Welcome back to the Brain Health and Beyond Podcast with your neurologist friends, Ayesha and Dean Sherzai!

Happy New Year everyone!

We are thrilled to be back with exciting conversations and stories to share with you all. We are starting the new season by reflecting on 2020 - losing our mother, the pandemic, the war on science, our experiences with patients in the hospital and clinic, our research, and so much more. 

We are Sherzai M.D. on social media where you can follow us for the latest, evidence-based information on brain health.

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In this episode, we sat down with Dr. Frank Cusimano, who is a scientist, with a masters and a PhD in nutrition and metabolic biology from Columbia University. Frank is an expert in the field of nutrition and the microbiome, and there are very few people who have had his extensive research background and accolades. He also holds a Masters degree in biotechnology from Johns Hopkins, and is currently a medical student at the Arizona college of osteopathic medicine.

We discussed a plethora of topics in this episode, from the history of nutrition to the relationship between gut health and brain health, pseudoscience in the field of nutrition, protein, supplements, grains and the future of nutrition research. He is passionate about all things science, art, medicine, nutrition, and fitness, and having been a sponsored athlete, blends his understanding of biochemistry with human physiology and human potential. He is also the host of the Surviving Medicine Podcast. This was an incredible episode, and we hope you enjoy it as much as we did. 

Follow Dr. Cusimano on Instagram at @dr.cusimano

 

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In this episode, we have the honor of having a talented physician and a community leader as our guest, Dr. Columbus Batiste, whose passion for translating his years of work in cardiology to meaningful outcomes in communities is remarkable.

Dr. Batiste is a board-certified Interventional Cardiologist and Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of California Riverside School of Medicine. Since 2008, Dr. Batiste has served as Chief of Cardiology and is the founder of Integrative Cardiovascular Disease Program (based at Kaiser Permanente), where he advocates a lifestyle plan to prevent cardiac event for his patients, by helping them modify their lifstyle.  Over the years, Dr. Batiste has been recognized for his work in the community by multiple organizations. His ability to bring attention to healthcare disparities in the African American communities and beyond has been cited in many national forums. He is a bright light that will bring change to healthcare, one person and one family at a time. 

 Please visit his website to learn more about his non-profit organization called the Healthy Heart Nation, and about his project, Slave Food, a ground breaking project, where he provides information and insight regarding why much of the food consumed today is practically killing members of low-income communities, particularly communities of color.

https://www.thehealthyheartdoc.org

Slave Food: https://slavefood.org

Follow Dr. Batiste on social Media:

IG: @healthyheartdoc

Facebook: Healthy Heart Doc

 

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In this episode, join us as we speak with Dr. Aaron Spitz, a renowned urologist, author, and one of the featured stars of the remarkable documentary The Game Changers. Dr. Spitz is a national leader in health policy for urologists across the nation and has done some of the most groundbreaking work in the field of urology. He earned his medical degree from Cornell Medical College, completed his Urology residency at the University of Southern California, and then obtained fellowship training in infertility at the Baylor College of Medicine.

Dr. Aaron Spitz served as an assistant clinical professor in the U.C. Irvine department of Urology, specializing in male reproductive medicine and surgery. He directs the Center for Male Reproductive Medicine and Surgery at Orange County Urology in Laguna Hills and Mission Viejo, California.

He is the author of The Penis Book: A Doctor’s Complete Guide to the Penis, from size to function and everything in between.  He is has authored multiple book chapters and articles in peer reviewed publications and is actively engaged in clinical trials and research in the area of andrology, male sexual dysfunction, and male infertility. Dr. Spitz has done some of the most groundbreaking work in the field of Erectile dysfunction by demonstrating the influence of lifestyle on erectile dysfunction, as well as how it may be an early marker for cardiovascular diseases. He is also a frequent guest and part-time co-host on the popular CBS talk show, The Doctors.If you are a man or have a man in your life, it is imperative to listen to this conversation as it may save their life.

Learn more about Dr. Spitz on his website: www.aaronspitz.com

Follow him on social media: 

• Instagram: @draaronspitz
• Twitter: @aaronspitzmd

Link to his book: The Penis Book

 

 

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This episode is dedicated to sleep and sleep disorders and how they affect brain health. We now know that a good night’s restorative sleep is crucial for proper functioning of the brain – whether it’s cognition, concentration, productivity or peak performance. Unfortunately, until recently, it was not deemed important and brushed aside. But thanks to recent advances in the field, we have realized the tremendous importance of sleep for brain health and health in general.

To discuss this, our guest in this episode is an incredibly experienced sleep specialist, Dr. Noah Siegel. He is the Director of Sleep Medicine and Surgery at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, a Harvard Medical School teaching hospital in Boston. He’s Board Certified in both Sleep Medicine and Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery and is a clinical faculty at Massachusetts General Hospital. He is the Medical Director of Otolaryngology for Massachusetts Eye and Ear’s Longwood facility in Boston and is clinical faculty at Massachusetts General Hospital.  Dr. Siegel serves as the medical director for several sleep laboratories in the Boston area. In addition, Dr. Siegel is part of the faculty at Tufts Dental School in the division of Craniofacial pain, TMD and Sleep.

His approach is very unique as he doesn’t focus on disease only, and recognizes the tremendous role of lifestyle and prevention in treating one of the biggest health issues in western countries – sleep disorders. 

Learn more about Dr. Seigel HERE.

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Episode Notes:

Diagram of the sleep stages:

In this episode, we discuss the raging myths around nutrition and health with a brilliant bariatric surgeon, clinician, scientist, and a fierce warrior for the truth, Dr. Garth Davis. He’s the author of Proteinaholic -  a brilliant, fascinating and paradigm-shifting book that explores our false notions about diet, and best of all, presents decades worth of research showing the evidence and broad consensus on nutrition and health. Please join us as we discuss nutrition, public health, the prevailing myths, and the importance of scientific thinking. This is one conversation you don’t want to miss.

Here is the link to Dr. Davis' book,  'Proteinaholic'.

Follow Dr. Davis on social media: 

Instagram: @drgarthdavis

Facebook: Dr. Garth Davis

 

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We’re thrilled that you’re joining us for this exciting conversation with a talented physician, scientist, gastroenterologist, and the author of his newly published fabulous book, Fiber Fueled, our friend Dr. Will Bulsiewicz. 

"Dr. B" has all the degrees, awards and honors that you could hope for, but more importantly his courageous and comprehensive approach to Gastroenterology is going to open up your eyes to a beautiful interconnected world of the micro biome, the gut, and even the brain. He went to med school at Georgetown University, trained in medicine at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and in gastroenterology at University of North Carolina Hospitals. He has a Masters of Science in Clinical Investigation (MSCI) from Northwestern University and a certificate in nutrition from Cornell University. He’s board-certified in internal medicine and gastroenterology and an expert in digestive diseases and the gut. His book and his work are inspiring at a time when there is so much false information on social media about gut health. What you will learn from this conversation will change your life.  Learn more about Dr. B on his website, where you can order his book, Fiber Fueled.

His social media account is packed with a wealth of knowledge on health and wellness. 

Instagram: @theguthealthmd

 

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In this episode, we are excited to share our conversation with our kids, Alex and Sophia Sherzai, also known as The Science Kids, about living a plant based life, its challenges, its benefits, the science behind it, and how they think this is more than just healthy living - it’s something that could determine the fate of this beautiful planet. We bring our kids into this conversation because it felt right to have them speak for themselves and share their voice.  We don’t believe in keeping it in an article or a book and would like to make the lifestyle and the science behind it easily accessible for every family and community. 

You will hear us talk about why went plant-based and then transitioned from being a lacto-ovo vegetarian towards a whole-food, plant based diet, how the kids manage their social life being plant-based, what are some of the challenges we face as a family for being vegans, what are some of our kids' favorite snacks and meals, what supplements we use, some Dad jokes and other fun conversation. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. 

The Science Kids produce amazing posts and content on their social media and YouTube channel.

Instagram: @thesciencekids     YouTube: The Science Kids

 

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The date is March 23, 2020. At the time of recording this episode, and in the last week, our world and the way we have known it has turned upside down. Today, we‘re talking about corona virus, or COVID-19 with with our dear fried and colleague,  Dr. Shinkai Hakimi who is a pulmonary critical care doctor in Monterey Bay, CA. She has special interest in public health, has worked extensively towards healthcare for refugees, and is one of the most knowledgeable physicians we know. She is on the front lines and knows first hand the trajectory of the disease here and in other countries and how it is evolving.

Currently, in the US,  we have about 42,700 identified cases with 541 deaths. Compare this number to last week when there were 4,400 cases and 75 deaths, and a week before that, it was 566 cases with 22 deaths.

This looks as ominous as what happened in china, when the numbers of infected cases  went from 549 in January to more than 80,000 cases by the beginning of March. In Italy the onslaught started with 155 cases at the end of February, with a few deaths to more than 59,000 cases today with up to 5,476 deaths and its rising at an exponential rate. This is not necessarily the case in all countries. In Singapore and in South Korea, the pattern was very different, and it’s attributed to early measures such as screening for people with fever or flu-like symptoms, banning large gatherings, directing people to work from home, and encouraging social distancing, and after 6 weeks, they were able to curb the spread of this virus. 

There is evidence that our response - how quickly and extensively we institute public health measures could mean the difference between minimal additions to uncontrollable spread of this disease. 

We are already late both at the community and national levels. The U.S. intelligence agencies were issuing ominous classified warnings in January and February this year about the global danger posed by the coronavirus, yet we didn’t start taking this virus seriously until mid February. But even then, it was only talk and some mediocre local measures, but no major movement to mobilize tools and equipment for patients and health care workers, and no decisive preventive measures at the community level. But what is missed in all of this is what will possibly happen to our first line of defense - the health care community. 

We hope you enjoy the conversation.

We would love 4 action items from all of you: 

1. Follow the public health recommendations from CDC and WHO, which strongly suggest social distancing, and universal hygiene measures like hand washing. 
2. Don’t go to the emergency room or urgent clinics for menial procedures or visits as they are already overwhelmed. And 
3. Please contact your local and national policy makers to get them to support what ever measure needed to get personal protection equipment for healthcare providers.
4. Please share this information with your loved ones.

We hope you enjoy this conversation. If you liked it, please give us a review on Apple Podcast, and please share with friends so we can get the message of health, brain health and hope to a larger audience. 

 

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In episode # 12, we discuss one of the most important issues in the field of medicine - gender bias in healthcare - which has become an epidemic. Women’s diseases are often missed, misdiagnosed or remains a total mystery. There are tremendous knowledge gaps that are filled with hysteria narratives. Women are more likely to be labeled as “difficult”, “hysterical”, and “hypochondriacs” compared to men presenting with the same diseases. This has major negative consequences for both medical practice and the health of women. Join us as we reveal the profound effect of this bias across multiple diseases and their terrifying consequences, and shed light on ways we can help women get the appropriate attention and treatments for various diseases. We hope you enjoy this episode.

In the next episode, we take a deep dive on why women are affected by Alzheimer's disease disproportionally compared to men. We will expand on the relevant research that has been done to date on the subject, and discuss how the female brain is more susceptible due to various environmental and biological factors.

Also, for those of you who are interested in learning more about brain health and the work we’re doing across the country with our NEURO Plan, we recently released a free 14 day program that will help you take the first steps toward transforming your life and optimizing your cognitive health. Visit the link below and check out The NEURO Plan Academy to claim your free copy, and get access to some of our favorite recipes as well. 

https://courses.neuroacademy.com/p/14-day-neuro-plan-jump-start

Finally, if you can take a few minutes to leave a review on Apple Podcast app, we would really appreciate it. 

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