Ep. 253 How to Improve Your Brain Health and Performance with Louisa Nicola

I am excited to connect with one of my favorite neuroscience experts today! Louisa Nicola is at the intersection of neuroscience and athleticism. She helps to bring a fresh understanding of what it takes to achieve peak performance through science-based tools and methods. She is also the host of The Neuro Experience podcast, which focuses on brain health, neuroscience, longevity, and athletics.
Louisa knows how to take complicated subjects related to brain physiology and hormones and explain them so that people can fully understand and appreciate them. In this episode, she and I dive into her background. We speak about her three pillars for peak performance, alcohol, and how sleep impacts the glymphatic system. We get into strategies for better sleep, the perimenopausal brain, how chronobiology impacts sleep, how to address jet lag, and how exercise improves brain performance and health. We also talk about the best foods and supplements for brain health and how creatine improves performance.
I hope you enjoy listening to today’s conversation as much as I did recording it!

Ep. 252 How To Optimize Your Bone Health with Bone Coach Kevin Ellis

Today, I am honored to connect with Kevin Ellis, the Bone Coach.
Kevin Ellis, better known as Bone Coach™, is a certified Integrative Nutrition health coach, podcaster, Youtuber, bone health advocate, and the founder of BoneCoach.com. After an osteoporosis diagnosis in his early 30s, he realized just how challenging it can be for the average person to make sense of what needs to be done to improve and how to move forward confidently with a stronger bone plan.
So many women struggle with osteopenia and osteoporosis throughout their lifetimes. In this episode, Kevin and I dive into his background and interest in osteoporosis and celiac disease. We discuss bone health, osteopenia, osteoporosis, and the various contributors to bone health. We get into conventional treatments for osteoporosis, explain why they are problematic, and discuss proactive ways to address osteoporosis. We also speak about the role of the gut microbiome in bone health, a study on how blood pressure accelerates bone aging, and the impact of insulin resistance.

Bonus Ep. 251 90 Seconds to a Life You Love and the Capacity to Change with Dr. Joan Rosenberg

Today I am honored to connect with my friend and colleague, Dr. Joan Rosenberg! She is a highly-regarded psychologist, master clinician, trainer, consultant, cutting-edge psychologist, and the author of the book 90 Seconds to a Life You Love.
Joan is a dear friend who is absolutely brilliant and very wise! She has a broad range of experience, both as a clinician and as a professor. As a clinical psychologist, she is known for her concept of working through uncomfortable feelings. In this episode, we dive into how our childhoods impact our ability to express ourselves and the understanding that if we have the capacity to think, we can change. We discuss uncomfortable feelings, triggers, awareness, and reframing. We speak about experiences versus disconnection, resilience, and the benefits of facing our pain. We also get into the goals of communication, incongruent thoughts and actions, growth, generosity, compliments, and humility.
This conversation is one of my recent favorites! I hope you will love it too!

Ep. 250 Denver’s Diet Doctor: Metabolic Health, Toxic Food Environment, & Therapeutic Fasting

I have the honor of connecting with Dr. Jeffry Gerber today! He is a board-certified family physician, speaker, author, conference organizer, husband, father, and owner of a medical practice in Colorado, where he is known as “Denver’s Diet Doctor”. He is very savvy regarding low-carb, high-fat, ancestral health, paleo, primal, intermittent fasting, and whole foods. He gets frustrated with spiraling healthcare costs related to treating conditions like obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and others.
Dr. Gerber has been a doctor since 1990. Even though many of his family members were overweight, he knew very little about nutrition for the first ten years and struggled with his patients not having any results. He has always been an independent thinker. So when some of his patients told him they intended to try non-standard diets, like the Atkins or the Suzanne Somers Diet, he supported them. Then he saw that they lost weight, and their metabolic markers improved.
In this episode, he and I dive into his background, how he became interested in looking at metabolic health, the impact of our modern-day lifestyles, and the toxic food environment. We speak about deprivation versus mindfulness, common challenges in the current medical system, the role of mitochondria in longevity, and the impact of altitude on our metabolism, carbohydrates, and other macros. We also discuss perimenopause, menopause, andropause, weight loss resistance, the differences between insulin sensitivity and insulin resistance, therapeutic fasting, deep prescribing, and assessing cardiovascular risk. Stay tuned for more!

Ep. 249 AMA Episode: Dr. Mindy Pelz: Troubleshooting Fasting, Electrolytes, Hormones & More

I have the honor of reconnecting with Dr. Mindy Pelz today. She was with me before on podcasts 113 and 184.
Dr. Mindy Pelz, D.C is a bestselling author, keynote speaker, nutrition and functional health expert who has spent over two decades helping thousands of people successfully reclaim their health. She is a recognized leader in the alternative health field and a pioneer in the fasting movement, teaching the principles of a fasting lifestyle, diet variation, detox, hormones, and more. Her popular YouTube channel (which just celebrated 23 million lifetime views) regularly updates followers on the latest science-backed tools and techniques to help them reset their health. She is the host of one of the leading science podcasts, The Resetter Podcast, and the author of three best-selling books; The Menopause Reset, The Reset Factor, and The Reset Kitchen, and her current book published with Hay House, Fast Like a Girl, is available for pre-order. Dr. Mindy has appeared on national shows like Extra TV and The Doctors and has been featured in Muscle & Fitness, Well + Good, SHEknows, Healthline, and more. 
For this episode, I have a new format of ask me anything questions and answers. Dr. Mindy and I answer many of the questions women have sent in about nutrition, navigating fasting, electrolytes, and estrogen and progesterone-promoting foods. We discuss perimenopause, PMDD and hormonal fluctuations, carbohydrates, hormesis, the parasympathetic nervous system, and magnesium. We get into the impact of fasting on the liver, changes in our cycle, and the need for liver and gallbladder support. We also answer several questions about troubleshooting and talk about Dr. Mindy’s new book, Fast Like a Girl. 
I hope you enjoy our new format and listening to today’s discussion with Dr. Mindy Pelz.

Ep. 248 Eat Smarter: The Impact of Ultra-Processed Foods on Your Gut, Brain and Metabolic Health with Shawn Stevenson

I am delighted to connect with Shawn Stevenson for the first show of 2023! Shawn is the host of the prolific Model Health Show. He is also a Nutritional Scientist, an author, and a father.

Shawn was a top-tier athlete when he was in high school. At fifteen, his hip broke while running a 200-meter time trial. He had some standard of care, but nobody ever asked how an apparently healthy kid broke his hip while running. Two years later, he went to college. Soon after that, he got diagnosed with degenerative disc disease.

In this episode, we get into how his background influenced his career path. We discuss fast food economies, ultra-processed food, the impact of subsidized food on our health, the gut microbiome, and the danger of seed oils. We dive into metabolic switching, the vagus nerve, and how it impacts food absorption and leaky gut. We talk about brain health and how the brain gets influenced by the food we eat, the interrelationship between the brain and metabolic health, insulin sensitivity, and the impact of inflammation on the brain. We also speak about the importance of hydration and electrolytes, and more.

Ep. 247 The Thyroid Debacle: All About Thyroid Health with Dr. Eric Balcavage

I’m delighted to reconnect with Dr. Eric Balcavage today! He is the owner and founder of Rejuvagen, a functional medicine clinic in Pennsylvania. He is also a nationally recognized speaker and educator on various health-related topics, including thyroid physiology, detoxification, methylation, and chronic illness.

Dr. Eric Balcavage joins me for the third time today to discuss his new book, The Thyroid Debacle, co-authored with Dr. Kelly Halderman. We dive into his motivation for writing his book, discuss cellular hypothyroidism and its triggers, and get into the impact of chronic low-grade inflammation on our mitochondrial health. We go into why hypothyroidism is a spectrum, the role of bile in thyroid functioning, and the impact of hypothyroidism on our sex hormones. We also discuss the incidence of Hashimoto’s, why iodine is so controversial, labs we want to look at more closely with thyroid issues, and supplements and nutrition.

Ep. 246 The Myth of Normal, Understanding Your Trauma, and How to Heal in a Toxic Culture with Dr. Gabor Maté

Today I have the honor of connecting with the renowned speaker and bestselling author Dr. Gabor Maté! Dr. Maté is highly sought-after for his expertise on various topics, including addiction, trauma, stress, and childhood development. He recently wrote a New York Times bestselling book, The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture.

For many of us, the concept of trauma is controversial and largely misunderstood. In today’s discussion with Dr. Maté, I am transparent, honest, and open about how I grew up and how my childhood experiences have influenced me throughout my lifetime. We get into the definition of trauma, why trauma is so widespread and misunderstood, the differences between habit and addiction, the impact of a toxic culture and materialism, and the epidemic of loneliness. We discuss the impact of the pandemic, a loss of control, why women are at greater risk of developing autoimmune disorders, and the impact of adverse childhood events. We also speak about what negatively impacts healthy childhood development, multigenerational trauma, and healing through compassionate inquiry.

I hope you will find great value in listening to today’s thought-provoking and insightful podcast!

Ep. 245 Women’s Sexual Health and Longevity with Dr. Amy Killen

I am honored to connect with Dr. Amy Killen today! She is a leading longevity and regenerative physician specializing in “Sex and Skin.” She is also an international speaker, author, educator, mother of three, a should-be rapper, and founder of the Human Optimization Project (HOP).

Having had three kids within two years while also getting up at 3 am to be on time for her 4 am ER shifts made Dr. Killen’s life sleep-deprived, crazy, and stressed. Then, she noticed that many ER patients were coming in with acute problems related to issues similar to her own and realized that she needed to learn a whole new set of tricks and tools if she wanted to help them and herself.

Dr. Killen has positioned herself as the female expert on biohacking, sexual health, and skin health. In this episode, we dive into her medical background and her transition into a longevity and sexual health guru. We discuss longevity, functional and regenerative medicine, ovarian aging, the impact of lifestyle on our sexual health, de-stigmatizing women’s sexual needs and health, microdosing, supplements, and addressing changes in our skin and hair in perimenopause and menopause.

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.