Holistic Wellness | Exploring the Science & Metaphysics Of Health

In this episode, you'll discover why Rain Organica products are universal to all skin types and how 3 products meet all of your skin's needs.

For more, check out these related episodes:

Have you ever wondered what steps brands take to make sustainable skincare? In this episode, we'll talk about how sustainable ingredients are made & why this matters for the health of your skin and the planet. This podcast is focused on skincare sold here in the US because it is harder to navigate truly clean skincare from marketing jargon here in the US compared with EU due to looser regulations on skincare.

After a year and a half of dealing with recurrent UTIs so bad they caused me to miss work and bouncing from one healthcare practitioner to another, taking round after round of antibiotics and still winding up with another UTI once the antibiotic course completed, I finally asked the right question... why? Here's the scoop: that very 1st UTI occurred within 2 weeks of when I stopped using hormonal birth control. Turns out, long-term use of hormonal contraceptives can mess with your blood sugar metabolism. And when I quit cold turkey, my body was seriously insulin resistant and because it didn't have those synthetic hormones around to stimulate it to release large doses of insulin, I wasn't metabolizing my food in a healthy way. In this episode, you'll learn how to recognize whether a blood sugar metabolism problem is causing your UTIs (and maybe even whether it's related to your diagnosis of interstitial cystitis) regardless of whether you've ever used hormonal birth control or have recently stopped using hormonal birth control. This episode's packed with valuable insights and links over to Rain Organica's program which provides practical steps to help your body regain healthy blood sugar balance. Imagine freeing yourself from the endless cycle of recurrent UTIs and reclaiming your health within just one week! So, if you're ready to break free from UTIs and UTI symptoms, hit that listen button.

Way back in 2021, FDA reclassified 14 of the 16 approved sunscreen ingredients here in America due to safety concerns. In this episode, you'll hear which 2 sunscreens are still generally regarded as safe (and effective) by FDA and which to avoid. You'll also hear how to treat your sunburned skin using ingredients you'll find at your local grocery store and where to pick up an antioxidant spray this weekend in Encinitas California.

We're talking about 4 of the 5 root causes of acne in today's episode and these are:

• inflammation
• pH imbalance
• hormonal imbalance
• sebum production imbalance

What really causes acne? As someone who's struggled with acne for 20+ years... and someone who makes her own skincare because of acne, I've learned a thing or two about this condition.

In today's episode you'll learn:

• the 5 root causes of acne
• how to support your body (& your skin) in dealing with those root causes so your skin (& body) look and feel their best

Your mental state affects your health. And, here, I'm not talking about thinking positive thoughts.

Whether you're able to shift out of fight-or-flight (and how quickly you're able to do this) affects your health. Multiple studies show that your state of mind affects your ability to absorb nutrients from your food, and in this episode we're talking about how to support sending the signal to your body that it's okay to relax.

Lactation consultant Rochelle McLean, owner of Babies-in-Bloom, joins me to talk about breastfeeding. Rochelle's a doula and lactation specialist with a lifetime of experience supporting moms and moms-to-be.

Babies-in-Bloom has all your baby's (and new mama's needs) plus classes to help you feel prepared for motherhood. Classes include breastfeeding, babywearing, baby and me yoga, CPR, prenatal classes, preparing for labor, and more.

Curious about what your skin needs to look and feel its best?

Check out these episodes:

With so much talk about AIP, FODMAP foods, low histamine foods, and food allergies (including to apples), there's a lot of fear circling the simple act of eating in today's society.

The best kept secret is... the natural foods in your diet didn't make you sick. What made you sick is all the unnatural stuff that's making it's way into your body, and that set the stage for your body to become sensitive to all these natural foods.

We've got to learn to restore cellular intelligence & support our body's innate detox mechanisms, and we do that by kicking out the unnatural stuff (pesticides, artificial hormones, antibiotics) and creating a safe space for our bodies to heal... and sometimes, depending on your state of health, that requires a restricted food diet while your body's healing.

We spend so much time looking at external influences on our health. The secret is, our body's it's own environment, and we have the power to change our internal state by learning how to communicate with our body. Your body's seeking one message to begin restoring health... I am safe. Let's talk about how to make sure your body hears that message in today's episode. The two ways to signal safety with your body: 1) reduce stress in your mind (this improves your ability to digest everything you take in) 2) reduce the physical stress (toxins) your body has to process (digest) each day Download your guide to easy ways to detox your day here. Curious about Rain Organica's self-guided program to avoid pregnancy naturally? Click here to learn more.

Looking for the podcast episodes mentioned in today's show? Listen to them here:

Does birth control increase your risk of autoimmune disease?

Yes. In this episode, author and women's health advocate Mike Gaskins pulls back the curtain on the sordid history, shoddy approval process, and health effects of hormonal birth control.

Regardless of how you're exposing your body to this potent endocrine disruptor and xenoestrogen/xenoprogesterone (whether IUD, intravaginal ring, or pill), if you're on hormonal birth control, rest assured, this is the biggest endocrine disruptor in your daily life.

This episode is part 1 of 7 exploring how hormonal birth control impacts every single system within your body. In this episode, we're talking about 5 ways that hormonal birth control's been shown (through peer reviewed scientific studies) to alter certain blood markers related to inflammation and how quickly your blood clots.

Find the full shownotes here.

Have you ever had (or... let's be real, currently experiencing) period problems? Whether you have:

• painful periods
• PMS that's worse than your period
• irregular cycles
• amenorrhea (for any reason including HA)
• or conditions like PCOS and infertility (for any reason)

learning how Ayurveda sees your body (as composed of layers rather than separate systems like the Western medical view), will support you in achieving a healthy menstrual cycle. What's a healthy menstrual cycle look like? A pain-free period that's regular and that you can't feel coming, and yes, it's possible to achieve this without hormonal birth control or hormone replacement therapy.

Have you ever wondered how to properly select your menstrual cup size or how long it's okay to wear your cup before cleaning?

This episode covers:

• what's Hashimoto's thyroiditis (and the other autoimmune thyroid condition known as Grave's Disease)
• how to diagnose Hashimoto's (why your HCP might not be ordering the right blood tests)
• how to support your condition naturally... cure's a strong word and I'm not a doctor, so let's talk ways to support Hashimoto's naturally.  I'll share tips and tricks I've learned along my 5 year journey with Hashimoto's.

Dolphins as it turns out are also vulnerable to developing non-alcoholic  fatty liver disease (NAFLD) despite not eating carbs or sugar.  And,  dolphins with a diet higher in C15:0 (a newly discovered essential fatty acid) had correspondingly healthier  livers (i.e. an inverse relationship between dietary intake of C15:0 in  relation to fatty areas within the liver was found), and this has led to  some breakthrough research in the use of C15:0 in reversing/preventing  the development of NAFLD in people.

In this episode, Drs. Stephanie & Eric Venn-Watson, the co-founders of fatty15 take us through the discovery of C15:0 (pentadecanoic acid) and its potential for improving/preventing a variety of health conditions (from fatty liver disease to diabetes and obesity).

Despite the hype, your body needs PUFAs.  In fact, two polyunsaturated fatty acids are essential for health.  One of these essential PUFAs is an omega-3 and the other is an omega-6 fatty acid.

So, if PUFAs are good for you and necessary for health, why are these fatty acids (and especially omega-6 and seed oils) getting such a bad rap these days?

Well, because there's an optimal ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 that's most beneficial for health, and here in America, most of us are eating too much omega-6.  You'll discover what that ratio is and how to boost omega-3's in your diet in today's episode.

As for the myth that your cellular membranes need to "detox" from PUFAs?  Yeah, there's some basic science that proves that ludicrous idea wrong.

Even when you're first drawn to yoga as a mode of exercise, chances  are, at some point, you've experienced some of the mental &  spiritual benefits of yoga as well.

Yoga's often the gateway practice into a more mindful & conscious life.

And, indeed yoga is one of the three sister sciences, a trinity of Ayurveda, Yoga, and Jyotish. 

On  today's episode, Elora Herberick, founder of EVOLVE Mindset Yoga shares  how yoga's influenced her own life.  We talk about the importance of  breath, the benefits of restorative yin yoga, and the power of yoga  beyond the mat.

In this episode, we’re exploring the Ayurvedic view of herbs (looking at the 5 properties of herbs that determine their action on your body and your skin).  

After we've established what those 5 properties are, we'll do a deep dive into the 4 categories of herbs according to Ayurveda and discuss herbs frequently used in Ayurvedic skincare like: 

• turmeric
• amla (Indian gooseberry)
• manjistha (Indian Madder root)
• guduchi (heart leaved moonseed)
• rose
• aloe
• lodhra 

By the end of this episode, you'll understand why herbal blends are so beneficial compared with a single herb and discover the benefits of these Ayurvedic herbs. 

Like all things, Ayurveda takes a holistic view of your skin, skin  conditions, and your skin's health.  As one of the 4 main detox organs,  your skin's appearance and overall health may reveal deeper lying  imbalances within your body.  In this episode, we talk about:   

1) the stages of life from an Ayurvedic perspective and how these stages  mean certain skin conditions are more common for certain age groups  (example: acne, eczema, large pores, etc.) 

2)  an overview of the classes of Ayurvedic herbs used to support  and balance the doshas (energies) within your body  

3)  a layered approach to viewing your body, with your blood being the foundational layer that supports all the other layers

4)  what detox really means... we're mostly talking about the metabolic  exhaust created during normal cellular processes and also real toxins  like fragrances and fumes from your environment  

5)  how overburdening your body's natural detox processes can gum up the  works and result in your skin bearing the brunt of these taxed systems  

6)  how to support your body's natural detox processes  

Hit that play button to listen.

Other episodes you may enjoy:

What's the need for preservatives in skincare?  We talk about how skincare products are manufactured, the difference between sanitary and sterile manufacturing conditions, FDA regs for preservatives in your skincare, and hacks for ciphering just how much preservative is in your skincare (check out that link below for a walk through three different ingredients lists). 

In today's episode, founder of Wag Theory, Jenny Ostoj Singh shares  how adding a couple of fur babies into her life has helped her manage  anxiety.

She also shares some of her other favorite tips and tricks for  managing anxiety including decluttering (and offering advice on how to  get organized and tips for reducing clutter in your life... hello  minimalism!) and tapping (aka emotional freedom technique or EFT).

Jenny also shares a few things that didn't work (or haven't worked yet) for her.

Animals, kiddos, aging parents, best friends, and anyone and anything (like plants) else you may be a caregiver for offer lessons for better caring for your own health and wellness. Today's episode is part therapy for me (thank you for listening) and mostly sharing some of the lessons learned from caring for dogs. Go ahead and share this with a fur mama in your life.

Stephanie Center, founder of The Holistic House and host of Revolutionary Health podcast, joins me for a conversation around Round-Up, and how a weed killer just might be responsible for an uptick in digestive problems.  Stephanie also shares her health journey and why she's so outspoken for non-toxic food choices and a toxin free lifestyle.

Why is Celiac Disease on the rise (and why are so many of us with autoimmune conditions sensitive to wheat)?  The wheat of today is not the wheat of our ancestors.  Listen in as we discuss how today's wheat is genetically different from ancient wheat and how this impacts the structure of the gluten proteins in wheat.