S2E9: Mitochondria, Microbes and Meaning-Thriving from Inside Out

Your mitochondria and microbes are ancient communities that mirror how we live, connect, and find purpose. We keep turning to the outside to learn from others, instead of tapping into this profound inner wisdom. In this episode, I explore what these inner networks teach us about resilience, loneliness, purpose, and thriving from the inside out. You'll learn: Mitochondria origin story Lessons we can learn from mitochondria and microbial behaviors How Survival fo the Fittest has led us astray How mitochondria and microbes communicate with the brain The loneliness myth and what might matter more than social connection Go to my blog at culturalhealthsolutions.com for related resources and show notes on most episodes.    

Prompting AI chatbots is a new skillset humanity has recently acquired. In this episode we use our understanding of how LLMs (Large Language Models) work to gain a deeper understanding of ourselves in an effort to free our minds from ego. We'll cover some of the following:  How AI engines mirror the way our ego runs on old scripts and algorithms Why middle-of-the-night “why” and “how” questions usually come from ego, not your authentic self Meet WAYDE, the imaginary AI Agent I created to help free me Prompts to break mental loops and rewire your responses How habitual self-prompting can help liberate your mind and optimize your physiology Go to my blog at culturalhealthsolutions.com where I post a brief summary and show notes for most episodes with relevant links.     

In my clinic, I'm seeing too many individuals with heart disease that's getting missed due to imperfect risk calculators and AI predictions. There are some serious blindspots in our current risk assessment tools. In this episode, we cover: The current risk calculators and why they often underestimate risk Typical examples of a mismatch between true and estimated risk Key blindspots risk calculators miss routinely What you can do to better assess your own risk Lifestyle areas to focus on Go to my blog at culturalhealthsolutions.com where I post a brief summary and show notes for most episodes with relevant links.   

An entry from my journal and a passage from J.Krishnamurti inspired my latest episode, which views displeasure and discontent in an entirely new way. I share personal stories and lessons from my own life, and from the highly successful patients I see in my clinic who experience emotional and metabolic health challenges despite material success. Some topics include: The pleasure-displeasure cycle explained through my summer trips to India Why "extraordinary discontent" is often essential for growth Deep lessons from the movie, The Matrix (even if you haven't seen it) My own cycles of discontent and how they led to growth The link between metabolism and mindset Go to my blog at culturalhealthsolutions.com where I post a brief summary/show notes for most episodes with relevant links. 

In prior episodes we've talked about how suppressed emotions can activate the immune system and trigger disease. A critical skill is detecting these emotions and sensations as early as possible so you prevent emotional flickers from turning into full blown fires. In this episode we discuss some of the following:  Discover your body’s “smoke detectors” (interoceptors) in the heart, gut, and lungs Understand bottom-up vs. top-down emotional signaling Explore how ancient wisdom aligns with modern science  One of my favorite techniques to improve interoception, intuition, and manage stress Go to my blog at culturalhealthsolutions.com where I post a brief summary/show notes for most episodes with relevant links. 

Why are so many seemingly healthy young men and women getting heart disease? These are individuals with seemingly normal labs, no family history, who might even be exercising and eating relatively healthy, but end up with a heart attack or visible plaque on a heart scan test. In this episode we discuss: Surprise heart disease in seemingly healthy individuals Brief science primer on heart disease using boats and tunnels Concept of arterial flammability Commonly overlooked risk factors  Common personality profiles for surprise heart disease The role of COVID-19 and Microplastics Go to my blog at culturalhealthsolutions.com where I post a brief summary/show notes for most episodes with relevant links. 

That relentless inner voice—the one that replays past conversations, plans your next move, and won’t let you sleep—what if it’s physically affecting your health? In this episode, we explore the science of inner chatter, its surprising impact on your body, and how to reframe it to improve resilience and your overall health. We discuss some of the following:  The hidden science of subvocalization—how your thoughts subtly activate your speech muscles MIT’s AlterEgo device—the tech that can “read” your mind The mind-body connection—how inner dialogue affects digestion, immunity, heart health, and more Practical strategies—simple, science-backed ways to quiet the noise A special music experiment to help shift your inner voice  

If we only pay attention to typical risk factors, we will miss what I call the "surprise diseases" that affect so many of my patients and people I know. The heart attack or plaque (detected on a heart scan) in someone who exercises and appears otherwise healthy, the breast cancer in a woman with no family history, the autoimmune disease that appears out of nowhere. How can we avert these conditions? Understanding the mechanism of Emotional Immunity (EI) is critical so you can start breaking common thought patterns. In this episode, we explore the following: A Case Study of "Surprise Diseases" Emotional Immunity (EI) explained and linked to disease  The most common emotional patterns that overactivate and/or suppress immunity Key questions to identify if you're at risk How we inherit and pass on thought patterns that disrupt immunity

Meta Health is going to take a slight shift in direction with Season 2, as it incorporates more mindfulness, since it's not possible to fully optimize energy and wellbeing unless we recognize thought patterns that hold us back. I'm calling this the Season of Inner Change, and this episode gives you an overview on my refreshed approach to sharing my insights from the clinic, from my programs, and from my personal life. Some topics include: Why the shift? Reconciling modern research and ancient wisdom Format change to meet the demand of authentic human voices in an AI world Addressing youth

Peter was kind enough to allow me to re-release our interview from 2019 from his podcast, The Drive, Episode #69. Many people have found me through Peter and told me this was one of their favorite episodes. Aside from insulin resistance and metabolism, we end the discussion with a topic that really resonated with Peter, which is the impact of generational stress, social media, and devices on youth and how I've navigated this in my own personal life.  This is longer than my usual episodes since we cover a ton of important topics, so I included detailed timestamps below. I hope you enjoy this important conversation.  Peter's overview and perspective on our discussion (0:58) Surprise moment for Peter from our discussion (2:30) How a tough case of insulin resistance led Peter to my work (5:08) Metabolic disease in South Asian and East Asian patients (5:54) Triglyceride paradox in African Americans (10:38) Visceral vs subcutaneous fat and shortcomings of BMI (11:30) Cortisol and glucose variability (25:00) Mechanistic discussion of insulin resistance (27:20) Origins and evolutionary theories on insulin resistance (37:00) Brown adipose tissue and impact of climate patterns on insulin resistance (46:43) Vitamin D and hyperinsulinemia (50:38) Uric acid, high blood pressure, and fructose metabolism(54:05) VO2 max and Zone 2, including ethnic diferences (56:23) Zone 2 fitness testing to evaluate mitochondrial performance (1:01:15) Exercise for long-term functional health (1:01:00) Lifestyle changes to improve insulin resistance and other metabolic phenotypes (1:02:55) Aging and leg strength (1:09:59) Ron's approach to exercise and stress management for those with little time (1:10:00) Ron and Peter discuss stress management (1:13:00) Ron discusses his 5S approach to fatigue and stress management (1:16:00) The impact of family dynamics on health risk (1:17:00) PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) and its link to insulin resistance (1:18:34) Stress, adiposity, and weight loss resistance in females(1:20:00) Sleep apnea and insulin resistance (1:29:00) How a culture of achievement and expectations can lead to undue stress, unhappiness, and health problems in our children (a Silicon Valley case study) (1:30:10) The negative impact of devices and social media on children and Ron's approach to managing this (1:40:00)