What a fantastic season! It's not over, we're just taking a summer break. We want to thank you the listeners for tuning in every single Wednesday and thank you to the amazing guests that have been on the show! Thank you for believing in the importance of health and wellness and for embarking on this journey to help improve our personal overall health and well-being. Stay tuned for next season.

In this week’s episode, my special guest is Jenna Hua, RD, MPH, Ph.D. registered dietitian, environmental health scientist, CEO and founder of Million Marker.

Jenna's past research has focused on how our surrounding environment impacts our behaviors and health. An ardent believer in disease prevention, she wants to provide personalized preventive strategies to everyone to lead a healthier life.

Jenna’s extensive experience as an academic and health advocate led to her founding Million Marker in 2019, shortly after completing a Postdoctoral Fellowship with Stanford University’s School of Medicine. Throughout her career in academia, Jenna has researched and published numerous studies that largely focused on citizen’s science, general health, and the impact of food consumption on a person’s well-being. 

In one of her most recent publications, Jenna used machine learning to identify people based on food consumed in order to offer healthier food options. She also published another report that studied the arsenic exposure and risks of eating rice among adolescents in Kunming, China. Jenna has been a Project Manager for UNC’s Carolina Population Center, a Graduate Instructor and Research Assistant at UC Berkeley, and a Project Manager at UCLA’s Center for Population Research. She was also a US Fulbright Fellow at the Institute of International Education in Kunming, China. Jenna holds a BS in Nutrition and an MPH and Ph.D. in Environmental Health Sciences from UC Berkeley.

During our conversation with Jenna:

• Her journey into health and well-being

• Why Million Marker? What was her inspiration and passion behind the product/brand?

• What does wellness mean to you?

• An individual with health challenges wants to make changes in their life and wants to begin by detoxifying, where should they begin? 

• What does it mean to live a healthy lifestyle and how can someone begin their journey to a better tomorrow?

• What are endocrine-disrupting chemicals (or EDCs), how is it affecting us and what can we do to eliminate them in our lives and home? 

  
  

  Show notes: lpdstudio.ca/million-marker

  
  

  
  

In this week’s episode, my special guest is Laura Di Lorenzo, founder of Sunshine Mattress Co.

Sunshine Mattress Co. is an online organic mattress experience that focuses on solving individual needs, concerns, and preferences when it comes to sleep. The collection of products is handcrafted locally in Ontario at a family-run facility that specializes in manufacturing organic mattresses and other textiles. The simplified collection of products is always made using the highest quality, certified organic raw materials that provide a wealth of benefits, longer-lasting comfort, and an enhanced sleep experience. 

Laura opened her first showroom in Toronto in 2020 and has since relocated to Collingwood in April of this year. Her mission is to educate on the importance of high-quality and clean products, that you can feel good about getting into every night. After all - we sleep one-third of our lives!

Laura had the pleasure of serving customers all across Canada, grown partnerships with practitioners and influential people in the space of wellness. Sunshine Mattresses are in an AirB&B in Bancroft, and have received various media recognition through wellness podcasts and blogs

During our conversation with Laura:

• We learned about her mission, what sparked her passion for sleep quality?

• The journey of opening a sustainable business from the beginning to now. 

• What does wellness mean to her?

• How can a conventional mattress affect your sleep?

• What are the symptoms of sleeping on a bad mattress? 

• How do you know that you need to change mattresses?

• Is it better to sleep on a hard or soft mattress?

• How often should a mattress be replaced?

• Why invest in a healthy mattress, why does it matter and what are the benefits? 

Reference Links:

Sunshine Mattress -

Enter code “DESIGNINGWELLNESS” at checkout for a discount on bedding accessories

Sunshine Mattress Instagram Page

Show Notes: lpdstudio.ca/sunshine-mattress