This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com In this bonus episode, Christy shares some personal thoughts on how anxiety impacts the gut, and how to handle digestive distress that’s triggered by stress without getting pulled down wellness-culture rabbit holes—particularly if you have a history of disordered eating. The full version of this episode (with 9 tips for coping) is for paid subscribers. Listen to a free preview here, and sign up for a pa...
Feb 07, 2024•8 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com Well+Good head of content Faye McCray returns to discuss the wellness trends she's most excited about—and the ones she plans to skip. Plus: a food-related wellness trend that's less about diet culture and more about taste and culinary tradition. Faye is Head of Content at Well+Good. She is an author, executive leader, journalist and attorney with a passion for brand building and storytelling. For nearly...
Feb 02, 2024•2 min
Well+Good head of content Faye McCray joins us to discuss 2024 wellness trends, including new options for postpartum care, AI in fitness, medical testing, wellness real estate, and more. We talk about the upsides and downsides of these trends, why Christy is skeptical of most of them, the unmet social needs they’re responding to, and how you can set boundaries around trends to avoid wellness traps. Faye is Head of Content at Well+Good. She is an author, executive leader, journalist and attorney ...
Jan 29, 2024•40 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com A critical look at Netflix’s latest food-fearmongering documentary series. The full version of this episode is for paid subscribers. Listen to the first question here, and sign up for a paid subscription to hear the rest! Get show notes and references here . Christy's new book, The Wellness Trap , is now available wherever books are sold. Order it online or ask for it in your favorite local bookstore. I...
Jan 24, 2024•4 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com In this bonus episode, anti-diet dietitian Leah Kern returns to discuss how health-conscious people can keep from getting pulled into harmful aspects of wellness culture, how to avoid wellness traps if you’re interested in environmental issues and sustainability, and the wellness-y practices she still enjoys even though she’s critical of wellness culture. Leah Kern is an anti-diet dietitian and certifie...
Jan 19, 2024•12 min
Anti-diet dietitian Leah Kern joins us to discuss how struggling with anxiety made her susceptible to a wellness diet that promised safety and longevity, how that diet quickly spiraled into full-on disordered eating, how being eco-conscious and “earthy” can easily lead into wellness traps, the connection between spirituality and wellness culture, why she finally stopped trying to fix her anxiety with food and started taking meds, and more. Leah Kern is an anti-diet dietitian and certified intuit...
Jan 15, 2024•58 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com Should you change what you eat based on your menstrual cycle? And is that part of intuitive eating? Plus, some thoughts on the relationship between intuition and science. For show notes and a full transcript, check out the written version here . Subscribe on Substack for full access to this episode and many more....
Jan 10, 2024•12 min
A (semi)personal year in review, and a taste of what’s ahead for Rethinking Wellness—plus a chance to share your own wishes for 2024. Resources and References Christy’s new book, The Wellness Trap: Break Free from Diet Culture, Disinformation, and Dubious Diagnoses and Find Your True Well-Being Christy’s online course, Intuitive Eating Fundamentals Jessica Elefante’s book (Bookshop affiliate link) and Substack Sarah McColl’s writing coaching and Substack Can You Prioritize Gut Health and Still M...
Jan 05, 2024•18 min
Intuitive Eating co-author Elyse Resch joins us to discuss her history with the natural-food movement, how trying to eat “naturally” led her into orthorexia and other forms of disordered eating, how intuitive eating is being co-opted by wellness culture, what to consider if you’re interested in “natural” foods, and more. Elyse Resch, MS, RDN, CEDS-S, Fiaedp, FADA, FAND, is a nutrition therapist in private practice with over 40 years of experience specializing in eating disorders, Intuitive Eatin...
Jan 01, 2024•49 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com What if disagreements and differences are a matter of risk perception? Plus: Is weight loss really the only way to be well? The full version of this episode is for paid subscribers. Listen to the first question here, and sign up for a paid subscription to hear the rest! Get show notes and references here . Christy's new book, The Wellness Trap , is now available wherever books are sold. Order it online ...
Dec 13, 2023•6 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com In this bonus episode, writer and podcaster Amelia Hruby returns to discuss why it’s important to question science with nuance, our different takes on astrology and tarot, how to dabble in “woo-woo” practices that feel fun to you without getting sucked into harmful beliefs and conspiracy theories, the role of social media in those rabbit holes, and more. Amelia Hruby is a writer, educator and podcaster ...
Dec 08, 2023•11 min
Writer and podcaster Amelia Hruby joins us to discuss the intersections in her processes of breaking up with social media and with diet culture, how being off the platforms has benefited both her mental health and her business, how to handle guilt over leaving, ways to get exposure to greater representation and body diversity without social media, and more. Amelia Hruby is a writer, educator and podcaster with a PhD in philosophy. Over the past decade, she’s been a university professor, a commun...
Dec 04, 2023•1 hr 4 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com A critical look at the evidence on hair analysis, DUTCH testing, and heavy metals in chocolate—and why it’s worth being skeptical of tests positioned as “new science.” Get full show notes and references here . The full version of this episode is for paid subscribers. Listen to the first question here, and sign up for a paid subscription to hear the rest! Christy's new book, The Wellness Trap , is now av...
Nov 29, 2023•9 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com In this bonus episode, journalist and The Gospel of Wellness author Rina Raphael returns to discuss how the wellness industry is changing to respond to more skeptical consumers—and why that might be making it even harder to tell what’s truly evidence-based. Rina Raphael is a journalist and the author of The Gospel of Wellness: Gyms, Gurus, Goop, and the False Promise of Self-Care . She writes for the Ne...
Nov 24, 2023•5 min
Journalist and The Gospel of Wellness author Rina Raphael joins us to discuss why most media coverage of wellness is so uncritical, and how that allows misinformation to spread; why “science-washing” is rampant in the wellness industry; how wellness is used as a band-aid for systemic issues and ironically doesn’t get to the “root cause” that’s so often touted in wellness culture; her own complicated history with wellness; and more. Rina Raphael is a journalist and the author of The Gospel of Wel...
Nov 20, 2023•1 hr 9 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com A critical look at research on the gut-brain axis, including whether certain gut bacteria are linked to anxiety and depression, whether probiotics have any benefit for mental health, whether you need to take digestive enzymes for anxiety, and more. The full version of this episode is for paid subscribers. Listen to the first part here, and sign up for a paid subscription to hear the rest! Christy's new...
Nov 15, 2023•15 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com Professor and SUGAR RUSH author Karen Throsby returns for a bonus episode to discuss how her own relationship with sugar has changed since before she wrote her book, the role of influencers and social media in spreading anti-sugar messages, why news media report so uncritically on government recommendations to cut sugar, and more. Karen Throsby is Professor of Gender Studies and the Head of the School o...
Nov 10, 2023•9 min
Professor and SUGAR RUSH author Karen Throsby joins us to discuss why sugar became demonized despite a lot of actual uncertainty in the science, how anti-sugar sentiment is bound up with anti-fat bias, the different rhetoric around sugar that’s dominant in diet culture vs wellness culture, what the research really says about the supposed addictiveness of sugar, and lots more. Karen Throsby is Professor of Gender Studies and the Head of the School of Sociology and Social Policy at the University ...
Nov 04, 2023•1 hr 4 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com In this bonus episode, psychiatrist and REAL SELF-CARE author Pooja Lakshmin returns to discuss how to tune in to your inner voice—and why that process isn’t as simple as it might seem. Plus, in a special segment for paid subscribers, Christy answers a question about how to avoid comparisons and start noticing your own inner voice specifically when it comes to food and your body. Dr. Pooja Lakshmin MD i...
Oct 27, 2023•9 min
Psychiatrist and REAL SELF-CARE author Pooja Lakshmin joins us to discuss her experiences with faux self-care and toxic wellness culture, her definition of real self-care and how it can fit into your life, the importance of setting boundaries (and what that actually looks like), how to tell if you need self-care or professional help, and more. Dr. Pooja Lakshmin MD is a psychiatrist and author, the founder of the women’s mental health platform Gemma, and a contributor to The New York Times. Her ...
Oct 23, 2023•48 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com Q&A: A critical look at diet advice for period pain and endometriosis. Check out the transcript for links to all referenced studies. The full version of this episode is for paid subscribers. Listen to the first question here, and sign up for a paid subscription to hear the rest! Christy's new book, The Wellness Trap , is now available wherever books are sold. Order it online or ask for it in your fa...
Oct 20, 2023•11 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com In this bonus episode, registered dietitian Jonah Soolman returns to discuss the role of acceptance in navigating chronic health conditions, whether eating-disorder recovery can ever be compatible with alternative medicine, what to look for in a healthcare provider given the problems with the alternative- and integrative-medicine fields, and more. Jonah Soolman is a registered dietitian specializing in ...
Oct 13, 2023•12 min
Registered dietitian Jonah Soolman joins us to discuss his time working in an alternative medicine clinic run by integrative doctors. He shares some of the shady practices he saw his bosses engaging in, why food-sensitivity testing and other alt-med tests are often misleading, the dangers of trying alternative or integrative medicine if you’re in recovery from an eating disorder, the devastating situation that finally made him leave the clinic and start speaking out about the harms of alternativ...
Oct 09, 2023•56 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com Q&A: how to know whether a particular test is legit. Plus, in a bonus answer for paid subscribers, Christy discusses what to say to a doctor who’s recommending a diet for ME/CFS or other poorly understood illnesses. Listen to the first question here, and sign up for a paid subscription to hear the full episode! Christy's new book, The Wellness Trap , is now available wherever books are sold. Order i...
Oct 04, 2023•13 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com In this bonus episode, anti-diet Pilates instructor Helen Phelan-Guillemot returns to discuss workout selfies, the way people respond on social media to images of her body, Christy’s own experience navigating other people's opinions on social media, the lack of regulation in the fitness industry and why it’s a problem, how Helen is reexamining her relationship with beauty culture, and more. Helen Phelan...
Sep 29, 2023•6 min
Anti-diet Pilates instructor Helen Phelan-Guillemot joins us to discuss her history as a dancer and how that affected her relationship with food and her body, how she moved from disordered eating into wellness obsession, how she’s come to hate toxic fitness culture while still loving physical activity, how to know when you need to take a break from fitness, why we don’t need to constantly self-optimize, and more. Helen Phelan-Guillemot is a comprehensively certified pilates instructor, prenatal ...
Sep 25, 2023•59 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com Q&A: The next time you come across a wellness influencer saying sensational things, try this. Plus, in a bonus answer for paid subscribers, Christy discusses whether seed oils are as bad for you as some sources claim. Listen to the first question here, and sign up for a paid subscription to hear the full episode! Christy's new book, The Wellness Trap , is now available wherever books are sold. Order...
Sep 20, 2023•10 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com In this bonus episode, Ling Ling Huang returns to discuss how wellness culture affected her creativity and work as a professional violinist, how she’s changing her relationship with social media, how algorithms led her to questionable wellness products out of a desire to help a loved one, her upcoming TV series, and more. Ling Ling Huang is a writer and violinist. She plays with several ensembles includ...
Sep 15, 2023•11 min
Author and violinist Ling Ling Huang joins us to discuss her new novel, Natural Beauty, and the fraught nature of that term; how working in the clean-beauty and wellness space affected her eating-disorder recovery and her mental health; why she invested so much in wellness culture at a time in her life when she could barely afford food; the fetishization and appropriation of Asian cultures in wellness; and lots more. Ling Ling Huang is a writer and violinist. She plays with several ensembles inc...
Sep 11, 2023•57 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com In this bonus episode, illustrator and author Eliza Wheeler returns to discuss how to support a loved one with chronic illness, navigating her own symptoms alongside a partner who also has chronic conditions, and more. Hear more from Eliza in episode 15 at rethinkingwellness.substack.com . Eliza Wheeler is an illustrator and author of books for children, and was a recipient of the Sendak Fellowship Awar...
Sep 01, 2023•8 min
