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Katie Wells
Folic acid can be poisonous for people, especially if you have the MTHFR gene.
Hector
How are you doing feeling with the mold exposure and being pregnant?
Katie Wells
I am admittedly not doing well. I don't feel good. I have never been so fatigued in my whole life. And I'm not entirely sure if it's the mold. Is it the grief, is it the pregnancy? It's probably a mixture of all of it. I don't feel good. I'm crying every day. I miss my mom.
Hector
Wellness predictions for 2026.
Katie Wells
Protein and everything. Vitamins, minerals, adding everything to normal everyday products. I'm sorry, but we do not need to be having protein sodas. We don't need protein in our yogurt. Although I do like to add protein powder to my yogurt. It actually makes it taste really good.
Hector
Especially if. What do you leave it in the fridge overnight, you stir it and turns
Katie Wells
it into, like, a pudding. I do love that.
Hector
Will you homeschool?
Katie Wells
Ooh, I like talking about this. Hello, friends. Welcome back to another episode of the Real Foodology podcast. I am joined again by my husband Hector, for another Ask me anything. I'm loving these. I hope that y' all are having fun and enjoying these. I love being able to answer your questions. It's fun. I get such an array of different questions, and I hope you're enjoying them, too. So we're gonna dive into a couple questions. Someone asked me what's on my birth playlist, and I'm realizing now that I haven't actually added it yet. But can you get. You can guess somebody that's gonna be on there a lot.
Hector
Wait, what was the question? What's on your birthday playlist? Like, what. What are we going to be listening to when you're in labor?
Katie Wells
Okay, I. I'm really counting on you here. You know, one of.
Hector
I feel like it's going to be Blink182.
Katie Wells
Okay, well, wait, hold on.
Hector
You know one song or an artist.
Katie Wells
No, no, no. But an artist that I'm obsessed with. Come on, you got this. You know this. Who do I listen to all the time that I'm obsessed with in the electronic world? You know that.
Hector
Oh, it's going to be lane eight, actually. Yeah.
Katie Wells
Yes.
Hector
Okay.
Katie Wells
You know me.
Hector
Nate's going to be on there for sure. Blink 182. That is probably true.
Katie Wells
There's gonna be so many emo songs on there.
Hector
There's gonna be a lot of emo.
Katie Wells
I wanna put a lot of nostalgic songs that take me back to when I'm 16 years old because they just make my heart sing. I don't know how else to say it.
Hector
Is it weird that I want just nice, calming classical piano music playing in the background while you're screaming? There's this nice classical piano in the background. Have a glass of wine. You're like, oh, my God, F you.
Katie Wells
My man's over here, like, talking about drinking wine.
Hector
No, I'm just kidding.
Katie Wells
No, I'm just laughing because I'm like, of course that's not weird. And that's probably what. We'll definitely have to have some of that. But that's why I want a lot of Lane 8, because Lane 8 takes you kind of on this journey. And I would really like to get in that hypnotic state of. I need to do some more of the hypno birthing classes. Actually. Lane 8's actually really good for getting me kind of in this, like, hypnotic, like, almost like trance, really, really relaxed state.
Hector
Exactly.
Katie Wells
Which is why I'm going to want a lot of that. I'm going to have to make, like, two different playlists. Actually, I'm going to make, like three. There's going to be my nostalgic emo playlist, which is going to be Blink 182, brand new taking back Sunday. And then I'm going to have a screamo playlist for when I'm just, like,
Hector
in the moment, like, primal. He's like, get it out.
Katie Wells
I know I'm going to drive you nuts with that. I'm really sorry. But I'm going to play some of my favorite metal songs. Like, I'm talking. We're going to put, like, Every Time I Die. Azerlay, Dying Under Oath. Let me think who else I want to put on there. Bring Me Horizon.
Hector
I want, like, screamo, like, Pierce the Veil.
Katie Wells
Yes. Pierce the Veil, Yes.
Hector
That's a good question. I didn't even think about what the labor playlist was gonna be. I think it was probably the last thing I was thinking about.
Katie Wells
I've been thinking about it.
Hector
That was a good question.
Katie Wells
I know. I love it. We've just been in such crisis mode. And then the other playlist I'm gonna have is gonna be my really fun EDM trancy, like, just mellow, fun music. I keep getting the hiccups. It's driving me crazy.
Hector
Is that a hiccup or a burp?
Katie Wells
I don't know.
Hector
It's a burp. I don't think that was a hiccup.
Katie Wells
Well, just calling me out. I don't know. I'M getting something is happening. Pregnancy is wild. So like Lane 8, definitely. Rufus to Soul is going to be on there. There's going to be a lot of Ruffy Doofy, Roofy Doofy.
Hector
Yeah, big time.
Katie Wells
And then we'll make you a classical one too. We'll see.
Hector
Okay, when we actually play hit shuffle, what happens?
Katie Wells
Oh God. Imagine it going from Mozart to Pierce the veil. I love that. Did you know that There are about 10 billion mitochondria in your body right now? Tiny systems powering basically everything that you do. And while people call mitochondria the powerhouses of the cell, they're really more like little life mach machines. They help support your energy, your muscles, recovery and overall resilience. But as we age, mitochondrial function naturally becomes less efficient, which can show up as lower energy and slower recovery over time. That's why I've been really interested in Mito Pure from Timeline. Mitrepure contains urolithin A, which supports a process called mitophagy, helping your body clear out damaged mitochondria and support healthier cellular energy production. And I love this approach because it's not about pushing harder, it's about supporting the foundation underneath how your body already works. Timeline's clinically proven formula is now more accessible. Mitopure starts at $99 and listeners can get 20% off at timeline.com real foodology Again, that's timeline.com real foodology if you love honey, you are going to love Manicura honey. I've been using it in my lattes every morning and it tastes so good. Sometimes I'll do a spoonful in the morning, especially if I have an itchy scratchy throat and feel like maybe I have something coming on or add it to my tea. Sometimes I drizzle it on my yogurt. This is not your average honey. Manicura is r rich, creamy and seriously delicious. It comes from remote forests in New Zealand where bees collect nectar from the Manuka tea tree. That's what gives it all these amazing bioactives, antioxidants, prebiotics and naturally occurring mgo, which is a rare antibacterial compound that makes Manuka honey so unique. I also love that it supports gut health naturally because so much of your immune system starts in the gut. Now it's easier than ever to try Manicora honey. Head to manicora.com real foodology to save up to 31 plus 25 worth of free gifts with the starter kit, which comes with an MGO 850 plus Manuka honey jar, five honey travel sticks, a wooden spoon and a guidebook. That's M a n u k o r-a.com real foodology to save 31% plus $25 worth of free gifts. Let's see resources for vaccine info on babies. I am so passionate about this conversation first and foremost. For resources, go back and listen to. We have done multiple episodes on this particular subject. We have an episode with Dr. Bob Sears. We have an episode with. We have two episodes with Del Big Tree. We have one with Aaron Seri, who's an amazing litigator in the vaccine space. He is so smart. Has an awesome book called Vaccines. Amen. Highly recommend checking out that book. Who's the other? I had another doctor on that. I'm forgetting who. Oh, Dr. Joel Warsh, a good friend of mine, also known as Dr. Gator, wrote an incredible book, also about vaccines. Highly recommend checking that out. Let me, let me.
Hector
Del Big documentary was incredible too.
Katie Wells
Check out the documentary.
Hector
Eye opening.
Katie Wells
Yeah. Go to vaccines. Go to an Inconvenience study dot com. Watch that film and share it with everybody. You know, that will give you all the information that you need if you are at all feeling confused. And then, you know, this reminds me, I actually saw another question in here. Hold on really fast. Just, I don't want to forget. Dr. Joel Warsh's book is called Between a Shot and a Hard Place. There's also another book called what is the Turtles book? Turtles all the Way down is another really good book to check out. Hector and I have made a decision that we are not publicly going to share what we're doing with our kiddos just because we want to maintain, you know, hipaa and also we just. Yeah, we don't want to share that. But I will give you all the resources in the world and I will talk all day about vaccines because I'm incredibly passionate about this subject. We're just, at least for now, we're deciding not to share. But this reminds me of another question that I saw earlier that I can't find out from somebody that said I have decided. A woman asked basically that. She said that she has decided to delay, if not do any vaccines. And she's having a really hard time. She's in Pennsylvania having a really hard time finding a doctor that supports that. This is a really big problem. Actually, you know what? I can't answer this because I actually don't know what to tell her.
Hector
I mean, it's a serious question. What do you do? How do you even find there's specific
Katie Wells
doctors in California that you can go see. Like, I know Dr. Bob Sears sees patients that choose to delay or not vaccinate. Dr. Joel Warsh in LA. It is hard though. Like, I don't. There should be a website where people can find doctors that are more.
Hector
So these pediatricians, are they the ones that will only see a kid who's fully vaccinated? Are they scared that the medical board is going to come after them? Are they scared that the child is a high risk of diseases and they're going to infect other kids in their office? What do you think they are thinking?
Katie Wells
I could be wrong. But from what I have read and heard from other doctors, the number one reason is because vaccine companies, the manufacturers give a bonus to doctor's offices that have a certain percentage of their children vaccinated. I don't know the exact percentage of what it is, but it's somewhere in the range of over 90% of their practice has to be fully vaccinated. Meaning that if I was a doctor and I had a practice, over 90% of the children that I was seeing and treating had to be fully vaccinated. Not just like, oh, they got some of the vaccines. Meaning they had to fully go by the vaccine.
Hector
Yes, the flu, vaccines, everything really.
Katie Wells
And these bonuses are very significant, very significant. Like we're talking in the hundreds of thousands of dollars that make a huge difference. In fact, they make such a difference in the practice that what I'm seeing now is doctors that are allowing patients to delay the vaccine schedule or pick and choose not do all of them or just fully not vaccinate are now charging a concierge fee. Concierge fee, where it's like, let's say if, if I'm gonna be, if I'm gonna treat your kid and we're gonna do a delayed schedule, then I'm gonna charge you $1,000 a year. And they're not doing that to like make more money. They're doing it because they're seeing such a significant loss in their overall income that's coming into the office because they're losing out on those bonuses. And a lot of parents, I'm finding a lot of parents are completely happy to pay that concierge fee because it's helping their doctor stay in business. And they're essentially, what they're doing is, yeah, they're, they're paying them what the vaccine companies would have paid them in a bonus. And I don't know if it's a
Hector
thousand dollars, that's easier just to say no to patients who aren't fully vaccinated instead of bringing in some unvaccinated kids to their practice, that's going to hurt their numbers and they're going to make way less money.
Katie Wells
Yeah.
Hector
Wow.
Katie Wells
Yeah. And what I was saying is I don't know for sure if it's like a hundred thousand or I don't know if it's $1,000 a year. And I think every doctor charges differently for how decide to do. But I'm just seeing yearly fees pop up now for those types of doctors. And so I would say yes, number one reason is most likely that because it's hurting their bottom line. I think another point you brought up is a very valid one, that some doctors are concerned that their unvaccinated patients are going to taint the pool and get their vaccinated kids sick. But by that thinking, then why aren't the vaccines working? Yeah.
Hector
Well, interesting. What do you think is going to happen in Florida then? Aren't they didn't. I don't know if it's already passed or if it's about to pass, but they're giving people the freedom and the choice to pick what vaccines they're going to give to their children.
Katie Wells
Oh yeah. They're getting rid of the mandates.
Hector
The mandates, yeah.
Katie Wells
Yeah.
Hector
So is that going to, you think, change a little bit of their incentives for the pediatricians in Florida?
Katie Wells
Yeah, I'm sure what you're going to see is probably a lot of pediatricians just charging that concierge fee to make up for the fees that they're losing from the pharmaceutical companies, I would assume. Yeah.
Hector
So the burden is being pushed onto the consumer. The costs are being pushed onto the consumer for not taking a product.
Katie Wells
Yep.
Hector
Cool. Got it. Okay.
Katie Wells
Although if you think about it, there's no such thing as free lunch. So even though like these vaccines are quote unquote free, they're being paid for by the insurance companies. And the insurance companies are gouging us on the back end. So we're still paying for it in other ways.
Hector
Not us. We're using crowd health.
Katie Wells
That's fair.
Hector
Boom.
Katie Wells
That is true. But majority of Americans that are on on health insurance. Yes, they are still paying for it on the back end in other ways. Yeah.
Hector
That's sad.
Katie Wells
I know. Have you ever realized the term clean beauty doesn't actually mean anything? Basically any brand can print it on a label. If you've ever felt like your makeup was working against your skin, try organic make up. That works like skincare. That's how I found OG and I've been loving their Crystal Contour collection. What makes it different is that it's made with skincare ingredients like green coffee oil and jojoba, so it feels lightweight and skin enhancing instead of heavy or cakey. And it's NSF Certified organic, which I really appreciate because honestly, clean beauty doesn't mean much anymore. The routine is also super easy. Just three sticks for warmth, glow and color and they blend so seamlessly. It gives this really luminous natural finish that still looks fresh by the end of the day. If you're ready to raise your beauty standards, OG has got you covered. Go to OG.com RealFoodology and use code Real Foodology for 20% off. That's O G E-E.com Real Foodology and enter code Real Foodology to get 20% off. Something that my mom got me on a long time ago, probably about 10 years ago, was taking Colostrum. So I think it's so funny that Colostrum is trendy now because I have always known Colostrum as the supplement that my mom would put me on when I felt like I was getting sick because it's really known for its immune modulating properties. Now there's a huge difference between something that's just trending and something that's actually nutrient dense and high quality. And this is why I really like Cowboy Colostrum. What makes it different is that it's true. First day whole colostrum sourced from 100American grass fed cows, so it's naturally rich in things like immunoglobulins and growth factors. And they only collect the surplus after the calves have had what they need, which I really appreciate. I've mostly been using the vanilla flavor in smoothies and coffee, and it's become such an easy way to support my gut, health, energy, skin and overall recovery without adding a bunch of extra steps to my routine. I also love that they have a strawberry flavor. It's really good. And they have Matcha unflavored and chocolate too. And honestly, when your gut feels supported, you really notice the difference in everything else too, like bloating, energy stability, even skin clarity. For a limited time, our listeners get up to 25% off their entire order. Just head to cowboy colostrum.com Real Foodology and use code Real Foodology at checkout. That's 25% off when you use code Real Foodology at cowboy colostrum.com Real foodology. You know what's really wild? You can buy a quote unquote healthy Meat stick and it still contains a bunch of unnecessary ingredients and preservatives. And a lot of them have a lot of sugar too if you haven't noticed. That's one reason I've been loving Paleo Valley's 100% grass fed beef sticks. Unlike most meat sticks, they ferment theirs the old school way instead of using encapsulated citric acid. And the ingredients are actually super clean. 100 grass fed and finished beef, organic spices, no added sugar and no weird fillers. They're also sourced from American farms using regenerative practices which I really appreciate honestly. These have become one of my favorite high protein snacks when I'm traveling, running between meetings or just need something easy in my bag that I actually keeps me full. The garlic summer sausage flavor is my personal favorite. It's so good. And I love their keto and Paleo friendly too. It's one of those products that makes healthy eating feel way less complicated. Go to paleovalley.com Real Foodology or use code Real Foodology at checkout for 15% off on all Paleo Valley products.
Hector
Okay, what else you got?
Katie Wells
Okay, well this is a good one. Someone said experience with Function Health recommend only if you also have a functional MD question mark. Yeah. So I love Function Health. I've actually been with Function Health and paying for them for the last three years and then I got really lucky and was able to bring them on as a sponsor this year. But I was actually just paying out of pocket the last couple years because I'm such a huge fan of the company. I came on very early on because I'm a big fan of Dr. Mark Hyman and he's one of the co founders of Function. And the reason I joined was because. So I've been in this space for a long time where I have been seeing integrative functional medicine doctors for a long time and doing blood work every year. And when I was doing these labs through just my functional medicine doctors and I'm just talking about like a general, like we're checking up on my hormones, we're checking up on my, you know, vitamin deficiencies and you know, just general markers to see where my ferritin is, my iron, all that. And it was costing me like 1500-2000 for a lab through my insurance by the way, which is part of the reason why function started and it's why I was, it was so appealing to me because at the time when I joined it was 500 a year and you got three blood tests for the Whole year. Meaning that, like, if you're. Well, if you're a woman, you would go in one day on your. Depending on where you are in your menstrual cycle, and then you would go the second day and then you would go six months later. For men, I believe it's just you got two blood draws a year. We just got three. Because of. They test for your hormones based on where you are in your cycle. They've changed that up a little bit. I believe moving forward now function's only doing two blood draws a year because I think they've figured out how to just do the one on a certain specific day of your menstrual cycle to track your hormones and then you do another one six months later. But the point is, and it's actually cheaper now, it's 365 a year now. So it's a dollar a day. I love, I sound like an ad for it, but I just, I genuinely love it. Like I. When Hector and I started dating, I got him on it.
Hector
Yeah.
Katie Wells
Because I was like, we need you to join. This is great.
Hector
I literally have a tab open on my computer to set a date. I just haven't gone around to it. But I'm going to do my, my first blood draw here of the year.
Katie Wells
And we've had you on it for,
Hector
I think, a couple of years.
Katie Wells
I think this will be your third year too, actually, because I joined and then we met and then later that year I was like, I think I gifted it to you for Christmas that one year.
Hector
You did.
Katie Wells
Yeah.
Hector
Yeah. But they also have the full body scans now. Yeah, don't they? Is that rolled out already or is it coming soon?
Katie Wells
So I think so. They can do a bunch of different scans now. They can do an mri, they can do the full body scan. That's similar to pernuvo, where they can check for aneurysms, cancer, all the things. And they can also do heart scans now. And these are all add ons, by the way. So the 365 a year is you get the two blood draws a year. And again, I was blown away. And the whole reason I joined this was because of the cost, was because I was paying through my insurance like $1,500 for these freaking labs. And they also weren't testing for everything. I was blown away the first time I went in to get my very first blood draw with function. I will never forget this because the nurse was looking at how many vials she had to do and she goes, she turned to me and she goes wow, what are, what talk, what doctor? Like what company are you doing this through? And I was like, what do you mean like I'm doing this through function. And she goes, wow, I've never seen somebody come in with such an extensive lab order. And she said everybody should be doing this because it's so comprehensive. It tests your thyroid, your hormones, your deficiencies, it checks your heart health. It's 160 plus different biomarkers and you get it all and you do it twice a year so that if something is awry in the first one, then you have notes from a clinician that you can then take to your doctor and then your doctor can help you come up with a protocol and then six months later you can retest and see where you're at. Like is it getting worse? Is it getting better? And then you can also add on so many different tests now you can add on glyphosate test, you can add on pfas, you can add on mthfr. If you're seeing if you have the MTHFR gene, they have the gallery test which detects cancer, tumors in the blood. It's a great deal. I'm a huge, huge fan of it. I've been doing it for a couple of years now. Like I said, what else? Am I missing something? I feel like you were going to say something.
Hector
No, it's great. I'm. Like I said, I'm going to do my next blood draw here soon. I think the next step that they could do is also give you in house doctors or connect you with a functional doctor. And they can because they already give you like an analysis of everything. But it'd be cool if they can also like hey, here like the thing, here are the supplements that might help you based on like this blood work.
Katie Wells
And they do that with the clinician's notes. So after they have a clinician look over everything, they give you a detailed report back and they have all these notes. So they say like, hey, you know, your vitamin D is a little bit low, we recommend supplementing it or whatever. But that is the, that is the one complaint that I get back from people. It has not been a complaint from mine just because I've had a functional doctor that I've worked for for eight years now. And so I just always take it to her. And we've been taking yours to her as well. But that is a complaint that I will say that I hear often. But again I want to reiterate that even if you are like when I was seeing functional medicine doctors and just paying for these out of pocket. It was so freaking expensive with my insurance. Insane that this alone is such a steal to me. And yes, you do need, if you want extra added support with someone that you can talk back and forth with, then I would highly recommend finding either an integrative or a functional or even a naturopathic doctor that knows how to read these labs and knows how to prescribe real food and also knows the ins and outs and intricacies of how the body works and how to help your help you heal whatever it is that you're dealing with and get you more in balance. You're definitely going to want to find a doctor that knows how to read those lab reports and knows how to do that.
Hector
Yeah, it's not necessarily a complaint because we, you know, we've been working with a functional medicine doctor as well, but it's more so I think that's how they can take their business to the next step. Yeah, in my opinion.
Katie Wells
Yeah, for sure. I think it would help people a lot. That's all I have to say about that.
Hector
Okay, well, thanks for letting me crash your your podcast episode today. I love it. It's fun.
Katie Wells
Yeah, that was super fun.
Hector
Yeah, that was great.
Katie Wells
Yeah. I hope you all are enjoying these Ask Me anythings. We're going to try to do a couple more of these because they're super fun for me and I am trying to get out as much content as I can for y' all before I go on my mat leave, which is coming up very quickly. But anyways, send me a dm, let me know if you're enjoying these episodes, please. And if you want to take a moment to rate and review the podcast, it really does help the show a lot. And thank you so much. Until next time.
Hector
Bye bye.
Katie Wells
Thank you so much for listening to the Real Foodology podcast. This is a Wellness Loud production produced by Drake Peterson. Theme song is by Georgie. You can watch the full video version of this podcast inside the Spotify app or on YouTube. As always, you can leave the US a voicemail by clicking the link in our bio. And if you like this episode, please rate and review on your podcast app. For more shows by my team, go to wellnessloud.com see you next time. The content of this show is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for individual medical and mental health advice and doesn't constitute a provider patient relationship. I am a nutritionist, but I am not your nutritionist. As always, talk to your doctor or your health team first.
Host: Courtney Swan
Guest/Co-host: Hector (Courtney's husband)
Release Date: June 23, 2026
In this candid and wide-ranging "Ask Me Anything" episode, Courtney Swan invites her husband Hector to join her in answering some of the audience's most pressing questions about pregnancy, health trends, vaccines, lab testing, and personal wellness routines. Courtney offers updates on her pregnancy journey, dives deep into the complexities of choosing healthcare providers, shares current wellness opinions, and provides resource-packed guidance for making informed choices. The tone is warm, honest, and conversational, with Courtney’s signature blend of expertise and relatability.
[00:04–00:23]
[00:23–00:46]
[00:47–04:45]
[06:55–14:00]
[17:22–23:38]
On Health System Incentives:
On Birth Playlist:
On Function Health:
| Timestamp | Topic | |----------------|------------------------------------------------------| | 00:04-00:23 | Courtney on pregnancy, grief, and feeling unwell | | 00:26-00:46 | 2026 wellness trends: protein in everything? | | 01:27-04:45 | Building the birth playlist: genres and nostalgia | | 06:55-14:00 | Vaccine resources, doctor incentives, concierge fees | | 17:22-23:38 | Function Health: comprehensive labs and insights |
For more info on any recommendations or to connect with Courtney, see realfoodology.com or @realfoodology on Instagram.