Orthodox Health

January is when modern culture tries to “punish itself into purity.” In this episode of the Orthodox Health Podcast , Dr. Mike & John dismantle the New Year, New Me courtroom & replace it with something actually Orthodox: repentance, rhythm, & repair . This is not a hype plan. It’s a Rule of Life approach to health: habits that support prayer, stabilize the nervous system, & make y...

Christ is born. Glorify Him. The Church does not give us the feast so that we can fall apart... & then punish ourselves in January. In this episode of The Orthodox Health Podcast , Dr. Michael Christian & John walk through the often-ignored stretch from Nativity to Theophany & ask a different question than the culture does: How do we feast like Christians... without burning out our bod...

From straw hidden under a tablecloth in a tiny Slavic house… to kids banging metal triangles in Greek stairwells… to families tearing injera around a shared platter in Ethiopia… The Nativity isn’t just about presents & photo ops. It’s about Christ showing up at the table . In this episode, Dr. Mike & John take you on a tour of global Orthodox (& other) Nativity traditions & then la...

Lab-grown “meat.” Cricket protein bars. Impossible burgers at the grocery store. The world is loudly preaching a new gospel of “ethical,” “sustainable,” plant-based everything... while the same foundations & corporations that built chemical agriculture now tell us the “Future of Food” is bugs, bioreactors, & patented pea protein. In this Nativity-season episode, Dr. Mike & John welcome back Nick H...

What if St. Nicholas wasn’t a jolly mascot for consumer Christmas… but a bishop whose hidden generosity literally healed people and communities? In episode 39 of the Orthodox Health Podcast, Dr. Michael Christian & co-host John sit down with Fr. Jonathan Ivanoff to rescue St. Nicholas from the Santa-Industrial-Complex & recover him as a true Orthodox saint, wonderworker, & icon of merc...

Is your Thanksgiving plate quietly acting like a spiritual report card? In this episode of the Orthodox Health Podcast , Dr. Michael Christian & John trace how the Thanksgiving Myth, Puritan productivity culture, & wellness legalism turned “Turkey Day” into a kind of substitute sacrament... & how the Eucharist, the true Thanksgiving , reclaims our tables, our bodies, & our nervous...

Is “Blue Zone” longevity the new health religion? In this episode of the Orthodox Health Podcast, Dr. Michael Christian & John audit Okinawa, Sardinia, Ikaria, Nicoya, & Loma Linda... & ask what actually survives scrutiny when you put the Blue Zones story under an Orthodox Christian lens. We tie this episode back through the whole Sacred Diets Arc & then we zoom in on modern longev...

Fasting isn’t a diet challenge or a biohack... it’s ascetical medicine inside the life of the Church. In this episode of the Orthodox Health Podcast , Dr. Michael Christian & John pull together everything we’ve been tracing through the "Sacred Diets" arc... from Adventist “health reform” & occult kitchen rituals to Zen minimalism & macro-tracking... & answer the real ques...

Food can train love... or it can train control . In this episode of the Orthodox Health Podcast, Dr. Michael Christian & John follow the threads from ancient hearths & local household idols through the Renaissance’s “cookbook of correspondences” & into today’s wellness culture & #WitchTok. Why do so many modern routines feel like liturgy... complete with initiation, penance, confes...

In this episode of the Orthodox Health Podcast , Dr. Michael Christian & co-host John explore the intersection of Eastern dietary techniques and Western wellness culture. They discuss how these practices have evolved over time, the influence of Theosophy, & the moral implications of modern dietary practices. They put the wellness world’s calm-eating gospel under a brighter light & trace how Zen, y...

From Levitical purity laws to global halal certification, The Covenant Kitchen traces how food became both a boundary & a battleground. In this episode of the Orthodox Health Podcast , Dr. Michael Christian & John explore how kosher & halal codes shaped identity, power, & perception... & how modern “clean eating” & “ethical” brands echo those same ancient impulses. Along th...

Why did America learn to fear the feast? In this episode of the Orthodox Health Podcast , Dr. Michael Christian & John continue the story of how 19th-century revivalism, temperance preachers, & eventually Mormonism redefined food & drink as moral tests instead of gifts of grace. From Joseph Smith’s “caffeine-free gospel” to the Methodist crusade against alcohol, we uncover how Protesta...

In the finale of our Women’s Health Arc , Dr. Michael Christian & John sit down with Rachel Wilson , Orthodox Christian & author of Occult Feminism: The Secret History of Women’s Liberation , to expose how feminism, the occult, & modern wellness culture reshaped the female body, diet, & family. From yoga & the birth control pill to the Rockefeller-funded feminist revolution, Ra...

When America lost throne & altar, it found a cereal bowl. In the 19th century, revival preachers turned purity into a health plan. Ellen G. White’s visions warned that meat led to lust. John Harvey Kellogg tried to purify the body with cereal, shock therapy, & ice baths... By the 20th century, their strange theology had hardened into the USDA Food Pyramid: a gospel of grains preached with...

In this episode of The Orthodox Health Podcast , Dr. Michael Christian & co-host John are joined by return guest, certified nurse midwife Brennan Straka, & Dr. Michael's own wife, Casey, to discuss the complexities of women's health, with a particular focus on PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome). They explore fasting, dietary changes, & the importance of faith in navigating health...

In this episode of the Orthodox Health Podcast , Presbytera Marina Thornburg (Orthodox True Femininity) joins hosts Dr. Michael Christian & John to explore the multifaceted aspects of femininity within the Orthodox tradition. They discuss the significance of women's roles in the Church, personal conversion stories, & the challenges women face regarding health, particularly PCOS. The co...

In this heartfelt episode of the Orthodox Health Podcast , Dr. Michael Christian and co-host John sit down with new mother & recent Orthodox convert, Gwynne Hoffmaster , to talk about the beautiful chaos of entering the Church while navigating motherhood. From midnight feedings to toddler wrangling in the nave, Gwynne shares her honest experiences of finding Christ in exhaustion, messiness, &a...

In this opening episode of the Orthodox Health Podcast Women’s Health & Femininity arc , Dr. Michael Christian & co-host John welcome Katherine Phillips , host of the Faithful Flourish Podcast . With a background in public health & daily work as a health insurance broker, Katherine brings both clarity & conviction to the challenges women face in today’s medicalized, performance-dri...

In this long-awaited episode of the Orthodox Health Podcast , Dr. Michael Christian & co-host John are joined by Jeff Messina: 4th degree Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, Judo black belt, owner of the Revolution Dojo , paratrooper & infantryman, theology graduate, & newly-illumined Orthodox Christian. Jeff shares his powerful journey from the mat to the Church, weaving together themes o...

In this episode of the Orthodox Health Podcast , Dr. Michael Christian & co-host John explore how the body itself is a school of formation. Building from last week’s conversation with Fr. Zechariah Lynch on the war against the Incarnation, this discussion goes deeper into the theology of movement, the sanctifying role of suffering, & the communal power of training together. From the Desert Fathers...

In this episode of the Orthodox Health Podcast , Dr. Michael Christian & John welcome Fr. Zechariah Lynch to close out a four-part arc on the future of man. Together, they explore the rising ideology of transhumanism, the cult of fitness, AI-driven medicine, & how these movements represent not mere “progress,” but a new worldview that wages war on the Incarnation itself. The conversation d...

In this episode of the Orthodox Health Podcast , Dr. Michael Christian & John explore the intersection of AI, medicine, and Orthodox theology. They discuss the ethical implications of AI in healthcare, the allure of transhumanism, & the importance of community & communion in true healing. The conversation emphasizes the need for a return to the Orthodox understanding of the person, whi...

In this episode of the Orthodox Health Podcast , Dr. Michael Christian & John discuss the crisis of masculinity in modern society, exploring themes of disembodiment, the spiritual roots of masculinity, & the importance of reclaiming the body as a tool for virtue & sacrifice. They emphasize the need for practical steps to embody masculinity, the significance of brotherhood, & the ro...

In this episode of the Orthodox Health Podcast, Dr. Michael Christian (sans John) is joined by Orthodox catechumen, registered dietitian, & fitness specialist Gavin McCort, RDN, LDN to discuss the multifaceted crisis in men's health, exploring the decline in testosterone levels, the impact of social & environmental factors, & the importance of spirituality & community. They emphasi...

In this episode of the Orthodox Health Podcast, Dr. Michael Christian & co-host John explore the intersection of Orthodox Christianity & herbal medicine, emphasizing the importance of discernment in using natural remedies. They discuss the historical context of herbal practices within the Orthodox tradition, the dangers of New Age ideologies, & the philosophical roots that contribute t...