This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.comRegistered nutritionist, author, and friend of the pod Laura Thomas joins us to unpack the problematic notion that you need to eat a ridiculously large number of plants per week for gut health, and what we actually know about how plant foods affect the gut microbiome. We also get into how to distinguish good science from hype, how ultra-processed foods have become so demonized despite a lack of strong evidence, how anti-fat bias is baked into the discourse about both gut health and ultra-processed foods, and lots more. Paid subscribers can hear the full interview, and the first part is available to all listeners. To upgrade to paid, go to rethinkingwellness.substack.com. Laura is a Registered Nutritionist who helps people feel less afraid of the food they eat and more comfortable in their bodies. Through her work with individuals and families, as well as in her writing, she challenges dominant ideals about ‘good’ and ‘bad’ foods and ‘good’ and ‘bad’ bodies. She holds a PhD in Nutritional Sciences from Texas A&M University, and worked as a post-doctoral research associate at Cornell University before starting her private practice. More recently she received a diploma in Clinical Nutrition and Eating Disorders from UCL. She has published two books: Just Eat It and How To Just Eat It, both of which focus on healing our relationship with food and our body through Intuitive Eating. Her clinical work is focussed on supporting families to end the intergenerational transmission of body shame and disordered eating. She writes the newsletter Can I Have Another Snack?If you like this conversation, subscribe to hear lots more like it! Support the podcast by becoming a paid subscriber, and unlock great perks like extended interviews, subscriber-only Q&As, full access to our archives, commenting privileges and subscriber threads where you can connect with other listeners, and more. Learn more and sign up at rethinkingwellness.substack.com.Christy's second book, The Wellness Trap, is available wherever books are sold! Order it here, or ask for it in your favorite local bookstore.If you're looking to make peace with food and break free from diet and wellness culture, come check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course.

Rethinking Wellness

Challenging the Hype About Gut Health and Ultra-Processed Foods with Laura Thomas

This episode is an audio version of this week’s newsletter, which is an essay about the one-year anniversary of this podcast, what’s working and what’s not, and a new experiment we’re trying with the bonus interviews starting this week.  Upgrade to a paid subscription to support the show and get great perks like extended interviews, subscriber-only Q&As and essays, full access to our archives, and more!Paid subscribers: Here's how to set up your private podcast feed to get bonus content in your podcast player.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. If you're looking to make peace with food and break free from diet and wellness culture, come check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course.  This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com/subscribe

On Birth, Evolution, and Striving for Shades of Gray in a World that Wants Black and White

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.comDietitian and author Julia Lévy-Ndejuru joins us to discuss fatphobia in health and wellness spaces, the problems with making sugar and snacks off-limits, the determinants of health that have nothing to do with our weight, how to recognize diets that masquerade as wellness, the importance (and limitations) of nuance in our discussions of diet and wellness culture, and lots more. Paid subscribers get to hear the full interview, and the first part is available to all listeners. To upgrade to paid, go to rethinkingwellness.substack.com. Julia Lévy-Ndejuru is a dietitian, PhD candidate, and author from Montreal, Canada. She has spent the past several years advocating for a weight-inclusive approach to health and nutrition. Her work spans various sectors, including media, clinical practice, and academia. Julia's research interests include approaches that help develop a healthy relationship with food. In October 2023, she and her colleague Marilou Morin-Laferrière co-authored the book Au-delà de la grossophobie: redéfinir son bien-être et habiter son corps. This work is a resource for anyone wishing to better understand and mend their relationship with their body and food. Julia also co-owns Pratique Inclusive, a company that offers training on the weight-inclusive approach to health professionals.If you like this conversation, subscribe to hear lots more like it! Support the podcast by becoming a paid subscriber, and unlock great perks like extended interviews, subscriber-only Q&As, full access to our archives, commenting privileges and subscriber threads where you can connect with other listeners, and more. Learn more and sign up at rethinkingwellness.substack.com.Christy's second book, The Wellness Trap, is available wherever books are sold! Order it here, or ask for it in your favorite local bookstore. Get Christy’s new book, The Emotional Eating, Chronic Dieting, Binge Eating & Body Image Workbook. If you're looking to make peace with food and break free from diet and wellness culture, come check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course.

The Insidious Anti-Fat Bias of Wellness Culture with Julia Lévy-Ndejuru

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.comIn this bonus episode, writer and beauty-industry critic Jessica Defino returns to discuss the problems with skin products and skincare in general, why acne topicals aren’t long-term solutions, how to have compassion for yourself as you navigate through beauty culture and inevitably get sucked in, and more. Jessica DeFino is an award-winning beauty reporter and critic (The New York Times, Vice, Vogue) and author of the newsletter The Unpublishable. She writes the Guardian's beauty advice column, Ask Ugly, and has been called “the woman the beauty industry fears the most” by the Sunday Herald. Find her at jessicadefino.substack.com.This episode is for paid subscribers. Listen to a free preview here, and sign up for a paid subscription to hear the full episode!Get Christy’s book The Wellness Trap now for a deeper dive into the topics we cover on the pod, and strategies to support true well-being. If you're looking to make peace with food and break free from diet and wellness culture, come check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course.

Bonus: The Problems with Skincare and the Importance of Self-Compassion with Jessica DeFino

Writer and beauty-industry critic Jessica Defino joins us to discuss the intersections of wellness/diet culture and beauty culture, how she went from child beauty-pageant participant to working at the Kardashian-Jenner apps to eventually becoming an outspoken critic of the beauty industry, how social media is spreading harmful beauty ideals, the ageism of “anti-aging,” how to change your relationship with beauty standards, and more. Jessica DeFino is an award-winning beauty reporter and critic (The New York Times, Vice, Vogue) and author of the newsletter The Unpublishable. She writes the Guardian's beauty advice column, Ask Ugly, and has been called “the woman the beauty industry fears the most” by the Sunday Herald. Find her at jessicadefino.substack.com.If you like this conversation, subscribe to hear lots more like it! Support the podcast by becoming a paid subscriber, and unlock great perks like bonus episodes with our guests, subscriber-only Q&As, full access to our archives, commenting privileges and subscriber threads where you can connect with other listeners, and more. Learn more and sign up at rethinkingwellness.substack.com.Christy's second book, The Wellness Trap, is available wherever books are sold! Order it here, or ask for it in your favorite local bookstore. If you're looking to make peace with food and break free from diet and wellness culture, come check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com/subscribe

The Intersection of Beauty Culture and Wellness/Diet Culture with Jessica DeFino

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.comIn this bonus episode, psychologist and ATTENTION SPAN author Gloria Mark returns to discuss what to do when stress leads to difficulty focusing, how to reclaim your attention from your inbox, how to help kids cultivate attentional well-being, and more.Gloria Mark is Chancellor’s Professor Emerita at the University of California, Irvine, and also spent ten years as a visiting senior researcher at Microsoft Research. She received her PhD from Columbia University in psychology. For over two decades she has researched the impact of digital media on people's lives, studying how using our devices affect our multitasking, distractions, mood and behavior. She has published over 200 papers in the top journals and conferences in the field of human-computer interaction, has received numerous paper awards, and was inducted into the ACM SIGCHI Academy in 2017 in recognition for her contribution to the field. She has also been a Fulbright scholar and has received the prestigious NSF Career grant. Her work has been widely recognized outside of academia: she has appeared on The Ezra Klein show, NPR’s Hidden Brain, Sanjay Gupta’s CNN Chasing Life, CBS Sunday Morning, Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert, among many others. Her work has been featured in the popular media, e.g. New York Times, Wall Street Journal, NPR, The Atlantic, BBC, and others. She has been invited to present her work at SXSW and the Aspen Ideas Festival. Her recent book is Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness and Productivity, named by The Globe and Mail as the #1 Best Business and Management book of 2023, and chosen as the Season 20 selection of the Next Big Idea Book Club. Find her at gloriamark.com and on Substack.This episode is for paid subscribers. Listen to a free preview here, and sign up for a paid subscription to hear the full episode!Get Christy’s book The Wellness Trap now for a deeper dive into the topics we cover on the pod, and strategies to support true well-being.If you're looking to make peace with food and break free from diet and wellness culture, come check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course.

Bonus: Managing Email Stress and Supporting Kids' Attentional Well-Being with Gloria Mark

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.comChristy answers an audience question about wellness podcaster Andrew Huberman and his promotion of intermittent fasting, cold showers, and other dubious wellness practices.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 show notes and references here.Ask a question of your own for a chance to have it answered in a future episode!Christy's second book, The Wellness Trap, is available wherever books are sold. Order it here, or ask for it in your favorite local bookstore. If you're looking to make peace with food and break free from diet and wellness culture, check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course.

Andrew Huberman and the Problem with "Cutting-Edge" Research

Psychologist and ATTENTION SPAN author Gloria Mark joins us to discuss the connection between attention and well-being, the technologies manipulating our attention (and why social-media algorithms are just the tip of the iceberg), why modern life isn’t “causing” ADHD, the individual and societal changes needed to improve attentional well-being, how to discover your own personal rhythm of attention, and more. Gloria Mark is Chancellor’s Professor Emerita at the University of California, Irvine, and also spent ten years as a visiting senior researcher at Microsoft Research. She received her PhD from Columbia University in psychology. For over two decades she has researched the impact of digital media on people's lives, studying how using our devices affect our multitasking, distractions, mood and behavior. She has published over 200 papers in the top journals and conferences in the field of human-computer interaction, has received numerous paper awards, and was inducted into the ACM SIGCHI Academy in 2017 in recognition for her contribution to the field. She has also been a Fulbright scholar and has received the prestigious NSF Career grant. Her work has been widely recognized outside of academia: she has appeared on The Ezra Klein show, NPR’s Hidden Brain, Sanjay Gupta’s CNN Chasing Life, CBS Sunday Morning, Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert, among many others. Her work has been featured in the popular media, e.g. New York Times, Wall Street Journal, NPR, The Atlantic, BBC, and others. She has been invited to present her work at SXSW and the Aspen Ideas Festival. Her recent book is Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness and Productivity, named by The Globe and Mail as the #1 Best Business and Management book of 2023, and chosen as the Season 20 selection of the Next Big Idea Book Club. Find her at gloriamark.com and on Substack.If you like this conversation, subscribe to hear lots more like it! Support the podcast by becoming a paid subscriber, and unlock great perks like bonus episodes with our guests, subscriber-only Q&As, full access to our archives, commenting privileges and subscriber threads where you can connect with other listeners, and more. Learn more and sign up at rethinkingwellness.substack.com.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. If you're looking to make peace with food and break free from diet and wellness culture, come check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com/subscribe

Reclaiming Your Attention and Finding Digital Well-Being with Gloria Mark

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.comIn this bonus episode, author Jessica Elefante returns to discuss how to use your powers of influence for good, the importance of setting limits and boundaries, how people with small businesses (including authors, journalists, and clinicians with private practices) can sell our products/services without using undue influence, and more.Jessica Elefante is a writer and bullshit artist who has spent the last few decades examining what it means to be human in our modern world.She is the author of Raising Hell, Living Well: Freedom from Influence in a World Where Everyone Wants Something from You (Ballantine, 2023) which she coined a How-Come (not a How-To). Jessica’s writing works to open people’s eyes on the topics of technology, capitalism, influence, and motherhood and has appeared in The Guardian, Literary Hub, Huffington Post, Bustle, Simplify Magazine, the Dispatch, Whalebone Magazine and more. As the founder of acclaimed Folk Rebellion and a critic of today's culture, Elefante’s award-winning works shine a light on the untenability of our times and have been featured by Vogue, Inc., Los Angeles Times, The Observer, Writer’s Digest, Vice, Paper Mag, Wired, and elsewhere. Her short documentary “What Day Is It?” was awarded semi-finalist of Flickers RIIFF and an Official Selection of Beverly Hills Film Festival and New York Shorts Film Festival, for its portrayal of a mother's perspective on the ever-shifting emotional and mental states of lockdown. In her previous life as a brand strategist, she was recognized on Brand Innovators “40 under 40” list for winning her clients industry recognition including Webby, Edison, and AdAge awards. Jess has proudly been a guest lecturer at Columbia Business School and New York University sharing her expertise in entrepreneurship and branding. She's influenced by the social, cultural, and technological circumstances of her life, but mostly, of her desire to lead a colorful one. Raised in upstate New York, she now lives in Brooklyn with her family. She is no longer bullshitting. Find her online at jessicaelefante.com.This episode is for paid subscribers. Listen to a free preview here, and sign up for a paid subscription to hear the full episode!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. If you're looking to make peace with food and break free from diet and wellness culture, come check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course.

Bonus: How to Navigate Capitalism Without Using Undue Influence with Jessica Elefante

Author and former brand strategist Jessica Elefante joins us to discuss her past life as a “bullshit artist” and what she learned about how to influence people, the health issues that led her to quit her job and start speaking out about the dangers of technology, how to avoid wellness-industry influence, how to question everything without overthinking, and more.Jessica Elefante is a writer and bullshit artist who has spent the last few decades examining what it means to be human in our modern world.She is the author of Raising Hell, Living Well: Freedom from Influence in a World Where Everyone Wants Something from You (Ballantine, 2023) which she coined a How-Come (not a How-To). Jessica’s writing works to open people’s eyes on the topics of technology, capitalism, influence, and motherhood and has appeared in The Guardian, Literary Hub, Huffington Post, Bustle, Simplify Magazine, the Dispatch, Whalebone Magazine and more. As the founder of acclaimed Folk Rebellion and a critic of today's culture, Elefante’s award-winning works shine a light on the untenability of our times and have been featured by Vogue, Inc., Los Angeles Times, The Observer, Writer’s Digest, Vice, Paper Mag, Wired, and elsewhere. Her short documentary “What Day Is It?” was awarded semi-finalist of Flickers RIIFF and an Official Selection of Beverly Hills Film Festival and New York Shorts Film Festival, for its portrayal of a mother's perspective on the ever-shifting emotional and mental states of lockdown. In her previous life as a brand strategist, she was recognized on Brand Innovators “40 under 40” list for winning her clients industry recognition including Webby, Edison, and AdAge awards. Jess has proudly been a guest lecturer at Columbia Business School and New York University sharing her expertise in entrepreneurship and branding. She's influenced by the social, cultural, and technological circumstances of her life, but mostly, of her desire to lead a colorful one. Raised in upstate New York, she now lives in Brooklyn with her family. She is no longer bullshitting. Find her online at jessicaelefante.com.If you like this conversation, subscribe to hear lots more like it! Support the podcast by becoming a paid subscriber, and unlock great perks like bonus episodes with our guests, subscriber-only Q&As, full access to our archives, commenting privileges and subscriber threads where you can connect with other listeners, and more. Learn more and sign up at rethinkingwellness.substack.com.Christy's new book, The Wellness Trap, is available wherever books are sold! Order it online or ask for it in your favorite local bookstore.If you're looking to make peace with food and break free from diet and wellness culture, come check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com/subscribe

How to Think Critically About Influence and Influencers with Jessica Elefante

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.comIn this bonus episode, sociologist and Wellness Culture author Stephanie Alice Baker returns to discuss the countercultural roots of wellness, how the wellness industry went from its early days in the 1970s to a multi-trillion-dollar global industry, how the concept of intuition is used to market wellness products and practices, and more. Dr. Stephanie Alice Baker is an Associate Professor and Deputy Head of the Sociology and Criminology Department at City, University of London. Dr Baker’s research explores influencer culture in the context of health and wellness. She currently examines the amplification of disinformation, influence networks, and potential radicalization pathways online. Learn more about her work here, and check out her new book Wellness Culture. This episode is for paid subscribers. Listen to a free preview here, and sign up for a paid subscription to hear the full episode!Christy's new book, The Wellness Trap, is now available wherever books are sold! Order it online or ask for it in your favorite local bookstore. If you're looking to make peace with food and break free from diet and wellness culture, come check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course.

Bonus: The Countercultural Roots of Wellness Culture with Stephanie Alice Baker

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.comReasons why you might find yourself eating to an uncomfortable level of fullness, and what to do about it. Plus: Exciting news about Christy’s new book project!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 show notes and references here.Christy's second book, The Wellness Trap, is available wherever books are sold. Order it here, or ask for it in your favorite local bookstore. If you're looking to make peace with food and break free from diet and wellness culture, come check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course.  

What If You Can’t Stop Eating When Food Tastes Good?

Sociologist and WELLNESS CULTURE author Stephanie Alice Baker joins us to discuss the rise of wellness influencers, why people are attracted to guides and gurus, the false dichotomy between expertise and personal experience, how the concept of intuition is used to market wellness products and practices, how wellness culture has become a gateway to medical misinformation, disinformation, and conspiracy theories, and more. Dr. Stephanie Alice Baker is an Associate Professor and Deputy Head of the Sociology and Criminology Department at City, University of London. Dr Baker’s research explores influencer culture in the context of health and wellness. She currently examines the amplification of disinformation, influence networks, and potential radicalization pathways online. Learn more about her work here, and check out her new book Wellness Culture. If you like this conversation, subscribe to hear lots more like it! Support the podcast by becoming a paid subscriber, and unlock great perks like bonus episodes, subscriber-only Q&As, early access to regular episodes, community threads, and much more. Learn more and sign up at rethinkingwellness.substack.com.Christy's new book, The Wellness Trap, is now available wherever books are sold! Order it online or ask for it in your favorite local bookstore. If you're looking to make peace with food and break free from diet and wellness culture, come check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com/subscribe

How Wellness Culture and Lifestyle Gurus Spread Misinformation with Stephanie Alice Baker

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.comIn this bonus episode, author and science communicator Timothy Caulfield returns to discuss what to do if your healthcare provider seems to be under the influence of gut hype, how journalists and health professionals can report on and advise people about gut health in a responsible way, how his research on gut hype changed his own eating and health behaviors, and more. Timothy Caulfield is an author and professor at the Faculty of Law and School of Public Health, University of Alberta. He has won numerous academic, science communication, and writing awards, and is a Member of the Order Canada and a Fellow of both the Royal Society of Canada and the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. He contributes frequently to the popular press and is the author of two national bestsellers: The Cure for Everything: Untangling the Twisted Messages about Health, Fitness and Happiness (Penguin 2012) and Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything?: When Celebrity Culture and Science Clash (Penguin 2015). His most recent book is Relax, Dammit!: A User’s Guide to the Age of Anxiety (Penguin Random House, 2020). Caulfield is also the co-founder of the science engagement initiative #ScienceUpFirst and was the host and co-producer of the award-winning documentary TV show, A User’s Guide to Cheating Death, which has been shown in over 60 countries, including streaming on Netflix in North America. Find him at the University of Alberta, and on social media @CaulfieldTim.This episode is for paid subscribers. Listen to a free preview here, and sign up for a paid subscription to hear the full episode!Christy's new book, The Wellness Trap, is now available wherever books are sold! Order it online or ask for it in your favorite local bookstore. If you're looking to make peace with food and break free from diet and wellness culture, come check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course.

Bonus: How to Cut Through Gut Hype in Media and Medicine with Timothy Caulfield

Author and science communicator Timothy Caulfield joins us to discuss why gut hype has become so widespread, the gulf between the claims and the science, how mainstream media reporting and social media have helped create hype about gut health, the role of scientist-influencers, how to tell if you’re in the presence of gut hype vs. more accurate reporting about the gut microbiome, and more. Timothy Caulfield is an author and professor at the Faculty of Law and School of Public Health, University of Alberta. He has won numerous academic, science communication, and writing awards, and is a Member of the Order Canada and a Fellow of both the Royal Society of Canada and the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. He contributes frequently to the popular press and is the author of two national bestsellers: The Cure for Everything: Untangling the Twisted Messages about Health, Fitness and Happiness (Penguin 2012) and Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything?: When Celebrity Culture and Science Clash (Penguin 2015). His most recent book is Relax, Dammit!: A User’s Guide to the Age of Anxiety (Penguin Random House, 2020). Caulfield is also the co-founder of the science engagement initiative #ScienceUpFirst and was the host and co-producer of the award-winning documentary TV show, A User’s Guide to Cheating Death, which has been shown in over 60 countries, including streaming on Netflix in North America. Find him at the University of Alberta, and on social media @CaulfieldTim.If you like this conversation, subscribe to hear lots more like it! Support the podcast by becoming a paid subscriber, and unlock great perks like bonus episodes, subscriber-only Q&As, community threads, and much more. Learn more and sign up at rethinkingwellness.substack.com.Christy's new book, The Wellness Trap, is now available wherever books are sold! Order it online or ask for it in your favorite local bookstore. If you're looking to make peace with food and break free from diet and wellness culture, come check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.com/subscribe

Why the Gut-Health Trend Is Mostly Empty Hype with Timothy Caulfield

Critical thinking and compassionate skepticism about wellness and diet culture, and reflections on how to find true well-being. rethinkingwellness.substack.com

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Rethinking Wellness

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