Podcast Summary:

The Paul Morris Podcast
Episode: Inflammation: The Hidden Root of Disease
Date: February 16, 2026
Host: Paul Morris
Guest: Dr. Jonas Cuno

Episode Overview

This episode features a deep-dive conversation between Paul Morris and Dr. Jonas Cuno—physician and wellness innovator—exploring the central role of inflammation in disease, prevention strategies, longevity medicine, and practical, science-based interventions for health and performance. Drawing from Dr. Jonas’s varied medical career (geriatrics, functional medicine, advanced wellness therapies), the discussion balances critical insights, hands-on advice, and challenges to the mainstream medical model, all anchored in Paul’s belief that true wealth starts with health.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Health as the Foundation of Wealth

• Paul introduces his belief that “you can't really achieve wealth if you don't have health.”
• Both agree that financial stress and poor health are deeply intertwined, particularly via heightened cortisol and stress-related inflammation.
  • [02:18] Paul: "Some of the great health podcasters that we talk to…if your money situation is bad, that's going to affect cortisol levels and lots of other things."
  • [02:34] Dr. Jonas: "Stress can certainly do that…multiple reasons."

2. Dr. Jonas Cuno’s Background

• Trained at UCLA in medicine and geriatrics, later shifted to focus on anti-inflammatory therapies and wellness innovation (e.g., cryo healthcare, IVs, stem cells).
• Geriatrics revealed to him the high medication burden in older adults and the limitations of Medicare-compensated, late-stage care.
  • [02:56] Dr. Jonas: “When you're over the age of 70, you have about 20 medications…one of my jobs was to go in and confirm all the diagnosis. Correct. And can we reduce some stuff?”

3. Inflammation: The Hidden Root

• Inflammation is described as a common thread in most chronic diseases—including cancer, metabolic syndrome, dementia—and a major driver of cognitive and physical decline with age.
• Dr. Jonas explains cancer cells’ preference for “a micro inflammatory environment,” connecting this to current research on innovative treatments like low dose naltrexone (LDN) and the importance of reducing visceral fat.
  • [04:26] Paul: "Inflammation is really at the heart of so many different diseases."
  • [04:33] Dr. Jonas: "We can trace most illnesses back to an inflammatory process…One of the latest things in cancer research…there is a micro inflammatory environment that cancer cells need to thrive."

Memorable Quote:

“Decreasing inflammation makes things a lot better. It can really help.”
— Dr. Jonas [04:36]

4. Preventative Mindset & Gaps in Primary Care

• Paul recounts frustration with traditional doctors who offered no preventative advice after a rising PSA (prostate cancer marker)—only "come back in six months."
  • [07:57] Paul: “So what am I going to do between now and six months? … The advice was, nothing other than … come back.”
• Dr. Jonas critiques medicine’s reactive focus: treating illness once it appears, rather than investing in prevention or patient education.
  • [12:58] Dr. Jonas: “The best way to treat a disease is to avoid having it in the first place. And we know enough now that there are strategies…”

Memorable Quote:

“The best way to treat a disease is to avoid having it in the first place.”
— Dr. Jonas [12:58]

5. Challenges of Innovating Prevention and Longevity

• The lack of research funding in prevention/longevity medicine, due in part to pharmaceutical economics: "no money" in off-patent, ultra-cheap drugs or non-drug interventions, leads to slow clinical adoption.
• Medications like LDN and ivermectin show promise for repurposed uses (cancer remission, autoimmune), but are under-researched because there’s little financial incentive.
  • [17:38] Dr. Jonas: “No pharmaceutical company, and I'm not blaming them…in their right mind, would invest any money in this.”

Memorable Quote:

“Our government should do it. Wouldn’t you want a healthy patient population?”
— Dr. Jonas [19:14]

6. Supplements & Quality Control

• The supplement industry’s multi-billion dollar scale compared to the limited oversight raises quality concerns.
• Dr. Jonas stresses: Not all supplements are effective or produced equally, and untested brands can be worthless or unsafe.
  • [23:19] Dr. Jonas: “The issue is with the supplement industry, some are great, right. And they are high quality, some are not...finding a good supplement company...third party tested is a good one.”
• Paul shares his strategy for using ChatGPT to cross-reference effectiveness, dosing, and trusted brands.

7. Advanced Wellness Therapies (& Their Anti-Inflammatory Impact)

a. Cryotherapy

• Dr. Jonas calls whole-body cryotherapy “the most potent anti-inflammatory treatment we have."
• Exposure to -240°F for a few minutes triggers a “shot of cortisone without cortisone side effects” by boosting anti-inflammatory cytokines.
• Patients with rheumatoid arthritis often normalize blood markers and come off medications with regular sessions.
  • [26:11] Dr. Jonas: “Cryotherapy is probably the most potent anti inflammatory treatment we have… giving your body a shot of cortisone without the cortisone side effects.”

b. LED/Infrared Light Therapy

• Red and near-infrared light stimulate mitochondrial health, promote cellular repair, and support antioxidant (melatonin) production.
• Lack of near-infrared exposure in modern life (LED lights, window glass) may contribute to disease risk.
  • [28:12] Dr. Jonas: “What you perceive as warmth from the sunlight...goes very deep...stimulates the production of melatonin...an anti inflammatory."

c. IV Therapy & Stem Cells

• IVs for micronutrients and NAD+ address declining absorption with age.
• Umbilical cord stem cell therapies show potential in repairing tissue, reducing inflammation, and even thwarting cancerous cells.
  • [31:01] Dr. Jonas: "Umbilical cord stem cells...recognize cancer cells and they will kill them. They trigger apoptosis."

d. Vitamin D3/K2

• High importance for prevention, easily monitored, and typically low in modern populations.
  • [32:06] Dr. Jonas: “Vitamin D3K2, highly protective, actually. And then it's easy to take.”

8. Patient Advocacy & The Role of Technology

• Both stress the importance of self-education, leveraging tools like ChatGPT to evaluate supplements, track lab results, and advocate for one's health.
• The primary care system is currently overstretched, so patients must often take health matters into their own hands.
  • [33:36] Dr. Jonas: “There is a need for more primary care...when you take your health a bit in your own hands [it] becomes very powerful.”

9. Framing Disease Risk: All-Cause Mortality

• Paul references Peter Attia’s “all-cause mortality” metric, highlighting how metabolic syndrome far outpaces prostate cancer in lifetime risk reduction—guiding where to focus prevention efforts.
  • [38:03] Paul: “It causes heart disease, it causes cancer. So, that's why folks like Peter Attia think...it's way above heart disease because it causes heart disease…”

10. Dr. Jonas’s Approach to Weight Loss

• Focus on dietary pattern: high protein, big breakfast, large lunch, early/very light dinner, prolonged overnight fasting.

• Appetite suppressants are used only to help patients adjust habits; total reliance on pharmaceutical GLP-1 agonists is discouraged.

  • [39:05] Dr. Jonas: "We do use medications...but ultimately that's part of it only because we really change dietary patterns."
  • [41:47] Dr. Jonas: “Wait a couple hours after you wake up, start with a big breakfast with a lot of protein...have a big lunch...small dinner early...five hours before bed stop eating.”

• Paul notes “the extra credit of people thinking I'm Superman” when fasting but admits it's actually easier for him than constant meal-eating.

• Fasting is highlighted (by both) as a promising tool for both metabolic and cancer prevention.

Memorable Quote:

“Fasting, one of the great ways to treat or prevent cancer. They need energy all the time. You withhold the energy, many [cancer] cells will die.”
— Dr. Jonas [43:52]

Fire Round: Personal Insights (Quick Q&A)

[44:16 onward]

• Greatest fear: “Being useless.”
• Best compliment received: “That I’m a great dad.”
• Proud of being called: “Very stubborn.”
• Trait most disliked in others: “Give up too soon.”
• Most overrated virtue: “Striving for the wrong happiness.”
• Most treasured possession: “My children.”
• Greatest achievement: “Building my clinic to where it’s now.”
• Legacy desire: “Helping people be healthier.”
• If he could shout one thing to his entire community: “I love you.” [46:09]

Notable Quotes

• "Inflammation is really at the heart of so many different diseases." – Paul Morris [04:26]
• "The best way to treat a disease is to avoid having it in the first place." – Dr. Jonas [12:58]
• "Our government should do it. Wouldn’t you want a healthy patient population?" – Dr. Jonas [19:14]
• "Cryotherapy is probably the most potent anti inflammatory treatment we have." – Dr. Jonas [26:11]
• "Fasting, one of the great ways to treat or prevent cancer...you withhold the energy, many cells will die." – Dr. Jonas [43:52]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 02:18 – The relationship between wealth and health
• 04:26 – Inflammation as the core of disease
• 07:57 – PSA testing and frustration with conventional care
• 12:58 – The value and underfunding of prevention/longevity medicine
• 17:38 – The pharmaceutical industry & barriers to innovation in cheap, repurposed drugs
• 23:19 – Supplement quality and industry pitfalls
• 26:11 – Cryotherapy and anti-inflammatory therapies
• 32:06 – Importance of Vitamin D3/K2 supplementation
• 38:03 – All cause mortality: Risk perspective and metabolic syndrome
• 39:05 – Natural weight loss program and protein-centric nutrition
• 43:52 – Fasting as a tool for cancer prevention/treatment
• 44:16 – Fire round: rapid personal questions

Flow and Tone

The conversation is direct, data-driven, and unsentimental, reflecting both host and guest’s bias toward action and results rather than platitudes. Paul is candid about his own health journey and skepticism toward mainstream medicine; Dr. Jonas is accessible, practical, and passionately advocates for evidence-based wellness while not shying from system critiques.

Summary Takeaway

The episode makes a compelling case that reducing inflammation is central to disease prevention, performance, and longevity—linking it to nearly every major chronic illness. Listeners are urged to take charge of their health through education, preventative action, high-quality supplementation, advanced therapies, and self-advocacy, guided by science rather than hype. A must-listen for entrepreneurs and high performers seeking to maximize health as the bedrock of generational wealth.