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Introduction: [00:00:00] Welcome to the #PirateBroadcast™, where we  interview #interestingpeople, doing  #interestingthings, where you can expand your connections, your community. #Kindnessiscool and #smilesarefree. And let's get this party started.

Russ Johns: [00:00:18] And it's another beautiful day for a #PirateBroadcast™ and we want to bring you amazing, #interestingpeople that are doing some great things. And today we have Dr. Reyzan Shali. How are you my friend? How are you doing today?

Reyzan Shali: [00:00:35] I'm very good. Thank you very much. Thank you for having me,  Russ.

Russ Johns: [00:00:38] Well, it, you know, we were introduced by Ryan Foland who is a pirate, and he said, Hey, you should have Dr. Shali on the show and talk about some medical things and a couple of eating exercise and engagement and I thought that it would be a wonderful topic to discuss as we're going into 2021. And there are so many things out there. And thank you so much. First of all, for being in the medical field and helping so many other people out there.

And maybe if you could talk us through the story, worry about how you became a doctor and what was your interest in, in that journey? Because it's not a simple one.

Reyzan Shali: [00:01:26] So I I'm originally Kurdish from the Kurdistan region of Iraq. I grew up in Baghdad. I finished medical school in Baghdad, but prior to the reason why I went into medical school is because there were other physicians in the family that they were a little older than me. So I used to look up to them and I used to be impressed by their wealth of knowledge and their ability to help people. I mean, someone would come to them feeling very sick. And then a couple of days later with their help, they're feeling a hundred percent better. So I was always impressed by their ability to be there, to help and to make someone feel better. So I went to medical school, graduated medical school. But all throughout growing up where I grew up, I felt very boxed kind of left in a small tight box. I didn't feel, I was able to say whatever I wanted to say or express my opinions freely.

I wasn't allowed to play sports because I was always told girls don't play sports. Meaning I felt many limitations for me, so I decided to leave. And I had the will and desire to leave and I made it all the way to the us and did my residency and internship in Michigan did my post certification.

And then my husband wanted to move to California because he had some family over there. So we ended up relocating to California. I started my practice in San Diego area and I've been here since then. It's a beautiful city.

Russ Johns: [00:02:55] Yeah, San Diego is wonderful. I love San Diego. You know, there's so many things in the medical field that are challenging in terms of, you know, just being able to go through the process and insurance and some of the, what I consider challenges and ye there's so many amazing doctors that are out there doing such great work and helping so many people. And it's, it's really nice to be able to say I make a difference, you know, and it sounds like you're the type of doctor that has an opportunity to make a difference and care about other people.

So what is it that you see in the medical field that makes, makes a difference really with the most people right now with COVID and some of the challenges we have going on with the pandemic? What are some of the things that you've noticed and you've made part of your routine in terms of helping people?

Reyzan Shali: [00:03:58] So actually what you just mentioned, the part of that, about the part about insurance coverage and all that, it's probably the most difficult part of the job. Meaning figuring out what's covered for this patient. What's not covered. It's, it's a total heart heartbreak. When you haven't asked the patient who needs an inhaler, but the hater is not covered and it's $400.

No one can afford that. So that's the most difficult part of the job and kind of navigating through all these difficulties can be a nightmare sometimes. Yeah. But we have to do it. We have to try our best to help patients where I've been focusing on probably more so. In 2020, just because of everything we've gone through is I talk about a lot of my three E's.

The E's are eating, exercise and engagement. Eating we all  love, I love food. We've got to promote food, but I, but I promote the right kind of food and the right kind of feeding. 

Russ Johns: [00:05:00] Tell  us more about that. The right kind of food

Reyzan Shali: [00:05:05] with the kind of a Mediterranean type of food, which is mostly plant ba sed lots of vegetables.  The vegetable is usually the main star of the dish. I still remember my mom always talking about, I have zuchinni. I'm going to make zuchinni for, for lunch and dinner today. And she, at the time, I didn't appreciate it cause she totally abused the zucchini, but now I see the magic behind it. So I grew up with that kind of diet.

So when I came to the us, the diet was totally different. Meaning there's a lot of processed food. There's a lot of meat and meat products and not a whole lot of colorful veggies. So the diet was, was a bit of an adjustment to me. So I've always talked about diet and I've always promoted the Mediterranean diet, but I've been promoting it more and more lately because of everything we're going through. Meaning. Not only Mediterranean diet helps overall health, but it also helps immunity. And I've been playing this game with my boys who I have an 18 year old and a 16 year old. So they're not big fans of fruits and veggies. They eat pizza all day long, but I. I cut up a bunch of vegetables for them kind of bunch of foods for them and take it to their rooms while they're doing their homework and tell them, listen, there's a pandemic out there. You need your immune system to work. Very good. So for them, it's been working meaningfully. They eat it every day, but that's what I've been talking mostly about this past year. When it comes to diet, you want to, you want to make the vegetables, the main star of your meal. You want to have at least half your plate filled with colorful vegetables and the more colors the better.

And then the exercise is, I think is a must for all of us. We all have struggled exercising in 2020 because we can't go to the gym. I used to play tennis with a good friend of mine. And I lost my tennis partner because she doesn't want to be out there obviously with, with but we have to find, find a way to exercise.

So this past year I actually picked up a Zumba and now I'm loving it. I have a dog who's asleep right now, but he goes on walks every day. We have to take them on walks. So exercise is a must and I've noticed on if I don't exercise for two days in a row, I am stiff. The third day, my joints are stiff and my knees are hurting.

Everything feels sluggish. So exercise is a must for all of us and we can be creative. Like I said, I, I was not able to do tennis. I was not able to go to the gym. So I picked up somebody at home. I go on walks with the dog or we're there with a family member. And then the third E is engagement. I come from a big family.  I'm the youngest of nine. And we are very tight and I have wonderful friends around me here in San Diego. And if I'm not engaged with them, I really think mentally I would not be in a good place. I create content. I write for my call with thrive global and a lot of my content comes from suggestion, from friends and family. Meaning for example, I was talking to my sisters one day about how they can easily fall asleep and stay asleep. And I always struggle with sleep. And then one of them suggested, they said, why don't you write an article about sleep? And I did, I did. So the three E's the eating and the exercise and the engagement happened.  Main focus of me talking to people, to my patients, to my friends, to my community, to you. I'm hoping that will make a difference.

Russ Johns: [00:08:57] Well, it makes a huge difference. And I think people minimize some of the importance of what this simple process can do for their lives, because I know I have a friend that swears, he goes, the garden is the pharmacy and, you know, just eating clean and healthy and, you know, raw food and fresh bread vegetables, and you know, Just changing your diet can make a difference in your attitude. It can make a difference in how you feel. It can make a difference in how you look at things. And it does have a difference. It does have an impact, and I've been working really hard to eat more more effectively for my body. And, when I eat something that's not really in alignment with what I need, I can tell. And it's only because've been practicing, eating, you know, and juicing and eating fruit and vegetables and more and less processed food. I used to have a garden and I had a sustainable farm and you get in and out of habits, you know, you evolve and depending on life and what your circumstances are, you can change and evolve out of good habits and bad habits or habits that aren't productive for you. So it's a good reminder to be able to  insert that back in our life. But as far as exercise goes, you know, it's, I broke my hip this year, this 2020 it's like, I needed something else. Right. And so biking, I go out and I'll just, I'll just get, you know, I'll get stuck in my head or something like that.  And I'll just go out and take a ride around the block, or, you know, a couple of miles here and there and it just makes life so much better. It just gives me a new perspective. It just kind of, yeah. In enhances my day and my attitude and everything around it. And it's just amazing. What just a little change and a little shift does that you don't have to make, you don't have to make a big, huge effort of it. You don't just go outside and walk around and just get some fresh air, do it, do something simple. It doesn't really take a whole lot.

Reyzan Shali: [00:11:22] Yeah, the kind of walks I enjoyed the most for me is when I go very early in the morning, like earlier than this time, It's just me. I don't even take the dog with me sometimes because I don't want to worry about him. Pulling me so hard, it's dislocating my shoulder when he sees another puppy. So I go and walk sometimes, short walks, 25, 35 minutes walk just by myself, me, my thoughts, my dreams, my inspirations, my regrets. I take all that with me in the walk and I come back feeling a little refreshed, a little less heavy, meaning my thoughts feel a little less intense, I guess what I'm trying to say.

Russ Johns: [00:12:04] Yeah. Yeah, it's amazing. Yeah. I want to say hi to a few people in the room here. When do you go, Julio? You are here. Good morning. Thank you so much for being here. She's doing some amazing things online with pottery, so engagement, you know this, this being in the moment with, with your art and doing some great things. Mike Baker in, from the Florida coast. Thank you so much for being here. And then we got Russ Hedge up early in the morning. He's in Oregon creating some good stuff. Russ has invited me onto his show. I think it's Wednesday Russ at 7:00 AM Pacific standard time in the morning. We're going to be talking about some amazing things on Wednesday, right after my show.  And then Mike Baker says, immunity is top efficiency. Absolutely. And that's a great point. It isn't an efficiency and that exercise releases BNF, which supports HIPAA capital growth. Shandra Higginbotham she's in the medical field in Houston. Thank you so much for being here. And thank you for sharing that information because that's important for us to understand is there's a, there is a cause and effect, and...

Reyzan Shali: [00:13:25] Absolutely. And if we focus on the main core of daily living, which is eating healthy, staying active, and staying engaged with friends and family and kind of excluding the negative friends and family. We need to stay with the people who share our values, people who can understand core, who can be just as current as you can be, who can be just as powerful as you can be and kind of getting rid of the negative people that say let's stay engaged in the community, staying active and keeping your joints flexible. And obviously, like I said, the diet, I talk about that all day long because I really think it can solve many, many, many health problems, many, many health problems.

Russ Johns: [00:14:20] Do you have a favorite vegetable?

Reyzan Shali: [00:14:23] You know, it's funny cause I I make a salad as special kind of salad for well it's not as special, but I make it like a salad for me that is heavily loaded in all vegetables. It's hard for me to pick which vegetable I like. I really like, I do like zucchini nowadays, even though I hated zuchinni.

Russ Johns: [00:14:43] You had an aversion growing up, but now you  like it.

Reyzan Shali: [00:14:46] Like I said, she told me and she would make, cause we're, we're a big family, we're a family of nine. So she would make big pots of food. The pot would be also zuchinni with a little bit of tomato and a little bit of onions to me at that point was not appetizing, meaning I was looking for something fancy, but like I said, nowadays, I see the magic in it.

I think it's beautiful to have your plate filled with vegetable or different vegetables. And again, the more color you add the better, because these colors, they represent what we call phytochemicals, meaning healthy chemicals, healthy plant-based chemicals. And the more colors you add, the more phytochemicals you add and the more they kind of magically work together inside the human body to do whatever they need to do, meaning to. Help your immune system help your heart help, help your digestive system. So yeah, I, like I said, I have patients who come to me every day with certain complaints and I go back to the diet. I, well, what do you eat for breakfast? Or what do you eat for lunch and where you eat for dinner? And I realized that they're not adding any vegetable to their diet, to. So yeah. If we focus on those simple things I think we can make a big difference for us in the whole community.

Do

Russ Johns: [00:16:09] you believe that different people and their bodies required different types of diets? Or is it is it fairly universal? I mean good practices, eating vegetables. I mean, that's to me, that makes a lot of sense. That's, that's logical and there's a lot of people that or there's a, you know, a raw food diet. You know, I, I have friends that have been on the raw food diet, you know, and for immunity and also inflammation. You know, different things like that. It seems like either a fad or a, you know, it might come in passing or it might be something for a specific reason, but overall you know, just eating wisely I think is, is a good practice.

Reyzan Shali: [00:16:54] Well Mediterranean diet  is kind of a  raw food diet except the meat part. But they eat vegetables, most cases, not always, but in most cases they eat their vegetables and actually eating vegetables raw is better than cooking it because when you cook it and boil it and you get rid of some of the fiber in it, which is obviously very valuable. So eating raw fruits and vegetables is a wonderful thing. I'm not sure I'm a big fan of raw meat., I myself have switched to plant-based this past year and I'm happy that I switched to plant based, but I'm not asking anybody to be on a diet that deprive them with everything. That's why, when I talk about Mediterranean diet, I promote it all the time because there is no deprivation.  We need. They drink a glass of wine every now and then they eat red meat maybe once a month or so they eat fish a lot cause they live by the Mediterranean sea. So there is no, no there's no deprivation, which which is which I promote. Meaning if we deprive ourselves, then we're gonna not stick with the diet.  But again, the main  meal is based or built on a vegetable or, or, or a number of vegetables, which I'm hoping we can.

Russ Johns: [00:18:12] Yeah. We should be able to find enough vegetables around.

Go ahead. I'm sorry.

Reyzan Shali: [00:18:20] I was going to say, if I can get people to start with one thing, which is quitting, the heavily processed food, like if I can, if I can just get people to quit bacon. Just that one thing, quit bacon, then I'll, I'll, I'll sleep at night better. It's funny because friends of mine are telling me it's not going to happen in this lifetime. I say, well, then I'll try next lifetime to get people to quit bacon. And they say, well, because you don't, you've never tried bacon. You know, you don't know how good it is and that's true. I've never tried it and I'm not willing to try it, but I'm, I'm positive we can quit it.

Russ Johns: [00:18:58] Yeah. Yeah. Everyone can change a habit.  It doesn't really, it doesn't really impact, you know, that big. And the fact also is once you change something like that, just small changes incrementally, it really makes a difference in your outcome and how you feel. I mean, that's been my experience.

Reyzan Shali: [00:19:20] Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. Like I said, if I don't eat good for a couple of days. If I don't exercise for a couple of days, it rains. Sorry. Someone is calling me...I had to. Sorry.

Hello? Yep. I'm here. Hello. You're here. I think I lost you for a second, Russ.

Russ Johns: [00:19:46] Okay. Are you back? We're back. We're back. We're back.

She just dropped. We're talking to Dr. Reyzen Shali about the three E's eating engagement and exercise. And we're talking about vegetables and we're talking about doing some amazing things with vegetables and here she comes back again. We're back again. We're back again.

Reyzan Shali: [00:20:22] Yes, we are. I'm sorry.

Russ Johns: [00:20:25] That's okay.

Reyzan Shali: [00:20:26] I don't know what happened.

Russ Johns: [00:20:27] The whole, the whole purpose of the #PirateBroadcast™ is we can do what we want because we're pirates now. It's okay. We don't follow rules and we don't need permission. So, you know, one of the things, the beautiful things about this is the idea that we have an opportunity to make a difference in our own lives and an impact with three simple changes, you know, eating, changing our eating habits, even so slightly, you know, just don't grab the, the quick burger on the way home, you know, just grab, just grab some vegetables, chop it up, make a quick salad. It's really simple. And then also just exercise, you know, what I love to do. It's a simple practice and I've been doing it for years is I park as far away out in the parking lot as I can, when I go to the grocery store and then I'll grab a few carts on the way in, you know, and it's just like, you do something good, you get to walk in and and it's really made a difference. You know, you're not walking a lot, however, and you want to limit yourself to the grocery stores these days. However, that's a simple step that you can move to, to get a few more steps in in your day.

Reyzan Shali: [00:21:40] Absolutely. Absolutely. Take the stairs, not the elevator,

Russ Johns: [00:21:43] Take the stairs, not the elevator. You know, all of these things make up, they add up a little bit, but over time. It makes a huge difference. And so an engagement, let's talk a little bit more about engagement because I want to, I want to say hello to a few people here. Lorrie Scott, she's going to be she's a pirate. She's going to be on the show again this week. Good morning, Lorrie. How are you doing? And then Wendy throws us hearts. She says, thank you so much. I'm excited about tomorrow. My turn to visit the pirate community. Yes, absolutely. And Patrick is says, good morning. Hiett Ives in from Houston. Good morning, fellow pirates. And then Wendy says we plant a garden and neighborhood kids get to water and watch it grow. That's  awesome. That is fantastic. So let's talk about engagement. You know, the pirate community is pretty engaged and, and I think that that adds, and I think the key ingredient that you mentioned is sometimes we have to remove people that don't see the joy in life. Everything's a problem. Everything's a challenge. Everything's, you know, doom and gloom and it just does not bring energy to the room. And I know that we have these people that we actually probably know, and it's unfortunate that we sometimes have to remove them from our lives or at least reduce our exposure if they're family members or encourage them to see a different way. So how do we, how do we navigate through that? How do you navigate through that?

Reyzan Shali: [00:23:20] I, it took me years, by the way, it took me years to figure that out, meaning it's not easy to figure out. Sorry, easy to figure out people. Meaning I personally have not had good judgment of people throughout the years and made some bad friendships and took me years to get rid of those bad friendships.  But after all these years, I kind of have a sense of, of if a person is going to be negative, right from the get go right from the beginning. I don't need that. Meaning it already, there's already so much in the world. So much negativity. I don't need to add more or invite more to my life because it just drains my energy and sucks my energy. So once I encounter negativity, I just stepped back. Meaning I don't engage. I engage more. I choose to engage with people. I want to engage with meaning. I choose to engage with my family, with my friends, the ones I feel good to be around. I feel positive to be around. I feel kind of a little uplifted when I'm around them and otherwise other people, no, no, I stay away and that's a great advice because I know, I know there have been times in my life where hanging out with the wrong people diminished my, they just  almost they suck the energy, they're energy vampires. That's the right description. They're energy vampires. Meaning they, they suck your energy and you feel after you go and chat with them for a few minutes, you feel just absolutely drained.

Russ Johns: [00:25:08] Absolutely. Absolutely. Hey, I want to mention also people can reach you. Is this the correct website? Yes. Now you're writing. Do you have a book coming out or anything is going to be happening? Tell us a little bit about that.

Reyzan Shali: [00:25:24] I do have a book it's called the teaming up against cancer. It's a book that I wrote to in dedication for my parents. Unfortunately I lost both my parents to cancer. My dad was a heavy smoker and he eventually ended up dying of lung cancer. So the book talks about all that to meaning my experience, watching my dad get sick and how devastating that was and the link between smoking and cancer. And then a good chapter of the book is about diet, which is the Mediterranean diet, because science has proven to us that the Mediterranean diet and healthy diet can prevent many cancers. And even if you end up with cancer, the healthy diet helps you recover and handle the treatment better. Meaning it's good to be on a good diet to prevent. And if you're, unfortunately, if you still end up with cancer, good dad will help you recover better. So because a good chapter of the book was about the Mediterranean diet and planning ground. Hoping that my next book will be all about the Mediterranean diet. I already have the chapters laid out in my head. There's going to be a chapter about the Mediterranean diet and bone health, Mediterranean diet, heart health, Mediterranean diet, immune health. So that's going to be my next that's that's in my vision board.

Russ Johns: [00:26:46] Excellent. Excellent. Well, I look forward to watching you grow and evolve as a pirate. Now, anytime you release something  like that come back and share it with the community. I would love to have you on again and make sure that we have an opportunity to share this work and you, you know, the work that you're doing and, and also the subject is really important I think to share, especially now you know, people need their immunity, they need to stay healthy. They need to get healthy again. And you know, what better way than to enjoy some great fruits and vegetables and you know, toss a salad here and there, and maybe go for a walk and do some things.  It doesn't take a lot. So I just really, yeah. Well, thank you so much. It's a simple life and the less stress we have, the better off we're going to be. And we don't have time today. I know a friend of mine. He says, look at it this way, if your great-grandmother didn't make it. Then you shouldn't be eating it either. It's like, yeah, there's no process food back then. So, and they grew a garden because that's how they had to eat.

Reyzan Shali: [00:28:09] Yeah, you go grab the vegetable from the garden and you bring it home. Yeah, absolutely.

Russ Johns: [00:28:14] That's how my grandfather, he was really proud of it. The only thing that I have a challenge with is I'm not a huge fan of tomatoes. Fresh tomatoes out of the garden, you know, and it's just, it's just me, but that's the only thing .

Reyzan Shali: [00:28:27] Yeah, the good thing is there are so many different types of fruits and vegetables. If you don't like one thing, there are many other options.

Russ Johns: [00:28:35] Well, I have had my share zuchinni.

Reyzan Shali: [00:28:38] But you mentioned, cause my son doesn't like tomatoes either. So when I make the salad for him, I make it with no tomatoes.

Russ Johns: [00:28:47] Yeah. Well, somebody said that it was a nightshade, vegetables. So is it, I dunno, I dunno, but thank you so much for being here, Dr. Shali. I thank you so much for the opportunity to have this conversation and share a few nuggets of knowledge with people and hopefully it'll inspire and encourage others to maybe just shift their habit a little bit, maybe walk a little more, you know, engage with positive people, you know, in the future, and just really encourage others to help make the life a better place to live. 

Reyzan Shali: [00:29:25] We are a  community, so we got to take care of each other. Absolutely.

Russ Johns: [00:29:30] Absolutely. Well, thank you so much. We look forward to the next adventure. When you come on board and take the, walk us through your books and your adventures in, in what you're doing next. So thank you so much.

Reyzan Shali: [00:29:41] Thank you so much, Russ. Thank you for having me.

Russ Johns: [00:29:43] And everybody. Thank you so much for being on the #PirateBroadcast™, please like comment and share this content to somebody that needs it. I know there's somebody out there that is searching for an answer or a direction that would be  more than happy to receive this kind of information. You know, you could do all the socials, the YouTube, the everything else that's going along with that. And also like and subscribe to the podcast and the YouTube channel because it's, it's really the way we grow and share. And this positive information is always valuable to people around. So, Dr. Shali, thank you so much because #kindnessiscool and #smilesarefree and I want you to #enjoytheday.

Reyzan Shali: [00:30:30] Thank you very much. Thank you for having mr, Russ.

Russ Johns: [00:30:33] Take care. See you soon.

Reyzan Shali: [00:30:35] Bye-bye.

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