Posted March 19, 2024 in Blogs
25 minute read
Hello, friends. Dr. Amy Shah here. I am so excited to present this episode of save yourself with Dr. Amy Shah with you because we have an amazing guest. If you don’t know him, you will know him after this episode because his teachings, his philosophy, his business acumen is just a game changer. His name is David Ghiyam. He is the co founder of MaryRuth Organics.
He’s also a spiritual leader of Kabbalah, which is a spiritual practice that I didn’t know much about months ago before I met David. But I’ve really, really enjoyed, and I’ve really gotten into it. So I hope you enjoyed this episode. We talk about Kabbalah. We talk about health, health practices, how to grow a business, how to be the best, healthiest version of yourself, how to grow your hair, all of it. Can’t wait for you to see it. Join now. Everyone here wants to live a long, healthy, happy life.
And if you had to boil it down, what would it be?
I’m so excited to be here with you, David. This is David Ghiyam, friends, and we’re going to be talking about all the things everybody’s interested in your journey with MaryRuth. Everyone’s interested in Kabbalah. Well, maybe not everyone yet, but they will be, because I was very new to it when I met you was the first time, when I met you online or on the phone was the first time that I actually started to listen to it a little bit. And it’s very similar to some philosophies that I’m familiar with. And I thought that was something that we should definitely talk about, because I think it’s intertwined in your life. But before that, I wanted to let you kind of introduce yourself and tell us what are you so passionate about in health and wellness and spirituality?
Where it comes from, they’ve heard of Madonna.
What part of the kabbalah teachings, like you say, helped you grow MarRuth’s? And I think a lot of our audience probably either knows about MaryRuth’s from me, or knows from just being at whole foods or your local store or Amazon or TikTok even. What is it about Kabbalah that really helped to you from the beginning? Especially in the beginning?
And I want you to restate it here because many people might not have heard it or known it. But one of the things that really hit me hard the first time that I was going through all these teachings was not holding on to the outcome so tightly. And I think I’ve learned that through different ways over the years. But I remember a time, there’s something that happened in my practice, in my medical practice, and I was so anxious about that outcome and I couldn’t sleep. I was thinking about the different scenarios.
Something bad was going to happen or that it could work out or whatever it is. But I kept seeing the bad scenarios and I kept holding on to it. And after it was all over, it was like a year long thing. At the end of it, I thought to myself, God, I really went through this journey, this terrible journey, mostly in my head. And from that time I really try not to hold on to the outcome, good or bad. And I think you said that in one of the videos and that’s why I wanted you to restate it here. But the fact is that anything you want really badly, you have to imagine just being just as happy, not getting it as getting it, and letting go of that outcome, letting go control. And then all of a sudden things start to happen.
And it was something that I learned myself. And when I heard you say that, I was like, oh my God, that’s exactly how I feel. So you tapped into something that I had been struggling with for so many years, and so I wanted you to share that because I think it’s so powerful.
And so knowing that it will work out or in the way it’s supposed to work out, and I think that’s something that somebody said, it always works out, whether you think it’s going to work out or not, it will work out in the way that’s best for you. And I think when you talk about relationships, I think people really hold on to this, too. I heard you say something, and this is so true. If you’re waiting for a call or you’re waiting for a big meeting, or you’re waiting for something to happen, be okay if it happens and be just as okay if it doesn’t happen. Can you explain that a little bit?
So if someone is new to this world and they want to use this to become happier, live longer, go into your people, listeners here, people who are watching, they want to live happily into their hundreds, say yes. And what is maybe the top three things that they should be implementing now? Say they haven’t started anything, they haven’t started this journey or they’ve started their own journey, but had to turn around. Because I see a lot of people who could benefit from just what we’ve talked about. And I thought to myself, well what if someone was just starting and they felt like everyone here wants to live a long, healthy, happy life. And if you had to boil it down, I don’t know if you can, to the starting steps. Starting steps, yes. What would it be?
Okay, maybe you’re getting to the future one, because I think that that seems doable. Okay. Not easy, but not easy.
Yeah, but the future one is really difficult because most of us are programmed, even in the mainstream media, you talk about setting goals, manifesting your goals, or working towards your future self, and there’s a lot of future talk.
So what about that?
This is the negative side coming in, sucking energy from the present and putting it into the future. So the second tip here would be, how many times in a day when those thoughts come in, can you say, okay, no problem, I accept these thoughts. But I’m going right back to the present moment and asking myself, what can I do right now to be like the creator? Because whatever I do now will bring light and energy to the future. Will bring light and energy to your children, will bring light and energy to your business. We’ll bring light and energy to your schedule or to your to do list. Worrying about it actually brings more negativity to it. So this would be the second thing I would say.
So focus on the now. Focusing on the now and not worrying about the future, which is really, really difficult to do, especially when you have kids running a business doing all this. There are so many times when all those things that you just said happen all at once. And it’s usually like, right before bed. Correct. And then all you are doing is ruminating about all the things you need to do, that you haven’t done, that you need to do. And it’s really difficult to get out of that cycle of thought 100%.
You’ll probably know this better than me, but even the way that the body works, there are some people who they’re ruminating and intrusive thoughts come in the morning. A lot of people happens more in the evening. Kind of like when those cortisol levels drop and your defenses are going down. All of a sudden, those negative thoughts are coming in.
Yeah.
It’s important to identify what kind of person you are and then spiritually strengthen yourself for when that happens. And it’s an opportunity because when the negative thoughts come, it is an opportunity to transform the negativity to light. We actually need negative thoughts because the negative thoughts become the vessel for the miracles. If a person had no challenges, no negative thoughts, they actually aren’t building the new vessel for the new life that wants to come in. So the more negative thoughts you have, the more fears you have, the more challenges you have. It is a sign that you have a great soul and that this soul is meant to manifest great things, and so you need the opportunities, and that’s what those negative thoughts actually are. So I would actually be flattered if I woke up with a lot of pressure and drama and negative thoughts coming in. I actually would be like, wow, today is the day that great light wants to be revealed.
And that’s what you do in that moment when you get those negative thoughts to say, I’m so happy that these are here and that I need to focus on the now. Is that kind of the self talk that you do? What is the self? Yeah. Instructional.
That’s so fascinating. You said something in there that really caught my ear. You said something like, don’t drink it or medicate it away. And so what is the thoughts? Alcohol, for example, in this process?
Yeah, and it’s the same thing. I think you have to stay. That philosophy is so useful. Even when you said, if you’re waiting for people in relationships, for people waiting for that call or trying to get that business deal or someone who’s trying to get to the next level, it’s very easy to attach yourself to that outcome or that person or that thing to make you happy. Like, oh, that’s what’s going to make me happy. And to take yourself away from that helps. So much because I found in my life, as soon as I say, like you said, if it happens, great. And if it doesn’t happen, also great.
And it’s so useful, I think, for everyone who’s listening to say, wow, all these things I want for my body, for my mind, for my relationships, for my kids, and if I just say to myself, like, if that happens, if they love me or if I get to that next level, great. And if I don’t, also great. I think that then all of a sudden the doors start to open. So do you have a third lesson? Because I want to ask you something about MaryRuth.
I love that. I think that is the most powerful piece, at least that I’ve gotten in the last couple of weeks or a couple of years, really. But the couple of weeks of watching some of your videos is really being very intentional about letting go of the outcome. I almost think of it as, tell me, there’s probably a different way to say it in your world, but when I want something as a goal, I want it. I’m going to work towards it.
But I’m also going to release beautiful, any kind of expectation, whether it happens or not.
Yeah, the effort.
Yes.
And that’s the work. Right?
So before I want to pivot and talk a lot about Mary Ruth’s, because I’m really, really enamored by, impressed by the work that you do to make it stand out. But what part, know MaryRuth’s for you in your personal journey. You as a co founder with MaryRuth, what was a key kabbalah teaching? Maybe it was this one that we just talked about or something else that you have to work on every day in your business as it grows to the next level.
Tell us, me how you differentiated MaryRuth, or the three of you differentiated MaryRuth from what’s already out there.
I mean, this is real. I think people think, oh, this is fear mongering or whatever. People. There are people on the social media that are fear mongering around chemicals and additives that are natural to foods. However, heavy metal poisoning, correct, is real. And it happens in the supplement industry far too commonly. There’s lead and cadmium and pesticides in almost everything that we buy. And so I think that having your product certified is huge, to be honest, because there is no real governing body for supplements and food products.
And I think most people don’t know that. Yeah, most people don’t realize that. They think that if it says something on the label that’s real and there’s really no oversight, you could be completely lying about what you have in there.
Yeah. And I learned you hear a lot about pesticides and you always think, oh, they’re bad. Yeah, pesticides are bad. But what I realize is that the microbiome that we so talk about, that it’s connected to our brain. The way your gut microbiome functions is basically the way your brain functions. And when you are eating a lot of pesticides, you are killing the gut bacteria just like you kill the bacteria on the plants. And that’s how they become useful in farming. But what we are realizing is that a lot of these pesticides seem to target bacteria that actually make dopamine and make serotonin.
And so you think about this huge epidemic of depression and anxiety that’s happening in our world. And not to say that pesticides are the only cause, but this is one of the big causes of depression and anxiety is our poor gut health.
And it’s so sad because I have a teen, I have a preteen. Actually, both of them are teens now. And the rates of depression, anxiety, especially in girls, it’s never been seen before. And you look at what these kids are eating, and everybody talks about social media.
Yeah.
Exactly. I mean, if you think about kids, most adults in the modern world eat about 65% processed foods, which processed foods tend to have higher levels of pesticides. Kids in the teenage realm and the preteen realm are in the 75% to 80% ultra processed foods. So they’re literally eating the Twix and the cheez its and the Doritos as their main sources of food 75% of the time.
Isn’t that crazy?
You won’t feel it, and it’s socially acceptable. Frappuccinos, for example, Starbucks, all these drinks that have 50 to 80 grams of sugar per drink. That’s like the added sugar that you should have in a day in one drink. And it’s just normal. It’s like a normal girl culture. You’ll see when your kids are teenagers, they’ll all go to Starbucks together when they’re getting together, or they’ll go to chick fil a or they’ll go to all these places because it’s part of their growing up culture. And it’s a dopamine hit. And what we talked about with kabbalah is the same thing with food.
You get a dopamine hit from these foods a lot stronger than if you eat an apple or orange. And so of course if you’re a kid, why would you choose that orange that requires peeling and all the slow dopamine boost when you could have something that instantly makes you feel better, makes you feel more alive. And so that pesticide thing has become such a big topic in trying to figure out how do we get these foods rid of pesticides, even produce? Obviously we know ultra processed foods have it, but even foods that we eat that look fresh are full of pesticides. And even if they’re organic, they use organic pesticides. So it’s not like we can really get away from it completely. But there are things like for example, washing them very well for 1 minute with rubbing can help. And taking the peels off of certain.
Yeah, you have to. Because if you think about it, they can use pesticides and herbicides. It just has to be natural based.
Yeah. So you can be ingesting things that are killing your gut bacteria, but it’s.
Yeah, it’s still an antibiotic really for your gut. So we’re in this world that we’re trying to build now that we know, okay, to be happy, to be healthy, to look young, to feel young, to do all these things, to have even spiritual capacity. You have to build up that gut microbiome because it has direct communication with your brain to think clearly, to think in a way that serves you, you have to fix that. And in our world, it’s actually really difficult because we are living in a world where it’s very like we went through a pandemic where we wanted to kill every bug and for good reason. There was all these viruses around, but you were also killing your gut bacteria by using these antibiotic cleansers and these cleaning products and taking antibiotics for any which reason. And so I think really trying to rebuild that gut, especially for our kids, is something that we should be actively working on all the time. So dirt things that rebuild the gut microbiome are very obvious in some ways. Playing outdoors, nature, for whatever reason, even if you’re not rolling in dirt.
You just end up getting a lot more bacteria.
And then spending time with other humans, other animals, like, not being isolated is another good way.
Yeah. Okay. So crazy. Stat. Your gut microbiome right now is more closely related to the people you spend the most time with.
Than even if you had an identical twin. Are your kids identical?
Okay. So they did identical twin studies, and they showed that after being apart, the ones that don’t live together, their gut microbiomes were completely different.
And they looked exactly like the people they spent the most time with. And so you know that saying about you’re the product of the people you spend the most time with? That’s so true. And it has to be in person for this gut bacterial transfer. Right. So, yes, there’s some you can do facetime with your mom, but the people you spend the most physical contact with is your spouse, your children are the people that are going to share the most gut bacteria with.
It’s both. It’s the transfer that’s happening unconsciously.
Yes.
I was going to say that it’s very similar to the saying of, like, you want to be like someone, spend time with them, volunteer to be with them, or eat like them, share food with them. It is as physical as sharing food, but it’s also just being in their presence because you share the bacteria in their presence.
There was a fascinating study about pacifiers. So some moms will lick their baby’s pacifier, they’re out and about to clean it off and give it back to the baby. And they checked women’s habits like mom’s habits. And there was a whole group, I guess, in a european country, I think it was Belgium, where it’s not that uncommon to do that when you’re out and about. And they found that the moms who licked their babies pacifiers, their babies had a stronger and better gut microbiome than those who didn’t. And same thing with hand washing the dishes or in your home, or doing hands on work in the garden or being together. It doesn’t even have to be as visual as sharing food or spoon or pacifier with your family. It’s really about spending time with them.
There’s a company out there that’s selling the gut microbiome, the stool.
Elite athletes, wow.
You take and you can get the athletic prowess, the motivation, the drive, because it’s all connected to your gut. So it’s really crazy. That’s why I think that when you’re putting things in your body, we have to be thinking. I mean, not to hyper focus on every single thing you’re putting into your body, but especially with supplements, like is this actually helping me or is this hurting me in some way? A lot of people are taking supplements that either counteract each other or things with all these additives that are killing their gut microbiome. I actually didn’t take a supplement for my entire life until maybe about, until I was like 40. I didn’t even take any supplements because in my training I felt like I was so distrusting of the supplement world.
Totally. The medical community hates the supplement world, not just because it’s opposing clinical trials now.
But I think it’s changing now. I think before, if you think about it, even my nutrition conferences, I was a nutritionist before I became a physician and they were funded by all the big pharmas and big food companies trying to get you to understand that, hey, yes, it’s good. Apples are good for you. But look, our product has been studied in huge populations and to do these double blind crossover, 100,000 people trials, you really do need money, correct time and investment from pharma. And so the philosophy at that time was always like, well, you need to do the things with the biggest trials and the most robust medical science. It’s changing a little bit now because there are companies that are taking food and saying, hey, look at this. This diet is actually better than this medication or whatever. So it’s changing.
But that’s why it’s really important to have clinical trials. Tell us a little bit about the clinical trials that you do.
When you said a lot of people come to you saying that they feel happier, more energy, is that from that product?
Oh, that’s really good to know. For people who don’t know. I’m kind of on my own journey with the multivitamin plus hair growth, and I think I’m about two and a half weeks in, or perhaps even more, because I’ve broken it up a little bit, because when I travel, I don’t take it. And I don’t know, we’re coming out.
Yeah, I was just wondering, because I even found a little travel size thing to take it, but then I forgot it was literally sitting on my counter because that was an issue, because I travel a lot, but I love the taste of it. I kind of look forward to it.
Do you take it yourself?
That’s amazing. I think that’s something that people really want. They wanted to simplify their regimen a.
It’s really difficult to do all the juices, all the pills, capsules. Like you said, you could literally be taking hundreds. And I always tell people if you’re taking hundreds of supplements a day, you’re doing something wrong. That is not a health strategy. That means that you don’t have your basics, your food, your exercise, your sleep, your stress management, your social connections. Like something’s wrong there. If you need that many to actually.
So what’s next on the horizon? So you’re doing these clinical trials with the hair growth plus multivitamin, which, like I said, I’m on my own journey.
Well, I think that the results come.
Yeah. I honestly will say I’m loving it. And I’m going to show my journey from beginning to end so people can kind of see the real, untouched, unfiltered version of it. Because I do think that that has to come through for people to feel like they want to try it themselves. Like, you could tell them all the trials, you can show them all the work, but it’s also, what about your friend? Like, your friend who took it? Your friend who’s a doctor who took it? So what’s next?
Yeah, that gut brain connection is just so powerful. That’s something to tap in for sure. So now a couple of questions about you, if you don’t mind sharing your own personal health routine. So what kind of diet do you eat?
Yeah, I just tried that.
Totally.
I just tried it last night. That was the first time I’ve ever had it.
Is that one safe for kids?
Okay.
Amazing.
Yeah, I saw that. It’s non melatonin, which is great for parents.
Okay.
40 grams per meal for three meals? That’s not a lot. That’s, like, 120.
Okay, got it. So then you’re doing, like, 200 grams of protein. Pretty much. How many pounds are you?
Okay, so you’re doing a high protein diet. Are you trying to build muscle?
That’s cold water. And who makes your food? I’m sure you guys have someone who prepares your food, or how do you decide what to eat?
Yes. Which is why I’m fasting till now.
I love that.
I carry this humongous lunch bag to the office when I seek patients, and everybody always makes fun of me. They’re like, you’re such a small person carrying this huge, as if you’re eating all this food. I’m like, it’s because there’s, like, water bottles in there. There’s drinks, there’s big stuff. And I learned that very quickly because what happened to me is it would be around 03:00 and I wouldn’t have had a good lunch, and I would go into the back room, and there was all these snacks there all the time, and I’d end up eating something that really didn’t make me feel good. And then I’d always think to myself, like, why did I do that? But you can’t use willpower at that point. You have to be prepared, especially when.
Okay?
Oh, my God, that’s so well said. Because I feel the same way. And I think most people are probably in that situation, but they think they have to fill their schedule to be productive.
I love that. Would you say like 20% to 30% of your time? Would that be a couple of hours? 2 hours?
I’m the crazy person who walks around my neighborhood too, because I’m like, if I’m on a call, or even if I’m not on a call, I want to be outdoors as much as possible. And I feel like I think better if I’m moving and feel more clear when I’m not trying to multi. Like if I’m sitting at a desk and trying to multitask. Doesn’t work very well for me. I don’t get good ideas that way. But I also feel like exercising for me in the right way is also very. Is when I get good ideas. Not the one where I’m hooked into my headphones and doing my weights, but when I’m actually doing something like a hike or a walk, where I’m not concentrating on that beautiful workout.
Such a time suck.
Yeah.
That’s the hard part. I think when we’re trying to do all these things to, when we want to have these creative thoughts, we want to grow in our business and ourselves, our spiritual selves. It’s like a shift away from the daily to dos and busyness of life. And like you said, if you don’t schedule that time in or if you don’t allow that, then you’re going to end up never really having that time. I have so many friends, people I work with, my colleagues, especially doctors, that really don’t ever give themselves time to be spiritual, to have creative thoughts, to make space in their life for something new, because they think they’re either not allowed to or they’re too busy. And so that concept is just so important for people to understand 100%. What about your exercise? Tell me, you said you do swimming, you do weight training and then walking, is that right?
So it’s weight, but it’s in different movements.
That’s really cool. I can’t wait to hear more about that. Thank you so much. First of all, anything else that you wanted to say about MaryRuth, about Kabbalah, about your personal. Anything, anything at all. And then we’ll, of course, put every link and all the places that people can buy your course, because now I feel like now that I’ve gotten kind of knee deep into this, I definitely want to learn more. So tell people how we can learn more about that, and we’ll put all the links in there.
Is it kabbalah? One like the oneone? Okay.
I think that’s something that everyone should check out.
Oh, my God. I can’t. I. Guys, I’m going to be doing it. So check it out. You should be doing it, too. And then where can people find you?
And then how do people find out more about your MaryRuth’s side?
MaryRuth’s. So we’re Amazon’s largest vitamin brand. So we’re always on Amazon. We are one of the biggest brands in whole foods. You’ll always find us there. We’re in sprouts, we’re in Walmart, we’re in target, and of course, our website. So we’re all over the nation, and now we’re expanding all over the world. So we’re on iherb.
We just did a partnership with iherb where we have all 200 products available in 180 countries. And I’m sure you have people from all around the world listening to you. So, yeah, if they’re interested, they just go to iherb.com and everything.
Oh, my gosh. Thank you so much. I mean, I’ve enjoyed this because I’ve learned so much, not only from the kabbalah wisdom, but from how you put it into practice in your life and in the business. Business. And also, it was fun learning about MaryRuth organics and your personal routine. So thank you so much for being here. Guys, check him out@davidghiyam.com. Or his Instagram and then kabbalahone.com.
So thanks again, everyone. See you next time.