In this Supplement Ingredient Series episode, Nurse Doza breaks down bovine adrenal gland — a glandular supplement with over a century of use, rooted in the ancestral practice of eating organ meat for nutrients the body needs to function. He explains how cortisol dysregulation can show up as afternoon crashes, mood shifts, and restless nights, and why adrenal glandular is paired with adaptogens and B vitamins in a three-in-one formula built to support the stress response.

Zen (Stress Relief) by MSW Nutrition is the bovine adrenal gland formula Nurse Doza reaches for himself — and the reason is the ingredient itself, which is genuinely hard to find on a shelf. One capsule delivers 125 mg of adrenal gland tissue sourced from Argentina, paired with four standardized adaptogens (Asian ginseng, rhodiola, eleuthero, and schisandra), plus vitamin C, vitamin B6 as P5P, and pantothenic acid. That's the three-in-one Nurse Doza describes in this episode: glandular, adaptogens, and B vitamins in one capsule, formulated to support the body's stress response and steadier daily energy.

👉 Get Zen — Buy 2, Get 1 Free: https://zen.mswnutrition.com One bottle is $69 (60 capsules, 30-day supply at one capsule twice daily). The 3-bottle bundle is $138 (regularly $207) with free shipping. August 2026 offer — confirm the end date before publishing.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. If you are pregnant or nursing, have a thyroid or adrenal condition, or take prescription medication — including blood pressure medication, given the licorice root content — talk with your provider before starting a new supplement.

Stress, energy, and sleep are tangled together, and sorting out which one to pull on first is a lot easier when you're not guessing alone. Inside the School of Doza, members work through this exact pattern — the 3 PM crash, the wired-and-tired evening, the sleep that never quite restores — alongside others chasing the same thing. Every Wednesday at 1 PM Central there's a live group consult (an "Ask Me Anything") where you can bring your own labs, supplements, and questions to Nurse Doza in real time.

👉 Start your free trial: https://community.schoolofdoza.com/c/start-here

Based on peer-reviewed literature:

Note: the citations above support the adaptogen and cortisol-rhythm portions of this episode. There is no published human clinical literature on bovine adrenal glandular supplementation — it is presented here as a traditional-use ingredient, not an evidence-backed intervention.

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Methylation is a chemical process running billions of times per second inside your body — and when it slows down, you feel it as fatigue, low mood, brain fog, and hormone symptoms. Nurse Doza breaks down what methylation actually does, why the MTHFR gene variant makes the cycle run less efficiently, why folic acid is the wrong form of folate if you carry it, and the four steps that support your methyl donor supply.

Bliss (Mood Booster) — $129

Bliss is a lemon-flavored daily stick pack built around TMG (trimethylglycine) — a naturally occurring methyl donor. It is formulated to support the biochemical reactions that require methyl groups: neurotransmitter synthesis and healthy mood, the conversion of homocysteine to glutathione, and liver health.*

If the episode described you — normal labs, still running on empty — Bliss is the piece that feeds the cycle directly instead of asking your genetics to do the conversion work.

👉 Get Bliss here: https://mswnutrition.com/products/bliss

Understanding methylation is one thing. Knowing which form of B12 to take, what to ask for on a lab panel, and what to do when your results come back "normal" is another — and that is exactly what the School of Doza is for.

Inside, you get the courses that go deeper than a 7-minute video, a community of people working through the same fatigue-and-brain-fog puzzle, and the Wednesday AMA — a live group consult session where you can bring your own questions to Nurse Doza in real time. It is live only, so it is a conversation, not a recording.

👉 Start your free trial: https://community.schoolofdoza.com/c/start-here

In this Wellness Tech installment, Jonathan Mendoza, DC, APRN, NP-C — Nurse Doza — explains why red light panels have become a daily fixture in his clinic and his home. He covers how red and near-infrared wavelengths reach the mitochondria to support healthy ATP production, why panels deliver solar-style input without UV exposure, how he personally uses violet light to wind down at night, and what the emerging 40Hz gamma-frequency research does and does not yet show in humans.

FEATURED PARTNER

LightpathLED builds veteran-owned red and near-infrared light therapy panels. Nurse Doza uses one daily and highlights this brand specifically because it offers more than a single red setting — it includes violet-spectrum output and adjustable frequency, including a 40Hz option he notes he hasn't found on other consumer panels.

Shop: https://lightpathled.com

Join the School of Doza

The School of Doza is a paid health-education community with live group consults every **Wednesday at 1 PM Central**, plus courses, protocols, and direct access to Nurse Doza.

Start your free trial: https://www.schoolofdoza.com

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5 Key Takeaways

1. Red and near-infrared light interact with your mitochondria, not just your skin.These wavelengths are absorbed by cytochrome c oxidase in the electron transport chain, which supports healthy ATP production — the mechanism researchers call photobiomodulation.

2. A panel delivers solar-style light input without the UV load.Most people spend the majority of daylight hours indoors under light their cells don't recognize. Red light panels are one way to add that input without the burn risk that comes with UV exposure.

3. Panels are low-friction to use. No undressing required — Nurse Doza sits in front of his and lets it hit his forehead. He uses sessions in the two-to-five-minute range as his own personal routine, not a prescribed protocol.

4. Violet light sits at the opposite end of the visible spectrum from red. Nurse Doza reports using violet output in the evening as part of his wind-down. This is his subjective experience — violet-specific calming effects are not yet well established in the peer-reviewed literature.

5. The 40Hz frequency setting is an area of active research, not settled science. Gamma-frequency entrainment at 40Hz has been studied for its effects on brain activity, but the most-cited amyloid findings are from animal models and have published author corrections. Interesting, worth following — not a treatment.

Citations:

1. de Freitas LF, Hamblin MR. **Proposed Mechanisms of Photobiomodulation or Low-Level Light Therapy.** *IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics.* 2016. PMID: 28070154 — https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28070154/

2. Hamblin MR. **Mechanisms and Mitochondrial Redox Signaling in Photobiomodulation.** *Photochemistry and Photobiology.* 2018. PMID: 29164625 — https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29164625/

3. Maghfour J, Ozog DM, Mineroff J, Jagdeo J, Kohli I, Lim HW. **Photobiomodulation CME Part I: Overview and Mechanism of Action.** *Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.* 2024. PMID: 38309304 — https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38309304/

4. Nairuz T, Cho S, Lee JH. **Photobiomodulation Therapy on Brain: Pioneering an Innovative Approach to Revolutionize Cognitive Dynamics.** *Cells.* 2024. PMID: 38891098 — https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38891098/

5. Iaccarino HF, Singer AC, Martorell AJ, et al. **Gamma frequency entrainment attenuates amyloid load and modifies microglia.** *Nature.* 2016;540:230–235. PMID: 27929004 · PMCID: PMC5656389 — https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5656389/

Bonus — sleep and LED light therapy:

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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwcKyagDi468WscAOWM5VHA

In this School of Doza episode, Nurse Doza opens the Metabolic Series with the adrenal glands — and why you may feel tired all day, crash between 2 and 4 PM, and wake up unrested. He explains how chronic stress can keep the body stuck in fight-or-flight, why that pattern is hard to shift, and the daily levers he leans on: belly breathing, less screen time at night, and morning sunlight. Then he breaks down Zen by MSW Nutrition — adrenal glandular plus four adaptogens — for stress support.

FEATURED PARTNER

Zen by MSW Nutrition is built in three layers rather than a single botanical: **125 mg of adrenal glandular tissue** (bovine, sourced from Argentina), **four standardized adaptogens** — Asian ginseng, rhodiola, eleuthero, and schisandra — plus **cofactor nutrients** (vitamin C, B6 as P5P, and pantothenic acid). Licorice rounds out the 9-ingredient formula. It's the supplement Nurse Doza reaches for when the goal is supporting the adrenal glands and the body's stress response, instead of layering more caffeine on top of a depleted system.

👉 **Get Zen (Buy 2, Get 1 Free — 3 bottles $138, free shipping):** https://zen.mswnutrition.com

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Zen contains licorice root, which may affect blood pressure and potassium and can interact with some medications. If you're pregnant or nursing, have high blood pressure, or take prescription medication — including corticosteroids or blood pressure medication — talk with your provider before starting Zen. Persistent fatigue has many possible causes; work with a licensed provider rather than self-diagnosing.*

1. The 2–4 PM crash isn't a caffeine deficit.

2. Chronic stress can keep you stuck in fight-or-flight.

3. **"Tired but wired" is worth investigating, not self-diagnosing.** Persistent fatigue overlaps with thyroid issues, anemia, sleep apnea, blood sugar swings, and mood disorders. The symptom pattern is a signal to get properly worked up with a provider — not a diagnosis you give yourself.

4. **Three free levers, plus a way to track them.** Belly breathing, less screen time at night, and morning sunlight are the daily habits Nurse Doza returns to first — slow diaphragmatic breathing in particular has measurable effects on cardiac vagal activity. If you wear a device, resting heart rate and HRV are useful trend lines to watch over weeks, not days.

5. **Zen layers glandular, adaptogens, and cofactors.** Rather than one extract, Zen combines 125 mg of bovine adrenal glandular tissue with four standardized adaptogens and the vitamin C, B6, and pantothenic acid the stress-response pathway draws on — formulated to support adrenal function and stress resilience.

## RESOURCES

*Based on peer-reviewed literature:*

1. **HPA axis dysregulation — recognition and recovery** – Integrative review of how the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis becomes dysregulated under stress, and the diagnostic and management approaches used. *The American Journal of Medicine,* 2025. PMID 40499704 — https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40499704/

2. **How adaptogens work** – Review of the system-level, molecular, and cellular mechanisms of selected plant adaptogens, including their effects on stress-response signaling. *Nutrients,* 2026. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13029160/

3. **Rhodiola rosea, fatigue & stress** – Systematic review of *Rhodiola rosea* for physical and mental fatigue. Worth noting: the authors conclude the trial evidence is mixed and call for more rigorous RCTs — the mechanistic rationale is stronger than the clinical trial base. *BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine,* 2012. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3541197/

4. **Eleuthero as an adaptogen** – Comprehensive review of *Eleutherococcus* root phytochemistry and pharmacology in the context of its adaptogenic effect. *Frontiers in Pharmacology,* 2025. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12605232/

5. **Slow breathing & vagal tone** – Randomized crossover trial showing slow deep breathing increases heart rate variability and modulates cardiac vagal activity in healthy men. *Scientific Reports,* 2021;11:20306. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-99183-2

## 🔗 Connect with Nurse Doza:

- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwcKyagDi468WscAOWM5VHA

Your liver and blood sugar are far more connected than most people realize. In this episode, Nurse Doza walks through five links between the two: how the liver stores and releases glucose, where insulin resistance actually begins, how stress and cortisol raise blood sugar without food, how all of it lands on your mitochondria, and what obesity has to do with the whole picture.

The Metabolic Pack bundles the three formulas this episode keeps circling back to: Liver Boost to support phase I and phase II liver detoxification pathways, Mitochondriac for resveratrol, quercetin and pterostilbene to support cellular energy production, and Zen to support a healthy stress and cortisol response. Liver, cellular energy, and stress — supported together in one simple daily protocol.

Suggested use: 2 Liver Boost, 1 Mitochondriac, and 1 Zen daily with food.

👉 Get the Metabolic Pack here: https://mswnutrition.com/products/metabolic-pack

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

If this episode explained the energy crashes, the 3pm cravings, or the blood sugar numbers that never seem to move, the next step is not another podcast — it is asking your own questions. Every Wednesday inside the School of Doza we run a live Ask Me Anything: a live-only group consult where you can bring your labs, your blood sugar, your liver questions, or your supplement routine and get direct answers in real time.

You also get the $10 course library, including the stress management course mentioned in this episode, plus a community of people working through the same metabolic questions instead of guessing alone.

👉 Start your free trial: https://community.schoolofdoza.com/c/start-here

00:00 START – Welcome and episode overview

01:54 – Class is in session: why liver and blood sugar belong in the same conversation

02:10 – LINK 1 — Your liver stores your blood sugar

03:52 – The four main storage sites: muscle, liver, fat cells, brain

05:10 – The refrigerator analogy: whatever is in your fridge ends up in your liver

06:10 – LINK 2 — Diabetes and where insulin resistance starts

07:46 – Insulin as the Uber driver for everything you eat

09:58 – What is inside Liver Boost and why those ingredients matter here

11:30 – LINK 3 — Stress raises blood sugar without you eating

11:51 – Cortisol, morning wake-up, and fasting blood sugar

13:50 – Zen, adrenal support, and the $10 stress management course

16:18 – Why exercise is the most underrated blood sugar tool

18:32 – The endurance athlete paradox nobody talks about

20:14 – LINK 4 — Blood sugar and the liver regulate your mitochondria

25:07 – LINK 5 — Obesity, resveratrol, AMPK, and PGC-1 alpha

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Website: http://www.nursedoza.com/

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In this School of Doza episode, we break  down the loop between stubborn belly fat and low testosterone: fat tissue raises aromatase activity, converts testosterone into estradiol, and releases inflammatory signals that can suppress the brain-to-testes axis. He then walks through five everyday factors pushing testosterone the wrong direction—alcohol, fast food, sugar, sitting, and poor sleep—and what to change first when energy, motivation, and workouts have all quietly flattened out.

FEATURED PARTNER

Zen by MSW Nutrition is the adrenal and adaptogen formula Nurse Doza reaches for when stress is the thing driving the loop. Every one of the five factors in this episode—alcohol, processed food, blood sugar swings, sedentary days, broken sleep—lands on the same stress-response system that sits upstream of hormone signaling. Zen pairs bovine adrenal concentrate with Asian ginseng, eleuthero, schisandra, and rhodiola, plus 150 mg of pantothenic acid, P-5-P (activated B6), and vitamin C, to support the body's adaptogenic response and normal adrenal function—without caffeine.

👉 Get Zen (Stress Relief): https://mswnutrition.com/products/zen Two capsules daily. Free shipping on orders over $149, and 5% off when you subscribe.

These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. Zen is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Zen is not a testosterone treatment. If you're pregnant or nursing, have high blood pressure, or take prescription medication—including blood pressure or blood-sugar medication—talk with your provider before starting a new supplement. Licorice root may raise blood pressure in some people.

Based on peer-reviewed literature:

Alcohol, LH, FSH & testosterone https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11759224/

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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwcKyagDi468WscAOWM5VHA

In this School of Doza episode, Nurse Doza reframes "I'm so tired" as a code with five different signals—and shows how to read yours. He breaks down the five types of energy the body actually runs on: dopamine for drive, cortisol for the morning wake-up, blood sugar and mitochondria for cellular fuel, glutathione to clear cellular clutter, and NAD for turning food into energy. Instead of masking fatigue with more caffeine, he explains how to spot the one you're missing and fuel it.

FEATURED PARTNER

Boost by MSW Nutrition is the "multivitamin you can feel"—the raw-materials approach to energy Nurse Doza describes in this episode. One stick delivers a big hit of methylated B12, electrolytes and minerals, plus antioxidants like glutathione and vitamin C, and it uses a slow-release caffeine technology for steady, usable energy instead of a spike-and-crash (a Caffeine Free option is available too). That's why Boost is his go-to for filling the nutritional gaps behind low energy.

👉 Get Boost (Buy 2, Get 1 Free): https://boost.mswnutrition.com

These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. Boost is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Persistent fatigue can have medical causes—if you're pregnant or nursing, take prescription medication, or have ongoing symptoms, talk with your provider before starting a new supplement.

5 KEY TAKEAWAYS

Cortisol is your wake-up energy. A healthy morning cortisol rise is part of what gets you out of bed. When it runs low, fatigue can feel bone-deep and may show up alongside low mood, muscle aches, or dizziness—so a constant morning slump is worth examining (and worth a provider conversation if it persists).

Blood sugar control feeds your mitochondria. When blood sugar swings or cells stop responding to insulin well, the mitochondria can't produce energy efficiently and you crash. Steady blood sugar supports steady energy—and regular exercise is one of the best ways to improve insulin signaling.

Glutathione is your cellular cleanup crew. This master antioxidant helps reduce cellular damage; a cluttered, "dirty" cell can't make energy well. Supporting glutathione may support insulin sensitivity and that lighter, more-mobile feeling—so sluggishness can be a dirty engine, not just low fuel.

NAD powers the food-to-energy conversion. NAD is central to turning food into usable cellular energy, and B vitamins, resveratrol, and taurine support that pathway. Taurine is a standout: beyond heart support, its action on GABA receptors is tied to calm, steady energy instead of jitters.

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Roughly half of the average American's daily calories now come from ultra-processed foods — and cutting them out changes how you feel faster than you'd expect. Nurse Doza breaks down five shifts that show up within weeks: steadier blood sugar and energy, a healing gut, lower inflammation, clearer thinking, and hunger hormones that finally reset. Learn what really separates processed from ultra-processed food, and why just two weeks of whole food can change everything.

🎉 Right now: Buy 2, Get 1 Free — mix & match any Boost flavor, lowest-priced item free, plus free shipping. Offer ends July 31, 2026.

👉 Get Boost here: boost.mswnutrition.com

Timestamps

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Connect with Nurse Doza

In this School of Doza episode, Nurse Doza shares his top 5 supplements for energy—the nutrients that fuel your body at the cellular level instead of masking fatigue with caffeine. He explains how B vitamins and folate drive methylation, mood, and neurotransmitters, why L-theanine steadies stress, how L-carnitine powers your mitochondria, and where adrenal and betaine support fit in. If you're tired, burned out, or foggy, here's how to build clean, all-day energy.

FEATURED PARTNER

Boost by MSW Nutrition is the "multivitamin you can feel"—one stick delivers 2,500 mcg of methylated B12, a full A/C/D/E/K and B-complex, electrolytes, and clean, slow-release energy (about a cup of coffee's worth, no crash, zero sugar). That's exactly the B-vitamin, methylation-supporting foundation Nurse Doza builds the energy stack on in this episode—the reason Boost is his go-to for clean daily energy.

👉 Get Boost (Buy 2, Get 1 Free): https://boost.mswnutrition.com

These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. Boost is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. If you're pregnant or nursing, or take prescription medication, talk with your provider before starting a new supplement.

x`

Based on peer-reviewed literature:

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Estrogen dominance is the hidden imbalance behind why your PMS, weight gain, and mood swings all hit at the same time — and most doctors never test for it. Nurse Doza breaks down four clinical reasons your cycle goes sideways: inflammation, dysregulated estrogen, your gut microbiome (the estrobolome), and an inflamed liver. Learn how your gut and liver actually regulate estrogen, why birth control isn't the fix, and the daily habits that restore a healthier, calmer cycle.

Featured Product: Boost by MSW Nutrition

🎉 Right now: Buy 2, Get 1 Free — mix & match any Boost flavor, lowest-priced item free, plus free shipping. Offer ends July 31, 2026.

👉 Get Boost here: boost.mswnutrition.com

Timestamps

Resources