The Wellness Mama Podcast

Episode Highlights With Katie Teen athletes need lots of protein—one gram per pound of body weight How a protein-packed breakfast boosts energy and recovery Creatine helps muscles, the brain, and ATP energy production Why electrolytes like sodium and magnesium are essential Sunlight and vitamin D aid hormones and injury prevention Sleep is key—teens need 9-10 hours for recovery Recovery drives str...

Episode Highlights With Dr. Brandy Cummings What toxic burden is and all the factors that can contribute  What pleomorphism is in the body and how this can impact us Big factors in toxic burden: mold, mycotoxins, parasites The real deal on parasites and why a simple parasite cleanse isn’t necessarily a miracle solution Parasites are toxin sponges  How our inner language can really impact our nervo...

Episode Highlights with Dr. Brandy A fun fact about her fear of whales Why there's a common experience of women not feeling the same after having kids and some common underlying factors Common isn’t necessarily normal… the unrealistic expectations often put on moms  What microchimerism is, how this can affect women, and how it happens more in c-section births What to keep an eye on to early identi...

Episode Highlights With Tina How health topics are now entering the mainstream conversation, and how this can be a net benefit for so many of us, separate from podcasts We are each our own primary healthcare provider and CEO of our health High-impact changes we can make in supporting our health How the gut and brain are connected and how this two-way communication can support both gut and brain he...

Episode Highlights With Steven How he was a histamine denier and what he found out that changed everything The equation of this… histamine isn’t a bad thing. You don’t want too much or too little Histamine must be balanced with an enzyme called DAO. When it gets out of balance, we can have symptoms. Signs and symptoms of histamine intolerance and how they overlap with seasonal allergies and stress...

Episode Highlights With Katie What is creatine and how does it work to support the body? How it helps regenerate ATP, the body's main energy currency Creatine is naturally found in foods, so we're already likely getting some There are plenty of research studies that focus on muscle performance, but also brain health and hormone benefits  Can reduce mental fatigue and improve focus Why it won't mak...

Episode Highlights With Mandy Patterson Her own hormone and fertility journey How she almost died with her first child at age 22 and was told she couldn’t have any more kids The things within our power to change when it comes to hormones It's common and normal for periods to be irregular for the first couple of years after menstruation begins  Understanding minerals and how they relate to fertilit...

Episode Highlights With Katie The common focus on calories in, calories out—why this approach is incomplete Overeating often stems from undernourishment, not just willpower issues The body has nutrient-seeking cravings—if we lack key nutrients, hunger signals persist When the body lacks protein and key micronutrients, it perceives scarcity and stress How this approach support safety signals and ho...

Episode Highlights With Lisa Goldberg Early lessons on mindset around food that can turn into trouble later in life The downfall of the dieter's mindset and how it leads to self sabotage  How these early patterns form our relationship with food This often ties into low self esteem and low self worth  Examples of the dieter's mindset and how this is counterproductive  What to be aware of in parenti...

Episode Highlights My unconventional path into homeschooling How my parenting theory has changed over the years and how it looks in application with kids of different ages Balancing state requirements with child led learning My parenting philosophy and how it differs a lot from common parenting advice How this approach can lead to less stress and more connection over time Resources Mentioned Agath...

Episode Highlights The biggest mistakes people make when setting up a sleep sanctuary  A reason not to have a TV in the bedroom! Factors to think about when it comes to your sleep environment  How to keep your sleep environment for sleep in your mind  The substances and chemicals in our sleep environment that can disrupt sleep Mattresses are often the highest concentration of toxins in the househo...

Episode Highlights With Jack Why sleep is so vital for both mental and physical health and resilience The reason sleep is becoming a much bigger part of the conversation  How the body resets physically during sleep and the repair process that happens during sleep The problems with chronic poor sleep. What are the markers of great sleep? Practical ways to uplevel our sleep Markers of chronic poor s...

Episode Highlights With Katie Tackling cortisol Popular on social media lately Lots of cocktails and miracle cures floating around Can certainly be helpful, but not a silver bullet… a great jumping-point for understanding cortisol- and none of these magic cures will work without a foundation of the basics Always for information and inspiration, never for comparison or prescription Especially relev...

Episode Highlights With Dr. Zielinski His ten year journey creating Natural Living Family to help other families Why heart attack and stroke are such big killers and tied to chronic inflammation The easiest and most impactful factors we can all do to reduce chronic inflammation Infammation isn’t the root cause, it's the mechanism or vehicle that's damaging the body We have to look at the root caus...

Episode Highlights How I caused quite the stir by posting about stopping eating when the sun goes down Apparently, the internet needs to come with terms and conditions, and I can understand the confusion This episode goes deeper into why I personally adopted this change The biggest signals are light, food, and sleep when it comes to circadian health The benefits of eating in a more circadian-align...

Episode Highlights With Johanna Dahlman Her wide-ranging travels and life living in five other countries  The experience with alopecia that led to the work she does today How she lost over half of her hair and learned how to heal and reverse this naturally  Alopecia: the medical term for hair loss  An approach that works for hair loss must be personalized  We all have  blind spots when it comes to...

Episode Highlights What finally worked for me in healing my metabolism and thus losing weight, and it isn’t the conventional approach I had trouble learning to trust my body, and it was a slow dance I learned Yes, and when it comes to calories… there is more to the story If you want to make a fire hotter, what do you do? You add fuel, not take it away Our bodies are intelligent, so they adapt if w...

Episode Highlights with Dr. Erika Gray Understanding privacy concerns with genetic testing, especially in light of the security breach with a major DNA company recently  Samples sent to testing companies are de-identified and not connected to personal data Security concerns and how to make sure yours is safe How their specific testing has layers of encryption and is not even mined for data You can...

Episode Highlights With Dr. Erika Gray Important perspective about genetics and how to use this information for the biggest advantage The nuance when it comes to children and genes  Genes do not exist in isolation and why focusing on one gene is not helpful How understanding genetics helped her teens (and mine) What COMT is and how this comes into play with influencing our worldview Fast COMT brea...

Episode Highlights With Michael Ruscio His own journey into the work he does now and the tough lessons he learned about gut health All disease begins in the gut but how to know what is going on  What gut types are and how this helps explain why people can have such drastically different reactions to gut interventions Fungal vs bacterial overgrowth in the gut Things that are universally beneficial...

Episode Highlights With Katie Katie answers reader questions What have been the best/favorite forms of healing I’ve tried Habit stacks and best routines Wellness trends I regret, if any What I could change if I could go back to my early adult years One thing that has made the most difference in life Day in the life Where would I go if I could live anywhere or if chaos hits Do I believe we can deto...

Episode Highlights with Liz The importance of eating enough protein, especially as a mom and in families Tips for incorporating protein at different times of day Why protein at breakfast is so important  Other breakfast options if you don’t like smoothies  Her top easy protein sources to work into your diet Tip: eat non-breakfast foods for breakfast  Easy high-protein snacks that can be added in f...

Episode Highlights With Liz Marino Her journey into real food and the strategies she’s learned to do it affordably and with time constraints The three big things that help with time and money when eating healthier Focusing on basics: shop the perimeter, protein +vegetables+ healthy carbs, make simple recipes The benefit of two weeks of rotating meal plans to simplify things Why frozen vegetables c...

Episode Highlights Trends I expect to become more popular in 2025 and my take on them, with one easy action step for each (that is free) Minerals: Why I feel they're important and what I take (key takeaway, salt water in the morning for energy and hydration) Functional movement like kinstretch, walking, climbing, getting back to simplicity TIP: go for a walk or do air squats after each meal Whole...

Episode Highlights With Anjan Katta His own experience with the pitfalls of modern technology  The downside of so much blue light at all times of day and night What the designer of LCD screens thought they would be used, and what he would have done differently if he had known we’d be using them this much Light is a master signaling mechanism for hormone and circadian health What are the most harmf...