Dr. Pedram Shojai
Episode Description:
Are you spending 20 minutes reading ingredient labels? Avoiding social situations because you can’t control the food? Feeling guilty after every meal? You’re not alone—we’re living in a food fear pandemic. In this powerful episode, Dr. Pedram Shojai addresses the anxiety crisis around eating that’s affecting the health and wellness community. He reveals why the stress of restriction might be more inflammatory than the foods you’re worried about, and shares a practical framework for shifting from external food rules to internal wisdom. Learn how to honor real food sensitivities without creating food phobias, develop sophisticated interoceptive awareness, and finally find both discernment and peace around eating. Dr. Shojai teaches the essential difference between saying “yes” to nourishing foods versus constantly saying “no” to forbidden ones—a subtle shift that makes all the difference in healing and happiness.
Listen to the episode on Spotify here or on your favorite podcast platform and check out the Urban Monk Academy here.
Podcast show notes:
Episode Overview
Dr. Pedram Shojai tackles one of the most pervasive issues in the wellness community: the food fear pandemic. This isn’t just about food sensitivities—it’s about the crippling anxiety, obsessive control, and social isolation that comes from turning food into the enemy.
Key Topics Covered
[00:00:00] The Food Fear Pandemic
- Common signs of food anxiety
- How “healthy eating” becomes obsessive
- The rise of orthorexia in wellness communities
- Why food has become a source of punishment instead of pleasure
[00:03:00] The Problem with Restriction-Only Approaches
- Why focusing on what you can’t eat creates psychological damage
- The importance of shifting from “no” to “yes”
- How inflammatory foods are real, but so is food fear
- Threading the needle between honoring sensitivities and avoiding phobias
[00:06:00] The Four Phases of Restriction Failure
- Phase 1: Promising Start – Initial relief and symptom improvement
- Phase 2: Expansion – Eliminating more foods “just to be safe”
- Phase 3: Anxiety Amplification – Food becomes threatening instead of nourishing
- Phase 4: The Paradox – Eating perfectly but still feeling terrible
[00:09:00] Physiological Consequences of Over-Restriction
- Reduced microbial diversity in the gut
- Increased food sensitivities over time
- Digestive capacity atrophy (use it or lose it)
- Nutrient deficiencies creating their own symptoms
- Metabolic inflexibility and fragility
[00:11:00] The Psychological Damage
- Chronic food anxiety keeping you in sympathetic dominance
- Loss of interoceptive awareness and body trust
- Inability to distinguish reactions from anxiety
- Development of disordered eating patterns
- Food becoming moralized as “good” or “bad”
- Social isolation from inability to eat with others
[00:13:00] The Science of Food Fear
- Research showing restriction stress can be as inflammatory as the foods themselves
- Cortisol suppressing digestive function
- Anxiety increasing gut permeability (leaky gut)
- The nocebo effect: if you believe food will hurt you, it will
- The cruel paradox of inflammatory elimination
[00:14:00] When Elimination IS Necessary
- Identifying clear sensitivities through testing
- Systematic reintroduction protocols
- Acute healing phases with clear timelines
- Understanding celiac disease vs. sensitivities
- True allergies (IgE mediated) vs. mild sensitivities
- Nothing is forever—temporary restrictions for healing
[00:16:00] Developing Interoceptive Awareness
- The difference between external rules and internal wisdom
- Training sophisticated body awareness
- Learning to distinguish true reactions from anxiety
- Food as information, not judgment
[00:17:00] Before Eating: The Interoceptive Check-In
- Assessing actual hunger level vs. emotional eating
- Understanding what your body needs (heavy, light, warm, cold)
- Checking nervous system state for optimal digestion
- Activating parasympathetic response before meals
[00:18:00] During Eating: Mindful Awareness Practices
- Tasting, smelling, and experiencing texture
- Monitoring belly sensations and energy shifts
- Recognizing true satiety (not when the plate is empty)
- Noting rising discomfort
- Checking posture and tension
- Breathing while chewing
- Eating as meditation practice
[00:20:00] After Eating: Response Assessment
- Five-minute and two-hour check-ins
- Energy levels: stable, crashed, or elevated?
- Digestive comfort: bloating, upset, or ease?
- Mental clarity: sharper or foggier?
- Mood stability and emotional state
- Scanning for inflammation or discomfort
[00:21:00] True Reactions vs. Anxiety Responses
- Consistent, physical reactions happening every time
- Variable, fear-driven responses that sometimes occur
- Food combining considerations
- Becoming the detective in your own life
[00:22:00] Food as Information Framework
- Stop thinking “good or bad, allowed or forbidden”
- Start asking “what information does my body need right now?”
- Grounding situations: root vegetables, warming foods, heavier proteins
- Clarity needs: fresh vegetables, lighter proteins, hydrating foods
- Quick energy: natural sugars, easily digestible carbs
- Sustained energy: healthy fats, complex carbs, quality proteins
- Healing phase: anti-inflammatory foods, bone broth, easily digestible options
[00:23:00] The 80/20 Principle for Food Freedom
- 80% foods that serve your body well (anti-inflammatory, stable energy)
- Foods prepared with care and eaten with presence
- 20% flexibility for social enjoyment and psychological resilience
- Understanding your personal boundaries (gluten/dairy vs. occasional sugar)
- Foods that nourish the soul have their place
[00:25:00] Building Digestive Resilience
- Importance of variety in your diet
- Bitter foods before meals (arugula, dandelion)
- Strategic use of digestive enzymes (short-term support)
- Critical importance of chewing thoroughly (digestion starts in the mouth)
- Entering calm, parasympathetic state before eating
- Gut healing protocol: bone broth, collagen, fermented foods, prebiotics, strategic probiotics
[00:26:00] Developing Metabolic Flexibility
- Varying your diet—different foods on different days
- Including occasional challenges for microbiome diversity
- Introducing new bacteria and fibers
- Avoiding the “same thing every day” trap
- Building a robust, resilient digestive system vs. fragile system requiring constant protection
[00:27:00] The “Yes Foods” Framework
- Focusing on what you GET to eat instead of what you can’t
- Using Google, ChatGPT, or Claude for recipe inspiration
- Exploring creative ways to use new foods
- Yes foods: consistently nourish you
- Maybe foods: test carefully, could become yes foods
- No foods: confirmed reactions, keep out while healing, retest later
- Hell no foods: true allergies, severe reactions (these are rare)
[00:29:00] Assembling Happy Days Around Food
- Arranging life around amazing foods you get to eat
- Avoiding rebellion from constant restriction
- Finding variety and delight in your yes foods
- Understanding that food isn’t the enemy—fear is
[00:30:00] Your Body Isn’t Broken
- Food reactions are information, not failure
- Developing sophisticated interoceptive awareness
- Becoming your own best nutritionist
- Learning from elders who listened to their bodies
- Building trust instead of falling into restrictive paradigms
[00:31:00] Q&A: Practical Implementation
- Breatharianism discussion: why extreme approaches fail
- Recovering from two years of elimination diets
- Slow, methodical reintroduction strategies
- GI map analysis for understanding microbiome
- Replanting missing microbes with targeted probiotics
- Feeding prebiotic fibers to support good bacteria
- Creating ecology for enzyme production
- Tiptoeing back to variety with polyphenols and ferments
[00:33:00] The Art of Reintroduction
- Clinical approaches to rebuilding digestive capacity
- Starting with supplementation, moving to whole foods
- Multicolored vegetables and polyphenols
- Building biofilm and good bacteria
- Specific strain replacement when needed
- Comparing to losing muscle through fasting: you must rebuild carefully
[00:35:00] Mindset Shift: From Pity Party to Empowerment
- Moving past “woe is me” thinking
- Finding abundance in what you CAN eat
- Taking control of your supply chain
- Not poisoning yourself is something to feel good about
- Shifting operating system from deprivation to nourishment
Key Takeaways
- The stress of food restriction can be as inflammatory as the foods themselves—anxiety activates the same inflammatory pathways
- Over-restriction creates a vicious cycle: reduced microbial diversity leads to more sensitivities, confirming your fears
- Develop interoceptive awareness: check in before, during, and after eating to distinguish true reactions from anxiety
- Use the 80/20 principle: 80% nourishing foods you know work, 20% flexibility for psychological and social resilience
- Focus on “yes foods” instead of constantly avoiding “no foods”—this single shift transforms your relationship with eating
- Elimination should be temporary: heal the gut, reintroduce systematically, retest periodically
- Food is information, not judgment: ask what your body needs right now instead of labeling foods as good or bad
- Build digestive resilience through variety: different foods on different days to support robust microbiome
- Your body isn’t broken—food sensitivities are information, and with sophisticated awareness, you become your own best nutritionist
- True healing comes from developing trust with your body, not falling into increasingly restrictive paradigms
Resources Mentioned
- GI Map Analysis for microbiome testing
- 176-food sensitivity testing
- Gut health coaching programs
- Recent retreat on breathwork and interoceptive awareness
- Google, ChatGPT, Claude for recipe inspiration
Notable Quotes
“Food isn’t the enemy. Fear is.”
“The stress and anxiety that we create around food might be more inflammatory than the food you were worried about.”
“You’re eliminating foods to reduce inflammation, but the elimination process itself, if you don’t get your head straight, is also inflammatory.”
“Forever is a long time and nothing is forever. This diet doesn’t have to be forever. It’s just what you’re doing right now.”
“When you learn to listen, and I mean really listen, with sophisticated interoceptive awareness, you end up becoming your best nutritionist.”
“You want a robust, resilient digestive system that can handle a variety of foods, not a fragile system that requires constant protection.”
“Arrange your life in a way where you are focused on the lovely, delicious, nutritious foods that have plenty of variety that you get to say yes to.”
Hashtags
#FoodAsMedicine #IntuitiveEating #GutHealth #BodyAwareness #MindfulEating #FunctionalMedicine #FoodSensitivities #DigestiveHealth #Orthorexia #FoodFreedom #HealthyEating #WellnessJourney #MicrobiomeHealth #AntiInflammatory #HolisticHealth
This episode is for educational purposes only and not intended as medical advice. Consult with qualified healthcare practitioners for personalized guidance.
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