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A family tragedy became a company that helps people understand their own bodies.
Florence Iwegbue was 28 when the call came that her mother had fallen into a coma. Years later, her own son had his first seizure, and she refused to bury a child. So she dropped everything and went looking for answers. What she built is LiveWello, a personal health platform that helps you talk to your DNA.
In this episode, Florence breaks down nutrigenomics and pharmacogenomics in plain English: why the same medication, meal or workout can work for one person and fail for another, and what your genetics can tell you about it. She shares the ancestral diet she credits for her own turnaround, the health battles she went through herself, and the tiny daily habits that keep her moving through perimenopause, fatigue and depression.
You'll learn:
Why personalised health starts with knowing your genetics, not guessing.
How diet and movement can look different when they follow your ancestry.
How to build a habit from the smallest possible step (she started by putting on workout clothes for 30 days).
What Gene Chat is and how you can ask your DNA why you can't sleep.
TIMESTAMPS
0:00 The seizure that changed everything
0:36 Meet Florence Iwegbue and LiveWello
1:32 Who Florence was before LiveWello
3:01 The call about her mother and the hardest decision
5:21 What LiveWello is and why she built it
8:54 How the platform turns your DNA into a personal plan
11:28 Yams, potatoes and why food is ancestral
14:49 The village trip: women living longer and looking better
15:15 Ugu and the 70% sub-Saharan diet
17:57 Her own health battles: fatigue, fibroids and depression
21:02 Running, weight gain and the cortisol gene
22:10 Meditation, breathwork and rebuilding her mornings
24:15 Baby steps: how to build a habit you actually keep
26:00 Gene Chat: ask your DNA anything
27:47 Privacy, anonymity and the data debate
28:15 Running LiveWello with her husband and the menopause hospital project
30:04 Building health tech at 50 as an African woman
31:15 Recognition, the BBC and Forbes, and why she doesn't hold on to it
32:45 Raising a son with autism and training like a sprinter
34:23 Where LiveWello is headed
35:04 If you're in your hardest chapter right now
36:40 Final thoughts
ABOUT FLORENCE IWEGBUE
Florence is the co-founder and lead of LiveWello, a personal health platform that blends genetic data, wellness and heritage-based practices. LiveWello won a Health Unity Award at Stanford for its use of generative AI in life sciences, and Florence has been featured by the BBC, ABC News and Forbes.
DISCLAIMER
This conversation is for information and inspiration only. It is not medical advice. Speak to your doctor or healthcare professional before changing your medication, diet or exercise.
#LiveWello #Genetics #WomensHealth #Longevity #Perimenopause #AlwaysOffTheRecord
CONNECT WITH FLORENCE IWEGBUE
Instagram: @livwello
Website: www.livewello.com
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- LiveWello
- Royal Free Hospital
- BBC
- ABC News
- Channel 4
- Forbes
- Stanford University