Most of you know Dr. Terry Wahls' story. She is a physician who developed multiple sclerosis, and in spite of the best that conventional medicine had to offer, she ended up confined to a tilt-recline wheelchair. She started to research nutrition and lifestyle interventions, eventually creating The Wahls Protocol. She's no longer in a wheelchair, and is now able to ride a bicycle to and from work. That said, she's not cured, even though she's often presented that way in the media. In this podcast...
Jun 28, 2019•56 min
Everything happens for a reason. What did you do to cause this? At least it's not cancer. Oh, I heard about this cure online... Is this sounding familiar? An interesting part of the human experience is that when faced with someone's pain, people are often at a loss about what to say and end up saying some really unhelpful and hurtful things. But occasionally, people say exactly the right thing. In this episode, we vent about some of the most outrageous things we’ve been told about our autoimmune...
Jun 14, 2019•1 hr 13 min
There’s some compelling research that suggests the inability to forgive leads to negative health consequences, and the practice of forgiveness can have health benefits. When it comes to small injustices, this seems relatively easy to do. But what if you have experienced something that you find unforgiveable? Is forgiveness a requirement for healing? The pressure to forgive can feel like getting re-victimized all over again. In this podcast, we take a deep look at this topic. My guest is clinical...
May 31, 2019•1 hr 2 min
Do you ever feel like your brain isn’t working quite right – that you can’t remember things, or think clearly, or focus and make decisions? That simple tasks feel challenging, and complex tasks feel impossible? This cluster of symptoms is often called Brain Fog, because that’s what it feels like – that there’s a fog bank surrounding your brain, making everything more difficult. It’s also common to feel physically clumsy on brain fog days as well. Today, we’re doing a deep dive into the root caus...
May 17, 2019•1 hr 9 min
In this podcast, we’re taking a big picture look at time. How can we gain clarity on where our time goes? How can we start to feel in control of time, rather than buffeted by it? What makes it slow down in some moments and speed up in others? Is it possible to be productive and feel relaxed at the same time? And how can we flex our expectations and our schedules when our health fluctuates? My guest is Laura Vanderkam, an expert on the subject of maximizing time. Visit https://www.phoenixhelix.co...
May 03, 2019•53 min
Today we take a detailed look at Scleroderma. How does it differ from other autoimmune diseases, and how is it diagnosed? Can diet and lifestyle make a difference? What are the best supplements? Is medication always necessary, and how do you make that decision? My guest is integrative rheumatologist Dr. Aly Cohen. Her approach combines the wisdom of Western and Eastern Medicine together. Visit https://www.phoenixhelix.com for show notes.
Apr 19, 2019
Fatigue is a common side effect of autoimmune disease, but it can have many other root causes as well. For some people, it's mild and manageable. For others, it can be disabling. In this episode, we take a detective's perspective on fatigue. If symptoms are messengers, what is our fatigue trying to communicate about our own unique body? And how can we restore our vitality again? My guest is Andrea Nakayama, a world-renowned functional nutritionist, educator and speaker, whose mission is to chang...
Apr 05, 2019•58 min
The ability to say no is a life skill that every human being needs, but it’s even more important when you are trying to heal from chronic illness. The truth is: self-care takes time – everything from preparing homemade meals, to taking time out to manage our stress, and also prioritizing sleep at night. If we say yes to these things, we will need to say no to other things. The opposite is also true: if we don’t set boundaries, we won’t have the time we need to take care of ourselves. But our con...
Mar 22, 2019•1 hr 1 min
The Paleo Autoimmune Protocol is a challenging diet under the best of circumstances. But when you’re the only one in your household following this diet, and you’re surrounded by foods you cannot eat, how do you manage? Today, I’ve invited three people onto the podcast to share their experience with us. They all have autoimmune disease. They all went AIP to improve their symptoms and maximize their health. And they're all making this work in non-paleo households. We talk about everything from avo...
Mar 08, 2019•1 hr 8 min
Have you ever felt butterflies in your stomach when you were nervous? Or lost your appetite when you were deeply grieving? We’ve all felt emotions in our gut – there’s even the common saying “gut feeling.” In fact, the more relaxed and content we feel when we eat, the better we digest our food. But did you know the gut-brain connection also goes the other way? That the food we eat can impact how our brain functions. Inflammatory foods can result in brain fog, mood swings, and even mental health ...
Feb 22, 2019•1 hr 3 min
This episode is all about making the paleo autoimmune protocol easier to follow. We share our best tips for easy breakfasts, easy lunches, easy dinners, easy snacks, easy sleep, and easy stress management. My guest, Mickey Trescott, is one of the women behind the Autoimmune Wellness blog and podcast, the author of three AIP cookbooks, and a pioneer in the paleo AIP community. Visit https://www.phoenixhelix.com for show notes.
Feb 08, 2019•1 hr 4 min
Why does exercise feel so different after an autoimmune diagnosis? Activities that our bodies loved in the past can now cause an autoimmune flare. Yet, not moving at all isn't healthy either. So, what do we do? In this podcast, we get professional insight into this topic. My guest, Andrea Wool, is a certified personal trainer and founder of Autoimmune Strong - a fitness website designed specifically for people with autoimmune disease. She'll be teaching us about the connection between stress, in...
Jan 25, 2019•1 hr 2 min
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 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 Psoriasis, Psoriatic Arthritis, Crohn's Disease, Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, Adult Onset Stills Disease, but al...
Jan 11, 2019•1 hr 52 min
In support of my own autoimmune health, I'm taking a sabbatical for the month of December and releasing two of my favorite episodes from the archives that you might have missed. Today's episode originally aired 3 years ago, but it's a timeless topic. As Dr. Sarah Ballantyne says, "Dietary changes aren't effective in isolation. If you don't address lifestyle factors as well, it won't matter how ideal your food choices are." In this podcast, I interview four people about one lifestyle change that ...
Dec 28, 2018•1 hr 7 min
In support of my own autoimmune health, I'm taking a sabbatical for the month of December and releasing two of my favorite episodes from the archives that you might have missed. Today's episode originally aired 3 years ago, but it's a timeless topic. When you first switch to a paleo diet, you lose a lot of your standard recipes, are introduced to a bunch of new ingredients, and it’s not uncommon to feel lost in your own kitchen. Today, we have expert paleo tour guides! Mel Joulwan is the author ...
Dec 14, 2018•1 hr 34 min
Stem cell research is an exciting field with great potential for people with autoimmune disease. When we see the headlines, it’s easy to believe a cure is already here, especially since some commercial clinics promise that. In today's podcast, we separate the hope from the hype. We talk about current clinical trials and what they’re showing, the risks vs. benefits of these treatments, which autoimmune diseases are the focus of the studies, and what we still have to learn. My guest is Dr. Jeffrey...
Nov 30, 2018•45 min
When I was at rock bottom with rheumatoid arthritis and experiencing excruciating pain on a daily basis, I started keeping a gratitude journal. That might seem like a strange time do this, but I deeply needed to focus on something beyond the pain and suffering that had become my entire world. And it helped! It didn’t alleviate my pain, but it did reduce my suffering, because it helped me remember there were still good things in my life. It turns out I’m not alone in feeling these benefits. Resea...
Nov 16, 2018•59 min
There's a strong link between trauma and autoimmunity. People who are diagnosed with a stress-related disorder like PTSD are 30-40% more likely to be diagnosed with autoimmune disease. Childhood trauma has an even bigger impact. And the shock of an autoimmune diagnosis combined with life-changing symptoms can qualify as a trauma itself. When it comes to maximizing our health, being aware of this connection is important. Thankfully, there are trauma therapies that can help rebuild our health resi...
Nov 02, 2018•58 min
Here’s the deal – headlines are designed to grab our attention, and it’s not uncommon for reporters to simplify, exaggerate, or completely misrepresent a research study’s results. So, when we care about science and how our choices impact our health, how can we be sure we’re getting accurate information? Today, I’ve invited a research expert onto the podcast who many of you know and love: Dr. Sarah Ballantyne, also known as The Paleo Mom. She's going to teach us how to critique a scientific study...
Oct 19, 2018•1 hr 9 min
We all find ourselves in victim mode once in a while, especially when life is hard. There is a time and place for throwing ourselves a pity party. The key is not getting stuck in that pattern. How do we identify signs that we are in a victim mindset, and how can we shift to feeling empowered, strong and hopeful again? My guest today is Sarah Kolman, an expert in psychoneuroimmunology, the science of how our thoughts and emotions affect immune and autoimmune health.
Oct 05, 2018•1 hr 5 min
There is a complex connection between hormone balance and autoimmune health. The more balanced our hormones, the more balanced our immune system (and vice versa). Over the years, I've dedicated many podcasts to this topic, and in this episode we'll be focusing on the menopausal transition. While smooth for some, this time of life can be rocky for others, leading to sleep issues, mood swings, hot flashes, and autoimmune flares. I'm 49 years old and currently in this transition myself. My guest, D...
Sep 21, 2018•59 min
If you have 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 home 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 rewires the brain (and body) for health. It has helped people with fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic Lyme disease, multiple chemical sensitivity, irritable bowel sy...
Sep 07, 2018•1 hr 1 min
There are lots of different types of fasts: juice fasts, water fasts, bone broth fasts, detox cleanses, intermittent fasting, etc. When is fasting helpful vs. harmful? Why does one person feel better after fasting and someone else feel significantly worse? Can we predict this in advance? For people with autoimmune disease, is this something we should try or something we should avoid? My guest, Dr. Amy Nett, will be answering these questions and more. She's a functional medicine physician and wil...
Aug 24, 2018•1 hr 9 min
In this podcast episode, we take a detailed look at Lupus. How does it differ from other autoimmune diseases, and how is it diagnosed? Can diet and lifestyle make a difference? What are the best supplements? Is medication always necessary, and how do you make that decision? My guest is integrative rheumatologist Dr. Daniel Lewis. He has over 25 years of experience combining the best that conventional, alternative, and nutritional medicine have to offer.
Aug 10, 2018•1 hr 7 min
When you start researching alternative health protocols, you quickly run across information on heavy metal toxicity. In this podcast, we delve into this topic in detail. What are heavy metals anyway, and how can they impact autoimmune disease? Is treatment always a good idea, or can it sometimes harm instead of help? I have a wonderful guest to answer these questions and more. Dr. Christopher Shade has a PhD in Environmental Metals Chemistry, and he has trained doctors worldwide on the subject o...
Jul 27, 2018•1 hr 8 min
For my 100th podcast episode, instead of interviewing someone else, I thought it would be fun to share what I've learned on my autoimmune journey so far. I developed rheumatoid arthritis in 2012, started blogging in 2013, and started podcasting in 2014. While I never would have chosen autoimmune disease, it has transformed my life in positive ways, alongside the really painful ones. I've come a long way from where I started, and I'm not done learning yet! I hope these insights will help those of...
Jul 13, 2018•1 hr 3 min
In modern life, most people feel insanely busy, but few realize that they’re spending hours each day on their phones. The average smartphone use in the United States is over 4 hours per day. What does this have to do with autoimmune disease? A healing diet and lifestyle takes a lot of time to implement, so right away, a smartphone is competing for that time. But it impacts our lives in other ways, too. Technology use has been linked to increases in anxiety, depression, feelings of social isolati...
Jun 29, 2018•1 hr 10 min
How do we lay the foundation for a healthy gut, and therefore a healthy body? When diet alone isn't enough, what's the next step? Do you have to work with a healthcare practitioner, or are there things you can try at home? In this podcast, Dr. Michael Ruscio answers these questions and many more. He is a functional medicine clinician, educator and researcher, specializing in digestive and autoimmune health. He's also the author of a new book: Healthy Gut Healthy You.
Jun 15, 2018•1 hr
A Prescription for Joy might sound frivolous, but it’s actually an essential part of any healing protocol. What if it could be the key to remission? When we focus on autoimmune health, we rightly focus on things like diet, sleep, supplements and medication, but we often miss this very important piece. Life is meant to be enjoyed, even during challenging times - especially then. In this podcast, two people with autoimmune disease share their personal experience with filling this prescription, and...
Jun 01, 2018•57 min
Every day, our liver works hard on our behalf, and when it’s struggling, it can impact our health bodywide. Detoxing is all the rage, but the truth is, sometimes detox protocols can make you feel worse instead of better. Why is that? How can we support our liver naturally, without overwhelming it? And why is it essential to everything from hormone balance to autoimmune health? In this podcast, we'll be answering these questions and more. My guests are Dr. Alex Golden and functional nutritionist ...
May 16, 2018•1 hr 12 min
