An Honest Review of the Wellness Mama Podcast
By: Kim Zuch
Tags: Natural Remedies, Podcast Recommendations, Podcast Review, Health And Wellness, Healthy Lifestyle

An Honest Review of the Wellness Mama Podcast

Photo by Dana Tentis from Pexels

Wellness Mama is an incredible resource for information about overall health and wellness, DIY skincare, whole food recipes, and much more. Wellness Mama, Katie Wells, has a blog, a podcast, a Facebook group, and now a brand of natural skin and body care products called Wellnesse.

With over 400 episodes, this podcast is great to listen to if you’re thinking of improving your health as the new year approaches. The guests are very interesting and well-spoken. Her information is thoroughly researched, sometimes controversial, and it can be overwhelming at times.

The first episode of the Wellness Mama Podcast outlines why she decided to focus on health and wellness in the first place.

When my oldest son was just six weeks old, I was reading a magazine in the doctor’s office at my follow-up appointment and I read a line that hit me like a ton of bricks: “For the first time in two centuries, the current generation of children in America may have shorter life expectancies than their parents.” — Wellness Mama Podcast Episode #1

Katie wanted a better future for her children. She has also had her own health challenges over the years, including autoimmune disease.

I found the Wellness Mama blog several years ago when I was looking for a bone broth recipe after Thanksgiving. I came across a nice broth recipe on her blog and decided to see what else she had.

Once I found her lotion bar recipe, I was hooked. I read about several varieties of lotion bars, including those for sore muscles, sunscreen, deodorant, and cracked heels. She also describes over 100 ways to use coconut oil.

The blog also features natural remedies, immunity boosters (elderberry syrup), parenting tips and tricks, and ways to make your home a less toxic environment.

I had never subscribed to a podcast before, so when I saw that Wellness Mama had a podcast, I tried it out for the first time. I listened while I drove and while I was working alone.

Controversial Topics

Katie is not afraid to tackle controversial topics on her podcast. These topics range from vaccines, birth control, paleo versus vegan lifestyle, and even circumcision. She is Christian but she welcomes guests of every faith, so sometimes guests speak about alternative religions and energy work.

She encourages her listeners to open their minds to new ideas and consider information that they disagree with. She has a recent episode (#400) about the benefits of questioning everything, especially ideas and thoughts that we get defensive about.

Instead of looking for confirmation bias — information that agrees with what we already believe — we should actively explore ideas and information that we disagree with. Basically, learn both sides of an argument so we understand more than “our side.”

While she is open about her thoughts on birth control and family planning, she is private about her personal views on vaccines and circumcision. She wants families to do their own research and make informed decisions that are best for their own families.

I joined the Wellness Mama Facebook Community a couple years ago. I left it early last year because it was starting to feel like a mean girl’s group. It’s meant to be a community where moms can discuss wellness and parenting, but anytime topics like vaccines came up, things got nasty.

Moms were calling each other names and starting heated arguments when someone asked a question or stated an opinion.

I joined the group again and got accepted today. I haven’t had a chance to look to see if anything has changed but I’m hoping it has. I’m not a parent but I’m very interested in health and wellness topics.

The group rules now state that discussion about vaccines is not allowed, so maybe that will change the atmosphere. I hope so, because this group has some great information and it’s fun to see moms sharing knowledge with each other.

The Information Gets Overwhelming

Some of her advice is not possible to follow unless you have a lot of time and a lot of money. You also need access to holistic doctors, dentists, chiropractors, and pediatricians. Most insurance does not cover those services, so you would be paying out of pocket.

To be completely clean and free from toxic chemicals, you would have to replace almost everything in your house, from your cookware to your mattress and pillows.

Episode 385, “Root Canals, Wisdom Teeth, Remineralizing Teeth, and More With Dr. Kelly Blodgett” was an episode that started to stress me out and make me feel overwhelmed. Several years ago I had a root canal so I have a crown on the upper left side of my jaw.

Hearing how bad that procedure was, and still is, for my body in terms of energy flow, bacteria build-up, and other issues made me feel like that was a horrible decision. It was the best decision for me at the time, but I also don’t have access to a holistic dentist and I know my insurance only covers the basics.

Based on some of the podcast reviews I’ve read, working parents find it hard to relate to her advice about homeschooling and family structure. Katie and her husband are both successful entrepreneurs. She works from home, so she is able to homeschool their six children while cooking healthy meals from scratch and making her own cleaning and beauty products.

Because of these reviews and comments, Wellness Mama has frequently spoken and written about how maybe on the surface it looks like she can do it all, at times she still struggles to cook healthy meals while balancing a family, school, and a successful business. Her hair might be in a messy bun as she folds laundry and her kids might have organic hot dogs a couple nights in a row if she’s stressed and working on a big project.