As people interested in health, we often tackle every major concern or follow every wellness trend—diet, exercise, gut health, oral health, and the list goes on—before we realize how important inner mental and emotional work is as well. When we’re willing to get quiet with ourselves and go deeper, that work pays off for not just our mindset, but every other area of our health, too. Spending more time at home throughout this pandemic has certainly provided the opportunity to do that work. Today on The Broken Brain Podcast Dhru talks with his good friend Dr. Mary Pardee about her experience looking inward and embracing self-care that is more than just physical. Dr. Pardee is a Naturopathic Medical Doctor and a Certified Functional Medicine Doctor who specializes in integrative gastroenterology and hormone balancing in Los Angeles, California. She is the founder of modrn med, a telemedicine and virtual wellness company that provides medical and health services to clients from the comfort of their homes. For those who cannot work one-on-one with a modrn med practitioner, Dr. Mary also created a gut-health course that dives into the most common gut-related complaints and natural solutions to start healing. In this episode, Dhru and Dr. Mary talk about the increased social isolation many people are experiencing due to the COVID-19 pandemic and how it’s impacting our overall health. They discuss how doing inner work might seem like a purely mental or emotional exercise, but it can actually impact so much more. Dr. Mary talks about the way our spiritual health and fulfillment can affect the immune system and alter our resilience against things like mold, stress, and other insults. They also talk about how Dr. Mary is counseling her patients through their decisions around the COVID-19 vaccines. As a Functional Medicine practitioner, Dr. Mary is adamant about looking at each individual’s unique story and she shares what considerations she and her patients take into account with the conversation around vaccines. Lastly, they take a deep dive into gut health, another passion of Dr. Mary’s—she and Dhru talk about the gut-brain connection, mindful eating and the importance of chewing our food properly, the benefits of walking after meals, and the importance of getting enough fiber in our diet. In this episode, we dive into:  -How the COVID-19 lockdowns are impacting mental health (2:32) -How our early childhood experiences shape who we become as adults (6:39) -People pleasing and setting boundaries (13:51)-Dr. Mary’s personal experience in overcoming an eating disorder (15:14) -The power of doing inner work (21:23)-Weighing the pros and cons of the COVID-19 vaccine (22:19)-At-home antigen testing (33:34)-The first place you should start if you have gut issues (50:06)-Why the tradition of walking after meals has multiple benefits (58:40)-The benefits of an elimination diet (1:05:07)-Why you shouldn’t be on a restrictive diet for too long (1:07:47)-How much fiber we should be consuming on a daily basis (1:09:58) -What Dr. Mary incorporates into her diet to make sure she is getting adequate fiber (1:14:03)For more on Dr. Mary Pardee you can follow her on Instagram @Dr.MaryPardee, on Facebook @ModrnMed, and through her website https://www.modrnmed.com/. Also mentioned in this episode:-Are You Truly Healthy? A Deep Dive into Your Health and Labs with Dr. Mary Pardee - Broken Brain Podcast Ep. 105 - https://drhyman.com/blog/2020/04/23/bb-ep105/-Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma, by Peter Levine - https://www.amazon.com/Waking-Tiger-Healing-Peter-Levine/dp/155643233X-Dr. Gabor Maté - https://drgabormate.com/-The Landmark Forum - https://www.landmarkworldwide.com/-https://blog.23andme.com/health-traits/covid-19-severity-calculator/-Op-Ed: Why Did Fauci Move the Herd Immunity Goal Posts? - https://www.medpagetoday.com/blogs/vinay-prasad/90445-Rapid Test - https://www.rapidtests.org/-Michael Mina - https://ccdd.hsph.harvard.edu/people/michael-mina/-Pe