The Art of Being Well
The Art of Being Well

Stem Cells, GLP-1s, Peptides & The Faith-Based Case for Longevity | Dr. Josh Axe

September 7, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

In 2021, Dr. Josh Axe nearly died from a spinal infection that began after a stem cell injection in his lower back. The infection spread into his L5 vertebra and an abscess grew in his spinal canal. Doctors told him he would likely be permanently disabled and in chronic pain for the rest of his life. Instead, he fully recovered with zero back pain. That experience became the foundation of Heal Your Cells, the book he co-wrote with Dr. Will Cole. The conversation covers the specific therapies that saved him, the role of peptides and stem cells in modern medicine, the problems with how GLP-1 drugs are currently used, and the faith-based perspective that keeps longevity work from becoming an unhealthy obsession with immortality.

The Infection That Changed Everything

A routine stem cell treatment for a long-standing back injury went wrong. Axe had already seen significant improvement from two prior injections, but after the third, he deteriorated rapidly. An MRI revealed a severe bone infection in his L5 vertebra. The core problem: bone and disc tissue have almost no blood flow or oxygen, which makes healing extremely difficult. Standard treatment would have been three months of IV antibiotics followed by spinal fusion surgery.

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (00:00) **Intro & Host Welcome** - Dr. Will Cole introduces the episode and his guest, Dr. Josh Axe.
  • 2 (04:01) **The Origin of "Heal Your Cells"** - Dr. Axe explains the personal story behind the book and its potential to transform lives.
  • 3 (06:25) **The Spinal Infection Story** - Dr. Axe recounts his near-death experience with a spinal infection from stem cell therapy.
  • 4 (11:48) **HBOT & Advanced Therapies Explained** - A breakdown of hyperbaric oxygen therapy and other cutting-edge treatments.
  • 5 (19:09) **Stem Cell Safety & Perspective** - Dr. Axe clarifies the risks of stem cell therapy and his current view on it.
  • 6 (20:32) **Peptides: Ancient Molecules, Modern Medicine** - A discussion on what peptides are and why they are valuable tools.
  • 7 (23:02) **The "Both/And" Approach to GLP-1s** - A nuanced perspective on GLP-1 agonists like Ozempic, focusing on dose and context.

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Guests on this episode

Dr. Josh Axe

Show Notes

Dr. Josh Axe - co-author of Heal Your Cells and one of the most well-known names in natural medicine - joins Dr. Will Cole to share the near-death spinal infection experience that personally validated every protocol in their new book. He walks through the hyperbaric oxygen therapy that helped regenerate bone with no blood supply, the BPC-157 and TB500 peptide stack that created new blood vessels in the damaged area, and the stem cell landscape that's changing what "reversible" means. They also discuss GLP-1s done right vs. wrong, the shared loss of their fathers (both sudden cardiovascular events), what the Bryan Johnson approach gets right and dangerously wrong, and what the most important quality in a doctor actually is. For all links mentioned in this episode, visit www.drwillcole.com/podcast.


Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.

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