Cynthia's Podcast

Bonus Ep.244 The Metabolic Effects of Creatine Monohydrate: Its Evidence of Efficacy for Muscle & Brain Health with Scott Emmens and Kara Lazauskas

I am delighted to have Scott Emmens and Kara Lazauskas joining me on the podcast today! Scott is the President of MD Logic, and Kara is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist with a graduate degree in Molecular Muscle Exercise Physiology and a background in Sports Medicine.

Scott’s fascination with fitness began when he was sixteen. He had asthma, and it confused him to see kids more out of shape than he was performing better than him. So he started working out. When he went to college, he developed an obsession with how the human body worked and became an amateur bodybuilder.

Kara is a total badass! Even though she lost her left lung to a benign tumor when she was just three-and-a-half years old, she became a Titan Games competitor. She is also an MMA fighter.

In this episode, Kara, Scott, and I dive into supplements in the sports and performance fields, the rigors of the FDA GMP (Good Manufacturing Process), and the need for quality supplementation. We discuss the value of Creatine Monohydrate, its benefits, some common misconceptions, and age-related changes that impact metabolic health. We discuss how brain metabolism can be supported with Creatine, gender-related differences, how estrogen influences Creatine, and how Creatine can be helpful in reducing the risk of depression and influencing BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor). We also get into the unmatched safety and security standards of MD Logic, my reasons for aligning with them in creating Creatine Monohydrate, and some upcoming discounts for Creatine and melatonin during the holidays.

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Ep. 243 Balancing your Hormones and Thyroid Health with Dr. Shawn Tassone

I’m happy to have Dr. Shawn Tassone joining me again today! He was one of our original guests on the podcast back in 2018. (Episode 4) Dr. Tassone is the author of The Hormone Balance Bible, a book I often recommend.
Dr. Tassone is one of my favorite gynecologists! I love following him on social media because he shares information in a very straightforward manner. In this episode, we dive into the impact of the Women’s Health Initiative, the differences between bio-identical and synthetic hormone replacement therapy, contraceptive options for perimenopausal women, and the Essure sterilization procedure. We discuss why so many OB-GYNs and medical professionals get burned out, various options for thyroid health, the basis for The Hormone Balance Bible, and the SHINE protocol. We also get into some of Dr. Tassone’s favorite supplements and those he feels get overused.
I hope you enjoy listening to this podcast with Dr. Tassone as much as I did recording it! Stay tuned for more!

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Ep. 242 Low-Carb Diet on a Budget and Food Insecurities with Dr. Mark Cucuzzella

I am honored to connect with Dr. Mark Cucuzzella today. He is a Professor from West Virginia University School of Medicine, and a retired Air Force Reserve Lieutenant Colonel who practices Family Medicine and advocates for evidence-based policy and education.

Dr. Cucuzzella has a fascinating background! He spent forty years as a humble yet seriously dedicated athlete, competing in over a hundred marathons and ultra-marathons. In this episode, he shares his perspective on shifting the paradigm to a low-carb diet, the impact of that on metabolic health, needing guideline Centrals for low-carb diets for patients, and hindrances to changing the narrative within the traditional allopathic medical model. We also talk about low-carb on a budget and food insecurity.
I hope you enjoy listening to today’s conversation with Dr. Cucuzzella and find it beneficial. I look forward to reconnecting with him next year for a second podcast! Stay tuned for more!

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Ep. 241 Mitochondria and the Impact of Hormone Imbalances in Perimenopause and Menopause with Dr. Carrie Jones

I am happy to reconnect with Dr. Carrie Jones today! (She was with me before in Episode 106, in July of 2020.) Dr. Jones is an internationally-recognized speaker, consultant, and educator on the topic of women’s health and hormones. She has her Master’s in Public Health and was one of the first to become board certified through the American Board of Naturopathic Endocrinology and currently serves on the board.

I like to think of Dr. Jones as the Queen of Hormones! In today’s episode, we dive into common hormone imbalances that occur in perimenopause and menopause. We discuss the difference between healthy and non-healthy mitochondria, the impact of toxins on our hormones, and thyroid function. We talk about the impact of puberty, pregnancy, post-partum, and perimenopause on our immune system. We also get into non-thyroidal illnesses, the role of skeletal muscle, things that no longer serve us in middle age, and why we tend to become more weight loss-resistant with age.

I hope you enjoy listening to my conversation with Dr. Carrie Jones as much as I did recording it! Stay tuned for more!

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Ep. 240 Fear-Free Keto with Amy Berger

I am honored to reconnect with Amy Berger today! (She was with me before, in Episode 108, in 2020.) Amy has a Master’s degree in human nutrition. She is also a certified nutrition specialist and a US Air Force veteran. She is the author of many books, including a co-authored book with Dr. Eric Westman, called End Your Carb Confusion.
Amy is a wealth of information! She specializes in helping people do “Keto Without the Crazy”, and keeping things sane and simple- a message that is sadly under-represented in our post-pandemic time frame.
Amy joins me today to dive into reducing nutrition-related fear, worry, and anxiety. We speak about food addiction, binge eating, and orthorexia, the emerging trend in medicine of metabolic psychiatry, brain health, blood sugar, different types of fuel substrates, and weight-loss resistance. We also get into bio-hacking gadgets, the scale, and the value of food budgets.
Amy’s YouTube channel is one of my favorites, and her brand and business are full of down-to-earth messaging. I hope you enjoy listening to my conversation with her as much as I did recording it! Stay tuned for more!

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Ep. 239 Brain Energy: A New Way to Look at Mental and Metabolic Health with Dr. Chris Palmer

I am honored to connect with Dr. Chris Palmer today! He is a psychiatrist and researcher working at the interface of metabolism and mental health.

Mental illness can devastate lives! Some members of Dr. Palmer’s family struggled with serious mental health issues, and his mother’s experience with the mental health system impacted him deeply. He found the system incompetent and ineffective, and many mental health clinicians were distant, aloof, and snobbish.

In this episode, he shares his background and explains how a patient changed his career trajectory in 2016. We dive into the connection between mental disorders and metabolic disease, the traditional focus of psychiatry, the value of low-carb and ketogenic diets, the role of mitochondria, and mitochondrial dysfunction. We also get into intergenerational transmission of trauma and the importance of sleep, and Dr. Palmer discusses his new definition of mental health.
Looking at mental health through a metabolic health lens makes so much sense! I believe that Dr. Palmer’s new book will be an incredible resource for clinicians, their patients, and their patient’s families.

Tune in to hear what he says about the link between metabolic disorders and mental health issues.

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