Rethinking Wellness

Christy answers an audience question about whether midlife women really need to follow menopause expert Mary Claire Haver’s “prescriptions” for exercise and saturated fat intake.  As a paid subscriber, you get the full version of this episode, including our full breakdown of Dr. Haver’s claims. Thanks so much for your support! If you love what you hear, please consider leaving a rating and review...

Weight-inclusive medical doctor Mónica Peralta joins us to discuss weight stigma in medicine, her shift from sharing her “weight-loss journey” on social media to specializing in weight-inclusive care, and her experiences as both a physician and a higher-weight patient. In a deeper dive for paid subscribers, we get into GLP-1s and eating disorders, the importance of support when discontinuing GLP-1...

Sociologist and journalist Kathryn Jezer-Morton , author of the new book THE STORY OF YOUR LIFE, joins us to discuss how social media affects the way we make sense of our lives, how the pressure to perform emotional wellness online affects our actual emotional well-being, how credentialed providers with nuanced messages can get heard in this media environment, and more. In a deeper dive for paid s...

Christy answers an audience question about a new study that claims to show food processing influences metabolism and brain activity.   As a paid subscriber, you get the full version of this episode. Thanks so much for your support! If you love what you hear, please consider leaving a rating and review here, or gifting Rethinking Wellness to a friend.  Get full show notes and references on Substack...

Christy answers an audience question about food-sensitivity tests, SIBO, probiotics, elimination diets, and how to navigate digestive issues in disordered eating without falling into wellness traps. As a paid subscriber, you get the full version of this episode. Thanks so much for your support! If you love what you hear, please consider leaving a rating and review here, or gifting Rethinking Welln...

Body-image therapist Zoe Bisbing joins us to discuss why body image is such a challenging part of disordered-eating recovery, how to deal with our body-focused inner critics, and why many people have such visceral reactions to public figures losing weight. In a deeper dive for paid subscribers, we discuss why setting limits with food won’t automatically give your kid an eating disorder, which limi...

Christy discusses GLP-1s and longevity—the discourse, the hype, where it comes from, and what the science really says. As a paid subscriber, you get the full version of this episode. Thanks so much for your support! If you love what you hear, please consider leaving a rating and review here, or gifting Rethinking Wellness to a friend.  Get full show notes and references on Substack .Advertising In...

Registered dietitian Aaron Flores joins us to discuss why Andrew Huberman and other biohacking wellness bros have such massive appeal, and how their rhetoric can lead to disordered eating and body shame. In a deeper dive for paid subscribers, we get into how to talk to male partners or loved ones who’ve come under the sway of bro-wellness culture—and how to set boundaries when their diet/fitness t...

Christy answers an audience question about whether you need an anti-inflammatory diet, or other dietary changes, for migraines.    As a paid subscriber, you get the full version of this episode. Thanks so much for your support! If you love what you hear, please consider leaving a rating and review here, or gifting Rethinking Wellness to a friend.  Get full show notes and references on Substack . M...

Nutritionist Abbie Attwood joins us to discuss how dealing with multiple autoimmune chronic illnesses led her down a path of dubious diagnoses and disordered eating, and how she ultimately found healing. We get into how disordered eating can trigger and aggravate chronic conditions, why she believed she had “adrenal fatigue” and “leaky gut,” and the role of obsession and OCD in orthorexia. We also...

Christy answers an audience question about the diets you *don’t* need to try in (peri)menopause—and ways to get your loved ones to stop talking about them. 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 full show notes and references here . Ask a question of your own for a chance to have it answ...

Author and pediatric surgeon Dana Suskind joins us to discuss her new book, Human Raised: Nurturing Connection, Curiosity & Lifelong Learning in the Age of AI . We get into why true caring is what makes us unique from machines, how human parenting instills critical thinking and empathy, the role of governments and regulators in dealing with AI harms, her HOPE framework for raising kids in the age...

Christy discusses what she’s been going through with IVF and how it’s affected her body image, plus 5 things she’s trying to keep in mind as she navigates a changing body amid the pressures of diet and wellness culture. This episode originally aired in June 2025. Check out the written version on our website for updates. This episode is for paid subscribers. Listen to a free preview here, and sign...

Christy discusses how to make sure a “healthy” dietary change doesn’t spiral into disordered eating—and how to know your desire to change your eating is driven by health and not diet culture.   The full version of this episode is for paid subscribers. Listen to the first half here, and sign up for a paid subscription to hear the whole thing! Get full show notes and references on Substack . More fr...

Religious-ethics scholar Liz Bucar, author of Beyond Wellness , joins us to discuss the religious roots of wellness practices, why bringing religion back into “spiritual” wellness spaces might be the key to promoting true well-being (even for non-religious people), and how the very human need for control shows up in diet and wellness culture.  For paid subscribers, we do a deeper dive into how rel...

Christy shares some exciting announcements about the podcast!  Paid subscribers get access to all our content:  NEW: Monthly office hours on Substack Live Subscriber-only Q&As and essays answering your burning questions about wellness/diet culture, with critical and rigorous reporting on the science (something you’ll never get from ChatGPT, which we don’t use for research or writing) Extended inte...

Christy answers an audience question about whether artificial food colorings and other additives really have any impact on ADHD. Get full show notes and references on Substack , and upgrade to a paid subscription for lots more like this! Ask a question of your own  for a chance to have it answered in a future episode. Christy's second book,  The Wellness Trap , is available wherever books are...

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. This episode was originally published in 2024. Elyse Resch, MS, RDN, CEDS-S,...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com Today is a very special episode, because Christy’s back from maternity leave! To return to the show, she’s joined by our producer Amelia Hruby for a conversation about the wellness trends she noticed while she was away, the personal health issues she navigated postpartum, and the parenting shifts she’s ma...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com Christy answers an audience question about the keto diet and whether it’s really all it’s cracked up to be.  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 full show notes and references here . Ask a qu...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com Philosopher, professor, and podcaster Ellie Anderson, PhD joins us to discuss the realities of living in a “post-truth” era – where conspiracy theories, fake news, and anti-science rhetoric are everywhere. Ellie also shares her personal experience with dubious diagnoses and the “divine feminine,” why stud...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com Christy discusses how to tell whether your symptoms are related to perimenopause or something else, what perimenopause has in common with dubious diagnoses (even though it’s a real condition), and what the best available evidence says about hormone therapy, weight gain, and more. This episode is for paid...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com Science communicator Jonathan Jarry joins us to discuss his history of turning to alternative cures for chronic pain, how he came to be skeptical of the wellness industry, the problems with science journalism, why you probably don’t have a leaky gut (despite what many influencers and wellness practitioner...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com Christy answers an audience question about whether you really need to restrict a wide variety of “inflammatory” foods for thyroid health. 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 full show notes a...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com Journalist, podcaster, and author Elise Hu joins us to discuss her background with modeling and disordered eating, why beauty culture is a cousin of diet culture, Elise’s experience with intense beauty standards in Korea, and the realities of pushing back against performances of femininity. Behind the pay...