109: Investing in Healthy Moms Means the Most with Dr. Sam Shay

No guilt, mamas…but you might be sacrificing your family if you keep putting yourself last.

My guest today, Sam Shay, was raised by a mom who didn’t take care of herself, and he suffered for it. He’s passionate about reaching mompreneurs and other busy moms (um, who isn’t??) with the message of how moms can help their families by helping themselves.

He’s a functional doc who not only looks at the whole person when seeking health, but he’ll share with us today why looking at the whole family is the way to truly “function” as a unit.
May you be inspired to invest in yourself AS an investment in your family!

Can’t see the video? Watch this interview about healthy moms on YouTube.

Healthy Mom Video Time Stamps

• 0:28: Today we’re talking with Dr. Sam Shay. He has become passionate about teaching moms to take care of themselves as the foundation of the family. He shares a bit of his background with us.

I saw my mother picking the easy, comfortable strategies to buy another day just to cope. There was a fallout from those poor decisions. -Dr. Sam Shay

• 4:05: Dr. Shay isn’t trying to make anyone feel bad for coping through a survival mode season, but he does want to give the perspective of a now-grown child of divorce and how some of his mother’s coping strategies impacted his childhood.

Why is a Healthy Mom Important?

• 5:35: Of course there’s also a flip side, by making healthy choices we can take care of ourselves and impact our families for the better.

Many natural health practitioners arrive where they are because they had to go through their own healer’s journey. -Dr. Sam Shay

• 7:28: Dr. Shay is going to share 10 pillars of health. 10 may sound like a lot! You don’t have to do them all at once! Know them so you can prioritize.

• 9:43: Magic bullet therapy is applying the philosophy of western medicine to the natural health world. It doesn’t really work that way. Medical doctors are not the enemy, they’re just trained for a different context.

We’ve taken a western medicine philosophy into non-emergency medicine. -Dr. Sam Shay

• 12:11: Dr. Shay developed his 10 pillars of health working with fibromyalgia patients. He found that they apply to almost all people whether they’re chronically ill, or maintaining health.
• 13:35: Chronically ill patients typically have a minimum of 7 pillars crumbling.

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The 10 Pillars for Healthy Moms

• 14:50: The first pillar is “Brain and hormones“. This includes adrenals, thyroid, sex hormones, neurology, and brain integration.
• 16:14: “Bowel and digestion” is the second pillar. It’s a waste to take expensive supplements if you aren’t digesting correctly and absorbing what you put in your system.
•  16:41: The third pillar is “Body” which related to body structure: posture, spinal misalignment, untreated injury, bad dental work, and genetics.

• 17:35: “Burst exercise or movement” is pillar number four. Dr. Shay has found two attitudes regarding exercise among adults: they feel bad about it or it’s a cause for boasting.

All pillars are equal, but not all pillars are equal to every body. -Dr. Sam Shay

• 19:28: Pillar number 5, “Biotoxins,” can be sledgehammered in one toxic exposure, or a slow drip leading to severe health issues over time. This is the most worrisome long-term.
• 20:21: Dr. Shay has some wise words on detoxing.
• 21:00: The “Bionutrient” pillar is what you need to eat and take into your body for health. This includes food, vitamins, but also sunshine and oxygen.

• 23:38: “Breakfast” is pillar number 7 and it isn’t just that you need to eat breakfast. It’s about setting healthy habits first thing in the morning. Night shift workers are in general a very unhealthy group of people because the rhythm of their life is unhealthy.
• 24:23: Dr. Shay has some notes about intermittent fasting and how that integrates with a healthy breakfast habit.
• 26:36: Mommy guilt is a huge barrier for many moms. They feel the need to put their kids ahead of them and feel overwhelmed by taking care of everyone else.

I wouldn’t rely on Disney for how to model motherhood. -Dr. Sam Shay

• 28:16: “Bothers” is the “B” word for any kind of stress. This includes clutter around your house, EMFs, moving, financial pressures, relationship trouble, etc.
• 29:54: Pillar nine, “Bugs” has to do with hidden infections and mold. Hidden chronic infections from parasites and microbes aren’t just in third world countries.
• 31:58: The final pillar is “Bedtime” meaning consistency, duration, quality, and depth of sleep. The highest amount of growth hormones are produced between 10-12 at night making this a crucial window of sleep for growing children.

I know what it’s like to be in the blast radius of a mom who’s unwell. -Dr. Sam Shay

• 34:37: We leave you with a practical step to take today to figure out which pillar you need to start working on.

Resources we Mention for Healthy Moms

• Find Dr. Shay online
• Follow him on social media: Facebook/Instagram
• Get Dr. Shay’s free ebook Biohack your Biohacking —  or text “biohacker” to 33444
• Sam’s genetics ebook (also free) is now available
• Optimizing elimination with Dr. Elisa Song
• Ditching toxins in your home with Lara Adler
• Healthy sleep makes you a better parent with Christine Hansen
• Healthy sleep tips for the whole family with Whitney Roban
• Prioritizing your health as a parent with Dr. Ryan Wohlfert
• Do you have parasites? The answer may surprise you

For over 20 years, Sam devoted his life to health and science, learning how to heal himself through functional medicine, using the same principles with his online clients.

Sam’s health journey began as a boy. He overcame over a decade of severe insomnia, gut problems, an inflammatory diet, anxiety, depression, chronic pain, and two addictions (video games and sugar).

Sam dedicated his life to alleviate physical, biochemical, and emotional suffering and help others reach the highest of human potential and creativity. He cross-trained extensively, including a doctorate in chiropractic, and degrees and certifications in acupuncture, functional neurology, genetics analysis, and functional medicine.