Balanced Bites: Talk on Food, Fitness, & Life with Liz Wolfe

Healthy Kids, Happy Kids: The Immune System, The Vagus Nerve, and Microbiome Magic with Holistic Pediatrician Elisa Song

·1 hr 3 min·5 clips

A single hour of acute stress can trigger leaky gut by releasing zonulin, directly linking mental state to gut health.

The episode begins with host Liz Wolfe introducing her guest, Dr. Elisa Song, an integrative pediatrician and author. Dr. Song shares her background, pivoting from law to medicine after discovering holistic health. She explains her integrative philosophy, using examples like managing her daughter's allergies with a combination of Zyrtec, quercetin, saline spray, and homeopathy. The discussion turns to ear infections, where Dr. Song notes that up to 70% of antibiotics prescribed to children are inappropriate and describes using garlic eardrops as an antimicrobial alternative. She addresses fever phobia, citing studies that show suppressing fever with Tylenol or ibuprofen can prolong illness and increase viral shedding. Dr. Song emphasizes that fever serves a purpose in fighting infection and that comfort, not normalization, should be the goal of fever reducers. The conversation explores gut health, with Dr. Song stating that 70-80% of the immune system resides in the gut microbiome, which is affected by diet, lifestyle, and stress. She discusses the 'hygiene hypothesis' amplified during the pandemic, leading to immune deconditioning in children and subsequent severe infections like RSV. Dr. Song outlines proactive steps for parents, focusing on microbiome-friendly foods and teaching kids to read food labels. She delves into the vagus nerve, explaining its role in the gut-brain connection and how acute stress can release zonulin, causing leaky gut within an hour. Dr. Song recommends daily diaphragmatic breathing to engage the vagus nerve and manage stress. The episode concludes with advice for parents of teens, addressing root causes of anxiety like ultra-processed diets, social media, and medications that disrupt the microbiome, while maintaining an integrative, non-judgmental approach.

As heard by us

A calm, useful episode on childhood fever, febrile seizures, and treating discomfort instead of chasing a number.

Liz guides a steady, practical conversation through the fever questions that tend to scare parents most. The discussion is strongest when it separates alarm from evidence: febrile seizures are presented as frightening but not a path to later seizure disorders or brain damage,…

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Why you'd press play

You want a calmer way to think about childhood fevers, febrile seizures, and what comfort care is actually for.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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