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Saturday, December 20, 2025 - Five days till Christmas, 11 days left to raise funds to CURE SYNGAP1 AES was exceptional in many ways, here are a few: Rare & SYNGAP1 were both very visible, posters with our Logo and names of staff were seen! Posters: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/graglia_syngap1-curesyngap1-activity-7408291479187755008-rMru Our conference was standing room only and had investors!  Even got a mention in their research report! https://www.investing.com/news/analyst-ratings/cantor-fitzgerald-reiterates-overweight-rating-on-camp4-therapeutics-stock-93CH-4403281 ProMMiS Launch was a massive win for patients.  Collaboration. Praxis and Lundbeck recruited for exciting drugs and CAMP4 talked about their ASO and recruiting next year. Our community's presence was felt well into AES. Aaron's post on growth! https://www.facebook.com/aaron.j.harding.5/posts/pfbid0231DtMVUtkZa4eXLv8C8qbf4xEN95aRP1xJ8sGNNvun7aDuUyZVatMWUjjigdXfg1l    Pre-register now for Denver: cureSYNGAP1.org/Pre26   Fundraising. We are YTD $1.68M which is below $1.86M in '23 and $1.97M in '24.  We need to really double down on fundraising for the next two weeks and into next year.  Support our campaign at curesyngap1.org/unlock   ACTION ALERT

In this episode you discover how acts of kindness you do for others positively affect your physical health - to include your immunity system - in addition to enhancing your emotional wellbeing.Resources:"Kindness in the Blood: how helping others reduces inflammation". Dr. David Hamilton". Link: https://drdavidhamilton.com/kindness-in-the-blood-how-helping-others-reduces-inflammation/"The genomic impact of kindness to self vs. others: A randomized controlled trial". PubMed. Link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35905861/---Host:Stephen Carter - Website: https://StressReliefRadio.com - Email: CarterMethod@gmail.com---Technical information:Recording and initial edits with Twisted Wave. Additional edits with Soften, Amadeus Pro, De-click, De-esser, and Hush. Final edits and rendering with Hindenburg Pro (Generic EQ, Compressor, De-esser). Microphone: Rode Procaster with windscreen.---Keywords:happiness, emotional_wellbeing, physical_wellbeing,

Co-hosts Ryan Piansky, a graduate student and patient advocate living with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) and eosinophilic asthma, and Holly Knotowicz, a speech-language pathologist living with EoE who serves on APFED's Health Sciences Advisory Council, interview Fei Li Kuang, MD, PhD, an allergist and immunologist, at Northwestern Medicine, about receiving two APFED HOPE on the Horizon Grants. Disclaimer: The information provided in this podcast is designed to support, not replace, the relationship between listeners and their healthcare providers. Opinions, information, and recommendations shared in this podcast are not a substitute for medical advice. Decisions related to medical care should be made with your healthcare provider. Opinions and views of guests and co-hosts are their own.   Key Takeaways: [:50] Co-host Ryan Piansky introduces this episode, brought to you thanks to the support of Education Partners GSK, Sanofi, Regeneron, and Takeda. Ryan introduces co-host Holly Knotowicz.   [1:14] Holly introduces today's topic, two APFED HOPE on the Horizon Pilot Grant Projects and today's guest, Fei Li Kuang, MD, PhD, an Assistant Professor in the Division of Allergy and Immunology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, Illinois.   [1:42] Dr. Kuang is a physician-scientist who takes care of patients with eosinophilic disorders and also performs laboratory research on these disorders in her lab, often using patient samples. Holly thanks Dr. Kuang for joining us.   [2:05] As a child, Dr. Kuang always wanted to be a scientist. She is so grateful to live out her childhood dream, and it's because of the amazing people who have supported her, most importantly, her parents.   [2:29] In graduate school, Dr. Kuang studied B cells. When she went on to do an allergy fellowship, she thought she would study B cells and care for patients with B cell problems. Instead, she fell in love with allergy and eosinophilic disorders.   [2:50] Dr. Kuang is here, in part, because of the different mentors she has had, and in large part, because of the patients she has met along the way.   [3:20] Dr. Kuang had the opportunity to work with Amy Klion at the NIH in a clinical trial to treat patients with a drug that gets rid of eosinophils. She says it was a dream come true after her training.   [4:02] She says she learned so much about eosinophils, their unusual biology, and the mystery behind what they are here for. She got hooked.   [4:15] Dr. Kuang thinks the patients you meet in a clinical trial in a special place like NIH occupy a space in your heart that makes you want to keep working on the subject area.   [4:34] Patients in a clinical trial have given up a bunch of their time to travel to Bethesda, Maryland. For the trial Dr. Kuang participated in as a Fellow, it was a good year of their time to come out and do it.   [4:47] Dr. Kuang felt there were so many interesting questions, from an intellectual point of view, but there was also a real need from patients with chronic conditions. It was a beautiful opportunity to marry scientists with physicians in training.   [5:36] Dr. Kuang shares some knowledge about eosinophils. They are white blood cells that are in all of us. They have little pink packages or granules that "jumped out" in the light microscope almost 200 years ago, when we first identified them.   [6:00] Dr. Kuang says that animals, dating back to reptiles, and different species of dolphins, all have eosinophils. A veterinary scientist, Dr. Nicole Stacy of the University of Florida, has taken photos of eosinophils from all these different species.   [6:21] They've been around for a long time. What are they good for? What we know is that they are associated with disease conditions, such as asthma and others, including leukemia. Those were the classic first studies of eosinophils.   [6:42] Now, we have a different mindset about eosinophils from work by the late James Lee at Mayo Clinic, Arizona.   [6:58] Dr. Kuang credits Dr. Lee with suggesting that eosinophils not just cause us problems but also help treat parasitic infections, maintain tissue homeostasis, help wound healing, and tissue repair. That's a new area we are beginning to appreciate.   [7:41] Dr. Kuang says we need to be open-minded that in some circumstances, eosinophils may be helpful or innocent. Now we have tools to start to understand some of that. We need to collect information from patients being treated with medicines.   [8:10] Ryan tells of being diagnosed as a kid. Doctors explained to him that eosinophils fight parasites, but in some people, they get confused and attack the esophagus. That's EoE. That was easy to understand, but he knew that the researchers knew more.   [8:53] Ryan is grateful to the patient population around eosinophilic esophagitis, and is proud of APFED's support of patients and caregivers with HOPE Grants. APFED has the HOPE on the Horizon Research Program, entirely funded by community donations.   [9:13] To date, APFED has directed more than $2 million toward eosinophilic disease research initiatives through various grant programs. As a patient advocacy organization, APFED works with fantastic researchers who submit innovative research ideas.   [9:32] These research ideas go through an extensive and competitive peer-review process, supported by researchers and clinicians in the APFED community.   [9:42] Today, we're going to discuss two different projects supported by HOPE Pilot Grants with Dr. Kuang.   [10:00] Dr. Kuang thinks there are two ways these grant programs are important to patients. One is advancing research by nurturing seedling investigators. Dr. Kuang got her first grant when she was a Fellow. It was an incredible opportunity.   [10:25] These grant programs also nurture seedling ideas that don't have enough evidence yet to garner the larger NIH grants, and so forth. There are other sources for grants: pharmaceutical companies. The grant programs are for seeds.   [10:49] Patients need to know that there are new things that are given some chance of being tested out. Research takes some time, and the FDA process of getting a drug approved is long.   [11:04] For the newly diagnosed patient, it can feel overwhelming. It feels like there's a loss of control. Sometimes, participating in something like APFED, being part of a community, gives back a sense of control that is lost when you're handed a diagnosis.   [11:45] For patients who have had it for a long time, when they participate in research and become engaged in organizations like APFED, they know they may not directly benefit today, they may benefit later, but they hope future patients will benefit.   [12:21] That gives them a sense of control and hope that things will be better for the next generation. We all want that, especially in medicine, in something that we don't have a very deep understanding of.   [12:58] Dr. Kuang received two HOPE Pilot Grants, one in 2018 and one in 2022. The first grant was awarded when she was a Fellow at the NIH.   [13:05] That first grant explored some effects of eosinophilic depletion of pathogenic lymphocytes in hypereosinophilic syndrome and overlaps with EGIDs. Ryan asks for a broad overview of that research.   [13:25] When Dr. Kuang was a Fellow at the NIH, they were doing a Phase 2 clinical trial, looking at "blowing up" eosinophils in patients who have a lot of them, hypereosinophilic syndrome patients.   [13:39] They included patients who had eosinophilic GI disease, often beyond the esophagus. They may have esophageal involvement, but sometimes their stomach is impacted, sometimes their large bowel is impacted, with related symptoms.   [13:57] What Dr. Kuang and the team noticed in the trial was that just within that little group of patients, there were people who did well, and people who did much better than before, but would have recurrent symptoms, and with no eosinophils in their GI tissues.    [14:16] The researchers wanted to know what was causing these problems for the patient. If you take eosinophils away, what other factors will impact the immune system of the patient, semi-long-term?   [14:32] Their focus was on these groups of patients who had different responses. They looked at the white blood cells that had been previously described as being the responsible, "bad" T cells that lead to eosinophils in the gut.   [14:49] They found that the patients who had recurrent flares of the disease had more of the bad T cells, and the patients who responded well and never complained again about symptoms did not.   [15:03] That allowed researchers to identify that there were subsets of patients with the disease that they were calling the same thing.   [15:18] Dr. Kuang says that work also led them to find that those cells were being reported in patients who had food allergies for which they needed an epinephrine auto-injector.   [15:27] The researchers were curious whether that was just a food allergy issue, or only applied if you had food allergies and eosinophilic GI disease. That HOPE project allowed them to do a pilot study to look at food allergy patients, too. They did, and published it.   [15:45] They published that in patients who have a food allergy and have these T cells, the insides of those cells make different messages for the immune system than the ones that the researchers had previously described.   [16:01] In looking for why there were differences in those responses, they accidentally found that there were differences inside these cells in a completely different disease, which also had these T cells.   [16:21] Dr. Kuang says that the finding was kind of a surprise. If they had found anything in the eosinophilic GI disease patients, that would have been good. They also looked at the epithelial cells and the structure of the GI lining.   [16:42] Even though there were no eosinophils in the GI lining in the patients who had been treated with a biologic that depleted eosinophils, their GI lining still looked like the GI lining of patients who had eosinophilic GI disease.   [16:55] Dr. Kuang asked what was creating those spots. Our gut lining sheds, so there should have been an opportunity for the GI lining to turn over and look new. Something was there, making signals to create these spots. They did a different publication on that.   [17:21] The data from the HOPE Pilot study allowed Dr. Kuang to apply for larger grants. It allowed her to propose to the company that made this drug, when they did the Phase 3 trial, to insert into that special study the study on eosinophilic GI disease.   [17:48] Do patients with eosinophilic GI disease do better or worse on this drug, and how do the T cells look in that trial? That HOPE Grant gave Dr. Kuang the data to ask the drug company to give her money to study it in an international cohort of patients.   [18:17] There were only 20 patients in that first NIH trial, who gave a year of their life, coming to NIH all the time. They continued to be in the study until the drug was approved for asthma.   [18:28] Dr. Kuang says the main reason the company did the Phase 3 trial, which is expensive, and the market share is not huge because it's a rare disease, is that two of the patients went to bat for this disease population.   [18:47] The two patients went and showed the business people what they looked like before, what the drug had done for them, and how their lives had changed. It wasn't the doctors or the great paper from the trial, but the patients who convinced the company.   [19:01] Dr. Kuang says she was so floored by that and moved by what they did for the community. She is grateful.   [19:24] Since the Phase 3 trial, Dr. Kuang and the other researchers realized they had not fully studied the eosinophils. They had studied them in part. They found differences in response. This inspired the second APFED HOPE Pilot Grant.   [21:19] In 2022, Dr. Kuang received a two-year APFED HOPE Pilot Grant to examine how blood eosinophils in Eosinophilic Gastrointestinal Diseases differ from those of other eosinophilic diseases and how T cells in EGIDs differ from those in food allergies.   [21:49] Dr. Kuang says normally, the biggest place of residence for eosinophils is the GI tract. That's where they are normally seen in people who do not have eosinophilic disorders.   [21:59] People who have eosinophilic disorders that attack other parts of the body, asthma, and rarely, the heart. Dr. Kuang was curious to know why one person and not the other?   [22:15] Patients who have eosinophilic GI disease often ask, How do you know this high level in the blood is not going to attack my heart or my lungs in the future? Dr. Kuang does not know.   [22:29] Dr. Kuang says, looking at the cohort at the NIH, that for many patients who have both GI organ involvement and some other space, when they first went to see a provider, their first complaint was a GI condition.   [22:54] If the doctor had only diagnosed a GI condition, nothing else, that would have been wrong. Those patients may not have been monitored as well. A third of the patients originally presented like that.   [23:11] What that meant was that we should be paying attention to patients who have GI disease who have lots of eosinophils in their blood. Moving forward, if there are new complaints, we need to investigate. We can't forget they have that.   [23:27] Dr. Kuang asks, Wouldn't it be great if we had a better tool than needing to wait? Wouldn't it be great if we had a biomarker that said the eosinophils have switched their target location and are going somewhere else?   [23:41] One way to do that is to take different groups of eosinophils and look for differences between those that never target the GI tract and those that do. In patients who have EoE, the eosinophils only target or cause problems in the esophagus.   [23:58] Are their eosinophils any different than those of a healthy person, with none of these conditions? That was the goal of that study.   [24:10] T cells are another type of white blood cell. They contain a memory of foreign things they have encountered, which allows them to glom onto flu, COVID, peanuts, pollen, that kind of thing. They remember.   [24:32] Dr. Kuang says they learned that T cells, at least in the mouse model, are required in the development of eosinophilic esophagitis. The mice in the old study, where mice were forced to develop EoE, did not get EoE if you removed their T cells.   [24:50] In the first APFED HOPE grant study, Dr. Kuang found T cells in the blood and tissue of both EGIDs and food allergy patients, but the insides of the T cells were different. The food allergy patients were children recruited by a pediatric allergist.   [25:19] In the second APFED HOPE grant study, at Northwestern, Dr. Kuang recruited her adult food allergy patients. That was a way to validate what they found in the first study and move further to better characterize those T cells in the two different diseases.   [25:47] Dr. Kuang says we're at a point where we've recruited a lot of people. She says it's amazing what people are willing to do. It's very humbling.   [26:06] Dr. Kuang's team in the lab is really great, too. To accommodate patients, they would see them after work, if that's what they had to do to isolate eosinophils. So they did that, and now they are in the process of analyzing that data. It's really exciting.   [26:28] What's exciting is that they are seeing results that show that eosinophilic GI disease patients have circulating eosinophils that are different from the eosinophils of people who don't have GI involvement, and from people who have EoE.   [26:46] The EoE patients have eosinophils different from those of healthy donors. Dr. Kuang says there's a lot of promise for perhaps unique signatures that could help define these conditions; maybe someday without biopsying, but that's a long time away.   [27:16] Dr. Kuang says they will focus on some candidate targets and try to recreate some of that in a dish with eosinophils from healthy people.   [27:26] What are the signals that lead eosinophils to do this, and can we translate that back to available drugs that target certain cytokines or other pathways, and maybe give some insight to develop drugs that target other pathways for these diseases?   [28:17] Ryan thinks it's exciting that this research is narrowing in on not only the different symptoms, but also how the eosinophils are acting differently in these populations.    [28:44] Dr. Kuang is super excited about this research. You could imagine that all eosinophils are the same, but you don't know until you look. When they looked, using the newest technology, they found there were differences.   [29:33] Dr. Kuang says it is thought that T cells respond to triggers. We don't think eosinophils have a memory for antigens. T cells do. That's one of their definitions. When T cells react to a trigger, they give out messages through cytokines or by delivery.   [30:20] Those are the messages that recruit eosinophils and other cells to come and stir up some trouble.   [30:28] In the mouse model, where you don't have the T cells, and you don't get eosinophilic esophagitis in the particular way they made it happen in a mouse, that middle messenger is gone, so the eosinophils don't know where to go.   [30:44] With drugs that take out eosinophils, you think that you've gotten rid of the cell that creates all the problems. It shouldn't matter what the message says because there's no cell there to cause the damage.   [30:58] What Dr. Kuang learned is that, at least in certain eosinophilic GI diseases, that's not true. You erase the eosinophils from the picture, but that message is still coming.   [31:10] Who's carrying out the orders? Or is that message maintaining the wall of epithelial cells in a certain way that we didn't appreciate because the eosinophils were also there?   [31:24] It's important to study both, because one is the messenger and the other is one of the actors. Whether all of the actions taken by eosinophils are bad, or maybe some of them were meant to be good, we have yet to learn.   [31:40] At the moment, we're using it as a marker for disease activity, and that may change in the future, as we learn more about the roles of these cells in the process.   [31:50] We have drugs now that target eosinophils and drugs that target T cells. Dr. Kuang thinks it's important to study both and to study the impact of these drugs on these cells.   [32:02] You could theoretically use these drugs to understand whether, if someone responds to it, what happens to these cells, and if someone doesn't respond to it, what happens to these cells, and how this disease manifests in this flavor of patients.   [32:54] Dr. Kuang says, Often in science, we take a model. We think this works this way. Then, if this works this way, we expect that if we remove this, these things should happen. We did that with the first clinical trial, with NIH patients.   [33:10] It didn't quite happen the way we thought, so we had to go looking for explanations. These were unusual setbacks. Sometimes you have unusual findings, like the food allergy part.   [33:24] When Dr. Kuang went to Northwestern, she saw different cohorts of patients than she saw at NIH. She saw people who were seen every day, which is a different spectrum than those who are selected to be enrolled in a study protocol at the NIH.   [33:42] That broadened her viewpoint. It's maybe not all food-triggered. They were seeing adults who'd never had food allergies or asthma their whole life, and they had eosinophilic esophagitis suddenly as a 50-year-old. There's a significant group of them.   [34:10] What Dr. Kuang learned and tries to be open-minded about is that where you train, what sorts of patients you see, really shape your viewpoint and thinking about the disease process and the management process.   [34:24] Dr. Kuang says she was so lucky to have experienced that at a quaternary care referral center like the NIH and at an academic center like Northwestern, where there are fantastic gastroenterologists who see so many of these patients.   [34:56] Dr. Kuang and an Allergy Fellow knew they were going to get a wonderful data set from the NIH patients they had recruited, so they thought they had better look deeply at what had been learned before with older technology, with mice and people.   [35:13] They decided to gather previous research, and that ultimately got published as an article. From that research, they learned that people did things in many different ways because there was no standard. They didn't know what the standard should be.   [35:28] Different things you do to try to get eosinophils out of tissue impact how they look, in terms of transcript, gene expression, and what messages they make to define themselves as an eosinophil.   [35:43] They also learned that because eosinophils are hard to work with, they die easily, and you can't freeze them and work on them the next day; you can introduce issues in there that have to be accounted for.   [35:59] They learned that as an eosinophil research community, they ought to come up with some standards so that they can compare future studies with each other. Dr. Kuang says it was impossible to compare the old studies that used different premises.   [36:50] Dr. Kuang says we need to be proactive in creating the datasets in a standard way so that we can compare and have a more fruitful and diverse community of data. It's hard to use the old data.   [37:57] Dr. Kuang says they get fresh blood from patients, and because eosinophils are finicky, they need to be analyzed within four hours, or preserved in a way to save whatever fragile molecules are to be studied.   [38:19] If you let it sit, it starts dying, so you won't have as many of them, and they start changing because they're not in the body. Dr. Kuang experimented with putting a tube of blood on the bench and checking it with the same test every two hours. It changes.   [38:38] Four hours is a standard to prevent the eosinophils from dying. Patients need treatment. If a patient is hospitalized and needs treatment, Dr. Kuang's team needs to be there to get a sample before treatment is started.   [39:03] The treatment impacts it, changing the situation. Much of the treatment, initially, is steroids. When you give lots of steroids, the eosinophils go away. It's no good to draw their blood then.   [39:27] Dr. Kuang also gets a urine sample. The granules of the eosinophils can get into the urine. As they study people with active disease, they want to capture granule proteins in the urine as a less invasive way to monitor activity in different disease states.   [40:04] The patient just needs to give Dr. Kuang either arm and a urine sample.   [41:04] Dr. Kuang explains, you can count your eosinophils after four hours, but to study them, they have different flags of different colors and shapes. Those colors and shapes may mean that it's an activated eosinophil, or they may have other meanings.   [41:41] Dr. Kuang focused on markers that look at whether it's going to spill its granules and some traditional markers of activation.     [41:50] Everyone chooses a different marker of activation. So they decided to look at as many as they could. One marker is not sufficient. They seem to be different in different conditions. The markers are on the surface; you need to analyze them right away.   [42:20] Then, Dr. Kuang breaks open the eosinophils and grabs the messenger RNA. They preserve it to do sequencing to read out the orders to see what this eosinophil is telling itself to make. RNA chops up messages.   [43:00] When you open an eosinophil, a protein you find is RNA, which chops up messages, destroying parts of the cell. You want to save the message. There's a brief time to analyze the eosinophil. Dr. Kuang works to preserve and read the message.   [44:04] Dr. Kuang hopes someday to run a tube of blood, look at the flags on the eosinophils, and say, "I think your eosinophilic GI disease is active," or "You have a kind of eosinophilic GI disease we need to monitor more frequently for organ damage."   [44:38] If another patient doesn't have those flags, Dr. Kuang could say, "I think the chances that you're going to have involvement elsewhere are low." That can give reassurance to folks who are worried.   [45:15] Dr. Kuang hopes that someday we can understand better why some people have food allergies vs. eosinophilic GI disease. They both have T cells, but the T cells have different packages inside with messages to deliver.   [45:34] Every day, Dr. Kuang has to tell patients she doesn't have that answer. Someday, she hopes she can tell a patient she does have that answer.   [46:35] Dr. Kuang tells about an NIH grant she's excited about and the patients she recruits after therapy, or elimination diets, to examine eosinophils and T cells, to see the impacts their treatments or diets have had on eosinophilic GI disease.   [47:18] Dr. Kuang believes there will be predictors of who will respond to an elimination diet and who will respond to steroid therapy. She hopes one day to have that, rather than going through rounds of six to eight weeks followed by a scope.   [47:34] If you have an elimination diet for six to eight weeks, every time you add back a food, you have to do a scope. Dr. Kuang says it would be great if you could be more precise ahead of time for therapy.   [47:48] Dr. Kuang says these wonderful drugs selectively take out parts of the pathway in the immune system. They provide real-life opportunities to ask, why is this important in human biology and the human immune system?   [48:15] Dr. Kuang finds the knowledge itself fascinating and useful. She hopes it informs how we choose future drugs or therapeutic avenues to get the best we can out of what we've learned, so we have more targeted ways of treating specific diseases.   [48:48] Ryan is grateful for all the research happening for the eosinophilic disease community and all the patients participating in the research. He asks Dr. Kuang how a patient can participate in research.   [49:12] There are lots of ways to be involved in research. Dr. Kuang says her patients come away from participating in research feeling good about having done it.   [49:22] Answer a survey, if that's what you have bandwidth for. Where therapies are changing, being a part of a community is good for the community, for the future, but it's good for you, too. It's healing in ways that are not steroids or biologics.   [49:58] Being part of a community is healing in ways we all need when we feel alone and bewildered. You're not alone.   [50:12] There are many ways to participate: APFED, CEGIR, individual institutions, and clinical trials. They all have different amounts of involvement. It's worthwhile to participate, not only for future patients but for yourself. They're fantastic!   [50:56] Dr. Kuang talks about the privilege as a physician of working with APFED and other organizations to do this work.   [51:09] Holly thanks Dr. Kuang for sharing all of this research and exciting information.   [51:25] Dr. Kuang is excited about what her group is doing and is hopeful. Besides showing up for this disease, we have to show up for research, in general, in this country. It's a dark time for NIH research funding.   [51:55] Dr. Kuang asks the young listeners who are thinking of choosing a field to see the potential and get into it, study this, and believe that there's going to be a future with a more nurturing research environment.   [52:36] Dr. Kuang would hate to lose generations of scientists. She says that once she was a little girl who was trying to be a scientist. Her parents had no connections with scientists or doctors, but she was able to get into research, and she thinks you can, too.   [53:48] As a graduate student, Ryan has always been interested in trying to improve things, and he sees hope on the horizon. He's very grateful to the APFED community for supporting these research HOPE Pilot Grants.   [54:17] Ryan is very grateful to Dr. Kuang for joining us today.   [54:22] For our listeners who want to learn more about eosinophilic disorders, we encourage you to visit apfed.org and check out the links in the show notes.   [54:28] If you're looking to find a specialist who treats eosinophilic disorders, we encourage you to use APFED's Specialist Finder at apfed.org/specialist.   [54:37] If you'd like to connect with others impacted by eosinophilic diseases, please join APFED's online community on the Inspire Network at apfed.org/connections.   [54:57] Dr. Kuang thanks Ryan and Holly and says she enjoyed the conversation. Holly also thanks APFED's Education Partners GSK, Sanofi, Regeneron, and Takeda for supporting this episode.   Mentioned in This Episode: Fei Li Kuang, MD, PhD, Allergist and Immunologist, Northwestern Medicine   Grants and publications discussed: Apfed.org/blog/apfed-announces-2018-hope-apfed-hope-pilot-grant-recipient/ Apfed.org/blog/fei-li-kuang-hope-pilot-grant-award/  Pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39213186/ Pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37487654/   APFED on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram Real Talk: Eosinophilic Diseases Podcast apfed.org/specialist apfed.org/connections apfed.org/research/clinical-trials   Education Partners: This episode of APFED's podcast is brought to you thanks to the support of GSK, Sanofi, Regeneron, and Takeda.   Tweetables:   "I think the patients that you meet in a clinical trial, especially in a special place like NIH, occupy a space in your heart — I don't mean to be all too emotional about this — that makes you want to keep working on the subject area." — Fei Li Kuang, MD, PhD   "When I was a Fellow at the NIH, we were doing a Phase 2 clinical trial, looking at, for want of a better word, "blowing up" eosinophils in patients who have a lot of them, hypereosinophilic syndrome patients." — Fei Li Kuang, MD, PhD   "We're at a point where we've recruited a lot of people. I've had patients drive from the northern part of Illinois … come down and give me blood. It's amazing what people want to do and are willing to do. It's very humbling, actually." — Fei Li Kuang, MD, PhD   "You erase the eosinophils from the picture, but that message is still coming. Who's carrying out the orders? Or is that message maintaining the wall of epithelial cells in a certain way that we didn't appreciate because the eosinophils were also there?" — Fei Li Kuang, MD, PhD   "We need to be proactive in creating the datasets in a standard way so that we can compare and have a more fruitful and diverse community of data." — Fei Li Kuang, MD, PhD   "I think it's worthwhile to participate [in a clinical trial], not only for the future people but for yourself." — Fei Li Kuang, MD, PhD   Guest Bio: Fei Li Kuang, MD, PhD, is currently an Assistant Professor in the Division of Allergy and Immunology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, IL. She is a graduate of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine Medical Scientist Training Program with both a PhD in Cell Biology/Immunology and an MD.  She completed her Internal Medicine Residency at Columbia University, New York Presbyterian Hospital in New York City, she did her Fellowship in Allergy and Immunology at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) in Bethesda, Maryland. She is a physician-scientist who takes care of patients with eosinophilic disorders and also performs laboratory research on these disorders in her lab, often using patient samples.

Why do your migraines always strike right before your period? What if your body is actually trying to tell you something—something that could help you prevent the next one?In this episode of Migraine Heroes Podcast, host Diane Ducarme explores the intricate connection between your menstrual cycle and migraine attacks. Together, we decode what your body is signaling in those fragile days before your period—and how to work with it, not against it.You'll discover:

Two questions I get a lot from people who are new to Biohacking and cognitive enhancers are...❓ Which Smart Drugs actually work and have science behind them?❔ Which Nootropic should I get started with?⚡ My answer to both questions is the same: PiracetamIt has a significant body of scientific evidence behind it; over 750 human studies and academic papers have been published about Piracetam on PubMed, with over ten meta-analysis papers in just the past decade.9:51 Scientific Research11:52 Memory Enhancement17:50 Mitochondrial Nootropic19:47 Stroke Recovery20:12 Cognitive Enhancer20:50 Verbal Fluency22:45 Cognitive Decline24:26 Vs Alzheimer's24:53 Mechanism of Action26:42 History27:13 Vs Depression29:50 Sources35:43 Piracetam Non-Responders?37:10 Tolerance37:28 Post-Piracetam Intelligence Deficit43:09 Addiction or Dependence?43:50 Experiential46:47 Featured in Fiction47:21 Dosage & Cofactors49:22 Side Effects & Risks56:23 ConclusionRead Meta-Analysis

Two questions I get a lot from people who are new to Biohacking and cognitive enhancers are...❓ Which Smart Drugs actually work and have science behind them?❔ Which Nootropic should I get started with?⚡ My answer to both questions is the same: PiracetamIt has a significant body of scientific evidence behind it; over 750 human studies and academic papers have been published about Piracetam on PubMed, with over ten meta-analysis papers in just the past decade.9:51 Scientific Research11:52 Memory Enhancement17:50 Mitochondrial Nootropic19:47 Stroke Recovery20:12 Cognitive Enhancer20:50 Verbal Fluency22:45 Cognitive Decline24:26 Vs Alzheimer's24:53 Mechanism of Action26:42 History27:13 Vs Depression29:50 Sources35:43 Piracetam Non-Responders?37:10 Tolerance37:28 Post-Piracetam Intelligence Deficit43:09 Addiction or Dependence?43:50 Experiential46:47 Featured in Fiction47:21 Dosage & Cofactors49:22 Side Effects & Risks56:23 ConclusionRead Meta-Analysis

The skincare industry is worth over $180 billion globally. The science backing most of it? Let's just say your liver isn't the only organ that doesn't need a detox.This episode is sponsored by Osmia, Science-backed skincare formulated by a physician who actually reads PubMed. Use code YDS20 for 20% off your first order at osmiaskincare.com.This week we're doing something a little different: a partner episode with Osmia, one of our sponsors this season. But if you know YDS, you know we don't do puff pieces. Dr. Sarah Villafranco is a board-certified emergency medicine physician who left the ER to formulate skincare, and brought her doctor brain with her. She's here because she shares our allergy to pseudoscience, not because she's paying us to be nice—and we approached this conversation with the same critical lens we'd bring to any industry deep-dive. (You can read more about how we handle sponsorships and editorial independence at yourdietsuckspodcast.com/our-advertising-ethics-policy.)We talk about why tallow is the new wellness grift (sorry, ancestral girlies), what "natural" actually means when the FDA doesn't regulate it, and why your 20-step TikTok routine is probably making your skin worse. Sarah breaks down the three products that actually matter, explains why thicker doesn't mean more hydrating (remember: hydrate has "water" in it), and makes the case for the least sexy skincare advice ever spoken aloud: consistency.We also get into the ethics of beauty marketing, why "anti-aging" language is completely absent from everything Osmia does, and how to be your own N of 1 experiment when it comes to your skin, which should sound familiar if you've been listening to this show.Plus: the St. Ives Apricot Scrub accountability moment we all needed, why medicated lip balms are a scam, and the skincare equivalent of taking 500 supplements a day.If you've ever felt overwhelmed by serums, confused by "clean beauty" claims, or suspicious that the wellness industry just found a new way to sell you a crisis and then the cure, this one's for you.

Send us a textIn episode #164 we discussed some important science around heat and performance with Dr. Melani Kelly:The differences between heat exhaustion, heat injury, and heat stroke, and the role hydration and nutrition play in preventing them.How certain medications can increase the risk of exertional heat illness, and how they can alter our physiological responsesPractical advice and strategies for athletes on preparing for and managing heat exposure during training and competition.Melani Kelly is an Assistant Professor at Utah Valley University, where she teaches and mentors students in the Department of Exercise Science and Outdoor Recreation. She holds a PhD in Exercise Physiology from the University of Kansas, a MS in Sport and Exercise Sciences from West Texas A&M, and a BS in Athletic Training from Eastern Washington University. Dr. Kelly's current research focuses on identifying exertional heat illness (EHI) risk factors and assessing kidney damage in 100-mile ultramarathon runners. Her work has highlighted various risk factors, including how mental health medications may increase EHI risk, and individualized gastrointestinal responses to limit damage and perceived symptoms experienced with physical activityPlease note that this podcast is created strictly for educational purposes and should never be used for medical diagnosis or treatment.Follow Dr. Melani Kelly: Google Scholar: scholar.google.com/citations?user=vBhJYmsAAAAJ&hl=enSelf Reported Exertional Heat Illness and Risk Factors among Collegiate Marching Band ArtistsCore Body Temperature in Collegiate Marching Band Artists During Rehearsals and PerformancesCollegiate Marching Band Artists Experience High Core Body Temperature during Rehearsals and PerformancesMentioned:Drugs.com: https://www.drugs.com/PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/NIH Stat Pearls: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK430685/MORE NR New customers save 10% off all products on our website with the code NEWPOD10 If you would like to work with our practitioners, click here: https://nutritional-revolution.com/work-with-us/ Save 50% off your 1st Trifecta Nutrition order with code NR50: https://trifectanutrition.llbyf9.net/qnNk05 Save 20% on all supplements at our trusted online source: https://us.fullscript.com/welcome/kchannell Join Nutritional Revolution's The Feed Club to get $20 off right away with an additional $20 Feed credit drop every 90 days.: https://thefeed.com/teams/nutritional-revolution If you're interested in sponsoring Nutritional Revolution Podcast, shoot us an email at nutritionalrev@gmail.com.

Send us a textWhat happens when AI becomes powerful enough to diagnose—not just one disease, but entire fields of medicine at once? In this episode of DigiPath Digest #33, I break down four new PubMed abstracts shaping the future of digital pathology, clinical AI integration, federated learning, and multidisciplinary cancer care. Across every study, one message is clear: AI is accelerating, but human oversight defines its safe adoption.Below are the full timestamps, key insights, and referenced research to help you explore each topic more deeply.TIMESTAMPS & HIGHLIGHTS0:00 — Welcome & Opening Question How far can AI safely scale across medicine—and where must humans stay in control?4:10 — AI in Forensic Medicine: Accuracy Meets Ethical LimitsBased on a systematic review, we discuss:AI advances in personal identification, pathology, toxicology, radiology, anthropology.Benefits: reduced diagnostic error, faster case resolution.Challenges: data diversity gaps, limited validation, lack of ethical frameworks. 

In this high-impact solo episode, Darin strips away the noise, hacks, and hype to deliver a clear, no-BS roadmap for transforming your body, brain, energy, and direction in life. This is a straight-talk breakdown of the 5 foundational habits that matter most — the habits backed by science, ancient wisdom, and Darin's decades-long experience living this work every day. Expect practical steps, micro-experiments, timing rules, and the mindset needed to reclaim sovereignty in a world full of distraction. If you're ready to build a stronger, clearer, more powerful version of yourself… this is the episode.     What You'll Learn 00:00 – Welcome to SuperLife How this podcast helps you build sovereignty through real habits, real truth, and real practices. 03:07 – Why this episode is different Darin lays out the mission: habits, hacks, hard truths — without dogma or fluff. 03:44 – The 5 foundational moves that change your biology A preview of the metabolic, physical, mental, and behavioral levers that create huge shifts.     1. METABOLIC EDGE — Eat Like You're Building a Future 04:03 – Terrain theory + why your food timing matters How altering the internal environment of your cells changes everything. 05:02 – The two levers that unlock metabolic health Time-restricted eating + plant-forward whole foods. 05:23 – Compressing your eating window Why 8–10 hours is ideal, how it improves glucose, insulin, weight, and inflammation. 06:18 – Practical weekly ramp-up Week 1: 12 hours. Week 2: 8–10 hours. Simple, sustainable, achievable. 07:10 – Darin's personal eating window 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. — and why eating earlier aligns with digestive fire.     2. MOVEMENT THAT MATTERS — Strength Is Survival 11:04 – Why strength training is non-negotiable Muscle protects metabolism, bone density, insulin sensitivity, and longevity. 11:51 – What the evidence says Huge cohort studies show strength training reduces all-cause mortality. 12:23 – The perfect weekly formula 3x/week compound lifts + daily movement + micro-bursts every hour. 13:06 – Real-life practicality Darin's routine of walking, sprinting dogs, mountain biking, and breaking up the day with movement.     3. SLEEP — The Ultimate Biological Reset 16:26 – The truth everyone ignores You cannot out-supplement or out-biohack poor sleep. 16:40 – The real impact of chronic sleep loss Cognition, memory, hormones, emotional regulation — all decline. 17:37 – The universal rule: consistent timing Same bedtime ± 30 minutes, every night. 17:52 – 60-minute wind-down protocol Screens off, light down, nervous system softening. 18:32 – Using sauna as a down-regulation tool Infrared benefits + why Darin does it twice a day in winter.     4. MINDSET & CONSCIOUSNESS — Your Attention Is Your Power 20:00 – Why optimization fails without attention training You can master food, workouts, and sleep — but scattered attention destroys progress. 20:48 – Darin's morning protocol Water → elixir → infrared pad → meditation → visualization → journaling. Every day. Everywhere. 21:01 – Meta-analysis proof Meditation reduces anxiety, depression, stress — and rewires your brain. 21:23 – The perfect 10-minute breathwork formula 5–5–5–5 or 4–4–4–4 cycles for nervous system reset. 21:56 – Journaling as medicine Stream-of-consciousness to activate clarity and emotional release.     5. WEALTH — Treat Your Time Like Capital 22:36 – Redefining wealth It's not money — it's your magnetism, output, relationships, and purpose. 23:16 – The compounding effect of tiny decisions Time batching, micro-actions, and protecting your attention from the social media attention economy. 24:02 – Mini productivity framework 90 seconds → 3 important calls. Every Friday → 1 paragraph on what scaled this week. 25:14 – Darin's post-meditation rule No scrolling — replace with proactive actions: reading, outreach, Patreon replies.     FINAL TAKEAWAYS 26:02 – The master checklist: • Time-restricted eating • Plant-focused meals • Resistance training • Daily meditation • Consistent sleep • Sauna recovery • Treating time like capital 26:11 – The real danger Chasing hacks before mastering fundamentals leads to burnout, confusion, and stress. 27:58 – Your power is in the basics These are simple, accessible, and life-changing. 28:04 – Closing message "Have your best Super Life Day ever."     Thank You to Our Sponsors Our Place: Toxic-free, durable cookware that supports healthy cooking. Go to their website at fromourplace.com/darin and get 35% off sitewide in their largest sale of the year. Manna Vitality: Go to mannavitality.com/ and use code DARIN12 for 12% off your order.     Join the SuperLife Community Get Darin's deeper wellness breakdowns — beyond social media restrictions: Weekly voice notes Ingredient deep dives Wellness challenges Energy + consciousness tools Community accountability Extended episodes Join for $7.49/month → https://patreon.com/darinolien     Find More from Darin Olien: Instagram: @darinolien Podcast: SuperLife Podcast Website: superlife.com Book: Fatal Conveniences     Key Takeaway "Your biology changes when your decisions change. Nail your sleep, nail your strength, honor your attention, and treat your time like capital — and you will build a Super Life from the ground up."     Bibliography Time-restricted eating (human RCTs / reviews) — Wilkinson et al., 10-hour TRE reduced weight and improved cardiometabolic markers (2019). PMC  Intermittent fasting / metabolic health review — comprehensive reviews showing metabolic switching benefits. PMC+1  Plant-forward/vegetarian diets & cardiometabolic outcomes — BMJ/Nutrition reviews and JAMA network evidence showing improved CVD risk markers and metabolic benefits. BMJ Nutrition+1  Sleep and cognition / brain health — Nature/Harvard coverage & meta-analyses: short sleep impairs cognition and links to amyloid processes. Nature+1  Resistance training & mortality / physical function — systematic and cohort evidence that muscle-strengthening activity lowers risk and preserves function. British Journal of Sports Medicine+1  Mindfulness & mental health meta-analysis — Goyal et al. 2014 and subsequent meta-analyses showing reductions in anxiety/stress. PubMed+1  Sauna bathing and cardiovascular outcomes — JAMA Internal Medicine / Mayo Clinic Proceedings reviews on sauna and lower CVD risk signals.

Dr. Monty Pal and Dr. Jason Westin discuss the federal funding climate for cancer research and the persistent problem of drug shortages, two of the major concerns facing the oncology community in 2026. TRANSCRIPT Dr. Monty Pal: Hello and welcome to the ASCO Daily News Podcast. I am your host, Dr. Monty Pal. I am a medical oncologist and vice chair of academic affairs at the City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center in Los Angeles. There are always multiple challenges facing oncologists, and today, we discuss two of them that really stand out for 2026: threats to federal funding for cancer research and the persistent problem of drug shortages. I am thrilled to welcome Dr. Jason Westin, who believes that one way to meet these challenges is to get oncologists more involved in advocacy, and he will share some strategies to help us meet this moment in oncology. Dr. Westin is a professor in the Department of Lymphoma and Myeloma at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, but he actually wears a lot of hats within ASCO. He is a member of the Board of Directors and has also previously served as chair of ASCO's Government Relations Committee. And he is also one of the inaugural members of ASCO's Political Action Committee, or PAC. He has testified before Congress about drug shortages and many other issues. Dr. Westin, I am really excited to have you on the podcast today and dive into some of these elements that will really impact our community in 2026. Thanks so much for joining us today. Dr. Jason Westin: Thank you for having me. Dr. Monty Pal: You've had such a range of experience. I already alluded to you testifying before Congress. You've actually run for office before. You wear so many different hats. I'm used to checking my PubMed every other day and seeing a new paper out from you and your group, and you publish in the New England Journal [of Medicine] on practice-setting standards and the diseases that you treat. But you've also done all this work in the domain of advocacy. I can't imagine that balancing that is easy. What has sort of motivated you on the advocacy front? Dr. Jason Westin: Advocacy to me is another way to apply our skills and help more people than just those that you're sitting across from at the time. Clinical research, of course, is a tool to try and take what we know and apply it more broadly to people that you'll never meet. And advocacy, I think, can do the same thing, where you can have a conversation with a lawmaker, you can advocate for a position, and that hopefully will help thousands or maybe even more people down the road who you'd never get to directly interact with. And so, I think it's a force multiplier in the same way that research can be. And so, I think advocacy is a wonderful part of how doctors care for our patients. And it's something that is often difficult to know where to start, but once people get into advocacy, they can see that the power, the rewarding nature of it is attractive, and most people, once they get going, continue with that through the rest of their career. Dr. Monty Pal: So, I'll ask you to expand on that a little bit. We have a lot of our younger ASCO members listening to this podcast, folks that are just starting out their careers in clinical practice or academia. Where does that journey begin? How do you get to the point that you're testifying in front of Congress and taking on these bigger sort of stances for the oncology community? Dr. Jason Westin: Yeah, with anything in medicine and in our careers, you have to start somewhere. And often you start with baby steps before you get in front of a panel of senators or other high-profile engagement opportunities. But often the first setting for junior colleagues to be engaged is doing things – we call them "Hill Days" – but basically being involved in kind of low-stakes meetings where you're with a group of peers, some of whom have done this multiple times before, and can get engaged talking to members of representatives' offices, and doing so in a way where it's a natural conversation that you're telling a story about a patient in your clinic, or that you're telling a personal experience from a policy that impacted your ability to deliver optimal care. It sounds stressful, but once you're doing it, it's not stressful. It's actually kind of fun. And it's a way that you can get comfort and skill with a group of peers who are there and able to help you. And ASCO has a number of ways to do that, both at the federal level, there's the Hill Day where we each April have several hundred ASCO members travel to Capitol Hill. There's also state engagement that can be done, so-called visiting at home, when representatives from the U.S. Congress or from state legislators are back in district. You can meet with your own representatives on behalf of yourself, on behalf of your organization, and advocate for policies in a way that can be beneficial to your patients. But those initial meetings that are in the office often they're low stakes because you could be meeting not with the representative but with their staff. And that staff sometimes is as young or even younger than our junior colleagues. These sometimes can be people in their 20s, but they're often extremely knowledgeable, extremely approachable, and are used to dealing with people who are new to advocacy. But they actually help make decisions within the office. So it's not a waste of time. It's actually a super useful way to engage. So, it's that first step of anything in life. The activation energy is always high to do something new. But I'd encourage people who are listening to this podcast already having some level of interest about it to explore ways that they could engage more. Dr. Monty Pal: You know, I have to tell you, I'm going to riff on what you just said for a second. ASCO couldn't make it any easier, I think, for folks to participate and get involved. So, if you're listening to this and scratching your head and thinking, "Well, where do I begin? How do I actually sign on for that meeting with a local representative?" Go to the ASCO ACT Network website. And I'll actually talk to our producer, Geraldine, to make sure we've got a link to that somewhere associated with this podcast after it's published, Jason, but I actually keep that on my browser and it's super easy. I check in there every now and then and see if there's any new policy or legislation that ASCO, you know, is sort of taking a stance on, and it gives me some fodder for conversation with my local representatives too. I mean, it's just an awesome, awesome vehicle. I'm going to segue right from there right to the issues. So, you and I are both at academic centers. You know, I think this is something that really pervades academia and enters into implications for general clinical practice. There's been this, you know, massive sort of proposal for decreased funding to the NCI and to the NIH and so forth. Tell us what ASCO is doing in that regard, and tell us perhaps how our community can help. Dr. Jason Westin: We live in interesting times, and I think that may be an understatement x 100. But obviously investments in research are things that when you're at an academic center, you see and feel that as part of your daily life. Members of Congress need to be reminded of that because there's a lot of other competing interests out there besides investing in the future through research. And being an elected representative is a hard job. That is something where you have to make difficult choices to support this, and that may mean not supporting that. And there's lots of good things where our tax dollars could be spent. And so, I'm sympathetic to the idea that there's not unlimited resources. However, ASCO has done an excellent job, and ASCO members have led the charge on this, of stating what research does, what is the benefit of research, and therefore why should this matter to elected representatives, to their staff, and to those people that they're elected to serve. And ASCO has led with a targeted campaign to basically have that message be conveyed at every opportunity to elected representatives. And each year on Hill Day, one of the asks that we have is to continue to support research: the NCI, NIH, ARPA-H, these are things that are always in the asks to make sure that there's appropriate funding. But effectively playing offense by saying, "It's not just a number on a sheet of paper, this is what it means to patients. This is what it means to potentially your loved ones in the future if you are in the opposite situation where you're not on the legislative side, but you're in the office receiving a diagnosis or receiving a difficult piece of news." We only have the tools we have now because of research, and each breakthrough has been years in the making and countless hours spent funded through the engine of innovation: clinical research and translational research. And so ASCO continues to beat that drum. You mentioned earlier the ACT Network. Just to bring that back again is a very useful, very easy tool to communicate to your elected representatives. When you sign up on the ASCO ACT website, you get emails periodically, not too much, but periodically get emails of, "This is a way you can engage with your lawmakers to speak up for this." And as you said, Monty, they make it as easy as possible. You click the button, you type in your address so that it figures out who your elected representatives are, and then it will send a letter on your behalf after like five clicks to say, "I want you to support research. I want you to vote for this particular thing which is of interest to ASCO and by definition to members of ASCO." And so the ACT Network is a way that people listening can engage without having to spend hours and significant time, but just a few clicks can send that letter to a representative in Congress. And the question could be: does that matter? Does contacting your senator or your elected representative do anything? If all they're hearing is somebody else making a different argument and they're hearing over and over again from people that want investments in AI or investments in something else besides cancer research, whatever it is, they may think that there's a ground shift that people want dollars to be spent over here as opposed to at the NIH or NCI or in federally funded research. It is important to continue to express the need for federal funding for our research. And so, it really is important for folks to engage. Dr. Monty Pal: 100%. One of the things that I think is not often obvious to a lot of our listeners is where the support for clinical trials comes from. You know, you've obviously run the whole gamut of studies as have I. You know, we have our pharmaceutical company-sponsored studies, which are in a particular bucket. But I would say that there's a very important and critical subset of studies that are actually government funded, right? NCI-funded clinical trials. If you don't mind, just explain to our audience the critical nature of the work that's being done in those types of studies and if you can, maybe compare and contrast the studies that are done in that bucket versus perhaps the pharmaceutical bucket. Dr. Jason Westin: Both are critical, and we're privileged that we have pharma studies that are sponsored and federally funded clinical research. And I think that part of a healthy ecosystem for us to develop new breakthroughs has a need for both. The pharma sponsored studies are done through the lens of trying to get an approval for an agent that's of interest so that the pharma company can then turn around and use that outside of a clinical trial after an FDA approval. And so those studies are often done through the lens of getting over the finish line by showing some superiority over an existing treatment or in a new patient population. But they're done through that lens of kind of the broadest population and sometimes relatively narrow endpoints, but to get the approval so that then the drug can be widely utilized. Clinical trials done through cooperative groups are sometimes done to try and optimize that or to try and look at comparative things that may not be as attractive to pharma studies, not necessarily going for that initial approval, but the fine tuning or the looking at health outcomes or looking at ensuring that we do studies in representative populations that may not be as well identified on the pharma sponsored trials, but basically filling out the gaps in the knowledge that we didn't gain from the initial phase 3 trial that led to the approval. And so both are critical. But if we only do pharma sponsored trials, if we don't fund federally supported research and that dries up, the fear I have, and many others have, is that we're going to be lacking a lot of knowledge about the best ways to use these great new therapies, these new immune therapies, or in my team, we do a lot of clinical trials on CAR T-cell therapies. If we don't have federally funded research to do the important clinical studies, we'll be in the dark about the best ways to use these drugs, and that's going to be a terrible shame. And so we really do need to continue to support federal research. Dr. Monty Pal: Yeah, there are no softball questions on this podcast, but I think everybody would be hard pressed to think that you and I would come on here and say, "Well, no, we don't need as much money for clinical trials and NCI funding" and so forth. But I think a really challenging issue to tackle, and this is something we thought to ask you ahead of the podcast, is what to do about the general climate of, you know, whether it's academic research or clinical practice here that seems to be getting some of our colleagues thinking about moving elsewhere. I've actually talked to a couple of folks who are picking up and moving to Europe for a variety of considerations, other continents, frankly. The U.S. has always been a leader when it comes to oncology research and, one might argue, research in general. Some have the mindset these days that we're losing that footing a little bit. What's your perspective? Are you concerned about some of the trends that you're seeing? What does your crystal ball tell you? Dr. Jason Westin: I am highly concerned about this. I think as you said, the U.S. has been a leader for a long time, but it wasn't always. This is not something that's preordained that the world-leading clinical research and translational research will always be done in the United States. That is something that has been developed as an ecosystem, as an engine for innovation and for job development, new technology development, since World War II. That's something that through intentional investments in research was developed that the best and brightest around the world, if they could choose to go anywhere, you wanted them to come to work at universities and academic places within the United States. And I think, as you said, that's at risk if you begin to dry up the investment in research or if you begin to have less focus on being engaged in research in a way that is forward thinking, not just kind of maintaining what we do now or only looking at having private, for profit sponsored research. But if you don't have the investment in the basic science research and the translational research and the forward-thinking part of it, the fear is that we lose the advantage and that other countries will say, "Thank you very much," and be happy to invest in ways to their advantage. And I think as you mentioned, there are people that are beginning to look elsewhere. I don't think that it's likely that a significant population of researchers in the U.S. who are established and have careers and families – I don't think that we're going to see a mass exodus of folks. I think the real risk to me is that the younger, up-and-coming people in undergraduate or in graduate school or in medical school and are the future superstars, that they could either choose to go into a different field, so they decide not to go into what could be the latest breakthroughs for cancer patients but could be doing something in AI or something in a different field that could be attractive to them because of less uncertainty about funding streams, or they could take that job offer if it's in a different country. And I think that's the concern is it may not be a 2026 problem, but it could be a 2036 or a 2046 problem that we reap what we sow if we don't invest in the future. Dr. Monty Pal: Indeed, indeed. You know, I've had the pleasure of reviewing abstracts for some of our big international meetings, as I'm sure you've done in the past too. I see this trend where, as before, we would see the preponderance of large phase 3 clinical trials and practice setting studies being done here in the U.S., I'm seeing this emergence of China, of other countries outside of the U.S. really taking lead on these things. And it certainly concerns me. If I had to sort of gauge this particular issue, it's at the top of my list in terms of what I'm concerned about. But I also wanted to ask you, Jason, in terms of the issues that are looming over oncology from an advocacy perspective, what else really sort of keeps you up at night? Dr. Jason Westin: I'm quite concerned about the drug shortages. I think that's something that is a surprisingly evergreen problem. This is something that is on its face illogical that we're talking about the greatest engine for research in the world being the United States and the investment that we've made in drug development and the breakthroughs that have happened for patients all around the world, many of them happen in the United States, and yet we don't necessarily have access to drugs from the 1970s or 1980s that are cheap, generic, sterile, injectable drugs. This is the cisplatins and the vincristines and the fludarabine type medications which are not the sexy ones that you see the ads in the magazine or on TV at night. These are the backbone drugs for many of our curative intent regimens for pediatrics and for heme malignancies and many solid tumors. And the fact that that's continuing to be an issue is, in my opinion, a failure to address the root causes, and those are going to require legislative solutions. The root causes here are basically a race to the bottom where the economics to invest in quality manufacturing really haven't been prioritized. And so it's a race to the cheapest price, which often means you undercut your competitor, and when you don't have the money to invest in good manufacturing processes, the factory breaks down, there's no alternative, you go into shortage. And this has been going on for a couple of decades, and I don't think there's an end in sight until we get a serious solution proposed by our elected officials. That is something that bothers me in the ways where we know what we should be doing for our patients, but if we don't have the drugs, we're left to be creative in ways we shouldn't have to do to figure out a plan B when we've got curative intent therapies. And I think that's a real shame.  There's obviously a lot of other things that are concerning related to oncology, but something that I have personally had experience with when I wanted to give a patient a CAR T-cell, and we don't have a supply of fludarabine, which is a trivial drug from decades ago in terms of the technology investments in genetically modified T-cells, to not then have access to a drug that should be pennies on the dollar and available at any time you want it is almost like the Air Force investing in building the latest stealth bomber, but then forgetting to get the jet fuel in a way that they can't use it because they don't have the tools that they need. And so I think that's something that we do need to have comprehensive solutions from our elected officials. Dr. Monty Pal: Brilliantly stated. I like that analogy a lot. Let's get into the weeds for a second. What would that proposal to Congress look like? What are we trying to put in front of them to help alleviate the drug shortages? Dr. Jason Westin: We could spend a couple hours, and I know podcasts usually are not set up to do that. And so I won't go through every part. I will direct you that there have been a couple of recent publications from ASCO specifically detailing solutions, and there was a recent white paper from the Senate Finance Committee that went through some legislative solutions being explored. So Dr. Gralow, ASCO CMO, and I recently had a publication in JCO OP detailing some solutions, more in that white paper from the Senate Finance. And then there's a working group actually going through ASCO's Health Policy Committee putting together a more detailed proposal that will be published probably around the end of 2026. Very briefly, what needs to happen is for government contracts for purchasing these drugs, there needs to be an outlay for quality, meaning that if you have a manufacturing facility that is able to deliver product on time, reliably, you get a bonus in terms of your contract. And that changes the model to prioritize the quality component of manufacturing. Without that, there's no reason to invest in maintaining your machine or upgrading the technology you have in your manufacturing plant. And so you have bottlenecks emerge because these drugs are cheap, and there's not a profit margin. So you get one factory that makes this key drug, and if that factory hasn't had an upgrade in their machines in 20 years, and that machine conks out and it takes 6 months to repair or replacement, that is an opportunity for that drug to go into shortage and causes a mad dash for big hospitals to purchase the drug that's available, leaving disparities to get amplified. It's a nightmare when those things happen, and they happen all the time. There are usually dozens, if not hundreds, of drugs in shortage at any given time. And this has been going on for decades. This is something that we do need large, system-wide fixes and that investment in quality, I think, will be a key part. Dr. Monty Pal: Yeah, brilliantly said. And I'll make sure that we actually include those articles on the tagline for this podcast as well. I'll talk to our producer about that as well.  I'm really glad you mentioned the time in your last comment there because I felt like we just started, but in fact, I think we're right at our close here, Jason, unfortunately. So, I could have gone on for a couple more hours with you. I really want to thank you for these absolutely terrific insights and thank you for all your advocacy on behalf of ASCO and oncologists at large. Dr. Jason Westin: Thank you so much for having me. I have enjoyed it. Dr. Monty Pal: Thanks a lot. And many thanks to our listeners too. You can find more information about ASCO's advocacy agenda and activities at asco.org. Finally, if you value the insights that you heard today on the ASCO Daily News Podcast, please rate, review, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks so much. ASCO Advocacy Resources: Get involved in ASCO's Advocacy efforts: ASCO Advocacy Toolkit Crisis of Cancer Drug Shortages: Understanding the Causes and Proposing Sustainable Solutions, JCO Oncology Practice Disclaimer: The purpose of this podcast is to educate and to inform. This is not a substitute for professional medical care and is not intended for use in the diagnosis or treatment of individual conditions. Guests on this podcast express their own opinions, experience, and conclusions. Guest statements on the podcast do not express the opinions of ASCO. The mention of any product, service, organization, activity, or therapy should not be construed as an ASCO endorsement. Find out more about today's speakers:     Dr. Monty Pal   @montypal   Dr. Jason Westin @DrJasonWestin   Follow ASCO on social media:      @ASCO on X     ASCO on Bluesky    ASCO on Facebook      ASCO on LinkedIn      Disclosures:     Dr. Monty Pal:    Speakers' Bureau: MJH Life Sciences, IntrisiQ, Peerview   Research Funding (Inst.): Exelixis, Merck, Osel, Genentech, Crispr Therapeutics, Adicet Bio, ArsenalBio, Xencor, Miyarsian Pharmaceutical   Travel, Accommodations, Expenses: Crispr Therapeutics, Ipsen, Exelixis   Dr. Jason Westin: Consulting or Advisory Role: Novartis, Kite/Gilead, Janssen Scientific Affairs, ADC Therapeutics, Bristol-Myers Squibb/Celgene/Juno, AstraZeneca, Genentech/Roche, Abbvie, MorphoSys/Incyte, Seattle Genetics, Abbvie, Chugai Pharma, Regeneron, Nurix, Genmab, Allogene Therapeutics, Lyell Immunopharma Research Funding: Janssen, Novartis, Bristol-Myers Squibb, AstraZeneca, MorphoSys/Incyte, Genentech/Roche, Allogene Therapeutics

The FiltrateJoel Topf‍ ‍@kidneyboy.bsky.social‬ (COI)Sophia Ambruso @sophia-kidney.bsky.socialSwapnil Hiremath @hswapnil.medsky.social and on LinkedInSpecial Guests Jonathan Barratt Professor of Renal Medicine, University of Leicester Google Scholar (COI: all the companies)Editing and Show Notes byNayan Arora @captainchloride.bsky.socialThe Kidney Connection written and performed by Tim YauShow NotesProteinuria Reduction as a Surrogate End Point in Trials of IgA Nephropathy (Aliza Thompson, 2019 PubMed)The number, quality, and coverage of randomized controlled trials in nephrology (PubMed 2004)Updated here (PubMed | NephJC discussion)A Randomized, Controlled Trial of Rituximab in IgA Nephropathy with Proteinuria and Renal Dysfunction (PubMed 2017)BLISS Belimumab in lupus nephritis (NephJC | PubMed) The Phase 2 trial of atacicept A phase 2b, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, clinical trial of atacicept for treatment of IgA nephropathy (PubMed)The phase 3 trial of atacicept, the subject of this podcast A Phase 3 Trial of Atacicept in Patients with IgA Nephropathy (PubMed | NephJC)Christos' Bluesky post:https://bsky.app/profile/christosargyrop.bsky.social/post/3m5bsujwg3s2q The use of Gd-IgA1 in the Testing Trial Role of Systemic Glucocorticoids in Reducing IgA and Galactose-Deficient IgA1 Levels in IgA Nephropathy (PubMed)If you can't get enough Jon Barratt, take a look at his grand rounds at The University of Ottawa. Updates to the KDIGO Guidelines for the treatment of IgA nephropathy, with Prof Jonathan Barratt (YouTube)Tubular SecretionSwapnil Hiremath Pluribus on Apple TV (Wikipedia)Jon Barratt Lynyrd Skynyrd (Wikipedia) Slow Horses (Wikipedia) on AppleTVJoel Topf the new ASN

About the Guest(s): Dr. Kristin Hieshetter is the host of the "Functional Health Radio" podcast. Dr. Kristen is an expert in holistic health practices and functional medicine, bringing years of experience in treating patients with a focus on integrative approaches. Her keen interest lies in enabling individuals to reach optimal health through informed decisions and lifestyle changes. Dr. Kristen is known for her engaging discussions on contemporary health topics, as well as her dedication to improving public health awareness internationally. Episode Summary: In this episode of "Functional Health Radio," Dr. Kristin Hieshetter delves into the intriguing topic of Ivermectin, exploring its potential use beyond its historical application as an anti-parasitic medication. Spurred by questions from her patients, Dr. Kristen investigates whether Ivermectin could be effectively repurposed for cancer treatment, a subject gaining them significant attention and research interest in recent years. She discusses how Ivermectin has a history of effectiveness in treating parasitic infections, but also reveals new and promising research that suggests its potential role in oncology. The episode highlights Dr. Kristen's detailed exploration of scientific studies on Ivermectin's effect on various cancer types, including bladder cancer, esophageal cancer, pancreatic cancer, and triple-negative breast cancer. Dr. Kristen refers to multiple research articles and findings, emphasizing Ivermectin's mechanism of action, which includes inducing oxidative stress and DNA damage in cancer cells. Throughout the discussion, she provides a compelling narrative about the potential paradigm shifts in cancer treatment and urges listeners to consider these findings, especially if they or their loved ones are affected by these conditions. Key Takeaways: Ivermectin, originally discovered as an anti-parasitic drug, is being researched for its potential use in cancer treatment, thanks to its ability to induce cancer cell death. Recent studies have shown that Ivermectin may enhance the efficacy of existing chemotherapy treatments, particularly for difficult-to-treat cancers like pancreatic and triple-negative breast cancer. Ivermectin has demonstrated the ability to selectively target and cause apoptosis in cancer cells without harming normal cells. While historical usage of Ivermectin in human treatments is well-established, ongoing research into its applications in oncology could mark a significant shift in therapeutic strategies. Despite its promising potential, listeners are cautioned about the importance of consulting medical professionals before considering any new treatments. Notable Quotes: "Ivermectin is much more than a horse dewormer; it's cheap, effective, and has been widely used for human treatment since 1987." "This study primarily looked at ivermectin, and it wasn't a combination therapy. It was just ivermectin, showing very good results against bladder cancer." "Pancreatic cancer is characterized by a really high death rate and very poor prognosis, making ivermectin's potential effects particularly exciting." "You've got this modulated electrohyperthermia, you can exploit the difference in the electromagnetic field and bioelectrical properties between cancer cells and regular tissues." "Ivermectin exerts anti-cancer effects by activating the same pathways it targets in parasites, which is an extraordinary finding." Resources: PubMed: A source of numerous articles Dr. Kristin referenced in her research on Ivermectin and its potential in cancer treatment PubMed. World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines: Inclusion of Ivermectin as an essential anti-parasitic treatment. YouTube Channel: Dr. Kristin may reference visual media for additional context on various topics discussed in the podcast. Dr. Kristin Hieshetter shares her insights and encourages listeners to explore these discussions further with their healthcare providers. Don't miss the opportunity to hear the complete episode for an in-depth understanding of Ivermectin's potential impact on cancer therapy and more enriching health content each week on "Functional Health Radio." Stay tuned for progressive updates and responsible health discussions led by Dr. Kristin.

In this episode, Brendan and Landry delve deep into the benefits of torque training. They discuss two types of torque workouts: Torque Max and Torque Endurance, highlighting a recent study from PubMed that shows the benefits of low-cadence, high-force training. Learn how to properly execute these workouts, the science behind increased muscular recruitment, lactate threshold improvements, and how to become a more resilient cyclist. Whether you're climbing steep hills or driving breakaways, this podcast covers all the essential tips for incorporating torque training into your routine. Perfect for all cycling enthusiasts looking to enhance their performance!Chapters:00:00 Introduction to Torque Training00:40 Scientific Evidence Supporting Torque Training02:00 Understanding Torque and Its Benefits03:39 Torque Max: Maximizing Your Training07:02 Torque Endurance: Building Muscular Endurance09:04 Practical Tips for Effective Torque Training14:14 Conclusion and Additional Resources

In this episode you'll discover why expressing gratitude enhances your happiness and emotional wellbeing along with those you care about. You'll also learn easily done ways to engage in a regular gratitude practice that increases your physical and emotional wellbeing.---Research studies:"Counting blessings versus burdens: an experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life". Pub Med. Link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12585811/"Positive psychology progress: empirical validation of interventions". Pub Med. Link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16045394/"Exploring the role of gratitude and support-giving on inflammatory outcomes". Pub Med. Link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30265078/---Host:Stephen Carter - Website: https://StressReliefRadio.com.  Email: CarterMethod@gmail.com---Technical information:Recording and initial edits with Twisted Wave. Additional edits with Soften, Amadeus Pro, Hush, and Levelator. Final edits and rendering with Hindenburg Pro. Microphone: SE Dynacaster DCM8.---Keywords:relationships, kindness,

Vom Erholungs- und Wassersportgebiet zum Ursprung für Extremwetterereignisse: Wie beeinflussen die Ozeane unsere Gesundheit? Die Ozeane bedecken etwa 70 Prozent der Erdoberfläche und trotzdem geraten sie zu oft in Vergessenheit. Denn: Geht es den Meeren schlecht, hat das auch teils dramatische Folgen für uns Menschen. Dabei denken wir vor allem an Inselstaaten wie Kiribati, die durch den Klimawandel existenziell bedroht sind, da sie wenige Meter über dem Meeresspiegel liegen und dadurch extrem anfällig sind für Überflutungen. Doch auch tiefergelegene Gebiete in Europa sind bedroht - und nicht nur das: Die Meere sind in großen Gebieten krank. Im Gespräch mit Host Beke Schulmann erklärt Synapsen-Autorin Yasmin Appelhans, woran der Patient Ozean leidet: Was machen beispielsweise Überfischung und Munitionsreste in der Ostsee mit dem Wasser - und wie wirken sie sich auf unsere Gesundheit aus? Auf welche Extremwetterereignisse müssen wir uns künftig einstellen? Wie steht es um die Artenvielfalt? Und gibt es überhaupt Hoffnung auf Besserung? HINTERGRUNDINFORMATIONEN Naturgeräusche helfen bei der Entspannung: https://doi.org/10.1038/srep45273 Fan L, Baharum MR. The effect of exposure to natural sounds on stress reduction: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Stress. 2024;27(1): 2402519. https://doi.org/10.1080/10253890.2024.2402519 Ozeangeräusche helfen gegen Tinnitus, nach Bypass-OP oder mit Verkehrslärm klarzukommen: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctim.2019.05.005 The effects of ocean sounds on sleep after coronary artery bypass graft surgery - PubMed https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0012222 Buch zum "Blue Mind": https://www.hirzel.de/blue-mind/9783777628417 Menschen, die am Meer leben, leben länger: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2025.121981 Der Ocean Health Index: https://oceanhealthindex.org/ Aufruf von Deutscher Physikalischer und Deutscher Meteorolologischer Gesellschaft zum Klimaschutz: https://www.dpg-physik.de/veroeffentlichungen/aktuell/2025/klimaforschende-wenden-sich-an-die-deutsche-politik Ozeanversauerung beeinflusst menschliche Gesundheit: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17124563. Polar Engineering: https://doi.org/10.3389/fsci.2025.1527393. Hier geht's zum neuen Podcast ARD Klima Update: https://1.ard.de/ARD_Klima_Update?cp=synapsen Hier geht's zur Synapsenseite: https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/podcastsynapsen100.html Hier geht's zu ARD Gesund: https://www.ndr.de/ratgeber/gesundheit Habt ihr Feedback oder einen Lifehack aus der Welt der Wissenschaft? Schreibt uns gerne an synapsen@ndr.de.

Vom Erholungs- und Wassersportgebiet zum Ursprung für Extremwetterereignisse: Wie beeinflussen die Ozeane unsere Gesundheit? Die Ozeane bedecken etwa 70 Prozent der Erdoberfläche und trotzdem geraten sie zu oft in Vergessenheit. Denn: Geht es den Meeren schlecht, hat das auch teils dramatische Folgen für uns Menschen. Dabei denken wir vor allem an Inselstaaten wie Kiribati, die durch den Klimawandel existenziell bedroht sind, da sie wenige Meter über dem Meeresspiegel liegen und dadurch extrem anfällig sind für Überflutungen. Doch auch tiefergelegene Gebiete in Europa sind bedroht - und nicht nur das: Die Meere sind in großen Gebieten krank. Im Gespräch mit Host Beke Schulmann erklärt Synapsen-Autorin Yasmin Appelhans, woran der Patient Ozean leidet: Was machen beispielsweise Überfischung und Munitionsreste in der Ostsee mit dem Wasser - und wie wirken sie sich auf unsere Gesundheit aus? Auf welche Extremwetterereignisse müssen wir uns künftig einstellen? Wie steht es um die Artenvielfalt? Und gibt es überhaupt Hoffnung auf Besserung? HINTERGRUNDINFORMATIONEN Naturgeräusche helfen bei der Entspannung: https://doi.org/10.1038/srep45273 Fan L, Baharum MR. The effect of exposure to natural sounds on stress reduction: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Stress. 2024;27(1): 2402519. https://doi.org/10.1080/10253890.2024.2402519 Ozeangeräusche helfen gegen Tinnitus, nach Bypass-OP oder mit Verkehrslärm klarzukommen: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctim.2019.05.005 The effects of ocean sounds on sleep after coronary artery bypass graft surgery - PubMed https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0012222 Buch zum "Blue Mind": https://www.hirzel.de/blue-mind/9783777628417 Menschen, die am Meer leben, leben länger: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2025.121981 Der Ocean Health Index: https://oceanhealthindex.org/ Aufruf von Deutscher Physikalischer und Deutscher Meteorolologischer Gesellschaft zum Klimaschutz: https://www.dpg-physik.de/veroeffentlichungen/aktuell/2025/klimaforschende-wenden-sich-an-die-deutsche-politik Ozeanversauerung beeinflusst menschliche Gesundheit: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17124563. Polar Engineering: https://doi.org/10.3389/fsci.2025.1527393. Hier geht's zum neuen Podcast ARD Klima Update: https://1.ard.de/ARD_Klima_Update?cp=synapsen Hier geht's zur Synapsenseite: https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/podcastsynapsen100.html Hier geht's zu ARD Gesund: https://www.ndr.de/ratgeber/gesundheit Habt ihr Feedback oder einen Lifehack aus der Welt der Wissenschaft? Schreibt uns gerne an synapsen@ndr.de.

Tired of conflicting fitness and health advice online and not sure what to trust? Amy Hudson and Dr. James Fisher dive deep into how to separate fact from fiction in health, exercise, and wellness. In today's episode, they unpack how to spot trustworthy research, avoid hype, and make smart decisions for your fitness journey. They break down the biggest myths, why social media isn't enough, and how a personal trainer can guide you to results that actually stick. Amy starts by explaining why most people feel overwhelmed by fitness advice online. Dr. Fisher explains that not all research is unbiased—big companies often fund studies to sell products. You have to ask, "Who benefits from this claim?" This is the first step to spotting marketing dressed as science. Amy covers why magic bullet fitness solutions are everywhere, but progress takes hard work. She explains why shortcuts rarely work and how to focus on what actually delivers results. For Dr. Fisher, experts don't know everything, and the more you learn, the more you realize you don't know much. He shares how to stay humble, curious, and avoid overconfidence in fitness claims. Amy and Dr. Fisher agree that one viral Instagram post doesn't make a method true. You need to question the hype, check the evidence, and avoid being swept up in trends. Amy walks you through how to do it without stress. Before trying a new routine you saw online, check in with a personal trainer. They can help you interpret research and apply it safely.  Dr. Fisher reveals why lab-based studies often don't reflect real-world outcomes. Just because something works in a controlled setting doesn't mean it works for you.  Amy and Dr. Fisher cover how AI tools like ChatGPT can help you find solid research quickly—but only if you ask the right questions. Look for references, meta-analyses, and reviews.  Scrolling on Facebook isn't research. Facebook and social media are designed to sell, not educate. If your goals matter, scrolling alone won't get you the answers you need. Before adding a new exercise or routine, check the evidence. Ask yourself, "Does research support this?" and "What contradicts it?" These two questions save time and frustration. According to Dr. Fisher, people tend to seek confirmation rather than truth. If you only look for evidence that supports your beliefs, you miss the bigger picture. He explains how to uncover research that challenges you. Wonder why fitness fads come and go so quickly? Amy explains that many are just marketing campaigns in disguise. She shares how to spot trends that are hype versus those backed by science. Dr. Fisher explains that big research can be misleading when the funder has an agenda. Even credible-looking studies can push products. He teaches how to critically evaluate who benefits from the research. Dr. Fisher covers how hard work beats shortcuts every time. He explains why real fitness results require consistency and how to identify programs that actually deliver. Dr. Fisher reveals that using Google Scholar or PubMed isn't as complicated as it seems. He walks you through finding studies, reviews, and meta-analyses to make your own evidence-based decisions. For Amy, working with a personal trainer, coach, or medical expert is still the safest way to reach your goals. Social media can't replace personalized guidance. Amy explains how to combine online research with real-world support.     Mentioned in This Episode: The Exercise Coach - Get 2 Free Sessions! Submit your questions at StrengthChangesEverything.com The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail--but Some Don't by Nate Silver     This podcast and blog are provided to you for entertainment and informational purposes only. By accessing either, you agree that neither constitute medical advice nor should they be substituted for professional medical advice or care. Use of this podcast or blog to treat any medical condition is strictly prohibited. Consult your physician for any medical condition you may be having. In no event will any podcast or blog hosts, guests, or contributors, Exercise Coach USA, LLC, Gymbot LLC, any subsidiaries or affiliates of same, or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, or agents, be responsible for any injury, loss, or damage to you or others due to any podcast or blog content.

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of consuming in date but fizzy grapefruit juice from a mechanically stressed container. Dr. Don - not risky

Do the many clinical trials into high-dose vitamin C prove it can actually treat the common cold and cancer, rather than just boost the immune system? Why is there ongoing scepticism? Why are multifactorial chronic diseases so hard to study in clinical trials? What is the right dosage to get the best results from vitamin C?In this episode we have the often misunderstood topic of Vitamin C as an antioxidant to get clear on, particular the high-dose approach and particularly delivered intravenously. Despite a very clear consensus that Vitamin C is a great booster to immune function, research that shows that it helps fight the common cold or flu have been dismissed by doctors and medical researchers; as well as claims that higher doses can increase its efficacy. Other claims that Vitamin C can help fight cardio-vascular disease and even cancer have been with even greater scepticism. So what exactly can vitamin C do to assist our immune function to fight disease, and why is there so much confusion about the answer given the high quantity of clinical trials data?Fortunately today's guest has exactly the right skill set and research knowledge to separate the science from the here-say, medical doctor and orthomolecular medicine researcher, Dr. Richard Z Cheng. Dr. Cheng has a PhD in biochemistry and molecular biology; he's served as a doctor in the US military; he has consulted for the National Cancer Institute, and presented at the National Institute of Health (NIH); he has conducted clinical trials; He is the editor in Chief of the Orthmolecular Medicine New Service; He is also a fellow of the American Academy of Anti- Aging medicine; and has run anti-aging and regenerative medicine clinics in both China and the US for over 20 years.What we discuss:00:00 Intro05:15 Most animals produce Vitamin C in the body, but not primates.06:00 Oxidation & Redox: Giving or receiving an electron.11:00 After reducing oxidation the body recycles it back into vitamin C.14:00 Teamwork: sharing electrons between nutrients and vitamins.18:20 Conventional consensus: good for prevention but not treatment.21:00 Over 80K papers on Vit C on Pub Med!21:30 Linus Pauling Intravenous Vitamin C for cancer and heart disease.27:00 Shortening of common cold and lowering of symptoms - Harri Hemila.29:00 Low dose studies dilute the data on the efficacy of the high dose studies.31:00 Intravenous treatment allows much higher doses safely.33:00 Differences in absorption between IV and oral application.35:20 Pro-oxidant effect only possible at IV high dose.36:30 IV clinical trials.39:20 Cytokine storm cascades in acute respiratory distress.44:00 High Dose IV Vitamin C saved lives in China during Covid 19.50:00 Attacks following Richard's NIH presentation on Vitamin C during covid.57:00 Cardio vascular disease - Vit. C research history.01:01:00 Collagen Synthesis for vascular walls & Vitamin C deficiency.01:07:20 Is the taboo for life style medicine lifting?01:09:30 Issues of gold standard RCT trials not working for multifactorial integrative interventions.01:16:00 Recommendations for preventative use of Vitamin C for listeners. References:E Cameron & Linus Pauling - 'Supplemental ascorbate in the supportive treatment of cancer: Prolongation of survival times in terminal human cancer', 1976E.T. Creagan, 'Failure of high-dose vitamin C (ascorbic acid) therapy to benefit patients with advanced cancer', 1979Harri Hemilä - over 200 meta-analyses and clinical trialsPing Chen et al. 'Pharmacokinetic Evaluation of Intravenous Vitamin C'Richard Z Cheng, ‘Can early and high intravenous dose of vitamin C prevent and treat coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)?'KU Cancer Center researchers announce study of high-dose intravenous vitamin C to treat muscle-invasive bladder cancer, 2024National Cancer Institute overview of IV Vitamin C cancer research.

In this solo episode, Darin reframes one of the most misunderstood forces in life — stress. Instead of seeing it as the enemy, he explores how stress is actually a messenger, guiding you back to alignment, safety, and awareness. Through science, spirituality, and lived experience, Darin breaks down how stress shows us where we're trying to control, where we're disconnected, and where our nervous system is calling for attention. He unpacks the layers of modern stress — from trauma and environment to community and purpose — and offers practical, embodied tools to restore calm, clarity, and resilience.     What You'll Learn 00:00:00 – Welcome to Super Life: Solutions for a Healthier Life and Better World 00:00:32 – Sponsor Spotlight: TheraSauna - Natural Healing Technologies (15% off with code Darrandai) 00:02:10 – The Super Life Podcast: Finding Contentment, Happiness, and Purpose 00:02:51 – Today's Topic: Stress - Reframing Stress as an Ally and Dashboard Light 00:04:54 – The "No Choice" Universe: Reconnecting to Infinite Possibilities 00:05:16 – The Reality of Stress: Statistics and the Impact of Chronic Stress 00:06:21 – Stress is Layered: Beyond a Single Cause, Addressing Chronic Stress 00:08:29 – Solutions for a Super Life: Safety over Calm and the Vagal Response 00:09:38 – The Inner Dialogue Layer: Trauma, Unconsciousness, and Spiritual Bypassing 00:11:47 – The Social Field Layer: Relationships, Community, and Finding Your Way Home 00:14:20 – Sponsor Spotlight: Bite Toothpaste - Sustainable, Non-Toxic Tabs (20% off with code Darin20) 00:16:35 – Creating Your Own Vision: Setting Boundaries with Media and Social Algorithms 00:17:29 – Finding Your Purpose: From Raising Children to Healing Injuries 00:18:35 – Environmental and Existential Stress Layers: Clutter, Noise, and Service 00:19:26 – Stress Load and Resiliency: Why Small Triggers Cause Blow-Ups 00:20:02 – Understanding the Dashboard Light: Acknowledging Unwillingness 00:20:35 – Safety as the Signal: Body Relaxation and Providing Inner Security 00:23:44 – Reframing Trauma: Was it the Protector You Needed at the Time? 00:25:00 – Releasing Trauma: Techniques, The Healing Code, and Waking the Tiger 00:26:06 – Finishing the Survival Response: Shaking, Crying, Screaming, and Stretching 00:26:38 – Stress as a Multiplier: Impact on Immune System, Heart, and Aging 00:28:10 – Stress Slows Repair: Inflammation, Cardiovascular Risk, and Cellular Aging 00:29:48 – The Integrative Approach: Changing Your Environments to Support Anti-Stress 00:30:07 – Actionable Stress Solutions: Circadian Rhythm, Nature, and Noise Reduction 00:30:44 – Actionable Stress Solutions: Gratitude, Conscious Breath, and Movement 00:31:32 – Energy Drains to Eliminate: Conflict, Clutter, Scrolling, and Late Caffeine 00:32:17 – Connecting to Greater Purpose: The Super Life Patreon Platform 00:32:54 – Morning/Night Questions: Letting Go, Creating, and Contributing 00:33:17 – Final Toolkit: Slow Breathing, Movement, Nature, Sauna, and Sleep 00:34:25 – The Invitation: Digging into all Layers of a Super Life on Patreon   Thank You to Our Sponsors Therasage: Go to www.therasage.com and use code DARIN at checkout for 15% off Bite Toothpaste: Go to trybite.com/DARIN20 or use code DARIN20 for 20% off your first order. Find More from Darin Olien: Instagram: @darinolien Podcast: SuperLife Podcast Website: superlife.com Book: Fatal Conveniences   Key Takeaway "Stress isn't your enemy — it's your compass. Every wave of tension points you back to what's asking for care, attention, and love. When you stop fighting stress and start listening to it, you don't just survive — you evolve."       Bibliography (selected, peer-reviewed) Sources: Gallup Global Emotions (2024); Gallup U.S. polling (2024); APA Stress in America (2023); Natarajan et al., Lancet Digital Health (2020); Orini et al., UK Biobank (2023); Martinez et al. (2022); Leiden University (2025). Cohen S, Tyrrell DA, Smith AP. Psychological stress and susceptibility to the common cold. N Engl J Med.1991;325(9):606–612. New England Journal of Medicine Cohen S, et al. Chronic stress, glucocorticoid receptor resistance, inflammation, and disease risk. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2012;109(16):5995–5999. PNAS Kiecolt-Glaser JK, et al. Slowing of wound healing by psychological stress. Lancet. 1995;346(8984):1194–1196. The Lancet Kiecolt-Glaser JK, et al. Hostile marital interactions, proinflammatory cytokine production, and wound healing.Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2005;62(12):1377–1384. JAMA Network Tawakol A, et al. Relation between resting amygdalar activity and cardiovascular events. Lancet.2017;389(10071):834–845. The Lancet Epel ES, et al. Accelerated telomere shortening in response to life stress. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA.2004;101(49):17312–17315. PNAS McEwen BS, Stellar E. Stress and the individual: mechanisms leading to disease. Arch Intern Med.1993;153(18):2093–2101. PubMed McEwen BS, Wingfield JC. Allostasis and allostatic load. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1998;840:33–44. PubMed Felitti VJ, et al. Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many leading causes of death in adults (ACE Study). Am J Prev Med. 1998;14(4):245–258. AJP Mon Online Edmondson D, et al. PTSD and cardiovascular disease. Ann Behav Med. 2017;51(3):316–327. PMC Afari N, et al. Psychological trauma and functional somatic syndromes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Psychosom Med. 2014;76(1):2–11. PMC Goyal M, et al. Meditation programs for psychological stress and well-being: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Intern Med. 2014;174(3):357–368. PMC Qiu Q, et al. Forest therapy: effects on blood pressure and salivary cortisol—a meta-analysis. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;20(1):458. PMC Laukkanen T, et al. Sauna bathing and reduced fatal CVD and all-cause mortality. JAMA Intern Med.2015;175(4):542–548. JAMA Network Zureigat H, et al. Physical activity lowers CVD risk by reducing stress-related neural activity. J Am Coll Cardiol.2024;83(16):1532–1546. PMC Holt-Lunstad J, Smith TB, Layton JB. Social relationships and mortality risk: a meta-analytic review. PLoS Med.2010;7(7):e1000316. PMC Chen Y-R, Hung K-W. EMDR for PTSD: meta-analysis of RCTs. PLoS One. 2014;9(8):e103676. 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In this illuminating conversation of Be It Till You See It, aesthetic nurse and biohacker Rachel Varga joins Lesley Logan to discuss how to achieve lasting radiance by aligning health, mindset, and beauty. She shares how lowering inflammation, managing stress, and purifying your environment can help you look and feel your best—proving that confidence and feeling at peace are the real anti-aging secrets.If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to LesleyLogan.co/podcast https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/. If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at beit@lesleylogan.co mailto:beit@lesleylogan.co. And as always, if you're enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at LesleyLogan.co/subscribe https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/#follow-subscribe-free.In this episode you will learn about:How Rachel's nursing career evolved into a holistic approach to beauty and biohacking.The science behind lowering inflammation to boost vitality and radiance.Why redefining vanity as self-respect empowers confidence and self-care.Everyday habits that support graceful aging through stress management and sleep.How cultivating peace and integrity supports inner and outer radiance.Episode References/Links:The School of Radiance Website - theschoolofradiance.comPromo Code: LesleyLogan15 for 15% off one-on-one sessions, tutorial, and membershipSchool of Radiance Podcast - https://www.theschoolofradiance.com/podcastsInstagram: @RachelVargaOfficial - https://www.instagram.com/rachelvargaofficialGuest Bio:Rachel Varga, BSN, RN, CANS, is a Double Board Certified Aesthetic Nurse Specialist. Since 2011, Rachel has been offering medical aesthetic rejuvenation in the specialty of Oculoplastics and is known for providing a natural and healthy-looking transformation and educating through her show "The School of Radiance" podcast. She has performed over 20,000 rejuvenation procedures and is also a trainer for other practitioners on rejuvenation procedures including medical grade skin care, laser skin rejuvenation, injectables including neuromodulators and dermal fillers, and slowing aging in general. Rachel is passionate about delivering the highest standard of care, with a focus on what the patient's specific rejuvenation goals are, and a tailored approach to suit their needs, values, and lifestyle. She has published multiple research articles on rejuvenation protocols for the eyelids, jawline, and overall skin health transformation. Rachel is known for her gentle touch, natural-looking results, and making her patients feel comfortable, and at ease with her caring bedside manner that originated in pediatric nursing before beginning her career in medical aesthetics in 2011. She will guide you in creating your customized rejuvenation plan and skincare routine to achieve your goals through one-on-one sessions, expert 7-week seasonal skincare tutorials, and year-long membership for the deeper layers of being beautifully radiant at TheSchoolofRadiance.com. Rachel Varga is one of the first to blend Western approaches to skin care and rejuvenation, functional insights, and biohacking optimization strategies. By blending the best of these worlds and observing what her most radiant patients are doing she will also help guide you on your path to healthy skin and vibrancy for many years… If you enjoyed this episode, make sure and give us a five star rating and leave us a review on iTunes, Podcast Addict, Podchaser or Castbox. https://lovethepodcast.com/BITYSIDEALS! DEALS! DEALS! DEALS! https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/memberships/perks/#equipmentCheck out all our Preferred Vendors & Special Deals from Clair Sparrow, Sensate, Lyfefuel BeeKeeper's Naturals, Sauna Space, HigherDose, AG1 and ToeSox https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/memberships/perks/#equipmentBe in the know with all the workshops at OPC https://workshops.onlinepilatesclasses.com/lp-workshop-waitlistBe It Till You See It Podcast Survey https://pod.lesleylogan.co/be-it-podcasts-surveyBe a part of Lesley's Pilates Mentorship https://lesleylogan.co/elevate/FREE Ditching Busy Webinar https://ditchingbusy.com/Resources:Watch the Be It Till You See It podcast on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq08HES7xLMvVa3Fy5DR8-gLesley Logan website https://lesleylogan.co/Be It Till You See It Podcast https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjogqXLnfyhS5VlU4rdzlnQProfitable Pilates https://profitablepilates.com/about/Follow Us on Social Media:Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lesley.logan/The Be It Till You See It Podcast YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq08HES7xLMvVa3Fy5DR8-gFacebook https://www.facebook.com/llogan.pilatesLinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesley-logan/The OPC YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@OnlinePilatesClasses Episode Transcript:Rachel Varga 0:00  I take this approach of longer lasting beauty through biohacking, because when we reduce inflammation and toxins on all fronts, we then set our body up for success, for being our most radiant versions. And the more radiant we are, the more high vibe we are, the more we can get what we desire out of life, in both our personal and professional lives, and be great people, because our bodies are operating properly.Lesley Logan 0:32  Welcome to the Be It Till You See It podcast where we talk about taking messy action, knowing that perfect is boring. I'm Lesley Logan, Pilates instructor and fitness business coach. I've trained thousands of people around the world and the number one thing I see stopping people from achieving anything is self-doubt. My friends, action brings clarity and it's the antidote to fear. Each week, my guest will bring bold, executable, intrinsic and targeted steps that you can use to put yourself first and Be It Till You See It. It's a practice, not a perfect. Let's get started. Lesley Logan 1:11  Hi, Be It babe. Okay, this is gonna be a really fun conversation. I wanted to have this conversation for a while, and it's really like, I'm intrigued by all this, right? I want to, I want to actually look and feel good for as long as possible, but not in like, a crazy, like, change how I look dramatic way, but like, as in a no, this is like, I want to look like me. And so when I met our guest today, because I was on her amazing podcast, Rachel Varga, she's the host of the School of Radiance, and I was like, oh, I vibe with this person. I really like what they're saying. It's intelligent. It's from a place of research and science and methodologies, and she is so knowledgeable about biohacking and things we can do when it comes to med spas and what we're doing with to support ourselves and how we feel and how we look, and then we go on a wide range of topics. We don't hit everything I want to talk about, so I'm going to have to do this again. But I really think you're going to, one, learn a ton and have a lot of permission get granted, because maybe it's not something you have to do to you, maybe it's something you would get to do around you, or maybe it's about changing something in your environment, right? So now I'm going to let Rachel Varga give you all of her amazing wisdom. Lesley Logan 2:26  All right, Be It babe, this conversation is one I've been really wanting to have, but it had to be with a special person, and so I've been waiting the 500 plus episodes to find the person who we can have a conversation about radiance and how we how our how we can age the way we want to, and look good doing it without feeling like we're being vain or going too far. And so Rachel Varga is our guest today. Rachel, can you tell, can you tell everyone who you are and what you rock at? Rachel Varga 2:51  Yes, Lesley, so great to be here, and we had a fantastic interview on my show recently, the School of Radiance podcast. And, so technically, I'm a nurse, and I've been an esthetics nurse since 2011 so I've been in the game for the rejuvenation side of things for a while. Been in that game, published research papers. You can look my name up on PubMed, Rachel Varga, you'll see my eye rejuvenation papers, jawline rejuvenation papers. And then I also teach other doctors and nurses internationally how to do rejuvenation from the non surgical side of things that like injectables. And I know we're going to talk a little bit about that, what we can do that's cleaner options, what's actually going to work and give us the results that we desire. And so I love to teach, and I love to talk about what we can actually do at home. So on this podcast, we'll talk about the lifestyle side of things, and kind of delineate what we can do at home and then what's available in the clinic. But I take this approach of longer lasting beauty through biohacking, because when we reduce inflammation and toxins on all fronts, we then set our body up for success, for being our most radiant versions. And the more radiant we are, the more high vibe we are, the more we can get what we desire out of life, in both our personal and professional lives, and be great people, because our bodies are operating properly.Lesley Logan 4:23  I love this because I love that you can they it's almost like a there's a few different prongs. So if you're someone who's like, I don't want to do surgery, I don't want to do the injectables like people start to look like cat ladies at some point. And I'm sure that's not all injectables do that. I'm sure there's a point which one could stop. But the idea that we there's things we could do at home, it sounds why wouldn't you, like, Why? Why wouldn't you want to do something at home? So before we get into that, though, I do want to kind of know, like, did you always want to get into esthetics? Was this something that you could wear, like, interested as a kid? Like, were you doing makeup? Like, how? Like, what was the journey that got you here?Rachel Varga 4:59  Yeah. Okay, well, practically speaking, my mom's an RN, and I saw how hard she worked, but I also saw that it was a great job. It's a great way to be in that nurturing, supportive, healthy role in the family. It's like something happens to the kiddos, like you know what's going on, or your partner or yourself. It's just great knowledge to have from a nursing perspective for yourself and those you love. My father's are carpenter and so I always had this eye for, oh, that bumper is a little not so straight, or that picture is a little canted. So I had this eye for symmetry and proportions from that, and then also the health side of things. But I saw my mother really struggle as a night nurse. And she did night nursing, so shift work, it's just brutal in extended care for her pretty well entire career, she got breast cancer. She was, at one point, weighed 220 pounds. So she was the type of woman, great woman over gave, did the shift work. So I learned early in my career that I didn't want to be that kind of nurse. And did Pediatric Nursing, pediatric ICU care for a couple years. And during that time in my nursing education, I'd had a few rejuvenation procedures myself too, both surgically and non surgically, and to myself, the aftercare information like the pre post care wasn't great, and for me, going through nursing training, I was obviously watching all the vlogs online. There aren't really a lot of professionals actually talking about this stuff, and I think it's kind of interesting, and people want to know how to get the most out of what they're investing in in the clinic, and, of course, at home, and how to recover before and after non surgical or non surgical rejuvenation options. And thought I wanted to be a doctor. So did all the med school prerequisites, chem, Organic Chem, biochem. And while I was doing prerequisites and applying to med school, which I did for one year, I got a job as an esthetics nurse, did my injectable training, started in ocular plastics in 2011 and just loved the field. I loved the pace. The hours were great, and I would get access to anything and everything. Then something happened. I met my good friend Dave Asprey. Actually helped get his face ready for superhuman so when you look at that book cover, that's my work. Oh, what's this biohacking stuff? This is pretty cool. Started to do some of it myself, cold plunging, intermittent fasting, more protein, adding antioxidants, amino acids, all sorts of great stuff that's in the biohacking world, red light therapy. And then I was in two car crashes. I had to really lean into the biohacking and recovery side of things and supplementation so that I wasn't hurting all the time, and so that I would recover faster. And partner has been a pro athlete as well, so very in tune with the athletic recovery side of things too. Then something interesting happened. The better I cared for myself from an inflammation perspective, I didn't need as much rejuvenation. Scars were fading after just a couple of days post breakout, instead of for months, and I'd have to laser that redness away. I didn't need to do neuromodulators every three months, I would actually go anywhere from like, a year to a year and a half in between.Lesley Logan 8:45  For the people who are like, what's a neuromodulator,Rachel Varga 8:49  The brand names that you probably know about are Botox, Xeomin, Dysport, Nuceiva, Jeuveau. There's always new ones growing up. So the technical term for those is neuromodulators. And then I also started to notice, oh, wow, I'm not burning in the sun in 10 minutes anymore. These deoxidants, this reducing inflammation, is actually allowing me to go outside and enjoy my life more. And I as a researcher, put together a paper for the biohacking community a couple years ago. What are some of the biohacks that actually can support slowing aging in sort of like a methodical framework, kind of way, because there's so many bright, shiny objects in the in the biohacking and wellness space, like, what actually should we start with?Lesley Logan 9:42  This is insane. So this journey that you went on, like, first of all, you met the person. Like, yeah, you were like, you just met them. And then you needed what they had. Like, thank goodness you met them, because you put, who knows how long would have taken you to stumble upon biohacking in that way. And then it got you to see how it worked on the things that you already do. I can it's interesting to me because, like, I think some people in your field would be like, what is the need for me if I could just biohack my way to blemish-free skin that can be out in the sun, you know what I mean. But obviously, like, there's, there's kind of a place for everything. You know, there's also like, what works for you and what helps with what you need. And so I love the idea for those at home who are like, well, what are some like, what are like? Maybe they could Google what an antioxidant is. But like, what are some things that they should be thinking about when it comes to inflammation and things that can affect how they look? Because I think sometimes people go, Oh, I'm just older. And we were taught like, Oh, you're 40, so now you're 50. Like, these things happen. But from what I understand in biohacking, you can actually do a whole lot. It's not about the age, it's kind of about what you're eating and what you're doing.Rachel Varga 10:54  Yeah, you could actually test instead of guess what your biological age is. And I do this usually about once a year, and my biological age, last time I tested it was nine years younger than my chronological age. So doing something right. Lesley Logan 11:11  I love that. Rachel Varga 11:14  When I started to speak on the anti aging, the functional, integrative and wellness sides of things, being an aesthetic nurse, like a traditionally trained nurse, and then in the specialty of aesthetic medicine, I was kind of the odd one out, a little bit misunderstood, especially in the rare community that I'm in, people didn't really get it. It's more like a California and Florida kind of thing, where people in there, in those states in particular, really big into anti aging medicine, and so that was a bit tough for me. But you know what, some of us were just pioneers in the space. And Dave is more of a disruptor, and I'm more of like an encourager. If I can do it, you can do it too. Lesley Logan 11:59  Yeah. And I think, like, you know, the I, what a great place where you can go, okay, here are your options. We can do these things, and here's how often you'd have to do them, and we can absolutely do them, or we can do this thing, and then this is how often, or you could also do this at home. And then it would make whatever we're doing here would support that, or it would reduce your need for that, is that what I'm hearing, like, the biohacking, like, really supports what you do?Rachel Varga 12:26  Bingo. So for me to speak on things, because I am a traditionally trained RN, I have to be able to speak on things that are published in the literature. There wasn't really anything, and I knew this worked. I would see it in my before and after photos. See, you know, 70 to 90 year olds looking fantastic, and they barely need anything. They were aging better. So the jawline paper that I wrote, I basically put in that paper an algorithm for rejuvenation, starting with skin care, then getting into maybe at home peels and at home dermarolling, doing some in-clinic lasers for reds, browns and collagen, you know, resurfacing pore size, polishing the skin, and then the non surgical injectables. So say you guys all probably hear the word Botox, so neuromodulators and fillers and then surgery. So to start from a space of least invasive, you know, do some things, see if you're happy with those results, you might not need the surgery, but surgery definitely does have a place, coming from ocular plastic surgery for the eyelids. And so I wrote a paper on that, basically an algorithm do least invasive to most invasive, and then the Oxidative Stress Status and Its Impacts on Skin Aging paper that was more like a framework of what's the lifestyle stuff that we can do to actually clean up and purify our environment by purifying our air, water, lighting, electromagnetics, testing, instead of guessing the foods that we're eating and then getting into detoxing. And when you do all those things, you should actually be able to get better results from your treatments. And if you go on message boards for people that have issues after injectables or lasers, chances are there was a degree of autoimmune conditions running in the background, or their toxic bucket was really full. They had rejuvenation bucket tipped over, and they had a manifestation of some underlying things that were happening. And then also, during the process of writing those papers, I came across some data. This is why it's not a nice to do. It's a need to do, to look after yourself, that autoimmune conditions, or, more precisely, deaths of unknown causes, which I reached back to the source of you know, what does this category actually mean, autoimmune condition or someone passing away before diagnosis, it actually doubled in 2019 compared to the data six years earlier in Canada, this is Canadian information, and then it doubled again in 2021. So autoimmune stuff for skin is like, eczema, psoriasis, those are typically the skin stuff that we see. Lesley Logan 15:25  It's interesting that you brought that up because it is like, I think people are like, there's so many people with autoimmune it's like, well, now that we know what to test for. The thing about tests, that's the thing, when we it was all, there, it has probably been there for a really long time. The doubling in such a short period of time is scary, but also it, you know, if the tests weren't right arranging or the doctors don't know to test for these things. But I love that you brought that. I like how you bring that up. It's like if you had stuff run in the background, if you were already inflamed, and then you do something that can add to that, like, it is just like the needle that broke the haystack. And so then the things get the blame when it's a whole host of things that are going on. And so I think this is really cool. You know it's and I don't want to be ignorant, so I think it's really, to me, what I find interesting is that, like, I would never have associated a biohacker with someone who would also be doing any of these treatments. Like I would, you know what I mean? Like, I think people think you're either nothing goes in your body except for these things, or you're, like, whatever, It's a free rein, I can do whatever I want. And so to find someone who sits in the middle, I actually think it gives people a lot more permission. And I actually one of the things I want to talk with you about is, like, just permission, like, I think a lot of people feel bad or feel embarrassed or feel like they shouldn't talk about that they want to make any changes to how they look, because we do live in a place now where, thankfully, people are more accepting and people have been taught to not hate their bodies like we should love our bodies. In fact, your body is listening to you. So part of biohacking would actually be to not talk about the things you don't like about your body because your body's listening. But how can we think about like is it vain for us to want to want to change things on our face, or to want to look a little younger, to want to look a little fresher? Is that? Is that a bad thing? Like, should we not be wanting to change these things? We just be happy with how we look?Rachel Varga 17:11  I think that there's a similarity here with this concept of imposter syndrome. Everyone who starts to do something new is like, Oh my gosh. I don't know of like, Can I do this? Am I gonna get laughed at? I think it's that's just as common as the shadow side of beauty, which is, is this vain? Am I doing something that's selfish to care for myself? One of the reframes that I love to talk about is self-care, self-love. I get so many sweet downloads when I'm doing my skincare, I'm blow drying my hair, I'm doing my beautification, my makeup, putting on a cute outfit, looking at myself in the mirror, it's like, Oh, wow. I had three hours of sleep last night. How the heck do I look this good? Well, there's some biohacks that I did to hack a bad sleep and why I had a bad sleep, which is hilarious. So we can definitely talk about that. But the vanity component is essentially the shadow side of beauty and radiance at its core. So I love to investigate the psychological, the energetic things behind everything as well, because everything is energy. And we're seeing a shift now, though. In about 2018, a number of my clients started to ask me, Rachel, what can I do for healthier skin I want to improve my skin health. So I really started to notice the shift. And then now fast forward to the year that we are in now, every med spa, well, the ones that are, you know, up with the current times, are doing things like NAD infusions, they're offering weight loss, they're offering hormone support, and all of these different things that we're now seeing a really exciting time in the med spa industry, the functional space, integrative and biohacking space, coming together. It's almost like this bifurcation point a couple years ago, but I did see the writings on the wall back in about 2018 that this was going to happen, and now this is what the most notable med spas in the world are doing, is they're incorporating all these things because people want to go to a one-stop shop and not necessarily just look at rejuvenation as being vain, but a form of self-care. They're doing other things as well that they're investing time and energy in, or they might have a health spending account that makes them feel better, because when you feel better, you look better, and when you look better, you feel better. So what I like to suggest, if someone is really grappling with, okay, money's tight or I feel vain about doing this, feel like that money should go to my kids or whatever. But if something's bothering you for a while, say, for example, lines between the brows, or lines to the forehead, or hooded upper eyelids, lower eye bags, melasma, pigmentation, red acne scars, large pores, acne scarring, losing sharpness to the jaw, lines, jowls, fullness to the neck, the list goes on. But if something is really bothering you and you're looking at yourself in the mirror, be like, I really love to do something about that, because it's the one thing that kind of bugs me. I think that the benefit of knowing that, hey, there are some really great health non surgical, or surgical things that we can do to actually support those things. But my angle is, okay, what's the least toxic thing that we can do to give the best results? What is going to give the most long term benefits? So that's why sometimes surgery, like eyelid surgery, is one of the most common surgeries performed to remove excess eyelid tissue. That's actually probably even going to cost less money than trying to do all these other non surgical things, and you have a longer result. So it just depends on everybody's situation. But the vanity thing is something I think every single person grapples with, if they're completely honest with themselves, and then they do it. They do their rejuvenation, they bump up their at home skincare routine, they purify their environment, like, Oh, I feel better. I'm gonna keep doing this, because it's something I do for myself, kind of like getting your (inaudible) you always feel so much better after you have, you know, fresh highlights or whatever. Lesley Logan 21:36  Yeah, yeah. Well, I think, like, there's a difference between doing something because you think it's going to get you people's reaction from people, and doing something for yourself. You know, I think if you are do making changes to yourself, because for other people, that would be a problem, but if you're doing it for yourself, like you said, you don't like the way your pores are. I have my mom, she has talked about the eyelid surgery, and I saw her recently in person. I was like, Oh, poor thing. I don't know. Can you see? Get like, you know, like, and that's not a vain thing. It's also like a necessity, necessity thing, but also like in being it till you see it, some of these things are taking up so much brain space that they're holding us back from coming out and showing people who we are like, if you're not putting yourself out there because you have a scar or you have you don't like the way something looks, that that does bother me, because it does mean that the world is missing out on what your gift is. You know, there are people that you're the only person who can do what you do, and if you're hiding yourself for whatever reason, then that is a bummer, because those people miss out on it and they end up getting swindled by somebody else. So I, I'm of the place, like, if it's for you and it's going to help you show up as the best version of yourself, like, you know, you really do have to look, look into that. But I also love your approach of, like, what's the least invasive, least toxic, most long lasting. And I think if we, I think if we go with that approach, as opposed to quick fixes, then we all, and that goes for everything, not just even for the things you do with your face.Rachel Varga 23:11  100% Oh, you touched on so many beautiful things. So we're gonna back this, because there's some nuggets here for everybody. What happens when you go into the wild, you know, if you're, if you're anything like me, you're working from home, you're going to the gym, you're going to the grocery store, going to church, you know, some work in social events, but that's kind of what the lifestyle looks like. But when we and sometimes I want speeches, and that's super fun, I get all glammed up when you go out into the wild and you see two kinds of people, you see the one person that I just have my hair and, like, a cute little dancer's button I got my workout outfit on. You would love it. It's, like, very Pilates appropriate. Lesley Logan 23:56  I saw it when you (inaudible) I was like, that's so cute. I need a little shawl for my my one my jumpsuit.Rachel Varga 24:02  Oh and I love my body, and I work hard. I lift weights, work on the flexibility, stability, cardio, strength, all those things. I feel fantastic because it brings me in my body as well. W e're very grounding at the end of the day, when you see that individual that they got a little bit of makeup on, they brush their hair, they don something cute, even if it's a little bun, and they have a smile, and they're bright, and they're connecting. Compared to the other person that's just schlepping it. They got their PJ pants on or their sweat pants, they're not put together at all, and they just look like they legitimately rolled out of bed. It's like, okay, something's going on with that person. Oh, this person's really showing up for themselves. They're, you know, putting effort into their appearance. What that actually communicates when you show the world that you're valuable because you value yourself, that's powerful. And if you're showing the world that you just rolled out of bed, your life's a mess, people aren't actually going to value you in the same way. I know that sounds really brutal, but you will be more valued in your relationships. In the professional space, you'll have better relationships. You'll probably be able to make more money, because there's also research to show that people actually who care for themselves the way that they look, earn higher income. But the cool part here that you touched on for you know, reactions for other people is it for yourself. I've seen that where ladies have come to me and their boyfriends in the waiting room and they say, I want to get my lips done. And their lips are already like fantasy lips, if you know what I mean. And I just say to them, no, that's gonna go. If I do anymore, it's gonna really put your lips out of the ideal ratios that actually creates beautiful lips. So you're not a candidate for this treatment. Obviously, there's some body dysmorphia that can have too. However, when we do rejuvenation in a way that looks natural, feels good for us. You know, the body's just like, yes, I want to do this. But thinking about it for a while, it helps to build confidence. Something very interesting about confidence, actually, is that the more confident we are, the better able we're going to be in showing up and building our community. And community is a deep survival need. We're not meant to go through life on our own. We're not meant to over give. We're meant to be supported and receive from those around us, and obviously have it be reciprocated. But the there's the value component, there's the confidence component, there's the community component as well. So there's a lot of really beautiful things actually, about beauty and what it does to our lives.Lesley Logan 27:00  Yeah, and I do, I find it's like, so I used to work at a studio when I lived in L.A., I'd have to, like, leave the house and obviously, how I run and how I shop at the gym, different things, but anything before 7 a.m. that's what different. But when I would go to my studio, I would get dressed to work, go to work, I would teach the whole thing. When I started working from home, I noticed like, oh, I'm not in front of the camera today, so I would just kind of like, still be in the same clothes I did my walk and my workout in, and I was like, starting to slowly feel down about myself and having to give myself more pep talks. And I was doing my fake eyelashes, and they kept getting bigger and wrong, and I kept giving them feedback. And I was like, I don't really like how this is looking. So then I got rid of the fake eyelashes, and now I'm like, well, now I'm a bald eagle, and now I think I'm over at and and I was like, hold on. I also could learn how to do makeup for my natural lashes, and I could get dressed each day, like, how would if I got dressed each day? And what I realized is, by using the clothes in my closet and getting dressed and having a routine of putting my makeup on and and things like that. All those things actually made me feel better. So that whole little haze that, like cloud that was kind of like following around, kind of like an oppression commercial. I don't know if you havethem in Canada, but we have them here, where they're, like, trying to sell you like this cloud that just like hovers over this girl as she walks around, the cloud's gone. I was like, oh, over time, I slowly became used to not doing these things that felt like a waste of time or like not a big deal who's seeing me, and the more I actually spent time with myself. It's not to go back to the vanity topic, It's not vain. It actually just made it easier for me to show up as myself and put myself out there. Because I wasn't going, Oh God, my hair is a mess. Like, like, I, like, got ready for the day, just like, as if I went out into the world to go to work. And so I would say, like, it's really easy for us to go, oh, the world expects us to look a certain way. And really, I actually think the world is quite obsessed with people who are confidently walking in front of them, people who are confidently walking in a room like it. Actually, I'm always amazed, like the people who are famous or infamous and things like that, like some of them, I would never consider like a natural form of beauty, but people are excited about them because they're so calm they walk in, they have their head held high. And so I think if we just go back to like, what are you doing for yourself to help you show up to be the person you want to be, like, those things can't be wrong.Rachel Varga 29:25  Very well said, the, I love this show so much. I love connecting with you, Lesley, I think you're fantastic. You're hitting the nail on the head of, like, really deep topics around beauty and rejuvenation and not enough people are kind of talking about this stuff, the concept of feeling down and self-talk. Let's break that down for a second. A lot of us say, Oh, my fine lines and wrinkles, or, you know, my elevens, or my acne scars, or from an injury perspective, because a lot of you listening are ahletic and sometimes injuries can happen when you're doing new things and pushing your limits and building your strength and your resilience and your readiness and adaptability and all those good things. So instead of saying my whiplash, I detach from it, and I don't say my I say, oh, you know, I'm experiencing this or, Oh, I have a blemish, but I'm not reinforcing it into my identity, because a lot of people have these things that they reinforce into their identity, and then it's like, stuck in their field, if you will. Now we're gonna go just a little bit woo.Lesley Logan 30:39  Oh, you know, we used to only be a one woo show, and considering where the world is right now, Brad and I have gone two woos. We're woo woo in it.Rachel Varga 30:50  Yeah, very much grounded in the 3d science, I published papers. I just the other day, was teaching 60 doctors in Vancouver. Super fun. I just can't help but notice this group of patients that I observed in my career. This is why I talk about radiance, men and women aged 60 to 90 that had never done any rejuvenation. They would come to see me, either on a video call like this, or in the clinic, and I would look at them and be like, Wow, you look fantastic. Like, yeah, you know a couple of things like, bother me. I'd love to do something about it, but it was just how they carried themselves. So I started to kind of unpack this. What is this? What is this that I'm noticing it's like this inner glow, this inner vibration, and what are the components in their life that are contributing to that, which you can ground to the key determinants of health, which are recognized globally as being important factors to determining how healthy you're probably going to be depending on the environment around you. They had a certain vibe to them. Their skin shown differently. Their voice was different. They were very present. They had a family life, they had a spiritual practice. They had hobbies, they had a community. So I coined this radiance, and then I started to dive into some Ayurvedic texts, and came across the definition of radiance, which I think is one of the best definitions of that word that I've ever come across. It's the electromagnetic projection of all of your body systems. The radiant body is the 10th body, and then we have our body, mind, spirit, energy. There's some other bodies in there, but the radiant body is basically that electromagnetic projection of you and a reflection of how all your operating systems are running into the world. And when you begin to hone and cultivate this radiant energy, it's kind of like you become a queen, and you enter a room and everybody notices you for all the right reasons, you become a magnet. And with that, when you step into that very powerful, radiant, queen, feminine and (inaudible) energy, you also repel vibes of certain people that aren't going to be in your highest it's like you're a magnet, but you're also very attractive.Lesley Logan 33:22  Yeah, just like magnets also repel the other side. Rachel Varga 33:25  Exactly. Yes. So magnetic to the right people, the right situations, the right opportunities, and telling yourself (inaudible) oh, you know, there's great things coming just around the corner that are better than I even imagined. And I say that all the time, and it happens all the time. So this becomes you. You become like this force. And one of the most cool things about this as a woman is you get respected, and you are revered by men, not just idolized for looking a certain way, but actually respected and revered, and this is getting into some of the more powerful layers of beauty and radiance. And what you mentioned with your self talk, you probably felt some guilt and shame, right? And those are the lowest vibrations we can possibly sit in. The highest ones are peace love, joy, then there's pre enlightenment, then there's enlightenment. So peace, love, joy, channel your inner (inaudible) that is actually setting the stage for all of your cells and inner machinery and operating systems and field, the human biofield, is an emerging body of science to shine brighter, to slow aging, to feel better, to look better.Lesley Logan 34:47  I love this, and I really do believe in it, because there was years ago I listened to a podcast where they said your cells are listening to you, and how you talk about yourself is what you produce. So if you, going back to your like, my scars, my this, it's so important that you do, you don't hold on to those things, because the body is listening and like they actually did some scientific studies, multiple ones. One of them was they took these people, they blindfolded them, they set them in a chair. They were in a room where they could hear a fire burning, right? And they could hear this hot and they could hear like this, when you put, like, water goes right, that whole thing. And they're like, okay, we're gonna take this (inaudible) and we're gonna brand you, right? And these people are like, Oh my God, they're telling, they're describing what the branding mark is going to be. All these things. I don't even know how they clear this, because it sounds like trauma and torture and all the things, however they did it. And what they would do is they would like make the sound, and then they touch the person with a pen, a pen, and the person develop the welt in the shape of the description of what the branding was going to be. Right? Like, now, whether it lasts or not, wasn't part of the thing, but like they the body was like, so prepared for what it was told it was going to become. And another doctor was trying to figure out if it was a scraping of the knee or the drain of the knee that actually was healing these knee issues. So of course, he has to take three groups of people, one where nothing happens, one where they scrape and one where they drain, and then compare the three and the people who had nothing they were just put into they were put under anesthesia. They played, they played a video of a knee surgery happening so that they would hear in their subconscious they were sent to do all the same post surgical protocol as everyone else. They had the same results as the people who had had surgery, because they told themselves, I had surgery, my knee is fixed, and their body did these things. And so I became so conscious of like, what are we actually talking to ourselves about? Because before we go into all the things we could do to change our bodies, before we go into the biohacking foods, and then what type of treatments we could do, how you're talking to yourself, is literally free. It's a, it's a, it's a free thing you can change. It costs nothing.Rachel Varga 37:01  when you think of a monk, what are they doing all the time? Lesley Logan 37:03  Oh, we get to see them in Cambodia all the time. They are meditating and they're praying. They give blessings. That's what they're doing, just sitting there meditating.Rachel Varga 37:15  And you said something very profound, giving. Lesley Logan 37:19  Blessings. Rachel Varga 37:23  Who you are, depending on what really your reason is for being here. For mine, it's really to activate and initiate men and women around me to be their best versions. I'm very clear on that. So for me and my presence, that's how I serve. That's how I offer. It's how can we be in this state where we engage with others and we brighten their day, we say something kind to them, the way that we move through life is like an offering and a blessing. We first need to fill our cup first, though, that's very important. One of the things that you can channel next time you're in your Pilates or a heavy lifting situation, I do this all the time at the gym. I actually do breath work because for activity as women, especially if you're around that pre perimenopausal, perimenopausal, menopausal and postmenopausal, the body's going through transmissions, and what breaks down collagen and elastin quickly is elevated cortisol, which results in a drop of estrogen. When estrogen falls, collagen, elastin, fall too the more at peace you are, the more in that parasympathetic state you are, the less you're in the sympathetic state with high cortisol, adrenaline, you're going to age slower. You're going to have a slowness of the collagen elastic breakdown. And you could actually just do things to stimulate it, right? Like good skincare, sunscreen on the high real estate areas, mineral only at home, dermarolling, in clinic, lasers to get that collagen back up. Consuming collagen is also great. 10 to 12 grams a day is what's in the literature to actually create those visible skin changes in a month. But what I do when I work out is something hilarious, and I actually did bench press with the bodybuilder gym (inaudible) crew at the gym. I was included. They respect me. They revere me. They see my dedication and hard work. So, you know, I was right there with them get it spotted and encouraged, and here I am elevating their presence as well. But when I work out, and I was actually sharing this with one of the bodybuilders, because they'll do like smelling salts to get them in the sympathetic state, which could be good for the masculine, but for the feminine, we don't want that. We want to keep that cortisol down, what I do, actually, between sets of working out, is go right into parasympathetic breathing. Breathe in for four seconds, hold it for four seconds, exhale for four seconds. And you can do this, do like four to five cycles of that. You can drop into that at any point during the day when you get some news of a task that you need to do. I run like 13 businesses. So there's always, you know, these kind of small fires, and I have to figure out, like, who to delegate what I need to do, blah, blah, blah. But there's always something. So no matter what, I just always drop into that. Have those dates, have that honey, so I have that glycogen. Take those adaptogens to support the adrenals. Do the self care. But the biggest thing, I think, for beauty and slowing aging is, what do you think creates peace?Lesley Logan 41:05  What do I think creates peace? In someone's life?Rachel Varga 41:07  Yeah, what do you think creates peace in someone's life? Lesley Logan 41:10  Oh, my gosh. Well, I don't, to be honest, my mind is (inaudible) a few places. One, good sleep, that helps with peace. Two, not taking things personally, that could take, I think that could cover a lot of things. Maybe the whole four agreements would create peace and then self love.Rachel Varga 41:29  That's beautiful. What actually builds our confidence when you make a decision and we're happy with those decisions that we're making, or making them out of integrity. People who make really bad decisions, they have to live with guilt and shame, and they have terrible sleep. They're tossing and turning, and they got night sweats. All sorts of stuff goes on in someone's nervous system when they constantly have that guilt and shame, operating in the background. Ask for forgiveness, but move towards operating in integrity in every single thing that you do, you will have more peace because you're making better decisions. I wouldn't I can't picture a monk acting out of integrity, right? That's like against their code. So to have that, I just think it's gorgeous. Not taking things personally is also great. So you're recognizing that not everybody is taking as good care of you. You might have different values or lifestyles or what's important to you. So not taking things personally and just kind of witnessing that everyone's on their own journey, and just let go, but just have that knowing that the decisions you're making are out of integrity, and self love is such a beautiful component to that as well because you're telling your body when you're doing your skincare in the am and pm, you're washing your face, you're putting great things on that aren't toxic, and you're doing a lot of the personal development stuff as well, to be the best human that you can be, to be the best woman partner that success in your career, and just be a light in the world and think that and bring beauty. Literally, I've done this. I've just had a terrible day, something's going on, and I put on a cute outfit, do my hair and makeup, and I go engage with someone. They're like, Wow, you look so pretty today. It was like, it brightens my day. My beauty brightened their day. And then send and receive. I give them a compliment of something that I see is beautiful in them, too.Lesley Logan 43:35  Yeah, oh my gosh. You know, so many good things. And there was like five, five other things I wanted to get to in today's episodes. We're just gonna have to have you back. We're just gonna have to have you back because I was like, really hoping we could talk about, like, is Gua Sha really working? What are the things I should be doing? So we're just gonna have to do this again, and we're gonna take a brief break and find out how people can find you, follow you, work with you. And you already gave us some good stuff, but some Be It Action Items. Lesley Logan 43:58  All right, Rachel, where do they hang out? Where do you hang out? Where can people like stalk you in the best way, get more information, work with you, talk with you, where can we send them?Rachel Varga 44:08  Absolutely, I hang out on Instagram. I love to engage with those who are you? They say yes to themselves. They know they're worth it, and they're curious about some of the different options I share a ton of very entertaining education, like, I shared some sleep stuff like, why (inaudible) sleeps because I took creatine too late after my workout. But how did I hack that not so great sleep? I took a little bit more in the next day because it fires up your ATP, anyways, funny stuff like that. As a biohacker and also in the med spa space is over @RachelVargaOfficial, that's my Instagram handle. And then the podcast, really great show, the School of Radiance podcast. And then theschoolofradiance.com is my website, where you can book a one-on-one. You can join my seasonal skin tutorials, where I actually show you how to do Gua Sha, do your skincare, your makeup, your dermarolling peels, retinols, what rejuvenation is great to do that time of year, so basic and advanced stuff over six weeks, great. Not a YouTube tutorial. It's way better. Lesley Logan 45:13  I'm already in. I'm like, hold on, I need to. Rachel Varga 45:15  Super fun, super fun, right? And then the membership is more of that high level. How do we actually activate this radiance and stuff so we can enjoy our lives better and make more money in the process? Those are the two key metrics you're gonna get benefits from.Lesley Logan 45:30  Amazing. You guys, we have a promo code for you in the show notes and everything, so make sure that you check that out. I already have an appointment booked because I am really excited. And it's, again, not because of it's like, oh, I'm trying to be vain. I'm trying to be something that the world wants. No, it's so that when I look in the mirror, I feel awesome about myself, and I can show up more and more and do all the things. And so I'm just so grateful that our paths crossed. You have given us a lot of great tips. Ladies, get on the creatine. Okay, it's really amazing. There's tons of research. Oh yeah, muscles also, just like, apparently, tons of work on the Alzheimer space, which I'm very excited about. Thank God I've been doing creatine for years. But bold, executable, intrinsic or targeted steps our listeners can take to be it till they see it. What do you have for us? Rachel Varga 46:16  Yeah, the skincare checklist, actually, over at theschoolofradiance.com when you sign up for my newsletter, I have a free 30 minute biohacking lesson too, and use promo code LesleyLogan15 for 15% off of your one-on-one here with m. Creatine, creatine, creatine, yes, high protein, one gram to 1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight, huge when I started to lift heavy and do those two things, and keep up with the flexibility, mobility that just gave me more inner power, activation, if you will, great for the skin too, and caring for yourself, not just your skincare, not just your rejuvenation, but purifying your environment, air, water, lighting, electromagnetics, eating the right food, then detoxing is a key part, but it's what we do every single day.Lesley Logan 47:07  I love that you brought those things up, because I do a lot of people go on detox all the time, but they don't fix their don't check their water problem. When I lived in L.A., all the water stuff said the pipes were great. Everything is great. You guys, I had arsenic and cadmium in my system. So how, right? So we had to, like, we lived in a 500 square foot apartment and had, like, a $5,000 water system put in, and yes, I took it with me when we moved. But I think it's really important so that you all can support things. Right? These are things you can do at home, with your for yourself and in your environment to help you feel really good. So I am obsessed with these tips. I really am obsessed with you. I can't wait for more conversations together and how people are going to use these tips in your life. You guys, let us know. Tag Rachel Varga, tag the Be It Pod. Share this with the friend who needs to hear it. Sometimes we have friends who are actually overly picking on themselves, and maybe I actually think the words that we talked about here today can really support that and help them understand like, you know what is needed, what is necessary, what is helpful, and then also, if you're starting to feel a little bit out of it yourself, like I, I'm gonna tell you right now, it's really okay to care about how you want to put your hair or how you want to dress, because those things actually help us show up more in the world. And we're we are allowed to take up space. So Rachel, thank you so, so much. And until next time everyone, Be It Till You See It. Lesley Logan 48:23  That's all I got for this episode of the Be It Till You See It Podcast. One thing that would help both myself and future listeners is for you to rate the show and leave a review and follow or subscribe for free wherever you listen to your podcast. Also, make sure to introduce yourself over at the Be It Pod on Instagram. I would love to know more about you. Share this episode with whoever you think needs to hear it. Help us and others Be It Till You See It. Have an awesome day. Be It Till You See It is a production of The Bloom Podcast Network. If you want to leave us a message or a question that we might read on another episode, you can text us at +1-310-905-5534 or send a DM on Instagram @BeItPod.Brad Crowell 49:06  It's written, filmed, and recorded by your host, Lesley Logan, and me, Brad Crowell.Lesley Logan 49:10  It is transcribed, produced and edited by the epic team at Disenyo.co.Brad Crowell 49:15  Our theme music is by Ali at Apex Production Music and our branding by designer and artist, Gianfranco Cioffi.Lesley Logan 49:22  Special thanks to Melissa Solomon for creating our visuals. Brad Crowell 49:25  Also to Angelina Herico for adding all of our content to our website. And finally to Meridith Root for keeping us all on point and on time.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/be-it-till-you-see-it/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

In this illuminating episode of The Thought SNOB Podcast, Paula Swope — Author, Speaker, and Chopra-Certified Life Coach — shares a quick yet highly effective morning ritual that blends neuroscience with spiritual discipline. Grounded in research from Nature Neuroscience and PubMed, Paula explains how simply exposing yourself to natural sunlight each morning can reset your circadian rhythm, calm the amygdala, and elevate your mood and energy. Listeners are guided through a step-by-step practice that includes morning light exposure, intentional affirmations, and a brief visualization designed to “seal your energy in gold.” The result? Less reactivity, more alignment, and a calmer nervous system before the day even begins. This short, actionable routine requires no equipment, no cost — only consistency and awareness. Paula's signature approach combines science, mindfulness, and energy work to help listeners reprogram their brains and reclaim their mornings, one ray of light at a time.

The Blasters & Blades PodcastWe had some super smart people to talk about what medical technology might look like in the future and the things we should consider. I wrangled Dr. Brent Roeder, Jana S Brown (aka Jena Rey), JR Wise and Dr. Rob Hampson on the podcast and we flew the nerd flag higher than normal today. It was a brainiac paradise kinda show, one I think you're going to enjoy! This was a fun interview, so check out this episode. Lend us your eyes and ears, you won't be sorry!! Co-Hosts: JR Handley (Grunt)Jana S Brown (Chief Shenanigator)We work for free, so if you wanna throw a few pennies our way there is a linked Buy Me A Coffee site where you can do so. Just mention the podcast in the comments when you donate, and I'll keep the sacred bean water boiling!Support the Show: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/AuthorJRHandleyOur LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/blastersandbladespodcastToday's SponsorDeath's Knight by Matthew T Summers & Jena Rey: https://www.amazon.com/Deaths-Knight-War-Lich-Jena/dp/1952415047Coffee Brand Coffee AffiliateSupport the Show: https://coffeebrandcoffee.com/?ref=y4GWASiVorJZDb10% Discount Code: PodcastGruntsFollow Dr. Brent Roeder on social mediaUnder ConstructionBut if you're brave enough, search for his name in Pub Med!Follow Jana S Brown on social mediaJana's Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Jana-S.-Brown/author/B015VJV7JWJana's Website: www.opalkingdompress.comJana's Facebook: www.facebook.com/janasbrownwritesJana's LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/opalkingdompressFollow Jena Rey on social mediaJena's Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Jena-Rey/author/B08XSCHXYXJena's Facebook: www.facebook.com/jenareyFollow JR Wise on social mediaJR's Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B0D8GDZZPZJR's Website: https://www.jrwise.com/homeJR's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewiseauthor/JR's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewiseauthor/JR's TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thewiseauthorJR's Substack: https://substack.com/@thewiseauthorThe Kinetic Front Line Collective: https://www.kineticfrontline.com/Follow Dr. Rob Hampson on social mediaRob's Amazon Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B07JKN63DHRob's Simon & Schuster Page: https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Robert-E-Hampson/162787546 Rob's Baen Page: https://www.baen.com/allbooks/category/index/id/4978Rob's Website: http://rehampson.com/Rob's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rob.hampson2 Follow Baen Books on social mediaBaen's Website: https://www.baen.com/Baen's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BaenBooks#scifishenanigans #scifishenaniganspodcast #bbp #blastersandblades #blastersandbladespodcast #podcast #scifipodcast #fantasypodcast #scifi #fantasy #books #rpg #comics #fandom #literature #comedy #veteran #army #armyranger #ranger #scififan #redshirts #scifiworld #sciencefiction #scifidaily #scificoncept #podcastersofinstagram #scificons #podcastlife #podcastsofinstagram #scifibooks #awardwinningscifi #newepisode #podcastersofinstagram #podcastaddict #podcast #scifigeek #scifibook #sfv #scifivisionaries #firesidechat #chat #panel #fireside #religionquestion #coffee #tea #coffeeortea #CoffeeBrandCoffee #JRHandley #NickGarber #MadamStabby #JanaSBrown #JenaRey #OpalKingdomPress #MedicalTechnologyOfTheFuture #MedicalTechnology #Future #TechnologyOfTheFuture #futurism #BrentRoeder #JRWise #DrRobHampson #DrRobertEHampson #RobHampson #RobertEHampson Baen #BaenPublishing #BaenBooks #BaensBar #memory #EvilPenguin #SpeakerToLabAnimals #6MillionDollarMan #BionicMan #SixMillionDollarMan #LearningDisabilityImplant #nanite #StarTrekPill #newkidney #DrBones #StimPacks #Tricorder #TheLittleBlackBag #shortstory #CyrilMKornbluth #AstoundingScienceFictionMagazine #FalloutFranchise #NukaCola #DrPepper #Sarsaparilla #RedWine #NoseCoke #DryRedWine #RedWineWhore #DARPA #XPrize #wearabledevice #BVLarson #UndyingMercenary #StrangeNewWorlds #HALOLegends #HALO #geneediting #CRISPer

That juicy tomato in your salad or the spicy kick of your favorite peppers — could they be quietly turning up your pain dial?In this episode of Migraine Heroes Podcast, host Diane Ducarme explores the controversial role of the nightshade family — tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and potatoes — in migraine and chronic pain. Are they healing, harmful, or simply misunderstood?In this episode, you'll learn:

What if one side of your body suddenly stopped moving — and your doctor said, “It's a migraine”?Hemiplegic migraines are rare, disorienting, and often confused with strokes. They challenge everything you think you know about how your brain, body, and energy connect.In this episode of Migraine Heroes Podcast, hosted by Diane Ducarme, we explore the science and the story behind this rare form of migraine — one that blurs the line between neurology and mystery. Together, we look at how the body can temporarily lose its flow, and how to gently help it find its rhythm again.In this episode, you'll learn:

Have you ever heard of Senolytics? It's the latest breakthrough in aging and longevity science that I honestly had not heard about until learning about Qualia Senolytic. That's what I'm SO excited to welcome todays guest, naturopathic physician Dr. Gregory Kelly, the VP of product development at Qualia Life, and author of the book Shape Shift. He was the editor of the journal Alternative Medicine Review and has been an instructor at the University of Bridgeport in the College of Naturopathic Medicine, where he taught classes in Advanced Clinical Nutrition, Counseling Skills, and Doctor-Patient Relationships. Dr. Kelly has published hundreds of articles on natural medicine and nutrition, contributed three chapters to the Textbook of Natural Medicine, and has more than 30 journal articles indexed on Pubmed. His areas of expertise include nootropics, anti-aging and regenerative medicine, weight management, sleep and the chronobiology of performance and health. In this episode, Dr. Kelly and I discuss why you should care about cellular senescence and how its different from autophagy, the hallmarks of aging, the, and how you can age better at a cellular level by helping your body naturally eliminate senescent cells. Suggested Resources:Qualia Life (you can use the code wellnstrong for a discount!Dr. Gregory Kelly Qualia Senolytic Placebo-Controlled Clinical Study ResultsSenolytic drugs: from discovery to translationSend me a text!Kyoord makes small-batch Greek olive oils that are exceptionally rich in polyphenols—powerful compounds shown to fight inflammation, support brain health, and protect against chronic disease. It's the brand I personally use and trust daily, and you can try it yourself at kyoord.com with code WELLNSTRONG for 10% off your first order. This episode is proudly sponsored by: SizzlefishLet's talk about fueling your body with the best nature has to offer. If you're looking for premium, sustainable seafood delivered straight to your door, you need to check out Sizzlefish! Head to sizzlefish.com and use my code “wellnstrong” at checkout for an exclusive discount on your first order. Trust me, you're going to taste the difference with Sizzlefish!Join the WellnStrong mailing list for exclusive content here!Want more of The How To Be WellnStrong Podcast? Subscribe to the YouTube channel. Follow Jacqueline: Instagram Pinterest TikTok Youtube To access notes from the show & full transcripts, head over to WellnStrong's Podcast Page

Send us a textI unpack what “ultra-processed” really means, why these foods are so easy to overeat, what the best evidence shows (including metabolic-ward studies), and how I personally navigate them without fear or perfectionism. Key topics & evidence (in plain English):What counts as “ultra-processed”? I walk through the NOVA system—useful, not perfect—and where borderline items (frozen meals, boxed mixes) fit. See an overview of NOVA classifications here. How we got here: post-WWII abundance of refined flour, cheap sugars, oils, and a cultural push for convenience—now ~60% of the U.S. diet comes from UPFs (study). Additives: stabilizers, emulsifiers, preservatives, and colors are generally recognized as safe (GRAS). I explain why, on their own, they're probably not the main health issue. The bigger problem: UPFs are energy-dense, engineered for bliss (fat/sugar/salt + perfect texture), and easy to eat quickly—driving higher calorie intake.  • Metabolic-ward crossover trial: +~508 kcal/day when participants ate UPFs vs minimally processed (Cell 2019). • Overweight adults in a crossover design: +~814 kcal/day on the UPF week (PubMed). • Another recent crossover RCT reports ~300 kcal/day higher on UPFs (Nature Medicine 2025). What I recommend (and what I do):Prioritize whole foods most of the time; shop the perimeter; cook when you can. Canned tomatoes/beans and frozen fruits/peas are fine helpers. If weight, diabetes, or blood pressure are concerns, be extra cautious with UPFs—they're designed to be irresistible and calorie-dense. Moderation wins: I enjoy favorites (yes, even boxed mac 'n' cheese and crunchy peanut butter) without letting them dominate my plate. Takeaways you can use today:Build meals around minimally processed proteins, veggies, fruits, and beans; let convenience items support—not star—in your diet. Watch “calorie-dense + easy to overeat” combos (chips, sweets, fast food). If you have them, portion once, then put the package away. If symptoms or inflammation are puzzling you, try a short UPF-light experiment (2–4 weeks) and see how you feel. If this episode helped, please follow and leave a quick review—and share it with a friend who's curious about UPFs. For my newsletter and resources, visit drbobbylivelongandwell.com.

In patients with heart failure, remote hemodynamic monitoring can identify health changes long before symptoms appear, contributing to slower disease progression, improved patient outcomes, and reduced rehospitalizations. Learn more about current and future technology that can support better patient health, and the role of nurses in patient education and monitoring. Guests: Linda Park, PhD, MS, FNP-BC, FAAN, FAHA, FPCNA, and Eryn Bryant, MSN, APRN-CNP, FPCNA.PCNA Heart Failure Tools: https://pcna.net/health-topics/heart-failure/Tele-HF study: https://www.jacc.org/doi/10.1016/j.jchf.2015.07.017 CHAMPION Trial (CMEMs after CRT): Pulmonary Artery Pressure-Guided Management of Patients With Heart Failure and Reduced Ejection Fraction https://www.acc.org/latest-in-cardiology/clinical-trials/2015/12/29/12/44/championJournal of American College of Cardiology paper, Remote Monitoring and Heart Failure Scientific Statement: https://www.jacc.org/doi/10.1016/j.jacc.2023.04.010 European Society of Cardiology consensus statement: https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartjsupp/suae116BMAD trial: BMAD Trial: Wearable Remote Monitor Reduces Hospital Readmission Risk in HF Patients - American College of Cardiology: https://www.acc.org/Latest-in-Cardiology/Articles/2023/03/01/22/45/mon-830am-bmad-acc-2023 GUIDE-HF trial (CMEMS, Lancet): Haemodynamic-guided management of heart failure (GUIDE-HF): a randomised controlled trial - The Lancet: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01754-2/abstractESCAPE trial (using RHC / pulm art pressures to guide therapy during ADHF: Evaluation study of congestive heart failure and pulmonary artery catheterization effectiveness: the ESCAPE trial - PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16204662/MONITOR-HF trial (improved QOL and functional status w/ CMEMs): Remote haemodynamic monitoring of pulmonary artery pressures in patients with chronic heart failure (MONITOR-HF): a randomised clinical trial - The Lancet: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(23)00923-6/abstract MONITOR-HF: Pulmonary artery pressure monitoring in chronic heart failure: effects across clinically relevant subgroups in the MONITOR-HF trial | European Heart Journal | Oxford Academic: https://academic.oup.com/eurheartj/article/45/32/2954/7668040MONITOR-HF (summary in ACC): Remote Hemodynamic Monitoring of Pulmonary Artery Pressures in Patients With Chronic Heart Failure - American College of Cardiology: https://www.acc.org/Latest-in-Cardiology/Clinical-Trials/2023/07/18/17/21/monitor-hfHeartLogic: HeartLogic Multisensor Algorithm Identifies Patients During Periods of Significantly Increased Risk of Heart Failure Events: https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCHEARTFAILURE.117.004669SCALE-HF-1 Trial (bodyport scale to predict worsening HF trends): Use of a Cardiac Scale to Predict Heart Failure Events: Design of SCALE-HF 1 | Circulation: Heart Failure: https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCHEARTFAILURE.122.010012See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Send us a textToday, I'm joined by Dr. William LaValley — one of the world's leading researchers and medical doctors in the field of integrative cancer treatment.Dr. LaValley has spent decades combining the latest discoveries in molecular biology with evidence-based, integrative therapies for cancer. He draws upon the vast database of research available through PubMed to identify the anti-cancer potential of natural compounds and repurposed, or off-label, pharmaceutical drugs.Since earning his M.D. in 1986, Dr. LaValley has developed sophisticated, evidence-driven databases mapping the molecular pathways of cancer. These insights have allowed him to design personalized treatment protocols that complement — rather than replace — conventional chemotherapy and radiation therapy.In this episode, we'll discuss how understanding molecular biology helps identify new targets for treatment, how repurposed drugs can work synergistically with standard therapies, and what the future of integrative oncology looks like.You can find him at:www.Lavalleymdprotocols.com#IntegrativeOncology #CancerResearch #MolecularMedicine #RepurposedDrugs #FunctionalMedicine #CancerTreatment #FitRxPodcast

Biust – symbol kobiecości, źródło życia, przyjemności i emocjonalnej równowagi. To obszar, który często traktujemy wyłącznie fizycznie – pielęgnując jego jędrność, kształt czy atrakcyjność. A jednak to coś znacznie więcej.W tym odcinku zapraszam Cię do odkrycia biustu jako mapy kontaktu ze sobą – miejsca, w którym spotykają się ciało, emocje i energia. To przestrzeń, która uczy nas czułości wobec siebie, zaufania do własnej intuicji i świadomej obecności w kobiecym ciele.Zrozumiesz, jak biust wspiera nie tylko naszą fizjologię, ale też delikatną równowagę hormonalną i emocjonalną. Jak poprzez dotyk, oddech i uwagę możemy przywrócić mu blask – i sobie samej poczucie pełni.Ciało pamięta każdy gest troski. Jeśli po tym odcinku czujesz, że chcesz dać sobie więcej obecności i czułości — w opisie zostawiam linki do miejsc, które w tym wspierają: facemodeling.pl i BABUU.PLTo przestrzenie, w których dotyk staje się terapią, a pielęgnacja — spotkaniem z własnym ciałem, zdrowiem i urodą.Dla tych z Was, które chcą zadbać o swój biust jeszcze głębiej – z miłością i troską – przygotowałam 30% zniżki na wszystkie programy pielęgnacyjne biustu- te do pielęgnacji domowej i te profesjonalne do gabinetu.Użyj hasła BRA30 przy zakupie i pozwól sobie na odrobinę świadomej kobiecości każdego dnia.Literatura wspomniana w odcinku:Touch for socioemotional and physical well-being: A review Czasopismo: Developmental Review DOI: 10.1016/j.dr.2009.10.001 PubMed ID: 20434965Autor: Stephen W. PorgesTytuł: The polyvagal perspectiveCzasopismo: Biological PsychologyRok: 2007Tom: 74, numery 2–3, strony 116–143DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2006.06.009PubMed ID: 17049418Bezpośredni link do źródła na PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17049418/Montaż: Eugeniusz Karlov

In this solo episode, Darin takes on the “beef tallow” craze that's been sweeping the wellness world — exposing the industry manipulation, environmental costs, and scientific inaccuracies behind the trend. From skincare to supplements, companies are selling animal byproducts as miracle cures — but what's really happening behind the scenes? Darin dives into the industrial rendering process, the hidden pollution of factory farming, and the false “ancestral” marketing that's convincing people to buy into a billion-dollar rebrand of waste. This episode isn't about guilt — it's about truth, awareness, and sovereignty. Because when you know how the system really works, you can choose differently.     What You'll Learn 00:00:00 – Why Darin decided to peel back the layers on the beef tallow trend 00:01:00 – What tallow actually is: industrially rendered animal fat from slaughterhouse byproducts 00:03:00 – The dirty details: high-heat rendering, bleaching, deodorizing, and chemical refining 00:06:00 – The hidden foundation of factory farming and the myth of “ancestral” sourcing 00:08:00 – The human and environmental toll of the tallow supply chain — pollution, stress, and labor exploitation 00:10:00 – Marketing manipulation: how “natural” language disguises industrial exploitation 00:12:00 – Science check: why tallow isn't nutritionally superior to seed oils 00:14:00 – The clinical data: saturated vs. polyunsaturated fats and heart health 00:16:00 – The real safety issues — prion disease, contaminants, oxidation, and hidden toxins 00:18:00 – Why skincare claims are unproven — no data shows tallow outperforms plant oils 00:20:00 – The illusion of “zero-waste”: how byproduct economics fuel more slaughter 00:22:00 – What “natural” actually costs — to the planet, animals, and human health 00:24:00 – The path forward: transparency, awareness, and choosing regenerative alternatives 00:26:00 – The SuperLife perspective: stop calling destruction natural — awareness is the first step toward change     Thank You to Our Sponsors Fatty15: Get an additional 15% off their 90-day subscription Starter Kit by going to fatty15.com/DARIN and using code DARIN at checkout. EnergyBits: 100% spirulina and chlorella tablets delivering pure food nutrition. Use code SUPERLIFE for 20% off at energybits.com.     Find More from Darin Olien: Instagram: @darinolien Podcast: SuperLife Podcast Website: superlife.com Book: Fatal Conveniences     Key Takeaway “Let's stop calling destruction natural. When we stop buying into exploitation, we stop funding it — and that's when change begins for the animals, for the planet, and for us.”     Bibliography / Key References Meatscience.org, “Rendering 101” (industry rendering overview) FAO / Codex Alimentarius, edible fats and oils specifications (MIU, peroxide, etc.) Sölens / rendering-industry chemical supplier blogs (on refining aids, odor control) FDA/EPA dioxin/PCB in fats monitoring programs AHA/ACC (American Heart Association / American College of Cardiology) review on saturated vs unsaturated fats and cardiovascular disease PubMed articles on prion resistance to rendering Derm & cosmetic reviews on tallow/animal fats in skincare Industry & environmental NGO reports on factory farming's greenhouse gas, water, land use, manure pollution, worker conditions

Send us a textCancer is the second leading cause of death, and while it sparks fear for good reason, 40% of cases are preventable. In this episode, I outline six practical, evidence-based steps that can help reduce your risk.We begin by understanding which cancers are most common based on gender—breast, colon, and lung in women; prostate, colon, and lung in men. While some rare cancers (like pancreatic or ovarian) evoke greater fear, the focus here is on the ones we're more likely to face and can meaningfully act on.Next, I break down risk factors into two categories. Some are unavoidable—your sex, age, or family history. For example, if a close relative had breast or colon cancer, early screening or genetic testing may be warranted. However, only about 5–10% of cancers are directly linked to inherited genetic mutations (American Cancer Society).The more empowering list? Avoidable risk factors—where our actions matter most. Smoking remains the leading modifiable cause of cancer, responsible for about 19% of all cases. Excess weight and obesity account for another 8% and are especially tied to hard-to-treat cancers like pancreatic and ovarian (ScienceDirect) and PubMed). Visceral fat appears more predictive than BMI alone. Alcohol, especially in large quantities, is also linked to liver, GI, and breast cancers.Some risks are cancer-specific. HPV causes nearly all cervical cancers, and melanoma is largely driven by UV exposure. Air pollution, especially particulate matter, may slightly increase lung cancer risk (ASCO Global Oncology).Step three is to act on what you can. Quit smoking, aim for a healthy weight, wear sun protection, and ensure your kids get their routine HPV and Hepatitis B vaccines. Exercise plays a major role too—high activity levels correlate with 10–20% lower risk of several major cancers (JAMA). In colon cancer survivors, regular exercise reduced recurrence by 30% (PubMed).Step four is awareness: don't ignore new symptoms like unexplained bleeding or lumps. Early detection can be life-saving.Step five is screening. If you're 45 or older, colonoscopy is now recommended. Women should get regular mammograms and PAP smears, and individuals with smoking history may benefit from lung CT scans. For rarer cancers with family history, targeted screenings may apply. I also address why whole-body MRIs and liquid biopsies aren't ready for routine use.Step six? Don't put your hope in supplements. Large trials show omega-3s, vitamin D, beta carotene, and vitamin C offer no real protective benefit (NEJM VITAL Study, Meta-analysis on Vitamin C, JNCI on aspirin).Takeaways: You can reduce your cancer risk by modifying lifestyle factors like smoking, weight, and activity. Don't delay screenings—they catch cancers early when treatment is most effective. And remember: no supplement replaces proven preventive strategies.Visit drbobbylivelongandwell.com for more evidence-based tools, and listen to the full episode for actionable steps to help you live long and well.

See all the Healthcasts at https://www.biobalancehealth.com/healthcast-blog If you are female who is menopausal and you have experienced your OBGYN or internist drawing your blood to check your hormone levels, (Estradiol, and LH and FSH) to see if you are menopausal or to see what your estradiol level is while on HRT, you may have heard your doctor tell you that your estradiol level is too high. That is what I would like to talk about today….. This often occurs when my patients take the blood work I order to another doctor who doesn't know anything about estrogen and just looks at the reference range on the lab sheet. Most of you have heard me talk about the fact that lab reports must be interpreted by the treating physician, because what is written on the lab sheet isn't tailored to your situation. The lab reference ranges for menopausal women are based on women who don't take any hormones, very low estradiol and high LH and FSH, which is not healthy and is the level that causes women overwhelming hot flashes and painful periods. Estradiol blood tests have a list of numbers that don't reflect the healthy estradiol level, but a level that makes women miserable. After I replace a woman's estradiol, their tests show blood levels of a young healthy woman who is pre-menopausal, and that brings them back to feeling like themselves. “I have my life back!  Estradiol and Testosterone Pellets have cured all my symptoms (low libido, hot flashes, poor interrupted sleep, bladder spasms, depression, and I feel like myself again!” No other hormone replacement brings estradiol blood levels to (60-250ng/ml), patches, creams and gels just stop one symptom, hot flashes.  There is a reason that your doctor doesn't know about hormones. The education that OBGYNs get in residency effects what they recommend to their patients for life, and they have very little training about hormones which means that no one is taking care of the hormones for women, and bioidentical estradiol is never discussed because it is not approved by the FDA which is why I DO!  I have made it my business to know everything about women's hormones and have prescribed them to women for over 45 years.  Therefore, when I am told that the primary care or internal medicine doctor told one of my patients that their estradiol and estrone are “too high”, I am dismayed.    Women must think about the fact that when they feel normal after menopause treatment, then that is the best treatment for them.  My patients become better, healthier, and their relationships are more fulfilling with Estradiol replacement, and I know the range the Estradiol should be within (60-250), the same as when we were fertile and young. Estradiol taken non-orally (patch, cream or pellet) is safe and does not cause breast cancer or liver cancer or cause blood clots. What Should I Tell My Doctor about my estrogen replacement? Therefore, If your doctor tells you to stop estradiol, you can tell him that estradiol replacement decreases all causes of death in Menopausal women, it decreases heart disease, bladder disease, bladder infections, osteoporosis, and dementia/Alazheimer's Disease! Tell him or her that, they can stop worrying about your Estrogen because you are being prescribed it by a doctor who knows how to manage hormones. Breast Cancer Patients There is another type of patient who I often see in my office. Breast Cancer patients with estradiol receptors are taken off their estrogen, and they are given an estrogen blocker like Tamoxifen® (oral) or Anastrazole (Arimidex®) to get rid of the estrogen in their body which is to “starve” breast cancer cell that may have seeded other tissues in the body. These patients are miserable. I treat them with Testosterone pellets only and monitor their Estrogens. That works until their doctor sees an Estradiol level that is in the premenopausal range in a patient who hasn't had an estradiol pellet in a year.  E2 pellets are tiny and friable, and they can't last longer than 6 months. What happens when the oncologist freaks them out saying it is the Estradiol pellet causing the E2, E1 levels. They are upset but this is estradiol from other sources (not the ovaries). Here are the facts: Estradiol pellets are 2-3 mm in size. They dissolve by blood flowing around the pellet located in the fat. Estradiol pellets dissolve completely over 3-4 months in most women. We cannot see them by ultrasound at 4 months. Therefore, a year later a woman who has estradiol over 60 The oncologist is not a hormone specialist and doesn't know the other sources of estradiol and estrone in the body. a prescribed amount of Estradiol (E2) is given every 4 months. The medium dose of E2 is 25mg and it lasts 120 – 180 days The size of an estradiol pellet = 2×2 mm Causes Of Continuing High Estrogen In a Woman Long After She Stops E2 Pellets: Tamoxifen given for Breast Cancer is an Estrogen and also an Estrogen Receptor modulator, but is really an Estrogen, which turns off the receiving end for E2 (the cellular receptors) so the breast cancer cannot be stimulated by circulating estrogens, but the rest of the body is. When on Tamoxifen it is not the pellets that are raising the blood level of E2, E1, it is the Medication. When someone is on Tomoxifen all their other organs are stimulated by estrogens from Tamoxifen, but the Breasts are not. That means that the estrogen in the blood is from the medication Tamoxifen and not the previous pellets. Obesity increases body fat and E2 is made in the fat and the less fat the lower the Estrone and estradiol. Other Medications and supplements can increase the E2 and E1 in the circulation but rarely help with menopausal symptoms. Your doctor should know what medications you can't take if you are trying to get rid of estradiol and estrone usually prior to Breast Cancer therapy. Drinking alcohol can prevent the liver from processing the estrogen that is meant to be removed normally so it builds up in the circulation. Liver disease causes an increase in E1 as well. Some medications increase estrogens in the body, but do not relieve symptoms of menopause, so have you doctor review your other medications you take. High intake of soy, edamame, soy nuts, soy in nut milk, Tofu, and other vegan (fake meat) is made of soy and soy is a phytoestrogen which can cause uterine bleeding but doesn't help the symptoms of menopause. Soy is in everything so read the labels. Genetic Diseases can cause high estrogen in menopausal women who are not taking estradiol for their symptoms.   Some women have an aromatase defect, which is genetic and can't be cured but can be treated with anastrazole or Arimidex, the same medication. This means that they convert Testosterone into estradiol and estrone. Even before menopause women have very low testosterone, so this is not obvious when they come to my office. The test for the gene defect is very expensive and this is not a common occurrence.  We diagnose this when a woman's estrogen is too high for the dose she is taking, AND her testosterone ran out too fast! We treat that condition with a testosterone + anastrazole pellet in the normal dose of T, and it corrects the conversion of T into E2, E1. Oral anastrazole also called Arimidex blocks that conversion too and is tolerated better by men but women get arthritis symptoms. DIM can treat this genetic conversion by blocking the enzyme at a different place than Arimidex. Fat Loss through dieting releases the estradiol stored in the body fat   Obesity and weight loss can cause estradiol and estrone to be high in the blood. Estrogen is made and stored in fat tissue.  The more you have, the more E1 and E2 you have in your fat.  Obesity can store the hormone and slowly release it which fools us and makes us think we are seeing pellet E2 nd E1. The more fat you have the more estrogens you make! When people lose fat under the supervision of a doctor, they usually have somewhat rapid weight loss.  This floods the blood with both estradiol, estrone, and triglycerides.  It takes longer to clear the estrogens because the liver is also processing fat. PubMed https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov Does reducing body fat reduce estrogen? Making some lifestyle changes may help lower your estrogen levels. Your provider may recommend that you: Decrease your percentage of body fat. Decreasing your body fat can reduce the amount of estrogen that your fat cells secrete. Feb 9, 2022 Above is what your doctor should think about when diagnosing you for high estradiol long after a pellet is gone.  There are some ovarian and adrenal specific problems that are also possible to be the reason E2, E1 are increased. I hope this gives you ammunition to discuss with the doctors who don't know anything about hormones, estradiol and menopausal women.  Tell them what you know to be true and stop blaming a 2mmx2mm pellet that can't physically last more than 120 day.

Dr. Hope Rugo and Dr. Giuseppe Curigliano discuss recent developments in the field of bispecific antibodies for hematologic and solid tumors, including strategies to optimize the design and delivery of the immunotherapy. TRANSCRIPT Dr. Hope Rugo: Hello and welcome to By the Book, a podcast series from ASCO that features engaging conversations between editors and authors of the ASCO Educational Book. I am your host, Dr. Hope Rugo. I am the director of the Women's Cancers Program and division chief of breast medical oncology at the City of Hope Cancer Center. I am also the editor-in-chief of the Educational Book. Bispecific antibodies represent an innovative and advanced therapeutic platform in hematologic and solid tumors. And today, I am delighted to be joined by Dr. Giuseppe Curigliano to discuss the current landscape of bispecific antibodies and their potential to reshape the future of precision oncology. Dr. Curigliano was the last author of an ASCO Educational Book piece for 2025 titled, "Bispecific Antibodies in Hematologic and Solid Tumors: Current Landscape and Therapeutic Advances." Dr. Curigliano is a breast medical oncologist and the director of the Early Drug Development Division and chair of the Experimental Therapeutics Program at the European Institute of Oncology in Milan. He is also a full professor of medical oncology at the University of Milan. You can find our disclosures in the transcript of this episode. Dr. Curigliano, Giuseppe, welcome and thanks for being here. Dr. Giuseppe Curigliano: Thanks a lot for the invitation. Dr. Hope Rugo: Giuseppe, I would like to first ask you to provide some context for our listeners on how these novel therapeutics work. And then perhaps you could tell us about recent developments in the field of bispecific antibodies for oncology. We are at a time when antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are all the rage and, trying to improve on the targeting of specific antigens, proteins, receptors in the field of oncology is certainly a hot and emerging topic. Dr. Giuseppe Curigliano: So, thanks a lot. I believe really it was very challenging to try to summarize all the bispecific antibodies that are under development in multiple solid tumors. So, the first thing that I would like to highlight is the context and the mechanism of action of bispecific antibodies. Bispecific antibodies represent a groundbreaking advancement in cancer immunotherapy, because these engineered molecules have the unique ability to target and simultaneously bind to two distinct antigens. That is why we call them bispecific. So typically, one antigen is expressed on the tumor cell and the other one is expressed on the immune effectors, like T-cell or natural killer cells. So this dual targeting mechanism offers several key advantages over conventional monoclonal antibodies because you can target at the same time the tumor antigen, downregulating the pathway of proliferation, and you can activate the immune system. So the primary mechanism through which bispecific antibodies exert their therapeutic effects are: First, T-cell redirecting. I mean, many bispecific antibodies are designed to engage tumor-associated antigens like epidermal growth factor receptor, HER2, on the cancer cell and a costimulatory molecule on the surface of T-cell. A typical target antigen on T-cell is CD3. So what does it mean? That you activate the immune system, immune cells will reach the tumor bed, and you have a dual effect. One is downregulating cell proliferation, the other one is activation of the immune system. This is really important in hematological malignancies, where we have a lot of bispecifics already approved, like acute lymphoblastic leukemia or non-Hodgkin lymphoma.  The second, in fact, is the engagement of the tumor microenvironment. So, if you engage immune effector cells like NK cells or macrophages, usually the bispecific antibodies can exploit the immune system's ability to recognize and kill the immune cells, even if there is a lack of optimal antigen presentation.  And finally, the last mechanism of action, this may have a role in the future, maybe in the early cancer setting, is overcoming immune evasion. So bispecific antibodies can overcome some of the immune evasion mechanisms that we see in cancer. For example, bispecific antibodies can target immune checkpoint receptors, like PD-L1 and CTLA-4. Actually, there is a bispecific under development in breast cancer that has a dual targeting on vascular endothelial growth factor receptor and on PD-L1. So you have a dual effect at the same time. So, what is really important, as a comment, is we need to focus first on the optimal format of the bispecific, the optimal half-life, the stability, because of course even if they are very efficient in inducing a response, they may give also a lot of toxicities. So in clinical trials already, we have several bispecifics approved. In solid tumors, very few, specifically amivantamab for non-small cell lung cancer, but we have a pipeline of almost 40 to 50 bispecifics under development in multiple solid tumors, and some of them are in the context of prospective randomized trials. Dr. Hope Rugo: So this is really a fascinating area and it's really exciting to see the expansion of the different targets for bispecific antibodies. One area that has intrigued me also is that some of the bispecifics actually will target different parts of the same receptor or the same protein, but presumably those will be used as a different strategy. It's interesting because we have seen that, for example, in targeting HER2. Dr. Giuseppe Curigliano: Oh, yes, of course. You may consider some bispecifics like margetuximab, I suppose, in which you can target specifically two different epitopes of the same antigen. This is really an example of how a bispecific can potentially be more active and downregulating, let us say, a pathway, by targeting two different domains of a specific target antigen. This is an important point.  Of course, not all the bispecifics work this way, because some of the target antigen may dimerize, and so you have a family of target antigen; an example is epidermal growth factor receptor, in which you have HER1, HER2, HER3, and HER4. So some of them can inhibit the dimerization between one target antigen and the other one, in order to exert a more antiproliferative effect. But to be honest, the new generation of them are more targeting two different antigens, one on the tumor and one on the microenvironment, because according to the clinical data, this is a more efficient way to reduce proliferation and to activate the immune system. Dr. Hope Rugo: Really interesting, and I think it brings us to the next topic, which is really where bispecific antibodies have already shown success, and that is in hematologic malignancies where we have seen very interesting efficacy and these are being used in the clinic already. But the expansion of bispecific antibodies into solid tumors faces some key challenges. It's interesting because the challenges come in different shapes and forms. Tell us about some of those challenges and strategies to optimize bispecific antibody design, delivery, patient selection, and how we are going to use these agents in the right kind of clinical trials. Dr. Giuseppe Curigliano: This is really an excellent question because despite bispecific antibodies having shown a remarkable efficacy in hematological malignancies, their application in solid tumors may have some challenges. The first one is tumor heterogeneity. In hematological malignancy, you have a clear oncogene addiction. Let us say that 90% of the cells may express the same antigen. In solid tumors, it is not the same. Tumor heterogeneity is a typical characteristic of solid tumors, and you have high heterogeneity at the genetic, molecular, and phenotypic levels. So tumor cells can differ significantly from one another, even if within the same tumor. And this heterogeneity sometimes makes it difficult to identify a single target antigen that is universally expressed in an hematological malignancy. So furthermore, sometimes the antigen expressed on a tumor cell can be also present on the normal tissue. And so you may have a cross-targeting. So let's say, if you have a bispecific against epidermal growth factor receptor, this will target the tumor but will target also the skin with a lot of toxicity. The second challenge is the tumor microenvironment. The solid tumor microenvironment is really complex and often immunosuppressive. It is characterized by the presence of immunosuppressor cells like the T regulators, myeloid derived suppressor cells, and of course the extracellular matrix. All these factors hinder immune cell infiltration and also may reduce dramatically the effectiveness of bispecific antibodies. And as you know, there is also an hypoxic condition in the tumor. The other challenge is related to the poor tumor penetration. As you know also with antibody-drug conjugate, only 1 to 3% of the drug will arrive in the tumor bed. Unlike hematological malignancies where tumor cells are dispersed in the blood and easily accessible, the solid tumors have a lot of barriers, and so it means that tumor penetration can be very low. Finally, the vascularity also of the tumor can be different across solid tumors. That is why some bispecifics have a vascular endothelial growth factor receptor or vascular endothelial growth factor as a target. Of course, what do we have to do to overcome these challenges? First, we have to select the optimal antigen. So knowing very well the biology of cancer and the tumor-associated antigens can really select a subgroup of epitopes that are specifically overexpressed in cancer cells. And so we need to design bispecifics according to the tumor type. Second, optimize the antibody format. So there are numerous bispecific antibody formats. We can consider the dual variable domain immunoglobulin, we specified this in our paper. The single chain variable fragments, so FC variable fragments, and the diabodies that can enhance both binding affinity and stability. And finally, the last point, combination therapies. Because bispecific antibodies targeting immune checkpoint, we have many targeting PD-1 or PD-L1 or CTLA-4, combined eventually with other immune checkpoint inhibitors. And so you may have more immunostimulating effect. Dr. Hope Rugo: This is a fascinating field and it is certainly going to go far in the treatment of solid tumors. You know, I think there is some competition with what we have now for antibody-drug conjugates. Do you see that bispecifics will eventually become bispecific ADCs? Are we going to combine these bispecific antibodies with ADCs, with chemotherapy? What is the best combination strategy do you think looking forward? Dr. Giuseppe Curigliano: So, yes, we have a bispecific ADC. We have actually some bispecifics that are conjugated with a payload of chemotherapy. Some others are conjugated with immunoactivation agents like IL-2. One of the most effective strategies for enhancing bispecific activity is the combination therapy. So which type of combination can we do? First, bispecific antibodies plus checkpoint inhibitors. If you combine a bispecific with an immune checkpoint, like anti-PD-1, anti-PD-L1, or anti-CTLA-4, you have more activity because you have activation of T-cells, reduction of immunosuppressive effect, and of course, the capability of this bispecific to potentiate the activity of the immune checkpoint inhibitor. So, in my opinion, in a non-small cell lung cancer with an expression of PD-L1 more than 50%, if you give pembrolizumab plus a bispecific targeting PD-L1, you can really improve both response rate and median progression-free survival.  Another combination is chemotherapy plus bispecific antibodies. Combining chemotherapy with bispecific can enhance the cytotoxic effect because chemotherapy induces immunogenic cell death, and then you boost with a bispecific in order to activate the immune system. Bispecific and CAR T-cells, until now, we believe that these are in competition, but this is not correct. Because CAR T-cells are designed to deliver an activation of the immune system with the same lymphocytes engineered of the patients, with a long-term effect. So I really do not believe that bispecifics are in competition with CAR T-cells because when you have a complete remission induced by CAR T-cell, the effect of this complete remission can last for years. The activity of a bispecific is a little bit different. So there are some studies actually combining CAR T-cells with bispecifics. For example, bispecific antibodies can direct CAR T-cells in the tumor microenvironment, improving their specificity and enhancing their therapeutic effect.  And finally, monoclonal antibody plus bispecific is another next generation activity. Because if you use bispecific antibodies in combination with existing monoclonal antibodies like anti-HER2, you can potentially increase the immune response and enhance tumor cell targeting. In hematological malignancies, this has been already demonstrated and this approach has been particularly effective. Dr. Hope Rugo: That's just so fascinating, the whole idea that we have these monoclonal antibodies and now we are going to add them to bispecifics that we could maybe attach on different toxins to try and improve this, or even give them with different approaches. I suppose giving an ADC with a bispecific would sort of be similar to that idea of giving a monoclonal antibody with the bispecific. So it is certainly intriguing. We also will need to understand the toxicity and cost overall and how we are going to use these, the duration of treatment, the assessment of biomarkers. There are just so many different aspects that still need to be explored.  And then with that idea, can you look ahead five or ten years from now, and tell us how you think bispecific antibodies will shape our next generation cancer therapies, how they will be incorporated into precision oncology, and the new combinations and approaches as we move forward that will help us tailor treatment for patients both with solid tumors and hematologic malignancies? Are we going to be giving these in early-stage disease in solid tumors? So far, the studies are primarily focusing on the metastatic setting, but obviously one of the goals when we have successful treatments is to move them into the early stage setting as quickly as possible. Dr. Giuseppe Curigliano: Let us try to look ahead five years rather than ten years, to be more realistic. So, personally I believe some bispecifics can potentially replace current approaches in specifically T-cell selected population. As we gather more data from ongoing clinical trials and we adopt a deeper understanding of the tumor immuno microenvironment, of course we may have potentially new achievement. A few days ago, we heard that bispecifics in triple negative breast cancer targeting VEGF and PD-L1 demonstrated an improvement in median progression-free survival.  So, how to improve and to impact on clinical practice both in the metastatic and in the early breast cancer setting or solid tumor setting? First, personalized antigen selection. So we need to have the ability to tailor bispecific antibody therapy to the unique tumor profile of individual patients. So the more we understand the biology of cancers, the more we will be able to better target. Second, bispecific antibodies should be combined. I can see in the future a potential trial in which you combine a bispecific anti-PD-L1 and VEGF with immune checkpoint inhibitor selected also to the level of expression of PD-L1, because integration of antibody bispecific with a range of immunotherapies, and this cannot be only immune checkpoint inhibitors, but can be CAR T-cells, oncolytic viruses, also targeted therapy, will likely be a dominant theme in the coming years. This combination will be based on the specific molecular and immuno feature of the cancer of the patient.  Then we need an enhanced delivery system. This is really important because you know now we have a next generation antibody. An example are the bicyclic. So you use FC fragment that are very short, with a low molecular weight, and this short fragment can be bispecific, so can target at the same time a target antigen and improving the immune system. And so the development of this novel delivery system, including also nanoparticles or engineered viral vectors, can enhance the penetration in the tumor bed and the bioavailability of bispecific antibodies. Importantly, we need to reduce toxicity. Until now, bispecifics are very toxic. So the more we are efficient in delivering in the tumor bed, the more we will reduce the risk of toxicity. So it will be mandatory to reduce off-target effects and to minimize toxicity.  And finally, the expansion in new indication. So I really believe you raised an excellent point. We need to design studies in the neoadjuvant setting in order to better understand with multiple biopsies which is the effect on the tumor microenvironment and the tumor itself, and to generate hypotheses for potential trials or in the neoadjuvant setting or in those patients with residual disease.  So, in my opinion, as we refine design, optimize patient selection, and explore new combination, in the future we will have more opportunity to integrate bispecifics in the standard of care. Dr. Hope Rugo: I think it is particularly helpful to hear what we are going to be looking for as we move forward to try and improve efficacy and reduce toxicity. And the ability to engineer these new antibodies and to more specifically target the right proteins and immune effectors is going to be critical, of course, moving forward, as well as individualizing therapy based on a specific tumor biology.  Hearing your insights has been great, and it really has opened up a whole area of insight into the field of bispecifics, together with your excellent contribution to the ASCO Educational Book. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and background, as well as what we might see in the future on this podcast today. Dr. Giuseppe Curigliano: Thank you very much for the invitation and for this excellent interview. Dr. Hope Rugo: And thanks to our listeners for joining us today. You will find a link to the Ed Book article we discussed today in the transcript of this episode. It is also, of course, on the ASCO website, as well as on PubMed. Please join us again next month on By the Book for more insightful views on the key issues and innovations that are shaping modern oncology. Disclaimer: The purpose of this podcast is to educate and to inform. This is not a substitute for professional medical care and is not intended for use in the diagnosis or treatment of individual conditions. Guests on this podcast express their own opinions, experience and conclusions. Guest statements on the podcast do not express the opinions of ASCO. The mention of any product, service, organization, activity or therapy should not be construed as an ASCO endorsement. Follow today's speakers:       Dr. Hope Rugo  @hope.rugo  Dr. Giuseppe Curigliano @curijoey Follow ASCO on social media:       @ASCO on X (formerly Twitter)       ASCO on Bluesky      ASCO on Facebook       ASCO on LinkedIn       Disclosures:      Dr. Hope Rugo:   Honoraria: Mylan/Viatris, Chugai Pharma  Consulting/Advisory Role: Napo Pharmaceuticals, Sanofi, Bristol Myer  Research Funding (Inst.): OBI Pharma, Pfizer, Novartis, Lilly, Merck, Daiichi Sankyo, AstraZeneca, Gilead Sciences, Hoffman La-Roche AG/Genentech, In., Stemline Therapeutics, Ambryx  Dr. Giuseppe Curigliano: Leadership: European Society for Medical Oncology, European Society of Breast Cancer Specialists, ESMO Open, European Society for Medical Oncology Honoraria: Ellipses Pharma Consulting or Advisory Role: Roche/Genentech, Pfizer, Novartis, Lilly, Foundation Medicine, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Samsung, AstraZeneca, Daiichi-Sankyo, Boerigher, GSK, Seattle Genetics, Guardant Health, Veracyte, Celcuity, Hengrui Therapeutics, Menarini, Merck, Exact Sciences, Blueprint Medicines, Gilead Sciences Speakers' Bureau: Roche/Genentech, Novartis, Pfizer, Lilly, Foundation Medicine, Samsung, Daiichi Sankyo, Seagen, Menarini, Gilead Sciences, Exact Sciences Research Funding: Merck Travel, Accommodations, Expenses: Roche/Genentech, Pfizer, Daiichi Sankyo, AstraZeneca      

Can sharing personal stories at work really boost your well-being and productivity? In my latest solo episode, I explore the fascinating dynamics of self-disclosure in the workplace, drawing insights from recent research. Discover how sharing positive experiences can elevate emotional well-being, enhance work energy, and foster deeper connections with colleagues, while venting about negative experiences might have the opposite effect.We also examine the motivations behind why we share, including connecting, venting, or seeking advice, and how they impact our well-being. To close, we consider the intriguing interplay of mismatched intentions, where what we are looking for is not returned and how Craig also unpacks the intriguing concept of response mismatches, where the intention to connect can be misaligned and strategies we can use, as both a sharer and listener, to avoid this unfortunate outcome.Tune in as explore an issue that we all face and learn evidence-based practices that can deepen the quality of our communication and connection.What You'll Learn- How sharing positive experiences can boost your energy and strengthen connections with colleagues- The potential downsides of venting- The crucial role of intentions in self-disclosure; why we share impacts what we receive in return- The role of intention in improving the quality of our conversations- How to avoid misalignment between our intentions and our impactKEYWORDSPositive Leadership, Group Dynamics, Positive Communication, Self-Disclosure, Emotional Well-being, Mental Health, Managing Professional Relationships, Lead with Intention, High-Quality Conversations, Team Success, The Power of Vulnerability, Emotional Regulation, Support, CEO SuccessRESOURCESDo you have a minute? The cognitive and emotional consequences of self-disclosures at work - PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40424152/

“It's 5pm and your Consultant (attending) has headed off home. A patient arrives in the resuscitation room blood spurting from a stab wound in the armpit. Join Roisin – a junior Major Trauma fellow, Prash – a surgical trainee, Max – a senior trauma surgery fellow, and Chris – a Consultant trauma surgeon, as we talk through decision making from point of injury to aftercare in this challenging trauma surgical case”. • Hosts: Bulleted list of host names, including title, institution, & social media handles if indicated 1.     Mr Prashanth Ramaraj. General Surgery trainee, Edinburgh rotation. @LonTraumaSchool 2.     Dr Roisin Kelly. Major Trauma Junior Clinical Fellow, Royal London Hospital.  3.     Mr Max Marsden. Resuscitative Major Trauma Fellow, Royal London Hospital. @maxmarsden83 4.     Mr Christopher Aylwin. Consultant Trauma & Vascular Surgeon and Co-Programme Director MSc Trauma Sciences at Queen Mary University of London. @cjaylwin • Learning objectives: Bulleted list of learning objectives. A)    To become familiar with prehospital methods of haemorrhage control in penetrating junctional injuries. B)     To recognise the benefits of prehospital blood product resuscitation in some trauma patients. C)     To follow the nuanced decision making in decision for CT scan in a patient with a penetrating junctional injury. D)    To describe the possible approaches to the axillary artery in the context of resuscitative trauma surgery. E)     To become familiar with decision making around intraoperative systemic anticoagulation in the trauma patient. F)     To become familiar with decision making on type of repair and graft material in vascular trauma. G)    To recognise the team approach in holistic trauma care through the continuum of trauma care. • References: Bulleted list of references with PubMed links. 1.    Perkins Z. et al., 2012. Epidemiology and Outcome of Vascular Trauma at a British Major Trauma Centre. EJVES. https://www.ejves.com/article/S1078-5884(12)00337-1/fulltext 2.    Ramaraj P., et al. 2025. The anatomical distribution of penetrating junctional injuries and their resource implications: A retrospective cohort study. Injury. https://www.injuryjournal.com/article/S0020-1383(24)00771-X/ 3.    Smith, S., et al. 2019. The effectiveness of junctional tourniquets: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. https://journals.lww.com/jtrauma/abstract/2019/03000/the_effectiveness_of_junctional_tourniquets__a.20.aspx 4.    Rijnhout TWH, et al. 2019. Is prehospital blood transfusion effective and safe in haemorrhagic trauma patients? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Injury. https://www.injuryjournal.com/article/S0020-1383(19)30133-0/ 5.    Davenport R, et al. 2023. Prehospital blood transfusion: Can we agree on a standardised approach? Injury. https://www.injuryjournal.com/article/S0020-1383(22)00915-9. 6.    Borgman MA., et al. 2007. The Ratio of Blood Products Transfused Affects Mortality in Patients Receiving Massive Transfusions at a Combat Support Hospital. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. https://journals.lww.com/jtrauma/fulltext/2007/10000/the_ratio_of_blood_products_transfused_affects.13.aspx 7.    Holcomb JB., et al. 2013. The Prospective, Observational, Multicenter, Major Trauma Transfusion (PROMMTT) Study. Comparative Effectiveness of a Time-Varying Treatment With Competing Risks. JAMA Surgery. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamasurgery/fullarticle/1379768 8.    Holcomb JB, et al. 2015. Transfusion of Plasma, Platelets, and Red Blood Cells in a 1:1:1 vs a 1:1:2 Ratio and Mortality in Patients With Severe Trauma. The PROPPR Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2107789 9.    Davenport R., et al. 2023. Early and Empirical High-Dose Cryoprecipitate for Hemorrhage After Traumatic Injury. The CRYOSTAT-2 Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2810756 10.   Baksaas-Aasen K., et al. 2020. Viscoelastic haemostatic assay augmented protocols for major trauma haemorrhage (ITACTIC): a randomized, controlled trial. ICM. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00134-020-06266-1 11. Wahlgren CM., et al. 2025. European Society for Vascular Surgery (ESVS) 2025 Clinical Practice Guidelines on the Management of Vascular Trauma. EJVES. https://esvs.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/2025-Vascular-Trauma-Guidelines.pdf 12. Khan S., et al. 2020. A meta-analysis on anticoagulation after vascular trauma. Eur J Traum Emerg Surg. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00068-020-01321-4 13. Stonko DP., et al. 2022. Postoperative antiplatelet and/or anticoagulation use does not impact complication or reintervention rates after vein repair of arterial injury: A PROOVIT study. Vascular. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/17085381221082371?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%20%200pubmed Please visit https://behindtheknife.org to access other high-yield surgical education podcasts, videos and more.   If you liked this episode, check out our recent episodes here: https://behindtheknife.org/listen Behind the Knife Premium: General Surgery Oral Board Review Course: https://behindtheknife.org/premium/general-surgery-oral-board-review Trauma Surgery Video Atlas: https://behindtheknife.org/premium/trauma-surgery-video-atlas Dominate Surgery: A High-Yield Guide to Your Surgery Clerkship: https://behindtheknife.org/premium/dominate-surgery-a-high-yield-guide-to-your-surgery-clerkship Dominate Surgery for APPs: A High-Yield Guide to Your Surgery Rotation: https://behindtheknife.org/premium/dominate-surgery-for-apps-a-high-yield-guide-to-your-surgery-rotation Vascular Surgery Oral Board Review Course: https://behindtheknife.org/premium/vascular-surgery-oral-board-audio-review Colorectal Surgery Oral Board Review Course: https://behindtheknife.org/premium/colorectal-surgery-oral-board-audio-review Surgical Oncology Oral Board Review Course: https://behindtheknife.org/premium/surgical-oncology-oral-board-audio-review Cardiothoracic Oral Board Review Course: https://behindtheknife.org/premium/cardiothoracic-surgery-oral-board-audio-review Download our App: Apple App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/behind-the-knife/id1672420049 Android/Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.btk.app&hl=en_US

Friday, September 26, 2025. Week 39.   In this episode of Syngap10, we continue the conversation from Episode 183, sharing the latest milestones and moments with our SYNGAP1 community.   DSC has announced! DSC (part of RDCRN, part of NCATS, part of NIH) also announced and continues to raise profile of SYNGAP1 Related Disorders (SRD) Key post https://www.linkedin.com/posts/curesyngap1_86-million-nih-grant-renews-support-for-activity-7373870761230589952-aV1M #RDCRN List with #DSC https://ncats.nih.gov/research/research-activities/rdcrn/consortia   In addition to that, the DSC was formally announced, and will result in five years of SYNGAP1 securing a spot on the map.  This was because of an SRF grant years ago!  Grant https://curesyngap1.org/blog/syngap-research-fund-announces-308-000-multidisciplinary-biomarker-grant-to-boston-childrens-hospital/   Pubmed is at 44! (+2 v ‘23, -10 v ‘24, 2nd place) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=syngap1&filter=years.2025-2025&timeline=expanded&sort=date&sort_order=asc   Cell Paper on AAV in Mice: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/boaz-levi-07387741_aav-delivery-of-full-length-syngap1-rescues-activity-7376306391537532928-iT9u    Last week was a CB Conf in Nashville, attended by KAH and VA, thank you to both.  KAH in Staff yesterday, the hardest thing is not seeing Joey.  ☹️  Thanks to MS for going too. MS https://www.linkedin.com/posts/melissasmith1_raredisease-patientadvocacy-syngap1-activity-7374408667091333120-Udp0/ KAH https://www.linkedin.com/posts/kathryn-syngap-research-fund_the-combinedbrain-conference-in-nashville-activity-7374639535021928448-gWB4    Two big upcoming events: Scramble in SC on October 4th https://www.linkedin.com/posts/julie-miles-4294322ba_scramble-for-syngap-activity-7370558331611971585-iw0A    CURE SYNGAP1 Conference 2025 in Atlanta https://curesyngap1.org/events/conferences/cure-syngap1-conference-2025-hosted-by-srf/   SOCIAL MATTERS - 4,371 LinkedIn.  https://www.linkedin.com/company/curesyngap1/  - 1,440 YouTube.  https://www.youtube.com/@CureSYNGAP1    - 11,292 Twitter https://twitter.com/cureSYNGAP1  - 45k Insta https://www.instagram.com/curesyngap1/    COMPANIES WITH NAMED ASSETS FOR SYNGAP1 $CAMP $3.00 at close on 9/23   Episode 184 of #Syngap10 #CureSYNGAP1 #Advocate #PatientAdvocacy #UnmetNeed #SYNGAP1 #SynGAP #SynGAProMMiS

Friday, September 26, 2025. Week 39.   DSC has announced! DSC (part of RDCRN, part of NCATS, part of NIH) also announced and continues to raise profile of SYNGAP1 Related Disorders (SRD) Key post https://www.linkedin.com/posts/curesyngap1_86-million-nih-grant-renews-support-for-activity-7373870761230589952-aV1M #RDCRN List with #DSC https://ncats.nih.gov/research/research-activities/rdcrn/consortia   In addition to that, the DSC was formally announced, and will result in five years of SYNGAP1 securing a spot on the map.  This was because of an SRF grant years ago!  Grant https://curesyngap1.org/blog/syngap-research-fund-announces-308-000-multidisciplinary-biomarker-grant-to-boston-childrens-hospital/   Pubmed is at 44! (+2 v ‘23, -10 v ‘24, 2nd place) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=syngap1&filter=years.2025-2025&timeline=expanded&sort=date&sort_order=asc   Cell Paper on AAV in Mice: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/boaz-levi-07387741_aav-delivery-of-full-length-syngap1-rescues-activity-7376306391537532928-iT9u   Last week was a CB Conf in Nashville, attended by KAH and VA, thank you to both.  KAH in Staff yesterday, the hardest thing is not seeing Joey.  ☹️  Thanks to MS for going too. MS https://www.linkedin.com/posts/melissasmith1_raredisease-patientadvocacy-syngap1-activity-7374408667091333120-Udp0/ KAH https://www.linkedin.com/posts/kathryn-syngap-research-fund_the-combinedbrain-conference-in-nashville-activity-7374639535021928448-gWB4   Two big upcoming events: Scramble in SC on October 4th https://www.linkedin.com/posts/julie-miles-4294322ba_scramble-for-syngap-activity-7370558331611971585-iw0A   CURE SYNGAP1 Conference 2025 in Atlanta https://curesyngap1.org/events/conferences/cure-syngap1-conference-2025-hosted-by-srf/   SOCIAL MATTERS - 4,371 LinkedIn.  https://www.linkedin.com/company/curesyngap1/ - 1,440 YouTube.  https://www.youtube.com/@CureSYNGAP1 - 11,292 Twitter https://twitter.com/cureSYNGAP1 - 45k Insta https://www.instagram.com/curesyngap1/   COMPANIES WITH NAMED ASSETS FOR SYNGAP1 $CAMP $3.00 at close on 9/23   Episode 184 of #Syngap10 #CureSYNGAP1 #Advocate #PatientAdvocacy #UnmetNeed #SYNGAP1 #SynGAP #SynGAProMMiS

Nodari Rizun joins me to talk about Shilajit resin, which has been trending in the supplement space in recent years. The use of Shilajit for health purposes has been around for centuries. Nodari shares what Shilajit resin does in the human body, why it may or may not be something useful for you, and why it is just now becoming mainstream in the supplement area.Nodari stresses the importance of quality and innovation in the products we consume, not just supplements but all foods. He also explains why it can be easy to get caught up in too many bio-hacking ideas instead of focusing on the ones that actually work for us.Nodari Rizun is the founder of Pürblack, a civil rights attorney, and a published researcher with articles on PubMed.Research Shilajit resin and other Pürblack products at www.purblack.com and follow on Instagram @purblackofficial Visit ConfidenceThroughHealth.com to find discounts to some of our favorite products.Follow me via All In Health and Wellness on Facebook or Instagram.Find my books on Amazon: No More Sugar Coating: Finding Your Happiness in a Crowded World and Confidence Through Health: Live the Healthy Lifestyle God DesignedProduction credit: Social Media Cowboys

Stress isn't just something to “manage” — it's a signal, a teacher, and often, an invitation to look deeper at our health, our choices, and our lives. In this solo episode, Darin reframes stress not as an enemy, but as a dashboard light pointing toward misalignments in our nervous system, environment, relationships, and purpose. Drawing on science, practical tools, and personal insight, Darin reveals how layered stress silently drains our vitality — and how to transform it into an ally for growth, healing, and deeper contentment. Whether it's hidden trauma, toxic environments, unresolved conflict, or the modern distractions constantly pulling at our attention, Darin lays out a roadmap to stop the leaks and reclaim the energy already within you. This episode is a powerful reminder: stress isn't the end of the story — it's the beginning of awareness, safety, and a super life.     What You'll Learn in This Episode [00:00] Introduction to the Super Life podcast [03:27] Why stress might not be your enemy [04:17] Stress as an ally: the signals it gives us about misalignment [04:32] The dashboard light metaphor: how stress reveals hidden issues [05:28] The illusion of “no choice” and the infinite possibilities always available [06:12] Global stress statistics and why most people underestimate their stress load [07:23] Hidden stress revealed through heart rate variability and physiology [08:23] Layered stress: how sleep, exercise, and poor choices compound each other [09:25] Safety vs. calm — why your nervous system craves safety first [10:15] Trauma and the unconscious mind: how old wounds drive our stress response [11:54] Inner narratives and negative self-talk as hidden stress multipliers [12:22] The role of community and your social field in stress and resilience [13:53] Relationships, honesty, and how your circle shapes your energy [14:55] Why boundaries around media and politics are vital for mental clarity [17:42] Finding micro-purpose when life feels overwhelming [18:52] Environmental layers of stress — light, air, and clutter [19:15] The existential layer: stress from living without service or purpose [20:12] Stress as a risk amplifier — how it undermines healing and health [20:55] The deeper truth of safety, connection, and higher power [23:00] Practical tools: breathing, grounding, nature, and conscious choices [24:01] Trauma reframed: not a problem, but a protector at the time [25:25] Lessons from Peter Levine and wild animals: releasing trauma physically [26:04] Questions to ask trauma: “What are you protecting me from?” [26:56] Stress as a multiplier of aging, disease, and poor outcomes [29:20] Why stress isn't a single cause — it's layered and chronic [30:18] Anti-stress strategies: circadian rhythm, nature, and gratitude [31:49] Energy leaks to avoid: clutter, poor food, scrolling, bad boundaries [32:22] What matters most: service, contribution, and alignment [33:28] Final toolkit: breathwork, movement, nature, sleep, and gratitude [34:38] The deeper invitation: step into sovereignty and live your SuperLife     Thank You to Our Sponsors: Manna Vitality: Go to mannavitality.com/  or use code DARIN20 for 20% off your order. Bite Toothpaste: Go to trybite.com/DARIN20 or use code DARIN20 for 20% off your first order.     Find More from Darin Olien: Instagram: @darinolien Podcast: SuperLife Podcast Website: superlife.com Book: Fatal Conveniences Check out my podcast with Dr. Amy Abbington     Key Takeaway “Stress is not the enemy. It's a dashboard light — a teacher showing you where you're out of alignment. When you reframe stress, you reclaim your energy and create space for healing, safety, and the joy of living a super life.”     Bibliography (selected, peer-reviewed) Sources: Gallup Global Emotions (2024); Gallup U.S. polling (2024); APA Stress in America (2023); Natarajan et al., Lancet Digital Health (2020); Orini et al., UK Biobank (2023); Martinez et al. (2022); Leiden University (2025). Cohen S, Tyrrell DA, Smith AP. Psychological stress and susceptibility to the common cold. N Engl J Med.1991;325(9):606–612. New England Journal of Medicine Cohen S, et al. Chronic stress, glucocorticoid receptor resistance, inflammation, and disease risk. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2012;109(16):5995–5999. PNAS Kiecolt-Glaser JK, et al. Slowing of wound healing by psychological stress. Lancet. 1995;346(8984):1194–1196. The Lancet Kiecolt-Glaser JK, et al. Hostile marital interactions, proinflammatory cytokine production, and wound healing.Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2005;62(12):1377–1384. JAMA Network Tawakol A, et al. Relation between resting amygdalar activity and cardiovascular events. Lancet.2017;389(10071):834–845. The Lancet Epel ES, et al. Accelerated telomere shortening in response to life stress. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA.2004;101(49):17312–17315. PNAS McEwen BS, Stellar E. Stress and the individual: mechanisms leading to disease. Arch Intern Med.1993;153(18):2093–2101. PubMed McEwen BS, Wingfield JC. Allostasis and allostatic load. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1998;840:33–44. PubMed Felitti VJ, et al. Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many leading causes of death in adults (ACE Study). Am J Prev Med. 1998;14(4):245–258. AJP Mon Online Edmondson D, et al. PTSD and cardiovascular disease. Ann Behav Med. 2017;51(3):316–327. PMC Afari N, et al. Psychological trauma and functional somatic syndromes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Psychosom Med. 2014;76(1):2–11. PMC Goyal M, et al. Meditation programs for psychological stress and well-being: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Intern Med. 2014;174(3):357–368. PMC Qiu Q, et al. Forest therapy: effects on blood pressure and salivary cortisol—a meta-analysis. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;20(1):458. PMC Laukkanen T, et al. Sauna bathing and reduced fatal CVD and all-cause mortality. JAMA Intern Med.2015;175(4):542–548. JAMA Network Zureigat H, et al. Physical activity lowers CVD risk by reducing stress-related neural activity. J Am Coll Cardiol.2024;83(16):1532–1546. PMC Holt-Lunstad J, Smith TB, Layton JB. Social relationships and mortality risk: a meta-analytic review. PLoS Med.2010;7(7):e1000316. PMC Chen Y-R, Hung K-W. EMDR for PTSD: meta-analysis of RCTs. PLoS One. 2014;9(8):e103676. PLOS Hoppen TH, et al. Network/pairwise meta-analysis of PTSD psychotherapies—TF-CBT highest efficacy overall.Psychol Med. 2023;53(14):6360–6374. PubMed van der Kolk BA, et al. Yoga as an adjunctive treatment for PTSD: RCT. J Clin Psychiatry. 2014;75(6):e559–e565. PubMed Kelly U, et al. Trauma-center trauma-sensitive yoga vs CPT in women veterans: RCT. JAMA Netw Open.2023;6(11):e2342214. JAMA Network Bentley TGK, et al. Breathing practices for stress and anxiety reduction: components that matter. Behav Sci (Basel). 2023;13(9):756. 

Can you really trust the science behind fitness and wellness? On this episode of the “NASM-CPT Podcast,” host, and NASM Master Instructor, Rick Richey, dives deep into the world of peer reviewed scientific research—unpacking what it is, how it's done, and why it matters for anyone serious about health, fitness, and personal training. Is all research created equal? Are randomized controlled trials really the “gold standard”? And just who are these so-called “peers” deciding what gets published and what doesn't? Rick takes you behind the scenes of the research process: from journals and methodology to the rigorous checks that keep scientists honest. He even shares a personal story about making a mistake in his own dissertation—revealing how errors get caught, what happens next, and why transparency is essential. Wondering if you can trust resources like PubMed, or curious if your favorite strength & conditioning principles are truly evidence-based? This episode delivers clear, honest answers. Perfect for trainers, fitness enthusiasts, and anyone who's ever wondered if they should believe the latest “groundbreaking” study, this conversation arms you with the tools to spot reliable science, identify real experts, and see through the flashy fads on social media. Hit play to discover if peer reviewed research really deserves your trust—and why critical thinking is your best fitness companion. Subscribe, rate, and share for more science-backed insight from the front lines of exercise science! If you like what you just consumed, leave us a 5-star review, and share this episode with a friend to help grow our NASM health and wellness community! The content shared in this podcast is solely for educational and entertainment purposes. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek out the guidance of your healthcare provider or other qualified professional. Any opinions expressed by guests and hosts are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of NASM. Introducing NASM One, the membership for trainers and coaches. For just $35/mo., get unlimited access to over 300 continuing education courses, 50% off additional certifications and specializations, EDGE Trainer Pro all-in-one coaching app to grow your business, unlimited exam attempts and select waived fees. Stay on top of your game and ahead of the curve as a fitness professional with NASM One. Click here to learn more. ttps://bit.ly/4ddsgrm

In this episode of the RWS Clinician's Corner, Margaret Floyd Barry takes us behind the scenes into the dynamic world of research and curriculum development in the functional health space. Margaret sits down with two of Restorative Wellness Solutions' powerhouse instructors, Ellen Lovelace and Paige Reagan, for a candid conversation about the challenges, surprises, and daily realities of translating emerging science into practical, safe, and effective tools for clinicians.   In this interview, we discuss:     -Specific ways that Ellen & Paige demonstrate curriculum leadership and research support for RWS   -How to respond to new studies or challenges to existing curriculum    -How to decide which sources to trust   -How to evaluate clinical research (red & green flags)   -Addressing research limitations and gaps    -Using research tools and AI in gathering evidence   The Clinician's Corner is brought to you by Restorative Wellness Solutions.  Follow us: https://www.instagram.com/restorativewellnesssolutions/    Connect with Ellen:  Website: www.abalancedtable.net Facebook: www.facebook.com/abalancedtable Instagram: www.instagram.com/abalancedtable   Connect with Paige: Website: www.naturallynourishedwellness.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/paigereaganntp   Timestamps: 00:00 From Russian Studies to Health Advocacy 07:56 Curriculum Accuracy and Depth Focus 12:57 Using AI for Study Validation 19:20 Evaluating Research Article Credibility 25:24 Animal Study Relevance and Limitations 28:03 "Pediatric Research Gaps in Drug Trials" 33:55 "Teaching Deepens Understanding" 41:17 Questioning AI for Balanced Answers 44:47 Effective Research Strategies and AI Limitations 52:04 Verify Before Believing Headlines 55:52 "Unpaywall: Access Free Academic Papers" 01:00:33 "The Clinician's Corner Podcast" Speaker bios: Ellen Lovelace, Lead Instructor & Curriculum Development Master RHP, MPH, FNTP, Board Certified in Holistic Nutrition® Ellen (she/her) has been actively working to educate and improve the public's health for almost 20 years. Ellen received her Masters in Public Health from The George Washington University, and went on to run everything from tuberculosis prevention programs in Russia to dental health education programs along the Texas/Mexico border. She was also the founding Executive Director of the women's health program at Stanford University. When Ellen became drawn to a more holistic model, she received her certifications as a Nutritional Therapy Consultant and a Master Restorative Health Practitioner. She is the owner of A Balanced Table Nutritional Therapy in San Jose, CA, her private functional nutrition practice. Ellen focuses on cutting through the confusion and nutrition “noise,” digging to the roots of clients' dysfunction, and figuring out the best way for them to eat, drink, and thrive. She uses the IRH functional analysis tools daily, and is excited to share her passion for these methods. Ellen believes that only by focusing on root causes, combined with whole foods nutrition, can true wellness be achieved. Ellen is also a passionate animal lover who volunteers at a wildlife rescue facility, and can often be found smelling of skunk while covered in Mastiff drool.    Paige Reagan, Instructor and Research Master RHP, FNTP Paige has spent most of her career working in Research and Development in the areas of clinical research, regulatory affairs, and medical writing. She has a wide range of experience in the therapeutic areas of cardiovascular health, pulmonary arterial hypertension, diabetes, bone health, osteoarthritis/rheumatoid arthritis, and urology, among others. Her work has contributed to numerous regulatory approvals as well as publications in major medical journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet, Circulation, and American Heart Journal. Paige has since earned certifications as a Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner and Master Restorative Health Practitioner. She is owner of Naturally Nourished Wellness, a small practice specializing in gut health and the downstream effects of poor digestion. She strives to find balance between the holistic and mainstream approaches and aims to provide her clients with the best of both worlds, using her critical thinking skills from years in research combined with objective laboratory testing and her passion for the restorative power of whole foods and simple lifestyles. She spends her free time exploring the outdoors with her family, swinging kettlebells, and creating baked goods with healthier ingredients.   Keywords: functional nutrition, public health, research process, curriculum development, clinical research, regulatory affairs, medical writing, gastrointestinal healing, lab testing, food sensitivities, evidence-based practice, study design, randomized controlled trials, observational studies, animal studies, peer review, PubMed, Google Scholar, AI tools in research, ChatGPT, consensus, study citations, clinical anecdote, sample size, funding bias, meta-analysis, systematic reviews, biostatistics, clinical protocols, dietary supplements   Disclaimer: The views expressed in the RWS Clinician's Corner series are those of the individual speakers and interviewees, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Restorative Wellness Solutions, LLC. Restorative Wellness Solutions, LLC does not specifically endorse or approve of any of the information or opinions expressed in the RWS Clinician's Corner series. The information and opinions expressed in the RWS Clinician's Corner series are for educational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice. If you have any medical concerns, please consult with a qualified healthcare professional. Restorative Wellness Solutions, LLC is not liable for any damages or injuries that may result from the use of the information or opinions expressed in the RWS Clinician's Corner series. By viewing or listening to this information, you agree to hold Restorative Wellness Solutions, LLC harmless from any and all claims, demands, and causes of action arising out of or in connection with your participation. Thank you for your understanding.  

Sunday, September 7, 2025. Week 37. Why does CURE SYNGAP1 aka SRF matter?  Do PAGS make a difference? Heck yes. Empower Families - Support.  Educate.  Activate.  Coordinate. Use Money Catalytically - Tax advantage.  Pool.  Manage.  Make Catalytic.  Focus.  Manage. Partner with Science & Medicine - Push forward.  Connect efforts.  Focus on Tx.  Work in Clinic. Leverage Ecosystem.  Industry.  PAGs.  Superpags (CB, GG, ELF). Ensure Continuity.  Our kids will outlast us.  Our energy wanes.  Life happens.  Cure SYNGAP1 never stops focusing on the biggest challenge in our lives: SRD. Because you VOLUNTEER  Join us: https://curesyngap1.org/volunteer-with-srf/    Gala video: Look at those faces.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6dCSBq27Gc   Friday: Beacon of Hope September 12, 2025 - Boston, MA cureSYNGAP1.org/Beacon25   Scramble for SYNGAP October 4, 2025 - Greer, SC cureSYNGAP1.org/Scramble

Friday, August 29th, 2025. Week 35. 5th Annual Gala was a great success! cureSYNGAP1.org/Gala5 Sad to miss it?  Join us in Boston or South Carolina. Deadline for Boston is 9/3 for tickets. Beacon of Hope September 12, 2025 - Boston, MA cureSYNGAP1.org/Beacon25 Scramble for SYNGAP October 4, 2025 - Greer, SC cureSYNGAP1.org/Scramble   SRF is active in Lisbon at #IEC2025 thank you KD, JA, VA!  Hi Dr. Knowles! We are at Booth #17 https://www.linkedin.com/posts/victoria-arteaga-26913433_syngap1-familyjourney-resilience-activity-7366951726001606657-6pcM #Bexicaserin News: New data from the PACIFIC Study, LP352-202, Open Label Extension (OLE) will be presented at the 36th International Epilepsy Congress (IEC) in Lisbon, Portugal (Aug 30 - Sept 3, 2025). The full results of the open label extension (OLE) of the Phase 1b/2a PACIFIC trial investigating bexicaserin for the treatment of patients with Developmental and Epileptic Encephalopathies (DEEs), will be presented for the first time at the International Epilepsy Annual Congress   Bexicaserin, which has been granted Breakthrough Therapy designation by the FDA, demonstrated reductions in countable and total motor seizure frequency in the extension study comparable to reductions seen in the Phase 1b/2a PACIFIC trial, reinforcing durability of response and validating its progression to Phase 3 trials.   Additional data will be presented from the audiogenic seizure model and the GAERS absence epilepsy model, investigating sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP), and seizure reduction respectively.   During the OLE, a median reduction of 59.3% in countable motor seizure frequency was observed, with 55% of participants experiencing reductions of ≥50% compared to the baseline before the PACIFIC trial.   This trial, EMERALD and other studies all at https://curesyngap1.org/resources/studies/   See and comment on Vicky's recent post on her 7 year SYNGAP1-iversary: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/victoria-arteaga-26913433_syngap1-familyjourney-resilience-activity-7366951726001606657-6pcM    Join Citizen Health, we are at 275!  We should double that. https://www.citizen.health/partners/srf   DSCIII Renewed to include SYNGAP1 alongside TSC, SHANK3 (aka PMD) and PTEN.     CFC Starts on 9/1 https://curesyngap1.org/events/fundraisers/combined-federal-campaign-2025/  

Friday, August 22nd, 2025. Week 34. The 5th Annual Gala is happening now!  https://www.linkedin.com/posts/curesyngap1_syngap1-curesyngap1-galaforsyngap1-activity-7363593302312402944-W_TZ cureSYNGAP1.org/Gala5   Sad to miss it?  Join us in Boston or South Carolina. Beacon of Hope September 12, 2025 - Boston, MA cureSYNGAP1.org/Beacon25 Scramble for SYNGAP October 4, 2025 - Greer, SC cureSYNGAP1.org/Scramble   Stoke Therapeutics indicates they will have a target for SYNGAP-1 in 2026! https://investor.stoketherapeutics.com/news-releases/news-release-details/stoke-therapeutics-reports-second-quarter-2025-financial-results 12 Aug 2025 “Lead optimization is underway to identify a clinical candidate for the treatment of SYNGAP-1 in 2026. SYNGAP-1 is a severe and rare genetic neurodevelopmental disease.”   Just over 20 FDA approved Oligos and siRNAs today.  We are still so early. https://www.advancingrna.com/doc/moving-beyond-solid-phase-synthesis-the-momentum-of-oligonucleotide-manufacturing-0001   Congrats to Monica E. & Grann Therapeutics, seeing a child dosed for the first time with a novel medicine was remarkable. https://www.grannpharma.com/press-releases The SYNGAP1 Village: How Extended Family Can Provide Vital Support https://curesyngap1.org/blog/syngap1-village-extended-family-can-provide-support/   Here's a fun topic to discuss with your family, brain donation.  https://www.autismbrainnet.org/ 55yo with Dravet, lots of insights, Brava to Dr. Andrade and team! https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/epi.18613   SRF joins with CHOP, Wistar and other Philly-area research institutions with a letter to urge legislators to reject NIH cuts. 8/20/25 Letter can be viewed in SRF Public-facing drive  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HHmCAuRYAQxb_1DtMtkQTz3H8__g9zKq/view?usp=drive_link Philadelphia Inquirer picked up the story 8/20/25  https://www.inquirer.com/health/medical-research-institutions-reject-nih-cuts-20250820.html    More on #Elopement: Alarms, Roofs, Resonated.  Keep talking to doctors about this.  Post is up to 139 Votes, percentages little changed,  join the conversation on FB. https://www.facebook.com/groups/syngap/posts/1734514154096968/ #S10e178 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiRnXxh0wfY    Conference is in 103 Days https://curesyngap1.org/events/conferences/cure-syngap1-conference-2025-hosted-by-srf/   Pubmed is at 38! https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=syngap1&filter=years.2025-2025&timeline=expanded&sort=date&sort_order=asc   SHARE BLOOD TO THE SRF BIOBANK AT CB! https://curesyngap1.org/blog/fueling-research-syngap1-combinedbrain-biorepository-roadshow/    VOLUNTEER  Join us: https://curesyngap1.org/volunteer-with-srf/    SOCIAL MATTERS - 4,285 LinkedIn.  https://www.linkedin.com/company/curesyngap1/  - 1,420 YouTube.  https://www.youtube.com/@CureSYNGAP1    - 11,294 Twitter https://twitter.com/cureSYNGAP1  - 46k Insta https://www.instagram.com/curesyngap1/    NEWLY DIAGNOSED? Next New Family Webinar - Tuesday Sept. 9th, 2025, 5 PM Pacific scheduled! https://curesyngap1.org/resources/webinars/webinar-105-syngap-research-fund-quarterly-webinar-new-syngap1-family-orientation/   Resources https://curesyngap1.org/syngap1-resources-for-newly-diagnosed-families   Podcasts, give all of these a five star review! https://cureSYNGAP1.org/SRFApple   https://podcasts.apple.com/us/channel/syngap1-podcasts-by-srf/id6464522917    Episode 179 of #Syngap10  #Advocate #PatientAdvocacy #UnmetNeed #SYNGAP1 #SynGAP #SynGAProMMiS

Tony (11, M) Story.  Now we sleep with the alarm on every night.   Elopement:  involves leaving a safe or supervised area without permission. poses a risk to the individual's safety. can occur in various settings. is a common behavior in individuals with ASD. Virginie (10, M) Stories and Service Dog.   Single Mom (9, M) heading to the judge and calls me asking for papers.  Here you go…   Let's note that Elopement was masked behind broader buckets and I think this is a miss.  We need to name and discuss this very challenging behavior.   FB Survey.  4 hours.  100+ votes, 100 comments.   https://www.facebook.com/groups/syngap/posts/1734514154096968/ 76% of respondents eloped (35% F, 41% M) 24% didn't (17% F, 7% M)   11 F, no elopement at home - but sometimes tries to elope while at school. C ( has always been an eloper - kid has a sixth sense for when someone leaves the door unlocked C elopes and age 16 years old H 9 girl constantly running away B-7.5 years old Girl - 3 Fourteen. She doesn't anymore, but used to. Not to the degree that other families struggle, but we definitely had to keep an extra close eye/ear. Had bells on all our doors, etc. Did get a call from our neighbor once while I was making dinner saying that S had just walked into her house, that she was safe, and was helping to give their baby a bath. Thankfully they were very good friends and took it in stride. (S was about four at the time.) Boys age 7. He has for awhile Boy, age 8.5. Just started eloping more so recently, in the last year. 11, girl Boy age 15 13 year old girl Girl-3 Ty 10 elopes since he can walk. It's our biggest problem. Boy age 8 but has been doing it for a while Age 7, girl. Boy - 14y/o Boy age 9… he's a track star! Boy age 12, has eloped since he could walk/run. It probably peaked around age 6 and got better with meds. Elopement is less frequent now but scarier now that he's older and higher. Boy 10. Always has wandered and will still now run off knowing he's not suppose to Any chance he gets 13 My boy (22 y/o) always was and is now a master of escape, he can hear if I turn the key in the door, front door has an alarm fitted just in case Boy , 25 the risk is high because he looks typical 25 yo female, requiring alarms, cameras,and specialized door locks.  In a state that says that these measures are unlawful restraint and invasion of privacy   Frazier, 2025. Extremely High finding as a Symptom of SYNGAP1.  See Table 2 of Quantifying neurobehavioral profiles across neurodevelopmental genetic syndromes and idiopathic neurodevelopmental disorders https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/dmcn.16112   McKee, 2025.  Notes the significantly heightened enrichment of Autistic Behavior and Behavioral Abnormality vs. Rett, Angelman or Epilepsy cohorts.  See Figure 2B of Clinical signatures of SYNGAP1-related disorders through data integration. https://www.gimjournal.org/article/S1098-3600(25)00066-8/abstract   Cunnanne, notes impulsivity (which is a euphemism for elopement if I have ever heard one) and has three quotes in Table 1 (see below), but also notes in Figure 2 that both ASD and lack of danger awareness came up in almost every interview.  See SYNGAP1-Related Intellectual Disability: Meaningful Clinical Outcomes and Development of a Disease Concept Model Draft.  https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5098346   Impulsivity quotes:   Runs toward streets - “He wouldn't stop himself from running into the road. He climbs things in that house that you're like‘oh my god, how are you going to get out of that?'”   Jumps into pools - “He would walk into a pond. We were at the pool the other day…and he just walked off the edge and just fell into the water and was like… he would have just drowned.”   Runs toward crowds - “She was a bolter. So that was always scary. We had a few scares where you look away for a moment, I mean, we always had somebody with her, but it could be a moment's time and it's like where'd you go, you thought she was right there.”   FUNDRAISING 3 events in 3 states… https://mailchi.mp/curesyngap1.org/3-events-1-mission-support-syngap1-families-this-fall?e=e95ed9a1c4  Gala for SYNGAP1 August 22, 2025 - Farmingdale, NJ cureSYNGAP1.org/Gala5 Beacon of Hope September 12, 2025 - Boston, MA cureSYNGAP1.org/Beacon25 Scramble for SYNGAP October 4, 2025 - Greer, SC cureSYNGAP1.org/Scramble   Also, Conference is in 107 Days https://curesyngap1.org/events/conferences/cure-syngap1-conference-2025-hosted-by-srf/   STUDIES - MATTER https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1yRPHMRY3pXPgbOacDM9Sr906VejdJWsonUWvqRD9VVI/edit?usp=sharing    Pubmed is at 37 (One a week!) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=syngap1&filter=years.2025-2025&timeline=expanded&sort=date&sort_order=asc   SHARE BLOOD TO THE SRF BIOBANK AT CB! Read here for more information: https://curesyngap1.org/blog/fueling-research-syngap1-combinedbrain-biorepository-roadshow/    VOLUNTEER  Join us: https://curesyngap1.org/volunteer-with-srf/    SOCIAL MATTERS - 4,283 LinkedIn.  https://www.linkedin.com/company/curesyngap1/  - 1,420 YouTube.  https://www.youtube.com/@CureSYNGAP1    - 11,303 Twitter https://twitter.com/cureSYNGAP1  - 46k Insta https://www.instagram.com/curesyngap1/    NEWLY DIAGNOSED? Next New Family Webinar - Tuesday Sept. 9th, 2025, 5 PM Pacific scheduled! https://curesyngap1.org/resources/webinars/webinar-105-syngap-research-fund-quarterly-webinar-new-syngap1-family-orientation/   Resources https://curesyngap1.org/syngap1-resources-for-newly-diagnosed-families   Podcasts, give all of these a five star review! https://cureSYNGAP1.org/SRFApple   https://podcasts.apple.com/us/channel/syngap1-podcasts-by-srf/id6464522917    Episode 178 of #Syngap10  #Advocate #PatientAdvocacy #UnmetNeed #SYNGAP1 #SynGAP #SynGAProMMiS

We all want more energy — but what if your fatigue isn't about sleep, diet, or exercise at all? In this solo episode, Darin O'Lien uncovers the invisible drains on your vitality that most people never notice. From blue light to toxic relationships, hidden mold, micro-stress loops, EMF exposure, and even unresolved trauma stored in your body, Darin reveals how your life force is being stolen — and how to take it back. You'll learn the overlooked ways your time, attention, and biology are constantly depleted — and the exact SuperLife Energy Seal Protocol Darin uses to plug those leaks, reclaim his vitality, and live fully charged.     What You'll Learn in This Episode 00:00 – Introduction & Episode Overview Darin introduces the concept of hidden energy leaks and why most fatigue isn't just about lack of sleep. 03:05 – Energy Deposits vs. Withdrawals How every interaction, choice, and environment either builds or depletes your life force. 04:33 – The Overlooked Energy Drains The most common — and invisible — ways energy slips away without your awareness. 06:58 – Blue Light & Circadian Rhythm Disruption The science of how nighttime screen use suppresses melatonin and wrecks your sleep quality. 09:06 – Ultra-Processed Foods & Energy Impact Why “dead calorie” foods cause fatigue and how to build an energy-supportive plate. 11:33 – Hydration & Water Quality Why dehydration is the #1 cause of fatigue, and the importance of filtering and mineralizing your water. 15:06 – Micro-Stress Loops & Mental Background Apps How unresolved thoughts quietly drain your energy — and how to shut them down. 17:28 – Toxic Relationships & Social Friction The measurable toll hostile interactions take on your health and recovery. 19:10 – Indoor Air Quality & Mold Exposure How unseen environmental toxins mimic chronic fatigue symptoms. 21:27 – EMF Exposure & Device Overload The overlooked stressor disrupting your sleep, nervous system, and cellular health. 23:14 – Stillness Breaks & Nature Time The proven stress-relieving effects of short nature “pills” and mindfulness pauses. 25:41 – Past Trauma & Recapitulation How unresolved experiences trap your life force — and the Toltec method to reclaim it. 30:39 – The SuperLife Energy Seal Protocol Darin's complete daily checklist to stop leaks and recharge vitality. 33:08 – Darin's Daily Rituals How he integrates energy-protective practices into his everyday life. 35:33 – Closing Thoughts Why energy isn't something you gain — it's what's left when you stop the leaks.     Thank You to Our Sponsors: Fatty15: Get an additional 15% off their 90-day subscription Starter Kit by going to fatty15.com/DARIN and using code DARIN at checkout. Therasage: Go to www.therasage.com and use code DARIN at checkout for 15% off     Find More from Darin Olien: Instagram: @darinolienPodcast: superlife.com/podcastsWebsite: superlife.comBook: Fatal Conveniences     Key Takeaway "Energy isn't something you get — it's what remains when you stop the leaks."      Bibliography · Chang AM et al. Evening use of light-emitting eReaders… PNAS, 2015. · Hall KD et al. Ultra-processed diets cause excess calorie intake… Cell Metabolism, 2019. · Ganio MS et al. Mild dehydration impairs vigilance… Br J Nutr, 2011. · McEwen BS. Allostatic load and stress physiology. Ann NY Acad Sci, 1999. · Kiecolt-Glaser JK et al. Hostile behavior slows wound healing… Arch Gen Psychiatry, 2005. · CDC/NIOSH. Health problems in damp buildings. · Satish U et al. CO₂ and decision-making. Environ Health Perspect, 2012. · WHO. Electromagnetic fields and public health. · Hunter MCR et al. Nature pill and stress relief. Front Psychol, 2019. · Levine P. Somatic experiencing and trauma discharge. PubMed, 2012. · · Somatic trauma & release: Levine P. Waking the Tiger; “Trauma creates a permanent imprint… the body can be retrained to discharge it.” (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) · · Recapitulation (Toltec lineage): Ruiz DM. The Four Agreements; narrative recounting as energy reclamation. (Ancestral wisdom, narrative psychology) · · Narrative therapy integration: White M. “Externalizing the problem, reclaiming identity.” (Case-based evidence, therapeutic outcomes) · · (And prior citations as listed—circadian, UPF, hydration, air, mindfulness, social, EMF, stillness—remain intact.)