Week 6: A Doctor’s 52 Week Journey to an Unprocessed Life

Week 6: A Doctor’s 52 Week Journey to an Unprocessed Life

Summary of Key Points, Decisions, and Next Steps from Speaker

Dr. Brent Laartz

Key Points and Decisions:

Increased focus on a vegan diet, aiming for 3 days per week of whole food, low-sugar vegan eating

Added new exercises like mountain biking and tennis to mix up his workout routine

Exploring delta and theta wave entrainment techniques to improve sleep quality

Decided to try painting as a creative outlet, potentially hosting a "paint party" with friends

Challenging himself to go an entire week without any packaged/processed foods, only single-ingredient whole foods

Next Steps:

Continue monitoring sleep, diet, and exercise metrics using tracking devices and apps

Implement vegan diet plan, aiming for 3 days per week of whole food, low-sugar vegan eating

Incorporate new exercises like mountain biking and tennis into weekly routine

Try delta and theta wave entrainment techniques before bed to improve sleep quality

Start a painting project capturing scenes from his recent vacation in the British Virgin Islands

Attempt to go an entire week without any packaged/processed foods, sticking to single-ingredient whole foods

Overall, Dr. Laartz is focused on continuing to improve his health and wellness through a multifaceted approach of diet, exercise, sleep, creativity, and minimizing exposure to plastics and processed foods. He is setting ambitious goals for himself while also acknowledging the need for flexibility and self-compassion along the way.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:00:16,920 ]All right, everyone, welcome to week six of the Go On Pro podcast, a doctor's 52-week journey to an unprocessed life. And wow, what a great week it is. I just got back from an amazing holiday in the British Virgin Islands. Really got some good activities done. Toward improving my health. And it's an amazing thing. When you think about what vacations mean to me and what they meant to me—meaning to me in a previous life of mine. You know, previous life of mine.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:00:54,410 ] Vacations, man. Going somewhere to hang out and— And we go to a lot of bars. Previously, I went to the British Virgin Islands. And I would go to the bars. At each of the islands we would get to, and Um, a lot of activities in islands.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:01:12,890 ] Don't involve exercise because there's not a lot of trails in some islands and you really have to search for them to find them. So really, the suggestion that holidays and birthdays used to be a celebration with alcohol does not necessarily have to be that. And I'll tell you, you know, longevity and living healthy involves.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:01:38,210 ] Every aspect of your life must align. Doesn't have to align 100% of the time and it doesn't have to be a rigid, set of things, but it does have to have a commitment and a conviction to that. You know, my idea is to diminish alcohol's hold on those times, on the birthdays, the holidays, the different celebrations, and using those as a fodder to bring about a less unhealthy time in the future. So it is all about the future. If you think of the number of holidays during the year, think about... The birthdays that friends have and your own birthday and Christmas and New Year's.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:02:30,160 ] St. Patrick's Day, and then you come up to Memorial Day, and then you come up to maybe even Easter. Some people with You know, obviously Mardi Gras is around that time, right? And so then, so then you get to May and then you get to July 4th, you get to. June holidays, you get to the summer holidays. You get to Labor Day. You get to Halloween.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:02:56,140 ] Halloween has become a big alcohol celebration, right? And then you get to Thanksgiving. Then you get to Christmas. All of these holidays, if you add up, if you're trying to limit the number of drinks that you have, then those holidays can really add up.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:03:14,480 ] My vacation involved getting some hikes in. Uh, the the The resort that I was in for the first couple of days didn't have a gym, so what did I have to do? Get to the beach and do kind of a CrossFit routine there. I did yoga for a morning and, and met some great people in that yoga, had a really good connection with some people. And so, really, an amazing time I had for just three or four days, and came back really refreshed and really ready to go to keep that health going. Ran a couple of times already this week after I got back. And getting went to the gym really getting a connection there and Went over to some friend's house, had a little get together. Really encouraging using those activities and those holidays to foster a healthy diet, exercise.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:04:21,440 ] Um, And perhaps even we're talking about getting some connection and connectivity, talking about having a wellness party and also then also maybe painting during those timeframes with a party. And so I think that really. My goal over the next month is to really cement that into my life. Okay, so let me tell you.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:04:51,870 ] You really have to have that commitment and conviction.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:04:55,719 ] And there's the idea of a push and a pull. So certainly the push is your innate drive.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:05:03,610 ] Which not all of us have, right? But that push.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:05:07,780 ] There's got to be some.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:05:10,680 ] thing within you that can give you that push.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:05:14,550 ] Think about a time in your life when you've had that push to succeed, but now then.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:05:22,860 ] Um, bring that out. Okay, so then the story do you have is going to be able to pull you to where you need and and so my push is pretty... Evident from my life, from my athletic days to then into my academic days and becoming a physician. That push and that drive has always been there. So I've got that already. The... Key for people to find is that push.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:05:55,840 ] Even if they don't feel like they have it, what that involves is really having some self-love. It involves finding out that that self-love involves your worthiness to have a successful, healthy life. And again, everybody starts at a different spot in their health and their life. You may be 25 years old and feel like you're healthy and feel like you're invincible. You may be 50, and feel like you're healthy, but you really may not be. You may be 60. and already have had a setback in your health. You may have some obesity and not really realize. that you really do have some reason why you need a change in life. And oftentimes that... um That involves kind of the kick in the face by life and realizing that.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:06:58,370 ] I just had a... whose mother found that she was pre-diabetic and now is able to get her life under control. And I think she's done some really great changes in that.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:07:15,230 ] That's great.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:07:17,060 ] But sometimes it takes that push and that drive.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:07:21,470 ] And then the pull is going to be the story. You know, I go back to a story very frequently in my life. As a matter of fact, I. wrote this story. In my college admission essay to Northwestern University. And I think it's a big reason why I got into that university. When I was a sophomore in high school, I wasn't the biggest and the greatest wrestler on the team. I was on junior varsity. And actually, come to think of it, when I say that. Actually, I was a good wrestler at that time. That may be, you know, obviously.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:08:07,460 ] That self-deprecation that many people have about their life and about the quality that they were. Actually, my sophomore year, I was a really good wrestler. I had, even though I was on junior varsity on the wrestling team.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:08:25,980 ] I was, I believe, and I don't have the exact record, but I believe I was like 32 and 9 maybe on the junior varsity wrestling team. And we, I remember, over, let's say January sometime, our junior varsity team was entered into a varsity wrestling tournament and it was a small school wrestling tournament. Um and we were in the top division in my high school, but we were one of the smallest top division as far as size in the state of Iowa. And.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:09:05,040 ] One of the guys that was in front of me at 105 pounds, tiny, right? 105 pounds. I weighed about 118 pounds sophomore year, maybe 115.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:09:16,900 ] And found it not too hard to cut weight. But the guy who was an enemy. was cutting weight from about 130.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:09:26,370 ] Pounds or so. And come, come.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:09:35,910 ] I guess it was the end of January. He could not make weight. He just lost it. Lost his drive, lost his push, lost his pull, right? And. Couldn't make weight. So that advanced me up to... The varsity team.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:09:53,690 ] And it knocked me up there.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:09:56,710 ] With the last two meets, and I won both of those.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:10:03,530 ] Meats.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:10:06,520 ] And then came conference tournament and I got second place in our conference tournament. I think it could have been maybe third place. I think it was maybe third place. I lost once. So I was four and one. And.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:10:23,710 ] I believe you needed somewhere around five to ten wins or something like that. to get a letter, a varsity letter.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:10:32,640 ] I remember our high school wrestling coach, his name was Nicholas Hobbs. Great guy, great motivator. I'll tell you, that guy. could make us run intervals in the morning, 6 a. m. intervals before school. He could make us do anything, along with an assistant coach, Dan Pavlovich. These guys could make you do anything.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:10:58,120 ] But Nick, I think, realized that there was some maybe imposter syndrome going on and maybe a feeling of unworthiness because I. On the junior varsity, moving up to go to the district tournament in the district tournament Was.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:11:18,340 ] Our district was very difficult in those days. We had people, we had schools in our district that were much bigger than us. And in much bigger cities, my hometown.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:11:30,400 ] Probably around that time, probably at about 8,000 population.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:11:35,450 ] It's probably gotten even lower by now.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:11:39,190 ] Our graduating senior class had about 180 or 190 kids. And that was the only high school in my hometown.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:11:50,310 ] And so it was a very difficult thing and I did end up getting third place again.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:11:56,630 ] In the district. But that didn't get me into state. But that put me at like a, let's say, again, maybe a six and two total record for my sophomore year, something like that. But before that tournament, to motivate me, because there were some people who I felt like, wow, you know, this, the guy in front of me could barely beat these guys. And could I beat them? And. I was definitely smaller and less strong as some of these people because I was starting out at a much lower weight than a lot of people, at 105 pounds.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:12:40,300 ] The coach really... Took me aside and said, you know, it doesn't matter about the letter. You're going to letter no matter what you do during this district tournament and it really motivated me to to get rid of that imposter syndrome, get rid of that feeling of unworthiness, and really push me. And, you know, I think that if I hadn't had that motivation after he to really not be motivated toward the.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:13:13,930 ] Letter.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:13:15,870 ] or the varsity letter, but to be more motivated just for myself and my own push and my own drive. And, you know, I've... always been that self-motivated studier, let's say, and most of my academic life has been relatively easy for me.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:13:37,080 ] But I'll tell you, that really gave me a push, and that push is the drive.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:13:43,340 ] But really, what we need as we get older and out of that time frame of, we've already developed our push, right? Now we need a pull.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:13:57,910 ] That pull is your story. Okay. really EW. My idea of health, and again, I've told this story already to you folks.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:14:08,120 ] My story began. As an athlete, as of what I thought was a pretty healthy life.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:14:15,440 ] A physician, so a physician should be healthy, right?

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:14:19,940 ] You'd think so. And again.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:14:22,310 ] Found myself a little overweight. Found myself... starting to head toward pre-diabetes.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:14:30,540 ] This is really my pull and my drive now and my why.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:14:36,090 ] And I have created that why. And this is why I am creating this. Drive in this 52-week journey because I felt like without this why and without this then vision. And that's what this 52-week journey is. It's this vision that I have and that foundation of self-love and that foundation of worthiness that's going to be... instrumental in pushing me. But you can't really manifest your health with just a vision of wanting to be healthy. And you can't. Do it with just your drive because everybody has some drive. Everybody has a story about why. You have to act on that vision. Same with, you know, I'd say probably 30 to 50% of people who asked, 'What is manifestation of a dream and a vision?'

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:15:40,120 ] It seems like people have an idea that it is something beyond what it actually is.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:15:46,650 ] That it's something mystical, that if you think about it, that it's going to occur, that you do daily affirmations. And if you do, if you have your why, then magically something's going to happen.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:15:59,680 ] And it's not that way. But certainly you have to have that vision.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:16:05,770 ] You have to have that affirmation. You have to have that self-love.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:16:10,220 ] And you have to have that foundation of worthiness. And I'll tell you, if you don't have it. If you don't have that self-love and worthiness, you need to get it. And I need to get it. And sometimes it takes counseling. Sometimes it takes friends that are with you and along for the ride. to help you and be that person to give you that self, give you that love from outside and show you that you're worthy. But again, it has to come from inside and it has to then have action. And it has to have action on almost every day. Okay, so it doesn't mean you can't have a cheat day. It doesn't mean you can't have that, but it has to be. 90%. It can't be 50%. And that's why. This whole story about the diet and movement and sleep, connectivity and creativity.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:17:11,190 ] Can't be just, well, I'm going to... Exercise once this week. It can't even be I'm going to exercise twice this week or three times. It can't be that.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:17:22,359 ] And by the end of the 52 weeks and then on into the rest of my life, I'm going to have 90%. And that's my goal— is to get this to six out of seven days.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:17:35,310 ] Of doing everything I can, okay, I might have a day of rest and I think with anything with exercise for example, you need a day of rest sometimes and And you might get injured. You might get, and hopefully, and my idea of everything with movement is to make sure that we minimize that. injury, okay? So that story of why and that action that is taken every single day, you can have that rest day, but you still need to be thinking about it. It and you can't you can't dwell on any failure you can't let any failure extend beyond that one day so What are we doing with this week six? Okay, so amazing that I just had a great vacation with great exercise, great diet. Um, And sleep was relatively decent.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:18:37,050 ] I was in a two-bed, two-bedroom with another guy who. Really liked it, really cold. So perhaps my sleep wasn't so good, but. Um, let's see. We can. We can not dwell on that. As soon as I came back, got some great sleep, got into my rhythm and got back into my rhythm again. So again, what are we going to do? This week, my goal. is to increase my vegan days.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:19:06,770 ] from one up to possibly three days per week. So my goal is right now to increase to three days per week.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:19:16,110 ] But again, if you are starting from less vegan and feel like you can't do this, perhaps let's get to at least one day per week. But I'm going to three. I'm going whole food vegan, so just because you're vegan doesn't mean you can eat, you know, gummy bears. Which actually, gummy bears are not technically vegan, sometimes, unless you get the vegan gummy bear. But it doesn't mean you just go eat. Crap, that week, that just doesn't have to be meat or cheese or dairy, so has to be whole food vegan. Okay, and low sugar, relatively low sugar. I eat a lot of fruits again. Here's something I just picked up today.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:20:00,380 ] Amazing. Um, how you can really eat? Um, and this was very cheap— a couple bucks for this box of grapes. So The other thing... I'm going for this week.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:20:14,620 ] Is And you really have to specify it. Ahead of time.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:20:21,370 ] Exactly which days are going to be in.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:20:24,060 ] Because you have to plan it out. You can't just go, well, I'm going to go out to so-and-so.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:20:29,580 ] restaurant and be vegan unless you know that they have some vegan options that are good. I ate last night.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:20:36,340 ] out with my mother, my girlfriend and her mother.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:20:42,230 ] It's kind of a really good potentially vegetarian option, at least.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:20:48,900 ] Again, you need some protein in your diet when you're vegan. You need nuts and beans potentially. And I like to add beans to my diet during those days that I'm vegan.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:21:02,360 ] Again, no alcohol. six at least out of the seven days. And again, not binging on that seventh day, right? So again, that diet.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:21:18,800 ] You might, if you're starting to be more and more vegan, and you want to be more and more vegan, there are a few things you have to think about. If you're eating less dairy, you might need calcium and vitamin D. You might need vitamin B12. Those are the couple of things that are lacking in a diet that is vegan. So and obviously, you um... I get my vegans, my beans, my um dark leafy vegetables like spinach or kale. That way you can get some iron in there as well.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:21:53,630 ] And some other B vitamins. Um And you're really just mixing it up. And we've talked about in the past having a variety of fruits and vegetables and trying to get to that 40 vegetables and fruits per week. Trying to get that variety and that helps with your microbiome. And it helps to really get a variety of different vitamins and minerals. Okay, so that vegan diet.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:22:27,530 ] is incredibly important to minimize, again, red meat and minimizing.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:22:36,820 ] Oh, the other thing that could be lacking in that diet, if you don't have very much seafood in your diet, then you're going to need some omega-3s, unless perhaps flaxseed might have some omega-3.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:22:55,110 ] All right, let's go on to what we're doing with movement. Okay, so each week I want to try to add, and this week I'm going to add some different movements for this week.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:23:09,120 ] Before, I've done a lot of different sports over the years, from sailing to tennis to... Um, mountain biking. And now I'm pretty much concentrating on being in the gym and also doing my running. Okay, so what I want to change a little bit is I want to get a stretch every morning this week. Okay. So I don't necessarily do a lot of exercise in the mornings before I go to work and on my work weeks. So when I'm working, I in general have a certain amount of things I need to accomplish during that morning. And I really need to get there when I get there. And I feel like that. Any kind of exercise delays that. And so I feel like getting into work as quickly as possible to get that accomplished. So my exercise tends to occur mostly in the afternoons.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:24:13,380 ] So I want to get at least a stretch and perhaps a little bit of activity in the morning. I always get some bright sunlight in the morning for maybe a walk or something like that, but I'm going to add some new sports this week. And they're not necessarily new sports because I've mountain biked and I've played tennis before, but I'm going to add those two.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:24:38,870 ] Um.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:24:40,490 ] old but new movements. Okay, so here's what, in addition to just the need for movement on a daily basis and the need to work on that VO2 max. and the need to work on that strength training— those are the two most important things. But mixing up. That VO2 max into different sports and different activities, different movements, different stretching exercises to not just... have one exercise especially for leg strength, which is very important. So those tendons need stretching and they stretch differently with especially tennis, because you've got the back and forth pivoting on your Achilles tendon and your knees and your hips. Very important. So that's what I'm going to do this week for movement.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:25:36,330 ] For sleep, I'm continuing monitoring with my Oura Ring Garmin watch and the other thing that I think I've mentioned already is potentially using delta and theta entrainment and developing those. Again, if you have seen our Sunday Science on this about using... gamma and alpha entrainment for potential treatment of Alzheimer's disease and prevention of dementia.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:26:14,530 ] But there's also the use of delta and theta for relaxation, and for concentration, and for... uh, sleep. Okay, so potentially, I'm going to try to use that before I go to sleep. There are different types of entrainment and there's light and there's sound. And in the sound, there's either binaural, which means you have to have headphones to see it. So if you... Get onto your Spotify or your YouTube Music or whatever, however you listen to your music, and you Google this.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:26:49,690 ] Not Google— if you search for it in those apps.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:26:53,850 ] You're going to need to find either a binaural, if you want to use headphones for it, or a monaural. It's also called isochronic, which means that you don't need headphones if you find one that's binaural and you just play it on your phone by your bedside before you go to bed. You're going to find that it's not going to work because it is meant to be in a stereo situation. Where the combination of the left and right channels creates the entrainment and that— um, eight Hertz or six Hertz.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:27:33,320 ] Entrainment, okay? I want to talk a little bit about sleeping pills because a lot of people use sleeping pills.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:27:41,010 ] And I, in general, stay away from all sleeping pills. I am a big believer in trying to avoid far... pharmacy and pharmaceutical development for my sleep. And certainly that may not help me since I travel a lot. And I do shift work. I'm working a full week at a time and then a week off. So I may change my sleep-wake cycle between those two weeks. And I may travel and get jet lag. I find that if I train myself on the light-dark cycle, that that works just as well as melatonin for me. But if you need it, Melatonin at the lowest. Milligram.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:28:29,550 ] Actually, is all that's needed. And really, you shouldn't need it every single day because what melatonin does is just sets the cycle.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:28:40,860 ] And melatonin—setting my cycle— might be needed for one or two days. But if I've already said it yesterday, it shouldn't be that off today unless I didn't get any light sunlight or if I didn't do anything with benzodiazepines and trazodone. Are often used. If your doctor prescribes it, certainly.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:29:07,790 ] There is... data out there that says that these things are not really good for sleep. Okay, so they may make you tired, make you sleepy, but the sleep that you get on these medications is less quality. What I've seen with my sleep experts that I've talked to out there is that these things are no good. Okay. So, and absolutely, if your doctor prescribes and you need these for your health, then by all means listen to your doctor.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:29:44,750 ] Okay, so here's, so that's my sleep plan for the week. I'm going to use my monitor, get my sleep-wake cycle. I'm set. My connection and creativity.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:30:00,250 ] This week, I'm going to start painting. I have painted a little bit in the past. And... some people think well, this can be expensive, right? Well, you know, for $30, you can get like eight or ten canvases and. And then about another $30, some pretty good paint sets. And then you might need an easel, right? So here's what— can motivate for this creativity. And that is, we all want to save pictures, right, from our vacations. And what a, you know, certainly you can just send your photo off and get a... picture sent back to you by many of these different apps and and services. Um, but. What's so good in that? Certainly you can see it and you can look at it. But if you... do something either on your vacation or after you get back, if you can paint your favorite vacation.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:31:06,790 ] That can immortalize that forever, right? And so, what a great way to do that, if you can take some acrylic paints or even oil paints. And, and create that scene that you that is your favorite vacation.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:31:22,670 ] You can use your picture, you know, that you took as a guide.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:31:28,900 ] But again, here, it's not about... The being the highest quality painter, it's about being you.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:31:38,520 ] And. Loving yourself to know that even though you may not be that great at it, It's you.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:31:46,130 ] It's how you can create. OK, so and if you find, you know, that your picture, you know, of of a sea looks like looks like vegetable soup, then by all means, you know, maybe you don't want to hang that up. But. Try it.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:32:05,500 ] Can't, you can't lose. Okay, so I'm not going to lose. I'm going to win and I'm going to. Make that, um, painting of the British Virgin Islands. I just got back from it. I was on a great hike up in the top of the Virgin Gorda and I had done a kind of a run hike. And I'll tell you, the top of it kind of had this nice little... Um, sloping area.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:32:30,320 ] That was perfect for running. And every little spot had some good views. And it was hard to keep running with those good views. So each of them, I took some pictures of oil. Bay, of the North Sound, of Drake's Channel, going off of Drake's Channel along Necker Island. And you could see... Bitter and Yacht Club and Sable Rock in the background. Amazing view. And I'm in. The sailboats in the dark blue water and and some of the some of the beaches with some turquoise water and some of these big super mega yachts there. There was one schooner at a dock that was amazing. And all of that inspires me to think about this painting.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:33:26,130 ] And here's a way to really bring that creativity and connection in. Is you could have several people over. Two to do a paint party, okay? So let's think about doing that, okay? Um, This week might be a little problematic for that because we have Gasparilla coming up in Florida. And so those kind of parties might have to wait until next week. But do that. And here's the last part.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:34:03,910 ] And this is, I think, going to be a little bit difficult for a lot of people. But here's my goal this week. And my goal.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:34:12,179 ] Every week is to eat as much whole foods, okay? But this week, I'm going to go for it, and I'm going to try this. Um, As I've told you before, I've had... Some of week one, week two, week three, we've had some goals to eat as many vegetables and fruits as possible, that 40 vegetables and fruits, 40 different ones, right? It is a lofty goal, right? So, and I accomplished it one week. And I think I haven't accomplished it a lot of the weeks.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:34:51,629 ] Uh, but.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:34:53,850 ] Try this. And I'm going to try it this week. I'm going to try to go the whole week. Without. Any.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:35:02,110 ] Packaged. foods. When I say that, let's define packaged foods because almost all of our food comes in packages, right? So my grapes.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:35:13,640 ] My grapes came in a package.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:35:16,170 ] but I don't consider that a packaged food per se. It would be nice if that came in more of a, like a.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:35:26,720 ] natural box, but it doesn't, right? So that grape, it doesn't touch the plastic per se, right? And it's a single ingredient.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:35:37,600 ] We're going to define for the purpose of this.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:35:42,110 ] A package food. as being Anything with more than just a couple of ingredients.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:35:50,220 ] and the main ingredient.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:35:53,430 ] Let's say olives come in a... Jar right and they're preserved and/ or they're They're brined, right?

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:36:03,940 ] Um.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:36:05,380 ] But as long as there's no sugar, there's no added sugar, there's no added preservatives. Other than vinegar.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:36:13,040 ] End.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:36:14,470 ] Or if it's a single ingredient.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:36:18,279 ] Tomatoes and you know, or potatoes, they may come in a package.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:36:24,530 ] But as long as it's just a single ingredient— vinegar, or it's in oil, like sun-dried tomatoes sometimes come in an oil, right? Hopefully it's going to be olive oil. And always, I try to make sure that all of my... processed foods are in or cooked in a vegetable oil that is healthy, avocado oil or olive oil. To me, are the top most healthy oils. And then, some of the other seed oils, as long as they are organic and cold pressed.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:37:02,750 ] Then I'm okay with those. And coconut oil might be kind of somewhere in the middle. And obviously, the... saturated fats to me are less healthy, especially if they're processed. Okay. So I'm trying to avoid those, but single ingredients. And I'm going to try to go a whole week without any packaged foods. With that said, If I fail? Let's count them.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:37:32,500 ] My habit tracker app that I use. I've just added a new calendar, and that is packaged foods. So the number of packaged foods that I eat per day.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:37:46,660 ] That could be, and you know, I eat a lot of kind bars, let's say, for example. That to me is still a packaged. Processed food, even though it is better than candy bars, let's say. It does have some added sugar. It has some, potentially also some... oils that it's cooked in and some preservatives. So that, to me, is, even though it's a healthier. That is still a packaged food. And if that is there, I am.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:38:17,149 ] I'm not going to eat in my salads and everything are going to be involving.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:38:23,500 ] a single ingredient, okay? So... Um, Again, this takes some planning. It takes some food prep. especially if you eat food at your... Um, at your work, okay. So it takes some planning and meal prepping for that. So, uh, I'm gonna work on that this week, and I have a tough week of work this week, and so I need to think about that.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:38:51,700 ] As to how I'm going to accomplish that.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:38:54,400 ] Okay, so let's review again each day. Each podcast that we have, we talk about our... review of what we've been doing. Again, we've been doing for our diet some elements of intermittent fasting, creating a nutrient scarcity and creating... a increased fiber that is food for my microbiome. Better signaling, better hormone balance, and using psyllium in the morning, drinking plenty of water.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:39:30,310 ] Oats and especially oats need to be organic and trying to get some organic fiber in there. Again, a lot of fiber sources are going to be from grains. Grains have the potential to have pesticides, and the like. Okay, so the more organic you get, the less chance that you have pesticide contamination.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:40:00,940 ] We've done greens and berries daily. We've done fermented foods, beans, nuts, cabbage, kale, salads, improving foods, maybe fermented foods. The other thing I forgot to mention this week that I am starting to make some some fermented pickles this week and working on that. And no fast food, little processed food, all organic— or mostly organic.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:40:34,470 ] Antioxidants, if you're going to eat berries and vegetables, make sure they're full of antioxidants because obviously the sugar in that. Barry? has to have a reason for it. And obviously, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries are among the best antioxidant-containing foods.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:40:54,840 ] Foods and olives are steady in my diet. I'm eating no dairy or very little dairy, no red meat, and allowing maybe for a special occasion if I absolutely have to. And then having a Sunday meal prep, low sugar, almost keto.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:41:16,830 ] But I don't eat a lot of fat. Again, we just talked about red meat. My meat is going to be chicken and fish, and again, fermented foods. We're doing exercise, increased strength, and cardiovascular fitness is the goal. This helps to... prevent falls and injuries in the future.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:41:37,610 ] Resistance training, not to maxes, but to the 12 to 24 rep failure. That brings in a lighter weight that helps prevent that injury. Different forms of exercise, bicycling, running, walking, lifting, dumbbells, and stretching. Um, That connection, we're increasing our connection to family and friends, creating social enablement of your new lifestyle.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:42:03,700 ] I need friends that are going to go along with me to eat healthier, okay?

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:42:10,650 ] Texting and phone calls, trying to create that connection that we've lost, okay? Sleep, again, we're working on our- circadian rhythms, working on morning light, working on decreasing light in the evening, less stress, using meditation and mindset. Again, the phone out of the room. I charge my phone at night? In the bathroom. It's away from me. And as long as I'm not on call that night. Um, that can help red light in the evening, lower light in the evening, and treatment.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:42:47,860 ] For plastics and the like, we've gotten rid of our plastic containers for storage, bottles, using cookware that's stainless steel and none of the non-stick cookware. Um, prepping using a food processor that's glass and stainless steel. Utensils using spatulas and spoons that are wooden or stainless steel.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:43:17,480 ] Again, that recap of the supplements that I take. Really just calcium and vitamin D, omega-3, and a B12 and a B vitamin.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:43:27,720 ] Really that should be all the supplements again, potentially. Um, um, what else?

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:43:38,070 ] And reiterating the goal and really using daily affirmations on a daily basis. That daily affirmation. Of your goal and that you are able to Exercise and... Be the athlete you need to be.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:43:55,470 ] That doesn't necessarily mean you need to be a great athlete because you don't need to be. You need to be the athlete you need to be.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:44:03,600 ] That athlete could be walking briskly. Around your neighborhood for 30 minutes, 10 minutes, or whatever you can do at the start. That, for me, is doing the best that I can, and that is the best advice I can give anybody. It is to do the best you can, because I'm doing the best I can, and any failure, I pick myself up. And the next day. Get back to it. Okay, same thing with my diet. Same thing with plastics. I might have used a plastic water bottle because I need some water at work to stay hydrated and I don't have access to whatever non-bottled water.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:44:47,090 ] Again, so... Get that push. Get the pull.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:44:53,600 ] From... Your story. And your why? And create the why. Creating the why may involve getting counseling.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:45:03,830 ] And I've been in counseling. I've used meditation. I've used my friends to help me with this.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:45:10,880 ] But everything has to be used. And bring it in to you, to bring your 'why' into your head to create how you are going to get from here to there. Okay, so here.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:45:26,460 ] Hasn't worked yet to create. Four. On longevity. If you want to live to be a hundred years old, and you want to really be healthy at 100 years old.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:45:42,220 ] I guarantee you that 99% of us are not doing the here and now of what that entails.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:45:51,530 ] Now, Everybody says I want to live my life and that kind of thing and you can really and I have discovered that I can have a great time without alcohol. I can have a great time without. Having to eat a steak and macaroni and cheese. Occasionally, I might want to eat it. But it's not going to be on a daily basis. It's not going to be on a weekly basis.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:46:18,570 ] This is going to be... My commitment to me, my health, and my future.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:46:25,500 ] And sometimes it takes an event to prod you and to pull you into this.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:46:32,570 ] But it's going to, for everyone, that realization is going to come at some point.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:46:38,830 ] And hopefully it's not too late at that point. And really.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:46:43,350 ] Middle age is not too late. There are longevity studies with mice that show that, at middle age, actually... almost has the same effect as making that effect early. Now, granted, let's say if you start having a good diet at age 40, there's already been some damage in the blood vessels.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:47:09,710 ] That's occurred from a poor American, that standard American diet, which is SAD, S-A-D, SAD, right? It is that standard American diet. That damages us on a daily basis that we're trying to get rid of, and I've had a pretty good run at it so far and improving amazingly.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:47:32,830 ] And... so. Let's get to that. So we're on week six out of 52 weeks. And I tell you. By week 52, my health will be changed for the better. And we'll see. I'll share. I'm probably going to have more of this.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:47:52,470 ] Blood work to show my cholesterol and my hemoglobin A1c, which even after potentially what I thought was a year of improving my health, was having an effect, but it obviously didn't clear me to where I want to be for my longevity.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:48:19,200 ] I'll share, probably, I'd say probably about six weeks from now, I'm gonna get some more blood work. showing what my hemoglobin A1c. I'm checking my LDL, HDL, and apolipoprotein B.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:48:32,870 ] and several other facets to my blood work. I had some inflammation. I think some of my inflammation has to do with my allergies. allergy shots, and that creates some inflammation, right? And I think some of my inflammation was due to getting an allergy shot the day before I had my blood work. But again, inflammation comes from your microbiome, comes from your diet, comes from your movement, and it also comes from your sleep. Poor sleep can create... inflammation, okay, so again, all four of those pillars, and again, we're adding that fifth pillar— four legs to the table, the diet, movement, sleep, and connectivity and creativity— that fifth leg to the table is avoiding plastics and processed foods and plastics and in our

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:49:33,230 ] life are having an interesting effect. I think that there is perhaps some element of this in longevity that it would be difficult to... Tease out in a study. Okay, so, but it's clear that we have... in our body. Plastics. In our You can do urine tests and blood tests showing how much of these plastics are there and getting rid of processed foods and fast foods. Goes a long ways toward that. So again, thank you for joining us on the Go On Pro podcast, a doctor's 52-week journey to an unprocessed life. You can find us on a lot of different podcasts.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:50:26,190 ] Outlets from Spotify to Apple Podcasts to anywhere you get your podcasts. We also have video podcasts on both YouTube and on And on Substack.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:50:48,440 ] Let's see where we can go from here. You can find us also on our social media pages from TikTok to Instagram to Facebook to... threads and check us out there. We are all over the place. You will find us on our Go On Pro website. That's gounpro . com. That's where you can see not only... our podcast and video format, but also you can find us on, find some of our social media. pages from that site as well. I also have a link tree under dr larts so dr larts d-r-l-a-a-r-t-z on link tree you can find all of our social media pages and websites on there. I also have a website called drlarts . com. That shows some of my other companies, DRLAA. rtz. Com so uh amazing thank you again my name is brent w larts md i am an infectious disease physician uh expert in microbiome i also have a master's in neuroscience and um and thank you very much for joining me.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:52:05,490 ] i will see you on the flip side on week seven. thank you very much for joining us. and we'll see you soon.

Dr. Brent Laartz

[ 00:52:14,880 ] thank you.

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