SUMMARY:

Have you ever looked back at something seemingly small — a prescription, a choice, a doctor’s advice — and realized it changed the entire course of your health? 💭 That’s the story I’m sharing today.

This episode is a raw, honest look at how one antibiotic — Tetracycline — taken as a teen for mild skin breakouts, turned into a decades-long health journey filled with gut battles, bleeding gums, misdiagnoses, and ultimately, a deeper understanding of how connected our bodies really are. 🧠💥

From cracked molars to emergency stomach surgery, I’m laying it all out. We’ll talk about:

🔑 The link between antibiotics like Tetracycline and Crohn’s, Candida, and gum disease

This one’s a doozy, friends — but it’s also a hopeful, empowering call to know better, so we can do better. 🙏🏽💖

TOPICS COVERED:

Tetracycline and long-term health damage

Candida overgrowth and gut imbalance

Link between antibiotic use and autoimmune diseases

Why oral health is a window into your gut

Gut-brain connection explained simply

Empowering moms to advocate for their family’s health

FIND ME LINKS

Do you ever wish your day wasn't ruled by your health? Penny gets raw and real in this powerful origin episode of Becoming Natural. She shares her 25-year battle with debilitating Crohn's disease, how traditional medicine saved her but didn’t heal her, and the radical shift that finally brought relief—faith, natural living, and a mom-sized dose of stubborn hope.

In this repeat of her foundational episode, learn:

Why Penny shifted to more holistic health

How essential oils and plant-based remedies changed her life

What it means to live clean in a dirty world

Why healing is physical, emotional, and deeply spiritual

If you're a tired mama looking for answers, this one's for you.

✨ Hit follow, leave a review, and tag a friend who needs to hear this.

Keywords and Tags

Crohn's healing, natural remedies, holistic health, essential oils, occupational therapist, mom podcast, faith and healing, autoimmune relief, clean living, chronic illness support, Becoming Natural, holistic lifestyle, Christian wellness, toxin-free living

In this episode, Penny walks us through the gentle power and rich history of witch hazel for skin:

🌿 Roots in creation: Why Native American wisdom and colonial pharmacy both called on this shrub

🔬 Botanical brilliance: How tannins, flavonoids, and adaptable extracts soothe, protect, and tone

🧴 Which type for what: Choosing between alcohol‑based, glycerin‑based, or potent pure extracts

📝 DIY healing: Easy recipes—toners, wipes, sun‑burn compresses, and bug‑bite relief

🙏 Real guidance: Safety considerations, FAQs, and a faith-filled reflection grounded in Psalm 104:14

Grab your tea and stick around for practical healing and soul-filling grace.

🛒 Dickinson's Witch Hazel-Alcohol Free

🛒 Dickinson's Witch Hazel-Alcohol Free with Rose Water

🛒  Organic Witch Hazel Extract

Avula, B. et al. (2019). Witch Hazel Overview

Dickinson’s Witch Hazel Company (est. 1866).

🎯 Keywords:

witch hazel benefits, DIY witch hazel recipes, witch hazel for skin, witch hazel uses, natural remedy podcast, postpartum witch hazel, alcohol-free witch hazel, homemade toner recipe, faith-based natural healing

Vinegar Health Benefits: Ancient Remedy for Your Health & Home

Did you know vinegar health benefits go far beyond salad dressings? 🥗 In this episode, I share how plain vinegar and apple cider vinegar (ACV) have been used for centuries for healing, cleaning, and everyday wellness. You’ll learn its fascinating history, science-backed uses, and practical ways to replace harsh chemicals in your home. 💡 From Hippocrates to your laundry room, vinegar is a simple, God-given tool for health and home.

👉 Listen in as we uncover:

Resources:

📗Antibacterial action of vinegar against food-borne pathogenic bacteria including Escherichia coli O157:H7

📗Can You Use Vinegar as a Disinfectant?

📗Effect and mechanisms of action of vinegar on glucose metabolism, lipid profile, and body weight

📗The improvement effect of apple cider vinegar as a functional food on anthropometric indices, blood glucose and lipid profile in diabetic patients: a randomized controlled clinical trial

📗Vinegar intake reduces body weight, body fat mass, and serum triglyceride levels in obese Japanese subjects

📗Beneficial effect of vinegar consumption associated with regulating gut microbiome and metabolome

WHERE TO FIND ME:

🌿 Website & Podcast Hub

📌 Note: I’m just a girl with a wild story and a passion for sharing what has helped me feel my best during difficult times. I share personal experience, documented research, and a whole lot of heart. Always talk to a professional when making changes to your health routine.

vinegar health benefits, apple cider vinegar uses, natural cleaning with vinegar, faith-based wellness, natural remedies, home detox tips, ACV for health, chemical-free cleaning

If you've been wrestling with bloating, brain fog, weird cravings, or gut pain that no one seems to explain, this episode might blow your socks off 🧦. This is the most popular episode thus far and a great replay if you are having guy issues.  Don't forget there is a PART 2:

04 (Part 2): Symptoms of Candida Yeast Overgrowth are WHOLE Body & a Step by Step Diet Plan to Relieve Candida, SEEBO, & Leaky Gut

In this episode, Is Candida Yeast Causing Your Gut Symptoms? Natural Healing Insights Inside, I walk you through how a candida yeast overgrowth was quietly wreaking havoc on my body—and how a simple 30-day detox helped restore my energy, clear my brain fog, and even change how I saw God’s hand in my healing.

🔑 Key Takeaways:

👉 Ready to start your own healing journey? Don’t miss this deep dive into gut healing and God's grace.

NOTES: 

🎙️04 (Part 2): Symptoms of Candida Yeast Overgrowth are WHOLE Body & a Step by Step Diet Plan to Relieve Candida, SEEBO, & Leaky Gut

FREE YEAST QUIZ

📚 "Good Energy" by Casey Means Hardcover/Audible/Kindle Book

📚 The Ultimate Candida Diet Program

🛒To purchase FREE Candida Yeast Quiz

SOURCES:

🖥️ https://www.mitchellmedicalgroup.com/services/candida/about-candida/

🖥️https://www.webmd.com/ibd-crohns-disease/crohns-disease/crohns-disease-antibiotics

🖥️https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20700115/

WHERE TO FIND ME:

🌿 Website & Podcast Hub

📌 Note: I’m just a girl with a wild story and a passion for sharing what has helped me feel my best during difficult times. I share personal experience, documented research, and a whole lot of heart. Always talk to a professional when making changes to your health routine.

Sunlight Healing: How Morning Light Resets Your Mood, Hormones & Faith

Have you ever wondered if the sun could actually heal you? ☀️ In this episode of Becoming Natural, Penny returns from a summer break to dive deep into something ancient, biblical, and biologically essential: sunlight. Once honored across every culture and faith, the sun has now become something we’re taught to fear. But what if we’ve got it backwards?

In this soul-stirring conversation, you'll discover:

🔍 The history of sun reverence across ancient civilizations

🧬 How UV rays affect hormones, immunity, sleep & mental health

📚 The science behind vitamin D, nitric oxide, and light therapy

🕯 Faith reflections on how light heals spiritually & physically

📝 Practical sun habits that restore balance and boost healing

From heliotherapy to circadian rhythms to Psalm 84:11, this episode reminds us that God gave us sunlight on purpose. It’s not woo—it’s wisdom.

🌅 So grab your morning tea and take this one outside. Let’s soak up the Son. 🙌

RESOURCES:

🧬 Vitamin D & Sunlight Studies

Holick, M. F. (2007). Vitamin D deficiency. New England Journal of Medicine, 357(3), 266–281. 

Bikle, D. D. (2011). Vitamin D metabolism and function in the skin. Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology, 347(1–2), 80–89. 

☀️ Circadian Rhythm and Light Exposure

Harvard Medical School. (2020). Blue light has a dark side. Harvard Health Publishing

😌 Mental Health and Light Exposure

Lyall, L. M., Wyse, C. A., Celis-Morales, C. A., Lyall, D. M., Cullen, B., Mackay, D. F., ... & Smith, D. J. (2018). Associations between objectively measured physical activity and circadian rhythm and mental health in the UK Biobank cohort. The Lancet Psychiatry, 5(6), 507–514. 

🦠 Immune Function and Vitamin D

Aranow, C. (2011). Vitamin D and the immune system. Journal of Investigative Medicine, 59(6), 881–886. 

💓 Nitric Oxide and UVA Study

Liu, D., Fernandez, B. O., Hamilton, A., Lang, N. N., Gallagher, J. M., Newby, D. E., ... & Weller, R. B. (2014). UVA irradiation of human skin vasodilates arterial vasculature and lowers blood pressure independently of nitric oxide synthase. Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 134(7), 1839–1846. 

🧼 Sunlight as a Sanitizer

Raeiszadeh, M., & Adeli, B. (2019). A critical review on ultraviolet disinfection systems against COVID-19 outbreak: Applicability, validation, and safety considerations. Scientific Reports, 9, 15280.

WHERE TO FIND ME:

🌿 Website & Podcast Hub

📌 Note: I’m just a girl with a wild story and a passion for sharing what has helped me feel my best during difficult times. I share personal experience, documented research, and a whole lot of heart. Always talk to a professional when making changes to your health routine.

sunlight healing, vitamin D, circadian rhythm, faith and healing, sunlight therapy, natural immunity, spiritual wellness, heliotherapy, sun benefits, light therapy

The Important Hidden Dangers of Looming Antibacterial Overload

Are we over-sanitizing ourselves sick? In today’s Becoming Natural episode, I’m sharing the real risks behind our culture’s obsession with “antibacterial everything”—and how it might be doing more harm than good. We’ll unpack the history of triclosan, hormone disruption, antibiotic resistance, and why dirt might just be your best medicine. I’ll walk you through smart swaps, safe solutions, and faith-filled reminders that your body was designed to thrive in the real world—not a sterile lab. 💛

RESOURCES

FDA bans triclosan and triclocarban in consumer soaps

The hygiene hypothesis: current perspectives and future therapies

Triclosan Technical Fact Sheet

Antimicrobial resistance

Why dirt may be nature’s original stress-buster

COMING SOON

Triclosan Beware

Homemade Cleaning Spray

WHERE TO FIND ME:

📌 Note: I’m just a girl with a wild story and a passion for sharing what has helped me feel my best during difficult times. I share personal experience, documented research, and a whole lot of heart. Always talk to a professional when making changes to your health routine.

antibacterial overload, triclosan dangers, natural antibacterial swaps, immune system support, microbiome health, faith-based wellness, hygiene hypothesis, antibiotic resistance, gut health, hormone disruption

5 Important Reasons Why Most Probiotics Don’t Work

If you’ve been popping probiotic pills and still feeling bloated, foggy, or off—this episode is your “aha” moment. We’re unpacking the probiotic myths that keep women confused and constipated (literally). From CFUs and strains to fermented foods and soil-based organisms, I’ll help you figure out what your gut actually needs. 🦠

🔍 Science Note: Most probiotic strains don’t colonize the gut long term—they pass through and help while they’re there.

We’ll also dive into:

• Common probiotic mistakes

• The role of prebiotics

• How to rotate strains and rewild your microbiome

• Why your body isn’t broken—just overwhelmed

💬 “Your gut is a garden. Don’t just throw in seeds—tend it.”

👉 Listen in, then share it with a friend who’s overwhelmed in the supplement aisle!

RESOURCES:

🎙️30 | Astonishing Inflammatory Foods that are Actually Fueling Your Pain

📕Post-Antibiotic Gut Mucosal Microbiome Reconstitution Is Impaired by Probiotics and Improved by Autologous FMT

📕Probiotics: Mechanisms of Action and Clinical Applications

📕Saccharomyces boulardii CNCM I‑745: from quality to efficacy

📕Dietary fiber and prebiotics and the gastrointestinal microbiota

📕Microbiota Modulate Behavioral and Physiological Abnormalities Associated with Neurodevelopmental Disorders

WHERE TO FIND ME:

📌 Note: I’m just a girl with a wild story and a passion for sharing what has helped me feel my best during difficult times. I share personal experience, documented research, and a whole lot of heart. Always talk to a professional when making changes to your health routine.

Digestive Enzymes: Powerful Natural Solutions for Bloating & Gas You'll Love

🖥️Digestive Enzyme Supplementation in Gastrointestinal Diseases

PRODUCTS MENTIONED:

🪴Enzymedica – Digest Gold | Best for: Overall digestion + post-meal support

🪴Pure Encapsulations – Digestive Enzymes Ultra | Best for: Sensitive systems, simple + pure formula

🪴Designs for Health – Digestzymes  | Best for: Supporting low stomach acid + broad enzyme support

🪴Bioptimizers – MassZymes | Best for: High-protein eaters, athletes, or anyone on a healing protocol

🪴Seeking Health – Digestive Enzymes Chewable | Best for: Those who hate swallowing pills

WHERE TO FIND ME:

📌 Note: I’m just a girl with a wild story and a passion for sharing what has helped me feel my best during difficult times. I share personal experience, documented research, and a whole lot of heart. Always talk to a professional when making changes to your health routine.

36 | Amazing Healing Beyond the Pill Bottle: My Journey to Natural Recovery

I spent years popping pills like clockwork — thinking it was the only way to survive. But it wasn’t healing… it was barely coping.

In this episode, I open up about what it looked like to live stuck in the cycle of prescriptions — and what finally helped me break free. It wasn’t overnight. It wasn’t easy. And it wasn’t without grief.

But it led me to something more whole, more holy.

🌿 In this episode, you’ll hear:

What it felt like to rely on medications for survival

The turning point that woke me up

How I gently shifted toward natural recovery

God designed your body to heal. You don’t have to stay stuck.

If you’ve ever felt stuck in the medical loop, overmedicated, or exhausted from trying all the things with no relief — you’re not alone.

💛 Share this episode with a friend who’s wondering if there’s a better way.

🔗 RESOURCES:

🎙️05 | Hidden Power of Nature: Growing Interest Around Essential Oils is Encouraging

🎙️30 | Astonishing Inflammatory Foods Fueling Your Pain

🎙️31 | Powerful Anti-Inflammatory Foods You Want that Heal your Body Naturally

📔NIH Nutrient Decline

📔Mayo Clinic Metabolic Syndrome

📔Our Prescription Drugs Kill Us in Large Numbers

📔Prevalence and Variability in Medications Contributing to Polypharmacy in Long-Term Care Facilities

WHERE TO FIND ME:

📌 Note: I’m just a girl with a wild story and a passion for sharing what has helped me feel my best during difficult times. I share personal experience, documented research, and a whole lot of heart. Always talk to a professional when making changes to your health routine.

natural recovery, healing without prescriptions, holistic health, chronic illness, chronic pain support, faith-based healing, ancestral healing, detox journey, pill-free life, healing naturally, functional wellness, spirit-led healing, body mind spirit healing, overcoming dependency, slow medicine