On Saturday, February 25th, I joined my blushing bride, Dr. Stacia Kelly, and my very cool Mom-in-Law, for a trip to New York City. Our destination was the famed Radio City Music Hall. The event: An educational summit on Health and Happiness, hosted by the one and only Dr. Mehmet Oz, aka TV’s Dr. Oz. This event included three hours of information and inspiration provided by a panel of doctors, and celebrities, and it was an absolute blast.
Instead of a sales brochure about what you missed, I decided to recap, using my notes and a couple pics I snapped from Row 6 on the ground floor (Hollah if you love Rock Star seating – W00t!).
After a fun warm-up by comedian Richie Byrne (the whitest guy I’ve seen rap since Max Headroom), the crowd was in full effect. Dr. Oz hit the stage just to get the ball rolling (or the flight started, if you were watching the themed presentation.) Dr. Oz gave way to his wife, Lisa, who explained the purpose behind their incredible charity, Healthcorps. The Oz’s are obviously very passionate about educating the entire human race on health and nutrition, and that passion was very evident in Lisa’s short time on stage. Her message resonated with the entire room, and hopefully, those in attendance will help spread the word.
Next up was the most entertaining presenter I’ve ever seen who discussed sleep as his primary focus. Dr. Michael Breus was very engaging as he discussed sleep cycles, sleep disorders, and the incredible benefits of a good night’s sleep (and how it affects weight loss or gain). One thing (as promised) from my notes: melatonin is a sleep regulator, not a sleeping aide. Take it 90 minutes before sleep to help ensure the highest number of dream state cycles. Also, limit caffeine intake after 2pm (or 9ish hours before sleep, as it applies to you.)
Follow the sleep doctor up with the energetic nutrition enthusiast, Dr. Ro (aka Rovenia M. Brock, Ph.D.). I like her already, mostly because she’s an absolute Twitter fanatic. Dr. Ro told some great stories, including her rundown of her childhood Southern country breakfast (we’re looking at you, Waffle House!). She made some great points, one of which is now one of my favorite tweets of the week: “If you’re gonna change your life, change your mind first.” We hear diet all the time. How often do we hear healthy lifestyle change? Not enough. Like Dr. Ro said – changing your lifestyle to embrace health isn’t a wind sprint, it’s a marathon.
Then, and I kid you not, we all got up and danced. Yep, good ol’ fashion 8-count move to the left, move to the right, follow your cardio instructor group dance. This one was led by Stepp Stewart (and yes, Dr. Oz was doing the moves, too.) He got the blood flow going for all of us who drove, flew, or hitch-hiked to the event. He and the crew got everyone fired up and moving. Fortunately, we had Aaron Dinh and Team NEX in our section, so there was already a lot of enthusiasm ready to boil over.
Once we took our seats, it was time for the seasoned expert on healthy skin, Dr. Nicholas Perricone. This guy was a real hidden gem. He offered a ton of reasons why healthy skin increases happiness, which increases healthy behaviors. Let me share some notes (for your grocery list for the week): salmon (EFA’s and protein, Water crest salad (improves liver function), olive oil (EFA’s), lemon juice, blueberries (great anti-oxidant).) Take a quality fish oil to help alleviate elevated cortisol (stress hormone), which is toxic to the brain.
Right about then, it was what I can only describe as Montel time.
For those who don’t know, Montel Williams, the former daytime talk show star, and boxer, and enlisted military man, and actor, and author, was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, and told he was going to spend his days in a wheelchair. That was over a decade ago. Montel came out and had the audience standing and sitting with the frequency of a Catholic mass on steroids. He told amazing details about his near death experience, about his doctor’s prognosis, and about the ability for the brain to overcome the limitations of the body. If this guy is speaking at your next event, turn your phone off, look up, and pay attention. He carries a powerful message with him.
Next up was the very personable Dr. Christiane Northrup. She is known for her work in women’s health, especially her expertise on Women’s Wisdom – the understanding of each phase of a woman’s biology. She’s written books, been on a ton of shows, and speaks all the time on this specific topic. Tonight, she made a few key points. The most important related the importance of the heart over the brain. People will take action on what they feel far more than what they know. That’s not news to sales and marketing professionals, but Dr. Northrup’s ability to prove that with physiological statistics really drove that point home. We are motivated by what inspires us, not what we find intellectually curious.
The next presenters were a duo near and dear to our hearts. Dr. Myron Wentz, Ph.D., and his son, Dave Wentz, are the founder and CEO, respectively, of USANA Health Sciences. They are also co-authors of a book called The Healthy Home, a guide to “simple truths to protect your family from hidden household dangers.” Dr. Wentz, presented in 2007 with the Albert Einstein Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Life Sciences, explained which elements are essential to health, and which should be avoided. Then, he and Dave showed the crowd a number of ways in which the harmful elements, like mercury and fluorine, could be released in a typical household. Check out some examples at the book’s official site.
Dr. Oz himself then presented, educating the crowd on proper breathing techniques, belly fat, and the factors that lead to a heart attack. He talked about damage to the blood stream, and how cholesterol acts as the plaster to seal up the holes created along the arterial lining. As he said, it’s the quality of the cholesterol that can make the difference between a good patch job, and one that will crack, rupture and lead to greater damage later. His presentation was a nice change from the typical thought that cholesterol is either high, or low, and the overall number determines a person’s risk of heart attacks.
Of course, there’s always a bit of the unexpected with Dr. Oz, and this time around it was a visit from a special guest in town for work. That guest? Who else…William Shatner! Heck, yeah. He might not be the Price Line Negotiator anymore, but he still knows how to get a good laugh out of a crowd. He played the hypochondriac card, and got a huge reaction.
In case you want to hear more, or you were there and heard something important that I left out, please join me on Twitter this Wednesday night at 9pm. Stacia and I will be hosting our weekly #healthchat – and we want others to share their lessons from the Health & Happiness Summit. (Simply join us and include the hash tag #healthchat in your tweets, or drop me a line for websites that automate the search and tag for you.) We look forward to hearing what you got out of this incredible event!
All the best,
Nick
I would appreciate detailed info on how to participate in the health chat via a website.
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