hol+ by Dr. Taz MD
Dr. Taz MD
Recent Episodes
Many people today describe a pattern they cannot explain. Life feels manageable until something unexpected happens at work or home, then the body suddenly shuts down. The mind spins, energy collapses, irritability rises, and the only thing that feels safe is withdrawing into the couch, the phone, or Netflix. This is not laziness or burnout. This is functional freeze.
In this hol+ conversation, Dr. Taz sits down with environmental and root cause medicine expert Dr. Jessica Peatross (Dr. Jess) to reveal why so many people experience chronic fatigue, anxiety, weight gain, histamine reactions, food sensitivities and unexplained inflammation even when routine labs look normal.
Instead of chasing symptoms or isolated toxins, Dr. Jess explains how a dysregulated nervous system alters detox, hormones, digestion, immunity and gene expression. She breaks down how trauma, mold exposure, hidden infections, parasites and environmental chemicals overload the body when the vagus nerve is stuck in fight, flight or freeze. And she shows why healing is impossible when the body does not feel safe.
From childhood trauma and dorsal vagal shutdown to blocked drainage pathways, cytokine storms, reactivated viruses and misdiagnosed environmental illness, this episode reframes chronic symptoms through a lens of nervous system physiology, not personal weakness or aging.
You will learn what functional freeze looks like, why detox often makes people worse, how to identify nervous system dysregulation, and the steps Dr. Jess uses to help patients regulate, open pathways and finally begin to heal. Together, Dr. Taz and Dr. Jess outline a clear, compassionate roadmap for anyone who has ever felt dismissed, overwhelmed or stuck in a body that will not calm down.
Dr. Taz and Dr. Jess discuss:
• What functional freeze is and why it shows up in daily life
• How nervous system dysregulation drives fatigue, anxiety and chronic symptoms
• The role of mold, parasites, toxins and environmental chemicals in chronic illness
• Why detox fails when the body does not feel safe
• Vagus nerve physiology and dorsal vs ventral vagal states
• How trauma, stress and grief reshape hormones, immune function and methylation
• Medical dismissal and the reality of normal labs with real symptoms
• The drainage pathways that must open before detox
• Histamine issues, MCAS, POTS and their connection to the nervous system
• Tools that help regulate the system and support healing
• How to track progress through sleep, HRV, emotional stability and digestion
• Why healing is not linear and why support and community matter
About Dr. Jessica Peatross
Dr. Jessica Peatross is a functional and environmental medicine expert known for her work on nervous system dysregulation, toxin-driven illness and trauma informed detox. She is the founder of WellnessPlus, an educational platform teaching step-by-step protocols for mold, parasites, drainage and nervous system healing. Her approach blends clinical training with nervous system science to uncover root causes often missed in conventional care.
Stay Connected:
Connect further to Hol+ at https://holplus.co/- Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and hit the notification bell to stay updated on future episodes of hol+.
Follow Dr. Jess
Instagram: https://instagram.com/dr.jess.md/
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@DoctorJessMD
Websiet: https://drjessmd.com/
Follow Dr. Taz on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/drtazmd/
https://www.instagram.com/liveholplus/
Subscribe to the audio podcast: https://holplus.transistor.fm/subscribe
Subscribe to the video podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@DrTazMD/podcasts
Get your copy of The Hormone Shift: Balance Your Body and Thrive Through Midlife and Menopause
Host & Production Team
Host: Dr. Taz; Produced by ClipGrowth.com (Producer: Pat Gostek)
Millions of women say the same thing in their late 30s and 40s “I don’t feel like myself anymore.” Fatigue grows, stress tolerance collapses, brain fog hits, and everyday tasks suddenly require more effort. Yet most are told it’s “normal aging,” “just stress,” or “anxiety.”
In this hol+ episode, Dr. Taz sits down with functional medicine expert and bestselling author Dr. Mariza Snyder to ask the hard questions about perimenopause, what it is, when does perimenopause start, and why rage, irritability, and cognitive changes are often the earliest symptoms women experience.
Together, they unpack why perimenopause is widely misdiagnosed, why progesterone decline shows up long before hot flashes or missed periods, how estrogen fluctuations affect brain function, and why so many women feel like their identity, mood, and capacity are suddenly slipping away.
From mood swings, brain fog, and sleep crashes to metabolic slowdowns and rising visceral fat, this conversation reframes perimenopause symptoms as hormone-driven neurological and physiological shifts — not personal weakness, aging, or lack of willpower.
You will learn what perimenopause is, what age perimenopause starts, why rage and irritability show up first, and how to track early hormone changes through menstrual patterns, symptoms, biometrics, and stress physiology. Dr. Taz and Dr. Mariza also share lifestyle tools, boundaries, morning and evening routines, and targeted support that help stabilize brain energy, mood, and metabolic health during this transition.
Dr. Taz and Dr. Mariza discuss:
• What is perimenopause and why it hits earlier than women expect
• When does perimenopause start and what age perimenopause typically begins
• Why perimenopause rage is real and often the first warning sign
• Perimenopause brain fog, cognitive shifts, and declining stress tolerance
• Progesterone decline, estrogen fluctuations, and why hormones become unpredictable
• Perimenopause vs aging: why symptoms are dismissed or misdiagnosed
• Mood swings, irritability, fatigue, and the identity shift many women feel
• Early metabolic changes in perimenopause and why belly fat increases
• How to track symptoms, cycles, HRV, sleep, and biomarkers for early clues
• Tools women can use: routines, nervous system regulation, boundaries, lifestyle resets
• When progesterone or estrogen support can make a meaningful difference
• Why community and sisterhood become critical for emotional resilience
About Dr. Mariza Snyder
Dr. Mariza Snyder is a functional practitioner, women's health expert, hormone educator, and bestselling author of The Perimenopause Revolution. With over 15 years of clinical experience, she helps women navigate perimenopause and midlife with clarity, confidence, and science-based tools that support hormone balance, brain health, emotional resilience, and metabolic vitality. Her work empowers women to understand what perimenopause is, recognize early symptoms, and take back control of their health with practical strategies and integrative support.
Stay Connected:
Connect further to Hol+ at https://holplus.co/- Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and hit the notification bell to stay updated on future episodes of hol+.
Follow Dr. Mariza Snyder:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drmariza/
Podcast: Energized with Dr. Mariza
Book: The Perimenopause Revolution
Follow Dr. Taz on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/drtazmd/
https://www.instagram.com/liveholplus/
Subscribe to the audio podcast: https://holplus.transistor.fm/subscribe
Subscribe to the video podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@DrTazMD/podcasts
Get your copy of The Hormone Shift: Balance Your Body and Thrive Through Midlife and Menopause
Host & Production Team
Host: Dr. Taz; Produced by ClipGrowth.com (Producer: Pat Gostek)
Subscribe to the video podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@LiveHolPlus/
Your gut is not just a digestion system, it is one of the most powerful control centers in your body. In this episode, Dr. Taz explains how the gut lining, bile, digestive enzymes, and microbiome all work together to shape your hormones, mood, weight, and inflammation. You will learn why gut health is still not standard of care in conventional medicine, how stress, toxins, sleep, and even popular GLP 1 drugs change the microbiome, and what that means for conditions like anxiety, depression, perimenopause, menopause, and stubborn belly fat.
Dr. Taz shares:
• Why ancient systems called the gut "ground zero" and modern research is finally catching up
• The four pillars of gut health: gut lining, digestive enzymes and stomach acid, bile flow, and a diverse microbiome
• How leaky gut, SIBO, candida, and low diversity bacteria drive inflammation, brain fog, rashes, and chronic symptoms
• The gut brain axis and why up to 90 percent of serotonin and other neurotransmitters are made in the gut
• How butyrate and beta glucuronidase affect estrogen recycling, perimenopause, and andropause, leading to estrogen dominance and hormone shifts
• The links between microbiome balance, circadian rhythm, GLP 1 medications, and metabolic syndrome and weight gain
• A practical step by step protocol using diet changes, collagen, glutamine, enzymes, probiotics, fermented foods, sleep, and stress tools to rebuild gut health
Whether you are dealing with mood changes, hormone chaos, weight that will not budge, or unexplained symptoms that never fully resolve, this episode gives you a clear roadmap to understand your gut and start rebuilding your microbiome from the inside out.
Stay Connected:
Connect further to Hol+ at https://holplus.co/- Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and hit the notification bell to stay updated on future episodes of hol+.
Follow Dr. Taz on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/drtazmd/
https://www.instagram.com/liveholplus/
Subscribe to the audio podcast: https://holplus.transistor.fm/subscribe
Subscribe to the video podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@DrTazMD/podcasts
Get your copy of The Hormone Shift: Balance Your Body and Thrive Through Midlife and Menopause
Host & Production Team
Host: Dr. Taz; Produced by ClipGrowth.com (Producer: Pat Gostek)
Subscribe to the video podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@LiveHolPlus/
Cardiovascular disease is still the number one killer, yet guidelines keep pushing cholesterol lower and more people are put on statins for life. In this hol+ episode, Dr. Taz sits down with worlds leading nitric oxide researcher Dr. Nathan S. Bryan to ask hard questions about statin risk versus benefit, why cholesterol alone does not explain heart disease, and what is nitric oxide actually doing inside the body long before a heart attack or stroke.
Together, they explore why low or no nitric oxide may be the missing piece behind rising blood pressure, plaque, and dementia, even in people who “follow the rules.”
From the benefits of nitric oxide for blood flow, blood pressure, diabetes, and brain health to the surprising impact of antiseptic mouthwash and antacid medications, this conversation reframes cardiovascular and metabolic disease as problems of cell signaling, not just lab numbers.
You will learn what nitric oxide is, what does nitric oxide do for the body, why nitric oxide importance is often ignored in standard care, and how to raise nitric oxide through lifestyle, targeted support, and emerging restorative therapies based on decades of nitric oxide research.
Dr. Taz and Dr. Bryan discuss:
- New cholesterol guidelines, statins, and rethinking risk vs benefit
- What is nitric oxide and what does nitric oxide do for the body
- Why low or no nitric oxide shows up decades before heart attacks and stroke
- The benefits of nitric oxide for blood flow, blood pressure, and sexual function
- Nitric oxide diabetes link and why insulin resistance is often a nitric oxide problem
- Mouthwash and nitric oxide, antacids, fluoride, and the oral microbiome
- How lifestyle, diet, movement, and nasal breathing raise nitric oxide naturally
- Why standard biomarkers are late and vascular function should be tested sooner
- Nitric oxide importance in Alzheimer’s, dementia, and brain blood flow
- How to raise nitric oxide safely and what to know about supplements vs “dead beets”
About Dr. Nathan S. Bryan
Dr. Nathan S. Bryan is a pioneering nitric oxide researcher, molecular medicine scientist, and biotech entrepreneur whose discoveries helped create a billion dollar nitric oxide market. His work has reshaped how we understand cardiovascular disease, metabolic health, nitric oxide diabetes links, and how lifestyle, mouthwash and nitric oxide, and common drugs impact long term health. He is the author of The Secret of Nitric Oxide, where he breaks down what nitric oxide is, what nitric oxide does for the body, and how to raise nitric oxide safely at home using science based tools and lifestyle shifts.
Stay Connected:
Connect further to Hol+ at https://holplus.co/- Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and hit the notification bell to stay updated on future episodes of hol+.
Follow Dr. Nathan S. Bryan:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DrNathanSBryanNitricOxide
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drnathansbryan/
Website: https://www.bryantherapeutics.com/ Product: https://n1o1.com/
Get The Secret of Nitric Oxide Book here.
Follow Dr. Taz on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/drtazmd/
https://www.instagram.com/liveholplus/
Subscribe to the audio podcast: https://holplus.transistor.fm/subscribe
Subscribe to the video podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@DrTazMD/podcasts
Get your copy of The Hormone Shift: Balance Your Body and Thrive Through Midlife and Menopause
Host & Production Team
Host: Dr. Taz; Produced by ClipGrowth.com (Producer: Pat Gostek)
00:00 New cholesterol rules, statins, and nitric oxide importance
01:00 Mouthwash and nitric oxide, blood pressure, and the oral microbiome
01:46 What is nitric oxide and what does nitric oxide do for the body
03:06 Why nitric oxide matters for longevity, inflammation, and aging cells
04:32 Nobel Prize history and early nitric oxide research
06:06 Fingerprint of nitric oxide biology and early disease markers
08:13 No nitric oxide before you see plaque, blood pressure, or ED
09:26 The American lifestyle and nitric oxide diabetes link
10:45 Mouthwash and nitric oxide, fluoride, PPIs, and hidden blockers
12:26 Statins, cholesterol guidelines, and questioning “everyone needs a statin”
16:11 Cholesterol numbers, Framingham data, and what actually predicts risk
19:27 Better heart screening, vascular function, and nitric oxide benefits
22:28 First symptoms of low nitric oxide: ED, libido, and rising blood pressure
25:04 Mouthwash and nitric oxide causation study, exercise benefits lost
27:23 Antacids, reflux meds, and how they shut down nitric oxide
27:58 How to raise nitric oxide naturally with food, movement, and sunlight
30:19 Nasal breathing, mouth breathing, and nitric oxide delivery to the lungs
31:02 Nitric oxide as a hormone and whole body signaling molecule
33:18 How to measure, how to replace, and what nitric oxide testing really shows
36:45 Inflammation, triglycerides, and tracking nitric oxide benefits in labs
38:38 Restorative physiology vs applied pharmacology
42:01 Can nitric oxide help heart failure, liver disease, and ascites
44:13 Nitric oxide diabetes connection and insulin resistance
46:52 Nitric oxide and Alzheimer’s, brain blood flow, and “type 3 diabetes”
47:57 Kids, ADHD, diet, and low nitric oxide as a blood flow problem
49:08 5G, toxins, and electron flow in biochemistry
51:00 Glutathione, nitric oxide transport, and why most supplements miss the mark
52:18 Why arginine, citrulline, and most beet products do not fix nitric oxide
55:40 Nitruticals, rebuilding nitric oxide and the oral microbiome
57:32 Nitric oxide for wounds, skin, and regenerative healing
59:19 Reversing disease vs managing decline, and what nitric oxide might change
1:00:07 Optimizing human performance with nitric oxide as a foundation
1:01:18 Where to learn more from Dr. Nathan Bryan
1:01:55 Closing thoughts from Dr. Taz and hol+
Subscribe to the video podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@DrTazMD/podcasts
What Is PCOS in Women, How It’s Diagnosed? PCOS is not just a gynecology label, it is a whole-body syndrome that is widely missed in the exam room. In this episode, Dr. Taz explains why nearly seventy percent of women go undiagnosed, how PCOS often begins in the prenatal environment, and why it behaves like a metabolic and autoimmune condition. You will learn the signs most people overlook, the labs that actually matter, and a step-by-step plan that starts with the gut, supports the liver, balances blood sugar, and calms cortisol so real healing can begin.
Dr. Taz shares:
• Why the old Rotterdam criteria miss metabolic, inflammatory, and immune drivers
• How prenatal hormones, medications, and toxins can program PCOS risk
• The role of hyperandrogenism in insulin resistance, inflammation, acne, and hair loss
• Why PCOS looks different by life stage and race, and what that means for care
• The exact labs to request: DHT, AMH, free and total testosterone, DHEAS, 17-OHP, fasting insulin, lipids, CRP and more
• A holistic protocol that begins with gut repair and liver support, then adds androgen and metabolic tools
• How daily stress and the cortisol hum keep PCOS active, and practical ways to turn it down
Whether you feel off but cannot explain why, are chasing a diagnosis, or want a long term plan for energy, fertility, and hormone balance, this episode gives you a clear roadmap to understand PCOS and take action.
Connect further to Hol+ at https://holplus.co/- Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and hit the notification bell to stay updated on future episodes of hol+.
Get your copy of The Hormone Shift: Balance Your Body and Thrive Through Midlife and Menopause
Stay Connected
Subscribe to the audio podcast: https://holplus.transistor.fm/subscribe
Subscribe to the video podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@DrTazMD/podcasts
Follow Dr. Taz on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/drtazmd/
https://www.instagram.com/liveholplus/
Join the conversation on X: https://x.com/@drtazmd
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@drtazmd
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drtazmd/
Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and hit the notification bell to stay updated on future episodes of hol+
Chapters
00:00 The PCOS epidemic and misdiagnosis
00:27 Dr. Taz’s PCOS story
03:06 Why old criteria fall short
05:09 PCOS as metabolic and autoimmune
08:20 Why PCOS rates are rising
09:14 Prenatal and medication influences
11:05 Childhood and teen clues
15:44 Symptom checklist you can spot
18:42 Eastern medicine patterns to notice
20:32 What to test for PCOS
23:56 How presentation varies by race
30:03 Building a holistic plan
33:37 Gut and liver first
35:16 Androgen, metabolic, and inflammation tools
37:30 Managing cortisol and stress
39:13 Long term roadmap and next steps