Habits and Hustle

Episode 485: Dr. Josh Axe: Why Your Healthy Smoothie is Making You Sick (And What Actually Heals)

September 16, 2025

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  • Many common lifestyle issues cannot be fixed solely through supplements, as stress and emotional/spiritual health are fundamental drivers of physical illness. 
  • For individuals with hypothyroidism, consuming cooling foods like smoothies and salads can exacerbate the condition, which is fundamentally a deficiency in 'qi and yang' (mitochondrial function) requiring warming foods like soups. 
  • The Biblio Diet differs from the Paleo diet by being rooted in creationist beliefs rather than evolution, and it emphasizes stewardship, leading to recommendations like avoiding pork and shellfish due to documented toxicity, while also prioritizing organic, grass-fed, and biblically-slaughtered animal products. 
  • A strong sense of identity and purpose, often rooted in a Judeo-Christian worldview, is presented as a crucial natural alternative for those struggling with depression, contrasting with Eastern meditation practices focused on emptying the mind. 
  • Natural alternatives to SSRIs include finding purpose, living by God's design (circadian rhythms), prioritizing movement, social connection, prayer, and adopting a lower-carb, higher-fat diet rich in omega-3s. 
  • Organ meats are nature's ultimate multivitamins, providing essential peptides and nutrients like B vitamins and iron, and eating the organ corresponding to an ailment (e.g., heart for heart issues) follows the principle of 'like heals like'. 

Segments

Supplement Cycling and Adaptogens
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(00:03:06)
  • Key Takeaway: Adaptogens are classified by strength, with stronger ones like Panax ginseng requiring shorter cycles than milder ones like ashwagandha or cordyceps.
  • Summary: Strong adaptogens like Panax ginseng may only be used for a few weeks or months before cycling off, while others like ashwagandha and cordyceps can be used long-term. Ashwagandha is a nightshade, which can cause issues for sensitive individuals. Reishi mushroom is noted as an adaptogen that can be taken almost indefinitely due to its benefits in lowering cortisol and supporting sleep.
Lifestyle Over Supplementation
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(00:07:24)
  • Key Takeaway: Supplements cannot fix underlying mental, emotional, or lifestyle issues, and over-supplementation can lead to diminishing returns.
  • Summary: Trying to supplement one’s way out of mental or emotional lifestyle problems is ineffective, as stress is the number one factor making people sick, followed by diet. Chronic over-scheduling common in high-productivity lifestyles burns out the body, often manifesting as issues like hypothyroidism in women who are constantly busy.
Thyroid Health and Diet
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(00:08:33)
  • Key Takeaway: For hypothyroidism, warming foods like soups and teas are recommended over cooling foods like smoothies and salads to support low body temperature and adrenal function.
  • Summary: Thyroid issues often stem from adrenal problems or cortisol imbalances, or liver/gut conversion issues affecting T3 levels. Long-term use of contraceptive drugs significantly increases the risk of hypothyroidism by depleting essential nutrients like B vitamins, selenium, and zinc needed for methylation.
Adrenal Fatigue and Cortisol
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(00:11:21)
  • Key Takeaway: Cortisol is the master hormone impacted by stress, and imbalances directly disrupt all other hormones, including insulin, estrogen, testosterone, and thyroid hormones.
  • Summary: Adrenal fatigue is often diagnosed by testing four-point saliva cortisol levels throughout the day. High or low cortisol at the wrong time elevates insulin, which subsequently throws off the entire endocrine system. Fixing cortisol through lifestyle habits is key, as ‘more is not more’ when it comes to activity and stress.
Stress, Emotion, and Disease
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(00:13:49)
  • Key Takeaway: Consistent emotional states, often rooted in childhood experiences, drive stress and disease in specific organ systems according to traditional medicine frameworks.
  • Summary: Stress is considered the number one factor causing illness, impacting doctor visits 80% of the time, often more significantly than diet alone. Specific negative emotions correlate with organ system distress: fear affects adrenals/kidneys, worry affects digestion, and anxiety impacts the heart and blood pressure.
Dr. Axe’s Healing Journey
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(00:18:39)
  • Key Takeaway: Dr. Axe’s approach evolved from fitness/nutrition to functional medicine, integrating ancient wisdom like Chinese medicine and biblical medicine for comprehensive healing.
  • Summary: His mother’s dual cancer diagnoses spurred deeper study beyond conventional and bodybuilding nutrition, leading him to functional medicine, Chinese medicine, and biblical medicine principles. Ancient systems like Chinese medicine offer personalized frameworks that address diet, herbs, lifestyle, and emotions, contrasting with modern medicine’s relatively short history.
Biblical Diet vs. Paleo
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(00:25:32)
  • Key Takeaway: The Biblio Diet is based on creationist principles, differing from Paleo which is evolution-based, and it emphasizes eating according to unique body composition rather than following broad trends.
  • Summary: Dr. Axe is not strictly a Paleo advocate; the Biblio Diet focuses on what aligns with God’s design, which includes avoiding pork and shellfish, similar to kosher laws, but goes further by emphasizing organic and pasture-raised sourcing. Grass-fed meat is considered more critical than organic certification due to the superior nutritional profile (more Omega-3s, amino acids, vitamins) in grass-fed animals.
Biblical Diet Superfoods
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(00:35:12)
  • Key Takeaway: Ancient sourdough bread made from sprouted, stone-ground ancient grains is considered beneficial because fermentation neutralizes phytic acid, unlocking nutrients.
  • Summary: Key components of the Biblio Diet that challenge modern trends include red meat, salt, and raw dairy. Modern bread is often villainized because it uses hybridized, stripped grains fortified with synthetic vitamins, whereas ancient bread was fermented sourdough, which makes nutrients bioavailable.
Raw Milk and A1 Casein
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(00:39:36)
  • Key Takeaway: Modern cow’s milk often contains inflammatory A1 casein, similar to gluten, which is absent in raw, unpasteurized milk from A2-dominant animals like goats or sheep.
  • Summary: Pasteurization destroys beneficial enzymes and bacteria necessary for digestion, and homogenization denatures fats, making modern milk unhealthy compared to historically consumed raw, fermented dairy. Jordan Rubin famously reversed Crohn’s and colitis consuming almost exclusively raw goat’s milk kefir.
Jordan Rubin’s Healing Stories
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(00:42:31)
  • Key Takeaway: Jordan Rubin healed severe Crohn’s and colitis through a 40-day protocol emphasizing fermented dairy, raw meat, and intense prayer, and later healed testicular cancer using a similar diet and spiritual focus.
  • Summary: Crohn’s and colitis prevalence in the Jewish community is linked to unresolved grief, which impacts the lower digestive system according to Chinese medicine principles. Rubin’s cancer healing involved a ketogenic-like diet (raw dairy, avocado, salmon) combined with daily prayer, anointing with oils, and laying on of hands.
Antidepressants and Purpose
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(00:51:07)
  • Key Takeaway: The overuse of psychiatric medication for children and adolescents is a growing pandemic, often masking underlying issues like misdiagnosed ADHD or a lack of spiritual purpose.
  • Summary: Drugs cannot heal root causes of chronic conditions like hypothyroidism or autoimmune disease; they only change lab numbers. A lack of purpose, identity, and spiritual grounding, particularly outside the Judeo-Christian worldview, contributes significantly to rising rates of depression and anxiety.
Purpose and Spiritual Worldview
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(00:54:01)
  • Key Takeaway: A lack of purpose and identity, often stemming from non-Judeo-Christian worldviews or Eastern spiritual emptiness practices, contributes to depression.
  • Summary: The speaker contrasts the Judeo-Christian view of filling oneself with the Spirit of God and meditating on positive concepts with Eastern meditation aimed at achieving zero thought. A strong sense of purpose, tied to loving others and making the world better, fuels well-being. Nihilism results when individuals believe there is no eternity or higher calling.
Natural Antidepressant Alternatives
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(00:56:47)
  • Key Takeaway: The single biggest missing element for those on antidepressant medication is finding identity and purpose, followed by living by God’s design, movement, and social connection.
  • Summary: Natural mood support involves finding identity by attaching oneself to something or someone, adhering to natural rhythms like sun exposure, ensuring consistent movement to support neurotransmitters, and engaging in deep, intimate conversations with trusted people. Dietarily, a lower-carb, higher-fat, higher-protein approach with ample omega-3s is recommended.
Saffron as Antidepressant
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(00:58:48)
  • Key Takeaway: Saffron, at a clinical dose of around 88.5 milligrams, has shown efficacy in double-blind studies as a natural mood improver, second only to exercise.
  • Summary: Saffron is cited as one of the most powerful natural antidepressants, though it is expensive. The effective dosage identified in clinical research is approximately 88.5 milligrams. Changing one’s environment by going for a walk is also noted as the number one mood shifter that works every time.
Essential Oils for Health
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(01:00:37)
  • Key Takeaway: Essential oils like lavender for sleep, holy basil (Tulsi) for stress relief, and citrus oils for calming effects offer tangible benefits when used topically.
  • Summary: Essential oils are beneficial parts of daily life, with lavender showing effectiveness for sleep (about one drop/60mg dose). Holy basil acts as a natural adaptogen for stress relief, and citrus oils like orange oil have been studied for calming patients during surgery. Frankincense is noted for potential immune support and anti-inflammatory properties when paired with turmeric.
Fats and Personalized Diet
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(01:03:53)
  • Key Takeaway: Coconut oil and beef tallow are excellent topical moisturizers due to their saturated fat composition, but dietary fat choice must be highly individualized based on body type.
  • Summary: Coconut oil is recommended as a great moisturizer because its saturated fat profile aligns well with skin composition, and beef tallow is similar due to its animal origin. The speaker emphasizes that blanket statements about seed oils are inaccurate, as cold-pressed seed oils like flax or sesame can be healthy for some individuals. Personal thriving dictates whether one benefits more from saturated fats like butter/tallow or monounsaturated fats like olive oil.
Cancer Diet and Organ Meats
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(01:05:52)
  • Key Takeaway: Gerson therapy for cancer involves flooding the body with nutrients via juiced vegetables and raw beef liver, supporting detoxification and high enzyme intake to break down senescent cells.
  • Summary: In Chinese medicine, cancer is linked to stagnation, requiring movement and nutrient flooding; Gerson therapy utilized juiced raw calf liver for this purpose due to its nutrient density. Proteolytic enzymes are beneficial for breaking down cancer cells, and combining turmeric and ginger supports this process. Organ meats are the single most missing food group in modern society, providing natural peptides.
Peptides and Organ Therapy
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(01:08:10)
  • Key Takeaway: Peptides like BPC157 and Thymosin Alpha-1 are natural compounds found in organs, meaning eating glandulars like liver and thyroid gland is the ancestral way to obtain these benefits.
  • Summary: Peptides are naturally occurring compounds found in organs; for example, BPC157 is in gastric juices, and thymulin is in the thymus gland. Natural thyroid medications like Armour are derived from beef and pig thyroid glands, illustrating the ’like heals like’ principle. Consuming organ meats like liver and heart provides high levels of B vitamins, iron, CoQ10, and peptides, benefiting specific organs.
Reversing Type 2 Diabetes
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(01:13:27)
  • Key Takeaway: Type 2 diabetes can be rapidly reversed through a diet of high protein, high fiber, moderate fat, and lower carbs (mostly meat and vegetables), supplemented with Berberine, Chromium, Vitamin D, Magnesium, and specific herbal teas.
  • Summary: The plan for reversing Type 2 diabetes involves a specific dietary structure supplemented with Berberine (500mg per meal), chromium picolinate, Vitamin D, and magnesium. Daily herbal tea blends containing cinnamon, fenugreek, and gymnema, combined with exercise, lead to quick reversal in many patients. This lifestyle approach is contrasted with relying on medications like GLP-1s, which often result in ‘skinny fat’ by causing muscle loss.
Tongue Diagnosis and Eczema
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(01:28:19)
  • Key Takeaway: The tongue provides a diagnostic map where features like bite marks indicate digestive deficiency, a pale color suggests anemia, and an orange-yellow coating on the back points to damp heat in the large intestine, which causes eczema.
  • Summary: In Chinese medicine, tongue diagnosis reveals internal imbalances; ridges suggest spleen/digestive weakness, and paleness indicates blood deficiency requiring red meat and steamed greens. Damp heat (yeast/bacterial overgrowth plus inflammation) in the large intestine is the cause of eczema, treatable with herbs like sarsparilla or chrysanthemum for liver heat. Over-exercising or high cortisol can exacerbate skin inflammation.
Longevity Practices for the 50s
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(01:39:11)
  • Key Takeaway: Five key longevity practices for those in their 50s include prioritizing spiritual growth, building deep community relationships, optimizing breakfast for protein/fiber, engaging in consistent exercise (especially racket sports), and maximizing time spent outdoors.
  • Summary: Longevity requires a spiritual growth practice and actively building community through serving others, such as weekly brunches. Breakfast should be changed to nutrient-dense options like a pumpkin smoothie with protein powder and spices. Consistent exercise is vital, with racket sports like tennis showing high longevity benefits for brain coordination, though walking remains the most accessible exercise.