Influenced to Death

In this episode, Hannah & Victoria create a veritable charcuterie board of influence-y topics: methylene blue, colostrum, and a high-protein diet. They briefly discuss some of the history and research on each while, as always, doing their best to be transparent about their biases. * Why do we have wellness trends in the first place? * Methylene blue is a synthetic dye, methylthioninium chloride, d...

In this episode, Hannah & Victoria dive into one of the most contentious topics in all of wellness: delicious, delicious gluten. They discuss: * What, exactly, is gluten? * Where macronutrients come from (like, originally) * If gluten is a lectin, or not, and if you should worry about eating lectins * The history of gluten and gluten-free diets * If grain and gluten hurt our health * Our opinions...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit influencedtodeath.substack.com In this episode, Hannah & Victoria are back with listener-favorite Amanda Jones to finish up their detox discussion. Be sure to listen to part 1 if you haven’t already! They discuss: * Why gastroenterologists don’t find toxic build-up in patients’ colons 🤔 * Is lemon water an effective detox? * How to app...

In this episode, Hannah & Victoria welcome Amanda Jones back for an episode all about using supplemental hydrochloric acid. Hydrochloric acid is a popular digestive supplement in integrative medicine. But is it safe? Is it effective? Does everyone have low stomach acid? They cover the history of hydrochloric acid supplementation , the woman who discovered endogenous hydrochloric acid (the form we...

In this episode, Hannah & Victoria have the pleasure of speaking with Sara Russell on blood chemistry changes that happen in pregnancy and postpartum. Fair warning, we’re breaking our typical episode pattern because we’re so mind-blown by Sara’s work, its impact on pregnancy and postpartum, and the fact that it isn’t well-known in the world of functional medicine. We discuss: * Sara’s background a...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit influencedtodeath.substack.com In this episode, Hannah and Victoria review the new Netflix documentary created by Chris Smith on multi-millionaire techpreneur Bryan Johnson, Don’t Die. Bryan lives a highly unconventional lifestyle—he engages in literally hundreds of strategies per day—as he attempts to reverse his biological age and “no...

In this episode, Hannah and Victoria speak with Amanda Jones as they explore one of the most controversial and lucrative corners of alternative wellness: DETOX. They discuss: * The interesting connections between our culture’s Christian roots and the urge to detox * The nuances of detox—it’s not all or nothing, no matter what you’ve seen online * Studies that help us gain a better understanding of...

In this episode (that you should probably not listen to on your lunch break), Hannah & Victoria welcome back guest Jameson Simpson (of episode #8 fame ) to talk about medicinal leeches. Jameson has been using leeches medicinally for over 15 years, and he and Victoria share their personal tales of leech therapy while Hannah does her best not to puke. In this episode, they discuss: * The history of...

In this episode, Hannah and Victoria get to speak with one of their favorite scientists, Dr. Deanna Minich, about her favorite molecule: melatonin. We discuss: * The history of melatonin, in which Dr. Minich describes early experimentation on the pineal gland and a vat of frogs (🤯 yeah, us too) * Early uses of melatonin and how melatonin was initially isolated for supplemental use before syntheti...

In this episode, Hannah and Victoria have the extreme pleasure of speaking with scientist, medical doctor, and inquisitive clinician Dr. Sharon Bergquist about her research into the benefits of stress . They discuss: * Why lowering your stress might not be the best idea * How stress actually makes you biologically younger * How Victoria and Dr. Bergquist met and bonded over their love of hormesis...

In this episode, Hannah and Victoria welcome back Jenny McGruther, genius recipe developer and all-around thoughtful human, to finish their discussion of The Weston A. Price Foundation. They cover: * More on the WAPF review of Nina Planck’s book Real Food for Mother and Baby. (You can read Nina’s response to this thumbs-down review here .) * The accuracy of the WAPF’s information and other large i...

In this episode, Hannah and Victoria have the extreme pleasure of speaking with Dawn Whitten, a clinician, researcher, educator, and clinical mentor in naturopathic medicine specific to perinatal and early life health for over twenty years. ( This woman knows her stuff, y’all. ) Today’s topic? Maternal exclusion, aka elimination diets, as a way to address eczema or other symptoms in the baby. Does...

In this episode, Victoria speaks with Dr. Jordan Robertson, founder of The Confident Clinician Club , about the effect of Google and meme’d medicine on our ability to discern helpful from trendy information and get well. Victoria and Jordan discuss: * The shift toward patients being influenced by online sources * The pull they feel in themselves toward being influenced * The most detrimental and b...

In this episode, Hannah and Victoria are joined by fellow balanced babe Jenny McGruther of Nourished Kitchen fame for the beginning of a deep dive (yep, expect part 2) into the Weston A. Price Foundation. Interview with Sally and Kelly the Kitchen Kop (Kelly Moeggenborg) on how the WAPF was born The Nina Planck book review: Real Food for Mother and Baby Dr. Kaayla Daniel’s original publication on...

In this episode, Hannah & Victoria speak with Dr. Mark Messina, an international expert and soy researcher. We read his research. We emailed him with high hopes. He responded! Dr. Mark brings the juice on soy, “myth-busting,” and even sheds some light on GLP-1 agonists. DO NOT SLEEP on this episode! Dr. Mark isn’t some dull researcher…he’s passionate, engaging, and one of the most knowledgeable gu...

In this episode, Hannah and Victoria have the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Sarah Ballantyne about her stance switch from anti- to pro-seed oils. Hi everyone, Vic here. Hannah and I asked Dr. Sarah to come on the podcast to speak with her about some of the science backing why she switched her viewpoint, but mainly about the dynamics of telling her millions of followers she was wrong. This episode...

In this episode, Hannah and Victoria explore the hyper-controversialized world of soy, one of the most studied yet misunderstood foods in our diet. History: Isoflavones first came to the attention of the scientific community in the 1940s because of fertility problems observed in sheep grazing on a type of isoflavone-rich clover.  * The most economically important bean in the world * China 7000 BCE...

In this episode, Hannah & Victoria check out what the research has to say about MM’s claims and do their best to provide a balanced takeaway. Check out the show notes for Episode #9: Medical Medium, Part 1 for references. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit influencedtodeath.substack.com

In this episode, Hannah and Victoria do their best to keep their s**t together while discussing Medical Medium, a 55-year-old self-proclaimed medium who claims the Spirit of Compassion provides him with medical information years beyond what current science has uncovered. * History From his website, Medicalmedium.com: “Medical Medium Anthony William, the chronic illness expert, originator of the gl...

In this episode, Hannah & Victoria sit down with Jameson Simpson to explore the underbelly of high-class hippy-dom. There are no show notes—this episode is a mix of tales from Jameson’s chaotic and seriously adventurous life (his current address: Albania) and culminates in the story of a very famous raw food influencer who sold a very expensive product made in Jameson’s filthy ( filthy ) dirty gar...

In this episode, Hannah and Victoria speak with Angie Alt about the use of continuous glucose monitors in non-diabetic populations. Angie Alt is a writer, community care activist, independent researcher, and former health coach and nutritional therapist. After a decade of helping clients manage chronic illness through nutrition and lifestyle and training practitioners to utilize the autoimmune pro...

In this episode, Hannah and Victoria speak with two (hilarious and highly balanced) metabolic experts, Dr. Mike T Nelson & Dr. Tim Sharpe about the ketogenic diet. You’ll want to listen if you’ve been considering going keto to lose weight, boost your fitness, or fix your metabolism. * Sign up to get Dr. Mike’s fantastic newsletter here: www.miketnelson.com or learn if you should go keto at www.sho...

In this episode, Hannah and Victoria discuss the recent changes happening at Mercola.com and the strange influencer influencing Dr. Mercola. Show notes: * Carnivore update - Paul Saladino eats some plants now * Dr. Mercola  * 1.7 M followers on FB, 512K on IG, 417K followers on X * Osteopath, DO * Stopped treating patients in 2009 to focus on his brand. Net worth in 2017 over 100 million * In the...

In part 1 of this “meaty” extravaganza 👀, Hannah and Victoria explore the history of the Carnivore diet and their biases. Be sure to listen to part 2 for the full Carnivore story. Full show notes: Definition: A carnivore , or meat-eater , is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements are met by the consumption of animal tissues whether through hunting or scavenging. Likewise inspired b...

In part 2, Hannah & Victoria go full carnivore nerd and explore the full spectrum of evidence surrounding an all-animal food diet. What’s the evidence for carnivore? PubMed search for “carnivore diet” returned 21 results, but only a small handful are applicable to this conversation, i.e., this diet has not been thoroughly studied. * https://journals.lww.com/co-endocrinology/abstract/2020/10000/can...