Rooted in Wellness with Mona Sharma

There is a specific kind of frustration that happens when you are trying to take care of your body, but something still feels off. You are eating better, taking supplements, trying to manage stress, maybe even getting your labs checked, but your energy still feels low, your brain feels foggy, your digestion feels sluggish, or your hormones feel harder to understand than they used to.
But what if the answer is not another extreme cleanse, another supplement, or another reason to blame yourself? What if your body has been sending quieter signals through the organ most people only think about when they hear the word “detox,” and understanding that organ could change the way you look at your energy, mood, hormones, digestion, and daily health? In this episode of Rooted in Wellness, I sit down with Dr. Josh Levitt to talk about why the liver is so much more than a filter, why detox trends often miss the point, and how to support your body’s built-in detox process in a way that feels practical and sustainable. 
Dr. Joshua Levitt, ND, is a naturopathic physician, author, educator, and Co-Founder and Medical Director at UpWellness, with over 20 years of hands-on clinical experience helping people understand their bodies through a grounded, integrative lens.
What’s Discussed:
(04:19) Why Mona’s healing journey inspired Rooted in Wellness and the bridge between Eastern and Western medicine.
(10:28) Why balance is not about staying perfectly steady, but learning how to manage the moments that pull you off center.
(20:30) The subtle signs your liver may need support before anything obvious shows up on labs.
(21:26) Why the liver is not just a filter, and how that misunderstanding can keep people from connecting their symptoms.
(23:58) What standard liver labs can tell you, and why “normal” results may not always explain why you still feel off.
(42:06) What people should know before trying detox teas, juice cleanses, liver flushes, or viral detox trends.
(57:09) Why liver health belongs in the conversation around hormones, HRT, perimenopause, stress, and how your body processes what it carries.
Listen to this episode to understand why supporting your liver may not be about doing a harder detox, and why feeling sluggish, foggy, hormonally off, or disconnected from your body may have more to do with daily support than another extreme reset. 🎧
Thank You to Our Sponsor:
MitoQ: Go to mitoq.com/mona and use code MONA for 10% off
Learn more about Mona Sharma:
Download Your FREE Guide - 12 Wellness Tips to Unlock Your Best Health Now: Ready to reclaim your vitality? Download Mona’s 12 Wellness Tips and take actionable steps to transform your health, energy, and mindset. Get started now at monasharma.com/12tips
Visit Mona's website: monasharma.com – Unlock powerful tools and wisdom rooted in wellness to elevate your health, energy, and clarity. Mona blends ancient healing practices with modern science to help you achieve lasting transformation.
Follow Mona on Instagram: Stay connected with Mona for daily inspiration, holistic health tips, and personal growth. Join the conversation on Instagram at @monasharma
Learn more about Dr. Josh Levitt & UpWellness:
Website: upwellness.com
UpWellness LTV: drinkLTV.com
Instagram: @drjoshlevitt
TikTok: @drjoshlevitt

There is a very specific kind of frustration that happens when you genuinely want to get healthier, but every attempt starts to feel like the same cycle. You get motivated, you clean up your food, you promise yourself this time will be different, and then one missed workout, one busy week, or one moment of “I already messed up” makes you feel like you are back at the beginning again.
But what if the problem is not that you lack discipline? What if the real problem is that you were taught to make fitness too extreme to actually become your life?
In this episode of Rooted in Wellness, I sit down with Stan Browney to talk about the part of fitness that most people overlook. We get into why motivation is not always the thing that creates change, why so many people make getting healthy harder than it needs to be, and why the way you approach food, movement, routine, and progress can either keep you stuck in the start-over cycle or help you finally move forward.
Stan Browney is a fitness creator, YouTuber, and founder of the 90 Day Challenge app. Through his challenge-based content, bodyweight training, and transformation series, he has helped millions of people see fitness as something they can start, enjoy, and keep going with without needing perfection, expensive equipment, or extreme routines.
What’s Discussed:
(07:10) The fitness myth about carbs that still refuses to go away.
(08:07) Why motivation may not be what actually gets people fit.
(10:39) Why starting can feel like the biggest roadblock.
(13:08) What is really happening when the scale stops moving.
(15:43) The difference between wanting fast results and wanting real change.
(30:39) Why missing one day can feel like failure, and what to do with that moment.
(52:59) The small habit Stan recommends when someone wants to begin.
Listen to this episode to understand why getting healthy may not be about finding a harder plan, and why the reason you keep starting over may have less to do with your body and more to do with the way fitness has been presented to you. 🎧 
Thank You to Our Sponsor:
Timeline: Timeline’s clinically proven formula is now available at a new, lower price. Mitopure now starts at $79, when you go to timeline.com/MONA
Learn more about Mona Sharma:
Download Your FREE Guide - 12 Wellness Tips to Unlock Your Best Health Now: Ready to reclaim your vitality? Download Mona’s 12 Wellness Tips and take actionable steps to transform your health, energy, and mindset. Get started now at monasharma.com/12tips 
Visit Mona's website: monasharma.com – Unlock powerful tools and wisdom rooted in wellness to elevate your health, energy, and clarity. Mona blends ancient healing practices with modern science to help you achieve lasting transformation.
Follow Mona on Instagram: Stay connected with Mona for daily inspiration, holistic health tips, and personal growth. Join the conversation on Instagram at @monasharma
Learn more about Stan Browney: 
Instagram: @stanbrowney 
YouTube: @Browney

So many people spend years chasing answers. Doctor after doctor, test after test, protocol after protocol, and still their body feels like it is stuck in something it cannot find its way out of. They may be eating better, taking supplements, trying to lower stress, testing for Lyme, mold, viruses, or toxins, and still wondering why they do not feel better.

If you are also feeling that same frustration, this episode is for you. In this episode of Rooted in Wellness, I sit down with Dr. Bill Rawls to talk about why chronic illness is so rarely about one single diagnosis, pathogen, or protocol. Because when the body has been under years of stress, toxicity, depletion, and cellular strain, healing cannot only be about attacking what showed up on a test. It has to be about understanding why the body became vulnerable in the first place, what your cells need to rebuild resilience, and how to create the conditions for your body to actually recover.

Dr. Bill Rawls is a medical doctor whose personal battle with chronic Lyme disease brought him face to face with the limits of conventional medicine and led him toward a deeper understanding of cellular health, herbal medicine, and true recovery. Through his RESTORE180™ framework and his work in herbal and cellular wellness, he has become one of the most trusted voices helping people move beyond symptom management and understand what the body truly needs to heal.

Use code MONA at https://vitalplan.com/  to get 25% off the Vital Plan order, including the first month of RESTORE180. 

What’s Discussed:

(09:00) Why chronic illness keeps rising despite advanced medicine.

(15:46) Why people can do everything “right” and still feel stuck.

(19:33) How stress, toxicity, and cellular breakdown create vulnerability.

(30:00) Why Lyme, mold, and viruses are rarely the whole story.

(47:09) How herbs work differently from pharmaceuticals.

(56:00) Why herbal healing works on a different timeline.

(01:06:14) The trap of more supplements, testing, and protocols.

(01:11:49) Simple first steps to reduce cellular stress.

Listen now and learn why your body may not need another extreme protocol, but the right support to rebuild resilience from the cellular level.

Thank you to our Sponsors:

BIOptimizers: Visit bioptimizers.com/mona and use MONA at checkout to get the best deal on Masszymes and all BIOptimizers products. 

Learn more about Mona Sharma:

Download Your FREE Guide - 12 Wellness Tips to Unlock Your Best Health Now: Ready to reclaim your vitality? Download Mona’s 12 Wellness Tips and take actionable steps to transform your health, energy, and mindset. Get started now at monasharma.com/12tips 

Visit Mona's website: monasharma.com – Unlock powerful tools and wisdom rooted in wellness to elevate your health, energy, and clarity. Mona blends ancient healing practices with modern science to help you achieve lasting transformation.

Follow Mona on Instagram: Stay connected with Mona for daily inspiration, holistic health tips, and personal growth. Join the conversation on Instagram at @monasharma

Learn more about Dr. Bill Rawls

Website: https://rawlsmd.com/

Instagram: @rawlsmd 

Facebook: @rawlsmd 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/RawlsMD 

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/bill-rawls-md/

Hormone health has become one of the most confusing conversations in wellness, and that confusion can change the way you care for your body. Some people avoid HRT completely because they are afraid of it, while others get placed on one-size-fits-all protocols that never fully consider their stress, sleep, lifestyle, labs, symptoms, or what their body is actually asking for.

In this episode of Rooted in Wellness, I sit down with Dr. Nayan Patel to help you understand how to approach hormone health with more clarity and confidence. We talk about where the fear around hormone therapy comes from, why “normal” is not always the same as optimal, how custom compounding can support more personalized care, and why your doctor, pharmacist, lifestyle, and daily habits all need to work together if you want the treatment to actually support your body.

Dr. Nayan Patel is a sought-after pharmacist, wellness expert, and author of The Glutathione Revolution: Fight Disease, Slow Aging, and Increase Energy with the Master Antioxidant. Since 1999, he has worked with physicians to custom-develop patient-specific medication, hormone, and nutrition protocols for celebrities, CEOs, physicians, and high-performing clients. After 11 years of clinical research on glutathione, he developed patented topical glutathione delivery technology, making him one of the most trusted voices on personalized medicine, hormone therapy, and antioxidant support.

What's Discussed:

(00:00) Why so many people feel “off” even when their labs come back normal.

(04:12) The early signs your hormones are shifting before it becomes a bigger issue.

(08:30) Where the fear around hormone therapy actually comes from and why it’s still so strong.

(12:45) Why one-size-fits-all hormone protocols leave so many people stuck.

(17:10) What gets missed in standard hormone testing and appointments.

(21:36) The difference between “normal” and “optimal” and why it matters for how you feel.

(26:50) Breaking down bioidentical, natural, and synthetic hormones in a way that actually makes sense.

(32:18) Why personalized, compounded hormone therapy can change outcomes.

(38:40) The lifestyle factors that can block hormone therapy from working properly.

(54:10) The biggest mistakes people make when trying to fix their hormones.

If you’ve been feeling off, dismissed, or confused about your hormones, this episode will help you understand what might actually be missing and how to approach your hormone health in a way that finally makes sense.

Thank you to our Sponsors: 

Timeline: Timeline’s clinically proven formula is now available at a new, lower price. Mitopure now starts at $79, when you go to timeline.com/MONA 

Learn more about Mona Sharma:

Download Your FREE Guide - 12 Wellness Tips to Unlock Your Best Health Now: Ready to reclaim your vitality? Download Mona’s 12 Wellness Tips and take actionable steps to transform your health, energy, and mindset. Get started now at monasharma.com/12tips 

Visit Mona's website: monasharma.com – Unlock powerful tools and wisdom rooted in wellness to elevate your health, energy, and clarity. Mona blends ancient healing practices with modern science to help you achieve lasting transformation.

Follow Mona on Instagram: Stay connected with Mona for daily inspiration, holistic health tips, and personal growth. Join the conversation on Instagram at @monasharma

Learn more about Auro Wellness: 

Website: http://aurowellness.com/ 

Instagram: @aurowellness 

Facebook: @aurowellness 

TikTok: @auro.wellness 

YouTube: www.youtube.com/@aurowellness

When we talk about health, healing, and performance, we usually focus on the things we have been taught to look at first. We talk about hormones, gut health, sleep, stress, inflammation, nutrition, movement, and nervous system regulation. But most of us never think to ask whether there is another system quietly shaping how we focus, learn, move, process stress, and feel in our bodies.

That system is vision.

In this episode of Rooted in Wellness, I sit down with Dr. Bryce Appelbaum to explore why vision is one of the most overlooked foundations of whole-body health. We talk about why 20/20 eyesight does not mean your vision is fully healthy, how the eye-brain connection affects focus, stress, learning, screen fatigue, concussion recovery, aging, and performance, and why standard eye exams can miss functional vision problems that may be affecting your daily life.

Dr. Bryce Appelbaum is a pioneer in neuro-optometry, an international TEDx speaker, and the creator of Vision Performance Training, a transformative approach that rewires the eye-brain connection, supports post-concussion vision issues, and builds long-term visual resilience. As the founder and CEO of MyVisionFirst and ScreenFit™, he has become one of the most trusted voices in functional vision, helping people understand why 20/20 eyesight is not the whole story. 

If you want to start supporting their visual system beyond today’s conversation, Dr. Appelbaum is offering exclusive discounts on ScreenFit™ and Digital Performance Lenses: 

$200 off ScreenFit™ https://checkout.screenfit.com/screenfit-vision-foundations/ using code MONA at screenfit.com/enroll 

10% off Digital Performance Lenses https://shop.myvisionfirst.com/ using code MONA at shop.myvisionfirst.com   

What's Discussed:

(05:43) Why 20/20 eyesight is not the full picture.

(07:20) What standard eye exams often miss.

(18:05) The difference between eyesight and vision.

(25:20) How vision connects to stress and regulation.

(28:06) What screens do to the eyes and brain.

(30:21) How vision issues can affect children’s learning and focus.

(35:56) Everyday signs of functional vision problems.

(49:35) How Vision Performance Training rewires the eye-brain connection.

Thank you to our Sponsors: 

MitoQ: Go to mitoq.com/mona and use code MONA for 10% off 

AX3 Life: Use code MONA for 20% off first order at https://ax3.life/

Learn more about Mona Sharma:

Download Your FREE Guide - 12 Wellness Tips to Unlock Your Best Health Now: Ready to reclaim your vitality? Download Mona’s 12 Wellness Tips and take actionable steps to transform your health, energy, and mindset. Get started now at monasharma.com/12tips 

Visit Mona's website: monasharma.com – Unlock powerful tools and wisdom rooted in wellness to elevate your health, energy, and clarity. Mona blends ancient healing practices with modern science to help you achieve lasting transformation.

Follow Mona on Instagram: Stay connected with Mona for daily inspiration, holistic health tips, and personal growth. Join the conversation on Instagram at @monasharma

Learn more about Dr. Bryce Applebaum and MyVisionFirst: 

Instagram: @drbryceappelbaum 

Website: https://myvisionfirst.com/ 

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zk5moFndYRU