Podcast 273:
Confessions of a Health Blogger

I have a confession.

No, it’s not quite the worst thing in the world. But as a health blogger and podcaster, it’s certainly not one of my prouder moments.

I’d let myself go.

I can make all the excuses in the world — the holidays, football weekends with the guys, the stress of buying my first home, whatever.

The truth is that I had simply fallen off the wagon.

I’m human.

When it came time to start filming for The Thyroid Sessions, I took a look at myself in the mirror and freaked out.

My face was bloated. My belly was pushing through my t-shirt. And I discovered these “rolly things” growing just outside of my lower back.

When the first edits for my Thyroid interviews came back, I was pretty disgusted to witness what I had done to myself.

Even worse, I was left to wonder if any viewers would notice that the typically lean Underground Wellness guy had become a chunkier version of himself.

Motivated to whip myself back into shape like never before, I got back to JERFing (Just Eating Real Food), hit the gym, and actually started using the yoga membership I had been paying for.

Yoga made a huge difference. Every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, I made sure I was in Marisa P’s introductory hot yoga class.

Posted by UW Sean in podcast, wellness

The Book Review (and Rant) about If Naturopaths are Quacks…Then I Guess I’m a Duck

by Sean Croxton

Quack.

It’s a name I’ve been called one, two, maybe 597 times since I launched this website.

To be honest, I’ve embraced the term as my own little badge of courage, as I patiently await the day when I have my own profile page on Quackwatch.org. Sometimes I wonder what’s taking them so darn long! I’m so looking forward to throwing myself a party where we all dress up like ducks.

Considering how dear I hold the word quack to this big heart of mine, you can probably imagine how geeked up I was last week when I opened up a package and found inside of it a book entitled If Naturopaths are Quacks…Then I Guess I’m a Duck: Confessions of a Naturopath by Dr. Shauna K. Young.

If you know me, you know that I have a stack of at least 30 books in what I call my On Deck Circle, each waiting to be read and blogged about. But with such an awesome title, this particular book jumped to the front of the line. Creativity and a sense of humor go a long way with me.

Speaking of a sense of humor, Dr. Young’s wit and rib-tickling personality quickly become apparent through her writing style. Think Robb Wolf’s The Paleo Solution or even my own The Dark Side of Fat Loss. She’s got quite a bit of edu-tainer in her. Which makes for a fun and engaging read.

Comedy aside, If Naturopaths are Quacks is also a serious — and quite surreal — look at the state of our health care system: the quarreling among different kinds of doctors (even those who would appear to be on the same side), the laws that dictate what an alternative practitioner can and cannot say and do, the cost of losing a prescription drug user to a natural protocol, and the ever-growing tension between those solely concerned with empirical evidence and those who care more about getting results.

If you’ve ever wondered what an alternative practitioner — naturopath, chiropractor, acupuncturist, etc. — must go through on a daily basis just to pursue his or her great passion of coaching clients back to health through natural means, Dr. Young pretty much sums it up. The miracles. The frustrations. The stigma. The you’ve-gotta-be-friggin-kidding me moments. They’re all in there.