October 29, 2025 • 19 mins
A new Stuff show is here! Meet Health Stuff hosts Comedian Hari Kondabolu and Dr. Priyanka Wali as they discuss the challenges navigating our healthcare system and how optimizing our health may not be the actual road to health and wellness. They are here to help you navigate this complex world.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This podcast is for information purposes only and should not
be considered professional medical advice. Oh. I'm Hurry Condibolu and
I'm doctor Preanka Wally.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
And this is Healthstone. Hey world, welcome to the Health
Stuff Podcast. I'm Harry Condibolu, joined by my co host
Prianca Wally. Prianca, are you excited?
Speaker 1 (00:24):
I am Harry. You know, we've been working on the
show for a while now, and I'm just so excited
to share with all of our listeners some of the
things that we have in store for them.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Prianca is a doctor and I am not. So now
you know who to pay closer attention to. I just
want to talk about why we're hosting this podcast and
what this podcast is all about. And I will begin
by asking the doctor in the room, Prianca, you're a
practicing physician. How do you even have time to host
a podcast?
Speaker 1 (00:54):
No, I do not, Let's be clear. I'm here because
it's actually very healing for me to talk about medical
stuff and to do it in a way that's humanizing
and entertaining. So I mean, to the listeners out there,
I just want to say I need this podcast just
(01:17):
as much as you do. You know, I have the
credentials and double board certified by the American Board of
Internal Medicine and the American Board of Obesity Medicine. And
you know, I see patients on a weekly basis. But
this podcast, to me, is really about helping you all,
as the listeners, navigate our healthcare system and doing it
(01:38):
in a way that's humane and meaningful.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
This is a bit of a different kind of health show.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
Yeah, yeah, that's a really important point. We wanted to
make a different kind of show because I think given
where we are right now in society, it's just really
important we talk about health in the most honest and
practical way possible. In our culture. In media, health has
become the super trendy topic and online social media TikTok
(02:09):
there's just so many myths and fads and trends, and
you know, being healthy has just become this term where
people might be just talking about optimizing themselves without actually
being truly healthy. And so as someone who's a practicing physician,
(02:31):
I really feel like I have a different perspective. You know,
by the time people come to see me, they might
be feeling confused, they might be feeling lost, They've might
have gotten the run around from the medical system. Maybe
they've been told that, you know, whatever they're experiencing, it's
just in their head. And I just don't fundamentally believe that.
(02:52):
I think whatever people are experiencing, there's a reason behind it,
and it's my job to sort of figure out out.
And I also think there's a lot of people out
there who are suffering in a way that they've just
sort of accepted that you're supposed to live with poor health,
and they have no idea why they don't feel well.
(03:14):
They just think that that's just the way life is.
I see people that come to me and they actually
have conditions that were never accurately diagnosed, or they had
no idea they were suffering from these things, you know,
whether it's sleep apne or anxiety, or hormonal issues or
chronic fatigue. And I just am really really passionate about
giving people the knowledge to empower themselves so that they
(03:38):
can be aware that perhaps whatever things or symptoms that
they're suffering from, they don't have to just accept that
as the way life has to be. And a lot
of health advice focus so much on the individual person,
but I really believe that you can't separate the individual
from the collective because the way a person lives their life,
(04:02):
it's so intricately connected to society and health. And so
that's what I think the point of this show is
we want to take all of that into account when
we talk about health. Does that make.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Sense, Yeah, it absolutely makes sense.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
So I'm so excited to be working with you as well,
because I know, Harry, you come from a very different perspective.
What brought you to this show.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
I mean, I'm coming from a position of ignorance, like
I want to know more about my health, because health
is that thing that's constantly there with you. You know, you
talk about getting more sleep, you talk about self care,
you talk about going to the doctor, but when you're
busy and moving from think to think throughout your day,
health is the first thing that gets cut. It's always
the first thing that gets cut. It's late at night
(04:49):
and you're hungry, so you're going to eat whatever is easy,
or you're going to go to bed late, or you
don't go to the gym. So I think about it constantly,
and as you age, you have less time to fix
things and it becomes harder to ignore. So I feel
like my role on the show in part is as
a member of the audience. There's an element of that, like,
I'm scared and confused and filled with assumptions about my
(05:11):
health that may or may not be true, and I
feel like, you know, getting your expertise on that is,
you know, is part of the excitement. You know. I
very much wanted to be part of something that I
think could you know, lead to a healthier conversation about health,
something that's a lot more productive than maybe we're having currently,
And also that could actually talk about fact, like what
(05:34):
is fact and what is fiction.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
Also, I'm a father of a five year old and
my kid is like this reminder of time passing. I
want to see him grow up and grow older. Plus,
he keeps telling me to go to the gym. I
don't know where he gets at, but he's been telling
me to go to the gym a lot. So clearly
I'm sensing that he wants me to be healthy. And
he's definitely right.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
I mean, yeah, he's definitely onto something. So this is
a show about the basics of health, but this is
not a basic show. We're going to talk about health
in a very great deal of depth, and we're also
going to tie it to our healthcare system because how
you interact with the system, how you access care, all
(06:15):
of that affects your health. And let's just be honest
from the get go. A lot of people don't like
going to the doctor. They avoid it. I understand it,
I see it. I don't judge it, and I get it.
It's stressful, it's expensive, it's a pain in the ass
parking all of the things. And you know, sometimes you
(06:38):
meet a provider that is just hard to talk to
and doesn't get you. So we want to try and
make all of that a little bit easier for you
with this show.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
So, Pianca, you and I are both Indians. So were
you assigned doctor at birth or did you decide to
become one.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
No, I was definitely. I came out of the womb
holding a step So what's yeah? I mean, I have
this joke that I've did on stage for years, Like dad,
when I grew up, I want to be a comedian preoga,
it's pronounced physician. My story so going back many generations,
(07:17):
I come from a long line of healers and physicians.
My great grandfather was actually one of the first anesthetis
in Kashmir. Where my family's from. So yeah, I sort
of was born into this family. Like if you look
up the last name Wally under California medical license, literally
(07:41):
every single name that comes up is related to me
in some aspect. So I have physicians on like both
sides of the family, their siblings, their kids, Like it
just goes on and on.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
You know.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
My don't do drugs talk was literally like going to
the emergency room with my dad and like talking to
active IV drug users who were like telling me like, yeah,
don't do what I did, kid, you know, and this
is all like pre hipA. This is like a very
different time. I always loved the science, but I was
(08:16):
also an artist, you know. I was always doing like
writing or singing or dancing or something really artistic. And
so I think what what ended up happening is as
I progressed in my education, I was always interested in
the science, but I always kept this side of me
that was a performer or an artist or a clown.
And flash forward to when I was a resident working
(08:40):
eighty hours a week. I was totally overwhelmed with the
responsibilities of you know, managing a full ward of patients,
and I needed a place to blow off some steam.
So that's when I started performing stand up comedy and
that really took off, and it really helped me stay
super balanced and really actually allowed me to be a
(09:05):
better physician, I think for other people. So yeah, but
if you want to get back to it, yes, it
is kind of like the stereotype, right, like Indian doctor,
we will see you right after this break.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
Now that you're a doctor, does the reality match the
expectation you had growing up?
Speaker 1 (09:29):
I mean, I think it was a bit of a shock,
to be honest. You know. When I started medical school,
I had this vision that, oh, we'd learned about all
these holistic aspects of health and healing and nutrition and
it would be a very sort of well rounded education,
and boom. I start medical school and quickly the first
(09:52):
set of lectures for the first couple of years is
just like big pharma trial, Big pharmatrial, Big pharma trial.
And it was this moment where I sort of asked
myself like, oh my god, like what have I done.
Not to mention just the culture of training medical students.
(10:13):
You know, it's inspired by the military style of training,
so it's a very authoritative, patriarchal sort of culture where
you know, they're going to just break you down in
order to build you up. So it was very interesting.
I went to medical school and I immediately became very
(10:35):
depressed and I suffered from clinical depression of medical school.
And I remember I was actually on a psychiatry rotation
as a med student, and I was interviewing a patient
who was very depressed and he was about to be
like we were trying to decide if he should be hospitalized.
(10:55):
And I was talking to this patient. I remember, as
a med student listening to him, and I was thinking
to myself, like, there's really not that much difference between
me and this patient that I'm interviewing. And so at
that point I started getting into therapy, got referred to
a psychiatrist. God help was able to stabilize. And then
the irony was that as soon as I graduated from
(11:18):
medical school, the depression just lifted, and it was clearly
a situational circumstance. And at that moment, it sort of
became very clear to me that like, I'm going to
have to be very careful about how I decide to
practice medicine and live my life so that I don't
fall back into that same culture and get depressed again.
(11:41):
And fortunately as a resident, I discovered stand up comedy
and was able to find other outlets to channel all
the feelings that I had and bring me, you know,
into a more balanced state. And so I'm very grateful
in a way that that episode of depression. It sort
of paved the way for the future for me too.
(12:04):
It taught me how not to live so that I
don't get depressed again.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
I think it's amazing that you're willing to talk about depression,
because it's not uncommon and I've had my own experience
with it, and i know I'm not alone, since the
rates of depression of the US are at a historic high,
especially after COVID. I think about eighteen percent of the
population and this is just diagnosed have depression, which is
like forty eight million people, and the true number is
(12:31):
probably a lot larger than that. And so often when
we talk about health, we don't talk about our mental health,
and that is so like fundamental and it's something that
affects all the other parts of our health as well.
We often talk about depression as something that's afflicting the
individual and it's unrelated to the context they're living in.
But of course that's not the case, Like nothing happens
(12:52):
in a vacuum. So I'm really glad you emphasize that.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
Yeah, totally. And you know, a lot of people don't
realized that the process of becoming a doctor is inherently
traumatizing in itself, Like in addition to the extreme conditions
in which you're working in, like you're also witnessing death,
witnessing illness, there's a fair amount of moral injury. And
(13:17):
you know, I see it in my fellow colleagues all
the time, like we can be like a very sort
of hardened, difficult group of people. And I really resent
the system for doing that because in my own journey,
I realized, like in order to be a healer, I
had to heal myself first.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
So how do you think this realization about your medical
training informed your view of health and how you practice medicine.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
Look, I was trained in this very traditional allopathics system.
I'm board certified in internal medicine, obesity medicine. I have
additional training and psychedelic assistant therapies. I think there's other
ways to look at what makes people healthy, and it
comes down to who that person is and where they
stand in the context of the collective. Yeah, and so
(14:08):
medical training taught me a lot about what can work
and what doesn't work. But I also recognize that there
are so many other systems out there that are also
pointed towards making a person healthy and whole. So let's
switch gears a little bit and just bring it back
to you, Harry, because you know you already pointed out
(14:28):
you're not a doctor, You're a comedian.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
I was never going to be a doctor. I think
my parents realized that when I started passing out at
the site of blood. My dad was an echo cardiogram
technician at a public hospital in Queen's for like, oh
my god, I can't even tell you how many years,
like over thirty years, and my mom worked in a
private hospital in Long Island as a manager of a
(14:53):
cath lab. So heart health was always a big part
of growing up. That doesn't necessarily mean that we ate
healthy or we don't have heard issues, but I knew,
you know, how important the left ventricle was. It really does,
It does all the work, It really does. We just
don't give enough credit to the left ventricle. I remember
(15:15):
one time we were at my mom's hospital and they
were looking for a vein to take some blood from
my dad, and just the tapping on his arm to
look for that vein caused me to pass out. It
was very embarrassed because it was at my mom's hospital,
you know, visiting my parents at their jobs. I got
to see a window into health disparities that affect so
(15:35):
many people. So I feel like I bring that to
this show. You know, I might not be a doctor,
but I definitely am somebody who's very aware of injustice.
You know. Comedy was something I did at night when
I was off from work as an immigrant rights organizer.
But I'm somebody who really thinks about how do we
create a fair world? And if you look at my comedy,
(15:57):
a lot of the things I talk about and involve
a pressure unfairness and justice. And I try to make
people laugh, but I end up, I guess, educating them
as well. And the cool thing about this podcast is
I feel like this is another avenue for me to
do that. I think a lot of times when we
talk about health, I see that people try to divorce
it from conditions of real life. But real life is
(16:19):
not having insurance or not going to the doctor because
you can't pay the copay, or you're afraid that you
won't be believed by a doctor. That's all part of
this too, and that's stuff that we really want to
talk about on this show.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
Absolutely. And I know, Harry, you're on the road a lot,
you're traveling performing, you meet lots of different kinds of people,
and you're seeing different ways of life.
Speaker 2 (16:42):
Yeah, I see a lot of different parts of the country,
and it's clear that we're all eating incredibly unhealthy. And
I know because I have tried every unhealthy cuisine in
every state pretty much. I've been to you can fry
almost anything, a pickle and oreo and it's always the
local delicacy, right, I've often ended up trying it. The
(17:04):
oria was good, the pickle was so so. But that
deep fried hagis I had in Scotland was it really
worth missing one more sunrise for? Probably not. So I
just want to soak up all this new information and
see what I can actually apply to my real life.
Speaker 1 (17:19):
So what are some topics that you're excited to dive
into on the show.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
I want to find out if Mexican coke is healthier
than regular coke, Like, is it worth the hype that's one,
you know, I want to know how to take a
red eye flight and I feel the next day. I
have a son, as I mentioned, and I'm very interested
in how phones and screens are influencing our children, so
I want to learn more about that. Plus I want
to better understand how addictive sugar is, like do I
(17:45):
really need to stop eating sugar? Please? Please don't make
me stop eating sugar now. Preanca, what are some topics
you're interested in discussing.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
I see a lot of issues that are the results
of improper nutrition, weight related issues, and I really like
using different nutritional therapies to sort of bring those into balance.
So I'm excited to talk about what we eat, the
food we eat, like sugar, what should we do and
(18:15):
help people understand all that. And I also have a background.
I've gotten additional training to do psychedelic assistant therapy, so
I am really excited to talk about these other facets
of medicine where we're seeing some really really interesting results.
And I really really like finding out the answers to
(18:36):
questions that have otherwise confused or stumped people for a while.
So we're going to have listener questions, which I'm really
excited to answer.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
Listeners can send us a health question, either a voice
note or a written note, and we'll do our best
to answer it on the show. They can send questions
to health Stuff podcast at gmail dot com. Again, that's
health Stuff podcast at gmail dot com, and we will
dive into the research.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
Yes, please please send us your questions and I'll be honest.
My favorite kinds and medical questions are the really weird ones,
the uncomfortable ones, the ones that are just like should
I ask this or not ask this?
Speaker 2 (19:15):
Yeah, only a doctor would say that, and I think
that's a good place to rep Thank you for listening.
Speaker 1 (19:21):
I'm Harricondobolu and I'm doctor briancle Wally.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
And this is health Stuff.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
Health Stuff is the production of iHeart Podcasts. Don't forget
to send us your voice memos with all of those
pesky little health questions that keep you up at night, Yes,
even those ones. Email us at health Stuff Podcasts at
gmail dot com. That's health Stuff podcast at gmail dot
com and go and subscribe to health stuff wherever you
(19:51):
get your podcasts. Thanks for listening.
This podcast is for information purposes only and should not
be considered professional medical advice. Oh. I'm Hurry Condibolu and
I'm doctor Preanka Wally.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
And this is Healthstone. Hey world, welcome to the Health
Stuff Podcast. I'm Harry Condibolu, joined by my co host
Prianca Wally. Prianca, are you excited?
Speaker 1 (00:24):
I am Harry. You know, we've been working on the
show for a while now, and I'm just so excited
to share with all of our listeners some of the
things that we have in store for them.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Prianca is a doctor and I am not. So now
you know who to pay closer attention to. I just
want to talk about why we're hosting this podcast and
what this podcast is all about. And I will begin
by asking the doctor in the room, Prianca, you're a
practicing physician. How do you even have time to host
a podcast?
Speaker 1 (00:54):
No, I do not, Let's be clear. I'm here because
it's actually very healing for me to talk about medical
stuff and to do it in a way that's humanizing
and entertaining. So I mean, to the listeners out there,
I just want to say I need this podcast just
(01:17):
as much as you do. You know, I have the
credentials and double board certified by the American Board of
Internal Medicine and the American Board of Obesity Medicine. And
you know, I see patients on a weekly basis. But
this podcast, to me, is really about helping you all,
as the listeners, navigate our healthcare system and doing it
(01:38):
in a way that's humane and meaningful.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
This is a bit of a different kind of health show.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
Yeah, yeah, that's a really important point. We wanted to
make a different kind of show because I think given
where we are right now in society, it's just really
important we talk about health in the most honest and
practical way possible. In our culture. In media, health has
become the super trendy topic and online social media TikTok
(02:09):
there's just so many myths and fads and trends, and
you know, being healthy has just become this term where
people might be just talking about optimizing themselves without actually
being truly healthy. And so as someone who's a practicing physician,
(02:31):
I really feel like I have a different perspective. You know,
by the time people come to see me, they might
be feeling confused, they might be feeling lost, They've might
have gotten the run around from the medical system. Maybe
they've been told that, you know, whatever they're experiencing, it's
just in their head. And I just don't fundamentally believe that.
(02:52):
I think whatever people are experiencing, there's a reason behind it,
and it's my job to sort of figure out out.
And I also think there's a lot of people out
there who are suffering in a way that they've just
sort of accepted that you're supposed to live with poor health,
and they have no idea why they don't feel well.
(03:14):
They just think that that's just the way life is.
I see people that come to me and they actually
have conditions that were never accurately diagnosed, or they had
no idea they were suffering from these things, you know,
whether it's sleep apne or anxiety, or hormonal issues or
chronic fatigue. And I just am really really passionate about
giving people the knowledge to empower themselves so that they
(03:38):
can be aware that perhaps whatever things or symptoms that
they're suffering from, they don't have to just accept that
as the way life has to be. And a lot
of health advice focus so much on the individual person,
but I really believe that you can't separate the individual
from the collective because the way a person lives their life,
(04:02):
it's so intricately connected to society and health. And so
that's what I think the point of this show is
we want to take all of that into account when
we talk about health. Does that make.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Sense, Yeah, it absolutely makes sense.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
So I'm so excited to be working with you as well,
because I know, Harry, you come from a very different perspective.
What brought you to this show.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
I mean, I'm coming from a position of ignorance, like
I want to know more about my health, because health
is that thing that's constantly there with you. You know, you
talk about getting more sleep, you talk about self care,
you talk about going to the doctor, but when you're
busy and moving from think to think throughout your day,
health is the first thing that gets cut. It's always
the first thing that gets cut. It's late at night
(04:49):
and you're hungry, so you're going to eat whatever is easy,
or you're going to go to bed late, or you
don't go to the gym. So I think about it constantly,
and as you age, you have less time to fix
things and it becomes harder to ignore. So I feel
like my role on the show in part is as
a member of the audience. There's an element of that, like,
I'm scared and confused and filled with assumptions about my
(05:11):
health that may or may not be true, and I
feel like, you know, getting your expertise on that is,
you know, is part of the excitement. You know. I
very much wanted to be part of something that I
think could you know, lead to a healthier conversation about health,
something that's a lot more productive than maybe we're having currently,
And also that could actually talk about fact, like what
(05:34):
is fact and what is fiction.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
Also, I'm a father of a five year old and
my kid is like this reminder of time passing. I
want to see him grow up and grow older. Plus,
he keeps telling me to go to the gym. I
don't know where he gets at, but he's been telling
me to go to the gym a lot. So clearly
I'm sensing that he wants me to be healthy. And
he's definitely right.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
I mean, yeah, he's definitely onto something. So this is
a show about the basics of health, but this is
not a basic show. We're going to talk about health
in a very great deal of depth, and we're also
going to tie it to our healthcare system because how
you interact with the system, how you access care, all
(06:15):
of that affects your health. And let's just be honest
from the get go. A lot of people don't like
going to the doctor. They avoid it. I understand it,
I see it. I don't judge it, and I get it.
It's stressful, it's expensive, it's a pain in the ass
parking all of the things. And you know, sometimes you
(06:38):
meet a provider that is just hard to talk to
and doesn't get you. So we want to try and
make all of that a little bit easier for you
with this show.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
So, Pianca, you and I are both Indians. So were
you assigned doctor at birth or did you decide to
become one.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
No, I was definitely. I came out of the womb
holding a step So what's yeah? I mean, I have
this joke that I've did on stage for years, Like dad,
when I grew up, I want to be a comedian preoga,
it's pronounced physician. My story so going back many generations,
(07:17):
I come from a long line of healers and physicians.
My great grandfather was actually one of the first anesthetis
in Kashmir. Where my family's from. So yeah, I sort
of was born into this family. Like if you look
up the last name Wally under California medical license, literally
(07:41):
every single name that comes up is related to me
in some aspect. So I have physicians on like both
sides of the family, their siblings, their kids, Like it
just goes on and on.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
You know.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
My don't do drugs talk was literally like going to
the emergency room with my dad and like talking to
active IV drug users who were like telling me like, yeah,
don't do what I did, kid, you know, and this
is all like pre hipA. This is like a very
different time. I always loved the science, but I was
(08:16):
also an artist, you know. I was always doing like
writing or singing or dancing or something really artistic. And
so I think what what ended up happening is as
I progressed in my education, I was always interested in
the science, but I always kept this side of me
that was a performer or an artist or a clown.
And flash forward to when I was a resident working
(08:40):
eighty hours a week. I was totally overwhelmed with the
responsibilities of you know, managing a full ward of patients,
and I needed a place to blow off some steam.
So that's when I started performing stand up comedy and
that really took off, and it really helped me stay
super balanced and really actually allowed me to be a
(09:05):
better physician, I think for other people. So yeah, but
if you want to get back to it, yes, it
is kind of like the stereotype, right, like Indian doctor,
we will see you right after this break.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
Now that you're a doctor, does the reality match the
expectation you had growing up?
Speaker 1 (09:29):
I mean, I think it was a bit of a shock,
to be honest. You know. When I started medical school,
I had this vision that, oh, we'd learned about all
these holistic aspects of health and healing and nutrition and
it would be a very sort of well rounded education,
and boom. I start medical school and quickly the first
(09:52):
set of lectures for the first couple of years is
just like big pharma trial, Big pharmatrial, Big pharma trial.
And it was this moment where I sort of asked
myself like, oh my god, like what have I done.
Not to mention just the culture of training medical students.
(10:13):
You know, it's inspired by the military style of training,
so it's a very authoritative, patriarchal sort of culture where
you know, they're going to just break you down in
order to build you up. So it was very interesting.
I went to medical school and I immediately became very
(10:35):
depressed and I suffered from clinical depression of medical school.
And I remember I was actually on a psychiatry rotation
as a med student, and I was interviewing a patient
who was very depressed and he was about to be
like we were trying to decide if he should be hospitalized.
(10:55):
And I was talking to this patient. I remember, as
a med student listening to him, and I was thinking
to myself, like, there's really not that much difference between
me and this patient that I'm interviewing. And so at
that point I started getting into therapy, got referred to
a psychiatrist. God help was able to stabilize. And then
the irony was that as soon as I graduated from
(11:18):
medical school, the depression just lifted, and it was clearly
a situational circumstance. And at that moment, it sort of
became very clear to me that like, I'm going to
have to be very careful about how I decide to
practice medicine and live my life so that I don't
fall back into that same culture and get depressed again.
(11:41):
And fortunately as a resident, I discovered stand up comedy
and was able to find other outlets to channel all
the feelings that I had and bring me, you know,
into a more balanced state. And so I'm very grateful
in a way that that episode of depression. It sort
of paved the way for the future for me too.
(12:04):
It taught me how not to live so that I
don't get depressed again.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
I think it's amazing that you're willing to talk about depression,
because it's not uncommon and I've had my own experience
with it, and i know I'm not alone, since the
rates of depression of the US are at a historic high,
especially after COVID. I think about eighteen percent of the
population and this is just diagnosed have depression, which is
like forty eight million people, and the true number is
(12:31):
probably a lot larger than that. And so often when
we talk about health, we don't talk about our mental health,
and that is so like fundamental and it's something that
affects all the other parts of our health as well.
We often talk about depression as something that's afflicting the
individual and it's unrelated to the context they're living in.
But of course that's not the case, Like nothing happens
(12:52):
in a vacuum. So I'm really glad you emphasize that.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
Yeah, totally. And you know, a lot of people don't
realized that the process of becoming a doctor is inherently
traumatizing in itself, Like in addition to the extreme conditions
in which you're working in, like you're also witnessing death,
witnessing illness, there's a fair amount of moral injury. And
(13:17):
you know, I see it in my fellow colleagues all
the time, like we can be like a very sort
of hardened, difficult group of people. And I really resent
the system for doing that because in my own journey,
I realized, like in order to be a healer, I
had to heal myself first.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
So how do you think this realization about your medical
training informed your view of health and how you practice medicine.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
Look, I was trained in this very traditional allopathics system.
I'm board certified in internal medicine, obesity medicine. I have
additional training and psychedelic assistant therapies. I think there's other
ways to look at what makes people healthy, and it
comes down to who that person is and where they
stand in the context of the collective. Yeah, and so
(14:08):
medical training taught me a lot about what can work
and what doesn't work. But I also recognize that there
are so many other systems out there that are also
pointed towards making a person healthy and whole. So let's
switch gears a little bit and just bring it back
to you, Harry, because you know you already pointed out
(14:28):
you're not a doctor, You're a comedian.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
I was never going to be a doctor. I think
my parents realized that when I started passing out at
the site of blood. My dad was an echo cardiogram
technician at a public hospital in Queen's for like, oh
my god, I can't even tell you how many years,
like over thirty years, and my mom worked in a
private hospital in Long Island as a manager of a
(14:53):
cath lab. So heart health was always a big part
of growing up. That doesn't necessarily mean that we ate
healthy or we don't have heard issues, but I knew,
you know, how important the left ventricle was. It really does,
It does all the work, It really does. We just
don't give enough credit to the left ventricle. I remember
(15:15):
one time we were at my mom's hospital and they
were looking for a vein to take some blood from
my dad, and just the tapping on his arm to
look for that vein caused me to pass out. It
was very embarrassed because it was at my mom's hospital,
you know, visiting my parents at their jobs. I got
to see a window into health disparities that affect so
(15:35):
many people. So I feel like I bring that to
this show. You know, I might not be a doctor,
but I definitely am somebody who's very aware of injustice.
You know. Comedy was something I did at night when
I was off from work as an immigrant rights organizer.
But I'm somebody who really thinks about how do we
create a fair world? And if you look at my comedy,
(15:57):
a lot of the things I talk about and involve
a pressure unfairness and justice. And I try to make
people laugh, but I end up, I guess, educating them
as well. And the cool thing about this podcast is
I feel like this is another avenue for me to
do that. I think a lot of times when we
talk about health, I see that people try to divorce
it from conditions of real life. But real life is
(16:19):
not having insurance or not going to the doctor because
you can't pay the copay, or you're afraid that you
won't be believed by a doctor. That's all part of
this too, and that's stuff that we really want to
talk about on this show.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
Absolutely. And I know, Harry, you're on the road a lot,
you're traveling performing, you meet lots of different kinds of people,
and you're seeing different ways of life.
Speaker 2 (16:42):
Yeah, I see a lot of different parts of the country,
and it's clear that we're all eating incredibly unhealthy. And
I know because I have tried every unhealthy cuisine in
every state pretty much. I've been to you can fry
almost anything, a pickle and oreo and it's always the
local delicacy, right, I've often ended up trying it. The
(17:04):
oria was good, the pickle was so so. But that
deep fried hagis I had in Scotland was it really
worth missing one more sunrise for? Probably not. So I
just want to soak up all this new information and
see what I can actually apply to my real life.
Speaker 1 (17:19):
So what are some topics that you're excited to dive
into on the show.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
I want to find out if Mexican coke is healthier
than regular coke, Like, is it worth the hype that's one,
you know, I want to know how to take a
red eye flight and I feel the next day. I
have a son, as I mentioned, and I'm very interested
in how phones and screens are influencing our children, so
I want to learn more about that. Plus I want
to better understand how addictive sugar is, like do I
(17:45):
really need to stop eating sugar? Please? Please don't make
me stop eating sugar now. Preanca, what are some topics
you're interested in discussing.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
I see a lot of issues that are the results
of improper nutrition, weight related issues, and I really like
using different nutritional therapies to sort of bring those into balance.
So I'm excited to talk about what we eat, the
food we eat, like sugar, what should we do and
(18:15):
help people understand all that. And I also have a background.
I've gotten additional training to do psychedelic assistant therapy, so
I am really excited to talk about these other facets
of medicine where we're seeing some really really interesting results.
And I really really like finding out the answers to
(18:36):
questions that have otherwise confused or stumped people for a while.
So we're going to have listener questions, which I'm really
excited to answer.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
Listeners can send us a health question, either a voice
note or a written note, and we'll do our best
to answer it on the show. They can send questions
to health Stuff podcast at gmail dot com. Again, that's
health Stuff podcast at gmail dot com, and we will
dive into the research.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
Yes, please please send us your questions and I'll be honest.
My favorite kinds and medical questions are the really weird ones,
the uncomfortable ones, the ones that are just like should
I ask this or not ask this?
Speaker 2 (19:15):
Yeah, only a doctor would say that, and I think
that's a good place to rep Thank you for listening.
Speaker 1 (19:21):
I'm Harricondobolu and I'm doctor briancle Wally.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
And this is health Stuff.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
Health Stuff is the production of iHeart Podcasts. Don't forget
to send us your voice memos with all of those
pesky little health questions that keep you up at night, Yes,
even those ones. Email us at health Stuff Podcasts at
gmail dot com. That's health Stuff podcast at gmail dot
com and go and subscribe to health stuff wherever you
(19:51):
get your podcasts. Thanks for listening.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!