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Episode 28: What We Can Do at Every Decade to Build and Maintain Better Health with Dr. Vonda Wright






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Brief summary of show:


This week on the podcast, I sit down with Dr. Vonda Wright, a double boarded orthopedic sports surgeon, internationally recognized authority on active aging and mobility, and an innovator focused on optimizing personal and professional performance at every age.

This conversation around aging healthily is so important, and Dr. Vonda gives us so much valuable insight into how we can age gracefully and enjoy every phase of our lives.



Listen in as we talk about:

  • Tips to build physical and mental hardiness at any age

  • What we can do in every decade to build and maintain better health

  • Can you reverse the damage you have done to your body?

  • Dr. Vonda’s top two tips for better health and mobility


She serves as the inaugural Chief of Sports Medicine at the Northside Health System in Atlanta and previously served as the inaugural Medical Director building the 185,000 sq ft UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Pittsburgh PA, home of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

In addition to her surgical practice, Dr. Wright is a media content expert and regularly contributes to national TV shows including “Dr. Oz,” “The Doctors” and the “Today” show. She is frequently quoted in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, USA Today and U.S. News & World Report, as well as in magazines such as Maxim, Prevention, Fitness, Runner’s World, Best Life, and Arthritis Today and numerous online publications. She proudly serves on the Sharecare Medical Advisory Board, the Atlanta and Pittsburgh Ballet boards and is President-elect of the American Heart Association Atlanta.



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Resources mentioned in this episode


Connect with Dr. Vonda


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Podcast Highlights:


[00:02:10] How to take care of ourselves in every decade


[00:08:51] Can we reverse the damage we have done in previous years?


[00:14:07] Do we really inherit our health from our parents?


[00:16:11] Why movement (not exercise or losing weight) is important


[00:22:54] How to get it 'all' done





Full transcript of episode:


[00:00:00] Natalie: I'm Natalie. Tisdel a journalist who decided enough is enough. I left a career that looked glamorous to do what I was scared of doing, going out on my own. I'm a married working mom of three on this podcast. We're going to talk about issues that really matter. Why am I not sleeping? What's up with that diet everyone's talking about.

[00:00:20] Are my kids falling behind? How do I leave that job and start over? Welcome to the Natalie pistol podcast. I'm so glad you're here.

[00:00:30] Hi, everyone, Natalie here, you know, in our twenties, we live a big life, not thinking so much about maybe our health in our thirties. Well, maybe we do a little bit more. And then in the next few decades, things change and we really. Maybe I need to pay a little bit more attention to the food. I eat, how I exercise, how much I sleep, you know, all of that.

[00:00:50] In fact, there are some very specific things that we can do in each decade of our lives that will help us not only live longer, but what we all really. Live healthier, for instance, in your thirties, did you know that you need to be building bone density? You're about to find out why that's so critical in your thirties and just how to do it.

[00:01:09] My guest today is Dr. Vonda Wright. She's a double boarded orthopedic surgeon. She's also the author of five books. So much from her, and I know you're going to as well. We talk about building physical and mental hardiness at any age and how all of that adds up to a better life. Let's jump into this really great interview with Dr.

[00:01:29] Wright.

[00:01:30] Dr Monda, right. Joining me now. And this is a topic I've been anxious to do. And I finally found you and said, now I get to do the topic Dr. Wright. I'm so

[00:01:39] Dr. Vonda: glad to be with you. Thanks for having me.

[00:01:41] Natalie: Through the years I gave you a little bit of my background in many of my listeners know that I spent many years getting up in the middle of the night.

[00:01:47] And my mom used to say to me, Natalie, you're doing so much damage to your body. Your cells are going to pay the price because you're not sleeping well, but I want to get into. Through the decades, what we need to be doing. I probably did do a lot of damage. I should've listened to my mom rule number one, but what we need to do through the decades to take care of ourselves so that we can live a long life.

[00:02:10] Dr. Vonda: Absolutely. Well, I love the decade approach because when we speak to generally than someone out there is going to be, yeah, that sounds good, but I'm only 20. so if we go through the decades I'm just going to choose a couple priorities. Cause there's so much we can do at every age to really prioritize ourselves.

[00:02:27] But here's one that it is a mindset item that I would really want everybody listening today to really put into their heart and soul. And this is this, you are worth the daily investment in your health. You are worth the daily investment in your health because here's what women do. No matter what roles or hats or shoes as we like to frame, how many jobs we have, we do, we will take care of everyone.

[00:02:57] But ourselves first, whether it's people in our own homes, people are in our jobs. It's when we say yes, when we really mean no, that is taking care of prioritizing someone first. Ladies and gentlemen, you are worth the investment in your health because here's what I know. And you hear it a lot lately. But when I started saying this out loud, 15 years ago, or so people were thinking, oh my God, it's so true.

[00:03:22] Unless you take care of yourself first and fill your own cup, you cannot out pour into other people. So even if you are the most altruistic person in the world and say, yeah, but I got to take care of other people. Take care of yourself first because you are worth it. But what does that mean in your twenties?

[00:03:37] You know, you and I were just talking about this. I have children in their twenties too. And if you do one thing while you're out there having fun and living your youthful, exuberance slather your whole body multiple times a day with the sunscreen, right? I have a daughter in her twenties too, like you do.

[00:03:53] And I'm like, Corey, please. You have beautiful skin preserve it. You know, and sometimes, sometimes they do and sometimes they don't. So there is that, but if you choose one thing, Please do that people in their twenties, but what if you're now in your thirties and I'm going to tell you, I thought when I was in my twenties, that 30 was so old, but I, that is just, you haven't even hit your stride yet.

[00:04:15] And I think millennials understand that it's a time to invest in yourselves because we see that millennial women are not settling down. Out of college. Like my generation did, they're investing in themselves for 10 years or so before they settled down. So while you're investing in yourselves from a orthopedic surgeon perspective, because of course that's what I am.

[00:04:37] I want you to build your bone density. That means get out there, jump around, run, jump off of things. Do stair climbing, choose activities that. Impact. I, sometimes I say, you gotta go bash your bones, but I think people think that means hurt yourself. No, but bones respond to the impact. So please go do that.

[00:04:58] Now is the time to build your bone density. Why is

[00:05:01] Natalie: that in your thirties? I mean, is that it just important in your thirties or is it important as teenagers and twenties and thirties or something happening in our bodies and our.

[00:05:11] Dr. Vonda: It's your last chance ladies and gentlemen, because what bone density you accumulate by the time you're 30 is what you get the rest of our lives.

[00:05:19] It's it's spent maintaining that. So whether you're actually impacting your bones or build