VITALS & VALUES PODCAST

Welcome to Vitals & Values, a podcast that explores the intersection of modern medicine, human connection, and purpose-driven care. Each episode features thought leaders, clinicians, and changemakers who are reshaping healthcare from the inside out. Whether you’re a provider, patient, or simply curious about how values influence outcomes, this podcast offers timely insights and heartfelt conversations that matter.

Lara Baatenburg, MD, MSCP Lara Baatenburg, MD, MSCP

DO YOU REALLY NEED THE ER? | The $350 vs. $2,000+ Healthcare Problem

David woke up with something lodged in his eye and was staring down a $2,000 ER bill. Instead, he was in and out in 20 minutes for $300. In this episode, ER physician Dr. Todd Chassee explains the model behind Right Care Clinic — what it can treat that urgent care can't, why it costs a fraction of the ER, and why physician ownership changes the incentive structure entirely.

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Lara Baatenburg, MD, MSCP Lara Baatenburg, MD, MSCP

The Truth About MMR: What Actually Changed (and What Didn't)

A headline can be technically true and still leave you with the wrong idea entirely. Dr. Lara and David dig into what actually changed in recent MMR vaccine policy, what didn't, and why the gap between the two is exactly where public confusion tends to live.

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Lara Baatenburg, MD, MSCP Lara Baatenburg, MD, MSCP

Why Your Pain Keeps Coming Back: What Manual Therapy Can Find

David has thrown out his low back once a year for years. It took a manual therapist pressing on his hamstrings to find part of the actual problem. In this episode, Rhapsody of Motion founder Melissa Traiger explains what manual therapy actually is, why it's not just a deeper massage, and why recurring pain often traces back to somewhere nobody thought to check.

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Lara Baatenburg, MD, MSCP Lara Baatenburg, MD, MSCP

10 Health Mistakes We Made Trying to Be Healthy

David and Dr. Lara both spent years doing things they were certain were healthy — restrictive fasting, low-carb obsession, a gallon of water a day, running until it hurt. This episode is their honest accounting of what they got wrong, why it felt right at the time, and what they'd tell their younger selves instead.

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Lara Baatenburg, MD, MSCP Lara Baatenburg, MD, MSCP

The Testosterone Boom: Who Actually Needs TRT?

David has been on testosterone replacement therapy for six months, after a five-year path that started with a number his previous doctor called normal. In this episode, he sits down with Dr. Treesenberg — a men's health specialist and TRT patient himself — to unpack who actually needs treatment, what the monitoring really looks like, and where the hot new world of peptides is more testimonial than proven.

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Lara Baatenburg, MD, MSCP Lara Baatenburg, MD, MSCP

GLP-1 Weight Loss Drugs: 5 Things to Know BEFORE You Start

Roughly 1 in 5 GLP-1 users are on a compounded version that's never been through FDA review. Most people don't know that going in. Dr. Lara and David walk through the five things worth understanding before you start one of these medications — no judgment, just the facts your doctor should be covering with you.

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Lara Baatenburg, MD, MSCP Lara Baatenburg, MD, MSCP

"Is European Food Actually Healthier?" | What We Learned from Our Italian Honeymoon

Everyone has a friend who "didn't gain a pound" in Italy. David decided to actually test it — InBody scan before, InBody scan after two weeks of pizza, pasta, and Aperol spritzes. In this episode, he and Dr. Lara recap their honeymoon through Rome and Sicily, and share what the scale and the science actually said.

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Lara Baatenburg, MD, MSCP Lara Baatenburg, MD, MSCP

Our Wedding Wasn't Perfect—It Was Better Than That

David and Dr. Lara stepped away from the mic to get married. In this episode, they're back with the full story — the rehearsal dinner at Jana's house, the scooter ride through downtown Grand Rapids, and the moment a lost set of keys accidentally produced the best photos of the whole weekend.

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Lara Baatenburg, MD, MSCP Lara Baatenburg, MD, MSCP

10 Things Your Doctor Wishes You Knew

Most people think they understand what's happening at a doctor's office. Most people are at least a little wrong. Dr. Lara and David work through the ten things physicians wish their patients actually knew — not about diagnoses, but about how medicine works, what doctors are thinking, and where expectations and reality tend to diverge.

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Lara Baatenburg, MD, MSCP Lara Baatenburg, MD, MSCP

The Honest List: Top 10 Most Overrated Health Foods

Some of the foods marketed hardest as healthy are doing a lot less than you think — and a few of them are quietly working against you. David and Dr. Lara build their honest top 10 list, with personal confessions included. One of them hurt David enough that he warned you about it at the start of the episode.

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Lara Baatenburg, MD, MSCP Lara Baatenburg, MD, MSCP

“The Lie of Overnight Transformation” | Why Real Health Takes Time

David's transformation took 14 years. Social media wants to show it in six months. In this episode of Vitals & Values, he and Dr. Lara push back on the overnight success myth — from weight loss to cardiovascular disease to the identity shift that makes the difference between lasting change and the same cycle on repeat.

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Lara Baatenburg, MD, MSCP Lara Baatenburg, MD, MSCP

“Big Pharma & Your Doctor” : Myths, Money, and Medicine

When a TikTok clip about doctor kickbacks went semi-viral, the comment section had opinions. In this episode, Dr. Lara and Dr. Jana respond with something better than opinions — their actual experience. What pharma reps do, what they don't do, and where the line actually is.

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Lara Baatenburg, MD, MSCP Lara Baatenburg, MD, MSCP

The Inflammation Lie: And the Truths Worth Keeping

Every other health influencer wants to fix your inflammation. But what if the version of inflammation they're selling you doesn't exist the way they say it does? Dr. Lara went to TikTok so you don't have to — and what she found is worth understanding before you spend another dollar on supplements.

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Lara Baatenburg, MD, MSCP Lara Baatenburg, MD, MSCP

Why Are We So Anxious Right Now?

Something has shifted. Anxiety and depression aren't just more talked about — they're genuinely more common, and the reasons are more layered than any single headline suggests. Dr. Lara and David examine what's actually driving the rise, and what's still within our control.

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Lara Baatenburg, MD, MSCP Lara Baatenburg, MD, MSCP

The Truth Behind Calories — And Why So Many People Get It Wrong

A calorie is a calorie — except when it isn't. The science behind how your body actually processes food is more nuanced than most diet advice accounts for, and the food industry has a vested interest in keeping it that way. Dr. Lara and David sort through the research so you don't have to.

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Lara Baatenburg, MD, MSCP Lara Baatenburg, MD, MSCP

Menopause and Hormone Therapy: What Every Woman Needs to Know

For decades, the medical establishment got menopause wrong — and women paid for it. Dr. Lisa Larkin has spent her career helping correct the record. In this conversation, she breaks down how the science evolved, what social media is getting right and wrong, and why personalized care changes everything for women navigating midlife health.

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Lara Baatenburg, MD, MSCP Lara Baatenburg, MD, MSCP

Overcoming Lipedema: Seven Surgeries and a New Life

Lipedema is widely misunderstood, frequently missed, and life-altering for the women living with it. In this episode of Vitals & Values, Cara shares the full arc — from years of misdiagnosis to seven surgeries and a body that finally works with her instead of against her. This one is worth listening to twice.

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