  In Episode 60 of A Medicinal Mind: Wisdom and Wellbeing, I share an intimate conversation with my friend and colleague: Yvette Brisco. I was first introduced to Yvette as part of her enduring work interviewing experts across the field of autoimmune disease and specifically MS in order to bring greater awareness and education to the hundreds of thousands of individuals affected by autoimmune disease.    As you will hear in the podcast, Yvette is as authentic and unique as they come. She begins by sharing her own story and struggles with her health and how that led her into her current career as a health coach and health educator. But just to make things interesting, Yvette’s passions are not just confined to the health and wellness space. Spilling her passions over into the world of UFC, Yvette has found a community in which she can share her love for wellness, caring and resilient strength.   Even if you are not someone who has been diagnosed with MS of suffer from another autoimmune disease, I believe you will find great meaning and enjoyment listening to Yvette’s story. I have been fortunate and honored to share some of my work as part of her greater efforts and education and it is my pleasure to share a little but of her life and love with you.   You can access more information on out podcast page http://www.amedicinalmind.com/podcast-wisdom-and-well-being   You can see all of our content including blogs, poetry, meditations, at A Medicinal Mind   You can also follow A Medicinal Mind on Facebook and Instagram   If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe with Apple Podcasts and leave us a review. Your feedback and reviews allow our message and this space of nourishment to grow.   Disclaimer: The content at A Medicinal Mind and the content of our podcast are educational and informational in nature. They are not intended to be medical advice, spiritual counsel or a substitute for working with a health professional or a trained spiritual counselor. We cannot guarantee the outcome of any of the recommendations provided on our page or by the guests on our podcast and any statements written or made about any potential outcomes are expressions of opinion only. 

A Medicinal Mind

Episode 060: Yvette Brisco, A Champion for Multiple Sclerosis and Autoimmune Disease

In episode 59 of A Medicinal Mind: Wisdom and Wellbeing, I have an explorative conversation with my functional medicine colleague and dear friend Dr. Joe Mather.   Having connected with Joe, as a result of our mutual friend and colleague, Michael Ruscio, our friendship has quickly blossomed, bringing together two functional medicine practitioners seeking value based care and a critical eye to this new root cause resolution approach.    After sharing his story of supporting his mother with a functional medicine approach, Joe outlines the clinical importance of addressing foundational concerns with all of his functional medicine patients, regardless of the overt presenting symptoms.   Outlining skin rashes, IBS and joint pain as the most common presenting conditions he’s seeing clinically, Joe provides some insights into his clinical approach as to how he is determining the root level of  dysfunction in these myriad of conditions.   Digging deeper into how he’s addressing gut health dysfunction specifically, as well as the overall stages of his clinical approach, Joe gives us a clear and concise framework by which compromised gut health can be addressed without unnecessary testing, supplements and medications. Emphasizing the importance of addressing the terrain over the overt condition, Joe reports how he is preventing recurrence of conditions by treating the terrain over simply symptoms alone.   We then get into a thoughtful critique of functional medicine, collectively sharing insights regarding the strengths of functional medicine as well as some of the more controversial, misguided approaches such as food sensitivity testing, isolated genetic testing and expensive testing in general.   Moving further into the role of medications, Joe shares how he is moderating medication use, not completely eschewing medications in lieu of supplements and herbs. Giving examples such as genetic predispositions for lp(a) as well excessive supplementation, Joe shares how he is careful to utilize all available tools to address chronic health conditions.   We close the conversation with a thought experiment: exploring where functional medicine can go next so that we can address some of the controversial areas lacking rigorous evidence, all with the intention of increasing education as well as improving the gold standard of root cause resolution care.   I am so grateful to be able to share the work of another colleague who is practicing value based and rigorous functional medicine care.   Please check out the links in the show notes to see more of Joe’s work and how you can become a patient of Dr. Mather’s!   You can access more information and notes for this episode on our podcast page  https://www.amedicinalmind.com/podcast-wisdom-and-well-being/episode-059-joe-mather-md-from-family-medicine-to-functional-medicine-a-paradigm-shift-in-chronic-disease-care   You can see all of our content including blogs, poetry, meditations, and our weekly newsletter at our webpage: A Medicinal Mind   You can also follow A Medicinal Mind on Facebook and Instagram   If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe with Apple Podcasts and leave us a review. Your feedback and reviews allow our message and this space of nourishment to grow.   Disclaimer: The content at A Medicinal Mind and the content of our podcast are educational and informational in nature. They are not intended to be medical advice, spiritual counsel or a substitute for working with a health professional or a trained spiritual counselor. We cannot guarantee the outcome of any of the recommendations provided on our page or by the guests on our podcast and any statements written or made about any potential outcomes are expressions of opinion only. 

Episode 059: Joe Mather MD, From Family Medicine to Functional Medicine, A Paradigm Shift in Chronic Disease Care

In Episode 058 of A Medicinal Mind: Wisdom and Wellbeing, I have a wonderful conversation with my new friend, classically trained chef and certified yoga teacher Jennifer Iserloh.   Jennifer is a graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and is the best-selling author of 50 Shades of Kale and Healthy Cheats as well as her most recent book: The Superfood Alchemy Cookbook.   In this conversation, we begin with an exploration of Jennifer’s childhood, the role of chronic disease and family food addiction to influence her career into the culinary arts. From here Jennifer shares how some of her own health issues and emotional attachment to food lead her into nutrition, functional medicine and publishing books about nourishing and delicious food.   She then pushes us into a discussion of creativity, artistry and the role of her yoga practice to deeply influence her professional and personal pursuits.   Digging into her role as a health coach as well as a coach for functional medicine practitioners like myself, we see how she blends practical tips and empathetic understanding to support her clients. She provides some very inspiring advice and guidance for innovative clinicians to bring greater awareness to their practice and overall healing pursuits.   Expanding into the art of holding the therapeutic space, we engage in a thought provoking conversation about the many ways in which we can promote engaged listening, storytelling and a narrative of wholism to provide the greatest chances for us all to heal and remained nourished.   We then lead the conversation to a discussion of alchemy, starting first with Jennifer’s definition of alchemy, and how she has taken a deep dive into alchemical principles and the medicinal properties of certain foods to make a comprehensive book blending in therapies for the mind, body, and spirit using much more than just food. She even provides an interesting perspective that functional and bioindividual medicine is one form of modern alchemy.   This conversation is so positively intense and I’m so happy to be able to share Jennifer’s work as well as her tremendous passion to help grow this greater movement of root cause resolution and bio-individual medicine.   Be sure to check out the links below to get Jennifer’s latest book as well as links to get her free online program accompanying the book!   Superfood Alchemy Cookbook: https://www.amazon.com/Superfood-Alchemy-Cookbook-Ingredients-Nourishing/dp/0738284742   Check out more of Jennifer's Work:    http://jenniferiserloh.com/ https://skinnychef.com/about-jennifer-iserloh   You can access more information and notes for this episode on our podcast page http://www.amedicinalmind.com/podcast-wisdom-and-well-being   You can see all of our content including blogs, poetry, meditations, and our weekly newsletter at our webpage: A Medicinal Mind   You can also follow A Medicinal Mind on Facebook and Instagram   If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe with Apple Podcasts and leave us a review. Your feedback and reviews allow our message and this space of nourishment to grow.   Disclaimer: The content at A Medicinal Mind and the content of our podcast are educational and informational in nature. They are not intended to be medical advice, spiritual counsel or a substitute for working with a health professional or a trained spiritual counselor. We cannot guarantee the outcome of any of the recommendations provided on our page or by the guests on our podcast and any statements written or made about any potential outcomes are expressions of opinion only.

Episode 058: Jennifer Iserloh, Blending Alchemy, Nutrition and Functional Medicine to Optimize Health and Healing

In Episode 057 of A Medicinal Mind: Wisdom and Wellbeing, I have a deeply nourishing conversation with one of the most authentic healers I know, nutritionist and women’s health expert Laura Schoenfeld.   Laura has fascinating background, bringing a rigorous formal education in public health and dietetics into the world of integrative and ancestral wellness. Working alongside Chris Kresser to help mobilize the ancestral health movement through dogma and initial growing pains, Laura has been finding her own way beyond Paleo, incorporating her Christian faith and desire to help women find freedom and wellness outside of just food.   In this conversation, we begin by hearing about Laura’s early childhood and her spiritual roots as well as her beginnings in the health space, expanding her interest in psychology from her undergraduate education into her pursuit of an education in public health and nutrition.   From there, Laura leads us deeper into the flowering of her faith, the origin of intentional and deep friendships that allowed her to accelerate her spiritual and personal growth.   Laura opens up about the process of bringing her faith and Christ into her work, sharing how she works professionally with individuals seeking to grow spiritually, all the while remaining authentic to her values every step of the way. Acknowledging her own spiritual challenges, Laura describes how she has found a personal and professional clarity coming from a foundation of faith. Expanding upon a personal Biblical verse, Laura shares how she has been able to value her own needs as well as others’, and keep integrity to her clinical and personal approach.   And with that, let’s dig into the show!   You can access more information and notes for this episode on our podcast page: http://www.amedicinalmind.com/podcast-wisdom-and-well-being   You can see all of our content including blogs, poetry, meditations, and our weekly newsletter at our webpage: A Medicinal Mind   You can also follow A Medicinal Mind on Facebook and Instagram   If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe with Apple Podcasts and leave us a review. Your feedback and reviews allow our message and this space of nourishment to grow.   Disclaimer: The content at A Medicinal Mind and the content of our podcast are educational and informational in nature. They are not intended to be medical advice, spiritual counsel or a substitute for working with a health professional or a trained spiritual counselor. We cannot guarantee the outcome of any of the recommendations provided on our page or by the guests on our podcast and any statements written or made about any potential outcomes are expressions of opinion only.

Episode 057: Laura Schoenfeld, MPH, RD, Finding Your Way, One Woman’s Deep Desire to Pursue Wellness, Helping Women Find Freedom, Faith, Health and Joy

In episode 057 of A Medicinal Mind: Wisdom and Wellbeing I have a deeply authentic and powerful conversation with one of the leaders of the ancestral health movement, the creative mind behind Primal Play: Darryl Edwards.   Darryl has been featured on numerous podcasts, sharing his beautiful spirit and desire to change your relationship with exercise, interjecting movement and play into every aspect of our lives. Today, however, seeking to delve more into Darryl’s life story, we explore aspects of Darryl’s journey, starting in early childhood through his initial career pursuits culminating in a radical shift towards cultivating wellness in everything he pursues.   Hearing first about Darryl’s childhood and his original desire to enter medicine as a doctor, we then get a glimpse of the reframing and birthing of a new inner desire to explore computing and a relationship with technological intelligence.   Moving from here, Darryl continues exploring his early life and adulthood, sharing his original pursuits into investment banking and the financial arena followed by his awakening to begin modeling his life using an ancestral and evolutionary perspective.   Describing his “child like” and playful approach away from the jungle gym, Darryl outlines how his perspective has changed within the health and wellness field from one of dispensing of concrete knowledge, to one of playful curiosity, asking questions and holding space for others to cultivate their own questions and encourage openness rather than concrete certainty.   Moving into a discussion of human behavior, Darryl offers some insightful wisdom taken from the observation of humans as we collectively pursue convenience, yet accumulate chronic health issues.   Sharing ways to positively avoid convenience, Darryl provides his approach to addressing chronic health concerns by encouraging a playful mind, body and spirit, positively avoiding convenience and including play where you didn’t think it was possible.   Getting into a necessary, but perhaps controversial topic, Darryl and I begin to explore how the greater ancestral health movement currently needs to change in order to become more inclusive and address the current barriers in education, language and accessibility. Sharing a personal example from his own life, seeking to help his mother address type ii diabetes, Darryl explains how he had to change and adapt his own educational approach to practically help his mother make the changes necessary to positively improve her health.   Darryl ends the conversation sharing some of his amazing resources educating us all on the practical ways we can cultivate play into our lives. From his website including blog and videos, to a recently released book, and Animal Moves play card deck, Darryl has created some of the most enriching resources for anyone seeking to avoid convenience and cultivate joy.   And with that, let’s dig into the show!   Check out Primal Play: https://www.primalplay.com/ Primal Deck: https://www.primalplay.com/fitness-deck Check out all of our old podcasts using this link: https://www.amedicinalmind.com/podcast-wisdom-and-well-being   Disclaimer: The content at A Medicinal Mind and the content of our podcast are educational and informational in nature. They are not intended to be medical advice, spiritual counsel or a substitute for working with a health professional or a trained spiritual counselor. We cannot guarantee the outcome of any of the recommendations provided on our page or by the guests on our podcast and any statements written or made about any potential outcomes are expressions of opinion only.

Episode 056: Darryl Edwards, How One Man is Changing Your Relationship with Play and Cultivating Wellness through Radical Authenticity

In Episode 055 of A Medicinal Mind: Wisdom and Wellbeing, I have one of my most beautifully intense and inspiring conversations with one of the top sports performance and rehabilitation specialists in the field, my close friend Scott Dolly.   Starting with an exploration of Scott’s early life, we get a clear picture of the deep spirituality and intuition that was being cultivated long before his pursuit of sports performance and rehabilitation.   We then move to a discussion of Scott’s methodical approach, illustrating, rather poetically, the inclusivity of his therapeutic techniques, outlining how he combines his empathic nature, pattern recognition, and a deep understanding of biomechanics and physiology to help individuals achieve optimal performance or rehab from challenging injuries.   Seeking to dispel the negativity attached to consistent judgement and labeling, Scott opens our eyes to see that as healers, we should not define ourselves simply by our formal training, and we should consistently seek further education as part of a greater exploration of ways to support healing.   Getting more specific, Scott begins an exploration of his manual techniques, defining and describing biomechanics, myofascial disturbance and the use of instrumented assisted soft tissue mobilization (IASTM).   Providing concrete clinical examples, Scott illustrates how his manual therapies must be combined with optimal nutrition and lifestyle habits in order to facilitate healing or improved performance.   Expressing his humility, Scott shares his evolution as a healer, outlining the changes in his nutritional and manual approaches, echoing the importance of continual and iterative improvements.   Expanding into some of the biggest challenges facing the health of our broad society, Scott offers his opinions on what he sees as the biggest barriers and drivers to dysfunction.   Getting practical, Scott leads us through what he calls “honoring the simplicity of movement” asking us to simply start moving our bodies through the breadth of angles and loads for which it was designed.   We close the conversation with a poignant exploration of the purpose of training and the desire to become more aware and mindful of our athletic pursuits.   There is so much in this discussion and I am really grateful to have crossed paths with Scott during my time in Winchester, and so grateful to continue my friendship with this dynamic healer.   And with that, let’s dig into the show!     Explore Scott’s Clinic: http://www.evolutionhpr.com/   Check out all of our previous conversations on our website: https://www.amedicinalmind.com/podcast-wisdom-and-well-being Disclaimer: The content at A Medicinal Mind and the content of our podcast are educational and informational in nature. They are not intended to be medical advice, spiritual counsel or a substitute for working with a health professional or a trained spiritual counselor. We cannot guarantee the outcome of any of the recommendations provided on our page or by the guests on our podcast and any statements written or made about any potential outcomes are expressions of opinion only.  

Episode 055: Scott Dolly, The Undefinable Healer: Utilizing Intuition, Movement Analysis, Soft Tissue Mobilization and Deep Curiosity to Redefine Performance and Rehabilitation

In Episode 054 of A Medicinal Mind, Wisdom and Wellbeing, I welcome a visionary in the field of mindfulness and deliberate, non-violent communication Oren Sofer.   Oren’s background is beyond fascinating. As you will hear in the podcast, he brings years of training in meditation from the Buddhist spiritual tradition as well training seeking to transform the way we communicate and interact with others.   Formally speaking, he has a degree in Comparative Religion from Columbia University, and spent two and a half years of living as an (renunciate) at various branch monasteries. Today, his teaching combines classical Buddhist training with the accessible language of secular mindfulness.   In this conversation, we begin the exploration with a look at Oren’s early childhood, its spiritual roots and his earliest experiences delving into the world of intimate awareness. Getting rather personal, Oren shares one of his most powerful experiences early in his life beginning his push to wanting to further understand the depth of emotion and what it really means to be human.   Oren offers his perspective on the power of loss and sorrow, letting us all see the universal nature of this experience and the beautiful acts of compassion and connection that can happen my allowing ourselves to fully experience it.   Beginning our deepening discussion of violence and non-violence Oren outlines how human beings seek both consciously and unconsciously to meet various needs and that this pursuit often times can lead to needs not being met and interpersonal conflict.   Defining violence as “any avoidable impairment of human needs,” Oren shares insight from Johan Galtung as to what perhaps really underlies an act of violence and how as a society we may be committing more acts of violence than we really know.   Stepping into the practical. Oren provides us with a framework for seeking understanding as well as collaborative clarification in order to address others needs and our own in a unified and non-violent manner.   Drawing from his just released book: Say What You Mean: A Mindful Approach to Nonviolent Communication, Oren provides some of the most essential practices, techniques and tools for achieving more constructive clarity in our relationships, and ultimately meet your needs.   As you will hear throughout the conversation, Oren’s passion and expertise for the craft of mindful and non-violent communication and I cannot urge you enough to order Oren’s book: Say What You Mean. I have yet to find another book that practically addresses the most challenging aspects of cultivating nourishing relationships and engaging in the sticky, difficult conversations like Oren’s. Check out the show notes for a link to Oren’s page as well as links to order his book!   Oren’s Webpage: https://www.orenjaysofer.com/about/ Get Oren’s Book: https://more.orenjaysofer.com/book/?_ga=2.171256357.424896732.1544539567-371234106.1544539567   Disclaimer: The content at A Medicinal Mind and the content of our podcast are educational and informational in nature. They are not intended to be medical advice, spiritual counsel or a substitute for working with a health professional or a trained spiritual counselor. We cannot guarantee the outcome of any of the recommendations provided on our page or by the guests on our podcast and any statements written or made about any potential outcomes are expressions of opinion only.     And with that let’s dig into the show

Episode 054: Oren Sofer: Mindful and Non-violent Communication: A Path to More Nourishing Relationships

In Episode 053 of A Medicinal Mind: Wisdom and Wellbeing, I welcome the incredibly talented and voraciously curious physician and expert in the field of environmental toxicity and chronic infections Dr. Neil Nathan MD.   Dr. Nathan is a board certified family physician and as you will hear in the podcast has an extensive background additionally in the world of pain management. He has spent over 40 years helping individuals recover from complex chronic illnesses. The depth of his expertise incorporating multiple healing modalities is beyond extraordinary and his determination to continually learn and explore the ways in which his patient’s can heal is matched by very few.   Recently Dr. Nathan released a groundbreaking NY Times bestselling book. Toxic: Heal Your Body from Mold Toxicity, Lyme Disease, Multiple Chemical Sensitivities and Chronic Environmental Illness and while he is certainly known for his expertise in these domains, his passions and skills as a healer extend far beyond than that of just chronic environmental illness.   In this discussion, we start off with a exploration of Dr. Nathan’s early childhood, hearing about his spiritual upbringing with Orthodox Judaism and his eventual journey into numerous other spiritual traditions and practices. Distilling down his spiritual core into three fundamental mantras:  Be Mindful, Be Grateful and Be of Service, Dr. Nathan provides some tremendous insight into perhaps the ultimate purpose of any religious or spiritual pursuit.   Moving from here, Dr. Nathan offers a very personal look into the diverse explosion of his medical education, most of which occurred AFTER his time in medical school As a self proclaimed seeker, Dr. Nathan shares the real reason behind his exploration of osteopathy, pain management and other healing modalities, as a seeker trying to discover the tools that would better support the spiritual wellbeing of his patients.   Expanding into the art of medicine, Dr. Nathan articulates the essence of medicine as truly listening and holding space so that patient can engage positively in the act of story telling.   Dr. Nathan provides incredibly practical insights for any current practitioner or student of the healing arts as  to the most supportive ways to listen, to collect a history, to hold space, to remain curious, to engage in the day after day, month after month journey of helping to remove the roadblocks preventing patients from healing.   We close the podcast with a critical analysis of functional medicine as Dr. Nathan helps us to understand how to really discover the root causes of illness and not just treat effects with supplements and drugs.   Offering wisdom from 40 years of practice, Dr. Nathan shares his observation that as a healer, you will come into contact with fundamentally very different types of patients. Using the terms difficult vs complex or complicated, Dr. Nathan shares a compassionate view towards physicians who feel they are not successful in the practice of medicine, telling us that the most challenging art of medicine is discerning the complex patients who are dedicated to healing no matter how long it takes, vs. the difficult or demanding patients who may still have unconscious or other blocks preventing them from progressing in the healing journey.   There is a wealth of wisdom in this podcast, and I strongly encourage you to take time to listen to the many insights of Dr. Nathan as well as check out and buy his book Toxic.   And with that let’s dig into the show!   Notes   Dr. Neil Nathan’s Main Page http://www.neilnathanmd.com/   Podcast with Better Health Guy https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=ia-xy2zjixc   Buy the Book: Toxic: Heal Your Body from Mold Toxicity, Lyme Disease, Multiple Chemical Sensitivities, and Chronic Environmental Illness   https://www.amazon.com/Toxic-Toxicity-Multiple-Sensitivities-Environmental-ebook/dp/B07H72N9RH     You can see all of our content including blogs, poetry, meditations, and our weekly newsletter at our webpage: A Medicinal Mind   You can also follow A Medicinal Mind on Facebook and Instagram   If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe with Apple Podcasts and leave us a review. Your feedback and reviews allow our message and this space of nourishment to grow.   If you want like become a patient of Dr. Abbott's you can explore his clinic: Resilient Roots: Functional and Evolutionary Medicine Disclaimer: The content at A Medicinal Mind and the content of our podcast are educational and informational in nature. They are not intended to be medical advice, spiritual counsel or a substitute for working with a health professional or a trained spiritual counselor. We cannot guarantee the outcome of any of the recommendations provided on our page or by the guests on our podcast and any statements written or made about any potential outcomes are expressions of opinion only.

Episode 053: Neil Nathan MD, Navigating the Therapeutic Healing Relationship: How A Curious Physician is Helping Patients Recover from Chronic Illness

In Episode 052 of A Medicinal Mind: Wisdom and Wellbeing, I share space with integrative and naturopathic physician, a pioneer in the field of nutrigenomics, Dr. Kelly Halderman.   Dr. Kelly Halderman completed a Family Practice Medicine internship with the University of Minnesota; has a Naturopathic Medical Degree from Kingdom College of Natural Health where she is the current Academic Dean of Students.  She holds certification in MethylGenetic Nutrition by the Nutrigenetic Research Institute and certification from The American Functional Neurology Institute in Functional Neurology and Neurofeedback.   Despite the temptation to simply geek out in the world of nutrigenomics, detoxification and chronic disease, we spend most of this enlightening conversation exploring the miraculous background and journey of Dr. Kelly.   Beginning with a walk through her early childhood, we are given a glimpse at Dr. Kelly’s spiritual background, the ethos by which her first years were imbued. Sharing reflections from her experiences witnessing her father’s own chronic illness, Dr Kelly provides a rather raw showcase of her first visions of healthcare, physicians and the medical system as a whole.   Stepping away from her years as a witness to medicine, she then leads us into her own years in medical school and residency, ultimately leading to her own period of suffering, disillusionment and incredible awakening into the true power of healing when one surrenders to the powers of something greater. Offering story after story of her life’s journey, Dr. Kelly illustrates the foundation by which she currently practices blending her deep spiritual roots with her fascination with the quantifiable, the biochemical and the poetically physiological.   Stepping away to end our journey in the world of nutrition, genomics, and detoxification, Dr Kelly starts us off with a description and definition of nutrigenomics. From here she guides us into practical applications of how understanding one’s genetic template, its current state of expression, and the nutrients we supply it impact the progression or reversal of chronic disease. Providing a solid foundation for understanding our genetic code Dr. Kelly leads us into a thoughtful explanation of how certain genetic variations or SNP’s when expressed within the context of poor lifestyle habits can lead to compounding negative effects and perpetuation of chronic disease. She even gives us a sampling of some of the most common genetic variants and how she is seeking to support individuals with these SNP’s suffering from a myriad of symptoms and chronic illness.   Dr. Kelly closes the conversation with an elegant summary of detoxification, including the newly understood phase 2.5, and how we can apply an evidence based approach to detoxification so that we do not end up in the world of expensive and potentially harmful green medicine.   Lastly, I am incredibly excited to announce, if you are listening to this upon its initial release, that I have just joined my amazing team of functional clinicians at the Charlottesville Center for Functional Medicine and am now accepting new patients seeking support through functional and lifestyle medicine. Using the links in the show notes below, you can read more about our clinic and how to become a new patient.   Become a New Patient at Charlottesville Center for Functional Medicine   https://cvillefxmed.com/new-patients-1/   Call: 434.260.3284   Email: cvillefunctionalmedicine@gmail.com     Link to Dr. Kelly's website:   www.drkellyhalderman.com   Link to longer 2.5 podcast w Better Health Guy (just in case you want to geek out on the science): http://betterhealthguy.com/episode79   Disclaimer: The content at A Medicinal Mind and the content of our podcast are educational and informational in nature. They are not intended to be medical advice, spiritual counsel or a substitute for working with a health professional or a trained spiritual counselor. We cannot guarantee the outcome of any of the recommendations provided on our page or by the guests on our podcast and any statements written or made about any potential outcomes are expressions of opinion only.

Episode 052: Kelly Halderman MD, How One Woman Came by Beautiful Serendipity to Integrative Medicine, Healing Chronic Disease Through Mind-Body Medicine, Nutrigenomics and Augmented Detoxification

In Episode 51 of A Medicinal Mind: Wisdom and Well Being, I jump back into the world of quantified self and self improvement with our good friend, Benjamin Richardson. Ben has been featured on the show, not only once, but twice before in Episodes 31 and 35 and has brought a wealth of knowledge as a self proclaimed, practical citizen scientist, seeking to use emerging technologies and our understanding of the human body to improve his health, and through that exploration, make it easier for others to do the same.   In this episode we get our feet wet with a methodical discussion of quantified self, as Ben offers his 5-step approach to identifying and addressing self challenges. From this framework, Ben delves more deeply into each of the essential steps, from choosing a quantifiable goal, to selecting an intervention and measurement technique to actually assessing your progress and adapting based on your results, Ben gives us incredible insights into the practical things one must consider when attempting to make or quantify positive change.   From here we begin our dive into Ben’s real life application of this framework as part of his attempt to improve his movement patterns and variety with a concept known as “exercise snacking.”   After providing a brief definition of this pattern of “exercising,” Ben takes us through each step of the quantified self process, beginning with his primary goals of improving blood and biometric markers to his creative implementation of various exercises in the workplace.   We end the show with an in depth discussion of functional blood chemistry, and a second personal experiment and exploration that occurred as a result of Ben’s first intervention.  Applying our previously identified quantified self framework, Ben takes us through an exploration of his approach to address and further understand the roots behind low testosterone. Starting from a set of plausible hypothesis, Ben outlines a second multifaceted intervention to address this new identified concern and describes how he partnered with a holistic practitioner to obtain complementary testing to support and guide his personal self experiment.   This was as always, an absolute blast, and whether you are a citizen scientist, or clinician, you will gain some tremendous insights into cost effective and simply more effective ways to guide and support positive behavior change. While this may have been my third conversation with Ben, I found myself throughout the podcast continuing to uncover pieces of Ben’s story and passion I had yet to fully see. Driven by the details, but fulfilled by the bigger picture, Ben’s willingness to experiment, to explore and to let others in on his vulnerable journey is rather remarkable, and in truth, beyond rational explanation. While most seek to showcase a filtered version of their perfected lives, Ben has never been afraid to offer his authentic self, genuinely encouraging people through purposeful intent to see how they too can find more fulfillment, better health, and above all, greater meaning in their lives.   Listen to our previous conversation here: https://www.amedicinalmind.com/podcast-wisdom-and-well-being     Disclaimer: The content at A Medicinal Mind and the content of our podcast are educational and informational in nature. They are not intended to be medical advice, spiritual counsel or a substitute for working with a health professional or a trained spiritual counselor. We cannot guarantee the outcome of any of the recommendations provided on our page or by the guests on our podcast and any statements written or made about any potential outcomes are expressions of opinion only.

Episode 051: Benjamin Richardson, The Citizen Scientist Returns: A Deep Dive Into Quantified Self, Exercise Snacking, and Functional Blood Chemistry

In this week’s episode Dr. Abbott walks us through a clinical case, outlining his therapeutic approach, offering along the way insights into the best ways to expand your integrative medicine education as well as improve your skills as a clinicians. Not to be left out, Dr. Abbott also offers his tips for patients on how to best partner with a holistic health clinician to effectively improve your health without breaking your budget or morale! Please check out the links below to a text version of the case study as well as more resources to expand your functional medicine education! Link to the Case Study: https://www.amedicinalmind.com/blog-spiritual-spaces-and-flourishing-faces/feature-a-case-study-in-functional-medicine-with-dr-michael-ruscio Link to Dr. Ruscio’s Future of Functional Medicine Review: https://drruscio.com/login/ Explore more functional and integrative medicine resources from our E-Book https://www.amedicinalmind.com/health-e-book.html   Check out our previous shows here: http://www.amedicinalmind.com/podcast-wisdom-and-well-being   Disclaimer: The content at A Medicinal Mind and the content of our podcast are educational and informational in nature. They are not intended to be medical advice, spiritual counsel or a substitute for working with a health professional or a trained spiritual counselor. We cannot guarantee the outcome of any of the recommendations provided on our page or by the guests on our podcast and any statements written or made about any potential outcomes are expressions of opinion only. ​

Episode 50: A Case Study in Functional Medicine and How to Effectively Develop Your Clinical Skills and Fluency with Clinically Relevant Research

In Episode 049 of A Medicinal Mind: Wisdom and Well Being, I share space with one of the leading voices in the integrative oncology movement, a pioneer in collaborative and whole person care, Dr. Nasha Winters ND.  Many of you listening to this show have likely heard of Nasha and her work, but for those new to her name and work here is all you really need to know: She is arguably the most widely spoken and passionate clinician I have ever met when it comes to integrative oncology, and simply to whole person care. She is the founder of Optimal Terrain, an innovative healing venture striving to educate, empower, and assist individuals in knowing their bodies and their physiologic process from a perspective grounded in scientific research and clinical patient care, and above all else, address the root causes of cancer and cancer progression. While we certainly could have spent the entire show talking about Nasha’ multi-faceted approach to cancer, getting into the weeds of the ketogenic diet and nutrition as well supplements and complementing therapies to chemotherapeutics, much of today’s show is spent in an entirely different realm, a realm science, on its own, will never fully be able to explain. Starting with a dive into Nasha’ personal life story, we get a glimpse and the real reasons behind her pursuit of a career in medicine, a vulnerable look at her own journey with the cancer, and what she learned along the way that is informing her career now as a oncology physician. Digging deeper, Nasha answers such questions as What is the most challenging thing about being a patient? What are some of the best qualities of the most admirable physician, when precisely did you know, you were going to survive? Delving into the roots of her faith, Nasha, shares her perspective on the role of spirituality, religion and the pursuit of something greater as one traverses the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Even providing her own definition of this terrifying word, Nasha shows us precisely how she enters into the therapeutic space with patient’s and their families, uncovering the real reasons and questions her patients are seeking to answer. Sharing stories from her clinical experience, the depth an poignancy of this podcast is second to none and left me wondering on more than one occasion, why do we even bother with the science when we have human connection? This conversation was an absolute blast, and a refreshing dive into spirituality and our connections to something greater, perhaps the real reasons healing is ever possible in the first place.  And with that, let’s dig into the show ​ Keep up with Nasha:  https://optimalterrainconsulting.com/ The Metabolic Approach to Cancer:  https://www.amazon.com/Metabolic-Approach-Cancer-Integrating-Bio-Individualized/dp/1603586865   Check out our previous shows here: http://www.amedicinalmind.com/podcast-wisdom-and-well-being   Disclaimer: The content at A Medicinal Mind and the content of our podcast are educational and informational in nature. They are not intended to be medical advice, spiritual counsel or a substitute for working with a health professional or a trained spiritual counselor. We cannot guarantee the outcome of any of the recommendations provided on our page or by the guests on our podcast and any statements written or made about any potential outcomes are expressions of opinion only.

Episode 049: Nasha Winters ND, L.Ac., The Changing Landscape of Cancer Therapeutics: Why Faith, Purpose and Your Psychological Wellbeing Are Just as Important as Diet and Exercise

In Episode 048 of A Medicinal Mind, Wisdom and Wellbeing, I welcome back the inquisitive mind of the researcher known affectionately as the Magnesium man, Morley Robbins. In my two previous discussions with Morley, Episodes 23 and Episode 32, we explored the foundations of mineral metabolism, the intricate dance between Fe, Mg and Cu and the overall implications of these minerals on our health.   In this new foray into the world of biochemistry, Morley leads us through a fascinating exploration of his most recent research rabbit hole into the importance of fat soluble vitamins, and most specifically Vitamin A and its part of the wider dance of mineral biochemistry.   Morley begins the conversation with a foundational discussion of Vitamin A metabolism, what really is Vitamin A, retinol, retinal, and beta carotene. Is the vitamin A in carrots the same Vitamin A in beef liver?   Exploring further questions, Morley helps to answer: What are some of the highest sources of retinol, what is the history of cod liver oil and the ingestion of organ meats?   What is retinol actually doing in the body? Besides its involvement in balancing oxidative stress in the body, Is it the molecule, and not iron, driving the production of hemoglobin and eventually the oxygen carrying red blood cell?   We then shift the discussion into the intricate science behind energy production in the mitochondria and the fascinatingly beautiful electron transport chain, where does Fe, Oxygen, Magnesium, Vitamin A, lipids and Cu enter the scene in order for us to make the energy currency of the body: ATP.   As the story unfolds we begin to discover that Vitamin A is behind perhaps the most important systemic processes in the body   Energy Production Genetic Expression and Regulation Inflammation Oxygen Deliverability Oxidative Stress   and much more   Shifting back to the discussion of fat soluble vitamins, A, D and K, Morley fills us in with the reality that Vitamin D supplementation alone is likely not helping and actually probably hurting more people than we think. And where does Cu fit into the metabolism and function of the fat soluble vitamins? And what really is the difference between a vitamin and a mineral chemically? Structurally? How does their chemical structure affect their function and location of action in the body.   We then end the discussion with an exploration of Vitamin A and its importance in genetic expression and regulation? Why are people so terrified of Vitamin A overdose and toxicity?   I encourage you once more to listen to this conversation at least 2 or 3 times to really synthesize all of the ideas presented by Morley and myself.   And, be sure as well to explore the show notes for today’s show on our podcast page, our podcast app or other podcast media device to find our link to the intricately described Nutritional Testing Resource: a jam packed guide created by the visionary researcher Dr. Chris Masterjohn to help you discover how to properly assess, test and address functional nutritional status and any unearthed clinical deficiencies.   To get Dr. Chris Masterjohn’s Nutritional Testing Resource go HERE   List of Primary Research Studies   http://departments.agri.huji.ac.il/animal/staff/faculty_staff/uni_zehava/publications/Bacterial%20population%20and%20innate%20immunity-related%20genes%20in%20rat%20gastrointestinal%20tract.pdf https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2991380/ https://academic.oup.com/edrv/article/34/6/766/2354654 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21366525 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17320364 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3916855/ Don’t forget to get Dr. Chris Masterjohn’s Nutritional Testing Resource HERE You can see all of our content including blogs, poetry, meditations, and our weekly newsletter at our webpage: A Medicinal Mind   You can also follow A Medicinal Mind on Facebook and Instagram If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe with Apple Podcasts and leave us a review. Your feedback and reviews allow our message and this space of nourishment to grow.     Disclaimer: The content at A Medicinal Mind and the content of our podcast are educational and informational in nature. They are not intended to be medical advice, spiritual counsel or a substitute for working with a health professional or a trained spiritual counselor. We cannot guarantee the outcome of any of the recommendations provided on our page or by the guests on our podcast and any statements written or made about any potential outcomes are expressions of opinion only.

Episode 048: Morley Robbins, The Many Hats of Vitamin A, How Retinol Works with Magnesium, Iron and Copper to Keep You Well

In Episode 047 of A Medical Mind: Wisdom and Well Being I bring back one of my previous guests, visionary integrative psychiatrist Dr. Will Van Derveer MD.   Back in Episode 19 of the show, Will gave us a great glimpse into his foundational approach to medicine and integrative psychiatry.   In this episode, we jump in right where we left off into an exploration of Will’s innovative research and clinical expertise utilizing psychedelics alongside psychotherapy to combat severe PTSD and treatment resistant depression.   Will leads us through an introduction offering an insightful rationale for using psychedelics in supportive psychotherapy.   Applying our emerging understanding of brain connectivity and the activity of the Default Mode Network, Will explains why this baseline “mind wandering” state of thinking is perhaps one of the greatest reasons for cognitive distortions leading to rumination, depression, obsessions and general maladaptive thinking patterns.   From this understanding of the importance of the DFN to our resilience and cognitive flexibility,  Will explains the role of meditation and psychedelics to alter the activity of the DFN.   Getting more specific, Will then introduces the two psychedelic drugs emerging as effective augmenting treatments with psychotherapy: MDMA and Ketamine.   Will explains how his clinic and clinicians and general are using MDMA and integrative psychotherapy session to help individuals with severe PTSD breakthrough debilitating states of fear and hypervigilance to discover self compassion, forgiveness and paths to healing.   Expanding from here, Will also provides insights into the drug ketamine and how it is emerging through rigorous clinical trials to be off significant benefit to those undergoing psychotherapy for chronic treatment depression.   While the drugs are extremely distinct in structure and proposed mechanism of action, together they represent a new paradigm of psychiatric care that for perhaps for the first time can actually involve the word CURE.   We end the conversation with perhaps the most important and meaningful exploration I have had to date. Getting a little controversial, Will and I share our concern with our societal search for the quick fix, whether it be in the form of a pill, diet or green medicine. Sharing vulnerable insights from our own journeys integrating traumatic experiences and doing the “deep work,” we open up about the reality that we cannot expect to heal wounds overnight that took years to form in the first place. From a place of hopeful curiosity, we urge everyone, clinician or layperson to recognize the deep need to engage in the process of iterative self exploration, extending compassion and forgiveness to all along the way. To explore Dr. VDV’s Integrative Psychiatry Training starting in October: ipi.higherpractice.com   Visit Dr VDV’s main page at  www.ketaminetherapyboulder.com   To learn more about MAPS and psychedelic studies visit maps.org   Check out all of our previous podcasts using this link: https://www.amedicinalmind.com/podcast-wisdom-and-well-being     Disclaimer: The content at A Medicinal Mind and the content of our podcast are educational and informational in nature. They are not intended to be medical advice, spiritual counsel or a substitute for working with a health professional or a trained spiritual counselor. We cannot guarantee the outcome of any of the recommendations provided on our page or by the guests on our podcast and any statements written or made about any potential outcomes are expressions of opinion only.

Episode 047: Will Van Derveer MD, Integrative Psychiatry, Augmented Psychotherapy: The Role of Ritual and Mind Altering Compounds to Facilitate “Cures” in Clinical Psychiatry: A New Frontier

In episode 046 of A Medicinal Mind: Wisdom and Well Being , I welcome TWO guests, and new close friends. Dr. Tommy Wood and Christopher Kelly of Nourish Balance Thrive. Between the two of them, Tommy and Chris have been helping burned out athletes achieve both optimal performance and wellness through a combination of targeted testing, nutritional approaches and selective augmentation. The two have helped thousands of athletes and are constantly providing nourishing content, no pun intended to thousands more via their NBT podcast. Additionally Tommy puts out an incredible weekly review: a “Highlights” emails that will leave you with more to chew on that just your thumbs.   In this episode we start the conversation exploring the origin stories of Chris and Tommy, finding their way into the ancestral health space. They both offer descriptions of the paths that lead them to their current work in addition to more specific details regarding the nature of the education and scholastic background.   When then explore the birth of Nourish Balance Thrive and discuss in depth the vision, passion and ethos behind this unique and innovative initiative. Chris offers a personal look into his own leap of faith starting the business, followed by the quick collaboration with bright and curious minds like Tommy.   We then get into the meat of the discussion, the newest technological feat between the two and their partner in crime naturopathic physician and biochemistry extraordinaire: Dr. Bryan Walsh. Chris and Tommy describe their blood chemistry calculator, a tool utilizing machine learning and incorporating data from thousands of athletes, that can actually predict nutritional status, blood sugar regulation, and even potentially xenobiotic exposure from just a handful of laboratory tests. While still early in its implementation, this calculator has the ability to transform medical care and functional medicine testing, and you will here from them both how they see it being optimally used and explored.   Combining perspectives for both clinicians and the lay audience, Tommy offers some great reasons, why machine learning and this calculator should be on your radar.   We then end the podcast with Tommy sharing a little of his background leading the innovative group: Physicians for Ancestral Health, an organization of which I am proudly affiliated. Tommy shares some of the vision and initiatives of the group and how he hopes to expand its reach in the months and years to come.   I still cannot fully believe I was able to share this conversation with Tommy and Chris, having listened to the two over many years during my own incubation and exploration of ancestral and functional health. I am extremely excited to share this conversation with you all and please be sure to explore the podcast show notes with links to their page, podcast and their Blood Chemistry Calculator.   And with that, let’s dig into the show! Check out Tommy’s homepage: http://www.nourishbalancethrive.com   Blood Chemistry Calculator: https://bloodcalculator.com   Physicians for Ancestral Health: http://ancestraldoctors.org    

Episode 046, Tommy Wood PhD, MD and Christopher Kelly, Innovation in Functional and Ancestral Health: Machine Learning and Blood Chemistry, How Two Friends Are Seeking to Change How Medicine is Practiced

A podcast dedicated to the discovery of the authentic human experience. From discussions of integrative and holistic medicine to explorations of our deeper spiritual roots, this podcast seeks to share a collective narrative from voices believing in a unified purpose: to make this world a more loving, accepting and joyful place.

hubhopper

A Medicinal Mind

hubhopper