Health Optimization Medicine Podcast

In this episode of the Health Optimization Medicine Podcast, Dr. Allen Bookatz and Jodi Duval explore safety as a biological state and examine what happens when a threat has ended but the body's response has not yet fully resolved. The conversation looks at safety from two interconnected perspectives: the cell and the nervous system. Jodi explains how cells respond to threats through the Cell Danger Response, while Allen explores how the nervous system continuously evaluates the body's internal and external environment and determines how much of the system should remain committed to protection. A central theme throughout the episode focuses on the idea that the end of an acute threat is not necessarily the end of the healing response. The discussion explores what happens when the body remains organized around protection, even after the original crisis has passed. Join us as we delve into: Safety as a Biological State: Why safety is more than simply removing an immediate threat and why the body may require additional signals before returning to normal function. The Cell Danger Response: How cells respond to infection, toxins, injury, and metabolic stress through stages of containment, rebuilding, and reconnection. Protection, Repair and Reconnection: Why the end of an injury or acute threat is not necessarily the end of the healing process. When the Crisis Is Over but Recovery Isn't: Why someone may continue experiencing changes in energy, cognition, or tolerance after an acute illness or crisis has resolved. The Nervous System and Safety: How the nervous system continuously samples internal and external information and determines how much of the body should remain committed to protection. Safety Does Not Always Mean Calm: Why a safe system can still be highly activated, such as during exercise, and why outward stillness does not necessarily mean that the system has settled. Stress and Recovery: Why stress itself is not necessarily the problem, and how the ability to recover, renew, and complete the response may influence resilience. The Metabolic Cost of Prolonged Protection: How prioritizing defense and repair can defer growth, reserve capacity, and longer-term processes. What Safety Feels Like: How breathing, muscle tension, posture, guarding, and a sense of choice may provide information about how a person is experiencing safety. When the Mind Knows but the Body Doesn't: Why intellectual reassurance and objective evidence may not always correspond with how safety is registered physiologically. The Limits of Measurement: What can currently be measured about cellular and physiological states, and where interpretation remains necessary. Interoception and Body Signals: Why internal sensations can sometimes be amplified or diminished, affecting how the body interprets its own signals. Scientific Uncertainty: Why frameworks such as polyvagal theory should be considered with awareness of ongoing scientific debate and why the broader discussion does not depend on resolving that particular debate. Completing the Response: Why the episode distinguishes between the absence of the original problem and the active completion of the biological response. This episode is for you if: You are interested in the biology of safety, stress, and recovery. You want to understand the Cell Danger Response and its different stages. You are interested in how cellular and nervous-system processes may interact. You have experienced a major stressor or illness and are interested in the recovery process that follows. You want to better understand why being intellectually aware of safety may not always correspond with how the body feels. You are interested in the relationship between stress, activation, recovery, and resilience. You want to explore how the body allocates resources between protection, repair, adaptation, and growth. You are interested in Health Optimization Medicine and the HOMeHOPe framework. You can also find this episode on… YouTube: https://youtu.be/GAxXyJQKv2Y Find more from Health Optimization Medicine and Practice (HOMeHOPe): Website: https://homehope.org/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/homehopeorg/ Use PODCAST10 to get 10% OFF your purchase of the Clinical Metabolomics Module at https://homehope.org/products/clinical-metabolomics Find more from Troscriptions: Website: https://troscriptions.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/troscriptions/ Use POD10 to get 10% OFF your Troscriptions purchase at https://troscriptions.com/collections/our-products

In this episode of the Health Optimization Medicine Podcast, Dr. Scott Sherr sits down with Dr. Bryce Appelbaum to discuss the connection between vision, screen time, brain function, and nervous system regulation. Most people think of vision as eyesight, or how clearly they can see an eye chart. Dr. Appelbaum explains why vision is much broader. It involves how the brain receives information through the eyes, interprets the environment, coordinates movement, and decides how to respond. The conversation explores how prolonged screen use can narrow peripheral awareness, increase visual stress, and keep the nervous system in a more activated state. They also discuss the rise of myopia, the difference between eyesight and functional vision, and how vision performance training may support reading, learning, reaction time, spatial awareness, athletic performance, and recovery after concussion or traumatic brain injury. Join us as we delve into: Screen Time and the Nervous System: How prolonged engagement with close, two-dimensional screens can contribute to visual stress, tunnel vision, fatigue, and sympathetic activation. Central vs. Peripheral Vision: Why stress narrows visual attention and how soft gaze, panoramic viewing, and access to peripheral vision may help the nervous system move out of fight or flight. Eyesight vs. Vision: Why seeing 20/20 does not necessarily mean the eyes and brain are working together efficiently. The Eye-Brain Connection: How the brain gathers, filters, processes, and interprets visual information before directing movement or action. Brain Fog, Fatigue and Reading Difficulty: How inefficient eye coordination and focusing may contribute to headaches, tired eyes, reduced concentration, poor productivity, and avoidance of visually demanding tasks. The Myopia Epidemic: Why nearsightedness is becoming more common and how genetics, limited outdoor time, near work, poor lighting, and screen use may influence its development. Screen Breaks That Work: Why the 20-20-20 rule should be treated as the maximum interval between visual breaks for people who work on screens. The Limits of Vision Biohacks: Why palming may help relaxation, but broad claims that sunning or simple exercises can eliminate the need for glasses are not supported for everyone. This episode is for you if: You spend several hours each day working on a phone, computer, or tablet. You experience headaches, dry eyes, eye strain, blurred vision, brain fog, or fatigue after screen use. You want to understand the difference between eyesight and functional vision. You are concerned about myopia or increasing prescriptions in yourself or your children. You want practical ways to reduce visual stress during the workday. You are interested in vision training for learning, sports, productivity, concussion recovery, or healthy aging. You want to understand how vision may affect nervous system regulation, balance, spatial awareness, and cognitive performance. You can also find this episode on… YouTube: https://youtu.be/qwtP-0gU5wU Find more from Health Optimization Medicine and Practice (HOMeHOPe): Website: https://homehope.org/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/homehopeorg/ HOMeHOPe Conference 2026: https://homehope.org/homehope-conference-2026 Use PODCAST10 to get 10% OFF your purchase of the Clinical Metabolomics Module at https://homehope.org/products/clinical-metabolomics Find more from Troscriptions: Website: https://troscriptions.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/troscriptions/ Use POD10 to get 10% OFF your Troscriptions purchase at https://troscriptions.com/collections/our-products Find more from Dr. Bryce Appelbaum: Website: https://myvisionfirst.com/ScreenFit™: https://screenfit.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drbryceappelbaum/ Get $200 off ScreenFit™ using code SNH at https://screenfit.com/enroll Get 10% off Digital Performance Lenses using code SNH at https://shop.myvisionfirst.com/

In this episode of the Health Optimization Medicine Podcast, Dr. Scott Sherr, Jodi Duval, and Dr. Allen Bookatz explore what happens inside the cell when the body perceives stress or danger. The discussion focuses on Dr. Robert Naviaux's Cell Danger Response and how mitochondria can alter energy production and signaling in response to perceived threats. The team examines why fatigue, brain fog, inflammation, and exercise intolerance can occur even when standard laboratory testing appears normal, and how the different phases of the cellular response are meant to move from defense through repair and recovery. Join us as we delve into: Stress at the Cellular Level: How mitochondria and cells respond when they perceive danger from infection, toxins, injury, environmental exposures, or psychological stress. Why Normal Labs May Not Explain Fatigue: Why standard testing may not capture changes in cellular signaling, mitochondrial output, or a cell's metabolic state. The Three Phases of the Cell Danger Response: How CDR1 involves inflammatory defense, CDR2 involves proliferation and rebuilding, and CDR3 involves differentiation and recovery. Stress, Mitochondria and Energy: Why cells may reduce energy output while continuing to interpret their environment as unsafe. Hormesis and Stress Dosing: Why exercise, temperature exposure, and other acute stressors may be useful when properly dosed, while excessive stress may add to the existing burden. Mitochondrial Nutrient Support: The role discussed for CoQ10, PQQ, magnesium, and NAD+ precursors in supporting the metabolic machinery during the transition through the CDR phases. Parasympathetic Safety Signaling: How extended-exhale breathing, HRV biofeedback, vagal tone work, and other approaches are discussed as ways to reduce chronic sympathetic input. The Limits of the Framework: Why deliberately adding stress to an already overloaded system may be counterproductive when the dose is not appropriate. Disease Management vs. Health Optimization: Why the HOMeHOPe approach looks not only at the trigger but also at the conditions the cell may need to complete its response. This episode is for you if: You experience fatigue, brain fog, or exercise intolerance despite relatively normal standard laboratory results. You want to understand the Cell Danger Response and its proposed role in cellular stress. You are interested in mitochondrial function, cellular energy, inflammation, and purinergic signaling. You want to understand why more exercise, stimulation, or stress is not always the right answer. You are interested in hormesis, autonomic regulation, gut health, circadian biology, and metabolomic testing. You want to understand how Health Optimization Medicine approaches cellular stress and recovery. You can also find this episode on… YouTube: https://youtu.be/0Vx79yABA9k Find more from Health Optimization Medicine and Practice (HOMeHOPe): Website: https://homehope.org/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/homehopeorg/ HOMeHOPe Conference 2026: https://homehope.org/homehope-conference-2026 Use PODCAST10 to get 10% OFF your purchase of the Clinical Metabolomics Module at https://homehope.org/products/clinical-metabolomics Find more from Troscriptions: Website: https://troscriptions.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/troscriptions/ Use POD10 to get 10% OFF your Troscriptions purchase at https://troscriptions.com/collections/our-products

In this episode of the Health Optimization Medicine Podcast, Dr. Ted Achacoso, Dr. Scott Sherr, Dr. Allen Bookatz, and Jodi Duval sit down to discuss what happens when the body's cellular defense systems remain activated after the original threat has passed. Fatigue and brain fog are often treated as problems that require more stimulation, more exercise, or more supplements. But what if low energy is sometimes an adaptive response? The HOMeHOPe faculty explores the Cell Danger Response, how mitochondria and purinergic signaling respond to threats, and why pushing harder can sometimes work against recovery. The discussion also introduces a practical three-phase approach to moving from persistent cellular defense toward greater metabolic and bioenergetic flexibility. Join us as we delve into: Why Cells Get Stuck in Survival Mode: How infection, toxin exposure, tissue injury, and other stressors can shift cellular priorities toward defense, and what happens when those signals persist after the original crisis. The Cell Danger Response: How mitochondrial function, ATP signaling, inflammation, and purinergic pathways can change during cellular stress. Why More Energy May Not Be the Answer: Why fatigue can sometimes represent an adaptive biological response rather than simply a deficiency that can be corrected with more stimulants or supplements. ATP Has Two Different Messages: How intracellular ATP supports cellular work while extracellular ATP can act as a danger signal through purinergic receptors. The Three Phases of Recovery: How exposomic unburdening, assessment of intracellular and metabolic function, and reinforcement of cellular safety can provide a framework for recovery. Measure, Don't Guess: Why organic acids, acylcarnitines, redox markers, amino acids, micronutrient patterns, and membrane lipids can help identify metabolic constraints and guide targeted interventions. Circadian and Autonomic Regulation: Why morning light, sleep, appropriately graded activity, autonomic regulation, and circadian timing are part of restoring biological capacity. The Limits of the Cell Danger Response Model: Where the evidence is mechanistic or emerging, why the framework should not be used to explain every chronic symptom, and why stronger clinical evidence is still needed. This episode is for you if: You work shifts, overnight schedules, or other situations where acute sleep deprivation is sometimes unavoidable. You want to understand how sleep loss affects brain energy metabolism and cognitive performance. You are interested in the relationship between creatine, phosphocreatine, ATP, and brain function. You want to understand the potential and limitations of using creatine during acute cognitive stress. You are interested in cellular bioenergetics and the Health Optimization Medicine approach to precision health. You can also find this episode on… YouTube: https://youtu.be/0mn-8B6K0bU Find more from Health Optimization Medicine and Practice (HOMeHOPe): Website: https://homehope.org/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/homehopeorg/ HOMeHOPe Conference 2026: https://homehope.org/homehope-conference-2026 Use PODCAST10 to get 10% OFF your purchase of the Clinical Metabolomics Module at https://homehope.org/products/clinical-metabolomics Find more from Troscriptions: Website: https://troscriptions.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/troscriptions/ Use POD10 to get 10% OFF your Troscriptions purchase at https://troscriptions.com/collections/our-products

In this episode of the Health Optimization Medicine Podcast, Dr. Scott Sherr, Dr. Ted Achacoso, Dr. Allen Bookatz, and Dr. Jup Kuipers explore how acute sleep deprivation affects brain energy metabolism and whether creatine monohydrate can help preserve cognitive function when sleep loss is unavoidable. Rather than relying on stimulants like caffeine or modafinil to push through fatigue, the team examines whether directly supporting the brain's phosphocreatine and ATP systems can maintain cellular energy and cognitive performance during acute sleep deprivation. The discussion looks at recent research on single-dose creatine, brain bioenergetics, blood-brain barrier transport, clinical dosing, and the limits of using creatine as an acute rescue tool. Join us as we delve into: Sleep Deprivation as a Bioenergetic Crisis: Why acute sleep loss is more than simply feeling tired, and how depletion of phosphocreatine and ATP can affect executive function and cognitive performance. The Creatine Rescue Effect: What a 2026 randomized crossover study found when healthy participants received a single dose of creatine after prolonged sleep deprivation. Creatine, ATP & the Brain: How creatine acts through the creatine kinase system to help maintain high-energy phosphates during acute metabolic stress. The Blood-Brain Barrier Under Stress: Why sleep deprivation may change the conditions for creatine transport into the brain and create a window for acute supplementation. The Clinical Protocol: What the episode discusses regarding single-dose creatine monohydrate, timing before an acute cognitive stress period, hydration, magnesium, and other cofactors. Creatine Is Not a Substitute for Sleep: Why acute creatine rescue may help preserve cellular function during unavoidable sleep loss, but cannot replace the restorative functions of deep sleep and REM sleep. Health Optimization vs. Disease Prevention: Why HOMeHOPe approaches acute physiological stress by supporting cellular function before the system reaches a state of failure. This episode is for you if: You work shifts, overnight schedules, or other situations where acute sleep deprivation is sometimes unavoidable. You want to understand how sleep loss affects brain energy metabolism and cognitive performance. You are interested in the relationship between creatine, phosphocreatine, ATP, and brain function. You want to understand the potential and limitations of using creatine during acute cognitive stress. You are interested in cellular bioenergetics and the Health Optimization Medicine approach to precision health. You can also find this episode on… YouTube: https://youtu.be/LvEBMroaLA4 Find more from Health Optimization Medicine and Practice (HOMeHOPe): Website: https://homehope.org/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/homehopeorg/ HOMeHOPe Conference 2026: https://homehope.org/homehope-conference-2026 Use PODCAST10 to get 10% OFF your purchase of the Clinical Metabolomics Module at https://homehope.org/products/clinical-metabolomics Find more from Troscriptions: Website: https://troscriptions.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/troscriptions/ Use POD10 to get 10% OFF your Troscriptions purchase at https://troscriptions.com/collections/our-products

In this episode of the Health Optimization Medicine Podcast, Dr. Scott Sherr sits down with Dr. Dominic D'Agostino, the premier researcher in ketogenic metabolic therapies. Moving past the mainstream fads of keto ice cream and internet trends, they break down how exogenous ketones actually impact cellular energy, cardiovascular health, and environmental stress. From the liver toxicity associated with certain high-dose ketone esters to the hidden vasodilatory superpowers of L-BHB, this discussion separates the biohacking hype from the physiological reality of ketone supplementation. Join us as we delve into: Fad vs. Science: Why serious researchers use the term Ketone Metabolic Therapy instead of Ketogenic Diet, and why peer-reviewed science is growing exponentially despite Google trends. The Metformin VO2 Max Penalty: Exploring recent data showing metformin can blunt VO2 max adaptations to exercise by 50% and acts as a weak mitochondrial toxin. Mitochondrial Hydraulic Efficiency: How ketones physically tighten electron flow in the mitochondria, reducing superoxide (ROS) production and enhancing endogenous antioxidant capacity. The Danger of 1,3-Butanediol: Why relying on high doses of certain ketone esters and diols can trigger dizziness, liver abnormalities, and dependence, and how to formulate them safely. The L-BHB Advantage: Why the lesser-known L-enantiomer of BHB acts as a potent vasodilator, significantly increasing cardiac output and brain blood flow through adenosine signaling. Performance vs. Recovery: Why exogenous ketones might underwhelm a healthy athlete looking for a power boost, but shine in extreme stress environments like hypoxia, hyperoxia, and recovery. This episode is for you if: You want to know the difference between a nutritional ketogenic diet and simply taking exogenous ketone supplements. You are concerned about the side effects, liver stress, and acidic load of pushing your blood ketone levels too high. You are interested in the synergistic effects of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) combined with ketone therapies for traumatic brain injury and mitigating oxygen toxicity. You can also find this episode on… YouTube: https://youtu.be/sU-ZNinqqgg Find more from Dr. Dominic D'Agostino: Website: https://ketonutrition.org/ Metabolic Health Initiative: https://www.metabolicinitiative.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dominic.dagostino.kt/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominic-d-agostino-156014b/ Find more from Health Optimization Medicine and Practice (HOMeHOPe): Website: https://homehope.org/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/homehopeorg/ HOMeHOPe Conference 2026: https://homehope.org/homehope-conference-2026 Use PODCAST10 to get 10% OFF your purchase of the Clinical Metabolomics Module at https://homehope.org/products/clinical-metabolomics Find more from Troscriptions: Website: https://troscriptions.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/troscriptions/ Use POD10 to get 10% OFF your Troscriptions purchase at https://troscriptions.com/collections/our-products

In this episode of the Health Optimization Medicine Podcast, Dr. Ted Achacoso, Dr. Scott Sherr, Dr. Allen Bookatz, Dr. Jup Kuipers, and Jodi Duval take a deep dive into the gut-brain-microbiota axis. Moving past the simplistic, pathogenic "pill-for-an-ill" approach of conventional psychiatry and the mainstream hype around over-the-counter probiotics, the faculty breaks down why establishing enteric safety must always precede biochemical optimization. Join us as we delve into: The Tripartite Axis: How the enteric microbiota, gut barrier, and central nervous system communicate at a molecular and metabolomic level to dictate brain state and mood. Epigenetic Signaling: How gut microbes act as active metabolic factories, fermenting dietary fibers into short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) like butyrate that cross the blood-brain barrier to upregulate BDNF and support synaptic plasticity. The IDO Serotonin Hijack: How gut-driven inflammation activates indolamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), shunting tryptophan down the kynurenine pathway to produce neurotoxic quinolinic acid instead of serotonin and melatonin. The Microglial Fire: How circulating cytokines cross the blood-brain barrier at the circumventricular organs, placing the brain's microglia into an active defense state that triggers cognitive fatigue and brain fog. The 3-Phase Gut-Brain Protocol: Why seeding probiotics into inflamed soil fails, and how to logically sequence clearing overgrowth, rebuilding mucosal integrity with L-glutamine, and seeding validated strains. This episode is for you if: You are running on high-dose over-the-counter probiotics for mood issues but feeling no relief or worsening symptoms. You want to understand the exact cellular and biochemical mechanisms connecting leaky gut to leaky brain and psychiatric distress. You want a practical, clinically sequenced blueprint to restore gut barrier safety before attempting to optimize your neurochemistry. You can also find this episode on… YouTube: https://youtu.be/AX-Mt1crayc Find more from Health Optimization Medicine and Practice (HOMeHOPe): Website: https://homehope.org/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/homehopeorg/ HOMeHOPe Conference 2026: https://homehope.org/homehope-conference-2026 Use PODCAST10 to get 10% OFF your purchase of the Clinical Metabolomics Module at https://homehope.org/products/clinical-metabolomics Find more from Troscriptions: Website: https://troscriptions.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/troscriptions/ Use POD10 to get 10% OFF your Troscriptions purchase at https://troscriptions.com/collections/our-products