Ecological medicine with Dr Jenny Goodman
In this episode of the Regenerative Healthcare Podcast, we spoke with Dr Jenny Goodman, medical doctor, ecological medicine practitioner, and author of Staying Alive in Toxic Times and Getting Healthy in Toxic Times. Dr Goodman has spent many years working on the connection between human health, food quality, pollution, and the wider environment.
Health and the environment cannot be separated
A central message from our conversation was that human health and environmental health are deeply connected. Dr Goodman explained that ecological medicine looks not only at symptoms and treatments, but also at the conditions in which people live: the food they eat, the water they drink, the air they breathe, and the chemicals they are exposed to every day.
She spoke about how modern life brings growing exposure to pesticides, plastics, petrochemicals, heavy metals, and other pollutants, and why these exposures matter for long-term health.
Pollution and nutrition are part of the same story
Dr Goodman also described how ecological medicine combines environmental medicine and nutritional medicine. On the one hand, it examines harmful substances that put stress on the body. On the other hand, it looks at the nutrients the body needs to stay resilient and to detoxify well.
This makes nutrition part of the answer, not only because healthy food supports overall health, but also because the body needs vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients to cope with the toxic burden.
Why this matters for agriculture and healthcare
For us, this conversation showed again why agriculture and healthcare belong in the same discussion. If the way food is grown influences both toxic exposure and nutrient quality, then farming practices matter directly for health outcomes.
Dr Goodman helped widen the lens of the Food is Medicine conversation. Not only by asking how food can support health, but also by asking what kind of food system and environment we are asking people’s bodies to live in.
Mission
Our mission is to share the best practices of pioneers from around the world who have successfully connected local regenerative and organic farmers with the public, communities, and health institutions.