From Optimize W(e) to the Wellness Index Report Podcast

In this special Veterans Day episode of the Wellness Index Report Podcast, host Lindsay O’Neill-O’Keefe sits down with Sharon Jackson, Founder of the Integrative Medicine Chamber of Commerce (IMCC), to discuss her personal journey, military service, and mission to expand access to integrative and regenerative healthcare.After experiencing a massive stroke in 2015, Sharon became deeply interested in exploring alternative and integrative approaches to health. Her introduction to regenerative medicine in 2019 helped inspire her commitment to supporting others, particularly veterans and first responders.Sharon shares the influence of Dr. Carol Henricks, whom she describes as a dedicated advocate for veterans and first responders. She discusses Dr. Carol’s work providing free hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) treatments and the impact it had on her own vision.She also explains why she founded the Integrative Medicine Chamber of Commerce (IMCC), an organization focused on bringing healthcare professionals and practitioners together to advance integrative medicine through education, advocacy, collaboration, and policy development.Throughout the conversation, Sharon highlights the importance of honoring those who serve by improving awareness and access to integrative healthcare options.IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL DISCOVER:Sharon’s personal journey as a stroke survivor and her experience with military service.How her introduction to regenerative medicine shaped her advocacy.The role of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in her personal journey.The importance of expanding healthcare access for veterans and first responders.The legacy of Dr. Carol Henricks and her work supporting veterans.Why Sharon founded the Integrative Medicine Chamber of Commerce (IMCC).How healthcare advocacy, collaboration, and legislation can shape the future of integrative medicine.Sharon’s vision for a more connected and accessible healthcare ecosystem.Tune in for a special Veterans Day conversation about service, resilience, healthcare advocacy, and expanding access to integrative medicine.Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. The experiences and opinions shared by the guest are personal and should not be interpreted as evidence of treatment effectiveness. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional regarding medical concerns.

What if your clothing could return your own body heat to you as infrared light? On this episode of The Wellness Index Report Podcast, Lindsay sits down with David Horinek, co-founder of Hologenix, the company behind Celliant textiles, to explore biophotonics in the clothes we wear, the coffee we drink, and the products we put on our skin.David explains how Celliant embeds mineral and crystalline structures into fabric to absorb body heat at roughly 9.4 microns and re-emit it as infrared energy back to the tissue. Backed by 11 clinical studies, the technology is associated with vasodilation, more efficient oxygen utilization, reduced fatigue, and support for recovery.The conversation then turns to functional coffee through Original Source Collective, which sources high-elevation beans (3,000 to 5,000 feet) from female-run organic farms in the Dominican Republic for higher polyphenol content and lower acidity. David walks through the lineup, including Heritage 1805, Sagrada Harvest (Geisha), Coco Canuco with cacao, and Chaga Activated, and shares why their extraction method uses birch-grown chaga to preserve betulinic acid rather than relying on standard powders.Listeners also get a look at David’s personal morning stack: coffee infused with decocted clove, turmeric with black pepper, and ginger waters, plus eggshell protein, creatine, Ceylon cinnamon, microplaned cacao, and ghee. Add 30 minutes of daily sunlight and a cold facial plunge protocol (40 seconds in ice water, three rounds, two minutes apart) used to support morning cortisol rhythm and nervous system balance.On skincare, David discusses Astaglow by Alles Beauty, a biophotonic cream made with microalgae-derived astaxanthin and humic acid, designed to act as a natural sun filter that shifts UV toward the red and magenta spectrum. They also cover sea buckthorn balms rich in Omega-7 for mucosal health, skin elasticity, and hormone balance.The throughline: be the CEO of your own health. Prioritize self-care, track your own biometrics, and lean on natural longevity strategies that fit your life.In this episode:How Celliant turns body heat into infrared light, and what 11 clinical studies showWhy elevation, farming practices, and extraction method change what’s in your cupA step-by-step functional coffee and morning ritual stackThe cold facial plunge protocol for cortisol and nervous system balanceAstaxanthin, humic acid, and sea buckthorn as natural skin supportWhat it means to be the CEO of your own health

What if you could reach the same brain states as a psychedelic journey without the substance, the purge, or the hangover?This week on The Wellness Index Report Podcast, Lindsay O’Neill-O’Keefe sits down with Raffaele Gianfrancesco, Global Sales Manager at Roxiva Innovations and author of three books:Coherence-Induced Plasticity: Light, Sound, Vibration, and the Organized Conditions of ChangeTriadic Entrainment: How Light, Sound, and Vibration Shape ConsciousnessThe Minotaur Protocol: Using AI to Expand Consciousness, Challenge Reality, and Reshape What It Means to Be HumanRaffaele went from Wall Street to brain science after his own trauma-driven cycles of success and burnout. Neurofeedback helped him regulate his nervous system, and psychedelics showed him that joy was possible. Then one session under a stroboscopic light took him right back to that same place, with no substance involved.Together they explore:How the Roxiva RX1 uses pulsed light, sound, and vibration to guide the brain into alpha, theta, delta, and gamma statesWhy the “trauma brain” narrows both distress and joy, and how novelty helps break the patternDrug-free options for people who can’t or won’t use psychedelics: those in recovery, pilots, first responders, militaryWhat “coherence-induced plasticity” means, and why the hour after a session mattersGamma, deep sleep, and the brain’s overnight clean-upLight journeys as “training wheels” for meditation and subconscious reprogrammingIf you’ve been curious about psychedelics but aren’t ready for them, or you’re a practitioner looking for new nervous-system tools, this episode is for you.This episode is for educational purposes and isn’t medical advice. Light-and-sound stimulation isn’t suitable for everyone, including people with photosensitive epilepsy. Talk with your provider before trying it.Connect with Raffaele: roxiva.com | @roxiva.innovations

Americans spend an estimated $2.5 billion a year in emergency rooms on dental problems that an ER isn’t equipped to fix. Dr. Vilas Sastri set out to change that. In this episode, he shares how tele-dentistry is keeping patients out of the ER, how uninsured families can finally afford care, and why your mouth may be one of the best windows into your long-term health.In this episode:Tele-dentistry and emergency care. Dr. Sastri founded TeleDentistry.com in 2017 to give patients an alternative to the ER during nights and weekends. Patients connect virtually with a licensed dentist, can receive prescriptions for immediate relief, and get referred to a local in-network dentist from a network of 117,000 providers. The service is accepted by 109 insurance carriers, covering roughly 150 million Americans.The Smarty Plan for the uninsured. An estimated 72 to 75 million Americans have no dental insurance. Dr. Sastri created the Smarty Plan, a national discount membership covering dental, vision, and hearing. Members get reduced-cost in-person treatment through the Cigna network plus virtual telehealth access.Preventive, biological, and longevity dentistry. Dentistry is shifting from reactive emergency care toward prevention and longevity, with the goal of keeping your original teeth for life. Dr. Sastri explains how saliva testing measures biomarkers, pH, and bacteria such as Streptococcus mutans (a primary cause of tooth decay) to assess risk for decay and periodontal disease. He also discusses the strong link between oral health and systemic conditions including diabetes, heart disease, and endocarditis.Care that comes to you. For patients in rural areas, TeleDentistry.com offers home impression kits that use 3D printing and CAD/CAM technology to create temporary tooth appliances. Prescription-strength home care products, such as specific fluoride or vitamin treatments, can be shipped directly to patients.Dr. Sastri’s top 3 recommendations:Get regular check-ups on a schedule tailored to your needs, not just what your insurance covers.Try vitamin E oil on your gums to help reduce inflammation and support tissue recovery.Master the basics: brush and floss consistently, every day.Resources: No dental insurance? Learn more about the Smarty Plan: https://smartyplan.com/?utm_source=referral&utm_content=UESY6S56This episode is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional dental or medical advice.Some links in these notes are affiliate links, which means The Wellness Index Report may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Recorded live at the Translational Longevity Summit, hosted by Boston BioLife and the Healthspan Action Coalition at Harvard’s Enterprise Research Campus in Boston.Join Lindsay O’Neill-O’Keefe for a very special conversation with keynote speaker Dr. David Barzilai, Medical Editor of Pathways to Longevity, Harvard Medical School’s first Special Health Report dedicated to the field of longevity.Dr. David Barzilai, MD, PhD, MBA, MS, DipABLM, is a longevity medicine physician, Harvard Medical School Lecturer, and internationally recognized speaker. His work focuses on advancing healthy longevity through evidence-based and precision medicine.As founder and CEO of Barzilai Longevity Consulting, he partners with clinicians, health systems, organizations, and select private clients to turn the fast-moving science of longevity into practical strategies that extend healthspan, enhance performance, and improve long-term outcomes.Dr. Barzilai holds a PhD in Health Services Research and is an inaugural faculty member and Trustee of the Geneva College of Longevity Science. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Lifestyle Medicine and co-editor of the Springer Nature anthology Frontiers of Longevity Science. He is known for making complex scientific advances accessible and actionable for clinicians, healthcare leaders, and the public.Connect with Dr. Barzilai:X: https://x.com/agingdoc1LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/agingdocInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/agingdoc1/Website: https://www.barzilaiconsulting.com

What happens when a former SpaceX engineer turns his attention to the most complex system of all: the human body?Lindsay “LOO” O’Neill-O’Keefe sits down with John Whitman, Co-Founder of Nexus Health, to talk about reconfiguring precision medicine through AI-augmented clinical intelligence.John spent more than a decade designing and scaling enterprise-grade cloud ecosystems, from pharma-grade data centers to federal compliance environments running 1,500+ hypervisors and 25,000+ servers. As Principal Systems Engineer at SpaceX, he designed a greenfield data center supporting Starbase, the Starlink network, and launch systems, and built a disaster recovery solution for mission-critical systems across eight data centers. He is VCDX #226, a multi-year VMworld speaker, and a specialist in NSX, SRM, and multi-tenancy orchestration.Now he’s applying that engineering mindset to human data. At Nexus Health, John leads the buildout of an AI biogenetic intelligence stack that combines advanced analytics, privacy-first design, and machine learning to deliver personalized clinical insight. His standard: healthcare should be as precise, secure, and reliable as the systems that put rockets in orbit.His core belief? AI won’t replace doctors. Doctors who use AI will replace the doctors who don’t.Learn more at nexushealth.me

Dr. Steve Garan has spent his career studying the neuroendocrine roots of aging. In this conversation, he makes the case that the same part of the brain that guides us through adolescence and growth also sets the pace for how we age.In this episode:The hypothalamus as the conductor. Steve explains how this small region of the brain orchestrates hormone production and drives life’s major milestones, from adolescence to the end of growth to menopause (what he calls “the dirty M word”).Hormones like Russian dolls. Complex hormonal patterns, including estrogen, are nested inside one another and are built to shift over time. Those shifts are what move us from one life stage to the next.Menopause as an accelerator. Steve shares why aging speeds up significantly during menopause, and what that tells us about where to intervene.No pill, no cream. Steve’s bold position: aging will never be solved with a supplement or topical. The answer, he believes, is a device that can mimic and maintain youthful hormone profiles.Healthspan for all. The mission behind the research is to prevent age-related diseases like Alzheimer’s, dementia, and cancer by keeping the body in a youthful state.The tech behind it. How his team is using artificial intelligence and pea-sized, increasingly miniaturized chips to build the device, and why he estimates it is 10 to 15 years away.About Dr. Steve GaranSteven A. Garan, PhD, is Director of Bioinformatics at the Center for Research & Education on Aging (CREA) at UC Berkeley and a researcher at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. His work focuses on neuroendocrine aging and systems biology, including years of research on how caloric restriction affects the hypothalamus. He played a lead role in developing the Automated Imaging Microscope System (AIMS) and is credited with coining the term “phenomics.”About The Wellness Index Report PodcastHosted by Lindsay O’Neill-O’Keefe, The Wellness Index Report Podcast amplifies the voices of the practitioners, scientists, and innovators shaping the future of wellness and longevity. First we verify, then we amplify.Practitioners: nominate and rate the solutions you trust at wellnessindexreport.com.

Rhode Island is facing what gubernatorial candidate Aaron Guckian calls a “healthcare hurricane,” and in this episode he shares how transparency, data, and unlikely partnerships could help fix it. Host Lindsay “LOO” O’Neill-O’Keefe sits down with Guckian, the former executive director of the Rhode Island Dental Association, to dig into the state’s healthcare challenges and what a practical, non-political path forward could look like.In this episode:Rhode Island Works Smarter: Guckian’s fiscal platform brings frontline and union workers into the search for savings, with a revenue share for the efficiencies they uncover. A 24/7/365 anonymous idea portal lets employees submit cost-saving suggestions, and the savings are reinvested into priorities like healthcare.A healthcare system under strain: Low reimbursement rates and shortages of doctors and dentists are straining care across the state. Guckian walks through what he accomplished in oral health, including a high school career pathway, an expanded surgery center serving more patients, and grant funding for children’s emergency dental care.Why data transparency matters: Guckian explains his push for a dental loss ratio bill, which would require insurers to disclose reimbursement data. He argues that transparency is the one solution that applies across nearly every healthcare problem.Solving the “retirement cliff”: To keep new doctors in Rhode Island as older physicians retire, Guckian proposes a loan repayment program for medical graduates, with a clawback if they leave the state.Leadership through collaboration: Guckian makes the case for bringing together people who rarely work side by side, and for choosing practical solutions over politics. He also opens up about ten years of sobriety and why reaching out for help and breaking through isolation can make even the hardest challenges surmountable.Who should listen: Anyone interested in healthcare policy, state government innovation, oral health access, or leadership grounded in transparency and collaboration.

For more than 30 years, Carolyn Johnson has worked in women’s health, from the NICU and labor and delivery to psychiatry and beyond. Over and over, she watched women struggle with symptoms that were brushed aside. That experience led her to create SerenityNP, a practice built on the belief that every woman deserves a provider who listens, digs deep, and sees her as a whole person.Carolyn runs SerenityNP out of a historic building in Crystal Lake, Illinois, a space she dreamed of working in her whole life. Today, clients fly in from around the world to work with her. Most are women in midlife looking for real answers, and Carolyn’s focus is healthspan, not just lifespan. In her words, it’s all about the quality of the days.Lindsay first met Carolyn in Mexico, and in this conversation they talk about:Why so many women in midlife feel dismissed by traditional care, and what a different approach looks likeHow Carolyn combines bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT), functional medicine, and nutrition coachingWhy healthspan, or adding life to your years, matters more than lifespan aloneWhat it means to be treated as a whole person instead of a list of symptomsBuilding a dream practice in a historic Crystal Lake building that now draws clients from around the worldIf you’ve ever left an appointment feeling unheard, this episode is for you.About Carolyn Johnson, NP Carolyn Johnson is a nurse practitioner and the founder of SerenityNP in Crystal Lake, Illinois. She holds advanced certifications in bioidentical hormone replacement therapy, functional medicine, and nutrition coaching, and brings both clinical expertise and real compassion to every consultation.Connect with Carolyn: SerenityNP.comAbout the show The Wellness Index Report Podcast, hosted by Lindsay O’Neill-O’Keefe, amplifies the voices of the best wellness providers, experts, and innovators. First we verify, then we amplify. Learn more at wellnessindexreport.com.

The new season of The Wellness Index Report Podcast opens with Dr. Yasmine Saad, a TEDx speaker with over 1M views, founder of two-time Inc. 500 practice Madison Park Psychology, and one of New York City's top three psychologists. She shares practical tips for making sense of what you're feeling, fast.Then host Lindsay "LOO" O'Neill-O'Keefe puts those tips to the test on herself, uncovering an emotional pattern that so many women in perimenopause quietly live with. Curious what it is? Tune in to this hard-hitting 30-minute episode now.