Q&A with Jewel Zimmer on Trusting Your Gut

When wellness entrepreneur Jewel Zimmer couldn’t find the answers she needed, she created them. She co-founded Juna, which offers plant-powered and science-backed solutions for detox, digestion, brain, and sleep. Jewel is helping women optimize their overall health that goes beyond surface-level “fixes.” Jewel talks about her journey from pastry chef to co-founder and opens up about the deeply personal mission that fueled her transformative path.

“As women, we are constantly navigating the demands of modern life, often balancing careers, conscious parenting, self-care, and find ourselves in a constant state of sensory and schedule overload, striving to ‘do it all.’”

In this honest and empowering Q&A, Jewel Zimmer opens up about her most challenging moments, the rituals that keep her grounded, and the advice she wants every woman, working mom, and founder to hear.

Q&A with Jewel Zimmer

What inspired you to start Juna?

Juna was born out of necessity, an experience that unfolded over several years of my own health journey. Conversations with other women and my co-founders revealed that my experience was far from unique. Many women around us were facing their own health challenges, often feeling overwhelmed and uncertain about where to seek help that wasn’t a band-aid effect. As women, we are constantly navigating the demands of modern life, often balancing careers, conscious parenting, self-care, and find ourselves in a constant state of sensory and schedule overload, striving to ‘do it all.’ This collective struggle highlighted a pressing need for effective, non-pharmaceutical solutions bespoke to optimizing women’s health. Recognizing this unmet need led us to create Juna—a brand dedicated to providing clean, plant-powered wellness solutions designed to support women in achieving their optimal health and well-being.

Juna offers clean, plant-powered solutions designed to optimize gut health, detoxification, brain function, sleep, and metabolic health. Each product is clinically formulated with clean ingredients to effect real change in the body. In 2024, we ventured into the health tech space with the launch of MicrobiomeIQ, an at-home gut test. Partnering with the leading microbiome researcher in the world, we analyze 14,000 strains of bacteria and fungi, providing actionable insights on the top 40, along with personalized lifestyle, diet, and supplementation recommendations.

At Juna, we believe that community is a cornerstone of wellness. Since our launch, our company has grown exponentially, supporting tens of thousands of women on health journeys similar to ours. Juna is committed to unlocking your body’s full potential through plant-powered botanicals, amino acids, and probiotics, helping you restore your gut, boost metabolism, combat bloat, optimize brain function, and more so you can show up as your best self.

What is the bravest thing you’ve done while on your journey?

Sharing my health journey publicly. After the birth of my oldest daughter, I experienced delayed postpartum anxiety. It showed up about 7 months after I gave birth, and what felt like overnight. Each doctor I consulted seemed quick to prescribe medication without delving into the root cause. I felt unseen, unheard, and incredibly isolated. I was determined to find out how this happened and how to fix it, as if my life depended on it, so I sought alternative paths to healing. Trusting my intuition, I turned to acupuncture and an orthomolecular psychiatrist. Through comprehensive testing, we discovered that my body wasn’t producing amino acids as it should. Years later, while studying the microbiome at Stanford, I learned that amino acids produced in our gut are precursors to neurotransmitters, which are vital for brain function, mood, and stress response. I underwent a nine-month regimen of a specialized amino acid blend, which helped me regain control over my mental health. Even after welcoming another child, I haven’t relapsed. As difficult as this story was to share, it was a non-negotiable, so I could inspire other women and mothers to take their health into their own hands, to trust their intuition, and get to the root cause so they could live in freedom vs chasing symptoms with quick fix options.

What is a non-negotiable in your routine that keeps you focused?

I love this question because the answer touches on a few practices that I’ve consistently prioritized throughout my adult life. Meditation, gratitude, and exercise are my non-negotiable daily rituals that keep me grounded and focused. These aren’t new habits either. I’ve been meditating religiously for over 20 years. My kids and my husband will be the first to tell you, when I walk through the door after work, the very first thing I do is meditate and write in my gratitude journal. It helps me reset and transition from “work me” to “mom me.”

Growing up, I was always active with dance, gymnastics, track, and swimming. As I moved into my teenage years and became less active, I noticed a shift in my mental health. In my twenties, I began practicing yoga in my bedroom every morning before school and work, and I immediately saw the difference it made in not only my mood but my focus. Later, I fell in love with barre and pilates classes. My family literally begs me to go if I ever miss a day because they know I am always happier when I do. At the end of the day, it’s about finding what works for you and having people in your life who hold you accountable.

Since being introduced to Atomic Habits by James Clear, I’ve become a huge believer in the “1% better every day” mindset. Rather than focusing on immediate transformations, this approach emphasizes making small, consistent improvements daily that compound over time to create significant results.

I also drink Juna Detox drops every morning before I do anything else, even before coffee. This jumpstarts my detox pathways and tastes great! I recommend this practice to everyone I know.

What has been your biggest challenge while on this journey?

Work-life balance is essential, it’s also my biggest challenge. It’s possible to do it all, but not all at once, and not all the time. I’m extremely passionate about my work, but I also cherish time with my kids. While I strive to keep work at work and home life at home, I do blur those boundaries, from time to time, especially when it comes to bringing work home. As Juna has grown, we’ve been able to expand our team, offering me the opportunity to establish healthy boundaries and be more present for my children. Each day brings improvement.

What advice would you give to other working moms and entrepreneurs?

I felt like I “lost” my first career when I became a mom. The demands of working in a fine dining restaurant and pumping four times a day while trying not to miss my baby growing up were overwhelming. But if I hadn’t become a mother, changed my work, and experienced the debilitating postpartum challenges, I wouldn’t be on this path, which I now recognize as my true purpose. Building a company and developing a brand isn’t a linear journey. It’s filled with iterations and pivots, requiring efficiency, creativity, and, above all, resilience. Build with a co-founder you trust. Someone who shares your vision, work ethic but brings a completely different skill set to the table. Build a team that inspires you as much as you inspire them. So, my advice is: trust the process, build a village of support around you, and do the work that allows your authenticity to shine.

How do you define success?

Success is the ability to pursue what I’m passionate about while simultaneously making a positive impact on my community. It’s about feeling fulfilled and deeply grateful for the opportunity to live out my purpose, continuously learn, build meaningful relationships, and wake up each day excited for what’s ahead. It’s the perfect matrix of passion, purpose, impact, and personal fulfillment.