Age Less / Live More

Many women start hormonal birth control in their teens and continue for years or even decades. This can be a responsible decision, but most people don’t realize the long-term side effects and risks including infertility, reduced libido, weight gain, and even mood disorders. With all things birth control, there is no one-size-fits-all solution, but throwing a pill at the issue without weighing the options is surely a bad idea. On this week’s show, you’ll meet Dr. Jolene Brighten, a women’s hormone specialist who will help you make an informed decision about what’s right for you. Listen & Learn:  How the Fertility Awareness Methods (FAMs) can be just as effective as hormonal options  Why the pill contributes to increased miscarriage rates and infertility later  How the pill can cause adrenal and thyroid problems  Why IUDs are back, and why you might try this old-school method  How the pill is often misused to treat irregular periods, PCOS, PMS, and acne Links & Resources:  Dr. Brighten’s Site ABOUT OUR GUEST Dr. Jolene Brighten is a functional naturopathic medical doctor who focuses on women’s endocrine health. She’s an expert in Post-Birth Control Syndrome and the long-term side effects associated with hormonal contraceptives. Nutritional Tip of the Week: Yerba mate Got Questions? Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com  Like the Show? Leave us a Review on iTunes 

Did you know that 80 percent of generic drugs are manufactured in India or China, thousands of miles from the US FDA inspectors? When it comes to oversight, manufacturing safety, and transparency, it’s a huge problem when Big Brother is on the other side of the planet. Generic drugs offer consumers huge cost savings, but is safety and regulation the price we have to pay in order to afford our medicines? On this week’s show, you’ll meet an investigative journalist who uncovered the real problems with the generic medicine market. Listen & Learn: Why you should be most concerned about medicines you take regularly How carcinogens, toxins, and even bacterial/viral infections are a real risk in manufacturing Why ‘surprise visits’ are impossible for non-US-based manufacturing facilities Why ‘first-to-file’ incentives encourage companies to cut corners How the Indian concept of Jugaad might be at odds with safety Links & Resources: Katherine’s Site ABOUT OUR GUEST Katherine Eban is an investigative journalist and author. Her articles have won international attention and numerous awards appearing in Fortune, Vanity Fair, The New York Times, Self, The Nation, and The New York Observer. Her work has been featured on 60 Minutes, Nightline, and NPR. She is the author of Dangerous Doses and a new book, Bottle of Lies. Nutritional Tip of the Week: Raw Honey Got Questions? Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com Like the Show? Leave us a Review on iTunes

I used to say, “I’m bad with names!” It wasn’t until my late 30s that I realized this was just an excuse for not learning how to remember names. Turns out, it’s not that hard. I’m not amazing, but I’m now pretty good and getting better all the time. My big secret? I put some effort into it. My guest on this week’s show is a four-time USA memory champion. Here is a short list of his accomplishments: Memorized 217 names in 15 minutes Memorized 256 words in 15 minutes Memorized 907 digits in 30 minutes Memorized a deck of cards in < 41 seconds Memory skills are more than party tricks. It is a way to train and harness the power of your mind through specific techniques that can spill over with benefits into every aspect of your life. This is a fun one. Links & Resources: Nelson’s Website Nelson’s Youtube ABOUT OUR GUEST Nelson Dellis is a 4x USA Memory Champion and one of the leading memory experts in the world. He is a competitive memory athlete, memory consultant, published author, and keynote speaker. As a memory champion, mountaineer, and Alzheimer's disease activist, he preaches a lifestyle that combines fitness— both mental and physical—with proper diet and social involvement. He is the author of the book, Remember It!, and he founded a non-profit charity that aims to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer's. He has climbed numerous peaks around the world for this cause, including three times on Mount Everest. Nelson has been featured on FOX's Superhumans, The TODAY Show, Fox and Friends, The Katie Couric Show, CNN.com, ABC Nightline, The Dr. Oz Show, The Science Channel, National Geographic, and SuperBrain China, among many other media outlets. Nutritional Tip of the Week: Sous Vide Got Questions? Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com Like the Show? Leave us a Review on iTunes

That glass of red wine after dinner soon turns into two or three. On Friday and Saturday, two or three often turns into a bottle or two. After a decade or more of drinking, it’s not uncommon to clock in 30+ drinks per week. It creeps up slowly, so it can almost go unnoticed. But your body, mind, and spirit notice, and it has a real impact. On this week’s show, you’ll meet a very successful executive who didn’t start drinking until her late 20s but quickly found herself living a lifestyle that she didn’t want as her trajectory. Alcohol abuse comes in all sizes and shapes, and most people who drink fit the Center for Disease Control’s definition of excessive drinking. What does that mean for you? Maybe nothing. Maybe everything is going just great. Or maybe it means that you should reevaluate your relationship with alcohol and make sure you’re writing a story you’d like to author. Listen & Learn: How 8 drinks per week (for women) and 15 drinks per week (for men) is classified as “excessive” by the CDC How the mind-body connection plays a role in pain, addiction, and substance abuse How alcohol is baked into adult life, professional life, and almost every culture on the planet Simple ways to rethink your alcohol relationship Links & Resources: This Naked Mind ABOUT OUR GUEST Annie Grace grew up in a one-room log cabin without running water or electricity outside of Aspen, Colorado. By the age of 26, Annie was the youngest vice president in a multinational company, and her drinking career began in earnest. By 35, in a global C-level marketing role, she was responsible for marketing in 28 countries and drinking almost two bottles of wine a night. She left her executive role to write her book, This Naked Mind. Nutritional Tip of the Week: Cilantro Got Questions? Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com Like the Show? Leave us a Review on iTunes

When you think of a spiritual seeker, you probably conjure up images of shaved heads, orange robes, dark meditation halls, and gongs. But sitting in silence is not the only way to mediate. You can also run around in circles 12-14 hours a day, pushing your body and mental resolve to their limit. Every year, a dozen or so seekers show up in Queens, New York, to run around an unremarkable city block until they hit 59 miles. They do this for 52 days straight, 3100 miles total. This extreme race has been happening since 1997, and many runners are repeat participants. Our guest on this week’s show directed a film profiling this race and the global phenomenon of running as a spiritual practice. Listen & Learn: How average people, older people, and non-athletes are completing this race How ultra-running can be mostly a mental challenge How transcendence is the goal and a necessity for this type of race How humans are truly born to run Why a spiritual guru founded this race Links & Resources: 3100: Run & Become Race ABOUT OUR GUEST Sanjay is a runner and documentary filmmaker whose films include Ocean Monk, Challenging Impossibility and Food Chains. His most recent film, 3100: Run and Become, details the world’s most elusive and elite multi-day foot race around one utterly unremarkable half-mile urban sidewalk block in Queens, New York. The race demands competitors to complete at least 59 miles a day for 52 straight days. Nutritional Tip of the Week: Eggs & Cholesterol Got Questions? Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com Like the Show? Leave us a Review on iTunes

Real health is more than just food and exercise. The key elements we often overlook are love, support, community, and stress management. These factors are so much more difficult to manage but potentially even more important than nailing the perfect diet or workout routine. My guest on this week’s podcast has an incredible track record for reversing and healing heart disease through lifestyle interventions, and he shares his very simple four-pronged approach to health and wellness for life. Listen & Learn: How to stress less Why movement and love matter so much How simple holistic health can be Why it’s important to get clear about your life goals Links & Resources: Dr. Ornish’s Website Undo It Book Site ABOUT OUR GUEST Dean Ornish, M.D., is the founder and president of the non-profit Preventive Medicine Research Institute. He is the Clinical Professor of Medicine at both UCSF and UCSD. He was recognized as "one of the 125 most extraordinary University of Texas alumni in the past 125 years;" as a "TIME 100 Innovator" by TIME magazine; as "one of the 50 most influential members of his generation” by LIFE magazine; as "one of the most interesting people of the year" by People magazine; and as "one of the world's seven most powerful teachers" by Forbes magazine. His most recent book, Undo It, is available on his website or Amazon. Nutritional Tip of the Week: Rapeseed Oil Got Questions? Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com Like the Show? Leave us a Review on iTunes

Your social media feed is filled with the curated lives of a bunch of strangers who you “follow” for no obvious reason. They are better-looking than you, their lunch looks tastier, their prose is so witty. Wow, what a life. But is it real? Probably not. On an average day, most of us feel a combination of overwhelm, exhaustion, silliness, joy, loss, fear, anxiety, and depression. For a few wonderful moments, we get lost in our work or family lives, we get sucked into an inspiring story or enchanted by a new idea. And then our stomach hurts and tomorrow’s responsibilities begin to suck away the momentary peace of today. Real life is a big, sloppy soup of emotions and the challenge is this: How do you find your authentic self amidst all that? Who are you really and what drives you? How can you cut through the Starbucks and puppies selfies to figure out what you’re supposed to be doing with yourself in this one precious life you have? My guest on this week’s podcast has some ideas. Listen & Learn: Why we give ourselves what we feel we deserve Why clarity and purpose can cause you uneasiness (at first) How to use isolated dreaming to figure yourself out What to do when you know only what you don’t want   Links & Resources: Philip’s Site One Last Talk Book ABOUT OUR GUEST Philip McKernan is a speaker, author, and entrepreneur. He teaches people to become more intuitive so they know when they are on the right path. Philip works around the world with individuals, couples, and corporate organizations such as Shell and more recently the Canadian Olympic team before the London games. He’s the author of One Last Talk: Rich on Paper, Poor on Life available on Amazon or on his site. Nutritional Tip of the Week: Micotoxins in Coffee Got Questions? Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com Like the Show? Leave us a Review on iTunes

From the melting ice caps to dying marine reefs and depleted fish populations, we’re facing some big challenges right now, but very few people flip the lens to look at their own bodies to ask: “How are these petrochemical toxins affecting me and my family?” The truth is, toxins affect all of us from the moment we’re born. Newborns enter the world with 200+ chemical toxins inside them, and the quantity tends to go up and up as we age. Plastics can make your fat cells bigger and mess up your hormones. Chemical additives in foods can give you brain fog and mood disorders. Artificial sweeteners can affect cognition, digestion, and hunger. These toxins are huge and growing problems, and most people are not paying attention. On this week’s show, you’ll meet a medical doctor, a father, and a researcher who is uncovering simple truths about our toxic world along with practical solutions for staying sane and healthy. Listen & Learn: Why you should cook with stainless steel or cast iron Why plastics #3, #6 and #7 are the worst (look at the recycling symbol) How microwaving plastics can release endocrine disruptors Why canned foods of all types should be avoided Why hormones-disruptors can affect everything from your mood, waistline and sex drive Why Europe has banned 1300 chemicals in household and food products and the USA has only banned 11 Why flame-retardants are required in the USA, despite questionable efficacy huge side effects Why you should buy paraben-free, phthalate-free, and SLS-free products Why “fragrance” is often code for “dangerous chemical we’d like to keep secret” Links & Resource: Dr. Leo Trasande’s Site and Book ABOUT OUR GUEST Dr. Leonardo Trasande is a pediatrician, professor, and researcher. He is the author of the new book, Sicker, Fatter, Poorer: The Urgent Threat of Hormone-Disrupting Chemicals to Our Health and Future and What We Can Do About It. Nutritional Tip of the Week: Cashews Moldy Got Questions? Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com Like the Show? Leave us a Review on iTunes

The two big reasons marriages fail are sex and money. While finances are by no means easy, you can always go get another job, cut back, add on, or get creative. These creative solutions rarely play out well when it comes to sex, so you can quickly see why challenges often end in disaster. Sexuality is such a private issue, something most people prefer to discuss behind closed doors; but in reality, they don’t even discuss it in privacy either. Mostly, it goes unspoken. So what do you do? What is sexuality? How does it change as you age, have kids, and grow older? On this week’s show, you’ll meet a sex therapist with a very simple and practical approach to sex and sexuality. He’ll share his time-tested clinical experiences and hopefully shed some light on the challenges in the bedroom. Listen & Learn: Why good sex is fundamentally about getting stupid and happy together How children can sometimes kill sexuality in a relationship How age and mismatched desire can create new challenges in a couple Men vs. women: is there a difference? Why we often protest during the day the things we fantasize about at night Links & Resources: Dr. Synder’s Website ABOUT OUR GUEST Stephen Snyder, MD is a sex and relationship therapist in Manhattan, Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine, a regular contributor to Huffington Post and Psychology. Today, a frequent guest on major media, and one of America's most original voices of sex and relationships. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children. He is the author of the book Love Worth Making. Nutritional Tip of the Week: Tahini Raw Got Questions? Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com Like the Show? Leave us a Review on iTunes

I had nosebleed nearly every single day in 1988. It would usually happen midday, and while I got pretty good at predicting it, I still remember bleeding on some very important textbooks, my Iowa Basics tests (old school standardized tests), and my white t-shirts. Eventually, my family doctor did some kind of cauterization procedure and it stopped—hooray! Every kid has some weird health thing, whether it’s bumps on their belly from the swimming pool or endless streams of mucus from their noses, so I never thought anything of it until 30 years later. I met a guy who had an autoimmune condition that the doctors finally traced back to black mold in his home that started after a flood. I’d never even heard of black mold. Here’s how it works: Your bathtub overflows, water drips into the floor, and then you clean it up. But the water in the floorboards drips down into the walls and ceiling and it gets moldy. That mold might just sit there, but it might spread. It might stay trapped in the walls, but it might start to get into your heating ducts or get released during construction. And the problem? In many cases, these molds are super toxic, even neurotoxic. What does this have to do with my nosebleeds? It’s one of the top symptoms of mold exposure, and I was sleeping in a moldy basement at the time. Luckily, my nosebleeds were no big deal, particularly in comparison to the conditions that household mold can trigger in others. On this week’s show, Dr. Ann Shippy will share her research and best practices for protecting your home and family from black mold. Listen & Learn: Why as many as 50% of homes might have a mold issue Why some mycotoxins are not visible and don’t necessarily smell bad How mold can cause headaches, skin conditions, bloody noses, and even cause much more serious conditions How to take care of you and your loved ones Links & Resources: Dr. Ann Shippy CDC research on mold ABOUT OUR GUEST Dr. Ann Shippy is board certified in both Internal Medicine and Functional Medicine. As a humanitarian and founder of two foundations (Good Food Matterz Foundation and Toxicity Matters Foundation), she wants to help create a world of wellness. She has written two books, Mold Toxicity Workbook and Shippy Paleo Essentials. Nutritional Tip of the Week: What are the essential supplements Got Questions? Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com Like the Show? Leave us a Review on iTunes