Cellular health is a topic that is increasingly relevant in our modern world, where we’re constantly seeking ways to improve our health and extend our lifespan.

That’s why I’m excited to introduce you to Dr. Monisha Bhanote. She is the bestselling author of “The Anatomy of Well-Being” and she also is quintuple medical board certified in integrative medicine, culinary medicine, as well as cytopathology and clinical pathology. 

Pathologists study human cells. Dr. Bhanote uses that expertise to help people improve longevity by taking care of their cells.

Dr. Bhanote’s Path to Holistic Medicine

Dr. Bhanote has an impressive background with almost 19 years of cumulative training after high school. That’s a lot of time dedicated to learning and understanding the human body and health. 

She was always fascinated by the human body and trying to understand how we can make it function with ease, be healthy, and happy. This curiosity led her down the conventional path of going to medical school and becoming a doctor. She treated patients in emergency rooms and clinics, but soon realized something wasn’t quite right. She found that nobody, or at least a significant number of people, were not getting better.

Dr. Bhanote explains, “We identify patients based on their disease and say, ‘All right, here’s your diagnosis, here’s your protocol, your body’s supposed to respond like this…’ but that’s not what happens. 

This realization was a turning point in her career, prompting her to look beyond conventional medical approaches.

In her role as a pathologist, Dr. Bhanote literally looks at human cells and body fluids under the microscope in the clinical laboratory. This experience gave her a unique perspective on the evolution of disease. 

She’s watched countless cells transform from healthy to diseased states, observing the subtle changes that occur along the way. For example, she’s examined numerous Pap smears and observed the progression from normal squamous cells to dysplasia to cancer in cervical tissue. This intimate knowledge of cellular changes has informed her approach to health and healing.

The Importance of Lifestyle in Health

Dr. Bhanote’s quest to understand why patients weren’t getting better led her to explore integrative medicine at the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine, as well as culinary medicine. 

These additional areas of study broadened her perspective on health and healing, allowing her to see the bigger picture of how lifestyle factors influence our cellular health and overall wellbeing.

She discovered that a majority of our diseases, including cancers, are lifestyle related.

This means we need to shift our focus from simply treating diseases to preventing them in the first place. We need to see health as a holistic process, where every aspect of our lifestyle plays a role in either promoting health or contributing to disease. 

This perspective aligns with ancient wisdom from systems like Ayurveda, which have long recognized the gut as a major contributor to overall health.

Good Cellular Health: Taking Care for Our Cells

Our bodies are made up of at least 37 trillion human cells, and every day these cells are exposed to environmental stressors and our lifestyle choices. When our cells can no longer handle these stressors, they become dysfunctional and can potentially become dysplastic, cancerous, or simply stop functioning as they should.

In order to take better care of our cells we need to understand the different parts of a cell and their functions:

1. Cell Membrane: This is the protective cover around each cell. It allows messages to come in and out of the cell. The cell membrane is impacted by our diet, particularly the fatty acids we consume from foods like nuts and seeds. 
2. Nucleus: This is the control center of the cell and contains our DNA. The nucleus is particularly vulnerable to damage as we age and are exposed to toxins and viruses. Certain vitamins and minerals can help support the health of the nucleus. 
3. Mitochondria: These are the powerhouses of the cell, responsible for energy production. We can support our mitochondria by moving our bodies and eating foods like dark leafy greens and berries. 
4. Lysosomes: These are like the recycling bins of the cell. They help clear out waste and can be supported through our diet to reduce inflammation and improve cellular health. 

By understanding these cellular components and how they function, we can make more informed decisions about our health. 

Dr. Bhanote’s approach to taking care of our cells provides a concrete way for people to understand how their lifestyle choices impact their bodies at the most fundamental level.

Nutrition and Gut Health

Many people are overfed but malnourished, lacking the essential nutrients their cells need to function optimally. It’s not about restrictive diets but providing the body with the right nutrients.

We need certain nutrients in order to make our cells function. This approach encourages a more intuitive relationship with food, where we learn to listen to our bodies and provide them with the nutrients they need.

Dr. Bhanote also highlights the critical role of gut health in overall well-being. She notes that about 99.5% of her patients have underlying digestive issues contributing to their other health problems, whether it’s hormonal issues, weight gain, or low energy. 

Most people don’t realize that their thyroid problems, migraines, or lack of energy are related to their gut health, but there’s a strong connection. At the end of the day what you fuel your body with is what your cells are going to receive. 

If you’re fueling your body with the standard American diet, your cells will receive that, and because there are very little nutrients in the standard American diet, instead of those nice cell membranes, your cell membrane will be damaged by highly processed food.

This understanding of the gut-body connection is crucial for overall health. The health of our gut microbiome, which is influenced by our diet and lifestyle, plays a significant role in our overall health and longevity. 

The Mind-Body Connection

We need to quiet our minds to listen to our bodies. With the constant bombardment of external stimuli, especially from our digital devices, we often lose touch with what our bodies are trying to tell us

This mind-body connection is crucial for overall health and longevity. By learning to quiet our minds and listen to our bodies, we can become more attuned to our body’s needs and make better health decisions. Dr. Bhanote encourages practices like meditation and mindfulness to strengthen this connection.

She believes that many people have given up on feeling good, but it’s possible to regain that feeling. It just requires tapping into the right tools and making a conscious decision to change. 

From Habits to Rituals: A New Approach to Lifestyle Changes

It’s important to be aware of what your body needs, which can change over time. You might do different things in different seasons, or have daily routines. The key is to listen to your body and do what it needs.

It’s better to start with small, easy changes. If changing your diet seems too hard right now, start with something else. Maybe focus on exercise if you used to be athletic, or work on your sleep if that’s a problem. Any area that affects your health is a good place to begin.

Small daily improvements can add up. If you do just one small thing better each day, after a year you’ll see big changes in yourself.

This way of thinking about health is good because it lets you be in charge. Instead of following strict plans that might not work for everyone, you can choose what feels right for your body. 

This personal approach is easier to stick with and can lead to significant improvements in overall health and longevity.

A Case Study in Lifestyle Change

To illustrate the power of these lifestyle changes, Dr. Bhanote shares a story of a 50-year-old IT professional who came to her feeling stressed, fatigued, and sedentary. He was working long hours, sitting in front of a computer all day, and was both mentally and physically fatigued.

He initially tried forcing himself to go to the gym daily, but it didn’t help him feel better. Instead, Dr. Bhanote advised him to take a 30-minute walk in nature before work each day. 

This simple change had significant positive impacts:

1. Improved mood
2. Better circadian rhythm
3. Increased vitamin D intake
4. More in tune with his body

Over time, he began enjoying longer weekend walks and invited friends, adding a social aspect to his routine. The results were impressive:

1. Normalized blood pressure without medication
2. Increased focus and productivity at work
3. Decreased stress levels
4. Improved immune function

This case illustrates how simple lifestyle changes can have profound effects on our health. By making one small change – a daily walk in nature – this individual was able to improve multiple aspects of his health, from his blood pressure to his immune function. 

It’s a powerful example of how lifestyle interventions can be just as effective, if not more so, than conventional medical treatments.

The Importance of Prevention

It’s much easier to prevent a disease than to treat it once it has developed. Many people with health issues wish they had known how to prevent them.

But even if you already have health problems, you can often make them better by changing how you live. Our bodies are always making new cells, so we can help our health improve over time.

Everything we do affects our health. Good choices help our body’s cells stay healthy and happy. Bad choices can make our cells weak.

Spending time in nature for example is very good for our health. Even a few days outdoors can make our body stronger at fighting off sickness, and this can last for weeks.

To stay healthy for a long time, it’s important to take care of our body’s cells. We can do this by eating good food, managing stress, and making healthy choices every day. This can help prevent many health problems before they even begin.

The Connection Between Gut Health and Longevity

There is a clear connection between gut health and longevity. The health of our gut microbiome plays a crucial role in our overall health and can significantly impact our lifespan.

Many people don’t know that problems with digestion can affect other parts of their health, like energy levels or even headaches.

What we eat affects every part of our body, down to the smallest cells. The typical diet in many countries often includes a lot of processed foods and not enough nutrients. This can harm our body’s cells and cause long-lasting inflammation, which can lead to many health problems as we get older.

By taking care of our digestive system through good food choices and healthy habits, we can help our whole body stay healthier. It’s important to think about how the food we eat affects not just our stomach, but our entire body.

The Role of Stress in Health and Longevity

Stress can be both emotional and physical, and both types can have significant effects on our cellular health.

Dr. Bhanote says, “We actually have two factors for stress. We have our emotional well-being mental stress aspect, and that’s how most people look at stress. I also look at stress from another approach, which really is looking at your cellular stress levels or oxidative stress levels.”

Oxidative stress, which occurs when there’s an imbalance between free radicals and antioxidants in the body, can damage our cells and contribute to aging and disease. Our mental and emotional stress can translate into this physical, cellular stress.

To combat stress and its negative effects on our cells, Dr. Bhanote recommends practices like mindfulness and meditation. These practices can help reduce stress at both the mental and cellular levels, supporting our overall health and longevity.

Another crucial aspect of cellular health is sleep. During sleep, our bodies perform many important functions, including cellular repair, memory consolidation, and hormone regulation. Chronic sleep deprivation can lead to increased oxidative stress, inflammation, and cellular damage.

To stay healthy, it’s important to make sleep a big part of our daily routine. This can mean going to bed and waking up at the same time every day, doing relaxing things before bed, and making sure our bedroom has a sleep-friendly environment.

Conclusion and Next Steps

By understanding how our lifestyle choices impact our cells, we can make informed decisions that support our body’s natural healing processes.

By focusing on cellular health, nutrition, gut health, and mindful lifestyle changes, we can not only prevent disease but also optimize our health and potentially extend our lifespan. 

It’s important to pay attention to how your body feels when you eat different foods or do various activities. By noticing these effects, you can make better choices about what’s good for you. 

Instead of following strict health plans that are supposed to work for everyone, it’s better to create your own health routine that fits your needs. This personal approach is more likely to work in the long run because it’s based on what makes you feel good and healthy.

Remember, it’s never too late to start making positive changes for your health. Every choice we make is an opportunity to support our cellular health and, by extension, our overall wellbeing and longevity. 

Whether it’s taking a walk in nature, incorporating more nutrient-dense foods into our diet, or practicing mindfulness, these small steps can lead to significant improvements in our health over time.

I’m so grateful to Dr. Bhanote for her work and our connection. Find her book – Anatomy of Wellbeing – here.

You can also find her on Instagram @drbhanote and you can check out her longevity retreats here.

Whether you’re dealing with chronic pain, gut issues, fatigue, autoimmune issues, HPV, sleep apnea, or simply want to optimize your overall health, a holistic and natural approach is really a game-changer.

I am living proof that it is possible to heal holistically and naturally. It’s possible to heal from migraines, not to feel pain while having hypermobility, clear HPV and reverse abnormal cells, and eliminate the effects of stress, trauma, anxiety and depression. 

It’s possible to reset our stress hormones and help our body and mind to recover. I help patients with to do this in my practice every day – by phone and zoom, anywhere in the world. You can set up a one-on-one appointment here.

To learn more about my approach to healing from all of this using my Stress Recovery Protocol which involves optimizing cortisol and adrenaline levels to heal the adrenals, as well as neurotransmitters, using nutrients, herbs and C.A.R.E.™ – my proprietary program to support clean eating, adequate sleep, stress recovery and exercise – I encourage you to read all about it in my latest book Master Your Stress Reset Your Health.

If you would like to learn how to do a detox to improve your overall health and wellness I definitely encourage you to check out my New 14-Day Detox Program. This program includes two protein shakes per day with 18 grams of protein, and two meals per day with a meal plan that I created based on making sure you get at least 20 grams of protein in each meal.

It also includes antioxidants, and videos from me to teach you to use mindfulness, as well as to replace toxins in your food and home. In this way, you can reset your diet, lifestyle and cell health all carrying on with your daily activities and routine.

Thank you so much, Dr. Bhanote for sharing your brilliance and your work. And thank you all for joining us today on How Humans Heal. I hope you found this conversation with Dr. Monisha Bhanote as inspiring and informative as I did. 

Make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss the next episode. Until next time, take care of yourselves, and remember to listen to what your cells are telling you. I look forward to connecting with all of you very soon.

We’re here to help you!

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