Epigenetics with Dr. Dan Stickler | Episode 20
This week on The Health Made Simple Show, Dr. Bart is joined by Dr. Dan Stickler! Dr. Dan is the co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of the Apeiron Center for Human Potential and Chief Science Officer for the Apeiron Academy.
Dr. Dan is also a physician to high-performing executives, entrepreneurs, and many others and is a well-acclaimed author, podcaster, and speaker. Watch the attached video for one of our favorite episodes yet!
Lastly, both Dr. Bart and Dr. Dan share with us their knowledge of epigenetics, the importance of understanding your genetic structure, and how you can leverage that knowledge to level up your health!!
Dr. Dan’s Story
Dr. Dan began in medical school and was disheartened when he realized that it was not about preventative care, but reactive care. After years of working in weight loss surgery, Dr. Dan was exposed to medicine focused on improving the lives of those already healthy and was fascinated!
After five years of working both in surgery and a holistic medicine approach, Dr. Dan decided to take his preventative care approach full-time to help others on their journey to becoming superhuman.
This led him to begin working with genetics and epigenetics in the pursuit to optimize the human experience.
Since this transition, Dr. Dan has been training countless doctors and spreading his groundbreaking teachings worldwide.
What is the study of Epigenetics?
Epigenetics is the ability to change the expression of our genes based on our lifestyle.
It is similar to a dimmer switch on a lightswitch. It allows us to dim the strength of some of our genes while optimizing other genes’ power.
Many things impact our genes, one of them being food. The food we consume alters our genetic structure, so we must base our lifestyle on the information that our genes give us.
We are predisposed to various diets based on the genes that we carry. If we ignore how we should be eating according to this model, we can develop serious health concerns such as heart disease.
We should not look at any gene composition as good or bad, but a direction to take our health and diet!
How Does Stress Impact Us?
There are three tiers of how we respond to stress:
- We face a stressor and our body leaves in a more compromised state.
- We face a stressor and are not impacted.
- We face a stressor and leave healthier (The anti-fragile state).
Life is often about happiness, but that comes from being more present and finding purpose. Happiness is often a byproduct of this! Instead of pursuing happiness, pursue experience and purpose!
What Type of Genetic Testing is Valuable?
There is genetic testing that can tell us more than just our country of origin!
The most valuable tests are the ones that look at single-nucleotide polymorphisms. These tests allow us to optimize our genetic structure and develop actionable parameters to go after.
These tests can provide valuable insights and recommendations about nutrition, supplementation, sleep, exercise, hormones, and many other areas.
It is important to remember that your genetic structure causes a small percentage of health concerns. Some genes are correlated with issues, but they can be overcome through the decisions you make to prioritize your health.
What are Peptides?
Peptides are essentially strands of amino acids. Our body makes peptides and is very familiar with them!
Peptides allow us to hone in and provide a laser-focused response to various issues. With traditional medications or supplements, there are always significant on-target and off-target effects.
However, with peptides, the impact is almost 90% positive! This is because the body is familiar with them and knows how to process them.
The body is designed to heal itself. Our job is just to provide it with the tools to accomplish that task best!
How Should We Exercise as We Age?
We naturally lose muscle mass as we age. Predominantly due to the depletion of hormones in our bodies.
Exercise is excellent for our body but also tears it apart. This is the stress we referenced earlier that is good for the body and causes it to develop more endurance and resistance.
However, we need to be aware of our stress levels and the implications that over-training can cause. It may deplete hormones, raise stress levels, and hinder our superhuman journeys. This is another excellent reason to have a health coach!
Physicians vs. Health Coaches
Physicians should be taking care of sick people, not providing the information we need concerning developing a healthy lifestyle. This is coming from Dr. Dan, who is a former physician!
Coaches provide the opportunity to develop preventative care methods that allow you to upgrade your health. This is the future of medicine as it is not just reactive care, but preventive.
With genetic testing, you only need to be tested once because your genes do not change!
For the first time, Dr. Dan is launching a direct-to-consumer model for genetic testing with detailed insights on sleep, nutrition, supplementation, and fitness based on your specific results!!!
You can find the link to this incredible opportunity below!
Making Health Simple
The top action item that Dr. Dan suggests to us on our journey of becoming superhuman is getting enough sleep! Sleep is the most important thing that we can do for our body and is the most crucial step as we pursue overall wellness.
What’s Next?
We have put together a dashboard of all of Dr. Bart’s videos, based on health topics, in our Level-Up Health Membership.
This library of health content is low cost, so we can help you on your journey to becoming superhuman!
Not only is it extensive, but it will continue to expand with new videos each month. Also, you will have the opportunity to share these videos with your friends and family!
Medically reviewed and written by:
Dr. Bart Precourt
Founder of The Health Made Simple Show
Doctor of Chiropractic
Register for the Health Made Simple Show
If you are interested in registering for the Health Made Simple Show please visit http://www.healthmadesimple.com
