Is there Teflon in your dental floss? Toxins in your toothpaste? When it comes to toothbrushes, what’s the best choice? How about oil pulling – does it work? How does nutrition affect oral health? I dive into the research to answer these questions!
In this podcast episode, we learn about some food sensitivities beyond the paleo autoimmune protocol: oxalates, sulfur, and salicylates. How common are these sensitivities? How do you know if you have them? And how are they treated? This is a tricky conversation, because orthorexia and food fear are common in our community. I don’t want to encourage anyone to restrict their diet unnecessarily. However, for some people, one of these sensitivities might be a missing puzzle piece to their health. My guest is Heidi Turner, an integrative dietitian trained in both western and naturopathic nutrition. She has 15 years experience working with people with autoimmune disease. She excels at helping people identify food sensitivities, treat root causes, and expand their diets again.
As many of you know, trauma increases the risk of developing autoimmune disease, and it can also increase the severity of symptoms. It changes the way your brain is wired and can trap your body in an inflammatory cycle. This online course uses neuroscience, expressive writing, and mind-body techniques to rewire your brain for health. The creator is Donna Jackson Nakazawa, a leading expert on the science of the mind-body connection and its effect on the immune system. She condenses 30 years of expertise into this transformative program.
With autoimmune disease, habits have a big impact on our health, yet 80% of New Year’s resolutions fail. Why is this so? Should we give up? Or are there things we can do to make us more likely to succeed, whether we make a resolution on January 1st or any other day of the year? That’s the topic of our podcast today. My guest is Dr. Shainna Ali, a mental health counselor, educator, and advocate. She’s an expert at helping people make positive changes in their lives, and be compassionate with themselves while they do it.
Are you curious (or confused) about the AIP food reintroduction process? I created this interview series so you could hear about other people’s experiences. Miranda Sloan has celiac disease and collagenous colitis. In this interview, she shares which foods she was able to reintroduce successfully, which reintroductions “failed”, how she discerned the difference, and what she learned along the way. The Paleo Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) has 2 phases: elimination and reintroduction. It’s this second phase where we learn how to expand and personalize the diet for our unique bodies.
Most people listening to this podcast have autoimmune disease, but it can be confusing to understand what exactly is happening within our bodies. That changes today! In this episode, we take a deep dive into the immune system. How does a healthy immune system work? What changes with autoimmune disease? How do diet and lifestyle choices calm down (or ramp up) the autoimmune response? My guest is Dr. Douglas Pucci, a functional medicine doctor with over 30 years clinical experience. He has a gift for describing medical information in a way that’s easy to understand.
Speaking from the heart about world events, and sharing my values with my blog readers, podcast listeners, and friends.
Fuel your body for health on the Paleo AIP! The colors of fruits and vegetables aren’t just beautiful. Each color provides unique nutrients for your body: red, orange, yellow, green, purple, blue, and white. Here’s a detailed produce list for each color, along with the health benefits they provide.
If you’re a regular listener of my podcast, you know that I often start my shows with personal stories, where my guests share their health journeys from rock bottom to reclaiming a vital life. But at a least once a year, I dedicate an episode to back-to-back healing stories, and I make an effort to speak to people with different autoimmune diagnoses each time. In this episode, we talk about Ulcerative Colitis, Multiple Sclerosis, CRMO, Graves’ Disease, and also Autoimmunity in general. And if you want to hear the prior Healing Stories podcasts, check out episodes 1, 14, 30, 43, 61, 87, 113, and 139. Let’s inspire each other!
How I made it through one of the toughest years of my life with rheumatoid arthritis, and my hopes for 2021.
This is one of the most popular podcast episodes – for good reason! One of my goals is to make the Paleo Autoimmune Protocol as simple to follow as possible. In this episode, I dedicate an entire podcast to the most frequently asked questions I’ve received: Will the AIP work for my diagnosis? Is it helpful if you don’t have autoimmune disease? Does it replace medication? How does it differ from the Wahls Protocol? Why can’t I just do an allergy test? Can you do the AIP as a vegetarian? Why isn’t coffee allowed? Can you have sugar on the AIP? I’m constantly hungry – what do I do? Tune in to get answers to these questions, and many more.
This is one of the most popular podcast episodes – for good reason! If you’re experiencing symptoms without a diagnosis, or symptoms that remain in spite of all the interventions you’ve tried, this episode is for you. DNRS is a therapy based on neuroplasticity. With chronic illness, symptoms can actually become wired into our brains, even when the triggers for those symptoms are removed. DNRS is a therapy done at home, that rewires the brain (and body) for health. What types of conditions have been helped? Post-COVID syndrome, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic Lyme disease, multiple chemical sensitivity, irritable bowel syndrome, mold toxicity, chronic inflammatory response syndrome, mast cell activation, food sensitivities, chronic pain, mental health issues, and more. In this podcast, I speak with Annie Hopper, the creator of DNRS. She explains what this program is and how it works.
One of the joys of living is celebrating special occasions with those we love, and food often ends up being a central part of that celebration. What happens when your diet has changed and you’re no longer eating traditional celebration foods? The answer isn’t to give up on celebrations. Life is meant to be enjoyed! It just takes a little creativity to adapt the food piece in a way that’s delicious, special, and supports your healing at the same time. In this episode, two AIP experts share their favorite ways to do that. We’ll be talking about year-round holidays, birthdays, and parties in general. Whether it’s an anniversary, a graduation, or a retirement celebration, you can serve AIP food so delicious everyone will enjoy it!
Have you ever had a stress-induced autoimmune flare? You’re not alone. Research shows that stress increases the risk of developing autoimmune disease, exacerbates symptoms, and slows recovery. Thankfully, there are things we can do to interrupt this effect. It’s not about eliminating stress altogether – that would be impossible. It’s about managing our stress response. Quick interventions have power when applied regularly. Here are five of my favorites.
Often, perfectionism is seen as a positive trait. What’s wrong with striving for excellence? Nothing, but there’s a difference between healthy striving and perfectionism. Healthy striving is a self-compassionate mindset that allows for mistakes, learns from them, sets challenging but achievable goals, and adapts as needed. Perfectionism fears failure, despises mistakes, sets unattainable goals, and feels shame and self-judgement when those impossible goals aren’t met. When you apply perfectionism to autoimmune disease, your diagnosis may feel like your fault, and every flare may feel like a failure. You may believe that if you just lived your life perfectly, you could cure yourself. I am a recovering perfectionist, so I have felt all of these things. Don’t judge yourself if you have felt this way, too. In this podcast, we explore the connection between autoimmune disease and perfectionism. My guest is Dr. Judy Tsafrir, a holistic psychiatrist who approaches mental health from a functional medicine perspective. She strives to treat root causes in her practice, rather than just symptoms.
Many people think that healing diets are restrictive, but for me it expanded the variety of foods I eat. There are so many delicious vegetables I never tried before going AIP. Rutabaga is one of those, and now it’s a favorite! It’s a beautiful blend of savory and sweet, and filled with nutrition to support healing. In this post I share my favorite recipe, along with the nutrients that make rutabagas a prime example of food as medicine.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia is more effective than sleeping pills, and doesn’t come with side effects. How compelling is that? We talk a lot about the importance of sleep on this podcast. Lack of sleep can lead to autoimmune flares, which in turn can interfere with sleep, creating a vicious cycle. This happens to everyone once in a while, and there are some basic interventions we can do to support our ability to sleep well. But what if you’ve tried all the basics, and nothing seems to work? That’s called chronic insomnia, and that’s the focus of our podcast today. CBT-I is specifically designed to help you overcome chronic insomnia. My guest is Dr. Jade Wu, a clinical psychologist and behavioral sleep medicine researcher. The focus of her research is treating sleep disorders in people with chronic illness.
Doris found herself in the position many patients do – steadily worsening health with no clear cause. Her doctors couldn’t find anything wrong, and all her labs came back “normal”. That’s when she sought the help of a naturopath and discovered her autoimmune diagnoses. The Paleo Autoimmune Protocol made a huge difference in her quality of life. It eliminated almost all of her symptoms and diminished the rest. She shares the details in this interview.
Most of my podcast episodes focus on autoimmune health in general, with information that can help all of us regardless of diagnosis. But I also enjoy doing occasional diagnosis spotlights. This is where we take a detailed look at one particular autoimmune disease. Today, we’re focusing on Graves’ Disease. When it comes to thyroid autoimmune disorders, we hear a lot more about Hashimoto’s in the paleo autoimmune community. Yet Graves’ Disease is also one of the top five autoimmune diagnoses. It affects millions of people around the world. My guest is Dr. Abbi Lulsegged, a functional endocrinologist practicing in London, UK with over 25 years of clinical experience. He believes strongly in investigating the root causes of a patient’s problems and treating people holistically.
Inflammation is a natural part of being human – in fact, it can save our lives, but when it gets out of control, it can also cause damage. People with autoimmune disease know that very well. Every time we have an autoimmune flare, inflammation is part of that process. The higher the inflammation, the worse the flare. Not only that, but chronic inflammation is both a symptom of autoimmune disease and a root cause. How do we interrupt that cycle? How do we manage acute inflammation in the moment, and reduce chronic inflammation long-term? My guest for this podcast is Dr. Will Cole, a leading functional medicine expert and author of the book, The Inflammation Spectrum. He specializes in identifying and treating the root causes of chronic illness.
In the research, they call it expressive writing or art therapy. At home, we call it journaling. This simple practice is an amazing stress management and self-awareness tool. It helps release emotions that are difficult to let go, gain clarity to make difficult decisions, uncover hidden parts of yourself, express gratitude, discover playfulness, and simply honor and accept where you are in the moment. You don’t have to be a writer or an artist to keep a journal and gain these benefits. In this podcast, we’ll be focusing on using creative journals for autoimmune health. My guest is Olwen Wilson, a woman with autoimmune disease herself who also teaches the art of journaling.
When rheumatoid arthritis took over Kylie Hansen’s body, it felt like being set on fire from the inside. The pain was excruciating, and she struggled to care for her young children. Many medications failed before she found ones that helped, but she wondered if there was anything she could do to reduce her symptoms. That’s when she found the Paleo Autoimmune Protocol. While it wasn’t a cure, it allowed her to reduce her medication, mitigate the side effects, and feel empowered that she could make a positive difference in her own health.
We all come from cultural backgrounds where food is part of our family heritage. Did you grieve lost food traditions when you went paleo or AIP? Did you find AIP versions that came close? Or did you find new ways to celebrate those traditions? These are the questions I’m asking my guests today.
We talk a lot about nutrient density and diversity on this podcast. Every food has a unique nutrient profile, and when we get in food ruts and eat the same thing every day, our nutrition suffers. The same thing happens with movement. Modern life limits the way we move our bodies, but then chronic illness can limit it even more. This creates a vicious cycle. How do we break free and expand our ability to move, enhancing our health at the same time? My guest is Katy Bowman, a biomechanist, teacher, speaker, and author. She’s written 8 books, including the bestselling Move Your DNA, which has been translated into more than a dozen languages.
I love meatballs! There are so many flavor variations, and when you bake them in the oven, they cook quickly and easily. AND they’re fun to eat – ask any kid! Today, I offer you one with the taste of Morocco. Morocco sits on a centuries-old spice trade route, and their cuisine reflects that abundance of flavor. While not all Moroccan herbs and spices are AIP, many of my favorites are, including ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, and saffron. However, I know saffron can be expensive, so the dipping sauce is optional. The meatballs are delicious enough to eat on their own!
Back in March, I recorded our first episode on the Coronavirus. Now, it’s time for an update. How are people with autoimmune disease faring? What’s the single biggest factor in recovery? What supplements and lifestyle choices support immune health? How do we navigate restrictions vs. reopening? And how do we support our mental health during the challenges of a long-term pandemic? My guest is Dr. Aly Cohen, an integrative rheumatologist who will be sharing the latest research with us.
Evelyn Thai overcame life-long eczema that she thought was just part of her family genetics. She also stopped her progression of vitiligo. In this interview, she honestly shares her curving path to health, including stress-eating impulses she had to overcome, and the importance of the mind-body connection. She learned that healing isn’t just about physical symptoms. It’s about mental and emotional health as well.
