The Smartest Doctor in the Room

Dean Mitchell

A combination of a lively, personal and in-depth interview with top healthcare specialists. The average listener may not have access to the expert medical advice athletes, actors and CEO’s have today, but on this show, they will learn the key facts to know about any health conditions that they or their family deal with. Hosted by Dr. Dean Mitchell. https://www.mitchellmedicalgroup.com/

  1. 6d ago

    Ep. 247 - Should You Get the COVID Booster and Flu Shot? Dr. Mitchell's Vaccine Q&A

    DescriptionFor most people the risk from routine vaccines is extremely low and the benefit is very high, but a smaller group, including people with mast cell activation syndrome or a serious past reaction, may need an exemption. In this solo Q&A, immunologist and functional medicine physician Dr. Dean Mitchell explains how vaccines train the immune system, why childhood vaccines are timed the way they are, why he calls the measles vaccine a no brainer, and why he does not recommend COVID boosters. He covers common and rare vaccine reactions, how to document a reaction when an exemption is needed, and what he thinks about the flu shot, pneumococcal boosters, and the shingles vaccine. Dr. Mitchell also takes live questions on a severe reaction to a flu shot, vaccines during pregnancy, how to space a baby's vaccines, and vaccines and autism, plus MTHFR, B12, and homocysteine.Follow The Smartest Doctor In The Room on Apple Podcasts or Spotify so the next episode comes to you. Contact Dr. Mitchell: Email: care@mitchellmedicalgroup.com Website Instagram YouTube Facebook LinkedIn Book: Conquering Candida ImmunoLytics - code SmartestDoc, 5% off Apollo Neuro - code SMARTMD

  2. Oct 20

    Ep. 246 - How Do mRNA Vaccines Work Compared to Traditional Vaccines?

    Vaccines train the immune system to recognize a pathogen before it ever meets the real thing, and mRNA vaccines do it by instructing your own cells to make the target protein themselves. Immunologist and pathologist Dr. Terry Harville of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences joins Dr. Dean Mitchell to explain how classic vaccines built from weakened or inactivated viruses compare with mRNA technology, why mRNA is packaged in a lipid particle, and why antibody levels fade while T cell memory stays. They compare mRNA, viral vector, and protein subunit COVID vaccines, discuss why a vaccine reaction can feel like the flu, and cover myocarditis and clotting concerns. Dr. Harville also explains how long protection lasts for tetanus, pneumococcal, shingles, and RSV vaccines, and why viruses that jump from animals to humans, like HIV, Ebola, and SARS-CoV-2, are so hard for the immune system to handle. Follow The Smartest Doctor In The Room on Apple Podcasts or Spotify so the next episode comes to you. Guest Contact Websites:  UAMS Health provider profile Resources / Book Links: Featured in IG Living magazine, a publication for the immune globulin community: UAMS Department of Pathology feature Contact Dr. Mitchell: Email: care@mitchellmedicalgroup.com Website Instagram YouTube Facebook LinkedIn Book: Conquering Candida ImmunoLytics - code SmartestDoc, 5% off Apollo Neuro - code SMARTMD

  3. Oct 13

    Ep. 245 - Can Old Scar Tissue Still Be Treated? What to Know After Surgery

    Yes, scar tissue can be treated, even decades after surgery, and it matters because most of what a scar does happens beneath the skin. Massage therapist Marjorie Brook, creator of the STRAIT Method (Scar Tissue Release and Integrated Therapies), joins Dr. Dean Mitchell to explain how scars form, how they differ from adhesions, and why healed tissue can stay restricted and affect movement, circulation, and lymphatic flow. She explains why she believes aggressive early rehab can work against healing, what gentler care looks like, and why itchy, numb, or tight C-section and mastectomy scars are often scar tissue that can be addressed. She also covers when scar work can begin, how stretching works with the body instead of against it, and what to say if you are told scar tissue is simply something you have to live with.Follow The Smartest Doctor In The Room on Apple Podcasts or Spotify so the next episode comes to you. Guest Contact Websites: marjoriebrook.com | brookseminars.com Resources / Book Links: Brook Seminars Bodywork Education offers continuing education courses in the STRAIT Method (Scar Tissue Release and Integrated Therapies), Integrated Therapeutic Stretching, and body mechanics. Practice located in Wantagh, Long Island, NY.  Contact Dr. Mitchell: Email: care@mitchellmedicalgroup.com Website Instagram YouTube Facebook LinkedIn Book: Conquering Candida ImmunoLytics - code SmartestDoc, 5% off Apollo Neuro - code SMARTMD

  4. Oct 6

    Ep. 244 - What Makes a Great Doctor? 10 Qualities to Look For Before You Choose One

    The smartest doctor in the room isn't defined by a famous hospital or a top doctor list. It comes down to ten qualities: judgment, listening, curiosity, experience, pattern recognition, humility, communication, collaboration, compassion, and genuine investment in the patient's outcome. In this solo episode, Dr. Dean Mitchell shares what more than five and a half years of interviewing physicians has taught him about choosing a doctor. He explains how those "top doctor" lists work and why credentials alone can mislead. He also covers why normal lab results don't always mean nothing is wrong, and why a thorough history matters. He closes by highlighting six past guests who show these qualities: Dr. Neil Nathan, Dr. Mark Pimentel, Dr. Richard Horowitz, Dr. Mariana Castells, Dr. Kari Nadeau, and Dr. Paul Offit. Contact Dr. Mitchell: Email: care@mitchellmedicalgroup.com Website Instagram YouTube Facebook LinkedIn Book: Conquering Candida ImmunoLytics - code SmartestDoc, 5% off Apollo Neuro - code SMARTMD

  5. Sep 29

    Ep. 243 - Dr. Richard Horowitz’s New Book on Ending Chronic Illness

    Dr. Richard Horowitz reports the first published case of reversing P-tau 217, the most sensitive and specific Alzheimer's biomarker, in a live patient using a nine-week oral dapsone combination protocol, lowering it by 63% compared to the 23% reduction seen over six to seven years with anti-amyloid drugs like lecanemab. Author of the upcoming book Ending Chronic Illness, Dr. Horowitz breaks down his 16-point MSIDS model linking chronic Lyme disease, Bartonella, mold toxicity, and biofilm-persistent infections to Alzheimer's, long COVID, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and autoimmune disease. He and Dr. Dean Mitchell also cover how to take a proper differential diagnosis history, why dapsone blocks the NLRP3 inflammasome pathway driving brain inflammation, and practical tick-bite prevention with picaridin and permethrin-treated clothing. Social Media: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/richard-horowitz-b4634012 Facebook: facebook.com/drrichardhorowitz Instagram: @drrichardhorowitz Websites: Book (Ending Chronic Illness): cangetbetter.com/ending-chronic-illness Primary site: cangetbetter.com Resources / Book Links: Medical Detective Substack: medicaldetective.substack.com Dapsone documentary (2024): DrTalks: Discover Healing 18 - Dapsone Testimonials Contact Dr. Mitchell: Email: care@mitchellmedicalgroup.com Website Instagram YouTube Facebook LinkedIn Book: Conquering Candida ImmunoLytics - code SmartestDoc, 5% off Apollo Neuro - code SMARTMD

  6. Sep 22

    Ep. 242 - How Chronic Stress Turns Into Physical Illness, and What You Can Do About It

    In this live, interactive Q&A webinar, Dr. Dean Mitchell draws on 25 years of holistic and functional medicine training to answer real time questions from patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals. He opens by explaining the physiology behind why chronic stress becomes physical illness, connecting the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, heart rate variability, and the vagus nerve to conditions ranging from skin rashes to gastritis. Drawing on his training with Dr. Dean Ornish, Jon Kabat-Zinn, and Dr. Herbert Benson at Harvard, Dr. Mitchell walks through the Holmes-Rahe stress scale and a simple diaphragmatic breathing technique anyone can use to shift into a calmer, parasympathetic state. From there, the conversation moves into audience questions. Dr. Mitchell explains why chronic sinusitis is so often overtreated with antibiotics and steroids instead of addressed at the root, and how candida or fungal overgrowth, the subject of his book Conquering Candida, is frequently the real driver. He covers his approach to eczema and allergy testing, why he avoids skin testing in favor of blood work, and how sublingual immunotherapy drops can build tolerance for environmental allergies, dangerous food allergies, and candida overgrowth alike. He also addresses toxic mold exposure and the real time urine mycotoxin test he relies on for an accurate workup. One of the most personal moments comes when a caregiver who spent six years caring for her husband through Alzheimer's disease asks about a repeat esophageal dilation. Dr. Mitchell connects her story to the work of Dr. John Sarno, the mind-body medicine pioneer who also treated Dr. Mitchell's own chronic back pain, and the idea that caretakers and "do-gooders" often pay a physical price for holding everything together. Contact Dr. Mitchell: Email: care@mitchellmedicalgroup.com Website Instagram YouTube Facebook LinkedIn Book: Conquering Candida ImmunoLytics - code SmartestDoc, 5% off Apollo Neuro - code SMARTMD

  7. Sep 15

    Ep. 241 - TMJ is an Orthopedic Problem - Not a Dental One, Find Out How to Treat

    Jaw pain, clicking, locking, and limited opening affect millions of people, and most patients are told to reduce stress, wear a night guard, or wait it out, without ever learning why the problem started. Dr. Donald Tanenbaum, a specialist in orofacial pain and a Diplomate of the American Board of Orofacial Pain, joins Dr. Dean Mitchell to explain what TMJ actually means (it's a body part, not a diagnosis) and why he treats jaw disorders as orthopedic problems, no different from a hip or a knee. Dr. Tanenbaum walks through the three pathways that drive most jaw problems: physical trauma, chronic stress and the mind-body connection, and underlying medical conditions like thyroid disease, GI dysfunction, and connective tissue disorders. He explains why the neck is one of the most overlooked contributors to jaw pain, why sleep bruxism is driven by the brain rather than a bad habit, and why most people who grind their teeth never develop a problem at all. The conversation also covers the three distinct types of pain (somatic, neuropathic, and nociplastic), why women make up roughly 70 percent of TMD patients, where Botox does and doesn't belong in treatment, and several memorable cases where an "alleged TMD problem" turned out to be something else entirely, including one patient whose jaw pain was actually a heart attack. Dr. Tanenbaum's new book, "Lockjaw: A Human Problem: What You Need to Know to Start Feeling Better," releases in early September 2026. Guest Contact Donald R. Tanenbaum, DDS, MPH Diplomate, American Board of Orofacial Pain | Fellow, American Academy of Orofacial Pain Practice: New York TMJ and Oral Facial Pain NYC office: 630 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1857, New York, NY 10111 — (212) 265-0110 Long Island office: 812 Wheeler Road, Hauppauge, NY 11788 Contact Dr. Mitchell: Email: care@mitchellmedicalgroup.com Website Instagram YouTube Facebook LinkedIn Book: Conquering Candida ImmunoLytics - code SmartestDoc, 5% off Apollo Neuro - code SMARTMD

  8. Sep 8

    Ep. 240 - Diagnosed With 12 Months to Live, He Reversed a Terminal Cancer Prognosis With an Alkaline Diet

    Johann Ilgenfritz was a fashion photographer with no background in healthcare when he was first diagnosed with melanoma in 2011. After two rounds of radiotherapy appeared to clear it, a follow up screening in 2012 found the cancer had metastasized to his eye, lungs, and spleen, and he was given roughly 12 months to live. Ilgenfritz, now the founder of UK Health Radio, joins Dr. Dean Mitchell to share how he approached that second diagnosis differently, starting his own research the same day he got the news. Seven months in, a single sentence from German biochemist Otto Warburg, that cancer cannot survive in an oxygenated, alkaline cellular environment, changed his outlook overnight. Ilgenfritz explains how he became a vegan within weeks, adopted an alkaline diet built around potatoes, leafy greens, and Himalayan salt, added intermittent fasting, and began daily meditation and long distance running, in part because movement is the only way the body's lymphatic system detoxes without a pump. He and Dr. Mitchell also discuss the pH science behind the alkaline approach, why he avoided extreme raw food and juicing protocols in favor of real meals, and how his energy and later his scans began to turn around within months. The conversation closes with how Ilgenfritz's own healing journey led him to found UK Health Radio in 2012, now reaching 1.7 million listeners, and his advice for anyone newly facing a cancer diagnosis: stay open to every tool available, and use them alongside, not instead of, the treatment you and your doctor agree on. Guest Contact Platform: UK Health Radio (founded by Johann Ilgenfritz) Book: Reversing Cancer UK Health Radio (UKHR) website: https://ukhealthradio.com/ UKHR Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UKHealthRadio/ UKHR X: https://x.com/ukhealthradio UKHR Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ukhealthradio/ UKHR YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/ukhealthradio Alkaline Collective Mastermind website: https://alkaline-collective.com/ Contact Dr. Mitchell: Email: care@mitchellmedicalgroup.com Website Instagram YouTube Facebook LinkedIn Book: Conquering Candida ImmunoLytics - code SmartestDoc, 5% off Apollo Neuro - code SMARTMD

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3.8
out of 5
13 Ratings

About

A combination of a lively, personal and in-depth interview with top healthcare specialists. The average listener may not have access to the expert medical advice athletes, actors and CEO’s have today, but on this show, they will learn the key facts to know about any health conditions that they or their family deal with. Hosted by Dr. Dean Mitchell. https://www.mitchellmedicalgroup.com/

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