The Modern Ancestral Mamas Podcast

📍 Baja Gold Minerals (mineral-rich sea salt, spice blends, Tidal Hydrate and Tidal Perform): Use code MAM10 for 10% off https://bajagoldminerals.com

📍 Vintage Tradition (grass-fed tallow balm): Use code MAM10 for 10% off https://vintagetradition.com

Have you ever had a "something isn't right" mom intuition moment with your child? We start this episode with that question, then sit down with Elizabeth Mae, a functional health practitioner who has been through it herself. After a postpartum health crisis with multiple autoimmune conditions, Elizabeth rebuilt her health, left a 19-year career as a wedding photographer, and now helps families dealing with chronic infections, immune dysfunction, and PANS and PANDAS.

Elizabeth explains what PANS and PANDAS are, how they differ, and how the early signs, like sudden OCD, rage, tics, sleep trouble, sensory issues, and handwriting changes, are easy to write off as behavior. We talk about why so many pediatricians don't know what to do with these diagnoses, what she looks at when a child's symptoms keep coming back, and how strep, Lyme, Epstein-Barr, mold, and stress can all play a role. She also shares why she believes retraining the immune system matters more than masking symptoms, and which homeopathic remedies she keeps on hand for cold and flu season and for moms who are running on empty.

📚 Resources & Links Mentioned:

📍 Elizabeth Mae's functional health practice (book a clarity call or SOS call): https://heyhey.practicebetter.io/#/601f05602a9c240718277867/bookings?s=6025a1712a9c24070c74cf52&step=date

📍 Hey Homeopathics (homeopathy blends and kits, plus her free Simple Solutions Guide): https://www.heyheymae.com/heyheyhomeopathics

📍 Elizabeth on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heyheyelizabethmae/

📍 Hey Homeopathics on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heyheyhomeopathics/

📍 Join our Patreon Community: https://patreon.com/modernancestralmamas

📍 Website: https://www.modernancestralmamas.com

✨ Topics Covered in This Episode:

✔️ Our "mom intuition" moments, including two broken arms and a very memorable "uterus"

✔️ Elizabeth's path from postpartum illness to functional health practitioner

✔️ What EBV, Lyme disease, PANS, and PANDAS are, explained in plain language

✔️ How PANS and PANDAS can show up: tics, OCD, bedwetting, sleep problems, sensory sensitivity, regression in handwriting and school skills, rage, and new fears

✔️ Why these diagnoses are hard to get, and what parents can do when their pediatrician is dismissive

✔️ Why Elizabeth focuses on the pattern and timeline more than the diagnosis

✔️ Common triggering events, from big stressors and RSV to repeated rounds of antibiotics

✔️ The role of the tonsils and adenoids, and why Elizabeth doesn't see removal as a cure for recurring strep

✔️ How strep can show up in the gut, skin, and brain, including connections to SIBO, eczema, and anxiety

✔️ Her alpha-gal, Lyme, and Bartonella experience, and what it taught her about PANS and PANDAS

✔️ Ancestral eating, lowering sugar, and why she pauses dairy for a season

✔️ Lymph drainage and simple ways to support a child's body while it clears infection

✔️ Why symptoms can seem to disappear and then return, including the effects of mold, stress, and toxin load

✔️ How homeopathy fits into retraining the immune system

✔️ Homeopathic remedies for fever, colds, tummy troubles, and worn-out moms

✔️ Why big changes often start with moms noticing a pattern, from the discovery of Lyme to today

📲 Stay Connected:

Patreon Community | https://www.patreon.com/c/ModernAncestralMamas

@fornutrientssake | https://www.instagram.com/fornutrientssake/

@nourishthelittles | https://www.instagram.com/nourishthelittles/

@modernancestralmamas | https://www.instagram.com/modernancestralmamas/

YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@ModernAncestralMamas

📍 Unsifted Freshly Milled Flour: Enjoy $10 off your first purchase of $100 or more (Code: MAM10) https://unsifted.com

In this conversation with Dr. Ben Edwards, a conventionally trained family physician from Texas, we hear a healing story that changed the course of his career. Dr. Ben grew up the grandson of two small-town country doctors and was on top of the world running a rural clinic in West Texas. Then his nurse practitioner, who had lived with celiac disease for years, came to work one day and ate gluten right in front of him. That moment led Dr. Ben to a doctor who challenged everything he had been taught, and eventually to leaving the insurance model behind and building a clinic focused on getting to the root cause of illness.

This is the third episode in our grain series, where we look at the health benefits of freshly milled flour. Dr. Ben shares why he believes the modern American gut struggles with refined flour, how stomach acid, the microbiome, and leaky gut all play a role in gluten reactions, and why freshly milled whole grain behaves so differently in the body than white flour. We also dig into phytic acid, the fermenting and soaking debate, when to introduce grains to babies, and why he encourages his patients to bring these decisions to prayer and not just protocols.

📚 Resources & Links Mentioned:

📍 Unsifted (freshly milled flour): $10 off your first purchase of $100 or more https://unsifted.com

📍 Dr. Ben Edwards’ clinic and wellness membership: https://veritaswellnessmember.com/plans-join-veritas-wellness

📍 Dr. Ben Edwards on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drbenedwards/

📍 Dr. Ben’s podcast, You’re the Cure: @Dr.BenEdwards⁩ on YouTube

📍 Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by Weston A. Price

📍 Our first Unsifted episode (Ep. 79, Grain Revival, Fresh Milling, Grain Mills, and the Unsifted Mission): https://youtu.be/EwJi-l2cVjo

📍 Our interview with Sue Becker: https://youtu.be/XL_S34wi2OQ

📍 Join our Patreon Community (extended episode with more of this conversation): https://patreon.com/modernancestralmamas

📍 Website: https://www.modernancestralmamas.com

✨ Topics Covered in This Episode:

✔️ How long we each believed grains were bad for us, and what changed our minds

✔️ Dr. Ben’s path from small-town country doctor to functional and nutrition-focused medicine

✔️ The story of the nurse who “cured” his celiac, and what he was taught about stomach acid and the microbiome

✔️ Why stress, sugar, and processed food can shut down stomach acid and affect digestion

✔️ Leaky gut, tight junctions, and how undigested proteins can trigger the immune system

✔️ Modern wheat, glyphosate, and hybridization: what may be part of the problem

✔️ Refined flour vs. whole grain vs. freshly milled vs. fermented grains

✔️ Why freshly milled flour may affect blood sugar differently than white flour

✔️ Why Dr. Ben thinks of grain as a “multi-B complex,” and what happened when the nutrients were stripped out

✔️ Phytic acid: anti-nutrient, nutrient, or both?

✔️ Soaking, sourdough, and fermenting vs. going straight to fresh milled

✔️ Introducing grains to babies, and why the answer may depend on the mother’s microbiome

✔️ His five foundational food groups and the nutrition, hydration, movement, and peace pillars

✔️ Why he encourages listening to the Holy Spirit and your own family’s needs, not just rules and protocols

📲 Stay Connected:

Patreon Community | https://www.patreon.com/c/ModernAncestralMamas

@fornutrientssake | https://www.instagram.com/fornutrientssake/

@nourishthelittles | https://www.instagram.com/nourishthelittles/

@modernancestralmamas | https://www.instagram.com/modernancestralmamas/

https://www.youtube.com/@ModernAncestralMamas

📍 Unsifted Freshly Milled Flour: Enjoy $10 off your first purchase of $100 or more (Code: MAM10) https://unsifted.com

In this conversation with Bob Quinn, a plant biochemist, organic farmer, and founder of the Quinn Institute in Big Sandy, Montana, we get the farmer’s side of the grain story. Bob grew up on a wheat and cattle ranch, earned his PhD at UC Davis, and came home to turn his farm into a laboratory. After a trade show visitor thanked him for growing food for her family, he stopped growing commodities and started growing food. That shift led him to Kamut, the ancient grain he brought to market and spent decades researching.

This is the “farmer” episode in our new grain series, where we look at wheat through the eyes of the farmers, the millers, and the bakers. Bob shares why so many people struggle with modern wheat, how breeding for yield changed the grain, what the difference is between ancient, heirloom, and modern grains, and why he believes the whole system, from seed to soil to processing to the bread aisle, shapes what ends up in our bodies. We also talk about sourdough, glyphosate, fresh milling, the true cost of cheap food, and what it takes for farmers to transition to regenerative organic practices.

📚 Resources & Links Mentioned:

📍 Unsifted (freshly milled flour): $10 off your first purchase of $100 or more https://unsifted.com

📍 The Quinn Institute: https://quinninstitute.org/

📍 Bob’s book, Grain by Grain (co-authored with Liz Carlisle): available at bookstores and online

📍 Kamut brand grain, pasta, cereal, and flour: Bob’s Red Mill https://www.bobsredmill.com

📍 The Food Nanny (Kamut flour and grain): https://thefoodnanny.com

📍 Montana Flour & Grains (bulk orders): Fort Benton, Montana

📍 Our first grain series: episodes with Unsifted, Sue Becker of Bread Beckers, Courtney Queen of Butter for All, and Bill Schindler of the Modern Stone Age Kitchen

📍 Join our Patreon Community (extended episode with more of this conversation): https://patreon.com/modernancestralmamas

📍 Website: https://www.modernancestralmamas.com

✨ Topics Covered in This Episode:

✔️ Bob’s path from Montana wheat ranch to PhD scientist to organic farmer

✔️ The “rainbow trail” to good health: seed, soil, harvest timing, minimal processing, and honest labeling

✔️ The story of Kamut, from a county fair handful of giant grain to a 100,000 acre crop

✔️ Ancient grains vs. heirloom grains vs. modern wheat

✔️ What changed in modern wheat after World War II, and why nutrition was never part of the breeding goal

✔️ Why flavor and aroma are clues to nutrient density

✔️ Why Kamut contains gluten but is often tolerated better, and the role of glyphosate, processing, and fast-rise yeast

✔️ How long fermentation with sourdough breaks down gluten

✔️ What Bob’s research found, including the rat study on inflammation and the human clinical trials

✔️ Fresh milling and how quickly flour loses nutrients after grinding

✔️ The high price of cheap food for farmers, rural communities, the environment, and our health

✔️ Whether regenerative organic farming can feed America

✔️ Advice for new and transitioning farmers

✔️ How a large bread manufacturer could make better bread, from hard white wheat to golden whole grain flour

✔️ The Noah’s Ark legend behind “the prophet wheat”

📲 Stay Connected:

Patreon Community | https://www.patreon.com/c/ModernAncestralMamas

@fornutrientssake | https://www.instagram.com/fornutrientssake/

@nourishthelittles | https://www.instagram.com/nourishthelittles/

@modernancestralmamas | https://www.instagram.com/modernancestralmamas/

YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@ModernAncestralMamas

📍 Unsifted Freshly Milled Flour: Enjoy $10 off your first purchase of $100 or more (Code: MAM10) – https://unsifted.com

In this conversation with Jen, a registered nurse of nearly 40 years, we hear her story of chronic illness and how she came back to bread. After years of microscopic colitis, psoriasis, and a long list of autoimmune diagnoses, Jen tried nearly every protocol out there, including carnivore, GAPS, and low FODMAP, and stayed gluten-free for close to a decade. Then she felt led to eat bread again, and what happened next surprised her, her doctors, and her family.

This is the "healed" episode in our new series on grains, where we look at wheat through the eyes of the farmer, the miller, the baker, and the healed. Jen shares why sourdough made with store-bought flour didn't work for her, what changed when she started milling her own grain, how her labs and digestion responded, and what she experienced in the first few weeks. We also talk about choosing a grain mill, how she bakes six loaves a week, and why she believes the real issue is not gluten but what has been stripped from our flour.

📚 Resources & Links Mentioned:

📍 Unsifted (freshly milled flour): $10 off your first purchase of $100 or more – https://unsifted.com

📍 Jen Mama Hen –  ⁨@Jenmamahen⁩   "Jen Mama Hen" on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok

📍 Bread Beckers (Sue Becker) – https://breadbeckers.com/

📍 Sue Becker's Essential Homegrown Flour cookbook – available on Amazon

📍 Alex Clark's Culture Apothecary podcast, episode with Sue Becker: "What If Gluten Isn't the Enemy?" – search on your podcast app

📍 NutriMill grain mills – https://nutrimill.com/

📍 WonderMill grain mills – https://wondermill.com/

📍 Join our Patreon Community – https://patreon.com/modernancestralmamas

📍 Website – https://www.modernancestralmamas.com

✨ Topics Covered in This Episode:

✔️ Jen's health journey, from a root canal and a colitis diagnosis to a head-to-toe psoriasis flare

✔️ Why she tried carnivore, GAPS, low FODMAP, and herbal protocols, and what each one taught her

✔️ How she came to eat bread again after nearly a decade without it

✔️ Why sourdough, einkorn, and spelt didn't work for her, and what did

✔️ Discovering freshly milled flour through Sue Becker and the Culture Apothecary podcast

✔️ What she experienced in the first weeks of eating freshly milled bread, including the detox-like reaction she pushed through

✔️ Changes she saw in her digestion and her lab work, including her cholesterol

✔️ How freshly milled bread has affected blood sugar for people in her family with type 1 diabetes

✔️ Her take on gluten, food fear, and why the wellness world is still skeptical of bread

✔️ Choosing a grain mill, why she skipped the cheap options, and why she warns against using a KitchenAid attachment

✔️ How she bakes six loaves a week, and how she freezes and stores them

✔️ The role of peace and quiet time in her healing

📲 Stay Connected:

Patreon Community | https://www.patreon.com/c/ModernAncestralMamas

@fornutrientssake | https://www.instagram.com/fornutrientssake/

@nourishthelittles | https://www.instagram.com/nourishthelittles/

@modernancestralmamas | https://www.instagram.com/modernancestralmamas/

YouTube |  ⁨https://www.youtube.com/@ModernAncestralMamas

📍 Baja Gold Signature Minerals: use code MAM10 for 10% off – https://bajagoldminerals.com/

📍 Vintage Traditions Whole-Food Skin Care: use code MAM10 for 10% off – https://www.vintagetradition.com

Your period is not just an inconvenience. It is a vital sign.

In this conversation with Lisa Hendrickson-Jack of Fertility Friday, we break down why your menstrual cycle deserves the same attention as your blood pressure or heart rate, and why so much of what we were taught about birth control leaves out the parts that matter most. Lisa shares the history behind the pill's 28-day design, what hormonal contraceptives actually do to your ovaries and nutrient stores, and why "unexplained infertility" is so often a knowledge gap rather than a mystery.

We get into the recent PCOS to PMOS rebrand and what it reveals about the real root of the condition, why you are only fertile a handful of days each cycle, and what couples trying to conceive need to know about both her cycle and his sperm. Lisa also walks through the nutrient depletion of pregnancy and breastfeeding, and why preparing your body beforehand matters as much as the pregnancy itself.

📚 Resources & Links Mentioned:

📍 Lisa Hendrickson-Jack / Fertility Friday – https://www.fertilityfriday.com/

📍 The Fifth Vital Sign (Lisa's book) – linked at fertilityfriday.com

📍 Real Food for Fertility (Lisa and Lily Nichols, RDN) – https://realfoodforfertility.com/

📍 Fertility Friday Podcast – search "Fertility Friday" on your podcast app

📍 Lisa on Instagram – instagram.com/fertilityfriday

📍 Fertility Awareness Mastery Mentorship – linked at fertilityfriday.com

📍 Baja Gold Sea Salt, Spice Blends, and Tidal Hydrate/Perform – https://bajagoldminerals.com/

📍 Join our Patreon Community – https://patreon.com/modernancestralmamas

📍 Website – https://www.modernancestralmamas.com

✨ Topics Covered in This Episode:

✔️ Why your menstrual cycle counts as a vital sign, and what a "normal" cycle actually looks like

✔️ The real history behind the pill's 28-day sugar-pill week, and why it was never a medical necessity

✔️ What hormonal birth control does to ovulation, uterine lining, and your natural estrogen and progesterone

✔️ The nutrients the pill depletes, from B vitamins to zinc, and why that matters if you plan to conceive

✔️ PCOS's rename to PMOS, and why the root issue is metabolic, not just ovarian

✔️ Why you are not fertile every day, and how to actually identify your fertile window

✔️ What "unexplained infertility" usually leaves out, for both partners

✔️ How long it takes for your cycle to normalize after stopping the pill

✔️ The nutrient "withdrawals" of pregnancy and breastfeeding, and how to prepare for them in advance

✔️ What sperm health has to do with a couple's fertility timeline, and why it is rarely discussed

Timestamps:

📲 Stay Connected:

Patreon Community | https://www.patreon.com/c/ModernAncestralMamas

@fornutrientssake | https://www.instagram.com/fornutrientssake/

@nourishthelittles | https://www.instagram.com/nourishthelittles/

@modernancestralmamas | https://www.instagram.com/modernancestralmamas/

YouTube |  @ModernAncestralMamas ​

📍 Baja Gold Signature Minerals: use code MAM10 for 10% off – https://bajagoldminerals.com/

📍 Vintage Traditions Whole-Food Skin Care: use code MAM10 for 10% off – https://www.vintagetradition.com

Addressing stress is the critical first step for your health.

In this conversation with Dr. Jen Pfleghaar, we break down the reality of using testosterone therapy for women and why it is rarely the first answer for hormonal issues. Dr. Pfleghaar shares her clinical experience with patients who sought out quick fixes, only to face negative side effects when their underlying physiology was ignored. We discuss why focusing on hormone health requires a foundational approach rather than just adding hormones to a stressed system.

True healing often starts with effective stress management. If you feel depleted or are considering hormone replacement, this episode helps you understand what to look for and why your nervous system health is the non-negotiable starting point for natural hormone balance. We get into the risks of aggressive dosing and why slowing down to heal your body is the most sustainable path forward.

📚 Resources & Links Mentioned:

📍 Dr. Jen Fleger / Healthy by Dr. Jen – https://healthybydrjen.com/

📍 The Perimenopause Reset (Dr. Jen's book) – https://www.amazon.com/Perimenopause-Reset-Energize-Weight-Peace/dp/1969338911

📍 Healthy by Dr. Jen Podcast – search "Healthy by Dr. Jen" on your podcast app

📍 Dr. Jen on Instagram & YouTube – https://www.instagram.com/integrativedrmom/

📍 Baja Gold Sea Salt, Spice Blends, and Tidal Hydrate/Perform – https://bajagoldminerals.com/

📍 Join our Patreon Community – https://patreon.com/modernancestralmamas

📍 Website – https://www.modernancestralmamas.com

✨ Topics Covered in This Episode:

✔️ PCOS's quiet rebrand to "PMOS" and the insulin resistance root cause behind it

✔️ Why blood sugar, not willpower, drives most perimenopause hormone chaos

✔️ What a continuous glucose monitor reveals about your stress, sleep, and food sensitivities

✔️ Cycle syncing: eating differently in your follicular phase vs. your luteal phase

✔️ The patient who overdosed on testosterone outside Dr. Jen's care, and how they recovered

✔️ Why alcohol tolerance crashes in your 40s, and what it's actually doing to your liver

✔️ Topical vs. oral hormones, and the two years before menopause when bone loss accelerates

✔️ How postpartum and breastfeeding hormones mimic perimenopause

✔️ The surprising fertility marker Dr. Jen looks for that has nothing to do with weight

✔️ Why Dr. Jen's family now takes a full digital Sabbath every week, and what changed for her

📲 Stay Connected:

Patreon Community | https://www.patreon.com/c/ModernAncestralMamas

@fornutrientssake | https://www.instagram.com/fornutrientssake/

@nourishthelittles | https://www.instagram.com/nourishthelittles/

@modernancestralmamas | https://www.instagram.com/modernancestralmamas/

YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@ModernAncestralMamas​

📍 Baja Gold Signature Minerals: use code MAM10 for 10% off – https://bajagoldminerals.com/

📍 Vintage Traditions Whole-Food Skin Care: use code MAM10 for 10% off – https://www.vintagetradition.com

Please note that we have removed all occurrences of the word v*ccine because of concerns about censorship. You can listen to the full episode without censoring or ads at: https://patreon.com/modernancestralmamas

Rethinking vaccine safety with Dr. Bob Sears. We discuss the shifting medical beliefs around pediatric care and infection.

This conversation with Dr. Bob Sears, pediatrician and author, digs into how his views on childhood vccination have changed after 30 years in practice, and what he thinks "safe and effective" should actually mean. If you've ever felt confused by conflicting messaging on this topic, or wondered how to navigate it with your own pediatrician, family, or friends, this episode is for you. We talk about Dr. Sears' biggest misconceptions he's since corrected, what he's observed comparing vccinated and unv*ccinated patients over three decades, and how to approach these conversations without losing relationships.

Getting clarity on this topic is not about picking a side and shutting down the conversation. It's about asking better questions, understanding what the research can and can't tell us, and giving yourself permission to slow down and think it through. Dr. Sears breaks down the difference between disease risk and v*ccine risk, tackles the transmission question head-on, and gets honest about what he tells his own patients. Subscribe for weekly ancestral motherhood conversations, and comment below with your biggest takeaway from this episode.

0:00 Reevaluating Past Medical Beliefs

3:40 Defining Safe and Effective

11:22 A Family Legacy in Pediatrics

24:40 The Reality of Medical Injuries

29:18 Observing Health Outcomes in Practice

33:36 The Misconception of Transmission

48:42 Navigating Prenatal Medical Choices

55:38 How to Talk to Your Pediatrician

1:21:26 Behind the Scenes of the Medical Industry

📚 Resources & Links Mentioned:

📍 Dr. Bob Sears – https://www.drbobsears.com/

📍 The V*ccine Book by Dr. Bob Sears

📍 Dr. Sears' Book Companion Podcast

📍 A Tale of Two Sides (novel) – available on Dr. Sears' website

📍 Baja Gold Sea Salt, Spice Blends, and Tidal Hydrate/Perform – https://bajagoldminerals.com/

📍 Join our Patreon Community – https://patreon.com/modernancestralmamas

📍 Website – https://www.modernancestralmamas.com

✨ Topics Covered in This Episode:

✔️ Dr. Sears' biggest misconception, corrected: does vccination actually stop transmission?

✔️ His own family history with the polio vccine and his grandfather

✔️ What changed his mind after 30 years of comparing vccinated and unvccinated patients

✔️ How common are severe reactions, really — and why the data is so hard to pin down

✔️ V*ccines during pregnancy: what's actually been studied, and what hasn't

✔️ How to talk to your pediatrician (and actually get a real answer)

✔️ Navigating daycare, school, and travel requirements state by state

✔️ How to stay in relationship with friends and family who see this differently

✔️ What Dr. Sears considers a truly healthy child

#MomBurnout #ChristianMotherhood #FaithAndHealth #InformedConsent #ModernAncestralMamas #AncestralWisdom #MomLife #HolisticMotherhood #ChristianWomen #PediatricHealth

📲 Stay Connected:

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@modernancestralmamas | https://www.instagram.com/modernancestralmamas/

YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@ModernAncestralMamas

📍 Baja Gold Signature Minerals: use code MAM10 for 10% off – https://bajagoldminerals.com/

This conversation with Heather Brown, host of the Healthy by Heather Brown podcast and author of the upcoming book The Sunday Reset, digs into why so many Christian moms are running on empty, and what the Bible actually says about it. If you have ever felt like "self-care" and "dying to self" are pulling you in opposite directions, this episode is for you. We talk about Heather's own postpartum depression story, the framework she uses to rebuild health from the ground zero, and why almost none of it starts with a workout plan.

Getting to a healthier, less frantic season of motherhood is not about overhauling your whole life on a Monday. It is about identifying your rocks, protecting a few non-negotiables, and bringing your stress to God instead of white-knuckling through it. Heather breaks down her Triple Threat Triangle for spiritual, physical, and mental health, tackles the "you can't pour from an empty cup" debate head-on, and gets honest about whether a clean home and a peaceful mom can actually coexist. Subscribe for weekly ancestral motherhood conversations, and comment below with the mom trend you think is most overhyped right now.

📚 Resources & Links Mentioned:

✨ Topics Covered in This Episode:

✨ Support the Show!

📲 Stay Connected:

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📍 Vintage Traditions Whole-Food Skin Care: use code MAM10 for 10% off – https://www.vintagetradition.com

This conversation with Megan Lyons, a doctor of clinical nutrition, functional medicine practitioner, and one of the top-ranked nutritionists in Dallas, unpacks why losing weight feels so much harder after 35, and what is actually going on underneath. If you have been told your metabolism just falls off a cliff at 40, this episode is for you. We get into the five real reasons weight loss gets harder as women move through their late 30s, 40s, and 50s, stress and the nervous system, shifting hormones, declining sleep, everyday movement, and the slow loss of muscle, and why almost none of it is about willpower.

Getting stronger and leaner in this season is not about crash diets or four a.m. workouts. It is about fueling your body well, protecting your muscle, and working with your hormones instead of against them. Megan breaks down how much protein women really need, why breakfast is the missed opportunity of the century, whether cheat days help or hurt, and how to think about fasting as a woman. Subscribe for weekly ancestral nutrition breakdowns, and comment below with the health "rule" you would like us to put to the test next.

📚 Resources & Links Mentioned:

📍 Megan Lyons / The Lyons' Share website – https://thelyonsshare.org/

📍 Megan Lyons on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/thelyonsshare/

📍 The Lyons' Share Wellness Podcast – https://thelyonsshare.org/podcast/

📍 Mary Ruddick – researcher on indigenous cultures and the nervous system

📍 Bill Schindler – "the diet that heals you is not the diet that sustains you"

📍 HYROX – the fitness race Megan trains for

📍 Baja Gold Sea Salt, spice blends, and Tidal Hydrate – https://bajagoldminerals.com/

📍 Join our Patreon Community – https://patreon.com/modernancestralmamas

📍 Website – https://www.modernancestralmamas.com

✨ Topics Covered in This Episode:

✔️ Why your metabolism does not actually "crash" at 40, and what really changes after 35

✔️ The five real reasons weight loss gets harder: stress, hormones, sleep, movement, and muscle

✔️ Why lifting weights will not make you bulky, and how to know a movement is actually working

✔️ The breakfast mistake costing women all day, and how much protein to aim for

✔️ Sprints, HIIT, and "exercise snacks" — who they help and who they hurt

✔️ Why walking and dancing may be the best medicine for a stressed nervous system

✔️ The best and worst time of day to work out

✔️ Why "cheat days" backfire, and a saner way to enjoy the brownie

✔️ How sugar rewires your taste buds and gut in as little as three days

✔️ The BURP diet: a gentle gut reset for after the stomach flu (or vacation)

✔️ How much protein women really need, and whether it shifts with age and your cycle

✔️ Intermittent fasting for women: who should, and who definitely should not

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This conversation with Dr. Cate Shanahan focuses on what industrialized seed oils do inside the body at the cellular level. If you have heard that seed oils are bad but never understood why or how, this is for you. We discuss how these oils are made, why oxidation and free radicals damage cell membranes, and what that means for pregnancy, metabolic health, and your children's development.

Avoiding seed oils is about making informed choices with the food you already buy. By learning to read a label and recognize the worst offenders, you can reduce your family's exposure without turning every meal into a project. Understanding the difference between a saturated fat, a monounsaturated fat, and a polyunsaturated fat gives you the confidence to trust your own judgment at the grocery store. Subscribe for weekly ancestral nutrition breakdowns, and comment below with which food myth you would like us to take apart next.

📚 Resources & Links Mentioned:

📍 Dr. Cate Shanahan's website and newsletter – https://drcate.com/

📍 Dark Calories by Dr. Cate Shanahan – https://drcate.com/

📍 Deep Nutrition by Dr. Cate Shanahan – https://drcate.com/

📍 Dr. Cate on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/drcateshanahan/

📍 Weston A. Price Foundation – https://www.westonaprice.org/

📍 Baja Gold Sea Salt, spice blends, and Tidal Hydrate – https://bajagoldminerals.com/

📍 Join our Patreon Community – https://patreon.com/modernancestralmamas

📍 Website – https://www.modernancestralmamas.com

✨ Topics Covered in This Episode:

✔️ The Hateful Eight, the three C's and the three S's you need to memorize

✔️ Why not all seed oils are bad, and why peanut and sesame get a pass

✔️ Saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fats explained simply

✔️ The oxygen and double bond connection, and how seed oils plasticize cell membranes

✔️ What actually happens inside the factory, from crude oil to the bottle on the shelf

✔️ Why cold pressed and organic labels do not mean what you think

✔️ The smoke point myth, and whether you can really cook with olive oil

✔️ Seed oils, insulin resistance, and why sugar cravings are metabolic, not a willpower problem

✔️ Toddler tantrums, blood sugar crashes, and early signs of metabolic dysfunction in kids

✔️ Palm oil, avocado oil, and how to pick the better option in a normal grocery store

✔️ Why Dr. Cate does not believe children can thrive on a vegan diet

✔️ Bone broth, connective tissue, and the sports injuries she predicted years ago

✨ Support the Show!

#SeedOils #DarkCalories #DrCateShanahan #RealFood #AncestralNutrition #ModernAncestralMamas #AncestralWisdom #MomLife #holisticmotherhood #MetabolicHealth

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