How do ultra-processed foods change the way your genes behave?

In this episode, I talk with my longtime friend and mentor, Dr. Jeffrey Bland, about why ultra-processed foods may be the most dangerous health experiment humans have ever run. We explored how food acts as information—shaping gene expression, immune health, and even how full or satisfied you feel. Dr. Bland, often called the father of functional medicine, brings decades of insight into how modern food systems are quietly rewriting our biology.

Dr. Jeffrey Bland is known as the father of functional medicine and has spent over five decades studying how food, lifestyle, and biology shape human health. He’s a prolific educator, researcher, and founder behind multiple institutes, including Big Bold Health, dedicated to personalized and preventive medicine.

What you’ll learn:

(02:44) Why ultra-processed foods may be the biggest driver of modern chronic disease.

(04:32) How food functions as biological information that influences gene expression.

(06:49) Why life expectancy is declining despite advances in modern medicine.

(09:22) How ultra-processed foods disrupt the gut microbiome and immune system.

(17:38) What distinguishes healthy gut bacteria from harmful microbial patterns.

(24:39) Why poor satiety from processed foods fuels weight gain and GLP-1 drug use.

(28:29) How bitter compounds in natural foods naturally stimulate satiety hormones.

(39:39) One simple mindset shift that can immediately improve food choices and health.

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Full show notes (including all links mentioned): https://jjvirgin.com/bold

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How can free or inexpensive daily habits improve your metabolism and longevity?

In this episode, I break down why you don’t need expensive gadgets or a massive biohacking budget to age powerfully. I walk you through six free or low-cost habits that can dramatically improve your metabolism, energy, and longevity when done consistently. This is about majoring in the majors, stacking simple habits, and proving that consistency always beats complexity.

What you’ll learn:

(01:41) How moving after meals helps regulate blood sugar and reduce glucose spikes.

(03:16) Why heat and brief cold exposure can improve recovery and nervous system balance.

(04:02) How removing processed foods from your diet improves satiety and metabolism.

(04:43) Why morning sunlight and red light at night support circadian rhythm and sleep quality.

(06:08) What Julie Gibson Clark’s longevity routine proves about consistency over hardware.

(09:12) How habit-stacking movement throughout the day boosts metabolic flexibility.

(12:29) Why changing your nighttime lighting environment can improve sleep and aging.

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What if the goal wasn't just to lose weight, but to achieve a balanced "weight health ecosystem"?

In this episode, I speak with Ashley Koff about how ultra-processed foods, under-fueling, and disrupted hormones have shaped today’s metabolic crisis—and why weight loss alone is the wrong goal. Ashley shares her deeply personal journey and her science-backed framework for understanding weight health, including a clear, honest conversation about GLP-1 medications and how to use them responsibly.

Ashley Koff, RD, is the USA Today bestselling author of Your Best Shot (HarperOne) and founder of The Better Nutrition Program (BNP). With over twenty-five years of experience, Ashley’s helped redefine how we approach sustainable, lasting weight health. In her new book, Your Best Shot, Ashley introduces weight-health hormones (GLP-1, GIP, CCK, PYY) and offers the first-ever system for assessing and optimizing these hormones, whether you’re using GLP-1 medication or not. It’s a game-changer for anyone who’s felt stuck, blamed themselves, or been failed by traditional dieting.

What you’ll learn:

(02:10) Why ultra-processed foods undermine satiety and metabolic health.

(08:05) How dieting and under-fueling can damage digestion, hormones, and muscle.

(13:40) What “weight health” means and why weight alone misses the real problem.

(15:30) How GLP-1 and other incretin hormones regulate appetite, fat storage, bone, and metabolism.

(17:45) Why enriched and ultra-processed foods leave the body under-resourced.

(21:00) How GLP-1 medications work differently from the body’s natural hormone signals.

(24:10) Why fatigue, digestive issues, and muscle loss can happen on GLP-1s when dosing and nutrition aren’t optimized.

(30:20) Whether it’s possible to come off GLP-1 medications and what sustainable success actually looks like.

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Why do healthy foods suddenly cause bloating and pain?

In this episode, I share how one of the most stressful seasons of my life completely changed my gut and forced me to rethink foods I’d eaten for years without issue. I also walk you through how stress disrupted my microbiome, why I used the FODMAP diet as a short-term reset, and how I transitioned back toward a more diverse diet.

What you’ll learn:

(02:43) Why bloating and food reactions can appear even with a “perfect” diet.

(05:27) What FODMAPs actually are and how they affect digestion.

(06:57) Why FODMAP foods are not bad but problematic for a compromised gut.

(07:44) Which foods are lower FODMAP and easier to tolerate during healing.

(09:54) How long to stay on a low FODMAP approach and why it’s temporary.

(11:47) How to reintroduce foods safely while rebuilding gut health.

(13:50) Why stress management is essential for long-term gut healing.

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Full show notes (including all links mentioned): https://jjvirgin.com/fodmaps

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In your later decades, how can strength training reverse muscle loss?

In this episode, I spoke with Dr. William Evans, the scientist who first described sarcopenia, to unpack why muscle loss—not aging itself—is the biggest threat to metabolism, independence, and long-term health. We explored why muscle is far more adaptable than most women realize, even into advanced age, and why traditional measurements like scale weight and lean mass miss the real picture.

Dr. William Evans is a muscle researcher, former pharma scientist, and a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, whose work has been cited over 80,000 times. If you’ve ever heard that muscle loss drives aging, chances are it traces back to his research.

What you’ll learn:

(04:33) How losing muscle directly lowers metabolic rate and increases disease risk.

(06:49) Why common body composition tests fail to measure true muscle mass.

(07:31) How a new non-invasive muscle test predicts strength, disability, and longevity.

(13:32) Why muscle percentage is more predictive than body weight or BMI.

(20:55) How neurological changes and inactivity contribute to muscle loss after 30.

(23:37) Why strength and power training are essential for preserving fast-twitch fibers.

(30:49) How protein intake and resistance training protect muscle during weight loss.

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How can outdated workout myths keep you exhausted and inflamed?

I’m calling out the exercise myths that once worked for me—but quietly stopped serving women after 40. In this episode, I break down why harder workouts, fasted training, and low-protein mornings can sabotage metabolism, energy, and recovery. Then I share what actually works now, when exercise and nutrition are aligned with your biology instead of fighting it.

What you’ll learn:

(02:38) How circadian rhythm and meal timing influence insulin sensitivity and energy.

(03:31) Why morning light exposure helps turn metabolism back on.

(05:02) What research reveals about breakfast skipping and long-term weight control.

(06:49) How ultra-processed breakfasts drive hunger and overeating.

(07:41) Why protein before workouts boosts lean mass and recovery after 40.

(09:08) The ideal protein-fiber-fat formula for a metabolic breakfast.

(14:41) How changing breakfast timing and composition transformed cravings, energy, and workouts.

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Full show notes (including all links mentioned): https://jjvirgin.com/exercisemyths

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Are the invisible emotional patterns from your past the real reason you're stuck in your health or relationships?

In this episode, Bizzie Gold and I explore why so many of us stay stuck in patterns that no longer serve us, and why that doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with you. We unpack how early conditioning shapes perception, behavior, and self-deception, and how those patterns can be decoded and rewritten at any age. Bizzie brings a refreshingly direct, data-driven perspective that challenges traditional mental-health narratives and opens the door to real, lasting change.

Bizzie Gold is a behavior futurist and serial entrepreneur who’s not afraid to challenge what we’ve been told about mental health. She created the Break Method to decode brain patterns and help people stop circling their pain and finally change for good.

What you’ll learn:

(02:05) Why repeating the same behaviors doesn’t mean you’re broken, but programmed.

(05:30) How childhood environments create predictable patterns in perception and behavior.

(09:05) Why objective truth is nearly impossible, and how brain patterns distort reality.

(14:20) How the “right amount” of early adversity can build resilience and self-trust.

(20:40) What brain pattern mapping reveals about self-deception and decision-making.

(26:30) How stress and exhaustion pull you back into old behavioral defaults.

(32:35) Why opposites attract, and how brain patterns shape relationships.

(45:10) Practical ways to interrupt unhealthy patterns and create lasting change.

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What questions should you ask a surgeon before committing to a facelift?

In this episode, I’m sharing the full, unfiltered story of my facelift, including what went wrong, what saved my recovery, and why I’d still make the same decision again. This wasn’t about chasing youth, but about aligning how I felt on the inside with how I showed up in the world.

What you’ll learn:

(02:01) How years of acne, scars, and skin treatments shaped my decision to have a facelift.

(03:30) Why fillers, Botox, and lasers eventually stopped making sense.

(04:44) The myths I believed about facelifts.

(06:06) How I chose my surgeon and why trust mattered most.

(11:45) What caused the post-surgery hematoma and how it was handled.

(14:32) The recovery tools that helped me heal rapidly and get on stage again.

(18:28) Why mindset may be the most powerful recovery tool of all.

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Why do chronic symptoms persist even when the results from your lab work say that everything’s “normal”?

In this episode, Dr. Jessica Peatross and I talk about why so many women feel stuck with unexplained symptoms even when their lab results say everything is “normal.” We unpack how hidden toxins, stealth infections, and nervous system overload quietly sabotage healing after 40. This conversation is about giving your symptoms language, restoring trust in your body, and understanding why healing requires the right sequence, not more guesswork.

Today’s guest is Dr. Jess, a functional medicine physician who helps patients uncover the real root causes behind chronic illness.

What you’ll learn:

(01:49) Why feeling awful with “normal” lab results doesn’t mean your symptoms are imagined.

(07:46) How mitochondrial dysfunction can be missed by standard blood work.

(10:03) Why chronic stress quietly disrupts hormones, blood sugar, and immunity.

(13:20) How stealth infections like mold and parasites contribute to chronic illness.

(17:48) Why environmental toxins accumulate in the body and overwhelm detox pathways over time.

(22:15) How poor sleep and nervous system imbalance reinforce chronic symptoms.

(29:35) Why detox must start with drainage, mineral balance, and nervous system regulation.

(41:45) How sauna use, breathwork, binders, and simple home changes support safe detoxification.

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Why does cardio stop working for fat loss after 40? Also, what types of exercise best protect strength and independence as you age?

In this episode, I break down why the goal of exercise after 40 is no longer burning calories, but building muscle, strength, and power. I explain how aging biology, muscle loss, and metabolic adaptation make endless cardio ineffective for women in midlife. I also share the science, the research, and the practical strategy to help you train smarter so you can preserve independence, energy, and longevity.

What you’ll learn:

(03:17) How excessive cardio can stall fat loss by triggering metabolic compensation.

(04:01) What research shows about energy expenditure plateaus with endurance exercise.

(05:33) Why muscle loss—not fat gain—is the biggest risk factor after 40.

(06:18) How fast-twitch muscle fibers decline with age and why power training matters.

(09:51) The importance of Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT) and why you must track your daily movement to prevent metabolic compensation.

(14:32) Why high-intensity interval training improves your longevity and power.

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If your skin could talk, what might it say about how you’re aging? Would it say “This woman is rocking it” or “There might be a few things that you can tweak”?

In this episode, my guest and I explore how your skin is far more than a beauty metric—it’s a living reflection of your hormones, inflammation, stress, and overall health. I’m joined by Dr. Mamina Turegano, a triple board-certified dermatologist with a powerful internal-medicine perspective on aging skin. Together, we break down what actually works after 40, what’s hype, and how to build a smarter inside-out strategy for skin longevity.

What you’ll learn:

(02:05) Why your skin is a direct reflection of hormones, inflammation, and mitochondrial health.

(05:35) How stress and cortisol can trigger acne, hives, dandruff, and flare-ups.

(09:01) What estrogen decline during perimenopause does to collagen, hydration, and skin thickness.

(12:44) Which skincare ingredients have the strongest evidence for anti-aging after 40.

(19:18) How peptides, autophagy, and cellular senescence affect visible skin aging.

(25:49) Why hydrocolloid patches work so well for hormonal and inflammatory acne.

(28:04) What red and blue light therapies actually do for inflammation, acne, and rejuvenation.

(42:33) How to fade dark spots, melasma, and acne scars without making pigmentation worse.

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