Approximately 50 million Americans have autoimmune disease, according to the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association.

More than 80 different conditions—including rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, multiple sclerosis, Graves’ disease, and Hashimoto’s disease—fall under this umbrella, and some have similar symptoms.

While these diseases are generally viewed as separate conditions by specialists who treat the symptoms alone, they share common causes. In many ways, they could be considered one big disease that can involve any body part.

My guest today, Dr. David Bilstrom, is an author, international speaker and distinguished member of the American Academy of Integrative Medicine and American Academy of Medical Acupuncture. He is an advanced fellow in anti-aging, regenerative, and functional medicine.

Adam was a burned out, pre-diabetic, asthmatic, heavily medicated 20-something when he decided he’d had enough. Started to developed a simple 6-step breathing technique for emotional control.

A lucky encounter with a climbing wall started him on his return to health. Despite having a panic attack on the first climb, Adam went back again and again. And he learned a specific kind of breathing technique that climbers use to keep them focused and steady.

Dr. Selma Rashid, speaks frankly about what life without hormone restoration is like and why she’s passionate about educating women about BHRT.

I’m totally in agreement with her, you?

Dr. William Levine, DDS, a board-certified Periodontist specializing in oral diseases and implantology with over 35 years of experience in the dental field and creator of PeriActive oral Rinse (www.getperiactive.com), will not only make you rethink dentistry but also understand its impact on whole body wellness. That may sound like the lead into a boring conversation but my time with Dr. Levine was anything but.

Lynne Bowman is living proof that you can cook, eat, sleep, laugh, and walk your way out of type 2 diabetes, along with other chronic ailments. And, as befits “a snarky grandma”, she has strong opinions about the food industry and we should and shouldn’t be eating.

Don’t worry, she’s not going to beat the drum for any particular diet though she tends towards plant-based meals except when she craves animal protein. All she asks of you, of us, is to read labels and skip things that come in bags and boxes.

Debbie Weiss, the Hungover Widow, is a successful writer who embarked on her publishing journey after her husband of 32 years passed away from cancer. Living alone for the first time at age 50, she found solace in writing.

Glenn Livingston is the creator of the Never Binge Again method to permanently end binge eating. He is also a veteran psychologist and was the long time CEO of a multi-million dollar consulting firm whose clients included several Fortune 500 food giants.

Dr. Stephan Neff, anesthesiologist, bestselling author, speaker, and podcast host, is passionate about demystifying mental health problems, including alcoholism, and helping the people around him live a life so full of joy that yesterday is jealous of today.

For him this means a life free from alcoholism as well as the other “aholisms” we can find ourselves trapped in. Like workaholism or sexaholism.

Stephan told me, “I have gone through dark times myself and have experienced depression, anxiety and PTSD. I did not have good coping skills and relied on alcohol to numb my pain. As you guessed, that did not end well.”

After 20+ years of asking, seeking, exploring, studying, experimenting, Yogi Aaron can confidently say, he’s found many answers, but more important than that, he discovered a simple and effective technique to alleviate pain!

He says it’s easy to incorporate in any yoga practice or any movement activity to ensure we continue to live pain-free into our third age.

What’s missing in your life?

Deep level stuff like love, connection, self-worth?

Tracy McCubbin believes that we over shop, over save, and over anti-age ourselves because something is missing and we try to fill it.

For the sandwich generation — that’s us, right — we have places galore to find clutter. The obvious, our parents homes as they downsize or even pass away.

Not so obvious is empty nest syndrome where a woman who identified for so many years as mom, and all that entails, finds herself with huge swaths of time to fill. Nothing wrong with finding things to fill that time, but shopping isn’t the answer.