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Zen Odyssey | Food. Mood. Integration CoachingFunctional Embodiment Guide Mood Before Food Coaching Author Author: Chandra Zas Language: en-us Genres: Alternative Health, Health & Fitness, Mental Health Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Can Your Body Trust You? | Dr. Nikia Evans on Movement as Medicine, Cortisol & the Minimum Effective Dose
Thursday, 12 March, 2026
What if the most powerful thing you could do for your health today was also the simplest?In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Nikia Evans — physician, researcher, and human performance coach — to go beyond her chapter in the Handbook for Human Potential. Nikia is a dear friend and one of my most trusted health consultants. She is the person who introduced me to Function Health for comprehensive lab testing and Heart & Soil for ancestral nutrition — two tools now woven into my own daily practice.Nikia works with elite athletes, but her wisdom reaches far beyond sport. In this conversation, we talk about why walking is our first medicine, how cortisol quietly shapes your body composition, and what it really means to stop extracting from your body and start nourishing it.Her mentor once asked her a question that changed everything: Can your body trust you?This episode is for anyone who has ever felt like their body was failing them — and is ready to hear a different story.In this episode:•Why elite athletes are often less healthy than they appear — and what that means for all of us•The missing link most people skip: aerobic foundation and mitochondrial density•Why walking is your first medicine (and why it beats HIIT for most people, most of the time)•How walking regulates the nervous system, lymph flow, blood flow, and emotion•Nikia's personal walking practice during medical residency•What play really is — and how to find it even when you're exhausted•How cortisol works, why it rises when you fast, and what it does to belly fat•Why dieting and over-exercising can make it harder to lose weight•Function Health labs — why functional ranges change everything•The difference between expressive and compulsive exercise•Nikia's upcoming 12-week reset programhttp://itsthatgoodmedicine.com/medrxAbout Dr. Nikia Evans:Dr. Nikia Evans, MD, MS-APK, CSCS, is a physician, researcher, and human performance coach whose work sits at the intersection of performance, health, nervous system regulation, and long-horizon resilience. She has coached 500+ elite athletes across youth, collegiate, and professional levels.Follow her: @itsthatgoodmedicine | itsthatgoodmedicine.comGet the Book:Handbook for Human Potential: An Accessible Guide to Personal GrowthAvailable at chandrazas.com/handbook-for-human-potentialJoin the Newsletter:handbookforhumanpotential.comConnect with Chandra:chandrazas.com | @chandrazasPODCAST CHAPTER TIMESTAMPSPaste these directly into your podcast host's chapter field (Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Buzzsprout, etc.) or into the episode notes. Adjust ±10–15 seconds after final audio edit.0:00 Welcome to the Author Interview Series0:46 Meet Dr. Nikia Evans — Physician, Researcher & Human Performance Coach1:30 How Chandra & Nikia Know Each Other2:42 Performance vs. Health — Why Athletes Aren't Always Healthy4:00 Stress Is Stress — Athletes, Parents, Caregivers & the Nervous System5:30 The Missing Link: Aerobic Foundation & Mitochondrial Density6:13 The Short Answer: Walking Is Your First Medicine6:59 Why Walking Beats HIIT for Most People8:30 Walking & Lymph Flow, Blood Flow, Nervous System Regulation10:00 Nikia's Walking Practice During Medical Residency11:30 Walking Regulates Emotion — "It's the Moving of Emotion"13:07 Chandra's Relationship with Walking — Lymph, Energy & Mental Clarity13:52 Walking with Kids — Making Movement Playful15:25 What Is Play? Nikia's Definition — Unscripted, Adaptive, Novel17:00 Play Beyond Physical — Improv, Open Mics & Swing Dancing18:30 How to Lower the Bar to Start — "Just Go Outside"19:42 Play as an Emotional State — Cortisol & the Nervous System20:20 Science Always Catches Up to What the Body Already Knows22:14 Function Health Labs — Why Functional Ranges Change Everything24:26 Cortisol Deep Dive — What It Is, What It Does & Why It Matters26:00 Fasting, Cortisol & When Intermittent Fasting Becomes Too Much28:00 Cortisol & Body Composition — Why Belly Fat Is a Stress Response30:12 Why Dieting & Over-Exercising Can Make It Harder to Lose Weight31:37 Nikia's High-Protein Breakfast Strategy for Residency32:33 Readers Are Walking More — Real-World Impact of the Chapter33:37 Walking Never Gets Graduated Out Of34:05 Pedometers & Step Counts — How Many Steps Is Enough?35:09 Chandra's Sweet Spot — One Long Walk or Two Shorter Ones36:02 Nikia's Closing Message — "Can Your Body Trust You?"37:19 For the People Who Love to Push — Expressive vs. Compulsive Exercise39:35 The Difference Between Nourishing and Extractive Movement41:03 Nikia's Upcoming 12-Week Reset Program41:31 Closing Gratitude & How to Stay Connected42:37 Thank You & How to Get the Book
