Data-driven Health Radio

By Heads UpHealth & Fitness Nutrition Fitness

Data-driven Health Radio episodes

February 20, 2019Episode 32 – EndoCanna Health – Personalizing Medicinal Cannabis with DNA testing
Have you ever tried medicinal cannabis for your anxiety, pain, achy joints or other condition, experienced cannabis side effects and written it off as a natural medicine that won’t work for you? Were you aware that cannabis works on the endocannabinoid system within the body, and with some personalization, through genome testing, you can have help finding cannabis that works for you? EndoCanna Health uses your genes to determine ways in which your system interacts with cannabis.
Personalized genomics in the context of medicinal cannabis can help you to understand which cannabis is right for you. We know that certain strains or terpenes are better for particular ailments, however, if you’re a slow metabolizer, or if you have a predisposition to anxiety, for example, you may have a different experience than your friend or even family member using the same amount/strain of medicinal cannabis.
Listen to Dave Korsunsky of Heads Up Health interview Len May, Co-Founder of EndoCanna Health about genetic testing for cannabis. Learn more about the endocannabinoid system and how your genetics can help you to find the right cannabis for you, to help with things like anxiety, mood, sleep, pain, and more. EndoCanna takes its privacy very seriously, so if you’re not happy running a 23 and Me for genetic information, you can order a kit directly from EndoCanna Health who can run your results on their own secure system(no sharing of genetic data and they are HIPAA compliant).
Click here to learn more about testing with EndoCanna Health.
Listen in iTunes!
This podcast is brought to you by Heads Up Health, a web app designed to help you centrally track all of your vital health data. Instantly synchronize your medical records, connect your favorite health devices and apps and use your data to optimize your health!
Click on the button below to start your free 30-day trial. Or, read on for more information about our latest podcast episode!
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In this podcast you’ll learn:
About Len May’s history of involvement in the medical cannabis regulations and acceptance as a medical treatment since the early 1990s [4:10]
About Elvy Musikka who is legally blind due to glaucoma – a participant in the NIDA program that allowed the federal government to cultivate cannabis in the University of Mississippi and send to a location to roll into cigarettes that even comes in a tin with a USDA label. She could light up in front of Federal rangers…in the 1990s! [4:25]
Len started in California in a dispensary where patients were using medical cannabis for various reasons and his experience was that while they recommended certain strains for certain conditions, he began to see that within those ailments people would have wildly different experiences of the same strain/profile [7:20]
Your DNA dictates your personal experience. Len and his team spent 2 years to evaluate every gene that has a direct or indirect connection with the endocannabinoid system, knowing that it’s an ongoing thing due to emerging science – they continue to study genetic info as it comes out in relation to how it affects the endocannabinoid system [8:55]
EndoCanna Health has developed a direct to consumer kit ($199) similar to a 23 and Me, with a simple mouth swab that they genetically sequence that to find out which cannabis would work best for you and help regulate the entire endocannabinoid system. You can also bring your own raw data over to run through their system for $49 [10:00]
Genetic conditions that are affected by a gene expression help them learn what the optimal ratio of cannabinoids and terpenes for their particular genetic expression of symptoms [12:20]
The 8 genetic expression symptoms that are affected by which are:
Anxiety
Pain
Metabolism
Psychosis
Sleep
Cognition
Dependence
Depression
While they can use 23 and Me or other data that you have already their interpretation is only as good as the array that the original test included. (23 and Me provided more genetic data prior to August 2017, so older tests may offer more info) The more genes tested will give a better interpretation to give better suggestions based on your genes. They do not make recommendations but instead provide suggestions of what may be beneficial to you [13:50]
That the endocannabinoid system is a regulatory system that supports digestion, immune, hormones, and more. We are all born with this system and the ability to produce our own endogenous endocannabinoids within our bodies, and it regulates based on our body needs. Lifestyle, stress, lack of sleep, poor nutrition can create deficiencies in our own endocannabinoid system and our immune system responds because we don’t have enough of our own endocannabinoids to support everything it needs to, which is how cannabis can support the endocannabinoid system [15:10]
There are receptor cites built into our bodies which turn on in response to the cannabis plant. CB1 effects the central nervous system and THC. CB2 is activated by enzymes through CBD and has a lot to do with immune and digestive systems [16:55]
Info about how to look for a cannabis medicine from a dispensary- from state to state it can be different in what information they publish on terpenes. EndoCanna Health gives you the profile that you’ll want to look for, and then you’ll need to locate the product within your state. You can also take the profile to your local dispensary and ask them to help you find what you’re looking for [17:55]
About why some people have a great experience, while others taking the same amount and strain of cannabis can have completely different experiences [21:20]
Have you ever tried medicinal cannabis and gotten anxiety? If you have a predisposition of anxiety due to your genes (FAAH), then you are more likely to experience anxiety in a threatening situation. Because anandamide is lower and cortisol higher, giving that fight or flight feeling, THC exacerbates that. There are terpene profiles like limonene that are dominant in Savita hybrids that can trigger that gene to express itself. If you know this ahead of time, lower your THC, increase your CBD and modify your terpene profile to decrease chances of having an issue with anxiety, for example, include linalool instead of limonene for a more calming effect [22:16]
People call up or go to the ER, and think they’re dying, but you cannot have a toxic overdose of cannabis. What often happens with edibles that rely on the liver to convert the THC is that it actually becomes more potent, and due to the delayed impact, people often eat more and then end up with way more than they need. They could use less or take it sublingually and have a much better experience [25:15]
Len talks about how individuals can empower themselves with these reports and take them to their doctors to support them with this wealth of info. He mentions that if you have a doctor who doesn’t support the use of cannabis for treatment, there are other doctors out there with this cutting edge information that will [28:30]
EndoCanna Health takes its security and how they handle it very seriously. Their DNA is in one server and the reports are in another server, and an encoded keycode associated with each. They are HIPAA compliant so they can’t show a sample report due to their high level of security [29:30]
Using Heads Up Health with a service like EndoCanna Health reports can help you track to see whether your inflammation is coming down or other markers you may be interested in following [31:00]
EndoCanna Health is in a partnership with a company in Australia called WARD Management and is in 6 clinical trials to track data markers that show the effectiveness of your treatment with cannabis [31:40]
About drug to drug interaction with cannabis, and how things like CBD can be an uptake inhibitor which can reduce the effectiveness of your prescription depression medications. It’s important to know how one affects the other [32:50]
How using their service is like GPS in guiding you to know where you want to go and how you’re going to get there using cannabis [34:00]
Dave mentions research that’s coming out on how cannabis can be used with opioid addiction because it can bind to some of those opioid receptors and help you titrate off of medications. Make sure you understand interactions if you’re on meds [35:20]
Opioids bind to those CB1 receptors for pain as an analgesic and their test can tell you if you have a predisposed dependence to opioids and if you’re likely to have more unfavorable results to opioids than most people SUPER USEFUL to know beforehand [35:45]
How understanding how your genes work with opioids and cannabis can affect how you live your life and even potentially prevent you from traveling down a road you never want to go down with addiction as well [38:00]
References
EndoCanna Health
How to download your 23 and Me raw data to upload to EndoCanna Health
About Heads Up Health
Heads Up Health is a website designed to empower individuals who want to take a self-directed approach to managing their health. Instantly centralize your medical records, connect your favorite devices and apps (e.g., Oura, MyFitnessPal, Keto-Mojo, FitBit, Apple Health, MyMacros+, Withings and many more) and use your data to optimize your health.
Click on the button below to start your free 30-day trial now!
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The post Episode 32 – EndoCanna Health – Personalizing Medicinal Cannabis with DNA testing appeared first on Heads Up Health.
42 min
February 08, 2019Episode 31 – The Top Functional Tests: What to Look For (Pt. 1) | Dr. Justin Marchegiani
Dr. Justin Marchegiani is a licensed Chiropractor in the state of Texas, with postgraduate studies in the area of clinical nutrition, rehabilitative exercise, and functional medicine. With a holistic approach, Dr. Justin Marchegiani offers testing options such as the urine heavy metals test to help his patients improve their health, and prevent future issues by taking a proactive approach.
This is the first in a series of interviews with Dave Korsunsky, founder of Heads Up Health, where they’ll dive into the specific lab testing used in functional medicine: ex. the testing of heavy metals, organic acids and/or IgG antibodies.
In this episode, Dr. Justin Marchegiani reviews Dave’s heavy metals test (watch the forthcoming YouTube video) and talks about the dangers of mercury in our environment and how it can have detrimental effects when it builds up in our bodies. Though each person will need a customized approach to safely remove the heavy metals from the body, which can take some time, it is well worth the investment in your healthy future.
Listen in iTunes!
This podcast is brought to you by Heads Up Health, a web app designed to help you centrally track all of your vital health data. Instantly synchronize your medical records, connect your favorite health devices and apps and use your data to optimize your health!
Click on the button below to start your free 30-day trial. Or, read on for more information about our latest podcast episode!
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In this podcast you’ll learn:
Dr. Justin Marchegiani’s introduction of why and how he uses functional tests to evaluate symptoms, systems and underlying stressors [1:50]
How Dr. Marchegiani helped inspire Dave to develop the Heads Up Health app [4:30]
About some of the tests that are very useful but not offered as standard labs by most doctors [6:00]
About the Doctors Data test for heavy metals, which is used to tell the tissue burden of heavy metals.This test uses DMPS to pull metals into the urine for testing, showing a better representation of what is stored in the body’s tissues, rather than a blood metals test that shows only for acute exposure to metals. The reason for running this for Dave was lowered WBC and lowered platelet counts, which could mean either an underlying viral infection or mercury being burdensome on the immune system [6:40]
Hear what Dr. Marchegiani recommended for Dave to address the things that came up on his Doctors Data heavy metals test [8:15]
How people get exposed to heavy metals, like bomb-making for example…or, more realistically dental amalgam fillings, thermometers, barometers, batteries, some Ayurvedic herbs (the cheap ones), fluoride, pesticides, fungicides, old coal burning methods that have gotten into fish, flu vaccines that are high in Thimerosal [8:56]
That Dr. Marchegiani doesn’t recommend heavy metal testing until the gut has really been cleaned up and supported because a large part of detox happens in the hepatobiliary system (liver-gallbladder), and GI tract. You don’t want to re-toxify yourself [11:05]
Why binders are important with heavy metal detox [11:45]
Why Dr. Marchegiani recommends doing the heavy metal testing for monitoring annually, especially if you’re on municipal water supply, and why you shouldn’t trust the water supply [11:55]
Top three things to help prevent heavy metal issues
#1 – “The solution to pollution is dilution!” [12:45]
#2 – Good access to an infrared sauna [13:06]
#3 – Really good access to, and digestion of, sulfur amino acids — animal proteins are the richest source, whey protein, organic green vegetables
Don’t expose yourself to the heavier sprayed pesticide-laden crops, and avoid mercury fillings and Thimerosal in the flu vaccine [13:25]
That having low glutathione levels makes it harder to excrete mercury, which can be tested for in an RBC glutathione test or an organic acids test, and can also inactivate lymphocytes or be immunosuppressive (Dave’s low WBC could be from this) [14:05]
How proactive Dr. Marchegiani is in running tests that might be helpful in uncovering potential issues [15:15]
That we want to look at the levels of mercury in the test, but also we have to look for the exposure or source of where it came from. We don’t always find an answer, but it could be from inorganic foods, for example [16:15]
Tips to reduce accumulation of mercury: [16:20]
Sweat a lot
Drink plenty of filtered, healthy, mineral-rich water
Eat organic foods
Consider lead-based paints as a factor in homes built before 1976 [16:55]
What symptoms people might see or diseases that might occur over years of exposure or burden in the body that haven’t actively been trying to reduce it [17:10]
An increased stimulator in autoimmune conditions
Neurological issues
Lack of physical endurance (mitochondrial suppressor)
Activation of the sympathetic nervous system – overtaxing the adrenals
Thyroid issues and other system dysfunction
The lethal dose of one for mercury, or the lethal dose of one for lead is the amount of that metal that is required to kill the first rat out of 100 fed the metal. If you combine the lethal dose for one of mercury with the lethal dose of one for lead, ZERO rats will survive. Metals have synergistic effects making them even more toxic when combined [18:30]
How to get this heavy metal test, which is around $150 with the DMPS, which Dr. Marchegiani recommends annually. If you know you’re exposed to these metals, then test more frequently or if you have a high level on your first test you’d want to test more frequently to monitor the progress of the protocol. You can order a test at www.justinhealth.com [19:45]
You can schedule a consult via Dr. Justin Marchegiani on his website from anywhere in the world. Or ask your own doctor about the functional tests [20:40]
IgG antibodies, and organic acids functional tests coming soon on the Heads Up Health podcast with Dr. Justin Marchegiani and Dave [21:00]
References
Topo Chico water
Heavy Metal test with DMPS
Dr. Justin Marchegiani
Our Partners:
Learn more about LEVL, a clinical-grade ketone breath meter, which measures your level of fat-burning and ketosis through a simple breath. Find out more at HeadsUpHealth.com/LEVL.
You can learn more about the Oura ring, a state of the art ring that can track sleep cycle analysis, activity, and recovery at HeadsUpHealth.com/Oura.
Learn more about Keto-Mojo, a highly accurate and affordable device for testing blood sugar and blood ketones. Check it out at HeadsUpHealth.com/Ketomojo.
All of these amazing products are integrated with Heads Up Health.
They all allow you to quantify your health in novel and powerful ways.
Thank you to our partners!
About Heads Up Health
Heads Up Health is a website designed to empower individuals who want to take a self-directed approach to managing their health. Instantly centralize your medical records, connect your favorite devices and apps (e.g., Oura, MyFitnessPal, Keto-Mojo, FitBit, Apple Health, MyMacros+, Withings and many more) and use your data to optimize your health.
Click on the button below to start your free 30-day trial now!
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The post Episode 31 – The Top Functional Tests: What to Look For (Pt. 1) | Dr. Justin Marchegiani appeared first on Heads Up Health.
22 min
January 25, 2019Episode 30 – Spreading Low Carb Keto Awareness to Asia & Beyond | Kelly Tan Peterson of KETO EAST
Tired of your everyday keto recipes? Kelly Tan Peterson is lighting the low carb keto world on fire with her new book KETO EAST, co-written with her husband Dr. Dan Peterson. Kelly shares low carb keto Asian recipes that “turn Asian classics into ketogenic favorites,” as Maria Emmerich noted in the blurb of Kelly’s cookbook. Give your taste buds a kick in the pants with all the flavor that Kelly brings to the table with low carb keto Asian food recipes that are not just delicious, but healthy too!
Originally from Singapore, Kelly Tan Peterson moved to the United States after meeting her husband Dr. Dan Peterson. She began eating a keto diet after seeing how he ate. She watched her own metabolic and weight issues resolve, quickly rebalancing her body and maintaining it while eating keto. What she missed, though, was her traditional diet from back home.
Deciding that she did not have to choose one type of food over the other, she found a way to bring her Asian culture into the keto world. This was a challenge she wanted to take on, not only to be able to eat her favorite meals, but also to bring the benefits of ketogenic eating to her friends and family back in Singapore. This began her journey into low-carb advocacy in the spirit of love to inspire those metabolically damaged in Asia to improve their health eating familiar food they loved.
What began as a blog and recipe sharing has become a series of books – KETO EAST (already published) and two more to follow: KETO BAKED and KETO WEST. Keep your eye out for Kelly Tan Peterson — she’s spreading low carb keto awareness and delicious recipes — to Asia and beyond!
Listen in iTunes!
This podcast is brought to you by Heads Up Health, a web app designed to help you centrally track all of your vital health data. Instantly synchronize your medical records, connect your favorite health devices and apps and use your data to optimize your health!
Click on the button below to start your free 30-day trial. Or, read on for more information about our latest podcast episode!
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In this podcast you’ll learn:
How Kelly Tan Peterson struggled with cholesterol, acidic stomach, and blood glucose before meeting her husband [3:15]
Why Kelly wondered how her husband, a doctor, could be eating such a high fat and low carb diet, let alone recommending it to his patients [3:30]
As she began eating a LCHF diet along with her husband, she realized that just by changing the way she eats, her symptoms improved. Now she has no weight issues at all as long as she avoids starch and sugar [4:05]
Why certain foods in her culture were problematic for her and how awareness is slowly growing in Singapore [5:15]
How she used social media to post what she ate and her new lifestyle, drawing curiosity from her friends [6:45]
Why it’s easy to eat out in Singapore, even if you’re eating low carb keto Asian food, simply by making swaps for carbs/starches [7:45]
How food in the Asian culture, like roast duck, crispy pork belly, roast chicken and plenty of vegetables, can fit within a low carb keto diet, just watch for hidden carbs like a glaze on meat [9:30]
Why it’s not hard to eat anywhere in the world and find something that would qualify as low carb/high fat [11:00]
How after spending the last six weeks traveling throughout Asia she realized that there was much less obesity when she was a child. Now, on yearly visits to Singapore, her observation is that even children are getting bigger, requiring larger uniforms [11:30]
How food in Singapore is getting sweeter now, seeing with each visit, more fast food and western food chains in Asian countries [13:10]
Why eating all of the typical popular foods can hijack your brain, perpetuating the problem of cravings, leading to food addictions [14:20]
Kelly realizes now that the longer she is off of carbs and sweets, she tastes so much more flavor in natural foods, while friends who eat a Standard American Diet cannot taste [16:00]
Why even after 9 years of eating keto, if hidden carbs are eaten, she’ll notice cravings for snacks and other foods due to the brain changes that occur [16:45]
About Kelly’s approach to keto Asian recipes and her cookbooks which are written in both English and Mandarin [18:20]
Kelly talks about how she’s adapted the low carb keto diet to her ethnic diet of noodles and rice dishes with shirataki noodles or cauliflower rice but using the same traditional methods of cooking those dishes to retain their flavor and depth [19:30]
Kelly gives an example of how she adapts Young Chow fried rice to keto while keeping the flavor people don’t want to lose [22:20]
Her book contains her personal story of her cultural background and how she was able to bring that into keto and adapt it, rather than give up all the foods she loves [24:30]
How she tests all the recipes with her blood glucose to make sure it doesn’t spike [25:30]
Why Kelly still occasionally tests her ketones and glucose. She tested more frequently when she first began the keto diet. Now she does it so she could relate how she feels to what her glucose levels are (e.g., water retention in her ankles) [26:15]
How KETO BAKED will be her next book to release, which was born from watching her mom go through cancer while navigating a culture that is rich in higher carbs and how socializing always involves sharing foods [28:10]
How Kelly hopes that if she can interest people with a keto baking book, they can cut their carbs in half while still eating tasty food/treats, making the transition easier later if they want to do keto [30:15]
How her third book will be called KETO WEST: bringing in American and French meals with a touch of Asian flavor [32:00]
About the response she’s getting in Asia by sharing her story of how she feeds herself and her family [33:40]
References
KETO EAST Cookbook by Kelly Tan Peterson
Kelly Tan Peterson website: Cooking Inspired By Love
Kelly Tan Peterson YouTube Channel
Keto East West Facebook group
Keto BAKED Facebook group
Keto MARKET Facebook group
Our Partners:
Learn more about LEVL, a clinical-grade ketone breath meter, which measures your level of fat-burning and ketosis through a simple breath. Find out more at HeadsUpHealth.com/LEVL.
You can learn more about the Oura ring, a state of the art ring that can track sleep cycle analysis, activity, and recovery at HeadsUpHealth.com/Oura.
Learn more about Keto-Mojo, a highly accurate and affordable device for testing blood sugar and blood ketones. Check it out at HeadsUpHealth.com/Ketomojo.
All of these amazing products are integrated with Heads Up Health.
They all allow you to quantify your health in novel and powerful ways.
Thank you to our partners!
About Heads Up Health
Heads Up Health is a website designed to empower individuals who want to take a self-directed approach to managing their health. Instantly centralize your medical records, connect your favorite devices and apps (e.g., Oura, MyFitnessPal, Keto-Mojo, FitBit, Apple Health, MyMacros+, Withings and many more) and use your data to optimize your health.
Click on the button below to start your free 30-day trial now!
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The post Episode 30 – Spreading Low Carb Keto Awareness to Asia & Beyond | Kelly Tan Peterson of KETO EAST appeared first on Heads Up Health.
41 min
January 11, 2019Episode 29 – More Than a Calorie Counter: How Cronometer is Transforming Health
If you’re trying to accomplish anything significant with your diet, using a nutrient tracker app is definitely helpful. But what’s the point of doing all that tracking if you’re not even sure if the info is accurate? Aaron Davidson, founder of Cronometer, the best nutrient tracker app out there for accuracy, has taken a part-time hobby and turned it into a full-time business. Now he’s transforming the health of those using his app, regardless of what diet they’re following. Not only does this nutrient tracker app track macros, but it also tracks micronutrients — all of those trace nutrients that can set you up for illness if not met long term!
Tracking with Cronometer can help you meet your dietary goals. Whether you’re a new keto dieter trying to make sure your carbs are low enough, or a vegetarian wanting to prove to your family that you’re getting enough protein in your diet.
What makes Cronometer stand out as a nutrient tracker app from all the others is that Aaron Davidson and his team spend a lot of time, money and effort on making sure their database is accurate. They do this by having professionals enter data to check for accuracy rather than relying on users to populate data. They also enter all of the data for the micronutrients for those of you on a therapeutic diet needing more specific details like zinc, vitamin B12, selenium, and more.
Listen in iTunes!
This podcast is brought to you by Heads Up Health, a web app designed to help you centrally track all of your vital health data. Instantly synchronize your medical records, connect your favorite health devices and apps and use your data to optimize your health!
Click on the button below to start your free 30-day trial. Or, read on for more information about our latest podcast episode!
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In this podcast you’ll learn:
That the trick to caloric restriction over the long term, while still getting good nutrients, is to track what you’re eating with a nutrient tracker app [6:20]
How what Aaron Davidson started as an offline standalone product (built in a weekend out of personal necessity, and initially given away for years) turned into the Cronometer so many love and use today [7:00]
Where the name Cronometer came from. (CRONometer = Caloric Restriction with Optimal Nutrition + meter to indicate nutrient density in your diet!) [8:10]
More on the origin of Cronometer and Aaron Davidson’s story from Ireland to Canada. When the free use version of Cronometer started feeling like a job (people were emailing daily with questions), Aaron turned it into a full-time business, making his nutrient tracker app web-based and mobile [8:30]
The parallels between Dave Korsunksy’s story of building Heads Up Health and Aaron Davidson’s build of Cronometer [10:15]
How Dave had a difficult time getting his ketones above 0.5 mmol/L without tracking his data, and the reasons why he built Heads Up Health for others to track their health — to see what inputs made a difference for them [12:15]
If you want to build something for a unique audience like Dave and Aaron have done with their health apps, DO IT! There are other weirdos out there like you that will want it too! (Find your weirdos!) [12:55]
Though Cronometer has grown a lot in the last couple of years, initially Aaron still had to take another day job [15:30]
In 2016 Aaron hired his first employees; by 2017 he went full time himself. Now he has about 17 employees and 11 in the office (who have chair lift meetings in their ski town of Revelstoke!) [17:30]
Why Cronometer is considered a best nutrient tracker app above others. Their high standards and commitment to making sure their nutrient database is the best, keeping up on the nutrition data, having larger amounts of micronutrients than any other nutrient tracker app. [19:50]
How the Cronometer database is put together by experts, not entered by users. (This means it may get entered a little slower, but it’s going to be more accurate and reliable. In fact, there’s a whole team around data curation staying on top of the database.) [20:40]
A little about micronutrients and reasons why you would want to track them to transform your health: [23:00]
You’re taking supplements and want to know if you’re getting enough in your diet. Or maybe you don’t need a supplement anymore?
You’re a cancer patient (or caring for one) wanting to know you’re getting what you need at therapeutic levels
Mental health
Keto dieters tracking electrolytes
Vegans making sure they’re getting their protein
Vegetarians making sure they’re getting their B12
Genetic mutations that cause you to not absorb typical micronutrients and you need to take in more
And many more reasons…
How Cronometer and Heads Up Health have integrated and now synchronize between the two apps [26:00]
Learn how a two-way sync with blood sugar and ketones may be in the future between Heads Up Health and Cronometer! [26:50]
How you can input blood test info in Cronometer, which is useful to see how your nutrient intake is affecting your lab values over time [27:30]
Why even though the biggest users of Cronometer are those following a keto, vegan, or raw food diet, as well those using it for weight loss, any dietary approach works with this nutrient tracker app [30:00]
How researchers are utilizing Cronometer for diet research [31:10]
Why Dr. Mercola prefers Cronometer as a nutrient tracker app and how the Cronometer team customized it for him [32:45]
References
Cronometer
The Methuselah Foundation
Our Partners:
Learn more about LEVL, a clinical-grade ketone breath meter, which measures your level of fat-burning and ketosis through a simple breath. Find out more at HeadsUpHealth.com/LEVL.
You can learn more about the Oura ring, a state of the art ring that can track sleep cycle analysis, activity, and recovery at HeadsUpHealth.com/Oura.
Learn more about Keto-Mojo, a highly accurate and affordable device for testing blood sugar and blood ketones. Check it out at HeadsUpHealth.com/Ketomojo.
All of these amazing products are integrated with Heads Up Health.
They all allow you to quantify your health in novel and powerful ways.
Thank you to our partners!
About Heads Up Health
Heads Up Health is a website designed to empower individuals who want to take a self-directed approach to managing their health. Instantly centralize your medical records, connect your favorite devices and apps (e.g., Oura, MyFitnessPal, Keto-Mojo, FitBit, Apple Health, MyMacros+, Withings and many more) and use your data to optimize your health.
Click on the button below to start your free 30-day trial now!
[maxbutton id=”4″ url=”https://headsuphealth.com/” ]
The post Episode 29 – More Than a Calorie Counter: How Cronometer is Transforming Health appeared first on Heads Up Health.
37 min
December 21, 2018Episode 28 – Vivica Menegaz on Keto Paleo, Carnivore, Fried Brains, and How to Test Blood Sugar
The creator of “The Healing Foods Method,” Vivica Menegaz of The Nourished Caveman is a keto paleo nutritionist, cookbook author, and blogger. Originally a native of Italy, she grew up eating a nutrient-dense and local diet full of wonderful healing foods like organ meats in her keto or carnivore diet. After spending years as a food photographer for magazines such as Bon Appetit and Vanity Fair, Vivica was given an opportunity to train with Dr. Deborah Penner from Chico, California in nutrition clinical practice.
After working with Dr. Penner, Vivica branched out on her own and was eating a paleo type diet until she suddenly began gaining extra weight that seemed unusual. Upon further investigation, she realized she was pre-diabetic. This led her to blending the paleo diet with a ketogenic approach that brought about great results in her weight, blood sugar and more.
Vivica now works with women to help them reverse their own metabolic issues, lose weight and balance their hormones with her program: “The Healing Foods Method.” As Vivica provides custom instruction and one-on-one attention, only five women are accepted per month, where they can begin learning how to test their blood sugar and ketones, and more, to see their progress.
You can find Vivica on her website The Nourished Caveman and blog which combines ancestral diets with the wisdom of nutrition pioneers: Weston A Price, Dr. Royal Lee, Dr. Pottenger and more. She can also be found on Facebook, Instagram and on her YouTube Channel.
Listen in iTunes!
This podcast is brought to you by Heads Up Health, a web app designed to help you centrally track all of your vital health data. Instantly synchronize your medical records, connect your favorite health devices and apps and use your data to optimize your health!
Click on the button below to start your free 30-day trial. Or, read on for more information about our latest podcast episode!
[maxbutton id=”5″ url=”https://headsuphealth.com/” ]
In this podcast you’ll learn:
About Vivica’s past work in photography after attending The Center for Design in Pasadena and how she got into food photography [4:10]
That she grew up in Italy, eating locally, and later traveled to Japan just to enjoy the food [5:40]
That she never had a metabolic issue until recently and was never drawn to the starchy carbs or sweets, but rather preferred meats, veggies and organ meats like fried brains and liver [6:30]
How she views nutrient-dense organ meats like fried brains — the taste of childhood! [7:15]
That she started cooking at age 7 [8:00]
Born and raised in Italy, she moved to the United States at age 23 and has been here for more than 25 years [8:30]
About her transition to working with individuals in clinical practice, starting with raw food [9.10]
How she had major gallbladder attacks at age 27 but didn’t have it removed. She was having attacks 1-2 times a week and both her mom and grandma had theirs removed, but she refused to let them take hers [9:45]
How her chiropractor helped her with food and nutrition, supplements and adjustments to overcome the gallbladder issues [10:05]
How Vivica began working for Dr. Deborah Penner, her chiropractor in Chico, who later became her friend and mentor, pushing her to begin studying nutrition, working together for four years in clinical practice [10:35]
How she branched out on her own and now takes a keto paleo approach, blending the two diets together. Although the paleo diet supported her gallbladder, the discovery of pre-diabetes and sudden 30 lb weight gain led her to finding keto. [12:10]
About how monitoring your blood glucose can prevent a diagnosis of diabetes by just being aware of how foods are affecting your blood sugar [14:15]
That graphing your blood sugar readings show you a whole different perspective than a single fasting blood draw [16:45]
That she asks her clients to test 7 times a day and keep a food journal to see real-time feedback on their food and what it’s doing in their bodies as they learn how to test blood sugar [17:00]
That testing and macros are training wheels for understanding how to eat, but you will eventually understand when you’re in ketosis by how you feel [21:00]
About keto-adaptation, testing for ketosis with both blood sugar and ketones to keep you on track, and why avoiding cheat days is important for becoming really keto-adapted [22:30]
Are they food sensitivities or are they just foods that aren’t paleo? [26:30]
Dave compares white bread to cocaine in its addictiveness [27:00]
That carbs ups aren’t necessarily bad, but you don’t have to eat a donut to do one or stop eating the high-quality foods either! [30:00]
About food shaming and peer pressure and how we navigate it [31:40]
About the layers and steps to healing based on where you are and what you want to do. This can be based on your family situation, psychology etc. [35:10]
About her experiment with going carnivore for a week and how she was in the highest ketosis she’s ever been in [36:23]
How she had cravings for some things come up while doing carnivore and attributes it to another layer of keto-adaptation and gut microbiome recalibration [41:00]
That she gained weight and then when she started working out she lost 5 lbs without trying [44:40]
“If you don’t take time for your health today, you’ll have to take time for your illness tomorrow.” — Dr. Bruce Bond [48:00]
References
Dr. Deborah Penner
Zsófia Clemens, PhD
Food Shaming Blog Post by Vivica Menegaz
Our Partners:
Learn more about LEVL, a clinical-grade ketone breath meter, which measures your level of fat-burning and ketosis through a simple breath. Find out more at HeadsUpHealth.com/LEVL.
You can learn more about the Oura ring, a state of the art ring that can track sleep cycle analysis, activity, and recovery at HeadsUpHealth.com/Oura.
Learn more about Keto-Mojo, a highly accurate and affordable device for testing blood sugar and blood ketones. Check it out at HeadsUpHealth.com/Ketomojo.
All of these amazing products are integrated with Heads Up Health.
They all allow you to quantify your health in novel and powerful ways.
Thank you to our partners!
About Heads Up Health
Heads Up Health is a website designed to empower individuals who want to take a self-directed approach to managing their health. Instantly centralize your medical records, connect your favorite devices and apps (e.g., Oura, MyFitnessPal, Keto-Mojo, FitBit, Apple Health, MyMacros+, Withings and many more) and use your data to optimize your health.
Click on the button below to start your free 30-day trial now!
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The post Episode 28 – Vivica Menegaz on Keto Paleo, Carnivore, Fried Brains, and How to Test Blood Sugar appeared first on Heads Up Health.
52 min
December 07, 2018Episode 27 – 10 Longevity Lessons to Extend Your Health Span | Peter Bowes
Peter Bowes is a reporter for the BBC and the host of the podcast LLAMA (Live Long And Master Aging). Through his podcast, he has interviewed both professionals studying human longevity as well as everyday people, including centenarians, to find out what drives them and keeps them living to a ripe old age.
What does your health span have to do with your quality of life? What’s the difference between health span and life span when it comes to human longevity? What is a long life worth if you’re riddled with disease by the time you achieve it? These are the questions Peter asks.
In this podcast, you’ll hear Peter Bowes share with Dave Korsunsky the top 10 longevity lessons he has compiled through his research and podcast interviews so that you, too, can get to live your best and healthiest life — and master aging!
Listen in iTunes!
This podcast is brought to you by Heads Up Health, a web app designed to help you centrally track all of your vital health data. Instantly synchronize your medical records, connect your favorite health devices and apps and use your data to optimize your health!
Click on the button below to start your free 30-day trial. Or, read on for more information about our latest podcast episode!
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In this podcast you’ll learn:
How metrics tracked over time allow you to see trends for longevity [5:11]
Peter discusses ten items that are important to track for longevity [6:25]
Lesson One – Simplicity is Good. What you feel from clutter surrounding you physically to how you organize your life alters how you make other decisions. Chaos in your life can lead you to overeat or distract yourself with other things. (Think twice before clicking buy online: “Do I really need it?”) [7:05]
Lesson Two – Be Precise. Precision in the things that we’re doing such as keeping focus with Intermittent Fasting – ex. do you do it daily, weekly, monthly? [13:00]
Lesson Three – Fasting is Good for Us. (Disclaimer: you should check with your provider to see if it’s right for you right now.) [15:45]
How the different types of fasting affect you and how only through tracking your data can you see which way is best for you right now. [17:13]
Lesson Four – Stop Eating at 6 pm. Peter talks about Satchin Panda’s work regarding the circadian rhythm. [20:00]
How rising with the sun and winding down with the sun setting, and eating your last meal at 6 pm can help you get to sleep and stay asleep better. [21:00]
About how the Oura ring can track when you reach your lowest resting heart rate in the night to help you figure out what is working for you regarding the last meal of the day and more [22:00]
About N=1 Experiments and how they are really beneficial; as you share with your friends who are doing the same things, you’ll start to see patterns that are more universal [23:20]
Lesson Five – Never Stop Having a Project. Keep doing what you love whether you get paid for it or not. (Ex. Megastar Herb Albert is still working well into his early 80’s as a sculptor, artist, painter, and musician.)[24:25]
Lesson Six – Keep Moving Every Day, Every Hour. There is no reason why you can’t do that in any job. Just get up every hour and walk around for a few minutes [27:57]
To get moving, park further away from the place you’re going and take the stairs if you’re able to. Walk around the building before going into it and you’ll get your steps in every day. Take the long way there! [31:45]
How Dave noticed that being in a metropolitan area he got more exercise when everything was within a 6 block radius, versus living somewhere where things were further apart and more driving was required [33:15]
That being active isn’t about weight loss per se, but about the movement that benefits your muscles, cardiovascular system, mood and more. You don’t need a device to achieve that, but tracking it can motivate you to keep consistent [34:00]
Lesson Seven – Moderation is Not Everything. But what does moderation actually mean? “Moderation is that word you use when you don’t want to push yourself to the limit” – Joe De Sena. It doesn’t really mean anything. Do it precisely, not wishy-washy. Go all in! [35:40]
Play the game of life full out. Some days are good, some days aren’t. [37:00]
Lesson Eight – Enduring Discomfort is Good for You. Take a cold shower instead of a hot shower, and you’ll feel great coming out of it. Everything is appreciated more when it’s infrequent [37:45]
The good will feel so much better after you’ve endured some discomfort regularly like a cold shower vs hot or really healthy food vs. a very occasional treat. It will be so much better than if you had access to that treat every day [40:30]
Lesson Nine – Eat Clean, Eat Simply. Choose clean vegetables; homegrown is great! The appreciation of freshly harvested food is so beneficial. Appreciate food and eat simply. You don’t need gourmet food to lead a good life. [41:45]
Lesson Ten – Simplicity is Good. – How you run your life/day/mind and environment (decluttering).
About the reward circuits of hyper-palatable foods of modern culture [44:00]
The number one reason that people want to be able to live to a long age? They want to do it for their children and their grandchildren. Family and connectivity and sharing wisdom is the main reason for wanting to live to an old age with a high quality of life. What’s yours? [46:09]
Extending life is important to share the wisdom that is gained in a life well lived [49:45]
References
Valter Longo
The Circadian Code by Satchin Panda
Dr. Felice Gersh on fasting
Joe De Sena
Cold water immersion video of Dr. Limansky and Dave Korsunsky
Wired to Eat by Robb Wolf
Our Partners:
Learn more about LEVL, a clinical-grade ketone breath meter, which measures your level of fat-burning and ketosis through a simple breath. Find out more at HeadsUpHealth.com/LEVL.
You can learn more about the Oura ring, a state of the art ring that can track sleep cycle analysis, activity, and recovery at HeadsUpHealth.com/Oura.
Learn more about Keto-Mojo, a highly accurate and affordable device for testing blood sugar and blood ketones. Check it out at HeadsUpHealth.com/Ketomojo.
All of these amazing products are integrated with Heads Up Health.
They all allow you to quantify your health in novel and powerful ways.
Thank you to our partners!
About Heads Up Health
Heads Up Health is a website designed to empower individuals who want to take a self-directed approach to managing their health. Instantly centralize your medical records, connect your favorite devices and apps (e.g., Oura, MyFitnessPal, Keto-Mojo, FitBit, Apple Health, MyMacros+, Withings and many more) and use your data to optimize your health.
Click on the button below to start your free 30-day trial now!
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The post Episode 27 – 10 Longevity Lessons to Extend Your Health Span | Peter Bowes appeared first on Heads Up Health.
51 min
October 26, 2018Episode 26 – Ketogenic Therapy for Epilepsy & Beyond | Beth Zupec-Kania (Charlie Foundation)
If you haven’t heard about Beth Zupec-Kania, then you’re in for a treat! Beth spent the last 27 years as a Registered Dietician helping many parents implement a keto diet for seizures. Through the Charlie Foundation for Ketogenic Therapies, Beth worked primarily with children using ketogenic therapy for epilepsy. Also the designer of the KetoDietCalculator, which has been around for 20+ years, Beth has been using keto long before it was a popular dietary approach.
A pioneer in ketogenic therapy’s resurgence, Beth Zupec-Kania has been instrumental in spreading knowledge about the keto diet through the Charlie Foundation. She educates hospital staff and parents on how to implement ketogenic therapy all over the world, giving many families hope. So far, Beth and the Charlie Foundation have trained over 200 hospitals in ten countries!
Founded in 1994 by Jim Abrahams, The Charlie Foundation came into existence because of Jim’s son Charlie, who found success with a keto diet for seizures. In 1993, when Charlie, a baby then, failed to respond to epilepsy medications, Jim wasn’t willing to take ‘good enough’ as an answer. Digging into the textbooks, he found a possibility in the ketogenic diet. Within a month, Charlie became seizure and drug free. Most important, now an adult, Charlie has never had a seizure again!
Now in its 25th year, the Charlie Foundation is a non-profit organization. It provides information about ketogenic therapy for those with epilepsy, neurological disorders, and certain cancers. All donations are not only used directly for education but are matched by Jim Abrams. You can contact Beth through the Charlie Foundation Contact page for educational training. This is also a great resource for finding practitioners trained in the ketogenic diet for therapeutic use.
Note: Charlie Foundation’s Keto Ambassador series highlights stories of people who have found success using a ketogenic therapy for epilepsy. Gillian Szollos (featured on episode 23 of our podcast), is also a Keto Ambassador for the Charlie Foundation. She shares her story and favorite keto diet for seizures recipe here: http://bit.ly/GilliansStory
Listen in iTunes!
This podcast is brought to you by Heads Up Health, a web app designed to help you centrally track all of your vital health data. Instantly synchronize your medical records, connect your favorite health devices and apps and use your data to optimize your health!
Click on the button below to start your free 30-day trial. Or, read on for more information about our latest podcast episode!
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In this podcast you’ll learn:
How Beth got started with the keto diet for seizures at the Children’s Hospital in Milwaukee. Also how she came to learn about Jim Abrahams from The Charlie Foundation, becoming their lead nutritionist [5:00]
Jim Abrahams’ story as a Hollywood writer, movie producer, and father. How his youngest son Charlie developed epilepsy around age one [7:45]
How available drugs fail 30% of those with epilepsy [9:42]
Why ketogenic therapy is really effective for those that have been on two anti-seizure medications, yet are still having seizures [11:00]
That the diet works in at least 50% of those who try it with medical supervision when the meds don’t work or surgery isn’t an option [11:05]
How after Charlie started the keto diet all of his seizures went away [12:15]
How Jim found information on the ketogenic therapy for epilepsy buried in textbooks [13:50]
Why First Do No Harm, the movie Jim created about a boy’s story with epilepsy, is still a large reason that people hear about the keto diet. Hence, showing how underutilized the keto diet for seizures is still used today [17:41]
That trials in children and several in adults show repeatedly the same statistic, no matter what type of seizure. (At least 50% have at least 50% or more reduction in seizures. About 15 up to 25% get complete seizure freedom, depending on the unique circumstances.) [20:50]
About the prep that has to happen before implementing a keto diet for seizures. Also learn about the resources Beth has created for the transition [23:00]
How just removing gluten or sugar can provide relief for a lot of patients before going full keto [26:00]
Why knowing your biomarkers can help you to identify things that are triggering your seizures [29:45]
About the Charlie Foundation and how people can get started using the keto diet. (Used for everything from autism and brain cancer to Parkinson’s and migraines, plus more.) [38:00]
The education Beth has done, conducting trainings in 250 hospitals across the globe with patients/staff. How she teaches others how to implement the keto diet for seizures [40:45]
References
Charlie Foundation Resources Store
Make a tax-deductible donation to the Charlie Foundation
What is the KetoDietCalculator (video)
About Heads Up Health
Heads Up Health is a website designed to empower individuals who want to take a self-directed approach to managing their health. Instantly centralize your medical records, connect your favorite devices and apps (e.g., Oura, MyFitnessPal, Keto-Mojo, FitBit, Apple Health, MyMacros+, Withings and many more) and use your data to optimize your health.
Click on the button below to start your free 30-day trial now!
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The post Episode 26 – Ketogenic Therapy for Epilepsy & Beyond | Beth Zupec-Kania (Charlie Foundation) appeared first on Heads Up Health.
45 min
October 12, 2018Episode 25 – How Terpinoids Can Help Patients Fine-Tune CBD & THC for Condition-Specific Treatments Like Cancer | Steve Ottersberg
Steve Ottersberg is driven to change the way the world sees cannabis. He’s hoping to destigmatize the cannabis industry to allow more individuals to benefit from the use of CBD and cannabis for everything from anxiety and sleep to depression and cancer. Steve believes that consumers should understand and be armed with information on which terpenes are beneficial for their medical condition and whether or not they are contained in the product they are purchasing.
In this podcast, Dave Korsunsky, founder of Heads Up Health, interviews Steve Ottersberg, who is a wealth of information on all things CBD oil, cannabis, interpreting genetic data, and more! (In fact, when recommending a cannibus product for use in a condition-specific treatment such as cancer, he first starts by looking at the genes that influence neurotransmitter metabolism.)
Have you ever wondered why some strains of CBD or THC make you feel either high or low? Ready to go beast mode, or ready to hibernate for winter? Steve shares what makes the effects of the different strains more or less beneficial for different conditions and why he doesn’t believe in the classification of Indica or Sativa anymore. This is one episode you won’t want to miss!
Steve Ottersberg graduated from Fort Lewis College with a B.S. in biochemistry and has an M.S. in Bio-organic chemistry from Arizona State University, where he also taught both organic chemistry and nutritional-biochemistry. He also held a faculty position teaching chemistry at Fort Lewis College. Currently, Steve is Owner and Supervisory Analyst of Green Lab Solutions, living in Colorado with his wife, cancer survivor and thriver Dr. Nasha Winters, whose work (she is also the author of The Metabolic Approach to Cancer) complements one another.
Listen in iTunes!
This podcast is brought to you by Heads Up Health, a web app designed to help you centrally track all of your vital health data. Instantly synchronize your medical records, connect your favorite health devices and apps and use your data to optimize your health!
Click on the button below to start your free 30-day trial. Or, read on for more information about our latest podcast episode!
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In this podcast you’ll learn:
About his work doing genetic coaching with clients in wife Dr. Nasha Winters’ practice bringing in the biochemistry of CBD into her practice and their work with Alex Swanson of Nutrition Genome [4:30]
Hear what gene markers Steve looks at when recommending a cannabis product [8:35]
How you may be functioning well on the surface, but biochemically you may be struggling, creating a higher burden on the body which can lead to cancer and other ailments [10:05]
About the terpenes in the plants and how Steve recommends CBD strains based on them for different ailments and conditions [12:20]
That hemp and marijuana are both cannabis Sativa but the difference between the two is marijuana has been bred to selectively produce THC [13:25]
How myrcene binds to opioid receptors [14:00]
A study in Japan showed smelling limonene was as effective as anti-depressants in an institutional setting [17:35]
How his lab is calibrated for 21 terpenoids, but it only seeing 5-10 at levels that are significant in a typical marijuana plant in Colorado [20:30]
Why Steve doesn’t believe in the Indica and Sativa classification anymore [21:0]
How beta-pinene and limonene counteract the sedative effect of THC to make them more uplifting [21:45]
What one of the most powerful antidotes to THC is [22:20]
How to reverse the effects of too many edibles that have snuck up on you [23:00]
Why we need to start with terpenoids and end with cannabinoids in our description and high THC needs to come to an end except in extreme cases [23:50]
Where most people go wrong with edibles [25:00]
What Steve wants to see in a dispensary, and how you should start with CBD vs CBD/THC strains [26:25]
How high myrcene strains can provide high pain relief rather than opioids [27:00]
About how some of the labeling laws differ in different states and what to look for [29:50]
Recommendation to consumers to ask for lab testing data from your dispensary, even if it’s not labeled [34:00]
Cannabinoids and cannabinoid receptors tune our neurotransmitters, and THC and CBD allow us to fine-tune our normal neurotransmitter function. The terpenoids are the way we as consumers can fine-tune CBD and THC for desired effects [36:25]
Steve’s plea to the growers [39:00]
Top terpenes and what they’re good for [40:00]
Steve’s work to publish a website and a book as a resource for patients seeking condition-specific support [51:45]
How in the future, Heads Up will be able to crunch all that data — genetic SNPS, terpene profiles, blood test data, blood sugar values and more — to help both patients and clinicians track data more efficiently. [52:25]
References
“Taming THC” by Dr. Ethan Russo (neurologist)
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center – d-limonene
Cannabinoids and Terpenoids: Pharmacology, Pharmacogenomics, and the Complex Interactions of the Endocannabinoid System with Terpenoids and Phytocannabinoids, Implications in Oncology
Dr. Nasha Winters’ Optimal Terrain link to Best Answer for Cancer conference “Cancer, Cannabis, & Keto”
Aunt Zelda’s
United Patients Group
Our Partners:
Learn more about LEVL, a clinical-grade ketone breath meter, which measures your level of fat-burning and ketosis through a simple breath. Find out more at HeadsUpHealth.com/LEVL.
You can learn more about the Oura ring, a state of the art ring that can track sleep cycle analysis, activity, and recovery at HeadsUpHealth.com/Oura.
Learn more about Keto-Mojo, a highly accurate and affordable device for testing blood sugar and blood ketones. Check it out at HeadsUpHealth.com/Ketomojo.
All of these amazing products are integrated with Heads Up Health.
They all allow you to quantify your health in novel and powerful ways.
Thank you to our partners!
About Heads Up Health
Heads Up Health is a website designed to empower individuals who want to take a self-directed approach to managing their health. Instantly centralize your medical records, connect your favorite devices and apps (e.g., Oura, MyFitnessPal, Keto-Mojo, FitBit, Apple Health, MyMacros+, Withings and many more) and use your data to optimize your health.
Click on the button below to start your free 30-day trial now!
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The post Episode 25 – How Terpinoids Can Help Patients Fine-Tune CBD & THC for Condition-Specific Treatments Like Cancer | Steve Ottersberg appeared first on Heads Up Health.
56 min
September 24, 2018Episode 24 – Using Biohacking Technology to Upgrade Your Mind and Body | Martin Tobias of Bulletproof Labs & Upgrade Labs
How can you use biohacking technology to upgrade your mind and body, your cognitive and physical performance? And how did a poker game, along with an interest in biohacking and meditation, lead to Martin Tobias becoming the CEO of both Bulletproof Labs and Upgrade Labs?
Find out the answers to these questions, and more, in this podcast episode with Dave Korsunsky of Heads Up Health as he talks to Martin Tobias about Bulletproof and Upgrade Labs and what they offer to the biohacking community. Listen in to see how your health and life can improve by tracking and having accountability for your own health, even if you’re not anywhere near one of these state-of-the-art biohacking facilities. And whether you want to improve your workouts, lower inflammation, heal from injury, or just improve brain health, Bulletproof Labs and Upgrade Labs are leading the way.
Having a professional background and mind for data, Martin realized that there had to be a way to connect quantifiable health data to different inputs and find what works for individuals who want to make big gains in shorter amounts of time, a path that led him to Dave Asprey, Founder of Bulletproof Labs.
Find out more about Martin Tobias on his blog, Instagram, and Twitter. Follow Upgrade Labs on Instagram here.
Listen in iTunes!
This podcast is brought to you by Heads Up Health, a web app designed to help you centrally track all of your vital health data. Instantly synchronize your medical records, connect your favorite health devices like the Oura ring, Elite HRV, and Cronometer apps and use your data to optimize your health!
Click on the button below to start your free 30-day trial. Or, read on for more information about our latest podcast episode!
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In this podcast you’ll learn:
How Martin Tobias found Dave Asprey’s 40 years of Zen but didn’t have $15k to do it; however, he won exactly $15k that night at a poker game, changing his life and leading to him running Bulletproof Labs [4:05]
Dave Korsunsky’s first N=1 experiment was doing a Bulletproof diet using DEXA scan and blood tests as biomarkers [8:30]
Why people need to know their data and learn what it means as the first step in any health journey [10:25]
“The medical system is set up for acute care, fixing people after they’re broken, not actually keeping them healthy” [11:25]
How Dave Asprey was using a spreadsheet and Martin thinking there had to be a better way which led to him learning about Heads Up Health at a conference [12:35]
Learn about the type of sessions and data they track and use at Upgrade Labs [13:35]
Dave talks about touring a Bulletproof facility, and what biohacking technology they use [14:25]
Martin’s favorite labs and how he’s quantified them [15:20]
Cold HIIT machine which increased Martins’ testosterone from 468 to 1098 in 2 weeks with just 2 total hours of exercise [15:55]
How blood testing is available onsite [18:45]
Breath EZ water machine to reduce oxidative stress, enabling you to have more power in your cells to use for exercise more intensely [20:05]
CVAC to give your cellular energy system a workout, which can increase your aerobic capacity [24:30]
Why hacking and stacking can benefit you [26:30]
Why meditating in a virtual float tank can put you into a theta state much faster [27:15]
Full body nitrogen based cryotherapy to -240º [30:15]
About infrared light beds and how they’re more effective than infrared saunas due to the distance from the body [32:00]
Why PEMF is great for recovery, discharging electrical energy like grounding but does it in just 12 minutes for a full electrical reset, speeding up healing time for injuries [33:15]
Learn what Dave at Bulletproof is doing to improve mitochondrial function [37:35]
How tracking with the Oura ring can show how poorly you sleep after a couple of drinks, even though you think you’re sleeping well [39:00]
About cold immersion therapy and how it can improve your REM sleep [39:45]
How quality of sleep is more important than quantity and how tracking can help you biohack your way to better sleep [40:30]
Dave Korsunsky found that using the Oura ring to track heart rate and varying last meal times affected heart rate and therefore sleep [41:45]
Where you can find Bulletproof Labs (Santa Monica) and the new company Upgrade Labs and how every new location from here on out will be called Upgrade Labs. (They have a pop-up at Nike in Hollywood currently, and the third location will be in Beverly Hills opening in September. Four more locations in LA and one in San Jose coming soon! [43:50]
References
Bulletproof Labs
Upgrade Labs by Bulletproof
40 years to Zen
Brain Check
Our Partners:
Learn more about LEVL, a clinical-grade ketone breath meter, which measures your level of fat-burning and ketosis through a simple breath. Find out more at HeadsUpHealth.com/LEVL.
You can learn more about the Oura ring, a state of the art ring that can track sleep cycle analysis, activity, and recovery at HeadsUpHealth.com/Oura.
Learn more about Keto-Mojo, a highly accurate and affordable device for testing blood sugar and blood ketones. Check it out at HeadsUpHealth.com/Ketomojo.
All of these amazing products are integrated with Heads Up Health.
They all allow you to quantify your health in novel and powerful ways.
Thank you to our partners!
About Heads Up Health
Heads Up Health is a website designed to empower individuals who want to take a self-directed approach to managing their health. Instantly centralize your medical records, connect your favorite devices and apps (e.g., Oura, MyFitnessPal, Keto-Mojo, FitBit, Apple Health, MyMacros+, Withings and many more) and use your data to optimize your health.
Click on the button below to start your free 30-day trial now!
[maxbutton id=”4″ url=”https://headsuphealth.com/” ]
The post Episode 24 – Using Biohacking Technology to Upgrade Your Mind and Body | Martin Tobias of Bulletproof Labs & Upgrade Labs appeared first on Heads Up Health.
47 min
September 14, 2018Episode 23 – How Gillian Szollos Became Seizure Free with a Keto Diet for Epilepsy
Gillian Szollos had forgotten about her epilepsy. It had been 30 years since she’d been seizure free, and those memories had faded so much that her husband didn’t even know about them. But when the seizures returned suddenly — full force — she began medications to suppress them. However, it wasn’t effective this time around so Gillian was left to find another way. She credits her husband for seeking support online, discovering and beginning the keto diet for epilepsy on October 2014. Two weeks later, Gillian had her very last seizure, and her own diligence in tracking keto has kept her seizure free ever since!
After tracking her basal body temp, ketones, blood sugar, menstrual cycle, and other metrics, she was able to take her data to her doctor who then was able to see a pattern and diagnose her with catamenial seizures, which are hormone triggered.
Had Gillian accepted what she was told without question, she may not be here today. As it turns out, she also has an MTHFR gene variance that causes her to not metabolize medications in a typical way. Her medications left her in such anguish that at one point she was willing to risk death from seizure rather than the side effects of the medications.
Join Dave Korsunsky, founder of Heads Up Health as he talks with Gillian Szollos about her experience with epilepsy and her choice to treat it with a keto diet for epilepsy. Through daily keto tracking, she lost over 90 pounds, lowered her A1C from 6.2 to 4.2 in just a few months, as well as eliminated her seizures by knowing her triggers.
You can follow Gillian on Instagram as @ketoalldayeverday and @keto.for.life you can also check out her website Ketoalldayeveryday.com or email her at [email protected]
Listen in iTunes!
This podcast is brought to you by Heads Up Health, a web app designed to help you centrally track all of your vital health data. Instantly synchronize your medical records, connect your favorite health devices and apps and use your data to optimize your health!
Click on the button below to start your free 30-day trial. Or, read on for more information about our latest podcast episode!
[maxbutton id=”5″ url=”https://headsuphealth.com/” ]
In this podcast you’ll learn:
About Gillian Szollos’ pleading message to physicians to please read the drug insert and know that side effects do happen [14:00]
Using the app, Seizure Tracker, she was able to further categorize the type of seizure she was having. (catamenial seizures-hormone related); otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to target her therapy [17:20]
Why doing your own research and taking it to your doctor can empower you, helping you get the results you desire for your health. [18:30]
How although her hormone levels were “normal,” they were actually at the opposites ends of normal (indicating an imbalance providing her one more piece of the puzzle) [20:30]
The difference between optimal functional ranges vs “normal” lab ranges [19:30]
How keto came into Gillian’s life when she had hit a point where she’d rather take the chance of dying from a seizure than to continue on with the medications that caused her suicidal ideations [23:25]
How her husband joined Facebook and found a seizure support group that led to the idea of utilizing a ketogenic diet for seizure suppression [24:30]
About her search for sources in implementing a therapeutic ketogenic diet, which was scarce at the time, so she went straight to the source – Dr. Eric Kossoff at Johns Hopkins [24:50]
After starting the keto for epilepsy diet in October 2014, Gillian had her last (30 minute) seizure two weeks later. Even though her doctor wanted her to go back to Tegretol, she never had to take it again! [27:05]
How eating and tracking keto helped Gillian remain seizure free. Also the benefits of reducing estrogenic foods and upping nutrients to protect her body and managing her sleep. [28:50]
How the side effects of the meds nearly killed her, but the side effects of keto saved her life. [31:00]
Why she overcame her fear of lifting free weights in the gym and how she went from a bone density score of 1.1 to a 2.2 which is unheard of for a 49-year-old woman [38:45]
How ovulation causes high ketones and low blood sugar. Right before menstruation, you’ll see low ketones and high blood sugar, regardless of what you’re eating. She wouldn’t have noticed without tracking, as this provides more markers to watch for in catamenial seizures. [45:00]
Why you should master your own body by tracking and testing to know your triggers [47:00]
Learn about the Charlie Foundation and why a community is so beneficial [47:45]
About the use of cannabis and CBD oil for seizures [50:20]
Importance of asking for your lab results, not just the summary of findings, to uncover things like thyroid swings from one end of normal to the other [52.45]
Carrie Brown and MTHFR support for mental health [58:55]
How to work with doctors that are uncooperative in a way that is not antagonistic [1:00:00]
How Gillian pays it forward by sharing others’ success stories with keto and epilepsy [106:00:00]
How she ditched over $3000 of monthly meds switching to keto [108.00.00]
Why it’s important to spread the message that this is an effective treatment plan [108.00.00]
References
Dr. Eric Kossoff
Charlie Foundation
Video training with Danny Vega and Robert Sikes
MTHFR testing with Nutrition Genome
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The post Episode 23 – How Gillian Szollos Became Seizure Free with a Keto Diet for Epilepsy appeared first on Heads Up Health.
1 hr 14 min

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