In this first installment of a two-part conversation, Sienna Mae Heath sits down with Michael Pickens, CEO of Botanical Enlightenment, a holistic supplement company dedicated to providing natural alternatives for people and pets battling cancer. Michael shares the personal journey that inspired him to start his company, as well as his work with naturopathic doctors to promote whole-food, minimally processed diets tailored to blood type—while warning against the dangers of sugar, seed oils, and chemical-laden foods.
Sienna and Michael dive into the tensions between modern medicine and natural healing, unpack the key differences between medicinal uses of CBD and THC versus recreational culture, and explore the surprising therapeutic properties of pumpkins and mushrooms that play a central role in Michael’s remedies.
In this episode of Food is Freedom, Sienna Mae Heath sits down with Rachel Illari — menstrual cycle mentor, ceremonial guide, and host of the Womb Song Wellness podcast. A mother of three and advocate for sacred postpartum care, Rachel brings deep insight from her work with the Healthy Families Program and her ongoing support of women’s wellness.
Together, they explore the healing power of nature, the beauty of cyclical living, and the role of nourishment in women’s health. Rachel shares practical tools for herbal self-care — including custom tea blends, yoni steams, womb oils, and warming pastes made with herbs like St. John’s wort, orange peel, and ginger — offering guidance for both women and men to reconnect with their bodies and reclaim sovereignty through ritual and care.
For more information follow Rachel Illari on Instagram & Substack.
Instagram: @womb_song_wellness
Substack and Womb Song Wellness podcast: https://rachelillari.substack.com
In this episode of Food Is Freedom, host Sienna Mae Heath sits down with Mollie Engelhart, a trailblazer in the Regenerative Agriculture movement. Alongside her husband Elias, Mollie owns Sovereignty Ranch, a sprawling 200-acre haven in the Texas Hill Country, where she’s on a mission to grow healthy food from healthy soil for her communities. A mother of five, film producer, poet, and thought leader, Mollie delves into the profound ties between humanity, family, soil, food, and culture—always pondering, 'Where do we go from here?'
Watch as Mollie shares her inspiring journey of leaving behind her pandemic-ravaged Sage Regenerative Kitchen restaurants in Los Angeles and starting fresh in Texas. From building a food forest to offering practical gardening tips for beginners, she reveals how soil health connects to gut wellness and mental clarity. Sienna digs deep with thought-provoking questions: Would nature flourish without humans? What’s the farmer’s true purpose? And how can food system policies evolve to empower personal health freedom?
For more on Mollie Engelhart and Sovereignty Ranch visit: www.sovereigntyranch.com
Or follow on Instagram @talktomollie & @sovereigntyranch, Facebook @mollie.engelhart & @sovereigntyranch, X @talktomollie.
Follow Sienna Mae Heath on Instagram @thesovereigngardener, Facebook @thesovereigngardener, or at https://siennamaeheath.substack.com.
Gardening Inspiration & More: siennamaeheath.com
Sienna’s Bees & Teas (clay bee magnets and herbal teas) are also available for sale on her Facebook and Instagram pages.
Erika Nolan is a Holistic Health Expert and Homestead Consultant for people looking to achieve food and health independence. Inspired by her experience in the Ecuadorian Amazon, she has transformed numerous landscapes in New Orleans into something the city had not yet seen: artistically arranged, sustainable landscapes, edible and even rooftop gardens. Erika and host Sienna Mae Heath explore how biological dentistry solved a mystery of her daughter’s cavities, what makes water healthy and clean, and why the Industrial Revolution was a turning point in our food industry.
For more on Erika Nolan and Instar visit: www.instargardens.com
Or follow her on Instagram @instar.gardens, Facebook @instar, X @instargardens.
This series is also available as a podcast on your app of choice. Follow Sienna Mae Heath on Instagram @thesovereigngardener, Facebook thesovereigngardener, or at https://siennamaeheath.substack.com.
Gardening Inspiration & More: siennamaeheath.com
Sienna’s Bees & Teas (clay bee magnets and herbal teas) are also available for sale on her Facebook and Instagram pages.
Barbara A. F. Brehon is a gardener, author, pastor, and founder of Favored by the Father Ministries, a church without walls. As the host of the UNBOXED on Purpose Podcast, she speaks with people who have overcome life’s challenges to discover their true purpose.
Host Sienna Mae Heath and Barbara discuss how permaculture compares to self-care, ways in which companion planting can cultivate healthy garden growth, and how plants can be fruitful in bearing food and producing seeds. They also explore ways in which certain seeds, like people, open up in different time frames.
This series is also available as a podcast on your app of choice. Follow Sienna Mae Heath on Instagram @sovereign_sienna, Facebook @sienna.m.heath, or at https://siennamaeheath.substack.com.
Gardening Inspiration & More: siennamaeheath.com
Nabil Moghaddam is a Certified Nutritional Therapist and a Detoxification Specialist who is passionate about natural medicine, homeopathy, detoxification, and how mineral imbalances affect both physical and mental health. He has been practicing natural medicine for 8 years and resides on the beautiful Island of Madeira, Portugal.
Nabil and host Sienna Mae Heath explore Nabil’s journey of becoming “So Ready for Health” and garnering simple wisdom from the natural world. They discuss the various toxins found in common food and tap water, the value of an alkaline diet, growing pure foods at home, and the benefits of earthing (or, grounding in the soil).
They discuss how creating an immunity-boosting diet is essential to good health, what effects certain foods can have on hormones, and how to naturally produce melatonin and other chemicals that ease a person into deep sleep with detailed, memorable dreams.
They also reflect on why public food and health systems should be decentralized so that individuals can grow more empowered from the grassroots. Nabil and Sienna explore food as medicine, and agriculture as the roots for a better-functioning society and a more beautiful world.
For more information on Nabil Moghaddam, you can check out the links below:
https://www.soreadyforhealth.com/
https://www.youtube.com/@nabilinho
https://www.youtube.com/@Unite-The-Hearts
Free the People brings you Food is Freedom with Sienna Mae Heath. We’ll explore food as medicine and natural remedies free from Big Pharma. We’ll discuss advice for novice growers, permaculture practices that nourish natural beauty, experiential learning activities, and ways to accomplish the divine art of homesteading.
With the global push toward highly processed, corporatized foods and the demonization of local farms, grass-fed beef, and localized systems, we desperately need to uplift our health and our happiness from the grassroots.
