Brad Hook Podcast

In this episode, Brad sits down with Dr. Wanek, a former pediatric surgeon and foundational medicine practitioner, to explore a distinctive way of thinking about human health, energy, and resilience. Drawing on her background in surgery, biochemistry, and decades of clinical experience, Dr. Wanek shares how her own health journey led her beyond conventional and functional medicine toward what she calls the foundations of life in a physical body.
The conversation begins with her early years in high-intensity training and clinical practice, and the moment she discovered what she describes as “biochemical eating.” She explains how balancing calories from protein, carbohydrates, and fat transformed her own energy and appetite, and why she believes modern nutrition has shifted away from biochemistry as a science and toward rigid diet ideologies. From her perspective, nutrition is not a trend or a plan, but a physiological system governed by timing, balance, and energy demand.
A central theme of the episode is inflammation as “being in flames.” Dr. Wanek describes how chronic excess — particularly excess calories and imbalanced fueling — can create constant internal heat, disrupt blood sugar regulation, and gradually drive breakdown. In contrast, she argues for “burning a low flame,” a steady and sustainable metabolic state that allows the body to recover, recycle, and regenerate rather than constantly overheat.
The discussion then widens into water, energy, and electricity. Dr. Wanek shares her view that water is not simply hydration but a medium for electrical flow that supports enzyme function, cellular repair, and resilience. She explains why she believes many people are dehydrated at a cellular level and how modern water processing, while necessary for safety, may strip water of some of its dynamic properties.
A significant portion of the conversation focuses on fulvic substances, complex carbon compounds formed in soil through ancient microbial processes. Dr. Wanek explains why she believes fulvic substances play a central role in redox reactions, electron transfer, and cellular energy, and how soil degradation has reduced their presence in the modern food and water supply. From her perspective, restoring these foundations supports metabolic efficiency, anti-inflammatory processes, and overall vitality.
Brad and Dr. Wanek also explore popular nutrition trends, including ketogenic and low-protein diets, supplementation culture, and the pursuit of optimization. Dr. Wanek offers a critical view, suggesting that many people attempt to micromanage a system that is already dysregulated rather than repairing the underlying foundations of balance, water, enzyme function, and waste clearance. She emphasizes that supplements, in her view, can only be supportive once the core systems of the body are functioning well.
Throughout the episode, the conversation moves between biochemistry, systems thinking, physiology, and metaphor, touching on soil health, metabolism, blood sugar stability, resilience, and the balance between activity and recovery. Some of the ideas discussed align with emerging and integrative perspectives, while others sit at the edges of mainstream medicine, and listeners are encouraged to approach the conversation with curiosity and discernment.
To learn more about Dr. Wanek and her work, you can visit https://www.foundationalmedicine4life.com/about-dr-wanek
Foundational medicine and fulvic substances: https://www.liveamanalife.com
Clinical practice and articles: https://www.wanekmedical.com
YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkZZ34SVFLE1we_thblSVJw

There’s a popular idea that most of us only get about ten good summers at the end of our lives.
But there’s another set of golden summers we rarely talk about — the first ones.
In this reflection, I explore the idea of the first 11 golden summers: the brief window when your child is small, when you’re their hero, their safe place, and their favourite person in the world.
I talk about time, presence, and the quiet truth that many of the most important moments in parenting don’t announce themselves as special — until they’re gone.
This isn’t a message of guilt or perfection.
It’s an invitation to notice what’s already here.
And for parents whose children are older, it’s a reminder that history is not destiny — meaningful moments can always be created.
If this resonates, I hope it encourages you to choose presence a little more often, while the season is still here.

We’re often taught to focus on what we want — more money, more freedom, more connection — and to believe that if we visualise or strive hard enough, it will arrive.But there’s a problem with that approach.Chasing outcomes can quietly train the nervous system to live in tension, striving, and scarcity. Also, humans adapt quickly. The moment we reach a desired state, the mind moves the goalposts. In this episode, I explore a different idea: instead of trying to attract the future, what if we prepared ourselves for it?Drawing on psychology, neuroscience, and lived experience, we look at why state matters more than goals, how identity shapes behaviour, and why calm, coherent systems tend to meet opportunity with less friction.This isn’t a rejection of manifestation — it’s a grounding of it. Less wishing. More becoming.FInd me on:https://www.instagram.com/bradhookhttps://www.tiktok.com/@tikkkl

What if your brain is deciding before you do?
What if you’re not seeing reality — just your best guess?
What if time, memory, morality, and even your body are more flexible than you think?
In this video, we explore 10 real scientific experiments that quietly rewrote how we understand the mind, perception, and reality itself.
From the famous Libet experiment showing that the brain prepares actions before conscious awareness…
To studies revealing that perception is predictive, memory is rewritten every time you recall it, and even plants can respond to sound…
These experiments challenge the idea that you are a fully conscious, fully in-control observer of the world.
This isn’t science fiction.
It’s peer-reviewed neuroscience, psychology, and biology.
And once you understand it, you may never see yourself — or reality — the same way again.
🧠 Experiments explored in this video:
– The brain that decides before you do
– Why perception is prediction, not observation
– The placebo effect that works even when you know it’s fake
– How a rubber hand can become “your” hand
– Plants that grow toward the sound of water
– Humans’ hidden magnetic sense
– Trauma that passes between generations
– How breath changes the experience of time
– Why memories are rewritten, not replayed
– How magnets can alter moral judgment
If you enjoy deep, strange, and meaningful science, consider subscribing.

What can high-risk avalanche rescue teach us about leadership, ego and team wellbeing?
In this episode, Brad sits down with Caroline Elliott — avalanche specialist, ski patroller, controlled bomber, and avalanche dog handler — to explore what happens behind the scenes in the mountains before you clip into your skis. From bombing snow slopes in the dark to reading the snowpack and trusting your gut, Caroline has spent two decades operating where mistakes can be fatal.
Caroline shares how her work in avalanche control, dog handling and rescue has shaped her approach to risk management, psychological safety, bullying, and leadership in high-pressure corporate environments. She also tells the moving story of her avalanche dog Fjord, and how his legacy lives on through her children’s book Fjord’s Mountain Mission and her snow-safety education work with young people.
If you care about resilient teams, humble leadership, or venturing safely into the mountains, this conversation is for you.
In this episode:
How Caroline fell in love with the mountains and found her way into ski patrol and rescue

What it actually means to set off bombs to prevent avalanches (and why it’s essential for safety)

The invisible work that keeps ski resorts safe before the lifts even open

Training at the French École Nationale de Ski et d’Alpinisme and being one of the few British women to qualify

The intense training path to become an avalanche dog handler and “controlled bomber”

Working with her avalanche dog Fjord — reading dogs, managing your own emotions, and avoiding “protection mode”

Why ego is a catalyst for disaster in the mountains and in organisations

Gut instinct vs data: when to trust your intuition in high-risk situations

The importance of repetition, drills, and muscle memory for crisis performance

How avalanche rescue principles translate into corporate leadership, communication and psychological safety

Caroline’s experience of bullying in a male-dominated rescue culture, and what real leadership looks like

The story behind her children’s book “Fjord’s Mountain Mission” and why she’s passionate about snow safety education

Her upcoming avalanche simulation camps and how she’s bringing mountain lessons to teams and leaders

Connect with Caroline:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-elliott-aabb8117/

Speaking & corporate work: https://www.carolineelliott.me

Snow safety education & consultancy (FjordSAR CIC): https://www.fjordsar.com

Fjord’s Mountain Mission (children’s book):
https://www.amazon.com/Fjords-Mountain-Mission-Safety-Avalanche/dp/1739813502