Rethinking Wellness

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com What if disagreements and differences are a matter of risk perception? Plus: Is weight loss really the only way to be well? The full version of this episode is for paid subscribers. Listen to the first part here, and sign up for a paid subscription to hear the rest (including the full answer about weight...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com Anti-diet personal stylist Dacy Gillespie joins us to discuss diet and wellness culture, her bad experience with functional medicine (and what attracted her to it in the first place), how she’s dealing with her chronic symptoms now, and why she doesn’t think clothes should be “flattering.” Behind the payw...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com Christy answers an audience question about how to talk to people who swear by certain alternative-medicine treatments—especially when they push them on you. 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! Ge...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com Christy shares answers she gave to a journalist writing a piece about Casey Means, a functional-medicine doctor, diet-book author, and wellness entrepreneur who has become a key advisor to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The full version of this episode is for paid subscribers. Listen to the first question here, an...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com Disordered-eating dietitian Katherine Metzelaar joins us to discuss her history with diet and wellness culture, how she developed orthorexia, how praise and compliments from others affected her behaviors, and the role of the internet in her relationship with food. Behind the paywall, we get into how ortho...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com Christy answers an audience question about whether artificial food colorings and other additives really have any impact on ADHD. 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 refere...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com Psychotherapist Asher Pandjiris joins us to discuss their experience with chronic illness and “autoimmune diets,” why they were attracted to naturopaths and other alternative-medicine providers, the role of values in people’s attraction to wellness culture, cultural healing traditions vs. cultural appropr...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com Former anti-vaccine “crunchy mom” and current public-health nurse Lydia Greene joins us to discuss why she was susceptible to anti-vax messaging despite having a science background, how and why she developed orthorexia, how a chronic digestive disorder made her susceptible to “leaky gut” rhetoric, how her...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com In this solo episode, Christy discusses the evidence on sugar and health—specifically what the science really says about the links between sugar and the risk of various chronic diseases, as well as the inherent limitations of the data. Plus, in honor of Halloween this week, she shares some thoughts (and s...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com Cognitive psychologist Gordon Pennycook explains the psychological reasons we fall for misinformation, conspiracy theories, and general bullshit (a technical term!). We discuss why people with an analytical cognitive style tend to be more skeptical of alternative medicine and health misinformation, some o...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com New York Times bestselling cookbook author Julia Turshen joins us to discuss intuitive cooking and how it relates to intuitive eating, how diet-culture recovery has influenced her approach to cooking and recipe writing, learning to accept that not every meal is going to be stellar (and why that’s a powerf...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com Registered dietitian and author Shana Minei Spence joins us to discuss how a career in fashion affected her relationship with food and her body, her experience with a holistic provider who recommended elimination diets, how values and social norms influenced her use of alternative medicine, her disordered...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com In this solo episode, Christy discusses how evidence-based mind-body practices like yoga and meditation can be essential for balancing overactive minds, helping us shift out of our intellects and into different modes of being—but they can also act as a gateway into the more out-there parts of wellness cul...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com Registered dietitian Kat Garcia-Benson joins us to discuss the multilevel marketing (MLM) industry and its connection to diet and wellness culture, her experience of getting recruited to an MLM as a new dietitian, how she eventually got out, why she shifted to an anti-diet approach in her work, and more....

In this solo episode, Christy shares the first in what has become a multi-part series about why bright, analytical minds are often susceptible to wellness woo. Get full show notes and references here . Christy's second book, The Wellness Trap , is available wherever books are sold! Order it online or ask for it in your favorite local bookstore. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss th...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com Clinical psychologist, author, and science communicator Jonathan Stea joins us to discuss why there’s such a huge market for pseudoscientific mental-health practices, the truth about diets for mental health, how to recognize misinformation and develop science literacy, and lots more. Behind the paywall, w...

Nutritionist and author Laura Thomas joins us to discuss what it’s like for kids living in the long shadow of “clean eating,” the “almond mom” trend on TikTok, the "wellness to woo pipeline," how parents and caregivers can let go of wellness-culture beliefs about food for themselves and their kids, and more. Laura Thomas is an anti-diet Registered Nutritionist. Her clinical work focuses on support...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com Medical doctor and pharmaceutical-policy researcher Joel Lexchin joins us to discuss the impact of industry sponsorship on medical research, why merely disclosing these financial conflicts of interest is not enough (and may not be accurate or complete), some of the surprising tactics drug- and device-make...

Journalist and medical doctor Seema Yasmin joins us to discuss why misinformation and conspiracy theories about health and wellness are so alluring; how to recognize and fight back against false claims; the difference between misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation; holding the two truths that science is one of the best tools we have for finding facts and science hasn’t always gotten it...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com Christy answers an audience question about whether light drinking is really as risky as some wellness influencers make it out to be, and shares some ways to explore your relationship with alcohol. The full version of this episode is for paid subscribers. Listen to the first question here, and sign up for...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com Psychologist and body-image researcher Charlotte Markey joins us to discuss myths and misinformation about body image, how chronic illness and pain affect perceptions of our bodies, the body positivity vs. body neutrality debate, the potential body-image harms of social media (and how to mitigate them), h...

Author and podcaster Mary Jelkovsky joins us to discuss her history as a fitness influencer starting at age 16, and how it triggered and exacerbated her eating disorder; how social media algorithms drive us toward extreme diet and wellness content; why and how Christy took a huge step back from social media, and why Mary is contemplating doing the same; career moves for influencers after influenci...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com Christy answers audience questions about IgG tests for food sensitivity, glyphosate in food, recent headlines about chemicals in baby wipes and tampons, and whether you really need to avoid dairy for acne. The full version of this episode is for paid subscribers. Listen to the first question here, and sig...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com Family doctor and science communicator Brad McKay joins us for a wide-ranging conversation about alternative medicine, chronic fatigue, Peter Attia, wellness IV drips, how placebos can actually cause harm, and more. Behind the paywall, we talk about the weight-inclusive approach, my book ANTI-DIET, our di...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com In this bonus episode, we discuss the experience of getting a new diagnosis, and the insatiable curiosity, vulnerability to misinformation, and identity shifts that often go along with it. This episode is for paid subscribers. Listen to a free preview here, and sign up for a paid subscription to hear the...