A PODCAST

To celebrate the publication of my book, The Simple Science of Wellness, I had a delightful 1 hour conversation with Mallorie Cracroft, MD, on the Uplift for Her Podcast.

Listen by clicking on the image:

Quick takes

• There are many simple practices with significant impact - Anyone wanting to improve their health should know about these: many are inexpensive and easy to learn, others take a little more investment in time, effort, or funds. All the practices mentioned have good research-demonstrated benefits.

• The fasting mimicking diet is my favorite single intervention - This 5-day, low-calorie vegan program can dramatically help with insulin resistance, autoimmunity, gut health, and even perimenopausal weight gain, providing benefits that are more wide-ranging than almost any other intervention.

• Free interventions may be prioritized before expensive ones - Simple practices like morning sunlight exposure have significant health benefits without any cost, and these “ancestrally aligned” approaches should be the foundation before adding costlier interventions.

• True healing can require patient education and empowerment - Unlike the conventional medical model where the doctor "fixes" the patient, sustainable recovery from chronic illness thrives on patients’ active participation.

Favorite finds

• The fasting mimicking diet can be done with food you prepare yourself, or with a kit from L-Nutra called ProLon. If you have been a patient of Myrto Ashe’s practice, ask us for a discounted kit.

• A fast and powerful way to improve heart rate variability and reduce anxiety can be found on The Tapping Solution (app on your phone). Try the “anxiety” meditation.

• Unrelated to medicine, but my favorite podcast: Golden State Naturalist with Michelle Fullner.

• Another interesting and very diverse podcast, this one with a medical focus: Ground Truths with Eric Topol, MD

• An oldie but goodie, also not medically focused: This American Life, with Ira Glass.

• Finally: my most favorite episode ever, on any podcast, Zoozve on Radiolab. If you’ve missed it, your life is incomplete!

Deep Dive

Interview on The Simple Science of Wellness

This is a podcast interview about my book The Simple Science of Wellness: 60 Unusually Effective and Accessible Practices to Restore Your Health and Vitality. For those who don’t feel like listening to a podcast, here is a summary of the transcript.

For those of you missing learning about medical topics, next week’s newsletter will explain what we need to know to address optimal early recovery from stroke and head injury.

Approach to Chronic Illness

Dr. Ashe typically sees patients who:

• Are unsatisfied with conventional medicine

• Don't want to take prescribed medications

• Were told nothing is wrong with them

• Were told nothing can be done to help them

She's particularly successful with patients experiencing:

• GI issues

• Cognitive decline

• Longevity concerns

Initial Assessment Process

When working with new patients, Dr. Ashe follows three main steps:

1. Comprehensive history (45-90 minutes)

2. Identify quick interventions for immediate relief

3. Implement three core interventions simultaneously:

   • Testing and optimizing nutrients (omega-3 fatty acids are the most common deficiency)

   • Addressing glucose regulation

   • Optimizing gut bacteria/microbiome

Dr. Ashe emphasizes the importance of patient ownership in healing chronic illness, agreeing with Dr. Cracroft that patients have often not been satisfied with the conventional medical paradigm of "I am the doctor, I will heal you" when it comes to complex chronic conditions.

The Book: "The Simple Science of Wellness"

The book presents 60 research-backed practices organized as follows:

• Free and low-cost interventions

• No-cost practices that require learning

• Premium interventions worth the investment

• Methods for tracking progress and maintaining motivation

What Dr. Cracroft (the host) felt sets this book apart is its focus on doable, straightforward approaches rather than overwhelming information. Dr. Ashe emphasizes using the simplest, most ancestrally aligned interventions first.

Key Practices from the Book

Dr. Ashe's favorite intervention is the fasting mimicking diet:

• 5-day vegan, low-protein, very low-calorie program

• Benefits autoimmunity, glucose regulation, cholesterol, gut health

• More effective than water fasting

• Can dramatically help with various conditions including insulin resistance, ulcerative colitis, and perimenopausal weight gain

Other valuable practices include:

• Getting morning sunlight exposure (free and simple) to help falling asleep

• Breath work for improving heart rate variability, a risk factor for many illnesses

• Tapping techniques to reduce anxiety (and much more)

• Specific journaling approaches that impact immune function

Dr. Ashe recommends readers highlight practices relevant to their conditions and implement them gradually, focusing on one practice at a time rather than trying to overhaul everything at once.

Finding Balance

The interview addresses the challenge of balancing strictness required for healing with avoiding obsession. Dr. Ashe recommends patients try her approach for 2-3 months, then evaluate which changes created the most benefit, which are worth maintaining, and develop a "flare protocol" for symptom recurrence.

The goal is to eventually give patients their own tools and knowledge so they become less dependent on practitioners.