Ancient Health Podcast

Dr. Eboni Cornish, MD, of Amen Clinics and ILADS, returns for a third conversation, live in Nashville. She and Dr. Chris Motley talk about Lyme and other tick-borne infections in the brain: anxiety and depression, kids labeled ADHD, puberty flares, mold and memory, and why she calms the brain before treating anything. Plus her best question: when did your symptoms start, and where were you? Sources in the show notes. Educational only, not medical advice.

00:00 Depression, anxiety, and a Lyme test

00:39 Welcome: Dr. Eboni Cornish, live in Nashville 

02:20 From bored family doctor to Lyme practice 

04:13 How Lyme gets into the brain 

06:12 What a Lyme brain looks like on a SPECT scan 

08:02 The limbic loop: calm the brain 

10:21 Is neurology catching up? 

12:30 Floaters, light sensitivity, and trouble reading 

14:05 Tinnitus and sound sensitivity 

15:08 Can kids have Lyme? Pregnancy and newborns 

17:48 Why puberty can trigger a flare 

20:12 ADHD, PANS, and a gentler approach for kids 

23:32 Food, kids, and the one-food trade

 25:56 Sudden anger in children 

27:23 Joint pain and injuries that won't heal 

28:57 Teeth, gums, and cavitations 

31:09 Babesia and your red blood cells 

32:34 MTHFR, explained 

35:11 Swollen lymph nodes and lymphatic drainage

36:47 Memory loss, mold, and dementia risk 

39:42 Where were you when your symptoms started?

 41:31 Gratitude and the brain 

43:59 How your gut shapes your mood 

46:09 Her morning routine 

48:19 Saunas, baths, and cold water 

50:38 Belly breathing for kids 

51:11 Her fall speaking tour 

54:14 Where to find Dr. Cornish 

55:34 Wrap-up 

57:01 Disclaimer

Key Takeaways:

Tick-borne illness can show up in the brain. Lyme can reach the nervous system. If you have neurological symptoms and you are not getting better, Dr. Cornish says to put tick-borne disease on the list (5:16). 

Calm the brain before you push treatment. Her patients who react to everything are often stuck in fight or flight, a "limbic loop" (9:37). She starts by calming the nervous system. 

Kids get labeled. Many of her pediatric patients arrive diagnosed with ADHD or "being bad" (20:50). A sudden change in a child, over days rather than months, is worth asking your pediatrician about by name: PANS.

Trade one food, not the whole diet. She asks a reluctant kid for one food that "doesn't love your brain," and trades a supplement off the list in return (25:04). Then she asks AI for realistic swaps a family will actually eat. 

Babesia lives in red blood cells. If you have tested positive, don't donate blood. Federal blood-safety rules agree.

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For more on her work: 

https://www.amenclinics.com/

https://www.ilads.org/

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At 34, Dr. Stephen Hussey had a zero calcium score and a heart attack six months later. Dr. Chris Motley talks with him about what his tests missed, infrared light, structured water, and his case that the heart is more than a pump. Sources in the show notes. Remember: chest pain means call 911. Educational only, not medical advice.

00:00 Zero calcium score, heart attack at 34

00:24 Welcome to the Ancient Health Podcast

00:33 Meet Dr. Stephen Hussey 01:38 Hives, asthma, and type 1 diabetes at nine

03:04 Fit, healthy, perfect labs, then a heart attack

04:42 Alone in the hospital with 11 prescriptions

06:34 A blocked leg artery after the heart cath

08:55 Why he bought an infrared sauna

11:18 Half of sunlight is infrared, and we live indoors

14:09 Structured water, explained and disputed

18:42 What makes blood clot: Virchow's three conditions

22:43 Stop the heart and the blood keeps moving?

25:43 Red light panels, and how much is too much

30:08 Is the heart really a pump?

30:39 A quick word on LDL

31:51 Three roles of the heart, starting with the pump question

35:14 A heart that twists

37:40 Sponsor: Timeline

39:05 Role two: the heart as a brake

41:08 Role three: the heart as a sensor

46:06 Heart rate variability and the ability to adapt

48:54 Chinese medicine: the heart governs the blood

50:15 Grounding: how much is enough

53:36 Three books

55:48 Why he stopped practicing to teach full time

57:34 Wrap-up 58:18 Disclaimer

Key Takeaways

A zero calcium score is good news, not a guarantee. It measures calcified plaque only. Dr. Hussey says so himself (3:40): it does not see soft plaque, and it cannot see a clot that forms on a clean artery wall.

Heart attacks are not all plumbing. Stress cardiomyopathy and coronary artery spasm are real, recognized events that do not start with a blocked artery.

Get outside. About half of sunlight is infrared, and Americans spend about 93 percent of their time indoors or in vehicles (NHAPS, 2001).

Light has a dose. Red and infrared light help up to a point, then stop helping. Dr. Hussey calls it a "bell curve" (26:52), and the research agrees.

The heart twists as it contracts, and heart rate variability matters. Both are well measured. Low heart rate variability tracks with heart failure and depression.

Chinese medicine says the heart governs the blood and houses the spirit. Dr. Motley connects that classical idea to Dr. Hussey's argument that the heart is more than a mechanical pump (48:54 to 50:11).

Remember: Don't stop or change heart medications without your cardiologist.

Chest pain, pressure, or shortness of breath: call 911, whatever your last scan said.

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Normal TSH, still exhausted? Dr. Chris Motley explains the thyroid antibodies most people never get tested for, why a stomach infection called H. pylori keeps showing up alongside Hashimoto's, what a 2026 study found when it was treated, and what Chinese medicine has long said about digestion and a cold, tired body. 

(00:00) Your antibodies are five times normal, and "nothing to treat yet" 

(00:53) Welcome to the Ancient Health Podcast 

(01:02) The most common thyroid disease, and the least recognized 

(02:15) How your immune system attacks your thyroid: anti-TPO and anti-thyroglobulin 

(02:55) What your thyroid does, and how TPO builds T3 and T4 

(05:38) Why the antibodies start: Epstein-Barr, and one more pathogen 

(06:13) H. pylori is not just a heartburn bug 

(07:17) The stomach infection you forgot you had 

(08:41) How people actually catch H. pylori 

(10:16) A hidden infection and an over-alert immune system 

(11:30) Mistaken identity: the molecular mimicry idea 

(14:16) The Egypt study: treat H. pylori, watch TSH fall 

(15:45) Why H. pylori belongs in every Hashimoto's workup 

(16:47) A patient story: lifelong anxiety and a folder of labs 

(23:16) Chinese medicine: Spleen and Kidney Yang deficiency 

(24:56) The herbs Dr. Motley uses, and what the research shows 

(27:40) That old infection could still be hanging around 

(28:01) Normal labs, still feel crummy? What to ask for 

(29:26) Share this with someone who needs it 

(30:02) Disclaimer

TSH alone can miss Hashimoto's. Over 90 percent of people with Hashimoto's carry TPO antibodies, and 50 to 80 percent carry thyroglobulin antibodies (StatPearls). Most standard panels check TSH only. Ask for both antibodies.

The H. pylori and Hashimoto's link is real in pooled data, not in every study. A 15-study meta-analysis found about twice the odds of Hashimoto's with H. pylori infection (OR 2.16). One Italian study found the link only in Graves' disease. Molecular mimicry is a proposed explanation, not a proven one. 5. Treating H. pylori lowered TSH in levothyroxine-resistant women. TSH fell from 11.87 to 2.56 over four months in a 2026 Egyptian study. Antibodies moved much less. Levothyroxine needs stomach acid to absorb, so better absorption is the likeliest reason.

What Doctor Motley Likes to Use:     

Golden Thread: https://tinyurl.com/mvf6rftr

Scutellaria Supreme (Chinese Scullcap): https://tinyurl.com/4murtnuk

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Dr. Shivani Gupta watched diabetes move through her family in India, then studied Ayurveda to find out what could be done for it. She explains Vata, Pitta, and Kapha, what each type tends to eat and how each sleeps, her daily clock and seasonal eating, and the rockstar power of turmeric! Plus her proposal that menopause is a Vata shift. Code DRMOTLEY will give you 15% off Dr. Shivani’s incredible Ayurvedic formulas at Fusionary Formulas: https://fusionaryformulas.com/. Head here for Dr. Shivani’s first episode of the Ancient Health Podcast! https://youtu.be/i4QXlf4VIHY

Key Takeaways

Vata types are told to eat three regular meals. At [00:18:56], her first homework for the thin, airy, always-in-motion type is "three square meals a day," and if that fails, keep nuts and tea within reach. She has meals delivered to wherever she is working. 

Pitta types are told to cool down, and Kapha types to move. Pitta (medium build, runs hot, driven and organized) gets cooling foods and a warning about summer heat. Kapha (sturdy, loyal, tends to sluggishness) gets a push to walk or move each day before the evening slump. 

Turmeric in food is one thing, concentrated capsules are another. She recommends cooking turmeric with black pepper or a healthy fat, which is traditional and low-risk. Ask your prescriber first, especially if you take any medicine or have liver or gallbladder problems.

Educational only, not medical advice. Do not stop or reduce any prescribed medicine, including insulin, without your prescriber. If you take any medicine or have liver or gallbladder problems, ask your prescriber before starting turmeric or curcumin supplements.

00:00 Cold open: the spice she wrote her dissertation on

00:41 Sponsor: Timeline and Mitopure (urolithin A)

02:07 Welcome back, Dr. Gupta, in person in Nashville

03:54 A Houston kid, summers in India, and diabetes in every generation 05:33 The night she touched her grandfather's feet

07:07 Why she went to India to study Ayurveda, and the pattern she repeats

12:30 Kitchen spices, a master's, a turmeric dissertation, and black pepper 16:36 Pillar one, your dosha: Vata, the thin and airy type

20:12 Pitta, the fire type: volcanoes, marriage, and parenting two constitutions

26:18 Kapha, the earth type, and why she says they sleep ten hours

29:00 The Ayurvedic clock, an earlier bedtime, and eating with the seasons

34:45 Turmeric: what she says it does, and boswellia

42:47 Sugar, gluten, and two case stories

46:22 Her next book and the "vata syndrome of menopause"

48:31 Where to find Dr. Gupta, and the close

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The molluscum cream your dermatologist prescribed actually.…doesn't beat doing nothing. A 2017 Cochrane review of 22 trials says so. Dr. Chris Motley breaks down why watchful waiting is actually the evidence-backed call, what the new FDA-approved gel really does (and doesn't) fix, and why some kids' bumps won't quit for years while others clear in months.

[00:00:00] - The pediatrician who said "just wait it out" 

[00:00:48] - Welcome to the Ancient Health Podcast

[00:01:01]- Six million cases a year, and why some kids are more exposed than others [00:02:36] - The jolt: a systematic review of 22 trials says the standard cream doesn't beat nothing 

[00:03:39] - A frustrated mother's story: two bumps become ten, then spread to both siblings 

[00:08:05] - This isn't about which cream to buy, it's about how the virus hides 

[00:08:42] Meet the pox family and the cells the virus sets up shop in 

[00:09:28] - The virus's cloaking device: blocking your own inflammation signal 

[00:10:44] - Imiquimod was never actually FDA-approved for this 

[00:11:58] Why "watch and wait" is the most evidence-backed thing a dermatologist can tell you 

[00:12:16] - What changed in January 2024: the first FDA-approved molluscum treatment ever 

[00:14:11] - The real question: why some kids clear this in months and others fight it for years 

[00:14:27] - The 2025 study connecting eczema and stubborn molluscum 

[00:14:54] - Why eczema is a gut and lung problem in Chinese medicine, not just a skin problem 

[00:17:12] - Leaky gut, explained 

[00:17:50] - Sponsor break: Wavwatch 

[00:19:03] - How toxin buildup makes its way out through the skin 

[00:20:51] - What to check first if molluscum won't go away: gut and lung dysfunction 

[00:23:39] - The labs Dr. Motley actually recommends for gut and lung testing

[00:25:29] - How Dr. Motley diagnoses in his own office: EAV testing and kinesiology 

[00:27:38] - Three go-to herbal tinctures for viral support, by name 

[00:31:09] - Cat's claw and scutellaria for lung and gut inflammation 

[00:32:06] - Homeopathic options, and where to research them 

[00:33:21] The reassurance: if the bumps cleared and never came back, don't worry 

[00:34:42] - Subscribe, share, and the standard medical disclaimer 

[00:36:20] - Close

Key Takeaways 

A 2017 Cochrane review of 22 trials and 1,650 patients found topical imiquimod 5% performs no better than an inactive vehicle cream. Imiquimod was never FDA-approved for molluscum specifically; two decades of dermatologist use were off-label, borrowed from its approval for genital warts and actinic keratosis. 

"Watch and wait" is the evidence-backed answer, not a dodge. The same Cochrane review found no tested intervention, cryotherapy, potassium hydroxide, benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid, clearly beat placebo either. Natural resolution remains the best-supported path for most kids. 

The virus has its own cloaking device. It infects keratinocytes and actively encodes proteins that block chemokine and inflammation signaling at the infection site, telling the immune system nothing is wrong, sometimes for years. Scratching spreads it to new sites through auto-inoculation. 

January 2024 brought the first FDA-approved molluscum treatment ever: berdazimer gel (Zelsuvmi). A nitric-oxide-releasing gel applied once daily for up to 12 weeks. Real, and not a miracle: the FDA-label figure is 32.4% complete clearance versus 19.7% for vehicle at week 12, in an 891-patient phase 3 trial. 

Chinese medicine ties eczema to the lungs and colon, not just the skin. The lung and large intestine are paired "metal element" meridians in TCM theory; when either is weakened or inflamed, the skin, their shared detox pathway, is where the overflow shows up as rashes, acne, or persistent viral lesions. If it's not going away, check gut and lung function, not just the skin. Chronic sinus congestion, asthma history, or frequent colds point to lung weakness; constipation, diarrhea, or a history of food poisoning point to gut imbalance, per Dr. Motley's clinical framework. He names specific labs for both.

What Doctor Motley Uses:     

Astragalus: https://tinyurl.com/39j4xpnx

Olive leaf: https://tinyurl.com/32c4sj9a

 Elderberry: https://tinyurl.com/kxvnrtep

 Cat's claw: https://tinyurl.com/yu8ntvu7

  Scutellaria: https://tinyurl.com/4murtnuk

Other Recommended Resources:

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A viral post claims a stomach infection reversal reversed a man's hair loss in 28 days. Dr. Chris Motley checks the science: how H. pylori shuts down your stomach acid, why that starves your hair follicles of iron and B12 before it shows up on a blood test, and why the popular kill stack for it fails for a specific group of people. 

00:00:00 - The claim: hair regrowth in 28 days

00:01:46 - Welcome to the Ancient Health Podcast

00:01:59 - Why this post landed differently this time

00:03:47 - "It is something that is serious": the carcinogen most people shrug off

00:05:24 - Who's carrying it, and the family pattern behind it

00:06:01 - Dr. Motley's own undiagnosed childhood ulcer

00:08:29 - How H. pylori builds an acid-proof shelter out of your own chemistry

00:09:59 - What happens when the ammonia it makes spills into your bloodstream

00:11:25 - How you actually caught it (it's not from someone sneezing on you)

00:14:56 - The acid paradox nobody mentions in the viral post

00:15:46 - Sponsor break: Beam Minerals

00:17:52 - Same bacterium, two opposite acid problems, depending on where it sits

00:21:30 - The real chain from stomach acid to a thinning hair follicle

00:24:51 - "Your hair is the surplus of the blood": what Chinese medicine said first

00:27:50 - Why the mastic gum "kill stack" fails, and for whom

00:31:17 - Where to actually get tested

00:32:45 - Disclaimer and close

Key Takeaways

Thinning hair is a symptom, not the disease. Dr. Motley's framing: "the thinning hair is not the problem, the thinning hair is the receipt." H. pylori lowers stomach acid for most carriers, acid is required to absorb iron and B12, and hair follicles, among the most metabolically demanding tissue in the body, run out of raw material before a standard blood panel shows anything wrong.

Check ferritin, not just hemoglobin. Ferritin (stored iron) drops before hemoglobin does. A normal red blood cell count on a standard panel does not rule out the iron deficiency that's already reached your hair.

The mastic gum stack mentioned in the episode doesn't work the same for everyone. It requires an acidic stomach to be active, so anyone on a PPI for reflux is likely working against their own supplement. It's also built for the roughly 90 percent of carriers with low stomach acid, not the smaller group whose infection has pushed their acid up.

The same infection can raise or lower your acid, depending on where it sits. An infection spread through the whole stomach tends to lower acid. An infection concentrated in the lower antral portion can raise it.

H. pylori usually isn't caught in childhood. Most people acquire it early, often through a household member, most commonly transmitted through vomiting rather than casual contact. It is not a hygiene issue.

The WHO classifies it as a carcinogen. It is linked to gastric cancer risk when an active infection is left unaddressed, so, test don’t guess, especially for anyone with two-plus months of reflux, bloating, or digestive symptoms.

No trial supports hair regrowth in 28 days. The underlying mechanism (better iron and B12 absorption once acid recovers) is real and can meaningfully help hair health over time, but the hair growth cycle itself makes a four-week full reversal implausible.

Extra info: Pylo Guard by Microbiome Labs is an excellent, Dr. Motley recommended probiotic: https://tinyurl.com/yj2y8ccj

Recommended Dosage: Normally one capsule in the evening (Talk to your doctor!).

Another gentle probiotic known to work well for H.pylori is Pylopass: https://tinyurl.com/2uj6e7sy

Resources Mentioned

Mastic gum: resin from Pistacia lentiscus, traditionally sourced from the Mediterranean. Mastic gum complex by Zuma is a great source, but any organic version will do. 

Lactoferrin: iron-binding milk-derived protein, typically bovine-sourced

Reishi Supreme (Ganoderma lucidum) by Supreme Nutrition Products: https://tinyurl.com/cs2jrzs2

Vibrant Wellness Labs, vibrant-wellness.com: functional digestive and parasite testing panel

Uva Ursi Supreme by Supreme Nutrition Products: https://tinyurl.com/w8u9eu4e

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Your eye exam came back normal, but your vision still isn't right. Dr. Chris Motley explains the Traditional Chinese Medicine case for why liver health, not just age, may be behind your floaters, flashes, or dim vision, including his own story of vision loss and recovery. He covers the real embryology behind "the eyes are a map of the brain," the labs he uses when a standard eye exam comes back clean, and the herbs and acupressure points he recommends for eye strength.

[00:00:00] - Opening: why your eyes might be showing signs your eye doctor can't explain

[00:00:26] - The real embryology: your eyes grow directly off your brain

[00:02:11] - Iridology: reading the eye's lines and colors, and why it's contested

[00:04:03] - Welcome to the Ancient Health Podcast, and the day's premise

[00:07:14] - Chinese medicine's oldest eye theory: the liver opens into the eyes

[00:08:17] - When the eye doctor finds nothing, and the questions start

[00:10:01] - Old infections hiding in the brain, and the path to your eyes

[00:11:22] - Floaters, squiggly lines, and the parasite possibility

[00:15:32] - Dr. Motley's own story: losing vision in his right eye

[00:19:20] - Specialty testing when the standard labs come back clean

[00:20:38] - Why the liver is the real storehouse for eye health

[00:23:40] - The infection-liver-eye pipeline: how pathogens steal your nutrients

[00:26:06] - The herb protocol: Schisandra, Bodyguard, Morinda, and Cat's Claw Supreme

[00:27:47] - Acupressure for the eyes: five points and the liver connection

[00:30:57] - Recap and closing: what to do when your eye doctor can't explain it

Key Takeaways

Your eyes really are an extension of your brain, not just symbolically. Early in embryonic development, the eyes form as a direct outgrowth of the brain itself. This is standard developmental biology, not a TCM metaphor, and it's the real anatomical reason vision problems can be windows into neurological and systemic health rather than isolated eye issues.

Traditional Chinese Medicine's oldest eye doctrine holds up as a documented framework. The idea that "the liver opens into the eyes" is one of TCM's five foundational organ-to-sense-organ correspondences (alongside kidney-ears and spleen-mouth), and it's been part of the system's diagnostic language for thousands of years.

A clean eye exam doesn't always mean nothing is wrong. DR. Motley argues that when floaters, flashes, or dim vision persist despite normal dye tests, blood flow scans, and pressure checks, the next step isn't to give up, it's to look at whether an old infection (Lyme, mold, a lingering virus) picked up years earlier is still active in the body.

The liver is a nutrient warehouse for your eyes. It stores vitamin A and hands it off via retinol-binding protein to feed the rods and cones that let you see a real, verified biochemical pathway. When a hidden infection is consuming those same nutrients in the liver, your eyes are the ones that go without.

Floaters may not always be simple debris. Dr. Motley describes patients who say their floaters look like "little worms crawling across my eyes," and raises the possibility that some of what people write off as normal floaters could be a pathogen or parasite in the eye's own fluid, not only dead cell tissue.

The herb and acupressure routine, in the order Dr. Motley reaches for them: 

Total Eyebright C or M by Nutriwest 

Schisandra Supreme to support glutathione production and detox: https://tinyurl.com/a24kyuzz

Bodyguard Supreme (Chanca Piedra, "the stone breaker") to help clear liver and gallbladder sludge: https://tinyurl.com/ebnszurf

Morinda Supreme to help eliminate infections: https://tinyurl.com/k2pvvb4w

Cat's Claw Supreme as an anti-inflammatory: https://tinyurl.com/yu8ntvu7

Alongside the herbs, a five-point acupressure routine around the eyes - GB 1 TW23 ST1 BL1 and the whole area that surrounds the eye (done two to three times a day, 30 seconds per point). Rub each point for at least 30 seconds in a small circular motion at each point and also rub the areas around the eyes in a nice circular pattern. 

Also rub the area behind the jaw bone right before the ears and on the backside of the neck, right where your neck meets your skull for the same time frame and circular pattern. 

Additional Resources:

DesBio’s Eye Support: https://dbscript.com/product/eye-sarcode-2/

To help strengthen the brain for eye health: Vital Guard Supreme - https://tinyurl.com/3m92t94k

Bacopa Supreme: https://tinyurl.com/yc54b4w4

Microgen DX, microgendx.com: qPCR plus next-generation sequencing infection testing via swab samples

Mosaic Labs (Mosaic Diagnostics), mosaicdx.com: Comprehensive Stool Analysis with Parasitology, direct stool microscopy

Vibrant Wellness (Labs), vibrant-wellness.com: functional lab panels

GI-MAP by Genova Diagnostics

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A child is doing fine, doing homework, laughing easily, getting along with everyone, and then over a few weeks they become someone else. Explosive anger over nothing. Can't sit still. Can't focus. Grades fall off a cliff, and the school has one word ready: ADHD. In this solo episode, Dr. Chris Motley asks the question almost nobody in that meeting asks: what if the personality change didn't start in the child's personality at all, but with a tick bite nobody noticed?

Dr. Motley explains why a sudden, overnight personality change in a child, explosive anger, isolation, loss of focus, deserves a second look before accepting an ADHD label. He breaks down why Lyme disease is called "the great imitator," the biology behind "Lyme rage," how to build a timeline that helps your pediatrician rule infection in or out, and which labs and herbs he trusts in his own practice.

Timestamps

[00:00:00] - The child who became someone else

[00:01:46] - A mother's story: normal one week, unrecognizable the next

[00:04:16] - The tick bite nobody noticed

[00:05:13] - When ADHD becomes the label, and the guilt that follows

[00:08:00] - Knowledge as relief: what the lab tests actually found

[00:09:10] - How to test for Lyme disease the right way

[00:13:42] - Lyme disease: the "great imitator"

[00:15:13] - Why ADHD and Lyme symptoms overlap so closely

[00:21:29] - The genetics of ADHD: DDC, MAOA, and the "warrior gene"

[00:26:32] - Back to Lyme rage: how inflammation turns a gentle child aggressive

[00:30:48] - Getting tested: why a standard Western blot can miss it

[00:33:26] - Picking the right lab: Vibrant Wellness, IGeneX, DNA Connexions

[00:36:48] - Chinese medicine and the liver: why anger lives in an organ

[00:39:12] - The herb protocol: cat's claw, Japanese knotweed, cryptolepis

[00:42:13] - Closing: "Trust what you see in your kid"

Key Takeaways

A sudden personality change is the single biggest clue. Motley's rule of thumb, echoed by Lyme specialists: gradual, lifelong attention and behavior issues usually point to real ADHD. A dramatic shift that happens within days or weeks, especially after time outdoors, is worth a second look for an infectious cause before settling on a behavioral diagnosis alone.

"Lyme rage" is a real, named phenomenon, not a scare tactic. Lyme disease crossing the blood brain barrier can drive neuroinflammation that shows up as sudden irritability, anxiety, and explosive anger. It is documented by

Lyme-literate clinicians and patient organizations, though it is not a formal psychiatric diagnosis.

The lab you choose changes the answer you get. A standard five-band Western blot can miss a real Lyme infection if it does not happen to test for the specific Borrelia strain present. Comprehensive panels from labs built

specifically for tick-borne disease test for a much wider range of strains and co-infections.

This is not an anti-ADHD or anti-medication episode. Motley repeats, more than once, that he is not telling anyone to stop treatment or medication. The message is narrower: if a child's ADHD treatment is not producing

progress, or the onset was sudden, it is worth asking your pediatrician whether an infection could be part of the picture.

Build a timeline before your next doctor's visit. Write down when the behavior actually changed, whether it was sudden or gradual, and whether there was time outdoors, hiking, or in tall grass beforehand. That single piece of paper is what turns a vague conversation into a specific one.

The liver-anger connection is Traditional Chinese Medicine's oldest lens on rage. In TCM, a congested liver is associated with unflushed histamine and irritability. Motley uses this as his starting point for herbal support, independent of whether Lyme disease is involved.

The comfort matters as much as the information. Motley spends real time telling parents, in his words, that "the old medicine never blamed the child, never blamed the parent." For a parent who has done everything right and is still watching their child struggle, that reframe is arguably the most valuable thing in the episode.

Resources mentioned:

Labs: 

Vibrant Wellness Labs (Tick-Borne 1.0/2.0 panels)

IGeneX

DNA Connexions

Doctor Motley’s Herbal Treatment Recommendations:

Cat’s Claw: https://tinyurl.com/yu8ntvu7

Cryptolepus: https://shorturl.at/jxprb

Japanese Knotweed: https://tinyurl.com/4pb5hzj7

Alchornea: https://tinyurl.com/mudbdkyr

Artemisia: https://tinyurl.com/mr23xcjs

Woodland Essences

Hawaii Pharm

A note on this episode: This episode shares personal clinical observations and general information, not medical advice. Dr. Motley emphasizes not stopping or changing any ADHD medication or treatment without consulting your child's pediatrician. If your child has experienced a sudden behavioral change, especially after time outdoors, consider discussing tick-borne illness testing with a knowledgeable healthcare provider.

If this episode resonated with you: Share it with a parent who might need it, and subscribe to The Ancient Health Podcast for more episodes exploring the intersection of Eastern and Western medicine.

Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a licensed healthcare provider before making changes to your or your child's health regimen. This episode may contain affiliate links.

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If you have swollen lymph nodes, this episode will teach you how your mighty glymphatic system drains toxins from your brain to what in Chinese Medicine is called your stomach 12 point. In this episode, Doctor Chris Motley explains the ins and outs of caring for your lymphatic system and how to promote lymphatic drainage through the activation of your triple warmer in Chinese Medicine. He also shares how to look after your body's lymph flow while taking a GLP-1, and the right way to do lymphatic massage on yourself.

Key Points from this episode:

The recently discovered glymphatic system drains toxins from your brain into your stomach 12 point in Chinese Medicine. This system is powered by sleep: good sleep is essential (wear a sleep monitor to ensure you're getting the deep level of sleep needed for your glymphatic system!).

How to know when you're not reaching the cleansing layer of sleep needed for your glymphatic system to operate fully: The tell is when your brain fog won't clear until 2 in the afternoon!

Dr. Motley's Best Lymphatic Recommendations: 1) Lymphatic massage or ELT (electrolymphatic therapy) or self-massage and dry brushing (work your way UP, not down).

2) Herbs: Hemoguard helps support blood flow, which is an essential link to lymph flow: https://tinyurl.com/yvzbs8au

Manjistha Supreme promotes good lymph flow: https://tinyurl.com/mu9u5yx7

How caring for your liver and spleen are important to the lymphatic system. Doctor Motley explains that in Chinese Medicine the spleen is in charge of moving your fluids from your food and drink through your body.

How to know if your spleen is weak through a Chinese Medicine lens: Doctor Motley recalls a patient who suffered from spleen fatigue, and the tell-tale sign was a ring around the lips (chapped lips is a sign as well!).

How to strengthen the spleen and liver to promote lymphatic health:

Grass-fed sheep thymus: https://tinyurl.com/3kduh2n6

Grass-fed beef spleen https://amzn.to/3QS265f or a PMG supplement from standard process are Doctor Motley's recommendations for optimizing the spleen.

Flush the liver with Dandelion root and Schisandra:

https://tinyurl.com/a24kyuzz

How to be mindful of proper lymph flow when taking a GLP-1. This is not an anti-GLP-1 episode (in fact Doctor Motley's own patients use them now and then), but it's advice for helping the medication work properly. If you're losing muscle, be on the lookout for fluid buildup. Take proteins that work for you, flush your liver, strengthen your spleen and get some moderate exercise to help protect your lymph flow while on GLP-1s.

The emotions connected to your spleen in Chinese Medicine that could be affecting lymphatic drainage: worry, overthinking (or, in Chinese Medicine terms "too much mind."), obsessing over outcomes. If you're a chronic worrier, this could affect your immune function. To tend to these emotions well, Doctor Motley recommends emotion work like EMDR.

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Fall doesn't always cause your sinus congestion. It just knows how to find whatever was already sitting there. In this episode, Dr. Chris Motley walks through the Traditional Chinese Medicine map that connects the exact location of a headache or a patch of sinus pressure to a specific internal organ, and why that map keeps showing up in his practice.

Key Takeaways

Your headache location is diagnostic, not random.A two-week case of post-nasal drip traced back to a bladder infection: Dr. Motley's patient cleared her sinus congestion only after he treated her bladder and kidney meridian points, a connection her prior doctor visits hadn't made.

Fall triggers stored trauma, not just cold weather. Because the body encodes every sense during a traumatic event, seasonal cues like cooler air and shorter days can resurface them as physical congestion. 

Dr. Motley argues sinuses, kidney nephrons, gallbladder bile ducts, and the brain all develop from the same cell line, which is why infections jump between them. Standard embryology backs the sinus and brain half (both are ectoderm) but not the kidney (mesoderm) or gallbladder (endoderm) half. 

00:00:00 Opening: why fall seems to trigger sinus headaches, post-nasal drip, and migraines

00:01:19 Welcome to the Ancient Health Podcast

00:01:33 The core rule: where your headache sits tells you which organ is involved

00:03:05 Case study: the E.coli bladder infection hiding behind a patient's post-nasal drip

00:04:19 Why fall specifically resurfaces old emotional trauma as physical congestion

00:06:34 EMDR, neurofeedback, and tapping: clearing the trauma before it becomes sinus pain

00:11:54 The organ map: bladder, gallbladder, stomach, triple warmer, small intestine, and more

00:14:13 Get checked: the hidden UTI, kidney, and gallbladder infections behind your headache

00:16:30 Beam Minerals and why mineral depletion undercuts everything else on this list

00:17:53 The biofilm problem: how old strep and mono build a fortress in your gut

00:24:29 The embryology answer: why sinuses, kidneys, gallbladder, and brain get infected together

00:28:25 The protocol: sprays, acupressure points, and the antimicrobial herbs he actually uses

00:33:56 Homeopathy, lab testing, and how to decide where to start

Dr. Motley's go-to herbal recommendations:

Cat’s Claw Supreme: https://tinyurl.com/yu8ntvu7

Japanese Knotweed: https://tinyurl.com/296dkaby

Alchornea Supreme: https://shorturl.at/3HSJ

Elderberry Supreme: https://tinyurl.com/kxvnrtep

Echinacea Supreme: https://tinyurl.com/ms9ectd4

Usnea Supreme: https://tinyurl.com/ye5ks88c

DesBio Headache: https://dbscript.com/product/headache/, Dr. Motley’s practitioner code is f9367150

*Most of us are mineral deficient and we don’t even know it! Want to get your minerals in? BEAM Minerals is a simple shot of minerals each morning. Try BEAM Minerals at beamminerals.com/DRMOTLEY and use code DRMOTLEY for 20% off your first order.

*Do you have a ton more in-depth questions for Doctor Motley? Check out his course on emotions and the body in his membership. You’ll find other courses full of his expertise and clinical wisdom, plus bring all your questions to his weekly lives! To try risk-free for 15 days click here: https://www.doctormotley.com/15

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