115: Integrative Rheumatologist Dr. Micah Yu

Uninvisible Pod with Lauren Freedman

Dr. Micah Yu is an integrative rheumatologist who incorporates complementary medicine with traditional rheumatology. He is double board-certified in internal medicine and lifestyle medicine. He obtained his MD from Chicago Medical School, and holds a Masters in Healthcare Administration and Biomedical sciences. He completed his internal medicine residency and rheumatology fellowship at Loma Linda University in Southern California. He is currently in his 2^nd fellowship at the Andrew Weil Integrative Medicine Fellowship at the University of Arizona. Dr. Yu is not only a doctor but he is also a patient himself. He has spondyloarthritis and gout, and uses his social media presence to bring awareness to autoimmune disease and chronic pain, and to unpack how we can use complementary medicine to fight these problems. Basically: he’s the doc we’ve all been looking for. And in this episode, we also dug into the COVID vaccine…is it safe for autoimmune disease patients? Tune in to find out!

Tune in as Dr. Yu shares:

• that he works with his wife, who is a family doctor also certified in lifestyle medicine…and lives with ADHD and IBS herself
• that he developed gout — an arthritis disease — after going on the Atkins diet as a teen
• that in college, his gout evolved into severe arthritis
• how he pushed through his pain during medical school
• that he was drawn to specializing in rheumatology because of his own diagnosis
• that he was never offered mental health or nutrition/lifestyle support for his diagnosis of spondyloarthritis — and it’s inspired him to become the doctor he is today, and buck the system
• hat chronic diseases are increasing by 7% a year
• that he used to see his diagnosis as a curse; but he now sees it as an asset in his work
• that lifestyle medicine centers on whole-food, plant-based nutrition
• that he was inspired after watching Forks Over Knives — and when he experimented with a plant-based diet, his inflammatory markers decreased significantly
• that he’s using lifestyle to manage his health, and is trying to avoid medication until absolutely necessary
• why he spends at least an hour with new patients
• that he’s been moonlighting two nights a week treating and admitting COVID patients to the ER
• why post-COVID syndrome is so frightening
• that he’s witnessed new-onset autoimmune disease following COVID infections in formerly able-bodied people who had a genetic predisposition to the diagnoses
• how the flu vaccine compares to the COVID vaccine
• what mRNA and adenovirus are
• that mRNA and adenovirus do not alter genetic code or DNA
• the short-term side effects of the COVID vaccine
• that the COVID vaccine has indeed been tested thoroughly, and no less so than any other vaccine released to the public
• that, in VERY rare cases, it’s possible to contract autoimmune disease because of vaccination — and that this is known as ASIA (autoimmune induced by adjuvants) syndrome
• that he practices remotely, and currently has 15 state licenses in order to serve his patients
• his take on the US healthcare system

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