P5 Protocols

A chance to fix atrial fibrillations for most - a new way of "looking at the heart's beat"

A lifelong seeker of medical truths opens up on IBD in the age of Covid

Mary Ann Block , The Block Center, primarily focuses on children with ADHD, neurological disorders and Autism in particular. She is a soft-spoken miracle worker for children and young adults. A medical detective extraordinaire.

A conversation with Eric Feinstein and Matt Claster, co-heads of Northwell Ventures, covering healthcare venture investing and the future of healthcare.

Redefining communicating with and managing patients, providers and caretakers

Nan Wei Gong, leading FIGUR8 to set a new standard for measuring and tracking musculoskeletal disease and human performance.

Minimally invasive solutions for brain cancer and beyond…

P5 Protocols is changing to be easier to use and more valuable as a resource

"Alison Gannett, world-class extreme skier, extreme survivor, extreme thrivor and extreme healer. Or: Got guts?"

"A summary of an abundant year plus some words of insight and wisdom". Now that we have reached the end of the year and the first “season” of P5 Protocols, I thought it would be beneficial to share some lessons learned, possibilities explored, thought experiments, and a bit about problem solving. As an investment firm and podcast host, we have spoken with or interviewed hundreds of people. That includes researchers, company founders or CEO’s, practitioners of all stripes and more. We are also voracious readers, looking to find insight in various places that help us anticipate the future. We make great effort to think, see how things correlate, and find patterns that arise among multiple disciplines. Lastly, we discuss a new non-profit initiative whose mission it is to solve most diseases in the next five years with the tools that are currently available; for that endeavor, it would need to be a truly global collaborative effort. And at the very end, we have a few wonderful quotes to ponder.

“Hypothyroidism, diagnosis, and treatment protocols perhaps redefined?” For this program, we tried to reach Mark Sisson, who recently published The Keto Reset Diet, his office referred us to Elle Russ. I wondered who is Elle Russ? So, Elle and I had a nice half hour or so conversation and I was intrigued. Her focus on hypothyroidism is, to me, as poignant a topic as I can find. We have so many people I see that are stressed out by the littlest thing, or that work out all of the time and keep gaining weight plus dozens of other symptoms. And what amazes me is that as you listen or read deeper into this interview, which really takes off around minute 23, you can see she is likely on to something that should be flushed out for so many people. As Sid Baker [paraphrase] said, and I keep thinking back to how his interview is the gift that keeps giving: Sometimes, the treatment is the most powerful diagnostic. In this case, Elle Russ is suggesting that for many with hypothyroidism, trying her paleo diet and adding T3 to your medication is a relatively painless, very low risk and low cost method to see if that is your issue. A doctor should have no reason other than obstinacy to not TRY this method.

"Finding Balance at Barefoot Living Arts". Welcome to the next edition of P5 protocols. I am lucky to be here with Mark Romano who is the founder of Barefoot Living Arts which is a unique studio and place of treatment in Fairfield Connecticut. And I’ve known Mark for 10 years initially as a patient, and he’s become a good friend, but he’s also been a guide, a mentor and what I would call a sage of wisdom; and, he’s gotten me through some very difficult times with incredible equanimity. So, with that I’d like to welcome you.

"Sometimes the obvious answer is staring you straight in the face..." Over the last four plus months, I have gotten to know Travis Christofferson, the author of Tripping Over The Truth.  Over the last several years, he has become probably the leading documentarian of the evolution of cancer therapies.  His book does not state but rather questions whether genetic anomalies are in fact the start of cancer, or are more downstream.  Agree with him or not, if you look at the field of epigenetics, and the concept of nature vs. nurture across all aspects of our bodies, be it physiological or psychological, it is imperative that we, as a society, look at all theories and then test them.  For those of you that follow me, you will know that my opinion, at least my current opinion, is that only using the genetic approach to treating cancer is at best inefficient.  If it were me, I would want every edge I can get, and considering my long-dated gut issues, which put me in a higher cancer risk pool, I am focused on using preventive methods on myself; so even selfishly speaking, I want to know. But what gets lost by some people who complain about the champions of metabolic theories and therapies is that the vast majority of its proponents believe in using these [metabolic] therapies as adjunctive therapies to standard of care, at least until there is sufficient evidence that genetics are irrelevant, which, by the way, none of them think. Travis may not have his MD or PhD, but he has an encyclopedic mind, and a knack for synthesizing every bit of information on every drug, treatment, clinical trial, etc., so that he can raise the important questions.  In my many years of researching all sorts of disease states and treatments, he may be the best value-adding documentarian I have come across.  As important, doctors from around the world who are using metabolic therapies are having outstanding results and [almost] all of them are reporting back to Travis.  Thus, for those patients or practitioners or loved ones out there who need to find additional help in their journey through the cancer world, Travis is the man to follow.  His humility coupled with hard data and a desire for finding the truth should be applauded.  I hope that over time the medical establishment in general will adopt some of that earnestness.   When they lose their curiosity and lose sight of their limits, brilliant people cease to be brilliant.  At least that is my humble opinion.  And with that, here is Travis Christofferson.

"Welcome to the 21st Century Medicine, the Age of Programmatic Healthcare." This is David Eigen with the next edition of P5 Protocols.  I feel blessed to have Dr. Dale Bredesen on this podcast.  He is the first doctor / researcher I have met who has operationalized a program for the masses, delineated in his recent book, The End of Alzheimer and is building a business around it to ensure that the world has access.  He has extensive data to back up his findings, so I truly believe it is worth your time.  Dr. Bredesen’s approach is programmatic.  He looks at every possible thing he can find – pulled from 30 years of research and doesn’t simply look to help you get every edge you can get, but actually look to eliminate the things that are getting in your way.  It is very similar to the approach of Sidney Baker and Nancy O’Hara who also seek to remove what is bad and add back what is good.  Dr. Bredesen has automated what I am trying to do with P5 Protocols, which is exactly this: look at and analyze your condition as something that is multifactorial and correct for all.  Perfect health is the goal.  To me, it’s the only goal, because if not, you will fall well short of it and then, with age, look out below.  And with that, here is my interview with Dr. Dale Bredesen.

"A program for beating autoimmune diseases of all types and sizes - with Dr. Steven Gundry." If you are dealing with an autoimmune disorder, which I am, then I strongly suggest you not only listen to this podcast, but also listen to others to which I linked in the show notes.  Those other interviews go deeper into the science.  You also should buy a copy of his book, The Plant Paradox.  I can tell you the following: I have gone gluten free for up to ten years to no avail – and I did that long before it was fashionable.  But in the last two years since I first heard a Dr. Gundry interview, I have played with being lectin free and my shoulder pain of 36 years disappeared as did recurring elbow pain.  Then when I experimented by “cheating” with comfort foods, I wound up with severe ankle pain and that too went away when I got strictly lectin free. Recently, I saw my GI, who runs the department at Cornell / New York Hospital and I mentioned lectins and she said that was a big area of focus for their immunology research team.  So, it is catching on!  And another key area, not discussed today are fungi and candida in particular, but Dr. Gundry’s diet and supplement routine make it very difficult for those pathogenic bacteria to thrive or even survive in a meaningful quantity.  Quite frankly, if you are looking for any edge you can get, then I would say Dr. Gundry’s Plant Paradox book is a top ten tome to be kept at or near the top of the stack of your medical books.  I am not saying it will work for everyone, but as Dr. Sidney Baker and Dr. Nancy O’Hara like to say, the treatment is a test in and of itself, and my lectin tests have proven to be tremendous game changers for me; I hope many of you or for those whom you are helping will benefit as well.  And if you are wondering on what authority Dr. Gundry speaks, he did his undergraduate work at Yale in evolutionary biology and became a heart and transplant surgeon; in other words, he knows the immune system and his program starts with the number one triggers. But as with a pattern in my choice of interviewees, you will see that he too risked his entire practice and livelihood to follow his convictions when he saw clear evidence of a better way to help his patients.  I suppose I should start a “Pivot Award” for those willing to pivot when presented with evidence of a better way.  And with that, here is Dr. Steven Gundry.

"From ADHD to autism, a guided tour on setting up a framework for treating children with neurological setbacks." Welcome to the next episode of P5 Protocols with Dr. Nancy O’Hara, who fortunately is based in Wilton, Connecticut, right near my home.  She is a traditionally trained pediatric doctor who is also the child of two doctors; but her approach is anything but traditional.  She started her career as a teacher before attending The University of Pennsylvania Medical School.  Of note, she currently is treating two of my sons who have chronic Lyme.  As I recently started in the last few transcripts, I bold and italicize background information and I bold and underline treatment related information.  Dr. O’Hara was so clear thinking and methodical that most of the transcript is marked up.  In other words, for those who are listening, this is a very dense interview.  The focus is on pediatric neurological disorders from ADHD to Lyme Disease symptoms to Autism.  I do not think you will find a more scientifically, evidence-based doctor in the world.  And, as those who are listening to this and past podcasts will notice a common theme as Dr. O’Hara pivoted from the pure traditional medical world to looking for every edge she could get to help her patients.  Her mentors are some of the best medical doctors and researchers in the world, but she has long reached an age and stage where she is materially contributing and perhaps teaching her mentors a few things.  Ever curious, I think you will enjoy listening to Dr. O’Hara lay out an approach and framework for treating children with various neurological disorders.  Remember that at the end of this transcript are links to resources.  It is long… So let’s get started

"Could cancer be a metabolic disease after all?" Welcome to the next episode of P5 Protocols with Tom Seyfried, a cancer researcher at Boston College, who is the world’s leading researcher in, well let’s use the title of his book: Cancer as a Metabolic Disease. When you meet Tom, who is 70 and widely experienced, you immediately sense that he is a force of nature! Next week, I will be at a conference, aptly named Tripping over the Truth, which will have the world’s leading experts in the research and development of metabolic treatment protocols for cancer as well as Alzheimer’s. Tom is one of the organizers and featured speakers, deservedly so. No one with metabolic therapies for cancer does a thing without speaking to Tom! I recorded this interview back on June 22 of this year, but held it back a bit to coincide with this upcoming conference. As well, since Tom is a researcher and not a practitioner, he does not prescribe treatment protocols, but he does the research needed to create them; and, with other practitioners around the world, he has done just that – and to great effect. I love contrarian thinkers. As Mark Twain once said: “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.” However, few do that – especially when their life’s work is on the line. But Tom Seyfried did just that. For decades, Tom was a genetics researcher, who kept looking to find answers and found that virtually all of his past work did not make sense; AND he had the guts to turn his work in entirely different direction, risking the pitfalls of heresy. When I see people like that, I’m in! I believe Tom is on to something. As some say, he thinks that going on a ketogenic diet will kill cancer. Though at times, when he talks, it sounds that way, if pressed, he emphatically states that is not the case. His entire research is based on putting together protocols that include many different tools and even some current tools that have their place and time of use. As to the current genetics and immunotherapy approach, I hear of occasional miracles and in certain areas there have been and will be. But is it efficient? When will it work for most? Statistics alone tell me that many millions will die before that approach figures it out, if ever. Remember that the war on cancer started during the Nixon Administration. So, I wonder: If in the 1960’s, when the world’s computing power was equivalent to roughly one iPhone, we were able to put a man on the moon, AND get a lost space capsule back to earth, why, with hundreds of billions spent every year on genetic related approaches including immunotherapy, gene therapy, etc., are we not making any material progress? This should be done by now! Why are cures always around the corner? It makes no sense and for those in need, why not try things now??? Get any edge you can get? If you are in cancer therapy – as a patient or provider, you have to at least listen to what Tom has to say. If you don’t at least consider it, you are by definition not looking to get every edge you can get, and if your or a loved one’s life is on the line, why not? And with that question, here is Tom Seyfried.

"A framework for treating and reversing Multiple Sclerosis, Autoimmune and other Neurodegenerative Diseases." A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure and honor of interviewing Dr. Terry Wahls.  As a patient and person, I am particularly excited when I get to meet and learn from people who have been on both sides of a problem or situation.  Perhaps there is no better example than a doctor / patient, as doctors are typically not used to being wrong, and do not typically have the time to study or verify that there may be better solutions than what they can provide.  Thus, the slow evolution of medicine.  So, you should have already noticed a pattern in my [choice of] interviewees in that they are ever curious and adaptive, contrarian in their thinking, not willing to stop until optimal health is achieved, and quite simply looking to give their patients every edge they can get.  They also do not ignore nor shun western medicine.  Even Dr. Sidney Baker recently took antibiotics for Lyme disease and had surgery on his back.  Everything has its place and fighting the establishment, versus embracing the valuable things it has to offer, is critical. As to Dr. Wahls, I think that as you read or listen to this podcast, you will find you will hear some of the clearest and simplest on-target thinking about how to address not just Multiple Sclerosis, but also all autoimmune disease, and to a great extent, you will find tactics to support the body for any situation from disease to extreme high performance.  More than most interviewees, Dr. Wahls is quite linear in her addressing cycling through her protocol, so she provides a great framework for building your individual routine or helping your patients build theirs.  I would also suggest you go to Amazon, as the link in the show notes provide, and get her book.  It is a staple for any library. I am trying something new today.  Instead of creating detailed show notes, we are providing the whole transcript with intermittent highlighting so one can skim and see where the material parts are to slow down and read and absorb.  I hope to get feedback on this method, so please do not hesitate to email us at protocols@p5hv.com.  And with that, here is my interview with Dr. Terry Wahls.

"Cancer and Alzheimer’s metabolism, prevention, calorie restriction, metabolic therapies with Dr. George Yu." A few weeks ago, I had the great pleasure of sitting down with Dr. George Yu.  Quick to tell me he was 70 years old, I was floored.  I had him pegged in his 50’s.  Still in his doctor’s gear and wearing the clogs of an old-time surgeon, he has the energy of a 25-year-old.  Maybe even the energy level of a well-rested and welI-fed child.  Seriously.  So read on or keep listening. I first heard Dr. Yu speak at a Macrobiotic conference five years ago.  It was a big hall.  I was sitting in the back, as usual, wanting the option to duck out if the speaker proved boring, but this physically small man with a booming voice and huge presence stood up and started speaking.  To paraphrase, he said: “I don’t mean anyone any disrespect, but I have studied the data on The Kushi Institute & Macrobiotics, Omega Institute and The Hippocrates Institute, and with cancer patients I consistently find that you have similar results, and my analysis points to calorie restriction.  You are all providing high nutrient, low calorie diets.  I have found that roughly one-third (1/3) of each of your patients respond very well to low calorie diets.”  I knew I loved this man!  Not afraid to speak his mind! Having lived in Philadelphia and gone to The University of Pennsylvania, I knew of the department store Wanamaker’s.  John Wanamaker was famous for the quote: “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is, I don't know which half.”   So, we know that the data suggests that 1/3 of cancer patients will recover simply by eating healthier, lower calorie diets until things clear up, but for now at least, we don’t know which third.  I would also add that other factors including stress, exercise and physical and personal environment matters.  Dr. Yu’s Totally Yu program is, in fact, about “Y-O-U.” Dr. Yu is a surgeon trained in the pelvic area with a specialty in urology.  Many years ago, his mindset transformed when he became a patient.  Though he continued as a practicing surgeon for many years, he started treating the whole body;  today, he no longer operates, though still refers people to surgery when needed.  For those in the more traditional structured Western Medicine world, I think his experience and success bears listening.  Personally, I have had more than one relative who got completely different opinions between the Mayo Clinic and Sloan Kettering.  So, trust me, even among the best, there are differences in mindset and thus opinion! The wall in his office is littered with pictures of famous people with more wording and deeper meaning than mere signatures and a “thanks.”  The pictures are also not displayed to beat his chest.  Rather, it feels like he is grateful that they have entrusted their lives to him. Regardless of what you have: cancer, autoimmune, hormonal imbalances, which can lead to certain cancers, whatever… you should listen to Dr. Yu.  He is thoughtful, scientific, methodical, curious and creative.  And he believes in using standard of care in conjunction with metabolic therapies including a low calorie and / or ketogenic diet among other drugs that mimic that effect.  He also is a believer that when you use these adjunctive therapies that you can make due with lower doses of chemotherapy, and hopefully with success, less radiation and other toxic treatments.  His goal is to give you the most effective treatment that leaves you with the least long-term systemic bodily damage.

"From a world class healer, Dr. Sidney Baker explains how to think and approach diagnosing and treating any disease - with autoimmune in the later part." In August, I had the true and great pleasure of interviewing Sid Baker. I could not think of anyone that could best kick off P5 Protocols than this sage of pure human, medical and life wisdom. His background and evolution to his current thinking, which by the way, despite being near 80, is still evolving, ever learning, reminds me of Charlie Munger, another sage of life and worldly wisdom. When you listen to his history, it is immediately evident that he didn’t take a linear approach to his education nor his life. What continues to make him so fascinating to me is his desire to upset his own apple cart and seek out new approaches, openly accepting that someone else may have a better way. And this comes from one of The Godfather’s of Integrative Medicine! A valuable lesson in humility. But then again, great people provide lessons by their behavior and actions, i.e. by example. Whether you are listening for direct medical advice on autoimmune conditions or autism, or whether you want to understand how to develop or refine your approach to your own or your patient’s or loved one’s path through health, OR even if you are in business or need life advice, the parallels between how he sees medicine and life can be of great value. I have now listened to this recording several times more than I needed to get the notes done. I could go on in my praise, but instead of me telling you, I think his words will show you, which of course is a better approach to teaching and learning. If you are looking for protocols, or what I would term adaptable protocols for health, there are some in the latter half of this interview; however, the direction we took was more broad but also sets the stage for how any one person can manage any illness or approach to peak health, including what s/he should demand from her practitioner or him/herself . Dr. Sid has that sparkle in his eye that be-tells of his kindness, passion and curiosity and desire to get his patients healthy! To have done everything he can for his patients! Despite his soft-spoken-ness in this podcast, I am sure you will sense that sparkle and strength. And with that, here is Dr. Sidney Baker.

P5 Protocols - Introduction by David L. Eigen

Integrative oncology with optimal results

What would it take to change healthcare for the (infinitely) better

The platform for the evolution of maternity care in the U.S. and abroad. An interview with Juan Pablo Segura and Anish Sebastian, the founders of Babyscripts

Where healthcare is going and why it just might get there