Empower Your Fertility: The Microbiome Connection

Welcome and Speaker Introduction 0:00

Welcome, Dr. Elisa Song to the super fertility summit. You are amazing. You are a Stanford, NYU, and UK's trained integrative pediatrician, pediatric functional medicine expert, and a mama to two thriving children. You are the bestselling author of The Healthy Kids, Happy Kids, and Integrative Pediatricians Guide to Whole Child Resilience. And in Your Practice, Whole Family Wellness, you have helped thousands of kids get to the root causes of their health concerns and empowered their parents to help their children thrive.

Body, mind, and spirit. By integrating conventional pediatrics with functional medicine, homeopathy, acupuncture, herbal medicine, and essential oils. And you've created Healthy Kids, Happy Kids, an online holistic pediatric resource to help practitioners and parents bridge the gap between conventional and integrative pediatrics. With an evidence based pediatrician backed, Mom approved approach. And you just have an incredible community who loves you, Dr. Elisa Song, and I'm so happy to have you here with us for the Super Fertility Summit.

Oh well, I'm so honored to be here. I mean, we were talking offline about, I mean, how long we've known each other and it's just it's so great to be on this journey together. And I love, love, love the work you're doing and really empowering families to have the families of their dreams. So I thank you for your work. I wish that when I was going through my fertility journey with my two kids, that I would have known about your work. Thank you Dr. Elisa, I really appreciate that so much. And you know, the feeling is so mutual that I admire you as a human, as a mama, and as an expert.

And I would have loved to be with you on your fertility journey and and thankful and grateful that we share life now. And you are going to bless everyone listening today with your wisdom, because it is really unique. And, one of the first things that I would love to ask you is I really want to make sure in every interview that we do for this summit, that, number one, we present really disruptive ideas, disruptive in the best way so that we're not just talking about and hearing the same things that you can find everywhere online.

The Microbiome as the Foundation of Health 2:51

And I also want people to have really actionable steps that they can take away and start bettering their fertility, their pregnancy, health and the health of their families, present and future. So if we started from the beginning and we asked ourselves if there was one thing that you want people mamas, future mamas who are listening right now, pregnant mamas who are listening right now are dads, parents of all genders to take away from this conversation that we're going to have today. What would that one thing be?

So it's it's one thing that leads to many things. But the one message that I want parents, you know, hopeful parents, kids, teenagers, to really understand practitioners is that the magic is in the microbiome. It is 1,000%, you know, from mamas vaginal microbiome to mamas gut microbiome, even even data microbiome. and the foundations of your baby's gut microbiome and how, your baby's gut microbiome develops just lays a foundation from a gut immune standpoint, a gut brain connection standpoint, and even an epigenetic standpoint.

As you talk about, you know, the microbiome epigenetics connection and how we can really help our, our future babies genes work for them or even our current babies. And even if your babies are born right, we all we always our genes are not set in stone. I mean, we are born with the genes we have. However, the way that they become expressed as signs of wellness or illness we have in our control, which is so, I mean, on one level, scary to think about. On the other hand, so empowering. And so really and truly, if we if we get back to the foundations of the microbiome for our babies, so many other things will fall into place.

Absolutely. And there. Thank you so much for that show I love it. The magic is in the microbiome, okay. That's what we want everyone to be able to take away from this. And you talked about the links to the epigenome and how our microbiome is our second genome and our second epigenome. So it's so powerful. And there are so many pathways through which the microbiome functions and determines and shapes health outcomes for fertility, pregnancy and, the programing of our, our babies in utero and then our super babies throughout life.

So can you talk about some of those programing pathways that the microbiome, the effect of the microbiome has. So when we think about, the microbiome of an infant, a newborn, you know, there's been, you know, back and forth over the years on, you know, whether the placenta is actually sterile. Do babies get, you know, some, some microbes, through the placenta. and so, you know, we we may not completely know that, you know, there's some thought that maybe one of the earlier findings was more due to contamination in the lab.

However, we do absolutely know that the that the microbiome that babies are exposed to when they are born shapes the microbiome that begins to develop as they become, you know, newborns and infants and toddlers. There's this concept that many listeners will be familiar with called the first thousand days. And those first thousand days include, conception all the way till about maybe two and a half, three years of age. And it is in those in that age range where an infant's developing gut microbiome communicates with their developing immune system and actually informs their immune system how to react to the outside world, whether it's foods that they're experiencing or environmental toxins or pathogens.

Same thing with their gut brain connection. We know that well. You know, when we go back to the immune system, you know, 70 to 80% of the immune system is housed in our microbiome. And so you bet that baby's naive gut microbiome, meaning when they're born, they really don't have many bacteria at all or microbes at all in their gut microbiome. And so as their gut microbiome takes shape, if it becomes a healthy, balanced gut microbiome, then their immune system can develop on a healthy, tragic tree and really become imprinted for future years.

on what they may be at risk for. When we flip that, we know that you know, early antibiotic use, even, you know, in utero antibiotic exposure to mom or antibiotics or antacid medications given to the baby in the first six months of life, especially can can disrupt that gut microbiome enough that then how it communicates with the immune system also becomes dysregulated. And we know those babies can have a much higher risk in their in their toddler years of developing eczema and asthma.

How the Microbiome Shapes Immunity and Brain Development 8:12

And later, you know, hives and hay fever, even anaphylactic food allergies. And so, it's really important to understand that connection. We also know that the developing gut microbiome really informs how your baby's brain is going to develop. Different gut microbiomes have been associated with different temperaments and, you know, different, different behavioral concerns or not even IQ, which is fascinating. And the communication from our microbiome to our gut, there's a this two way information highway, which many have heard of called the vagus nerve.

Well, your your gut microbiome actually dictates 80 to 90% of the communication from the microbiome to the brain. So it is a two way information superhighway, but most of the information is actually coming from your gut microbiome. And when we understand that, you know, the beneficial gut microbes called probiotics, there is a subset called psycho biotics that help make help optimize our, neurotransmitter production. So responsible for making up to 90% of our serotonin, which helps us feel calm and regulated and relaxed and help us, helps us fall asleep.

Well, if that if our gut microbiome, especially in those early stages, are is dysregulated, we know that that can increase the risk for neurodevelopmental concerns and mental health concerns. You know, ADHD, autism, anxiety, depression. We know we have a crisis of, you know, childhood and teen mental health right now. And much of that can be traced back to when we look at history to the disruption of the gut microbiome. And of course, there's so many other modern factors. but really, if we start with the microbiome, like I said, a lot of other things will fall into place.

And so it's it's coming from that place of knowledge, not, not guilt, you know, because we can think about, oh my gosh, my kiddo had, you know, an ear infection at, you know, two months of age and got antibiotics. I mean, both of my children actually had antibiotics when they were less than six weeks of age. And I tell parents this because there's absolutely a time and a place when they're necessary. It's just that nowadays, in some studies, up to 70% of antibiotics are unnecessarily prescribed for children.

So and so knowing, the disruption to the gut microbiome that can occur, we just have to be knowledgeable now moving forward and know, okay, if we are going to take necessary antibiotics, let's make sure we restore the microbiome so that our gut microbiome can communicate with our immune system and our brain in a really positive, effective way. I love that this is so important. I feel like I want to follow up on a million different points. And in this for the sake of time, I want. But one of the things that I'm thinking about as I'm listening because like you said, we have the genes we're always going to have.

We can't change that. But we have a profound ability to impact the way that our genes express, express themselves, and also how that plays out for our children, our grandchildren, our super babies are super grand babies, as we call them. And as you noted, that feels a little bit scary because it feels like a big responsibility. But it's also a beautiful opportunity. And I want to really emphasize the beautiful opportunity part, because when we talk about the science that we've just covered at a high level, it it feels big and it feels hard for people to know, well, what do I do in in real life, in day to day life, to address these things?

So could you give maybe 2 or 3 just very concrete, easy steps that people can take from your new book and address the microbiome of their of their child? Yeah. So, you know, in addressing our children's microbiomes and our teenage teenagers microbiomes, we really do want to educate and empower them, you know, with that same knowledge, and at the same time, when we when we gain that knowledge, we also improve our microbiomes, which if you are pregnant or about to be pregnant, that is going to improve and optimize your baby's microbiome.

And so I, you know, I truly think that if all children, teenagers, adults could learn how to do two things, that it could change the trajectory of their microbiomes and their health. So the first thing is learning how to read food labels like a gut hero in a way that creates a microbiome magic. Because we all eat some packaged foods. It's just, you know, I'm not going to say all because there are some families I, I don't know, but, you know, that are homesteading families who everything is from scratch and they grow their own food and they know exactly what they're putting into their bodies.

That is amazing. It's just not the reality for for many of us. Right. And so we're out there, you know, we're trying to choose, quote, healthy packaged items. Well, you know, the, the, the massive rise of ultra processed foods, with, with these 3000 plus FDA approved food additives that are put there by food scientists to make the food, you know, sweeter, saltier, you know, feel better in your mouth, be more addictive. Right. Those those additives, if we don't know what to look for, some of those additives directly disrupt the gut microbiome and cause something called gut dysbiosis because they're killing off all of the beneficial flora microbiomes.

Your microbes, while oftentimes preserving the not such good pathogenic microbes. At the same time, some of these food additives can really, irritate the small intestinal gut lining and trigger something called leaky gut. So we're inadvertently and I, you know, before I started reading every single food label from that microbiome centric microbiome magic standpoint, you know, I was feeding my kids food that I thought, I'm doing my best. This is healthy packaged foods. But now we want to step back and realize, okay, what are the specific food additives?

And, you know, in the book, I teach specifically the steps to learn how to be food label detectives. but the things I would say the in the ingredients panel, what to look for most closely. There are, ingredients called impulse for fires. They're a category of food additives that keep our food together. It keeps our ice cream or our protein bars or, you know, even in it's they're found in liquid, ready to feed infant formulas. They keep it from becoming a separated, goopy mess. Right. And if we're not careful and and look for these, these emulsifiers, the rise of emulsifiers in certain countries has been, correlated with significantly with, the rapid rise in autoimmunity.

And we know that ultra processed foods like, you know, steady consumption of ultra processed foods can also affect pregnancy outcomes. and cause, you know, preterm labor and, and, you know, the outcomes that we really don't want to have if we're trying to create our super babies. So but the package isn't going to say emulsifiers. It will say things like mono and diglycerides, CMC carboxy methyl cellulose, carrageenan, xanthan gum. Right. So we just need to be savvy to know. All right. If it says that, even if on the front of the package, it says made with natural ingredients, made with whole foods, gluten free, you know, source of whole, you know, whole grains and high fiber, you can't be tricked by that, you know, you bet that that the food industry hires, you know, many, many, many, you know, marketing psychologists to know exactly what's going to have you or like your little hands in the in your shopping cart, reach for that package and want it.

So you just have to flip it over. Right. And so I mean, that would be what a simple, simple step that we can take and empower our kids. Because, you know, my kids are a little older now. They're you know, they still seem like babies to me, but there's well, you know, they're 12 and 14 and they are now independently going downtown with their friends, you know, after after, during the early release day, choosing what lunch they're going to have

Practical Ways to Support Kids' Microbiomes 17:00

and sometimes, you know, choosing chips and snacks at the grocery store. So now they know, okay, we're not going to do the talkies with the artificial, you know, red 40 and, you know, the, the, the modern diglycerides they know to choose Siete foods, you know, yes, the Fuego tortilla chips, which are delicious. I love that I miss those, yes, but they don't have, you know, what I, what I call the microbiome mischief makers. So they're making these choices. But but it's not a hard choice, right? We're just making these swaps.

the second thing that really and truly is, is the foundation for microbiome magic is connecting our gut brain connection, engaging our vagus nerve and doing that vagus nerve work to optimize our gut microbiome, because it's been found when we improve our vagus nerve functioning and something called heart rate variability. Yeah, that actually can in children this one size in children can improve their gut microbiome diversity and function. And yet this independent of diet. So you've. Heard of. It. Yeah.

So even if your kids are not yet the most varied eaters, eating a rainbow of fruits and vegetables and getting a ton of fiber to feed their good belly bugs, well, we work on our vagus nerve, and so I call it. I'd like to have children think about it more as like vagus nerve work or vagus nerve exercise. Because when you start saying mindfulness meditation, what's the thing that a lot of kids do who have the scale social emotional learning. And they're like, oh God, I have to do that. Do that. Again.

Or and also, you know, it's unfortunately in our society we have put that mindfulness meditation, yoga, walking nature as sort of a oh, that's a nice luxury to have, you know, to do what I really want to impress upon, kids, during, during, pregnancy. Pre-Conception this is probably the most important prescription you can get, you know, for, for your, you know, adrenal access for your microbiome, for your immune health and your babies. Right. And this is it's really got to be something that we consider, not a luxury, not a not something that we do when we have time, but something that we do because it's so important that we have optimal health and optimal micro microbiomes.

And so in the book, I give some easy examples that kids can learn to do on an everyday basis that's not, you know, sitting in lotus position for half an hour. Yeah. It's things that they have to be able to do, you know, in the moment anytime and not, you know, not have to take a lot of extra time out. But that can really move the needle in supporting a healthy, healthy vagus nerve. Because healthy vagus nerve optimal heart rate variability is one of the best indicators of health overall, and one of the best predictors of future health.

Yeah. You know, you know, with with so much psychological stress now for, you know, us as adults and for children, our vagus nerve doesn't get enough exercise. And we know that, you know, prenatal stress can significantly affect and impact, our baby's epigenetics, even our grandbabies. And so, you know, making sure that this is a priority for you, it's not a luxury, you know, when you when you are pregnant, you can tell your family members, your partner, whomever, like this is, this is medicine.

I'm doing. I'm taking my half an hour, you know, to work on my vagus nerve right? Absolutely. And those those who are struggling to get and or stay pregnant, this is so critical. I mean, we talk about this in the Prime Minister protocol constantly. There's, fertility psychology, access and feed the feedback loops among our fertility and our psychology because it's I find that everybody is focused on egg quality, especially as as women are getting farther along in their reproductive span. And so they're really focused on give me the diet, tell me the supplements, tell me the detox.

And I'm not saying that those things don't matter. And we all of those things are covered. And a thousand other variables in the Prime Minister protocol. But the key to unlocking our own innate fertility is always at the base of the fertility and pregnancy pyramid, which is the psychosexual level. And I think it's so easy to think that that's, like you said, a luxury optional if you get to it, if you have time, when it's actually the foundation. So thank you so much for saying that. And I think from a practical perspective, we live in this world where this there's this incredible mismatch between the world that our reproductive biology evolved to function and thrive in and the one that we're living in today.

And that's why we're seeing all these health, mental and physical health problems in children, life expectancy declining, in future generations for the first time. And we're seeing this tremendous rise of fertility challenges and in fertility in males and females, in all humans. And so when you look at the reality of today, so you and I are the typical, highly educated, hard working children of immigrants or immigrants ourselves. and it's a very masculine paradigm that, that we're living in, which is part of that modern world reproductive biology mismatch.

And not having time to engage in these activities that stimulate the vagus nerve are part of that is part of that paradigm. What would you tell someone from a very practical standpoint, if they're like you or I, they're in their postdoctoral fellowship, postdoctoral training, they're in their medical residency, and they're struggling with their fertility. I mean, you you know this firsthand, right? Because you had your own heartbreaking struggles with fertility, with your your baby hope. And, so what would you say to somebody who's like, yeah, I don't have that luxury.

Like, I'm, I'm running for my survival right now, basically. Yeah. Well, I mean, I think one thing that, that this generation of kids and teens, they are in a in on some levels, in a better place than us as, as adults. From that psychological standpoint, yes, there's a crisis. However, mental health and psychological concerns have been,

Stress, Fertility, and Nervous System Regulation 24:18

you know, largely stigmatized for this generation. Right? Yes. Our generation's right. And and adults now who are trying to conceive, there's still it is the unfortunate it just the outcome of how in conventional medicine, we've separated out what goes on your mind from what goes on in your body. And there's been this stigma, you know, for a very long time of, you know, oh, stress is causing that. It's just in your head and it's, it's, you know, kind of a blaming of, well, it's now it's your fault, you know, that you can't get pregnant or you're sick or whatever it is.

Right? So first I just want to, you know, if if you're coming from that place where, you know, mental health concerns or psychological concerns were stigmatized in your family or your communities, and I know for certain, you know, in a lot of immigrant populations, like, like my own mental health concerns are especially stigmatized, right? Yeah. And so so we just have to work through that ourselves and realize this is a part of, of our entire whole being. We cannot separate out the mind from the body.

They're intimately connected. We have to understand that psychological stress causes as much or if not more, inflammation and a cytokine cascade of inflammatory chemicals as an infection, as an environmental toxin, as any physiologic stressor. And so it is one and the same. And so and like I said, sometimes it's more and we also know that psychological stress within one hour can trigger the leaky gut. It can trigger the release of something called Zainudin in our small intestinal lining. And so there's a very real underlie physiologic imbalance that occurs even if we're thinking, oh it's just psychological stress.

I'll deal with that later. It's not you know, one of the biggest I think, mistakes that that we as a society, have really, created around psychological stress is the idea that all psychological stress is bad, and we have to avoid it. We have to make life really good, right? Which is, you know, to be honest, that's more stressful. I was gonna say that's painful in and of itself because it's unattainable. It's unattainable. And yeah, you know, stress has become this, this almost this four letter word in our modern society.

you know, and who doesn't say, oh, I'm so stressed, right. But we have to flip that and recognize, yes, when there's too much psychological stress that we are not prepared to manage, it becomes inflammatory and we become sick, or we it becomes harder to get pregnant and stay pregnant. but there is something called the stress optimal stress performance curve, which I talk to kids all the time about. Right. That's right of no right. You know, on on this access, there's there's Well, let's do it. I'm trying to think how mirrored in the but, you know, so this is low psychological stress.

High psychological stress, actually low psychological stress, high psychological stress on the X axis. Yeah. Here is your performance right. So what we see is this bell shaped curve where if we have too low stress think about it. No deadlines. Life is so easy. Everything's handed to you. Do you ever get anything done right. And eventually apathy indifference, depression and boredom. Right. Yeah. We get a little more stress, a little deadline. Oh, I have to do some reading. I have to do some work.

I this thing right. We kick into gear and our performance is optimal. We've all seen this. We have a deadline or kids, right? They get a little anxious for the soccer game. And then all of a sudden they're playing and they're in the zone. You are focused, you are on. Right. And you get stuff done right. Then okay, a little bit. Maybe you're the deadline. You have an exam, you have the, you know, friend drama, you have social media drama, whatever is too much stress. And then we get here where we're not performing again, we're burnt out, we're angry, irritable, but there's a sweet spot.

And if we can cultivate that sweet spot and recognize stress is not something to run away from, stress is something to be able to manage. And because every single day living in our modern world, as you said, there's this mismatch. We have constant sources of stress that kind of just get our body ready to fight or flee. It's an evolutionary. We can't control it. Right. But what we can do is, really, you know, mindfully engage that part of our nervous system, our parasympathetic, with slow belly breathing, visualizations, going for a walk in nature, you know, whatever, you know, box breathing, the lots of different tools to get your brain out of fight or flight and regulate your nervous system.

And it doesn't have to take that long. A lot of people think I don't have time, you know, for 30 minutes of meditation that would I would love if everyone had time for 30 minutes or 60 minutes. I would bet that if you looked at your schedule, it's many people. It's not that they don't have the time. If they shifted their priorities, they would have the time. That's right. Right. So it's really making the priority. But you know, I start every morning an insight timer, which is a free meditation app.

Right? I like it. It's a five minute breathing meditation. Five minutes. And I start my day with that. I wake up early before anyone else. I have the quiet of the house. Right? Yeah. And you know, and I have my my Americano next to me. It's. And it's my morning ritual. Just five minutes. Five minutes can set the tone for the rest of the day. And so, you know, when I have kids and at teens who have phones and parents, I have them download the app, and I bookmark this five minute breathing meditation by Megan Winkler.

And I let them know, look, just just try it. If you if you tell me you don't have five minutes to do this, it's because you really don't want to. It's because you don't. You're not yet understanding the importance and the priority that this must be. And so, you know, again, just really stepping back and thinking, how can I nurture myself from that? You know, fertility psychology standpoint? And it will have trickle effects on, you know, your child even, you know, when we are pregnant and have, you know, sort of this, this elevated stress response all the time, our, you know, hypothalamic pituitary adrenal stress response that then we know in our infants can can cause them to also have an elevated stress.

Right, right. And so then they're starting out in this already elevated I'm ready to run or fight or I don't know what to do stage and, you know, maybe predisposed them or to have a really, you know, colicky time when they're infants and, you know, a harder time managing the stressors that occur. So, this really is medicine for, for your body and your mind. We don't want to separate it out. I agree. And just to reiterate something, you said that that bell shaped curve of stress and performance is directly related to fertility and pregnancy.

As well, because we actually know that a moderate amount of stress in the semester and during pregnancy in utero is best for our babies, not too little stress and not too much because they need to develop agile systems, and that helps them to develop that agile stress response for their own lives when they're out in the real world. So it's so beautiful and important. I know that we need to wrap up, and I wish I could keep you here for like two more hours. Doctor Elisa song, before we wrap up, would you tell us two things?

First thing is, if there was one thing that people could do to take care of their fertility and their future babies, what would that one thing be? And maybe you told us in the in the microbiome magic, the two things that you taught us. So you'll let us know if that's what you would recommend. And then finally, what does super fertility mean to you when you hear this? The term super fertility. What what feelings come up in your body, in your mind, in your heart, in your soul. I love that. So the first thing I just want to say, I love, how you frame that as, you know, when we when we have moderate stress and can build that an agile stress response in ourselves that really does help your child build the agile stress response.

Because that's what that's what is missing for so many of our children and teens today. And that's why, you know, I call my book an integrated Pediatricians Guide to Whole Child Resilience. It is all about resilience. It is not about having zero stress, never getting sick, not returning upset. It is about being able to tolerate those and bounce right back with even stronger coping mechanisms or stronger immune systems. And so this this idea is so important. You know, we become in our society so, so afraid of we'll have to avoid x, Y and Z, avoid this environmental toxin, avoid this infection, avoid all stress.

And that's not you can't survive that way. You know that's that's not any way to live. And it's not healthy and it doesn't build resilience. So I love that. Yes, I love that too. Thank you so much, Dr. Elisa Song, for the way that you put it in for teaching the world at large about it through your beautiful new book, which I know is going to be life changing for so many. Well, okay, so getting to the the one thing what I, what I teach kids my kids, parents in the office, and it's, it's simple and many have probably already heard this, but really and truly learning how to do belly breathing or diaphragmatic breathing, we could do that one thing for ourselves and show our children and and our teenagers

Belly Breathing and the Meaning of Super Fertility 34:18

that is going to help their gut brain connection, help their stress response. And what does that mean? Because I have a lot of families when they come in and I'm teaching them how to do this, it the parents aren't able to, you know, so because we're so used to, first of all, sucking in our guts because that's it from a societal standpoint, we were told, if you don't, don't breathe with your belly. and we, we, we tense up our shoulders and we're breathing with our shoulders tense and just on the very top of our lungs, not filling our air, our lungs fully.

And so what I have I have kids who is just put one hand on their chest, one hand on their belly, right. This is their belly. And, you know, they may be laying down sometimes that's easier. But as they really take their deep breath in and out, we're focusing on as you inhale. Slowly that balloon in your belly is expanding. And as you exhale, slowly, the balloon is deflating your belly, all while your chest and your shoulders are staying still. And that if if in the moment when we're in this fight or flight state, if we could stop, pause and take ten deep diaphragmatic breaths that immediately engages your vagus nerve.

It can immediately calm your brain to get out a fight or flight so that we reduce inflammation. We can go on and we we are less reactive to whatever is happening. So if we could just model that, learn that, model that do that with our children, then they have the tools to be able to calm and regulate and engage your vagus nerve wherever they are. And then eventually you don't have to put your hand on your chest in your tummy. Right? It's just getting you save a lot of parents when they start doing, they're like trying to figure out, okay, which which am I moving or not moving?

But it will become second nature. And they can be sitting in their classroom or sitting before they're, you know, right before, you know, they're going on stage or their school play and they're kind of like, you know, be really anxious and they just stop and take those slow belly breaths. So I think that is, you know, really and truly, if we all learned how to do that, we would have a different world. and then in terms of, of what, you know, super fertility really means, I would say just looking back at my journey, the feeling that I would want, you know, families going through this journey is, is to have ease, right?

Just ease with what's happening, you know, trusting the process. And when you're in the semester, you're just you're learning all the tools to go through this journey successfully. and, and just allowing allowing the flow to happen. I think that would be to me if I could go back in time, I would, I would say that would be the feeling that I would want everyone to have. I love that so much. Thank you for that. Super fertility is the feeling of ease, of trusting the process in your process and allowing the allowing for the flow, allowing the flow to happen.

So beautiful Dr. Elisa Song. You are a gift and you are a dear, wonderful friend. Thank you so much for being here with us today. thank you for having me.