The Crackin' Backs Podcast

Is Biohacking a Scam? Amanda Carlson-Phillips Reveals What Actually Works for Peak Performance

• Dr. Terry Weyman and Dr. Spencer Baron

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In this episode of the Crackin’ Backs Podcast, we are thrilled to welcome Amanda Carlson-Phillips, a trailblazer in the world of human performance. With nearly 20 years of experience, Amanda leads the Performance Innovation team at EXOS, where she has been instrumental in developing cutting-edge strategies to optimize health, recovery, and performance for a diverse range of clients. From elite athletes and professional sports teams to military operators and forward-thinking organizations, Amanda’s expertise has set the gold standard in the field.

Amanda, a registered dietitian, holds a bachelor’s degree in nutritional sciences with a minor in chemistry from the University of Arizona and a master’s degree in sports nutrition and exercise physiology from Florida State University. Her work goes far beyond nutrition, as she is celebrated for integrating high-performance programs that address all aspects of health and wellness. Amanda speaks nationally about the importance of sustainable habits, recovery strategies, and the role of nutrition in achieving peak performance and overall health.

In this episode, we explore Amanda’s journey and groundbreaking insights, including:

  • The early beliefs in performance nutrition that she has since debunked and how this evolution impacts her work today.
  • The myths of biohacking and the sustainable habits she recommends for long-term success, even in demanding lifestyles.
  • The often-overlooked aspects of recovery that can transform athletic and personal performance.
  • How nutrition and lifestyle choices play a pivotal role in preventing burnout and maintaining both physical and mental health.
  • Practical advice for the average person to elevate their fitness and health, starting with simple, actionable steps.
  • Her perspective on wearable tech and health metrics, and which data points truly matter for improving performance.
  • Predictions for the biggest lifestyle shifts in human performance over the next decade and how we can adapt.

Whether you’re an athlete, a health enthusiast, or someone looking to make meaningful changes in your life, this conversation with Amanda Carlson-Phillips is packed with invaluable advice and inspiration.

To learn more about Amanda and her groundbreaking work, visit EXOS. If you’re ready to work with the leader in human performance systems, explore EXOS’ services and programs today.

We are two sports chiropractors, seeking knowledge from some of the best resources in the world of health. From our perspective, health is more than just “Crackin Backs” but a deep dive into physical, mental, and nutritional well-being philosophies.

Join us as we talk to some of the greatest minds and discover some of the most incredible gems you can use to maintain a higher level of health. Crackin Backs Podcast

Dr. Spencer Baron:

This episode of The cracking backs podcast is sponsored by Guardian grains, growing nutrition. You can see, welcome to the cracking backs podcast today, we are joined by Amanda Carlson Phillips, a true pioneer in the field of human performance as the Vice President of Nutrition and research for Exos, Amanda has spent nearly 20 years transforming the way athletes, military, professionals and organizations optimize their potential with advanced degrees in Sports Nutrition and Exercise Physiology. She's mastered the art of building high performance systems that go way beyond just fitness. Oh. Amanda Carlson, welcome to this show. We are so happy to have you on. It's been a long time since we've spoke. I'm really glad you're on. Thank you for being with us today, too. Thank

Dr. Amanda Carlson-Philips:

you so much for the invitation. It's awesome to see you. It has been for sure, way too long. I don't think I want to count the years, but it's awesome to be here. I

Dr. Spencer Baron:

know. I think you've, you've had a couple kids now already, and you're just

Dr. Amanda Carlson-Philips:

just one, but I have a bit, you know, I have a I have a standard poodle as well. And he's, he is, he's a kid in his own right. He's, he's, he's, he's more of a challenge than my 13 year old. So, yeah, so, but lots of life has happened in between the times that the last time I saw you. Oh,

Dr. Spencer Baron:

that's great. We all have dogs so we can relate. They're like kids as well. They are sometimes better than kids. But anyway, that's, I didn't

Dr. Amanda Carlson-Philips:

just say, another one for another time, for another topic. That's

Dr. Terry Weyman:

another podcast.

Dr. Spencer Baron:

Good podcast. Yeah, yeah. So Amanda, you know, it has been a long time, and you've been doing this for a long time. Nutrition is your thing? Performance, peak performance, training athletes at high levels, low levels, all sorts of levels. Is there one thing that you can think back to time, because nutrition C and Performance Training seems to completely evolve itself over and over again. What was good last year is terrible this year and so is there one thing that you see that has been totally ineffective and counterproductive that really irks you sometimes when you hear about it?

Dr. Amanda Carlson-Philips:

Oh, great question. Yes, having been doing this for 21 years now, starting with excess 21 years ago, and loving the concept of fueling and fueling athletes, I think, you know, the thing that makes me crazy is when people really chase the trends, and so it's it's the chin, it's the trend chasers, and the trend chasing, which is so easy to do that, I think, just takes people off path and creates a lot of confusion. And it's just that people will get back to basics and really nail the fundamentals. We make so much more progress. So it's definitely, it's the it's the chasing of the trends. I hate to call them fads, but they're, you know, they're just, they're just trends on

Dr. Terry Weyman:

that note, really quick. Spence on that note, really quick. We used to when you started 21 years ago, you were dealing with commercials, which would drive the trends. Now you're dealing with influencers. How have you seen that change from a commercial to an influencer? Yeah,

Dr. Amanda Carlson-Philips:

well, I think there's, there's a lot more, I don't want to call it noise. There's a lot, there's a lot more information to process. And so you're absolutely right. It's like 21 years ago, there might have been one or two or three narratives going on. Now there could be an infinite number of nutritional narratives going on. And so for the end consumer, or for, you know, individuals that don't have a lot of scientific background or foundational knowledge in the the science of biochemistry, because that's what nutrition is and and it is complex, but in another realm, it's not. But when you have all of these different ideas and thoughts and trends, it's even harder to make sense of it for an individual and and just deciding, like, what is it that I'm going to eat, or what is it that I'm going to drink? And so trying to, like, navigate all that in your brain is so much more complex for for that, for that individual who just wants to make a an improvement in themselves with that, though, I will say that I'm really glad that that there are more influencers, and especially, you know, different scientific influencers, because it is raising the level of conversation, and I think creating a higher level of intellectual investment in this, in this space. So, yes, it creates many more inputs that, you know, as humans, we have to, you know, analyze and understand and then take action upon. But in general, I think we're having a much more elevated and scientific conversation because of many of the influencers that we've. Ever had.

Dr. Spencer Baron:

Do you get posed with these questions on a, maybe on a daily basis, that you have to diffuse because and yet it makes you you become cautious because you have to think about, well, they're kind of right, but not completely right, but they are definitely trying to make you know, the influencers are trying to make an impact on the public. So when, when, when everybody's going this way, they always come up with something that goes the opposite direction to get noticed. Do you? Do you have difficulty trying to share that with your athletes? Yeah,

Dr. Amanda Carlson-Philips:

I think it's like sharing it with the athletes, sharing it with the world. You I think all of us, as we come back and we hear this information like we do have to realize we are all an n of one, and so each of us are. We have our own individual biology. We have our own individual goals. We are on a journey, you know, as an athlete or a corporate executive. And, you know, thinking about, well, how is nutrition, how is my fueling strategy going to play a role in achieving this next, this next level of this next level of performance? And so I think what I always start with, as we are, are thinking about this with, with athletes, or, again, you know, any high performer. Who are you? Where are you in your journey? What is your unique goals and biochemistry look like? And then, then, let's start to piece these elements together. So I say that like I think that's that's this next level of fueling for performance. I don't want to I still think that the foundational aspects are really important, and I think they get us most of the way there. But nonetheless, we are all individuals, and the more we think about our unique physiology, biology, psychology, the more fine tuned we can get with all of these different strategies, which, on their own, are oftentimes valid. But for you, are they the best place to start.

Dr. Spencer Baron:

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Dr. Amanda Carlson-Philips:

right? Yeah. I mean, I think that's, you know, it's, it's, it's a great part about working with a professional, or someone that helps you navigate all that, like back to back to Dr Terry's point around, you know, all these additional influencers, all these additional thoughts at the end of the day, what does it mean for you and your goals and what you are trying to achieve and and ultimately, your What does high performance mean to you as an athlete or an executive?

Dr. Spencer Baron:

So I'm going to use a buzzword that's been come so popular these days, and I want to hear your your perspective on it. The word is biohacking. Everybody's biohacking. So what? How do you feel about that? Any thoughts on shortcuts or peak performance or what's truly sustainable? You know, as far as habits that you wish people would focus on instead.

Dr. Amanda Carlson-Philips:

Well, when I back to like things that irk you, I don't think biohacking is like a trigger word, but, but, you know, it definitely has like a visceral response. But no, I think about it in two ways. So to me, biohacking today means that individuals are embracing the science and so there. Embracing the science. They're thinking about some way that they can optimize their performance. So if you are considering yourself a bio hacker, that means that you are interested in integrating solutions to to achieve a higher level of performance. So I think that, you know, I like, I embrace that in a in a certain realm. On the other side, I think back to the concept of, like, chasing trends. It's like, you keep trying different things. I'm going to bio hack this, or I'm going to take this supplement over here, or I'm going to fast over there, or I'm going to try this over here, and you get really, like, attention deficit disorder with all of these hacking techniques. And so I think, like, that's so, you know, if we kind of come back to the basics and and we and we understand you as an individual, and n of one, what are the most advanced scientific strategies, or the most foundational scientific strategies also are very effective, but what are those nutritional fueling strategies that are going to help you. And so I embrace the biohackers. I think, like I said before, we're having a different level of intellectual discussion, but you got to be able to commit and play the long game and be really strategic around how you're architecting your fueling strategy for high performance.

Dr. Spencer Baron:

You know, I probably neglected to preface this, because I know you well enough that we brought you on to lecture to our you know, some of our sports programs in the past, but please share what you're doing right now and why you're such an authority on nutrition and peak performance.

Dr. Amanda Carlson-Philips:

Yeah, yeah. So I so I've been with Exos. It's a human performance coaching company, like I said, for 21 years. We we started, or I started with Mark Verstegen, our founder in 2003 and and his vision was to integrate the disciplines of mindset, nutrition, movement, recovery, bring together specialists, facilities, platforms to enhance the performance of the elite athlete. And that's how we started. And so over the last 21 years, we've been doing that so with, you know, some of the most elite athletes teams, leagues in the world. But we've expanded that because, because, you know, humans are humans, and humans who want to excel are in the military, they are in corporate America. They are just living in the community. And so we've really expanded our approach to thinking about, you know, how do we help individuals achieve these levels of high performance? And because humans are humans, and so fueling, and that's, you know, how we position nutrition, because it is around, you know, how you are giving your body the raw ingredients to be awesome, to be ready for your moment that matters, that has been an integral part around how we are unlocking new levels of potential, you know, for those athletes, for those operators, for, you know, corporate America from an individual aspect. But then also thinking about how the infrastructure of of sport, the infrastructure of the military, the infrastructure of corporate America, creates environments where fueling strategies come to life. And so it's like, if you have a bunch of junk everywhere in a fueling station for an athlete, how are they going to magically make great fueling options arrive? And so that's a lot of it as well. So it's thinking about the individual. How do you utilize the best science, but also really relatable strategies, because the best science, it could be the best science in the world, but if the right fueling options don't end up in the body of the person on the other side that you're working with, it doesn't matter. And so nonetheless, it's been a it's been a lot of fun seeing how we can unlock these levels of potential for humans that that just really want to achieve the next level of performance. You

Dr. Terry Weyman:

know, you're you're very modest, because when I was talking to Spencer, you're one of the beat I want people to understand. And it's 12 minutes into the show that you're one of the top performance nutritionists in the country, and you're not just some person that's just off the street corner at a booth waiting to help fuel somebody. And so I want people to realize how good you really are working with the professionals. And you know, I know, I know it's, it's human nature to be models, but you're, you're way beyond what people think you are. And so with that note, this is a complex question, so but this is something I wanted to ask you 21 years ago, when you would go to an event, whether it was a combine for NFL, whether it was a a pro bike race that even the tour the frogs or stuff like that, you would see Gatorade. Made a couple power bars, maybe a power gel, right now. You've got in football, you've got n i l money, you've got 17 year olds that are worth millions. You've got X Games, you got all the stuff. And it's gotten so much more complicated. And how do you navigate this 17 year old who's trying to make a Pro worth millions sign in an LDL, or a kid that's doing Spartan or, I mean, you're looking even, and I'm sorry for rambling, but you're looking at Iron Mans and marathons. People are doing two hour marathons where they weren't doing that before. How do you navigate the the the explosion of genetics versus the explosion of nutritional performance,

Dr. Amanda Carlson-Philips:

science, really interesting perspective. If I think about gosh, like, yes, this evolution, and I appreciate the the accolades as well. I mean, it has been I've had the opportunity to to work with and lead a team that is working with the top athletes in the world. 30% of the NFL Draft about every year is coming through an Exos facility and living and breathing their preparation for the NFL Combine. So yes, we, we have been working with the elite of the elite in both sport, military, I would say, and corporate America, but for another time, but as we think about kind of the evolution, I mean, yes, there there is more money, there is more commitment, there's more at stake, I would say, as well, for these athletes and these individuals To to be performing at a high level even earlier. And so I think that's a really interesting evolution that is happening where athletes today are not just thinking about Game Day, where you would see the Gatorades and, you know, the various gels or goos or bars kind of thrown around at a college campus, or set up, maybe more neatly, in a in a pro world, but now you have these very specific strategies, or those that are those that are really doing it well, or are doing it well, but they're thinking from an athlete perspective. You know, what does that athlete look like? I go back to the end of one like, like, what is their what is their biology? What nutritional deficiencies are they presenting with? Like, you know, what? What potential genetic snips do they have that are going to that are going to keep them from metabolizing certain nutrients in a certain way, that information is all available? And so, you can think about, well, what is that unique? Again, biochemistry of that individual. Now, how do you think about how do they live throughout the day? What's their fueling strategy? What's their fueling strategy around training? Because that fueling strategy is all around adapting, getting the body to adapt from the training. And I think that's like one of the biggest acceleration points that we have seen in the creation of faster, stronger, more durable athletes, but really thinking about, How are you, how are you fueling around that training event? Because most athletes are spending much more time, as we know it, training than competing. And so, you know, you have that element, you're dialing that in based on, you know, which periodization phase they're in for, for, for their macro cycle of the year. And then you get into, you know, more game day strategies, which, you know, it's very acute, but you know, back to the original question, kind of this, this evolution and shift 21 years ago is all about game day, and now you're expanding that nutrition strategy to make sure that you are fueling for foundation. You are fueling to adapt, and then you just are fueling to perform in that particular moment. And you can see how athletes, especially the ones that are performing at the high level sustainably for longer, have really incorporated this into the way their ethos as an athlete. It's not something else. It just, it just is the way are

Dr. Terry Weyman:

you are you analyzing this, or, like when a new patient comes in, or a new athlete you've never met, versus the athletes you know very well? How are you doing your your testing? Is it pure history? Are you doing food journals? Are you doing blood work? Are you doing urinalysis? Are you doing the initial test? Do you monitor it monthly? Do you monitor it quarterly? How does that look?

Dr. Amanda Carlson-Philips:

Yeah, it's a combination of all of those things, and it just depends. So in our environment, in particular, you know, we're seeing athletes in the off season, and so we're seeing them for more acute, like shorter periods of time, like training for the Combine or NFL offseason or major league baseball prep. So we're kind of like, we're that in between area of when athletes come when they're not with their teams. And so we are we always like, I think about the categories that we want to understand, and so we want to understand. And first and foremost, like, what are the athletes goals? Then we want to understand kind of where they are in their journey. And that's from a training from a physical therapy standpoint, like, what does that athlete look like holistically? And then we start to think about the various nutritional elements. And so, you know, when we, when we think about and consider, you know, the categories that we're really interested in. We want to understand body composition. We want to understand how that athlete is utilizing their fuel. We want to understand what their nutrient profiles look like. So, you know, what is the biochemistry of like, the nutrient availability? So there's different ways that we can get on get at that for different people, and some of it can be qualitative, but as often as we can have the quantitative piece, the biomarkers, it just paints a much more specific picture. And I really, you know, the more we can have that information on athletes, the more we all can have that information, I think, is just so important because, like, we have done research. This was actually, you know, a study. It was, it's almost like, I think, eight or nine years old now, but we took a group of our combine athletes, and there was some major league baseball players in there as well, and we said, hey, like, we just want to understand, like, let's look at a bunch of biomarkers and see where they all, where they all are trending, and we had over 100 markers that we were looking at. But the really interesting part of the finding was that of those athletes, there were 00 that had a perfect profile, and there were patterns where there was more predominant levels of deficiency or inadequacy or out of range, out of range, kind of nutrients. And so those five categories that we were looking at that were really consistent in these athletes were vitamin D, Omega three, arachidonic acid to EPA ratio, which is a marker of your body's ability to, like, chomp up the inflammation, magnesium and then homocysteine. So those five, those five kind of markers, or those five categories, were pretty much out of range for for everybody. And so the last point on this one that I'll make is like, when you think about just the the magnitude of this so like 18% of the athletes had three of those that were out of range, 41% had four out of range, and 41% had all five out of range. And so when you think about that, it's like why we should all be compelled to, to want to understand our own biochemistry, because it then drives a strategy to be much more specific, last point on that. And now I'm rambling. We did the same, we did the same type of we did the same blood draws on executives, very similar profiles. And so when I go back to like humans are humans, whether you want to perform on the, you know, on the on the pitch in soccer or the field on Sunday or you have to perform in the boardroom. Are our bodies underneath the skin, they need some work. And so, yeah, so that's, that's, you know, how I see it today, and how we're thinking about measuring for athletes and individuals that come in. You

Dr. Terry Weyman:

know, on that note, you were talking about how everybody just training and driving and and even, you know, Spence, and I have talked about this before, you know, with the n, i L, and people just started younger and younger, let's talk about recovery and what is the most misunder, misunderstood aspects that you see from active individuals that are overlooked. Because if everybody is deficient, well, obviously not refueling. So what's your talk on less than the recovery techniques that you're are seeing make a real impact?

Dr. Amanda Carlson-Philips:

Yeah, I think, you know, from a gosh, you know, recovery is such a it's such a hot word right now. It's another one that is that's getting a lot of attention, and rightfully so, because, you know, I think work plus rest equals adaptation, and like, work plus rest equals success, and and that rest or that recovery, recovery being a more proactive way to think about it, is the limiting factor to performance in so many ways. And so, you know, to go back to the same concept, like recovery is multi dimensional. And so how it's understanding the stress. And I use stress as like a very positive term, because without stress, our bodies cannot evolve and change. And so if we keep doing the same thing, we will end up in the same place. So it takes, it takes some type of load on the system to create adaptation. And so I think number one in that is understanding the load in which you are putting your body under. And that could be the psychological load, it could be the mechanical load, it could be the metabolic load. So there's different types of load that we're putting our bodies under. So. So understanding like the training environment is probably the easiest to understand, because you're going to do a certain type of training program, and so what is the load? Is that a more metabolic phase? Is it a more strength reduction phase? So really understanding what you're doing and then thinking about the nutritional strategy to recover from that. So if it's higher metabolic you're driving through more more fuel, more carbohydrate in the body. Refuel with more carbohydrate. If it is, you know, a truly adaptive phase, make sure the protein is in there. But then, you know, from other elements, you may need other, other nutrients to come in and support. And so I think that is, that's the number one unlock when we think about recovery, is that all load is not created equal. Really understand the stress that good, that good work that you are doing to your body and adapt appropriately. And so that level of specification is, what is, what I think is really, is really needed for individuals to optimize that next level performance.

Dr. Terry Weyman:

You know, before we leave this topic, you know, a lot of time if you don't recover, you hit another term called burnout, and a lot of athletes will get burned out and and what are some of the particular approaches or mindsets you do the trend shield that person from reaching that breaking point, because athletes have to be at that breaking point for top performance, and it's such a fine line between going to what over one side and down the other side. So how do you keep them at that sharp point where they recover, they perform but they don't break?

Dr. Amanda Carlson-Philips:

Yeah, gosh, burnout. Burnout is definitely everywhere. And I kind of go back to it, and I think about athletes in solving for kind of getting them to that edge and not going over. But then also in corporate America, like it's the same, it's the same type of thing. And so you hear burnout all over the place, in the media, but when you go underneath the skin and you look at physiologically, what's happening it is, it is an under recovery problem, just like you mentioned. Dr Terry, so it's like, if we think about, you know what is, what is going to be most effective to prevent our bodies, in our brains and just ourselves from from hitting that point of overtraining or hitting that point of burnout, which really is just under recovery, it is thinking about how you're incorporating the acute recovery sessions in just like, just like we mentioned, fueling is an incredible way to do that, making sure you're having enough carbohydrate, making sure you have the right levels of protein, making sure, you know, foundationally, you have, you know, the right nutrients to work with, your essential fatty acids, your B vitamins, etc. So you know, how do we prevent the the burnout from happening? Making sure, foundationally, physiologically, those athletes are set, making sure, as we think about the training environments, that there is enough down regulation happening. So you know, whether that is on the mechanical side, in just overall physiology. And so making sure the recovery is happening from a mechanical load, metabolic you've got great elements and tools, from compression to cold water, immersion, breath work. And so there's elements there from a Metabolic Nutrition plays a big role in that. You also think about the psychological load. And, you know, how are you making sure to recover? You know, down regulatory breath work is another great one there. So, you know, the last element that I think, you know, drives into recovery. And this is a very straightforward, specific, it seems super easy, but it's gotten a ton of attention. Is just, is sleep in general. And so if you're doing all of those things, and you are sleeping like garbage and not getting effective sleep, not getting enough sleep, um, you're not getting the benefit of all those other things. So the cure to burn out is, you know, or the I would say cure is a very buzz wordy, hacky type word, but to prevent you from getting to that space, think about what you're doing. Make sure you have enough down regulation type techniques through breath, work through nutrition, through cold water, immersion, through other elements. Well, cool can be somewhat up regulatory, but making sure you have those set throughout your day and your training, and then prioritizing your sleep. So I think, like those are the main things. And then there are markers you can look at, you know, as professionals or individuals. You know, how is your heart rate variability changing? I think this is the realm where, you know, whichever sensor you want to wear, whether it's a loop strap, my aura ring is charging. It's an aura ring. Whatever it is, your body will start to tell you when things are changing, and especially during sleep. So I think that's another real unlock that's become available the last five years to just see what's going on, to make sure we catch it before a. It really crosses the chasm.

Dr. Terry Weyman:

I got one question. Sorry, Spence, I got one question. This is a total personal question. Do you like the oral ring, or do you like the whoop? Because I'm looking at one of the bows. What do you like the best? Okay, so I you

Dr. Amanda Carlson-Philips:

know both of sorry, specific, like all, all of them are tracking similar things. So, um, for me personally, like, for sleep data, like, I think I don't want something on my wrist, and so I like the aura ring. I like the data coming off the aura ring. But for the athletes that we work with, and for you personally, whichever one, which other, whichever form function, is going to work best for you, like, I am not sleeping with something on my wrist. Like, it's just never gonna happen. So, okay, you know, I think about it with athletes, it's like, number one, pick something you can be consistent with and like, don't, don't like, shift back and forth. Like, let's pick the one, and let's go from there. But the one benefit that the whoop does have, if you can, like, handle something on your wrist, which I will never be able to do, you can wear it all day. So you can get, like, you know, you can get your training data. You can get all of it in one place. So at this point, I wear my Apple Watch for for training, and I wear a whoop for sleep. I'm super complicated. And, you know, a pia. So, you know, big thing. Thank

Dr. Terry Weyman:

you for indulging that with me. And thank you Spencer for allowing me to butt in because I'm going back and forth. And I came to that conclusion that it's a personal thing, but I want to hear

Dr. Amanda Carlson-Philips:

your your, yeah, I can't. So what are you going to do? Because I

Dr. Terry Weyman:

sleep, I sleep with stuff on my wrist, so I'm not, I'm fine with that.

Dr. Amanda Carlson-Philips:

Yeah, you're definitely

Dr. Terry Weyman:

lower maintenance. Yeah, both wrists. I'll feel like, you know, Wonder Woman with something on both wrists. I mean, that would

Dr. Amanda Carlson-Philips:

be awesome. You would be ready to take on the day, and then the whole thing, yeah, that's good. All right, I'll either see you stacking devices, or you'll have, you'll be Wonder Woman, one of the two. I mean, it both will be awesome. It's very trendy to stack bracelets.

Dr. Terry Weyman:

I like it.

Dr. Spencer Baron:

That's great. I was wondering what she was going to say, because the answer could end up being a sponsor for

Dr. Amanda Carlson-Philips:

we always like to be like in, you know, it's always we can pull the data. We pull data from multiple sources. The big thing for us, it's consistent data, but we like, we like,

Dr. Spencer Baron:

oh, Amanda, so let me, let me. I don't know why that really got me off guard. That was funny. So I want to before I ask you a question about what you would do for the average person you know, the weekend warrior and what have you before I ask you that, I want to kind of lead off of what we were talking about just a moment ago. But athletes are typically overachievers, high performers. You know that you give them advice, they take it to the 10th degree. Have you had any issues? I mean, I know we've had, I'll give you an example of a pitcher for the New York Mets a couple years ago. Was was told when he gets to Florida, you know, hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Well, he ended up, you know, in the ninth inning and starting to feel numbness and tingling in his arm, and he was, like, in denial, because he's the closer, and they were on the verge of winning or losing with the next pitch they ended up winning. He walks off the dugout and faints in the in the dugout, and they take him to the hospital. They ask, why are you hydrating? Goes, Yeah, I'm drinking gallons of water. And what they realize is that he lost all the electrolytes, and it ended up becoming more harmful to him. Do you ever have experiences like that with athletes that overdo a good thing. Um,

Dr. Amanda Carlson-Philips:

yes. I mean, of course, it's kind of, you know, you can pick any of the nutrients, and you hear certain things, and then they want to, you know, they want to dive in, like, to back to the biohacking, like, they just want to go and they want to get after it. And so, which is great, which is like, but no, we don't want anybody to faint. But I think this comes down to, you have individuals that are motivated. They they hear, you know, certain things as professionals. And I think as you know, as professionals number one, making sure that we're providing the most direct strategy as possible. So you know, if, if you have saying to, well, make sure you hydrate effectively. Okay, that the the general consumers can be like, Yeah, well, I need to drink water. It's like, well, how much water? And so then there's a spec, you know, specificity around, well, how much water do you really need to be hydrated? Well, it's about a half an ounce to an ounce per pound per day. And so that's you then give people thresholds. But then from there, it's like, well, how do you make sure all that water is, you know, getting sucked into the cell? And so then you have to think about, you know, our wonderful friends of electrolytes, because, you know, you know, hydration, fluid follows solute. So then it's like, well, which hydration, you know, product, or, you know, how much sodium do I. Actually need to absorb that water and and there are different thresholds there. So I guess to that question, do we see people kind of take bits of information and take it to the nth degree and maybe have a negative side effect, or maybe not the right type of side effect, of course, or the right type of adaptation. So I think for professionals, it's important, or in a team environment, making sure that you're giving the best, most specific realm of of piece of information for that person. I think that's that's the most important thing. I thought you were going to go somewhere different with that question. I thought it was going to be like, You know what happened? Like, do you see people that just, like, don't do it at all, like, don't care, like, are just, like, completely on the other spectrum and, and we see that too. And like, in the instance of that baseball player, you know, his fainting episode, his tingling, his underperformance in that moment is typically then when we see people, because they're like, oh my gosh, I have this thing happen to me. I got to get it together. And so anyways, I think, like, that's oftentimes when we see we see people and they're like, I have to dial this in. I can't do all this myself. So we definitely see that in my my recommendations to, you know, coaches without a lot of nutritional understanding or background into that specificity, find their partner that does have that and have, you know, have that level of of personalization, and again, specificity for the athletes. So you're not just giving, you know, blanket general recommendations like that, making sure they understand the nuance. And that's, you know, it's the same for for the rest of us as well. Like it's it is about understanding the nuance.

Dr. Spencer Baron:

Well, actually, you brought up an interesting point that you probably have dealt with in the past, and those are those athletes with superior ability, and they come from maybe third world countries, like a lot of them from baseball in baseball, and you look at their diets, and you go, how are you, how are you doing so well? And your diet consists of, you know, you know, fried foods and candy and things like, I mean, I've even seen baseball that's still smoke cigarettes, yeah?

Dr. Amanda Carlson-Philips:

Well, I mean, there's a lot of people in the world that still do, yeah, yeah, it's less, but, I mean, yeah, with that one,

Dr. Spencer Baron:

that's usually fascinating, but yeah. Anyway, we

Dr. Terry Weyman:

had a we had a pro cyclist that his, and it was more superstitious, he would have a McDonald's McFlurry before he would race. And it's because he won his first race after having McFlurry. So in his mind, that was what he would go and do having McFlurry.

Dr. Amanda Carlson-Philips:

I think, you know, both of those points, like, when we we think about nutrition, and we've spent, you know, the majority of our time today talking about, like, this biochemistry, this specificity, like the ounces and the grams and like, yes, like, all that is very important, and we can unlock levels of personalization that we just couldn't before and and we should, and we all should have those personalized strategies. But the great part about food and nutrition is it's, it's so much more than just the fueling. And so when we see, you know, athletes that have certain patterns, or, you know, the way that we've associated food to life, moments like there, there is a psychological community, cultural aspect of food that that in this, in this era of understanding our biology, taking it to the nth degree, we have to be cautious not to lose sight of that, because those things are important, because food brings us together, food creates community, food unlocks memories. Food is, you know, it's a part of of who we are, and it's a part of our society in a different way. And so it is finding the balance with those with those players. It's like getting to the root of, well, why do those foods matter to you so much? Like, then you know what? What are your goals in general? And so for the the younger athlete that's coming from the Dominican, having been down there when I worked with the Dodgers, like, you can see it like it's a different cultural environment. Then you come up here, and they're learning a lot for the first time. So it's then kind of getting them to understand food in general, understanding, you know, the power that it unlocks, and then evolving to, how do I match, you know, my my life, with my fueling to the goals that I have as a high performing athlete. But there, there is this kind of beautiful symphony of science and culture that nutrition has in the world of high performance that you know not, not everything else does. I don't want to say that strength training doesn't have it. Uh, Dr Barron, but you know, nutrition brings a whole nother, a whole nother sense of community that that other sports science disciplines often don't.

Dr. Spencer Baron:

So our audience is composed of a lot of non Pro and you know that there's doctors out there. And so I'm going to ask you to break down some of your most effective methods. You know, some for the average person that wants to feel better or do better, that does exercise or does some sort of fitness activity, where would you start with somebody like that?

Dr. Amanda Carlson-Philips:

Yeah, so I think, I would start with someone like that, and actually starting with most humans, but we kind of just, we start with, what do we believe? And so we need to believe in the power of food. And so that's number one. And so as we think about that, is just kind of grounding everyone that we're in this world today, where good nutrition advice is often getting ignored because it's too simple, because we've convinced ourselves that it has to be complicated. And so I think, like, that's really where we start. It's like, there's a power in food. There's a power in the foundational elements. It does not have to be complex and confusing. And so I think that's, you know, that's where we really like to start. You know, then there are some really foundational components that are, that are critical. And so, you know, from a, from a fueling standpoint, we talked about it with the poor baseball player that fainted at his moment. So, but hydration is, is key. So, you know, how are you hydrating? I mentioned before, it's a half an ounce to an ounce of fluid per pound per day, making sure you're getting the electrolytes to support and enhance so I think, like, that's number one, number two, and that's so important. Like people think hydration and physical performance, a dehydrated brain is a less active brain, and a dehydrated brain can actually reduce your executive functioning. It makes you more reactive in nature. And so nobody wants to be a parent or a leader that is, you know, reacting in the moment. So I think, you know, hydration plays a big role in physical and mental performance. Number two is fiber, like we this is just, it's, it's gotten lost in translation. And, you know, fiber is critical. So like, we recommend 35 grams of fiber per day. And so the different types of of carbohydrate choices that you're choosing, if you or if you're on the lower carbohydrate, making sure that you have the fiber. So fiber is critical. Protein is definitely having another moment. So, you know, nutritional macronutrients are kind of like Gene style. So it's like, sometimes high waisted are in, sometimes you're in a low rise, but sometimes it's carbohydrate, sometimes it's protein, but protein is definitely, is definitely having a moment in it in a rightful moment. So both for women, perimenopausal women, especially menopausal women, but just in general, so getting the right amount of protein. We're recommending about point eight to one gram per pound per day, thinking about like at least 25 grams of protein per per seating. So at least that amount, like when you're having your meals, having enough protein at each meal three others. So the next is fats. So fats are also critical. Like, you know, these are the foundational components. Essential fatty acids are are making up the construct of the brain. There are many other nutrients, but essential fatty acids, specifically DHA, are impacting the brain. So you really want to think about, am I getting the right sources of fats? That is super important. We talked about recovery, so the right carb to protein ratio after your training sessions to make sure that you're adapting appropriately. So we typically say, start with protein. So point two to point three grams of protein per pound, like that's how much protein you should have in that acute post training period. And then if it's low metabolic, not a lot of fuel sores have been utilized. Do a one to one carb to protein ratio. If it was super metabolic, you know you were really out burning through the fuel up to a three to one, so get your recovery strategy, and then the last one on the food. And then I'll pause and we can talk a little bit about supplements. Is just around color again, like this is like, back to basic stuff, but our society just does not eat enough plants. And it's like, we just don't, like people do not it's like, eat more color on your plate. And so vegetables, fruits, lots of different each one of those colors is representative of a certain function in the body. And so that, in itself, like back to some of those nutrient deficiencies, goes a long way. And so, you know, those are the basics. Those are the simple things that if everybody just did those things. You would have better nutrient status. You would have better glucose control. You would have better, you know, muscular adaptation, you would have better brain function. And so if everybody could do those simple things savagely, well, it would go a long way. So those are, you know, the fundamentals from a nutritional aspect that that I really think are critical, critical, and everybody needs to be nailing on a daily basis. I have a question. One little

Dr. Terry Weyman:

comment, since it's holidays, yeah, candy jar is very colorful. Does that count? I

Dr. Amanda Carlson-Philips:

love this. This is one of my favorite questions. I'm so glad you brought it up. Whether it was in football or baseball, sports never discriminated. So this is always when I knew, like, okay, we're making inroads. Was it Skittles or, you know, Is it candy canes? Like, hey, this is red. Is this helping with my vascular system? I'm like, yes. I'm like, did you just realize we're talking about vascular systems? I prefer you choose beets as the red. But, you know, red dye, I don't know. I mean, you make the call, but yes, it's exactly right. Okay,

Dr. Spencer Baron:

my question is probably one that most people are afraid to ask, and that is, you mentioned something about fiber earlier, and I remember making a grave mistake in my second year in practice, and I was asking a patient, how often I would typically ask the patient, how often do you move your bowels? Or do you move them regularly? And they said yes, and later I found out, but I better ask that question, because they're not getting any better. I go, how often do you move your bowels? And that's the question I have for you. She said, once every two weeks. So I realized need to ask frequency. So what, you know, you mentioned fiber. So for the audience, how do you feel about bowel movements?

Dr. Amanda Carlson-Philips:

Bowel movements? I Well, I mean, we have to bow. Movements are a thing like and it should be happening more than every two weeks. So I think there is something for sure, and we have to talk about these things. And so, you know, there is, you know, you should be able to have consistency in in your physiology, and consistency in your in your bowel movement. So I think that's the most important thing. I would say, you know, on on a daily basis, like, what is the bile rhythm of your body? And so when people are, you know that from my perspective, when they have everything dialed in, you know, their bowel movements are consistent. They are typically happening in similar times, you know, with similar formations. You know, I could go all kinds of colorful language here, but you get what I'm talking about. So I think like that, consistency is indicative of your body being efficient. And so when you start to see changes in your bowel, when you start to see changes in frequency, changes in consistency, changes you know along those lines, that's when you have to pull back and say, Hey, what is causing? What's causing this, like is, is what's making what's making this happen. And so I think you know on that aspect, that the way we move through our day, and you know, how, how our bowel movements are showing up for us as humans is, is a really good indicator to is something else going on in the body. And so, you know, less frequent bowels. It depends on the individual, but could be a fiber element. It could be a stress response, where this individual is, you know, super stressed, or it could go the other way. And so I think being in tune with the bowels consistency on a daily basis, as you see something become inconsistent, you got to be like, Okay, what is causing that inconsistency? And how do we, how do we get back to, back to baseline?

Dr. Spencer Baron:

I think, I mean, you can determine a lot from the actual bowel movement that I know you didn't want to approach that subject at the moment. But I mean, you know, you know, my friend, my friends were telling me, you know, you're 63 you should have a, you know, colonoscopy. And next thing I know, the doctors suggesting cologuard. So, you know, you poop and you send it off to a lab, and they'd say, Okay, you're free of cancer. Good job. But I went further, because I noticed bowels changing. I know that somebody out there listening to this may relate to this in some way, and it's kind of a segue into what you had just mentioned. But you know, there was if it floats, if it sinks, if it looks at a certain color, if it's, you know, soft or hard, and all these are all textures and consistencies that you're talking about, if it's changed. And so I went and got this gi mapping done through diagnostic solutions. And they, they don't sponsor me by any chance, but it was just a, you send off a sample and you get back this incredible, you know, print out of your bio microbiome, you know, What? What? What is? In your system. And I found it was fascinating, because, I mean, lately things were floating around, and I thought, and they said, Oh, you got, it's theater crit, you know, it's a you got fatty. There's fat in the stool. And so now there are certain supplements that take to make sure liver Biles, or, you know, or the bile is excreting properly. You could find out so much from a bowel movement so that, you know, just kind of a lead into your comment before,

Dr. Amanda Carlson-Philips:

yeah, I mean, I think those you're absolutely right. It can, it can really showcase kind of what's going on. But I think the more important point there is, is around the microbiome. It's another area that we, you know, we haven't really discussed as much, um, but the gut is, is important. There are, there are good bacterias. There are not so good bacterias there. It is very complicated system. I also, I often think of it like, as, as a garden, like it needs certain nutrients. You know, certain things need to be in the garden of the gut in a certain level of balance, and we've learned so much, but still, there's so much more to learn around. You know, how do we, how do we think about the gut? How do we make sure the gut isn't it's it's right, it's right. Blend of bacteria, the role of, you know, not only fiber, but essential fatty acids, etc, all play a role in the gut. You know, certain elements that are, that are, you know, changing our gut, micro flora, and making, making the environment not so friendly. And that's where you get into refined sugars. You get into, you know, elements like alcohol, like, like, these are all like, if you remove any performance factor, and we think about the end goal is like, how do we create the garden of our gut to be the most, you know, fertile and beautiful place for this bacteria to grow that, quite frankly, are signaling to our brain, that are signaling to other elements of our cells for a whole nother discussion on on gut, I think, you know, we're, we're learning so much more. So yes, on the reactive medicine side, making sure that you know our colons and our, you know, our gut system is free of cancer and polyps, is one element, but that's where traditional medicine stops. And now we have, you know, other tools and and gut mapping. And even you know other groups like Excella is another one, not sponsored, but they're a cool startup out of MIT, and they're looking at actually finding different markers, not even from the fecal matter. So there's a lot to explore here. But you know, making sure that our gut function is at the highest level is another benefit of those foundational components that we just mentioned. And so, you know, the impact and performance of your gut is, is super important as we think about the future of

Dr. Spencer Baron:

nutrition. Amanda, you were about to actually segue from, you know, proteins, fats, fibers, carbohydrates into nutrients. There is one that I'm hoping you highlight that I've been hearing a lot about on, you know, the Instagrams and the Facebooks and things like that, that creatine for perimenopausal women and but go ahead, segue into what you were going to about nutrients, and if you could please make a comment about something that I see that seems to be trending lately.

Dr. Amanda Carlson-Philips:

Yeah, and creatine is definitely on the list. So if we think about like these, these core supplements, because typically, back to the biohacking. People want to start with the supplements, which is just fine, like we can talk about that all day long, but, but if you're not doing the fundamentals really well, like the supplements only get you so far. But creatine for sure. So if we think about creatine in general, somewhere between two to five grams per day. Or, if you wanted to get much more specific, you could do point 02, grams per pound of body weight is about how much creatine we should be thinking about per day. And this is not, this is just from a functional standpoint, like, almost like a longer term like this, is we just provide this to our body. It's got, it's come, it's again, it's this is not the this is not just for performance on the training floor. This is not just about creating your body's ability to do more sets and reps to create adaptation. It does that too. But creatine itself, you know, it is utilized in the muscle for anything that is short and explosive. And so having extra creatine around to be able to do those short explosive measures is really important. Creatine is also important for maintaining muscle functions. Also found to be important in the brain. And so I think like creatine, just like protein is is having a moment, but I think that's a lot, because we are, we are really cognizant of the role that that muscle and brain play in a healthy physiology. So creatine is high on the list. You know, I would say the Omegas are also high on the list, anywhere for. One to three grams per day. We we like SPMs is a form of omega that we find to be super beneficial and super absorbable, so we encourage that vitamin D we should all and you guys know what your vitamin D status is.

Dr. Spencer Baron:

I, I when I do blood tests,

Unknown:

but not with like, not like right now,

Dr. Spencer Baron:

not this moment.

Dr. Amanda Carlson-Philips:

All right. Well, you guys can, when you when you are buying the whoops drop, you can look up your vitamin D and kind of see where you're at. But have knowing vitamin D, so vitamin D as well like, so most people need some type of vitamin D supplementation. So if you don't know what it is, and I would say 2000 IUs per day, but if you know what it is, then you can get very targeted in how much vitamin D you're taking and then measuring it about every six months. Because it can change. All these things can change. But if you don't know what it is, vitamin D, vitamin D is in there magnesium, because we have typically seen deficiencies there, but again, would depend on status. But you're looking at about 200 milligrams.

Dr. Spencer Baron:

Man, what was the thing you said before? Vitamin D, FPM, F. People, what

Dr. Amanda Carlson-Philips:

was it? They're SPMs. So these are, you know, a certain, yes, a certain type of fatty acid. So they, they're really, they're specialized pro resolving mediators. So it's a certain type of fatty acid, and it's really been shown to to help impact inflammation. And so they're derived from essential fatty acids. They include EPA and DHA, but we're seeing that they are really effective in especially decreasing inflammation. So you know your your traditional you know, fish oil, EPA, DHA is great, however, SPMs may be

Dr. Spencer Baron:

even better. Thank you. Thank you. Sorry. Go ahead. Good. No, I think

Dr. Amanda Carlson-Philips:

that, and that's about it. And I think for any of the you know, men and women, but especially women that are that are listening, checking iron status is really important. And so ferritin, hematocrit, hemoglobin, understanding what your iron status is can can unlock a lot of things, and a lot of a lot of individuals, especially women, not knowingly, are just like in a subclinical type of iron deficiency. There can be a lot of different root causes there. There's, you know, if your gut is not working, function is not functioning well, if you have some type of autoimmune that's affecting absorption, but, but but iron is critical. So that's just another one, not for everybody to take, but for individuals to understand. And we oftentimes see, you know, some low dose of iron that is really helpful for people to get those nutrients to to a top level. So, you know, those are the basic ones. Again, high quality multivitamin, your omegas with an SPM as a potential like, you know, newer version that is even more effective your vitamin D. You know, probiotics, we mentioned them, you know, if you're just a general probiotic, looking at 20 billion CF use with a product that has at least four strains. So that would be, you know, to your traditional probiotic diet, your probiotic, magnesium, creatine, iron. So those are, those are, I think, the the basic ones. And then as you get more individualized, you think about other, other awesome presentations. Your physiology and psychology has, you know, there's, there's a number of other things, from, you know, curcumin, to adaptogens, you know, thinking about sleep and elements of sleep, like five HTP or pharma GABA. And then there's, you know, some interesting, one other interesting supplement that's, that's kind of gaining a lot of traction. It's called urolithin A, and it's, it's all about gut. So, you know, there's some elements of the euro lithon A is produced in the gut, and so we're finding that it's low levels in the gut. And so can we actually just supplement with Euro within a? And so that's, that's something that we're watching, and I think is something interesting that's coming, coming about. Back to your comment around the gut

Dr. Spencer Baron:

spell, can you spell Euro? Is it Euro? Lith, like an e, u r spell? No, it's

Dr. Amanda Carlson-Philips:

u so, u r, o, l, i, t, h, i n, a,

Dr. Spencer Baron:

okay. And and back to the the Oh my gosh. The the the fish oils, the EPA, DHA, what was that? You said there was a new one, a new

Dr. Amanda Carlson-Philips:

Yes, so. SPM, so. SPM,

Dr. Spencer Baron:

SPM, is that going to be on the bottle? If I look at the agreed, is that? Is that what I'm looking it

Dr. Amanda Carlson-Philips:

will actually be it will say special. Visualized, pro resolving mediator. So it is an actual type of it's an actual, like type of fish oil itself. So you'll see, like a fish oil, but you would want to look for SPM is typically what it's called,

Dr. Spencer Baron:

nice. Well, yes, okay, Terry, go ahead. Sorry.

Dr. Terry Weyman:

Oh, it's okay, it's all good. Yeah, I'm gonna ask you to put your crystal ball in front of you. And we're having a new change in especially politics when it comes to food. With it, with Kennedy COVID, where he wants to change and make people healthy again and change their food stuff. What you see happening as a trend, if you had to look at the future in the next four to eight years, and how are you starting to adapt to work with these to address some of these changes coming down the road,

Dr. Amanda Carlson-Philips:

I'm I'm so excited about these changes coming down the road, especially As it relates to thinking about making America healthy again. I think it is, it is something that has, has gotten lost. And I think we've, you know, as a as a country, as a global economy, it's complicated. And so like, if I think about the next four to eight years, I think this is, this is the reset moment. This is the moment that that we're pushing pause and saying, You know what got us here will not get us there. And the past 30 years of of the mass food system, government, pharmacology, policy, look at what's happened. And so I think that in the next four years, it's going to be a lot of how are we, how are we setting the new foundation for what our you know, grandchildren, great grandchildren, will think about as they fuel their body, as they think about the prioritization of the human system in, you know, a global economy, how do we move away, you know, how in this first phase do we get people healthy and absent of disease and like, that's movement. It's nutrition, it's recovery. But so much of it is, is, you know, individuals, you know, from the nutrition aspect, being overfed and undernourished. So anyways, we're in a we're in a critical moment in time, and how do we set the foundation for new policies, for new prioritization, for new elements of funding that really create a better environment for all Americans, children to aging, to have access to the nutrients and the food that they need to be at their best. But you know, for us as a country to be able to maintain, you know, our global position as a leader, because if we are a sick, undernourished population, there is no way that we can sustain our position in the global economy. So I'm super excited about where we are today.

Dr. Spencer Baron:

How much, how much do we love? Amanda Carlson, Phillip, you know, if I wasn't wearing long sleeves, I'd show you my goosebumps.

Dr. Amanda Carlson-Philips:

So I mean so much harder with Fiori, full transparency.

Dr. Spencer Baron:

That's great. Oh, Amanda, that was fantastic. Terry, do you have anything before I hit her with the rapid fire five

Dr. Terry Weyman:

question? Hit her baby. All right,

Dr. Spencer Baron:

okay, Amanda, this is where I know you're going to do well, because you think quick and you're on your toes, but we got five rapid fire questions for you that we love asking guests there. They're really random. Some have nothing to do with nothing but you, are you ready? I'm ready. Is there a holiday treat or something you secretly indulge in, even if it's not the healthiest option?

Dr. Amanda Carlson-Philips:

I love mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese, so they will be on my plate at Thanksgiving.

Dr. Spencer Baron:

Enlarged portion, fantastic. I'm just saying All right. Question number two, eggnog, hot cocoa or mold, mold. Wine? Which holiday beverage Do you prefer? And do you have a healthier spin on it?

Dr. Amanda Carlson-Philips:

Um, I love wine, and so wine will be in my glass, and I don't discriminate on color of wine. So there will be, I will be having a rainbow of wine over the holidays. But I there's no doubt that alcohol is a recovery killer. So I would say if you want a healthier version of your traditional alcoholic drinks, it's just drink less of them.

Dr. Spencer Baron:

You know, it's interesting. I'm sorry. Go ahead. Terry, no, I

Dr. Terry Weyman:

was gonna say, you know, she she talked back. Color of wine, and there's your colorful plate on your plate you have in your glass. I

Dr. Amanda Carlson-Philips:

know it's really bad. It doesn't end up in the same way, but it does. But yeah, I rationalize that like you will your candy canes. Now,

Dr. Spencer Baron:

you know, actually, as a side note, it's fascinating. I have a patient that's a manager of a huge wine distributing company. My ex wife works for a wine distributing company, and they both told me, because of a lot of the influencers, have an effect on the fact that they're telling you that wine is a brain killer. I mean, it just has no, you know, no purpose for Anti Aging and Longevity and their sales have gone down for the first time. I mean,

Dr. Amanda Carlson-Philips:

I know this is rapid fire, but alcohol consumption in general, especially by millennials, Gen Z, you know that the younger ages and kind of, I think at the older ages, it's down about 30% so I think, you know, again, we're waking up to the facts like, like, alcohol not so good for the gut, not so good for sleep. Like, so, anyways, I can't tell you how to make a healthier cocktail, but other than just drink less of the alcohol, not much fun. That's like a party,

Dr. Spencer Baron:

yeah? But those Gen Zers are smoking pot instead of drinking wine. So we

Dr. Amanda Carlson-Philips:

gotta dig into the research. I'm like, is this a shift in recreational use, or is this a complete like? Is this a complete like, you know, abandonment of recreational consumption. So I don't know or

Dr. Terry Weyman:

is a finance that together. It may be a financial thing that they don't own the wineries, but they own the pop farms. So

Dr. Amanda Carlson-Philips:

we'll have to see. So more

Dr. Spencer Baron:

options. Question number three, Amanda, if you could recommend one super food to include in a holiday meal what would be a good nutritional boost, and why?

Dr. Amanda Carlson-Philips:

Ah, the holiday meals. So I would encourage, I want the third, first thing that comes to mind is cinnamon. And so it's like, it's kind of like a it's like a seasoning of the of the of the season. And so incorporating cinnamon like that really helps with that. Really helps with stabilizing glucose. So I think, you know, little cinnamon in your yams, little cinnamon over here, little like you know, spice of the spice of the season. So go for cinnamon.

Dr. Terry Weyman:

Does a cinnamon bun in the morning? Count?

Dr. Amanda Carlson-Philips:

Well, you do have cinnamon on there, and so if you sprinkle some extra cinnamon on your cinnamon bun, that it should give you a little bit of help from a metabolic sample. Metabolize all of that sugar, I don't know how much, but it can make you feel better too.

Dr. Spencer Baron:

Dunkin Donuts will still love you for this. That's right. Okay. Question number four, Amanda, someone deeply involved in performance motivation. Do you have, like, a unique holiday tradition that helps you unwind or recharge during the this whole festive season?

Dr. Amanda Carlson-Philips:

Uh, so I think the strategy that becomes even more important in the festive season is light exposure in the morning. So I've gotten really protective of my sleep, and I know that the wine and multiple colors will be in my glass. So how do I protect my circadian rhythm? So light exposure in the morning, I think, is one of the most important things to stay consistent with, and so if I get my light exposure with my mountain bike ride or my run, then I can combine those two things so movement and light exposure are the strategies that I think about. Nice.

Dr. Spencer Baron:

Nice. All right. Final question of the rapid fire questions number five, unexpected talents. If you could instantly acquire a new skill or talent unrelated to your professional expertise. What would it be, and how would you use it during the holidays? My

Dr. Amanda Carlson-Philips:

gosh, I want to play the piano, and so I played piano when I was little, and I just, like, totally abandoned it, and I've had this urge to just be able to play the piano. So if I could have, like, a magic, you know, superpower just come down, I could automatically play the piano. It would be a party. We would have Carols going on. I would be playing during the parties. It would be amazing. So if you can make that happen like I would, I would have the best holiday season ever.

Dr. Spencer Baron:

Did. Did I hear like a New Year's resolution in there somewhere? I think I did, yeah, I think you did.

Dr. Amanda Carlson-Philips:

I know. I think it's time. It's really calling me. I gotta, I gotta figure this out. So 2025, is giving me Amanda's ear, the piano, there you go. Yeah,

Dr. Spencer Baron:

it's all right. I like it. Hey, those were great answers to all those five questions. Amanda, you are spectacular. I love your energy. Fantastic. Terry, any comments?

Dr. Terry Weyman:

No, my only comment is thank you for your time. I mean, this went by so fast, and I could, you know, I just met you, and I could talk to you for hours. So thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us and help these people get healthier in the holidays. Absolutely,

Dr. Amanda Carlson-Philips:

and thanks for having me. It's been super fun.

Dr. Spencer Baron:

Absolutely, thank you for. Listening to today's episode of The cracking backs podcast. We hope you enjoyed it. Make sure you follow us on Instagram at cracking backs podcast. Catch new episodes every Monday. See you next time you.