The MD and Chef Team Podcast
Combined expertise of a Medical Doctor and a Culinary Nutrition Expert Chef: With decades of experience in traditional medicine, professional cooking, and functional/integrative medicine, we can assess your health and lifestyle from all angles. We provide whole-body health guidance while also showing you how to use food as medicine every day. We're bringing health home using our combined 40+ years of helping people heal.
Because health doesn’t start and end at the doctor’s office. It starts with your thoughts, the foods you eat, and the habits you nurture each day. At home, work, schools, and places of worship.
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The MD and Chef Team Podcast
Transforming Mental Health by Enhancing Brain Function
What if many mental health issues could be traced back to the health of your brain rather than just psychological factors? Join us as Dr. Isabel and Chef Michael unravel the profound connection between brain health and mental wellness. Drawing from Dr. Isabel's personal journey from a frustrated medical doctor to a proactive disease-prevention advocate, we illustrate how optimizing your brain health can lead to a more resilient and vibrant life. Using powerful metaphors like the palm tree weathering a hurricane, we highlight how crucial it is to maintain your brain's health to navigate life's challenges with grace and strength.
But we don't stop there. We delve into the transformative role of hormones in brain health, moving beyond mainstream medicine to offer insights inspired by Dr. Dale Bredesen's research on Alzheimer's. Discover the significance of hormones such as estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, vitamin D, DHEA, pregnenolone, and cortisol in improving mood, sleep, and cognitive function. Learn about the Pre-Code report and how managing hormone imbalances can prevent cognitive decline, helping you achieve your optimal health. Tune in for actionable advice and empowering stories to help you manage your inner critic and embrace your inner cheerleader for a better quality of life.
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coming up on this episode of the MD and Chef Team Show. It doesn't matter what people say, it doesn't matter what kind of bad news does come. I'm able to handle it because my brain health is an optimal.
Speaker 2:Oh, it is optimal.
Speaker 1:Yeah, your brain health is optimal and that will lead to your mental wellness to deal with anything that happens. Like nothing scares you because you're able to be like a palm tree in a hurricane. Have you ever seen a palm tree in a hurricane? Well, I have studied palm trees and hurricanes and you know what? They don't break, they bend, they bend and they touch the top of their head onto the ground and then they come back up. Okay, so that's what we're talking about. Yeah, welcome to the show from the MD and Chef team.
Speaker 1:I'm Dr Isabel, medical doctor here at the MD and Chef team, and who are you?
Speaker 3:I'm Chef Michael, culinary nutrition expert. I'm the chef part of the team.
Speaker 1:And what are we going to talk about, babe? Now, I can say that because he's my husband.
Speaker 3:Yes, well then, we'll be talking about marriage, relationships, parenting, intimacy. We'll talk about mindsets of success, overcoming depression, anxiety. I'll be getting into functional nutrition, recipes and tips from the kitchen, and we're going to both get into how to live a long, healthy, vibrant life.
Speaker 1:Yes, I love it. Our mission is to help you prevent and reverse disease and give you hope in the process. Oh yeah we like to have fun too, so let's get on with the show.
Speaker 2:Hello and welcome to the MD and Chef team, and in today's show I have a very special guest with me. Oh, yes, you know this lady, you know this doctor, my beautiful wife Isabel, and your doctor on a mission. Dr Isabel, how are you? My dear Hi sweetheart, how are you doing? I'm good, I'm good, great. Oh, I just had to prep you up there, bring you in on the show.
Speaker 1:Thank you, you make me sound very good.
Speaker 2:Well, you make it easy.
Speaker 1:What do you got for that we can serve our listeners with today? My dear Well, today I would like to share with you how to optimize your brain health so that you have your best life, because the latest science is showing us that we don't have a mental illness issue. Okay, we kind of need to scrap that to the side. It's not a mental illness issue that we're seeing, it's a poor brain health issue. And when we learn how to deal with or fix or correct or support the contributors that are affecting our illness, with our brain health, then we're going to end up having good brain health, which will lead to excellent mental health. And you know, when we've got good mental health, we're able to deal with the punches of life because, let's face it right, kaboom, it's going to happen Sooner or later. I mean, I'm not a negative person, I'm not somebody who's a pessimist, but let's face it, life does happen.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we've been around this planet long enough to know that stuff's going to happen. You could use whatever you were there. That I said stuff. You can insert whatever word you want, right, but it's going to happen.
Speaker 1:It's going to happen. So you don't want to fear bad news, but you want to know that, look, it doesn't matter what happens, it doesn't matter what people say, it doesn't matter what kind of bad news does come. I'm able to handle it because my brain health is an optimal.
Speaker 2:Oh, it is optimal.
Speaker 1:Yeah, your brain health is is optimal and that will lead to your mental wellness to deal with anything that happens. Like nothing scares you because you're able to be like a palm tree in a hurricane. Have you be like a palm tree in a hurricane? Have you ever seen a palm tree in a hurricane? Well, I have studied palm trees in hurricanes and you know what. They don't break. They bend, they bend and they touch the top of their head onto the ground and then they come back up. Okay, so that's what we're talking about.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, they come back up, okay. So that's what we're talking about. Yes, yes, and I I know and I think that you are going to share in some of your own personal stories about life kicking you around so how you came to these revelations of having to work on optimal brain health so that you can handle things in life. Have a few things happen to you in life, my dear.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, you know how it is. I've learned to become that palm tree.
Speaker 2:Yes, instead of just going doink.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and just to share a little bit about my story. In 2013, I was a very frustrated doctor. I came to the realization that we don't have a healthcare system, we've got disease management, and I wasn't helping my patients get better. I was just keeping them on well with their three monthly visits and repeating their prescriptions. I wasn't reversing or stopping any of their diseases. And so, in 2013, michael and I both agreed that I was going to go ahead and start Doctor on a Mission, and we both agreed that it was going to be to prevent and reverse disease and give people hope. Because you know what? Without hope, it is impossible to move forward.
Speaker 1:And a year later, 2014, just one day, I realized, wow, I'm a doctor, I'm a wife, I'm a mother and now I'm a brand new entrepreneur. And I've never learned how to do online education or social media education in school. I'm learning this as I go and I'm one of these fast people. I want results fast. I'm not a patient person, I'm getting patient. And a year after starting Doctor on a Mission, it hadn't grown as fast as I had wanted it to.
Speaker 2:It basically hadn't grown at all, actually, right, yeah.
Speaker 1:But you know, there's a season for growth and we weren't in that season, but I tried to make it that season. And then I got really. I became very anxious and overwhelmed and I was listening to the inner critic, you know, like, what are you doing? You can't do this. You can't help people, you know, on the Internet or over on online courses and stuff. And so that was night after night after night, and when I become anxious I don't sleep, and for 17 straight nights I only slept two hours maximum, maybe three each night. You can imagine how I was by the end of those 17 nights. Now I tried to take my life twice in a three-day period and by the grace of God that plan was stopped. It was interrupted and my husband took me to go see our pastors, who helped us greatly, and then off to the doctor.
Speaker 1:And the doctor said Isabel, you got to see the psychiatrist, and for a medical doctor to see a psychiatrist is taboo. We're not supposed to need a psychiatrist. And I was very afraid of not being able to do my passion for the rest of my life, which was be a doctor. However, I did want to get help and the doctor the psychiatrist said Isabel, you're going to be on this antidepressant, and here's your sleeping tablet. And look, you're going to be on this antidepressant for the rest of your life. And at that point I had totally surrendered to whatever needed to happen for me to sleep because I was like you can see, I was in a bad place. But deep down inside I remember saying to myself I didn't say this out loud, but deep down inside I said to myself we'll see about whether I'm going to be on this antidepressant for the rest of my life. So I took the medication and I got better.
Speaker 2:Well, and the harsh reality was two things. Through that 17-day process we hear of people being claimed insane or insanity. Insane I was insane, you were. I was psychotic, you were psychotic. Yeah, I mean, this was a regular person a few weeks ago lovely, upbeat, bubbly person and within basically a month became psychotic. And even when we got you in to the mental part of the hospital that day, just after your attempts on your life, which were unsuccessful, they were testing you for all kinds of drugs because basically you seemed psychotic.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they thought I was on meth. All these drugs.
Speaker 2:And of course you weren't, but it was hard for them to understand about the sleep part. Were, but it was hard for them to understand about the sleep part. I mean, they even in the inside of the mental health system. They just were like, wow, I mean you know. And so when you hear of people getting some kind of a diagnosis of psychotic or insane or or whatever it may be, we just automatically think, well, that is just, there's something, you know, there's something wrong and you're right, something is wrong, but it's the brain health something has gone off and something had gone off for you and the other part was then the big awakening was for you.
Speaker 2:Here you are as a doctor, in the inside of the mental health system of, yeah, of healthcare, yeah, and seeing how it operates, see what was going on. And by the time you went through that and came out, it was like, oh my gosh, this is not good, this is not serving people properly. So that became a calling you know to like. Well, I got to find out what are the contributors to this mental health, to brain health, what's going on here? Because I can help so many people when I figure this out, because I don't want people to have to go through what I went through and to get to a place of being psychotic, depressed, anxious, all those things, and then also be part of that system which, once you get it put in there and you get that label, that's going to be difficult to get out of.
Speaker 1:Oh, you won't be able to ever get out of it. I mean, it's a diagnosis.
Speaker 2:Once they put you in.
Speaker 1:On your classification list? Yeah, but I'm using it. I'm, you know, luckily.
Speaker 2:You're using it in the right way for an amazing message.
Speaker 1:And it was great that you stayed with me, because a lot of marriages split during that. Like you went on this journey with me, you were very supportive and so michael and I.
Speaker 2:So thank you. I had about. I had about a I don't know how long the seconds were, but it was seconds of decision when I remember the gentleman looked at me and he said, well, well, the psychiatrist. Psychiatrist. He said, well, do you want to leave her here with us or do you want to take Isabel home? But if you take her home, she's your responsibility because we don't know what she could possibly do. And I was like, ah, she's coming home with me. I don't know how long it was, it might've been one second, it might've been 10 seconds, but it was. You know the reality of like, ah, no, she's not staying here in this.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I do remember saying to you I don't want to stay here, don't let me don't let them take me.
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh, what movie am I in here? I mean, we're laughing now no we laugh now, but it was serious. You want to talk about those weird situations of life. It was like, okay, don't let me take her. No, no, okay, she's coming home.
Speaker 1:Oh, because I hear horror stories, you know, from the doctors and stuff. So I was like no, so thank you, thank you for taking me back, okay. So Michael and I went on a five-year journey and learned things that were not taught in mainstream medicine on how to help your brain health. And now, look, I'm all for medications. There's a place for medications. Okay, I'm not one of those doctors that's like no, no, no, no medication. I see the. I'm functionally trained medical doctor and a conventional medical doctor. I see the benefits of both sides and there's a place for both sides, but not forever medication.
Speaker 1:So now I'm off the medication safely, I'm calm, and when I'm not calm, I know how to get calm and I listen to the inner cheerleader in my mind instead of the inner critic. However, there are times when the inner critic does sound louder than the inner cheerleader and I have to turn down the volume of the inner critic. I am of the inner critic. Are you afraid of having Alzheimer's? Well, you don't have to anymore. You see, the most up-to-date medical research now shows us having Alzheimer's is an option. Yes, you heard me right Having Alzheimer's is an option.
Speaker 1:You can learn how by having your very own personalized pre-code report. Now you're probably asking me what is a pre-code report? Great question. Pre-code stands for preventing cognitive decline and the pre-code report shows you what unique areas you can start working on right away. All of this has been made available by my genius mentor and medical doctor, dr Dale Bredesen, who has been researching this for 30 plus years and wrote the best book ever called the End of Alzheimer's. Having Alzheimer's is now an option. There is hope For more information on how to get your pre-code underway. Look for the link in the show notes. Now back to the podcast, and it's a full-time sport.
Speaker 2:I just want to say that's what all of us though I mean, that's not just you say. That's what all all of us though I mean that's not just you I think every human on the planet has some kind of an inner critic that attacks them at a certain time, and you know, we have to overcome that. Yeah, so that that's there, and we just have to be carrying down the volume yeah, as you said, that's beautifully said turn down the volume on that inner critic and make sure we're not paying attention to that one.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, that was from Jamie Kern Lima. Oh yeah, turn down the volume. Turn down the volume. And then also, now I know how to sleep and I also know how to stop myself from sleeping. Well, so that's what I want to talk to you all today about Just a couple of things, a couple of the contributors that really do affect our brain health.
Speaker 1:The first one I'm going to talk about is hormones. Hormones are huge and they're not really thought of in the medical field when it comes to sleep deprivation or to having problems with insomnia. Hormones women and men all have hormones, and women and men all have estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, vitamin D, dhea, pregnenolone, cortisol and thyroid. I just labeled a lot of hormones. These are the significant hormones in regards to our brain health, and I want to just go through what each of those does Not deep. I'm not going to go in the deep end, I'm just going to go keep it in the shallow end, but I want you to understand the importance that hormones are so critical to our brain health why, well, estrogen and progesterone improve our sleep. They also help us decrease the risk of Alzheimer's. Testosterone women and men have testosterone, and it improves our mood.
Speaker 1:If we don't have a good, optimal level of testosterone, our mood is affected, we can get depressed. And in regards to vitamin D, it's not a vitamin. That's a misnomer. It's made out of cholesterol and it is a hormone. And that's what all of our hormones are. They're made up out of cholesterol and vitamin D. If it's low, we'll cause depression. People will start exhibiting depression. You know, I've had clients where all I need to do is to get their vitamin D in optimal range and their depression is lifted. And the optimal range is not what the lab says is optimal. Don't go by that. That's just. That's just that's average Average. You're not going to be average. We want you to be optimal. Don't go by that. That's just that's average. You're not going to be average.
Speaker 2:We want you to be optimal. You're not average. We're looking to be optimal.
Speaker 1:Tip top form. You don't want a C you want to be.
Speaker 2:I'm just average. Okay, come on. Come on, you're with us here, let's get on. Let's be our best.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you want to be an A student? There you go. Yeah, if you're into that scoring system, but no average here. So the optimal levels of vitamin D are 50 to 80 nanograms per mil, and I'm going to say that again because the units are important 50 to 80 nanograms per mil, and I'm going to say that again because the units are important 50 to 80 nanograms per mil, that's NG slash ML. So if you get that lab checked by your doctor, make sure it's in that range and if not, then get it. You know, do whatever you need to do to optimize your vitamin D level to get it to that range.
Speaker 1:Dhea is a hormone that's made in our adrenals, which sit right on top of our big, beautiful kidneys, and DHEA improves mood. I never knew this stuff till I tried to take my life. Then I started learning all about hormones. Another hormone that's called the mother of all hormones is pregnenolone, and pregnenolone creates all the hormones cortisol and estrogen and testosterone. If pregnenolone is low, you want to make sure that is optimized. The next hormone that's also created in your adrenal is cortisol. Now you know that cortisol is one of your stress hormones and when you're stressed, your cortisol levels are high. Well, it's not very good for your brain to have high cortisol levels. Why? Because the science shows that high cortisol levels shrink a part of your brain or memory called the hippocampus Not the hippopotamus, the hippocampus and so high cortisol levels will result in smaller hippocampus, decrease memory. Okay, so we want to make sure to do everything to normalize, to optimize our cortisol level. And then the last hormone is the big old thyroid, and that's a gland that's right in the middle of your neck and that controls I believe I know that vitamin D. Here's a little bit of information vitamin D controls 900 genes and thyroid controls 400 functions in your body. So if you're ever on a you know game show, game show you're going to win lots of money. Remember, vitamin D affects 900 genes and thyroid affects 400 functions. Okay, all right, and you can share the winnings with me. All right, and you can share the winnings with me. And so thyroid has.
Speaker 1:There's seven types of thyroid that you want to get checked, because doctors are only taught to check one of those and that's TSH. But you know what? There's more to that. So there is the TSH, and you want that level to be less than two. So there is the TSH and you want that level to be less than two. Then there's also the free T3 and the free T4. And free T3 is your active thyroid and free T4 is the storage. So it's kind of like, yeah, it's the storage of your thyroid, and then there's the reverse T3, which helps convert T4 to T3. Don't worry, I'm not going to test you on all that. And then there's also the thyroid antibodies, which helps see if you've got autoimmune disease, and those are your thyroid peroxidase antibody and the antithyroglobulin antibody. And then you've got your TSH receptor antibody.
Speaker 1:I know there's a lot of medical terms and stuff, but you know what? The reason we're doing this podcast right now is because we want to empower you to be the CEO of your health. What does that mean? It means to be the boss of your health, because it's crazy for us to think that healthcare begins in a doctor's office. Healthcare really let's think about this Healthcare begins upstream, way before the disease starts, way before downstream, when you're falling off the cliff. You see, and that's what we're trying to do here is help people upstream to become the boss of your brain, the boss of your health.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, I mean by the time you get in, because you're going, you're not going to the doctor people. I don't know. I've never heard of this. Have you ever heard of anybody coming in seeing you? Because you've seen somewhere over 500,000, a half a million people I don't know if they're like 600,000 or something like that one-on-one have any of those half a million people in your years of being a doctor? Has any of them ever come in and just sat down and say, okay, hey, you know how can I help you today Going doc. I just wanted to come in today to tell you I'm feeling great, I want it.
Speaker 1:Oh, never, Absolutely never. I was just thinking gosh, I have to think about this. But no, I really don't. But you and I do that to our doctor.
Speaker 2:We do, but you've never had that, and the reason why I say that is understand that when you or anybody else ends up going into the doctor to an appointment, that means you've noticed something's wrong. There's symptoms.
Speaker 2:You're starting to show downstream disease, when there's symptoms, those symptoms that you might have noticed them today or the day before, or even people, as you would tell me. There are people coming in going oh yeah, three weeks ago, you'll be like, well, when did you know? Oh, like three weeks ago, I noticed. But that has been coming through your daily, 24-7 lifestyle that you are leading and that could have started months ago, years ago, even decades ago, where that has started? And now you find yourself in the doctor's office expecting that in a 10 to 15 minute visit it's all going to be cured and done and you're all. Well, that's impossible. When we actually think about it, that makes no sense at all. What we try to do and what we think can be accomplished in that type of visit. Just understand, when you get there, accomplished in that type of visit. Just understand, when you get there, it's been months, years and possibly decades that that's been building when those symptoms come out. Well said, absolutely. It's not going to happen in a 10 to 15 minute visit. No, and so we're empowering you to become the CEO of your health. Okay, and I just sorry for jumping in. No, no, that's okay.
Speaker 2:I found that so interesting. What you said about the thyroid. You know most of the heard about thyroid or you know thyroid problems or things going on with the thyroid, and traditionally only one test is done for the thyroid and there's seven different areas that need to be tested for. So, again, as you said today, what we're here for is to empower you to understand that when you have some, if you find there's thyroid issues, you've got to find out somewhere, somehow somebody that will do all seven tests for you, because you need to see what the true thyroid panel is of what's going on. Otherwise you get like a tiny little glimpse you don't even get.
Speaker 1:You know, it's like trying to put a puzzle together with seven pieces and you get one piece and say, okay, yep, I got the answer.
Speaker 2:Well, no, you don't. You got one piece of the seven, that's it, and that doesn't work. That's not going to put the picture together.
Speaker 1:Exactly, yeah, yeah, so to land this plane from my tragedy. I just want to share with you that it's not a mental illness issue, it's a brain health issue, and once we learn, once you learn, once you take control of figuring out what are the contributors that are causing dis-ease with your brain health In this topic we're talking about hormones. You know, if that's the contributor, then you can get it corrected and see your brain health be optimal and have wonderful mental health so that you can deal with the storms of life. Now I have come to understand that it's not just one contributor. It's a mixture of other contributors which we'll be discussing on other podcasts. Today. I didn't want to overwhelm you because you know too much information is just lost.
Speaker 2:Yes, you know Good job.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Now I did have five more pages to do that. I know you pages, but you know what that inner voice said, isabel, that's a wrap, that's a wrap for today.
Speaker 2:Well, thank you for being with us out there. You're lovely listeners. We enjoy you. We love you. We're here to serve you. Thank you for joining us and we look forward to chatting with you again soon. God bless you and have an amazing, beautiful day. Bye-bye.
Speaker 3:Hello Chef Michael here. If you enjoyed today's episode, we would love it if you subscribed to the podcast and left us a review.