74. Elissa Goodman: This is Why You Can't Biohack Your Way Out of Burnout

You're bloated. Tired. Anxious. Maybe even burnt out. You've tried the diets, the supplements, the meditation apps… But you're still not healing. Why? In this episode of Extend, I'm joined by Elissa Goodman, a holistic health expert and cancer survivor, to explore the deep connection between gut health, inflammation, and overall well-being. We dive deep into the science behind food resets, the importance of eliminating inflammatory foods, and the role of personalized blood work in identifying hidden health imbalances. And also discuss practical strategies for improving digestion, boosting energy, and supporting long-term health through a balanced diet and stress management. By the end of this episode, you'll walk away with actionable insights to help your body reset, reduce inflammation, and improve both your mental and physical health, starting with your gut. Elissa Goodman is a holistic nutritionist specializing in gut health, personalized food resets, and functional nutrition. After overcoming cancer, she combines conventional and alternative therapies to restore health and reduce inflammation. We Also Discuss: (00:02) What Sparked a Lifelong Mission to Heal? (03:56) Wellness Trends: Game-Changers or Gimmicks? (14:36) Only Eating 3 Veggies? Here's Why That's a Problem (18:35) Struggling with Bloating? This Might Be Your Missing Link (25:20) Detox Myths Busted—Here's What Actually Works (31:55) The Healing Strategy You're Probably Overlooking (43:30) The Real Reason You're Tired (It's Not Just Sleep) (51:17) Mindset Over Medicine? A Radical Healing Shift (01:14:05) The Supplements Elissa Actually Recommends Thank You for Our Sponsors: TruNiagen: Whether you are looking to stay sharp, feel more energized or simple age better, go to https://www.truniagen.com/IFit:If you are looking to elevate your home gym fitness experience with the best in fitness tech, choose IFIT. Go to https://www.ifit.com/NextHealth: Your destination for cutting-edge health optimization—from IV therapy to hormone balancing. Explore at https://www.next-health.com/Vitaboom: For supplements you can trust and wellness solutions tailored to your health, visit https://vitaboom.com/ Learn more about Dr. Shah: Website: https://www.drshah.com/ Clinic: https://www.next-health.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darshanshahmd/ Learn more about Elissa Goodman: Website: https://www.elissagoodman.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/elissagoodman

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:03Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Welcome to Extend with me, Dr. Darshan Shah, a podcast dedicated to cutting-edge science, research, tools, and protocols designed to help you extend your health span. Having become one of the youngest doctors in the country at the age of 21, and trained and board-certified at the Mayo Clinic, I've accumulated three decades of practice as a board-certified surgeon and longevity expert. Over that time, I've discovered that a mere 20% of health knowledge yields 80% of the results when it comes to your health span. We're living in a new era where we are creating a new healthcare system, no longer focused on disease management, but achieving optimal health and vitality. Join me as I interview world-renowned experts, offering you a step-by-step guide to proactively avoid disease, and most importantly, extend your health span.

• 0:49Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Did you know that chronic fatigue, digestive issues, and low energy could be your body signaling that something deeper is going on and it's out of balance? It's not just part of the normal aging process or just stress. It could actually be a sign that your gut health is affecting your overall well-being. Your gut is connected to every system in your body, your brain, your heart, all of it. And gut health issues can really be at the root cause of many of these symptoms. In this episode of Extend, I'm going to be joined by the celebrity nutritionist Alyssa Goodman. She's a holistic nutritionist and cancer survivor who has spent years perfecting her approach to healing the body through food resets and personalized nutrition. We discuss how gut health inflammation and blood work

• 1:31Dr. Darshan Shah?

  play a critical role in restoring vitality and preventing chronic disease. We're going to dive deep into the science of food resets, how elimination diets like inflammatory food diet eliminations can help you have actionable steps to improve your digestion, energy levels, and long-term health. If you're feeling rundown, dealing with digestive troubles, or just know that something's off in your body, this episode is going to provide you with the knowledge and tools to start your reset. Alyssa Goodman, again, is a holistic nutritionist. She specializes in gut health, personalized food resets, and functional nutrition. After overcoming cancer, she combined conventional and alternative therapies

• 2:10Dr. Darshan Shah?

  To restore her own health and reduce her own inflammation. And now she's teaching millions how to do so herself. She's also the author of the book, Cancer Hacks, which is a holistic guide to overcoming your fear and healing from cancer that she wrote after going through her own survival journey. Let's get into this episode with Alyssa Goodman. I'm really excited for you to hear our conversation.

• 2:32Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Alyssa, thank you so much for being on the Extend Podcast. It's so fantastic to have you here.

• 2:37Speaker 01

  It's so great to be here. I mean, you know, I love you. I've known you since you opened Next Health and I've been a fan and I've loved Next Health. And I'm still a fan.

• 2:47Dr. Darshan Shah?

  You know, it was, it's incredible to see your journey over the last six years now. We've known each other, I think, six years. And we interviewed you for a, for a panel. And then you came again and did another panel with us a few, a few days ago.

• 3:01Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 3:02Dr. Darshan Shah?

  And it's just incredible to see how much you've grown and how much, I mean, everyone in this town knows you.

• 3:09Speaker 01

  You're so sweet. I'm not sure everyone, but I know when you're passionate like you are about something and you really believe in it, you know, it's not a job. It's just easy.

• 3:21Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Exactly, exactly. So that's what, let's start the questions with that. Like, tell me what you consider yourself an expert at. What are you the most passionate about talking about?

• 3:29Speaker 01

  I think I'm the most passionate about talking. I love people, so, and I love to get to know their story and not just, you know, their health issues that, which I deal with on a daily basis. But what really makes them tick? Like, what is, like, what's their passion? What's their purpose? And that to me tells me everything. If they're living their passion and their purpose. And is that the reason why they're not living that way? Is that why they're not feeling well and they're not sick? But I, I feel like when I get on a Zoom with someone, it's so weird. I feel like I've known him for years. And I think that is just something that I, because I just adore people.

• 4:09Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Right.

• 4:09Speaker 01

  In general.

• 4:10Dr. Darshan Shah?

  It's so important, isn't it? Like doing what we do to not just start with the health issues. Start with like, who are you as a person? What is your day to day like? What are you passionate about? What's your purpose? That fully informs the trajectory for, for me of my conversation with that person about their health.

• 4:27Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 4:28Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Right?

• 4:28Speaker 01

  Absolutely, absolutely. Cause you rea- you really can tap into their mindset. And I think that's crucial, you know, is some- is someone gonna be able to like, take your suggestions and run with them? Or are they gonna walk? Or are they gonna crawl? You know? It's just the way then you approach the client in terms of what you give them and how much you give them and, you know, with what they're able to handle it, so.

• 4:51Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Yes, exactly. I mean, the health information needs- means nothing unless you have the mindset in place first. And everyone has a different mindset they're starting with. So we work on modifying the mindset potentially. But then also, you know, practitioners like us work on what mindset they're in right now and how do we meet them where they're at, right?

• 5:10Speaker 01

  Yeah, exactly.

• 5:11Dr. Darshan Shah?

  So what is your ex- I know what your expertise is, of course, but I'd love to hear it in your own words. What is your area of expertise?

• 5:17Speaker 01

  I mean, you know that I have a cleanse that is delivered and it's been 10 years now. This cleanse has been going on, which I can't believe, but it's not really a cleanse. That's the wrong word, I think, to call it. It's really a food reset. And we have four different ones now that we cook and deliver all over Los Angeles. And it's very fresh and organic and no inflammatory foods, no sugar and gluten and dairy and bad seed oils and so on. And I'm watching people reset their bodies in five days. It's crazy. And also we're giving them a lot of food and they're losing weight. So I love the fact that they're not starving or depriving and realize, wow, I can eat all this food and still lose weight and not have to start myself or calorie count.

• 6:02Speaker 01

  Or any of that. I mean, I started doing blood work over COVID. I learned how to do that. I- because of you guys, you know, because you do such thorough blood work. And when I get blood work from clients, it's not thorough.

• 6:14Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Right.

• 6:14Speaker 01

  So now I just, so like, the people that wanna do blood work with me, I will do a thorough blood panel on them. And that's also been absolutely so much fun to dig in and to see what is at the cornerstone and physically wrong that we can help them with.

• 6:31Dr. Darshan Shah?

  It's such incredible information and I was just talking to someone about, I wish everyone had a set of biomarkers done when they were like 25 years old, right? You know, I think everyone, if you're listening out there, you're young, get your biomarkers tested because you want to know where you're at when you're kind of at that height of your physiology. Like that's like where you're going to be the best physical for most people shape.

• 6:53Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 6:53Dr. Darshan Shah?

  And you want to just progress from there and having those biomarkers and tracking them over time is so impactful. And like you said, you can really dig in on those biomarker tests and you get so much information now, but sadly, most doctors' offices don't do the testing unless you beg them.

• 7:08Speaker 01

  I know.

• 7:09Dr. Darshan Shah?

  And then they still won't do all the testing.

• 7:11Speaker 01

  I know. It's really crazy. I mean, and also some of my OB-GYN friends, I'll test 18-year-olds and 19-year-old and 20-year-old girls for their hormones, just to see if there is something off. I know they fluctuate, but I'm finding like all kinds of interesting things wrong with them, you know, like even some DHA and prednisone are low and that shouldn't be at that age, or they have heavy metals going on in their body, right? I mean, or some high blood sugar and it's causing hormone issues, right?

• 7:41Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Absolutely.

• 7:42Speaker 01

  So I love all of that, too. I wish I had gotten my markers done then.

• 7:47Dr. Darshan Shah?

  I know. Me too. Me too. What's the one thing that you wish people knew about nutrition? What is the one thing you wish everyone just knew about nutrition in general?

• 7:57Speaker 01

  Yeah, that's a tough one.

• 7:58Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Yeah.

• 7:59Speaker 01

  I wish that people knew that, or food is medicine and that real food, eating real food can change your life, you know, staying away from processed food and like we talked about earlier, you know, just knowing like sugar, too much sugar, not you could have sugar, but too much sugar is bad, or certain forms of dairy can be bad and gluten, just to actually pay attention to what you're eating and digesting and your intuition is telling you what's working for you and what's not working for you. But it's all about real food, food that's grown from the earth.

• 8:34Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Yeah.

• 8:35Speaker 01

  That's where the good stuff is, right?

• 8:37Dr. Darshan Shah?

  You know, that hits home for me because I was in a terrible State of health for many years of my life, I mean, most of my life. And the one thing that I did that made the biggest difference was to stick to whole food and eliminate the ultra processed food. Like immediately, like my autoimmune disease went away, my weight went down, I started building muscle. And you know, like all of that happened just because of the food change. And it wasn't really a change. It was more of just like eliminating all the bad stuff, you know? And then all that's left is really, and we'll dive into this today, is is whole food, right? And then even within, you know, whole food, there there are some things that we have to watch out for that I'd love to dive into that with you as well.

• 9:21Dr. Darshan Shah?

  What do you think is the biggest misconception people have about nutrition?

• 9:26Speaker 01

  They think it's, you know, hard to heal. They feel like maybe they can't heal, like we've been told, you know, we basically are getting older. And we're going to have some of these health issues, whether it's digestion or insomnia, you know, women with hormones. And, you know, I feel like at 64, I've never felt better in my life. So I feel I just want to be a spokesperson to say, you don't have to live. I had cancer, I had Hashimoto's, hyperthrombs, celiac, you know, insomnia, all those anxiety. But you don't have to live like that. And I think that's the the biggest misconception is we feel like that's just the way it's going to be, right? As we age.

• 10:06Dr. Darshan Shah?

  For people like you and I that have completely turned their health around, like, and I I think that you really, you can't say this enough to people that if you change a couple of things, you know, you're going to make a major difference. I'm a big fan of the Pareto principle. There's 20% of the things that you have to do that'll get you 80% of the way there with your health. You just got to do those things consistently and, you know, just make them a constant part of your life. Then they become easy to do and then it completely changes your life.

• 10:34Speaker 01

  Right, right.

• 10:35Dr. Darshan Shah?

  It doesn't take a lot of time, right?

• 10:37Speaker 01

  No, it's not rocket science here, you know, it's the basics too. To be able to cover those basics of hydration and sleep and, you know, eating real food and de-stressing as much as you can, right? So.

• 10:50Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Exactly. You know, we were talking about this earlier. You see a lot of celebrity patients and a lot of patients just in general. And I think people are just overwhelmed with all the information out there, right? And they, and they get kind of like paralysis by over analysis and all this information, this digital like delusion information coming at them. And it paralyzes a lot of people. And so, you know, you were saying how getting them past that is one of the hardest things, right?

• 11:16Speaker 01

  Right.

• 11:17Dr. Darshan Shah?

  So how do you get people past that?

• 11:19Speaker 01

  You know, I think that to get them to trust me and to be able to exhale with me, you know, like, ah, she has my back. You know, she's not overloading me. She really is wanting to get to know me as a person and what works for me and what doesn't work for me in all areas. And I think, I think that's the ticket. You know, doctors these days just don't have time for their clients and their patients. And I think having some time and giving people what they need, a place that they can really relax and, and de-stress and be like, oh, my God, she really does get me.

• 11:53Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Yeah.

• 11:53Speaker 01

  And that, I think that is huge. And then really telling, I mean, like, I've been in the supplement world for like 32 years since I was diagnosed with cancer, just dabbling in it because I never felt well like you, you know, just trying to figure out what's works, what doesn't work. And I've seen it grow. And it's, you know, what is it, a trillion dollar business and it's

• 12:12Dr. Darshan Shah?

  It's crazy.

• 12:12Speaker 01

  It's out of control. All, and all of the modalities and things, you know, I mean, there are great modalities out there, but I think the, the supplement market is really crazy out of control.

• 12:22Dr. Darshan Shah?

  I was just talking about that in my last podcast, like the supplement industry has gotten nuts.

• 12:26Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 12:26Dr. Darshan Shah?

  But there are a few gems in there that I'm a huge believer of. And I think me personally, like I used to be guilty as charged. Like I had a big bag of supplements I would carry around with me all day.

• 12:36Speaker 01

  You did?

• 12:37Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Yeah. And, and this was when I was at my unhealthiest.

• 12:40Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 12:41Dr. Darshan Shah?

  And when I got healthy.

• 12:42Speaker 01

  And did they work when you were carrying those around? Or yeah, no.

• 12:45Dr. Darshan Shah?

  You know, I just, I just did this. I just had this mindset that if I just take a bunch of supplements, I'm going to be fine.

• 12:52Speaker 01

  Yeah, that's what the clients feel like.

• 12:53Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Exactly.

• 12:54Speaker 01

  Right.

• 12:54Dr. Darshan Shah?

  And it's absolutely not true.

• 12:56Speaker 01

  Right.

• 12:56Dr. Darshan Shah?

  You gotta get your lifestyle in order first. And now I'm a big believer of testing and only supplement, targeted supplementation where you need it. And there's a few gems that we'll talk about later, I think, that I think are really up and coming and could really move the needle for people.

• 13:11Speaker 01

  Absolutely.

• 13:11Dr. Darshan Shah?

  But for the most part, I'm down to like six supplements, I think. Six to eight.

• 13:16Speaker 01

  Wow.

• 13:16Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Yeah.

• 13:16Speaker 01

  That is remarkable.

• 13:18Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Yeah.

• 13:19Speaker 01

  I think I might be double that.

• 13:20Dr. Darshan Shah?

  But I get it mostly from diet, you know? I get a lot of what I need from my diet now, which, and I test myself quarterly, like, and so I see where I'm at. And I don't need a lot of the things I used to take, so.

• 13:29Speaker 01

  Right, right.

• 13:31Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Let's talk about cleanses, okay? So that's, even the word cleanse has become controversial.

• 13:36Speaker 01

  Yes, very much so.

• 13:38Dr. Darshan Shah?

  And you know, I think, I think I would like to hear from you a clarification of the word cleanse. Because I think that, you know, a lot of people go party and travel for like two weeks and they come home and they do a cleanse. And that's supposed to fix everything.

• 13:52Speaker 01

  Right.

• 13:53Dr. Darshan Shah?

  And really, why don't you tell us what a cleanse really is?

• 13:56Speaker 01

  I mean, I don't love that word. So I think it does sort of relate to deprivation, starvation mode. So I really love the fact of resetting and food resetting. And I call that a cleanse, you know, just going back to real food and really, and taking out the inflammatory foods that maybe you did eat on that two week vacation, you know? The cheeses and the wines and the gluten potentially, and maybe some processed food and all of that. So it's really, my program is getting people, getting, there's 50 different vegetables in five days. And like, nobody can really say they eat 50 different vegetables in five days. So I'm just trying to get them to love vegetables, to eat more vegetables, to get those nutrients at a cellular level.

• 14:40Speaker 01

  And I feel like you, obviously that is a reset cleanse program. And your body knows how to metabolize and knows what to do with that food. That's what's so beautiful. That's what you're talking about. If our body gets real food, we do know how to metabolize it. It does, you know, do what it's supposed to do in the body. And then we're also able to like get it in and out of the system too.

• 15:02Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Right.

• 15:02Speaker 01

  That's a big one in terms of like, you know, digestion and going to the bathroom regularly because that is a big problem these days where people are barely going, you know, once a day or not even like at all that day. So um, I think that we a lot of fiber. We always make sure there's a lot of protein. We also do some animal protein on the cleanses. I I feel like that's important too with people that are exercising a lot. I eat a little bit of everything myself. So I feel like it's, you know, some people, that's not enough. It's like twelve hundred, fifteen hundred calories a day. Sometimes it's not enough. So we just, we actually make it personalized to the person.

• 15:41Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Oh, you do?

• 15:42Speaker 01

  We do. We try, you know, if they do need extra things or they can't eat certain beans or legumes or, you know, we have a vegan broth versus a bone broth. And so things like, and if they have a cashew, you know, intolerance and all, yeah, we do.

• 15:56Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Got it. So on the vegetable piece, you know, you mentioned fifty different vegetables, but what you're, I think what you're really trying to say is have a diversity there, right? And why is that diversity so important in your vegetable intake? Because, you know, I actually love broccoli and I can eat only broccoli all the time and I'd be happy. But I know that that's that's zero diversity. It's a good amount of fiber, but it's

• 16:17Speaker 01

  That's so funny because I'm so sick of broccoli.

• 16:19Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Are you really?

• 16:20Speaker 01

  Because I've eaten it so much in my life. Kale and broccoli. I'm like, oh, my God. Um, but it is, it's the nutrients, it's the vitamins, the minerals, the antioxidants, the polyphenols, the phytonutrients. It's just like, you know, the antioxidants. I mean, the diversity is crucial.

• 16:36Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Yeah, absolutely. Because you're getting different vitamin, mineral, vitamin in each one of these. And so having the diversity there.

• 16:43Speaker 01

  Right.

• 16:44Dr. Darshan Shah?

  And then are you also with um, vegetable intake? There's a lot of talk about, you know, certain vegetables that can be toxic to your system and certain ones that like, that cause people food sensitivities. How do you kind of sort through that with your clients?

• 16:58Speaker 01

  Well, I do want them to pay attention to like what they're eating and how they feel. So the intuition part is really important to what I tell them to eat. So if they eat certain things and it doesn't agree with them, we kind of know right away what it was. Your intuition always tells you the truth.

• 17:16Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Got it.

• 17:17Speaker 01

  You know, like if you're having that broccoli and you feel gassy and digestive issues afterwards, maybe there is an issue with it. I'm a big fan of enzymes.

• 17:26Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Yeah.

• 17:27Speaker 01

  You know, to help people break down food because after 30, they deplete right by like 50%. So it's like, we do give enzymes on the cleanse, but I feel like that's very helpful is like making sure the enzymes are working, making sure you have enough hydrochloric acid in your gut to break down all of these foods, not just animal protein and, you know, things like that, but vegetables as well. So, and I also feel like, like you, I don't know, like I have built up intolerances to certain foods because I've eaten them so much. So.

• 17:54Dr. Darshan Shah?

  It happens.

• 17:55Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 17:55Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Yeah.

• 17:55Speaker 01

  And then I know I can, I can feel inflamed or major digestive issues. So, um, and I do watch it and I just eliminate them from my diet for like six months and then try to reintroduce them as much as I can.

• 18:09Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Got it. And with the digestive enzymes, I want to touch on that as well because a lot of people don't take digestive enzymes.

• 18:14Speaker 01

  I know.

• 18:15Dr. Darshan Shah?

  And at what age do you recommend like thinking about using them? Do you use them all the time? Is it like part of your normal routine? How, like what's your protocol around them?

• 18:23Speaker 01

  Yeah. I think if you have digestive issues, it's really important to go down that road and explore using them. I think it's individual. Um, I think with the cleanse, because it's very plant forward and it's very legume and bean oriented, that a lot of people don't eat enough legumes and beans. And especially right now, the animal protein craze is very big, you know, which I'm a fan of as well. But the legumes and beans do bother people's guts. So I'm, I'm telling them to do digestive enzymes because of that. Even though we soak our beans, we do sprouted beans, they're easier to digest. But some people, like if they don't eat enough of beans and don't eat them regularly, they're not going to do so well. So I think that, you know, it's all about like, is your digestion working? Is it not? You know, there's certain meals that.

• 19:08Speaker 01

  You're eating that you don't feel good. I mean, I even tell people to take them afterwards. I don't know about you, because a lot of people don't remember to take them before the meal. So even afterwards can help settle their digestive, you know? And I think our guts aren't healthy these days. You know, we don't have enough microbiome. We don't have enough hydrochloric acid. We don't have enough enzymes. Stress and over the counter meds have kind of destroyed us, right? And also maybe the water we're drinking or the air we're breathing or we're just, you know, we're not that healthy. So I think it just depends. I have 20 year olds on digestive enzymes and all the way up to, you know, 60, 70 year olds. And some people not on digestive enzymes, right?

• 19:48Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Is there a particular brand you like or use?

• 19:50Speaker 01

  I do. I love, for some reason, I've just gotten hooked on Enzimatica Digest Gold.

• 19:55Dr. Darshan Shah?

  All right.

• 19:55Speaker 01

  AT Pro is the one that we use on the cleanse that seems to work really well. There's so many, there are good ones out there.

• 20:02Dr. Darshan Shah?

  And does that have the hydrochloric acid in it as well?

• 20:04Speaker 01

  No.

• 20:05Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Okay. And what do you use for that?

• 20:06Speaker 01

  I, it's probably pure encapsulations, the HCl.

• 20:10Dr. Darshan Shah?

  And do you have most of your patients taking that on the, when they're on the cleanse? Or is that, the hydrochloric acid is also symptom based?

• 20:17Speaker 01

  Symptom based.

• 20:18Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Got it. And what are the symptoms of that?

• 20:20Speaker 01

  So it really is like, I mean, it's acid reflux, GERD, you know? Maybe it also is like you doing a stool sample to see what is going on in their gut. And we could tell like if they do need hydrochloric acid or not. I think I, I like play around a little bit with a little hydrochloric acid and the enzymes. If someone's having major digestive issues, if they have like gut issues as well as the acid reflux, GERD stuff going on.

• 20:47Dr. Darshan Shah?

  And when you say digestive issues, how does someone know that they're having digestive issues? What are some of the symptoms of that?

• 20:53Speaker 01

  They're not very fun. Yeah, they're, yeah, it's bloating, it's gas, you know, it's distension. It's maybe some bathroom issues, you know, if it's either constipation or diarrhea. Like, yeah, they're just, I mean, and it's, it's definitely not a fun process.

• 21:10Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Yeah.

• 21:10Speaker 01

  Oh, it could be also that they're eating too fast or, you know, not really chewing their food as well as we talk about that.

• 21:17Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Right.

• 21:18Speaker 01

  But there are. Are like, there are food enzymes that I love too. I love, I love hydrochloric acid. I mean, um, sorry, apple cider vinegar, I meant to say, yeah. I love that. We do that on a detox tonic in the morning. So they start their day with a like coconut kefir and detox tonic to wake up their enzymes. Um, I also love the bitter greens, you know, like arugula and dandelion greens and, um, and dive and radicchio and those kinds of things for, and I sometimes, when I don't feel good digestive wise, I will take a handful of arugula and just feel fine after that.

• 21:51Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Got it.

• 21:51Speaker 01

  It settles my stomach. So there are food based ones instead of having to take pills as well.

• 21:55Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Yeah. You know, I see, I see a huge upsurge of all the digestive issues you mentioned, but then also people are having such a long-term problem with it that they're actually getting like brain fog and they're getting symptoms of like just being tired all day. Like they feel inflamed too. And usually that when they go from just like minimal digestive symptoms to more intense, then to those symptoms where they get brain fog and inflammation. Usually they're getting into a place where they have leaky gut or

• 22:26Speaker 01

  Right.

• 22:27Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Let's just say leaky gut, okay? And it's, and it's really, we test for this and you, you can see like they are very leaky. They're getting inflammation from almost all food that they're eating. And they, you know, they, we do food sensitivity testing, the food sensitivities are off the chart. And usually that's leaky gut. And so I know you see a lot of leaky gut and this cleanses. Can you also use this cleanse program for leaky gut?

• 22:50Speaker 01

  A bit, but I feel like with leaky gut, you really do need some supplements.

• 22:55Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Yeah.

• 22:55Speaker 01

  You do need to heal the gut and the intestinal lining, right? And maybe lower pathogen loads that are going on in there, right? The viral fungal bacteria stuff that could be like taking over. I feel like sometime, we really do need some like protection.

• 23:12Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Right.

• 23:13Speaker 01

  With the leaky gut issues.

• 23:15Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Exactly. And so

• 23:16Speaker 01

  Cause once those, you know, permeability walls are broken, like it's, it's hard to get back with food. Do you agree?

• 23:22Dr. Darshan Shah?

  I totally agree. Um, I think an elimination diet is, is a big part of fixing leaky gut. Cause you want to eliminate all the foods that are causing your gut to, um, your gut bacteria to be unhealthy and for your gut cells to be unhealthy. But also, yes, there is supplementation that we, that we use as well. Do you treat a lot of leaky gut?

• 23:43Speaker 01

  Mm-hmm.

• 23:44Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Yeah. What supplements do you use?

• 23:45Speaker 01

  I love, well, I've been loving cholesterol powder lately. I've just had with clients in the last year and a half, I've had incredible success stories with healing people's gut and also helping with autoimmune issues and digestive issues. I mean, I love the cholesterol. Years I did collagen, I just don't know if that works anymore. Like, I haven't really seen the best results with collagen, but cholesterol has been amazing. And like L-glutamine is still, I think, fabulous, you know, and also just rebuilding people with the right amount of probiotics, you know, getting them good probiotics, a diversity of probiotics, right? So I love, those are the things that I mostly, I would say I'm using.

• 24:29Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Yeah, yeah, I'm using some, I use either bone broth or, yeah, bone broth a lot for collagen support. And we're using peptides.

• 24:37Speaker 01

  Real bone broth, yeah, instead of collagen powder.

• 24:40Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Yes, exactly.

• 24:41Speaker 01

  So, yeah.

• 24:42Dr. Darshan Shah?

  And, you know, I think that helps, that moves the needle too, and also BPC 157.

• 24:48Speaker 01

  I was just gonna say, I have BPC. I was gonna ask you, because I've used that for years, I've taken a supplement, but what do you, how do you feel about, because the clients are asking me a lot about peptides these days, what do you feel about the injection versus the capsule?

• 25:01Dr. Darshan Shah?

  I think for gut health, you want to take the capsule. You want to get it directly delivered to the gut. BPC 157 has a very local action, so even when we have the injectables available, we would tell people inject it locally around the area of injury. So same thing with the gut, taking the oral BPC 157 is

• 25:18Speaker 01

  Is better.

• 25:19Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Better.

• 25:19Speaker 01

  Yeah, okay.

• 25:20Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Yep, and then we also give like IV L-glutamine as well, because that's also helpful to heal leaky gut and powdered form as well.

• 25:28Speaker 01

  Right.

• 25:29Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Yeah, but leaky gut is a rampant problem now. Are you, are you seeing a lot more of it? I'm seeing a lot of it.

• 25:33Speaker 01

  Yes, I just, you know, I think with what we're talking about, you know. Guts are, we were stressed these days and we're really not really digesting our food properly. And I think food is hanging out in the gut too long or in the intestines too long and fermenting, causing all kinds of issues. So I feel like, you know, and also we're eating a lot of shitty food, you know, that is causing problems there too. I mean, the gut is crucial in regards to like keeping, you know, healthy and solid. But I am, I'm seeing a ton of that and I'm also seeing, you know, the idea of SIBO and SIFO and you are too, I'm sure.

• 26:15Speaker 01

  Ulcerative colitis, colitis, that's pretty rampant.

• 26:19Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Yeah, yeah, it's, it's, it's all getting very rampant. I think you hit the nail on the head. It's a lot of the ultra-processed food. It's drinking a lot of soda. I think, I think it's also a lot of just exposure to toxins in general, you know?

• 26:33Speaker 01

  Cause we come into the world toxic, right? Already and I think we're a little behind the eight ball. And I think hopefully now people are starting to get the idea that it's important to like really watch the toxins we're putting on our body and we're ingesting and we're breathing. And, you know, the ones in our home and testing the home for mold or, you know, the heavy metals of, I'm sure have been crazy amazing, right?

• 26:58Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Yeah.

• 26:58Speaker 01

  Arsenic is off the charts right now.

• 27:00Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Yeah.

• 27:01Speaker 01

  With the water in LA. Yeah, and also mercury has always been around, but I just, I'm like crazy seeing heavy metal loads that are super high.

• 27:10Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Yeah, we're seeing, we're seeing that too a lot. And I think you're right, a lot of it's coming from water. We highly encourage our patients to like drink filtered water or get a reverse osmosis system at home.

• 27:20Speaker 01

  Right.

• 27:20Dr. Darshan Shah?

  And supplement electrolytes, but absolutely like it's, it's, it's in the water.

• 27:24Speaker 01

  Yeah, right, right.

• 27:25Dr. Darshan Shah?

  So we have this constant onslaught of toxins to our body and, you know, I think removing it is one, one aspect of this, but then also the treatment aspect of, you know, things like leaky gut and also all the issues that we just talked about. You need kind of both at the same time, right?

• 27:43Speaker 01

  Yeah, and we also need like you, you know, you guys taught me this years ago, like. Testing for the MTHFRG, you know, see if we're phase two of the detoxification process. You know, just seeing what's going on with our liver, you know. I gut and liver and detoxification is so crucial. Um, I feel like that those are things to test for, right? Testing your liver enzymes and seeing if you do methylate.

• 28:07Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Right.

• 28:07Speaker 01

  Is really important. And then all the modalities that you offer at Next Health, you know, the infrared and, you know, just, and also the IVs. Um, with like glutathione in it. I mean, those are like, those are important things to know about. Or taking glutathione on a daily basis. If, you know, I feel like that is, people should know that we should be detoxing consistently.

• 28:31Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Yeah, constant and consistent detox and avoidance of toxins is like the mantra.

• 28:36Speaker 01

  Right.

• 28:36Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Now, it's like, and it gets overwhelming for people. Like, how do you detoxify your life? There's so much that you have to do.

• 28:43Speaker 01

  Right.

• 28:43Dr. Darshan Shah?

  And I tell them to stick to the big actions. Like, you want to detoxify your air. So I'm a big believer in air filters. I have a one, you know, in my office at home and then also.

• 28:52Speaker 01

  Which one do you have?

• 28:53Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Um, I have the Dr. Air.

• 28:55Speaker 01

  Oh, I was gonna say the Air Doctor, yeah.

• 28:57Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Do you have that one?

• 28:57Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah, that's a good one.

• 28:59Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Yep, and then I also have one in my bedroom because that's where we sleep.

• 29:02Speaker 01

  Right.

• 29:02Dr. Darshan Shah?

  And so that needs to also have the air purified and checking your air filters at home.

• 29:07Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 29:07Dr. Darshan Shah?

  I never used to do that.

• 29:08Speaker 01

  Yeah, the air conditioning?

• 29:10Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Yeah.

• 29:10Speaker 01

  Yeah, that's important. Right, that's a good one.

• 29:12Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Right.

• 29:12Speaker 01

  And the filter of the water. I had a reverse osmosis on my little water sink that I was using for coffee and tea. And we checked it and it was high in arsenic.

• 29:22Dr. Darshan Shah?

  It was.

• 29:22Speaker 01

  So the, it must not have been working. We replaced it. But, um, yeah, sometimes you just, I had to double filter my water.

• 29:29Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Wow, wow. Yeah, I mean, that's such a good point. Like, every once in a while, you gotta get your water checked too. And you can buy the kits online now to check your water. But I rarely see anyone ever doing that.

• 29:40Speaker 01

  I know, same.

• 29:41Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Cause you, you're like me, you get the lab test back and you're like, what are you doing with your water? Have you checked your water?

• 29:46Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 29:47Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Always the answer is no.

• 29:48Speaker 01

  Right, right, exactly.

• 29:50Dr. Darshan Shah?

  I have to, um, remind myself to do it. I have to have a calendar entry in my calendar to check my water every six months.

• 29:55Speaker 01

  Oh, you do it every six months?

• 29:57Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Every six months, yeah.

• 29:58Speaker 01

  And what are some of the other things you do for easy detoxification for people? I'm just curious.

• 30:03Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Yes, I always focus on air, water and food. And so with food, all the things we talked about, you know, eliminating ultra-processed, sticking to organic, local food.

• 30:12Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 30:13Dr. Darshan Shah?

  And then we talk about also skin detoxification. So and by skin, I mean, like, what do you, what are, all the stuff we're lathering on our skin. So I like this app called Think Dirty is One, Environmental Working Group as an app to, and I just scan everything.

• 30:27Speaker 01

  I love those.

• 30:28Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Yeah.

• 30:28Speaker 01

  Yeah, that's important. Like, not enough people are doing that.

• 30:32Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Right.

• 30:32Speaker 01

  You know, they should be doing that. And also, I feel like I'm a dry brusher because I had Hodgkin's lymphoma. So a lymphatic cancer when I was 32. So ever since then, I've always been a dry brusher. You know, also getting my lymphatic system moving and jumping on a trampoline.

• 30:49Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Oh, okay.

• 30:50Speaker 01

  Yeah, infrared sauna, like, those are beautiful ways to detox and easy.

• 30:55Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Get your lymphatic system really moving. Can you tell people what dry brushing is for people that don't know?

• 30:59Speaker 01

  So it really is, it's like your toxins, you know, get low, get dumped into your lymphatic system and then they can go, come out through your skin. So I basically, when you dry brush, they actually, you are brushing toxins off of your skin. And you're also getting your lymphatic system moving by the brushing action. And you brush upwards. So it's a very easy, easy thing to do and feels really incredible.

• 31:25Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Is it a special brush that you use?

• 31:26Speaker 01

  Yeah, well, a natural bristle brush.

• 31:28Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Natural brush.

• 31:28Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 31:29Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Got it, got it.

• 31:30Speaker 01

  So, I mean, it's, it really is a very, like, it's great for actually just also, you know, kind of scrubbing your skin as well. But I feel like you just, lymphatic system, people don't talk enough about. My husband had lymphatic cancer too. So both of us did. And I didn't even know at the time what that meant. You know, having a overloaded lymphatic system, you know, that was backed up.

• 31:54Dr. Darshan Shah?

  So you're right. I mean, no one talks about the lymphatic system. It's like, when you talk about detoxification, lymphatic system should be the entire, a big part of the conversation, right? And so getting your lymphatic system to drain and empty is very important. So you also mentioned jumping in a trampoline.

• 32:09Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah, because that gets the lymphatic system moving. As long as you're up, going up and down.

• 32:13Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Yes, yes.

• 32:14Speaker 01

  That's a very good thing to do. So it's that action.

• 32:17Dr. Darshan Shah?

  And I also like, like, the vibration pads. Have you seen those that you can stand on and just vibrates?

• 32:21Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 32:22Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Those work well, too. And what about lymphatic massage?

• 32:24Speaker 01

  I love lymphatic massages. Any kind of massage is beautiful. So, yeah, like, there's all these beautiful modalities these days that we have at our fingertips to really keep us healthy and thriving.

• 32:37Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Yeah.

• 32:38Speaker 01

  I feel like, and a lot of people are afraid, you know, they do have people in their family who have cancer, and they're trying to figure out, like, what modalities can I do that are easy to, that have had Hodgkin's lymph, and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma? Um, it's a very common cancer.

• 32:51Dr. Darshan Shah?

  It is extremely, it's getting more common, isn't it?

• 32:54Speaker 01

  Right.

• 32:59Dr. Darshan Shah?

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• 33:37Dr. Darshan Shah?

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• 34:15Dr. Darshan Shah?

  So let's talk about your cancer because I know you had a journey through this and I'd love to hear you kind of talk how you worked through this and what you did to heal yourself because you healed yourself.

• 34:27Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 34:28Dr. Darshan Shah?

  I would love to hear some of the high points of this.

• 34:30Speaker 01

  Yeah. I mean, I feel like I got the cancer because I also, when I was born, I had a low white blood cell count and nobody knew in those days, you know, what to do with that and how to keep me healthy. There was no vitamin D. There was sunshine and thank God I grew up in Arizona, but you know, it was just sleep and sunshine, really. And I don't think people even knew about the sunshine, basically, in those days. So I just always was getting sick consistently and so I always felt behind the eight ball. So my diet wasn't so fantastic because I was always going for things that were giving me a lift for energy because I always felt like low energy. Even if I slept 12 hours, I still was low energy and caught everything. And so then I had these parents who were very type A and ran circles around me.

• 35:15Speaker 01

  So as a teenager, and they're, I think, in their 40s and just running circles around me, I'm like, wow, like I can't even keep up emotionally and mentally. So it was a kind of double whammy when I got the cancer. It was like, I think because my diet wasn't great. I ate a lot of sugar, a lot of caffeine.

• 35:31Dr. Darshan Shah?

  How old were you?

• 35:32Speaker 01

  I was 32.

• 35:33Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Oh, you were really young.

• 35:34Speaker 01

  So I was coming off of a very intense, like I'd say 10 years of working in the advertising, marketing world that was, you know, long nights, early mornings, like just, you know, I was really trying to climb the corporate ladder. That's what I had seen with my parents and it was just all about money and like, you know, success and like, you know, getting yourself to a level that you felt like, you know, you were proud of yourself achievement wise. There was nothing about health and wellness or peace or calm or in any of that. So I feel like I was coming off of that and I was getting a massage one day and the masseuse found a lymph node on my collarbone. So I would never have known if I wasn't like sitting upright and she felt the lymph node. And she said, wow, you shouldn't have one there swollen.

• 36:19Speaker 01

  And so I went to see the doctor and the next thing I knew I had the cancer. And it was really... Spectacular because I went to see three doctors. Two of them scared the living daylights out of me in terms of what they were gonna do. Chemo, radiation, you know, stem cell transplant. Hadn't even been staged yet. That's how the community still treats you, as you know. You very well familiar with that. And people are like, shit, death sentence, you know? And what, do I have to go through all of this? Um, this is scary. And then I went to see this guy at St. John's and he said to me, sat me down and he goes, so are you happy with your life? Do you love what you do for a living? Do you love your husband? You know, like all these questions. Do you know, do you love yourself?

• 37:01Speaker 01

  And also he asked, do you know what calm is? You know, and I was like, I, I remember bursting into tears like, wait, are those important things? Because I have no idea how to answer that. I think I love my job. I think I love my life, like, but I really am not in touch with that at all. You know, at a heartfelt center place. Plus calm, no way. Never felt calm, was on, you know, a hamster wheel and was always trying to keep up and get better and be better. And, you know, I didn't even know how to relax. So he's like, we need to work on this. And that's when I dove into like meditation and yoga and really started hiking and being

• 37:44Speaker 01

  out in nature and went into therapy because I needed it terribly. Um, and also started juicing and eating really clean and just, you know, trying to figure out how to like really connect my heart with my soul and my, my, my body and fuel myself. And that was the most beautiful thing that's ever happened to me because still today, all these years later, doctors aren't asking those questions and I wish they did to my cancer clients. Um, and that saved my life and I did a little bit of radiation only because my family and friends were freaking out that I wasn't gonna do anything. I did have a stage one, so it was an early stage cancer. So I was lucky.

• 38:25Speaker 01

  My husband had stage three and so, and was terrified. And for some reason I was able to tap into the non- Terrifying part like I can get past this. I can heal. Like I did have a lucky thing happen when I was growing up. My mom was asthmatic. Went to a place called Rancho La Puerta. Do you know that?

• 38:45Dr. Darshan Shah?

  No, I haven't heard of it. No.

• 38:46Speaker 01

  How come no one knows that place? It's in Tucati, Mexico. It's still around. And it was the Golden Door and Rancho La Puerta.

• 38:52Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Oh, I know the Golden Door.

• 38:53Speaker 01

  And you know the Golden Door. That was owned by the same people in the seventies and eighties. She would go with these women and I sometimes had to go with her like when I was a teenager. Cause she didn't want to leave me home alone sadly. And so I'd go for seven days and watch these women like become different women in seven days. They were off the grid. They had no like phones, no access to home. One phone on the ranch. They ate the food that was grown on the ranch. There was yoga, hiking, meditation. There was mandatory massage. I mean, it was crazy and they had anxiety and insomnia and hormone issues and like digestive issues. They had all the same stuff we're dealing with today.

• 39:33Speaker 01

  But just by doing what they did at this place for seven days, it was way ahead of its time. They were different people when they went home. And my mom was a different person when she went home. So I was like, wow, that is like, I think I tapped into that. And my instincts were like, okay, if I go back to what I learned and saw at Rancho La Puerta, even though I didn't want to be there and that wasn't really fun for a teenager to be hanging out with, you know, thirty year old women and at a ranch with no access to my friends. But I think I was really lucky. I was like, hey, I, I can, I can do this. And my husband had his dad die when he was two of cancer. So I think that when he was diagnosed, he was like, holy shit, this could mean death.

• 40:17Speaker 01

  And I didn't go there as much.

• 40:19Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Yeah, that mental component is so impactful to your, to your overall health journey, especially with a diagnosis like cancer.

• 40:27Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 40:27Dr. Darshan Shah?

  And it's so hard to be positive about it, but you almost need to tap into that positivity. And it, I mean, there's research showing that your mental state definitely affects the course of your treatment with cancer, right?

• 40:39Speaker 01

  Absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, there are books out today. Lots of beautiful books, you know? People who have healed holistically, you know, I mean, I'm not saying that sometimes you don't need Western meds. But you know, like you guys subscribe to that here. Sometimes you need some help with Western and sometimes you could do both. I mean, and then sometimes you can go off the Western, hopefully if you can heal. You know, with the holistic matters, if you're really diving in and really taking care of yourself. You just have to take ownership of your health and really believe in your body. And most people think that their body's failing them. That's a sad thing. And their body knows how to heal, wants to heal, wants you to succeed.

• 41:18Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Yeah, yeah. Your body wants to be healed.

• 41:21Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 41:21Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Every cell in your body wants to be a healed, fully functioning cell that makes good energy.

• 41:26Speaker 01

  Right.

• 41:27Dr. Darshan Shah?

  But because of the exposures we put it through, both mentally and in the environment.

• 41:32Speaker 01

  Right.

• 41:33Dr. Darshan Shah?

  It just doesn't get an opportunity.

• 41:34Speaker 01

  Right. It gets onslaughted. So it does. It's behind the eight ball all the time, right? And it's just like, it can't keep up.

• 41:40Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Yeah. It's like you said, those women are completely different women after seven days of not getting that onslaught.

• 41:46Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 41:47Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Of psychological, emotional and physical stress.

• 41:50Speaker 01

  Totally. Totally. They're away from their families. They didn't, you know, no, there was no stress at the ranch. Exactly. It was wild. And also the food was homegrown and organic and it was, it was pretty cool.

• 42:02Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Sounds, I want to go to this place.

• 42:04Speaker 01

  You have to look it up now.

• 42:05Dr. Darshan Shah?

  I will. I'm going to link in the show notes.

• 42:07Speaker 01

  I mean, it's been around forever. So I can't believe that every time I ask someone, they've never heard of it.

• 42:12Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Is it still the same owners of Golden Door?

• 42:14Speaker 01

  Yes. The woman who owns it, I think she might be in her nineties.

• 42:18Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Yeah.

• 42:18Speaker 01

  So sadly, her hus- her son, who was running it for a while, did pass away from non-Hodges lymphoma.

• 42:25Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Also, another lymphatic cancer. It's so rampant and you've had so many brushes with it. It's crazy. So. You know, we were talking a little bit earlier about kind of cancer-proofing your body. What, what can people do with the knowledge that you now have? Cause you've gone so deep into the subject of cancer. How do we avoid cancer?

• 42:45Speaker 01

  Yeah, that's a really good question. I mean, I feel like, you know, I was talking to a client this morning, it was really interesting. And, um, pretty healthy young girl, I think she's in her late 30s. And she said that she's terrified of cancer. And I said, is there anyone in your family that's had cancer? Not really, a great grandfather maybe died of cancer, but she's like, no. Any like, you know, friends, no. So I'm like, what is, what is coming up for you with this cancer? You know, I mean, it's interesting, I mean, something must have happened to her somewhere along the line that, you know, made her feel like cancer, you know, just, I, maybe it's just cancer is scary out there, true. But there's nobody that's been in her family that it's happened to.

• 43:28Speaker 01

  So that just raised like a red flag for me, like, I need to figure out how to get this woman to relax about. Cancer is not a death sentence. So first of all, it's not a death sentence, really, most of the time. Um, and really, it's your body just telling you it's not working, you know? So you really need to dive in and see what isn't working. But how to do that is really, I think, just with the simple modalities that we talked about earlier. Sleep is crucial, you know, that's when the body resets and restores. And I think personally, women need eight to 10 hours, depending on where you're at in your life and your age, because we restore with our adrenals, you know, and adrenals need to be restored. Men don't need that much sleep, maybe seven, lucky them, but we need more.

• 44:12Speaker 01

  And then also just really, you know, the stress, stress is huge. Um, when we're stressed, our digestive system completely shuts down. So we could be eating really healthy food, but we're not digesting it and we're not absorbing it into our cells. And, you know, we're not getting the nutrients we need. So that's huge, figuring out how to de-stress or just manage our stress better. You know, hydration, we, we have an epidemic of dehydration. So I feel like that is huge. And we don't have minerals in the soil and the food. And I feel like that's crucial for water going into the cells, right? And just really fully being hydrated and really our body operating the way it should. I think that's really important and really just trying to figure out how to eat.

• 44:55Speaker 01

  Holistically, you know, as much as you can, you're not going to be perfect. But like we talked about, eating real food and whole foods as often as we can, maybe eating home more often, that has become a problem. Like Instacart, uh, like not Instacart, but Postmates and, you know, we're just, we're postmating in and COVID did that to us and we're not eating home and we're not preparing food for our family. I think that's also really important, you know, us making food for our family and sitting down and eating. And like, I think it really gives kids and families that cornerstone of, you know, like enjoying good food and also being able to not be stressed, you know, at the dinner table, enjoying each other's company.

• 45:38Speaker 01

  So I feel like those things are like kind of the basics and there, there are things we could do that aren't expensive.

• 45:45Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Right.

• 45:45Speaker 01

  Right?

• 45:45Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Yeah.

• 45:46Speaker 01

  I mean, I also think that what's saved me over the years is the juicing. Like I'm a huge juicer. Right now I'm a, I'm blending my greens, but I feel like people aren't getting enough vegetables in their diet. So what I do to like, be able to make sure I get enough vegetables is I put them into a blender, I throw cucumber, celery, lemon, ginger, parsley, cilantro, you know, things that are not expensive that hold in the refrigerator and I just throw them in the blender and throw some water in there and I drink it. It's like 16 ounces.

• 46:17Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Every day?

• 46:18Speaker 01

  Every day.

• 46:18Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Okay.

• 46:19Speaker 01

  And it's like a multivitamin, really, right?

• 46:21Dr. Darshan Shah?

  It is.

• 46:22Speaker 01

  I mean, it's fiber, it's like, I love juicing too, but today's world, there's a lot of fruit in the juices.

• 46:28Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Yes.

• 46:28Speaker 01

  And also, you know, in the smoothies that are being sold all over, there are too much fruit, like too much sugar.

• 46:34Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Too much sugar.

• 46:35Speaker 01

  So, yeah.

• 46:35Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Unbound from the fiber.

• 46:37Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 46:37Dr. Darshan Shah?

  So it just absorbs directly into your, the fructose absorbs directly to your liver.

• 46:41Speaker 01

  Exactly.

• 46:42Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Which can cause fatty liver, et cetera.

• 46:44Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 46:44Dr. Darshan Shah?

  So I love juicing too, but I always say, however, I only use some berries in my juices.

• 46:51Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 46:51Dr. Darshan Shah?

  I really try to avoid the high glycemic, um, fruits in the juices.

• 46:54Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 46:55Dr. Darshan Shah?

  And you're right, it's like a multivitamin. It's the best multivitamin.

• 46:58Speaker 01

  It is.

• 46:58Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Because what people don't realize is vegetables have so many other chemicals in them besides vitamins.

• 47:05Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 47:05Dr. Darshan Shah?

  There's phytonutrients, there's all sorts of nutrients in there and they all interact with each other. And you're missing out just taking a multivitamin pill. You're much better off just getting it from the actual vegetables.

• 47:16Speaker 01

  Totally.

• 47:17Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Yeah.

• 47:17Speaker 01

  Totally. And I just feel like, you know, when I had cancer, I started doing that and it just, I've been addicted to it and it also was a sugaraholic. And sugar can, you know, create acidity in the body as you know, I don't think like, sugar like causes cancer. It's one of the factors, right? People feel like, oh, sugar is bad because it causes cancer, but it's one of the factors. And so I, it's gotten me off of sugar. It's gotten me off of a lot of my bad habits.

• 47:44Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Right.

• 47:44Speaker 01

  Is the juicing.

• 47:45Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Yeah.

• 47:46Speaker 01

  You know, it just really, it also helps keep me regular. I think it's great for your skin. It's great for your gut because it's prebiotics.

• 47:52Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Right, right. It has so many good things in it.

• 47:54Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 47:55Dr. Darshan Shah?

  And you know, you get that reconnection with food again, I think. Like you were saying, you know, so many people are eating out every meal. I, I read this story the other day that people that are living in big cities where apartment space is at a premium. They're opting for apartments without kitchens.

• 48:10Speaker 01

  Oh, my God. I have not heard that. Oh, God.

• 48:13Dr. Darshan Shah?

  I'm like, are you kidding me? They're gonna skip out in the kitchen.

• 48:16Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 48:17Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Because they just get their food delivered anyway and they just eat out and I always say like, you know, restaurants have to make a profit, right? And so a lot of big chains and a lot of, you know, even smaller restaurants, they will buy the cheapest food they can buy. They're not buying the expensive, you know, coconut oil. They're buying the cheapest seed oil they can find, right? And that's, you don't know what's in your food when you're getting it.

• 48:38Speaker 01

  No.

• 48:39Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Right? And so.

• 48:40Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 48:40Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Losing that connection to food, buying your own food, cooking it, cooking with your family.

• 48:45Speaker 01

  Right.

• 48:46Dr. Darshan Shah?

  You're, you're definitely exposing yourself to a lot of chemicals that you would have not had if you had made your own food.

• 48:51Speaker 01

  Exactly.

• 48:52Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Right?

• 48:53Speaker 01

  And also like having, we sat down for dinner every night and it was beautiful because my mom would make different things and we'd like be able to experiment with different vegetables and different foods and different. You know, I became a foodie because of it and I love that, you know, because food is fun. It's, you know, I, I, I live for food. So it really is like. A fun thing to do. And I think that be to be able to go out is great, too. But I think majority of the time, if we can eat home and like really monitor what we're eating or eating at places that do have good seed oils or do have, you know, good animal protein and high quality and maybe organic vegetables. But it is hard today because it's super expensive.

• 49:34Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Yeah, we have this restaurant right downstairs called Sweet Greens. You ever go there?

• 49:37Speaker 01

  Yes, I used to all the time.

• 49:39Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Yeah. So, you know, it's great because they have a big window where you can see all the vegetables.

• 49:45Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 49:45Dr. Darshan Shah?

  And I always ask like, where'd you get them from? And they tell me it's local markets, local farms. And so shopping local, I think, is also so important, making sure that your food was not delivered from, you know, South America.

• 49:59Speaker 01

  Right, right.

• 50:00Dr. Darshan Shah?

  And then put on the shelves, which a lot of it is, you know?

• 50:03Speaker 01

  Yeah, it travels far.

• 50:05Dr. Darshan Shah?

  It travels far. And the only way it lasts so long is genetically modified and it's sprayed with chemicals.

• 50:11Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah.

• 50:12Dr. Darshan Shah?

  So all of that is so important.

• 50:17Dr. Darshan Shah?

  This episode was brought to you by Next Health, a health optimization and longevity clinic located in Los Angeles, Manhattan, and soon to be opening in Montecito, Nashville, Miami, and many other cities in the United States and Canada. Next Health is the Apple Store of wellness, where you can optimize your health span and lifespan using cutting edge technology. I actually founded Next Health eight years ago to give my patients a place to go get extensive biomarker testing done and provide them with all the tools that I use to get my health in order. The longevity circuit in Next Health using hyperbaric oxygen, sauna, cryotherapy and LED light is a game changer. In addition, the doctors at Next Health measure thousands of biomarkers

• 51:01Dr. Darshan Shah?

  and put into place a longevity optimization plan using advanced tools like ozone, plasma exchange, and peptides. Go to www Nex dot health to check it out.

• 51:17Dr. Darshan Shah?

  This episode was also brought to you by Vitaboom. Vitaboom is a revolutionary company that sends you a custom supplement protocol based on your needs using blood-based biomarkers. You could either send them your latest blood test, or they will send you a finger stick test for blood analysis. Vitaboom then curates and ships you an extremely convenient monthly box of daily supplement packs that have your custom protocol in them. What's great is that they also provide all the best brands like Timeline, TruNiagen, and many others for your custom daily packs. I love mine especially for travel, since I don't have to bring 10 bottles of supplements with me and just open up a daily pack for every day

• 52:01Dr. Darshan Shah?

  that I'm taking my vitamins and supplements. Go to vitaboom.com and check it out.

• 52:09Dr. Darshan Shah?

  So we've covered food, we've covered sleep. Let's talk about your exercise routine. What's your exercise routine and what do you reckon for your clients?

• 52:15Speaker 01

  So I am a big walker, hugely like try to get 10,000 steps in every day. I also love hiking and being out in nature. Yoga is like just for the flexibility and strength. Just I love working out with a trainer, just the, you know, resistance work is really important as we age. I think it's really important to build muscle and skeletal muscles. You know, you know, already I'm sure you've talked with many people podcasting in that regard. I think it's crucial. So all of that is really important, but I feel like just getting out and walking is huge. And I just, people are sitting too much. And I think walking after a meal for 20 minutes lowers your blood sugar, could help with insulin.

• 52:59Speaker 01

  I mean, it's, you know, just that's so easy, too.

• 53:03Dr. Darshan Shah?

  So easy.

• 53:03Speaker 01

  Right? I mean, and the 10,000 steps might be tricky to some people and being able to get that many in. But I just think that, you know, just getting out and walking for 30 minutes and 20 minutes lowers your cortisol levels. It's beautiful. So I love nature and I do love, I really do want to stick around for a long time and be healthy and fit. So it is important to, you know, also do the weightlifting and, you know, resistance. Along with the other stuff.

• 53:32Dr. Darshan Shah?

  You're doing a great job of being around for a while, being fit. You're like one of the fittest people I know.

• 53:38Speaker 01

  I mean, I feel the best I've ever felt, you know, at sixty-four. I just feel like I don't feel sixty-four. When people say, wow, you're, you know, you're sixty-four, I'm like, am I really? So I don't feel it.

• 53:49Dr. Darshan Shah?

  I wasn't gonna say your age, but you say your age on social media all the time.

• 53:51Speaker 01

  I do all the time.

• 53:52Dr. Darshan Shah?

  And I was like, I, I'm like, I hope I'm like her when I'm sixty-four. Like, you're always moving. You're

• 53:58Speaker 01

  Thank you.

• 53:58Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Full of energy, full of positivity, and I think it's something to strive for, for sure.

• 54:02Speaker 01

  Thank you.

• 54:02Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Yeah.

• 54:03Speaker 01

  Thank you. I just, it feels real, I feel lucky and grateful and blessed, you know, that I get to be in this place. And I get to help people have some hope for the future, to also feel that way, to feel great, not just to feel good. Or just okay. That's not, that wouldn't work for me.

• 54:19Dr. Darshan Shah?

  No.

• 54:19Speaker 01

  So, and also the mindset part is, you know, just really having people strive for what they want in their life in every way. You know, whether it's, you know, being healthy or being in the right relationship or, you know, just having the right job or everything that they're doing, you know, hopefully they can tap into those things and be like, maybe this job isn't right for me. It's not healthy or this relationship isn't right for me, you know, all of those things have happened for me. I was with Vogue magazine when I got diagnosed with cancer and I thought I had landed and it was the end all. And it was awful. It was Devil Wears Prada.

• 54:55Dr. Darshan Shah?

  So it really was.

• 54:56Speaker 01

  It was really bad and I'm so glad I got the cancer because I got out of there. I mean, it is, so the job wasn't right for me, but I thought, wow, that's where it's at when I was, where I was at in my career. You know, I just, just recently broke up with a relationship of fifteen years and it wasn't right for me. And I knew it for a long time. I had gotten insomnia for a while and I didn't realize it was trying everything I knew how to do to get myself to sleep again. And then things, we went separate ways and I started sleeping again. So it's like, you know, just we gotta tap into, you know, really all the things in our life, our friends that we're hanging out with that just really aren't filling us up, right? We walk away drained.

• 55:38Dr. Darshan Shah?

  It's so important. Like, I think you're talking about having like a growth mindset.

• 55:42Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 55:42Dr. Darshan Shah?

  And having positivity, but then you have these people in your life that are draining you or might not be a good relationship.

• 55:48Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 55:49Dr. Darshan Shah?

  And bringing you down. And the minute you start getting those people out, it's just so much easier to be in a growth mindset.

• 55:56Speaker 01

  Totally.

• 55:57Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Right? And you see that all the time. A lot of people's kind of day-to-day depression or day-to-day anxiety has to do with the people that they're around the most.

• 56:05Speaker 01

  Yes, absolutely. And I'm not saying it can't be, it could be scary. You know, to make changes is not the easiest.

• 56:13Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Yeah.

• 56:13Speaker 01

  And it can be scary. So again, to be able to, you know, tap in or have people in your life that can guide you and be like, you're gonna be okay. It's gonna be better. Cause it's hard to see that when you're in it, right? So the same with the health, the mindset, all of it, you know? If you don't take the chances and the risks, because if things aren't working now, you know, just, I can't imagine like staying in that place for the rest of, you know, their life or my life and being in a place that isn't in a growth mindset.

• 56:44Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Right. And people do, people stay in the same place their entire life because they're scared of change, they're scared to make change.

• 56:50Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 56:51Dr. Darshan Shah?

  And I mean, I always say you have one life and if it's not working for you, you've got to make a change.

• 56:56Speaker 01

  You do.

• 56:56Dr. Darshan Shah?

  That's the only way to fix this, is you've got to make some change.

• 56:59Speaker 01

  And I could say from my own standpoint of like what's gone on for me is every time that I've made a change, it's been scary. But every time it's worked out at the end, you know, it's been better than I ever imagined.

• 57:13Dr. Darshan Shah?

  For sure.

• 57:14Speaker 01

  That's what's so cool. You know, you think, okay, it could be better, but then you're like, wow, it is way better.

• 57:22Dr. Darshan Shah?

  That's, that's, that's awesome.

• 57:23Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 57:24Dr. Darshan Shah?

  So on the topic of mindset, I'd love to hear kind of some of the tricks or tips you use with your patients, you know, cause I, I struggle with this. You know, I talk to people and they come in and they're like, I'm in this horrible state of health, whatever it is, and I just can't get out of it. And I, I think this is just my life forever. So like, like a real negative mindset about the whole, about the whole process. And then they get easily overwhelmed too.

• 57:50Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 57:50Dr. Darshan Shah?

  What do you, how do you help people kind of work through all this health information that you're giving them?

• 57:56Speaker 01

  So, I mean, you know, they're the typical ones where you're trying to meditate or the exercise helps with mindset, or the journaling helps with mindset, or breath work helps with mindset, right? Or therapy, okay?

• 58:09Dr. Darshan Shah?

  But you can try all of them until you find what works. Something will work.

• 58:12Speaker 01

  Something will work. But I have to say for myself, it was doing plant medicine journeys. I'm not sure if you're a believer in that, but when I, my husband died, I did a journey, an ayahuasca journey, about a year after he died, because I was in a really bad place. And I was like, how the hell am I going to raise these two girls alone as a single parent? And I was so mad at him for leaving me. And I went and did this ayahuasca journey. And he came to me in the journey and he was like, he looked amazing and healthy and happy on a golf course. And I'm like, what, why'd you leave me? Like, I can't do this alone. And he's like, I would not have left you if you couldn't do it alone.

• 58:53Speaker 01

  You're so strong. You've got to tap into your strength. You are strong. You, you can do this. And I'll never forget that. It was so incredible. And I, I then went back and was like, okay, I can do this. I, you know, like, it was crazy in terms of like, I kind of released a lot of the fear that I had about doing it. Like, we all can do so much that we don't think we can do. And then when I had insomnia, I, and my Hashimoto's was flaring up and my thyroid kind of wasn't in balance. I did some mushrooms and I got to see how scared I was of getting cancer again. How scared it was of my girls getting cancer, you know, or dying and having my girls just have no parents.

• 59:37Speaker 01

  How hard I was on myself, like I was a perfectionist. And so I was trying to do everything right. And I was, it was really excruciating. Like, it was killing me. I think. I was just like kind of hitting the wall every day like, okay, this isn't right. This isn't good enough. And I saw it in the journey like, you gotta relax. Like, this is not working for anybody in your life. And I got to release all of that, the part that I didn't feel calm. I was scared to death. I was living in fight or flight mode. And so I was able to work with my shaman, my doctor, like, you know, hey, let's figure out how to release those fears from your subconscious because 95% of us are pretty much operating out of our subconscious, right?

• 1:00:19Speaker 01

  So it's really that subconscious that takes over that we don't sometimes know that's controlling us. And so I, you know, not every, I mean, it's not legal in a lot of states, but there are a lot of pretty phenomenal doctors that are doing plant medicine journeys here in Los Angeles and across the country. And it is changing people's lives.

• 1:00:38Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Absolutely.

• 1:00:39Speaker 01

  When you're in a really bad state.

• 1:00:41Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Well, you know, and you said the key there is doing it with a shaman or a doctor that really knows what they're doing. I think people are using it almost recreationally now. And you went into it also with an intention. There was a reason you were doing this. It's not recreation. You did it because there was a specific need.

• 1:00:59Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:01:00Dr. Darshan Shah?

  And then you had a professional guide you through it. I think in that methodology, doing it in that way, it's profoundly beneficial.

• 1:01:08Speaker 01

  It is.

• 1:01:08Dr. Darshan Shah?

  But unfortunately, I see a lot of people doing it with someone who's untrained or doing it alone.

• 1:01:12Speaker 01

  I know.

• 1:01:13Dr. Darshan Shah?

  And recreationally.

• 1:01:14Speaker 01

  It's not good.

• 1:01:14Dr. Darshan Shah?

  And that's not good.

• 1:01:15Speaker 01

  Not good.

• 1:01:15Dr. Darshan Shah?

  You actually cause more damage to your brain doing it that way.

• 1:01:18Speaker 01

  You absolutely can. And you also can cause more fear.

• 1:01:21Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Yes.

• 1:01:21Speaker 01

  For yourself because you can go into a dark place and not know how to get out of it. And that could lead to some psychosis feelings and awful places. Yeah.

• 1:01:29Dr. Darshan Shah?

  You can have a bad trip and that can stick with you for a long time in the form of like PTSD and fear and all those kinds of things. So it's very, very important to do it right. But I'm also a big believer. I think it's going to change the face of psychiatric treatment. Once we have more people that are studying it and using it and.

• 1:01:47Speaker 01

  Right, and knowing how to do it. Yeah. And also like being able to treat people one on one with it and, you know, taking them through some trauma that they need to release that really isn't serving. Them anymore.

• 1:01:58Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Sure.

• 1:01:59Speaker 01

  You know, that trauma keeps like revisiting them itself within you.

• 1:02:03Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Right.

• 1:02:04Speaker 01

  And that's what, you know, a lot of people have had trauma. It could be just someone, you know, lying to them when they were young. Or then they started to, you know, distrust people. It doesn't have to be like a someone dying or divorce or the big kind of trauma. Right. It could just be small, little traumas along the way. And then you're like, huh, is the world a safe place?

• 1:02:23Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Absolutely. And you don't realize how much it affects your life until, you know, you get into a really bad place sometimes. And sometimes people have waited too long before they start unpacking this.

• 1:02:33Speaker 01

  I know. True.

• 1:02:34Dr. Darshan Shah?

  I mean,

• 1:02:35Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 1:02:35Dr. Darshan Shah?

  It's, I see it all the time. People wait way too long.

• 1:02:38Speaker 01

  Right. I feel like I did. I mean, I didn't do it till 58.

• 1:02:42Dr. Darshan Shah?

  That's why I'm saying that. I feel like I did. I waited way too long.

• 1:02:45Speaker 01

  Right.

• 1:02:46Dr. Darshan Shah?

  And so, yeah, absolutely. It's definitely worth exploring.

• 1:02:49Speaker 01

  Don't wait too long. I agree with you.

• 1:02:51Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Don't wait too long. Yeah. And then on the stress aspect, I want to touch on that a little bit more. You mentioned, you mentioned a few techniques that you use. I think that's so important, like especially for women.

• 1:03:02Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:03:02Dr. Darshan Shah?

  To manage their cortisol levels and their stress. And I'd love to hear a little bit more on that from you as well, just diving in a little bit.

• 1:03:10Speaker 01

  Yeah. I mean, I think, you know, just the making sure that you are walking and, you know, lowering your stress. Like just breathing, breath work is huge and de-stressing. Also, I, I love, I think hydration, you know, when you were dehydrated, our cortisol and adrenaline go up, so we need to stay hydrated. I feel like there are some things that I love to do. Like Tulsi tea is something that I've used for five years and holy basil is one of my favorite adaptogens out there. And I love how it, you know, drinking a cup of Tulsi is a beautiful thing to keep your hormones, you know, balanced throughout the day.

• 1:03:51Dr. Darshan Shah?

  My mom has a Tulsi plant at home.

• 1:03:53Speaker 01

  Oh, I bet.

• 1:03:53Dr. Darshan Shah?

  And makes a tea directly from that. It's so good.

• 1:03:55Speaker 01

  Yeah, it's been around forever, but you just don't, I don't feel like you hear enough about it. So, I mean, there are great adaptogens to lower stress levels, as we know, ashwagandha and holy basil and, you know, reishi and all of those things. I mean, there's great stuff out there on the market, but I feel like I love, you know, really more so mindset things. Um, right. I write down on a journal like things that aren't serving me that are stressing me out like so I can get them on paper. So I'm not rethinking them in my head. I feel like that's been great for me. Sometimes for a week I'll write the same thing down for the solid week or as long as it takes to get rid of it.

• 1:04:31Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Yeah.

• 1:04:32Speaker 01

  And for me, sometimes that takes a way too long, but and then also I'll write down things that I really want to bring into my life, you know, that will help like me see the glass half full to see like my life is getting better. So they can calm my stress down too.

• 1:04:47Dr. Darshan Shah?

  I use this thing called a five minute journal. Have you seen this?

• 1:04:49Speaker 01

  Yeah, I love it. Yeah.

• 1:04:51Dr. Darshan Shah?

  It's just like easy, you know, really dumbed down version of getting yourself in a journaling practice every morning, visualization, gratitude, and um, I mean, it just makes it so easy. I do it every morning and I had bought one for my kids, like I do at night with my kids. And it's great to get into that practice. I mean, visualization is so powerful. You see the Olympic athletes doing it to for their whatever sport they're in, but it works in life as well, right? If you visualize yourself as a healthy, happy person.

• 1:05:22Speaker 01

  Totally.

• 1:05:23Dr. Darshan Shah?

  You'll eventually get there subconsciously first. Like you said, 95% of our actions are subconscious. So this helps bring it into your subconscious.

• 1:05:31Speaker 01

  Yeah. Yeah. And I think, you know, also sleeping, getting to bed at a decent time, you know, being able to lower that stress level, the cortisol levels, like just, you know, being able to like get enough sleep to reset your body. So is crucial because they like, like I said earlier, their adrenals are important for women and they're were adrenally fatigued like crazy.

• 1:05:51Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Yeah. It's just a constant onslaught of stress all day long.

• 1:05:54Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:05:55Dr. Darshan Shah?

  On the supplement side, you mentioned a few adaptogens. Are there other supplements Steer your patients toward, I know you do testing as well, so you're probably using the testing, but love to have a supplement conversation with you. What are your thoughts there?

• 1:06:07Speaker 01

  With the cortisol, I love cortisol calm, you know, that from pure encapsulations, I've used that for years. The holy basil, I love. I love reishi is something, you know, I love the mushrooms too, lion's mane, all of those. I mean, I mean, there's, there's so many in that department.

• 1:06:26Dr. Darshan Shah?

  What about just nutritional? Yeah. Just foundational supplements? What do you?

• 1:06:31Speaker 01

  Foundational would be, well, I think for me, there's certain ones that I've used over the years, like licorice root extract. Like, um, and liquid, I love like nature's answer licorice root extract. It is, I feel like one of the greatest things to restore your adrenals.

• 1:06:47Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Really?

• 1:06:48Speaker 01

  Uh, lowers inflammation in your gut, restores your adrenals. You do two weeks on, two weeks off, like that has been crazy amazing for clients. Um, you could do licorice root tea too. So you can drink the licorice, the holy basil tea, you know, not have to do a supplement. I love those.

• 1:07:05Dr. Darshan Shah?

  What about vitamins?

• 1:07:06Speaker 01

  I, and so I'm trying to think of like what vitamins I would do for cortisol, like B vitamins, oh, for stress.

• 1:07:14Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Just in general. Stress, in general. No, just in general nutrition, good nutrition.

• 1:07:17Speaker 01

  Yeah. Oh, okay. So in general nutrition, that's a whole different story. I love supplements. Right. Magnesium and, and I think you're probably on the same page. Bio-optimizer is one of my favorites.

• 1:07:27Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Yes.

• 1:07:28Speaker 01

  For magnesium.

• 1:07:29Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Cause you get all the different forms of the bio-optimizers.

• 1:07:31Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:07:32Dr. Darshan Shah?

  So that's, you know, people always ask me, what form should I take? I'm like, well, there's this one that has all the forms, all the different benefits. And so, yeah.

• 1:07:38Speaker 01

  I love the seven different kinds. Right. That's important. Omegas are really crucial for lowering inflammation. There's so many B vitamins, you know.

• 1:07:46Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Methylated B vitamins is what I usually recommend.

• 1:07:48Speaker 01

  Methylated B vitamins, right, are really important. I like probiotics, but you just need to know if it's working for you or not. You know, some people who have digestive issues and take a probiotic, they don't, it doesn't agree with them, right? So making sure that you are taking the right probiotic.

• 1:08:01Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Which probiotics do you look up?

• 1:08:03Speaker 01

  I, I've gotten hooked on this genuine health hundred billion. It's from Canada. It's a little. Been. Really tricky to find. I found it at Air One a couple of years ago. And over the, over the time, they do not sell it at Air One anymore. So, um, but you can get it on different sites. And sometimes you can get it on Amazon and it comes from, um, Canada. So.

• 1:08:24Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Genuine.

• 1:08:25Speaker 01

  Genuine health. It's 50 billion, 100 billion. I also love Seed. They do a great job. Seed. Um, so I have clients take Seed and another one, cause it's, I don't think it's strong enough, but I think it has great properties in it. And, um, I would say a multi, a really good multi might, might be fantastic. Sometimes I'm like even into Pure Encapsulations one a day because it's a simple one a day. Instead of taking four or five or six supplements. People tend to not do all of that, you know, the, so vitamin D, Quicksilver's D and K2. I love glutathione. It's like, I love. You know, I mean, not everybody probably needs glutathione, but, and we haven't talked about this one, which I absolutely can't live without is NAD.

• 1:09:09Speaker 01

  These days, I feel like that has changed my life. It's one of the anti-aging protocols that has, I've used for probably three years was Tru Niagen at first.

• 1:09:20Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Yes.

• 1:09:21Speaker 01

  Now I do the injections.

• 1:09:22Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Yes.

• 1:09:23Speaker 01

  So, um, and, and Timeline, you know, is another supplement that is fabulous for cellular health and mitochondrial repair, right?

• 1:09:32Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Your, your Lithin A Timeline.

• 1:09:34Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:09:34Dr. Darshan Shah?

  And I love a Tru Niagen Niacin Mitribicide.

• 1:09:37Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:09:37Dr. Darshan Shah?

  I mean, I think, you know, I used to be one of those people taking big bags of supplements and I really reduced down to the foundational ones that you're talking about.

• 1:09:44Speaker 01

  Right.

• 1:09:45Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Um, and then those two for mitochondrial health is, I think, really important.

• 1:09:48Speaker 01

  Are there any ones that I miss that you take?

• 1:09:51Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Those are, those are the ones. Yeah. I think those are pretty much the ones I. Um, you know, I only use that when I'm, um, when I'm experiencing some kind of pain, you know, whether it's overworking at the gym.

• 1:10:03Speaker 01

  Right.

• 1:10:03Dr. Darshan Shah?

  My inflammatory levels are super low now. Um, and so I don't really need it all the time. I think maybe I should take it all the time, but I don't. Um, and it's just because I got supplement fatigue. You know, after taking. Years of bags of supplements, now I'm down to like five or six and those are the ones I use.

• 1:10:21Speaker 01

  Right, right, agreed, yeah. What about CoQ10 too? I guess that's another one that you might need, you might not need. If you do the nutrient test, you could see if you need it or not, right?

• 1:10:30Dr. Darshan Shah?

  That's what I do. I really direct my supplementation based on the testing. I think that's changed everything for me.

• 1:10:35Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:10:36Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Because why, why take a supplement that my body's not craving, you know?

• 1:10:39Speaker 01

  Exactly.

• 1:10:40Dr. Darshan Shah?

  But what I do, I also do, however, when I go on a trip and I travel, you know, your body is just starved for micronutrients. And so I just get an IV.

• 1:10:49Speaker 01

  Okay, that's beautiful.

• 1:10:50Dr. Darshan Shah?

  I do an IV every time I'm.

• 1:10:52Speaker 01

  Before you go and when you come back?

• 1:10:54Dr. Darshan Shah?

  I do it mostly when I get back and I also use it when I just feel really run down or I'm feeling sick. Um, I think getting IV micronutrients, just, you know, a liter of fluid is, is a game changer. And I feel excellent right off the, like, I just got back from San Francisco yesterday. I was doing a talk.

• 1:11:12Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:11:12Dr. Darshan Shah?

  First thing I did was go get an IV and like, ready for three podcasts today, you know?

• 1:11:16Speaker 01

  Right. I believe in that too. I think IVs are just not as accessible all over the country.

• 1:11:21Dr. Darshan Shah?

  So true, right.

• 1:11:22Speaker 01

  Which is hard, but um, yeah, if they are, and I, I believe in those too. I just wanna make sure that people are getting the high quality, right? That is a, that has become an issue where people are carrying these IV bags in their car, you know, and they're not as high quality and they might have preservatives in them. How do you feel about that? Like?

• 1:11:43Dr. Darshan Shah?

  You have to be so careful what pharmacies you're getting your nutrients from that you're putting in the IV bag. And because there are some, like you said, they're low quality, they have contaminants. They, that, you can get yourself into, you know, at the worst, you're getting not the nutrients that you think you're getting, but even worse than that can be you get an infection or you get a problem, you know?

• 1:12:04Speaker 01

  Right.

• 1:12:05Dr. Darshan Shah?

  You have to be very careful, go to a professional place, one that is really.

• 1:12:09Speaker 01

  High quality.

• 1:12:09Dr. Darshan Shah?

  High quality and they also, you know, they also really look into where they're getting their nutrients from.

• 1:12:15Speaker 01

  Right, right. And also, um, another thing that I did when I got COVID, I really got bad brain fog. It was, I mean, I've never experienced anything like this. And I ended up doing ozone and that was really fabulous too. It completely cleared up my brain fog and I, it also helped my, cause my Hashimoto's came back with the COVID.

• 1:12:37Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Yeah, if you have autoimmune or like you said, brain like ozone is a game changer for a lot of people too. So yeah, lots of great stuff. There's so much good stuff out there now and just making people aware that it's available.

• 1:12:50Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:12:50Dr. Darshan Shah?

  And look, like not everything is accessible to everybody because the price point might be high. The it might not be in your town, but this, all of this stuff is getting more and more ubiquitous, I feel. Lot more places are doing it. When more places do it, the price points come down.

• 1:13:05Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:13:05Dr. Darshan Shah?

  I feel like in the next five, 10 years, there's going to be a massive swing towards health versus disease care, hopefully.

• 1:13:11Speaker 01

  I do too.

• 1:13:12Dr. Darshan Shah?

  And you know, yeah, well, you're you're a big part of the change. Absolutely.

• 1:13:16Speaker 01

  That would be fantastic.

• 1:13:17Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Yeah. So where can, well, first of all, let me ask you, what's next for you? So where do you, what are you most excited about coming in the future?

• 1:13:25Speaker 01

  Well, what is next is I'm trying to finish my book called Pro Aging Hacks. So I wrote Cancer Hacks and now the next one, Pro Aging Hacks. I hope to have that come out next year. That's exciting. I hope to be, you know, actually doing more talks and really, you know, being able to reach more people in regards to all of this, just, you know, giving people more hope and little tools to like get them to a place where they can thrive. Um, that's what I would love and just, you know, being able to like just reach more humans. And the blood work has been really fun. I mean, doing blood work and because it's not expensive um, and being able to do thorough blood work has really changed my business model.

• 1:14:08Speaker 01

  And also I think changed how clients are actually walking away and feeling, which I think is fabulous.

• 1:14:15Dr. Darshan Shah?

  You can be much more precise. You can make the actions that you take first, like really impact the biomarkers that are off.

• 1:14:22Speaker 01

  Right.

• 1:14:22Dr. Darshan Shah?

  And that way you can like really hone in on things that can make big changes quickly by using the blood work. I think it's such a game changer. If people have not had their blood work done, they should go get it done. As far as what tests they should do, there's a huge list of them.

• 1:14:36Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:14:36Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Maybe, do you have a list of tests that you do?

• 1:14:38Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:14:39Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Would you mind if we link those in the show notes?

• 1:14:40Speaker 01

  Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, it's pretty easy.

• 1:14:43Dr. Darshan Shah?

  What what you're testing?

• 1:14:44Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:14:44Dr. Darshan Shah?

  And then how does someone work with someone? Like yourself, like, how do you find a good nutrition expert that can not just serve as a nutrition expert, but also mindset coach and overall wellness coach? How does one find someone like you?

• 1:14:58Speaker 01

  I mean, they can always reach out to me, DM me on Instagram at Alyssa Goodman, or also the website Alyssa Goodman dot com. And I have friends all over the country, probably like you do too. So if I don't know someone in a city, I have friends that are in that city who are, who, you know, are doctors or naturopaths that can actually direct me. So, you know, it's like, we've become a big network of people who kind of support and help each other.

• 1:15:24Dr. Darshan Shah?

  That's so good to hear. Yeah, it is a lot of fun, actually. And how do people find you again? Can you give us a few more?

• 1:15:32Speaker 01

  Yeah, it's I'm, I have a website and I do a newsletter every week with a new recipe and a health tip. And then I'm on Instagram and TikTok, mostly on Instagram.

• 1:15:40Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Alyssa Goodman.

• 1:15:41Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 1:15:41Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Okay, fantastic. Well, thank you so much for joining me today. This has been such a wealth of information. I can't wait to like, read through this and do show notes. This was awesome. Thank you.

• 1:15:51Speaker 01

  Yeah, thank you for having me again. I really appreciate it.

• 1:15:57Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Thank you so much for listening to the podcast today. Please remember to subscribe if you like this episode and give us a good review and share a link with your friends. It really helps to support all of our efforts. I also want to remind you that the information shared on this podcast is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Please consult with your healthcare provider or physician before making any decisions or taking any action based on what you hear today, especially if you have any underlying health conditions or on any medications. Your doctor knows your personal health situation the best, and it's always important to seek their guidance.