January 5, 2025 • 38 mins
I share the most downloaded podcast episodes of last year, what’s happening in 2025 and some recent thoughts about cattle feed additives and sunlight/UV light.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello everyone, welcome to the Regenerative
Health Podcast.
This is going to be a soloepisode where I reflect a little
bit on 2024 and what hashappened, what we achieved, and
discuss what's coming in 2025and share a couple of thoughts
that I've had recently on someimportant topics recently on
(00:29):
some important topics.
So a lot happened in 2024.
It was a big year for thepodcast.
It was a big year forRegenerate the health summit
that I organized with SimonLewis of how To Carnivore.
It was a big year we hosted ahealth retreat.
There's a whole bunch of stuffthat happened.
I think I'll probably start withsome of the most popular
episodes that you all enjoyed,both on YouTube and on the
(00:53):
podcast feed, because they wereslightly different and what
these told me I guess this top10 chart and this top five chart
is that you all are veryinterested in learning about
light.
And for those who've followedmy work since the beginning,
since I've started the podcasttwo years ago, it very much
(01:13):
started off as a dietary focusedpodcast and there was lots of
emphasis on low-carbohydratecarnivore eating as a strategy
for health optimization.
And I think things changedafter my series with Dr Jack
Cruz and after that, those threeepisodes I really changed tack
(01:39):
and a lot more emphasized andexplored light and guests that
were talking about the effectand influence of light on health
, and it's been a fascinatingjourney for me and it's really
interesting and telling becauseI think there is an abundance of
people and discussion discourseonline about diet and its
(02:02):
effect on health.
I think you can go to anynumber of very large accounts
and find out a lot ofperspectives about diet and how
it affects health, but there'smuch less so the case with light
, and it seems that it's aninteresting confluence of
interest and need that peoplewant to learn about how their
(02:27):
environment is affecting theirhealth, and it's been my
pleasure to explore those, learnabout those issues and share
them with you.
So I want to give you anoverview of the top episodes of
the Regenerative Health Podcastfor 2024.
Now on the podcast feed, thefirst one most downloaded was Dr
(02:49):
Jack Cruz's.
Our first episode titled theCritical Role of Light in Human
Evolution, health and ChronicDisease.
So this is actually a 2023podcast.
So just going to show how muchthat episode really resonated
with you all and I had lots ofvery nice comments suggesting
(03:10):
that that's been one of the mostaccessible and interesting
entry points into Cruz's work,so I'm very glad that a lot of
you have been enjoying thatpodcast.
So what was number two?
So number two on the list wasmy interview with Alexis Cowan
and that was titled SunlightMitochondria and Decentralized
(03:30):
Science.
It was a very interestingepisode and, I think, an
alternative perspective on a lotof the themes of Cruz's work.
So a really good discussion.
What was the third mostlistened to podcast and that was
my interview with ProfessorRichard Weller, who is UK
(03:51):
dermatologist and researcher onthe systemic effects of
ultraviolet light on health, andthat episode was titled Skin
Cancer, uv Light and All-CauseMortality.
And I think this one's reallyresonated because the advice of
a safe and appropriate sunexposure is coming from someone
(04:14):
in the profession who hastraditionally most vilified and
demonized sunlight, which isdermatologists.
So it was really great to hearfrom Professor Weller, to hear
his zoomed out perspective onsunlight and echoing a lot of
the perspectives and advice thatother guests on the podcast
(04:35):
have talked about.
So, fourth most downloaded wasepisode 61 with Andrew Latour on
red light therapy andphotobiomodulation.
Now Andrew is a repeat guest.
This was his first episode withme and I think a lot of you,
(04:56):
like me recognize that Andrew isjust a player with a lot of
integrity in the space ofphotobiomodulation and red light
therapy, which is at times canbe just fraught with marketing
gimmicks and all kinds of claimsthat are really disconnected
from what the science shows usabout low-level laser therapy or
(05:20):
red light therapy andphotobiomodulation.
So really good episode andAndrew's coming on again.
I've recorded already with himand Scott Zimmerman, so that
episode's coming out soon.
And finally, the fifth mostdownloaded on the podcast feed
was episode 27 with Dr Cruz, andthat was our second episode
(05:42):
about water, fourth phase ofwater and cellular redox.
So what about the YouTube feed?
And this was quite different.
So the top most downloadedepisode from the YouTube feed
most watched was my episode withProfessor Robert Fosbury.
Now, professor Fosbury is aastrophysicist and his
(06:05):
investigations into light-lifeinteractions were absolutely
fascinating.
So an amazing discussiondefinitely going to get Robert
back on the podcast.
Next was my Dr Jack Cruz episodenumber one light and melanin
and pulmonocy in human evolutiondisease.
The third most downloaded wasmy episode with Professor Glenn
(06:27):
Jeffrey, neuroscientist at UCL,london University, college
London who's using red light toboost mitochondrial function in
the retina and now systemically,and his experiments showing
that red light was loweringblood glucose is is really
really pivotal and reallyimportant work, uh.
(06:49):
Fourth was the alexis cowanpodcast.
Fifth was my really quiterecent episode with professor
glenn jeffrey of the guyfoundation, and this was all
about quantum biology and hisperspectives on quantum biology,
so that one really resonatedand getting Professor Jeffrey
back on in January.
(07:10):
So stay tuned for that.
Sixth episode on YouTube mostdownloaded, was my second
episode with Andrew Latour,where we talked specifically
about lighting and the bestlighting for optimal circadian
health, and then Dr Jack Cruz'ssecond episode, and then eighth
(07:30):
was Morley Robbins and where wediscussed copper and trace
minerals.
Ninth was Michael Holick, andProfessor Holick is the world
expert on vitamin D.
That was a great episode.
And finally my overview, number10, of the health benefits of
sunlight and the solar callus.
So that's a recap of thepodcast for 2024.
(07:55):
What else can I tell you?
Well, we had some epic eventsin Regenerate.
We did a big one in March.
So that is the podcastsummarized.
(08:17):
What else was, I guess,interesting?
We did a lot and we did a lotthrough.
What else happened that I thinkwas quite interesting and, uh,
took a lot of time and effort,was regenerate, and regenerate
(08:39):
we put together.
We actually hosted two eventsthat in 2024, the first one in
in in Melbourne at the beginningof the year and the second one
in Albury, and the Albury videosare just being released now.
So I'm halfway throughreleasing those to the
regenerative YouTube channel.
But it was fantastic to gettogether and really touch base
(09:02):
and meet with so many of you andso many like-minded people.
I think obviously it was greatto hear from some amazing
speakers and that education, thedecentralized education that
we're trying to promote, wasamazing.
But it was also special.
It was special to meet peopleand to see where you're at and
(09:28):
what you're interested in andwhat you're looking for.
And time and time again thetheme of community came up and
some of this stuff, a lot ofthis stuff with regard to
optimal health and lifestyle, isdifferent.
It's very different to what themainstream are doing, and if we
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think about how over 90% of USadults have some form of
metabolic dysfunction, then thatreally means that you have to
be in the minority, less thanthe 10th.
You have to be in the 90thcentile to be doing anything
(10:13):
that is going to promote health,because if you follow the
mainstream, you're going to geta mainstream outcome and that's
metabolic dysfunction anddisease.
So being able to facilitate andfoster some community around
these events was really specialand something that I really
enjoyed.
The retreat that I hosted Ihaven't told you all about that.
(10:37):
That was an amazing success.
We had about 17 of you who cameand joined us for four days in
the Byron Bay hinterland.
That was another, I guess,extension of this community
building, but it was also withthe opportunity of spending time
(10:58):
in an amazing, beautifullocation with beautiful and
delicious food, to incorporatein your daily life these
circadian habits, and I thinkeveryone had a great time.
I had an amazing time.
That was a very valuable eventfor a lot of people.
(11:18):
So, yeah, what else happened?
So the Q&A, my Q&A group Idon't know, I don't talk about
it too much through this podcast, but that was something that
happens every single week and Ithink maybe I missed three or
four weeks out of 52.
So it happens like clockwork.
(11:40):
So that was great.
It was great to connect and weI answer all kinds of questions
with regard to healthoptimization and implementing
light as medicine and firstprinciples approach to
preventing disease essentially,and and what else.
We I launched the solar calluscourse, which I still I still
(12:01):
think today is the the onlycourse that specifically talks
about the comprehensive approachto safe sun exposure.
So that's been well receivedand I'm glad to be able to offer
that, especially in theAustralian context, and I'm
going to share some thoughtssoon about sunlight as it
(12:23):
particularly applies to us inAustralia.
But what can I tell you for 2025?
Well, there's a lot happening.
For me, it's going to be a bitof a consolidation type year.
I've got some clinicalexaminations, so exams that I'm
studying for that will keep mepretty tied up until at least
(12:46):
until October of 2025.
So I'm going to be taking iteasy on the podcast.
I'm going to be pulling backthe release schedule of content,
probably around every threeweeks, probably around every
three weeks.
So if you haven't heard from mein a while, then you don't need
(13:13):
to send help, no-transcript.
But it's still going tocontinue.
It's just, albeit at a at aslower pace, and I am on the uh.
What else can I tell you?
So regenerate, march.
Regenerate is happening againand and we're sneaking in a
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double event in march there'sgoing to be this is going to hit
sydney and melbourne on the22nd sydney on the 22nd of march
and melbourne on the 23rd.
And we've got two great venuesfor those who came last year in
sydney uh sorry, melbourne it'sat 75 reed street and in sydney
(13:57):
it's at scott's church in the inthe cbd, the central business
district.
So these are venues and they'regoing to be a perfect venue for
discussing these importanttopics of decentralized health,
circadian and quantum biology,the ancestral nutrition and
regenerative farming.
So who's speaking?
(14:17):
So a lot of you who went toprevious events will know Dr
Anthony Chafee.
He's going to be speaking atboth events.
Natalie West, metabolic andlifestyle-based psychotherapist,
who is using a whole bunch oftechniques, including carnivore,
(14:38):
including circadian rhythms, toimprove the mental health of
her clients.
She's going to be speaking atboth events.
I'm going to be speaking atboth events on sunlight and
cancer.
And we've also got Rachel Ward,who many of you will know from
her acting days.
(14:59):
She is the director of Rachel'sFarm, a documentary about
regenerative farming, and sheoperates she regeneratively
farms here on the north coast ofNew South Wales.
So she's going to be a greataddition and will be doing both
events.
And then, finally, we've got theFetkes, and Gary Fetke became
(15:25):
infamous and later exoneratedfrom the charges against him by
the medical board here inAustralia.
His initial charge was someversion of inappropriately
reversing his patient's diabetesand he has told this story many
(15:46):
times and it's a fascinatingstory of one doctor's, I guess,
quest for truth and to treat hispatients as he sees fit, and if
that included alow-carbohydrate diet and that
(16:08):
was something that was reallybeneficial for his patients.
Yet that didn't fly with thestatus quo.
So, as I said, gary'ssubsequently been exonerated and
he's now a retired orthopedicsurgeon, but he's got some
amazing stories and perspectivesto share, so really looking
forward to hearing from Gary.
He'll be in Melbourne and notin Sydney, but who will be
(16:34):
speaking in Sydney is his lovelywife, belinda Fetke.
Now Belinda went on a journeyof investigation and exploration
to understand the attacks onher husband during that period
and she talked about that in myepisode with her my podcast
episode.
(16:54):
So if you go back through thepodcast you'll find my episode
with Belinda, and what shediscovered was quite an
intricate web of conflicts ofinterest, particularly
pertaining to the influence ofreligion the Seventh-day
Adventists and the food industryon dietary guidelines.
(17:17):
So very interested to hear fromher about what she's going to
be saying.
What else can we say is that Imight be sneaking in a health
retreat another health retreatin July, just after probably
mid-July.
So if you're interested inattending a regenerative health
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retreat, whether in Australiaand maybe even somewhere in
Central America so if you'reinterested in attending a
regenerative health retreat,whether in Australia and maybe
even in somewhere in CentralAmerica, then be sure to be
signed up to the email list orsend me a message and I'll add
you to the priority list of whowe're going to release these
tickets to first.
So, yeah, that's exciting.
(18:02):
It's a little sneak preview,but that's what we're going to
release these tickets to first.
So, yeah, that's exciting.
It's a little sneak preview,but that's what we're planning.
Okay, now I want to share somethoughts, and I haven't shared
too many thoughts recently, butthere's a couple of topics that
I think is relevant to discussOne.
I'll start with regenerativefarming.
(18:24):
There was an outcry about BoVR,and this is a cattle feed
additive.
What does that mean?
Essentially, it's a synthesizedI guess you could call it a
medicine or a chemical compoundthat is designed to be well.
It is fed to feedlot cattle.
And what is a feedlot?
(18:44):
A feedlot is basically an areawhere cattle who are normally
roaming on pasture are broughtin and they are essentially fed
grain another form of whateverbarley, cott, cotton seed to
fatten them up.
And they're fed that waybecause it brings the carcass
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weight of the animal up muchquicker than if it were eating
grass its whole life.
So bovio is a compound that isnow being added to the feed in
feedlots so that they can reducethe methane emission by the cow
.
The point here is that theframing of the problem is that
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cattle methane emissions need tobe reduced, and I'm really
rejecting the frame of that inits ways.
I think that the problem is notcattle, as it relates to
anthropogenic change of climate.
What I think is that and Iexplained this in a recent reel
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is that cattle grazing its's anatural diet of grass.
Any methane emitted as part ofthat process is part of a
natural cycle and it shouldn'tneed to be reduced.
It's not a part of the problem,so to speak.
I disagree with feedlotting.
I don't think it's a goodstrategy.
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I don't think it's good for thecow, I don't think it's good
for the environment.
I think it's, I guess, anindustrialized process.
So I disagree with the wholeprocess of feedlotting.
But I also think that addingmore synthetic chemicals into
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the mix when it comes to meatproduction is not going to be a
good idea either for the cow orfor human health and people who
consume the cow.
So whether the cow is alreadygetting hormones to help
increase body weight, whetherit's potentially getting
antibiotics at various stages ofits life cycle and in the
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feedlot, something like thisbovine compound is just going to
be adding more unknown unknownsinto the mix, and what that is
doing to human health, I mean noone knows because no one's
investigating it.
No one's looking to correlatehuman disease outcome with
cattle meat contamination, andthe way that residue is measured
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currently in the Australiansystem is via trace residue that
have to either meet anarbitrary amount and, if it's
below that, essentially notreported at all because it's
negative.
The test is negative in a kindof binary uh sense if it's below
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a arbitrary threshold, which,again, isn't isn't properly
being investigated.
The the point, though, for to toreally skirt around this and to
really make this not aconsideration for you and your
family is to not buy meat fromplaces where BoVR feed or where
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the cow came from avoiding bigsupermarket chains, avoiding
butcher chains, avoiding placeswhere the butcher can't even
tell you where his meat camefrom, and you'd be surprised how
many butcheries are simply justimporting a box of pre-cut up
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meat from wherever thewholesaler and putting it in the
window.
So they wouldn't even be ableto tell you where the cow was
from.
So the solution here is tounderstand your farmer.
Meet a local farmer, talk tothe local farmer, visit the
local farm, see the process bywhich the cow was raised and buy
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directly from them, and thisway you are essentially removing
from the table any possibilitythat you and your family are
going to be ingesting anythingthat you don't want to ingest,
because you know you havetransparency into the life cycle
of the animal and theproduction chain.
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So, yes, it costs more, but ifyou think about it on that level
, you're paying for transparency, you're paying for the surety
and the purity of the product,and this is a topic I've talked
about at length.
But, although it can seemoverwhelming, the food system is
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becoming ever moreindustrialized.
The solution is more and morejust become simple and simpler,
which is you simply just have totalk and support a local farmer
, and it's a good opportunity tomention a couple of farms that
I've been sourcing my producefrom here on the northern New
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South Wales coast and I want toparticularly give them a shout
out because they're doing suchgreat work, and I really want to
emphasize that this issomething that I do because I
feel strongly about sourcingmeat from these farmers.
So the ones that I really haveenjoyed are Abby she is very
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local here just outside of ByronBay and she raises regenerative
water buffalo.
And we've got Misty CreekAgroforestry, who raise tree
range eggs in the rows of theirCentropic Agricultural setup and
they make some amazing eggs andchicken liver pate.
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Bello Beef, who are just downin Bellingen amazing work,
georgina and team and familyamazing work, uh, georgina and
team and family.
Uh, local dorpa lamb andthey're completely chemical free
lamb tastes amazing and very,very delicious.
And a walkie farm, who havebeen sending me up some of their
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delicious pork sausages.
So would really recommendgetting together a crew of
farmers and who source different, different produce, and so
therefore, you always haveaccess to meat that is nutrient,
dense and is free fromindustrial chemical additives,
and that's the goal in my in mymind, which is um is to help
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promote a food system thatdoesn't rely on industrial
inputs.
It's pretty simple, becausethat's the way the food was
prior to industrialization, andthere's a whole bunch of
diseases related toindustrialization of which these
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are likely to be contributingon some level, to some degree.
All right, what else do I wantto talk about?
So I want to share somethoughts about sunlight, and
sunlight specifically withregard to the Australian context
and it can be difficult tocommunicate the value of
(26:24):
sunlight in somewhere likeAustralia where the narratives
have been so strongly pushed todemonize ultraviolet light.
But I want to share how I'mthinking a little bit about UV
light and health at the moment,and I think what, what one.
One useful way for me toperceive this is uv light is
(26:48):
essential for, for health, andwe know that for for a number of
reasons.
Um, one is because it isproduces the whole, all the
vitamin d type compounds on theskin, and without UVB light you
can't produce those, withoutthat type of light you can't
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produce those vitamin Dcompounds.
Two, the pro-opioid monocortinsystem tells us that UV light is
essential because it producesbetter endorphin in response to
ultraviolet light and that samepathway that induces tanning,
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that regulates skin pigmentation, that regulates satiety and
energy metabolism, immunefunction, blood pressure, all
these various factors, thedownstream effects of the POMC
pathway.
They're essential, and the waywe know they're essential is
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because of the beta-endorphinand the fact that the body's
rewarding us for getting outinto ultraviolet light.
So, again, pomc is stimulatedby UV light and that's why we
need it.
What else I mean?
There's other clues here, andthe fact that DNA is actually a
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chromophore for UV light itdirectly absorbs UV light again
tells us that there's somethinggoing on here.
And finally, the biophotons,these really low emission of
light from the mitochondria,from our cells, that are being
used to communicate.
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They're often in theultraviolet range.
So the issue here is that Ithink we can already push back
on the narrative of UV beingintrinsically harmful, because
it clearly isn't intrinsicallyharmful.
It's actually necessary.
So so what?
So, once we've established that, the next question is that will
(28:54):
be only next question is thedose, and and therefore, uh, we
need to titrate the dose basedon our skin type and um so, so
again, it should.
To re-emphasize, uv light isessential.
The only thing we're arguingabout now is the dose, and UV
light dosing needs to changebased on skin type and if you
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are extremely pale or you'refrom a Northern European
background and you're living inAustralia, where our UV index
regularly is climbing in summerover 11, then we need to take
that into account and really thesimplest way of thinking about
it is avoiding the strongestpeak UV times.
I mean, that's just reallyquite straightforward, which is,
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use shade cover up duringperiods of really high UV and
think about how your skin typediffers to the people that were
indigenously or natively adaptedto this land.
And if you have less melaninthan them, then you need to have
less sun exposure than theywould have.
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And again, ancestrally westarted in the beginning of the
day and we ended the day and wewere irradiated with natural
sunlight from woe to go.
But if you don't naturally haveas much melanin, then you
simply just need to pare thingsback and use the sun safely.
And that looks like earlymorning and late afternoon,
(30:31):
especially when you're getting abunch of infrared fortunately
more infrared at those times ofday to bookend your sun exposure
.
But even things like wearingsunglasses I mean sunglasses
help prevent, especially inextremely glary environments.
I'm not against, uh, if you're,if you're on a boat all day on
(30:54):
the ocean, um, wearingsunglasses.
But just be aware that your eyeis essentially this
neuroendocrine organ and andthis loop between the, the, the
retina, the eye, thehypothalamus and the pituitary
gland.
This is how the body iscoordinating your hormonal axes.
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It's through light.
Light through the eye iskicking off and starting and
stopping these importanthormonal systems, which are
based on circadian timingmechanisms.
So if you are regularly orpreventing natural light from
(31:36):
adulterating or manipulatingnatural light from hitting your
eye, then that is going to haveconsequences on on some long,
long-term or short term timescale.
So again, it's, it's it.
We don't have to be all ornothing.
If you, you know,occupationally you're in really
high UV light all day, every day, then just be smart, but get
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the morning sunrise in with bareeyes and then, you know, cover
up, wear eye protection if it'sextremely glary, and then get
the sunset in and still allowsome of that natural light to
enter the eye and have itsimportant effect.
So this is the message that Itell people the advantage of
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being paler in Australia is thatyou need a lot less sunlight in
Australia is that you need alot less sunlight to generate
vitamin D and to get your lightneeds met.
That should be self-evident,because there's less melanin in
the skin and the less melaninthere is, you know, the easier
it's going to be to generatethese UV photo products and get
(32:44):
a health benefit.
So I think it's important toadd those nuances because, yes,
skin cancer is real, it's aproblem, especially in
fair-skinned people, and we wantto stack the odds in favor of
benefit of some and not have tosuffer from getting SCCs and
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BCCs cut out later in life, evenif that trade-off is going to
be worth it or that trade-off is, on balance, favorable because
of strokes, heart disease andother forms of internal cancers
that have been prevented by moresun exposure, which is what the
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literature from Northern Europesuggests.
The other thing to be said aboutultraviolet light is really it
exhibits the most classicdynamic of hormesis as a
hormetic stressor, and reallythe definition of hormesis is
that it exhibits this biphasicdose response, meaning that a
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little bit can be beneficial butyou have too much, and then it
potentially can be harmful,depending on the individual.
And really that essentially iswhat ultraviolet light exposure
is.
And if you go out and bakebeyond your solar callus in
excessively extreme ultravioletconditions, then you're going to
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be pushing past benefit andyou're potentially going to be
doing harm.
So hitting that sweet spot ofhormesis where you are deriving
benefit from cultivating allthese pomacea peptides, building
vitamin d and and benefitingfrom all that those photo
(34:43):
products, then you, without sunburning is that's how you use
hormesis and you use ultravioletlight safely.
So to me, it's again theoverall narratives that are
advocating for UV blocking abovean ultraviolet index of 3, it
(35:06):
fails to recognize that there isa hormetic benefit to to
ultraviolet light and therefore,and and furthermore, the fact
that that that advice isn't um,provided in a nuanced manner
depending on skin type, isanother way that it potentially
is doing harm by by peopleavoiding white, that they need
(35:27):
to remain metabolically healthyand basically healthy in
themselves, cool.
So in closing, I hope that youguys have a great 2025.
If you want to connect with methis year, it will pretty much
only be through my private group, which I will be continuing
(35:48):
doing my Q&As.
So if you want to talk to me,if you want to interact, then
sign up to my school group andthat's how you can do that.
If you want to see me speaklive, then I'll be doing that in
March at Regenerate in Sydney,melbourne, so grab a ticket to
that.
If you haven't regenerate insydney, melbourne, so grab a
(36:12):
ticket to that.
If you haven't.
Um, we'll also be selling somemerchandise, like the hat that
I'm currently wearing and theregenerate uh corduroy cap, so
you can only grab these at onthe day.
If you want to come to circadianliving retreat, then again sign
up to my newsletter or dm me.
(36:33):
And if you want to learn aboutlight and health beyond all the
free resources that I've got onyoutube and a podcast, then you
can grab the circadian reset orSol Larkalis course, because
that's got a lot in there interms of getting all these ideas
set in your mind in a simpleand easy-to-understand way.
(36:57):
So, thank you all again foryour support.
I really appreciate it and it'sbeen a pleasure to go through
all this with you all.
So, yeah, hang with me whileI'm like I mentioned, I'm a
little bit slower in my releasecadence of of content, but yeah,
(37:18):
it will still be coming andyeah, thank you again.
Hello everyone, welcome to the Regenerative
Health Podcast.
This is going to be a soloepisode where I reflect a little
bit on 2024 and what hashappened, what we achieved, and
discuss what's coming in 2025and share a couple of thoughts
that I've had recently on someimportant topics recently on
(00:29):
some important topics.
So a lot happened in 2024.
It was a big year for thepodcast.
It was a big year forRegenerate the health summit
that I organized with SimonLewis of how To Carnivore.
It was a big year we hosted ahealth retreat.
There's a whole bunch of stuffthat happened.
I think I'll probably start withsome of the most popular
episodes that you all enjoyed,both on YouTube and on the
(00:53):
podcast feed, because they wereslightly different and what
these told me I guess this top10 chart and this top five chart
is that you all are veryinterested in learning about
light.
And for those who've followedmy work since the beginning,
since I've started the podcasttwo years ago, it very much
(01:13):
started off as a dietary focusedpodcast and there was lots of
emphasis on low-carbohydratecarnivore eating as a strategy
for health optimization.
And I think things changedafter my series with Dr Jack
Cruz and after that, those threeepisodes I really changed tack
(01:39):
and a lot more emphasized andexplored light and guests that
were talking about the effectand influence of light on health
, and it's been a fascinatingjourney for me and it's really
interesting and telling becauseI think there is an abundance of
people and discussion discourseonline about diet and its
(02:02):
effect on health.
I think you can go to anynumber of very large accounts
and find out a lot ofperspectives about diet and how
it affects health, but there'smuch less so the case with light
, and it seems that it's aninteresting confluence of
interest and need that peoplewant to learn about how their
(02:27):
environment is affecting theirhealth, and it's been my
pleasure to explore those, learnabout those issues and share
them with you.
So I want to give you anoverview of the top episodes of
the Regenerative Health Podcastfor 2024.
Now on the podcast feed, thefirst one most downloaded was Dr
(02:49):
Jack Cruz's.
Our first episode titled theCritical Role of Light in Human
Evolution, health and ChronicDisease.
So this is actually a 2023podcast.
So just going to show how muchthat episode really resonated
with you all and I had lots ofvery nice comments suggesting
(03:10):
that that's been one of the mostaccessible and interesting
entry points into Cruz's work,so I'm very glad that a lot of
you have been enjoying thatpodcast.
So what was number two?
So number two on the list wasmy interview with Alexis Cowan
and that was titled SunlightMitochondria and Decentralized
(03:30):
Science.
It was a very interestingepisode and, I think, an
alternative perspective on a lotof the themes of Cruz's work.
So a really good discussion.
What was the third mostlistened to podcast and that was
my interview with ProfessorRichard Weller, who is UK
(03:51):
dermatologist and researcher onthe systemic effects of
ultraviolet light on health, andthat episode was titled Skin
Cancer, uv Light and All-CauseMortality.
And I think this one's reallyresonated because the advice of
a safe and appropriate sunexposure is coming from someone
(04:14):
in the profession who hastraditionally most vilified and
demonized sunlight, which isdermatologists.
So it was really great to hearfrom Professor Weller, to hear
his zoomed out perspective onsunlight and echoing a lot of
the perspectives and advice thatother guests on the podcast
(04:35):
have talked about.
So, fourth most downloaded wasepisode 61 with Andrew Latour on
red light therapy andphotobiomodulation.
Now Andrew is a repeat guest.
This was his first episode withme and I think a lot of you,
(04:56):
like me recognize that Andrew isjust a player with a lot of
integrity in the space ofphotobiomodulation and red light
therapy, which is at times canbe just fraught with marketing
gimmicks and all kinds of claimsthat are really disconnected
from what the science shows usabout low-level laser therapy or
(05:20):
red light therapy andphotobiomodulation.
So really good episode andAndrew's coming on again.
I've recorded already with himand Scott Zimmerman, so that
episode's coming out soon.
And finally, the fifth mostdownloaded on the podcast feed
was episode 27 with Dr Cruz, andthat was our second episode
(05:42):
about water, fourth phase ofwater and cellular redox.
So what about the YouTube feed?
And this was quite different.
So the top most downloadedepisode from the YouTube feed
most watched was my episode withProfessor Robert Fosbury.
Now, professor Fosbury is aastrophysicist and his
(06:05):
investigations into light-lifeinteractions were absolutely
fascinating.
So an amazing discussiondefinitely going to get Robert
back on the podcast.
Next was my Dr Jack Cruz episodenumber one light and melanin
and pulmonocy in human evolutiondisease.
The third most downloaded wasmy episode with Professor Glenn
(06:27):
Jeffrey, neuroscientist at UCL,london University, college
London who's using red light toboost mitochondrial function in
the retina and now systemically,and his experiments showing
that red light was loweringblood glucose is is really
really pivotal and reallyimportant work, uh.
(06:49):
Fourth was the alexis cowanpodcast.
Fifth was my really quiterecent episode with professor
glenn jeffrey of the guyfoundation, and this was all
about quantum biology and hisperspectives on quantum biology,
so that one really resonatedand getting Professor Jeffrey
back on in January.
(07:10):
So stay tuned for that.
Sixth episode on YouTube mostdownloaded, was my second
episode with Andrew Latour,where we talked specifically
about lighting and the bestlighting for optimal circadian
health, and then Dr Jack Cruz'ssecond episode, and then eighth
(07:30):
was Morley Robbins and where wediscussed copper and trace
minerals.
Ninth was Michael Holick, andProfessor Holick is the world
expert on vitamin D.
That was a great episode.
And finally my overview, number10, of the health benefits of
sunlight and the solar callus.
So that's a recap of thepodcast for 2024.
(07:55):
What else can I tell you?
Well, we had some epic eventsin Regenerate.
We did a big one in March.
So that is the podcastsummarized.
(08:17):
What else was, I guess,interesting?
We did a lot and we did a lotthrough.
What else happened that I thinkwas quite interesting and, uh,
took a lot of time and effort,was regenerate, and regenerate
(08:39):
we put together.
We actually hosted two eventsthat in 2024, the first one in
in in Melbourne at the beginningof the year and the second one
in Albury, and the Albury videosare just being released now.
So I'm halfway throughreleasing those to the
regenerative YouTube channel.
But it was fantastic to gettogether and really touch base
(09:02):
and meet with so many of you andso many like-minded people.
I think obviously it was greatto hear from some amazing
speakers and that education, thedecentralized education that
we're trying to promote, wasamazing.
But it was also special.
It was special to meet peopleand to see where you're at and
(09:28):
what you're interested in andwhat you're looking for.
And time and time again thetheme of community came up and
some of this stuff, a lot ofthis stuff with regard to
optimal health and lifestyle, isdifferent.
It's very different to what themainstream are doing, and if we
(09:51):
think about how over 90% of USadults have some form of
metabolic dysfunction, then thatreally means that you have to
be in the minority, less thanthe 10th.
You have to be in the 90thcentile to be doing anything
(10:13):
that is going to promote health,because if you follow the
mainstream, you're going to geta mainstream outcome and that's
metabolic dysfunction anddisease.
So being able to facilitate andfoster some community around
these events was really specialand something that I really
enjoyed.
The retreat that I hosted Ihaven't told you all about that.
(10:37):
That was an amazing success.
We had about 17 of you who cameand joined us for four days in
the Byron Bay hinterland.
That was another, I guess,extension of this community
building, but it was also withthe opportunity of spending time
(10:58):
in an amazing, beautifullocation with beautiful and
delicious food, to incorporatein your daily life these
circadian habits, and I thinkeveryone had a great time.
I had an amazing time.
That was a very valuable eventfor a lot of people.
(11:18):
So, yeah, what else happened?
So the Q&A, my Q&A group Idon't know, I don't talk about
it too much through this podcast, but that was something that
happens every single week and Ithink maybe I missed three or
four weeks out of 52.
So it happens like clockwork.
(11:40):
So that was great.
It was great to connect and weI answer all kinds of questions
with regard to healthoptimization and implementing
light as medicine and firstprinciples approach to
preventing disease essentially,and and what else.
We I launched the solar calluscourse, which I still I still
(12:01):
think today is the the onlycourse that specifically talks
about the comprehensive approachto safe sun exposure.
So that's been well receivedand I'm glad to be able to offer
that, especially in theAustralian context, and I'm
going to share some thoughtssoon about sunlight as it
(12:23):
particularly applies to us inAustralia.
But what can I tell you for 2025?
Well, there's a lot happening.
For me, it's going to be a bitof a consolidation type year.
I've got some clinicalexaminations, so exams that I'm
studying for that will keep mepretty tied up until at least
(12:46):
until October of 2025.
So I'm going to be taking iteasy on the podcast.
I'm going to be pulling backthe release schedule of content,
probably around every threeweeks, probably around every
three weeks.
So if you haven't heard from mein a while, then you don't need
(13:13):
to send help, no-transcript.
But it's still going tocontinue.
It's just, albeit at a at aslower pace, and I am on the uh.
What else can I tell you?
So regenerate, march.
Regenerate is happening againand and we're sneaking in a
(13:35):
double event in march there'sgoing to be this is going to hit
sydney and melbourne on the22nd sydney on the 22nd of march
and melbourne on the 23rd.
And we've got two great venuesfor those who came last year in
sydney uh sorry, melbourne it'sat 75 reed street and in sydney
(13:57):
it's at scott's church in the inthe cbd, the central business
district.
So these are venues and they'regoing to be a perfect venue for
discussing these importanttopics of decentralized health,
circadian and quantum biology,the ancestral nutrition and
regenerative farming.
So who's speaking?
(14:17):
So a lot of you who went toprevious events will know Dr
Anthony Chafee.
He's going to be speaking atboth events.
Natalie West, metabolic andlifestyle-based psychotherapist,
who is using a whole bunch oftechniques, including carnivore,
(14:38):
including circadian rhythms, toimprove the mental health of
her clients.
She's going to be speaking atboth events.
I'm going to be speaking atboth events on sunlight and
cancer.
And we've also got Rachel Ward,who many of you will know from
her acting days.
(14:59):
She is the director of Rachel'sFarm, a documentary about
regenerative farming, and sheoperates she regeneratively
farms here on the north coast ofNew South Wales.
So she's going to be a greataddition and will be doing both
events.
And then, finally, we've got theFetkes, and Gary Fetke became
(15:25):
infamous and later exoneratedfrom the charges against him by
the medical board here inAustralia.
His initial charge was someversion of inappropriately
reversing his patient's diabetesand he has told this story many
(15:46):
times and it's a fascinatingstory of one doctor's, I guess,
quest for truth and to treat hispatients as he sees fit, and if
that included alow-carbohydrate diet and that
(16:08):
was something that was reallybeneficial for his patients.
Yet that didn't fly with thestatus quo.
So, as I said, gary'ssubsequently been exonerated and
he's now a retired orthopedicsurgeon, but he's got some
amazing stories and perspectivesto share, so really looking
forward to hearing from Gary.
He'll be in Melbourne and notin Sydney, but who will be
(16:34):
speaking in Sydney is his lovelywife, belinda Fetke.
Now Belinda went on a journeyof investigation and exploration
to understand the attacks onher husband during that period
and she talked about that in myepisode with her my podcast
episode.
(16:54):
So if you go back through thepodcast you'll find my episode
with Belinda, and what shediscovered was quite an
intricate web of conflicts ofinterest, particularly
pertaining to the influence ofreligion the Seventh-day
Adventists and the food industryon dietary guidelines.
(17:17):
So very interested to hear fromher about what she's going to
be saying.
What else can we say is that Imight be sneaking in a health
retreat another health retreatin July, just after probably
mid-July.
So if you're interested inattending a regenerative health
(17:41):
retreat, whether in Australiaand maybe even somewhere in
Central America so if you'reinterested in attending a
regenerative health retreat,whether in Australia and maybe
even in somewhere in CentralAmerica, then be sure to be
signed up to the email list orsend me a message and I'll add
you to the priority list of whowe're going to release these
tickets to first.
So, yeah, that's exciting.
(18:02):
It's a little sneak preview,but that's what we're going to
release these tickets to first.
So, yeah, that's exciting.
It's a little sneak preview,but that's what we're planning.
Okay, now I want to share somethoughts, and I haven't shared
too many thoughts recently, butthere's a couple of topics that
I think is relevant to discussOne.
I'll start with regenerativefarming.
(18:24):
There was an outcry about BoVR,and this is a cattle feed
additive.
What does that mean?
Essentially, it's a synthesizedI guess you could call it a
medicine or a chemical compoundthat is designed to be well.
It is fed to feedlot cattle.
And what is a feedlot?
(18:44):
A feedlot is basically an areawhere cattle who are normally
roaming on pasture are broughtin and they are essentially fed
grain another form of whateverbarley, cott, cotton seed to
fatten them up.
And they're fed that waybecause it brings the carcass
(19:09):
weight of the animal up muchquicker than if it were eating
grass its whole life.
So bovio is a compound that isnow being added to the feed in
feedlots so that they can reducethe methane emission by the cow
.
The point here is that theframing of the problem is that
(19:33):
cattle methane emissions need tobe reduced, and I'm really
rejecting the frame of that inits ways.
I think that the problem is notcattle, as it relates to
anthropogenic change of climate.
What I think is that and Iexplained this in a recent reel
(19:57):
is that cattle grazing its's anatural diet of grass.
Any methane emitted as part ofthat process is part of a
natural cycle and it shouldn'tneed to be reduced.
It's not a part of the problem,so to speak.
I disagree with feedlotting.
I don't think it's a goodstrategy.
(20:19):
I don't think it's good for thecow, I don't think it's good
for the environment.
I think it's, I guess, anindustrialized process.
So I disagree with the wholeprocess of feedlotting.
But I also think that addingmore synthetic chemicals into
(20:43):
the mix when it comes to meatproduction is not going to be a
good idea either for the cow orfor human health and people who
consume the cow.
So whether the cow is alreadygetting hormones to help
increase body weight, whetherit's potentially getting
antibiotics at various stages ofits life cycle and in the
(21:06):
feedlot, something like thisbovine compound is just going to
be adding more unknown unknownsinto the mix, and what that is
doing to human health, I mean noone knows because no one's
investigating it.
No one's looking to correlatehuman disease outcome with
cattle meat contamination, andthe way that residue is measured
(21:29):
currently in the Australiansystem is via trace residue that
have to either meet anarbitrary amount and, if it's
below that, essentially notreported at all because it's
negative.
The test is negative in a kindof binary uh sense if it's below
(21:50):
a arbitrary threshold, which,again, isn't isn't properly
being investigated.
The the point, though, for to toreally skirt around this and to
really make this not aconsideration for you and your
family is to not buy meat fromplaces where BoVR feed or where
(22:12):
the cow came from avoiding bigsupermarket chains, avoiding
butcher chains, avoiding placeswhere the butcher can't even
tell you where his meat camefrom, and you'd be surprised how
many butcheries are simply justimporting a box of pre-cut up
(22:38):
meat from wherever thewholesaler and putting it in the
window.
So they wouldn't even be ableto tell you where the cow was
from.
So the solution here is tounderstand your farmer.
Meet a local farmer, talk tothe local farmer, visit the
local farm, see the process bywhich the cow was raised and buy
(22:59):
directly from them, and thisway you are essentially removing
from the table any possibilitythat you and your family are
going to be ingesting anythingthat you don't want to ingest,
because you know you havetransparency into the life cycle
of the animal and theproduction chain.
(23:20):
So, yes, it costs more, but ifyou think about it on that level
, you're paying for transparency, you're paying for the surety
and the purity of the product,and this is a topic I've talked
about at length.
But, although it can seemoverwhelming, the food system is
(23:41):
becoming ever moreindustrialized.
The solution is more and morejust become simple and simpler,
which is you simply just have totalk and support a local farmer
, and it's a good opportunity tomention a couple of farms that
I've been sourcing my producefrom here on the northern New
(24:04):
South Wales coast and I want toparticularly give them a shout
out because they're doing suchgreat work, and I really want to
emphasize that this issomething that I do because I
feel strongly about sourcingmeat from these farmers.
So the ones that I really haveenjoyed are Abby she is very
(24:29):
local here just outside of ByronBay and she raises regenerative
water buffalo.
And we've got Misty CreekAgroforestry, who raise tree
range eggs in the rows of theirCentropic Agricultural setup and
they make some amazing eggs andchicken liver pate.
(24:53):
Bello Beef, who are just downin Bellingen amazing work,
georgina and team and familyamazing work, uh, georgina and
team and family.
Uh, local dorpa lamb andthey're completely chemical free
lamb tastes amazing and very,very delicious.
And a walkie farm, who havebeen sending me up some of their
(25:17):
delicious pork sausages.
So would really recommendgetting together a crew of
farmers and who source different, different produce, and so
therefore, you always haveaccess to meat that is nutrient,
dense and is free fromindustrial chemical additives,
and that's the goal in my in mymind, which is um is to help
(25:41):
promote a food system thatdoesn't rely on industrial
inputs.
It's pretty simple, becausethat's the way the food was
prior to industrialization, andthere's a whole bunch of
diseases related toindustrialization of which these
(26:02):
are likely to be contributingon some level, to some degree.
All right, what else do I wantto talk about?
So I want to share somethoughts about sunlight, and
sunlight specifically withregard to the Australian context
and it can be difficult tocommunicate the value of
(26:24):
sunlight in somewhere likeAustralia where the narratives
have been so strongly pushed todemonize ultraviolet light.
But I want to share how I'mthinking a little bit about UV
light and health at the moment,and I think what, what one.
One useful way for me toperceive this is uv light is
(26:48):
essential for, for health, andwe know that for for a number of
reasons.
Um, one is because it isproduces the whole, all the
vitamin d type compounds on theskin, and without UVB light you
can't produce those, withoutthat type of light you can't
(27:10):
produce those vitamin Dcompounds.
Two, the pro-opioid monocortinsystem tells us that UV light is
essential because it producesbetter endorphin in response to
ultraviolet light and that samepathway that induces tanning,
(27:30):
that regulates skin pigmentation, that regulates satiety and
energy metabolism, immunefunction, blood pressure, all
these various factors, thedownstream effects of the POMC
pathway.
They're essential, and the waywe know they're essential is
(27:52):
because of the beta-endorphinand the fact that the body's
rewarding us for getting outinto ultraviolet light.
So, again, pomc is stimulatedby UV light and that's why we
need it.
What else I mean?
There's other clues here, andthe fact that DNA is actually a
(28:13):
chromophore for UV light itdirectly absorbs UV light again
tells us that there's somethinggoing on here.
And finally, the biophotons,these really low emission of
light from the mitochondria,from our cells, that are being
used to communicate.
(28:33):
They're often in theultraviolet range.
So the issue here is that Ithink we can already push back
on the narrative of UV beingintrinsically harmful, because
it clearly isn't intrinsicallyharmful.
It's actually necessary.
So so what?
So, once we've established that, the next question is that will
(28:54):
be only next question is thedose, and and therefore, uh, we
need to titrate the dose basedon our skin type and um so, so
again, it should.
To re-emphasize, uv light isessential.
The only thing we're arguingabout now is the dose, and UV
light dosing needs to changebased on skin type and if you
(29:24):
are extremely pale or you'refrom a Northern European
background and you're living inAustralia, where our UV index
regularly is climbing in summerover 11, then we need to take
that into account and really thesimplest way of thinking about
it is avoiding the strongestpeak UV times.
I mean, that's just reallyquite straightforward, which is,
(29:45):
use shade cover up duringperiods of really high UV and
think about how your skin typediffers to the people that were
indigenously or natively adaptedto this land.
And if you have less melaninthan them, then you need to have
less sun exposure than theywould have.
(30:07):
And again, ancestrally westarted in the beginning of the
day and we ended the day and wewere irradiated with natural
sunlight from woe to go.
But if you don't naturally haveas much melanin, then you
simply just need to pare thingsback and use the sun safely.
And that looks like earlymorning and late afternoon,
(30:31):
especially when you're getting abunch of infrared fortunately
more infrared at those times ofday to bookend your sun exposure
.
But even things like wearingsunglasses I mean sunglasses
help prevent, especially inextremely glary environments.
I'm not against, uh, if you're,if you're on a boat all day on
(30:54):
the ocean, um, wearingsunglasses.
But just be aware that your eyeis essentially this
neuroendocrine organ and andthis loop between the, the, the
retina, the eye, thehypothalamus and the pituitary
gland.
This is how the body iscoordinating your hormonal axes.
(31:15):
It's through light.
Light through the eye iskicking off and starting and
stopping these importanthormonal systems, which are
based on circadian timingmechanisms.
So if you are regularly orpreventing natural light from
(31:36):
adulterating or manipulatingnatural light from hitting your
eye, then that is going to haveconsequences on on some long,
long-term or short term timescale.
So again, it's, it's it.
We don't have to be all ornothing.
If you, you know,occupationally you're in really
high UV light all day, every day, then just be smart, but get
(31:58):
the morning sunrise in with bareeyes and then, you know, cover
up, wear eye protection if it'sextremely glary, and then get
the sunset in and still allowsome of that natural light to
enter the eye and have itsimportant effect.
So this is the message that Itell people the advantage of
(32:24):
being paler in Australia is thatyou need a lot less sunlight in
Australia is that you need alot less sunlight to generate
vitamin D and to get your lightneeds met.
That should be self-evident,because there's less melanin in
the skin and the less melaninthere is, you know, the easier
it's going to be to generatethese UV photo products and get
(32:44):
a health benefit.
So I think it's important toadd those nuances because, yes,
skin cancer is real, it's aproblem, especially in
fair-skinned people, and we wantto stack the odds in favor of
benefit of some and not have tosuffer from getting SCCs and
(33:11):
BCCs cut out later in life, evenif that trade-off is going to
be worth it or that trade-off is, on balance, favorable because
of strokes, heart disease andother forms of internal cancers
that have been prevented by moresun exposure, which is what the
(33:35):
literature from Northern Europesuggests.
The other thing to be said aboutultraviolet light is really it
exhibits the most classicdynamic of hormesis as a
hormetic stressor, and reallythe definition of hormesis is
that it exhibits this biphasicdose response, meaning that a
(33:58):
little bit can be beneficial butyou have too much, and then it
potentially can be harmful,depending on the individual.
And really that essentially iswhat ultraviolet light exposure
is.
And if you go out and bakebeyond your solar callus in
excessively extreme ultravioletconditions, then you're going to
(34:19):
be pushing past benefit andyou're potentially going to be
doing harm.
So hitting that sweet spot ofhormesis where you are deriving
benefit from cultivating allthese pomacea peptides, building
vitamin d and and benefitingfrom all that those photo
(34:43):
products, then you, without sunburning is that's how you use
hormesis and you use ultravioletlight safely.
So to me, it's again theoverall narratives that are
advocating for UV blocking abovean ultraviolet index of 3, it
(35:06):
fails to recognize that there isa hormetic benefit to to
ultraviolet light and therefore,and and furthermore, the fact
that that that advice isn't um,provided in a nuanced manner
depending on skin type, isanother way that it potentially
is doing harm by by peopleavoiding white, that they need
(35:27):
to remain metabolically healthyand basically healthy in
themselves, cool.
So in closing, I hope that youguys have a great 2025.
If you want to connect with methis year, it will pretty much
only be through my private group, which I will be continuing
(35:48):
doing my Q&As.
So if you want to talk to me,if you want to interact, then
sign up to my school group andthat's how you can do that.
If you want to see me speaklive, then I'll be doing that in
March at Regenerate in Sydney,melbourne, so grab a ticket to
that.
If you haven't regenerate insydney, melbourne, so grab a
(36:12):
ticket to that.
If you haven't.
Um, we'll also be selling somemerchandise, like the hat that
I'm currently wearing and theregenerate uh corduroy cap, so
you can only grab these at onthe day.
If you want to come to circadianliving retreat, then again sign
up to my newsletter or dm me.
(36:33):
And if you want to learn aboutlight and health beyond all the
free resources that I've got onyoutube and a podcast, then you
can grab the circadian reset orSol Larkalis course, because
that's got a lot in there interms of getting all these ideas
set in your mind in a simpleand easy-to-understand way.
(36:57):
So, thank you all again foryour support.
I really appreciate it and it'sbeen a pleasure to go through
all this with you all.
So, yeah, hang with me whileI'm like I mentioned, I'm a
little bit slower in my releasecadence of of content, but yeah,
(37:18):
it will still be coming andyeah, thank you again.
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