritional strategies that can help you when quitting or reducing alcohol consumption

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions from this episode — and how Fix Your Period can help.

What is the gut-hormone connection?

The gut microbiome plays a direct role in hormone metabolism. The estrobolome — the collection of gut bacteria that metabolise estrogen — determines how much estrogen gets reabsorbed into circulation vs. excreted. Poor gut health leads to estrogen recirculation, driving estrogen dominance and worsening period symptoms.

How does leaky gut affect hormones?

Intestinal permeability (leaky gut) allows bacterial toxins (LPS) into the bloodstream, triggering systemic inflammation that disrupts hormone signalling, stresses the adrenal glands, and impairs thyroid function. Healing the gut lining is often a foundational step in addressing hormonal imbalances.

What are signs that gut health is affecting my period?

Signs include bloating that worsens before your period, estrogen dominance symptoms (heavy periods, clots, breast tenderness, PMS), irregular cycles, skin issues like hormonal acne, and mood disruption — particularly anxiety and depression around the luteal phase.

Is there an app that addresses the gut-hormone connection?

Yes. Fix Your Period's free assessment identifies gut-linked hormonal patterns. Fix Your Period Premium unlocks Nicole's gut health protocols, dedicated Period Pillars education on the gut-hormone axis, and Nicole.AI for personalised support.

How does nutrition support the gut-hormone axis?

Key strategies include increasing dietary fibre (which binds excess estrogen for excretion), eating fermented foods to diversify the microbiome, reducing inflammatory foods that damage the gut lining, and addressing specific dysbiosis or SIBO with targeted protocols.

How to Eat to Change How You Drink

Episode Highlights

Watch on YouTube

Resources Mentioned

How Fix Your Period Connects Gut Health to Your Hormones

Frequently Asked Questions