Health and wellness advice that is delivered via social media is a slippery slope for many influencers, as much of this advice comes off as “fake” or inapplicable in the real world. However, Vanessa Fitzgerald, known as Vee’s Honey online, is a certified nutrition response tester and small business owner who has mastered the perfect social media presence in which she presents invaluable health advice in a digestible (no pun intended) way. I was first introduced to Vanessa’s page about two years ago when a friend told me about why Vanessa did not like oat milk. As an oat milk fiend, I needed to check the credibility of this so-called oat milk hater. While I soon gave up my oat milk lattes, I obtained access to the amazing Vee’s Honey and her abundance of health advice in return (so worth it).

I was lucky enough to interview Vanessa, and, after speaking with her, it is evident what a hard worker she is, from her small business to social media to her career as a nutrition response tester and more. It is amazing how she juggles it all and makes it look so easy. I hope you enjoy the interview, and follow Vanessa on Instagram if you do not already!

PS: I have started a new section on the blog where I ask my interviewees rapid fire questions. Find the first round of the rapid fire at the bottom of this interview!

1. How did you get your start? Have you always been passionate about health?

I got my start from my own health journey and trying to figure out what was going wrong in my body. I started at around age 14 just to notice that I had weird little chronic stuff happening. I knew that it wasn’t normal, and there had to be another way to live. I just had this instinct. I did not grow up in a healthy household, so I just started doing research. There was a girl in my school who was a vegan, and her mom was making her go to a nutritionist. She had supplements with her, and I was always fascinated by these supplements that I would see her take. And her food looked way more nutritious than my pizza bagel bites and what not. So, I asked my mom if I could go to this nutritionist, so I did. I saw this nutritionist in Brentwood who changed my life. I am a very Type A personality, and I listened to everything he said. All my symptoms went away, my skin cleared up, and I just became obsessed with nutrition and body.

Over years, we are exposed to a lot in our environments and in our food, and therefore our bodies show weird things over time. Those symptoms are just a cry for help. As I was getting older, I would find other little things that I would want, and I would try every modality under the sun: acupuncture, sun naturopath, all these different ways of healing. I stumbled across nutrition response testing, and it was the only modality that worked for me. Within a week, I saw improvement, and I became obsessed with nutrition response testing. I was a patient of it for five or six years before I decided that that’s what I wanted to do with my life. Then I partnered with a doctor in Queens to get me into this school, and I started training. The rest is history!

2. There are always so many diets and fads. What is your key to achieving sustainable yet efficacious health?

It really depends on the individual. Knowledge is power. Knowing everything from your blood type (which is not black and white), understanding your macro and micro nutrients by getting a test or getting your hormones tested, and understanding what’s going on in your system is a great start to deciding what diet fits best for you. Also listening to your body. We are very emotionally tied to food as a society, so when you are told maybe this isn’t good for you and you are having chronic issues because of this, people break down typically, and they get really upset. They have this narrative going on their head that this isn’t sustainable and this isn’t normal, but what is normal? Is normal feeling bad, or is it feeling better? It is all about how good you want to feel, and when I decided to change my diet, I realized that I felt better and I continue to feel better. It’s not like I never cheat on my diet, but when I do, I don’t feel optimal. I don’t feel as energetic, I feel a little swollen, I am not performing as my best self. It really depends on the individual and what works best for them. For me, protein, healthy fat, and moderate vegetable, is how I thrive.

C: Do you think most people, after researching should stick to a certain diet, or do you think it is malleable?

 V: People can heal from different food intolerances, maybe not allergies, but intolerances just by staying off certain foods and strengthening the immune system and the gut. Typically, a lot of food allergies are a weekended immune system, and the gut is 80% of our immune system, so once you strengthen that, typically some food intolerances will dissipate. Then there are some foods that just cause issues like discomfort, bloating, gas, so that’s really up to the individual whether they want to put themselves through that or not and make a decision that way.

3. You recently founded Paya Health, holistic skin gummies with Retinol and Biotin. What prompted you to start Paya?

I am sent a lot of topical products including things like glycolics and retinols, all the things that are meant to cause slight trauma to the skin, so the skin starts producing new skin cells. There is a turnover rate to reduce wrinkles and science of aging. However, I would have reactions to things glycolic – dermatitis or retinol would cause my skin to peel and flake and become more sun sensitive or photo sensitive, so I would get spots and burn easier on my face. I got really interested in internal anti-aging, and I think that’s where the future lies with everything from stem cells to collagen. I thought if you put retinol on your face, and it is just a form of Vitamin A, why can’t you take it internally? Essentially, Accutane is not retinol, but it is a very high dose of vitamin A. So, we did a healthy dose of retinal and biotin for hair, skin, and nails. I started testing the product out, and I was getting all these compliments on my skin, and my hair was starting to grow back from any pre-existing hair loss I had, and my nails were super strong. I fell in love with it and decided to put it on the market!

4. I’m obsessed with your long, luscious hair – what is your secret to this hair?

To be honest, a lot of it is hereditary. I was born with incredible hair. I did lose a lot of it during the pandemic – a ton of it. My hair health has been an uphill battle for the last two years, but the Paya gummies have really, really helped my hair. Also, through nutrition response testing, correcting imbalances, whether they were in my thyroid or my adrenals or various different organs that could possibly be causing hair loss. After balancing that all out, the hair loss subsided.

C: Was your hair loss occurring due to stress?

V: No, it wasn’t necessarily because of stress because it’s not that I felt super stressed out. My body just decided to take a turn. At first, it was having to do with my thyroids, and then it was having to do with my circulation. I basically had to correct many layers in order to get my hair to stop falling out.

5. I was a die-hard oat milk latte girl until I noticed the way it made me feel AND I learned you are not a fan. I actually wrote a blog post all about the controversy on oat milk. Tell us why you don’t love oat milk.

I don’t love oat milk because most oat milks are 70% canola oil or rapeseed oil or essentially just these bad oils. Also, it’s really hard to find a clean grain that doesn’t have any cross-contamination with things like glyphosates and such, at least in the US. You are exposing yourself to more toxins through drinking grains because it’s not even like you’re eating [them], but liquifying grains can be quite irritating on the system. Also, oat milk is super high in carbohydrates, so you are drinking your carbohydrates and eating them, so you are asking to put bloat on. There are so many other alternatives out there to milk. I really like flax milk by this company Malibu Milk – it’s a great oat milk alterative for people who are tired of the almonds and the hemps and the coconuts.

6. What is your mission with Vee’s Honey?

I kind of got caught up in Paya, so right now it is just to help everyone live a happier, healthier life because if you have happier, healthier humans walking around [who] actually take care of themselves, the world would be a better place. Everybody thinks it’s selfish or you’ve got to be fighting the cause for everyone else which is not the case: If you are unwell, you are unable to do any good in the world. It simply goes back to the oxygen mask theory: You can run down a plane as it’s going down putting everyone else’s oxygen mask on, but you will be dead in a matter of minutes! You are no good to the world unless you take care of yourself first.

7. What is the most rewarding part of your career?

Seeing people surprise themselves that they can actually heal. There is a moment of shock and this a-ha moment of I never thought this was possible! It is possible. It is realizing they really did it themselves. I am merely a guide. It is up to them to actually do it. To do the work, to take the time, to take the supplements, and be regimented about their diet or lifestyle changes, or start meditating. When they do these things, and they see the change, it is priceless.

8. What is the biggest challenge you face in your career?

There are not enough hours in the day! Now that I took on Paya… through trying to do two things at once, sometimes I just feel braindead.

RAPID FIRE QUESTIONS (a new section in my interviews!):

What advice would you give to your 17-year-old self?

That it is all going to work on perfectly! To not sweat the small stuff and to not take life too seriously.

What is your motto?

Don’t take life too seriously.

What is the quality you most admire about yourself?

My resilience and fortitude. I was dealt a challenging set of cards when I was a little girl and as a teenager, and I am where I am today and who I am today because of my desire to be better, do better, perform better, and not play the victim to my circumstances. Some people think I am a little too tough, but I don’t necessarily see it as tough but more so strong because I think a lot of us want to blame outside circumstances for how we are, what we have, how we feel. If we could all just take ownership over it, then we would actually achieve healing. You can’t blame anybody else but yourself, and you have to learn how to forgive.

What is the quality you most admire in others?

I really admire people that are able to look at life glass half-full. They are able to see the bright side of things and cultivate joy in their daily life. They literally choose to be happy, and they do whatever it takes to see the beauty of everything in life, even the shitty parts.

 Chocolate or vanilla?

Chocolate.