Hormone Prosperity Podcast with Dr. Kyrin Dunston

Reversing Hair Loss At Midlife: How To Make It Fully Vital

Welcome to the latest episode of The Hormone Prescription Podcast, hosted by Dr. Kyrin Dunston! In this informative and engaging episode, Dr. Kyrin Dunston talks to renowned guest Faraz Khan about reversing hair loss and regaining hair vitality at midlife. Faraz is an expert in the field of hair loss in women, founder of FullyVital, and host of the Anti-Aging Hacks Podcast.
  
Faraz's innovative thinking and empathetic approach towards hair health have made him a highly sought-after voice in the field. In this conversation, he delves into the molecular level of how testosterone and DHT, specifically around menopause, can affect hair follicle health, ultimately contributing to a broader understanding of hair loss patterns in women.

Some highlights of the episode include:

- Understanding the role of testosterone and DHT in hair health
- Strategies to reverse hair loss during midlife
- The complex interplay of hormones, diet, and lifestyle that impact hair health
- Faraz's unique perspective and empathetic approach to hair health
  
It's an episode that you won't want to miss if you want to understand the root cause of hair loss and learn how to regain your hair's vitality at midlife. So, don't miss out on the valuable insights Faraz shares and the helpful knowledge he imparts.
  
Make sure to subscribe to The Hormone Prescription Podcast to stay updated on all the latest episodes and be a part of our community of listeners working towards better hormonal health.

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving us a review!** Your positive feedback helps others discover our podcast and benefit from the insightful conversations we have with experts like Faraz Khan. Together, we can help more people gain control of their hormonal health and enjoy fuller, more vital lives.

 

Speaker 1 (00:00):

Our bodies are magical and they know exactly how to heal. We just have to give them time so they can kickstart the process. Stay tuned to learn how to heal your hair and reverse hair loss at midlife.

Speaker 2 (00:15):

So the big question is, how do women over 40 like us, keep weight off, have great energy, balance our hormones and our moods, feel sexy and confident, and master midlife? If you're like most of us, you are not getting the answers you need and remain confused and pretty hopeless to ever feel like yourself again. As an O B G Y N, I had to discover for myself the truth about what creates a rock solid metabolism, lasting weight loss, and supercharged energy after 40, in order to lose a hundred pounds and fix my fatigue, now I'm on a mission. This podcast is designed to share the natural tools you need for impactful results and to give you clarity on the answers to your midlife metabolism challenges. Join me for tangible, natural strategies to crush the hormone imbalances you are facing and help you get unstuck from the sidelines of life. My name is Dr. Kyrin Dunston. Welcome to the Hormone Prescription Podcast.

Speaker 1 (01:08):

Hi everybody. Welcome back to another episode of The Hormone Prescription with Dr. Kyrin. Thank you so much for joining me today as we dive into reversing hair loss at midlife. How to make it fully vital with my guest today, Faraz Khan. Hair loss is a huge problem for women at midlife and beyond, and it's not only a cosmetic issue. Sure, our identity is very tied up in our hair and we want our hair to look its best 'cause it is tied to our identity, and we feel our best when our hair looks good, but it's about so much more. Your hair is part of the trilogy of what I call the canary in the coal mine, and that's hair, skin, and nails. These three aspects of your body will out picture what's going on inside. So if your health is not optimized inside, if you're in hormonal poverty, for instance, which occurs for most women after 40, then your hair is not going to be as thick as it should, as long as it should, as vital as it should, as healthy as it should, and your identity is gonna suffer as a result.

Speaker 1 (02:22):

So just like erectile dysfunction in men is very often a harbinger of cardiac issues, right? It's not just about erectile dysfunction in women. Hair problems are not just about the hair, it's about your metabolism, your physiology, your biochemistry, what's happening inside the body. And so the hair is one of the places that will out picture this. So I really want you to pay attention. If you've got hair problems, it could be a sign of something deeper. And we're gonna dive in today into what are the deeper causes of hair loss. Yes, it's about hormones, but it's not only about hormones. So there are other dysfunctions and disruptions that can be going on that you need to pay attention to. And we're gonna dive into that and we're gonna talk about the quote that Farad shared that I shared with you and the teaser. And we're gonna give you some solutions.

Speaker 1 (03:13):

Best of all, what do you do about it? There's testing that can be done, there are treatments that are available to you. There's further diagnosis, more than your doctors and dermatologist's office. There are specialists in this. So we're gonna dive into all of this and really give you a good understanding. First, I'll tell you a little bit about for us Khan, and then we'll get started. He's the founder of Fully Vital and the host of the Anti-Aging Hacks podcast. He's a leading expert in the field of hair loss in women and has dedicated his career to understanding the complex interplay of hormones, diet, and lifestyle on hair health. His work focuses on the molecular level of how testosterone and D H T affect hair follicles, as well as the other factors that go into hair loss. He has innovative thinking and an empathetic approach. This has made him a sought after voice in the field. He's helped countless individuals regain confidence and control over their hair health. His insights into hormonal imbalances, particularly around menopause, perimenopause, hormonal poverty, have contributed to a broader understanding of hair loss patterns in women. So please help me welcome Rascon to the show. Thank

Speaker 3 (04:23):

You so much, Dr. Kyron. I'm a big fan and I'm glad to be here. Yeah,

Speaker 1 (04:26):

I'm super excited to talk about hair loss. Back over a decade ago when I weighed 243 pounds and had fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue and all the health problems that I had, and I looked and felt 20 years older than I was, hair loss was a huge component of my dysfunction. I would wash my hair and it would look like there was a small dog in the drain. It would just come out. It was diffuse hair loss. I didn't have any bald patches, and it wasn't growing like it should. It was dry and brittle, it was falling out. And of course, all that reversed when I did all the things that we're gonna talk about. But it's near and dear to my heart. I, I don't think that a lot of women understand something that you said to me before we started recording, that really, hair loss is not just a cosmetic issue.

Speaker 1 (05:21):

It's about so much more. And it, it really is an indicator that your longevity is being affected and your overall health is being affected. So if you're listening, I really want you to pay attention if you're having hair loss because it's a sign that something bigger is going on. I used to call it, I still call it the canary in the coal mine, hair, skin and nails. If you're having a problem with your hair, skin and nails, these are the canary in the coal mine. You just chalk it up as a cosmetic issue. You might not even address it, but I say it's kind of like erectile dysfunction in men could be an indicator of cardiac disease that if you've got this as a woman, you really need to pay attention. Right?

Speaker 3 (06:05):

Yeah, totally. It's very important. Thank you for bringing that up. And I'm a big fan of your message as well. What happens is that as women, especially after the age of 35, hormones start changing. And Dr. Karen, you talk about, you know, the other things that come with that. Hormonal changes, especially as women get closer to menopause and all of those factors can play a part in hair thinning and hair loss. And it's very, very tied to the health of your overall system, the stress levels. Because when you're, when you're losing hair, your stress levels go up, and when your stress levels go up, you lose more hair. So that's also challenging. You've gotta take that into consideration. In addition, women tell us that they stop going out, they start, they stop communicating as much. And so this leads to self isolating, which again, is very bad for longevity and very bad for a long life and a healthy life.

Speaker 1 (06:53):

Yeah, it's so true. So let's dive into what causes it. And I know there are a lot of women out there with hair loss. They're looking for the one quick fix. What's the one thing that I have to do? You know, it's really how we're trained to look at our health problems. I have a symptom. How do I fix that symptom when I fix that symptom? We claim victory, we think we're done. But what I wanna encourage everybody listening to understand is that symptoms are not the problem. They are the sign post, post pointing to the problem, and it's incumbent upon us to investigate, to figure out the cause. And usually there isn't one cause of a symptom. It's usually multifactorial. And I think this is no better illustrated than with hair loss. So let's dive into the factors that go into contributing to hair loss. Totally.

Speaker 3 (07:45):

And if I may, let me explain the hair cycle really, really quickly. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (07:49):

So

Speaker 3 (07:49):

There's context behind everything we're talking about in this interview. The hair cycle has three different distinct phases. The first one is the growth phase or the antigen phase that it's called. About 85 to 90% of your hair is in the growth phase at a particular time, which is why there's so much hair in your head. And then there's the second phase, which is very, very short. It's about 10 days, it's called kagen. That's just a transition phase from the growth phase to the third phase, which is called telogen, which is where your hair follicle is just resting for two to three months. And in those two to three months, it'll fall out at some point. And so at this, in this stage, it's not growing at all. And sometimes the hair may not grow back out of the stage back into the growth phase. So I'll come back to that in a second.

Speaker 3 (08:32):

So what can we do in terms of goals? The, there's three goals that we have for hair follicles, especially as we get after, get over the age of 35 or 40. Number one, you want to keep the hair follicle in the hair growth phase as much as possible. And there's ways to do that because the longer it's in the hair growth phase, the longer it's gonna grow and the thicker your hair is gonna gonna look. Number two, we wanna make sure your hair is healthy, it's thick, the scalp is healthy so that there's a very good environment for this to keep growing. And then thirdly, what we wanna do is if your hair follicle does go into the shedding or the transition phase, which normally they will do after three to seven years of growing, then we wanna make sure all of those hair follicles are able to grow back and a bunch of them don't decide not to come back, which will lead to a much thinner looking scalp, which is very bad.

Speaker 3 (09:23):

So those are the three phases that we talk about. Now when it comes back to the question that you asked me is what are the reasons for hair thinning? The number one reason is something that you talk about Dr. Kyron all the time is due to hormones. So again, after the age of 35, and especially after the age of 40, estrogen and progesterone in women start to fall. And this causes a relative imbalance with testosterone. And this testosterone converts to dihydrotestosterone or D H t and d h t goes to your hair follicles and it starts to shrink them, makes them smaller and smaller and starve them. So your hair goes from nice thick hair to a wisser and wisser and wisser hair until it can't even grow anymore. So that's what it does. The other thing, d h t does that, it keeps your hair in the resting phase for a much longer period.

Speaker 3 (10:11):

So it appears that you have less hair on your scalp. So both of those are bad, but D H T can also prevent your hair from growing back out after the hair cycle is done. So we wanna be very careful with, especially this one, because it's a progressive condition and if you don't address it, it will keep going. Just like you see with men. The same thing happens to men, but happens to younger men 'cause they have high testosterone levels in their late teens, early twenties. And so testosterone is converting to D H T, which is causing progressive thinning of the hair follicle. And eventually for men there's baldness. But luckily for women it's more diffused. It's not completely gone from every single area. But of course this causes a lot of anxiety and shame in women. So that's the number one reason.

Speaker 1 (10:54):

Yeah. And do you wanna talk a little bit about the different patterns of hair loss that women can experience and what that might tell you, whether it's diffuse or you could have male pattern or female pat pattern. Talk a little bit about that. Totally

Speaker 3 (11:07):

Love that. So the number one reason, like I said, is due to hormones or D H D. And that directly corresponds or correlates to what is known as female pattern hair loss or androgenetic alopecia. It's the same as male, male pattern hair loss. 'cause The hormone behind it is the same. And so what happens is women will experience hair loss right in their crowns. Their Christmas or their tree, or their part, I should say, is gonna get wider and wider and wider. And they'll notice it first over there, but they can also see loss on the temples or in the front as well. And for men, again, same thing happens because it starts in the crown or in the front or the temples. And for men it completely meets in the middle and it's all of it's gone. But for women, thankfully, they don't lose all their hair, but they will notice it first in the part area.

Speaker 3 (11:53):

So that is the female pattern. Hair loss. The other way to tell is I had a client call me or a customer call me and say, Hey, I don't know what type of hair loss I have. And I asked her to just do a simple exercise in the shower. So next time you're washing your hair to take a few hair strands that you have in your hand, because of course we all lose hair in the shower, especially when we're washing it. And then stick 'em on the TILs. And when you see a difference, when you see some hairs that are thicker and some hairs that are thinner, this is a telltale sign that this is hormonal or female pattern hair loss. And that D h C is causing your hair to thin progressively. So that's number one. This is the most common hair loss pattern in women.

Speaker 3 (12:31):

The next is called diffuse hair loss. And this happens all over the scalp, even in the back areas, which are pretty much immune to the hormonal aspects. So hair above the ears and hair on the back of your scalp is pretty immune to hormonal imbalances, which is why men, you see them, they lose the top of their scalp, but not the sides in the back, similar for women. But in the diffuse hair loss, what happens is that you lose hair everywhere, all over your scalp. And this is typically the causes are multifold for this, but it could be because of a nutritional deficiency. This could be because of chronic ongoing stress. This could be due to a big stressor that has happened in your life, like the virus or giving birth or you know, even moving to a different city or a breakup, divorce, for example, psychological or physical stressor, a big one.

Speaker 3 (13:23):

Then there's a medications that you might be taking that can cause hair thinning. Also, there's thyroid, especially low thyroid conditions, they seem to be becoming a little bit more common in the women as opposed to men. And so a lot of these factors can cause diffuse hair thinning. And then lastly, there's the, this type of hair thinning or hair loss, which is very rare, but it's autoimmune related, where you will see, you know, complete loss of hair, you'll see shiny bald patches in your scalp, that's an autoimmune condition. Anywhere from two to 5% of women will get that. So will experience that at some point in their life. And typically that's managed by going to a dermatologist and getting either steroid shots or something else to kind of calm down the immune system.

Speaker 1 (14:09):

Yes, thank you for going through that. You know, I remembered a patient as you were talking who actually had different bald spots on her head and ends up she had a rain worm infection, <laugh> in her scalp. Yeah. Which is fungal, which is very unusual, but then it was causing the hair loss. And then of course when she treated the rain worm, the hair grew back, it wasn't a problem. Mm-Hmm. And I know that you mentioned also that you thank your mother for did you, were you thanking her for your baldness or tell me about your mother's involvement and you, your interest in, in hair.

Speaker 3 (14:45):

Totally. What a great question. So I, this, this is going back to me in college. I was a soccer athlete. I thought I was, you know, I was the man and I was pretty confident at that time. But one day in the shower I was washing my hair and I looked down on my hands and they're full of my beautiful hair. And my stress levels went from a four to an 11 in that moment. I'll never forget that moment. And so I started seeking help, but I also started asking the right questions of where is this coming from and how do I fight this? And so I looked through my dad's, you know, the, my dad's side of the family, and I said, all of them have gorgeous hair. My grandfather had more hair than me at the age of 90. So I go, that's not the problem.

Speaker 3 (15:25):

What about my mom's side? And all three uncles, my mom's brothers, all of them were balding or bald. And I go, oh my God, this is coming from my mother's side of the family. I'm screwed. And so that's what started off as a, what I thought was a genetic condition that was coming from my parents. And it turns out that that's a big reason for Hairing as well. And it come, it can come from both sides. So my mother also, over the years, while I was doing nothing about it, trying to solve my own hair loss, kept complaining that her part was getting wider. She was seeing more and more hair loss. And interestingly, right now she's visiting me, my parents are. And so every three or four days were microneedling her scalp and we're putting all the serums and we're trying to help her grow back her hair as well. So it, the reason I went down this path is not only to solve this for myself, but also help my mother and see what I can do for her <laugh>.

Speaker 1 (16:18):

Yeah. And you know, she's lucky to have your help, but it brings me to a larger philosophical question about why are we so attached emotionally to our hair?

Speaker 3 (16:30):

Yeah. This goes back thousands of years, Dr. Karin. It's like, at least for women, it is their identity. And it is so I guess the media kind of celebrates big hair. If you see Marilyn Monroe back in the sixties or whatever, it was like big hair, right? Barbie dolls, big hair. It's just all over the media for generations and for thousands and thousands of years across cultures, Cleopatra beautiful, gorgeous hair. And so it's just ingrained in her culture that that is a woman's power. It's her identity. And for men, it's not the case because men, unfortunately, most of us experience hair thinning starting in our twenties and beyond. And so we just kind of lose that, lose the crown. And so it's not so, so much a part of our identity as much as it's for women. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>.

Speaker 1 (17:16):

Yeah, I, I think I've read that for women it's actually a sign of fertility. So the sexual kind of appeal of women often historically, has come from signs of good fertility, like wide hips, long thick hair. And it, these are really signs of vitality. And so I think it gets back to what we were talking about earlier, that hair loss is, it should be like a level three alarm in your mind when you have it. Because it's not just, oh, I'm afraid that I'm not going to look the way that I want to look. It's, oh my God, what is happening inside my body that's so off that my hair is falling off? Because that's affecting your heart and contributing to heart disease. It's affecting your brain and contributing to potential future dementia, affecting your bones, and contributing to future osteoporosis. It's affecting every cell and every system in your body, not just your hair. Mm-Hmm. So see this as a red alarm. So we talked a little bit about hormones. Yes. We talked about the sex hormones and you mentioned stress. What about cortisol? <Laugh>?

Speaker 3 (18:29):

Yeah, huge, huge part. Cortisol has been known to shorten the hair cycles. We talked about trying to keep your hair in the growth phase for as long as possible. So hair typically grows anywhere from two to seven years. And we want it to be on the side of the seven years as much as possible. 'cause A lot of women actually call in and they say, I can't grow any hair, I can't or I can't grow longer hair. And so this is a common complaint that we get, especially from women over 40 years. How do I grow my hair longer? Well, hair's the thing, your hair doesn't stop growing every day. Your body's growing 0.3 millimeters off your hair, every single hair. So it's, your body's doing its job, it's just that the hair is falling out, which is why you can't grow past a certain stage.

Speaker 3 (19:16):

And so the, the best thing we can do is to keep the hair in the hair growth phase as long as possible. Now, stress unfortunately shortens the hair growth phase from seven years to five, to even three, which means you're not gonna be able to grow long tresses like you want to. And so there's two types of stresses here. And I kind of briefly alluded to this, but I wanna come back to this. Number one is the big, big stressor, which could be, you know, a lot of my friends have gotten the virus and they experienced a huge shedding and we're talking 30 to 40 to 50% of their hair coming out. And they thought that they were gonna have to shave their head off. They were looking at wigs and luckily they were able to save their hair, all of them. So that's one.

Speaker 3 (20:00):

But it can also happen from, as a result of surgery, as a result of a breakup, as a result of a divorce or anything that's physical or you know, psychological. So those are big stressors. We wanna be very careful. And typically the big shed comes after the big stressor about two to three months after. So it's very hard for you to kind of correlate to what's causing this. But just know that if you're losing handfuls of hair every single day, it's because something happened two or three months back and there are strategies for you to make sure all of that hair comes back. Which goes back to my earlier point. If you are transitioning, you wanna make sure every single hair comes back. The other reason that stress kind of plays a part in this is if you have chronic ongoing stress. So my friend Ashley called me from LA and she goes, I'm losing a bunch of hair.

Speaker 3 (20:44):

And I said, so what's going on? She goes, well, my coworker left a few months ago and I'm having to cover for her. I'm having to do two jobs. So she's stressed out for the past four or five months and as a result, her hair cycle is shortening and she's losing a lot of hair. And so what we wanna do is balance the cortisol levels, balance the stress levels to ensure that we have the best possible hair growth. But also what cortisol will do is it will pull all of your resources towards your vital organs. 'cause Your body says, okay, what is expendable? Hair, nails? I can expend all those and still live. I have to protect the organism. And we are under big dur, we're under big stress. So let's bring all the blood flow, all the nutrients, let's repu redistribute them to the vital organs as opposed to the hair follicles, which happen to be furthest from your heart, vertically speaking. So your heart has to work even harder to pump that blood up. And the other thing that cortisol will do is it will shrink your blood vessels so your blood can't go as fast or as far and considering that has to go all the way to the top of your scalp. It's very important to have healthy levels of cortisol or balance them and to make sure your circulation is good as well.

Speaker 1 (21:51):

And so many women these days are under chronic stress constantly. They've got aging parents they have to care for, they have children, they have partners, they have jobs. And it's this constant, constant stress. So if you're listening and you haven't done your salivary cortisol test, you need to do it and then you need to address it. And you may need to change some things in your life, but stress can be not only coming from lifestyle and psychosocial interactions and situations, it can be coming from inside the body like toxicity and inflammation. And that can affect care growth as well. Right?

Speaker 3 (22:28):

Yeah, totally. So I'm glad you brought that up. The other things that we learn about as we talk to women is that the average woman, Dr. Kyron, you know this very well, is putting on 10 to 12 different chemicals on her face, on her body, on her scalp before she leaves the home in the morning. And this is a lot to do with the modern beauty products that we have that that include parabens, that include phalates, that include benzoates, formaldehyde, fragrances. We don't actually know what's in these beauty products. And so the best thing, especially if you're experiencing hair thinning, is to use as natural of products as possible. You can pick any brand but make sure that it's very, very natural. It doesn't have all of these chemicals be listed because they are adding oxidative stress to your hair follicles. And as your hair follicle is fighting to survive and grow during times of hair thinning, we don't wanna add any extra stress to it.

Speaker 3 (23:20):

The other thing you mentioned is inflammation. Inflammation has been directly linked to hair loss. It's been measured in the hair follicles from scientists that are studying hair loss. And so we also know that as we get older, inflammation is, is known as inflammaging. It's one of the reasons why we age faster. If there's more inflammation in your body, you're likely gonna age faster than others that are have less inflammation. So we wanna get that back under control. Some ways to do that is having very good sleep, having low oxidative stress, having low cortisol levels as Dr. Karin mentioned. But also you can take some natural supplements that can help balance stress inflammation levels in your body to normal range. Yeah,

Speaker 1 (24:03):

I always think about inflammation like fire in the body. Yeah. And you can think of a, like a lot of little fires or one big fire, but how do you stop a fire? Well, you stop feeding it. So get the firewood out. So stop putting, using the chemicals changed to natural products. Stop eating things with pesticides and artificial flavorings and colorings processed foods and get them out of your environment. So stop feeding the fire. But then also you can quench it with antioxidant types of supplementation, which can be helpful. But it's so funny 'cause some people will say, oh great, I'll, I'll take this, this anti-inflammation supplement. I'm good. No, you still need to, to detox your life and stop using all the toxic things and stop eating gluten and all those <laugh> inflammatory foods. Alright, so inflammation, we've got hormones, we've talked about sex hormones, we've talked about cortisol. What else can contribute to hair loss?

Speaker 3 (24:59):

Yeah, totally. There are thyroid conditions. Mm-Hmm. Having too low thyroid and having too high thyroid can both lead to hair thinning. And, and I'm sure you talk to people all the time about having low thyroid, but the symptoms include, you could even be losing hair on the eyebrows, you could be gaining weight, you know, e or when you sit down you get pretty lethargic. You have cold hands and feet and of course hair thinning. So that's the low thyroid. When you have high thyroid then you're just, your engine's running very, very fast and very hot and you'll be jittery and you'll lose hair as well as a result. And so there's only two tests that we, for the most part, when we recommend, because we wanna make sure we're not asking women to spend too much money. One of them is the full thyroid panel with antibodies.

Speaker 3 (25:45):

And this gives us a very good indication that you have either low thyroidism or you have Hashimoto's, which is something that we have to deal with outside of our products to make sure that that is normal. And sometimes when the thyroid gland is being attacked by the immune system in the body, you wanna make sure to stop that progression as quickly as possible. Otherwise you will lose the thyroid gland and you'll have to take medications for the rest of your life. And so that is the one thing that we, if you do notice that you have low thyroid, we recommend getting, or if you feel like you have low thyroid, we recommend getting the full thyroid panel with antibodies. So that's one. And then the other thing I, I guess I didn't mention is that nutritional, there's some nutrition aspects which can cause hair thinning.

Speaker 3 (26:25):

There's the big five, as we like to call it, in the hair loss world. These are vitamins and minerals. So what are these? Iron is very important for hair. We've got zinc, that's very important. Vitamin D is very important. Folate and B 12, you've gotta have enough of these in your body to support hair health and to make sure that it's not falling out because you're, you're deficient in these, interestingly enough, vegans these days, veganism is, is getting more and more popular. And I have friends in Los Angeles and New York that, that have gone vegan and you know, if that's what you wanna do, that's totally fine. But vegans are at risk of being deficient in three of these five nutrients, which is iron B 12, and folate. So make sure that you're either getting enough from your foods and or taking a supplement that has these ingredients so that you can fulfill those needs and you're not, you're not losing your hair and then wondering what's going on. Yeah,

Speaker 1 (27:19):

I would just caution people that I, I remember a while back, years ago, I don't know if someone was on Oprah talking about biotin, I think <laugh> Yeah. For hair. And everyone was taking these mega doses of biotin. And what a lot of people don't understand is that when you supplement certain B vitamins, which biotin is, or even other vitamins to the exclusion of others, especially in these humongous doses, you cause these relative deficiencies in the others. And you can actually cause your chemical processes in the body to malfunction and cause more problems. So I always say it's best to get your nutrients from nutrient dense food mm-hmm. <Affirmative> and supplement if it's targeted, and maybe you've had a nutritional test to target those nutritional components, but then retest to see do you still need those doses of those nutrients? And other than that, to use more broad-based type supplementation. But yes, nutrition is important and then hair is dead protein, right? Yeah,

Speaker 3 (28:27):

Yeah. It's keratin. I, I do want to come back to the nutrition aspect that you mentioned. I love what you're saying in that there are certain nutrition or nutritional aspects meaning vitamins and minerals. If you take too many of them or too much of them, then you'll cause her, you'll cause hair loss as well. So it's very interesting that vitamin A iron, both of these selenium, all three of these taken too low or being deficient in can cause hair thinning. But if you have too many of these, it can also cause hair thinning. So you've gotta be very careful, like Dr. Kyron mentioned, don't take these for months and years on end if you're taking target supplements, but do get measured to make sure you're not going over the limit for any of these. And then of course, hair fo hair, the hair strands are actually dead proteins. They're made up of keratin. And there's also melanin in them, which is the color, which creates the color in the hair follicle. And, and so that's what it is. You've gotta make sure you've got enough protein in your diet too, so it can have the amino acids to create the actual strand for the hairs. And so lots of things that go into her follicle health and I'm glad we're discussing these.

Speaker 1 (29:34):

Yes. And most women are not getting enough protein. So that's why, to make sure to mention that, that it's super important to make sure you are getting enough protein. And you also mentioned something before we started recording, I think everyone would find fascinating is that the density of hairs on a woman's head varies by hair color. Can you talk a little bit about that?

Speaker 3 (30:00):

Yeah, this was shocking to me when I learned this as well. So blondes seem to have more fun because they have the most hair on their head. It's about 150,000 hair follicles that blondes have and brunettes like myself and yourself, Dr. Kan if that's your natural color, we have about a hundred to 120,000 hair follicles on our scalp. And then redheads have to have seem to have the, the worst luck when it comes to hair follicles to have about 80 to 90,000 hair follicles. But still, I just wanna mention that, that that's plenty of hair follicles that's gonna cover your scalp very, very effectively. But coming back to the point that you made, blondes do have to do, seem to have the most hair and it's the thickest for them, especially early on.

Speaker 1 (30:45):

Yeah. And I, after you told me that, I started thinking, I wonder why that is and because I love to think about questions like that. <Laugh>. Yeah, <laugh>. And I had this thought that, you know, blonde hair is more, it's lighter and opaque so it doesn't look as dense and maybe you need more of it to be substantial, whereas darker hair is more visibly obvious. But then I thought hair isn't on us to be seen, it's for thermodynamics, it's to keep us warm. So I'm not sure exactly why that is. It's very interesting. If anyone listening has an answer, I'd love to hear about it to reach out on social media or maybe you know the answer. Yeah,

Speaker 3 (31:30):

I'd love to hear the answer as well, <laugh>.

Speaker 1 (31:33):

So what else is important for a woman to know or investigate if she's noticing hair loss?

Speaker 3 (31:42):

Yeah, the number one reason that I believe that women are not successful with fixing their hair loss problems is because they're not sure of the reason. As we mentioned, there can be multiple reasons for hair thinning and the number one reason, of course is hormonal. But sometimes there can be an additional reason like stress is adding to the hormones or you're taking a certain medication, or you have, you're low nutritional deficiencies in certain aspects or certain vitamins and minerals. And so understanding where the hair loss is coming from and and addressing it in multiple ways that seems to get the best results. What I've seen in practice and what I've learned from all the interviews and all the discussions I've had with hair experts over the years and hair researchers over the years, is that to get the best results, to stop hair thinning and to regrow your hair regrow, thicker, fuller hair, you've got to stimulate hair follicles in multiple ways.

Speaker 3 (32:39):

And that multiple stimulation seems to have the best combined effect. It's all synergistic inside and outside. You know, either taking something nutritionally and or applying pressure or massage to your scalp, all of that and also derma rolling, all of that seems to have very good benefit synergistically. But by itself, I'm sure you've talked to dozens if not hundreds of women that have tried a hair pill or that, that have tried a hair serum and had little to no results to show for it. For some it can work because that is the cause of their hair thinning. But if you take a holistic approach and say, okay, what's going on in your life? And if I had to just, if I had to get products, how could I make sure that these products address 80 or 90% of the reasons of my hair thinning without me having to get a PhD in hair science? That is the best way to move forward.

Speaker 1 (33:29):

You know, as you're talking, I I'm thinking we should talk about, well, how do most doctors address this, right? So if you're having hair loss, having practiced regular corporate mainstream medicine for many years, we really weren't given the tools to be able to properly assess why hair loss, even dermatologists. And so if you're listening, and this is you, you've probably already talked to your doctor and you probably haven't gotten satisfying answers, so I'm glad you're here. But let's talk about some of the different treatments. I mean, Rogan is something that you can purchase over the, the counter minoxidil. You talk mentioned dermal rolling. I've heard of stem cell injections, their transplants. So can you talk a little bit about what the different treatments are? I mean, I would say you gotta first look at it as a warning sign from your body that there are hormonal imbalances, there are toxicities, there are nutritional deficiencies. You've got to examine and address those. And then once you address them though there may be other things available to you. What are some of those things?

Speaker 3 (34:35):

Totally. And so what I'd love to do is to walk this down through simple ways to stop hair thinning and to regrow your hair to more complicated and or expensive ways. And there's a whole ladder you can walk up or walk down depending on how you're coming at this. So the simplest things which you could do is make sure that if you were just looking for solutions, then maybe like a supplement or something that helps balance counterbalance some of the hormones inside of your body, gives you the nutritional supplements, reduces in inflammation, reduce oxidative stress with antioxidants that can be multifactorial and go after a lot of things could be beneficial to you. But like I said, you wanna combine these with multiple things. So a supplement may be good, but you want to combine it with the serum that you apply topically to your scalp that's acting on the area that you need it to work.

Speaker 3 (35:24):

And then the third thing that has scientific evidence behind it is the derma roller, just by itself, a derma roller has proven to grow 15% more hair with nothing else, no other interventions. So that's a good one as well. To add to your protocol, women already are familiar with derma roller of their face and it's easy to do it on the scalp. So that's the third. And the fourth one that we kind of recommend quite a bit is brushing your hair a hundred to 200 times a day. Because what happens the first thing that happens when you're losing your hair, you don't wanna touch it, you don't wanna wash it, you don't wanna heal it, right? That happened to me for many, many years. In fact, I was putting these hair fibers in my scalp because I was so afraid of my scalp showing through when I was going out in Los Angeles where you get judged for how you look.

Speaker 3 (36:08):

And so if you're gonna do that, then those are the, the base layers. You want to do multiple of those at the same time. And they're pretty cheap, right? They're pretty economical for most people. Then if you say, well, I wanna go to a doctor or a dermatologist and I wanna get professional advice one, I would say that yes, absolutely you can do that. I would say that dermatologists aren't spending a lot of their time focusing on hair science. And you can also, I'm sure validate this Dr. Kyron because you're just too busy. There's too many patients to see, there's too much to do, there's too many conditions to treat. So dermatologists in their offices, they're getting a lot of Botox, a lot of fillers, a lot of all kinds of aesthetic things where they don't have a lot of time to figure this out.

Speaker 3 (36:47):

So what they'll typically recommend at a dermatologist or even doctor's office is they'll recommend P R P or platelet rich plasma, which are basically, they draw blood outta your body and they centrif use a centrifuge to spin it and then they, they inject it back into your scalp. The idea being that there are some growth factors that are available in this hair that can help rejuvenate and thicken your hair follicles. And if you look at the studies, there's meta-analyses that have been done on P R P. It's very individual to the type of machine, used to the process of the centrifugation. Many dermatologists that are not aware of the different types of machines will go to Amazon and buy one or they'll buy one from a pushy sales rep from many, many companies that are selling these centrifuges. And so it's really a crapshoot on when it comes to results.

Speaker 3 (37:33):

So if you're going to go down that route, make sure to ask for before and afters, make sure to validate that this doctor has results. Because what they're gonna do is they're gonna ask you to sign up for three or four of these injections over three to four months and they're gonna be a thousand dollars each. So you're gonna be $4,000 in and you're not gonna know if it's gonna work or not. And they won't even guarantee it and there is no money back. So you're gonna be out a few thousand dollars. So again, just know that the other aspect with regenerative medicine, it appears that stem cells unfortunately don't have as much good data. Even though there's anecdotal evidence of some, some individuals getting results, but on the whole stem cells have do not have good data on hair growth. In fact, exosomes, which are basically made from stem cells or extract from stem cells, seem to have better data on the, the hair as opposed to both P R P and stem cell.

Speaker 3 (38:27):

So if you're gonna choose a therapy, I would recommend you at least ask your doctor or dermatologist about exosomes. Again, note that it's not, not gonna be cheap. This is in the thousands of dollars with exosomes, you're probably just gonna do one treatment and there, you know, you'll have to see how that turns out for you. For some it works good for others, it may not work at all. Then we get to the hair transplants. This is the easiest solution for at least some men that have lost a lot of hair. The way this works is that if you have lost a bunch of hair in a particular area, this is can be very effective because they can pull the hair from the back of your scalp, which is immune to the dihydrate testosterone or D H T and you, they can implant it in the front so this hair won't fall out again.

Speaker 3 (39:09):

But you've gotta be very careful to address the underlying causes of hair thinning, because even if you do transplant hairs in the front or the top, the other hair will continue. This is a progressive condition, they'll continue to thin and they'll continue to fall out. So I've heard of instances where some men at least have used the hair transplants to get a bunch of hairs in the front, and then they got a second transplant and a third transplant, and then they just ran out of donor hair in the back. And so now they have a bunch of hair in the front and nothing behind it. So they had to laser off $40,000 of hair transplants that they had done. So you wanna be careful. And in addition, women are typically not the best candidates for hair transplants because when you're injecting or when you're implanting new hair or transplanting new hair, that causes a shock loss around.

Speaker 3 (39:59):

So the existing hair that may be around that newly transplanted hair, when you transplant it, it gets a shock because there's a damage to the skin. And so that hair might go, that hair might be lost because of this transplant. So again, speak with a very, somebody that's got a lot of ears on in in their practice for a hair transplant surgeon. I guess the final thing I would say is that some women, when they experience hair thinning in the front of their scalp, they can get scalp reduction surgery as well. So they will just cut out maybe a centimeter or half an inch of your scalp in the front and then staple it back down, which then brings your hairline lower. And so it makes you look more youthful. It makes you look like you have more hair. And women seem to do this more compared to men that will do the hair crime, spine surgery.

Speaker 1 (40:45):

Interesting. I didn't, I wasn't aware of that surgery. Another thing to do to ourselves, <laugh> <laugh>

Speaker 3 (40:52):

Totally, but never stops.

Speaker 1 (40:54):

Our hair is such a part of our identity that only you as the person dealing with this problem can say what it's worth to you and what, what you would like to have done. So I say follow your heart when it comes to that. I do wanna mention there is a type of specialist called a ologist, which most people have never heard of who is a hair specialist. They're not doctors, but they have specialized training in the evaluation and management of the hair follicles, particularly on the head. And they have very specialized equipment where they can evaluate hair follicles and see what state they're in, the size of them, their health, whether they're able to grow hair or not. And so if you're really struggling with this and a lot, it's funny 'cause I've even met a lot of dermatologists who don't even know that trick exists.

Speaker 1 (41:53):

Yeah. So you can, oftentimes there aren't that many of them, but you can look on Google to find a trick and go to them for a full evaluation. And they're often very good guides. I won't say that they're necessarily good at helping you evaluate the systemic conditions that we've been discussing that can contribute not only to hair loss, but also to decreasing your longevity and vitality. They, I haven't found that they universally are aware of that or know how to do it, but when it comes to targeted treatment, they're, they're the experts. So I did wanna mention that. Yeah,

Speaker 3 (42:32):

Totally. I've been to, I have many psychologist friends of my own. I've been to them. They have looked at my hair and scalp and microscopes. Yeah, they have 50 x magnification so they can look at what's going on. They can give you advice about, so yeah, totally agree. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (42:46):

But this is great information and I'm glad to have you here. I know you've given hope to some women today who are really struggling. You now know the steps you need to take, evaluate your hormones, so your sex hormones, your cortisol, your thyroid, I'd say your insulin too. Look at your inflammation levels, your toxicity or to decrease that toxin fire. And then look at your nutrient inputs, where are you deficient and work to sup supplement those. And then there are local things that you can do that we've discussed for us. Thank you so much for coming on the show and sharing all this wonderful information. Tell everyone how we can find out more about you. Tell 'em about your Anti-Aging Hacks podcast. Where are you online?

Speaker 3 (43:32):

Totally. Thank you Dr. Karin. So a couple of places. Number one, I'm the host of the Anti-Aging Hacks podcast, where we talk about wge and anti-aging and how to bring typical or simple resources to help you slow down your aging now and then in time, also reverse it because that revolution is coming very soon. So that's what I talk about on the Anti-Aging Hacks Podcast. The other is, I'm the founder of a hair wellness and hair growth company called Fully Vital, where we combine different products to give you maximum coverage for the reasons for hair thinning. So we've got a, a supplement that we talked about. We've got a, a serum for the hair, we've got a derma roller they will sell and also a hairbrush. So we sell a bundle that you can get, which covers, in my opinion, 80% of more of all the hair thinning reasons that will give you the best results.

Speaker 3 (44:23):

And if you do go with us, then we recommend that you use the get the three month bundle because hair growth takes a little bit of time. So you've gotta be patient with it. Get the three month bundle. And the best part about us is that we have a four month money back guarantee, full money back guarantee. So try us out for three months. We're covering the most spaces out of anybody out there, and for some reason, if you don't get results, email us and we'll refund all of your money. So there's, there's no risk attached to that. And you can find that@fullyvital.com. And Dr. Kyron, if you would allow me, I'd love to offer your listeners a coupon code as well for this.

Speaker 1 (44:59):

Sure. We can put it in the show notes.

Speaker 3 (45:02):

Okay, perfect. Awesome.

Speaker 1 (45:04):

Thank you so much for Oz before coming and sharing your wisdom about hair. Thank

Speaker 3 (45:09):

You Dr. Karin, honored to be on your show.

Speaker 1 (45:11):

And thank you for joining us for another episode of The Hormone Prescription for Dr. Kieran. I hope that you have learned something today that you can put into practice to change your hair, but maybe even to change your hormones and your life. I look forward to hearing about it on social media, so please reach out and let me know, and I hope you have a great week Until next week, peace, love, and

Speaker 2 (45:34):

Hormones,

Speaker 1 (45:34):

Y'all.

Speaker 2 (45:36):

Thank you so much for listening. I know that incredible vitality occurs for women over 40 when we learn to speak hormone and balance these vital regulators to create the health and the life that we deserve. If you're enjoying this podcast, I'd love it if you'd give me a review and subscribe. It really does help this podcast out so much. You can visit the hormone prescription.com where we have some free gifts for you, and you can sign up to have a hormone evaluation with me on the podcast to gain clarity into your personal situation. Until next time, remember, take small steps each day to balance your hormones and watch the wonderful changes in your health that begin to unfold

Speaker 1 (46:15):

For you.

Speaker 2 (46:16):

Talk to you soon.

 

► Get 10% discount on FullyVital hair growth products - CLICK HERE.

► Feeling tired? Can't seem to lose weight, no matter how hard you try?

It might be time to check your hormones.

Most people don’t even know that their hormones could be the culprit behind their problems. But at Her Hormone Club, we specialize in hormone testing and treatment. We can help you figure out what’s going on with your hormones and get you back on track.

We offer advanced hormone testing and treatment from Board Certified Practitioners, so you can feel confident that you're getting the best possible care. Plus, our convenient online consultation process makes it easy to get started.

Try Her Hormone Club for 30 days and see how it can help you feel better than before. CLICK HERE.

 

► Do you feel exhausted, moody, and unable to do the things that used to bring you joy?

It could be because of hormonal poverty! You can take our quiz now to find out if your hormone levels are at optimum level or not. Take this quiz and get ready to reclaim your life; say goodbye to fatigue and lack of energy for good.

We want every woman to live her best life — free from any signs or symptoms of hormonal poverty, so they can relish their everyday moments with confidence and joy. Imagine having a strong immune system, vibrant skin, improved sleep quality… these are all possible when hormones are balanced!

CLICK HERE now and take the #WWPHD Quiz to discover if you’re in hormonal poverty — it only takes 2 minutes! Let’s get started on optimizing your hormone health today.

 

Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis and Adrenal Transformation Protocol - Find and Treat the Root Cause

In today's eye-opening episode of The Hormone Prescription Podcast, our guest Dr. Izabella Wentz shares her invaluable insight and extensive knowledge on Hashimoto's Thyroiditis and the Adrenal Transformation Protocol. As a well-respected integrative pharmacist, Dr. Wentz has dedicated her career to helping midlife women find the root cause of their chronic health conditions. Through her protocol-based programs, she has empowered over 3,500 individuals to reclaim their health and wellbeing.

Key Takeaways:

- Learn about the causes and symptoms of Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, a common yet often overlooked autoimmune condition
- Discover how the Adrenal Transformation Protocol can reset your body's stress response through targeted safety signals
- Find out how this four-week program has already helped thousands of individuals by improving their brain fog, fatigue, anxiety, irritability, sleep issues, and libido
- Understand the importance of focusing on the root cause of chronic health issues, and why conventional treatments may fall short
  
Dr. Wentz also talks about her latest book, "Adrenal Transformation Protocol", which delves deeper into the protocol she has developed to address the root causes of various health problems. With an impressive success rate of over 80%, the four-week program incorporates targeted safety signals to reset the body's stress response, bringing about significant improvements in symptoms such as brain fog, fatigue, anxiety, irritability, sleep issues, and libido.

Dr. Wentz infuses this episode with her personal experiences and relatable stories, providing an engaging, informative, and inspiring listening experience. So tune in for a healthier, happier you!
  
Don't miss out on the opportunity to learn from this leading expert. Listen to the full episode now! And if you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe and leave a review to help support the podcast.

 

► Get your FREE Thyroid Gifts from Dr. Izabella Wentz. Sign Up and Receive a Free Book Chapter, Thyroid Diet Quick Start Guide and Ten Nutrient Dense Thyroid-friendly Recipes! - CLICK HERE.

 

► Feeling tired? Can't seem to lose weight, no matter how hard you try?

It might be time to check your hormones.

Most people don’t even know that their hormones could be the culprit behind their problems. But at Her Hormone Club, we specialize in hormone testing and treatment. We can help you figure out what’s going on with your hormones and get you back on track.

We offer advanced hormone testing and treatment from Board Certified Practitioners, so you can feel confident that you're getting the best possible care. Plus, our convenient online consultation process makes it easy to get started.

Try Her Hormone Club for 30 days and see how it can help you feel better than before. CLICK HERE.

 

► Do you feel exhausted, moody, and unable to do the things that used to bring you joy?

It could be because of hormonal poverty! You can take our quiz now to find out if your hormone levels are at optimum level or not. Take this quiz and get ready to reclaim your life; say goodbye to fatigue and lack of energy for good.

We want every woman to live her best life — free from any signs or symptoms of hormonal poverty, so they can relish their everyday moments with confidence and joy. Imagine having a strong immune system, vibrant skin, improved sleep quality… these are all possible when hormones are balanced!

CLICK HERE now and take the #WWPHD Quiz to discover if you’re in hormonal poverty — it only takes 2 minutes! Let’s get started on optimizing your hormone health today.

 

Ditching The Broken ”All or Nothing” Approach And Authoring *Your* Middle Ground To Weight Loss Mastery

Welcome to another episode of the Hormone Prescription Podcast, hosted by Dr. Kyrin Dunston, and joined by our special guest, Dr. Jessica Hehmeyer. Dr. Hehmeyer is a Functional Medicine Practitioner and Women's Health Expert who is here to provide us with her valuable insights and expertise on debunking weight loss myths and creating a healthier relationship with our bodies.

 

Key Takeaways:

- Debunking weight loss myths
- The importance of creating Your Middle Ground
- The "gap of disappointment" and how to overcome it
- Strategies for decluttering negative thoughts and keeping your goals in focus

 

Episode Highlights:
  
1. The Pitfalls of an "All or Nothing" Approach

   Dr. Hehmeyer dives into the issues surrounding the "all or nothing" mindset that many women adopt during their weight loss journey. She emphasizes that true success lies in finding Your Middle Ground, a more sustainable and balanced approach to weight loss.
  
2. Empowering Women to Take Control of Their Weight Loss

   Dr. Hehmeyer shares her experience and knowledge in empowering women to create a personalized weight loss plan that suits their unique needs and goals, leading to long-lasting results and a healthier lifestyle.
  
3. Overcoming the "Gap of Disappointment"

   Dr. Hehmeyer reveals her insights into the "gap of disappointment" that many women experience when they aren't seeing immediate weight loss results. She provides strategies and advice on how to stay motivated, keep moving forward, and remain consistent in reaching your goals.
  
4. Decluttering Negative Thoughts and Staying Focused on Your Goals

   Dr. Hehmeyer highlights the importance of decluttering negative thoughts and understanding the impact they can have on your weight loss journey. She shares tips on how to keep your goals in focus and maintain a positive mindset throughout your journey.
  
Join us on this episode of the Hormone Prescription Podcast, as we explore the world of weight loss mastery with Dr. Jessica Hehmeyer, and learn how to ditch the "all or nothing" mindset in favor of a more sustainable, balanced, and intuitive approach to achieving your health goals. Tune in now and be prepared to be inspired and empowered on your journey to better health!

 

Speaker 1 (00:00):

The first step to getting somewhere is to decide you're not going to stay where you are. JP Morgan. And there is a force in the universe, which if we permit it, will flow through us and produce miraculous results. Mahatma Gandhi.

Speaker 2 (00:14):

So the big question is, how do women over 40 like us keep weight off, have great energy, balance our hormones and our moods, feel sexy and confident, and master midlife? If you're like most of us, you are not getting the answers you need and remain confused and pretty hopeless to ever feel like yourself Again. As an OB G Y N, I had to discover for myself the truth about what creates a rock solid metabolism, lasting weight loss, and supercharged energy after 40, in order to lose a hundred pounds and fix my fatigue, now I'm on a mission. This podcast is designed to share the natural tools you need for impactful results and to give you clarity on the answers to your midlife metabolism challenges. Join me for tangible, natural strategies to crush the hormone imbalances you are facing and help you get unstuck from the sidelines of life. My name is Dr. Kyrin Dunston. Welcome to the Hormone Prescription Podcast.

Speaker 1 (01:08):

Hi everybody. Welcome back to another episode of the Hormone Prescription. Thank you so much for joining me today as we dive into the deeper meaning of weight loss and creating health for women at midlife with Dr. Jessie Hehmeyer. The two quotes that I shared initially with you are two quotes she shared with me before we started the interview that I absolutely love that we're gonna dive into in the interview from JP Morgan and Mahatma Gandhi. Two very different people, but with somewhat similar philosophies on life. If you are going to lose weight or heal from a disease or get rid of the symptom first you have to decide that you're not gonna stay where you are. And that might mean that you're going to decide, decide comes from the Latin de cre to cut away from, which means to make a decision to cut away from all other possibilities.

Speaker 1 (02:05):

So you're going to decide that, that you're not gonna stay where you are. And there is this force in the universe that if you allow it will flow through you and produce miraculous results. So I'm so glad you're here because both she and I have experienced this and work with these concepts with our clients. Whether it's losing weight or healing from chronic fatigue of fibromyalgia or the myriad problems that women at midlife can face with their health, with hormonal poverty. We both embody and embrace these philosophies. She has another beautiful quote from Martha Graham that I can't wait to share with you. We talk about it in depth here and we talk about some physiological changes that you're gonna need to make if you're gonna lose weight and get optimally healthy at midlife as midlife as well. So I'll tell you a little bit about Dr.

Speaker 1 (02:55):

Jessie and then we'll get started. She has a very varied background. She has a master of science in human nutrition and functional medicine. She's a doctor of chiropractic medicine. She's an I F M Certified Practitioner Alliance, a licensed dietician, a certified nutrition specialist. So she has all kinds of experience and basically she has a great foundation and so depth and breadth of knowledge in how to help women lose weight and create optimal health, particularly at midwife. She shares her story with us in the interview and she's a true doctor, which comes from the Latin or dore meaning to teach, show, or point out, and understands that healing occurs when individuals understand the what, why, and how behind their health and treatment. Please help me welcome Dr. Jessie Hehmeyer to the show. Thank

Speaker 3 (03:53):

You so much, Kyrin. It is a pleasure to be here with you and your audience.

Speaker 1 (03:58):

So much to talk about. So let's dive right into it. And I always like to start to give everyone a frame of reference to help them understand why they are so passionate about helping people with weight, about helping people become empowered when it comes to their health and their lives. And how did your path lead from, 'cause you've got chiropractic and fitness and nutrition and all kinds of stops on your journey of expertise. So how did it lead you to what you do now? Well,

Speaker 3 (04:30):

It led me there very personally as, as I'm sure it does for most people. And what I mean by that, Kyrin is for me, I really struggled with my weight for over a decade and not my weight in a sense that it was a health concern, right? I wavered, I was probably 15, 20 pounds that I would gain and lose over the course of over and over again over the course of multiple years. And for me, over that time period, I really got what a cost the struggle was for me, right? I got that it was interfering with me being fully present in life. It was interfering with me, fully contributing to life. And that just wasn't okay with me. So when I got clear that I was done struggling in this area of my life, it became about something else. It became not about the scale triumphing in this area of my life, it became around about being present and fully contributing.

Speaker 3 (05:30):

And so with that as my north star and really getting, just having this area of my life handled, I began to approach it from a place of questions rather than drill sergeant discipline, which never seemed to turn out well, right? And never seemed to turn out well when I took out the, the stick and started beating myself up and, and telling myself I I had to give up X, Y, Z and did so for a period of time and then in, in, in invariably at a certain point just broke my resolution broke and would end up right back where I was. And so I really saw that approach wasn't broke, was broken. And so I got curious about what a new approach might approach might look like that would lead me to a future where simply put this area of my life was handled right. It just wasn't a struggle. I felt great in my body. I felt good about how I looked and really fundamentally all those things about being a, an access to being fully present and contributing.

Speaker 1 (06:30):

Yeah, I love that. It's, boy did I beat myself up also about the wave. So when that internal inner critic would be like, you're bad if you eat this and you're bad if you don't, I'd say, oh, I'm not going to eat X, Y, or Z and then by four o'clock I'm eating it. And then, oh, you're bad. And all this shame. And it wasn't until I said, okay, I'm just gonna try and get healthy. Forget losing weight and then use the the same functional principles that you use as well as really the a spiritual approach. What is the weight about that I finally lost it to? And so here you are and you are helping people become empowered with their health and empowered in their life. And you shared some amazing quotes that I absolutely love before we started the episode that I think really get to the, a concept that I think everybody must embrace if they're going to experience the healing, health and vitality that is available to them, that is their birthright, that is possible so that they can live fully and give their gifts. And so I'm wondering if you can share that quote from Martha Graham and then we can talk about what that means.

Speaker 3 (07:50):

Absolutely. It would be my pleasure. So the quote by Martha Graham, there is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action. And there is only one of you in all time. This expression is unique and if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost. The world would not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is, not how it compares with other expression. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. No artist is pleased. There is no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others.

Speaker 1 (09:00):

I had Joe bumps the whole time you were reading that. So can you talk a little bit about what this means when it comes to weight loss, when it comes to health, when it comes to living your life?

Speaker 3 (09:12):

To me it really, that quote really captures what a precious gift this life is. This life, our bodies, this opportunity to be here. It, it's nothing short of magic. And when we're really present to the gift that it is to be alive, we start to be in a different relationship. What it means to do our best to preserve that gift, right? When we're present to the wonder, the awe and the magic of this life, we're more likely to operate in our actions in a way that honors this life. And that's a journey. It's not an overnight A to Z event. It is a looking at, okay, how might I honor this gift called life based on where I am right now? And and I'm sure you'd say the same thing, ki right, the actions that I took when I started my own personal journey, born of self-love, are different than the actions that I take now simply born out of evolution. Right? That's totally natural. That's totally okay. And and I really see moving forward is the encouraged next step rather than approaching this as if it's either perfection or bus.

Speaker 1 (10:32):

Yeah, I, I think it's such a beautiful statement about who we are and what we are on this planet to do. I do believe we each have a unique calling and soul blueprint and gifts that we're meant to deliver. And if we don't deliver them, they'll never be delivered by someone else because only we can deliver them. And I, I tell the women who I work with in my programs that I'm sneaky. I, I wanna get you healthy 'cause I know you're suffering and I wanna stop, help you to stop suffering. And I know that you're sitting on gifts. You're sitting on assets, right? You're sitting on your at assets that the world needs. And I think it's the Dalai Lama who's quoted as saying the Western woman will save the world. And I believe it's the western middle aged and menopausal woman because we've got experience and we have a balanced viewpoint and we have fairness and justice and equanimity and we have experience in our chosen professions that we've been working in for decades. And then we have solutions to a lot of the problems that we're struggling with right now that come from a divine feminine perspective, not a pick tree iCal perspective that probably could help us. And I really enjoy helping women, I only work with women, I know you work with men too, really see that you getting yourself healthy is about more than just for you for your selfish needs. It's about you getting yourself healthy for humanity. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>. And so you can deliver your gifts.

Speaker 3 (12:11):

Yeah. This is, yeah. So well said. Right? This is the opportunity right now. This is the opportunity to deliver your gifts. And

Speaker 1 (12:21):

I love the part where she talks about it's not your business to determine how good it is, not how it compares with other expression. Because so many women, when they do get healthy, then they're looking around, oh, what do I wanna do as my creative project? What do I want my legacy to be? And then they look, well, that's been done. That book's been written, that business has been made that no, it hasn't been done by you. Mm-Hmm <affirmative>,

Speaker 3 (12:47):

There is only one unique you and there's, the way you do it is going to be different the way than the way anyone else does it. Absolutely. And there's an abundance of people hungry for contribution.

Speaker 1 (13:00):

It's true. And the people who are gonna resonate with your frequency, 'cause you have a unique energetic frequency, are going to be drawn to you and they're only gonna hear certain things from you. They're not gonna hear it from Sally or Tom or Peter. Right. They're only gonna hear it from you. So I'm wondering if you can talk about this in the context of finding what you call your middle ground and ditching the all or nothing approach when it comes to health and healing and weight loss. What does that mean?

Speaker 3 (13:33):

Yeah. So the broken all or nothing approach, this is the inherited approach around our health and food in our bodies that's most prevalent when it comes to weight. And you know how this is lived is whole 30 followed by deep dish pizza and a bottle of wine on day 31, right? Like that would be a, a pretty clear example of the all or nothing approach in really, if we think about those two extreme actions, we're looking at deprivation or overindulgence. And for most people, those are the two options they're familiar with in this area of life. It's all in or all out. And a few problems with that is fundamentally speaking, they don't work. And by work I mean they don't allow people the opportunity to produce and sustain the health outcomes that matter most to 'em. So if you can't sustain the outcomes, to me, it's not a solution.

Speaker 3 (14:32):

Right? Secondly, they're born of self aggression, right? And self aggression really is not a solution for just about anything as far as I've ever found out for myself. So the broke and all or nothing approach is born of self aggression. And when I work with people, it's really stepping into a journey, a guided journey of authoring your middle ground. And your middle ground is finding that way of caring for your body and your life that allows you to integrate all of who you are and fully experience the joy of life, experience, the joy of being with others and celebrating with others while also moving towards the future you intend for your health and your life. And that journey is born of self-love. So it's just a real different way of operating. And it's not one that comes naturally for most people, right? Especially the people who I work with who've struggled in this area of their life for years or decades. It really takes some work not just to understand, okay, these are the actions, right? But stepping into a no way new way of relating with oneself and the actions that are working and the actions that aren't working from a place of kindness.

Speaker 1 (15:49):

So what does that look like? Can you give an example maybe from a client you've worked with or clients, because I think we talk about this concept of self love and stop beating yourself up and you're so hard on yourself. I'm a former hard on yourself member, right? And I didn't really understand what people were saying. You're so hard on yourself. What do you, what does that mean? Oh, you just have to love yourself. Well what does that look like? How do you do that <laugh>? So can you talk a little bit more in detail about the nuts and bolts of that journey?

Speaker 3 (16:22):

Yeah, no, that's funny that you were a member of the so hard on yourself plan, because I think I saw you at one of the so hard on yourself meetings,

Speaker 1 (16:28):

<Laugh> <laugh>, you look familiar,

Speaker 3 (16:31):

But yeah. Yeah. So to me, where it all, where the journey, the new journey begins is getting very clear on your intention for your health and your life. And in a practical experiential sense, when I work with people and I invite your listeners to engage in this exercise, maybe write it down and, and do it later. But the first step is doing a little time traveling to a five-year future and actually writing the story of your health, your life, you as you intend and desire it occur, right? So telling the story in first person present tense, right? So I'm 46, I'd say I'm 51. And whatever's there for me about this five year future, I intend my body's healthy, strong, resilient in also tapping into what it is to live in your body at that moment, right? I walk across a, I walk through life confident and connected to others and the divine, however, you as an individual would say your experience would be in this five year future.

Speaker 3 (17:45):

So really painting this picture of your intended five-year future. So that's the first step is getting clear on your intended future. Now, there is another side of this coin and that's getting clear on what the likely, or perhaps we might say possible downward spiral five-year future would look like with no action, no change. What does it look like to be you in five years and how your body is, some people might have an idea about their health risks, like actually numbers around diabetes or heart disease or whatever the case might be, as well as your experience, right? The experience of defeat or betrayal or shame or whatever's there for people. And it's useful because they're both possible futures, right? And, and for most of us, we make change out of the carrot dangling as well as the stick on the back and not the stick on the back. Like we wanna beat ourselves up or, or scare ourselves. But it's really useful to look at what could the five-year future be like if I don't do anything and Yeah. Right.

Speaker 1 (18:56):

And then sobering, very sobering.

Speaker 3 (18:58):

Yes. Yes. And for some people <laugh> quite literally, right? And from that I engage in an exercise with people that I call creating your vision of vitality that is really fundamentally based off of your intended future. It's really a condensed version, capturing your intention for your health and your life. And with that intention present, we start to navigate what it is to live with that as your north star. And that includes along the way capturing numbers, so actual lab work so that we can understand where you are relative to the desired future, what's the gap here? And also start to inform you what effective actions, what are the new actions that you'll need to bring into your life and begin practicing over and over again over time to live into that five-year future we want for you. And along that journey, when I'm working with people, I give them homework assignments. I call them fulfillment exercises. 'cause Some people get, get afraid when, you know, get scared when they hear the word homework. But they might be something more spiritual in nature. They might be something more informational in nature. Like what does insulin do? Scientific based exercise. But whatever it is, I choose for the person in front of me because I believe it's going to be an important puzzle piece in their journey ahead. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (20:31):

And then when you have that vision and that intention of who you're becoming on that heroine's journey, then every choice that you make in the present day is informed by that. And then you say, the woman who I'm becoming, she doesn't freak out 'cause it's four o'clock and she's hungry and she's not planning to eat dinner till seven. She drinks a glass of water or a glass of tea and keeps Yes. Keeps moving. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (21:00):

Absolutely. No, that's a great example, Karen. Absolutely. Yeah. Or the woman I'm becoming, if she suddenly in a moment of not being present comes to it and has, oh my gosh, I've just had two or three pieces of two or three cookies, she doesn't finish off the row. Right? Right.

Speaker 1 (21:19):

<Laugh>, she actually

Speaker 3 (21:20):

Puts it away and then grabs a, a glass of water and has a conversation with herself. Whatever's the useful conversation of that moment, both acknowledging, okay, maybe what led to that, oh, I, I didn't eat lunch, I was starving, right? And, or I was go at work, whatever it was, so that she can self-correct in the future, right? She can set herself up to live more aligned in the future. Mm-Hmm.

Speaker 1 (21:47):

So I want everybody listening to notice that we've been talking for about 20 minutes, we haven't talked about what diet you need to follow to lose weight. We haven't talked about what tests you need to get out of hormonal poverty. We haven't talked about anything other than the philosophy, the spirituality, the emotionality, the thought patterns, the belief patterns, the intentions, the energy around creating health. And so I hope that you've noticed that now some of you're Jones and for the diet tip of the day. 'cause You're like, I'm gonna go on, I'm gonna hear what's the one thing, what's the one thing everybody's looking on, Dr. Google, what's the one pill I need to take? The one supplement, the one diet? It doesn't exist, it just doesn't exist. Health is a state of wholeness. It's mental wholeness, emotional wholeness, spiritual wholeness, physical wholeness. So the only way to create that is by unpacking each of these areas and examining everything under the hood and then rearranging it and supplementing it and repacking it so that it can get you to that vision and intention. So I just wanted to point that out. <Laugh>

Speaker 3 (23:02):

Well said. Very well said. Yes. And, and the thing is, is for the people jonesing for the quick fix diet, right? Just notice what the diet industry is. I mean it's nothing if it's not quick fix, do this solutions. And yet it's, it's a multi-billion dollar industry that doesn't seem to be able to produce the outcomes and promises,

Speaker 1 (23:27):

Right? I think most diet programs have a 6% success rate at two years. And so this multi-billion dollar diet industry just works on profit off of churn. You lose the weight, you gain the weight, you lose the weight, you gain the weight, and you never truly become healthy and have vitality. And so the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results. That didn't stop me when I weighed 243 pounds. I tried all the programs <laugh>, right? You know, the Fen and the Jenny Craigs and the Nutrisystems and working out like crazy and fasting and all that stuff. I know you gotta do the things you gotta do until you finally come to this place of powerlessness and you go, I don't know the answer. And I think this place of surrender is when you can finally be handed a solution that works, that isn't a self aggressive solution and beat you into submission, but it's a self-loving solution.

Speaker 1 (24:24):

And you can really start to look at, well what has the weight meant in my life? Like I know for me that was a huge thing and it was protection. And I find that's true for a lot of women. I know in the ACE study that they did a Kaiser Permanente, I think there was an offshoot of it, another doctor looked at all the data and found that like 80% of the women who had overweight or obesity had been sexually abused as children. And that ended up was a part of my story, but I didn't know that. So then I could start loving myself and saying, oh, well if the, my need for protection is getting served by this layer of fat that I have around me, how can I serve that need for protection in another way so I can thank the fat doing its job and then let it go. So I love how you talk about journaling and writing your future at its best, your future at its worst. And I love to have people journal and dialogue with their fat or their body part. Like I, I've worked with a lot of women that have frozen shoulder and I like to have them dialogue with the frozen shoulder. What's going on? What did you come here to tell me? Said,

Speaker 3 (25:31):

And one of the things I love about what you just shared, Karen, is that you really got that, the holding on of the weight, it really came from such a good place, right? Yeah. It really came from such a good place and you were able to self dialogue and see that good place, acknowledge that good place it was coming from, and also get that there was a way to fulfill that very natural human need to feel safe and one that was born quite young, right? And do it in a way that still allows you physically, emotionally to thrive.

Speaker 1 (26:12):

Yeah. So I think I, I love that we're having this conversation because I love that everybody listening is hearing that health is about so much more than what supplements to take, what tests to do, what diet to follow. It is about you and who you are and your story and where it's been and where you're going and how you feel or how you don't feel. So I love that. And I love this other quote that you shared. I'm wondering if we could talk about that. I love a good quote, but from Mahatma Gandhi, there is a force in the universe which if we permit it, will flow through us and produce miraculous results. Talk a little bit about that <laugh>. Well,

Speaker 3 (26:53):

For me, Kieran, when I, at about 26 years old or so throughout my hands and surrender and really devoted myself to figuring out this area of my life, I did so inside of a request. I asked what I would call the divine to collaborate to help me. And I made a promise that if the divine would help me, I would use my learnings to, to guide and help others. So to me, that lived experience is beautifully expressed in Gandhi's quote. And I, I'm sure, I'm sure you've had similar experiences that's throwing up your hands and surrender the surrendering to the divine doesn't mean you don't do anything. It actually opens up the energy for the right people to come into your life to teach you something, the right book to come into your life to teach you something, the right overheard conversation walking down the street to just all the things that you could never plan no matter how hard you try to show up inside of your commitment. Yes.

Speaker 1 (27:56):

Yeah. I had that moment after I, it was actually one of my patients who I had done the prescription, what I call the prescription tango with her, gave her sleeping pill, antidepressant, birth control pill, all the things, <laugh> at midlife because she felt terrible. And she came back and she's like, yeah, it's not really helping me, but you know, as a board certified OB, G Y n I didn't really have much else to offer her except pills and surgery. And then she came back a year later and she was like a brand new woman and she said she had gone to this other doctor who had done all these tests. I never offered her to these treatments. And I'm thinking, how is there something I don't know about? I've been told by the certifying board of American Specialties that I know more about women's health than anybody else.

Speaker 1 (28:40):

Anyway, she had brought me one of Suzanne Summer's books and I wasn't gonna read it. I took it home and I was like, I'm not gonna read this book by Chrissy on three's company. But it sat there in my nightstand for a long time. And then one Saturday my kids were, came in and said, we're going to the movies. Like they didn't even bother asking me if I wanted to go anymore because they knew mom when she wasn't working, she was gonna be parked in her pajamas in bed 'cause she was sleeping and tired all the time. 'cause I had chronic fatigue and, and I read that book at first I was very reticent and prejudiced and then I started reading it like it was the Da Vinci Code, like the best mystery novel I ever read. And I finished it that day. I think the sun had just gone down.

Speaker 1 (29:24):

And I had one of those moments, I said, God, whatever you believe in the divine God, Buddha, Jesus, whatever. And I said, I'm going to use this and if it works, I'm gonna spend the rest of my life teaching other women about this. And then that prayer, that's a simple prayer, right? It calls in resources and possibilities that were previously closed to you now start opening up chance meetings, coincidences, so-called coincidences. And sometimes you have to come to that point of surrender and that force in the universe if you allow it and you don't keep going back to do the same you've been doing.

Speaker 3 (30:06):

Right. And it takes courage and it does. It takes a li it takes courage. It takes, sometimes it takes just getting sick of ourselves and even getting sick of ourselves. It still takes courage to, to surrender.

Speaker 1 (30:19):

It does. And I love it fits great with this other quote you have from <inaudible>, getting somewhere to decide you're not going to stay where you are. And so I'm not doing this anymore. And to whatever higher power you believe in, just say, I'm not doing this anymore. You need to show me the way. And I, I literally will say that out loud to whatever angels who work with me in the light, whoever's listening, I'm not doing it this anymore. So you show me. Yeah. And then stuff starts happening.

Speaker 3 (30:49):

It's true. It's things we cannot explain. It's very true.

Speaker 1 (30:53):

So let's give, I think we've talked a lot about the kind of nebulous, esoteric stuff that everyone avoids and doesn't want to talk about with health. So I think we need to be talking about it. But is there anything you'd like to share just from a root cause resolution, science-based approach that people might consider when it comes to losing weight, creating health?

Speaker 3 (31:16):

Yeah, absolutely. On the physiological front, I, I'm sure everything I'm about to say, Kieran, you are gonna completely nod your head with, right? But when I think about three recurring physiological barriers to weight loss, when, well, I should preface this by saying, sorry ladies, it's probably not your thyroid and <laugh> like everybody, I feel like, I don't know if you experience this, like everybody wants it to be their thyroid because they're like, then I'll just start taking medication. They'll be easy, right? And like the thing is, is even if it's your thyroid, it's not just your thyroid, it's

Speaker 1 (31:54):

Not just your thyroid. In

Speaker 3 (31:55):

Other words, absolutely true. If your thyroid, if your your thyroid's underactive, if you need thyroid support, you should definitely get thyroid support. Absolutely. Absolutely. But it's probably not the keys to the kingdom you think and hope it will be. And so with that as the preface, the the three things, assuming your thyroid is well supported, well-functioning that I see with some recurring frequency is the first one is compromised insulin sensitivity, which is very different than lab normal, right? Lab normal's usually up around 19 for fasting insulin, I like to see fasting insulin seven or less. And so if that insulin is high single digits or in the double digits, we know we have an opportunity on the table to help your body be better at burning fuel rather than storing fuel. That's one of the foundational things I look at. Another thing that I see with some frequency is elevated inflammation, right?

Speaker 3 (32:56):

Sometimes people will come in and say, oh, I'm so inflamed. And I'll ask them about how it feels and maybe they'll say, my joints hurt or I'm bloated or my skin's red. They'll say something, we'll still go test the numbers also. But really the point is that mostly people don't experience any real symptoms when they're inflamed. The only way we know is by doing their labs and H S C R P is the number one go-to I look at with regards to inflammation, but also homocysteine. And when those elevate, when the H SS C R P that that inflammatory markers elevate in particular, it will absolutely slow down the metabolism. When I see this in time and again with women who, they come in and we like to see H S C R P 1.5 or less ideally under one, but that's the sweet spot range we're looking for.

Speaker 3 (33:49):

And I, I'm starting to work with someone who's H S C R P, we learn after her labs or seven or eight. I let them know, listen, it might be a few mo months before you start to see the scale move because the first order of business is breaking this vicious cycle of inflammation and then your body's just gonna take care of itself. But that's what we have to go get after first. And we do that in a lot of different ways. But fundamentally speaking, when that inflammation is elevated, first of all, people often, more often than not, don't have any symptoms and it's gotta be addressed in order to have the scale move. And then the number three is, I like to call it detoxification pathways gunked up, right? And that just, that shows up in a lot of different ways, right? That can show up as hormonal irregularities that can show up as just playing into that inflammatory process where there are more toxins in the body than ideal, which are driving inflammation.

Speaker 3 (34:48):

And that's never just like, there's not just one test I look at for to assess detox pathways, but a lot of different things. I look at what does your, detoxification is such a chic word, but we know that detoxification though, there are multiple physiological processes that allow this to happen in the body. And so I wanna understand, does the body have the essential nutrients to run the engine of detoxification, whether that's amino acids or B 12 or all the different things we need to in order to, to run the, run those gears nice and smoothly. And then also are those toxins getting out of the body. Another simple check for that is with someone having daily bowel movements, right? We know that our bowel movements are one of the primary ways we get out of, get toxins out of the body and in by toxins. It's not just pollutants and things we encounter in our environment, our hormones that we produce ourselves, or if people are taking some kind of using some kind of H R T or oral contraceptive, those, all those hormones go through our detox pathways also. So to have those running nice and smoothly is really foundational to supporting weight loss and also what comes after weight loss.

Speaker 1 (36:06):

Yes. When you said that about thyroid, I was envisioning people throwing tomatoes at this stage going boo, yes. I did this podcast episode, I guess it was about a year ago, called Why You Will Never Fix Your Thyroid By Trying to fix Your Thyroid <laugh>.

Speaker 3 (36:24):

Oh, I love that. That is great.

Speaker 1 (36:28):

And it's the thyroid is just the innocent bystander, so I love that. But so there you have it, right? You just laid out the nutshell of all the things I like to say that you've got to do physiologically. But what I find is that people can rarely do the things that they need to do physi for their physiology and biology when they don't have the energy, right? Because everything at its essence is energy. And so that energy is your thoughts, your feelings, your beliefs, your history of your story that you're carrying around in your body and energetic packets. 'cause You've never unpacked it, most of us. And so you really need to address that. And then when you address that, the physiology you can very easily take care of. It's becomes simple.

Speaker 3 (37:15):

Absolutely. Yes. Well said.

Speaker 1 (37:18):

So tell everyone all the places they can find you online and interact with you.

Speaker 3 (37:22):

Yes. You can find me@wellempowered.com and you'll find a place where you can request a complimentary consultation. Please be sure you tell us where you heard about us because you will be entitled to 10% off if you do decide to engage beyond that, that complimentary consultation is 30 minutes. Virtual will give you a chance to ask me more questions. Consider working together, whether it's one-on-one or in group work, and then also Instagram at at well Empowered is where you'll find me.

Speaker 1 (37:56):

Awesome. Thank you so much, Dr. Jesse, for your path, your purpose, your passion, all the things that have led you to be here with us today. And thank you for the brilliance and insight and depth that you have shared. I really appreciate it. Thank

Speaker 3 (38:11):

You so much, ki it's been such a pleasure to be with you and to share our love of people empowered by their health and vitality.

Speaker 1 (38:21):

Yes. And thank you for joining us for another episode of The Hormone Prescription with Dr. Kieran. Hopefully you feel empowered by our conversation, by knowing that you really are here for a specific purpose that only you can fulfill and that you can take steps today to start moving towards that. I look forward to hearing about the steps you're taking on social media. So reach out and let me know. And until next week, peace, love, and hormones y'all.

Speaker 2 (38:49):

Thank you so much for listening. I know that incredible vitality occurs for women over 40 when we learn to speak hormone and balance these vital regulators to create the health and the life that we deserve. If you're enjoying this podcast, I'd love it if you'd give me a review and subscribe. It really does help this podcast out so much. You can visit the hormone prescription.com where we have some free gifts for you, and you can sign up to have a hormone evaluation with me on the podcast to gain clarity into your personal situation. Until next time, remember, take small steps each day to balance your hormones and watch the wonderful changes in your health that begin to unfold for you. Talk to you soon.

 

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A Smart Person’s Guide to Breast Cancer

Welcome back to The Hormone Prescription Podcast - the go-to show for midlife women looking for expert insights on health. In this episode, we have the pleasure of welcoming Dr. Jennifer Simmons, a prominent board-certified breast surgeon with over fifteen years of experience in the field of breast disease.
  
Dr. Simmons has an impressive list of awards and achievements, including receiving the prestigious 2016 Founders Award from the Living Beyond Breast Cancer organization, and being named TOP DOC for six consecutive years by Philadelphia Magazine, Main Line Today 2018, and Suburban Life. With her expertise, she has been a frequent on-camera guest, sharing breaking medical breast cancer news on popular platforms such as 6ABC, CBS Philly, Fox 29 Good Day, and KYW News Radio.
  
In this insightful conversation, Dr. Jennifer Simmons shares her professional knowledge and invaluable advice on understanding and dealing with breast cancer.

Key discussion points in this episode:

- Understanding breast cancer: Dr. Simmons helps us grasp the basics of breast cancer, its types, and its stages.

- Risk factors: The different factors that could contribute to an increased risk of developing breast cancer, and what we can do to mitigate these risks.

- Early detection strategies: The significance of self-examinations, mammograms, and regular check-ups with healthcare professionals, as well as new technologies that can potentially help in early detection.

- Treatment options: An overview of different treatment pathways available depending on the type and stage of breast cancer, including surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and targeted therapy.

- Support systems: The importance of nurturing a strong support system during the cancer journey, including support from friends, family, and healthcare professionals. Dr. Simmons also highlights invaluable resources like the Living Beyond Breast Cancer organization.

- Practical advice: Dr. Simmons shares her top tips for women going through a breast cancer diagnosis, treatment, and recovery.

- Advancements in the field: A peek into current research and advancements that could potentially change the face of breast cancer treatment and prevention in the near future.
  
Get ready for an eye-opening and informative conversation with Dr. Jennifer Simmons, and don't forget to subscribe to The Hormone Prescription Podcast for more expert insights on health for midlife women.

 

Speaker 1 (00:00):

There is no greater perspective than when you lose your health. The only person who can heal you is you, Dr. Jen Simmons.

Speaker 2 (00:10):

So the big question is, how do women over 40 like us, keep weight off, have great energy, balance our hormones and our moods, feel sexy and confident, and master midlife? If you're like most of us, you are not getting the answers you need and remain confused and pretty hopeless to ever feel like yourself Again. As an OB G Y N, I had to discover for myself the truth about what creates a rock solid metabolism, lasting weight loss, and supercharged energy after 40, in order to lose a hundred pounds and fix my fatigue, now I'm on a mission. This podcast is designed to share the natural tools you need for impactful results and to give you clarity on the answers to your midlife metabolism challenges. Join me for tangible, natural strategies to crush the hormone imbalances you are facing and help you get unstuck from the sidelines of life. My name is Dr. Kieran Dunton. Welcome to the Hormone Prescription Podcast.

Speaker 1 (01:03):

Hi everybody. Welcome back to another episode of the Hormone Prescription with Dr. Kieran. Thank you so much for joining me today. My guest today, Dr. Jennifer Simmons, is an amazing woman and physician who has accomplished much and really is leading the way to show women how to prevent breast cancer and how to heal their bodies overall. But most of us really don't pay attention. There is no greater perspective than when you lose your health. She says during our interview, and you'll see what else she says about that, but it really does put things in perspective because our health is the only reason that we get time on this earth. Time to enjoy our relationships, time to accomplish things, time to enjoy sunsets and the ocean and the mountains. And so if we're not paying attention to our health and doing everything that we can to make it the best, we're really in a state of dying.

Speaker 1 (02:04):

If you think about it, and I know that's pretty sobering and most of us don't like to think about it, but I actually like to keep my eye on the fact that I am going to die because it helps me to live each day to the fullest. And how could changing your perspective before you get an illness lead you to more health and wholeness is something I'd like you to start thinking about. The other quote she offered, the only person who can heal you is you, is so profound because a lot of us are always looking to someone else to heal us or fix us, but really the healing comes from within. So we have a very deep personal discussion about that as well. I'll tell you a little bit more about Dr. Jen Simmons and then we'll get started. She had an amazing career.

Speaker 1 (02:52):

So she's a prominent board certified breast surgeon in Philadelphia. She was the chief of breast surgery and director of the breast program at Einstein Medical Center, Montgomery, and she has had 15 years of experience in the field of breast disease. She received the 2016 top Honors Founders Award from the Living Beyond Breast Cancer Organization for improving the lives of women with breast cancer. She's always on the forefront of medical advances in breast surgery. She's been named Top Doc six years in a row by Philadelphia Magazine and also in mainline today, 2018 and Suburban Life. She's been on many news shows, many podcasts, many summits, and share her brilliance everywhere. And after her very personal and touching story that she shares in the interview view that you don't wanna hear, excuse me, you don't wanna miss hearing. She shares how she transitioned from being the top breast surgeon and taking care of women with breast cancer after they were diagnosed to taking care of women in a way that helps them prevent breast cancer and also heal holistically from breast cancer.

Speaker 1 (04:10):

She has some views that are very radical that you might be shocked by that I love and embrace because she is a truth seeker and a truth teller. And when it comes to healing yourself, not only from breast cancer, but all the melodies that we suffer from at midlife, midlife, metabolic mayhem, other diseases, and premature death when we're in hormonal poverty, you gotta get to the truth. And sometimes truth is painful, but if you don't tell the truth, you can't know the truth and you can't know what you need to do to heal. And then healing becomes impossible. And that's where so many women are right now. They're blind to the truth. So I'm a true seeker truth teller. Dr. Jen is a true seeker truth teller. And if you really want to know what's possible for you in this lifetime and achieve it, you've got to become a truth seeker and a truth knower.

Speaker 1 (05:06):

So now she has a practice Real Health md. She is the doctor with the answer to breast cancer. We give all the places you can find her online on social media and talk about her book as well. So without further ado, please help me welcome Dr. Jen Simmons to the show. Thanks. I'm so glad to be here. So breast cancer is a hot topic with women. I deal with women in their hormones, and the number one objection that people have about the hormones that they need a prescription for is, oh, but my doctor told me estrogen causes cancer. And so this is really in your ballpark. So I think we should start with the hard questions first, <laugh>, does estrogen cause breast cancer? Let's start right there. Let's just dive right in. So of course it doesn't cause breast cancer.

Speaker 3 (05:57):

I mean, it's such a ridiculous notion that it, I mean, just thinking about it from the logical standpoints, right? So first of all, why would God give us a hormone that is so vital to life that causes breast cancer? I mean, it's absurd. And then when we look at who gets breast cancer, the vast majority of breast cancers are in the postmenopausal population. And when you measure hormone levels in that population, they are completely deplete, right? They have no virtually no circulating estrogen. And so to say that estrogen causes breast cancer is absurd. It's ridiculous. And they're all evidence to the contrary. In fact, it's when estrogen is going away, that is the issue. When your body can't access its own estrogen because your ovaries are shutting down, that's when breast cancer becomes an issue. Now, when I say estrogen does not cause breast cancer, I am talking about the estrogen that is produced by your ovaries, produced by your adrenal glands.

Speaker 3 (07:05):

That is not the issue. However, there are environmental estrogens things in our environment that act like estrogen that are very toxic, that without question cause cellular damage, d n a damage and lead to breast cancers. So I'm talking about things like plastics, like antibiotics, like fragrance, like cleaning solutions, like phthalates, all these synthetic things that are in our environment on the estrogen receptor, but don't act like estrogen. They act in a far more stimulatory, irreversible way. And then they also have to be broken down by our hormone detoxification ways. And when that happens, they go preferentially down a toxic pathway because they're toxins. So I am very comfortable saying estrogen does not cause breast cancer. Do estrogen-like substances contribute to breast cancer? Absolutely. Without question. Yes.

Speaker 1 (08:13):

And I say I, I'm always a kind of common sense doctor, and I say reality check. 'cause That makes sense to you. Every man, woman, and child on the face of this planet has estrogen, <laugh>, and if estrogen caused breast cancer, we'd all have it.

Speaker 3 (08:29):

That's exactly right. That's exactly right. It's an absurd notion. Now, I can tell you that the reason that we talk about estrogen and breast cancer and a causative relationship is because we have synthetic medicines. We have pharmaceuticals that block the synthe, the synthetic pathway, like they block the synthesis, the the creation of estrogen. And we have pharmaceuticals that act on the estrogen receptor. So the reason that we use that explanation estrogen causes breast cancer is for the purposes of utilizing these drugs, but not because estrogen causes breast cancer. Again, it doesn't, it's absurd. But they have pharmaceuticals that can intervene in this pathway. And so they use that explanation in order to use the drugs.

Speaker 1 (09:22):

Oh, well that, I hadn't heard that concept. That's interesting. Yeah. So

Speaker 3 (09:27):

The estrogen

Speaker 1 (09:28):

Blockers,

Speaker 3 (09:29):

You'll, you'll notice, you'll notice like the vast majority of breast cancers have both estrogen and progesterone receptors on them. But we never talk about the progesterone part, right? You never hear progesterone causes breast cancer and you don't hear about drugs because we don't have them. So now we just focus on the estrogen because we have estrogen blocking drugs that are a nightmare. And so that's the story that people are told over and over and over again. And when you are told the same story over and over and over again, despite whether or not it's true, it becomes believable because it's repeatable. And that's exactly what happened in this case. And you know, we've seen that evidenced time and time again, especially over the last three years.

Speaker 1 (10:15):

It's fascinating. I mean, the more you know about big pharma and medicine, the deeper the do-do gets. That's really fascinating. And so I know they really revised the, the Women's Health Initiative study results, and they've come back and said, no, estrogen is protective against breast cancer. But nobody's listening. No, doctors are listening. They're not telling their patients this. So you're right. Once you repeat a lie so many times it does become the gospel. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (10:42):

And so doctors unfortunately, are hard to convince. They, you have to remember that the Women's Health Initiative, those results, those preliminary results, which should have never been released, you don't release the sto the results of a study in a newspaper article. But those results should have never, ever, ever been released. But they were, and it was 20 years ago. So for 20 years we've heard this false narrative. So it's really, really hard for people to unring that bell. And there are pieces of that puzzle that fit and make sense to people. So for instance, you know, you're only given estrogen blockade if you have a hormone positive tumor. And so people associate the fact that there, there are breast cancers with estrogen receptors on them, so therefore estrogen must be causative. And what people don't realize is that normal breast cells have estrogen receptors on them. They're supposed to have estrogen receptors on them. That's how the breast does what it's supposed to do, do, because it responds to normal stimulation by estrogen, normal signaling by estrogen. And in fact, it's the breast cancers that don't have estrogen receptors on them that are far more aggressive and far more difficult to treat and reverse because they are a further departure from normal. So a hormone positive tumor resembles the normal tissue and the further the cancer gets away from resembling the normal tissue, the more aggressive a process it is.

Speaker 1 (12:28):

Yeah, I think that there's so much misinformation, and I think that even regular gynecologists and general practitioners aren't aware of this. So they're counseling people incorrectly. You know, I know you, you gave me some great questions, but I had to go for the hardest one first because I really wanted to make sure we cover that. And I know that a lot of women coming to listening listen to you. That's what they wanna hear. But the basics, let's start with, what is breast cancer?

Speaker 3 (12:55):

Yeah, so that's a great question which so many people don't understand. So I, I wanna start off by saying that breast cancer is a normal response to an abnormal environment. So many people think that breast cancer is separate, right? It's a non-self, it's not a part of you. It is a foreign body, a foreign invader, a foreign thing. But the truth is that your breast cancer is a part of you, and it's the part of you that feels threatened by its environment. People with breast cancer don't have a bad breast. Breast cancer is a systemic disease. It means that there has been some systemic shift. The chemistry in the breast, the environment in the body has shifted away from homeostasis. And when that happens, the breast cells feel threatened. And so what does anything do when it feels threatened? It goes into survival mode, right?

Speaker 3 (13:54):

Think about an animal that's cornered. How is that animal gonna behave? It's gonna be extremely aggressive, it's gonna be ferocious, right? It's just trying to survive. That same process is happening in any organ that undergoes a cancerous transformation. It is responding to a hostile environment, and it is transforming into survival mode. So the key to breast cancer, the key to any cancer is to restoring the health of the environment, both the microenvironment and the environment in the breast or whatever organ you're talking about. But the microenvironment of the breast is influenced by the macro, the overall environment of the body. And so healing from breast cancer is about transforming that environment, getting back into homeostasis, getting rid of the threat so that those cells feel safe again, and no longer have to be in survival mode. So again, breast cancer is just a normal response to an abnormal environment. And the only approach is to restore health.

Speaker 1 (15:00):

And in mainstream medicine, is that addressed at all, or it's still surgery, chemotherapy, radiation level.

Speaker 3 (15:10):

Yeah, so it's conventional medicine. All the focus is on disease, right? Because that's what conventional medical doctors are taught. Nowhere in any part of my training, and I went to medical school for four years, I did residency for five years. I did fellowship for a year. And nowhere anywhere in my training was I taught how to make people, how to help people get healthy. We are trained to recognize a constellation of symptoms, give it a title, right? Diagnose and then prescribe, prescribe a pill, prescribe a procedure. That is what we are trained to do. And nowhere along those lines are we asking the important question. The important question for everyone has to be, where is the disease coming from? What is driving this disease? And the key to reversing it is about learning that understanding that eliminating whatever is driving disease and at the same time doing the things that drive health.

Speaker 3 (16:13):

And when all you focus on is disease, right? Like think about the mainstream response to breast cancer, like you're in for a fight. Get ready for a fight, be a fighter, keep fighting. That whole mentality is wrong. And what I advocate for, because you don't wanna fight, you don't want a war, you don't want the chemistry of stress. Think about what wars are filled with, they're filled with, with violence and fear. That's the last thing that you want in your body. You want to prepare for peace. That is what you're seeking. That is what you're looking to create. And with that comes homeostasis and health. And so it's about shifting the focus from illness, from disease, from the tumor, shifting the focus to health and to building health. Because if all you focus on is the tumor, you're focusing in the wrong area. Because first of all, what we focus on grows. And that's the last thing we want to grow. The tumor is not the problem. The tumor is the symptom of the problem. And until we realize that, until we recognize that we will never solve it.

Speaker 1 (17:29):

Yeah. I say exactly the same thing about weight. The excess fat is not the problem, it's the symptom of the problem. That's

Speaker 3 (17:37):

Exactly right. And

Speaker 1 (17:38):

And what you mentioned about peace and healing, I, I so agree with you. And I don't know if, if we can get into kind of the energetics of it, but the, the breasts relate to the heart chakra and love.

Speaker 3 (17:52):

Of course. Of course. And this is why we so often see a breast cancer diagnosis following heartache. So if you talk to someone who was diagnosed with breast cancer, you are almost certainly going to learn that they've had a death in the family, or they're caring for a sick patient or a sick parent or child, god forbid, or they've been through a divorce or had a move or lost their job. But there is going to be, or they've, you know, undergone trauma abuse. There is going to be heartache and heartbreak in the preceding years to the diagnosis. It happens nearly 100% of the time. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (18:34):

And so we need to be, I mean, medicine should be tending to our hearts and our energy, but I guess those doctors like us who went through the mainstream training and learned that method and then were enlightened to realize that it's way bigger than that can help people with that. So that's why I'm so glad to have you on the show and offer and share what, you know, it's so important for women about breast cancer. Now, we just got done talking about that estrogen doesn't cause breast cancer. But do we need to talk about why younger women are more and more getting breast cancer diagnosis and its relation to estrogen dominance?

Speaker 3 (19:17):

Yeah. So let's talk about what that is and what that means. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>, because when we talk about estrogen dominance, what we're not mentioning there is a lack of progesterone. And that is what is happening most of the time, is that our estrogen balance is entirely dependent on our progesterone balance. And progesterone is one of those very sensitive hormones. And if you are under a considerable amount of stress, then the overall chemical in your makeup is going to be cortisol stress hormone. And we're going to make cortisol at the expense of making progesterone. And so all of a sudden, all else being equal and your estrogen levels are what they are. But if you drop progesterone, now suddenly you're estrogen dominant. Right? Does that make sense?

Speaker 1 (20:15):

Absolutely.

Speaker 3 (20:16):

And so for so many women, we're having that progesterone drop off earlier and earlier and earlier. And so that is one problem, right? And that is because of the way we live our lives, the stressful environments, the lack of self-care, the lack of prioritization of sleep, the lack of a nourishing diet. And I'm not just talking about food because there are, you know, secondary foods, the things that you put in your, in your mouth. More important, there are primary foods, the things that nourish you, like sunshine and relaxation and connection, and all of these things that are so essential to life that we are skipping over. We are skipping over for busyness, for blue light, for over consumption. We're just skipping over the things that nourish us. And as a result, we lower our progesterone levels, raise our cortisol levels, and then we're in this estrogen dominant can position.

Speaker 3 (21:21):

In addition to that, we talked a little bit before about xenoestrogens. These are environmental estrogens. These are things that we are literally swimming in. We are swimming in a soup of environmental estrogens. Not what is made by our ovaries, not what is made by our adrenal glands, but what is what we are coming into contact with day in and day out that acts like this toxic estrogen in our body. And it's only compounding the problem on top of, you know, our relative progesterone paucity. And so this becomes a big issue. And these xenoestrogens directly damage D n A, they can directly cause answers to form. Everyone makes cancer cells young, old, and everyone in between. And the key to not getting cancer in that, the key to not having it reach mass size is to have an intact immune system. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>. So an intact immune system will recognize those cancer cells in their infancy and destroy them.

Speaker 3 (22:29):

But unfortunately, so many of us are walking around relatively immunocompromised because the things that distract your immune system, the things that weaken your immune system are so prevalent and no one's talking about them, right? So Right. Just one night of poor sleep will weaken your immunity just one night. So if you making cancer cells every day and you are having prolonged lack of sleep, that's a recipe for breast cancer. And we know that. We know that people who are poor sleepers, chronic short sleepers, they are at increased risk for a variety of chronic diseases, including cancer. And so it's the environmental influence and the reason that, which is the reason why we are seeing cancer younger and younger and younger, because we're getting further and further away from our evolutionary selves. We are modern beings living on a very old gene code. We only know safety or fight and flight.

Speaker 3 (23:34):

And we are not meant to be in fight or flight for more than a few seconds. Right? We are built for coming out of the cave in the morning, encountering the Saber two tiger, and either being able to escape within seconds and being restored to normal physiology or dying. But we are not built to run away from a saber two tiger for three hours, three days, three white weeks, three months, three years. We're not built for it. And yet our world is filled with saber-tooth tigers filled with things that compromise our immunity. Because when you're running away from a saber tooth tiger, you don't need to fight off a cold. So your immune system gets shut off. But if you are constantly running away from saber two tigers, there's no opportunity for your immune system to come back online. And that is a really, really important part of disease reversal, is getting the immune system to come back online.

Speaker 3 (24:33):

And the way that you do that is you build all these foundations of health, you prioritize sleep, you cut out processed foods, you make sure that you have joyful movement, you live a connected life and you eliminate toxins. And you manage the stressors of life as best you can. You're never gonna be able to get rid of all the stress, but it's not the stress that matters, it's how you internalize the stress that matters. And so having healthy ways to manage the stressors of life only way, the only way to reverse disease and to be healthy, to get your immune system to come back online and so that you can function the way that you are supposed to function the way that you wanna

Speaker 1 (25:19):

Function. Yes, absolutely. And I just wanna comment on something you shared about the estrogen progesterone balance. Right before, when I was preparing for our interview on my phone, I get these news alerts and popped up an article that said, younger women are getting exorbitant amounts of breast cancer or something like that. And doctors don't know why. And you know, I remember a few weeks ago there was one about the side effects from taking statin drugs and low energy. And doctors are confused as to why. And I'm thinking, well, mainstream doctors are confused about these things. These, but who have, you know, a functional metabolic perspective or not confused, this is science, this is how the body works.

Speaker 3 (26:04):

So yeah. See the problem is there are tons of prescribers that are prescribing that have no idea what they're prescribing, what what it does, right? Like anyone who prescribes a statin should know that if you're gonna take away cholesterol, which is the base molecule of life, it is the molecule from which we build all our hormones, we build all our neurotransmitters. So if you're gonna take that away and take away your hormones and your neurotransmitters, what do you expect to happen? Nothing good, right? Right. And yet statins are so readily prescribed, they don't lower anyone's risk of getting heart disease. They don't lower the risk of a heart attack, increase the risk of diabetes by 63%. So what are we doing? Right? <laugh> and people like you and I, all we do is shake our heads that people are surprised by this. When if they just spent, you know, 10 minutes understanding the physiology of the drug, they would stop that.

Speaker 1 (27:05):

Yeah. And, but it's interesting because some patients, I, a woman comes to mind I met with a few weeks ago, and her doctor wanted to check her cholesterol of course, and put her on a statin. And it's really not even high. And I explained all this to her and the kind of what she was looking forward to in terms of her decreased at t p production and hormones. And she said, well, that's okay. I'm still gonna take it <laugh>. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (27:31):

Yeah. So the one like thing that the cardiologists hang onto is that statins do have a short-term anti-inflammatory effect. But I mean, you can do so much better, right? Like you can use turmeric, ginger, there are so many other ways to get those anti-inflammatory effects than a statin, which is going to deplete your coenzyme q deplete your hormones, deplete your neurotransmitters, and make you even more susceptible to diabetes while not, while not impacting your coronary disease risk. So I think when people it, it is going to take a lot of reeducation, right? Because again, this statin story is another one that's been around for a long time. And when people hear the same thing enough times, they believe it to be true. I think we would be remiss if we didn't talk about the fact that, you know, we are going to see younger and younger breast cancers, just like we're going to see infertility because we bury widely used a, let's call it a drug that seriously affected people's immune system. And Oh yeah. And we're, we're gonna see the ramifications of that over the next, at least 10 years. It could be two generations, but we're gonna see it at least over one generation. We're gonna see infertility, we're gonna see cancers. Because you can't hijack the immune system without having repercussions. You can't, you can't.

Speaker 1 (29:13):

Yeah. It's, it's unfortunate and mm-hmm <affirmative> and it is a fact. And I've actually encountered quite a few people who have all kinds of repercussions from that medication. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (29:24):

I'm seeing the, you know, six months later breast cancer diagnoses. So, and what's happening there, because you know, breast cancer's a long road, breast cancers don't develop in six months. But what happens is that because we're all making cancer cells all day, every day, an immune, an intact immune system will keep that at bay. But when you take the immune system out of it, a process which was maybe just like slowly chugging along and wasn't going to really do anything now is existing unchecked. And it's when we pull the immune system out of the picture, when we take away its ability to do its job that we see all of these disease states propping up. And breast cancer is a big one. It

Speaker 1 (30:10):

Is. And I know some women listening are thinking, oh, you know, have the recommendations for screening changed? So I'm wondering if we can talk about that. Mm-Hmm <affirmative> your thoughts on mammography, thermography and some of the o other, other technologies available. Yeah, absolutely. And absolutely. Have you changed any recommendations that you give your patients about screening?

Speaker 3 (30:32):

Yeah, absolutely. So first let's talk about the mammographic screening program because what we have today was never trialed, was never tested. It was grandfathered in. It was grandfathered in based on the studies that were done in the 1970s, the safety studies in the 1970s when we were using two D mammograms. And you know, at that time the thought was that breast cancer started small, grew to some critical mass, at which time it would become more likely to metastasize. And so if we could screen and find these cancers before they reached a critical mass, we could save lives. And it is a lovely theory, lovely, just doesn't happen to be true because breast cancer growth is neither predictable nor linear. So a breast cancer is what it is from the very start. And if it's going to be aggressive, it's going to be aggressive from the very start.

Speaker 3 (31:36):

And if it's not going to be aggressive, it's not going to be aggressive. So no matter how big those non-aggressive tumors get, those people are going to do fine almost no matter what you do. And the people with aggressive cancers, no matter how small you find them, those people are not going to be fine almost no matter what you do. And then there's everyone in between. And the mammographic screening programs around the world, many of them have been abandoned. And what we see in this country is a huge push for mammography does not save lives. It earns a lot of money. It earns an an enormous amount of money for the system, but it does not save lives. In fact, when we look at a woman over her lifetime, for every 10,000 women that you screen, you will maybe save one woman's life and you will cause breast cancers in seven of them.

Speaker 3 (32:32):

So we're gonna cause seven times more breast cancers than lives we save. And no matter how many women we screen every year, no matter how many women, the exact same number of women die of breast cancer, 43,000 women will die of breast cancer every single year, no matter how many women we screen. So we are not doing better. Screening does not save lives. That is a bell. That's a 50 year long bell. And people are convinced that mammogram is saving their life. So I want to be clear, mammogram is not saving your life. It is ionizing radiation. It is traumatic, it is definitely causing damage. The more mammograms you get, the more damage there's going to be. So there is no benefit from my perspective in using mammogram to screen. If you wanna use it to, for diagnostic purposes, if you feel something you need an an evaluation, fine.

Speaker 3 (33:28):

Take 100 milligrams of melatonin and 2000 to 4,000 milligrams of vitamin C, liposomal vitamin C one hour before your study. And that goes for any radiographic study, an X-ray, a mammogram, a CAT scan, a PET scan, a bone scan, a DEXA scan, any radiation, ionizing radiation study, CAT scan. Did I say that? I hope so. Greening with mammogram is not gonna save anyone's life. And what it is going to do is identify a bunch of cancers that may never have become meaningful, clinically relevant. So a lot of women are going to get treated for breast cancer that don't need to get treated for breast cancer. And what's gonna happen to them, the vast majority of them are going to be hormone positive. They're gonna be put on hormone blockade. And we know that radiation, chemotherapy, hormone blockade, they all accelerate heart disease, which is by far the number one threat to a woman's life.

Speaker 3 (34:28):

In fact, every decade of a woman's life, after she's 30, she will die exponentially more of heart disease than breast cancer. We should be doing every single thing we can to protect the heart. And coincidentally, if you're doing that, those same things also prevent breast cancer. So I'm all about prevention. I don't think mammogram has any role. I do use thermography and I use thermography as an indicator. So if you have a thermogram that shows increased heat, then you know this is your kind of opportunity. This is your opportunity to make sure that your health is optimized. And I believe in self-exam, but all of this is going to be a moot point in the next year or two because there is an F D A approved screening modality called QT imaging. And this is novel. This is a novel imaging technique. It is not like anything else that's out there. There is no radiation. It is painless, it is fast, it is inexpensive and it has 40 times the resolution of M R I. And it is poised to not only replace M R I, but to replace mammogram for screening. It is already F D A approved to screen dense breasts and within a year it will be F D A approved to screen everyone. So it is really the solution that has been needed for so many years in terms of screening. Great.

Speaker 1 (36:12):

Thank you so much for talking about that. 'cause We get a lot of questions on that and I think it really helps to hear it from somebody with your credentials and experience. And you've got a great new thing coming, the QT screening, so we'll wanna know more about that when it's available. Yeah. But like you said, it's all about prevention and you talked a little bit about that with stress and sleep and proper diet and the nourishment that you get from connection and living a healthy life that isn't filled with stress. And you've got a wonderful freebie for everyone, a weekly checklist. Is there anything else you'd like to say about preventing breast cancer?

Speaker 3 (36:56):

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, you know, at the end of the day, breast health is health and the things that you do to drive your overall health are the same things that are going to create healthy breast, create a healthy heart, create a healthy brain, create healthy bones, create healthy muscles, create a healthy gut. Like we are all one system working in concert. And if you, unless you pay attention to everything that makes up the symphony, you're not going to have the result that you want to have. And so it's all about the everything. And actually my book called A Smart Person's Guide to Breast Cancer was just released yesterday. And this is the place to go for the answers that you're looking for. Because I talk about prevention, I talk about what to do if you get a breast cancer diagnosis. I give you all the tools you need to understand not only the conventional modalities but also all the things that you can do for yourself. Again, the only person that can heal you is you. And health is not something that you can buy, you can't get it anywhere. You have to achieve it, you have to work for it. But in the end it's so worth it because when you have your health, that means that you are living a life worth living with. You are richly, richly rewarded for that.

Speaker 1 (38:28):

It's so true. And I always ask people, what's your most valuable asset? And people say, oh my house, usually my partner and I say, well you know, what about your health? And without your health, you don't have, you don't have a life. It's the only thing that gives you that dash on your tombstone is the time that you're here on this earth. And you, your health is of vital importance. So if you're not treating it like your most valued asset and something to invest time, energy, money in, then you're kind of missing the point. <Laugh>. Yeah. But I love what you said, the only person who can heal you is you. Yeah. I love

Speaker 3 (39:06):

That. I know you probably have your own pain to purpose story. I feel like most of us who have come to exist in this space have our own pain to purpose story. Mm-Hmm <affirmative>. And unfortunately my pain keeps popping up again and again and again to remind me to stay on track. But when you talk about valuing your health, I had a bout of vertigo about a week and a half ago, and it's really truly when you lose your health there, there is no greater perspective than when you lose your health. Because in that period of time you realize that there is nothing else, nothing else. When you are suffering, it is impossible to do anything else. Like you can't create, all you can do is feel and experience that pain and know that there is nothing more horrible than living in that state of pain. And you realize how valuable it is to not be that way, to not feel that way, to be able to be free to live. And I don't know why humans have to learn lessons the hard way, but we do <laugh>.

Speaker 1 (40:21):

<Laugh>. I don't know why we do. And you know, I kind of skipped over that skipped 'cause you skipped, there's so much to cover with your topic that women wanna hear about. So I was, I guess kind of anxious to get it all in. But do you wanna share, I'd love for you to share a bit about your story. I think the more that women here, people like you and me sharing our pain to purpose stories, they say, wow, they pay attention. Yeah. And they really get it on a more personal level to start taking action.

Speaker 3 (40:55):

Yeah. I've seen the abyss <laugh> more than once. You know, really, I'm in the breast cancer space very organically, so organic. Like many women, I come from a breast cancer family. And there was really never a time in my life where I didn't know about breast cancer. When I was growing up. I had a first cousin, her name was Linda Creed, and Linda was a singer songwriter in the 1970s and 1980. She wrote all the music for the spinners and the stylistics <laugh>. She wrote 54 hits in all. And her most famous song was The Greatest Love of All. She wrote that song in 1977 as the title, title track to the movie, the Greatest starring Muhammad Ali. But it really received its acclaim in March of 1986 when Whitney Houston released that song to the world. And at that time it would spend 14 weeks at the top of the charts.

Speaker 3 (41:47):

Only Linda would never know because she died of metastatic breast cancer. Just one month after Whitney released the song. And I was 16 years old and my hero died. And so that no other woman, no other family, no other community had to grieve and feel this pain. And the way that my family felt this pain, I let her life and ultimately her death, give birth to my life's purpose. And I did the only thing I knew how to do. I became a doctor, I became a surgeon. I became the first fellowship trained breast surgeon in Philadelphia. And I did that really well. And for a really long time. And you know, during my tenure, my aunt was diagnosed, my mom was diagnosed, and all the while I just continued to live in that world and thought that I was truly making a contribution. And I'm running my practice and running the cancer program for my hospital, a wife and a mother and a stepmother and an athlete and a philanthropist.

Speaker 3 (42:53):

And I have all these balls in the air and I think I'm invincible until I'm not. And I go from probably being one of the most high functioning people that you ever knew to, I can't walk across the room, I just don't have the breath in my lungs to walk across the room. And I think I'm having a heart attack. And I go to the emergency room and I have an exhaustive three day workup. And at the end of that three days, I'm sitting in the office of my friend and colleague and physician and he tells me that I need to have surgery and chemoradiation and be on lifelong medication. And despite the fact that these are things that I say all day every day to people, when the words are coming at me, it's like I'm having an out-of-body experience. And I still to this day don't know why I walked away.

Speaker 3 (43:44):

You can call it God, you can call it universe. I just couldn't reconcile it when it was about me and my doctor told me I was gonna die. And it's not that I didn't believe him. I mean the I, I told thousands of women through my career that if they didn't get treatment for their cancer, they were gonna die. So it's not that I didn't believe him, but that something said to me that there was something else. And so I went on a journey to heal myself. And it was a selfish journey. Like this was never about solving the breast cancer problem. This was about solving my problem. And I was listening to a lecture, a man named Mark Hyman walked on the stage. This was 2017. I had never heard of him. His name meant nothing to me. And he came on stage and he introduced himself as a functional medicine physician.

Speaker 3 (44:38):

And at this point I had been a doctor for like 20 years. And I was super duper cynical despite the fact that I was going against medical advice, despite the fact that I was not accepting the standard of care. But I was still super cynical. And I thought like, what is this quack talking about? There's no such thing as functional medicine. And then I remembered that I was sick. And so I checked my ego at the door tuned in and thank God I did. Because within five minutes of him speaking my entire world makes sense. And I know exactly why I got sick. I got sick so that I could be in that room on that day in that chair listening to him speak. Because not only was I not on the right path for my health, but I wasn't on the right path for my patient's health.

Speaker 3 (45:25):

And if I really wanted to leave a legacy, if I really wanted to make the impact that I wanted to make, then I needed to reframe. Because like we talked about before, all of conventional medicine is focused on the tumor. And if you focus on the tumor, that's all that's growing. So my part in the breast cancer scenario was just perpetuating the same thing. I wasn't ever interfering with why people got cancer. All I was doing was cutting out tumors, leaving them to only go on to manifest the next disease. Because unless you intervene, unless you change why someone got cancer, they're only going to manifest the next disease or have a recurrence. And so it really took my own illness and you know, three years of my life to learn functional medicine and heal and, and prove it in myself so that I could go on to prove it in my patience.

Speaker 3 (46:25):

You know, that was my opportunity and I'm not gonna pretend that my healing was easy or linear is not. And there were plenty of days where I was like, you know what? I'm just gonna die 'cause this is too hard. And then I have an amazing husband and four beautiful children and a lot to live for. And so I pushed on and in the end I'm left with something a million times more rewarding. And I am on a mission to impact the lives of millions of women who would not have otherwise had this opportunity, the opportunity to be healthy. And if I can walk with them at any part on their journey and make a difference, that's what I wanna do. That's the legacy that I wanna leave. And I could have never, ever, ever had the opportunity as a surgeon and I would've never left surgery had it not been for my own health journey. Gosh.

Speaker 1 (47:24):

So such a, a beautiful and painful story. And you know, unfortunately it was pain that had to get me back on my path too. And like you said, so much better what you've gained, thank you so much for sharing that. I know that what you've shared has really spoken to women listening and I hope that they hear from what you're saying. I used to prescribe all the drugs and the chemotherapies and the radiation and do the surgery and when it came to me, I said no and found another way. And that was what, seven years ago, right?

Speaker 3 (48:00):

Wow. Right

Speaker 1 (48:01):

For you Jen. Seven years. Mm-Hmm.

Speaker 3 (48:03):

I actually didn't leave surgery. Right. Right away. So this journey, yes. Started seven years ago for me, but it took me some time to be able to leave. I'll tell you that of all of the things that I've done in my life and I've done a lot, I've had tremendous privilege. I mean, I really, you know, there is nothing like the privilege of being a surgeon in that God gave me this incredible ability to do what I did. And there is no greater trust than when someone goes to sleep and leaves you solely responsible for their life. Yeah. Their life. And it was amazing. And I really truly would have ever walked away from that had I not had this experience and this epiphany. But I was deeply entrenched in traditional medicine. So you know, it's not like one day the light switch flipped and I was all in.

Speaker 3 (49:05):

I did have to go back and train in functional medicine. It took three years. And you know, along the way it's belief and doubt, belief and doubt, belief and doubt. But at the end of that three years, I walked away from a position where I was highly paid, highly respected, and I was walking into the unknown working for myself for the first time in my life, I had spent my entire career as an employed surgeon walking away from very large income, of which, at least part of which was going toward supporting my family and putting my children through school. And it was a huge, huge sacrifice for me and my family at the age of 50 to start over. Huge. So that really truly was one of the most courageous things that I've ever done, is walk away from something that I was the master of to something that, you know, was completely new to me.

Speaker 3 (50:07):

And you know, thank God I did. And I'm sure you feel that same way, that thank God you did and I'm so, so, so grateful for the opportunity. I don't want to say that I am blessed by the fact that I had a near death experience because mm-hmm <affirmative> <affirmative>, you know, that's not a blessing. When I was able to see it as an opportunity, that was the turning point for me. And I think that that's an a really important message for people to know. Breast cancer sucks. Horrible. I don't wish it on anyone, but if you can, instead of seeing it as a punishment, seeing it as an opportunity, a window to something bigger and better, greater, more refined, more connected version of yourself for the people that are able to do that, it pays off. It pays off exponentially, but it's not always easy.

Speaker 3 (51:04):

And I didn't get there the first day either. I didn't even get there the first year. Like it took me a while to see my illness as opportunity. But that should be the goal. Yeah. It may not be the goal the day that you're diagnosed, but it needs to be the goal at some point. If you're going to truly overcome, if you're going to truly get healthy, it needs to be the goal at some point. And there's a large focus on that in my book. And in fact that's how my book ends, by reminding people that when they're ready, look to your why. What is the message? What is your dysfunction trying to tell you? Because we are created by God. We are perfect in machines and in a very imperfect world. And what is it that is interfering with the function of your machine? Because our bodies know how to heal, we just need to give it what it needs and take away what it doesn't. And that's where the work is. The work is in knowing what's working for you and what's not. So

Speaker 1 (52:06):

Much wisdom and brilliance and courage. And thank you for the path you've taken. I know it, it's has not been easy. And I'm so grateful to have the honor of having you on the show to tell your story and talk about such important information that women need to hear. So many women are quite afraid of breast cancer and they don't really know who to turn to. And now my followers know who to turn to, Dr. Jennifer Simmons. And I know you have a wonderful download for everyone about some things that they can start doing today to prevent themselves from not only getting breast cancer, but a lot of other diseases. Do you wanna tell 'em about it? Yeah,

Speaker 3 (52:52):

Absolutely. I mean, you know, ultimately you have so much more control than you think. And none of us need to be victims. We don't. And we can take that control now and have the health that we want, that we deserve, that we need. And so I put together a list of all of the things that you should be thinking about over the course of the week. I mean, you're not gonna be able to do everything every day, but as long as you get to it over the course of the week, that is what really is meaningful. You're not gonna be perfect. Don't strive for perfection. If you strive for perfection, all you're gonna be met with is failure. And just remember, it's what you do most that matters. So make it mostly great.

Speaker 1 (53:33):

Awesome. We'll have the link in the show notes, it's for Dr. Jen's weekly checklist and tell everyone where they can find out more about you online.

Speaker 3 (53:42):

Absolutely. So there's lots of places. My website is real health md.com and I have my own podcast called Keeping Abreast with Dr. Jen. And you can get that anywhere that you get your podcasts. I have a Facebook group if you want to follow along, ask questions. That's called Keeping Abreast with Dr. Jen. And my book is out and available. It's called The Smart Person's Guide to Breast Cancer. And if you are affected by breast cancer, if you know someone affected by breast cancer or if you are worried about breast cancer, this is the place to start. Awesome.

Speaker 1 (54:18):

Definitely go check Dr. Jen out, download her guide and just take it. Simple steps, what could you do today? And like she said, don't aim for perfection. 'cause Then when you don't reach it, then most of us, if you're like me, you say, I forget it. Just do what you can. Thank you so much, Dr. Jen. Oh,

Speaker 3 (54:39):

My pleasure. My pleasure. And don't forget to follow me on social at Dr. Jen Simmons. And my Jen has two nss.

Speaker 1 (54:46):

Yes, two Ns. She's at D RJ E n n, SS I M M O N. Ss. Thank you so much for joining us on

Speaker 3 (54:55):

The show. My pleasure. Thanks for having me. And

Speaker 1 (54:57):

Thank you for joining us for another episode of The Hormone Prescription with Dr. Kieran. I know you are inspired by Dr. Jen to make changes in your life. If she can do it, you can do it, and I'll look forward to hearing about the changes that you're making. Maybe you're just going to bed a little bit earlier, maybe you're just changing your diet. Whatever it is, tell us about it on social media. We look forward to hearing about it. I'll see you on next week's show. Until then, peace, love, and hormones, y'all.

Speaker 2 (55:30):

Thank you so much for listening. I know that incredible vitality occurs for women over 40 when we learn to speak hormone and balance these vital regulators to create the health and the life that we deserve. If you're enjoying this podcast, I'd love it if you'd give me a review and subscribe. It really does help this podcast out so much. You can visit the hormone prescription.com where we have some free gifts for you, and you can sign up to have a hormone evaluation with me on the podcast to gain clarity into your personal situation. Until next time, remember, take small steps each day to balance your hormones and watch the wonderful changes in your health that begin to unfold for you. Talk to you soon.

 

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Heal Your Body Cure Your Mind

Welcome to the latest episode of the Hormone Prescription Podcast, where we have the pleasure of hosting Dr. Ameet Aggarwal, a renowned naturopathic doctor and a global authority in holistic medicine. As one of the top 43 naturopathic doctors worldwide, Dr. Ameet has transformed the lives of thousands of people by helping them find relief from trauma, anxiety, depression, and chronic disease.
  
In this insightful conversation, Dr. Ameet reveals his secrets to healing both the mind and body for faster, long-lasting relief from burnout, anxiety, depression, chronic disease, and trauma - truly enlightening for any midlife woman seeking to improve her mental and physical health.

Episode Highlights:

- Holistic Medicine: Dr. Ameet shares his experience in combining holistic medicine, psychotherapy, homeopathy, and emotional healing for optimal overall health.

- Healing from Burnout: Discover practical tips and insights on how to recognize and address burnout in your daily life, and find the balance necessary for improved mental and physical wellbeing.

- Resources: Learn about Dr. Ameet's free holistic medicine online course and his highly informative books, all available on his website (www.drameet.com) for those wanting to dive deeper into the world of holistic healing.
  
This episode is an absolute must-listen for midlife women eager to dive deeper into the world of holistic healing and take actionable steps to improve their mental and physical health. Dr. Ameet's approach to wellbeing is a powerful force for healing and empowerment – don't miss out!

 

Speaker 1 (00:00):

Healing has an aspect of letting go of the perceived self so that the true self can emerge. Dr. Ameet Aggarwal. Stay tuned and find out how to heal and access your true self so you can live your best life.

Speaker 2 (00:16):

So the big question is, how do women over 40 like us, keep weight off, have great energy, balance our hormones and our moods, feel sexy and confident, and master midlife. If you're like most of us, you are not getting the answers you need and remain confused and pretty hopeless to ever feel like yourself Again. As an OB G Y N I had to discover for myself the truth about what creates a rock solid metabolism, lasting weight loss, and supercharged energy after 40, in order to lose a hundred pounds and fix my fatigue, now I'm on a mission. This podcast is designed to share the natural tools you need for impactful results and to give you clarity on the answers to your midlife metabolism challenges. Join me for tangible, natural strategies to crush the hormone imbalances you are facing and help you get unstuck from the sidelines of life. My name is Dr. Kieran Dunston. Welcome to the Hormone Prescription Podcast.

Speaker 1 (01:10):

Hi everybody. Welcome back to another episode of The Hormone Prescription with Dr. Kyrin. I hope you're having a great day. Thank you so much for joining me today as we dive in with Dr. Ameet Aggarwal on how to heal 360 degrees. Not only your physical health, but your mental and emotional health, your nervous system. You're gonna love this doctor as much as I do because he really takes a holistic view of healing. A lot of doctors say that they do, but when you get down to it, they don't. And he really does. He gets it. He shares his journey from growing up, basically being beaten by adults as a child, and how that was really normalized in his culture. So he didn't think that that was a part of his health and healing journey. But after becoming a naturopath, his journey unfolded to show him that there's so much more to healing than just the physical aspects like hormones and gut health and all the things that we talk about mitochondrial health.

Speaker 1 (02:14):

And that's been part of my journey too, which I share a little bit of in this episode as well. So if you're missing these components, and if you're thinking, oh, that's not me. I didn't have trauma, I wasn't beaten. Really about 90% of us are affected by trauma in forms of relational trauma where our needs aren't met for nurturing care and support as children. And that affects our health and it directly impacts our hormones, particularly our cortisol, which, you know, I call her queen cortisol. So when the queen's not happy, she takes everything down right off with their heads. That's a mean queen. And you want a happy queen cortisol so that she supports you in feeling great, being physically healthy and living your best life so that you can have hormonal prosperity and do all the things that that allows you to access, like traveling the world or having a new career or hobby or improving your relationships.

Speaker 1 (03:15):

And that's what makes life fulfilling and worth living. He also talks about this quote I shared in the teaser. What is this idea of letting go of your perceived self so that your true self can emerge? If that's quizzical to you, you're gonna wanna stay tuned and so much more. So I'll tell you a little bit about him and then we'll get started. He's voted one of the top 43 naturopathic doctors worldwide and he's helped thousands of people around the world heal from trauma, anxiety, depression, and chronic disease by combining holistic medicine, psychotherapy, homeopathy, and emotional healing. So if you want faster relief from burnout, anxiety, depression, chronic disease and trauma, by healing your mind and body together and listening to his journey and his teachings, I think you're going to find it very valuable. Please help me welcome Dr. Ameet to the show.

Speaker 3 (04:07):

Thank you, Kyrin. Really excited to dive into looking at how liver trauma, gut health, homeopathy, family constellations, and all these energetic therapies can balance our hormones and improve overall mental and physical wellbeing.

Speaker 1 (04:22):

Yes, so important. And as a physician coming from a traditional medical background, I came at these topics kind of in a different way than some other people maybe, where it was all about the physical and it was all biomechanics and physiology and it was a very newtonian view of the body, right? Medications and surgery. And you know, it's funny, I, I grew up with this very holistic mother in New York City and she used to give my sister and me golden seal and echinacea when we were sick and make us sweat out fevers. And none of our friends did that. So we thought she was weird and crazy. And then I went off to medical school 'cause I knew I wanted to work with women, helping them to heal. And I looked around and I said, well, what's the biggest toolbox I can get to help women?

Speaker 1 (05:13):

And I said, well, I'll get my medical doctorate. That's the biggest toolbox. But it wasn't only until my health faltered in the forties and that solution provided no answers, that I really started becoming disillusioned and saying, wow, do I, we really know anything about healing women or people in medicine because all the women at midlife were having the same problems and just circling the drain. Like I was at 243 pounds with myriad health problems. And then I found functional medicine, which really did help me heal a lot of my physical fatality, lose the weight, get off the prescription medications, and addressed a lot of that. And I thought I had found all the answers, but oh no, wait, there's more <laugh>. Right? And then that brought me to the emotional healing, the energy healing, the energy work. And I find that's the missing piece for a lot of people. And they're not necessarily used to hearing about that from a traditional doctor. So what I love about what you do is that you bring all of that right up front and say, Hey, you wanna heal. These are all the things that you need to look at. How did you come to have such a global, balanced, deep approach to healing and health?

Speaker 3 (06:34):

Well, the thing is, a lot of women make a mistake of only taking hormonal remedies for their hormones. Or even if they're taking natural remedies, they take natural remedies to control symptoms, right? Whether they can kamyl to relax or only GABA for anxiety or agne castus or some D I m or I three C to balance hormones and they're missing the root cause. So in my journey for health suffering from anxiety, depression, skin issues, gut health issues, the whole thing, as well as a lot of childhood trauma, and I'll talk about how to heal childhood trauma with family constellations, E M D R and homeopathy. But through my journey, I realized there's, we have five pillars of health, right? And most women need to know this because when we heal, the five pillars of health, anxiety, depression, hormones, weight, skin issues, arthritis, all these start getting better.

Speaker 3 (07:26):

These five pillars are gut health, which many people are familiar with, right? And then there's liver health, liver detox. Most people ignore the liver and the liver's, the master control of hormones, not the ovaries or not the testes, right? The liver is the major metabolizer of hormones and also affects your gut health. And I'm gonna show how everything is interconnected. So when you start healing your liver in using some of the best remedies I wanna mention today, then everything will come more into balance and you'll need less supplements over time. Then the other pillar is your adrenal system, right? Adrenal glands make adrenaline, cortisol, they balance your hormones, they help with hormone conversions, and they also manage your fight, flight or freeze response in response to trauma. Okay? And help you survive trauma. And they also respond to chronic inflammation. So they burn out very fast if somebody is excessively traumatized, overly stressed or overly inflamed.

Speaker 3 (08:21):

And I'm gonna teach you how to basically heal inflammation, heal your gut, detoxify your liver release trauma as well, so your adrenal glands are stronger and therefore you have more hormonal balance. Then another pillar is healing emotional trauma and lifestyle issues. These are the simple traumas from childhood, whether it's physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse or abandonment or small traumas. You know, mom disappearing for a while or mom and dad arguing or just being left alone too long at boarding school or a normal school. There's multiple little teas that go out. Go on out there, right? Our nervous system is affected by the nervous system of our caregivers, right? Energetically, we don't realize that it's not only the traumas that happen to us, but the nervous system of our caregivers modulates or regulates our own nervous system. And that's very important to look at. Then the fifth pillar I love talking about in healing with clients and also the retreats we do here in Africa and in Europe is healing ancestral trauma using family constellations therapy, right?

Speaker 3 (09:18):

So looking at has there been miscarriages and abortions in the family, secret lovers, murders, abandonments traumas to your grandparents, great-grandparents. 'cause We basically inherit these traumas from our ancestors and from our parents. And if we don't include miscarriages and abortions, then these basically missing children get manifested or represented by us, the siblings, the surviving siblings and children in symptoms such as O C D, anxiety, depression, and physical symptoms as well. Okay. So let's start with the basics. Let's talk about how to heal all these pillars and how everything is interconnected with hormones, mental health, physical health, and chronic disease. Right?

Speaker 1 (09:59):

Well, before we do that, I do wanna do that, but how did you get, personally, I wanna know personally, how did you get all this understanding? I just, it's rare that I find somebody who has this breadth and depth of understanding. So in your journey, can you just share with everyone what the unfolding was? I think it helps them Okay. To really understand. Yeah. <laugh>.

Speaker 3 (10:25):

Okay. So I grew up in boarding school and felt quite abandoned. And then I grew up in local schools as well where we were beaten normal. That beating was normal. So to be hit by a cane for, I don't know, being late for school or getting your thumbs wrong or just 'cause the teacher was not in a good mood. And so I got picked on a lot by teachers. So I grew up with a lot of insecurity and then boarding school didn't help feeling really let down by my parents. So not trusting anymore in my, in a consistent caregiver caregiving presence. Like I love my parents to bits of course, but something altered in my nervous system based on the abandonment. And people have to recognize that there's a subtle alteration that goes on when you're a child and something happens. Okay? It doesn't have to be a major trauma.

Speaker 3 (11:09):

And of course you grew up eating junk food, right? Coca-Cola burgers, whatever it may be. So, you know, I typically had the gut issues, a bit of gas, bloating, diarrhea, inconsistent stool, acne, fatigue, anxiety, depression, you name it. And during university I did a lot of drugs. You know, every single drug you can think about under the sun, <laugh>, literally. And so I did my work through life and then came across naturopathic medicine. And in naturopathic medicine, that's where I came across the importance of diet, first of all. And then healing the gut with probiotics, vitamin D glutamine, and other supplements I talk about in my online course, which we'll share later. By healing the gut, I realized inflammation was reducing my body. And because basically when you have a leaky gut or a healthy gut, toxins leak into the bloodstream and cause inflammation everywhere in the body leading to asthma, eczema, arthritis, hormonal imbalances, skin issues, et cetera.

Speaker 3 (12:08):

And then through my journey, I also started studying gestalt psychotherapy and trauma therapies. So I went through a lot of healing for childhood traumas, right? And low self-esteem issues, mental issues that were affecting my mood and my personality. I thought it was just my personality to be fearful or anxious and uncertain about myself. And then it came up that these were caused by the way I was brought up, the things that happened to me, the way I adjusted myself based on the threat during childhood. And when I healed these wounds and felt contact and love and communication from a therapist, from the group therapies that I went to, my confidence grew, my emotional resilience grew. I burnt out less. I was much more powerful in my school environment. So in naturopathic college, I burnt out less. I was a higher performer because I had released entanglements and wounds that were using up my energy and exhausted my adrenal system, right?

Speaker 3 (13:06):

So I found the importance, I saw the importance of healing emotional wounds using therapy. And I also started healing emotional wounds using homeopathy. And we'll talk about ho homeopathy and energetic medicine can release childhood trauma and also heal your mood much faster than using psychotherapy alone. All right? See what happens when you're traumatized as a child, these traumas stay in your nervous system and your nervous system is stuck in a fight, flight or freeze response based on these experiences. And then as an adult, when you're feeling stressed or overwhelmed, your adrenal glands and your nervous system again going to fight, flight or freeze. Additionally though, these old wounds from childhood are also triggered, right? So you go into more fight, flight or freeze, these get re-triggered. So your nervous system is in, is basically is exhausted and overwhelmed from a combination of childhood stress and adult stress.

Speaker 3 (13:59):

And most people walk around, you know, thinking they're over a childhood trauma, but their body keeps the score, which is the title of a famous book out there. The body stays with this trauma and then everyday stress retriggers that trauma and that exhausts your adrenal glands. And when your adrenal glands are exhausted, you're going into cortisol imbalance, right? 'cause Your adrenal glands produce cortisol in a nice rhythm. When you have a cortisol imbalance that throws off your conversion of your conversion of basically basic hormone molecules into estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. So right away you go into hormonal imbalances. When you have hormonal imbalances and, and also cortisol imbalances. So your feel good neurotransmitters, your brain chemicals start dropping that serotonin, dopamine, gaba, melatonin, all these start going down. And then you have more anxiety, depression, insomnia, O C D symptoms as well. And chronic fatigue and burnout and a sense of overwhelm from any new things that you need to do in life.

Speaker 3 (14:58):

So you get stuck in routines and you're afraid of trying new things because your body's looking for safety and consistency. It's not necessarily your personality. It's literally burnout and cortisol excess and the inability to make new brain connections, nerve connections in your brain. So that ability is known as neuroplasticity. And basically the ability for to have neuroplasticity diminishes as we become more inflamed from leaky gut and more cortisol imbalanced from a combination of leaky gut inflammation as well as chronic stress throwing o off our cortisol levels. And so combining psychotherapy and naturopathic medicine showed me the importance of healing the body and the mind. And then healing the liver is something I just came across, or I don't know, it downloaded into my conscience the importance of liver health. Not many people were talking about healing the liver. And I discovered, I mean it's, it's already there in traditional Chinese medicine that livers the master organ controls hormones, produces beautiful bile.

Speaker 3 (15:59):

Yeah, bile juice for digestion and also helps move your bowels. So people who are constipated often have a bile, lack of bile flow. And they're taking laxatives, they're taking magnesium, taking stool softeners, but they're not healing their liver. That's a big mistake. But when you heal your liver, then more bile flows and bile is a lubricant for your stool. And bile improves peristalsis, the motility of our intestines, which also helps with bowel movements. And also bile is, it helps with digestion. So if you have low bile flow, you'll get more gas, bloating, constipation, heartburn as well because bile affects the way your stomach produces acid or your liver affects the way your stomach produces acid. Then the other thing is when your liver is stagnant, because your liver controls hormones when your liver is stagnant, right? Right. With too many toxins, too much alcohol. Too much pesticides.

Speaker 3 (16:47):

Too much inflammation as well from leaky gut or even the birth control pill, too much coffee, sugar, et cetera. And then we go into hormonal imbalance. So you'll get breast tenderness. Yeah. maybe some fibrocystic breasts or nodules, ovarian cysts, endometriosis. Right. Clotting and cramping during menses. All these P M s symptoms, you can see yeah. Are due to usually low progesterone levels and high estrogen levels, which comes from liver stagnation. And then the gas and the loading are also because of poor flow. So you can see, and the mood swings are, because usually a low progesterone means that gaba the anti-anxiety neurotransmitter doesn't work so well in the brain. Okay. this is a mouthful, but there's free videos on my website that'll walk you through healing the gut liver adrenals and emotional healing. And you can watch those at your own time. So basically when the, you can see how your p m S symptoms come with basically female issues like cramping, clotting, breast tenderness, as well as digestive issues like the gas floating constipation or diarrhea, as well as mood issues, anxiety, insomnia, and depression, maybe irritability. Right. And in Chinese medicine, irritability is connected to stagnant liver as well. Right. So if your liver is very stagnant, you're gonna get angry, easily aggressive. And that's the excessive <crosstalk>. You

Speaker 1 (18:09):

It's so true. And that's actually a part of my story. So I did all that functional medicine work, but I would, I was so angry for no reason, like over out of proportion to the situation. And I didn't realize one, it had to do with liver, but my acupuncturist taught me about that. And then also that the power of, now, I can't think of his name right now. Ecker

Speaker 3 (18:32):

Toll.

Speaker 1 (18:32):

Ecker Tolle, he says, you know, the anger is in you and it, and it's that stored emotion from childhood trauma. And so, and I, I wanna talk about liver and all these other things, the physical things. But I, like I said, what's so unique that you offer is talking about all these other things. And so I find that the women I work with, they don't think they're traumatized. And that was me. Right. I knew my family was, we used to say, let's put the fun back in dysfunctional. You know, we had a dysfunctional family and we would laugh about it, but I didn't know until I knew when I got older. And I actually saw this post by Patrick Han, who's a wonderful therapist who helps people with childhood trauma online. And he had this post actually today, how bad it was won't hit home until you hear a safe person's reaction to your story.

Speaker 1 (19:27):

And it was only through the work working with a compassionate therapist who heard the things that I told her. And she was appalled. And until I understood really what healthy relating should have looked like from a parent to a child and then really started unpacking this anger. So what do you say to people who think, well I had the typical upbringing for my community and Sure. You know, I didn't get em emotional nourishment and spiritual nourishment and all these things, but it was just normal to really get, no, this is you, this is pretty much, I think it's estimated 97% of us have this. How do you help people to really get that and not dismiss it and say, I don't need that.

Speaker 3 (20:09):

Good question. So at the retreats we run, I encourage people to actually express anger and get in touch with that rage and anger that's inside of them. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative> anger is healthy, you know, healthy aggression because it establishes boundaries. It gets our needs met. Like we can say, you know, like, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you. Hit a pillow and everything and feel that, feel that rage and like boundary coming up inside of you without the shame and guilt. 'cause A lot of people are so scared of feeling anger because it basically, they equate it to being abandoned or put down or, or shut down by their parents or excluded by their family members. So we swallow the anger and we we're not even aware that we have it. But if you're looking for an optimal life, optimal health confidence, then it's good that you get in touch with and be comfortable with a whole spectrum of your emotions.

Speaker 3 (20:58):

And that's what we encourage people to do, is really feel the whole spectrum in a safe environment with positive feedback around it. I'm not asking you to beat people up and become a violent person. That's very different. Violence. Yeah. Is not necessarily anger or equates to anger or healthy aggression. Okay. That's out of control. But in a way to create limits for yourself and communicate with people in a non apologetic way. Right. And I think you can feel the energy coming from me. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative> is your business. That's what I do with people at the retreats. And then in the course that I teach in the online course that's available for everyone. We also recommend homeopathic remedies to help release stored anger. No. Vomit is a great homeopathic remedy that basically helps people who are overly aggressive or stuck, have stuck anger. And also who have liver issues, maybe chronic constipation, heartburn, nausea, right?

Speaker 3 (21:53):

Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. And so when you use homeopathy or when I use homeopathy on a person, then the healing goes much deeper because it heals the emotions as well as the physical body together and the mind. And also we'll talk about how certain remedies I'll teach you which ones can also heal childhood trauma. So instead of relying on therapy and therapy and therapy, which is great as well, a remedy can take therapy much faster. How do I say? It can help therapy work much faster and deeper. Okay. So that's, I basically get people to normalize their,

Speaker 1 (22:28):

I'm sorry to interrupt, but, so basically you're saying you give them an experiential, an experience of getting in touch with that anger for them to know that it's

Speaker 3 (22:39):

There's there Yes, exactly. Okay. Yes. Yeah. But we don't force it or put ideas into people's head that they should be angry or there's anger where there's none. Right. It's really about creating safety and acknowledgement and you know, getting them to feel somatically, what really exists. 'cause When you feel it in your body, you know it's true. That's the important thing. 'cause When you start expressing from your body, then a lot of deeper healing takes place. Which is very different from just expressing from your mind. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative> the idea of these therapies that we do. So I combine gestalt therapy, family constellations, E M D R, somatic experiencing. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative> is that you really embody your emotions. So my next retreat is called embodied self love. Really? So you embody and feel, you know your needs and your aggression and your shame and your vulnerabilities. Yeah. In a very safe, supportive manner so that you come out alive and thrive as a true human being.

Speaker 1 (23:39):

Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. Oh that's wonderful.

Speaker 3 (23:42):

Yeah.

Speaker 1 (23:43):

Yeah. Okay. So now I interrupted you back talking about liver and the vial and all the things. So pick up where you'd like to take that.

Speaker 3 (23:50):

So the liver's, the mastro organ, right? Let's look at your intestines. First of all, your intestines are like a tube. A nice lining. Kept healthy by good bacteria and good food over time with antibiotic use of poor diet. Inflammatory foods like gluten, dairy, et cetera. The lining gets damaged, the good bacteria get killed off and the lining gets damaged. Then toxins leak into the bloodstream. Cause inflammation everywhere, leading cause for asthma, eczema, arthritis, a lot of chronic health issues as well as hormonal imbalance. The good bacteria in your gut are responsible for producing neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine and gaba. And so when these good bacteria get killed off, then your neurotransmitter production goes down and therefore then you get more mental health symptoms, more anxiety and depression. Now all this inflammation goes to the liver and inflammation also creates toxins. And the toxins have to be processed by your liver.

Speaker 3 (24:37):

Your liver's also inundated with pesticides on a daily basis. You know, environmental toxins, maybe alcohol to my sugar. And also it provi, it basically does over 500 functions from cholesterol metabolism, hormone balancing, blood sugar storage, iron storage, B vitamin storage. All these things are happening. Your liver. So your liver gets slammed with toxins, slammed with inflammation. And also stress goes and contracts your liver through the vagus nerve. I don't talk about that. So all these things lead to liver stagnation or liver cheese stagnation as we call in Chinese medicine. The liver stops working so well produces less bile, which cause the gas, bloating, constipation, et cetera we talked about. And also, when you produce less bile, your microbiome, your gut health becomes unhealthy again because bile is important to kill off the bad bacteria. And it also breaks down fatty acids, which are important to basically feed the good bacteria.

Speaker 3 (25:31):

So your bile is not digesting fats too well either. And you're not absorbing nutrients either. So you're going to nutrient depletion on healthy microbiome, which is leading to more leaky gut, more chronic inflammation. It's a vicious cycle. Hormonal imbalance as well. And a whole myriad of like blood sugar storage issues, fatty liver disease, cholesterol metabolism issues, progesterone deficiencies. And also propensity towards certain types of cancer. Because remember the hormones are not being metabolized properly now. And so of course we need to heal the liver. And so how do we do that? First is remove inflammatory foods, whether it's gluten or dairy, right? Do the gut healing protocols in my course or with another naturopathic doctor. Okay. Whether it's probiotics, vitamin D or other amino acids. Remove it and like I said, remove the inflammatory foods and then heal the liver with, I use bitter foods.

Speaker 3 (26:23):

It could be, you know, rocket or aula. It could be bitter Gord, it could be dandelion root. You know, I love using herbs such as milk thistle, dandelion, other herbs that are in the course as well. Cruciferous vegetables are excellent. So that's your cabbage. Brussels sprouts, broccoli, those are great in phase two detoxification. And antioxidants are super important 'cause your liver's detoxifying on a regular basis. So it's inundated with oxidative damage. So you need the antioxidants could be glutathione, it could be vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E. All these things will help optimize liver function. Yeah. Organic berries are high in antioxidants. They will help with liver function. And so when you heal your liver, bile starts flowing properly, your gut starts healing. So inflammation reduces hormones come more into balance, your skin clears, weight reduces significantly. Weight gain is often due to of course water retention cholesterol metabolism, sugar metabolism. And very connected to liver metabolism. A lot of people struggling to lose weight have a liver stagnation issue,

Speaker 1 (27:29):

Right? I know a lot of people right now are listening and they're getting overwhelmed 'cause they're like, oh my gosh, all this. And you want me to look at my anger and my trauma <laugh>, it's, you're probably feeling a little overwhelmed. So you mentioned starting with diet, which I totally agree that's the number one place to start. And if I know we're gonna give resources, you've got a book, you've got courses, you've got a retreat coming up. But if someone is thinking what is, what's maybe, what are the 1, 2, 3 top things that I might start working with to start healing? What would those things be?

Speaker 3 (28:10):

So it's about healing the gut and the liver and the emotions. Those are the top three. Literally removing the time. <Laugh>

Speaker 1 (28:18):

Sims said, you say it so easy. It's probably, those are the hardest things I find just even in my health journey. I always say health is a journey, not a destination. Navigating that gut liver journey, navigating that emotional healing journey, navigating all these things there, it's a continual unpacking and kind of course correcting process. So what things could they start implementing maybe today that they could do?

Speaker 3 (28:46):

Like I said, removing the inflammatory foods is a great start. You know, look at what foods you're sensitive to. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>, including more bitter foods in your diet. Right? And more, more cruciferous vegetables as well. If you're not sensitive to them, that's a great start, right? Avoiding excessive, excessive sugar, excessive coffee, excessive gluten, dairy. All those things are great starts. And then mm-hmm. <Affirmative>, there's a free video I have as well on, on these resources that are mentioning on the site where it'll help you release certain stuck emotions, right? So become comfortable with your emotions. And the exercise goes like, I'll walk you through it very briefly. Just you can put one hand on your forehead, one hand behind your head just to reset your nervous system or settle it down. And you can say to yourself, take a deep breath in and out first for a couple of moments. You might be feeling anxious, you might be feeling overwhelmed. And don't fight it. Just say to yourself, it's safe for me to be overwhelmed from time to time. Use the words from time to time or once in a while, very purposefully. Then you can say, it's safe for me to let go of some of this information from time to time.

Speaker 3 (29:52):

I don't need to understand everything right away once in a while. So you're really given permission for your body to relax in your mind, to open up. It's safe for me to reconnect with myself once in a while, or let go of pressure from other people from time to time. Yeah. You can notice how at the end of the sentence, of using the words once in a while and from time to time, that's those endings are very important because it gives your nervous system the permission really to let go of the pressure and also to feel the emotions it doesn't wanna feel or you think you shouldn't feel. Yeah. And then you become more and more comfortable with your nervous system because emotions are natural responses to, to your stimuli, right? Whether you're feeling anxious, angry, disappointed, incapable, these are valuable senses that you're getting that tell you something about what you're facing right now.

Speaker 3 (30:54):

So it's safe to feel though once in a while, that starts the journey of self-love. Or you're not fighting yourself in your emotions and stigmatizing yourself anymore. And from that point, I find that when people continue to do the other exercises in the course, they get much better results because they've made peace with their own internal spectrum of emotions. So healing the gut, avoiding inflammatory foods, you know, more bitter foods, more drinking water of course, and becoming comfortable with your own emotions, I would say. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative> is one of the best starts you can do. And deep breathing. So when you breathe deep, yeah. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> like five deep breaths, maybe five times a day your diaphragm begins to massage your liver. One. Right? A lot of people have liver stagnation because they're shallow breathing. So the diaphragm is not massaging the lymphatics and detoxifying your liver.

Speaker 3 (31:43):

Very important movement is very important for detoxification. When you deep breathe as well, what happens is you reset your vagus nerve, this big beautiful nerve, a parasympathetic nerve that controls your breathing, your digestion, your liver, your heart rate, right? Even produces chemicals that affect your gut microbiome. And so when you do deep breathing, you regulate your vagus nerve and you calm down, you'll reset your parasympathetic state basically. And when you do that, then your liver functions better, your digestion, your motility improves. Okay? And your mind calms down. You come out of fight, flight, or freeze response. So it's a very positive feedback cycle when you do these active breathing exercises and active care for yourself. So when you practice self-care, yes, even in small amounts, your body gets used to it and it becomes less difficult because it becomes more familiar territory. Our difficulty with making changes is because of the lack of familiarity.

Speaker 3 (32:39):

Remember I said in the beginning, when we're burnt out and stressed out, we need familiar things, comfort zones, whether even if it's harmful to our health. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>, we stick to those things. So the beginning of the journey, it feels a bit difficult, but when you do small amounts, like sometimes I might not feel like exercising i'll and it's been a long day, I'll just go down and put, do five pushups, then half an hour later after a Skype call, I'll go and do some situps. So small amounts, I don't have a routine where I can go for an hour and do a good workout at the gym. But these small, small things suddenly after 3, 4, 5 days are much stronger. Exercise feels less painful. And these hunger pangs that I have will reduce as well. Often I eat out a boredom, right? Or I'm nervous and stressed.

Speaker 3 (33:22):

Yeah, I'll go mu Yeah, I'll always munch on stuff. And what I've discovered beautifully is i'll, when I'm feeling that P of hunger, I'll quickly go and do some sit-ups. But like I say this with caution. 'cause If your blood sugar's low and you need to eat something, of course check with your doctor and make sure you're getting your blood sugar regulated. Me personally though, right? What I found some of my hunger cravings are not from low blood sugar, but from anxiety or boredom. So I'll throw in a bit of exercise there maybe for five, 10 minutes. That's it. Some movement, go for a walk, hunger reduces immediately. I feel better about myself and I'm getting stronger every day.

Speaker 1 (33:55):

Yes. These are so many powerful tools that you're sharing. And we're definitely gonna have Dr. Amit's information and links in the show notes for you so you can find out more. But before we wrap up, I have to ask you about this quote that you've shared. Healing has an aspect of letting go of perceived self so that true self can emerge. Can you talk about that a little bit,

Speaker 3 (34:18):

<Laugh> and what that means? I'm glad you noticed that saying not many people notice that. So perceived self is our idea of our personality and our self post the wounds that we have experienced in life. Yeah, I am a angry person, I'm a soft person. I'm not confident, I'm not loved all that. And so when we start letting go of those compensations or armors, right? Then the true self begins to get felt. We start to feel our vulnerability, our softness, our our love, our our lovable. Well all parts of us are really lovable, but you know, that authentic sense of being. And when we let go of this armor, then also the contractions in our physiology, the fight flight to freeze response in our adrenal system, the contraction in our liver all starts to dissipate. So organ functions start healing as well. So by healing the mind, right, and letting go of these armors and moons, the body starts to heal. So heal your mind, therefore your body heals. And as your body heals and you let go of the armors, true self emerges. And true self is really you thriving, optimal health. Feeling, feeling joy and sadness when, when it's important to feel those things. Okay? But not getting stuck in a routine of emotions. So at the retreats we go full spectrum. We get you to feel every single thing and come back to safety, stillness and allow your experience of really the depth of difficult emotions and feeling cared for at the same time.

Speaker 1 (35:51):

Yeah. I love this quote because it's so true that, you know, I, when I work with women, I tell them, the person you are now can't have the health and vitality and joy and life that you want. You have to become somebody that can have those things. And so you know how Joseph Campbell talks about the hero's journey that every journey is, that starts with some crisis, right? For a lot of women at midlife, it's a health crisis. How am I gonna overcome this? I don't know what to do, I don't know where to go. And you go on this journey and you pick up resources and you have challenges and you have setbacks and you find more resources. And at the end, you know, like in Star Wars or in the Dorothy, in the Wizard of Oz, you get the thing that you set out to get.

Speaker 1 (36:40):

But really what you get is you become someone different and you become that true self, like you described, who is the person who can have those things. And so I find that a lot of women, they don't want anything to change about their lives, but they wanna lose weight or they wanna have energy, they wanna have hair growth or sex drive or no depression, or you name fill in the blank symptoms, what I call midlife metabolic mayhem. They want those symptoms to go away, but they don't want anything to change <laugh>. And they don't want to look at, you know, their two espresso per morning habit. And they don't wanna look at the fact that their relationship with their partner, they basically become roommates and they're not intimate at all, or they don't wanna look at these things. So how do you help people open to this? 'cause I think that's a little threatening of a statement to people who don't like change. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>. And they're like, I like who I am. I don't wanna be someone else. <Laugh>. So how do you help them open to that possibility?

Speaker 3 (37:43):

So first is education. When people realize the connection between the gut, the liver, the adrenal system, hormones, and the mood. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>, most of my clients, 99% of, often after hearing the connection, they comply with the protocols. One. Number two, I use a lot of homeopathy, right? Homeopathic remedies, which also helps shift the mind and get people to regain confidence, have less fear. And when you shift that and you have less fear, you're more able to take risks and you have more self-love and confidence and you're less, you have less food cravings automatically and you're less addicted to substances, right? Addiction is sometimes is just need for familiarity. And so these reduce and the changes happen very quickly. But that's using a lot of the protocols in, in terms of coaching or psychotherapy. I acknowledge the need for safety and to be still right because change, what does change bring about it?

Speaker 3 (38:35):

It might bring about isolation, it might bring about detachment or separation, a sense of aloneness. And those need to be acknowledged, right? When did you last feel alone? Why was it so difficult? What does it mean by, you know, having a conversation with your partner? Does it mean conflict? Does it mean violence? Does it mean looking bad? Where, what are those wounds? Is that from your mom or from your dad? So I'll do a lot of family consolation therapy as well, where I find clients are loyal to their parents' misery. What does that mean? So if mom was with an addicted or alcoholic or abusive partner, I will be protective of mom. I will rescue mom. And I'll also feel guilty about being happier than mom. I don't deserve to be happier than mom was. And you'll see this very often. We'll have patterns of generations having similar kinds of relationships as their parents did with abusive partners, dissatisfying partners.

Speaker 3 (39:28):

This comes out of a blind loyalty. We have an unconscious loyalty to the system, to the system that we're born into. And using family constellations therapy at the retreats and of course online. Then what happens is we help disentangle these loyalties. We help disentangle these loyalties. So you can say, dear mom, I really respect you and I love you so much. You know, please forgive me if I look at dad with equal love as I look at you, not many people can say that if one of one of the parents is abusive, and because dad is important energy for us as well, right? It's half our life force. And please forgive me if I leave this pain with you and I have a better, like I find happiness where you couldn't, you know, please bless me or look at me with love and a smile.

Speaker 3 (40:13):

Please smile upon me if I find happiness where you couldn't or where you suffered. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. Yeah. So you almost give yourself permission and feel permission from the people you're loyal to, to thrive in life. So these healing sentences are extremely important for transformation as well. You know, you can go to therapy till the cows come home, but if you don't heal these blind loyalties, you will be stuck in these patterns. And that's why I encourage people to really seek out family constellations therapy as well in their healing journey. Combined with homeopathy, of course. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. Yeah. And supporting the adrenal system. A lot of people find it difficult to change 'cause the adrenal system is burnt out. So change feels overwhelming. And when I support the mm-hmm <affirmative> with adaptogens and, but first we need to detoxify the liver and make sure there's less inflammation.

Speaker 3 (41:00):

But when we support the adrenal system with adaptogens and maybe phosphatidyl seine or some other positive mood nutrients, they have more confidence. They have the ability to basically try new things rather than rely on all patterns. They feel good automatically inside. So they wanna do more good things. Then you start creating small positive habits and that creates a reward. Like you feel satisfied. So when you feel satisfied action, you get a reward result. Like it's a reward symptom, a dopamine rush. And so your body starts becoming addicted or wanting yeah, the positive effects of the positive steps you're taking. So there's more motivation really to eat healthier and to avoid the alcohol, to avoid the excessive coffee and to go for that walk or that ride,

Speaker 1 (41:48):

Right? Yeah. Sometimes just calming some of the things down, especially cortisol can really help. And I've been amazed being here in Dubai at the level of energy work and healing, nurturing modalities are available. Family constellation therapy. There's so many therapists here. When I was in South Florida doing my shaman training, there's like one lady <laugh> who does it in all of South Florida. And here I, there's, I've seen probably at least six or eight, which is kind of amazing. So it's something I'm gonna dive into. Thank you so much for sharing all of this wonderful information with us. Inspiration. I think you really are helping people to see that it's, it's not just the physicality, it is the emotionality, it's the family, it's the ancestors, which is a whole other conversation that maybe we'll have another time. It's your energy, it's your nervous system, it's, it's everything. So women listening, if you want full body healing, life healing and really to live the life that you deserve to live, I think all people deserve brilliant health that supports them in living their life, their dreams. You definitely wanna check out Dr. Ameet's resources that he has available where can everybody find out more about all the wonderful things that you've shared with us? We'll put all the links that he mentions in the show notes. So don't worry about writing them down, they'll be there for you. But what, where can they find you?

Speaker 3 (43:19):

So my website is dr amate.com, that's D R A M E E t.com. There's a free ebook and video course as well on healing the five pillars of health. That's your gut, liver, adrenals, emotions, and some talks about family constellations. And there's a full course there as well, which goes into all my protocols for with homeopathy, herbs, et cetera, for healing the gut, liver adrenals, emotional healing exercise, so trauma healing exercise as well. And then I do retreats around the world as well as I teach a course, an in-person course to help you really become better at helping others with anxiety and depression and helping yourself. It's an experiential course. And if you don't find those links in the website because they're kind of reserved for people in the online course, send me an email, right? And if you have a group of people or you wanna join me in Europe or Africa or anywhere else in the world, send me an email and we'll organize a retreat or an in-person training for you and your group. It'll be a pleasure for me.

Speaker 1 (44:11):

Wonderful. And we'll put that email in the show notes, we'll get all that information for you. Thank you so much for your journey and for your own healing, because now you can share it with the world. And I very much appreciate you joining us today.

Speaker 3 (44:27):

I thank you and I thank the universe actually yeah, for this healing journey that healing, like you say, helped me share and give more back to the world. So thank you everyone for listening.

Speaker 1 (44:35):

Yeah. Thank you so much for joining me for another episode of The Hormone Prescription with Dr. Kyrin. I know for sure you learned something today that you can take action on. Maybe it's that you even start thinking about, Hmm, am I really feeling my emotions? Am I processing them? What component could this be of my healing? Maybe this is what's holding me back, or family constellation therapy or whatever it is. Reach out to me on social media, tell me about it. 'cause You know, I love hearing about it. And we'll have another wonderful episode for you again next week. I will see you then. Until then, peace, love, and hormones, y'all.

Speaker 2 (45:14):

Thank you so much for listening. I know that incredible vitality occurs for women over 40 when we learn to speak hormone and balance these vital regulators to create the health and the life that we deserve. If you're enjoying this podcast, I'd love it if you'd give me a review and subscribe. It really does help this podcast out so much. You can visit the hormone prescription.com where we have some free gifts for you, and you can sign up to have a hormone evaluation with me on the podcast to gain clarity into your personal situation. Until next time, remember, take small steps each day to balance your hormones and watch the wonderful changes in your health that begin to unfold for you. Talk to you soon.

 

► Free Course & eBook on Healing Your Gut, Liver, Adrenal Fatigue, Emotional Trauma, Anxiety, Depression and Weight gain with holistic medicine, homeopathy, family constellations therapy & psychotherapy by Dr. Ameet Aggarwal - CLICK HERE.

 

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Stay Off My Operating Table - A Cardiac Surgeon Shares How

Welcome to the latest episode of The Hormone Prescription Podcast! Today, we have a truly special guest, Dr. Philip Ovadia, a renowned cardiac surgeon, author, and expert on metabolic health. Grab a cup of tea, settle down, and prepare to be inspired by Dr. Ovadia's transformational journey and expert advice on overcoming obesity and maintaining a healthy heart. 🚀

 

In this episode:
* Discover Dr. Ovadia's fascinating journey from being an obese heart surgeon to becoming a passionate advocate for metabolic health.
* Uncover the essential principles of optimizing your metabolic health for preventing heart disease and other chronic illnesses.
* Learn how a low-carb, nutrient-dense diet can invigorate your body, mind, and hormone balance in midlife.
* Gain practical tips on how to address your own metabolic health challenges and make lasting lifestyle changes.
* Get a peek into Dr. Ovadia's latest book, Stay Off My Operating Table, and his telehealth practice, Ovadia Heart Health.

 

 Episode Highlights 🔥
Dr. Ovadia shares how his personal struggles with obesity and metabolic health led him to revolutionize his own life and the lives of countless others:
* His inspiring weight loss journey - shedding almost 100 pounds through a low-carb focused way of eating and adopting a primarily carnivorous diet since 2019.
* The secrets of his extensive research on the health benefits of low-carb diets with a focus on heart health, including personal discussions with leading physicians and experts in the field.
* A fascinating look at how Dr. Ovadia's hands-on clinical experience with heart disease and personal insights have informed his telehealth practice, Ovadia Heart Health, and his approach to preventing and treating metabolic and heart diseases through lifestyle and dietary modifications.

 

Don't Miss This Life-Changing Conversation! 🎧

Midlife women, this episode is tailor-made for you! Join us as we explore the journey of an incredible physician and author who's paving the way for a healthier future, one person at a time. Listen, learn, and be inspired to take charge of your own well-being today!  💪🏼

Subscribe to The Hormone Prescription Podcast and never miss any of our life-changing conversations!

 

► Get your FREE Physician Vetting Guide from Dr. Philip Ovadia

Use the Physician Vetting Guide to find out if your doctor understands the importance of metabolic health. CLICK HERE.

 

► Feeling tired? Can't seem to lose weight, no matter how hard you try?

It might be time to check your hormones.

Most people don’t even know that their hormones could be the culprit behind their problems. But at Her Hormone Club, we specialize in hormone testing and treatment. We can help you figure out what’s going on with your hormones and get you back on track.

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► Do you feel exhausted, moody, and unable to do the things that used to bring you joy?

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It’s Not Perimenopause, It’s Stress - The Missing Link You Don’t Have A Plan For

In this enlightening episode of The Hormone Prescription Podcast, we're joined by Dr. Tricia Pingel, a naturopathic physician and expert on adrenal fatigue. Dr. Pingel shares her invaluable insights on stress and its impact on midlife women, particularly relating to the symptoms that many assume to be perimenopause. 
  
Throughout the episode, Dr. Pingel demonstrates her vast expertise and experience as a source of hope, knowledge, and motivation for people who are looking for ways to address the root cause of their symptoms. From identifying the underlying causes of stress to correcting nutrition depleted by stressful conditions, Dr. Pingel's practical and multidimensional approach shows listeners how to repel incoming stressors and return to their happy, vibrant, and energetic selves.
  
In addition to discussing her experience and approach to helping patients restore their health, Dr. Pingel shares her personal journey of overcoming health struggles and personal loss. Through creating a community of positivity and gratitude, Dr. Pingel inspires her listeners to live every day to the fullest, embracing a healthy and balanced lifestyle.
  
In this empowering episode, you'll learn about:

- The importance of addressing stress as the root cause of symptoms
- The challenges with temporary 'quick fixes,' and why they often don't provide long-term solutions
- How to recognize and address the underlying causes of stress in your life
- The crucial role nutrition plays in restoring health and well-being
- Dr. Pingel's personal journey of overcoming obstacles and creating a community of positivity
  
Don't miss this inspiring and informative episode that sheds light on the impact of stress on midlife women and offers practical guidance for a healthier, more balanced life. Tune in to The Hormone Prescription Podcast to take the first step toward transformation and healing.

 

Speaker 1 (00:00):

Everything living has a rhythm. Do you feel your music? Michael Jackson, join me as Dr. Tricia Pingel. The hip hop energy doc shares with you her secrets to creating vitality at midlife and beyond.

Speaker 2 (00:17):

So the big question is, how do women over 40 like us keep weight off, have great energy, balance our hormones and our moods, feel sexy and confident, and master midlife? If you're like most of us, you are not getting the answers you need and remain confused and pretty hopeless to ever feel like yourself Again. As an OB G Y N I had to discover for myself the truth about what creates a rock solid metabolism, lasting weight loss, and supercharged energy after 40, in order to lose a hundred pounds and fix my fatigue, now I'm on a mission. This podcast is designed to share the natural tools you need for impactful results and to give you clarity on the answers to your midlife metabolism challenges. Join me for tangible, natural strategies to crush the hormone imbalances you are facing and help you get unstuck from the sidelines of life. My name is Dr. Kyrin Dunston. Welcome to the Hormone Prescription Podcast.

Speaker 1 (01:10):

Hi everybody. Welcome back to another episode of the Hormone Prescription with Dr. Kyrin. Thank you so much for joining me today. My guest today is super high energy and super positive, and you are gonna be inspired to do something audacious with your health and your life after. After listening to her. I make a promise to do something towards the end of the show that you'll wanna hear about and that you're gonna see on Instagram in the near future. So that should be super exciting and she has a great story like most of the docs who do the kind of work that I do, because most of us come to this work from Pain Paying Pitch pushes us to our purpose. So we're here for a reason to share with you so that you, you can get out of pain. I'll tell you a little bit about Dr.

Speaker 1 (01:58):

Tricia and then we'll get started. She is a naturopathic physician and yes, that's a real medical doctor. I like to say that instead of going to regular MD or do school naturopathic doctors smart enough to get it right the first time and go the natural route. So they have lots of wonderful wisdom and training and she's an expert on adrenal fatigue and the physical impact of stress on the body. She's super passionate about it. She's impacted many family members in her life and you're gonna wanna hear about that too. She's the founder of Pingle Progressive Medicine where her team takes a multidimensional and integrative approach to healthcare and treats a wide range of medical conditions. She's a source of hope, knowledge, and motivation for others who are, have experienced temporary quick fixes for their symptoms, but seek to find the root cause and heal their bodies.

Speaker 1 (02:53):

She has helped thousands of people restore their health by showing them how to identify the stress, causing their symptoms, restoring their nutrition depleted by stress and assisting in changing their mindset to repel incoming stressors so that they can return to their happy, vibrant and energetic selves. She's appeared on many, many podcasts, shows, summits, and she is known as the hip hop energy doc. She's found dancing all over her social media media, cheering on her two boys at football and creating healthy vegan recipes in her kitchen, snuggling her three dogs and cat at home where she lives in Arizona. She did have her own health struggles, as did her family members and personal loss. She strives in creating a community of positivity, gratitude, and living every day to its fullest potential. Please help me welcome Dr. Tricia Pingle to the show.

Speaker 3 (03:47):

Thank you. It is so nice to be here. Thank you for having me. I can't wait to dive in and have an amazing chat today.

Speaker 1 (03:53):

I know, me too. And let, we gotta start by talking about your hip hop dancing that you do. I too love to dance. I don't dance hip hop, but you've got the energy for it. And I know a lot of women listening, that's what they're here seeking is like, why don't I have the energy to do the things I wanna do? So maybe share a little bit about how you came to have this great energy at the stage of life that you're in.

Speaker 3 (04:20):

Yeah, I think, you know, dance is one of the things I say that saved me. 'cause When I was younger I used to dance and it was how I found joy. And my dad was a musician, grew up listening to music. Music was part of what brought me joy and happiness. And as I got older and I went through, you know, stressors, losing my dad at 24 years old, you know, going through medical school, getting married, having children, having symptoms throughout my life that were always dismissed. You know, the things like acne and heavy menstrual periods and bloating and all of that brings into a stress and kind of took me away from myself. And I talk to a lot of women in their forties particularly where they say, gosh, Dr. Pingle, I really feel like I've lost who I am. I feel like I've lost my joy.

Speaker 3 (05:04):

I feel like I'm not the same person I used to be. And I'm mean, and I'm irritable and I'm snappy and I don't sleep well. And I was going through a lot of that in my thirties and when I finally recognized it, I thought, this is it. I need to go back to what I wanna do for my soul. And I put myself into a hip hop class. I hadn't done hip hop in maybe 20 years. And I put myself in a class with a bunch of teenagers, 14, 15, 16 years old and in an advanced class. And I said, I'm just gonna do this. I'm gonna commit this to myself. And I can say without of doubt, out of all the things that I did to be well out of the diet, the stress reduction, the supplements, the best thing I ever did was put myself back in that hip hop class.

Speaker 3 (05:51):

Because as soon as I started moving and I started reconnecting my head and my body, there was a massive change that happened. I found more energy, I found more joy. I found the ability to just let loose. And so I've just been carrying that thread. I've been so, I've been dancing, gosh now regularly with these teenagers for maybe seven to eight years now. And I love it. I just absolutely love it. I couldn't be any happier than when that music is on and my body is new <laugh>, it's my favorite. It's my favorite, favorite part of my life, honestly. I love it. And I, when I don't have class, if they're on a break or something, I'm miserable. It's sad. <Laugh>,

Speaker 1 (06:30):

I totally identify with with that as well. Dance was a, I call it dance therapy and it's a real part of my wellbeing as well. When I got healthy and lost a hundred pounds, I started salsa dancing. Well, I used to ballroom dance first, but then it was so rigid and they always, they wanted me to compete and I'm like, I just wanna have fun. So I quit that and I started salsa dancing and now I've done zoo and Zumba and all of this. It's very social, it's athletic, it's expressive, artistic. So you really do get in your body and it's part of what brings me joy as well. And I think that's part of what keeps me healthy. I love that you do the hip hop online. I'm sure everybody really enjoys seeing that and they're like, I wonder how I can get that energy.

Speaker 1 (07:19):

But for somebody who's listening who's kind of at that midlife stage and they're thinking, oh yeah, that's a a pipe train, Dr. Tricia, I am too tired. Like I don't even have the energy. I know that you talk about stress a lot and how it affects our health, the difference between internal and external stress. You talk about people who don't even realize that stress is a factor because we women are our houses and we just power through everything. Right? Raise your hand if that's you multitask, take care of ev anything and everything all at once. So I don't know if that's a part of your story that you wanna share. How did you come to realize that stress was such a big factor? Yeah,

Speaker 3 (08:03):

It's crazy. And first of all, I love do it all women. I love that we just strive for all of this, but unfortunately our bodies are not built for that on the go lifestyle. And I think with the technology that we've brought in the iPhones, the, you know, the constant stimulation, the social media, we're actually setting ourselves and our children up for a lot of serious health issues. And we're seeing that in our society. We're seeing more sensitive diabetes, we're seeing more sensitive cancer, cardiovascular disease, higher inflammatory responses, immune problems. And I think a lot of this is coming from this everyday stuff that we try to do and all these goals that we set for ourselves. But we don't give our bodies much grace to go with the rhythm. One of my favorite quotes is from Michael Jackson and it kind of ties into the dancing.

Speaker 3 (08:47):

And this is that everything living has a rhythm. Do you feel your music? And I think we spend so much time just running past it and just running and pushing through and pushing through and pushing through that we don't stop to actually feel our own rhythm and feel our own music. And that's actually to our decline. When you ask about internal and external stressors, I think most of us know what external stressors are and we all deal with it every single day. Spouses, children, money, jobs, whatever comes at us, you know, the pool pump breaks, you know, things like that that happened at the last minute. But when we have that stress response in our body to those external factors, even scrolling through Instagram, we actually create an internal stress on our body. Whether that be a nutrient deficiency, it could simply be an imbalance of dopamine to serotonin.

Speaker 3 (09:36):

We have changes in our menstrual cycles in women that that give internal stresses at certain times. Menopause is quite a big stressor. And then if you have other things that are going on, let's say problems with blood sugar or you know, underlying genetic conditions, those also cause stresses on the body. So I think a lot of us spend so much time when I ask saying, are you under stress? And they're like, oh, you know, I have a great life. I have all this stuff. I have a great business, I do all these things and I get through it all. I think I'm fine. I don't think we realize how much that's actually impacting our internal environment. And in order to have energy, we have to give our body time to rest. We have to actually pull away from that instinct to do everything and allow our bodies to heal and repair.

Speaker 3 (10:18):

And by doing that, our body has the energy and the resources to create more energy, which ironically then allows us to do more. So in my own personal story, everything that I do now, I couldn't do 10 years ago, I was just exhausted and fatigued and just like these women that you're talking about, just unable to even handle anything. Just snapping at everything, feeling lost, feeling sad, not having the energy to do what I want to do. And it wasn't until I backed away and realized how much stress I was really putting on myself internally in nutritional deficiencies, in imbalances, in my hormones that were really, really causing the problem. So I think it's important for us to recognize how much our bodies actually know what to do and how much we're our minds maybe are pushing us beyond that. And we need to back off a little bit and have a little bit more grace. But

Speaker 1 (11:09):

You know, as I'm hearing you makes perfect sense. You're preaching to the choir 'cause that was me. And there's so much out there about you're doing too much, you're too much dish, you're drinking the coffee in the morning to wind up, you're drinking the wine to wind down. So you know, at some point you have to say like either you've got your head in the ground and you don't wanna hear the truth that you need to stop doing so much. Or <laugh> what? What is it that women aren't getting? Because I talk to women and they say, oh yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, but they actually won't stop. Like I have a woman in my midlife metabolism program right now and totally anonymous, I'm not gonna mention her name, but she, she goes at it, she's so successful in the things that she has done in her community as a wife and a mom.

Speaker 1 (12:02):

And when you talk to her, she seems so poised and so full of energy. And then you look at her salivary cortisol and you're like, how is she even standing up? And to get her to even realize that something wrong, she had to get a breast cancer diagnosis, right? Because stress then affects your cortisol and then that increases your risk of cancer. And then when people get cancer, then they pay attention and they go, oh, what am I doing wrong? But to really get her to understand that she's doing too much, this external stress you're talking about is like a herculean task. So what does it take for a woman to really change what she's doing and change her life? I think

Speaker 3 (12:42):

Having a physician working with you that shows you what it's doing. You know, I think so often you go to the doctor for it and just say, gosh doc, I'm really not sleeping that well. And they're like, oh, here's a medication, or Hi, I'm just not, I don't have the energy I need. Well here's an antidepressant. And nobody's saying, Hey, let's sit down and see could there be something going on? Is there an imbalance? And when you do a full lab workup and you look at it from a functional perspective and you look at it, what's going on and what's happening, there's so many times where I'm going through a lab review and the woman looks at me and says, oh my God, I had no idea, right? Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>. And then many of us have family members that have lost their lives too young, you know, and linked back to stress or something was preventable.

Speaker 3 (13:21):

And I think there's so much health consciousness going on in our generation right now and in my age group in particular that we're looking at, our parents go and we're like, how can we change that? We don't wanna be that. We don't, we don't wanna leave our kids at 59 years old like my dad did. Or you know, and I think, so a lot of women are seeking answers and they're going to the physician asking for these types of tests and they're not getting clear and can answers 'em what they need to do. There's no doubt stress in the, you know, the, if you go to the doctor and they have to put in your diagnosis code, it's not like they say stress, they'll say fatigue, you know, insomnia, headaches, bloating, constipation, hair loss, perimenopause, these are all in there, but they're all the exact same symptoms of stress.

Speaker 3 (14:03):

And I think a lot of people, my mission is to get people to recognize that when you have the symptoms of all these other conditions, they are exactly the same symptoms of what you have when your body is under stress. And it takes you working with a physician and seeking a physician that can help you find these imbalances. And then once you do, it's amazing. It could be as simple as a vitamin C deficiency and you throw some vitamin C in there and you're back to yourself. You know, it could be as simple as changing your workout just slightly to do some toning exercises that benefit the calming nervous system, the parasympathetic nervous system. Such small little tweaks and getting women to recognize that is just us getting out there, you and me and talking about it and talking about our experiences and talking about how we've gone through it and how we've gained energy back by doing this exact thing. All of us want the same thing. We wanna be happy, we wanna have energy, we wanna be able to do everything we wanna do. We wanna be connected with others. You know, this is kind of an innate, the innate wants of women and we can actually do it if we pay attention to how much we're beating ourselves up in the meantime.

Speaker 1 (15:09):

Yes, <laugh>, we can, yeah. So paying attention. And I do think it takes people like you and me out there telling people and doing the testing and showing them, like, I never heard of salivary cortisol testing in my medical training as a board certified OB G Y N for, you know, over 14 years. It just wasn't even something I knew about. And you know, I'll never forget when I learned about it and I said, oh, I'm gonna do this test and I did it and I had no cortisol. I was like the woman I just described, thank God I didn't have a breast cancer diagnosis at the time. It was a wake up call. It was a real wake up call. And I think that a lot of women don't realize going to their, you know, neighborhood H M O $30 copay doctor, that they're not getting everything that's available that could help them to understand what's going on with their health and actually get that, that vitality back. So I think it's super important that we're out there telling people what's available.

Speaker 3 (16:11):

Absolutely. And I think women are seeking it. They know, like they know something's not right, it's just they're showing up and being told everything's fine. And then being given a therapy that we haven't even looked at those levels. I mean, you know, as much as I do that cortisol and progesterone have very much of a relationship. So a lot of doctors are just out there pumping a bunch of progesterone without even considering the cortisol impact of it. And it, it takes, our body is an amazing machine and it has the ability to adapt. We adapt to our environment. If you're in the woods and you see a bear, your entire biochemistry and physiology changes in order to save your life and that doesn't include producing testosterone to have sex, your body's not interested in that moment, in that, right? We change everything to, to running, right.

Speaker 3 (16:57):

And then we wonder why is our libido so low? You know, where we work 12 hours a day, we take care of the kids, we clean the house, we do all this stuff, and we have no interest in sex. Gee, <laugh>, you know, is it a, is it a testosterone problem or is it a cortisol problem that's causing a testosterone problem? And I think when we start looking at the body as an adaptive being and really paying attention to those little things that we can do along the way, it can make such a drastic impact on our lives. And I hope that everyone out there listens to that and seeks that answer because it doesn't have to be complicated. We do have to be kind to ourselves. You know, we can't keep self-deprecating and pushing ourselves beyond belief. We can only go so far. My grandmother used to say, and this was my grandmother way back in the day, you can't burn a candle at both ends and expect it to keep burning. And that is 100% true. At some point you're gonna burn out. And at that point is unfortunately where most women, you know, start seeking the help. You know, when they get a cancer diagnosis or they or they can't move forward. And that's what happened to me and that's why I just want people to understand you can catch it actually before that happens. You can actually prevent that from happening from what you're hearing is happening to your friends, to your family, you know, to your loved ones.

Speaker 1 (18:09):

Right. And then what does that do to your nutrient status? Because you're eating food? You know, it's funny, when I weighed 243 pounds, I used to think I had the best nutrition 'cause I was weighed so much more and I had eaten so much more food, which now I look back and I think that's insane. But I don't think that most people are aware of the effects of stress on their nutrient status.

Speaker 3 (18:36):

Yeah, I mean you could be doing everything right. You could be eating this amazing diet and still being impacted by the stress and you're not getting utilization. So let me talk about how stress impacts that and it does that in a couple different ways. So number one, just us running from that bear and adapting to that stressor depletes our B vitamins, particularly B five, B six, B 12, which are highly involved in the way that we break down our food, you know, to create energy. I mean they're essential for the creation of a T p. It also impacts our mineral status. So we'll start to deplete things like magnesium, potassium, we start to get imbalances in our electrolytes, which have impacts on our thyroid, has impacts on muscle contraction, cramps, sleep, those types of things. We also have a pretty big depletion in antioxidants, particularly vitamin C.

Speaker 3 (19:26):

So when you start to have that direct impact in the nutrients, it impacts everything else in the body. It impacts our production of serotonin. It impacts the way that we manufacture and utilize hormones like estrogen, testosterone, progesterone. It changes the way that we utilize thyroid that we create. It changes the way that we absorb the nutrients from our food. And this is where stress impacts us. The second thing is when you're running from a bear, you're not gonna digest your food. We were kind of set up with these two different nervous systems and many people have heard them as fight or flight or rest and digest. And when you're in a fight or flight, you're not resting and digesting. So when you're running from something and keeping up with that schedule and going and going and going, your body down regulates its digestion, which means you could be eating the most amazing diet and not get a lick of that nutrition because your body has slowed the digestion changed the absorbability due to it dealing with the threat.

Speaker 3 (20:22):

So it actually comes at you at a double whammy. And then the third whammy is once those are imbalanced, that's another internal stress, which then has more impact on cortisol, which causes more nutritional deficiencies, more downregulation, more symptoms. So by just simply saying, okay, I'm a busy woman and I'm out there running all day long, what's my B vitamin status? What's my vitamin C status? What's my mineral status? Do I have trouble digesting things? Do I, am I noticing bloating? Do I get heartburn? You know, just being aware of some of the things that are being impacted really can make a huge difference in preventing future problems. So I always recommend in general that these are the supplements that most busy women need to take. They need to be on a B vitamin, they need to be on vitamin C and antioxidants. They need to be on a mineral and they need to be on a probiotic. Because all of those are definitely being impacted simply by the lifestyle alone.

Speaker 1 (21:17):

Yes, absolutely. Amen to that. And then what's the consequence if you have these nutrient depletions and you don't know about it?

Speaker 3 (21:25):

Yeah, the consequences

Speaker 1 (21:26):

Happen.

Speaker 3 (21:27):

Yeah. Lots of symptoms. So commonly I see impacts in sleep almost immediately. Not sleeping soundly, trouble falling asleep, waking up in the middle of the night, lots of changes in mood because serotonin is highly regulated in the gut. It's also made with B vitamins and vitamin C and magnesium and all these things that that I've just mentioned. So I see a lot of anxiety and underlying just baseline irritability, very commonly as it progresses, I start to see more of thyroid issue, primarily in the conversion of thyroid. And I don't wanna get too technical, but you know, you could have an outright low thyroid function or you could have a subclinical state where you're making the thyroid but you're not utilizing it well. So the body starts to store, it starts to store thyroid, it starts to store estrogen. And that's when you start to see these symptoms that look like perimenopause, heavy periods, irregular cycles, headaches, hair loss, wrinkles, you know, poor muscle tone, all these things that we attribute to hot flashes, all these things that we attribute to menopause or perimenopause.

Speaker 3 (22:30):

But what they really are is a reaction of your body because it can't make what it needs to make. If you were manufacturing, you know, a water bottle on a conveyor belt, there's all these pieces that go into making this water bottle. And when a piece is missing, you have to figure out another way to compensate. And that's what our body does all day. When it's under stress, Hey, I need to make serotonin, I don't have vitamin C. Where can I pull that from? Where can I get that right? So it pulls from other pathways in order to prioritize different ones. And that's where we start to see symptoms. And instead of treating the symptom and suppressing the symptom, we need to ask the question, why am I having anxiety? Am I having anxiety because I have an imbalance? Because I have a nutrient deficiency because I'm pushing myself too far? And when you answer that question, the solution is actually ridiculously simple. You just replete what you're missing. You fill that gap on that conveyor belt. And that's where a lot of the nutritional therapy comes in. In my world of dealing with stress is how can I help the body, you know, get more parts for that conveyor belt while we work on mind body aspect to try to calm the body. We also need to support it. So we support it with a lot of nutrition. A ton of nutrition.

Speaker 1 (23:46):

Yes, it's super important. I think that everyone really needs micronutrient testing to see where their levels are. I'm sure you're a proponent of tests, don't guess as well. <Laugh>.

Speaker 3 (23:57):

Yeah, abs. Absolutely. I love micronutrient testing. And that, back to one of your earlier questions, that's one of those aha moments where, you know, my client looks at me and says, oh my God, I had no idea. And once you know you can do something about it, I mean, we're all pretty hard people if they're hardworking people, if there's a problem and we can figure out how to fix it, we will fix it. So we've gotta identify where the weak links are so that we can fix it. And then it's not so complicated. Then you're not spending hours at the doctor's office just saying, doc, I'm not getting better. I'm not getting better. It's like, hey, we tested this, we saw we were low in iron, we repleted that. Now the iron's back to normal. How are your symptoms? And then how is that impacting other areas when we bring up iron, what does that do to other nutrients at that point? We're always adapting and that's what's so, mm-hmm <affirmative>, gosh darn amazing about our bodies is that we can adapt to every little thing. And if we play into that adaption and work with it rather than against it, if we feel our rhythm <laugh>, then it's amazing what we can do.

Speaker 1 (24:58):

Yeah, it's so true. And you know, but what do you say to people who are like, I just wanna do the testing once, I wanna know what I need, supplements I need to take, and then I wanna go on my merry way and I don't ever wanna look at that again. Yeah,

Speaker 3 (25:12):

It's a shame. I have had people like that. They usually come back about five years later and say, okay, I was wrong. Can we look at this again? <Laugh>, <laugh>, you know, one of the things that I've come to realize just in my own health journey is you're never done getting Well, it's a spectrum where there's an area of health and there's an area of disease. And as we grow and we change and we get older, we change, our chemistry changes, our metabolism changes, things change. And we have to constantly be adapting and growing to that. I don't think anyone can just say, okay, I'm gonna do everything in two months and then I'm gonna be well for the rest of our lives. That's not realistic. <Laugh>, I, I mean, just like I said, just a cell phone alone. I mean, how many times do people check their phone a day?

Speaker 3 (25:51):

I think it was like upwards of 80 times a day for adults and like double that for children. And it's not even buzzing, right? It's just, we're just innately always stimulating ourselves. We live in this stimulated society and unless society's gonna change, which it's not, we're just gonna keep developing and growing technology and we need to actually address that because otherwise we're just gonna keep changing. So health is a spectrum and I really prefer to work with my clients for a very long period of time. Most of my clients have been me with, been with me for a very long period of time. And every year we're looking at, okay, what were our wins and what do we still need to grow on? What do we still need to learn? How are we gonna get into that mindset of true wellness and health? And that takes time. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>, it's hard. The hardest part, I don't know if you agree, the hardest part is the mindset part. The mind body part is the hardest one to get a handle of because our brains trick us <laugh> into thinking we have to deal with something else first, that everyone else comes first or other things come first instead of just breathing or being in the moment.

Speaker 1 (26:54):

Yeah, it's so true. And as you're talking, I'm thinking, it's not like we think, oh, I'm gonna brush my teeth really good right now and then I won't ever have to do it again. Or I'm gonna clean my house so well I'm never gonna have to clean it again. No. But somehow, I don't know, when it comes to natural healing or nutritional changes or the things we're talking about, I don't know where we get this mentality from that I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna do it and I'm gonna get healthy and then I'm not gonna have to do it anymore. And I always say, health is a journey, not a destination. <Laugh>, it's not like you arrive <laugh>.

Speaker 3 (27:31):

Yeah. You know, and I get, I get that all the time, you know, oh well how long do I have to do this nutrition plan for? How long do I have to abstain from alcohol for before I can put it back in? You know, it's like, well I don't know if you can put it back in. We're just gonna have to take this journey, you know, as it goes. And listen to what the body's trying to tell us and adapt to that as we go. One of the biggest obstacles that I get, or objections I guess, is they say, gosh, Dr. Penal, am I gonna have to eat plants like that for the rest of my life? <Laugh>? Am I gonna have to eat like you and exercise every day like you do <laugh>? And I'm like, here's the thing to me, because I've gone through this transformation with my health, it isn't a burden to me to eat.

Speaker 3 (28:10):

Well, in fact, my body wants to eat well, it, it craves eating well. If I wanted to eat poorly, I couldn't. I physically couldn't because my body will be like, no, you are not eating that. And it's just a, I want to feel well, I have more energy and can do more than I've ever done in my entire life at 47, way more than I ever did when I was 22. It's an amazing thing. And when I see my clients transform and hit that point where I'm at, where they're like they want to be well, they want to continue to eat well because they feel so good, nothing's a better feeling and I know that I set them up. Nothing. You know, nothing is a better feeling. It's the most inspiring thing. It's why you and I show up every single day. It's to help people make that realization that they don't have to abuse their bodies to feel well.

Speaker 3 (28:54):

And I think we do that. You know, we drink alcohol, we deprioritize exercise or self-care for other people to help other people. And we think we're doing good when in reality we're focusing on everybody else and not ourselves and we're actually putting ourselves at detriment. But when you flip that, you can do so much more. You can give back to society. You can help so many more people. You have the energy to do what you want. You enjoy exercise, you enjoy food, you start dancing again. You know, you do things that truly allow you to appreciate every single moment, which unfortunately not everyone recognizes until something drastic happens. I've lost my entire family above me. So my parents, my grandparents, and I lost them all at a fair, fairly long young age. And to me that's changed my perspective on how I spend time with my kids, how I spend time with my friends and my family and the gratitude that I give forth every single day.

Speaker 3 (29:45):

Because this is a gift. I'm on lease, right? My life is on lease. It could go at any time. And I just want to be the best that I can be. And I wanna be able to give the knowledge that I've learned through this process to as many people as possible so that they can give it to other people so we can all reconnect and be healthy and well and live this life to the fullest. I, I can't think of anything more. And I think we spend so much time worrying about all those nitpicky things, right? Did we do this on time? Did so-and-so like it when we did that? Did that person ignore my text? You know, what is so-and-so doing on their vacation? You know, we worry about everybody else and we don't spend enough time really worrying about ourselves because we think it's selfish and it's not.

Speaker 1 (30:25):

It's not, is it

Speaker 3 (30:26):

<Laugh>? <Laugh>? It's not. It allows you to give more. You can do more, so much more. And we can help raise our kids to not set them up for the same thing we set ourselves up for, which scares Olivia daylights outta me with like two year olds on cell phones scrolling through YouTube. I'm like, no. Oh my gosh.

Speaker 1 (30:44):

<Laugh>. Oh no. So

Speaker 3 (30:46):

With a diet Coke in hand, right? <Laugh>,

Speaker 1 (30:49):

I'm wondering if, you know, it's so funny, I'm, I'm in Dubai right now and they have McDonald's here and they have McDonald's ads and I was noticing, so they have it with Arabic letters, which I think are very artistic and beautiful, the Arabic writing and, and I had this thought, is McDonald's healthier? Because the writing about it is pretty <laugh> over here still as unhealthy. And you know, hopefully McDonald's won't mind that I say that 'cause they know that some of their products have been shown to be challenging. But anyway, I just had that thought. And it's the same for the sodas and things that I see in foreign countries in a foreign language with pretty writing. It doesn't look to me as toxic as I know it is in the US or I encountered it for decades. Do you know what I'm saying?

Speaker 3 (31:37):

I do. And you know, it's all marketing and marketing images in our heads of what's been told to us to be healthy or not healthy, right? So if it looks different, we're like, oh, that's healthy. I mean they do the same thing. Supplements. I've seen some supplements out there that are so beautiful. Their label is so beautiful and they're absolute junk. And I'm like, but they're selling like hotcakes 'cause their label is so beautiful. You know? So yeah. You know, and, and I think all of our habits are ingrained in exactly the same way. At some point we had an image in our brain that made it say, oh, we should eat that. Or This makes me feel good when I eat. What are they called? The little egg sausage McMuffins or whatever. I feel good when I eat that. So then whenever I feel depressed, I'm going to eat a sausage McMuffin.

Speaker 3 (32:16):

Right? I don't even know if that's the name. I haven't been to a McDonald's in years, but those are the things we have to use our mind to override. You know, I feel good when I eat quinoa and avocado, right? But it took me a while to overcome that, right, right. To overcome that pre I guess notion in my head. And I think that's one of the biggest challenges we have right now in our country. Particularly because we're just so inundated with information everywhere and it's so overwhelming and you don't know what to believe and you don't know what to look at and you don't know it's healthy. And I think that causes a lot of people just to be overwhelmed by the whole process and say whatever, I'll just eat whatever because this is too much work. It's not as much work as you think. You just need to have a trusted guide to help you, help you get through it and evaluate what you're doing.

Speaker 1 (32:57):

Yes. A trusted guide is essential and you are one. Dr. Tricia, thank you so much for coming and sharing your exuberance, your joy, your wisdom, your inspiration. I know people listening feel very inspired and hopeful from hearing you. I do, for sure. But you've got a wonderful total health cookbook that everybody can access for free. We will have the link in the show notes and tell everybody where else they can connect with you online.

Speaker 3 (33:29):

Absolutely. Dr pingle.com is my website and that has links to everything and you know, will always be updated with different things. But if you enjoy dancing and having fun and learning, you definitely should follow me over on Instagram at Dr. Pingel or Facebook at Dr. Tricia Pingel. I'm also on all the other social media channels. Pinterest has a lot of my recipes. Just, you know, search me up and definitely say hello. I'm here to connect with people. That's what I want. I wanna connect and inspire and grow and get us all, you know, working together so we can do everything we wanna do. So if you do follow me, pop a little note in one of my feeds and say, Hey, you know, saw you here. Nice to meet you. I would love to meet all of you. So thanks. Awesome.

Speaker 1 (34:12):

And we will have all those links in the show notes, so don't worry about writing them down. We've got 'em for you so you can just click them. Thank you so much Dr. Tricia for joining us today. It's been wonderful. You've inspired me. I realized since I got to to by two weeks ago, I haven't been dancing, so I am gonna go dancing sometime this week and have, have some joy. 'cause It's just, it's one of the most, if, if anyone listening, if you haven't danced in a while, I challenge you to go turn some music on and just dance around your living room. It, it's the most joy inspiring activity I can think of. So and involve. Thank you so much. Yeah,

Speaker 3 (34:50):

The kids are, the kids enjoy it too, and it prompts a lot of laughs and it's a connecting experience. And by the way, when you do start dancing, I want you to record it and post it so I can dance next to you on a duet or something. So pull, pull that up, do that.

Speaker 1 (35:02):

Let's do it. Okay. We'll do it. Promise. So thank you so much Dr. Trisha and thank, thank you so much for the work you do, and thanks for being here.

Speaker 3 (35:10):

Thank you for having me.

Speaker 1 (35:11):

And thank you for listening to another episode of The Hormone Prescription with Dr. Kyrin. Hopefully you've learned something that you will put into action today to move your health towards the brilliant health that you deserve. I look forward to hearing what changes you're making. You can reach out to me on social media, on Facebook and Kiran Instagram at Kyrin Dunston MD Ann, until next week, peace, love, and hormones

Speaker 2 (35:37):

Y'all. Thank you so much for listening. I know that incredible vitality occurs for women over 40 when we learn to speak hormone and balance these vital regulators to create the health and the life that we deserve. If you're enjoying this podcast, I'd love it if you'd give me a review and subscribe. It really does help this podcast out so much. You can visit the hormone prescription.com where we have some free gifts for you, and you can sign up to have a hormone evaluation with me on the podcast to gain clarity into your personal situation. Until next time, remember, take small steps each day to balance your hormones and watch the wonderful changes in your health that begin to unfold for you. Talk to you soon.

 

► The Total Health Cookbook by Dr. Tricia Pingel. Filled with nutrient dense, easy to make and impressive recipes to support adrenal health. Sign up and files will be emailed to you! CLICK HERE.

 

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The Thyroid Debacle: Why the Current Medical Model is Keeping You Sick and Unwell

Welcome back to another episode of The Hormone Prescription Podcast, the go-to resource for midlife women seeking to better understand their hormones and how to navigate this often-challenging stage of life. Today, we are honored to have the brilliant Dr. Eric Balcavage as our guest.
  
Dr. Balcavage is the proud owner and founder of Rejuvagen and has made exceptional strides in the world of functional medicine, earning him a reputable position as a licensed Chiropractor in Pennsylvania. Drawing upon his wealth of knowledge and years of experience in the field, Dr. Balcavage will be diving deep into the truths behind thyroid physiology and the shortcomings of the current medical model.
  
In this eye-opening episode, get ready to learn about:

- The crucial role that thyroid physiology plays in our everyday lives, particularly for midlife women
- The complexity of bile physiology, and what it has to do with hormonal balance
- The decisive factors that influence detoxification, oxidative stress, methylation, and chronic illness
  
Here's a taste of Dr. Balcavage's wisdom from the episode:

"Understanding thyroid physiology is paramount for midlife women, as changes in hormonal balance can directly affect our overall well-being."
  
Dr. Balcavage's journey into understanding thyroid physiology began when he encountered a staggering number of patients who were continually misdiagnosed or underdiagnosed due to the restrictive parameters of the current medical model. Inspired by the undeniable need for a more comprehensive approach, he set out on a quest to dig deeper into human physiology and develop a more refined understanding of hormonal challenges that midlife women face, specifically thyroid disorders.
  
Throughout this episode, Dr. Balcavage shares personal anecdotes, professional insights, and invaluable advice on how to take control of your hormonal health. Armed with these enlightening perspectives, you will be better equipped to advocate for yourself in navigating the current medical model—which, as Dr. Balcavage bluntly puts it:

"The traditional medical model's approach to thyroid health is flawed. It's far too narrowly focused, ineffectual, and doesn't paint the full picture."
  
So, join us on The Hormone Prescription Podcast as we pull back the curtain on the state of thyroid healthcare, empowering you, our midlife women listeners, to push past the constraints of the current medical model and embark on a journey toward better health and vitality. Don't miss this transformative episode with Dr. Eric Balcavage!
  
Remember to subscribe, rate, and leave a review for future episodes, and always consult your healthcare provider before making any changes to your health regimen. Until next time, stay tuned for more empowering conversations on The Hormone Prescription Podcast!

 

Speaker 1 (00:00):

The thyroid debacle. Why the current medical model is keeping you sick and unwell. Stay tuned to hear Dr. Eric Balcavage with his unique perspective.

Speaker 2 (00:11):

So the big question is, how do women over 40 like us, keep weight off, have great energy, balance our hormones and our moods, feel sexy and confident, and master midlife? If you're like most of us, you are not getting the answers you need and remain confused and pretty hopeless to ever feel like yourself again. As an O B G Y N, I had to discover for myself the truth about what creates a rock solid metabolism, lasting weight loss, and supercharged energy after 40, in order to lose a hundred pounds and fix my fatigue. Now I'm on a mission. This podcast is designed to share the natural tools you need for impactful results and to give you clarity on the answers to your midlife metabolism challenges. Join me for tangible, natural strategies to crush the hormone imbalances you are facing and help you get unstuck from the sidelines of life. My name is Dr. Kyrin Dunston. Welcome to the Hormone Prescription Podcast.

Speaker 1 (01:04):

Hi everybody. Welcome to another episode of the Hormone Prescription with Dr. Kyrin. Thank you so much for joining me today. As we are going to talk about the thyroid debacle. Dr. Eric is a chiropractor who's functional medicine trained who really has a unique way of articulating the difficulties with thyroid management, not only in traditional corporate allopathic medic medicine or medical model, but in a functional medicine model model. This is where a lot of us actually get it wrong too, because we just change trying to chase T four. We're trying to chase T three. And a lot of practitioners don't look to identify and address the underlying root cause of thyroid disorders, which you must do if you're going to fix thyroid disorders once and for all. So Dr. Eric has written a book, the Thyroid Debacle, and he has a very unique perspective about a cell danger response that you're going to want to hear about.

Speaker 1 (02:08):

There's a lot of information here. It's very dense. He talks very quickly. So if you don't catch it all, you might wanna play it a little more slowly than usual so you can hear everything. But there's lots of good information in here, and we're gonna tell you the top three steps to start taking to address your thyroid problems. And he talks a lot about testing and so much else in this episode. So I'll tell you a little bit about him and then we'll get started. So Dr. Eric Balcavage is an actually recognized speaker and educator on various health related topics including thyroid physiology, biophysiology detoxification, oxidative stress, methylation, and chronic illness. He's a functional medicine practitioner and a licensed chiropractor in Pennsylvania and is the owner and founder of rejuven, a functional medicine clinic in Chads Ford, pa. Welcome Dr. Eric to the show. Well, thanks

Speaker 3 (03:04):

For having me. How you doing?

Speaker 1 (03:05):

I'm doing great. How are you doing today?

Speaker 3 (03:08):

I'm doing fantastic. So

Speaker 1 (03:09):

We are gonna talk about one of my favorite topics, thyroid, because that's one of the things that kept me stuck for years. 243 pounds with all my chronic health problems. And I kept thinking, I know I've got to have a thyroid problem. I have the top five symptoms, right? I'm overweight, I'm tired. I had hair loss, constipation, anxiety, and a host of other things. But every time I would do the standard thyroid profile as a board certified ob, G Y N, it would come back, quote unquote normal. And I started thinking I was crazy. And I even remember the last time Dr. Eric that I went to my internal medicine doctor and I said to her, I have to have a thyroid problem. Look at me. And she yelled at me and she said, fine, we're gonna check it one last time. But if it's normal, then it's just because you eat too much and you don't exercise enough that you're having all these problems.

Speaker 1 (04:09):

And she made me come to her office to get the lab results 'cause she was so fed up with me. And many people listening can probably relate to that because so many patients really do have low thyroid, but the tests come back normal. And I remember when I went to her office and drove across town that Tuesday, it was just starting to rain, and I was so afraid she was gonna tell me it was normal again. And that's exactly what she told me. And she yelled at me and said, you just eat too much and don't exercise enough. And I went in my car and closed the door and the rain was coming down and I started crying because I thought, I'm just crazy. There's really nothing wrong with me. And I know there's somebody listening right now who thinks that, so let's get into thyroid, the thyroid debacle, and how my story was not at all unique. It's actually very common. Do you wanna talk about that?

Speaker 3 (05:01):

Yeah, I, I think a huge problem for a lot of people is that we assume that two tests and ma many times, one test assess the state of thyroid physiology in the whole body. So most people, if they have, they're tired, they're fatigued, they're gaining weight, they're constipated, they have depression, anxiety, irritability, they have all these symptoms and they Google them, they go, sounds like a thyroid condition since your thyroid hormone drives the metabolism of the body. And so if you have the signs and symptoms and you get tested in a traditional allopathic model, what allopathic physicians have been trained to do much like yourself is to assess to run one test. And many times it's called A T S H, but many physicians will run a T S H with a reflex to free T four. And so what they're looking at is this marker, T S H.

Speaker 3 (05:55):

If that's out of the normal lab reference range, then there's a possibility based on the model that somebody might have either hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism. If the T s H is elevated, they might have hypothyroidism where their thyroid gland can't make enough thyroid hormone. And if it's below the lab reference range, then they might have hypothyroidism. And if it's, if the value's outta the reference range, then the lab automatically runs what they call a free T four test. And T four is the primary hormone that's made by the thyroid gland. So what they wanna see is if the T s H is high, is it because there's the thyroid glands not making enough T four, or if the T s H is lab low, is it because there's too much thyroid hormone being made? But if you have tired fatigue, all the symptoms of hypothyroidism, they're looking to see is that T S H high and the free T four low.

Speaker 3 (06:46):

And they're assuming that as long as the values are with TSH is within that reference range, that there isn't a thyroid problem that they can address. And their primary reason for that is in allopathic world, they're typically not re recommended all the guidelines, you've read them all, I'm sure the guidelines don't recommend intervention with thyroid hormone replacement until the gland is damaged or destroyed to a point that it can't make sufficient thyroid hormone anymore. Until that happens, until there's overt glandular dysfunction, the general recommendations aren't to provide thyroid hormone. And so they'll say, Hey, they're your thyroid's fine. The thyroid gland could be fine. But what causes hypothyroid signs and symptoms is less about the gland and more about what's happening inside your individual cells and tissues, which isn't fully represented by A T S H in a free T four. And that's where most people struggle and have problems.

Speaker 3 (07:51):

So to back it up for your listeners, you have trillions of cells in your body. They're like people. They need to bring nutrition into the cell and then turn that food energy into cellular energy so they can make proteins and peptides and hormones and all kinds of good stuff, hair and skin and all this stuff that makes us feel and function well. And T three is a, is the active thyroid hormone that really drives that process. So we have this gland that's right underneath our chin in the middle of our neck and it's, it's called our thyroid gland. And when it gets stimulated, when the body senses that there's more thyroid hormone is needed, the pituitary gland generates a hormone called T ss h thyroid stimulating hormone, it signal it goes to the thyroid gland, and that triggers more hormone production. The thyroid gland primarily makes T four, that's the primary circulating hormone.

Speaker 3 (08:50):

It's in a, it's a less active hormone. It still has activity, but it's less active what the cells do with that T four. Once that T four enters the bloodstream and a little bit of the active form, T three enters the bloodstream, but it's really at a ratio of about 10 to one, eight to one maybe. But that thyroid hormone enters into the bloodstream then like almost all hormones in the body, it gets docked onto a, like an like a taxi cab. We call 'em binding globulins. And they get escorted through the bloodstream to the cells and tissues that need hormone. Once they get to a cell or tissue that needs hormone, the hormones become free of that binding globulin or get outta the taxi cab. And now they can get it, get to the cell. Once those hormones are at the cell, then there's another step the cells have to determine do they want more hormone or not want more hormone.

Speaker 3 (09:43):

If it's a cell that's in low stress manufacturing mode, it's gonna bring T four in maybe a little bit of T three in, and it's going to convert the T four into T three. That T three goes to the receptors inside the nucleus, inside the mitochondria, and turns on the manufacturing process so that the cell can generate the energy, can bring glucose in other nutrients in, and make the stuff that makes us feel good. That requires a lot of energy. So we burn glucose, we burn fats, we feel and function good, we're able to maintain our weight. And then when we have enough metabolism, those cells say, okay, I'm gonna slow this process down. It can kind of bring less thyroid hormone in or deactivate the thyroid hormone to slow the metabolism back down. That's how it should work. And that's what we call homeostasis.

Speaker 3 (10:34):

But for a lot of people, they've got some type of dangerous physiology going on. There's stress, there's inflammation, there's infections, there's toxins, there's organisms that are impacting a cell. And if the cell is starting to perceive danger, because if there's a bacteria or a virus or some toxicity, that cell innately says, whoa, we need to shift from manufacturing and shift our attention to cell defense. We need to make more inflammatory chemicals. We need to ramp up the immune system to find the threat and kill it. And the dimmer switch to determines whether we're in manufacturing mode, high metabolism, making hair and skin and hormones, or whether we're in cell defense mechanism is the amount of thyroid hormone in the cell. The amount of T three in the cell can turn on the manufacturing, but higher levels of T three in the cell can also turn off the immune inflammatory process.

Speaker 3 (11:29):

But if I have, if I have a cell stress or cell danger response going on, I don't wanna increase the manufacturing. I don't wanna make more sex hormones. I don't wanna make more proteins and peptides that could support the threat. I don't wanna bring more glucose into the cell that could support the threat. I wanna slow the metabolism down, I wanna ramp up the defense mechanisms. And to do that, the cell reduces the amount of T three in the cell, slows down the mitochondria, reduces glucose coming into the cell, ramps up inflammation so it can fine and just dam and destroy mm-hmm. The threat. Mm-Hmm. And that okay, unfortunately causes hypothyroid symptoms even if you have a perfectly functioning thyroid gland and plenty of thyroid hormone in the bloodstream. So

Speaker 1 (12:12):

Are you talking about subclinical hypothyroidism where T S H is in the quote unquote normal range? And so is T three and T four? Is that what you're talking about?

Speaker 3 (12:22):

So you could have hypothyroid signs and symptoms and have a perfectly normal T S H. It could be a low T ss H and still have hypothyroid signs and symptoms. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. So if somebody has the signs and symptoms of hypothyroidism, then we have to look at a more comprehensive thyroid panel to assess is that, is there a reduced conversion of T four to T three? And then we want to take the next steps, like if there is a reduced conversion of T four to T three, are there inflammatory mechanisms that would be driving that process? And then we also wanna consider what tissues are being, IM impacted by that immune inflammatory process.

Speaker 1 (13:00):

Okay. Let's back up a minute. 'cause I know we got very granular, very fast and we probably lost some people. So I wanna back up a little bit and take a little bit wider view. Your book is called The Thyroid Debacle, why the Current Medical Model is Keeping You Sick and Unwell. And before we started recording, you were talking about how your approach to thyroid disorders is different. And so you were talking about what allopathic medicine does, what a root cause functional approach is, and then going beyond. So I think that would be great for everyone to hear. Do you wanna talk a little bit about what the thyroid debacle is?

Speaker 3 (13:38):

Yeah, I think it's the fact, I think it goes to the fact that we treaties every person that has hypothyroid signs and symptoms or actually has hypothyroidism as if they're in that state, we call homeostasis that if we're just gonna give them thyroid hormone, it's gonna do what we wanted to do. Whether it's T four or T three, we assume it's gonna work inside the cells and it doesn't work the same if we're in homeostasis versus allostasis. So we have to change our thinking as clinicians and, and stop thinking that the immune system's outta control and destroying the gland for no apparent reason, or that this body forgot how to convert T four to T three. And if I just flood the system with T four and T three, it's gonna work the way I should. We have to, as clinicians start to understand and explain to our patients that they're not broken, their bodies are adapting to some type of excessive cell stress response.

Speaker 3 (14:31):

And if we address the things that are causing the excessive cell stress, that's how you get their body to convert T four to T three efficiently. That's how they get their immune system to stop damaging and destroying their thyroid gland. I think we make the mistake in, especially in functional and integrative medicine, that it's the reason that people don't feel well is, is because they can't convert T four to T three versus they're adaptively doing that and giving them T three can provide a just another drug providing a temporary fix, but it doesn't address the root issues.

Speaker 1 (15:09):

Yeah. So you talk about hypothyroidism as a spectrum disorder. What do you mean by that?

Speaker 3 (15:15):

In allopathic medicine, and even to some degree in functional medicine, we consider that hypothyroidism starts when the gland can't make thyroid hormone anymore. T S h's lab high T four, free T four is lab low. That's when hypothyroidism starts. We might ev, and that's not when hypothyroid starts, in my opinion, that's the end stage of hypothyroidism. What the literature shows is that by the time you're diagnosed with primary hypothyroidism, you've lost 90% of the function of your thyroid gland. So that's not the beginning. That's like saying cardiovascular disease starts when you have your first heart attack or diabe blood sugar dysregulation starts when you get diagnosis di di with diabetes. Everything's a process in the body. So my thought process and my hypothesis is that hypothyroidism typically starts at the individual cell and tissue level, not at the thyroid gland level. So that's why somebody like you says, Hey, I'm tired, fatigued, I don't feel well, I have hypothyroid signs and symptoms, but my T S H is still normal.

Speaker 3 (16:18):

My free T four is still normal. And it's because we're checking what the gland output is potentially and not considering that what is ultimately causing hypothyroid signs and symptoms isn't about the gland, it's not about what's in the bloodstream, it's about how much T three is hitting the receptors inside the cell, and that's under the control of the individual cells and tissues to a large degree. So I think most hypothyroidism starts at the cell and tissue level. And if it's short-term, you get short-term si hypothyroid signs and symptoms, you get an upregulation of the immune inflammatory system. We address the cold, the virus, the bacteria and it, and those signs and symptoms go away. But if the stress becomes chronic and persistent, then not only do we have cellular tissue, hypothyroidism start to occur, but now we get glandular thyroiditis that starts to occur and eventually we lose gland function. And that's why if you're then just giving T four or maybe just T three, the symptoms, the improvement's only temporary and partial. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. And we don't get full resolve in, in either re regardless of the medication you're taking.

Speaker 1 (17:27):

And so you talk about the cell gave your response, you've talked a little bit about that, what's going on in the cell as a big determinant. And then you talk about the fitness factors that help you determine each patient's stress load. So how can everybody listening know, how do they know, are my cells in a cell danger response? How would somebody know before we get to the fitness factors, how would somebody know?

Speaker 3 (17:53):

Well, if you feel awesome, you have plenty of energy, no real signs or symptoms, you sleep eight hours, you feel well rested, you've got good muscle mass, limited extra body fat tissue on you, you've got tons of energy, great libido, probably not in the cell danger response, but if you have chronic health issues gaining weight, I mean gaining weight and seeing blood sugar dysregulation would be two of the easy things to say that there's something wrong with your cellular physiology. But beyond that, look at, if you have lots of signs and symptoms, there's some type of abnormal physiology going on. And that's when you start needing to say, maybe I'm in this allostatic state or cell danger response and not in homeostasis. 'cause Homeostasis means that I make enough energy to do everything I need to do at a cellular level efficiently. So the caloric intake is appropriate. I can make sex hormones, I can do everything I wanna do. That's homeostasis. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (18:48):

Well you just described like 60 to 80% of women over 40 have some list of signs and symptoms going wrong with their health. So we're pretty much all, that's

Speaker 3 (18:58):

Because probably 60 80% of the people have a cell danger response. And if you look at the population of the US, six 50 to 60% of the US population is overweight or obese, 50 to 60% of the population is on a statin. 50 to 60% of the population is diabetic. So yeah, I think that's easy to say that. Yeah, 40 to, I mean, a large percentage of people are grossly unhealthy to Yes.

Speaker 1 (19:21):

Yes we are. And so the average person listening that they're like, check that's me. Particularly if they're suspecting that they have a thyroid problem, how do they get at the root of, well, why are my cells having a cell danger response? And what are the specific issues that I personally need to address to help improve my thyroid so that I don't go through this? The chacha, the T four chacha with the allopathic practitioner, the T three chacha with the functional practitioner, and they wanna get out of that dance. How do they figure out what is causing the cell danger response for their cells in particular?

Speaker 3 (20:00):

Well, I mean, it's easy to do a self-assessment. And it's one of the things that Dr. Kelly and I, who was my co-author in the book, we talk about the fitness factors and we talk about the difference kind of aspects of your physiology that are probably contributing to the excessive stress load. And so when we talk about stress, most the time everybody thinks about emotional stress is the problem, right? This external thing that then causes us to have this angst. But stress comes in lots of different forms. You're never gonna be stress free. That's never the goal of what you're trying to accomplish. What you need to be able to do is stress the physiology and allow for recovery. So when we think about what creates excessive cell stress, it could be a number of factors. One of the things in my situation in my forties, I was still tr, you know, doing a lot of sports and training.

Speaker 3 (20:49):

I was doing triathlons at that point in time and training hard. And you know, few hours of physical training per day run into businesses, coaching, being a dad, sleeping four hours a day. And I had a great, I mean, my diet was good. I was physically active, mindset was good. But the big thing that drove me to have chronic inflammatory immune and thyroiditis issues was I was over training and limited recovery on top of poor breathing habits due to multiple broken noses. So I wasn't breathing well, I was over training, I wasn't allowing for recovery. So one day is not that big of a deal, my body's able to adapt. But do that over and over again and you start to create an excessive stress response on the tissues and your cells and tissues say like, enough already, let's try and shut this thing down.

Speaker 3 (21:38):

But as many athletes are, they go, I, pain is weakness leaving the body or discomfort is weakness leaving the body. And we try and just keep pushing forward. And then if you have that type of stress on your system, plus respiratory stress plus work stress plus emotional stress plus relationship stress, at some point the stress becomes excessive. And then I need to shift how my cellular physiology works. And I'll give you an example of how I typically express the cell danger physiology to my clients. And that is, do you have kids yourself? Yep. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. Okay. Do you love your kids? Yeah. Okay. So let's say this weekend you're gonna have a huge party at your house, right? One of your kids, your favorite one is sitting at your kitchen island, right? Eating food. You've got four burners on, you're cooking a whole bunch of food, you're doing wash, you're cleaning, you're doing everything all at the same time, and somebody breaks into your home and starts attacking your child.

Speaker 3 (22:38):

Are you gonna continue to cook? Nope. Are you gonna take time to turn the burners off? Put everything in nice glass Tupperware? Nope. Okay. Are you gonna try and slide one more Load of wash in? Nope. Finish vacuuming. No. Are you gonna try and take a nap? Nope. Sex? Nope. Okay. So if I walked into your house and I saw the foods burning on the stove, the house is a disaster, a mess. Vacuum cleaners running down, running in the middle of the floor, clothes are all over the place. I can make a couple decisions, right? I can make some thoughts. I could just say, well, you're a terrible cook and terrible housekeeper, so I'm gonna fix this and I'm gonna hire you a chef and I'm gonna hire you a housekeeper and I'll fix the problem. And it look, they come in, they clean, clean it up, everything looks awesome.

Speaker 3 (23:27):

Or I can ask a better question, which is, why is this happening? Is there an explanation for why you would leave the food burning on the stove, leave the vacuum cleaner, running, leave the house a disaster? And maybe I start to investigate that so we can make one of two choices that you're terrible cook chef, just like we could say the thyroid physiology's broken and the cell physiology is, is outta control. Or we could say, is this an appropriate adaptive response? So when somebody has, is feeling tired and fatigued and has signs and symptoms of hypothyroidism, or actually is diagnosed with hypothyroidism but still doesn't feel well on the medication, is their immune system outta control? Are they unable to convert T four to T three or is what we're seeing? Not broken physiology, but adaptive physiology. It's the appropriate response given the stressors that are put on the system.

Speaker 3 (24:21):

Mm-Hmm. And my argument is whether it's an allopathic approach or a functional medicine approach, we shouldn't be getting in the way and trying to fix an imbalance if it's an adaptation. And we shouldn't be assuming that everything's broken physiology, but start to look at the wisdom of the body and start to say, maybe this is adaptive. And what I need to identify is what's creating that excessive stress response. And if I address that, if I find out that you're in your basement fighting off an attacker and I take down the attacker and we get that attacker, you know, off of you and in custody and get rid of them, that's the solution. You weren't being a terrible housekeeper and cook. You were doing exactly the right thing you should have been doing. And the signs and symptoms, the burning food and the stuff all over the place was what we should be seeing. The signs and symptoms that you have, my hormones don't regulate. I'm gaining weight even though I'm eating and exercising appropriately. We need to look at those signs and symptoms and stop trying to like play, you know, whack-a-mole with those results and or those lab values and start to say, okay, what's create, why is the body adaptively doing that? Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>. And when we do that, that's what functional medicine is, in my opinion.

Speaker 1 (25:39):

Okay. And so what is the strategic thyroid solution is to identify and fix these root causes. Do you wanna talk about maybe the top three most important ones You list dietary, fitness, sleep, fitness, respiratory, fitness, emotional, physical, habitual, environmental, fitness, metabolic and genetic. What would be the top three in your opinion?

Speaker 3 (26:01):

Well, I think the top three would probably be, and we think about the things that we have the greatest control over and cost us next to nothing. Okay. And they're all important for the listener. She kinda ran through those, but they're all important. But definitely respiratory fitnesses would be right at the top of my list if you breathe inappropriately, and I would say the vast majority of us breathe inappropriately. We over breathe, we mouth breathe, especially at night when nobody's really paying attention. If you over breathe or excessively mouth breathe, you wind up reducing carbon dioxide levels. You wind up creating what we call hypoxia at the tissue level. And as soon as you induce hypoxia at the tissue level, low oxygen, you can't burn fat as a fuel efficiently. You downregulate your thyroid physiology and that's gonna set the stage for chronic immune inflammatory processes.

Speaker 3 (26:58):

So it doesn't cost anything to improve your breathing, it just takes time and activity or time and training. And first thing you gotta do is be aware. So how do you be become aware that you might have a respiratory, for my clients, I, I give them a respiratory fitness questionnaire, have 'em go through those things. But key things to keep an eye on are, you know, do you snore? And you may say, well I never snore. Well, how do you know <laugh>? Well, nobody complains. Well that doesn't mean you don't, right? And so if you're a mouth breather, if you snore, if you have a history of cavities or gum disease, there's a good chance that you're a mouth breather. If you've had a deviated septum or a broken nose, probably a good chance that you are a more of a mouth breather. If you get stuffy or congested at night, it's probably a good indication that you're gonna tend to be more of a mouth breather.

Speaker 3 (27:45):

And so assess it, address it, retrain your body's ability to breathe appropriately. If you, the other thing you could do is you could check your respiratory rate. I think you and I went to school, they, we, the average respiratory rate somewhere between 15, maybe 18 breaths per minute was considered normal. But really optimal is somewhere between six and 10 breaths per minute for optimal health. And most people aren't even close to it. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>. And the other thing I have my patients do is do a controlled breath hold time test where they blow all the air out, hold their breath until they start to get their first SI signs of anxiousness or panic. And if that number optimally, that number should be being closer to over 40. But you know, a lot of people with chronic health issues, it's under 20, under 10, they, their poor breathing habits, maybe a really big contributor to what's creating some of their problems.

Speaker 3 (28:37):

And it doesn't cost you anything to check it and it doesn't cost you anything to retrain your breathing. And there's plenty of things out there that if you need guided care yoga, there's lots of yoga type breathing things. There's Wim Hof and all these things that can teach you and train you how to rebreed. And you don't have to, but you really don't have to pay for anything. You just gotta work on it. I would say number two would be good nutrition. And despite the craziness in the functional medicine space today where we've circled the diet religions in and we're shooting in at each other, the focus of somebody's dietary strategy you know, it should be a whole food based diet, 80% of the time is a great place to start. If you're eating a lot of processed foods, start there, stop doing it.

Speaker 3 (29:27):

Right? That's an easy thing to do. And you can say, well, do I need to be carnivore? Do I need to be keto? Do I need to be vegetarian, vegan, paleo, medi? What do I need to be? Get rid of all those fancy names and religions and just start shifting your diet to being 80% of the time whole food based. That's a great place to start. What we've done in functional medicine and this in the, in our industry is somebody's found that they did something. It helped them, helped the patient. So therefore everybody should be doing it. And what we have to consider that a carnivore diet could be really beneficial to somebody for a short period of time. Paleo diet could be very beneficial for somebody for a short period of time. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>, maybe vegan or vegetarian, depending on what you're doing and how you're doing and what's going on with your physiology. Variation in diet may be, may be important to change, but the real issue isn't with what type of whole food diet we should be eating. We should be reducing the toxic load of the processed foods. And if we just do that, most people are gonna start to become healthier, more satisfied. Right. <Laugh>. And then, and then I'd say the third thing is, well, I was

Speaker 1 (30:33):

Gonna say just before you go to that, we just need to stop eating the crap and just <laugh>, right. Eat for real food.

Speaker 3 (30:40):

We've lost touch with what we think healthy food is because we have stickers and labels that we stick on things and say, oh, this is, this is organic, this is whatever, and we think, oh, then it must be good. Well not, so it's all marketing.

Speaker 1 (30:58):

Right. Okay. Sorry to interrupt. And so the third thing would be,

Speaker 3 (31:03):

I think it's one of those things you, that everybody can work on that's really important for health and wellbeing is quality sleep. Too many of us, and I was one of those, I was like, you can sleep when you're dead. So, you know, I could stay up late studying, doing research, get up early so I could start training four hours of sleep. I was, I thought that was like a badge of like honor. I wore that proudly for probably 20 years, but I didn't realize the negative consequences it really had on my physiology. You can't heal and recover. Your brain does not process things appropriately if you don't sleep appropriately. Yeah. You don't, you can't clear out the toxins in the brain if you don't get good quality restorative sleep. And the vast majority of us are not getting it. We're on TVs or cell phones or whatever.

Speaker 3 (31:48):

We're taking stimulants too late in the day. We're sleeping with somebody who snores and keeps us from waking up or sleeping with our kids or our dog that keeps us awake. We're doing so many things to disrupt our sleep patterns and we don't realize how impactful that can be on our physiology. But those are three things that don't cost you anything to do tomorrow that you easily, you can easily assess just by googling healthy whole food diet. How do I check my respiratory rate? How do I improve my sleep? And you do those foundational things. You, your sleep may still not get, may not be as good as you want it to be, but you still have to start with good sleep habits and behaviors to be even have a chance of getting a better night's sleep.

Speaker 1 (32:34):

Right. And you can read about the other fitness factors in the book book. So I definitely recommend that. But I gotta ask you, where's spiritual fitness on that list?

Speaker 3 (32:44):

Well, I think that fit for me that fits into that psychological or emotional fitness category, like what goes on between the six inches of your ears has a huge impact on your physiology. So we talk about things in there, like, I think one of the things that's really important for people who are really anxious or depressed or sad or unhappy with their life is I think to have, whether, I don't care what religion somebody is, but I think having some spiritual beliefs is really important. And the other thing is the principles that we learn in whatever church you go to or whatever, you know, whatever spiritual philosophy you grew up in, those found, many of those foundational principles are just good things to, you know, good principles to live by. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>. And if you live by a lot of those principles, you're gonna feel in, you're gonna feel and functional better from an emotional, from a spiritual standpoint.

Speaker 3 (33:34):

A lot of times people think that their life is terrible. My life is awful. I'm in such bad shape. Everything is terrible for me. Blah, blah, blah, blah. Those are the people I usually say, you need to volunteer, you need to go volunteer, you need to go help somebody mm-hmm. Who's in worse shape than you. And start to start to realize, you know, even though things may not all be going right, that there is some blessings in your life and some benefits in your life, but sometimes we're so stuck in our stuff and we're so focused on how terrible things are and what's wrong, that we can't actually see how good what's around us is. And so yeah, I think you have to have some, that, that spiritual piece is part of the emotional psychological fitness.

Speaker 1 (34:15):

Yeah. I mean, what you're saying is so true. I, the other day I was all in my head about my problems and I'm in Dubai and I met a guy on the waterfront who moved here with his family from Syria at 19 to study computer science. And he lost his two sisters a few months ago in the war in Syria. And here I am thinking that I have issues and he told me it's okay. And I said, really <laugh>. And so it just really puts things in perspective. But for me in particular, the thyroid has a lot of spiritual meaning for women. I think that's one of the reasons why women have such a greater rate of thyroid dysfunction, particularly because it's in that throat chakra or energy center where you're supposed to speak your truth and so many women don't. So in particular, it's something that I talk with women about. So I was curious where that fit into your, your perspective.

Speaker 3 (35:09):

I'm not as in tune maybe from a, from a chakra perspective as you are, and there may be something to that, I don't know necessarily. But I do think what goes on, whether consciously or or subconsciously between the six inches of your ears has a drastic influence of your overall health and wellbeing. I mean, if you have a lot of trauma, a lot of emotional burden that's gonna create a windup of the limbic system, a windup of the sympathetic nervous system, a downregulation of the, a parasympathetic, and for the listener, you know, the sympathetic nervous system is that flight or flight response. And the parasympathetic is kind of the rest and recovery response. And so if in my mind I'm stressed, I'm worried I've got negative thoughts going on in that space and I can't manage and control it, that is going to drive a state of danger.

Speaker 3 (36:01):

It's a state of fear, a state of, of fight or flight response. And that will totally shift your physiology. I mean, if I was being chased by the tiger and I'm running for my life, I'm probably not gonna make digestive hormones 'cause I don't need the hormones. Right. I'm probably not gonna make appropriate levels of sex hormones because I don't need those. I'm not stopping to have sex. Right. I am running right. And so my physiology adapts to what's going on in my environment, whether it's the physical environment or the spiritual or emotional environment, my body's going to adapt to that environment.

Speaker 1 (36:37):

Right. Dr. Eric, thank you so much for raising the conversation level around thyroid disorder diagnosis and treatment. The book is the Thyroid Debacle. Why the current medical model is keeping you sick and unwell. Where can people connect with you online and found that, find out more about the work that you're doing?

Speaker 3 (36:57):

Sure. My website is rejuven center.com. So if somebody wants to learn more about me, they can go there. If they wanna have a, what we call a discovery consultation, just kind of chat about what's going on and what maybe the right strategies are or if I'm a, if they wanna potentially work with me, what that looks like. I do have a podcast that calls it, it's called the Thyroid Dancers Podcast, where we talk about not just thyroid physiology, but I talk about everything through the lens of the cell danger response. So I don't care what condition you have, we're talking about those foundational principles, physical fitness, emotional fitness, all those things that we kind of hinted to in the discussion. I've got a YouTube where all my podcasts are listed on there, as well as wherever you get your podcast, you can get 'em, you can download those. The podcast I do Thursdays, I do thyroid Thursday videos, they're on YouTube and I, my team puts them on Instagram. That's probably where I'm not really spend too much time on social media, but that's where we post, like on Instagram. And then anybody who's I, we do regular posts on there. And then any commentary that's, that comes in, those are a lot of times what becomes the content for a podcast, A Thyroid Thursday or an Instagram post. So those are the best places to reach out and hear more about what I'm doing.

Speaker 1 (38:12):

Awesome. Well, thank you so much for joining us today. Well,

Speaker 3 (38:15):

Thanks for the invitation. It was great.

Speaker 1 (38:17):

And thank you for listening to another episode of The Hormone Prescription with Dr. Ki. Hopefully you learned something today that you will put into action, maybe start figuring out what's triggering your cell danger response, because pretty much most all of us went in over 40, have it and start doing something about it. Like Dr. Eric, Eric was talking about, looking at your food, looking at your sleep, looking at your breathing. The this is a place to start. Reach out and tell me about it on social media at Kyrin Dunston MD on Facebook and Instagram. I look forward to having and continuing the conversation with you there. And until next week when I'll see you for another episode, peace, love, and Hormones, y'all.

Speaker 2 (38:58):

Thank you so much for listening. I know that incredible vitality occurs for women over 40 when we learn to speak hormone and balance these vital regulators to create the health and the life that we deserve. If you're enjoying this podcast, podcast, I'd love it if you'd give me a review and subscribe. It really does help this podcast out so much. You can visit the hormone prescription.com where we have some free gifts for you, and you can sign up to have a hormone evaluation with me on the podcast to gain clarity into your personal situation. Until next time, remember, take small steps each day to balance your hormones and watch the wonderful changes in your health that begin to unfold for you. Talk to you soon.

 

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See ya later, Ovulator: Mastering Menopause With Nutrition, Lifestyle And Hormones

Welcome to the latest episode of The Hormone Prescription Podcast, titled "See Ya Later, Ovulator: Mastering Menopause With Nutrition, Lifestyle, And Hormones"! In this enthralling episode, we sit down with the amazing Esther Blum, an all-around authority on conquering menopause with an integrative approach from a dietitian's perspective.
  
Esther Blum is an Integrative Dietitian who has made it her mission to help women navigate the whirlwind of menopause. With Esther's extensive experience and undeniable expertise, she has guided countless women through the challenging waters of hormonal changes in this significant life stage. Her presence isn't just felt with her clients—she's made appearances on the Today Show, ABC-TV, and has even taken on the role of menopause mentor for none other than Gwyneth Paltrow!
  
Throughout the episode, we dive into the depths of menopause, discussing Esther's background and her journey in becoming such a sought-after expert.

In this episode, you'll learn:

- Esther's wealth of knowledge, shedding light on how vital lifestyle, nutrition, and hormonal therapy can play a role in achieving optimal hormonal balance for women going through this phase.

- Esther's groundbreaking approach ensures that women can master menopause without the extreme stress and confusion it often brings.

- The essentials of a hormone-balancing diet, how to promote self-advocacy, and the role of therapy in this crucial phase of women's lives.

You'll be left with not only a better understanding of menopause but also equipped with tools to manage and thrive during this time.
  
Don't miss this enlightening and engaging episode filled with life-changing insights and actionable solutions for mastering menopause. Tune in to The Hormone Precription Podcast with our special guest, the esteemed Integrative Dietitian and Menopause Expert, Esther Blum, and embrace the journey through menopause with newfound confidence and understanding.

 

Speaker 1 (00:00):
See you later, emulator and other Esther Blum is about menopause, nutrition, lifestyle and how to transform your life.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
So the big question is, how do women over 40 like us, keep weight off, have great energy, balance our hormones in our moods, feel sexy and confident, and master midlife? If you're like most of us, you are not getting the answers you need and remain confused and pretty hopeless to ever feel like yourself again. As an O B G Y N, I had to discover for myself the truth about what creates a rock solid metabolism, lasting weight loss, and supercharged energy after 40, in order to lose a hundred pounds and fix my fatigue. Now I'm on a mission. This podcast is designed to share the natural tools you need for impactful results and to give you clarity on the answers to your midlife metabolism challenges. Join me for tangible, natural strategies to crush the hormone imbalances you are facing and help you get unstuck from the sidelines of life. My name is Dr. Kyrin Dunston. Welcome to the Hormone Prescription Podcast.

Speaker 1 (01:07):
Hey everybody. Welcome back to another episode of The Hormone Prescription with Dr. Kyrin. Thank you so much for joining me today. My guest today is passionate about menopause. She's passionate about nutrition, she's passionate about living a full life and she's got lots of wisdom to share. She's an integrated dietician by training for over three decades, but of necessity became a menopause expert and she's helped lots of women, thousands of women, in fact, through nutrition, hormones and self-advocacy. She's the author of several books. She's just really an advocate for women's health and to stop the gaslighting that's going on when it comes to women's hormones in healthcare. And she's wise beyond her years. I'll tell you a little bit about her and we'll get started. So, Esther Blum is an integrative dietician and menopause expert. In the last 27 years, she's helped thousands of women master menopause through nutrition, hormones and advocacy. She's the bestselling author of, see You Later, ovulators Need Women, don't Get Fat, eat, drink, and Be Gorgeous. Secrets of Gorgeous And The Eat, drink and Be Gorgeous. Project known as Gwyneth Paltrow's Menopause Mentor and by course for helping women thrive through menopause. Esther was also voted best nutritionist by Manhattan Magazine. She has appeared on the Today Show, a b C TV and Good Day New York, and is frequently quoted in Goop well and good Forbes and Time Magazine. Please help me welcome Esther Blum to the show. Thank you for having me.

Speaker 1 (02:47):
So excited to talk about menopause always and nutrition and lifestyle and what I call all the things. I love the title of your book. So I'm wondering if we can start there. See you later. Ovulators <laugh>. Where, where did you get the title from? That book?

Speaker 3 (03:08):
Whatever. Yeah. You know what? It's funny. I literally saw online a woman who had had like a menopause or, or a hysterectomy party and she had these cookies with See You Later, ovulators on them. So I had used it as a subtitle for section or a chapter of the book and my publicist was like, no way man. That's gotta be the cover. Like, it's just so catchy and it was available. So I went with it. Okay. Yeah, it's really my homage to like get out like uterus and ovaries. You, you served me well. Thank you so much. Can we just wrap this party up now and can we be free of the monthly cycles and the cramps and the irritability and the bloating and the breast tenderness and the moodiness and the insomnia, <laugh>, you know, just all those things. I'm like, let's just welcome in the next chapter for our bodies with power and grace and really joy.

Speaker 1 (04:07):
So you have been a dietician for a while, is that correct? Yeah,

Speaker 3 (04:12):
Almost three, almost three decades. I'm like a hundred now <laugh>

Speaker 1 (04:16):
You're a hundred. And so what changed your focus to menopause? Hmm.

Speaker 3 (04:22):
It started because I worked in hospitals the first five years of my career. I actually started out working with wic, the WIC program at Boston City Hospital and then went to graduate school and got my master's in clinical nutrition and went back to hospital work, worked in cardiology units and, but started opening a private practice on the side and after about five years, I got certified in functional medicine. 'cause I was like, I'm really not making a difference, giving someone 10 minutes of diet instruction or working in the WIC office. Like, I was like, here's the benefits of high fiber beans and get your calcium from cheese. That there really, I wasn't making a difference. And so with functional mess and I wanted to get in at a more preventive level. And when I opened that, immediately menopausal women came into my practice and I was like, oh my gosh, I'm in my twenties.

Speaker 3 (05:15):
I don't even know how to treat. So I certainly didn't know much about hormone replacement at the time, but I did know about whole food diets and intermittent fasting and really optimizing insulin sensitivity and weight loss, like stubborn midsection, weight loss and the cortisol belly. So I got to work with diet therapy then. And over the years, really there's been such an evolution in the research. I mean, since I've started practicing, you know, the North American Menopause Society has had two different position papers that Women's Health Initiative study was out there in the early days of my practice. And then since then it's been, you know, the guidelines have been updated. So it, I've seen a lot of changes in my trajectory through menopause.

Speaker 1 (06:05):
Yes. Lots of changes. And so what are the biggest challenges? I mean, everybody listening, we talk about menopause a lot that you, you see with women and, and how has it evolved over time? So you, you went from nutrition, then you became functional medicine certified, and I know that you talked with women about hormones as well. And so how did that come into the picture? Yeah,

Speaker 3 (06:31):
Well, because I really wasn't doing, you know enough, like when I'm not solving, I, I don't think about the people who I'm helping as much as the people who I'm not helping. And there comes a point for some women, diet and lifestyle makes a huge difference, right? You ditch alcohol, you cut back on caffeine, you clean out sugar, you're gonna help a woman resolve her hot flashes and improve her sleep and her blood sugar and weight loss and cortisol management. But will it help a woman with brain fog? Will it help a woman with severe insomnia? Will it help a woman maintain her bones? Not necessarily. There comes a point when it's really time to bring in hormones for that last piece of the pie. And I always say it's not the whole pie. Don't think hormones are, you can't out hormone your, your lifestyle. You can't out supplement your lifestyle. It's got to be a multifaceted approach. It has to be stress management is number one in menopause. It's really critical. Sleep, digestion, optimizing protein, getting your strength training in, getting your, your steps in every day, your supplements if needed. Then the hormones, it's multifactorial.

Speaker 1 (07:52):
Yeah, I love that You can't out hormone your lifestyle, but you also can't out lifestyle your hormones. <Laugh> You know, I always say that menopause is a state of hormonal poverty. The consequences of that hormonal poverty may be symptomatically more severe or less severe for some women. But the changes are happening in hormonal poverty. And if you're not educated on them, that's what I talked about in my TED talk then, you know, you're at increased risk like my mom for Alzheimer's dementia. And the only risk factor she had was she was in untreated menopause for three decades. So I do think it's an essential part, the the puzzle. And so how do you counsel women? Because it's really hard when they traditional doctors won't give them the standard of care, basically is no hormones right? Or exactly for three symptoms and Right. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (08:49):
Well that was another reason why I wrote see a later ovulators because I have 20 pages of studies in the back of the book that support the use and the importance of hormone replenishment or now it's called M R t, right? Menopause replenishment therapy. But I, well, no matter what you call it, you know, it's very intimidating to confront a white coat. I even gave my book to my doctor and of course she did not read it. But you know, my advice <laugh> <laugh>, I know, and I mean, just like, sidebar here for a minute, real talk ladies. You know, I had this like ovarian cyst that ruptured back in November and I was in extraordinary pain and I, I came home and laughed. I said to my husband, I could have written what they told me. They were like, well, I said, so where are my treatment options?

Speaker 3 (09:42):
And they said, well, you can either go on the pill or go on the I U D or have a hysterectomy. And I said, Nope, what else you got? And they said, take lots of ibuprofen. And I was like, wow, I'm kind of screwed here. So I'm right in the trenches with you ladies. This is why I wrote the book was to like tell all of our stories and understand that medical gaslighting is really not, it's not okay. And if a dietician is researching and accessing all these studies and your doctor is not, and your doctor's A G Y N, then that's lazy medicine. If your doctor isn't updating the standards of warnings on hormones, that's lazy medicine. So what you can say is this is, you know, hey, I know you're not very into hormones, but just let me try it for three months.

Speaker 3 (10:36):
<Laugh>, I've done the research, but I have plenty of research studies if you wanna look at them in my book, in this book here. And I've done my research and the research shows they're safe and effective and can really prevent, you know, bone loss, loss of gray matter, increased risk of coronary artery disease and I really wanna try them. So a lot of doctors will capitulate to that. However, your Dr. May not monitor a follow up with your hormone labs the way you really should be following up. So the other alternative is vote with your wallet, find a new doctor. Like if you didn't like your hairstylist, if you didn't like your dry cleaner, you would find a new one. Why are we so afraid to look for new doctors? Especially when so many do telemedicine now. So that's another thing we wanna remember and, and yes, often they're out of pocket and we do have to lay out the cash, but insurance often reimburses for a good portion of this. And you will save time and you will save money and you will save nights and years of insomnia and bloating and weight gain and migraines and real struggles that impact your quality of life.

Speaker 1 (11:48):
Yeah. You know, I, I was laughing when you said your Dr. May say, yeah, I'm not that into hormones, which is kind of insane when you think about it. But literally that's what doctors are saying a lot of times to their patients without saying it. If you read between the lines, I'm not that into hormones. So yeah, that's actually why I created her hormone club. I don't even know, I don't think I mentioned to you, we created an all-in-one telemedicine solution for women to get bioidentical hormone testing and treatment with bioidentical estradiol EST trial, progesterone and testosterone. Nationwide in the United States we have board certified doctors in every state. So because people were not able to access this after I did the stop the Menopause Madness summit, we've now done three of them. Women said, we get it. We, we need hormones, where do we go?

Speaker 1 (12:41):
And we didn't have anywhere to send them. So one day I said, oh yeah, we need a telemedicine solution. And so I created it. So everybody listening there is access to this in your neighborhood. It may not look like what you're used to where you drive and find parking and sit with your butt hanging out in a little paper gown for an hour waiting to the doctor <laugh> only to leave with a fist full of prescriptions that don't fix your problem. Like you can actually be in your pajama bottoms at your dining room table on Zoom, getting a hormone prescription. So that's just, you

Speaker 3 (13:14):
Could tell me more about this <laugh>. Yeah, I need your info please. Thank you.

Speaker 1 (13:20):
Yeah. So we'll cover that. But in nutrition, what do you think is the most, what are the biggest issues you see for women in perimenopause and menopause with their nutrition and where do they have the biggest impact in those symptoms? If they're really gonna master their lifestyle to help master their hormones, where do they start?

Speaker 3 (13:44):
So I have three menno laws for fat loss and they're very simple and very straightforward and completely doable for everybody. So number one is to optimize your protein intake. And most people think they're eating and enough protein without understanding the research. And this always upsets the vegetarians and vegans. But I'm telling you what worked for you in your twenties and thirties does not work in your forties, fifties and beyond. So, and it's challenging for women because a lot of times during perimenopause and menopause, the gut changes, right? The digestive fire really decreases our, we don't produce as much stomach acid. The lining of the small intestine changes as progesterone and estrogen declines. So what happens is we feel like a lot of people say, I can't eat so much meat. It feels so heavy and they really struggle. It's another layer to struggle to optimize protein.

Speaker 3 (14:42):
But the research points that points to getting at least four ounces of protein at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Or if you're intermittent fasting, it's more challenging. You know, I say get at least seven to eight ounces of protein if you can at a meal and then have a little snack in between. But basically you need a minimum of a hundred grams of protein per day to not only maintain muscle mass, but really to build it. And a lot of people will have, you know, an egg for breakfast and maybe like a couple shrimp on a salad for lunch crumb or crumbled up chicken or an an egg. And then dinner is like the big meal, the steak, chicken, fish. So we really need to distribute evenly. Your body needs a minimum threshold of four ounces of protein at breakfast, lunch, dinner in order for you to optimize your anabolic capabilities or your ability to build muscle and plain in English.

Speaker 3 (15:41):
So that's something, just optimizing protein at breakfast is huge. So that can be done with a cup of cottage cheese, two eggs and two whites or two eggs plus some Turkey or ham or smoked salmon. A protein shake with two scoops of protein power. So if you're vegetarian you could do pea protein or you can do whey protein as well. So those are just some really simple easy strategies. Like just saying to someone, just add one more scoop of protein powder. They're like, oh, I can do that, no problem. Or just add a little more protein. What it does is protein raises serotonin and dopamine in the brain. So you're gonna offset your sugar cravings, you're gonna triple your energy and your mental focus and you're not gonna get the 4:00 PM crashes. So you will sleep better at night, again, crave less, better energy.

Speaker 3 (16:33):
And building muscle won't be as hard as it is already in menopause. It can be harder. So that's mental law number one, mental law number two is to make sure that you flip your ratios. And what do I mean by this? Make sure that if you're getting a hundred grams of carbs a hundred grams of protein a day or 120, then your carbs fall 70 to a hundred grams. You, most of us, most of the women I see have much greater carb to protein ratios and we need to flip those and have protein outweigh carbs. Now the carbs I'm talking about are the starchy carbs, unlimited, ve you know, vegetables don't, I don't count those towards your carbs. They have fiber and water. They're not gonna, nobody's getting fat on spinach and artichokes here, right? Watch your portions of rice or potatoes or sweet potatoes or, but they're still very beneficial, which is my mental law number three, which is to eat carbs at night.

Speaker 3 (17:35):
You know, protein by day, carbs at night. Why would I have you eat carbs at dinner? People think, oh my god, I'm gonna get so fat. That's ridiculous. You're far more insulin sensitive later on in the day than you are earlier in the day. And carbs again, you're gonna get a slight insulin bump even if you pair your carbs with a protein. And with vegetables, if you have, you know, a cup of sweet potatoes or quinoa or rice or lentils, yes your blood sugar will go up some and that tamps down your cortisol. So it really helps you sleep at night. And most people are like, wait, you're telling me to eat carbs? I get to eat more protein and feel less hungry. Like it's an abundance of riches at that point. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (18:20):
I was so surprised when you said that. Eat carbs at dinner. I know everyone's going Yes, <laugh>, she said he carbs at dinner. Yes, exactly right. Yeah, I love that. Three fat loss. So protein for sure, you definitely, most of us women as we age, why do we do that? We lower and lower our protein, we don't get enough. And flipping the ratio of carbs to proteins and eating carbs at dinner mm-hmm. <Affirmative>. So yeah, I see how that could really help. Insulin resistance is such a problem for perimenopausal and menopausal women. Do you have any other tips that you could offer them to help with their insulin? Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>?

Speaker 3 (19:03):
Yes. So the next level, okay, so those are like kind of the foundations for fat loss. But let's say you're like Esther, I'm not, I'm not hungry in the morning. Like a lot of my menopausal mamas just aren't even hungry in the morning. And so for those women, I really love intermittent fasting and there's three ways you can do intermittent fasting and why intermittent fasting just means really simply shortening your eating window. And it's really beneficial in resetting those insulin receptors because your body has to dig deep into your fat stores and it really resets your insulin receptors beautifully. So number one is you can start with a 12 hour fast. You finish your dinner by 7:00 PM you do not eat breakfast until 7:00 AM or later. That's like a really gentle fast. See how you do with that? Just cutting out nighttime eating can be very beneficial.

Speaker 3 (19:55):
Then number two is you can really shorten your window to, you know, between 10 and six or 12 and six, getting, you know, a good six to eight hour eating window that also shreds body fat and can really offset. And you know, if you want like black coffee or tea in the morning, that's fine, just dough, add anything to it or so you don't break your fast. And then option three, which I love is the five two method. And that's where you eat normally five days outta the week and then two days out of the week, ideally not next to each other. You have 500 calorie days and a 500 calorie day is usually not eating during the day. And then you have a supper meal where you have like a chicken breast, a half cup of starch and two cups of steamed vegetables. And that also that really restricted eating just not only burns body fat but really helps reset insulin sensitivity.

Speaker 1 (20:56):
Yeah. The, the 500 calorie diet, if you can do it, I can't, I'd almost, I do better not eating at all <laugh> than eating 500 calories.

Speaker 3 (21:06):
Yes. Yes. And some women feel that way too and just wanna drink some bone broth or water. That's what, that's the thing, right? Is bioindividuality, like other women in my practice, cannot fast at all. It either triggers, you know, overeating later in the day, binge eating or disordered eating. So we don't wanna do that. Or if you're feeling just so shaky and irritable and you cannot even concentrate, it's probably not for you. Now if you fall in that camp, you're gonna need to eat more and move more. So most women I see have very stalled fat loss and kind of a sluggish thyroid. 'cause They've been chronically dieting like to the tune of nine to 1200 calories a day for years and years and years and they, the weight just isn't coming off. So mm-hmm. <Affirmative> for those women, right? A you can try, you know, super low carb, I don't wanna use the word keto, but keeping your carbs like 50 to 70 grams a day for a couple of weeks and coming off then or only having carbs on your weightlifting days or, you know, my other option is to really, you know, walk at least 15,000 steps a day and go to the gym, lift heavy two to three times a week, learn.

Speaker 3 (22:26):
And you may say, well what's a heavy weight? Heavy weight is when it brings you to failure. After, you know, by the third set you can only do six to eight where you really just, your muscles just will not lift. And most of us are lifting far lighter than we need to be. We're a lot stronger than we think we are. So there's many ways to skin a cat. Some of my ladies, again, we diet them up, then we cut calories for a couple weeks, then we diet them up where we, we get them eating 15 to 1800 calories a day and they're losing weight. Other women do well with the fasting protocol. Other women do well just by bumping up their movement every day. So it's really, and and, and allowing yourself to be hungry, not snacking, you know, allowing four to five hours between meals and if you're hungry between meals, gotta bump up your protein. That's how you know you're not eating enough protein if you can't make it five hours between the meal.

Speaker 1 (23:22):
Yes. And the weights, talk a little bit about that. It's super important and most of us aren't doing any weights. Like we think it's all about the aerobics or we're not looking heavy enough. Weights, <laugh>. And I like how you described it in your third set. You really shouldn't be able to do that many reps. That's how you're exhausting that muscle. A lot of women worry about getting bulky muscles. They don't want to, but gosh, who is it? I, I saw he said something like, it's survival of those with the best muscle mass or something like this. <Laugh>.

Speaker 3 (23:54):
Yes. Muscle is,

Speaker 1 (23:55):
It's all about muscle mass. Yeah. Talk

Speaker 3 (23:57):
About that. Muscle is the organ of longevity and ladies, you do not have the testosterone to bulk up. Okay? You're not Michael Phelps eating 5,000 calories a day and has the testosterone of a younger man. Even if you're using bioidentical testosterone, you're still getting a micro dose. You're not, you're not gonna look like a dude and what's gonna happen. And women will say, well I tend to bulk up. No, you're not cutting calories enough. If you're bulking up, you're probably eating too much. Even Arnold Schwartzenegger, at the height of his bodybuilding when he wanted to get lean, he cut down to 1500 calories a day. So you really have to think about your caloric intake and log your food if you think you're bulking up. So back to, so diet is 80% the weights yes, heavy weights. Some women will say four pounds is a lot.

Speaker 3 (24:55):
And, and listen, you can do Pilates. I've done Pilates classes with four pound weights where my arms just instantly burned because the muscles are really isolated. But it will work the muscle. But if you really truly wanna build the muscle, then yes, you do need to build up to 10 pounds, 15 pounds, 20 pounds, 30 pounds, you know it, you don't have to injure yourself or your joints. And you do it very slowly. Maybe you start off a month using, you know, five to eight pound weights and by the end of four weeks you're ramping up to eight to 12 pound weights. You're adding in one set worth of 10 pound weights, the first two sets where at eight pounds. So you can incrementally increase your weight or do one set as a warmup, a lighter weight, and get heavier weights with each progressive set.

Speaker 1 (25:45):
Yeah. I love lifting weights, <laugh>. I can't say enough about it. I think it's the best way to like take out your frustrations and work out that stress and just go lift heavy things. Ladies, go lift heavy. There's a reason that guys have been doing it is because it makes them feel good mentally. I think it's almost more a mental than a physical exercise.

Speaker 3 (26:08):
Yes it is. And believe me, if it's any consolation, like I don't enjoy lifting weights. I enjoy how I feel after, and I enjoy having my booty look good in a pair of jeans or my arms look good in a tank top. It's all, it's vanity. Whatever works for you, do it. Or just knowing like, hey, I wanna get up off the floor, you know, in my 60 seventies and eighties the way I did in my twenties and thirties. Or hey, I don't wanna break a bone. I've got family history of, you know, osteoporosis and I, I don't wanna go down that road. I wanna offset my hospital bills and you know, my sick time because falls and fractures are the leading cause of death in people over the age of 65.

Speaker 1 (26:50):
Amen. And there's so much you can do to prevent that and we just think it's not gonna happen to us. Right, right. And the truth is it does happen to us. Yes. I'm wondering if you could talk about some of the most inspiring stories of women who are in perimenopause or menopause women you've worked with, you know, over the years who really stick in your mind. Because right now there are women listening to us talk who are sitting there going, yeah, yeah, yeah, I've heard all this diet, nutrition, weights. I feel like crap. My doctor can't help me. There's no hope for me. I am the exception. There's no answer and there's no

Speaker 3 (27:29):
Hope. Oh yeah.

Speaker 1 (27:31):
And what I want them to know is yes, there is, because I was that woman 20 years ago. Right now we are the light for those women. So can you talk about some of those most inspiring stories?

Speaker 3 (27:46):
Yes. Okay. And you can see her testimonials. She gives a video on my website, esther blum.com. You can see both recorded and written. So first I'm gonna speak about my client, Julie, who when she came to me, had so much pain, so much inflammation, everything from reflux to horrible back pain. She was very overweight. She couldn't do any physical exercise or so she thought, and she drank like a sailor, I mean really heavily relied on alcohol to take care of her stress and depression, which please, it's not an antidepressant, that's for sure. It worsens the situation. So I was like, Julie, get in your pool. Get in your pool. Just start moving. Just start moving your body. Thank God she had a pool. Then we got her to add in protein, we got her to cut back on booze. We got her, you know, we added in some supplements.

Speaker 3 (28:45):
We were very slowly and incrementally. She lost 40 pounds in a month just doing the most simple foundational. Now most people don't lose 40 pounds in a month. That's extreme. That's a lot, right? But so much of what she had was fluid retention and inflammation. So for her, it worked really well. She got her energy back, she decreased her back pain tremendously to the point where she converted her daughter's bedroom into a home gym and was able to lift and her husband came and lifted with her. So that was like a ginormous success story. Then I think of my client, Laura, who came to me, totally different, right? Laura didn't have a lot of weight to lose. She had about five pounds of vanity. She called 'em vanity pounds. She wanted to lose. And she had, she was a single mom and her son would always tell her she had halat ptosis.

Speaker 3 (29:40):
And she was like, oh my god, I can't possibly date this way. And she was drinking wine and she was also not sleeping. And she, although she was a candidate, you know, we did her tests. And although she was a candidate for hormones, she really did not wanna use biodentical hormones. She wanted to conquer this through lifestyle. So I said, okay. So again, we ran her labs, I did some stool testing. She had a significant amount of h pylori, which is a bacteria that loves to shut off hydrochloric acid production in the gut. So it survives in a very alkaline environment. So she was having all this reflux because she didn't have the hydrochloric acid, she needed to kind of keep her pyloric sphincter shut. So we killed off the h pylori repopulated, her gut with stomach acid. Her bad breath went away. She, we also cleaned up her diet.

Speaker 3 (30:32):
She, you know, again, we did have to clean out alcohol ladies, I'm not gonna lie, there's really no way around it. Alcohol doesn't do your body any favors. Even one drink a week is really disruptive to fat loss, blood sugar, and can keep you in an estrogen dominant state while your liver is trying to detox alcohol. It will detox alcohol long before estrogen. It's just the way it is. So anyway, we cleaned up Laura's diet. We gave her a lot of magnesium at bedtime and other calming nutrients. And her sleep greatly improved. She is in a long-term relationship and actually got engaged. She got rid of her halat ptosis and she, she lost five pounds. She got really lean and started lifting weights and really got very sinan and lean. So those are just two of my women. Again, their testimonials are on my website. So it is possible, it really, whether you wanna lose five pounds, whether you need to lose 75 pounds, pounds, it is possible. The greatest limiter is not your hormones. It's not your diet as much as your limiting beliefs around what you deserve to have and your commitment to yourself. That's really the rate limiting factor. It really is. Like talk,

Speaker 1 (31:51):
Just talk a little bit more about that and how it's, how would someone know that you're talking to her that she has limiting beliefs?

Speaker 3 (31:58):
Because we all have limiting beliefs. We've internalized messages that we heard when we were younger that made us feel not enough in one way or another. And so we have to really think about why we want something. Right? When someone wants to lose weight, I say, well, why do you wanna lose weight vanity? It really, I mean, vanity always comes up first, right? I wanna good my clothes, I wanna feel sexy and bad. I wanna feel confident. But then the why's go deeper. Like, I wanna be able to keep up with my grandchildren one day. I want a better quality of life. I watch my mother get sick and die from diabetes and have horrible neuropathy and not have a, not be able to travel and have fun in her life. It's really getting in touch with your why. Getting in touch with your beliefs about why you can't have those things.

Speaker 3 (32:48):
'Cause We can all, like the universe, pores a vacuum. The universe wants us to be abundant, understanding that we're not supposed to be fat, sick and broke. We're supposed to be rich in love and relationships and financially abundant, but also abundant in how we love on ourselves. And asking ourselves really like, yeah, I want a bar of chocolate. I want a bottle of wine, but is that gonna love me back? We know it's not right. So maybe I cut down to one square of chocolate a couple times a week. Maybe I put myself on a 90 day alcohol free challenge and maybe I experiment and see what's the harm in trying this? What will happen? Let me just observe objectively what's gonna happen to my body, my state of mind, and let me try taking, you know, two or three classes on an app or on YouTube or hiring a trainer and you know, just figuring out instead of saying like, I can't have this, flipping that on its head and saying, how can I make this happen?

Speaker 1 (33:56):
Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>,

Speaker 3 (33:57):
How can I make this happen?

Speaker 1 (34:00):
Right? I think it's so true and, and more it has to do with what we believe we can have and can we do it. And I think so many of us just cut off. We don't believe that it's possible for us. We believe we're, we're terminally unique and that we we'll never be successful. And that's why I wanted you to share those stories. Thank you for sharing them. Yeah. there so that people can hear what's possible for women who think that there's no hope. 'cause There is so much to be hopeful for, right?

Speaker 3 (34:30):
Yes. And the other piece is really being so careful, and this is the greatest gift of midlife I have found, is being so careful who you surround yourself with. Because when you start to take on healthy diet changes and when you start to cut out alcohol, some people around you are probably not gonna like that. And the ones who don't like that are probably not gonna be your biggest supporters. They're like the bucket of crabs, right? You know the story about the bucket of crabs where, right. There's always a couple crabs at the top of the pile trying to crawl out of the bucket. They're like, I see it, I'm going for it. And then crabs at the bomb keep trying to pull those crabs right back down. So like, think about who you're surrounding yourself with. If you say to someone, oh yeah, I'm, I'm not drinking right now, not, I can't drink, I'm not drinking right now.

Speaker 3 (35:21):
And somebody's like, come on, just one, it's not gonna hurt. That's not someone you wanna socialize with, right? You wanna socialize with the people who say, good for you. Great. I'll join you. Let's get a mocktail, let's get some club soda, whatever. Because it's, you have to one of my greatest tenets of success is surrounding myself with people who are far wealthier and successful and have a growth mindset, a way bigger growth mindset than me. That dream bigger than I ever even knew was possible. I'm like, oh, I never thought about that. Those are the people you're gonna need to clean house with these changes. And that's why I think also people are deeply terrified to change because they don't

Speaker 1 (36:01):
Wanna, 'cause they're gonna let go.

Speaker 3 (36:03):
They wanna let go of what feels very unsafe and very uncomfortable for them. Change is uncom,

Speaker 1 (36:09):
Right? And these are, it is, but it is the only sure thing in life is change. And why not make it positive change if you have a choice. Esther, I thank you so much for coming on the show and sharing your wisdom and experience with mastering menopause, with nutrition, lifestyle, and hormones. Your book, SIA Ovulate and all the other resources you've created for everyone.

Speaker 3 (36:34):
I have a special offer for everyone here listening today, and that is to download my Happy Hormone cocktail. And you're gonna go to esther blum.com/cocktail and receive incredible ways to improve your sleep, fix your gut, and eliminate hot flashes during perimenopause and menopause.

Speaker 1 (36:56):
Awesome. Thank you so much for that. We will have the link in the show notes, so don't worry about trying to write it down. If you're driving, we'll have it there for you. Where can people find out more about you and connect with you online?

Speaker 3 (37:07):
Yes. So come hang with me on Instagram at Gorgeous Esther and get on my list. You will get Premier offers from me before the general public does, but also you're gonna get weekly cutting edge education on hormones, lifestyle, all the things we talked about today. So just join me@estherblum.com.

Speaker 1 (37:29):
Awesome. We will look for you there. And thanks so much for the work you're doing and for the wisdom that you've shared.

Speaker 3 (37:35):
Thank you so much,

Speaker 1 (37:37):
And thank you for joining me for another episode of The Hormone Prescription with Dr. Kieran. Hopefully you've learned something today that you can put into effect to start making changes towards the brilliant health that you deserve. It is your birthright. I look forward to hearing about those on Instagram and Facebook, and I'll see you next week for another episode. Until then, peace, love, and hormones, y'all.

Speaker 2 (38:01):
Thank you so much for listening. I know that incredible vitality occurs for women over 40 when we learn to speak hormone and balance these vital regulators to create the health and the life that we deserve. If you're enjoying this podcast, I'd love it if you'd give me a review and subscribe. It really does help this podcast out so much. You can visit the hormone prescription.com where we have some free gifts for you, and you can sign up to have a hormone evaluation with me on the podcast to gain clarity into your personal situation. Until next time, remember, take small steps each day to balance your hormones and watch the wonderful changes in your health that begin to unfold for you. Talk to you soon.

 

► Get Esther's Freebie "The Happy Hormone Cocktail" - CLICK HERE

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Here’s Why We Don’t Know What True Health Really Is: Find Out How To Create It Now

Welcome to another exciting and informative episode of The Hormone Prescription Podcast, specifically designed for midlife women! In today's episode, we are joined by the insightful and experienced Dr. Anoop Kumar. Dr. Kumar will discuss why we don't know what true health is, and most importantly, how we can create it for ourselves.
  
With a background in clinical medicine and mind-body integration, Dr. Kumar is a leading voice in the field of health and healthcare transformation. His unique perspective on health invites us to explore and redefine our understanding of wellbeing in a holistic manner.
  
During the podcast, Dr. Kumar explores:

* The concept of health as a holistic experience, encompassing physical, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing
* How the healthcare industry often focuses on the physical body, neglecting other crucial aspects of health
* The importance of integrating mind-body perspectives for a comprehensive understanding of human nature and unlocking true healing potential
  
Listeners will leave this episode feeling inspired and armed with practical tips for incorporating mind-body integrative approaches into their own health journeys.

Don't forget to subscribe to The Hormone Prescription Podcast for more valuable insights on health and wellbeing! 

 

Speaker 1 (00:00):

“Health is the expression of human potential.”  - Dr. Anoop Kumar. Find out in this episode why we don't know what health truly is and how to create it.

Speaker 2 (00:12):

So the big question is, how do women over 40 like us, keep weight off, have great energy, balance our hormones in our moods, feel sexy and confident, and master midlife? If you're like most of us, you are not getting the answers you need and remain confused and pretty hopeless to ever feel like yourself Again. As an ob-gyn, I had to discover for myself the truth about what creates our rock solid metabolism, lasting weight loss, and supercharged energy after 40, in order to lose a hundred pounds and fix my fatigue, now I'm on a mission. This podcast is designed to share the natural tools you need for impactful results, and to give you clarity on the answers to your midlife metabolism challenges. Join me for tangible, natural strategies to crush the hormone imbalances you are facing and help you get unstuck from the sidelines of life. My name is Dr. Kyrin Dunston. Welcome to the Hormone Prescription Podcast.

Speaker 1 (01:06):

Hi everybody. Welcome back to another episode of the Hormone Prescription with Dr. Kyrin. Thank you so much for joining me today. My guest today, Dr. Anoop Kumar, is going to share some really progressive perspectives on health that really are essential to creating health. I mean, first off, most of us don't really know what true health is. We know what treating disease is, and we know what controlling disease is, but do you really know what true health is or how to create it? Well, Dr. Kumar does, and he's gonna share that with you today. He's gonna help you understand what's missing from your approach, what you're not considering, what you might not have thought of. And he has a very unique perspective and some very inspirational stories. And he's going to talk about how health is the expression of human potential without addressing that question directly.

Speaker 1 (02:00):

That's actually a quote I got from him. But I do agree that health is the expression of human potential. So see if you can read between the lines and give your own explanation of how health is the expression of human potential. After you give a listen and share your thoughts with us on social media, you can find me at Kyrin Dunston MD on Instagram and Facebook. I look forward to communicating with you. So I'll let you know a little bit about Dr. Kumar and then we'll get started. He is a leading voice for health and healthcare transformation, bringing clarity to the full spectrum of clinical medicine, MINDBODY integration and human potential. He is co-founder of Health Revolution, a company building a complete ecosystem for healing, beginning with the Health Jumpstart course and the Healing Is Possible podcast. He offers regular webinars featuring healing meditations and conversations on Big Picture Health. Dr. Kumar grew up experimenting with the philosophy of non-duality, eventually finding ways to integrate its comprehensive perspective of human nature with biomedical science. He is board certified in emergency medicine and holds a master's degree in management with a focus in health leadership. He is the author of Michelangelo's Medicine, and is this a dream? As well as of numerous articles, integrating mind body perspectives. Please help me welcome Dr. Anup Kumar to the show.

Speaker 3 (03:25):

Thank you. It's great to be here with you, Kyrin.

Speaker 1 (03:28):

So I think this will be an interesting conversation starting with, and maybe you can just start talking about this. Here's why we don't know what health truly is. I mean, I guess I'll first say that I think I know what health is, but I thought that, you know, I was learning how to help people create actual health when I went to medical school. Yeah. I wanted to help women to the best of my ability. So I looked around at all the options for the toolboxes that I could learn about and become educated in. And I said, oh, getting my MD medical doctorate will give me the biggest toolbox. Yes. So that's why I got my MD only to discover after over a decade of practicing that I probably didn't really know what health was when my own health failed. Yeah. So what's going on here?

Speaker 3 (04:16):

Well, so I would agree with you. When I went to medical school, I also saw that the way we're looking at human being is incomplete. I had a lot of background in philosophy and spirituality growing up. My parents were really heavily into that. So that was, in a way, my first education. My primary education was in those philosophical perspectives that I had been experimenting with in my life. And so, by the time I got to medical school and you know, we learned our anatomy and physiology and biochemistry and so on, I saw that we were learning a lot about a little, you know what I mean? So it's like we're basically taking the human being and looking at the human being through a relatively narrow lens and then studying that lens intensely. So there's a whole lot of knowledge, but it's about a narrow spectrum of being human.

Speaker 3 (04:58):

And I'll give you an example of let's say four or five things that I think limit our understanding of what health is. Let me first say that you mentioned that, you know, you feel like you know what health is. I think all of us know to some extent, so I'm not saying we have no idea. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>, but I'm just saying the outer limits of what health could be, health after all, comes from the word whole. So what does it mean to be whole? What does it mean to be complete? In other words, what is the potential of a human being? Right? Like, what is the possibility for a human being? I think these are the questions that we, of course don't ask in healthcare, because the healthcare focus is really studying disease. So you and I study anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, embryology, and so on.

Speaker 3 (05:37):

And at some point we turn to pathology, pathophysiology. And it's like after that there's no turning back. Most of what you learn, even through continuing medical education, is about pathophysiology, diagnostic frameworks, and then treatments for those diagnostics for those diagnoses. So I think the bend, the tendency of health, healthcare, and research in general kind of assumes that we know, yes, this is the human being anatomy and physiology, but now what's going wrong is where the research is. So I think that that general direction needs to be broadened so that we ask broader questions about health and human potential. And lemme just give you a few examples of that. Number one, what we consider as, let's say, the bedrock of clinical medicine is human anatomy, right? We define the human being in a particular way, and it's based on that map of the human being that we decide what's going well, what's not going well, and we make our diagnosing treatments.

Speaker 3 (06:32):

But in fact, a human body is not the same thing as a human being. And we know that because you can look at a living human being and you can look at a body that that is dead. And we know the two are different. There's something fundamentally different about them. And yet, when we try to model a human being, what we do is strictly talk about the body. So at some point centuries ago, we made the decision that when we modeled the human being, human anatomy, we're not gonna look at mind. We're not gonna look at subtler processes of the human being that have been documented in other cultures, such as in Ayurveda or in traditional Chinese medicine or in yoga. We don't look at chakras, we don't look at meridians. None of that stuff has a place in our model of anatomy. We simply look at physical structures, right?

Speaker 3 (07:13):

And to me, like this should be on the front page of the New York Times, that in different cultures, they literally have different models of anatomy for the same species. We're all the same species, as far as I know. And yet, despite that fact, different cultures have different models of anatomy, and we don't know what to do about it, and we ignore it. We don't even talk about it. We just say, well, that stuff doesn't make sense, or we don't get it. Or it's not important, despite the fact that based on your model, your diagnosis is made and your treatment is made. So if our models are incomplete, then naturally it follows that our diagnoses and our treatments are incomplete. Right? So I think there's a huge lack of curiosity in medicine as to, Hey, why don't we understand that? Rather than just brushing it off saying, why don't we understand it?

Speaker 3 (07:56):

How can we understand it? Well, how, what do we have to augment in our knowledge not to throw away what we know, but to augment what we know and include this other perspective? Right? So that's point number one is if you don't know the human being completely, if you don't model the human being completely, then we are not going to know what health is. We can only gonna know partial approaches, which is why we have a disease-based care, disease-based approach to health in mm-hmm <affirmative> in what we call modern medicine. Second example, and this will surprise most physicians, most scientists, most people who have surprised science, who have studied science, is that we don't know what the body's fundamentally made of. All right? So just hear me out on this one. So when, when we were kids, we learned to play with those little solid balls that were atoms, and we connected them with the sticks, the molecular model kits, and we put them all together and we said, wow, this is what we are.

Speaker 3 (08:44):

You put a bunch of this together and, and that's how you get Karen, and that's how you get a new, and that's how you get everybody, right? And what's crazy is that after fourth grade or so, which is some fourth or fifth grade, whenever we did that first, or heard about that first, our understanding of what we're made of never advanced. So you can go to high school, you can go to graduate school, you can go to medical school, you can do fellowship, you can do C M E, and what we are made of that understanding never advances. It's still, yeah, a bunch of little balls and sticks, right? Which is mind boggling. <Laugh>, right? <Laugh> like what, what we, what we, it's, it's laughable what you think about, but it's true. What we, what we do understand is the complexity of how they interact.

Speaker 3 (09:25):

So we learn more about molecular models and how they interface and intracellular communication, but when you go down to the bottom, it still balls and sticks. It never went beyond fourth grade or fifth grade, right? Right. And the thing is, if you ask somebody, if you ask a doctor, ask a scientist what a human body is made of, we'll say, well, it's made of organs. What's that made of? It's made of tissues. What's that made of? It's made of cells. Then you get down to macromolecules and then molecules, then you get to atoms, subatomic particles, and finally you get to the smallest bits of matter that we know, which are called elementary particles. And you know what's crazy, Karen? After that, everybody stops asking questions. It's like, until then we always act, what's that made of? But what's that made of? But what's that made of?

Speaker 3 (10:08):

But once you get to elementary particles, it's like the room goes dark, right? Right. And that's because then you get into quantum physics and you get into a different kind of topic. And in medical school, you know, we don't touch that stuff. So it's, the answers get too difficult for us to understand. I mean, even, even among physicists, there's so much interpretation as to what quantum physics is actually telling us. That's still up in the air as to what it's actually suggesting about life and about being alive and about human beings. So nevermind in medicine, we don't even go near that stuff. So we just say, you know what? Balls and sticks good enough for me, we're done. Right? But in fact, we know that when we get into that, that these tiny particles that the body is constituted from are actually local vibrations in non-local fields of energy.

Speaker 3 (10:54):

And to that, we say, what I don't know what to do about that. That's not in my framework. That's not in the philosophy. I was taught by the way, we were all taught philosophy. We just, we weren't taught, we weren't told we were taught philosophy, right? And so we don't ask that question, but that's the truth. At a fundamental level, we do not know what the human body is made of. And that should be shocking to most people because the idea is that in medicine we know so much. But even such a fundamental question, we don't know. And for the most part, we don't think it's important because we believe all the stuff is subatomic, atomic, and on beyond that. But I think there's a clear link, a very distinct link between the fact that we don't know the fundamental nature of the body. And we also see ourselves completely, the two are very linked.

Speaker 3 (11:37):

Let me keep moving here. Point number three as to why, you know, we don't know what health is, is we don't know what the mind is. So neither do we know what the body is fundamentally made of, but the mind itself is not an object of inquiry in medicine, right? You and I know that biomedical science is based on the idea that subatomic particles and elementary particles are primary. They're fundamental. And that's what we need to know about and their interactions. And we can derive all understanding of health disease treatment from that. That's the idea. Nowhere in that picture is mine. And if you ask somebody, well, where does it go? Where does this idea of mind go? How can we fit that into your model of anatomy? What we say is, well, it's this little poofy cloud that comes out of the brain, right?

Speaker 3 (12:20):

We all learn that when we're watching cartoons, right? When it's like loony tunes or the somebody's chasing somebody else and they hit 'em in the head and see the circles and the stars, where you see the puff of clouds, that's like a thought it, we're basically teaching philosophy. We're basically saying that it is the brain that creates thoughts or creates this little cloud that we call the mind. But of course, that's a philosophical opinion. It's not a scientific fact. And there are ways to look into that that can actually suggest even other ideas. Like for example, the brain itself could be a representation, a mental representation. That's just another philosophical perspective that is still entirely consistent with science. What gets me Kiran is that despite the fact that mind is not really the domain of biomedical science, despite the fact that we don't know what the mind is, and there's nothing like the encyclopedias on mine that exist in other cultures in biomedical science, despite that we have the audacity to diagnose mental illness and talk about mental health at length.

Speaker 3 (13:21):

And I think we really go wrong here. We tend to conflate suffering and confusion and difficulty with something like a disease. And then what we try to do is map that to neurotransmitters. And then we have this whole, you know, serotonin, serotonin hypothesis, dopamine hypothesis, and so on. I'm not denying that there are correlations between serotonin and dopamine and mental states, but to say that those are primary or going via the brain and via neurotransmitters is the way to address mind and the health of the mind is again, I think a mistake and a limitation. And I'll just touch on one more point. So we've touched on some critical things. Number one is that we don't really study health, we more study disease. Number two, we don't understand what the body's fundamentally made of Number three, we don't know what the mind is. Number four is that there are people healing from all kinds of diseases all around us, and we don't talk about it, or we don't print it in journals, right?

Speaker 3 (14:17):

We don't write these up. And yeah, I think you and I both know that cuz we're both kind of operate in that field. I've interviewed so many people for my healing as possible podcast who have healed from everything that you're not supposed to heal from, including rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, advanced cancer, severe heart disease that was supposed to get bypass surgery and on and on and on. Severe diabetes type two diabetes, but severe type two diabetes. And so if that's the case, if people are healing from all of these conditions, then why is it that a lot of us don't know about it? Why is it that we doctors don't really know about it? Well that's, that's because number one, people don't like to talk about it because there's so much stigma around saying, well, that's unscientific, or there's no real evidence for that. But what happens is this is the self-fulfilling prophecy because we don't write up the case studies, we don't publish them nearly to the extent that they're happening.

Speaker 3 (15:08):

And then we turn around and call them anecdotal and we say, oh, it's a, it's a unique or it's a miracle, or it's by chance. But we're kind of making that happen because we're not talking about it and we're not writing it up. And what I realized that really blew my mind is that because we are not talking about these, what's happening is that our prognosis are really inaccurate, right? The denominator of all the cases we're looking at is insufficient, because included in that denominator is not all the cases of healing that are happening by means that are outside of medicine. So that's another reason we don't know what health is. And finally, I would say the biggest one is that we have confused complimentary medicine and conventional medicine, right? This is the biggest one. And I would ask everybody to really focus on this cuz this is the most powerful one.

Speaker 3 (15:56):

I think we tend to believe that everything other than what we call modern medicine is complimentary medicine, right? So traditional Chinese medicine, ida, yoga, meditation, lifestyle changes, all of this is complimentary medicine. And we believe that modern medicine is, is conventional medicine. And by that we mean generally in terms of treatment, it's pills and procedures, it's pills and surgeries are the predominant or IV medications are the predominant medicine in conventional medicine, or rather in modern medicine. And I think we have entirely inverted that we've gotten it completely backwards, right? And, and here's why. The real complimentary medicine is modern medicine, because it's supposed to be used as and when the person is getting sick or they need some intervention. Whereas all of these other systems are designed to sustain and enhance life, right? Complimentary medicine is by definition that which is complimentary. If you take away pills and surgeries, for most people, they're gonna be okay.

Speaker 3 (16:55):

They're at least going to live. And many will do quite fine without that. But if you take away what is primary nutrition, movement, connection rest from people, a human being can't live. That's the fundamental sustenance that human beings have lived on for millennia since we've been here. Right? So that is the true conventional medicine by convention, nutrition, movement, connection, and rest. What I call the four engines. Activating these four engines is what facilitates health and healing period for millennia. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>, that is conventional medicine. Complimentary medicine is that which we can do without but can enhance life. And that is the modern medical system. So there's this complete inversion of terminology that has it backwards. So people tend to use the medical system as primary medicine, and that's a mistake. That's when we start to have problems. That's when we have diseases that can't be cured and that linger forever.

Speaker 3 (17:47):

Whereas to use it appropriately is to use it as needed when things come up as a compliment to the four engines of nutrition, movement, connection, arrest. So I say, you know, I'm emergency medicine, I work as an ER doc, I was working on the front lines during the pandemic. Emergency medicine is like bread and butter, allopathy and nothing else, right? It's, it's hardcore allopathy, hardcore biomedical science. And I say, right by virtue of that, I'm a complimentary medicine doctor, okay? Because if you use me as primary medicine, that's a problem. And the difference between me and primary care, of course there is a difference. But it's the same ideology, it's the same biomedical science, it's the same philosophy. And it's not a philosophy and a science that is suited for everyday care and sustenance. It's suited as a compliment to nutrition, movement, connection, and rest. So these are, okay, I've talked a lot. I've given you a few big points here as to why we don't know what health is.

Speaker 1 (18:46):

All right? So I know everybody listening is a little overwhelmed right now because a lot of these concepts are really new to them, and you had a lot of new ones. So everybody listening, just breathe. Take a big breath in, let's all do it together, end through your nose and let it out through your mouth. <Laugh>, we're gonna break it down for you. Don't worry, ladies, we got it. So let's kind of break these down in a little more detail so that people can really understand what you're talking about. Because I think most everybody listening was taught that we, we are Legos, right? We are Legos, yes. Yes. And we we're new Tony in anatomy, and yes, they don't realize that they've been indoctrinated, I won't say brainwashed, yes, but indoctrinated into a belief system that is a philosophy of health. And it's like, we're the fish in the water so we can't see the water.

Speaker 1 (19:42):

And now we're telling people you're in water. Like it's telling a fish. You live in water and the fish would go, what? Water? What are you talking about? Right? And so it's kind of this waking up process that has to happen that everybody's on a different journey with on a different timeline. Yes. And I wanna help them to understand. So I agree with you, this issue of quantum physics, right? We stop asking, but I do think the science has bridged this next level, but medicine just, it's kind of here. No evil, see, no evil speak no evil. They're like, no, no, no, no, I don't wanna hear it. I don't wanna hear it. I don't wanna, I don't wanna think about the things that I don't know. Yes. So can you ta talk a little bit about maybe some information that would, you know, you stated very matter of factly that Ayurveda traditional Chinese medicine, right? All of these ancient belief systems are valid, but to most people they've been told that's not true.

Speaker 3 (20:41):

Yes.

Speaker 1 (20:42):

Okay, good question. What can you say to people that bridges that gap between we're just sticks and balls connected. Yeah. And we are quantum physics that says that these ancient healing tools are valid, and we're more than Newtonian anatomy help them understand, right?

Speaker 3 (21:02):

Sure. Great question. So what everybody in the audience I invite you to understand and take a deep breath and consider, is that all the experts that are talking about how we're primarily this, or primarily atoms, if there are I, I think many experts say otherwise, but the belief that we are these primary primarily atoms that we're made up of this physical matter, et cetera. This comes from unexamined philosophy. And this is really important to understand. So we as physicians, we don't take in-depth philosophy classes. And all of you in the audience, I'm guessing the vast majority of you have not taken in-depth philosophy classes. And yet, despite that, both you and I were indoctrinated, as Kiran says a perfect word in a way of thinking. That said, physical stuff is the main stuff that matters. Nobody told you that, you know, Mrs. Jones didn't sit you down in first grade and say that, but everything we do is based on that, right?

Speaker 3 (22:00):

It's like, look at how things are made of, let's dissect the frog, let's dissect the leaf. What are we looking at? The physical stuff. Think about when you were a baby, right? When did your parents applaud you? When did they praise you? It's when they said, this is your nose, this is your shoulder, this is your stomach. And you were able to pair at that and they said, yay, congratulations. Yay. Look at Jamie. Or look at Jamie, look at Jose. Right? So all the, the adoration that we get, the kudos that we get, the awards that we get, everything is based on attending to physicality. Now, contrast that with your experience. I would bet that most people in the audience right now are not primarily aware of your body right now. You're not aware of your fourth toe right now, you're likely not aware of your heart, you're not aware of your liver, you're not aware of your neck unless you have some pain there.

Speaker 3 (22:50):

Or you had some recent issue. For the mass majority of vast majority of people, the majority of our attention is not on the physical body. It's in our minds. So for example, you may be experiencing, you may be thinking, Hmm, that's interesting. You may be experiencing curiosity, you may be experiencing doubt. Oh, I don't know, that doesn't quite make sense to me. Or you might say, huh, that's something to think about. Or you may be kind of buzzing, like, oh, this is really inspirational. All of these are happening in the mind. And by default, the vast majority of people are experiencing the mind the vast majority of the time. And yet in medicine, there is no model for mind. There's no mental anatomy, there's no mental physiology, there's no clear explication of how the mind relates to the body and why there's no exploration of other cultures and other philosophies that discuss this in detail.

Speaker 3 (23:36):

So right there, you can see this is like two ships passing at night, right? One is a body centric physical perspective, and another one is how we live our lives, which is mostly through our experiences. In fact, you can say that the two most significant experiences in anybody's life are love and pain or love and fear, or love and suffering. And they're both mental experiences, right? And yet there's no model for that in medicine. So what I wanna first do is draw your attention to this huge body mind chasm that exists in medicine. And secondly, I'd like to tell you that doctors, scientists, et cetera, are trained for the vast majority of their, at least for the first, let's say 18 to 30 years of their life, the same way you were in terms of philosophy. We've learned the exact same philosophy, which is that the body is what matters.

Speaker 3 (24:27):

You get kudos when you talk about the body. You get medals and awards for talking about the body. And if you talk about the mind too much, you're kind of strange, right? And, and that's alternative <laugh> and that's different, right? Right. Now what quantum physics has done is that it has taken us to a very unusual place where it has shown us through experimentation that the smallest bits of solid matter that we're so comfortable with, because we love stacking those legos. We love playing Tetris. We love building things, you know, sandcastles, like smaller grains of sand, build larger sand castles. We're so entrained in this small parts make big holes. We're so entrained in this unexamined implicit philosophy that when quantum physics comes along and says, well hold on their partner, those little tiny balls of matter are actually vibrations when you look closely enough and their vibrations, not with a specific boundary, but their vibrations in a vast field of energy.

Speaker 3 (25:24):

It's something like if you had a, an infinite bedsheet, suppose you had a bedsheet that was so big, you could stretch across the whole earth, right? Actually stretch beyond the whole universe. But let's just say the earth for now. And this vast bedsheet, you could kind of push, you could poke on one side of the bed sheet and you could see it sticking out on the other side, right? You can kind of see this, this dent in the bed sheet. That dent is like a particle. Now that is no different than the entire bed sheet. It's the sheet itself locally behaving as a vibration or a dent or a wrinkle that we say, Hey, look, there's a wrinkle and we ignore the entire bed sheet. That's what's happening today in medicine. We're looking at the particles and ignoring the fact that what a particle is is nothing but a local vibration in a vast field of energy, right?

Speaker 3 (26:08):

And we totally leave that out because we don't know what to do do with that. And I say that the reason we don't know what to do with that is because we are locked in this philosophy that says body and particulate stuff is what is most important. Can I go one step further here, Karen? Sure. Go ahead. This, just bear with me here. This may be, we're just gonna go off the deep end just for fun. Okay? All right. Okay. I want to explain to you one hypothesis, one way of trying to understand why that is, how all of this makes sense. How can a small particle be actually this infinite field of energy? How does that make sense? How does that reconcile with what we know now? And here's what I would suggest to you. Okay? Imagine that you are with a friend going for a Sunday drive.

Speaker 3 (26:51):

Okay? You're in, you're in the car, you're going for a drive, and your friend is talking to you and, and imagine this is a dream. So you're sleeping at night, you're having this dream where you and your friend are going for a drive, and your friend is saying, man, I heard this podcast today. And there was some crazy stuff that we were talking about, right? Somebody was saying that these little bits that were made of, you know, like cells and particles. Yeah, yeah, I know that. Okay. Somebody was saying that those little bits are actually just vibrations in a huge field of energy. Can you imagine that? So in the dream, this person's saying, so like this little thumbnail, if I take a little bit of it and I could somehow hold up a little particle of that, they're saying that that's actually this whole thing, everything that's happening around us, the car, the Sunday drive, the sun, even the other planets, isn't that wild?

Speaker 3 (27:34):

How can that be? Doesn't make any sense. Now, within that dream, it doesn't make sense, right? But let's say we step outside that dream, as you and I are now, we're now outside the dream and we're looking in on that dream that they're having. And what we see is that the little particle that that person in the dream was talking about when they tried to look into what it is, what they found is that it was made of that entire field that the entire dream was made of. Well, what was the dream made of? It was naturally, it was mind, right? A dream is literally made of the mind. That is what a dream is. The mind represents itself as characters, as space, as time, and as little bits of matter. And so it only makes sense that if in that dream people try to look into the smallest thing and really find out with the most rigor, the most determination, the most scientific accuracy.

Speaker 3 (28:23):

And if they really do that and try to find out what that particle is, they're going to find out that there's no such thing as a particle. Because the entire thing is mined. There are no definite boundaries in that dream other than the boundaries superimposed by the mind. So every little thing in a dream, whether it's a rock or a hammer, or whether it's a thought in the dream, or whether it's water or something soft, when you look into it deeply enough from a scientific perspective, if we're good with our science, it will have to show us that that tiny thing is not actually something tiny, but something vast that is representing itself as something tiny. And I think that is what quantum physics is telling us. And that's why we cannot accept that in medicine. We're so wedded to the idea that the physical stuff creates the mental stuff, that the brain creates the mind. We cannot consider the inverse opinion, which is that mind or consciousness is fundamental, and it represents itself as these physical particles and on up as they build up into atom's, molecules and the body,

Speaker 1 (29:25):

Right? Yeah. But it is kind of insane when you think about it. Consciousness. How can you assess health or talk about health without addressing consciousness? But that is the very earth on which health doesn't want to tread. And I don't know if that goes back to when there was separation of church and state made. At some point that decision was made. And so we are living the results of the decision to kind of excise spirituality, excise consciousness from health. So I think it's important that we're having the conversations that you are discussing. And you mentioned earlier when you were talking about the four aspects, that there are no writeups on people healing. Yes. People heal in, in what we call miraculous ways every single day. Yes. But it's, yes, it's considered anecdotal. And so the very yardstick by which we measure scientific validity, the doubleblind placebo controlled trial, yes, you can't have, but science does just discount these anecdotes and say, oh, that's anecdotal and that's spurious. And it's not consistent. So, but we never question and say, wow, that we created that yardstick by which we're measuring everything and we just discard everything. That's not doubleblind placebo control trial proven, right?

Speaker 3 (30:51):

Yes, 100%. And, and the thing is, as long as we can say it's miraculous or unusual, we don't have to really pay attention to it. That's the catch 22 is like, on one hand it sounds amazing, it's like, wow, what a miracle it happened. But what we don't say is, well, that happened to a hundred other people too, but we just don't talk about it, or we don't know about it. And we don't create an environment where people want to talk about it. If we were really scientists, if we were really interested in helping people heal, we would create a database. That'd be the first thing that NIH would do, right? Here's a database, super easy to use, what was the diagnosis? How did it heal? And then an investigator would call you, how did you do it? Research it. And we would have hundreds of thousands of cases of these around the world, and we would very quickly get to what is it that helps? And I can guarantee you it's gonna be nutrition movement, connection, arrest, it's gonna be factors along those lines. Because no matter who is healed, it's always some combination of these. But we don't do that. So as long as we don't do that, we can keep saying it's anecdotal or it's miraculous. And I think that's where we do a disservice to the public.

Speaker 1 (31:51):

Yeah, I agree. And I, I really like how you talked about that we confuse complimentary and conventional medicine, but the real complimentary is modern mess medicine. Yes. The pills and procedures, but that the conventional medicine really is food connection cetera. Yes. And that's really what doctors should be focusing on. Yes. So how can, can you tell people maybe how they would get started? Because I love that concept with their own practice of conventional medicine, but things would they start paying attention to. Yes.

Speaker 3 (32:26):

So we actually have a chorus called the Health Jumpstart Chorus on our website. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative> at Health Revolution. If you go to health revolution.org/courses, there's one course called Health Jumpstart, which actually goes through these four nutrition, movement, connection, and rest. And there are 10 minute talks. You can do a, a talk daily where it's like a talk plus a simple practice that you can do to start moving in this direction. And it's not about being perfect, it's just about starting a process. You know, I'll go into this a little bit more detail. Nutrition, number one, lowest hanging fruit nutrition is to cut out processed foods, right? There's so much varying advice on nutrition, but I can tell you one thing that nobody advocates, nobody advocates eating processed foods, right? That's pretty much universal, universally agreed on. And there's hardly anything that's universally agreed on in nutrition.

Speaker 3 (33:14):

But every expert will say less processed food is another way of saying food. That's not really food, right? So eat real food, cut out processed food. And then the other thing is a plant predominant diet. So plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. Now, beyond that, there's all kinds of customization that a person can do. But I will tell you, Kiran, I think you'd probably agree that if we just did that, the number of diseases that would go away by simply cutting out processed foods and eating more fresh fruits and vegetables is monumental. So that's monumental. That's beginning of nutrition. Another huge part of nutrition is what you and I are doing now, Kira. And that is telling a better story, nutrition for the mind, right? To Uhhuh, to really give people the story. What is true, what is to be looked at? What do we need to assess more closely?

Speaker 3 (34:00):

And what is the big picture here that ties all of this together, right? This time that we're in, what's happening in health and healthcare? What's happening in the world? What's happening to our power? How we can get our power and our independence back? What is that big story? And that's what we really like to tell at Health Revolution is a big story of what's going on and how we need to take our power back by activating these four engines of nutrition, movement, connection, arrest. Because that's really how you start to it. It's almost like living your life in advocacy for yourself, right? Because it's when the health starts to suffer, it's when we become dependent on other systems that are incomplete and that that take disease based approaches to care. That's when things start to get difficult. So number one is taking that power back, which every person can do, no matter what their situation is by activating these engines.

Speaker 3 (34:51):

So nutrition for the body, nutrition for the mind movement is manyfold movement. Of course, exercise is there, but I don't wanna limit to exercise, right? Because not everybody has to exercise in the same way. I say range of motion itself is powerful. If you have a joint, use it. You know, when you get up in the morning, every single joint, take it through its full range of motion. I do it even my, like, let's say my index finger, my d i p, my distal joint of my index finger, which we generally might not use. I'll flex it and extend it. Why? Because I have it. It's there, it's moment matters. So, you know, move your eyes all up and down, rotate them around, rotate them side to side, you know, move your neck, basically use that full range of motion. It gets the blood circulating, it gets your energy flowing and you just feel more vital when you do that.

Speaker 3 (35:41):

That's one aspect of moving the body. The other huge one is moving the breath, right? Rather than the shallow breathing that comes from the neck up, the full breath using the diaphragm, right? That that expands the trunk fully and kind of, and livens the whole body. The breath is so vital by the way, because it is probably the single biggest thing that connects what we call the mind and what we call the body in the er. You can, you can be, you can bet that if somebody's breathing fast and shallow that they're anxious, right? Even before you see them. If you look at the respiratory rate, you can tell fast and shallow equals anxious, slow and deep equals restful, right? Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. So the breath and the body are intimately connected. And if you have a person breathing shallow and fast in the er, I'll make sure that my breath is deep and restful. Because it's almost like who is going to influence who somebody's going to move towards the other in terms of mental state, right? So it becomes very important to be aware of your mental state and how to ground yourself with the breath. So that's, we talked about moving range of motion. Sorry, go ahead. Sorry

Speaker 1 (36:45):

To interrupt you, but you just reminded me of a story. When I was a resident ob gyn one day there was a patient <laugh>, you know, sometimes a little naive day goes a long way. And I think I was a second year, so I didn't know everything yet. And patient had tachypnea, she was breathing very rapidly and nobody could figure out why. You know, they had done an arterial. Yeah. And they had done all this whole workup and they come to me and they're like, well, what do you think? So I go in there and I observe her and she's really huffing and puffing and I, I said to her, why are you breathing so fast? She says, I don't know. I said, stop. And she stopped

Speaker 3 (37:21):

<Laugh>. Yeah. And

Speaker 1 (37:27):

Stop doing it. Yeah. And the problem went away. And it was very interesting. I really think that she was anxious. Yeah. So to your point, I think she was anxious and so she was shallow, rapid breathing. Yeah. Yeah. And when I just brought her mind to it, she stopped. Yeah. And problem solved. But how many of those problems could be solved if we paid better attention? But I agree with you about the breath.

Speaker 3 (37:51):

I agree. And, and we see that in the ER too. You know, and sometimes, sometimes I have the time to sit there with a person and they might be coming in with tachypnea or they feel short of breath or they feel chest discomfort. And sometimes you can talk to them and if you have enough time, you kind of hear what's going on in their life, what's stressing them out. And sure enough, mm-hmm. <Affirmative>, you know, by the end of a six minute conversation, they're not breathing like that anymore. You know? And that often, and if, if they're truly feel better and all their symptoms have resolved and, and in your exam and your evaluation, everything else looks okay, you might have saved them six hours in the er, who knows how much their bill would've been. And that's simply under, now not all te chimney is that, of course, as we both know.

Speaker 3 (38:36):

But you know, knowing that and considering that is critical. So that's movement of the breath. The other two kinds of movement kirin are moving our emotions. I, you know, I cannot tell you how many people I've heard have healed from conditions by moving their emotions. And again, this goes back to if you think that the brain creates the mind and emotions and therefore there's some strange link somewhere, it's not so clear. But if you subscribe to another philosophy that is still entirely scientifically consistent, which is that consciousness is fundamental and matter or body is its representation, then mm-hmm. <Affirmative>, we can see how anything that's lodged in the mind, like repressed emotions that have been stored for decade and have become stonelike and are manifesting as let's say tightness or muscular s stricture, which can lead to breathing difficulties, which can lead to pneumonia and who knows what else. Right. I can people just by releasing emotions I've seen heal from Crohn's disease after decades, despite having bowel, bowel resection and bowel obstructions and multiple infections just from one session of hypnosis. There's one person I know who healed from Crohn's disease, all their symptoms went away. Yeah. Other person that's, yeah.

Speaker 1 (39:49):

Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>, go ahead. That I was gonna say, that's fascinating. Before you tell the other example, if you can talk a little bit more about that, because that concept of not feeling emotion thing that came to me in the past few years and I didn't really understand what it meant and now I totally understand what it meant and what it feels like as an embodied sensation and find that so many people are in their minds thinking, thinking and labeling emotions, but they don't actually feel them. Yes. And it's a different experience when I feel people drop into the emotions and feel them because emotions are energy, emotion. They want to be run through, they want to be processed. And when you don't, you get a block. So can you explain that in a way that people might have a real understanding, cuz I think more of us than not, do not process our emotions or feel them.

Speaker 3 (40:40):

Yeah. Well you know, I can tell you my story. There's definitely a point in my life where I had to, on my own journey, I had to feel emotions that I had held in for so long. And that really changed, you know, everything about my life in a way. One story that comes to mind is when I was in medical school, the backstory is that I was born in, in DC in the United States and we moved back to India for a few years. So I lived there when I was a small kid for a few years and stayed with my grandmother for a little while, was very close to her in Guerra, in South India. Living in the village, you know, running around barefoot and just having, having a ball all the time. And then we moved back to the United States and have lived here since then.

Speaker 3 (41:23):

But I was very close to her. And at some point when I was in, I think, I think it was about ninth grade or so, my grandmother passed away in India. And I never really had that chance to mourn cuz it had been so long since I'd seen her intermittently, but never spent that much time with her again. And, you know, it was kind of just felt kind of disconnected. And I was also very much in my head thinking about so many things, ninth grade. And then med school came around later. And by that time in medical school around that time, I was going through a lot of changes. Just in my own experience. I was getting into meditation, a lot of changes were happening within myself. And I remember one night I heard the song, and it's a, the language that we speak is, is called Maam, it's A Language in South India.

Speaker 3 (42:04):

And it was a mala song. And the meaning of the song says it is goes like this, it says, you know, without saying anything, you went away. Do you still remember me? And so I heard that and it just like, it hit me like in my core, like in the depths of my heart. And I felt like my grandmother was saying that to me, you know, like, you know, like, you were here, you were living with me and then you just up and went to the US and you know, do you still remember me? Not in an accusatory way, but like, just in a loving way. Oh, do you remember me? You know, I'm your grandma. And of course I did remember her, I still felt very close to her. I still feel close to her now. But I had kind of, you know, intellectually built a wall so that I wasn't experiencing that.

Speaker 3 (42:49):

But when I heard this song, it all came flooding back. And I think I spent, I don't know, two or three, four hours keeping that song on a repeat and bawling my heart out for hours that night. I was literally, I've never cried like that in my life. I was literally on the floor in the fetal position with these deep earthen sobs coming out. And it was intentionally on repeat that I was doing that. And I can tell you that after that, that released so much in me that allowed me to continue on my journey. You know? And I know that if I had not done that, that that certain hardness or that tension that I kind of knew was there, but I also was kind of ignoring that could never have been released. And I know that down the line leads to that dise, that dis hyphen ease leads to disease in so many ways.

Speaker 3 (43:41):

And so, you know, one story I can tell you was the story of Crohn's disease. Somebody, I talked to somebody who, who we interviewed, she, she's on the Healing is Possible podcast, you can check out the full story. But the story was that when she was a kid, she felt like the only time she could get attention from her parents is when she was sick. They worked, I think she lived on a farm and she was always working, her parents were always working and she always had to do things. I never felt like she could just rest, you know, take time and just rest and be a kid. And when she did this hypnosis session, this all came back to her. Right? And so what came to her is like, that's the only time I could rest. And it's almost like her body was in a sense making her sick so that she could rest or get that rest.

Speaker 3 (44:23):

Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. Mm-Hmm <affirmative>. And of course this came to her, right? Nobody told her this. And in fact, if you tell somebody this, they're likely to slap you. Say, you know how, how dare you say that, you know, I'm making this up and that my body's doing this. And of course that's not what's being said. No, nobody's making anything up. We're just talking about responses of the human system to receive what it needs, which is perfectly natural and perfectly understandable. So she arrived at this understanding during this one hypnosis session. Again, this is after multiple admissions to the hospital. Even a bowel resection, meaning part of the bowel was cut out. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>, even after all that one hypnosis session where she realized this, that my body is doing this because it needs this space to rest, it needs this care. And when she realized that, she said, okay, I can give myself that.

Speaker 3 (45:10):

I don't need that anymore. And literally after that session, she stopped having any symptoms. And it's been five years or so now. So a classic example of how the body presents something that's in the mind. I'll give you one more example, which is with ulcerative colitis, another inflammatory bowel disease. This was a guy who's a psychotherapist in New York City. He's also on the Healing As Possible Podcast. This story, he was actually helping people get off of medicine and get better without being as dependent on medicine when he could do it safely. But he was super stressed out. He was always thinking about them even on vacation. He was thinking about them because obviously that's a, it's a critical function and you have to get that right, otherwise people can really suffer. Mm-Hmm <affirmative>. So he was always thinking about that, totally stressed out. And he had totally ignored what he always wanted to do, which is kind of make independent movies or, or shoot these films.

Speaker 3 (46:00):

And at some point when he was on vacation super and then he, some point he started having chronic diarrhea and fevers and infections and doctors put him on all kinds of medicine. You know, first it was prednisone, then other steroids, then immunosuppressants. But he was still having diarrhea and it was getting worse and worse and worse, abdominal pain. And finally they said, you know, we have to look at resection again. We have to look at cutting out part of your bowel. And he's like, this is insane. I'm young, I'm healthy, I'm an athlete. Like I don't understand how this is happening. I need to, I just gotta do something about this. So while on vacation stressed out, he said, I think I know what this is. I just don't feel good about what I'm doing. I'm too stressed out all the time. I wanna do what I wanna do.

Speaker 3 (46:40):

And he said he'd made the hardest decision of his life, which is to quit that job. And he wasn't sure about financial security and to get on a plane to, I think it was Europe that he went to. And he said it wasn't just the money, he was worried about being incontinent on the flight cuz he was going 15 times a day or more. And he said that happened. He had to suffer that on the plane. It happened over and over and over. But then he said, A new a funny thing happened once I made that decision, my diarrhea went down from 15 times a day to eight times a day. And then another month hap went by and it was four times a day and another month went by and it totally stopped. And today he has zero symptoms on no medication. This is a guy who was told he was going to have bowel resection within the next few months.

Speaker 3 (47:22):

And the only thing he's changed was stopping that job. Now was it easy? Of course it's not easy. There're not a lot of people who would make that decision. Where's the money gonna come from and, you know, how are you gonna suffer that plane trip? But you know, I think it's a, it's a commentary on our society that we put people in such difficult situations about their health that we don't say, you know what, you need six months, here you go. But these are ways, clear examples of how the body, I'm sorry, how the mind and the hormones and neurotransmitters associated with certain activities can stimulate inflammation in the body by creating a chronic state of inflammation through increasing the circulating cytokines in the blood. And that chronic inflammation then leads to conditions including heart disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and many other things.

Speaker 1 (48:08):

Right. Wow. Those are great examples. I think everybody should check out your podcast for sure. We'll have a link to it in the show notes and then we'll also have a link to the course that you have for everyone. The Three Minds Course. Yes. And so tell everyone about the Three Minds Course and where they can find you online.

Speaker 3 (48:28):

Okay. So the Three Minds Course is actually the free course. And that is, if you really want to dive into this possibility of consciousness being fundamental and matter of being its representation, this is the course. It's an entirely new way of seeing yourself and seeing the world that again, is entirely consistent with science. So it takes you through, you know, what is the first mind, what is the second mind and what is the third mind? That's the first part of the course. And then really gets into the analysis. You know, how does that make sense? What does it mean? What are some examples of that? And then it goes through some of the science that, that supports this, how we can use the current science and say, okay, I can see how this actually supports this model of the world. So you can find that at, if you go to health revolution.org/courses, you can go and click on the Three Minds Course and the other course that's there, of course the Health Jump Start course that teaches a person to activate their four engines.

Speaker 1 (49:24):

Awesome. Thank you for those resources. Thank you for this very important discussion that people need to hear about really why we don't know what true health is or how to achieve it. And giving them insight into the true conventional medicine. The, the four aspects of it. Yes. How they can get started with that. And really the importance of starting to understand the mind, what it is and how to work with it to help your health so that you can heal because healing is possible. What are some of the, of the other great stories they're going to hear on your podcast?

Speaker 3 (50:02):

There is a story of Liz, who is an I C U nurse who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Even initially was not so sure. And then she had the classic features on M R I that was found to be multiple sclerosis and was going down the usual treatment route was getting worse and worse and worse. And then she did a combination of things, different aspects of nutrition, movement, connection, and rest. And by changing that, by meditation, by changing what she ate, she found, I forgot the exact words. Words that she used. I think she said she could push the disease right. In the sense that she could feel it coming on. And then when she played with certain levers in her life, she could kind of push it away and stay symptom free. So that's a great story. Another's a story of Emily.

Speaker 3 (50:51):

Emily was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, I think, I believe she was in her thirties maybe, if I'm not mistaken, and got to a point where it was so severe that she couldn't hug her kids. And you know, she just heartbreaking, heartbreaking to, to, to tell her to hear her story. When she tried to hug them, she would feel so much pain in her body. And she's like, I can't do this. And she was on immunosuppressants and so many meds. And then she started to read and open her mind. And again, nutrition for the mind, hear that healing is possible, consider other perspectives, try some new things. And she told her doctor, she's like, I don't wanna be on this medicines. I have to, I need to try to heal this. And her doctor, her doctor said, Emily, you're gonna be in a wheelchair by the time you're 40, which I frankly think is cruel.

Speaker 3 (51:36):

You know, I wasn't there. I don't know the context, but I just think that's not the right thing to say to somebody. You know, you, we can have our opinions, but I think we support our patients in what they want and we tell them what we know. But to, I, I think that's a criticism that, that we need to stay away from regardless. Emily went on this journey and now is nearly symptom free, but she's way past, well, I wanna say way past where I take that back. She's definitely past 40 and she's not on any medication and she feels great most of the time. So that's another story. I'll give you one more powerful one. This is a story of Dr. Jimmy Conway, who's an orthopedic surgeon in, I wanna say Louisiana. No, not Louisiana, in Oklahoma City, I believe. He said, you know, he grew up, you know bacon, eggs, sausage, you know, every meal, something like that, heavy meats.

Speaker 3 (52:27):

And he said, he actually said that I knew I was gonna die, is what he said at some point. Or I knew something was gonna happen to me. But, you know, he was just on this lifestyle and then doing surgeries and just going at it full speed. And one day he had some left arm pain went in sure enough, had the angiogram and he's got multi-vessel disease. And he sees the cardiac surgeon standing over him, who was actually somebody he knew from medical school who said, Jimmy, you need to have bypass surgery in the next couple days, otherwise you're not gonna make it. And you know, his, basically his life is staring him in the face. So he goes home and he's getting ready for it. And obviously, you know, no exercise, nothing to, to stress your heart out in the meantime. And he comes across his book, how to Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease by Dr.

Speaker 3 (53:18):

Caldwell Esselstyn. And he starts reading it, and then he gets inspired and he calls a surgeon and says, Hey, I'm canceling the surgery. The guy says, are you crazy? You're not gonna make it. He says, I can't do it. I need to try this. And he switches to a plant-based diet. And I can tell you that that's what, over 10 years ago, I think. And he is totally symptom free right now. And for people think that heart disease, I want, it's important for people to understand that heart disease is reversible. Not every single case, but in many cases, and Jimmy was one of the most severe cases, your heart disease happens because of atherosclerotic buildup on the vessels, on the lining of the vessels. And a plant-based diet has been shown to reverse, not just stop, but reverse the buildup that's in those vessels. And he's just one of many stories of people who avoided heart surgery and avoided stents by switching to a plant-based diet. So there's so many stories like that that I, I could keep going, but please do listen to podcast.

Speaker 1 (54:20):

Yeah, that's a great just sampling of what's available. And so I wanted everyone to hear the inspiration that's there. Healing is possible. I hope you will check out that episode. We will have links to all of the things that Dr. Kumar has mentioned in the show notes. So if you're driving, don't try and write them down. We'll have the links in the show notes wherever you get, whenever you get where you're going, you can click them. Thank you so much, Anup, for the work that you're doing. It's so important. Thank you for this wonderful conversation. It's very much appreciated.

Speaker 3 (54:52):

Thank you, Karen. It's a pleasure to be here and, and thank you for the work you do.

Speaker 1 (54:55):

And thank you all for listening to another episode of The Hormone Prescription with Dr. Kirin. Thanks so much for joining us today. I hope you've learned something that inspires you to take action on your health, to know that healing is possible, brilliant health is possible, it's your birthright. And if you're not experiencing that well, then you need to get moving so that you can just take one step today. What's something that you could do different to move into the right direction? And I'll see you next week when we'll have another great guest on the podcast. Until then, peace, love, and hormones, y'all.

Speaker 2 (55:31):

Thank you so much for listening. I know that incredible vitality occurs for women over 40 when we learn to speak hormone and balance these vital regulators to create the health and the life that we deserve. If you're enjoying this podcast, I'd love it if you give me a review and subscribe. It really does help this podcast out so much. You can visit the hormone prescription.com where we have some free gifts for you, and you can sign up to have a hormone evaluation with me on the podcast to gain clarity into your personal situation. Until next time, remember, take small steps each day to balance your hormones and watch the wonderful changes in your health that begin to unfold for you. Talk to you soon.

 

► Get access to Dr. Anoop Kumar's FREE course - CLICK HERE.

This course invites you to reconsider fundamental assumptions about who you are and what the nature of this world is. It asserts that consciousness is fundamental and that matter is its pattern, in a manner consistent with science. It asserts that the body is the representation of the mind, rather than the body being the source of the mind. Seeing yourself and the world in this way brings openness, clarity, and infinite possibilities.

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