The School of Doza Podcast

Five signs of fatty liver that are easy to miss, because they look like ordinary life. Nurse Doza walks through low energy, weight around the midsection, a fast-food pattern, hormone symptoms, and gallbladder issues, and explains what each one suggests about the liver underneath. Plus the two labs worth asking your provider about, the foods that ease the load, and where to start. Nothing here is a diagnosis.

Featured Product
Liver Boost (Detox) — $111

Liver Boost is a comprehensive formula designed to support phase I and phase II liver detoxification, with nutrients that support your antioxidant systems and glutathione production. If this episode had you thinking about how much your liver handles in a day — fats, blood sugar, and everything your body needs to clear out — this is the formula built to support that work while you make the diet and lifestyle changes that move the needle. It is not a replacement for those changes.

👉 Get Liver Boost here: https://boost.mswnutrition.com

Join the School of Doza
If you have been told your labs are "fine" but you do not feel fine — if the fatigue is not lifting, the midsection weight will not move, or your hormone symptoms keep getting explained away one at a time — that is exactly the kind of thing we work through together inside the School of Doza.

Every Wednesday we host a live Ask Me Anything, and it runs like a group consult. You bring your labs, your questions, your nutrition, your supplements, whatever you are working through, and we talk it out in real time. These are live sessions — you have to be there.

Your first 7 days are completely free, so you can join, sit in on an AMA, and see if it is the right fit.

👉 Start your free trial: https://community.schoolofdoza.com/c/start-here

5 Key Takeaways

Fatty liver is usually silent, so the signals show up as ordinary life. There is no pain and no dramatic moment — just fatigue, weight that will not move, and symptoms that get explained away individually instead of read as a pattern.

Low energy and stubborn midsection weight belong in the same conversation as the liver. A liver under strain does not process nutrients efficiently, and fatty liver frequently travels with insulin resistance — which is why the belly fat resists diet and exercise.

How much of your diet comes from fast food matters more than whether you ate it. In the Keck Medicine research, the people whose liver fat rose were those getting 20% or more of their daily calories from fast food — and the effect was most pronounced in people with obesity or diabetes.

The liver sits upstream of estrogen, thyroid, and insulin. Estrogen is sent to the liver to be broken down and cleared through the colon, hypothyroidism is associated with MASH, and hepatic insulin resistance is part of how fatty liver develops. Hormone symptoms can be a liver conversation.

Your gallbladder history is liver information. In a large Korean cohort, people who had their gallbladder removed had a 1.48-fold higher risk of developing MASLD — rising to a 4.45 hazard ratio in those with three or more cardiometabolic risk factors. "We took the gallbladder out, your liver is fine" is not the end of the story.

Timestamps
00:00 START – Welcome and episode overview

 

00:22 – Why fatty liver stays quiet, and the signals that still show up

 

03:02 – Inside the School of Doza: the live Wednesday AMA and your free first 7 days

 

05:04 – Sign 1: You feel sluggish

 

07:32 – Sign 2: You have gained weight, especially around the midsection

 

09:58 – Sign 3: Fast food is in the picture

 

12:22 – Seed oils, sodas, and learning to read a label

 

14:52 – Sign 4: Hormone issues, starting with estrogen

 

17:14 – Estrogen clearance, PCOS, and why the liver belongs in that conversation

 

19:21 – Fasting insulin: the lab almost nobody orders

 

21:43 – Where T4 becomes T3, and why thyroid meds depend on the liver

 

22:35 – Sign 5: Gallbladder issues

 

26:06 – Diet changes that take pressure off the liver

 

30:50 – Fasting, the foods that help, and the nutrients the liver uses

 

33:16 – Labs worth asking your provider about: GGT and fasting insulin

Resources

Symptoms of fatty liver most people miss — Far North Surgery: https://www.farnorthsurgery.com/blog/is-your-liver-in-trouble-symptoms-of-fatty-liver-most-people-miss

Consumption of fast food linked to liver disease — Keck Medicine of USC, 2023: https://news.keckmedicine.org/consumption-of-fast-food-linked-to-liver-disease/

Liver function and its connection to hormone regulation — BCBSM MI Blue Daily: https://www.bcbsm.mibluedaily.com/stories/health-and-wellness/liver-function-and-its-connection-to-hormone-regulation

Actions of thyroid hormones and thyromimetics on the liver — Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology, 2025: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41575-024-00991-4

Hepatic insulin receptor: new views on the mechanisms of liver disease — Metabolism, 2023: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10330768/

Gallbladder removal linked to fatty liver disease risk — EMJ Reviews, 2025: https://www.emjreviews.com/hepatology/news/gallbladder-removal-linked-to-fatty-liver-disease-risk/

Connect with Nurse Doza
🔗 Connect with Nurse Doza:

JOIN MY SCHOOL for FREE: https://community.schoolofdoza.com/c/start-here

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwcKyagDi468WscAOWM5VHA

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nursedoza/

Website: http://www.nursedoza.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-mendoza-dc-aprn-np-c-0609a038/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nursedoza

Twitter: https://twitter.com/nursedoza

In this Supplement Ingredient Series episode, Nurse Doza breaks down bovine adrenal gland — a glandular supplement with over a century of use, rooted in the ancestral practice of eating organ meat for nutrients the body needs to function. He explains how cortisol dysregulation can show up as afternoon crashes, mood shifts, and restless nights, and why adrenal glandular is paired with adaptogens and B vitamins in a three-in-one formula built to support the stress response.

FEATURED PARTNER
Zen (Stress Relief) by MSW Nutrition is the bovine adrenal gland formula Nurse Doza reaches for himself — and the reason is the ingredient itself, which is genuinely hard to find on a shelf. One capsule delivers 125 mg of adrenal gland tissue sourced from Argentina, paired with four standardized adaptogens (Asian ginseng, rhodiola, eleuthero, and schisandra), plus vitamin C, vitamin B6 as P5P, and pantothenic acid. That's the three-in-one Nurse Doza describes in this episode: glandular, adaptogens, and B vitamins in one capsule, formulated to support the body's stress response and steadier daily energy.

👉 Get Zen — Buy 2, Get 1 Free: https://zen.mswnutrition.com One bottle is $69 (60 capsules, 30-day supply at one capsule twice daily). The 3-bottle bundle is $138 (regularly $207) with free shipping. August 2026 offer — confirm the end date before publishing.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. If you are pregnant or nursing, have a thyroid or adrenal condition, or take prescription medication — including blood pressure medication, given the licorice root content — talk with your provider before starting a new supplement.

JOIN THE SCHOOL
Stress, energy, and sleep are tangled together, and sorting out which one to pull on first is a lot easier when you're not guessing alone. Inside the School of Doza, members work through this exact pattern — the 3 PM crash, the wired-and-tired evening, the sleep that never quite restores — alongside others chasing the same thing. Every Wednesday at 1 PM Central there's a live group consult (an "Ask Me Anything") where you can bring your own labs, supplements, and questions to Nurse Doza in real time.

👉 Start your free trial: https://community.schoolofdoza.com/c/start-here

5 KEY TAKEAWAYS

Glandular supplements are an old idea, not a new one. Adrenal glandulars have been used for over a hundred years, and the thinking behind them goes back much further — indigenous cultures ate organ meat because they understood it supplied nutrients the body needed to function.

The 3 PM crash often traces back to cortisol rhythm, not willpower. Cortisol is supposed to peak in the morning and taper through the day. When that curve flattens or shifts, the downstream effects show up in energy, mood, and how well you sleep at night — all three, not just one.

Bovine adrenal gland is the hard-to-find piece of the stack. Most stress formulas stop at adaptogens. A glandular ingredient is uncommon on shelves, which is why Nurse Doza specifically calls it out as the reason he uses Zen.

The adaptogens and B vitamins are doing real, separate work. Rhodiola and ginseng have the strongest human research behind them for stress-related fatigue, and pantothenic acid (B5) and B6 are cofactors your body uses in the energy pathways underneath the whole system. The glandular isn't carrying the formula alone.

Support the system, don't expect a switch. Adrenal support is about giving the stress response better inputs over time — not overriding it. Individual responses vary, and anyone on medication or managing a thyroid or adrenal condition should loop in their provider first.

RESOURCES
Based on peer-reviewed literature:

Cortisol activity, fatigue & everyday life – Systematic review and subset meta-analysis of unstimulated cortisol secretory activity and its relationship with fatigue. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2013. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23916911/

Rhodiola rosea & stress-related fatigue – Randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study of standardised extract SHR-5 in subjects with stress-related fatigue. Planta Medica, 2009. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19016404/

Rhodiola rosea, physical & mental fatigue – Systematic review of the clinical evidence. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2012. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22643043/

Adaptogens & the stress response – Review of the evidence-based efficacy of adaptogens in fatigue and the molecular mechanisms behind their stress-protective activity. Current Clinical Pharmacology, 2009. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19500070/

Korean Red Ginseng & fatigue – Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of Korean Red Ginseng on fatigue. Korean Journal of Internal Medicine, 2024. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38576235/

Note: the citations above support the adaptogen and cortisol-rhythm portions of this episode. There is no published human clinical literature on bovine adrenal glandular supplementation — it is presented here as a traditional-use ingredient, not an evidence-backed intervention.

🔗 Connect with Nurse Doza:
JOIN MY SCHOOL for FREE: https://community.schoolofdoza.com/c/start-here

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwcKyagDi468WscAOWM5VHA

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nursedoza/

Website: http://www.nursedoza.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-mendoza-dc-aprn-np-c-0609a038/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nursedoza

Twitter: https://twitter.com/nursedoza

Methylation is a chemical process running billions of times per second inside your body — and when it slows down, you feel it as fatigue, low mood, brain fog, and hormone symptoms. Nurse Doza breaks down what methylation actually does, why the MTHFR gene variant makes the cycle run less efficiently, why folic acid is the wrong form of folate if you carry it, and the four steps that support your methyl donor supply.

FEATURED PRODUCT
Bliss (Mood Booster) — $129

Bliss is a lemon-flavored daily stick pack built around TMG (trimethylglycine) — a naturally occurring methyl donor. It is formulated to support the biochemical reactions that require methyl groups: neurotransmitter synthesis and healthy mood, the conversion of homocysteine to glutathione, and liver health.*

If the episode described you — normal labs, still running on empty — Bliss is the piece that feeds the cycle directly instead of asking your genetics to do the conversion work.

👉 Get Bliss here: https://mswnutrition.com/products/bliss

JOIN THE SCHOOL
Understanding methylation is one thing. Knowing which form of B12 to take, what to ask for on a lab panel, and what to do when your results come back "normal" is another — and that is exactly what the School of Doza is for.

Inside, you get the courses that go deeper than a 7-minute video, a community of people working through the same fatigue-and-brain-fog puzzle, and the Wednesday AMA — a live group consult session where you can bring your own questions to Nurse Doza in real time. It is live only, so it is a conversation, not a recording.

👉 Start your free trial: https://community.schoolofdoza.com/c/start-here

5 KEY TAKEAWAYS

Methylation is a transfer reaction. A methyl group — one carbon bonded to three hydrogens — moves from one molecule to another, and your body needs that transfer for neurotransmitter production, hormone clearance, DNA repair, cellular energy, and glutathione synthesis.

When methylation runs slowly, the symptoms get blamed on other things. Chronic fatigue, low mood, anxiety, hormone imbalance, sluggish detox, brain fog, elevated homocysteine, and inflammation are not random — methylation is often the thread connecting them.

MTHFR is the gene that converts folate into its active, usable form. A 2025 review in Genes reports the common C677T polymorphism averages 30–40% prevalence across populations and reduces enzyme efficiency by roughly 35% per mutated allele — so carrying two copies means a meaningfully slower cycle.

If you carry the variant, folic acid is the wrong form. Methylfolate is already converted, so your body does not have to perform the exact step the variant makes harder. The same logic applies to choosing methylated B12 over cyanocobalamin.

TMG (trimethylglycine, also called betaine) donates methyl groups straight into the cycle. A 2021 review in Biology describes betaine restoring the SAM:SAH methylation ratio and supporting liver health and glutathione production — which is why TMG is the backbone of Bliss.

RESOURCES

MTHFR Gene Polymorphisms: A Single Gene with Wide-Ranging Clinical Implications (Genes, 2025): https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4425/16/4/441

Beneficial Effects of Betaine: A Comprehensive Review (Biology, 2021): https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/10/6/456

The Role of Folate and MTHFR Polymorphisms in the Treatment of Depression (Altern Ther Health Med, 2021): https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32827402/

Bliss (Mood Booster) by MSW Nutrition: https://mswnutrition.com/products/bliss

Join the School of Doza — start your free trial: https://community.schoolofdoza.com/c/start-here

CONNECT WITH NURSE DOZA

JOIN MY SCHOOL for FREE: https://community.schoolofdoza.com/c/start-here

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwcKyagDi468WscAOWM5VHA

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nursedoza/

Website: http://www.nursedoza.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-mendoza-dc-aprn-np-c-0609a038/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nursedoza

Twitter: https://twitter.com/nursedoza

In this Wellness Tech installment, Jonathan Mendoza, DC, APRN, NP-C — Nurse Doza — explains why red light panels have become a daily fixture in his clinic and his home. He covers how red and near-infrared wavelengths reach the mitochondria to support healthy ATP production, why panels deliver solar-style input without UV exposure, how he personally uses violet light to wind down at night, and what the emerging 40Hz gamma-frequency research does and does not yet show in humans.

FEATURED PARTNER

LightpathLED builds veteran-owned red and near-infrared light therapy panels. Nurse Doza uses one daily and highlights this brand specifically because it offers more than a single red setting — it includes violet-spectrum output and adjustable frequency, including a 40Hz option he notes he hasn't found on other consumer panels.

Shop: https://lightpathled.com
Code: NURSEDOZA (discount applied at checkout)
Current promo:Select Diesel Gen3 panels ship with a free stand — verify at checkout, promos change

Join the School of Doza

The School of Doza is a paid health-education community with live group consults every **Wednesday at 1 PM Central**, plus courses, protocols, and direct access to Nurse Doza.

Start your free trial: https://www.schoolofdoza.com

---

5 Key Takeaways

1. Red and near-infrared light interact with your mitochondria, not just your skin.These wavelengths are absorbed by cytochrome c oxidase in the electron transport chain, which supports healthy ATP production — the mechanism researchers call photobiomodulation.

2. A panel delivers solar-style light input without the UV load.Most people spend the majority of daylight hours indoors under light their cells don't recognize. Red light panels are one way to add that input without the burn risk that comes with UV exposure.

3. Panels are low-friction to use. No undressing required — Nurse Doza sits in front of his and lets it hit his forehead. He uses sessions in the two-to-five-minute range as his own personal routine, not a prescribed protocol.

4. Violet light sits at the opposite end of the visible spectrum from red. Nurse Doza reports using violet output in the evening as part of his wind-down. This is his subjective experience — violet-specific calming effects are not yet well established in the peer-reviewed literature.

5. The 40Hz frequency setting is an area of active research, not settled science. Gamma-frequency entrainment at 40Hz has been studied for its effects on brain activity, but the most-cited amyloid findings are from animal models and have published author corrections. Interesting, worth following — not a treatment.

Citations:

1. de Freitas LF, Hamblin MR. **Proposed Mechanisms of Photobiomodulation or Low-Level Light Therapy.** *IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics.* 2016. PMID: 28070154 — https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28070154/

2. Hamblin MR. **Mechanisms and Mitochondrial Redox Signaling in Photobiomodulation.** *Photochemistry and Photobiology.* 2018. PMID: 29164625 — https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29164625/

3. Maghfour J, Ozog DM, Mineroff J, Jagdeo J, Kohli I, Lim HW. **Photobiomodulation CME Part I: Overview and Mechanism of Action.** *Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.* 2024. PMID: 38309304 — https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38309304/

4. Nairuz T, Cho S, Lee JH. **Photobiomodulation Therapy on Brain: Pioneering an Innovative Approach to Revolutionize Cognitive Dynamics.** *Cells.* 2024. PMID: 38891098 — https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38891098/

5. Iaccarino HF, Singer AC, Martorell AJ, et al. **Gamma frequency entrainment attenuates amyloid load and modifies microglia.** *Nature.* 2016;540:230–235. PMID: 27929004 · PMCID: PMC5656389 — https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5656389/
   *Note: animal-model study. Two author corrections have since been published (2018, 2024).*

Bonus — sleep and LED light therapy:
Liao YH, Tai CJ, Ming JL, Lin LH, Chien LY. **The Effectiveness of Low-Level LED Light Therapy for Sleep Problems, Psychological Symptoms, and Heart Rate Variability in Shift-Work Nurses: A Randomized Controlled Trial.** *Journal of Nursing Management.* 2025. PMID: 40557249 — https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40557249/
🔗 Connect with Nurse Doza:

JOIN MY SCHOOL for FREE: https://community.schoolofdoza.com/c/start-here

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwcKyagDi468WscAOWM5VHA
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nursedoza/
Website: http://www.nursedoza.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-mendoza-dc-aprn-np-c-0609a038/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nursedoza
Twitter: https://twitter.com/nursedoza

In this School of Doza episode, Nurse Doza opens the Metabolic Series with the adrenal glands — and why you may feel tired all day, crash between 2 and 4 PM, and wake up unrested. He explains how chronic stress can keep the body stuck in fight-or-flight, why that pattern is hard to shift, and the daily levers he leans on: belly breathing, less screen time at night, and morning sunlight. Then he breaks down Zen by MSW Nutrition — adrenal glandular plus four adaptogens — for stress support.

FEATURED PARTNER

Zen by MSW Nutrition is built in three layers rather than a single botanical: **125 mg of adrenal glandular tissue** (bovine, sourced from Argentina), **four standardized adaptogens** — Asian ginseng, rhodiola, eleuthero, and schisandra — plus **cofactor nutrients** (vitamin C, B6 as P5P, and pantothenic acid). Licorice rounds out the 9-ingredient formula. It's the supplement Nurse Doza reaches for when the goal is supporting the adrenal glands and the body's stress response, instead of layering more caffeine on top of a depleted system.

👉 **Get Zen (Buy 2, Get 1 Free — 3 bottles $138, free shipping):** https://zen.mswnutrition.com
Not a subscription — every order is one-time.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Zen contains licorice root, which may affect blood pressure and potassium and can interact with some medications. If you're pregnant or nursing, have high blood pressure, or take prescription medication — including corticosteroids or blood pressure medication — talk with your provider before starting Zen. Persistent fatigue has many possible causes; work with a licensed provider rather than self-diagnosing.*

 KEY TAKEAWAYS

1. The 2–4 PM crash isn't a caffeine deficit.

2. Chronic stress can keep you stuck in fight-or-flight.

3. **"Tired but wired" is worth investigating, not self-diagnosing.** Persistent fatigue overlaps with thyroid issues, anemia, sleep apnea, blood sugar swings, and mood disorders. The symptom pattern is a signal to get properly worked up with a provider — not a diagnosis you give yourself.

4. **Three free levers, plus a way to track them.** Belly breathing, less screen time at night, and morning sunlight are the daily habits Nurse Doza returns to first — slow diaphragmatic breathing in particular has measurable effects on cardiac vagal activity. If you wear a device, resting heart rate and HRV are useful trend lines to watch over weeks, not days.

5. **Zen layers glandular, adaptogens, and cofactors.** Rather than one extract, Zen combines 125 mg of bovine adrenal glandular tissue with four standardized adaptogens and the vitamin C, B6, and pantothenic acid the stress-response pathway draws on — formulated to support adrenal function and stress resilience.

## RESOURCES

*Based on peer-reviewed literature:*

1. **HPA axis dysregulation — recognition and recovery** – Integrative review of how the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis becomes dysregulated under stress, and the diagnostic and management approaches used. *The American Journal of Medicine,* 2025. PMID 40499704 — https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40499704/

2. **How adaptogens work** – Review of the system-level, molecular, and cellular mechanisms of selected plant adaptogens, including their effects on stress-response signaling. *Nutrients,* 2026. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13029160/

3. **Rhodiola rosea, fatigue & stress** – Systematic review of *Rhodiola rosea* for physical and mental fatigue. Worth noting: the authors conclude the trial evidence is mixed and call for more rigorous RCTs — the mechanistic rationale is stronger than the clinical trial base. *BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine,* 2012. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3541197/

4. **Eleuthero as an adaptogen** – Comprehensive review of *Eleutherococcus* root phytochemistry and pharmacology in the context of its adaptogenic effect. *Frontiers in Pharmacology,* 2025. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12605232/

5. **Slow breathing & vagal tone** – Randomized crossover trial showing slow deep breathing increases heart rate variability and modulates cardiac vagal activity in healthy men. *Scientific Reports,* 2021;11:20306. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-99183-2

## 🔗 Connect with Nurse Doza:
JOIN MY SCHOOL for FREE: https://community.schoolofdoza.com/c/start-here

- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwcKyagDi468WscAOWM5VHA
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nursedoza/
- Website: http://www.nursedoza.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-mendoza-dc-aprn-np-c-0609a038/
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nursedoza
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/nursedoza