Did you know that our human cells are outnumbered 10:1 by other microbes and bacteria?

Well... Now you do. :)

And my guest today — Dan De Lion, herbalist and educator over at returntonature.us — shares his personal strategies to help realign our microbial health to it's once robust, prolific environment.

For many of us, we suffer from chronic inflammation of our intestines. Which, in many cases, can lead to more severe health issues down the line.

That's why in today’s episode, you’ll learn:

• The problem with modern sanitation practices,
• The group of herbs Dan recommends we all grow to help combat common infections,
• Dan’s favorite fermented creations that you and I can make in the comfort of our own homes,
• And much, much more... 

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Episode Breakdown 

• Dan describes his early childhood growing up in New Jersey
• Dan talks about how you can help support his latest project (a foraging herbalism roving van school)
• Why Dan says sanitation has become a problem
• Dan explains where microorganisms occupy space in and on your body
• How we’re consuming minute amounts of antibiotics through factory farming
• James shares how natural remedies helped cure a past infection
• Dan explains intestinal inflammation and the many reasons we get a porous intestinal wall
• Alternative anti-inflammatory herbs that can act like aspirin
• The effects of antibiotics on the body
• The problem with eating dry, brittle food
• How cows create protein from bacteria 
• A few of the main roles bacteria play in both our nutrition and mood
• Should they throw out biology books due to the new science of the microbiome?
• The pancreas and appendix’s role in mediating bacteria
• The problem with isolated bacterial strains 
• The importance of synergy in herbalism
• How Dan might help someone with a staph infection
• The importance of officinalis herbs
• Preventative health care versus acute condition health care
• The differences between teas, infusions, decoctions, tinctures, salves, and balms
• How the FDA regulates herbalism
• Maintenance dosing versus heroic dosing
• How the vagus nerve impacts our enteric nervous system
• How we need to change our perception of the communication within our bodies
• Neural tissue in unexpected areas
• What Dan says about people going to the store to buy Activia
• The benefits and drawbacks of pasteurization 
• The benefits of making homemade yogurt on your countertop 
• Commercial versus homemade fermentations
• How Dan makes a few of his favorite fermentations
• What to look out for when making your own fermentations
• Conscious omnivory 
• Why Dan says you should splurge on buying healthy foods rather than procrastinate until it’s too late

How many pushups can you do on a single breath?

My guest today, Scott Carney, best-selling author of the newly released book What Doesn't Kill Us could only do 20 pushups before his training with Wim "The Iceman" Hof.

During this time, Scott learned to control his body temperature and seek out the knowledge that was key to unlocking his body's hidden potential.

Since then, Scott has trained with elite athletes, competed in the world's most notorious cold-weather obstacle course race, and summited Gilman's Point on Mount Kilimanjaro... in nothing but a pair of shorts.  

In today's episode I talk with Scott as he shares how freezing water, extreme altitude, and environmental conditioning can renew our lost evolutionary strength.

In today's episode you'll learn: 

• How Scott lost seven pounds in seven days,
• The quickest and safest way to build what Scott calls "The Wedge",
• Scott's personal 15-minute breathing routine, and...
• Much, much more.

Subscribe on

 iTunes | Stitcher Radio | Google Play | SoundCloud

Episode Breakdown

• How to correctly pronounce Wim :)
• Scott’s previous history as an investigative journalist
• How people can lose touch with reality in pursuit of spiritual goals
• Westerner’s lure to perform miracles and how they’re ingrained in our childhoods
• Scott’s concerns about Wim’s initial claims of superhuman performance
• Scott’s first thoughts and experience of Wim after being commissioned by Playboy Magazine
• The simple, almost immediate trick to stop yourself from shivering
• How Scott lost seven pounds in seven days
• Scott shares a few of Wim’s larger-than-life claims
• Why Scott believes Wim’s method has positive effects on autoimmune disease
• The brief story of Hans Spaans and the Wim Hof Method
• Scott describes how homeostasis has negatively impacted us as a species
• Evolutionary Mismatch Disease
• How fire may have shaped human physiology
• How Scott outsources his natural pathfinding ability
• How Tinder is possibly destroying our ability to create deep bonds and long-term relationships
• How Lt. James Cook and his Polynesian navigator—Tupaia—mapped the Pacific seas near New Zealand and Australia
• Di lep and wave-piloting
• How humans have been using the cold to develop environmental robustness
• Scott shares an old quote from the Journal of American Medical Association in 1914
• Scott explains the purpose of brown adipose tissue (or BAT) and why it’s important
• Scott’s first experience with Laird Hamilton and XPT (or Extreme Pool Training)
• The November Project
• Scott explains the evolutionary purpose of vasoconstriction
• Archimedes Banya
• What Scott calls "The Wedge"
• Why Scott says you shouldn't use Wim's breathing techniques in water
• Scott shares his 15-minute breathing routine
• Why it’s easier to pass out with full lungs
• Scott’s experience running the most notorious cold-weather obstacle course race in the world
• Success at Gilman’s Point
• Rapid-fire listener questions