By Kiran Krishnan and Dr. Nicole Beurkens
The podcast currently has 12 episodes available.
Join us as we discuss Alitura Skincare with Andy Hnilo.
As you’ll learn in the episode, Andy came to skincare by way of a nearly fatal accident that left him scarred all over. His commitment to healing landed him in the world of healing skin care products. He shares insight about some of the best ingredients for healing scars, keeping the skin hydrated and protected. He talks about the challenges with skincare products on the shelves today and why it’s important to find products that help the body, not overload it with harsh chemicals and filler ingredients.
Kiran shares a bit about the skin microbiome and Andy brings the conversation to a close with an important reminder that our skin is our largest organ and therefore worth investing in.
Episode Takeaways:
Alitura sources completely natural, from the earth ingredients like:
Problem with Ingredients:
What we put on our bodies is just as important as what we put in our bodies
The skin is one of the most shared microbiomes
Andy’s skincare routine:
Connect with Andy:
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Join us as we discuss Kambo Medicine Therapy with Todd Shipman.
So what is Kambo and why are we talking about it? Kambo is a non-psychoactive traditional amazonian medicine and is legal in the United States. Kambo’s secretions, while used as a defense mechanism, and deadly to most animals, provide many health benefits for humans. The secretion is then applied through superficial burns that are made into the skin. Our interest in Kambo, aside from its wide ranging applications, lies in the positive effects on the microbiome.
While more studies are needed in this area of Kambo research, many people with gut issues, Lyme, parasites, constipation, SIBO, stress etc. find immense relief in their symptoms when they do Kambo. Some find relief after one session and some do it a couple of times a year.
Episode Takeaways:
What is Kambo?
Historical use
How is Kambo sourced?
What are the benefits?
Dosing
What is the mechanism?
What is the ceremony or experience like?
How can someone find a safe Kambo practice
Connect with Scott:
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Join us as we discuss the health benefits of a good quality Olive Oil with Tony Kasandrinos. The keywords here are “good quality.” Tony walks us through how to find a good quality olive oil and what makes it good quality to begin with. Olives are an amazing source of polyphenols. Polyphenols are reducing agents, and together with other dietary antioxidants, protect the body's tissues against oxidative stress and associated pathologies such as cancers, heart disease and inflammation.
For centuries, in places like Greece, Italy, Tunisia, and Spain, good quality olive oil has been regarded as a necessary staple in the diet if you want to live long, have good overall health and vitality and a healthy gut microbiome.
So where do you find “good quality” olive oil? Tony explains that if you want to derive the health benefits from olive oil, it must be grown in places where the olive trees have produced for many decades without requiring any pesticides to hurry their growth. He tells us what to look for on the labels and explains what certain buzz words mean in the olive oil industry like “product of Italy.”
So get yourself a good quality olive oil and pour it on everything you eat!
Episode Takeaways:
The health benefits of a good quality olive oil:
The down side to mass produced olive trees (and olive oil):
The much older trees remain fruitful without having to invade with pesticides
Olive is a fruit
Stick to organic if you can
What does Extra virgin mean?
Health benefits of olive oil
Will it oxidize?
Fat is good despite what you’ve heard
What about cooking with olive oil, is it safe?
What about flavored oil?
Non-consumption uses for olive oil
Microbiome connection
Can you give olive oil to kids? Babies?
Connect with Tony:
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Join us as we discuss the health and economic impact of our food system with Mark Hyman.
Dr. Hyman highlights the startling economic burden of chronic disease driven by Big Food’s ultraprocessed diet that kills 11 million people every year and makes 60 percent of Americans sick with a chronic disease. Food Fix maps out a new food system that can improve public health and save trillions of dollars every year. The other major aspects to this discussion are saving our environment & climate and challenging politics, social injustice, & information wars. There are small and manageable things we can all do in our daily lives to contribute to this change.
About guest:
Dr. Mark Hyman is leading a health revolution—one revolved around using food as medicine to support longevity, energy, mental clarity, happiness, and so much more. Dr. Hyman is a practicing family physician and an internationally recognized leader, speaker, educator, and advocate in the field of Functional Medicine. He is the founder and director of The UltraWellness Center, the Head of Strategy and Innovation of the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine, a fourteen-time New York Times bestselling author, and Board President for Clinical Affairs for The Institute for Functional Medicine. He is the host of one of the leading health podcasts, The Doctor’s Farmacy. Dr. Hyman is a regular medical contributor on several television shows and networks, including CBS This Morning, Today, Good Morning America, The View, and CNN. He is also an advisor and guest co-host on The Dr. Oz Show.
Episode Highlights:
What are the top issues within the food system today?
Who benefits from the current food system?
What can individuals and families do to help the change?
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Join us as we discuss the microbiome and hormone connection for women as they age. No, women do NOT have to suffer greatly through perimenopause and menopause. That’s not “normal” or “just how it is” and that’s not how it has to be. Dr. Anna Cabeca shares how she came to understand how much of the suffering in perimenopause and menopause can be eliminated with the right protocols to support your hormones and overall health.
On today’s episode, we discuss the inner workings of the vaginal microbiome and the gut microbiome and how they are directly related to hormones. Dr. Cabeca tells us that if we can better support our hormones when they are going through changes, we will feel much better. You’ll learn several ways in which you can support your own journey through these stages of change. In some cases, you can even reverse early onset perimenopause or menopause.
GUEST INFO:
Dr. Anna Cabeca, a triple board-certified, Emory University trained physician and hormone expert was diagnosed with early menopause at age 38. Devastated, she set out on a personal wellness journey to reverse her menopause side effects, which resulted in her delivery of a healthy baby girl at the age of 41.
After experiencing her own health successes, Dr. Cabeca began counseling others, ultimately changing the lives of thousands of women across the globe. Her new book “The Hormone Fix” and other empowering transformation programs have helped women of all ages become their best selves again. Her successful line of all-natural products features the alkaline superfoods drink Mighty Maca® PLUS and the rejuvenating vulva cream Julva®.
EPISODE TAKEAWAYS
Reversing early Perimenopause and Menopause
Importance of the gut microbiome in perimenopause and menopause
Importance of the vaginal microbiome in perimenopause and menopause
Can you reverse incontinence?
EPISODE TIMESTAMPS:
00:02:04 Anna’s experience with early perimenopause
00:07:00 Importance of gut & vaginal microbiome in perimenopause and menopause
00:12:42 Don’t use products that disrupt the vaginal microbiome
00:20:38 Fasting for a better microbiome
00:23:50 Why the microbiome thrives on greens
CONNECT:
Connect with Anna:
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Join us as we discuss an integrative approach to Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) with Dr. Felice Gersh. 10% of all women have PCOS, making it the most common female endocrine disorder and cause of female infertility in the world. Women with PCOS may suffer from acne, menstrual irregularity, infertility, obesity, autoimmune disease, diabetes, and heart disease. Traditionally, doctors treat symptoms one at a time, often with a new regime of pills for each symptom or an invasive surgery. This approach never addresses the underlying causes of PCOS so women are medicated but never healed.
PCOS is not JUST a reproductive problem, there is a strong link between reproductive function and metabolic function. Dr. Gersh goes into great detail about how the two are related and how a woman with PCOS can start to make manageable changes in her life toward feeling better.
Episode Takeaways:
What is Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome?
PCOS is not JUST a reproductive problem
Tools for improving PCOS Symptoms
Connect with Kiran and Dr. Beurkens:
Follow Dr. Gersh:
These small but mighty creatures do really important work and won’t harm you in the slightest. They remove dead tissue from infected wounds, they even help in the case of antibiotic resistant organisms and they do so in a matter of a couple of days. They get a bad rap for being gross but actually they are quite the opposite. They are helping humans heal where modern medicine cannot. For instance, they have the potential to save someone from having their foot amputated due to diabetic foot ulcers. There are many use cases for them.
They only get a bad rap because of their association. You typically find these little creatures in the trash, scavenging on a dead animal, etc. These powerful and healing creatures are maggots.
Learn more about maggot therapy click here.
Episode Takeaways:
What is a maggot? 00:05:40
How do maggots help us heal? 00:09:00
Historical use 00:10:00
Why is maggot therapy not more widely used 00:14:30
How do maggots control bacteria 00:20:00
How does Maggot therapy work? 00:35:38
Is it painful? 00:42:00
Interested in learning more about maggot therapy? 00:45:00
Where to learn more about
Join us as we discuss the vaginal microbiome. Jacques explains what it is, how to support it, and what to stop doing so that you can continue to have a healthy vaginal microbiota. This is a fascinating conversation that reveals so much about what we know so far and what we have yet to learn in this unique microbiome.
Some background on Dr. Jacques Ravel, he is a professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, and the Associate Director for Genomics at The Institute for Genome Sciences, University of Maryland, School of Medicine in Baltimore Maryland. Over the past 15 years, he has developed a research program focused on applying modern genomic technologies and ecological principles to characterize the role and dynamics of the microbial communities inhabiting the human body in health and disease and better define the interactions between the host, the microbes and the environment that drives these ecological systems. Specifically, he is interested in the role of the vaginal microbiome in women’s health in order to develop improved strategies to manage gynecological and obstetrics conditions.
He has published over 225 peer-reviewed publications and has attracted grant income of more than $30 million. His work is currently being translated by developing novel live microbiome-based biotherapeutic formulations targeted to restore vaginal health, treat conditions such as bacterial vaginosis, urinary tract infections and improved fertility. His work earned him to be elected to the fellowship of the American Academy of Microbiology, and in
2015, he was awarded the Blaise Pascal international research chair. He is the founder and editor-in-chief of the journal Microbiome. He joined the Institute for Genome Sciences at The University of Maryland Medical School in 2007 as an associate professor.
To learn more about Dr. Jacques Ravel click here.
Episode Takeaways:
What is the vaginal microbiome?
How does the composition of the vaginal microbiome impact a woman’s overall health?
Can lubricants affect the vaginal microbiome negatively?
What are some of the things that people are doing in day to day life that seem to be hurting the vaginal microbiome?
What can women start doing right now to help support a healthy vaginal microbiome?
Where to learn more about Dr. Jacques Ravel,
Connect with Kiran and Dr. Nicole:
Join us as we discuss how exposure to dirt and time in nature are essential to supporting a healthy microbiome while learning the practices behind Terrain Medicine with Dr. Maya Shetreat. Dr. Maya goes into the history and stigmas that have followed ‘germs’ over time and breaks down simple ways we can support our health by introducing our microbiomes to more diverse environments inside and outside the home.
Dr. Maya Shetreat is a neurologist, herbalist, urban farmer and author of ‘The Dirt Cure: Healthy Food, Healthy Gut, Happy Child’, which has been translated into 10 languages. She's been featured in The New York Times, The Telegraph, NPR, Sky News, The Dr. Oz Show and more. Dr. Maya is the founder of the Terrain Institute where she teaches terrain medicine, earth-based programs for transformational healing. She works and studies with indigenous communities and healers in Ecuador, and is a lifelong student of ethnobotany, plant healing, and the sacred.
To learn more about Dr. Maya Shetreat click here.
Show Notes:
What is Terrain Medicine?
Practicing Gratitude and Awe
Dirt is Not Dirty
Steps You Can Take Right Now
Timestamps:
Episode Intro … 00:00:30
Dr. Shetreat’s Story … 00:01:30
What is Terrain Medicine? … 00:05:34
Practicing Gratitude and Awe … 00:13:00
Dirt is Not Dirty … 00:20:51
Steps You Can Take Right Now … 00:34:10
Episode Wrap-Up … 00:45:10
Connect with us:
Instagram: Better Biome
Facebook: Better Biome
Website: Better Biome
Join us as we discuss an integrative approach to dermatology and the skin microbiome with board-certified dermatologist and researcher, Dr. Raja Sivamani. In this episode, Dr. Sivamani shares how addressing key lifestyle components like diet, environment, and stress can affect our skin microbiome’s health. Learn what steps you can take to start supporting your skin’s unique microbiome and where to access key resources for skin health.
About the guest:
Dr. Raja Sivamani is a board-certified dermatologist and practices as an integrative dermatologist at Pacific Skin Institute. He is an Adjunct Associate Professor of Clinical Dermatology at the University of California, Davis, and Director of Clinical Research and the Clinical Trials Unit. He is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the California State University, Sacramento, and an Associate Professor of Dermatology at California Northstate University, College of Medicine. He engages in clinical practice, as well as, both clinical and translational research that integrates bioengineering, nutrition, cosmetics, and skin biology. With training in both Allopathic and Ayurvedic medicine, he takes an integrative approach to his patients and in his research. He has published over 100 peer-reviewed research manuscripts, 10 textbook chapters, and a textbook entitled Cosmeceuticals and Active Cosmetics, 3rd Edition with a passion for expanding the evidence and boundaries of integrative medicine for skincare.
To learn more about Dr. Raja Sivamani click here.
Episode Highlights
Acne
Dermveda
Key Takeaway
Where to learn more about Dr. Raja Sivamani...
Timestamps
Episode Intro … 00:00:30
Dr. Sivamani’s Story … 00:02:40
Ayurveda … 00:04:20
Skin and The Microbiome … 00:09:00
Acne … 00:17:30
Environment … 00:25:30
Dermveda Skin Profile … 00:27:50
Probiotic Use for Skin … 00:33:15
Key Takeaway … 00:47:15
Episode Wrap Up … 00:48:50
The podcast currently has 12 episodes available.