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How to Live Better, Stronger, and Longer with Dr. Michael Murray

Season 2, Episode 41

Dr. Drew Sinatra

Dr. Drew Sinatra

Dr. Stephen Sinatra

Dr. Stephen Sinatra


Description

Living longer isn’t the only thing you should be thinking about…you should also be asking yourself how to live better. In this week’s episode of Be HEALTHistic, Drs. Stephen and Drew Sinatra welcome Dr. Michael Murray — a leading voice in natural medicine and author of The Longevity Matrix: How to Live Better, Stronger, and Longer — to discuss ways to improve every system of your body, as well as your mind and spirit. Brought together, these elements can not only boost your longevity but also improve your overall vitality and happiness, especially in this age of environmental toxicity and COVID-19.

Dr. Murray talks with the doctors about his new book, explaining how our bodies are a complex system with many interrelated parts, with all the different systems working as a collective whole. To live better and stronger, you have to strengthen each system by making good choices and doing everything you possibly can to live in an optimal state. Dr. Murray also explains the impact of gratitude on longevity and well-being, and why tending to our emotional health is key to healing physical illness.

The doctors also address the dangers of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), and why suppressing uncomfortable GI symptoms with these drugs can lead to severe consequences. Dr. Murray explains that symptom relief is not a path to a cure, but simply a “painting over” of disease — to promote true healing, you must get at the root cause. He shares some of his favorite patient stories with the Doctors Sinatra, and why he’s passionate about providing natural solutions vs. covering things up with symptom management. Finally, Dr. Murray reveals his ultimate pearl of wisdom about optimizing your longevity and your health — and why he says chocolate is a phenomenal food.

Don’t miss this brand-new episode of Be HEALTHistic!


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Transcript

Dr. Drew Sinatra: Living longer isn't the only thing we should be thinking about. We should be asking ourselves how to live better.

Dr. Steve Sinatra: Today we're joined by Dr. Michael Murray, author of The Longevity Matrix: How to Live Better, Stronger, and Longer.

Dr. Drew Sinatra: We'll be talking about the ways to improve every system of your body, as well as your mind and spirit. Brought together these elements can help you live with more vitality.

Narrator: Welcome to Be HEALTHistic, the podcast that's more than just health and wellness information — it's here to help you explore your options across traditional and natural medicine, so that you can make informed decisions for you and your family. This podcast illuminates the whole story about holistic health by providing access to the expertise of Drs. Steve and Drew Sinatra, who together have decades of integrative health experience. Be HEALTHistic is powered by our friends at Healthy Directions. Now, let's join our hosts.

Dr. Drew Sinatra: Hi folks…if you like what you hear today and you want to listen to future conversations on all things integrative and holistic health, subscribe to our podcast at BeHEALTHisticPodcast.com. Also, check out and subscribe to the Healthy Directions YouTube channel, which features video versions of our episodes, plus extra videos you won't want to miss. And finally, we have more with me, Dr. Drew Sinatra, my dad, Dr. Steve Sinatra, and other health experts at HealthyDirections.com.

Dr. Drew Sinatra: Welcome, everyone, to another episode of Be HEALTHistic. Today, we have Dr. Michael Murray on our show. Dr. Michael Murray doesn't think it's enough to live longer…the desire should be to live better and stronger with a tremendous amount of health, energy, fulfillment, and joy. Dr. Murray believes that if focus is put on accomplishing these goals, then living longer will naturally take care of itself. In naming his new book, Dr. Murray chose a descriptive title, The Longevity Matrix. A matrix refers to a set of conditions that provides a system in which something grows or develops.

Dr. Drew Sinatra: Within The Longevity Matrix, Dr. Murray offers a step-by-step approach to improve the function of each body system order, to help people make their health chain as strong as possible — by strengthening each individual chain. With endorsements from my dad (Dr. Stephen Sinatra), Dr. Mark Hyman, Dr. William Sears, and other top integrative health experts, The Longevity Matrix is a complete guide to optimizing your health and promoting vitality and longevity, especially in this age of environmental toxicity.

Dr. Drew Sinatra: Well, Michael, welcome to the show.

Dr. Michael Murray: My pleasure.

Dr. Drew Sinatra: Well, hey…I wanted to share a quick story of how I first met you, and you may not even remember meeting me, this was so long ago. But you came out with a book on cancer, I think it was around 2003, 2004. And you had a book signing at the chapel at Bastyr University. So I bought the book and I showed up, and I'm a one-year student at that point, fresh into the program, so excited to just jump in with natural medicine. And I give my book to you, and I look at you and I say, "Hey, my name is Drew Sinatra. You might know my father, Dr. Stephen Sinatra." And you put down the pen, you sat back in your chair, looked at me for three seconds and said, “Yes, I know your father.” So it was such an honor to meet you, because you really are a legend.

Dr. Michael Murray: Well, let me tell you the first time I met your father, and that experience. We met in a gym, at a hotel. We're both part of a symposium, and it was early in the morning, and we were the only ones in the gym working out. And what's interesting about your dad is, like me, we write a lot about the “what” and “how,” but we really are about the “why.” And what I mean by that is when people come to see us as patients or we interact with people, we focus on the psychology, the heart, and the emotions that people are experiencing much more than we do the biochemistry. And I think we share so much in common, and what I really respect about your dad, knowing him well, is that he walks his talk — and I respect him immensely.

Dr. Steve Sinatra: Gee, I was going to say the exact same thing about you, Michael. And it wasn't just once, I mean…we were on a lecture circuit together, fortuitously it had happened, and we were working out in gyms, and it was really great.

Dr. Steve Sinatra: You know, I had the pleasure of a reviewing your latest book. I review books all the time. Sometimes I have six books to read…but it's really good for me, because it keeps me up. In other words, some of the books I agree with, some of them I don't. I only endorse a few, Michael, I'll tell you that because if there's certain aspects that I don't agree with, I just tell the author, "I'm sorry, I can't do it, blah, blah, blah." But your last book really struck to my core. I mean, that was so superb.

Dr. Steve Sinatra: I mean, every single area that you highlighted — digestive health, emotional health, cardiovascular health, I mean, the list went on and on. And then when I saw that you listed astaxanthin as the king of carotenoids, I said, "Oh my gosh, I mean, that's just incredible.” So I have to tell you, that book, I hope a lot of people read it. It is like an encyclopedia. I mean, whatever your issue is, it will be answered, I'll tell you that, because…even for this podcast, I re-reviewed your book again, and it was great. I got to tell you, I mean — even in this day and age of COVID, where you were talking about zinc and male sexuality and everything else. I said, "My God, you are so right on.” And your book is so...it's in the zeitgeist of the times, it is happening right now. And that's why people need to really get your book.

Dr. Steve Sinatra: And I'm so glad they can get it online now. And that's correct, they can get it online now, and I guess it's coming out in bookstores in a few months, as well. You mentioned February, I think, so…that's great.

Dr. Steve Sinatra: So, Drew, take it away. What kind of questions do we have for Dr. Murray?

Dr. Drew Sinatra: Well, let's just jump into the book. I mean, do you want to elaborate on the main theme of the book and what you want our listeners to know?

Dr. Michael Murray: Well, you said it really well. We're a very complex system, there's so many interrelated parts. And when I read these books about longevity and life extension, they really miss the mark because they talk about enhancing mitochondrial function, or making telomeres resist shortening, and all these anti-aging theories. And they're all important, but if you look at what really constitutes a quality life and a life worth living, and you come to the realization that you got to have every piece of the puzzle there. And you've got to make sure that every link in that chain is strong, and we have all these chains that are linked together, our immune system, our cardiovascular system. You mentioned my book on cancer — when I was writing that book, one of the most amazing things that I came across was a study that was looking at the way that people have explained the events in their lives, whether they're an optimist or a pessimist, and the impact that their attitude had on their ability to detoxify cancer-causing compounds.

Dr. Michael Murray: And the authors, in the summary, talked about how they just discovered a new field. When I was first getting interested in naturopathic medicine, psycho-neuro-immunology was quite the rage. And then, researchers found that it's not just the mind and the brain and the emotions that influenced the immune system, but also our hormonal systems. So it became psycho-neuro-endo-immunology. And then in the summary of this article, they said, "We've discovered a new field. It's psycho-neuro-endo-immuno-toxicology." And I laughed, just like you laughed there, because we get it — we know that everything is connected and all these different systems, they work as a collective whole. And if you want to live longer, I think it's through living better and living stronger. And it starts with the “why.” And I think that's what really makes my book a bit different, and it's been a big focus of mine. I just did a webinar on creating a “why,” and the power of purpose.

Dr. Michael Murray: And everything's kind of come into focus with this COVID-19 situation. Because people are spending so much time with themselves, or with their family. And it's really a chance for self-evaluation, self-renewal, growth, and creating a better version of themselves. And it starts with “why.” And I think a lot of people are not choosing to live with passion, vitality, joy, happiness, and all the things that we truly want, love and connection, because of the choices they're making. Because if you're not healthy, if you're in pain, if you're suffering, if you don't have energy, you don't have all these things that you really want in your life to the degree that you're capable of having. So for me, being healthy is doing everything that we can to live in an optimal state.

Dr. Drew Sinatra: Michael, I love what you said, because all throughout your book, too — and from all your other books, as well — you've always been very keen on saying, "Well, hey, you've got digestive upset, you've got gas and bloating. Well, that's not normal. You're not deficient in antacids. You're not deficient in proton pump inhibitors." And I really like that because people have, in a way, they've given up, in a sense. Because they feel like it's normal to feel pain in their body, or normal to have gas and bloating, or normal to have constipation…but it's not. And there's so many things that you can do to mitigate that, to improve those symptoms and such. So I really love that about what you do in your book. Another thing I wanted to mention really quickly, and I think is so important for us to talk about right now, is you open up your book with gratitude and why gratitude is so important. Can you speak to that a little bit?

Dr. Michael Murray: Yeah. You know, Cicero said that gratitude is not the greatest of all virtue, it's the mother of all others. And it's in pretty much every major religion. There's something about saying grace. And I came across an article that really drove this home to me — it was an article in Sports Illustrated about Stan Musial, and Stan Musial was beloved. And he was beloved because of the grace and the gratitude that he showered upon the fans. And he was very grateful for the life that he had. And I had an epiphany, and I realized that all the people who were long lived, who I loved, appreciated and respected and wanted to be like when I got to their age, they all had different personalities, different values in some regards. But there was one common thread — they all easily expressed appreciation and gratitude.

Dr. Michael Murray: And I started thinking about that. So it led me, Drew, to...I know your father well, we're diggers. And so I started digging on the power of gratitude, and looking at the impact of gratitude exercises in psychology, and various works that that have been done. And one of the studies I looked at was trying to create a hierarchy of what's important in determining longevity. And when they looked at lifestyle, diet, personality traits, lifestyle — when they looked at all those different factors, what filtered out as being the most important was the ability to express gratitude. So I start with the book, because that may be the most important thing. And I'm very grateful for the life that I have, and this gift called life and so I want to live to my fullest, and I know a lot of other people want that, as well. And those that aren't there yet, I want to inspire them to have those feelings.

Dr. Steve Sinatra: Picking up on that, Michael, I think what makes your book so exciting is that you weave in the mind, body, and the spirit. And there's so many books out there that talk about the physical aspects, and they leave out mind, or they leave out spirit. But your book is exceptional, because you're weaving that trilogy throughout the book. Even your comments on laughter and stuff like that through the book. I mean, it's just reminded me of Norman Cousins and some of the things that laughter does, where it releases endorphins and stuff like that. So I really want to praise you for bringing in the mind and the body. I mean, for me, my training was in psychotherapy and emotional release work and stuff like that. So when I see another author who does that, I really resonate with it, and I just think it's so important.

Dr. Michael Murray: Well, I want to tell a brief story, it may be in the book. I had this patient, Mike. And Mike when he came to see me was, I was younger. I was…let's see, I was...well, my age is not important, but Mike was 53. His ejection fraction was only 15%, he was on the list of having a heart transplant. He was in really bad shape, and his medical file was about that thick. And he was not only on, like, 21 different drugs, he was on every supplement that you or I would give him to support his heart, and yet it was failing. And I started talking to him, and I kind of got a clue, because he was a postal worker — he was on leave because he couldn't walk, because he actually had an angina attack walking the 15 feet from the waiting room into my office.

Dr. Michael Murray: Anyway, I started talking to him, I asked him, "Hey Mike, how are you with anger?" He goes, "Ah, some people think I'm a hot-head." And I go, "When's the last time you got angry?" He starts telling me a story about an argument he got in with his mother-in-law, most of us can relate to that. But he turned bright red, and I could just see that this was the issue. And so I talked to him, and I did so in a gingerly way, because I didn't know how receptive he was. But I talked to him about biofeedback, and I got him...I told him we were going to get to get him going and learning how to regulate himself. But what I really wanted to do was refer him to a psychologist in our office to begin working with him.

Dr. Michael Murray: And anyways, we talked, and I actually had a copy of a book that really touched my life. It's called Heartbreak and Heart Disease, by Dr. Stephen Sinatra. I gave him my copy of that book, and I said, "I want you to read this book." And within a year, this man who couldn't walk 15 feet was able to walk any distance without angina attack, his ejection fraction went from 15% to about 60%, and we got him off a lot of the medications. He had just a remarkable transformation — he went from being a grizzly bear to a teddy bear.

Dr. Michael Murray: And as dramatic as his cardiovascular transformation and his health transformation was, what was even more dramatic was the change in his life. And what got better in his life was everything, and it started with the relationships that he had with his children, his wife, and even his mother-in-law. Everything got better, everything got better because he healed what was really causing his heartbreak. And that led to better heart function. So yeah, you touch people through your work, as well. And this is a true story of a patient I had that was touched by your work.

Dr. Steve Sinatra: Thanks for sharing that, Michael, that's really amazing. And it's just incredible how you heal somebody's anger and it goes to...you heal the layer of anger first, and the layer of sadness second, and then all of a sudden the body begins to heal. I mean, it's just incredible. And that's why I think, even this new book of yours, you bring this out so clearly. When I read it, I just buzz with joy because I just see the mind/body/spirit coming through, and all these different ways of healing. I mean, it's just so important.

Dr. Michael Murray: You know, Drew brought up proton pump inhibitors, and I’d like to take this opportunity to talk about these drugs, like Nexium and Prilosec, because the data is overwhelming. These drugs are classic examples of drugs that suppress the symptoms. They suppress GERD, they suppress heartburn — but they create so many problems. They're proton pump inhibitors, they block something that's vital for our cellular function. And we're going to see consequences, and the consequences we see are pretty severe. These drugs shorten people's lives, and people are unaware of that. With COVID-19, the SARS-CoV-2 virus, I wrote about this when the virus first started hitting. I said, "When they sift through the data, what they're going to find is that people that are on proton pump inhibitors have an increased risk of developing more severe infections." And that's been shown to be true now.

Dr. Michael Murray: And the reason's simple, we have these protective mechanisms that fight viruses before our immune system even gets a chance to interact with them. And I came across this article showing that the SARS virus, the original SARS- CoV-1, I guess, virus. They showed that it, as well as MERS, you can increase their infectivity in animal studies if you gave them in conjunction with the proton pump inhibitor. The gastrointestinal track has some protective mechanisms, so that various pathogens in our food, or that we swallow, get destroyed by the acid. Our acid in our stomach has a pH of 1 to 2, and that's strong enough to eat through a 2x4. But if you block it, that pH goes up and when that pH goes up, it doesn't kill viruses. And so, yeah, this virus, I think, is going to give a lot of gifts of understanding of the importance of what we can do to enhance a person's immune system.

Dr. Michael Murray: And there's a reason why we have this high rate of mortality here in the U.S. compared to many other countries. And it's all going to get sifted out, there's going to be so much data. But we see what the risk factors are, and I think we're going to see, also, how various medications contribute to risk. So anyway, bottom line is we need to get people off these PPIs — they're really damaging, they're not meant for long-term use. And staying on them for decades, many people have been on for decades, is a contrary to good health.

Dr. Steve Sinatra: And your book offered solutions on that, as well.

Dr. Michael Murray: Yes, exactly. And that's the thing, there's so many natural approaches that should be almost self-evident, and will be some day. Digestion is really a great example. Hippocrates said it well, he said "All health begins in the gut." He also said, "All disease begins in the gut." So I take those words to heart, and I kind of look at it how digestive function or gut health plays in a particular condition and with the discovery of the...or the appreciation of the microbiome, the link between the gut and the brain and the mind and emotions, as that becomes more and more well known. His words are more valuable today, probably than any other time. We need to look at gut health — and many of the drugs, they're working, like I said, to suppress the issues and what we should be focusing on is how do we get at the root cause?

Dr. Michael Murray: And that's a theme throughout my book. When we look to symptom relief, it's a path to a dead end. It's a path to not a cure, but simply a “painting over” of a disease. And we have to get at the root cause to promote true healing. Doesn't matter whether we're talking about digestive health, or your area of expertise, cardiovascular health, or we're talking about inflammation, or brain health, depression, whatever. Any condition you can think of, if we don't address those underlying factors that are contributing to it, we're just covering things up and things are just going to fester and grow. And that's going to lead to a bad outcome, and we don't want that. Good medicine is preventing bad outcomes, right? It's promoting health.

Dr. Drew Sinatra: Yeah, and Michael, what I really like about your digestion chapter is it's so comprehensive. And even you said this, I believe, where it doesn't matter really the good foods that you're eating. You could be eating the best foods possible, but if you've got inflammation along the GI tract or whatever it is, you're not going to be absorbing all the nutrients from the food that you need. So I love that point that you made.

Dr. Drew Sinatra: And I also really like what you said, too — and this is something missed very often — is that people, when they eat, they're just shoving food in their mouth, watching the news or something. So the first thing you got to do when you're going to have complete, positive digestion is really to chew your food as much as you can, in a peaceful setting where there's not lots of stress around you. That begins the process of breaking down the carbohydrates in your mouth with amylase, etc. I just love how you went from system to system, starting in the mouth, down to the esophagus, down to the stomach, down to the small intestine, all the way down to the colon. So that you've got the entire thing all planned out.

Dr. Michael Murray: Yeah. I tell the story of a patient in the book, of Trevor. And so, Trevor had the dealing with gas, bloating, indigestion for years, and I'd been working with him for about six months and hadn't been able to find a solution for him. And I was really struggling to try and find a way to help him. And one day he came to see me right before my lunch break. So I said, "Hey, let's go out and have lunch." And it was there that I saw with the issue was.

Dr. Michael Murray: This guy, he was suffering from a condition called aerophagia, which is the swallowing of air. And he was inhaling his food and while he was inhaling his food, he was talking, and he was very animated. So I started asking him about if this was a typical way he would behave at a meal. And it was, he was very animated, passionate guy. And when we are not in a relaxed state, if we're not giving our mindfulness to digestion, we're not really helping our digestive process. And this guy was swallowing so much air that that's what was creating all this gas, bloating and indigestion. It sounds like a really simple solution, and it was. And his prescription was he had to eat in a quiet, relaxed environment and really pay attention to chew his food. And yeah, it was another…a miracle! We got him well.

Dr. Drew Sinatra: Yeah, and he certainly wasn't deficient in a PPI, that's what we know.

Dr. Drew Sinatra: Well, Dad, you really liked Michael's chapter on detoxification, do you want to ask him a couple of questions about that?

Dr. Steve Sinatra: Well, he talked about AMPK, enhancing AMPK. All these conferences that we go to, AMPK is sort of a buzzword for being a master of metabolism. And Michael, you talked about the Mediterranean diet, and you talked about olive oil, and you talked about various carotenoids and flavonoids. I mean, you really got into this. And you talked about the effects of berberine on AMPK, and I think that is something that, going forward, it's going to be very useful.

Dr. Steve Sinatra: I was in the anti-aging movement for years, and I remember all the doctors were taking Metformin. But now, I can see the doctors switching to berberine over Metformin, because blood sugar. And you said it in your book, blood sugar is the enemy. I mean, this is the enemy for endothelial cell dysfunction, etc, etc. And it just leads on to so many different illnesses. So, I got to tell you, from the biochemistry point of view, your book was just so outstanding…you're way ahead of the curve. And I just hope our listeners can appreciate this, where a naturopath can take basic science and bring it down to a level where they really understand it. And that's the genius of your book.

Dr. Michael Murray: Well, thank you, I appreciate that. Yeah, I've always been good at puzzles and word games, and I owe a lot to who I am and my career to my fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Strand. I loved her…and she had a poster with all of our names on it, and anytime we wrote a book report, she gave us a gold star.

Dr. Steve Sinatra: The gold star.

Dr. Michael Murray: I wrote so many book reports, she had to create another poster just for me. And I wanted her love and approval, I guess. But she taught me how to write, and how to read information and summarize it in a way that people could understand. And that's basically what I do today is I take in information and I try to express it in a way that people can utilize. I'm looking for gold stars, and I do that through, hopefully, making a difference in a person's life. And that's...I couldn't help as I was getting ready for this call, Steve, to think about our field is full of really great people. And I really like the people that are authentic and got into the field of healing for the right reasons, and that is to make a difference in the lives of others.

Dr. Michael Murray: And you're a great example of that, and Drew is, as well. So we hope with our work is that it's making a difference, and that's what I've tried to do with my book. And I am offering my book at an incredible discount, I'm trying to get it in as many people's hands as possible. If people go to TheLongevityMatrix.com, they can get my book for only $10, and that includes shipping. So basically, we're giving them the book for free…I'm not making any money off the book, because between the printing, the handling, and the shipping costs, that comes to at least $10. So, I want people to take this work and appreciate it as much as you do, I like that.

Dr. Steve Sinatra: So Michael, for our listeners, I mean, what do they need to do, exactly? Just go online?

Dr. Michael Murray: Yeah, if they go to TheLongevityMatrix.com, there's a video there of me explaining the book, and then there's an offer that we have where they can click and buy the book for $10. There's something that can help anyone improve their health, even someone who's vibrantly healthy. And if someone has a weak link, whether it's their immune system, their cardiovascular system, their detoxification system, or the brain, I'm offering natural solutions. I want people to use these natural solutions that address those underlying root causes, instead of trying to cover things up with symptom management. That's not the path to health.

Dr. Steve Sinatra: Well, that's the beauty of your book, it's so clear and simple. I mean, even in the cardiovascular section, when you talked about the two vital minerals —potassium and magnesium. I mean, even cardiologists don't understand…board certified cardiologists, conventional cardiologists, they realize that magnesium and potassium are important, but you brought it to a different level. And it's so clear, and it's the simple things that matter, and that's why your book is so good. I mean, it's brought down to the level where a guy like myself, I'm a little bit older than you, I got to tell you — this book is in the top five books I've ever read in my lifetime. I mean, this is just…

Dr. Michael Murray: Oh wow, thank you.

Dr. Steve Sinatra: …this is just awesome. Drew, you're a naturopath because of Michael, remember that! Because when Michael and I, we were at conferences together…remember when you graduated college, I said, "Go to Bastyr." And you were probably the youngest student at Bastyr, right?

Dr. Drew Sinatra: I was 22 when I started, I was very young, yes, yes. I'm 40 now.

Dr. Steve Sinatra: And a lot of people who went to Bastyr had other careers, right? They were massage therapists, or nutritionists, or…and like, you were young. So Michael, we owe you a lot because Drew never would've met Briana, his wife, if he didn't go to Bastyr. So that's how the Lord works, you know what I mean?

Dr. Michael Murray: It's amazing. The universe is a truly amazing and Drew, we're looking for you to carry on the torch, and anything I can do to support that.

Dr. Drew Sinatra: Thank you, I appreciate that.

Dr. Drew Sinatra: Michael, for our Wellness Wisdom segment, if you had one big “pearl” of wisdom with regard to the lessons in The Longevity Matrix, what would it be? Many to choose from, I understand.

Dr. Michael Murray: Well, I get asked the question, what one thing do you recommend, or what's the most important? And I get a little touched because I think of a patient that I had, and his name was Dean, and he had a rare, inherited disorder. And he was the oldest living person in history with this condition. And it's called cystinosis and it leads to crystals in the kidneys, and he went through three different kidney transplants. And the pain and just everything he was going through…but if I asked him to do something, he would do it. His compliance was amazing and it's because of his desire, and his will, and his appreciation for life.

Dr. Michael Murray: And I asked him once what motivated him, and what gave him that drive? And he said, "All I can do is all I can do. So why wouldn't I do all that I can do?" And gosh, it's such a moving statement when you think about that. And I wish people would appreciate their health and their life to take that attitude that Dean had. Because he was at a detriment compared to most of us because of his genetics, that was his weakest link. Most of us don't have to overcome that degree of a true genetic disorder — what we have to overcome is our limitations and our mindset.

Dr. Michael Murray: And so I encourage people to do everything they can — body, mind, spirit, diet, lifestyle, exercise, getting enough sleep, attitude, and proper use of supplementary measures — all are critical. And do as many as you can to have a better life and better health. So that's my last words.

Dr. Drew Sinatra: Couldn't agree more with what you said.

Dr. Steve Sinatra: And then Drew, I just want to just tag something on to that. I liked his seven top superfoods at the end of his book, I thought that was really cool. Michael, choose one out of the top seven, and give us your top pick on that. I'm going to put you on…

Dr. Drew Sinatra: I'll go with chocolate, I'll go with chocolate.

Dr. Steve Sinatra: You're going to go with cacao? I love it.

Dr. Drew Sinatra: I love flavonoids, I love all flavonoid-rich foods. Truly amazing little miracles from nature. But chocolate has about 70 unique compounds in it, and it's a great, great food.

Dr. Steve Sinatra: Now you're talking, for our listeners, to get it clear — a very, very dark chocolate.

Dr. Drew Sinatra: Yeah, the higher, the better…raw cacao is probably the best.

Dr. Steve Sinatra: Yeah, and from the cardiovascular point of view, I'll tell you lowering of blood pressure with cacao is just phenomenal. I mean, I've seen it in my patients, it's just a great way.

Dr. Drew Sinatra: Well Michael, thank you so much for coming on the show today, we appreciate it.

Dr. Michael Murray: All right. God bless you guys.

Dr. Drew Sinatra: That's our show for today, folks. If you have a question or an idea for a show topic, please send us an email or share a post with us on Facebook. And remember, if you like what you heard today and you want to be an active member of the Be HEALTHistic community, subscribe to our podcast at BeHEALTHisticPodcast.com, or on Apple podcasts, or wherever you download your favorites. You can also find more great content and information from us and the Healthy Directions team at HealthyDirections.com.

Dr. Drew Sinatra: I'm Dr. Drew Sinatra.

Dr. Steve Sinatra: And I'm Dr. Steve Sinatra.

Dr. Drew Sinatra: And this is Be HEALTHistic.

Narrator: Thanks for listening to Be HEALTHistic with Drs. Drew and Steve Sinatra, powered by our friends at Healthy Directions. See you next time.

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Dr. Drew Sinatra

Meet Dr. Drew Sinatra

Dr. Drew Sinatra is a board-certified naturopathic doctor and self-described “health detective” with a passion for promoting natural healing, wellness, and improving quality of life by addressing the root cause of illness in patients of all ages. His vibrant practice focuses on treating the whole person (mind, body, and spirit) and finding missed connections between symptoms and health issues that are often overlooked by conventional medicine.

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Dr. Stephen Sinatra

Meet Dr. Stephen Sinatra

Dr. Stephen Sinatra is a highly respected and sought-after cardiologist and nutritionist with more than 30 years of clinical practice, research, and study. His integrative approach to heart health focuses on reducing inflammation in the body and maximizing the heart's ability to produce and use energy.

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