Explore every episode of the podcast Lila's Herbal Revolution

🌀 Interested in going deeper? We did a Shilajit Materia Medica last month in the Path to Practitioner Potency group. This is where theory meets practice and where you get the skills to be clinically effective with your clients, and your own health. If you're interested in joining us:
https://www.skool.com/path-to-practitioner-potency-3445/about 🌀

(For Science)

Fan favorite Jordan, from the lithium orotate For Science episode joins us once again to do therapeutic doses of Shilajit!

This was Jordan's first experience with the black, sticky tar, and we take some live on camera to show you what it's like actually taking therapeutic doses of this very potent, very important Ayurvedic herb. If you want to hear how everything turns out, tune in.

🎥 Watch: How I Like to Take Shilajit → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVA4w66R3B0

What We Cover:

• What Shilajit actually is (a purified mineral resin from the Himalayas, not tar, though it looks and smells like it)
• Why we did 15-30 gram daily doses live on the show, and how that compares to typical internet dosing advice
• Jordan's experience: energy, mood, a surprisingly heavy period, and tongue changes I tracked throughout
• The math on real therapeutic dosing costs versus what influencers are selling as "effective"
• Shilajit's traditional actions in Ayurveda: Rasayana (rejuvenative), supporting kidney function, memory, reproductive health, and enhancing the potency of other medicines
• Why Shilajit can aggravate Pitta in excess, and who should be cautious with it
• A real case: how Shilajit helped my dad turn a corner after a debilitating wasting illness
• Why sourcing and quality matter so much with this herb, and what to watch for

Links and Resources:

🪬 Curious what's actually driving your symptoms? Take the pattern assessment quiz → https://tally.so/r/n05N1y

🪷 Ready to work together? Book a consult → https://my.practicebetter.io/#/668479726434574754765a95/bookings?s=6824ecf3c407a619c22bcefa&step=date

🌀 Practitioners, join Path to Practitioner Potency → https://www.skool.com/path-to-practitioner-potency-3445/about

🌀 The Path to Practitioner Potency mentorship community is open and accepting new members - monthly trainings, live Q&As, Materia Medica deep dives, and workshops. Members get a discount on Guest Master Classes like the upcoming herb-drug interaction masterclass in August with K.P. Khalsa. https://www.skool.com/path-to-practitioner-potency-3445/about

🌀

There's No Smoking Gun: Symptoms, Root Causes, and How to Approach in PracticeDoctors treat symptoms. Wellness culture blames parasites, candida, SIBO, and mold as "the root cause." Lila argues both camps are making a version of the same mistake - chasing an endpoint instead of understanding the terrain that let the problem take hold in the first place.In this episode, Lila breaks down what symptomatic treatment actually is, why root cause healing has its own blind spots, and how the three major herbal traditions she practices from - Western herbalism, Ayurveda, and Traditional Chinese Medicine - each handle the tension between fast relief and lasting change differently. She closes with her own approach: not a purist on either side, but a blend built around meeting people where they actually are.What We CoverWhy Western medicine defaults to symptomatic treatment - and the merry-go-round that createsSymptoms as signals, not problems - your body doesn't have another way to get your attentionThree anchoring concepts: we're all unique, everything is connected, everything mattersThe "smoking gun" myth in root cause culture - why parasites, SIBO, candida, and mold usually aren't the rootThe tree and branches exercise Lila uses in workshopsHow Western herbalism, Ayurveda, and Traditional Chinese Medicine each treat symptoms vs. root cause differentlyAyurvedic causes of disease: constitution and epigenetics, misuse of the senses, suppressing natural urges, weak agni and digestion, seasonal and circadian timingWhy genetics aren't a life sentence - the epigenetics pieceLila's own approach: blending symptomatic relief with root cause work, and why that's not a compromiseLinks and Resources

🪬 pattern assessment quiz → https://tally.so/r/n05N1y 🌿

Work with Me → https://tvnhc.com/work-with-me/

🧪 Functional Lab Work Master Class → https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/ZTMEPD5KBP4YL

🌀 Path to Practitioner Potency → https://www.skool.com/path-to-practitioner-potency-3445/about

Just launched Path to Practitioner Potency, a mentorship community on a mission to make natural healing potent again. If you are a serious herbal student or practitioner in the alternative healing arts, this is for you.

Inside you get access to a peer message board, monthly trainings, live case reviews, monthly Q&As, and special pricing on mentorship and masterclasses.

Founding members get a discounted rate locked in for life. Spots are limited.

Join here: skool.com/path-to-practitioner-potency-3445

Questions? hello@tvnhc.com

_______________________________________________________________________

The Peptide Conversation You Won't Find Anywhere Else

Peptides are everywhere right now - the GLP-1s, the gray market stacks, the bro science YouTube rabbit holes - and almost nobody is having the honest, whole-body conversation about them. In this episode, Lila brings her clinical lens, her personal experience on Retatrutide, and some real talk about what the mainstream peptide conversation is completely missing: eating disorder risk, muscle and bone loss, the Ayurvedic constitutional angle, and why weight loss and health are not the same thing.

What We Cover

• What peptides actually are and how they differ from amino acids (and why your body already makes tens of thousands of them)
• The difference between FDA-regulated GLP-1s like Ozempic and gray market research chemicals like Retatrutide
• Why Lila's judgment of the Ozempic craze softened - and what changed her mind
• Her personal history with disordered eating and why that context matters for this conversation
• What she's actually experiencing on Retatrutide at 0.5mg - food noise, coffee cravings, dopamine quieting, temperature swings
• Why peptide-driven appetite suppression can re-trigger or reinforce eating disorder patterns - and why almost no one is talking about this
• Muscle loss and bone density loss as serious, underreported risks
• Why "weight loss" as the only success metric is a failure of the whole-body view
• Lila's Ayurvedic constitutional theory: why Tikshna Agni (pitta-type fast digestion) may respond very differently than Vishma or Manda Agni
• The couple in her practice - one thriving, one constipated - and what that tells us
• How to monitor your whole-body health if you are using these tools
• Why there is no bad medicine, only bad application

Links and Resources

🪬 pattern assessment quiz - https://tally.so/r/n05N1y

🪷 work together - https://my.practicebetter.io/#/668479726434574754765a95/bookings?s=6824ecf3c407a619c22bcefa&step=date

🌿 Subscribe - https://tvnhc.com/listen/

🧪 Functional Lab Work Master Class - https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/ZTMEPD5KBP4YL

🌀 Coming Up on Lila's Herbal Revolution 🌀

Mushroom Microdosing, a convert to herbalism & So much more. To shape the conversations email me at Lila@tvnhc.com

Just launched Path to Practitioner Potency, a mentorship community on a mission to make natural healing potent again. If you are a serious herbal student or practitioner in the alternative healing arts, this is for you.

Inside you get access to a peer message board, monthly trainings, live case reviews, monthly Q&As, and special pricing on mentorship and masterclasses.

Founding members get a discounted rate locked in for life. Spots are limited.

Join here: skool.com/path-to-practitioner-potency-3445

Questions? ⁠hello@tvnhc.com⁠

_______________________________________________________________________

Let's cut the internet noise and have some real conversation about turmeric!

Today I'm joined by specialist guest, personal trainer and nutrition coach Nick Medlock to discuss our week of taking 30 grams of turmeric per day!

I know plenty of people in the herbal community just fell out of their chairs at a dose like that - but THIS is how I practice and get results with clients. Effective dosing.

(Under the guidance of a practitioner of course)

p.s. The information provided by Lila's Herbal Revolution is for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Always consult your physician or qualified healthcare provider before making changes to your health regimen.

Now some quick turmeric myths you need to know about:

• Piperine making turmeric 2,000 times more bioavailable - B.S. Based on a misinterpreted study.
• Turmeric does NOT extract well as tea. Don't do it. I don't recommend tincturing it either.
• Curcumin does not give you all the benefits of turmeric (astringent, tissue building, bone healing, blood fat lowering benefits GONE). Doesn't mean it's not a great anti-inflammatory, it just doesn't perform like the WHOLE ROOT.
• Lastly, turmeric is a jack of all trades, master of none. It does A LOT for one single herb but it's not the best herb in town for any one thing. So know that just because an herb does something, how potently it does something needs to be considered.

Enjoy.

-Lila

🪬 pattern assessment quiz - https://tally.so/r/n05N1y

🪷 work together - https://my.practicebetter.io/#/668479726434574754765a95/bookings?s=6824ecf3c407a619c22bcefa&step=date

🌿 Subscribe - https://tvnhc.com/listen/

🧪 Functional Lab Work Master Class - https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/ZTMEPD5KBP4YL

Just launched Path to Practitioner Potency, a mentorship community on a mission to make natural healing potent again. If you are a serious herbal student or practitioner in the alternative healing arts, this is for you.

Inside you get access to a peer message board, monthly trainings, live case reviews, monthly Q&As, and special pricing on mentorship and masterclasses.

Founding members get a discounted rate locked in for life. Spots are limited.

Join here: skool.com/path-to-practitioner-potency-3445

Questions? ⁠hello@tvnhc.com⁠

______________________________________________________________________

Herbal Preparations Matter More Than You Think - Teas, Tinctures & More

A Practical Guide to Herbal Preparations

Most herbal advice tells you which herb to take. Almost none of it tells you how to take it. In this episode, Lila breaks down the most common herbal preparations — tinctures, teas, infusions, decoctions, powders, and capsules — covering the real pros, cons, and clinical reasoning behind each one. If you've ever wondered why your herbs aren't working, the answer might not be the herb. It might be the form.

What We Cover

• Why the preparation method matters as much as the herb itself — and the common mistakes Lila sees people make
• Tinctures — the pros, the cons, the dosing math that makes them less economical than most people think, and when they actually make sense
• Teas, infusions, and decoctions — what the difference is, which parts of the plant call for which method, and why this is the backbone of traditional Chinese medicine
• Powders — Lila's preferred form in clinical practice, why the digestive system is the best extractor of constituents, and how to work with the taste
• Capsules — the convenience trade-off, when they make sense, and why high-dose herbs in capsule form can get complicated fast
• Where Ayurveda, TCM, and Western herbalism each land on preparations — and what that tells us about their philosophies
• Honorable mentions — medicated ghees, medicated wines, infused oils, poultices, liniments
• A note on extract quality — why not all tinctures are created equal and what to look for in a supplier

Links and Resources

🪬 pattern assessment quiz -> https://tally.so/r/n05N1y

🪷 work together -> https://my.practicebetter.io/#/668479726434574754765a95/bookings?s=6824ecf3c407a619c22bcefa&step=date

🌿 Subscribe -> https://tvnhc.com/listen/

🧪 Functional Lab Work Master Class -> https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/ZTMEPD5KBP4YL 

🌀 Coming Up on Lila's Herbal (R)evolution 🌀

Next episode Lila is joined by her friend Nick Medlock for a For Science episode — and this time they're going deep on turmeric. Stay tuned.

ShareProject contentThe Herbal (R) evolution Created by youAdd PDFs, documents, or other text to reference in this project.

Just launched Path to Practitioner Potency, a mentorship community on a mission to make natural healing potent again. If you are a serious herbal student or practitioner in the alternative healing arts, this is for you.

Inside you get access to a peer message board, monthly trainings, live case reviews, monthly Q&As, and special pricing on mentorship and masterclasses.

Founding members get a discounted rate locked in for life. Spots are limited.

Join here: skool.com/path-to-practitioner-potency-3445

Questions? ⁠⁠hello@tvnhc.com⁠⁠

______________________________________________________________________When most people hear "lithium" they think psychiatric drug, black box warning, and blood tests every three months. But lithium orotate is a different compound entirely - one that has been quietly used in natural healing for decades, first researched by German physician Hans Niepierre in the 1970s, and largely dismissed by mainstream psychiatry because the system had already standardized around lithium carbonate.

This week on For Science, my partner Jordan and I both took lithium orotate for over a week - titrating up to a moderate dose of around 15mg elemental lithium daily - and reported back on what we noticed. Spoiler: we kept taking it after the experiment ended.

What We Cover

• Lithium carbonate vs. lithium orotate - same mineral, very different compounds and clinical pictures
• Why Hans Niepierre's research was ignored and why that probably wasn't about the science
• Dosing clarified: elemental lithium vs. total compound weight - what the bottle is actually telling you
• Why lithium may be an essential nutrient we're all quietly deficient in
• What conditions lithium orotate has been used to support: mood disorders, migraines, depression, PTSD, OCD, autism, anorexia, aggression, alcoholism, anxiety, and more
• What the week actually felt like: mood leveling, reactivity softening, dream processing, expanded spatial awareness, sensory presence
• Jordan's experience as a lay person taking a natural supplement for the first time in a structured experiment
• Task-switching and cognitive flexibility changes noticed mid-week
• Dream state changes - Ayurvedic context for why this matters
• What happened when Jordan added a full herbal protocol partway through - and why that mattered
• Coming off lithium orotate vs. coming off antidepressants or lithium carbonate - the withdrawal comparison
• Affordability: why this accessible nutrient isn't getting more airtime
• Practitioner note: when lithium orotate belongs in a full protocol vs. standalone use
• Lithium toxicity concerns addressed - and why blood monitoring looks different here than with carbonate

Links and Resources

🪬 pattern assessment quiz🪷 work together🌿 Subscribe

🌀 Coming Up on The Herbal (R)evolution 🌀

Next up on For Science: High dose turmeric, castor oil packs & More! The data is already coming in and it is fascinating. Stay tuned.

Have a substance, supplement, herb, or practice you want Lila to try for a week? Drop me a message- Lila@Tvnhc.com

Just launched Path to Practitioner Potency, a mentorship community on a mission to make natural healing potent again. If you are a serious herbal student or practitioner in the alternative healing arts, this is for you.

Inside you get access to a peer message board, monthly trainings, live case reviews, monthly Q&As, and special pricing on mentorship and masterclasses.

Founding members get a discounted rate locked in for life. Spots are limited.

Join here: skool.com/path-to-practitioner-potency-3445

Questions? ⁠⁠hello@tvnhc.com⁠⁠

______________________________________________________________________Your Body Is Asking - Is Your Liver Listening?

The Spiritual Root of Physical Symptoms, and the Organ That Bridges Both Worlds

Summary

This episode started as a liver deep-dive and became something more. Lila explores the concept of the body's veto - the idea that our physical body will intervene when we aren't listening to what our life, relationships, work, or environment are asking of us. Anchored in traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurvedic frameworks, this episode connects the liver's physiological role (processing over 500 body functions, from hormones to emotions) to the patterns Lila sees in complex clients: stuckness, overwhelm, and symptoms that don't resolve until the deeper layer is addressed. You'll walk away understanding why your liver might be at the root of your skin issues, migraines, hormonal imbalances, road rage, and more - and what to actually do about it.

What We Cover

• The body's veto - how the body uses physical symptoms to communicate what the mind won't act on
• Why Lila shelved the liver episode she planned and what made her finally record this one
• How traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurveda use metaphor (liver fire, rising wind, vata in the head) to map symptoms - and why translating that into Western medicine misses the point
• The liver's role in over 500 body functions: hormone clearance, nutrient metabolism, blood sugar, detox, and emotional regulation
• Why your dermatologist and optometrist will never ask about your liver - and why they should
• The body's survival priority order: liver first, then skin, then eyes - what this means for how long healing takes
• Liver congestion as the root of: acne, insomnia, early graying, tinnitus, migraines, anxiety, irritability, hormonal imbalances, digestive issues, and more
• The anger-irritability-reactivity connection (plus road rage as a real clinical example)
• What burdens the liver: sugar, ultra-processed foods, alcohol, medications, caffeine, environmental toxins, and synthetic fragrance
• Why most Americans have subclinical liver dysfunction - and what that actually means
• The bitter flavor as medicine: why dandelion, arugula, mustard greens, and burdock matter
• Herbs for the liver: dandelion root, artichoke, Bhumi Amlaki, bupleurum, and what makes each one useful
• Beets, lemon zest, blueberries, castor oil packs, and hydration as daily liver support tools
• How supporting the physical liver frees up capacity in the rest of your life
• Lila's personal panic attack story - and how a perfumed car connected the dots
• Next up: lithium orotate for mood, memory, and mental imbalance - Lila's partner joins for a week-long experiment

Links and Resources

🪬Interested in understanding what pattern is DRIVING your symptoms, take my 2 minute pattern assessment quiz!

→https://tally.so/r/n05N1y

🪷 Want to find out what it's like to work together? https://my.practicebetter.io/#/668479726434574754765a95/bookings?s=6824ecf3c407a619c22bcefa&step=date⁠

🌿Subscribe to the podcast

https://tvnhc.com/listen/

🌀 Coming Up on The Herbal (R)evolution🌀

Next week is a FOR SCIENCE segment - Lila's partner puts lithium orotate to the test for a full week. We're covering mood support, anxiety, depression, memory, and mental balance from a perspective that doesn't get nearly enough airtime. Tune in.

Just launched Path to Practitioner Potency, a mentorship community on a mission to make natural healing potent again. If you are a serious herbal student or practitioner in the alternative healing arts, this is for you.

Inside you get access to a peer message board, monthly trainings, live case reviews, monthly Q&As, and special pricing on mentorship and masterclasses.

Founding members get a discounted rate locked in for life. Spots are limited.

Join here: skool.com/path-to-practitioner-potency-3445

Questions? ⁠⁠hello@tvnhc.com⁠⁠

______________________________________________________________________

In this debut episode of the For Science segment, I dedicate my body to science and spend weeks experimenting with nicotine pouches... the wellness world's latest controversial obsession. I share my full personal experience, break down what the research actually says, and give you an honest herbalist's take on whether the cognitive benefits are worth the hidden costs.

WHAT WE COVER:

• Why nicotine pouches exploded in popularity (sales increased 641% between 2019 and 2022)
• The "nicotine lore" being spread by biohackers and health gurus like Andrew Huberman and Dave Asprey
• Nicotine as an isolated alkaloid vs. whole plant, and why that distinction matters
• How nicotine hijacks your acetylcholine receptors and dopamine reward system
• The addiction cycle and why 73% of people who try pouches are still using them
• What I personally felt: the focus boost, the bloating, and the disrupted menstrual cycle
• Nicotine as an endocrine disruptor and its impact on hormones and cortisol
• Gut health impacts: microbiome disruption, motility changes, and leaky gut
• What is actually inside pouches (sucralose, carcinogens, and engineered delivery systems)
• My verdict: is the benefit worth the cost?
• 
  

LINKS AND RESOURCES:

🧩 What's actually driving your symptoms?Take the free Hidden Pattern Assessment - a 3-minute quiz that identifies the pattern underneath what you have been feeling. Results appear immediately and are sent to your email.https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/829732/158777877666465500/share

🗓️ Ready to work 1:1 with Lila?Book a session and get personalized support for your health journey.https://my.practicebetter.io/#/668479726434574754765a95/bookings?s=6824ecf3c407a619c22bcefa&step=date

🎙️ Subscribe to the Herbal Evolution PodcastNever miss an episode.https://tvnhc.com/listen/

🌿 Visit the Websitehttps://tvnhc.com/

COMING UP ON HERBAL EVOLUTION:

• Next episode: Deep dive on the liver, how to support it, love it, and decode its symptoms
• For Science #2: High-dose turmeric experiment with trainer Nick Medlock
• Coming soon: Castor oil packs, lithium orotate, and more

Just launched Path to Practitioner Potency, a mentorship community on a mission to make natural healing potent again. If you are a serious herbal student or practitioner in the alternative healing arts, this is for you.

Inside you get access to a peer message board, monthly trainings, live case reviews, monthly Q&As, and special pricing on mentorship and masterclasses.

Founding members get a discounted rate locked in for life. Spots are limited.

Join here: skool.com/path-to-practitioner-potency-3445

Questions? ⁠⁠hello@tvnhc.com⁠⁠

______________________________________________________________________Today we cover origins. The origin of this podcast, the origin of how I became a clinical herbalist, the origins of it all.

I want you to get to know me better so I can get to know you better. I was anxious as a kid. Moody as a teenager. I crash dieted my way through high school, worked two jobs through college, and spent most of my twenties chasing a life that looked good on paper. By the time I had the title, the property, and the relationship, I was the worst I'd ever been. I'd lost my period. I was purging. I wasn't sleeping. And something inside me just kept saying, this isn't it.

So I blew it all up. Left the partner, left the career, and started over.

If any of that sounds familiar, if you've been the person who looks like they have it together but knows something is off, or you've tried a hundred things for your health and none of it has really stuck, I get it. I was there.

This episode is the full story. How I found herbalism, what it cracked open in me, and how I ended up building a practice around the thing I couldn't find anywhere else: real answers that actually hold up.

Herbal (R)evolution is a new podcast from clinical herbalist Lila Swanberg. A follow up to her first podcast, Herbalism Uncensored, that she did for over 30 episodes with co-host Alicia Hawes. This podcast is going to get experimental and give you a new look into all the facets you need to know to make natural healing one of the most meaningful endeavors of your life.

Welcome to Herbal (R)evolution.

And don't forget to check out Alicia's Podcast Holistically Correct!

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-qx32e-1a8e5f0

📍Interested in exploring your health?

✔️ Take the free Mini Health Assessment →

https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/829732/158777877666465500/share

🗓️ Want to explore working 1:1 with Lila? https://my.practicebetter.io/#/668479726434574754765a95/bookings?s=6824ecf3c407a619c22bcefa&step=date

Subscribe to the podcast

https://tvnhc.com/listen/

Website

https://tvnhc.com/

Just launched Path to Practitioner Potency, a mentorship community on a mission to make natural healing potent again. If you are a serious herbal student or practitioner in the alternative healing arts, this is for you.

Inside you get access to a peer message board, monthly trainings, live case reviews, monthly Q&As, and special pricing on mentorship and masterclasses.

Founding members get a discounted rate locked in for life. Spots are limited.

Join here: skool.com/path-to-practitioner-potency-3445

Questions? ⁠⁠hello@tvnhc.com⁠⁠

______________________________________________________________________Welcome to The Herbal (R)evolution.*The R is silent.

This is the teaser episode a quick intro to what this podcast is, what we're covering, and why I'm making it. We've got a lot in store.

Ideas, suggestions, or interested in being a guest? Email:

Lila@TVNHC.com

Subscribe to the newsletter: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/829732/157327443336627263/share

Also don't forget to check out my friend Alicia's new podcast Holistically Correct — https://holisticallycorrect.podbean.com/

Are you a practitioner looking to deepen your clinical skills and build a thriving practice? Join Path to Practitioner Potency, my mentorship community for herbalists and health practitioners → https://www.skool.com/path-to-practitioner-potency-3445/about

For Science: Albizzia (Happiness Bark), Mental Health & More with Moe
A week-long Albizia bark experiment turns into an honest conversation about grief, crying, and what it takes for men to finally let themselves feel it.

This episode I'm joined by Forager Moe, who tried a therapeutic dose of Albizia bark (also called mimosa bark, or the "happiness bark") for a week, right alongside me. What starts as a lighthearted compare-and-contrast on taste, sourcing, and foraging turns into something much deeper. Moe opens up about his ketamine therapy experience, his brother's suicide, and what it's been like relearning how to cry as an adult man. We talk about placebo versus real physiological effect, why Western herbalism lags behind Ayurveda and TCM, and how Albizia's reputation as the "grief herb" showed up differently for each of us.

What we cover:

• Moe's experience foraging and preparing Albizia bark versus flower, and why sourcing and growing conditions matter for medicinal potency
• The placebo effect, the nocebo effect, and where Lila draws her ethical line around it in practice
• Why Western herbalism is the weakest of the three major herbal systems, and how Ayurveda and TCM fill that gap
• Moe's ketamine therapy journey: dissociation, neuroplasticity, and processing loss he didn't know he was carrying
• His brother's death by suicide, and what it's like navigating grief and mental health as a man
• Learning to cry, unlearning the "men don't do that" conditioning, and why emotional suppression has a cost
• Albizia's reputation as the happiness bark, and whether that connection to joy and childhood memory holds up

Links and Resources:
🪬 pattern assessment quiz → https://tally.so/r/n05N1y
🪷 work together → https://tvnhc.com/work-with-me/
🌿 Subscribe → https://tvnhc.com/listen/
🧪 Functional Lab Work Master Class → https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/ZTMEPD5KBP4YL

Connect with Moe and see all his awesome mushroom pictures!

https://www.instagram.com/moecelium/

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61581375219113

Summary

This episode is the spiritual case for why Ayurveda matters, not a technical walkthrough. Lila breaks down why this 5,000 year old system gets dismissed by modern science, the real tension between "cleaning the mirror" and "spreading the light," the three gunas that govern your mental state (sattva, rajas, tamas), and the actual Ayurvedic causes of disease, including the concept of prajnaparadha, crimes against wisdom, knowing better and doing it anyway. She also teases the three doshas as a preview for a future deep dive episode.

• Why Ayurveda and yoga are sister sciences, and how Ayurveda supports the yogic path without requiring anyone to buy into it
• Why calling Ayurveda "unscientific" misses the point of what it actually is
• The difference between treating a diagnosis and treating a person
• The full Charaka Samhita quote on Ayurveda as a lifelong journey
• Cleaning the mirror vs spreading the light, and the real tension between the two
• The three gunas: sattva, rajas, and tamas, and how to recognize which one is driving you
• Sattvic foods and herbs that support mental clarity
• The actual causes of disease in Ayurveda: too little, too much, or the wrong type
• Crimes against wisdom (prajnaparadha): knowing better and doing it anyway
• Misuse of the senses and what happens when you suppress your body's natural urges
• Why Ayurveda prioritizes the middle path over extremes
• A first look at the three doshas, vata, pitta, and kapha, and the difference between your constitution and your current imbalance

Resources

🧠 Path to Practitioner Potency (join the community) → ⁠⁠https://www.skool.com/path-to-practitioner-potency-3445/about⁠

🪬 pattern assessment quiz → https://tally.so/r/n05N1y

🪷 work together → https://my.practicebetter.io/#/668479726434574754765a95/bookings?s=6824ecf3c407a619c22bcefa&step=date

🌿 Subscribe → https://tvnhc.com/listen/

🧪 Functional Lab Work Master Class → https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/ZTMEPD5KBP4YL📺 Ayurveda Vs. Western Medicine TED Talk → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzTvEK1sVi0

Want to learn alongside a whole community of practitioners instead of white-knuckling it alone? Join Path to Practitioner Potency, my mentorship community for herbalists who want real depth, not another surface-level course.

Details to Join here:

https://www.skool.com/path-to-practitioner-potency-3445/about

_______________________________________________________________

In this episode I'm getting honest about the early missteps that shaped me as a clinical herbalist. From buying ashwagandha and shatavari in the wrong form to choking down half-ground herbs in my kitchen, to dropping fifty bucks on a bougie Sedona shatavari tincture that had barely any herb in it, these are the lessons I wish someone had handed me instead of learning them the hard way. I'm also getting into the times I threw myself out of balance experimenting on my own body, including a cayenne experience that dried me out and a calamus dose that ended in a full night of pitta style vomiting before a public talk. Plus why I stopped making folk method tinctures, why I finally built my clinical reference document, and the moment I realized I couldn't save everybody who wasn't ready to be saved.

What We Cover

• Why herb form and part used matters more than most retailers let on
• My ashwagandha and shatavari cut and sifted disaster
• Raw guggul resin versus processed guggul, and why I ended up burning mine as incense
• The fifty dollar Sedona shatavari tincture that taught me to stop paying for packaging
• How cayenne pushed me into a hot dry vata pattern and what that taught me about energetics
• My calamus overdose story and the vomiting that came with it
• Why I finally built my own clinical reference document, and why you should start yours today
• Learning that not everyone wants to be saved, and letting go of the need to convert people
• Buying herbs I never used and the herbal waste that came with it
• Why I stopped making folk method tinctures and who I trust to make them instead
• Moving from timid dosing to confident clinical dosing
• Why I created Path to Practitioner Potency

Links and Resources

🪬 pattern assessment quiz → https://tally.so/r/n05N1y
🪷 1:1 Work- New Clients Start Here → https://my.practicebetter.io/#/668479726434574754765a95/bookings?s=6824ecf3c407a619c22bcefa&step=date
🌿 Subscribe to the Podcast! → https://tvnhc.com/listen/
🧪 Foundations of Care (Self led 30 day program) → https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/SYL59RV6HVE6Q

Contact: Hello@Tvnhc.com

Coming Up on Lila's Herbal Revolution

We've got episodes ahead covering high doses of shilajit and albizia. If there's something you want covered, reach out!

Stop Blaming the Spinach: A Clinical Herbalist's Take on Anti-Nutrients

The carnivore and biohacking internet has decided that plants are trying to kill you. In this episode of Lila's Herbal Revolution, clinical herbalist and Ayurvedic practitioner Lila takes on the anti-nutrient narrative being pushed by figureheads like Dave Asprey and Paul Saladino, and offers a different read entirely: anti-nutrients are not poisons, they are signals. If you cannot tolerate them, that is information about your terrain, not evidence that the food is your enemy. This is the real clinical picture of what is going on with lectins, oxalates, phytates, and the rest of the compounds being demonized online, and why it matters for your health or your practice.

What We Cover

→ Why the term "anti-nutrient" is a framing device, not a medical term, and why fiber technically fits the same definition

→ The figureheads driving the "plants are trying to kill you" narrative, who they are, what they claim, and where it falls apart

→ Lila's clinical theory: anti-nutrients regulate mineral balance in plants, and may be signaling mineral and gut imbalances in humans

→ Lectins, oxalates, phytates, goitrogens, phytoestrogens, and tannins, what each one actually does in the body, the benefits, the risks, and how to mitigate them

→ The breaking research on phytic acid and gut barrier integrity that the carnivore crowd is not talking about

→ Why oxalate reactivity may be a signal of mineral insufficiency rather than evidence the plant is toxic

→ Hormesis, the well-established science of why small doses of plant "stressors" build resilience instead of breaking the body down

→ The nocebo effect and conditioned food hypersensitivities, how fear of food creates real, measurable physiological reactions

→ Why long-term elimination diets can deepen the very sensitivities they claim to solve

→ Traditional food preparation as ancestral wisdom, not a biohack, soaking, sprouting, fermenting, and cooking

→ The Ayurvedic lens, why the same food is medicine for one person and aggravating for another

→ Why terrain, not the food itself, determines what a person can tolerate

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READY TO GO DEEPER?

🪬 Practitioner? This is exactly the kind of clinical nuance we work through inside Path to Practitioner Potency, live trainings, Materia Medicas, case reviews, and a community that holds complexity instead of black-and-white thinking. Join us → https://www.skool.com/path-to-practitioner-potency-3445/about

🪷 Health seeker navigating your own complex or chronic symptoms? Let's figure out what your terrain is actually telling you. Book a 1:1 → https://my.practicebetter.io/#/668479726434574754765a95/bookings?p=687fe8ff1d74953b01249bcb&step=package

🌿 Don't miss an episode → https://tvnhc.com/listen/

🧪 Want to understand your own labs instead of guessing? Functional Lab Work Master Class → https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/ZTMEPD5KBP4YL

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COMING UP ON LILA'S HERBAL REVOLUTION

Taking A LOT of Shilajit
The Crying Herb
& More

We've Absolutely Bastardized Modern Wheat

The gluten conversation is everywhere, but it's rarely nuanced. In this episode of Lila's Herbal Revolution, clinical herbalist and Ayurvedic practitioner Lila breaks down why all of a sudden nobody seems to be able to handle gluten anymore - and no, people aren't making it up. From the hybridization of modern wheat to weak digestive fire to gluteomorphins binding to opioid receptors in the brain, this is the real clinical picture of what's going on with gluten and why it matters for your health or your practice.

What We Cover

→ What gluten actually is and which grains contain it
→ Why modern wheat is not the same grain our ancestors ate - hybridization, higher gluten content, and new problematic constituents
→ The chemical gauntlet wheat goes through before it reaches your plate - fungicides, growth regulators, fumigation, irradiation
→ Why traditional cultures could handle wheat and we can't - fermentation, soaking, stone grinding, and eating it fresh in small amounts
→ The Ayurvedic lens - weak agni, ama, and why modern western lifestyle is dimming our digestive fire
→ How gluten is supposed to be digested and exactly where it goes wrong
→ Zonulin, leaky gut, and how gluten drives gut permeability
→ The difference between a food allergy and a food sensitivity - and why sensitivities are more sinister
→ Why allergy testing alone will miss most gluten reactivity and why elimination is still the gold standard
→ Celiac disease vs non-celiac gluten sensitivity and the spectrum in between
→ The inflammatory cascade - local, systemic, and full body downstream effects
→ Gluteomorphins - why gluten peptides cross the blood brain barrier and bind to opioid receptors
→ The allergic addict phenomenon in children and why picky eating is rarely just picky eating
→ Lila's personal clinical approach to gluten elimination and why she doesn't start there with everyone

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LINKS AND RESOURCES

🪬 Path to Practitioner Potency→ https://www.skool.com/path-to-practitioner-potency-3445/about
🪷 work together → https://my.practicebetter.io/#/668479726434574754765a95/bookings?s=6824ecf3c407a619c22bcefa&step=date
🌿 Subscribe → https://tvnhc.com/listen/
🧪 Functional Lab Work Master Class → https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/ZTMEPD5KBP4YL

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

COMING UP ON LILA'S HERBAL REVOLUTION

Taking A LOT of Shilajit

The Crying Herb

& More

Read to be a Potent Practitioner?

The Path to Practitioner Potency is the mentorship community built for herbalists, and natural healing practitioners who want to practice with real clinical confidence. This isn't just more information. This is clinical confidence, community, mentorship, trainings & more.

Founding member seats are still open at $33/month, locked in for life. (These will not last much longer)

Join now at

https://www.skool.com/path-to-practitioner-potency-3445/about__________________

This episode is for anyone who has ever felt lost in the noise of the herbal space - overwhelmed by information, underserved by what's out there, or quietly sensing that there's a gap between what you're learning and what actually works. I'm getting honest about what's broken in herbalism, why book learning and clinical reality can be miles apart, and why I stopped waiting for someone else to fill the void and started building it myself.

What We Cover

• The hierarchy of herbalism that used to exist - mom level, grandma level, community herbalist - and why losing it created the chaos we're navigating now
• The difference between community herbalism, hobby herbalism, and clinical practice - and why the lack of delineation is harming people
• How natural healing has gone soft across almost every modality and what that costs the people who need it most
• The cholesterol guy on LinkedIn - a perfect example of why information without clinical knowledge actively misleads people
• Why book learning and clinical reality can be miles apart - and the specific book moment that crystallized this for me
• The nettle myth - why "diuretic" on a monograph doesn't mean it's your diuretic
• Why I talked myself out of the content that actually lit me up when I first started - and why I'm done doing that
• Tincture ratios, loading doses, obscure Ayurvedic formulas - the content I always wanted to make
• What Path to Practitioner Potency is, who it's for, and why discernment is one of its driving principles

Links and Resources

🌿 Join Path to Practitioner Potency - founding member seats open at $33/month, locked for life https://www.skool.com/path-to-practitioner-potency-3445/about
🪬 pattern assessment quiz https://tally.so/r/n05N1y
🪷 work together https://my.practicebetter.io/#/668479726434574754765a95/bookings?s=6824ecf3c407a619c22bcefa&step=date
🌿 Subscribe https://tvnhc.com/listen/
🧪 Functional Lab Work Master Class https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/ZTMEPD5KBP4YL

✨ Before we dive in — the Path to Practitioner Potency mentorship community is live✨

Monthly trainings, live Q&As, case reviews, materia medica, community support, and access to one-on-one mentorship with me.

Founding member seats are still available with a lifetime discount:https://www.skool.com/path-to-practitioner-potency-3445/about

Blood sugar imbalances aren't just a diabetic concern, they are one of the most prevalent and overlooked drivers of chronic, complex symptoms in the modern population. If you've been to the specialists, tried everything, and still can't move through your symptoms, this episode is for you.

In this episode, Lila breaks down why blood sugar dysregulation is likely behind more of your symptoms than you realize — from poor sleep, anxiety, and brain fog to hormonal imbalances, PCOS, weight gain, ADHD, and POTS. This isn't about cutting sugar. It's about understanding the swing, what drives it, and what your body is actually asking for.

Lila shares her own clinical and personal experience with blood sugar dysregulation, including what she discovered using a continuous glucose monitor, why she dials in blood sugar with nearly every client she works with, and the one thing she always addresses first.

We also get into the herbal conversation — and the critical distinction between herbs that lower blood sugar and herbs that stabilize it. Because for most people dealing with swings, those are not the same thing.

This episode is a resource. Save it, share it, come back to it.

What We Cover

• Why blood sugar imbalances affect everyone — not just diabetics
• The full symptom list and why each one connects back to blood sugar
• The swing — what it is, why it matters, and what drives it
• The liver as your built-in blood sugar buffer
• How blood sugar dysregulation drives hormonal imbalance, estrogen dominance, and PCOS
• The dawn phenomenon and why mornings are so hard
• The Allergic/Addictive pattern — Dr. William Philpott
• What Lila dials in first with clients and why breakfast is everything
• Fat, fiber, and protein — the foundation
• Stabilizing vs. lowering blood sugar — the herbal distinction nobody is making
• Herbs for blood sugar stabilization including licorice, ashwagandha, tulsi, schisandra, astragalus, amlaki, cinnamon, and more

Links and Resources

🪬 pattern assessment quiz → https://tally.so/r/n05N1y🪷 work together → https://my.practicebetter.io/#/668479726434574754765a95/bookings?s=6824ecf3c407a619c22bcefa&step=date🌿 Subscribe → https://tvnhc.com/listen/🧪 Functional Lab Work Master Class → https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/ZTMEPD5KBP4YL

✨ Before we dive in - the Path to Practitioner Potency mentorship community is live. Monthly trainings, live Q&As, case reviews, community support, and access to one-on-one mentorship with me. Founding member seats are still available with a lifetime discount:

https://www.skool.com/path-to-practitioner-potency-3445/about

In this episode I'm pulling back the curtain on my personal journey with magic mushrooms - the first time I felt truly present, the trip that made me quit my corporate career, and how microdosing became a thread woven through my path to becoming a clinical herbalist.

I also get into where I see this medicine fitting in clinical practice.

This is a very requested topics I get from clients and listeners.

• Why I think the institutionalization of plant medicine is a problem worth paying attention to
• My personal history with mushrooms - presence, grief, quitting my career, and what actually changed
• The ski slope metaphor for neuroplasticity - what mushrooms actually do in the brain
• Where I see psilocybin fitting clinically
• Why anxiety is a sister emotion to excitement and what that means for microdosing
• Every major microdosing protocol broken down
• My mom microdosing her microdoses
• When to put the mushrooms down

• Depression*
• Anxiety*
• Getting unstuck*
• Emotional processing*
• OCD
• Migraines and headaches
• Addiction - alcohol, tobacco, opioids
• Neurodegeneration and dementia
• Life-threatening illness and end-of-life anxiety

*These are the areas where I see the most consistent and meaningful clinical impact. Mushrooms are particularly powerful when stuckness is rooted in trauma or something herbs alone cannot touch - they create conditions where things can shift.

A microdose is anywhere from 60-250mg of dried Psilocybe cubensis. It should be subperceptible - meaning no tripping, no hallucinations, walls are not moving. You should be able to drive, work, and go about your day. What you might notice is a shift in mood, slightly sharper perception, or emotions coming closer to the surface.

Start low. Work your way up. 125mg is a good starting point for most people.

1. Intuitive Protocol

• Dose as needed, as called
• No fixed schedule - tune in and ask if it's a yes or a no
• Best for: people who are already reasonably body-aware and self-directed
• This is my personal approach

2. Daily Protocol

• Dose every day like an herb - on until you don't need it anymore, then done
• No days off, no fixed end date
• Best for: people dealing with something acute, those coming off SSRIs, anyone who needs consistent support while making a significant shift

3. The Fadiman Protocol

• Dose every third day
• Best for: beginners, people who want a conservative approach, those wanting more integration time between doses
• Example: dose Monday, off Tuesday and Wednesday, dose Thursday

4. The Stamets Protocol

• 5 days on, 2 days off
• Best for: people wanting more consistent support with built-in integration days

*Some recommend you run your protocol for 8 weeks on, 2 weeks completely off, sometimes incorporating a macrodose periodically to support deeper integration. Worth knowing about as a framework if you respond well to more structure.

_______________________________________________________________

🪬 Take the pattern assessment quiz: https://tally.so/r/n05N1y

🪷 Work with Lila: https://my.practicebetter.io/#/668479726434574754765a95/bookings?s=6824ecf3c407a619c22bcefa&step=date

🌿 Subscribe to Lila's Herbal Revolution: https://tvnhc.com/listen/

🧪 Functional Lab Work Master Class: https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/ZTMEPD5KBP4YL

🌀 Coming Up on Lila's Herbal Revolution 🌀

Blood Sugar Deep Dive

A conversation with an herbal convert

Experiments with special guests and even more special herbs like Shilajit, Albizzia (happiness bark), Ginseng & some Complex Ayurvedic Formulas!