Nutrition with Judy | Holistic Health | Carnivore

Get personalized root-cause care with Empower Functional Health.
Learn more at empowerfunctionalhealth.com
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Does eating a high-fat diet cause leaky gut, increase endotoxins, or worsen CIRS and mold illness? In this episode, Judy Cho examines the research behind claims that saturated fat, ketogenic diets, and carnivore diets damage gut health. We break down what LPS (lipopolysaccharides) actually are, how dietary fat can transport endotoxins, and why an increase in blood endotoxins after a meal does not automatically establish chronic inflammation or intestinal permeability. We also examine human studies, mixed-meal research, and the important distinction between a temporary biological response and evidence of disease.
If you have improved your gut health on carnivore or keto but have been told to reduce fat because of endotoxins, this conversation will help you understand what the evidence can and cannot tell us. We discuss microbiome testing, CIRS, metabolic health, environmental exposures, and why gut healing requires more than focusing on one dietary variable. The goal is not to dismiss concerns about LPS, but to examine the research carefully and identify the questions that still need better answers. Watch the full episode for the study breakdowns and a more complete understanding of the high-fat and gut-health debate.
Is high fat bad for gut health?
What are endotoxins and LPS?
What microbiome testing can and cannot tell us
How endotoxins enter the bloodstream
What the human high-fat studies actually tested
Do keto and carnivore increase endotoxins?
Other factors that can raise endotoxins
CIRS, mold illness, and supporting gut health
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EPISODE REFERENCES
- GI Map Stool Test
- Brainmaker by David Perlmutter
- International Consensus
- Sabine Hazan Episode
- Akkermansia Article
- Polyol Pathway, Richard Johnson
- Coconut LPS, Kiran Krishnan
- Long Term Carnivore + Fiber

STUDIES MENTIONED IN EPISODE
- Microbiome testing consensus
- Metabolic endotoxemia and obesity
- Chylomicrons transport intestinal LPS
- Chylomicrons transport dietary antigens
- Dietary fats and endotoxin inflammation
- Dietary oils and endotoxin transport
- Fat type and post-meal endotoxin
- Short-term high-fat diet and endotoxin
- Obesity modifies endotoxin response
- Keto diet reduces LPS signaling
- Dietary fat and metabolic endotoxemia review
- Keto diet and endotoxemia in prediabetes
- Binge drinking increases endotoxin
- Fructose increases circulating endotoxin
- Exercise, heat stress, and endotoxin
- Alcohol withdrawal improves gut permeability
- Food structure affects endotoxin response
- Cream, glucose, and endotoxin response
- High-fat/high-carb meal increases endotoxin
- Limits of translating animal research 
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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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JUDY CHO RESOURCES
⛑️Work with Us: https://empowerfunctionalhealth.com/services/
🎙️ Podcast: https://nutritionwithjudy.buzzsprout.com/
📘 Carnivore Cure Book & Elimination Diet: https://amzn.to/3R4VAXn
📘 Inflammation Fix Book: https://www.inflammationfix.co/
📚 Articles: https://nutritionwithjudy.com/articles/
🎁 Free Resources: https://nutritionwithjudy.com/resources/
📗 Complete Carnivore Diet for Beginners: https://amzn.to/3D5lyo5

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*DISCLAIMER: This content is for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. It should not replace professional medical advice.
If you want to try GTA-Forte II, you can get a discount here: https://www.nutritionwithjudy.com/podcasts/

Get personalized root-cause care with Empower Functional Health.
Learn more at empowerfunctionalhealth.com
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Why do some people remain chronically ill even after treating Lyme disease, mold exposure, or Long COVID? Dr. Richard Horowitz joins me to break down his 16-point MSIDS model and the overlapping factors he looks for in complex chronic illness, including Lyme and Bartonella, Babesia, mold and mycotoxins, mast cell activation (MCAS), gut dysfunction, POTS, mitochondrial dysfunction, immune dysregulation, and nervous system health.
We also get into some of the most provocative areas of his recent work: Alzheimer’s disease and p-tau217, his dapsone protocols for persistent Lyme and Bartonella, why some patients struggle with treatment, how he decides what to address first, and what may determine why one person recovers after an infection while another develops chronic illness. Dr. Horowitz also explains why looking beyond a single diagnosis may change how we think about Long COVID, chronic Lyme disease, mold illness, brain health, and recovery.
We discuss the following:
The 16-point MSIDS model and episode preview
Lyme, mold, MCAS, Long COVID: what do you treat first?
How long does meaningful healing actually take?
Long COVID, mast cells, Lyme, Bartonella, and mold
Why Bartonella can be so difficult to identify and treat
What to do when your doctor isn’t looking at the full picture
Alzheimer’s disease, Lyme, and the p-tau217 case study
The surprising dementia statistic Dr. Horowitz discusses
Dapsone, inflammation, and Alzheimer’s research
What if you can’t tolerate the dapsone protocol?
Herbal protocols, biofilms, and persistent Lyme
Dr. Horowitz’s approach to mold and mycotoxins
Why chronic illness requires a different framework
What happens when the infection is gone but the body still feels unsafe?
Stress, mast cells, histamine, and the mind-body connection
Why do some people develop chronic Lyme or Long COVID while others don’t?
The philosophy that shaped Dr. Horowitz’s approach to medicine
Final message for people struggling with chronic illness
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EPISODE RESOURCES
Work with us one-on-one
Ending Chronic Illness: A Revolutionary New Program to Reverse Inflammation and Heal Persistent Disease 
Medical Detective Substack
16-Point MSIDS Model Explained
Dr. Richard Horowitz Website
Dr. Richard Horowitz Facebook
Dr. Richard Horowitz Instagram
Can Carnivore Heal Chronic Lyme? – Understanding Chronic Lyme Symptoms - Interview with Dr. Richard Horowitz
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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
📫 Tips and Weekly Updates

JUDY CHO RESOURCES
⛑️ Work with Us
🎙️ Podcast
📕 Inflammation Fix Book
📘 Carnivore Cure Book & Elimination Diet
📚 Articles
🎁 Free Resources
📗 Complete Carnivore Diet for Beginners

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*DISCLAIMER: This content is for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. It should not replace professional medical advice.
If you want to try GTA-Forte II, you can get a discount here: https://www.nutritionwithjudy.com/podcasts/

Get personalized root-cause care with Empower Functional Health.
Learn more at empowerfunctionalhealth.com
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What if the way you’re approaching chronic illness is making your life smaller while you’re trying to get better? In this episode, Judy Cho explores the connection between chronic illness, nervous system regulation, root-cause healing, and the tendency to postpone life until every symptom is resolved. From strict diets and supplement protocols to the constant search for the next answer, we examine how healing can gradually become the center of your identity, and why that may affect your sense of purpose, connection, and peace.
Drawing from conversations in Empower Functional Health and the Wholeness Method, Judy discusses the backwards law, the difference between pursuing healing and chasing perfect conditions, and how faith can provide perspective through difficult seasons. This conversation is for anyone navigating CIRS, mold illness, autoimmune conditions, chronic inflammation, or other long-term health challenges who feels caught between doing everything possible to recover and wanting to live again. It is not about abandoning treatment or ignoring real physical limitations; it is about asking a more difficult question: how do you continue healing without putting your entire life on hold?
Why we keep waiting for life to get better
Is complete symptom resolution required to live?
The backwards law and the pursuit of happiness
Why a good life is not the absence of struggle
When chronic illness becomes your entire identity
A different question to ask during chronic illness
How two healing paths begin to separate
Why waiting for perfect health can cost you years
When letting go of rigidity may be part of healing
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EPISODE REFERENCES
Our NwJ and EFH groups
Our clinical practice
Wholeness Method nervous system regulation
Inflammation Fix
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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
📫 Tips and Weekly Updates
_____
JUDY CHO RESOURCES
⛑️ Work with Us
🎙️ Podcast
📕 Inflammation Fix Book
📘 Carnivore Cure Book & Elimination Diet
📚 Articles
🎁 Free Resources
📗 Complete Carnivore Diet for Beginners
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*DISCLAIMER: This content is for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. It should not replace professional medical advice.

Get personalized root-cause care with Empower Functional Health.
Learn more at empowerfunctionalhealth.com
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Why can mast cell symptoms, histamine reactions, brain fog, fatigue, food sensitivities, and inflammation continue even when your labs look normal or the original trigger is gone? In this episode, I break down the connection between stress, CRH, cortisol, mast cell activation, histamine, the nervous system, and chronic illness, including why mast cells can react before cortisol rises and why standard testing may not always capture what is happening in the moment. We also look at how mold exposure, infections, diet, psychological stress, and nervous system dysregulation can all feed into the same neuroimmune response.
If you have MCAS, histamine intolerance, mold illness, CIRS, chronic Lyme, food reactions, gut issues, or persistent inflammatory symptoms, this conversation may help explain why focusing on only one trigger is sometimes not enough. I also cover the feedback loop among the brain, hypothalamus, mast cells, immune mediators, and symptoms; why reactions can continue after an exposure has been removed; and what it means to address both the physical and nervous-system sides of chronic illness without dismissing either.
Why Some People Don’t Heal Even After Doing Everything Right 
Your Stress Response Can Start Before Cortisol 
Your Cortisol Test Can Look Normal While Your Body Is Still Stressed 
Why Your Body Prioritizes Survival Over Thyroid 
Mast Cells Are Like a Smoke Alarm That Won’t Shut Off 
Mold Exposure and Fear of Mold Can Trigger the Same Stress Pathway 
Why Normal Mast Cell Labs Can Miss a Flare 
Stress Can Literally Make Your Gut More Permeable 
Why You’re Still Sick After Removing the Trigger 
Mast Cells Aren’t the Root Cause
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EPISODE REFERENCES
Work with us one-on-one
Inflammation Fix
MCAS: Why your body reacts to everything
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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
📫 Tips and Weekly Updates
_____
JUDY CHO RESOURCES
⛑️ Work with Us
🎙️ Podcast
📕 Inflammation Fix Book
📘 Carnivore Cure Book & Elimination Diet
📚 Articles
🎁 Free Resources
📗 Complete Carnivore Diet for Beginners
_____
*DISCLAIMER: This content is for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. It should not replace professional medical advice.

If you want to try GTA-Forte II, you can get a discount here: https://www.nutritionwithjudy.com/podcasts/

Get personalized root-cause care with Empower Functional Health.
Learn more at empowerfunctionalhealth.com
_____
Iodine supplementation remains one of the most debated topics in thyroid health. Some practitioners warn that iodine, especially higher-dose forms such as Lugol’s iodine, may trigger thyroid dysfunction, Hashimoto’s, or hyperthyroidism, while others argue that iodine deficiency is widespread and often overlooked. In this episode, Judy Cho examines the Wolff–Chaikoff effect, iodine’s role beyond the thyroid, and why iodized salt may not provide enough iodine for optimal health.

The deeper history raises an even more important question: are we blaming supplemental iodine while ignoring other exposures that may have affected thyroid health for generations? Judy explores radioactive iodine, nuclear fallout, contaminated food supplies, and the historical events that may have shaped today’s fear around iodine. She also explains why the distinction between nutritional iodine and radioactive iodine matters before deciding whether iodine is helpful or harmful.
Is iodine dangerous for your thyroid?
The Wolff–Chaikoff effect explained
Iodine deficiency, bromide, fluoride, and chloride
The forgotten history of radioactive iodine exposure
What government research found about thyroid risk
Radioactive iodine exposure
Understanding the difference between supplemental iodine vs. radioactive iodine
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EPISODE REFERENCES
Thyroid Dose and Risk Calculator for Nuclear Weapons Fallout for the US Population
Exposure of the American People to Iodine-131 from Nevada Nuclear-Bomb Tests
CDC Fallout Study Table of Contents
Chapter 8 of CDC Results US Before and After exposure
How to Take Iodine Episodes 
Lynne Farrow Interview
Iodine Episodes
Free Iodine Guide 

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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
📫 Tips and Weekly Updates

JUDY CHO RESOURCES
⛑️Work with Us
🎙️ Podcast
📕 Inflammation Fix Book
📘 Carnivore Cure Book & Elimination Diet
📚 Articles
🎁 Free Resources 

_____
*DISCLAIMER: This content is for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. It should not replace professional medical advice.