Rewilded Wellness

Your Evolution from Swimming Upstream to Flowing with Your Body's Wisdom

🎧 Listen to the Full Episode: You can hear the complete story and all the details on iTunes, Spotify, or YouTube

I've been soaking up this magical Leo season, picking berries at local farms and making plant infusions that feel like exactly what my body needs. It got me thinking about flow versus force - and how we've all been conditioned to swim upstream against our bodies instead of working with their natural wisdom.

In this episode, I'm sharing what my garden taught me about healing, why I've made some bold boundary decisions in my practice, and how to move beyond the endless root cause hunting that keeps so many people stuck in health rabbit holes.

I dive into a powerful case study of a 49-year-old client whose previous functional medicine approach had her on hormone precursors to "fix" imbalanced labs, while completely missing the terrain story her body was telling. When we looked at her hair mineral analys...

Composting vs. Cleansing: Why Parasite Obsession Keeps People Stuck

🎧 Listen to the Full Episode: You can hear the complete story and all the details on iTunes, Spotify, or YouTube

Recently I shared some things on Instagram about the dogma in the holistic health community and what the opposite of it is. The opposite of dogma is fluidity - staying open to new information and evolution. It's discernment - using wisdom rather than rigid rules. It's embodied knowing - trusting your body's intelligence over external authorities. It's adaptability - adjusting based on what's actually working. And it's curiosity - staying in questions rather than fixed answers.

And then I asked people what dogma - or things that they've been told they have to do to heal - are they confused by. And one of them was 'Do I have to do parasite cleanses?'

Which is a great topic, so I figured it was worthy of its whole entire own episode. Because let's be honest - parasites are being talked about everywhere these da...

Making Sense of Detox: What Hair Tests and Methylation Really Tell Us

🎧 Listen to the Full Episode: You can hear the complete story and all the details on iTunes, Spotify, or YouTube

Why aren't your detox protocols working? In this episode, Lydia breaks down the missing piece most people overlook - your cellular electrical system. Learn why supporting individual detox pathways fails when your foundational cellular charge is compromised, and discover what your hair test is really telling you about your body's ability to eliminate toxins.

Topics covered:
• Why your cells need electrical charge to detoxify
• The truth about methylation vs. glucuronidation pathways
• How to read your hair test as an adaptation story
• Why cell danger response shuts down detox genes
• The foundation that makes all protocols actually work

Perfect for anyone frustrated with detox protocols that aren't delivering results.

• Mineral Foundations Course HERE
• Learn more about how you can I can work together ...

Spring Collagen & Potassium Power Broth 🍲

Everyone's obsessed with collagen supplements, but here's the truth: your body doesn't just need collagen - it needs the FULL spectrum of amino acids AND cofactors to actually BUILD healthy tissue.

When the temps dropped to the 40s overnight here on the East Coast, my body was calling for something warming and deeply nourishing. What started as a simple kitchen experiment turned into a powerful reminder of why real food beats supplements every time.

The Spring Broth That Started It All

Sometimes the most healing foods are born from pure intuition. Yesterday, I found myself drawn to make what I'm calling my Spring Collagen & Potassium Power Broth - a combination that's perfect for these chilly spring days and exactly what my body was craving.

What I simmered up:
- Chicken feet (collagen powerhouse!)
- Celery (~260mg potassium per cup)
- Dandelion stems (wild nutrition, ~218mg K per cup)
- Scallion bulbs (flavor + minerals, ~276mg K per cup)...

Season two: Episode 10: Mugwort Medicine: Plant Intelligence vs. Modern Supplements - From Genetic SNPs to Vagal Tone

Listen on iTunes HERE
Listen on Spotify HERE
Tune in on YouTube HERE

For nearly three years, I've been developing a relationship with Mugwort—a plant that's become deeply meaningful and special to me. What began as curiosity about an herb has evolved into a profound appreciation for how this common "weed" might hold keys to our most perplexing modern health challenges.

Beyond the Supplement Mentality

As a nutritional therapy practitioner, I've seen firsthand the limitations of isolated supplements. While they certainly have their place, they can never replicate the intelligence of whole plants.

Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) exemplifies this brilliantly. This unassuming plant contains hundreds of bioactive compounds working in concert:

- Bitter principles that activate digestive secretions from salivation through enzyme production to bile flow
- Nervine compounds that ...

The Hidden Connection: How Your Digestive Issues May Be Triggering Your Anxiety

Have you ever noticed that your anxiety seems to flare up alongside your digestive symptoms? This isn't a coincidence. What if I told you that the butterflies in your stomach, the knot in your throat, and the racing thoughts in your mind might all share a common origin?

The Gut-Brain Axis: Your Second Brain at Work

Scientists have discovered what many ancient healing traditions have known for centuries: your gut and brain are engaged in constant, intimate conversation. This communication highway, known as the gut-brain axis, is reshaping how we understand both digestive issues and mental health concerns.

Your digestive system houses what scientists call your "second brain" – an intricate network of over 500 million neurons called the enteric nervous system. This neural network produces many of the same neurotransmitters found in your brain, including a staggering 90% of your body's serotonin – the "happ...

HairTissue Mineral Analysis Case Study: Uncovering Hidden Vagus Nerve Patterns

In this detailed case study demonstration, I analyze how specific mineral patterns revealed through hair tissue mineral analysis (HTMA) directly impact vagus nerve function and can explain persistent, complex health challenges that don't respond to standard protocols.

What You'll Discover in This Video:

I walk through a real client case showing the connection between mineral imbalances and chronic symptoms, particularly focusing on:

- How a "Fast Four" pattern (depleted calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium) creates a sympathetic dominant state that undermines vagus nerve function

- The critical relationship between copper metabolism, molybdenum, and proper neurotransmitter signaling

- Why elevated sulfur-to-copper ratios can significantly impair detoxification after mold exposure

- The direct correlation between mineral imbalances and menstrual cycle irregularities

- How tracking speci...

The Vagus Nerve Connection: Beyond Simple Exercises

Highlights from my latest podcast episode exploring the functional approach to vagus nerve health

*Listen to the episode on the Rewilded Wellness podcast, available on: 

iTunes HERE 
Spotify HERE
On YouTube HERE 

While there's a lot of buzz about vagus nerve exercises lately - from cold plunges to humming - this podcast episode explores a deeper perspective. What if those simple exercises are only scratching the surface? What if your mineral patterns, gut dysbiosis, mold exposure, or even physical misalignments are blocking your vagal function?

Let's dive into the functional testing approaches that can reveal why your vagus nerve might be struggling, and what you can do about it.

Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis: The Mineral Connection

Your vagus nerve functions like your body's electrical system, and minerals are the conductors. Here's what we look for on an HTMA:

- Calcium/Magnesium Ratio: When calcium dominates excessively ov...

Whole Food B Vitamins: Beyond Supplements

After analyzing a recent client's HTMA results and learning about their homozygous MTHFR gene mutation, it became clear why synthetic B vitamins weren't the right fit. For those with methylation challenges, the full spectrum of nutrients that accompany whole food B vitamins offers significant advantages over isolated synthetic versions. Honestly, I think we all would do best to avoid synthetic supplements in the name of holistic health & wellness. 

The Microbiome Connection to B Vitamins

What many people don't realize is that our gut microbiome produces approximately 30-40% of our B vitamins. This remarkable fact highlights why prebiotic foods are essential for optimal B vitamin status. By nourishing our beneficial gut bacteria, we enable them to produce these vital nutrients for us.

Wild Foods: Nature's B Vitamin Powerhouses

Wild foraged foods offer significantly higher B vitamin content than their cultivated counterparts. Wild greens lik...

Arsenic in Rice: Testing, Safer Brands, and Preparation Methods

Recent hair tissue mineral analysis (HTMA) results from a client showed increased arsenic levels alongside decreased selenium. This pattern emerged after they increased their rice consumption during winter months, using both a premium brand and bulk rice from Costco. This case study illustrates the importance of understanding arsenic exposure through common foods and how to mitigate risks.

Understanding Arsenic Forms and Rice Exposure

There are two primary forms of arsenic found in our environment:

Inorganic arsenic (arsenite and arsenate) is the predominant form found in rice. This form is classified as a Class 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer and poses significant health concerns with long-term exposure. Inorganic arsenic is more readily absorbed by the body and more difficult to excrete.

Organic arsenic compounds (like arsenobetaine and arsenocholine), commonly found in seafood, are g...