"I DID 15,000 SURGERIES — AND TOO MANY OF THEM WERE UNNECESSARY"

Surgeons are trained to heal. But what happens when the system they work in is designed to do the opposite?

In this episode of Rebels With a Root Cause, Dr. Josh Schacter — board-certified orthopedic surgeon and osteopath — and his wife Amber share the story behind one of the boldest exits in modern medicine. After 15 years and 15,000+ surgeries, Josh was burning out inside a hospital system that valued production over patients, quotas over care, and procedures over prevention. After being told to operate more, question less, and ignore the root causes driving his patients' pain, Josh and Amber walked away from the golden handcuffs and built Pinnacle Integrative Orthopedics from the ground up.

This conversation pulls back the curtain on the broken incentive structure of American healthcare, why up to 40% of orthopedic surgeries may be unnecessary, and how regenerative medicine is giving patients their lives back — without steroids, narcotics, or surgery. If you've ever been handed a diagnosis and told surgery is your only option, this episode will change everything.

In This Episode:

✅ Why Surgeons Are Incentivized to Operate — Not to Heal

✅ How the Insurance System Dictates Your Medical Care

✅ The Truth About Unnecessary Joint Replacements

✅ What Regenerative Medicine (PRP & Stem Cell) Can Actually Do

✅ Why Hormones, Gut Health & Lifestyle Are Key to Joint Recovery

✅ The Real Cost Comparison: Surgery vs. Integrative Care

✅ How to Exit the Traditional Medical System as a Physician

✅ Why Doctors Are Either Burned Out or About to Be

Timestamps:

(0:00) – Introduction: Dr. Josh & Amber Schachter, Integrative Orthopedics (

(0:38) – From 15,000 Surgeries to Burning Out in the System

(3:25) – How Hospital Quotas Are Destroying Patient Care

(7:47) – The Two Types of Doctors in the Traditional System

(13:13) – Insurance Dictates Care — And That's the Real Problem

(18:24) – Leaving the Golden Handcuffs: How They Built Pinnacle

(24:27) – Regenerative Medicine: Healing Joints Without Surgery

(27:49) – Up to 40% of Knee Replacements Are Unnecessary

(34:44) – The True Cost of Insurance vs. Integrative Care

(38:03) – The Patient Who Lost 100lbs & Got His Life Back

(40:15) – Where to Find Dr. Schacter & Pinnacle Integrative Orthopedics

Contact Info:

🌐 pinnaclesportsmedicine.com

📱 Instagram & Facebook: @pinnacleorthowf

🎥 YouTube & TikTok: Dr. Joshua Schachter

🏥 Board-Certified Orthopedic Surgeon, DO & Founder of Pinnacle Integrative Orthopedics

🎯 Specialties: Regenerative Medicine, PRP & Stem Cell Therapy, Joint Pain, Metabolic Health, Hormone Optimization, Integrative Orthopedics & Surgical Burnout Recovery

Eczema. Gut issues. Food sensitivities. Infertility.

Parents are often told these are random, genetic, or that their child will simply "grow out of it." But what if that's not true?

In this episode of Rebels With a Root Cause, Deidre Bloomquist, functional nutritionist and environmental toxin expert, shares the story that transformed her career: her infant son developing full-body eczema despite a "perfect" pregnancy, home birth, breastfeeding, and a healthy lifestyle.

After being told steroids were the only option and that there was "no cure," Deidre ran functional testing herself. What she discovered was shocking: severe gut inflammation, pathogen overgrowth, and inherited toxin burden passed down from her own lifetime of exposures.

This conversation exposes the hidden epidemic of environmental toxicity affecting children today — from mold and heavy metals to radioactive substances in water — and explains why skin conditions are often just the tip of the iceberg.

If your child is struggling, this episode will change how you see modern illness — and what's actually possible.

✅ Why Eczema is Rarely Just a Skin Issue ✅ The Hidden Toxins Babies Inherit Before Birth ✅ Why Topical Steroids Don't Fix the Root Cause ✅ How Toxin Burden Impacts Fertility and Miscarriage ✅ The Connection between Heavy Metals, Fungus, and Gut Inflammation ✅ Why Radioactive Substances are in Tap Water (and what that means) ✅ The 3 Pillars Every Family Must Focus on to Reduce Toxicity ✅ How to Build Resilient Kids in a Toxic World

(0:00) – Introduction: Dr. Bloomquist, Functional Nutritionist & Toxin Specialist

(0:38) – Her Son's Eczema Journey & What Doctors Got Wrong

(3:49) – The Hidden Dangers of Topical Steroids

(4:49) – Functional Testing Revealed What Doctors Missed

(6:44) – The Protocol That Cleared His Eczema in One Month

(7:47) – How Toxins Are Passed From Parents to Children

(11:57) – 95% Success Rate: Helping Kids Clear Eczema Naturally

(14:12) – Why Biologics & Steroids Keep Failing Kids

(19:24) – Radioactive Substances in Tap Water Nobody's Talking About

(23:51) – 3 Simple Pillars to Detox Your Family Starting Today

(26:00) – Where to Find Dr. Bloomquist

DEIDRE BLOOMQUIST: 📖 Toxic Infertility: Detoxification Solutions to Improve Natural Fertility — Bestselling Author 🌐 always-growing.com | deidrebloomquist.com 📱 Instagram: @alwaysgrowing_littles 🏥 Functional Nutritionist, Speaker & Founder of Always Growing Wellness 🎯 Specialties: Pediatric Eczema, Gut Health, Environmental Toxins, Heavy Metals, Mold Toxicity, Fertility & Preconception Detoxification, Inherited Toxin Burden

"I Was Given Three Months to Live"

At 19 years old, Dr. Nasha Winters was told she was dying from end-stage ovarian cancer: too sick for treatment, with nothing left to do but wait. Instead, that moment sparked a decision that would change everything.

In this episode of Rebels With a Root Cause, Dr. Nasha Winters, naturopathic oncologist and global educator, shares her powerful rebel story of surviving a terminal cancer diagnosis, rejecting the conventional cancer narrative, and later stepping fully into her purpose after years of keeping her story hidden.

Dr. Winters breaks down why cancer is not a genetic disease, how the body's terrain and mitochondrial health determine disease expression, and why the modern "war on cancer" has failed patients for decades. She explains how treating the environment around cancer, not just the tumor, creates better outcomes, longer survival, and higher quality of life.

This conversation challenges mainstream oncology, exposes the financial incentives driving disease management, and offers a radically hopeful message: healing is possible when we stop poisoning the body and start supporting its biology.

• Dr. Winters' terminal cancer journey at 19
• Why cancer is not a genetic disease
• The failure of the War on Cancer
• How mitochondria and metabolism drive disease
• Why chemotherapy and radiation damage healing biology
• Why treating the terrain instead of attacking the tumor is important
• How patients and doctors can step outside the system

In This Episode:

(0:24) - Who is Dr. Nasha Winters?

(1:32) - "At 19, I Didn't Want to Live Anymore"

(2:19) - Diagnosed With End-Stage Ovarian Cancer at 19

(3:30) - The Moment I Chose to Live Anyway

(8:25) - "I Don't Treat Cancer - I Treat the Terrain"

(10:01) - The Dark Truth About 'Blockbuster' Cancer Drugs

(15:25) - Cancer Isn't Genetic (It's Mitochondrial)

(20:36) - The Only Real Cure Is Prevention

(22:05) - Your Environment Is Either Healing You or Poisoning You

(27:30) - The Future of Healing Starts With You

(28:45) - New Book Coming Out/Conclusion

DR. NASHA WINTERS: 📖 The Metabolic Approach to Cancer 🌐 drnasha.com 🏥 Naturopathic Oncologist, ND, FABNO, LAC 🎯 Specialties: Metabolic Oncology, Terrain Ten™, Integrative Cancer Care

"Trauma Had Become My Biology"

Trauma doesn't just live in the mind; it reshapes your nervous system, rewires your biology, and can drive chronic illness for decades. Yet most people, and most doctors, never learn how trauma actually works inside the body.

In this episode of Rebels With a Root Cause, Dr. Aimie Apigian, author of The Biology of Trauma, shares her deeply personal journey from conventional medicine to trauma-informed healing, including her experience as a foster mother, losing her adopted son, and facing her own trauma-driven health collapse.

Dr. Aimie explains how trauma becomes embedded in the nervous system, why unresolved emotional stress contributes to autoimmune disease and chronic fatigue, and why the medical system often treats symptoms instead of true root causes.

This episode explores how trauma healing requires biological safety, nervous system regulation, and bottom-up recovery, not just talk therapy or medication.

IN THIS EPISODE:

✅ How trauma becomes stored in the body, not just the mind ✅ Why chronic illness often stems from unresolved trauma ✅ How childhood experiences impact lifelong health ✅ Why conventional medicine misses the root cause ✅ The 5 biological steps that turn stress into trauma ✅ Why safety is the foundation of real healing ✅ How functional medicine approaches trauma recovery ✅ Why patients, not institutions, will change healthcare ✅ Advice for doctors who want to break free from the corporate medical system ✅ How to begin healing trauma without reliving it

Timestamps:

00:57 - Introduction: Who is Dr. Aimie Apigian

01:49 - Meeting Miguel: The Child Who Changed Everything

04:26 - Losing Miguel: The Grief That Broke Her, And Changed Her Life

05:05 - The Big Realization: Trauma Doesn't Live in the Mind, It Lives in the Body

10:02 - The Nervous System Secret: How Trauma Gets Stored in the Body

13:55 - Trauma Is Not a Life Sentence: How People Can Actually Heal

16:39 - The 5 Biological Steps That Turn Stress Into Trauma

21:52 - Why the Medical System Won't Save You, And What Will

"Your Fillings Are Toxic Waste"

Your dental fillings contain enough mercury to shut down a school. Your home is likely more toxic than an EPA-regulated hazmat site. And nobody's talking about it.

Warren Phillips was an environmental scientist who spent years cleaning up toxic waste—measuring heavy metals, remediating mold, and ensuring contaminated sites met EPA standards. Then he discovered something that shattered everything he thought he knew about "safe."

The toxins he was cleaning up professionally were NOTHING compared to what was lurking in his own home.

After severe mercury and lead exposure, Warren went from a thriving professional with $100K in savings to unable to leave his parents' moldy basement. He couldn't drive. Couldn't have conversations. Couldn't even look people in the eye. Ten doctors later, he still had zero answers—just prescriptions he'd need "for the rest of his life."

What happened next sparked a movement that's now reached over 2 million people.

In this episode, you'll discover:

✅ Why the air quality meter in your mouth (after hot coffee) exceeds EPA limits by up to 100X

✅ The hidden petroleum-based toxins in 50%+ of your personal care products

✅ How "natural flavors" and "fragrance" are legal loopholes for neurotoxins

✅ Why your home's indoor air is more contaminated than outdoor air at gas stations

✅ The #1 thing you can do TODAY to reduce toxicity (it's free and shockingly simple)

✅ How to start detoxing on a budget—box fans, bungee cords, and floor mattresses included

✅ The question you MUST ask any functional medicine doctor before working with them

EPISODE TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 - Introduction: Who is Warren Phillips & Non-Toxic Dad

03:00 - The Mercury Exposure That Nearly Killed Him

08:00 - SHOCKING: Mercury Fillings Are Hazardous Waste Outside Your Mouth

10:30 - Your Home Is More Toxic Than EPA Gas Stations

14:30 - Feeling Overwhelmed? Where to Start (Simple & Free Tips)

21:00 - The Power of Nature: Grounding, Sunlight & Spring Water

26:00 - Why People Defend Toxic Products (Economic Interests Exposed)

30:00 - Finding the Right Functional Medicine Doctor

31:52 - How to Follow Warren & Join the Community

"Infertility is a blessing."

Dr. Ann Shippy isn't crazy—she's right. And she's got the pregnancies to prove it.

From IBM's corporate ladder (reporting to the plant manager in 9 years) to a functional medicine doctor treating what conventional medicine calls "impossible"—her journey started when the system failed her. Twice.

The fertility crisis no one's addressing:

→ 1 in 6 couples now struggle with infertility → Women at 31 being told they've "missed their window"

→ IVF pushed as first-line treatment instead of asking WHY the body shut down

→ Autism rates: 1 in 31 nationwide, 1 in 12 in California

→ Our children are drowning in autoimmunity, diabetes, and mental health crises

"When we're exposed to toxins a little bit at a time, they accumulate. The symptoms look very different." - Dr. Shippy

In this episode, discover how a former engineer broke free from IBM's "blue blood" culture, survived near-ALS from toxic mold, and now helps women in their 40s conceive naturally—including one at 47 on the FIRST TRY.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:

• Why infertility is your body's red flag (not a disease to bypass with procedures)

• The 3-12 month protocol that makes natural pregnancies possible in your 40s

• Why mold toxins are studied for biological warfare (and they're in your walls)

• How to treat long COVID and vaccine injury at the root cause

• What men's sperm carries as a "time capsule" for your baby's future health

• Why IVF bypasses Mother Nature when you should be fixing the problem

• The traffic pattern crisis: why there's no guidance on having healthy babies anymore

IN THIS EPISODE:

00:00 - Meet Dr. Ann Shippy: IBM Engineer to Medical Rebel

02:29 - Getting Sick Changed Everything

05:10 - Autoimmune Diseases Led to Functional Medicine

08:22 - Environmental Toxicity: The Crisis Doctors Miss

10:31 - Mold Toxins: Biological Warfare in Your Home

12:03 - "Infertility Is a Blessing" - Revolutionary Approach

15:08 - Why IVF Bypasses the Real Problem

17:26 - The New Health Paradigm: Where True Healing Happens

19:14 - Long COVID & Vaccine Injury: There Is Hope

22:09 - The Fertility Crisis: A Free-For-All With No Guidance

23:14 - The Preconception Revolution Book Launch

Dr. Elisa Song was told she wasn't a real doctor. Twice. Once for wanting to be a pediatrician instead of an "important" specialist. Again for daring to practice functional medicine instead of symptom management.

Now she's at the forefront of exposing the pediatric health crisis no one wants to talk about.

In this episode, Dr. Song reveals:

• The shocking truth about what's happening to our kids: Why autism, OCD, PANS/PANDAS, and autoimmune diseases are skyrocketing—and why traditional pediatrics is failing to address root causes
• The 15-minute appointment trap: How conventional pediatrics has been reduced to tracking milestones and pushing vaccine schedules while ignoring nutrition, gut health, and brain development
• Her "quiet rebellion": From that pivotal Stanford flyer to walking away from conventional medicine, how she forged a path that didn't exist
• Why it starts with pediatrics: If we want to transform healthcare, we have to stop chronic disease at the top of the funnel—and that's in the pediatrician's office
• Gut health is everything: The inflammatory marker (LPS) every practitioner working with kids needs to know about
• Empowering the next generation: How teaching kids to understand their bodies creates lifelong health advocates

Dr. Song doesn't just criticize the broken system—she's built the alternative. Her book Healthy Kids, Happy Kids is now being used by UCLA, USC, and Cleveland Clinic to train the next generation of practitioners.

This is where the healthcare revolution starts: with our kids.

IN THIS EPISODE:

00:00 — Meet Dr. Elisa Song: Integrated Pediatrician & Quiet Rebel 02:07 — The Flyer That Changed Everything: From Law School to Holistic Medicine 05:12 — Medical School's Dirty Secret: "Wait Until You're a Real Doctor" 08:06 — The Pediatric Health Crisis No One's Talking About 10:54 — How Functional Medicine Actually Works With Kids 13:36 — Teaching Kids to Take Control of Their Health 16:19 — Training Practitioners Who Give a Damn 19:22 — The New Health Paradigm Starts Here 22:07 — Healthy Kids, Happy Kids: The Book Disrupting Pediatric Medicine