The Trip Lab

Microdosing has gone mainstream and is often described as a tool for creativity, mood, productivity, and emotional healing. But what does the science actually say?

In this episode of The Trip Lab, I take an evidence-based look at microdosing psychedelics. We explore what microdosing is, how it differs from full-dose psychedelic therapy, and the proposed neurobiological mechanisms that have been suggested in the literature. I review what current clinical trials and placebo-controlled studies are showing so far, and where the data remains limited or inconclusive.

A central focus of this episode is the placebo response...

Functional medicine testing is everywhere. It is often marketed as “test, don’t guess,” and just as often dismissed as invalidated or unscientific. So what is the truth?

In this episode of The Trip Lab, we take a deep dive into what functional medicine testing actually is, how it differs from traditional laboratory testing, and what clinicians really mean when they say these tests are not “validated.” We explore why some advanced tests can be genuinely helpful when used thoughtfully, where their limitations lie, and why more testing does not always lead to better care.

We walk th...

Is modern medicine still evidence-based, or have we quietly mistaken rigor for certainty?

Evidence-based medicine is essential. It’s why we save lives, advance care, and trust modern healthcare. But as medicine has become more specialized and disease more complex, something subtle has happened. Rigor has increasingly turned into reductionism, and evidence is often applied in ways that don’t fully match the realities of clinical practice or patients’ lived experiences.

In this episode of The Trip Lab, I take a careful look at what we mean when we say “evidence-based medicine.” We explore th...

Why do psychedelic experiences so often feel spiritual, sacred, or life-changing? Why are mystical-type experiences so closely linked to lasting therapeutic benefit? And why does medicine struggle to talk about them at all?

In this episode, we explore the neuroscience and psychology behind mystical experiences in psychedelics. We examine how shifts in brain networks involved in meaning, identity, and self-referential thinking can give rise to experiences of unity, insight, and transcendence, and why these subjective moments may matter more than the drug itself.

A grounded exploration of what psychedelic science is revealing about meaning, consciousness...

NAD has become one of the most talked-about molecules in longevity medicine—showing up in supplements, IV clinics, lab testing, and bold claims about aging and healthspan. But what does the science actually show?

In this episode of The Trip Lab, we take a clear, evidence-based look at NAD and use it as a lens to explore the broader field of longevity medicine. We break down what NAD does in the human body, why it’s linked to the hallmarks of aging, and why declining NAD is often a signal of cumulative cellular stress rather than a simp...

In this Deep Dive episode of The Trip Lab, we unpack hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol) beyond the oversimplified “LDL bad, HDL good” narrative. We also take a clear-eyed look at the most common concerns people have about statins, what the evidence actually shows, and where these medications fit—and don’t fit—within a thoughtful, individualized approach to cardiovascular risk.

From there, we explore integrative strategies for managing elevated cholesterol and why, for many patients, lifestyle, metabolic health, and inflammation-targeted interventions may be more effective than medications alone.

In this episode, we discuss:

In this season 2 opening episode of The Trip Lab, I return from maternity leave with a deeply personal exploration of how psychedelic experiences mirror one of the most profound transitions in a woman’s life: motherhood.

From the sudden crash of postpartum hormones to the full dissolution of identity and the slow reconstruction of self, I reflect on how becoming a mother felt strikingly similar to a psychedelic journey — raw, disorienting, expansive, and sacred.

We dive into the neuroscience of hormonal transitions, ego death, and neuroplasticity — exploring how estrogen, the Default Mode Network, and maternal brain...

Osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) is a hands on diagnostic and treatment modality that DOs learn in medical school. You may have seen the DO (rather than MD) after your doctor's name and never really understood what that meant. We dive into the difference between MDs and DOs and talk all about what osteopathic medicine is in this episode.

Many OMT treatments actually mirror what a yoga practice can do for you as well. Whether we are talking about the poses (or asanas) creating simultaneous activation and relaxation... or even the connection to the breath the augment healing...

In this episode we will take a deep dive into one of the leading causes of the global burden of disease-- hypertension, or high blood pressure. We will go over the pathophysiology, learn how hypertension develops and why it is so bad for the body. 

After understanding the root causes, we can then better understand how our traditional pharmaceuticals, lifestyle interventions, and holistic integrative therapies work to treat this disease. ... and SPOILER! Holistic approaches turn out to be MORE effective than drugs to treat this one. 

If you want to see another disease or disorder in...

Today I will be introducing a new 'deep dive series' on The Trip Lab. We are going to be looking into the most common medical conditions to really understand what is happening in the body and how they develop. With that understanding, we can better understand how our treatments work-- including pharmaceuticals and surgery as well as integrative therapies like herbal medicine and mind-body medicine. 

To start this series, we will look at how this divide between 'modern' medicine and 'alternative' medicine came to be. Why do we call western medicine the gold standard and ancient eastern a...

This episode is going to be a high level overview over all of the primary causes of anxiety and depression, and integrative approaches to treat them.

Anxiety and depression is a lot more complicated than just writing a script for sertraline or recommending therapy. These disorders definitely have a psychological component that can stem from chemical imbalances in the brain... but other causes include nutritional deficiencies, inflammation and adrenal fatigue, poor sleep hygiene, not exercising enough, improper use of medications or underlying medical causes like hormonal fluctuations or imbalances, thyroid disorders and anemia.

We will...

Today we interview UCSF psychiatrist Emily Willow, MD. She has a robust career in psychedelic medicine and has worked on clinical trials using MDMA, psilocybin and ketamine. Currently, she has a private practice where she does ketamine assisted psychotherapy and psychedelic integration therapy.

We chat all about her experience using these different psychedelic compounds, and the benefits and cautions of each depending on what each patient is trying to heal. We also discuss cognitive liberty and the idea of using psychedelics to explore your consciousness without the need for a psychiatric disorder like depression and...

A Trip Lab Thought Experiment: We will dive into an alternate reality where psychedelics can be used by anyone to explore their consciousness and place in the world (without having a mental health disorder like depression to make it legal).

Find out how psychedelics can help you understand the complex topics of quantum physics, string theory, the illusion of time and parallel universes.

We will also discuss exciting new research papers looking into how psychedelics have been proven to increase creativity both in an artistic and scientific discovery setting.

Last, we...

We chat with Dr. Mark Braunstein about how he pioneered a new path in psychiatric care using cannabis, ketamine and psilocybin... in addition to integrating wilderness programming, exercise, diet and spirituality to treat depression, addiction, anxiety and trauma. He dives deeper into how cannabis works in the mind and the different ways he prescribes this to his patients. We also chat about the future of cannabis and psychedelic medicine-- both seeing it as an exciting opportunity to treat psychiatric disorders but also molecules that need to be taken with great care.

Mentions:
Sustainable Mycelium 'Leather...

Chronic low levels of inflammation is linked to at 8 out of the 10 leading causes of death in the United States. This, along with chronic stress, causes premature aging, cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative disease, cancer and a lot more.  This episode dives deeper into how this process happens... and what you can change in your diet to combat it. 

This episode rounds out our discussion on inflammation and stress, following episode #6 all about adaptogenics and the HPA access (endocrine stress response) and #7 all about mind body medicine and your autonomic (neurological) stress response. 

Mia Cara Cosco is the Creative Director of Psychedelic Salons. She has 10 years of experience in psychedelic medicine advocacy and has a really beautiful take on these plants and fungi as medicine.

We chat all about the work that she does holding space for people to experience psychedelics, as well as creating spaces to merge social venture capital with artists, business people, leaders and visionaries.  Mia is passionate about 'democratizing cognitive liberation' with psychedelics and has a very humble, artistic and intentional approach to doing just that. We also discuss microdosing and how she incorporates many different p...

Max C Wood is a graduate student studying developmental neuroscience and psychopathology at the Anna Freud Center in London. He is finishing his studies at Yale, studying the impact that attachment styles have on a psychedelic treatment design, using ketamine.  

We talk all about how developmental neuroscience came to be, and why this goes hand in hand with understanding the brain using psychedelics... in addition to using psychedelics to treat human suffering. Going a little deeper into the placebo response, we speculate why it works on both a neuro-biological level and a spiritual level. 

Then we...

Mind-Body Medicine was until recently, dismissed by modern medicine. The idea that the mind could influence the body was paradoxically deemed just not true--- it's no surprise the current data is saying otherwise. It is know widely accepted that increased stress experienced in the mind lowers the immune system and influences a wide variety of disease, most notably cardiac and metabolic.

In this episode we break down the autonomic nervous system (to round out the neurological side of the stress response we started in our adaptogenic episode when we talked about the endocrine side of the stress...

Adaptogenics and nootropics have become buzzwords in posh grocery stores-- on every botanical elixir and new sparkling water. But what exactly are they? Do they actually work? And what does the data tell us? Find it all out in the episode!

Adaptogenic herbs: panax ginseng, rhodiola, ashwaganda, licorice root, milk thistle
Adaptogenic mushrooms: maitake, reishi, cordyceps, lion's mane
Adaptogenic foods: ginger, garlic, green tea

Nootropics mentioned: caffeine, GABA, L-theanine

Mentions
Chicago Market - Foxtrot
Botanical Elixir - Kin Euphorics

The benefits of yoga have been proven extensively in the medical literature. We dive into the science of how yoga works to treat mental health disorders, musculoskeletal disorders, cardiovascular disease and even the cognitive decline that comes with age. 

Then, for our very first guest interview we have Shelby Caldwell here to answer all of our yoga questions. She is a certified yoga instructor and currently manages the Ritual Hot Yoga Studio in Chicago. We have an open and honest conversation about addiction and how that can look different for every person, we discuss the dichotomies of l...

This episode is going to be all about MDMA (also known as Molly or Ecstasy). We will explore the history of this compound and it's use, the neuroscience of how it works, what the latest clinical trials have shown, and even look at the shadow side of these sort of therapy sessions. 

Mentioned Links:

Netflix Docuseries: 'The Business of Drugs'

Book: ‘The Gateway of the Heart: Accounts of Experiences with MDMA and other Empathogenic Substances’ compiled and edited by Sophia Adamson 

An overview of magic mushrooms and LSD (aka Acid). We will chat about the history of these compounds, why they were banned, why they are making a comeback, and how they are being used to treat anxiety, depression, addition and so much more. We will explain the neuroscience in an easy to understand way, and what this might mean for the future of psychiatry (and just life!). 

Book: 'The Immortality Key' by Brian C. Muraresku

New Neuronal Connections Depiction

What actually is integrative medicine? How does it differ from 'alternative' or 'naturopathic' medicine? When should you see an integrative medicine doctor? All of your questions answered below.

0:45 - What is integrative medicine? 

3:10 - Alternative vs. Complementary vs. Integrative Medicine

3:50 - Eastern vs. Western Medicine

5:00 - Principles of Integrative Medicine

7:20 - Osteopathic (DO) vs. Allopathic (MD) Medicine

9:35 - Naturopathy, Homeopathy & Functional Medicine

12:40 - Psychedelics

15:25 - Acupuncture & Traditional Chinese Medicine

16:45 - Aryuveda & Yoga

17:49 - Mind-Body Medicine

18:38 - Art, M...

An introduction to your host, what the podcast will be about (integrative medicine & psychedelics) and a primer on evidenced based medicine.

0:00 - Bio, Mary Ella Wood, DO

Undergrad: Point Loma Nazarene University, San Diego, CA
Medical School: Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine, Dothan, AL
Residency: General Surgery, Danbury Hospital, Danbury, CT
Residency: Family Medicine, West Suburban Medical Center, Oak Park, IL

1:06 - Journey to Integrative Medicine

3:50 - What is Integrative Medicine?

4:25 - Psychedelics

5:08 - Podcast Format

6:50 - Evidenced Based Medicine