Photo by Will Francis on Unsplash

Episode Summary

It’s The Whole Health Cure’s 200th episode! To celebrate, I am joined by my friend and colleague, Krystyna Morgan. This will be a “mic swap” style Q&A, meaning that unlike our usual episodes, I will be the guest and Krystyna will be my interviewer.

Krystyna and I began this podcast in 2018 with the goal of sharing health and wellness practices with listeners and championing leading experts in the field of lifestyle medicine. Six years later, we are sitting down to discuss the most impactful lessons from the show and where we predict health trends are headed in 2024.

“When you start something, you have no idea where it’s going to go. And it’s just grown so much in the time that we’ve been doing this. I mean, we are now on 69 platforms and in 131 countries, which is probably not something we even had a plan for when we started this.”

One of my favorite parts of hosting this show is that it allows me to connect with the lifestyle medicine community. Not only do I meet brilliant minds ranging from startup business owners and best-selling authors to public health scholars and medical researchers, but I also continue to learn about the groundbreaking findings each field is actively uncovering.

The magnitude of impact that lifestyle has in disease prevention, the growing awareness of the gut microbiome, the importance of food quality, and the biological effects of nature on our health have been central topics in recent episodes.

As the show has gone on, we have shared information that is at the forefront of scientific research for each of these areas, and we look forward to continuing to investigate new developments as they arise. Additionally, in conjunction with my work as a researcher and clinical physician, I have identified shifts in health trends and the healthcare system that I expect to gain prominence in the near future.

Sleep and mental health are becoming better understood as critical aspects of wellness among our patients. Further, digital health technology, physician coaching, and tailored diets all offer opportunities for individualized care and optimization beyond a doctor’s office setting.

“I think we’re going to get more tailored advice for people based on their personal health condition or preferences, hopefully with some genetic or microbiome data. So a shift from less of a ‘one-size-fits-all’ to more personalized information.”

With these predictions and lessons from the show, I want to thank our listeners and guests for their support over the past six years. I have learned so much over this amazing journey, and I can’t wait to see what the next 200 episodes hold!

Here are the details of our conversation:

[00:00:00] Introduction to Episode 200

[00:03:40] Starting The Whole Health Cure

[00:05:14] The podcast’s growth in six years

[00:06:31] Connecting with the lifestyle medicine community

[00:07:57] Challenges with podcasting

[00:11:15] Four main themes from our guests

[00:17:38] Rising topics in wellness and health

[00:21:28] Health trends in 2024

[00:27:50] Coming up for The Whole Health Cure

Episode Notes

Krystyna R. Morgan, MPH, NBC-HWC serves as Director of the WHSC Office of Well-Being (EmWELL) at Emory University in Atlanta, GA. The focus of the office is to lead the design, direction and implementation of well-being programs that address the current environmental stressors among clinicians, health professionals, faculty and staff in clinical, research and academic health sciences areas. The goals of the office include facilitating system-wide changes that enable team members to effectively practice in a culture that prioritizes and promotes wellness and professional fulfillment while optimizing the function of Emory’s health system and establishing a robust well-being research foundation.

Before EmWELL, Krystyna engaged in other innovative efforts, such as supporting the founding of Emory Lifestyle Medicine & Wellness, helping develop and implement the inaugural Emory Healthy Kitchen Collaborative and to secure its three consecutive grants, and co-launching and producing the first 172 episodes of The Whole Health Cure podcast for over 50,000 listeners. She has co-authored 6 peer reviewed articles and continues to present at national and international conferences.

Krystyna earned her Summa Cum Laude Master in Public Health degree at the Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta after completing a Summa Cum Laude Bachelor of Science in International Business at the College of Charleston in South Carolina. She is a National Board Certified Health and Well-being coach, has completed certifications in Plant Based Nutrition through T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies, and is a Diabetes Prevention Program Coach.  She received the 2019 Donald A. Pegg Student Leadership Award from American College of Lifestyle Medicine in honor of the establishment of the Emory Lifestyle Medicine Interest Group and her ongoing efforts to increase recognition of lifestyle medicine at the university and its affiliated healthcare institutions.