Rewilded Wellness

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What if the culinary herbs sitting in your spice cabinet—or growing right outside your door—deserve a much bigger place in your diet?

Oregano, rosemary, thyme, sage, basil, and mint are so much more than flavorings. These aromatic plants contain an extraordinary diversity of phytochemicals, including polyphenols that interact with our gut microbiome and influence important physiological processes.

In this episode of Rewilded Wellness, I'm introducing my new monthly Food as Medicine series with a conversation about the nutritional value of culinary herbs, traditional herbal knowledge, and what we've lost as our relationship with food has become increasingly disconnected from the natural world.

We'll explore how selective breeding has changed the nutritional characteristics of many familiar foods, why culinary herbs remain such an interesting source of plant compounds, and how growing even a few herbs can make eating more seasonally, affordably, and abundantly feel surprisingly accessible.

I'm also sharing how I use fresh and dried herbs throughout the seasons, from generous handfuls of summer basil and parsley to thyme in homemade bone broth, soups, stews, and traditional herbal teas.

This conversation is an invitation to get curious about what's growing around you, experiment more freely in your kitchen, and rediscover the everyday knowledge of plants that was once passed between generations.

Books mentioned:

• Eating on the Wild Side: The Missing Link to Optimum Health — Jo Robinson
• A New Path — Arthur Haines

I'd love to hear from you! Whether you're exploring herbalism, growing your own food, or finding your way toward a more nourishing relationship with nature, use the first link below to send me a text directly.

Looking for more personalized support? Inside my four- and eight-month Minerals & Microbes programs, we explore your individual mineral patterns, gut microbiome, nutrition, and the many factors influencing your body's terrain.

Learn more: https://www.lydiajoy.me

Support the show

• Work with me 1:1 — Minerals & Microbes   HERE
• Mineral Foundations Course HERE
• My Favorite Minerals HERE
• Join my newsletter HERE 

If you are interested in becoming a client and have questions, reach out by emailing me: [email protected]  

Find me on Instagram : @ Lydiajoy.me 

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Heavy periods, difficult PMS, unpredictable perimenopause, or digestive symptoms that change throughout your menstrual cycle? If you've been hearing about estrogen dominance, estrogen detox, or the need to "clear excess estrogen," how do you know whether any of that actually applies to you?

In this episode of the Rewilded Wellness Terrain Map series, we're exploring the estrobolome, the collection of gut microbial functions involved in estrogen metabolism.

I'll explain how the gut and liver work together, why certain estrogens can be recycled through the intestines, and what we're learning about the relationship between gut health, the microbiome, and hormonal physiology.

We'll also examine some popular claims about foods that supposedly help clear estrogen, including apples and raw carrots, and explore the difference between understanding a biochemical mechanism and knowing whether it's relevant to your body.

My goal is to help you think more critically about hormone health, recognize meaningful patterns in your own physiology, and understand where to focus your attention without adding more unnecessary rules or protocols.

Ready to better understand your own terrain?

Explore Minerals & Microbes, my four-month, one-on-one mentorship: https://www.lydiajoy.me

Support the show

• Work with me 1:1 — Minerals & Microbes   HERE
• Mineral Foundations Course HERE
• My Favorite Minerals HERE
• Join my newsletter HERE 

If you are interested in becoming a client and have questions, reach out by emailing me: [email protected]  

Find me on Instagram : @ Lydiajoy.me 

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You've changed your diet, invested in supplements and functional health testing, worked with practitioners, and learned an enormous amount about supporting your health. But what happens when you're still dealing with unpredictable symptoms, inconsistent energy, or difficulty recovering—and you're no longer sure what deserves your attention next?

In this episode of Rewilded Wellness, we're exploring why sustainable health recovery requires more than individual protocols, isolated interventions, or another collection of healthy habits.

Through the lens of Scorpio season and the changing rhythms of autumn, I explore three interconnected dimensions of health integration:

• Ecological integration: How light, circadian rhythms, environmental conditions, and everyday demands influence our physiology.
• Personal integration: How our motivations, expectations, and patterns of behavior influence the way we participate in our own healing process.
• Physiological integration: How mineral relationships, microbial ecology, stress adaptation, and interconnected body systems inform individualized priorities.

We'll also explore why two women experiencing similar symptoms may need very different approaches, why testing alone cannot tell the whole story, and how longitudinal observation helps us make more informed decisions about health recovery.

The goal isn't to become endlessly better at managing symptoms. It's to build greater resilience, stability, and capacity for the life you want to live.

Related episode: How Shorter Days Affect Sleep, Energy, and Circadian Rhythm

Explore Minerals & Microbes: My four-month functional nutrition mentorship combining mineral and microbiome assessment with individualized guidance and ongoing support.

Support the show

• Work with me 1:1 — Minerals & Microbes   HERE
• Mineral Foundations Course HERE
• My Favorite Minerals HERE
• Join my newsletter HERE 

If you are interested in becoming a client and have questions, reach out by emailing me: [email protected]  

Find me on Instagram : @ Lydiajoy.me 

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Maybe you can get through your day, but everything feels harder than it should. Your brain feels foggy. You’re more reactive. Your stress threshold is lower. You don’t sleep as well, or you just don’t quite feel like yourself.

In this episode, I’m looking at one piece of that larger picture: your psychobiome — the part of your gut ecosystem involved in the ongoing conversation between your gut, brain, immune system, and nervous system.

I’ll walk through how gut ecology, barrier health, immune signaling, GABA, and glutathione can all shape the biological environment your brain is operating inside — and why improving your terrain can sometimes influence much more than digestion.

If you recognize yourself in this episode and want help making sense of what may be contributing to how you feel, you can learn more about working with me 1:1 inside Minerals & Microbes below.

Support the show

• Work with me 1:1 — Minerals & Microbes   HERE
• Mineral Foundations Course HERE
• My Favorite Minerals HERE
• Join my newsletter HERE 

If you are interested in becoming a client and have questions, reach out by emailing me: [email protected]  

Find me on Instagram : @ Lydiajoy.me 

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Every fall, the conversation about immune health ramps back up.

Vitamin C. Vitamin D. Zinc. Elderberry. Medicinal mushrooms. What should I take? How do I “boost” my immune system?

But what if the bigger issue isn’t that your immune system needs more stimulation?

What if it is already spending too much energy responding to background signals underneath the surface?

In this episode of Rewilded Wellness, I’m talking about one of those signals: endotoxin, or LPS (lipopolysaccharide), and the role your gut ecosystem, intestinal barrier, motility, stress physiology, and microbial activity can play in keeping the immune system chronically activated.

We’ll talk about why endotoxin itself is not automatically a problem, what happens when it moves out of the gut and into circulation, and why this kind of low-grade immune signaling may show up in ways that do not necessarily look like obvious “inflammation.”

You may recognize it as:

• feeling like your nervous system never fully settles
• getting sick and taking longer to bounce back
• lower tolerance for stress, poor sleep, or busy weeks
• increasing food or histamine reactivity
• brain fog, mood changes, or feeling more easily overwhelmed
• a shrinking food list
• sluggish digestion or motility
• feeling functional on the outside while your body is working much harder underneath

I also get into the mast cell and histamine connection, why not all endotoxins behave the same way, and why simply binding endotoxins or calming inflammation does not necessarily change the gut environment generating the problem.

The bigger question is not just, “How do I boost my immune system?”

It is:

How much is my immune system already being asked to manage before anything “goes around”?

Because sometimes what looks like an immune system that needs more stimulation is actually a body that needs less background load, better regulation, and more reserve.

This episode is part of my ongoing Terrain Map series, where I’m mapping the relationships between minerals, microbes, digestion, nervous system regulation, immune function, and the lived experience of chronic health patterns.

If you recognize yourself in this conversation and want help understanding what your system is already carrying, you can learn more about working with me inside Minerals & Microbes through the link below.

Support the show

• Work with me 1:1 — Minerals & Microbes   HERE
• Mineral Foundations Course HERE
• My Favorite Minerals HERE
• Join my newsletter HERE 

If you are interested in becoming a client and have questions, reach out by emailing me: [email protected]  

Find me on Instagram : @ Lydiajoy.me 

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If fiber is supposed to be so good for your gut, why can eating more of it leave you bloated, gassy, constipated, or in pain?

In this episode of Rewilded Wellness, I’m digging into why “eat more fiber” is far too simplistic when your gut is already reactive.

We’ll talk about the different kinds of fibers found in real foods, why different fibers feed different parts of the microbial community, and why eating more plant variety can be so valuable for gut health.

But knowing fiber is good for you does not tell us how much your particular gut can comfortably handle right now.

Dysbiosis, slow motility, impaired digestion, stress, the amount of fermentable food you’re eating, and your current microbial environment can all influence how fiber lands in your body.

And if beans, grains, onions, garlic, vegetables, resistant starch, or other fiber-rich foods make you feel worse, the answer isn’t necessarily to force more in — or avoid them forever.

I’ll share how I think about gradually building greater tolerance and food variety over time, including why I sometimes “microdose” fiber, why stacking too many fermentable foods at once can backfire, and why being able to comfortably eat a wider range of foods can be an important sign of greater gut resilience.

In this episode:

• Why fiber can make you feel worse even when it’s good for your gut
• Resistant starch, inulin, beta-glucans, pectin, cellulose and other functional fibers
• How different fibers feed different gut microbes
• Why dysbiosis, motility and digestion affect fiber tolerance
• Why one person can eat lentils with no problem while another feels miserable
• How to increase fiber and plant variety without overwhelming a reactive gut
• Why “microdosing” fiber can sometimes help you build tolerance
• How to think about gut healing as increasing capacity, not simply avoiding more foods

If you’re dealing with chronic, overlapping health issues and digestion is part of the picture, you can learn more about working with me inside Minerals & Microbes through the link below.

Support the show

• Work with me 1:1 — Minerals & Microbes   HERE
• Mineral Foundations Course HERE
• My Favorite Minerals HERE
• Join my newsletter HERE 

If you are interested in becoming a client and have questions, reach out by emailing me: [email protected]  

Find me on Instagram : @ Lydiajoy.me 

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You’re eating real food. You’ve cleaned up your diet. You’re trying to get enough protein, include healthy fats, eat more fiber, support your blood sugar, and make choices that are supposed to help you feel better.

So why does eating still feel so uncomfortable?

Why the bloating, pressure, fullness, slow or incomplete bowel movements, or that feeling that every meal has become a negotiation with your body?

In this episode of the Rewilded Wellness podcast, I’m continuing my Terrain Map series by taking you deeper into what happens to food after you eat it — specifically, what your microbial ecosystem is doing with whatever eventually reaches your colon.

We’ll look at two important patterns I pay attention to on BiomeFX:

• Saccharolytic fermentation — the microbial breakdown of carbohydrates and fibers
• Proteolytic fermentation — the microbial breakdown of proteins and amino acids

We’ll talk about short-chain fatty acids like butyrate, acetate and propionate, what happens when proteolytic activity becomes excessive, why slow transit can shift the fermentation environment, and how factors like low fiber intake, high protein intake, dysbiosis, reduced microbial diversity, low stomach acid, incomplete digestion and poor bowel flow can all influence what happens downstream.

I also explain why elevated proteolytic fermentation can become so physically uncomfortable — including bloating, abdominal pressure, distension and irritation to the gut environment — and how this connects with the broader terrain, including Gram-negative organisms, LPS/endotoxin burden and gut barrier integrity.

Most importantly, this episode is not about giving you another list of foods to remove.

It’s about understanding why a perfectly normal meal can become such a complicated physiological event — and why the goal of gut work should be to improve your capacity to digest, absorb, move food through, support a resilient microbial ecosystem and keep as many nourishing foods on the table as possible.

If you’re already eating well but still feel like your body is struggling with food, this episode may help you locate yourself on the map.

I’m currently accepting new clients inside Minerals & Microbes. 

Next episode: functional fibers, seasonal foods and how to feed your microbiome through the fall.

Support the show

• Work with me 1:1 — Minerals & Microbes   HERE
• Mineral Foundations Course HERE
• My Favorite Minerals HERE
• Join my newsletter HERE 

If you are interested in becoming a client and have questions, reach out by emailing me: [email protected]  

Find me on Instagram : @ Lydiajoy.me 

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We’ve crossed the fall equinox, but that doesn’t mean we’ve landed somewhere stable. Early fall is a transition—and our bodies are responding to changing conditions whether we’re consciously paying attention or not.

In this episode of Rewilded Wellness, I’m exploring what seasonal adaptation actually looks like in the body. We’ll look at how cooler temperatures can change fluid and electrolyte demands, why the kidneys are such a useful example of dynamic balance, and how shorter days and changing light influence circadian rhythms, sleep, appetite, and metabolism.

I also get practical about what this can look like in everyday life. How might your hydration and mineral needs in October differ from July? What happens when the days get shorter but most of your waking hours are spent under artificial light? And how can you start noticing whether the practices that supported you in one season still fit the conditions you’re living in now?

This isn’t about creating another fall wellness protocol. It’s about learning to tend the same foundations—light, sleep, hydration, minerals, movement—in a more responsive way.

Because balance isn’t a setting we reach. It’s something our bodies are continually negotiating.

I’ll also share what my garden is showing me about this transition, how season can add context to the way we interpret testing, and where we’re headed next as I return to The Terrain Map, my ongoing series exploring the deeper physiology underneath the patterns I see in my work.

If you’ve accumulated tests, supplements, and health information but still aren’t sure what matters for your body right now, I currently have four October openings for Minerals & Microbes.

Support the show

• Work with me 1:1 — Minerals & Microbes   HERE
• Mineral Foundations Course HERE
• My Favorite Minerals HERE
• Join my newsletter HERE 

If you are interested in becoming a client and have questions, reach out by emailing me: [email protected]  

Find me on Instagram : @ Lydiajoy.me 

👉 Did this episode resonate? Text me — I actually read these.

I’m coming back to the podcast on the fall equinox after an unplanned summer break, and it feels fitting that the thing bringing me back is my garden.

This year I set out to grow as much of my household’s produce as I reasonably could. I researched the hell out of it. I planned, planted, experimented, adjusted—and now, at the end of the growing season, I know things about this garden that I simply could not have learned from research alone.

I had to grow it.

And I’ve been thinking about how much that resembles the way we approach our health.

We can gather an incredible amount of information about our bodies. We can research, run blood work, do an HTMA, test the microbiome, track symptoms, read books, listen to podcasts and learn all kinds of useful things.

But eventually, information has to meet real life.

In this episode, I’m exploring the space between knowing something and actually living with what you know—making a thoughtful next move, giving your body enough time to respond, and allowing that experience to become part of the information you use going forward.

I’m also talking about something I call Ready. Aim. Fire. Hold. That last piece matters. Sometimes we don’t need to immediately gather more information or reach for the next intervention. Sometimes we need enough consistency and attention to find out what happens when we actually live what we’ve already learned.

As we move from Virgo season, across the fall equinox and into Libra, this feels like a natural time to take stock:

What have I actually learned from living in my body?

What consistently supports me?

What have I learned about my sleep, digestion, energy and capacity?

And has what I’ve learned changed what I do next?

I also share how this has shaped the way I work with clients inside Minerals & Microbes—because the lab results aren’t the work. The work is what happens next.

If you’re looking for support making sense of your own patterns and turning information into something you can actually live, you’ll find more about Minerals & Microbes below

Support the show

• Work with me 1:1 — Minerals & Microbes   HERE
• Mineral Foundations Course HERE
• My Favorite Minerals HERE
• Join my newsletter HERE 

If you are interested in becoming a client and have questions, reach out by emailing me: [email protected]  

Find me on Instagram : @ Lydiajoy.me 

👉 Did this episode resonate? Text me — I actually read these.

If you're dealing with chronic health symptoms and trying to figure out what to work on first, more health information doesn't always make the path clearer.

Between functional testing, gut health, hormones, minerals, blood sugar, nervous system work, nutrition, movement and supplements, it's entirely possible for many things to matter at the same time.

But when everything matters, what comes first?

In this episode, I'm exploring something I've been thinking about deeply after a year of working with clients in a much more intimate, longitudinal way:

Information is not hierarchy. And data is not discernment.

Something being true about your physiology doesn't automatically make it today's project.

A functional lab test can reveal dozens of things worth paying attention to. Symptoms can give us important information. An HTMA can show us mineral patterns. Microbiome testing can reveal what's happening within the gut ecosystem. Bloodwork, genetics and hormone testing can add still more pieces to the picture.

But collecting more health information doesn't automatically tell us what is significant, what's foundational, what may be downstream of something else, what can wait—or what your body actually has the capacity to work with right now.

That's where discernment and an order of operations become part of the healing process.

I talk about what I mean by taking a Rewilded approach to chronic health, and why sophisticated testing, supplements and targeted interventions can absolutely have a place without becoming the entire point of the work.

I'm also sharing what a year of weekly client check-ins has taught me about watching people rebuild their health inside their actual lives: why sometimes we intervene, sometimes we pause, sometimes we adjust, and sometimes the most appropriate response is simply to keep going.

We explore adaptation versus compensation, healing capacity, resilience, functional testing, health overwhelm, and why healing often happens in layers rather than according to a perfectly linear protocol.

And I come back to one of the foundational ideas underneath my work:

You can only go as fast as the slowest part of you wants to go.

Honoring your current capacity doesn't mean accepting that it will always be your capacity.

We work from where you actually are—and build from there.

If you've spent years trying to piece together your gut health, hormones, mineral balance, nutrition, chronic symptoms or functional lab results and you're sitting on a mountain of information but still aren't sure how to turn it into a coherent path forward, this episode is for you.

They can all be true. But they cannot all be first.

Related Episode

Last week's episode lays the foundation for this conversation through HTMA, mineral balancing, patterns and mineral ecology:

What Does Your Body Need Now? — Minerals, Patterns + Ecology

Support the show

• Work with me 1:1 — Minerals & Microbes   HERE
• Mineral Foundations Course HERE
• My Favorite Minerals HERE
• Join my newsletter HERE 

If you are interested in becoming a client and have questions, reach out by emailing me: [email protected]  

Find me on Instagram : @ Lydiajoy.me