What travel teaches you about the human body, with Dr. Jonathan Reisman

“Once I started medical school and my scalpel met the cadaver’s skin, I discovered that exploring the body felt quite similar to exploring the outside world.”  –Jonathan Reisman

In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Jonathan talk about how doctors and travel writers and both be generalists, and how travel puts can put us into a new relationship with our bodies (1:30); what travel to a place like India can teach you about toilet hygiene (7:00); what eating unfamiliar or strange-seeming food on a journey can teach you about the body (15:00); culturally specific ideas about fat, eating fat, and the idea of being fat (21:00); what Americans are getting wrong about health, nutrition, technology, and the human body (31:00); how the pineal gland regulates sleep, and what we know about it (35:00); and how travel helps us understand how our bodies work (42:00).

Dr. Jonathan Reisman (@jonreismanMD) is an internist, pediatrician and ER physician, and author of The Unseen Body: A Doctor’s Journey Through the Hidden Wonders of Human Anatomy.

Notable Links:

• Jet lag (physiological condition)
• Travelers’ diarrhea (intestinal infection)
• Gastritis (stomach inflammation)
• Sinusitis (inflammation of the sinuses)
• Kamchatka (peninsula in the Russian Far East)
• Haggis (Scottish savory pudding)
• Cholesterol (steroid alcohol found in fat)
• Triglycerides (constituent of body fat)
• Endocrine organ (part of the body’s hormonal system)
• Pineal gland (endocrine gland that secretes melatonin)
• Ambien (medicine for sleeping problems)

The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber.

Note: We don’t host a “comments” section, but we’re happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.