March 29, 2025 • 50 mins
What if your DNA could guide you on how to better handle your health? What if genetic testing could guide you on how certain medications would work? Len May, founder and CEO of EndoDNA, does just that: helps people navigate their health through genetic testing.
The road to lead Len May to where he is today has been anything but easy. Len May was kicked out of his home when he was in his later teens for recreational use of cannabis. Len's parents strongly frowned upon his use of cannabis.Len discusses being prescribed medication for ADHD, but he reported the feelings of numbness while taking the medication, even though he was able to focus. Apart from noticing the difference in how different chemical substances interacted with how he was able to feel, Len May also paid keen attention to how his mother and grandmother would have bottles of pills and would consult with doctors about how different medications would interact with other things. Len resorted to couch surfing before finding a more stable place. He went to Temple University with a major in Physical Therapy, but he was an entrepreneur at heart. However, all of his education and personal experiences eventually all tied into Len May's interest into what he does today.
Len May's entrepreneurial spirit led him to eventually start his business after first working with the start up of an alternative pharmaceutical company. What he observed while working at the alternative pharmaceutical company led Len May to start his own company in 2017: EndoDNA.
The spirit of EndoDNA is to help patients understand their unique health challenges and provides targeted solutions. They are patented with the use of DNA testing to see how it affects the endocannabinoid system: the part responsible for regulating bodily functions. The study of the interplay with how a person's unique DNA affects the endocannabinoid system tells a whole story in and of itself.
Ready to discover what your DNA reveals about your health? Visit endodna.com to learn more about genetic testing options or connect with Len May through his podcast "Everything is Personal" and his book "Making Cannabis Personal." Your path to optimal wellness might be hidden in your genetic code—isn't it time you unlocked its secrets?
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hello everyone and welcome to today's episode of On
the Spectrum with Sonia, apodcast where we discuss autism
spectrum mental healthchallenges and highlight any
stories of anybody who'sovercome any significant
adversity to help the audiencefeeling hoped, encouraged, loved
and connected, especially in aworld that tries to disconnect
(00:25):
us on a daily.
Today we have a very specialguest, len May, who is the CEO
and founder of EndoDNA.
He is here because of his ownconnections, in some ways, to
people who have someone on theautism spectrum in his line of
(00:47):
work, and he himself hasovercome some adversity being
kicked out of his house at 17and being left to find his way
and so today he's here to sharehis story.
So let's please welcome Len Len.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Thank you, sonia, I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
So, len, why don't you tell us a little bit about
you, your upbringing, you knowlike, just walk us through a
little bit.
Where are you from?
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Yeah, so I was born in Lithuania, which, when I was
born, it was under the SovietUnion control.
I was born, it was under theSoviet Union control and my
family immigrated to the US whenI was six and we settled in
Philadelphia.
So I came with my parents, andmy mom's parents as well, and in
(01:37):
the first year of being in theUS my grandfather had a stroke
and he proceeded to havemultiple strokes and then a very
large man 6'3", 300 pounds,something like that and then he
(02:01):
started to become a shell ofhimself and lost this ability to
walk, basically, and talk.
And I would never forget my mom, my grandmother, sitting at the
table with doctors, with bagsof pills and constantly changing
and saying you know, thisinteracts with this and this.
So I always had this fear thatyou know the side effects of the
medications were creating someof these conditions that he was,
(02:21):
you know, suffering from.
So I always kept that in theback of my mind and the kind of
kid I was, I would sit in classand the teacher would call me.
My brain would be elsewhere, soI would daydream and I got
diagnosed with attention deficitdisorder and put on
prescription medication.
(02:42):
I can't say it didn't work.
It depends on how you definework.
So it did help me to focus, butit removed any sense of self.
So there was no feeling.
It was a numb kind of goingthrough the motions.
I really didn't like that.
And it was interesting because Iwas hanging out with some older
kids before school and theyasked me if I wanted to smoke a
cigarette.
I was like cool, I'm hangingout with the older kids before
(03:03):
school and they asked me if Iwanted to smoke a cigarette.
I was like cool, I'm hangingout with the older kids, there's
a cigarette.
I never questioned why it wasonly one cigarette, but they
ended up passing the cigaretteto me and I took a drag.
It didn't taste like thecigarette that I'm used to as I
was dabbling in that and thentook another one, maybe coughed,
(03:23):
and they were laughing at me.
I was like what?
And they put cannabis in thecigarette.
So I consumed some cannabis,went back to class and I'm not
advocating that everybody shoulddo this under, maybe, physician
supervision, but all thewindows that are in my head
narrowed and I could focus.
So it became sort of my go-tomedicine.
(03:43):
I stopped taking all theprescription medication and, as
you were mentioning Sonia, myparents would catch me and they
were very anti-drugs, eventhough prescription medication
were okay bags of them but plantmedicine was not.
So at some point they ended upcalling the police on me,
calling the cops trying to haveme arrested and then kicking me
(04:05):
out of the house and that sortof started my journey on to
trying to find out health andwellness, what's working for me.
I got into the music business Iwas working in a place called
Tower Records at the time andthen working my way.
Then finished high school,working my way through college
and went to physical therapyschool.
I never worked as a physicaltherapist in my life, but I
(04:27):
learned a lot about anatomy,physiology, what works, what
doesn't work, and that's sort ofmy start in the corporate world
, so to speak.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
So tell us a little bit about now.
So you get kicked out at 17,finally, because your parents
just put their foot down andsaid get out of here, we're done
.
How did you in the meantimethen cope?
Like, where were you living?
Like, did you have to find anarrangement?
What was going on with that?
Speaker 2 (04:56):
Great question.
So the first few nights Iactually I had $500.
I had a car, it was my savingsand I went to motel rooms so I
would sleep on the top of thebed with my clothes because I
didn't want to touch anything.
There's motel rooms where youpay like $25 to stay in a motel
(05:19):
room one of those.
And then my girlfriend the girlI was seeing at the time she
asked her parents if I couldcrash at their house.
They let me stay for a littlewhile, but then they said I have
to go.
So I would couch surf atdifferent friends' houses.
And then my girlfriend's friendwas going to Italy for a month
and we ended up getting into herplace because she was going to
(05:42):
be gone for a month and stayingthere basically for a month.
Then at some point mygrandmother let me crash on her
couch.
So I did that.
Then, when I got my job atTower Records, she gave me the
security deposit money to get myown apartment.
I got my own apartment and livein a basement apartment where
(06:03):
every single time it would rain,half it would flood.
I'd call the office, they wouldcome in, they would suck out
the water, but it would stillmold underneath all the carpet
and I had every single kind ofroadshow you can imagine.
So it was interesting, but itwas all I could afford at the
time.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
Power Records is such a famous record store.
I remember in 2015, there was awhole movie made about it this
Too Shall Pass where they hadacclaimed musicians discuss, I
think, from what I understood,of what the movie was, but it
was just like.
So what was it like to workthen in a place where you know
(06:47):
that was huge, and where was thetower records that you worked
in?
Speaker 2 (06:51):
in philadelphia, okay , so I mean it was the greatest
job I ever had.
If you're a music person, towerrecords was the best record
store yes, like that I can and Iwould shop there and I got
became a cashier and when I gotmy job and then I was a music
buyer.
And one of the things that Ithink was unique to Tower
Records that made it sointeresting is they had
(07:13):
different buyers for differentstores in different regions that
are local to that.
So maybe the taste inPhiladelphia was different than
the taste in Los Angeles orsomewhere in Alabama.
So you could kind of sense whatthe local market was and that's
what made it unique.
I think the challenge withTower Records is they were so
(07:37):
not adapting technology and sortof had blinders on that.
The Napster and all thedifferent things put them out of
business because they investedPeople would come in to Tower
Records and the exposure wasamazing to all kinds of music.
That's why I have music behindme.
I have a huge record collection.
I have a huge CD collection.
(07:58):
I was getting paid $7 an hourbut because I got promoted $7.50
an hour.
But because you have recordlabel people that would say, hey
, if you buy more of this we'llgive you tickets to this show.
So you get all these differentperks of the job, you get music,
you get concerts where you'restill living, making very little
(08:18):
money, but it was an incredibleopportunity to learn a lot
about music and when you're amusic buyer you build these
connections.
But the thing that theyinvested in this people come in
and hum, do you know the song?
It goes blah, blah, blah, blah,and you have to know.
So they invested in thismachine called the Muse machine,
which was basically you cansearch inventory by keywords.
(08:40):
But they never invested inanything to do with technology
streaming technology, theinternet kind of stuff.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
So I think that really hurt them to any song you
(09:07):
want at any time you want, andI think the records I mean.
Yes, I think it's like one ofthose things now where it's like
a timepiece from the past orlike a luxury kind of
collectible item.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
I don't know, you can't replace vinyl.
Though when vinyl was notpopular, you can buy records 50
cents at different swap meetsand flea markets.
Now those same records are $20,$30.
So vinyl is back.
Vinyl is back in a big way.
It's expensive and I think thekids are starting to find vinyl
again because there's nothingthey take in a record, like
(09:40):
opening it up, looking at theliner notes.
You can't do that with Spotify,with streaming, and it's a
different experience.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
I know it definitely is a different experience.
I still remember having thoseas a kid, those vinyl records,
and putting it on in the recordplayer and dancing around my
house to it.
You know, like, you know, thosethings, it's definitely one of
those.
What I mean by like classic,right, I mean those things are
(10:08):
just, you know.
I think that definitely now,the way music is being out now,
a lot is changing, even now withlike AI and how that's also
changing the landscape too, ofmusic.
But you know what I meant bytimeless, you know, is that it's
just, those are things thatdon't go away, right, like the
vinyl, like the record, thosenostalgic, the nostalgia of it
too, too, that that's somethingthat can't be replaced either
sure yeah, so you were worked attap, you were working at tower
(10:31):
records.
You got a security deposit intoa house that you lived in in the
basement, but unfortunatelywith the rains and the flood, so
that was never fun.
Um, you were.
So how long then you went?
You said you went to collegeyeah, I went to company
university.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
I studied, you know my, my focus was physical
therapy, but I I was anentrepreneur.
So you know, I opened up amusic company.
After tower records uh closed,uh calledday Music and I was
selling like hard to find CDs orlike German only or Japan only
prints.
And my girlfriend at the time,who's now my ex-wife, he's like
(11:12):
you have to get a real job.
So I went to work for PriceWaterhouse.
I used to have really long hair, earrings.
I had to put my hair in aponytail, take out my earrings,
put on the suit and tie and weara mask.
Basically that wasn't me for awhile.
Then I went to work for aventure capital company, went to
work for another consultingcompany, did on-site, offshore
(11:34):
consulting.
Then I decided that I'minterested in real estate.
So I left and got into realestate.
I became a commercial realestate broker and I became the
managing director of KellerWilliams Commercial and moved to
Los Angeles from Philadelphiaand in the first year of living
(11:56):
here or so separated, then got adivorce.
But I was sitting in a realestate office and these guys
came, came in and they werelooking to open up an
alternative pharmacy.
They were saying.
So the person that was talkingto them said, hey, can you talk
to them?
And it ended up that theywanted to open up a dispensary
and this is 2009, 2010, under aSB 420.
(12:22):
And so there was a medical lawin California for cannabis.
So I helped them.
I asked them where is yourpaperwork?
They didn't have anything andthey offered me a partnership.
So I became a partner in adispensary in Orange County
called Kush Kingdom.
(12:43):
We ended up opening up four moreof those, but one of the things
I started seeing was two peoplewill consume the same chemical
variety of phytocannabinoids andhave a completely different
experience.
So in that I started, like myADD kicked in where I had to
hyper focus and I found a videoby a gentleman named Kevin
(13:03):
McKernan who geneticallysequenced a plant.
So, long story a little bitlonger.
I went and met with Kevin,started working with a company
called Medicinal Genomics, whereI would travel the country, get
plant material from differentgrowers, bring it to my lab,
extract the DNA, sequence it,and we created the first genetic
(13:24):
library of chemical varieties,called Canopedia with a K, and
put it on the blockchain.
Now the parent company ofmedicinal genomics was called
Cortagen Life Sciences and theydid pharmacogenomics testing, so
testing on how to see howdifferent drugs affect
individuals' bodies metabolismand then so my idea was we have
(13:46):
plant genetics here, we havehuman genetics here.
Let's bring those two togetherand create a personalized
experience for people using, youknow, their phytocannabinoids
and they really didn't have aninterest in it.
They shut down the human side.
So that's when we launchedEndoDNA in 2017.
And we launched EndoDNA in 2017.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
So part of your work, then, is that you're studying,
you do more of the geneticstesting kind of work.
Correct Is that you are lookingat how certain things know,
perhaps, like even supplementsand vitamins also could affect a
(14:27):
person, because not everybodyis meant to take the same,
correct?
Speaker 2 (14:32):
Yeah, that's absolutely correct.
So in the beginning, when wefirst started the
endocannabinoid system test sowe have a patent on the use of
DNA to make recommendationsassociated with the
endocannabinoid system so thatis what we started in and what
we did was we approached acompany called Illumina.
So Illumina created a customchip for us.
(14:54):
So we sequenced about 700,000genetic biomarkers, which are
called SNPs single nucleotidepolymorphisms.
It's HIPAA GDPR compliant.
It's a genetic test with a swab.
You swab the answer of yourcheek, you register, you send
that sample to our lab, you loginto your portal, you get your
results.
So you're looking at conditions.
(15:14):
And when we met with the FDAthey said what is the purpose of
your test?
We said to help people eithermitigate or avoid a possible
adverse event.
So once we sequence you, weprovide you your genetic
predispositions and what you cando about that.
So the way that I try toexplain it is sort of your DNA
(15:36):
is your life's GPS, so it'llshow you where your potholes are
in your road, where you have,it'll show you where your
potholes are in your road, whereyou have traffic jams, et
cetera, so you can take actionto be able to mitigate the
expression or avoid thosepotholes and DNA is interesting
because you have 50% for yourmother, 50% for your father,
(15:58):
obviously, and some of them are,if you think about, a bunch of
on-off switches.
Some of them are turned on, solike our hair color, our eye
color, our skin color, things ofthat nature but other genes are
dormant and our lifestyle getsto turn those switches on or off
.
So what kind of things affectthat?
(16:19):
Are nutrition, the nutrients,the food that we put into our
bodies?
They can actually control theepigenetic expression, turning
on the switches.
So also exposure to pesticides,heavy metals they can affect
that.
Also our own neurochemistry, sowhat we excrete, like our
(16:40):
cortisol levels, our adrenalinelevels, they can change the
epigenetic expression.
So by looking at your geneticpredisposition, creating a
protocol or some sort oftreatment plan that is specific
to the individual, and thenmeasuring how well that works,
using biometric feedback,biomarkers of blood work, other
(17:04):
things we can actually startusing with AI, we can start
using that to make betterindividual treatment plans for
healthcare professionals.
So they can say, all right,there's 100 people similar to
Sonia that took this protocoland showed that it worked, it
was efficacious.
So this will be a suggestionfor the healthcare professional
to make a recommendation becauseyou're absolutely right.
(17:26):
Everybody metabolizesdifferently.
Everybody can take differentthings.
So when the doctor tells youtake two of these and call me in
the morning, well, why is itnot four?
Why is it not one?
Why is it two?
Because we metabolize thingsdifferently and there's a series
of genes that are associatedwith that metabolism as well.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
Have you noticed any trends with any of the results
that you've gotten from peoplewho've submitted their DNA
samples, like what have younoticed to be perhaps common
themes or any you know commontrends that you've picked were
able to pick up on?
Speaker 2 (18:02):
yeah, I mean 99.9 percent of us are the same.
It's a 0.1 percent that makesus different.
And people that have certaingenetic predispositions.
Usually we put them in buckets,like people that have
predispositions to stress andanxiety, and they don't deal
with that stress, anxiety thatgets triggered.
(18:22):
Now, if they have apredisposition to something
called bruxism, for instance,which is grinding your teeth or
clenching your teeth, that getsexpressed.
So now their sleep cycle ischallenged.
So they can say we sleep foreight hours a night, but what is
the quality of sleep?
So if you start measuring yourquality of sleep, they're on
this hamster wheel.
They're not getting their gooddelta theta sleep, so they're
(18:45):
not getting their good deltatheta sleep, so they're not
getting their restful sleep.
They're not getting the reset,so the agitation carries
throughout the day and they'recontinuing their life, which
definitely impacts other healthconditions.
So you can start putting peoplein these buckets based on, as
you mentioned, those trends, butgenetic predispositions to
certain things they may or maynot be doing.
Metabolism is an interestingthing too.
We have a series of genescalled cytochrome, p450, cyp450.
(19:10):
Each one of those genesproduces an enzyme that helps us
metabolize something.
So there's a specific one forgluten.
There's a specific one forlactose.
These are the genes that youmay be aware of.
So if you and I'm not talkingabout celiac disease we're not a
diagnostic for diseases but ifyou have an irritation or
something happens where it'sinflammatory when you're
(19:33):
consuming gluten, well, maybeyour gluten sensitivity that
you're predisposed to is gettingturned on.
So these are the things that wecan actually see in your
genetics and then create atreatment plan that's specific,
so you can avoid those sharpcorners for yourself so what?
Speaker 1 (19:53):
so after you submit and you get this report of the
gen, of the genetic testing thatyou've done, now do you send
this to a person's healthprovider or do you send it to
the person themselves?
Like, how does that work if?
Speaker 2 (20:05):
so.
So our customer is a healthcare professional.
So, to give you an example, weuh build a test for uh female
hormone health, so it's calledmenopause biotype, and Dr
Jennifer Berman, who's one ofthe top female sexual health
doctors in the country, reachedout to us and said look, I'm
seeing a lot of patients and Ihave two things that are
(20:27):
happening.
Number one I'm seeing a lot ofyounger women that are starting
to show perimenopause symptomslate 20s, early 30s.
That may have something to dowith the hormones that are in to
show perimenopause symptomslate 20s, early 30s.
That may have something to dowith the hormones that are in
their foods that they'reingesting.
And the other thing that I'mseeing is a lot of women are
experiencing these adverseeffects associated with
menopause or perimenopause a lotof hot flash severity, weight
(20:50):
gain, cognitive challenges, etcetera, osteoporosis
predispositions or bone health.
Is there a way that we can getahead of that and mitigate that
in advance?
So the way that we can do thatis we can do the genetic test,
show you what you're predisposedto, create a treatment plan
(21:11):
that includes hormoneoptimization if you're a good
candidate for that personally,supplementation, things of that
nature and you can measure howwell that works to mitigate the
expression of some of thosethings like hot flash severity,
as an example.
So then we book on thatexperience and check to see if
(21:32):
anything has been expressed andwe can see that through
methylation testing et cetera,or something like biological age
, we can actually see thatbiological age reduces, based on
a protocol that's beenrecommended for you and so,
(21:53):
basically, so it's like allthese, so you're getting this to
the healthcare providers andthen they're from there taking
the recommendations that you'refrom the tests that you've
conducted and then incorporatingit into treatment plan for the
patients.
So it's a very collaborativeexperience with the doctor and
(22:18):
the patient because it becomesmore personalized that way.
So you're not just here taketwo of these, it's this is why
you should take two, or this iswhy you should take one, and
then we can see how it's workingfor the individual and the AI
learns patterns and startsmaking those predictions.
So I mean, we have a number oftests.
(22:41):
That's just one of them, butdoing your whole genome allows
you to interact with your DNA.
So now a healthcareprofessional can pull up and say
show me all of Sonia'sinflammatory markers,
cross-reference them with anymetabolic markers, see if there
is a drug-to-drug interaction,contraindication between
medications or supplements thatyou may be taking.
(23:02):
So this becomes a very, verytargeted, focused and
personalized experience for yourhealth and wellness.
Speaker 1 (23:13):
I remember being in discussions or hearing about it
where in my field because I'm atherapist mental health
therapist you know for patientswho are going, who are recommend
or clients rather, who aregetting recommended to go and
see a psychiatrist to help withthe biochemical aspect of their
depression or their anxiety.
(23:34):
I remember you know discussionswere being held about getting
genetically a psychiatrist tohelp with the biochemical aspect
of their depression or theiranxiety.
I remember you know discussionswere being held about getting
genetically, having them getgenetically tested to see how
they would interact with some ofthe medications that are
typically prescribed for suchconditions.
And it's becoming a thing and Ithink that you know the.
(23:54):
I think genetic testing and howyour body works and will
interact with substances,whether it's medicines, whether
it's vitamins, whether it's yourhormones, I think it's such a
great and holistic way to alsohelp, you know, deal with things
and help a person navigatethrough whatever they may have
(24:16):
coming up or whatever conditionsthey're facing.
I think it's such a great and Ithink it's important.
I think it's an importantcornerstone to the health field
at large.
Speaker 2 (24:27):
Yeah, and since you mentioned you know mental health
, I have a quick story that justhappened.
Recently I have an associatefriend who's a very successful
business person, had somepersonal challenges, had some
things that didn't go right,became depressed, may have had
some predisposition to do, youknow, depressive markers I
(24:50):
didn't know that at the time andwent to a psychopharmacologist
and got prescribed anantidepressant and he was saying
that he was driving in the LosAngeles area around the canyons
and has taken his son to asoccer game with his wife and he
goes.
(25:10):
He was driving around thecurves and he had this
overwhelming desire to drive offthe cliff and he goes.
It was so visual, he couldclearly see it and it made total
sense to him and he was soscared he pulled over and his
wife got out and said you okay?
He said I'm not okay, I shouldnot be driving.
(25:31):
And luckily he recognized thatwhen he went back to the
psychopharmacologist, did hispharmacogenomics test, realized
that the drug that he was on wasred, so it was the wrong drug
for him.
Based on that, in addition tothat, he also had a gene for
treatment-resistant depressionresistant depression.
(25:51):
So not only is the drug wrong,the drug may not work for him at
all, but he's still got theside effects from the drug,
which is suicidal thoughts.
So how manypsychopharmacologists actually
do pharmacogenomics or genetictesting to see number one, if
they have a candidate that thiscould work for, and look at the
(26:13):
drugs that are maybe moreefficacious or less efficacious
from the individual so theydon't suffer the side effects?
Speaker 1 (26:19):
and those are the things that we can do to help
apart from the affiliate, uh,that you knew who was a
successful business person, thatone that you had come to, that
you know who had thatunfortunate experience.
You've mentioned before thatyou've also dealt with a lot of
people who are on the autismspectrum and you've dealt with
(26:44):
families and people who've a lotof people have come your way
with that too.
So can you tell us a little bitmore about like what that
experience was and working withthat population?
Speaker 2 (26:55):
Yeah, absolutely.
I worked with a lot of doctorsaround the world that work with
spectrum disorder and spectrumconditions, but I have a story
that I just also was recently.
I find it really fascinating.
So a mom reached out.
She has two kids that are onthe spectrum.
(27:20):
They're both in school and theschools are asking for the
parents to remove the kidsbecause they're extremely
disruptive.
One is even more disruptivethan the other and the other
copies, you know, outbursts allthat.
And she said the second thingthat's happening is they don't
sleep.
They're having a really hardtime with sleep.
(27:40):
So she asked is there anythingthat we can do?
So we did their genetic testsand this is, you know, under
medical supervision.
There is a phytocannabinoidsolution for them, so including
CBD, et cetera, and she recordeda testimonial for us and said a
miracle happened.
There's two things that arehappening.
Number one and what she's doing.
(28:01):
She's taking the uh um like asoft gel and she's squeezing out
the oil and putting into theirjuice or whatever, and they're
consuming that.
And she says there's two thingsthat happen.
First of all, the school calledthem and come in and said
whatever you're doing with thekids goes, keep doing it.
They've completely did a 180.
(28:22):
They're attentive, they're notdisruptive, they're paying
attention in school, all that.
The second thing she said we'regetting 10 hours of sleep a
night.
So somehow some way this ishappening.
So they have a daytime and anighttime protocol.
The daytime is more to addresssome of the stress and anxiety
(28:46):
and nighttime is a little moresedative.
But they wake up without havingbrain fog and, like I said, she
left us a very nice testimonialfor that.
So that's one example.
Another example is I was invitedto speak in Brazil and I don't
get a lot of interaction withcustomers, but here there was a
(29:10):
line of people that were waitingto speak to me and this girl
was in a wheelchair and she wassmiling, but really I wasn't
sure if she was verbal or not.
And her mom came with her andshe was saying that for years
she had multiple conditions.
Spectrum is just one of those,but she has multiple conditions
(29:34):
nonverbal, but not onlynonverbal, but no eye contact.
Eyes were always elsewhere.
She had very littlecommunication with her family
and she's after taking thegenetic test and getting onto a
protocol, and it was also phytocannabinoid related as well.
She said tell you know.
And she said in Portuguese shecould verbalize.
(29:56):
She had a smile on her face,still in the wheelchair, not a
cure-all for anything, but shesaid thank you for allowing me
to have a relationship with mychild that I was unable to have
before.
So, whatever means ofcommunication they found, now
there's eye contact, there'sexpression on the face and
(30:19):
there's, you know, she's becomemore verbal as well.
So these are all the thingsthat we see.
You know that this is, this ishelping a lot of you know
families to create, you know,relationships with each other
that they previously couldn'thave.
Speaker 1 (30:39):
That must have been very empowering to hear for you.
You know, it seems like a lotof the work that you're doing
right now is really paying offfor many.
Is there any one particularstory that really stands out for
you, Um, that you're like, ohmy goodness, like this is how I
know that I've really, thatwe're really on the right track
(31:01):
here.
We're really going at it.
Is there anything that reallykind of just touched at your
heart?
Speaker 2 (31:06):
Well, I'm going to read you something I I normally
don't do this, but I want to seeif I can pull this up.
So I have a friend of minewho's a physician, and a very
prominent physician.
Her husband is a runner, he'srunning in the mornings, so he
(31:30):
tripped and he fell and he hithis head.
And this is the text.
This is a text exchange that Igot.
This is what they said in thehospital Three areas of bleed,
two contusions, one's frontallobe and left occipital
(31:50):
subarachnoid hemorrhage Not veryresponsive.
Occipital subarachnoidhemorrhage not very responsive,
breathing on his own, can eat,knows me and himself, and that's
all.
So luckily, we already had thegenetic test.
We sent over a suggestedprotocol and this is the text
(32:14):
exchange that I received afterthe fact, hi Len.
So I've been administering theoil as directed.
In 12 days, dan has madeincredible improvements, so much
so that he's going home onWednesday to work with rehab as
(32:34):
an outpatient.
So that he's going home onWednesday to work with rehab as
an outpatient.
People have marveled at hissuccess.
Thank you for your amazing gift, I think it saved a life with
exclamation points.
So that's the reason why I dowhat I do and why I think a lot
of people who are in thehealthcare field, we're business
(32:58):
people too.
There's a business.
We have to generate revenue.
But at the end of the day, youhave to connect to the why.
And if you're so busy runningyour business, I'm busy running
our business too.
But you have to stop and pauseand ask yourself, and these kind
of stories and this kind offeedback resets you and reminds
(33:19):
you of why you're doing this inthe first place.
Speaker 1 (33:24):
Absolutely, and the work that you're doing is
absolutely incredible.
Now you've used a couple wordsthroughout the interview.
Help me if I'm mispronouncingit.
Speaker 2 (33:36):
Endocannabinoid.
Speaker 1 (33:38):
Yeah, can you explain a little more what that is?
Speaker 2 (33:42):
Yeah, so we all have an endocannabinoid system.
So the endocannabinoid systemwas discovered in 1992 by Dr
Rafael Misholam, an Israeliscientist passed away a year ago
, and it's the primaryregulatory system that we have.
Its goal is to maintain balance, or what's called homeostasis
in our bodies.
(34:03):
And the way the endocannabinoidsystem works is it gets signals
from the other systems, likeyour endocrine system, your
immune system, sends that signalup the central nervous system
like salmon swimming upstream tothe brain, and then the brain
makes a decision whatneurochemicals endogenous that
means we create them ourselveswhich neurochemicals to secrete
(34:25):
to be able to get that systemthat's out of balance back in
balance.
The two endogenousendocannabinoids that we produce
ourselves are called anandamideand 2-AG.
So anandamide the word anandameans bliss in Sanskrit, so this
is our bliss molecule orneurochemical that we secrete.
(34:49):
And what happens is when we havedeficiencies in our own
endogenous endocannabinoids,when we consume
phytocannabinoids in the plantso cannabis they're in their
decarboxylated form.
What I mean by decarboxylatedis the plant itself.
When you pick cannabis from theplant, if you have delta-9-THC,
(35:14):
thc is what gives you thateuphoric, high feeling.
When you heat it it has an acidmolecule with it.
When you heat it, the acidmolecule drops off and it
converts toDelta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol and
we have receptors in our bodiesas part of our endocannabinoid
system.
So we have CB1 receptors andCB2 receptors.
Cb1 receptors are locatedmostly in our brain and central
(35:37):
nervous system.
Cb2 receptors are mostlylocated in our bodies, immune
digestive system, etc.
So when we consume Delta-9-THCit binds to your CB1 receptors
and squirts anandamide.
Anandamide is that blissmolecule.
So it's the one that we getwhen we're working out or
runner's high or when we consumeTHC.
(35:59):
And the other one we consumeCBD cannabidiol.
It has an affinity for the CB2receptors, which are located in
immune, digestive et cetera.
So it helps to regulate ormodulate our immunoresponse
inflammatory response.
So it helps to reduceinflammation as well.
So the combination, the rightcombination of cannabinoids and
(36:20):
also terpenes, which are theessential oils of the plants,
the right combination.
If you find that right, youknow, secret sauce for the
individual, what you aredeficient in.
Speaker 1 (36:29):
Then it can help to stimulate the production of your
own endogenous endocannabinoidsand help you get back to
homeostasis or balance have younoticed any like when you talk
about things like autism, likeyou'd mentioned earlier, the
(36:49):
genetic testing that you havedone for those people who come
in and said we have somebody onthe spectrum, they've gotten
tested and then you came up withthat blueprint for them?
Have you noticed any kind oftheme that runs along alongside
with that endocannabinoid?
Have you noticed anything thatkind of just jumps out to you?
Speaker 2 (37:10):
Yeah, we've noticed that there's a lot of patterns
in the stress markers.
So stress reactivity, thingslike PTSDd, things like slow
rate of fear extinction.
So trauma, uh, it seems to bemore prevalent.
Uh, it's not suppressed, uh,down, they have to deal under a
(37:34):
duress situation.
Trauma seems to come up and itbecomes, you know, not just what
you're dealing with in themoment, but it grabs that trauma
Like I'll give you an exampleso I get hit by a car on a
bicycle when I was nine yearsold.
That trauma I don't have aneurological condition, that
trauma is in my subconscious,but under great duress it can
(37:58):
pull up that memory and bring itto the surface.
So I see a pattern on thestress markers, in addition to
maybe sleep related markers, asI was mentioning before as well.
Things like insomnia, thingslike bruxism, grinding,
clenching your teeth, and thecombination of those is an
interesting profile.
(38:18):
So if you can help restfulsleep and if you can address
those and address the stresslevels, I think you're able to
have a better experience intrying to address the expression
of those.
And the endocannabinoid systemdeficiencies are definitely a
(38:39):
big part of that, because whenyou're not addressing your
immunoresponses, when you're notaddressing your immune
responses.
When you're not addressing yourconnection to your gut brain
barrier through vagus nerveconnection, when you're not
addressing all those things,they can express themselves and
become amplified.
So yeah, definitely addressingsome of those endocannabinoid
(39:02):
deficiencies withphytocannabinoids has been
helpful for individuals as well.
Speaker 1 (39:07):
Have you also noticed , though, too, when you're doing
your samples?
Because yesterday I waslistening to this lecture, and
it was about the microbiota, andit was about that imbalance in
the microbiota.
So a lot of times, people onthe spectrum have gut issues.
There are three to four timesmore likely to have gut issues
(39:30):
than somebody who's not on thespectrum, and have you noticed
anything kind of pop out likethat as well?
Have you gotten to see some ofthat?
Speaker 2 (39:38):
Yeah, absolutely.
So you know we don't do a gutmicrobiome test but I've done
several in myself and you canfind, you know, different things
in your gut microbiome.
Like you know, I have aninflammatory response to bell
peppers.
Bell peppers are healthy.
If I didn't know this, you know, I wouldn't know why I'm having
(39:59):
this response to bell peppers.
It's inflammatory.
But to give you an example ofhow it relates to the
endocannabinoid system, let'ssay, sonia, you're walking
across the street and a carcomes out of nowhere, almost
hits you.
So now you're going to havethis fight or flight response.
So you have some neurochemicalsthat are pumped in your
(40:20):
bloodstream.
You have some adrenaline.
You have some adrenaline.
You have some dopamine, youhave some norepinephrine, you
have cortisol.
All that's pumped in yourbloodstream.
Now when your brain realizesthere's no line chasing the
(40:49):
jungle, there's a reu.
But you have a geneticpredisposition with a gene
called FA fatty acid amidehydrolase.
So that gene produces an enzymethat breaks down anandamide.
So you are not producing asmuch anandamide as the average
person, and a lot of people onthe spectrum have this genetic
predisposition as well.
So if that's the case, yourcortisol can stay longer in your
(41:12):
bloodstream.
And when it stays long in yourbloodstream.
There's a couple of things thatcan happen.
Number one, it can reduce yourpH level, make you more acidic.
Number two, it can create anoveractive immunoresponse like a
cytokine in a certain area.
Usually it's in people's joints, ankles, knees, hips, neck,
back, etc.
And if you have predispositionsto gut health issues like IBD
(41:37):
etc.
It can start moving to your guthealth and trigger the
epigenetic expression of that aswell.
It's not only the food asmedicine, but also your
neurochemicals can actuallytrigger the expression of those
genetic predispositions to guthealth issues.
So, yeah, it's like puttingpieces of the puzzle together,
(41:59):
right, I'm missing this.
So this is created by this as acascading effect.
So, yeah, absolutely, you cansee certain patterns that you
can address, and a lot of themhave to do with the stress
markers and how they're beingexpressed.
Speaker 1 (42:13):
Right, because definitely you know people on
the spectrum.
I think their central nervoussystem tends to be a little bit
more activated than those whoare not.
So, with that being said, youknow, and doing the work you
have done, using the resultsthat you have, what have you
noticed, like for the stressmarkers?
What have you noticed to bethemes, then, that people are
(42:36):
you like kind of resorting to?
Because there are things thatyou know, of course you know.
And for people who don't knowwhat the microbiota is that
refers to the bacteria in yoursystem, what that means, you
know, of course you know.
And for people who don't knowwhat the microbiota is that
refers to the bacteria in yoursystem, what that means, you
know.
And there are ways that you canactivate, you know good, better
gut health and you know, likethey say, things like exercise,
things like doing relaxation,deep breathing to kind of calm,
(43:01):
calm you a little bit, what youknow and just like using those
things of movement in general tokind of just recalibrate it.
So you know, and in terms ofgoing into that stress and the
stress markers, what are younoticing is now being one of the
(43:21):
most common ways to treat this,apart from yeah, I think it's a
lot of things that you said.
Speaker 2 (43:30):
Number one it's mindfulness, like having a
mindfulness practice.
It's not easy for people thatare on the spectrum to create a
mindfulness practice, so youhave to find what connects most
to you.
Some people like guidedmeditation.
I do transcendental meditation.
So whatever connects with youand it's very difficult with ADD
(43:52):
to be able to do that as well.
So whatever connects with you,but having a mindfulness
practice is extremely important.
Breath work, whatever breathwork that is connected with you.
I've had many people on my showand there's a lot of different
things, from like the Wim Hof tobox breathing, to any other
(44:12):
breathing technique that you cando.
That actually helps to slowdown your response to things.
So breathwork, mindfulness, allthat is slowing down the
response, giving you that pause,having that, taking a beat.
Also, as you said, nutrition.
(44:35):
Nutrition is extremely important.
What the foods that you put inyour body, what foods you know
that connect with your body,supplementation, what you are
lacking in.
So if you have geneticpredispositions to things like
calcium deficiencies, irondeficiencies, magnesium, all
these different things, well,you can get them from food, you
(44:55):
can get them from supplements.
But if people are changingtheir diets without realizing
maybe they have an iron leveldeficiency and are becoming
vegan.
Well, how are you going to, youknow, subsidize for that?
So, understanding those thingsand creating protocols and meal
plans and supplements, those areall really important as well
and I think as important equallywith food is exercise, you know
(45:21):
movement yoga, weight training.
You know I love and I'm lucky Ilive in Los Angeles I love
hiking.
So going out to and it doesn'thave to be anything intense
going out in nature, taking awalk, allowing you know,
breathing in the clean air,allowing to listen to those
(45:45):
things, it clears your consciousthinking all the time.
Stress allows you to have aclean vessel for information to
flow through you.
So find that flow state.
I think that's really importantas well.
Speaker 1 (46:02):
And have you ever done one of those testing after
like?
Is there a way for people tosee how like things may have
been changed?
Or using epigenetics?
Let's say that you do a primarygenetic testing and then
recommendations are made.
People have done it.
Have you gotten another?
Have you ever done a follow-uptest to see any changes?
Speaker 2 (46:22):
Yeah, absolutely so.
One of the ways that we canlook at that is biological age,
so looking at methylation groups, so whether it's an addition or
subtraction to a methyl groupwhich means that there's an
epigenetic expression.
So like, for instance, you geta baseline biological age.
So I'm 52, biologically 47.
My goal is to be at 40 andmaybe lower than that.
(46:46):
So I have my genome, I have mytreatment plan, I have my
baseline biological age.
Now I can come back in sixmonths, take a blood draw or
saliva and see if my biologicalage has changed.
Speaker 1 (47:01):
And that is the epigenetic expression biological
age has changed and that is theepigenetic expression.
Well, it's all very interesting.
It's so interesting to see howour genetics play such a big
role in many things that I thinka lot of people don't think
about A lot of times when theygo to the doctor or they go to a
nutritionist, or when theystart going for vitamins and
supplements.
(47:21):
A lot of people may not, youknow, when they start going for
vitamins and supplements, right,a lot of people may not be
thinking how's this really goingto interact with me?
But you know now.
I think this is giving a newperspective on, you know, ways
that we can better incorporatethings into our body.
So in in user, user, likedifferent, like making sure
(47:42):
we're even, we're even that muchmore mindful about breath, work
and exercise and all that Like.
I mean most of us already arevery fit and active, but you
know just even that much morenow.
So you know, I want to thankyou for your time today and, len
, if people want to reach out toyou and want to perhaps contact
(48:03):
you for genetic testing and orcontact you to see how you can
be of service or help them inany way, how can people find you
?
Speaker 2 (48:12):
Yeah, so our website's, endodnacom, all the
different social platforms.
I'm Len May, len May DNA onInstagram, len May everywhere
else.
I also, you mentioned, like ourcustomer is a healthcare
professional, but if somebodywants to do a one on one who's a
(48:34):
patient, I do have Len Maycoaching, which I will go
through and go over your DNAresults and give you some
suggestions and work withhealthcare professionals to be
able to, you know, provide apersonalized protocol.
So those are all the differentways you can.
And then I have a podcastcalled everything is personal.
You can get that anywhere.
(48:55):
And I have a book called makingcannabis personal.
You can get an Amazon as well.
Speaker 1 (49:02):
Well, thank you so much for your time and thank you
for all who've tuned in to thisepisode.
If you like this, pleaseremember to rate, review,
subscribe and share with yourfriends, your family.
I also have a book that gotreleased in February called
Dropped in a Maze, and it'sabout growing up on the autism
(49:24):
spectrum and I share valuablelessons I've learned along the
way, both pre and post.
Diagnosis.
I share the social andemotional challenges pre and
post diagnosis and I givevaluable tips and tricks and
tools for people to benefit fromand, whether you're on the
spectrum or not, I do discuss alot of things relatable to the
(49:45):
human experience.
They can be found on Amazon,online on Barnes, Noble,
Strandbooks, Goodreads and, ifyou like this, remember just
stay tuned for further episodesof On the Spectrum with Sonia.
Thank you all for tuning in.
Hello everyone and welcome to today's episode of On
the Spectrum with Sonia, apodcast where we discuss autism
spectrum mental healthchallenges and highlight any
stories of anybody who'sovercome any significant
adversity to help the audiencefeeling hoped, encouraged, loved
and connected, especially in aworld that tries to disconnect
(00:25):
us on a daily.
Today we have a very specialguest, len May, who is the CEO
and founder of EndoDNA.
He is here because of his ownconnections, in some ways, to
people who have someone on theautism spectrum in his line of
(00:47):
work, and he himself hasovercome some adversity being
kicked out of his house at 17and being left to find his way
and so today he's here to sharehis story.
So let's please welcome Len Len.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Thank you, sonia, I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
So, len, why don't you tell us a little bit about
you, your upbringing, you knowlike, just walk us through a
little bit.
Where are you from?
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Yeah, so I was born in Lithuania, which, when I was
born, it was under the SovietUnion control.
I was born, it was under theSoviet Union control and my
family immigrated to the US whenI was six and we settled in
Philadelphia.
So I came with my parents, andmy mom's parents as well, and in
(01:37):
the first year of being in theUS my grandfather had a stroke
and he proceeded to havemultiple strokes and then a very
large man 6'3", 300 pounds,something like that and then he
(02:01):
started to become a shell ofhimself and lost this ability to
walk, basically, and talk.
And I would never forget my mom, my grandmother, sitting at the
table with doctors, with bagsof pills and constantly changing
and saying you know, thisinteracts with this and this.
So I always had this fear thatyou know the side effects of the
medications were creating someof these conditions that he was,
(02:21):
you know, suffering from.
So I always kept that in theback of my mind and the kind of
kid I was, I would sit in classand the teacher would call me.
My brain would be elsewhere, soI would daydream and I got
diagnosed with attention deficitdisorder and put on
prescription medication.
(02:42):
I can't say it didn't work.
It depends on how you definework.
So it did help me to focus, butit removed any sense of self.
So there was no feeling.
It was a numb kind of goingthrough the motions.
I really didn't like that.
And it was interesting because Iwas hanging out with some older
kids before school and theyasked me if I wanted to smoke a
cigarette.
I was like cool, I'm hangingout with the older kids before
(03:03):
school and they asked me if Iwanted to smoke a cigarette.
I was like cool, I'm hangingout with the older kids, there's
a cigarette.
I never questioned why it wasonly one cigarette, but they
ended up passing the cigaretteto me and I took a drag.
It didn't taste like thecigarette that I'm used to as I
was dabbling in that and thentook another one, maybe coughed,
(03:23):
and they were laughing at me.
I was like what?
And they put cannabis in thecigarette.
So I consumed some cannabis,went back to class and I'm not
advocating that everybody shoulddo this under, maybe, physician
supervision, but all thewindows that are in my head
narrowed and I could focus.
So it became sort of my go-tomedicine.
(03:43):
I stopped taking all theprescription medication and, as
you were mentioning Sonia, myparents would catch me and they
were very anti-drugs, eventhough prescription medication
were okay bags of them but plantmedicine was not.
So at some point they ended upcalling the police on me,
calling the cops trying to haveme arrested and then kicking me
(04:05):
out of the house and that sortof started my journey on to
trying to find out health andwellness, what's working for me.
I got into the music business Iwas working in a place called
Tower Records at the time andthen working my way.
Then finished high school,working my way through college
and went to physical therapyschool.
I never worked as a physicaltherapist in my life, but I
(04:27):
learned a lot about anatomy,physiology, what works, what
doesn't work, and that's sort ofmy start in the corporate world
, so to speak.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
So tell us a little bit about now.
So you get kicked out at 17,finally, because your parents
just put their foot down andsaid get out of here, we're done
.
How did you in the meantimethen cope?
Like, where were you living?
Like, did you have to find anarrangement?
What was going on with that?
Speaker 2 (04:56):
Great question.
So the first few nights Iactually I had $500.
I had a car, it was my savingsand I went to motel rooms so I
would sleep on the top of thebed with my clothes because I
didn't want to touch anything.
There's motel rooms where youpay like $25 to stay in a motel
(05:19):
room one of those.
And then my girlfriend the girlI was seeing at the time she
asked her parents if I couldcrash at their house.
They let me stay for a littlewhile, but then they said I have
to go.
So I would couch surf atdifferent friends' houses.
And then my girlfriend's friendwas going to Italy for a month
and we ended up getting into herplace because she was going to
(05:42):
be gone for a month and stayingthere basically for a month.
Then at some point mygrandmother let me crash on her
couch.
So I did that.
Then, when I got my job atTower Records, she gave me the
security deposit money to get myown apartment.
I got my own apartment and livein a basement apartment where
(06:03):
every single time it would rain,half it would flood.
I'd call the office, they wouldcome in, they would suck out
the water, but it would stillmold underneath all the carpet
and I had every single kind ofroadshow you can imagine.
So it was interesting, but itwas all I could afford at the
time.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
Power Records is such a famous record store.
I remember in 2015, there was awhole movie made about it this
Too Shall Pass where they hadacclaimed musicians discuss, I
think, from what I understood,of what the movie was, but it
was just like.
So what was it like to workthen in a place where you know
(06:47):
that was huge, and where was thetower records that you worked
in?
Speaker 2 (06:51):
in philadelphia, okay , so I mean it was the greatest
job I ever had.
If you're a music person, towerrecords was the best record
store yes, like that I can and Iwould shop there and I got
became a cashier and when I gotmy job and then I was a music
buyer.
And one of the things that Ithink was unique to Tower
Records that made it sointeresting is they had
(07:13):
different buyers for differentstores in different regions that
are local to that.
So maybe the taste inPhiladelphia was different than
the taste in Los Angeles orsomewhere in Alabama.
So you could kind of sense whatthe local market was and that's
what made it unique.
I think the challenge withTower Records is they were so
(07:37):
not adapting technology and sortof had blinders on that.
The Napster and all thedifferent things put them out of
business because they investedPeople would come in to Tower
Records and the exposure wasamazing to all kinds of music.
That's why I have music behindme.
I have a huge record collection.
I have a huge CD collection.
(07:58):
I was getting paid $7 an hourbut because I got promoted $7.50
an hour.
But because you have recordlabel people that would say, hey
, if you buy more of this we'llgive you tickets to this show.
So you get all these differentperks of the job, you get music,
you get concerts where you'restill living, making very little
(08:18):
money, but it was an incredibleopportunity to learn a lot
about music and when you're amusic buyer you build these
connections.
But the thing that theyinvested in this people come in
and hum, do you know the song?
It goes blah, blah, blah, blah,and you have to know.
So they invested in thismachine called the Muse machine,
which was basically you cansearch inventory by keywords.
(08:40):
But they never invested inanything to do with technology
streaming technology, theinternet kind of stuff.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
So I think that really hurt them to any song you
(09:07):
want at any time you want, andI think the records I mean.
Yes, I think it's like one ofthose things now where it's like
a timepiece from the past orlike a luxury kind of
collectible item.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
I don't know, you can't replace vinyl.
Though when vinyl was notpopular, you can buy records 50
cents at different swap meetsand flea markets.
Now those same records are $20,$30.
So vinyl is back.
Vinyl is back in a big way.
It's expensive and I think thekids are starting to find vinyl
again because there's nothingthey take in a record, like
(09:40):
opening it up, looking at theliner notes.
You can't do that with Spotify,with streaming, and it's a
different experience.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
I know it definitely is a different experience.
I still remember having thoseas a kid, those vinyl records,
and putting it on in the recordplayer and dancing around my
house to it.
You know, like, you know, thosethings, it's definitely one of
those.
What I mean by like classic,right, I mean those things are
(10:08):
just, you know.
I think that definitely now,the way music is being out now,
a lot is changing, even now withlike AI and how that's also
changing the landscape too, ofmusic.
But you know what I meant bytimeless, you know, is that it's
just, those are things thatdon't go away, right, like the
vinyl, like the record, thosenostalgic, the nostalgia of it
too, too, that that's somethingthat can't be replaced either
sure yeah, so you were worked attap, you were working at tower
(10:31):
records.
You got a security deposit intoa house that you lived in in the
basement, but unfortunatelywith the rains and the flood, so
that was never fun.
Um, you were.
So how long then you went?
You said you went to collegeyeah, I went to company
university.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
I studied, you know my, my focus was physical
therapy, but I I was anentrepreneur.
So you know, I opened up amusic company.
After tower records uh closed,uh calledday Music and I was
selling like hard to find CDs orlike German only or Japan only
prints.
And my girlfriend at the time,who's now my ex-wife, he's like
(11:12):
you have to get a real job.
So I went to work for PriceWaterhouse.
I used to have really long hair, earrings.
I had to put my hair in aponytail, take out my earrings,
put on the suit and tie and weara mask.
Basically that wasn't me for awhile.
Then I went to work for aventure capital company, went to
work for another consultingcompany, did on-site, offshore
(11:34):
consulting.
Then I decided that I'minterested in real estate.
So I left and got into realestate.
I became a commercial realestate broker and I became the
managing director of KellerWilliams Commercial and moved to
Los Angeles from Philadelphiaand in the first year of living
(11:56):
here or so separated, then got adivorce.
But I was sitting in a realestate office and these guys
came, came in and they werelooking to open up an
alternative pharmacy.
They were saying.
So the person that was talkingto them said, hey, can you talk
to them?
And it ended up that theywanted to open up a dispensary
and this is 2009, 2010, under aSB 420.
(12:22):
And so there was a medical lawin California for cannabis.
So I helped them.
I asked them where is yourpaperwork?
They didn't have anything andthey offered me a partnership.
So I became a partner in adispensary in Orange County
called Kush Kingdom.
(12:43):
We ended up opening up four moreof those, but one of the things
I started seeing was two peoplewill consume the same chemical
variety of phytocannabinoids andhave a completely different
experience.
So in that I started, like myADD kicked in where I had to
hyper focus and I found a videoby a gentleman named Kevin
(13:03):
McKernan who geneticallysequenced a plant.
So, long story a little bitlonger.
I went and met with Kevin,started working with a company
called Medicinal Genomics, whereI would travel the country, get
plant material from differentgrowers, bring it to my lab,
extract the DNA, sequence it,and we created the first genetic
(13:24):
library of chemical varieties,called Canopedia with a K, and
put it on the blockchain.
Now the parent company ofmedicinal genomics was called
Cortagen Life Sciences and theydid pharmacogenomics testing, so
testing on how to see howdifferent drugs affect
individuals' bodies metabolismand then so my idea was we have
(13:46):
plant genetics here, we havehuman genetics here.
Let's bring those two togetherand create a personalized
experience for people using, youknow, their phytocannabinoids
and they really didn't have aninterest in it.
They shut down the human side.
So that's when we launchedEndoDNA in 2017.
And we launched EndoDNA in 2017.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
So part of your work, then, is that you're studying,
you do more of the geneticstesting kind of work.
Correct Is that you are lookingat how certain things know,
perhaps, like even supplementsand vitamins also could affect a
(14:27):
person, because not everybodyis meant to take the same,
correct?
Speaker 2 (14:32):
Yeah, that's absolutely correct.
So in the beginning, when wefirst started the
endocannabinoid system test sowe have a patent on the use of
DNA to make recommendationsassociated with the
endocannabinoid system so thatis what we started in and what
we did was we approached acompany called Illumina.
So Illumina created a customchip for us.
(14:54):
So we sequenced about 700,000genetic biomarkers, which are
called SNPs single nucleotidepolymorphisms.
It's HIPAA GDPR compliant.
It's a genetic test with a swab.
You swab the answer of yourcheek, you register, you send
that sample to our lab, you loginto your portal, you get your
results.
So you're looking at conditions.
(15:14):
And when we met with the FDAthey said what is the purpose of
your test?
We said to help people eithermitigate or avoid a possible
adverse event.
So once we sequence you, weprovide you your genetic
predispositions and what you cando about that.
So the way that I try toexplain it is sort of your DNA
(15:36):
is your life's GPS, so it'llshow you where your potholes are
in your road, where you have,it'll show you where your
potholes are in your road, whereyou have traffic jams, et
cetera, so you can take actionto be able to mitigate the
expression or avoid thosepotholes and DNA is interesting
because you have 50% for yourmother, 50% for your father,
(15:58):
obviously, and some of them are,if you think about, a bunch of
on-off switches.
Some of them are turned on, solike our hair color, our eye
color, our skin color, things ofthat nature but other genes are
dormant and our lifestyle getsto turn those switches on or off
.
So what kind of things affectthat?
(16:19):
Are nutrition, the nutrients,the food that we put into our
bodies?
They can actually control theepigenetic expression, turning
on the switches.
So also exposure to pesticides,heavy metals they can affect
that.
Also our own neurochemistry, sowhat we excrete, like our
(16:40):
cortisol levels, our adrenalinelevels, they can change the
epigenetic expression.
So by looking at your geneticpredisposition, creating a
protocol or some sort oftreatment plan that is specific
to the individual, and thenmeasuring how well that works,
using biometric feedback,biomarkers of blood work, other
(17:04):
things we can actually startusing with AI, we can start
using that to make betterindividual treatment plans for
healthcare professionals.
So they can say, all right,there's 100 people similar to
Sonia that took this protocoland showed that it worked, it
was efficacious.
So this will be a suggestionfor the healthcare professional
to make a recommendation becauseyou're absolutely right.
(17:26):
Everybody metabolizesdifferently.
Everybody can take differentthings.
So when the doctor tells youtake two of these and call me in
the morning, well, why is itnot four?
Why is it not one?
Why is it two?
Because we metabolize thingsdifferently and there's a series
of genes that are associatedwith that metabolism as well.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
Have you noticed any trends with any of the results
that you've gotten from peoplewho've submitted their DNA
samples, like what have younoticed to be perhaps common
themes or any you know commontrends that you've picked were
able to pick up on?
Speaker 2 (18:02):
yeah, I mean 99.9 percent of us are the same.
It's a 0.1 percent that makesus different.
And people that have certaingenetic predispositions.
Usually we put them in buckets,like people that have
predispositions to stress andanxiety, and they don't deal
with that stress, anxiety thatgets triggered.
(18:22):
Now, if they have apredisposition to something
called bruxism, for instance,which is grinding your teeth or
clenching your teeth, that getsexpressed.
So now their sleep cycle ischallenged.
So they can say we sleep foreight hours a night, but what is
the quality of sleep?
So if you start measuring yourquality of sleep, they're on
this hamster wheel.
They're not getting their gooddelta theta sleep, so they're
(18:45):
not getting their good deltatheta sleep, so they're not
getting their restful sleep.
They're not getting the reset,so the agitation carries
throughout the day and they'recontinuing their life, which
definitely impacts other healthconditions.
So you can start putting peoplein these buckets based on, as
you mentioned, those trends, butgenetic predispositions to
certain things they may or maynot be doing.
Metabolism is an interestingthing too.
We have a series of genescalled cytochrome, p450, cyp450.
(19:10):
Each one of those genesproduces an enzyme that helps us
metabolize something.
So there's a specific one forgluten.
There's a specific one forlactose.
These are the genes that youmay be aware of.
So if you and I'm not talkingabout celiac disease we're not a
diagnostic for diseases but ifyou have an irritation or
something happens where it'sinflammatory when you're
(19:33):
consuming gluten, well, maybeyour gluten sensitivity that
you're predisposed to is gettingturned on.
So these are the things that wecan actually see in your
genetics and then create atreatment plan that's specific,
so you can avoid those sharpcorners for yourself so what?
Speaker 1 (19:53):
so after you submit and you get this report of the
gen, of the genetic testing thatyou've done, now do you send
this to a person's healthprovider or do you send it to
the person themselves?
Like, how does that work if?
Speaker 2 (20:05):
so.
So our customer is a healthcare professional.
So, to give you an example, weuh build a test for uh female
hormone health, so it's calledmenopause biotype, and Dr
Jennifer Berman, who's one ofthe top female sexual health
doctors in the country, reachedout to us and said look, I'm
seeing a lot of patients and Ihave two things that are
(20:27):
happening.
Number one I'm seeing a lot ofyounger women that are starting
to show perimenopause symptomslate 20s, early 30s.
That may have something to dowith the hormones that are in to
show perimenopause symptomslate 20s, early 30s.
That may have something to dowith the hormones that are in
their foods that they'reingesting.
And the other thing that I'mseeing is a lot of women are
experiencing these adverseeffects associated with
menopause or perimenopause a lotof hot flash severity, weight
(20:50):
gain, cognitive challenges, etcetera, osteoporosis
predispositions or bone health.
Is there a way that we can getahead of that and mitigate that
in advance?
So the way that we can do thatis we can do the genetic test,
show you what you're predisposedto, create a treatment plan
(21:11):
that includes hormoneoptimization if you're a good
candidate for that personally,supplementation, things of that
nature and you can measure howwell that works to mitigate the
expression of some of thosethings like hot flash severity,
as an example.
So then we book on thatexperience and check to see if
(21:32):
anything has been expressed andwe can see that through
methylation testing et cetera,or something like biological age
, we can actually see thatbiological age reduces, based on
a protocol that's beenrecommended for you and so,
(21:53):
basically, so it's like allthese, so you're getting this to
the healthcare providers andthen they're from there taking
the recommendations that you'refrom the tests that you've
conducted and then incorporatingit into treatment plan for the
patients.
So it's a very collaborativeexperience with the doctor and
(22:18):
the patient because it becomesmore personalized that way.
So you're not just here taketwo of these, it's this is why
you should take two, or this iswhy you should take one, and
then we can see how it's workingfor the individual and the AI
learns patterns and startsmaking those predictions.
So I mean, we have a number oftests.
(22:41):
That's just one of them, butdoing your whole genome allows
you to interact with your DNA.
So now a healthcareprofessional can pull up and say
show me all of Sonia'sinflammatory markers,
cross-reference them with anymetabolic markers, see if there
is a drug-to-drug interaction,contraindication between
medications or supplements thatyou may be taking.
(23:02):
So this becomes a very, verytargeted, focused and
personalized experience for yourhealth and wellness.
Speaker 1 (23:13):
I remember being in discussions or hearing about it
where in my field because I'm atherapist mental health
therapist you know for patientswho are going, who are recommend
or clients rather, who aregetting recommended to go and
see a psychiatrist to help withthe biochemical aspect of their
depression or their anxiety.
(23:34):
I remember you know discussionswere being held about getting
genetically a psychiatrist tohelp with the biochemical aspect
of their depression or theiranxiety.
I remember you know discussionswere being held about getting
genetically, having them getgenetically tested to see how
they would interact with some ofthe medications that are
typically prescribed for suchconditions.
And it's becoming a thing and Ithink that you know the.
(23:54):
I think genetic testing and howyour body works and will
interact with substances,whether it's medicines, whether
it's vitamins, whether it's yourhormones, I think it's such a
great and holistic way to alsohelp, you know, deal with things
and help a person navigatethrough whatever they may have
(24:16):
coming up or whatever conditionsthey're facing.
I think it's such a great and Ithink it's important.
I think it's an importantcornerstone to the health field
at large.
Speaker 2 (24:27):
Yeah, and since you mentioned you know mental health
, I have a quick story that justhappened.
Recently I have an associatefriend who's a very successful
business person, had somepersonal challenges, had some
things that didn't go right,became depressed, may have had
some predisposition to do, youknow, depressive markers I
(24:50):
didn't know that at the time andwent to a psychopharmacologist
and got prescribed anantidepressant and he was saying
that he was driving in the LosAngeles area around the canyons
and has taken his son to asoccer game with his wife and he
goes.
(25:10):
He was driving around thecurves and he had this
overwhelming desire to drive offthe cliff and he goes.
It was so visual, he couldclearly see it and it made total
sense to him and he was soscared he pulled over and his
wife got out and said you okay?
He said I'm not okay, I shouldnot be driving.
(25:31):
And luckily he recognized thatwhen he went back to the
psychopharmacologist, did hispharmacogenomics test, realized
that the drug that he was on wasred, so it was the wrong drug
for him.
Based on that, in addition tothat, he also had a gene for
treatment-resistant depressionresistant depression.
(25:51):
So not only is the drug wrong,the drug may not work for him at
all, but he's still got theside effects from the drug,
which is suicidal thoughts.
So how manypsychopharmacologists actually
do pharmacogenomics or genetictesting to see number one, if
they have a candidate that thiscould work for, and look at the
(26:13):
drugs that are maybe moreefficacious or less efficacious
from the individual so theydon't suffer the side effects?
Speaker 1 (26:19):
and those are the things that we can do to help
apart from the affiliate, uh,that you knew who was a
successful business person, thatone that you had come to, that
you know who had thatunfortunate experience.
You've mentioned before thatyou've also dealt with a lot of
people who are on the autismspectrum and you've dealt with
(26:44):
families and people who've a lotof people have come your way
with that too.
So can you tell us a little bitmore about like what that
experience was and working withthat population?
Speaker 2 (26:55):
Yeah, absolutely.
I worked with a lot of doctorsaround the world that work with
spectrum disorder and spectrumconditions, but I have a story
that I just also was recently.
I find it really fascinating.
So a mom reached out.
She has two kids that are onthe spectrum.
(27:20):
They're both in school and theschools are asking for the
parents to remove the kidsbecause they're extremely
disruptive.
One is even more disruptivethan the other and the other
copies, you know, outbursts allthat.
And she said the second thingthat's happening is they don't
sleep.
They're having a really hardtime with sleep.
(27:40):
So she asked is there anythingthat we can do?
So we did their genetic testsand this is, you know, under
medical supervision.
There is a phytocannabinoidsolution for them, so including
CBD, et cetera, and she recordeda testimonial for us and said a
miracle happened.
There's two things that arehappening.
Number one and what she's doing.
(28:01):
She's taking the uh um like asoft gel and she's squeezing out
the oil and putting into theirjuice or whatever, and they're
consuming that.
And she says there's two thingsthat happen.
First of all, the school calledthem and come in and said
whatever you're doing with thekids goes, keep doing it.
They've completely did a 180.
(28:22):
They're attentive, they're notdisruptive, they're paying
attention in school, all that.
The second thing she said we'regetting 10 hours of sleep a
night.
So somehow some way this ishappening.
So they have a daytime and anighttime protocol.
The daytime is more to addresssome of the stress and anxiety
(28:46):
and nighttime is a little moresedative.
But they wake up without havingbrain fog and, like I said, she
left us a very nice testimonialfor that.
So that's one example.
Another example is I was invitedto speak in Brazil and I don't
get a lot of interaction withcustomers, but here there was a
(29:10):
line of people that were waitingto speak to me and this girl
was in a wheelchair and she wassmiling, but really I wasn't
sure if she was verbal or not.
And her mom came with her andshe was saying that for years
she had multiple conditions.
Spectrum is just one of those,but she has multiple conditions
(29:34):
nonverbal, but not onlynonverbal, but no eye contact.
Eyes were always elsewhere.
She had very littlecommunication with her family
and she's after taking thegenetic test and getting onto a
protocol, and it was also phytocannabinoid related as well.
She said tell you know.
And she said in Portuguese shecould verbalize.
(29:56):
She had a smile on her face,still in the wheelchair, not a
cure-all for anything, but shesaid thank you for allowing me
to have a relationship with mychild that I was unable to have
before.
So, whatever means ofcommunication they found, now
there's eye contact, there'sexpression on the face and
(30:19):
there's, you know, she's becomemore verbal as well.
So these are all the thingsthat we see.
You know that this is, this ishelping a lot of you know
families to create, you know,relationships with each other
that they previously couldn'thave.
Speaker 1 (30:39):
That must have been very empowering to hear for you.
You know, it seems like a lotof the work that you're doing
right now is really paying offfor many.
Is there any one particularstory that really stands out for
you, Um, that you're like, ohmy goodness, like this is how I
know that I've really, thatwe're really on the right track
(31:01):
here.
We're really going at it.
Is there anything that reallykind of just touched at your
heart?
Speaker 2 (31:06):
Well, I'm going to read you something I I normally
don't do this, but I want to seeif I can pull this up.
So I have a friend of minewho's a physician, and a very
prominent physician.
Her husband is a runner, he'srunning in the mornings, so he
(31:30):
tripped and he fell and he hithis head.
And this is the text.
This is a text exchange that Igot.
This is what they said in thehospital Three areas of bleed,
two contusions, one's frontallobe and left occipital
(31:50):
subarachnoid hemorrhage Not veryresponsive.
Occipital subarachnoidhemorrhage not very responsive,
breathing on his own, can eat,knows me and himself, and that's
all.
So luckily, we already had thegenetic test.
We sent over a suggestedprotocol and this is the text
(32:14):
exchange that I received afterthe fact, hi Len.
So I've been administering theoil as directed.
In 12 days, dan has madeincredible improvements, so much
so that he's going home onWednesday to work with rehab as
(32:34):
an outpatient.
So that he's going home onWednesday to work with rehab as
an outpatient.
People have marveled at hissuccess.
Thank you for your amazing gift, I think it saved a life with
exclamation points.
So that's the reason why I dowhat I do and why I think a lot
of people who are in thehealthcare field, we're business
(32:58):
people too.
There's a business.
We have to generate revenue.
But at the end of the day, youhave to connect to the why.
And if you're so busy runningyour business, I'm busy running
our business too.
But you have to stop and pauseand ask yourself, and these kind
of stories and this kind offeedback resets you and reminds
(33:19):
you of why you're doing this inthe first place.
Speaker 1 (33:24):
Absolutely, and the work that you're doing is
absolutely incredible.
Now you've used a couple wordsthroughout the interview.
Help me if I'm mispronouncingit.
Speaker 2 (33:36):
Endocannabinoid.
Speaker 1 (33:38):
Yeah, can you explain a little more what that is?
Speaker 2 (33:42):
Yeah, so we all have an endocannabinoid system.
So the endocannabinoid systemwas discovered in 1992 by Dr
Rafael Misholam, an Israeliscientist passed away a year ago
, and it's the primaryregulatory system that we have.
Its goal is to maintain balance, or what's called homeostasis
in our bodies.
(34:03):
And the way the endocannabinoidsystem works is it gets signals
from the other systems, likeyour endocrine system, your
immune system, sends that signalup the central nervous system
like salmon swimming upstream tothe brain, and then the brain
makes a decision whatneurochemicals endogenous that
means we create them ourselveswhich neurochemicals to secrete
(34:25):
to be able to get that systemthat's out of balance back in
balance.
The two endogenousendocannabinoids that we produce
ourselves are called anandamideand 2-AG.
So anandamide the word anandameans bliss in Sanskrit, so this
is our bliss molecule orneurochemical that we secrete.
(34:49):
And what happens is when we havedeficiencies in our own
endogenous endocannabinoids,when we consume
phytocannabinoids in the plantso cannabis they're in their
decarboxylated form.
What I mean by decarboxylatedis the plant itself.
When you pick cannabis from theplant, if you have delta-9-THC,
(35:14):
thc is what gives you thateuphoric, high feeling.
When you heat it it has an acidmolecule with it.
When you heat it, the acidmolecule drops off and it
converts toDelta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol and
we have receptors in our bodiesas part of our endocannabinoid
system.
So we have CB1 receptors andCB2 receptors.
Cb1 receptors are locatedmostly in our brain and central
(35:37):
nervous system.
Cb2 receptors are mostlylocated in our bodies, immune
digestive system, etc.
So when we consume Delta-9-THCit binds to your CB1 receptors
and squirts anandamide.
Anandamide is that blissmolecule.
So it's the one that we getwhen we're working out or
runner's high or when we consumeTHC.
(35:59):
And the other one we consumeCBD cannabidiol.
It has an affinity for the CB2receptors, which are located in
immune, digestive et cetera.
So it helps to regulate ormodulate our immunoresponse
inflammatory response.
So it helps to reduceinflammation as well.
So the combination, the rightcombination of cannabinoids and
(36:20):
also terpenes, which are theessential oils of the plants,
the right combination.
If you find that right, youknow, secret sauce for the
individual, what you aredeficient in.
Speaker 1 (36:29):
Then it can help to stimulate the production of your
own endogenous endocannabinoidsand help you get back to
homeostasis or balance have younoticed any like when you talk
about things like autism, likeyou'd mentioned earlier, the
(36:49):
genetic testing that you havedone for those people who come
in and said we have somebody onthe spectrum, they've gotten
tested and then you came up withthat blueprint for them?
Have you noticed any kind oftheme that runs along alongside
with that endocannabinoid?
Have you noticed anything thatkind of just jumps out to you?
Speaker 2 (37:10):
Yeah, we've noticed that there's a lot of patterns
in the stress markers.
So stress reactivity, thingslike PTSDd, things like slow
rate of fear extinction.
So trauma, uh, it seems to bemore prevalent.
Uh, it's not suppressed, uh,down, they have to deal under a
(37:34):
duress situation.
Trauma seems to come up and itbecomes, you know, not just what
you're dealing with in themoment, but it grabs that trauma
Like I'll give you an exampleso I get hit by a car on a
bicycle when I was nine yearsold.
That trauma I don't have aneurological condition, that
trauma is in my subconscious,but under great duress it can
(37:58):
pull up that memory and bring itto the surface.
So I see a pattern on thestress markers, in addition to
maybe sleep related markers, asI was mentioning before as well.
Things like insomnia, thingslike bruxism, grinding,
clenching your teeth, and thecombination of those is an
interesting profile.
(38:18):
So if you can help restfulsleep and if you can address
those and address the stresslevels, I think you're able to
have a better experience intrying to address the expression
of those.
And the endocannabinoid systemdeficiencies are definitely a
(38:39):
big part of that, because whenyou're not addressing your
immunoresponses, when you're notaddressing your immune
responses.
When you're not addressing yourconnection to your gut brain
barrier through vagus nerveconnection, when you're not
addressing all those things,they can express themselves and
become amplified.
So yeah, definitely addressingsome of those endocannabinoid
(39:02):
deficiencies withphytocannabinoids has been
helpful for individuals as well.
Speaker 1 (39:07):
Have you also noticed , though, too, when you're doing
your samples?
Because yesterday I waslistening to this lecture, and
it was about the microbiota, andit was about that imbalance in
the microbiota.
So a lot of times, people onthe spectrum have gut issues.
There are three to four timesmore likely to have gut issues
(39:30):
than somebody who's not on thespectrum, and have you noticed
anything kind of pop out likethat as well?
Have you gotten to see some ofthat?
Speaker 2 (39:38):
Yeah, absolutely.
So you know we don't do a gutmicrobiome test but I've done
several in myself and you canfind, you know, different things
in your gut microbiome.
Like you know, I have aninflammatory response to bell
peppers.
Bell peppers are healthy.
If I didn't know this, you know, I wouldn't know why I'm having
(39:59):
this response to bell peppers.
It's inflammatory.
But to give you an example ofhow it relates to the
endocannabinoid system, let'ssay, sonia, you're walking
across the street and a carcomes out of nowhere, almost
hits you.
So now you're going to havethis fight or flight response.
So you have some neurochemicalsthat are pumped in your
(40:20):
bloodstream.
You have some adrenaline.
You have some adrenaline.
You have some dopamine, youhave some norepinephrine, you
have cortisol.
All that's pumped in yourbloodstream.
Now when your brain realizesthere's no line chasing the
(40:49):
jungle, there's a reu.
But you have a geneticpredisposition with a gene
called FA fatty acid amidehydrolase.
So that gene produces an enzymethat breaks down anandamide.
So you are not producing asmuch anandamide as the average
person, and a lot of people onthe spectrum have this genetic
predisposition as well.
So if that's the case, yourcortisol can stay longer in your
(41:12):
bloodstream.
And when it stays long in yourbloodstream.
There's a couple of things thatcan happen.
Number one, it can reduce yourpH level, make you more acidic.
Number two, it can create anoveractive immunoresponse like a
cytokine in a certain area.
Usually it's in people's joints, ankles, knees, hips, neck,
back, etc.
And if you have predispositionsto gut health issues like IBD
(41:37):
etc.
It can start moving to your guthealth and trigger the
epigenetic expression of that aswell.
It's not only the food asmedicine, but also your
neurochemicals can actuallytrigger the expression of those
genetic predispositions to guthealth issues.
So, yeah, it's like puttingpieces of the puzzle together,
(41:59):
right, I'm missing this.
So this is created by this as acascading effect.
So, yeah, absolutely, you cansee certain patterns that you
can address, and a lot of themhave to do with the stress
markers and how they're beingexpressed.
Speaker 1 (42:13):
Right, because definitely you know people on
the spectrum.
I think their central nervoussystem tends to be a little bit
more activated than those whoare not.
So, with that being said, youknow, and doing the work you
have done, using the resultsthat you have, what have you
noticed, like for the stressmarkers?
What have you noticed to bethemes, then, that people are
(42:36):
you like kind of resorting to?
Because there are things thatyou know, of course you know.
And for people who don't knowwhat the microbiota is that
refers to the bacteria in yoursystem, what that means, you
know, of course you know.
And for people who don't knowwhat the microbiota is that
refers to the bacteria in yoursystem, what that means, you
know.
And there are ways that you canactivate, you know good, better
gut health and you know, likethey say, things like exercise,
things like doing relaxation,deep breathing to kind of calm,
(43:01):
calm you a little bit, what youknow and just like using those
things of movement in general tokind of just recalibrate it.
So you know, and in terms ofgoing into that stress and the
stress markers, what are younoticing is now being one of the
(43:21):
most common ways to treat this,apart from yeah, I think it's a
lot of things that you said.
Speaker 2 (43:30):
Number one it's mindfulness, like having a
mindfulness practice.
It's not easy for people thatare on the spectrum to create a
mindfulness practice, so youhave to find what connects most
to you.
Some people like guidedmeditation.
I do transcendental meditation.
So whatever connects with youand it's very difficult with ADD
(43:52):
to be able to do that as well.
So whatever connects with you,but having a mindfulness
practice is extremely important.
Breath work, whatever breathwork that is connected with you.
I've had many people on my showand there's a lot of different
things, from like the Wim Hof tobox breathing, to any other
(44:12):
breathing technique that you cando.
That actually helps to slowdown your response to things.
So breathwork, mindfulness, allthat is slowing down the
response, giving you that pause,having that, taking a beat.
Also, as you said, nutrition.
(44:35):
Nutrition is extremely important.
What the foods that you put inyour body, what foods you know
that connect with your body,supplementation, what you are
lacking in.
So if you have geneticpredispositions to things like
calcium deficiencies, irondeficiencies, magnesium, all
these different things, well,you can get them from food, you
(44:55):
can get them from supplements.
But if people are changingtheir diets without realizing
maybe they have an iron leveldeficiency and are becoming
vegan.
Well, how are you going to, youknow, subsidize for that?
So, understanding those thingsand creating protocols and meal
plans and supplements, those areall really important as well
and I think as important equallywith food is exercise, you know
(45:21):
movement yoga, weight training.
You know I love and I'm lucky Ilive in Los Angeles I love
hiking.
So going out to and it doesn'thave to be anything intense
going out in nature, taking awalk, allowing you know,
breathing in the clean air,allowing to listen to those
(45:45):
things, it clears your consciousthinking all the time.
Stress allows you to have aclean vessel for information to
flow through you.
So find that flow state.
I think that's really importantas well.
Speaker 1 (46:02):
And have you ever done one of those testing after
like?
Is there a way for people tosee how like things may have
been changed?
Or using epigenetics?
Let's say that you do a primarygenetic testing and then
recommendations are made.
People have done it.
Have you gotten another?
Have you ever done a follow-uptest to see any changes?
Speaker 2 (46:22):
Yeah, absolutely so.
One of the ways that we canlook at that is biological age,
so looking at methylation groups, so whether it's an addition or
subtraction to a methyl groupwhich means that there's an
epigenetic expression.
So like, for instance, you geta baseline biological age.
So I'm 52, biologically 47.
My goal is to be at 40 andmaybe lower than that.
(46:46):
So I have my genome, I have mytreatment plan, I have my
baseline biological age.
Now I can come back in sixmonths, take a blood draw or
saliva and see if my biologicalage has changed.
Speaker 1 (47:01):
And that is the epigenetic expression biological
age has changed and that is theepigenetic expression.
Well, it's all very interesting.
It's so interesting to see howour genetics play such a big
role in many things that I thinka lot of people don't think
about A lot of times when theygo to the doctor or they go to a
nutritionist, or when theystart going for vitamins and
supplements.
(47:21):
A lot of people may not, youknow, when they start going for
vitamins and supplements, right,a lot of people may not be
thinking how's this really goingto interact with me?
But you know now.
I think this is giving a newperspective on, you know, ways
that we can better incorporatethings into our body.
So in in user, user, likedifferent, like making sure
(47:42):
we're even, we're even that muchmore mindful about breath, work
and exercise and all that Like.
I mean most of us already arevery fit and active, but you
know just even that much morenow.
So you know, I want to thankyou for your time today and, len
, if people want to reach out toyou and want to perhaps contact
(48:03):
you for genetic testing and orcontact you to see how you can
be of service or help them inany way, how can people find you
?
Speaker 2 (48:12):
Yeah, so our website's, endodnacom, all the
different social platforms.
I'm Len May, len May DNA onInstagram, len May everywhere
else.
I also, you mentioned, like ourcustomer is a healthcare
professional, but if somebodywants to do a one on one who's a
(48:34):
patient, I do have Len Maycoaching, which I will go
through and go over your DNAresults and give you some
suggestions and work withhealthcare professionals to be
able to, you know, provide apersonalized protocol.
So those are all the differentways you can.
And then I have a podcastcalled everything is personal.
You can get that anywhere.
(48:55):
And I have a book called makingcannabis personal.
You can get an Amazon as well.
Speaker 1 (49:02):
Well, thank you so much for your time and thank you
for all who've tuned in to thisepisode.
If you like this, pleaseremember to rate, review,
subscribe and share with yourfriends, your family.
I also have a book that gotreleased in February called
Dropped in a Maze, and it'sabout growing up on the autism
(49:24):
spectrum and I share valuablelessons I've learned along the
way, both pre and post.
Diagnosis.
I share the social andemotional challenges pre and
post diagnosis and I givevaluable tips and tricks and
tools for people to benefit fromand, whether you're on the
spectrum or not, I do discuss alot of things relatable to the
(49:45):
human experience.
They can be found on Amazon,online on Barnes, Noble,
Strandbooks, Goodreads and, ifyou like this, remember just
stay tuned for further episodesof On the Spectrum with Sonia.
Thank you all for tuning in.
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