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Jordan Rubin
When did making plans get this complicated? It's time to streamline with WhatsApp, the secure messaging app that brings the whole group together. Use polls to settle dinner plans. Send event invites and pin messages so no one forgets mom 60th and never miss a meme or milestone. All protected with end to end encryption. It's time for WhatsApp message privately with everyone. Learn more@WhatsApp.com the Pharmakeia message is something that's been rumbling for a long time. And frankly, Josh, it's something that we don't want to know about, we want to avoid. And it is scary. 99 out of 100 times, people go to a drug or they go to a doctor who I would say today physicians are largely the servants of Pharmakia or the drug industry. I don't believe that physicians are evil. I don't believe that medical doctors want to hurt you. But their tools, their training, their funding all comes from Big Pharma or Big PharmaKEA. And when man tries to play God, there's always something missing. It's an imperfect attempt to try to duplicate what God created. And someone might say, jordan, this is ridiculous. Are you telling me that if I go to the doctor and they prescribe me a medication, I am risking my life? The answer is yes. I believe natural remedies adhere to the Hippocratic oath much more, which is first do no harm. That's the main tenet for a natural treatment. And I really feel like a lot of conventional medicine therapies, they're taking the hypocritic oath instead of the Hippocratic oath, which, by the way, comes from Hippocrates, the father of medicine and even the symbol of medicine today. Josh, if you want to get really deep, it's the snake. The symbol of medicine is the snake. And what does that represent? The snakes that bit the Israelites when they disobeyed God. And then Moses had to make an image of the snake and lift it up so that the plague would be averted and the people would be healed. It's crazy. If you hear something as a serpent, and that is the flagship or logo of something, there's very deep meaning here, Josh, and it is not by accident. It can't be.
Dr. Josh Axe
In the Bible, in the book of Revelations, the author John warns us of pharmacia today, translated as pharmaceuticals or sorcery. The Bible also talks about the healing benefits of food, lifestyles and herbs. Today I'm going to explore the dangers of pharmaceuticals and the healing power of plants and superfoods with my good friend Jordan Rubin. Jordan is the author of the Biblio Diet, the co author. We wrote the book together, and him and I have been spending years and years together helping heal the planet through regenerative agriculture and through teaching people biblical and natural health principles. Jordan, welcome to the show.
Jordan Rubin
It's great to be back.
Dr. Josh Axe
Well, you know, I'm excited about this topic because I know this could be somewhat controversial, But I also know that this is so important for anybody who wants to heal that they understand what the Bible teaches us in terms of the dangers of pharmacia and the healing power of leaves and fruits and many of the foods that are referenced in the Bible. And it's amazing. You know, I've been doing a lot of interviews recently talking about biblical health, and the Bible is the greatest book ever written when it comes to health. I mean, talking about the benefits of fasting, of regenerative agriculture, of prayer, of forgiveness, of talking about foods and herbs and sanitation. You know, I saw this post recently by somebody who, I want to say, worship science. And he said, you know, it's due to science that over the past 100 years, our lifespan has increased so much. And it was so interesting because when a lot of people don't realize this, I know you do, but probably the biggest thing that's increased lifespan historically is improved sanitation. The Bible really teaches sanitation better than any other book out there today. And so it's so interesting that people will give science the credit, which is really a methodology. It's not even a. It's the system that's worshipped. But the Bible has been teaching this since the beginning of time.
Jordan Rubin
Absolutely. I think we've talked about this before. When I was getting well from Crohn's disease, Crohn's colitis, rather. I read three books after going to 69 medical experts, trying medications, every natural therapy you can think of. I read three powerful books, and one of them was called none of these Diseases. And one of the main messages was God's hygiene principles, sanitation principles, and how, if applied, they could have averted the bubonic plague in the Middle Ages. We're talking about simple things like bury your waist or excrement outside the camp a certain number of feet deep. This was before bacteria was discovered, thousands of years before, even during women's menstrual cycle, when they didn't have the same type of, let's say, hygienic menstrual products that they do today. They talked about where you could sit and how quickly someone else could sit on that same area or a certain animal that shouldn't be eaten, or what we believe shouldn't be eaten, like a pig or a skunk or a rat. If water flowed on an animal and then it flowed on a vase or a vessel used for cooking, they said you needed to destroy the pot. They didn't know about bacteria, they didn't know about parasites, they didn't know about toxins. Or did they? I believe every single day when I read the Bible, there's a chance for new revelation. But the pharmacia message is something that's been rumbling for a long time. And frankly, Josh, it's something that we don't want to know about, we want to avoid. And it is scary.
Dr. Josh Axe
Well, we know in the book of Revelation, Revelation 18 specifically, and there are other verses in the Bible that allude to using the word pharmacia. Again, sometimes that's translated sorcery or witchcraft. But it's so interesting to think about that. We, we have an entire industry today that took that term and basically is using it today in Pharmakia. It's pharmaceuticals, the pharmaceutical industry. When you look at the corruption, when you look at the level of evil that's infiltrated the pharmaceutical industry and even its inceptions, it's really scary. I think looking at why an industry was created and who created it can tell you a lot about it. We know John Rockefeller was one of these people that really started spreading these belief systems and methodologies of saying, hey, we're not going to use plants anymore, these things from creation, these things that are natural. We're going to start creating synthetic drugs. We're going to create them for pennies, charge people a fortune and build up what's now a multi trillion dollar industry. And we know the largest lawsuits today, people can look this up. I want to say it's the five to 10 largest lawsuits have all been pharmaceuticals due to the side effects. You know, there's a drug, Vioxx, that killed nearly 100,000 people, causing their causing heart attacks and heart failure. And so these are things that I think that when you really look at the side effects of pharmaceuticals today, I think this is something that, you know, the Bible both talks directly to the people during that time, in that moment, but also to us today. And so I think we really need to listen to the Bible when it comes to its warnings about pharmacia.
Jordan Rubin
The Bible says when we are sick, we should go to the elders of our congregation, our church, and be prayed for. And anointed with oil. That's really the first thing we should do. 99 out of 100 times people go to a drug or they go to a doctor, a physician who I would say today physicians are largely the servants of pharmakia or the drug industry. I don't believe that physicians are evil. I don't believe that medical doctors want to hurt you. But their tools, their training, their funding all comes from Big Pharma or Big Pharmakeia. And when man tries to play God, there's always something missing. It's an imperfect attempt to try to duplicate what God created. That is the original sin of Lucifer. Satan, Hasatan, the accuser of the brethren, he tried to create everything as a counterfeit. When God only creates perfection. And even when he gives us free will and we fail, he gives us a savior. That's what he did with Adam. So I believe that the foundations of pharmacia predate any billionaire or trillionaire who you would say has nefarious plans to take over the world. Deep State. There's all these different names. I believe pharmacia had its origins in the fall of not only man, but the fallen angels. This gets really deep. But how does this affect us today? If you blindly take a pharmaceutical and only learn later that you were one of very few who contracted a disease that is incurable due to a side effect. You mentioned 100,000 from a certain drug. That's just not right. And we've talked a lot and heard a lot about vaccines being one of the biggest challenging categories because you don't get a list of side effects. There aren't the same kind of safety or clinical trials. You're going there to protect, protect yourself from a disease and you might end up having something that is incurable for a lifetime and being completely disabled. So is pharmakia, sorcery and witchcraft? Maybe. But I would say that it is definitely worth thinking twice before you quote, unquote, sell yourself to this pharmaceutical model. Because there is way more than you bargain for when you have a symptom or a disease and you blindly take a medication.
Dr. Josh Axe
Yeah, yeah. You know, I think when we read the Bible, when we read terms like sorcery, witchcraft, pharmaceutical, pharmakia, I think during that day maybe there was a little bit more of an awareness of the intent of what was happening with what those verses were alluding to. But I still think today, per this point, we're trying to drive home is that, you know, when I think about what the devil does, is A lot of times he leaves in an element of truth with something. It's this level of propaganda, but it's not the full truth. Right. And there's this level of manipulation that happens. Also. There's a verse in Proverbs that I love, and it says something to this degree, the Lord brings blessing, but he adds no trouble to it. Yes. And it's sort of this thing where it's like, okay, the Lord brings blessing, the Lord brings healing. And there are no side effects. There are no side effects. And I think when you really look at what is the difference today between if somebody takes turmeric and somebody takes ibuprofen, what is the difference between if I'm taking a Hawthorne Berry and a statin drug? Right. Almost the same result when you look at these clinical trials. But one has major side effects in the other doesn't.
Jordan Rubin
Absolutely. I think, again, the original sin was someone other than God, in this case an angel, Lucifer, wanting to be like God, to ascend to the most high. I believe that if you're in certain circles with the creators or fathers of the pharmaceutical industry, the fathers of Big Food, Big Ag, all these repurposed chemicals that were used to kills certain things or people that now are used in medications, I believe they are serving another master. And we're all left to be sheep or lambs going to the slaughter. And someone might say, jordan, this is ridiculous. Are you telling me that if I go to the doctor and they prescribe me a medication, I am risking my life? The answer is yes, because every medication comes with at least some risk. And if you've been watching TV programs or streaming shows and you see drug ads, the risk of death is there in some of those, or the risk of suicide, which. That's death. It is absolutely ridiculous that we don't get to know what's going on. And we as the general public are kept from this information. But here's the bottom line. We need to trust God to keep us healthy. But that doesn't mean blindly do whatever is the status quo. Conventional medicine has become what is called the standard of care. And when you deal with certain conditions. We've talked a lot about cancer on previous programs. There is zero deviation from standard of care. And by the way, if standard of care, pharmaceuticals or medical interventions causes death, it's no issue. Practically no risk for the medical system. And the patient has virtually no recourse because it was called standard of care. Now, if someone deviates even to the point of recommending a food or an essential oil or a Quote unquote unapproved natural therapy, then there's loads of risk and liability because it is outside the box of standard of care which has become a machine or a monster. And I wouldn't be surprised one bit, Josh, if Pharmakia isn't only sorcery and witchcraft, but is the name of a specific demon. So we can get pretty deep along with that. Because I have seen people with such extraordinarily bad symptoms from a pharmaceutical, even one dose. The only thing I could say is it's evil.
Dr. Josh Axe
You know, I think that I want to bring this up and feel free and please share your opinion of this afterwards. I believe that there are categories in certain pharmaceuticals today that people can benefit from if they're in a life threatening emergency. I'll share for myself. I had a bacterial infection in my. Or some type of infection. Actually we never knew exactly the type of infection. It was in my disc and I went to a doctor, was recommended to be on an antibiotic for three months, end up getting on it for four weeks. And I believe that that was something that I needed to do. Now. The first thing I did was we prayed constantly for healing. I had everybody from you praying for me, John and Lisa Bevere, Heidi Baker, my wife, my father in law. I mean, I was getting prayer constantly. We anointed my head with oil, we took communion. I was praising God daily, I was eating perfectly, I was doing all those things. And I felt like for me in that moment, the right thing to do was to do that. I think I just want to clear up, I think as a broader context, part of what Jordan and I are talking about today is sort of this spirit of evil that sort of infiltrated the whole medical industry. If you're sick, the first thing most Christians don't do today is go to Jordan's point is pray to God, get prayed for, for healing, have somebody lay hands actually on you, physically on you, and pray for healing and using herbs and diet and all the things the Bible talks about, getting sunshine, just living the right lifestyle, doing these things for healing. Absolutely. First, I think that's sort of the bigger thing that we're talking about in terms of just the whole spirit of it, the God complex. I mean, there are so many doctors, Jordan, that have a God complex. I mean, so many. I think about Dr. Fauci as just one prime example. As we went through Covid, I think that's why we did so poorly going through Covid is we had doctors that had a God complex and tried to remove God and Nature from the equation. I mean, they were even changing. Changing things in the dictionary, like what actually immunity was, or herd immunity. And so, all that being said, I'd love for you to share kind of your opinion on is there ever a time when somebody should be takingor any condition where somebody should take an antibiotic, or if somebody breaks their arm, they're in a car accident, is there something they should take to clot blood? What is your viewpoint on that? If it's radically different than mine, that's fine, but I'd love to hear your thoughts there.
Jordan Rubin
Well, I think it's only fair when somebody is positioned as a health expert or an expert in anything, that you should ask them how they've handled certain things with themselves and their family. And so I can sit here, Josh, and say, there's never a need for medicine. The medical establishment is rooted in evil. Humans are treated like sheep. They don't have a choice. They're told what to do. The patient is dumb. The doctor knows everything. But at the end of the day, how have I lived. At the end of the day, how have I lived my life? And I've said before, my children are from vast backgrounds. I have six children, five are adopted, and I brought them into our home at different ages. Now, the children that we adopted early or our biological son, we decided not to allow to have childhood immunizations and vaccines. Several of my children have never eaten fast food, and none of them have received a medication outside of surgical intervention. And these were my choices. I take some responsibility for that. Where my son had a fracture playing football, and my daughter had a torn meniscus playing basketball, and both of them had surgery, both of them had anesthesia. I wasn't able to get all of the ingredients to every pain med or potential antibiotic they received. I remember my daughter, and this was just a year and a half ago, Alexis, she was in the surgical suite, and they said, we're going to give you this tablet so you're not nauseous from the anesthesia. And then they also put a patch on her to help with nausea. And she looked at me, dad, do I have to take this? I was a little bit crushed. It wasn't my fault that she was injured. She loves sports. But we felt getting the surgery was the most beneficial path for her to continue playing and doing what she loves. And I know that came with a risk, but I chose to do it. So for me to sit here and say, all medicine is bad. We never need to listen to doctors. They only have their best Intentions in mind. It's not true. I think there are times where you make a decision to take a medicine, to get a medical treatment or intervention, and it's hard to escape life without doing that. I think emergency medicine, by and large is phenomenal. I think the ability to deal with traumas is the best in the world, in the United States, and I know I'm kind of beating a dead horse here, but what we are so bad at treating that is the medical system in the US Is chronic degenerative diseases and the idea that by stacking medications, we can recommend or advise a patient to take something for the rest of their lives when it's only been studied for weeks, months, or at most a year or two. So just to be clear, my family has not lived a perfectly healthy life. We have chosen medical interventions and medications very infrequently, but always after prayer and after lifestyle changes or what you'd call natural remedies. That is the foundation we're built on. And because of that, I've rarely met a person who's relied less on the pharmaceutical system and the medical system than our family. And I feel like we've benefited largely from that.
Dr. Josh Axe
Yeah, yeah. There's another verse I know you and I both love, and it's by their fruit you will recognize them. And I think about this even in terms of countries. The United States ranks, I believe, number one in emergency medical care, 70th. And overall longevity, healthcare, everything else, 70. And countries like Japan, I think that's number one or number two. That's another example. When I look at that as a country, I think part of the reason for them, they prioritize lifestyle so much as healthy habits, daily flow, living in tune with nature. There's a number of things there. They're the largest drinkers of green tea and wild caught fish and a number of things there. Again, for everybody here, we are not saying that a drug itself is necessarily evil. We're saying just an industry itself has been infiltrated with the spirit of evil. And by the way, almost everything you can imagine has been infiltrated with the spirit of evil. A lot of family today, entertainment, government, right. A lot of these industries have been infiltrated with the spirit of evil. I know our friend Johnny has talked about this fairly frequently in terms of there's been these infiltrated areas where God should be at the center. And I think that's the biggest thing that Jordan and I just want to encourage you with. If you are sick, the first thing we want to do before you take a supplement before you eat a food, get down on your hands and knees and pray to God for healing. And then have other people lay their hands on you and pray for you for healing. And just do exactly what the Bible teaches. That's what we want to encourage you to do. Do exactly what the Bible teaches when it comes to healing.
Jordan Rubin
And it's not always easy to do. I'll give you an example. I'm in a big season of sports for two of my children, and I've got music and drama with my others that are in the house. And my daughter, who plays competitive flag football, she is an absolute monster on the field. She got whiplash in the first game of a doubleheader. I saw her with the trainer moving her head around. I was obviously concerned. My first thought is, does she have arnica, which is a homeopathic? Does she have this to put on it? Can I give her these systemic enzyme tablets to reduce the inflammation? But then I remind myself, as soon as she comes off the sideline, put your hands on her neck and pray for healing. It's so easy to want to fix things. And to your point, prayer supersedes natural remedies the same way it supersedes pharmaceutical remedies. The difference is that I believe natural remedies adhere to the Hippocratic oath much more, which is, first, do no harm. That's the main tenet for a natural treatment. And I really feel like a lot of conventional medicine therapies, they're taking the hypocritic oath instead of the Hippocratic oath, which, by the way, comes from Hippocrates, the father of medicine and even the symbol of medicine today, Josh, if you want to get really deep, it's the snake. The symbol of medicine is the snake. And what does that represent? The snakes that bit the Israelites when they disobeyed God. And then Moses had to make an image of the snake and lift it up so that the plague would be averted and the people would be healed. It's crazy. If you hear something as a serpent and that is the flagship or logo of something, there's very deep meaning here, Josh. And it is not by accident. It can't be.
Dr. Josh Axe
It is. It is. It's crazy. It's crazy to think about, you know, are you looking at a snake or are you looking at the Christ? Right. I mean, it's. It's. It's interesting. You know, another. Another kind of issue I have. I was on the. The Girls Gone Bible podcast. These are two just amazing women who are doing Such an amazing job with their ministry and their podcast. And one of the things we talked about was antidepressants and anti anxiety drugs. And I think of all the drugs out there today that sort of symbolize sort of the problem with the medical industry is, listen, if you're dealing with depression, anxiety, anything like that, the first thing we should be doing is going to church, getting prayed for, seeking community, praising God, doing those things. And I think one of the problems is that people are taking a drug, feeling like it's fixing them, but in fact it's just numbing them. I mean, they're, you know, in certain ways getting worse. They're never dealing with the root of the problem. And that's one of the things. I'm not saying there's never ever a time for certain medications, but I am saying that it should never be the first line of defense. It should always be the last line of defense when we're talking about these pharmaceuticals. So I think generally speaking, we want to encourage everybody to, hey, make a shift. Listen, when you are sick the next summer your kids are sick, as Jordan did with his daughter, put your hands on them and pray for healing. Have your spouse, if you have an injury, have them put their hands on you, pray for healing. And the Bible talks about in the book of James, have them anoint your head with oil. You know, you can get simple essential oils, you know, and just put a few drops on the head. You could put them on your kind of neck area if you use a carrier oil. That's a great thing to do, take communion. I mean, these are things you can do practically as the Bible talks about, to focus on healing. Cancer, dementia, heart disease, they're coming for so many people. And it's not just because of what most people think, which is that it's bad luck or bad genetics. The truth is your daily choices are either creating health or setting the stage for disease. And your doctor is probably reading your blood work all wrong. They're missing the cellular issues behind the symptoms. I'm currently offering a simple at home blood test that actually tests for the right things. And just as importantly, it comes with proper interpretation of the results. This new test flips the script. The future of interpreting test results is here. If you want to check it out and grab one before they're gone, just go to mybloodwork.com now you can take back control of your metabolism, your energy and your hormones naturally. I've put together an in depth practical training to help you balance your hormones using powerful foods, herbs and natural Lifestyle strategies that actually work. If you're ready to start feeling like yourself Again, go to draxehormoneclass.com or click the link in the description to begin your healing journey today. That's draxehormoneclass.com to take back your health naturally.
Jordan Rubin
Josh on the topic of antidepressant and anti anxiety medicines, this is really hits home. I feel like people might take what we're saying in an offensive way. But I'm here to tell you it is my firm belief that antidepressant and anti anxiety medicines interfere with our ability to hear God and connect in the spirit. There are certain pathways that are blocked with antidepressant medications that rob you of, at minimum, creativity. Now you hear of people that are on a certain antidepressant and they say, I feel like a zombie or I just feel numb. I don't feel anything. That's similar to certain symptoms of dementia that basically cause people who are normally engaged and active to be more withdrawn and really just a wallflower, if you will. And again, I am being transparent during this program by sharing some of my family stories. I have three children who are half siblings. They may listen to this podcast, but I want to share their history. They come from a generation of diagnosed bipolar disorder, multiple personality disorder, potentially schizophrenia. I got to know some of their family a little bit. And so we have dealt with serious issues of addiction, trauma, at minimum, serious disobedience and even what you'd consider tremendous acting out. And I saw it in all three of them and the oldest and the youngest are separated by 15 years. So we're looking at breaking generational curses, we're looking at inner healing, we're looking at deliverance. And anyone who would talk to them would say, why don't they take an antidepressant? Why don't they take an anti anxiety medication? Why don't they take something to help them with their addictions when they are getting off of the addictive substance so that they can maintain serotonin levels, whatever it is. I deal with this reality in my home today and I've dealt with it for the last 11 years since we've brought these three into our homes and I pray for them, I have fed them well when they're in our home, I have used natural remedies. But at the end of the day, the secret that so many people keep from others is that they are on antidepressants. They're told to be on them for life. I heard somebody say that 15 to 25% of churchgoers that are adults are on an antidepressant. And don't even get me started on the childhood medications for various neurological disorders or maybe behavioral disorders, adhd. For once, I want everyone to understand that is listening to my voice. You can be healed and delivered from behavioral and mental disorders. These are plaguing us today now that we have been so engrossed in social media and comparing ourselves to everyone else. You know what they say? We compare our worst days to someone else's highlight reel. This has caused our spirit and our soul to be so damaged that people are reaching out for antidepressants and antianxiety medications as a lifeline. And I believe it is disrupting our walk with Jesus and it is greatly hurting us. I don't want to just condemn people because I know many people who are on these medications. There is hope. There are answers. In fact, off the air, Josh, we were just working with our favorite formulator who helps us at our companies, who created this amazing brain health supplement that you and I are both excited to take. Not because we have been diagnosed with a mental or behavioral disorder, but life is tough. I was just thinking this morning and praying about some struggles that I was dealing with. I'm not going to turn to something that shuts off my ability to connect with God and my imagination and creativity. I'm going to trust God and I'm asking him to give me the answers. And one of them this morning was 45 minutes of morning sun with my eyes on the sun and my body, just because I knew that's what I needed after being out till midnight at a football game and knowing I was going to drive six hours today and all the things that are happening. But I want to say directly that if you're on an antidepressant and anti anxiety medicine, pray and ask God to deliver you from what has been called a life sentence of mental illness. Because I do believe, Josh, people can be healed from that.
Dr. Josh Axe
Yeah. I mean, number one, go to the great physician. He will tell you the Holy Spirit will lead you in the right direction there. I want to say this too. Like I'm speaking to this from somebody who's had experience. Like I was the kid diagnosed with adhd. I got put on Ritalin. I got put on Adderall. I only took them a short time because I could tell it was changing my personality. But I experienced those drugs. Listen, I went to the principal's office. I guarantee you more than any kid in my elementary school, at least in my class, because I had such a hard time focusing in school. And it wasn't until I got to college and I had sort of a mindset shift and I started really pursuing God in a stronger way. I changed my diet and all of a sudden it's like I went from getting an almost 2.0 GPA in high school to above a 3.0 later on a 3.9 GPA. But again, I say that because it was God that helped change me. Following these principles of nature and doing that helped. And my mom was on an antidepressant and an anti anxiety drug simultaneously. And I saw that it just made her worse for years and years and years. And it wasn't until she started meditating on the Bible day and night and focusing on things she loved do that she was able to be set free and get off those drugs and medications. And also, I want to say think about this. One of the side effects of antidepressants is suicidal thoughts or suicide. One of the reasons for that is I remember reading a paper on this. When you take an antidepressant, you no longer have a full realization of what your reactions are going to cause. So like, you actually kind of view things like this. You don't view things in light of eternity anymore. You kind of view things in the short term. And so you're not really sure stressed because you don't feel like what you do. You don't understand the outcomes, the true outcomes of your actions. So think about you couldsomebody could kill themselves and not realize. No. That that was the end. And so that's one of the side effects there. I do want to say as well, the Bible's got some great remedies. It references in Song of Solomon. It talks about saffron. There are some amazing studies on saffron for mood. There are things out there like St. John's Wort, same omega 3 fatty acids, zinc, vitamin D and probiotics, all proven today with scientific literature. Many of these at least the herbals we talked about, saffron referenced in the Bible. We know the power of the sun, we know the power of community. These are the things that are truly going to help make you well. Is number one, turning to God and finding your true purpose and identity and then living by God's design.
Jordan Rubin
Absolutely. And to add to some of those amazing herbs and supplements, Ashwagandha root extract is absolutely amazing for all things brain. We are dealing on a hypercortisol epidemic today, which means we are stressing our adrenals, which stresses our thyroid, which puts strain on our cardiovascular system, our gastrointestinal system. And I have been really deep in researching the benefits of ashwagandha root extract, particularly KSM 66 Ashwagandha. And it's amazing, Josh, when you see young people consume it, their ADHD symptoms are being reduced by nearly 20%, which is pretty awesome considering how desperate the parents are to see results. You see people that can't sleep. You see people with sexual dysfunction with low testosterone. This cortisol issue is at the root cause, or at minimum the indirect cause to so many health challenges. And when you consume those adaptogens, Ashwagandha is great. Rhodiola is great for many people. Panax ginseng is amazing. And then we talk about sun and grounding or earthing. Exercise in general, if bottled, could be the greatest antidepressant known to man. But what happens when you're depressed or when you're on antidepressants? You don't want to exercise. You become lethargic. And then, of course, diet, the absence of food, fasting is a great way to heal your mind, body, and spirit. I didn't necessarily want to get into an entire dissertation on depression, but it's plaguing us, Josh. And it's one of the conditions that people suffer in relative silence.
Dr. Josh Axe
I mean, I believe, and I don't want to misquote here, but I want to believe that, like two of the top five selling medications overall as an antidepressant and an anxiety drug, I mean, it's incredibly, incredibly high the sales.
Jordan Rubin
And that's legal drugs. Now, because I've had a child that dealt with substance abuse, There is an entire network of black market anti anxiety and antidepressants that are being shipped in primarily from overseas. And that's not being counted in the sales you're referring to, but quote, unquote, street Xanax is very, very popular and a huge issue with young individuals who are addicted or older.
Dr. Josh Axe
Well, you know, when I was on this podcast, I recently mentioned the Christian podcast, they were talking about how the discussion was how many young girls in high school, in college are getting on it so, so early. And so there's lots. And part of it is due to the social media comparing yourself to, you know, like you mentioned, people looking perfect on there. There's all those issues I do want to mention. You know, one of the things that we really do in the biblio diet is we really dive deep into these herbs and somebody saying, hey, I want to learn more about how do I heal depression, anxiety, how Do I truly follow a biblical plan for healing? You guys can check out the book Jordan and I wrote where we go really in depth on this. It's called the Biblio Diet. Healing Secrets of the Bible. How to overcome Anxiety. We talk about cancer, we talk about autoimmune disease, healing your gut hormones, all of this in the book. So check it out. The Biblio Diet, you can get it bookstores nationwide, Amazon.com, and I can't believe how many people are buying the book. In fact, Jordan and I just will share. This has been for me the most popular book I've ever written. This early on, we're getting such amazing feedback from the church community. Loads and loads of pastors, loads and loads of well known influencers, podcasters who've actually read the book at Riley Gaines. I don't know if you know Riley. She texts me because I sent her a book. She me texted text me a couple days ago and she was like, man, this book is awesome. And so we're just getting such amazing feedback. So we are super excited for you to read this. And then once you read it, you can take this information about what the Bible says about health and healing and talk to others about it, maybe teach a growth group about it at your church, but at the very least, allow it to help heal you and you can share that with your family as well. The cdc. CDC now estimates that one in every three adults has pre diabetes. The signs are there long before a diagnosis. Things like constant fatigue, stubborn belly fat, sugar cravings, brain fog, frequent urination and increased thirst. And these are all symptoms of insulin resistance, the root cause behind most cases of type 2 diabetes. Now here's the good news. This condition is completely reversible with the right diet, lifestyle and healing herbs. And if you or someone you love is struggling with blood sugar issues, head over to draxediabetesclass.com to watch a free training on how to naturally balance your blood sugar and reverse your symptoms. That's DRAPE diabetesclass.com to take back control of your health today. You know, Jordan, one of the things that people don't realize about herbs as well and medications is I want to say it's anywhere from 30 to 40% of medications today. Those compounds were taken from herbs and then now they're made synthetically. So a lot of times these herbs have inspired medications. The problem is now that they're so synthetic that they're impacting the body in a different way and typically at doses that are extremely high. And so it's imbalancing organ systems and causing other issues thereother issues there as well. I want to transition into something else. We talked about herbs, we talked about spices. I want to talk about leaves. This is something that's become a passion of yours. And by the way, this is new health content that I have never heard anyone else talk about. And you're going to be one of the first people to ever hear about it on the show today. But it's the healing power of leaves. Now, I'm a big green tea consumer. I love matcha green tea. In fact, every morning Chelsea has her coffee, coffee. I have my matcha, and I love it. There are so many benefits showing green tea consumption for longevity, but green tea itself doesn't bear fruit. And this is something where I know that even on our farms, you're now growing certain types of fruit trees, doing research on the benefits of fruit trees and leaves. And so I want you to talk about sort of this epiphany, this revelation you had and the verses that inspired it on the healing power of leaves that specifically come from fruit trees.
Jordan Rubin
Here's an interesting point. Believers are told in Scripture that if we read Revelation specifically out loud, we will receive a blessing. And it's the only book of the Bible that specifically says by reading it, by speaking it, you will receive a blessing. And also interesting is that most Christians don't want to read Revelation because we say we don't understand it. Have you ever said that? Because I know I have back in the day. Oh, it's Revelation. It's so confusing. And the bulls and the wrath and the. There's so many, so much symbolism. But in the Same book, just four chapters apart, chapter 18 says that sorcery and witchcraft are being used in Babylon and that Greek word is pharmacia. Four chapters later, Revelation 22:2 talks about the tree of life that bears 12 types of fruits on the side of a river with water flowing from the sanctuary. And then it says the leaves are for the healing of the nations. And the Greek word there means cure, medicine, or healing. So we have gone in the world today towards the sorcery and witchcraft as our primary medicine. When four chapters later, the last chapter of the Bible, it talks about the tree of life, which is longevity. It is what was giving Adam and Eve their eternity in the Garden of Eden. Jesus, through his shed blood, is making a way for us to have access to that again. And the leaves of the trees are for the healing of the nations. I can't go into the entire message of healing leaves. We talk about it in chapter 14 of the Biblio diet. We devote an entire chapter on it. God gave my wife a God idea. She says I would consider it a word from God. She shared it with me in 2019 and later God spoke clearly to me from Ezekiel 47:12 and Revelation 22:2 that leaves from fruit trees are our God given medicine. I call it tbm, traditional biblical medicine. I believe there's a whole system, Josh, that is waiting to be uncovered. I wrote the Maker's Diet, I wrote multiple books on biblical health, but yet God did not reveal this to me until 2019, 15 years after the Maker's Diet was published from the same Bible. And I'm seeing people and their health restored by consuming leaves from fruit trees, which by the way are largely thrown away, discarded, or at best composted.
Dr. Josh Axe
You know, I want to give an example of this too. Like so many people today, are turning towards metformin for diabetes. We know that this drug has major side effects. It's depleting your body of vitamin B12, for instance, in a major way, which can then cause nerve degeneration. So there's all of these side effects that we're seeing there. However, there are fruit tree leaves like bayberry and mulberry, and these have been shown in clinical studies to be absolutely phenomenal for blood sugar. Absolutely phenomenal. So there's just an example of a couple, and I know you've got so many more. Give us just a couple more examples. The one that blew my mind, by the way, when you told me that an oak tree leaf could have amazing healing benefits. Oak trees are everywhere.
Jordan Rubin
It's so exciting, Josh, because my initial reaction when my wife Nikki said, I believe you're going to find the answer for cancer was out of frustration. God had healed me from cancer, but it was through principles that I enacted 14 hours a day during a 40 day treatment program or a medication for cancer that costs a fortune and most people can't afford, or an herb in the Amazon that there wouldn't be enough supply to bring healing to people. When I realized through scripture that God's answer to cancer and likely most other diseases was something that grows on trees and falls off in the winter if you're in a colder climate and gets put in garbage bags or raked up, I couldn't believe it. And then people said, well, Jordan, is it an orange tree, an apple tree, a banana tree? I said, yes, but it's an oak tree, it's a walnut tree, it's a hickory tree. So I'll give you an example because people are saying there's no way that oak leaves are beneficial. Oak leaves have been studied to have the same or greater antioxidants than black and green tea, depending on the species and where it's grown, to have a similar flavor when it is steeped. And one of the most common, I'll say, nutrients or phytonutrients we used naturally during the COVID pandemic was quercetin to boost the immune system to help with allergies. Quercetin was discovered in oak tree leaves because oak comes from the genus quercus. That's where quercetin comes from. Nobody talks about that.
Dr. Josh Axe
It's amazing to think that nature's greatest quercetin supplement is oak tree leaves.
Jordan Rubin
It is. And you can even make kombucha with it. Anything you do with tea you can make. And it is literally hidden in plain sight. Someone might say, well, Jordan, how does oak have a fruit in the Bible, fruit could mean nut, it could mean seed, or it could mean the fleshy part of what we would consider delicious fruit. And some vegetables are fruits and fruits or vegetables. It gets confusing. But I've studied this for six years. I'm not a total expert, I'm learning every day. But I believe consuming the leaves of perennial fruit bearing trees, bushes, shrubs or even vines is the answer to health. Reducing inflammation, boosting the immune system, lowering elevated blood sugar levels that we talked about. And for antimicrobial benefits, anti parasitic, antifungal, antibacterial, antiviral. And get this, leaves of fruit trees are amongst the richest source of minerals on the planet. You're not going to get nutrients depleted, you're going to get them in abundance. For example, guava is a great source of zinc. Mulberry and lemon can be a great source of certain B vitamins, but mostly in the leaves. Moringa is a superfood, but guess what? It bears a fruit called the drumstick fruit. We grow this. So I know. And we planted 600,000 fruit bearing trees between 2019 and 2021. And praise God, they're ready to be harvested. We are harvesting every day and I know two people, actually three, that are either off of their insulin or they have greatly reduced it with a diabetes diagnosis just from consuming mulberry leaves steeped in hot water alone. And you mentioned hawthorn. Hawthorn leaves are one of the greatest sources of cardio bioprotective compounds known to man. And we have probably 50,000 hawthorn trees.
Dr. Josh Axe
Yeah, Jordan made me think of this. Money may not grow on trees, as my dad used to say. But medicine does.
Jordan Rubin
Yes, medicine grows on trees. And it's time that we took God at his word and decided to partake of his true medicine.
Dr. Josh Axe
And so here's some things that you can start doing now. Start thinking about how to use leaves as medicine. Listen, we're big fans of things like green tea and white tea and oolong. But also you can go, listen, here's an example. If you've got a ginkgo biloba tree in your yard, or if you have an oak tree or a mulberry tree, or bushes like raspberry BlackBerry bush, we've talked about this as well. Blueberry. You can actually cut those leaves yourself. And then I'll have Jordan walk you through what to do but dry the leaves and actually use those as tea leaves in medicine. And I know you actually put a recipe, we put a recipe for how to do that here in the Biblio Diah book.
Jordan Rubin
You can forage for your own leaves if you have trees in your garden on your property, if there's a botanical garden, if there's any patch of forest, you can get an herb or plant finder app and you can determine what you're looking at in these trees. It could be a persimmon that you just don't see the fruit. But persimmon leaves are amazing. Could be an American pawpaw, could be a blueberry. An eastern hackberry, could be a high bush cranberry. These are everywhere, no matter where you live. And you don't even need to dry the leaves.
Dr. Josh Axe
Josh.
Jordan Rubin
I remember we were somewhere and we took pine needles from pine nut bearing pine trees because there's pine nuts in the pine cones, mixed it with oak leaves and walnut and muscadines, which are a grape like berry. So that was four different leaves we found in a forest. We put these leaves in boiling hot water, poured it into a cup and drank it, and it tasted like tea. We got a boatload of antioxidants and plant nutrients that you would normally buy in a supplement from picking leaves off of trees. And best of all, you're not robbing a tree when you pick its leaves. It'll grow back. It's the most renewable resource known to man. And I am so excited about this. And you mentioned in the Biblio diet, we give a recipe, we tell you how to find these leaves. Certain cultures consume these leaves in their diet. Think of grape leaves or dolmas in Greek. Think of olive leaf raspberry leaves. We often recommend for women who want to have a hastening of their contractions or for increasing breast milk. We talked about moringa, which is now known as a superfood. It's called the tree of life. There are over 1500 fruit tree leaves that I have studied, and all of them have between 60 and 300 beneficial plant compounds each.
Dr. Josh Axe
It's amazing. It's amazing. I also had this picture in my mind of, like, money actually growing on trees, but people actually saving money because they can just go into their own backyard or a local forest and actually find these tree leaves, bring them home, make tea from them fresh that way. It really, really is incredible.
Jordan Rubin
And apple leaves are amazing. Peach leaves are amazing. Just when I get home today, I've got BlackBerry leaves waiting for me. That we've been tinkering with some different recipes. BlackBerry leaves are so amazing for the gut. They have certain ellagia tannins and other what you'd call hydrolyzable tannins that can help the gut. These are absolutely amazing. We talk about pomegranate leaves, soursop leaves, or graviola, which in laboratory research have been shown to reduce the growth of many cancers. God says the leaves are medicine, healing, and they're for the nations. If we are Bible believers, let's take God at his word and start consuming this. And I can tell you, over the last six years, I've seen miraculous results in people. We even tell a story of a young man who overcomes, overcame late stage metastatic cancer in part by consuming what we call healing leaves every day. And Josh, he got the leaves from a local orchard when he found a stand at a farmer's market and asked, where are you growing these trees? And in fact, one of his relatives worked at that farmer's market and was able to connect him to that orchard. And he literally went with a pair of scissors, took God at his word, and he is now completely healed of cancer.
Dr. Josh Axe
Yeah. One thing that I've done, and this is so easy to do, is you can actually go for. Listen, I know everybody's at a different level of tech understanding here. Jordan is at the very low level. No offense to you. I'm not at the highest, but higher than Jordan in terms of my tech savviness. But here's what you can do. If you have an app like AI, any sort of AI tool, whether it's chat, GTP or Bard or Grok, you can actually take a picture of a TR tree leaf and ask what type of tree leaf that is and what are its medicinal benefits? Okay. And Then you just take a handful, throw them in a pot with water, simmer it for 30 minutes, and then drink the fluid. That's it. It is so, so simple, what you can do there in order to do that. And it's a fun thing. By the way, this is a great thing to do with kids. Teaching your kids about different leaves that are in nature that have healing properties is so, so powerful. And so, again, this is a great way to educate your kids and show God's design and what he's put here on the earth for us to benefit from in healing our bodies. You know, we talked about essential oils a little earlier as well, from the standpoint of the Bible, in the Book of James, specifically saying, if you're sick, go to the elders of the church, have them pray for you for healing, anointing your head with oil, and you will be made well. And so this is another thing that I just want to reference for everybody is do that. Take God at his word, him saying, do that. Exactly. Get a few essential oils. You know, there is a recipe for the holy anointing oil. You could look that up online as well. I believe it's olive oil, myrrh, calamus, cassia, cinnamon. And I might be missing one there as well, but that's the basis for that holy anointing oil. And you could, again, mix olive oil with those, ask the parts, and do it when you're sick. Teaching your kids this as well, it's so powerful. It's not just about teaching. It's about being obedient to God and experiencing his healing by living out what the Bible speaks of. And I know Jordan and I are both big users of essential oils. We'll do another episode on this in the future, diving into all the different benefits of the many different types of essential oils there as well. And the reality is, essential oils are referenced numerous, numerous times throughout the Bible.
Jordan Rubin
Absolutely. And olive oil in and of itself is amazing. It was used for anointing. It represents the Holy Spirit. One thing we do at night, at dinner, virtually every night when we're together, I have a small shot glass of olive oil, the highest quality I can find, whether it's from Italy, Greece, or Morocco. And we all take either a tablespoon or the older adults take an ounce shot. And we will quote Acts 1:8. We'll say, and we will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon us, and we will be your witnesses. And if we're in Birmingham, we say in Birmingham, Alabama, Nashville, Tennessee, and to all the ends of the Earth. We say that because we live in both places. And then I pour everyone a glass of healing leaves, which is God's medicine, cure and healing combined with God's anointing, representing the Holy Spirit. But here's what's interesting about that. If you fast forward and look at modern science and modern health, language, mitochondrial health, cellular health, you talk about polyphenols, guess what? High quality extra virgin olive oil and a healing leaves beverage is loaded with polyphenols that help your mitochondria and help us with longevity. God said it first. We're just taking him at his word. And every night we get an opportunity to consume these things. And in part, I believe God honors that because we are being obedient to His Word. We're reading His Word, which says the leaves are for healing, the oil of joy, the oil of gladness, the oil of anointing. And we're consuming it. Our behavior is lining up with our beliefs. That's what's called integrity. And it brings me a great sense of peace as a father, that my children and my wife and myself are partaking of God's healing medicine each and every night. It's simple, it tastes good. And science is barely catching up to God's wisdom, but the Bible said it first and we can benefit from that long before a scientist gives the thumbs up.
Dr. Josh Axe
Yeah, absolutely agree Again, Jordan, and I want to encourage you to first go to the great physician. Remember this, there is a spirit of evil that has infiltrated the medical system today. This quick fix mentality, getting away from nature and God's design, that's not of God. And so do everything you can, as it says in Romans 12:1 2. And just want to encourage you with that. And 1 Corinthians 10:31 with you, you eat, drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. And so when you are sick, next time or right now, trying to promote longevity, follow a biblical plan, a plan based on the greatest book ever written, inspired by God, the Bible. Okay? We want to encourage you to do that. And again, go to herbs and plants and foods and lifestyle, and again, to God first. If you're sick, pray for yourself. Have others pray for you for healing, and you will be made well. Hey, thanks so much for tuning in here to the Dr. Josh Axe Show. Remember, each and every week, we're diving deep into the science and principles of how you can heal physically, mentally and spiritually. Also, don't forget to subscribe. I want to mention, as I've mentioned a few times now, sometimes some of these episodes because this was another one very controversial. It's been Shadow banned on YouTube and so if you are not subscribed, oftentimes it will not show up on your feed. So make sure, make sure to subscribe because again, it's the number one thing you can do to support the podcast and allow me to bring in more high profile guests like Jordan and also go deeper and deeper into some of these things that are even sometimes found to be controversial. Also, thank you so much for sharing this. People need to know the truth, both Christians and non Christians, the truth about biblical medicine and how to heal by God's design. So thanks for subscribing, thanks for sharing. We'll see you on the next episode. And we're praying in faith. Faith for your health and longevity. Listen. That's the sound of the fully electric Audi Q6E Tron. The sound of captivating electric performance, dynamic drive and the quiet confidence of ultra smooth handling. The elevated interior reminds you this is more than an EV. This is electric performance. Redefined. The fully electric Audi Q6E Tron.
Podcast: The Dr. Josh Axe Show
Episode Title: Pharmakeia: Did the Bible Predict Big Pharma’s Rise?
Release Date: September 16, 2025
Guests: Dr. Josh Axe (Host), Jordan Rubin (Co-author of "The Biblio Diet")
Theme:
This episode explores the biblical concept of "pharmakeia" (sorcery/pharmaceuticals), the spiritual and historical roots of the modern pharmaceutical industry, and the Bible’s approach to healing through prayer, community, food, herbs, and particularly the healing power of fruit tree leaves. Dr. Axe and Jordan Rubin analyze both the controversy and the practical steps for Christians seeking to align their health choices with biblical principles.
Recommended Action:
Take God at his word: if you are sick, pray first, seek community, use anointing oil, and then explore God-given herbs, foods, and especially the leaves of fruit trees for healing, aligning lifestyle and belief with biblical wisdom.
Dr. Axe (58:10): "If you're sick, pray for yourself. Have others pray for you for healing, and you will be made well."