The Trip Lab

Dr. Mary Ella Wood
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  • MEDICINE
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The Trip Lab is a podcast on integrative medicine and psychedelics hosted by board-certified physician Dr. Mary Ella Wood. Through conversations on psychedelics, neuroscience, and whole-person care, the show examines emerging evidence alongside deeper questions of meaning, healing, and human experience. Life is a trip. Let’s explore it.

  1. 19H AGO

    #26 – What Psychedelics Ask of Those Who Lead

    Psychedelic medicine is moving fast. Faster than regulation. Faster than standardization. And in many ways, faster than the data itself. In this episode, we explore what psychedelics are teaching us about practicing medicine under uncertainty. From the rapid rise of training programs and self-identified experts, to the tension between lived experience, emerging science, and clinical responsibility, this conversation looks beyond hype or skepticism. Drawing on psychedelic research, integrative medicine, and historical parallels like psychotherapy, biofeedback, and hormone therapy, this episode asks a deeper question: how do we determine expertise in an emerging field? And what does responsible leadership look like when certainty would be premature? This is an invitation to steward a powerful field with humility, honesty, and care. Psychedelics are teachers, let’s let them teach us.

    28 min

  2. MAR 16

    #25 – We Oversimplified Psychedelics. The Brain Is Doing Something More Interesting (DMN Modulation, Network Dynamics, and the Brain–Body Connection)

    Our understanding of how psychedelics work has evolved in meaningful ways over the past several years. While earlier neuroscience frameworks helped move the field forward, newer research has added important nuance and depth to how we interpret brain imaging, network behavior, and subjective experience. In this episode of The Trip Lab, I offer a refresh on psychedelic neuroscience, focusing on key updates from the past four years and how they change the story we tell about what’s happening in the brain and the body during psychedelic states. We explore: How the Default Mode Network is better understood as dynamically modulated rather than simply reducedWhy psychedelic brain states are best described as time-varying and network-based rather than staticHow neural entropy is now understood as increased flexibility through relaxed constraintsWhy brain, body, and context are inseparable in shaping psychedelic experiences and outcomesThis episode is designed to update earlier explanations, clarify what has changed, and highlight why the newer neuroscience offers a more accurate and more interesting framework for understanding psychedelic effects.

    24 min

  3. MAR 2

    #24 – Microdosing Psychedelics: Evidence Updates, the Placebo Response, and the Neuroscience Behind Why It May (or May Not) Work

    Microdosing has gone mainstream and is often described as a tool for creativity, mood, productivity, and emotional healing. But what does the science actually say? In this episode of The Trip Lab, I take an evidence-based look at microdosing psychedelics. We explore what microdosing is, how it differs from full-dose psychedelic therapy, and the proposed neurobiological mechanisms that have been suggested in the literature. I review what current clinical trials and placebo-controlled studies are showing so far, and where the data remains limited or inconclusive. A central focus of this episode is the placebo response. Rather than treating placebo as “fake” or irrelevant, I explain how expectancy, meaning, belief, and context produce real, measurable changes in the brain and body. We discuss why placebo responses are especially strong in interventions involving consciousness, perception, and mental health, and how this helps explain why many people genuinely feel better with microdosing even when objective outcomes are mixed. This episode separates enthusiasm from evidence, explores where microdosing may be helpful, where claims get overstretched, and what questions researchers are actively trying to answer next. If you’re curious about microdosing and want a grounded, medically informed perspective that respects both science and lived experience, this conversation is for you.

    24 min

  4. FEB 16

    #23 – Functional Medicine Testing: When it’s helpful, limitations, and the truth about test validation

    Functional medicine testing is everywhere. It is often marketed as “test, don’t guess,” and just as often dismissed as invalidated or unscientific. So what is the truth? In this episode of The Trip Lab, we take a deep dive into what functional medicine testing actually is, how it differs from traditional laboratory testing, and what clinicians really mean when they say these tests are not “validated.” We explore why some advanced tests can be genuinely helpful when used thoughtfully, where their limitations lie, and why more testing does not always lead to better care. We walk through several commonly used functional medicine tests that I actually do use in my practice, including DUTCH, GI-MAP, and Organic Acids Testing (OAT), breaking down what each test measures, when it can add value, and … when it might not be helpful as well. We also discuss why I typically don’t recommend mold or environmental toxin testing, and why exposure history and foundational interventions often matter more than identifying a specific toxin.

    23 min

  5. FEB 2

    #22 – Is Modern Medicine Still Evidence-Based? Reclaiming Evidence, Restoring Clinical Wisdom

    Is modern medicine still evidence-based, or have we quietly mistaken rigor for certainty? Evidence-based medicine is essential. It’s why we save lives, advance care, and trust modern healthcare. But as medicine has become more specialized and disease more complex, something subtle has happened. Rigor has increasingly turned into reductionism, and evidence is often applied in ways that don’t fully match the realities of clinical practice or patients’ lived experiences. In this episode of The Trip Lab, I take a careful look at what we mean when we say “evidence-based medicine.” We explore the difference between statistical significance and clinical significance, how guidelines are created and why they are evidence-informed rather than infallible, and why many patients feel unwell despite having “normal” labs. This conversation also examines how modern research methods struggle to capture complexity, particularly in chronic, system-level disease. We look at where reductionism has helped medicine advance, where it now falls short, and why ancient healing systems and emerging fields like systems biology, functional medicine, and precision medicine are pointing us toward a more integrated future. This episode is not a rejection of evidence. It’s an invitation to reclaim it. To restore clinical wisdom alongside data, and to practice medicine with both rigor and curiosity. In this episode, we cover: What “evidence-based medicine” actually means and how it’s evolvedStatistical significance vs. clinical significanceThe strengths and limitations of medical guidelinesWhy reductionist models don’t fully explain chronic diseaseWhy patients can feel unwell even when labs are “normal”How medicine might evolve to better study complexityWhy medicine is both a science and an artThe podcast name, The Trip Lab, nods to psychedelics, but a “trip,” psychedelic or otherwise, is ultimately an exploration. A willingness to step outside familiar frameworks, question what we think we know, and notice connections that weren’t obvious before. If you’ve ever felt tension between what the data says, what the guidelines allow, and what the patient in front of you actually needs... or if you are a patient who has been failed by modern medicine, this episode is for you.

    35 min

  6. JAN 26

    #21 – Psychedelics & Mystical Experiences: Why Medicine Is Uncomfortable Talking About Them

    Why do psychedelic experiences so often feel spiritual, sacred, or life-changing? Why are mystical-type experiences so closely linked to lasting therapeutic benefit? And why does medicine struggle to talk about them at all? In this episode, we explore the neuroscience and psychology behind mystical experiences in psychedelics. We examine how shifts in brain networks involved in meaning, identity, and self-referential thinking can give rise to experiences of unity, insight, and transcendence, and why these subjective moments may matter more than the drug itself. A grounded exploration of what psychedelic science is revealing about meaning, consciousness, and healing.

    25 min

  7. JAN 12

    #20 – NAD, Longevity, and the Line Between Promise and Proof

    NAD has become one of the most talked-about molecules in longevity medicine—showing up in supplements, IV clinics, lab testing, and bold claims about aging and healthspan. But what does the science actually show? In this episode of The Trip Lab, we take a clear, evidence-based look at NAD and use it as a lens to explore the broader field of longevity medicine. We break down what NAD does in the human body, why it’s linked to the hallmarks of aging, and why declining NAD is often a signal of cumulative cellular stress rather than a simple deficiency. We also dive into the realities of NAD testing, the limitations of blood-based biomarkers, and what clinical trials of NR and NMN supplementation have—and have not—demonstrated so far. Along the way, we unpack why longevity research is both exciting and vulnerable to overhype, and why translating aging biology into meaningful human outcomes takes time. This episode is for anyone curious about longevity medicine who wants clarity without hype—and a better framework for thinking about promise versus proof.

    21 min

  8. 12/22/2025

    #19 – DEEP DIVE SERIES: Hyperlipidemia (Why Cholesterol and Statins Aren’t the Villains You Think They Are)

    In this Deep Dive episode of The Trip Lab, we unpack hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol) beyond the oversimplified “LDL bad, HDL good” narrative. We also take a clear-eyed look at the most common concerns people have about statins, what the evidence actually shows, and where these medications fit—and don’t fit—within a thoughtful, individualized approach to cardiovascular risk. From there, we explore integrative strategies for managing elevated cholesterol and why, for many patients, lifestyle, metabolic health, and inflammation-targeted interventions may be more effective than medications alone. In this episode, we discuss: Why cholesterol is biologically essential and not inherently pathologicalThe limitations of relying on LDL alone to assess cardiovascular riskHow inflammation, insulin resistance, genetics, hormones, and lifestyle influence lipid metabolismWhen elevated cholesterol truly signals disease—and when it may reflect a compensatory or adaptive responseThe role of advanced markers such as ApoB, Lp(a), hsCRP and CAC scoresWhy risk stratification—not fear-based medicine—should guide clinical decision-makingWhat statins can (and cannot do) and we break down the concerns people have with themWhy integrative approaches (nutrition, exercise, herbal options and mind-body medicine) truly treat the root cause of diseaseThis episode is for clinicians, patients, and anyone looking to move beyond simplistic cholesterol narratives toward a more nuanced, evidence-based understanding of cardiovascular health.

    39 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
9 Ratings

About

The Trip Lab is a podcast on integrative medicine and psychedelics hosted by board-certified physician Dr. Mary Ella Wood. Through conversations on psychedelics, neuroscience, and whole-person care, the show examines emerging evidence alongside deeper questions of meaning, healing, and human experience. Life is a trip. Let’s explore it.

Information

  • Creator
    Dr. Mary Ella Wood
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    26
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Trip Lab
  • Show Website
    The Trip Lab

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