Explore every episode of the podcast The Wellness Mama Podcast
Dive into the complete episode list for The Wellness Mama Podcast. Each episode is cataloged with detailed descriptions, making it easy to find and explore specific topics. Keep track of all episodes from your favorite podcast and never miss a moment of insightful content.
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Title
Pub. Date
Duration
If You Spot it, You Got it: Why Triggers are Teachers (Solo Episode)
05 Nov 2025
00:29:05
Episode Highlights With Katie
Why what annoys you in others often points to unhealed parts of yourself
How Carl Jung’s shadow work explains projection and self-recognition
Practical tools to turn triggers into growth opportunities
Real-life examples of how “spotting it” led to personal breakthroughs
Journaling prompts and self-inquiry methods to reframe irritations into insights
How Knowing Your Child’s Genetics Can Make Parenting Easier with Dr. Erika Gray
03 Feb 2025
00:39:12
Episode Highlights With Dr. Erika Gray
Important perspective about genetics and how to use this information for the biggest advantage
The nuance when it comes to children and genes
Genes do not exist in isolation and why focusing on one gene is not helpful
How understanding genetics helped her teens (and mine)
What COMT is and how this comes into play with influencing our worldview
Fast COMT break down dopamine and norepinephrine faster (linked to moving around, not sitting still, etc.)
How this understanding of genetics can relate directly to how we parent
Yet another reason protein is so important, especially for kids and teens
Genes related to serotonin and dopamine and neurotransmitters
We have 2-5 lbs of bacteria in our gut, and there is a gene called FUT2 that ties to lower levels of bifidobacteria, and this can be linked to anxiety, longevity, and more
Understanding choline genes and why this is a game changer for so many people, and this is critical for pregnancy and brain development
Some caveat around MTHFR and why we might be overdoing our response to this
Serotonin-related genes to look at if you get your kids' genes tested
What BDNF genes can tell you
MC4R is a snacking gene, and how to understand this
Bitter taste receptor genes and how these can make kids more picky
In this episode, I welcome special guest Steve Wright from SCDLifestyle.com to talk about all things digestion.
Steve is the co-creator of SCD Lifestyle and the Solving Leaky Gut System. He is a featured contributor for Wellness Media, and has worked with hundreds of people to help them improve digestive health. SCDLifestyle.com helps readers find answers to problems like Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Indigestion, Heartburn, Ulcerative Colitis, and other digestive problems.
How Leaky Gut Effects Digestion
In this episode we talk about finding real solutions for digestive problems and how to know what your body needs to improve digestion. Steve shares why conventional treatments often don’t work and how sometimes the “cure” can be like throwing fuel on the fire.
He shares the two supplements that often make a night and day difference for digestive health and tells his own story of recovery.
Steve talks about three things you must do everyday for optimal health and gives practical tips that you can do to give your family better health everyday.
Notes From This Episode
2:02- Steve’s own health problems 2:52- Why his family called him “the gas man” 4:07- Why Steve got in trouble with his boxx 4:37- The pivotal moment for him 5:37- How he got in to health education 6:35- The Leaky Gut- Is Poop Leaking in to the body 6:52- The small intestine is only one cell thick 7:55- How food and toxins can escape into the body 8:52- What causes heartburn and indigestion 11:22- Why antacids and PPIs are dangerous 12:37- The underlying causes of stomach problems and how to find your cause 13:22- Two Supplements to help increase stomach acid 14:31- The supplement turned his life around. 15:33- Other symptoms that can be caused by digestive problems (skin problems, fatigue, etc) 16:00- How every disease can be traced back to the gut 16:16- How intestinal permeability (leaky gut) leads to disease 18:22- How gut problems manifest differently in different people 19:22- What causes diarrhea 20:00- The fastest way to stop diarrhea 20:42- Why you might not be absorbing your food 21:10- What causes constipation 21:20- How gut infections lead to constipation and diarrhea 22:02- How to poop more easily 22:32- The hormonal component of digestion 23:22- Three things you MUST do everyday 24:03- The major factors that harm gut health 24:32- Why stress is so important 24:30- The triggers of leaky gut 25:02- Head injuries and gut health 25:32- SIBO 25:52- Two things to improve gut health fast 26:52- Things to do to help your gut- paleo autoimmune diet 27:22- One reason to binge on gluten 29:22- Another reason to eat healthy fats 30:07- Tips to help kids with digestive issues 30:52- Interesting study about feeding kids candy 32:37- The advice he wishes he’d gotten 33:22- One action step to take now 24:55- Resources he likes
I had so much fun on this interview with Katie Kimball of KitchenStewardship.com. She is a fantastic writer and researcher, pregnant with her fourth child, and manages a household and her popular blog (and makes it all look easy). We recorded at 9 PM after our collective 8.5 children were sleeping and she provided a lot of great tips for cooking real food for a family. My apologies in advance for the little bit of audio feedback in this episode. The problem has been fixed for the future episodes.
Katie shared some of her best tips for getting rid of pests like ants and wasps naturally without chemicals that can harm your children.
Other Fun Topics We Talked About
0:30- Random brain facts like why you can’t tickle yourself 1:40- Katie’s ten foundational habits for a healthier family 2:00- The struggle to balance it all 2:20- Katie’s “Core Four” = Environment, Nutrition, Time and Budget 3:00- One thing at a time approach- Monday missions 3:40- One simple switch that makes a big difference 4:15- Katie’s three budget friendly real foods that she makes daily 5:00- The super inexpensive way her family gets probiotics 6:15- 3 foods that seem scary but aren’t 8:00- The simple way to make homemade yogurt 11:00- Real food really does cost more 11:45- How to stretch an organic chicken and make multiple batches of broth 15:35- How to prepare beans if you are going to eat them 18:45- A tip to fix crunchy beans 20:20- Her quick and easy natural way to get rid of sugar ants 22:20- Lines that insects can’t cross 22:38- Katie’s natural tip to get rid of wasps 23:53- The biggest struggle Katie thinks the next generation will face 24:30- Battling the sugar giant 26:50- My battle cry 27:30- The advice she wishes she’d gotten earlier in life 29:20- Easy action steps to take right now 31:11- The two books she can’t live without
7: Reducing Stress, Chronic Pain, & Talking to Doctors
14 Jun 2014
00:47:19
In this episode, I talk to Dr. Kevin Cuccaro of StraightShotHealth.com. I met him a few months ago at a conference and was impressed with his research on stress and dealing with chronic pain.
Many people struggle with chronic pain and Kevin has some valuable strategies for helping recover from it. Kevin is a doctor who left his private practice to pursue patient education and to help address some of the (major) problems in the health care system.
As a doctor, he also provides some valuable insight in how to understand and talk to your doctor so that you can get real answers.
In This Episode, We Discus
3:20 – Why as a doctor, he doesn’t want to see his patients all the time 4:30 – The frustration that doctors face 5:20 – Why stress can be good and why we need it 5:45 – The physiological effects of too much stress 6:30 – How stress impacts fertility and memory 6:55 – The continued effects of stress on the body 7:50 – How to become more resilient to stress and how stress is like a light switch 8:28 – How to turn stress on and off 9:02 – Tips to Practically reduce stress (Book: The Relaxation Revolution) 9:45 – What is the relaxation response 10:20 – How to activate your relaxation response to deal with stress 12:45 – What happens when your body doesn’t recognize stress 16:15 – What causes chronic pain 17:10 – Pain is all in the brain 17:45 – The biology of pain vs. the mental side of pain 20:00 – The core four for reducing stress and pain: Movement, Eating Right, Mindset, Avoiding Problems 24:00 – Understanding the mindset of doctors 28:00 – The frustration of the current medical system 32:00 – The shocking statistic on how a small percentage of the population is using 95% of healthcare resources 35:00 – The seven questions you should know the answers to before you see your doctor 38:00 – Health advice Kevin wishes he had gotten earlier in life 41:15 – Kevin’s recommended books and resources (and see below)
This week, I am so excited to welcome Heather Dessinger from Mommypotamus.com. She is a featured contributor to Wellness Media, author of several e-books and mom to three little ones. She and her husband Daniel recently moved to a farm and are working toward raising their own food.
I was excited to talk to Heather because we both read each others blogs and I feel like we have a lot in common and I think she is an incredible resource for health and natural living.
In This Episode, We Discuss
1:50 – Why the name Mommypotamus? 2:20 – Heather’s own health struggles 3:20 – Her life-changing moment at her wedding 3:55 – How her honeymoon was a catalyst for realizing the connection of food and health 4:45 – Heather’s turning point 6:28 – And YES to the hippopotamus! 7:00 – How and why she started Mommypotamus.com 7:20 – What are lip and tongue ties? 7:50 – Why we are seeing more tongue and lip ties 9:00 – Different symptoms related to tongue/lip ties and how they present 9:45 – Heather’s own struggle with her son’s lip and tongue ties 11:15 – How tongue ties are typically treated 11:27 – When fixing a tongue ties can cause more problems 12:03 – The solution that finally worked for them 12:20 – How to tell if your child has a tongue or lip tie 14:17 – Symptoms mom may see while nursing a tongue tied baby 14:55 – Symptoms baby can have with tongue and lip ties 16:03 – Long term problems associated with uncorrected tongue and lip ties 17:10 – How lip ties can affect oral health 18:00 – Why we should eat dirt 18:30 – The fascinating research between bacteria and belly buttons 19:30 – The “Chuck Norris” of beneficial bacteria and how to get them 21:12 – What they take to keep their gut bacteria healthy 22:15 – Heather’s favorite natural beauty care recipes 22:35 – Why natural personal care products are so important 23:41 – Heather’s simple homemade makeup that doubles as dry shampoo 24:11 – Heather’s own beauty routine 24:20 – The unusual ingredient she uses every day 25:50 – Heather’s typical day on the farm 29:25 – The most crunchy thing Heather has ever done and the weird things that have gone mainstream 31:45 – The advice she wishes someone had told her 33:06 – One step to start doing right away 34:15 – Heather’s top health resources
As her name suggests, Mama Natural is an expert at all things natural parenting, natural pregnancy and breastfeeding. She is also the mind behind the hilarious video Sh*t Crunchy Mamas Say:
In this episode, Genevieve and I discus:
1:28 Her health struggle and how she came to real food 2:25 Her lightening bolt moment and how she made lasting changes 3:15 Her “last supper” 5:23 The factors that helped her with quitting sugar, lose 60lbs, and keep it off for over 15 years 6:16 How accountability helped her 7:23 How long it takes to detox from sugar and how to do it 8:20 Why she has hope for the health of future generations 10:45 Natural pregnancy, parenting, and birthing tips 16:00 The crunchy thing she can’t do and the crunchiest thing she’s ever done 16:45 The thing she recommends to help have a natural birth – Hint: it starts in the 2nd trimester 17:46 Why Fermented Cod Liver Oil & exercise can improve birth 18:00 Tips to help baby’s position before birth 19:00 Crunchyest thing she’s ever tried, and what weird foods she ate after she gave birth 21:28 Her best advice for listening to your body 23:00 Number one health step to take now 24:07 The book she recommends everyone should read
Please join us for a listen and to learn all things natural and organic when it comes to quitting sugar, pregnancy and breastfeeding.
Read Transcript
Katie: Hi. This is Katie from wellnessmama.com. Welcome to episode 5 of the “Wellness Mama” podcast where I provide simple answers for healthier families.
This episode’s interesting fact is that people who laugh a lot are much healthier than those who don’t. Dr. Lee Berk at the Lorna School of Public Health in California found that laughing lowers the levels of stress hormones and strengthens the immune system. In fact, six-year-olds have it best. They laugh, on average, 300 times a day. Adults only laugh 15 to 100 times a day.
But today’s guest has improved my health by making me laugh many times with her funny yet always informative videos at mam
4: Canola Oil, Gelatin, & Balancing Hormones
06 Jun 2014
00:28:20
It was wonderful to interview Lauren of EmpoweredSustenance.com who is a rising star in the blogging world and an incredibly smart researcher.
Lauren and I talk about several topics that we are both passionate about, including the problems with canola oil, the benefits of gelatin and the importance of balancing hormones.
Katie: Hi, this is Katie from wellnessmama.com. Welcome to Episode 4 of the “Wellness Mama” podcast, where I provide simple answers for healthier families. Today’s interesting fact is that, while blondes may or may not have more fun, they definitely have more hair. Hair color helps determine how dense the hair on your head is, and natural blondes top the list. There are about 100,000 hair follicles on the average head, and each follicle produces about 20 individual hairs during the person’s lifetime. Blondes average 146,000 follicles, where people with black hair tend to have about 110,000. Brown hair are right on target with about 100,000 follicles, and redheads have the least dense hair, averaging about 86,000 follicles.
Today’s guest has actually written quite a bit about natural hair care and has become the expert in natural and holistic hair and body care as part of her journey towards recovery. Lauren writes at empoweredsustenance.com. She’s a quickly rising voice in the blogging community as she writes about her recovery from ulcerative colitis, her own healing regimen, and all of the great natural tips and lessons she’s learned along the way. Welcome, Lauren. Thank you so much for taking your time to b
3: How to Improve Your Oral Health
06 Jun 2014
00:51:26
I’ve written a lot about oral health and how it affects the health of the entire body. This episode is a replay from the Heal Thy Mouth World Summit where I had the privilege of speaking alongside top dental experts from around the world about how to improve your oral health.
Topics I Cover in this Episode
Why I think oral health is so crucial
The oral health problems I’ve personally struggled with
The fascinating research between diet and oral health
My favorite resources for improving oral health
How I’m helping to ensure that my kids have strong teeth and (hopefully) won’t need braces
What foods and supplements help support tooth and gum health
Factors that harm teeth and gums
Other factors that affect oral health: hormones, saliva quality, sleep, stress, etc.
Katie: Hi, I’m Katie from wellnessmama.com. Welcome to episode three of the Wellness Mama Podcast where I provide
2. How to Buy Real Food on a Budget
06 Jun 2014
00:40:09
In this Episode, I talk about how to prepare real food on a real budget.
Real Food on a Budget
It seems like “real food” is one of those terms that has a hundred meanings on the internet. For the most part, I think all of the “real food” definitions are an improvement of the standard american diet, but I also think it is important to define that term these days.
For me, real food simply means un-processed, non-modified foods in as close to their natural state as possible with a focus on nutrient dense foods. At our house, the bulk of our diet is made up of proteins like grassfed meats and pastured poultry, vegetables, fruit and lots of healthy fats.
In this episode, I cover:
Why fat is a more efficient fuel than carbohydrates or proteins
Why counting calories is not effective
What my typical daily and weekly meal plan template looks like
Foods I prioritize when budget is tight
Specific foods I consume when pregnant or nursing
First foods for baby
Foods to avoid during pre-conception, pregnancy and nursing
The one food I avoid at all costs – it might not be the one you’d think
Supplements I take daily
Foods I make sure my children get each day
How I get my kids to eat real food without a fight
Hello and welcome to episode 2 of the “Wellness Mama Podcast” where we provide simple answers for healthier families.
In my first episode, I talked about why I wanted to start a podcast in the first place and my mission in doing so. And I’ve asked my readers online what would be helpful for me to cover in this second episode. And a lot of the feedback I got was that help in figuring out what actually it practically means to be on a real food diet and how to make that happen especially on a budget. So that’s what I’ll be covering today.
Just my most asked questions in dealing with real food. And it seems like “real food” is one of those terms that has a hundred meanings on the internet. For the most part, I think that all of the real food “definitions” are an improvement over the standard American diet certainly, but I also think it’s important to define that term these days because it’s used so often across the board.
So for me, real food just simply means unprocessed, non-modified foods and as close to their natural state as possible with a focus on the most nutrient dense foods available. And obviously just doing the best we can with where we are in our state of life.
So at our house, the bulk of our diet is made up of proteins like grass-fed meats and pastured poultry, lots of vegetables. There’s a hashtag online going around called “more vegetables than a vegetarian,” and I think that’s extremely important especially when we’re talking about green vegetables, and that’s an easy way to get extra nutrition in the diet. And then also things like fruits and healt
1: How to Reset Your Health
04 Jun 2014
00:12:40
In this inaugural episode of The Wellness Mama Podcast: Simple Answers for Healthier Families, I discuss my personal journey and my reason for starting this blog and the podcast.
I also talk about what is next for the podcast and topics I’ll be covering in the future, especially my core topics on how to “RESET” your health:
Why A Podcast?
When my oldest son was just six weeks old, I was reading a magazine in the doctor’s office at my follow-up appointment and I read a line that hit me like a ton of bricks: “For the first time in two centuries, the current generation of children in America may have shorter life expectancies than their parents.”
The article continued to talk about the coming rise in cancer, heart disease, diabetes, autoimmune disease and other problems. I looked down at my tiny, perfect infant and every cell in my body rebelled against the idea that he would have to suffer these problems.
I decided that a 50:50 chance of diabetes wasn’t good enough for our children. That a 1 in 3 chance of getting cancer was not going to cut it and that statistics like “95% of the US population will be obese in the next two decades,” needed to change.
That day, the mission of WellnessMama.com was born as I realized what an uphill battle we must fight to protect future generations. It started a personal journey for me to find ways to improve my own health and the health of my husband and children. It also ignited a fire in me to change these statistics.
My Story
I also realized that I was a victim of these statistics myself. I am the classic type-A first child. In high school I was senior class president, graduated with honors and was in 23 different extra curricular activities and several sports. I made the grades and was up late studying and up early for meetings at school so I didn’t sleep much.
Like most students, I figured I could eat whatever I wanted as long as i didn’t gain weight so I subsisted on fried foods, cafeteria pizza and coffee.
College was more of the same plus writing assignments that added extra hours and occasional travel. One summer, I walked across the country, literally, which was one of the best experiences of my life but also the most difficult until I had children.
I was with a group of students and we walked 15-20 miles or more a day each day, sometimes during the night. Combine that with bad food and stress and you pretty much have the breeding ground for health problems.
Fast forward a few years and I left the journalism dream to become a wife and a mom, which is definitely the best choice I’ve ever made, but five kids pretty close together also means not much sleep for about eight years.
Turns out that stress, bad food and lack of sleep are a great way to create problems like autoimmune disease, trouble losing weight and more.
Ever since that moment when I read that statistic in that doctors office, I’ve been on a search to create a better future for my children and yours but also to find answers to my own health struggles. I finally got some answers for myself lately and found out that I have autoimmune thyroid problems, likely fueled by my stress, lack of sleep and bad diet earlier in life.
I know first hand how difficult these challenges are and how hard they are to reverse once they are there, and I don’t want my children to struggle with this same fate.
My goal with this podcast and with WellnessMama.com is to address these topics and provide answers for your family. I’ll be interviewing health experts, other moms, doctors, researchers and getting their best advice to help
How to Fix Your Gut & Learn Your “Gut Type” with Dr. Michael Ruscio
29 Jan 2025
01:03:22
Episode Highlights With Michael Ruscio
His own journey into the work he does now and the tough lessons he learned about gut health
All disease begins in the gut but how to know what is going on
What gut types are and how this helps explain why people can have such drastically different reactions to gut interventions
Fungal vs bacterial overgrowth in the gut
Things that are universally beneficial to the gut: exercise in the right amount, mindset, unprocessed foods, time in nature
The diet that helps heal you isn’t the forever plan
His take on parasites and parasite cleanses
Why parasites are relatively rare but people will see benefit from parasite cleanses for other reasons
The problem with an overly sterile environment and the fascinating theory around this
Some signs that you may have a fungal gut type or an underlying fungal overgrowth
“The better I eat, the worse I feel” and what that might mean about your gut
Why carnivore might work so well for some people: it's low FODMAP and low carb
His take on carbs/fiber and the nuance on these as we heal
The things that are universally helpful and his take on probiotics
What vector-born infections are and how they relate to gut health
Why we need more electrolytes and salt when we go lower carb
Warning Signs: Collagen Deficiency as We Age and What to Do About It With Everbella
11 Dec 2024
00:42:39
Episode Highlights With Everbella
Why collagen declines with age and why just taking it alone won’t fix it
Her dramatic story with collagen, biotin, hair loss
Does collagen really work? What it might mean when it isn’t working
Warning signs you're low in collagen
Not all collagens are created equal
Collagen affects so much more than just the skin and face, it goes much deeper than that
How collagen is used in connective tissue and joints
The six warning signs that we are low on collagen
The body’s ability to create new collagen begins to decline at 25
Factors that deplete collagen levels even more quickly
Your skin is 70-80% collagen, and if you don’t have enough collagen, your body will pull skin collagen for primary functions in the body, so lots of wrinkles can relate to collagen deficiency
How collagen is related to leaky gut
Collagen is the key nutrient responsible for keeping hair strong and smooth, and without enough collagen, it will become dry and brittle
60% of cartilage in joints is made up of collagen
Collagen is the most abundant protein in the body, and a lot is needed for recovery from injury or activity
How to help your body get enough collagen with diet and lifestyle
Ways to restore collagen levels in the body
Nutrition strategies related to collagen — vitamin C is vital for collagen synthesis
Most collagen is too big to be absorbed by your body
Why collagen needs “packages” to work effectively
The reason most collagen is being destroyed by stomach acid
The Four Ts of Trauma Healing & IFS with Harvard-Trained Psychiatrist Dr. Frank Anderson
04 Dec 2024
00:51:20
Episode Highlights With Dr. Frank Anderson
What IFS is and how it differs from other types of therapies
His personal trauma history that started at age 6
Why he isn’t a fan of differentiating “big T” and “little t” trauma
Why don’t we need to forgive in order to heal and why he calls it the F-word
How early childhood experiences with our caregivers can have a strong, lasting impact, even if they aren’t big moments of trauma or abuse
Many therapies push forgiveness too early — he recommends healing and then forgiveness
Neglect is the silent wound that can be hardest to notice and heal
Release the energy and the pain first and then decide about forgiveness
When it is ok to choose not to forgive
His own shocking experience with forgiveness and his dad
Forgiveness is setting a prisoner free and realizing the prisoner is yourself
It is hard to forgive yourself if you are holding resentment toward another person
The four “Ts” of trauma healing: Thank, Trust, Transform, Takeback
Releasing trauma vs. managing trauma
How to take back your power after you release trauma
Our choice: repeat the pattern, repress it, or heal from it
When we experience trauma, we experience the feeling of being the victim but also absorb the energy of the perpetrator, and when we have kids, both can show up, so when we feel hurt, we can perpetrate in the way we were perpetrated upon
When you have an intense reaction, it is about you and not about your kid
Every time we lose it, our kids lose a safe parent