Episode 225
Lé Santha Naidoo:Why High-Achieving Women Struggle to Ask for Help (And How It's Making You Sick)
Lé Santha Naidoo:
Why High-Achieving Women Struggle to Ask for Help (And How It's Making You Sick)
Dr. Lé Santha Naidoo, a triple-board certified physician and author of "Fat to Fabulous," shares her personal healing journey from childhood trauma to medical school, revealing how high achievers often struggle to ask for help—and how this pattern can impact physical health. She discusses the crucial role of purpose and community in healing beyond traditional medicine.
First Aired on: Jan 5, 2026
Episode 225
Lé Santha Naidoo:Why High-Achieving Women Struggle to Ask for Help (And How It's Making You Sick)
Lé Santha Naidoo:
Why High-Achieving Women Struggle to Ask for Help (And How It's Making You Sick)
Dr. Lé Santha Naidoo, a triple-board certified physician and author of "Fat to Fabulous," shares her personal healing journey from childhood trauma to medical school, revealing how high achievers often struggle to ask for help—and how this pattern can impact physical health. She discusses the crucial role of purpose and community in healing beyond traditional medicine.
First Aired on: Jan 5, 2026
Table of Contents:
Table of Contents:
In this episode:
In this episode:
Introduction
Dr. Lé Santha Naidoo is a triple-board certified physician in Family Medicine, Integrative and Holistic Medicine, and Obesity Medicine. She's the founder of the Avyanna Wellness Institute and author of the bestselling book "Fat to Fabulous." In this episode, she joins me to talk about how high achievers often struggle to ask for help and the impact this has on our physical health and healing.
Episode Highlights
Dr. Naidoo's Early Trauma and Its Lasting Impact
Dr. Naidoo shares how childhood trauma, including her grandfather's suicide when she was young, shaped her into a caretaker who struggled to receive help.
- Her grandfather's death when she was two created early patterns of isolation and self-reliance
- Michael Jackson's "Heal the World" became her life's anthem from a young age
- She became overweight as a child and remained so through medical school despite having medical knowledge
- These experiences drove her toward functional medicine to address root causes rather than symptoms
The Nine-Year Medical Mystery That Changed Everything
A car accident during pregnancy led to years of undiagnosed pain that ultimately taught her the importance of community and receiving help.
- Lost her first pregnancy at 20 weeks due to a major car accident
- Suffered nine years of back pain that multiple specialists couldn't diagnose
- The pain was actually an abdominal injury requiring surgery, not a back problem
- During recovery, her community showed up in ways she never expected, accelerating her healing
Learning to Receive Help and Allow Community Support
The surgery recovery became a pivotal moment in understanding the healing power of community and the necessity of allowing others to help.
- Always saw herself as the healer and giver, never expecting anything in return
- Boss offered to take kids to classes, patients brought food, people offered companionship
- Realized she had defense mechanisms preventing her from receiving help
- Community support significantly sped up her physical and emotional healing process
The Connection Between Purpose and Physical Health
Dr. Naidoo explains how loss of purpose can manifest as physical symptoms, including anxiety and other health issues.
- Helped a patient realize her "anxiety" was actually loss of purpose as an empty nester
- Purpose can evolve throughout different life stages and seasons
- Start discovering purpose by identifying what brings you joy and childhood memories
- Purpose doesn't have to be one thing - it can be a feeling like giving or contributing
The Body Keeps the Score: How Trauma Affects Physical Health
Physical symptoms often have deeper roots in unprocessed life experiences and emotional patterns.
- References the book "The Body Keeps the Score" and its impact on understanding trauma
- Life experiences affect how our body processes stress and symptoms
- Healing requires addressing both physical and emotional/psychological aspects
- Home visits and non-traditional settings reveal relationship dynamics that impact health
From "Fat to Fabulous" - The Weight Loss Journey
Dr. Naidoo shares her personal transformation and the lessons learned about sustainable health practices.
- Struggled with weight from childhood through medical training despite medical knowledge
- Initial weight goal of 125 pounds made people concerned she looked sick
- Found her "happy weight" 10 pounds heavier where she feels comfortable and can maintain lifestyle
- Emphasizes the importance of muscle preservation and metabolic health over just weight
Notable Quotes from this Episode
True health is real wealth. You cannot be the wealthiest person and sick and miserable. When you're truly living healthfully, joyfully with purpose, and showing up the way your best self should show up, that's the real wealth.
Dr. Lé Santha Naidoo
You are only healthful and well if you're joyful. If you feel like you're constantly restricted or you're having an entire meal full of supplements, or you have to be so perfectly good then I don't want to live that way.
Dr. Lé Santha Naidoo
We spend so much time and energy on supplements, on expensive treatments, on pharmaceuticals. But yet we don't leverage what we've learned growing up. What nature provides for us provides so much more healing than all of these other things with less time.
Dr. Lé Santha Naidoo
Other Resources:
Other Resources:
Connect with Lé Santha Naidoo
Connect with Lé Santha Naidoo
Watch this interview:
Watch this interview:
Episode Transcript
LeSantha Naidoo:[00:00:00] what became clear was the impact of grief, of trauma, of all of these other things that had to be processed and dealt with. And even at the moment, I didn't know what it was it really was a process to get to that point, and that was a part of my healing journey.
Julie Howton: Welcome back to The Inspired Living with Autoimmunity podcast. I'm your host, Julie Houghton, and today we're joined by Dr. Lasantha [00:01:00] Nadu Award-winning concierge physician renowned for her transformative approach to health and wellness with triple board certifications in family medicine. Integrative and holistic medicine and obesity medicine.
She specializes in age management and cellular health optimization. As the founder of the Aviana Wellness Institute, Dr. Nadu introduced the 100 club and exclusive community emphasizing health optimization, prevention, and personal care. In her bestselling book, bad To Fabulous, she shares her personal journey of overcoming adversity to inspire others.
In today's conversation, we are discussing the importance of a truly personalized approach to wellness and the impact that joy, connection, and purpose have on our health and daily experiences have on longevity.
Dr. Welcome to the podcast.
LeSantha Naidoo: I am so excited to be here, Julie, because [00:02:00] I just enjoy so much to share my story and share with others, uh, the experiences that have led me to where I am and how it can help them in their health and wellness journey, which is amazing.
Julie Howton: That's why we do this, right? So I, I think, um, so many of us are, found our path on our healing journeys by leaning into somebody else's.
Story. So like so many physicians that I've had on the podcast, I don't think you started out in the functional integrative space. Um, can you share a bit of your journey that, that, you know, led you to become such a, a leader in the, what I would call the true wellness space?
LeSantha Naidoo: Actually, I am a little unique in that I did start off my journey in the functional integrative space.
I did my training within residency, uh, because I knew wow, that it is the healing path and journey that I wanna take. It's also the reason why I chose to be an osteopath. Uh, [00:03:00] but my journey starts when I was really young. You know, when I was two years old, I saw a commercial on TV for Kit Kat bars, and I threw a tantrum.
I needed it. I want Kitty Catt. I need Kitty Catt. My grandfather, he scoured the city of Durban to find me a big box of Kit Kat bars. Oh boy. And I ate them all and I loved them. Mm-hmm. My mother said since then, my belly came out, never went back in. So I was overweight through childhood adulthood and through my training, honestly.
But. A couple years later, uh, I remember being woken in the middle of the night. My parents bundles us in the car. We were driving to my grandparents' house, and air was different. It wasn't a joyful place, you know? Mm-hmm. That usually think of. And remember with our grandparents, it was very dark and calm, somber.
And my grandfather had taken his life, oh, I didn't really know what it meant at the time, but within 24 hours. He [00:04:00] was cremated in the backyard. Huge, larger than life. Red flames. I remember my grandfa grandmother, excuse me. Um, just so tearful, right. Crying. Oh, sure. S of tears in my mother standing next to her just stoic and strong.
Right. And all I could think was I was, was my grandfather. Sure. You know? And. Just after that, Michael Jackson had released the song Heal the World, and that somehow just latched on and it became the anthem of my life, right? Heal the World, make it a better place for you and for me. And the end entire human race there are.
People dying. If you care enough for the living, make a better place for you and for me. But when I went to medical school, right, and I thought I found the solution, I realized very quickly that. [00:05:00] Medicine is very reactive. Yes. It's about diagnosis and diseases and prescriptions. And I knew because I struggled, I, despite being a doctor, right, graduating from medical school, I was still tired, fat, sick.
Right. Yeah. And that's what led me down during residency, my integrative medicine fellowship, functional medicine training, and obesity medicine as well, honestly, to be able to help myself because the system was not helping me. Yeah. Amazing.
Julie Howton: Ah, see, so you were one of those, those brilliant, um, physicians who got it, you know, pretty early on as you were going through, which is, which is incredible.
Yeah. And for those that are listening on audio, and this is a perfect time to, because you share this journey in your book, fat. Fabulous. Yes. Um, and so the, for those listening on audio, you know, there there is a fit, slender, beautiful woman sitting [00:06:00] across from me who just radiates health and wellness. So obviously you have found the formula, or at least for you, um, can you share a little bit about the, and again, I, it makes so much sense the.
Uh, you know, you resonating with Heal the World and, and putting the book out there and, and because I, I really do feel like. To, uh, that's the way we create the big change we need to create I is by sharing our journeys. Um, so can you you share a little bit of that? 'cause I know that now you, you work with a select few, um, patients, uh, uh, with highest level of care.
Uh, but I'm, I would imagine that your journey has informed your approach.
LeSantha Naidoo: Yes. You know, there were so many, um, uh. Things that happen in life, right. That, that play a role. You know, another, um, [00:07:00] major event that impacted my health, wellbeing and even how I show up for other people is, uh, when I was pregnant with my first son, um, at about 20 weeks, uh, of gestation, we were in a pretty major car accident.
Oh. And, um, we, I was actually driving to my OB appointment and. All of a sudden we see this car just swerving all the way in front of us and boom, our car was smashed. My husband was panicked, right? He was like, sure, didn't know what to do, and I was previously in EMT, so I just went into EMT mode, right?
Calm, you know, protect the baby. That's the number one thing. And I couldn't get out of the car. So very calmly, I just told him, Hey, get out. Call 9 1 1. And he, he was just so panicked. He, he was paralyzed, right? So finally I told him I can't move. Right? [00:08:00] You've gotta do this. He didn't run. So he gets outta the car.
Call 9 1 1. We get to the hospital and you know, being a healthcare provider, you kind of end being in emergency medicine at one point. Right. You know, the signals that kind of go along. So one of the first things they, they did was an ultrasound and they. Couldn't find the baby's heartbeat. She didn't wanna tell me that.
Right. Yeah, that I knew. But you know, you were, I didn't wanna say, you know, to protect my husband at the time, and especially being the first child, right. That that was a very devastating moment. But besides that moment being devastating, the years that followed, honestly, nine years beyond that, I had back pain that just wouldn't go away.
All the imaging was normal. You know, I saw every specialist. I'm an osteopath, I've been treated with osteopathic manipulation, all sorts of other, uh, healing [00:09:00] modalities, and that pain just never went away. And finally, I. It got to a point, and it was actually during my weight loss journey that the symptoms had worsened.
Mm. In the meantime, I'm going through a legal battle with the insurance company because they refuse to pay for anything because they believed that I'm a physician and because I'm well-versed in healthcare, that I'm gaming the system. Oh, gosh, I'm scamming the system because there was no evidence that something was wrong.
There came a point a few years ago, actually, in 2023, my grandmother was visiting. She was, uh, 84 years old at the time, and she was here for her birthday and I was determined, I'm going to give her the time of her life, have her experience things that. I believe she would never experience it all. So I took her indoor skydiving and as she, my gosh, she's like, you know, I'm definitely afraid of heights.
Why'd you just, why'd you agree [00:10:00] to do this? And she says, well, because I, the one thing I've learned in my life is I have to face my fears. And not only did she do that skydiving, she did the high flight on that indoor skydiving. Wow. We went jet skiing. We went horseback riding, but. She was ready and willing and able to go back again and again, but.
I struggled to get up and say, because my back was, was killing me, right? Mm-hmm. And I had young children. I don't want my children to be growing up with, with a mother that can't do these things with them. So that, that was sure, very emotional moment for me, but also part in time in my weight loss journey where all of a sudden my symptoms had worsened when it should have gotten better.
Right, and, and it took a multidisciplinary care team to finally come. As a physician, I couldn't diagnose myself, right? My specialist had a hard time, but ultimately we got down to a few different roots. One [00:11:00] was, it was actually not a back injury. It was actually an abdominal injury, and so I needed surgery and I needed time to heal from that.
But also what, and what became clear was the impact of grief, of trauma, of all of these other things that had to be processed and dealt with. And even at the moment, I didn't know what it was, you know? Right. It really was a process to get to that point, and that was a part of my healing journey. Fast forward.
I ultimately had the surgery after a lot of humming and hawing of, oh, well, I've dealt with it for so long already. How can I take 12 weeks off of work? Who's going to help me? It's gonna be too much for the husband. Um, but again, that, that instance with my grandmother was just the, you know, yeah. Male, essentially.
Sure. And I went ahead and to me, the most fascinating thing happened was that when I went through the surgery. My community came forward to me. I [00:12:00] always see myself as the healer. As I'm the giver. I help others. That's what brings me joy. Right? Sure. I never expect anything in return. And here I had my boss offering to take the kids for their classes, patients bringing food over, you know, for the family.
Sure. People offering to just sit outside with me just to get some fresh air as I'm recovering. People that I didn't even consider necessarily to be in my community. Right. Just showed up.
Julie Howton: Yeah. And
LeSantha Naidoo: that sped up the healing process. That is what really helped me stay joyful, stay present, remind myself of the purpose and, and the value of having people in a community around you.
And, and that was, you know, probably a pivotal moment career-wise. Right. Because yes. All of these stories and, and the healing from these stories and these journeys that we [00:13:00] all have and we all experience that goes beyond the prescription, the diagnosis. Yes. You know, and, and, and things like that. And, you know, a lot of people thought when I put out Fat to Fabulous, they thought this is a.
Uh, a weight loss manual. Gotcha. And it's, it's, it's really, it's all my stories. It's your journey. Yeah. It was my journey and I put it down for my own healing, first of all, but also in hopes that other people see themselves and say, okay, you know, how could I apply this in, in my own life? Or, you know, how could I think about this maybe differently?
Or, you know. What the value of a 10 minute walk out in the sunshine, barefoot, you know, on the ground, how healing that can be for the immune system, the cardiovascular system, the, you know, the nervous system, [00:14:00] all of these things. We spend so much time and energy on supplements, on, you know, expensive treatments on pharmaceuticals.
But yet we don't leverage what we've learned growing up. Yeah. What, what nature provides for us. And that provides so much more healing Yes. Than all of these other things with less time, I believe, you know? Yeah.
Julie Howton: Well if it's just incorporated, I mean, it, it's incorporated in the day. Exactly. I, I wanna ask you, um, 'cause something came up for me listening to that, that healing journey.
Uh, I'm gonna start with just a, a, a question before the experience with the surgery and really realizing how community, you know, would show up for you, um, throughout your life, did, had you learned to allow others, because I, it's [00:15:00] so common for the caretaker. To, you know, I got it all and I, I, I'm, I'm good. I don't need help.
I, you know, and I, I have found for so many of us on Healing Journeys, realizing it usually out of necessity. Um, but, but that allowing others to help.
LeSantha Naidoo: Yeah.
Julie Howton: You know, not only is it a gift, allow
LeSantha Naidoo: yourself to receive in general Yes. That receiving and, and, um, that's a great question because. And again, it's something that I.
Realized after the aha moment, right Uhhuh? Sure. I grew up with strong community. I grew up in apartheid, South Africa. Um, and you know, with the apartheid regime regime and the segregation, isolation, communities had to stick together. Sure. My aunts and uncles were like my parents. Right. My cousins were like my siblings.
My [00:16:00] neighbors were like my aunts and uncles. You know, that's how we grew up. But yet over the course of time, the, the thoughts, the beliefs, the, the patterns of thinking, and this is again, such a, a huge thing that I, I talk to my patients about creep in, of I have to be strong, I have to be resilient. I have, you know, all of these things and block out those initial moments that we may have gathered.
And some people may not have experienced that, but realize the value because they have not experienced that. Right. Right. So, so for me. Now I, I look back and I realize, you know, it was almost a defense mechanism, right? I was too survival. It still, right? As a young child, I was isolated because in, in elementary school, I was the first person of color in an all white school.
So I didn't look like the, the kids there. I didn't talk like them. I didn't live where they lived. I didn't bring the same lunch they brought and, and [00:17:00] even, you know, my mother instilled. At such a young age. About preservatives, colorants additives. So they're having these juices and, and cookies and stuff that even that I'm not allowed to have, you know, it's always completely, it's okay, let them have the Kit Kats, I was a completely different person.
Sure. And you know, so, so I had realized that my defense mechanism was do what I do best, which is to give. Right. Do I? Yeah, that's your in. Exactly that young age that I take care of people and that's, that's what I do. And, and it wasn't even about, you know, again, the, the availability of help, you know, right.
From a lot of people and, you know, for most people who have access to listen to podcasts, right? Mm-hmm. Even, even if you didn't have a, you know, parent sibling [00:18:00] close friend. Most of us have the ability to hire help, right? That, that availability is there, but we have to be able, be able to allow yes, access and to allow ourselves to receive.
And, and this is, I actually, um, am selective of the patients that I, that I sure, uh, enroll in my program because. I need patients to understand that, again, for me, it is not a quick fix. It is not about, you know, you have high blood pressure, here's a prescription for lisinopril. Right? We really dig deeper into all of these aspects of relationships, of communication, of, uh, community, of purpose, of, um.
Giving back, you know, and, and we do events together and, and we have a community amongst us, um, to, uh, promote those aspects of wellness and healing.
Julie Howton: Yeah. Which is [00:19:00] so amazing. And, and you mentioned a couple times the word purpose, um, and is one of the reasons I was so excited. To, to, to speak with you, um, because these are, these are the things that, that I say we warn people at our clinic, like this is part of wellness.
Mm-hmm. Um, but I find it, it's heartbreaking how many people when they first step through the door and you ask about purpose and they just glaze over. They don't, they're out of touch with purpose or they, you know, they, I mean it's like just something they haven't even considered. Yeah. Um, you know, so, so I wanna talk a little bit about that.
You know, we, we talk a lot about Blue zones. I know you do. You do too. Um, and, and I love the, again, that's why I got goosebumps. 'cause it's the. You know, back to nature, right? Yes. You mentioned walking [00:20:00] barefoot in the sunlight. You know, it's like, it, it, it can be that simple uhhuh of living, how we were designed to live, which includes community and purpose.
Yeah. And so there's all this, you know, what do they eat in the blue zones and what do they. But purpose is such a big part of the longevity factor. Yeah. Yeah. In those communities, A and commun and you can't separate. Right. It's like the body. We can't just treat one system.
LeSantha Naidoo: Exactly. It's
Julie Howton: not just purpose, it's also community together.
Yeah.
LeSantha Naidoo: Yes. Yeah. You know, this is something, um, it took me a while to understand, and a friend of mine had pointed out, he said to me, he says, you know, you were so lucky because you clearly. Had a sense of purpose from very young. He, he's, he's been fr a friend of mine for decades and, and so, you know, as I mentioned, I was clear from a very young age how I wanted to show up as a doctor, right?
[00:21:00] And so. So initially it was, it was difficult for me to understand why it is this concept is so foreign to other people. Right. And, and how, how do you bring this up? Or, or kind of into your way there, right? Yeah. And so what I start off with is the basics of what do you enjoy? Yes. Right? What, what brings you joy?
What was. Some of the best memories in your childhood, right? That, because those are the things that, that, you know, uh, that kind of align with purpose for a lot of people. Sure. Uh, and, and sometimes it's not the best thing. Sometimes it is tragedy, like in my case, right? Um, where you, you take the tragedy and you're determined to, to make something different and.
So that's what I start off with, right? Yeah. What brings joy, and [00:22:00] it is fascinating that these days a lot of people struggle. They don't know with that. Yeah. And, and, and then that's my homework for them. Mm-hmm. Start off with that. Try out different things. Speak to people from your past, right. Previous friends, and, and jog your memory of the things.
Take a moment to journal 10 minutes a day and just think about life experiences and, and memories pop up, right? Sure. And to me that's a great place to start off with and, and what brings you joy may have maybe an experience, but it may also be a feeling for me, the feeling of giving Yes. Brings me joy.
Right. That, that is like my zen, my calm is when I'm giving and giving in any way, whether it's giving time, money, you know, food, healthcare, even the contribution. Yeah, exactly. Contributing that, that's my, that brings me zen, right? Yeah. Um. Then start [00:23:00] incorporating those things in your life. And I, I recently, um, actually for my wedding anniversary, I had an event with my patients and my family, and the theme for the event was love, inspiration, and gratitude.
Love it. And so that's how we started off and it was just a social, you know, wine and naps and hang out type of thing. And it was fascinating to hear the stories from my patients afterwards. Right. I mean, one aspect was the aha moment of Oh wow, you actually walk the walk that you tell us. Right? Which was kind of cool.
You're living it. Yep. You really didn't think that I was, that was actually a huge part of why I started. My practice the way I did because I felt like I had to be authentic in that way. Right? Sure. But you know, the second thing, there was a patient that came, uh, to me for a visit afterwards and um, she told me, she called me up, she says, you know, Dr.
Knight, I've been experiencing some anxiety lately. And so I said, okay, [00:24:00] let's go meet on this walking trail. You know, we'll go take a walk together. And she was like, really? I said, yeah. You know, you, you said anxiety brought yourself some fresh air, some movement, some sunlight and some connection. Tag.
Connection. Yep. Much better than having the computer screen between us. So we go for this walk and she said to me, she says, you know, I thought, I thought my anxiety was coming from, there was something that happened in the news that resonated with her and she thought that was building up her anxiety. And she says, I, I, and I feel like I'm an anxious person and.
In hearing you talk, the realization was she was a new empty nestos. Well, she says, I have lost touch with my sense of purpose and that's what was creating my anxiety. Sure. So as my children are leaving their home, my husband travels a lot. Um, in that moment as you were speaking, I realized it's not true clinical anxiety.[00:25:00]
Right. It's that I have lost my way toward my purpose. Right. And you know, for me to hear that coming from her instead of me being the one to bring it out. Right. Yeah. Right. Is it, it just felt like such a triumph in that moment. And where she said to me is, you know, I started off thinking I needed, she was on medication previously.
She said, I started off thinking I needed to get back on medication, but after hearing you and thinking about this and. Thinking about what I wanna do, uh, I, I've realized that medication is not what I need right now. Yeah. And so, you know, I prompted her a little bit more and asked, um, so what have you come up with?
Right. Yeah. And she says, and this was an interesting 'cause I'd never heard this from anybody before. She said, what I had realized is my, my purpose now is different than my purpose in my younger days. Sure. And, um, you know, [00:26:00] even that was an eyeopening moment for me because, you know, not all
Julie Howton: of us have that one.
LeSantha Naidoo: Exactly. And I ha I haven't had that. I'm sure at some point, we'll, maybe, but I haven't experienced that. Right. Yeah. And so she says, so now I have to go back and think about. You know? Yeah. What is my purpose in Drive now? And, and we did talk about, you know, what did she do for work? And, and she made it clear.
She said, I don't wanna do that anymore. Yeah. It's not what brings me joy anymore. I want to show up differently for the world at this moment. And I'm, we're gonna figure that out.
Julie Howton: Yeah. I, I love the, the see, I love not knowing where we're gonna go when we start the conversation. Um, because I, I really do. Feel like no, there, there aren't enough. Especially when, when you're talking a a about, you know, a physician relationship, but the just not enough conversations about purpose.
And you also, again, 'cause it's all integrated, you talk about joy. [00:27:00] Yes. Um, and it, it is, especially, although I see it a lot in men as well. Uh, for different reasons, but especially, you know, moms who have raised kids and they find, you know, it is this natural time to, to realize like your purpose, you may need a new purpose or need to adjust.
Um, but that again, it's that blank look of, I don't know, you know, nobody. Taught young mothers, like it's important for you to have joy, right? Like Yes.
LeSantha Naidoo: And, and this is such like, medically, this is such an important thing because, you know, right now I'm gonna say hormones is a buzzword. Yes. Right? Especially for women, even for men, right?
Yeah. Everybody looks like probably one of the most common requests I get is for new patients. Will you check my hormones? Yeah. I'm like, yes, I'll check your hormones, but, but. [00:28:00] That's not always the, and exactly. Yeah, that's many, many, many occasions. The hormones are fine, right? Yeah. There's, and, and, and one of the things that I think about as I'm reviewing data is 'cause I'm very evidence-based.
I'm, I'm data driven. Uh, you know, I was a math major in college. Like the, I'm, I'm a science math major. She's real,
Julie Howton: she likes her numbers.
LeSantha Naidoo: Exactly. So, but, but when. To me, the important thing is to look at patterns. It's not just about one number on the page. Yes. It's about the S of the overall picture. Yeah.
And if the pattern does not fit the clinical picture or if we're doing things that should be helping that. That's not working. Then there's something deeper than that, right? Yeah. Then it's, again, it's not the prescription, the supplement, the diagnosis, it's how is your body processing your experiences. I [00:29:00] don't know if you've heard of, and and for the audience, there's a book called The Body Keeps the Score.
Oh gosh, yeah. And I don't recall the office name, but you know, it's all about the impact of. It's primarily about trauma, but I say all of our life experiences, yes. Whether you perceive it as traumatic or not. I'll be honest, I actually never perceived my grandfather's death as traumatic. I Sure. I, I knew I was aware of it.
I, I never felt. Sad about it as an adult, you know, growing up or anything like that. But it's more, as I dug deeper that the realization of how much this has impacted my life. Yeah.
Julie Howton: Where did this pattern start exactly? Yeah. That,
LeSantha Naidoo: that it, it made a difference. And, and you know, it's one of the reasons why in my practice I choose.
Primarily not to do office visits. I, I try and meet the patient where they're comfortable, right? If they will go with a, with me on a walk, I will take them on a walk. If they will allow me in their home, I'll see them at home because it's the things that. In an [00:30:00] office, I won't see, like I might be, I do osteopathic manipulation, and I did have an experience where I was doing manipulation on a patient and their spouse had walked in and, and asked a very simple question.
It, it was not anything, you know, anything impactful or very simple seemingly question exactly. Then the patient that was in front of me, the way they reacted and responded, I was,
Julie Howton: you got to see the dynamic.
LeSantha Naidoo: Right? Exactly. And so I brought it up to them and I said, Hey, you know, and, and in light of the, the symptoms that they were experiencing, that again, we tried the things that should have worked and didn't work, right.
And I said, okay, this is a very different. Perception dynamic. Why is that? Is that how it is? Always? And he's like, what do you mean? You know, they didn't even realize. They're not
Julie Howton:[00:31:00] aware. Yeah, exactly.
LeSantha Naidoo: And as the, that conversation continued, it became clear and brought back to first a experience in childhood that was relived decades later.
And now the, the thought of. The spouse being like, you know, the person from childhood. Mm-hmm. And that. Changed my entire treatment plan for this individual. Right. Right. Because now it was, we were using prescriptions right now. We moved away from prescriptions. We, different homework. We was doing the physical body with, with manipulation, with physical therapy.
But then he had homework to do right on the side as well. Right. And um. It just that, that combination of all of it is what creates a [00:32:00] significantly better result, you know? Um, and long-term,
Julie Howton: right? Like we're talking about longevity and long-term wellness and true healing from, you know, people are always asking, you know, well, do you think your RA symptoms would ever come back?
And I'm like, well, if I was. Living like I was back then. Sure. Yes. Why wouldn't they back?
LeSantha Naidoo: And, and sometimes that happens, right? Yeah. Sometimes I have who, who had severe, um, RA actually also, uh, and was on biologics, tried everything, couldn't get in remission, DMARDs, biologic, you name it, I mm-hmm. Went through the process and, and, and she was in total remission, not even eating Ibuprofen.
Yeah. Few years later, she comes back to me, this, this is many years ago, she comes back to me and all of a sudden she had a flare up and, and we're both trying to figure out what is going on and. She had, uh, she had a favorite restaurant that she went to. [00:33:00] They changed the ship and she had done her due dil diligence.
Mm-hmm. She still ordered what she always ordered. Right. She asked them was there any changes to the recipe? You know, none of it. No. Yeah. And, um. But then, uh, the next time she went and she was talking to the manager of the restaurant and just explaining this thing, she, she frequented it. So, so she was known, right.
And he said, you know, I think the only change is that the, the chef put paprika for color on the chicken, and she's like. It was the paprika, you know, nightshade sensitive. Yep. Exactly. Exactly. And it's like, okay. But you know, she's now so aware of, of her body. She knows where to look. Right. She knows what to search for.
She knows what she, she. To do, to unread it and sometimes
Julie Howton: it couldn't. It can be a stressor. Yes. Right. It, it doesn't, it doesn't have to be, you know, although that's usually the first place we think is like, what did I eat? You know, [00:34:00] what have I, yeah. But it can be a stressor, it can be a, you know, postviral inflammatory response and, and just like we have patterns, our body has patterns.
LeSantha Naidoo: Exactly. And, and my goal is to teach people. Yes. How do you identify these patterns and how can you know? When is it, do I need to be thinking about my gut? When is it, do I need to be thinking about my hormones? Yeah. When is it, do I need to be just taking a step back and focusing on rest and relaxation to rebalance all of these things?
And this is where I do love, um, trackers, you know? Yes. Things like whoop and the aura ring Well. On many occasions, especially with high functioning people, right? Yeah. Uh, super, um, uh, successful people. A lot of times I hear where I see the evidence that the body is stressed. Yeah. I will hear, but I don't feel it, I don't feel that.
Right. Because it's just their mo it's their, that's their
Julie Howton: typical, [00:35:00] yeah.
LeSantha Naidoo: Yeah. That's, and and this actually was a big aha moment even for me, uh, when I first got my aura ring and I found that my stress levels were worse in my sleep. Yeah. I've never seen this. This is, this is ridiculous. Is this thing even accurate?
You know, like asking myself all these questions. Sure. And it started, it, it, it prompted me then to think about, okay, what am I doing before sleep? Or what's going on when I'm sleeping? And for me it sounds, I'm, I'm not an anxious person at all. So this is not an anxiety thing for, I don't feel I should say, I don't feel this is an anxiety thing for me, but my.
Sleep time is my visionary time. Yes. That's what I'm thinking about. Busy. What do I wanna do with my patients? What do I mm-hmm. What do I wanna do next? Where do I wanna go? You know, like, yeah. That my, my brain is working from that standpoint and it's joyful for me, but apparently my body perceives it as stress.
Right. So now what I do,
Julie Howton: I wanna, hi, sorry. I got excited because that, that's the, you know, we think of stress as bad. Yeah. [00:36:00] And it's not. And we need, so we have to remember that even a positive event. It, it can be a stressor on the body. It doesn't, you know? Yes.
LeSantha Naidoo: And we need stress. Yeah. That's how we grow.
It's not about getting rid of stress, it's about handling, managing how our body perceives the stress. Yes. Right. Yeah. So for me, what I did is I started journaling about. 10, 15 minutes before bed, get old to get it out outta my head, onto paper. And so even at nighttime, then if something creeps in, I can remind myself, okay, I process some of this stuff and, and I'll remember to do it in the morning.
Right? Yeah. I have noticed actually last night was a particularly restful night, yet I didn't sleep for long. I typically say eight to nine hours is what my body loves. Uhhuh. Last night I slept for six hours and I woke up without an alarm before the sunrise. I actually posted something this morning 'cause I'm like, this is.
Unheard of. Yes. I do not wake up before the sun, you know, and [00:37:00] woke up before the sun and enjoyed my walk. Got some meditation, yoga, breathing in, you know, grounding on the, the grass and, and you know, just, it, it changed my day, it changed my outlook. And um, you know, just paying attention to these small details that can have.
Significant impact. Yeah,
Julie Howton: I can, I can totally see that, that I, my very first client when I opened my coaching business, uh, used to get tons of REM and, and like. Literally minutes of deep sleep,
LeSantha Naidoo: Uhhuh
Julie Howton: and same thing. It was 'cause he was, you know, a doer, multiple companies. And, and we laugh at, he is now a, a dear friend and we laugh about it now it's, it's took years of all the things including circadian rhythm.
And, you know, I, but I, I love for, for listeners who are like, huh, that you gave such a [00:38:00] great tip there of like doing that brain dump.
LeSantha Naidoo: Yes.
Julie Howton: Um, they even make for people that, that still may pop with ideas in the middle of the night. They, they make a pen that has a little red light so that you could keep next to the bed, but so that you can, you can write something down, you know, but you're not getting ex you don't have to turn lights on or anything.
Um, share that with
LeSantha Naidoo: me. I've very fun. I will. I never did that. And, and you know, so you, so you bring another great point that, um, I find myself talking to patients a lot about, which is the circadian rhythm. Yeah. And people think about circadian rhythm as just you wake up in sleep time. Right. But circadian rhythm is far beyond that.
It's, it's essentially the entire rhythm of your body that impacts. Every aspect and every system of your body from the moment you wake up and everything you do throughout the day when you eat, how you eat, what you eat, when are you looking at the sunlight? How are you moving throughout the day? [00:39:00] Um, uh, you know, when are you looking at your devices and all of these different things that impact what you know, the middle of the night might look like for you.
Right? And. What I think a lot of people are unaware of. People know generally that insulin and cortisol and, you know, testosterone, like all of these different hormones play a role in our health, and especially with autoimmune stuff or with weight, uh, management or um, uh, you know, all these different things.
But those are the most common things that come up, right? Sure. The important thing about circadian rhythm is that you really are setting your body up from the moment you wake up. Yeah. And even, although I say I never wake up, you know, before the sunrise typically. Yeah, yeah. Uh, you know, I. If I, if I do then, then one of the things I do do is I try and be outside for that first morning light.
[00:40:00] Right? Yeah. Getting that first morning light in your eyes, unfiltered, no glasses, you know, even for your skin, no sunscreen, yeah. Minutes, you're not gonna get skin cancer because of that. There's far more benefits, you know, to that. Sets you up for what the evening looks like, what your hormones look like throughout the day, how your cardiovascular system responds, how your nervous system responds.
So, um, it's important to think. Same thing with the nutritional aspect of it, you know, um, one of the things that drives me nuts is when the, the general thinking of, of intermittent fasting is, oh, I should just skip breakfast and eat dinner at eight o'clock at night. And it's like. It, it's, it's about your circadian rhythm.
It's not just about having 16 hours of No. This one
Julie Howton: thing, right? Yes, yes. You know? Well, and, and it, it is so fascinating when I think of like modern times and how, how astray perhaps we've gotten, but, but the, the, again, it's living with. [00:41:00] Our, our biology. Right? And people want the, and we do fun fancy stuff at the clinic too.
You know, people want the buzzy, shiny, yes. They wanna play with this or try that. And it's like, okay, but you gotta be doing the foundational thing Exactly first.
LeSantha Naidoo: Because the other thing is frankly, they're wasting their money, right? Yes. If your core is not functioning well, then yes, those things can be helpful, but it would be.
Exponentially helpful, you know? Yeah. If, if you're functioning well. But the other thing that I identify with, and another concept that I put a lot of emphasis on, uh, with my patients is that we also can't do everything. And we can't do everything all the time. No. And it's not about perfection. Exactly.
It's about just getting something done that moves the needle forward, that resonates with you, that you can be intentional about that. Um. That fits in your life and the way you [00:42:00] want to live life. And this is one of the reasons that I do integrate traditional medicine with, you know, functional medicine and, and, and, you know, I'm gonna say old world wellness because Yeah.
You know, if, uh, I had a patient, for example, who said to me, Dr. Nadu, I'm on. Diabetes medicine, blood pressure and cholesterol medicine, and I wanna get, I would say great, easy fix. My response
is actually pretty easy. Well, I had a follow up with her, gave her a plan, right? I had a follow up with her in three months just to see, hey, how things going? And she says, you know, I've been so strict with my diet and with doing the movement and the, you know, struggle with some of the supplements, but did most of it and yet her numbers didn't move.
I was like, Hmm, this is interesting, right? Mm-hmm.
Julie Howton: Tell me more.
LeSantha Naidoo: Yeah, exactly. We dig a little bit deeper and we, I learned that she does a [00:43:00] lot of travel and they have a lot of business dinners and stuff like that, and one non-negotiable thing for her was, I can be very good when I'm home, but when I'm traveling or when I have these business things.
I'm, whatever is there, whether it's the alcohol, whether it's the food. You know, I, I don't want to get rid of that. And I had to have the honest conversation of Right, you can't have it both ways. That's,
Julie Howton: that's not a, it's not like she's talking about one trip a year, if that's part. Yeah, exactly.
LeSantha Naidoo: So, so the conversation then switched to, okay, what brings you the most joy?
How do you want to balance these two goals that you have and the way that you choose to live your life? And, you know, how do we make it that maybe we're on the lowest effective dose of your prescriptions. We lower the doses instead of getting rid of them, or we get rid of one, two, you know, in of, of those.
Julie Howton: Yeah. Or you start to make changes when you travel where its easy and then you
LeSantha Naidoo: Exactly. Or, or you [00:44:00] know, out of three business dinners, you decide I'm gonna be good. Which one? One. Right. Selective from that standpoint, or how do I make decisions when I travel? Things like that. Yeah. 'cause to me it's important that we're all, you are only healthful and well if you're joyful.
Right? Right. But if you feel like you're constantly restricted or you're having an entire meal full of supplements, or Yeah. You know, you have to be so perfectly good then. I don't wanna live that way, you know? Yeah.
Julie Howton: Well, and it's not, it, it, it's not sustainable. I say, you know, we can all white knuckle it for a little while.
Yes. A while. Right. But we're talking about true lifestyle.
LeSantha Naidoo: Yes. Um, and that's what I
Julie Howton: love about your, your approach is it's, it's personalized medicine. Yeah. Because if, if we can't maintain, create the habits and truly create that lifestyle, yeah. We're not gonna have long-term wellness.
LeSantha Naidoo: And, and you know, for me, this was [00:45:00] very personal example where my, my weight goal was 125 pounds and I got to 127.
My patients started saying, Hey, Dr. Na, you, are you okay? Are you sick? Is okay. And I didn't see it. I still felt like I, you know, weight to lose and, um, which ultimately was actually loose skin than, than weight. But, um. And I was like, I, I have to get to that, that the numbers girl. Right. I had to get to that ideal body weight.
Yeah. For me, um, type two diabetes is something that, that I've struggled with. And, and with everything that I've done, my numbers were not improving. So that was the other metric that I was looking at. Right. Sure. And. But it did come to a point where, so first, so I, I did do the skin removal and, and I was like, okay, now I get it.
It wasn't all fat, it was that.
Julie Howton: Yeah. Skinned two pounds of skin.
LeSantha Naidoo: Yeah. And then second of all, I, uh, so after I had the, my surgery, um. From my [00:46:00] abdomen, 2023, uh, I gained about 10 pounds and I realized, you know what? This is actually my happy weight. Yes, this is where I feel good. I look good. You know, if I, for me, it's at home, I'm very good, but if I want to travel and try out what the locals are eating, yeah.
I can do it and it's easy enough to revert back, you know, without feeling like I have to white knuckle. And it is a true lifestyle and able to maintain. 'cause that's the biggest challenge with weight loss, right? Sure. You lose, how do you maintain it? Right. And it just becomes a freedom around your health.
And that's, to me, the most important thing.
Julie Howton: I love that you said that the shared, you know, your, the personal I, I think we all can, can do that with ourselves. I just went through this with a client who just. Uh, lost my gosh, almost 50 pounds, which was beyond the original goal. Mm-hmm. But kind of same thing.
She had this ideal weight. Um, she also is a numbers person, [00:47:00] um, and, and she had this number. Of, you know, that's when I felt the best. And I'm like, and that was also before you had kids, and before you know, our bodies change. Let's let's not go for the number. Um, and, and, and also the, and for
LeSantha Naidoo: longevity, we cannot lose the muscle.
I was just, thank you. I was just gonna say,
Julie Howton: it's not about your weight, it, it's about your metabolism. And, and that's the key to, especially in this. We love peptides and, and GLP ones can be amazing, but not in a vacuum, not less. Kit Kats. Yes. Right. But it's if, if I, I think it's such a disservice for people that are losing weight and not focusing on muscle.
Because that's where that bounce back comes from. And, and now your metabolism's even slower than when you started. And, and so, um, I love that, that you [00:48:00] shared, it
LeSantha Naidoo: just cascade this domino effect on the risk of the health, right? Yes. So, yeah, I'm, you know, yeah, I do have a little pooch. I do have, you know, I, I could suck in a, a few things here and there, but, but to me it's, it's how, but are you a swimsuit model?
Is it impacting your career? I'm comfortable. Right. I'm comfortable in a swimsuit. It's how I live my life joyfully and healthfully. You know, I do check my numbers. My dad had a heart attack at the age of 39. I know I have the gene for it. I was deathly terrified that at 39 I was gonna drop dead, you know?
Yeah. But I, so I track all of these metrics, right? Um, because yes, I am a numbers girl, but, but I, I see what is it? And, and. The most fascinating for me is that, again, it's not necessarily about when I deviate from, um, uh, my pre I am on a prescription for the diabetes, right? So when I'm, yeah, deviating from my prescription or, or, uh, when I [00:49:00] am and I don't overindulge, but when I indulge it's about when I'm stressed out.
It's about when I'm not. Sleeping well. Right. It's about when you're not hydrating Well, that's when my numbers go off. Right. Even more so than the rest of it. You
Julie Howton: know? I love that you said that. I was thinking of that earlier. Um, I love when people experience wearing a CGM for the first time. Yes. To learn.
There's, you know, there's just so much value in really understanding your body's responses to, to things. But, but the best part is when people see it. It, it's so impactful versus I can say it and say it and say it of the body's response to stress.
LeSantha Naidoo: Yes.
Julie Howton: You know? Yes. I had a, a client who was, was doing keto and, and was really doing keto, but did, you know, I I was like, I need, I want you to wear one anyway.
There will be learning. Let's, you know, let, let's do it. And it was like, oh my gosh. You know, and I'm like, [00:50:00] yeah. It, it is, it, it's so empowering. Um, to, to really understand the different inputs. And I love that you said I, that for me, the, if I, I am like a, a hardcore dedicated sleeper. Um, but my lifestyle's different now than it was five years ago.
And I notice, you know, if I have one night that's a little short, that's fine. But if I start to stack those nights together where somebody else might not blink, you know, oh, six hours, that's not that bad. You know? But for me, I can't, if I do that two, three nights and beyond that, I will start to feel the inflammation starting.
LeSantha Naidoo: Yes. Um,
Julie Howton: and, and so I love that you share. It's the, you know, those are often, and the water, we always joke about sometimes. Would, you know, would, it's, it's a good reminder of [00:51:00] even for us, like to ask people, do you drink enough? You know, what, do you drink enough water? Do you, you know, again, basics, right? Are you hydrating?
Are you, are you, you know, pooping? Are you sleeping? Are you moving? Um, you
LeSantha Naidoo: know, the funny thing is the, this is for me, as I mentioned, it's important to live what I practice and do. Yes. And, uh, maybe a month ago. I did have a few, few back to back late nights catching up with things human right. And um, one morning my son, he just turned 10.
He comes up to me, you know, and he's like, oh mama, you look awful. And I said, yeah, I'm just tired. And he said to me, he says, this is not okay. You tell everybody the importance of sleep. I don't understand why you are working till late in the night when you know how important it is for your health. So who need to be doing it too.
[00:52:00] So they keep be accountable. My patience, I love it, of course. Amazing. You know, but, but one last thing I, I wanna say is also that. There's a, a lot of things, as we pointed out, right? There's a lot of things out there, and health is, and wellness is so personalized and individualized. And, uh, one thing that I do now that I, I think is a game changer in my practice is that, um.
I, I, I literally get to the cellular level in terms of personalization. And so for so many people, there's this aha moment of. Wow. I thought I was doing things so healthy, right? Yeah. I was eating these healthy foods, but the realization is what's healthy for me. Yeah, it's not healthy for you, right? Yeah.
There's nothing, you know, people talk about, I'm, I'm gonna get a little political here, right? People talk about vaccines, people [00:53:00] talk about prescriptions, but the reality is. You can eat a strawberry and have anaphylaxis and die, right? Sure. Every thing has risks, benefits, side effects, interactions, right?
Yeah. You can have omega threes and bleed out when you have surgery because of the blood thing. Thinning effects, right? Right. We, we think that everything is so fantastic in the natural realm, but the reality is even in that, when it comes to nutrition, when it comes to how do you move, when it comes to what should I be eating?
Yeah. Even that is personal. And so, you know, doing a, um. Chia pudding with golden milk can be absolutely awful for you. Right? It, it may option for you, but be a super food for somebody else. And that I was,
Julie Howton: I was sensitive to turmeric, you know, because I was probably pounding it for years when my RA [00:54:00] was having control and I had leaky gut, you know, so I, I love that you highlight that and we have.
Covered a grand scope. And I do wanna, I also want to thank you and appreciate you for, for sharing so openly. Um, I, I've had so many people say, you know, people will hear my story and they'll show up and be like, well, I wanna get off my medications. And I'm like, you know, like you did. 'cause they'll, they'll hear, you know, I was a, but they.
Mine weren't working. Um, or I wouldn't be here, right. I would just be, but there, there's a, and I've, I've shared this before on the podcast. I take thyroid hormone. I will fight you in an alley. You may not have my thyroid hormone. You can have my wallet. You know, I, I, I just, to me, there's no like badge for, you know, I'm, I'm not ever using a pharmaceutical or.
It, it, it's about what, what do you need to do to live your best fullest life for [00:55:00] as long as possible. Exactly. You, yeah. And so I, I just wanted to like genuinely from the heart appreciate you showing up so openly. Like, Hey, look, the, the, the standard is, is. You know, full life. Yes. That's, and yes, I'm doing my part.
I'm sleeping, I'm walking, I'm hydrating, I'm Yes. You know, contributing. I'm joyful. I'm connected. I'm, um, uh, but, you know, and my body needs some help with this, with this thing, you know? Yeah. So I, I appreciate that
LeSantha Naidoo: and, and, you know, these days, and I, and I see it a lot, especially, um. In, in the work that I've done, I'm gonna say in the last five years or so, right?
That, that people believe that you have to be wealthy to be healthy, right? Because you have to buy the Yeah. Certain types of food or the pay for this, you know, even if it's a peptide right? And right. And yes, those things can, can be, can be good and helpful, but. [00:56:00] You know, I just like to remind people that true health is real wealth, right?
You, you cannot. You can be the wealthiest person and sick, and, and, and miserable. Right? Yeah. When you're truly living healthfully, joyfully with purpose, you know, and showing up the way your best self should show up. Mm-hmm. That's the real wealth. Yes. Ah,
Julie Howton: amen. I love that. So we're at the point where people are listening in 'cause they know, even though you've already given us so many amazing nuggets.
I'm gonna ask you for one step that listeners can take starting today to support their health.
LeSantha Naidoo: I think the number one thing is to take a moment to assess your life, whether it's your whole life, whether it's a day in your life, and identify what's one thing that I can change that could be [00:57:00] a lasting change that's doable for me that would impact from all the things that we've talked about.
Yeah, just one thing. Start with one. Start with one day, one moment. Pick that one thing. Ugh.
Julie Howton: And maybe listen to this again and you'll get some more ideas. I, I
LeSantha Naidoo: always say that. Come back. Yes. Come back to the tests. Come back to the Yes. The recommendations. Don't feel like you have to implement everything.
Implement one thing. Come back in maybe six weeks, right? Yeah. Once this thing is a habit, yeah. Come back and, and add the next thing.
Julie Howton: Uh, so much gold for people that are listening on the go and aren't gonna check the notes. Where is the best place to find more of you?
LeSantha Naidoo: My website is www.lata.com. All my social, uh, media handles are, are on the website, on Facebook and Instagram.
Perfect. Uh, as well as LinkedIn, uh, and YouTube. And, uh, I do have [00:58:00] a book coming up. Um, I wish I had the, the cover readily available to share with you, uh, called The 100 Life, uh, that would be released around mid-January.
Julie Howton: Nice. Amazing. Uh, Dr. Lasantha, thank you so very, very much. This has been impactful and I really do.
Everybody take the advice, come back in a few weeks and listen again. Um, because there, there are just so many layers here, uh, of, and yes, while everything is personalized, I would say listen through that lens of. What resonates with me, like you said, where can I start? Um, and, and just so much value here. So, so appreciate your time and your wisdom.
LeSantha Naidoo: This is a wonderful conversation. So thank you,
Julie Howton: Julie. For everyone listening, remember, you can get those show notes and transcripts by visiting Inspired Living Show. I hope you had a great time and enjoyed this episode as much as I did. I'll see you next week.
Julie Howton: Welcome back to The Inspired Living with Autoimmunity podcast. I'm your host, Julie Houghton, and today we're joined by Dr. Lasantha [00:01:00] Nadu Award-winning concierge physician renowned for her transformative approach to health and wellness with triple board certifications in family medicine. Integrative and holistic medicine and obesity medicine.
She specializes in age management and cellular health optimization. As the founder of the Aviana Wellness Institute, Dr. Nadu introduced the 100 club and exclusive community emphasizing health optimization, prevention, and personal care. In her bestselling book, bad To Fabulous, she shares her personal journey of overcoming adversity to inspire others.
In today's conversation, we are discussing the importance of a truly personalized approach to wellness and the impact that joy, connection, and purpose have on our health and daily experiences have on longevity.
Dr. Welcome to the podcast.
LeSantha Naidoo: I am so excited to be here, Julie, because [00:02:00] I just enjoy so much to share my story and share with others, uh, the experiences that have led me to where I am and how it can help them in their health and wellness journey, which is amazing.
Julie Howton: That's why we do this, right? So I, I think, um, so many of us are, found our path on our healing journeys by leaning into somebody else's.
Story. So like so many physicians that I've had on the podcast, I don't think you started out in the functional integrative space. Um, can you share a bit of your journey that, that, you know, led you to become such a, a leader in the, what I would call the true wellness space?
LeSantha Naidoo: Actually, I am a little unique in that I did start off my journey in the functional integrative space.
I did my training within residency, uh, because I knew wow, that it is the healing path and journey that I wanna take. It's also the reason why I chose to be an osteopath. Uh, [00:03:00] but my journey starts when I was really young. You know, when I was two years old, I saw a commercial on TV for Kit Kat bars, and I threw a tantrum.
I needed it. I want Kitty Catt. I need Kitty Catt. My grandfather, he scoured the city of Durban to find me a big box of Kit Kat bars. Oh boy. And I ate them all and I loved them. Mm-hmm. My mother said since then, my belly came out, never went back in. So I was overweight through childhood adulthood and through my training, honestly.
But. A couple years later, uh, I remember being woken in the middle of the night. My parents bundles us in the car. We were driving to my grandparents' house, and air was different. It wasn't a joyful place, you know? Mm-hmm. That usually think of. And remember with our grandparents, it was very dark and calm, somber.
And my grandfather had taken his life, oh, I didn't really know what it meant at the time, but within 24 hours. He [00:04:00] was cremated in the backyard. Huge, larger than life. Red flames. I remember my grandfa grandmother, excuse me. Um, just so tearful, right. Crying. Oh, sure. S of tears in my mother standing next to her just stoic and strong.
Right. And all I could think was I was, was my grandfather. Sure. You know? And. Just after that, Michael Jackson had released the song Heal the World, and that somehow just latched on and it became the anthem of my life, right? Heal the World, make it a better place for you and for me. And the end entire human race there are.
People dying. If you care enough for the living, make a better place for you and for me. But when I went to medical school, right, and I thought I found the solution, I realized very quickly that. [00:05:00] Medicine is very reactive. Yes. It's about diagnosis and diseases and prescriptions. And I knew because I struggled, I, despite being a doctor, right, graduating from medical school, I was still tired, fat, sick.
Right. Yeah. And that's what led me down during residency, my integrative medicine fellowship, functional medicine training, and obesity medicine as well, honestly, to be able to help myself because the system was not helping me. Yeah. Amazing.
Julie Howton: Ah, see, so you were one of those, those brilliant, um, physicians who got it, you know, pretty early on as you were going through, which is, which is incredible.
Yeah. And for those that are listening on audio, and this is a perfect time to, because you share this journey in your book, fat. Fabulous. Yes. Um, and so the, for those listening on audio, you know, there there is a fit, slender, beautiful woman sitting [00:06:00] across from me who just radiates health and wellness. So obviously you have found the formula, or at least for you, um, can you share a little bit about the, and again, I, it makes so much sense the.
Uh, you know, you resonating with Heal the World and, and putting the book out there and, and because I, I really do feel like. To, uh, that's the way we create the big change we need to create I is by sharing our journeys. Um, so can you you share a little bit of that? 'cause I know that now you, you work with a select few, um, patients, uh, uh, with highest level of care.
Uh, but I'm, I would imagine that your journey has informed your approach.
LeSantha Naidoo: Yes. You know, there were so many, um, uh. Things that happen in life, right. That, that play a role. You know, another, um, [00:07:00] major event that impacted my health, wellbeing and even how I show up for other people is, uh, when I was pregnant with my first son, um, at about 20 weeks, uh, of gestation, we were in a pretty major car accident.
Oh. And, um, we, I was actually driving to my OB appointment and. All of a sudden we see this car just swerving all the way in front of us and boom, our car was smashed. My husband was panicked, right? He was like, sure, didn't know what to do, and I was previously in EMT, so I just went into EMT mode, right?
Calm, you know, protect the baby. That's the number one thing. And I couldn't get out of the car. So very calmly, I just told him, Hey, get out. Call 9 1 1. And he, he was just so panicked. He, he was paralyzed, right? So finally I told him I can't move. Right? [00:08:00] You've gotta do this. He didn't run. So he gets outta the car.
Call 9 1 1. We get to the hospital and you know, being a healthcare provider, you kind of end being in emergency medicine at one point. Right. You know, the signals that kind of go along. So one of the first things they, they did was an ultrasound and they. Couldn't find the baby's heartbeat. She didn't wanna tell me that.
Right. Yeah, that I knew. But you know, you were, I didn't wanna say, you know, to protect my husband at the time, and especially being the first child, right. That that was a very devastating moment. But besides that moment being devastating, the years that followed, honestly, nine years beyond that, I had back pain that just wouldn't go away.
All the imaging was normal. You know, I saw every specialist. I'm an osteopath, I've been treated with osteopathic manipulation, all sorts of other, uh, healing [00:09:00] modalities, and that pain just never went away. And finally, I. It got to a point, and it was actually during my weight loss journey that the symptoms had worsened.
Mm. In the meantime, I'm going through a legal battle with the insurance company because they refuse to pay for anything because they believed that I'm a physician and because I'm well-versed in healthcare, that I'm gaming the system. Oh, gosh, I'm scamming the system because there was no evidence that something was wrong.
There came a point a few years ago, actually, in 2023, my grandmother was visiting. She was, uh, 84 years old at the time, and she was here for her birthday and I was determined, I'm going to give her the time of her life, have her experience things that. I believe she would never experience it all. So I took her indoor skydiving and as she, my gosh, she's like, you know, I'm definitely afraid of heights.
Why'd you just, why'd you agree [00:10:00] to do this? And she says, well, because I, the one thing I've learned in my life is I have to face my fears. And not only did she do that skydiving, she did the high flight on that indoor skydiving. Wow. We went jet skiing. We went horseback riding, but. She was ready and willing and able to go back again and again, but.
I struggled to get up and say, because my back was, was killing me, right? Mm-hmm. And I had young children. I don't want my children to be growing up with, with a mother that can't do these things with them. So that, that was sure, very emotional moment for me, but also part in time in my weight loss journey where all of a sudden my symptoms had worsened when it should have gotten better.
Right, and, and it took a multidisciplinary care team to finally come. As a physician, I couldn't diagnose myself, right? My specialist had a hard time, but ultimately we got down to a few different roots. One [00:11:00] was, it was actually not a back injury. It was actually an abdominal injury, and so I needed surgery and I needed time to heal from that.
But also what, and what became clear was the impact of grief, of trauma, of all of these other things that had to be processed and dealt with. And even at the moment, I didn't know what it was, you know? Right. It really was a process to get to that point, and that was a part of my healing journey. Fast forward.
I ultimately had the surgery after a lot of humming and hawing of, oh, well, I've dealt with it for so long already. How can I take 12 weeks off of work? Who's going to help me? It's gonna be too much for the husband. Um, but again, that, that instance with my grandmother was just the, you know, yeah. Male, essentially.
Sure. And I went ahead and to me, the most fascinating thing happened was that when I went through the surgery. My community came forward to me. I [00:12:00] always see myself as the healer. As I'm the giver. I help others. That's what brings me joy. Right? Sure. I never expect anything in return. And here I had my boss offering to take the kids for their classes, patients bringing food over, you know, for the family.
Sure. People offering to just sit outside with me just to get some fresh air as I'm recovering. People that I didn't even consider necessarily to be in my community. Right. Just showed up.
Julie Howton: Yeah. And
LeSantha Naidoo: that sped up the healing process. That is what really helped me stay joyful, stay present, remind myself of the purpose and, and the value of having people in a community around you.
And, and that was, you know, probably a pivotal moment career-wise. Right. Because yes. All of these stories and, and the healing from these stories and these journeys that we [00:13:00] all have and we all experience that goes beyond the prescription, the diagnosis. Yes. You know, and, and, and things like that. And, you know, a lot of people thought when I put out Fat to Fabulous, they thought this is a.
Uh, a weight loss manual. Gotcha. And it's, it's, it's really, it's all my stories. It's your journey. Yeah. It was my journey and I put it down for my own healing, first of all, but also in hopes that other people see themselves and say, okay, you know, how could I apply this in, in my own life? Or, you know, how could I think about this maybe differently?
Or, you know. What the value of a 10 minute walk out in the sunshine, barefoot, you know, on the ground, how healing that can be for the immune system, the cardiovascular system, the, you know, the nervous system, [00:14:00] all of these things. We spend so much time and energy on supplements, on, you know, expensive treatments on pharmaceuticals.
But yet we don't leverage what we've learned growing up. Yeah. What, what nature provides for us. And that provides so much more healing Yes. Than all of these other things with less time, I believe, you know? Yeah.
Julie Howton: Well if it's just incorporated, I mean, it, it's incorporated in the day. Exactly. I, I wanna ask you, um, 'cause something came up for me listening to that, that healing journey.
Uh, I'm gonna start with just a, a, a question before the experience with the surgery and really realizing how community, you know, would show up for you, um, throughout your life, did, had you learned to allow others, because I, it's [00:15:00] so common for the caretaker. To, you know, I got it all and I, I, I'm, I'm good. I don't need help.
I, you know, and I, I have found for so many of us on Healing Journeys, realizing it usually out of necessity. Um, but, but that allowing others to help.
LeSantha Naidoo: Yeah.
Julie Howton: You know, not only is it a gift, allow
LeSantha Naidoo: yourself to receive in general Yes. That receiving and, and, um, that's a great question because. And again, it's something that I.
Realized after the aha moment, right Uhhuh? Sure. I grew up with strong community. I grew up in apartheid, South Africa. Um, and you know, with the apartheid regime regime and the segregation, isolation, communities had to stick together. Sure. My aunts and uncles were like my parents. Right. My cousins were like my siblings.
My [00:16:00] neighbors were like my aunts and uncles. You know, that's how we grew up. But yet over the course of time, the, the thoughts, the beliefs, the, the patterns of thinking, and this is again, such a, a huge thing that I, I talk to my patients about creep in, of I have to be strong, I have to be resilient. I have, you know, all of these things and block out those initial moments that we may have gathered.
And some people may not have experienced that, but realize the value because they have not experienced that. Right. Right. So, so for me. Now I, I look back and I realize, you know, it was almost a defense mechanism, right? I was too survival. It still, right? As a young child, I was isolated because in, in elementary school, I was the first person of color in an all white school.
So I didn't look like the, the kids there. I didn't talk like them. I didn't live where they lived. I didn't bring the same lunch they brought and, and [00:17:00] even, you know, my mother instilled. At such a young age. About preservatives, colorants additives. So they're having these juices and, and cookies and stuff that even that I'm not allowed to have, you know, it's always completely, it's okay, let them have the Kit Kats, I was a completely different person.
Sure. And you know, so, so I had realized that my defense mechanism was do what I do best, which is to give. Right. Do I? Yeah, that's your in. Exactly that young age that I take care of people and that's, that's what I do. And, and it wasn't even about, you know, again, the, the availability of help, you know, right.
From a lot of people and, you know, for most people who have access to listen to podcasts, right? Mm-hmm. Even, even if you didn't have a, you know, parent sibling [00:18:00] close friend. Most of us have the ability to hire help, right? That, that availability is there, but we have to be able, be able to allow yes, access and to allow ourselves to receive.
And, and this is, I actually, um, am selective of the patients that I, that I sure, uh, enroll in my program because. I need patients to understand that, again, for me, it is not a quick fix. It is not about, you know, you have high blood pressure, here's a prescription for lisinopril. Right? We really dig deeper into all of these aspects of relationships, of communication, of, uh, community, of purpose, of, um.
Giving back, you know, and, and we do events together and, and we have a community amongst us, um, to, uh, promote those aspects of wellness and healing.
Julie Howton: Yeah. Which is [00:19:00] so amazing. And, and you mentioned a couple times the word purpose, um, and is one of the reasons I was so excited. To, to, to speak with you, um, because these are, these are the things that, that I say we warn people at our clinic, like this is part of wellness.
Mm-hmm. Um, but I find it, it's heartbreaking how many people when they first step through the door and you ask about purpose and they just glaze over. They don't, they're out of touch with purpose or they, you know, they, I mean it's like just something they haven't even considered. Yeah. Um, you know, so, so I wanna talk a little bit about that.
You know, we, we talk a lot about Blue zones. I know you do. You do too. Um, and, and I love the, again, that's why I got goosebumps. 'cause it's the. You know, back to nature, right? Yes. You mentioned walking [00:20:00] barefoot in the sunlight. You know, it's like, it, it, it can be that simple uhhuh of living, how we were designed to live, which includes community and purpose.
Yeah. And so there's all this, you know, what do they eat in the blue zones and what do they. But purpose is such a big part of the longevity factor. Yeah. Yeah. In those communities, A and commun and you can't separate. Right. It's like the body. We can't just treat one system.
LeSantha Naidoo: Exactly. It's
Julie Howton: not just purpose, it's also community together.
Yeah.
LeSantha Naidoo: Yes. Yeah. You know, this is something, um, it took me a while to understand, and a friend of mine had pointed out, he said to me, he says, you know, you were so lucky because you clearly. Had a sense of purpose from very young. He, he's, he's been fr a friend of mine for decades and, and so, you know, as I mentioned, I was clear from a very young age how I wanted to show up as a doctor, right?
[00:21:00] And so. So initially it was, it was difficult for me to understand why it is this concept is so foreign to other people. Right. And, and how, how do you bring this up? Or, or kind of into your way there, right? Yeah. And so what I start off with is the basics of what do you enjoy? Yes. Right? What, what brings you joy?
What was. Some of the best memories in your childhood, right? That, because those are the things that, that, you know, uh, that kind of align with purpose for a lot of people. Sure. Uh, and, and sometimes it's not the best thing. Sometimes it is tragedy, like in my case, right? Um, where you, you take the tragedy and you're determined to, to make something different and.
So that's what I start off with, right? Yeah. What brings joy, and [00:22:00] it is fascinating that these days a lot of people struggle. They don't know with that. Yeah. And, and, and then that's my homework for them. Mm-hmm. Start off with that. Try out different things. Speak to people from your past, right. Previous friends, and, and jog your memory of the things.
Take a moment to journal 10 minutes a day and just think about life experiences and, and memories pop up, right? Sure. And to me that's a great place to start off with and, and what brings you joy may have maybe an experience, but it may also be a feeling for me, the feeling of giving Yes. Brings me joy.
Right. That, that is like my zen, my calm is when I'm giving and giving in any way, whether it's giving time, money, you know, food, healthcare, even the contribution. Yeah, exactly. Contributing that, that's my, that brings me zen, right? Yeah. Um. Then start [00:23:00] incorporating those things in your life. And I, I recently, um, actually for my wedding anniversary, I had an event with my patients and my family, and the theme for the event was love, inspiration, and gratitude.
Love it. And so that's how we started off and it was just a social, you know, wine and naps and hang out type of thing. And it was fascinating to hear the stories from my patients afterwards. Right. I mean, one aspect was the aha moment of Oh wow, you actually walk the walk that you tell us. Right? Which was kind of cool.
You're living it. Yep. You really didn't think that I was, that was actually a huge part of why I started. My practice the way I did because I felt like I had to be authentic in that way. Right? Sure. But you know, the second thing, there was a patient that came, uh, to me for a visit afterwards and um, she told me, she called me up, she says, you know, Dr.
Knight, I've been experiencing some anxiety lately. And so I said, okay, [00:24:00] let's go meet on this walking trail. You know, we'll go take a walk together. And she was like, really? I said, yeah. You know, you, you said anxiety brought yourself some fresh air, some movement, some sunlight and some connection. Tag.
Connection. Yep. Much better than having the computer screen between us. So we go for this walk and she said to me, she says, you know, I thought, I thought my anxiety was coming from, there was something that happened in the news that resonated with her and she thought that was building up her anxiety. And she says, I, I, and I feel like I'm an anxious person and.
In hearing you talk, the realization was she was a new empty nestos. Well, she says, I have lost touch with my sense of purpose and that's what was creating my anxiety. Sure. So as my children are leaving their home, my husband travels a lot. Um, in that moment as you were speaking, I realized it's not true clinical anxiety.[00:25:00]
Right. It's that I have lost my way toward my purpose. Right. And you know, for me to hear that coming from her instead of me being the one to bring it out. Right. Yeah. Right. Is it, it just felt like such a triumph in that moment. And where she said to me is, you know, I started off thinking I needed, she was on medication previously.
She said, I started off thinking I needed to get back on medication, but after hearing you and thinking about this and. Thinking about what I wanna do, uh, I, I've realized that medication is not what I need right now. Yeah. And so, you know, I prompted her a little bit more and asked, um, so what have you come up with?
Right. Yeah. And she says, and this was an interesting 'cause I'd never heard this from anybody before. She said, what I had realized is my, my purpose now is different than my purpose in my younger days. Sure. And, um, you know, [00:26:00] even that was an eyeopening moment for me because, you know, not all
Julie Howton: of us have that one.
LeSantha Naidoo: Exactly. And I ha I haven't had that. I'm sure at some point, we'll, maybe, but I haven't experienced that. Right. Yeah. And so she says, so now I have to go back and think about. You know? Yeah. What is my purpose in Drive now? And, and we did talk about, you know, what did she do for work? And, and she made it clear.
She said, I don't wanna do that anymore. Yeah. It's not what brings me joy anymore. I want to show up differently for the world at this moment. And I'm, we're gonna figure that out.
Julie Howton: Yeah. I, I love the, the see, I love not knowing where we're gonna go when we start the conversation. Um, because I, I really do. Feel like no, there, there aren't enough. Especially when, when you're talking a a about, you know, a physician relationship, but the just not enough conversations about purpose.
And you also, again, 'cause it's all integrated, you talk about joy. [00:27:00] Yes. Um, and it, it is, especially, although I see it a lot in men as well. Uh, for different reasons, but especially, you know, moms who have raised kids and they find, you know, it is this natural time to, to realize like your purpose, you may need a new purpose or need to adjust.
Um, but that again, it's that blank look of, I don't know, you know, nobody. Taught young mothers, like it's important for you to have joy, right? Like Yes.
LeSantha Naidoo: And, and this is such like, medically, this is such an important thing because, you know, right now I'm gonna say hormones is a buzzword. Yes. Right? Especially for women, even for men, right?
Yeah. Everybody looks like probably one of the most common requests I get is for new patients. Will you check my hormones? Yeah. I'm like, yes, I'll check your hormones, but, but. [00:28:00] That's not always the, and exactly. Yeah, that's many, many, many occasions. The hormones are fine, right? Yeah. There's, and, and, and one of the things that I think about as I'm reviewing data is 'cause I'm very evidence-based.
I'm, I'm data driven. Uh, you know, I was a math major in college. Like the, I'm, I'm a science math major. She's real,
Julie Howton: she likes her numbers.
LeSantha Naidoo: Exactly. So, but, but when. To me, the important thing is to look at patterns. It's not just about one number on the page. Yes. It's about the S of the overall picture. Yeah.
And if the pattern does not fit the clinical picture or if we're doing things that should be helping that. That's not working. Then there's something deeper than that, right? Yeah. Then it's, again, it's not the prescription, the supplement, the diagnosis, it's how is your body processing your experiences. I [00:29:00] don't know if you've heard of, and and for the audience, there's a book called The Body Keeps the Score.
Oh gosh, yeah. And I don't recall the office name, but you know, it's all about the impact of. It's primarily about trauma, but I say all of our life experiences, yes. Whether you perceive it as traumatic or not. I'll be honest, I actually never perceived my grandfather's death as traumatic. I Sure. I, I knew I was aware of it.
I, I never felt. Sad about it as an adult, you know, growing up or anything like that. But it's more, as I dug deeper that the realization of how much this has impacted my life. Yeah.
Julie Howton: Where did this pattern start exactly? Yeah. That,
LeSantha Naidoo: that it, it made a difference. And, and you know, it's one of the reasons why in my practice I choose.
Primarily not to do office visits. I, I try and meet the patient where they're comfortable, right? If they will go with a, with me on a walk, I will take them on a walk. If they will allow me in their home, I'll see them at home because it's the things that. In an [00:30:00] office, I won't see, like I might be, I do osteopathic manipulation, and I did have an experience where I was doing manipulation on a patient and their spouse had walked in and, and asked a very simple question.
It, it was not anything, you know, anything impactful or very simple seemingly question exactly. Then the patient that was in front of me, the way they reacted and responded, I was,
Julie Howton: you got to see the dynamic.
LeSantha Naidoo: Right? Exactly. And so I brought it up to them and I said, Hey, you know, and, and in light of the, the symptoms that they were experiencing, that again, we tried the things that should have worked and didn't work, right.
And I said, okay, this is a very different. Perception dynamic. Why is that? Is that how it is? Always? And he's like, what do you mean? You know, they didn't even realize. They're not
Julie Howton:[00:31:00] aware. Yeah, exactly.
LeSantha Naidoo: And as the, that conversation continued, it became clear and brought back to first a experience in childhood that was relived decades later.
And now the, the thought of. The spouse being like, you know, the person from childhood. Mm-hmm. And that. Changed my entire treatment plan for this individual. Right. Right. Because now it was, we were using prescriptions right now. We moved away from prescriptions. We, different homework. We was doing the physical body with, with manipulation, with physical therapy.
But then he had homework to do right on the side as well. Right. And um. It just that, that combination of all of it is what creates a [00:32:00] significantly better result, you know? Um, and long-term,
Julie Howton: right? Like we're talking about longevity and long-term wellness and true healing from, you know, people are always asking, you know, well, do you think your RA symptoms would ever come back?
And I'm like, well, if I was. Living like I was back then. Sure. Yes. Why wouldn't they back?
LeSantha Naidoo: And, and sometimes that happens, right? Yeah. Sometimes I have who, who had severe, um, RA actually also, uh, and was on biologics, tried everything, couldn't get in remission, DMARDs, biologic, you name it, I mm-hmm. Went through the process and, and, and she was in total remission, not even eating Ibuprofen.
Yeah. Few years later, she comes back to me, this, this is many years ago, she comes back to me and all of a sudden she had a flare up and, and we're both trying to figure out what is going on and. She had, uh, she had a favorite restaurant that she went to. [00:33:00] They changed the ship and she had done her due dil diligence.
Mm-hmm. She still ordered what she always ordered. Right. She asked them was there any changes to the recipe? You know, none of it. No. Yeah. And, um. But then, uh, the next time she went and she was talking to the manager of the restaurant and just explaining this thing, she, she frequented it. So, so she was known, right.
And he said, you know, I think the only change is that the, the chef put paprika for color on the chicken, and she's like. It was the paprika, you know, nightshade sensitive. Yep. Exactly. Exactly. And it's like, okay. But you know, she's now so aware of, of her body. She knows where to look. Right. She knows what to search for.
She knows what she, she. To do, to unread it and sometimes
Julie Howton: it couldn't. It can be a stressor. Yes. Right. It, it doesn't, it doesn't have to be, you know, although that's usually the first place we think is like, what did I eat? You know, [00:34:00] what have I, yeah. But it can be a stressor, it can be a, you know, postviral inflammatory response and, and just like we have patterns, our body has patterns.
LeSantha Naidoo: Exactly. And, and my goal is to teach people. Yes. How do you identify these patterns and how can you know? When is it, do I need to be thinking about my gut? When is it, do I need to be thinking about my hormones? Yeah. When is it, do I need to be just taking a step back and focusing on rest and relaxation to rebalance all of these things?
And this is where I do love, um, trackers, you know? Yes. Things like whoop and the aura ring Well. On many occasions, especially with high functioning people, right? Yeah. Uh, super, um, uh, successful people. A lot of times I hear where I see the evidence that the body is stressed. Yeah. I will hear, but I don't feel it, I don't feel that.
Right. Because it's just their mo it's their, that's their
Julie Howton: typical, [00:35:00] yeah.
LeSantha Naidoo: Yeah. That's, and and this actually was a big aha moment even for me, uh, when I first got my aura ring and I found that my stress levels were worse in my sleep. Yeah. I've never seen this. This is, this is ridiculous. Is this thing even accurate?
You know, like asking myself all these questions. Sure. And it started, it, it, it prompted me then to think about, okay, what am I doing before sleep? Or what's going on when I'm sleeping? And for me it sounds, I'm, I'm not an anxious person at all. So this is not an anxiety thing for, I don't feel I should say, I don't feel this is an anxiety thing for me, but my.
Sleep time is my visionary time. Yes. That's what I'm thinking about. Busy. What do I wanna do with my patients? What do I mm-hmm. What do I wanna do next? Where do I wanna go? You know, like, yeah. That my, my brain is working from that standpoint and it's joyful for me, but apparently my body perceives it as stress.
Right. So now what I do,
Julie Howton: I wanna, hi, sorry. I got excited because that, that's the, you know, we think of stress as bad. Yeah. [00:36:00] And it's not. And we need, so we have to remember that even a positive event. It, it can be a stressor on the body. It doesn't, you know? Yes.
LeSantha Naidoo: And we need stress. Yeah. That's how we grow.
It's not about getting rid of stress, it's about handling, managing how our body perceives the stress. Yes. Right. Yeah. So for me, what I did is I started journaling about. 10, 15 minutes before bed, get old to get it out outta my head, onto paper. And so even at nighttime, then if something creeps in, I can remind myself, okay, I process some of this stuff and, and I'll remember to do it in the morning.
Right? Yeah. I have noticed actually last night was a particularly restful night, yet I didn't sleep for long. I typically say eight to nine hours is what my body loves. Uhhuh. Last night I slept for six hours and I woke up without an alarm before the sunrise. I actually posted something this morning 'cause I'm like, this is.
Unheard of. Yes. I do not wake up before the sun, you know, and [00:37:00] woke up before the sun and enjoyed my walk. Got some meditation, yoga, breathing in, you know, grounding on the, the grass and, and you know, just, it, it changed my day, it changed my outlook. And um, you know, just paying attention to these small details that can have.
Significant impact. Yeah,
Julie Howton: I can, I can totally see that, that I, my very first client when I opened my coaching business, uh, used to get tons of REM and, and like. Literally minutes of deep sleep,
LeSantha Naidoo: Uhhuh
Julie Howton: and same thing. It was 'cause he was, you know, a doer, multiple companies. And, and we laugh at, he is now a, a dear friend and we laugh about it now it's, it's took years of all the things including circadian rhythm.
And, you know, I, but I, I love for, for listeners who are like, huh, that you gave such a [00:38:00] great tip there of like doing that brain dump.
LeSantha Naidoo: Yes.
Julie Howton: Um, they even make for people that, that still may pop with ideas in the middle of the night. They, they make a pen that has a little red light so that you could keep next to the bed, but so that you can, you can write something down, you know, but you're not getting ex you don't have to turn lights on or anything.
Um, share that with
LeSantha Naidoo: me. I've very fun. I will. I never did that. And, and you know, so you, so you bring another great point that, um, I find myself talking to patients a lot about, which is the circadian rhythm. Yeah. And people think about circadian rhythm as just you wake up in sleep time. Right. But circadian rhythm is far beyond that.
It's, it's essentially the entire rhythm of your body that impacts. Every aspect and every system of your body from the moment you wake up and everything you do throughout the day when you eat, how you eat, what you eat, when are you looking at the sunlight? How are you moving throughout the day? [00:39:00] Um, uh, you know, when are you looking at your devices and all of these different things that impact what you know, the middle of the night might look like for you.
Right? And. What I think a lot of people are unaware of. People know generally that insulin and cortisol and, you know, testosterone, like all of these different hormones play a role in our health, and especially with autoimmune stuff or with weight, uh, management or um, uh, you know, all these different things.
But those are the most common things that come up, right? Sure. The important thing about circadian rhythm is that you really are setting your body up from the moment you wake up. Yeah. And even, although I say I never wake up, you know, before the sunrise typically. Yeah, yeah. Uh, you know, I. If I, if I do then, then one of the things I do do is I try and be outside for that first morning light.
[00:40:00] Right? Yeah. Getting that first morning light in your eyes, unfiltered, no glasses, you know, even for your skin, no sunscreen, yeah. Minutes, you're not gonna get skin cancer because of that. There's far more benefits, you know, to that. Sets you up for what the evening looks like, what your hormones look like throughout the day, how your cardiovascular system responds, how your nervous system responds.
So, um, it's important to think. Same thing with the nutritional aspect of it, you know, um, one of the things that drives me nuts is when the, the general thinking of, of intermittent fasting is, oh, I should just skip breakfast and eat dinner at eight o'clock at night. And it's like. It, it's, it's about your circadian rhythm.
It's not just about having 16 hours of No. This one
Julie Howton: thing, right? Yes, yes. You know? Well, and, and it, it is so fascinating when I think of like modern times and how, how astray perhaps we've gotten, but, but the, the, again, it's living with. [00:41:00] Our, our biology. Right? And people want the, and we do fun fancy stuff at the clinic too.
You know, people want the buzzy, shiny, yes. They wanna play with this or try that. And it's like, okay, but you gotta be doing the foundational thing Exactly first.
LeSantha Naidoo: Because the other thing is frankly, they're wasting their money, right? Yes. If your core is not functioning well, then yes, those things can be helpful, but it would be.
Exponentially helpful, you know? Yeah. If, if you're functioning well. But the other thing that I identify with, and another concept that I put a lot of emphasis on, uh, with my patients is that we also can't do everything. And we can't do everything all the time. No. And it's not about perfection. Exactly.
It's about just getting something done that moves the needle forward, that resonates with you, that you can be intentional about that. Um. That fits in your life and the way you [00:42:00] want to live life. And this is one of the reasons that I do integrate traditional medicine with, you know, functional medicine and, and, and, you know, I'm gonna say old world wellness because Yeah.
You know, if, uh, I had a patient, for example, who said to me, Dr. Nadu, I'm on. Diabetes medicine, blood pressure and cholesterol medicine, and I wanna get, I would say great, easy fix. My response
is actually pretty easy. Well, I had a follow up with her, gave her a plan, right? I had a follow up with her in three months just to see, hey, how things going? And she says, you know, I've been so strict with my diet and with doing the movement and the, you know, struggle with some of the supplements, but did most of it and yet her numbers didn't move.
I was like, Hmm, this is interesting, right? Mm-hmm.
Julie Howton: Tell me more.
LeSantha Naidoo: Yeah, exactly. We dig a little bit deeper and we, I learned that she does a [00:43:00] lot of travel and they have a lot of business dinners and stuff like that, and one non-negotiable thing for her was, I can be very good when I'm home, but when I'm traveling or when I have these business things.
I'm, whatever is there, whether it's the alcohol, whether it's the food. You know, I, I don't want to get rid of that. And I had to have the honest conversation of Right, you can't have it both ways. That's,
Julie Howton: that's not a, it's not like she's talking about one trip a year, if that's part. Yeah, exactly.
LeSantha Naidoo: So, so the conversation then switched to, okay, what brings you the most joy?
How do you want to balance these two goals that you have and the way that you choose to live your life? And, you know, how do we make it that maybe we're on the lowest effective dose of your prescriptions. We lower the doses instead of getting rid of them, or we get rid of one, two, you know, in of, of those.
Julie Howton: Yeah. Or you start to make changes when you travel where its easy and then you
LeSantha Naidoo: Exactly. Or, or you [00:44:00] know, out of three business dinners, you decide I'm gonna be good. Which one? One. Right. Selective from that standpoint, or how do I make decisions when I travel? Things like that. Yeah. 'cause to me it's important that we're all, you are only healthful and well if you're joyful.
Right? Right. But if you feel like you're constantly restricted or you're having an entire meal full of supplements, or Yeah. You know, you have to be so perfectly good then. I don't wanna live that way, you know? Yeah.
Julie Howton: Well, and it's not, it, it, it's not sustainable. I say, you know, we can all white knuckle it for a little while.
Yes. A while. Right. But we're talking about true lifestyle.
LeSantha Naidoo: Yes. Um, and that's what I
Julie Howton: love about your, your approach is it's, it's personalized medicine. Yeah. Because if, if we can't maintain, create the habits and truly create that lifestyle, yeah. We're not gonna have long-term wellness.
LeSantha Naidoo: And, and you know, for me, this was [00:45:00] very personal example where my, my weight goal was 125 pounds and I got to 127.
My patients started saying, Hey, Dr. Na, you, are you okay? Are you sick? Is okay. And I didn't see it. I still felt like I, you know, weight to lose and, um, which ultimately was actually loose skin than, than weight. But, um. And I was like, I, I have to get to that, that the numbers girl. Right. I had to get to that ideal body weight.
Yeah. For me, um, type two diabetes is something that, that I've struggled with. And, and with everything that I've done, my numbers were not improving. So that was the other metric that I was looking at. Right. Sure. And. But it did come to a point where, so first, so I, I did do the skin removal and, and I was like, okay, now I get it.
It wasn't all fat, it was that.
Julie Howton: Yeah. Skinned two pounds of skin.
LeSantha Naidoo: Yeah. And then second of all, I, uh, so after I had the, my surgery, um. From my [00:46:00] abdomen, 2023, uh, I gained about 10 pounds and I realized, you know what? This is actually my happy weight. Yes, this is where I feel good. I look good. You know, if I, for me, it's at home, I'm very good, but if I want to travel and try out what the locals are eating, yeah.
I can do it and it's easy enough to revert back, you know, without feeling like I have to white knuckle. And it is a true lifestyle and able to maintain. 'cause that's the biggest challenge with weight loss, right? Sure. You lose, how do you maintain it? Right. And it just becomes a freedom around your health.
And that's, to me, the most important thing.
Julie Howton: I love that you said that the shared, you know, your, the personal I, I think we all can, can do that with ourselves. I just went through this with a client who just. Uh, lost my gosh, almost 50 pounds, which was beyond the original goal. Mm-hmm. But kind of same thing.
She had this ideal weight. Um, she also is a numbers person, [00:47:00] um, and, and she had this number. Of, you know, that's when I felt the best. And I'm like, and that was also before you had kids, and before you know, our bodies change. Let's let's not go for the number. Um, and, and, and also the, and for
LeSantha Naidoo: longevity, we cannot lose the muscle.
I was just, thank you. I was just gonna say,
Julie Howton: it's not about your weight, it, it's about your metabolism. And, and that's the key to, especially in this. We love peptides and, and GLP ones can be amazing, but not in a vacuum, not less. Kit Kats. Yes. Right. But it's if, if I, I think it's such a disservice for people that are losing weight and not focusing on muscle.
Because that's where that bounce back comes from. And, and now your metabolism's even slower than when you started. And, and so, um, I love that, that you [00:48:00] shared, it
LeSantha Naidoo: just cascade this domino effect on the risk of the health, right? Yes. So, yeah, I'm, you know, yeah, I do have a little pooch. I do have, you know, I, I could suck in a, a few things here and there, but, but to me it's, it's how, but are you a swimsuit model?
Is it impacting your career? I'm comfortable. Right. I'm comfortable in a swimsuit. It's how I live my life joyfully and healthfully. You know, I do check my numbers. My dad had a heart attack at the age of 39. I know I have the gene for it. I was deathly terrified that at 39 I was gonna drop dead, you know?
Yeah. But I, so I track all of these metrics, right? Um, because yes, I am a numbers girl, but, but I, I see what is it? And, and. The most fascinating for me is that, again, it's not necessarily about when I deviate from, um, uh, my pre I am on a prescription for the diabetes, right? So when I'm, yeah, deviating from my prescription or, or, uh, when I [00:49:00] am and I don't overindulge, but when I indulge it's about when I'm stressed out.
It's about when I'm not. Sleeping well. Right. It's about when you're not hydrating Well, that's when my numbers go off. Right. Even more so than the rest of it. You
Julie Howton: know? I love that you said that. I was thinking of that earlier. Um, I love when people experience wearing a CGM for the first time. Yes. To learn.
There's, you know, there's just so much value in really understanding your body's responses to, to things. But, but the best part is when people see it. It, it's so impactful versus I can say it and say it and say it of the body's response to stress.
LeSantha Naidoo: Yes.
Julie Howton: You know? Yes. I had a, a client who was, was doing keto and, and was really doing keto, but did, you know, I I was like, I need, I want you to wear one anyway.
There will be learning. Let's, you know, let, let's do it. And it was like, oh my gosh. You know, and I'm like, [00:50:00] yeah. It, it is, it, it's so empowering. Um, to, to really understand the different inputs. And I love that you said I, that for me, the, if I, I am like a, a hardcore dedicated sleeper. Um, but my lifestyle's different now than it was five years ago.
And I notice, you know, if I have one night that's a little short, that's fine. But if I start to stack those nights together where somebody else might not blink, you know, oh, six hours, that's not that bad. You know? But for me, I can't, if I do that two, three nights and beyond that, I will start to feel the inflammation starting.
LeSantha Naidoo: Yes. Um,
Julie Howton: and, and so I love that you share. It's the, you know, those are often, and the water, we always joke about sometimes. Would, you know, would, it's, it's a good reminder of [00:51:00] even for us, like to ask people, do you drink enough? You know, what, do you drink enough water? Do you, you know, again, basics, right? Are you hydrating?
Are you, are you, you know, pooping? Are you sleeping? Are you moving? Um, you
LeSantha Naidoo: know, the funny thing is the, this is for me, as I mentioned, it's important to live what I practice and do. Yes. And, uh, maybe a month ago. I did have a few, few back to back late nights catching up with things human right. And um, one morning my son, he just turned 10.
He comes up to me, you know, and he's like, oh mama, you look awful. And I said, yeah, I'm just tired. And he said to me, he says, this is not okay. You tell everybody the importance of sleep. I don't understand why you are working till late in the night when you know how important it is for your health. So who need to be doing it too.
[00:52:00] So they keep be accountable. My patience, I love it, of course. Amazing. You know, but, but one last thing I, I wanna say is also that. There's a, a lot of things, as we pointed out, right? There's a lot of things out there, and health is, and wellness is so personalized and individualized. And, uh, one thing that I do now that I, I think is a game changer in my practice is that, um.
I, I, I literally get to the cellular level in terms of personalization. And so for so many people, there's this aha moment of. Wow. I thought I was doing things so healthy, right? Yeah. I was eating these healthy foods, but the realization is what's healthy for me. Yeah, it's not healthy for you, right? Yeah.
There's nothing, you know, people talk about, I'm, I'm gonna get a little political here, right? People talk about vaccines, people [00:53:00] talk about prescriptions, but the reality is. You can eat a strawberry and have anaphylaxis and die, right? Sure. Every thing has risks, benefits, side effects, interactions, right?
Yeah. You can have omega threes and bleed out when you have surgery because of the blood thing. Thinning effects, right? Right. We, we think that everything is so fantastic in the natural realm, but the reality is even in that, when it comes to nutrition, when it comes to how do you move, when it comes to what should I be eating?
Yeah. Even that is personal. And so, you know, doing a, um. Chia pudding with golden milk can be absolutely awful for you. Right? It, it may option for you, but be a super food for somebody else. And that I was,
Julie Howton: I was sensitive to turmeric, you know, because I was probably pounding it for years when my RA [00:54:00] was having control and I had leaky gut, you know, so I, I love that you highlight that and we have.
Covered a grand scope. And I do wanna, I also want to thank you and appreciate you for, for sharing so openly. Um, I, I've had so many people say, you know, people will hear my story and they'll show up and be like, well, I wanna get off my medications. And I'm like, you know, like you did. 'cause they'll, they'll hear, you know, I was a, but they.
Mine weren't working. Um, or I wouldn't be here, right. I would just be, but there, there's a, and I've, I've shared this before on the podcast. I take thyroid hormone. I will fight you in an alley. You may not have my thyroid hormone. You can have my wallet. You know, I, I, I just, to me, there's no like badge for, you know, I'm, I'm not ever using a pharmaceutical or.
It, it, it's about what, what do you need to do to live your best fullest life for [00:55:00] as long as possible. Exactly. You, yeah. And so I, I just wanted to like genuinely from the heart appreciate you showing up so openly. Like, Hey, look, the, the, the standard is, is. You know, full life. Yes. That's, and yes, I'm doing my part.
I'm sleeping, I'm walking, I'm hydrating, I'm Yes. You know, contributing. I'm joyful. I'm connected. I'm, um, uh, but, you know, and my body needs some help with this, with this thing, you know? Yeah. So I, I appreciate that
LeSantha Naidoo: and, and, you know, these days, and I, and I see it a lot, especially, um. In, in the work that I've done, I'm gonna say in the last five years or so, right?
That, that people believe that you have to be wealthy to be healthy, right? Because you have to buy the Yeah. Certain types of food or the pay for this, you know, even if it's a peptide right? And right. And yes, those things can, can be, can be good and helpful, but. [00:56:00] You know, I just like to remind people that true health is real wealth, right?
You, you cannot. You can be the wealthiest person and sick, and, and, and miserable. Right? Yeah. When you're truly living healthfully, joyfully with purpose, you know, and showing up the way your best self should show up. Mm-hmm. That's the real wealth. Yes. Ah,
Julie Howton: amen. I love that. So we're at the point where people are listening in 'cause they know, even though you've already given us so many amazing nuggets.
I'm gonna ask you for one step that listeners can take starting today to support their health.
LeSantha Naidoo: I think the number one thing is to take a moment to assess your life, whether it's your whole life, whether it's a day in your life, and identify what's one thing that I can change that could be [00:57:00] a lasting change that's doable for me that would impact from all the things that we've talked about.
Yeah, just one thing. Start with one. Start with one day, one moment. Pick that one thing. Ugh.
Julie Howton: And maybe listen to this again and you'll get some more ideas. I, I
LeSantha Naidoo: always say that. Come back. Yes. Come back to the tests. Come back to the Yes. The recommendations. Don't feel like you have to implement everything.
Implement one thing. Come back in maybe six weeks, right? Yeah. Once this thing is a habit, yeah. Come back and, and add the next thing.
Julie Howton: Uh, so much gold for people that are listening on the go and aren't gonna check the notes. Where is the best place to find more of you?
LeSantha Naidoo: My website is www.lata.com. All my social, uh, media handles are, are on the website, on Facebook and Instagram.
Perfect. Uh, as well as LinkedIn, uh, and YouTube. And, uh, I do have [00:58:00] a book coming up. Um, I wish I had the, the cover readily available to share with you, uh, called The 100 Life, uh, that would be released around mid-January.
Julie Howton: Nice. Amazing. Uh, Dr. Lasantha, thank you so very, very much. This has been impactful and I really do.
Everybody take the advice, come back in a few weeks and listen again. Um, because there, there are just so many layers here, uh, of, and yes, while everything is personalized, I would say listen through that lens of. What resonates with me, like you said, where can I start? Um, and, and just so much value here. So, so appreciate your time and your wisdom.
LeSantha Naidoo: This is a wonderful conversation. So thank you,
Julie Howton: Julie. For everyone listening, remember, you can get those show notes and transcripts by visiting Inspired Living Show. I hope you had a great time and enjoyed this episode as much as I did. I'll see you next week.
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My Guest For This Episode
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Connect with Lé Santha Naidoo
Lé Santha Naidoo
Dr. Lé Santha Naidoo is an award-winning concierge physician renowned for her transformative approach to health and wellness. With triple board certifications in Family Medicine, Integrative and Holistic Medicine, and Obesity Medicine, she specializes in age management and cellular health optimization. As the founder of the Avyanna Wellness Institute, Dr. Naidoo introduced “The 100 Club,” an exclusive community emphasizing health optimization, prevention and personalized care. A best-selling author of “Fat to Fabulous,” she shares her personal journey of overcoming adversity to inspire others. Her dedication has earned her many accolades including the President’s Volunteer Service Award three times and several recognitions as a Top Doctor in America for both primary care and concierge medicine. Beyond her professional endeavors, Dr. Naidoo is a passionate mentor and philanthropist, committed to empowering individuals to achieve their fullest potential.
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