The School of Doza Podcast

Roughly half of the average American's daily calories now come from ultra-processed foods — and cutting them out changes how you feel faster than you'd expect. Nurse Doza breaks down five shifts that show up within weeks: steadier blood sugar and energy, a healing gut, lower inflammation, clearer thinking, and hunger hormones that finally reset. Learn what really separates processed from ultra-processed food, and why just two weeks of whole food can change everything.

Featured Product: Boost by MSW Nutrition
When you're riding the ultra-processed blood-sugar roller coaster, energy is the first casualty — the mid-afternoon crash, the brain fog, the reach for the next quick fix. Boost is the multivitamin you can actually feel: 2,500 mcg of methylated B12, a full multivitamin plus B-complex, electrolytes, and plant-based antioxidants including S-acetyl-L-glutathione. Clean, slow-release energy from one stick in water — no added sugar, no crash — so real food finally has a fair shot at steadying you out.

🎉 Right now: Buy 2, Get 1 Free — mix & match any Boost flavor, lowest-priced item free, plus free shipping. Offer ends July 31, 2026.

👉 Get Boost here: boost.mswnutrition.com

5 Key Takeaways
1. Not all processed food is the problem. Minimally processed foods like canned beans and frozen vegetables are fine. It's ultra-processed food — added sugar, refined seed oils, artificial flavors, preservatives, and emulsifiers, with a label you can't fully recognize — that drives the damage.
2. Your blood sugar stops swinging. Ultra-processed foods are engineered to digest fast, spiking glucose and insulin, then crashing you into hunger, fatigue, and irritability. Swap in whole food with protein, fiber, and healthy fat and your energy levels out — the roller coaster ends.
3. Your gut starts healing within days. Emulsifiers, artificial sweeteners, and preservatives thin the gut's mucus lining and reduce the diversity of beneficial bacteria. Add real fiber back and bloating drops, bowel movements normalize, and — because the gut is tied to immunity, mood, and energy — the benefits reach far beyond digestion.
4. Systemic inflammation comes down. Refined seed oils, added sugar, and additives fuel the chronic low-grade inflammation sitting underneath heart disease, insulin resistance, autoimmune conditions, joint pain, and even depression. Remove the trigger and people notice less joint stiffness, better skin, and improved mood.
5. Brain fog lifts and hunger hormones reset. Stable blood sugar and less neuroinflammation sharpen focus and calm anxiety, while leptin (fullness) and ghrelin (hunger) start working again. You feel full on less, cravings for sugar and salt fade, and — usually within a week or two — your appetite stops running your day.

Timestamps
00:00 START – Welcome and episode overview
00:35 – The 60% problem: how much of our diet is ultra-processed
01:05 – Processed vs. ultra-processed: what actually counts
01:45 – Change 1: Blood sugar evens out and the crash cycle ends
02:40 – Change 2: Your gut begins to heal
03:25 – How emulsifiers and additives disrupt the microbiome
04:05 – Change 3: Systemic inflammation comes down
04:45 – Change 4: Brain fog lifts
05:20 – Change 5: Hunger hormones reset (leptin and ghrelin)
06:10 – Why it's hard — and the two-week whole-food challenge

 

Resources
1. Ultra-processed foods now make up more than half of the calories Americans eat (CDC NCHS Data Brief No. 536, 2025)
2. Hall et al. — Ultra-Processed Diets Cause Excess Calorie Intake and Weight Gain: An Inpatient Randomized Controlled Trial (Cell Metabolism, 2019)
3. Chassaing et al. — Dietary emulsifiers impact the gut microbiota, promoting colitis and metabolic syndrome (Nature, 2015)
4. Randomized controlled-feeding study of the emulsifier carboxymethylcellulose: detrimental impacts on the gut microbiota (Gastroenterology, 2022)
5. Ultra-Processed Food Consumption and Systemic Inflammatory Biomarkers: A Scoping Review (Nutrients, 2025)
6. Ultra-Processed Food Consumption and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes: Three Large Prospective U.S. Cohort Studies (Diabetes Care, 2023)
7. Consumption of Ultra-Processed Food and Risk of Depression (2023)
8. Ultra-processed food exposure and adverse health outcomes: umbrella review of epidemiological meta-analyses (BMJ, 2024)

 

Connect with Nurse Doza
🔗 JOIN MY SCHOOL for FREE: https://community.schoolofdoza.com/c/start-here
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In this School of Doza episode, Nurse Doza shares his top 5 supplements for energy—the nutrients that fuel your body at the cellular level instead of masking fatigue with caffeine. He explains how B vitamins and folate drive methylation, mood, and neurotransmitters, why L-theanine steadies stress, how L-carnitine powers your mitochondria, and where adrenal and betaine support fit in. If you're tired, burned out, or foggy, here's how to build clean, all-day energy.

FEATURED PARTNER

Boost by MSW Nutrition is the "multivitamin you can feel"—one stick delivers 2,500 mcg of methylated B12, a full A/C/D/E/K and B-complex, electrolytes, and clean, slow-release energy (about a cup of coffee's worth, no crash, zero sugar). That's exactly the B-vitamin, methylation-supporting foundation Nurse Doza builds the energy stack on in this episode—the reason Boost is his go-to for clean daily energy.

👉 Get Boost (Buy 2, Get 1 Free): https://boost.mswnutrition.com
Mix & match any flavor—Mixed Berry, Citrus, or Caffeine Free—and your lowest-priced item is free. Free shipping over $150. Offer ends July 31, 2026.

These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. Boost is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. If you're pregnant or nursing, or take prescription medication, talk with your provider before starting a new supplement.

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5 KEY TAKEAWAYS

You're not low on caffeine—you're likely depleted. Fatigue, burnout, and brain fog usually trace back to the raw materials your cells need to make energy, not to a caffeine deficit. Fix the inputs and the energy follows.
B vitamins and folate (B9) are the engine. B vitamins are essential cofactors that convert food into ATP, and folate drives methylation and the neurotransmitters behind mood and focus—which is why a methylated B-complex like Boost is the foundation of the stack.
L-theanine gives you calm, focused energy. It supports alpha brain-wave activity and helps buffer the stress response, taking the edge off without making you drowsy—clean energy instead of wired-and-tired.
L-carnitine fuels the mitochondria. It shuttles fatty acids into the mitochondria to be burned for energy, supporting endurance, recovery, and fighting the deep, cellular kind of fatigue.
Adrenal and betaine support round it out. Bovine adrenal support targets the "tired but wired" adrenal-fatigue pattern, while betaine (with SAMe) supports methylation, mood, and the serotonin/dopamine side of feeling energized.

RESOURCES

Based on peer-reviewed literature:

B vitamins, energy & fatigue – Narrative review of the biochemical and clinical evidence for vitamins and minerals in energy, fatigue, and cognition. Nutrients, 2020. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7019700/
Vitamin B12, fatigue & mood – Systematic review, meta-analysis, and meta-regression of B12 supplementation on cognitive function, depressive symptoms, and fatigue. 2021. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8000524/
Folate, MTHFR & neurotransmitters – Review of L-methylfolate as adjunctive therapy in major depressive disorder and its role in monoamine (serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine) synthesis. Prim Care Companion CNS Disord. https://www.psychiatrist.com/pcc/a-review-of-l-methylfolate-as-adjunctive-therapy-in-the-treatment-of-major-depressive-disorder/
L-theanine & stress – Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of L-theanine supplementation on stress and cognition in healthy adults. Neurology and Therapy, 2024. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11263523/
L-carnitine & fatigue – Review of carnitine's role in mitochondrial energy metabolism and fatigue. Pharmaceuticals, 2023. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10516168/

🔗 Connect with Nurse Doza:

JOIN MY SCHOOL for FREE: https://community.schoolofdoza.com/c/start-here

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwcKyagDi468WscAOWM5VHA
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Estrogen dominance is the hidden imbalance behind why your PMS, weight gain, and mood swings all hit at the same time — and most doctors never test for it. Nurse Doza breaks down four clinical reasons your cycle goes sideways: inflammation, dysregulated estrogen, your gut microbiome (the estrobolome), and an inflamed liver. Learn how your gut and liver actually regulate estrogen, why birth control isn't the fix, and the daily habits that restore a healthier, calmer cycle.

Featured Product: Boost by MSW Nutrition
When your hormones go sideways before your period, energy is usually the first thing to crash — the afternoon wall, the brain fog, the "I could nap standing up" fatigue Nurse Doza describes in this episode. Boost is the multivitamin you can actually feel: 2,500 mcg of methylated B12, a full multivitamin plus B-complex, electrolytes, and plant-based antioxidants including S-acetyl-L-glutathione — with a built-in liver detox support blend to help your body do the clearing work we talked about today. Clean, slow-release energy from one stick in water. No sugar, no crash.

🎉 Right now: Buy 2, Get 1 Free — mix & match any Boost flavor, lowest-priced item free, plus free shipping. Offer ends July 31, 2026.

👉 Get Boost here: boost.mswnutrition.com

5 Key Takeaways
1. It's not willpower. PMS, weight gain, and mood swings that cluster before your period aren't random or a discipline problem — they trace back to estrogen dominance and inflammation.
2. Estrogen does far more than fertility. It protects your heart, bones, brain, and metabolism — and there are several types (E2 vs. E1/estrone) that standard panels almost never measure.
3. Your gut runs the show. The estrobolome — gut bacteria and their β-glucuronidase enzymes — decides how much estrogen you reabsorb versus excrete. Constipation and antibiotics disrupt it.
4. An inflamed liver can't clear estrogen. A fatty, sluggish liver struggles to process estrogen and flush xenoestrogens — and leaky gut feeds that liver burden.
5. Suppression isn't a fix. Birth control and hysterectomy quiet symptoms but don't address the root. Supporting gut + liver + lifestyle is what restores a healthier cycle.

Timestamps
00:00 START – Welcome and episode overview
02:10 – Why women's hormones go haywire more than men's
04:30 – Reason 1: You're inflamed (and why "PMS" gets dismissed)
06:52 – How your hormones fluctuate across the menstrual cycle
09:13 – Cortisol, insulin, and why doctors avoid these labs
11:41 – Reason 2: Your estrogen is off
14:00 – The estrogens you're never told about (E2 vs. E1/estrone)
16:09 – Reason 3: Your gut is the problem (the estrobolome)
18:29 – How antibiotics and constipation dysregulate estrogen
20:15 – Breast cancer risk, the gut, and estrogen clearance
22:37 – Reason 4: Your liver is inflamed
25:02 – Leaky gut, fatty liver, and how they feed each other
27:19 – The liver's estrogen genes: MTHFR and COMT
29:42 – The daily fix: gut + liver support and lifestyle
32:00 – Closing thoughts and how to work with Nurse Doza

Resources
1. Altered sensitivity to hormonal fluctuations in PMS: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles...
2. GABA & allopregnanolone in PMS/PMDD: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/...
3. Cortisol across follicular vs. luteal phase: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles...
4. Estrogen, glucose & insulin: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles...
5. PMS, blood sugar & mood: https://pmsadvice.org/the-pms-blood-s...
6. Ovulatory disturbances & progesterone: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science...
7. Xenoestrogens, phytoestrogens & cancer: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34445...
8. The estrobolome & gut microbial β-glucuronidase: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles...
9. Estrogen metabolism & the sulfate pathway: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles...

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In this Supplement Stack Series episode, Nurse Doza breaks down his Good Poops Protocol—a simple liver and gut detox built on three MSW supplements: the Gut glutamine powder, Liver Boost, and Berberine. He explains why gut issues often show up before liver and gallbladder trouble, how repairing the digestive tract may ease inflammation, and how pairing the two-month reset with a Mediterranean diet and better daily habits supports better energy, weight, and, of course, better poops.

FEATURED PARTNER

The Good Poops Protocol bundles three MSW Nutrition supplements—the Gut glutamine powder, Liver Boost, and Berberine—into one two-month liver and gut detox designed to help reset, repair, and support the digestive tract discussed in this episode. Because gut, liver, and gallbladder issues so often travel together, the protocol targets all three at once, and pairs best with a Mediterranean-style diet and simple daily habits.

👉 Get the Good Poops Protocol here: https://goodpoops.org

5 KEY TAKEAWAYS

Gut issues often come first. Liver problems are common worldwide, but the gut disruption frequently shows up before the liver does—which is why this protocol starts by supporting the gut.
Liver, gut, and gallbladder are one system. Many people dealing with liver concerns also have gut and gallbladder issues (including those who've had their gallbladder removed), so addressing them together makes sense.
The protocol is three simple supplements. The Gut glutamine powder supports the intestinal lining, Berberine supports healthy blood sugar and metabolism, and Liver Boost supports liver detox pathways—run daily for about two months.
How to take it. Two scoops of Gut powder first thing in the morning on an empty stomach with water, wait 20–30 minutes, then take 1–2 Liver Boost and 1–2 Berberine. Consistency over the two months is the point.
Supplements work best with lifestyle. A Mediterranean diet's healthy fats support the liver, gut, and gallbladder—alongside earlier bedtimes, morning sunlight, more water, and cutting back on bread, rice, pasta, and alcohol.

RESOURCES

Based on articles retrieved from PubMed:

NAFLD is highly prevalent, especially in at-risk groups – Systematic review and meta-analysis of global non-alcoholic fatty liver disease prevalence. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol, 2022. DOI · https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36400097/
The gut–liver axis – Review of how the gut, microbiome, and liver communicate and why the intestinal barrier matters for liver health. Journal of Hepatology, 2020. DOI · https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31622696/
Berberine, metabolism, and blood sugar – Systematic review of berberine's effects on glucose, gut microbiota, and metabolic outcomes. Biomed Pharmacother, 2020. DOI · https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32353823/
Glutamine and the gut lining – Review of how glutamine supports intestinal barrier function and permeability. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care, 2017. DOI · https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27749689/
Silymarin (milk thistle) for liver support – Narrative review of silymarin as supportive treatment in liver disease. Advances in Therapy, 2020. DOI · https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7140758/

🔗 Connect with Nurse Doza:

JOIN MY SCHOOL for FREE: https://community.schoolofdoza.com/c/start-here

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwcKyagDi468WscAOWM5VHA
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Website: http://www.nursedoza.com/
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Nurse Doza breaks down five signs your gut microbiome may be off — a history of antibiotics, brain fog, autoimmune issues, relentless sugar cravings, and not pooping every day. He explains how gut bacteria help shape neurotransmitters, blood sugar, and natural GLP-1, why so many issues trace back to the gut, and the simple steps — fasting, fermented foods, fish oil, and the Good Poops Protocol — that can help rebuild it from the inside out.

FEATURED PARTNER — Good Poops Protocol (MSW Nutrition)
This episode centers on rebuilding the gut microbiome, and the Good Poops Protocol is the bundle Nurse Doza built for exactly that — Gut, Liver Boost, and Berberine Plus working together over 60 days to support the intestinal lining, healthy bile flow, and blood-sugar metabolism. Berberine and L-glutamine are both studied for supporting the body's own GLP-1 production, making the protocol a practical starting point for the digestive issues discussed in this episode.

👉 Get the Good Poops Protocol here: https://goodpoops.org
(Pairs well with Mega-Os fish oil — discussed in the episode as a prebiotic that supports GLP-1.)

5 KEY TAKEAWAYS

Antibiotics reshape the microbiome. Every course of antibiotics clears out beneficial bacteria along with the harmful ones — which is why replenishing afterward with probiotics and fermented foods matters.
The gut behaves like a "first brain." A large share of the body's serotonin and much of its dopamine are produced in and around the gut, and research increasingly links microbiome imbalance to mood and cognitive changes.
Gut health and autoimmunity are connected. A growing body of research associates disruptions in the gut microbiome with autoimmune conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes, and IBD.
Sugar cravings can be a microbiome signal, not willpower. Less-helpful bacteria thrive on sugar and may drive cravings; emerging research ties specific gut bacteria and vitamin B5 to natural GLP-1 and appetite regulation.
Daily elimination and GLP-1 support are foundational. Berberine, L-glutamine, and omega-3 fish oil have each been studied for supporting the body's own GLP-1 — the framework behind the Good Poops Protocol.

RESOURCES (peer-reviewed)

Regulation of Neurotransmitters by the Gut Microbiota and Effects on Cognition in Neurological Disorders — Nutrients, 2021

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8234057/
Emerging Role of Gut Microbiota in Autoimmune Diseases — Frontiers in Immunology, 2024

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11099291/
Glycaemic Sugar Metabolism and the Gut Microbiota — The FEBS Journal, 2024

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11927047/
Crosstalk Between Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 (GLP-1) and Gut Microbiota in Metabolic Diseases — mBio, 2023

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10790698/
Glutamine Reduces Postprandial Glycemia and Augments the GLP-1 Response in Type 2 Diabetes Patients — The Journal of Nutrition, 2011 (RCT)

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7212026/

🔗 Connect with Nurse Doza:

JOIN MY SCHOOL for FREE: https://community.schoolofdoza.com/c/start-here

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwcKyagDi468WscAOWM5VHA
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