Katie Wells, CTNC, MCHC, Founder and CEO of WellnessMama.com and Wellnesse is my guest on today's show.

A mom of six with a background in journalism, she took health into her own hands and started researching to find answers to her health struggles. Her research turned into a blog and podcast, and she’s now written over 1,500 blog posts, three books, and was named one of the 100 most influential people in health and wellness.

When she’s not reading medical journals, creating new recipes, or recording podcasts, you can find her somewhere outside in the sun with her husband (who she met walking across the country) and kids or undertaking some DIY remodeling project. Obligatory additional unrelated randomness: doula, speed-reader, hates bananas, loves baseball, scuba-diver, INTJ, highly experienced in answering the question, “why.”

Her new company Wellnesse is her debut line of high-quality, all-natural, and clean personal care products. It is based on the DIY creations she has been making in her kitchen for years and is set to launch January 2020. Cruelty-free, GMO-free, and paraben-free are important personal care product qualities for Katie Wells, CTNC, MCHC, award-winning blogger, author, podcaster, and real-food crusader.

The first products in the Wellnesse product line include:

-Whitening Toothpaste
-Cleansing Shampoo for All Hair Types
-Smoothing Shampoo for All Hair Types
-Nourishing Conditioner for Wavy, Curly Hair
-Enriching Conditioner for Wavy, Curly Hair

Katie spent more than ten years researching the personal care market and perfecting her own recipes using safe and natural ingredients.

Unable to find commercially-available products that lived up to their clean and green labels, she developed a mission to bring simpler, safer personal care to the homes of families across the country with Wellnesse.

During our discussion, you'll discover:

-Why Katie was doing a water fast at the time of recording the podcast...5:41

• Begin w/ time-restricted eating; progress to 24-hour water fast, eventually a 10-day water fast
• Every major religion includes fasting as part of their lifestyle
• Katie does it for the mental benefits, more so than the physical
• Book: Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
• Book: The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
• Benefits of water fasting:
  • Give the gut time to replenish
  • Increase autophagy in the body
  • Lowering age-related inflammation
  • Immune benefits

-How Katie has lost over 50 pounds in the last 12 months...10:10

• Tried doing it "by the book" to no avail; saw real change when she dealt w/ the emotional elements of weight gain
• Suffered a sexual trauma as a teenager, and did not properly address it emotionally at the time
• Hormonal distress; sympathetic nervous system always on alert
• Therapy that involved being picked up, learning to trust others, adrenaline shake, etc.
  • Similar to Trauma Release Exercise (TRE) therapy
  • What is TRE® | Tension, Stress and Trauma Release : TRE®
• Book: The Healing Code by Alexander Loyd

-Biohacks or technology that are efficacious for weight loss...19:10

• Sauna
  • Clearlight Saunas
• Cryotherapy
• Nutrition Genome
• 23andMe

-How Katie balances multiple businesses while raising 6 children...24:09

• Wellness Mama began with the simple desire to provide a better life for her newborn children
• Background in journalism sparked a desire for research in topics that weren't well-known at the time
• Became excessively stressed after the 3rd child
  • Business was easy; implement and execute systems
  • Family did not have as much continuity
  • Began running the family like a business (systems, schedules, etc.)
• No nannies, personal assistant for business, a tutor for homeschool
• Children are involved in the business (working to their strengths)
• Children need to have a profitable business before they can own a car or a cellphone

-The process of testing and researching info that's published on Wellness Mama...32:03

• Structured work 3-4 hours per day
• Kitchen is a test lab for new products
• Environmental Working Group
• Concern over lack of oversight and accountability in personal care products
  • FDA has little authority to pull products from shelves
  • Major brand facing 15k lawsuits for using talcum powder in their baby powder

-Problems with your so-called "healthy" toothpaste...39:00

• Most natural toothpastes contain glycerine, alternative sweeteners that may harm the oral microbiome
• Ingredients to be found in a toothpaste made by Katie:
  • Experimented w/ a paste that mimicked oil pulling
  • Calcium
  • Baking soda
  • Meme and green tea
  • Xylitol (beneficial for oral microbiome)
• Oral microbiome affects the gut microbiome more than we thought before

-The household products that are notoriously unhealthy and need to be swapped out right now...45:03

• Laundry detergent
• Toothpaste
• Conventional shampoo and sunscreen
• Many "Green" cleaning products contain harmful ingredients
• Fabric softener and dryer sheets can be linked to asthma, autoimmune disease
  • Branch Basics cleaning products
• Children may experience early onset of puberty as a result of these products in the home

-Some of the products that Katie's company is focusing on in the next 12 months...51:54

• The majority of what you put on your skin will be absorbed by the body
  • Make the products w/ beneficial ingredients that will be absorbed
• Focus on the most difficult and time-consuming home-made products on the Wellness Mama blog
• Wellnesse is a certified B-Corp.; don't need to focus primarily on profits to be successful
• Be careful when using lavender essential oil on boys (smaller amounts can be supportive)
• Two types of shampoo and conditioner
• Remineralizing toothpaste
• Sunscreen and bug spray

-Up and coming health trends Katie is excited about for 2020 and beyond...1:02:48

• Heart rate variability (HRV)
  • Apollo Neuro
  • BGF podcast w/ Dr. David Rabin of Apollo
• Oura Ring
• Nature Beat app
• Bio Strap
• Sauna therapy
  • Clearlight Sauna
  • Increase heat as much as possible
  • Wood-based essential oils
  • Brain.fm
• Ben's biggies for HRV:
  • Sleep, breathwork, meditation
  • CBD at night
  • Cold therapy

-And much more...

Resources from this episode:

- Wellnesse - What is TRE® | Tension, Stress and Trauma Release : TRE® - Book: The Healing Code by Alexander Loyd - Nutrition Genome - Environmental Working Group - Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine - Hormone-Containing Hair Product Use in Prepubertal Children - Book: Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl - Book: The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz - Branch Basics - Morozko Forge ($150 off the retail price for any Forge)

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Do you have questions, thoughts or feedback for Katie or me? Leave your comments below and one of us will reply!