About

To learn about my personal story, please go HERE.

Formal Bio

Gina Rieg is the founder of SmileyGut Hacker. 

Gina empowers, guides and navigates others to their best health by focusing on ancestral wisdom, including ancestral food-ways and “beyond-food” essentials such as optimal light/sun, circadian rhythm optimization, sleep hygiene, non-native EMF reduction and “Thought & Emotional Nutrition”). Her passion is fueled by her own journey and adventure in overcoming chronic digestive “dis-ease” and other health issues. 

Gina supports her clients with navigating various health concerns but primarily specializing in digestive issues.  She simplifies the conflicting and often confusing nutrition and health information. She focuses on both the food and non-food foundations that are the basis of sustainable and thriving optimal health. Gina guides her clients with reducing the burden load that stresses and hinders the body. Among the areas of focus are food, sleep hygiene, light, non-native emf and thoughts.

In the beginning of her professional training, Gina received her Health Coach certification from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition with SUNY College. She continued to become a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, certified by the Nutritional Therapy Association.  Gina is also a Certified GAPS Practitioner (CGP) certified by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride. Furthermore, she has dug deeply into the areas of circadian & quantum biology, environmental burdens such as non-native EMFs and poor light, and thoughts/emotions. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology from the University of Maryland College Park. 

On a personal level, Gina enthusiastically walks her talk of preparing delicious ancestral-style meals, always finding the sunrise & prioritizes being in natural light and mastering thought & emotions.  She also enjoys functional movement training, playing volleyball, building community, connecting with her family & friends, doing handstands and being barefoot!

 

My Approach

Consistent nourishment from many areas provides the essential building blocks and fuel for balance and optimal health.  A properly prepared, nutrient-rich food lifestyle COMBINED with natural light, sun, proper circadian rhythm, an optimized environment AND self-loving thoughts and emotions truly creates the foundation for optimal health.  Optimal health comes from the synergy between what comes into the body (both food and non-food including our thoughts!) and then how the body actually functions with that communication.

When our body shows signs of illness, "dis-ease”, and even what some consider to be “just little health concerns”, it's a clear message that our body is unbalanced. 

The approach here at SmileyGut Hacker focuses on the following:

  • Ancestral Health. This encompasses how we lived ancestrally, both with food and beyond. Essential components of ancestral health are sleep hygiene, proper circadian rhythm, light/sun, movement, play and the environment in which we live.

  • Myth-Busting. By dissecting the MANY mainstream "healthy" myths out there, we are empowered to choose differently to opt for what serves our body versus burdening our body. Discovering how “mainstream healthy food" and “mainstream healthy lifestyle” are drastically preventing us from optimal health, is key in the transformation to optimal health.

  • Simplifying It. We've broken down the concepts in easy to understand terms. That’s vital for sustainability of changes. You will connect the dots between ancestral ways (food and non-food) and optimal health. Then you will be empowered to take concrete action steps.

  • Root Causes. By digging deeper into foundations of health, we functionally address health issues. For example, did you know that digestion impacts endocrine functions (hormone, metabolism) and that sugar handling affects digestion, the immune system and hormones as well? Did you also know that natural light sends proper communication to all our systems and that junk light hinders all processes, beyond sleep cycles? Also, junk thoughts play a major role as well!

  • Navigating “The How”. Many times, we might know what to do but the biggest hurdle is the HOW. We help you navigate “the how”, with gradual and sustainable steps.

This approach is the focus of SmileyGut Hacker.  

 

Training & Certifications

  • Health Coach Certification from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition
     

  • Nutritional Therapy Practitioner Certification from Nutritional Therapy Association

  • GAPS Certified Practitioner from Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride

Nutritional Therapy Practitioner Training

The NTA program further enhanced my approach with a concrete and clear alternative to the grain-based, low fat nightmare that is the official diet of modern America. This alternative is a properly prepared nutrient-dense whole foods diet as described more here. The Nutritional Therapy Association is founded on the beliefs of such nutritional pioneering greats as Weston A. Price and Dr. Francis A. Pottenger, considered two of the greatest scientific minds ever to research nutrition, food supplies and their effects on modern society. NTA's philosophy is that the myriad of health problems plaguing modern society result from weaknesses in the body's physiological foundations brought on by poor nutrition.

From my education in the Nutritional Therapy Program, I acquired deeper knowledge surrounding nutrition and the consequences of a poor food lifestyle, investigating how weak foundations lead to consequences in health. For example, did you know that digestion impacts endocrine functions (hormone, metabolism) and that sugar handling affects digestion, the immune system and endocrine function?

Key aspects of the Nutritional Therapy Practitioner program are:

  • Recognizing connections between food and nutrition with chronic conditions such as digestive issues, asthma, menstrual issues, weight issues, muscle cramping, fatigue, even cardiovascular inflammation to a certain degree.

  • Viewing clients as a complete organism, investigating underlying causes of health issues, focusing on systems instead of just symptoms.

  • Focusing on replenishment, to aid the body and its intelligence in healing itself. This is essentially preventative care.

  • Educating on the important factors for health outside of the scope, such as emotional issues and even structural defects of the need for movement.

 

GAPS - GAPS stands for "Gut and Psychology Syndrome" and "Gut and Physiology Syndrome".  The GAPS protocol takes Nutritional Therapy to the next level if appropriate for the person.  It establishes a connection between the state of the gut and the health of the rest of the body.  The GAPS protocol is an intense gut-healing protocol and I am glad to have personally experienced the benefits of GAPS and to be professionally trained by Dr. Natasha Campbell McBride, to help others through their GAPS journey.