The Energy Blueprint Podcast By Ari Whitten

A 2018 study found that 88% of the population is metabolically unwell. But more recent studies estimate the number is closer to 92%!  My guest today is Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo, founder of the Institute of Nutritional Endocrinology. She has 30+ years of clinical experience and sees imbalanced blood sugar and disordered insulin regulation as the underlying cause of so many people's problems.  Her bottom line is that to get fuel into your mitochondria, good insulin and blood sugar control is a non-negotiable. Most people think of insulin resistance as the diagnosis you get from your doctor, but by that point, there's already been retinopathies (damage to retinas), neuropathies (damage to peripheral nerves), damage to kidneys, and damage to blood vessel linings.  Dr. Loscalzo focuses on "pre-insulin resistance," catching the breakdown decades before diagnosis, when you can actually prevent it. This episode was initially released in November 2022   

Today's podcast guest is Dr. Amie Hornaman, most well-known as The Thyroid Fixer. She was a figure competitor and powerlifter who gained 25 pounds eating chicken, broccoli, and asparagus while hitting the gym twice a day. Biologically, it didn't make sense.  It took seven doctors before she got diagnosed with Hashimoto's, and the sixth one made her cry in her car, praying that something was wrong because, as she told me, "if something was wrong, we could fix it." The seventh doctor gave her Synthroid, and after five months, there was zero change. Not one pound lost, no energy gained, hair still falling out. In this episode, she explains that nearly all diagnoses of hypothyroidism are Hashimoto's, the autoimmune form, where your body attacks your thyroid gland. The conventional standard of care is to check only TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone), even though TSH doesn't identify an autoimmune disease. This episode is especially important if you've been struggling with thyroid symptoms and haven't been checked f

Today's podcast guest, Dr. Sonya Jensen, is a first-generation immigrant who grew up navigating two very different cultures and the rules imposed on her about how she should look, who she should be friends with, and how she should perform in school. Around age 13, she developed anorexia as a way of gaining control of her own life.    Ultimately, her experiences with anorexia, processing childhood trauma, and working with patients led her to put the pieces together between emotions, trauma, and physical health. In this episode, we discuss the deep work she does with women, where she focuses on the well-researched links between emotions and physical health. In this podcast, Dr. Jensen and I discuss: A 66,000-woman study over 16 years found every single woman with a fibroid had childhood abuse, whether physical, sexual, or emotional (this is when Dr. Jensen started piecing together trauma and physical health) When progesterone is low, GABA is low - so you may feel anxious - when estrogen is low, dopamine and

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 re

Dr. Shivani Gupta comes from a family of people with diabetes, generation by generation, where she's seen the after-effects of suffering with chronic metabolic disease.  Her new book, The Inflammation Code (launching, distills 20 years of studying Ayurveda into simple pillars you can apply to prevent the level of inflammation and disease we see today. When people tell her, "I have brain fog, I'm tired, my sleep is off, my digestion's off, I have stubborn weight gain…I guess this is just aging," her reply is, "No, it's not aging, it's inflammaging." We had a really excellent, in-depth conversation that covered a lot of ground, from black pepper and the blood-brain-barrier to our detox experiences in India. I hope you enjoy the podcast! In this podcast, Dr. Gupta and I discuss: Her study of Ayurveda, a 5,000-year-old system from India that taught us the circadian clock, modern science discovered what Ayurveda taught 5,000 years ago about living in rhythm with nature The three doshas or constitutions of Vata

Dr. Gabrielle Lyon argues we've been focusing on the wrong idea for 50 years…the problem isn't that we're over-fat, it's that we're under-muscled.  Skeletal muscle makes up 40% or more of your body and is an underrecognized endocrine organ that secretes myokines (signaling molecules) when contracted, impacting the brain, liver, pancreas, and truly every body system. Yet skeletal muscle wasn't even considered an organ system until about 25 years ago! The diseases we think of as obesity-related—type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer's, cardiovascular disease—are actually diseases of skeletal muscle first, decades before symptoms appear. When Dr. Lyon asked a PCOS expert what body fat percentage contributes to infertility, the answer shocked her: "It has nothing to do with body fat percentage—it has everything to do with the fat infiltrated into the muscle, the intermuscular adipose tissue (IMAT)." The new US Dietary Guidelines (which Dr. Lyon witnessed being announced on stage) recommend 1.2 to 1.6 grams of protein per kg

Over 30 million women in the US deal with some form of pelvic floor dysfunction…nearly 1 in 4 women.  In this episode, I speak with Jana Danielson, founder of Lead Pilates and creator of the Cooch Ball (and no, that's not a typo!), who reveals shocking realities about the urinary incontinence product industry.  Even though they'll top $24 billion in profit this year, 9 out of 10 people could fix incontinence if they learned to breathe correctly and stopped being such literal "tight asses" (her words, not mine). Listen to the podcast to hear all of Jana's insights.   In this podcast, Jana and I discuss:   Why over 30 million US women deal with pelvic floor dysfunction—nearly 1 in 4 women—and the urinary incontinence product industry will top $24 billion this year The pelvic floor can be too tight (hypertonic) or too loose (hypotonic)—too tight causes one set of symptoms, while too loose causes another About 90% of erectile dysfunction is actually a fitness/movement issue, not medical…when pelvic floor mu

In this episode, I am speaking with Dr. Loretta Breuning, who is the founder of the Inner Mammal Institute. She's the author of many personal development books, including the one that I have read of hers, which I highly recommend, and found fascinating, called Habits of a Happy Brain.

Periodontist Dr. Al Danenberg was diagnosed with incurable bone marrow cancer (multiple myeloma) in September 2018 and given 3 to 6 months to live. His oncologist wanted to start chemotherapy the next day, but Dr. Al rejected chemo and instead focused on natural methods to help his body heal.  While Dr. Danenberg has since passed on, he survived most of his remaining years with an outstanding quality of life, shocking his oncologist and maintaining such good health that his gut microbiome diversity was in the 97th percentile. In this episode, filmed in March 2023, Dr. Al discusses his diagnosis and why he believed his cancer stemmed from toxic exposures in dental school in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He emphasizes that all cancers are diseases of lifestyle, and that there are very few wild animals with cancer and very few primal societies with gum disease, tooth decay, chronic diseases, or cancer. Dr. Al also explores a few somewhat shocking oral health ideas, including why dental plaque is actually healt

Did you know that, in the United States alone, one in two women and one in four men over the age of 50 will have a fracture due to osteoporosis?  And if this happens to be a hip fracture, 24% will die within a year due to complications, while an even higher percentage will never be independent again.  The most unfortunate part is that conventional doctors typically just prescribe vitamin D, calcium, and maybe a non-specific form of exercise…then immediately put you on medication without examining root causes. In this episode, Margie Bissinger, a physical therapist with over 25 years of experience treating osteoporosis, reveals the real culprits behind the bone density epidemic, including sugar, gluten sensitivity and gut inflammation, proton-pump inhibitors like Nexium and Prilosec, corticosteroids, antidepressants, stress and cortisol, and sedentary behavior. Listen to the full episode to get all of Margie's actionable information to avoid or even begin reversing osteoporosis. This episode was initially rele

Dr. Izabella Wentz is a renowned pharmacist focused on thyroid health. In this episode, she reveals a shocking pattern: about 90% of people with Hashimoto's have alterations in how much cortisol they release throughout the day.  They struggle with brain fog, chronic fatigue, and sleep issues—tired all day, wired at night—even when they're on thyroid medications. She's discovered something fascinating about "adrenal fatigue" that challenges both the old naturopathic model and the skeptics.  Your adrenals aren't damaged or lazy…they're perfectly capable of producing hormones. "Adrenal fatigue" is an intelligent adaptive response where your body down-regulates cortisol production to protect itself from chronic stress, essentially saying, "This is unrealistic, we can't pump out high amounts of cortisol all the time." After being forced to find solutions during years of severe sleep deprivation with her son, Dr. Wentz developed a 4-week protocol that has now helped thousands of people. By week two, people report t

In this episode, Dr. Bonnie Kaplan shares a statistic that should stop everyone in their tracks: 50% of people will be diagnosed with a mental disorder at some point in their lifetime. When she was a kid in the 1950s, that rate was 1% or less. As a professor emeritus at the University of Calgary and co-author of The Better Brain, Dr. Kaplan has spent decades researching what went wrong. She shares the case of "Andrew," a 10-year-old with childhood psychosis who recovered on micronutrients when six months of psychiatric care failed…yet his doctor refused to try it with other patients because "it's not part of clinical practice guidelines." This episode was initially released in July 2022

This interview took place on a historic day: the FDA removed the black box warning for HRT (hormone replacement therapy) after 20 years. My guest, Dr. Mariza Snyder, author of The Perimenopause Revolution, explains why this matters and why women have been suffering needlessly for decades while doctors dismissed their symptoms as "just aging" or "just stress." Perimenopause is the 4 to 10-year transition where hormones wildly fluctuate before menopause, and Dr. Snyder calls it "the window of vulnerability." She uses a powerful metaphor: imagine estrogen as your brain's master CEO who shows up like clockwork from 9 AM to 6 PM for 30 years. Then, suddenly, without warning, it shows up at 2 PM one day and leaves at 11 PM, then shows up at 6 AM the next day and leaves at 11 AM. Your brain scrambles trying to regulate energy, neurotransmitters, sleep, mood, and cravings. The most compelling insight of our conversation is a Mayo Clinic study that found 84% of menopausal women don't seek care. Why? Because they feel

In this episode with Dr. John Lieurance, he drops a bombshell in the first few minutes: "I take hundreds of milligrams [of melatonin] every night, and I've gone through months and months of taking it religiously."  While most melatonin supplements contain a dose of 0.3 to 3 milligrams, Dr. Lieurance has 30 years of clinical experience and, during our conversation, shares his unorthodox but largely research-backed views on melatonin, methylene blue, and mitochondrial health. As one of the world's leading clinical experts on melatonin and methylene blue, Dr. Lieurance reveals findings that most people have never heard, including why melatonin is an amazing adaptogen and how it even prevents the Warburg effect that powers cancer cells. The second half of our conversation explores methylene blue, the original compound that inspired the term "magic bullet." Dr. Lieurance explains how this brilliant blue salt was discovered while searching for a malaria cure, how it increases mitochondrial function by an average of

What if the popular narrative about trauma is incomplete? What if trauma isn't just a psychological phenomenon, but a fundamentally biological process that gets encoded in your cells, mitochondria, and nervous system? Dr. Aimie Apigian is a double board-certified physician in preventive and addiction medicine who's revolutionizing how we understand and treat trauma.  Her groundbreaking new book, "The Biology of Trauma," reveals the hidden physiological mechanisms behind trauma responses. In this conversation, she explains where traditional talk therapy falls short, how trauma creates a feedback loop of oxidative stress and cellular shutdown, and her innovative approach to healing trauma from the inside out, starting with cellular safety before diving into the emotional work.  

In this episode, I am speaking with Dr. James Chestnut who is a doctor of chiropractic. He holds a bachelor of Physical Education and a Master of Science in Exercise Physiology specializing in neuromuscular adaptation. He holds a postgraduate certification in evidence-based chiropractic and lifestyle protocols. He has authored five books including his latest book Live Right for Your Species Type. In this part, we talk about the common misconceptions about the impact of nutrition and lifestyle on health and why it is much better than common drug treatment for long-term health.

In this episode, Dr. Mike T. Nelson pulls back the curtain on some common keto myths, including how it’s connected to fat loss, athletic performance, and even ancestral eating patterns. You might be surprised to learn that smart athletes will do anything to win—except go keto. In this myth-busting conversation, you'll discover why the high-fat-eating Inuit peoples probably weren't in ketosis, how keto can slash your power output by up to 8%, and why metabolic flexibility—not extreme diets—is the real key to optimal health. After 20-plus years in the field, Dr. Nelson shares his unfiltered take on everything from exogenous ketones to the carbohydrate hypothesis of obesity, delivering the nuanced truth that diet influencers won't tell you.  

Your mitochondria and responses to stress are more connected than you think.  In this episode, Dr. Scott Sherr is back to tell us about why 94% of US adults have mitochondrial dysfunction and how chronic stress and inflammation deplete GABA, your brain's primary calming neurotransmitter. We also discuss why methylene blue has exploded from an obscure mitochondrial enhancer to a controversial biohacking trend, how GABA deficiency masquerades as anxiety and depression, and why healing requires shifting from sympathetic dominance to parasympathetic activation. Dr. Sherr shares his 20 years of clinical experience, demonstrating that within 30 seconds to 2 minutes, he can determine if someone can heal; it all comes down to the state of their nervous system.  

We've created a culture that fears adversity, but what if that's the wrong approach?  In this episode, Dr. Keesha Ewers explains why post-traumatic growth, not comfort, creates robust mitochondrial health and resilient humans.  Her personal journey from autoimmune disease to vibrant health will inspire your own transformation and help you understand the mind-mitochondria connection. This episode was initially released in Jan 2024  

In this episode, I’m speaking with Steven Sashen, who founded minimalist shoe company Xero Shoes with his wife Lena Phoenix in 2009. His philosophy? Modern footwear is actively hurting you.  In this discussion (which was so fun and informative thanks to Steven’s lighthearted approach to his work), we explore what the shoe industry has been hiding about arch support, cushioning, and elevated heels, all while knowing these features actually increase injury rates. Steven's company exists because he wants to change people’s lives, and after 16 years of challenging the footwear industry's biggest myths, he's revealing how traditional shoes weaken your feet, destabilize your balance, and even contribute to falls that kill older adults. Get ready to rethink everything you thought you knew about what to put on your feet. This conversation could literally save you from decades of unnecessary pain, injury, and disability.