Phoenix Helix: Autoimmune Resilience

Most of you are familiar with Dr. Terry Wahls. She's a physician with multiple sclerosis who reversed her symptoms dramatically, going from a wheelchair to a bicycle after implementing diet and lifestyle changes. That program is now called The Wahls Protocol and has been the subject of multiple medical studies, proving its effectiveness for others as well. In this episode, we summarize all the res...

This is a frightening time in the world, especially for people with health vulnerabilities. Our goal today is to separate fact from fiction, reduce some of the anxiety you might be feeling, and share practical advice on how to support your health during this time – physically, mentally, and emotionally. My guest is Andrea Nakayama. You might be familiar with her from past podcasts. She's one of my...

Flares are one of the scariest parts of autoimmune disease. They're unpredictable, often very painful, sometimes disabling, and always disruptive to our plans. In this episode, three autoimmune warriors share their best tips for making it through autoimmune flares with strength and self-compassion. We talk about favorite foods, lifestyle hacks, mindset techniques, and more. Visit https://www.phoen...

Osteoporosis is a condition where the bones become weak and brittle, and it’s usually associated with aging. But it turns out that autoimmune disease increases our risk of getting this condition at a younger age. In this episode, we talk about why this is true and what we can do to prevent and reverse it. What tests are available? What treatments are helpful? What self-care steps are most effectiv...

While not everyone has a sweet tooth, a lot of us do, and it's often hard to break the sugar habit. Why is that so true? It turns out there are a lot of forces driving those cravings: emotional, psychological, and even biological. Its no wonder they're not easy to resist. In today's episode, we dive into the details. My guest is holistic psychologist Dr. Vickie Bhatia. We discuss everything from t...

If you’ve ever experienced brain fog, anxiety, or mood issues alongside your autoimmune symptoms, you’re not alone. Doctors know that mental health issues often increase with an autoimmune diagnosis, and a new scientific discovery might explain why. There are cells in the brain called microglia that are actually part of the immune system. And just as our body’s immune system can go into overdrive...

If you’re a regular listener of my podcast, you know that I often start my shows with personal stories, where my guests share their health journeys from rock bottom to reclaiming a vital life. But at a least once a year, I dedicate an episode to back-to-back healing stories, and I make an effort to speak to people with different autoimmune diagnoses each time. In this episode, we talk about Hashim...

In support of my own autoimmune health, I’m taking a sabbatical for the month of December and releasing two of my favorite episodes from the archives that you might have missed. Today’s episode is one of the most popular of all time. The right exercise has the potential to improve our health, but the wrong exercise can cause an autoimmune flare. Our needs will often change from month to month, may...

In support of my own autoimmune health, I'm taking a sabbatical for the month of December and releasing two of my favorite episodes from the archives that you might have missed. Today's episode is one of the most popular of all time. Once you start researching alternative approaches to treating autoimmune disease, it isn’t long before you hear of a gene mutation that can be a root cause for chroni...

When we feel lonely or isolated, it can seem like we’re the only person experiencing it, yet loneliness has become an epidemic affecting millions. Living with chronic illness can be an especially isolating experience, and it all becomes more poignant around the holidays. In addition to being emotionally painful, loneliness also carries health risks. It's been compared to smoking 15 cigarettes a da...

If the placebo effect taps into our body's natural healing capability, and the nocebo effect can turn fear into physical symptoms, these are things we need to understand. In this podcast we dive into the research to try to make sense of one of the human body's great mysteries. My guest is science journalist Erik Vance, author of the book Suggestible You. Visit https://www.phoenixhelix.com for show...

What's the line between a healing diet and a harmful one? Orthorexia is a term that was first coined in the late 1990’s by Dr. Steven Bratman. It refers to an obsessive focus on healthy eating that becomes clinically impairing. This idea has become controversial in the paleo autoimmune community. Does a healing diet automatically set you up for orthorexia? What does it mean to eat in a way that su...

There’s a community of 38 trillion microorganisms living in and on our bodies, and most of them reside in our gut. That's equal to the number of cells in the human body. By this definition, we are only 50% human. This is why gut health has such a huge impact on human health, and research in this area is exploding. What does the science say about the intersection between the gut microbiome and auto...

Sexual intimacy can be challenging even in healthy couples. It’s an area that many of us aren’t comfortable talking about, but when you add chronic illness, the obstacles increase exponentially. Depending on your condition, you might be experiencing extreme fatigue, chronic pain, limited range of motion, muscle spasms, disability, bowel issues, skin conditions, and more. It’s natural for this to h...

Blood sugar is one of the building blocks of life. It gives our cells the energy they need to do their jobs. Yet when our blood sugar gets too high, drops too low, or swings wildly between these extremes, it negatively impacts our health on multiple levels, including autoimmune health. In this podcast, we'll be taking a deep dive into this topic. What factors influence blood sugar levels? How can...

This episode marks the 5-year anniversary of this podcast! When I was thinking about how I wanted to celebrate, I decided to invite 2 friends onto the show who have been following a healing diet for 5 years or more. But that doesn’t mean our diet today looks the same as it did on day 1 of this journey. We’ve personalized it over the years, learning what does and doesn’t work for our unique bodies....

Our topic today is Resilience, that ability to bounce back from life’s hardships. With autoimmune disease, we get lots of practice. Sometimes we feel strong and capable of overcoming suffering. Other times we feel beaten down and frightened by our body’s unpredictability. The good news is that resilience isn't something you either have or you don’t. Resilience is a trait we can nurture. My guest i...

Due to a recent bout of pneumonia, I'm taking some time to focus on my health. Today's episode is a favorite from my podcast archives. At its basic level, food is sustenance. It fuels us for life. But food is more than just a source of energy. Emotions surround the experience of eating as well. Food can comfort and bring joy, yet it can also inspire feelings of guilt. People also connect with each...

Due to a recent bout of pneumonia, I need to take some time to focus on my health. I'm taking a sabbatical for the next few weeks and releasing two of my favorite episodes from the archives that you might have missed. Today's episode is one of the most popular ever, and summer seems like the perfect time to re-release it! It's the season of barbecues, picnics, weddings, festivals, and an increase...

I have some exciting research to share! It's the first medical study looking at the paleo autoimmune protocol as an intervention for Hashimoto's thyroiditis. The results were impressive! In this episode, Dr. Rob Abbott and Angie Alt (the research team) give us all the details.

Most of you know Dr. Terry Wahls' story. She is a physician who developed multiple sclerosis, and in spite of the best that conventional medicine had to offer, she ended up confined to a tilt-recline wheelchair. She started to research nutrition and lifestyle interventions, eventually creating The Wahls Protocol. She's no longer in a wheelchair, and is now able to ride a bicycle to and from work....

Everything happens for a reason. What did you do to cause this? At least it's not cancer. Oh, I heard about this cure online... Is this sounding familiar? An interesting part of the human experience is that when faced with someone's pain, people are often at a loss about what to say and end up saying some really unhelpful and hurtful things. But occasionally, people say exactly the right thing. In...

There’s some compelling research that suggests the inability to forgive leads to negative health consequences, and the practice of forgiveness can have health benefits. When it comes to small injustices, this seems relatively easy to do. But what if you have experienced something that you find unforgiveable? Is forgiveness a requirement for healing? The pressure to forgive can feel like getting re...

Do you ever feel like your brain isn’t working quite right – that you can’t remember things, or think clearly, or focus and make decisions? That simple tasks feel challenging, and complex tasks feel impossible? This cluster of symptoms is often called Brain Fog, because that’s what it feels like – that there’s a fog bank surrounding your brain, making everything more difficult. It’s also common to...

In this podcast, we’re taking a big picture look at time. How can we gain clarity on where our time goes? How can we start to feel in control of time, rather than buffeted by it? What makes it slow down in some moments and speed up in others? Is it possible to be productive and feel relaxed at the same time? And how can we flex our expectations and our schedules when our health fluctuates? My gues...