Have you considered how the choices you make today shape the health and destiny of your children before they’re ever born?
What if the most important gift you could ever give your future child is the health and resilience you build in yourself today?
As rates of chronic health conditions in children—including autism, anxiety, diabetes, obesity, and autoimmune disorders—continue to rise, it’s time to take preconception seriously.
Science shows that the health of our children is determined not just by genetics, but epigenetics. Your health at the time of conception is a snapshot or time capsule that contains the genetic and epigenetic blueprint for your child for the rest of time.
It’s a shocking realization, especially for men: Your lifestyle choices during preconception will forever affect the genetics and health of your children (and their children!).
That means optimizing your health and fitness is not merely an exercise in vanity, but an opportunity to give your future children the best chance at health and success.
After all, the biological definition of fitness is the ability to produce healthy offspring.
Today, we’re exploring how the choices we make today shape not just our own health, but the health of our future children and even generations to come.
I’m thrilled to be joined by Dr. Ann Shippy, a unicorn in the world of medicine—a board-certified internal medicine physician, certified Functional Medicine Practitioner, and a former IBM engineer who’s turned her passion for macro-level systems thinking and problem-solving into a mission to revolutionize how we think about health.
If you care about your health, your family’s future, or just want to understand how to build true resilience in a toxic world, you’re in the right place.
In this episode, you’ll discover:
You can also join Substack as a free or paid member for ad-free episodes of this show, to comment on each episode, and to hit me up in the DM’s. Join at abeljames.substack.com. And if you’re feeling generous, write a quick review for the Abel James Show on Apple or Spotify. You rock.
This episode is brought to you by:
Peluvas - Visit Peluva.com and use the code WILD for 15% off your first pair.
Manukora - Go to MANUKORA.com/WILD to save 31% plus $25 of free gifts.
Troscriptions - Go to troscriptions.com/WILD or enter WILD at checkout for 10% off your first order.
What if the most important gift you could ever give your future child is the health and resilience you build in yourself today?
As rates of chronic health conditions in children—including autism, anxiety, diabetes, obesity, and autoimmune disorders—continue to rise, it’s time to take preconception seriously.
Science shows that the health of our children is determined not just by genetics, but epigenetics. Your health at the time of conception is a snapshot or time capsule that contains the genetic and epigenetic blueprint for your child for the rest of time.
It’s a shocking realization, especially for men: Your lifestyle choices during preconception will forever affect the genetics and health of your children (and their children!).
That means optimizing your health and fitness is not merely an exercise in vanity, but an opportunity to give your future children the best chance at health and success.
After all, the biological definition of fitness is the ability to produce healthy offspring.
Today, we’re exploring how the choices we make today shape not just our own health, but the health of our future children and even generations to come.
I’m thrilled to be joined by Dr. Ann Shippy, a unicorn in the world of medicine—a board-certified internal medicine physician, certified Functional Medicine Practitioner, and a former IBM engineer who’s turned her passion for macro-level systems thinking and problem-solving into a mission to revolutionize how we think about health.
If you care about your health, your family’s future, or just want to understand how to build true resilience in a toxic world, you’re in the right place.
In this episode, you’ll discover:
- The impact of environmental toxins, mold, and gut health on fertility, child development, and longevity
- How Dr. Shippy reversed the effects of toxic mold exposure, including ALS-type symptoms, pain, and fatigue in her own family
- How to give your future children the best chance at health and success by optimizing epigenetics at preconception
- And much more…
- Preconception Revolution by Dr. Ann Shippy, on Amazon, Walmart, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop, Books-A-Million or Target (releases: November 18, 2025)
- Website: https://annshippymd.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annshippymd/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annshippymd
- Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/annshippymd
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnnShippyMD/
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/annshippymd
You can also join Substack as a free or paid member for ad-free episodes of this show, to comment on each episode, and to hit me up in the DM’s. Join at abeljames.substack.com. And if you’re feeling generous, write a quick review for the Abel James Show on Apple or Spotify. You rock.
This episode is brought to you by:
Peluvas - Visit Peluva.com and use the code WILD for 15% off your first pair.
Manukora - Go to MANUKORA.com/WILD to save 31% plus $25 of free gifts.
Troscriptions - Go to troscriptions.com/WILD or enter WILD at checkout for 10% off your first order.
[00:00:01]
Abel James:
Hey, folks. This is Abel James, and thanks so much for joining us on the show. Have you considered how the choices you make today could shape the health and destiny of your children and even your grandchildren before they're ever born? What if the most important gift you could ever give your future child is the health and resilience you build in yourself today? As rates of chronic health conditions in children, including autism, anxiety, diabetes, obesity, and autoimmune disorders continue to rise, it's time to take preconceptions seriously.
Science shows that the health of our children is determined by not just genetics, but epigenetics. Your health at the time of conception is a snapshot or time capsule that contains the genetic and epigenetic blueprint for your child for the rest of time. It's a shocking realization, especially for men. Your lifestyle choices during preconception will forever affect the genetics and health of your children and their children. That means optimizing your health and fitness is not merely an exercise in vanity, but an opportunity to give your future children the best chance at health and success. After all, the biological definition of fitness is the ability to produce healthy offspring.
Today, we're exploring how the choices we make today shape not just our own health, but the health of our future children and even generations to come. I'm thrilled to be joined by doctor Anne Shippey, a unicorn in the world of medicine, a board certified internal medicine physician, certified functional medicine practitioner, and a former IBM engineer who's turned her passion for macro level systems thinking and problem solving into a mission to revolutionize how we think about health. If you care about your health, your family's future, or you just wanna understand how to build true resilience in a toxic world, you're in the right place. Quick plug before we get to the interview, please make sure that you're subscribed to the Abel James Show wherever you listen to your podcast. And if you'd like an ad free version of this show with extra behind the scenes goodies, be sure to join my substack at ablejames.substack.com, abeljames.substack.com.
You can also check out my newsletter at ablejames.com. Look forward to seeing you there. Alright. In this episode, you're about to discover the impact of environmental toxins, mold, and gut health on fertility, child development, and longevity, how doctor Shippey reversed the effects of toxic mold exposure, including ALS type symptoms, pain, and fatigue, how to give your future children the best possible chance at health and success by optimizing epigenetics at preconception, and much, much more. Let's meet doctor Shippey. Welcome back, folks. Doctor Anne Shippey is a board certified internal medicine physician and certified functional medicine practitioner with a rare dual background in both engineering and medicine. Motivated by the alarming rise in chronic illness and developmental issues in children, doctor Shippey also wrote the preconception revolution. Thanks so much for joining us today, doctor Shippey. Thank you so much for having me.
Absolutely. So let's start right here with with your career as a physician. You're a bit of a unicorn having this background in engineering, but it wasn't necessarily something that you dreamed up as a child, that this was the ideal path that you'd go on. It was more life kind of bringing you a a set of limitations that you navigated through. So tell us how you you got to be a physician after specializing in engineering.
[00:13:11] Dr. Ann Shippy:
Well, you know, I growing up, I always thought I was gonna teach math. I just love kids, and I thought, oh, I can teach math. But I really got pushed by, my teachers, actually, to go into engineering. And it was great because I loved the problem solving piece of it, and I got a job with IBM, and they were so amazing to work for. I I was actually in the manufacturing side of things as a chemical engineer, so all the electronic kind of things. And getting to do really things things that were important to me at the time. There were some mandates around protecting the environment that I got to play a really pivotal role in helping IBM to implement cleaner processes into our manufacturing.
And along the way, I really thought I was gonna retire from IBM. I hadn't even thought about doing anything else, and I got very sick. I went on vacation. I was fine. Came back, and I started losing weight, had abdominal pain, and went from doctor to doctor, and nobody could help me. I was just thinking about this this morning that
[00:14:19] Unknown:
I I might be a little bit slow in going and doing some of those tests again that we're you're supposed to do to look at your gut because I'm probably a little traumatized
[00:14:28] Dr. Ann Shippy:
from the number and, intensity of the workups. I mean, they really tried to figure out what was going on with me, but couldn't figure it out. So finally, I had to take it into my own hands and start researching and trying different diets and different supplements. And saw this allergist all the way out in Fredericksburg, and he gave me allergy drops. I you know, I was just open to anything that could help me get my body back into balance. And it did. It like, I peeled. And so I, you know, was enjoying my career at IBM. But one morning, I woke up at, like, four in the morning and had a new path. It was so clear that I loved how the human body works and really was so grateful at how my body could repair that I wanted to help other people do the same thing.
[00:15:18] Abel James:
And I I was thinking about this as I was reading your book too. It's, obviously, doctors go through a whole set of many hours of of training and education and that sort of thing, but it's not really the macro systems thinking approach that engineers might take, where you're thinking about the entire body as a composite of all these systems that interact in unexpected ways, and you have to account for this. Because traditional medicine and and the way that it's set up is just specialized, specialized, specialized in these, you know, these specializations, these groups don't talk to each other, and you you need to think about the the top down macro approach. So maybe you could just riff on that a little bit. That's such a great observation.
[00:15:55] Dr. Ann Shippy:
Yeah. And especially internal medicine. So, you know, we do in-depth primary care and hospital medicine for adults. And, you know, the minute you say, oh, okay. The problem's over here with kidney, you call in the nephrologist. You have the, brain tumor, you call in the neurosurgeon. So but you do get the placeholder of being the quarterback and and tying it all together. So I really do think that internal medicine was the best option for me because it it gave me the in-depth training. Like, I got to go do the breast cancer rotation at MD Anderson during medical school, and I got to go hang out with the urologist for a month and the pulmonologist. So we got to do some of that in-depth.
But then when I I had had one child during med school and one child during residency, so I knew I needed to do more training than what internal medicine would allow me, but I was kinda tired, and I had these two young children. So I went into a standard practice. And fortunately, a couple years into that, I developed a couple of autoimmune diseases. So it got me back on my track because, you know, I wanted the foundation that traditional training gives you, but I didn't want to be doing that. And so my body, I think, revolted and was like, no. No. We're we're getting back on path. And what was beautiful about that is I had developed a couple of autoimmune disorders that there really weren't great treatments for.
And so I wasn't even tempted to just take the medications and treatment for them. I started digging into my body again and really figuring out this interconnectedness that you mentioned. Right? That the the gut makes a difference. The mitochondria makes a difference. All these things that you love to talk about and explore.
[00:17:52] Abel James:
So for you, when initially you were made aware of the fact that you were suffering from mold toxicity or mycotoxins in your immediate surroundings, What was that experience like, and how did you find that out? Because especially living in Austin, we can talk about this a little bit later, but or or anyone who's in kind of, like, this type of climate, the humid South, it's everywhere. You have to be really careful, and it can really sneak up on you.
[00:18:14] Dr. Ann Shippy:
And, yeah, it really is a hidden epidemic as well. Well, that was my third run-in with my body. Was it? Oh my gosh. Yeah. I healed from the autoimmune things, opened my practice and, functional medicine. And then four or five years later, I started getting my sickest. Like, I thought I had been sick before, but I really thought I was dying. I had ALS type symptoms, so I had so much pain in my body. I it hurt if my kids hug me, and I was losing my hair. And I was so fatigued, I could hardly get out of bed. And I my right arm got so weak, I could not have held this glass with it. I was really losing some neurological function.
And it was kinda perfect because I had been missing mold toxicity in some of my patients. And the initial treatment that I tried, it was the only protocol that was even written up or out there. It actually made me sicker.
[00:19:17] Abel James:
Really?
[00:19:19] Dr. Ann Shippy:
Mhmm. So that was really scary. But then I started, you know, just going back to my functional medicine and systems training. Like, okay. Let's see where my body really needs the support and started stacking what I needed to do to completely heal. Like, my right arm is and, you know, I can swing a tennis racket as well as ever. But and totally strong in my body, and hair grew back and all the things. So I'm so grateful for these things that my body have has taught me, and I have a feeling the same thing's gonna happen for you with your injury that you've just gone through because I feel stronger. I'm, you know, decades older and stronger than ever in so many ways and feel so much better than ever.
And it really is my best teacher about what to do with patients, especially people who are sensitive. There's some patients that you can do a lot of different things all at once and just speed them towards recovery. And then there are other people that need a gentle path, and we take a little step at a time. We try one thing at a time and and stack them. I'm getting a picture in my mind with what are those called, with the little rocks that you stack, the zen
[00:20:37] Unknown:
and Oh, like the cairns. Yeah. Yeah. So it looks like they're gonna fall over, but somehow I've
[00:20:42] Dr. Ann Shippy:
Yeah. They can withstand the wind and the rain. So it's, you know, a little bit more, delicate building, but then can really help people to be strong. Like, I think I think that's the main message that I want to come out with this book and and all of my work in the world is to have faith in your body, you know, when it really has everything that it needs. And it's not being overwhelmed by things like toxic mold. It can really heal and be strong well into our eighties, nineties. And who knows? Maybe even beyond with some of the, technology and things that are coming.
[00:21:20] Abel James:
So something like mold, to use that example, is really pernicious because your body systems start to kind of fail randomly and subtly sometimes over time. And then you you find that you're just feeling absolutely terrible, lethargic, all sorts of kind of random symptoms. So when someone comes to you suffering from these symptoms, what happens next? And and how do you actually aside from getting out of the physical location where you've identified mold and and getting rid of all the stuff, what do you do to actually heal after that? Because it's it's tricky.
[00:21:56] Dr. Ann Shippy:
It is tricky. And a lot of times, the psychological part of it is the place to start. You know? So when one family member's sick, but the others aren't yet. And, you know, it's a huge commitment of time, energy, and and a lot of times, the people look like they're fine on the outside. They they look totally health healthy. So first, just, you know, getting the understanding and the support of the family, I think, is the first piece. And then I'm such a data person. I love to collect data on what are the mycotoxin levels. If I can get genetics, a text like IntellX or at least looking at glutathione and methylation genes, that's amazing.
I love to look at the mitochondrial function, so a test like knee screen or an oat test. And then almost everybody has a disrupted gut microbiome or a micro one of the microbiomes in their body. So if we can take a peek at that too, it's so helpful to help to prioritize which things we start with. But everybody needs help with getting the mold toxins out of their body. And one of the big misconceptions is that this is more an allergy asthma issue. But unfortunately, these molds make toxins that are some of the most toxic substances that we have on the planet.
They've been studied for biological warfare, and they've actually been developed some of them have been developed into drugs. So one of the drugs for immunosuppressants for people that have had a transplant, like a kidney or heart transplant, actually take a a mold toxin derivative that suppresses their immune system so they don't reject that organ. So that just gives you a little taste about how significant the toxins can be. So if we start to look at the mold as not just the allergy asthma, which that was actually my fourth run-in was because I was probably underestimating how severe the the allergy asthma part of WALT could be. So, yeah, my fourth big run-in with my body was to develop adult onset asthma where about eighty percent of the buildings in Austin I couldn't go into. I had to leave.
So that is still a big issue, but a lot of the really chronic illnesses, the birth defects, the autism, the infertility, the neurological issues, the autoimmune issues can all be really triggered by these mycotoxins. And a lot of people don't realize they think, oh, because I can't smell it. It's not musty in here. Then there can't be mold. Well, it those are a whole different set of chemicals that the mold makes, the VOCs. And so they don't they might be making stachybotrys or cheetoglobosin or some of these really highly neurotoxic chemicals, but not so much the VOC. So the big challenge, I think, for a lot of people is really finding a clean place to be and while they get better.
Remediation takes time. You know, first, you have to find a really good inspector that can actually find the mold and then repair it and get everything cleaned or discarded. So that's especially in in Austin, new is not necessarily better because the building quality has really gone down. I think it used to be an art to build a building, and now it's things are just put up so quickly. Even if people are spending a couple million dollars on a house, I can't tell you the number of disasters that we found within a year or even sooner of moving into a new place. You know, whether the shower was installed properly or the air conditioning dehumidifies properly, windows being installed properly.
[00:25:49] Abel James:
Have you had a run-in with mold? Oh, I've had a few. Yeah. In college, I lived in a place above, famously above a Ben and Jerry's combined with a Subway, and the smell was either the best ever or the worst ever depending on what was going on. But whatever they were cooking at Subway was not bread. But that place had a leak in the roof in our room. And, after a few months of living there, I I got extraordinarily ill and, looked at the wall, and it was kind of, like, bubbled out a little bit. And when I went to push on it, it actually just, like, crumbled in my hands, and I could see the mold everywhere. So it took months and months and months. I needed to take a little time off of school.
[00:26:28] Dr. Ann Shippy:
I got really sick. I I basically had mono for a few months. So that is actually one of the areas that I I mean, the number of college students that are exposed to mold is ridiculous. I I've helped so many. So, you know, as a parent, if if you have parents that are listening to the podcast, like, take this really seriously. If you're gonna spend the money to send the kid to school, make really make sure that they're in a clean environment because so many of the dorms, so many of the apartments are just not well maintained.
[00:27:01] Abel James:
And And it's honestly, I don't think it's on many people's radar, especially when they're in college. You think you're invincible, and you kind of are in some ways, but you you know, you just there's a moldy mattress, whatever. Who cares? But sleeping on something like that over time, we could talk about this next. It's it's not just damaging you. It's actually causing downstream effects on your off spring as well. So if you're talking about DNA, you also have to talk about epigenetics and some of the changes that can happen and the cascades that that happen in your own body when you have these exposures, especially if you don't detox afterwards. But one thing that really helped me understand what happens with mold after a run-in about three years ago in Austin when I got really sick again, was that it's not just something where, like you said, it's an allergy, you're exposed, and you get a little stuffy or something like that. It actually can set off weird things like staph growing in your sinuses. And some of those changes then change your hormonal state over time, and then you can't produce the hormones that you need to be healthy metabolically. Your mitochondria starts not functioning as well as it should, and suddenly you're struggling with something like infertility.
But once again, like you said, you look fine. You might complain to your friends or whatever. They're like, I don't know. You look fine to me. And that's one of the worst parts of it is that you might look fine, maybe a little puffier in the face than normal, something like that. But, like, you do not feel fine. And it does take really cleaning up your habits and your diet after the fact to make sure that you're not exposed to these other things. Because then you're also talking about once you get into that state of hypersensitivity, you can't go anywhere.
Right? So how did you how do you remedy that when you're struggling from the hypersensitivity, dialing that down such that you can live a normal life again and build resilience, which is, you know, obviously a big part of your book and your work. Such a big part.
[00:28:52] Dr. Ann Shippy:
Yeah. So I think some of these things that you talked about so once you've been exposed to mold and really other environmental toxins as well, the microbiome gets shifted. So staph's a normal organism to have on your skin and in your nose, but when it's having a party, it can really drag you down. And the same thing for the gut microbiome. I see so many people who get a low grade chronic fungal infection. And so part of this is to help the body, help the microbiome get back on track. And sometimes we have to use medications and supplements and red light, all hyperbarics, all kinds of things to get the microbiome to shift that, but by helping the body to detoxify. So one of my favorite things, and I think we probably just should all be on the supplement most of the time, is liposomal glutathione.
Everybody that I check for it is either low, sometimes excruciatingly low, especially if they've been in mold or borderline. It's very difficult to you have to have, like, amazing genetics to have a good glutathione level without supplementing it. And a lot of people will ask, well, can I just do it IV? When we give it IV, it'll give you a bump up very temporarily. But to really build the glutathione levels inside the cell, it takes the liposome
[00:30:14] Abel James:
to get it there and to build it up. Interesting. I didn't realize that. Because, yeah, the IV glutathione feels amazing. It's one of the few things you can actually feel.
[00:30:23] Dr. Ann Shippy:
Especially when you're depleted and toxic. It's it does feel feel really, really good. So, you know, if I I talk about liposomal glutathione as being one of my desert island things, like, if I could have one or two things dropped in, that would be one of them because I feel like, okay, that's what my one of my best things for health and longevity. You know, it's such a powerful detoxifier, antioxidant. There's so many studies on the role of what glutathione does. It's just, you know, we produce it in our body, but it that optimal level, I think, makes such a big difference for for health and longevity. The other desert or island supplement is phosphatidylcholine.
[00:31:05] Abel James:
Are you familiar with yeah. Yeah. But please talk to me about this. So phosphatidylcholine
[00:31:11] Dr. Ann Shippy:
was certainly a game changer for me with healing from the neurological things, and I've seen it help so many of my patients. And, again, I just think it's one of the best things we can be taking to have our brains working well and have that longevity. And it's so important for fertility. You know, this new new mission that I'm on is I think both men and women can really help their fertility as well as their epigenetics because it can really help clean up the DNA a bit, especially if we do the phosphatidylcholine IV.
But definitely giving the body those building blocks. So those are just two if, you know, if you can pick two things for so many different things, but especially fertility and for longevity. Those are my my top two. But then we would move into anything mitochondria. So I love co q ten and mito q, b vitamins, magnesium. There's so many good mitochondrial supplements out there now that when we're especially when we're trying to detoxify, the mitochondria help everything to work better. Well, you know, all those functions in the cell of releasing the toxins and actually getting it out of our body, having nice strong mitochondria could make such a huge difference.
When you were recovering, did you do anything around the mitochondria? And I'm sure you're doing it now too. You that's probably another thing you can feel more like a ramp up. Right?
[00:32:40] Abel James:
Definitely. Yeah. And it's one of those things where I, years ago, just started kind of doing all this stuff regularly anyway. So it's interesting. It's really after, my accident earlier this summer. For those of you who don't know, it was a it was a car accident. The physical therapy afterwards, a lot of people are just like, is that really hard? It must be kinda terrible. And it is somewhat inconvenient, but I'm already doing exercises and training every day. I'm already taking supplements. I'm already trying to, like, dial in my sleep. And if anything, it's really encouraged me to tighten up my habits and just given me the the excuse. Like, few months ago when I first met with my neurologist, he's like, seems like you're coming along well after the concussion, that whole thing. You're not drinking. Right? And I'm like, no. I haven't sensed the accident. He's just like, just don't drink for the rest of the year. And I was like, okay. Cool. Like and that clarity just makes it so simple, and and people don't realize that they can apply that sort of clarity to multiple aspects of their life. And these these little things that can help you recover from an injury are the same things that make you resilient before that
[00:33:43] Dr. Ann Shippy:
unexpected and usually inevitable something that comes up. Exactly. Well, I'm so glad you mentioned the alcohol because I think that's really one of the big opportunities that's missed in this preconception period before men and women are are trying to get pregnant is really cutting out the getting the toxins out. And we forget, like, alcohol is such a big part of our our socialization. We forget that it's actually a pretty significant toxin. So there's actually studies that show that epigenetically, you you can have healthier sperm by doing things like cutting up alcohol and having clean air, you know, putting an air filter in your room because air pollution actually affects sperm quality. So if you think about these things, if they can actually affect sperm quality, they're gonna be affecting every other part of your body as well.
[00:34:34] Abel James:
Yeah. And it's really easy for men to kinda just dismiss it and say, oh, my my job's done. That was the easy part. Right? But in fact, we have a lot more responsibility than that. Fascinating reading your book and finding things like I think it was paternal protein consumption is linked with positive health outcomes in the baby. Maybe you can talk a little bit about that. Because men, easy to think that we get a free pass. It it doesn't work like that. Okay. So what I want men to think of is this period, like, six to twelve months before
[00:35:05] Dr. Ann Shippy:
conceiving is their opportunity to create a time capsule for their child. So what do you wanna put in that time capsule for their health? You wanna put in good building blocks, right, for how their bodies are gonna work, and definitely you having strong muscles, strong body requires protein. And so those epigenetic changes that are going on in your body, the how the genes are being dialed up and dialed down are gonna be better with protein and exercise and good testosterone, which come from to me, all of that's linked together. And then how so things like meditation can make a huge difference. So because I'm very convinced that your stress level is is also kind of in that time capsule because the baby needs to know, is it coming out to war, famine?
What's it coming out to? So, like, what physiology does it need? So the more you're doing the things to manage your stress with meditation or yoga or neurofeedback, if you like neurofeedback. Those are such great things to put in the time capsule. And then even your microbiome. So when we have these shifts in the microbiome where we've got a stasis overgrowth or a yeast overgrowth, it increases inflammation in the body, and then those epigenetic markers get passed on. So we don't I think that's a lot of what's happening actually is the epigenetics of the egg and the sperm are dialed up for inflammation so that then when the baby comes in, they're already sensitive to the environmental toxins and the stressors and and that kind of thing.
And then you wanna have really good mitochondria function. So having good energy production, is also super important. But the most powerful thing that you don't want to put in the time capsule is toxins. The data on how things like BPA and phthalates, pesticides can cause those epigenetic changes have a profound impact on the baby. So having a period where you're aware of what you're putting in your body and helping your body to detoxify with things like glutathione, you can actually impact how healthy your child is with that time capsule just really being done thoughtfully.
[00:37:31] Abel James:
I wanna make sure we talk about candida, but first, let's talk about toxins. No. Let's talk about candida first because toxins is a whole can of worms that we're gonna have to spend some time on. But, especially when we're talking about these these mold environments and things that are kind of, like, linked around that. I know that we've had and and even our pets have had struggles with things like yeast overgrowth, candida in these humid environments. What do you do about stubborn
[00:37:56] Dr. Ann Shippy:
infections like that? Chronic type issues when it seems like it's kinda baked into the microbiome or hollow biome and you've gotta make some changes. Yeah. That's such a great question. And it is it's so common, especially with the immune system dysfunction that's happening from exposure to mold and all these other toxins. So one of the best things is, to not feed it. So we feed the the yeast with alcohol and sugar and carbs. So I actually think it's part of why some people feel better doing a carnivore diet, because they're starving.
[00:38:30] Abel James:
Sure.
[00:38:31] Dr. Ann Shippy:
They're starving out a bunch of bacteria and, you know, from not giving it fiber to eat, and then also the carbs for the yeast. Because you see huge shifts in the microbiome. So that's foundational because everything else you do to help to shift the yeast down, doesn't work so well if you're still feeding it. If somebody tells me, oh my gosh. I got terrible sugar cravings. I would say 90% of the time, those sugar cravings are being driven by the organisms in their body wanting to be fed. Because when we get rid of them, those cravings just go away. So then there are a few supplements that I really like to very gently, but effectively work on the, just in general, candida and other forms of fungus.
There's something called Candex, which is an enzyme that helps to break down the yeast cell walls in the gut. There's cat's claw, oregano, and, we carry one called Candida Complete that has a really nice combination of things.
[00:39:38] Abel James:
Because you it's not just getting at the Candida. With a lot of these
[00:39:42] Dr. Ann Shippy:
infections, co infections, you have to go at the biofilms. It's a it's a multistep process. Right? Right. So that's why a lot of times starting with the Candex is a nice thing to do because it also helps to break down the biofilms. You've been studying this. I've been in herds for for a minute now. That's for sure. But, you know, for somebody who's fairly sick or has a pretty significant infection, like, sometimes they'll actually see the the low grade fungal infection in the bloodstream. You know, their leak their gut's so leaky that the yeast actually gets in systemically, and it's missed by most doctors because it's not that traditional sepsis that we're looking at where people are bottoming out in the ICU. It's more of a low grade, you know, wear and tear going on. So then pharmaceuticals are necessary.
So what I find though is often we need to treat people for a while. Just, yeah, I had somebody, a new patient the other day where she had come in and somebody had just given her, like, one dose of fluconazole for a pretty significant infection going on in her skin. And I was like, if it's on your skin, it's in your sinuses, it's in your gut, maybe even in your lungs, and it's just gonna pop back right back up. So we we actually need to treat for sometimes three, six, nine months. Wow. Especially with the kind of mold exposure that you had to deal with. I you know? But the there's lots of different ways to collect the data and find out what you're dealing with.
Some of them can go through insurance. Actually, LabCorp has a really good stool fungal culture that sometimes they catch it better than the specialty test. And then sometimes we need specialty tests, so things like Genova Diagnostics or Great Plains, where we look at, urine sample. It's called an oat, where they we can actually look at the, the things that the yeast makes that are coming through the bloodstream. So that or something called arabinose is an indicator of candida. And so we can, you know, see, oh, there's a little it's making a little bit, which would be normal because we all have a little bit, or it's having a party, and we have a pretty big thing going on here.
[00:41:59] Abel James:
Gotcha. No. Let let's talk about some of these toxins that you brought up. I think there's a illuminating part in your book when you talk about, a particular patient who is doing the right thing and eating organic soups. What was it? Three times a week, something like that. But was making a critical error that was just sending
[00:42:18] Dr. Ann Shippy:
BPA off the charts. What happened? So, yeah, this was one of my patients that I'd been working with for years. And but she's really great about, you know, wanting to see the data. Right? So we're we decide, okay. We'll we'll get a toxin level. Just, you know, we haven't looked at it in a few years, so let's look. Her BPA came back through the roof. And she's like, but but, you know, I don't have plastic containers at home. I don't microwave food. I've checked all my products. Like, I don't know where it's coming from. So we really had to dig, and we came up with you know, to save time for at work, a lot of times, she would have some hot soup delivered that was organic and super healthy.
I mean, we really had to dig because it just it it was such a part of what she was I mean, she didn't even think it was in a consideration because she'd been doing it for a while. And so then we took that out, beefed up her detox a little bit, and the within a couple months, then levels went way way down. So so I guess the point of that is a lot of times you think you're doing everything right. Like, I one of my kids was he's he's like, I wanna check my toxin levels again. I he he hadn't, checked him in a while. He's kind of proactive. He's 23. And his atrazine was so high.
He could be my poster child.
[00:43:47] Unknown:
He he he cooks for himself. He eats all organic. And he,
[00:43:52] Dr. Ann Shippy:
but he had been going out and, you know, gluten free, takes the supplements like he was just here last night
[00:43:58] Unknown:
stocking up again.
[00:44:01] Dr. Ann Shippy:
But his after seeing was super high. We haven't rechecked him, but we think he was actually having a splurge with some corn chips here and there. Jeez. That weren't organ you know, going to Mexican. And so we'll we'll see. Like, well, I'll have to see what where it's coming from. But I really highly if you can have access to the testing, I highly, highly recommend that you look at it because it surprises us a lot.
[00:44:28] Abel James:
And it's so tricky. You don't wanna be overly paranoid, but you do wanna be somewhat vigilant against these surprise threats. Like, for for us, this happens, like, ten years ago, but my wife and I, tested for for metals. And most everything was fine except lead was off the charts, and we were like, oh, no. That is, you know, clearly not good. Where the heck could it be coming from? Because we're so careful. And there was one place that we were staying for, like, a few months that had we were assured that it was filtered water, but in fact, it was just like it went through kind of like a hippie dippies water structure.
Right? Like, where it's changing the molecular structure, but not actually filtering it. So we had kind of, like, you know, taken them at at their word that it was filtered, but looked into the local water source there, and that was off the charts in in Where are you? So Was that was that wasn't here. Was it here or someplace else? That was in Arizona. Oh my gosh. But we've also I mean, since then, we've lived in so many different places, and we've looked into this. And it's very difficult to get accurate data about water quality. You can very easily get doctored data and data that's incomplete or whatever or, like, impossible to access.
But but the ugly truth is that most water sources are not clean nor are air sources. And so for the people who are eating squeaky clean but drinking tap water, like, you're still being exposed to an extraordinary amount of of gnarly stuff. So it's great that you're eating organic food, but you gotta look over here too.
[00:46:07] Dr. Ann Shippy:
Yeah. I think we all have to be filtering our air and water as much as we can. We think about the government and the medical system as really setting up, like, the traffic systems. Right? Like, we we trust our governments to put a red light in where it needs to be, a stop sign where it needs to be, roundabout where it needs to be. But with regards to health, like, we're all barreling down the highway, and there's no traffic lights at all. Like, there's really no guidance. And until you really start digging into what you're getting and what your levels are, it's really hard to know where the traffic lights are. I just thought of the one of my favorite food companies, they, make some paleo meals, switch their packaging.
So and I could just tell by looking at it that it it was gonna be a whole lot more toxins than what I was anticipating. And so I contacted the the company, and they were like, well, it that's okay by the FDA. And I was like, oh, that doesn't mean anything.
[00:47:15] Abel James:
Right.
[00:47:16] Dr. Ann Shippy:
So and just because they said it's okay, doesn't mean it doesn't have that phthalates and plastics and things in it that are going to build up in our bodies and end up causing all kinds of endocrine problems and other things.
[00:47:31] Abel James:
But there are things we can do to kinda mitigate that risk. And they're they're relatively simple, maybe inconvenient though, where I love getting pho or, you know, the pho soup. But it always come you know, with all the gnarly stuff, the the the tripe in it and the tendons, like, the more disgusting, the better, nose to tail stuff. I just love those soups. But when you get them takeout, you know, they I look at it, and it comes in this big plastic bag, and then it's got this extraordinarily piping hot liquid with fats in it and other things that are gonna be absorbing all those microplastics
[00:48:01] Dr. Ann Shippy:
and other things like that. So what that's cost me to do is to actually eat at restaurants more and do less less takeout. Exactly. Yeah. Eating
[00:48:11] Abel James:
make it a goal to eat out of porcelain. Same thing with coffee. Like, I used to get coffee to go and to go coffee cups pretty often, and I still do sometimes. I'm not absolutely perfect. But I've I really make a point out of drinking out of porcelain, and I I've also learned over the years that that food and liquids taste better out of porcelain and glass compared to metal and and other plasticky type substances. Because you're actually you're you're tasting it even if you're not perceiving that. And some of these changes can be yeah. There you go.
They can be chemical changes. But if you're it it's basically maybe it turns you into a bit of a curmudgeon, and it makes life a little bit more inconvenient, but you're gonna find that you're spending less money, and you're eating at home and eating at actual places more often instead of just rushing around, stuffing your face, and drinking things on the go. It's like we really do need to re examine what our automatic things are because what's common out there is exactly the same stuff that's leading us to disease and degeneration. Like, just look around. We're in trouble, so don't do what everyone else is doing.
[00:49:16] Dr. Ann Shippy:
Exactly right. Well and back to the lead for a moment. So a lot of people just it's not on their radar at all, and I I love that you're recommending eating and drinking out of the porcelain or glass. I do recommend getting some of the lead test test kits. They're little strips that you can get on Amazon, and just double check and make sure that at least what you have at home is lead free. Because I've actually had a number of patients that their big lead levels were from things in their kitchen. Like like, one woman, she had this pretty little porcelain piece that she would put her salad dressing in, and often there would be she'd homemade make it, but then she'd leave it in the refrigerator for a night or two before she'd use it.
And we found that it was it had lead in it, and it was leaching, especially because there was some vinegar. It was leaching into the salad dressing.
[00:50:11] Abel James:
Yeah.
[00:50:12] Dr. Ann Shippy:
So these yeah. These little things can make such a huge difference.
[00:50:17] Abel James:
That's the other piece. You're not totally safe with, like, the porcelain ceramics either because it it depends on the glaze. It depends on, like the coating that are put on these things. But I think the point is take a good look at the things that you're eating out of and drinking out of on a daily basis, and you can probably find something that is sending whether it's lead or the BPAs microplastics, it's probably sending something off the charts. And what you really want to avoid is as far as I understand it is food that's been heated in contact with these materials over the longer it's in contact, the worse it is. Right?
So,
[00:50:54] Dr. Ann Shippy:
understanding those concepts, we can all be a little bit better about it. And I appreciate you're saying you know, talking about the coffee cup because we I think we don't have to be perfect. Like, I occasionally will go and get an almond milk latte out of the cup that I know has something in it. But I am like, I'm I do the work to help my body to not have it build up. So doing the glutathione and doing saunas and hyperbaric and red light and all these things, I think we don't have to be in fear all the time because we're we're taking those steps.
[00:51:34] Abel James:
And our bodies are incredible, and they're built to get rid of some of these things over the course of time as long as we're honoring kind of the detox process. Right? Which often we don't, to be fair.
[00:51:44] Dr. Ann Shippy:
No. We ask our bodies to do a lot. And, yeah. No. I mean, I think back to doing med school and residency in my thirties, and having a baby in medical and a baby in residency, it's like even after having been so sick that that first time, it you can be so resilient and so strong by putting a little effort into really nourishing it. And and the mindset, like like, you're tying through, I think, is so important.
[00:52:20] Abel James:
And how about the link between the gut and conditions like autism? This is something that, obviously, the Internet just runs away with, and there's all sorts of hype and controversy. But there is actually research too, so maybe you can talk about some of that.
[00:52:37] Dr. Ann Shippy:
Yeah. So the you know, we really have such a health children's health epidemic going on. It's particularly with the neurodevelopmental delays. So for the year 2022, they announced the numbers are one in thirty one children, one in twenty boys, one in twenty boys. And in the state of California, it's one in twenty two kids. So the boy number, I don't have off the top of my head. But and that those are children that have turned eight in 2022. So we have you know, we're eight years behind in looking at this trajectory. So I just wanna address that first because there's so much, I think, misinformation around this issue.
There's a lot of people saying, oh, well, we're just better at diagnosing it. Well, no. Like, this is a real issue. Are the numbers a little off? Potentially. But just in twenty years, a 317% increase in the prevalence of it. Three hundred and seventeen. So, like, you can't you can't, prevalence of it. Three hundred and seventeen. So, like, you can't you can't just say, oh, we're better at diagnosing it. And you look around at the classrooms today versus twenty years ago versus sixty years ago. It's a very different situation. So I just wanna say that first because I think it's really one of the scariest things that we're facing today. Like, I'm not a pediatrician, but I do end up taking care of children for certain things like autism and developmental delays. And, it is so hard on the parents. It's so hard on the children. Like, it's just devastating to see what these families are going through to and trying to help their children. So I do wanna say, first of all, that there's hope.
And when we look at it's not just one thing. Right? The autism is kind of this collection of symptoms, but I and systems. But the microbiome is always off in these children. There is always something when you do the detailed, you know, DNA, PCR testing of what microbes are there. There's always an imbalance of organisms that are having a party. Now is it the same organisms that are missing or the same ones having a party or not necessarily? Not necessarily. So it's com it's really complex. Like, I think a lot of times in medicine, we just try to net it down to this one thing. And, but, yeah, there can be certain families of bacteria that are more that actually make, what are called endotoxins.
So they they make some things that it's harder for the the the their little bodies to clear. But then I also sometimes, you know, back to the yeast, sometimes I see the fungal infections. Now is it the cause of the neurological things, or is it because a lot of times these children are picky eaters and, you know, and are driving at some with their diet. But I really think that this is a huge opportunity in the preconception period to do what we can to give them a really strong microbiome to start with. Right? So both the fathers with that time capsule for this firm and especially for the moms. So for the moms that can get one of these in-depth stool tests, so things like GI maps, doctor's data, JONAH. There's, Tiny Health is also another really good one, and they actually even have a vaginal microbiome test. Are you familiar with Tiny? Yeah. So if you have if you can find access to that anytime, but especially in that preconception period so that you can take you know, add in the probiotics to get the good organisms up and then get rid of some of the more pesky ones so that you can pass on that mic positive microbiome. And this is also a place to talk to loop back in with the mold because the house has a microbiome.
So when there's been water damage, there is the mold overgrowing, but also bacteria overgrowing, the actinomyces and other bacteria that make toxins. So having a and, you know, the skin and respiratory systems pick up the microbiome from the from the home as well. So if you're gonna do a microbiome overload, you wanna do husband, wife, and the husband.
[00:57:14] Abel James:
And, I mean, this has real effects on on health and longevity and the health of your baby as well. And and so I think one of the points of your book too and and your work is that just because you can successfully have a baby doesn't necessarily mean that that you should right then because, as you say, there there are massive benefits to the health of your future child when you take those three, six, nine months before conception to really dial in both male and female health and the health of your surroundings, the hollow biome, the microbiome of where you're living, that whole thing. Because if you don't, then you might be looking at some of these health issues, whether it's early in in the child's life or down the road. You don't you don't know what damage you might be causing before you have even decided to have a child. Right? So it's it just we need to highlight the responsibility of of all of us to not just say, it's up to to God or whatever, the higher power to say yes or no. This is this is ready to happen. No. It's really on us to make sure that we have the healthiest family possible.
[00:58:21] Dr. Ann Shippy:
I love the way you just said that. You said it so well. It really is. Like, I what I want to happen with this preconception period before the start of the family or between children is even stronger than the way we think about a woman taking a prenatal vitamin. Like, most women will not know they're pregnant and not be taking a prenatal vitamin. I've really like, honestly, like, even with talking about my kids. Right? Like, I feel like the work they're doing now on their bodies will help my future grandchildren. So so so, you know, sometimes we it might feel a little bit self absorbed or, like, too much work to do or or whatever to be really prioritizing our health or make people feel like they're too hypervigilant.
And I think that this is really the best gift. Your health, you being strong and robust and resilient is the best gift you can give to your future child.
[00:59:26] Abel James:
And you can spend the time now, or you can be forced to spend the time later when you're suffering from something horrible.
[00:59:32] Dr. Ann Shippy:
Yeah. And I I know I'm gonna get a little slack for saying this, but I actually think infertility is a blessing. You know, it's the one or both of the body saying, we're not doing this, and and probably protecting from something for the future child or for the pregnancy. Right? So what I would really like people to do is to have this proactive period where they don't even wait to find out that they have infertility or that their children are unhealthy and and use this as an opportunity to gift themselves good health and their future family.
[01:00:09] Abel James:
Yeah. The concept of generational wellness, I I hope is one that's that will catch on because, I remember when I first heard the story of Pottenger's cats, which is basically a story of cats over time eating worse quality food, not getting the nutrients they need, and then their health falling apart over the course of generations. We've kind of seen seen that thing play out in slow motion for humans as well. But the good news is that we can also make this a lot better, but it's on us to do it. Yeah. So I I'm such a nerd. I keep there's over 500 articles in in the book that I keep.
[01:00:45] Unknown:
Like, I just can't help myself. I keep seeing the new studies, like, searching for the new studies coming out. And there was a study that just came out
[01:00:53] Dr. Ann Shippy:
a couple weeks ago where they took men in two groups. And in one group, they had them fed them a highly processed diet, and the other group, they fed them a whole food diet for three weeks. And then they did a little washout period, and then they switched groups. In three weeks, they dramatically changed the health of the sperm Wow. And some of the hormone levels that indicate, you know, just health. So I'm like, okay. Three weeks, they did that? That's so amazing. Like, if if you'll actually apply this for three months, six months, twelve months, I mean, this totally explains why I see people that have suffered with infertility actually go on to have their healthiest babies in their forties.
[01:01:40] Abel James:
Mhmm. Yeah. Because our our bodies you do the right thing over the course of time, and your body surprisingly, amazingly, remarkably responds, and it knows what to do. Because we're built
[01:01:53] Dr. Ann Shippy:
to keep the species going.
[01:01:56] Abel James:
Yeah. So well, kudos to you for writing an excellent book about this. It's one of the most comprehensive I've ever seen, not just about preconception, but just kind of about health in general. And you don't have to be a PhD to read it too, so thanks thanks for that. Oh, that means so much to me. Thank you so much. Yeah. Absolutely. I I love a good book. That's for sure. In just a couple of minutes that we have before we go, what what are some of the most important points on on your mind right now?
[01:02:22] Dr. Ann Shippy:
Well, I would like advice on from you on what you think will really resonate with men on this topic. Like, for them to engage in this six, twelve month endeavor to really, you know, do these things like eating healthy and reducing the toxins, getting their blood sugar regulated, feed their mitochondria, all these things that I think are so vital for that time capsule.
[01:03:10] Abel James:
Yeah. Well, in in terms of appealing to men and getting them to think about it differently, I think you need to shatter the myth that it's as simple as just delivering sperm to a a female body and say that you're actually giving this information that's like this time capsule that you describe. I'm not sure what the sexy or hyped up way is to deliver this message. We'll have to brainstorm that together. But I think something around like, you don't wanna have a kid that's sick and suffering. You do wanna have a kid that's out there crushing it, you know, like winning baseball games and making friends and going on adventures and hopefully later in life supporting you as you age and and the rest of the family and and having healthy healthy kids themselves. So if you kind of can help men understand that if if you're sedentary right now and you're sitting around playing video games and you're kind of a loser, like, if you couldn't win a baseball game right now yourself as a father, but, like, before you're a father, your kid probably will have a much lower chance of that in their lifetime. So I think if there's a way that you can link that in a politically correct whatever way That's a great analogy.
It's it's like you wanna have a kid that has a chance. And, if you don't have a chance right now, then, like, you're gonna have to work on yourself before you have a kid who does because it's really more of a reflection of our health at the time, not just physically, but also mentally. That's a big part that we didn't really talk about so much today, but the spiritual and mental aspects of of really getting that house in order before you you take on the challenge of raising a family, I think, is also very, underappreciated
[01:04:53] Dr. Ann Shippy:
by most folks. Yeah. That's beautiful that you tied that back too. It really is important. Our our mindset, our spiritual place has epigenetic markers as well. And I I think it's probably part of why that species has survived. You know, I think there's a lot that we learn that kind of get imprinted in the genes so that then they learn quickly and and adapt. But we wanna make sure we pass on the this right ones.
[01:05:23] Abel James:
Yeah. Yeah. Well, doctor Shippey, so much fun to talk with you today. What is the best place for people to find your work as well as, your new book?
[01:05:32] Dr. Ann Shippy:
The new book is The Preconception Revolution. Help me start it by reading the book and sharing it with anybody that is thinking about starting or growing a family. And then my, practice website is anchipemd.com. And we're on Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, all the things.
[01:05:53] Abel James:
Amazing. This book is going to save and create a lot of lives, I think. It's a very cool one, so congratulations, and everyone out there, I really encourage you to to check it out. Doctor Shippey, thanks so much for joining us today. Thank you so much. Hey, Abel here one more time and if you believe in our mission to create a world where health is the norm not sickness, here are a few things you can do to help keep this show coming your way. Click like, subscribe, and leave a quick review wherever you listen to or watch your podcasts. You can also subscribe to my new Substack channel for an ad free version of this show in video and audio. That's at ablejames.substack.com.
You can also find me on Twitter or x, YouTube, as well as fountain f m, where you can leave a little crypto in the tip jar. And if you can think of someone you care about who might learn from or enjoy this show, please take a quick moment to share it with them. Thanks so much for listening, and we'll see you in the next episode.
Hey, folks. This is Abel James, and thanks so much for joining us on the show. Have you considered how the choices you make today could shape the health and destiny of your children and even your grandchildren before they're ever born? What if the most important gift you could ever give your future child is the health and resilience you build in yourself today? As rates of chronic health conditions in children, including autism, anxiety, diabetes, obesity, and autoimmune disorders continue to rise, it's time to take preconceptions seriously.
Science shows that the health of our children is determined by not just genetics, but epigenetics. Your health at the time of conception is a snapshot or time capsule that contains the genetic and epigenetic blueprint for your child for the rest of time. It's a shocking realization, especially for men. Your lifestyle choices during preconception will forever affect the genetics and health of your children and their children. That means optimizing your health and fitness is not merely an exercise in vanity, but an opportunity to give your future children the best chance at health and success. After all, the biological definition of fitness is the ability to produce healthy offspring.
Today, we're exploring how the choices we make today shape not just our own health, but the health of our future children and even generations to come. I'm thrilled to be joined by doctor Anne Shippey, a unicorn in the world of medicine, a board certified internal medicine physician, certified functional medicine practitioner, and a former IBM engineer who's turned her passion for macro level systems thinking and problem solving into a mission to revolutionize how we think about health. If you care about your health, your family's future, or you just wanna understand how to build true resilience in a toxic world, you're in the right place. Quick plug before we get to the interview, please make sure that you're subscribed to the Abel James Show wherever you listen to your podcast. And if you'd like an ad free version of this show with extra behind the scenes goodies, be sure to join my substack at ablejames.substack.com, abeljames.substack.com.
You can also check out my newsletter at ablejames.com. Look forward to seeing you there. Alright. In this episode, you're about to discover the impact of environmental toxins, mold, and gut health on fertility, child development, and longevity, how doctor Shippey reversed the effects of toxic mold exposure, including ALS type symptoms, pain, and fatigue, how to give your future children the best possible chance at health and success by optimizing epigenetics at preconception, and much, much more. Let's meet doctor Shippey. Welcome back, folks. Doctor Anne Shippey is a board certified internal medicine physician and certified functional medicine practitioner with a rare dual background in both engineering and medicine. Motivated by the alarming rise in chronic illness and developmental issues in children, doctor Shippey also wrote the preconception revolution. Thanks so much for joining us today, doctor Shippey. Thank you so much for having me.
Absolutely. So let's start right here with with your career as a physician. You're a bit of a unicorn having this background in engineering, but it wasn't necessarily something that you dreamed up as a child, that this was the ideal path that you'd go on. It was more life kind of bringing you a a set of limitations that you navigated through. So tell us how you you got to be a physician after specializing in engineering.
[00:13:11] Dr. Ann Shippy:
Well, you know, I growing up, I always thought I was gonna teach math. I just love kids, and I thought, oh, I can teach math. But I really got pushed by, my teachers, actually, to go into engineering. And it was great because I loved the problem solving piece of it, and I got a job with IBM, and they were so amazing to work for. I I was actually in the manufacturing side of things as a chemical engineer, so all the electronic kind of things. And getting to do really things things that were important to me at the time. There were some mandates around protecting the environment that I got to play a really pivotal role in helping IBM to implement cleaner processes into our manufacturing.
And along the way, I really thought I was gonna retire from IBM. I hadn't even thought about doing anything else, and I got very sick. I went on vacation. I was fine. Came back, and I started losing weight, had abdominal pain, and went from doctor to doctor, and nobody could help me. I was just thinking about this this morning that
[00:14:19] Unknown:
I I might be a little bit slow in going and doing some of those tests again that we're you're supposed to do to look at your gut because I'm probably a little traumatized
[00:14:28] Dr. Ann Shippy:
from the number and, intensity of the workups. I mean, they really tried to figure out what was going on with me, but couldn't figure it out. So finally, I had to take it into my own hands and start researching and trying different diets and different supplements. And saw this allergist all the way out in Fredericksburg, and he gave me allergy drops. I you know, I was just open to anything that could help me get my body back into balance. And it did. It like, I peeled. And so I, you know, was enjoying my career at IBM. But one morning, I woke up at, like, four in the morning and had a new path. It was so clear that I loved how the human body works and really was so grateful at how my body could repair that I wanted to help other people do the same thing.
[00:15:18] Abel James:
And I I was thinking about this as I was reading your book too. It's, obviously, doctors go through a whole set of many hours of of training and education and that sort of thing, but it's not really the macro systems thinking approach that engineers might take, where you're thinking about the entire body as a composite of all these systems that interact in unexpected ways, and you have to account for this. Because traditional medicine and and the way that it's set up is just specialized, specialized, specialized in these, you know, these specializations, these groups don't talk to each other, and you you need to think about the the top down macro approach. So maybe you could just riff on that a little bit. That's such a great observation.
[00:15:55] Dr. Ann Shippy:
Yeah. And especially internal medicine. So, you know, we do in-depth primary care and hospital medicine for adults. And, you know, the minute you say, oh, okay. The problem's over here with kidney, you call in the nephrologist. You have the, brain tumor, you call in the neurosurgeon. So but you do get the placeholder of being the quarterback and and tying it all together. So I really do think that internal medicine was the best option for me because it it gave me the in-depth training. Like, I got to go do the breast cancer rotation at MD Anderson during medical school, and I got to go hang out with the urologist for a month and the pulmonologist. So we got to do some of that in-depth.
But then when I I had had one child during med school and one child during residency, so I knew I needed to do more training than what internal medicine would allow me, but I was kinda tired, and I had these two young children. So I went into a standard practice. And fortunately, a couple years into that, I developed a couple of autoimmune diseases. So it got me back on my track because, you know, I wanted the foundation that traditional training gives you, but I didn't want to be doing that. And so my body, I think, revolted and was like, no. No. We're we're getting back on path. And what was beautiful about that is I had developed a couple of autoimmune disorders that there really weren't great treatments for.
And so I wasn't even tempted to just take the medications and treatment for them. I started digging into my body again and really figuring out this interconnectedness that you mentioned. Right? That the the gut makes a difference. The mitochondria makes a difference. All these things that you love to talk about and explore.
[00:17:52] Abel James:
So for you, when initially you were made aware of the fact that you were suffering from mold toxicity or mycotoxins in your immediate surroundings, What was that experience like, and how did you find that out? Because especially living in Austin, we can talk about this a little bit later, but or or anyone who's in kind of, like, this type of climate, the humid South, it's everywhere. You have to be really careful, and it can really sneak up on you.
[00:18:14] Dr. Ann Shippy:
And, yeah, it really is a hidden epidemic as well. Well, that was my third run-in with my body. Was it? Oh my gosh. Yeah. I healed from the autoimmune things, opened my practice and, functional medicine. And then four or five years later, I started getting my sickest. Like, I thought I had been sick before, but I really thought I was dying. I had ALS type symptoms, so I had so much pain in my body. I it hurt if my kids hug me, and I was losing my hair. And I was so fatigued, I could hardly get out of bed. And I my right arm got so weak, I could not have held this glass with it. I was really losing some neurological function.
And it was kinda perfect because I had been missing mold toxicity in some of my patients. And the initial treatment that I tried, it was the only protocol that was even written up or out there. It actually made me sicker.
[00:19:17] Abel James:
Really?
[00:19:19] Dr. Ann Shippy:
Mhmm. So that was really scary. But then I started, you know, just going back to my functional medicine and systems training. Like, okay. Let's see where my body really needs the support and started stacking what I needed to do to completely heal. Like, my right arm is and, you know, I can swing a tennis racket as well as ever. But and totally strong in my body, and hair grew back and all the things. So I'm so grateful for these things that my body have has taught me, and I have a feeling the same thing's gonna happen for you with your injury that you've just gone through because I feel stronger. I'm, you know, decades older and stronger than ever in so many ways and feel so much better than ever.
And it really is my best teacher about what to do with patients, especially people who are sensitive. There's some patients that you can do a lot of different things all at once and just speed them towards recovery. And then there are other people that need a gentle path, and we take a little step at a time. We try one thing at a time and and stack them. I'm getting a picture in my mind with what are those called, with the little rocks that you stack, the zen
[00:20:37] Unknown:
and Oh, like the cairns. Yeah. Yeah. So it looks like they're gonna fall over, but somehow I've
[00:20:42] Dr. Ann Shippy:
Yeah. They can withstand the wind and the rain. So it's, you know, a little bit more, delicate building, but then can really help people to be strong. Like, I think I think that's the main message that I want to come out with this book and and all of my work in the world is to have faith in your body, you know, when it really has everything that it needs. And it's not being overwhelmed by things like toxic mold. It can really heal and be strong well into our eighties, nineties. And who knows? Maybe even beyond with some of the, technology and things that are coming.
[00:21:20] Abel James:
So something like mold, to use that example, is really pernicious because your body systems start to kind of fail randomly and subtly sometimes over time. And then you you find that you're just feeling absolutely terrible, lethargic, all sorts of kind of random symptoms. So when someone comes to you suffering from these symptoms, what happens next? And and how do you actually aside from getting out of the physical location where you've identified mold and and getting rid of all the stuff, what do you do to actually heal after that? Because it's it's tricky.
[00:21:56] Dr. Ann Shippy:
It is tricky. And a lot of times, the psychological part of it is the place to start. You know? So when one family member's sick, but the others aren't yet. And, you know, it's a huge commitment of time, energy, and and a lot of times, the people look like they're fine on the outside. They they look totally health healthy. So first, just, you know, getting the understanding and the support of the family, I think, is the first piece. And then I'm such a data person. I love to collect data on what are the mycotoxin levels. If I can get genetics, a text like IntellX or at least looking at glutathione and methylation genes, that's amazing.
I love to look at the mitochondrial function, so a test like knee screen or an oat test. And then almost everybody has a disrupted gut microbiome or a micro one of the microbiomes in their body. So if we can take a peek at that too, it's so helpful to help to prioritize which things we start with. But everybody needs help with getting the mold toxins out of their body. And one of the big misconceptions is that this is more an allergy asthma issue. But unfortunately, these molds make toxins that are some of the most toxic substances that we have on the planet.
They've been studied for biological warfare, and they've actually been developed some of them have been developed into drugs. So one of the drugs for immunosuppressants for people that have had a transplant, like a kidney or heart transplant, actually take a a mold toxin derivative that suppresses their immune system so they don't reject that organ. So that just gives you a little taste about how significant the toxins can be. So if we start to look at the mold as not just the allergy asthma, which that was actually my fourth run-in was because I was probably underestimating how severe the the allergy asthma part of WALT could be. So, yeah, my fourth big run-in with my body was to develop adult onset asthma where about eighty percent of the buildings in Austin I couldn't go into. I had to leave.
So that is still a big issue, but a lot of the really chronic illnesses, the birth defects, the autism, the infertility, the neurological issues, the autoimmune issues can all be really triggered by these mycotoxins. And a lot of people don't realize they think, oh, because I can't smell it. It's not musty in here. Then there can't be mold. Well, it those are a whole different set of chemicals that the mold makes, the VOCs. And so they don't they might be making stachybotrys or cheetoglobosin or some of these really highly neurotoxic chemicals, but not so much the VOC. So the big challenge, I think, for a lot of people is really finding a clean place to be and while they get better.
Remediation takes time. You know, first, you have to find a really good inspector that can actually find the mold and then repair it and get everything cleaned or discarded. So that's especially in in Austin, new is not necessarily better because the building quality has really gone down. I think it used to be an art to build a building, and now it's things are just put up so quickly. Even if people are spending a couple million dollars on a house, I can't tell you the number of disasters that we found within a year or even sooner of moving into a new place. You know, whether the shower was installed properly or the air conditioning dehumidifies properly, windows being installed properly.
[00:25:49] Abel James:
Have you had a run-in with mold? Oh, I've had a few. Yeah. In college, I lived in a place above, famously above a Ben and Jerry's combined with a Subway, and the smell was either the best ever or the worst ever depending on what was going on. But whatever they were cooking at Subway was not bread. But that place had a leak in the roof in our room. And, after a few months of living there, I I got extraordinarily ill and, looked at the wall, and it was kind of, like, bubbled out a little bit. And when I went to push on it, it actually just, like, crumbled in my hands, and I could see the mold everywhere. So it took months and months and months. I needed to take a little time off of school.
[00:26:28] Dr. Ann Shippy:
I got really sick. I I basically had mono for a few months. So that is actually one of the areas that I I mean, the number of college students that are exposed to mold is ridiculous. I I've helped so many. So, you know, as a parent, if if you have parents that are listening to the podcast, like, take this really seriously. If you're gonna spend the money to send the kid to school, make really make sure that they're in a clean environment because so many of the dorms, so many of the apartments are just not well maintained.
[00:27:01] Abel James:
And And it's honestly, I don't think it's on many people's radar, especially when they're in college. You think you're invincible, and you kind of are in some ways, but you you know, you just there's a moldy mattress, whatever. Who cares? But sleeping on something like that over time, we could talk about this next. It's it's not just damaging you. It's actually causing downstream effects on your off spring as well. So if you're talking about DNA, you also have to talk about epigenetics and some of the changes that can happen and the cascades that that happen in your own body when you have these exposures, especially if you don't detox afterwards. But one thing that really helped me understand what happens with mold after a run-in about three years ago in Austin when I got really sick again, was that it's not just something where, like you said, it's an allergy, you're exposed, and you get a little stuffy or something like that. It actually can set off weird things like staph growing in your sinuses. And some of those changes then change your hormonal state over time, and then you can't produce the hormones that you need to be healthy metabolically. Your mitochondria starts not functioning as well as it should, and suddenly you're struggling with something like infertility.
But once again, like you said, you look fine. You might complain to your friends or whatever. They're like, I don't know. You look fine to me. And that's one of the worst parts of it is that you might look fine, maybe a little puffier in the face than normal, something like that. But, like, you do not feel fine. And it does take really cleaning up your habits and your diet after the fact to make sure that you're not exposed to these other things. Because then you're also talking about once you get into that state of hypersensitivity, you can't go anywhere.
Right? So how did you how do you remedy that when you're struggling from the hypersensitivity, dialing that down such that you can live a normal life again and build resilience, which is, you know, obviously a big part of your book and your work. Such a big part.
[00:28:52] Dr. Ann Shippy:
Yeah. So I think some of these things that you talked about so once you've been exposed to mold and really other environmental toxins as well, the microbiome gets shifted. So staph's a normal organism to have on your skin and in your nose, but when it's having a party, it can really drag you down. And the same thing for the gut microbiome. I see so many people who get a low grade chronic fungal infection. And so part of this is to help the body, help the microbiome get back on track. And sometimes we have to use medications and supplements and red light, all hyperbarics, all kinds of things to get the microbiome to shift that, but by helping the body to detoxify. So one of my favorite things, and I think we probably just should all be on the supplement most of the time, is liposomal glutathione.
Everybody that I check for it is either low, sometimes excruciatingly low, especially if they've been in mold or borderline. It's very difficult to you have to have, like, amazing genetics to have a good glutathione level without supplementing it. And a lot of people will ask, well, can I just do it IV? When we give it IV, it'll give you a bump up very temporarily. But to really build the glutathione levels inside the cell, it takes the liposome
[00:30:14] Abel James:
to get it there and to build it up. Interesting. I didn't realize that. Because, yeah, the IV glutathione feels amazing. It's one of the few things you can actually feel.
[00:30:23] Dr. Ann Shippy:
Especially when you're depleted and toxic. It's it does feel feel really, really good. So, you know, if I I talk about liposomal glutathione as being one of my desert island things, like, if I could have one or two things dropped in, that would be one of them because I feel like, okay, that's what my one of my best things for health and longevity. You know, it's such a powerful detoxifier, antioxidant. There's so many studies on the role of what glutathione does. It's just, you know, we produce it in our body, but it that optimal level, I think, makes such a big difference for for health and longevity. The other desert or island supplement is phosphatidylcholine.
[00:31:05] Abel James:
Are you familiar with yeah. Yeah. But please talk to me about this. So phosphatidylcholine
[00:31:11] Dr. Ann Shippy:
was certainly a game changer for me with healing from the neurological things, and I've seen it help so many of my patients. And, again, I just think it's one of the best things we can be taking to have our brains working well and have that longevity. And it's so important for fertility. You know, this new new mission that I'm on is I think both men and women can really help their fertility as well as their epigenetics because it can really help clean up the DNA a bit, especially if we do the phosphatidylcholine IV.
But definitely giving the body those building blocks. So those are just two if, you know, if you can pick two things for so many different things, but especially fertility and for longevity. Those are my my top two. But then we would move into anything mitochondria. So I love co q ten and mito q, b vitamins, magnesium. There's so many good mitochondrial supplements out there now that when we're especially when we're trying to detoxify, the mitochondria help everything to work better. Well, you know, all those functions in the cell of releasing the toxins and actually getting it out of our body, having nice strong mitochondria could make such a huge difference.
When you were recovering, did you do anything around the mitochondria? And I'm sure you're doing it now too. You that's probably another thing you can feel more like a ramp up. Right?
[00:32:40] Abel James:
Definitely. Yeah. And it's one of those things where I, years ago, just started kind of doing all this stuff regularly anyway. So it's interesting. It's really after, my accident earlier this summer. For those of you who don't know, it was a it was a car accident. The physical therapy afterwards, a lot of people are just like, is that really hard? It must be kinda terrible. And it is somewhat inconvenient, but I'm already doing exercises and training every day. I'm already taking supplements. I'm already trying to, like, dial in my sleep. And if anything, it's really encouraged me to tighten up my habits and just given me the the excuse. Like, few months ago when I first met with my neurologist, he's like, seems like you're coming along well after the concussion, that whole thing. You're not drinking. Right? And I'm like, no. I haven't sensed the accident. He's just like, just don't drink for the rest of the year. And I was like, okay. Cool. Like and that clarity just makes it so simple, and and people don't realize that they can apply that sort of clarity to multiple aspects of their life. And these these little things that can help you recover from an injury are the same things that make you resilient before that
[00:33:43] Dr. Ann Shippy:
unexpected and usually inevitable something that comes up. Exactly. Well, I'm so glad you mentioned the alcohol because I think that's really one of the big opportunities that's missed in this preconception period before men and women are are trying to get pregnant is really cutting out the getting the toxins out. And we forget, like, alcohol is such a big part of our our socialization. We forget that it's actually a pretty significant toxin. So there's actually studies that show that epigenetically, you you can have healthier sperm by doing things like cutting up alcohol and having clean air, you know, putting an air filter in your room because air pollution actually affects sperm quality. So if you think about these things, if they can actually affect sperm quality, they're gonna be affecting every other part of your body as well.
[00:34:34] Abel James:
Yeah. And it's really easy for men to kinda just dismiss it and say, oh, my my job's done. That was the easy part. Right? But in fact, we have a lot more responsibility than that. Fascinating reading your book and finding things like I think it was paternal protein consumption is linked with positive health outcomes in the baby. Maybe you can talk a little bit about that. Because men, easy to think that we get a free pass. It it doesn't work like that. Okay. So what I want men to think of is this period, like, six to twelve months before
[00:35:05] Dr. Ann Shippy:
conceiving is their opportunity to create a time capsule for their child. So what do you wanna put in that time capsule for their health? You wanna put in good building blocks, right, for how their bodies are gonna work, and definitely you having strong muscles, strong body requires protein. And so those epigenetic changes that are going on in your body, the how the genes are being dialed up and dialed down are gonna be better with protein and exercise and good testosterone, which come from to me, all of that's linked together. And then how so things like meditation can make a huge difference. So because I'm very convinced that your stress level is is also kind of in that time capsule because the baby needs to know, is it coming out to war, famine?
What's it coming out to? So, like, what physiology does it need? So the more you're doing the things to manage your stress with meditation or yoga or neurofeedback, if you like neurofeedback. Those are such great things to put in the time capsule. And then even your microbiome. So when we have these shifts in the microbiome where we've got a stasis overgrowth or a yeast overgrowth, it increases inflammation in the body, and then those epigenetic markers get passed on. So we don't I think that's a lot of what's happening actually is the epigenetics of the egg and the sperm are dialed up for inflammation so that then when the baby comes in, they're already sensitive to the environmental toxins and the stressors and and that kind of thing.
And then you wanna have really good mitochondria function. So having good energy production, is also super important. But the most powerful thing that you don't want to put in the time capsule is toxins. The data on how things like BPA and phthalates, pesticides can cause those epigenetic changes have a profound impact on the baby. So having a period where you're aware of what you're putting in your body and helping your body to detoxify with things like glutathione, you can actually impact how healthy your child is with that time capsule just really being done thoughtfully.
[00:37:31] Abel James:
I wanna make sure we talk about candida, but first, let's talk about toxins. No. Let's talk about candida first because toxins is a whole can of worms that we're gonna have to spend some time on. But, especially when we're talking about these these mold environments and things that are kind of, like, linked around that. I know that we've had and and even our pets have had struggles with things like yeast overgrowth, candida in these humid environments. What do you do about stubborn
[00:37:56] Dr. Ann Shippy:
infections like that? Chronic type issues when it seems like it's kinda baked into the microbiome or hollow biome and you've gotta make some changes. Yeah. That's such a great question. And it is it's so common, especially with the immune system dysfunction that's happening from exposure to mold and all these other toxins. So one of the best things is, to not feed it. So we feed the the yeast with alcohol and sugar and carbs. So I actually think it's part of why some people feel better doing a carnivore diet, because they're starving.
[00:38:30] Abel James:
Sure.
[00:38:31] Dr. Ann Shippy:
They're starving out a bunch of bacteria and, you know, from not giving it fiber to eat, and then also the carbs for the yeast. Because you see huge shifts in the microbiome. So that's foundational because everything else you do to help to shift the yeast down, doesn't work so well if you're still feeding it. If somebody tells me, oh my gosh. I got terrible sugar cravings. I would say 90% of the time, those sugar cravings are being driven by the organisms in their body wanting to be fed. Because when we get rid of them, those cravings just go away. So then there are a few supplements that I really like to very gently, but effectively work on the, just in general, candida and other forms of fungus.
There's something called Candex, which is an enzyme that helps to break down the yeast cell walls in the gut. There's cat's claw, oregano, and, we carry one called Candida Complete that has a really nice combination of things.
[00:39:38] Abel James:
Because you it's not just getting at the Candida. With a lot of these
[00:39:42] Dr. Ann Shippy:
infections, co infections, you have to go at the biofilms. It's a it's a multistep process. Right? Right. So that's why a lot of times starting with the Candex is a nice thing to do because it also helps to break down the biofilms. You've been studying this. I've been in herds for for a minute now. That's for sure. But, you know, for somebody who's fairly sick or has a pretty significant infection, like, sometimes they'll actually see the the low grade fungal infection in the bloodstream. You know, their leak their gut's so leaky that the yeast actually gets in systemically, and it's missed by most doctors because it's not that traditional sepsis that we're looking at where people are bottoming out in the ICU. It's more of a low grade, you know, wear and tear going on. So then pharmaceuticals are necessary.
So what I find though is often we need to treat people for a while. Just, yeah, I had somebody, a new patient the other day where she had come in and somebody had just given her, like, one dose of fluconazole for a pretty significant infection going on in her skin. And I was like, if it's on your skin, it's in your sinuses, it's in your gut, maybe even in your lungs, and it's just gonna pop back right back up. So we we actually need to treat for sometimes three, six, nine months. Wow. Especially with the kind of mold exposure that you had to deal with. I you know? But the there's lots of different ways to collect the data and find out what you're dealing with.
Some of them can go through insurance. Actually, LabCorp has a really good stool fungal culture that sometimes they catch it better than the specialty test. And then sometimes we need specialty tests, so things like Genova Diagnostics or Great Plains, where we look at, urine sample. It's called an oat, where they we can actually look at the, the things that the yeast makes that are coming through the bloodstream. So that or something called arabinose is an indicator of candida. And so we can, you know, see, oh, there's a little it's making a little bit, which would be normal because we all have a little bit, or it's having a party, and we have a pretty big thing going on here.
[00:41:59] Abel James:
Gotcha. No. Let let's talk about some of these toxins that you brought up. I think there's a illuminating part in your book when you talk about, a particular patient who is doing the right thing and eating organic soups. What was it? Three times a week, something like that. But was making a critical error that was just sending
[00:42:18] Dr. Ann Shippy:
BPA off the charts. What happened? So, yeah, this was one of my patients that I'd been working with for years. And but she's really great about, you know, wanting to see the data. Right? So we're we decide, okay. We'll we'll get a toxin level. Just, you know, we haven't looked at it in a few years, so let's look. Her BPA came back through the roof. And she's like, but but, you know, I don't have plastic containers at home. I don't microwave food. I've checked all my products. Like, I don't know where it's coming from. So we really had to dig, and we came up with you know, to save time for at work, a lot of times, she would have some hot soup delivered that was organic and super healthy.
I mean, we really had to dig because it just it it was such a part of what she was I mean, she didn't even think it was in a consideration because she'd been doing it for a while. And so then we took that out, beefed up her detox a little bit, and the within a couple months, then levels went way way down. So so I guess the point of that is a lot of times you think you're doing everything right. Like, I one of my kids was he's he's like, I wanna check my toxin levels again. I he he hadn't, checked him in a while. He's kind of proactive. He's 23. And his atrazine was so high.
He could be my poster child.
[00:43:47] Unknown:
He he he cooks for himself. He eats all organic. And he,
[00:43:52] Dr. Ann Shippy:
but he had been going out and, you know, gluten free, takes the supplements like he was just here last night
[00:43:58] Unknown:
stocking up again.
[00:44:01] Dr. Ann Shippy:
But his after seeing was super high. We haven't rechecked him, but we think he was actually having a splurge with some corn chips here and there. Jeez. That weren't organ you know, going to Mexican. And so we'll we'll see. Like, well, I'll have to see what where it's coming from. But I really highly if you can have access to the testing, I highly, highly recommend that you look at it because it surprises us a lot.
[00:44:28] Abel James:
And it's so tricky. You don't wanna be overly paranoid, but you do wanna be somewhat vigilant against these surprise threats. Like, for for us, this happens, like, ten years ago, but my wife and I, tested for for metals. And most everything was fine except lead was off the charts, and we were like, oh, no. That is, you know, clearly not good. Where the heck could it be coming from? Because we're so careful. And there was one place that we were staying for, like, a few months that had we were assured that it was filtered water, but in fact, it was just like it went through kind of like a hippie dippies water structure.
Right? Like, where it's changing the molecular structure, but not actually filtering it. So we had kind of, like, you know, taken them at at their word that it was filtered, but looked into the local water source there, and that was off the charts in in Where are you? So Was that was that wasn't here. Was it here or someplace else? That was in Arizona. Oh my gosh. But we've also I mean, since then, we've lived in so many different places, and we've looked into this. And it's very difficult to get accurate data about water quality. You can very easily get doctored data and data that's incomplete or whatever or, like, impossible to access.
But but the ugly truth is that most water sources are not clean nor are air sources. And so for the people who are eating squeaky clean but drinking tap water, like, you're still being exposed to an extraordinary amount of of gnarly stuff. So it's great that you're eating organic food, but you gotta look over here too.
[00:46:07] Dr. Ann Shippy:
Yeah. I think we all have to be filtering our air and water as much as we can. We think about the government and the medical system as really setting up, like, the traffic systems. Right? Like, we we trust our governments to put a red light in where it needs to be, a stop sign where it needs to be, roundabout where it needs to be. But with regards to health, like, we're all barreling down the highway, and there's no traffic lights at all. Like, there's really no guidance. And until you really start digging into what you're getting and what your levels are, it's really hard to know where the traffic lights are. I just thought of the one of my favorite food companies, they, make some paleo meals, switch their packaging.
So and I could just tell by looking at it that it it was gonna be a whole lot more toxins than what I was anticipating. And so I contacted the the company, and they were like, well, it that's okay by the FDA. And I was like, oh, that doesn't mean anything.
[00:47:15] Abel James:
Right.
[00:47:16] Dr. Ann Shippy:
So and just because they said it's okay, doesn't mean it doesn't have that phthalates and plastics and things in it that are going to build up in our bodies and end up causing all kinds of endocrine problems and other things.
[00:47:31] Abel James:
But there are things we can do to kinda mitigate that risk. And they're they're relatively simple, maybe inconvenient though, where I love getting pho or, you know, the pho soup. But it always come you know, with all the gnarly stuff, the the the tripe in it and the tendons, like, the more disgusting, the better, nose to tail stuff. I just love those soups. But when you get them takeout, you know, they I look at it, and it comes in this big plastic bag, and then it's got this extraordinarily piping hot liquid with fats in it and other things that are gonna be absorbing all those microplastics
[00:48:01] Dr. Ann Shippy:
and other things like that. So what that's cost me to do is to actually eat at restaurants more and do less less takeout. Exactly. Yeah. Eating
[00:48:11] Abel James:
make it a goal to eat out of porcelain. Same thing with coffee. Like, I used to get coffee to go and to go coffee cups pretty often, and I still do sometimes. I'm not absolutely perfect. But I've I really make a point out of drinking out of porcelain, and I I've also learned over the years that that food and liquids taste better out of porcelain and glass compared to metal and and other plasticky type substances. Because you're actually you're you're tasting it even if you're not perceiving that. And some of these changes can be yeah. There you go.
They can be chemical changes. But if you're it it's basically maybe it turns you into a bit of a curmudgeon, and it makes life a little bit more inconvenient, but you're gonna find that you're spending less money, and you're eating at home and eating at actual places more often instead of just rushing around, stuffing your face, and drinking things on the go. It's like we really do need to re examine what our automatic things are because what's common out there is exactly the same stuff that's leading us to disease and degeneration. Like, just look around. We're in trouble, so don't do what everyone else is doing.
[00:49:16] Dr. Ann Shippy:
Exactly right. Well and back to the lead for a moment. So a lot of people just it's not on their radar at all, and I I love that you're recommending eating and drinking out of the porcelain or glass. I do recommend getting some of the lead test test kits. They're little strips that you can get on Amazon, and just double check and make sure that at least what you have at home is lead free. Because I've actually had a number of patients that their big lead levels were from things in their kitchen. Like like, one woman, she had this pretty little porcelain piece that she would put her salad dressing in, and often there would be she'd homemade make it, but then she'd leave it in the refrigerator for a night or two before she'd use it.
And we found that it was it had lead in it, and it was leaching, especially because there was some vinegar. It was leaching into the salad dressing.
[00:50:11] Abel James:
Yeah.
[00:50:12] Dr. Ann Shippy:
So these yeah. These little things can make such a huge difference.
[00:50:17] Abel James:
That's the other piece. You're not totally safe with, like, the porcelain ceramics either because it it depends on the glaze. It depends on, like the coating that are put on these things. But I think the point is take a good look at the things that you're eating out of and drinking out of on a daily basis, and you can probably find something that is sending whether it's lead or the BPAs microplastics, it's probably sending something off the charts. And what you really want to avoid is as far as I understand it is food that's been heated in contact with these materials over the longer it's in contact, the worse it is. Right?
So,
[00:50:54] Dr. Ann Shippy:
understanding those concepts, we can all be a little bit better about it. And I appreciate you're saying you know, talking about the coffee cup because we I think we don't have to be perfect. Like, I occasionally will go and get an almond milk latte out of the cup that I know has something in it. But I am like, I'm I do the work to help my body to not have it build up. So doing the glutathione and doing saunas and hyperbaric and red light and all these things, I think we don't have to be in fear all the time because we're we're taking those steps.
[00:51:34] Abel James:
And our bodies are incredible, and they're built to get rid of some of these things over the course of time as long as we're honoring kind of the detox process. Right? Which often we don't, to be fair.
[00:51:44] Dr. Ann Shippy:
No. We ask our bodies to do a lot. And, yeah. No. I mean, I think back to doing med school and residency in my thirties, and having a baby in medical and a baby in residency, it's like even after having been so sick that that first time, it you can be so resilient and so strong by putting a little effort into really nourishing it. And and the mindset, like like, you're tying through, I think, is so important.
[00:52:20] Abel James:
And how about the link between the gut and conditions like autism? This is something that, obviously, the Internet just runs away with, and there's all sorts of hype and controversy. But there is actually research too, so maybe you can talk about some of that.
[00:52:37] Dr. Ann Shippy:
Yeah. So the you know, we really have such a health children's health epidemic going on. It's particularly with the neurodevelopmental delays. So for the year 2022, they announced the numbers are one in thirty one children, one in twenty boys, one in twenty boys. And in the state of California, it's one in twenty two kids. So the boy number, I don't have off the top of my head. But and that those are children that have turned eight in 2022. So we have you know, we're eight years behind in looking at this trajectory. So I just wanna address that first because there's so much, I think, misinformation around this issue.
There's a lot of people saying, oh, well, we're just better at diagnosing it. Well, no. Like, this is a real issue. Are the numbers a little off? Potentially. But just in twenty years, a 317% increase in the prevalence of it. Three hundred and seventeen. So, like, you can't you can't, prevalence of it. Three hundred and seventeen. So, like, you can't you can't just say, oh, we're better at diagnosing it. And you look around at the classrooms today versus twenty years ago versus sixty years ago. It's a very different situation. So I just wanna say that first because I think it's really one of the scariest things that we're facing today. Like, I'm not a pediatrician, but I do end up taking care of children for certain things like autism and developmental delays. And, it is so hard on the parents. It's so hard on the children. Like, it's just devastating to see what these families are going through to and trying to help their children. So I do wanna say, first of all, that there's hope.
And when we look at it's not just one thing. Right? The autism is kind of this collection of symptoms, but I and systems. But the microbiome is always off in these children. There is always something when you do the detailed, you know, DNA, PCR testing of what microbes are there. There's always an imbalance of organisms that are having a party. Now is it the same organisms that are missing or the same ones having a party or not necessarily? Not necessarily. So it's com it's really complex. Like, I think a lot of times in medicine, we just try to net it down to this one thing. And, but, yeah, there can be certain families of bacteria that are more that actually make, what are called endotoxins.
So they they make some things that it's harder for the the the their little bodies to clear. But then I also sometimes, you know, back to the yeast, sometimes I see the fungal infections. Now is it the cause of the neurological things, or is it because a lot of times these children are picky eaters and, you know, and are driving at some with their diet. But I really think that this is a huge opportunity in the preconception period to do what we can to give them a really strong microbiome to start with. Right? So both the fathers with that time capsule for this firm and especially for the moms. So for the moms that can get one of these in-depth stool tests, so things like GI maps, doctor's data, JONAH. There's, Tiny Health is also another really good one, and they actually even have a vaginal microbiome test. Are you familiar with Tiny? Yeah. So if you have if you can find access to that anytime, but especially in that preconception period so that you can take you know, add in the probiotics to get the good organisms up and then get rid of some of the more pesky ones so that you can pass on that mic positive microbiome. And this is also a place to talk to loop back in with the mold because the house has a microbiome.
So when there's been water damage, there is the mold overgrowing, but also bacteria overgrowing, the actinomyces and other bacteria that make toxins. So having a and, you know, the skin and respiratory systems pick up the microbiome from the from the home as well. So if you're gonna do a microbiome overload, you wanna do husband, wife, and the husband.
[00:57:14] Abel James:
And, I mean, this has real effects on on health and longevity and the health of your baby as well. And and so I think one of the points of your book too and and your work is that just because you can successfully have a baby doesn't necessarily mean that that you should right then because, as you say, there there are massive benefits to the health of your future child when you take those three, six, nine months before conception to really dial in both male and female health and the health of your surroundings, the hollow biome, the microbiome of where you're living, that whole thing. Because if you don't, then you might be looking at some of these health issues, whether it's early in in the child's life or down the road. You don't you don't know what damage you might be causing before you have even decided to have a child. Right? So it's it just we need to highlight the responsibility of of all of us to not just say, it's up to to God or whatever, the higher power to say yes or no. This is this is ready to happen. No. It's really on us to make sure that we have the healthiest family possible.
[00:58:21] Dr. Ann Shippy:
I love the way you just said that. You said it so well. It really is. Like, I what I want to happen with this preconception period before the start of the family or between children is even stronger than the way we think about a woman taking a prenatal vitamin. Like, most women will not know they're pregnant and not be taking a prenatal vitamin. I've really like, honestly, like, even with talking about my kids. Right? Like, I feel like the work they're doing now on their bodies will help my future grandchildren. So so so, you know, sometimes we it might feel a little bit self absorbed or, like, too much work to do or or whatever to be really prioritizing our health or make people feel like they're too hypervigilant.
And I think that this is really the best gift. Your health, you being strong and robust and resilient is the best gift you can give to your future child.
[00:59:26] Abel James:
And you can spend the time now, or you can be forced to spend the time later when you're suffering from something horrible.
[00:59:32] Dr. Ann Shippy:
Yeah. And I I know I'm gonna get a little slack for saying this, but I actually think infertility is a blessing. You know, it's the one or both of the body saying, we're not doing this, and and probably protecting from something for the future child or for the pregnancy. Right? So what I would really like people to do is to have this proactive period where they don't even wait to find out that they have infertility or that their children are unhealthy and and use this as an opportunity to gift themselves good health and their future family.
[01:00:09] Abel James:
Yeah. The concept of generational wellness, I I hope is one that's that will catch on because, I remember when I first heard the story of Pottenger's cats, which is basically a story of cats over time eating worse quality food, not getting the nutrients they need, and then their health falling apart over the course of generations. We've kind of seen seen that thing play out in slow motion for humans as well. But the good news is that we can also make this a lot better, but it's on us to do it. Yeah. So I I'm such a nerd. I keep there's over 500 articles in in the book that I keep.
[01:00:45] Unknown:
Like, I just can't help myself. I keep seeing the new studies, like, searching for the new studies coming out. And there was a study that just came out
[01:00:53] Dr. Ann Shippy:
a couple weeks ago where they took men in two groups. And in one group, they had them fed them a highly processed diet, and the other group, they fed them a whole food diet for three weeks. And then they did a little washout period, and then they switched groups. In three weeks, they dramatically changed the health of the sperm Wow. And some of the hormone levels that indicate, you know, just health. So I'm like, okay. Three weeks, they did that? That's so amazing. Like, if if you'll actually apply this for three months, six months, twelve months, I mean, this totally explains why I see people that have suffered with infertility actually go on to have their healthiest babies in their forties.
[01:01:40] Abel James:
Mhmm. Yeah. Because our our bodies you do the right thing over the course of time, and your body surprisingly, amazingly, remarkably responds, and it knows what to do. Because we're built
[01:01:53] Dr. Ann Shippy:
to keep the species going.
[01:01:56] Abel James:
Yeah. So well, kudos to you for writing an excellent book about this. It's one of the most comprehensive I've ever seen, not just about preconception, but just kind of about health in general. And you don't have to be a PhD to read it too, so thanks thanks for that. Oh, that means so much to me. Thank you so much. Yeah. Absolutely. I I love a good book. That's for sure. In just a couple of minutes that we have before we go, what what are some of the most important points on on your mind right now?
[01:02:22] Dr. Ann Shippy:
Well, I would like advice on from you on what you think will really resonate with men on this topic. Like, for them to engage in this six, twelve month endeavor to really, you know, do these things like eating healthy and reducing the toxins, getting their blood sugar regulated, feed their mitochondria, all these things that I think are so vital for that time capsule.
[01:03:10] Abel James:
Yeah. Well, in in terms of appealing to men and getting them to think about it differently, I think you need to shatter the myth that it's as simple as just delivering sperm to a a female body and say that you're actually giving this information that's like this time capsule that you describe. I'm not sure what the sexy or hyped up way is to deliver this message. We'll have to brainstorm that together. But I think something around like, you don't wanna have a kid that's sick and suffering. You do wanna have a kid that's out there crushing it, you know, like winning baseball games and making friends and going on adventures and hopefully later in life supporting you as you age and and the rest of the family and and having healthy healthy kids themselves. So if you kind of can help men understand that if if you're sedentary right now and you're sitting around playing video games and you're kind of a loser, like, if you couldn't win a baseball game right now yourself as a father, but, like, before you're a father, your kid probably will have a much lower chance of that in their lifetime. So I think if there's a way that you can link that in a politically correct whatever way That's a great analogy.
It's it's like you wanna have a kid that has a chance. And, if you don't have a chance right now, then, like, you're gonna have to work on yourself before you have a kid who does because it's really more of a reflection of our health at the time, not just physically, but also mentally. That's a big part that we didn't really talk about so much today, but the spiritual and mental aspects of of really getting that house in order before you you take on the challenge of raising a family, I think, is also very, underappreciated
[01:04:53] Dr. Ann Shippy:
by most folks. Yeah. That's beautiful that you tied that back too. It really is important. Our our mindset, our spiritual place has epigenetic markers as well. And I I think it's probably part of why that species has survived. You know, I think there's a lot that we learn that kind of get imprinted in the genes so that then they learn quickly and and adapt. But we wanna make sure we pass on the this right ones.
[01:05:23] Abel James:
Yeah. Yeah. Well, doctor Shippey, so much fun to talk with you today. What is the best place for people to find your work as well as, your new book?
[01:05:32] Dr. Ann Shippy:
The new book is The Preconception Revolution. Help me start it by reading the book and sharing it with anybody that is thinking about starting or growing a family. And then my, practice website is anchipemd.com. And we're on Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, all the things.
[01:05:53] Abel James:
Amazing. This book is going to save and create a lot of lives, I think. It's a very cool one, so congratulations, and everyone out there, I really encourage you to to check it out. Doctor Shippey, thanks so much for joining us today. Thank you so much. Hey, Abel here one more time and if you believe in our mission to create a world where health is the norm not sickness, here are a few things you can do to help keep this show coming your way. Click like, subscribe, and leave a quick review wherever you listen to or watch your podcasts. You can also subscribe to my new Substack channel for an ad free version of this show in video and audio. That's at ablejames.substack.com.
You can also find me on Twitter or x, YouTube, as well as fountain f m, where you can leave a little crypto in the tip jar. And if you can think of someone you care about who might learn from or enjoy this show, please take a quick moment to share it with them. Thanks so much for listening, and we'll see you in the next episode.
Intro: Epigenetics, preconception, and todays guest
Overview: toxins, mold, gut health, and fertility themes
Dr. Anne Shippeys path from IBM engineering to medicine
Systems thinking vs. specialization in internal medicine
Mold toxicity story: ALS-type symptoms and recovery
Treating mold illness: testing, psychology, and remediation
From hypersensitivity to resilience: microbiome and detox
Desert-island supplements: liposomal glutathione and phosphatidylcholine
Preconception for men: alcohol, air quality, protein, and stress
Candida and yeast overgrowth: starving, enzymes, and meds
Hidden toxins: BPA, atrazine, lead, and safer habits
Childrens health crisis: autism, microbiome, and moldy homes
The preconception time capsule: parents, home biome, and testing
Generational wellness: responsibility, infertility, and hope
Rapid change: diets impact on sperm and hormones in weeks
Messaging to men: performance, mindset, and epigenetics
Wrap-up: The Preconception Revolution and where to find Dr. Shippey
