Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Dr. Gundry Podcast. The weekly podcast, where Dr. G gives you the tools you need to boost your health and live your healthiest life.
Dr. Gundry (00:13):
We’ve all heard the saying that age is just a number. Well, I believe it to be 110% true. Especially when you know how to age backwards. You may say, “Dr. G, that’s impossible.” But it’s not. With the help of healthy foods, you can truly turn back the hands of time to live a longer, healthier life. In fact, I’ve actually witnessed this aging backwards phenomenon in my own life. For example, my hands and skin look younger now than they did in my forties and in the lives of my patients. So today, I share the lifestyle tips and foods that can help you reverse your chronological age. And, I also reveal the answer to my most asked question, what do I eat in a day to stay healthy and boost my energy? Plus, I share the diet that has taken the health community by storm, that is extremely dangerous and illegal. Yes, it’s illegal. So, find out how you can prevent the side effects of aging to increase longevity and maintain a safe diet. Stay tuned. You won’t want to miss this.
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Holidays are here and there’s no better time to support a strong immune system by fortifying your microbiome. One of my go-tos I take to help support my immune system, especially when I’m traveling, is a probiotic called Pendulum Akkermansia. You see, Akkermansia is just one of the good guys in your gut and is really the holy grail of microbiome health. It’s that miraculous mucus producing i.e, lectin blocker strain I rave about in all my books. And Pendulum is the first and only company to offer a probiotic containing the strain, either in a standalone probiotic or in pendulum glucose control, designed for people with type two diabetes. You see, Akkermansia is different from many other good gut bacteria. We lose it as we age, and you can’t replenish it with food.
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The only way to introduce it back into your body is through Pendulum Akkermansia probiotic. Right now, they’re offering a 20% discount on the first month of an Akkermansia membership, with code Gundry20. Go to www.pendulumlife.com and use my code Gundry20 at checkout. That’s right. P-E-N-D-U-L-U-M-L-I-F-E.com and use my code Gundry20 for a 20% discount on your first month of membership.
(02:48):
Can these foods help you age backwards? Well, traveling back in time is currently impossible. But, healthy food can help support a long, healthy life. So, what’s happening to our body as we age? Well first of all, we know that we have remarkably, a perhaps endless supply of stem cells. You’ve heard about stem cell technology as getting a big push. We think about stem cells as these primordial pluripotent cells, that are undifferentiated. They haven’t decided what they want to be. They haven’t decided whether they want to be a cartilage in your nose or a piece of your heart muscle or a neuron in your brain. They’re just kind of standing around waiting for instructions. And, it turns out that we always have stem cells in our body. Some of you may have had your stem cells harvested from your fat and injected in a joint or a shoulder.
(04:06):
You may have had them injected in your heart muscle. Some of you have probably traveled to Mexico to get placental stem cells or embryo stem cells. But that’s another subject. The point is, we have stem cells available to us. But, they just sit there and twiddle their thumbs until they’re called into action. So, what we want to do as we advance in years, is to continuously call these stem cells into action. And the more we’re learning about what stem cells do, the more exciting our options become. First of all, there are foods that support stem cell growth. Interestingly enough, greens and particularly chlorophyll and spirulina, actually have been shown to keep stem cells healthy. If you really want to know more about this, visit our episode number 165 with the founder of Energy Bits. Which are both chlorella and spirulina bits that you can chew.
(05:19):
And there’s a lot of exciting news on this front. Perhaps, one of the most really exciting news is, we know that the wall of our gut is probably the most important determinant for how well we age and for how long we live. And as I showed in the Longevity Paradox book, there’s very strong evidence that as long as the wall of your gut, which is the same surface area as a tennis court is intact, then you will continue to be healthy and not wear out. So, why talk about stem cells? Well, it turns out one of the biggest set of stem cells is in the wall of our gut. The wall of our gut is constantly replenished. We constantly slough off these cells and replace them with new cells. And the stem cells are what do this. Now, I’ve shown in my research that vitamin D is essential to make those stem cells actually turn in to new intestinal cells.
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And in my research, the higher your vitamin D level, the more you encourage those intestinal stem cells to do their thing. The second exciting news is that, we now know that polyphenols, those wonderful bright rainbow colors in fruits and vegetables and that you can also take as supplements and powders, are used by bacteria to not only live, but to produce compounds that further enhance stem cell proliferation in the wall of our gut. Third exciting finding is that, the more you practice time restricted eating, the more you compress your eating window to preferably about six to eight hours a day, what does that look like? It means, break fast at 11 and finish dinner at seven or break fast at noon and finish dinner at six or combinations. The more you do that, the more you allow for repair of your gut wall and the more you stimulate stem cell differentiation in the rest of your body.
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Now, why does that happen? Well it turns out, there’s is new zombie cells that have been discovered recently, that are so named because they are cells that are no longer functioning properly in our body, but have not decided to die. And they’re called senescent cells and there’s a ton of them in our body. Sadly, the more senescent cells that we have, the more inflammation that they produce. And the more they occupy spaces, where normal healthy cells could be. Now, cells die in one of two ways and how they die is critically important. If these senescent cells eventually die, they literally die by exploding and it’s got a name called apoptosis. It literally explodes and spews cellular debris around. Our immune system, our white blood cells go, “Oh my gosh. There’s been an explosion, there’s been a disaster. And we’re going to be called to the scene and it actually produces more inflammation.”
(09:35):
On the other hand, by intermittent fasting, by time restricted eating, what happens is that, these cells rather than exploding, undergo what’s called autophagy. Autophagy means self eat. And simplistically what happens is, the cell literally reprocesses all the components within the cell, basically takes the cell down to the studs and rebuilds it, recycling the components. And so, we can actually tell cells to not explode, but to reprocess themselves and start all over again. So, autophagy is what you want. It rebuilds cells without the damage, without explosion. How do you do that? Time restricted eating. How do you get stem cells to differentiate? Time restricted eating. How do you get stem cells in the wall of your gut to do their thing? Vitamin D and time restricted eating. All sorts of great techniques. Now, if you remember in my last book, unlocking the Keto Code, I stressed another way to enhance stem cell function, and that’s mitochondrial uncoupling.
(11:03):
We now know that mitochondrial uncoupling, that is having mitochondria not work as hard as they need to, simultaneously stimulating more mitochondria to be born, called mitogenesis, is hallmark to having a healthy body well into our later years. Mitochondrial uncoupling is promoted by ketosis, by eating polyphenols, by practicing intermittent fasting. So, you can see how all of these techniques that have stood the test of time, excuse the pun, all produce what we’re looking for. And that is, fresh, new, healthy cells regardless of our age. And the exciting thing that I’ve seen in my practice and other people have documented is, about every three months, we throw out a cell and build a new one. So that if you are using quality materials, if you are stimulating autophagy, you can actually get a whole new you every three months with good material. Then, that’s why you see such healthy ages in their late nineties, early 100s, who do not look old, who do not act old, and that’s because they’ve been practicing this throughout your life.
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Finally, mushrooms. Mushrooms are an unbelievable food for supporting mitochondrial uncoupling. I don’t care which kind of mushroom you get, but eat a host of different mushrooms. Get mushroom supplements, but most grocery store now are carrying multiple kinds of mushrooms. If you have a choice between the white button mushroom and the darker ones, get the darker ones. Okay. That’s how to live to a ripe old age and die young.
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Did you know that according to a recent report that nearly half the population, almost 165 million people are living in areas with unhealthy levels of ozone or air pollution? We take about 20,000 breaths per day. That’s almost 3000 gallons of possibly polluted air, including airborne allergens such as pollen, pet dander, and mold. So, what’s the solution? An AirDoctor air purifier. AirDoctor filters out dangerous contaminants and allergens, so your lungs don’t have to. You see, AirDoctor uses an ultra H-E-P-A filter that’s been independently tested to remove 99.9% of tested bacteria and viruses. And the AirDoctor 5,000 purifier is powerful enough to circulate the air in a 1000 plus square foot room, four times per hour. Plus, it’s 30% quieter than ordinary air purifiers. AirDoctor comes with a no questions asked 30 day money back guarantee. So if you don’t love it, just send it back for a refund minus shipping. So, head to airdoctorpro.com and use promo code Gundry. And depending on the model, you’ll receive up to 40% off. You’re saving up to 40% off. Lock this special offer by going to A-I-R-D-O-C-T-O-R-P-R-O.com and use promo code Gundry.
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How’d you like to give a holiday gift that will be appreciated every night? Well, lucky for you. I have two suggestions and a special offer from Cozy Earth. The brand that made Oprah’s favorite things five years in a row. And I’m sure it’ll land on you and your loved ones favorites next list. It’s Cozy Earth’s luxury bedding and luxurious lounge wear collection. Cozy Earth bedding is made using the finest premium viscose from highly sustainable bamboo. Plus, this bedding is naturally temperatures regulating, meaning you can sleep comfortably all year long and to make your life even more comfy, I’d recommend trying out or gifting their luxurious lounge wear collection from their ultra soft lounge pants, tees and pajamas for women to their popular joggers, pullover crews and hoodies for men.
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Cozy Earth lounge wear’s designed to flatter every body type, making it the perfect gift. And to make your life a little easier, every Cozy Earth bedding item comes with a beautiful reusable canvas bag. No gift wrapping required. Save 40% now on Cozy Earth. Hurry, this holiday offer ends soon. Go to cozyearth.com/gundry and be sure to enter Gundry. That’s G-U-N-D-R-Y at checkout to save 40%. That’s cozyearth.com/gundry.
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My favorite blue light glasses company, BLUblox has rebranded. This is such exciting news. BLUEblox is now called BON CHARGE. BON CHARGE is a holistic wellness brand with a huge range of evidence based products to optimize your life in every way. From blue light glasses to EMF management and circadian friendly lighting, BON CHARGE products help you naturally address the issues of our modern day way of life effortly and with maximum impact, with all the technology we use today. It’s important we protect ourselves from EMF radiation. That’s why I use a BON CHARGE EMF harmonizing sticker. It helps to neutralize the positive ion radiation emitted from your cell phone, that could be damaging your cellular health. You just stick it on your cell phone. It’s that easy. BON CHARGE is science back technology. Up to 99% EMF blocking technology that is, and it has been lab tested. Check out their YouTube channel for more details about their research. BON CHARGE offers other anti radiation and EMF mitigating products, such as EMF protection earphones, EMF protection laptop mask and EMF protection blankets.
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BON CHARGE also offers other wellness solutions to combat current day problems, such as blue light glasses, a 100% blackout sleep mask and flicker and blue light free light bulbs. All backed by science. BON CHARGE ships worldwide in rapid time with easy returns and exchanges. Go to boncharge.com/gundry and use coupon code Gundry to save 15%. That’s B-O-N-C-H-A-R-G-E.com/gundry and use coupon code Gundry to save 15%.
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With the holidays just around the corner, life can be getting busier than usual. But just because life is speeding up, doesn’t mean your body has to slow down. During this time of year, you may experience more fatigue than usual. But luckily, this is an easy fix. Just as I always recommend, make sure to avoid any lectin bombs on your holiday table, best as you can, that drains your energy. Another thing I advise all my listeners is to fill up on electrolytes. Electrolytes can help prevent and eliminate headaches, muscle cramps, fatigue and sleeplessness. LMNT is a tasty electrolyte drink with so many fun flavors to choose from. Plus, it has none of the junk, no sugar, no coloring, no artificial ingredients, no gluten, no fillers. It contains a science backed electrolyte ratio.
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1000 milligram sodium, 200 milligrams potassium, 60 milligram magnesium. LMNT is used by everyone from NBA, NFL and NHL players, Olympic athletes, Navy Seals, to everyday moms and dads and exercise enthusiasts, including my wife Penny and I. There’s nothing we love more than drinking LMNT before or after a workout, no matter the intensity, so that we know will stay hydrated throughout the day. Right now, LMNT is offering my listeners a free sample pack with any purchase. That’s eight single serving packets free with any LMNT order. This is a great way to try all eight flavors or share LMNT with a salty friend. Get yours at drinklmnt.com/gundry. This deal is only available through my link. You must go to D-R-I-N-K-L-M-N-T.com/gundry. LMNT offers no questions asked refunds. Try it totally risk free. If you don’t like it, share it with a salty friend and they will give your money back. No questions asked. You have nothing to lose.
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All right, everybody. What I eat for better health and boosting energy? Well, a day doesn’t go by, that I don’t get a question about what I actually eat in a day. In fact, I was walking into my local grocery store yesterday and a construction worker said, “Hey, Dr. G. What are you eating?” And it was actually noon and I said, “Absolutely nothing. Why?” And he says, “Oh, good answer.” So yeah, not a day goes by that I’m not stopped about that. Now, if you’ve read any of my book or watched my YouTube channel that not eating or shortening your window of eating is the number one way to promote better health and boost energy. And of course, that was my answer for that construction worker. But, I’m here to share with you that we should eat short to live long. What do I mean by that?
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In other words, compressing our eating window, the foods we eat during the day, it’s not so important. The types of foods that we’re eating, and I’ll get to that in a minute. As long as we restrict the time period that we’re eating those foods, makes all the difference in the world. And, it’s a powerful tool to allow me and you to have some of the foods that we want to eat without worrying that, that’s going to have a profound negative impact on our health. So, let’s talk about some of the foods that people associate with energy boosting. And not a day goes by, you don’t see a TV commercial or something on the internet. That, protein increases your energy. Now, as I’ve talked about in the last two books, the energy paradox and Unlocking the Keto Code, let’s be clear about this. Energy is ATP. Adenosine triphosphate.
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That’s our energy currency. And we know that ATP is produced by mitochondria. The little energy producing organelles in most of our cells. Mitochondria have to take protein, sugar, carbohydrates and fats and break them down to produce ATP. But if you’ve looked at either of those books or listened to them, you know that in our society, we bombard our mitochondria simultaneously with simple proteins, simple sugars and simple fats, that mitochondria were never designed to handle all at once. And living in the LA area that I do, we produce rush hour in our mitochondria, unfortunately 16 hours a day. And so, energy producing foods like protein for instance, may have actually the exact opposite effect on producing energy. Plus, be cautious. So many high protein drinks, so many high protein energy bars, also are high sugar. And the combo of simple broken down proteins and simple broken down sugars, is the perfect way to have gridlock in your mitochondria and actually have less energy, rather than more.
(24:30):
Another bomb is fruit smoothies. Now everybody knows, “Oh, fruit’s good for me. I’m going to have a fruit smoothie before my workout. It’s going to give me so much energy to get through my workout.” Well, as human studies have shown, breaking down fruit into simple fructose by using a smoothie, fructose is the number one way to impair our mitochondrial function in our liver. It actually lessens ATP production and increases fatty liver. And so, fruit smoothie is the last thing you want for energy. But Dr. Gundry, I have to have these things to get through my workout. Well, the exciting thing is, in human trials, exercising on an empty stomach, actually has you produce more ATP and get more benefit out of your program than if you ate beforehand. And I like to use the example of my mother and swimming in the summer. Many of you were raised at a time when after you ate lunch, your mother basically set a timer that you had to wait an hour to go swimming after you ate lunch.
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And that’s because, there was an old wife’s tale that was partially correct. That if you went swimming before that, you would get cramps and die and that wouldn’t be a good idea. Where did that wise tail come from? After you eat anything, a great deal of your blood flow is put down into your intestines in your stomach, to digest the food you just ate. So if you’re going to go exercise, like swimming for example, you wouldn’t have enough blood flow to your muscles, because it’s down in your gut and you would get cramps and die. So, think about that the next time you say I need an energy bar before my workout or I need a smoothie before my workout, you’re actually reducing the amount of blood available to your muscles, because a lot of it is down there working. So, remember. ATP is energy.
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Now, getting an energy feeling from coffee or simple sugar, has nothing to do with the amount of energy production you are actually doing. And that’s the difference. If you want energy, we’re talking about taking the workload off of your mitochondria. Lastly, what about a ketogenic diet for athletic performance? Well, as I detail in a lot of detail in unlocking the keto code, if you look at human trials of ketosis, human muscles start to get most of their calories from ketone bodies, at about three days into a fast. After three days, we actually switch from using ketones as a fuel to free fatty acid. So, you would think from human trials that if ketones were the best source of fuel, that there would be human studies that show a ketogenic diet should improve athletic performance at three days, starting a ketogenic diet. And in fact, the research is exactly opposite. That, anywhere from three days to two weeks, starting a ketogenic diet, your athletic performance plummets. Which once again shows that ketones are not the super fuel that people think they are.
(28:43):
Plus, we know from human trials with race walkers on a ketogenic diet. That race walkers had to actually have more oxygen consumption, to get the same level of athletic performance as race walkers eating a carbohydrate centric diet. So, that’s why it really important that we think of energy as ATP production and not as this feeling of energy, that so many of the commercials mistakenly aim your ideas at. Don’t believe these commercials unfortunately. So, what do I eat for energy? Well, for my patients, I actually want them to eat like a gorilla who lives in Italy. By then I mean, you want to have slow burning calories from leaves. You want to get all the phytonutrients, all the polyphenols from eating the rainbow of leaves. And, you want to get all that fiber for your gut bacteria to make all of these energy substrates that our mitochondria need, to become maximized at energy production. And why the olive oil? The olive oil is a great source of polyphenols to accomplish just that. Plus, it tastes great. So, eat like a gorilla who lives in Italy, if you want endless energy.
(30:32):
There’s a new diet that’s been taking the health community by storm and I have to talk about it. No, not the plant paradox plan, though I hear that’s a pretty awesome meal plan. It’s actually a diet plan that came about in 1954 and it rears its ugly head every few years. I’m talking about the HCG diet. I’ve been getting quite a few questions about it here on my channel. So today, we’re going to talk about the HCG diet. What is the HCG diet? Well, HCG stands for human chorionic gonadotropin. It’s a hormone found in early pregnancy and some people claim it can also help you lose weight.
(31:19):
And the HCG diet is basically an ultra low calorie, low fat diet, where you also supplement with the HCG hormone. Now, I should tell you, the FDA has not approved HCG for weight loss and they’ve actually called the diet dangerous, illegal and fraudulent. And when it comes to the HCG diet, I agree. If your goal is long term health, this is not the diet for you. And I’m not just saying this because HCG is not approved for weight loss, though that’s important to keep in mind. It’s because if you’re following the HCG diet to a tea, you are denying your body the building blocks it needs to thrive and filling your body with dangerous gut destroying compounds. See, the HCG diet is first and foremost a low fat diet. And when it comes to your health, that’s tragic. Because fat is one of the most essential building blocks for a strong brain and a healthy body.
(32:30):
In fact, if you’ve been with this channel for a while, you know what I say. The purpose of food is to get olive oil into your mouth. So if a meal plan suggests giving up fat, chances are, it’s not the best for you. Instead, make sure you’re eating healthy, body nourishing fat like plenty of olive oil, avocado oil and avocados and fatty foods like walnuts, pistachios, omega-3 eggs, and a bit of wild caught seafood if you’d like. Just steer clear of dangerous fats like canola oil, peanut oil, non grass fed butter and vegetable shortening. So, clearly the low fat thing is a problem in the HCG diet, but there’s another huge problem. The plan suggests that each meal looks something like this. A piece of fruit, a vegetable, a piece of lean protein and a slice of bread. So, you’re ditching healthy fats, but loading up on sugars, lectins and animal protein that can come from anywhere and be fed anything just as long as it’s lean.
(33:43):
Plus, the diet completely allows gut destroying artificial sweeteners. And if you’re loading up on those, you may as well be poisoning yourself. Now, before you think I hate everything about the HCG diet, which let’s be honest, I do. It does get one thing right. As one of the first modern diet plans to incorporate intermittent fasting. And I love intermittent fasting. But here’s the thing. You can fast without starving your body of nutrients, depriving your brain of essential fat or loading your gut up with destructive sweeteners. So, why follow a meal plan that does so much dangerous stuff to your body in the first place? Plus, the way the HCG diet combined intermittent fasting with a pretty intense calorie restriction plan, has me worried. See, the plan suggests eating just two meals a day. Okay, that’s not a problem. And never eating more than 500 calories a day for six weeks.
(34:55):
Why? For fast, unsustainable weight loss? And while I’m fine with intermittent fasting, an even occasional calorie restriction, you know it’s healthy to stress your body out from time to time. Going six weeks on 500 calories a day is simply not realistic for most people. And if a diet isn’t realistic, it’s not going to stick. Period. Plus, if you’re considering the HCG diet to lose weight, consider this. You should not be crash dieting for fast weight loss. Sure, the pounds make him off at first, but they won’t stay off. As I say, weight off fast will never last. Just look at the biggest losers. Shouldn’t the goal be to stay healthy for years, even decades to come? That’s a way better outcome than a quick and possibly dangerous fix. So, do me a favor and don’t try the HCG diet. No matter how tempting it may seem, because you deserve better. You deserve lasting, long term health. That’s why I created this channel after all, to shed light on the dangerous health fads out there and help you unlock the keys to your health and longevity.
(36:26):
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Dr.Drew (37:41):
Hey, this is Dr. Drew, and I’d like to invite all of you to subscribe to the Dr. Drew podcast. We are very proud of what we’re doing there at that podcast. I am interviewing some of the most interesting, well people you could ever want to talk to. Just whatever I find fascinating, whether there’s a smart person or an expert in a field that I’m interested in or maybe I’m not even interested in, I’m only interested because I’ve heard them speak and become intrigued, I think you’ll be intrigued as well. We get deep into topics that are quite important to the current age. Things like cognitive dissonance, cognitive distortions, how does our mind work? We talk about everything at the Dr. Drew podcast that is of real relevance. We get all the way into deep physics and all sorts of stuff. But trust me, it’s all very accessible, it’s very interesting. Headaches. If you’re even in position learning about headaches, we get there. We go to the interesting topics of the day. Please join us at the Dr. Drew Podcast.
Dr. Gundry (38:35):
Question of the week. This comes from Lindsey on Instagram. “Any suggestions for under eye puffiness? I feel it’s something in my diet, but I’m not sure. It’s more prominent in the morning. I follow the Plant Paradox, I’m on zero medications now. Thanks to your eating plan.” Well Lynn, a lot of times the puffiness in your eyes come from loss, believe it or not, of subcutaneous fat. And, one of my tricks that has worked for a number of people, is to add borage oil. It comes in a 1000 milligram capsules and take a couple capsules a day. That’s number one. Number two, do consider adding more polyphenols in your diet or as a supplement. One of my favorites that was difficult to obtain for quite a while is, Pycnogenal French Maritime Tree Bark. It’s now off a patent and much easier to obtain and try adding a 100 milligrams of Pycnogenal a day to your diet.
(39:38):
Thanks for the question and let’s get rid of that puffiness. Now it’s time for the review of the week. This comes from Midi McGee on YouTube. She says, “Thank you so much Dr. G for changing my life. You have given me the tools and knowledge to transform my health and live a happy, healthy life. What you are doing is amazing and making such a positive change. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Exclamation mark.” Well, thank you Midi McGee. Like I always say, I do this every day. I see patients six days a week. I research constantly, I write books to give you what I find is the most important information for you to take care of your health. And as you know, unlike another other so-called health experts, I’m not afraid to change my mind when new research suggests that what I used to believe is incorrect. And so, stay tuned because probably you keep watching enough, I’ll change my mind on some of the important subject that you and I should both know about.
(40:43):
I hope you enjoyed this episode of the Dr. Gundry Podcast. If you did, please share this with family and friends. You never know how one of these health hacks can completely transform someone’s life when you take the time to share it with them. There’s also the Dr. Gundry Podcast YouTube channel where we have tens of thousands of hours of free health insights that can help you and your loved ones live a long, vital life. Let’s do this together, because I’m Dr. Gundry and I’m always looking out for you.
