Master Stress with Dr. S

Safia Debar
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Medicine
  • Updated Weekly

Welcome to Master Stress with Dr. S, the podcast that empowers high-achievers to unlock their full potential by mastering stress and achieving burnout-proof success. Hosted by Dr. Safia Debar, a renowned stress expert, medical doctor, speaker and coach. Each episode dives deep into the neuroscience of stress, blending logic and intuition to give you practical tools for thriving in a fast-paced world. Whether you’re navigating the pressures of leadership, striving for peak performance, or yearning for a life of balance and freedom, Dr. Safia Debar will guide you through powerful strategies, expert insights, and personal stories to help you regain control, nurture your well-being, and live authentically. Tune in to discover how to stop stress from holding you back and start living your best, empowered life.

  1. 23m ago

    Part 2: Emma Beswick: Why Generic Health Advice Fails Your Specific Biology

    Dr. S continues a conversation with Emma Beswick of LifeCode GX about nutrigenomics and key SNPs affecting stress and health. Emma explains MAOA “warrior gene” variants that influence dopamine and adrenaline breakdown, and a GABA receptor SNP linked to anxiety and potential attraction to sedatives, alcohol, or benzodiazepines. They stress using genetic information for empowerment, not fear, emphasizing pre-test counseling, actionable steps, and avoiding “20 supplements forever.” Emma describes how rapid environmental change, information overload, and poor sleep clash with stable genetics, highlights circadian “clock genes” and chronotypes, and discusses gene–environment interactions and “power SNPs.” For fatigue, hormones, gut, stress, and sleep concerns, she prioritizes mitochondrial function, oxidative stress, and methylation, alongside nutrient needs such as zinc and magnesium, and advises practitioner-led testing and avoiding misinformation. 00:00 Welcome and Nutrigenomics 01:15 MAOA Warrior Gene 03:32 GABA and Anxiety Links 05:39 Testing Mindset and Counseling 07:29 Genes vs Modern Environment 10:03 Sleep Genes and Chronotypes 14:35 Environment Overrides Genetics 17:04 Mitochondria and Resilience 20:19 Antioxidants and Methylation 21:44 Metabolic Pathway Insights 22:43 Minerals for Insulin Control 23:40 Cholesterol and Statin Nuance 24:31 Replenishing Nutrients Safely 25:12 Genes vs Functional Testing 27:09 Genetics Context Over Time 28:14 Clinician Advice and Hype 30:52 Future of Genetic Testing 33:20 Ordering Tests the Right Way 35:04 Avoiding Influencer Misinformation 36:36 Why Practitioner Guidance Matters 37:57 Final Thanks and Wrap Connect with Dr Safia Debar Dr Safia Debar Speaker / Coach | Medical Doctor | Breathwork Facilitator  One of Tatler's "Top 21 private doctors in Britain" 2020 www.drsafiadebar.com contact@drsafiadebar.com IG: @drsafiadebar Tiktok: drsafiadebar Find our free resources here: www.drsafiadebar.com/resource

  2. Sep 14

    Your DNA Is the Blueprint You've Been Ignoring. Emma Beswick part 1: Nutrigenomics isn't biohacking, It's reading the instructions you were already given.

    Dr. S introduces a longevity series focused on basics over “shiny” biohacks, emphasizing DNA, nutrigenomics, and that genes are not destiny due to epigenetics. She welcomes Emma Beswick, founder and CEO of LifeCode GX, to discuss genomics and how nutrigenomics/nutrigenetics use actionable insights about how nutrients affect gene function and individual needs. They explain SNPs as common single-letter DNA differences that may alter protein shape and function (e.g., receptors). Emma highlights starting with essential vitamins/minerals and genetic variability in nutrient requirements and forms, using vitamin D receptor differences and the importance of cofactors. They cover key genes: COMT’s role in methylating and deactivating catechols (estrogen, dopamine, adrenaline, histamine), its dependence on methyl groups and magnesium, and its links to stress recovery and rumination. They demystify MTHFR as common (about 50%), affecting folate activation to methylfolate, requiring B2 and other B vitamins, and note food-first support and context-specific supplementation. 00:00 Longevity With Perspective 03:38 Meet Emma Beswick 05:45 Genomics And Nutrigenomics 11:26 Key Nutrients And Cofactors 16:05 SNPs Made Simple 20:51 COMT Stress Crossroads 28:25 MTHFR Folate Pathway 34:33 SSRIs And Nutrient Foundations 38:40 Zooming Out And Wrap Up Connect with Dr Safia Debar Dr Safia Debar Speaker / Coach | Medical Doctor | Breathwork Facilitator  One of Tatler's "Top 21 private doctors in Britain" 2020 www.drsafiadebar.com contact@drsafiadebar.com IG: @drsafiadebar Tiktok: drsafiadebar Find our free resources here: www.drsafiadebar.com/resource

  3. Sep 7

    Part 2: Dr Jeff Gladden: What Is Your Biohacking Actually Trying to Fix?

    Dr. S continues her conversation with Dr. Jeff Gladden about reframing longevity and health optimization by asking better questions rather than following fear-driven biohacking trends. Gladden argues that adulthood overvalues competence and right answers, reducing play, novelty, rest, and parasympathetic balance, even though curiosity and challenge keep the nervous system youthful. He describes GLAD& Longevity’s individualized, systems-biology model using five circles and AI to deconstruct the body as an interconnected ecosystem and find leverage points beyond siloed medicine, while also discussing mind-body-spirit integration and calming the nervous system to improve outcomes from regenerative therapies. Gladden shares daily practices (gratitude journaling, affirmations, exercise, sauna), emphasizes processing root fears to regain freedom and fun, and suggests choosing a “physical age” to wake up as each day to guide behaviors toward youthfulness and purpose. 00:00 Part Two Setup 02:43 Curiosity Keeps You Young 03:54 Play Rest And Youth 04:55 Questions Over Answers 06:15 Systems Biology Intake 09:49 Body Mind Soul Split 12:26 Nervous System Spirituality 14:09 Longevity Without Hustle 15:23 Youthful Body Wise Mind 18:15 Why Live Forever 18:44 Pendulum Back to Center 19:41 Daily Rituals for Joy 22:05 Root Fear and Freedom 23:57 Fun as High Connection 25:30 Cracking Aging with AI 26:53 Quantum Computing Explained 29:40 Choose Your Forever Age 31:00 Closing Thanks and Takeaway Connect with Dr Safia Debar Dr Safia Debar Speaker / Coach | Medical Doctor | Breathwork Facilitator  One of Tatler's "Top 21 private doctors in Britain" 2020 www.drsafiadebar.com contact@drsafiadebar.com IG: @drsafiadebar Tiktok: drsafiadebar Find our free resources here: www.drsafiadebar.com/resource

  4. Aug 31

    Longevity Beyond Biohacking: Dr. Jeff Gladden on Exponential Aging, Purpose, and Health Optimization - Part 1

    Dr. S introduces a podcast series on longevity and interviews Dr. Jeffrey Gladden, a cardiologist-turned-longevity physician and founder of Gladden Longevity in Dallas. Gladden describes how, despite being told his labs were “normal for his age,” he experienced weight gain, fatigue, anxiety, brain fog, and depression in his 50s and felt conventional medicine offered only sick care. After a two-and-a-half-year functional and integrative medicine deep dive, he identified subclinical hypothyroidism, genetic thyroid conversion issues, hormonal depletion, and neurotransmitter challenges, and found targeted therapies plus meditation helped him recover. He explains aging is biologically exponential and outlines his five-circle systems approach—life energy (psychospiritual), longevity (hallmarks of aging), health, performance, and environments—guided by questions like “How good can I be?” and “How do we live young for a lifetime?” 00:00 Longevity Everywhere 01:58 Meet Dr Jeff Gladden 04:07 Cardiology Wake Up Call 06:37 When Aging Accelerates 08:05 Functional Medicine Breakthrough 12:00 Leaving Conventional Medicine 12:51 Courage Purpose Identity 17:16 Spiritual Roots And Psychedelics 20:27 Love Creates Joy 22:48 Five Circles Longevity System 27:28 How Good Can I Be 28:23 Part Two Teaser Connect with Dr Safia Debar Dr Safia Debar Speaker / Coach | Medical Doctor | Breathwork Facilitator  One of Tatler's "Top 21 private doctors in Britain" 2020 www.drsafiadebar.com contact@drsafiadebar.com IG: @drsafiadebar Tiktok: drsafiadebar Find our free resources here: www.drsafiadebar.com/resource

  5. Aug 24

    The Map Has Always Existed. What Every Ancient Tradition Agreed On — and What You Can Do About It Today

    Dr. Safia Debar closes the “When Science Met Soul” series by highlighting the shared conclusion across 5,000 years of clinical observation: the body has innate intelligence and moves toward health when its rhythms, nourishment, relationships, and spiritual connection are supported, a principle mirrored in modern concepts like homeostasis, polyvagal theory, psychoneuroimmunology, gut-brain axis, and circadian biology. She briefly introduces Japanese shinrin-yoku (forest bathing) with evidence for reduced cortisol and improved immune markers via phytoncides; Native American healing as a biopsychosocial-spiritual “medicine wheel” including dawn-greeting practices aligned with cortisol rhythms; and Amazonian curanderismo as ecological, relational medicine, noting modern psilocybin trials while not advocating use. She synthesizes the convergence into eight actionable steps: midday largest meal, pre-sleep breathwork, morning light/dawn practice, gut foundations, weekly green-space immersion, one fully present conversation, adding prophetic foods (e.g., black seed, honey, olive oil), and asking what blocks recovery before adding interventions, then previews a forthcoming longevity series. 00:00 Series Wrap Up 03:32 Forest Bathing Science 07:14 Native Healing Balance 09:28 Amazonian Curanderismo 14:46 All Traditions Converge 18:49 Return To Design 20:59 Eight Practical Practices 28:59 Why Medicine Split 32:05 Next Series Longevity 33:15 Final Invitation Connect with Dr Safia Debar Dr Safia Debar Speaker / Coach | Medical Doctor | Breathwork Facilitator  One of Tatler's "Top 21 private doctors in Britain" 2020 www.drsafiadebar.com contact@drsafiadebar.com IG: @drsafiadebar Tiktok: drsafiadebar Find our free resources here: www.drsafiadebar.com/resource

  6. Aug 17

    I Am Because We Are: African Traditional Medicine and the Wisdom of Ubuntu

    Dr. Safia Debar continues “When Science Met Soul” by highlighting African traditional medicine through the story of Charles Stevens, who recovered from tuberculosis in the late 1800s using a South African healer’s plant remedy later identified as Pelargonium sidoides (African geranium), now supported by clinical trials, a Cochrane review, and UK studies for bronchitis as an antibiotic alternative. She argues African healing is the oldest yet most under-researched tradition, disrupted by colonialism’s dismantling of oral knowledge, despite widespread reliance on traditional medicine and WHO support for integration. Central is Ubuntu—“a person is a person through other persons”—presented as a clinical model of relational health, aligned with WHO 2024 findings on loneliness and research on social connection and polyvagal regulation. She also reviews evidence on rooibos and devil’s claw, and offers practical “prescriptions”: audit real co-regulating relationships, consider African geranium for respiratory infections, and mindfully drink rooibos. 00:00 Stevens TB Remedy 03:37 Why Africa Ignored 07:42 Ubuntu Explained 11:04 Connection Science 14:33 Polyvagal Meets Ubuntu 17:38 Medicinal Plants Evidence 21:51 Why Research Lags 23:34 Three Part Prescription 26:50 Series Wrap Up 29:05 Final Takeaway Connect with Dr Safia Debar Dr Safia Debar Speaker / Coach | Medical Doctor | Breathwork Facilitator  One of Tatler's "Top 21 private doctors in Britain" 2020 www.drsafiadebar.com contact@drsafiadebar.com IG: @drsafiadebar Tiktok: drsafiadebar Find our free resources here: www.drsafiadebar.com/resource

  7. Aug 10

    Ibn Sina and Prophetic Medicine: The Tradition That Taught the World — and the One That Keeps Being Proved Right

    Dr. Safia Debar continues her “When Science Met Soul” series with a tour of two coexisting medical traditions: Ibn Sina (Avicenna)’s empirically grounded Canon of Medicine (1025 CE) and Tibb an-Nabawi (prophetic medicine) rooted in revelation and prophetic example. She explains how the five-volume Canon shaped European medical education for about 600 years, highlights Ibn Sina’s evidence-based method, personalized constitutional medicine (mijaz), early ideas resembling germ theory and quarantine, and detailed mind-body observations akin to somatization and PTSD. She then reviews modern research aligned with prophetic practices, including clinical trials on black seed (Nigella sativa), fasting and autophagy (Nobel Prize 2016), honey’s antimicrobial uses, olive oil and cardiovascular benefits (PREDIMED), and wudu’s cold-water effects on parasympathetic activation. She closes with practical suggestions to assess mijaz, consider black seed oil and fasting with appropriate advice, and stay open and curious about shared principles like homeostasis. 00:00 Ancient Medicine Tour 02:36 Avicenna and the Canon 03:33 Who Was Ibn Sina 05:37 Scientific Method in 1025 07:38 Inside the Five Volumes 09:42 Avicenna’s Key Breakthroughs 13:58 Homeostasis and the Bridge 16:05 Introducing Prophetic Medicine 17:38 Black Seed Evidence 19:40 Fasting and Autophagy 21:57 Honey and Olive Oil 23:00 Wudu and Vagal Toning 23:56 Practical Prescription 25:50 Closing Reflections Connect with Dr Safia Debar Dr Safia Debar Speaker / Coach | Medical Doctor | Breathwork Facilitator  One of Tatler's "Top 21 private doctors in Britain" 2020 www.drsafiadebar.com contact@drsafiadebar.com IG: @drsafiadebar Tiktok: drsafiadebar Find our free resources here: www.drsafiadebar.com/resource

  8. Aug 3

    Hippocrates, Humours, and Why Your Gut Is Still Running the Show

    Dr. Safia Debar explains that Western medicine’s founders, Hippocrates and Galen, centered care on the body’s innate capacity to heal and the physician’s role in supporting it (“first, do no harm”), a philosophy she says modern practice kept in wording but largely abandoned. She recounts Hippocrates’ shift from supernatural to observational, evidence-based medicine; links his “healing power of nature” to homeostasis and modern stress physiology; and connects his gut-centered view of disease to contemporary gut-brain-axis and microbiome findings. She then describes Galen’s systemization of Hippocratic ideas, including the four temperaments and observations on emotion’s physical effects, and notes Arab scholars preserved and transmitted Galenic medicine to Europe. She offers four applications: ask what blocks recovery, know your temperament, prioritize gut health, and observe emotional-physical patterns, previewing a next episode on Ibn Sina and prophetic medicine. 00:00 Science Meets Soul Intro 01:50 Healing Power Forgotten 04:28 Who Was Hippocrates 06:47 Vis Medicatrix Naturae 09:22 Homeostasis And Stress 11:31 All Disease Begins Gut 14:42 Humors To Precision Medicine 17:04 Meet Galen In Rome 20:19 Four Temperaments Explained 25:08 Emotions And Disease Link 27:12 Arab Scholars Preserved Medicine 28:07 Four Practical Applications 33:28 Closing Summary Next Episode Connect with Dr Safia Debar Dr Safia Debar Speaker / Coach | Medical Doctor | Breathwork Facilitator  One of Tatler's "Top 21 private doctors in Britain" 2020 www.drsafiadebar.com contact@drsafiadebar.com IG: @drsafiadebar Tiktok: drsafiadebar Find our free resources here: www.drsafiadebar.com/resource

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About

Welcome to Master Stress with Dr. S, the podcast that empowers high-achievers to unlock their full potential by mastering stress and achieving burnout-proof success. Hosted by Dr. Safia Debar, a renowned stress expert, medical doctor, speaker and coach. Each episode dives deep into the neuroscience of stress, blending logic and intuition to give you practical tools for thriving in a fast-paced world. Whether you’re navigating the pressures of leadership, striving for peak performance, or yearning for a life of balance and freedom, Dr. Safia Debar will guide you through powerful strategies, expert insights, and personal stories to help you regain control, nurture your well-being, and live authentically. Tune in to discover how to stop stress from holding you back and start living your best, empowered life.

Information

  • Creator
    Safia Debar
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    85
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Safia Debar
  • Show Website
    Master Stress with Dr. S