Postpartum Depletion, Microplastics in Your Brain & Colonics Unpacked | Ask Me Anything

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Some of the best conversations on this podcast happen when you just ask. These AMA episodes are some of my favorites to record because the questions are so real - no PR pitch, no agenda, just someone genuinely trying to figure out what to do for their body.

This week we had three questions that I think a lot of people are quietly sitting with. The first is about postpartum nutrition — specifically, how to support hormones after birth without adding more overwhelm to an already overwhelming time. My answer leans heavily on what traditional cultures have known for centuries: the 40-to-100-day incubation period, nutrient-dense soups and stews, organ meats, galactagogues like moringa and fenugreek, fermented foods, and a framework built around nourishment rather than restriction. The most important nutrient, I'd argue, is grace. You just had a baby. You have a wound the size of a dinner plate in your uterus. Let that land.

The second question was about the shingles vaccine - and I thought this was worth doing honestly and without the usual ideological noise that surrounds anything vaccine-related. So we looked at the actual data: 90% protection against shingles, and emerging evidence showing 20–50% reduced risk of cardiac events and Alzheimer's. That's not a soft benefit. Whether it's the right choice depends on your individual health history, immune status, and risk factors - which is exactly the kind of conversation you should be having with a doctor who actually knows you. The third question was colonics, which turned into one of the more entertaining tangents we've had on the show - including a full firsthand account from me that I'll let you discover for yourself.

And then we wrapped with some health news I genuinely wanted to share: eggs replacing sugary processed food in public school breakfasts, hospital food reform tied to Medicare and Medicaid funding, and the STOMP initiative targeting microplastics. These are wins worth celebrating, even while knowing there's a long way to go.

A few of my favorite things we cover in this episode: 

• Postpartum "depletion syndrome" - why the 40–100 day incubation period from traditional cultures is worth reviving
• The ancestral postpartum food framework: organ meats, raw full-fat dairy, bone broth soups, galactagogues like moringa and fenugreek
• Why carbs matter postpartum - and how to get them in a form that actually supports hormone recovery
• The 5-5-5 rule: five days in bed, five days near the bed, five days around the house
• The shingles vaccine data: 90%+ protection against shingles, plus 20–50% reduced risk of cardiac events and Alzheimer's
• How to weigh vaccine decisions based on your individual health history - without fear or ideology on either side
• Colonics: what the evidence does (and doesn't) say, Dr. Cole's personal experience, and when they cross from therapy to dependency
• The difference between a colonic and a coffee enema - and why one is considerably more aggressive than the other
• HHS initiatives worth celebrating: eggs in school lunches, hospital food reform tied to Medicare/Medicaid funding
• The STOMP initiative: HHS and EPA targeting microplastics, which the average person now has about a teaspoon of in their brain

Products & Resources Mentioned:  

• Force of Nature ancestral meat blend
• Art of Being Well Supplement Line (SIBO, hormone, brain, beauty, mold, Lyme protocols)
• We Care Spa (retreat center)
• Dr. Will Cole's books: Gut Feelings, Intuitive Fasting, Ketotarian, The Inflammation Spectrum
• Annie Finn Brain Health Cookbook 

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Happy listening, and we hope you learned a little bit more on the art of being well!

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In Health,

Dr. Will Cole