Use the Right Supplements to Start Living Ageless, with Michele Drielick

Women, at the age of 35, our muscle mass actually starts to decrease. By the time you've seen wrinkles, the process has already kicked off long ago. And it really starts with muscle loss. And building and maintaining muscle is the biggest challenge of how we age, and especially how women age.

If you want to live like you matter, ditch the pills, look great, and feel freaking amazing. You're in the right place. I'm Dr. Wendy Trubo.

I'm Dr. Ed Levitan. Welcome to the Five Journeys podcast where.

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Welcome to the Five Journeys podcast. Live like you matter. Our guest today is Michelle Dreilek, who is a clinical nutritionist, author, and educator with over 25 years in functional medicine and healthcare innovation. She's a healthy aging expert and is also the co founder and chief executive officer of Ageless lx. Welcome, Michelle.

Hey, guys. It's so great to be here. Thank you so much for inviting me on.

Yeah. This is our treat.

Oh, yeah.

So psyched to have you.

So we had you on because I think a lot of people have a lot of questions about supplements and qualities and fads and why supplements. Can you kind of. Let's kick this off with supplements and we'll get into the nitty gritties.

Sure, sure. So what I have found working with patients over years and years is that very often in the mind of most consumers, their trusted store, you know, we trust our targets and our publics and our, you know, those are places, even our vitamin shops or our GNCs, we develop a know, like and trust of the people in there or the brand. And so people will then purchase from those brands or places without really understanding that in the supplement world, manufacturers want results, but they also want the right price to mark it up so that it can sit on those shelves. And so not always the best ingredients get chosen. And that's why practitioners such as yourselves and lots of other physicians around the country carry their own supplements within their practices. Because I think those, I mean, I think we would probably all agree here. We know what results we expect when we give someone the vitamin D, for instance, that we work with, because then we know what we're looking for. We know what result we're looking for. And when that result doesn't happen, then we know, hey, there's something else going on, because this should work, right? So when people buy things off the store shelf, we have no idea the purity of it. There's very little requirements for producing supplements. You really are left to the manufacturer to have the integrity to do extra third party testing.

I think people think that the FDA regulates supplements and that's really not the fact. And I know I've talked to a lot of people that do a lot of manufacturing and even if all the vitamins are of relatively high quality, but the filler is a cheap filler, you're still not going to get the supplements you need.

Oh my gosh, 100%. You know, it's a double edged sword when we say that the nutritional supplement space is not controlled by the fda because if it were, look at the price of pharmaceuticals, right? They're through the roof. A vial of insulin. Insulin for $400, you know, so in one hand we're thankful that we don't have that massive oversight that would require extensive clinical research into every single thing that we do. However, on the other side of things, it really is let the buyer beware. And you're right, sometimes you choose the right ingredients, that meaning the right active ingredients. But that manufacturer may, you know, want to reflex to less expensive fillers because they know how they work and how they perform with products. Because so many people in the industry that are creating products are doing so at a really cheap price point. And because of that, they're used to working with those like, like silicon dioxide is one that comes to mind and magnesium stearate and things like that. You know, rice powder works great too. And, and you can get organic rice hulls that are ground up to work the same way. And it's completely natural, it doesn't have a carb impact for anybody who's on a ketogenic or diet like that. And it's a much better option.

Yep, it's still the wild, wild west out there.

It is.

When people are looking at, okay, I'm gonna buy supplements, there's sort of a dual track. So I'm always saying, well, get the data and take the supplements based on what you need. But, but also people like taking supplements. They feel better when they take them. So how would people know which ones to take and which are a fad and which are really critical or core? There's anything that you can say is core versus. Yeah, total, total buy in. Don't do it.

It's a great question. So I feel like each practitioner kind of has their own pillars, right? So very often you'll find a doctor that works a lot with the gut and so they have a series of, you know, glutamine might be One of the things that' their pillars. But in general, I think overall, and I'd love to hear your thoughts on this too, but it's funny that the multivitamin industry took off when it did because back then people actually ate lots of fruits and vegetables. And so they probably had good nutrition back then and were taking lower quality multivitamins. Nowadays we have really high potency, high, high quality multivitamins. It's probably a good thing because as we all know and talk about, and I know as in dirty girl, the quality of our soil isn't what it used to be. And so that old adage of you want to get 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day, it's really like nine now, or even more because of the quality of the nutrients that are in our soil that work their way into the plants that we eat. And so I don't think it's ever a bad idea for someone to take a multivitamin. Right. I know I do. I love greens drinks and greens powders as well because they're whole food based. So I always prefer to take my nutrients in a whole food. So I add that into the regimen. I think probiotics are essential. You know, we used to think of them as only for people that had gut issues, but we all have gut issues because of we're alive today, we live, we eat, we breathe, and yeah, and here we are. And so the last seven or eight years have really unfolded so much research on the importance of maintaining digestive health from top to bottom, but especially in the lower digestive tract. So I think probiotics are hu. We're seeing a lot of research on prebiotics emerging, which you get from your diet. Onions, you know, some good fibers. But also this whole idea of postbiotics now are emerging. But I just think a good solid probiotic is always welcome. Fish oil always at the top of the list. Right. Because unless you live in a culture where you're eating non farmeries like wild oily fish, anchovies.

So. Alaska.

Yeah, Alaska. And you know, honestly, the biohackers, like all the male. I hate to stereotype, but male biohackers can pound sardines and anchovies like no one I've ever met. But most people don't. So I think those are the three. Yeah, three main ones.

Yeah. I think people come to us. I'm not sure what your experience is, but they say, well, why shouldn't I be on multivitamin? And I think there's different schools of thought in the Sense for people that have a problem. I actually tend to not start with a multivitamin because there's only so much the body can absorb. I want them to absorb what they need. And then for maintenance, we're going to put them on a good multivitamin, fish oil, vitamin D, et cetera, so forth. But I have talked to many practitioners that I respect very much that put everybody all at once for a multivitamin. So it's definitely different schools of thought and we all get good results. So I'm not sure there's necessarily one when you're treating a problem, but it's definitely.

Yeah, I tend to target. You're low in X, Y and Z. Yeah.

And it's so maintenance. Right. Multivitamins are good. I think of them as just like nutritional insurance. Right. They just kind of sit at the bottom. But when you're talking about like, hey, I have dysfunction, I'm not. Well then, yeah. A multivitamin is first of all, by the time you put your targeted therapeutics on top of it, it's hard to manage different doses of different. You know, a multi might have too much calcium in it when you're trying to bump up their D and K. And you know, so it creates a dilemma. I think for maintenance wise. I always like to think of it as just as nutritional insurance. And frankly for me, like I said, I prefer greens powders because they're whole food based and they're right from the source. So that's my preference. But I think you're dead on.

Yeah, I mean, I know. So I'd like to switch gears a little bit because I know you have a particular interest and emphasis on aging gracefully. I mean, I always think about, I don't want to age, but the alternative is worse. And so I want to age, but I want to age beautifully and gracefully and as much myself as possible. So. So the first thing is like, what causes. I think we're gonna ignore the men today. What causes women to age and what kicks off the process?

Yeah, well, what's interesting is it's what causes all of us to age. And if you think about it, what is the predominant difference between women and men as they get older?

Is this philosophy or like.

No, no, this is clinical. So it's a great. If we talk about philosophy, we could be here all day. But clinically, what's different? Right. Men have testosterone typically much later into life and maintain a significant amount of muscle mass right up and into their 50s and beyond. Where women at the age of 35, our muscle mass actually starts to decrease. Right. And so it's kind of a secret where most people think wrinkles are the sign of aging or wrinkles are the symptom of aging. Right. It's what comes later. By the time you've seen wrinkles, the process has already kicked off long ago. And it really starts with muscle loss and losing muscle as we age, even if we're working out. In fact, you probably can attest to this. People who are chronic, like exercisers, cardiovascular exercise, they probably break down more muscle, Right? So building and maintaining muscle is the biggest challenge of how we age, and especially how women age. And so losing muscle kicks off that process of collagen breaking down. Because right now, there's a big buzz talking about supplements. Huge buzz in the collagen world, which we. We should chat about it because it's definitely a deep place for education. It's a great example of hyperactive marketing without a whole lot of clinical science behind it. But with that said, when we lose muscle, we kick off the. The process of collagen depletion and collagen breakdown. And if you think about it, when we lose that elasticity and that puffiness and that fullness in our skin, the skin starts to cave in on itself, and we start to see wrinkles or crepey skin in our neck and in our elbows. Right. Those are common places for women. Those are all signs of muscle loss and collagen breakdown.

So what can you do to prevent that? In terms of exercise, obviously, but it's really hard.

I mean, it's harder. I will say I'm an older woman, and I have definitely noticed that my workouts. If I did this workout when I was 25, I would be ripped. And now all it does is keep me from looking like a complete flabby mess.

Mush ball, Right. I know. That's exactly right. And it is true that our hormone, you know, the whole cascade of hormones and the hormone process of how our body produces testosterone and produces estrogen and creates those hormones is strongly impacted by our stress levels. Right. Cortisol kind of jams that circuit. Everything past cortisol, everything past stress starts to get mucked up, which is. Really happens much more in women than men. What happens when that happens to men is they just get that belly right up front. But for women, we really. It kicks off a real hormone process for us across the board. And so you're right. The message, like, hard and clear. And I keep hearing it in my own podcast with my own experts. We continue to unravel this idea that women should be lifting heavy weight in their workouts. We should not be so consumed with cardio. We should do cardio because it's cardiovascular fitness. For sure. We want to keep our heart healthy, our blood vessels healthy, but if we're talking about maintaining longevity and health for life, do not be afraid of lifting heavy weights. And if you're worried about bulking, you know, I'm not going to lie. If you've got a good amount of body fat and you start lifting heavy weights, there will be an interim period where you look a little thicker. But that is a short term place. It's the place where your muscle is increasing and your fat is decreasing, but you're catching it right here before it all happens. So it makes you look a little thicker. Your bottom might fit a little tighter in your pants for a month or two, but after that everything gets tighter and gets smaller. So I think there's that. We've not shared that with women strongly enough.

All right, so we've established the critical nature of particularly exercise. But then what role does supplements play in that? Where do supplements come in?

They have a very important place in this space, right? And we're seeing that just out in our stores where we're seeing this explosion of things like collagen and beauty supplement products. I do want to address the issue with collagen for a moment because clinically, I'm sure you're seeing tons of patients that are coming in talking about taking collagen. And so it's funny because I think the community, you know, just consumers at large, are being led into this idea that you drink a slew of another animal's collagen, right? And that becomes collagen for you. Like that collagen comes into your body and goes into your joints and comes into your body and goes into your muscle. And in fact, that collagen is no different than a piece of chicken or a piece of fish. It has to be broken down into its base products, right? Like its amino acids, the compounds that your body uses to make collagen. So you drink this collagen, your body has to break it down and then make collagen out of it. So it blows me away because we've been here in science long ago, vitamin D, vitamin C, biotin, these products combine very well together. These nutrients come together and they actually stimulate your body to make its own collagen. So it doesn't make sense. It's a little hoodwinky, right, that we've been led to believe that taking collagen makes collagen. Well, sure it does, but so does a, you know, a nice piece of tuna. But it's the same process and we can get that through our own nutrients. But what I found, and you know, this is a story that is kind of near and dear for me because this is the story of, you know, I'm 53 and my parents, I've lost both of my parents. My father passed away from lung cancer and my mother passed away from a stroke. And my mother's stroke occurred years after multiple heart attacks. Right. And so here I am, a nutritionist. And we always, you know, it's always people find their way into their profession based on what baggage kind of they bring to the table. Right. And so, you know, I would have so many conversations. You know, my mother's father, my grandfather died of a heart attack when he was 53. My age. My age, right? Like, woo, wake up. And so I remember saying to my mother, like, mom, why don't we, you know, change your diet like this and let's get out and exercise and, and, and I remember her saying, michelle, why do you pester me like this? Why do you bother me so much? You know, you gotta, did you take your fish oil or are you taking your fish oil? And, and I would say, because if you could save your father, wouldn't you have done that? Like, it's a no brainer. I'm trying to save you. And so, you know, that story went down the path that it was meant to go on because of, you know, old school mindset and the idea that vitamins are just vitamins and medicine is medicine, Right. And that our food plays a little bit of a role there. But what I learned from that process is just what we've been talking about all this time, which is we feel victim to the old school, we feel victim to aging. So what that left me to understand is that it wasn't just my mom, it's a whole generation of women and their children which are now my age. Right. And I see it all the time. I would have patients that would say to me, you'll understand when you're my age. And I would say, I'm older than you. Right. And so the idea that we can impact the way we age became really critical for me. So I did a tremendous amount of research, working very closely with physicians from the Mayo Clinic, functional medicine experts, and really diving in on the research. And we essentially found an ingredient that is almost, I mean, it's remarkable. It has NIH studies with it, it has Six US Patents on it. And essentially it prevents muscle loss, right? The wasting away of muscle. It's a derivative of an amino acid of leucine, right? Which is in our. Which is in anywhere we get protein. It's a protein. This is a derivative of leucine preventing muscle loss. It was. All of the research came out of Iowa State University, but was also researched around the country, including Vanderbilt and Harvard and Cornell. And so with that in mind, having all of that research, what we learned is not only did people, when they take this ingred, not lose muscle, but they actually gained muscle faster, right? It increased muscle protein synthesis faster. And an NIH study showed that it actually increases muscle without movement, right. Without exercise. Now, we don't promote it that way, but that happens to be one of the factors of being able to increase muscle protein synthesis. And so we took that ingredient, which is called beta hydroxy betamethylbutyrate, HMB for short. We took that and we married it with things that we know promote collagen, stimulate collagen production in the body. Biotin, vitamin D, vitamin K. Because we know wherever there's calcium, we always want a vitamin D, and we always want a vitamin K to protect women's cardiovascular systems, preventing plaque from invading the arterial wall. There's a whole lot of science behind. But when we started giving it to women, the results were astounding. Because not only do women typically see muscle definition very quickly, that wasn't there before, which is more superficial. But more importantly, wende to your point, their workouts become more efficient and effective. I know when I feel like I can't max out at a certain weight, I'm increasing my weight more frequently, getting me to that place where I can lift heavier. But more importantly, importantly, hair, skin, nails, jawlines get tighter. I mean, there's nothing more gratifying than having women who are trying your product for the first time and sending you just every day. We get emails every day. Photos of themselves. They send photos. And so it's just knowing that, you know, the tagline that we use or the thing that we say all the time is we're changing the way women age. And that's really important to me, I think maybe because I'm aging. More importantly because I watched my mom age, but also because our children are growing up in an era where, just like you talk about in Dirty Girl, it's not what it used to be. And so we're wired now to age faster than ever before. If we don't take control of our.

Process, can people hurt Themselves with supplements.

Oh, yeah, right. It's a great question and it is 100% true. Yeah, absolutely. Especially because there's a lot of things out there that work the way they're promoted to work. You know, adaptogens, I think, are a great example. Adaptogens like Rhodiola, ashwagandha, Eleuthero, holy basil. These are adaptogens. And the cool thing about adaptogens is they do what you need them to do. If you need them to upgrade, regulate, they will. And if you need them to down regulate things, they will. Right? They do both. They're kind of brilliant that way. But if you take. They're very subtle differences. But when you read them over the counter, everybody thinks they need all of them. Right? But they're very specific and very subtle. But also you can take them and they need to be rotated. They need to move around a little bit more. Right. And working with a practitioner that can help, you know, how that works, is one thing and really important. But there are also things like. Let's say there are people that are undergoing chemotherapy, right? So the basis of chemotherapy requires what we call oxidative stress. It creates a lot of inflammation on purpose. Right. And we're not here to debate the value of chemotherapy, but the reality is a lot of people in America are on chemotherapy at one point in their lives, and it works by creating inflammation. And so the thing we don't want to do is stop that. That process, right. By using supplements that can interfere with that process. So really working with people that understand everyone's unique, individual, you know, people. Another thought comes to mind. People that have diabetes, you can take nutritional supplements that work that could lower your blood sugar too quickly. It's medicine, right? Our nutrients are our medicine, and so we can always hurt ourselves. Calcium is another one. Taking straight calcium. Women in the 80s, 90s, I remember, I remember my mom, my grandmother, right? Even patients today, I'm sure, walk into your practice and they bring in that giant honking bottle because calcium is so huge. And they take their calcium religiously every day. And you're thinking, oh my. Right. Because calcium by itself unopposed is not good.

Yeah. And it's been drilled in so much that it's very hard to change people's thought process on that. Calcium, we know vitamin D is way more important. And the more vitamin D you have, the more calcium gets absorbed, so you don't actually need as much. And people still want to take their 1500 milligram horse pill, right?

Well, and greasy cheeseburgers and calcium Supplements don't play well together. Right. Because that greasy cheeseburger, now you're making.

Me want one too.

I'm like, I know, I'm making it sound good.

She said it three times.

Yeah. But we know that inflammatory foods that can have an arterial wall issue. Right. Create atherosclerosis. We know that taking calcium with those foods and with that inflammation can lead to hardening of the arteries and a worsening of their cardiovascular system. So, I mean, again, I keep going back to, you need to talk to somebody that knows what they're doing. Yeah.

Yeah. Michelle, this has been amazing. Thank you. Learned a lot. Where can people find you? What's your website? Are you on social?

I am, I am. I'm on Instagram as michellelivingageless. So I'm easy to find there and always happy to share kind of what's going on, trends, and what you can do to essentially evolve Ageless. Speaking of which, I have my own podcast called Evolving Ageless, which I'm excited to have the two of you be a guest on my show.

And, and we're honored.

We can't wait. Thank you.

Yeah, it's gonna be a lot of fun because again, women own this. We can own this. So, yeah, evolvingageless.com is the best place to find me. And the podcast, for me, it's about spreading the knowledge and the information that women understand that they can control the way they age. And so I want to remove barriers and allow women to try that out. So the name of my product, which I haven't talked about because really I want to to focus today on supplements and doing what's right for women and managing our health. But also the aging space is my space. And so Ageless LX is the name of my product, agelesslx.com and so we are excited to give your listeners a discount if they are interested in trying the product. So the discount code is DirtyGirl15 and you'll get 15% off of anything on the site. Site. Thank you.

That's amazing. Michelle, it's been amazing. It's been an honor. Thank you so much.

Thank you for being with us.

Wendy and Ed, thank you so much for inviting me. This has been wonderful. You guys are so knowledgeable.

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