Gut Health Myths Busted: The Surprise Foods and Symptoms with Dr. Kristen Reihman S3E8
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Show Notes
Oxalates, Gut Health & Vulvodynia: Dr. Kristen Reihman on SIBO, Parasite Cleanses, and Recurrent UTIs On the Period Besties podcast, hosts interview Dr. Kristen Reihman, a Period Coaching School teacher and gut health specialist, about a severe episode she links to oxalate dumping syndrome, describing three weeks of intense pelvic/vulvar pain that felt like “shards of glass” and how it deepened her understanding of vulvodynia.
She explains oxalates as plant compounds the body can only process up to roughly 100–150 mg per day, how excess may be stored as crystals in tissues, and why abruptly eliminating high-oxalate foods can trigger “dumping.” High-oxalate foods discussed include spinach, chard, beet greens, beets, nuts and seeds, beans, sweet potatoes, and unripe avocado; she notes kale is disputed across lists and cites Sally K. Norton’s beginner guide as a resource, and names lower-oxalate seeds as pumpkin, sunflower, watermelon, and flax.
The conversation covers New Year gut reset strategies, including a 21-day comprehensive elimination diet (removing common triggers such as gluten, dairy, soy, sugar, caffeine, alcohol, and seed/vegetable oils), with advice to start in the follicular phase; they discuss the gut–brain/mood connection, sleep, boundaries, and light therapy.
Dr. Reihman also reviews deeper gut issues like SIBO (breath testing; bloating, gas, undigested food) and talks about parasites and yeast overgrowth, describing common herbal approaches (wormwood, cloves, black walnut, neem, mimosa pudica, cascara sagrada), traditional deworming frequency, full/new moon symptom patterns, dosing considerations for kids, a seizure-related caution, and using enemas during cleanses.
They address the gut–vagina–bladder “trinity,” how lactobacilli and vaginal pH protect against BV/yeast and UTIs, why perimenopause/menopause raises UTI risk, how vaginal estrogen can help restore a supportive environment, and why standard urine tests can miss bladder biofilm infections; Dr. Reihman mentions using lumbrokinase to disrupt biofilm and MicroGen Diagnostics PCR testing to identify many organisms and resistance genes.
She shares personal daily non-negotiables (sleep, swimming/exercise, avoiding gluten, prioritizing clean animal products), where to find her online (kristenrhimenmd.com and Instagram), her coaching programs and elimination diet course, and offers her ebook “Life After Lyme: Revive Your Inner Rockstar and Achieve a Full Recovery.”
Dr. Kristin Reihman is a physician, a mother, and the author of Life After Lyme, a comprehensive DIY manual to making a complete recovery from an all-too-common illness. Having recovered herself from a debilitating case of Lyme over a decade ago, Dr. Reihman knows all too well what it is to live with a body that feels like it's falling apart, a brain that has forgotten how to do simple math, and the fear that you're going to die from an illness that is invisible to most people. She also knows how to make a complete recovery, and has done that for herself. Now, she is on a mission to help as many people as possible recover their own most vibrant versions of themselves, and get back to living their amazing lives. She shares her favorite tools, practices, and mindset shifts for whole-person healing and wellness in her book, on weekly episodes of her Healing Grove Podcast, and in the online communities she cultivates, including the Healing Grove Membership, on Instagram, and in her latest offerings, the Life After Lyme Coaching Program and the Inner Flow Program.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristinreihmanmd
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KReihmanMD
The Healing Grove Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@kristinreihmanmd
00:00 Welcome + Meet Dr. Kristen Reihman (Gut Health Specialist)
00:29 The ‘Shards of Glass’ Story: Oxalate Dumping & Vulvodynia Explained
03:20 What Oxalates Are & How Crystal ‘Storage’ Happens in the Body
06:10 High-Oxalate Foods, Spinach Smoothies & Why ‘Quit Cold Turkey’ Backfires
10:40 Nuts, Seeds & Finding Reliable Oxalate Lists (Kale Debate + Resources)
13:27 How to Reduce Oxalates Safely (Awareness, Tapering & Stopping a Dump)
15:05 New Year Gut Reset: 21-Day Elimination Diet + Timing It With Your Cycle
19:30 Gut–Mood Connection: Neurotransmitters, Sleep, Boundaries & SAD Tools
21:43 Next-Level Gut Issues: SIBO Basics, Symptoms & Testing
24:57 Parasites & Yeast Overgrowth: Cleanses, What Works, How Often + Safety
32:21 Colonics + Parasite Cleanses: Helping the Body Eliminate
33:15 Parasites Are Closer Than You Think: How We Get Exposed
34:54 How to Do a Parasite Cleanse: “Stomp, Don’t Sneak” (3 Tools, 2x/Day)
35:45 The Gut–Vagina–Bladder “Trinity”: Why UTIs Spike in Perimenopause
40:41 Biofilms & Hidden UTIs: Why Standard Cultures Miss Chronic Infections
42:15 Better Testing + Breaking Biofilm: MicroGen PCR & Lumbrokinase
44:37 Daily Health Non‑Negotiables: Sleep, Exercise, and Food Rules
48:50 Lightning Round + Where to Find Kristen (Programs, Ebook, Sponsors)
Todays episode is sponsored by:
Period Coaching School and Katie Bressack Wellness.
Email us: [email protected]
Our Websites:
PeriodCoachingSchool.com
KatieBressack.com
Instagram and Facebook:
@StashaWashburn
@KatieBressack
Freebies:
Charting with Stasha https://ThePeriodCoach.com/etrc
Eating For Your Hormones Guide https://katiebressack.com/freegift/
Books:
The Revolution Will Be Bloody https://ThePeriodCoach.com/Revolution
Bloody Brilliant Business https://PeriodCoachingSchool.com/Bloody-Brilliant-Business-book
Eating For Your Hormones Recipe Book https://katiebressack.com/hormone-balancing-recipe-book/
Theme music composed, recorded, performed, engineered, mixed and mastered by Ted Wulfers 663 Sound