Episoder

  • On this episode of the Nutritional Therapy and Wellness Podcast, host Jamie Belz talks with Miles Welch, Founder and CEO of North Star Training Solutions, about the importance and difficulties of being a good leader - for ourselves.

    Miles is a leadership expert who is passionate about helping business owners build their leadership bench and develop their leadership potential.

    He has impacted thousands of executives, entrepreneurs, and business owners through his speaking and coaching, as well as the industry-leading developmental programming he has designed.

    Miles's varied leadership assignments include serving as a Platoon Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps, pastoring one of the largest churches in the United States, serving as the Executive Director of the John Maxwell Leadership Center, and launching two successful businesses.

    Miles and his family live in the Atlanta area.

    During their conversation, Jamie and Miles cover many topics in relation to building resilience and having the discipline to level-up and ultimately succeed in all areas of life.

    04:07 Entropy

    06:25 Busyness

    07:12 Resilience and the difference between pressure and stress

    10:53 The shame of not "succeeding"

    14:56 The key to high performance

    15:14 Midlife Crisis

    16:25 Doing a life audit and recalibration

    21:18 Tips on resilience and holding yourself accountable

    22:28 Staying up late versus getting up early

    23:12 Stream of consciousness writing

    25:09 Television detox

    26:36 Journaling, reading (growing/learning) and Miles's morning routine

    29:44 The reshaping of friendships as life gets busy - kids' activities and youth sports

    33:12 Miles's evening routing

    34:10 Quit eating earlier in the evening - the blood sugar rollercoaster - craving carbs at night - blood sugar's impact on sleep - waking up in the night

    36:46 The upward or downward spiral of wellness and healthy versus unhealthy habits

    37:26 Having accountability partners

    37:45 Miles's primary core values #1

    38:54 Hiding things in life - vulnerability - talking with others - working with a counselor

    40:36 Life hack for "receiving counseling from Brene Brown and other high-level professionals"

    42:05 The three-pronged system for working through being "stuck" in life

    44:30 Wisdom and the benefit of having mentors

    45:53 Miles's primary core values #2

    46:47 Miles's primary core values #3

    46:58 Having a life that is integrated - having a surrendered relationship with the truth

    47:39 Miles's primary core values #4

    49:42 The hardest challenge in leading yourself

    51:08 The lie we tell ourselves about "the season coming" when everything will be different or easier - not living in the now

    53:43 Don't squander another minute, hour, day, week, month, year, decade…

    54:18 The upward spiral or the downward spiral

    54:36 The best pre-workout

    55:48 Being kind to yourself

    57:24 Getting better at failing

    58:37 Bounce-back rate - falling off the wagon - small vices

    59:54 Miles's favorite self-improvement resources

    Email Miles Welch: [email protected]

    Website: https://northstartraining.com/

    Socials:

    https://www.linkedin.com/in/themileswelch/

    https://www.instagram.com/themileswelch/

    Books mentioned:

    Developing the Leader Within You - John Maxwell

    The Endurance: Legendary Antarctic Expedition - Caroline Alexander

    The Greatest Generation - Tom Brokaw

    ________________________________________

    Thanks for listening! If you like what you're hearing, please don't forget to subscribe and give us those five start ratings!

    Email Jamie: [email protected]

    Connect with us online: www.Nutritionaltherapy.com

  • POOP (ewww)

    What goes in, must come out!

    In this episode of the Nutritional Therapy and Wellness Podcast, host Jamie Belz, FNTP, MHC, and fellow FNTP, Stephanie Ewals, CNS, Licensed Nutritionist, owner of Out of the Woods Nutrition, and host of the Help For Hashimotos podcast talk about the end product of digestion - poop. Talking about pooping is a total taboo, but it's an important topic.

    The prevalence of GI disorders such as diarrhea, constipation, and alternating diarrhea and constipation is extremely common, with 3-5% of the U.S. population experiencing chronic diarrhea. Globally, 16% of adults experience chronic constipation - up to 19% of adults in the U.S. and a whopping 33% of adults over the age of 60 experience chronic constipation.

    Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) with Alternating Diarrhea and Constipation, characterized by symptoms such as abdominal pain, bloating, and variability in bowel habits, affect 10-15% of the global population. Among those with IBS, a significant portion (around 25-30%) experiences alternating diarrhea and constipation (IBS-M, mixed type).

    *Mehta, S. R., Patel, D., Rana, B., Kumar, N., Singh, A., & Sharma, P. (2023). Title of the article. Frontiers in Public Health, 11, Article 1061453. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1061453

    1:42 Bristol Stool Chart - shows what the shape and consistency of your poop means

    4:11 More about what your poop should look like

    4:57 Why should we care about what our poop looks like?

    5:25 Bristol Stool Chart Types 5-7

    5:54 Loose stools with full food particles (some of it looks like it did when you ate it)

    6:35 Bristol Stool Chart Types 1 & 2 - Constipation - toxins - excess estrogens

    7:19 Bristol Stool Chart Types 3 & 4

    7:43 It's not normal to have diarrhea, constipation, or alternating diarrhea and constipation every day.

    8:39 Irregularity with our bowel movements are symptoms of dysfunction somewhere in the body.

    10:02 Motility/transit time - testing how long it takes from eating to defecating (aka pooping)

    11:21 Hope/help for Type 1 & Type 2 - things that help relieve constipation and determine what is causing it

    13:12 If you're not eating fiber now, ease into it! Notes on fiber intake and ways to get more fiber in your diet

    16:12 Diarrhea - within a few hours of eating, fiber will not help, look elsewhere for solutions - food inflammatory tests - elimination diet - Whole 30 - your body is telling you something!

    18:52 Protocols AND or VERSUS bio-individuality?

    21:10 Where nutritional therapy really excels…

    22:57 How stress impacts digestion - anxiety - adrenals - cortisol

    24:47 Not digesting properly - whole food particles in poop

    25:09 What you can do if you're struggling with GI disorders

    26:12 Physical activity/movement

    26:52 Squatty Potty

    28:28 Preworkouts, gels, anything you're putting in that are flushing through…

    29:05 Magnesium, Vitamin C

    Please remember to hit SUBSCRIBE and give us a 5-Star Review if you're loving what you're hearing!

    Stephanie's business - Out of the Woods Nutrition - "Help For Hashimoto's Podcast"

    Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/help-for-hashimotos-podcast/id1395020956

    Website: https://www.outofthewoodsnutrition.com/

    Download The Definitive Guide To Hashimoto's:

    https://mailchi.mp/0e5555d60258/the-definitive-guide-to-hashimotos

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  • In this episode of the Nutritional Therapy and Wellness Podcast, host Jamie Belz and Svein Erik Haugmo, Co-founder and CEO of ORIVO, a third-party testing laboratory in Norway, discuss the high level of fraudulence in the fish oil industry.

    80% of the best-selling fish oil supplements on Amazon are NOT what the companies selling them say they are. Eighty percent of label claims were found to be inaccurate representations of the product found in the bottle.

    After realizing the abundance of unethical and immoral, greedy business practices within this area, Svein and his team at Orivo developed a one-of-a-kind, revolutionary origin verification technology to test consumable fish products for people and pets. They collaborate with supplement companies to help promote transparency, fight fraudulence, and protect consumers around the globe.

    Learn more about ORIVO: https://orivo.no

    Additional resource Svein mentioned: https://alwaysomega3s.com

    ___________________________________

    Please remember to LEAVE A 5-STAR REVIEW, like, share, and subscribe!

    If you're part of the NTA Community, connect with me on Mighty Networks!

    For more insights and resources and to connect with our vibrant community, visit us at: nutritionaltherapy.com/podcast

  • On this episode of The Nutritional Therapy and Wellness Podcast, hosts, Jamie Belz, FNTP, MHC, and Mike Belz, CEO of the Nutritional Therapy Association discuss types, current stats, symptoms of chronic stress, and solutions for creating stress resilience for better mental health which tends to make way for better physical health.

    Join them as they touch on mental and physical stressors common in today's world, such as inflation and financial uncertainty/hardship, kids, busy schedules, societal pressures, work, daily tasks, relationships, divorce, isolation, socialization, screens, social media, politics, news, violence, prescription drugs, recreational drugs, environmental inputs, toxins, mold, weight management, health issues, loved ones who are suffering from mental or physical illnesses. Learn about the biological response to stress, and how to practice healthful stress management practices, as well as what to eat and what to avoid.

    6:53 The resounding impact of the COVID pandemic from "Stress in America 2023: A Nation Recovering from Collective Trauma"

    8:21 The abundance of stressors

    11:31 The body's stress response - fight or flight - overstimulation of stress response

    12:32 Working with an NTP to optimize digestion to help minimize stress and improve mental health/reducing stress to optimize digestion

    13:35 Hitting the stress wall and the key to beating the stress epidemic - mindfulness and a healthier lens - avoiding "breathing life into" your stress

    15:17 Work hard, play hard -> work hard, work harder

    16:04 Physical symptoms of stress - aches and pains, insomnia, chest pain, heart damage, esophageal spasms, heartburn/acid reflux/GERD, digestive dysfunction, weakening of the intestinal lining, intestinal permeability/leaky gut, decreased immune function/increased susceptibility to pathogens and disease, exhaustion, increased cortisol, increased abdominal fat, weight gain, weight loss

    17:42 Nervous breakdown

    19:49 Mindfulness, meditation, relaxation - the role of the nervous system (enteric, autonomic, parasympathetic, sympathetic) - rest and digest - fight or flight - cortisol and adrenaline - the impact of the stress response on hunger cues, digestion, gut motility

    23:27 Stress eaters, emotional eating, over-eating

    27:13 Maldigestion/poor digestion, the impact of stress on HCl production and the digestive process - heartburn, GERD, leaky gut/intestinal permeability

    Digestive Hell Podcast Episode

    30:32 Gut brain connection

    30:55 Reinforcing and empowering stressful states versus resilience - daily habits

    32:06 Mike's tips for reducing stress/growing stress resilience - mantra mindset

    35:10 Things that will force you to stay in a stressed-out state - relationships - toxic people - who you're spending time with - Dr. Henry Cloud's book, "Necessary Endings"

    https://www.drcloud.com/books/necessary-endings

    36:20 Jamie's tips for reducing stress - things you can do

    38:12 Reduce stress nutritionally with foods, herbals, and supplements - the endocannabinoid system -

    39:52 Working with an NTP to address stress

    40:18 Things to avoid

    41:39 The importance of healthy boundaries

    ______________________

    Record an introduction

    https://www.speakpipe.com/msg/s/342744/3/1fyqu83iaf707ggt

    Nutritional Therapy and Wellness Podcast Episode 011: Digestive Hell

    https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-nutritional-therapy-and-wellness-podcast/id1733339864?i=1000652219979

    Dr. Henry Cloud's book, "Necessary Endings"

    https://www.drcloud.com/books/necessary-endings

    You can also connect with us online at www.NutritionalTherapy.com/podcast.

    Please hit subscribe!

  • In this Nutritional Therapy and Wellness Podcast episode, host Jamie Belz talks with fellow FNTPs (Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioners), John Bridges and Kristy Corah, co-owners of Best of the Bone USA. Learn more about all things bone broth, from the abundance of health benefits to how to make bone broth at home (22:19).

    Visit them at: https://www.bestoftheboneusa.com and use coupon code “NTA15” for 15% off sitewide.

    Connect with them at: [email protected] and [email protected].

    Note: This is not a paid sponsorship spot – these are just great people doing great things to promote wellness in the world.

    ____________________________________________________

    Please hit “SUBSCRIBE” and connect with us at www.nutritionaltherapy.com/podcast.

  • This episode of the Nutritional Therapy and Wellness Podcast brings together host Jamie Belz, FNTP, MHC and Kristin Rowell, Founder and CEO of Energetically Efficient as they discuss Kristin's career journey from trial attorney to FNTP (Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner) and all things wellness. They discuss the gizmos, gadgets, and easy "to do" things - biohacking and habit stacking - in the pursuit of optimal wellness.

    4:30 Running 25 marathons - using GU Energy Packets (The GU Packets - NOT recommended! Ha!)

    5:30 Breaking her leg in ten places - wondering how it was possible - became interested in nutrition and researching nutrition - surgery - recovery - came back better than ever

    9:20 Standard American Diet (carbohydrate heavy)

    10:30 Learning about the Nutritional Therapy Association (NTA) and leaving her law practice to become a wellness practitioner

    11:15 Wellness enlightenment - nutrition as the cornerstone of optimal health - craving more

    12:14 Hydration as a simple first step for leveling-up your wellness

    13:11 Kristin's Practice - Energetically Efficient - working with busy business professionals - "experiential learning"

    16:30 Being a life long learner - brain health apps

    17:50 Dr. Lindsey Berkson - HRT and learning about hormones - experimenting with a 30 day Carnivore Experiment - fasting

    19:25 Habit Stacking and Biohacking

    22:00 Where Kristin has all her clients start their fitness journey

    23:22 Not just gizmos and gadgets - simple things you can do

    25:40 Four fifteen minute walks and building lean muscle mass to increase insulin sensitivity

    26:50 Sleep hygiene - melatonin production - blue lights

    28:00 It seems overwhelming but it's about small shifts and common sense - grounding - being outside - being barefoot

    30:41 Kristin's favorites (https://energeticallyefficient.com/kristins-favorites/)

    31:19 Oura Ring vs Apple Watch for sleep tracking

    32:30 Time management and prioritization of your health and wellness habits - hacks to incorporate to bring wellness habits into your busy schedule

    40:10 Do a time audit - where do you spend most of your time?

    41:45 Meditation and energy systems - silence the distractions - receive messages, satisfaction, and peace

    49:55 Other resources Kristin recommends

    Kristin's website: www.energeticallyefficient.com

    Cynthia Thurlow's Everyday Wellness Podcast: https://cynthiathurlow.com/podcast/ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/everyday-wellness/id1435214303

    Huberman Lab Podcast: https://www.hubermanlab.com/all-episodes

    Huberman Lab Podcast on Alcohol: https://www.hubermanlab.com/episode/what-alcohol-does-to-your-body-brain-health

    Huberman Lab Podcast with Dr. Mary Claire Haver (on perimenopause): https://www.hubermanlab.com/episode/dr-mary-claire-haver-how-to-navigate-menopause-perimenopause-for-maximum-health-vitality

    Book: The New Menopause - Mary Claire Haver, MD https://energeticallyefficient.com/kristins-favorites/

    Mastering Your World Through Frequencies Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mastering-your-world-through-frequencies/id1455797208

    The Joe Rogan Experience Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-joe-rogan-experience/id360084272

    Mike Mutzel's High Intensity Health Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/high-intensity-health-with-mike-mutzel-ms/id910048041

    The Ultimate Human Podcast with Gary Brecka: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ultimate-human-with-gary-brecka/id1709740887

    53:14 Perimenopause symptoms and being prescribed SSRIs/anti-depressants and HRT

    53:58 Dr. Lindsey Berkson on Hormones - "Let's Talk Estrogen"

    55:14 ALL things work better with THIS!

    58:00 Become an NTP! www.nutritionaltherapy.com

    Please remember to hit subscribe! Connect with us at www.nutritionaltherapy.com/podcast.

  • This episode of the Nutritional Therapy and Wellness Podcast hits a topic many parents can relate to. "Eyeball Tastebuds" - picky kiddos - and the conundrum that comes with blended families accommodating a variety of flavor palettes. The mealtime food fight can be a real problem and holds the potential to create unwanted and unnecessary conflict.

    Mike and Jamie discuss various ways to address picky eating and share their experiences navigating this landscape with their five kids in their blended family while trying to avoid negative marital and familial consequences. Food should be nourishing, delicious, and FUN! It CAN BE when it's done with intentionality.

    3:33 Blended-family mealtime challenges

    5:15 You don't have to be a blended family to have food struggles in your home.

    5:50 When to start picky eating prevention

    6:32 The greatest gifts we have been given for enjoyment in life

    7:35 Religion, politics, and NUTRITION?

    8:50 Big Food marketing

    9:45 What to do if you didn't start your kid with "picky eater prevention" when they were young

    10:24 Mothers' guilt

    11:54 Things to do for helping picky eaters expand their palettes

    20:16 Jamie's trick for slow conversions to healthier options

    25:05 What if, as a parent, I don't know how to cook?

    26:28 Promoting a positive relationship with food - using foods a rewards and emotional eating

    29:29 Behavioral issues - Are food dyes and sugar contributing?

    32:01 It's okay to enjoy foods that may be less nutrient-dense as well. It's about balance and moderation.

    Thanks for listening!

    ___________________________________________

    Please hit "SUBSCRIBE" and CLICK HERE to record an intro, tell us where you're listening from, or what you're doing to #ReverseTheTrend in your neck of the woods.

  • In this episode of the Nutritional Therapy and Wellness Podcast, Mike throws Jamie a pop-quiz-style twist to the format as they dive into what's been coined "greenwashing" or "health halos" as the buzzwords Big Food uses to convince you to buy their foods because these words have become known to signify or indicate healthier food options. The problem is, the front of the package doesn't always align with what you see on the back when you flip it over to read the nutrition facts and ingredients.

    06:03 - GLUTEN FREE

    08:39 - Email Jamie for a link to a sourdough recipe that is actually easy to understand - [email protected]

    10:20 - GRASSFED

    18:47 - NATURAL

    21:36 - ORGANIC

    28:55 - LOW FAT or FAT FREE

    29:21 - PLANT BASED

    31:26 - SUGAR FREE (Sugar alcohols, sugar substitutes, aspartame, Stevia)

    The cost of food has climbed exponentially with rocketing inflation over the past few years. Learn what these terms mean and the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to the marketing mayhem on our grocery store shelves. What's worth the spend and what's just a "greenwashing" money grab.

    Please remember to hit subscribe!

    Connect with us at www.nutritionaltherapy.com/podcast.

    Here's the link to the study Jamie mentioned regarding sugar substitutes and weight gain:

    Pub Med Article: The impact of artificial sweeteners on Body Weight Control and Glucose Homeostasis

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7817779/

  • This episode of the Nutritional Therapy and Wellness Podcast features Hunter Schwietz, a Certified Personal Trainer, a Corrective Exercise Specialist, a Functional Patterns Human Biomechanics Specialist, and the founder of Form First in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. Hunter opens up about his own wellness journey and shares how he chased numerous physical symptoms down many rabbit holes with abundant research and expensive testing. He sought help from various allied practitioners before concluding that his “health ailments” were largely due to anxiety. Hunter describes his anxiety attacks and how they impacted him both mentally and physically, creating doubt, confusion, and frustration as a professional in the wellness space. Counseling, diet, and supplementation have helped Hunter in his personal recovery journey, but what really helped him was the tools and discipline he used for stress management. Hit subscribe!

  • In this episode, Jamie Belz, host of the Nutritional Therapy and Wellness Podcast interviews the CEO of The Nutritional Therapy Association (and her husband), Mike Belz. The two discuss the various credentials available through the NTA, program changes made over the past few years, including the return of the FCA, the future of the NTA, health freedom, nutrition freedom, and government involvement.

    4:13 – Mike details his career background in higher education, then crossing over into commercial realty just before the world shut down for COVID.

    10:26 – Pandemic closures

    12:34 – The NTP Program’s impact on a family

    14:37 – Changing your stars – three things

    17:00 – Mike comes to the NTA, and things that have been done since

    17:40 – Certification programs, NTA versus other nutrition education schools and programs (again at 50:15), non-profit versus for-profit schools, accreditation, shifts in post-secondary education system structuring in the past decade, school funding, predatory recruitment, federal funding, grants, overpromised career outcomes, admissions ethics

    24:15 – NTP program re-structure, allied health associate and bachelor’s degree program structures

    27:12 – NTP (Nutritional Therapy Practitioner), FNTP (Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner), Health Coach (again at 37:29)

    29:03 – Government control in nutrition education, two-year and four-year program possibility, funding, tuition, inflation, student loans, accessibility

    32:50 – K-12 Public Funding, American Experiment Podcast

    33:05 – Keeping the government out of it, CEO of Babylon Bee’s talk on censorship was censored

    34:24 – Direction of the NTA, students, graduates

    41:51 – Nutrition, Politics, Religion

    42:51 – Health epidemic

    43:13 – Nutritional truth, legitimate scientists and doctors, special interest funded “science” versus veal science, Big Food, Big Pharma, Big Ag, Big Media, Health Freedom, Nutritional Freedom, government/American Heart Association endorsement of Cheerios as “heart healthy” cereal

    47:20 – It’s not about looking good. It’s about feeling good; then the aesthetics come along with wellness.

    48:15 – Profit and corruption in nutrition

    48:54 – “You are what you eat” – health at the cellular level

    49:40 – Dead foods versus living foods, Raw Milk Mama

    50:15 – NTA’s competitors

    54:44 – Healing through nutrition

    Somewhere in the mix of this podcast is a discount code and a tease for the greatest discount the NTA has ever offered for their NTP program. Find it and call the Admissions Team at (360) 800-5682.

    Hit SUBSCRIBE so you don’t miss an episode.

    American Experiment Podcast – How Education is Funded

    Raw Milk Mama Substack

  • This episode brings host Jamie Belz and fellow FNTP, Thomas Gilliford together for a very real conversation about food and wellness. They dive into all things from the perspective of thriving within the navigational beacons of the aggressive pursuit of optimal wellness and setting realistic expectations for functionality and quality of life.

    Thomas covers his newly developed FCA (Functional Clinical Assessment) Program available to NTPs who desire to add the “F” on the front of their credential to make them FNTPs (Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioners). This skill set, formerly called the Functional Evaluation, utilizes hands-on and lingual neural testing to help identify which nutrients and nutrient formulations are best for each person’s bio-individual receptivity. This enables the practitioner to cut through the sea of options available when it comes to nutraceuticals and supplementation protocols to quickly identify which product is right for each individual’s needs.

    Their conversation continues to run through many aspects of navigating diet, supplementation, expiration dates and ultra-processed foods, alcohol, surgeries and prescriptions, sleep and stress, and other wellness inputs. They discuss the challenge of trying to balance rigid rules and expectations with being realistic and enjoying life.

    Additional topics they touch on: eating out, alcohol, progression, EMFs, hydration, avoidance of surgery by incorporation of water, Lyme, Green Washing, Big Macs, glyphosate, dairy/milk, vegan/vegetarian, gallbladder removal (cholecystectomy), blind spots, trauma, grief,

    Please hit “subscribe” and share this episode with someone!

  • In this Nutritional Therapy and Wellness Podcast episode, host Jamie Belz interviews Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, AIP Coach, Functional Blood Chemistry Specialist, and Author, Sonia Sidle.

    Sonia, originally from France, saw a need for more resources and filled it by writing an AIP (Autoimmune Protocol) book in French.

    4:00 - FBCS – Functional Blood Chemistry Specialist Credential, “normal” ranges

    6:05 - AIP Coach – Autoimmune Protocol Coach, Hashimoto’s diagnosis, specialized diet for symptom management and seeing improvement, nightshades, Dr. Sarah Ballantyne, career change

    10:07 - A better approach to elimination diets, seeing changes immediately

    11:10 – AIP Diet, stress, sleep, lifestyle, connection, socialization, appropriate exercise/movement, environmental toxins

    12:40 – Joint pain, hydration

    14:00 – Authoring her AIP book and the process of working with a publisher

    20:46 – Greatest takeaway from Sonia’s book

    23:15 – Health in Europe versus United States

    24:20 – Glyphosate (Round-up)

    25:17 – Common symptoms associated with various autoimmune symptoms

    26:26 – Inflammation, pain, skin issues

    28:34 – The foods we don’t want to give up, food sensitivities, food inflammatory test, reintroducing foods

    30:00 – Buying locally

    30:34 – LNT (Lingual Neural Testing), FCA (Functional Clinical Assessment), FNTP versus NTP, identifying which supplement or nutrient your body is begging for

    Sonia Sidle's journey to become a Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner (FNTP) and a Certified Autoimmune Paleo Coach began with her own struggles against autoimmune disease. Fueled by her personal experiences, she is driven by a passion to assist others facing similar challenges. Originally from France, Sonia's fluency in French empowers her to serve a diverse clientele, spanning both French and English speakers. In order to expand her expertise, she pursued additional certifications as a Certified Functional Blood Chemistry Specialist, a Restorative Wellness Practitioner, and a Functional Supplement Specialist. Teaming up with a fellow French-speaking AIP Coach, Sonia co-created a pioneering program in French aimed at guiding individuals through the transition to and maintenance of the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP). Alongside this initiative, she co-authored a French book about what AIP is, how it can help people and containing 60 AIP-friendly recipes. Together, Sonia and her colleague aspire to shed light on the AIP within French-speaking communities, where awareness of this protocol remains limited.

    Sonia’s website: www.yourwellnessrevealed.com and IG handle: @AIP_alltheway

    Sonia's book: Soigner l'auto-Immunité Avec le Protocole AIP: La Méthode Naturelle Révolutionaire Qui Réduit Au Silence Les Maladies Auto-immunes - Book Link

    Please SUBSCRIBE and visit www.nutritionaltherapy.com/podcast to record a question or be featured on the show.

  • In this Nutritional Therapy and Wellness Podcast episode, host Jamie Belz interviews Rachel Ballard, an RN who wasn’t willing to accept the prognosis of a slow, painful, premature death.

    Rachel is a Registered Nurse, farmer, and Food As Medicine teacher who is currently completing her Nutritional Therapy Practitioner (NTP) certification. After battling back from a rare, paralyzing autoimmune disease, she’s helping individuals use food as a tool so they can fight back against chronic conditions and defy the odds.

    A lover of British television dramas, raising medicinal plants, and scratch cooking, Rachel lives on her Kentucky cattle farm with her husband of twenty-three years and two teenage children.

    In talking with Jamie, Rachel walks us through her declining health, eventual diagnosis of CIPD (Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy), and her long road to recovery.

    04:50 – Symptoms and red flags leading up to diagnosis: Hashimoto’s, muscles in eye, limp leg, loss of strength, paralysis, felt like she was “on fire”

    07:10 – CIPD Diagnosis with Central Nervous Symptom Overlap causing issues with vision, hearing, digestion, bowel and bladder control, and promoting cardiac arrhythmia

    9:00 - IVIG (Intravenous Immunoglobulin) Treatment, Plasmapheresis, Stem Cell Transplant, slow decline

    10:10 – Five years to live

    11:02 – Subcutaneous IVIG Therapy Failed

    13:02 – Hitting the point of desperation, looking at natural medicine for the first time, found the wrong natural medicine professionals for her preference and bio-individuality at the time

    19:34 – Buying-in on the alternative approach

    21:30 – Corruption in science, “follow the money”

    22:30 – Working with an NTP, starting with digestion, making slow progress

    27:53 – New hope, new career

    30:31 – Bioindividuality

    31:57 – TALKING ABOUT FOOD! Simple swaps, things to buy

    40:17 - Mindset

    42:04 – Car analogy

    43:15 – Rachel’s list of reversed symptoms/conditions

    44:21 – Last question

    As you’ll hear, taking the first steps into a more natural approach to wellness can be challenging, frustrating, expensive, and a little “weird.” Rachel shares how she didn’t find any luck or answers with the alternative medicine practitioners she initially saw.* Her story is fun, relatable, and inspirational for those suffering from illness, as well as those looking to peek over the fence from the world of conventional medicine.

    You can find Rachel’s food blog at www.feastandfarm.com.

    Please SUBSCRIBE and visit www.nutritionaltherapy.com/podcast to record a question for the show.

    *Not all practitioners of each title are created equally. Remember to give multiple practitioners under one umbrella a chance. This is true for both allopathic and alternative care. :)

  • Optimal digestion is crucial for overall health and well-being. It ensures that the body efficiently breaks down food into nutrients, which are then absorbed and utilized for energy, growth, and cellular repair. Proper digestion supports a strong immune system, maintains a healthy gut microbiome, and helps prevent gastrointestinal disorders. Additionally, it plays a significant role in mental health, as the gut is often referred to as the "second brain" due to its impact on mood and cognitive function. Therefore, maintaining optimal digestion is vital for sustaining physical and mental health, enhancing quality of life, and preventing chronic diseases.

    In this episode of The Nutritional Therapy and Wellness Podcast, host Jamie Belz, FNTP, MHC, continues along the journey of digestion, explaining that if someone is not properly digesting their food, they will not be able to absorb and assimilate the nutrients from the foods they are eating, regardless of how healthful those foods are.

    Jamie brings back another historical audio clip from a lecture initially given by the founder of The Nutritional Therapy Association, Gray Graham. In Episode 10, Gray discussed the optimal function of digestion. This time, he walks you through “Digestive Hell” – the myriad of diseases, conditions, and other unpleasantries that arise from a suboptimal digestive system.

    The health of the organism is dependent upon the health of the organ systems, which are dependent upon the health of the organs, which is dependent upon the health of the tissues, which is dependent upon the health of the cells, which is dependent upon digestion. Thus, all wellness begins with digestion. Therefore, does all disease stem from digestive dysfunction? Not exactly, but you can eat the healthiest diet possible for your bio-individual needs, and if you’re not breaking it down to the necessary molecules your body can utilize, what’s the point?

    Every single cell in all tissues, organs, and systems of an organism relies on the ability to properly absorb nutrients from food. Factors such as stress, poor eating habits, gallbladder removal, and reduced levels of stomach acid (HCl) can hinder digestion. Given the critical role of nutrition in maintaining healthy cells, any disruption in digestion can be harmful in various ways. When the digestive system is compromised, it can lead to a domino effect, impacting the functioning of other bodily systems,

    02:35 – Recap of optimal digestion

    04:07 – Start of digestive dysfunction

    05:23 – “Where’s ‘Digestive Hell’?”

    06:56 – Distraction, stress, sympathetic state

    13:22 – Pancreatic amylase

    13:30 – Dysbiosis, yeast, pathogens (Also at 19:50)

    13:55 – It’s all about acid/pH levels

    15:17 – Macronutrient degradation

    15:47 – Inputs for the production of HCl

    16:20 – Things that cause hypochlorhydria (stress, too much protein, zinc, other nutrient deficiencies, allergies…)

    17:13 – Dr. Jonathan Wright, the use of the Heidelberg Test for diagnosis of hypochlorhydria, pH for proper hormone function and enzymatic action

    21:37 – Pasteur vs. Bechamp / Microorganisms vs. Terraine (Which is to blame?)

    23:34 – Hpylori

    26:53 – Heartburn, acid reflux, GERD, ulcers

    37:50 – Homework/experiment

    39:40 – Chyme into the duodenum, secretin, pancreas, bicarbonate, incomplete digestion, whole food particles in the small intestine

    42:11 – Gallbladder, bile, fats, cholecystokinin, liver, fat-free or low-fat diet as the cause of gallstones and gallbladder dysfunction, cholecystectomy (gallbladder removal)

    52:06 – Burping up fish oil and delayed release fish oil

    55:04 – Undigested proteins, microvilli, leaky gut/gut permeability, immune dysfunction

    56:03 – Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, healing her autistic child, GAPS Diet

    58:04 – Large intestine/colon, ileocecal valve, dysbiosis, inflammation diverticulitis, irritable bowel, Crohn's disease, celiac disease/gluten reactivity, hormones/endocrine system, enzymes, heart health, allergies, butyric acid and foul-smelling feces

    Please SUBSCRIBE and Click Here to record a message for Jamie, ask a question, suggest an interviewee, or record an intro for the show!

  • In this episode of The Nutritional Therapy and Wellness Podcast, host Jamie Belz, FNTP, MHC, brings back historical audio clips from a lecture originally given by the founder of The Nutritional Therapy Association, Gray Graham. Gray discusses the optimal function of digestion in a way you’ve never heard it explained. Listen to this, then hit the “subscribe” button to catch the next episode where Gray explains digestive dysfunction.

    Many embark upon their wellness journey by cleaning up their diet. While this is a necessary step, the healthiest diet according to everyone’s bioindividual needs doesn’t do much good for them if they’re not properly breaking down the food into molecules that can be absorbed and utilized within the body.

    The health of the organism is dependent upon the health of the organ systems, which are dependent upon the health of the organs, which is dependent upon the health of the tissues, which is dependent upon the health of the cells, which is dependent upon digestion. Thus, all wellness begins with digestion.

    06:41 – Overview of digestion

    08:59 – Digestive inputs/volume

    15:42 – Six digestive functions

    17:09 – Digestion is a north-to-south process – where does it begin?

    20:48 – Digestion is fundamental to Nutritional Therapy

    21:45 – How’s it all supposed to work? – Deep dive into optimal function

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    Visit www.nutritionaltherapy.com/podcast or click here to record an intro or ask a question you'd like answered on the show!

  • In this Nutritional Therapy and Wellness Podcast episode, host Jamie Belz continues with internal interviews of NTA staff as she interviews Jasmine Lutes, FNTP and Admissions Representative for the Nutritional Therapy Association. She shares her personal health story, from being told she would "never have kids" to proving them wrong.

    Jasmine openly offers her life experiences and provides hope for others with commonalities in infertility, nutritional deficiencies, poverty, alcoholism and addiction, and food insecurity. She talks about working with her mother, who jumped "all in" while working with Jasmine post-completion of the Nutritional Therapy Practitioner Program and achieved results that changed her life. Jasmine also talks about getting her daughter (the one she was "never" supposed to have) in the kitchen and Reversing the Trend of Preventable Poor Health - shifting the pendulum for her future generations - by making small, simple, sustainable changes over time.

    As a member of the Nutritional Therapy Association's Admissions Team - Jasmine welcomes you to her story and invites you to reach out with any questions you have about the NTA and our teachings. Visit www.nutritionaltherapy.com to learn more and get in touch.

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    Please hit "SUBSCRIBE" and CLICK HERE to record an intro, tell us where you're listening from, or what you're doing to #ReverseTheTrend in your neck of the woods.

  • In Part Two of this two-part episode, Jamie and Amy Lippert, FNTP, continue their discussion, picking up where they left off on Amy's inspirational health story. In Episode seven, Amy shared the symptoms she had experienced for years - symptoms her doctor said were "normal for a woman her age." He prescribed an anti-depressant for her. Amy tried to follow the direction of her physician, but she didn't feel well on the prescriptions, and she knew she wasn't depressed. After conducting her own research, she talked to her doctor about her suspicion that she had a Thyroid condition known as Hashimoto's

    she pushed back against her doctor who told her she Hashimoto's thyroiditis, also known as chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis and Hashimoto's

  • In Part One of this two-part episode, Jamie talks with Nutritional Therapy Practitioner Amy Lippert as Amy shares her personal health story. She tells of suffering extensive symptoms and receiving a false diagnosis from her doctor and, after several years, finding another doctor who helped point her toward the path to healing... but it still wasn't an easy road.

  • In this episode of the Nutritional Therapy and Wellness Podcast, your host, Jamie Belz, Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner (FNTP) and Master Health Coach, walks you through the incredible story of Dr. Francis M. Pottenger Jr., a physician and research scientist of the early 1900s.

    Dr. Pottenger worked in a sanitarium, a medical facility found commonly in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which approached the treatment of disease with exposure to fresh air and sunlight, restorative environments, rest and relaxation – often in outdoor settings, nutrient-dense foods, light physical activity, close monitoring by medical staff, structured routines, and social interaction as a way of strengthening the patient’s immune system and improving their overall health so their bodies could fight off pathogens and heal.

    While studying the correlation between tuberculosis and the adrenal glands, he noticed vast differences in the health of his feline test subjects depending upon the diets they were fed - raw milk and raw meat versus cooked/pasteurized milk and cooked meat.

    Over ten years and multiple generations of more than 900 cats, Dr. Pottenger conducted a research project that would eventually become known as "The Pottenger's Cats Study." This study ultimately laid the revolutionary groundwork for what we now call "epigenetics"—the study of how environmental factors, such as diet, stress, and exposure to toxins, can switch our genes on or off without changing the underlying DNA sequence.

    The profound findings of Dr. Pottenger's study were not so much that what the cats ate impacted their health as that it impacted the health of three subsequent generations of kittens through transgenerational nutritional deficiencies.

    So, what does this mean to the human race? Are WE a case of Pottenger's Humans? Is there hope for regeneration?

    This impactful and truly astonishing story is not told in school, but it should be. You'll want to hear it yourself and then tell everyone you know.

    If you'd like to hear more invaluable information that will help guide your unique, bio-individual health quest, hit "subscribe" and be sure to visit www.nutritionaltherapy.com/podcast to leave feedback, record a voice clip for the show, and check out more from the Nutritional Therapy and Wellness Podcast.

  • What is a Professional Health and Wellness Coach, and Why Should I Become One or Work With One?

    In this episode, your host, Jamie Belz, interviews Shanna Nemrow, FNTP, NBC-HWC, and developer and lead instructor for the PHWC course about the Nutritional Therapy Association's hottest new credential.

    Shanna teaches why the health coach service industry is one of the fastest growing career fields globally and how to earn your PHWC credential through the NTA, qualifying you to become NBHWC board certified. You'll learn why the most industry versatile health coaches are NBHWC certified.

    Shanna shares her story in finding healing after years of struggling with her health, to the point of saying, "goodbye," to her family in her dire condition. Fortunately, she was able to recover and became an Instagram "beacon on the hill" in her own quest to find others who shared similar struggles.

    Through her journey/battle of over a decade, Shanna suffered from complications during pregnancy and postpartum sepsis which took a major toll on her organs. As someone who had once enjoyed CrossFit workouts and ran Tough Mudder races, she was reduced to needing to rest while climbing the stairs. She struggled with fatigue, joint pain, and brain fog, and her hair was falling out. Over the years, Shanna felt like something had to be wrong, but at each annual appointment, her doctor told her she was "fine." At 36 years old, Shanna saw an endocrinologist who diagnosed her with Hashimoto's Disease, an autoimmune disease impacting her thyroid. She heard words like "incurable" and phrases like "there's nothing you can do," but Shanna refused to accept that she would continue to struggle "to barely function" for the rest of her life. She persevered with the heart of a warrior and found great improvement by changing her mindset, diet, and lifestyle.

    Shanna became a Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner and, later, a health coach. She is now an inspiration to all who seek answers and no longer wish to feel alone or hopeless in their battles against disease.

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    Please hit "subscribe" and remember to record your voice message at www.nutritionaltherapy.com/podcast.