Healthy Looks Great on You

Eat Beans Without the Bloat You know beans are good for you — but if bloating and gas are getting in the way, you're not alone. In this episode, we get into the science of why beans cause digestive discomfort, why that's actually a sign your gut microbiome is doing its job, and exactly what you can do about it. Beans are a staple in the diets of the world's longest-living people for good reason. They're loaded with plant-based protein, soluble and insoluble fiber, iron, magnesium, and potassium. Research shows that eating legumes four or more times a week can lower your risk of coronary heart disease by 22% — and just one daily serving can reduce LDL (bad) cholesterol by 5%. We visit mini medical school to understand oligosaccharides, gut fermentation, short-chain fatty acids, and why feeding your gut bacteria is one of the best things you can do for your physical and mental health. Then we walk through an 8-step plan to help you eat more beans without the embarrassment: • Start small and go slow• Use canned beans — drain and rinse• Cook dry beans thoroughly• Chew slowly• Add cumin, fennel, ginger, or turmeric• Drink plenty of water• Keep eating them — your gut will adapt• Consider Beano (and how to use it correctly) Plus — grab the free Pantry Guide at [https://healthylooksgreatonyou.com/pantryguide/] to stock your kitchen with the staples that make healthy eating easy all week long. If you want to protect your heart, improve your cholesterol, support your gut microbiome, and get more fiber and plant-based protein into your diet, this episode is a great place to start. Because healthy looks great on you. Resources mentioned: https://beaninstitute.com/nutrition-health/gas-reduction-tips/ Gut Health: Meet the Microbes: https://healthylooksgreatonyou.com/gut-health-meet-the-microbes/ FREE pantry guide: https://healthylooksgreatonyou.com/pantryguide/

What Is Insulin Resistance and Why Does It Matter? Your blood sugar can be completely normal — and you can still have insulin resistance. That’s what makes it so easy to miss, and so important to understand. In this episode, we break down how insulin works, why cells stop responding to it, and how that silent resistance quietly progresses to prediabetes and eventually type 2 diabetes. With over 115 million Americans living with prediabetes and 80% unaware, this episode could genuinely change the trajectory of your health. We cover the risk factors — visceral fat, low muscle mass, age, family history, ethnicity, gestational diabetes, and medications — and walk you through the lab values your doctor uses to catch it early, including fasting blood sugar and hemoglobin A1C. Because the earlier you know, the more power you have to do something about it. Next week: Can insulin resistance actually be reversed? Subscribe so you don’t miss it — and check the show notes to learn more about the Healthy Looks Great on You LAB, where we’re diving deep into glucose metabolism all of May. https://healthylooksgreatonyou.com/the-lab/

Melatonin is one of the most popular over-the-counter sleep aids in the U.S. But, are you using it correctly? In this episode of Healthy Looks Great on You, Dr. Vickie separates science from hype when it comes to melatonin supplements. She breaks down the difference between what your body naturally produces and what comes in the pill or gummy, and why timing and dosage matter way more than you think. If you're struggling with sleep and relying on melatonin to help, you'll want to know: When melatonin helps (and when it doesn’t) Why taking too much can backfire Who should not take melatonin What the research says about quality control in supplements How to maximize your body's natural melatonin. Whether you're facing jet lag, restless nights, or just want to know what works, this episode is your guide. Don't miss "EVERYTHING YOU'RE DOING TO SLEEP BETTER IS KEEPING YOU AWAKE," free, live masterclass. Three dates available September, 8, 10, & 13. This event is FREE, but registration is required. https://healthylooksgreatonyou.com/everything-youre-doing-to-sleep-better-is-keeping-you-awake-at-night/ Plus there's a free bonus for attending, "Food as Sleep Medicine," collection of recipes. #melatonin #sleep #insomnia 00:00 Melatonin

How Travel Transforms Your Health with Dr. Stacy Funt. Feeling stuck in your daily routine? Longing for something more than to-do lists and exhaustion? Feeling better might start with adventure. This episode is your permission slip to reset your mind, body, and soul. Dr. Vickie welcomes Dr. Stacy Funt, radiologist, lifestyle medicine physician, and founder of LH Adventure Travel, for a powerful conversation on why travel is about more than sightseeing. It’s about soul-seeing! Learn how immersive, awe-inspiring travel experiences designed around movement, community, and intentionality can radically improve your health and spark lasting transformation. Whether you're navigating a life transition, recovering from burnout, or simply craving connection and wonder, this episode will remind you of the healing power of stepping outside your routine and into something bigger.

Food Is the Best Sleep Medicine—What If the Answer Is in Your Pantry? You’ve scanned labels and sipped sleepy teas, but what if the secret to better sleep is already on your plate? In this episode of Healthy Looks Great on You, we bust myths and get real about how everyday foods affect your sleep-wake cycle. From caffeine hiding in decaf drinks to that heavy steak sabotaging your slumber, I take you from your pantry to mini medical school—sharing how nutrients like tryptophan, magnesium, B vitamins, and fiber-rich foods work with your body’s chemistry to help you fall and stay asleep. You’ll walk away knowing: The worst foods to eat before bed—and how they throw off your hormones Surprising foods that naturally promote melatonin and serotonin Why nuts, seeds, leafy greens, fruits (hi, kiwi! 👋), and legumes are your sleep BFFs It’s time to skip the gimmicks and eat your way to better rest. Because better sleep means better health—and healthy looks great on you. Free resource: 3 Simple Strategies to Sleep Better Tonight

Why Healthy Habits Don’t Stick—And What to Do About It Ever felt like you’re stuck in a cycle of starting over—again and again? You’re not alone. In this honest and hope-filled episode, Dr. Vickie shares her own health wake-up calls and reveals 7 surprising reasons we struggle to stick with healthy habits (even when we know exactly what to do). From all-or-nothing thinking to decision fatigue, she breaks down the science behind behavior change and offers real-world strategies to finally make progress that lasts. You’ll learn: Why your brain resists healthy change How identity shapes your daily choices The role of systems, cues, and support in habit success Why willpower alone isn’t enough And how to stop waiting for a diagnosis to take action If you’re tired of starting over every Monday, this episode is your roadmap to lasting transformation—with grace, humor, and real-life tools that work. ✨ Ready to break the cycle?🎧 Listen now—and check out the 7-Day Kickstart to Lose Belly Fat & Build Healthy Habits to take your first step today. Because healthy looks great on you.

In this week’s episode of Healthy Looks Great on You, we dive into the deep connection between belly fat, body image, and mindset. Dr. Vickie discusses how visceral fat is a serious health concern—but also how obsessing over your waistline can spiral into shame. Her guest shares an empowering 5-R framework to help you:📍 Recognize the root of distorted thinking📍 Reclaim the lens of truth📍 Reset your mind through repetition📍 Rebuild your body with purpose📍 Reframe your self-worth outside of appearance This conversation is especially powerful for women navigating midlife, identity shifts, and a culture that constantly sells body dissatisfaction. Let’s ditch the shame and choose strategy. Enroll in Healthy Habits Kickstart to Lose Belly Fat and Live Healthier https://healthylooksgreatonyou.com/kickstart-to-healthy-habits-in-7-days/ Learn more about Lisa Michelle and FITT by design https://www.lisamichellejones.com/

You Are What Your Microbes Eat: Gut Health 101This week, we’re talking about your gut—home to trillions of microbes that can help you sleep better, lose belly fat, and reduce inflammation… or wreak havoc. We’ll explore: 🧬 The Stanford twin study on plant-based diets 🦠 Good gut bugs (like Mitzi Nitzi, Mama Bif, and Lactobacillus) 🔥 Bad bugs (hello, C. Diff and Bilophila!) 🍽️ What to eat to feed the good ones and starve the bad ones 💤 The surprising link between gut health and sleep 🎁 Free resource: Pantry Guide for Gut Health Links: Sign up for emails: Join the List

Healing Lupus and Autoimmune Disease Through Nutrition with Dr. Brooke Goldner Today, I’m bringing you a truly special conversation that every woman facing chronic illness, autoimmune struggles, or daily inflammation needs to hear. I’m joined by Dr. Brooke Goldner — bestselling author of Goodbye Lupus, Goodbye Autoimmune Disease, and a physician who has helped thousands of people reverse autoimmune conditions using a results-based, plant-powered protocol rooted in cellular repair and nutrition. And what makes her story even more powerful? She was a lupus patient facing kidney failure, chemotherapy, and being told she had six months to live. In this episode, we talk about: The unexpected way nutrition helped Dr. Goldner reverse her autoimmune disease Why protein panic is overhyped What most doctors (and even influencers) get wrong about “anti-inflammatory diets” The emotional work behind healing: resilience, joy, trauma recovery, and choosing life at level 10 And how a simple smoothie protocol has changed lives — without perfection or pricey supplements We also dive into her rapid recovery program, her free community education work, and how healing is about more than just what you eat. Learn more at Goodbye Lupus If you’ve ever felt like your diagnosis defines you...If you’ve been told “you’ll just have to live with it”…If you’re exhausted from managing symptoms with meds but not feeling any better… You need this conversation. 👉 And if you want a real-life step toward healing your body from the inside out, don’t forget to grab my Free Pantry Guide — 10 plant-forward staples that make healthy eating easy, even when you don’t have a plan. 🛒 Get it here: https://healthylooksgreatonyou.com/pantryguide/ Let this episode remind you: You’re not broken. You’re not alone. And healing is possible. Because healthy looks great on you.

Let’s talk about it. That stubborn, uncomfortable, sometimes embarrassing belly fat that creeps in seemingly overnight. You didn’t change your eating.You didn’t stop moving.But your body changed, and no one can really explain why. This week on Healthy Looks Great on You, I’m sharing: ✔️ The real causes of belly fat (it’s not what you think)✔️ My personal story of prednisone, cheesecake, and Dr. Pepper✔️ Why stress, sleep, and hormones matter more than calorie math✔️ What TikTok got wrong✔️ A practical plan rooted in the 6 pillars of Lifestyle Medicine This episode is honest and practical. No shame, no gimmicks. Because your belly isn’t a punchline, it’s your body asking for help. GET THE GUIDE HERE Subscribe to get all the extras Belly Fat: Are you in the danger zone?

You want to eat healthy and you're doing your best. But the grocery store, it can feel like a minefield of marketing buzzwords, multi-grain, all natural, lightly sweetened or made with real fruit. They all sound healthy, right? But are they? We are going to look at the sneaky and misleading world of food marketing under a magnifying glass today so that you know how to shop smart at the grocery store. I'm Dr.Vickie Petz Kasper. I practiced obstetrics and gynecology for 20 years until I landed on the other side of the sheets as a very sick patient. When my own body betrayed me, I took a handful of pills to manage my disease and another handful to counteract the side effects. My health was out of control. Through surgery, medications, and lots of prayers, I regained my strength only to face another diagnosis. My doctor challenged me to make radical changes through lifestyle medicine. Now I feel great and I want to help you make changes that make a difference. Healthy Looks Great On You podcast takes you to mini medical school so you can learn the power of lifestyle medicine. If you're ready to take control of your health, you're in the right place. Whether you're focused on prevention or you're trying to manage a condition. I'll give you practical steps to start your own journey toward better health because healthy looks great on you. Being healthy isn't just about willpower. It's about knowledge. And once you learn how to spot these tricks, you'll shop smarter, eat better, and feel more in control. This is episode 1 69. Don't fall for marketing tricks in the grocery store. You really do want to eat healthy and you check the labels and try to make good choices, but let's be honest, grocery shopping can feel like walking through a maze of healthy sounding words that don't always mean what you think. There are eight common phrases that show up everywhere on cereals, yogurts, granola bars, juices, and they sound wholesome and smart and safe. But behind the scenes, they are misleading at best and downright deceptive at worst. By the end of this episode though, you are going to be a label reading pro. You'll learn how food companies use marketing tricks to make junk food sound healthy, and how you can spot the truth with a quick glance at the label because who's got time to stand in the grocery store aisle and read all the labels? I will say that if you missed my episode on reading a nutritional label, then you should go back and listen to that and I'll put a link in the show notes, but it's episode number 115, or you can go to my website, healthy Looks Great on you.com, and just type label in the search bar and it will come up. But if you're ready to decode the deception, let's get started. We're going to go to mini medical school, and today our class is psychology. Psychology is an important part of overall health, and marketers know it. That's why they spend millions and millions of dollars on food packaging, they're counting on you to be pulled in by the front of the package. And the last thing they want you to do is turn it over and read the nutrition label because that's where the facts are listed. That's why I wanted you to go back and listen to episode 115. But today you're going to learn that the front of the package is just bait and there's always a hook. Here's what I'm talking about. Calming earth tones so that it looks natural, farm scenery so that it feels wholesome. And there are some buzzwords that sound really good, but they're not. And we call all of that a health halo. And what they're trying to do is give you the impression that unhealthy food is good for you. Today, we're going to look at eight common terms that are used on the front of the package labeling, and then I'm going to give you one. Just one piece of advice that is going to change the way you do your grocery shopping, so stay tuned. Let's start with those eight labels. The first one, and you will see this everywhere, is multi grain

Your brain is the muscle you’re forgetting to train We talk a lot about physical fitness — steps, reps, squats, smoothies. But how often do you work on brain fitness? Here’s the truth: You can’t afford to ignore it. I’ve seen the negative impacts of cognitive decline up close — the slow fade of memory, decision-making, even personality changes. Dementia doesn’t just steal thoughts. It steals connection, identity, and independence. But what if we could do something now to keep our brains sharper, longer? This week on the podcast, I’m sharing:5 Hacks to Boost Mental Sharpness (and Train Your Brain Like a Muscle) I’ll walk you through: What neuroplasticity really means — and how to unlock it Why you need to challenge your brain, not just fuel it How learning new things protects cognitive function The connection between powerful muscles and longevity And why restorative sleep is the foundation of brain health Your brain is your most valuable asset. Let’s take care of it together! Click here to sign up to receive every episode in your inbox Browse other episodes Lumosity