Nutrition with Judy | Holistic Health | Carnivore

Get personalized root-cause care with Empower Functional Health.
Learn more at empowerfunctionalhealth.com
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Why do some people remain chronically ill even after treating Lyme disease, mold exposure, or Long COVID? Dr. Richard Horowitz joins me to break down his 16-point MSIDS model and the overlapping factors he looks for in complex chronic illness, including Lyme and Bartonella, Babesia, mold and mycotoxins, mast cell activation (MCAS), gut dysfunction, POTS, mitochondrial dysfunction, immune dysregulation, and nervous system health.

We also get into some of the most provocative areas of his recent work: Alzheimer’s disease and p-tau217, his dapsone protocols for persistent Lyme and Bartonella, why some patients struggle with treatment, how he decides what to address first, and what may determine why one person recovers after an infection while another develops chronic illness. Dr. Horowitz also explains why looking beyond a single diagnosis may change how we think about Long COVID, chronic Lyme disease, mold illness, brain health, and recovery.

We discuss the following:

• The 16-point MSIDS model and episode preview
• Lyme, mold, MCAS, Long COVID: what do you treat first?
• How long does meaningful healing actually take?
• Long COVID, mast cells, Lyme, Bartonella, and mold
• Why Bartonella can be so difficult to identify and treat
• What to do when your doctor isn’t looking at the full picture
• Alzheimer’s disease, Lyme, and the p-tau217 case study
• The surprising dementia statistic Dr. Horowitz discusses
• Dapsone, inflammation, and Alzheimer’s research
• What if you can’t tolerate the dapsone protocol?
• Herbal protocols, biofilms, and persistent Lyme
• Dr. Horowitz’s approach to mold and mycotoxins
• Why chronic illness requires a different framework
• What happens when the infection is gone but the body still feels unsafe?
• Stress, mast cells, histamine, and the mind-body connection
• Why do some people develop chronic Lyme or Long COVID while others don’t?
• The philosophy that shaped Dr. Horowitz’s approach to medicine
• Final message for people struggling with chronic illness

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EPISODE RESOURCES

• Work with us one-on-one
• Ending Chronic Illness: A Revolutionary New Program to Reverse Inflammation and Heal Persistent Disease 
• Medical Detective Substack
• 16-Point MSIDS Model Explained
• Dr. Richard Horowitz Website
• Dr. Richard Horowitz Facebook
• Dr. Richard Horowitz Instagram
• Can Carnivore Heal Chronic Lyme? – Understanding Chronic Lyme Symptoms - Interview with Dr. Richard Horowitz

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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

📫 Tips and Weekly Updates

JUDY CHO RESOURCES

⛑️ Work with Us

🎙️ Podcast

📕 Inflammation Fix Book

📘 Carnivore Cure Book & Elimination Diet

📚 Articles

🎁 Free Resources

📗 Complete Carnivore Diet for Beginners

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*DISCLAIMER: This content is for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. It should not replace professional medical advice.

If you want to try GTA-Forte II, you can get a discount here: https://www.nutritionwithjudy.com/podcasts/

Get personalized root-cause care with Empower Functional Health.
Learn more at empowerfunctionalhealth.com
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What if the way you’re approaching chronic illness is making your life smaller while you’re trying to get better? In this episode, Judy Cho explores the connection between chronic illness, nervous system regulation, root-cause healing, and the tendency to postpone life until every symptom is resolved. From strict diets and supplement protocols to the constant search for the next answer, we examine how healing can gradually become the center of your identity, and why that may affect your sense of purpose, connection, and peace.

Drawing from conversations in Empower Functional Health and the Wholeness Method, Judy discusses the backwards law, the difference between pursuing healing and chasing perfect conditions, and how faith can provide perspective through difficult seasons. This conversation is for anyone navigating CIRS, mold illness, autoimmune conditions, chronic inflammation, or other long-term health challenges who feels caught between doing everything possible to recover and wanting to live again. It is not about abandoning treatment or ignoring real physical limitations; it is about asking a more difficult question: how do you continue healing without putting your entire life on hold?

• Why we keep waiting for life to get better
• Is complete symptom resolution required to live?
• The backwards law and the pursuit of happiness
• Why a good life is not the absence of struggle
• When chronic illness becomes your entire identity
• A different question to ask during chronic illness
• How two healing paths begin to separate
• Why waiting for perfect health can cost you years
• When letting go of rigidity may be part of healing

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EPISODE REFERENCES

• Our NwJ and EFH groups
• Our clinical practice
• Wholeness Method nervous system regulation
• Inflammation Fix

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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

📫 Tips and Weekly Updates

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JUDY CHO RESOURCES

⛑️ Work with Us

🎙️ Podcast

📕 Inflammation Fix Book

📘 Carnivore Cure Book & Elimination Diet

📚 Articles

🎁 Free Resources

📗 Complete Carnivore Diet for Beginners

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*DISCLAIMER: This content is for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. It should not replace professional medical advice.

Get personalized root-cause care with Empower Functional Health.
Learn more at empowerfunctionalhealth.com
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Why can mast cell symptoms, histamine reactions, brain fog, fatigue, food sensitivities, and inflammation continue even when your labs look normal or the original trigger is gone? In this episode, I break down the connection between stress, CRH, cortisol, mast cell activation, histamine, the nervous system, and chronic illness, including why mast cells can react before cortisol rises and why standard testing may not always capture what is happening in the moment. We also look at how mold exposure, infections, diet, psychological stress, and nervous system dysregulation can all feed into the same neuroimmune response.

If you have MCAS, histamine intolerance, mold illness, CIRS, chronic Lyme, food reactions, gut issues, or persistent inflammatory symptoms, this conversation may help explain why focusing on only one trigger is sometimes not enough. I also cover the feedback loop among the brain, hypothalamus, mast cells, immune mediators, and symptoms; why reactions can continue after an exposure has been removed; and what it means to address both the physical and nervous-system sides of chronic illness without dismissing either.

• Why Some People Don’t Heal Even After Doing Everything Right 
• Your Stress Response Can Start Before Cortisol 
• Your Cortisol Test Can Look Normal While Your Body Is Still Stressed 
• Why Your Body Prioritizes Survival Over Thyroid 
• Mast Cells Are Like a Smoke Alarm That Won’t Shut Off 
• Mold Exposure and Fear of Mold Can Trigger the Same Stress Pathway 
• Why Normal Mast Cell Labs Can Miss a Flare 
• Stress Can Literally Make Your Gut More Permeable 
• Why You’re Still Sick After Removing the Trigger 
• Mast Cells Aren’t the Root Cause

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EPISODE REFERENCES

• Work with us one-on-one
• Inflammation Fix
• MCAS: Why your body reacts to everything

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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

📫 Tips and Weekly Updates

_____

JUDY CHO RESOURCES

⛑️ Work with Us

🎙️ Podcast

📕 Inflammation Fix Book

📘 Carnivore Cure Book & Elimination Diet

📚 Articles

🎁 Free Resources

📗 Complete Carnivore Diet for Beginners

_____

*DISCLAIMER: This content is for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. It should not replace professional medical advice.

If you want to try GTA-Forte II, you can get a discount here: https://www.nutritionwithjudy.com/podcasts/

Get personalized root-cause care with Empower Functional Health.
Learn more at empowerfunctionalhealth.com
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Iodine supplementation remains one of the most debated topics in thyroid health. Some practitioners warn that iodine, especially higher-dose forms such as Lugol’s iodine, may trigger thyroid dysfunction, Hashimoto’s, or hyperthyroidism, while others argue that iodine deficiency is widespread and often overlooked. In this episode, Judy Cho examines the Wolff–Chaikoff effect, iodine’s role beyond the thyroid, and why iodized salt may not provide enough iodine for optimal health.

The deeper history raises an even more important question: are we blaming supplemental iodine while ignoring other exposures that may have affected thyroid health for generations? Judy explores radioactive iodine, nuclear fallout, contaminated food supplies, and the historical events that may have shaped today’s fear around iodine. She also explains why the distinction between nutritional iodine and radioactive iodine matters before deciding whether iodine is helpful or harmful.

• Is iodine dangerous for your thyroid?
• The Wolff–Chaikoff effect explained
• Iodine deficiency, bromide, fluoride, and chloride
• The forgotten history of radioactive iodine exposure
• What government research found about thyroid risk
• Radioactive iodine exposure
• Understanding the difference between supplemental iodine vs. radioactive iodine

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EPISODE REFERENCES

• Thyroid Dose and Risk Calculator for Nuclear Weapons Fallout for the US Population
• Exposure of the American People to Iodine-131 from Nevada Nuclear-Bomb Tests
• CDC Fallout Study Table of Contents
• Chapter 8 of CDC Results US Before and After exposure
• How to Take Iodine Episodes 
• Lynne Farrow Interview
• Iodine Episodes
• Free Iodine Guide 

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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
📫 Tips and Weekly Updates

JUDY CHO RESOURCES
⛑️Work with Us
🎙️ Podcast
📕 Inflammation Fix Book
📘 Carnivore Cure Book & Elimination Diet
📚 Articles
🎁 Free Resources 

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*DISCLAIMER: This content is for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. It should not replace professional medical advice.

Get personalized root-cause care with Empower Functional Health.
Learn more at empowerfunctionalhealth.com
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Dr. Judi Keller is a veterinarian who spent roughly two decades practicing conventional veterinary medicine before shifting toward a more holistic approach. After becoming increasingly uncomfortable with how heavily veterinary care could rely on pharmaceuticals and symptom management, she pursued additional training in acupuncture, herbal medicine, nutrition, and integrative care. Her work has focused on helping dogs and cats build better health through species-appropriate nutrition, reducing unnecessary exposures, and looking more carefully at the individual animal rather than automatically following a one-size-fits-all protocol.

In this conversation, we question some of the most routine decisions pet owners are asked to make and why many of us rarely stop to examine them. We discuss what may be hiding behind familiar pet-food labels, how veterinary recommendations have changed over time, and how to think more critically about nutrition, medications, vaccines, parasite prevention, testing, and other aspects of everyday pet care. This episode is not about avoiding veterinary care; it is about becoming a more informed pet owner, understanding risks and trade-offs, and asking better questions so you can make thoughtful decisions for the animal you love.

We discuss the following: 

• Dr. Judy Keller’s background
• Pet longevity versus quality of life 
• Foods dogs should never eat
• What’s really inside kibble?
• Urinary disease in cats
• Are all pet vaccines necessary?
• Potential risks of vaccination
• Rethinking heartworm prevention
• Flea prevention without routine medication
• Rethinking spaying and neutering
• Why fresh food isn’t considered 
• Why working dogs choose meat 
• When bloody diarrhea needs care 

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EPISODE RESOURCES

• Holistic Dog and Pet Wellness Article

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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

📫 Tips and Weekly Updates

JUDY CHO RESOURCES

⛑️ Work with Us

🎙️ Podcast

📕 Inflammation Fix Book

📘 Carnivore Cure Book & Elimination Diet

📚 Articles

🎁 Free Resources

📗 Complete Carnivore Diet for Beginners

_____

*DISCLAIMER: This content is for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. It should not replace professional medical advice.

If you want to try GTA-Forte II, you can get a discount here: https://www.nutritionwithjudy.com/podcasts/

Get personalized root-cause care with Empower Functional Health.
Learn more at empowerfunctionalhealth.com
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Can a carnivore diet actually be healthy long term? It’s one of the biggest questions around carnivore, especially when the conversation turns to nutrient deficiencies, vitamin C, magnesium and potassium, fiber, gut health, the microbiome, and whether an all-meat diet is simply too restrictive to sustain. In this 400th episode of the Nutrition with Judy podcast, I break down four of the most common concerns about eating carnivore long term and look at what deserves a closer examination.

We also get into what the nutrition research can and cannot tell us about long-term dietary safety, how nutrient variety differs from nutrient sufficiency, questions around fiber and digestive health, and what actually matters when evaluating whether a diet is working for an individual. If you follow a carnivore diet, are considering one, or are questioning whether carnivore can be sustainable for years, this episode walks through the arguments that deserve more nuance.

• Concern 1: Is carnivore too restrictive?
• Concern 2: Nutrient deficiencies and food variety
• Concern 3: Fiber and gut health
• Concern 4: Long-term carnivore research
• What to consider for long-term carnivore

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EPISODE REFERENCES

• Slides from episode
• Work with us one-on-one
• Inflammation Fix

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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

📫 Tips and Weekly Updates

JUDY CHO RESOURCES

⛑️ Work with Us

🎙️ Podcast

📕 Inflammation Fix Book

📘 Carnivore Cure Book & Elimination Diet

📚 Articles

🎁 Free Resources

📗 Complete Carnivore Diet for Beginners

_____

*DISCLAIMER: This content is for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. It should not replace professional medical advice.

If you want to try GTA-Forte II, you can get a discount here: https://www.nutritionwithjudy.com/podcasts/

Get personalized root-cause care with Empower Functional Health.
Learn more at empowerfunctionalhealth.com
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Robert Sikes put the viral sardine fast to a controlled test: five days of eating approximately 18 cans of sardines per day while maintaining roughly 3,000 calories. In this interview, Judy Cho and Robert examine what happened to his weight, blood glucose, ketones, energy, inflammation, hunger, and overall performance—and why his experience differed from the dramatic weight-loss results commonly shared across the keto and carnivore communities.

They also review Robert’s bloodwork before, immediately after, and several weeks after the sardine challenge, including arsenic, mercury, lead, cholesterol, thyroid markers, and SHBG. The conversation explores whether sardine fasting produces unique metabolic benefits, what may actually drive the rapid changes people report, and how extreme short-term diets can affect metabolic health, binge-restriction patterns, and long-term weight-loss success.

We discuss the following: 

• Sardine challenge preview
• Why Robert tested sardine fasting
• Eating 18 sardine cans daily
• Glucose rose while ketones dropped
• Why people do sardine fast
• Restriction, bingeing, and quick fixes
• Heavy metals after sardine challenge
• The appeal of extreme fasting 
• Should people fear mercury in sardines? 

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EPISODE RESOURCES

• Keto Savage Website
• Keto Savage Youtube
• Ketogenic Bodybuilding
• Savage Perspective Podcast
• Keto Brick

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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

📫 Tips and Weekly Updates

JUDY CHO RESOURCES

⛑️ Work with Us

🎙️ Podcast

📕 Inflammation Fix Book

📘 Carnivore Cure Book & Elimination Diet

📚 Articles

🎁 Free Resources

📗 Complete Carnivore Diet for Beginners

_____

*DISCLAIMER: This content is for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. It should not replace professional medical advice.

If you want to try GTA-Forte II, you can get a discount here: https://www.nutritionwithjudy.com/podcasts/

**Our final Wholeness Method cohort of 2026 is open now.**

Can you follow a carnivore diet, improve your environment, take the right supplements, and still feel stuck in chronic illness? Judy Cho sits down with licensed clinical social worker and Wholeness Method practitioner Lauren Cogan to examine nervous system dysregulation, trauma responses, anxiety, people-pleasing, boundaries, CIRS, mold illness, and the mind-body patterns that can remain after the physical foundations are addressed.

This conversation explores why some behaviors that appear to be personality may actually be protective responses, why understanding a pattern is different from changing it, and how chronic illness can alter the way someone interprets every new healing strategy. This is not an argument against carnivore or functional medicine. It examines the additional layer that may matter when diet, sleep, lifestyle, and protocols have helped, but the body still does not feel safe. 

• How trauma and anxiety show up in the body
• When anxiety can look like ADHD
• Talk therapy, somatic work, and nervous system healing
• How childhood shapes the stress response
• When a trauma response feels like personality
• A chronic illness transformation story
• Why saying no can trigger fight or flight
• The crash that can happen before a health issue

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EPISODE REFERENCES

• Wholeness Method Cohort
• Wholeness Method Resources

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

📫 Tips and Weekly Updates

JUDY CHO RESOURCES

⛑️ Work with Us

🎙️ Podcast

📕 Inflammation Fix Book

📘 Carnivore Cure Book & Elimination Diet

📚 Articles

🎁 Free Resources

📗 Complete Carnivore Diet for Beginners

_____

*DISCLAIMER: This content is for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. It should not replace professional medical advice.

If you want to try GTA-Forte II, you can get a discount here: https://www.nutritionwithjudy.com/podcasts/

Get personalized root-cause care with Empower Functional Health.
Learn more at empowerfunctionalhealth.com
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Can eating more fat stall weight loss, even on a zero-carb carnivore diet? In this episode, Judy Cho sits down with Craig Emmerich to examine why some people lose weight effortlessly on carnivore or keto while others gain weight, struggle with hunger, or see their metabolic health worsen. They discuss dietary fat, protein intake, calories, leptin resistance, muscle loss, fasting, thyroid function, hormones, and why postmenopausal women may respond differently than men.

The conversation also moves beyond macros into the limits of diet itself. Craig shares what years of strict carnivore could and could not resolve in his own experience with Lyme disease, mold illness, CIRS, inflammation, and chronic pain. This episode challenges several popular carnivore claims while offering a more individualized framework for weight loss, body composition, metabolic health, and long-term healing.

We discuss the following: 

• The fat debate
• The Randall effect
• Fat gain without carbs?
• Stress, cortisol, and obesity
• Fat threshold explained
• Practical protein and fat targets
• Leaner carnivore satiety
• Nutrition misinformation online
• Adjusting fat intake
• Why carnivore harder isn't the answer
• Why some people leave carnivore
• Where to start for complex cases 

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EPISODE RESOURCES

• Why Diet Alone May not be Enough - Lyme, CIRS and Autoimmune Interview with Craig Emmerich
• Keto Maria Website
• The Art of Metabolic Health Book

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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

📫 Tips and Weekly Updates

JUDY CHO RESOURCES

⛑️ Work with Us

🎙️ Podcast

📕 Inflammation Fix Book

📘 Carnivore Cure Book & Elimination Diet

📚 Articles

🎁 Free Resources

📗 Complete Carnivore Diet for Beginners

_____

*DISCLAIMER: This content is for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. It should not replace professional medical advice.

If you want to try GTA-Forte II, you can get a discount here: https://www.nutritionwithjudy.com/podcasts/

Get personalized root-cause care with Empower Functional Health.
Learn more at empowerfunctionalhealth.com
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Heart surgeon Dr. Philip Ovadia joins Judy Cho to discuss what may actually drive heart disease beyond a single focus on LDL cholesterol. Drawing from 25 years in cardiac surgery and more than 3,400 operations, he explains why insulin resistance, inflammation, metabolic dysfunction, diet, and vascular damage deserve more attention in heart disease prevention.

The conversation also examines statins, coronary artery calcium scans, CT angiograms, seed oils, processed carbohydrates, red meat, vegan diets, gut health, and nutrient absorption. Dr. Ovadia shares how becoming obese and prediabetic changed his own understanding of metabolic health, and why he now focuses on helping patients avoid the operating table.

We discuss the following: 

• Dr. Ovadia’s lessons from 3,400 heart surgeries
• Why cholesterol isn't the root cause
• Pharmaceutical and food industry influence
• How diet guidelines failed patients
• Dr. Ovadia's personal health transformation
• Seed oils vs processed carbohydrates
• Early warning signs of heart disease
• Coronary calcium scan and CT angiogram
• What a heart surgeon eats for breakfast
• Dr. Ovadia’s new book
• Can vegans have optimal health?
• When diet alone isn't enough

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EPISODE RESOURCES

• Nutritionist's Guide to the Carnivore Diet
• Dr. Philip Ovadia's Website
• Dr. Philip Ovadia's Instagram
• Stay Off My Kitchen Table Book
• Stay Off My Operating Table (First Book)

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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

📫 Tips and Weekly Updates

JUDY CHO RESOURCES

⛑️ Work with Us

🎙️ Podcast

📕 Inflammation Fix Book

📘 Carnivore Cure Book & Elimination Diet

📚 Articles

🎁 Free Resources

📗 Complete Carnivore Diet for Beginners

_____

*DISCLAIMER: This content is for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. It should not replace professional medical advice.

If you want to try GTA-Forte II, you can get a discount here: https://www.nutritionwithjudy.com/podcasts/