Latest / hol+ with Dr. Taz MD | The Future of Medicine is Holistic / Overcoming Kidney Cancer: Cameron Mathison’s Life-Changing Journey
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- Overcoming Kidney Cancer: Cameron Mathison’s Life-Changing Journey === cameron mathison: the overexertion, the extreme diets, the pushing yourself, You Dr. Taz: have pursued health and wellness even before a diagnosis, after a diagnosis. cameron mathison: Lost and frustrated. I had this feeling, the sense that there was something more serious going on. So they found the kidney cancer because of that process, because of me just being, Dr. Taz: just being an advocate, being a real advocate for my own health cameron mathison: and just knowing something was off and it saved my life. Dr. Taz: I'm going to get really vulnerable with you guys and share a personal story. The year is 2019. We were getting ready to go to Italy for my sister's wedding. I have a baby sister. She's actually 20 years younger than me. The night before the wedding, my husband reaches over to me and tells me he's not feeling very well. Dr. Taz: Over the next few minutes, I found him getting more and more uncomfortable writhing around in the bed, and at first we both thought it was simply reflux. But it wasn't. As the hours progressed, he got worse and worse. And long story short, he was actually suffering from a heart attack. I called 911. We got him help. Dr. Taz: He's fine. But he was only 41 years old. And today, years later, that night still sort of jars my mind. I can't believe we're okay. I can't believe he's okay. But I also know that his health is very precarious. This is the story I see with so many of the men I meet in practice day in and day out. And it's not a story I ever want to see repeated. Dr. Taz: What if something else had happened that night? What if he actually passed away? What if we had been on the plane on an international trip to a foreign country? So many what ifs, and thankfully we were protected and our family continues to thrive and do well. But I don't want a repeat of this for anyone. Dr. Taz: And so I want to advocate for men. And I think it's important for all of us as women to really be paying attention to the health of men in our lives. That's why I brought my next guest on. He's had an incredible story, a healing journey. He's been an advocate for health and wellness, and he's an example for men and how to live healthfully and really tackle every year, every day, and even the future for women. Dr. Taz: Zest. Let me introduce you to Cameron Matheson. You guys already know him. He's an Emmy Award-winning actor, a TV host. He's been on all my Children General Hospital. I met him when I was doing segments on home and family, and I have loved his spirit and really his passion for health and wellness, and I can't wait for him to share his journey with all of you. Dr. Taz: Welcome Cameron to the show. This is such an honor, Cameron. This is a little surreal for me, honestly, because I think I might've watched you for a really long time on one of the soap operas, maybe general hospital, maybe all my children, I don't remember which one before we finally met, you know, on different, uh, you know, home and family and some of the different shows. Dr. Taz: And, you know, I think we've always connected around health and wellness. And what it means to be healthy. And as I was sort of putting together the show and, you know, sort of visioning what I wanted, you know, you were such a great, you came to mine because I feel like you've had a journey. You have pursued health and wellness, even, you know, before a diagnosis, after a diagnosis, you know, what it's like for everybody out there. Dr. Taz: You've you've walked that walk, right. So when we think about being whole and how the science and the spirit have to merge together to really create healing journeys for people, you came to mind right away. So welcome. Welcome to the show. I'm so excited to have you. I'm excited to be cameron mathison: here. It's so cool for me too, because obviously, you know, when we met, uh, I, I was, I was Interviewing you on the show and learned a little bit about you and what you do. cameron mathison: And then right away, I connected with you, followed you on Instagram, you know, and since then, you know, I've been, uh, anyway, this is really a nice full circle moment. Well, I, Dr. Taz: I'm, I have a million questions for you, but I want to get right to one of the big ones. You know, how did you even fall into Becoming such an advocate around health and wellness, you know, I see you talk about it a lot. Dr. Taz: I see you encouraging others to pursue their own health and wellness journey. Give us a little bit of, you know, we all know what an amazing actor you're, you know, an Emmy award winning actor. We all know kind of that side of Cameron. But I don't think a lot of people know the depths of your own health journey. Dr. Taz: So share, maybe give us a little window into that. Yeah. cameron mathison: I mean, it's been, it's, it's been, it's a long, it's a bit of a long story, so I'm going to try and keep it really short. But when I was, uh, young, um, like really young, Two and a half. I was diagnosed with a degenerative bone disease called leg caparthage disease, which is a degenerative bone disease, usually in one of the femurs, but I had bilateral in both femurs. cameron mathison: So I, I couldn't walk until I was seven. And, um, it was already like a, kind of a rough start health and, um, activity wise for me as a young kid. And, you know, I wore that a big metal A frame brace my whole young life. I didn't walk or, you know, I wore it where I slept and everything. So I guess the point, the way that that fits in is, um, I think because of that experience. cameron mathison: I've always been, like, from the very beginning, I've been getting x rays and tests and MRI. Like, well, they didn't have MRIs then, but, um, and since then, I just really was aware of my, my body and my health, and I really tried to. Kind of, I think on some level, I, I, I learned to identify with myself as, you know, this is not the PC term, but this is the term that like the crippled kid, like, you know, um, and I, Dr. Taz: how old are you when this is all going on from cameron mathison: two and a half years old to seven to seven. cameron mathison: So, yeah. Yep. Dr. Taz: So, cameron mathison: and, um, and coming out of that experience, I just tried to really kind of be active and healthy and strong and, um, and through the years, you know, playing sports and doing other things. Um, It just became a real part of who I was. And then I get into like the TV world. Um, and you know, having to take my shirt off half the time on soap operas. cameron mathison: Um, you know, you become aware of the aesthetics of the physique aspect, which doesn't necessarily, um, you know, correspond to being healthy. And I think I went through, so getting around to your question, I think I went through a lot of unhealthy ways. To look fit and healthy. Mm. Um, in this world, which I think a lot of people do, and it works for a little while until it doesn't. cameron mathison: Ooh. Yeah. Like the, you know, calorie restriction, the overexertion, the extreme diets, the pushing yourself, the, the not so great supplements back in the day, they had things in supplements that are illegal now. Right. Things like ephedra and whatever. So I was that guy. Yeah. And I was known on TV as this like fit, you know, good bodied, whatever. cameron mathison: Meanwhile, inside, I think I was really taxing my body and I know I was. Because eventually those things stop working. Um, your metabolism gets off, your hormones get out of whack. My gut health was a mess. I didn't necessarily know it for a long time. Um, but then eventually I did, uh, through realizing that I just, I couldn't build the muscle. cameron mathison: I couldn't get as lean. I didn't have the energy. Why, what is all this gut distention and bloating going on with me? Um, whenever I, How long, Dr. Taz: so just to paint, like to paint it on a map for, because I hear this from all the time. How long are you at like this? Like you think you're healthy, but you're not journey. Dr. Taz: How, how long are you engaged in that? Which is right. Like, I think we've all, I mean, that's actually how I got sick to, you know, getting up to run at three and four o'clock in the morning to make it to the hospital by five and then having diet Coke and popcorn. And it was low calorie, right? So it was healthy, but like, how long were you in that phase, you know, uh, of, of health where you thought that under eating overexerting and what were you doing to build muscle back then? Dr. Taz: I'm so curious. Like, how long were you in that? I just cameron mathison: didn't know how to build muscle. I just didn't know what I was going to the gym and lifting. Like I was, there was resistance training, but I wasn't doing it in a way like when your body is overly stressed, your cortisol levels are through the roof and you're not really feeding your body properly while you're resistant. cameron mathison: I mean, it's like you're swimming upstream. You're not going anywhere. Um, but it was probably to answer your question probably 15 years of that. Wow. 15 years of that. And, uh, it really worked okay for a while, you know, super lean in the more lean you are, obviously on camera, you look muscular, even though I was kind of shrink, I've even had executive producers can take me aside and say, Cameron, you're like, you're losing weight. cameron mathison: You look skinny, like your neck and your face. Um, you know, just because I'm, I'm lean and you can see definition, the size was shrinking. My parents would say it to me and I would be like, what are you talking about? I'm shredded. And I was ridiculous. Um, and my body was just under a lot of stress. A lot of, it was just very taxing. Dr. Taz: Were you checking any of that? Was anyone engaging in those conversations? Not at that time. Where's cortisol? Where's your stress? Not at all. I cameron mathison: never even heard of cortisol. I wouldn't know. I wouldn't know what, like I wouldn't know anything. I wouldn't have thought. Um, so I should say also through that time, and this is going to, you know, you're, this is going to speak to you. cameron mathison: I think through that time I developed acid reflux. So we all know like through stress and through different things, as you get older, you start producing less stomach acid. There's a lot of different factors that can, that can. play into acid reflux. So I started taking PPIs, protein pump inhibitors, from doctor's prescription and over the counter for many years. cameron mathison: And I didn't understand why it was getting worse. I was taking the doctor's advice. I know it's good advice and these things can be helpful in the short term, uh, but for 12 years, I was taking this and, um, it destroyed my gut microbiome. It, it stopped any acid production in my stomach. Um, for those that, that don't know, and I don't know if you can say this cause you're an MD, but I can say it, um, that most of acid reflux is not caused from too much acid in your stomach. cameron mathison: It's caused from too little acid production in your stomach, which doesn't digest your food properly, which ferments in your gut. Which causes a bacterial overgrowth, which produces all sorts of problems and it can blow your esophageal Dr. Taz: a doctor? And cameron mathison: let, and let the acid come up into your esophagus, acid that you need in your stomach. cameron mathison: But they, but often times, and acutely it's okay, but for, you know, if it's chronic, they treat the symptom. of acid coming up in your esophagus with anti acid medication, which perpetuates the problem of not digesting your food properly and causing some fermentation and bacterial overgrowth and H. pylori and, you know, leaky gut and etc. cameron mathison: So, I was perpetuating the problem for a long time. Uh, my, so my point is bringing that into this whole process is I could see, Things slipping. Like I could see that I wasn't getting, I could feel not getting nutrient absorption from the food anymore. I could feel like this crazy distention that started happening, like bloating and distention in my gut or that was never there before over the years. cameron mathison: Um, I could, I could just tell things were going wrong. Um, and so I hadn't done any testing. Eventually the first testing I did was for the acid reflux to see. And of course it was, you know, through the roof, you know, that test where you lie down and they drink the chalk thing and then, um, and then, so I'll let you ask more questions, but that's where my, my real, you know, Healing proper health journey began through after 10 or 11 years of being on those PPIs, protein pump inhibitors. cameron mathison: I started doing my own research. It didn't make sense to me. While I was taking and doing what the doctors were telling me to do and why, Things were getting worse and why I needed then two pills a day and and I couldn't go six hours without taking it like it Was it doesn't make sense to me? So I was perpetuating the problem by treating symptoms and then eventually I started looking at root causes and and and treating the real problem Dr. Taz: I was I was looking at an interview you did I don't remember which one it was but you know And in many of the interviews you talk about like long standing abdominal pain It was there for a very long period of time, right? Dr. Taz: And then finally in 2019, the rug kind of got pulled out from under you, you know, I often see this in practice, right? Where there's been this sort of hum of something for a very long period of time, but what happened in 2019? What, what took place there? cameron mathison: Yeah. So, um, it's true. And at that point I'd been doing a lot of testing, blood work and gut work and, um, different types of hormone testing and things, and nothing was changing and I was. cameron mathison: Going to see some of the best doctors in the country to try to heal my gut and fix this. So why is my blood working? Why is my white blood cell count off? And I just couldn't figure it out. And it was just, I was maybe people at home can relate to this too. I was so lost and frustrated because I'm here. I am the healthy guy doing everything right. cameron mathison: Very determined in my diets and my lifestyle and thinking. That I was doing things right, I should say. Dr. Taz: With access, right? You're in California, the healthiest, supposedly the healthiest place, right? With access to all these people, but still not able to get the answers. cameron mathison: Exactly. And, um, so the first piece of the puzzle was, to your point, in 2019, I had been asking for an MRI. cameron mathison: In my gut area because I thought that I could just I had this feeling the sense that there was something more serious going on and um, I think my doctors very, very wisely like no knock to them were like, listen, it's okay because I thought I had cancer and they said, listen, let's just try this and do this and let's try another strategy and so for two years I was asking and I didn't take an MRI and then eventually I was like, I need to get an MRI. cameron mathison: I just know I need to and, um, what I did, they, they, they started in my abdomen and then I could feel when I was lying there, I could feel, you know, how they, they readjust you and be like, we got to start again. And I was like, well, that's not good. Dr. Taz: So, cameron mathison: uh, they found the kidney cancer because, because of that process, because of me just being. cameron mathison: Being an advocate Dr. Taz: for yourself, right? Being a real advocate for my own cameron mathison: health and just knowing something was off. And looking at the tests and the blood work, it's not about being out there and being a hypochondriac. Like, I really was trying to knock things off, you know, sort of check things off the list before I went to, Oh, run off and get an MRI, I've got cancer. cameron mathison: Right. You know, but eventually it was like, this has to be done. And it saved my life, because, um, in a way, I like to think it did. It, it's kidney cancer, and kidney cancer is quite treatable if it hasn't spread. It had been growing in me, they think, eight to ten years, just by the, the typical speed of growth of these tumors and the fact, um, how, the size of it. cameron mathison: It hadn't spread, which, for those that have been through a kidney cancer, um, journey, that is a huge deal. Right. Um, and so, I like to think, I think the doctors, Some of them anyway feel that because of my healthy lifestyle didn't have the energy to spread if it since it was growing for So long, it's rare that I wouldn't have spread I think but um, and so we did Surgery, no chemo or radiation necessary. cameron mathison: And yeah, it's five years now five years plus I've been cancer cancer Dr. Taz: free cancer free. Yes, so amazing You know, I just hate though that it takes a diagnosis, right? Like to, to really shift course or shift direction. I sit with so many people and we walk that journey for sure. You know, what did that diagnosis do in terms of how you move forward and what did healing look like for you too? Dr. Taz: I'm so curious, like, you know, how did you walk through that? Because so many people, first of all, intuitively, you know, think something's going on, finally get the confirmation. And then. It's scary, you know, and it's scary to walk that journey. So curious how you crafted your own journey Who was there kind of standing by you? Dr. Taz: How much did community matter like, you know, give us a sense of what that looked like cameron mathison: Yeah, those are all really good questions and really good points for something like this for anybody that's been through it. Um, first of all, I think the first thing that went through my mind obviously was fear. Like I, I didn't know what a kidney cancer diagnosis meant necessarily. cameron mathison: As far as the grant, the big picture of the things I thought about my kids, I thought about my life. I thought about, you know, you, I literally in that moment where I got the phone call, I hope nobody has to feel this. Like it, it, it actually felt like things slowed down and everything peripherally went out of focus. cameron mathison: And it was just like, and you're getting the call and you're finding out that you got kicked. It was so surreal. Okay. Um, because even though I asked for the MRI for a couple of years, I didn't really, like, you don't really believe it, you know, like I, at least I didn't. And then when it came in, I'm like, this is real. Dr. Taz: Um, cameron mathison: and so that was the first step part. And the second thing that came up eventually when I had to kind of discuss it on home and family, was I was, I was a little embarrassed, like, It feels like Dr. Taz: failure, right? Yeah, a little bit like, you know, I'm cameron mathison: this guy that's supposed to be like super healthy and fit guy. cameron mathison: And, um, and obviously that doesn't necessarily matter. And, and also, um, I was doing a lot of things wrong. And, um, so I had that aspect to it. Um, I immediately, uh, uh, Uh, told Vanessa and she and I kind of worked through it together and I found a great doctor at USC Keck, uh, Dr. Inderbir Gill, who's one of the renowned urologists in the country. cameron mathison: And I just happened to get like a slot with him. He was amazing. So like, again, to your point, so lucky, you know, you're in a point, you're in a place where I've got insurance, I've got a great doctor, I've got all these connections. And that's one of the reasons that through this, and we'll get to this, that was so important for me to. cameron mathison: Spread awareness for being your best advocate your own advocate for your health. Um, catch it early because not everybody has all the great conditions and the earlier they catch it the better, uh, but super grateful. And then, um, that community, my community at home and family, and then going around and kind of spreading the word a little bit helped me kind of, um, I don't know. cameron mathison: I never, I never imagined getting the feedback and the support through social media, et cetera, that I did. And that was a beautiful thing, and just feeling that massive amount of, like, prayers and support and thought and what it, what it, like, just incredibly grateful. Like, I didn't, I didn't know what to expect, um, but that was, uh, that was pretty beautiful. Dr. Taz: Well, we're so Glad that you're healthy and doing well, but I know it shifted your mindset and I know it shifted sort of what you want to do with health. And I think you used a functional health coach in the process too, right? Uh, how did that introduction happen? You know, how did, because up until this point for everybody, you know, watching and listening, you've been go get her healthy the way we were taught to be healthy in the eighties and nineties and you know, all that stuff. Dr. Taz: And now there's a diagnosis and so many, you know, people have sat with me and been like, I did everything right. Like why, you know, why is this happening? You know, I think that at that point you probably made a turn in terms of the things that you were interested in or how you pursued health. A thousand percent. Dr. Taz: You know, tell us a little bit about that switch because it's, you know, so fun. It's not fun. That's not the right word, but it's so interesting to watch people's journey in this, because at first they're so skeptical. They're so like, you know, okay, what is all this? What's inflammation? What's the micro, you know, there's a lot of skepticism with it, but I hate that it takes a diagnosis to make people. Dr. Taz: How did you enter this world? Yeah, it's, cameron mathison: it's such an important thing. It's so great that you're out here kind of spreading the word on all this, but I, um, even after the surgery and the diagnosis, I would say several months after that, um, maybe even a year, more than a year after that, I was still trying to do it my own way, you know, obviously with doctors and things that to help me, but, but sort of piecing things together. cameron mathison: and Social media, like, and, and I have to tell people, like, that's a really hard way to do it. Like, just taking little bits of this and that and, and not knowing, like, you know, like it was, it was a very, very difficult and maddening. I was like at a loss again, and this is after my cancer surgery. I had a high level of environmental toxins and other toxins. cameron mathison: I had mold exposure. My gut microbiome still was a disaster. Like, Literally from I'll get to this, this, this, this coaching company, who's seen thousands of GI maps, which is a test of your gut. They said mine was in the top three worst that ever seen. It was like really messed up. My hormones were out of us. cameron mathison: My blood sugar was high, even though I was on a super low, Um, carb diet. So my, my blood sugar being high, even though I'm eating very, very low carb as an indication of a metabolic sort of like, um, you know, just being unhealthy metabolically. Sorry. Um, there are all these factors and I could, they weren't changing. cameron mathison: And I was at a loss and my neighbor was working with this functional health coach. And I'm like, Had you Dr. Taz: even heard of functional medicine? Functional medicine I had, I worked with, I was working with functional cameron mathison: medicine. I was working with MDs and MDs. I was doing all of that. Yeah. And that was super helpful. cameron mathison: But, um, but functional health coaching, I was like, I don't need a coach. Right. Like, look at what are you, you know, I hear Dr. Taz: that all the time. And cameron mathison: honestly, It was the biggest game changer by far. So a functional health coach is, is literally, I mean, it's probably very in line with all the things that you do as well, but they look at things from 360 degrees. cameron mathison: They're really only concerned with the root issues. You know, obviously like you mentioned, Inflammation, microbiome, a hormone balancing, blood work, they even look at gene testing and they look at all the different things. But it's not like they start with all that, you know, there's, there's, it's the first time in my life that, that, so I had a zoom with this, with this, with my coach, his name's Alan Kress. cameron mathison: And he's my guy and Vince Pinstuck, who he worked with, who I'm now working with as well. We'll talk about that later, but, but Alan was on a zoom and I literally got tears in my eyes because he was like saying the things and hearing me. And he's like, I can guarantee you, I can guarantee you that I got you. cameron mathison: If you follow my protocol. I guarantee that your inflammation is going to fall off your body. I guarantee that I can balance your microbiome, get your hormones in balance, and your blood work, your, your blood sugar is going to go from 120s to 79 low 80s and you're going to be eating 240 grams of carbs a day. Dr. Taz: Wow. cameron mathison: And I was like, that's, that's impossible. Dr. Taz: Wait, how many grams of carbs were you on? cameron mathison: 30. Like chronically. So like, again, low carb diet can be very nice as a tool. It's great to, to learn, get your body to be metabolically flexible using carbs as a fuel, using fat as a fuel. That's beautiful. But you were stagnant. cameron mathison: Exactly. It's extremes. It's about the extremes. It's about, it's about like sort of some middle ground. And, um, and I just didn't have any of that. Dr. Taz: Right. So cameron mathison: the first thing he did. Was like, and it was during COVID and I had to do a Christmas movie up in Canada and I had to, I had to quarantine myself for two weeks and he's like, these two weeks. cameron mathison: no coffee, you know, obviously no alcohol is not a big deal for me. I don't really drink and like really nutrient dense foods. He brought my, you know, my fat levels down, started getting the carb adapted, like really good. Um, and again, I was on one or two meals a day fasting like crazy, which of course is a beautiful thing. cameron mathison: But I was again, extremes and like nonstop. And it wasn't, so he was like, Oh, Five small meals a day. So you're it's easy on your gut. Easy to digest. I was like big meals to a debt. Like so any Incorporated carbohydrates rest and digest phase no working out just walking right and I'd never heard of that. I was like what rest to digest Shut it down your quarters like cuz you know, he didn't we didn't test But he's like, I know your cortisol levels are through the roof. cameron mathison: Um, and so two weeks of that, which was really hard. First of all, I was a massive coffee addict. So anybody that's, you know, when I, like, obviously that was my one vice, I knew it wasn't great for me, but anyway, so coffee, Dr. Taz: coffee, just, you know, just to not not park here, but coffee does mess up the microbiome, cameron mathison: especially when you're drinking it on an empty stomach, right out of bed in the morning. cameron mathison: Yeah. Like if you're going to incorporate coffee, the, you know, the three main things are try to go like hour and a half before you have it, try to have something in your stomach before you drink it and make sure it's like really good quality, um, tested organic and all that. Those, you do that. It's not going to like, it's not that bad, but if you come out of bed and you're exhausted and the first thing you do is like pound coffee and then use it to wake you up. cameron mathison: And it's just an artificial kind of stimulant of your cortisol. And it's, it's that, that every once in a while is fine. But if you're doing that day after day, after day, after day, okay. You get into a, like a bad state. So anyway, I did this rest and digest phase, um, started incorporating carbohydrates. My, my blood sugar wasn't coming down. cameron mathison: My, you know, it took, obviously my body needed some time to really heal. It was like healing your body, feeding your body, like, and then feeding me up with all these unbelievably nutrient dense foods. Obviously we've heard eating the rainbow. You know, maybe at the, at the time it was very Mediterranean style diet, like white fish and clean proteins, mostly, you know, veggies, some low sugar fruits and really just kind of breaking it up. cameron mathison: And then, um, I was, didn't take long. I would say, uh, after the two week flush and then start incorporating light workouts, never to failure initially, like really letting your body heal. And working your way up, then all of a sudden my body started to respond. Inflammation started falling off. I started, um, my, my gut distension started coming like nice and flat. cameron mathison: I started feeling like, I literally felt like nutrients were absorbing. I was using a lot of supplements too. I was using something to help my cortisol at night. Um, I did a whole cortisol reset. Um, you know, not everybody needs all this. I'm just saying what, what helps me get into the phase, uh, this next sort of stage of my life. Dr. Taz: So this is all working with the coach. All working with the coach very late. So, so cameron mathison: functional health coaching, looking at lifestyle, like really deep, Thorough lifestyle changes, um, looking at, um, things like hormone balance and gut health and, and, and supplementation, uh, following your training routine, following your rest, you know, prioritizing things like sleep and drinking water, like really doing it. cameron mathison: We hear these things on little Instagram, like top five. But like making you a real schedule and incorporating it and then eventually after some testing, um, to check it like a, a very elaborate hormone test called the Dutch test, you know, about most people don't, they just do blood work and blood work is great, but it's just a moment in time. cameron mathison: It doesn't show you how your, your hormones are metabolizing through your system and detoxing out. So I would highly recommend the Dutch test. You got to get like some, some, some, Phd guy to read it because those things are like impossible to read pathways. But anyway, back to med school, I would, I would highly recommend a GI map for people that most people that don't even realize it. cameron mathison: They're, you know, to, to check their inflammation levels in their gut, their microbiome, their, their, their also tests for parasites, things like that. Um, so I did those testing and then from that work. We did a really unique, um, microbiome balancing protocol, which is the only thing that has ever helped my gut out of anything I've ever tried. cameron mathison: I'm talking antibiotics, I'm talking, nothing has been able to, Um, bat, like it's the kill off the bad bacteria and feed the good bacteria effectively. Um, I don't know how much this is boring and you can cut this all out. You want to hear the protocol? Dr. Taz: I want to know because I really want to know. This is the only cameron mathison: thing that has, if you looked at my GI map now, this is the gut test. cameron mathison: You look at my GI map now and my GI map before, you'd think it was a different person. Wow. I have never, and I'm talking about 12 years. Of trying things for my gut, because remember those, those protein pump inhibitors destroyed my gut, destroyed the acid production, uh, you know, bacterial overgrowth, leaky gut, strong H pylori, parasites, because you know, it's like your immune system is screwed and that affects your energy, that affects your, your cognition, that affects so many things. Dr. Taz: That is ground zero of health. We've talked about that over and over again. Chinese medicine talks about that. That's where you begin, you know, when it comes and even that low white count, and this is, you know, Again, why we need everything to marry each other. Like that low white count for anybody, you know, watching or listening, that's a sign of inflammation. Dr. Taz: You know, if you've got a low white count, it's time to start like pursuing it. 95 percent of the time, it's coming from the gut, at least in my experience. I know everyone has different experiences. cameron mathison: So yes. So helpful. I think you did a post of that recently. Yeah. So, so helpful. You're putting that out there. cameron mathison: Like literally I just stopped it. It's almost like, it's so corny, but like, I get goosebumps when I hear it because People are lost out there. They're so lost. I know there's so much information and I know we're all over the place, but there's really simple protocols, lifestyle changes, maybe some supplements, some simple things that we can do. cameron mathison: To help your, your inflammation fall off your body. Like I didn't really do that much other than I want Dr. Taz: to hear about your protocol. Okay. Okay. Okay. cameron mathison: So this is the gut protocol. I Dr. Taz: think it's important because the other thing that's happening out there right now is because there's so much information and because all these different terms are being used, holistic, integrative, functional, conventional, you know, all this other stuff, everyone's really lost. Dr. Taz: They're lost when it comes to where to begin a health journey. And sometimes they're overdoing it. Right? Like These protocols that I, that come in and I'm like, I don't know how you're keeping up with this. Like I couldn't keep up with this, you know? Exactly. And they're probably cameron mathison: on 900 calories a day and they're working out six days a week. cameron mathison: And they're, and you know, even my friends that I work with on TV, because TV, you know, you're on, they, they just, oh, I'm gaining weight. I got to cut more calories. And then four months later, oh, I'm gaining weight on that calorie. I got to cut more calories. Your metabolism adjusts. Yes. You got to keep kind of changing it. cameron mathison: And that's one of the things that these functional health coach that I'm working with, I'm like, They really understand the metabolism. They really understand. They work with extreme cases, usually like bodybuilders, power athletes, high functioning people, people that are on the go, fight or flight nonstop. cameron mathison: So they really understand that you got to feed and heal your body. Then once you get to that place, you can start working on maybe cutting down and like, like losing some fat or building muscle or whatever it is. But first, you know, for most cases, It's some lifestyle changes. It's some rest. It's prioritizing sleep. cameron mathison: It's like, don't go, go, go. And then also the gut protocol. So here we go. This is the most life changing thing. I can't even tell you. So the idea is you've got these, we call them opportunistic bacteria or bad bacteria in your gut. Everybody's got them. Some people worse than others. And oftentimes they get even more, um, sort of out of control than your, your beneficial bacteria that you really want and need in your gut. cameron mathison: And so people say, I'll just take probiotics. Right. Um, when that, and oftentimes I would say like, I don't want to throw a number cause I don't really know, but I'm going to say like 85 percent of the time that's not going to work. Right. Like your bad bacteria is very strong, very tough to get rid of. cameron mathison: They're so much smarter than you think they are. They have something called a biofilm around them, which is a protective layer. It's like they're. armor. So even if you're taking like a, um, uh, prescription medication, try and kill them off or antimicrobials, they're like laughing at you. Um, they can, you know, it's, it's, and I tried that for a long time. cameron mathison: So I know like I follow protocols, right? So the protocol is. Uh, a three low carb day, three high carb day, the low carb day. And this is why people on keto or carnivore feel good in their gut for a little while. They're like, Oh, I fixed it. I fixed my gut. And then they slide. You're just like, you're just sort of starving them. cameron mathison: They're just going into hibernation. The bad bacteria, bad bacteria likes carbs. So if you're low carb and you're like, Oh, I feel so much better. My gut's flatter. That's amazing. That's amazing. But you haven't got rid of anything. You're not doing any kind of a kill off. As soon as you eat some carbs again, you're going to blow up. cameron mathison: And you probably know that from home. So anyway, three low carb day and you take maybe some, you know, some good, simple probiotics during those low carb days, but you're starving the bad bacteria. They're getting hungry. And then on your three high carb days, 30 minutes before you eat, you take a biofilm resolve. cameron mathison: There's one from new ethics formulations, which is really effective. So that biofilm resolve on an empty stomach before you eat helps break down the biofilm of the bad bacteria, the, the armor. Then when you're eating in the 30 minutes later, you have your carb meal and in your carb meal, The beginning of your carb meal, you have these antimicrobials snuck in the carbs, things like colloidal silver. cameron mathison: If you get to it, new ethics also has something called gut defender. ADP is a great, uh, version of oregano oil that will help you. There's some garlic ones. There's things called FC side and you don't want to take them all at once. So with a functional health coach, you'll pulse them like you'll do a month with this protocol. cameron mathison: And then you'll change it because the bad bacteria gets used to those. You got to keep surprising them and coming at them from different sides. They're so smart and so tough to get rid of. So three low carb day, you starved them. You kind of take a little bit of the, the probiotics to help kind of, you're not really going to do a lot of healing of your gut then cause you're about to come in with some killers. cameron mathison: But it's still, it's, you know, it's a little helpful. And then on those high carb days, the biofilm resolve before you eat. And then you sneak in the killers with your carbs and then the, you know, your bad bacteria is hungry. So they come out for those carbs and the antimicrobials in there. And they're, they're also have no protection because you've taken down the biofilm and you got to do this for a few months. cameron mathison: It's like a tough, how long did you Dr. Taz: have to do it? cameron mathison: Well, the first time I've done it because my gut's so bad, I'll probably have to do this every couple of years. Maybe forever. Wow. You know, it's just a thing. Maybe not. Um, but the first time I did it, I did it for like six months. Dr. Taz: Wow. cameron mathison: And, um, it was, it was tough now for maintenance. cameron mathison: Uh, I just did it for about, um, two and a half months. And I've just finished that cycle, that pulse, that card pulse, um, process. And, uh, You know, it's, I'll do another GI map just to see how I did, just to kind of keep it back down. You know, the bad bacteria, they're really tough and they'll keep coming, um, especially with stress and especially with eating processed foods, even though I really, really try not to, um, that go, go, go mentality. cameron mathison: Also because of the PPIs, I don't produce a lot of stomach acid. So I actually take acid with my meals. I take HCL with pepsin with my meals to help digest, help get that nutrient absorption. But that, that protocol. Is the only thing that's ever made any kind of a difference whatsoever with my gut microbiome. cameron mathison: Everything else that I've tried has literally been almost non existent, even though I've tried it for years. Like it's, it's a really effective way. Um, you know, maybe we'll be able to put like a link to my Instagram. If you have an issue, I don't want it to get anything from this, but like I can help guide people to people that can help them with this. cameron mathison: Or I'll eventually, once I kind of get. This, my own little, um, thing going called health 360. I'll have links. I'll have information and I'll have posts and, and I know you do as well, but, um, it's been, it's been a game changer. So just Dr. Taz: stay on this and we're going to geek out just for a second more and then I promise we'll talk about some other stuff. Dr. Taz: But you know, as you've. done this protocol and fixed your gut. What happened to the rest of your body? What happened to inflammation and hormones and cognitive health and all? Like, what else did you see? That's a great question. That's a cameron mathison: great question. And I will say after, after that pulse program, you go through a real gut healing program, right? cameron mathison: Like got tissue repair, you start feeding with more probiotic, because then you really can benefit from getting some good bacteria in there and healing your gut lining and stuff. Cause it's a, it's a tough, I just want to make sure that you say that, you know, cause that is, that's when you add in all the things that you hear on. cameron mathison: You know, then your body can take it and you can correct it. So the things that I notice for sure, um, most importantly is how much flatter my stomach is. Which everyone Dr. Taz: complains about. Everybody complains about. cameron mathison: And there's, there's the sort of like. You know, there's fat on your stomach, then there's sort of bloating, and then there's Dr. Taz: distension. Dr. Taz: Mm hmm. cameron mathison: So, all three of those I noticed went down. So, you know, a tighter, leaner abdomen, um, which probably has to do with more, anyway, other things, but then less distension, less bloating. I noticed, um, absolutely inflammation. Energy. Mm. Like sometimes I have trouble falling asleep at night. Like I'm just awake. Dr. Taz: Wired. cameron mathison: I used to, I used to pass out on the way from home, from home and family. Mm Dr. Taz: hmm. cameron mathison: I used to have to pull over because I was going to fall asleep on my way home. I had no energy. I'd come home and, and Vanessa would say like, you know, you give yourself all the work and you have no energy for me. I hear that all the time. cameron mathison: All the Dr. Taz: time. And cameron mathison: it's, and it's true. And she's right. I mean, I didn't know. I didn't know why. Um, and now it's just like, I'm a, I feel like I'm a different person, like a 25 year old guy. Yeah. Like, you know, and, and so yes. And then the other thing that I really keep a close eye on, and I know you do too, is, is my blood sugar levels. cameron mathison: Um, we all should, but, uh, I, now my, my blood sugar is regularly in the low, mid eighties. Um, so oddly enough, healing your gut, reducing inflammation, lowering your stress. You know, taking a break from coffee for a little while, all these things, um, for me definitely were things that helped my blood sugar, um, uh, be at a good place. cameron mathison: And I'm talking about now I'm eating right now, I'm at a, I'm at a protocol where I'm eating about 280 grams of carbs a day. Wow. Dr. Taz: Much better. cameron mathison: And I'm waking up in the Dr. Taz: 30. I'm waking up, cameron mathison: I'm waking up in the morning and my blood sugar is, you know, I'm, I'm 79, 85, sometimes 90, 92, but like much. And meanwhile, I'm having tons of carbs. cameron mathison: So, you know, carbs can affect it for sure. Like when I do my three low carb days, my blood sugar comes down. And that's what you want to see. You want to be able to be like higher carbon is maybe you're, you're, you're butch. You know, maybe, maybe not. But on the low carb, you want your body to be responding to your diet. cameron mathison: You don't want to be like, Oh, I've starved myself of carbs for five days and my blood sugar is at 125. Right. Something else is going on there. So yeah. Dr. Taz: So much of our mentality is like all or nothing. And that whole idea you've There's so much in what you said. There's the idea of metabolic switching. Dr. Taz: There's the idea of diet switching and cycling. There's the idea of carb cycling, you know, but bottom line, I think, you know, there's so many stories here, but I think bottom line is that we have to be a little flexible. It's not all or nothing. You know, we have to have, A little bit of rotation, variety in our lives and our diet and our exercise and all of it. Dr. Taz: And I think, you know, everybody just wants that one formula and wants to be married to that one formula and thinks that that's going to work for everything. It's simply, simply not true. cameron mathison: Then there's so many benefits from some of the things that you might be watching and be like, I'm a keto person. It's changed my life. cameron mathison: And I totally get that. I still say you gotta like forget about me. The experts still say, you know, cycle in some carb days, some refeed days, change it up. Like you say, to help that metabolic flexibility, you know, burning carbs as fuel, burning fat as fuel, like it's all so important. And yeah, there there's, but, but you're right. cameron mathison: It's the extremes and sticking to one thing. And, um, Dr. Taz: Very much. And when here's an area for me that kind of, I think this is what lights me up and keeps me going, honestly. We do all this work. You've done all this work, you know, on the physical body, right. And on trying to get all these different things balanced, you've already talked about energy and how you've seen an increase in energy. Dr. Taz: I hear that by the way, all the time. I experienced it personally, even in my own marriage, like, you know, where one partner is simply not healthy, right. So they're not able to run. or function at the same level as the other. And that can create, you know, some sort of dynamic. I hear from, I had a, uh, a dad on the phone or I had a visit with him recently and he was just like, I'm wiped. Dr. Taz: He goes, I get home, I'm wiped. And my wife is like, cook this incredible meal and needs help. And he goes, I can't, I'm wiped, you know? So for me, like, One of the biggest motivators for me is being healthy. It's not just about getting all the data right and being free of a diagnosis. It's also how you're going to show up, how you're going to show up as a dad or a partner or a colleague or, or, you know, whatever it is that you're supposed to do in your life, you know, You talked about energy. Dr. Taz: What else did you see as you've moved through this journey, this incredible journey, you know, which I think is such a story in itself, but what else did you see when it came to your life and what you wanted and how, what you wanted it to look like? cameron mathison: Yeah, that's, you know, it takes you to kind of bring that. cameron mathison: It's so important. It's so important. I'm glad that you, you kind of like Brought that in. So, um, absolutely the most important thing obviously is, is, you know, being there for people and being present and, and having that connection. And I think you are a big believer in this too. And I'm, I'm talking a lot about like the body and the, you know, like the systems and all that. cameron mathison: But, um, so much of my practice, it's embarrassed that I haven't mentioned this yet is, um, Is work on, um, just my mind. On, on my attitude, on my love, on my compassion, on my generosity, on my selflessness, on my, you know, on my peace of mind, on my clarity. Um, I work and have been through all this for, for almost 20 years. cameron mathison: I'm a big meditator and a, and a, uh, uh, Uh, a lot of people's here meditation to be like, I can't meditate. I'm too busy, whatever. And, and, um, it's not some sort of fluffy thing where you escape from reality. You can, you can be involved in meditations that like literally like going to the gym, help you grow your inner qualities, help you grow your ability. cameron mathison: To care about others, help you grow your ability to like consider others to be important and their desires and their interest to be, you can meditate on these. And those are like minds of love and, and compassion and your mindfulness. And, and then of course, when you do that, you can bring it into your life and your work and things can get better too. cameron mathison: Oftentimes meditation is thought to like, just to make my life better at work, but it's so important to use. different practices to help grow your inner qualities as well as like your outer, outer qualities. And so for me, that combination and having energy for both and, and making a pride, you know, making both a priority, uh, has been a huge, huge, huge factor. cameron mathison: And, um, yeah, that's a big part of my life. Dr. Taz: But you can't even, you know, my observation is you can't even meditate fully and be present even for yourself. If you're struggling with pain or inflammation or any of these different things, right? It becomes, they work so hand in hand. So, cameron mathison: but I will say this, meditation can definitely help your physical pain. cameron mathison: Absolutely. Like, so you're right. It's hard to meditate when you're in pain. Yeah. But you, what we don't realize in, um, You know, I'm not an authority on this by any means, but there's centuries of people been talking about it that, um, how much of our back pain of our, you know, whatever pain has coming from stress is coming from. cameron mathison: And then through meditation and through understanding and being able to sit with it, like you can, you can feel it fall away, right? Like you can feel it disappear, which is proof that. There's a, it's just the mind body connection. It's very, very, very important. Um, so it's, it's, you know, yes, you can grow your, your inner qualities. cameron mathison: Maybe you want to become less angry. Maybe you're, you suffer from addiction and you can, you can work on these things through the mind through meditation, but also it's going to help your body. It's going to help how you feel for sure. Dr. Taz: I am such a believer in that. And I think that's, you know, I talk a lot about science and spirit and you're such an embodiment of that. Dr. Taz: I feel like, you know, the science you've pursued it. You know, and you pursue the spirit part of it too. And that's really what I think makes people whole. We need both to really be present in our lives. So, you know, we've heard this incredible health journey that you've been through, how kind of the functional health coaching made such a difference for you. Dr. Taz: You know, when you look back and you look forward, what was the biggest thing missing when you look backwards? And then tell us about what looking forward means. Hmm. cameron mathison: Biggest thing that I was sort of missing when I was trying and sort of spinning my wheels. Yeah. Swimming upstream. What was the biggest thing I was missing? cameron mathison: Well, I guess I'll have to say this might be the obvious answer. I don't know if this is what you mean, but the right guidance would be a biggie. I was sort of trying to do it from You know, this or that, or this, you know, at the, you know, this Instagram or that, or, you know, putting pieces together and going to extremes. cameron mathison: I I think, so the right guide, sort of an obvious answer, but I think maybe also, I'm gonna, I'm gonna sort of, this is what I learned through my The Right Guidance, is the right balance between rest, sort of your parasympathetic and your sympathetic nervous system. Like, it is So important to be able to get the right, I don't mean like zoning out in front of a television. cameron mathison: I mean like going out for a walk in nature. I mean, getting some sunlight in the morning, taking a hot bath at night, going for long walks, like, like really like sleeping in getting like, I have this crazy thing on my wrist and people are like, Oh, Apple watch. I'm like, no, it's a whoop. It measures my, you know, my sleep and my aura. cameron mathison: You got your aura, same idea. So you don't want to be crazy. But I know when I'm getting five and a half, six and a half, five and a half, seven, six, five hours of sleep, I'm like, I need to just like really prioritize. It's very, very helpful. So I would say one of the biggest pieces that I was missing is understanding how that go, go, go, fight or flight high, like living off a cortisol kind of mentality was killing me like it was just killing me. cameron mathison: And I think, um, now that I have more balance, I, I, I was just seeing a post I'm a, I like, I'm a big fan of bodybuilding and I love, I love. I know. It's just my thing. And I was like, you know, they're go, go, go, go. And they do a lot of unhealthy things to get to where they look. They do. So I'm not, I'm not a proponent of that. cameron mathison: But what I'm saying is like, just even one, I heard this one post from this guy. He was like, I was trying to keep up with Arnold Schwarzenegger back in the day, working out six days a week, twice a day, whatever. And I was getting like fatter and smaller and I couldn't figure it out. And then I took three weeks off and went back to the gym and I was lean and stronger than I've ever been. cameron mathison: Like even like, even at that level. It's just like you've got to have a balance between those two systems. It's so, so, so important. Um, yeah, I was missing that. I Dr. Taz: love that. I love that balance. That's what's missing. I mean, you have to understand and to have balance, you have to be very in touch with yourself. Dr. Taz: You know, you have to understand, okay, it's been like, you know, I flew in last night, super late. I didn't do a heavy workout this morning. It doesn't make sense. Right. So I went for a quick walk. So it's again, understanding how to, how to flex with what's going on and the gadgets kind of give you some guidance moving forward though. Dr. Taz: Yep. Moving forward, tell us like what you are hoping for when it comes to health and health care. And then you've got an exciting project that you're working on. So where does that fit in to where you see the future of medicine? Because that's something that's very important to me is like, where's all this going? Dr. Taz: We live in one of the most unhealthy countries in the world, even though we spend so much money, it's crazy. We have a huge population, men, women, and children who, A, don't have access, but Um, you know, a lot of people don't even understand, you know, how to begin when it's, when they are starting a health journey. Dr. Taz: And then when they start it, they're often dismissed. So, you know, talk to us about the work you're doing and how that fits into the landscape of where we hope health and wellness and medicine will go. cameron mathison: Okay. Well, yeah, that's, thank you for asking. And yeah, this is, so this whole, everything that we're talking about, you know, your whole world is like, I, um, I live it. cameron mathison: I've been through it. I've had a journey and I have been, you know, approached by my friends at Vital Vince Pitstick, who's, who's like kind of like the guru in this world of functional health coaching and understanding. He started Metabolic Mentor University, this, um, series of this, this, um, series of classes for coaches, for doctors, for nurses to understand this whole 360 degree approach at health. cameron mathison: My, my, my slogan is Um, you can't solve a 360 degree problem with a 90 degree solution. So he and I have started a health 360 and it's, um, it's a functional, um, coaching company, uh, that is going to be up and running, you know, very, very soon it's through the coaches at vital and they have their medical department for their hormone replacement therapy for their peptide therapy. cameron mathison: There's a elaborate testing division as well with the GI map and the Dutch test and their gene testing and the blood work. And then there's. Obviously the training and the diet nutrition portion, really like understanding nutrition, this course that I'm going through, I'm going through MMU right now, the metabolic mentor university is, it's so incredible at learning and meeting people where they are, right? cameron mathison: Not trying to give them too much too soon. Just like, listen, if you're like, just interested, we can start you off easy. If you really are fed up and you've tried everything and you want to dive right in, we can start you off easy. We've got that too for you. Uh, but really coming at health, like you talk about 360 degrees, including meditation, I'm going to be offering like free, like certainly not charging for free meditations, probably live on Instagram, for everybody, whether 360 or not, but I'm, I'm, I'm doing this, um, because I love it. cameron mathison: I've been doing it anyway. You know, people are coming to me and understanding and, you know, And, um, and I'm so excited. Like it's, it's definitely something that I want to be a piece of, uh, a big piece of my future, kind of moving forward, a big chap, this next chapter of my life. Um, and I'll have a lot of information on that on my, on my Instagram eventually, but it's, it's infant stages, but we've got a couple of clients already kind of a pilot program. cameron mathison: We're going to take on 10 people originally. Yeah. just to kind of get all the kinks out and work together on sort of a discounted 10 people and show what we can do. Um, as far as, as taking all the information that we're taking here. And I think this is a key for health 360 is making it into a very simple protocol, keeping things very attainable. cameron mathison: Very simple, very relatable, um, and then, but with like weekly hands on coaching, it'll be virtual coaching, but hands on coaching check ins, you know, obviously it's all under one app where you can get your supplements and your HRT and your peptides and your training and your things in the video, like all of that, but just making it really accessible and very user friendly with a very simple protocol. cameron mathison: That's like I said, they said this to me and it's so fun to be able to say it. Like if you follow the protocol. It's like a guarantee that your health is going to improve in all these different facets and I didn't believe it like I really didn't believe it until it happened and I'd love I don't know if you're going to be showing photos through this or not we can but I'd love to show like I'd love to show and it's not about the before and after it's really not about the before and after because that can You can do a lot of unhealthy things to do the before and after to get a great before and after. cameron mathison: Yeah. Yeah. So this, I wish you could do a before and after and put my, my, like, my testing results up too. Yeah. But it's amazing. In the before picture, you'll see inflammation. You'll see bloating, you'll see like, um, you know, smaller muscles and, and it just to, to me it still looks, you know, I still look okay, but I can see it. cameron mathison: Yeah. And then the after is just a flat belly, strong lean. Right. You don't know. What you don't know is like a nice balanced gut, a heal, hormones are balanced, blood sugar low, energy through the roof. That's, that's what this sort of Health360 offers people. And it's, and it's like, it feels so good. To be able to put it out there, if, if, if it's things that you guys struggle with of low energy and gut health and hormone imbalance and maybe low sex drive and maybe metabolic or blood sugar levels or things that you know that are trouble for you, this would be so great and helpful on any level. cameron mathison: Um, Because I know it's hard. Like I, I remember, like I said, being in tears, being at like, what, I don't know what to do. Dr. Taz: Well, one of the things you and I haven't talked too much about is the way, you know, the reason we have these journeys, the reason I had the journey I had, the reason you do, the reason, you know, all the patients that we see have had these previous journeys is because the medical model today is not really set up. Dr. Taz: To dive into this, right? Like it's sort of kind of over here on the periphery a little bit. And so one of the biggest challenges for both the doctor and the patient is that while both want to engage in this conversation, right? There's not the opportunity in a medical visit that's 10 minutes long for at most places, 15 minutes, maybe at the max. Dr. Taz: And there's not been the training for the physician, honestly, to understand how to put this together and to be that guide, right? Like, you know, for so many people, it's like, you know, I say it in my head, I don't say it out loud, but it's like, I wish I'd seen you 10 years ago, but until that model changes, Functional health coaching, any way you can enter, I would say this journey of healing yourself and understanding sort of the roots of what's going on with you that ultimately are going to change the course of your lives to me is amazing. Dr. Taz: And I'm going to be cheerleading all the way and supporting. Cause I just think it's, it's so critical because I know what people go through. We've been through it. You've been through it probably even more so than me, but. People need resources. They need help. They need someone to kind of hold their hand and walk them through this because it's too hard and it's too expensive and it's so confusing to do it on your own. Dr. Taz: So I'm excited about this. I can't wait to see what develops out of it. You know, and one more thing, I think it's really important that we touch on. I know we're coming up on time here, but men. You know, women are really dialed into the conversation. Most women are dialed into the conversation around health and wellness. Dr. Taz: Some of us are forced to be dialed into that because we go through all the shifting, right? We have a cycle, then we don't, we're pregnant, then we're not, we're breastfeeding. I mean, like we're, you know, we're doing all this stuff all the time. You know, men don't have those clear boundaries and benchmarks and oftentimes don't pursue a lot of this information and don't pursue a journey, you know, a health journey until, of course, someone forces them or, you know, they have to have a day of reckoning, so to speak. Dr. Taz: What would you tell the men watching, you know, or the women who are concerned about their men, you know, what would you tell them when it comes to this information, this journey? Piecing it all together and really getting a plan that works. cameron mathison: Yeah, I love that. And I think you're right. I think a lot of guys, you know, that's, I don't know, maybe it's not cool. cameron mathison: I don't know. I don't know what's sort of keeping people back from wanting to really kind of, uh, just give a little bit of time to it. What I would say to the guys is I would say, it's not hard. You know, it can be simple. It can be simple. Simple changes can make a big difference. And regardless of if you're, you know, you're proud of your pot belly and your ability to do it, to like, you know, drink 20 beers, but like I get like, I, you know, listen, nobody's gonna, well, maybe we'll stop a little bit of that, but, but, but generally it can be really simple, slight changes. cameron mathison: It's going to make a big difference for your longevity. Like you want to be around, you want to be healthy. You don't want to be like, so I'm a 55 year old guy. I swear to you, I swear. I'm not just saying this. I am stronger and healthier, you know, from a hormone point of view, from a blood sugar point of view, from a gut health point of view, from, from all of inflammation that I definitely was for sure, without a doubt when I was 30 years old. cameron mathison: Like, wow. Like, um, It's an incredible, it's possible, um, and it's not that hard and you can make simple changes to, to, to, to be young, to feel young and energetic and have vitality and energy in your life. Um, you know, into your fifties and your sixties and your seventies, for sure. And it's, uh, and, and I'm not just a guy who's, you know, Genetically kind of like, Oh, here. cameron mathison: Cause that's sometimes the case and good for you guys, wherever you are. That's amazing. It has been, I'm sure Brad works hard too. I don't know. I don't know Brad's team, but it sure looks like he makes it easy. He sure seems like he makes it easy, but, um, it's been, it's, you know, for me, it w it's been hard because I've done a lot of the wrong things. cameron mathison: I've tried this, I've tried that. But, and you know, you and I found this path, this process that makes a big difference and it can be so simple. You can be all in or you can be partially in and it's still going to help. And that's what I would say to the guys. I'd be like, and, and, and you want to be around, you want to be around to play with your kids and you don't want to have like aching knees. cameron mathison: I remember at home and family we had, so this is the show that was a cohost of when we first met and the seats were so low guys on home and family that my knees would ache because they were so bent. That I was doing. This is so at home and family, I was like kind of a mess and my knees would ache interviewing and I'd have to get up and stretch. cameron mathison: Like I didn't want to be that guy. Now I'm like doing low squats with 225 pounds on the barbell and like, I'm like, I'm flexible and I have no joint aching. And I mean, I, like I mentioned my hip issue as a kid. I, you know, they, they told me I was going to need, um, hip replacement surgery like four years ago. cameron mathison: And at the point now I've got no aching there and, you know, I'm just trying to prolong it. It's definitely going to come, but I'm trying to prolong it as long as I can. Like there's ways to avoid bringing these aches and pains and low energy and all the things low sex drive into your later life. Uh, in simple words, that's what I would say to the guys. Dr. Taz: I think it's incredible. And you know, this isn't really been about aging, but I think all of us have so much more we want to do, you know, even if we're in our fifties, you know, and so we want to be vital. And then, you know, You know, the other point for anyone who's younger watching is that younger people are sicker. Dr. Taz: You know, they're actually experiencing inflammation. Guys are experiencing inflammation, low sperm count, low hormones, all for sure. You know, I've been practicing for 15, 20 years. Like I'm seeing it more now than I did in the beginning of my practice where young men are really struggling too. So I want everyone, I know I talk about women a lot. Dr. Taz: Yeah. You know, but I want everyone really on this train of pursuing, you know, their health because it's going to make a difference for the long run. cameron mathison: Absolutely. That should be a big takeaway. Dr. Taz: Such a fun conversation. So I, I'm just two more questions. Yeah. Great. I'll keep them short. I talk too much. No, this has been fun. Dr. Taz: So I want to know what's next for you and what makes you whole. cameron mathison: Aw. Um, so what's next for me is just like as far as like life goes. So, um, this is a really new chapter for me. Uh, in the last, uh, I'd say two and a half years. Um, uh, I'll just not, this is not depressing. This is just like, we go through it. So I've, um, you know, I went through a cancer journey a little bit longer than that ago, but then I, you know, I lost my mom, um, home and family got canceled. cameron mathison: Um, my, my wife and I had a 22 year marriage that was separated. We're now, you know, going through divorce together. We're getting along great and it's all. It's all cool. My dog passed away. My kids have left home and gone off to college in Europe. So it's like, it's like new territory. So, you know, in this, I would say what's next for me is embracing change, embracing this new chapter. cameron mathison: I love having time to, to prioritize my health and try to spread it and help others. That's, that's a big part of what's up next for me. I mean, I'm lucky I'm still on general hospital. I play a quarter main on general hospital. Even though he's a real troublemaker right now, he's, uh, I'll just say this because it's true, but he's having like a, a love, a love triangle between Nina and Willow and Willow happens to be Nina's daughter. cameron mathison: So that's like, it's a, it's a trouble, but it's Dr. Taz: fun. cameron mathison: Like it's kind of weird and it's kind of like, people are hating me right now, which I'm not used to. Um, and then I, I'm hosting a game show for my first time. I Dr. Taz: heard about that. Beat cameron mathison: the bridge on game show network. It's literally a blast. So check that out too. cameron mathison: So I've got all these cool things. Work wise, I've got my health happening. And then most importantly, what keeps me whole, um, for sure is my spiritual life in conjunction with my kids. And my family, uh, I'm a big, as I mentioned, a big meditator, I care so much about being a good person and improving, you know, my ability to love others and have compassion and not take myself too seriously. cameron mathison: So selflessness and being generous and kind and respectful to others. And I train in that in meditation. I try to, I try to put that out in the world and try to raise two kids doing the same thing. So I'm after this interview, I know this is not going to be in real time. But I'm heading to Europe to go see them right now. cameron mathison: So Dr. Taz: I'm really excited. Yeah. Well, so much. I am so honored to have been able to spend some time with you and to have everyone hear your story. I think you are such a great example of what science means, what spirit means, what it means to be healthy, how to pursue that journey in a very sort of Logical and practical way. Dr. Taz: I can't wait to see what you do cameron mathison: next. Thank you so much for having me on. And I love what you're doing as I have the moment. I met you. Dr. Taz: Well, thank you.