My guest today, Dr. Wendie Trubow, went to France in 2019 for the trip of a lifetime. 

But when she came home, her hair started falling out, she gained weight, and had a rash all over her face. She tested her thyroid (perfect), hormones (perfect), and gut (great).

Ultimately, she realized that when Notre Dame burned, it released 500 tons of lead into the air and soil, and she had slogged through that dust for a week. Testing showed that her lead levels were incredibly high.

Her biggest insight was that all the modern medical issues she treated as a functional MD—obesity, diabetes, cancer, insomnia, endocrine dysfunction, gut dysfunction—could be tracked back to toxic exposures, creating a state of inflammation. 

Dr. Trubow believes your particular "soup" (genetics, lifestyle, early childhood, antibiotic use, diet, sleep, stress, relationships, self-talk, movement) determines how inflammation manifests in you.

Wendie's story is really incredible, and I think you'll love this podcast.

This episode was first released in Jan 2023 

In this podcast, Dr. Trubow and I discuss:

• How toxins are related to stubborn weight: they get stored in fatty tissue when you exceed your body's ability to excrete them

• Studies show that levels of persistent organic pollutants ("forever chemicals") in the bloodstream during weight loss predict weight regain!

• Alcohol is an acute toxin that takes priority in the liver—your body stops all other detox behavior (hormone processing, pesticide excretion) to focus exclusively on processing alcohol 

• By the time most women leave the house, they've put over 200 chemicals on their bodies, from shampoo, conditioner, face products, makeup, moisturizers, and perfumes

• Your bed is a hidden toxin if it contains flame retardants—these are endocrine disruptors, mess up your thyroid and female hormones, and raise your risk of estrogen-dependent cancers

• Never ask "What-if?" questions…ruminating about uncontrollable situations sends your body into fight-flight-freeze and shuts down detox

• New cars contain over 300 chemicals, and even new clothes are sprayed with chemicals—wash clothes before you wear them, and shop consciously

• It's more expensive to react to disease than prevent it…if you could avoid cancer by spending $10 extra a day, it would be the right financial move; cancer costs most people over $100,000 per year to treat