This impactful episode features Debra Benfield sharing her expertise and personal journey through diet culture, ageism, and self-acceptance. The conversation, hosted by Dr. Cristina Castagnini, delves into the pervasive cultural pressures surrounding aging, food, and body image. Debra explains how undernourishment is often disguised as discipline, urges listeners to question “anti-aging” marketing, and offers guidance to reclaim trust and compassion for their changing bodies.

SHOW NOTES: Click here

Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behind_the_bite

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this eye-opening and critically important episode, Dr. Cristina Castagnini welcomes Greta Jarvis, a Licensed Professional Counselor, Certified Personal Trainer, Intuitive Eating Counselor, and Integrative Health Coach, who shares her powerful journey from being a competitive lacrosse athlete whose missing period was dismissed as "normal" to becoming a leading advocate for proper athlete nutrition and education.

For nearly a decade, Greta was told by doctors, coaches, and the sports culture around her that losing her period as an athlete was just part of the game—a sign of dedication and discipline. It wasn't until after college, when she discovered research on relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S), that she realized her body had been screaming for help all along.

Through her personal recovery and professional training, Greta learned that underfueling is one of the most overlooked issues in athletics—and that what looks like peak performance on the outside can mask serious health consequences on the inside. Together, Dr. Castagnini and Greta explore the dangerous normalization of disordered eating in sports, the signs coaches and athletes need to watch for, and how to create a culture that prioritizes long-term health over short-term performance.

SHOW NOTES: Click here

Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behind_the_bite

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this powerful and deeply vulnerable episode, Dr. Cristina Castagnini welcomes Nikki DuBose, a model, author, advocate, and PsyD student, who shares her courageous journey from childhood trauma and eating disorders to a thriving modeling career that masked deep internal struggles, and ultimately to full recovery and healing.

For years, Nikki lived the life everyone envied—gracing magazine covers, walking runways, and embodying what society calls "perfection." But behind the flawless images was a young woman falling apart inside, battling an eating disorder that began at age eight and a relentless pursuit of external validation that could never fill the void within.

Through therapy, spirituality, and profound self-discovery, Nikki learned that the most beautiful transformation doesn't happen on the outside—it happens when you finally come home to yourself. Together, Dr. Castagnini and Nikki explore the reality behind the glamorous facade, the pressures of the modeling industry, and what it truly means to find peace from the inside out.

SHOW NOTES: Click here

Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behind_the_bite

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.