How Psychedelics And Meditation Affect The Brain

How did a skeptical journalist find his way from depression and panic attacks to a more balanced, mindful life? Meditation. For a long time, meditation was sold in a way that made many people wary of its actual benefits. But now, we know this practice of sitting calmly, focusing on the breath, and watching thoughts come and go can actually produce physiological shifts in the brain and in our ability to cope with the stressors of life. Our guest on today’s episode of The Doctor’s Farmacy, Dan Harris, walks us through his own journey into meditation and the amazing payoff it’s had in his life. Dan is an Emmy Award-winning journalist and the co-anchor of ABC's Nightline and the weekend editions of Good Morning America. He is the author of two New York Times best-sellers, 10% Happier & Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics: A 10% Happier How-to Book. He went on to launch the 10% Happier podcast and an app called 10% Happier: Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics.

9 Jan 201943min

There’s a lot more happening in your gut than you might think. Sure, our digestive system moves food through the body, extracting nutrients and eliminating waste. But there’s actually a significant portion of calories we ingest that don’t get absorbed and instead are used to feed our gut bacteria. This inner microbiome creates its own type of waste: metabolites that can be absorbed into the bloodstream and pumped throughout the rest of the body. We’re finding some of these compounds can impact everything from obesity and diabetes to blood pressure and heart disease—it’s astounding to realize the far-reaching effects on whole-body health that all start within the gut. Today’s guest on The Doctor’s Farmacy is here to explain that connection on a deeper level. Dr. Stanley Hazen is both the chair of the Department of Cellular & Molecular Medicine at the Lerner Research Institute and section head of Preventive Cardiology & Rehabilitation at the Heart and Vascular Institute of the Cleveland Clinic. He’s published more than 400 peer-reviewed articles and has over 50 patents from his pioneering discoveries in atherosclerosis and inflammatory disease. Dr. Hazen made the seminal discovery linking microbial pathways to the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease, which we talk much about in this fascinating episode.

2 Jan 201957min

Aging without feeling old—isn’t that what we all want? By embracing the right lifestyle practices, it’s possible to get a new lease on life. Emerging research is showing optimal health and graceful aging have just as much to do with when you eat as what you eat. We’ve been hearing a lot in the last couple years about intermittent fasting and time restricted eating, which many folks practice by avoiding meals earlier in the day and breaking their fast with a late lunch or large dinner. My guest on today’s episode of The Doctor’s Farmacy, Dr. Michael Roizen, is here to share why science says late eating is not in our favor and how we can flip the script to make time restricted eating support optimal health. Dr. Roizen is the first Chief of Wellness at the Cleveland Clinic, is board certified in internal medicine, an anti-aging expert, and is the author of many New York Times best sellers. His most recent book, What to Eat When, takes an in-depth look at how planning your meal times more mindfully can dramatically improve your health.

26 Dec 201835min

I often talk about the interconnectedness of the body. After all, Functional Medicine is all about looking at the way our systems function together, rather than focusing on one part of the body at a time. The steps you take to support whole-body health work in the same way. Diet, exercise, stress reduction—they simultaneously affect more than just one aspect of your health—and new research has revealed that choices like these can have major impacts on our sleep, and how that cycles back to support overall optimal health. On this episode of The Doctor’s Farmacy, I discuss all-things-sleep with my guest Shawn Stevenson. Shawn is the author of the international best-selling book Sleep Smarter and creator of one of my favorite podcasts, The Model Health Show. A graduate of The University of Missouri - St. Louis, Shawn studied business, biology, and kinesiology, and went on to be the founder of Advanced Integrative Health Alliance, a company that provides wellness services for individuals and organizations worldwide.

19 Dec 20181h 2min

Many of you who have been following my journey know that last year I got pretty sick. A perfect storm of mold toxicity, babesia, and a few other insults came together that left me in bed for about five months. As part of my treatment plan I decided to go to Sanoviv, a state-of-the-art, fully-licensed hospital that offers a unique blend of conventional, alternative, and integrative programs to help maintain good health and treat a wide range of diseases. This week I interview Dr. Meza, the Chief of Medical Staff at Sanoviv. Dr. Meza played an integral part in my treatment protocol. He is trained extensively in many areas of integrative medicine, including natural approaches to the treatment of cancer and other chronic illnesses.   In this episode of The Doctor's Farmacy, Dr. Meza explains the innovative therapies that they use at Sanoviv, and how they look beyond the symptoms of a patient to deal with the root cause of their illness.

12 Dec 201850min

The news about climate change seems bleak and hopeless, but my guest on this week’s episode of The Doctor’s Farmacy is here to give us hope. Paul Hawken is an environmentalist, entrepreneur, author, and activist who has dedicated his life to environmental sustainability and changing the relationship between business and the environment. He is one of the environmental movement’s leading voices, and a pioneering architect of corporate reform with respect to ecological practices. His work includes founding successful, ecologically conscious businesses, writing about the impacts of commerce on living systems, and consulting with heads of state and CEOs on economic development, industrial ecology, and environmental policy. Paul is Executive Director of Project Drawdown, a non-profit dedicated to researching when and how global warming can be reversed. He is on a mission to present real, already existing solutions to reverse global warming.

5 Dec 20181h 33min

We’re often told that eating well can prevent diabetes, heart disease, and cancer, but what about the effects of diet on mental health? The correlation is just as strong. What we eat impacts our brains and mental health—food does affect mood. In fact, highly processed foods can lead to a 50 to 100% increased risk for clinical depression and high-glycemic foods pose a significant risk as well. It’s time we stop thinking of the way we eat as relevant to only one piece of our health; it dramatically influences the entire body. Today’s guest on this week’s episode of The Doctor’s Farmacy is here to talk about the link between diet and mental health. Dr. Drew Ramsey is not your average psychiatrist. A writer, farmer, and doctor who focuses on the connection between mental health and food, he is passionate about nutritional interventions and creative media to share a different way of thinking about the brain and mood. He is an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and in active clinical practice in New York City. He also spends much of his time with his family, growing their own food, on a 127 acre organic farm.

28 Nov 201852min

When you meet someone who embraces their own spirit and the spirit of others in a loving way it engenders connection; it can be transformational on a physiological level and create change throughout entire communities. But approaching life with this mindset doesn’t always come easy, though it is innately within all of us. It is possible to shift a perception of fear to one of love, from judgement to acceptance, from blaming to wishing well, we just have to choose to do so. This week’s guest on The Doctor’s Farmacy, Marianne Williamson, is here to talk about why that shift is not only crucial to our individual happiness, but why it’s imperative in order for our relationships, society, and even our political system to function at their best. Marianne is a spiritual and political activist, entrepreneur, and New York Times best-selling author. She also just announced she is considering running for the democratic nomination in the upcoming 2020 presidential election.

21 Nov 20181h 6min