Articles

Dr. M’s Women and Children First Podcast #99 Liz Mumper, MD – Kids and Covid

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Email | RSS | More

Welcome to Dr. M’s Women & Children First Podcast, where we engage with pioneering voices at the intersection of science, healthcare, and the well-being of families.

Today on Dr. M’s Women and Children First, we welcome Dr. Elizabeth Mumper, a physician, educator, and thought leader whose career has profoundly influenced the practice of integrative pediatrics.

Dr. Mumper earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Bridgewater College, graduating magna cum laude, before attending the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, where she received her medical degree. She completed her pediatric residency at the University of Virginia and served as Chief Resident in Pediatrics. She remained at UVA as an Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics from 1997 to 2005, mentoring future physicians and advancing holistic, evidence-based approaches to child health.

Following her time in academia, Dr. Mumper founded The Rimland Center for Integrative Medicine in Lynchburg, Virginia, a clinic dedicated to children with autism spectrum disorders, PANS/PANDAS, allergies, and complex chronic illnesses. Her practice integrates the best of conventional pediatrics with biomedical and functional medicine principles, always guided by compassion and curiosity.

She has been a leading educator with the Medical Academy of Pediatric Special Needs (MAPS) and a frequent international lecturer, teaching clinicians how to recognize and treat the root causes of immune dysregulation, inflammation, and neurodevelopmental challenges.

Dr. Mumper is also the author of the new book Kids and COVID, an insightful exploration of how the pandemic impacted children, physically, emotionally, and developmentally, and what lessons medicine must learn moving forward. In our conversation, we discuss her book in depth, as well as the broader implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for pediatric care, resilience, and future public health policy.

Finally, we dive into the complex topic of vaccines, considering what we’ve learned from the pandemic years and expanding the conversation begun with Dr. Paul Offit and Dr. Joel Warsh.

Dr. Mumper’s lifelong dedication to children, her fearless pursuit of truth, and her balanced, science-driven voice make her one of the most respected figures in functional medicine.

Please join me in welcoming my friend and colleague,  Dr. Elizabeth Mumper.

Dr. M

Dr. M’s Women and Children First Podcast #97 Paul Offit, MD – Vaccines – What Do We Know in 2025 Part 2?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Email | RSS | More

Welcome back to Dr. M’s Women & Children First, where we explore the front lines of children’s health and what matters most for our families.

Today I’m honored to bring you Dr. Paul A. Offit, the Director of the Vaccine Education Center and Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He also holds the Maurice R. Hilleman Professorship of Vaccinology at the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Offit is a globally recognized expert in virology and immunology. He has served on the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee. He’s co-editor of the seminal vaccine textbook Vaccines, and for decades has been one of the clearest scientific voices defending evidence, transparency, and children’s health.

This week, we’ll dig into COVID, vaccine policy, and what’s ahead for children in light of the latest shifts. Among current headlines: Healthy children and pregnant women are no longer being uniformly recommended for COVID vaccines by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a decision that’s stirring debate among pediatricians and public health experts like Dr. Offit. He’s sharply voiced concerns about removing key vaccine recommendations without new data, and about the broader implications of loosening vaccine guidance for the public good.

In this conversation, we’ll cover:

  • What the science says now about bivalent COVID vaccines in kids

  • How recent policy changes affect vaccine access, trust, and safety

  • What parents need to know—what’s changed, what’s stable, and what remains uncertain

This is my third time talking with Dr. Offit, and as always, I expect you’ll leave with clarity, evidence, and questions worth sharing.

I hope you enjoy this conversation.

Let’s dive in.

Dr. M

Dr. M’s Women and Children First Podcast #95 – Sanjay Bhorjaj, MD – Living Longer and Klotho

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Email | RSS | More

Today’s guest is Dr. Sanjay Bhojraj, a powerful voice at the crossroads of advanced interventional cardiology and root-cause wellness. Dr. Bhojraj is board-certified in Cardiovascular Diseases and Interventional Cardiology, and one of only a small number of interventional cardiologists in the United States who is also certified in Functional Medicine through the Institute for Functional Medicine.

Dr. Bhojraj earned his medical degree from Indiana University School of Medicine, trained in internal medicine at Northwestern, and completed a cardiology fellowship at the renowned Henry Ford Health System. For over two decades, he practiced in conventional cardiology, saving lives daily with stents, angioplasties, and transcatheter valve replacements.

But along the way, something essential began to stir. He found himself asking bigger questions: Why do people arrive in the cath lab in the first place? Why are we not doing more to prevent the first or second heart event? And what role do nutrition, sleep, stress, and emotional health truly play in long-term cardiovascular outcomes?

These questions led Dr. Bhojraj to Functional Medicine, not as an alternative, but as an evolution, a model that restores agency to patients and equips the body to heal through comprehensive lifestyle optimization. He now leads the Well12 Program, a transformational experience that guides individuals in upgrading the foundational systems of their health from metabolism to mindset, so they can live not just longer, but better.

Today, Dr. Bhojraj and I explore the remarkable protein Klotho and the emerging science linking it to human longevity and health span. This is a conversation you won’t want to miss, a glimpse into what may become a defining frontier in upstream disease prevention.

Enjoy,

Dr. M

Dr. M’s SPA Newsletter Volume 15 Issue 9

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Email | RSS | More

Today, I’m diving into a fascinating article by Scott Zimmerman and Russel J. Reiter, titled Melatonin and the Optics of the Human Body, published in Melatonin Research (2019). This piece flips the script on what we thought we knew about melatonin, light, and how our bodies interact with the sun’s rays. It’s a game-changer, especially for how we think about kids’ health in our modern, screen-filled indoor living world.

First, what is melatonin? Melatonin is a hormone made from the essential amino acid, tryptophan. It was first isolated from a cow’s pineal gland. It is an old molecule as primitive bacteria made melatonin probably 2.5 billion years ago. Its synthesis in bacteria and eukaryotes is a common linkage. Most of us know that melatonin is the “sleep hormone,” produced by the pineal gland in the brain when it gets dark at night, signaling to our bodies that it’s time to wind down and prepare to sleep. It’s the chemical expression of darkness, driving our circadian rhythms and helping us catch those precious brain cleansing moments. Zimmerman and Reiter argue that this is only half the story or maybe even less than half. For decades, research has hyper-focused on pineal melatonin that is regulated by visible light hitting our retinas. Blue visible spectrum light in the early morning suppresses pineal melatonin, which is why we should dim those screens before bed. But here’s where it gets interesting, the pineal gland isn’t the only place melatonin is made, and darkness isn’t its only trigger. Our bodies are producing melatonin in ways we’re just starting to understand, and it’s tied to light in a way that was unexpected and evolutionarily fascinating. As with all things in science and evolution, we learn what we did not know and it all makes sense once the aha moment occurs…. and a literature review. Oh and a recipe.

Dr. M

Dr. M’s SPA Newsletter Volume 15 Issue 4

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Email | RSS | More

What is measles – a refresher?

Measles is a serious, highly contagious and potentially deadly viral infection. It is caused by an RNA paramyxovirus. It is spread by contact with droplets from an infected person’s nose, mouth or throat. Sneezing and coughing can aerosolize the droplets and increase the range of infectious spread. Symptoms usually develop 8 to 10 days following exposure to an infected individual. A sick individual is contagious for 4 days before and 4 days after symptom onset. The reproductive rate is very high at 12+ meaning that 1 person will infect 12 and those 12 will get 12 more sick (144) and then 144 X 12 = 1728 X 12 = 20,736 and you are off to the exponential races….Plus, The Shock of a New Diagnosis: A Stoic Path Through the Storm.

Enjoy,

Dr. M

Dr. M’s Women and Children First Podcast #Redo #2 – Ken Cook

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Email | RSS | More

Today, I’m thrilled to repost the conversation with Ken Cook, President and Co-Founder of the Environmental Working Group, a powerhouse built to  protect human health and the planet. For over 30 years, he’s been a leading voice challenging industrial agriculture, flawed U.S. food policies, and the toxic threats facing families—especially women and kids. From pushing the 1996 Food Quality Protection Act to shield children from pesticides to creating tools like the Skin Deep Database and Dirty Dozen list, Ken’s work empowers moms with science to make safer choices.

His latest venture is a podcast entitled Ken Cook Is Having Another Episode where he digs into endocrine disruptors and environmental health, issues hitting close to home for every parent.

I hope that you enjoy my conversation with Ken Cook!

Dr. M

Dr. M’s Women and Children First Podcast #14 Repost- Richard Johnson MD – Nature Wants Us to Be Fat

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Email | RSS | More

This is a repost of the most listened to podcast with Richard J. Johnson, M.D.. Dr. Johnson is the Tomas Berl Professor of Medicine and the Chief of the Renal Division and Hypertension at the University of Colorado since 2008. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, with a major in Anthropology, and a graduate of the University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, he is a physician and nephrologist whose research has focused on the role of sugar, and especially fructose, in driving obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and kidney disease. Much of this work has explored the role of fructose metabolism, especially the generation of uric acid, in driving this phenotype, and his work has included studies ranging from molecular biology, integrative physiology, and evolutionary biology. He is the author of The Sugar Fix which introduced the first low fructose diet, and also The Fat Switch which explores the role of fructose in driving the obesity epidemic. His newest book, Nature Wants Us To Be Fat, is a tour de force of the entire pathway of survival via metabolic events in the body related to fructose and the polyol pathway. This is a must read book. This podcast will introduce you to the exceptional work of Dr. Johnson and how we are now mismatched metabolically for the environment of modern America and our food systems.

Please enjoy this wide ranging conversation.

Dr. M

1 2 … 26