Physician, Heal Thyself The Podcast

Dr. Ana Lara
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Teaching on whole person approach to health and spirituality. We will speak on topics on spirituality, soul, body, mind and emotional health; and natural means to heal.

  1. 3d ago

    Why Doctors Follow the Crowd — And How to Protect Your Own Thinking - EP121

    Doctors are not immune to fear. They are not immune to social pressure, groupthink, or the institutional conditioning that makes saying yes easier than saying wait. Understanding how that happens — and what it costs patients — is something every person who interacts with the medical system needs to think through. Dr. Ana Lara steps back from clinical content to address a question she can't stop thinking about: why were so many physicians so easily influenced during the COVID era, and what does the psychology behind that mean for patients navigating the healthcare system today and in the future? This is not an episode designed to shame physicians — it is a psychological and sociological examination of how authority bias, groupthink, institutional conditioning, fear, and artificial urgency can overwhelm even trained, intelligent people and lead them away from independent critical thinking. She walks through the specific pressures physicians faced — fear of losing patients, losing hospital privileges, losing licensure, public humiliation, and being personally blamed for patient outcomes — and explains how cortisol released by fear literally impairs the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for rational decision-making. She applies the same framework to patients: peer pressure from your doctor is still peer pressure, and you have both the right and the responsibility to think for yourself, ask questions, and take time before making any significant health decision. She closes with three practical takeaways for patients — protect your independent thinking, recognize the influence of fear on decision-making, and expect humility as well as conviction from your physician — and with a clear-eyed message to the younger generation of doctors she is watching and believes in. Timestamps 0:00 — Introduction: why this question keeps coming back1:18 — Six years out — and what physicians are now saying privately3:35 — The intent: not to blame doctors, but to understand the psychology4:32 — For patients: your doctor is an expert, not an authority over your decisions5:41 — How medical training conditions compliance over critical thinking7:31 — Medical school rewards the correct answer, not the questioning mind8:41 — Hospitals, licensing boards, insurance companies: layers of institutional pressure10:07 — The missing question: where is the clinical evidence?12:22 — The fine line between following rules and advocating for your patient13:22 — Gaslighting, manipulation, and forcing compliance in the exam room13:46 — Authority bias: taking your doctor off the pedestal without dismissing them14:46 — Social conformity: when everyone else is doing it, it feels safe15:35 — Your nervous system as a discernment tool15:56 — Fear as a decision impairment: why urgency is a red flag16:23 — The specific fears physicians faced — and why those fears were real17:32 — Groupthink defined: when agreement overrides critical thinking18:54 — Three days: why you should never make a major health decision under pressure21:05 — Cognitive dissonance and why some doctors still won't admit error21:49 — Takeaway 1: protect your independent thinking23:46 — Takeaway 2: recognize how fear changes thinking25:36 — Takeaway 3: expect humility and conviction from your physician26:05 — A word to younger doctors: don't leave medicine — change how you practice it27:36 — Closing: think for yourself, ask questions, and let the decision be yours If you want a physician who welcomes your questions and builds a plan with you rather than for you, Dr. Lara is accepting new patients at Raíces Naturopathic Medical Center — schedule at raicesndmedcenter.com.

  2. Sep 25

    Insulin Resistance: The Silent Epidemic Doctors Keep Missing - EP120

    Millions of people are insulin resistant for 10 to 20 years before they develop diabetes. Their labs come back "normal." Their doctors tell them they're fine. And the whole time, elevated insulin is quietly driving weight gain, brain fog, hormone disruption, heart disease, Alzheimer's, and cancer. The test costs $9. No one is ordering it. Dr. Ana Lara breaks down one of the most widespread and underdiagnosed metabolic conditions in medicine today — insulin resistance — and explains in plain terms why standard screening is missing it, what it actually looks like in the body, and how to reverse it completely through diet, movement, targeted nutrients, and the willingness to address what is actually driving the condition. She walks through the mechanism of insulin resistance (the cell receptors that stop responding to insulin, leaving glucose circulating in the bloodstream and driving inflammation), the symptoms most people don't connect to blood sugar (fatigue after eating, brain fog, belly fat, skin tags, skin darkening around the neck and armpits, mood swings, sugar cravings, waking up hungry, difficulty losing weight), and the diseases that develop downstream when it goes unaddressed — type 2 diabetes, heart disease, fatty liver, PCOS, infertility, erectile dysfunction, kidney disease, peripheral neuropathy, Alzheimer's (now being called type 3 diabetes by some researchers), and cancer. She then covers how to diagnose it — fasting insulin, C-peptide, HOMA-IR, hemoglobin A1C, fasting glucose, and a comprehensive metabolic panel — what the optimal (not just "normal") fasting insulin range looks like, and exactly what to do to reverse it: a low-carbohydrate diet starting with protein, healthy fats, and vegetables; weight-bearing exercise that builds new insulin receptors; prioritizing sleep; managing stress; and targeted supplementation with chromium, magnesium, vitamin D, zinc, and berberine. Timestamps:0:00 — Introduction: why insulin resistance is being missed0:58 — The limits of standard screening: hemoglobin A1C and fasting glucose aren't enough2:25 — Millions are insulin resistant for 10–20 years before diabetes is diagnosed3:30 — How insulin works: the key-and-lock mechanism explained4:22 — What happens when receptors stop responding5:17 — Why fasting insulin and C-peptide are the smoke detectors for diabetes7:20 — Myth: you have to be overweight to be insulin resistant7:47 — Early warning signs: fatigue after eating, brain fog, belly fat, sugar cravings10:42 — Belly fat, waking up hungry, and why cells starve while blood sugar stays high11:25 — Mood swings, sleep disturbances, and downstream hormone disruption12:31 — Women: irregular periods, PCOS, infertility, miscarriage13:01 — Men: low testosterone, erectile dysfunction, muscle loss13:30 — Visible skin signs: skin tags, darkening around the neck and armpits13:53 — Diseases linked to insulin resistance beyond diabetes15:03 — Alzheimer's as type 3 diabetes: the insulin-brain connection15:36 — What causes insulin resistance: diet, lifestyle, visceral fat, toxins, steroids16:57 — How to diagnose it: the full panel Dr. Lara orders and why18:13 — HOMA-IR: using fasting glucose and fasting insulin together18:48 — What a fasting insulin over 10 means — even when it's "normal"20:43 — How to reverse insulin resistance: diet first21:53 — The low-carb approach: protein, healthy fat, vegetables — no fruit initially24:05 — Exercise: weight-bearing movement builds new insulin receptors25:24 — Sleep, stress, and the cortisol-insulin connection27:41 — Nutrient deficiencies: vitamin D, chromium, magnesium, zinc29:05 — Chromium dosing, berberine, and supplement guidance31:48 — Emotional eating and the deeper root Dr. Lara addresses33:40 — Why children and teenagers are developing insulin resistance36:09 — Closing: insulin resistance is reversible — and Dr. Lara has the proof To find out whether insulin resistance is driving your symptoms, Dr. Lara offers a complimentary 15-minute phone consultation at Raíces Naturopathic Medical Center — schedule at raicesndmedcenter.com.

  3. Sep 17

    Postpartum Hormones, Psychosis & What Doctors Are Missing in Women's Mental Health - EP119

    She was a labor and delivery nurse. She told her husband, her mother, her family, and every medical professional she saw that something was terribly wrong. She was prescribed 13 psychiatric medications in four months. Her symptoms never resolved. She was not crazy — she was hormonally depleted and medically failed. And she is not the only one. Prompted by the high-profile Lindsey Clancy case, Dr. Ana Lara sets aside the legal narrative and speaks as a physician about what she sees as the central medical failure in this story and in countless women's stories that never make headlines: no one checked her hormones. She explains the dramatic hormonal cliff women fall off after delivery — progesterone dropping from 214 nanograms per milliliter during the third trimester to effectively zero after the placenta is delivered, estradiol crashing from peaks of 30,000 picograms per milliliter to nothing — and what that physiological free fall produces: insomnia, racing thoughts, anxiety, paranoia, emotional dissociation, brain fog, and a feeling of losing one's mind that is not a psychiatric disorder but a hormonal emergency. She walks through the clinical data: progesterone levels optimal range of 15–24 nanograms per milliliter in a menstruating woman, the pattern she sees regularly of young women — even teenagers — testing at under 1. She explains the role of progesterone in sleep, nervous system regulation, brain protection, and mood, and the role of estradiol in memory, emotional regulation, serotonin function, and sleep architecture. She names the specific hormones every woman should have tested — progesterone, estradiol, pregnenolone, DHEA-S, testosterone, cortisol, vitamin D, B12 — and why postpartum screening for hormone depletion should be standard care. She closes with a direct message to women: you are not crazy. Your hormones need to be checked. Don't wait for a crisis. And she mentions vitex (chaste tree berry) as an herb that supports the body's own hormone production — safe postpartum, safe while nursing, and appropriate across the lifespan. Timestamps:0:00 — Introduction: what prompted this episode and Dr. Lara's medical lens on the case1:25 — A woman who sought help — and wasn't helped3:24 — Postpartum depression vs. postpartum psychosis: definitions and distinctions5:45 — Baby blues, postpartum depression, postpartum anxiety and rage: who is affected7:13 — The birth history: traumatic deliveries and what they leave behind10:06 — Three children under five, two traumatic births, and a depleted hormone tank11:32 — Progesterone: the hormone that keeps women calm, sleeping, and mentally resilient13:24 — Why psychiatric medications cannot fix a hormone deficiency14:36 — Her reported symptoms — and the medication list: 13 psychiatric drugs in four months17:43 — What a proper postpartum workup should look like18:20 — When hormones are balanced, medications don't resolve symptoms — and they didn't19:29 — The millions of women silently suffering the same way20:50 — Progesterone deep dive: optimal levels, luteal phase timing, what depletion looks like23:48 — The pregnancy hormone cliff: 214 nanograms to near zero after delivery25:18 — Estradiol: what it does, what the numbers look like, and the postpartum crash27:21 — What balanced hormones feel like — from Dr. Lara personally, at 4729:10 — How to show up for the women in your life who are telling you they're not okay35:44 — The full hormone panel every woman should request39:21 — Vitex (chaste tree berry): a postpartum herbal option that supports hormone production40:44 — Closing: you are not crazy — get your hormones checked If you have been told your labs are normal but you don't feel like yourself, Dr. Lara works with women on comprehensive hormone evaluation and root-cause care at Raíces Naturopathic Medical Center — schedule at raicesndmedcenter.com.

  4. Sep 10

    GLP-1 Weight Loss Drugs: A Naturopathic Doctor's Honest Take - EP118

    Everyone is talking about GLP-1 medications. Hollywood is using them. Doctors are prescribing them. Influencers are promoting them. And Dr. Lara is not going to stay quiet about what she is actually seeing — in her clinic, on her patients, and in the evidence that is not making headlines. Dr. Ana Lara takes a clear, clinically grounded stand on GLP-1 medications — semaglutide and their class — and explains in plain terms why she will not prescribe them, would not take them herself, and would not recommend them to anyone she loves. This is not a trendy take or a reflexive anti-medication position. It is a physician who has thought carefully about mechanism, downstream consequences, and first principles applying those frameworks to a medication the industry has normalized far too quickly. She explains how GLP-1 drugs work — slowing gut motility, suppressing appetite, and producing weight loss that studies show is predominantly muscle mass, not fat — and walks through the clinical consequences she is observing: constipation, nausea, nutrient deficiencies, hair loss, brittle nails, gray skin tone, bone loss, loss of mental clarity, gallbladder disease, gastroparesis, kidney issues, diabetic retinopathy, thyroid nodules, and thyroid cancer. She also addresses the hormonal root causes of weight resistance that most prescribers never investigate — leptin resistance, insulin resistance, estrone elevation, pregnenolone deficiency — and explains the naturopathic alternatives she uses instead. She closes with practical guidance on tracking true fat loss versus muscle loss, and a direct challenge to practitioners who are prescribing these medications without addressing the underlying reasons the weight was there in the first place. Studies show that the majority of weight lost on GLP-1 medications is muscle mass, not fat — and for women especially, lean muscle is longevity, hormone regulation, glucose control, and structural integrity that cannot be casually sacrificed. GLP-1 drugs slow gut motility, leading to constipation, nausea, gastroparesis, nutrient malabsorption, and — with chronic constipation — increased colorectal cancer risk. Gut health is the foundation of systemic health; deliberately impairing it is not a small trade-off. Known risks include gallbladder disease, pancreatitis, kidney issues, diabetic retinopathy, thyroid nodules, and thyroid cancer. Dr. Lara has personally observed thyroid nodule development in patients who have been on GLP-1 medications for one to two years. Weight resistance is usually hormonal — leptin resistance, insulin resistance, elevated estrone, low pregnenolone, unaddressed thyroid dysfunction, or cortisol dysregulation from poor sleep and stress. These can be tested, treated, and resolved without pharmaceuticals. Safe, sustainable fat loss is 1–2 pounds per week. Use a smart scale and digital measuring tape synced to a tracking app to distinguish fat loss from muscle loss — especially important when incorporating strength training. Timestamps:0:00 — Introduction: why Dr. Lara is willing to be the unpopular voice on this1:14 — What GLP-1 medications are and why she will not prescribe them3:51 — Muscle loss: what studies actually show about GLP-1 weight loss composition5:02 — Why losing muscle mass is especially dangerous for women over time5:54 — Saggy skin and "Ozempic face" explained: it's muscle loss, not just fat loss7:13 — How GLP-1 drugs work: slowing gut motility and the downstream consequences8:36 — Constipation, nausea, vomiting, and nutrient deficiency9:43 — Long-term consequences: bone loss, hair loss, brittle nails, gray skin tone12:32 — Gallbladder disease, pancreatitis, thyroid nodules, thyroid cancer, retinopathy13:52 — Gastroparesis: the paralysis of the stomach GLP-1 can cause14:22 — Chronic constipation and colorectal cancer risk15:27 — Natural alternatives Dr. Lara uses instead15:54 — Thyroid, adrenals, and mitochondria: how food deprivation strains energy systems17:49 — What Dr. Lara checks instead: full hormone panel, leptin, insulin, pregnenolone19:34 — Addressing the real root causes: sleep, stress, cortisol, and diet details21:46 — Safe fat loss: 1–2 lbs per week, smart scales, and measuring tape tracking25:53 — Closing: Dr. Lara's final word on GLP-1 and why she stands firm If you want to lose fat, balance your hormones, and heal your metabolism without medication, Dr. Lara works with patients at Raíces Naturopathic Medical Center — schedule at raicesndmedcenter.com.

  5. Sep 3

    Sudden Cardiac Arrest in Young Athletes: What Every Parent Must Know - EP117

    Anthony Bates had 25 sports physicals. Not one of them checked his heart. At 20 years old, he died of sudden cardiac arrest after a workout — from a condition that could have been detected with an EKG. His mother Sharon turned that grief into a mission that has now screened over 2 million people and saved more than 100,000 lives. Dr. Ana Lara sits down with Sharon Bates, CEO and founder of the Anthony Bates Foundation — a nonprofit dedicated to saving young lives through early detection of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), the leading cause of sudden cardiac death in young athletes. Sharon shares the story of her son Anthony, a Division I football player at Kansas State University who collapsed and died at age 20 from an enlarged heart three times the normal size — a condition that produces no symptoms in many cases until it is too late. She walks through what the foundation does, the scale of what they have built, and why 1 in 7 people screened have a detectable heart problem and 1 in 40 have a life-threatening one. They cover the warning signs parents and children should know, what an ABF heart screening includes (12-lead EKG, limited echocardiogram, blood pressure check — in 15 minutes for children, 20 for adults), and what it costs ($35 for children, $135 for adults — made affordable through major corporate sponsors including the Phoenix Suns and Arizona Cardinals). Dr. Lara also announces that Sharon is bringing screenings to Raíces Naturopathic Medical Center, and both women make the case for preventive heart screening as a naturopathic principle: you do not wait for symptoms to investigate what could already be there. Timestamps0:00 — Introduction: Dr. Lara welcomes Sharon Bates and the Anthony Bates Foundation1:57 — Sharon's story: Anthony's sudden death at 20 after 25 sports physicals4:33 — How HCM presents — and how Anthony's heart was three times its normal size5:40 — Why routine sports physicals miss HCM: the gap in standard care6:09 — How Sharon started the foundation and the first screening at Kansas State8:59 — The ripple effect of a child's death on the entire family10:15 — 23,000 sudden cardiac arrests in US children per year10:46 — Warning signs: dizziness, chest pain, palpitations at rest — and why kids don't report them12:16 — Scale of the foundation: 2 million screened, 100,000 lives saved14:47 — Anthony's Eagle Scout legacy: leaving the world better than you found it15:16 — What an ABF heart screening looks like: EKG, echocardiogram, blood pressure16:01 — 1 in 7 screened have a heart problem; 1 in 40 have a life-threatening one17:49 — The most common finding: high blood pressure in teenagers18:47 — Screening cost: $35 for children, $135 for adults — why ABF keeps it affordable21:28 — Prevention as a naturopathic principle: screening before symptoms appear23:26 — Save story: Sam, 13, Wolf-Parkinson-White syndrome detected — and corrected26:46 — Sam's outcome: surgery, high school graduation, college graduation, marriage27:41 — The shortage problem: 74 million children, only 3,500 pediatric cardiologists29:03 — Upcoming screenings in Phoenix and at Raíces; how to schedule31:21 — Sharon's closing message to parents32:40 — Dr. Lara's closing: share this episode, get your family screened Sharon M. Bates-Maier  CEO/Founder                                   Anthony Bates Foundation     (602) 482-5606                    www.AnthonyBates.org  www.AnthonyBates.org/appointments  Screening at Raices Naturopathic Medical Center on September 21st, 10:30am-4pmTo schedule visit: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/raices-phoenix-appt-registration Youth screenings take 10 minutes, and Adult appointments are 20 minutes. Within our schedule, two youth can be done within 30 minutes, or 1 adult in 30 minutes. Youth screening appointments are $35Adult screening appointments are $135 To schedule a heart screening at Raíces or find an ABF event near you, visit the Anthony Bates Foundation at anthonybatesfoundation.org — or reach out to Raíces at raicesndmedcenter.com. Screenings are $35 for children and $135 for adults.

  6. Aug 27

    Why You're Not Healing — The Hard Truths Most Doctors Won't Say - EP116

    You've tried the treatments. You've seen the doctors. You've bought the supplements. And you're still not well. Before you blame the medicine, the doctor, or your diagnosis — this episode is going to ask you something harder. Have you actually committed? Dr. Ana Lara gets candid — genuinely candid — about the patterns she has observed across years of clinical practice in the people who do not heal, despite having access to the right treatment plan and the right practitioner. This is not an episode designed to make you comfortable. It is designed to wake you up. She walks through the real reasons people stay sick: unwillingness to commit to change, an expectation of shortcuts and instant results after years of accumulated illness, the refusal to face trauma and unresolved darkness, the habit of identifying so deeply with a medical diagnosis that healing becomes unconsciously threatening, placing the responsibility for their own healing in someone else's hands, and — the thread that runs through every case she has ever seen heal — a lack of faith. She also speaks personally about the cost of not investing in your health early, sharing her own experience of spending six years and countless doctor visits inside a system that couldn't help her, and the $3,000 she eventually paid out of pocket to a naturopathic doctor who got her results in three months — an investment she says she would have paid $25,000 for had she found it six years sooner. This episode precedes her clinical cases episode and sets the frame: what separates the people who heal from those who don't is not the treatment. It is the person. No treatment plan, no matter how precise, will work without the patient's commitment to implement it. The implementation gap is the most common reason people fail to heal — not the medicine. Expecting fast results after 10 or 15 years of accumulated illness is unrealistic. A fair expectation: noticeable change in the first month, substantial improvement by three months, and significant resolution by six months — if you are committed. Identifying with your diagnosis — "my anxiety," "my diabetes," "I am a diabetic" — makes it harder to heal because the condition becomes part of your identity. A diagnosis is information about what is currently happening in your body. It is not who you are. Some people are unconsciously resistant to healing because illness has become a source of attention, support, or identity. Recognizing this pattern — without judgment — is the first step toward moving past it. Every patient Dr. Lara has asked "what made you heal?" has answered the same way: faith. The belief that there is an answer, that healing is possible, and the willingness to keep moving toward it even when things are hard. Timestamps 0:00 — Introduction: a shift in perspective and why Dr. Lara is speaking up1:45 — Observations on why people are not healing2:31 — Reason 1: unwillingness to commit to change5:57 — Reason 2: unwillingness to invest in themselves7:18 — Dr. Lara's personal story: 6 years, $3,000, and the naturopath who changed everything10:54 — Reason 3: wanting shortcuts and unrealistic timelines13:37 — What realistic healing timelines actually look like14:06 — Reason 4: unwillingness to face trauma and unresolved darkness14:48 — Reason 5: identifying with the diagnosis16:23 — Why Dr. Lara tells patients not to tell everyone about a new diagnosis18:26 — When healing becomes threatening: the psychology of reverting21:08 — Reason 6: placing responsibility for healing in someone else's hands22:33 — The doctor's role: facilitating, not fixing23:52 — Reason 7: lack of faith in the healing process24:42 — What healed patients say was the key ingredient — every single time25:59 — Is your health a priority? The honest question29:28 — You cannot pray for health and violate the laws of health33:40 — Phoenix heat as a live example of physiological demand35:18 — Closing: start today, commit to 2 or 3 things, and follow the next episode on clinical cases If you're ready to stop bouncing between treatments and actually commit to the process, Dr. Lara is accepting new patients at Raíces Naturopathic Medical Center — schedule at raicesndmedcenter.com.

  7. Aug 20

    Real Patient Cases: Arthritis, Thyroid Cancer, Lupus & Diabetes Reversed - EP115

    What does naturopathic root-cause medicine actually look like when it works? Not in theory — in real cases, with real patients, real lab values, and outcomes that conventional medicine told them weren't possible. This episode is the evidence. Dr. Ana Lara shares five de-identified clinical cases from her practice at Raíces — patients who committed fully to the naturopathic process and experienced outcomes that stopped her in her tracks. A woman with severe inflammatory arthritis in her hands, wrists, elbows, and knees: pain and swelling completely gone within 30 days of dietary changes and targeted supplementation. A patient incidentally found to have a thyroid nodule highly suspicious for cancer on ultrasound — who declined biopsy, committed to IV ozone therapy three times a week and significant dietary changes, and had no evidence of tumor on repeat ultrasound within three months. Multiple lupus cases now in long-term remission — many of them traced to heavy metal burden — some clear for six to seven years. A physician with an A1C of nearly 12 who brought it to 5.4 in three months without medication. And a woman running on an empty hormonal and metabolic tank — nearly every lab value out of range, cortisol at a 1 — who came back the next month looking like a different person and is now being weaned off multiple diabetes medications. Dr. Lara uses these cases to illustrate the principles she has been teaching throughout this series: remove the obstacles, give the body what it needs, commit to the process, and let the body's God-given intelligence do the rest. Inflammatory arthritis driven by lectin-containing nightshade foods can resolve completely within 30 days when those specific foods are identified and removed — supplements help, but the dietary change is what makes it fast and lasting. Thyroid nodules suspicious for cancer on ultrasound — with otherwise normal thyroid labs — can respond to aggressive natural protocols including IV ozone therapy with ultraviolet light, dietary overhaul, and faith in the healing process. Lupus in many cases has a heavy metal or environmental toxin root — chelation and detoxification, done properly and under physician supervision, can put autoimmune conditions into long-term remission. Type two diabetes is reversible. A hemoglobin A1C of nearly 12 dropped to 5.4 in three months with dietary change, targeted supplementation (including berberine and chromium), and monthly accountability labs. Monthly follow-up and accountability labs are not about revenue — they are the clinical mechanism that ensures the patient is following through, allows the treatment to be adjusted in real time, and creates the feedback loop that drives fast results. Timestamps:0:00 — Introduction: cases of patients who committed and healed1:20 — Disclosure: no identifying information shared1:55 — Case 1: severe inflammatory arthritis — pain and swelling gone in 30 days4:31 — The role of nightshade foods and lectins in joint inflammation7:06 — How Dr. Lara knows when a case is truly resolved8:20 — Case 2: thyroid nodule suspicious for cancer — resolved in 3 months9:26 — IV ozone therapy with ultraviolet light: what it is and how it was used10:41 — The importance of faith in the healing process11:53 — Case 3: lupus — multiple patients in long-term remission12:23 — Why a negative ANA can still be a false negative for lupus14:01 — Heavy metals and lupus: the connection most doctors miss17:46 — Chronic stress and sleep deprivation as lupus flare triggers20:15 — Case 4: physician with A1C of nearly 12 — reversed to 5.4 in 3 months22:07 — Why Dr. Lara checks A1C monthly, not every 3 months25:38 — Every treatment plan is unique: berberine, chromium, and individualized support27:22 — Case 5: woman with depleted hormones, cortisol of 1, multiple diabetes medications30:19 — Weaning off medications as the body heals33:13 — Closing: the fighting spirit that makes healing possible If you are sick and tired of being sick and tired, Dr. Lara is accepting new patients at Raíces Naturopathic Medical Center. Schedule at raicesndmedcenter.com.

  8. Aug 13

    Why Doctors Are Leaving Medicine — And What It Means for You - EP114

    54% of physicians report frequent burnout. 57% experienced significant emotional distress in the past year. And a growing number of doctors — many of them under 40, many of them excellent — are walking away from medicine entirely. This is not a personal failure. It is a systemic crisis. And it is coming for your access to care. Dr. Ana Lara opens this episode with something personal — a week of compounding loss, including the sudden death of a close friend, that stopped her in her tracks and forced her to do exactly what she teaches: slow down, cancel, and take care of herself first. It was in that season of grief that she began noticing a pattern flooding her YouTube feed: physician after physician, many of them young and accomplished, sharing why they were leaving medicine. She listened. And in this episode, she shares what she heard and what it means for patients. She covers the systemic forces driving physician departure — corporate productivity metrics, loss of clinical autonomy, insurance company interference in treatment decisions, administrative overload, moral injury from being unable to practice medicine the way they were trained — and connects it to a larger question: if doctors keep leaving and the pool of trained practitioners keeps shrinking while the number of chronically ill Americans keeps growing, who is going to take care of us? She also speaks to the generational shift she is observing, applauding younger physicians for refusing to sacrifice their identity, health, and family on an altar that was never worthy of that sacrifice — and closes with a direct challenge to every listener: physician, heal thyself. That means you too, if you work in health care. According to recent national data, 54% of physicians report frequent burnout, 55% report debilitating stress, and 57% experienced significant depression, anxiety, or emotional distress in the past year — and these numbers reflect 2025, years after the peak of the pandemic. Physicians are leaving not because they no longer care, but because the system has stripped away what made the work meaningful: time with patients, clinical autonomy, and the ability to practice medicine according to their training and conscience. Insurance companies now routinely dictate which medications physicians can prescribe, which imaging they can order, and in what sequence — creating moral injury for doctors who know what their patient needs but cannot deliver it. Younger physicians are not less committed — they are entering a fundamentally different and more demanding system than their predecessors, and they are refusing to accept the culture of silent sacrifice that older generations normalized. As private practices close and doctors consolidate into hospital-owned networks or leave medicine entirely, patients — especially those with chronic conditions and limited resources — will face longer waits, less continuity, and fewer options. Timestamps:0:00 — Introduction: a personal season of loss and what it revealed2:44 — Noticing the pattern: videos of physicians leaving medicine5:30 — Why this matters for patients, not just doctors7:41 — The numbers: physician burnout statistics in 20259:32 — Why doctors entered medicine — and what the system did with that10:00 — Corporate medicine: productivity metrics, loss of autonomy, moral injury12:04 — Administrative overload: the documentation crisis eating clinical time15:23 — Insurance interference: prior authorizations, step therapy, and prescription mandates19:04 — The loss of the doctor-patient relationship20:53 — Long hours and the residency culture that starts the burnout early22:45 — A generational shift: what younger physicians are refusing to accept25:24 — Older vs. newer medical culture: sacrifice as calling vs. medicine as sustainable work28:31 — Identity beyond profession: you are more than what you do31:53 — The closing of private practices and what it costs communities33:43 — The looming shortage: who will care for a growing chronically ill population?37:06 — Physician, heal thyself: a word to every health care professional listening If you are a patient navigating a system that has failed to hear you, or a practitioner looking for a different way to practice medicine, Dr. Lara is at raicesndmedcenter.com.

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Teaching on whole person approach to health and spirituality. We will speak on topics on spirituality, soul, body, mind and emotional health; and natural means to heal.

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