00:00:00
An IBS is a label that they give you that tells you what you just told them you have.
00:00:04
My bowel's kinda irritable.
00:00:06
Hey.
00:00:06
You have irritable bowel syndrome.
00:00:08
I just told you that.
00:00:08
What do you what do you mean?
00:00:10
Right?
00:00:10
To me, that's like Mhmm.
00:00:11
It's like the most bogus kinda diagnosis.
00:00:13
It's garbage diagnosis.
00:00:14
Anytime they put syndrome on the end of something, that means they don't know what
00:00:17
it is.
00:00:17
No clue.
00:00:18
Yeah.
00:00:18
No clue.
00:00:19
They'll just put the first couple words like, these play into it and then syndrome.
00:00:23
Ta da.
00:00:24
So that's basically what it was.
00:00:25
They kind of ruled out super scary stuff like IBD, which is irritable bowel disease,
00:00:30
ulcerative colitis, Crohn's.
00:00:31
They ruled out some of those scarier things.
00:00:33
Welcome to Health Decode, your number one source for real health information with your
00:00:38
host, doctor Alessi and Matt Tack.
00:00:43
Welcome back to another episode of Health Decoded.
00:00:46
I'm your host, doctor Alessi.
00:00:48
Today's episode is gonna be something a little bit different.
00:00:51
We are going back in time to an old episode from when we were the full fuel podcast where
00:00:56
myself and Matt Tack interviewed doctor Anya Szegedi.
00:01:00
We talked about everything from gut health to autoimmune conditions, leaky gut, and more.
00:01:06
This episode could not be more prevalent and pertinent for today's world.
00:01:11
Hope you enjoyed this episode.
00:01:13
Tune in to the Health Decoded podcast today.
00:01:16
With your host, Matt Tagg.
00:01:17
What's up, man?
00:01:19
Who are you?
00:01:20
I'm doctor Alfred Lesson.
00:01:21
Oh, there we go.
00:01:21
They know by now.
00:01:22
They know by now.
00:01:23
Thank you for that.
00:01:24
Love it.
00:01:24
Well, we also have a very, very accomplished and decorated guest on the show today.
00:01:29
Past classmate of mine in chiropractic school, good friend, doctor Anya Szegeti.
00:01:34
I said that correct?
00:01:35
Szegeti.
00:01:36
Szegeti.
00:01:36
The z is silent.
00:01:37
So pardon the butcher there.
00:01:39
Doctor Anya Sighetti is a holistic functional doctor and the founder of Back to Health
00:01:43
functional medicine.
00:01:44
She is the creator of the Sighetti Method and the best selling author of You Can't Outrun
00:01:49
Your Fork.
00:01:50
Doctor Anya is passionate about empowering, educating, and equipping others to take charge
00:01:55
of their own health so they can prosper, thrive, and live a life they love.
00:02:00
Doctor Anya is here on the show to dispel the myths and set the record straight when it comes
00:02:04
to fancy marketing gimmicks and provide insight on what is actually beneficial for our health
00:02:08
and what is actually dangerous for us to consume.
00:02:11
Doctor Anya, Doctor Anya, right?
00:02:14
Last time I saw you, welcome to Full Fueled.
00:02:16
We're so glad to have you on the show.
00:02:17
Awesome to
00:02:18
be here.
00:02:18
You Full so Fueled.
00:02:19
Yes ma'am, it's a pleasure.
00:02:20
We're super excited.
00:02:22
I, one thing I noticed about you as soon as I met you I'm like wow this woman has amazing
00:02:27
energy.
00:02:28
So I just want to compliment you right off the Thank you.
00:02:30
You can feel it so it's cool.
00:02:31
We're excited that you're here with us today.
00:02:34
If you could just give us a little background on kind of the story of what led you into
00:02:37
functional medicine and then also what led you into becoming an author.
00:02:42
So we're excited to dig deep, if you just give a little background on yourself.
00:02:45
Yes, absolutely.
00:02:46
So I think a lot of folks that find themselves in the holistic space have their own health
00:02:50
journey that they went on And that was my story too.
00:02:53
So little bit of a short version of my story is I was active duty military.
00:03:00
And then when I got out of the service, I was a surgical medical device sales rep for a
00:03:05
corporate America company.
00:03:07
And with that job comes a lot of stress, a lot of travel.
00:03:09
At the same time, I was also training for and competing in Ironman triathlons and
00:03:13
ultramarathons, the longest being 50 miles.
00:03:16
So yeah, that's a fun day.
00:03:18
That's a that's
00:03:19
a freaking long race.
00:03:20
And the Ironman also, 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike, and then a full marathon at
00:03:25
the That's insane.
00:03:26
Do they call you an Ironwoman?
00:03:27
Why did
00:03:28
A lot of people call me an Ironwoman.
00:03:29
You're an Ironwoman.
00:03:30
You are Ironwoman.
00:03:30
I love that.
00:03:31
You got the tat?
00:03:31
You have the tat.
00:03:32
You have the tat.
00:03:32
Alright.
00:03:33
You're official.
00:03:33
She's she's legit.
00:03:35
That's the fourth part of the triathlon is getting the tattoo.
00:03:38
You gotta finish first.
00:03:40
Right?
00:03:40
Yeah.
00:03:40
Yeah.
00:03:40
And I'm I'm crazy enough to do too.
00:03:43
So I'm doing all of that.
00:03:44
Those are my hobbies.
00:03:45
Right?
00:03:45
That's my stress relief.
00:03:46
And while working in corporate America.
00:03:48
And so as I progressed with my career, they rewarded me with promotion and more and more
00:03:54
territory.
00:03:55
So originally I was covering the state of Florida.
00:03:57
And then they kept adding states.
00:03:59
So then I was covering 11 states in the Southeast.
00:04:02
This as a regional sales manager, I'm going around to different locations up to four
00:04:07
different locations in a week.
00:04:09
I think that's a lot of travel.
00:04:11
And so, you know, I'm stressed, I'm running around like crazy.
00:04:14
I'm, you know, taking a 4AM flight out, coming back that night, go to another location the
00:04:18
next day.
00:04:19
So I made a lot of compromises when it came to my health, primarily nutrition, Because you
00:04:24
know, airport food, hotel food, it's not the best quality.
00:04:28
It's garbage.
00:04:29
It's garbage.
00:04:29
Yes, exactly.
00:04:30
So I was putting garbage in, and then I was also really pushing my body to extreme limits
00:04:35
and not fueling it properly.
00:04:38
And so I actually got really, really sick and sick in the definition of just feeling
00:04:43
exhausted, digestive issues.
00:04:46
I mean, I used to keep a note in my phone.
00:04:48
So just not to you were you were doing all this
00:04:52
Mhmm.
00:04:52
And still training for ultra marathons.
00:04:56
Yes.
00:04:56
Wow.
00:04:57
Yes.
00:04:57
And Ironman.
00:04:58
Yeah.
00:04:58
Yep.
00:04:59
Yes.
00:05:00
So at all ends.
00:05:01
Exactly.
00:05:02
Yeah.
00:05:02
Sleep was terrible.
00:05:03
Stress off the charts.
00:05:05
Nutrition, terrible.
00:05:07
You know, hormones in the garbage.
00:05:09
Like, everything.
00:05:09
Just just totally wrecking myself as as best I could as quickly as possible.
00:05:14
So, yeah.
00:05:15
So I had, you know, all the digestive issues and as I was saying, I used to keep a note in
00:05:19
my phone of all the symptoms that I had because it was coming everywhere.
00:05:24
People are like, oh, what did you start with?
00:05:26
I don't know because I started to just kind of ignore it, right?
00:05:28
I think we all do that.
00:05:29
We get some pain, we'll take a pill.
00:05:31
We have digestive issues, we take a pill.
00:05:33
Yeah.
00:05:33
Or you know, whatever.
00:05:35
Because we have to keep going, right?
00:05:36
We have to keep performing.
00:05:37
And so I really started to just feel this and not be able to hide from it anymore.
00:05:44
And so I went to my doctor and she ran my blood work and she says, oh, everything's normal.
00:05:50
Air quotes.
00:05:50
I like the air quotes there.
00:05:51
That's Yeah, like it's normal.
00:05:52
Yeah.
00:05:53
Like how how can everything be normal?
00:05:56
I feel like complete garbage.
00:05:57
Like how is that possible?
00:05:59
And you know, now I realize that that's unfortunately quite common, that a lot of
00:06:03
people will go and get a very basic panel done and it doesn't really show anything.
00:06:07
So there has to be a deeper dive.
00:06:10
And so I actually turned into my own health advocate and researched about what could be
00:06:17
causing this.
00:06:18
And I went back to my doctor and I was like pushing her, like, you run these additional
00:06:22
tests?
00:06:23
Can you check-in deeper to see what's going on?
00:06:25
And thankfully she did after a little bit of persuasion.
00:06:28
I'm not very persuasive at all, so you know, she just was like, oh sure, whatever.
00:06:33
And we found that I had antibodies to my thyroid and my thyroid was underperforming.
00:06:39
But she tells me, you're not sick enough to medicate yet, so we're just gonna wait until
00:06:44
you get sicker and then we'll medicate you for the rest of your life.
00:06:47
Health care, baby.
00:06:49
That's what we call health care in this country
00:06:51
for right there.
00:06:52
Yeah.
00:06:53
Yeah.
00:06:53
It's it's backwards for sure.
00:06:55
Yes.
00:06:55
Yep.
00:06:55
So While on the outside though, you probably still look pretty good.
00:07:00
I think so.
00:07:00
I mean, I have pictures.
00:07:01
I was ripped.
00:07:02
I mean, I, you know Yeah.
00:07:03
But I was still throwing Snickers in my little bags in between my events because that's what I
00:07:08
used.
00:07:08
That was what I looked forward to on the bike is to have a
00:07:10
Snickers Club.
00:07:11
Because you didn't have the nudes.
00:07:12
I didn't have the nudes.
00:07:13
I didn't, I just,
00:07:13
yeah. Were
00:07:14
Were you, buddy?
00:07:17
You, where were you?
00:07:19
That's why
00:07:19
we're here now.
00:07:21
Exactly.
00:07:22
So, I look back at that time and of course in the moment I'm frustrated, I'm feeling helpless
00:07:29
and hopeless, but I'm thankful for it now because that's what led me to find holistic
00:07:34
functional And I actually worked with a doctor out in Colorado back before, virtual thing was
00:07:41
a cool thing to do.
00:07:43
And we took a deep dive.
00:07:44
I mean, we tore apart my diet, my lifestyle, made some major modifications, added in some
00:07:50
supplementation.
00:07:52
And then I go back to my doctor in three months, right?
00:07:54
She has a prescription pad out because I'm supposed to get worse because we've never done
00:07:57
it.
00:07:57
We haven't done anything.
00:07:58
And she's like, wait a minute, your labs are getting better.
00:08:00
What are you doing?
00:08:01
So I'm like, I'm doing this and that, like,
00:08:04
this time.
00:08:04
I'm healing baby.
00:08:05
Yeah.
00:08:05
She's just like, yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever.
00:08:06
Just keep doing it.
00:08:07
I'm sleeping.
00:08:08
Yeah.
00:08:08
I'm actually sleeping.
00:08:09
Yeah.
00:08:09
She's like, just keep doing it.
00:08:10
It seems to be working.
00:08:11
Totally brushed me off, but I didn't care because that made such a transformative effect
00:08:16
of my health and my life.
00:08:18
I vividly remember going home to my my husband with my boyfriend at the time.
00:08:23
And I was like, hey, so I'm gonna quit this really lucrative job and go to school with
00:08:28
people that are a little younger than me.
00:08:30
It's fine.
00:08:31
And that's where I met Alfred.
00:08:33
And, you know, just really dedicate my life to this.
00:08:36
So I did the chiropractic doctorate.
00:08:38
I also did the certification for acupuncture, and the three hundred hour diplomate in
00:08:43
internal medicine, functional medicine, all at the same time.
00:08:46
Wow.
00:08:47
Killing it.
00:08:47
Yeah.
00:08:48
That's than
00:08:48
what I
00:08:49
was doing.
00:08:49
Was just so curious.
00:08:49
That's crushing it.
00:08:50
That's making a change right there.
00:08:52
Yeah.
00:08:52
How cool is that?
00:08:54
Can you, I this might be a little, like, swaying off topic, but how imperative was sleep
00:08:59
in that time frame?
00:09:00
Like, where you made or what was one thing that you just made right off the bat that was, like,
00:09:06
you you felt like kind of was the tipping point in that change or the in that mental shift?
00:09:11
Well, one, sleep was super important.
00:09:13
So we can definitely dive into that more.
00:09:14
But if we look at nutrition, one thing that I changed that was significant for me was
00:09:20
actually consuming healthy fats.
00:09:23
That made a big difference.
00:09:24
I was consuming all the garbage, you know, labeled gluten free on the front, processed
00:09:28
packaged ultra, you know, even call that food anymore because that's not nourishing the body.
00:09:33
And so I was eating all the garbage oils and unhealthy fats and trans fats and all that
00:09:37
stuff.
00:09:38
And when I switched to actually healthy fats and nourishing my body, starting to rebuild my
00:09:43
hormones and all those different, it's amazing.
00:09:45
That was life changing for me.
00:09:46
Huge.
00:09:47
That's one thing that's been, we've been honestly focusing.
00:09:50
So we have a, like a third pouch we're working on right now with food scientists, but was kind
00:09:55
of that understanding when you go into a race, how important fats are for that mindset, for
00:10:01
that kind of the early onset of like that pre nutrition, that intra nutrition and the post
00:10:06
nutrition of how you're doing that.
00:10:08
But I treat it every day like a race.
00:10:11
And how are we treating every day going into that?
00:10:13
How are you getting the appropriate fats maybe early in the morning, get that mind moving when
00:10:17
you're coming out of your circadian rhythm and going into your ultradians throughout the day.
00:10:21
So that's one thing that has been really a shift for me over really the past five years is
00:10:26
I set a bedtime routine and then I go to bed at every, like it's a non negotiable for me now.
00:10:31
Just go to bed at 09:30 and, like my wife and, like, we have family in town right now.
00:10:36
I'll be like, where's Matt?
00:10:38
You know?
00:10:38
And they, of course, know I'm in bed because I, yeah, I'm optimizing.
00:10:42
Like, I need to make sure my circadian rhythm stays in that cycle so that when I get up in
00:10:47
the morning, my body's prepared to be well optimized.
00:10:49
So I love that.
00:10:50
That's so crucial in understanding kind of that, the fat load.
00:10:54
But if we can, and I know Alfie has, I have so many different I
00:10:59
wanna I wanna kinda stick to the, like, a little bit to your story and kind of, you know,
00:11:02
what you were experiencing.
00:11:04
Obviously, you said it was a thyroid issue.
00:11:05
That was the diagnosis.
00:11:06
Mhmm.
00:11:07
But we know as functional medicine doctors, there's a root cause, right?
00:11:10
And so you focus a lot on gut health with what you do with your practice.
00:11:14
And maybe break down some of this a little bit nerdy for the audience.
00:11:17
We have people who listen that are into that.
00:11:20
How does the gut affect the thyroid, right?
00:11:21
What does that combination or why does that matter?
00:11:24
Can you elaborate on that a little bit?
00:11:26
Yes, absolutely.
00:11:27
So if we look at, so my official diagnosis is Hashimoto's thyroiditis, which is autoimmune
00:11:33
hypothyroid.
00:11:34
And so if we back up to the gut issues that I had for decade and a half, yes, bounced around
00:11:41
to a lot of different specialists.
00:11:44
Eventually diagnosed with the gut issues of IBS because they couldn't figure out anything else
00:11:48
that was wrong necessarily.
00:11:50
They just said, oh, maybe go gluten free and maybe take a probiotic that might work.
00:11:55
IBS is a label that they give you that tells you what you just told them you have.
00:12:00
My bowel's kinda irritable.
00:12:01
Hey, have irritable bowel syndrome.
00:12:03
I just told you that.
00:12:04
What do you what do you mean?
00:12:05
Right?
00:12:06
To me, that's like Mhmm.
00:12:07
It's like the most bogus kind of It's
00:12:08
a garbage diagnosis.
00:12:09
Yeah.
00:12:09
Anytime they put syndrome on the end of something, that means they don't know what
00:12:13
it is.
00:12:13
Yeah.
00:12:13
No clue.
00:12:14
Yeah.
00:12:14
No clue.
00:12:14
They'll just put the first couple words like, these play into it, and then syndrome.
00:12:18
Ta da.
00:12:19
So that's basically what it was.
00:12:20
They kind of ruled out super scary stuff like IBD, which is irritable bowel disease,
00:12:25
ulcerative colitis, Crohn's.
00:12:27
They ruled out some of those scarier things.
00:12:28
They tested me for celiac disease, which is the autoimmune gluten allergy.
00:12:34
So we ruled out those sorts of things, but I still was having a lot of issues.
00:12:39
And so knowing what I know now, that was part of the pathogenesis of my autoimmune And so,
00:12:47
with the inflammation within my gut, that set up the foundation for leaky gut, or increased
00:12:55
intestinal permeability, if you want to find it in the medical literature, that's what they
00:12:59
call it now.
00:13:01
So what that does, is that actually opens up the tight junctions of the gut lining.
00:13:06
Yeah.
00:13:07
And so whenever I would eat inflammatory foods, we'll use gluten as an example for this, I
00:13:12
don't want to make it the villain, but it does play a role.
00:13:15
That gluten protein isn't supposed to be in my systemic circulation.
00:13:19
And so it was able to pass through those larger openings in my gut lining, and then my body
00:13:25
recognized that as foreign, as an enemy.
00:13:28
And so it built up this immune army to attack those gluten proteins.
00:13:32
Now the problem is, gluten protein is very similar in amino acid sequence to thyroid
00:13:38
tissue.
00:13:39
There it is.
00:13:39
Yep.
00:13:39
And so that's what I just did.
00:13:41
Every time I consume gluten, I built up an army and attacked my own thyroid.
00:13:46
So I did that for who knows how long.
00:13:48
There's research out that autoimmune and other chronic diseases have a ten, twelve, fifteen
00:13:54
year timeline that they're building in your body.
00:13:58
These don't happen overnight.
00:13:59
And so, that's a big piece of my own health journey, is one, trying my best to avoid gluten
00:14:06
as much as possible, because it's literally in everything.
00:14:09
Even gluten free products are cross contaminated in the agriculture process, the
00:14:16
way we farm in this country, genetic modification, and then the manufacturing
00:14:21
process.
00:14:22
There's a lot of cross contamination, yeah, can't even say the word today.
00:14:24
Cross contamination there, to the point where testing was done on the top selling gluten free
00:14:32
items, and I'm using quotes again.
00:14:34
The pizza crust pasta and bread, and over 50% actually contain gluten.
00:14:41
And they're supposed to be gluten free.
00:14:42
They're supposed to be a 100% gluten free, and they're at least 50% or over 50% have gluten in
00:14:48
them.
00:14:48
So that's terrifying for someone who has a celiac allergy, because that could be very very
00:14:55
detrimental to But their then it's not good for someone who has an autoimmune condition,
00:15:00
especially one where gluten is triggering those reactions inside your body.
00:15:04
And so healing leaky gut, avoiding gluten, making sure my thyroid's getting the nutrients
00:15:09
that it needs as well, all super important in my own personal healing journey.
00:15:14
Yeah, and honestly my take on disease is, especially like these chronic diseases or these
00:15:19
long, like pathogenic disease that take time to build up is like think of your body like a
00:15:24
bucket and the bucket's filling up with water and you know a little bit of gluten in there
00:15:28
starts to raise that bucket up and then some toxins from the environment, right, chlorine in
00:15:32
our tap water, lack of sleep, stress, burning it at both ends, your bucket starts to fill up
00:15:36
when the bucket overflows, right, and you might feel okay, when the bucket overflows, signs,
00:15:40
symptoms, disease state, right?
00:15:42
Yes.
00:15:42
And so it's like, we talk a lot about like preventative health obviously, you as well,
00:15:46
like how do we empty the bucket a little bit, And that's where it's like the diet, removing
00:15:49
the gluten, that bucket starts to lower back down, you can get health back.
00:15:52
Exactly, and I have a lot people that are like, well I used to be able to do all these things
00:15:55
and that goes back to the bucket analogy.
00:15:57
Well yeah, you used to be able to because your bucket was half full then.
00:15:59
Yeah.
00:16:00
And now it's overflowing, So we need to do some work there.
00:16:03
I also find that most people don't have the symptoms until their body is less than 60% of
00:16:10
optimal function.
00:16:10
I know that we all like to work in the realm of optimal, optimal function.
00:16:15
And so, even though we, if we don't have an overt symptom, that doesn't mean we're
00:16:20
performing at 90% or 95% of optimal function.
00:16:23
That means we might be teetering right on that 61%.
00:16:26
So that's where prevention and doing the things every day to really optimize your health is
00:16:32
super, super important.
00:16:33
100%.
00:16:34
And so then what's the protocol in your practice?
00:16:38
Testing, herbal supplements, I'm guessing, right?
00:16:42
Heal Like and repair the gut.
00:16:44
Can you give like a little overview?
00:16:45
Or kind of like your process?
00:16:46
Absolutely, so I look at each individual as unique.
00:16:51
Because everyone is definitely very, very unique.
00:16:53
And so I do a deep dive into specific health history.
00:16:57
The factors that brought you to where you are today.
00:17:00
I look to see where, you know different places in your health journey you might have gone off
00:17:05
track.
00:17:06
Because it's not a straight A to B line, ever.
00:17:09
We're always taking little ebbs and flows.
00:17:13
We look at those because those are gonna give me some information because again you might not
00:17:17
have Alport symptoms of different imbalances, but there may be some there just from your own
00:17:22
health journey.
00:17:23
So I wanna look at those.
00:17:24
You know obviously taking the time to really talk with the patient and understand their
00:17:30
experiences.
00:17:30
I have them fill out very, very detailed paperwork to get a better understanding of
00:17:35
them.
00:17:36
And then we look at different diagnostic testing.
00:17:39
So I have the availability to test just about everything, which is fantastic.
00:17:45
But I try to really laser focus it into the main issues that I feel are affecting that
00:17:51
patient's health today.
00:17:53
And of course things that are going to be, if we don't address them or identify them, issues
00:17:57
for the long term.
00:17:58
Right.
00:17:59
And so then we use lifestyle, nutrition, big focus, know, potent nutraceuticals to help to
00:18:06
remove infections and imbalances and address deficiencies to help to bring the body back
00:18:12
into balance.
00:18:13
Yeah, and so what would be like the main two tests you say you run?
00:18:16
Mean, do stool tests.
00:18:17
Stool tests is probably one of the biggest ones, because you know, as Hippocrates says,
00:18:21
all disease begins in the gut.
00:18:22
I believe that your health begins in your gut, so that's a big focus that I wanna make sure
00:18:26
that we are optimizing right off the bat.
00:18:29
Because if we have imbalances there, literally nothing else we do is gonna matter.
00:18:33
Because if we're using nutrition, which is my long term goal with everybody, then if you have
00:18:38
imbalances, don't have enough hydrochloric acid or stomach acid, you don't have enough
00:18:42
digestive enzymes, you have inflammation, you have dysbiosis, infections, then you're not
00:18:46
gonna be able to properly process and absorb all the nutrients that you need to be able to
00:18:51
rebuild your body.
00:18:52
And so that's a big step.
00:18:53
And then just blood work as well.
00:18:55
I mentioned the basic panels can give us some information, but they often don't give enough.
00:18:59
So I do a really detailed, again, customized panel on every one of my patients.
00:19:03
Yeah, we're big on biomarkers, right?
00:19:05
Knowing your individual biomarkers versus just like your blood work, your CBCs, right?
00:19:11
Exactly.
00:19:11
That's a little bit important but
00:19:13
It's important.
00:19:13
I don't think that people get those tested enough in reality.
00:19:17
I think a lot of people will come to me and like, I haven't gone to a doctor in '20 And I'm
00:19:20
like, okay, well, so we're starting from scratch.
00:19:22
Step one, yeah.
00:19:23
Step one, we have a little bit of work to do.
00:19:25
I think it's important to understand your own body and where you are and where you're
00:19:31
starting from.
00:19:32
And in correlation to how you're feeling and what symptoms that you're having as well.
00:19:36
So that we can, we know where to, to take effect and where we need to prioritize our
00:19:41
energy.
00:19:42
That's awesome.
00:19:43
What, walk us through then, because you're probably walking us through a little bit of
00:19:46
this right now, but the Zigeti Method.
00:19:48
So you have actually a method that you operate.
00:19:50
Clarify it for me too.
00:19:52
I always try to look at people not as like robots, but like there's very small
00:19:57
differentiations of like who we are.
00:19:59
Right?
00:19:59
We have our personalities, which I think are impacted obviously by like these major
00:20:03
lifestyle changes, But there's a lot of redundancies in humans that we see.
00:20:09
So maybe that's why you put together like kind of a method together because our habit
00:20:14
structures typically align, that way.
00:20:16
But if you could just dive deep into a little bit of, you know, what, what you have
00:20:20
programmed into that method.
00:20:22
Yes, absolutely.
00:20:23
So I find that when someone commits to something, they have a much better outcome.
00:20:28
So the spaghetti method is actually my membership program.
00:20:33
And so with that method, I cover the 12 foundations of health.
00:20:37
And so that's gonna include kind of like you alluded to, all the different areas that we
00:20:42
each need to make sure we're fully optimizing in our own health.
00:20:46
Whether or not that might be an overt, you know, issue for you that drew you to my office,
00:20:51
we're still gonna work on it.
00:20:53
And so, first one right off the bat is mindset.
00:20:56
So if we don't have our mind right, then nothing matters.
00:21:00
You know, deep dive into your why, like why do you want to be healthier?
00:21:04
Why are you going on this journey?
00:21:06
Like what does it mean for you?
00:21:07
What's your ideal outcome?
00:21:09
And then again, we dive into the other pieces.
00:21:11
Sleep is a big one.
00:21:12
So we talk about sleep hygiene and that's starting from the moment you wake up and it
00:21:16
goes all the way till the moment you go to sleep.
00:21:18
All the things you can do to optimize your sleep throughout that timeframe.
00:21:23
Because I don't know about you, but if I don't get a good night's sleep, you don't even wanna
00:21:26
talk to me the next Like, I'm a monster.
00:21:28
You'll take care
00:21:28
of it, yeah.
00:21:31
Yeah.
00:21:32
Sleep sleep is just that I I one thing I just have loved really about sleep is that people
00:21:38
exactly what you were tapping into there is that people don't understand that, like,
00:21:43
throughout the entire day, you're actually prepping for sleep.
00:21:47
Like, your body is prepping itself for Starts first thing
00:21:49
in the morning.
00:21:50
As soon
00:21:50
as your eyes wake your eyes open.
00:21:52
Yeah.
00:21:52
So really, you know, I feel like I didn't have really a mind body connection, until I started
00:21:59
prioritizing sleep and being like, okay, my my body is actually telling me something and I
00:22:05
have to listen to it.
00:22:07
And so then, okay, well then I got super nerdy just diving into what my circadian rhythm,
00:22:13
like, okay, these delta waves are happening.
00:22:15
My body heat and core index is changing and fluctuating throughout the night.
00:22:21
Like, how do I need to understand that to get the proper amount of REM to then develop, like,
00:22:27
more tangible focus and become more optimal during the day?
00:22:31
Like, I don't like, this is what I also found.
00:22:34
Like, I don't need to work nearly as hard if I become optimal in my flow states Mhmm.
00:22:40
And really understand my, ultradian rhythms of like, okay, like, I can break now.
00:22:45
Like, it's cool to break now because my body I prepped it for that flow state and to get
00:22:50
through that.
00:22:50
But it, that's been a crucial piece in in our optimizers program that we have geared towards
00:22:58
obviously men is really understanding that that sleep narrative of how we can become more
00:23:03
optimal through that process.
00:23:04
So I love that
00:23:05
you focus on that.
00:23:06
And being optimal is getting the most accomplished and being the most efficient for
00:23:10
the least amount of expended energy.
00:23:13
Right?
00:23:14
And that's what we focus on.
00:23:15
How do we get better results with less?
00:23:16
That's what we do with guys.
00:23:17
Like, we we're, dude, you're doing way too much.
00:23:19
Mhmm.
00:23:19
You thought you had to do all this stuff.
00:23:21
You're you're killing yourself.
00:23:22
Right?
00:23:22
You're because it we're all day, we're in a state of catabolism.
00:23:25
Our body's, like, like, breaking down to rebuild.
00:23:27
Mhmm.
00:23:27
But if you're not sleeping, you're not rebuilding.
00:23:29
Right?
00:23:29
So then you're just breaking down even more.
00:23:31
Right?
00:23:31
And that's
00:23:32
And that's a that was a badge of honor that was, you know, really pushed on me in the
00:23:37
military and corporate America.
00:23:38
Sleep when you're
00:23:39
Is.
00:23:40
Exactly.
00:23:40
How much can you do on the least amount of sleep?
00:23:43
And who can send the first email in the morning?
00:23:45
And who can send the last email at night?
00:23:46
Like, was almost this competition of how bad can you basically tear your body down, and how
00:23:52
productive can you still be at the end of the day.
00:23:54
Like it's just such a bizarre mindset to look back on that.
00:23:56
So I think it's awesome that you really focus on the opportunity and the permission to give
00:24:02
yourself a break, and to really focus on the things that are gonna rebuild and nourish your
00:24:07
body so that you can perform at the highest level.
00:24:10
Because I feel like it doesn't matter how much money you have, if you don't have your health,
00:24:15
you are basically poor.
00:24:16
Like it just, it doesn't matter.
00:24:17
We had a guy in one of our men's group, say he's at, he actually does, have you ever heard
00:24:22
of PEMF therapy?
00:24:24
Wild stuff.
00:24:26
So it's an electronic, it's, more like the TENS machine.
00:24:29
Okay.
00:24:29
But it's, it basically combines like the TENS with massaging.
00:24:33
So I had bodywork done yesterday.
00:24:35
It's, it's pretty incredible.
00:24:36
We'll have to introduce you to Jake.
00:24:38
He's a good guy.
00:24:39
But it's, he said this and it's like really stuck home.
00:24:44
The best ability is availability.
00:24:46
If I'm not, if I'm, if I'm not available, like, and so many people, and I had to go, like, I
00:24:52
still go through this in ebbs and flows, but, like, some days I'm I'm not available and if I
00:24:56
don't get that proper sleep, I'm only gonna get out of sleep, I feel like, right now, but I'm
00:25:00
not gonna be available for my wife.
00:25:02
Not gonna be available for my kids.
00:25:03
Exactly.
00:25:04
Which like, if I get to the end of my life and I wasn't available for them, what good was it?
00:25:08
Right.
00:25:09
Right?
00:25:09
At the end the day.
00:25:10
So I think that's crucial.
00:25:11
Can you, you're an author now too.
00:25:14
Like, you're, how do you fit it?
00:25:16
Like, how do you fit it all in?
00:25:18
Let's be serious.
00:25:20
So you are an author.
00:25:22
Can you, tell us a little bit about your book?
00:25:23
I've heard of the book, and I am absolutely gonna be reading it.
00:25:27
But I would love for you to just kind of brief it, then we're gonna deploy it to the audience,
00:25:30
but it's right in front of us.
00:25:31
Awesome.
00:25:32
Yes.
00:25:32
So this book is actually a three part.
00:25:35
So one part, I elaborate more on my own health struggles, because as I was going through my
00:25:41
journey, I realized that we all have a health journey.
00:25:45
And as I mentioned during mine, I felt hopeless and helpless at certain points.
00:25:50
And so I wanted to share what I went through to hopefully provide some hope to someone else
00:25:53
who's also struggling, because I know a lot of people are.
00:25:57
The second part is a lot of education around the quality of nutrition and the importance of
00:26:02
that in our own health.
00:26:03
And so that's, as I mentioned, with even just the healthy fat piece, I do dive into healthy
00:26:07
fats.
00:26:08
But also elaborate on the best types of meat to eat, the best types of produce and just the
00:26:13
things to avoid, the things to eat.
00:26:15
So I definitely dive deep into those.
00:26:18
And then I really want to reinvigorate that passion and the understanding of the fact that
00:26:25
if we prepare and make our own food that we're consuming, that whole process dives into our
00:26:32
health.
00:26:33
The act of preparing our own food, that preps our digestive process.
00:26:37
100%.
00:26:38
And that is so missed in this country, purchasing food from DoorDash or, you know, I
00:26:43
don't wanna bad mouth different companies, but if we hand over our food preparation to someone
00:26:48
else, we're handing over control of our health to someone else because they're a business.
00:26:52
So unfortunately most businesses aren't going to use the highest quality ingredients.
00:26:57
They're going use the cheaper oils that are inflammatory to To your
00:26:59
margins by lowering your
00:27:01
Exactly, they're going to add sugar so that it's addictive so that you buy more.
00:27:04
So the and all these things are detrimental to your health.
00:27:07
So I put in about a 100 of my favorite delicious easy to make recipes that have
00:27:11
ingredients that anybody can find.
00:27:13
I've made them in, you know, all different studio kitchens around on the Tampa Bay area
00:27:16
for different TV shows just to show that these foods are so easy to make and accessible and
00:27:21
they're delicious and they have enormous impacts on our health.
00:27:25
And so this is actually my COVID baby.
00:27:27
When the world shut down, I wrote a book.
00:27:31
Had the idea when we were in school, and then, you know, when everything kinda shut down, it
00:27:34
just really gave me the time and space to to process it.
00:27:38
And, I'll be fully transparent.
00:27:39
The first draft I I wrote was garbage.
00:27:41
My publisher basically threw it back at me and told me to rewrite it because I wrote a, like a
00:27:47
standard operating procedure.
00:27:48
I'm very military minded and I was like, do this, don't do that.
00:27:50
And they were like, no, we need story.
00:27:52
We need Story is context
00:27:53
with
00:27:54
it as well.
00:27:55
I found that, I mean, in just being in this career and meeting other docs and stuff, the
00:28:00
best docs who get people the healthiest or get people the best results are the ones who had
00:28:04
some kind of struggle and their story is where they're coming from.
00:28:07
Right?
00:28:07
They have that empathetic, like, heart for them.
00:28:10
Right?
00:28:10
Like, anyone can, like, learn something and then teach it to people and just push it on
00:28:14
others.
00:28:15
But it's like when you feel like your doc's like, I've been there, right?
00:28:17
When patients come in here with like excruciating nerve pain, I'm like, I had that
00:28:20
man, like my shoulder was fricking jacked and I had the worst pain you can imagine.
00:28:25
So I get it, I get what pain feels like, yeah.
00:28:27
And so it's like, then they're like, hey, he he's he's here with me.
00:28:31
Right?
00:28:31
Versus like, he's gonna tell me what to do.
00:28:33
Exactly.
00:28:33
Yes.
00:28:33
The empathy piece, think, is is again lacking in this country.
00:28:37
And to be able to to say that I've walked a few steps in your shoes and I've been there and I
00:28:42
get it, is a huge difference between me and a lot of the other doctors that are out there.
00:28:47
And then I was a patient too, I was a patient for a decade and a half.
00:28:51
So I went through all the
00:28:52
You saw what didn't work.
00:28:53
The BS that they're going and through right that they're pulling their hair out and they're
00:28:56
so frustrated with.
00:28:57
And I'm like, I get it.
00:28:57
That's why that's why I'm doing what I do.
00:28:59
And so okay.
00:29:00
So the recipes, is it mostly because I'm it's propped open right here and I can see this one
00:29:04
power kava, kave.
00:29:05
Kave.
00:29:06
Kave.
00:29:06
That's Hungarian.
00:29:07
Coffee drink or something?
00:29:09
That's coffee.
00:29:09
That's how I make my coffee.
00:29:11
I'm gonna have to do that.
00:29:12
Big coffee guy.
00:29:12
It's awesome.
00:29:13
I love coffee.
00:29:14
So coffee is one of the, highest pesticide content.
00:29:18
I was about to say moldy.
00:29:19
Yeah.
00:29:20
Moldy.
00:29:20
So you the sourcing, like, right off the bat, first thing in the morning that most people
00:29:24
drink is coffee or some sort of caffeinated beverage.
00:29:27
You wanna, again, make sure that's the highest quality.
00:29:29
So I full full confessions, sometimes I'll I'll not have breakfast for a period of time and we
00:29:34
can talk talk about intermittent fasting and all those fun things too.
00:29:37
But sometimes I'm just not hungry in the morning.
00:29:39
But I want to have my coffee and I want to make sure that everything I'm consuming is of the
00:29:43
highest quality.
00:29:44
So I put in very high quality grass fed whey collagen into, not whey collagen, grass fed
00:29:50
collagen into my coffee.
00:29:52
I put, sun fiber.
00:29:53
So I get six grams of fiber in my coffee.
00:29:56
And then I alternate between either a grass fed butter or a plant based butter.
00:30:03
But I use that term very loosely because there's a lot of bad marketing around plant
00:30:07
based.
00:30:07
This particular brand is organic cashew and coconut oil.
00:30:12
And so it's again highest quality.
00:30:15
What's the brand?
00:30:15
It's called, I'm gonna pronounce it wrong, Myokos.
00:30:18
Myokos.
00:30:19
Cool.
00:30:19
And you can get it at Sprouts.
00:30:21
Big butter guy, man.
00:30:23
Think butter's a healthy.
00:30:24
Oh, love butter but sometimes I feel like I'm eating a little bit too much animal products so
00:30:28
I like to do like a fluctuation thing.
00:30:30
So like I'll do a month or two of this, month or two of that and kind of go back forth
00:30:34
between it to make sure I'm still getting all the nutrients.
00:30:36
But
00:30:37
And that's a good point to, like, being intuitive.
00:30:39
Right?
00:30:39
So, like, what you just said is basically the term is intuitive fasting.
00:30:41
You woke up, you're like, I'm really hungry.
00:30:43
I don't have to force myself to eat today.
00:30:45
Or, like, days where you're man, I'm hungry.
00:30:46
I probably should eat.
00:30:47
Or days where you're like, probably should have some more carbs today, I kinda killed it
00:30:50
yesterday.
00:30:51
Or like, maybe I should be more protein today, I worked out hard, right?
00:30:53
And so like, being able to be present and so intuitive to your body that you can sense what
00:30:58
it needs.
00:30:58
Right?
00:30:59
Absolutely.
00:30:59
Most people are like, why am I thirsty all the time?
00:31:01
Because you're fricking dehydrated.
00:31:02
Like listen, ninety five percent
00:31:04
of Americans.
00:31:04
And I know that the majority of your audience is men, but when you talk about fasting, I do
00:31:11
wanna touch on that there's a lot of research out now that women shouldn't fast the same as
00:31:16
men.
00:31:17
And so, yeah, I don't, I don't want to dive too, too deep into it, but, just to touch on
00:31:22
the fact that you're mentioning like different carbs at different times, different fats at
00:31:25
different times.
00:31:26
So primarily in this, for women who are cycling in the second phase of their cycle, the luteal
00:31:32
phase, they really shouldn't be doing any aggressive fasting.
00:31:35
That's when the body is building up hormones.
00:31:37
If you do a significant fast during that period of time, you're gonna tank your hormones.
00:31:41
Yeah.
00:31:41
Or busy moms, they got three kids, they take them to school, then they're working and all
00:31:45
this and then they're fasting.
00:31:47
Let's just add another stress to our body, right?
00:31:49
Fasting is a positive stress but maybe in that time of life, it's not the best for you.
00:31:53
We need to optimize elsewhere.
00:31:54
I actually, the majority of my female patients aren't eating enough.
00:32:00
They need more healthy Most
00:32:01
people, yeah.
00:32:02
They need more healthy fats.
00:32:03
They need more high quality protein.
00:32:04
They don't need less.
00:32:05
And so that's why, again, I'm starting my day with high quality protein, with healthy fats.
00:32:10
I actually throw a little bit of pink Himalayan sea salt in there to make sure I have my
00:32:13
electrolytes going.
00:32:14
And again, I'll pulse in and out different types of organic mushroom powders as well,
00:32:19
different blends of mushrooms to see for adaptogenic health too.
00:32:22
And what you're doing a lot of, right, and kind of on the intro I said, is like flipping the
00:32:26
narrative to what it should be versus what we've been told.
00:32:29
And it's like, why is science always changing?
00:32:31
It should be.
00:32:32
It should be evolving.
00:32:33
But you gotta listen to who's pushing it.
00:32:35
The government says, fat's bad.
00:32:37
Salt is bad.
00:32:38
All this stuff, is it?
00:32:40
Right?
00:32:41
We're starting to find that, like, you need sodium.
00:32:42
Right?
00:32:42
Your body where sodium goes water flows.
00:32:44
Right?
00:32:44
Remember that analogy?
00:32:45
Oh, yeah.
00:32:46
And so it's like, to be hydrated, you do need those electrolytes.
00:32:48
Fat's not bad.
00:32:49
Fat's what our brain is made out of.
00:32:51
So if you want a functioning brain, you should have some fat in your in your diet.
00:32:53
And if you're exhausted, you need some fat.
00:32:55
That's right.
00:32:55
It helps fuel fuel our bodies.
00:32:57
100%.
00:32:58
So, yes, follow where are the sources and follow the money.
00:33:01
Who's paying
00:33:02
for the research?
00:33:03
What's the yeah.
00:33:04
What's the agenda?
00:33:04
It's so sad if people are like, oh, there's a study behind it.
00:33:07
That's great.
00:33:07
Who paid for the study?
00:33:08
Yeah.
00:33:09
Yeah.
00:33:10
That's I call those the, like, the study Nazis.
00:33:12
People that are just like, so trust the science.
00:33:14
It's all about the science.
00:33:15
I'm like, dude, like, a lot of studies can be, like, skewed to fit the result they're trying
00:33:19
Yes. To
00:33:20
To If you really look into the study, you're like, man, they picked these people from a
00:33:23
specific area.
00:33:24
I know you're big on the blue zones and I am too, I agree with it.
00:33:27
But they cherry picked a lot of the data for certain populations in certain places.
00:33:31
Right?
00:33:32
And only use these people, whatever.
00:33:34
I'm not gonna go too deep on that.
00:33:35
But again, to your point, do your own research, be your own health advocate, is what you did
00:33:40
and what you do.
00:33:41
Mhmm, absolutely.
00:33:42
And then figure out where your specific imbalances are.
00:33:45
So that's why I do the very customized diagnostic testing because you're gonna have a
00:33:49
completely different, if we go for the gut for example, gut microbiota than Doctor.
00:33:54
Lesse, totally different.
00:33:56
Even though you guys work together and around each other, totally different.
00:33:58
If you travel internationally, it's gonna be different.
00:34:00
If you have a pet, it's gonna be different.
00:34:01
If you have a spouse or a partner, it's gonna be totally different.
00:34:04
If you have kids, it's gonna be different.
00:34:05
My identical twin sons probably have different gut microbiomes and their genetics are
00:34:08
identical.
00:34:09
They came from the same DNA, right?
00:34:11
So like, that goes to show you.
00:34:12
There's studies on that too.
00:34:13
Mhmm.
00:34:13
Two twins, one lives this kind of lifestyle, one lives the other way.
00:34:15
They're identical twins.
00:34:17
Guts are totally different.
00:34:18
One becomes obese and inflamed, the other is a healthy person.
00:34:21
It's crazy.
00:34:22
Yep.
00:34:22
That's where genetics used to be scientifically, I'm using lots of air quotes
00:34:26
today, was a crutch that people would use.
00:34:29
They're genetically predisposed
00:34:31
Freaking hate that.
00:34:32
For this.
00:34:33
Yeah.
00:34:33
And then that study really, really blew that apart and said, no, you have control over so
00:34:39
many different aspects of your health that you can, you know, impact every single day.
00:34:44
That's empowering.
00:34:46
Empowering.
00:34:46
That's powerful.
00:34:47
One thing that I think I've like really noticed to myself of having the, mind body connection
00:34:53
was the, my actually, my nutrients like during the day of the days that I actually have like a
00:35:00
workout.
00:35:00
So we worked out this morning, but I also knew I had a podcast.
00:35:05
Right?
00:35:05
And so I wanted to stay light.
00:35:07
Mhmm.
00:35:08
So I'm gonna actually my my I'm gonna load up on protein a little bit later in the day.
00:35:13
And there was this, like, myth for a long time.
00:35:15
I think it actually you know, the show The Biggest Loser, I think it was this, that Julian
00:35:21
Oh.
00:35:21
Trainer or whatever.
00:35:22
It was her name, Julian.
00:35:23
I don't know if
00:35:24
that was her name.
00:35:24
But anyways
00:35:25
It's something like that.
00:35:26
She came out with something that you had to get protein in you forty five minutes after your
00:35:30
workout.
00:35:30
Like, she said that.
00:35:31
Yeah.
00:35:31
That's how they that's they dude, that was to sell protein powder.
00:35:34
That was like to
00:35:35
sell Oh, you gotta get protein right after your workout.
00:35:37
Yeah.
00:35:37
Great for freaking everyone working out.
00:35:39
Now it's gonna buy your protein.
00:35:40
Yeah.
00:35:41
Fantastic marketing.
00:35:42
It's the only way to do it.
00:35:43
Yeah.
00:35:43
Think that's why chicken
00:35:44
breast You're isn't not gonna get any gains if you don't.
00:35:46
Right?
00:35:46
Yeah.
00:35:47
You don't.
00:35:47
You need a forty five within forty five minutes of your workout.
00:35:49
But I mean, the reality is that's not true.
00:35:52
Your body can utilize it whenever, wherever.
00:35:56
And I for my understanding, and I think it's something that you educated me on, was, it's in
00:36:01
the cadence of a really a week that you could measure what your total protein I do it daily,
00:36:07
but what your protein intake is by the week.
00:36:09
Daily tends to be easier because then you're dividing by seven, like, over a week.
00:36:12
But Yeah.
00:36:13
It it's there's, like, I think back and forth research too, but they show that, like, by
00:36:18
getting like, you can have a day that's less.
00:36:20
Right?
00:36:21
Maybe you're not as optimal on your your protein or you're a little underfed that day,
00:36:24
but then the rest of the days are either optimal or above.
00:36:27
Maybe it kinda averages out over the span of a week.
00:36:30
And so, you know, not beating yourself up if you're like, man, I didn't hit my goal today.
00:36:33
Right?
00:36:33
Kinda what we're talking about with our guys in our cohort with optimizers.
00:36:36
Like, one guy was like, I didn't get my protein goal in today, but yesterday I overdid it.
00:36:40
I'm like, it's cool, man.
00:36:41
Think you're gonna be okay.
00:36:43
You're not
00:36:43
going into, like, the perfectionist mindset.
00:36:45
Yeah.
00:36:46
And that's a really good thing to say, let's do progress.
00:36:48
Let's not go for perfection because that's another stressor.
00:36:51
That's right.
00:36:52
Yeah.
00:36:52
And you're overwhelmed and you quit.
00:36:53
Exactly.
00:36:55
I wanna talk about this because it's something that I think is important and I think that you
00:36:59
really build on in your book as well.
00:37:01
But it is that portion between men and women that obviously as we age, our protein intake
00:37:08
goes down from my understanding as far as where like data says, right?
00:37:11
But it should go up.
00:37:12
And it should go up technically.
00:37:15
But, like for me specifically, I wanted to make sure, you know, I was depleted in glycative
00:37:21
supply.
00:37:21
So I actually had a couple of nudes before the show Mhmm.
00:37:23
So that I could be well optimized for you.
00:37:26
So
00:37:26
Guys, I didn't get mine.
00:37:28
We need we need to hook you up.
00:37:29
We do that. I
00:37:31
I do I have I have an elk protein mac and cheese meal that I'm gonna, be eating later in
00:37:35
the day.
00:37:36
But I knew that would like, that, that would just legitimately, that would like slow me
00:37:39
down.
00:37:40
So I like, I wanted to be like well optimized getting my protein intake.
00:37:45
Is that, is that something like you, you're really pushing on?
00:37:49
I know you focus on fats too, but like that protein intake, pushing kind of the protein,
00:37:54
that's what we're focusing on with our guys and our optimi, we wanna focus on fats and carbs,
00:37:59
absolutely we wanna focus on those.
00:38:01
But proportionally we want, we have a protein target for them.
00:38:06
And then we really, those days that they're obviously working out, I tend to focus a little
00:38:11
bit more on my carbohydrates because I want to make sure like I'm maintaining my glycogen
00:38:15
supply still pretty sharp.
00:38:17
And then I'll get my protein in.
00:38:19
On the days I like, actually am not working out, which I've increased that a little bit, I
00:38:25
focus, tend to focus on a little bit heavier meals, throughout the day.
00:38:29
But, can you talk a little bit just about protein, specifically and like how imperative
00:38:35
that is kind of for the long term and longevity?
00:38:38
I like to just take a step back and I look like to just focus on foundational four.
00:38:42
So that's high quality protein, healthy fat, plant based fiber, and then something green or
00:38:46
colorful.
00:38:47
So I try to keep it as simple as possible because I think people get super overwhelmed
00:38:51
with, am I counting my macros?
00:38:53
Am I getting this?
00:38:53
Am I getting that?
00:38:54
So I try to keep it simple because I don't wanna add more stress.
00:38:56
You're talking like per meal.
00:38:57
You're like in the in the Per meal,
00:38:58
hit per the snack.
00:38:59
Like, let's get those four.
00:39:00
Got it.
00:39:01
Every time you eat, let's get those four in.
00:39:03
And then specifically to protein, so if you're getting all four of those in every meal and
00:39:08
snack, like you're gonna cover the bases.
00:39:09
And I like the week kinda averaging it out, so you're not stressing yourself every single day.
00:39:14
Like, oh, I missed my mark.
00:39:14
I missed my mark.
00:39:16
But specifically to protein, I I think the quality is where we need to go.
00:39:21
So highest quality, what is that?
00:39:22
That's grass fed red meat, including organs.
00:39:25
I am a fan of eating organs.
00:39:27
Liver baby, let's Liver,
00:39:28
yes.
00:39:28
Highest Yes, yes, yes.
00:39:30
Nutrient bioavailable It's not
00:39:31
It's not the valid for me.
00:39:32
I don't.
00:39:33
But Discussions with
00:39:34
this with one of our instructors in school with
00:39:36
the tree.
00:39:38
Yeah, yeah.
00:39:38
He was like, it's a filter, filters all the toxins, why would you wanna eat that?
00:39:42
I'm like,
00:39:42
I don't know bro.
00:39:43
Scooch and tons.
00:39:44
Yeah, yeah.
00:39:45
So if you don't wanna eat it, there's obviously some high quality capsule forms can get it in
00:39:50
as well.
00:39:52
So that's for red meat.
00:39:54
And then any type of poultry, eggs, organic.
00:39:58
There's a lot of marketing around free range.
00:40:02
And I just wanna touch on what that means really quickly.
00:40:04
So my husband and I travel a lot in The US and internationally as well.
00:40:07
We have an Airstream here, and we stay on farms and different things.
00:40:11
And I've talked with farmers, and they've showed me the facilities of their free range
00:40:15
chickens.
00:40:16
And it literally if they have this tiny little space where they put their little leg out, that
00:40:20
means free range.
00:40:20
If the chicken's not in a box, it's free range
00:40:22
essentially.
00:40:22
Well, there's cage free Okay.
00:40:24
And then there's free range.
00:40:25
So cage free means they're not in the individual little They can actually move their
00:40:29
body.
00:40:30
Their body.
00:40:30
But it doesn't mean that they're you know, we have I have this image of chickens running in a
00:40:34
field and, you know, happy chickens out in the
00:40:36
pasture raised.
00:40:36
Right?
00:40:37
Pasture That would be pasture raised.
00:40:38
So organic pasture raised would be the highest.
00:40:40
Pinnacle.
00:40:41
Yep.
00:40:42
And those yolks are freaking orange.
00:40:43
Oh, When you get an organic pasture raised because they're eating worms, they're eating
00:40:46
grubs, like they're eating like real stuff.
00:40:47
They're eating what they are
00:40:49
They're getting a
00:40:49
lot of omegas into there and so that that yolk, man.
00:40:51
Yeah.
00:40:51
So they're gonna be raw.
00:40:52
They're gonna be healthier which means what you consume is gonna be healthier.
00:40:55
You're eating it raw?
00:40:56
I eat raw three raw eggs every morning.
00:40:58
Okay.
00:40:58
Alright.
00:40:59
Sometimes at night too.
00:41:00
Alright.
00:41:00
Yeah.
00:41:01
That's why your beard orange.
00:41:02
Right?
00:41:03
That's right, baby.
00:41:03
Let's go.
00:41:06
And then for any type of seafood wild caught.
00:41:09
So we could dive into hours discussion on farm raised seafood.
00:41:13
Just if it says farm raised, just don't eat it.
00:41:15
It is not good for your health.
00:41:16
Those creatures are unfortunately fed diets that are natural to them.
00:41:19
The agriculture industry is the highest consumer of prescription medications in this
00:41:24
country.
00:41:25
So let that kinda sink in for a second.
00:41:27
Wow.
00:41:28
Well, I heard something recently about fiber too and I had a hack with my protein.
00:41:36
So I put lion's mane on all of it.
00:41:38
I just saw like basically the mushrooms.
00:41:40
I think you've seen me do it.
00:41:42
I'll just put it, I'll just put it over top to just get that protein into or I get the fiber
00:41:46
intake.
00:41:47
My understanding on like fiber, like we are significantly deficient from just a, or at a
00:41:54
global scale of Insanely deficient, yes.
00:41:56
Fibers in our diet.
00:41:57
And like, an adequate amount of fiber on a daily basis is 20 grams.
00:42:02
A sufficient is 60.
00:42:05
Am I wrong on that?
00:42:06
Well, the the recommendation is kind of in the middle of that.
00:42:08
So 30 to 40 grams.
00:42:09
So I think you're you're hitting each side of it.
00:42:12
Okay.
00:42:12
You know, we alluded to the blue zones earlier, so I will touch on a little bit of that because
00:42:16
I do, follow what doing.
00:42:17
Because I feel like they have some great nuggets to share.
00:42:19
For sure, yeah.
00:42:20
And what they've studied is the longest, living communities that are living optimal life or
00:42:26
health span, not just lifespan, which is super important.
00:42:29
Critical.
00:42:30
Critical.
00:42:31
Is the fact that they're consuming sixty, seventy, 80 grams of plant based fiber a day,
00:42:37
which is just mind blowing.
00:42:38
That's a lot of fiber.
00:42:39
And that fills you up too, right?
00:42:40
So that keeps you satiated, you're not gonna snack and binge.
00:42:43
And actually, a higher fiber, plant based fiber diet addresses four of the top 10 killers in
00:42:49
The US.
00:42:50
That's metabolic diseases, strokes, heart, disease, and cancer risk.
00:42:55
Yeah.
00:42:55
All, you know, majorly decreased when you are consuming enough plant based fiber.
00:43:00
Now, cautionary.
00:43:01
Don't run out and grab a tub of Metamucil because that's not gonna do the That's
00:43:04
processed.
00:43:05
No, it's highly processed.
00:43:06
We're talking about plants.
00:43:07
We're talking about legumes.
00:43:09
One of my favorites is chickpeas.
00:43:10
So a cup of chickpeas, that's twelve, fifteen grams of plant based fiber right off the bat.
00:43:15
And that's protein too.
00:43:16
And plant based protein.
00:43:18
It's amazing.
00:43:18
I actually will dump some into, the blender first when I make a smoothie because it doesn't
00:43:22
add any taste to
00:43:23
it.
00:43:23
Nice.
00:43:24
And it gives it a little bit more like thickens it up a little bit and you get the plant based
00:43:27
fiber and protein right there right off the bat.
00:43:29
I'm gonna do that.
00:43:30
I've never heard of that before.
00:43:31
You're welcome.
00:43:32
Here we go.
00:43:33
I hope you learned something new today.
00:43:35
That's right.
00:43:35
And I think a lot of the the summary of a lot of what we're talking about is, like, optimal
00:43:38
versus, like, adequate.
00:43:40
You said the word adequate.
00:43:41
You go to your doctor, like, let's, circle back to the beginning when you told your story.
00:43:46
Right?
00:43:46
Oh, you're good.
00:43:47
Dude, I feel lousy.
00:43:49
Well, know, if the range is a 100 is is 20 at the bottom and a 100 at the top and you're at
00:43:54
21, you're within range.
00:43:55
You're adequate, baby.
00:43:56
You're good.
00:43:57
Dude, you're one away from being freaking out of range.
00:44:00
Right?
00:44:00
So, like, that's functional medicine is like, no, we wanna get that to the top of the top,
00:44:04
baby.
00:44:04
And that's hormones, that's, you know, all markers.
00:44:07
Right?
00:44:07
We don't wanna just be existing.
00:44:08
Totally different because the lab ranges were defined based on a sick population because
00:44:13
that's who was in the hospital.
00:44:14
And they change them.
00:44:15
And they change
00:44:15
them.
00:44:16
As we get sicker as a population, they're like, well, let's just lower the standard so that
00:44:20
people can, you know, fit in it still or else we have to address the fact that everyone's
00:44:23
dying and sick.
00:44:24
Right?
00:44:24
And we can medicate them sooner.
00:44:25
Boom.
00:44:26
That's that's what I've been, that's what I ask.
00:44:29
I I've actually asked this quite often lately was I'm, like, point blank, I'm, I don't mean
00:44:33
to be, like, just extremely forward with you, but since when do you wanna be average?
00:44:38
Like, don't you wanna be, like, above average or optimal?
00:44:41
Like, said no one ever.
00:44:42
Like, hey.
00:44:43
You wanna do you wanna be average in life?
00:44:45
I just wanna get by.
00:44:46
Said no one ever.
00:44:47
Like so if you ask that question, they're like, well, you actually think about it.
00:44:51
Didn't wanna be average.
00:44:52
You know what I I called out my dad the other day.
00:44:55
I'm like, I I really poor dad.
00:44:57
But, like, I'm like, look, back end of your life, I I love, like, my parents immeasurably.
00:45:04
And that so I I say it in an act of love, but, again, I'm, like, pretty forward.
00:45:08
But I'm like, do you wanna finish or do do you just wanna finish or do you wanna finish well?
00:45:12
And so I think there's two separations there.
00:45:14
Like, if you're just looking to finish, like, this retirement life, sit down, eat a bag of
00:45:19
potato chips, and watch some Hallmark movies, like, I wouldn't call that finishing well, bro.
00:45:24
So I don't mean to call you out, dad, but I'm still calling you out.
00:45:26
Oh, I
00:45:27
looked right at him.
00:45:27
And, dead in the eyes, dad.
00:45:30
Dead in the eyes.
00:45:32
But the reality is that it's like I, no matter what age, I don't know when God's gonna call me
00:45:38
home, but I don't wanna be average.
00:45:40
Like, and that's why we're diving into this field of like, what does it mean to be
00:45:45
optimized?
00:45:46
And if it means putting a little more fiber in your diet, like as a simple measure, like if
00:45:52
there's one action you can take today of like putting some chickpeas in a blender, how hard
00:45:56
is that?
00:45:57
Like it's, you know, some really cool things that you can just take away that create a
00:46:02
different narrative for your life and how you finish it well.
00:46:04
I don't know.
00:46:05
I mean, fully believe that we were meant to thrive, not just survive.
00:46:09
And I feel like a lot of people are just scraping by and surviving.
00:46:14
And there are simple things like you mentioned, little hacks that we can do every day to just
00:46:18
move that needle a little bit and get us to that thriving so we can prosper, so we can live
00:46:24
a life we love.
00:46:25
I love that.
00:46:26
What's coming up for you?
00:46:28
Anything new in the works?
00:46:29
Another book or TV.
00:46:31
Yeah, you've been all over TV and stuff.
00:46:33
I actually have another episode that, we just recorded last week, an actual entire cooking
00:46:38
show, which I'm super excited about, which I've never So done that was
00:46:42
that work?
00:46:42
That's on Fox thirteen.
00:46:44
Fox thirteen.
00:46:44
That's awesome.
00:46:45
Yes.
00:46:46
Yes.
00:46:46
Yes.
00:46:46
Yes.
00:46:46
Hope you'll be able
00:46:47
to When it's gonna be?
00:46:48
Or do you know yet?
00:46:49
Yeah.
00:46:49
This should air on the twenty seventh.
00:46:50
So I don't know when this episode's gonna air, but that's coming out the twenty seventh.
00:46:53
And then I am doing a digestive detective program where as a group, we dive into our
00:47:02
microbiome.
00:47:03
And we do a stool test and we dive into all the imbalances within our body and things that we
00:47:08
can do to optimize that.
00:47:09
We do that, we don't collectively poop as a group, but I do call it.
00:47:14
Poop poop.
00:47:14
You poop at home, we discuss the results as a group.
00:47:19
Then I make customized recommendations based on that.
00:47:21
So I have another session of that coming up launching March.
00:47:24
And then just some amazing educational opportunities to just share and empower and
00:47:29
hopefully take the message international this year too.
00:47:33
Definitely gonna bring you back on so we can get like in in-depth on a lot of the stuff we
00:47:36
talked about today.
00:47:38
Man, if you if you're listening and you got some value out of this show, which if you
00:47:41
didn't then, I don't know, maybe you're deaf, I don't know, right?
00:47:44
But like, check out doctor Anya.
00:47:47
Where can they find you online and Instagram and and kinda give us where we can look you up?
00:47:51
Yeah.
00:47:52
My Instagram is doctor Anya Segeti.
00:47:53
So fun being able to spell that, but s z I g e t I.
00:47:57
I'm sure we'll we'll link that in the show notes.
00:47:58
Yep.
00:47:58
It's probably the best place.
00:47:59
I have an amazing person that's helping me out with that just to get the message out with that
00:48:04
because I'm terrible with social media and she's amazing.
00:48:07
That's probably the best best avenue.
00:48:08
You're like going into grocery stores and calling out like crappy food and I
00:48:13
I did a whole thing recently.
00:48:15
And and I love to hear where where people are having questions so that I can make sure that
00:48:20
I'm getting the content out that people want.
00:48:22
And actually, you're inspiring me.
00:48:25
I've I've had several people ask me to start a podcast so I'm looking into
00:48:28
that.
00:48:28
Awesome.
00:48:28
So hopefully, I'll put this on myself to launch that in the next month.
00:48:31
It's a great platform for just spreading this knowledge, man, and this right here.
00:48:35
Right?
00:48:35
And if you obviously listen to this, go get You Can't Outrun Your Fork, the book here about how
00:48:41
nutrition is, I mean, pivotal.
00:48:43
Yeah.
00:48:44
Great book.
00:48:44
Tons of recipes.
00:48:45
I'm about to go make some of that power kaveh right now, man.
00:48:49
Well, that's awesome.
00:48:50
So we have I got one last question, and we'll wrap up.
00:48:53
I ask this every guest we have.
00:48:54
You have your 12 things that you talked about, the 12 kinda optimized things.
00:48:58
We have six pillars.
00:48:59
Fuel, movement, sleep, mind, purpose, and spirit.
00:49:04
And so we believe that to live full fueled, if you have all these pillars optimized, you are
00:49:08
full fueled.
00:49:09
What does living full fueled look like for Anya Sageti?
00:49:12
That is amazing.
00:49:13
I mean, that that covers into the majority of of what I cover as well in the Sagetti Method.
00:49:19
So for me, that is being present.
00:49:24
That is being there showing up a 100% for myself, for my husband, for my miniature
00:49:30
dachshund Milo, who travels everywhere with us including Europe twice.
00:49:36
And if I'm not showing up a 110% for myself, then I can't be there to help anyone else
00:49:41
because you can't pour from an empty vessel.
00:49:44
I tried for years and it's not possible.
00:49:46
So that's making sure that, you know, I'm starting my day with sunlight.
00:49:50
I'm getting fresh water.
00:49:52
My nutrition's on point.
00:49:54
I'm taking time for mindfulness.
00:49:57
I do a lot of yoga meditation that just really helps to clear my mind and keep me balanced.
00:50:02
I have a personal relationship with with the Lord and so that that helps guide my purpose.
00:50:06
And I really feel like he has, you know, took me on this journey, and I'm his vessel to be
00:50:11
able to help empower others.
00:50:13
And so living through that just just really gives me goosebumps and just really just fuels
00:50:18
me every day.
00:50:18
Smash that answer.
00:50:20
That was amazing.
00:50:21
Anya Sageti is full fuel to the brim, dude.
00:50:25
Full fuel.
00:50:26
Well, thank you so much for coming on the show.
00:50:29
It has been an extreme pleasure.
00:50:32
It really has.
00:50:33
Thank you so much.
00:50:34
Awesome.
00:50:35
Healthy Coated listeners, thank you so much for tuning in to today's episode.
00:50:39
Again, I am your host, Doctor.
00:50:40
Alessi.
00:50:42
If you would like to learn more about our cutting edge services and functional medicine,
00:50:47
go to alessifunctionalhealth.com.
00:50:49
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00:50:53
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00:50:55
If you have questions or you'd like to hear yourself on one of our shows or share your
00:51:00
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00:51:07
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00:51:09
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00:51:16
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00:51:19
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00:51:25
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00:51:28
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00:51:49
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00:51:55
Until next time.
00:51:56
Stay curious, stay empowered, and remember, your health is in your hands.