50: The Power of Glutathione

Narrator

How would you like to improve your health and keep your family safe? You're listening to that healthy home hacks podcast where we firmly believe enjoying optimal health shouldn't be a luxury. Healthy Home authorities and husband and wife team Ron and Lisa will help you create a home environment that will level up your health. It's time to hear from the experts. listen in on honest conversations and gain the best tips and advice. If you're ready to dive in and improve your well-being and increase your energy, you're in the right place. Alright, here are your hosts, Baubiologists, authors, media darlings, vicarious vegans and avocado aficionados. Ron and Lisa Beres.

Lisa Beres

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Ron Beres

�Before you heal someone ask him if he's willing to give up the things that make him sick.� -Hippocrates Someone who understands this philosophy is our guest today. She's a world-renowned naturopathic physician, a published author, entrepreneur, mother, researcher, formulator and television personality. Dr. Gina Nick is also a certified yoga instructor and is based right here in our neck of the woods and sunny Newport Beach, California.

Lisa Beres

Dr. Gina Nick is the founder of Apothicaire by Dr. Gina, a new supplement company that's all about something you may or may not be familiar with, glutathione. She is a leading authority for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, inflammation, addiction recovery, depression, anxiety, fatigue, weight gain and sexual dysfunction. Friends, if you're suffering from any of these, please stay tuned for the whole episode because we're diving deep into these issues that are plaguing Americans today. At the ripe age of 23, when most of us were seeking the nearest happy hour, Dr. Gina was seeking her healthy power by graduating medical school and going on to become the first director of research for the world's top supplement company. Today, she's the executive healthcare consultant to local and government agencies. President Emeritus of the California naturopathic doctors Association, and founder and director of Health Bridge in Newport Beach, where she earned top medical practice 2017

Ron Beres

Dr. Gina believes that the practice of effectively and safely cleansing toxins from the body is a key to health and longevity, a secret, so to speak. That has been well kept. And she is here today to share some of her secrets with us. Welcome to the show, Dr. Gina.

Lisa Beres

Hi. Hi, we're so happy to have you and meet our fellow Orange County health guru. So, Dr. Gina, I want to dive right in. I know we're going to cover a lot of ground today and people are chomping at the bit to hear this information. So, I know you just published your fourth book called The Power of Glutathione. Congratulations on that, by the way. But first, what inspired you to write this book?

Dr. Gina Nick

So, Lisa, this has been kind of a passion project for probably the past four years. I started lecturing on glutathione to physicians and pharmacists. And I was at these medical conferences that I would ask doctors, hey, how many of you in the audience use glutathione in your practice, and maybe 15% of the audience would raise their hands roughly like wow, how do more people not know about this? I've been using glutathione since I started practicing. Wow. And so, I've been involved with this for a long time. And I felt like it was time to come out with glutathione products that are effective clinically research that actually work and get a book out there that is simple, easy to read. Have a very analytic mind so this is like a really simple easy read not a lot of technical jargon because it's not necessary. It's very straightforward and it's essential to health is considered the master antioxidant in the body.

Lisa Beres

Okay, I'm going to need to take some after this.

Dr. Gina Nick

It's the mother of all antioxidants. Okay, so my goal is to really make glutathione a household name, like vitamin C. And actually, vitamin C and glutathione work together. So yeah, totally powerful thing. And I really wanted to have a book out there that was just easy to read. Yeah, and understand and gave you the facts. Yes, amazing antioxidant.

Lisa Beres

I like that it focuses on just one thing, because I think sometimes people try to put everything and the kitchen sink in a book, and it can get overwhelming. So just focusing on this one.

Ron Beres

So, Dr. Gina, glutathione seems like a buzzword these days. What is it? And how do you use a glutathione in your practice? So, for example, how can someone listening benefit from this?

Dr. Gina Nick

Yeah, so glutathione is such a foundational ingredient. It's used in a lot of different systems in your body. It's essential for detoxification, it's essential for regulating inflammation in your body. It's essential for immune function, it crosses what's called the blood brain barrier. So, it lowers inflammation in the brain as well. Oh, wow, I use it a lot in my practice for addiction, as well, way I originally got into using glutathione, in my practice was one of my first patients ever, I had a little practice and one of the first patients that came in, he had a major addiction problem. And he told me, you know, of all of the things that I'm using glutathione injections seem to be the most effective. And I thought about it in medical school, you know, I kind of know what it is, that really started me on the path of a light turned on. For me. This is something to take note of. And so, I just started using it more and more in practice, and seeing amazing results. I felt for everything from treating migraine headaches, definitely lowering inflammation. So, people who have like chronic inflammatory conditions, it can work so well to lower inflammation. treat pain. Wow, it's like this. Good for everything. Yeah, it's kind of one of those things. Yeah, you can test for to see what your levels are at.

Lisa Beres

Now, is that an extra test? Would you have to ask your doctor? Okay, I don't think I've ever heard.

Dr. Gina Nick

Yeah, there's a couple ways to test. So, one of them is a blood test for glutathione. It's a little bit questionable in terms of its efficacy and accuracy. I'll still do it sometimes. And then there's another test where you measure what's called pyroglutamate wasting. But there's a Genova Diagnostics has a test called the ion test that I've been using for 20 years. And they measure pyroglutamate wasting. And that's a way to see how much your body is using the glutathione that you have to see more right in time. So, these things that your body naturally makes you think, why would I take a supplement for it? Yeah, got it in my body anymore? Well, when there's an increased demand on your body from and you guys know this well, exposure to toxins, yeah, etc. Or you're faced with a chronic illness, you're fighting an infection, things like that, causing increased demand for glutathione. So that's when you need to supplement with it. Wow. So, it helps with hormone balance. Most of my women, if I have them on any sort of hormone balancing therapy, I'll often recommend glutathione. Okay, there's a lot of different applications for it. Because Holy Moly, it's so foundational.

Lisa Beres

I didn't even know I mean, honestly, I don't think I ever even heard of glutathione until just a couple years ago. And so that's really interesting. Are there specific symptoms that would show that someone was low in it? Or their body wasn't producing enough of it? I mean, inflammation, would that be a symptom that you didn't have enough?

Dr. Gina Nick

Well, that's there's so many glutathione is essential to so many different functions in the body. That's hard to say. Yeah, be like saying, you know, Candida. Candida, yes, you have low energy, you're having trouble with sugar, etc. But yeah, a lot of the symptoms you would have had an overexposure with toxins are symptoms that may indicate you need glutathione. I say you're needing to detox. Yeah, very likely you're needing glutathione.

Lisa Beres

Okay, now, if you don't need a detox, can you overdo glutathione? Is it something that you could still take? Just to boost your energy or no?

Dr. Gina Nick

I recommend it daily at a lower dose. I recommend daily consumption of glutathione to overall health and well-being really okay like vitamin C. Like, who doesn't need some vitamin C? Yeah. Being that it is the mother of all antioxidants, and we are exposed to so many more free radicals or toxins that we've been exposed to before, right level of stress that we face every day. These toxins that need to be addressed. Yeah, so I recommend daily.

Lisa Beres

Daily it's okay, so you can't really overdo it at a low level?

Dr. Gina Nick

Yeah, I mean, you could take too much for too. Yeah. Okay, just kind of a daily dose, it's actually extremely safe.

Ron Beres

Oh, okay. You got my attention at inflammation, right. So, I used to suffer from Gout pretty bad. It was inherited basically; it was basically this condition my family has had. And would that affect inflammation from gout to or what would be the parameters around that?

Dr. Gina Nick

So, Gout is tied to the development of uric acid crystals, and so glutathione will lower inflammation like systemically in your body, but it�s not the first treatment I would turn to for gout. Does that make sense? So, I would probably incorporate it into a protocol, but it wouldn�t be the first thing to take.

Ron Beres

I was curious, because we've actually had a few discussions and mentioned this in the podcast in the past, and I wasn't sure if there was a tie into that. So yeah, thank you for that clarification. Getting rid of any sort of inflammation is helpful.

Lisa Beres

Yeah, we got an inflammation pandemic going on. So how would I or anyone listening know which glutathione to select? Or more specifically, how do we know how to select the best nutritional supplements? There are so many options these days, it can be overwhelming and so confusing to know which ones are the best?

Dr. Gina Nick

Yeah. Especially these days, because it seems that everybody's interested in taking some sort of nutritional supplement. You know, that's not taking something or interested in.

Ron Beres

Someone in my family should be but they're not. Not my wife, but someone else listening. We�ll talk about that later.

Lisa Beres

I think I know who. Are we bagging on the family members now?

Ron Beres

I was inspired. There you go. Everyone should be yes.

Dr. Gina Nick

I've got a family member just like that. But she is. I'm not going to say who it is. I'm not going to embarrass her. But she'll know. She will tell you she didn't take anything. I've read the things to her for years. But glutathione she takes religiously, because she notices the difference. Okay, she's 78 years old. This woman won't take any supplements, doesn't see the value etc. Yeah, no matter what. And so, glutathione she takes.

Lisa Beres

You got through to her on that one, at least.

Dr. Gina Nick

I think glutathione got through to her. Yeah, there are so many glutathione supplements on the market, there's so many supplements on the market. With glutathione look for the ingredient that is clinically researched to actually boost blood levels of glutathione. Glutathione is it's tough to keep it stable. So, a lot of the products out there, I won't touch because they're not effective. And so, I will only use glutathione it's a patented ingredient that has a wealth of research backing its use because it actually boosts blood levels. And so really important. And so, the raw material I like is called Setria so you can look for it. There's a lot of manufacturers out there. Make sure you look for that raw material, Setria Okay. Setria Yeah, that's the only type of glutathione that I use in my product formulations with Apothicaire. I won�t use any other form of glutathione okay, how do you say that again? Setria.

Lisa Beres

And do you sell the glutathione alone? Or is it part of a nutritional supplement in your line?

Dr. Gina Nick

So, in my product line, I combine it with vitamin C, there is research that shows that combining it with vitamin C actually improves the efficacy of the glutathione. So, it�s a specific dosage that I use, but it is a formulation to effectively boost blood levels.

Lisa Beres

Listeners, I will have all the links to this in the show notes to that specific supplement but also your store www.ApothicairebyDrGina.com, and your website and all of that.

Dr. Gina Nick

Yeah, and then in terms of selecting nutritional supplements, a couple things, and we won't go into too much detail but look for supplements that cater or supplement manufacturers that cater to healthcare practitioners. Oh, yeah. Because, yeah, healthcare practitioners in general, who are actually using supplements in their practice are far more discerning. Yeah, they are picky. Yeah. When I go and talk to my own colleagues at conferences, I mean, that's the hardest is talking to a group of naturopathic physicians. Yeah. On your right. Yeah. So, we're really, really picky about what we use. Right. So that's why it's just an easy look for manufacturers that cater to doctors, healthcare practitioners, in general. Yeah. And then always I like branded ingredients. A company has taken the time to patent and brand, a particular ingredient. Oftentimes they've invested in the research that backs the use of that ingredient. Okay? It's another way to kind of pick and choose which supplements you end up using. Okay, I'll give you an example when I was formulating a product for when I was director of research, a supplement company, I was looking at a theanine product. Theanine helps to keep you calm in alpha brainwave activity kind of keeps you focused. And I wanted to use a product that had all the research and backing. But it was five times the price of the raw material coming from China. And I had to go back and forth with the finance guy. And they're like, oh, no, here, Dr. Gina�s got another expensive. Now that formula has been on the market now for 20 years. Wow, it�s extremely effective. And what we found was that that research ingredient actually proved to be far more efficacious than the generic coming from China. And that data eventually came out. Okay. Yeah. So sometimes paying a little more.

Lisa Beres

For sure. It's your body. Well, what�s that saying, pay the farmer now or pay the doctor later. I think we could agree. This goes with when we hear people say, Oh, organic food is too expensive. Why would I need an organic mattress? Why do I need an air purifier? Why do we need a water purifier? Because you're going to pay a little now or you're going to pay a boatload later, not just in money, but energy time and health? Yeah. So, getting that through to people is a little challenging sometimes. And its self-care, self-love to invest in yourself. You're spending money on things. You can say, oh, it�s too expensive. You're getting your lattes, you're getting your iPhones you're getting, you know, you're finding ways to get the things that that matter to you. When you prioritize your self-care, and your health, you'll find the way to get those things as well.

Ron Beres

I love those tips you just said. I'm curious, though, like what is personalized nutrition? I heard you mention this before, personalized nutrition.

Dr. Gina Nick

I love personalized nutrition. So, it basically means catering to the individual. So, what my body needs is very different than what your body needs. So, I shouldn't be taking the same multivitamin mineral necessarily that you are in the same dose? Yeah, I may need high doses of Coenzyme Q 10. I may need low doses of vitamin D3, and maybe like a lot of vitamin C. And so, we are all different, you know, there's something called biochemical individuality. We all have different nutrient needs based on our genetics. Yeah, based on our lifestyle, based on our level of stress at the time, our demands are different. Yeah, personalized nutrition, and usually involves testing. So, I do like blood work and urine analysis to see what does your body actually need? Meaning do you need certain amino acids or certain nutrients? And at what dosage? Yeah, and then I'll custom create a formula for my patients based on that. Yeah. So, it's just a more personalized approach or individualized approach to optimizing health?

Ron Beres

Right? That's so interesting. Would you say most of it is basically lifestyle? Or would you say 40% genetic? Well, what is that magic breakdown? Do you have an idea about that?

Dr. Gina Nick

So that's a really great question, Ron, a really great question. And everybody has a different opinion about it. I feel that when it comes to nutrition, genetics play a very important role, what your ancestors were eating really impacts what is going to be best for you. It really does. So, genetics play an important role. However, when you're looking at overcoming a genetic predisposition, like say, to heart disease or whatnot, we know that treating micronutrient deficiency is more important than what a genetic predisposition is. Does that make sense? So sure, treating nutritional deficiency, and this has been known for several decades now. And I'm surprised it's not more popular, you know, isn't more popular out there. But treating micronutrient deficiencies, will oftentimes overpower a position, and we'll turn off the disease promoting genes on the disease preventing genes. And so powerful learning. Yeah, learning what micronutrients you need is like that next level. Yeah. It'd be like the next level and really individualizing your care and giving your body what it needs. Yeah, nothing more. Nothing less.

Lisa Beres

It's like Glinda, the Good Witch, you've had the power all along my dear. Because there's a famous quote, does genetic load the gun and environment pull the trigger? And obviously, that's where we come in with our part, too, is a holistic approach to your health, that your environment that you're spending 90% of your time in. What is that? Is that a healing space? Or is it stress? Do you have the TV on all night or are you're watching negative news or you're breathing toxic air, right? So, it's like this holistic way to kind of look at your whole life in a way that you probably weren't raised. But it's what you said. Ron mentioned that he had a genetic disposition to gout. His brother had it and Ron now went vegan. We've been vegan six years and since Ron went full vegan, his gout virtually went away. He was on so much gout medication because nothing else was working, he was taking a high level of Allopurinol. And he was started weaning himself off. I said, Ron, I think you could wean yourself off and he did little by little by little because the diet got so good. Now he's like, never gets a gout attack. And it�s pretty amazing, right? From hobbling and not being able to get out of bed.

Ron Beres

It's been a lot better; I can tell you that. Just waking up and eating cleaner and feeling better. That's been a real key.

Lisa Beres

It was debilitating.

Dr. Gina Nick

Yeah. And so, it's like a positive side effect was then you have more energy, your hormones are more balanced. See, you're happier. Yeah, better. Yeah, you don't have symptoms of gout. Like, I always see lifestyle and diet as the most important thing. And then certain medications when you need them, or surgery, etc. It's like the cherry on top that it makes everything works better. But you�ve got to have that foundation. We are all responsible for our own health ultimately.

Lisa Beres

Right. Yeah. That's shocking for some people to hear. Right? Like what? So, going on to that point, Dr. Gina, what's your perspective on detoxification and chronic illness?

Dr. Gina Nick

I�m very passionate about detoxification. Every cell in your body has detoxification mechanisms. So that should say something right there. Yeah. cells in your body are innately designed to detoxify on a second by second basis. It tells me a detoxification system is an incredibly important system. And that system gets bogged down. Yeah, because of the amount of stress we're under and the toxins were exposed to you. We haven't evolved to the point where our detect mechanisms can keep up. Right, the rate of exposure to toxins in our environment. Yes. So, there are ways to lower the burden, take some of that stress off of the detoxification system, so it can do its job and get rid of stored toxins. And bottom line is you have more energy, you lower inflammation, your immune system improves, you're happier and you're healthier. Yeah. And when the system is bogged down, it causes disease. It's really that simple.

Lisa Beres

I have a personal story. When I did get sick from toxins in my home, I stopped menstruating, and that was when the doctors said, just go on the pill. We don't know. They gave me estrogen and progesterone shots and everything trying to get it going. And nothing was working. So, they said, Well, you just need to be on birth control pill. That's the only thing that's going to make it happen. Well, that worked for a little while. And then that even stopped. And everyone was like what is going on? They wanted to give me so many supplements. And it wasn't until I detoxed my liver. I found a really incredible Chinese liver, detox herbal tincture that I was taking. And that was the thing. So, it's kind of what you're talking about the body burden, my body burden was so toxic, that it didn't matter how many supplements I was taking, right? I needed to clean out that poor liver that was just so congested.

Dr. Gina Nick

Yes, and I would have given you some glutathione.

Lisa Beres

Oh, see. It could have been way, way easier.

Dr. Gina Nick

Then I know in your liver detoxification it works amazingly.

Lisa Beres

I'm going to bet a lot of people need that after the pandemic and the lockdown. A lot of people have been drinking a lot of wine and need some serious detox.

Dr. Gina Nick

Yeah. Everybody's just trying to cope, you know?

Lisa Beres

I mean, they're reaching for low hanging fruits, right? Whether it's bad food or whatever. And it's sad, but we're going to get into that in a minute. But Dr. Gina we have a caller. Are you open to taking a caller? Absolutely. Okay. Hello. All right. So welcome to the show, Arax. What is your question for Dr. Gina?

Dr. Gina Nick

Hi, Arax. It's so nice to see you. So happy you got to work with me. And we got to work together. And thank you so much for sharing your story. So other people can just get a sense for what does it mean to work with a functional medicine doctor and what can they expect? So, thank you. It's great to see you. Thank you

Lisa Beres

Arax, thank you for sharing your story and for calling in. Thank you so much. Bye bye. All right. So, Dr. Gina, it seems like so many people we speak with suffer from Hashimotos Thyroiditis these days, something I never heard of in the past. Do you have some tips on how to treat autoimmune diseases like these?

Dr. Gina Nick

Yes. So Hashimotos Thyroiditis, it's an autoimmune disease. You can find out if you have it by doing a blood test. And it'll show that you have those levels. And if you have it, it's a rough go. You can have major mood swings and compromised immune function and you can have energy and then have low energy highs and lows. That's a really tough condition. And throughout time, patients have been told it's not treatable. Wow, take thyroid medication. Medication certainly is part of the treatment. However, there are ways to reduce if not eliminate the markers in bloodwork that show that you have Hashimotos Thyroiditis. And so, some of the ways glutathione is a very important component here and that I talked about Hashimoto thyroiditis and glutathione in my book, and so it is a really important treatment for Hashimotos. It'll lower inflammation and help with healing. Wow, immune reaction. Were a mystery what you could do in the past. Wow. Buddha found can be extremely powerful, avoiding all gluten. Okay, so I've heard that. Yeah, there's a chemical called TPO thyroid peroxidase in your blood, that shows that you have Hashimotos. Well, the gluten looks a lot like TPO, which is kind of odd. So, avoid gluten. Yeah, if you're religious about it, and I don't like to put people on really strict diets, but yeah with Hashimotos, avoid gluten entirely.

Lisa Beres

Okay, we have a family member right now. So yeah, we have a family member who has this and is very frustrated. And I had mentioned the gluten because we had a guest on who talked about that and he tried it for a while and I think it's hard when you are eating a diet with a lot of gluten. I mean, I find it really easy because I don't think many things that even have gluten and basically bread but we�re trying to encourage Hey, just keep going. You will pretty soon you won't miss bread. There's lots of gluten free breads now.

Ron Beres

There are so many alternatives now. The skies the limit.

Lisa Beres

It's so much easier. Yeah. To explain to our listeners, this Hashimotos Thyroiditis attacks, it attacks your own body, right? It's your thyroid is attacking your own body or right, is that what it is? Okay. So, mood swings, fatigue. Is that being fatigue one of the big signs?

Dr. Gina Nick

Yeah. Compromised immune function, you'll get sick more often. Okay. A lot of women will get it after they've had a baby.

Lisa Beres

They probably think it's a postpartum right?

Dr. Gina Nick

Yeah, it goes hand in hand with postpartum as can low estrogen levels. But yeah, it can be tough for people to deal with. But there are ways to treat it. The proper form of thyroid medication is also really important. Sometimes using something like armorer thyroid, if you're you've been on Synthroid making that switch. And sometimes if you've been on the natural thyroid like armor, switching to Synthroid for a short while, so impacts in a good way and helps to treat Hashimotos.

Lisa Beres

So, you're not against you're not against synthetic I guess whatever you want to call it, thyroid medication, you're not against that fully?

Dr. Gina Nick

I am for whatever is going to optimize somebody's health and well-being long term. Yeah. So sometimes you have to operate in the gray area. Being a purist isn�t always the cuz we don�t live in a pure world. We have to adapt to our environment and do what's going to be best to promote healing.

Lisa Beres

That's really, yeah, I get a little caught in the extreme. I'm probably guilty of that. You can't do that, you know, it's toxic or whatever. And realizing like, yeah.

Ron Beres

I�m curious, is one of the symptoms dry mouth, because this particular family member has dry mouth as well? I wonder if it is.

Dr. Gina Nick

It can cause dry mouth, it's not a classic symptom of Hashimotos, but it can absolutely.

Ron Beres

Oh, wow. Okay, well, that's interesting. Thanks for validating that, too.

Dr. Gina Nick

Sometimes, people who have Hashimotos will be on an antidepressant. The depressant could be what's also causing the dry mouth.

Ron Beres

Okay. Okay. Yeah. Well, very good. Appreciate that. We are seeing soaring rates of mental illness and addiction today in teens and adults. It's actually staggering, as you know, Dr. Gina. In fact, we have a friend whose 15-year-old daughter is battling with this. I wouldn't wish this on anyone, let alone a parent. But there is hope. How do you work with people with mental illness and addiction challenges?

Dr. Gina Nick

So, I'm a big believer in collaboration. So, I have psychiatrist that I work with very closely, I'll often work with the patient's primary care physician as well. But I take a different approach, I will test the patient's hormones, because you have hormone receptors in your brain. And if you've been addicted to a substance for a long time, oftentimes one of your hormone levels can be depleted. And so, by providing a boost there, you can help to impact mood, make a patient feel better, so that they are more able to break through this addiction cycle. Yeah, I also test the blood in the urine for all of the amino acids, which are the precursor to the manufacture of neurotransmitters, which are often very out of balance, and fatty acids. And then I do a whole panel, testing minerals and vitamins. Glutathione. Wasting is also incredibly important. And then I test the gut microbiome, and I treat those things in an effort to heal those Body if the body is balanced as possible, because I don't see mental illness as a head disease, I see it as a systemic condition that needs to be treated in a systemic way. I look at the patient's environment, in an environment that's going to be supportive for them actually breaking out of it, if that's what they are ready and what to do or have to do. Yeah. And so, it's kind of a multifactorial approach to actually getting to some of the root causes and root imbalances and treating a chord and, and that can be done with psychiatric medications, antidepressants, anxiolytics, whatever is needed to get them through to that next phase. Yeah, making sure they have the support they need.

Lisa Beres

Right. That is so interesting. I love how you said that. It's a systematic disease. It's not just mental because there's such a negative stigma and shame, I think, for people who suffer from that unnecessarily.

Dr. Gina Nick

Yeah, yeah, it's just like diabetes. You need insulin. Yeah, somebody with a mental illness - they're missing some things that they need. So, find out what that is, and give it to them so that they can heal.

Lisa Beres

I would definitely underline and underscore your point on the environment too. Because I would say that goes with a lot of things. If you heal it, if you're helping a patient, you're healing them medically and they're going into an environment that is so toxic and draining and making them feel depressed. It's kind of like, it's a seesaw, right? The environment needs to be really healing. Ron and I are very into the power of sound with frequencies. Yeah, sounds really everything, color therapy. We just did an interview on the psychology of color. And yes, it's not subjective. It's actually how your brain interprets colors and that can change your mood. And you know, I can�t repeat this enough. Turn off the news. Turn off the news. Yeah, you're not going to feel good. You're not going to feel good watching. You just not. Listen to podcasts.

Ron Beres

Instead, do that. Instead, listen to our podcast.

Dr. Gina Nick

God and nature, listening to the sounds of nature for two hours a day will regulate your cortisol by 80% So, there�s no drug. There's no herb, but there's nothing that will help you manage that stress response, which is central to everything else. Managing that stress response is essential to immune function, inflammation, detoxification, healing on all levels. Speaking of light, I was just at MojoCryo in Newport Beach where they have something called the NovaTHOR bed which is a red-light bed. They�re pretty gib and they have the pulsed electromagnetic frequency mat, you know? And then cryotherapy. And so, there's so many new technologies and tools out there. Yeah, you guys should go.

Lisa Beres

MojoCryo? Do you do cryotherapy?

Dr. Gina Nick

Oh, yeah, I do that very regularly.

Ron Beres

That is no joke. You really have to be tough to stand.

Lisa Beres

You got to be tough. Dr. Gina is no wimp.

Dr. Gina Nick

In terms of like, when you're talking about treating chronic conditions, like mental illness and autoimmune conditions and all of that. There are a lot of resources out there, including things like that, that make a huge difference in the body and improving mood. It's pretty amazing.

Lisa Beres

You're going to feel good when you get out of cryotherapy, because you're just going to be so excited. You survived. I know, right? Before I watched your or I was watching, I was watching you. I was like, I'm so cool. Just watching you. This looks great. I know, you probably have to build up. I can't even do that. The cold plunge at the pool, you know, at the spas how they have that.

Dr. Gina Nick

But you'll try it, you'll feel amazing. I get in the bed first like a NovaTHOR, and then you're nice and warm. And then I get in the Cryotherapy. That�s not the way you're supposed to do it, but.

Lisa Beres

Well, you're bringing to a point of really, because obviously you live, breathe and eat and sleep health, you're a healthy doctor, and you're doing all these productive things. And I think that's a really good point to make for everybody listening. Just because you are healthy. You're healthy right now or you think you're healthy, does not mean that you slack off, you still have to take those proactive measures because the minute you let the reins go, that's when the body gets out of whack and disease can start again or anything like that. Because a lot of people will say like, oh, Lisa, you don't need to eat so healthy. I'm like, well, but that's because I do eat healthy. You're saying that because I do eat healthy.

Dr. Gina Nick

Right? Right. Right.

Ron Beres

What came first chicken or the egg, right? So, Dr. Gina, what is your background with nutritional supplements? And can you give us an insider's look into the whole industry?

Dr. Gina Nick

Yes, I can. I've been in the nutritional supplement industry. For over 20, gosh, well over 20 years now. And I will tell you, there's a lot that goes into creating that bottle that you find on the shelf at Whole Foods or at Costco or at your doctor's office, there is a lot that goes into it. And there are supplement companies that are very packed with the best quality and quality control. And there are other companies that their objective is the bottom line, it is a multibillion-dollar industry, guys. So, you have to be very careful with what you're putting in your body that it's actually going to help and not cause more harm. Right. So when I go to formulate products, I'm not everybody's best friend asked a lot of questions in terms of I want to know if I'm buying a raw material, what is the country of origin, I want to see the certificates of analysis to make sure that what is on the labels, actually what's in the supplement.

Lisa Beres

Okay, so we not to interrupt you. But we had two doctors on early in the podcast that talked about the Certificate of Analysis. So, is that like a must have when you get a supplement? To look for that?

Dr. Gina Nick

Well, when you're formulating products, you have to have those and you need to make sure that that meant the companies that you're buying the product from, is maintaining those certificates of analysis that prove that that raw material has what it's supposed to have in it. And here's what happens. Depending on what supplement company you're working with. Let's say there's a new fancy raw material, like acai berry was so popular for you know, a while it's a great thing. Yeah, you suddenly within every supplement under the sun. So if there's a manufacturer, somewhere in China, India, wherever, and they haven't gone through the quality control measures that are necessary, they will start trying to sell that raw material to different manufacturer, depending on if that manufacturer takes that material, and actually runs it through expensive testing, to make sure that what is in the bag or on the label is actually in the bag. Right? And then if it doesn't pass, they'll reject it, they'll send it back. Well guess what happens then that raw material is not thrown away? Yeah, he's going to say next manufacture, right? discounted price. Right? until it ends up on a product that's sold on Amazon, there's off. I love Amazon, nothing there. But until you hold it to the masses, right? A fraction of the price. So, I'm always supplements can be really inexpensive. You don't need to spend a lot of money. Okay, times don't make a decision just based on price. Yes. No, what's in that supplement? Is that raw material that got rejected by the high-quality companies? Catering to healthcare professionals? Okay, have they ended up in what you're taking?

Lisa Beres

Okay, so you basically said look for the supplements that doctors are promoting? Functional MD�s specifically, maybe? And what about the Costco brands? Or your local drugstore? I won't say, well, CVS or Rite Aid, would you avoid those in general? And what's the Vitamin Store? I forget the name of it, but that big GNC or whatever?

Dr. Gina Nick

Yeah. Would you say a good rule of thumb is to steer clear from those in general? But if you are going to go to those stores, just look and make sure that there are branded ingredients in the formula. Okay, that is cGMP certified. Okay, so that company follows a good manufacturing practices for the industry. Okay. So, there are ways it's being produced in an FDA registered facility. Okay. Oh, yeah, there are ways to look and see if what you're getting is something that is high quality, just because it's a pretty label, and I love pretty labels, and I love pretty packaging. Yeah, that does not mean that what you're going to be putting your body is matches what's on the outside.

Lisa Beres

Yeah. Okay. So, and it goes true for we talk about this a lot on the show, whether it's your cleaning product or a personal care product, you're always looking for the third-party certifications to determine if something is what they say, Is it organic? Is its non-GMO? Is it vegan? Is it like you said FDA approved or through an FDA facility and all of that?

Dr. Gina Nick

Ask your doctor ask you to see what they take or what they recommend, even if they don't sell products or whatever it hey, you take supplements, or what do you recommend for your family or your patients? Right? How are you with regard to supplements?

Lisa Beres

That's a great point. So, we had Dr. Leigh Erin Connealy on the Show, Episode 19 for listeners who want to go back and listen to that one, but remind our listeners what functional medicine is.

Dr. Gina Nick

It's basically looking at ways to heal the basic functions within the body. You have these different systems in the body, your cardiovascular system, your digestive system, all the neurological system, your nervous system, your endocrine system, and so it's looking at the underlying causes. For imbalances in all of those systems, and then treating those imbalances about finding the deficiencies, whether hormonal deficiency, a nutrient deficiency, imbalance in the gut, microbiome, et cetera, it's testing for those things, identify what they are, and then administering what the body needs. So that all the systems are balanced. And they're all working together. A lot of our work is focused on lowering inflammation. Okay, inflammation, a lot, a lot of emphasis on lowering inflammation, because as you do that, the body tends to work better.

Lisa Beres

Yeah, right. Take out the stresses. So how long does it take to see results using this approach, as compared to say, the allopathic approach of using drugs in surgery?

Dr. Gina Nick

Sometimes with drugs and surgery, you can have a quick fix. You've got a headache; you take an extra strength Tylenol and the headache goes away. You're not suffering from a Tylenol deficiency. Right? Right. Right. Right. But it might take longer.

Lisa Beres

That's a good point.

Dr. Gina Nick

I always tell patients look; it might have taken you X number of years to get to this point. Yeah, it's going to take a little time. I always say give it six months. Working with a functional medicine doctor, you should see cumulative benefits over time. Okay, this month of working together, you'd notice Oh, I'm sleeping better. My husband says, I'm not as moody. Yeah. You notice, I have a ton more energy. Third month, you realize I'm really starting to operate at peak performance mentally, physically, and I'm wanting to run further or exercise more. Yeah. And so, I would say like, there's a cumulative effect. And by that six-month mark, in general, you'll realize the benefits of this type of approach to health and healing. Now, with drugs and surgery, sometimes it can be chronic can take forever. Yeah. And other times you can have that quick fix.

Lisa Beres

Yeah. So functional medicine compared to Western medicine, would you say the functional medicine treats the root? And like you said, the balances, whereas Western is more treating the symptoms? Would you say that?

Dr. Gina Nick

Sometimes yes and sometimes no. There are some approaches with regard to functional medicine work, feels to me like all we're doing is treating symptoms. We're doing different things or times with allopathic medicine, where you truly are getting to the cause, if there's a tumor that needs to be removed, if you remove the tumor, you're removing a cause. Yeah, I want to kind of see, well, why did somebody create that tumor array addressing the most path? Okay. I don't really see it as us versus them or because truly, you'd need all of it. There's brilliance and expertise on both sides.

Lisa Beres

Okay. Like, integrative MD, integrative medicine. So, you're combining Western, Eastern, all of that. Okay. That's great.

Dr. Gina Nick

Yeah, having the ability to discern one from the other. Yeah, what approach is going to be best? At what time?

Ron Beres

Okay. Dr. Gina, I feel like we can't talk about the gut enough. It's like we all woke up from a gut slumber and realized, how important is it to our overall health? So, what is the gut microbiome? And why is it so important?

Dr. Gina Nick

So, you have a whole ecology in your gut. And throughout time, healers have said, health begins in the gut, I would treat the gut first. Yeah, there's this intimate connection between the gut and the rest of the book, your gut is crucial for immune function. There's more serotonin, the feel-good hormone secreted in your gut than in your brain. Wow, most people don't know that. But look, there's a whole ecology in there. And there's not just the gut microbiome, you've got micro biomes throughout your body. And from a kind of a macro perspective, you're looking at the environment, you want to help heal the environment. And when you do that, everything else works better. And I suppose with even if you look at life, where you can focus on an individual, or an individual can focus on themselves. Me, me, me, me, me. It's all about me, right? We all know really, it's not all about you. It's about collaboration and working together. Yeah, for a greater good, right. So that everybody does that. Right? Well, it's the same thing. When looking at the microbiome, we have all of these microorganisms, and you want them to be kind of imbalanced, and working together to create an environment so that all the cells in your body can do their job. Yeah, so cells are like the individuals. Right about cellular health. Yeah, the microbiome, the environment has to support what those cells need to do, and the cells need to support that microbiome. And so, there's ways to test to see what is going on in your gut. Whether you're too high of certain bacteria levels are too low. I can look and see do you need acidophilus? Do you not what probiotics do you need yeast overgrowth? Yes or no do you actually have Candida or not?

Lisa Beres

Does that get over diagnosed?

Dr. Gina Nick

Every patient that comes in, well not everyone says, I think I have Candida.

Lisa Beres

All these buzzwords?

Dr. Gina Nick

Yeah, exactly. So, let's find out. But there's more and more research coming out that shows the power and the impact of having a healthy gut microbiome. Oh, yeah. And important.

Lisa Beres

It's good we're having conversations about the microbiome because people are now familiar with that term. And would you say that? Well, the main culprit is the Standard American Diet, the SAD diet, that's causing this imbalance in the gut? And stress?

Dr. Gina Nick

Yeah, okay. Well, I would say the Standard American Diet, fast food, etc. And also, just the quality of our food. The quality of our greens and the quality of our soil that's growing, all of our foods have been compromised. And so that is showing up in our ecology, just like the soil looks different. Yeah, soil has its own microbiome.

Lisa Beres

Yes, we did a whole show on plants. We had the Plant Jungle founder on and he was talking about the microbiome of the plants and Ron and I are like, o my God, I never knew.

Dr. Gina Nick

Right. Uh, huh. Is that interesting? Same thing with our body. Yeah.

Lisa Beres

Yeah, same thing. So, what would your advice be to listeners? What's something they could do right now to improve their diet? Something simple that everybody could do? Would you say like, eliminate gluten? Or would you say go organic or eat more plants?

Dr. Gina Nick

My number one thing if you're going to avoid one thing? There are so many things? If you�re going to avoid one thing, it's hydrogenated oil, or fatty acids. It will either say hydrogenated oil, partially hydrogenated oil or trans fatty acids. Okay. So those, in my opinion, are one of the most harmful ingredients that has come into our food system, a lot of kids packaged foods, that extends shelf life, allow that. Twinkie is like 30 years, but it�s not going to improve child�s shelf life live right there. Right. So trans fats will embed into your cell membranes, your cells have membranes that are made of fat embed in there, and they will actually harden and cell to cell communication.

Lisa Beres

Oh my gosh, you really described that well.

Ron Beres

It's not even Halloween, right?

Dr. Gina Nick

That�s the sad part, it�s true. And it is scary. It's really disturbing that it's in so many of our kids. Yeah. And that is disturbing. I will see it in nutritional supplements marketed to kids. Right, I will see hydrogenated oil. Wow. Or skin, like skincare products? And yeah, oftentimes you'll see that yeah, on like healthy masks.

Lisa Beres

Yes, on so called healthy. Yeah, that term, you know that terms is not regulated. So, are the oils that are hydrogenated? Are they the vegetable oils? Or are they? We know canola oil is a bad one, right? I mean, can you give us the oils that we need to avoid?

Dr. Gina Nick

So, in terms of oils, any type of oil can be a hydrogenated oil, it's the process of hydrogenation. So, when you look at labels, look for hydrogenated oil, partially hydrogenated oil, or trans fats. And you want to avoid those entirely, even if it says trace amounts. Sometimes, even if it says zero milligrams on the label, it still can have some trans fats in it, if it has less than x amount there. The manufacturers allowed to put zero. So, be really careful. Make sure when you look at the instant hydrogenated oil or trans fats on label, it increases inflammation tremendously. Like I said, it hardens, it blocks cell to cell communication. And the thing is, is its kind of a pseudo fat. And so, it gravitates to where fat normally goes, which is your cell membranes. Pardon them. Oh, wow. I can't emphasize enough parents out there, teachers, etc. Our kids developing brains do not need any trans fats. So even if it's a pretty package, or it's something as yummy as a Twinkie, think twice before having a child or any adult, consume that. So that would be the one ingredient very passionate about staying away from what to take. One thing I'd recommend would be juice be cold pressed juice, green juices, okay. juices, like one thing that you kind of incorporate into your diet and lifestyle. Yeah, seems to have a major impact on health and well-being.

Lisa Beres

And then for oil, it's going back to oils, coconut oil, avocado oil, olive oil. Are those all good? Yeah. Do you avoid canola oil?

Dr. Gina Nick

I don't use canola oil. I don't recommend it. Okay, anybody? Because you have better, higher quality oils out there. So why? Right. I also recommend testing at some point testing the blood for the different Omega three, omega six, Omega nine fatty acids and the saturated fats. So, you know, is coconut a good oil for you? Is avocado a good oil for you?

Lisa Beres

Oh, interesting.

Dr. Gina Nick

Dou only need flaxseed oil in terms of omegas? Or, do you need a combination like an Udo�s oil blend that has six and nine. So that can be really important and make a profound difference in your health and well-being if you know what fats are best for your body.

Lisa Beres

Oh my gosh, so interesting. I love this. This is so interesting. It's so important. And I love how you talked about I don't know the term, catered nutrition, what was the actual term? Personalized nutrition. Personalized because everything you said today was about how much we're all different. And until you go in there and test you don't really know what's going on. And you're just kind of guessing at the store by buying this buying that. Yeah, that's amazing. Yeah, investing in yourself. Oh, Dr. Gina, thank you so much for joining us today.

Dr. Gina Nick

It's been my pleasure on the side, a lot of fun. For you guys doing what you're doing. It's hitting so many people and we need it. And I think more and more people are realizing how important what you're talking about is to they're just happiness and health and success.

Lisa Beres

Thank you so much. Yeah, well, we will we will meet that person. Yeah.

Dr. Gina Nick

We�ll do that soon. Yeah, come on in. Definitely. Love to see you guys.

Lisa Beres

To learn more about Dr. Gina and her new book visit Dr. gina.com. That's www.DrGina.com and just drop her high end proprietary nutritional kits, visit www.ApothicairebyDrGina.com where you can find trusted products guys. These make great Christmas gifts and as we say the best gift you can give is the gift of health. Friends, thank you for joining us today. Be sure to visit www.RonandLisa.com/Podcast for all of the links in the show notes. And we will see you next week. Bye.

Ron Beres

Bye.

Lisa Beres

Bye. Thank you.

Narrator

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