Dr. Julie Fratantoni is a cognitive neuroscientist who specializes in making neuroscience approachable and creating tools that help people become proactive about their brain health.

 

She leads the user experience and content creation for The BrainHealth Project™ – a 10-year, longitudinal research study seeking to define, measure, and improve brain health and performance across the lifespan. She leverages behavioral science for the development of the online BrainHealth dashboard and mobile app where participants access assessments (BrainHealth Index), coaching, and training.

 

Dr. Fratantoni also leads the Center’s Kindness Enterprise, a research and translational program seeking to uncover wand harness the brain’s capacity for kindness, empathy and compassion as critical components of overall brain health and well-being.

 

Because we live in a world of constant activity and attempted multitasking, keeping your brain sharp is more important than ever. In this episode we discuss keys to maintaining a healthy brain in the new year and beyond.

Key Topics:

- Dr. Fratantoni’s journey in the field of neuroscience

- How to manage the modern era of information overload and what it does to the brain

- How to get more focus by reducing common brain stressors

- How kindness, empathy, and compassion change the brain

- Best food for brain health

- Easy action steps to prevent cognitive decline

- The importance of cognitive challenge

Learn more about Dr. Frantantoni’s work at drjuliefratantoni.com and Instagram at @drjuliefratantoni

Join the Great Brain challenge from The Center for Brain Health here:

https://centerforbrainhealth.org/great-brain-gain

Download Erin’s mental health toolkit here:

https://mailchi.mp/70a7b1d81de4/mental-health-toolkit

Former two-time guest Andrea Jones and Erin Kerry join forces to get real about how trauma symptoms impacted their life in the past year.

They talk about how these symptoms impacted them physically, mentally, and spiritually, because of course - we are designed as very interconnected humans and you can’t bump one part without impacting another.

If you are experiencing mental or physiological dysregulation, or maybe even a block in your spiritual walk with the Lord, this may be a great way for you to consider how stored trauma may be playing a role.

Key Topics:

- The importance of distinguishing between trauma, PTSD, and CPTSD

- The different triggers that caused re-emerging trauma symptoms for Erin and Andrea

- The physical symptoms of a trauma response

- The mental symptoms of a trauma response

- How trauma can put up a block in spiritual health

- Practical tools to support a dysregulated nervous system, from neurofeedback to supplements to exercise and sleep

Learn more about Andrea and work with her at abundantwellnesswithandrea.com or follow her at @abundantwellnesswithandrea on Instagram.

Sign up for Erin’s monthly tips and meal plans here:

https://mailchi.mp/adde1b3a4af3/monthlysparksignup

Heather Creekmore writes and speaks hope to thousands of women each week, inspiring them to stop comparing and start living. The host of the internationally popular Compared to Who? podcast, she has been featured on Fox News, Huff Post, Morning Dose, Church Leaders, and For Every Mom, along with dozens of other shows and podcasts. She was a contestant on Nailed It, the hit Netflix bake fails show. Heather and her Marine-fighter-pilot-turned-pastor husband, Eric, have four children and live in Austin, Texas.

Heather’s new book, The 40 Day Body Image Workbook is available now. This episode features all the nuances between wanting to take care of your body without obsessing too much and getting caught in diet mindset.

Key topics:

- How to have a better body image focus in the new year

- How diet culture negatively impacts your relationship with your body

- How focusing on your body causes self-objectification

- How diet culture negatively impacts your relationship with God

- How God views your eating habits

Learn more about Heather and work with her at improvebodyimage.com. Find her books wherever books are sold!

Grab Erin’s FREE Mental Health Toolkit now:

https://mailchi.mp/70a7b1d81de4/mental-health-toolkit

By popular demand, this episode replay features host Erin Kerry sharing her mental health journey. It will inspire listeners to become their own mental health advocates and continue digging for root cause solutions.

While she was diagnosed with three different mental health conditions by the age of 18, she now lives symptom-free. *The original episode aired in spring of 2022, so some date ranges may not be completely accurate.

Key Topics:

- The root causes to her mental health issues and how she struggled to find treatment that supported her mental well-being

- The medication weaning process and how she was able to get off medication she had been on for 18 years

- The tools she used to support healing and how she prioritizes her mental health to prevent recurring issues

Grab Erin’s Mental Health Toolkit and sign up for monthly meal plans here:

https://mailchi.mp/70a7b1d81de4/mental-health-toolkit

Dr. Stefani Reinold is a board-certified integrative psychiatrist and women's mental health expert. She is author of the bestselling book, Let Your Heart Out, podcast host of the show, The Dr Stefani Show and It’s Not About the Food. She’s founder of Wholehearted Integrative Psychiatry in Dripping Springs, Texas and the Creator of the HEART Method: a self-led therapy tool helping with emotional self-awareness and resiliency.

In this episode, Dr. Reinold discusses the innovations being made in integrative psychiatry and how to customize a mental wellness toolkit for YOUR unique brain.

Key Topics:

- How integrative psychiatry is different from traditional

- Why there is no one sized fits all when it comes to mental health

- Healthy brain habit changes for the new year

- The basics that are often overlooked

- The importance of connection

- Sleep hygiene tips that everyone can benefit from

Learn more at stefanireinoldmd.com

Sponsor: Get up to 39% or up to $300 off an Air Doctor air purifier with the code SPARK at airdoctorpro.com.

Episode 215: How to Raise Non-Toxic Kids in a Toxic World with David Steinman

David Steinman is an award-winning journalist who has written best-selling and critically acclaimed books on the environment and health. His work in the area of safe cosmetics, taken from the forthcoming book Raising Healthy Kids is featured in the HBO Max documentary Not So Pretty.

His investigative reporting and writing have won awards from Best of the West, California Newspaper Publishers’ Association, Sierra Club, and the Green Book Festival.

He’s also the full-time chief officer of the non-profit Chemical Toxin Working Group (CTWG, also known as the Healthy Living Foundation), a public-interest environmental and consumer advocacy organization that takes legal action and litigates on behalf of consumers and the environment. CTWG has won major court and legal cases against brands such as Herbal Essences, Pantene, Chicken of the Sea, Bumble Bee, Alberto VO5, Trader Joe’s, and Mrs. Meyers for selling products with high amounts of toxic chemicals that required their removal or labeling.

Key Topics:

- What the research says about toxins

- How toxins harm our health

- How to avoid fragrance in products and the impact on kids’ brain and reproductive development

- Myths about toxins and eating organic

- What products to avoid

- Where to start limiting toxins

Pre-order David’s new book Raising Healthy Kids and learn more about him at DavidSteinman.us

Sponsors:

Kiwico - get your first month free at any crate line at kiwico.com/spark

AquaTru - get 20% off any AquaTru air purifier at aquatru.com and use the code spark

In this episode, host Erin Kerry breaks down two ways to use nutrition to support mental health this holiday season and two ways to use movement for mental health.

Tiffany Martinez is the Operations Director for Hot Worx in Tyler, Texas. She shares why she got started with Hot Worx and how it supported her mental health and physical health. She shares the unique approach to getting a 3D workout that creates maximum health benefits in a small amount of time.

To learn more about Hot Worx and to find a location near you, head to hotworx.net.

Research studies mentioned:

Antidepressant Foods: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6147775/

Hot yoga for depression: https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2023/10/heated-yoga-may-reduce-depression-in-adults/

Walking reduces all-cause mortality: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/08/230808201935.htm

For your FREE Mental Health Toolkit, click here:

https://mailchi.mp/70a7b1d81de4/mental-health-toolkit

Buy Erin’s recipe book, Brain Food for the Whole Family, on Amazon here:

https://www.amazon.com/Brain-Food-Whole-Family-Kid-Friendly/dp/B0C2S6B5B6

Melanie Domen is a parenting coach with a true passion for the development of children and how we, as parents, can raise responsible, considerate, loving children we (and others) enjoy being around.

 

Melanie is an independent facilitator of the Parenting the Love and Logic® Way Curriculum. She also speaks to churches and groups, helping parents build strong relationships with their children, while establishing healthy boundaries, communication, and connection. She believes that the relationship between the Parent and Child is one of the single most important relationships we have in our lifetime and her goal is to strengthen that relationship using tools from Love and Logic and strategies she has picked up along the journey of her own parenthood.  

Key Topics:

- What is perfectly imperfect parenting?

- How to parent your own way

- How to increase quality time with kids at any stage and season

- The five minute rule for connection

- The echo method for handling conflict

- The nine minutes that are the most important to your child’s day

- More tips from Melanie every parent needs!

Download “What to Say Instead of How Was Your Day” at Melaniedomen.com

Sponsor: head to airdoctorpro.com and use promo code SPARK to save up to 39% off or up to $300 on an air purifier.

In this solo episode, host Erin Kerry brings listeners a special message on how to find calm during the chaos of the holiday season.

This message combines science, Scripture, and Erin's practical coaching tips to bring much needed supportive tools during what can often be a stressful time.

Key Topics:

- Understanding the body's response to real or perceived stress

- Three takeaways from Scripture that everyone can utilize to support their stress response this season

- A practical strategy to take captive every thought and rewire the brain

- Bonus resources and tools that can help bring stress relief in the holiday season.

FREE downloads mentioned in the episode:

A Guide to Stress-Busting Nutrients

https://mailchi.mp/5bf7e5c21f62/stress-busting-nutrition-guide

Seven Days to a Sound Mind Scriptural Devotional:

https://mailchi.mp/2ae95e4952b9/7-days-to-a-sound-mind-meditation-ebook

Dr. David H. Rosmarin is an associate professor at Harvard Medical School, a program director at McLean Hospital, and founder of Center for Anxiety, which services over 1,000 patients/year in multiple states. He is an international expert on spirituality and mental health, whose work has been featured in Scientific American, the Boston Globe, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times.

Through his work as a clinical psychologist, scientist, educator and author, Dr. Rosmarin has helped thousands of patients and organizations to live happier and more productive lives. His most recent book is Thriving with Anxiety: 9 Tools to Make Your Anxiety Work for You.

Key Topics:

- The current anxiety epidemic and what is causing it

- Anxiety as a stepping stone to connection

- How fear is a natural alert

- How anxiety makes us connect to others better

- The difference between stress and anxiety

- How anxiety enhances spirituality

- Hope for the person who’s drowning in anxiety

- The least known contributor to anxiety

Learn more about Dr. Rosmarin and get his book at drrosmarin.com and centerforanxiety.org.

Sponsored by Kiwico. Get your first month FREE on any crate line at kiwico.com/spark.