It's another Q&A edition of Optimal Health Daily, episode 2132, and I'm Dr. Neil Malick.

Hey there, happy Friday and welcome to another Q&A edition of Optimal Health Daily, where I

answer your health questions related to fitness, diet and nutrition, and more. You send in the

questions, and I answer them for you. And now, we're giving away an optimal

living daily workbook to you free of charge if you send in a relevant question. So, be sure to

send one in before we run out. We can only do this if your address is in the U.S. for now, but we're

happy to send a digital version if you're outside of the U.S. Now, before we get to today's

audio question, once a month and usually during the first Q&A episode of the month, I mention a bit

about my background and credentials so you can better understand where my perspectives come from.

And given this is the first Q&A of the month, it's time. So while I've always been obsessed with Batman,

I wasn't always obsessed or even interested in nutrition, exercise, health, and wellness,

basically all the stuff I talk about now. But being diagnosed with the chronic disease at the age of

19 definitely changed my life's purpose. It was then I decided to focus my attention on helping

others so that no one else had to experience a chronic disease diagnosis like I did. In order to do that,

I wanted to have some credibility. This is not meant to be a humble brag, but instead gain your

trust. I received both my master's and doctoral degrees in public health,

and to really cover all of my bases, I also became a registered dietitian nutritionist,

a certified health education specialist, and a certified exercise physiologist through the

American College of Sports Medicine. I've been teaching in higher education for over 14 years,

and I'm currently faculty within the

California State University system. I published peer-reviewed studies, presented at national

conferences, and have been interviewed by over 70 different media outlets for my expertise on

...