Ep 072: Fertility, IVF, and the Foundations of Health

For some couples, conception looks quick and effortless. For others, it's a long, humbling journey that asks you to rethink everything you thought you knew about your body, your faith, and your timeline.

In this episode of the Nutritional Therapy and Wellness Podcast, host Jamie Belz talks with Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner (FNTP) and fertility mentor Calista (Callie) Chammas, founder of Nourish with Calista, to explore a raw, hopeful, deeply bio-individual look at growing a family in an increasingly infertile world. 

After graduating from the Nutritional Therapy Association in 2019, Calista found her calling in fertility through the fires of her own journey - 13 years on the pill, post-birth-control chaos, "unexplained infertility," medicated cycles, IUI, IVF, and a 42-week home birth. She and her husband now await the arrival of their second child. 

Calista works with women and families navigating both simple and complex fertility challenges, using ancestral nutrition, targeted lifestyle shifts, nervous-system regulation, precise Functional Blood Chemistry analysis, and the Foundations of Health as taught through the Nutritional Therapy Association, to help restore ovulation and optimize the environment for conception. She is also co-creating a powerful upcoming program, Nourish Your Radiant Fertility - bridging functional nutrition and Traditional Chinese Medicine for truly holistic preconception support.

Together, Jamie and Callie dig into the realities behind falling fertility rates, the aftermath of long-term birth control use, why ovulation is the real monthly vital sign, how labels like "infertile" can quietly shape outcomes, and why safety, mindset, and nervous-system regulation may matter as much as lab work. They share accessible, affordable Foundations of Health: nutrient-dense ancestral foods, blood-sugar balance, mineral-rich hydration, stress regulation, sleep, nature exposure, circadian rhythm, and community support - and speak to the financially and ethically complicated aspects of IVF.

Bio-individuality refuses the false choice between "all conventional" and "all holistic."

This episode is especially for couples navigating the gray zone—those who want to understand why their body is struggling, who don't want to be reduced to a diagnosis, and who want a real pathway forward, whether they use natural methods, IVF, or both.

Topics Discussed:

• Hypothalamus–Pituitary–Ovarian (HPO) axis

• Post-birth-control syndrome

• Ovulation as a vital sign

• "Unexplained infertility" and medical labeling

• Nervous system regulation/parasympathetic activation

• Fertility & safety signaling

• Ancestral nutrient-dense foods

• Blood sugar regulation & Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) (insulin resistance of the ovaries)

• Mineral-rich hydration/electrolytes

• Circadian rhythm & morning sunlight

• Nature exposure for nervous system balance

• Stress perception

• Natural-cycle embryo transfer

• Ethical Considerations in Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART)

• Medical gaslighting & advocating for yourself

• Male factor infertility & sperm DNA fragmentation

• Community support during fertility journeys

• Boundaries with family/pressure dynamics

• Identity vs. diagnosis reframing

• Fortifying the Foundations of Health: Nutrient-dense diet, hydration, digestion, blood sugar regulation, sleep, stress, joyful movement

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