Elissa Goodman: It's interesting because I didn't really think about becoming a nutritionist or starting a business. I went back to school and got certified in Eastern and Western nutrition, I was just fascinated with it. Because also, I was never really that well or didn't have a lot of energy and I had a struggle with anxiety my whole life. I personally, was interested in, "Oh God, this life needs to feel better, and I want to be calmer and more centered and all of those things that I had never felt."
Speaker 2: You're listening to the MILF Podcast. This is the show where we talk about motherhood and sexuality, with amazing women with fascinating stories to share on the joys of being a milf. Now, here's your host, the milfiest milf I know, Jennifer Tracy.
Jennifer Tracy: Hey guys, welcome back to the show. This is MILF Podcast, the show where we talk about motherhood, entrepreneurship, sexuality, and everything in between. I'm your host Jennifer Tracy. I'm so excited because, today is our first episode of February 2019. And last month, our January give was for an organization called Harvest Home LA, and we were able to make a lovely donation to them, on January 31st, very proud of that. Thank you everyone who left an iTunes review. This month, I'm gonna up the stakes a little bit you guys, for every iTunes review that you guys post in the month of February, I am going to donate $25 per review to this beautiful organization that J.K. Rowling founded, called Lumos.
Jennifer Tracy: Lumos is located at wearelumos.org. If you want to check them out, please do, they're beautiful. If you want to donate to them on your own, please do that, but just know that for your action of writing an iTunes review for MILF Podcast, I will be donating $25 in the month of February. This is from their homepage, what they do, it's really beautiful. They help families to bring their children home. There are, as I'm learning through Lumos, there are a lot of thousands and thousands of children in orphanages, thousands of children that gets sold to traffickers, thousands of children who are living in squalor, in these homes.
Jennifer Tracy: What Lumos does is, they're trying to provide services, health care and education, so that children can be with their families. Let me just read this straight from the website. "We help families to bring their children home. We work with international donors, governments and communities, helping them redirect funds from orphanages to provide health education and social services, so children can be raised in loving families. We trained professionals to deliver better care and support. We transform the conditions that leave children at risk of trafficking and abuse. We help families to bring their children home."
Jennifer Tracy: And if you go through their website, you'll see the stories of what they've accomplished so far and it's pretty phenomenal. Their whole thing is that by the year 2050, they want to have this eradicated. That there won't have be a need for orphanages, and what they do is worldwide, it's really impressive. I'm very impressed, which is why I'm so proud to be able to donate to them. And whether you guys write iTunes reviews or not, I'm going to be making a donation, but it's a fun way to get you guys to participate in this with me, and so that we can continue to learn about all these wonderful organizations that are out there, and I love that a mom started it. That's the month of February, let's see.
Jennifer Tracy: Without further ado, I'm going to introduce today's guest, Elissa Goodman. Elissa is the best selling author of the book, Cancer Hacks, she's a holistic nutritionist lifestyle cleanse experts. She's just generally, a badass. She's beautiful, she's sexy, and she knows a lot of stuff about the body, about holistic medicine, about nutrition. I went to her house, and she made me this beautiful green juice. And it was so delightful and refreshing. And it was even better because it was served to me by her in her home. It was such an honor to interview her, and I really hope you guys enjoy this talk with Elissa Goodman.
Jennifer Tracy: Hi, Elissa.
Elissa Goodman: Hi.
Jennifer Tracy: Thank you so much for being on the show.
Elissa Goodman: I just, am honored every time I get asked to do a podcast and so, I just, I love it.
Jennifer Tracy: Well, I just admire you so much. You're such a graceful, open, loving person. And when I met you at the self care project with Dr. Suzanne Gilberg-Lenz, she immediately pulled me over because I had a fan girl moment, I don't know if you remember.
Elissa Goodman: I do.
Jennifer Tracy: Because I recognized you and I was, "Oh my God, Oh my God." And I said, "Suzanne, Suzanne." And she said, "Oh, oh, oh," and she introduced us very graciously, and I immediately said, "I want you to be on my show." And you were so open, and you said, "Absolutely." And it was just so loving and nice, and also in line with everything that you do.
Elissa Goodman: I'm not used to those fan girl moments though.
Jennifer Tracy: Really?
Elissa Goodman: They're so wonderful but, you'd sort of-
Jennifer Tracy: I bet you get recognized a lot, though, in L.A. especially.
Elissa Goodman: I do, I guess I do, and I don't.
Jennifer Tracy: Right. Though people are cool, they're not like me, they're not like, "Oh."
Elissa Goodman: I wish there were more like you. Makes you feel good.
Jennifer Tracy: I was so excited, oh my God. I mean, I just get like that. Just because, I mean, also, that means the reason I started the podcast, I'm a fan of women taking bold steps and doing things that are helping other women. I mean, not just women, but it's a bold thing to start something new and create an idea and birth something else. But I want to start from the beginning, just a little bit. I want to know where were you born? Where were you raised? What was your childhood like?
Elissa Goodman: I was born in Evanston, Illinois. And when I was one, we moved to Phoenix, Arizona. Yeah, both my parents had met at University of Arizona in Tucson, and they're both from Chicago. But so they went back to Chicago-
Jennifer Tracy: They were like, "F this cold weather."
Elissa Goodman: You got it.
Jennifer Tracy: You were raised in Arizona?
Elissa Goodman: I was raised in Arizona.
Jennifer Tracy: Oh, that's a nice place to grow up.
Elissa Goodman: It was, it was beautiful.
Jennifer Tracy: Siblings?
Elissa Goodman: I have an older brother who's three years older, and I was there till I was 22, and then I got out of there and moved to New York. It is a great place to grow up, it just was a little slow and not very diverse.
Jennifer Tracy: Oh, yeah, of course. Yeah, well, and you being you, you needed to get to the big city and do things. What did you do when you move to New York?
Elissa Goodman: You just tagged me. I was in the marketing advertising business, and I sold TV time for years, and then I sold ad space for magazines, and some really fun Architectural Digest in Vogue, and some really fun magazines. Good Housekeeping, which was quite interesting.
Jennifer Tracy: That's interesting, and we'll circle back to that because I'm sure, it informed a lot of what you do now.
Elissa Goodman: I got lucky because starting a business later in my life, I had that advertising marketing, and I knew how to market myself. That combination really did help.
Jennifer Tracy: Yeah, you're in New York, you're in your 20s, you're living your best life. What part of town did you live in?
Elissa Goodman: I lived in four different places in that eight years course.
Jennifer Tracy: Yeah, of course. That's how it is.
Elissa Goodman: I kept trying to move up into a bigger space but sometimes, that didn't work so well. But I met my husband there, yes, I loved New York. I thought that was the best time of my life even though I was sick a lot because, I was always sick right up, and I didn't have the strongest immune system. The cold weather and the stress of the city and the energy of the city, did a number on me, but I still remember it with the fun and just a big heart. I just loved the people I met and just the energy and just, there's nothing like it.
Jennifer Tracy: Yeah, yeah, that's true. And so you met your husband and what did he do at the time? Or what?
Elissa Goodman: The same thing.
Jennifer Tracy: The same thing?
Elissa Goodman: We met while working together in the advertising business, and we worked together for a little bit, and then he went on to work for ABC TV and he sold television time for them. And he was from Queens, was born in Miami but lived in Queens and lived in New York all his life and had never been to the West Coast. When we got married. and I said, "Hey, we're moving west." He didn't quite understand West, he didn't know Pacific Ocean, he thought New Jersey.
Jennifer Tracy: Right. You said, "We're going to LA."
Elissa Goodman: Yes. Yeah, I just needed to get out of the weather and I couldn't really picture raising kids there, so I said, "I want a slower life and I want more sunshine and hot weather because, of course, I was accustomed to that from Arizona. And he ended up getting a job with ABC out here, it was a really nice transition and then he went to work for the Discovery Channel for years, which was also fabulous.
Jennifer Tracy: That's great. You've been on here for a long.
Elissa Goodman: A long time.
Jennifer Tracy: Yeah. And then, how soon after that did you have children?
Elissa Goodman: Well, I got diagnosed with cancer when I came out here, like two years, a year and a half after I got out here. When I started working for Vogue Magazine, and I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, and so that was a little bit of a halt in the kid department. I was trying to have kids, I had three miscarriages, actually. Then I ended up having a massage one day, and a woman had me sit up and she was massaging my neck and my collarbone. Usually, they don't have you do that. Usually, you're on the table and she felt a lymph node on my collarbone, and she said, "You're not supposed to have a swollen lymph node there, there go get it checked out." Got it checked out, the doctor didn't even do a biopsy, he came in and felt it. And he was like, "Oh my God, this is probably cancer."
Jennifer Tracy: That's what he said?
Elissa Goodman: Yep.
Jennifer Tracy: Oh, that's terrible.
Elissa Goodman: Terrible.
Jennifer Tracy: It's a terrible bedside manner.
Elissa Goodman: Absolutely.
Jennifer Tracy: You must have been terrified. What were you? 30 years old?
Elissa Goodman: I was 32.
Jennifer Tracy: Oh my God.
Elissa Goodman: I know. It was terrifying. Because you automatically think, when you hear that word-
Jennifer Tracy: I'm dead.
Elissa Goodman: I'm dead, or I could die. It was a little bit of a journey, the doctors were very much, they did find it was an early stage. But even the early stage, the doctors were still in that mindset, chemo radiation, freeze your eggs because I hadn't had kids. And also, "Do you have a donor?" That first meeting was all of that. "Do you have a donor to have a transplant? You might have to have one." Just the way they treat you-
Jennifer Tracy: Bone marrow transplant? Wow.
Elissa Goodman: I ended up seeing a couple other doctors and in the meantime, there was a guy, a radiologist, oncologist that came into my circle and I went to see him. Radiologist and he said to me, he sat me down and he said, "It's at an early stage. Can you just tell me about your life? What's life been like? Are you happy, what you're doing? Or do you have passions in your life? Are you stressed?" It was quite exceptional because, doctors today still don't do that. And I burst into tears. I'll never forget just hysterical.
Jennifer Tracy: I just got chills everywhere.
Elissa Goodman: I'm really not happy, I moved from New York, I don't really love L.A., it was hard to really infiltrate myself into the L.A. scene, with everybody living so far apart and just, just it was hard and at 32 for some reason. And then also, just I wasn't happy with my job and it was a hard transition. And I had grown up in a very stressful type a family, I was always stressed my whole life, I didn't even know what non stress was like. I was like, wow, he was amazing. He goes, "You know what, let's slow this process down and maybe you can do." He did say, little chemo and radiation but I ended up doing some research and I just found an oncologist who were radiologist. Actually, oncologist who did half the radiation, and I just changed my lifestyle then. I just said, "You know what, I'm going to heal from this and this is my wake up call."
Elissa Goodman: And I went into juicing, Beverly Hills juice in L.A. was the only juice place in town. Do you know that place?
Jennifer Tracy: Yes, of course.
Elissa Goodman: Everybody does, it's an institution, right? And then this is Gucci's, which is whole foods now and just, I went and I did acupuncture and there was so much here, and there still is but there was so much wellness. And I started doing yoga and I actually, went into therapy in a big way. I got my emotional stability better and my food better and just started really taking care of myself in all the ways.
Jennifer Tracy: Wow. What an amazing physician that, was it a man?
Elissa Goodman: It was man.
Jennifer Tracy: Oh, that's just amazing. And so, what was the journey of the rest of that cancer?
Elissa Goodman: I did the radiation and then I just did this whole protocol just on my own, really. I came up with a juicing and went to, every day I juiced a lot of carrots which I wouldn't do today because of the sugar.
Jennifer Tracy: Right. I heard that.
Elissa Goodman: He has beat and carrot, he had not very tasty juices, they were very-
Jennifer Tracy: Not like this, because Elissa made me this glorious juice before. She said, "I'm gonna make myself juice, would you like one?" And I was like, "As if I'm going to turn it down."
Elissa Goodman: That acute, [inaudible 00:13:57].
Jennifer Tracy: What is in this?
Elissa Goodman: It really is simple, it's celery and cucumber and romaine and lemon. And it's just refreshing.
Jennifer Tracy: Oh, it's so refreshing, yes.
Elissa Goodman: And all of those things have incredible nutrients. I mean, the liver, they say, can detox ... I mean, the liver. The celery can detox the liver, the cucumber can detox the kidneys, and the lemon is really great for detoxing intestines, and the remain is just full of nutrients. I mean, just like kale and spinach, and we sort of forget about juicing romaine, but-
Jennifer Tracy: Yeah, so light.
Elissa Goodman: Yeah, it's light. I love the lightness. I know, I'm always been a juicer ever since then. Yeah, I juiced and I did the vegan thing which not very successfully because I didn't really know what I was doing but, I healed and I ended up going back to Vogue but the first couple of weeks, I got shingles because of the stress and I wasn't quite ready to go back to work.
Jennifer Tracy: Your body was telling you something.
Elissa Goodman: Yes, and I quit. And I went in found ... I was working for a New York Times magazine that I ran the office out here for about a couple more years and then I got pregnant with my first daughter in 1990, three years later. I had to wait a few years, they told me, before I get pregnant and so I got pregnant with her right away, which was really nice.
Jennifer Tracy: That's so great.
Elissa Goodman: I had her in 95.
Jennifer Tracy: Did you have to use the frozen eggs? Was there-
Elissa Goodman: No, I didn't do any of that.
Jennifer Tracy: It was just all natural?
Elissa Goodman: They just radiated my upper body, my chest and my neck. But I did get hypothyroidism because of radiating my thyroid. I definitely didn't walk away clean, I did have illnesses and lot of issues afterwards.
Jennifer Tracy: Then you have your first daughter, and you're a new mom, and what was that like?
Elissa Goodman: Nerve wracking, though still, isn't it for everyone?
Jennifer Tracy: Yes.
Elissa Goodman: I was still working, and pumping, and working, and pumping, you know that whole ... I will never forget one time going up to ... I serviced the West Coast, so I was in Seattle and Portland for the magazine, and I had to go take a trip and take my pump with me. And my manager, my guy from New York who saw me, I just remember being in such excruciating pain of not being able to step aside and pump.
Jennifer Tracy: Oh, that hurts so bad.
Elissa Goodman: It hurts so bad.
Jennifer Tracy: I'd grabbing my breasts, right? I'm just having the empathy for that pain.
Elissa Goodman: Yes, actually, I think I forgot my pump, that's why. I bought my pump. Oh, I'll never forget that.
Jennifer Tracy: How long were you not able to pump, for a day? two days?
Elissa Goodman: Two days. I had to try to do it manually in the shower.
Jennifer Tracy: Oh, well, yes. To just, for the pain.
Elissa Goodman: Yeah, for the relief, for the pain.
Jennifer Tracy: And squeezing, it's just interesting to talk about.
Elissa Goodman: It was awful. I don't think people have to do that these days. There's so many-
Jennifer Tracy: I'm sure, yeah. Oh, wow. How long did you do that for?
Elissa Goodman: I actually, just worked for couple years, and then, I worked till I had my second daughter, two years later. And then I stopped working and I just raised my girls-
Jennifer Tracy: Just, I love you just. I mean, we're conditioned to say that. I mean, but it's not that you meant it like that but you meant, that was your sole focus.
Elissa Goodman: Was my sole focus, right.
Jennifer Tracy: But the fact that is, it's such a massive.
Elissa Goodman: It's a massive undertaking, right. And then, the saddest thing of all was, my girls were, I think it was seven and four, and my husband was diagnosed with cancer. Just right in their those crucial years, when I know that subconscious is fully downloaded by the age of seven. But it was just, it was a really scary time. He got diagnosed with stage two non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and but for some, he had one fast growing cancer and then the other one was a little slower growing. He got through a first treatment fine, but then literally, like two months later, it came back, and it actually, had gone into his spinal fluid. And then he had two bone marrow transplants in a year, which is so unheard of, and then he ended up passing away of fungal pneumonia because his immune system was compromised at 45.
Elissa Goodman: They were 10 and seven at the time. That was not a fun time and was so stressful. And I just was terrified.
Jennifer Tracy: Of course, I mean, did you have support at that time?
Elissa Goodman: I had a lot of friends that I we had made because the girls were in school, and a really great school with lots of wonderful people. And he had great people from work, and we had built a really nice community for ourselves, so we did. We had a lot of support, which was amazing. But it was still scary thinking, what am I going to do with myself and then-
Jennifer Tracy: You lost your partner.
Elissa Goodman: Yes. And these two girls had two parents who had cancer. And that I think, for me, was a wake up call as well. Are they going to automatically think they're going to get cancer? I mean, and also the trauma that they went through with him getting sick and then watching him die, was also pretty horrible for them. I mean, I don't think they'll ever get over it.
Jennifer Tracy: How can you? I mean, something like that? It's not something you can get over.
Elissa Goodman: No, no.
Jennifer Tracy: It's part of their tapestry now.
Elissa Goodman: Yeah, we've lot of years having to deal with their trauma and PTSD of all that, as well as getting them, I'm overly ... and my intention to keep them healthy, which of course, backfires. As you know, when you're the mom and you're forcing them to eat certain things and also juice these, drink these juices, it definitely does backfire on me.
Jennifer Tracy: Was that the impetus for you to then start this business?
Elissa Goodman: And it's interesting because I didn't really think about becoming a nutritionist or starting a business. I went back to school and got certified in Eastern and Western nutrition, I was just fascinated with it. Because also, I was never really that well, or didn't have a lot of energy. And I struggled with anxiety my whole life so, I personally was interested in like, "Oh, God, I need to ... this life needs to feel better, and I want to be calmer and more centered, and all of those things that I had never felt, plus more energized." I always felt like I was behind the [inaudible 00:20:39].
Elissa Goodman: I got certified and then, three months after I did, a friend of mine brought Cafe Gratitude from San Francisco to L.A., to the large [inaudible 00:20:47] location. And she said, "Would you be interested in creating a food program or a cleanse," as they called it, "For us?"
Jennifer Tracy: That was where I was first introduced to you.
Elissa Goodman: Oh, really?
Jennifer Tracy: And not personally, but that's where I first started seeing your stuff and started following your journey. And I was at that moment, so impressed by you. And I just thought, "This lady is very special."
Elissa Goodman: Thank you. It was such an incredible opportunity because, that launched my career. And I did that for four years and then, a year into the Cafe Gratitude program, M café, the owner, was a friend of ours. He asked me to do a macrobiotic food program for him. I did that for probably six years. And then, Erewhon, the new owners bought, took over Erewhon, and I became friends with them, and they asked me to do a program. That one didn't last that long because, the other ones were put together for people and packaged and they'd pick up or delivered. But Erewhon, you had to go in and pick out your own stuff.
Jennifer Tracy: I remember that. I was like, "I don't want to go to them, I'd rather just do it at cafe gratitude."
Elissa Goodman: Absolutely. Yeah, nobody wants to go in and pick it out. And yeah, they wanted all packaged for them, and told what to do.
Jennifer Tracy: If you gonna do that, I still go into Erewhon and spend my whole paycheck, because I like to do that for a half a bag of groceries.
Elissa Goodman: Isn't that for sure?
Jennifer Tracy: I just do, I love it. I don't do it all the time but I love it in there. It's just, anyway, it's a splurge for sure.
Elissa Goodman: It's crazy. I just watching that store change from-
Jennifer Tracy: The mom and pop store yesterday.
Elissa Goodman: Yes, and the dirt on the floor and the bins.
Jennifer Tracy: Oh, no. It was so, I loved it when it was more of just the hippy, health food store. In fact, the man who was the manager there, I wish I could remember his name back then, he was so kind. He taught a cooking course, on how to make a vegan Thanksgiving, because I also was vegan, very badly, vegan. for a couple years in my 20s. And I was going to host Thanksgiving. And my other girlfriend was vegetarian, and I was like, "Oh, she's coming with her boyfriend." I took this class and he taught us how to make all this beautiful, amazing vegan, Thanksgiving inspired food, and it was taught in Erewhon. They had this kitchen space.
Elissa Goodman: Kitchen space?
Jennifer Tracy: Yeah, it was so lovely. But I like how it is now, but it's just, it's different. It's not.
Elissa Goodman: It's totally different. I know, they're on the leading edge of health and wellness, as a store. I mean, there's no other store in the country like it. But yes you do sadly pay for health and wellness.
Jennifer Tracy: Oh, boy. I mean, my ex husband calls it the pink slips store, because they have [inaudible 00:23:22] to give those other pink slip your house.
Elissa Goodman: I know, it's true it's true it I went in there, my youngest is in Spain, so she was traveling abroad and I went in to get some supplements for her but she's gone until the end of May. I bought quite a few things of supplements and we bought some food, I was with my fiance. And, oh my God, when that number came up on the screen and how my fellow-
Jennifer Tracy: He was like, "Oh my, what did you buy?"
Elissa Goodman: I know. And those supplements are fortune.
Jennifer Tracy: Oh, they are fortune? But when you really realize what the ingredients are, well, we'll get back to that because you know all about that. You had all these programs running, it just sounds like it just caught fire. You did the Cafe Gratitude thing, than the M Café, Erewhon, you're just everywhere, all of a sudden.
Elissa Goodman: It was so fun, and then I put together a 21 day, Do it Yourself cleanse on my site, so people outside of L.A could just experience healthy food and healthy living. And I did that and then four years ago, I was like, "Wow, I've done all these programs for other people, why am I not doing something myself?" And a lot of clients were saying, "Will you cook for me?" And I'm not really a chef, I love healthy food and my assistant does a lot of the cooking. For some reason, I do know how to pick out good stuff, I have an eye for it but she does fill in and help me with all of it. Together, we sat down and we were like, "Oh, let's just try, maybe we cook and deliver a cleanse ourselves." And so, we just finished our fourth year last year and we have this cleanse that has been so much fun.
Elissa Goodman: It's like soups and salads and everything that I like to eat, detox, tonics and bras and it's plant based and it's loaded with veggies because I feel like people do not eat enough veggies.
Jennifer Tracy: Oh, gosh, that's me. And it's terrible.
Elissa Goodman: Right, I mean, I think a lot of us could say that and no gluten, no sugar, no dairy.
Jennifer Tracy: This drink you've so generously given me might be the first group of vegetables I've had in like, three or four days. It's really, sadly.
Elissa Goodman: Bad woman.
Jennifer Tracy: I know. I'm just calling myself out.
Elissa Goodman: That's okay, I love that part. I know, we don't get nutrients at a cellular level and so that's, I was thinking nutrient dense, just whole foods, going back to the basics for people and it just, it took off and it's been, we service almost 50 people every other week.
Jennifer Tracy: What? That's huge, I had no idea.
Elissa Goodman: 100 people a month and it sells out. And we just were, the January that we're talking in-
Jennifer Tracy: You have a limit? I was gonna say, you must have to cap it.
Elissa Goodman: Yeah, we have a limit, we can do more than 48, 50. And this month, we do three weeks in a row because everybody's trying to get back into the swinger things, right?
Jennifer Tracy: January, yes, of course. Yeah.
Elissa Goodman: And we sold out the whole month. It's like, What? Is this really happening? It's really-
Jennifer Tracy: So great. there's such a thirst, literally and spiritually for what you're offering. That's so great.
Elissa Goodman: The great thing too is, I think, you can understand this when you get a home cooked meal and your mom cooked or you cook or for your family, it's just full of love most of the time. And it's a whole different vibe. The chefs that work for us and everybody is like, full of love and intention of putting just high vibration and good energy into the food. I feel like hopefully that comes through with it as well, and I think that's what's led to the success, is just that we all absolutely love what we do. We love the food and we're foodies. The food has to taste good. I mean, we switch it up at four times a year so people don't, because we have a lot of people that repeat, so they don't get tired of the same.
Jennifer Tracy: Wow, that's a lot of work. And you're constantly making appearances now, and I mean, tell me what else is going on with your business?
Elissa Goodman: I wrote the book a couple years ago, Cancer Hacks and I just healed from Hashimoto's, I put myself in remission. That's another thing that I'm getting ready to hopefully write a book on autoimmune hacks, my story of how I healed. Because I know a lot of people out there, it's the fastest growing autoimmune disease today, and thyroid issues are just on the rise. And so there's just, I mean, I spent years trying to figure out what was wrong. First of all, and then once they figured out what was wrong, I was on meds for 21 years, and still didn't really feel fantastic. I felt good but I didn't ever know what great felt like. Three years ago, I read the Medical Mediums book. I do love alternative modalities, I'm not just based in science so I can be a little, whoo, whoo.
Jennifer Tracy: Oh, I'm way whoo, whoo. Okay, go ahead. You have the right girl in front of you. I just saw my astrologist, Remington, my astrologist. He does like astrology Tarot and numerology, he's amazing. I'm with you.
Elissa Goodman: I love that, I love that. I'm into all that, the crystals and the [inaudible 00:28:31] and the energy healers for years and so I basically, read the Medical Mediums book, Anthony William, and then I had a session with him. I got lucky because it was before he stopped talking to people and he basically said, "You have viruses and toxins in your thyroid and your liver, and you need to do something about them or you're going to have a serious health issue." And I was like, "Okay, another wake up call." And you can't test for that. You don't know if you have pathogens and bacteria and viruses, but I know we all do in our system so we come into the world toxic and I think, we just, we can't help but pick up toxins along the way.
Elissa Goodman: I did a protocol of his, very easy for about three months and I went into feeling great.
Jennifer Tracy: And after three months?
Elissa Goodman: Three months, I felt, I started to wean myself off with a doctor. My thyroid medication, and ever since that day, that was probably two and a half years ago, I mean, of course, I have moments that I don't feel great.
Jennifer Tracy: Right, you're still human.
Elissa Goodman: Yeah, I'm still human.
Jennifer Tracy: You are a super woman but you're still human.
Elissa Goodman: Was like, "Wow, this is what it could feel like?" It was pretty incredible. He helped me lower my viral loads and my bacteria and fungus loads in my body, and that's I think when the body starts to really be able to function properly, cells are able to replicate and duplicate properly 'cause your body is so busy fighting off all these toxins. When it's not so busy doing that, then it really can efficiently run on-
Jennifer Tracy: Yes, thrive.
Elissa Goodman: And thrive. Yeah so I mean, but I wasn't through it because my numbers, my blood work still showed that I was off the charts, high with my thyroid numbers are low. But TSH was high and T3, T4 were low and my antibodies were still off the charts high and then, I ended up like months later meeting a functional medicine doctor in New York, Gabrielle Lyon. And she said to me, she didn't even test or anything, we were meeting just because someone said we should meet, and she was fantastic lady. And she looks at me and she goes, "I think you might have a parasite." And I was like, "How do you know that because you're just looking at me?" And she said, "I want you to see this disease doctor, infectious disease doctor up the street tomorrow and let's just see, let's just rule it out."
Elissa Goodman: And I went to see him, old guy in his 90s who was quite exceptional on Fifth Avenue, and ended up having Giardia. And I took care of that, all my numbers came down. My antibodies came down-
Jennifer Tracy: I'm sure that's so much more common than we even realize.
Elissa Goodman: I think that parasites and all that kind of stuff that we don't really think about as much and test for. And also heavy metals, I had a high mercury and arsenic.
Jennifer Tracy: Arsenic?
Elissa Goodman: Arsenic. Yeah, and a lot of my people who eat chicken, lots and lots of chicken, test high for arsenic.
Jennifer Tracy: Interesting. I'm off chicken right now. I mean, I still eat meat but I'm having one of those. I go back and forth to the chicken where my body just gets repulsed, and I'm like, "Oh, I can't, the texture, the [inaudible 00:31:43]."
Elissa Goodman: Same here.
Jennifer Tracy: I'm just go ahead and one of them, but sometimes I'll be like, "Oh, I'll have a chicken, sandwich or whatever," but I can't just, yeah. Interesting, arsenic? I never would have guessed that.
Elissa Goodman: I mean, functional doctors do tests for those things when you have autoimmune stuff. I always recommend to my clients to go see a functional doctor or somebody, an integrative one who is interested in getting to the root cause of why you have these issues. And a lot of them are heavy metals and mold, and parasites or these toxins, or viral issues. And my Epstein-Barr came up even though I had mono and strap and tonsillitis and all those things as a young.
Jennifer Tracy: Sure, but it was still dormant and got rid, yeah, that's amazing. You had this doctor here that was treating you with the three months protocol, was it with herbs?
Elissa Goodman: Yeah, it was with ... its bioactive silver which is everywhere. Sovereign makes one that is an antibacterial, antifungal, anti viral. I was doing that with some high concentrated zinc liquid which is great for immunity and also helps the cells seek out and destroy viruses, it's pretty cool. And then, I was doing high dose [inaudible 00:32:57] and Lysine. Lysine is a big viral, [inaudible 00:33:01] just comes down the central nervous system and can have some healthful benefits on viruses as well, build immunity. And then I did some licorice root extract, a lot of this stuff was liquid, it was interesting. That's why I think it works so fast and I love herbs, I love herbs and have been around forever like licorice root or [inaudible 00:33:21]. Olive leaf is phenomenal, lemon balm. I was on the licorice root which is incredible for adrenals.
Jennifer Tracy: Really?
Elissa Goodman: I don't recommend the liquid for people who have high blood pressure, but if you have low blood pressure, it's like, whoa, a lifesaver, it's beautiful. There's licorice root tea that is pretty incredible.
Jennifer Tracy: I should try that because-
Elissa Goodman: For adrenals?
Jennifer Tracy: Yeah, I always, when I get tested for my acupuncturist, Gile.
Elissa Goodman: Oh, she's mind too.
Jennifer Tracy: Oh my God, isn't she the best?
Elissa Goodman: She's the best.
Jennifer Tracy: She's a genius. Actually, I want to get her on the show as well.
Elissa Goodman: Yes, you must.
Jennifer Tracy: You know her, she does the testing, the arm, kinesiology testing?
Elissa Goodman: Yeah.
Jennifer Tracy: She's always like, "Whoo, your adrenals are just short, we laugh about it. She's like, "You need the ocean trace minerals," I'm like, "I have them." And last time, that was a couple weeks ago. She goes, "And you just look at them in your kitchen?" I'm like, "Yeah, I just look at them in the vials." But yeah.
Elissa Goodman: You and everybody else probably have a supplement, row in their kitchen or the bathroom.
Jennifer Tracy: Oh, it's there. I have everything you just mentioned. All those herbs, I'm like, "Have it, have it, have it, that one still has the wrapper on it. I don't know what that is. But if I'm really, really sick, I'll take everything that I have. But I'm really bad about the maintenance of it-
Elissa Goodman: I know, most people.
Jennifer Tracy: Like this beautiful drink that you gave me. I have a juicer, I have a Vitamix, am I making the smoothies that Catherine McCord posts every day? So I can, no. It's so interesting.
Elissa Goodman: I know, I think it really does. It does take a lot of people that-
Jennifer Tracy: Wake up call.
Elissa Goodman: Wake up call. Which is so sad. I really, it's human nature, right? I don't know how to get around that. I mean-
Jennifer Tracy: I don't either, I'm just taking it for granted, but it's interesting listening to you. What I'm internalizing is, Well, I'm kind of tired and my digestive has not been so great and I would like to wake up and feel great and energized. And like, I feel okay, but I'm tired a lot, and I go to bed when my son goes to bed, which is 7:30. I go to bed at 7:30 every night. I sleep until 5:30 the next morning. I need a lot of sleep. But I've been thinking like-
Elissa Goodman: That so incredible to go to bed that early. That's a beautiful thing.
Jennifer Tracy: Or is it weird? Or is it that I'm to depleted? I don't know.
Elissa Goodman: Can you not stay up past 7:30? It's like, you can't hardly keep your eyes open.
Jennifer Tracy: I guess I could. Yeah, I can't hardly keep my eyes open. I can't hardly keep my eyes open. I don't drink coffee, I do drink caffeinated tea in the morning, several cups of caffeinated tea. But-
Elissa Goodman: That is interesting.
Jennifer Tracy: All the things you're talking about, it's inspiring me because I know, I'm not getting enough nutrients, I'm not getting enough vegetables. Even though, interviewed Catherine a couple weeks ago and she said, "Oh, well, the reason I do the smoothie challenge is because, then I can get my kids out the door with a couple of vegetables, a couple fruit servings. I'm like, God I don't even get that in a couple days in my body. And it's so important that we learn that it's so important and-
Elissa Goodman: I know it's a lifeline, it's the life force. Fruit and veggies are really, where it's at.
Jennifer Tracy: Fruit, I have no problem. I'll eat a flat of raspberries, and I will go to the farmers market so I get the fresh stuff and just eat it so it doesn't go bad.
Elissa Goodman: Well, that's a good thing. You're doing but some good stuff there.
Jennifer Tracy: Some veggies, but because it's sweet and I was sweet too. But anyway, okay, I want to get back to your, Hashimoto, you cured yourself of Hashimoto's. Am I saying it right? Hashimoto's?
Elissa Goodman: Yes, Hashimoto. I don't think you ever can cure, it's like remission.
Jennifer Tracy: You're on remission, okay.
Elissa Goodman: Yeah, because it could pop up again.
Jennifer Tracy: You're not symptomatic.
Elissa Goodman: I'm not symptomatic and what happens a lot of times, I got Hashimoto's, I had the thyroid issue from the radiation. And then I had my first daughter and so, when you have trauma to the body, or you go through a trauma situation. I mean, somebody could pass away or any of those things. I mean, I'm yeah. It raised its ugly head then.
Jennifer Tracy: Which you had multiple times. Two birds, and then your husband dying, yeah.
Elissa Goodman: Yeah, it ebbs and flows, and throughout those years, it got worse, it got better, right. Trauma is really tough on the body and also stresses, you can imagine. When lack of sleep and lack of nutrients.
Jennifer Tracy: Let's talk about your book, your first book, Cancer Hacks. I mean, I had another ... many of my guests have worked with Dr. Kristy Funk. Who is also amazing, and she's my doctor too. And I know Claire Stansfield was one who, as breast cancer survivor, who's now a year cancer free. And was saying that she changed everything to vegan, and under Kristy's direction. And, green tea, green tea, green tea. And I was like, "Oh, I can't. But green tea makes me so [inaudible 00:38:20]." And she said, "No, just get to the decaf." Tell me about your book and what are some of the main points? I mean, we all are going to go out, rush out and buy the book because we should just have it on our shelves. But what are some of the main points of?
Elissa Goodman: Well, I mean, for me, the main points are, there is another book that was written, I think she wrote it after me. It's called Radical Remission. You ever heard of that by Kelly Turner?
Jennifer Tracy: I haven't.
Elissa Goodman: She did her PhD and she spent 10 years interviewing stage four cancer survivors. And none of them did the western modalities, they all healed by just nutrition and mindfulness and all this stuff. There was nine factors that you came up with how these people healed across the board. Out of the nine, seven were emotional. I know, it was really, blew my mind and, one was food, one was supplements. I mean, in my book, I did talk about the stress and the trauma that I experienced throughout my life and I think, when you come into the world and it's a stressful environment, you're on high alert from day one. And I don't think your body and your central nervous system and you're just, everything that needs to stay calm and really keep you healthy throughout your lifetime doesn't ever settle down and get to that calm.
Elissa Goodman: Plus, the biggest thing for me was, I didn't love myself. There was no self love, and it was constant. Beating up on myself, and I'm not good enough, I just don't measure up and all of those things I think a lot of us women do go through. And so, that for me was huge, and I learned a lot of that in therapy. But I really didn't get it until recently, how much I need the self love. Those emotional things were just huge. But then, in the book, it's all about what we were just talking about. Just going back to the basics of eating just clean food, organic food, because our food supply is not so great these days, which is very sad. And just getting as much nutrients as you can, and the simple things, being hydrated.
Elissa Goodman: We don't drink enough water in our water is, some of it is bad. And we don't really, we don't eat enough fiber. No, because we don't flush our system, it's just like, as somebody I interviewed for my show today, said that, "Flax seeds are really incredible because they are like a rotor rooter for your intestines and your body." We need to get the toxins and crappy stuff out of our body. And we're just, we're eating so much animal protein and I'm a fan, such a fan of Dr. Funk's about that because I know she did a lot of research. And I'm still not 100% vegan, because somehow, I just crave every once in a while.
Jennifer Tracy: Me too. I just had steak last night, my son loves fillets, like, "Mom, can we have fillet tonight?"
Elissa Goodman: Yes. I mean, I just, I know, I do. I still every once a while and I love salmon and fish. But I do, I'm 80% vegan. And I do think animal protein does cause a lot of issues. But I'm also a big soy fan and I was so happy when she came out with the fact that we could have soy. And there's a lot of research behind it, that it's not so bad for us and it's not, we're not going to get breast cancer because we eat some soy.
Jennifer Tracy: And a mommy, which is what I thought. I was like, "Oh, I shouldn't have had a mommy, because I have dense breasts." And I was just so misinformed, I didn't know.
Elissa Goodman: Yeah, I mean, and that's what's happening these days. There's way too much information out there, and conflicting information and all the different diet modality, keto intermittently, all these, it's crazy but I do ... The book is really just about, just living a lifestyle that is balanced, and really tapping in to your emotional, are you passionate? Are you doing what you love? Are you really serving yourself in regards to, I mean, you have one life, you are here for a reason, but most of us really, discard and discount ourselves and it's really sad to see.
Jennifer Tracy: Yeah it is. I mean, it's called Cancer Hacks but it's really a life hack book for all of us and cancer prevention, of course.
Elissa Goodman: Right, right it is. And it's like we talked about, is like just getting tested for heavy metals and molds or parasites. I mean, in the old days, when I was diagnosed, I did have a parasite as well. Yeah, that's all those things are important to get tested for.
Jennifer Tracy: And we all have those things 'cause we all live in this environment. And, I mean, it's so funny, I forget what it was, but somebody was freaked out about something at one of my kid's, my kid's former school. Something that was a pollutant, I'm forgetting what it was. And I said, "Are you kidding? Look at the lake where, we're on highland of Franklin you guys, we're breathing in toxicity daily. Don't worry about the cleanliness of whatever it was," I forget what it was, I wish I could remember.
Elissa Goodman: I know, we kind of go overboard too sometimes, right? With that.
Jennifer Tracy: Yeah, I mean, yes, we need to be aware of that but it's all around us. But I mean, listen, I have those air filters in every room of my house.
Elissa Goodman: That's a good thing.
Jennifer Tracy: It helps.
Elissa Goodman: Yeah, it helps. And if little bit helps and also if it makes you feel good, that you're doing something good. I mean, that's huge. Because the mental part, I think, is more powerful than the food. I mean, food is medicine but that mental, where you're telling yourself these negative things, your subconscious-
Jennifer Tracy: Yeah, it won't matter if you're juicing.
Elissa Goodman: Yeah, it won't matters if you're drinking this green juice.
Jennifer Tracy: It's true. You're writing your second book currently?
Elissa Goodman: I am trying to, the first book was really hard.
Jennifer Tracy: It's so hard to write a book.
Elissa Goodman: Really hard.
Jennifer Tracy: But you don't know this until you sit down and do it and then you're like, "People do this?" It's so hard.
Elissa Goodman: It is, it's really, really hard.
Jennifer Tracy: But you did it once, I didn't know you could do it again.
Elissa Goodman: Yeah, hopefully. Hopefully, I feel like these days I love doing so many other things, so that what's hard.
Jennifer Tracy: And your girls are in college?
Elissa Goodman: Yeah, well. My younger one is going to be 21 and she's in college and my older one is out of college, graduated and works actually for a Reiki Master, a Reiki person. Which is cool so she's in the business.
Jennifer Tracy: Is she here in L.A.?
Elissa Goodman: She's here LA, yeah.
Jennifer Tracy: Oh, thank goodness. Because I always think, Oh, my son is gonna move to New ... I know he's gonna move to New York, I'm sure, or London or something because who wouldn't want to do that at least for a little bit but I hope he comes back.
Elissa Goodman: I wish they did but I love having her here, it's really fun.
Jennifer Tracy: Yeah, that's so great.
Elissa Goodman: My other one might not come back but, yes.
Jennifer Tracy: I heard you say you're engaged.
Elissa Goodman: Yes, permanently engaged.
Jennifer Tracy: Well, you're engaged in life-
Elissa Goodman: In life.
Jennifer Tracy: But you mentioned fiance earlier, that's exciting.
Elissa Goodman: I have been with him for 10 years and I just at this time in my life, I don't really think I want to get married. I know that people just look at me sometimes cross eyed about that, but I just feel like I love the freedom that it brings, and I also love the fact that I don't take him for granted. Every day I get to wake up and go, "Oh, I love being with you." And hopefully same for him. I just don't want to go to that place where it's automatic, or I'm thinking-
Jennifer Tracy: Yes, that's lovely. You guys are on fianced and that is just where you are resting in it. That's so lovely.
Elissa Goodman: I never know what to call him because it's partner or that sounds like a little, I have a woman partner maybe or yet right, boyfriends and so crazy when you're 58 years old.
Jennifer Tracy: I love it. That's so great, congratulations.
Elissa Goodman: It's all good and he has two boys as well and they're great and out of college and so yeah, it's fun. It's fun to build a new family and he's really the one that has helped keep me planting my feet on the ground and helped me really do this. He's was someone who didn't really want to just be taking care of a woman in his life, he didn't want to just have a wife or fiance that didn't do something with her life. He just helped me really get out there and be able to build a business and-
Jennifer Tracy: That's so awesome.
Elissa Goodman: Build something for myself and wow, I can never thank him enough. It's such a beautiful thing. He just gives me so much security and just, I feel really planted and calm with him. I didn't have that most of my life.
Jennifer Tracy: That's so good. Well, you deserve it, sister.
Elissa Goodman: Thank you.
Jennifer Tracy: I'm so happy for you. We've come to the point where, perfect timing. I am going to ask you the three questions that I ask every guest, and then we're going to go into a lightning round. The first question is, what do you think about Elissa when you hear the word milf.
Elissa Goodman: I think about, yeah, people, when my husband passed away, they called me a milf. I think about older women being with a younger man. I didn't love it when they called me a milf, so that was interesting. I was sort of like, "whoo, is that right?"
Jennifer Tracy: What does that mean? What does mean to me? What does that mean about me? What does that? Yeah. Well, what's interesting is, I asked this of every guest and everybody has a different take on a different experience. But from the male coined acronym which was from porn genre, mom I like to fuck, and we curse on the show sometimes. I don't know why I said it softly but, this has been a very clean conversation but-
Elissa Goodman: We didn't have enough cursing.
Jennifer Tracy: Let's get some in now.
Elissa Goodman: Let's get down.
Jennifer Tracy: But when I adopted that for the name of the podcast, the subtitle is, Mom I'd Like to Follow, because my whole thing is, everything I've learned, most things I've learned of value, have been from other mothers. Other women in general, but in particular, since I became a mother, because I didn't know what the hell I was doing. I was asking other moms, "How did you do this? How did you do this? How are you?" I was just lost. And so other moms led me, and I literally followed other moms so it was a riff on that and then a riff from Instagram following. But it's an interesting thing to see how people feel about that.
Jennifer Tracy: What is something you've changed your mind about recently?
Elissa Goodman: I've changed my mind about the fact that it's really okay to get older and age. Because I was definitely fighting it and feeling very, that I'm 58, going to be 59, and it felt so old.
Jennifer Tracy: You look so good, girl. You look so good.
Elissa Goodman: Thank you. And I just, that I thought to myself when I want to go back to those younger years now, not how I feel today because I feel so much better. I'm okay aging.
Jennifer Tracy: Yes. I'm with you on that. I struggle with it still, but I'm also-
Elissa Goodman: Yeah, I'm not 100%.
Jennifer Tracy: I'm not 100% but I'm more just leaning into it and just getting comfortable in it sometimes. How do you define success?
Elissa Goodman: I define success with feeling like incredibly calm, nurturing in my heart and grateful. I know that words been probably overused these days, but-
Jennifer Tracy: Oh, never too much.
Elissa Goodman: I feel like that's my success. I'm so grateful for my life and my adventures, and what I've been able to accomplish and what I've been able to learn. All those obstacles that have been thrown in my way, basically, were such a positive thing for me, because I never would have gone down this road if I hadn't been slapped in the face. I was one of those that just needed to be slapped in the face or-
Jennifer Tracy: Well, and look how many thousands of people that you've helped because of it. I mean, that's such a gift. Okay, lightning round. Ocean or desert?
Elissa Goodman: Ocean.
Jennifer Tracy: Favorite junk food, this will be interesting.
Elissa Goodman: French fries.
Jennifer Tracy: Oh my God, me too. I love french fries.
Elissa Goodman: Can't get enough.
Jennifer Tracy: I love french fries. I almost tried to make homemade french fries, but I chickened out, because it's a lot of work.
Elissa Goodman: It is a lot of work, right.
Jennifer Tracy: Movies or Broadway show.
Elissa Goodman: Broadway show.
Jennifer Tracy: Daytime sex or nighttime sex.
Elissa Goodman: Daytime.
Jennifer Tracy: Talking or texting?
Elissa Goodman: Talking.
Jennifer Tracy: Cat person or dog person.
Elissa Goodman: Dog.
Jennifer Tracy: Have you ever worn a unitard?
Elissa Goodman: Yes.
Jennifer Tracy: Shower or bath tub.
Elissa Goodman: A shower.
Jennifer Tracy: On a scale of one to 10, how good are you at ping pong?
Elissa Goodman: Probably, a six and a half.
Jennifer Tracy: Oh, Oh, Okay.
Elissa Goodman: I played growing up.
Jennifer Tracy: Oh, ice cream or chocolate.
Elissa Goodman: Chocolate.
Jennifer Tracy: If you could push a button and have perfect skin for the rest of your life, but it would also give you incurable halitosis for the rest of your life, would you push it?
Elissa Goodman: No.
Jennifer Tracy: Superpower choice, invisibility, ability to fly or super strength.
Elissa Goodman: Ability to fly.
Jennifer Tracy: Would you rather have six fingers on both hands, or a belly button that it looks like fore skin.
Elissa Goodman: I think I do have a belly button that looks like fore skin. So definitely, doing yoga the other day, looking in the mirror, I was like, "Yes." Probably, belly button because I could hide it.
Jennifer Tracy: What was the name of your first pet?
Elissa Goodman: It was a dog, Georgie Girl.
Jennifer Tracy: And what was the name of the street that you grew up on.
Elissa Goodman: Georgia. Named the dog after the street.
Jennifer Tracy: Your poor name is Georgie Georgia. That is a really good one.
Elissa Goodman: That's super cute.
Jennifer Tracy: She's a showgirl.
Elissa Goodman: Georgie, Georgia. Yeah, I love it.
Jennifer Tracy: Georgie Georgia, Elissa you're such a treat. Thank you so much for being on the show.
Elissa Goodman: Oh my God. I loved hanging out with you.
Jennifer Tracy: Me too.
Elissa Goodman: What a wonderful human you are.
Jennifer Tracy: Likewise, such a treasure.
Elissa Goodman: Thank you.
Jennifer Tracy: Thank you so much. Thanks so much for listening guys, I really hope you enjoyed my conversation with Elissa. And next week on the show, we have Dr. Sarah Circus, who came to me through the World Wide Web. She found me on Instagram and contacted me wanting to come onto the show, and I'm so glad she did. What a brilliant woman, I mean we, had a wonderful conversation, I could have talked to her two more hours. I'm really looking forward to sharing that with you. Once again just a reminder, for every iTunes review left this month, $25 will be going from my bank account into Lumos, the charity for getting children out of orphanages and into their family homes, founded by J.K. Rowling, another badass. I would love to have her on the show, just saying.
Jennifer Tracy: If you haven't picked up your copy of Seven Habits of Baller Milfs on my website, please do, milfpodcast.com, it's a good read. And I just want to thank all of my listeners, I love you guys so much. This is such a treat and a treasure for me to be able to bring you these beautiful, wonderful women. I really feel that the deepest form of healing comes from sharing our stories with each other so that we feel less alone. And I'll be talking to you guys next week. Have a wonderful week. Bye.