The Family Longevity Blueprint We Actually Follow At Home! Dr. Chelsea Axe

I think most of the time you kind of take something and you're like, I know this is what I'm supposed to be doing and I know this is good for me, and it's kind of more of like an act of faith. But this has been one of those times where I took it and I was just like, oh, I've got energy. Oh, this is what that feels like. Okay, this isn't the coffee.

Our girls do such a great job eating because you do such a great job eating. We're so health conscious. I want them to just take away that we practice what we preach, and it's just, it's a way of life.

Now it's maintaining muscle mass. It's training for longevity. I need to be strong for the girls and for all these activities we're gonna do. And starting in your 30s, you're starting to lose muscle mass. Getting bulky, especially later on in life, man, you have to try hard.

You know, I think for a lot of people, it's okay, hey, we're all gonna try and get healthy. You know, it's like we're not healthy, then we're gonna try and get healthy. The consistency is king. It's king if you wanna see results in anything— your beauty routine, your exercise routine, your spiritual growth.

You need to be in a place where you can come alongside somebody and have the strength to hold up somebody else's arms and stand in the gap.

You need to know what your priorities are are, and then learn to say no to everything else. There's never been a parent where they said, I wish I wouldn't have spent as much time with my family. All of them say, I wish I would have spent more time with my family and my kids, especially when they were younger.

We had some testing done just to kind of see if she was allergic to anything. We come to find out she has a severe allergy to dust mites.

Think about how challenging this is as a parent. Your child is allergic to dust.

Like, dust is everywhere.

If you're not only trying to get yourself healthy, but your entire family healthy, you're not going to want to miss today's episode. I've brought in my wife, Dr. Chelsea Axe, and today we're going to be diving into our longevity routines, the exact supplements both of us take. Chelsea will be sharing her beauty routine. We'll We'll talk about how to get your kids healthy and so much more. Chelsea, welcome to the show.

Thank you. Good to be here.

This is the second time I've had you on this year, so this is fun. I know.

We're setting records, 2 times in 1 year.

Yeah. I'm excited to chat. So sometimes, Chelsea's in the middle of being a mom of a 2-year-old, 6-year-old. You've got your hands completely full. So I know you used to be a personality at BurstFit and draxe.com and so much of what we've done. You know, focusing on the full-time mom now, which is, again, much harder work than, than what I do.

They're both, they're hard in their own ways. We're a good team.

Yeah. Yeah. So I know, you know, it's funny, because when we were at a swim meet this past weekend with our daughter, Arwen, she's 6 years old, the first competitive thing she's done. And it's been so fun. And Chelsea and I, our competitiveness is coming out in this. But when we were there, At the big swim meet, this is where sort of all the teams come in and compete. This was the first place that I can remember us doing a workout together. Do you remember this?

I don't think I did.

We did a back workout together at this—

We were dating. We had like, it was my first time in Nashville. I'd just come up to hang out.

Yeah. And then about a year later, you and I recorded a fitness video together called BurstFit, which by the way, I'm curious if any of you guys are watching or listening, comment on social or on YouTube, let us know. If you ever did BurstFit in the past, our fitness videos that we did for those couple of years.

Did we really? Is it 2 or 3?

We did 2.

2 of them, okay.

Yeah, yeah, we had BurstFit and BurstFit Fire. And, um, and so this was, uh, anyways, you know, I don't even think they sell them anymore, but it was, uh, it was—

Good times.

Yeah. Um, and I know your, your fitness routine has changed since then, you know, and so that's my first question for you before we dive into the diet and supplements and beauty routine and everything else. How has your fitness routine changed from, you know, when we first met to, you know, a few kids later and where you're at now?

Man, well, when we first met, that was— I mean, well, you took me into the— we didn't even finish the story. You took me, we went and we used to— went to the gym, right, in that the big area.

Williamson County Rec Center, yeah.

And you decided you were gonna run me through a back workout, which I was actually pretty proud of where I was fitness-wise, 'Cause I was getting pretty strong, but I didn't have any back strength. That was like the one area that I didn't like to lift, so I never did it. And I was just like, it's fine, you know, one of those things. And then of course you pick back. And so I was like, oh no, this is gonna be real bad. And you had me, I just kind of like failed on everything. You're like, well, I'm sure you can do this. And then like I couldn't and it was so embarrassing.

Yeah, well now, you know, a few years later you were the pull-up queen and, you know, doing burpees.

I don't know about that, but I definitely like left there and I was like determined. I'm like, that is never gonna happen again.

So then you started working out your back more.

Yeah.

And so what do you do? And I know, so part of your progression is you went from, you know, being primarily an athlete, a volleyball player in high school, to then when you were in chiropractic college, you were doing a lot more, getting more into just general, you know, fitness. And then you and I started working out together. Then you started doing CrossFit.

Yeah.

You did that for a few years until you had a knee injury.

Yeah.

And then you're at where you're at today, which is getting, you know, working out while a 2-year-old and 6-year-old are running around in the home gym.

Yeah.

Uh, for the most part.

Trying to work out with us. Yeah.

So, but yeah, but, but what are you focusing on now from, from a fitness routine compared to what you were doing in the past?

Yeah, I think now it's maintaining muscle mass.

Yeah.

Like it really is the big focus.

Yeah.

And then it's, it's training for longevity, like switching the mindset, which is still hard. It's still like, you know, there you have days where you wanna feel like you've got a really good workout in, which I still crave that feeling, which just because you feel that though, it doesn't mean you did. And it doesn't even mean you did what your body needed in that day. So I'm trying to be really aware of like where my nervous system's at, like where my bandwidth is at, and work out according to that. But also knowing long-term, like I need muscle mass as I continue to get older. I need to be strong for the girls and for all these activities we're gonna do. And knowing like I've had issues with my knee, so making sure that the exercises and workouts that I'm choosing are not continuing to place demand on those specific joints and areas.

Yeah.

In a way that would cause them to Um, deteriorate or cause issues even like way later on down the road. Like I could do these hardcore box jumps and stuff right now. Like I could do it, I could push through and it would be great and I'd probably have a blast doing it. But like 5 years down the road, is that what is gonna serve me best? Like doing that now? Probably not. There's probably some other things that I could do that is still gonna gimme a great workout, but that I will feel better 5 years from now doing, having done now. Um, Yeah. than, you know, doing like a hardcore impact type thing. So I think it's having that in mind.

Yeah, yeah. I mean, there are so many of these different fitness classes that have grown in popularity, again, CrossFit being the biggest one, a lot of the others where you're doing a lot of jumping and plyometrics, and these things are hard on the joints. And I would say for myself, it's a very similar thing. When I'm working out now, I'm working out for longevity. I'm thinking about, especially after the back injury I had, like, you know, it's been so fun, our pool at home, You know, obviously, we've been in the pool a lot together the past month or two, like throwing Aelin, our 2-year-old, up in the air, throwing our 6-year-old, you know, helping them do flips in the pool. And the fact that I can do that now, that's more important to me than I can do, you know, to your point, box jumps or certain types of, you know, bigger lifts. And so, I totally agree, I think. And what a lot of people don't realize is when your muscles fail, your joints—

Yep.

Is what starts to take all the work. So, if you're going to, especially going to failure, to where you can't move with certain exercises, especially the plyometrics, Yeah, you're kind of aging your body more quickly. I had another question for you. A lot of women, I think, don't necessarily gravitate towards weight training.

Yeah.

Why do you think weight training is so important? And also, what about this sort of age-old myth that, you know, I don't want to get bulky for women when they lift weights?

Well, you know, starting in your 30s, you're starting to lose muscle mass, right? So a lot quicker. So the more muscle you can put on, The better your metabolism, the more balanced your hormones are going to be, or just that's your baseline answer. It's only going to benefit you to have muscle. And then again, looking at you want to have functional fitness. So, if you're continuing to lose muscle, you're continuing to lose bone mass, all these different things, muscle is going to continue to help with that as you age. And getting bulky, especially later on in life, man, you have to try hard to get bulky. be eating so much food. You have to be eating very specific as far as even like specific supplements and things you're taking. Um, I think a lot of the bulk that we feel as women, it's actually more like adipose or like extra fat or like water weight and stuff that we feel like hormonally.

Yeah.

Because you feel that even shift like during your cycle. It's like, oh, I feel like, bleh. And it's like, it's not that you're bulky, even though you kind of feel like that. It's just like that extra bloated water, like different things you carry. Things like that.

Yeah, I mean, I was, I was reading a study, and I did a podcast on this recently, how the number one way to build up your mitochondria, you know, these energy plants of your cell, is actually weight training. I mean, and there's other great things, you know, there's pomegranates, which are amazing. There's supplements like NAD supplements, creatine is fantastic.

Yeah.

But overall, weight training, you know, and so this is something I know you've been doing for years and have such an amazing physique because of it. And so But yeah, I've seen that in your fitness routine. Both of our fitness routines have kind of mirrored each other, partly due to injuries, but also sort of the wisdom we've gathered in terms of we wanna be active. You know, you snowboard, I snow ski with our families here for many years to come.

I think for women too, especially like when you're weight training, I know I see a lot of women, they're like, oh, immediately, okay, let's jump in and do bicep curls, or let's jump in and do tricep, you know, extensions or things like that. If you're worried about getting bulky in specific areas, those are such small muscle groups anyways. Like if you're gonna weight train, You're better off focusing on the— do your legs, do your posterior chain, so like your butt and your hamstrings, do your back, which is going to be huge for posture and picking things up, and your core and those different things like that. Again, focusing on those areas, you don't even have— like, I never do my biceps or triceps ever, because if you do your back exercise correctly, you are going to hit your biceps. Your biceps are going to help with specific back exercises, so you're going to already work those out. If you're doing any sort of chest press, If you're doing any sort of pushups, your triceps are going to be involved. So they're getting a workout. You don't have to, you know. So I think when women think of even getting bulky, a lot of it is like, why do I want my arms to be big?

Yeah, right.

Well, you don't have to do arm exercises. You're going to like— they're going to be nice and toned and you're going to hit those without even doing a specific arm exercise.

Yeah. And to your point, the larger muscle groups you work, your butt, your hamstrings, especially your quads, but your legs, your butt and your back.

Don't forget your back, you guys. You never know when your husband or significant other is going to bring you through a back exercise. and you want to impress them.

And you want to impress them, right.

Just saying.

Exactly. So, but these larger muscle groups actually build more mitochondria. They're also the most powerful at improving insulin resistance and sensitivity. So it's great for blood sugar, it's great for burning fat. And so those are the areas that you definitely want to hit. You know, one other thing I noticed, uh, that really even early on in our marriage is you were really particular about your skincare routine, especially at night. In fact, I remember thinking to myself, man, you know, is she ever going to come to bed? You know, she's in here for like 15 minutes. I mean, it didn't take that long. It was like 15 minutes where I can be way worse. It only took me 2 minutes. I just brush my teeth and get in, but—

I'm still trying to get you on a skincare routine.

Yeah. So all that being said, what are the things you've done from a beauty regimen standpoint? Any products that you've noticed? Okay, these are the things, maybe the top 2 or 3 that make the biggest impact.

Well, it kind of depends. Are you going skin health? Are we talking like wrinkles and type things?

Well, I mean, I would say both. And if there's a thing or two internally as well, but also externally, what do you think makes the biggest difference?

Um, I would say, I mean, consistency is huge. Again, you know, just basic as far as like making sure your skin is moisturized. That's your biggest thing with, you know, different products that are not water-based or hyaluronic acid and different, you know, things for moisture for your skin. Um, I have been finding for me that, you know, I've done— I've been really particular about my skincare for years, but again, just Just because you're particular doesn't mean like you're avoiding wrinkles and you're avoiding all these different things. And I've been finding, you know, delving into it, um, the facial muscles and how big of a role those play.

Yeah.

In actually aging your skin and how like old your skin and your face actually looks. And so just working on releasing specific areas and muscles, and I'm sure you've seen the viral clips going all over Instagram and TikTok and things about them getting like, you know, their masseters released and people just crying.

Jaw muscles.

Yeah, like all those different things. But it's true, the amount of tension that those hold, and then the way it actually shifts different bones and things in your face just even slightly, it just causes wrinkles and things to sag just enough to where you're seeing these aging areas, or areas age, um, that don't necessarily need to or aren't due to genetics or even anything you're doing. It's just tension in your face. So really trying to be aware of that, using gua sha to release those areas of tension, be aware of like things you're making, like facial expressions you're making. So I use my frownies. I've been using those for years, which just helps you avoid making those facial expressions at night. So you're, you know, your face is able to rest. But—

And I've seen you use the gua sha tool. This is an old, actually Asian tool. It's made of jade stone. And you kind of take that almost and do like a You know, like people would do muscle scraping or massage, but it's using this sort of piece of jade to kind of do the, you know, work out and release those muscles in your face.

Yeah, I think for a long time it's been, I think gua sha, it's more like lymph-based, which is great using a moving lymph through your face. But I also use it too to actually work and get in there with specific muscles and points like around just to kind of release the tension. Because, you know, when things relax, things can like let go and your face can move freely. And, you know, it just, it actually makes a bigger deal than you think. So I'm actually in the process of delving into the the science and all the different things of that right now. That's like my new thing that I'm actually discovering and seeing a real difference in my skincare and things. So on top of doing the skincare, you know, like giving your face a chance to respond like with that. So the coupling of the two.

If you're taking handfuls of supplements but still feeling exhausted, it means your nutrients aren't getting where they need to go. And unfortunately, Conventional bloodwork will never catch this issue. This new test completely changes things, and my team knows exactly what to look for. I'm currently offering a simple at-home blood test that actually tests for the right things— targeted biomarkers that reveal how well you're absorbing and utilizing nutrients, along with the key markers for hormones, thyroid, inflammation, and metabolism. You also get a full hour.

Wow.

with one of my senior health advisors to review your results and discover how you can work with the Health Institute to finally feel like yourself again. If you want to check it out and grab one before they're gone, just go to mybloodwork.com now. Yeah, and I think the 3 biggest things— well, let me mention the 4 biggest things I've seen you do. Number 1, you didn't mention this, but from a dietary standpoint, you're probably doing 40— you're doing a lot of collagen, a lot of bone broth. A lot of those foods. You're doing a lot of omega-3s. You're eating a lot of berries and vegetables. I mean, so your diet is very high in polyphenols and antioxidants. It's very high in omegas. It's very high in collagen. So, that's a big thing I see you doing.

Yep.

Also, I see you, to your point, your skincare. I've read what's in your skincare. It's a lot of, to your point, hyaluronic acid. It's a lot of those more high-end organic sort of deep moisturizing products. And then, I've seen you do The gua sha and the frownies, and those are the things I think that have been, you know, a big core part of your regimen, I think, in a nutshell.

For the last probably 10 years, like consistently. Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah. So helpful. From, from a diet standpoint, what is working for you now? Like in terms of if you want to reach your ideal body composition, um, and also keep the family healthy.

Yeah.

What do you find, find works the best?

For me, um, I do high protein. I need my protein. You know how it is.

You are very high protein. I would call you the red meat queen, but I think some of the Lion Diet people like Mikhaila Peterson probably edge you out a little bit.

But I always joke that red meat is my, like, love language.

Yeah, right. Yeah, you eat a lot of red meat.

Yeah.

When in doubt, get Chelsea a burger or a steak.

It's true. Burgers. That's my go-to. But yes, that's my love language. Yeah, absolutely. Protein. High protein. And then just like depending on the day with my workout, like moderate carbs, moderate fats. Um, yeah, I just focus on protein and very, very low sugar, very anti-inflammatory as far as in nature. Um, cooked veggies. I don't do like any raw veggies or anything. I really don't do any like nuts and seeds. That just doesn't sit well with me at all.

So, yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah. So when I think about your diet, it is in the, in the morning, you're always doing a superfood smoothie.

Mm-hmm.

So what, what all are you putting in there?

In the morning, it's a big scoop of bone broth. I do 2 scoops of collagen. So already right there, I've got 40 grams of protein without anything else. And then I'm doing goji berry powder just for some vitamin C, some anti-inflammatory. You wanna get some, you know, big superfood there. I do a scoop of Greens.

Yeah, it's like a super red-green product that's got beet juice in it, and it's got a lot of the superfoods and adaptogens.

Yeah. Yep. I do, we just started colostrum.

Yeah.

Just started trying that. I also do creatine.

Yeah.

I do about 5 grams of creatine at least every day.

Yeah.

We've even been doing bee pollen.

Yeah.

We do that, especially in the summertime, like around all that, we do bee pollen for sure, local bee pollen. What else do we throw in there?

I mean, and by the way, it rotates. You just started, you've never done the colostrum until this month.

No, not really, yeah.

And then before, and then again, sometimes it's bee pollen, sometimes it's, Maybe it's a type of fiber, maybe it's some plant protein, but you're kind of always cycling that. And then, of course, you always have your coffee.

Of course.

You know, you make it at home. We have a Jura at home, and then you do almond milk in there about every day. And that's for the most part. And then on occasion, like if we go out to eat, you do a lot of eggs. I like them.

Eggs are great.

Yeah. And then I think about for lunch, I would say your go-to would probably be a burger with—

If I can pick.

Maybe sweet potato fries. Dinner, steak and steamed vegetables.

That's the dream.

And then sometimes you might do like a gluten-free chocolate chip cookie if you're doing dessert.

That's like the perfect day right there. Like, if you want my perfect day of eating, that sounds like, for me, that's it. That's it right there.

Yeah. I know you, I know you pretty well.

You do. Okay. So in the morning when we're making our smoothies and all the things, the girls always want to jump in. Oh yeah. And like help and be on the stove and like mix the eggs and all the things. So, they're watching us do what we're doing, and they always wanna jump in and do it as well. What are some of the habits that you hope they take with them that they learn at home from us?

Wow, well, I think the biggest thing is, it's just a way of being healthy, it's woven into our way of life. You know, I think for a lot of people, it's okay, hey, we're all gonna try and get healthy. You know, it's like, we're not healthy, then we're gonna try and get healthy. It's an event, or you do it seasonally, and you're kinda on and off. I think for us, really, again, it's this thing, to your point, is the consistency is king. It's king if you wanna see results in anything, anything, your beauty routine, your exercise routine, your spiritual growth. I think all those things are important. So, I think for them, they want to— they see what we're doing every morning.

Yeah.

It's like, hey, what's mom and dad putting in their smoothie? They're doing the superfood powder, they're doing the collagen, they're doing the protein, they're doing whatever, bee pollen, whatever the thing is we're trying to do. But for us, it's a very high priority. And we're focused on both eating healthy, but also making it taste great. I think also just having fun in the kitchen, you know, like this morning, I made blueberry pancakes, you know, you made the girl— you make the girls eggs most mornings, you I'll make sourdough bread, you know, put some good grass-fed butter on there for, for Alyn. And so I think the biggest thing is I want them to see that we're practicing what we're preaching.

Yeah.

Being healthy is a way of life. I think one of the things we've talked about some as well too is, is that, you know, we're doing it because, you know, our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit. We wanna— we're called to honor God with our bodies. Like, this is a precious thing, this physical body we've been given. And so for the girls to be able to understand that sort of, you know, reverence, mostly to God and honoring him, but also for the human body.

Yeah.

And so I think, I think that's a big part of what I want them to take away is just saying that, hey, my mom and dad did this, I wanna do this. And you did such a great job early on, I wanna mention too, is that like our girls, they love vegetables. It's like sometimes, I mean, to be honest, there's a few times recently, I think one of our daughters started having a little bit of stomach pain recently because she ate so many steamed vegetables and raw fruit with seeds. We're like, okay, You know, we need to back down a little bit on—

You need to cut down on your veggies.

Yeah, on the veggies. We need to get a little bit more soluble fiber in that way. So, but, you know, our girls do such a great job eating because you do such a great job eating. We're so health conscious. And they just, hey, this is what you can eat. This is what we put in front of you. This is what we can eat. It's not to say we don't have challenges and that if we gave them a choice that they still don't ask for Popsicles. Spaghetti and popsicles constantly. But you know, the spaghetti you make at home is, you know, I guess we mix it up. Sometimes it's brown rice spaghetti, sometimes it's cassava. You know, we do make grass-fed meatballs. But overall, um, I want them to just take away that we practice what we preach, and it's just, it's a way of life.

Yeah, yeah. I think one of the great and easy ways to do that too is we always talk to them through about like what we're doing and why, because they ask questions all the time. Well, why are we eating this and that and not that? And it's while reading this way, 'cause we wanna be healthy. God made our bodies this way, and one of the ways we can steward it is by choosing and making these choices. And we talk to 'em about all the different things about unhealthy food and healthy food and different choices, and they're gonna have the opportunity to choose for themselves. And like when we're in the mall and we go fast, like the candy stores and things, we're like, I just want you to know, like, there's like, this is candy. And then our oldest—

Yeah, I mean, our term is, or you started this term, is we call them sugar bugs.

They're sugar bugs.

So if our, now if our kids have anything, It's a sugar bug. It's a sugar bug. And so, it's, you know, I don't know that that's what we meant to do, is everything— sugar is associated with everything bad, but it evolved into that. And one other thing too, I think knowing your kids and what moves them and motivates them is really important. Our daughter, Arwen, is very competitive, just like Chelsea and I are very competitive. And so, for her, she just started swimming. This is the first competitive thing we've done. And so, afterwards, She kind of has choices in what to eat, and we let her know, hey honey, I'm going to make you this protein shake because it's going to, you know— and we start to ask her questions. She said, well, I don't know if I want that, I'd rather eat this. And we'd say, um, listen, do you want to win more? Do you want to get faster? You do want to get stronger? Do you want to build, you know, good healthy muscles like mommy? Yes. Okay, well, this is the best thing to eat if you want to do that, but it's your choice.

Yeah, right. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Giving her the choice. I think also making her aware, like, we talked to her a lot about Like her body, like you said before, your body's a temple, right? God made your body. One of the easiest baseline ways that you can bring glory to God is by making these choices in your everyday life, what you're eating. Like, you can bring glory to God in this, in your plates, with what's before you.

And I think the other thing I've seen her respond well to is applauding when she's done it well. Like, when she's done with that shake, if she didn't want to eat it at first, we'll just say, honey, I'm so proud of you. You didn't want to do that, you did it. That makes us so proud. You know, one thing I was conscious of is our daughter, Arwen. She really wants to win. And, but the thing that we also have to emphasize with her is, honey, winning is important, but you know what's more important? Is that you try hard and that you're kind, right? And so we're always sort of judging and saying, you know what, we want you to try your best, and we're the most proud that you got better because you were trying hard.

Mm-hmm.

Listen, you might not have won this last swim meet. You, I remember, you know, she got second, we're saying, but we're the most proud that you tried your hardest. And we reward her. Like, she's really into eating cherries right now, so, you know, we give her cherries at night, or, you know, or congratulate or celebrate her in some way because she's tried. So really celebrating, saying you're proud, making a big deal of things when your kids show good character.

Yeah, the little choices, like, along the journey, and not just, like, the big overwhelming things. So I have a question for you. So if someone wants to get healthier, they want to start implementing some of these things that we've talked about in their home, Where do they start?

Oh, goodness. Well, I think, I think there's a few things foundational. Listen, there are so many, like, if people are on social media, which I actually don't know if I've ever really been on TikTok, I've been on Instagram.

Yeah, neither of us have a TikTok account.

Okay. But all that being said, I know that there's a lot of trends and influencers saying a lot of things that are helpful, but really you want to build that foundation. So when I think about the things that are most foundational for somebody's overall health, I think that daily eating, especially breakfast, is probably the most important. I think getting some sort of movement in on a regular basis, and I think a good healthy spiritual practice. I mean, when I think about the foundations, those are the biggest ones. And so from a dietary standpoint, you want to eat a lot of real food. You want to do high protein, high fiber, lots of fruit and vegetables. So think organic meat, bone broth, those sorts of things, fruits and vegetables.

Yeah.

And if that's the basis of your diet, in most cases, you're going to heal and you're going to heal in a really, really incredible way. And so I think that, you know, getting to those basics as much as you possibly can. And listen, if you don't know where to start, just change breakfast. Do what we do, superfood smoothie.

Yeah.

Do a big scoop of bone broth or collagen, do a big scoop of a plant protein, throw a handful of berries in there, water or almond milk, boom, you're good to go. Like, doing that for breakfast would help so many people just get on the right track. Here's the other thing I found is when people change their breakfast, Oftentimes, they're more likely to eat a healthier lunch and dinner.

Absolutely.

Because you've already, you've already started your day off right, you're doing the right things. So I would say that, that the movement part, you know, just walking alone, 7,000 to 10,000 steps is sort of that key metric statistically where people can start to feel better, better bowel movements, better mood, better cortisol, all those, better digestion. So starting to walk more, and if you can exercise, you know, lift weights, even if it's just 2 days a week, but getting in lifting weights and moving. And then, you know, some spiritual practice. I would say going to church on Sundays, but in addition to that, spend just 15 minutes in the morning, 10 minutes in your Bible. If you just read your Bible for 5 minutes and then you just spend a moment in prayer, it could be 2 minutes, that will change the rest of your day.

Yeah.

So I think these good practices— the other, the other thing I would say that's foundational is that you need to know what your priorities are and then learn to say no to everything else.

Good.

Because all of these extra, I mean, you know, I think about like my mom growing up, and your mom was probably the same. It was like my mom was a teacher, and she was volunteering at church and school and raising 3 kids and trying to be a great wife and make dinner. I mean, it was like overwhelming, so many things.

Yeah.

And I think if you're able to say, listen, here's the things that are most important, we're saying no to everything else, we're gonna focus on these things, Because I think people also need a little bit more margin and downtime in their life to have fun and—

Especially kids.

Especially with kids. Yeah, especially with kids. One thing I can tell you too, it's so funny, like I had such, we both had such amazing parents. We were so blessed. And the thing my dad said is, he said, I wish I would've spent even more time with you. Now my dad spent a lot of time. I was like, man, my dad spent so much time with us. My dad never missed a game. But even now, like, There's never been a parent, I've never heard of where they said, I wish I would— wouldn't have spent as much time with my family. All of them say, I wish I would have spent more time with my family and my kids, especially when they were younger. So I would just say prioritizing the other thing is family, along with those things, I think are the things that are probably the, the most important.

Okay, now I have a question for you.

Okay.

How has your faith shaped the way you think about healing? And what would you say to someone who's believing for healing today, especially after everything you've been through with your back and everything you've walked through?

Yeah, I would just say number one thing in my mind is God is faithful. He's so faithful. And when you look back over time, you will be astounded at the goodness of God and what he can do and the miracles he can perform. You know, I think about how faithful he was with my mom with cancer. I think about how faithful he was with my own health and healing and so many other people we've cared for over the years who've seen these amazing healing miracles. And so I, I really think that for me, you know, when I would— when I was diagnosed with the spinal infection and was told I might— I'd likely have to have my spine fused and may never walk normally again, obviously, I mean, I had 24 to 48 hours where I felt like, I mean, to a degree, these, these things creeping into my mind like, your life is over.

Yes.

And I just had to take every thought captive and say, you know what, I've got a good God that's faithful. He wants me to heal. He created my body to heal. Now all I can do is continue to pray and have faith and know that my God is healer. It says it in the Bible.

Yep.

He says, you know, I am your healer, I am the great physician. And so really holding on to that promise no matter what. You know, we were in the pool with the girls yesterday, and they love doing this. We both get them on tubes, and we kind of throw them back and forth, and they— we call it the thunderstorm, you know, and they hold on. And it's— but it's, you know, you got to hold on tightly, you know. Because I had thoughts creep in my head constantly saying, well, you might heal, but never 100%, you'll never be 100% back again. You know, you won't be able to, you know, throw your daughters in the pool in the air again. You won't be able to do a triathlon again. You won't be able to do any of those things again. And I think that you gotta take those thoughts captive and also focus on the things. So here's something that I, I did too, is I read stories online about people who just never recovered.

Yeah.

But there was one person I knew who did recover, and I decided to focus on that story.

Yeah.

That story of healing. So, so much of healing is what are you fixing your eyes on? The Bible says fix your eyes on Jesus, right? So I think fixing your eyes on Jesus, asking people to pray for you for healing. I mean, how many times did you pray for me? How many times did your dad pray for me? How many times did— I mean, I, first off, I was so blessed. I had John Bevere calling and praying for me, Lisa Bevere. I had Jordan Rubin. I had, I mean, all of these amazing— my parents, your mom. I mean, so many people praying for me for healing, but, and I asked for that. I said, hey, would you pray for me consistently? And I believe that those prayers, you know, it says in the Bible, God hears our prayers.

Mm-hmm.

So I think if you're a person who needs healing, the first thing you should do is Fix your eyes on Jesus. Don't worry about the doctor's diagnosis. Don't worry about the studies. Don't worry about your friend who didn't see the result. Fix your eyes on Jesus, knowing that he is an incredible healer. And with that, also ask for prayer. You know, it says this in the book of James. You know, in the book of James, it says, go to the elders of the church, go to somebody who's a mature Christian, have them lay their hands on you and pray for healing.

Yeah.

And that's what I did. I did that consistently. And, and the other thing is I took care of my body, acted like it was a temple. I did everything I could to focus on supporting my body healing. So I really think fixing your eyes on Jesus— I mean, the other thing is I was praising God, saying, God, thank you for the healing that's taking place in my body, even before I was healed.

Yeah.

So I think focusing on Jesus, meditating on scripture, praising God, having other people pray for you for healing, and taking action and believing and knowing— you know, I remember One thing I did too is I said, I am going to— this is when I had this happen back in July. I said, I'm going to go and do a 5K over Thanksgiving. And I fixed my eyes on that and said, God, would you heal me? And that happened. That did not happen. It did not happen. In fact, I was at my worst, I remember, in November. And it was the most discouraged I, I had been because I'd been starting to do everything right.

Right.

But I kept holding on and believing and knowing, no, I will be healed. And so, you know, it was only a matter of time then to where, you know, I was back to 100%, even better now. I actually have less back pain now than I did before that. No pain and feel amazing. And again, was throwing my, you know, the girls in the air in the pool, you know, yesterday. And so, um, but, but I think those are the things that are most important that people should focus on when it comes to, to, to healing.

Yeah. So you said, you talked a lot about like taking those thoughts captive. What are some actual like tangible ways That you did that, because that is a huge, huge thing that people struggle with. Like those thoughts can come bombard your mind, like throughout the day. It's so easy to all of a sudden flip a switch, to all of a sudden have a negative thought enter or see something. I mean, look at the news, you look at Instagram, you scroll, and all of a sudden something switches. How do you recognize that and then switch that over again?

Well, one of the first things I do is I try and stop the exposure, right? So if there's a show or a site or a diagnosis or something, I try and just remove those from continuing to come in my mind. But even when they do, I would have go-to Bible verses.

Yep.

And I would have go-to stories, and I would just refocus back on those things. And then I would pray, and I would say something like, Jesus, I am so discouraged right now. I have these thoughts creeping in my head that I will never heal at 100%. I'll only get back to 50% or 70%. And it's really discouraging to me, but God, I know that you are the healer. You are the great physician, and I know and believe that you are going to heal me and heal me completely. You know, and so I think just going back and just re-anchoring in and recognizing that's the thought, and then here's what the Bible says, right? Here's the truth. And just continuing to come back to that over and over and over again.

Yeah.

You know, I would have a very similar question for you. So I know that, you know, we have seen some pretty amazing healing miracles in our family with my mom healing from cancer, me healing, you know, friends of ours like Jordan Rubin reversing cancer and many others. What do you feel like is sort of the, you know, some of the key ingredients, or is there anything I missed when it comes to this is really important for faith-based healing?

Trying to think anything you missed. You said, I mean, everything you said.

I covered quite a bit. You covered quite a bit. I covered quite a bit.

You're pretty good on that.

Let me ask you this. What did you see? Like when I had my spinal infection and we had these couple years of just, Just terrible trauma, the absolute, you know, bottom of the bottom. What was sort of your mindset? Because here's the other thing, I think there are people listening to this and they've gone through a health struggle, but there are other people who they actually are pretty healthy, but they maybe have someone else in their life who's suffering.

Yeah.

What is the best way that those people can support those people?

I think it's actually really similar. I think you have to take your thoughts captive as well, because it's the same thing. 'Cause they're gonna need people to support, right? To come alongside them. And if your thoughts are elsewhere or negative, you're not gonna be able to do that, right? You need to be strong enough, like, you know, in the battle when they had to hold up his arms, Moses' arms?

Yes, yep.

If they weren't strong enough to hold up his arms, they wouldn't have been able to do that. And it's kind of the same thing. You need to be in a place where you can come alongside somebody and have the strength and the stabilization to hold up somebody else's arms and stand in the gap. That's what intercessory is, right?

But can I say, that is so powerful, because I will tell you, the times when I was the most, like, when I think about, like, a shift, like, where I was very discouraged, and then I got to the mindset where I'm like, I will be healed again, it was where typically you or your dad, or somebody would, or my parents would put their hands on me, pray for me, and say, this is the truth, you will be healed. 'Cause it's one thing to tell yourself something, But the reality is the way we're wired, we are community-driven beings. And so when someone else says it and affirms that thing that you are trying to affirm yourself, that's oftentimes the thing that completely shifts and changes things.

Yeah.

And I think that, you know, not near often enough are we doing that thing where we're, you know, the way that I do it a lot of times is, you know, putting someone, my hand on somebody's shoulder, looking them in the eyes, And just encouraging them, or praying for them, and telling them the truth.

Yeah, yeah, you do a great job of that, of going to that first and inviting Jesus and Holy Spirit into the situation, or whatever it is, to come and just move and have his way.

I'll tell you, I was so excited. I didn't tell you this. I was at Urban Market, uh, 2 days ago, and there was a woman where we used to— we went to church, and she was struggling with infertility. And so now she's got a daughter that's 2 years old.

That's awesome.

And I think we both prayed for her at one point, and, you know, it helped her with her diet and everything else. And so But she was super discouraged, you know, and so being that for somebody else is just incredibly powerful. Okay, so even though we have both been very consciously healthy, we've still had our health challenges.

Yes.

I've had mine, you've had yours, I know, with your knee and other things, and we've had our daughters, right? And our daughter Arwen, who has had some health challenges. Let's talk about just that for a little bit and how we navigate health challenges with our kids, and you could share a little bit about one of our daughters and sort of what she has Going on, if you want.

Yeah, so Arwen has— she— we noticed a little while ago her adenoids and her tonsils were extremely inflamed, right?

Yeah.

Um, so we kind of did our baseline, what we know to do, cleaned up her diet. And again, they've already had great diets, but cleaned it up even more. Um, and we just didn't really see anything move. We went and we— she's been doing like myofunctional therapy, like working with, you know, expanding her palate. Um, she had her tongue ties obviously reversed when she was little, different things that we need to do In those ways, and we just weren't seeing things happen. So, we had some testing done just to kind of see if she was allergic to anything, if there was anything that was like triggering this inflammation in her body. And come to find out, she has a severe allergy to dust mites.

And by the way, think about how challenging this is as a parent. Your child is allergic to dust.

Like, dust is everywhere. Everywhere you go, any store, any— I mean, It's everywhere. It is everywhere.

And it was the only thing. There was nothing else. And listen, my hope was, okay, it's going to be, you know, it's going to be something.

Yeah, like a leaf or something. Yeah, something that you could control. But dust mites.

Which we can control some. It's just a little bit more challenging.

It's a lot more challenging. It's been challenging. It's been hard.

And we've done a lot. We've removed carpet from her bedroom.

We removed carpet from the house.

So, and for instance, we've done all this, like, she has all these stuffed animals, and so now we've moved them to a different room, we've cleaned them all, but then also we'll put the ones that she likes, these 2 or 3, in the freezer, 'cause that's supposed to kill them.

For like 24 to 48 hours, 'cause they can't survive in like ice cold temps.

Every 4 days you change her sheets.

Like we did like sterilize, sanitize, wash, like at this high, high temperature. She has specific like covers on all her mattresses and pillows so dust mites can't live in it.

We have air filters, as Jasper's going off, constantly in the house.

The HEPA filters. Yeah, I mean, it's been—

And also, the other things that we've done is, so in one of her tonsils, this has been encouragement, reduced size by about 50%.

Yep.

We also started doing something called SLIT therapy, which is called sublingual immunotherapy, SLIT therapy. And basically, you're getting a microdose. It's, I would consider it maybe to a degree in the field of homeopathics, but it's sort of a natural, you know, immunization over time to— it's micro exposures over time to the allergen. And so that's what we're doing with her. And I think that that helped about 50%. But that therapy can take about 3 years, it says, before it's fully effective. But that's, I think, the thing we've seen the biggest probably improvement with is doing that, that type of therapy.

Yeah. And we've also been really specific about her diet. Like we cut out any and all dairy that would be in there. So even like goat and sheep dairy, like she has zero dairy in her diet right now whatsoever. Very specific about the amount of sugar she's getting. So, like, if you've already had a popsicle today.

Yeah. You know, the other thing that's helpful, so we went and did blood work on her. We went and did, and again, we found the dust mite allergy was the biggest thing. I mean, she really wasn't very deficient in many things at all. But I will say, she also, we did a genetic panel, which was incredibly helpful, because you can see her genetics were very much like mine, to where, taking certain supplements like N-acetylcysteine that support glutathione. So detoxification was her single biggest thing. So knowing that for her. But, you know, I think as parents, the big thing is just, just keep moving forward. The biggest thing is change the diet. Sometimes getting some testing done, more thorough testing.

Yeah.

Which the problem is, a lot of times if they go to their conventional doctor, the testing they're getting isn't all that great versus if they go to a really thorough functional medicine doctor and do a genetics panel, Yeah. And environmental exposure and maybe food sensitivity and some of the, like, looking at nutrient deficiencies like vitamin D and zinc and magnesium. That's where I think you can get a whole picture of really knowing how to most help your kids.

Yeah, yeah, and it's hard. It can be frustrating and it can be discouraging at times just because, you know, you wanna help, they're your kids. You wanna help them, you see them struggling, you see them, you know, not necessarily in pain, but uncomfortable. And you just want to fix it for them, but you know, you can't. So yeah.

And so this has been incredibly valuable for kids doing some testing. I know also for adults. I mean, you and I are both big fans of doing advanced cellular blood work and seeing definitely what do we need exactly. I think that's one of the biggest changes maybe we've had in our health journey is that over the years, rather than guessing, we're testing. So test, don't guess. And so I know that when you got your blood work back, there were a few things that sort of surprised you that kind of You've changed the way that you— really pretty dramatically changed your supplement routine.

Yeah, I've added a lot of different things in. I think even doing that and making those small changes as far as what I'm adding in, it was one of like maybe 2 times in my life where I've actually seen a noticeable difference and felt different in taking a supplement.

Yeah.

I think most of the time you kind of take something and you're like, I know this is what I'm supposed to be doing and I know this is good for me. And it's kind of more of like an act of faith as far as my body needs this, so I'm going to take this and I know it's going to help me. but I don't feel like it, but hopefully it is type thing, and I'm spending my money in a good place. Yeah, this has been one of those times where I took it and I was just like, oh, I've got energy. Oh, this is what that feels like. Okay, this isn't the coffee.

Yeah, and I had the same thing when I did blood work too. I think for you, from what I remember, it was carnitine you were low in.

Tyrosine.

Tyrosine for thyroid health. Um, a little bit mitochondrial, so you started doing more.

That was the big one.

Yeah, yeah, NMN. And when you started doing— and by the way, those are all really related to, especially the carnitine.

But it was a specific NMN because I'd been taking NMN. Do you remember?

And we kind of switched as far as what the testing was based on that. Yeah, NR. And, and so, yeah, and you saw great results in energy. And for myself, same, very similar thing, mitochondrial. But I started taking N-acetylcysteine and vitamin B2, and that completely changed, you know, complete changed my energy. I went from a 6 out of 10 to 10 out of 10 after doing that. And so for a lot of people though, they've never done the advanced blood work, and they maybe have gone to their doctors or done the big panels out there where they're doing 100-some Mm-hmm. Markers. The problem is what a lot of people don't know is those markers are all the superficial markers. A lot of those, those, those markers cost like 25 cents.

Yeah.

They're not the right markers versus testing for CoQ10, looking truly at all the B vitamins, looking at, you know, looking at intracellular nutrients, not what's in your blood, but what's in your cell.

Yeah.

These markers are more expensive, but they are, they make a way bigger difference in your health.

Yeah.

And so you and I, I notice, have noticed such a big difference in our own health.

Yeah.

Because we've done the right type of blood work and testing, and a lot of people are guessing, and so they just, they don't— a lot of people are wasting a lot of money because they're not taking the right thing that would make the biggest difference for them, versus a blood test, the right one, will tell you, this is exactly what you need.

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, the body is so intricate, right? There's so many intricate processes and tools it needs to continue to function, right? And so, rather than looking like, well, I'm deficient in this one overall thing, it's like, well, there's a whole process Of steps that your body actually goes through to get to that end result. So, why is it deficient in that? And actually going and looking at the steps and saying, well, this is where my body is breaking down or failing, in this step. It's not actually the end result. It's that it's missing a vitamin to actually catapult this step and move it forward. So, targeting that step instead of the end results, it actually, you know, gives your body what it needs to continue to function optimally as it should.

Yeah, and knowing those pathways, that's one of the things, you know, when we have patients come in our clinics, like, I actually, one of the things I love to show them is the actual pathway.

Yeah.

Because oftentimes, if you're just missing one nutrient, could be vitamin B2, could be NAD, could be B12, could be zinc, magnesium, glutathione, if you're missing any one of those, you can feel awful. And so you could be taking 10 supplements, but if you're not taking that single nutrient you need, people are still going to be dealing with the fatigue and hormone imbalance and the, you know, the autoimmune issues by, you know, I see this all the time, patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis. And just because they're deficient in selenium, or zinc, or vitamin D, or tyrosine, they continue to have the thinning hair, the low energy, and dealing with the issue versus if they knew exactly what to take, and they take the right dose, now they can finally heal.

So they actually end up taking less. But it's targeted specifically to their own body. And actually, it causes everything else in their body to function better, right? Because not anything else is taking the slack, trying to, you know, take out the pressure off of different things that are trying then to, you know, work for that.

Yeah. All right, so then what are the top 5 supplements for you in ranking order that you just cannot live without?

Oh boy. Well, obviously number one is protein. Yeah, I need my protein. It's how I— it's my day. I need to start with it. So that would be like my bone broth collagen base in the morning. Can't live without that. Number 2 would probably be, um, creatine.

Yeah.

Need that, especially with the way I work out, for energy, all those different things. And sleep, it's actually— if you're deficient in sleep, um, it's actually been shown creatine can actually help bridge that more than many other things. Whole nother topic, we won't get into that right now. Um, I would say probably Um, just based on what we talked about with my blood testing, the, my NMN, the mitochondrial support, seen such a difference in my energy levels with that. I feel like I definitely did need to have that. I would say probably omegas.

Yeah.

Just because here's confession time, I don't like salmon.

Yeah.

I don't like to eat salmon, so I don't do it.

Which everyone else in the family does. Everyone likes salmon. Like myself, both our daughters, we eat salmon. We could eat it every day.

Which is great. I, I've tried. I've tried so many times and I just really don't enjoy it. So because of that, I know I need to supplement and add that in. So I definitely need that in my top list. And I would say probably my last one, ooh, maybe just like a probiotic or something like that. Yeah, looks good. Just kind of for just like, yeah, gut support, things like that. That's just my foundation baseline. And I have many other ones I build off of there. What about you?

Yeah, I would say for me, I do agree sort of the protein, collagen, you know, I would have that at the very top. I would say for myself, number 2 is probably, based on all my blood work, is vitamin B2 or a good B complex that has the right forms. Not even methylated, but there's actually several types of methylated that would be good. So I would do that B. I noticed a tremendous difference there. The NMN, so the NAD+, for me, these are some of the ones I've noticed a real difference with, like significant. So that would be on there for me as well. Magnesium glycinate for me. That's a good one. Or a magnesium, like a multi-magnesium. I've noticed for myself, I'm just more relaxed, healthier digestion, better sleep. So, I think that would be number 4. And then number 5 for me, this is really hard. It's sort of between, I'm gonna mention 3 or 4 here.

That's cheating.

But probiotics, definitely notice a difference there. Vitamin D, if it's in the winter, omegas, superfood powders, and then certain herbals. Yeah, I mean, you and I definitely, I know you do a lot of turmeric. Yeah, I do a lot of turmeric and ginger, and sometimes we sometimes both do ashwagandha. So, I mean, we definitely take quite a few things.

Reishi, all the things.

Reishi, right? Yeah. So, I think that— but those are the things that I know that we both, yeah, both tend to take the most. And then with our daughter, we're really trying to do things to support her immune system and tonsils. And so, she's doing a lot of things like quercetin and zinc and vitamin D and N-acetylcysteine.

Yeah.

To really support her health and immune system. And also, she doesn't convert vitamin D or omegas well, so we have her doing those too. I think are the biggest go-tos for our family. But also, again, in addition to that, our food is medicine, our food is supplemental. So we are getting a lot of nutrients from the fruits and vegetables, organic meat and eggs. I don't know if I mentioned creatine too, that's another one I take. I don't know what's the difference with—

That's way more than 5.

Yeah, I know, that was 10. I doubled up there.

Okay, last question for you.

Okay.

What is one wellness trend right now that's completely worth the hype and one that's completely overhyped?

Wellness trends worth the hype?

The viral.

Okay, so here, now I, I think this, I would consider this a trend. I would say red light panels. Okay. And red light therapy. So whether it's red light on your thyroid or full body red light, I mean, it's so good for mitochondrial function. And I would say you can also get a lot of benefits from sunbathing and not getting burnt, but just getting sun with that. If you don't have a red light panel, But I would say from a trend standpoint, red light is up there. What is a trend that's not— I don't think nicotine gum is great. I mean, I, I think, I, I think, I mean, I, I just know the Chinese medicine principles and the patterns that it causes.

Yeah.

So nicotine gum, before that part of doing, you know, uh, medical cannabis or doing THC, that's not healthy either. So I would say that doing the nicotine and THC, those two sort of trends are actually going to be bad, bad for people's long-term health.

Okay.

You know, and then one of the last things I just want to say too is I think it's so important if you are trying to be healthy physically, mentally, and spiritually that you're making it fun. I mean, one of the things we're trying to do right now as a family is like our daughter, we think she's a talented swimmer. She's 6 years old though. And so, you know, we had a coach come up to us at the end of the meet saying, hey, your daughter, they want her to come and do an evaluation to be on like a travel like the club team because she's done so well this year. And so we're like, okay, great. But, you know, we're also trying to balance out, okay, we will put Arwen in as much swim as she can handle. But also, we're going to try and keep our pulse on, hey, she needs a break now, especially when she's younger. Or, you know, we also want her to do gymnastics and tennis and basketball and volleyball. And so we want her to try a lot of things out when she's younger. But my point there is, and then we had her do snow skiing lessons and snowboarding lessons. And so we're trying to make fitness, especially about being active, not just going to the gym and lifting weights, but being active, water skiing, snow skiing, going on bike rides, just being an active family.

Yeah.

I think it's something, swimming in the pool, just, you know, those are the things I think we really prioritize. And so when I think about the healthiest families, one of the big things that I see in terms of a trend is when they were younger, their families were active. It's not that they were going to the gym and lifting weights as a family. It's no, they were Biking, going bike rides as a family. They were going boating. They were just going on hikes. They were just active as a family. And I think that's something that's pretty, you know, pretty important for family health and wellness as well, is making it fun and staying active.

Talk about great memories.

Yeah, that's right too.

I mean, looking back on that, like, that's what your kids are going to remember. They're not going to remember, oh, I was so active and all the things. It was like, man, we had fun.

Yeah. I mean, one of my greatest memories of my family vacations growing up is we would rent a houseboat with my cousins. And my cousin and I would, you know, swim laps back and forth. We'd water ski all day. We would just, you know, we would have a blast on the water. Those are some of the best memories growing up, and we were very active that entire time. And so that's a great, great family rhythms.

Yeah.

Well, um, babe, thanks so much for coming on. This is so fun. Can't wait to have you on again soon. I hope everybody got as much value from Chelsea, uh, as I do, uh, on a regular basis. I'm so blessed to have such an amazing wife, and who's such an amazing mom and friend and just passionate Christian leader. So Thanks so much for coming on. And just, we just also want to let you guys know, we appreciate all of you who are listening to the podcast. If you've enjoyed this conversation, hey, make sure to subscribe. It's really the number one thing you could do to support us and the show in putting out more, more, more content. So thanks so much for subscribing.

Thank you.

And share. Think about anyone else. Maybe it's a family member, somebody you know. You could send them a text message. Who's the one person who could really gain value from some of the things we talked about and navigated today in terms of natural medicine and natural health. And just want to say also, thanks so much for tuning in here to the— is it the Dr. Axe's Show now?

Axe's.

Okay, yeah, Dr. Axe. Okay, well, thanks so much for tuning in. And also, hey, don't forget to follow my wife Chelsea on her social media pages. On Instagram in particular is where she's somewhat active. And then just following me on YouTube or podcast is a great thing to do as well. So thanks so much for listening and watching. Can't wait to see you on the next episode.