Rooted in Wellness with Mona Sharma

Osad

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  125. Peptides Are Not a Shortcut: Here’s What Your Body Needs First with Nathalie Niddam 29.07.2026 1t 12min

  Peptides are everywhere right now, and the promise is hard to ignore. When you are dealing with slow recovery, inflammation, low energy, gut issues, or the feeling that your body is no longer responding the way it used to, hearing that one compound could help, can make it feel like the answer you have been waiting for. The excitement around peptides is real, but so is the confusion. With so many compounds, protocols, and promises circulating online, it can be difficult to know what your body may actually need, what is worth paying attention to, and where to begin. In this episode, I sat down with Nathalie Niddam to cut through the noise and talk about what you need to know before following a recommendation, building a stack, or adding a peptide to your routine. Nathalie Niddam is a holistic nutritionist and longevity educator, and host of Longevity with Nathalie Niddam. After years of studying peptides, bioregulators, and regenerative health, along with managing a peptide community of approximately 36,000 people, she brings a grounded perspective to both the potential of these tools and the mistakes people make when using them without enough context. What’s Discussed: (16:47) The biggest mistake people make when starting peptides and why someone else’s protocol may not be right for your body. (22:22) What peptides and bioregulators are, how they work, and the difference between supporting the body and forcing an outcome. (27:13) What the current evidence around BPC-157 can and cannot tell us, and how to think about emerging science without ignoring real-world experience. (34:29) How to tell thoughtful peptide guidance from influencer hype and what to look for before trusting a recommendation. (40:01) Why larger peptide and supplement stacks can create new blind spots, and why intentional use may help you understand what is actually working. (49:30) Why food, movement, sleep, stress support, hormones, baseline testing, and body awareness still matter before adding advanced longevity tools. Listen to this episode if peptides have caught your attention, but you want a more grounded way to understand where they may fit into your health  Learn more about Mona Sharma: Download Your FREE Guide - 12 Wellness Tips to Unlock Your Best Health Now: Ready to reclaim your vitality? Download Mona’s 12 Wellness Tips and take actionable steps to transform your health, energy, and mindset. Get started now at monasharma.com/12tips  Visit Mona's website: monasharma.com – Unlock powerful tools and wisdom rooted in wellness to elevate your health, energy, and clarity. Mona blends ancient healing practices with modern science to help you achieve lasting transformation. Follow Mona on Instagram: Stay connected with Mona for daily inspiration, holistic health tips, and personal growth. Join the conversation on Instagram at @monasharma Learn more about Nathalie Niddam:  Website: natniddam.com  Instagram: @longevitywithnat
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  124. The Attachment Wound Behind Your Relationship Patterns with Thais Gibson 22.07.2026 1t 27min

  Why do we sometimes pull away from the people we love most? Why can closeness feel comforting one moment and overwhelming the next? And why do certain patterns keep repeating even when we know we want something different? In this episode of Rooted in Wellness, I sit down with Thais Gibson to look at the patterns underneath how we love, cope, shut down, chase, self-soothe, and respond when our nervous system does not feel fully safe. We talk about attachment styles, core wounds, subconscious beliefs, emotional triggers, and why the way we learned to protect ourselves can quietly shape our relationships, stress, habits, and healing. Thais Gibson is a bestselling author, PhD, and founder of Integrated Attachment Theory™, a neuroscience-backed framework designed to help people understand and rewire attachment patterns. With over a decade in private practice and more than 30,000 students across 115 countries, she brings a clear, compassionate, and deeply practical lens to why these patterns form and how they can begin to change. What’s Discussed: (19:43) Why old habits and instant fixes may point to something deeper beneath the surface. (24:07) Rapid-fire truths on attachment styles, trauma responses, therapy, conflict, and relationship healing. (31:00) What attachment style really means and why it matters beyond romantic relationships. (50:01) The deeper needs that can drive chasing, withdrawing, shutting down, or searching outside yourself. (56:48) How self-soothing patterns can show up through cravings, numbing, and comfort-seeking habits. (1:00:15) Why early beliefs can quietly shape the way we love, react, and protect ourselves as adults. (1:20:07) How attachment wounds can connect to burnout, anxiety, emotional eating, and the body’s stress response. Listen to this episode if you have ever wondered why you keep repeating a pattern you thought you had already outgrown. This conversation will help you see attachment through a more compassionate lens and understand why healing begins with what your nervous system learned long before you had words for it. 🎧 Thank You to Our Sponsors: CAROL Bike: Visit carolbike.com/mona and use code MONA for a special discount. Learn more about Mona Sharma: Download Your FREE Guide - 12 Wellness Tips to Unlock Your Best Health Now: Ready to reclaim your vitality? Download Mona’s 12 Wellness Tips and take actionable steps to transform your health, energy, and mindset. Get started now at monasharma.com/12tips  Visit Mona's website: monasharma.com – Unlock powerful tools and wisdom rooted in wellness to elevate your health, energy, and clarity. Mona blends ancient healing practices with modern science to help you achieve lasting transformation. Follow Mona on Instagram: Stay connected with Mona for daily inspiration, holistic health tips, and personal growth. Join the conversation on Instagram at @monasharma Learn more about Thais Gibson:  Instagram: @thepersonaldevelopmentschool Podcast: Breakthrough with Thais Gibson Podcast
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  123: What “Normal” Labs Are Not Telling You About Your Thyroid with Dr. Amie Hornaman 15.07.2026 1t 10min

  Some seasons of health feel confusing because nothing looks dramatic on paper, but daily life tells a different story. You are exhausted in a way coffee cannot cover. Your weight is shifting even though your habits have not changed that much. Your hair feels thinner. Your brain feels foggy. And when you finally ask for help, the labs come back “normal,” and suddenly the conversation ends before anyone really explains why you still do not feel like yourself.  That is where so many women get stuck. The symptoms are real, but the testing is often too narrow. The answer gets reduced to aging, menopause, stress, or needing to try harder, when the thyroid may be part of the picture that has not been properly seen yet. And for women over 40, that missing thyroid conversation can change how they understand their energy, metabolism, hormones, and body signals. Dr. Amie Hornaman joins me to talk about the thyroid patterns that are often overlooked, including thyropause, incomplete lab testing, reverse T3, Hashimoto’s, and why TSH alone does not tell the full story. Dr. Amie is a hormone optimization specialist, founder of the Advanced Thyroid and Hormone Clinic, and a leading voice in thyroid health whose work is rooted in both clinical expertise and her own experience of being dismissed by six doctors before finally getting answers. What’s Discussed: (08:23) The symptoms women are told to accept with age that may point back to the thyroid. (10:28) Why a small gland can affect energy, weight, hair, digestion, mood, and heart rhythm. (12:19) What thyropause means and why it may be missing from the menopause conversation. (20:09) The top signs Dr. Amie looks for when women feel like they are doing everything right. (25:59) Why TSH is only one signal and what a fuller thyroid panel can reveal. (38:13) Why weight loss medications may not work the same way when thyroid function is not optimized. (54:04) When biohacking becomes one more stressor instead of true support. Listen to this episode if you have been trying to understand why your body feels different, but the answers you have been given do not match what you feel every day.  Thank You to Our Sponsor:  Timeline: Timeline’s clinically proven formula is now available at a new, lower price. Mitopure now starts at $79, when you go to timeline.com/MONA  Learn more about Mona Sharma: Download Your FREE Guide - 12 Wellness Tips to Unlock Your Best Health Now: Ready to reclaim your vitality? Download Mona’s 12 Wellness Tips and take actionable steps to transform your health, energy, and mindset. Get started now at monasharma.com/12tips  Visit Mona's website: monasharma.com – Unlock powerful tools and wisdom rooted in wellness to elevate your health, energy, and clarity. Mona blends ancient healing practices with modern science to help you achieve lasting transformation. Follow Mona on Instagram: Stay connected with Mona for daily inspiration, holistic health tips, and personal growth. Join the conversation on Instagram at @monasharma Learn more about Dr. Amie Hornaman Website: dramie.com Instagram: @dramiehornaman Tiktok: @dramiehornaman
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  122: The Cellular Reason Your Body Feels Different After 30 with Jennifer Scheinman 08.07.2026 1t 3min

  There is a frustrating moment that can happen in your thirties or forties when your body starts to feel different, but you cannot quite explain why. Your energy dips in a way that coffee does not really fix. Your recovery takes longer. Your focus feels hazier. Your body feels less responsive, even when you are eating well, moving, taking supplements, and trying to do the things that are supposed to help. And the hardest part is how easy it is to dismiss all of it. You start wondering if this is just aging, if your hormones are the whole problem, or if you need to try harder with another protocol. But what if the shift you are feeling is happening somewhere where most conversations about energy, hormones, and longevity do not look deeply enough? In this episode of Rooted in Wellness, I sit down with Jennifer Scheinman to talk about why energy, recovery, focus, hormones, and body composition can start shifting in your thirties and forties, and what mitochondrial health, mitophagy, and Urolithin A may reveal about what is happening beneath the surface.   Jennifer Scheinman is a registered dietitian with nearly three decades of experience and the Director of Scientific Communications at Timeline. Her work sits at the intersection of nutrition, cellular biology, longevity, mitochondrial health, and Urolithin A, which makes her the right person to explain why energy, recovery, focus, and resilience may have more to do with your cells than most people realize. What’s Discussed: (08:51) Why energy, focus, and recovery can start feeling different in your thirties and forties. (23:36) What chronic stress may be doing beneath the surface. (26:09) Why Urolithin A is becoming part of the cellular health conversation. (34:45) What Mona realized after seeing her own toxic burden results. (42:08) Why healthspan has to include how you actually feel in your body. (45:06) The subtle signs that something may be starting to work. (55:10) How ancient practices connect with modern mitochondrial research. Thank You to Our Sponsor:  Timeline: Timeline’s clinically proven formula is now available at a new, lower price. Mitopure now starts at $79, when you go to timeline.com/MONA  MitoQ: Go to mitoq.com/mona and use code MONA for 10% off Learn more about Mona Sharma: Download Your FREE Guide - 12 Wellness Tips to Unlock Your Best Health Now: Ready to reclaim your vitality? Download Mona’s 12 Wellness Tips and take actionable steps to transform your health, energy, and mindset. Get started now at monasharma.com/12tips  Visit Mona's website: monasharma.com – Unlock powerful tools and wisdom rooted in wellness to elevate your health, energy, and clarity. Mona blends ancient healing practices with modern science to help you achieve lasting transformation. Follow Mona on Instagram: Stay connected with Mona for daily inspiration, holistic health tips, and personal growth. Join the conversation on Instagram at @monasharma Learn more about Jennifer Scheinman (Timeline): Website: www.timeline.com/  Instagram : jenscheinman_nutrition
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  121. The Health Problem Hiding in Your Zip Code with Tony Cho 03.07.2026 1t 22min

  A lot of wellness advice assumes the problem lives inside the individual. Your stress. Your habits. Your discipline. Your food choices. Your ability to regulate. But what happens when you are already doing the things that are supposed to help and your life still feels strangely disconnected? You eat well, meditate, try to regulate your nervous system, maybe even spend money on wellness, but the second you return to your commute, your neighborhood, your apartment, or another day without real connection, something in your body still feels unsettled. That is the health problem hiding in your zip code. In this episode of Rooted in Wellness, I sit down with Tony Cho, a purpose-driven entrepreneur and regenerative placemaking visionary, to talk about why loneliness is not always a personal failure, why modern cities can dysregulate the nervous system, and why the future of wellness has to include the places, communities, and systems we live inside. And until you start looking at the spaces around you, you may keep trying to fix symptoms that were never meant to be carried alone. Tony Cho is a purpose-driven entrepreneur and visionary community builder helping cities evolve into living ecosystems that support human connection, creativity, and regeneration. His work bridges personal well-being, community design, and the future of the built environment in balance with nature and culture. What’s Discussed: (06:07) Smart cities vs. wise cities, and what modern development is getting wrong. (10:02) How ashram life shaped Tony’s view of community, ritual, death, and belonging. (21:13) Why regenerative placemaking starts with listening to the land, people, and culture. (38:09) Why loneliness may be a design flaw, not a personal failure. (1:07:16) What wellness spaces miss when they focus on biohacking instead of place and people. (1:12:13) Why third places matter for connection, community, and everyday belonging. (1:22:30) How ritual can bring people back to existence without dogma or rigid rules. Thank You to Our Sponsor:  Timeline: Timeline’s clinically proven formula is now available at a new, lower price. Mitopure now starts at $79, when you go to timeline.com/MONA  Learn more about Mona Sharma: Download Your FREE Guide - 12 Wellness Tips to Unlock Your Best Health Now: Ready to reclaim your vitality? Download Mona’s 12 Wellness Tips and take actionable steps to transform your health, energy, and mindset. Get started now at monasharma.com/12tips  Visit Mona's website: monasharma.com – Unlock powerful tools and wisdom rooted in wellness to elevate your health, energy, and clarity. Mona blends ancient healing practices with modern science to help you achieve lasting transformation. Follow Mona on Instagram: Stay connected with Mona for daily inspiration, holistic health tips, and personal growth. Join the conversation on Instagram at @monasharma Learn more about Tony Cho: Website: ony-cho.com/generation-regeneration Substack: tonycho1111.substack.com/ Instagram: @tonycho Gaia TV Series: gaia.com/series/road-to-utopia LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/chotimelive/ YouTube: @RegenerativeLivingwithTonyCho Press: tony-cho.com/press
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  The Ayurvedic Way to Lose Weight Without Hunger, Shame, or Punishment 01.07.2026 50min

  Weight loss can feel exhausting when every plan gives you another reason to push harder. Eat less. Cut more. Fast longer. Ignore hunger. Be more disciplined. But for so many people, that only leads to the same cycle: trying harder, feeling stuck, blaming yourself, and wondering why your body still feels bloated, inflamed, tired, or out of rhythm. In this solo episode of Rooted in Wellness, I’m looking at weight loss through an Ayurvedic lens, where the conversation is not only about calories, restriction, or willpower. It is also about the state your body is in while you are trying to change it. Because if your digestion feels off, your cravings feel louder, your stress feels constant, or your body feels like it is holding on no matter what you do, the answer may not be another extreme reset. It may be learning how to support your body in a way that feels more grounded, nourishing, and sustainable. What’s Discussed: (02:47) Why the usual “eat less, move more” weight loss advice may not be the full story. (05:53) How Ayurveda looks at digestion, Agni, and the body’s ability to process what it takes in. (08:37) Why pushing through hunger can become part of the same cycle people are trying to escape. (13:41) The role daily rhythm plays in cravings, energy, digestion, and feeling regulated. (22:00) Why meal timing matters, especially when dinner becomes the biggest meal of the day. (27:49) How warm meals, cooked foods, and digestive spices can change the way your body receives nourishment. (42:43) Why stress, inflammation, and feeling overloaded can make the body feel stuck. Listen to this episode if weight loss has started to feel like a fight with your body, and you want a more compassionate way to understand what your body may be asking for. 🎧 Learn more about Mona Sharma: Download Your FREE Guide - 12 Wellness Tips to Unlock Your Best Health Now: Ready to reclaim your vitality? Download Mona’s 12 Wellness Tips and take actionable steps to transform your health, energy, and mindset. Get started now at monasharma.com/12tips Visit Mona's website: monasharma.com – Unlock powerful tools and wisdom rooted in wellness to elevate your health, energy, and clarity. Mona blends ancient healing practices with modern science to help you achieve lasting transformation. Follow Mona on Instagram: Stay connected with Mona for daily inspiration, holistic health tips, and personal growth. Join the conversation on Instagram at @monasharma Thank You to Our Sponsor: Timeline: Timeline’s clinically proven formula is now available at a new, lower price. Mitopure now starts at $79, when you go to timeline.com/MONA
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  120. What Most People Get Wrong About Cardio with Ulrich Dempfle 24.06.2026 1t 10min

  There is a frustrating point a lot of people hit with cardio. You know it matters. You know heart health, stamina, and energy are important, especially as you think about aging well. But the version of cardio most of us were taught feels hard to keep up with: long workouts, more sweat, more time, and another thing on your schedule that can leave you feeling drained before the day has even started. That is also why the “I do not have time” problem is not always as simple as it sounds. For many people, cardio feels like something that only counts if it takes a big chunk of time or proves itself through exhaustion. But what if the body does not need another hour-long workout to start adapting? What if the real question is whether the workout is giving your body the right signal in the first place? In this episode of Rooted in Wellness, I sit down with Ulrich Dempfle to talk about why the way we think about cardio, VO2 max, and longevity may need a serious update. Ulrich is the CEO and co-founder of CAROL, and he used his background in mechanical engineering to help develop the world’s only Reduced Exertion HIIT, or REHIT, bike alongside leading exercise researchers. He breaks down why short, precise effort can create a powerful cardiovascular response, and why improving your fitness may not require overhauling your entire life. Shop at http://carolbike.com/mona for a special discount! What’s Discussed: (06:37) Why sweating is not the only sign that a workout counted. (08:29) The outdated “no pain, no gain” advice that keeps people chasing longer, harder workouts. (14:40) Why the minimum effective dose may matter more than spending an hour on cardio. (19:32) How breathwork helps your body recover after short, intense effort. (37:04) Why more sprints or longer intervals do not always create better results. (45:08) Why VO2 max matters for longevity, oxygen delivery, mitochondria, and energy for life. (58:15) How Ulrich builds short cardio, strength training, and joyful movement into his own routine. Listen to this episode if cardio has always felt like something you need to make more time for, push harder through, or recover from afterward. This conversation will help you understand why improving cardiovascular fitness may have less to do with doing more, and more to do with giving your body a signal it can actually use. 🎧 Thank You to Our Sponsor:  BIOptimizers: Visit bioptimizers.com/mona and use MONA at checkout to get the best deal on Masszymes and all BIOptimizers products.  Learn more about Mona Sharma: Download Your FREE Guide - 12 Wellness Tips to Unlock Your Best Health Now: Ready to reclaim your vitality? Download Mona’s 12 Wellness Tips and take actionable steps to transform your health, energy, and mindset. Get started now at monasharma.com/12tips  Visit Mona's website: monasharma.com – Unlock powerful tools and wisdom rooted in wellness to elevate your health, energy, and clarity. Mona blends ancient healing practices with modern science to help you achieve lasting transformation. Follow Mona on Instagram: Stay connected with Mona for daily inspiration, holistic health tips, and personal growth. Join the conversation on Instagram at @monasharma Learn more about Ulrich Dempfle and CAROL Bike: Ulrich Dempfle: carolbike.com/global/community/ulrich-dempfle-rider-story/ CAROL Bike: http://carolbike.com/mona
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  114: Why Nothing You’ve Tried for Anxiety and Stress Is Actually Working with Dr. Dave Rabin 17.06.2026 1t 27min

  You can be sleeping, exercising, taking supplements, trying to meditate, cutting back on caffeine, doing all the “right” things, and still feel like your body is bracing for something you cannot name. That is the part so many stress conversations miss, because anxiety is not always something you can mindset your way out of when your nervous system has learned that safety is not the default. We dive deeper into this in Rooted in Wellness with Dr. Dave Rabin, and this conversation will change the way you understand stress, anxiety, trauma, and why everything you have tried has only ever scratched the surface of what actually needs to heal.  Dr. Dave Rabin is a board certified psychiatrist and neuroscientist with over 12 years of post-college medical training specializing in chronic stress, trauma, and treatment resistant mental illness, one of the few psychiatrists in the United States trained in both ketamine and MDMA assisted therapy, and the co-founder of Apollo Neuroscience. With decades spent working with the most treatment resistant patients in psychiatry, the people who had tried everything and still could not find relief, he has dedicated his entire career to finding what actually works when nothing else does.  What's Discussed: (5:04) The four pillars of self trust and why restoring a sense of agency is the foundation of all healing. (13:53) Why looking at your phone first thing in the morning is one of the most dysregulating things you can do to your nervous system. (17:35) Why anxiety is not a disorder but a signal and what happens when we treat it like one. (22:11) How chronic stress diverts up to 80% of your blood flow away from every system in your body responsible for healing. (34:03) Why perfectionism is a biological trap and what it is actually doing to your nervous system. (39:20) How trauma changes your gene expression and what epigenetics tells us about the possibility of healing. (1:03:59) Why the source of all healing comes from within and how psychedelic assisted therapy is proving it. (1:23:54) Why optimizing from a place of fear is actually shortening your life and what to do instead. Listen to this episode of Rooted in Wellness and walk away with a completely different understanding of your body, your nervous system, and why feeling safe is not a luxury but the foundation of every single thing your body needs to heal. Thank you to our Sponsors:  AX3 Life: Use code MONA for 20% off first order at AX3.Life   MitoQ - Go to mitoq.com/mona and use code MONA for 10% off     Learn more about Mona Sharma: Download Your FREE Guide - 12 Wellness Tips to Unlock Your Best Health Now: Ready to reclaim your vitality? Download Mona’s 12 Wellness Tips and take actionable steps to transform your health, energy, and mindset. Get started now at monasharma.com/12tips  Visit Mona's website: monasharma.com – Unlock powerful tools and wisdom rooted in wellness to elevate your health, energy, and clarity. Mona blends ancient healing practices with modern science to help you achieve lasting transformation. Follow Mona on Instagram: Stay connected with Mona for daily inspiration, holistic health tips, and personal growth. Join the conversation on Instagram at @monasharma Learn more about Dr. Dave Rabin: Instagram: @drdavidrabin  Book - A Simple Guide to Being Alive pre-order link: A-Simple-Guide-To-Being-Alive  Website: www.drdave.io/   Podcast: The-Psychedelic-Report/
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  118: The Detox Mistake That Keeps Your Body Feeling Off with Dr. Josh Levitt 10.06.2026 1t 8min

  There is a specific kind of frustration that happens when you are trying to take care of your body, but something still feels off. You are eating better, taking supplements, trying to manage stress, maybe even getting your labs checked, but your energy still feels low, your brain feels foggy, your digestion feels sluggish, or your hormones feel harder to understand than they used to. But what if the answer is not another extreme cleanse, another supplement, or another reason to blame yourself? What if your body has been sending quieter signals through the organ most people only think about when they hear the word “detox,” and understanding that organ could change the way you look at your energy, mood, hormones, digestion, and daily health? In this episode of Rooted in Wellness, I sit down with Dr. Josh Levitt to talk about why the liver is so much more than a filter, why detox trends often miss the point, and how to support your body’s built-in detox process in a way that feels practical and sustainable.  Dr. Joshua Levitt, ND, is a naturopathic physician, author, educator, and Co-Founder and Medical Director at UpWellness, with over 20 years of hands-on clinical experience helping people understand their bodies through a grounded, integrative lens. What’s Discussed: (04:19) Why Mona’s healing journey inspired Rooted in Wellness and the bridge between Eastern and Western medicine. (10:28) Why balance is not about staying perfectly steady, but learning how to manage the moments that pull you off center. (20:30) The subtle signs your liver may need support before anything obvious shows up on labs. (21:26) Why the liver is not just a filter, and how that misunderstanding can keep people from connecting their symptoms. (23:58) What standard liver labs can tell you, and why “normal” results may not always explain why you still feel off. (42:06) What people should know before trying detox teas, juice cleanses, liver flushes, or viral detox trends. (57:09) Why liver health belongs in the conversation around hormones, HRT, perimenopause, stress, and how your body processes what it carries. Listen to this episode to understand why supporting your liver may not be about doing a harder detox, and why feeling sluggish, foggy, hormonally off, or disconnected from your body may have more to do with daily support than another extreme reset. 🎧 Thank You to Our Sponsor: MitoQ: Go to mitoq.com/mona and use code MONA for 10% off Learn more about Mona Sharma: Download Your FREE Guide - 12 Wellness Tips to Unlock Your Best Health Now: Ready to reclaim your vitality? Download Mona’s 12 Wellness Tips and take actionable steps to transform your health, energy, and mindset. Get started now at monasharma.com/12tips Visit Mona's website: monasharma.com – Unlock powerful tools and wisdom rooted in wellness to elevate your health, energy, and clarity. Mona blends ancient healing practices with modern science to help you achieve lasting transformation. Follow Mona on Instagram: Stay connected with Mona for daily inspiration, holistic health tips, and personal growth. Join the conversation on Instagram at @monasharma Learn more about Dr. Josh Levitt & UpWellness: Website: upwellness.com UpWellness LTV: drinkLTV.com Instagram: @drjoshlevitt TikTok: @drjoshlevitt
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  117. The Fitness Mistake That Keeps You Starting Over with Stan Browney 03.06.2026 1t

  There is a very specific kind of frustration that happens when you genuinely want to get healthier, but every attempt starts to feel like the same cycle. You get motivated, you clean up your food, you promise yourself this time will be different, and then one missed workout, one busy week, or one moment of “I already messed up” makes you feel like you are back at the beginning again. But what if the problem is not that you lack discipline? What if the real problem is that you were taught to make fitness too extreme to actually become your life? In this episode of Rooted in Wellness, I sit down with Stan Browney to talk about the part of fitness that most people overlook. We get into why motivation is not always the thing that creates change, why so many people make getting healthy harder than it needs to be, and why the way you approach food, movement, routine, and progress can either keep you stuck in the start-over cycle or help you finally move forward. Stan Browney is a fitness creator, YouTuber, and founder of the 90 Day Challenge app. Through his challenge-based content, bodyweight training, and transformation series, he has helped millions of people see fitness as something they can start, enjoy, and keep going with without needing perfection, expensive equipment, or extreme routines. What’s Discussed: (07:10) The fitness myth about carbs that still refuses to go away. (08:07) Why motivation may not be what actually gets people fit. (10:39) Why starting can feel like the biggest roadblock. (13:08) What is really happening when the scale stops moving. (15:43) The difference between wanting fast results and wanting real change. (30:39) Why missing one day can feel like failure, and what to do with that moment. (52:59) The small habit Stan recommends when someone wants to begin. Listen to this episode to understand why getting healthy may not be about finding a harder plan, and why the reason you keep starting over may have less to do with your body and more to do with the way fitness has been presented to you. 🎧  Thank You to Our Sponsor: Timeline: Timeline’s clinically proven formula is now available at a new, lower price. Mitopure now starts at $79, when you go to timeline.com/MONA Learn more about Mona Sharma: Download Your FREE Guide - 12 Wellness Tips to Unlock Your Best Health Now: Ready to reclaim your vitality? Download Mona’s 12 Wellness Tips and take actionable steps to transform your health, energy, and mindset. Get started now at monasharma.com/12tips  Visit Mona's website: monasharma.com – Unlock powerful tools and wisdom rooted in wellness to elevate your health, energy, and clarity. Mona blends ancient healing practices with modern science to help you achieve lasting transformation. Follow Mona on Instagram: Stay connected with Mona for daily inspiration, holistic health tips, and personal growth. Join the conversation on Instagram at @monasharma Learn more about Stan Browney:  Instagram: @stanbrowney  YouTube: @Browney
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  116. Cellular Health: How to Rebuild the Body’s Ability to Heal with Dr. Bill Rawls 27.05.2026 1t 18min

  So many people spend years chasing answers. Doctor after doctor, test after test, protocol after protocol, and still their body feels like it is stuck in something it cannot find its way out of. They may be eating better, taking supplements, trying to lower stress, testing for Lyme, mold, viruses, or toxins, and still wondering why they do not feel better. If you are also feeling that same frustration, this episode is for you. In this episode of Rooted in Wellness, I sit down with Dr. Bill Rawls to talk about why chronic illness is so rarely about one single diagnosis, pathogen, or protocol. Because when the body has been under years of stress, toxicity, depletion, and cellular strain, healing cannot only be about attacking what showed up on a test. It has to be about understanding why the body became vulnerable in the first place, what your cells need to rebuild resilience, and how to create the conditions for your body to actually recover. Dr. Bill Rawls is a medical doctor whose personal battle with chronic Lyme disease brought him face to face with the limits of conventional medicine and led him toward a deeper understanding of cellular health, herbal medicine, and true recovery. Through his RESTORE180™ framework and his work in herbal and cellular wellness, he has become one of the most trusted voices helping people move beyond symptom management and understand what the body truly needs to heal. Use code MONA at https://vitalplan.com/  to get 25% off the Vital Plan order, including the first month of RESTORE180.  What’s Discussed: (09:00) Why chronic illness keeps rising despite advanced medicine. (15:46) Why people can do everything “right” and still feel stuck. (19:33) How stress, toxicity, and cellular breakdown create vulnerability. (30:00) Why Lyme, mold, and viruses are rarely the whole story. (47:09) How herbs work differently from pharmaceuticals. (56:00) Why herbal healing works on a different timeline. (01:06:14) The trap of more supplements, testing, and protocols. (01:11:49) Simple first steps to reduce cellular stress. Listen now and learn why your body may not need another extreme protocol, but the right support to rebuild resilience from the cellular level. Thank you to our Sponsors: BIOptimizers: Visit bioptimizers.com/mona and use MONA at checkout to get the best deal on Masszymes and all BIOptimizers products.  Learn more about Mona Sharma: Download Your FREE Guide - 12 Wellness Tips to Unlock Your Best Health Now: Ready to reclaim your vitality? Download Mona’s 12 Wellness Tips and take actionable steps to transform your health, energy, and mindset. Get started now at monasharma.com/12tips  Visit Mona's website: monasharma.com – Unlock powerful tools and wisdom rooted in wellness to elevate your health, energy, and clarity. Mona blends ancient healing practices with modern science to help you achieve lasting transformation. Follow Mona on Instagram: Stay connected with Mona for daily inspiration, holistic health tips, and personal growth. Join the conversation on Instagram at @monasharma Learn more about Dr. Bill Rawls Website: https://rawlsmd.com/ Instagram: @rawlsmd  Facebook: @rawlsmd  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/RawlsMD  LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/bill-rawls-md/
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  115. The Missing Piece in Hormone Therapy No One Is Talking About with Dr. Nayan Patel 20.05.2026 1t 30min

  Hormone health has become one of the most confusing conversations in wellness, and that confusion can change the way you care for your body. Some people avoid HRT completely because they are afraid of it, while others get placed on one-size-fits-all protocols that never fully consider their stress, sleep, lifestyle, labs, symptoms, or what their body is actually asking for. In this episode of Rooted in Wellness, I sit down with Dr. Nayan Patel to help you understand how to approach hormone health with more clarity and confidence. We talk about where the fear around hormone therapy comes from, why “normal” is not always the same as optimal, how custom compounding can support more personalized care, and why your doctor, pharmacist, lifestyle, and daily habits all need to work together if you want the treatment to actually support your body. Dr. Nayan Patel is a sought-after pharmacist, wellness expert, and author of The Glutathione Revolution: Fight Disease, Slow Aging, and Increase Energy with the Master Antioxidant. Since 1999, he has worked with physicians to custom-develop patient-specific medication, hormone, and nutrition protocols for celebrities, CEOs, physicians, and high-performing clients. After 11 years of clinical research on glutathione, he developed patented topical glutathione delivery technology, making him one of the most trusted voices on personalized medicine, hormone therapy, and antioxidant support. What's Discussed: (00:00) Why so many people feel “off” even when their labs come back normal. (04:12) The early signs your hormones are shifting before it becomes a bigger issue. (08:30) Where the fear around hormone therapy actually comes from and why it’s still so strong. (12:45) Why one-size-fits-all hormone protocols leave so many people stuck. (17:10) What gets missed in standard hormone testing and appointments. (21:36) The difference between “normal” and “optimal” and why it matters for how you feel. (26:50) Breaking down bioidentical, natural, and synthetic hormones in a way that actually makes sense. (32:18) Why personalized, compounded hormone therapy can change outcomes. (38:40) The lifestyle factors that can block hormone therapy from working properly. (54:10) The biggest mistakes people make when trying to fix their hormones. If you’ve been feeling off, dismissed, or confused about your hormones, this episode will help you understand what might actually be missing and how to approach your hormone health in a way that finally makes sense. Thank you to our Sponsors:  Timeline: Timeline’s clinically proven formula is now available at a new, lower price. Mitopure now starts at $79, when you go to timeline.com/MONA  Learn more about Mona Sharma: Download Your FREE Guide - 12 Wellness Tips to Unlock Your Best Health Now: Ready to reclaim your vitality? Download Mona’s 12 Wellness Tips and take actionable steps to transform your health, energy, and mindset. Get started now at monasharma.com/12tips  Visit Mona's website: monasharma.com – Unlock powerful tools and wisdom rooted in wellness to elevate your health, energy, and clarity. Mona blends ancient healing practices with modern science to help you achieve lasting transformation. Follow Mona on Instagram: Stay connected with Mona for daily inspiration, holistic health tips, and personal growth. Join the conversation on Instagram at @monasharma Learn more about Auro Wellness:  Website: http://aurowellness.com/  Instagram: @aurowellness  Facebook: @aurowellness  TikTok: @auro.wellness  YouTube: www.youtube.com/@aurowellness
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  114. The Eye-Brain Connection Behind Focus, Fatigue, and Screen Stress with Dr. Bryce Appelbaum 13.05.2026 1t 26min

  When we talk about health, healing, and performance, we usually focus on the things we have been taught to look at first. We talk about hormones, gut health, sleep, stress, inflammation, nutrition, movement, and nervous system regulation. But most of us never think to ask whether there is another system quietly shaping how we focus, learn, move, process stress, and feel in our bodies. That system is vision. In this episode of Rooted in Wellness, I sit down with Dr. Bryce Appelbaum to explore why vision is one of the most overlooked foundations of whole-body health. We talk about why 20/20 eyesight does not mean your vision is fully healthy, how the eye-brain connection affects focus, stress, learning, screen fatigue, concussion recovery, aging, and performance, and why standard eye exams can miss functional vision problems that may be affecting your daily life. Dr. Bryce Appelbaum is a pioneer in neuro-optometry, an international TEDx speaker, and the creator of Vision Performance Training, a transformative approach that rewires the eye-brain connection, supports post-concussion vision issues, and builds long-term visual resilience. As the founder and CEO of MyVisionFirst and ScreenFit™, he has become one of the most trusted voices in functional vision, helping people understand why 20/20 eyesight is not the whole story.  If you want to start supporting their visual system beyond today’s conversation, Dr. Appelbaum is offering exclusive discounts on ScreenFit™ and Digital Performance Lenses:  $200 off ScreenFit™ https://checkout.screenfit.com/screenfit-vision-foundations/ using code MONA at screenfit.com/enroll  10% off Digital Performance Lenses https://shop.myvisionfirst.com/ using code MONA at shop.myvisionfirst.com    What's Discussed: (05:43) Why 20/20 eyesight is not the full picture. (07:20) What standard eye exams often miss. (18:05) The difference between eyesight and vision. (25:20) How vision connects to stress and regulation. (28:06) What screens do to the eyes and brain. (30:21) How vision issues can affect children’s learning and focus. (35:56) Everyday signs of functional vision problems. (49:35) How Vision Performance Training rewires the eye-brain connection. Thank you to our Sponsors:  MitoQ: Go to mitoq.com/mona and use code MONA for 10% off  AX3 Life: Use code MONA for 20% off first order at https://ax3.life/ Learn more about Mona Sharma: Download Your FREE Guide - 12 Wellness Tips to Unlock Your Best Health Now: Ready to reclaim your vitality? Download Mona’s 12 Wellness Tips and take actionable steps to transform your health, energy, and mindset. Get started now at monasharma.com/12tips  Visit Mona's website: monasharma.com – Unlock powerful tools and wisdom rooted in wellness to elevate your health, energy, and clarity. Mona blends ancient healing practices with modern science to help you achieve lasting transformation. Follow Mona on Instagram: Stay connected with Mona for daily inspiration, holistic health tips, and personal growth. Join the conversation on Instagram at @monasharma Learn more about Dr. Bryce Applebaum and MyVisionFirst:  Instagram: @drbryceappelbaum  Website: https://myvisionfirst.com/  Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zk5moFndYRU
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  113. The Hormones and Emotions Connection - Why Healing Your Hormones Means Healing Your Story with Dr. Sonya Jensen 06.05.2026 1t 37min

  What if your mood swings, your anxiety, your exhaustion, and even your physical symptoms aren't problems to be fixed but messages waiting to be heard? You have probably tried to silence them anyway, pushed through the fatigue, tightened up your routine, added another practice to your morning. But what you have never realized is that your body is not breaking down but breaking open, asking you to finally stop running from the stories, the grief, and the generational weight you have been carrying for years. Your hormones and your emotions are not two separate conversations, and until you bridge that gap, no protocol, no supplement, and no wellness routine will ever be enough. In this episode of Rooted in Wellness, I sat down with naturopathic physician Dr. Sonya Jensen to explore how to close that gap. We also talk about why the trauma your mother and grandmother never processed may be showing up in your hormones today, and why perimenopause is not something to survive but one of the most powerful invitations of a woman's life. Dr. Sonya Jensen is a naturopathic physician with over 15 years of experience specializing in women's hormonal health, the creator of the HER Method, and the author of Heal Your Hormones, Reclaim Yourself. With a background in cell biology and over a decade of clinical work at the intersection of hormones, emotions, and relationships, she is one of the most grounded voices in women's health today. What's Discussed: (2:30) The three daily non-negotiables that keep Dr. Sonya feeling rooted. (5:02) What actually causes women to feel uprooted and why hormonal changes amplify it. (8:29) What your hormones are really trying to tell you when you feel exhausted and disconnected. (10:02) The grief that lives inside every stage of a woman's life that nobody talks about. (17:45) Why your labs can look completely normal and you still feel terrible. (24:22) How unprocessed stress and trauma biologically alter your hormonal landscape. (26:43) Why you may be carrying your mother's and grandmother's hormonal patterns in your body. (48:52) What anger, anxiety, and sadness are actually trying to tell you. (50:53) The emotional root behind fibroids and why your body may be holding on. (1:08:32) Three simple things you can start doing today to come back into alignment. (1:09:33) The HER Method explained: Hormones, Emotions, Relationships. Listen to this episode of Rooted in Wellness and walk away finally understanding why everything you have tried has not worked, what your body has actually been asking for all along, and how to start healing from the root instead of chasing the symptoms.  Thank you to our Sponsors:  Cozy Earth: Head to cozyearth.com and use my code ROOTED for an exclusive 20% off, and if you see a post-purchase survey, be sure to mention you heard about Cozy Earth right here on Rooted in Wellness.  Timeline: Timeline’s clinically proven formula is now available at a new, lower price. Mitopure now starts at $79, when you go to timeline.com/MONA Learn more about Mona Sharma: Download Your FREE Guide - 12 Wellness Tips to Unlock Your Best Health Now: Ready to reclaim your vitality? Download Mona’s 12 Wellness Tips and take actionable steps to transform your health, energy, and mindset. Get started now at https://monasharma.com/12tips.  Visit Mona's website: https://monasharma.com – Unlock powerful tools and wisdom rooted in wellness to elevate your health, energy, and clarity. Mona blends ancient healing practices with modern science to help you achieve lasting transformation. Follow Mona on Instagram: Stay connected with Mona for daily inspiration, holistic health tips, and personal growth. Join the conversation on Instagram at @monasharma Learn more about Dr. Sonya Jensen:  Book: www.healyourhormonesbook.com  Instagram: @drsonyajensen    Website: www.drsonyajensen.com
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  112. Beyond Reproduction - The Shocking Truth About What Estrogen Actually Does In Your Body with Dr. Siobhan Mitchell 29.04.2026 1t 45min

  Have you ever done everything right, the clean eating, the morning rituals, the consistent workouts, and still felt like your body was working against you in ways you could not explain? Probably, you cleaned up your diet even more, added another wellness protocol, pushed harder in the gym, only to end up more exhausted, more inflamed, more frustrated, and no closer to feeling like yourself again. The problem was never your effort or your discipline. It was biology. And specifically, it was one hormone that most women were never told does far more in the female body than reproduction. In this episode of Rooted in Wellness, I sit down with neuroscientist and mitochondrial health expert Dr. Siobhan Mitchell to finally give that biology a name, an explanation, and a path forward. After this conversation you will understand why the belly fat, the brain fog, the cravings, the burnout, and the sleepless nights are all connected, why no amount of discipline was ever going to fix them, and exactly what your body actually needs to start feeling like itself again. Dr. Siobhan Mitchell is the Chief Scientific Officer of MitoQ, holds a PhD from SUNY Albany, and completed her post-doctoral fellowship on brain aging at the University of Washington. She has authored over 80 published papers, holds eight patents in aging, cognition, and mood, and has led research on brain nutrition, metabolism, cardiovascular health, and weight loss across multinational companies and institutions worldwide. With 25 years at the intersection of neuroscience, nutrition, and women's health, there is nobody better placed to have this conversation. Go to mitoq.com/mona and use code MONA for 10% off! What's Discussed: (6:33) Why the symptoms women dismiss as stress in their 40s are actually their hormones talking. (7:45) Why estrogen decline causes a 65% increase in binge eating and how it disrupts blood glucose. (9:27) Why perimenopause is starting earlier than most women are told (12:10) What is actually happening physiologically when a woman's body stops responding to the protocols that used to work. (20:17) The real reason belly fat accumulates in midlife and why it has nothing to do with what you are eating. (28:40) Phytoestrogens, what they are, and how they work on estrogen beta receptors in the brain, heart, and bones. (31:57) What equol is, why only 20 to 30% of western women can produce it, and why it is a game changer for women's health. (37:57) How the gut microbiome regulates estrogen through the estrobolome and why gut health and hormone health cannot be separated. (42:49) How to eat for your estrobolome and the specific foods that support estrogen recycling and brain health. (53:53) The science behind MitoQ, and what makes mitochondrial targeted antioxidants different. (1:05:01) The two biggest drivers of mitochondrial oxidative stress in women and what to do about them. Thank you to our sponsor:  Cozy Earth: Head to cozyearth.com and use my code ROOTED for an exclusive 20% off, and if you see a post-purchase survey, be sure to mention you heard about Cozy Earth right here on Rooted in Wellness.  Learn more about Mona Sharma: Download Your FREE Guide - 12 Wellness Tips to Unlock Your Best Health Now: Ready to reclaim your vitality? Download Mona’s 12 Wellness Tips and take actionable steps to transform your health, energy, and mindset. Get started now at https://monasharma.com/12tips.  Visit Mona's website: https://monasharma.com – Unlock powerful tools and wisdom rooted in wellness to elevate your health, energy, and clarity. Mona blends ancient healing practices with modern science to help you achieve lasting transformation. Follow Mona on Instagram: Stay connected with Mona for daily inspiration, holistic health tips, and personal growth. Join the conversation on Instagram at @monasharma Learn more about Dr. Siobhan Mitchell:  Instagram: @esiobhanmitchell Website: https://global.mitoq.com/
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  111. What Makes Nature The Most Powerful Healing Protocol with Caroline Howell 22.04.2026 1t 21min

  We have been sold the idea that healing comes from the right supplement, the right protocol, the right biohack, and so we keep consuming more, optimizing more, spending more, and still wondering why we feel so depleted, anxious, and disconnected from ourselves. What nobody is telling us is that the most powerful wellness protocol on the planet does not come in a bottle and it never did. In this episode of Rooted in Wellness, I sit down with Caroline Howell for one of the most grounding conversations I have had on this show. And honestly, if you have ever felt like you are throwing money at your health and still not feeling the way you hoped, this episode is going to be the permission slip you did not know you needed, to finally stop chasing the fix and start returning to what actually works. Caroline Howell is the founder of Canopy Panama, a regenerative sanctuary located in one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet, who has spent years restoring endangered tropical dry forests, regenerating seasonal river systems, and protecting critically endangered wildlife in Central America. She has built her entire life around understanding what happens when humans return to living in true alignment with the natural world, and there is truly nobody better positioned to have this conversation. What's Discussed: (6:06) Why modern living has pulled us so far from our natural environment and how that drift is showing up as symptoms in the body. (21:01) The concept of nature deficiency and why biodiversity loss in our environment is directly causing biodiversity loss inside the human body. (23:27) How the health of our soil connects directly to the health of our gut microbiome and why this matters more than most people realize. (38:29) The truth about glyphosate, our water, and what is actually happening to the food system that is quietly undermining our health. (50:40) Why water quality and how water moves through a landscape could be one of the greatest untapped sources of healing and resilience. (1:02:14) What regenerative living actually means beyond the buzzword and how to know if what you are supporting is real. (1:16:14) Three meaningful things you can do today to reconnect with nature and support the health of the planet even if you cannot get to Panama. Learn more about Mona Sharma: Download Your FREE Guide - 12 Wellness Tips to Unlock Your Best Health Now: Ready to reclaim your vitality? Download Mona’s 12 Wellness Tips and take actionable steps to transform your health, energy, and mindset. Get started now at https://monasharma.com/12tips.  Visit Mona's website: https://monasharma.com – Unlock powerful tools and wisdom rooted in wellness to elevate your health, energy, and clarity. Mona blends ancient healing practices with modern science to help you achieve lasting transformation. Follow Mona on Instagram: Stay connected with Mona for daily inspiration, holistic health tips, and personal growth. Join the conversation on Instagram at @monasharma. Learn more about Caroline Howell:  Visit www.canopyvenao.com to learn about Caroline's regenerative sanctuary and how to experience immersive nature-based healing firsthand. Visit www.proecoazuero.org to learn about the conservation work behind restoring one of the world's most endangered ecosystems and how you can support it. Visit www.cocobolovenao.com to learn about Coco Bolo, Caroline's sister development and another opportunity to experience regenerative living in Panama. Thank you to our sponsors:  Timeline: Timeline’s clinically proven formula is now available at a new, lower price. Mitopure now starts at $79, when you go to timeline.com/MONA  Cozy Earth: Head to cozyearth.com and use my code ROOTED for an exclusive 20% off, and if you see a post-purchase survey, be sure to mention you heard about Cozy Earth right here on Rooted in Wellness. BIOptimizers: Visit bioptimizers.com/mona and use MONA at checkout to get the best deal on Masszymes and all BIOptimizers products.
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  110. The Deficiency Behind Your Brain Fog, Poor Sleep, and Chronic Fatigue with Caroline Alan 15.04.2026 1t 11min

  Eating well, exercising regularly, and taking a cabinet full of supplements, yet still feeling exhausted, foggy, anxious, and like something fundamental is missing — that experience has a name. The World Health Organization calls it the hidden hunger, and the reason it is so widespread is that the mineral content of our food supply has been quietly declining for decades, leaving even the healthiest eaters chronically depleted at a cellular level. In this episode of Rooted in Wellness, I sit down with Caroline Alan to uncover the one foundation that every health protocol is missing and why without it nothing else can work the way it was designed to. If you have ever felt like you are doing everything right and still not getting there, this conversation is where that finally starts to make sense. Caroline Alan is the co-founder and CEO of BEAM Minerals, one of the only companies in the world specializing in plant-based fulvic and humic mineral supplementation, and the author of The Mineral Reset. After spending over two decades in the technology industry and experiencing a complete health collapse that conventional medicine could not explain or resolve, she discovered the foundational role of minerals in cellular function and rebuilt her health entirely through mineral replenishment. That combination of lived experience, deep research, and years of helping thousands of people resolve chronic symptoms makes her one of the most credible and trustworthy voices on this topic. What’s discussed:  (11:11) The biggest mineral myth keeping people depleted: believing food alone is enough. (12:04) Why electrolyte drinks may be making mineral imbalance worse. (14:55) Caroline’s own story of hidden mineral deficiency and the symptoms it created. (17:48) How modern food and water leave even “healthy” people depleted. (25:16) Why stress may be starting at the cellular level, not just from your schedule. (31:04) Why absorption is not the same as assimilation. (49:25) Why more supplements are not always better. (1:01:47) Why minerals may be the true foundation of healing. Listen to this episode of Rooted in Wellness and learn why doing all the “right” things still may not be enough if the foundation is missing.  Thank you to our Sponsor:  Ax3 Life: Use code MONA for 20% off first order at www.ax3.life    Cozy Earth: This Mother's Day, give the gift that shows up every single night. Head to cozyearth.com and use my code ROOTEDBOGO for an exclusive Buy One, Give One offer running from April 12th to April 18th on sheet sets and if you get a post-purchase survey, mention you heard about Cozy Earth here on Rooted in Wellness. Learn more about Mona Sharma: Download Your FREE Guide - 12 Wellness Tips to Unlock Your Best Health Now: Ready to reclaim your vitality? Download Mona’s 12 Wellness Tips and take actionable steps to transform your health, energy, and mindset. Get started now at https://monasharma.com/12tips.  Visit Mona's website: https://monasharma.com – Unlock powerful tools and wisdom rooted in wellness to elevate your health, energy, and clarity. Mona blends ancient healing practices with modern science to help you achieve lasting transformation. Follow Mona on Instagram: Stay connected with Mona for daily inspiration, holistic health tips, and personal growth. Join the conversation on Instagram at https://instagram.com/monasharma. Learn more about Caroline Alan:  Website:  https://www.carolinealan.com The Mineral Reset Book: https://www.mineralresetbook.com Instagram: @carolinealan.official/ Learn more about BEAM Minerals:  Website: https://www.beamminerals.com Instagram: @beamminerals Tiktok:  @beamminerals YouTube: @beamminerals
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  109. The Missing Piece in Every Longevity Conversation: Why Your Mouth Is the Gateway to Your Overall Health with Dr. Jonathan Levine 07.04.2026 1t 21min

  When it comes to health and longevity, we obsess over what we eat, how we move, how we sleep, and how we manage stress, never realizing that one of the most powerful indicators of how well our body is functioning has been hiding in plain sight all along - our mouth. Most people brush twice a day, see their dentist once or twice a year, and assume their mouth is fine, not realizing that the mouth may be one of the clearest entry points into understanding inflammation, airway health, the gut, and long-term disease risk. We dive deeper into this in Rooted in Wellness with Dr. Jonathan Levine. We also chat about the connection between gum inflammation and chronic disease, what mouth breathing may be doing to children and adults, and how oral health habits, diagnostics, and daily tools may be shaping far more than just your teeth.  Dr. Jonathan Levine is a prosthodontist with over 35 years of experience, holds nearly 30 patents on medical device delivery systems, and runs a clinical program at NYU. He is the founder of Smile House in New York City, a dental wellness center integrating advanced diagnostics and modern science, and the founder of the Glow Good Foundation, which brings dental education and care to underserved communities around the world. With decades of clinical practice, academic leadership, and innovation at the intersection of dentistry and medicine, he is one of the most qualified voices in the world to be having this conversation, and everything he shares in this episode is worth paying close attention to. What's Discussed: (05:32) Why the mouth “seeds the gut” and why the oral microbiome matters so much. (09:38) How gum inflammation may be linked to heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and systemic inflammation. (09:38) “Leaky gums” and why the mouth may be working the way people talk about leaky gut. (23:10) Saliva testing, oral biomarkers, and how dentistry may help catch chronic disease risk earlier. (27:30) Why periodontal disease is often silent and how to spot the early signs. (34:24) Why oral health may deserve a permanent place on your preventative care team. (35:35) Oil pulling, oral bacteria, and what it really takes to support the oral microbiome. (47:15) The truth about fluoride, dosage, and what most people misunderstand. (52:54) Mouth breathing, facial development, and why this matters so much for children. (1:00:48) Charcoal toothpaste, hydroxyapatite, whitening products, and enamel damage. (1:10:55) Coffee, apple cider vinegar, acidity, and how pH affects the mouth. (1:12:41) Pregnancy, perimenopause, dry mouth, and how hormone shifts show up in oral health. (1:18:57) Dr. Levine’s ideal oral microbiome routine and how to build a stronger oral health game. Listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify and discover the one part of your health routine that could change everything else. Thank you to our Sponsor:  Timeline: Timeline’s clinically proven formula is now available at a new, lower price. Mitopure now starts at $79, when you go to timeline.com/MONA Learn more about Mona Sharma: Download Your FREE Guide - 12 Wellness Tips to Unlock Your Best Health Now: Ready to reclaim your vitality? Download Mona’s 12 Wellness Tips and take actionable steps to transform your health, energy, and mindset. Get started now at https://monasharma.com/12tips.  Visit Mona's website: https://monasharma.com – Unlock powerful tools and wisdom rooted in wellness to elevate your health, energy, and clarity. Mona blends ancient healing practices with modern science to help you achieve lasting transformation. Follow Mona on Instagram: Stay connected with Mona for daily inspiration, holistic health tips, and personal growth. Join the conversation on Instagram at https://instagram.com/monasharma. Learn more about Dr. Jonathan Levine:  Website / Smile House: Smile House Instagram: @drjonlevine Smile House Instagram: @smilehousetribeca LinkedIn: Jonathan Levine GLO Good Foundation: GLO Good
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  108. What Makes Sprouts The $1 Superfood That Outperforms Most Supplements with Doug Evans 01.04.2026 1t 6min

  Despite spending more on groceries and supplements than any generation before us, chronic fatigue, brain fog, stubborn weight, and inflammation are more common than ever. The uncomfortable truth is that the vegetables most people are eating today contain a fraction of the nutrients they did in the 1950s due to soil depletion, which means eating clean is no longer enough on its own. But there is a food that has been used as medicine for thousands of years, backed by over 2000 peer reviewed studies, grows on your kitchen counter in five days for under a dollar a serving, and contains up to 100 times more nutrients than the fully grown vegetables most people are eating. That food is sprouts. And most people have never considered them as anything more than a garnish. In this episode of Rooted in Wellness with Mona Sharma, I sit down with Doug Evans to unpack the science and the simplicity behind one of the most nutrient dense foods on the planet and why it might be the missing piece most people have never thought to look at. Doug Evans is the founder of The Sprouting Company, author of The Sprout Book with over 75,000 copies sold, and a three decade collaborator with leading researchers including Dr. Jed Fahey of Johns Hopkins, giving him a rare depth of credibility on a topic most of the wellness world has barely scratched the surface of. What's Discussed: (00:32) Doug's daily success practice and why an identified mistake is a success (07:36) The biggest myth about sprouts and the Johns Hopkins food safety research that debunks it (09:05) How nutrient dense sprouts actually are compared to fully grown vegetables (11:00) The surprising connection between sprouts and natural GLP-1 production (12:49) Why 93 percent of Americans are nutrient deficient despite spending $702 billion a year on groceries (15:56) How Doug discovered sprouting living in a food desert and what happened to his health (41:46) The NRF2 pathway, sulforaphane, and why Japan has built a billion dollar industry around it (50:44) How to get started, what it costs, and where to find the free recipe book and app (55:34) How to prevent mold and the most common sprouting mistakes Learn more about Mona Sharma: Download Your FREE Guide - 12 Wellness Tips to Unlock Your Best Health Now: Ready to reclaim your vitality? Download Mona’s 12 Wellness Tips and take actionable steps to transform your health, energy, and mindset. Get started now at https://monasharma.com/12tips.  Visit Mona's website: https://monasharma.com – Unlock powerful tools and wisdom rooted in wellness to elevate your health, energy, and clarity. Mona blends ancient healing practices with modern science to help you achieve lasting transformation. Follow Mona on Instagram: Stay connected with Mona for daily inspiration, holistic health tips, and personal growth. Join the conversation on Instagram at https://instagram.com/monasharma. Learn more about Doug Evans:  Instagram : @dougevans  Website: https://www.thesproutingcompany.com/
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  107. Food Noise Isn’t a Willpower Problem: Ashley Koff, RD on The Nutrition Mistake Almost Everyone Makes 25.03.2026 1t 23min

  You wake up determined to do everything right, eat clean, stay on track, and by mid-afternoon you are still foggy, bloated, and oddly hungry, like your body never got the memo. The frustrating part is you assume it must be you, so you tighten the rules, cut more foods, buy another supplement, and end up right back in the same loop.  In this episode of Rooted in Wellness, I sit down with registered dietitian Ashley Koff to break down what is actually driving that loop and what to focus on first so you stop guessing and start getting traction. We also talk about why digestion gets overlooked, how stress can distort hunger and fullness signals, and what weight-health hormones like GLP-1, GIP, CCK, and PYY have to do with cravings and satiety. Ashley Koff, RD, is the founder of The Better Nutrition Program (BNP) and a USA Today bestselling author of Your Best Shot (HarperOne). She has 25+ years of clinical experience and has educated health professionals, with her work featured across major media. Her expertise includes the weight health hormones GLP-1, GIP, CCK, and PYY, so the strategies in this episode are grounded in real clinical practice and evidence, not trends. What’s discussed:  (00:00) Rooted check-in: What makes you feel rooted vs uprooted (and why “wellness checklists” can backfire) (~06:30) Rapid fire: Weight gain myths, weight loss myths, nutrition mistakes, GLP-1 misconceptions, diet trends that keep recycling (~14:00) Why women feel like their body “stopped responding” overnight: Hunger cues shifting, food noise, and why the old rules stop working (~23:30) Digestion as the missing foundation: Bloating, constipation, reflux becoming “normal,” and why protocols fail when gut function is off (~33:30) Stress physiology and nervous system regulation: Why lab results still don’t move the needle if your system is dysregulated (~43:00) Breaking down weight-health hormones: GLP-1, GIP, CCK, PYY and how hunger/satiety signals actually work (~55:30) How to structure meals for satiety: Building a plate that supports cravings, stability, and consistency (~1:06:00) Gut and oral microbiome: What your mouth can reveal about your gut, and simple supportive practices that actually matter (~1:18:00) GLP-1 reality check: muscle loss/bone loss concerns, metabolic priorities, and what to monitor (including DEXA) (~1:28:30) First step if you feel overwhelmed by cravings, weight fluctuations, or confusing hunger cues: where to start so you stop guessing Thank you to our sponsors: BIOptimizers: Visit bioptimizers.com/mona and use MONA at checkout to get the best deal on Masszymes and all BIOptimizers products. Timeline: Get 35% off your first month at Timeline.com/MONA35. Learn more about Mona Sharma: Download Your FREE Guide - 12 Wellness Tips to Unlock Your Best Health Now: Ready to reclaim your vitality? Download Mona’s 12 Wellness Tips and take actionable steps to transform your health, energy, and mindset. Get started now at https://monasharma.com/12tips.  Visit Mona's website: https://monasharma.com – Unlock powerful tools and wisdom rooted in wellness to elevate your health, energy, and clarity. Mona blends ancient healing practices with modern science to help you achieve lasting transformation. Follow Mona on Instagram: Stay connected with Mona for daily inspiration, holistic health tips, and personal growth. Join the conversation on Instagram at https://instagram.com/monasharma. Learn more about Ashley Koff:  Instagram: @ashleykoffapproved  Website: thebetternutritionprogram.com