Getting To Know Your Host: Cady Kuhlman

Brian Strickland  00:01

Hi, Cady.

Cady Kuhlman  00:02

Hi, Brian,

Brian Strickland  00:03

welcome to the new studio we’re so excited to Well, I’m excited to finally be able to have this conversation with you. We’ve got a lot to talk about. We spoke with your dad last week. And for those who don’t know, you are Ed’s daughter, you’ve been in this industry for a long time. So this week, I really just wanted to have a chat with you to kind of introduce you to the audience to give people a feel of your unique perspective of what it’s been like. Growing up in a home that was so health oriented, and not only that, working out a story, even from a young age that has kind of transformed into something unique and all its own. So if you can just kind of give a brief introduction of yourself. You’re married, you have kids, all that kind of fun stuff.

Cady Kuhlman  00:56

Sure. Thank you, Brian. So you’re right, I grew up in a household that was always focused on the fact that our bodies can heal themselves. When given the right nutrients, and taking away the wrong foods and the wrong nutrients. I you know, it’s all I’ve ever really known. So I have this fundamental belief system that is founded by decades at this point, because I am 31. And so, you know, I feel so blessed because it feels like it’s almost in my blood, to believe in this and also, to live the life and then to show others what this can be like. You know, a few funny little facts we, my dad never got on the train of the margarine, being healthy at all, he knew it was absolutely just garbage. So if we did eat out, we would take our own butter with us, he knew the healthy organic butter was the way to go. You know, I would always see him and my mom set out their pill packs, or they would be getting their pills out of the cabinet. We never feared fevers in our house, we never reached for the Tylenols to lower them. We always just believe that the body if we gave it the right stuff, and we kind of move through with herbs and the right nutrients that it was going to be okay. So that’s even passed on now. My son’s a little under the weather at the moment. And I don’t fear his fever. I don’t fear his colds. So it’s, it’s cool to see that kind of transpire through through the years. I do have my master’s degree in holistic nutrition that I got from American College of Healthcare sciences. Um, 200 hour yoga certified. I, you know, I read I stay up on this, I absolutely love this. It’s my life. And it’s also my business. But yeah, that’s a little bit about me.

Brian Strickland  02:36

Yeah. So when we talked last week, there was kind of a point in time where there was a big shift, I think, in his thinking about health. And obviously, I’m sure that was reflected in your family life as well. So I’m curious, what was it like, as even a child growing up in a home where maybe these ideals weren’t as popular as they are now? Because I mean, 40 years ago, people weren’t really talking about this stuff as much as

Cady Kuhlman  03:07

now. Yeah, definitely. So he was probably quite radical back then I would say, you know, no cereals were allowed in our house. And my friends were like, What do you mean cereal? Why isn’t a cereal allowed and is because he knew that the high fructose corn syrups and those unhealthy that glyphosate sprayed wheats, and all this stuff that’s within cereal was not a health food for us. And so, you know, growing up in a house like that, I didn’t find it unusual. But when I would go to other houses, and I would see what they were consuming, or what I would have sporting events and see what everyone was consuming. Prior to those events. I thought, Oh, I do live kind of a unique life here. I will say though, that my both my parents and especially my father, they didn’t force things on me. So they they would still allow like, if I wanted to eat that Cinnamon Toast Crunch or that bagel from Panera before a tennis match, or they, you know, I went to a friend’s house and had pizza and occasional coke for dinner. I was not lectured about it, I just was not going to have that in my house that I grew up in. And so there was this place of they knew I kind of had to find my own way with this. But they also weren’t going to bring it into our family home. And so I feel like it’s created a really balanced relationship with food for me. And it’s it’s one that, you know, I think we all know, if there’s sometimes too much black and white, then that child has a sense to maybe rebel out of that. I didn’t do that. I never felt the need to do that. I did go in, you know, have a few moments with sugar where I kind of get a frappuccino here, go to college and eat a little bit of maybe the sugary cereal I didn’t have but I would immediately notice how I felt after it. And not feeling high energy and not feeling clear mental thinking and all of that was enough for me to steer back away. And he kind of furthered Oh, this is why we don’t do this in my household.

Brian Strickland  04:51

Yeah. Wow. That’s really interesting. So even from a young age, you kind of had that innate sense of like, Hey, I feel bad when I eat these particular Foods and definitely I mean, that’s something that a lot of kids don’t even get to experience. Honestly,

Cady Kuhlman  05:04

definitely, I think I’ve always been like a very sensitive feeler and kind of empathic person that can they can feel things on a deeper sense. And so, yeah, it wasn’t worth all the curriculum and all the tennis matches and all the two do’s that I had to do for, you know, high school, middle school and college growing up, I didn’t have time to jeopardize that energy. So that’s something I love to kind of bring into my practice now with clients is everything’s better if we have energy, and we have the the resources within our body to pull from energy and support all those functions. So it wasn’t worth it for me to to eat those, you know, those foods. And it’s not saying I do perfect, but, you know, it’s it’s saying that I try 90% of the time.

Brian Strickland  05:45

Yeah. And I mean, that’s something that we try to preach here as much as possible that it’s really about balance. Yes. You, you don’t have to eliminate everything, necessarily, sometimes. It’s not a bad idea in certain cases, but those are pretty rare. But I know you’re, you’re like a big fan of the 8020 rule. It’s like, if you have a cookie after dinner, it’s not going to kill you. Yeah,

Cady Kuhlman  06:07

exactly, exactly. And I’m a huge fan of that, actually. Because I think if like I said, if we go to black and white, I think there’s a binge eating habit, or there’s this. Oh, that’s so off limits that I can’t touch it. And those off limits, things sometimes kind of draw us in. So I love an 8020 rule. I mean, there’s a great local pizza place in town that you could find me and before I was pregnant, maybe drinking even a beer. So like there’s occasional balance of the 8020. But on the whole 80% is what normally makes me feel the best. So I’m gonna stick with that for sure.

Brian Strickland  06:39

So obviously, at some point, there was a shift in your own life of thinking I these are principles and ideas that I’m really interested in that I want to practice in my own life that led you to being the co owner of nutrition world. So do you have an idea of like that certain time when that shift happened in your life that you thought, hey, this is something that I actually want to make a career out of?

Cady Kuhlman  07:03

I do. Yeah. So I went to UT for college, and I was majoring in psychology there. And I still love like looking at people’s psyche and looking at how people think, and I think it does influence business a lot to look at that. But I thought I was gonna be a counselor. So I thought I was going to sit down and one on one counsel and, you know, walk people through helping their brains be optimal, and working through stressors. And in a sense, I kind of do that. But I do it on a different level. And so once I returned back from college, and I got back into the family business, that was 11 years ago. So once I really got refocused on my career path, my dad didn’t force me down this at all, he didn’t say you have to come home, and you have to run the family business. But I kind of just naturally fell into place. And every day, I would get up and look forward to coming to work. And I would look forward to the clients. And I would feel the sense of home when I came into nutrition world. And I started pouring myself into even wanting to do it at night when I would get home and you know, had to find a balance there because I need a work life balance. But it was it was really self consuming, in a positive way, because it felt so right to me that I wanted to pour into it. So that was about 11 years ago, and I’ve never looked back. It was a very organic process of this is right, this is what I want to do with my life. And it’s felt even more right every year that’s gone on.

Brian Strickland  08:24

That’s awesome. Yeah. So I’m guessing after being at nutrition world for 11 years, you probably have a pretty unique perspective of your own of how it’s grown. What changes, you’ve seen the trends that have come and go this is this is kind of a question I asked Ed. Is there one in particular trend that you saw come into place that we like, I think that this will last? Because there are so many that, you know, just stay for a month? And then it’s over?

Cady Kuhlman  08:53

Yeah. Let’s see. So yeah, I mean, journeying through all these, these years. I mean, I’ve really journeyed for three decades here because I can think back to like, our original location, and then our second location ringing up the register, even when I was 1012 years old, I can think back to us moving to this location. You know, I think that honestly, in the last five to seven years, I have seen this, this turn in a really powerful belief system within I think the whole country but also really within our clients that they can really take their power of their own health back into their own hands. And that’s not saying that we don’t need doctors that we don’t need medicine because I’m again, not a black and white person. I think that we need both worlds. But I think we need doctors and medicine for more of the acute injuries and the you know, acute emergency situations I think we do but I think for preventive it preventative medicine and for looking at lifestyle medicine. I think people started seeing oh I need to eat eat better I need to exercise, I actually want someone to coach me through this. And I need nutrients. And I need to look and see, am I deficient in nutrients? So I saw that big turn five to seven years ago, I can’t exactly put my fingers on it. But that was really when you know, I think, remember, people started coming in, like hungry for knowledge at that point where before, I almost feel like we were working on them understanding it, but now they come in rd with that understanding, and they’re ready, and they want to know. And I think the other beautiful thing I could say is this partnership that can be had with doctors in with Western medicine, and then we partner with them. And so we need one another and how beautiful is that? If we can work on the side of nutrients and minerals and herbs, and then they can work on the side of diagnostic testing, you know, acute critical situations. And then we have one another I think that’s the way it was intended to be. And I actually see that happening more. Yeah.

Brian Strickland  10:59

Yeah. I mean, it’s, it’s kind of like the very definition of what holistic actually means, you know, it’s one, it’s a team approach, but it’s mind, body and spirit all combined. Yeah, you know, for your benefit and for your health. So that’s really cool. Yeah. Um, so walk us through a little bit of your journey of working at nutrition world, obviously, there’s been a lot of changes that have happened over the years. So I’m curious about, what are some of the things that you’ve seen change for the better? Yeah. From where you started to where we are now? And then looking towards the future? What are some things that you would still like to see accomplished here?

Cady Kuhlman  11:37

Yeah, totally. So, I mean, I’ve seen such massive growth in our customer count, we’re so blessed for that. You know, our doors are just busy all day long, with people coming through people hungry for knowledge, like I mentioned. I just see the industry as itself, just growing, I always see the numbers going up with trends within our own industry of, of more people turning to natural products. I mean, that’s a beautiful thing. I remember, when I was probably 1415. And I would work in the summers here, that we would oftentimes all the staff and myself included, we would wait on customers to come in and we’d sit up front, we’d read health magazines, so we could stay up on data. But it’s funny, because we don’t have time to sit up there and read health magazines. Now. I mean, I have to do that on my off time. Because we’re so busy and for customers. So it’s obvious that this growth is is something that the customers are desiring. And we’re so thankful for that. I think a place that I really see us going here in the future is growing our nationwide platform. I mean, we’re brick and mortar here in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and I would just love to grow and reach different parts of the country. And if you can’t, you know, visit us here, then you can visit us online. And hopefully we could still give that feel of really walking you through on a health journey. And then you can know that we’ve vetted our products, you can know that we’ve we’ve picked every single item because there’s a reason behind it. And so the nationwide education and the nationwide platform is like number one goal for me. Yeah, yeah,

Brian Strickland  13:07

I think that there’s there’s a good chance of that happening. Obviously, we have powerhouses in our nation that companies that are well, I won’t say any by name, but they’re there, they have vast overreach as far as customer acquisition was. And I think there’s going to be a shift at some point where people are are tired of it, you know, and they’re going to come back to more of shopping in those local businesses where you have that personalized approach. And you can walk into a store and somebody can ask if you need help, you know, because that’s a big deal these days for some reason. So that’s awesome. Lastly, you are a mom. And that’s a recent development within the last few years, and you’re expecting again. And I know that’s a huge part of what you’re passionate about, and what you believe in, just even as a wife and a mother, and as far as the health of young ones goes as well. So can you tell me a little bit about when did that occur? Like, obviously, we have a whole section now dedicated, that you’re very passionate about to health have even just home and non toxic goods and stuff like that? Sure. So

Cady Kuhlman  14:23

you know, once you experience something in life, I think it really obviously opens the door for you to run full steam ahead into knowing all about it. And so once I became pregnant with my son who’s now two, but once I became pregnant with him, I started seeing the amount of toxins that were in skincare, I started seeing the amount of toxins and even his diaper cream or, you know, a baby bubble bath and all of these things and we’re not meant to be perfect. And we’re also not meant to fear a lot of things. I don’t think that I ever want to put that message out there. But how can I help moms have an empowered decision towards what they’re choosing and what they’re making? And so I really started getting on this toxin free kind of movement. And I wanted to start seeing how many toxins can I eliminate because the more toxins I eliminate, the less our bodies burdened. And so it’s an easy concept. If we’re going to have 35 toxins that we’ve put on our skin, or we’ve inhaled or we’ve cleaned within the house, how can I remove that down to 20? How can I move that down to five, and then the body is not having to deal with that. So the body has more energy to deal with other things. And so yeah, the toxin free movement for nutrition rod has been huge for me. I think another big thing was ew G, the Environmental Working Group, when they did the study showing that 268 chemicals were found on the umbilical cord of a baby when they’re in utero. And this is with healthy moms that have tried their best so whole pregnancy. So these are not moms that are meaning to give these toxins to their children, they just weren’t aware of how many were actually going. So before that baby came into this world, they were already body burdened. And, you know, I think the Empower again, I go back, I think we can all heal, I think we can all come to a place where we’re at our most optimal health. But if we could eliminate some of those toxins, why would we not. So that really has been my movement of let me help moms find these products for their babies find products for them while they’re pregnant? Let’s make sure they’re on the best prenatal possible because they’re growing life inside of them. So I’m really on the huge movement of the postnatal prenatal and baby children movement.

Brian Strickland  16:30

Yeah. Well, I mean, in even beyond expecting moms or moms, you know, just in general, I think the evidence speaks for itself, we, we have a country that is constantly burdened by you know, some key illnesses that don’t go away. And I think it’s high time that we started looking at some of the factors that may contribute to that. And the products that have been deemed safe that we use day in and day out, may not be as safe as we once thought. So I’m glad that there’s not only evidence speaking to that, but I think there’s an awareness growing of, again, it’s about balance, it’s like, right, it’s very difficult to eliminate those goods all together sometimes. But there are all alternatives even that we have here in nutrition world that can help, you know, blend that and bring the balance back.

Cady Kuhlman  17:18

Exactly, exactly. And you can trust that we’ve gone into research and hand vetted these items so that an overwhelmed new mom doesn’t have to sit there and worry wonder Is that okay, is it not? Okay, you know, the gatekeepers of of what comes into nutrition world and what sits on our shelf, what sits on our website has been done. Yeah,

Brian Strickland  17:38

yeah, absolutely. Well, thanks, Katie. Thanks for joining me and chatting. And I’m sure we’ll do this again sometime soon as Yes, I would love to plenty of guests down the line. So

Cady Kuhlman  17:48

Wonderful.

Brian Strickland  17:49

We’ll talk to you later. Thank you.