What if going to the doctor was all about optimizing your health and preventing disease & illness? That's what we get into in this episode with Dr. Alexander Paziotopoulos, MD, FAARM. Dr. Paziotopoulos, founder of the Pazio Institute, talks with us about his unique approach to healthcare that he created by merging the principles of preventative medicine and systems-based engineering. He gives us the example of airplanes and how engineers have created a multitude of checklists and other systems to understand what can (and does) go wrong in these complex machines, when things go wrong, and how to both prevent things from going wrong and optimize the machines so things won't go wrong. Applying this concept to medicine, we learn how his medical practice varies greatly from traditional Western medicine.

We also spend a lot of time going deep into understanding how to optimize our health. (Spoiler Alert: his tips are straight-forward and don't require you to spend money or work with a specialist.) 

Episode Recap: Interview with Dr. Paziotopoulos - 3:10, "You Want Me To Do What??" section - 1:04:16

Highlights:

• Medical Engineering as Dr. Paziotopoulos uses it:
• • Applying systems-based engineering principles to medicine
  • Understanding what goes wrong & when it goes wrong so that these things can be prevented and, even better, the complex machine (in this case, your body) can be optimized
  • Using checklists & project management when treating a patient
• Expanding your lifespan includes physical movement, diet, mindfulness, and spirituality
• In making changes that will impact your health, Dr. Paziotopoulos recommends pairing the new habits with something you already automatically do; for example:
• • Going to the bathroom and doing a breathing exercise (which means you don't take your phone to the bathroom with you)
  • Brushing your teeth and standing on one foot
• You have to add physical stress to the body for it to change & adapt
• Recommendations Dr. Paziotopoulos gives for optimal health:
• • Plant-based diet: based on science, we are designed to be a plant-based species (especially if you consider teeth and intestines). 80% plants 20% meat
  • Mindfulness: strive to recognize that the true "you" is not the thoughts and feelings you have
  • Exercise: 
  • • Do something explosive two times per week (all out sprints for 100 yards)
    • Powerlifting, specifically squats, deadlifts, pressing overhead, bench press, pull-ups (higher weights, low reps)
• The stronger you are, the harder you are to kill
• Dr. Paziotopoulos recommends yoga as a daily movement practice as it checks many of the boxes that influence your health:
• • Intention
  • Gratefulness
  • Breathing exercise
  • Mindfulness
  • Purpose
  • Exploring your body (strength, balance, endurance)
  • Getting into coherence (potentially)
• Two supplements Dr. Paziotopoulos recommends:
• • Vitamin D
  • DHA (from algae oil)

Resources:

Where to find Dr. Paziotopoulos:

 

• Instagram: @thepazioinstitute
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thepazioinstitute/
• Website: https://www.thepazioinstitute.com/

 

Recommended website for powerlifting info: https://startingstrength.com/

Life Extension website (recommended company for vitamins & supplements: https://www.lifeextension.com/