Ancient Health Podcast

Spinning attacks, a full ear, a roar you can’t shut off: that’s the classic Ménière’s picture. But a migraine that never causes a headache can mimic it almost exactly. Dr. Chris Motley explains the one test that tells them apart (the audiogram), why every Ménière’s treatment seems to work (in the biggest drug trial, the placebo group got better too), what Chinese medicine wrote about the spinning room 1,800 years ago, and four steps to take before anyone treats your ear. Sources are in the show notes. Educational only, not medical advice. 0:00 The spinning room: is it really Ménière's? 1:03 Welcome to the Ancient Health Podcast 1:16 What a definite Ménière's diagnosis requires 3:00 Vestibular migraine: the condition that mimics it 4:05 The one test that tells them apart: the audiogram 4:32 Why the right label matters before treating the ear 6:53 Why every treatment seems to work 7:56 The betahistine trial: the placebo group got better too 10:00 A crack in the fluid-pressure theory 11:20 What happens when Ménière's comes into my office 12:24 A patient story: vertigo, tinnitus, and afternoon fatigue 13:50 The kidney meridian and the 3 to 5 p.m. window 15:35 Tongue, pulse, and EAV testing 18:20 The urinalysis and the audiologist's results 21:03 Chinese medicine, the spleen, kidneys, and fluid 23:15 Supporting the spleen, kidneys, and lymph 24:58 Homeopathic remedies for vertigo 26:52 Herbs for the kidneys: uva ursi and chanca piedra 27:55 Supplements for the spleen 30:06 Four steps to take this week 31:32 Closing thoughts 32:34 Disclaimer Supplements Dr. Motley recommends: SPLEEN Spleeno-Lyph by Nutri-West Spleen PMG by Standard Process: ⁠https://us.fullscript.com/welcome/doctormotley/signup⁠ Albizia Supreme by Supreme Nutrition: ⁠https://shop.supremenutritionproducts.com/?aff=28⁠ KIDNEY Uva Ursi by Supreme Nutrition: ⁠https://shop.supremenutritionproducts.com/?aff=28⁠ Body Guard by Supreme Nutrition: ⁠https://shop.supremenutritionproducts.com/?aff=28⁠ Cranberry UT Vibrance Homeopathics that help with vertigo: DesBio "Dizzy": https://dbscript.com/?direct=drmotley Professional Formulas "Vertigo Syncope": https://professionalformulas.com/patientcode/?doctorname=Christopher&doctor_code=GXN776D Vertigoheel Standard Process Spleen PMG: https://us.fullscript.com/welcome/doctormotley/signup⁠ The common four herbs that help with vertigo: Cocculus Conium Theridion Ambra Want more of The Ancient Health Podcast? Subscribe to the YouTube channel. Follow Doctor Motley! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doctormotley TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@doctormotley Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/doctormotley/ Website: https://doctormotley.com *Join Doctor Motley’s newsletter for TCM insights and regular podcast updates https://www.doctormotley.com/ *Do you have a ton more in-depth questions for Doctor Motley? Check out his course on emotions and the body in his membership. You’ll find other courses full of his expertise and clinical wisdom, plus bring all your questions to his weekly lives! To try risk-free for 15 days click here https://www.doctormotley.com/15 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The viral fungus numbers are real: about 7,300 deaths and 130,000 hospitalizations a year, per the CDC. But those figures count fungal infections, not the mold behind your shower. Dr. Chris Motley explains what damp buildings probably do to health (asthma, wheeze, cough, respiratory infections), why a urine mycotoxin test can't tell you if your home is making you sick, how Chinese Medicine describes "dampness," and the step that matters most: find the water. Sources below. Educational only, not medical advice. Mold Testing: ImmunoLytics: https://immunolytics.com/?wpam_id=474 Want more of The Ancient Health Podcast? Subscribe to the YouTube channel. Follow Doctor Motley! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doctormotley TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@doctormotley Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/doctormotley/ Website: https://doctormotley.com *Join Doctor Motley’s newsletter for TCM insights and regular podcast updates https://www.doctormotley.com/ *Do you have a ton more in-depth questions for Doctor Motley? Check out his course on emotions and the body in his membership. You’ll find other courses full of his expertise and clinical wisdom, plus bring all your questions to his weekly lives! To try risk-free for 15 days click here https://www.doctormotley.com/15 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tight jaw, shoulders up by your ears, waking at 3 a.m.? Somatic movement teacher Liz Tenuto, author of When the Body Speaks, joins Dr. Chris Motley to explore where the body holds stress, why she favors tiny, lazy movements over force, why animals shake it off, and how to recognize when you’re still bracing. Dr. Motley adds the Chinese Medicine perspective on the jaw and waking at 3 a.m. Sources and corrections are included in the show notes. Content note: This episode discusses trauma, emotional healing, and the mind-body connection. Take care while listening, and feel free to pause or skip around if you need to. Educational only, not medical advice. Chapters: 00:00 Cold open: where your body holds stress 00:44 Welcome: Liz Tenuto, somatic movement teacher 02:45 Ten years without sleep, and everything she tried 03:51 "People rolling around on the floor in their pajamas" 04:47 Inside a somatic class: the laziest movements possible 05:52 From workhorse to gentle, and what surfaced 07:06 A dancer, disconnected from her emotional body 08:45 Does the body remember? 11:55 Dance, EMDR, and life before The Body Keeps the Score 13:23 Is fascia a highway for emotion? 15:00 Shoulders at her ears, and the saran wrap picture 16:58 Tiny lazy movements and new pathways 18:30 Calm, wired, or shut down: the "Goldilocks" state 19:41 Why people keep going back to the chiropractor 20:46 Calm takes reps 22:09 How your body learns tension 25:02 Can a stuck joint slow your lymph? 26:17 Dr. Motley's method: meridians, muscles, and the liver 30:17 An old basketball injury and three months of brain fog 33:10 How Liz starts with a new client 34:41 Why animals shake it off 38:04 Where your body holds stress: hips, shoulders, neck, jaw 39:48 Jaw tension, TMJ, and the Gallbladder channel 41:17 How long does it take? 42:29 Why forcing a release backfires 44:37 Why Dr. Motley tells patients a year 45:31 Signs you're storing stress 46:40 3 a.m., your lungs, and the Chinese medicine clock 47:35 What letting go feels like 49:24 Where to find Liz 50:50 Closing thoughts 52:09 Disclaimer Want more of The Ancient Health Podcast? Subscribe to the YouTube channel. Follow Doctor Motley! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doctormotley TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@doctormotley Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/doctormotley/ Website: https://doctormotley.com Follow Liz Tenuto: Website: https://theworkoutwitch.com/  YouTube:  theworkoutwitch.com/s/youtube Instagram: theworkoutwitch.com/s/instagram Book: https://theworkoutwitch.com/pages/book *Join Doctor  Motley’s newsletter for TCM insights and regular podcast updates https://www.doctormotley.com/ *Do you have a ton more in-depth questions for Doctor Motley? Check out his course on emotions and the body in his membership. You’ll find other courses full of his expertise and clinical wisdom, plus bring all your questions to his weekly lives! To try risk-free for 15 days click here https://www.doctormotley.com/15 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tired, losing hair, and told your labs are “normal”? Endocrinologist Dr. Cassie Smith explains the new 2026 American Society of Hematology ferritin thresholds, why your thyroid needs iron, the pregnancy thyroid rule every woman on thyroid medication should know, the gut signs you may be ignoring, and her honest take on GLP-1 drugs. With Dr. Chris Motley. 00:00 Dr. Cassie Smith is back 01:08 Graves' disease in med school, at 130 beats a minute 02:38 "Normal" labs, and the fertility questions you sent in 03:33 Why fertility starts in the gut, and PCOS gets a new name 04:30 What birth control does to your gut bacteria 06:21 Thyroid, nutrients, and early miscarriage 07:07 Why your TSH drops when you get pregnant 08:13 On thyroid medicine? The nine-dose rule 09:07 Which probiotic? The Akkermansia gap 10:58 After a miscarriage: the labs to ask for 13:02 Thinning hair and the new ferritin guidelines 14:58 A tongue and pulse read, and a ferritin result 17:24 Gut warning signs: bloating, reflux, gas 18:38 Acne, rashes, and swollen joints 19:57 Depression and anxiety after a baby 20:39 Can you inherit a bad gut? 21:56 Glutamine, butyrate, and the scab rule 24:42 Fiber, and the free fixes nobody can sell you 26:34 Gluten, Roundup, and your thyroid 28:53 GLP-1s: an endocrinologist's honest take 30:42 Insulin as traffic cop 32:27 Why kids stop eating when they're full 33:15 Using GLP-1s right: protein, water, weights, then stop 34:32 Where to find Dr. Smith 35:11 An endocrinologist who wants to learn acupuncture 37:50 Teeth, meridians, and infertility 39:38 Closing thoughts 41:28 Disclaimer Sources are included in the show notes. Educational only - not medical advice. Want more of The Ancient Health Podcast? Subscribe to the YouTube channel. Follow Doctor Motley! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doctormotley TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@doctormotley Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/doctormotley/ Website: https://doctormotley.com Follow Dr. Cassie Smith: https://www.instagram.com/modernendocrine_/ Buy her book Fix Your Gut, Fix Your Hormones: https://a.co/d/0gbCrVD6 *Join Doctor  Motley’s newsletter for TCM insights and regular podcast updates https://www.doctormotley.com/ *Do you have a ton more in-depth questions for Doctor Motley? Check out his course on emotions and the body in his membership. You’ll find other courses full of his expertise and clinical wisdom, plus bring all your questions to his weekly lives! To try risk-free for 15 days click here https://www.doctormotley.com/15 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Eboni Cornish, MD, of Amen Clinics and ILADS, returns for a third conversation, live in Nashville. She and Dr. Chris Motley talk about Lyme and other tick-borne infections in the brain: anxiety and depression, kids labeled ADHD, puberty flares, mold and memory, and why she calms the brain before treating anything. Plus her best question: when did your symptoms start, and where were you? Sources in the show notes. Educational only, not medical advice. 00:00 Depression, anxiety, and a Lyme test 00:39 Welcome: Dr. Eboni Cornish, live in Nashville  02:20 From bored family doctor to Lyme practice  04:13 How Lyme gets into the brain  06:12 What a Lyme brain looks like on a SPECT scan  08:02 The limbic loop: calm the brain  10:21 Is neurology catching up?  12:30 Floaters, light sensitivity, and trouble reading  14:05 Tinnitus and sound sensitivity  15:08 Can kids have Lyme? Pregnancy and newborns  17:48 Why puberty can trigger a flare  20:12 ADHD, PANS, and a gentler approach for kids  23:32 Food, kids, and the one-food trade  25:56 Sudden anger in children  27:23 Joint pain and injuries that won't heal  28:57 Teeth, gums, and cavitations  31:09 Babesia and your red blood cells  32:34 MTHFR, explained  35:11 Swollen lymph nodes and lymphatic drainage 36:47 Memory loss, mold, and dementia risk  39:42 Where were you when your symptoms started?  41:31 Gratitude and the brain  43:59 How your gut shapes your mood  46:09 Her morning routine  48:19 Saunas, baths, and cold water  50:38 Belly breathing for kids  51:11 Her fall speaking tour  54:14 Where to find Dr. Cornish  55:34 Wrap-up  57:01 Disclaimer Key Takeaways: Tick-borne illness can show up in the brain. Lyme can reach the nervous system. If you have neurological symptoms and you are not getting better, Dr. Cornish says to put tick-borne disease on the list (5:16).  Calm the brain before you push treatment. Her patients who react to everything are often stuck in fight or flight, a "limbic loop" (9:37). She starts by calming the nervous system.  Kids get labeled. Many of her pediatric patients arrive diagnosed with ADHD or "being bad" (20:50). A sudden change in a child, over days rather than months, is worth asking your pediatrician about by name: PANS. Trade one food, not the whole diet. She asks a reluctant kid for one food that "doesn't love your brain," and trades a supplement off the list in return (25:04). Then she asks AI for realistic swaps a family will actually eat.  Babesia lives in red blood cells. If you have tested positive, don't donate blood. Federal blood-safety rules agree. Want more of The Ancient Health Podcast? Subscribe to the YouTube channel. Follow Doctor Motley! Instagram TikTok Facebook Website Follow Dr. Eboni Cornish https://www.instagram.com/dr.ebonicornish/ https://www.drebonicornish.com/ For more on her work:  https://www.amenclinics.com/ https://www.ilads.org/ *Join Doctor Motley’s newsletter for TCM insights and regular podcast updates https://www.doctormotley.com/ *Do you have a ton more in-depth questions for Doctor Motley? Check out his course on emotions and the body in his membership. You’ll find other courses full of his expertise and clinical wisdom, plus bring all your questions to his weekly lives! To try risk-free for 15 days click here https://www.doctormotley.com/15 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices