The Wellness Mama Podcast

Dr. Tiffany Caplan, co-founder of the Kaplan Health Institute and author of *The Lupus Solution*, dives into the often-overlooked realm of hidden stressors affecting health. She explains how stress can manifest even when we don’t feel it, touching on nutrient deficiencies and their impact on the immune system. Caplan shares the importance of balancing good and bad stress, emphasizing exercise as a beneficial stressor. She also highlights practical strategies for a stressor audit and the critical role of magnesium in overall health.

Dr. Tiffany Caplan, an expert in autoimmune disease remission and founder of the Caplan Health Institute, dives into the complex world of autoimmunity. She explains why the immune system goes haywire and the disproportionate impact on women. Key factors like hormone imbalances, stress, and gut health play a vital role in rising cases, especially among children. Dr. Caplan advocates for a holistic approach to treatment, focusing on personalized plans that aim not just to manage symptoms but to seek true remission.

Episode Highlights With GinaHow our relationship with food is a mirror into our inner world and how this starts the day we are bornEvery single person on the planet develops a relationship with food and how this impacts usAssociations we can develop around food, like food being a source of love and affectionKnowing how to eat healthy is only about 5% of our drive and decision making when it comes to behaviors95% of what influences our behaviors comes from the subconscious mindSomething important to understand around hunger that might make things like Ozempic irrelevantThe one piece of science that if you can understand, you will have so much compassion for your bodyWhen your body is in a state of stress or your nervous system is activated and this increases your hunger hormones, as well as an area of your brain that is responsible for sensing when you are full doesn’t become active anymoreGet curious and move toward the thing that you are scared to look atHow to learn to listen to your body and trust itWays to learn how to shift your awareness into your body and learn to really feel itDeveloping mind/body harmonyTools to create regulation in the body to begin to tune inCravings are one of the misunderstood aspects of ourselves and what we can learn from themOvereating is an attempt to fulfill the soul’s unmet needsResources MentionedGina Worful - Mastering Mindfulness InstituteGina Worful - Instagram

Episode Highlights With DaniHer own story and dramatic experience with adverse childhood experiencesThe childhood trauma she had and how her health problems started in high school from those experiencesData on ACE (adverse childhood experiences) and how a score of 4 or more is linked to a 20 year reduction in life expectancyHow she addressed her own trauma and what she recommends to her patientsMany people who come see her have never addressed or even considered childhood traumaShifting the identity of being sick or coming from trauma You are not your past and how to move through childhood trauma Resources MentionedDani Williamson - WebsiteThe Body Keeps the Score

Episode Highlights With DaniHer 24 years spent with chronic lifestyle diseases like IBS, Lupus, urticaria, and othersShe was 24 years in before a doctor asked what she was eating If you were born healthy… you do not have to live sick!How quickly the body can adapt when given the right inputsHealing is incredibly simple, but not easyShe starts with diet first and then builds from there… the importance of single-ingredient foodsReal food goes bad… auditing your food choices, and cooking is self-careThe top seven most inflammatory foods in the modern diet and why she does food sensitivity testImportance of sleep and how if we don’t sleep, we don’t healBallroom dancing is the number one way to decrease Alzheimer's and dementia riskHow data shows that community is extremely important to healthWe are a nation of empty vessels Rest and self-care are so important, and we often forget these- you cannot serve from an empty vesselResources MentionedDani Williamson - WebsiteWild & Well: Dani’s Six Commonsense Steps to Radical Healing by Dani Williamson

Episode Highlights With RoudyThe fun way that drinking cacao at night leads to him being super energetic and extroverted while usually an introvert How he incorporates dance into his lifeWhat he learned by living with no artificial light and how it drastically changed his lifeYou can’t get healthy in the same light environment that got you sickThe quality of our life is entirely dependent on the quality of light that enters our eyesHow light impacts us at a cellular levelWhy most blue light blockers don’t work and what to know about itOne massive misconception about light in the modern worldLight is the language that is spoken by every living thing on earth, and light has shaped evolution and the growth of plant and animal speciesHow our light environment directly impacts our mitochondria and cellular function About 1/3 of our energy comes from food, and 2/3 comes from the sunMelanin is actually incredibly powerful and supportive, and when sunlight hits the water beneath our skin, it produces naturally powerful hydrogen water How our light exposure can support our circadian health and how getting it wrong can wreck itWhy the sunlight can make us feel so joyful How Einstein’s work relates to light and matter and how natural light impacts usSunlight is literally impacting your thinking and your behavior- it turns into dopamineHis take on sunglasses and sunscreen and why to reevaluate these optionsHumans do photosynthesize at a deeper level than plants do! How this impacts hemoglobin Melanin is one of the darkest substances in the universe and can absorb all frequencies of light, so the more melanin you have, the more effective absorber of light you areSunscreen is full of chemicals and why most of them are very toxic What you need to know about melanoma and skin cancer, and how it might not be from sunlightThe very real downsides of too much artificial light exposure especially to your mitochondriaHow this all connects to cortisol, weight gain, and inflammation When we sleep 50-70 billion cells are meant to die and be replaced each night and healthier ones are meant to be reborn but how we interrupt this processOur body views artificial light as a predator as far as cortisol and nervous system responseArtificial light can spike glucose levels without us eating any food at all!How even the thyroid is impacted by this whole cascade as well7 steps to solve the light problem and harness the power of light (they’re basically free)Resources MentionedViva Rays - Use code wellnessmama for a discountThe 7 Steps to Harnessing the Power of LightCircadian AppUBlockoutThe Body Electric: Electromagnetism And The Foundation Of LifeDminder app

Episode Highlights With SharonA massive reframe in understanding fevers and the approach to handling themWhat homotoxicology is and how understanding this response is helpful Supporting vs repressing the body’s natural immune and detoxification responses What a fever actually is and why it is so helpfulReasons to consider not bringing down a feverWhat happens when we don’t let our bodies have a natural fever responseChronic inflammation vs acute inflammation, which can be helpfulThe number one thing she hears her cancer patients say: “Because I never get sick.”What to know about when fevers are too high or when to reduce them, but what to try firstThe most potent medicines don’t come in a pill bottle and ways to support theseResources MentionedDr. Sharon's websiteFind her on Facebook and Instagram

Episode Highlights With SharonWhy we can forget the pause part of menopause and why this can mean much more than just the pause or end of the menstrual cycleThis is a physiological process and also an important emotional and spiritual inflection pointWhy she suggests women write their eulogies at this age as a way to recenter How to reverse engineer the life we want to have as we go through menopauseThe different ways that other cultures approach menopause and how this even impacts the physical experience of aging and menopause Menopause is not a disease but a natural (and beautiful) transitionThe story of the adrenal glands picking up the slack to produce hormones and why this isn’t the full storyHow to support the body, mind, and spirit through perimenopause and menopauseSome tactical and practical things we can do to support our bodies as we age and what to know about hormones and when they're helpfulBig misunderstandings about hormone replacement for womenEstrogen should never be taken orally but transmucosally How to check metabolites and how this is important to know for hormone replacementWays to support the adrenals, especially as we age, and why cortisol isn’t actually usually the problemResources MentionedDr. Sharon's websiteFind her on Facebook and Instagram

Discover how baking soda can regulate your body's pH and boost energy levels. Learn about its surprising benefits for endurance and athletic performance, including why it was once banned in sports. From supporting kidney health to aiding digestion, it has a multifaceted role in wellness. The podcast also covers safe dosing guidelines and effective usage for recovery and oral health, while advising caution for certain individuals. Transform your routine with this simple ingredient!

Episode Highlights With MegThe eight pillars of women’s health and the connections between themOrder matters when it comes to these pillars, especially with things like detoxificationWhy starting with detox can be counterproductive and a helpful order to work throughMost women are living in fight or flight and the importance of balancing the nervous systemA two minute practice that can really help your nervous system and make health changes more effectiveUnderstanding hormones, nutrient deficiencies, and detox to get the most benefit Hormone shifts that occur far in advance of menopause, even a decade before menopauseHow a decrease in progesterone can be a first sign of hormonal shiftsDownsides to some of the common hormone treatments and why DIM isn’t always the answerIt isn’t just the hormones, but how you metabolize themWhat to know about parasite cleanses, when they can be helpful, and when to avoidCleansing vs detox and why gentle can be the best approachResources MentionedThe Essential Guide to Histamine Intolerance - Free resourceDr. Meg's website and her InstagramA Little Bit Healthier podcast