Unlock Your Code to Thrive – The Epigenetics of Longevity

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

You’re in there. 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

I have, I have one chapter on peptides and, but just an amazing people that, that she just hangs out with. You know, she’s, doesn’t look like it, but she’s a geek, a knowledge geek, and she’s just really a sought after speaker. She’s just an amazing speaker, thought leader on epigenetics and precision longevity. She’s been, can really connect the dots in so many ways. She coaches experts enthusiasts on how to unlock their code and really harness their limitless potential to flourish in business. And she’s so positive, and whether it be health and life, you know, feeling and living their life optimized. And that’s their big thing, is to get you to your optimal level, whether it’s health and happiness and functioning. She’s the host of Longevity Lab podcast, author of Codes of Longevity, as we just said, she’s a visionary. 

So, amazing. I love speaking with her, you just learn so many new things, and behind the 120 collective for those who are ready to be ageless she’s founder of Longevity Experts Network for today’s top health leaders, is an advisory member to Heads Up Health technologies and holds a position as chief limited officer at Apeiron Academy of epigenetics, I can go on and on with all her titles, by the way, she’s done so much stuff. It’s incredible, and her path is amazing. Her clinical training background, doctor of chiropractic and epigenetic human performance, success coach, board certification in holistic health and master’s in wellness, leadership, and performance. Pair this with past fitness and television career in the world of professional wrestling. And you wouldn’t think you’d get from there to here. And, but it’s pretty amazing those professional wrestlers, you know, whether, you know, it’s fake, they beat themselves up. 

We’ve had some patients. And cool, they’re good people too. And you get a powerhouse that is on a, she’s really on a mission. And her passion is just infectious. She inspires people and ignites people around the globe to express greater status in their health, wellbeing, and human flourishing for generations to come. She’s what the world needs. And so, really to discover it’s possible you to learn more about Dr. Melissa, you connect to her a number of ways at docmelissa, D O C M E L I S S A.com, or code soft longevity, C O D E S O F T, longevity.com and longevity life hub.com. And she’s just so generous with her knowledge of so many people and trained so many people. It’s a pleasure, you know, I’m a huge fan. 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

I think that there’s like the buildup, you guys. I know, I feel like, I don’t know if I, that’s a big over promise, but I’m going to deliver, I’m going to deliver, we’re going to have a great conversation. Thank you, Dr. Kent. 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

And she’s someone that you just feel good after you talk to her, you know. It’s a gift. 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

I’m ready to dive in. I want to say thank you for having me back. You know, it’s interesting what people don’t always realize is that, you know, there’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes to bring this information forward. And I, first of all, want to applaud you because for many months now you’ve been putting this all together. And when we did our first interview, it was many months ago and you know, it’s crazy how much has happened. We, you are in this book with me, we have been doing some fun and amazing things, and I feel just in a few short months, you know, things have, have rapidly evolved even in healthcare where we’re at, you know, this pandemic has created a desire for people to look in new ways beyond where they’ve been. So, I’m really honored that I get to be here twice because I hope that my first conversation around cognitive optimization is super helpful to everybody watching yet, I’m really excited about this because I feel like I’m just brimming, right, there’s so many new things to talk about today. So, thank you for having me. 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

Yeah, I think things are just happening so fast, but in standard medicine, they move so slow. You know, I’m telling you we would end the COVID crisis in a week, if they would just listen to us, you know. And I just want to mention, so in the, one of your bonus gifts, is the book for 99 cents, and please leave a review. I think you’ll love it. The reviews are great. And it’s just packed with so much information. So, from all the experts and herself, and then you also get a course, a mini course in, basically what she’s been preaching and how to change your life and practical and all science based stuff. And her book, you know, you can read so much stuff on the internet. How do you filter? What’s good, what’s bad. Well, here’s the world experts, and with her at the top leading the charge and you know, just fine, I think numerous parts that you’ll just go, damn, I can do that, which can change so much stuff. You know, the old standard of, okay, just exercise and eat better. It doesn’t work. 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

Well… 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

It’s part, you need to, but, it’s so much, so much more than that I should say. 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

You know, what was important to me about bringing the book forward, Dr. Kent, is that it is called the Codes of Longevity for a reason, because encoded within our very DNA lies our blueprint of limitless potential. And these are not just feel good words, you know, this is the reality. If you really take a moment and think about what DNA is, and if you think about what’s actually inside of each and every one of us, right. Like it’s not just you and me, and what was passed down from our parents or grandparents, think about the lifespan of humanity in each generation that we have descended from, it gets passed down. It gets shared, it is the blueprint that ensures that we continue right to flourish, to thrive, to evolve.

And that’s what I don’t think everybody really understands. Our blueprint is there to ensure that we not only survive, but more importantly, that we thrive and evolve into new states of expressing what it means to be human. And so, the book, while yes, it absolutely does cover, sleep and exercise, like, you know, bioactive nutrients, eating for your gene type. It does include movement. And those are fundamental when it comes to living a long life well. The research is indisputable. You cannot, you cannot make up for, I mean, yes, you’ve got some great peptides, we’ll talk about that. But there really is no replacement for exercise and sleep like those two things alone, exercise and sleep. 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

And see, that’s the thing. I’m a hypocrite. I can’t preach that. I eat like crap, but I exercise every four months, three minutes, but I’m trying to get there. I’m trying to get there. I can take the peptide that mimics fasting and exercise, but so I like cheating, but… and I’m pretty lazy. So… 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

Here’s, here’s what I say. I love, first of all, I love and we all want, we all want the easy button. Let’s just, let’s just be real. Like the brain is also hardwired for that, right. Like what’s the path of least resistance? And of course, modern living is so convenient. It is so easy that, of course, I don’t want to go work out if I don’t have to, like, I get that. So, I want everybody listening to, first of all, know, A) that’s a very real sentiment that many of us hold and in part it’s not because you’re lazy, it’s because the brain is hardwired that way. It’s always going to look for efficiency. And so, when it’s super easy, you don’t have to go out and hunt and gather anymore. And you can just open up your cupboard or your pantry. Of course, you’re not going to want to get up and go out. So, first of all, let’s all just press pause on coulda, woulda, shoulda, all over ourselves.

Okay. And yet the reality is, is that it all depends. It’s super personal. And I want everybody to know that what I’m going to talk about today, isn’t the Melissa way. It’s not a judgment. There’s like, the beautiful thing about life is that we all get to choose how we want to express it for ourselves and in any moment, right. So, going back to the DNA, there’s this potential within, but what life gives us is this beautiful tapestry. I like to call it a tapestry of complexity and contrast of information, of input, of signals. And these are literally the codes. These are the codes of information that are literally talking to our cells, to our physiology, this interplay of outer world, inner world of how these signals from life, our environment, and our interaction with it, how that transfers in at the cellular level is designed intelligently. 

So, that as a human being, we know if it’s safe to evolve and thrive, is it safe out there? Because if it isn’t, I’ve got to, I’ve got to operate very differently. If it is, I get to operate differently. Okay. And so, so again, innately, we are programmed. There is this communication and this communication between the outer world and the inner world is really that pathway, if you will, of epigenetics, it is the information, the signal from above the gene that basically tells the gene what to do, turn on or off, or up or down. And so, I think it’s really important that everybody listening, just a reminder, our genes are not our destiny. They are potential just because they’re there doesn’t mean they’re doing anything. 

They could be hibernating. They could be way overactive. What determines what we’re able to do, in informing the expression of the genes, is in the quality of this, of the input of the signals of the codes, the information between the outer and the inner world. Now, a peptide is a code. That’s why you’re in this book. It is literally amino acids, right. It is literally strands of information that are communicating at a cellular level, letting the body know what to do or not to do. Right. If we think about it, like these beautiful little chemical messengers, very precisely dialed in, it’s an exact chain of code. Do this, don’t do that. Okay. 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

And they’re shown, like studies that they turn off all these bad genes and turn on. So, even if you have the gene, the big thing is you can turn it on or turn it off. That’s what exercise does. It turns on a lot of good genes and turns off bad ones. So, I don’t do much of that. So, I like to give something to do that, 

but it also makes, when I exercise now, I’m getting three, five times the benefit that I would, you know, so I don’t want to, I don’t want one for one, I want five for one, you know, by doing all these things. And there are a lot of things you can do to get it because you can’t just exercise and eat right and you’re still sick. Like, wait, what’s going on? There’s a lot of things that you need and can do to make that so much more efficient, you know. 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

Right. So, we, a hundred percent. So, there is a real secret to longevity and it’s called flexibility. And I don’t just mean your ability to bend down and touch your toes kind of flexibility. It’s about being adaptive, resilient, but flexible. So, think about the, the Willow tree. It can bend, it can move in with the circumstances and through it. The fast path to metabolic like inflammaging, right, metabolic breakdown, dysfunction, and dis-ease is going to be rigidity. And why do, why would I say that specific word? What I mean by that literally is the inability to adapt and respond, the inability to be flexible. So, we get really set in our ways, it’s black, it’s white, it’s yes, it’s no, it’s this or that. It’s all or none. And there’s very little gray space in between. 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

I think that’s getting worse. People seem to be getting more black and white, even with health. And you look at people that over exercise, yes, they’re not younger when you look at their genetics and you know, their age of their cells, they’re often older than normal, you know. And all they do is exercise. And if you look at like a vegetarian marathon runner, they don’t look healthy either, you know, and you check. So, too much of a good thing is not usually good. 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

Yeah. We get really locked in. I mean, you know, and it’s interesting. There’s a couple of reasons behind it, on the one side, it’s how we’re being marketed and messaged to, and specifically with social media, and you and I had a message the other day about Social Dilemma, but it’s very real. So, what’s happening just in messaging right now. And because everything’s done by an algorithm, it shows you more of what it thinks you want. And so, what it’s reinforcing is a phenomenon in the brain called cognitive dissonance or cognitive bias. And so, it’s just reinforcing your view of the world. Now I’m not making a judgment on anybody’s view of the world, but what happens is when it becomes… 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

I’m not either, as long as they agree with me. 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

As long… exactly. Right. That’s all good, all good. But when we become really myopic, right? Like we get so single, single minded focus that the blinders are on and we lose the ability to see the tapestry of complexity, to see that what makes life really amazing, what allows the body to flourish and thrive, isn’t just one thing. It’s not just exercise. It’s not just eating a certain food a certain way. It’s not, it’s not in rigidity. It’s about realizing all of it has a signal information, a code, a way that it is informing you. And sometimes life is informing us by saying, oh, note to self, I don’t want that. Like, that is just not my vibe, that just isn’t working with me. And yet the reality that it’s out there, in that very moment that you see something that you don’t resonate with, that isn’t quite a fit, isn’t a match. It doesn’t mean be damned. That’s wrong. It’s in that very moment that you’re like not a match. You immediately also know what is a match. 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

You know, what’s interesting. It makes me think of also evolutionarily that you look at the dinosaurs. They got, so basically, became the experts and basically so good at one thing, they became very dominant, very huge. And then, but that was in their environment. And as soon as that environment changed, they could not adapt. So, even in this, you know, millions of millions of years was a downfall, was that they cannot adapt and the small mammals could adapt. 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

Yeah, and that’s such a really cool example that you’ve just used because if we come back to an earlier statement that you made, which is there are, there have been so many advancements and traditional medicine is easily easy, 20 closer to 50 years in some cases behind where we’re at. And so, that is kind of 

this example of dinosaurs, right? Versus, and, and like it or not, you know, like it or not, life is still going to evolve and forge forward. And so, we get to choose, do I want to shut down and close myself off and stay back here in the way it’s always been, and kick and scream that I’m not going forward or don’t want 

to peek my head out. Do I want to look around, I want to get curious. 

I want to see what could be and do I want to notice the ways that I can be a part of this, of whatever this is, right. And that’s individual for each of us. And, and here’s what I mean, I’d love to play a fun game with you, and I’m going to tie a couple of these points together. So, in the book Codes of Longevity, you know, to really kick it all off, we talk about the tipping point. We talk about the fact that where we’re at right now, I like to say we are making the impossible possible. So, if you ask anybody, you know, you talk to anybody about living a longer life, what do they typically say? 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

I don’t know if I want to, because I don’t want to be sick. 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

Yeah, I don’t know if I want to, exactly. 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

I’m tired of these people already. 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

That’s right. Okay. And that is, and let’s think about why would many people commonly say, I don’t know if I want to. Well, because first of all, it’s how they’re feeling already in their body, but it’s also what they’re seeing around them. So, they’re seeing a perception of age. Like at this chronological age, people look like this, they sound like this, they move like this. And so, the brain doesn’t have proof that there’s a different expression of what it means to be 120, of what it means to be 70, of what it means to be 49. Right? Like the brain is used to it being a certain set way. 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

Yeah, when I was twenty or in high school, and I’m 56 now, whatever it’s, but it’s the mileage not the age that’s the problem, is that I would think, you know, like the character on Simpsons, Burns, you know, hunched over, just frail in a nursing home, like who wants that? And then you look at, you know, how, 

how much money is spent the last two years of life, keeping people alive at a nursing home with a stroke. And they have no life. I mean, I don’t care to extend that, but that’s what’s done in standard medicine. 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

Yeah. Yeah. And here’s the thing, like, you’re not going to create thriving states in the last two years when you’re already in complete breakdown indices, however, there’s things that you can do right now. And that’s what I want to do. Like I want to help. So, what was happening, if we think about this, so that is what we see. And so unconsciously, that is just the information, that’s the information that’s coming into the system. And if we also look through the lens of science called psychoneuroimmunology, it is essentially the communication between the brain and the body by way of the immune system. And so, your cells are listening, whether you realize it or not, there is always a communication pathway between the outer world and the inner world. 

And it’s always saying, are we necessary? Are we needed? Is it safe? Do we want to keep going? Is more possible? Or is it crap? It’s terrible. We’re shutting down, we’re turning off or checking out. It’s this constant, constant dynamic interplay. And then any moment just like this, things can change. We’ve all heard of miracle healings and remissions. I mean, heck Kent, you’ve got some of the most amazing stories yourself personally, and of the clients that you’ve served. So, anything’s possible. Let’s just say that it truly is, the potential is there, it’s just a matter of if we individually have, have a willingness or a desire to want to express and experience a different possibility. And it’s okay if we don’t. Like, to me, I’m never going to, like, if you don’t want to exercise, don’t exercise, I’m certainly not going to make you. 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

A lot of people don’t want to change, or they don’t want to have to choose. Like, they’re not sure what to do, this doctor says this, that doctor says that. And the fact that they’ll make the wrong decision is more stressful than actually making a wrong decision and dealing with it. And so, they make no decision, which is making a decision.

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

That, and you know, so that’s, that’s such a great point. It’s so fascinating. So, one of the things I do is I’m over an Academy of Epigenetic Coaches and, and literally one of our doctors was certifying the other day and she was, we’re going through her session and she’s talking. And I had to, I had to let her know. I said, here’s, what’s happening is as a doctor, people are coming into you and your word is one of the most powerful, it’s one of the most powerful influencers of the expression of their health, their potential to heal and thrive. And so, the moment, especially when we look at genetics, because we were sold this idea, starting back in the eighties, that your genes are your destiny. You got this gene, you’ve got, here’s why this is going on because it’s a gene, and that’s, and it was overly popularized, right. 

Like that was, that was the message. And what you haven’t heard a lot about is the fact that that’s not accurate. You don’t hear as much mainstream media saying, oh, genes are not your destiny. That was, we realized that that was incorrect. Your genes are, you know, because it’s too hard to just in a statement, tell somebody, because if you think about it, of course, marketing, modern medicine, all of it. If we keep you sick, if we keep you broken, if we keep you lacking, if we keep you needing us, then I’m your dealer. So, if I tell you, well, here’s why then you don’t have to be proactive. You don’t have to be empowered. You don’t have to take any accountability or control. 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

That’s my destiny. That’s that worried me about these home genetic tests. 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

And I’ll tell you, I’ve seen them. And unfortunately, too much of the information that people are getting, they really do think here’s my genes, this is my destiny. And the moment that even, and there’s tons of research around this, even the thought of, the seeing of that information, they don’t understand that it’s the epigenetics is what’s going to determine how that gene does or doesn’t express. And so, what happens is now their brain goes, oh, this is what it is. So, it’s again, psychoneuroimmunology, brain and body are always talking. The immune system goes, crap, we have, you know, we’ve got this bad or the other thing, which means this, that, or the other thing, because a lot of these home genetic kits are looking through the lens of disease to give a name, oh, diabetes, oh, cancer, oh, Alzheimer’s. 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

My parents died of that. And yeah, what percent would you say genes are versus epigenetic, I think maybe 20% is really the genetic code, but 80% has more influence. Like studies on identical twins. One gets diabetes and Alzheimer’s and the other one doesn’t, what’s the… they have the same gene. 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

You’re right. A hundred percent. And I always love when that example comes up and it’s pretty clear cut. You know, it’s 20, some people say 25%, so let’s call it 22 and a half. Right. So right there in that low 20 percentile. 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

That matters how hard you work on changing them. Yeah. 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

And you know what’s fascinating is the change like, and this is, this is why in the book of Codes of Longevity, I didn’t just look at lifespan through the classical lens of gerontology and aging, you know, in the hallmarks of aging, it’s in there. And we look at it because that’s what’s happening in the body. But then I stack in health span to say, what are, what through our lifestyle is informing our cellular health and function, the how fast or slow we age. And then we layer in WellSpan, and this is the wellbeing. And this is really, really important because again, we’re classically trained to look, to think that the body is a piece or a part, and an input equals an output. And that is not at all how the body works. If it is, then we would have a hundred percent of the time, a hundred percent of the same type of outcomes. Just like you do that in the car. You absolutely, you’re going to get the same outcome. It’s not how the body works. 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

Like calories in calories out doesn’t, you know, there’s a correlation, but it doesn’t always mean the same. And yeah, in the book I had the health span curve, then you took it out, but… 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

No, it’s in the references it’s in there, it’s in there. 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

I’m just messing with you. 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

He does, he messes with me, but it’s in there. Yeah, no, it’s, it’s true. And so, but this is the really important part is again, we have been conditioned to think that we are a piece and a part and input equals output. So, if I just take this pill, if I just do a procedure, if I just eat this way, right. If I just do this type of diet, that’s where we get back into that really myopic type of thinking. 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

Just do more and more and more, yeah. 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

Right. And then it’s like, well, it’s not this one thing. So, it must be this. Well, it didn’t, this, it must be this. And we go to these singular approaches again, the body is a system. It is many pieces and parts. And depending on where you’re at in the world, you know, the foods you’re eating, the thoughts you’re thinking, the air you’re breathing, the light you’re exposed to, the quality of air, you’re exposed to, the soil that your food is coming from, every single input is information to your body. So, again, back to identical twins, even if they live in the same house, they eat the same food, they breathe the same air, they go to bed at the same time, they wake up at the same time, almost everything appears to be identical yet, the thing that isn’t identical is what’s happening in this head space. 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

And here’s what I mean, you and I, Kent, could be twins, but you and I will never see through the same eyes. The best we could do is be side by side, right. Or maybe you’re in front of me, you’re back, but like, we can get as close squish our heads up as close as possible, but we’re still going to have a different vantage point. If we both look up at the same, you know, we’re on opposite sides of the room, we look at the same light. We’re both still seeing the light, but we’re seeing a different part of it. So, now all of a sudden we are seeing things slightly differently. Not exactly the same, but here’s the big thing, how I perceive that light and how you perceive that light. I could go, Oh my gosh, it’s gorgeous, it’s got, it’s a chandelier and it’s, it’s got crystal and like shimmering and you could go, Oh my gosh, that’s so tacky. 

Like, what is it, why, I want modern clean lines, you know what I mean? Like we could be looking at the same thing, but perceive it very differently. And this all goes way back to cultural editors. There’s so much that goes into how kind of information gets taught and our perceptions and what things mean to us. But I know we don’t have a ton of time today, but I’d love to make just a few really important points to kind of bring this together. And just, before we do that, just a thing that’s really helped me as I was very like, you know, like facts are facts. Why can’t you believe this? You know, now I’ve learned that facts vary, because this person sees it different than I do. You know? And it made me so much more tolerant, because I was like, how could this person… Look it, here’s the data, look at this. How could you even interpret it some way different? Well, it’s your life experience, the way they look at things, you know, the facts are different for different people because the facts are facts. 

No, they aren’t. And that’s really helped me be much more tolerant, you know, accepting of other people’s views. And that’s the way it is and makes you actually happier, you know, is that I don’t get mad. I mean, I like getting political arguments, but never have I, I had this great friend, passed away, but we would just go at it politically, never was I ever mad. It was just kind of an exercise that we did. It was what we did, you know, it was kind of like, was there a cartoon, where they check in, check out after work, oh, okay, you know. And because I accepted his view and I knew he just thought, he just viewed things, very different, nicest guy, very intelligent. And I wasn’t like, oh, you’re stupid, you know, and you’re a bad person. You see things different and it’s really helped me, you know. And it’s great. So, I didn’t mean to cut you off. 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

No, and that’s a perfect example of flexibility. That’s a perfect example of the richness that comes from the tapestry of contrast. You guys didn’t agree, but you agreed to disagree. And in that space, you found, you gained so much more. I mean… 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

It would be boring if everyone agreed. 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

Of course. And see, and that’s what I want people to, to realize. So, if I fundamentally had to boil down what, you know, causes us to age, what accelerates aging, how can we slow it down, stop it and reverse because I’m all about reverse age and rejuvenation, because we can, it’s proven, it’s here. We can easily live to 120 looking, feeling and actually being very vital and radiant. Not that vision that we kind of were brought up with. And that’s what I was saying earlier. Like we’re at this moment, just like Roger Banister when the four minute mile was said to be absolutely impossible by every doctor, every expert, every scientist. And he, he broke that four minute mile, the impossible became possible. 

So, we are a hundred percent at that point right now in human history about how this human body is going to evolve, how our life experience can evolve, how our potential can evolve. Yeah, we are. We’re right there, but here’s the deal. So, it’s all a matter of choice. It’s all about the headspace and what is going to speed it up and keep us on that same path that’s always been, in a simple word I’ll just say it as stress. Stress is not the bad guy. I actually have a whole chapter on why you should say yes to stress. That’s for the book just for today, for the brevity of today, if I had to kind of give us a way to understand it, stress specifically distress, this chronic kind of accumulation of I’ll just say, angst intention on our system, a chronic accumulation of less than optimal inputs, and signals, and codes, and information coming into the body that accumulates, accumulates, accumulates. So, what happens as this accumulates? 

Well, you guys have covered this on the summit. Now we’re in a state of we’re pro-inflammatory, what’s at the crux of every client, patient that walks in any provider’s office is a mild, moderate, or incredibly severe complex case that is driven by inflammation. And so, we all then say, well, we’ve got to find the root cause. And there is no one root cause, it’s all of the inputs coming in. And so, so if we really want to say, all right, how do I slow down? How do I stop? How do I reverse aging? How do I actually heal? How do I support my body to thrive and truly align with this path of optimizing? Like, so I truly, if I wanted to, could live be ageless, right? Like, okay, I’m going to say, I’m game. How could I really do this? And I talk about this in the bonus course. So, you mentioned earlier that right now, part of the gift that we’re doing for the summit is that we have the digital copy of the book for 99 cents for just like the next week. And when you get it, you can get the paper back too if you want, your choice, but you’re going to get, we’ll have the link with this interview where you can put just your receipt and you’re going to get access to the Path to120 course. It’s a digital course. It’s about a three and a half hour course. And it pairs with the book. So, it really goes into, it really goes into the stress stuf. 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

That’s awesome, thank you for that. That’s like invaluable. 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

Oh, my gosh. It’s my pleasure. Because it’s, it’s the things that we just don’t really understand. And, and when we can have a deeper appreciation and understanding, then I believe information is power. What we choose to do with it is up to us, but at least when we know we can be at choice, we can make better choices for ourselves. And so 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

Information is power, yes, yes. 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

It really is, Kent. And that’s what I mean, that’s, what’s great about the summit and all these people you’ve brought together. And if I had to tell people one thing, right? It’s this idea of flexibility. And knowing that stress is the opposite of flexibility. It’s just like you and your friend, you guys could have gone head to head and you could have gotten really stressed and irritated and ticked off, that would have been rigid, right? That would have been inflexible. That would have been pro-inflammatory that would have been fight, flight, or freeze. That would have been all the hormonal imbalance stuff that’s going to rapidly accelerate aging. You chose to respond, agree to disagree. Let’s have a little banter. 

Let’s let me get curious about this difference of opinion. We’re going to go at it, but we’re going to have fun. And so, you were flexible, you were flexible. And this, this idea of let’s play, let’s lengthen, let’s look forward, let’s move out of the rigidity. Simplest way I can explain right now to slow down that inflammatory process, in a 83 year standing study out of Harvard, the number one predictor to a long life is the quality of relationships. The, that comes from a connected relationship. And that’s really what falls into that category of WellSpan this wellbeing. And while everybody today, listening may want to know the one thing, the protocol, the procedure, I would say the one thing starts here. It starts within here. And it’s about just saying self first, kindness first, flexibility. How can you be flexible to yourself? How can you be more patient and tolerant of yourself? 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

And do you think that, and I think I actually bought the whole office a free course on, it was through courses through the university of Arizona, I think actually, on the science of happiness. And also think I don’t have any children of my own, but my girlfriend, I got instant family, but what would I want from it? People say, Oh, I want them to be successful. What does that mean? I really want them to be happy. Right. And whatever that means, you know? And I think also it’s very important for happiness to be able to step outside your comfort zone. So, there’s that stress, but I find people, I don’t want to keep using my brother as the example, like he will never, he’s just stuck, you know, and won’t go outside his comfort zone and he’s so unhappy, you know. And I said, you got to experience the world, and his world is so small and he won’t do anything stressful, you know, which is to go outside the comfort zone. An I think that’s important, is exploring new things. And, where it may be stressful at first, but you feel good after. 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

And, and that’s part of longevity, you know, it’s, it’s continuing to new novel things. It’s about learning, not just book learning, but it is about adventuring. It is about going outside of your comfort zone because that is where evolution occurs. It’s when we go outside of familiar comfort zone, we do go into stress and stress is actually a tool designed to allow us to evolve and thrive. I said that earlier, and again, I go into it in the book and I, and I expand upon it in the digital course, that’s going to be free for everybody if they choose to get the book. 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

How does having passion for something play into that? Because I see, what I see lacking it seems in kids, you know, damn young kids, is that they seem to be lacking something to live for, a passion, you know. A Passion for something, I don’t care what it is, you know. 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

Yeah. Well, I actually have a teenager. And so, and it’s, you know, it’s a really great, it’s an interesting time, you know, as a child, like he literally, from the time he was two years old, he would wake me up. He would wake up and he’d be like, mommy, mommy, I’m awake and happy. Are you happy too? He said, this, Kent, every day, mommy, I’m awake and happy, for three years, every day. And it was his state of being, he would wake up just, just a joy of like, I’m going to go out and explore the world today. And he really maintained that, that effervescence. And he’s still a really happy kid. I’m not suggesting he’s not, however he’s changing now. 

He’s becoming a young man. He does have his own views and ideas and, and he’s becoming more autonomous and he has a girlfriend and he’s experiencing things that he’s, you know, somewhere between being a kid and now becoming this grownup. And there’s, it’s interesting seeing this age group that, you know, social media is a real thing. I’m not saying it’s evil. It’s, we’re living in a time where we have an opportunity to come into balance and harmony with technology. Too many people think that technology is the answer because they forget that we are the technology. You know, every piece of tech is every hack is simply a fast track to what our bodies innately do. And it’s a really funny thing, how, again, we keep putting our power inside of ourselves when it’s inside. However, these kids are on these devices and a lot of tech and a lot of them do seem passionless. And for multiple reasons, on the one hand, it’s because they are so addicted and it’s, it’s all by design. It’s the dopamine. I mean, you think, and you think about this, think about any addict, right. Like you get so absorbed into the thing and you just got to go back and get the next hit. Why do you see everybody picking up their phone all the time? 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

Yeah. It’s like, well, who called? You know. 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

Exactly like, oh, notification, I got to check it. I got to check it. And what that does, it’s hi-jacking the brain. And this is such, such an important time developmentally for kids. I mean their whole adolescents and into teens and yet, you know, brains being hijacked and they’re not looking up, and they’re not going outside, and they’re not recognizing the tapestry kind of back to that. They’re being very manipulated. And so, think about it all the time. If all you want to do is focus on getting your hit. You don’t have a passion anywhere else because your passion is in this, this device, all you have to do is click a button. 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

And they’re being manipulated and judged. And you know, and you’re talking about like your son waking up happy. I remember like, I didn’t know this, but when I had Lyme, my girlfriend said, I would wake up, first thing I’d do was cuss. And I was just so unhappy about being sick. I just couldn’t take it. I don’t remember waking up, but that was my first thought was damn it, because I figured you go to bed, I can wake up fine. You know, as you know, and it’s… Yeah. Not being healthy is not a happy, vibrant state. It sucks. 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

So, let me ask you, how did, what was the turning point? I know you went in search of, but what was the moment when you stopped waking up and cussing? Like, what was it for you? 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

Yeah. It just, you know, basically when I got better and got sleep, I never slept, you know, I never got deep sleep and it was always, and you know, just basically a hyperintense, the phone, who the heck is calling me at 2:00 PM in the afternoon. How dare they, you know, like it just set off your fight or flight constantly. I was, just had like constant panic attacks. I’m not, I was never an anxious person. But I was just like constant sweating and heart failure too, you know, it sucks when you can’t breathe, oxygen is kind of a good thing. And I’m like, I can’t live like this, you know, and I was going to end it. 

But I can’t because this is what I treat, you know, I had to go where they had better frigging figure this out, or I’m going to end it because if I can’t- I knew I was a terrible case because I had it since I was young. I had like, one pupil that was bigger than the other, one side of my body would be sweating. Another one would be freezing cold. My arm had stopped working, but oh, you’re just growing up. But yeah, and so for anyone that’s has, or had Lyme disease, it’s like, no one knows how horrible it is until they go through it. And people lose empathy after about two weeks, right. Why don’t you just, it’s kind of lazy and why don’t you just eat better and, you know, exercise. But you want to, like, urgh. 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

I think that, you said something really important is that you had a why, and even when things are the bleakest, and even if it’s a negative reason, like, well, I’m not going to end it because this is what I do. And like, that would, that would be even worse. Right. So, it was still not like this joyful thing of, Oh, it’s all going to be rainbows. No, like when you’re in the thick of the crap, it’s, you cannot just go from the crap to the joy. It just doesn’t work that way. And so, what I tell people is at least if you can get one rung above it and to get to the one rung, sometimes it’s just kind of, just go neutral, just go neutral. And you know, it’s like, look, anger is actually better than depression because at least in anger, you’re activated, you’re wanting to take some kind of action, even if it’s taken out, you know. So, there’s a purpose to every emotion. And I think that, yeah, and here’s the slippery slope. It’s important to let yourself feel what you need to feel, when you’re in, what you’re in. And yet, and this obviously happens in chronic conditions is we get stuck there. And that becomes all we know, we forget that more is possible. 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

We become our disease. 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

We become our disease. Exactly. 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

Because, yeah… 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

Yeah. However, however, you know, this is, especially if anybody’s watching, whether you are a client, this is your reality, or you’re a clinician working with people that are going through this. It is real. And it’s important to just like I was saying to you, Dr. Kent in the beginning, like, look, don’t shame yourself that you’re not working out. Like, let’s just, let’s just quit, adding more fuel to the fire of the coulda, woulda, shoulda’s. Right. Like let’s just honor what’s really going on. 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

Yeah, now I blew it. So, I might as well not do it. And it’s also, it’s an issue that lot of people or a couple, I remember this one woman, especially, so sick. And she had all the support groups and all they did was, you know, just talk about their illness. And I said, oh my God, well, you don’t seem so happy that you’re so much better. She goes, I am so grateful, but I’ve lost all my friends. They, they want to talk about their illness and I want to go and dance and go do these things. And, you know, and I was like, Oh my God, you know, of course we started crying. I’m a big crier. I cry when Shark Tank, they make a deal. I cry. I cry at commercials. 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

I love that you’re in touch with your emotions. 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

I don’t know, my girlfriend’s like, are you crying? No, I got allergies. 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

Allergy, allergy. Something in my eye. You know, what’s, that’s such a, I mean like you and I could just keep chatting all day and I love it. That’s such a good point is the fact that oftentimes it is what’s our, now let’s go back to epigenetics and environment, and environment are the people in that environment with us, right. Who are we interacting with every day? So, wherever you’re at in your body, your health, your business relationships, your life in this moment, if where you’re at and where you want to be, seem like worlds apart, then it doesn’t mean like, Oh, it’s not possible to ever get there. It’s where am I at? Where do I want to be? Check in with your, why? Why do I really want to be there? Why am I willing? Like, am I willing to do whatever it might take to get there? Maybe, maybe not, but where am I at? Where do I want to be? Why do I really want to be there? Does it matter enough? Because your, why is, what is your fuel? If it doesn’t matter enough gang it’s okay. Just quit pressuring yourself. Like, if it really doesn’t matter that much, then just say, it just doesn’t matter. I think I like the idea of being different, but it is this, and I’m fine with it. So, either accept it… 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

Good point, yeah. 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

Or just say, no, I do want this, and here’s why, and then you get to start to calibrate and think of the path that you’re on. You know,, one of my friends, we were talking about this. And so this was her analogy, but I love it. It’s like a ship, right? Like a sailboat. And if you just let the sailboat go, without these little, I mean, you just have to do the steering wheel, just a titch, just a titch, just a titch. Like it’s just a little bit to stay on course. But if you take your hands off and the wind gets going, you’re going to go way off course. You’re going to go somewhere else. And so, the reality is when you know where you’re at and you know where you desire to be, then it’s simply going alright, the moment each and every day that you come up against resistance, think of that as the boat’s going off course a little bit. 

And resistance is, I feel like crap, I’m agitated. I’m frustrated. I’m cursing at my condition again. Right? I can’t believe this has happened. That person would say this or that. That’s simply feedback. It’s the tapestry of, of contrast. It’s letting you know this doesn’t feel really great. Alright. Well, if I keep doing this, if I keep cursing, if I keep feeling grumbling, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Is this on course with what I want? Is this on course with what I desire? What I want to feel more of, what I want to experience more of. And if the answer is yes, then do it. If the answer is no, then you get to say, all right, well, am I willing? Am I willing to stop moaning and groaning? Am I willing to go out and like, change, physically change my body, get off the couch and go, sit, go stand in the kitchen, go outside, breathe in fresh air. I’m not even saying exercise. 

Just am I willing to do something different to change my state, to change my body, to change my mind. Am I willing to release these friendships or relationships that are not healthy, or at least cut off like reduce? This is my path. First when we realize the overload to our system, physically, mentally, emotionally, chemically, or environmentally, when you are cognizant of it, some you’re not going to be, but the ones that you are you’re at choice to start to reduce, reduce, you don’t have to remove, I’m not saying cancel culture. I’m just saying begin to reduce. 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

A lot of people don’t think they have, this is the way it is. They can’t get out of it. And they don’t think there’s a way out. 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

Yeah, exactly, exactly. And so, but there is, and I think that’s, what’s beautiful about the summit. There’s always proof that somebody else has done it, always. And you know, just like for me taking up the longevity legacy, it’s like, look, very few people think that they can live to 120 and longer, other people think, well, maybe I can, but I really don’t want to. And because I haven’t seen enough proof positive that living a long life can look really differently. And the brain needs proof, right? So, I am that person. 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

Might as well live for today and eat crappy, but they don’t realize that no, you may not die, but you’re going to get a stroke. You’re going to get, you know, you’re going to have a terrible life, not be happy for a long time versus, you know, even if you have a short life, you’ll be happy for the rest of that time. 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

So, let’s do this as, as we get ready, because I know we have to wrap up here in a few. I want to play this game with everybody. This is in the book, it’s in the Path to 120, but I want you guys to have this experience because this is a really great way to gain some immediate perspective and to tap into your own why. So, this is finding our longevity potential. So, if you would, with me, Dr. Kent, do you know the age of your oldest living relative? That’s probably going to be a grandparent, a great grandparent, 

something like that. 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

I have no idea I can guess, but yeah. 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

Okay. 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

I think my grandmother lives a while. Both my parents smoked five packs a day and yeah. 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

Tobacco is one of the fastest ways to age. Okay. It’s your fast track to, yeah, okay. 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

I think she lived to 90. 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

Okay. So, we’re going to go with 90. Alright. So, we’re going to do that. So, 90 and now you said your current age is 56, right? Take the age of your oldest living relative and then subtract your current age. So, 56 from 90. That is 44. Is my math really bad! 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

Okay. So, you have at minimum, at minimum, it’s 34. Okay. Alright. So, you at minimum have 34 more years without any of your cool peptides, without any exosomes, any cool advanced stuff that’s already dropping in without the Metformin and the age reversal protocols, without any of that, just pure and simple at minimum… 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

I need more time. There’s more, I want to do. 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

I love that. Now that’s a centenarian mindset right there. Like seeing that, you know what, there’s so much more so you’re lengthening, the more we can lengthen time, the better. Here’s the interesting thing is that, so for me, when I did this, my oldest relative was what? 94, I’m 49. There was a 55 year difference. 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

I want to get older. So, I can just say whatever I want and not have to worry. 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

My husband says the same thing. He’s like, I’m excited to get older because I get… I’m just like, okay, I love that. That’s a great mindset. But when I had, so here’s the thing, the moment we know our potential. So, you’ve got at least 34, I’ve got at least 55 more years, at least. 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

Great, make me feel old, thanks. 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

Yeah, that’s exactly what I was trying to do. Glad, good. Is if you know that, like now, because everyday we walk around going, I don’t really know if I want to live that long, but now you have a real number of potential impossibility and you go, well, I’ve at least got 34. Do I want more a) do I want to, do I want to keep going those 34 years? b) Do I want to go longer? And is doing what I’m doing now, going to allow me to go longer? Maybe, maybe not. Right. So, that opens up new questions to ask ourselves. Let’s pretend that you still had Lyme as severely as you did. You’d be like, Holy crap. I don’t know if I can make it another 34 years. Feeling like this. Fe,eling like this. So if I do, if I wanted to believe that more is possible, if I wanted to be able to live all those extra years, I can’t do it the way I’m feeling right now. How do I want to be feeling? 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

I also look at it though. And in college I was a little crazy. And you know, everyone thought I would, over and under would probably 25 would be my time I would die. So, everything now is gravy actually. So, but yeah, no, it’s true. When you look at, I want to feel good for those, that period of time, but especially kids, kids don’t think about because you don’t think about getting older, you think about now, you know, you don’t think about tomorrow, you think about today, you know. 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

Yeah. Yeah. So, I mean, there’s so much out there gang, and I will tell everybody listening that, you know, anything is possible and it does begin here. So, whether you’re in a tough spot right now, or you’re in an amazing spot or somewhere in between each moment is a new moment and the only thing that creates a change is a desire to change, is a desire to believe more is possible, is a desire to get curious, is a desire to just say, if you have to, I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired. I desire and deserve more. Other people are doing it. So… 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

People just think like, oh, okay, my doctor’s got me on a statin, which is the wrong thing to do for 90% of the people, but that’s all I can do. You know, but after reading the book, they’re going to go, aha, there’s something I can do, that’s also empowering that there’s actually something you can do. Many, many things you can do. 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

I’m going to say something really bold that might ruffle some feathers. 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

I like it. 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

Okay. I am not here to save those who don’t want to save themselves, meaning, meaning I’m not here to convince, I’m not here to persuade. I’m not here to tell the person on a statin that thinks the only thing they can do is take the statin. If that’s all they want to do, I say, great. I only want each person… 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

And there’s a lot of those people around. 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

And that’s okay. But guess what? And I mean this with complete and utter respect, they’re not, I can only say this for myself, I’m not gonna put this on you. That’s not my client. That’s not the person I work with. And it’s not that I can’t help them, but I’m not going to want it more for my client than they want it for themselves. That’s always been my motto. 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

Absolutely. 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

I will not. And I mean that with love because I can’t fix you. Nobody can fix… 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

You’re wasting your time. 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

And here’s why, because you’re not broken. This is important for people to hear, both doctors and patients and clients, you’re not broken. Yes. You may be severely out of balance. You may be expressing a lot of unfavorable signs and symptoms, but that doesn’t mean that you’re limited. That doesn’t mean that you’re broken. That doesn’t mean you’re incurable and you don’t need a cure. Your body is simply saying, please tune in. Listen, I need some things. I need some help. I need some support. I need some hope. I need some belief. I need some compassion. I need some kindness. I need some flexibility. I need some sunshine. I need some sleep. I need some water. I need some actual nutrients that are not chemicals processed in a factory that are giving me nothing, so that my cells can actually work right. So, as we wrap up today, as I get ready to start to preach, and I will not do that to you guys, I just want you to know that it’s all good wherever we are each at on our journey. And yet there is always more. 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

Everyone’s on a different path, a different time. And timing is key. 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

Yeah, it is completely. And it’s, we are innately, designed and programmed in our DNA to evolve. And so, life is always going to call. It’s going to call you to the journey. You may not want to answer the call and that’s okay, but you will always feel this angst of like, there’s something more I need to, I want to, I want to learn. I want to explore, and again, even if you’re tired and exhausted, you feel the call by watching something on TV, right. There’s there’s this tug. And that is our evolutionary tug. And we are meant to connect, to connect with life, to connect with one another, to connect to that inner voice and the inner voice are the signs and the symptoms and the sensations in our body. It’s about bringing our brain back to our body. Not just everything is outside of us. You are the technology. 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

That’s the thing, as my brother says, they’re making me unhappy. You’re doing this to me. It’s like, no, it’s from the inside. You know. 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

It’s our choice. And that’s a hard thing to hear. It’s our choice of how we desire to respond, because nobody can ever do anything to you. It’s your choice of how you are perceiving and receiving the signals, the codes, the information. 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

Lecturer said, no one’s a victim without your permission, you know. 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

Yeah. So, it’s just, you know, life is amazing and you are miraculous each and every person watching you are more mighty than you have even the awareness of, your DNA is your coach. 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

But they’re told they’re not unless they’re a celebrity, unless they’re… 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

And then guess what? Each day we get to tell a new story. It’s the stories we tell to ourselves. 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

I love watching those documentaries, like on the… they got everything fame, fortune, and they try to commit suicide. They’re so miserable, you know. 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

Yeah. Yeah. Because they’re not loving themselves. It’s never outside of us ever. And it’s always in. And when you can fill yourself up first, you become full. You become whole. We think that we have to fill our holes with things from outside of us. Wholeness can only be given from within to fill it up so you can flow out and share all your gifts, all your genius, all your goodness with everybody else. So, listen, this has been amazing. I love having conversations with you. I’m just hoping that people are still watching and they’re enjoying this and getting a lot out of this, you know, because I’m just like, oh, this is, this conversation is for us. It’s really, we want everybody to get something out of it too. 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

I’ll send you a check as a therapy session for me. Thank you for that. Yeah, no, it’s great. It’s just all that I think too, people will watch this and then come back and think like, you know what, like some things will kind of hit them later too. 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

Yeah, absolutely. And so, you know, I just, I’d love to know anybody, you know, if you’ve got questions, I’d love to know what really resonated with you during this interview. If you want to reach out to me, of course, I think all my links will be here below. And you can absolutely contact me through the Codes of Longevity, go to the codes of longevity.com website and you’ll be able to find out more about it. And I really, if this interview resonated with you even a smidge, then I really encourage you to spend the 99 cents to get the digital so that you can get the $300 course, the Path to 120 for free. 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

I’m getting it. I’m looking forward to it. 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

And that’s where I, you know, we all get to come alive in our own ways. And so, anyway, I just, I’m in gratitude for all of you, for you, Dr. Kent, for the summit, for the entire team, taking the time to put this on for everybody tuning in and watching. And so… 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

Yeah, I’ll second that, thank you everyone for taking the time and having interest to help yourself and thank you for doing everything that you do. It’s just unique. Amazing. And what you’re doing for people is just heartwarming really. And the way you can help people. So, get the book, follow her on all the stuff she does, podcasts, you’ll be happier for it, right. That’s what we want. 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

Yeah. Yes. A hundred percent. 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

Happier, healthier. Awesome. 

Melissa Grill-Petersen, DC, MS, BCHH

Thank you guys. 

Kent Holtorf, M.D.

It’s always. Great. Thank you so much.