Clay is the fourth-generation owner of a Tennessee funeral home and never was there a guy more invested in his future health. Originally Clay approached me for help with tackling a yeast overgrowth, and boy, have we come a long way since then! Listen to the audio or read the transcript for the full story as Clay's is an interesting and unusually complex case. Charging a friend money for something you'd happily do for fun is strange and difficult. We worked together as peers, and I couldn't be ha...
Apr 03, 2015•47 min
Dr. Grace Liu, PharmD, AFMCP, is a functional medicine practitioner with an international functional medicine practice that includes nutritional consultations, integrative laboratory analysis, and personalized counseling. I first became aware of her work last summer at the Ancestral Health Symposium where she presented the idea of an ancestral core microbiota . Over the past couple of years, I've been lucky enough to meet many gut experts. Dr. Liu is the first that can review a bacterial taxonom...
Mar 20, 2015•1 hr 1 min
We're throwing it back this week! Join Chris and Julie as they share a look back at the first year of Nourish Balance Thrive. The good, the bad, and the up and coming. See what happens when you change careers, start a new business, have a baby, and try to make it all work. Chris shares his story and walks you through what makes using this program so successful. Encouraging stories, business nuts and bolts, and ideas for the future, come along for a look back at an exciting year with Nourish Bala...
Mar 13, 2015•1 hr
Jordan Bryden is a gifted young triathlete from Alberta in Canada who came to me looking for help. In 2005, Jordan won the Canadian Junior National Championships and has since gone on to compete as an elite athlete. Now age 28, Jordan suffers from fatigue and insomnia and feels like his recovery is much slower than in his younger years. I'm certain that this is not just about getting older, and together we plan to use functional lab work to identify the underlying cause of the problem. This firs...
Mar 06, 2015•41 min
Last July, Julie, Ivy and me left the East Bay and moved to Santa Cruz, a lovely town on the ocean and in the redwood trees. We love it, but ever since Mission Heirloom opened their new garden cafe in Berkeley, Julie has been finding reasons to make the 70-mile journey back home. If you ever get the chance to visit Mission Heirloom, you'll understand why. The level of care taken over the facilities and preparation is unlike anything I've ever seen before, and the food is out of this world. Bette...
Feb 27, 2015•34 min
Streptococcal pharyngitis (strep throat) is a type of pharyngitis caused by a group A streptococcal bacterial infection. We’ve had a lot of people writing in to ask if they should be taking antibiotics to treat their strep throat. The concern has been more about the about the long term harm done by the overuse of antibiotics , but the potential complications of strep throat are serious. Knowing whether or not your sore throat is being caused by the streptococcal bacteria is key to determining tr...
Feb 24, 2015•26 min
Christian Calma is a Research Coordinator, and Dr. Les Dethlefsen is a staff scientist in the Relman Lab at Stanford University. Dr. Dethlefsen studies the microbiota of the human gut, focusing on how it varies over time, and on what happens when it's disturbed when we take antibiotics or change our diet. I'm taking part in their study to further the cause and our understanding of how changes in the microbiota relate to changes in our health. I'm also excited about having all the data--80 sample...
Feb 20, 2015•51 min
Equilibrium is a probiotic supplement that restores the dietary microbes lost as a by-product of widespread food sterilization. The product is a direct offshoot of research done at the NIH’s Human Microbiome Project , a $115 million dollar census of humanity’s gut flora. The data tells a clear story: as a society our digestive flora is dying off, and this lack of diversity has causal links to western stomach issues. Using a data-driven approach, General Biotics identified the groups of bacteria ...
Feb 13, 2015•34 min
Something a bit different for you this week. I want to talk the liver and some markers on a standard blood chemistry that can help predict the onset of fatty liver and Type 2 diabetes. Maybe you've noticed that your fasted blood glucose is consistently above 85 mg/dL. This elevation could be because your liver is not getting the message that there's sufficient glucose and is continually making it via a process called gluconeogenesis. The first paper I mention is Liver transplantation for nonalco...
Feb 06, 2015•12 min
Dan is an entrepreneur and researcher whose life’s work is how to facilitate health behaviors in others. He is the developer of Loop Model to Sustain Health Behaviors to help people live a healthy lifestyle in a modern world. He does research in the Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Department at Stanford and the Departments of Neurology and Endocrinology at Leiden University in the Netherlands. Follow him @dansplanhealth . I've wanted to get Dan on the show since attending the Ancestral Health...
Jan 30, 2015•1 hr 1 min
Paul Jaminet, Ph.D was an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, became a software entrepreneur during the Internet boom, and now provides strategic advice to entrepreneurial companies while pursuing research in economics. Paul’s experience overcoming a chronic illness has been key to his views of aging and disease. Paul and I started by discussing the birth of their new baby Luke , and since I have a 15-month old daughter, I got sleep envy. I regularly use LED lighti...
Jan 23, 2015•58 min
Mickey Trescott is a cook and one of the bloggers behind Autoimmune Paleo . After recovering from her own struggle with both Celiac and Hashimoto’s disease, adrenal fatigue, and multiple vitamin deficiencies, Mickey started to write about her experience to share with others and help them realize they are not alone in their struggles. She is a certified Nutritional Therapy Practitioner by the Nutritional Therapy Association, and is the author of The Autoimmune Paleo Cookbook , a guide and recipe ...
Jan 16, 2015•58 min
New Year's resolutions suck. Why wait to make a change? But still, we know that accountability is important, and if everyone makes a change all at the same time then there's added accountability. In order to achieve your goal, you must first break it down into manageable steps. The first steps are planning. If the step requires not doing something, raise the barrier to entry. For example, if you want to avoid a particular food, don't keep it in the house. If there's something you want to do more...
Jan 13, 2015•24 min
Health and athletic performance have been a passion of mine since early adulthood. For the first 17 years or so, all my ideas were all dead wrong. Low-fat, high-carb, vegetarianism, polyphasic sleep. All terrible ideas. Then came the Paleo diet and lifestyle and with it success. Now I think I'm less likely to be dead wrong, and more likely to be incomplete. Katy Bowman is a witty writer I've been following for several years. I wrote to Katy her telling her about Nourish Balance Thrive and how he...
Jan 09, 2015•59 min
Bike fit has a massive problem that's best illustrated with an example. The first time I had a fit done, I found myself wearing a plastic wedge in between my cleat and the pedal to correct the discrepancy between the length of my legs. The bike fitter did his very best to make me fit the bicycle. The bike fit process reminds me a lot of the experience I had with my primary care doctor. Rather than asking why my legs were a different length, the fitter just addressed the symptom with a plastic we...
Jan 02, 2015•38 min
In this episode, registered nurse Amelia, food scientist Julie and me discuss protein. Protein is fascinating for a million different reasons; not enough eventually leads to muscle wasting, too much to an inefficient conversion to glucose. How much protein should you be eating? What type? When? Unfortunately, we can't answer those questions but we can certainly guide you through some self-experimentation to find out. Amino aicds are the building blocks of protein. Certain amino acids are glucone...
Dec 30, 2014•47 min
Dr. Seth Oberst uses a holistic, progressive approach to human movement patterns and their impact on sport and function. Dr. Oberst received his Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from Ohio University and has undergone extensive training through an APTA-credentialed Sports Residency. He has presented on motor control topics at national conferences for clinician scientists, provided continuing education for healthcare professionals, and regularly consults with fellow coaches and physiotherapists. ...
Dec 26, 2014•50 min
Kelly Starrett is a coach, physical therapist, author, speaker, and creator of mobilitywod.com , a site that has revolutionized how athletes think about human movement and athletic performance. Together with TJ Murphy, Kelly has co-authored a new book Ready to Run . I'm not a runner (or am I--listen to find out more) but I enjoyed the book immensely. Think of it as the instruction manual for the human body part I: movement. I don't care if you're a swimmer or cyclist, there's something here for ...
Dec 19, 2014•1 hr 10 min
Introducing Amelia, the newest member of the Nourish Balance Thrive team. Amelia is a registered nurse working with a very sick population in Utah. Disenchanted with the medical system, Amelia came to functional medicine partly through her own health struggles. A low fat, traditional standard American diet lead to constant hunger, and initially Amelia got good results switching to the Atkins diet. I thought this was really interesting because Amelia was never looking to lose weight, in fact she ...
Dec 16, 2014•30 min
Hal Elrod is a #1 bestselling author, international Keynote Speaker, hall of fame business achiever, one of America’s top Success Coaches, national champion Sales Manager, record-breaking Sales Rep, ultra-marathon runner, grateful husband & proud father. Wow, that's a lot to live up to and live up to it he did. I enjoyed this conversation with Hal; his genuine enthusiasm is something I admire greatly. Hal is a wonderful salesman, and frankly by the end of this conversation I couldn't wait to...
Dec 12, 2014•38 min
Michelle Tam and her husband Henry Fong are the authors of the New York Times bestselling cookbook Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans and the Webby award winning app of the same name. If you've ever wondered how good the Paleo diet (and a website) could look, head over to Michelle’s blog .
Dec 04, 2014•35 min
When I first met Nicole McPherson, she was desperate—desperate for a life without the constant digestive issues that plagued her, and desperate for relief from excruciating menstrual pain each month. You see, for years Nicole had been careless with her diet. As a naturally thin person with a high metabolism, she never paid much attention to healthy eating. Although her digestion was not great, she could get by. It wasn't that Nicole was uninformed about her body and its systems. In fact, she is ...
Dec 02, 2014•33 min
Stephan is an obesity researcher, neurobiologist, and author. He has an undergraduate degree in biochemistry from the University of Virginia and a PhD in neurobiology from the University of Washington. His blog Whole Health Source is a free resource for anyone who loves the science of health. I'm embarrassed to admit that I first discovered Stephan’s work whilst attending AHS14 where I saw him give this fantastic presentation on the causes of leptin resistance ....
Nov 28, 2014•1 hr 8 min
Leo Babauta is a simplicity blogger at Top 25 blog Zen Habits and a best-selling author. In 2005, he was overweight, sedentary, deeply in debt, addicted to cigarettes and junk food, with a life full of clutter and no time for anything important, like his wife and kids. That's where he started his journey of life changes. Over the next few years, he changed everything ... one step at a time: Quit smoking Started running, ran several marathons & a 50-mile ultramarathon Started eating healthier...
Nov 21, 2014•56 min
Carolynn Romaine is a gifted athlete. She's good at everything she tries, but she loves to ride her bike. I first met her at the famous Downieville All Mountain Bike Race in 2012, two years after she made the brave decision to follow her passion, quit her job, sell her possessions and take to the road. Competing in enduro mountain races across the country, Carolynn was living the dream. Competition was stiff, and Carolynn was soon feeling the pressure. She spent her winter in Arizona, taking adv...
Nov 14, 2014•31 min
Wendy Myers, CHHC, NC, is a certified holistic health and nutrition coach. She is the founder, head writer and Chief Eating Officer of Liveto110.com . She is passionate about spreading her health message through her writing, podcast, speaking and her Modern Paleo Cooking show . Wendy attended the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York and has a degree in Entrepreneurship from the University of Southern California. She is certified in Hair Mineral Analysis and is currently seeking her ma...
Nov 07, 2014•55 min
Lee McCormack is a world renowned MTB skills instructor. He wrote the books Mastering Mountain Bike Skills , Teaching Mountain Bike Skills , Pro BMX Skills , Welcome to Pump Track Nation , Pump Up the Base and Prepare to Pin It . Lee is the skills development director for NICA, the national high school mountain bike league. He works with riders of all styles and levels, from beginners to world champions....
Oct 31, 2014•1 hr 1 min
Jeremy is the co-founder of Paleo Living Magazine , and he believes that nourishing and caring for your body is the first step toward living a life you love. When he's not working, Jeremy loves rock-climbing, ultimate frisbee, and reading fantasy. You can also check him out at www.jeremyhendon.com .
Oct 24, 2014•35 min
Anese Cavanaugh is the creator of the IEP Method (Intentional Energetic Presence) as well as a leadership & collaboration advisor, strategist, and thinking partner for business leaders in the design, service and innovation spaces. Through her speaking, writing and creative leadership programs, people learn how to optimize their leadership and presence, bringing their best selves to the table for greater collaboration, impact, and cultural success. Follow her @ anesecavanaugh.com Save 20% on ...
Oct 17, 2014•45 min
Rachel Albert has been a natural foods chef, freelance food and health writer, cooking instructor and nutrition educator for more than 25 years. She is an award winning cookbook author, thriver, a survivor of stage IV metastatic breast cancer, and advocate of the ketogenic diet for cancer. Find out more about Rachel's books , and read her blog, The Heathy Cooking Coach .
Oct 10, 2014•53 min
