Early Detection Saved Me: Maria Menounos on Becoming the CEO of Your Health

The Dr. Hyman Show

Dr. Mark Hyman

Health & Fitness, Nutrition, Medicine

4.6 • 8.7K Ratings

🗓️ 3 December 2025

⏱️ 75 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

On this episode of The Dr. Hyman Show, I’m joined by Maria Menounos, journalist, actor, and founder of Heal Squad, to explore what it truly means to take ownership of your health. After years of pushing through nonstop stress and serious health challenges, Maria discovered that real healing starts with mindset, community, and self-advocacy. Watch the full conversation on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts. We discuss: • How you can recognize early warning signs and take action before they become bigger health issues • Why small rituals can make wellness social, joyful, and sustainable • Tools to build a team that truly supports your healing • Simple mindset practices to reframe fear and find strength through uncertainty • The daily choices that help you move from survival mode to genuine healing Maria’s story is a reminder to us all that healing starts with paying attention to your body, your thoughts and the community you choose to surround yourself with. View Show Notes From This EpisodeGet Free Weekly Health Tips from Dr. Hyman https://drhyman.com/pages/picks?utm_campaign=shownotes&utm_medium=banner&utm_source=podcast Sign Up for Dr. Hyman’s Weekly Longevity Journal https://drhyman.com/pages/longevity?utm_campaign=shownotes&utm_medium=banner&utm_source=podcast Join the 10-Day Detox to Reset Your Health https://drhyman.com/pages/10-day-detox Join the Hyman Hive for Expert Support and Real Results https://drhyman.com/pages/hyman-hive This episode is brought to you by Pique, Timeline, Function Health, Big Bold Health, Paleovalley and BON CHARGE. Receive 20% off FOR LIFE + a free Starter Kit with a rechargeable frother and glass beaker at Piquelife com/Hyman. Support essential mitochondrial health and save 20% on Mitopure. Visit timeline.com/drhyman to get 20% off today. Join today at FunctionHealth.com/Mark and use code MARK2026 to get $50 OFF toward your membership. Get 20% off HTB Immune Energy Chews at bigboldhealth.com and use code DRMARK20. Get nutrient-dense, whole foods. Head to paleovalley.com/hyman for 15% off your first purchase. This holiday season get 25% off until December 31st. Head to boncharge.com to receive this offer today! (0:00) Introduction and Maria Menounous's health journey (2:07) Dr. Hyman and Maria Menounous on overcoming health challenges (7:21) The impact of toxic work environments and IVF risks (12:01) Autoimmune issues, cancer, and the importance of early screening (17:03) Mindset and tools for handling life's challenges (26:11) Discussing poor nutrition in hospitals and the importance of a health toolkit (30:51) The role of community in healing and introduction to Heal Squad (38:58) The significance of self-care and Dr. Hyman's personal health struggle (43:31) How facing adversity improves medical practice and the science of health (49:02) Caring for caregivers and the value of a health collaborator (53:45) Maria's daily routine, emotional, and spiritual health strategies (1:02:18) The influence of thoughts on biology and prayer (1:06:58) Maria Menounos's work with Heal Squad and her WWE career (1:07:28) Closing remarks and call to action (1:08:10) Disclaimer and gratitude to sponsors

Transcript

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0:00.0	What we're going to talk about today is how so many of us struggle with various kinds of health
0:04.9	issues and challenges and how we deal with them. You had some issues around thyroid and this
0:09.0	and that, but you kind of started to get a whole bunch of stuff. So it was a Hashimoto's. And then a few
0:14.3	months later, my mom was diagnosed with a brain tumor, glioblastoma. I then diagnosed myself with a brain
0:19.7	tumor. I end up with a meningioma.
0:21.6	Oh, and bonus ball, pancreas cancer. That's not something usually people come out the other side of.
0:26.6	So your story is pretty much a miracle. Maria Manunos is an Emmy Award winning television host and actress and producer and a wellness advocate.
0:34.6	She's a former correspondent for entertainment tonight,
0:43.8	Access Hollywood, Extra, E-News, and she co-founded AfterBuzz TV and now hosts Heel Squad, which draws on her own journey after overcoming her own serious health challenges to help others
0:48.8	become the CEO of their own health. And I was just like curled up in the fetal position in bed,
0:53.2	and I just was in such a
0:54.6	state of shock. Can you believe this happened to me? Well, yes, that's life. How are we going to roll
1:00.0	through it? How are we going to get up? I want to show myself and others that there's another way
1:06.1	to go through challenges. That's a big mental shift for people when something bad happens. Life is happening
1:12.1	for me, not to me. And I just kept saying, it just doesn't make sense. It doesn't make sense.
1:16.8	And then I thought to myself, well, maybe it doesn't make sense. Okay, why am I thinking about the
1:22.1	worst case scenario? Why can't there be another possibility here? And I remembered having my hypnotherapist on the show one day, and she said, choose wonder over worry.
1:33.2	So part of the toolkit, too, is like addressing your emotional and spiritual needs.
1:38.0	What are you not facing that you need to face?
1:40.6	What are the traumas that you have dealt with?
1:42.9	After all these health challenges, and it's a lot. I mean, it's more than most people she ever have to have in a lifetime. What are you foundas that you have been dealt with? After all these health challenges,
1:44.3	and it's a lot. I mean, it's more than most people should ever have to have in a lifetime. What
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