Harvard-trained pain specialist Dr. Asare Christian joins Sam Tejada, CEO and Founder of Liquivida®, to explore a simple but revolutionary idea: what if the key to ending pain and extending life isn’t found in prescriptions, but in repairing the body from within?
Pain touches more lives than cancer, diabetes, and heart disease combined. Yet for decades, medicine has been more focused on numbing pain than understanding why it exists. For Dr. Asare Christian, founder of Aether Medicine in Pennsylvania, that approach never sat right.
He blends traditional and functional medicine to treat pain at its root by helping the body heal at the cellular level.
Growing up in Ghana, Dr. Christian saw the difference between surviving and thriving up close. “A childhood friend died of malaria, but I survived,” he recalled. “That made me wonder why the same illness can have two very different outcomes. It’s where my curiosity for medicine began.”
That curiosity led him to the U.S., where he trained at Johns Hopkins and Harvard. But after years in the system, something still felt incomplete.
“We were taught how to manage sickness,” he said, “but not how to create health.”
Pain Isn’t in Your Body… It’s in Your Brain. Here’s How to UNLEARN It! Dr. Asare Christian | Ep. 102
From Blocking Pain to Understanding It
In the U.S., we represent just 4% of the world’s population but use 80% of its opioids. That statistic, Dr. Christian says, tells a bigger story: “We’ve built an entire system around blocking pain instead of listening to it.”
He believes pain isn’t just a problem, it’s a signal. It’s the body’s way of saying something deeper needs attention.
Rather than suppressing that signal, Dr. Christian looks at the whole picture: nutrition, sleep, stress, and movement, the things that are free but foundational. Once those pillars are in place, he uses regenerative tools like peptides, ozone therapy, or exosomes to rebuild what’s broken.
Why Everything Comes Down to the Cell
The cell, he says, is where real healing happens. “Every cell is intelligent,” he explained. “It adapts and responds to the signals you send it: your stress levels, your diet, your sleep, even your thoughts. If those signals are healthy, the cell is healthy. If they’re off, everything starts breaking down.”
By helping patients restore cellular energy, inflammation drops, repair begins, and pain fades naturally. “When you fix the cell,” he said, “you fix the system.”
GLP-1 Peptides, Sleep, and the Power of Simplicity
One of Dr. Christian’s favorite pain treatments might surprise you: GLP-1 peptides. Known mostly for weight management, these compounds also reduce inflammation and improve how cells use energy. “If a cell has energy,” he said, “it makes better decisions. GLP-1 helps that happen without addiction or side effects.”
Still, his advice is simple: “Sleep is free. Movement is free. Reducing stress is free. Those are your first medicines.”
Regenerative Medicine that Starts with You
At Aether Medicine, healing starts long before injections or supplements. Patients first learn to nourish their bodies and rebuild balance. “If you’re not sleeping or eating well, even the best treatments won’t work,” he explained. “Regenerative therapies can only thrive in a regenerative body.”
That’s why his approach focuses on preparation, priming the body so it can actually respond to advanced treatments like ozone or exosomes.
Pain, Aging, and Longevity Are Connected
As Dr. Christian sees it, aging and pain are two sides of the same coin. “The same cellular problems that make us age also make us hurt,” he said. “If you slow down aging, you slow down pain.”
For him, longevity isn’t just about living longer; it’s about maintaining quality of life. “Pain isolates people,” he explained. “It shrinks their world. When you treat pain properly, you’re giving people their lives back.”
CBD IV Therapy and the Future of Cellular Care
Recently, Dr. Christian has started offering CBD IV therapy, using advanced formulations designed for better absorption. “The endocannabinoid system affects everything, mood, sleep, inflammation, even how we heal,” he explained. “Delivering CBD intravenously gives patients the full benefits right away.”
He’s already seen it help people manage chronic pain, calm anxiety, and reduce reliance on medications. “It’s gentle, natural, and effective,” he said.
Aether Medicine: The Fifth Element of Healing
The name Aether isn’t just poetic; it’s philosophical. “In ancient belief, aether was the fifth element, the invisible energy that connects everything,” Dr. Christian explained. “To me, that’s what real medicine is: working with the unseen intelligence within the body.”
That idea shapes every part of his practice, blending science, energy, and human connection to create healing that feels both grounded and spiritual.
Health Equity and Access for All
Dr. Christian is also vocal about closing the gap in healthcare access. “Your zip code shouldn’t decide your lifespan,” he said. While he’s moved away from insurance-based models, he still serves patients with disabilities and those in underserved communities.
He believes true equity begins with education. “The most important things for your health don’t cost money, they just require knowledge,” he said.
A Message to the Next Generation of Doctors
To physicians still rooted in traditional medicine, Dr. Christian offers this advice:
“Go back to the basics. Go back to the cell.”
He encourages doctors to stay curious, think independently, and learn one new thing at a time. “You don’t have to change everything overnight. Start small. Learn. Test. Validate it for yourself. That’s how medicine evolves.”
When he attended his first peptide conference, what struck him wasn’t just the science; it was the people. “Everyone there looked healthy,” he laughed. “They were living what they practiced. That’s when I knew I was in the right room.”
A New Way Forward
For both Sam Tejada and Dr. Asare Christian, the future of medicine isn’t about endless prescriptions; it’s about empowerment.
It’s about teaching people to understand their bodies, trust their biology, and use science to unlock what nature already designed them to do: heal.
As Sam summed it up, “Real wellness starts when you stop treating symptoms and start listening to what the body’s trying to say.”