In this vital episode of Real Medicine Real Lives, host Dr. Yassir Sonbol connects medical expertise to everyday life through one of the most overlooked health essentials: sleep. Joined by Cristy Plain, Executive Vice President of Sleep Services at Dedicated Sleep and a seasoned leader with over two decades in sleep medicine, the conversation reveals why sleep disorders especially sleep apnea remain widely underdiagnosed and dangerously underestimated.

Cristy breaks down what happens inside the body when breathing is disrupted at night, explaining how untreated sleep apnea forces the heart to work harder, increases cardiovascular strain, and contributes to serious outcomes such as hypertension, arrhythmias, stroke risk, and cognitive decline.

In this episode of Real Medicine, Real Lives, host Dr. Yassir Sonbol sits down with holistic medicine pioneer Dr. Michael Schwartz to explore what it really means when medical tests come back normal, yet patients still feel unwell. The conversation dives into root-cause medicine, patient validation, and why symptoms should be seen as meaningful signals rather than problems to silence.

Dr. Schwartz explains how the body communicates through fatigue, pain, inflammation, and emotional imbalance, highlighting the powerful connection between mind, body, and lifestyle.

In this episode of Real Medicine, Real Lives, host Dr. Yassir Sonbol sits down with Ron Eli, Ph.D., founder of Mexico Bariatric Center and Mexico Cosmetic Center, to explore how responsible medical tourism is reshaping access to life-changing care. With more than 27,000 successful surgeries facilitated, Ron shares how innovation, safety, and patient-centered design can expand treatment options while lowering costs and maintaining high medical standards.

This conversation dives into how global healthcare models help patients overcome insurance barriers, long wait times, and limited procedure availability in their home countries. Ron explains how education, pre- and postoperative support, advanced infrastructure, and medical tourism insurance work together to deliver safe, transparent, and ethical care across borders.

• (00:00:01) - Real Medicine: Real Lives
• (00:01:26) - Mexico Bariatric Center
• (00:06:07) - Why do Mexicans visit Mexico for medical tourism?
• (00:07:49) - Medical Tourism: What Kind of Patients Benefit?
• (00:12:33) - Real Medicine, Real Lives: Outcomes of Surgery
• (00:13:22) - Pre- and Post-Op Care for Liver Surgery
• (00:14:58) - What patterns have you seen in patients lives after surgery?
• (00:16:54) - What is medical tourism in Mexico?
• (00:18:23) - How Medical Tourism is helping standardize practices in the US
• (00:21:11) - How global healthcare is reshaping medicine
• (00:22:55) - Bariatric Surgery Center in Mexico
• (00:25:45) - Real Medicine: Steven Throne
• (00:27:11) - Understanding the cell biology of cancer
• (00:34:15) - Scientists on Cell Level Imaging
• (00:37:27) - Real Medicine: Real Lives
• (00:38:09) - Laser microscopy