Food Junkies Podcast

Your eyes might be revealing metabolic disease long before your doctor catches it in bloodwork — and most people have no idea. In this episode, Dr. Vera Tarman sits down with Dr. Radka Toms, ophthalmologist, functional medicine practitioner, and founder of My Sugar Stop, to explore the fascinating and largely unknown connection between sugar, gut health, and your vision.
Dr. Toms shares her own story — from a "hardcore conventional doctor" eating chocolate bars for lunch to developing rosacea and insulin resistance and eventually pioneering the field of nutritional ophthalmology.
What You'll Learn:
👁️ The Eye-Metabolic Health Connection — How your ophthalmologist may spot insulin resistance, pre-diabetes, and inflammation before your blood work does
💧 Dry Eye & Sugar — Why so many dry eye patients have a metabolic root cause, and how improving diet can reduce or eliminate symptoms
🔬 The Gut-Eye Axis — How bacteria in your gut produce metabolites that travel through the bloodstream and directly affect eye tissue — including the link to macular degeneration, glaucoma, and Sjögren's syndrome
🌿 The 7 Types of Eye Conditions Linked to Metabolic Health:
Dry eye & ocular rosacea
Diabetic retinopathy
Age-related macular degeneration
Glaucoma
Cataracts
Vascular/cardiometabolic changes in the eye
Sjögren's syndrome
☀️ Light as Medicine — Circadian biology, why 10 minutes outside within 20 minutes of waking matters, when to wear sunglasses (11am–3pm), and how ceiling lights at night are confusing your brain
🥑 The PFF Framework — Dr. Toms' practical nutrition approach: Protein, Fat (especially omega-3s), Fiber, and Fermented foods — and why fiber is "the king"
💊 The DRRN Method — Define, Replace, Rebalance, Nourish: Dr. Toms' four-phase approach to helping patients reverse metabolic eye conditions through lifestyle change
Mentioned in This Episode:
My Sugar Stop — https://www.mysugarstop.com/
Matrix Eye Clinic & UHealth (UK-based in-person care): https://matrixeyeclinic.com/our-services/nutritional-ophthalmology/
Lipopolysaccharides as an early inflammatory marker
Robert Lustig's early work on sugar and inflammation
About Dr. Radka Toms: Dr. Toms completed her medical training in the Czech Republic and ophthalmology specialization in the UK, later adding functional medicine and integrative nutritional coaching. She is the founder of My Sugar Stop and Oko Health, and a pioneer in nutritional ophthalmology. She reversed her own rosacea and insulin resistance using the methods she now teaches.

"When you look at an acorn in isolation, you just see an acorn. You don't see its transformative capacity to become an oak tree. People have that same capacity." — Dr. Radka Toms
The Food Junkies Podcast is hosted by Dr. Vera Tarman, Molly Painschab, and Clarissa Kennedy. New episodes every week.
📧Email us at foodjunkiespodcast@gmail.com
👍 Like, subscribe, and share if this episode resonated with you.
 
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.

In this episode of Clinician's Corner, Molly and Clarissa get real about one of the most pervasive and painful barriers in recovery from ultra-processed food use disorder: shame and stigma.
Fresh off facilitating two back-to-back retreats (with Vera joining both!), they bring the depth of those in-person conversations directly to you. This is the kind of episode that meets you where you are — no toxic positivity, no oversimplified "just love yourself" advice, and absolutely no shaming you into change.
In this episode, you'll hear:
The ancient roots of stigma and how it evolved from physical branding to the labels we carry today
How external stigma becomes internalized — and why that inner critic is the real battleground
Why shame is rarely a catalyst for sustainable change (and why "hitting bottom" is not a recovery strategy)
The ways shame quietly shrinks our lives: postponing travel, relationships, photos, joy — until we're "fixed"
Whether shame can ever be an ally, and when it becomes maladaptive
Why self-compassion is the antidote to shame — but it's not the whole story
The difference between doing this work cognitively vs. somatically, and why both matter
What it looks like to stop fighting shame and start collaborating with it instead
Exploring Shame Resource
A note for listeners: This is a big ask. Everything we talk about today is deeply ingrained — not a simple reframe. Give yourself permission to take it slowly. You don't have to figure this out in 60 minutes (it's taken us decades, and we're still in it).
Connect with us:
📧 FoodJunkiesPodcast@gmail.com
🌐 https://www.sweetsobriety.ca/
If this episode resonated with you, please leave a review and share it with someone who needs to hear it. And remember — your life is happening right now. Get in there and live it.
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.

What do you do when your child will only eat three foods — and none of them are vegetables? For Natalie Peltro, certified nutritional therapist and lifestyle medicine expert, that was her reality. Her son was diagnosed with severe nonverbal autism at 18 months, and the journey to help him heal through food became the foundation of her entire career.
In this episode, Natalie shares the framework she's used with hundreds of families to overcome picky eating — not through force, pressure, or sneaky tricks that backfire — but through biology, nervous system awareness, and what she calls the Four E's.
Whether you're navigating picky eating in your household, supporting clients who struggle with ultra-processed food habits from childhood, or just trying to understand why your kid will eat mac and cheese but nothing green, this conversation is full of practical, compassionate strategies you can start using today.
In this episode, we cover:
How Natalie's son went from eating only 3 foods (nonverbal, severely autistic) to graduating mainstream school with honors
Why "fed is best" may be an outdated framework in today's ultra-processed food environment
The biology of picky eating — zinc deficiency, taste perception, and why green foods taste bitter to nutrient-deficient kids
The 10% Fading Rule: how to transform mac and cheese into a nutrient-dense meal without your child noticing
The Three Stages of Picky Eaters: Resistor, Adventurer, and Negotiator — and why the approach must be different for each
The Four E's Framework: Expectation, Emotional Intelligence, Environment, and Encouragement
Why "taste training" works faster in kids than adults (3–5 days vs. 7–14)
How your nervous system is sabotaging mealtime — and what to do before you even pick up the plate
The coupon system, safe plates, and other creative strategies that actually work
How to talk to grandparents and caregivers about food changes without blowing up the relationship
About Natalie Peltro: Natalie is the co-founder of Blue Life RX and creator of the Neuronutrition Program (formerly "Bring the Fun Back to Mealtime"), which helps families with picky eaters — including children with autism and ARFID — expand their food diversity through biology-first, fun-first strategies. She's also the host of the upcoming Brilliant Brains podcast.
🌐 Website: https://www.blueliferx.com/neuronutrition
📱 Instagram: nataliepelto_blueliferx 
ⓕ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BlueLifeRx
🎙️Podcast: Out in June 2026 – keep checking the website!!
The Food Junkies Podcast is hosted by Dr. Vera Tarman, Molly Painschab, and Clarissa Kennedy. New episodes every week.
📧Email us at foodjunkiespodcast@gmail.com
👍 Like, subscribe, and share if this episode resonated with you. Leave a comment below — we'd love to know: what's your biggest challenge around picky eating or feeding your family real food?
 
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.

What if the most powerful tool for mental health recovery isn't a medication — it's your metabolism? 

Dr. Erin Louise Bellamy joins Dr. Vera Tarman for a deep dive into ketogenic metabolic therapy: what it is, how it works, and why it may be one of the most underutilized interventions in both psychiatric care and food addiction recovery. 

Dr. Bellamy is a chartered psychologist, CEO of IKRT (International Ketogenic Research & Therapy), and a research fellow at the University of East London. She has been researching and applying ketogenic metabolic therapy in clinical settings since 2014, with a background that bridges eating disorders, psychiatric research, and metabolic health. 

In this episode, Vera and Erin discuss: 

How Erin went from eating disorder and alexithymia research to ketogenic metabolic psychiatry — and why the field's "biopsychosocial" model was missing the bio 


The difference between metabolic psychiatry, ketogenic therapy, and therapeutic carbohydrate restriction — and why the terminology matters 


What carbohydrate range actually produces therapeutic ketosis (and why "dirty keto" doesn't cut it) 


The shared mechanistic pathways across psychiatric diagnoses — including mitochondrial dysfunction, insulin resistance, and neuroinflammation 


Why antipsychotic medications create metabolic dysfunction, and how ketogenic therapy can help offset those side effects 


The GABA/glutamate shift that makes ketones naturally anxiolytic — and why this may work differently than the serotonin model of depression 


The "buffer effect": what it feels like to be in ketosis when you're a food addict — and why some people describe it as a pane of glass between themselves and a trigger food 


How ketogenic therapy compares to GLP-1 medications (Ozempic/Wegovy) for reducing food noise — and Erin's concerns about the long-term research 


MCT oil vs. exogenous ketones: when each is useful, and when exogenous ketones are counterproductive 


Applying ketogenic therapy to people with ADHD, bipolar disorder, and co-occurring food addiction 


How to support vegan or plant-based clients who want to pursue ketogenic therapy 


Why the first week matters most — and how to help clients through withdrawal without triggering a binge 


The 19-person IKRT group program published in Frontiers — and what's coming next in the research 



Connect with Dr. Erin Bellamy:  

🌐Web: Integrative Ketogenic Research and Therapies | ketogenic diet and mental health 

 

Food Junkies Podcast is hosted by Dr. Vera Tarman, Molly Painschab, and Clarissa Kennedy. New episodes every week. 

Connect with Food Junkies Podcast:  

🌐Web: Food Junkies Podcast ▶️ YouTube: Food Junkies Podcast - YouTube 

💌Email: foodjunkiespodcast@gmail.com 

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.

CJ is joined today by Peggy, whose story is as raw as it is relatable. From the age of six, Peggy began navigating a complicated relationship with food that would follow her into adulthood. She shares candidly about tying her worth to always having a boyfriend, and the deep need for validation that drove those choices. While she was able to walk away from cigarettes with ease, food proved to be a far more difficult battle. Through years of weight fluctuations and self-discovery, Peggy's authenticity shines. Her honesty, vulnerability, and insight will resonate with anyone who has ever struggled to feel enough.
If you're considering personalized assistance, CJ, a Certified Addiction Professional specializing in Food Addiction, is here for one-on-one coaching. Reach out to CJ at cjnguy@myfoodaddictioncoach.com 
Interested in sharing your recovery story on our show? We'd love to hear from you! Please email FJRecoverystories@gmail.com