Food Junkies Recovery Stories Episode 33: Heather Miller
Food Junkies Podcast
CJ welcomes Heather to the podcast, a guest whose bright, charismatic energy lights up the conversation from the start. Heather is exceptionally open and instantly warming, sharing her journey with honesty and heart. She speaks candidly about living with diabetes, her long battle with sugar and ultra-processed food addiction, and the moment everything changed, when she realized she wanted to become a healthy, active grandmother for her grandchild. That love became her fuel for transformation. Heather’s story is one of resilience, clarity, and choosing...
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Episode 278: Dr. John Kelly | The Science of Recovery – What the Research Really Says
Food Junkies Podcast
What does recovery look like — and how do we measure it? In this episode, we're joined by Dr. John Kelly, one of the world's leading addiction researchers and founder of the Recovery Research Institute at Harvard Medical School, for a deep dive into the science behind what makes recovery possible, sustainable, and real. Dr. Kelly breaks down the difference between remission and recovery, shares what decades of research tells us about who gets better (spoiler: most people do) and unpacks the active ingredients that help people build lives they love. We also get into the language we use around...
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Episode 277: Dr. Rachel Herz | The Science of Disgust, Smell, and Why You Eat What You Eat
Food Junkies Podcast
What if the key to understanding your relationship with food isn't willpower — it's neuroscience? In this fascinating episode, Dr. Vera Tarman sits down with Dr. Rachel Herz, neuroscientist, leading expert on the psychology of smell, and author of Why You Eat What You Eat and That's Disgusting. From the evolutionary roots of disgust to why ultra-processed foods bypass our natural aversion responses, this conversation will genuinely change how you think about what ends up on your plate — and in your mouth. What You'll Learn in This Episode Why disgust is almost entirely learned — and...
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Episode 276: Esther Kane, MSW | Highly Sensitive People
Food Junkies Podcast
Are you highly sensitive — and secretly using food to manage a world that feels like too much? In this episode, Dr. Vera Tarman sits down with Esther Kane, MSW, a British Columbia-based psychotherapist with nearly 30 years of experience helping highly sensitive people (HSPs) break free from emotional eating and food addiction. Esther isn't just a clinician — she's an HSP herself who nearly died from an eating disorder and has spent decades figuring out what works. If you've ever been told you're "too sensitive," struggled to explain why food feels like your only relief, or burned out...
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Episode 275: Clinician's Corner | Recovery in Unsettled Times
Food Junkies Podcast
Life doesn't pause for recovery — and right now, life is a lot. In this Clinician's Corner episode, co-hosts Molly Painschab and Clarissa Kennedy sit down for an honest, grounded conversation about what it looks like to stay connected to your recovery when the world feels like it's on fire and your personal life is a lot at the same time. This isn't a pep talk. These are two clinicians talking real about the neuroscience of stress and cravings, the shame spiral that follows a slip, and what "minimum viable recovery" can look like when you're just trying to make it to tomorrow. If you've been...
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Episode 274: Chérie St. Arnauld | Grassroots Mobilization — How We Push the Message of Food Addiction Forward
Food Junkies Podcast
What does it take to turn personal pain into policy change? In this episode, Dr. Vera Tarman sits down with Chérie St. Arnauld, Executive Director of Metabolic Revolution and a passionate advocate for metabolic health, to explore the power of grassroots mobilization in the fight against ultra-processed foods. Chérie grew up in a household shaped by economic constraints and ultra-processed food. It was her sister's cancer diagnosis, and the radical dietary intervention that gave her 10 more years of life, that forever changed how Chérie understood the relationship between food and healing....
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Food Junkies Recovery Stories Episode 32: Kristy McCammon
Food Junkies Podcast
CJ has the privilege of sitting down with Kristy today. Today, I’m honored to introduce Kristy, a devoted homeschooling mom whose life is a powerful testimony of resilience, strength, and hope. Kristy once believed her struggles were simply about weight and exercise, never realizing she was battling food addiction. Through faith, courage, and deep self-discovery, she came to understand the root of her struggle and found freedom on the other side. She is unwavering in her belief that God carried her through every step of the journey. Now, she shares her story to encourage others, offering...
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Episode 273: Dr. Jacob May | 🧠 How Ultra-Processed Foods Destroy Your Kids' Metabolism
Food Junkies Podcast
What's really happening inside your child's body when they eat ultra-processed food? In this episode, Dr. Vera Tarman sits down with Dr. Jacob May — mitochondrial researcher, registered dietitian, and Associate Professor at Pennington Biomedical Research Center — to explore the cellular and metabolic consequences of a diet dominated by ultra-processed foods, particularly in children. Dr. May leads the Mitochondrial Energetics and Nutrient Utilization Laboratory, where his team investigates how dietary patterns shape metabolism at the cellular level. He's a keynote speaker, precision...
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Episode 272: Dr. Ellen Hendriksen | How to Be Enough: Perfectionism, Shame & Self-Worth in Recovery
Food Junkies Podcast
Are you working hard, caring deeply, and still feeling like it's not enough? You're not alone, and this episode is for you. This week, Molly and Clarissa sit down with Dr. Ellen Hendriksen, clinical psychologist, core faculty at the Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders at Boston University, and author of How to Be Enough and How to Be Yourself. Ellen brings warmth, science, and radical compassion to one of the most common, and most quietly painful, struggles in recovery: perfectionism. In this conversation, we explore: 🔹 Where perfectionism actually comes from — genetics, family of...
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Episode 271: Clinician's Corner | "Nobody Ever Asked Me What I Wanted" — When Clinicians Stop Listening & Why It Harms Recovery
Food Junkies Podcast
Have you ever left a session feeling smaller than when you walked in? In this episode of Food Junkies: Clinician’s Corner, Clarissa and Molly explore one of the most important — and least talked about — dynamics in eating disorder, food addiction, and substance use treatment: what happens when the clinician's model gets in the way of the client's healing. 🔑 What We Cover in This Episode: ⬡ The Rosenhan Experiment — how psychiatric patients were misdiagnosed and then had their normal behavior interpreted as worsening symptoms, and what it reveals about clinical bias today ⬡...
info_outlineDr. Paul O’Malley is a Los Angeles-based dentist who’s redefining what it means to care for your teeth—and your whole body. With more than 30 years of experience, Dr. O’Malley specializes in biomimetic and holistic dentistry, which basically means he works with your body, not against it. His focus is on preserving your natural tooth structure, using biocompatible materials, and avoiding the “drill and fill” mindset that leaves so many people anxious about the dentist’s chair.
He earned his DDS from Creighton University and completed a residency at Baylor University, but what really sets him apart is his philosophy: dentistry should heal and protect, not just patch things up. Over the years, he’s trained with some of the top names in cosmetic and restorative dentistry and has become a fellow of both the International Academy of Dentofacial Esthetics and the Academy of Biomimetic Dentistry.
At his practice in Encino, California, Dr. O’Malley helps patients restore confidence, comfort, and long-term oral health—often with procedures that are far less invasive than traditional methods. He’s also the founder of Great Oral Health, a line of probiotic-based products designed to support a healthy mouth microbiome and overall wellness.
We all know sugar messes with our health — but did you know it’s one of the biggest culprits behind tooth decay, gum disease, and even inflammation throughout your body? 😬
💥 It’s not just how much sugar you eat — it’s how often!
Every sip or bite keeps your teeth bathing in acid and your enamel under attack.
🦠 Your mouth has a microbiome too — good bacteria that protect you!
Constant sugar, grazing, or even “healthy” acidic drinks (like lemon water or sugar-free soda) can throw that balance off.
💧 The fix is simple and kind:
✨ Eat in meals, not all day.
✨ Rinse with water after coffee, tea, or lemon water.
✨ Wait 20 minutes before brushing to protect enamel.
✨ Floss daily (it breaks up the “bug party” that causes decay).
✨ Use a soft brush and gentle angle — your gums aren’t a kitchen floor!
✨ Try hydroxyapatite toothpaste (it helps re-harden enamel naturally).
❤️ Your mouth is part of your body — not separate from it.
Bleeding gums, bad breath, or constant sensitivity are not normal signs of “aging.”
They’re little SOS signals asking for care.
💬 And for parents: kids copy what we do, not what we say. Brushing and rinsing together is a tiny daily act of prevention and connection.
Let’s make “self-care” include our smiles. Because a healthy mouth = a healthier body.
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The content of our show is educational only. It does not supplement or supersede your healthcare provider's professional relationship and direction. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified mental health providers with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition, substance use disorder, or mental health concern.