The Wellness Mama Podcast

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.In This Episode, We CoverWhy canola oil is so dangerous and how we are both working to spread the word. (Read my full explanation here and check out Lauren’s campaign to get Whole Foods to remove it from pre-made foods)What foods are a “freak of nature” in both good and bad waysWhy gelatin is an amazing superfood and how to consume enoughLauren’s own journey with debilitating autoimmune disease and how she overcame itNatural beauty care options and why it is important to avoid many conventional beauty productsThe unexpected factors that contribute to hormone balanceHow you can “Quit PMS“Lauren’s simple step for better healthThe advice she wishes she had gotten about healthHer favorite health resourcesPosts we MentionWhy to avoid vegetable oil and margarine (Wellness Mama)The health benefits of near infrared saunas (Lauren)Natural hair care ideas (Lauren)Balance hormones with gelatin (Lauren)12 uses for Gelatin (Wellness Mama)Read TranscriptKatie: 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

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 EpisodeWhy I think oral health is so crucialThe oral health problems I’ve personally struggled withThe fascinating research between diet and oral healthMy favorite resources for improving oral healthHow I’m helping to ensure that my kids have strong teeth and (hopefully) won’t need bracesWhat foods and supplements help support tooth and gum healthFactors that harm teeth and gumsOther factors that affect oral health: hormones, saliva quality, sleep, stress, etc.Resources I MentionHow to Remineralize Teeth NaturallyOral Affects the Health of the Whole BodyHow to Whiten Teeth Naturally (and Prevent Poisoning)Should I Take Supplements?Are You Low on Magnesium?Why I Drink Green JelloSupplements for ChildrenSupplements for Pregnancy and NursingWellnesse Remineralizing ToothpasteWellnesse Charcoal ToothpasteWellnesse Peppermint Silk FlossRecommended BooksCure Tooth Decay by Ramiel NagelOil Pulling Therapy by Dr. Bruce FifeNutrition and Physical Degeneration by Dr. Weston A. PriceDeep Nutrition by Dr. Catherine ShanahanRead TranscriptKatie: Hi, I’m Katie from wellnessmama.com. Welcome to episode three of the Wellness Mama Podcast where I provide

In this Episode, I talk about how to prepare real food on a real budget.Real Food on a BudgetIt 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 proteinsWhy counting calories is not effectiveWhat my typical daily and weekly meal plan template looks likeFoods I prioritize when budget is tightSpecific foods I consume when pregnant or nursingFirst foods for babyFoods to avoid during pre-conception, pregnancy and nursingThe one food I avoid at all costs – it might not be the one you’d thinkSupplements I take dailyFoods I make sure my children get each dayHow I get my kids to eat real food without a fightMy five tips for eating healthy on a tight budgetPosts I mention:My Food Rules for helping kids eat real foodStocking a Real Food Kitchen7 Meal Planning BasicsRead TranscriptHello 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

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 StoryI 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