Nutrition with Judy | Carnivore Diet

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
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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
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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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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 

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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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Dr. Judi Keller is a veterinarian who spent roughly two decades practicing conventional veterinary medicine before shifting toward a more holistic approach. After becoming increasingly uncomfortable with how heavily veterinary care could rely on pharmaceuticals and symptom management, she pursued additional training in acupuncture, herbal medicine, nutrition, and integrative care. Her work has focused on helping dogs and cats build better health through species-appropriate nutrition, reducing unnecessary exposures, and looking more carefully at the individual animal rather than automatically following a one-size-fits-all protocol.
In this conversation, we question some of the most routine decisions pet owners are asked to make and why many of us rarely stop to examine them. We discuss what may be hiding behind familiar pet-food labels, how veterinary recommendations have changed over time, and how to think more critically about nutrition, medications, vaccines, parasite prevention, testing, and other aspects of everyday pet care. This episode is not about avoiding veterinary care; it is about becoming a more informed pet owner, understanding risks and trade-offs, and asking better questions so you can make thoughtful decisions for the animal you love.
We discuss the following: 
Dr. Judy Keller’s background
Pet longevity versus quality of life 
Foods dogs should never eat
What’s really inside kibble?
Urinary disease in cats
Are all pet vaccines necessary?
Potential risks of vaccination
Rethinking heartworm prevention
Flea prevention without routine medication
Rethinking spaying and neutering
Why fresh food isn’t considered 
Why working dogs choose meat 
When bloody diarrhea needs care 
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EPISODE RESOURCES
Holistic Dog and Pet Wellness Article
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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
_____
Can a carnivore diet actually be healthy long term? It’s one of the biggest questions around carnivore, especially when the conversation turns to nutrient deficiencies, vitamin C, magnesium and potassium, fiber, gut health, the microbiome, and whether an all-meat diet is simply too restrictive to sustain. In this 400th episode of the Nutrition with Judy podcast, I break down four of the most common concerns about eating carnivore long term and look at what deserves a closer examination.
We also get into what the nutrition research can and cannot tell us about long-term dietary safety, how nutrient variety differs from nutrient sufficiency, questions around fiber and digestive health, and what actually matters when evaluating whether a diet is working for an individual. If you follow a carnivore diet, are considering one, or are questioning whether carnivore can be sustainable for years, this episode walks through the arguments that deserve more nuance.
Concern 1: Is carnivore too restrictive?
Concern 2: Nutrient deficiencies and food variety
Concern 3: Fiber and gut health
Concern 4: Long-term carnivore research
What to consider for long-term carnivore
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EPISODE REFERENCES
Slides from episode
Work with us one-on-one
Inflammation Fix

_____
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/