Neuroveda Podcast for Complex Health

To Roar Like a Goddess is no joke and a responsibility not to be taken lightly.

In this episode, Acharya Shunya rejoins us (see Podcast for Healing Neurology episode #42: Finding the Sovereign Self) for our first show together) to review some of the juicy bits of her new book, Roar Like a Goddess.

We start with a definition of ‘goddess’ and how the various goddesses have the purpose of revealing the various aspects of our authentic goddess nature. “Just as the moonlight is no different than the moon, the self is no different from the Goddess. We are one.”

Telling the goddess stories about the power of Durga, the prosperity & ethics of Lakshmi, and the knowledge and peacefulness of Sarasvati remind us of our own inherent, indivisible raw power, intelligent discernment, and capacity for pleasure.

This was written in the ten thousand plus year old Vedas- the songs of recognizing divinity everywhere- as well as the Upanishads, which instruct us on finding divinity within our own consciousness.

And this is the first five minutes of the show. Seriously. This is a show to listen to over and over again.

These are the teachings we need to find our footing in an unstable world, to wake up our sleeping inner goddess, and to make order in our lives by rooting deeper beyond self, gender, politics, individual or community.

Honoring your goodness can be just as important as asserting boundaries, roaring with rage, questioning your generosity and even engaging in violence, with discernment, to not tolerate atrocities against vulnerable people, animals or planet.

Acharya Shunya reviews concepts of dharma (right living and connecting to our humanity), artha (prosperity, wealth), kama (pleasure, including the right pleasure of sex) and moksha (liberation). These concepts are told through mythology, story with clarity, wisdom and humor.

Tune in to remember the brilliance of your nature and find encouragement to hold the boundary only as thick as a blade of grass.

Be like the Goddess- both sweet & salty.

Resources:

· https://www.acharyashunya.com/

· https://www.awakenedself.com/

Dr Arnold Eiser, MD, MACP trained as a nephrologist over 40 years ago but has come to see that the kidneys, liver and other 'extracranial factors' (influences from outside the cranium, the skull holding the brain) hold some of the most impactful sway over the health of our brains. He's termed this relationship between organ dysfunction in the body to assumed compromise in central nervous system brain neuroinflammation Eiser's Corollary of Related Toxicity. His book, Preserving Brain Health in a Toxic Age: New insights from neuroscience, integrative medicine and public health (Rowman & Littlefield, Oct 2021) explores this topic in depth. He examines the ways in which environmental policy, corporate pollutive behavior, metals, microbes, common medications like acetaminophen (Tylenol), and experiences with digital violence seem to hasten neuroinflammatory changes that can present as our current epidemics of autism and Alzheimer's Disease. It's a multi-tiered attack on the nervous system that our society doesn't loop back to true root causes. The book explores the interface between the chemical environment and industrial and agricultural practices.. He notes almost all neurotoxins are also carcinogenics and recognizes the key role of the liver as a front-line organ for protection or vulnerability for brain inflammation- and then notes the epidemic of non-alcoholic fatty acid disease in the modern world. He notes that CFS/ dysautonomia was originally described in the 1800's as a 'disease of modernity' associated with newspaper printing and rail travel. We then talk about the integrative medicine, high fructose corn syrup, nutrients, spices, and in the process really listing out many of the ways we can make our whole world medicine better at preserving brain health.

Find the book: https://www.amazon.com/Preserving-Brain-Health-Toxic-Age/dp/1538158078

or https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781538158074/Preserving-Brain-Health-in-a-Toxic-Age-New-Insights-from-Neuroscience-Integrative-Medicine-and-Public-Health

Recorded on Friday, June 24, 2022, the day Roe v Wade was overturned by the United States Supreme Court, when safe full-scale reproductive health care responsibility was returned back to the states resulting in millions of women losing access to accurate information about safe reproductive care, this episode lays out the realities of abortion.

We know this decision will inflict a range of dangers, even well beyond the simple forcing of women to continue undesired pregnancies with all of the physical, emotional and financial realities (the Turn Away Study shows mental health may recover but physical and financial outcomes are worse for women who wanted but had no access to abortion care).

We know there is already an increasing frequency of delayed or denied miscarriage management, refusal to treat life-threatening pregnancy conditions like ectopic pregnancy, and fetal abnormalities not compatible with life that are forced to persist until their extensively painful and grueling end for both mom and fetus.

Dr Anuj Khattar is a Family Practice MD who has traveled the country providing reproductive care to women. After witnessing child abuse in the emergency room during his training, he chose this specialty to prevent that by supporting women to be in charge of their bodies, including their reproductive choices. He found he loves doing this work because of the deep listening it requires. Dr Khattar has learned from his patients that abortion is never a decision taken lightly. Behind every decision is a carefully weighed thought process to go this route. He notes 90% of abortions occur in the first trimester (12-14 weeks) when the abortion pill (mifepristone and misoprostol) is safe and effective, and that the majority of abortions are women who are already mothers; these are women who are making an informed decision.

In this episode, we discuss:

• The reason for an abortion is irrelevant; our judgment is irrelevant. Abortion care is health care.
• With the advent of medical abortion pills, which are available through the mail and are FDA approved through 11 weeks (with evidence & global experience showing likely safety up to 20 weeks), the post-Roe world is different than the pre-Roe world; see the documentary “The Janes” to understand more about that.
• The physical realities of abortion are demanding on a woman’s body; beyond weight gain, fatigue, nausea/vomiting and connective tissue softening, there is a 20-30% chance of a Cesarean section (C-Section) delivering which is major abdominal surgery incurring any surgical risk and requiring recovery time that is not protected by any Federal paid parental leave program.
• Dr Khattar also discusses the medically unsound text he has been required to read to women in certain states during abortion counseling and busts many of the other myths out there.
• A conversation on contraception, which is NOT abortion, even Plan B which is available over the counter without a doctor’s prescription.
• If the desire is truly to reduce or prevent abortions, our focus should be accurate, widely disseminated sex education, more social and financial opportunities for women, physical autonomy for women and access to contraception.

It’s a big show. It’s a big deal. Let's stand up for ourselves & each other.

Resources:

• Funding Abortions: https://abortionfunds.org/
• Shout Your Abortion: https://shoutyourabortion.com/resources/
• Abortion finder: https://www.abortionfinder.org/
• Repro Legal Hotline: https://www.reprolegalhelpline.org/
• Plan C Safe Home Abortion: https://www.plancpills.org/

As the daughter of a public school teacher/administrator and an electrical engineer, who was also the commander of the local Black Panther Party, Nzinga was raised as an advocate who always knew she would become a doctor and a teacher. In medical school, her world was upended by a psychiatry rotation that drove her into mental health care within the context of social & political factors. Compassion, connection, and relationships drive health. Coming correct to substance use disorder treatment means bringing the compassion and resource we offer cancer patients and the biological, social, & cultural interventions we use to manage the lifelong chronic illness that is diabetes. We wouldn’t drop off a newly diagnosed diabetic who just spent 5 days in the ICU stabilizing their blood sugar into their old neighborhood without medication, education, and connection to ongoing care and social support because this doesn’t make any sense. Why do we do this with people suffering with substance use disorders?

With joy, humor incredible wisdom, and a take-no-prisoners attitude, Nzinga points out how perceptions of safety or threat (not necessarily present-day reality as intergenerational trauma informs current day perceptions) can drive behavior. We discuss ‘safety pie’ and how equity means the hungriest person gets the biggest piece and some people might not get any today because they had a lot yesterday and just don't really need it.

Nzinga pulled all of this brilliance together into the company she co-founded and serves as Chief Medical Officer, Eleanor Health, which offers wrap-around harm-reduction care for people with substance use disorders. Lest you think she’s an idealistic hippie, you have to know that in its first year open, Eleanor Health reduced hospitalizations by 85% for its served population- better than you find with any pharmaceutical.

Please listen to this show- the majority of us have people in our lives who have suffered or are suffering in various stages of substance use disorders. Learning how to come correct and that Eleanor Health is available in multiple states across the country is elemental for us to heal ourselves, each other and our communities.

https://www.eleanorhealth.com/

http://www.nzingaharrisonmd.com/

Dr Howard Weiner has been evaluating neuroinflammatory diseases for over forty years now. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is his main target, but in the show today, you’ll hear how comparing the causes and courses of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), and glioblastoma can tremendously deepen our insight into all of these neuroinflammatory conditions together. Dr Weiner is a story-teller (and film maker! ‘What is Life? The Movie”) who starts with a description of the four types of cells that make the brain into the brain: neurons, oligodendrocytes, astrocytes, and microglia. Then it’s on to the details: MS is white blood cells entering the brain triggering inflammation, while abnormal protein accumulation is the hallmark for Alzheimer’s (amyloid & Tau proteins), Parkinson’s (alpha-synuclein in the dopaminergic areas), and ALS (TP protein and others). As we wind our way through the immune system, Dr Weiner shares their surprise at finding MS has a pathologic B-cell component. Antibody-oriented diseases can be addressed with what’s called monoclonal antibody drugs, many of which are used for MS therapy (and 1000’s of other ‘mab’ drugs for other autoimmune diseases). We then turn to the concept of using vaccines for autoimmune conditions. By priming the immune system, we can change the way it reacts to threat & inflammation- these are being considered for both Alzheimer’s (Protollin from bacteria) & MS (stimulates T cells to dampen microglial activity). This is followed with discussion about the links between the brain & the gut/ microbiome and the gut/brain axis impact on neurological disease. He notes even certain cancer therapies that work better or worse dependent on the microbiome. He lays out the challenges of large-scale trials which often don’t yield game-changing success stories but can still be of great value on the secondary analysis to tease apart the patients that did gain benefit to then work backwards judging if other similar sub-set patients could be served by said intervention. This serves for some of the upcoming potential treatments in current trials including aspects of xenon gas, 40Hz flickering light for Alzheimer’s (https://www.alz.life/), ibudilast, inhaled cromolyn to control microglial inflammation, and/or stem cell injections into the spinal cord. Dr Weiner ends by recognizing the frustration and fear that these neuroinflammatory conditions can inspire, but emphasizes the importance of having hope and the incredible gains we’ve made, which will continue, especially in treating MS, over the past 40+ years.

Resources:

· Dr Weiner’s Lab website: https://weinerlab.bwh.harvard.edu/?page_id=154

· Book: “The Brain Under Siege, solving the mystery of brain disease, and how scientists are following the clues to a cure” by Dr Howard Weiner, MD (2021)

· Book: Curing MS: How Science is Solving the Mystery of Multiple sclerosis (2005)

· Movie: What is Life- the Move: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxUFD1UsCpc