August 6, 2024 • 36 mins
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In today's episode of Masterstroke, we dive into the troubling decline in U.S. life expectancy and how society's view of aging affects us all. Hosts Monica and Sejal, along with Dr. Anique Bryan, a leading expert in anti-aging and regenerative medicine, uncover secrets to boosting your longevity and quality of life.
Dr. Bryan explains that true anti-aging medicine is about more than just fighting the aging process. It’s set to become a $600 billion industry, focusing on preventative healthcare.
We explore the power of nutrition and supplements, the benefits of plant-based diets, and the importance of a healthy gut. Dr. Bryan shares weight management tips, from IV glutathione to monitoring nitric oxide levels. Tune in to learn the limitations of traditional diets and the benefits of a holistic, personalized approach to health. This episode is packed with tips to help you feel better, look great, and embrace aging with grace.
Georgianna Moreland - Creator, Executive Producer & Managing Editor;
Matt Stoker - Editor
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Dr. Anique Bryan (00:04):
Right now in this country, we're facing what
would be termed a metaboliccrisis.
We've got to get back toprevention.
Monica Enand (00:11):
I feel like we need to repeat what you just
said that since 2014,.
Everywhere in the world, lifeexpectancy has been going up,
but that since 2014,.
Uniquely, in the United Statesof America, life expectancy is
actually dropping relative toother countries.
Dr. Anique Bryan (00:29):
That is an actual statistics, which was, I
mean, an eye-opener.
It's shocking.
Georgianna Moreland (00:33):
This is Masterstroke with Monica Enid
and Sejo Petrzak.
Monica Enand (00:44):
Welcome to Masterstroke.
This episode of Masterstroke,we are talking about something
that has been in the news latelyand, frankly, Sejal, all my
friends, I feel like I'm talkingabout it all the time.
Maybe it's my age or is it.
I don't know.
Sejal Pietrzak (00:59):
Well, it's so interesting and the topic is
anti-aging and it has been sucha hot topic everywhere and we're
so excited to be talking aboutit.
And maybe, maybe, it's our age,but frankly, I think even
people in their 20s and 30s arethinking about, you know, how
can they feel better, look greatand stay looking young and
(01:21):
feeling young even as they getolder.
So so I don't think it's justour age, I think it's everybody.
I agree we are so excited totalk to Dr Anique Bryan, who is
a family physician, boardcertified in anti-aging and
regenerative medicine, and shehas been practicing for over 30
(01:41):
years.
She served on the faculty ofthe University of Miami Miller
School of Medicine and practiceswith Miami International
Cardiology Consultants.
She's one of the two femalephysicians in the 17-member
group and she holds a medicallicense in the US Virgin Islands
(02:02):
.
And we are so excited to talkto Dr Anique Bryan and it's just
such a pleasure to have you onthe show today, anique.
Dr. Anique Bryan (02:10):
Thank you, thank you so much for inviting
me.
I'm very, very happy to be here.
Sejal Pietrzak (02:14):
What is anti-aging medicine?
So we always talk about what wecan do to do a better job of
feeling better, looking better,thinking about ourselves, you
know, in terms of being younger,but even as we age, gracefully,
what is anti-aging medicine?
Dr. Anique Bryan (02:34):
So there's a technical term for it.
So anti-aging medicine isbasically the application of
advanced scientific and medicaltechnologies for the early
detection, prevention, treatmentand reversal of age-related
disorders and diseases.
So that's really the technicaldefinition of anti-aging
(02:57):
medicine.
However, you know, anti-agingmedicine doesn't mean that we
are against aging.
Actually, what it does mean isthat what we are focused on is
longevity.
So I tell my patients think ofit more as a process where we
are facilitating the naturalprocess of getting older or
aging, by using dietary andlifestyle modifications, along
(03:21):
with supplements and exerciseand movement, to improve the
quality of life.
So that's really what we'refocused on, as opposed to being
against getting old.
Monica Enand (03:30):
I'm really glad to hear you say that, anique.
I just have to say I thinkespecially women but all people
have been sold sort of a bill ofgoods when it comes to aging.
Because I feel, because I feellike I'm really happy with how I
look and feel as I'm aging, butI don't want to reverse it, I
(03:51):
don't want to not age.
I'm actually a much happierperson in my 50s than I was,
frankly, in my 20s or 30s.
I had so much that I feel somuch wiser, I feel so much more
sort of, I guess, comfortable inmy own skin and I'm I'm like, I
(04:14):
have to say this movement ofwomen kind of embracing their
gray hair and not coloring theirhair, like I have several
friends who have done that and Ithink it just looks powerful
and awesome and lovely.
So in terms of I'm really gladto hear you say that because in
terms of looks, I think how weage is a very natural, beautiful
process.
But I agree with you know,wanting to feel healthy, capable
(04:34):
, athletic, be able to do, enjoykind of a full life, and I see
people at older ages nowenjoying a much more full life
than we ever, I think, saw whenI was younger and looking at
older ages now enjoying a muchmore full life than we ever, I
(04:56):
think, saw when I was younger.
And looking at older people, Ithink I read that the
Anti-Edging Academy was founded32 years ago.
Is that correct?
That is correct, yeah, I haveto say.
I also read, and it blew mymind, that this industry is
expected to exceed $600 billionin the next few years.
Dr. Anique Bryan (05:17):
Yes.
Monica Enand (05:18):
You know, for Sejal and I, who look at
businesses all the time and talkabout the size of the market
and the TAM, the addressablemarket, you know this is a huge
industry, supplements toaesthetics, to I mean to
everything, yeah.
And I don't know how to feelabout that.
Like, is that a good thing?
I think it is.
(05:39):
On the one hand, I feel like,oh well, as you described like
medical school was how do wetreat these diseases?
And now like, maybe thisanti-aging approach is OK,
instead of just talking abouttreating diseases after they've
happened, we're trying to bemore preventative and proactive
about it.
Do you think that tide isturning in the United States
(06:02):
because of all this investment?
You know?
Dr. Anique Bryan (06:04):
I would hope that it is.
I would hope that it is.
I mean, I've been practicingfor 30 years, which, when I say
it out loud, seems like a longtime, but not really.
Monica Enand (06:16):
You started when you were five.
We know I started when I wasfive.
He was one of those DoogieHowser types, Exactly.
Dr. Anique Bryan (06:23):
And I've seen the changes come along, but I
still know that a lot of mycolleagues are practicing very
traditionally and there'snothing wrong with that.
They're saving lives and theyare dedicated to helping people,
and this is just the place thatI have carved out where I think
(06:43):
I can do the most for mypatients.
I have you know, just to giveyou a little background.
My mother passed away at age 71from an extremely rare cancer
pelvic angiosarcoma.
She I mean, it was one of thosethings where it just came out
of nowhere very poor lifeexpectancy and she was what I
(07:07):
considered one of the healthiestpeople that I knew.
She was not overweight, shenever smoked, she barely drank.
She was very conscious aboutwhat she ate.
She always ate her vegetables.
That's how she raised us.
And yet she got this horrificcancer and was dead in less than
a year.
This horrific cancer and wasdead in less than a year.
(07:28):
And at the same time that shewas battling her illness, my
daughter, who was 13 years oldat the time, developed thyroid
cancer right when she was goingthrough puberty and had to have
her thyroid removed.
You know, by God's grace it wasa highly curable form of cancer
, but just unusual to findthyroid cancer in a 13-year-old.
(07:49):
So, needless to say, that gotme, you know, stopping and just
thinking about what on earthhappened in our family.
There was no geneticpredisposition for either
situation.
We thought that we were eatinghealthy.
We thought I mean I'm not goingto tell you I didn't go through
the drive-thru with my kidswhen they were little, of course
(08:10):
, but we thought we were doingeverything okay.
So this is when I turned thetables in my practice and I
thought you know what, if thiscan happen to us, it can happen
to anybody.
I'm very thankful that mydaughter is now almost 28 years
old, has been cancer free, shejust had a baby of her own who's
(08:31):
very healthy and happy anddoing well, thank you.
And with all of this, mymother's mother lived till she
was 106 and just passed away sixyears ago so, and all of my
mother's siblings were aliveuntil earlier this year, all in
(08:52):
their 80s.
So, again, we don't havecontrol over everything, right?
All you can do is you can dothe best that you possibly can
for yourself and for your family, and so my goal is to make sure
that people have theinformation, that they have the
tools that they need.
(09:13):
Okay, if you can just startsomewhere, okay, what can you
start with?
Can you start with the foursupplements?
Can you start with yourprobiotic, your vitamin D, your
anti-inflammatory and your multi?
Great, let's start with withthat.
What can you start by changing?
Let's look at your numbers.
Let's look at your labs.
Let's look at your, yourvitamins.
Let's look at what nutritionaldeficiencies do you have in your
(09:33):
body?
Where are your hormones?
That's another thing that Iaddress for men and women.
By you know, we look at umbioidentical hormone replacement
therapy, because also ourhormones have a lot to do with
our ability to metabolize andlose weight, and you know, not
just the symptoms of menopauseand so forth.
So we look at all of those andsay, okay, what's happening with
(09:57):
you?
Where can we start focusing onchanging what needs to be
changed in your nutrition?
Are you exercising or are younot?
Are you in a stressful life?
What are the things that you'redoing to create balance, to
decrease your stress?
Right?
Are you meditating?
(10:17):
Are you exercising?
Are you taking vacations?
Do you have quality time withyour family?
Do you meditate?
Do you pray?
We don't have to changeeverything all at once, but what
we need to do is start justbreaking those things down one
by one, individually, becausethe goal is to not just live
long.
The goal is to live healthy,happy, with your brain intact,
(10:40):
being able to move around,having a sense of community.
All of those things is what wewant if we're going to live till
we're 100.
You don't want to live alone,in isolation, you know not being
able to take care of yourself.
That does happen.
But whatever we can do to putpeople on the right path, that's
really my goal well.
Monica Enand (11:14):
Thank you for sharing all of that with us and
I you know I have to say, likehearing about your mom and your
daughter, it really sheds a lotof light.
Like we always talk aboutpeople's why, like why do they
want to do things?
And it sounds like you've setup a life and a practice for
your patients with a strong,motivating personal why for why
you feel that I mean it comesthrough in your passion and
(11:36):
hearing you talk about whatyou're trying to do for your
patients.
Sejal Pietrzak (11:40):
Yeah, I agree completely.
It's wonderful that yourdaughter has come through it all
and now is living a veryhealthy life with a healthy baby
, and I'm sure she's followingall of these, you know, all the
guidance and advice and thepractices around nutrition and
exercise and everything elsethat you talk about.
(12:03):
It makes you realize you can'tcontrol everything, but you got
to control what you can control,right, and do the best you can
do.
We talk about controlling whatyou can control in a different
episode and that is just so truein everything in life, right,
absolutely, absolutely.
Everything in life, right,absolutely.
Monica Enand (12:29):
So you know I'm not a big medicine person.
I actually try to avoidmedicines at all costs and I try
really hard to get everything Ineed through my diet or I hope
that I eat a healthy diet andget all the things I need.
But I'm wondering you talkedabout nutrition and supplements.
What's their role in preventingdisease and having a healthy
(12:50):
long life?
Dr. Anique Bryan (12:51):
Right?
So that is a great questionbecause actually, nutrition is
everything, and I will tell you,in medical school we are really
trained to focus on.
We learn about normalphysiology and anatomy, and then
we learn about pathophysiology,or what goes wrong in the body
and how disease happens, andthen we focus our entire careers
(13:14):
on treating the disease.
And there's this missing partwhere we really, as physicians,
need to go back to focusing onnutrition, because everything
that we need to heal our bodiesis found in the food that we eat
, but I'm talking about plantsmainly.
So people who have plant baseddiets are really getting a lot
(13:38):
of nutrients and antioxidantsthat we don't get Because the
food in the United States is soprocessed right, our food is so
processed.
It's not like people who live inblue zones, where I always used
to say if you're growing thefood in your backyard and you
know what's in the soil and youknow what's in the air, you're
probably getting a lot healthierthan if you go down to your
store and just pick up a pack ofwhatever, right?
(14:00):
So what this has to do with iseducation, when we focus on
looking at dietary intake andI'm not just talking about
calories, I'm talking about?
What are you eating?
When are you eating it?
How much of it are you eating?
Why are you eating it?
What is the emotion behind allof that?
Because it's not just aboutgetting the nutrients in.
(14:22):
It's also about how our body isgoing to process those
nutrients.
And that is where we'restarting to talk a lot more, too
, about the gut microbiome,because you can eat a lot of
healthy food, but if you don'thave the right setup in your gut
, if your gut is not healthy,you're not going to be able to
absorb those nutrients and therest of you is not going to be
(14:45):
healthy either.
A healthy gut equals a healthyeverything else, and this is
really the research that we'vebeen hearing about in the last
couple of decades.
Again, this is not somethingthat we focused on.
We didn't even learn about thegut microbiome in medical school
.
There was no such thing.
You know, your intestine hadbacteria in it.
That's how you broke down wastematerial and it exited your
(15:07):
body.
It was never talked about in abeneficial way.
So again we're getting back towhat is it that your body is
lacking, what is it that youneed to replace, and where do
the nutrients come from in orderto be able to do that, and each
person is different.
This is really not aone-size-fit-all.
(15:28):
This is a customized type ofapproach to taking care of
patients.
Monica Enand (15:33):
And for most people.
I understand what you're sayingabout not one-size-fits-all.
It's very customized, but forthe most people like, if you're
trying to work, let's say, forinstance, on gut microbiome, is
it like eat kimchi and drinkkombucha, or is it like you need
to take a probiotic Like which,like I'm trying to figure out,
(15:55):
can I do everything by having,let's say, I could somehow have
a perfect diet for me?
Could I do everything?
Or do I need to take?
Are there just supplements thatyou think everybody kind of, or
most people, need to take?
Dr. Anique Bryan (16:08):
I usually recommend a minimum of four
supplements because, to behonest, I mean, you could have a
wheelbarrow full of supplementsand you would just be taking
them all day long.
But really, if you're talkingabout the person who just
doesn't know where to begin, thefirst thing to do is to start
getting your gut healthy.
Okay, so there's detoxification.
(16:29):
That can happen before yourestore, but before we even get
to that, you can go out and buyprobiotics.
Number one, so I usuallyrecommend probiotics be live,
which means that they need to berefrigerated, and that's step.
Number one is start taking aprobiotic.
Now can you drink yourprobiotics in kombucha?
Absolutely, and it's a matterof preference.
(16:50):
I actually prefer to take acapsule than to drink my
probiotics, but there are somepeople who it's the reverse, so
it doesn't really matter, aslong as you do what is going to
be best for you and you're goingto stick with it.
The second one is vitamin D.
So vitamin D is essential forall these metabolic pathways in
(17:13):
the body that actually helpboost your immunity.
So you want to get your immunesystem healthy.
You take vitamin D and, by theway, 95% of our immune system is
well maybe not up to 95, but atleast over 80% of our immune
system is also in the lining ofour intestine.
So if you get your gut rightwith your probiotics and then
(17:34):
you add vitamin D, you're alsoboosting your immunity.
Okay, then a great multivitamin.
Okay, broad spectrum, somethingwith no fillers.
And then I usually say add ananti-inflammatory either
turmeric or omega-3, dependingon you know whether you need the
omega-3 to lower yourcholesterol as well and your
triglycerides, but somethingthat's anti-inflammatory.
(17:55):
So between those foursupplements, that's a great
start.
Sejal Pietrzak (17:59):
So is there certain times of the day and
does anybody ever talk about,you know, taking certain things
together and how does that helpor hurt, or what should you do
there?
Dr. Anique Bryan (18:11):
Right.
So that's also a great question.
Well, again, it depends on whatyou're taking.
So and I split mine up becauseI think it's, you know, easier
to swallow you know fewer pillsat a time.
Let's say you're taking sixpills a day.
You know just two withbreakfast, two with lunch, two
with dinner, if that's what youreating regimen is like.
Sometimes takinganti-inflammatories at bedtime
(18:35):
can be beneficial.
Your body's resting at night,your liver has a chance to
metabolize them and, you know,let them start working overnight
.
So, again, it's a matter ofpreference.
Some people feel more energizedwhen they take their vitamins,
so taking them in the daytime isbetter, because sometimes
people are too stimulated atnight.
So it's a very individualprocess.
Monica Enand (19:02):
So for the anti-medicine girls out there
like myself, does thisanti-aging approach that you
work with your patients on?
Does it eliminate the need forpharmaceuticals?
Dr. Anique Bryan (19:14):
Sometimes you need to have them.
All disease processes arecaused by three processes at the
cellular level.
So we have inflammation,oxidative stress and autoimmune
dysfunction, and so we talked alittle bit about the oxidative
stress and the inflammation, andjust to add that you know
cancer, the disease of cancerand all kinds of cancers have to
(19:37):
do with all of those processesyou know going wrong and also a
lot of stress on the tissues,and then genes get turned on,
oncogenes get turned on, thatstart replicating and that's
where the cancer takes off.
So that's an extremelyoversimplified explanation, but
it has to do again with theanti-aging approach to dealing
(20:00):
with those disease processes.
And then the last one would beautoimmune dysfunction.
Diabetes is the number oneexample of that.
And so right now in thiscountry, we're facing what would
be termed a metabolic crisis,where you know diabetes and
obesity and how we process foodand eliminate waste.
Just about 40% of Americans arenow at risk for developing some
(20:24):
sort of metabolic disorder,namely diabetes or obesity.
So this is really a crisis inthis country and because of that
, if you look at the statistics,the life expectancy for people
in the US Americans has declinedcompared to the rest of the
world since 2014, strictlybecause of those metabolic
(20:46):
disorders.
Medication pharmaceuticalsdefinitely has a place for that,
but we've got to get back toprevention.
Monica Enand (20:52):
I feel like we need to repeat what you just
said that since 2014,.
Like, let me understand whatyou said that everywhere in the
world, life expectancy has beengoing up, but that since 2014,.
Uniquely in the United Statesof America, life expectancy is
actually dropping relative toother countries.
(21:13):
Is that correct, did I?
Dr. Anique Bryan (21:15):
understand you .
Yes, that was a statistic thatwas presented at our conference,
our annual Congress.
That is an actual statisticswhich was, I mean, an eye opener
, shocking, yeah.
Yeah, because you know, I seemy patients and I do have a very
lovely cross population ofpeople.
I kind of have a primary carepractice and anti aging practice
(21:37):
within a practice which iscardiovascular, and so my
patients are unique and I wouldthink that, you know, looking at
them, a lot of them are livinglonger.
I have, you know, several 90year olds, 80 year olds, you
know a couple that are close to100.
And so I'm thinking, well,we're not doing too badly.
But when you hear the statisticlike this, where I'm thinking,
(22:00):
okay, so we're not doing enough,we're not addressing the issue
the way that we really should,the way that, and as patients
because I'm a patient also weneed to be taking accountability
for our health in a way that wehave never before.
Genetics does play a role.
I mean there are people who aregenetically predisposed.
I see it all the time.
(22:21):
I counsel patients, all thetime I see that their hemoglobin
A1C marker, which is how wefollow diabetes risk and monitor
diabetes, is going up.
And they are saying you knowwell everybody's diabetic in my
family, so you know it seemslike I'm just headed that way,
but they don't understand, theydon't have to.
That you know a family historycan start somewhere, but it can
(22:43):
also change with them.
That you know a family historycan start somewhere, but it can
also change with them.
Sejal Pietrzak (22:55):
And that is where I think people need to be
empowered to feel that whatthey're doing on a daily basis
is preventative, anti-aging,preventing disease.
I'm just trying to understandthe impact of how much we eat
(23:17):
out at restaurants or we dotakeout now.
Dr. Anique Bryan (23:19):
Yes, and that's because of the life that
we live.
Right, everybody's busy.
Monica Enand (23:25):
And I think it's really important to acknowledge
privilege and the role privilegehas in this.
I don't know that it's veryeasy.
I mean it's not about.
(23:48):
I don't think it's aboutwillpower in that case, I don't
think it's about.
I think it's structurally andsystemically.
I don't think it's aboutwillpower ever actually.
Right, yeah, willpower is likea big misnomer.
Right, it's a big misnomer.
Why?
Dr. Anique Bryan (24:02):
do you say that?
What do you mean?
Okay, so yeah, well, that'scomplicated when it comes to
eating.
I mean it's tough.
I mean there are some peoplewho just they think about food
all the time.
I mean it's just that theirbrain just thinks about food all
the time.
You know how we were raised.
When we were little kids.
What culture you come from yougot to eat everything that's on
(24:22):
your plate.
What culture you come from yougot to eat everything that's on
your plate.
You don't throw anything away.
There's a lot that goes intoour relationships with food, and
everybody has a relationshipwith food.
Some people overeat whenthey're stressed, some people
can't swallow anything andthey're vomiting, and so I agree
with your point on thesocioeconomic.
But what I tell my patients, whomaybe don't have a lot of those
(24:43):
options with you know, buyingstuff that's, you know, organic
and it's because it is expensive, is, you know what.
Make it simple for yourself.
Bake your chicken instead offrying it.
You know, stick it in the oven,you know, instead of you know,
giving the kids, you know,whatever, candy or whatever,
(25:04):
let's start introducing fruit tothem.
Fruit is sugar, right, they'regoing to burn it off.
They're going to go outside.
Give them an apple, give themsome, you know, some grapes, you
know.
Try to make it simple.
So, yes, I think that thelittle things that patients can
feel empowered to do, based ontheir situation, is what is
(25:24):
going to help them to continuethose good habits.
But if you don't feel like youcan, you know, buy anything
organic, so then why bother?
Then it's going to be harder tostart and even more difficult
to continue you've talked aboutglutathione as well.
Sejal Pietrzak (25:53):
Can you talk a little bit about that?
And and you know this is onethis is a new sort of supplement
that I've recently heard about,um, but I don't know much about
it.
Can you maybe share a littlebit about what it does in the
body and and why it's beneficial?
As we think about longevity,feeling good, being healthy,
glutathione is.
Dr. Anique Bryan (26:12):
It's actually an amazing little element,
because what it is is it's anextremely potent antioxidant,
right?
So antioxidant is basicallybattling anything that could
cause damage in a cell at themicroscopic level, right?
So we actually have glutathioneand we create glutathione in
(26:35):
our bodies, but as a supplement.
What it is doing is it'senhancing that.
So a lot of the times you'rehearing about glutathione, you
can take glutathione, but it'sreally best given, in my
experience, iv, right?
So you get IV glutathione and alot of people notice that when
(26:55):
they get it, they get this burstof energy afterwards, right,
because that's because yourcells have all this additional
energy and they're able tometabolize.
And you know, I don't know howwe can bottle it and drink it,
maybe otherwise, but it isreally turning out to be
something that is an excellentadditive and something that I'm
(27:17):
starting to do in my ownpractice because of the benefits
.
You know you can't give it allthe time, but you know
everything that we can do.
The other thing is, you know,checking for nitric oxide levels
in the body, because that'ssomething that can build up and
anything that wears down ourcells at a microscopic level is
(27:42):
what's hurting us and anythingthat we can do to build up those
cells at a microscopic level iswhat's hurting us, and anything
that we can do to build upthose cells at a microscopic
level is what's going to benefitus.
Sejal Pietrzak (27:51):
So everything you've said, I've thought to
myself oh, we can get this testand you get this blood test to
see how you're doing on yourvarious vitamin levels and your
glutathione or your nitric oxide.
I think you said but how do youfind?
You said, a lot of doctorsdon't necessarily practice this
(28:11):
way, and how do you find a DrAnique in our town?
You know, wherever you live?
Dr. Anique Bryan (28:20):
Right, exactly , so the American Academy of
Anti-Aging Medicine actually hasa directory for all of their
doctors who have become boardcertified and are registered,
and so that would be probablythe best way to do it.
They're also called the A4Mbecause it's the American
Academy of Anti-Aging, right?
(28:41):
So it's called the A4M and youcan go to a4mcom and there's a
directory, or you can contactthem directly and they can help
you find a doctor whospecializes in anti aging in
your area, and is this usuallycovered by insurance?
A lot of the testing is not so.
The saliva testing, forinstance, is not so.
(29:03):
What a lot of physicians do iswe have partnerships with
specialty labs and not all ofthem will take insurances.
It just depends on your state,it depends on your insurance
plan and some of it is out ofpocket, so you just have to see
when you go what are the optionsavailable pocket, so you just
have to see when you go what arethe options available.
Sejal Pietrzak (29:24):
You talked about the country having obesity and
diabetes, but in general, evenif there's not a notion of
obesity, there's also very mucha focus in the country and
everywhere around weightmanagement.
How do these supplements, orjust overall everything that you
suggest, help on the weightmanagement side?
Dr. Anique Bryan (29:47):
I use the term weight management because I
think weight loss adds so muchstress when we talk about losing
weight, if it's five pounds, 10pounds, 40 pounds, and diet the
word diet to me means dep, youknow, deprive yourself of right.
So you deprive yourself of food.
So I tell my patients listen,diets don't work.
Okay, and I use that term verygenerically.
(30:09):
So there are many differentplans and there are many
different approaches.
So again, I look at a patient.
They'll come in and tell me youknow I need to lose, you know I
want to lose 20 pounds.
I don't feel well, I can't getaround.
We look at all.
You know what's going on withthem, with their vital signs,
with their labs.
Are they diabetic?
Do they have a thyroidcondition?
We look at everything and seeif there's anything that might
(30:31):
be interfering with theirobvious ability to lose weight.
Then we start looking atdietary-wise, what are they
eating?
Like I said, what are theyeating?
Like I said, what are theyeating?
When are they eating, how often, why?
And start looking at where thedeficiencies are to then add the
supplements.
So again, this gets back to guthealth.
(30:59):
Right, if your gut is nothealthy, you can try and lose
weight all you want.
It's not going to happen.
And then, of course, there arepharmaceuticals.
We know that, and what I tellpatients is I use the
pharmaceuticals as a tool.
Okay, they're not, for me,something that patients should
look at.
Long-term, you're not going tobe doing, you know, glp-1
agonist injections forever.
You're not going to take astimulant forever.
(31:19):
But if you need to get overthat hump, along with everything
else you're doing, here'sanother tool that can help you
get a jumpstart, and so we do.
We use those.
It could be a pill, it could bean injection once a week, it
just depends.
And then the goal is to notneed that tool anymore, for you
(31:39):
to be able to start looking atyourself and knowing okay, do I
need to do intermittent fastingin order to maintain my weight?
What is working for me and Ihave found that for most people,
the way they used to loseweight or maintain their weight
10 years ago is not necessarilywhat's going to work for them
now.
Monica Enand (31:58):
I'm really glad to hear that entire answer to that
question because I think youknow we at my age, our age I
think we're all about the sameage we grew up with diet culture
in America and really thattoxic diet culture really hasn't
been good for people, you knowit.
(32:19):
I think the idea of restriction, as you said, like restricting,
doesn't work in the long term.
And when I say I don't believewillpower is a thing, sejal, I
think what I mean is it's not apersonal failing and, like, you
can't view it as your ownpersonal failing.
And I like hearing I mean I'mglad to hear from Dr Bryan that
(32:43):
when you say your gut biome isincredibly important because you
can try to say you can do allyou want and try to lose weight,
but you're not going to if youdon't, it's not your own
personal failing, it's not youdon't have enough willpower,
you're lazy, you gave in.
I mean it's not all that Like.
I think it's important thatpeople don't feel that way,
(33:05):
because it's not a healthyapproach to getting healthy,
because it adds a lot of stress,and we've talked, you know,
we've talked today about therole stress has in your life and
in disease.
I also think you know, noconversation is complete without
, especially right now, withouta conversation about
(33:25):
semi-glutides, and so I'm gladto hear that you, you know I
really it was good to hear youranswer to that Like, what role
does it have?
It's not a long-term.
I've always wondered, like isit?
Do people believe that that isa long-term?
I've always wondered, like, dopeople believe that that is a
long-term answer?
And, you know, do we know theside effects of that?
(33:46):
Or how productive it's so newthat, like how do we know about
long-term effects?
So I don't know.
Maybe I didn't have a questionin there, maybe I was just
talking, sorry.
Sejal Pietrzak (33:58):
No, it's really great to reiterate so much of
that, because it really doeshelp.
Dr. Anique Bryan (34:05):
And, to your point, semaglutide has been used
for the treatment of type 2diabetes for years.
It's the dosing that'sdifferent when we're helping
people lose weight and it'sthose higher doses that I
caution my patients about ifthey're not diabetic.
If you're not diabetic andyou're on these high doses of
this medication for long periodsof time, that's where the gray
(34:28):
area comes in.
So again, you know, I encouragemy patients to look at it as a
tool.
Okay, what are the tools?
Let's get a little toolbox out.
You want to.
Your goal is to go from X poundsto Y pounds.
What are the little tools thatwe're going to use in your
toolbox to help you achieve thatgoal?
And how are we going to do itand what do we need to tweak?
(34:51):
And again, it's an evolution inprocess because sometimes, like
I said, what used to workdoesn't, and some people may
find that intermittent fastingis great for them and other
people struggle to do it.
So it's really again looking atthe tools and focusing on
giving the patient what theyneed so that, when it's time for
(35:11):
them to do it on their own,they know what tools to pull out
and what to use.
Monica Enand (35:16):
We could actually talk about this all day.
We have so many things we couldcover, but I really appreciate
all that we have covered.
Dr Bryan, thank you so much forbeing here today and sharing
all your wisdom and knowledgeand your purpose, which clearly
is a really great life passionthat you have.
I feel like your patients arevery lucky to have you.
Sejal Pietrzak (35:39):
Yes, thank you so much, dr Bryan.
It has been an amazing session.
I've learned so much, so manythings that now I'm thinking
about okay, what am I making fordinner tonight, what am I going
to be eating today, and how amI changing the way I'm looking
at nutrition for myself and myfamily?
So, thank you so much.
Thank you for being on the show, thank you.
Dr. Anique Bryan (36:00):
Thank you so much for having me.
I really appreciate it.
Monica Enand (36:03):
Absolutely Well.
Thank you so much, Sejal, andthank you to our executive
producer, Georgiana Moreland.
Georgianna Moreland (36:08):
Thank you for listening today.
We would love for you to followand subscribe.
Monica and Sejal would love tohear from you.
You can text us directly fromthe link in the show notes of
this episode.
You can also find us on theLinkedIn page at Masterstroke
Podcast with Monica Enid andSejo Petrzak.
Until next time.
Right now in this country, we're facing what
would be termed a metaboliccrisis.
We've got to get back toprevention.
Monica Enand (00:11):
I feel like we need to repeat what you just
said that since 2014,.
Everywhere in the world, lifeexpectancy has been going up,
but that since 2014,.
Uniquely, in the United Statesof America, life expectancy is
actually dropping relative toother countries.
Dr. Anique Bryan (00:29):
That is an actual statistics, which was, I
mean, an eye-opener.
It's shocking.
Georgianna Moreland (00:33):
This is Masterstroke with Monica Enid
and Sejo Petrzak.
Monica Enand (00:44):
Welcome to Masterstroke.
This episode of Masterstroke,we are talking about something
that has been in the news latelyand, frankly, Sejal, all my
friends, I feel like I'm talkingabout it all the time.
Maybe it's my age or is it.
I don't know.
Sejal Pietrzak (00:59):
Well, it's so interesting and the topic is
anti-aging and it has been sucha hot topic everywhere and we're
so excited to be talking aboutit.
And maybe, maybe, it's our age,but frankly, I think even
people in their 20s and 30s arethinking about, you know, how
can they feel better, look greatand stay looking young and
(01:21):
feeling young even as they getolder.
So so I don't think it's justour age, I think it's everybody.
I agree we are so excited totalk to Dr Anique Bryan, who is
a family physician, boardcertified in anti-aging and
regenerative medicine, and shehas been practicing for over 30
(01:41):
years.
She served on the faculty ofthe University of Miami Miller
School of Medicine and practiceswith Miami International
Cardiology Consultants.
She's one of the two femalephysicians in the 17-member
group and she holds a medicallicense in the US Virgin Islands
(02:02):
.
And we are so excited to talkto Dr Anique Bryan and it's just
such a pleasure to have you onthe show today, anique.
Dr. Anique Bryan (02:10):
Thank you, thank you so much for inviting
me.
I'm very, very happy to be here.
Sejal Pietrzak (02:14):
What is anti-aging medicine?
So we always talk about what wecan do to do a better job of
feeling better, looking better,thinking about ourselves, you
know, in terms of being younger,but even as we age, gracefully,
what is anti-aging medicine?
Dr. Anique Bryan (02:34):
So there's a technical term for it.
So anti-aging medicine isbasically the application of
advanced scientific and medicaltechnologies for the early
detection, prevention, treatmentand reversal of age-related
disorders and diseases.
So that's really the technicaldefinition of anti-aging
(02:57):
medicine.
However, you know, anti-agingmedicine doesn't mean that we
are against aging.
Actually, what it does mean isthat what we are focused on is
longevity.
So I tell my patients think ofit more as a process where we
are facilitating the naturalprocess of getting older or
aging, by using dietary andlifestyle modifications, along
(03:21):
with supplements and exerciseand movement, to improve the
quality of life.
So that's really what we'refocused on, as opposed to being
against getting old.
Monica Enand (03:30):
I'm really glad to hear you say that, anique.
I just have to say I thinkespecially women but all people
have been sold sort of a bill ofgoods when it comes to aging.
Because I feel, because I feellike I'm really happy with how I
look and feel as I'm aging, butI don't want to reverse it, I
(03:51):
don't want to not age.
I'm actually a much happierperson in my 50s than I was,
frankly, in my 20s or 30s.
I had so much that I feel somuch wiser, I feel so much more
sort of, I guess, comfortable inmy own skin and I'm I'm like, I
(04:14):
have to say this movement ofwomen kind of embracing their
gray hair and not coloring theirhair, like I have several
friends who have done that and Ithink it just looks powerful
and awesome and lovely.
So in terms of I'm really gladto hear you say that because in
terms of looks, I think how weage is a very natural, beautiful
process.
But I agree with you know,wanting to feel healthy, capable
(04:34):
, athletic, be able to do, enjoykind of a full life, and I see
people at older ages nowenjoying a much more full life
than we ever, I think, saw whenI was younger and looking at
older ages now enjoying a muchmore full life than we ever, I
(04:56):
think, saw when I was younger.
And looking at older people, Ithink I read that the
Anti-Edging Academy was founded32 years ago.
Is that correct?
That is correct, yeah, I haveto say.
I also read, and it blew mymind, that this industry is
expected to exceed $600 billionin the next few years.
Dr. Anique Bryan (05:17):
Yes.
Monica Enand (05:18):
You know, for Sejal and I, who look at
businesses all the time and talkabout the size of the market
and the TAM, the addressablemarket, you know this is a huge
industry, supplements toaesthetics, to I mean to
everything, yeah.
And I don't know how to feelabout that.
Like, is that a good thing?
I think it is.
(05:39):
On the one hand, I feel like,oh well, as you described like
medical school was how do wetreat these diseases?
And now like, maybe thisanti-aging approach is OK,
instead of just talking abouttreating diseases after they've
happened, we're trying to bemore preventative and proactive
about it.
Do you think that tide isturning in the United States
(06:02):
because of all this investment?
You know?
Dr. Anique Bryan (06:04):
I would hope that it is.
I would hope that it is.
I mean, I've been practicingfor 30 years, which, when I say
it out loud, seems like a longtime, but not really.
Monica Enand (06:16):
You started when you were five.
We know I started when I wasfive.
He was one of those DoogieHowser types, Exactly.
Dr. Anique Bryan (06:23):
And I've seen the changes come along, but I
still know that a lot of mycolleagues are practicing very
traditionally and there'snothing wrong with that.
They're saving lives and theyare dedicated to helping people,
and this is just the place thatI have carved out where I think
(06:43):
I can do the most for mypatients.
I have you know, just to giveyou a little background.
My mother passed away at age 71from an extremely rare cancer
pelvic angiosarcoma.
She I mean, it was one of thosethings where it just came out
of nowhere very poor lifeexpectancy and she was what I
(07:07):
considered one of the healthiestpeople that I knew.
She was not overweight, shenever smoked, she barely drank.
She was very conscious aboutwhat she ate.
She always ate her vegetables.
That's how she raised us.
And yet she got this horrificcancer and was dead in less than
a year.
This horrific cancer and wasdead in less than a year.
(07:28):
And at the same time that shewas battling her illness, my
daughter, who was 13 years oldat the time, developed thyroid
cancer right when she was goingthrough puberty and had to have
her thyroid removed.
You know, by God's grace it wasa highly curable form of cancer
, but just unusual to findthyroid cancer in a 13-year-old.
(07:49):
So, needless to say, that gotme, you know, stopping and just
thinking about what on earthhappened in our family.
There was no geneticpredisposition for either
situation.
We thought that we were eatinghealthy.
We thought I mean I'm not goingto tell you I didn't go through
the drive-thru with my kidswhen they were little, of course
(08:10):
, but we thought we were doingeverything okay.
So this is when I turned thetables in my practice and I
thought you know what, if thiscan happen to us, it can happen
to anybody.
I'm very thankful that mydaughter is now almost 28 years
old, has been cancer free, shejust had a baby of her own who's
(08:31):
very healthy and happy anddoing well, thank you.
And with all of this, mymother's mother lived till she
was 106 and just passed away sixyears ago so, and all of my
mother's siblings were aliveuntil earlier this year, all in
(08:52):
their 80s.
So, again, we don't havecontrol over everything, right?
All you can do is you can dothe best that you possibly can
for yourself and for your family, and so my goal is to make sure
that people have theinformation, that they have the
tools that they need.
(09:13):
Okay, if you can just startsomewhere, okay, what can you
start with?
Can you start with the foursupplements?
Can you start with yourprobiotic, your vitamin D, your
anti-inflammatory and your multi?
Great, let's start with withthat.
What can you start by changing?
Let's look at your numbers.
Let's look at your labs.
Let's look at your, yourvitamins.
Let's look at what nutritionaldeficiencies do you have in your
(09:33):
body?
Where are your hormones?
That's another thing that Iaddress for men and women.
By you know, we look at umbioidentical hormone replacement
therapy, because also ourhormones have a lot to do with
our ability to metabolize andlose weight, and you know, not
just the symptoms of menopauseand so forth.
So we look at all of those andsay, okay, what's happening with
(09:57):
you?
Where can we start focusing onchanging what needs to be
changed in your nutrition?
Are you exercising or are younot?
Are you in a stressful life?
What are the things that you'redoing to create balance, to
decrease your stress?
Right?
Are you meditating?
(10:17):
Are you exercising?
Are you taking vacations?
Do you have quality time withyour family?
Do you meditate?
Do you pray?
We don't have to changeeverything all at once, but what
we need to do is start justbreaking those things down one
by one, individually, becausethe goal is to not just live
long.
The goal is to live healthy,happy, with your brain intact,
(10:40):
being able to move around,having a sense of community.
All of those things is what wewant if we're going to live till
we're 100.
You don't want to live alone,in isolation, you know not being
able to take care of yourself.
That does happen.
But whatever we can do to putpeople on the right path, that's
really my goal well.
Monica Enand (11:14):
Thank you for sharing all of that with us and
I you know I have to say, likehearing about your mom and your
daughter, it really sheds a lotof light.
Like we always talk aboutpeople's why, like why do they
want to do things?
And it sounds like you've setup a life and a practice for
your patients with a strong,motivating personal why for why
you feel that I mean it comesthrough in your passion and
(11:36):
hearing you talk about whatyou're trying to do for your
patients.
Sejal Pietrzak (11:40):
Yeah, I agree completely.
It's wonderful that yourdaughter has come through it all
and now is living a veryhealthy life with a healthy baby
, and I'm sure she's followingall of these, you know, all the
guidance and advice and thepractices around nutrition and
exercise and everything elsethat you talk about.
(12:03):
It makes you realize you can'tcontrol everything, but you got
to control what you can control,right, and do the best you can
do.
We talk about controlling whatyou can control in a different
episode and that is just so truein everything in life, right,
absolutely, absolutely.
Everything in life, right,absolutely.
Monica Enand (12:29):
So you know I'm not a big medicine person.
I actually try to avoidmedicines at all costs and I try
really hard to get everything Ineed through my diet or I hope
that I eat a healthy diet andget all the things I need.
But I'm wondering you talkedabout nutrition and supplements.
What's their role in preventingdisease and having a healthy
(12:50):
long life?
Dr. Anique Bryan (12:51):
Right?
So that is a great questionbecause actually, nutrition is
everything, and I will tell you,in medical school we are really
trained to focus on.
We learn about normalphysiology and anatomy, and then
we learn about pathophysiology,or what goes wrong in the body
and how disease happens, andthen we focus our entire careers
(13:14):
on treating the disease.
And there's this missing partwhere we really, as physicians,
need to go back to focusing onnutrition, because everything
that we need to heal our bodiesis found in the food that we eat
, but I'm talking about plantsmainly.
So people who have plant baseddiets are really getting a lot
(13:38):
of nutrients and antioxidantsthat we don't get Because the
food in the United States is soprocessed right, our food is so
processed.
It's not like people who live inblue zones, where I always used
to say if you're growing thefood in your backyard and you
know what's in the soil and youknow what's in the air, you're
probably getting a lot healthierthan if you go down to your
store and just pick up a pack ofwhatever, right?
(14:00):
So what this has to do with iseducation, when we focus on
looking at dietary intake andI'm not just talking about
calories, I'm talking about?
What are you eating?
When are you eating it?
How much of it are you eating?
Why are you eating it?
What is the emotion behind allof that?
Because it's not just aboutgetting the nutrients in.
(14:22):
It's also about how our body isgoing to process those
nutrients.
And that is where we'restarting to talk a lot more, too
, about the gut microbiome,because you can eat a lot of
healthy food, but if you don'thave the right setup in your gut
, if your gut is not healthy,you're not going to be able to
absorb those nutrients and therest of you is not going to be
(14:45):
healthy either.
A healthy gut equals a healthyeverything else, and this is
really the research that we'vebeen hearing about in the last
couple of decades.
Again, this is not somethingthat we focused on.
We didn't even learn about thegut microbiome in medical school
.
There was no such thing.
You know, your intestine hadbacteria in it.
That's how you broke down wastematerial and it exited your
(15:07):
body.
It was never talked about in abeneficial way.
So again we're getting back towhat is it that your body is
lacking, what is it that youneed to replace, and where do
the nutrients come from in orderto be able to do that, and each
person is different.
This is really not aone-size-fit-all.
(15:28):
This is a customized type ofapproach to taking care of
patients.
Monica Enand (15:33):
And for most people.
I understand what you're sayingabout not one-size-fits-all.
It's very customized, but forthe most people like, if you're
trying to work, let's say, forinstance, on gut microbiome, is
it like eat kimchi and drinkkombucha, or is it like you need
to take a probiotic Like which,like I'm trying to figure out,
(15:55):
can I do everything by having,let's say, I could somehow have
a perfect diet for me?
Could I do everything?
Or do I need to take?
Are there just supplements thatyou think everybody kind of, or
most people, need to take?
Dr. Anique Bryan (16:08):
I usually recommend a minimum of four
supplements because, to behonest, I mean, you could have a
wheelbarrow full of supplementsand you would just be taking
them all day long.
But really, if you're talkingabout the person who just
doesn't know where to begin, thefirst thing to do is to start
getting your gut healthy.
Okay, so there's detoxification.
(16:29):
That can happen before yourestore, but before we even get
to that, you can go out and buyprobiotics.
Number one, so I usuallyrecommend probiotics be live,
which means that they need to berefrigerated, and that's step.
Number one is start taking aprobiotic.
Now can you drink yourprobiotics in kombucha?
Absolutely, and it's a matterof preference.
(16:50):
I actually prefer to take acapsule than to drink my
probiotics, but there are somepeople who it's the reverse, so
it doesn't really matter, aslong as you do what is going to
be best for you and you're goingto stick with it.
The second one is vitamin D.
So vitamin D is essential forall these metabolic pathways in
(17:13):
the body that actually helpboost your immunity.
So you want to get your immunesystem healthy.
You take vitamin D and, by theway, 95% of our immune system is
well maybe not up to 95, but atleast over 80% of our immune
system is also in the lining ofour intestine.
So if you get your gut rightwith your probiotics and then
(17:34):
you add vitamin D, you're alsoboosting your immunity.
Okay, then a great multivitamin.
Okay, broad spectrum, somethingwith no fillers.
And then I usually say add ananti-inflammatory either
turmeric or omega-3, dependingon you know whether you need the
omega-3 to lower yourcholesterol as well and your
triglycerides, but somethingthat's anti-inflammatory.
(17:55):
So between those foursupplements, that's a great
start.
Sejal Pietrzak (17:59):
So is there certain times of the day and
does anybody ever talk about,you know, taking certain things
together and how does that helpor hurt, or what should you do
there?
Dr. Anique Bryan (18:11):
Right.
So that's also a great question.
Well, again, it depends on whatyou're taking.
So and I split mine up becauseI think it's, you know, easier
to swallow you know fewer pillsat a time.
Let's say you're taking sixpills a day.
You know just two withbreakfast, two with lunch, two
with dinner, if that's what youreating regimen is like.
Sometimes takinganti-inflammatories at bedtime
(18:35):
can be beneficial.
Your body's resting at night,your liver has a chance to
metabolize them and, you know,let them start working overnight
.
So, again, it's a matter ofpreference.
Some people feel more energizedwhen they take their vitamins,
so taking them in the daytime isbetter, because sometimes
people are too stimulated atnight.
So it's a very individualprocess.
Monica Enand (19:02):
So for the anti-medicine girls out there
like myself, does thisanti-aging approach that you
work with your patients on?
Does it eliminate the need forpharmaceuticals?
Dr. Anique Bryan (19:14):
Sometimes you need to have them.
All disease processes arecaused by three processes at the
cellular level.
So we have inflammation,oxidative stress and autoimmune
dysfunction, and so we talked alittle bit about the oxidative
stress and the inflammation, andjust to add that you know
cancer, the disease of cancerand all kinds of cancers have to
(19:37):
do with all of those processesyou know going wrong and also a
lot of stress on the tissues,and then genes get turned on,
oncogenes get turned on, thatstart replicating and that's
where the cancer takes off.
So that's an extremelyoversimplified explanation, but
it has to do again with theanti-aging approach to dealing
(20:00):
with those disease processes.
And then the last one would beautoimmune dysfunction.
Diabetes is the number oneexample of that.
And so right now in thiscountry, we're facing what would
be termed a metabolic crisis,where you know diabetes and
obesity and how we process foodand eliminate waste.
Just about 40% of Americans arenow at risk for developing some
(20:24):
sort of metabolic disorder,namely diabetes or obesity.
So this is really a crisis inthis country and because of that
, if you look at the statistics,the life expectancy for people
in the US Americans has declinedcompared to the rest of the
world since 2014, strictlybecause of those metabolic
(20:46):
disorders.
Medication pharmaceuticalsdefinitely has a place for that,
but we've got to get back toprevention.
Monica Enand (20:52):
I feel like we need to repeat what you just
said that since 2014,.
Like, let me understand whatyou said that everywhere in the
world, life expectancy has beengoing up, but that since 2014,.
Uniquely in the United Statesof America, life expectancy is
actually dropping relative toother countries.
(21:13):
Is that correct, did I?
Dr. Anique Bryan (21:15):
understand you .
Yes, that was a statistic thatwas presented at our conference,
our annual Congress.
That is an actual statisticswhich was, I mean, an eye opener
, shocking, yeah.
Yeah, because you know, I seemy patients and I do have a very
lovely cross population ofpeople.
I kind of have a primary carepractice and anti aging practice
(21:37):
within a practice which iscardiovascular, and so my
patients are unique and I wouldthink that, you know, looking at
them, a lot of them are livinglonger.
I have, you know, several 90year olds, 80 year olds, you
know a couple that are close to100.
And so I'm thinking, well,we're not doing too badly.
But when you hear the statisticlike this, where I'm thinking,
(22:00):
okay, so we're not doing enough,we're not addressing the issue
the way that we really should,the way that, and as patients
because I'm a patient also weneed to be taking accountability
for our health in a way that wehave never before.
Genetics does play a role.
I mean there are people who aregenetically predisposed.
I see it all the time.
(22:21):
I counsel patients, all thetime I see that their hemoglobin
A1C marker, which is how wefollow diabetes risk and monitor
diabetes, is going up.
And they are saying you knowwell everybody's diabetic in my
family, so you know it seemslike I'm just headed that way,
but they don't understand, theydon't have to.
That you know a family historycan start somewhere, but it can
(22:43):
also change with them.
That you know a family historycan start somewhere, but it can
also change with them.
Sejal Pietrzak (22:55):
And that is where I think people need to be
empowered to feel that whatthey're doing on a daily basis
is preventative, anti-aging,preventing disease.
I'm just trying to understandthe impact of how much we eat
(23:17):
out at restaurants or we dotakeout now.
Dr. Anique Bryan (23:19):
Yes, and that's because of the life that
we live.
Right, everybody's busy.
Monica Enand (23:25):
And I think it's really important to acknowledge
privilege and the role privilegehas in this.
I don't know that it's veryeasy.
I mean it's not about.
(23:48):
I don't think it's aboutwillpower in that case, I don't
think it's about.
I think it's structurally andsystemically.
I don't think it's aboutwillpower ever actually.
Right, yeah, willpower is likea big misnomer.
Right, it's a big misnomer.
Why?
Dr. Anique Bryan (24:02):
do you say that?
What do you mean?
Okay, so yeah, well, that'scomplicated when it comes to
eating.
I mean it's tough.
I mean there are some peoplewho just they think about food
all the time.
I mean it's just that theirbrain just thinks about food all
the time.
You know how we were raised.
When we were little kids.
What culture you come from yougot to eat everything that's on
(24:22):
your plate.
What culture you come from yougot to eat everything that's on
your plate.
You don't throw anything away.
There's a lot that goes intoour relationships with food, and
everybody has a relationshipwith food.
Some people overeat whenthey're stressed, some people
can't swallow anything andthey're vomiting, and so I agree
with your point on thesocioeconomic.
But what I tell my patients, whomaybe don't have a lot of those
(24:43):
options with you know, buyingstuff that's, you know, organic
and it's because it is expensive, is, you know what.
Make it simple for yourself.
Bake your chicken instead offrying it.
You know, stick it in the oven,you know, instead of you know,
giving the kids, you know,whatever, candy or whatever,
(25:04):
let's start introducing fruit tothem.
Fruit is sugar, right, they'regoing to burn it off.
They're going to go outside.
Give them an apple, give themsome, you know, some grapes, you
know.
Try to make it simple.
So, yes, I think that thelittle things that patients can
feel empowered to do, based ontheir situation, is what is
(25:24):
going to help them to continuethose good habits.
But if you don't feel like youcan, you know, buy anything
organic, so then why bother?
Then it's going to be harder tostart and even more difficult
to continue you've talked aboutglutathione as well.
Sejal Pietrzak (25:53):
Can you talk a little bit about that?
And and you know this is onethis is a new sort of supplement
that I've recently heard about,um, but I don't know much about
it.
Can you maybe share a littlebit about what it does in the
body and and why it's beneficial?
As we think about longevity,feeling good, being healthy,
glutathione is.
Dr. Anique Bryan (26:12):
It's actually an amazing little element,
because what it is is it's anextremely potent antioxidant,
right?
So antioxidant is basicallybattling anything that could
cause damage in a cell at themicroscopic level, right?
So we actually have glutathioneand we create glutathione in
(26:35):
our bodies, but as a supplement.
What it is doing is it'senhancing that.
So a lot of the times you'rehearing about glutathione, you
can take glutathione, but it'sreally best given, in my
experience, iv, right?
So you get IV glutathione and alot of people notice that when
(26:55):
they get it, they get this burstof energy afterwards, right,
because that's because yourcells have all this additional
energy and they're able tometabolize.
And you know, I don't know howwe can bottle it and drink it,
maybe otherwise, but it isreally turning out to be
something that is an excellentadditive and something that I'm
(27:17):
starting to do in my ownpractice because of the benefits
.
You know you can't give it allthe time, but you know
everything that we can do.
The other thing is, you know,checking for nitric oxide levels
in the body, because that'ssomething that can build up and
anything that wears down ourcells at a microscopic level is
(27:42):
what's hurting us and anythingthat we can do to build up those
cells at a microscopic level iswhat's hurting us, and anything
that we can do to build upthose cells at a microscopic
level is what's going to benefitus.
Sejal Pietrzak (27:51):
So everything you've said, I've thought to
myself oh, we can get this testand you get this blood test to
see how you're doing on yourvarious vitamin levels and your
glutathione or your nitric oxide.
I think you said but how do youfind?
You said, a lot of doctorsdon't necessarily practice this
(28:11):
way, and how do you find a DrAnique in our town?
You know, wherever you live?
Dr. Anique Bryan (28:20):
Right, exactly , so the American Academy of
Anti-Aging Medicine actually hasa directory for all of their
doctors who have become boardcertified and are registered,
and so that would be probablythe best way to do it.
They're also called the A4Mbecause it's the American
Academy of Anti-Aging, right?
(28:41):
So it's called the A4M and youcan go to a4mcom and there's a
directory, or you can contactthem directly and they can help
you find a doctor whospecializes in anti aging in
your area, and is this usuallycovered by insurance?
A lot of the testing is not so.
The saliva testing, forinstance, is not so.
(29:03):
What a lot of physicians do iswe have partnerships with
specialty labs and not all ofthem will take insurances.
It just depends on your state,it depends on your insurance
plan and some of it is out ofpocket, so you just have to see
when you go what are the optionsavailable pocket, so you just
have to see when you go what arethe options available.
Sejal Pietrzak (29:24):
You talked about the country having obesity and
diabetes, but in general, evenif there's not a notion of
obesity, there's also very mucha focus in the country and
everywhere around weightmanagement.
How do these supplements, orjust overall everything that you
suggest, help on the weightmanagement side?
Dr. Anique Bryan (29:47):
I use the term weight management because I
think weight loss adds so muchstress when we talk about losing
weight, if it's five pounds, 10pounds, 40 pounds, and diet the
word diet to me means dep, youknow, deprive yourself of right.
So you deprive yourself of food.
So I tell my patients listen,diets don't work.
Okay, and I use that term verygenerically.
(30:09):
So there are many differentplans and there are many
different approaches.
So again, I look at a patient.
They'll come in and tell me youknow I need to lose, you know I
want to lose 20 pounds.
I don't feel well, I can't getaround.
We look at all.
You know what's going on withthem, with their vital signs,
with their labs.
Are they diabetic?
Do they have a thyroidcondition?
We look at everything and seeif there's anything that might
(30:31):
be interfering with theirobvious ability to lose weight.
Then we start looking atdietary-wise, what are they
eating?
Like I said, what are theyeating?
Like I said, what are theyeating?
When are they eating, how often, why?
And start looking at where thedeficiencies are to then add the
supplements.
So again, this gets back to guthealth.
(30:59):
Right, if your gut is nothealthy, you can try and lose
weight all you want.
It's not going to happen.
And then, of course, there arepharmaceuticals.
We know that, and what I tellpatients is I use the
pharmaceuticals as a tool.
Okay, they're not, for me,something that patients should
look at.
Long-term, you're not going tobe doing, you know, glp-1
agonist injections forever.
You're not going to take astimulant forever.
(31:19):
But if you need to get overthat hump, along with everything
else you're doing, here'sanother tool that can help you
get a jumpstart, and so we do.
We use those.
It could be a pill, it could bean injection once a week, it
just depends.
And then the goal is to notneed that tool anymore, for you
(31:39):
to be able to start looking atyourself and knowing okay, do I
need to do intermittent fastingin order to maintain my weight?
What is working for me and Ihave found that for most people,
the way they used to loseweight or maintain their weight
10 years ago is not necessarilywhat's going to work for them
now.
Monica Enand (31:58):
I'm really glad to hear that entire answer to that
question because I think youknow we at my age, our age I
think we're all about the sameage we grew up with diet culture
in America and really thattoxic diet culture really hasn't
been good for people, you knowit.
(32:19):
I think the idea of restriction, as you said, like restricting,
doesn't work in the long term.
And when I say I don't believewillpower is a thing, sejal, I
think what I mean is it's not apersonal failing and, like, you
can't view it as your ownpersonal failing.
And I like hearing I mean I'mglad to hear from Dr Bryan that
(32:43):
when you say your gut biome isincredibly important because you
can try to say you can do allyou want and try to lose weight,
but you're not going to if youdon't, it's not your own
personal failing, it's not youdon't have enough willpower,
you're lazy, you gave in.
I mean it's not all that Like.
I think it's important thatpeople don't feel that way,
(33:05):
because it's not a healthyapproach to getting healthy,
because it adds a lot of stress,and we've talked, you know,
we've talked today about therole stress has in your life and
in disease.
I also think you know, noconversation is complete without
, especially right now, withouta conversation about
(33:25):
semi-glutides, and so I'm gladto hear that you, you know I
really it was good to hear youranswer to that Like, what role
does it have?
It's not a long-term.
I've always wondered, like isit?
Do people believe that that isa long-term?
I've always wondered, like, dopeople believe that that is a
long-term answer?
And, you know, do we know theside effects of that?
(33:46):
Or how productive it's so newthat, like how do we know about
long-term effects?
So I don't know.
Maybe I didn't have a questionin there, maybe I was just
talking, sorry.
Sejal Pietrzak (33:58):
No, it's really great to reiterate so much of
that, because it really doeshelp.
Dr. Anique Bryan (34:05):
And, to your point, semaglutide has been used
for the treatment of type 2diabetes for years.
It's the dosing that'sdifferent when we're helping
people lose weight and it'sthose higher doses that I
caution my patients about ifthey're not diabetic.
If you're not diabetic andyou're on these high doses of
this medication for long periodsof time, that's where the gray
(34:28):
area comes in.
So again, you know, I encouragemy patients to look at it as a
tool.
Okay, what are the tools?
Let's get a little toolbox out.
You want to.
Your goal is to go from X poundsto Y pounds.
What are the little tools thatwe're going to use in your
toolbox to help you achieve thatgoal?
And how are we going to do itand what do we need to tweak?
(34:51):
And again, it's an evolution inprocess because sometimes, like
I said, what used to workdoesn't, and some people may
find that intermittent fastingis great for them and other
people struggle to do it.
So it's really again looking atthe tools and focusing on
giving the patient what theyneed so that, when it's time for
(35:11):
them to do it on their own,they know what tools to pull out
and what to use.
Monica Enand (35:16):
We could actually talk about this all day.
We have so many things we couldcover, but I really appreciate
all that we have covered.
Dr Bryan, thank you so much forbeing here today and sharing
all your wisdom and knowledgeand your purpose, which clearly
is a really great life passionthat you have.
I feel like your patients arevery lucky to have you.
Sejal Pietrzak (35:39):
Yes, thank you so much, dr Bryan.
It has been an amazing session.
I've learned so much, so manythings that now I'm thinking
about okay, what am I making fordinner tonight, what am I going
to be eating today, and how amI changing the way I'm looking
at nutrition for myself and myfamily?
So, thank you so much.
Thank you for being on the show, thank you.
Dr. Anique Bryan (36:00):
Thank you so much for having me.
I really appreciate it.
Monica Enand (36:03):
Absolutely Well.
Thank you so much, Sejal, andthank you to our executive
producer, Georgiana Moreland.
Georgianna Moreland (36:08):
Thank you for listening today.
We would love for you to followand subscribe.
Monica and Sejal would love tohear from you.
You can text us directly fromthe link in the show notes of
this episode.
You can also find us on theLinkedIn page at Masterstroke
Podcast with Monica Enid andSejo Petrzak.
Until next time.
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