Food Junkies Podcast

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Why "fed is best" may be an outdated framework in today's ultra-processed food environment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 [email protected]
👍 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: [email protected] 

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 [email protected] 
Interested in sharing your recovery story on our show? We'd love to hear from you! Please email [email protected]

What if the missing piece in your recovery isn't more willpower — it's resilience? In this deeply inspiring episode, Dr. Vera Tarman sits down with Dr. Stephen Sideroff, UCLA psychologist, researcher, and one of the world's leading experts on stress, addiction, and optimal performance. With over 40 years at the intersection of neuroscience and recovery, Dr. Sideroff breaks down his comprehensive Nine Pillars of Resilience model and shows exactly how it applies to recovery from food addiction. 

🎙️ IN THIS EPISODE: 

Why stress is the #1 driver of both addiction and relapse — and what to do about it 


The real definition of resilience  


All Nine Pillars of Resilience explained — and how each one applies to food addiction 


Why your inner critic is keeping you stuck — and how to replace it 


The nervous system truth behind burnout: why most of us are already on the continuum 


How to "dress rehearse" recovery moments so you're prepared when cravings hit 


Why saying "this is difficult" actually makes things harder 


The biological age study Dr. Sideroff is running right now — and his own remarkable results 


How joy is not a luxury but a physiological necessity for recovery and aging 


Why anxiety and worry are a faulty strategy — and what to do instead 


The concept of "the path" — and why you don't have to do everything at once 


What quantum leadership has to do with recovery culture 


Why 12-step programs work through the lens of the resilience model 


🏛️ THE NINE PILLARS OF RESILIENCE: 

Relationship Pillars: 

Relationship with yourself — your inner voice, self-compassion, self-acceptance 


Relationship with others — healthy boundaries, connection, support 



Relationship with something greater — community, spirituality, purpose 


Organism Balance & Mastery: 

Physical balance & mastery — nervous system regulation, relaxation, parasympathetic recovery 


Cognitive balance & mastery — mindset, growth orientation, releasing negative thoughts 


Emotional balance & mastery — healing emotional wounds, reducing reactivity 


Engaging with the World: 

Presence — awareness of your environment and the energy you project 


Flexibility — adapting to obstacles, shifting perspective, seeing through others' eyes 


Power — courage, focus, goal-setting, taking action in spite of fear 


📖 DR. SIDEROFF'S BOOK: The Nine Pillars of Resilience: The Proven Path to Master Stress, Slow Aging, and Increase Vitality  

🔗 CONNECT WITH DR. SIDEROFF:  

🌐 Visit Home - Dr. Stephen Sideroff for resources, his book, and the resilience questionnaire 

📬 CONNECT WITH FOOD JUNKIES:  

📧 Email: [email protected] 

 🌐 Website: foodjunkiespodcast.com

If this episode resonated with you, please leave us a review and share it with someone in recovery who needs to hear that healing is a path — not a single decision. 

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 your body could warn you before a relapse happens? In this fascinating episode, Dr. Vera Tarman sits down with Bob Messerschmidt — biomedical engineer, inventor, and one of the architects behind the original Apple Watch's health-sensing technology — to explore a surprisingly simple but powerful biomarker: the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR).
Bob is the founder of Core Health and has developed an FDA-registered at-home device that tracks chronic low-grade inflammation over time. For those of us in the food addiction and recovery world, this conversation opens a compelling new door: could inflammation tracking be the missing feedback loop for people working to stay abstinent from ultra-processed foods?
🎙️ IN THIS EPISODE:
Bob's personal health journey and how weight struggles led him to inflammation science
What ESR (erythrocyte sedimentation rate) is — and why it fell out of favor before we understood chronic inflammation
Why inflammation is now understood to underpin nearly all chronic disease
How ESR differs from CRP (C-reactive protein) and why its "slowness" is a feature
What does a high ESR score mean — and what you can do about it
Anti-inflammatory lifestyle interventions that move the needle (including one surprising nighttime trick)
How the Core Health device works: a simple weekly finger-stick test from home
The feedback loop concept: how seeing your own data creates self-efficacy and behavior change
Whether inflammation can precede a relapse — and what the data currently shows
How ESR compares to a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) as a recovery tool
Bob's thoughts on the Theranos dream — and whether democratized blood diagnostics is truly possible
The future of non-invasive glucose monitoring and wearable health tech
🍒 BOB'S ANTI-INFLAMMATORY TIPS FROM THE EPISODE:
Tart cherry juice (4 oz before bed — also improves sleep!)
Ketogenic eating patterns
Vegan dietary approaches
Quality sleep
Cold plunges
Grounding practices
🔗 LEARN MORE & GET THE DEVICE:
🌐 Core Health Website: Home - COR Health
📬 CONNECT WITH FOOD JUNKIES:
📧 Email: [email protected]
🌐 Website: foodjunkiespodcast.com

If this episode sparked your curiosity, please leave us a review and share it with someone in recovery who might benefit from understanding the inflammation connection.
 
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.