Dive into the fascinating world of longevity and health with Livelong Media featuring insights from leading researchers our podcast unravels the science of living longer and healthier. Each episode explores innovative discoveries. Also, we tackle controversies, highlight effective wellness practices, and discuss the surprising advantages of various dietary and exercise regimes.
Many women move through life carrying anxiety, burnout, grief, or trauma without realizing how much those experiences shape their bodies. Holistic health coach and author Dina Saalisi argues that healing isn't only about treating symptoms. It's also about rebuilding a sense of safety, connection, and resilience.
Drawing from her work with women in midlife, Saalisi explains why nature has become one of her most powerful therapeutic tools. Time outdoors doesn't just feel restorative. Research suggests it can lower stress, activate the parasympathetic nervous system, and create moments of awe that help calm an overactive brain. She believes reconnecting with the natural world also helps people reconnect with themselves and with others, something increasingly important in an age of chronic isolation.
The conversation also explores why emotional overwhelm can become especially intense during menopause, how community protects both mental and physical health, and why practices like journaling, regular movement, and simple breathing exercises can make a meaningful difference. Rather than chasing a return to youth, Saalisi makes the case for building daily habits that support well-being through every stage of life.
20 Jun 2026
The Healthspan Blueprint: Eat, Move, Sleep, Connect
Most people think healthcare starts when something goes wrong. Dr. Nicki Byrne believes that's exactly backwards.
In this episode of the Livelong Podcast, Dr. Nicki Byrne, Clinical Director at Optispan and a board-certified internal medicine physician, explains why the future of medicine is proactive—not reactive.
We discuss the difference between lifespan and healthspan, why so many people spend the final decades of life managing chronic disease, and the daily habits that have the greatest impact on healthy aging.
Drawing on Optispan's Four Pillars framework—Eat, Move, Sleep, and Connect—Dr. Byrne shares what actually matters when it comes to staying strong, independent, and cognitively healthy as we age.
If you're interested in longevity science without the hype, this conversation offers a practical roadmap for adding life to your years—not just years to your life.
What You'll Learn
• The difference between lifespan and healthspan
• Why proactive medicine is replacing reactive healthcare
• The Four Pillars of healthy aging: Eat, Move, Sleep, Connect
• The biggest drivers of chronic disease and decline
• Why muscle, mobility, and social connection matter more than most people realize
• The habits that have the greatest impact on long-term health
11 Jun 2026
Even a gynecologist of two decades didn't recognize her own perimenopause symptoms
If a gynecologist with more than 20 years of experience didn't recognize her own perimenopause, what chance does the average woman have?
In this episode of the Livelong Podcast, Dr. Ghazaleh Afshar shares how symptoms she struggled to make sense of—including anxiety and other subtle shifts—led her to rethink not only her own health, but the way women navigate midlife care.
Afshar explains why perimenopause often looks very different from the hot flashes and irregular periods women are told to expect. Instead, hormonal changes may show up as anxiety, depression, insomnia, joint pain, bladder issues, or the nagging feeling that something simply isn't right. She also explores why women are frequently sent from specialist to specialist without anyone connecting the dots—and how a more holistic approach can help identify what's really going on.
The conversation also dives into lifestyle medicine, metabolic health, and the five markers every woman should understand as she approaches menopause. But perhaps the larger takeaway is that perimenopause isn't something women should have to diagnose on their own. If even an expert can miss the signs, it's time for a healthcare system that does a better job recognizing them.
Inside a recent episode
The Case for Lifelong Hormone Therapy with Dr. Sophia Yen
Published 20 Feb 2026 · Transcript excerpt
[…] And so that increases your risk for bone fractures. And it's not just some wimpy fracture. If you get a hip fracture, there's a 30% chance you will be dead in the next couple of years. So I want to live as long as possible, as healthy as possible. I want my mom to live as long as possible, as healthy as possible. So we all really need to avoid osteoporosis. But the number one killer of women is heart disease. And so these heart effects of not having estrogen are so important and such huge numbers. So it's estimated that 50% increase risk in heart disease if you're not on HRT. And then we could prevent 60% of fractures if everybody was on HRT and And there's a 24% increased risk of colon cancer and a 21% decreased risk of diabetes if you're on HRT. […]
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