Paleo Baby

Back on the podcast today is Steven Wright, the man behind Healthy Gut, a cutting-edge supplement line devoted to helping those suffering with persistent GI problems. After being diagnosed with IBS by several doctors, Steven found relief from his own gut health problems by following the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, and then spent years coaching others to do the same. His goal continues to be providing solutions for effective digestion, nutrient absorption, and microbiome balance. Today Steven is talking about targeting the gut for the purpose of optimising immune health. He discusses what to look for in a probiotic supplement, and explains how paraprobiotics are now being used to improve gut function. He describes some of the specific probiotic strains that have been found to modulate immune response, soothe rashes and improve exercise performance - and where you can find them. Steven also offers some of his best tips for supporting immune health and managing stress with nutrition. Here’s the outline of this

The beneficial role of physical movement and exercise in daily life is one of the few things we can all agree on. Extensive research points to movement as essential for living a long and healthy life. It helps keep our bodies strong, flexible, and mobile and helps maintain cognitive health as we age. So what kind of exercise should you be doing and how much should you train? If you have limited time and energy, what type of movement should be prioritized? Today for the third instalment of our Health Fundamentals series, Coach Megan Hall is talking with NBT Head of Strength and Conditioning Zach Moore about movement and exercise. They discuss why it's important for you to be moving regularly, and describe ways to increase movement throughout your day. Zach stresses the importance of strength training: why it should be the foundation of your workout and the 3 simple movements you can use to get started. They also discuss recovery, balance, flexibility, and mobility. To get all the details and studies supporting

Like most critical aspects of health, stress can be a double-edged sword. It’s necessary for physical and emotional growth, and we all know that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. However, too much stress can do far more damage than even a poor diet or a sedentary lifestyle. The trick seems to be embracing the right kinds of stress in the right doses, and under those conditions, it can be a catalyst for improved strength and resilience. ​Today for the second instalment of our Health Fundamental series, NBT coaches Megan Hall and Clay Higgins are examining stress and hormesis. They talk about simple biomarkers to help you measure your current allostatic load and then they discuss simple, practical things anyone can do to better manage emotional stress. They also discuss how to use hormesis - intentional and measured amounts of stressors like temperature, exercise, diet, and breathing, to boost your body's functioning while becoming better adapted and stronger. To get all the details and studies supporti

We’ve decided to do a series of episodes on the fundamentals of good health - each containing the best practical information we’ve come across for improving the quality of your life and achieving your goals. We’re focusing on the most commonly asked-about areas, such as stress and hormesis, movement and exercise, and diet and nutrition. Today we’re kicking it off with a discussion about one of the most important, often the most frustrating, and easily the most overlooked pillar of health: sleep. On this podcast, Megan Hall and Clay Higgins draw from their years of combined health coaching experience to bring you their best advice for getting great sleep. They explain why you should care about the quality of your nighttime routine, and they discuss the impact of light, food and exercise on your ability to sleep well. They also share their opinions on supplements and technology designed to enhance sleep and talk about some of the more common behaviours that can lead to insomnia. Be sure to follow along with Meg

Jason Moore is the founder of Elite HRV and Spren, companies offering deep insight into health, stress, and recovery using the technology of heart rate variability (HRV) and other biometrics. For the last decade, his products have focused on helping consumers measure physiological adaptation by essentially providing a snapshot of the autonomic nervous system, accessible within a simple phone app. There’s no doubt his work has contributed to the enormous popularity of HRV as one of the most comprehensive noninvasive biomarkers available. On this podcast, Jason discusses the latest advances in HRV technology and the many ways it is being used to assess and improve outcomes. He talks about the current applications of this metric, including endurance and strength training, and - more recently - cognitive performance. He also offers us a glimpse into the latest developments and devices now making it easier than ever to measure the status of your nervous system. Here’s the outline of this episode with Jason Moore:

Suffering from IBS for 6 years was a wake-up call for Angela Privin. Her gut issues were an internal cry for help, forcing her to identify what wasn't working on both a physical and subconscious level. After solving her own digestive issues naturally, Angela became a digestive health coach and a trained hypnotherapist. She now works with clients around the globe, combining hypnotherapy with nutrition, supplementation and testing to dramatically improve client results. ​On this podcast, NBT Scientific Director Megan Hall interviews Angela about the impact hypnotherapy can have when added to the functional medicine mix. Angela explains how being told, “It’s all in your head” by a doctor may be more accurate than we realize, and how thoughts, emotions, and traumas from the past can shape our current reality - including our health. She also describes the hypnotherapy process, and how you can break out of the stress loop that’s keeping you from reaching your goals. Here’s the outline of this episode with Angela P

Steven Wright is an engineer and the Founder and CEO of Healthy Gut, a company that offers hope for those suffering with digestive pain, bloating, diarrhoea, constipation, gas, and other GI ailments. Fueled by his own lifelong health problems, Steven coached, researched, and biohacked his way to a better understand of what’s needed for sustained gut health. After years of coaching others and reverse-engineering his own symptoms, he now offers results-oriented solutions for better GI health. On this podcast, NBT Scientific Director and Coach Megan Hall interviews Steven about some of the critical factors needed to nurture a healthy gut, including a healthy microbiome, proper digestion, and efficient nutrient absorption. Steve discusses all of the above, as well as the key processes involved with strengthening the gut lining, soothing histamine reactions, and reducing painful and embarrassing symptoms.  Here’s the outline of this episode with Steven Wright: [00:00:21] Steven's background and interest in gut hea

Today, we’re talking about diarrhoea. An unconventional podcast topic, for sure - but also an extremely important one. Diarrhoea affects almost everyone at some point. It’s one of the most common symptoms that something in our gut is not right. In most cases it’s transitory and we move on - but what do you do if it doesn’t just go away? We’ve touched on this topic before while talking about The Athlete’s Gut, but today we’re taking a closer look at this all-too-common issue. On today’s podcast, NBT Scientific Director and Coach Megan Hall is with me to talk about diarrhoea: the different types, the many causes, and how to fix it when it occurs. She talks about how diarrhoea is both a cause and consequence of gut (and sometimes systemic) pathologies and describes ten different things that may be perpetuating the problem. Most importantly, Megan offers specifics on what you can do to identify and treat your ongoing gut problem. Be sure to follow along with Megan’s excellent and detailed outline for this episode

Marty Kendall is an engineer who seeks to optimise nutrition using a data-driven approach. His interest in nutrition began eighteen years ago in an effort to help his wife Monica gain better control of her Type 1 Diabetes.  But since then he has worked to develop a systematised approach to nutrition tailored for a wide range of goals. Marty has been sharing his learnings at OptimisingNutrition.com and has developed the Nutrient Optimiser and Data-Driven Fasting to guide people on their journey of nutritional optimisation. On this podcast, we’re talking about optimising nutrition and data-driven fasting, two areas of focus that Marty has found to lead to impressive clinical outcomes like fat loss, reduced hunger, and improved metabolic health. Marty has actually managed to engineer and game-ify the building of a healthier lifestyle! Experience it for yourself with one of his upcoming 30-day challenges, including the Data-Driven Macros Challenge, and the Data-Driven Fasting Challenge, both beginning in January

Probably the most rewarding part of running NBT is getting on the phone with someone who has been working with us for six or 12 months. I recently had a check-in call like this with our client, speech pathologist Lisa Walker. Lisa reached out to us back in March for help with getting her health on track. Six months in, she was excited to report that many of her decades-long symptoms have resolved, she’s lost weight, and she now has the energy to do the things she wants to do. On this podcast, Lisa and I discuss her recovery from chronic illness, which included years of struggle with digestive problems, headaches, back pain and fatigue. While working with NBT Coach Clay Higgins, Lisa adopted a diet that works for her without counting calories or macros, and she’s implemented lifestyle changes that have vastly improved her sleep and quality of life. Lisa isn’t an elite athlete - she’s just someone who was willing to roll up her sleeves and make some changes in return for a life she can be excited about. Here’s

For men, testosterone is important for mood, bone health, erectile function, libido, strength and muscle mass and is also associated with lower levels of inflammatory markers, better insulin sensitivity, and metabolic health. It also may even have some vasodilatory effects, and higher testosterone levels are also associated with better health outcomes in general and lower cardiovascular, cancer, and all-cause mortality. Unfortunately, It looks like testosterone levels in the population are dropping, although more isn’t necessarily better. On this podcast, NBT Scientific Director Megan Hall and I are talking about testosterone: why we should care about it, how to test for it, and how to support healthy levels of this hormone. Megan discusses signs and symptoms of low testosterone and seven different lifestyle changes you can make to support optimal levels - before you even consider taking a supplement. We also talk about hormone replacement therapy, who might benefit, and some of the downsides to this strategy

If you’ve followed the NBT podcast for a while you probably heard Dr. Malcolm Kendrick talking about the tenuous connection between cholesterol levels and cardiovascular disease. Malcolm has published with The International Network of Cholesterol Skeptics on this topic, including a recent review paper entitled LDL-C does not cause cardiovascular disease. In the paper, they include both total cholesterol and LDL-C in their discussions, and if you look at epidemiological data, I think they make a good point. For instance, total cholesterol had almost no effect on mortality in the HUNT-2 study in Norway, and higher levels were associated with lower mortality risk in women. Or the ESCARVAL-RISK study, where higher LDL-C is associated with lower all-cause mortality until it’s well above 200 mg/dl. Or the In-Chianti study, where people over 64 had the lowest mortality rates if they had an LDL-C greater than 130mg/dl. The question then becomes, if not cholesterol, then what? To answer that we must resist monomania a

Each month for the past year we’ve offered our bloodsmart.ai group program. It’s an opportunity to use machine learning to predict—from a pretty simple blood test—what is likely happening inside your body (and what might be going wrong) along with expert feedback on the results from NBT Scientific Director and Coach, Megan Hall and me. The program has been very popular, not to mention a lot of fun, and people are going through more than once to measure their ongoing progress. On this podcast, Megan provides detailed feedback on the bloodsmart.ai report belonging to NBT Coach Clay Higgins. What you’ll hear is very similar to what goes on during our group coaching sessions. It’s a review of exactly what’s going well and where there’s opportunity for improvement - along with specific steps to take right now to improve overall health, based on the data, symptoms, and personal history. If you’d like to participate in a group program please email NBT support for details and be sure to let us know where in the world

The vaginal microbiome is often mentioned in passing - sort of as an afterthought - usually when we’re really talking about the gut microbiome. We’ve decided to give the vaginal microbiome centre stage today, and with good reason - it’s a huge factor when it comes to the quality of a woman’s life and health, and has implications for fertility, pregnancy and childbirth, and risks associated with sexually transmitted infections.  On this podcast, NBT Scientific Director and Coach Megan Hall and I are discussing the vaginal microbiome: what it is, how to assess for problems, and how to maintain a state of good health. Megan talks about the effects of vaginal dysbiosis on pregnancy and fertility, and how to create the best possible outcome for childbirth. She explains what causes disruption to the vaginal microbiome in the first place, and how ancestral health principles can keep you on track. She also outlines how to rebalance the vaginal microbiome when there’s dysbiosis, along with practical steps to take befo

One of the best things about doing this podcast for the past seven years has been how our guests have shaped nearly every aspect of my life and the lives of my family. Over the years my wife Julie and I have built an ancestral lifestyle we believe to be most conducive to health, connection, and longevity, largely influenced by the brilliant guests we’ve interviewed right here. The process has been nothing short of an adventure, and it continues to unfold. On this podcast, I’m joined by my wife, food scientist Julie Kelly to talk about how we’ve taken everything we’ve learned about health, wellness, and ancestral living to create a home life that truly supports and sustains our family. We talk about how we eat, prepare meals, and educate our kids and changes we’ve made over the years. Julie shares the immense value she’s derived from a very specific type of psychotherapy, and we discuss how our practice of managing stress has evolved. We also give an update on our adventures in cohousing, and the number one fa

Dr Gabriel Niles, MD has travelled many roads in his search for the ideal model of healing and flourishing. Prior to his training as a Medical Doctor at USC School of Medicine, he studied Traditional Chinese Medicine in Shanghai, China. He has organized and led multiple Circle of Healers retreats with the American Medical Student Association as a medical student, seeking to integrate the wisdom of healing traditions with modern medical science. In recent years, Dr Niles has been integrating the insights and benefits of Functional Medicine into his medical practice while remaining committed to keeping medical care affordable for his patients.  For this podcast, I caught up with Gabe after the Ancestral Health Symposium in Los Angeles to discuss his integration of Functional Medicine into a mainstream bill-to-insurance medical practice. We talk about areas where his approach differs from that of other family physicians, including his favouring of lifestyle changes over-reliance on pharmaceuticals. He also expla

Evan Hirsch, MD, is a world-renowned fatigue expert and the Founder & CEO of the International Center for Fatigue. Through his best-selling book, podcast, and online programs, he has helped thousands of people around the world boost their energy naturally, and is on a mission to help a million more. He has been featured widely on television, podcasts, and summits. On this podcast, Evan discusses the many different causes of fatigue and his 4-step process for treating it. He shares details about his Fix Your Fatigue program, which has identified 10 different causes of fatigue - and Evan notes that everyone has multiple causes. To complicate things further, everyone has different multiple causes, so no one treatment works for everyone. Evan shares resources for identifying the causes of your fatigue and simple steps you can take to improve your energy levels today. Here’s the outline of this interview with Evan Hirsch: [00:00:20] Gabriel Niles, MD introduced us at the Ancestral Health Symposium. [00:00:41]

Jim Stray-Gundersen, MD is a world-renowned expert in Sports Medicine, Exercise Physiology and Training for Sport Performance. Drawing from his lifetime of experience with elite level athletes and clinical populations, Jim developed and co-founded the B Strong Training System using Blood Flow Restriction (BFR). The system works by applying cuffs to the arms and legs to temporarily restrict venous return without occluding arterial inflow. Put simply, blood flow restriction prompts an outsize response from the brain to speed up the normal process of repairing and rebuilding damaged tissue with lighter weight and a reduced risk of injury compared to traditional weight lifting. Jim predicts the B Strong Training System will change how the world gains the benefits of exercise, improving longevity and quality of life. On this podcast, Jim discusses the important difference between the B Strong system and other BFR devices on the market, and answers questions about application and safety when training with blood flo

Ben Greenfield is a human performance consultant, speaker, and New York Times bestselling author of 13 books, including the popular titles “Beyond Training”, “Boundless” and “Fit Soul”. Former collegiate tennis, water polo, and volleyball player, bodybuilder, 13-time Ironman triathlete, and professional obstacle course racer, Ben has been voted by the NSCA as America’s top Personal Trainer and by Greatist as one of the top 100 Most Influential People In Health And Fitness. In 2014, my NBT co-founder and medical doctor Jamie Kendall-Weed and I appeared on the Ben Greenfield podcast, and to this day people tell me that’s how they learned about Nourish Balance Thrive.  ​For this podcast, Ben and I met up on the UCLA campus during the Ancestral Health Symposium in August to walk and talk about the harmful effects of loneliness and the importance of social connection. Ben shares some of the innovative ways he’s increased connection with others, despite being a self-proclaimed introvert. We talk about some of the d

Throughout 2021 we’ve had hundreds of people try out our bloodsmart.ai software within the format of our monthly group program. We’ve met clients from all walks of life – some athletes, some not – but most want the same things: to feel better now and to preserve healthspan later. Over the years – and especially more recently after racing was cancelled – my own goals have also shifted from athletic performance, instead landing on what needs to be done to maximise healthspan – that is the period of life spent in good health, free from the chronic diseases and disabilities of ageing. Talking each week to others with the same goals has become a highlight of my work week... On this podcast, NBT Scientific Director and coach Megan Hall and I are discussing my latest blood chemistry results and bloodsmart.ai report. I was pleased with my results a couple of years ago when my Overall Wellness Score reached a perfect 100. This time around, however, there’s room for improvement, and Megan offers her usual excellent adv