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The New Blood Test Is in Your Mouth: Flying, Stress, and the Secret Language of Saliva with Dr. Patti Milligan - Ep 002

Release Date: 05/21/2025

Why Symptoms Come Last: How Acupuncture Reveals the Body’s Innate Intelligence with Dr. Alan Chang

The Vitalist

In this episode of The Vitalist, Dr. Sera sits down with Dr. Alan Chang to discuss how acupuncture really works. Drawing from Chinese medicine, embryology, and decades of clinical experience, Dr. Alan shares how the body organizes itself long before symptoms appear. Together, they explore the meridian system as an energetic landscape, the five elements as living relationships within the body, and how modern metaphors like cellphones can help us understand invisible pathways of information and energy. This conversation also moves into the emotional terrain of healing, unpacking how stress and...

Beyond Fight-or-Flight: A Full Nervous System Map for Modern Stress with Gabriel Kram

The Vitalist

Your nervous system is always working in the background, shaping your perceptions, your mood, your reactions, and even your chronic symptoms. Yet most of us were never taught how it actually works. In this episode of The Vitalist, Dr. Sera talks with author and autonomic expert Gabriel Kram about the real biology behind stress and human behavior. Together they break down why the nervous system, not just the brain, drives your moment-to-moment experience, and how its early wiring determines what feels safe, overwhelming, or threatening. They explore the map to your nervous system: Connection,...

Cracked Open: How Yoga Reveals Who You Really Are with Jenn Chiarelli

The Vitalist

In this episode of The Vitalist, Dr. Keiko sits down with yoga and spiritual teacher Jenn Chiarelli to explore the quiet intelligence that lives in the body. Jenn shares her early years as a professional ballerina and the moment yoga cracked something open in her, shifting her from perfection to presence. She reflects on the practices that helped her reconnect to her essence: breathwork, subtle movement, mantra, meditation, and the lifelong inquiry that continues to guide her: Who am I? Together, Dr. Keiko and Jenn explore what it means to soften, to listen, and to trust the messages that...

Prolapse, Pee Leaks & Core Weakness: The Truth About Your Pelvic Floor with Dr. Jocelyn Connolly

The Vitalist

This week on The Vitalist, I sat down with Dr. Jocelyn Connolly, Co-founder of The Vagina Doc to talk about the part of our body we’ve been taught to whisper about, ignore, and tighten. The pelvis is a place where we hold our stories, our stress, our pleasure, our fear… and our power. Dr. Jocelyn is bold, brilliant, and refreshingly honest about pelvic health and she’s on a mission to help women understand that their pelvic floor is not meant to be “tight.” It’s meant to be responsive, alive, and in relationship with your breath. In this conversation, she shares the moment...

Inside the Intelligence of the Body: What Fascia and Embryology Reveal with Rev. Dr. Joanne Avison

The Vitalist

In this episode, Dr. Sera sits down with Rev. Doctor Joanne Avison, author, body worker and fascia whisperer, to explore the living architecture of the human body. They discuss what happens when we move from seeing the body as parts to understanding the body as as a continuous network that communicates through light, sound, and movement. Joanne shares how embryology reveals the intelligence guiding our development, and why fascia is the substrate of our becoming. Together, they dive into the hidden continuity between the heart and tongue, what it really means to “speak from the...

Ayurveda Made Simple: Discover Your Dosha and Unlock the Science of Life with Dr. Meghana Thanki

The Vitalist

In this episode of The Vitalist Podcast, Dr. Keiko sits down with Dr. Meghana Thanki, an Ayurvedic and naturopathic doctor, to explore the deep intelligence of Ayurveda, the original science of life. Together they unpack what it truly means to live in alignment with nature’s rhythms and the body’s innate wisdom. Dr. Thanki shares how she was called to Ayurveda while studying naturopathic medicine, and how the sister sciences of yoga and Ayurveda form a complete lifestyle system for healing. You’ll learn about ojas (vital life force), the three doshas (Vata, Pitta, Kapha), and how...

Beyond 20/20 Vision: How Your Eyes Can Rewire Your Brain with Dr. Dana Dean

The Vitalist

We’ve been using our eyes all wrong. In this eye-opening conversation, Functional Optometrist Dr. Dana Dean reveals why seeing clearly has nothing to do with 20/20 vision and everything to do with how our brain and eyes communicate to create vision. After struggling through school and repeatedly failing her board exams, Dr. Dana discovered that what she was seeing wasn’t translating to her brain. Once she retrained her vision, everything changed. Now, after 25 years in behavioral and developmental optometry, she’s helping others do the same. We explore how vision is learned, and 75% of...

How to Think Differently: Dr. Jeff Karp on ADHD, Curiosity, and the Science of Learning

The Vitalist

In this inspiring conversation, Dr. Jeff Karp, Harvard Medical School professor, MIT scientist, and bioinspired innovator shares the story behind his revolutionary approach to learning, creativity, and curiosity. From being told in second grade that he’d “never make it,” to leading a world-renowned biomedical lab, Jeff reveals how metacognition, thinking about how we think, became the foundation for his success. We explore how ADHD and neurodiversity can be superpowers, why true learning engages all the senses, and how curiosity can literally rewire the brain to foster connection and...

How We Lose Ourselves in Work: The Hidden Cost of Productivity with Mack Fogelson

The Vitalist

Why are so many of us burned out, checked out, or emotionally detached at work? In this episode of The Vitalist Podcast, Dr. Sera talks with organizational designer and certified Dare To Lead facilitator, Mack Fogelson about why we disconnect from our work and how to rebuild connection, purpose, and vitality from the inside out. We unpack the hidden design flaws in how most organizations operate, why “learned helplessness” shows up at every level, and how our personal patterns, like people-pleasing, perfectionism, or busyness, mirror the systems we work within. Mack shares her simple but...

The Body’s Repair System: Stem Cells, Regeneration, and the Future of Self-Healing with Christian Drapeau

The Vitalist

What if your body already holds the blueprint for regeneration? In this conversation, Christian Drapeau, neurophysiologist, stem cell researcher, and founder of , reveals the remarkable intelligence of the body’s repair system. We explore how stem cells act as the body’s natural healing mechanism, capable of becoming any cell the body needs, from heart tissue to neurons, and how practices like fasting, meditation, and exercise can enhance their function. Christian breaks down the biology of stem cell renewal, the science of longevity, and how natural plant compounds can mobilize your own...

More Episodes

What if the key to understanding your health, mood, and even how well you age can be measured in your saliva?

In this fascinating episode, we’re joined by the brilliant Dr. Patti Milligan, a pioneer in the field of salivary science. Dr. Patti unpacks the groundbreaking world of saliva research. Join us as we cover how emotional states change your saliva composition and how it can help diagnose diseases years before symptoms arise.

You’ll learn how air travel impacts your nervous system, and more importantly what you can do to support your body to mitigate jet lag. Plus, practical tips on foods and movements to boost nitric oxide and saliva production.

HIGHLIGHTS

How saliva shifts with emotion — 42 types tied to your nervous system! (3:33)

Saliva’s 4 Superpowers: digestion, disease detection, nutrient levels, and immune defense. (4:38)

Saliva can spot disease years ahead — including heart, inflammation & even breast cancer. (5:42)

How one child reversed “failure to thrive” just by boosting saliva. (9:02)

Low saliva = choking risk for elders — and why it’s more common than you think. (12:17)

What your saliva says about your nervous system (14:39)

How much saliva you produce every year (16:21)

How goji berries and lemon drops help children emotionally reset. (17:11)

The top foods that stimulate saliva naturally. (20:02)

A simple 4-move tongue routine to boost your saliva flow. (24:19)

How driving and flying suppress saliva—and what to do about it. (28:23)