Podcast Category: Gut health & nutrition

To separate truths from myths, we have Ryann Kipping on to discuss nutrition myths surrounding nutrition. She provides insight into safe caffeine consumption and whether the source of caffeine matters. Ryann shares the impacts of sugar consumption during pregnancy and how to navigate sugary cravings. Furthermore, she provides insight into the research surrounding fish consumption and how the recommendations differ from raw shellfish. She briefly discusses fruit and whether eating for two is a necessity while pregnancy. With her motto “nutrition for two,” she focuses on choline and folate as two key nutrients throughout pregnancy, the consumption of organ meats and vitamin A toxicity, as well as when nutrition focus surrounding pregnancy should occur. Let’s dive in!

Welcome to episode 247 of The Optimal Body Podcast Eat Your Vitamins for Longevity with Mascha Davis Do you need to supplement for longevity? Mascha Davis, registered dietician, offers the best of her insights on

Gut health is all the rave and we have Dr. Jessie Hoffman on to artificial sweeteners, leaky gut, gastrointestinal distress, bloating, food intolerances and sensitivities, detox, and metal binders.

Dr. Yael provides insights on the inability to change your genes, but the ability to impact the expression of genes. With a clear explanation of genetics, epigenetics, and nutrigenomics, Dr. Yael discusses medical genetics and the concept of “genes are destiny.” Additionally, she dives into the heritability of injury, how genetic testing can be beneficial for behavior change, and how your genes are involved in your detoxification efficacy and inflammation regulation. Finally. Dr. Yael shares a case study on genetics and root-cause analysis to approach obesity.

Dr. Heather Zwickey explains what affects your microbiome, the idea that “all disease start in the gut,” whether or not your microbiome can affect your mood, food highs and exorphins, how to benefit your microbiome and reduce inflammation, whether or not there are good or bad bacteria in the gut, how health is determined from a microbiome perspective, the pro-biotic debate, how to help your GI upset, how you microbiome changes on a plantful versus a carnivore diet, the impact of midnight snacking, how sugar affects your microbiome, and how you can approach your microbiome to optimize it!

Dr. Levitan and Dr. Block unveil the truths about the supplementation industry, describing how vitamin deficiencies can manifest symptomatically or asymptomatically. Moreover, they explain how unregulated the industry is and what vitamins are better absorbed through diet or are required through supplements. Finally, they discuss what micronutrients may be of more importance throughout life or with different diet choices, as well as how often you should re-assess your vitamin needs.

Dr. Stacy Sims explains the hormonal changes that occur in and around menopause, and how you can mitigate the effects of depleted estrogen, our anabolic hormone. After considering hormonal therapies and the cultural stigmatization around aging, she evaluates the current exercise guidelines and how they are inappropriate for women in perimenopause or post-menopause. Learn to optimize blood sugar and insulin sensitivity, muscle atrophy, bone mass density, belly fat, creatine levels, and intensity of exercise through discussion around exercise modalities, timing of nutritional intake, and epigenetic changes.

Andrea Nakayama explains her methods of strategically approaching symptoms from a root-cause based mindset. She discusses the 3 tiers of nutrition mastery, tracking, the importance of stool. gut bacteria, nutrition tests, blood glucose levels, and autoimmunity from a functional perspective.

Diving into generational impact and the importance of maternal nutrition for the baby’s lifelong health, Lily explains the importance of blood sugar control, pancreas health, and insulin production in pregnancy. Furthermore, she names the outdates guidlines on carbohydrate intake and micronutrient intakes, highlighting natural multivitamin sources. She describes the importance of eggs, organ meats, dairy, and fresh produce as concentrated sources of deficient vitamins and minerals seen in pregnant women. Finally, she speaks into vegetarian and vegan considerations during pregnancy. 

We’re re-discovering the meat industry, deciphering the nuances in labels and how you can get the most ethically and nutritious sourced meats. Sean dives into what brought him to the Bison business, explains what ruminants are, and why grass-fed is important. Furthermore, he unveils the truths about buying meat by the weight and how organs meats can be a naturally sourced multivitamin.