Digital Social Hour – Episode #1575

Sugar Was the Silent Killer: Elissa Goodman Cancer Survival Story
Host: Sean Kelly
Guest: Elissa Goodman
Date: October 17, 2025

Episode Overview

In this candid and insightful episode, host Sean Kelly welcomes holistic nutritionist and cancer survivor Elissa Goodman to discuss the role of stress, diet—particularly sugar—and lifestyle in chronic illness and cancer. Elissa shares her journey of being diagnosed with cancer at just 32, how she overcame it, and her philosophy on merging holistic and Western approaches to health. The conversation delves deeply into the dangers of added sugars, the impact of unprocessed childhood trauma and daily stress, the importance of clean eating, and the healing potential of fasting and autophagy.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Hidden Killers: Sugar and Stress

[00:00–02:11]

• Root Causes of Illness:
  Elissa reflects on her own cancer diagnosis and traces it back to her lifelong battle with stress, perfectionism, and heavy sugar intake.

  "Stress was a killer. I lived high stress, was very hard on myself... and that caused my immune system to down regulate. I was constantly sick as a kid." — Elissa (00:00)

• Diet as a Central Factor:
  Elissa unpacks the destructive role of added sugar:

  "I was a sugaraholic... always going for a sugar fix... Sugar was really a killer. The food system is crappy." — Elissa (00:00, 03:38)

• Modern Health Obstacles:
  Sean and Elissa agree that stress, poor sleep, and processed foods are the ‘not rocket science’ trio underlying much of today’s health crisis.

2. Policy Shifts and Awareness

[01:14–01:41]

• Banning Food Dyes:
  Both discuss progress like the recent ban on artificial food dyes and how public knowledge lagged far behind the data.

  "It took a very long time for that ban to take place. Too long." — Elissa (01:14)

• Longstanding Knowledge:

  "They have known this forever. I've been talking about this when I had cancer at 32, to, like, get dyes out of your diet." — Elissa (01:34)

3. Childhood Stress and Lifelong Health

[02:11–06:13]

• Lasting Impacts of Early Trauma:
  Elissa explains how formative years cement subconscious patterns:

  "Your subconscious is downregulated fully by the age of seven... We operate 95% out of our subconscious." — Elissa (06:14)

• Normalization of Illness:
  Sean shares his own frequent sickness in youth, tying it to anxiety and stress, which Elissa mirrors from her own story.

• Easier Coping Today:
  Both discuss the rise of tools like breathwork, yoga, and meditation now available to help manage anxiety.

  "Wim Hof breathwork for me. Game changer." — Sean (02:59)

  "Same like yoga, you know, walking... meditation, journaling. There's so much great stuff out there these days." — Elissa (02:44)

4. Sugar: The Ubiquitous Danger

[03:07–05:38]

• Modern Diet Dilemma:
  Sean and Elissa break down the inundation of added sugars, from candy and sodas to processed foods, even seemingly healthy items like protein bars.

• Fruit vs. Added Sugar:

  "Fruit is the fountain of life and fountain of youth... When you eat real food, your body knows how to metabolize it... but added sugar, that's a whole different ball game." — Elissa (04:39)

• Calls for Regulation:

  "You're supposed to have 25 grams of added sugar per day. I probably was triple that." — Elissa (03:38)

• Sneaky Sources:
  Both reminisce about growing up on processed soups, pointing to how normalized unhealthy eating was—and is.

5. Rising Cancer Rates in Youth

[05:38–06:13]

• A Disturbing Trend:
  Elissa points out the alarming rise in young adults, even children, being diagnosed with cancer—a trend tied to stress and poor diet.

  "The more young people are getting cancer these days than ever before... It's sort of becoming the norm, which is scary." — Elissa (05:41)

6. Impact of Electronics and Modern Lifestyle

[06:40–07:13]

• Tech as a Stressor:
  The duo discusses studies linking device use to chronic stress and fear, compounded by the always-on culture of constant communication.

  "People are living with their phones... right before bed. It just causes fear too." — Sean (06:47)

• Loss of Idleness and Imagination:
  Both reminisce about the benefits of being "off the grid," with Sean lamenting that outdoor, unstructured play is scarce among kids today.

7. Integrative Approaches to Cancer

[07:24–08:22]

• Holistic AND Conventional:
  Elissa champions a blend of holistic and Western medicine, referencing the book Radical Remission and the vital role of addressing trauma and lifestyle.

  "There's a book called Radical Remission... 7 of [10 healing modalities] were about trauma, stress, lifestyle. One was food, one was supplements, one was exercise." — Elissa (07:28)

• Stage Four Stories:
  She shares having seen holistic healing even in severe cases but cautions it's not universally applicable—“there's room for both.”

8. Fasting and Autophagy in Cancer Healing

[08:22–09:40]

• Science-backed Results:
  Water fasting and prolonged fasts are explored as methods that can potentially “starve” cancer cells and facilitate better chemotherapy outcomes.

  "Seven days... people did prolong [fasting] before they went into cancer treatment. And the chemo worked more efficiently, effectively." — Elissa (08:54)

• Personal Approach With Clients:
  Elissa outlines her method: optimizing sleep, stress, nutrition, and detoxification for cancer patients undergoing treatment.

  "I try to help them eat healthy, sleep, get their stress under control... getting them to detox from chemo and radiation because those treatments are toxic." — Elissa (09:16)

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On the Role of Sugar:

  "Sugar was really a killer. The food system is crappy." — Elissa (00:00, 04:04)

• About Early Life Stress:

  "I lived high stress, was very hard on myself. A lot of anxiety... that caused my immune system to downregulate." — Elissa (00:00, 01:48)

• Fruit Realness:

  "Fruit is the fountain of life and fountain of youth." — Elissa (04:39)

• Autophagy and Fasting:

  "I do think [autophagy works]... I think fasting is amazing." — Elissa (08:29)

• Blending Modalities for Healing:

  "I am a believer in holistic health, but I'm also a believer in Western, so I like a little bit of both." — Elissa (07:28)

Notable Timestamps

• 00:00 – Elissa describes her battle with stress, sugar addiction, and their link to illness
• 01:14 – Discussion on the (delayed) ban of artificial food dyes
• 02:25 – Sean and Elissa trade stories about anxiety and medication
• 03:38 – Elissa details the scale of her sugar consumption and its effects
• 05:41 – Recognition of the increasing rates of young people diagnosed with cancer
• 06:14 – Discussion on subconscious programming before age seven
• 07:28 – Introduction of Radical Remission and the holistic/Western blend
• 08:29 – Fasting and autophagy as tools for cancer support
• 09:16 – Elissa’s approach to supporting cancer patients through nutrition and detox

Episode Tone

Raw, conversational, and empowering. Both Sean and Elissa balance honesty about struggle and trauma with hope and practical advice. The episode is both educational and relatable, aiming to inspire proactive health decisions rooted in personal experience.