Thyroid Pharmacist Healing Conversations with Dr. Izabella Wentz

In this episode of Thyroid Pharmacist Healing Conversations, Dr. Izabella Wentz interviews returning guest Ben Azadi to talk about some of the biggest keto facts and myths. Ben shares some fascinating answers to some of the most common questions about keto, including whether it's safe for people with Hashimoto's and hypothyroidism, the ideal daily carb count, how long someone should stay on keto, and how to avoid common pitfalls when getting started.

Ben explains why a well-formulated ketogenic diet can help support metabolic flexibility, reduce inflammation, and improve insulin sensitivity without requiring lifelong restriction. He also shares practical tips for managing common side effects like constipation and "keto breath," discusses who should approach keto with caution, and explains his “keto flex” approach, which encourages cycling in and out of ketosis. The conversation centers around the importance of personalization, food variety, and supporting overall health rather than following rigid dietary rules.

In this episode, you'll learn:

Whether you should do keto if you have Hashimoto's. One of the biggest myths surrounding thyroid health is that keto is completely off-limits. Ben shares a different perspective and explains why how you approach keto may matter more than whether you do it at all.

The surprisingly simple tweak that may make keto more sustainable. If the thought of giving up carbs forever has kept you from trying keto, you'll want to hear Ben's flexible approach that challenges the idea that ketosis has to be permanent.

Why keto sometimes causes constipation, bad breath, or even changes in body odor. These concerns may discourage people from sticking with keto – however, they aren’t that common. Discover what's actually happening in your body, plus simple strategies that will help you feel your best when you start keto.

If keto is really just bacon, butter, and cheese. Ben breaks down what a well-formulated ketogenic diet actually looks like, including several nutrient-dense foods that many people don't realize are keto-friendly.

The unexpected signs that your metabolism may be improving. Beyond weight loss, Ben discusses some surprising physical changes he's seen in people who improve their metabolic health and why they may reveal more than you think.

Whether eating the same healthy foods every day could backfire. Learn why food variety, seasonal eating, and metabolic flexibility may play a bigger role in long-term wellness than following any one diet perfectly.

Tune in to learn how to use the ketogenic diet strategically to support thyroid health, improve metabolic flexibility, and determine whether keto may be the right tool for your healing journey.

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In this episode of Thyroid Pharmacist Healing Conversations, Dr. Izabella Wentz speaks with content creator, speaker, and self-trust advocate Amy Untamed about the often-overlooked emotional patterns that can contribute to chronic illness and autoimmune disease.

After recovering from chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) twice, Amy realized that lasting healing wasn't just about calming the nervous system or following the right protocols. It also required addressing deeper patterns of people-pleasing, perfectionism, self-abandonment, and unresolved trauma that had kept her body in a chronic state of stress. Together, she and Dr. Wentz explore how chronic emotional stress, attachment wounds, boundaries, self-worth, and nervous system regulation can all play a role in the healing journey.

In this episode, you'll learn:

How chronic stress and self-abandonment can keep your body stuck in survival mode. Amy shares her remarkable journey of recovering from chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) twice, revealing how unresolved trauma, people-pleasing, and years of putting everyone else's needs before her own contributed to nervous system dysregulation. Discover why healing these deeper patterns became a turning point in her lasting recovery.

Why learning to stop abandoning yourself may be one of the most powerful steps toward healing. Many women are conditioned to seek approval, avoid conflict, and put everyone else's needs first. Discover how setting boundaries, protecting your peace, and creating emotional safety can support both your nervous system and your overall health.

The surprising connection between perfectionism and chronic illness. Trying to follow the "perfect" diet or have the "perfect" healing journey can create more stress, making it harder for your body to heal. Discover why self-compassion, flexibility, and joy better support recovery.

How childhood experiences and attachment patterns can influence your health. Early life experiences shape self-worth, relationships, and the tendency to seek validation from others. Amy shares how healing these deeply rooted patterns helped her trust her intuition, build healthier relationships, and reconnect with herself.

Why healing your nervous system involves more than food and supplements. While nutrition, gut health, and lifestyle changes are important, lasting recovery often requires addressing the emotional patterns that keep the body in fight-or-flight. Discover how nervous system regulation and emotional healing can complement a root-cause approach to wellness.

How hope and self-trust can transform your healing journey. Amy chose not to accept her diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome or the prognosis that she would never recover. Discover how surrounding herself with stories of healing, strengthening her intuition, and believing recovery was possible, helped her move forward.

Tune in to learn how emotional healing, self-trust, and nervous system regulation can support your journey toward better health.

Be sure to subscribe to the Thyroid Pharmacist Healing Conversations podcast so you don’t miss an episode! Sign up for the Thyroid Pharmacist Weekly Thyroid Solutions Newsletter here: https://thyroidpharmacist.com/gift/

For the full list of resources and products mentioned in this episode, and to get the full episode transcript, see complete show notes here: https://thyroidpharmacist.com/articles/podcast/
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In this episode of Thyroid Pharmacist Healing Conversations, Dr. Izabella Wentz sits down with naturopathic doctor and functional medicine practitioner Dr. Jarrod Cooper to explore why so many people with chronic illness remain stuck despite doing everything they’ve been told to do. Drawing on more than a decade of experience working with complex, treatment-resistant cases, Dr. Cooper shares the principles behind his Healing Hierarchy, a framework designed to help people address the root causes of chronic illness in the right order.

Together, they discuss why healing often stalls when foundational issues are overlooked, the role of nutrient deficiencies, blood sugar imbalances, gut dysfunction, and chronic stressors in ongoing symptoms, and why timing matters when it comes to recovery. Dr. Cooper also explains how hidden “health blocks” such as infections, mold exposure, and unresolved gut issues can keep the body trapped in a cycle of inflammation and sensitivity, even when someone is following the right protocols.

In this episode, you'll learn:


Why doing the right things in the wrong order can slow your recovery. Dr. Cooper explains how many people with chronic illness aren't necessarily following the wrong protocols – they may simply be addressing issues out of sequence.


The four levels of The Healing Hierarchy. Discover the framework Dr. Cooper uses to help patients recover from complex chronic illnesses, beginning with crisis stabilization, followed by gut repair, biochemistry and detoxification support, and finally hormone optimization.


Why blood sugar balance, nutrient status, sleep, and inflammation matter more than many people realize. Before addressing deeper root causes, Dr. Cooper emphasizes the importance of stabilizing the body's basic functions. Learn how deficiencies in nutrients such as vitamin B12, iron, and vitamin D, along with blood sugar imbalances and poor sleep, can keep the body stuck in a chronic stress response.


The critical role of gut health in Hashimoto's and chronic illness. We discuss how intestinal permeability, SIBO, parasites, microbiome imbalances, and digestive dysfunction can contribute to immune activation, nutrient deficiencies, fatigue, and ongoing symptoms, even in people who don't have obvious digestive complaints.


What "health blocks" are and how they can prevent progress. From chronic infections and mold exposure to unresolved gut dysfunction and detoxification challenges, Dr. Cooper explains how hidden stressors can keep the body stuck in a cycle of inflammation, sensitivity, and stalled healing.


Why some wellness practices can backfire during chronic illness recovery. Learn why interventions such as fasting, cold plunges, intense exercise, and extensive supplement protocols may place additional stress on an already sensitized system, and why timing matters when it comes to healing. 

Tune in to learn more about the Healing Hierarchy, uncovering hidden obstacles to recovery, and how to create a more strategic path toward healing chronic illness.

Be sure to subscribe to the Thyroid Pharmacist Healing Conversations podcast so you don’t miss an episode!

Sign up for the Thyroid Pharmacist Weekly Thyroid Solutions Newsletter here: https://thyroidpharmacist.com/gift/ 

For the full list of resources and products mentioned in this episode, and to get the full episode transcript, see complete show notes here: https://thyroidpharmacist.com/articles/podcast/

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In this episode of the Thyroid Pharmacist Healing Conversations podcast, Dr. Izabella Wentz explores a question she has heard countless times from people with Hashimoto’s and thyroid conditions: Is not speaking your truth contributing to thyroid disease? Drawing from her own health journey, she shares personal experiences where suppressing her voice, avoiding difficult conversations, and prioritizing others’ needs appeared to coincide with symptom onset, symptom flare-ups, and periods of chronic stress.

Dr. Wentz also examines the science behind stress, nervous system dysregulation, immune function, and autoimmunity to better understand how emotional patterns may influence physical health. This conversation offers a compassionate and balanced perspective on the connection between self-expression, chronic stress, and healing, while emphasizing that thyroid disease is never caused by a single factor. Instead, it invites listeners to consider how long-standing patterns of people-pleasing, conflict avoidance, hyper-responsibility, and self-suppression may contribute to the physiological stress that impacts health and wellbeing.

What you'll learn in this episode:


Why so many people with Hashimoto's struggle to put themselves first. Many people with thyroid disease are highly responsible, caring, and dependable, but those same qualities can sometimes lead to chronic self-sacrifice. Dr. Wentz discusses the common patterns of people-pleasing, over-giving, conflict avoidance, and difficulty asking for help. Recognizing these patterns may be the first step toward reclaiming your health. 


How self-suppression may show up in the body. Through three personal stories, Dr. Wentz explores how avoiding difficult conversations and suppressing her needs appeared to coincide with chronic fatigue, acid reflux, persistent coughs, and symptom flare-ups, and how speaking up became part of her healing journey.


What the science says about stress and autoimmune disease. While emotions may not directly cause Hashimoto’s, chronic stress can influence immune function, inflammation, cortisol balance, gut health, and other biological systems that play a role in autoimmunity and symptom severity.


Why living in “fight-or-flight” can keep you feeling sick. Chronic vigilance, unresolved stress, and feeling unable to express yourself may keep the nervous system locked in survival mode, contributing to fatigue, brain fog, digestive issues, food sensitivities, and immune dysfunction.


The hidden link between emotional stress and gut health. Learn how chronic stress can reduce stomach acid, impair nutrient absorption, increase intestinal permeability, and weaken the body’s defenses, creating a ripple effect that may impact thyroid health and overall wellbeing.


Practical tools to shift from survival mode into healing mode. Discover actionable tools for supporting nervous system recovery, including boundary setting, EMDR, neurofeedback, targeted nutrients, blood sugar balance, stress reduction practices, and the foundational principles of Dr. Wentz’s Adrenal Transformation Protocol program.

Tune in to learn more about the relationship between chronic stress and autoimmune disease, why emotional patterns can influence physical health, how nervous system dysregulation affects healing, and practical ways to support both your emotional and physical wellbeing.

Be sure to subscribe to the Thyroid Pharmacist Healing Conversations podcast so you don’t miss an episode!

Sign up for the Thyroid Pharmacist Weekly Thyroid Solutions Newsletter here:⁠ https://thyroidpharmacist.com/gift/⁠

For the full list of resources and products mentioned in this episode, and to get the full episode transcript, see complete show notes here: ⁠https://thyroidpharmacist.com/articles/podcast/⁠

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In this episode of Thyroid Pharmacist Healing Conversations, Dr. Izabella Wentz interviews Dr. Anna Cabeca – triple board-certified OB-GYN, functional medicine practitioner, and women’s hormone expert – for an open and honest conversation about the topics many women are too embarrassed to ask about. They discuss libido, vaginal health, painful intercourse, hormones, fertility, postpartum recovery, perimenopause, and menopause.

Dr. Cabeca explains how hormonal changes affect everything from mood and intimacy to the vaginal microbiome and bladder health, while also sharing practical strategies women can explore to support healthy aging, hormone balance, and sexual wellness. This episode helps normalize conversations around women’s health, and reminds listeners that many symptoms commonly dismissed as “just aging” deserve attention and support.

 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:


Why libido is about so much more than testosterone. Dr. Anna explains why desire is influenced by hormones, stress, emotional connection, inflammation, adrenal health, and even whether your bedroom feels calming or chaotic. She also shares why many women experience “secondary desire” – meaning they don’t initiate intimacy but enjoy it once they get started.


The surprising connection between vaginal health, bladder health, and the microbiome. As estrogen and hormone levels decline with age, the vaginal microbiome changes too, increasing the risk for bacterial vaginosis, urinary symptoms, HPV, and painful intercourse. Dr. Anna explains why Lactobacillus species are essential for maintaining a healthy vaginal environment.


Why painful intercourse should never be dismissed as “normal aging.” Loss of collagen, elasticity, hormones, and healthy bacteria can all contribute to discomfort during sex, but Dr. Anna emphasizes that pelvic pain always deserves a full workup, including pelvic exams and transvaginal ultrasounds when appropriate.


How pregnancy and postpartum recovery can affect hormones in your 40s. Dr. Anna discusses why women in perimenopause may feel postpartum hormonal shifts more intensely, including the role of progesterone withdrawal, low omega-3 levels, and declining testosterone after pregnancy.


The overlooked ways birth control pills can affect libido and attraction. Dr. Anna explains how hormonal birth control suppresses ovulation, testosterone surges, and natural fertility signaling – potentially impacting sex drive, mood, and even who women are attracted to.


Why vaginal probiotics may support fertility, urinary health, and intimacy. Dr. Anna discusses how the vaginal microbiome can influence sperm survival, conception, urinary symptoms, and vaginal comfort – and why targeted probiotics may be an important tool in women’s health.

Tune in to learn more about hormones, intimacy, vaginal health, and how women can support their bodies through every stage of life. 

Sign up for the Thyroid Pharmacist Weekly Thyroid Solutions Newsletter here: https://thyroidpharmacist.com/gift/ 

For the full list of resources and products mentioned in this episode, and to get the full episode transcript, see complete show notes here: https://thyroidpharmacist.com/articles/podcast/

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