The Doctor Next Door
20 Questions with Dr. Christina Mutch
This is Part II of our "Getting to Know Your Doctor" series (see Part I, here). The tables have turned, and now I get to ask Christina a bunch of questions. (Many of these questions have come from reading Tim Ferriss’s book, Tribe of Mentors). Enjoy!
In the last five years, what new belief, behavior, or habit has improved your life?
Okay, so in my late teens and early twenties, I used to think that being a runner meant eating whatever you want. Like most students, I ate a lot of processed foods. But eventually, I somehow stumbled upon a (controversial) book called The China Study. It talked about how the types of foods we eat actually affect our health. I started reading more about cleaner eating, and tried it out for myself. Within a couple weeks, I noticed that when I ate a cleaner diet, I just felt better. Normally, you think of healthy eating as preventing some event like a heart attack or stroke from happening 10-20 years down the line. But experiencing the immediate effects of clean eating really helped me understand how to eat better right now. Feeling that change in health, how powerful that can be, played a big part in me pursuing Family Medicine. I want to inspire others to make changes to feel their best today and prevent diseases down the line.
What purchase of $100 or less has most positively impacted your life in the last six months (or in recent memory)?
I've been a runner since high school. But in medical school, I really struggled to keep up with it, given the long hours on rotations, coming home after dark, constantly moving from one city to the next, etc. I was worried that exercise was starting to take a back burner in my life, and I needed to figure out a way to adapt.
Luckily, a friend of mine told me about this website called Fitness Blender. It's created and owned by a husband-wife duo who are both certified personal trainers. Their entire goal is to make fitness accessible and attainable to the public, and so all the exercises can be done at home. Mind you, I had never done "HIIT" (high-intensity, interval training) or resistance training in my life, but I decided to give it a try because they have lots of free workouts as short as 10 minutes and as long as an hour and a half. So I thought, "Okay, I have ten minutes, I can get this done." (Just a fair warning, sometimes their shorter workouts are harder!)
The best part was that when I did have time to go for a run, my running was stronger and my hill workouts, which could be pretty brutal, were a lot smoother. I was hooked.
I tried one of their paid workout programs, the "8-week Challenge for Busy People." It went traveling with me all through the fourth year of medical school. After going through it, I was back in shape, my mood had improved, I was sleeping better, and my confidence was up. Best ten bucks I've ever spent.
What book would you be most likely to give as a gift?
The one that comes to mind immediately is What the Eyes Don't See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City, By Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha. It's written by a practicing pediatrician in Flint, Michigan, who ultimately exposed the Flint Michigan water crisis. Despite the overwhelming challenges and even death threats, she persisted and fought for her patients' rights for access to clean water. Dr. Hanna-Attisha was a voice for those that were being oppressed and silenced. She relentlessly advocated for the health and safety of her patients. She treated her patients like family and fought like hell to protect them from a system that failed them—I get that. It's inspiring and I think everyone should read it.
What is one of the best or most worthwhile investments you've ever made (could be an investment of time, energy, money, etc.)?
Taking a rock climbing course in college. That course led me to take other wilderness courses, which led me to fall in love with the great outdoors. Already having an interest in human physiology and health, my rock climbing instructor suggested a wilderness medicine and EMT course in Conway, New Hampshire. Two passions combined? I immediately enrolled. It was there that I had my first conversation with an osteopathic physician, who turned out to be the founder of the school and teaching the course. It was that moment when I started thinking seriously about becoming a DO. That life-changing experience wouldn't have happened if I hadn't taken that first rock climbing course. (Thanks Professor Whitley!)
What unusual habit or absurd thing do you love?
Let's all agree: middle of the sandwich has the perfect bite. That's where all the ingredients are, in the perfect proportions. You go out to the crusty edge of that sandwich, and half the ingredients are missing. So when people eat from the middle of the sandwich to the edge, you're going from eating the perfect bite in the beginning, to the end where you're pretty much chewing on crust. That seems backwards to me. I know it sounds crazy, but I always save the middle for last and keep that one perfect bite until the end.
Rapid fire questions:
Favorite ice cream flavor?
Pistachio gelato...oooh or chocolate peanut butter...oh gosh or mint chocolate chip if it's a hot summer day...that's like asking who's your favorite child, [laughs] not a fair question!
Favorite cocktail?
Mint julep in the summer, old fashioned in the winter. So, bourbon. Preferably Basil Hayden's.
Favorite drink, in general?
My momma's black tea with cardamom for sure and a few sprigs of fresh mint from the garden. I have a lot of good memories drinking tea in the kitchen late at night with my family. We grew up making tea for every occasion—happy, sad, and everything in between.
Favorite meal?
Like unhealthy cheat meal? Then definitely fried chicken. And preferably with a waffle.
Favorite vice?
You mean my worst vice?! [laughs]. I try to eat healthy, but if there are kettle chips in the house: game over. I will lose that battle time and time again. So, now I have barred them from the house...
Favorite superhero?
Hmmm, superheroes. That's a tough one. Much to the chagrin of my brother and my husband...I've just never been big into superheroes. I guess I prefer finding heroes in the real world. I really enjoy reading biographies for that reason.
Spirit animal?
The mongoose. Or so I have been told lol.
Favorite documentary?
The Ugly Delicious series with David Chang. It's a docu-series that uses exploring new cuisines to highlight underlying cultural themes. For example, if you've ever had tacos al pastor, the meat in the taco is actually cut from a vertical spit roast. That technique actually came from the Lebanese who immigrated to Mexico decades and decades ago. I saw it and immediately thought, “Whoa, that looks exactly like how we eat it back home!” And so these two completely different styles of cooking merged together in a beautiful way. You get to appreciate the exotic diversity of the food while realizing that we're all connected. Food is this common thread for humans, a way of showing love across cultures. I remember growing up, cooking is exactly how my mom showed love, so it's beautiful to see this theme explored all over the world.
What is your ideal Saturday evening?
Well, the night would definitely have to start with a dinner-date at Amber Ox, and then going wherever in town was hosting Good Shot Judy. And just from experience, the night would probably end with hunting down some ice cream after being exhausted and sweaty from attempting to swing dance all night. Now, if it’s a stay-in-and-relax kinda night, then it would be inviting a few of our friends over, making a homemade meal, starting the fire pit outside, and relaxing to some jazz and bourbon.
What advice would you give to a driven, young person about to enter the “real world”?
Find out what you love doing, and use this to help others. Put another way, the best inventions are ones that solve a problem; find a problem you resonate with and try to fix it!
Anyone who particularly inspires you?
Definitely, I would have to say Michelle Obama. I read her biography, Becoming, and was really inspiring and I resonated with it on so many levels.
First, she talks a lot about her journey to finding her role in her community. She knew she wanted to help solve community problems and invoke positive change, but wasn't sure how in the beginning. Going 'along' on that journey with her helped me realize, you don't have to have all the answers right away, you just have to be open to new opportunities, stay true to your morals and passion, and you'll eventually find the problems you are uniquely poised to solve. And of course, be open to learning as much as you can, and garnering skills that may be useful, even if you aren't sure how just yet.
The other aspect of the book I was touched by was her willingness to open up about being a woman in today's world. I think it’s important for women to have role models that show us we can be a part of big change in the world and have a family too. She talks a lot about her balance of personal career fulfillment and being a great mother, and all the emotional ups and downs that go along with that.
Lastly, having seen what poor access to nutrition can do to people's health from an early age, my dream is to one day have a garden at our practice with a teaching kitchen, so when she started her garden at the White House to advocate for healthy eating and her Let's Move! campaign, I was thrilled.
She really goes out of her way to make everyone feel important: that anyone, no matter where you come from or who you are, can create positive change in the world.
What are bad recommendations you hear in your profession or area of expertise?
Hmm, I don't know about bad recommendations, but I would say to always, always double-, and even triple-check information. You will read things that are not from primary literature, or have a specialist or another physician tell you something, and it may certainly be true. But sometimes, people just remember things wrong, and even if they have the best of intentions, the information may not be 100% correct, or may be changed slightly. So always go back to the primary literature, read it for yourself, and come to your own conclusions once you have all the information. You might come to the same conclusion, but you will feel confident in your answer and know you did your due diligence to make sure.
When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what to do you do or what questions do you ask yourself?
I feel like if I can't focus, then there is probably a reason, and I need to respect that (spoken like an expert procrastinator, if I do say so myself!). But seriously, instead of fighting against myself, I just accept that I can't focus, and try to recharge/refresh so I focus better later. Usually my go-to is going for a run or working-out. If I haven't done that, then I usually can't focus to begin with.
If you could have a gigantic billboard anywhere with anything on it, what would it say and why?
"Let food be thy medicine" [attributed to Hippocrates]. I think how we treat our bodies has a big impact on how we feel, and not only physically, but mentally.
In the last five years, what have you become better at saying no to? What new realizations and/or approaches have helped?
I've learned that it's okay to say "no" to a social offer or event. I think, especially in our age group, there is a real "fear of missing out" and so, I would tend to overcommit. I think it is important to jump on opportunities and to even say "yes" to things/events that are outside of your comfort level in order to grow. That said, it's equally important to have "self-time"—time that is protected—so you can recharge and reflect. Sunday afternoons and onward is our "self-time" that we try to keep reserved each week for that purpose and each other.