Ancient Health Podcast

Ancient Health Podcast

Discover ancient solutions for modern health challenges. Join Dr. Chris Motley, expert in Traditional Chinese Medicine, frequency medicine specialist, and dedicated healthcare practitioner, as he breaks down real-life health issues with insight and approachability. Each week, discover simple, effective tools and techniques to elevate your health journey and pursue a vibrant life. Tune in every Tuesday and Friday for an East-meets-West approach to nurturing mind, body, and spirit. 

  1. 22h ago

    Your Vertigo Might Not Be Ménière's

    Spinning attacks, a full ear, a roar you can’t shut off: that’s the classic Ménière’s picture. But a migraine that never causes a headache can mimic it almost exactly. Dr. Chris Motley explains the one test that tells them apart (the audiogram), why every Ménière’s treatment seems to work (in the biggest drug trial, the placebo group got better too), what Chinese medicine wrote about the spinning room 1,800 years ago, and four steps to take before anyone treats your ear. Sources are in the show notes. Educational only, not medical advice. 0:00 The spinning room: is it really Ménière's? 1:03 Welcome to the Ancient Health Podcast 1:16 What a definite Ménière's diagnosis requires 3:00 Vestibular migraine: the condition that mimics it 4:05 The one test that tells them apart: the audiogram 4:32 Why the right label matters before treating the ear 6:53 Why every treatment seems to work 7:56 The betahistine trial: the placebo group got better too 10:00 A crack in the fluid-pressure theory 11:20 What happens when Ménière's comes into my office 12:24 A patient story: vertigo, tinnitus, and afternoon fatigue 13:50 The kidney meridian and the 3 to 5 p.m. window 15:35 Tongue, pulse, and EAV testing 18:20 The urinalysis and the audiologist's results 21:03 Chinese medicine, the spleen, kidneys, and fluid 23:15 Supporting the spleen, kidneys, and lymph 24:58 Homeopathic remedies for vertigo 26:52 Herbs for the kidneys: uva ursi and chanca piedra 27:55 Supplements for the spleen 30:06 Four steps to take this week 31:32 Closing thoughts 32:34 Disclaimer Supplements Dr. Motley recommends: SPLEEN Spleeno-Lyph by Nutri-West Spleen PMG by Standard Process: ⁠https://us.fullscript.com/welcome/doctormotley/signup⁠ Albizia Supreme by Supreme Nutrition: ⁠https://shop.supremenutritionproducts.com/?aff=28⁠ KIDNEY Uva Ursi by Supreme Nutrition: ⁠https://shop.supremenutritionproducts.com/?aff=28⁠ Body Guard by Supreme Nutrition: ⁠https://shop.supremenutritionproducts.com/?aff=28⁠ Cranberry UT Vibrance Homeopathics that help with vertigo: DesBio "Dizzy": https://dbscript.com/?direct=drmotley Professional Formulas "Vertigo Syncope": https://professionalformulas.com/patientcode/?doctorname=Christopher&doctor_code=GXN776D Vertigoheel Standard Process Spleen PMG: https://us.fullscript.com/welcome/doctormotley/signup⁠ The common four herbs that help with vertigo: Cocculus Conium Theridion Ambra Want more of The Ancient Health Podcast? Subscribe to the YouTube channel. Follow Doctor Motley! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doctormotley TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@doctormotley Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/doctormotley/ Website: https://doctormotley.com *Join Doctor Motley’s newsletter for TCM insights and regular podcast updates https://www.doctormotley.com/ *Do you have a ton more in-depth questions for Doctor Motley? Check out his course on emotions and the body in his membership. You’ll find other courses full of his expertise and clinical wisdom, plus bring all your questions to his weekly lives! To try risk-free for 15 days click here https://www.doctormotley.com/15 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Your Vertigo Might Not Be Ménière's
  2. 3d ago

    Tight Jaw, Tight Hips? Where Your Body Holds Stress

    Tight jaw, shoulders up by your ears, waking at 3 a.m.? Somatic movement teacher Liz Tenuto, author of When the Body Speaks, joins Dr. Chris Motley to explore where the body holds stress, why she favors tiny, lazy movements over force, why animals shake it off, and how to recognize when you’re still bracing. Dr. Motley adds the Chinese Medicine perspective on the jaw and waking at 3 a.m. Sources and corrections are included in the show notes. Content note: This episode discusses trauma, emotional healing, and the mind-body connection. Take care while listening, and feel free to pause or skip around if you need to. Educational only, not medical advice. Chapters: 00:00 Cold open: where your body holds stress 00:44 Welcome: Liz Tenuto, somatic movement teacher 02:45 Ten years without sleep, and everything she tried 03:51 "People rolling around on the floor in their pajamas" 04:47 Inside a somatic class: the laziest movements possible 05:52 From workhorse to gentle, and what surfaced 07:06 A dancer, disconnected from her emotional body 08:45 Does the body remember? 11:55 Dance, EMDR, and life before The Body Keeps the Score 13:23 Is fascia a highway for emotion? 15:00 Shoulders at her ears, and the saran wrap picture 16:58 Tiny lazy movements and new pathways 18:30 Calm, wired, or shut down: the "Goldilocks" state 19:41 Why people keep going back to the chiropractor 20:46 Calm takes reps 22:09 How your body learns tension 25:02 Can a stuck joint slow your lymph? 26:17 Dr. Motley's method: meridians, muscles, and the liver 30:17 An old basketball injury and three months of brain fog 33:10 How Liz starts with a new client 34:41 Why animals shake it off 38:04 Where your body holds stress: hips, shoulders, neck, jaw 39:48 Jaw tension, TMJ, and the Gallbladder channel 41:17 How long does it take? 42:29 Why forcing a release backfires 44:37 Why Dr. Motley tells patients a year 45:31 Signs you're storing stress 46:40 3 a.m., your lungs, and the Chinese medicine clock 47:35 What letting go feels like 49:24 Where to find Liz 50:50 Closing thoughts 52:09 Disclaimer Want more of The Ancient Health Podcast? Subscribe to the YouTube channel. Follow Doctor Motley! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doctormotley TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@doctormotley Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/doctormotley/ Website: https://doctormotley.com Follow Liz Tenuto: Website: https://theworkoutwitch.com/  YouTube:  theworkoutwitch.com/s/youtube Instagram: theworkoutwitch.com/s/instagram Book: https://theworkoutwitch.com/pages/book *Join Doctor  Motley’s newsletter for TCM insights and regular podcast updates https://www.doctormotley.com/ *Do you have a ton more in-depth questions for Doctor Motley? Check out his course on emotions and the body in his membership. You’ll find other courses full of his expertise and clinical wisdom, plus bring all your questions to his weekly lives! To try risk-free for 15 days click here https://www.doctormotley.com/15 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Tight Jaw, Tight Hips? Where Your Body Holds Stress
  3. Oct 8

    Tired and Losing Hair? Check Your Ferritin

    Tired, losing hair, and told your labs are “normal”? Endocrinologist Dr. Cassie Smith explains the new 2026 American Society of Hematology ferritin thresholds, why your thyroid needs iron, the pregnancy thyroid rule every woman on thyroid medication should know, the gut signs you may be ignoring, and her honest take on GLP-1 drugs. With Dr. Chris Motley. 00:00 Dr. Cassie Smith is back 01:08 Graves' disease in med school, at 130 beats a minute 02:38 "Normal" labs, and the fertility questions you sent in 03:33 Why fertility starts in the gut, and PCOS gets a new name 04:30 What birth control does to your gut bacteria 06:21 Thyroid, nutrients, and early miscarriage 07:07 Why your TSH drops when you get pregnant 08:13 On thyroid medicine? The nine-dose rule 09:07 Which probiotic? The Akkermansia gap 10:58 After a miscarriage: the labs to ask for 13:02 Thinning hair and the new ferritin guidelines 14:58 A tongue and pulse read, and a ferritin result 17:24 Gut warning signs: bloating, reflux, gas 18:38 Acne, rashes, and swollen joints 19:57 Depression and anxiety after a baby 20:39 Can you inherit a bad gut? 21:56 Glutamine, butyrate, and the scab rule 24:42 Fiber, and the free fixes nobody can sell you 26:34 Gluten, Roundup, and your thyroid 28:53 GLP-1s: an endocrinologist's honest take 30:42 Insulin as traffic cop 32:27 Why kids stop eating when they're full 33:15 Using GLP-1s right: protein, water, weights, then stop 34:32 Where to find Dr. Smith 35:11 An endocrinologist who wants to learn acupuncture 37:50 Teeth, meridians, and infertility 39:38 Closing thoughts 41:28 Disclaimer Sources are included in the show notes. Educational only - not medical advice. Want more of The Ancient Health Podcast? Subscribe to the YouTube channel. Follow Doctor Motley! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doctormotley TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@doctormotley Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/doctormotley/ Website: https://doctormotley.com Follow Dr. Cassie Smith: https://www.instagram.com/modernendocrine_/ Buy her book Fix Your Gut, Fix Your Hormones: https://a.co/d/0gbCrVD6 *Join Doctor  Motley’s newsletter for TCM insights and regular podcast updates https://www.doctormotley.com/ *Do you have a ton more in-depth questions for Doctor Motley? Check out his course on emotions and the body in his membership. You’ll find other courses full of his expertise and clinical wisdom, plus bring all your questions to his weekly lives! To try risk-free for 15 days click here https://www.doctormotley.com/15 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Tired and Losing Hair? Check Your Ferritin
  4. Oct 1

    Could Your Anxiety Be Lyme in the Brain?

    Dr. Eboni Cornish, MD, of Amen Clinics and ILADS, returns for a third conversation, live in Nashville. She and Dr. Chris Motley talk about Lyme and other tick-borne infections in the brain: anxiety and depression, kids labeled ADHD, puberty flares, mold and memory, and why she calms the brain before treating anything. Plus her best question: when did your symptoms start, and where were you? Sources in the show notes. Educational only, not medical advice. 00:00 Depression, anxiety, and a Lyme test 00:39 Welcome: Dr. Eboni Cornish, live in Nashville  02:20 From bored family doctor to Lyme practice  04:13 How Lyme gets into the brain  06:12 What a Lyme brain looks like on a SPECT scan  08:02 The limbic loop: calm the brain  10:21 Is neurology catching up?  12:30 Floaters, light sensitivity, and trouble reading  14:05 Tinnitus and sound sensitivity  15:08 Can kids have Lyme? Pregnancy and newborns  17:48 Why puberty can trigger a flare  20:12 ADHD, PANS, and a gentler approach for kids  23:32 Food, kids, and the one-food trade  25:56 Sudden anger in children  27:23 Joint pain and injuries that won't heal  28:57 Teeth, gums, and cavitations  31:09 Babesia and your red blood cells  32:34 MTHFR, explained  35:11 Swollen lymph nodes and lymphatic drainage 36:47 Memory loss, mold, and dementia risk  39:42 Where were you when your symptoms started?  41:31 Gratitude and the brain  43:59 How your gut shapes your mood  46:09 Her morning routine  48:19 Saunas, baths, and cold water  50:38 Belly breathing for kids  51:11 Her fall speaking tour  54:14 Where to find Dr. Cornish  55:34 Wrap-up  57:01 Disclaimer Key Takeaways: Tick-borne illness can show up in the brain. Lyme can reach the nervous system. If you have neurological symptoms and you are not getting better, Dr. Cornish says to put tick-borne disease on the list (5:16).  Calm the brain before you push treatment. Her patients who react to everything are often stuck in fight or flight, a "limbic loop" (9:37). She starts by calming the nervous system.  Kids get labeled. Many of her pediatric patients arrive diagnosed with ADHD or "being bad" (20:50). A sudden change in a child, over days rather than months, is worth asking your pediatrician about by name: PANS. Trade one food, not the whole diet. She asks a reluctant kid for one food that "doesn't love your brain," and trades a supplement off the list in return (25:04). Then she asks AI for realistic swaps a family will actually eat.  Babesia lives in red blood cells. If you have tested positive, don't donate blood. Federal blood-safety rules agree. Want more of The Ancient Health Podcast? Subscribe to the YouTube channel. Follow Doctor Motley! Instagram TikTok Facebook Website Follow Dr. Eboni Cornish https://www.instagram.com/dr.ebonicornish/ https://www.drebonicornish.com/ For more on her work:  https://www.amenclinics.com/ https://www.ilads.org/ *Join Doctor Motley’s newsletter for TCM insights and regular podcast updates https://www.doctormotley.com/ *Do you have a ton more in-depth questions for Doctor Motley? Check out his course on emotions and the body in his membership. You’ll find other courses full of his expertise and clinical wisdom, plus bring all your questions to his weekly lives! To try risk-free for 15 days click here https://www.doctormotley.com/15 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Could Your Anxiety Be Lyme in the Brain?
  5. Sep 28

    Your Calcium Score Is Zero. Are You Safe?

    At 34, Dr. Stephen Hussey had a zero calcium score and a heart attack six months later. Dr. Chris Motley talks with him about what his tests missed, infrared light, structured water, and his case that the heart is more than a pump. Sources in the show notes. Remember: chest pain means call 911. Educational only, not medical advice. 00:00 Zero calcium score, heart attack at 34 00:24 Welcome to the Ancient Health Podcast 00:33 Meet Dr. Stephen Hussey 01:38 Hives, asthma, and type 1 diabetes at nine 03:04 Fit, healthy, perfect labs, then a heart attack 04:42 Alone in the hospital with 11 prescriptions 06:34 A blocked leg artery after the heart cath 08:55 Why he bought an infrared sauna 11:18 Half of sunlight is infrared, and we live indoors 14:09 Structured water, explained and disputed 18:42 What makes blood clot: Virchow's three conditions 22:43 Stop the heart and the blood keeps moving? 25:43 Red light panels, and how much is too much 30:08 Is the heart really a pump? 30:39 A quick word on LDL 31:51 Three roles of the heart, starting with the pump question 35:14 A heart that twists 37:40 Sponsor: Timeline 39:05 Role two: the heart as a brake 41:08 Role three: the heart as a sensor 46:06 Heart rate variability and the ability to adapt 48:54 Chinese medicine: the heart governs the blood 50:15 Grounding: how much is enough 53:36 Three books 55:48 Why he stopped practicing to teach full time 57:34 Wrap-up 58:18 Disclaimer Key Takeaways A zero calcium score is good news, not a guarantee. It measures calcified plaque only. Dr. Hussey says so himself (3:40): it does not see soft plaque, and it cannot see a clot that forms on a clean artery wall. Heart attacks are not all plumbing. Stress cardiomyopathy and coronary artery spasm are real, recognized events that do not start with a blocked artery. Get outside. About half of sunlight is infrared, and Americans spend about 93 percent of their time indoors or in vehicles (NHAPS, 2001). Light has a dose. Red and infrared light help up to a point, then stop helping. Dr. Hussey calls it a "bell curve" (26:52), and the research agrees. The heart twists as it contracts, and heart rate variability matters. Both are well measured. Low heart rate variability tracks with heart failure and depression. Chinese medicine says the heart governs the blood and houses the spirit. Dr. Motley connects that classical idea to Dr. Hussey's argument that the heart is more than a mechanical pump (48:54 to 50:11). Remember: Don't stop or change heart medications without your cardiologist. Chest pain, pressure, or shortness of breath: call 911, whatever your last scan said. Want more of The Ancient Health Podcast? Subscribe to the YouTube Channel. Follow Doctor Motley! Instagram TikTok Facebook Website Follow Dr. Stephen Hussey https://resourceyourhealth.com/ https://www.instagram.com/drstephenhussey/ Buy the book Understanding the Heart: https://a.co/d/0ib1tvZH *Take Timeline’s Longevity Quiz and you’ll get a FREE sample of Mitopure gummies (if you’re not on the Mitopure train yet, this is the perfect opportunity to try them out! https://tinyurl.com/ujbj4r57 *Join Doctor Motley’s newsletter for TCM insights and regular podcast updates https://www.doctormotley.com/ *Do you have a ton more in-depth questions for Doctor Motley? Check out his course on emotions and the body in his membership. You’ll find other courses full of his expertise and clinical wisdom, plus bring all your questions to his weekly lives! To try risk-free for 15 days click here https://www.doctormotley.com/15 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Your Calcium Score Is Zero. Are You Safe?
  6. Sep 24

    Your Hashimoto's Might Start in Your Stomach

    Normal TSH, still exhausted? Dr. Chris Motley explains the thyroid antibodies most people never get tested for, why a stomach infection called H. pylori keeps showing up alongside Hashimoto's, what a 2026 study found when it was treated, and what Chinese medicine has long said about digestion and a cold, tired body.  (00:00) Your antibodies are five times normal, and "nothing to treat yet"  (00:53) Welcome to the Ancient Health Podcast  (01:02) The most common thyroid disease, and the least recognized  (02:15) How your immune system attacks your thyroid: anti-TPO and anti-thyroglobulin  (02:55) What your thyroid does, and how TPO builds T3 and T4  (05:38) Why the antibodies start: Epstein-Barr, and one more pathogen  (06:13) H. pylori is not just a heartburn bug  (07:17) The stomach infection you forgot you had  (08:41) How people actually catch H. pylori  (10:16) A hidden infection and an over-alert immune system  (11:30) Mistaken identity: the molecular mimicry idea  (14:16) The Egypt study: treat H. pylori, watch TSH fall  (15:45) Why H. pylori belongs in every Hashimoto's workup  (16:47) A patient story: lifelong anxiety and a folder of labs  (23:16) Chinese medicine: Spleen and Kidney Yang deficiency  (24:56) The herbs Dr. Motley uses, and what the research shows  (27:40) That old infection could still be hanging around  (28:01) Normal labs, still feel crummy? What to ask for  (29:26) Share this with someone who needs it  (30:02) Disclaimer TSH alone can miss Hashimoto's. Over 90 percent of people with Hashimoto's carry TPO antibodies, and 50 to 80 percent carry thyroglobulin antibodies (StatPearls). Most standard panels check TSH only. Ask for both antibodies. The H. pylori and Hashimoto's link is real in pooled data, not in every study. A 15-study meta-analysis found about twice the odds of Hashimoto's with H. pylori infection (OR 2.16). One Italian study found the link only in Graves' disease. Molecular mimicry is a proposed explanation, not a proven one. 5. Treating H. pylori lowered TSH in levothyroxine-resistant women. TSH fell from 11.87 to 2.56 over four months in a 2026 Egyptian study. Antibodies moved much less. Levothyroxine needs stomach acid to absorb, so better absorption is the likeliest reason. What Doctor Motley Likes to Use:      Golden Thread: https://tinyurl.com/mvf6rftr Scutellaria Supreme (Chinese Scullcap): https://tinyurl.com/4murtnuk Want more of The Ancient Health Podcast? Subscribe to the YouTube channel. Follow Doctor Motley! Instagram Facebook Website *Do you have a ton more in-depth questions for Doctor Motley? Check out his course on emotions and the body in his membership. You’ll find other courses full of his expertise and clinical wisdom, plus bring all your questions to his weekly lives! To try risk-free for 15 days click here https://www.doctormotley.com/15 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Your Hashimoto's Might Start in Your Stomach
  7. Sep 21

    Are You Vata, Pitta, or Kapha? What Each Type Should Eat

    Dr. Shivani Gupta watched diabetes move through her family in India, then studied Ayurveda to find out what could be done for it. She explains Vata, Pitta, and Kapha, what each type tends to eat and how each sleeps, her daily clock and seasonal eating, and the rockstar power of turmeric! Plus her proposal that menopause is a Vata shift. Code DRMOTLEY will give you 15% off Dr. Shivani’s incredible Ayurvedic formulas at Fusionary Formulas: https://fusionaryformulas.com/. Head here for Dr. Shivani’s first episode of the Ancient Health Podcast! https://youtu.be/i4QXlf4VIHY Key Takeaways Vata types are told to eat three regular meals. At [00:18:56], her first homework for the thin, airy, always-in-motion type is "three square meals a day," and if that fails, keep nuts and tea within reach. She has meals delivered to wherever she is working.  Pitta types are told to cool down, and Kapha types to move. Pitta (medium build, runs hot, driven and organized) gets cooling foods and a warning about summer heat. Kapha (sturdy, loyal, tends to sluggishness) gets a push to walk or move each day before the evening slump.  Turmeric in food is one thing, concentrated capsules are another. She recommends cooking turmeric with black pepper or a healthy fat, which is traditional and low-risk. Ask your prescriber first, especially if you take any medicine or have liver or gallbladder problems. Educational only, not medical advice. Do not stop or reduce any prescribed medicine, including insulin, without your prescriber. If you take any medicine or have liver or gallbladder problems, ask your prescriber before starting turmeric or curcumin supplements. 00:00 Cold open: the spice she wrote her dissertation on 00:41 Sponsor: Timeline and Mitopure (urolithin A) 02:07 Welcome back, Dr. Gupta, in person in Nashville 03:54 A Houston kid, summers in India, and diabetes in every generation 05:33 The night she touched her grandfather's feet 07:07 Why she went to India to study Ayurveda, and the pattern she repeats 12:30 Kitchen spices, a master's, a turmeric dissertation, and black pepper 16:36 Pillar one, your dosha: Vata, the thin and airy type 20:12 Pitta, the fire type: volcanoes, marriage, and parenting two constitutions 26:18 Kapha, the earth type, and why she says they sleep ten hours 29:00 The Ayurvedic clock, an earlier bedtime, and eating with the seasons 34:45 Turmeric: what she says it does, and boswellia 42:47 Sugar, gluten, and two case stories 46:22 Her next book and the "vata syndrome of menopause" 48:31 Where to find Dr. Gupta, and the close Want more of The Ancient Health Podcast? Subscribe to the YouTube channel. Follow Doctor Motley! Instagram TikTok Facebook Website Follow Dr. Shivani! https://www.instagram.com/dr.shivanigupta/  Buy The Inflammation Code on Amazon: https://a.co/d/0cRUSj7S  *Take Timeline’s Longevity Quiz and you’ll get a FREE sample of Mitopure gummies (if you’re not on the Mitopure train yet, this is the perfect opportunity to try them out! https://tinyurl.com/ujbj4r57 *Join Doctor Motley’s newsletter for TCM insights and regular podcast updates https://www.doctormotley.com/ *Do you have a ton more in-depth questions for Doctor Motley? Check out his course on emotions and the body in his membership. You’ll find other courses full of his expertise and clinical wisdom, plus bring all your questions to his weekly lives! To try risk-free for 15 days click here https://www.doctormotley.com/15 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Are You Vata, Pitta, or Kapha? What Each Type Should Eat
4.8
out of 5
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About

Discover ancient solutions for modern health challenges. Join Dr. Chris Motley, expert in Traditional Chinese Medicine, frequency medicine specialist, and dedicated healthcare practitioner, as he breaks down real-life health issues with insight and approachability. Each week, discover simple, effective tools and techniques to elevate your health journey and pursue a vibrant life. Tune in every Tuesday and Friday for an East-meets-West approach to nurturing mind, body, and spirit. 

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