Inspired Living with Autoimmunity

One Swap a Month Can Cut the Chemicals Making You Sick

Rheumatologist Dr. Aly Cohen breaks down the everyday chemicals making us sick — from what's really in your tap water (and bottled water) to the unregulated ingredients in household products. We talk about why US chemical regulation is decades behind, how

Your Diagnosis Might Actually Be a Symptom

Dr. Casey Kelley was diagnosed with POTS in med school — then discovered the diagnosis itself was a symptom of adrenal burnout and chronic infections. In this conversation, we get into what POTS actually is, why infections and toxins are driving the rise

3 Autoimmune Myths That Are Keeping You Sick

Dr. Cory Rice and I bust three autoimmune myths that keep people stuck — that autoimmune disease is rare, that there's one root cause, and that these conditions can't improve. We get into why women are disproportionately affected, why hormones matter at e

The Cheap Lab Test Your Doctor Is Reading Wrong

Your CBC with differential is one of the cheapest, most common labs out there — and it may be hiding critical clues about chronic infections, immune stress, and autoimmune flares that your doctor is overlooking. Functional wellness practitioner Hali Laric

Stop Turning Your Diagnosis Into a Life Sentence

Tiffany Kaloustian was handed a lupus diagnosis that felt like a life sentence. In this episode we unpack how she stopped becoming the label, embraced the messy dance of healing, and used mindset, nervous system work, and root-cause care to rebuild her he

How Shifting Her Mindset Cleared 12 Years of Psoriasis in 5 Days

I'm talking with Dr. Anik St. Martin, a chiropractor and author of Skin on Fire: Healing Psoriasis Naturally, who spent over 12 years battling psoriasis before discovering the one piece she'd been missing — her mindset. After years of dialing in her nutrition, supplements, and gut healing, Anik's skin finally cleared completely after a self-directed 5-day intensive where she did nothing but walk, observe her thoughts, and flip every self-deprecating thought to its opposite. We get into the science behind why this works — from a 1940s Harvard placebo study to real-time synaptic rewiring — and why the fact that your skin turns over every 21 days is actually great news. We also cover: • The environmental triggers that worsened her psoriasis (vaccines in one sitting, formaldehyde, tattoo ink) • Why obsessing over a "perfect" healing protocol can be just as harmful as the condition itself • Her go-to supplements and GI repair formula for managing flares • The one morning practice she recommends everyone start today If you've tried everything and still aren't where you want to be, this episode is worth your time. For the complete show notes, links and transcripts, visit inspiredliving.show/254

Why Your Body Refuses to Heal No Matter How Perfect Your Diet Is

If you've been eating well, doing all the right things, and still not feeling better — this one's for you. I sat down with Stephanie Nelson, a trauma-informed somatic coach and founder of The Stress Healers, to talk about something most health conversations completely miss: what happens in the body when stress and trauma don't get processed. Stephanie was diagnosed with arthritis, bursitis, and tendinitis in both hips at age 12. She spent years trying to heal through diet, yoga, and supplements — and while those helped, it wasn't until she discovered nervous system and somatic work that things actually shifted. In this conversation, we get into: • Why your nervous system — not your diet — is the master coordinator of your health • What fascia actually is and why it's your body's richest sensory organ • How perfectionism, procrastination, and anxiety are all adaptive survival strategies (not character flaws) • The three body languages we're born with — and how Western culture teaches us to ignore two of them • Why the goal of somatic work isn't to be calm — it's to have *choice* • A simple 10-second practice you can do today to signal safety to your nervous system Stephanie also shares how her forever-free "Resourced" membership is a great starting point if you want to actually try this work. Find her at thestresshealers.com or @thestresshealers on Instagram. For the complete show notes, links and transcripts, visit inspiredliving.show/253

The Dangerous Lie Mainstream Medicine Tells About Lyme Disease

If you've been told your labs are fine but you still feel terrible, this episode is for you. Dr. Pamela Cipriano is an ILADS-trained nurse practitioner who spent ten years watching her own son deteriorate from undiagnosed Lyme disease — dismissed by doctor after doctor — before she finally figured out what was wrong and healed him herself. In this conversation, she breaks down why standard Lyme tests are practically designed to produce false negatives, what the HNK-1 natural killer cell count reveals that most labs miss, and how a co-infection called Bartonella is quietly being misdiagnosed as ALS. She also gets into the Lyme biofilm problem — why even IV antibiotics can't touch it — and the stevia + serrapeptase protocol that finally broke through for her son. Plus, her emerging research on ivermectin for Bartonella, and what she's seeing with seizures triggered by Herxheimer reactions. If you or someone you love has unresolved neurological symptoms, autoimmune markers that don't quite add up, or a history of tick exposure, this is a conversation worth your full attention. Find Dr. Cipriano at thepracticeofhealthandwellness.com For the complete show notes, links and transcripts, visit inspiredliving.show/252

Your Simple 3-Step Skincare Routine for Women Battling Autoimmunity

I sat down with Natalie Novak, co-founder of Kindness Powered Skincare and certified oncology esthetician, who spent years battling debilitating symptoms — constant anxiety, RA-like joint pain, vision problems — while doctors told her nothing was wrong. The culprit turned out to be her breast implants, which were full of mold. After having them removed in 2018, her RA symptoms vanished almost immediately. Her eyesight returned the next day. But Natalie's story doesn't stop there. Long before her own health crisis, she'd already been on a mission to clean up the beauty industry — sparked by watching a skincare product literally eat through carpet and padding at a Nordstrom stockroom. In this episode, we talk about why what you put ON your body matters just as much as what you put IN it, how the FDA hasn't updated the Cosmetics Act since 1938, and why "it's sold in a store" doesn't mean it's safe. Natalie also walks us through a simple 3-step skincare ritual — cleansing oil, probiotic toner, and the right face cream — designed specifically to support women dealing with autoimmunity, hormonal shifts, and sensitive, compromised skin. Find Natalie and her products at kpsessentials.com For the complete show notes, links and transcripts, visit inspiredliving.show/251

Why Your Doctor Told You IBS Is Just Stress (And Why That's Costing You Your Health)

I was diagnosed with IBS about 10 years before I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis — and I had no idea the two were connected. That's exactly why I wanted to have this conversation with Izabella Wentz, pharmacist and founder of Thyroid Pharmacist. Izabella was told her IBS was just stress during pharmacy school. She ignored it — until Hashimoto's showed up years later and forced her to dig deeper. What she found became the foundation of her work, and now her newest book: IBS: Finding and Treating the Root Cause of Irritable Bowel Syndrome. We talk about why IBS so often shows up years before an autoimmune diagnosis, the gut testing that actually finds answers (and why a colonoscopy alone won't cut it), which foods and additives are quietly making things worse, why SIBO keeps coming back if you're not addressing the real drivers, and how her husband went from a brand-new UC diagnosis to full remission in under eight weeks. If you've been told your gut issues are just stress, or you're managing an autoimmune condition and still struggling — this one is worth your time. For the complete show notes, links and transcripts, visit inspiredliving.show/250

How a Missed Lyme Diagnosis Destroyed a Family (And What We're Doing to Stop It Happening to Yours)

My guest Nicole Bell is the CEO of Galaxy Diagnostics and author of What Lurks in the Woods. She came to this work after her husband's Lyme disease — along with co-infections Bartonella and Babesia — was misdiagnosed as early-onset Alzheimer's. He passed away in 2022. In this episode, we talk about why the standard Lyme test misses so many people (hint: it's 30-year-old technology that relies on antibody detection from a pathogen that actively suppresses your immune system), what co-infections like Bartonella and Babesia actually do to the brain and body, and how Galaxy Diagnostics is using urine-based antigen testing and digital PCR to find what older tests can't. We also get into the myths that keep people from getting the right diagnosis — including why only 14% of Lyme patients get the classic bullseye rash, why Lyme is present in all 50 states, and why finishing a round of doxycycline doesn't mean you're in the clear. If you or someone you love is dealing with unexplained mood changes, cognitive decline, chronic fatigue, anxiety, or joint pain — this conversation is worth your full attention. For the complete show notes, links and transcripts, visit inspiredliving.show/249

How Women With Autoimmunity Are Finally Seeing Symptom Relief Without Giving Up Every Food They Love

If you've heard of the Autoimmune Protocol but felt like it was too restrictive to even try — or you've done it and wondered if you were doing it right — this episode is worth your time. I sat down with Mickey Trescott, one of the key people behind AIP, to talk about her new book The New AIP. We get into the actual clinical research (IBD, Hashimoto's, and RA studies), what the results really showed, and the newly formalized Modified AIP pathway that makes the protocol far more accessible than most people realize. We also bust the biggest myth about AIP — that it's just a restrictive diet — and talk about what the protocol actually involves beyond food, how long you should stay in elimination, when to troubleshoot if it's not working, and what the long game looks like when you're living with a chronic condition. Mickey also shares her own recent health setback — a new psoriatic arthritis diagnosis 15 years into her journey — and what she actually did about it. Practical, research-backed, and refreshingly honest. For the complete show notes, links and transcripts, visit inspiredliving.show/248

The Hidden Reason You're Exhausted, Anxious, and Not Getting Better

If you've been doing everything right and still feel exhausted, anxious, and like your body just won't cooperate — this episode is for you. I sat down with Dr. Scott Sherr, a board-certified internal medicine physician and COO of Troscriptions, to talk about the sympathetic spiral: a chronic fight-or-flight loop most people don't even know they're in. And here's what surprised me most — you don't have to feel stressed to be stuck in it. We get into why your cellular energy and your anxiety are locked in a loop, what mitochondrial dysfunction actually means for your daily life, and how a specific sequence of support can help you finally start feeling better. We also go deep on methylene blue — the history, how it works, the right dosing range, and the sourcing and safety details that most people skip (including who should absolutely not use it). Plus: why GABA deficiency is so common, how to calm your nervous system without sedating yourself, and why sleep is a full-day practice — not just a bedtime routine. For the complete show notes, links and transcripts, visit inspiredliving.show/247

3 Tests Every Homeowner Should Run to Find Out If Their House Is Making Them Sick

Could your home be the reason you're not getting better? I sat down with Paul Kealey, founder of EcoBuilt, to talk about something most of us never think to question — the air inside our homes. Paul has spent nearly 25 years in construction, and what he shares might change how you see your living space entirely. We get into why new homes aren't automatically healthier (studies suggest over 25% have hidden mold inside the walls), how bedroom CO2 levels can hit 5x what's outside — quietly wrecking your sleep and your body's ability to detox overnight — and why "energy efficient" and "healthy" are not the same thing. Paul also walks through three tests any homeowner can run right now to find out if their home is working against them: a mold dust swab test, a CO2 and humidity monitor, and an energy audit. If you're dealing with an autoimmune condition, chronic fatigue, or symptoms that never quite have an explanation, this one is for you. For the complete show notes, links and transcripts, visit inspiredliving.show/246

The Dangerous Bone Health Lie Most Women With Autoimmune Disease Have Been Told

If you have autoimmune disease, you've probably been told to keep an eye on your bone density number. But here's the thing — that number only predicts fractures in about 44% of women with osteoporosis. Most of what's actually driving your fracture risk isn't showing up on that scan. I brought Dr. John Neustadt back to talk about his newly expanded book, Fracture-Proof Your Bones, and this conversation goes well beyond what we covered last time. We get into how gut inflammation — the kind that comes with autoimmunity, leaky gut, Crohn's, or celiac — directly triggers bone loss through inflammatory cytokines that activate the cells that break down bone. We also talk about the medications most doctors aren't warning you about (SSRIs, prednisone, PPIs) and how they're silently destroying bone tissue. Plus: what your diet is actually doing to your skeleton, a simple 10-second balance test that predicts fracture risk better than a bone scan, the surprising link between oxytocin and your osteoblasts, and which routine labs to ask for that most people never get. People with autoimmune disease face a 200–400% increased fracture risk. That's the reality — but there's a lot you can do about it. Find Dr. John Neustadt at nbihealth.com For the complete show notes, links and transcripts, visit inspiredliving.show/245

The 4 Electrical Systems in Your Body That Control Your Health (And How to Fix Them)

I sat down with Karen "ZuZu" Ziemer Armes — holistic health educator, author, and founder of Lilly Fields Retreat Center — who reversed her own epilepsy in her early 20s using food alone. In this conversation, we get into the four electrical systems your body runs on (and why most people have never heard of them), how mineral deficiencies silently drive chronic illness, why EMF exposure is one of the most overlooked culprits behind chronic symptoms, and what you can actually do about all of it — starting today. ZuZu has been teaching this stuff for over 30 years. She's practical, direct, and brings receipts — including live blood cell analysis that shows mold, parasites, and gut toxins circulating in real patients' blood. If you've been to doctor after doctor and still don't have answers, this one's for you. For the complete show notes, links and transcripts, visit inspiredliving.show/244

The Beginner's Guide to Bio-Energetic Testing for Autoimmune Relief

I sat down with Dr. Alice Honican — naturopath, acupuncturist, and bioenergetic practitioner at Longevity Health Center in Roswell, Georgia — to talk about a diagnostic approach that's been quietly getting results for decades but most people have never come across. Dr. Honican grew up in a naturopathic household, has been working with chronic and autoimmune patients since 2003, and uses three specific tools in her clinic: bio-energetic testing (the Quest 4), computer regulation thermography, and a bioterrain urinalysis. Together, they help identify — and prioritize — what's actually driving someone's condition, whether that's Lyme, mold, Epstein-Barr, leaky gut, or something else entirely. We also get into why patients who do "everything right" with their diet can still end up reacting to healthy foods, how to use binders and herbs without overwhelming your system, and what post-COVID is actually looking like in practice right now. If you've been through rounds of testing without clear answers, this one is worth a listen. For the complete show notes, links and transcripts, visit inspiredliving.show/243

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The Detox Mistake That Could Make Your Autoimmune Symptoms Dramatically Worse

Kyle Hulbert was a college athlete who slept nine hours a night, ate clean, and still watched his health collapse — anxiety, depression, joint pain, gut issues, unexplained weight gain. Six doctors either told him he was making it up or couldn't find anything wrong. What finally changed things? A mercury diagnosis, chelation therapy, and getting his testosterone (which was at 159 — yes, really) properly addressed. Not another supplement. Not a cleanse. In this episode, Kyle and I talk about why untargeted detox protocols can make autoimmune symptoms significantly worse, why cilantro smoothies and juice cleanses can actually backfire if you have a real toxic burden, and what a smart, tested approach actually looks like. We also get into why roughly 1 in 3 people are dealing with a toxic load that clean eating and movement alone won't fix — and the order of operations that matters when you're trying to heal. For the complete show notes, links and transcripts, visit inspiredliving.show/242

The 3-Pillar Framework Every Woman With Autoimmunity Needs to Know

If you've ever been told your labs look fine while feeling terrible, this one's for you. I sat down with Dr. Anju Mathur, a board-certified anti-aging and regenerative medicine physician who's spent nearly two decades figuring out what conventional medicine misses. She walks us through her 3-pillar framework for finding the real root causes of chronic illness—the things in your body that shouldn't be there, the things that should be there but aren't, and the things that are just out of balance. We also dig into what bioidentical hormones actually are (spoiler: they're not the same as "natural" hormones or Premarin), the very real risks of psychiatric drugs being handed out for everything from migraines to anxiety, and how she helps patients safely get off medications they don't need. Dr. Mathur also shares her own story of being a practicing MD with "normal" labs while barely able to function—and what finally turned it around. For the complete show notes, links and transcripts, visit inspiredliving.show/241

How Sleep, Sunlight, and Walking Can Rescue Your Stem Cells from Aging

What if your body's repair system isn't broken, it's just been put to sleep? In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Dan Pardi, Chief Health Officer at Qualia Life Sciences and a PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience from Leiden University and Stanford. We get into what stem cells actually are, why they decline with age, and — most importantly — what you can do about it starting today. Dan explains why stem cell exhaustion is one of the 15 hallmarks of aging, and why the real problem isn't that you're running out of stem cells, it's that the environment they live in becomes too inflamed and damaged for them to activate. We talk about the everyday habits that support your stem cell niche (sleep, sunlight, walking, circadian rhythms), the science behind Qualia's new Stem Cell product and its four-day monthly protocol, and how to stack it with their senolytic and NAD products for a more complete healthspan strategy. I also share my own experience with autologous stem cell therapy — and why I believe what you do daily matters more than any single treatment. For the complete show notes, links and transcripts, visit inspiredliving.show/240