Physician, Heal Thyself The Podcast

About Physician, Heal Thyself The Podcast

Teaching on whole person approach to health and spirituality. We will speak on topics on spirituality, soul, body, mind and emotional health; and natural means to heal.

Publisher

Dr. Ana Lara

Category

health & fitness

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

14 Jun 2024

Latest episode

8 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

122 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   8 Oct 2026

   Postpartum Truth, Hormones & the Mental Health Gap - EP122

   Every new woman who walks through Dr. Lara's door says the same thing: I went to doctor after doctor and they kept telling me I was normal. You are not crazy. You are not normal. Your hormones have not been checked — and there is a difference. Dr. Ana Lara sits down with her longtime friend and colleague Dr. Myleene Simone — naturopathic doctor, psychotherapist, and founder of Regenerative and Restorative Health Center — for a candid, personal, and clinically rich conversation on women's mental health, the postpartum experience, and the systemic failures that leave women suffering in silence. Both physicians share from their own lives: Dr. Simone, who navigated a custody battle, an alcoholic ex-partner, solo twin parenting, adrenal crash, and PTSD — all while in medical school; Dr. Lara, whose 2021 car accident led to a concussion, a PTSD diagnosis she resisted, and the profound experience of a nervous system that could not relax even in stillness. Together they dissect why highly functional women are invisible in the system — because the facade holds, because they keep showing up, because the makeup goes on and the dark circles go under it — and what it costs over time. They cover the hormonal mechanics of breastfeeding (prolactin suppressing estrogen and progesterone, leaving women without the very hormones that support sleep, calm, and mental resilience), the postpartum hormone plunge (estrogen surging 100-fold during pregnancy then dropping within 72 hours of delivery), the role of prior sexual trauma in postpartum mental health, the neuroscience of sleep deprivation, and why you cannot fix a hormone deficiency with a psychiatric drug. They close with Dr. Simone's personal account of screaming alone in her hallway so her babies wouldn't see her break — and the community and culture that used to hold women through exactly that moment, and no longer does. Timestamps: 0:00 — Introduction: Dr. Myleene Simone joins Dr. Lara 0:49 — Why this conversation: women screaming for help and not being heard 2:11 — "Normal" — the word that ends the conversation before it begins 3:01 — Two doctors, two mothers: shared stories from medical school 4:53 — Dr. Simone's story: custody battle, solo parenting, antidepressants that made her a zombie 7:33 — Adrenal crash: what it actually feels like when your adrenals give out 8:20 — Breastfeeding hormones: prolactin, estrogen suppression, and the sleep-hormone connection 9:45 — Progesterone and sleep: why melatonin isn't the answer for women 10:46 — The culture of overwork and the permission women need to rest 11:10 — Sleep science: women need 8–9 hours; less than 6 raises dementia risk before 50 12:57 — When women stay silent: the stigma of mental health and the fear of the label 13:39 — Dr. Lara's sleep deprivation story: two sick days, brain hijacked 15:17 — Postpartum and the possibility of psychosis: hormones, sleep, and cascading dysfunction 16:02 — The invisible patient: highly functional women whose symptoms are hidden by performance 17:52 — The physician's role: asking the right questions is part of the treatment 19:01 — Why women look fine on the outside — and what that conceals 21:17 — Hormonal difference between men and women: the cycling vs. steady reality 22:27 — Dr. Lara's testosterone experiment: what groundedness actually feels like 24:46 — Mental load and hormonal cost: why worrying about small things depletes estrogen and cortisol 25:13 — Delegating and releasing control: advice for over-functioning women 27:26 — Community, hyper-independence, and the postpartum support gap 28:44 — Dr. Simone's personal postpartum story: alone with twin newborns and a breakdown hallway 32:29 — The nervous system stuck in fight-or-flight, unable to relax even when the babies leave 34:24 — Ancient postpartum wisdom: Mayan culture, herbal baths, and what community used to provide 37:42 — Dr. Lara's 2021 concussion: PTSD, IV ozone, NadP+, and the healing that followed 39:43 — Why women close up when a therapist announces mandatory reporting 47:44 — The postpartum hormone plunge: estrogen surging 100-fold then crashing within 72 hours 49:07 — Sexual trauma and its postpartum trigger: what every birth plan should account for 50:44 — Mental health as an invisible wound: when someone says they're having intrusive thoughts, act immediately 52:10 — You cannot fix a hormone deficiency with a drug — and why it often makes things worse 53:46 — Closing: if the first doctor says you're fine, keep looking Dr. Myleen Simone, NMD Founder, CEO & Medical Director of Regenerative & Restorative Health Center https://www.rrhealthcenter.com/ (https://www.rrhealthcenter.com/) If you have been dismissed, misdiagnosed, or simply told your labs are normal, Dr. Lara works with women at Raíces Naturopathic Medical Center — schedule at raicesndmedcenter.com.

2. 

   1 Oct 2026

   Why Doctors Follow the Crowd — And How to Protect Your Own Thinking - EP121

   Doctors are not immune to fear. They are not immune to social pressure, groupthink, or the institutional conditioning that makes saying yes easier than saying wait. Understanding how that happens — and what it costs patients — is something every person who interacts with the medical system needs to think through. Dr. Ana Lara steps back from clinical content to address a question she can't stop thinking about: why were so many physicians so easily influenced during the COVID era, and what does the psychology behind that mean for patients navigating the healthcare system today and in the future? This is not an episode designed to shame physicians — it is a psychological and sociological examination of how authority bias, groupthink, institutional conditioning, fear, and artificial urgency can overwhelm even trained, intelligent people and lead them away from independent critical thinking. She walks through the specific pressures physicians faced — fear of losing patients, losing hospital privileges, losing licensure, public humiliation, and being personally blamed for patient outcomes — and explains how cortisol released by fear literally impairs the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for rational decision-making. She applies the same framework to patients: peer pressure from your doctor is still peer pressure, and you have both the right and the responsibility to think for yourself, ask questions, and take time before making any significant health decision. She closes with three practical takeaways for patients — protect your independent thinking, recognize the influence of fear on decision-making, and expect humility as well as conviction from your physician — and with a clear-eyed message to the younger generation of doctors she is watching and believes in. Timestamps 0:00 — Introduction: why this question keeps coming back 1:18 — Six years out — and what physicians are now saying privately 3:35 — The intent: not to blame doctors, but to understand the psychology 4:32 — For patients: your doctor is an expert, not an authority over your decisions 5:41 — How medical training conditions compliance over critical thinking 7:31 — Medical school rewards the correct answer, not the questioning mind 8:41 — Hospitals, licensing boards, insurance companies: layers of institutional pressure 10:07 — The missing question: where is the clinical evidence? 12:22 — The fine line between following rules and advocating for your patient 13:22 — Gaslighting, manipulation, and forcing compliance in the exam room 13:46 — Authority bias: taking your doctor off the pedestal without dismissing them 14:46 — Social conformity: when everyone else is doing it, it feels safe 15:35 — Your nervous system as a discernment tool 15:56 — Fear as a decision impairment: why urgency is a red flag 16:23 — The specific fears physicians faced — and why those fears were real 17:32 — Groupthink defined: when agreement overrides critical thinking 18:54 — Three days: why you should never make a major health decision under pressure 21:05 — Cognitive dissonance and why some doctors still won't admit error 21:49 — Takeaway 1: protect your independent thinking 23:46 — Takeaway 2: recognize how fear changes thinking 25:36 — Takeaway 3: expect humility and conviction from your physician 26:05 — A word to younger doctors: don't leave medicine — change how you practice it 27:36 — Closing: think for yourself, ask questions, and let the decision be yours If you want a physician who welcomes your questions and builds a plan with you rather than for you, Dr. Lara is accepting new patients at Raíces Naturopathic Medical Center — schedule at raicesndmedcenter.com.

3. 

   24 Sept 2026

   Insulin Resistance: The Silent Epidemic Doctors Keep Missing - EP120

   Millions of people are insulin resistant for 10 to 20 years before they develop diabetes. Their labs come back "normal." Their doctors tell them they're fine. And the whole time, elevated insulin is quietly driving weight gain, brain fog, hormone disruption, heart disease, Alzheimer's, and cancer. The test costs $9. No one is ordering it. Dr. Ana Lara breaks down one of the most widespread and underdiagnosed metabolic conditions in medicine today — insulin resistance — and explains in plain terms why standard screening is missing it, what it actually looks like in the body, and how to reverse it completely through diet, movement, targeted nutrients, and the willingness to address what is actually driving the condition. She walks through the mechanism of insulin resistance (the cell receptors that stop responding to insulin, leaving glucose circulating in the bloodstream and driving inflammation), the symptoms most people don't connect to blood sugar (fatigue after eating, brain fog, belly fat, skin tags, skin darkening around the neck and armpits, mood swings, sugar cravings, waking up hungry, difficulty losing weight), and the diseases that develop downstream when it goes unaddressed — type 2 diabetes, heart disease, fatty liver, PCOS, infertility, erectile dysfunction, kidney disease, peripheral neuropathy, Alzheimer's (now being called type 3 diabetes by some researchers), and cancer. She then covers how to diagnose it — fasting insulin, C-peptide, HOMA-IR, hemoglobin A1C, fasting glucose, and a comprehensive metabolic panel — what the optimal (not just "normal") fasting insulin range looks like, and exactly what to do to reverse it: a low-carbohydrate diet starting with protein, healthy fats, and vegetables; weight-bearing exercise that builds new insulin receptors; prioritizing sleep; managing stress; and targeted supplementation with chromium, magnesium, vitamin D, zinc, and berberine. Timestamps: 0:00 — Introduction: why insulin resistance is being missed 0:58 — The limits of standard screening: hemoglobin A1C and fasting glucose aren't enough 2:25 — Millions are insulin resistant for 10–20 years before diabetes is diagnosed 3:30 — How insulin works: the key-and-lock mechanism explained 4:22 — What happens when receptors stop responding 5:17 — Why fasting insulin and C-peptide are the smoke detectors for diabetes 7:20 — Myth: you have to be overweight to be insulin resistant 7:47 — Early warning signs: fatigue after eating, brain fog, belly fat, sugar cravings 10:42 — Belly fat, waking up hungry, and why cells starve while blood sugar stays high 11:25 — Mood swings, sleep disturbances, and downstream hormone disruption 12:31 — Women: irregular periods, PCOS, infertility, miscarriage 13:01 — Men: low testosterone, erectile dysfunction, muscle loss 13:30 — Visible skin signs: skin tags, darkening around the neck and armpits 13:53 — Diseases linked to insulin resistance beyond diabetes 15:03 — Alzheimer's as type 3 diabetes: the insulin-brain connection 15:36 — What causes insulin resistance: diet, lifestyle, visceral fat, toxins, steroids 16:57 — How to diagnose it: the full panel Dr. Lara orders and why 18:13 — HOMA-IR: using fasting glucose and fasting insulin together 18:48 — What a fasting insulin over 10 means — even when it's "normal" 20:43 — How to reverse insulin resistance: diet first 21:53 — The low-carb approach: protein, healthy fat, vegetables — no fruit initially 24:05 — Exercise: weight-bearing movement builds new insulin receptors 25:24 — Sleep, stress, and the cortisol-insulin connection 27:41 — Nutrient deficiencies: vitamin D, chromium, magnesium, zinc 29:05 — Chromium dosing, berberine, and supplement guidance 31:48 — Emotional eating and the deeper root Dr. Lara addresses 33:40 — Why children and teenagers are developing insulin resistance 36:09 — Closing: insulin resistance is reversible — and Dr. Lara has the proof To find out whether insulin resistance is driving your symptoms, Dr. Lara offers a complimentary 15-minute phone consultation at Raíces Naturopathic Medical Center — schedule at raicesndmedcenter.com.

Who has been a guest on Physician, Heal Thyself The Podcast

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Dr Nallely Ibarra
• Joey Salinas
• Judy Salinas
• Pastor Judy
• Pastor Judy Salinas

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

3,603

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

2 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

4 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 46 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

50

Social presence

0

YouTube

74

Engagement

32

Contact Physician, Heal Thyself The Podcast

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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