1 00:00:01,040 --> 00:00:06,360 Speaker 1: Conversations on life, style, beauty, and relationships. It's The Velvet's 2 00:00:06,440 --> 00:00:08,200 Speaker 1: Edge podcast with Kelly Henderson. 3 00:00:11,520 --> 00:00:12,040 Speaker 2: It feels like. 4 00:00:12,080 --> 00:00:16,079 Speaker 3: Korean culture in general is very influential and popular right now. 5 00:00:16,160 --> 00:00:19,640 Speaker 3: I've personally have been obsessed with Korean skincare, but there's 6 00:00:19,680 --> 00:00:21,880 Speaker 3: also kpop and I'm learning more and more about the 7 00:00:21,920 --> 00:00:25,480 Speaker 3: longevity rates, which studies are showing that by twenty thirty, 8 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:30,680 Speaker 3: Korean longevity rates will be the highest in the world. So, Michelle, Hello, 9 00:00:31,080 --> 00:00:33,760 Speaker 3: I was telling you before the podcast. When your bio 10 00:00:33,920 --> 00:00:36,760 Speaker 3: came across my desk, I got immediately excited because I 11 00:00:36,800 --> 00:00:40,040 Speaker 3: thought this is something I'm really interested in but obviously 12 00:00:40,080 --> 00:00:43,520 Speaker 3: not an expert on. So this is the perfect conversation 13 00:00:43,640 --> 00:00:46,479 Speaker 3: because you are an expert and you've just written this book. 14 00:00:46,920 --> 00:00:50,240 Speaker 3: It is called Sun and Sue Scott. I'm going to 15 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:53,720 Speaker 3: try to get these pronunciations right, the Korean art of 16 00:00:53,760 --> 00:00:57,440 Speaker 3: self care, wellness and longevity. So I want to know, 17 00:00:57,560 --> 00:01:02,080 Speaker 3: as a Korean American, what drew you to wanting to learn, practice, 18 00:01:02,120 --> 00:01:05,000 Speaker 3: and share all of these things from Korean culture. 19 00:01:05,840 --> 00:01:10,039 Speaker 4: I grew up very much Americanized, you know, Korean American. 20 00:01:10,720 --> 00:01:14,640 Speaker 4: I was actually born and raised in Brooklyn, okay, and 21 00:01:14,959 --> 00:01:17,920 Speaker 4: you know, later on in life, I happened to live 22 00:01:18,080 --> 00:01:21,840 Speaker 4: in Hong Kong. You know, it's been two decades in counting. 23 00:01:21,959 --> 00:01:25,000 Speaker 4: Because our family, I've got two kids, we split our 24 00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:27,720 Speaker 4: time between Hong Kong and New York City as xpatriots, 25 00:01:27,720 --> 00:01:31,600 Speaker 4: So I very much live in both East and West worlds. 26 00:01:31,880 --> 00:01:35,920 Speaker 4: And at the same time because of my father and 27 00:01:36,319 --> 00:01:40,600 Speaker 4: like I say, my extended family, because he immigrated to 28 00:01:40,640 --> 00:01:43,679 Speaker 4: the US and you know, his friends were you know, 29 00:01:43,720 --> 00:01:46,840 Speaker 4: all from the same graduate school and they trained at 30 00:01:46,840 --> 00:01:48,960 Speaker 4: the top medical school in Korea. So I was very 31 00:01:49,120 --> 00:01:53,320 Speaker 4: much exposed too early on to these practical and holistic 32 00:01:53,360 --> 00:01:56,920 Speaker 4: applications in medicine, which are very much deeply embedded within 33 00:01:57,000 --> 00:02:00,600 Speaker 4: our Korean culture, like for example, using whole foods and 34 00:02:00,640 --> 00:02:05,160 Speaker 4: holistic measures to recover from surgery, from pregnancies, even I mean, 35 00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:07,880 Speaker 4: it's very normalized to take a month off to you know, 36 00:02:07,920 --> 00:02:11,240 Speaker 4: do all these things to recover with your body from colds, 37 00:02:11,240 --> 00:02:14,200 Speaker 4: from injuries. And I didn't really kind of connect the 38 00:02:14,240 --> 00:02:17,720 Speaker 4: dots until much later. And later I married into a 39 00:02:17,760 --> 00:02:23,000 Speaker 4: traditional Chinese family that embodied these nourishing traditions passed down generationally. 40 00:02:23,160 --> 00:02:26,919 Speaker 4: So in the beginning, I actually hadn't intended to write 41 00:02:26,919 --> 00:02:29,160 Speaker 4: a book. Something had happened to me. I sort of 42 00:02:29,200 --> 00:02:33,079 Speaker 4: started embarking on this journey. I was in Hong Kong. 43 00:02:33,200 --> 00:02:36,680 Speaker 4: I had launched a dream social impact startup that experienced 44 00:02:36,720 --> 00:02:40,080 Speaker 4: a lot of growth. It was this sustainable fashion brand. 45 00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:43,560 Speaker 4: The fashion industry is very wasteful, so we took a 46 00:02:43,600 --> 00:02:46,600 Speaker 4: lot of these textiles that were just about to go 47 00:02:46,639 --> 00:02:50,000 Speaker 4: to landfill and then rescuing them up, cycling them and 48 00:02:50,400 --> 00:02:55,160 Speaker 4: you know, and inspiring a younger generation of designers to 49 00:02:55,760 --> 00:02:59,079 Speaker 4: kind of reframe their minds around how they could do fashion. 50 00:02:59,560 --> 00:03:02,760 Speaker 4: And weened up selling to Barney's diet a Porte, Lane 51 00:03:03,520 --> 00:03:06,880 Speaker 4: Lane Crawford's like the equivalent of Barney's. And at the 52 00:03:06,919 --> 00:03:11,080 Speaker 4: time that this happened, I was we were experiencing so 53 00:03:11,200 --> 00:03:14,240 Speaker 4: much growth and kind of winning awards, and I was 54 00:03:14,360 --> 00:03:17,160 Speaker 4: really passionate about what I was doing. And I find 55 00:03:17,200 --> 00:03:19,600 Speaker 4: that this is so much the case with a lot 56 00:03:19,600 --> 00:03:21,720 Speaker 4: of leaders. You know, no matter what you're doing, whether 57 00:03:21,760 --> 00:03:24,360 Speaker 4: it's like taking care of your family or you know, 58 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:28,640 Speaker 4: you're so passionate about the mission or your team. I 59 00:03:28,760 --> 00:03:31,520 Speaker 4: literally was working around the clock. I was managing a team, 60 00:03:31,919 --> 00:03:35,440 Speaker 4: you know, twenty four to seven kind of around the 61 00:03:35,480 --> 00:03:38,640 Speaker 4: world on different time zones, and I just felt like 62 00:03:38,680 --> 00:03:41,880 Speaker 4: I was too busy to sleep, too busy to eat, 63 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:44,920 Speaker 4: and kind of in the middle of all that success, 64 00:03:45,760 --> 00:03:48,040 Speaker 4: I landed in an emergency room for the first time 65 00:03:48,080 --> 00:03:50,640 Speaker 4: in my life. And you know, these things happened to people. 66 00:03:50,960 --> 00:03:53,520 Speaker 4: It was an acute episode that you know, luckily I 67 00:03:53,600 --> 00:03:57,400 Speaker 4: was able to recover from. But after that hospital visit, 68 00:03:57,520 --> 00:04:01,520 Speaker 4: I just became really sick all the time. And I 69 00:04:01,600 --> 00:04:04,600 Speaker 4: found out later that the doctors had put a camera 70 00:04:04,640 --> 00:04:07,880 Speaker 4: down my throat into my stomach and kind of discovered 71 00:04:07,920 --> 00:04:12,640 Speaker 4: that my entire gut lining was you know, completely compromised. 72 00:04:12,640 --> 00:04:16,360 Speaker 4: It was very little that remained healthy, and you know, 73 00:04:16,440 --> 00:04:19,760 Speaker 4: I just sort of started thinking that this health problem 74 00:04:19,839 --> 00:04:23,919 Speaker 4: was brewing for a really long time, and I felt 75 00:04:23,920 --> 00:04:26,040 Speaker 4: like I was in a conundrum because you know, before 76 00:04:26,080 --> 00:04:30,160 Speaker 4: the hospital visit, I kind of prided myself on being 77 00:04:30,200 --> 00:04:34,000 Speaker 4: really strong and never getting ill, and I was in 78 00:04:34,040 --> 00:04:36,920 Speaker 4: this sort of, I don't know, this culture of just 79 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:40,600 Speaker 4: working really hard and you know, just pushing through any 80 00:04:40,680 --> 00:04:44,320 Speaker 4: aches and pains and you know, powering through it. And 81 00:04:44,520 --> 00:04:47,440 Speaker 4: I think it just it got to a point where, 82 00:04:47,600 --> 00:04:49,599 Speaker 4: you know, when I landed in the hospital. My body 83 00:04:49,720 --> 00:04:52,160 Speaker 4: was sort of screaming that I needed to do something. 84 00:04:52,880 --> 00:04:55,320 Speaker 4: It just kind of brought me down this whole rabbit 85 00:04:55,320 --> 00:04:58,560 Speaker 4: hole because I realized at the time I live on 86 00:04:58,600 --> 00:05:01,760 Speaker 4: a continent that breeds a completely different way of life than, 87 00:05:01,839 --> 00:05:04,200 Speaker 4: you know, what I grown up with in the US. 88 00:05:04,920 --> 00:05:06,800 Speaker 4: One morning, when I was kind of walking down the 89 00:05:06,800 --> 00:05:10,520 Speaker 4: beach in Hong Kong, I started noticing that there was 90 00:05:10,560 --> 00:05:13,680 Speaker 4: a group of people early morning. They were, you know, 91 00:05:13,760 --> 00:05:17,320 Speaker 4: dipping into the cold ocean and swimming, and you know, 92 00:05:17,360 --> 00:05:19,560 Speaker 4: they were stretching on the beach. And then you know, 93 00:05:19,600 --> 00:05:24,920 Speaker 4: as I got closer, I realized they were like eighties, nineties, 94 00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:27,440 Speaker 4: you know, far older, I mean, but at the same time, 95 00:05:27,440 --> 00:05:30,720 Speaker 4: they had so much energy, you know, kind of wrinkle 96 00:05:30,800 --> 00:05:32,719 Speaker 4: free skin, and I was just starting to you know, 97 00:05:32,720 --> 00:05:35,599 Speaker 4: it was like really piquing my interests, like what are 98 00:05:35,680 --> 00:05:38,880 Speaker 4: these people doing to be so vibrant at that age? 99 00:05:38,920 --> 00:05:41,440 Speaker 4: They were all they all had silver hair. And then 100 00:05:41,480 --> 00:05:44,880 Speaker 4: I started noticing that so many people like them were 101 00:05:44,960 --> 00:05:48,440 Speaker 4: like them around me in Asia, and I just started 102 00:05:48,440 --> 00:05:52,039 Speaker 4: casually interviewing people around me. So it was just kind 103 00:05:52,040 --> 00:05:55,520 Speaker 4: of like trying to grapple with what I had grown 104 00:05:55,600 --> 00:05:58,080 Speaker 4: up with sort of the narrative of Okay, I need 105 00:05:58,120 --> 00:06:01,440 Speaker 4: to race because you know, internally, I was thinking, okay, 106 00:06:01,480 --> 00:06:05,440 Speaker 4: by fifty, things are going to start declining. My mental health, 107 00:06:05,520 --> 00:06:09,120 Speaker 4: you know, my my mental abilities, my you know, my 108 00:06:09,200 --> 00:06:11,520 Speaker 4: physical abilities. And it was just, you know, I just 109 00:06:11,560 --> 00:06:14,880 Speaker 4: needed to race to achieve it all. And here, you know, 110 00:06:14,960 --> 00:06:17,880 Speaker 4: there was this cohort of people, like everybody just sort 111 00:06:17,920 --> 00:06:20,240 Speaker 4: of casually living in Asia and just doing all of 112 00:06:20,240 --> 00:06:25,000 Speaker 4: these things we typically reserve for the young, and so 113 00:06:25,160 --> 00:06:27,160 Speaker 4: as I was starting to look at the data, and 114 00:06:27,200 --> 00:06:30,920 Speaker 4: you mentioned that Korea is expected to top the longevity 115 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:33,440 Speaker 4: charts in twenty thirty, but actually when you look at 116 00:06:33,440 --> 00:06:36,599 Speaker 4: the data, all of the Asian countries kind of jostle 117 00:06:36,680 --> 00:06:40,400 Speaker 4: for this top position, and you know they have obesity 118 00:06:40,520 --> 00:06:43,440 Speaker 4: rates that are in the single digits. I mean, I 119 00:06:43,520 --> 00:06:45,880 Speaker 4: just was I started getting really curious as I was, 120 00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:48,200 Speaker 4: you know, going through the data, and then I started 121 00:06:48,800 --> 00:06:52,359 Speaker 4: formalizing my training. So I went into two functional food 122 00:06:52,600 --> 00:06:56,320 Speaker 4: medicine programs. And you know, this is something that's sort 123 00:06:56,360 --> 00:06:58,640 Speaker 4: of an addition to what I typically do. I'm a 124 00:06:58,680 --> 00:07:03,039 Speaker 4: Harvard Business School graduate, I'm a social impact entrepreneur. But 125 00:07:03,160 --> 00:07:05,920 Speaker 4: I was just really interested to learn and extend more. 126 00:07:06,600 --> 00:07:10,680 Speaker 4: And I actually extended that into healthy aging and mother 127 00:07:10,760 --> 00:07:13,160 Speaker 4: baby care because you know, the mother of two children, 128 00:07:13,240 --> 00:07:16,360 Speaker 4: I wanted to impart that wisdom with my two children. 129 00:07:16,480 --> 00:07:19,280 Speaker 4: And then I started to travel, and you know, as 130 00:07:19,320 --> 00:07:21,920 Speaker 4: I started learning more and more, I just started really 131 00:07:22,200 --> 00:07:25,440 Speaker 4: realizing a lot of things around me, like my colleagues, 132 00:07:25,520 --> 00:07:28,320 Speaker 4: my friends, you know, just started getting really ill and 133 00:07:28,400 --> 00:07:33,440 Speaker 4: kind of becoming these mirrors to what I was. You know, 134 00:07:33,520 --> 00:07:36,320 Speaker 4: it just it first starts as an acute episode. Then 135 00:07:36,400 --> 00:07:38,840 Speaker 4: you know, you start ignoring it, and then it becomes 136 00:07:39,480 --> 00:07:43,680 Speaker 4: this irreversible state. Sometimes it's incurable. And I was sort 137 00:07:43,720 --> 00:07:46,800 Speaker 4: of lucky that I caught it early on enough to 138 00:07:46,960 --> 00:07:50,040 Speaker 4: you know, reverse it and to you know, to get better. 139 00:07:50,400 --> 00:07:53,200 Speaker 4: And then at the same time, when I came home, 140 00:07:53,360 --> 00:07:56,239 Speaker 4: you know, being ill, my husband was sort of cooking 141 00:07:56,240 --> 00:07:59,880 Speaker 4: me all of these healing foods, things that his grandparents 142 00:08:00,040 --> 00:08:03,000 Speaker 4: and his parents had taught him, and it just can 143 00:08:03,280 --> 00:08:05,960 Speaker 4: helped me to connect back to, oh, this is what 144 00:08:06,040 --> 00:08:08,520 Speaker 4: my parents used to do for me, and it was 145 00:08:08,520 --> 00:08:11,320 Speaker 4: so embedded in our Korean culture. And so I started 146 00:08:11,360 --> 00:08:14,480 Speaker 4: traveling and kind of interviewing a lot of people across Asia. 147 00:08:14,560 --> 00:08:19,720 Speaker 4: I went through China, Japan, I went through Korea and luckily, 148 00:08:20,400 --> 00:08:23,040 Speaker 4: you know, from Hong Kong. It just is so much 149 00:08:23,040 --> 00:08:26,560 Speaker 4: easier to kind of go around the longevity hub of Asia. 150 00:08:26,600 --> 00:08:28,880 Speaker 4: But it was just really fascinating because I was able 151 00:08:28,920 --> 00:08:31,040 Speaker 4: to see a lot of things with my own eyes 152 00:08:31,120 --> 00:08:35,360 Speaker 4: but also develop patterns, you know, just kind of well, 153 00:08:35,520 --> 00:08:38,240 Speaker 4: how can I take this ancient wisdom and translate it 154 00:08:38,320 --> 00:08:42,560 Speaker 4: into a modern lifestyle where I'm super busy. I'm a 155 00:08:42,600 --> 00:08:45,480 Speaker 4: mother of two kids. I want to do a lot 156 00:08:45,520 --> 00:08:48,320 Speaker 4: of different things, and so how can I find ways 157 00:08:48,320 --> 00:08:51,800 Speaker 4: that are efficient effective? You know that. You know I'm 158 00:08:51,960 --> 00:08:55,199 Speaker 4: very much an environmentally friendly person. You know, how can 159 00:08:55,240 --> 00:08:58,840 Speaker 4: I find solutions that are going to align with my 160 00:08:58,960 --> 00:09:01,480 Speaker 4: values and the way to move forward? So that's how 161 00:09:01,480 --> 00:09:02,600 Speaker 4: I ended up with the book. 162 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:06,160 Speaker 3: Well, you touched on a lot of different topics that 163 00:09:06,280 --> 00:09:09,280 Speaker 3: I want to get to. You basically just set up 164 00:09:09,280 --> 00:09:09,920 Speaker 3: the whole interview. 165 00:09:09,960 --> 00:09:10,520 Speaker 2: So thank you. 166 00:09:12,480 --> 00:09:14,679 Speaker 3: But you mentioned the two things that I think are 167 00:09:14,720 --> 00:09:16,360 Speaker 3: really sticking out to me, and I think this is 168 00:09:16,400 --> 00:09:19,200 Speaker 3: how kind of the book is structured. But self care 169 00:09:19,360 --> 00:09:22,520 Speaker 3: and then food as medicine. And I love that you 170 00:09:22,679 --> 00:09:26,760 Speaker 3: started your journey by basically reaching burnout and also your 171 00:09:26,840 --> 00:09:29,320 Speaker 3: health really declining, because I think we're starting to see 172 00:09:29,360 --> 00:09:31,920 Speaker 3: a lot of that in America, and I know I've 173 00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:36,200 Speaker 3: specifically bumped up against some of the same things, like 174 00:09:36,240 --> 00:09:40,000 Speaker 3: we have these expectations on ourself to succeed, and we 175 00:09:40,040 --> 00:09:43,320 Speaker 3: all want the you know, the American dream of really 176 00:09:43,360 --> 00:09:45,880 Speaker 3: like building our own business and having that kind of 177 00:09:46,160 --> 00:09:49,560 Speaker 3: praise or whatever it is success, I guess, but we 178 00:09:49,640 --> 00:09:51,760 Speaker 3: do it at the sacrifice of our own self and 179 00:09:51,760 --> 00:09:53,840 Speaker 3: our own bodies and our mental health and all of 180 00:09:53,880 --> 00:09:56,959 Speaker 3: that that stuff. And so it seems like it's starting 181 00:09:57,000 --> 00:09:59,839 Speaker 3: to come into the conversation of how do we switch that, 182 00:10:00,040 --> 00:10:02,520 Speaker 3: but we don't necessarily know how. So I love that 183 00:10:02,559 --> 00:10:05,800 Speaker 3: you went back to ancient cultures that have been doing 184 00:10:05,840 --> 00:10:09,680 Speaker 3: this for so long, and you're seeing these women in 185 00:10:09,720 --> 00:10:13,360 Speaker 3: the bath or the water, and you're like, wait, how 186 00:10:13,360 --> 00:10:15,160 Speaker 3: do I want what they have? You know, like you 187 00:10:15,200 --> 00:10:18,800 Speaker 3: were actually witnessing it. So let's start maybe with the 188 00:10:18,800 --> 00:10:22,040 Speaker 3: food piece of it, because that is a big thing 189 00:10:22,160 --> 00:10:24,839 Speaker 3: that I love to talk about, and my listeners are 190 00:10:24,960 --> 00:10:27,760 Speaker 3: very used to me saying I look at food as 191 00:10:27,840 --> 00:10:30,640 Speaker 3: medicine and ways to heal our bodies. But I think 192 00:10:30,679 --> 00:10:33,760 Speaker 3: in America it's almost the opposite, like it's making us 193 00:10:33,800 --> 00:10:36,520 Speaker 3: sicker the way we eat here and the obesity rates 194 00:10:36,520 --> 00:10:39,840 Speaker 3: are out of control and all of that. So I 195 00:10:39,880 --> 00:10:41,760 Speaker 3: want to know In the book, I know you talk 196 00:10:41,800 --> 00:10:45,920 Speaker 3: about the longevity pantry and maybe we can start there, 197 00:10:45,960 --> 00:10:49,400 Speaker 3: but can you explain to listeners maybe how the Korean 198 00:10:49,440 --> 00:10:52,600 Speaker 3: culture uses food as medicine and then get into what 199 00:10:52,640 --> 00:10:54,080 Speaker 3: the longevity pantry is. 200 00:10:54,880 --> 00:10:58,840 Speaker 4: There's a word in the Korean language, it's yakshik don one, 201 00:10:59,080 --> 00:11:02,040 Speaker 4: and it's a sort of complicated word, but it means 202 00:11:02,080 --> 00:11:05,599 Speaker 4: food is medicine, and it's food is important. It's a 203 00:11:05,679 --> 00:11:09,559 Speaker 4: very important driver in our biochemistry. But it's a philosophy 204 00:11:09,640 --> 00:11:13,160 Speaker 4: that kind of encapsulates a lot of the natural methods, 205 00:11:13,760 --> 00:11:17,319 Speaker 4: and the idea dates back to ancient times. It's this 206 00:11:17,559 --> 00:11:22,520 Speaker 4: orientation of trying to prevent be proactive with your health, 207 00:11:23,440 --> 00:11:26,440 Speaker 4: and I think it's a wellness philosophy that we often 208 00:11:26,800 --> 00:11:30,679 Speaker 4: dismiss or forget as a first step. So the idea 209 00:11:30,920 --> 00:11:34,120 Speaker 4: in Korean culture is that healthcare actually first starts with 210 00:11:34,160 --> 00:11:37,280 Speaker 4: what you eat, and then you know, you try to 211 00:11:37,440 --> 00:11:41,840 Speaker 4: allow your body to naturally heal, and then secondarily, if 212 00:11:41,920 --> 00:11:44,240 Speaker 4: you know it doesn't improve, then you go into advanced 213 00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:46,920 Speaker 4: medical treatment. I feel like, you know, I kind of 214 00:11:47,880 --> 00:11:50,800 Speaker 4: labeled it in my book to schools of medicine, and 215 00:11:50,840 --> 00:11:54,040 Speaker 4: I feel like that is actually what is very fundamentally 216 00:11:54,040 --> 00:11:58,000 Speaker 4: different between what is happening in US healthcare culture and 217 00:11:58,400 --> 00:12:01,960 Speaker 4: in Asia. So sometimes I feel like, you know, there's 218 00:12:01,960 --> 00:12:04,760 Speaker 4: two camps in the US. There's you know, those that 219 00:12:04,800 --> 00:12:07,560 Speaker 4: are in medicine and they you know, they're sort of 220 00:12:07,559 --> 00:12:10,520 Speaker 4: rejecting the holistic measures and then those you know, on 221 00:12:10,600 --> 00:12:12,920 Speaker 4: the opposite ends of the spectrum. But what they're doing 222 00:12:13,040 --> 00:12:17,680 Speaker 4: here in Asia is that they're embracing both. And there's 223 00:12:17,720 --> 00:12:19,440 Speaker 4: so many reasons why I wanted to write the book, 224 00:12:19,480 --> 00:12:22,400 Speaker 4: but one of the reasons was that I feel like, 225 00:12:22,800 --> 00:12:25,160 Speaker 4: you know, I kind of dream of like a future 226 00:12:25,400 --> 00:12:28,199 Speaker 4: in medicine healthcare in the US where you know, food 227 00:12:28,280 --> 00:12:31,640 Speaker 4: is part of the spectrum of care. It starts at home, 228 00:12:31,960 --> 00:12:34,320 Speaker 4: you know, and even if you're not cooking, you kind 229 00:12:34,320 --> 00:12:37,840 Speaker 4: of know the ideas of food preparation, you know what 230 00:12:37,960 --> 00:12:40,679 Speaker 4: the ingredients are, you know. I always feel like, if 231 00:12:40,679 --> 00:12:43,200 Speaker 4: I'm speaking about the book with my friends who don't 232 00:12:43,280 --> 00:12:45,800 Speaker 4: like to cook, try to do it at least once, 233 00:12:45,880 --> 00:12:49,280 Speaker 4: because then you know the role of an ingredient, what's 234 00:12:49,320 --> 00:12:52,280 Speaker 4: important and what's actually not important in the food that 235 00:12:52,320 --> 00:12:56,560 Speaker 4: you're eating, because we're so disconnected from real food in 236 00:12:56,600 --> 00:12:59,800 Speaker 4: our modern culture, a lot of things come packaged, you know, 237 00:12:59,880 --> 00:13:02,560 Speaker 4: like ketchup is actually tomato, you know, and it's like, 238 00:13:02,679 --> 00:13:06,160 Speaker 4: you know, then deconstructed into something else which is maybe 239 00:13:06,200 --> 00:13:10,360 Speaker 4: not a tomato. And so we're very far away from 240 00:13:10,720 --> 00:13:13,760 Speaker 4: actual food. And so I think when you start with 241 00:13:13,840 --> 00:13:17,200 Speaker 4: the simple thing of even thinking about preparing and being 242 00:13:17,240 --> 00:13:20,440 Speaker 4: mindful of what you're eating, then that's kind of the 243 00:13:20,440 --> 00:13:23,160 Speaker 4: first step. So, you know, it's very embedded in the culture. 244 00:13:23,320 --> 00:13:27,760 Speaker 4: Like I mentioned that it's normalized after you give birth 245 00:13:28,080 --> 00:13:32,200 Speaker 4: that you have one month where your body's healing from pregnancy, 246 00:13:32,760 --> 00:13:36,040 Speaker 4: and it's kind of like a whole community village mentality. 247 00:13:36,160 --> 00:13:38,960 Speaker 4: Everybody's coming together to you know, help the mother. They're 248 00:13:38,960 --> 00:13:42,839 Speaker 4: bringing food, and there's specific foods that you know, are 249 00:13:42,840 --> 00:13:45,440 Speaker 4: given to the mother to help her breastfeed if she 250 00:13:45,559 --> 00:13:48,400 Speaker 4: wants to, and to also you know, help with the baby. 251 00:13:48,440 --> 00:13:52,240 Speaker 4: I mean, longevity education starts really early in Korea because 252 00:13:52,720 --> 00:13:56,120 Speaker 4: babies as old as six months old are starting with 253 00:13:56,240 --> 00:14:01,920 Speaker 4: kimchi biotic you know, rich food. Yeah, kimchi is such 254 00:14:01,920 --> 00:14:05,000 Speaker 4: an important aspect of their culture. It's like really part 255 00:14:05,080 --> 00:14:09,079 Speaker 4: of their cultural identity. There's like two hundred varieties of it. 256 00:14:09,200 --> 00:14:12,720 Speaker 4: There's you know, community activities around it. And you know 257 00:14:12,760 --> 00:14:14,720 Speaker 4: it dates back to a long time ago when there 258 00:14:14,760 --> 00:14:19,000 Speaker 4: was no refrigeration. You know, they just they buried things 259 00:14:19,080 --> 00:14:21,800 Speaker 4: and that it fermented and actually came out with this 260 00:14:22,080 --> 00:14:25,840 Speaker 4: beautiful flavor. But also this this diversity of you know, 261 00:14:25,920 --> 00:14:29,240 Speaker 4: really friendly bacteria which helps with the microbiome, which now 262 00:14:29,800 --> 00:14:32,880 Speaker 4: I feel like new science is only just wrapping our 263 00:14:32,920 --> 00:14:36,360 Speaker 4: heads around, Like only recently do we uncover that we 264 00:14:36,400 --> 00:14:40,480 Speaker 4: have a microbiome in our brain which has implications to Alzheimer's. 265 00:14:40,840 --> 00:14:44,560 Speaker 4: So the microbiome is you know this trillions of you 266 00:14:44,600 --> 00:14:47,800 Speaker 4: know bacteria that we have, you know, in our systems. 267 00:14:47,800 --> 00:14:49,720 Speaker 4: It's on our skin, it's in our mouth, you know, 268 00:14:49,800 --> 00:14:52,200 Speaker 4: now we know it's in our brain. But you know, 269 00:14:52,320 --> 00:14:55,880 Speaker 4: the food that they're eating, these fermented foods, actually helps 270 00:14:56,240 --> 00:14:59,320 Speaker 4: build the balance. So there's the balance of you know, 271 00:14:59,400 --> 00:15:02,920 Speaker 4: the ecosis in the microbiome, and so when they eat 272 00:15:02,960 --> 00:15:07,320 Speaker 4: the kimchi, it helps bring it back to balance. So 273 00:15:07,320 --> 00:15:09,560 Speaker 4: it's as simple as that. Like when you it's very 274 00:15:09,560 --> 00:15:12,200 Speaker 4: interesting when you go back to kind of studying the 275 00:15:12,560 --> 00:15:15,600 Speaker 4: you know, the dustiers of the you know, the royal kingdoms. 276 00:15:16,360 --> 00:15:18,760 Speaker 4: They used to do what were now I feel like 277 00:15:18,880 --> 00:15:22,280 Speaker 4: it should be the future of medicine. The royal physicians 278 00:15:22,400 --> 00:15:25,480 Speaker 4: worked with the cooks, so you know, if the king 279 00:15:25,600 --> 00:15:28,760 Speaker 4: was sick, they would report back to the kitchen, and 280 00:15:28,800 --> 00:15:31,640 Speaker 4: then the kitchen would cook something to help the king recover, 281 00:15:32,040 --> 00:15:34,640 Speaker 4: and it extends to the whole family. And all these 282 00:15:34,640 --> 00:15:37,640 Speaker 4: behaviors in the kingdom just kind of trickled down into 283 00:15:37,840 --> 00:15:42,520 Speaker 4: the community. And if their populations are retaining the traditions, 284 00:15:42,600 --> 00:15:45,480 Speaker 4: then they're actually living longer, so a lot of the 285 00:15:45,520 --> 00:15:48,960 Speaker 4: traditions are being retained. I mean, if you see Korean 286 00:15:49,080 --> 00:15:51,920 Speaker 4: cuisine today, like all the little side dishes that as 287 00:15:52,040 --> 00:15:56,320 Speaker 4: actually from a long time ago, they're still retaining the traditions. 288 00:15:56,760 --> 00:15:59,440 Speaker 4: So it goes back to the food is medicine philosophy, 289 00:15:59,520 --> 00:16:02,560 Speaker 4: and I really like this idea. I never used to 290 00:16:02,560 --> 00:16:04,560 Speaker 4: think of food as medicine. I mean I was kind 291 00:16:04,600 --> 00:16:09,640 Speaker 4: of before I started this journey, I was like working 292 00:16:09,720 --> 00:16:14,280 Speaker 4: really hard, working out really hard, and you know, I 293 00:16:14,320 --> 00:16:17,280 Speaker 4: feel like when I started looking at Yakshito want it 294 00:16:17,320 --> 00:16:21,360 Speaker 4: was really about not following a single prescriptive eating plan 295 00:16:21,680 --> 00:16:23,920 Speaker 4: or avoiding certain food groups or you know, it was 296 00:16:24,000 --> 00:16:26,840 Speaker 4: just not restrictive, and it was just kind of this 297 00:16:27,120 --> 00:16:30,520 Speaker 4: idea of just using the trying as much as possible 298 00:16:30,560 --> 00:16:34,640 Speaker 4: to use the body's natural healing systems to you know, 299 00:16:34,720 --> 00:16:38,040 Speaker 4: to thrive, so that you know, we we can use 300 00:16:38,080 --> 00:16:41,240 Speaker 4: that before we start intervening with pills or surgery. So, 301 00:16:41,440 --> 00:16:43,440 Speaker 4: you know, when you look at Eastern medicine kind of 302 00:16:43,440 --> 00:16:47,440 Speaker 4: study it, it really is all about clearing your internal pathways, 303 00:16:47,440 --> 00:16:51,160 Speaker 4: whether it's your nasal passageways or your you know, your 304 00:16:51,160 --> 00:16:54,480 Speaker 4: bowel system. You know, That's why sometimes like as an American, 305 00:16:54,520 --> 00:16:57,160 Speaker 4: I would walk down the you know, these Asian streets 306 00:16:57,560 --> 00:17:00,000 Speaker 4: their ear cleaning, and you know, it's sort of like 307 00:17:00,160 --> 00:17:03,000 Speaker 4: this metaphor, like they're just trying to clear away all 308 00:17:03,080 --> 00:17:05,800 Speaker 4: the pathways so that the body can function as it 309 00:17:05,840 --> 00:17:06,280 Speaker 4: was meant to. 310 00:17:07,800 --> 00:17:11,840 Speaker 3: I do think we discredit how powerful our bodies are are. 311 00:17:11,920 --> 00:17:15,000 Speaker 3: They are their own healers, and I think a lot 312 00:17:15,040 --> 00:17:18,240 Speaker 3: of times we miss that here and the quick answer 313 00:17:18,320 --> 00:17:20,720 Speaker 3: is to throw a pill at something. But what drives 314 00:17:20,760 --> 00:17:25,000 Speaker 3: me crazy is that I fully believe in food as medicine, 315 00:17:25,119 --> 00:17:28,000 Speaker 3: and so I'm thinking to myself Okay, you get on 316 00:17:28,080 --> 00:17:30,359 Speaker 3: this pill, but you don't change the way you eat 317 00:17:30,440 --> 00:17:33,520 Speaker 3: at all, right, and so then you're continuing to make 318 00:17:33,560 --> 00:17:36,040 Speaker 3: yourself sicker. Like I actually got served an article this 319 00:17:36,119 --> 00:17:38,959 Speaker 3: morning and I didn't even read it because it frustrated 320 00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:42,399 Speaker 3: me so much, but it said a shockingly high rate 321 00:17:42,720 --> 00:17:45,880 Speaker 3: of women under forty have come in this last year 322 00:17:45,880 --> 00:17:49,439 Speaker 3: with breast cancer. And in my head, I'm like, the 323 00:17:49,560 --> 00:17:52,399 Speaker 3: number one leading cause of cancer to me is are 324 00:17:52,480 --> 00:17:56,680 Speaker 3: there's two, I guess, but stress and food, like what 325 00:17:56,720 --> 00:17:59,880 Speaker 3: we're putting into our bodies is what will manifest out 326 00:17:59,880 --> 00:18:02,720 Speaker 3: of it. And so if we don't start paying attention 327 00:18:02,840 --> 00:18:06,000 Speaker 3: to these things, we're going to continue to have this 328 00:18:06,280 --> 00:18:10,560 Speaker 3: rise in illness and sickness and short lives, you know, 329 00:18:10,840 --> 00:18:19,399 Speaker 3: because we're not taking care of our gut. Like you said, 330 00:18:22,320 --> 00:18:27,280 Speaker 3: do you have thoughts on how people could maybe start, 331 00:18:27,880 --> 00:18:30,040 Speaker 3: because I think a lot of like the misconception that 332 00:18:30,119 --> 00:18:32,280 Speaker 3: I hear is ugh, but then I have to like 333 00:18:32,359 --> 00:18:34,920 Speaker 3: eat gross things, and I'm like, no, actually. 334 00:18:34,600 --> 00:18:35,960 Speaker 2: Real food is really good. 335 00:18:36,240 --> 00:18:39,920 Speaker 3: We just don't know enough about it sometimes to know 336 00:18:39,960 --> 00:18:43,199 Speaker 3: what our options are. So if someone's having that mentality, 337 00:18:43,280 --> 00:18:45,879 Speaker 3: do you have something that you could encourage them? 338 00:18:45,960 --> 00:18:49,439 Speaker 4: With or say start, I feel like, you know, you 339 00:18:49,480 --> 00:18:51,640 Speaker 4: can go back to the principles of what they used 340 00:18:51,680 --> 00:18:54,880 Speaker 4: to do. Like so I talk about the whole plant 341 00:18:55,119 --> 00:18:58,520 Speaker 4: philosophy in the book, and it's this idea like a 342 00:18:58,560 --> 00:19:01,080 Speaker 4: long time ago, we were grown our food. We're very 343 00:19:01,119 --> 00:19:03,720 Speaker 4: much in touch with nature or the environment, and it 344 00:19:03,800 --> 00:19:06,280 Speaker 4: took a long time to grow something right and now 345 00:19:06,320 --> 00:19:09,959 Speaker 4: it's very conveniently, you know, served to us. But you know, 346 00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:12,119 Speaker 4: because it would take such a long time, we would 347 00:19:12,119 --> 00:19:15,760 Speaker 4: try to utilize every part of the plant. And you know, 348 00:19:15,800 --> 00:19:18,719 Speaker 4: they take this mentality with meats as well, you know, 349 00:19:19,119 --> 00:19:21,560 Speaker 4: with animals. You know, it's sort of like this idea 350 00:19:21,560 --> 00:19:24,760 Speaker 4: of like respecting the entire thing, not wasting it. So 351 00:19:25,320 --> 00:19:28,520 Speaker 4: if you think about like something that grows, you are 352 00:19:28,640 --> 00:19:31,880 Speaker 4: using it from flour to root and even the edible peel. 353 00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:34,399 Speaker 4: So you know, I think anybody can do this. Like 354 00:19:35,359 --> 00:19:38,240 Speaker 4: one of the reasons I felt that the resources that 355 00:19:38,280 --> 00:19:40,720 Speaker 4: I used that I found were you know credible, were 356 00:19:40,800 --> 00:19:43,760 Speaker 4: you know, going back to PubMed, which was the medical resources, 357 00:19:43,800 --> 00:19:45,960 Speaker 4: and you know, trying to see a lot of the 358 00:19:46,520 --> 00:19:49,000 Speaker 4: new research I was coming out of medical institutions. But 359 00:19:49,119 --> 00:19:51,919 Speaker 4: also like if you look at the data like if 360 00:19:51,960 --> 00:19:55,080 Speaker 4: you were to compare an apple with the peel and 361 00:19:55,160 --> 00:19:58,880 Speaker 4: without the peel, you start realizing that actually you're throwing 362 00:19:58,920 --> 00:20:01,040 Speaker 4: away all of the nutrition by peeling it and not 363 00:20:01,080 --> 00:20:04,720 Speaker 4: eating the skin, and it actually contributes to food waste. 364 00:20:05,080 --> 00:20:07,880 Speaker 4: So we take the time to grow all these things, 365 00:20:08,440 --> 00:20:12,080 Speaker 4: and we're actually wasting thirty percent of what we're producing, 366 00:20:12,160 --> 00:20:14,879 Speaker 4: and then fifty percent of that actually is happening in 367 00:20:14,920 --> 00:20:17,240 Speaker 4: our homes because of what we're doing. We're just not 368 00:20:17,359 --> 00:20:20,480 Speaker 4: eating all of it, and so we're missing out on 369 00:20:20,560 --> 00:20:24,639 Speaker 4: a nourishing supply just just by not eating the peel. 370 00:20:25,200 --> 00:20:27,160 Speaker 4: And the other thing too, is that there's a lot 371 00:20:27,200 --> 00:20:30,240 Speaker 4: of like really staple items that you know, I found 372 00:20:30,280 --> 00:20:34,080 Speaker 4: were really key and I call it the longevity pantry. 373 00:20:34,119 --> 00:20:36,159 Speaker 4: But you know what I found so encouraging is that 374 00:20:36,240 --> 00:20:39,359 Speaker 4: when you start taking a look at these villages and 375 00:20:39,400 --> 00:20:42,159 Speaker 4: how these centenarians are eating, you know, it's not like 376 00:20:42,280 --> 00:20:47,560 Speaker 4: these beautiful Instagram photos. You know, they're not artisanal. They're 377 00:20:47,600 --> 00:20:51,000 Speaker 4: just sort of like you know, very fresh, you know ingredients, 378 00:20:51,920 --> 00:20:56,640 Speaker 4: but they're using certain ingredients to heal. So, for example, 379 00:20:56,920 --> 00:21:00,440 Speaker 4: vinegar is now part of my longevity pantry. I use 380 00:21:00,720 --> 00:21:03,800 Speaker 4: every single kind you know, and one of my favorites 381 00:21:03,880 --> 00:21:07,160 Speaker 4: is per Semon vinegar. Per Simon is you know, it's 382 00:21:07,160 --> 00:21:10,800 Speaker 4: a milder flavor but also has a higher load of antioxidants. 383 00:21:11,440 --> 00:21:14,360 Speaker 4: Koreans will put it in soup. There's a tangy flavor 384 00:21:14,400 --> 00:21:17,240 Speaker 4: but also helps with you know, your metabolism, and it 385 00:21:17,280 --> 00:21:21,760 Speaker 4: also helps with your sugar control. And so yeah, I 386 00:21:22,280 --> 00:21:25,800 Speaker 4: use white vinegar. Black vinegar something that I use as well. 387 00:21:25,840 --> 00:21:28,439 Speaker 4: It's they all have their own sort of flavors, and 388 00:21:29,240 --> 00:21:31,480 Speaker 4: I feel like what I've done as sort of like 389 00:21:31,480 --> 00:21:35,359 Speaker 4: a transformative switch in my diet is I've moved my 390 00:21:35,480 --> 00:21:38,639 Speaker 4: palette from sweet to savory, especially in the morning on 391 00:21:38,720 --> 00:21:41,359 Speaker 4: an empty stomach. There's a lot of things that the 392 00:21:41,400 --> 00:21:45,600 Speaker 4: Koreans are using just through their condiments, like their fermented foods, 393 00:21:45,600 --> 00:21:46,639 Speaker 4: Like the kimchi. 394 00:21:47,080 --> 00:21:49,720 Speaker 3: Is so good too. If you have a tried kimchi, 395 00:21:49,760 --> 00:21:52,280 Speaker 3: I highly recommend. It's one of my favorite snacks now. 396 00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:54,840 Speaker 2: Oh really, yeah, I love it. 397 00:21:56,080 --> 00:21:58,320 Speaker 4: Yeah, And you know, if you're if the spice is 398 00:21:58,359 --> 00:22:01,160 Speaker 4: too much for you, there's always sour krout and then 399 00:22:01,280 --> 00:22:04,639 Speaker 4: you know, before it gets fermented. Cabbage is super important 400 00:22:04,680 --> 00:22:08,040 Speaker 4: in you know, Korean culture, and there's so many varieties 401 00:22:08,040 --> 00:22:11,240 Speaker 4: of it, So that's definitely a part of my longevity 402 00:22:11,320 --> 00:22:14,440 Speaker 4: pantry as well. And the other switch that I really 403 00:22:14,480 --> 00:22:17,840 Speaker 4: made was fruits. I feel like I took it all 404 00:22:17,840 --> 00:22:20,760 Speaker 4: out before, you know, and I was a wellness enthusiast 405 00:22:20,840 --> 00:22:24,840 Speaker 4: because I was worried about the sugar load. And now 406 00:22:24,880 --> 00:22:27,480 Speaker 4: fruits are very much a part of my diet. You know, 407 00:22:27,720 --> 00:22:30,760 Speaker 4: it's my way of getting all the rainbow colors. But 408 00:22:30,840 --> 00:22:34,879 Speaker 4: also you know, the fiber and citrus fruits in particular 409 00:22:35,119 --> 00:22:36,639 Speaker 4: is something that I use every day. 410 00:22:37,200 --> 00:22:39,320 Speaker 3: I love that you mentioned the thing about the sugar 411 00:22:39,359 --> 00:22:41,800 Speaker 3: because I think that's such a misconception too. We hear 412 00:22:41,840 --> 00:22:44,359 Speaker 3: these buzzwords like, oh, we don't want any sugar in 413 00:22:44,400 --> 00:22:47,119 Speaker 3: our diet, but like that's a healthy sugar and so 414 00:22:47,680 --> 00:22:50,480 Speaker 3: and there's also it's loaded with vitamins, and so we're 415 00:22:50,520 --> 00:22:53,439 Speaker 3: missing out if we don't allow ourselves these things. But 416 00:22:53,480 --> 00:22:55,040 Speaker 3: then we go eat all these things that are full 417 00:22:55,080 --> 00:22:57,560 Speaker 3: of chemicals, Like, it just doesn't make sense to me. 418 00:22:57,720 --> 00:22:59,400 Speaker 3: The more I've learned about it, you know, I think 419 00:22:59,400 --> 00:23:02,640 Speaker 3: we just have some unlearning to do in this country 420 00:23:02,680 --> 00:23:03,119 Speaker 3: about that. 421 00:23:04,040 --> 00:23:08,480 Speaker 4: Yeah. So I learned something called temple food from the 422 00:23:08,520 --> 00:23:13,320 Speaker 4: Korean Buddhist nuns and there's like a foundational pantry that 423 00:23:13,359 --> 00:23:16,480 Speaker 4: they use, so they'll use a sessame will with soy 424 00:23:16,560 --> 00:23:20,680 Speaker 4: sauce and red pepper paste. It kind of is derived 425 00:23:20,760 --> 00:23:26,760 Speaker 4: from fermented soybeans, which is a rock and paste. What's that? 426 00:23:27,600 --> 00:23:30,520 Speaker 4: What you jung? Okay if you've heard of it before, 427 00:23:30,600 --> 00:23:32,560 Speaker 4: but you know, it's a taste that you can find 428 00:23:34,160 --> 00:23:38,320 Speaker 4: and it just it has this like really amazing umami flavor, 429 00:23:38,400 --> 00:23:42,720 Speaker 4: so whatever. Like sometimes I even dip a cucumber into 430 00:23:42,800 --> 00:23:44,880 Speaker 4: it and it just makes it taste really good. 431 00:23:45,119 --> 00:23:47,120 Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, that's the thing. 432 00:23:47,359 --> 00:23:50,040 Speaker 3: The more I learned, too, it's like they're little switches 433 00:23:50,160 --> 00:23:52,399 Speaker 3: you can kind of make. Like I've been using a 434 00:23:52,400 --> 00:23:54,560 Speaker 3: lot of tumeric and the things that I cook because 435 00:23:54,600 --> 00:23:58,080 Speaker 3: it's really good for inflammation, and it's so wild because 436 00:23:58,119 --> 00:24:00,640 Speaker 3: I just it's not that far out of reach. I mean, 437 00:24:01,080 --> 00:24:03,040 Speaker 3: once I started thinking about it, I mean, I can 438 00:24:03,160 --> 00:24:06,040 Speaker 3: cook with it so often, and it's just like an 439 00:24:06,080 --> 00:24:09,840 Speaker 3: additional thing that's so good for your inside. Like inflammation, 440 00:24:09,960 --> 00:24:11,760 Speaker 3: if you guys don't know, is like really one of 441 00:24:11,760 --> 00:24:14,560 Speaker 3: the causes of all disease, and so if you can 442 00:24:14,600 --> 00:24:18,400 Speaker 3: start eliminating that within your body, it's amazing even how 443 00:24:18,400 --> 00:24:20,560 Speaker 3: different you feel on a day to day, like your 444 00:24:20,680 --> 00:24:23,400 Speaker 3: energy levels and things like that. And that's the other 445 00:24:23,480 --> 00:24:25,800 Speaker 3: piece I want to talk about with listeners is just 446 00:24:26,640 --> 00:24:30,000 Speaker 3: it's not like a restriction kind of thing. It's actually 447 00:24:30,200 --> 00:24:33,439 Speaker 3: it opens up your world to so much more and 448 00:24:33,480 --> 00:24:37,000 Speaker 3: then you can do things like, you know, eliminate things 449 00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:39,320 Speaker 3: that aren't serving you as much, like energy drinks or 450 00:24:39,359 --> 00:24:41,240 Speaker 3: things like that because you don't need it, because your 451 00:24:41,240 --> 00:24:44,280 Speaker 3: food is fueling you like food is supposed to be fuel, 452 00:24:44,480 --> 00:24:48,679 Speaker 3: not the other way around. Let's move into the self 453 00:24:48,720 --> 00:24:51,119 Speaker 3: care aspect, because I know this is another part you 454 00:24:51,160 --> 00:24:53,600 Speaker 3: talk a lot about in the Korean culture. First of all, 455 00:24:53,640 --> 00:24:55,240 Speaker 3: what would you define self care as. 456 00:24:55,920 --> 00:24:58,920 Speaker 4: I think it's taking more of a preventive approach, you know. 457 00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:03,800 Speaker 4: So I mean, if you take my situation as an example, 458 00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:07,680 Speaker 4: I waited too long. I waited until the symptoms arrived, 459 00:25:07,800 --> 00:25:10,680 Speaker 4: and I ignored all of my you know, the signals 460 00:25:10,680 --> 00:25:12,960 Speaker 4: that my body was, you know, was telling me that 461 00:25:13,080 --> 00:25:16,240 Speaker 4: it needed help, and you know, I got sent to 462 00:25:16,320 --> 00:25:20,040 Speaker 4: the hospital. So self care is taking the steps well 463 00:25:20,080 --> 00:25:23,399 Speaker 4: before that. You know. It's it's a practical practice of 464 00:25:23,520 --> 00:25:27,520 Speaker 4: actively protecting our well being. So I feel like it's 465 00:25:27,600 --> 00:25:30,280 Speaker 4: like the million things that you can do every day 466 00:25:30,400 --> 00:25:33,320 Speaker 4: that would you know, nourish your mind, body, and soul. 467 00:25:34,040 --> 00:25:36,199 Speaker 4: So it's you know, in the modern day, it's like 468 00:25:36,280 --> 00:25:39,800 Speaker 4: picking up the phone and calling your friend I and 469 00:25:39,880 --> 00:25:42,480 Speaker 4: a lot of it, I think is stepping out into 470 00:25:42,520 --> 00:25:45,399 Speaker 4: the world. We're so much a part of, like this 471 00:25:45,560 --> 00:25:48,439 Speaker 4: digital culture, you know, tied to our phones, tied to 472 00:25:48,440 --> 00:25:52,840 Speaker 4: our computers, we forget to step outside. And actually that 473 00:25:53,080 --> 00:25:55,840 Speaker 4: was one of the biggest steps too, you know, my transformation. 474 00:25:55,920 --> 00:25:59,199 Speaker 4: I used to you know, I started walking a lot 475 00:25:59,280 --> 00:26:02,240 Speaker 4: because you know, I started realizing, oh, actually, what they're 476 00:26:02,280 --> 00:26:05,120 Speaker 4: doing is they're not necessarily going to the gym, and well, 477 00:26:05,200 --> 00:26:07,000 Speaker 4: they are going to public parks and they're you know, 478 00:26:07,040 --> 00:26:10,359 Speaker 4: they're kind of doing chin ups on the public park equipment. 479 00:26:10,440 --> 00:26:14,399 Speaker 4: But what they're really doing is they're stepping outside and 480 00:26:14,440 --> 00:26:17,360 Speaker 4: they're walking. So Stanford did a study taking a look 481 00:26:17,400 --> 00:26:21,000 Speaker 4: at smartphones and realized that Hong Kong had, you know, 482 00:26:21,040 --> 00:26:23,000 Speaker 4: the highest steps in the world, and you know, ever 483 00:26:23,040 --> 00:26:26,359 Speaker 4: since then, they've been attributing that to longevity rates. It 484 00:26:26,400 --> 00:26:28,880 Speaker 4: was about seven thousand steps. And then I just started 485 00:26:28,920 --> 00:26:31,720 Speaker 4: trying it because I was curious. And then you know 486 00:26:31,840 --> 00:26:36,479 Speaker 4: the time, I had just started doing these trips and 487 00:26:36,520 --> 00:26:39,119 Speaker 4: then COVID hit and I was thinking, Okay, what can 488 00:26:39,200 --> 00:26:41,399 Speaker 4: I do to stay healthy. I'm also getting, you know, 489 00:26:41,560 --> 00:26:45,479 Speaker 4: sort of really bored at home, and so I started 490 00:26:45,480 --> 00:26:48,080 Speaker 4: stepping outside. And when you step outside at night in 491 00:26:48,160 --> 00:26:51,199 Speaker 4: Hong Kong, there's all these like really exotic things like 492 00:26:51,280 --> 00:26:54,760 Speaker 4: bats flying around, you know, wom bats, you know, possums, 493 00:26:55,400 --> 00:26:58,159 Speaker 4: And then I just started realizing, Wow, there's a whole 494 00:26:58,200 --> 00:27:01,479 Speaker 4: world out there. It just kind of became this habit 495 00:27:01,600 --> 00:27:04,520 Speaker 4: every night, and I started listening to you know, nature 496 00:27:04,960 --> 00:27:08,480 Speaker 4: while also taking steps. So I got this like really 497 00:27:08,560 --> 00:27:12,040 Speaker 4: cheap pedometer, and I started like noticing how many steps 498 00:27:12,080 --> 00:27:14,560 Speaker 4: I was taking every day, and it just the days 499 00:27:14,560 --> 00:27:17,119 Speaker 4: that I was taking more steps, I just felt so 500 00:27:17,240 --> 00:27:20,879 Speaker 4: much better, especially after meal, because it was helping me 501 00:27:20,920 --> 00:27:23,040 Speaker 4: to digest, so it was just helping me to control 502 00:27:23,040 --> 00:27:27,520 Speaker 4: my glucospikes. It's been really transformative. And so the steps 503 00:27:27,600 --> 00:27:29,879 Speaker 4: you can take inside, I do it, you know, running 504 00:27:30,000 --> 00:27:32,720 Speaker 4: errands inside or cleaning the house. But when I do 505 00:27:32,800 --> 00:27:36,119 Speaker 4: it outside, it just is, you know, it just makes 506 00:27:36,119 --> 00:27:38,920 Speaker 4: my day. So that really I try as much as 507 00:27:38,960 --> 00:27:42,080 Speaker 4: possible to make that kind of a daily requirement for myself. 508 00:27:42,920 --> 00:27:45,040 Speaker 3: I talk about walking all the time. It's how I 509 00:27:45,080 --> 00:27:48,160 Speaker 3: clear my head for one and a lot of times too. 510 00:27:48,200 --> 00:27:50,080 Speaker 3: I realize even if I go on a short walk 511 00:27:50,080 --> 00:27:53,119 Speaker 3: in my neighborhood, like twenty minutes, I will start to 512 00:27:53,160 --> 00:27:56,960 Speaker 3: have all these creative downloads, Like it just opens. 513 00:27:56,520 --> 00:27:59,560 Speaker 2: You up in all of these new ways. Physically, like 514 00:27:59,600 --> 00:28:00,480 Speaker 2: you're talking about. 515 00:28:00,720 --> 00:28:02,159 Speaker 3: I like to do it in the day where I'm 516 00:28:02,200 --> 00:28:05,120 Speaker 3: getting some vitamin D as well. But yeah, the way 517 00:28:05,160 --> 00:28:07,560 Speaker 3: it helps me mentally and emotionally, I mean I could 518 00:28:07,560 --> 00:28:10,600 Speaker 3: be inside feeling like the world is caving in, and 519 00:28:10,640 --> 00:28:12,119 Speaker 3: I go on a twenty minute walk and I'm like, 520 00:28:12,119 --> 00:28:13,040 Speaker 3: oh no, things are good. 521 00:28:13,680 --> 00:28:15,480 Speaker 2: Yeah, crazy how it helps. 522 00:28:15,720 --> 00:28:18,080 Speaker 4: I think. The other thing too is that you just 523 00:28:18,200 --> 00:28:20,680 Speaker 4: need these little breaks. So I used to just kind 524 00:28:20,720 --> 00:28:23,840 Speaker 4: of like go, go go, And you know, I still 525 00:28:23,880 --> 00:28:27,119 Speaker 4: do a lot of things, like I'm very intellectually curious 526 00:28:27,160 --> 00:28:28,600 Speaker 4: about a lot of things. I like to, you know, 527 00:28:28,640 --> 00:28:31,600 Speaker 4: dip my hands in a lot of projects. But you know, 528 00:28:31,720 --> 00:28:34,840 Speaker 4: I realize that I can last so much longer if 529 00:28:34,880 --> 00:28:37,440 Speaker 4: I just take the time, even for the few seconds 530 00:28:37,480 --> 00:28:40,800 Speaker 4: to like take a breath, be mindful about my next step. 531 00:28:40,880 --> 00:28:43,640 Speaker 4: I mean, it actually does help with what you're saying 532 00:28:43,640 --> 00:28:47,880 Speaker 4: with the inflammation, because stress, in it of itself, it 533 00:28:47,920 --> 00:28:49,880 Speaker 4: could be good in the moment, you know, it could 534 00:28:49,920 --> 00:28:53,560 Speaker 4: push you to a goal. But chronic stress I realized, 535 00:28:54,080 --> 00:28:56,120 Speaker 4: you know, in sort of the hard way, is that 536 00:28:56,600 --> 00:28:59,280 Speaker 4: it leads to inflammation and disease. So you know, it's 537 00:28:59,280 --> 00:29:01,080 Speaker 4: something that you really have to manage. Is something I 538 00:29:01,120 --> 00:29:04,800 Speaker 4: pass on to my kids. And going back to your 539 00:29:04,880 --> 00:29:07,960 Speaker 4: question about self care, I feel like, you know, in 540 00:29:08,520 --> 00:29:11,920 Speaker 4: social media, it's often defined by beauty and you know, 541 00:29:12,000 --> 00:29:14,040 Speaker 4: it's all the different things like I said, you know 542 00:29:14,080 --> 00:29:16,640 Speaker 4: about taking care of yourself, but it is actually a 543 00:29:16,680 --> 00:29:20,840 Speaker 4: medically important term. You know, like top health organizations like 544 00:29:20,880 --> 00:29:25,120 Speaker 4: the Mayo Clinic, the Cleveland Clinic, they have a definition 545 00:29:25,160 --> 00:29:27,400 Speaker 4: of self care and it you know it. I feel 546 00:29:27,440 --> 00:29:30,720 Speaker 4: like it needs to be heard more often. So it 547 00:29:30,840 --> 00:29:35,000 Speaker 4: encompasses a lot of different things, like including being body 548 00:29:35,040 --> 00:29:38,080 Speaker 4: aware enough to seek medical care when you're needed. So 549 00:29:38,080 --> 00:29:40,320 Speaker 4: so you need to listen to your body. You need 550 00:29:40,360 --> 00:29:43,320 Speaker 4: to see like if something's happening, and you know, and 551 00:29:43,440 --> 00:29:46,640 Speaker 4: kind of like monitor it. And so I talk about 552 00:29:46,680 --> 00:29:49,040 Speaker 4: in a book. You know, part of that process is, 553 00:29:49,160 --> 00:29:51,680 Speaker 4: you know, something that I do in my bath care 554 00:29:51,880 --> 00:29:55,680 Speaker 4: like I will self massage and then like it's an 555 00:29:55,680 --> 00:29:58,080 Speaker 4: opportunity for me too to kind of be in tune 556 00:29:58,120 --> 00:30:01,080 Speaker 4: with what's happening with my body every day. To well. 557 00:30:01,160 --> 00:30:04,720 Speaker 3: I love that you mentioned it's a preventative act because 558 00:30:04,760 --> 00:30:06,840 Speaker 3: I think a lot of us do what you did, 559 00:30:06,920 --> 00:30:11,120 Speaker 3: which is wait until everything's falling apart, our body is 560 00:30:11,480 --> 00:30:15,320 Speaker 3: completely malfunctioning or having issues, and then we're like, oh, 561 00:30:15,360 --> 00:30:17,440 Speaker 3: you're right, I need to do some self care. And 562 00:30:17,440 --> 00:30:20,840 Speaker 3: that's actually like that the end hower that's beyond the point. 563 00:30:21,160 --> 00:30:23,240 Speaker 3: But if you do it in a preventative way, hopefully 564 00:30:23,240 --> 00:30:26,320 Speaker 3: you wouldn't be getting into those spaces where things are 565 00:30:26,400 --> 00:30:28,600 Speaker 3: falling apart, or your stress levels are too high, your 566 00:30:28,640 --> 00:30:29,760 Speaker 3: body is shutting down. 567 00:30:30,240 --> 00:30:31,480 Speaker 2: Like, I love that idea. 568 00:30:31,520 --> 00:30:33,040 Speaker 3: That was such a switch for me because I don't 569 00:30:33,040 --> 00:30:34,560 Speaker 3: think we often talk about it that way. 570 00:30:35,240 --> 00:30:38,320 Speaker 4: Yeah, and I feel like you're not talking about it enough. 571 00:30:38,480 --> 00:30:42,160 Speaker 4: There's so many you know, professionals that are just you know, 572 00:30:42,240 --> 00:30:44,920 Speaker 4: they're in these high achieving cultures and they're just kind 573 00:30:44,960 --> 00:30:49,200 Speaker 4: of powering through and they're discounting self care because it 574 00:30:49,320 --> 00:30:52,280 Speaker 4: just seems so frivolous. But actually, when you start thinking 575 00:30:52,320 --> 00:30:55,800 Speaker 4: about you know what, is happening with modern health, Like 576 00:30:56,480 --> 00:31:00,000 Speaker 4: the World Health Organization actually estimates that over seventy percent 577 00:31:00,080 --> 00:31:04,760 Speaker 4: son of global deaths are caused by preventable chronic conditions. 578 00:31:05,520 --> 00:31:11,240 Speaker 4: We can actually empower ourselves as individuals to self care. Yeah, 579 00:31:11,440 --> 00:31:12,200 Speaker 4: that is awesome. 580 00:31:21,120 --> 00:31:23,120 Speaker 3: In your work, I was reading about some of the 581 00:31:23,400 --> 00:31:26,760 Speaker 3: practices of self care in the Korean culture, and I 582 00:31:26,760 --> 00:31:28,360 Speaker 3: wanted to know if you could tell the listeners. We'll 583 00:31:28,400 --> 00:31:30,440 Speaker 3: just kind of go bullet point through these and maybe 584 00:31:30,440 --> 00:31:33,440 Speaker 3: you can explain what they are to people. Okay, Korean 585 00:31:33,680 --> 00:31:38,960 Speaker 3: hygiene practices, so removing shoes indoors and three three three 586 00:31:39,320 --> 00:31:41,640 Speaker 3: brushing method us about that. 587 00:31:43,160 --> 00:31:46,440 Speaker 4: Yeah, so you know, they eat a lot of kimchi. 588 00:31:47,600 --> 00:31:50,520 Speaker 4: You know, they're just making sure that, you know, they 589 00:31:50,720 --> 00:31:54,120 Speaker 4: are mindful of their oral health. So I think there's 590 00:31:54,160 --> 00:31:57,920 Speaker 4: a lot of things in Korean culture that are just normalized. 591 00:31:58,120 --> 00:32:01,320 Speaker 4: It is not strange for them to take care of themselves. 592 00:32:01,840 --> 00:32:05,280 Speaker 4: And so if you use the word self care with them, 593 00:32:05,440 --> 00:32:09,320 Speaker 4: they might be puzzled because it's just so normal for them. Okay, 594 00:32:09,440 --> 00:32:13,040 Speaker 4: do these things like if you practices right, like if 595 00:32:13,120 --> 00:32:15,920 Speaker 4: you and even if I ask my parents, they won't 596 00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:19,000 Speaker 4: choose the same words. They just do it. This is 597 00:32:19,040 --> 00:32:22,320 Speaker 4: an example. You go on a plane and you're going 598 00:32:22,360 --> 00:32:26,080 Speaker 4: to Korea or you're coming back from Korea and it's 599 00:32:26,080 --> 00:32:29,400 Speaker 4: a long haul flight, and they will start putting videos 600 00:32:30,080 --> 00:32:33,719 Speaker 4: of stretching. They'll give you stretching exercises because they know 601 00:32:33,840 --> 00:32:37,200 Speaker 4: that you've been sitting for hours and your body needs 602 00:32:37,280 --> 00:32:40,840 Speaker 4: to you know, you need to help encourage the circulatory systems, 603 00:32:41,320 --> 00:32:44,560 Speaker 4: and they're showing you how to stretch. I mean even 604 00:32:44,680 --> 00:32:48,440 Speaker 4: during COVID they were actually implementing through YouTube these you 605 00:32:48,440 --> 00:32:53,000 Speaker 4: know Olympic stretches, you know, down by the Olympic gymnastics team, 606 00:32:53,240 --> 00:32:56,040 Speaker 4: and it's so normal. If you go down the streets 607 00:32:56,040 --> 00:32:58,840 Speaker 4: in Korea, people will just stop walking and they're just 608 00:32:58,880 --> 00:33:03,640 Speaker 4: stretching and it's very normal. So as Americans, it's kind 609 00:33:03,680 --> 00:33:06,560 Speaker 4: of like a strange concept, but you know, even just 610 00:33:06,600 --> 00:33:08,800 Speaker 4: taking off the shoes, it kind of makes sense. You know, 611 00:33:08,880 --> 00:33:11,320 Speaker 4: you're kind of like keeping all of the mud outside. 612 00:33:11,640 --> 00:33:14,240 Speaker 4: But it does stay back to long a long time ago, 613 00:33:14,360 --> 00:33:20,960 Speaker 4: because there was something called ondols and there's they're heated floors. 614 00:33:21,000 --> 00:33:23,280 Speaker 4: So it was just like this very clever system of 615 00:33:23,400 --> 00:33:26,000 Speaker 4: using heat from the kitchen and then kind of like 616 00:33:26,040 --> 00:33:29,400 Speaker 4: it moved horizontally into the bedroom, and the floors was 617 00:33:29,640 --> 00:33:31,920 Speaker 4: where they slept, where they ate, you know, so it 618 00:33:32,000 --> 00:33:35,280 Speaker 4: really needed to be clean. But yeah, it's very much 619 00:33:35,320 --> 00:33:37,640 Speaker 4: something that I do at home as well, and when 620 00:33:37,640 --> 00:33:39,600 Speaker 4: I was working in Korea, that's what they do in 621 00:33:39,600 --> 00:33:40,560 Speaker 4: the office as well. 622 00:33:40,680 --> 00:33:45,160 Speaker 3: In the office even. Yeah, oh that's so interesting. Okay, 623 00:33:45,360 --> 00:33:47,920 Speaker 3: this one was really interesting to me because I always 624 00:33:47,960 --> 00:33:52,000 Speaker 3: think of coffee and tea as dehydrating, and you say 625 00:33:52,000 --> 00:33:55,600 Speaker 3: that they in Korean culture they stay hydrated often by 626 00:33:55,800 --> 00:33:58,120 Speaker 3: drinking more decaffeinated herbal tea. 627 00:33:58,160 --> 00:33:59,920 Speaker 2: So is it the caffeine that dehydrate? 628 00:34:01,120 --> 00:34:04,360 Speaker 4: Yeah, I think so. I mean they are employing a 629 00:34:04,480 --> 00:34:08,040 Speaker 4: lot of different ways of hydrating that also includes food. 630 00:34:08,960 --> 00:34:10,640 Speaker 4: So if you like, if you go back to the 631 00:34:11,080 --> 00:34:16,200 Speaker 4: cucumber example, cucumbers are ninety six percent water, and then 632 00:34:16,440 --> 00:34:18,480 Speaker 4: not only that, if you dip it in like a 633 00:34:18,560 --> 00:34:22,480 Speaker 4: salt drived condiment, you're actually boosting the hydration and you 634 00:34:22,520 --> 00:34:24,680 Speaker 4: know those senior electrolytes. So they're doing a lot of 635 00:34:24,719 --> 00:34:29,480 Speaker 4: different things, including the nourishing brods. The tea that you mentioned, 636 00:34:29,600 --> 00:34:33,520 Speaker 4: it's a pooty cha and it's a roasted corn tea 637 00:34:33,600 --> 00:34:35,600 Speaker 4: and it's kind of like if you think about like 638 00:34:35,760 --> 00:34:38,920 Speaker 4: flavored water, if you're kind of they drink it like 639 00:34:39,040 --> 00:34:42,279 Speaker 4: water and it's very good for your skin. I drink 640 00:34:42,320 --> 00:34:44,439 Speaker 4: it all the time now. So I have these two 641 00:34:44,520 --> 00:34:48,640 Speaker 4: carafts at home. One is filled with filtered water and 642 00:34:48,680 --> 00:34:52,080 Speaker 4: I put lemon in it. The other one has woody 643 00:34:52,200 --> 00:34:53,280 Speaker 4: cha in it. 644 00:34:53,560 --> 00:34:54,360 Speaker 2: And you just drink that. 645 00:34:54,560 --> 00:34:55,279 Speaker 4: I drink all day. 646 00:34:56,120 --> 00:34:59,120 Speaker 3: Okay, And lemon water is actually really good for digestion, right, 647 00:34:59,200 --> 00:35:00,520 Speaker 3: just putting in your water. 648 00:35:01,000 --> 00:35:01,360 Speaker 2: Okay. 649 00:35:02,320 --> 00:35:04,479 Speaker 3: See, these are like, like you said, it's very day 650 00:35:04,520 --> 00:35:08,080 Speaker 3: to day things that they're not big adjustments, but it's 651 00:35:08,160 --> 00:35:11,120 Speaker 3: just incorporating the small things into our lives as these 652 00:35:11,200 --> 00:35:17,560 Speaker 3: preventative basically healthcare methods. So fascinating. Okay, what about forest 653 00:35:17,640 --> 00:35:20,800 Speaker 3: bathing and how if we live in a city, how 654 00:35:20,840 --> 00:35:23,400 Speaker 3: can we you know, incorporate this into our day to 655 00:35:23,440 --> 00:35:24,040 Speaker 3: day life. 656 00:35:24,920 --> 00:35:29,080 Speaker 4: I think even walking down a train line street actually 657 00:35:29,120 --> 00:35:32,480 Speaker 4: exposes you to you know, fresh air, the bacteria in 658 00:35:32,520 --> 00:35:36,319 Speaker 4: the air. We are, especially you know, post code, we're 659 00:35:36,440 --> 00:35:39,480 Speaker 4: very anti you know, sort of germs. 660 00:35:40,040 --> 00:35:40,320 Speaker 2: Right. 661 00:35:40,440 --> 00:35:43,320 Speaker 4: Actually, self care is predicated on this idea of terrain 662 00:35:43,400 --> 00:35:46,960 Speaker 4: based living, so it's being at one with the environment, 663 00:35:47,200 --> 00:35:50,680 Speaker 4: with nature, you know, forest bathing actually is very healthy 664 00:35:50,719 --> 00:35:55,839 Speaker 4: for your gut because you're exposing your body to all 665 00:35:55,880 --> 00:35:58,319 Speaker 4: of the things that are happening in the environment so 666 00:35:58,360 --> 00:36:01,279 Speaker 4: that they have healthy responses. Is you know, when you 667 00:36:01,320 --> 00:36:04,200 Speaker 4: have when you're exposed to them, it's not only really 668 00:36:04,239 --> 00:36:06,960 Speaker 4: healthy for your body, but it's also you know, it's 669 00:36:07,000 --> 00:36:09,839 Speaker 4: just like a distressing method as well. I think it's 670 00:36:09,920 --> 00:36:12,719 Speaker 4: just very nourishing to be out in nature. It is 671 00:36:12,760 --> 00:36:17,520 Speaker 4: a really popular activity in Korea, like something that everybody does, 672 00:36:17,560 --> 00:36:20,359 Speaker 4: like even teenagers, they'll go out into the mountains and 673 00:36:20,440 --> 00:36:22,040 Speaker 4: forest bathe. It's very popular. 674 00:36:22,480 --> 00:36:26,080 Speaker 2: Can you explain to listeners what it means to forest babe. 675 00:36:25,960 --> 00:36:28,960 Speaker 4: Well, technically, if you were close to a forest, or 676 00:36:28,960 --> 00:36:31,880 Speaker 4: if you wanted to use that as a destination, you 677 00:36:31,920 --> 00:36:35,040 Speaker 4: go into the forest and you kind of breathe in 678 00:36:35,600 --> 00:36:38,919 Speaker 4: the forest air and you walk sort of mindfully, and 679 00:36:39,400 --> 00:36:42,000 Speaker 4: you know it could just be for like a momentary walk, 680 00:36:42,080 --> 00:36:44,880 Speaker 4: but that's it. That's forest bathing to. 681 00:36:45,040 --> 00:36:48,359 Speaker 3: Just being amongst trees. Like you said, if you don't 682 00:36:48,440 --> 00:36:51,680 Speaker 3: have access to an actual forest, can kind of incorporate 683 00:36:51,719 --> 00:36:52,320 Speaker 3: the same things. 684 00:36:52,400 --> 00:36:54,560 Speaker 4: Okay, I feel like even if you were in a 685 00:36:54,560 --> 00:36:57,320 Speaker 4: city and you kind of walk next to open water. 686 00:36:57,600 --> 00:37:00,759 Speaker 4: I think anything kind of being close to meure is. 687 00:37:01,320 --> 00:37:03,440 Speaker 4: I even try to bring nature home by you know, 688 00:37:03,480 --> 00:37:06,560 Speaker 4: bringing lanson. I think we're just so far removed from 689 00:37:06,640 --> 00:37:07,800 Speaker 4: nature often. 690 00:37:08,320 --> 00:37:11,080 Speaker 3: Let's talk a little bit about Korean baths culture, because 691 00:37:11,120 --> 00:37:13,760 Speaker 3: I do think you can find that in the States 692 00:37:13,800 --> 00:37:17,040 Speaker 3: somewhat now if you start digging for it. And I 693 00:37:17,040 --> 00:37:19,239 Speaker 3: haven't personally tried this, but I have some friends who 694 00:37:19,280 --> 00:37:20,440 Speaker 3: have and they love it. 695 00:37:20,480 --> 00:37:21,880 Speaker 2: They speak very highly of it. 696 00:37:22,000 --> 00:37:25,360 Speaker 3: So can you talk about the wellness for everyone approach? 697 00:37:25,520 --> 00:37:28,759 Speaker 3: You know, even when we're thinking about our youthful skin, 698 00:37:28,840 --> 00:37:30,799 Speaker 3: which is a huge I know we all want to 699 00:37:31,040 --> 00:37:34,520 Speaker 3: maintain great skin, and as aging can be a tricky process, 700 00:37:34,680 --> 00:37:37,399 Speaker 3: so let's talk about it in relation to that. 701 00:37:38,000 --> 00:37:41,239 Speaker 4: So skin health is actually for them, it's very much 702 00:37:41,320 --> 00:37:43,840 Speaker 4: like an inside out. So the fermented foods is like 703 00:37:44,239 --> 00:37:46,399 Speaker 4: it helps with their radiance. I mean, if you start 704 00:37:46,440 --> 00:37:49,680 Speaker 4: taking look at these Buddhist stunts, they are literally luminescent. 705 00:37:49,840 --> 00:37:55,160 Speaker 4: It's amazing. These bath houses are called Jim jillbong in Korea. 706 00:37:55,800 --> 00:37:57,759 Speaker 4: And so for a few dollars a day, you can 707 00:37:57,800 --> 00:38:01,239 Speaker 4: go into, you know, for twenty four hours, actually you 708 00:38:01,280 --> 00:38:05,080 Speaker 4: can step into this entire world of like kind of 709 00:38:05,120 --> 00:38:08,800 Speaker 4: like a complex maze of you know, hot saanas, cold bats, 710 00:38:08,840 --> 00:38:10,840 Speaker 4: all the things that you're starting to hear about. But 711 00:38:11,120 --> 00:38:14,000 Speaker 4: it's something that is very normalized, like people will do 712 00:38:14,040 --> 00:38:16,400 Speaker 4: it every day if they live near one. But it 713 00:38:16,440 --> 00:38:21,840 Speaker 4: incorporates massages. It's a very body positive environment because you know, 714 00:38:21,840 --> 00:38:25,320 Speaker 4: you're sort of like stripped from everything, like you're fashion 715 00:38:25,400 --> 00:38:29,000 Speaker 4: your clothing, jewelry, you know, your makeup, and it's for 716 00:38:29,120 --> 00:38:31,960 Speaker 4: every age. So a lot of chilildren go with their 717 00:38:31,960 --> 00:38:34,680 Speaker 4: grandparents and then people will go for a date night. 718 00:38:35,160 --> 00:38:38,400 Speaker 4: There are you know sort of you know, a section 719 00:38:38,520 --> 00:38:40,319 Speaker 4: for men in a section for women, and then they 720 00:38:40,320 --> 00:38:43,840 Speaker 4: come together, you know, clothed. But I feel like it 721 00:38:43,960 --> 00:38:48,759 Speaker 4: is such a powerful way to impart knowledge about what 722 00:38:48,880 --> 00:38:52,640 Speaker 4: people can do for their self care toolbox. So one 723 00:38:52,719 --> 00:38:55,319 Speaker 4: of the sort of very Korean things about it is 724 00:38:55,360 --> 00:39:01,440 Speaker 4: this deep exfoliation that happens. You are completely naked and 725 00:39:02,160 --> 00:39:05,879 Speaker 4: someone is vigorously exfoliating you. You know, they're taking dead 726 00:39:05,920 --> 00:39:08,680 Speaker 4: skin off your skin, and you know you're sort of 727 00:39:08,719 --> 00:39:12,040 Speaker 4: like you come out very like baby skin, baby soft skin, 728 00:39:12,360 --> 00:39:15,560 Speaker 4: and you know you're sort of glowing. It's not something 729 00:39:15,560 --> 00:39:17,960 Speaker 4: that they do all the time. But just to have 730 00:39:18,000 --> 00:39:21,600 Speaker 4: that regular, you know, sort of sloughing I think is 731 00:39:21,640 --> 00:39:23,919 Speaker 4: really helpful. So you'll see, like if you go into 732 00:39:23,920 --> 00:39:26,279 Speaker 4: an h mart or some kind of Korean where you'll 733 00:39:26,280 --> 00:39:29,719 Speaker 4: see a lot of these like towels that are a 734 00:39:29,760 --> 00:39:32,560 Speaker 4: little bit rough, And that's what it's for. It's for 735 00:39:32,640 --> 00:39:35,839 Speaker 4: the exfoliation process in your bath So even if you're 736 00:39:35,920 --> 00:39:38,480 Speaker 4: not next to a Jim Joe Bung, you can take 737 00:39:38,480 --> 00:39:42,520 Speaker 4: it back home into your bathcare routine and exfoliate your skin. 738 00:39:43,680 --> 00:39:43,839 Speaker 2: Well. 739 00:39:43,880 --> 00:39:45,799 Speaker 3: I think this is actually a good transition. So you 740 00:39:45,840 --> 00:39:48,200 Speaker 3: mentioned that someone would be doing that to you, but 741 00:39:48,280 --> 00:39:51,319 Speaker 3: also like the Korean bathhouse culture in general feels very 742 00:39:51,360 --> 00:39:54,319 Speaker 3: community based to me. Then there was a word I 743 00:39:54,360 --> 00:39:56,879 Speaker 3: asked you how to pronounce before the podcast, and we'll 744 00:39:56,880 --> 00:40:00,439 Speaker 3: see if I can get it right. Jong yong means 745 00:40:00,440 --> 00:40:03,759 Speaker 3: the warm and visible connection between loved ones and places, right. 746 00:40:04,320 --> 00:40:06,799 Speaker 3: But I love that idea. So is that something that 747 00:40:06,920 --> 00:40:10,960 Speaker 3: is actively like what you feel in Korean culture or 748 00:40:10,960 --> 00:40:13,960 Speaker 3: maybe in this bath house situation, like everyone's feeling like 749 00:40:14,040 --> 00:40:18,040 Speaker 3: connected and maybe there's like a loving connection between people. 750 00:40:18,080 --> 00:40:19,200 Speaker 2: Can you talk a little bit about that? 751 00:40:19,400 --> 00:40:23,040 Speaker 4: Absolutely? So jong is really really important. Again, it's one 752 00:40:23,080 --> 00:40:25,600 Speaker 4: of those things. I feel like people just kind of 753 00:40:25,640 --> 00:40:29,480 Speaker 4: feel it, and like if you watch key drama, it's 754 00:40:29,600 --> 00:40:35,120 Speaker 4: really like a revered quality about people. So there is 755 00:40:35,200 --> 00:40:38,719 Speaker 4: actually no English equivalent. It means so many different words 756 00:40:38,800 --> 00:40:43,360 Speaker 4: like kindness, social responsibility, you know, sort of like a 757 00:40:43,400 --> 00:40:47,600 Speaker 4: generosity towards humankind. But what is so unique about it 758 00:40:47,640 --> 00:40:52,719 Speaker 4: is that it extends into the entire of society, into community, 759 00:40:52,760 --> 00:40:57,200 Speaker 4: even with strangers. So it's just like this bond that 760 00:40:57,280 --> 00:41:01,080 Speaker 4: Koreans feel amongst each other, like they have this collective 761 00:41:01,120 --> 00:41:04,040 Speaker 4: call that someone's going to help them. And you know, 762 00:41:04,160 --> 00:41:06,719 Speaker 4: you'll start to see it in you know, pockets of 763 00:41:06,960 --> 00:41:09,960 Speaker 4: you know, Korean history, like they went into the financial 764 00:41:10,040 --> 00:41:13,640 Speaker 4: crisis and they all took personal responsibility to help one another. 765 00:41:13,719 --> 00:41:17,920 Speaker 4: They actually went back home, took their personal gold jewelry 766 00:41:18,000 --> 00:41:20,719 Speaker 4: and then they all melted it to help save the country. 767 00:41:21,360 --> 00:41:24,560 Speaker 4: And you know, COVID was another example where they you know, 768 00:41:24,640 --> 00:41:27,799 Speaker 4: really tried to you know, help with one another. The 769 00:41:28,440 --> 00:41:31,160 Speaker 4: food waste is another example. They went to zero food 770 00:41:31,200 --> 00:41:34,560 Speaker 4: waste in their country, and it is so ever present 771 00:41:34,680 --> 00:41:38,440 Speaker 4: in their culture. It's actually spawned an entire vocabulary. And 772 00:41:38,760 --> 00:41:42,200 Speaker 4: I didn't actually realize how important it was like until 773 00:41:42,239 --> 00:41:46,000 Speaker 4: I started looking into it. Because of my father, I 774 00:41:46,040 --> 00:41:48,360 Speaker 4: was able to tap into all of these longevity experts 775 00:41:48,400 --> 00:41:51,760 Speaker 4: and it's so interesting, like these all of these lifestyle 776 00:41:51,840 --> 00:41:55,560 Speaker 4: changes are important, you know, like focusing on food is medicine, 777 00:41:55,640 --> 00:41:58,840 Speaker 4: you know. But after all of his research and you know, 778 00:41:58,920 --> 00:42:01,680 Speaker 4: sort of like looking at all of these centenarians and 779 00:42:01,760 --> 00:42:05,239 Speaker 4: what was the overwriting factor. It was the relationships. And 780 00:42:05,320 --> 00:42:07,759 Speaker 4: it does tie back to a lot of research that 781 00:42:07,840 --> 00:42:11,319 Speaker 4: you might find. There's actually a long standing research done 782 00:42:11,360 --> 00:42:14,960 Speaker 4: by Harvard and it really is about the quality of 783 00:42:15,000 --> 00:42:19,600 Speaker 4: your relationships. And in Korean culture, that is John Wow. 784 00:42:19,920 --> 00:42:20,520 Speaker 2: I love that. 785 00:42:20,560 --> 00:42:23,480 Speaker 3: I mean that is probably the opposite of what I 786 00:42:23,560 --> 00:42:26,279 Speaker 3: feel in our culture in America right now. I think 787 00:42:26,280 --> 00:42:30,120 Speaker 3: we're very divided. So this idea of coming together as 788 00:42:30,160 --> 00:42:33,640 Speaker 3: a community for one purpose, I hope that we get 789 00:42:33,680 --> 00:42:36,840 Speaker 3: to that here. I think that is such a beautiful concept. 790 00:42:37,120 --> 00:42:40,960 Speaker 3: So the book is called Son and Souscott The Korean 791 00:42:41,080 --> 00:42:44,279 Speaker 3: Art of Self Care, Wellness and Longevity. I'm going to 792 00:42:44,360 --> 00:42:46,960 Speaker 3: link that for you guys in the description of this podcast. 793 00:42:47,120 --> 00:42:49,400 Speaker 3: I do want to ask you one more question, if 794 00:42:49,440 --> 00:42:52,960 Speaker 3: you could offer just one piece of advice for someone 795 00:42:53,000 --> 00:42:56,520 Speaker 3: looking to start improving their health and longevity tomorrow, what 796 00:42:56,560 --> 00:42:57,080 Speaker 3: would it be? 797 00:42:58,000 --> 00:43:03,240 Speaker 4: There is a trio and the Korean pantry. They're anti 798 00:43:03,320 --> 00:43:07,719 Speaker 4: inflammatory ingredients, and ginger is one of them, which we 799 00:43:07,760 --> 00:43:10,480 Speaker 4: can all find in our supermarkets. But what I found 800 00:43:10,640 --> 00:43:13,840 Speaker 4: is that when you focus on the younger roots, it 801 00:43:13,960 --> 00:43:19,279 Speaker 4: increases antioptic oxidants significantly. So I find I tend to 802 00:43:19,320 --> 00:43:21,800 Speaker 4: find those in the green markets, you know, versus the 803 00:43:21,880 --> 00:43:24,280 Speaker 4: dried up versions that you might find, you know, somewhere, 804 00:43:24,760 --> 00:43:27,600 Speaker 4: but ginger is one of them. You can also buy 805 00:43:27,880 --> 00:43:32,000 Speaker 4: dried versions, which helps immensely in terms of just you know, 806 00:43:32,120 --> 00:43:35,080 Speaker 4: you have easy access, it's preserved for a really long time. 807 00:43:35,480 --> 00:43:39,799 Speaker 4: Jujubes is another one. It helps with circulatory issues and 808 00:43:40,440 --> 00:43:43,560 Speaker 4: those are red dates and I buy those dried and 809 00:43:43,600 --> 00:43:48,080 Speaker 4: then ginsing, So Ginsing is another root, but it's a 810 00:43:48,120 --> 00:43:51,000 Speaker 4: medicinal root that's very powerful. I use it very kind 811 00:43:51,040 --> 00:43:54,640 Speaker 4: of sparingly. But that's something that I can't always find fresh, 812 00:43:54,760 --> 00:43:56,800 Speaker 4: but I can find dried. 813 00:43:57,280 --> 00:44:00,160 Speaker 3: How are you using gen sing other than like I've 814 00:44:00,160 --> 00:44:02,520 Speaker 3: heard of gens and tea obviously, but what are some 815 00:44:02,560 --> 00:44:03,719 Speaker 3: other ways you would use that? 816 00:44:03,960 --> 00:44:06,759 Speaker 4: Well? For me, it's a very bitter route, so I 817 00:44:06,760 --> 00:44:09,920 Speaker 4: don't tend to use it in tea, but I tend 818 00:44:10,000 --> 00:44:12,480 Speaker 4: to use it in the broths, Like if I were 819 00:44:12,520 --> 00:44:15,080 Speaker 4: to make a poached chicken, I'll put it in the 820 00:44:15,120 --> 00:44:16,520 Speaker 4: broth of the poach chicken. 821 00:44:16,880 --> 00:44:17,400 Speaker 3: Yeah. 822 00:44:17,719 --> 00:44:21,000 Speaker 4: So I went to go study free divers. You know, 823 00:44:21,000 --> 00:44:24,000 Speaker 4: they're free diving all the way through their nineties without equipment, 824 00:44:24,120 --> 00:44:26,440 Speaker 4: and so they have to be really strong. And they 825 00:44:26,480 --> 00:44:29,640 Speaker 4: taught me about breath. And that's one of the you know, 826 00:44:29,840 --> 00:44:31,920 Speaker 4: sort of key things that I've changed. You know, instead 827 00:44:31,920 --> 00:44:35,919 Speaker 4: of like working, after thirty minutes of working, I'll take 828 00:44:35,960 --> 00:44:40,640 Speaker 4: a moment, you know, two seconds breathing in deeply, pause, 829 00:44:40,960 --> 00:44:44,239 Speaker 4: and then breathe out, you know, for four seconds out 830 00:44:44,280 --> 00:44:47,600 Speaker 4: through my mouth. And it just allows me to have 831 00:44:47,640 --> 00:44:50,879 Speaker 4: that momentary break to kind of like stop and bring 832 00:44:50,920 --> 00:44:53,600 Speaker 4: my body back to home stasis. It's just something that's 833 00:44:53,680 --> 00:44:56,879 Speaker 4: so simple. I can do it online anywhere, like if 834 00:44:56,880 --> 00:45:00,120 Speaker 4: I'm waiting online, you know, at the post office or 835 00:45:00,160 --> 00:45:02,600 Speaker 4: at a grocery store. I can do it anywhere, and 836 00:45:02,680 --> 00:45:04,200 Speaker 4: I do it multiple times a day. 837 00:45:05,280 --> 00:45:07,799 Speaker 3: You mentioned the free diving. Basically, if people don't know 838 00:45:07,880 --> 00:45:11,719 Speaker 3: that meat, that's fishermen essentially, right, but they're actually diving 839 00:45:12,400 --> 00:45:13,440 Speaker 3: to go get the. 840 00:45:13,400 --> 00:45:15,239 Speaker 2: Fish or whatever it is, and they're old women. 841 00:45:15,880 --> 00:45:18,640 Speaker 3: Well, as I said, I'm going to put a link 842 00:45:18,680 --> 00:45:20,920 Speaker 3: to the book in the description of this podcast. Michelle, 843 00:45:20,920 --> 00:45:22,640 Speaker 3: Where else can people find you if they want to 844 00:45:22,680 --> 00:45:25,200 Speaker 3: keep up with your work online? 845 00:45:25,239 --> 00:45:30,040 Speaker 4: Instagram? Michelle dot Gentleman, dot bang. I didn't start using 846 00:45:30,080 --> 00:45:32,960 Speaker 4: my middle name until I wrote the book. 847 00:45:33,600 --> 00:45:35,360 Speaker 2: I love it well, it works with the culture. 848 00:45:35,480 --> 00:45:39,040 Speaker 3: So I'll actually put that in the description of the 849 00:45:39,080 --> 00:45:41,200 Speaker 3: podcast as well for you guys, just so you know 850 00:45:41,200 --> 00:45:43,839 Speaker 3: how it's spelled. But thank you so much. I feel 851 00:45:43,840 --> 00:45:45,399 Speaker 3: like I could talk to you forever because I love 852 00:45:45,480 --> 00:45:48,319 Speaker 3: these topics. But I hope that we really start incorporating 853 00:45:48,360 --> 00:45:50,359 Speaker 3: a lot of these practices here, so I think your 854 00:45:50,360 --> 00:45:54,280 Speaker 3: book is really really helpful you. Thank you guys for listening. 855 00:45:55,000 --> 00:45:58,000 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to the Velvet's Edge podcast with Kelly Henderson, 856 00:45:58,200 --> 00:46:00,400 Speaker 1: where we believe everyone has a little. 857 00:46:00,160 --> 00:46:01,319 Speaker 2: Velvet in a little edge. 858 00:46:01,600 --> 00:46:05,960 Speaker 1: Subscribe for more conversations on life, style, beauty, and relationships. 859 00:46:06,160 --> 00:46:08,640 Speaker 1: Search Velvet's Edge wherever you get your podcasts.