Next Phase Human

Dr. Maheep Virdi is a board-certified neurologist who joins Dr. Rasham Sandhu to walk through Parkinson's disease in depth, from the earliest, easy-to-miss symptoms through the latest treatment technology.

In this conversation, they cover:

• The soft early symptoms that can precede a Parkinson's diagnosis by roughly six years, including new-onset constipation, shoulder pain unrelated to movement, difficulty turning over in bed, and REM behavior disorder (physically acting out dreams)
• The gut-brain connection in Parkinson's, including how the vagus nerve links the gut to the brain and how a protein called alpha-synuclein, produced by certain gut bacteria, may travel to the brain and contribute to the disease
• Environmental risk factors including paraquat and other pesticides, manganese exposure from welding, the industrial solvent TCE, carbon monoxide exposure, air pollution, and contaminated well water
• Why coordination-focused exercise, such as small hand-muscle work, balance training, dancing, Tai Chi, and boxing, has shown more benefit for Parkinson's patients than strength training or high-intensity cardio
• Dietary guidance including the Mediterranean diet, avoiding processed foods, and why patients need to separate protein intake from their carbidopa/levodopa medication by at least an hour, since dietary protein competes with the medication for transport across the blood-brain barrier
• The DaTscan, a diagnostic imaging test used alongside clinical evaluation rather than as a standalone diagnosis
• Genetic factors, including the LRRK2 and parkin genes, and why genetic testing alone hasn't proven to be a reliable predictor
• Deep brain stimulation (DBS): how it works, its dramatic effect on tremor, and the extensive psychological screening required beforehand due to a risk of suicidal ideation
• Newer treatment technology, including subcutaneous infusion devices for carbidopa/levodopa and a newer drug pathway (A2A receptor antagonist) that works outside the traditional dopaminergic system
• A rapid-fire round on coffee, alcohol, sauna, cold plunge, artificial sweeteners, and other everyday lifestyle factors and their effect on Parkinson's risk

Intro

In this episode of Next Phase Human, Dr. Rasham Sandhu continues his conversation with Dr. Rasha Quran, an infectious disease specialist at Kern Medical Center and UCLA and director of the infectious disease fellowship, picking up where they left off in part one. This time they focus on Valley fever, a fungal infection responsible for roughly a third of community acquired pneumonia in the Central Valley, then work through a wide ranging discussion of prevention, treatment, and where infectious disease medicine is headed next.

Topics Covered

• What Valley fever is and how it spreads through dust and soil
• Who is most likely to get infected versus who is most likely to develop severe disease
• Why cases are rising across the Central Valley and the broader desert Southwest
• When and how doctors should test for Valley fever, and why the blood test can be misleading early on
• Common misconceptions among both patients and healthcare providers
• What treatment actually involves and why relapse remains a lifelong risk
• Other fungal and tick borne infections that are becoming more common
• Everyday habits, from cooking at home to blood sugar control, that lower infection risk
• The role of exercise and sleep in immune function
• A topical hormone treatment that helps prevent UTIs in postmenopausal women
• Her honest take on supplements and probiotics
• A rapid fire myth or fact round covering raw milk, antibiotics, hand sanitizer, zinc, and more
• Why she believes immune modulation could reduce reliance on antibiotics in the future

Mentioned in Episode

• Valley fever (coccidioidomycosis)
• Brucellosis and raw milk
• UCLA genetic and DNA sequencing research into Valley fever susceptibility
• Dr. Manish Butte's published research on treating disseminated Valley fever with cytokine therapy
• Topical estrogen for preventing UTIs in postmenopausal women
• Historical use of the ketogenic diet to treat UTIs before antibiotics existed

Connect with Dr. Sandhu California Cardiovascular Institute | cacvinst.com

Intro

In this episode of Next Phase Human, Dr. Rasham Sandhu sits down with Dr. Sandeep S. Walia, a Harvard trained cataract and refractive surgeon who serves as chief medical officer and owner of West Coast Eye Institute in Bakersfield. They cover the real truth about screen time and vision, why cataracts are unavoidable, and what is actually driving the dry eye epidemic, then close with a look at where eye care is headed next.

Topics Covered

• Dr. Walia's path from stand up comedy and an MBA to Harvard trained eye surgery
• Whether eyes are aging faster today than in past generations
• Blue light, smartphones, and what the data actually shows
• Whether staring at screens really damages children's vision
• The difference between optometry and ophthalmology
• LASIK, PRK, and SMILE, and how to know which fits you
• Complications, age limits, and whether vision can regress after LASIK
• Light adjustable lenses and what is coming next in refractive technology
• Which eye supplements and foods are backed by real data
• Why every person will eventually develop a cataract
• What speeds up cataract formation, from smoking to steroids to UV exposure
• The many contributors to dry eye, from air conditioning to hormones to contact lens use
• How sleep quality affects eye health, including a look at red light therapy
• The silent eye diseases that can progress without obvious symptoms
• Floaters and retinal tears, and when they are actually an emergency
• Rapid fire verdicts on coffee, sunglasses, eye vitamins, and more
• The most common regret he hears from patients
• His top advice for protecting eyesight for life

Mentioned in Episode

• AREDS2 (Age-Related Eye Disease Study) supplement formula
• Atropine eye drops for myopia control
• Light adjustable lens (LAL) technology
• Lipiflow and IPL (intense pulse light) for dry eye treatment
• Whoop and Eight Sleep, mentioned by Dr. Sandhu for his own sleep tracking
• An Australian study on iPad reading and next day sleep quality

Connect with Dr. Sandhu California Cardiovascular Institute | cacvinst.com

Intro

Dementia is one of the most feared diagnoses in medicine, and one of the most misunderstood. Dr. Maheep Virdi, board-certified neurologist at California Neurology Institute, joins Dr. Sandhu to draw a clear line between normal aging and the real thing, and to walk through exactly what protects long-term brain health, from the basics of sleep and exercise to the newest amyloid-targeting drug therapies reshaping the field.

Topics Covered

• Normal aging vs. real warning signs of dementia
• What's happening in the brain years before any symptom appears
• The different types of dementia and how they behave differently
• Genetics vs. lifestyle, and what an APOE4 result actually means
• The heart-brain connection, and the single highest-yield lifestyle change
• Sleep, the glymphatic system, and memory consolidation
• Exercise, blood flow, and neuroplasticity
• Diet, cholesterol, and the truth about supplements
• Social connection, purpose, and loneliness as risk factors
• Hearing loss, vision, dental health, sleep apnea, and AFib as contributing factors
• Smoking, vaping, and substance use
• The diagnostic workup: MRI, PET amyloid scans, centiloid scoring, MoCA/MMSE, ApoE4 testing
• New anti-amyloid drug therapies and their real risks
• Lewy body dementia and why it's treated differently
• Choosing a care facility, and what actually improves outcomes

Mentioned in Episode

• APOE4 genetic testing
• PET amyloid scan and centiloid scale
• MoCA (Montreal Cognitive Assessment) and MMSE (Mini-Mental State Examination)
• Anti-amyloid monoclonal antibody infusion therapies
• ARIA (amyloid-related imaging abnormalities)
• The glymphatic system
• REM behavior disorder
• Lewy body dementia and frontotemporal dementia

Connect

Dr. Rasham Sandhu Instagram: @nextphasehuman

Dr. Maheep Virdi / California Neurology Institute Website: caneuroinst.com Instagram: @caneuroinst 8335 Brimhall Rd., Bldg. 1100, Bakersfield, CA 93312 (661) 432-7851

Next Phase Human Podcast Instagram: @nextphasehuman Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033qZ46toArgzpRrRrlpvb Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/next-phase-human-w-dr-sandhu/id1896859526

California Cardiovascular Institute 8337 Brimhall Rd Building 1200, Bakersfield, CA 93312 cacvinst.com

Interested in being a guest on Next Phase Human? Contact: [email protected]

Dr. Rasha Kuran is an infectious disease specialist at Kern Medical Center and UCLA and serves as director of the Infectious Disease Fellowship Program. Her clinical and research interests include valley fever genetics, antibiotic stewardship, and the intersection of hormones, nutrition, and infection risk. She completed her residency at UCI and credits Dr. Royce Johnson as the mentor who brought her into the specialty.

Topics Covered

00:00 Opening hook
00:17 Welcome to Next Phase Human and meet Dr. Rasha Kuran
01:00 What infectious disease actually covers and why the name is a misnomer
01:40 The mentor who changed her career path
02:20 Why healthy people still get infections
03:00 Valley fever, genetics, and ancestry
04:00 Modern life: healthier or more susceptible?
06:00 The antibiotic tradeoff: 23 years of life
06:50 The Z-Pak problem and viral vs. bacterial infections
08:00 Patient expectations and prescribing pressure
09:00 Valley fever presenting as bacterial pneumonia
10:00 Climate change and valley fever spreading beyond the Central Valley
11:00 What parents should ask for: strep, flu, and COVID testing
12:00 Antibiotic resistance and increasingly complex infections
13:00 MRSA explained: gyms, doorknobs, and community spread
16:00 Antibiotics in livestock and downstream human resistance
17:00 C. diff and how you can get it without ever entering a hospital
18:00 Cross contamination and why the CDC advises against washing chicken
19:00 What antibiotics do to the gut microbiome
20:00 One course, one year of recovery
21:00 C-section vs. vaginal birth and microbiome transfer
22:00 The fecal transplant experiment that transferred obesity
24:00 Post-menopausal UTIs and the estrogen connection
27:00 Rebuilding the gut: prebiotics, soluble fiber, and cooking from scratch
28:00 High fructose liquid sugar as the biggest offender
29:00 Fermented foods and daily servings
30:00 Probiotics: which ones have randomized trial evidence
32:00 Kids and antibiotic overexposure: asthma, allergies, obesity
33:00 When it is safe for parents to wait
34:00 COVID in hindsight: the lesson learned
36:00 What we would do differently today
39:00 Long COVID and the lasting immune scar
41:00 Vaccines that prevent cancer: HPV and hepatitis B
42:00 Hybrid immunity and how boosters work
43:00 Part two preview: valley fever, hormones, and nutrition

Mentioned in This Episode

Dr. Rasha Kuran | Kern Medical Center | UCLA
Dr. Royce Johnson — mentor and former Chair of the Department of Medicine
Valley fever (coccidioidomycosis) genetic susceptibility research at Kern Medical
MRSA (methicillin-resistant staph aureus)
C. diff (Clostridioides difficile)
Fecal microbiota transplantation
Bio-K Plus probiotic
Stanford fermented foods study (3-5 servings daily)
HPV vaccine and hepatitis B vaccine
Topical estrogen for recurrent post-menopausal UTIs

Connect

Dr. Rasham Sandhu
Instagram: @nextphasehuman
Next Phase Human Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033qZ46toArgzpRrRrlpvb
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/next-phase-human-w-dr-sandhu/id1896859526

Dr. Rasha Kuran
Kern Medical Center | UCLA
Infectious Disease Fellowship Program

Guest inquiries: [email protected]

California Cardiovascular Institute | cacvinst.com
8337 Brimhall Rd Building 1200, Bakersfield CA 93312

SHOW NOTES

Dr. Hugh Beatty began his medical career as an anesthesiologist in Los Angeles before transitioning into pain management and primary care. A chance encounter with functional medicine in 2013 changed his entire practice philosophy. Today he operates as a concierge functional and regenerative medicine physician in Bakersfield, using hormones, PRP, ozone therapy, and comprehensive testing to address root causes rather than manage symptoms. He is the author of "5 Pillars of Health: Do You Want to Be Well?"

Topics Covered

00:00 Opening hook
00:16 Welcome to Next Phase Human and meet Dr. Hugh Beatty
01:00 What sparked the transition from anesthesiology to functional medicine
02:10 The global testosterone decline: what the data actually shows
03:30 Root causes: environment, phytoestrogens, BPA, stress, and diet
04:44 Generational testosterone comparison
05:30 Testosterone as an anti-inflammatory hormone
07:15 The ideal TRT candidate vs. the guy who just wants a quick fix
09:00 HPA axis suppression and the lifelong commitment problem
10:30 Cream vs. pellets vs. injections: what Dr. Beatty uses and why
12:00 Microdosing testosterone daily: fewer side effects, fewer fluctuations
13:30 Under 300 on blood work: the number that triggers a full workup
14:30 Andropause defined
16:00 Prolactin, cortisol, and testosterone opposition
17:30 Estrogen dominance in men and the aromatase enzyme
19:30 Why men need progesterone
21:00 A 60-year-old man with higher estrogen than his wife
22:30 Beer, aromatase activity, and gynecomastia
25:30 Resistance training as the superior exercise for testosterone
27:30 Building lower body muscle and cognitive benefits
29:00 Natural testosterone boosters: vitamin D3, zinc, ashwagandha, sleep
31:30 Ashwagandha cycling protocol
32:30 Tongkat ali and sex hormone binding globulin
34:00 Over-treating men, under-treating women
35:30 Testosterone in women: fears vs. reality
37:30 Alcohol and hormone health
39:00 Sleep as the most underrated hormone habit
42:00 Pregnenolone steal and the stress-hormone cascade
43:30 Young people, stress, and early hormone depletion
45:30 What Dr. Beatty sees in women aged 40 to 50
48:00 Perimenopause begins at 35
49:30 The 28-day saliva test and why it beats blood draws
51:30 How hormone testing on the wrong day creates misdiagnosis
52:30 Should all women eventually be on HRT?
55:00 Cancer risk, bioidentical vs. synthetic hormones, and 12 years of clinical observation
57:30 Estrogen plus progesterone vs. estrogen alone
59:00 Beta-glucuronidase, the gut enzyme recycling estrogen
01:00:30 Three causes of estrogen dominance most doctors miss
01:01:30 The tired but wired professional: hormonal physiology explained
01:03:30 DHEA: the biological clock of aging
01:05:30 DHEA dosing and optimal targets
01:07:00 Fixing a flat cortisol curve with DHEA
01:09:00 Shift work, circadian rhythm, and hormone destruction
01:12:00 Supplements for stress: ashwagandha, L-theanine, rhodiola, magnesium
01:14:00 Which magnesium form for which problem
01:16:00 PRP therapy: what it is and why Dr. Beatty prefers it over steroids
01:19:00 Combining ozone and PRP for regenerative results
01:21:00 Ozone and the diabetic foot
01:24:00 Bell's palsy, CRPS, and post-surgical recovery cases
01:28:00 Why ozone is used globally but not FDA-approved
01:30:00 The peptide landscape in California and what needs to change
01:33:00 The dose makes the medicine
01:35:00 The single most important biomarker to track
01:37:00 The biggest longevity mistake Dr. Beatty sees
01:38:00 One thing to start tomorrow

Mentioned in This Episode

Dr. Hugh Beatty | Instagram: @docnbak | hughbeatty.com
"5 Pillars of Health: Do You Want to Be Well?" — available on Amazon
American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M)
DUTCH Test (Dried Urine Test for Comprehensive Hormones)
28-day saliva hormone testing
GI Map gut health test
DNA Intellex genetic testing
Jen Simmons MD — integrative oncological breast surgeon
Dr. Mark Hyman
Dr. Frank Shallenberger — ozone therapy pioneer
BPC-157 and peptide therapy
Vitamin D3 with K2, zinc, ashwagandha, L-theanine, rhodiola, magnesium threonate, glycinate

Connect

Dr. Rasham Sandhu
Instagram: @nextphasehuman
Next Phase Human Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033qZ46toArgzpRrRrlpvb
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/next-phase-human-w-dr-sandhu/id1896859526

Dr. Hugh Beatty
Instagram: @docnbak
www.hughbeatty.com
"5 Pillars of Health: Do You Want to Be Well?" on Amazon

Guest inquiries: [email protected]

California Cardiovascular Institute | cacvinst.com
8337 Brimhall Rd Building 1200, Bakersfield CA 93312

What if the reason you don't feel like yourself has nothing to do with trying harder, and everything to do with what your body has been quietly signaling all along?

Dr. Rasham Sandhu sits down to explore the science of hormonal health, functional medicine, and the future of longevity with Dr. Valerie Civelli, functional medicine physician and founder of Trifecta Medical. Together they break down why women in their 40s feel like strangers in their own bodies, why the standard medical playbook keeps missing the mark, and what a truly personalized approach to hormone optimization actually looks like.

• Why perimenopause weight gain is not inevitable, and what hormonal and metabolic signals to address before it starts
• The truth about GLP-1 medications: who they actually help, how to come off them without rebound, and why insulin is the real villain
• Oral contraceptives, estrogen dominance, and why liver detox is the missing piece most doctors skip
• Testosterone for men and women: injectable vs. topical, lifetime commitment concerns, and what bioregulators do that TRT cannot
• Histamine, DAO deficiency, mold sensitivity, and the gut-immune connection your allergist probably hasn't mentioned

Atrial fibrillation is the most common serious heart rhythm disorder in the world, affecting millions of Americans — many of whom don't know they have it, don't understand what it means, and don't know what modern medicine can actually do about it. In this episode, Dr. Rasham Sandhu sits down with Dr. Gurjit Singh, a cardiac electrophysiologist who trained and taught at Henry Ford Hospital for over a decade before joining California Cardiovascular Institute as Chief Medical Officer and serving as Medical Director of AFib and Electrophysiology at Dignity Health and Adventist Health Bakersfield.

Dr. Singh is also the researcher who proved in a landmark 2021 study that iPhone 12 magnets can deactivate implanted cardiac defibrillators — a discovery that went international and triggered an FDA panel that reshaped guidance for both device companies and smartphone manufacturers. He starts there, and then the conversation opens up into one of the most thorough, accessible, and practically useful breakdowns of AFib you'll find in podcast form.

They cover how the heart's electrical system works and what actually happens during AFib, why the disease is showing up in younger and younger patients, the full landscape of modifiable risk factors and what the research actually says about each one, how AFib ablation works and why it is now considered a first-line therapy for most patients, what the Watchman device is and who it's appropriate for, how wearables like Apple Watch and Whoop fit into monitoring and early detection, and what the next 10 to 15 years of AFib prevention and treatment might look like — including AI-driven risk prediction from EKG data and nervous system modulation that doesn't require burning any heart tissue at all.

Dr. Singh also shares the story of a patient he restored to normal rhythm after 15 years of AFib and heart failure — a case most physicians would have considered untreatable — and gives a practical framework for the 45-year-old who exercises a few times a week, has a drink on the weekends, and wants to know what they can actually do to reduce their risk given a family history of the disease.

If you or someone you love has AFib, has been told they might be at risk, or is simply trying to understand what their wearable is telling them about their heart, this is the episode to share.

Mentioned in This Episode

• California Cardiovascular Institute (CCI) — cacvinst.com | 8337 Brimhall Rd Building 1200, Bakersfield CA 93312
• Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, Michigan
• Dignity Health Bakersfield and Adventist Health Bakersfield
• iPhone 12 magnet / defibrillator study — published in Heart Rhythm Society (2021)
• AFIRM Trial (rate vs. rhythm control)
• CASTLE-AF Trial (ablation in heart failure patients)
• Apple Heart Study (~400,000 patients, AFib detection via Apple Watch)
• Decaf Trial (200 patients, coffee and AFib risk)
• GLP-1 / semaglutide meta-analysis (26 studies, 17% AFib risk reduction)
• Devices mentioned: Apple Watch, Whoop, Garmin, Kardia App, Oura Ring (upcoming episode), Watchman, Amplatzer
• Medications mentioned: warfarin, apixaban, rivaroxaban, heparin, antiarrhythmics

Connect

Dr. Rasham Sandhu — @nextphasehuman
Dr. Gurjit Singh — @dr_gurjitsingh
Next Phase Human Podcast — @nextphasehuman

California Cardiovascular Institute
8337 Brimhall Rd Building 1200, Bakersfield, CA 93312
cacvinst.com

Interested in being a guest on Next Phase Human?
Contact: [email protected]

SHOW NOTES:

Dandapani is a Hindu priest, entrepreneur, international speaker, and former monk of 10 years. After a decade of rigorous training in a cloistered traditional monastery under one of Hinduism's foremost teachers, he left to bring those teachings into the modern world — working with elite professional athletes, C-suite executives, and top global companies including Nike and American Express. His bestselling book The Power of Unwavering Focus has been translated into 23 languages.

In this episode, Dandapani and Dr. Sandhu break down the one mechanic of the mind that explains anxiety, distraction, burnout, phone addiction, and how to actually fix all of it — not with patches, but with the treatment.

Topics Covered

• Where awareness goes, energy flows — what that actually means and why it changes everything
• The 8 sequential steps of Hindu philosophy toward enlightenment, and why jumping to meditation without the first five steps doesn't work
• How social media trains your awareness to fragment — and what that costs you at work, at home, and in your health
• Anxiety as a mechanics problem: what awareness is doing in the mind that creates stress, fear, and worry
• The 5-minute daily self-reflection practice that beats an hour of meditation
• Affectionate detachment — how doctors, lawyers, and helping professionals protect their energy without losing their compassion
• Parenting in the phone era: why restriction fails and role modeling works
• The three phases of human evolution: instinctive, intellectual, intuitive — and how to move between them

Mentioned in Episode

• The Power of Unwavering Focus by Dandapani (translated into 23 languages)
• Dandapani's online courses: Unwavering Focus, The Energy Alchemist, The Magic of the Mind, Introduction to Meditation
• The 8 limbs of Hindu philosophy (Ashtanga)
• Neurons that fire together, wire together — Hebbian theory referenced by Dr. Sandhu
• Dandapani's mobile app — available on iOS and Android

Connect

Dr. Rasham Sandhu — @nextphasehuman | cacvinst.com

Dandapani — @dandapanillc | dandapani.org

Next Phase Human — @nextphasehuman on Instagram

California Cardiovascular Institute — cacvinst.com | (661) 443-0088 | [email protected] | 8337 Brimhall Rd., Building 1200, Bakersfield, CA 93312

Guest intake: [email protected]

Dr. Ajay Patel returns to continue one of the most practical conversations in cardiology: how what you eat is either slowly building or silently threatening your cardiovascular health. Dr. Patel is an interventional cardiologist and structural heart specialist at Adventist Health and Dignity Health Bakersfield — and one of the highest-volume operators for high-risk cardiac interventions in patients with multi-vessel disease. In this episode, he and Dr. Sandhu move through the real science on nutrition, supplementation, fasting, and the diagnostic tools that can tell you what your standard bloodwork never will.

Topics Covered

• Seed oils: red herring or real problem? What the population data actually shows
• Sugar, cereal, and breakfast — why variety beats any single "healthy" routine
• Keto and carnivore: short-term wins, long-term question marks
• Visceral fat: what it is, why it's more dangerous than what you see, and how to measure it
• Calcium scoring, ApoB, and Lipo(a) — beyond standard cholesterol panels
• Intermittent fasting, autophagy, and what 72-hour fasts actually trigger in the body
• New University of Texas research: flu and shingles vaccines linked to reduced dementia rates
• Beyond Meat vs. real meat: the one study that actually showed a benefit for ultra-processed food
• Alcohol and the heart: cardiomyopathy, dementia risk, and the wine myth cardiologists created

Mentioned in Episode

• Ornish Diet and reversal of heart disease
• Tulane University study on meat consumption distribution (12% of Americans eat the majority of beef)
• University of Texas — flu vaccine / shingles vaccine dementia study via propensity-matched cohort
• Impossible Burger / Beyond Meat industry-funded LDL study
• DEXA scan and FibroScan for visceral fat measurement
• PCSK9 inhibitors and plaque regression

Connect

Dr. Rasham Sandhu — @nextphasehuman | cacvinst.com
Dr. Ajay Patel — California Cardiovascular Institute | cacvinst.com
Next Phase Human — @nextphasehuman on Instagram

California Cardiovascular Institute — cacvinst.com | (661) 443-0088 | [email protected] | 8337 Brimhall Rd., Building 1200, Bakersfield, CA 93312 

Guest intake: [email protected]