Total Health: Dr Daniel Monti of The Marcus Institute of Integrative Health On How We Can Optimize Our Mental, Physical, Emotional, & Spiritual Wellbeing

Get some living food in your diet every day. We need plants; they are critical to our health and well-being — especially vegetables. Their phytonutrients have value beyond our understanding; their fiber feeds the good bacteria in the gut — study after study shows us this. Getting some raw plants is ideal. Find what works for you. My best friend has become the smoothie blender in my kitchen. I am not a salad eater, so I found that if my goal was to eat a salad every day, I would fail. However, I can do it without a problem if I drink those veggies, especially if it is easy to do and tasty. In the book Tapestry of Health, we provide some great recipes and tips to make this aspect of your health a success.

Often when we refer to wellness, we assume that we are talking about physical wellbeing. But one can be physically very healthy but still be unwell, emotionally or mentally. What are the steps we can take to cultivate optimal wellness in all areas of our life; to develop Mental, Physical, Emotional, & Spiritual Wellbeing?

As a part of our series about “How We Can Cultivate Our Mental, Physical, Emotional, & Spiritual Wellbeing”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Daniel Monti.

Dr. Daniel Monti is the founding Chair of the historic, first-ever department of Integrative Medicine at a U.S. medical school — Thomas Jefferson University, where he also is head of the Marcus Institute of Integrative Health. He has developed a wide range of academic and clinical programs around mind-body medicine, nutritional therapies, and immune resilience, many of which are described in his popular press book, Tapestry of Health.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive into the main focus of our interview, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory?

I grew up in a small, somewhat rural, blue-collar town outside of Buffalo, N.Y. For part of my childhood I was fortunate enough to live on or near farms, and I had every pet imaginable — dogs, cats, birds, horses, etc. I always loved science and fondly recall my 5th grade teacher giving me the award of a chemistry set at the end of the school year. It was a thrill to make things with it, though my parents were less thrilled about the messes I would create! They threatened to take it away many times. When I decided to study medicine, I had not yet cultivated great social skills and was rather annoying to some of my professors. I asked a lot of questions and was always wanting to know more about “why” things worked the way they did. Now that I am a professor myself, I have sympathy for those folks when I look back at those days, and I smile when I see students who have those same characteristics. That quest for the “why” is what led me to research and much of my career has been split between clinical care and conducting clinical trials.

What or who inspired you to pursue your career? We’d love to hear the story.

I was raised in part by my grandmother, a tough lady who grew up working the family farm and never wasted a thing in her life, including time. She had that farmer mentality of being practical and logical, and she would often tell me that eating junk food would mess up my body, that “burning the midnight oil” too much would make me sick, and to be careful not to worry myself “to death”. I learned, often the hard way, that she was right about these things, and I wanted to understand the science of why. I was shocked in my medical training how little attention was put on things like nutrition and stress. In college I was exposed to the developing work of a chiropractor-scientist, Dr. Scott Walker. He was creating an intervention called the Neuro Emotional Technique (NET) that wove together biology, emotions, stress, memory, nutrition, and so on. We have since researched NET in our department and teach it in some of our courses. For me, this was life changing to have a structure for understanding and practicing mind-body medicine.

None of us can achieve success without some help along the way. Was there a particular person who you feel gave you the most help or encouragement to be who you are today? Can you share a story about that?

Bernie Marcus, one of the founders of Home Depot, took an interest in my work about 12 years ago. He came to see me personally back then to assess if what I was trying to launch at Jefferson was something he wanted to be a part of. It was the early days of Integrative Medicine in an academic environment. He asked me about my vision of what I would like to create in the field. What I said was something anemic and short-sighted, and he smiled and said, “think bigger”. Thinking “big” pushed against my upbringing of being content with the cards you are dealt. Bernie helped me to think beyond what is possible today to what could be tomorrow. When I began to expand my thinking, I found a balance between the values I was raised with and thinking big: we do need to objectively see the reality of our circumstances, but that doesn’t mean we are powerless to change the outcome of the card game. The Marcus Institute at Jefferson is appropriately named after him.

Can you share the funniest or most interesting mistake that occurred to you in the course of your career? What lesson or take away did you learn from that?

I learned to never assume why a patient is in your office. I walked into the consultation room, seeing the stated reason for this new patient appointment was “smoking cessation”. I quickly gathered all of my resources, such as medical supports, guided imagery, etc. I reviewed the patient’s medical history and smoking history, reviewed his physical exam, and then started talking about his smoking cessation treatment plan. I could tell he was uncomfortable and noncommittal. Finally, after 20 minutes, I asked what his hesitation was about, to which he responded, “I do not want to quit smoking; I love smoking; I can’t think of anything I’d rather like to do after a meal, and I have no intentions of stopping”. I asked in a rather perplexed tone of voice why he was in my office. His response, “My wife made the appointment”. I burst out laughing and then spent some time helping him to see that we could move forward with this on his terms when he was ready, which he eventually did.

Is there a particular book that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?

The Web of Life by Fritjof Capra. I discovered this book a few years after its publication and just loved the way the author summarized systems theory with examples across numerous branches of science. We are living systems, which requires an appreciation of non-linearity and complexity.

Can you share your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Why does that resonate with you so much?

The late great Lena Horne said, “It’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it”. I use this all the time when talking about mind-body resilience. My latest book, Tapestry of Health, which I co-authored with Dr. Anthony J. Bazzan, is all about how to better carry the load we have to cope with, how to navigate the stressors and opportunities in the world to be the happiest, healthiest versions of ourselves.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? How do you think that might help people?

There are so many! But, here are a few we are really excited about at the Marcus Institute of Integrative Health:

• We have been researching the natural molecule N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC) to help patients with Parkinson’s Disease. We have published terrific preliminary results and currently have a clinical trial open to test the concept at the next level.
• We currently are providing specialized stress reduction programs for health workers on the frontline. We are looking at two interventions — the full mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) curriculum and a novel device to stimulate the vagal nerve.
• We have been developing the comprehensive brain recovery program available anywhere. It is especially valuable for those who have had a head injury or concussion in the past and continue to struggle. The program combines the best brain imaging with cognitive training, and the most advanced integrative therapies

OK, thank you for all of that. Let’s now shift to the core focus of our interview. In this interview series we’d like to discuss cultivating wellness habits in four areas of our lives: Mental wellness, Physical wellness, Emotional wellness, & Spiritual wellness. Let’s dive deeper into these together. Based on your research or experience, can you share with our readers three good habits that can lead to optimum mental wellness? Please share a story or example for each.

Brain health is a big topic right now. We talk about it a lot in our books and have developed several programs and clinical trials in our department at the Marcus Institute. Brain health, physical health, emotional health, and spiritual health are inextricably connected, which will continue to get reinforced as the conversation continues. For brain health in particular, research supports a few key things:

1. Engage in physical exercise to keep blood flowing to the brain optimally.
2. Sleep! Deprivation of sleep is linked to cognitive decline. I struggle with this one, as do many Americans. For optimal sleep hygiene, try to go to bed every night with the goal of 7–8 hours of sleep. Have a wind-down period before going to bed where you relax, listen to music, or read something light. Remove as much light or sound from the bedroom as possible. I advocate making your bed even if you do so just before retiring to it. You want to honor the space in which you sleep. If you are partnered, try to synchronize yourselves so you can go to bed together.
3. Keep inflammation as low as possible by eating foods that are anti-inflammatory, such as omega 3 fats and leafy greens. Animal fats from meat and dairy are inflammatory, as are junk foods, etc.
4. Keep your brain active, play games that are challenging, and always strive to learn new things that interest and excite you.

Do you have a specific type of meditation practice or Yoga practice that you have found helpful? We’d love to hear about it.

I’m a big fan of mindfulness meditation, the core element of mindfulness-based stress reduction. I especially like the loving kindness meditation and have a version of it in Tapestry of Health. It is a terrific reminder of how important it is to hold ourselves in loving regard. Doing so makes us more equipped to serve others, positively impacting the world we live in. I personally find that doing this meditation puts me in the right headspace to perform the work that I do with minimal stress.

Thank you for that. Can you share three good habits that can lead to optimum physical wellness? Please share a story or example for each.

1. Get some living food in your diet every day. We need plants; they are critical to our health and well-being — especially vegetables. Their phytonutrients have value beyond our understanding; their fiber feeds the good bacteria in the gut — study after study shows us this. Getting some raw plants is ideal. Find what works for you. My best friend has become the smoothie blender in my kitchen. I am not a salad eater, so I found that if my goal was to eat a salad every day, I would fail. However, I can do it without a problem if I drink those veggies, especially if it is easy to do and tasty. In the book Tapestry of Health, we provide some great recipes and tips to make this aspect of your health a success.
2. Whatever your current activity level, have a goal to double it over a reasonable period of time. Of course there are exceptions, such as if you already are a pro-level athlete or currently run 5 miles a day, but even in the latter scenario, you could benefit from mixing up the running with other things. And it goes without saying that you need to consult your medical team if you have physical limitations, medical issues, etc. But the bottom line is that sitting is the new smoking. Sedentary life increases the risk factors of everything from cancer to cognitive decline. Energy and how well you thrive in the world are linked to exercise. Start now if you aren’t doing much, and start with anything; even a brisk walk has its benefits. Like living food, aim for diversity when it comes to exercise. The data supports this, so diversify your physical fitness as much as is reasonable.
3. Keep stress in check. Like food and exercise, have multiple options to choose from on a given day and be proactive in engaging in at least a couple of stress-reduction techniques. We mentioned meditation, and if you are new to it, download one of the many terrific mindfulness apps. Also, don’t forget the power of intimacy. The isolation of the pandemic was measurably stressful on many people. Stay connected and engaged with people. Spend time nourishing a friendship each week that you may have let slip. Connect virtually or in person, but just connect. If you are in a partnered relationship, take some of our creative tips in Tapestry of Health for igniting the flame again. We are hardwired to be connected to others; our nervous system, and hence the rest of our mind-body architecture, needs connections to thrive.

Do you have any particular thoughts about healthy eating? We all know that it’s important to eat more vegetables, eat less sugar, etc. But while we know it intellectually, it’s often difficult to put it into practice and make it a part of our daily habits. In your opinion what are the main blockages that prevent us from taking the information that we all know, and integrating it into our lives?

Two tips for healthy eating are:

1. Focus on adding better options versus eliminating the problematic options. What this means in practice is that often we are faced with choices, and if we can get in a proactive, conscious mindset to choose PLANTS (if it grows, it’s good) and HEALTHY FATS (don’t think fat-free, because good fats help us, bad fats hurt us); and
2. Don’t get stuck in “all or nothing” thinking. All is not lost if you slip up. There is a cumulative effect to what we do, so don’t think things like, “I ate desert, so I may as well just have a bag of chips, too.”

The struggle most Americans have is that they are surrounded by nutrient-poor, calorie-dense, harmful, inflammatory foods. Those foods are cheap, well-advertised, and most importantly, addictive. Junk foods are engineered by food industry chemists to be as reinforcing and gratifying as possible. So, don’t feel weak or like a failure if this is hard. There are a lot of forces out there against having a healthy diet. But, I have seen many make the transformation, eliminate illness risk factors, and feel more energized.

Can you share three good habits that can lead to optimum emotional wellness? Please share a story or example for each.

This is a great question, because it gives us the opportunity to step back and remind ourselves that emotional and physical health are the flip sides of the same coin. We are not a mind and a body as Decartes once described. Instead, we are a mind-body. The same food that makes our bodies thrive also helps with mood and emotional wellbeing. Likewise, the food that destroys our bodies also contributes to depression and low mood. There are known mechanisms such as inflammation that can explain this, which is why exercise helps with mood just as it helps with overall health, and so on.

Do you have any particular thoughts about the power of smiling to improve emotional wellness? We’d love to hear it.

There is some science to support that smiling is good for us and good for those around us. There is brain scan data and other studies looking at neurochemicals that suggest it could be good for health and emotional wellbeing to muster up a smile, and this is particularly impactful if we can let ourselves feel the positive connection to others when we smile. This is not to say we should be walking around with forced smiles on our faces. But, like with food, we are often in a situation where we can choose a response, and a smile is a good one, as is finding levity in situations. Going a step further with laughter, we know that there are tremendous positive effects on health, wellbeing, and stress levels when we can find the space to laugh. So, a great goal is to be proactive in finding times to be light and playful with the ones around you, and to inject some smiling and laughter.

Finally, can you share three good habits that can lead to optimum spiritual wellness? Please share a story or example for each.

Engaging in spirituality is fundamental for many people, and there is terrific data that shows doing so can be enormously beneficial to the brain and overall health. In the simplest health-related terms, spirituality is about meaning and purpose. For some, this means observing a religion that provides a foundation, structure, and rituals that facilitate spirituality. For others, it is doing something creative, volunteering in the community, or learning a meditation practice. The important thing is that you take the time to make your spiritual brain thrive. We have done studies on this and show in one of our other books, Brain Weaver, the effects on brain scans that engaging in a spiritual practice can have.

Do you have any particular thoughts about how being “in nature” can help us to cultivate spiritual wellness?

For some, and I am one of those people, being in nature facilitates getting in touch with the spiritual brain. I recall as a young boy being out on the trails in the woods by the farm. When I just focus on those memories for a moment, a kind of calm comes over me. When I actually take the time to have similar experiences in my present life, it is even more powerful. Being in nature for me is definitely a gateway to my spiritual self, and I think the same is true for others.

Ok, we are nearly done. You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

I strive for people to take charge of their health and wellness again. Health is not merely the absence of disease. When there is a disease, the current medical model has amazing technologies and interventions for the acute treatment. However, a big gap exists between putting out the fire of an acute medical problem and wellness care, optimal chronic illness care, and mind-body integration. That’s where the new medical specialty of Integrative Medicine comes in. The protocols we’ve been testing and the innovative strategies we’ve developed to give people a health edge, no matter what their current status, is cause for optimism that things can be much better for all of us in terms of living a life that is more vibrant in every way.

We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we both tag them :-)

Oprah. Without hesitation. Nobody changes the mindset of people like her. She gets the big picture, she understands what’s important, and I have been talking about how she is a model of what we should all strive to be in my lectures for years.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

www.marcusinstittute.jeffersonhealth.org

www.tapestryofhealth.net

Thank you for these really excellent insights, and we greatly appreciate the time you spent with this. We wish you continued success.