The year was 1968. The watershed event: a protest march at the Miss America beauty contest in Atlantic City, New Jersey, launches feminism as a national movement. Inspired by the civil rights movement in the American South, American women had begun to question the limiting roles assigned to them as “the second (and unequal) sex.” Women in the crowd were invited to dump their bras, hair rollers and pots and pans into a “freedom trash can.” Some women burned their bras.In this environment, it was probably inevitable that women would turn their attention to the oppressive fear of fat and preoccupation with body size that permeated most women’s lives.In New York City, a young woman named Carol Munter used her awakening feminist consciousness to adopt a new approach to a problem that had plagued her for most of her life—compulsive eating. She threw out her diet books and her scale, and decided to eat whatever she truly wanted. More than 50 pounds over her ideal weight, s…

Do you eat to live or live to eat? Neither could be called a healthy relationship with food. Eating to live—using food simply as fuel—takes the joy out of one of life’s great pleasures. On the other hand, giving food too much importance, either by living only for our next meal or obsessing lest we eat too much or eat the wrong things, isn’t a joyful or healthy relationship either.In a healthy relationship, we would look forward to our encounters with food. We would respond appropriately to our hunger cues by supplying ourselves with nourishing and tasty food (in the words of nutrition expert Mark Hyman, MD, “foods we love that love us back”), and we would eat until satisfied and no more. We would trust our body cues to maintain a weight that is perfect for us (although it might not conform to the latest fashion). But according to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD), almost 10% of our population is struggling with one or more of the thre…

"Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers; Little we see in Nature that is ours"  – William Wordsworth, from his poem “The World is Too Much With Us”The English poet William Wordsworth wrote these lines around 1802 at the time of the first industrial revolution, when he felt himself and the people around him to be out of tune with nature. If “the world”—the worldly world of making money so we can spend it to buy more things—was too much with him in 1802, what would Wordsworth have thought about life in the 21st century?Not only are we immersed in overwork and commercialism, but we choose to spend a good part of our discretionary time glued to mobile phones, smartphones, computers and TVs. A 2018 Nielson report found the average US adult spends 11 hours a day listening, watching, reading or interacting with electronic media.Studies have shown that heavy tech use can be addictive, and that it increases stress and anxiety levels, interferes with sleep, and fosters depressi…

5G is coming to your neighborhood, unless it’s already arrived. What is 5G exactly? It’s the 5th generation of telecommunications technology. Although this technology is changing all the time, at certain junctures it’s taken a qualitative leap forward, from 1G to 2G to 3G to 4G until now we have arrived at 5G.To some extent, 5G is just a continuation of what’s already been going on for the last 200 years since humans figured out how to generate, store and transmit electricity. Ingenious humans have been figuring out more and more ways to use electricity to satisfy our needs and desires, until we arrive today at the “Internet of Things,” with which, lo and behold, we’ll be able to “receive a message on our phone from a chipped diaper letting us know that our baby needs changing . . . [and] . . . a toilet will be able to analyze stool samples and send the data to your doctor. “The problem with electricity is that it emits something called electromagnetic fields (EMFs) also known as e…

Osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee is the most common form of arthritis and a major cause of disability and pain. Yet not all sore knees indicate that you’re developing arthritis. How can you tell the difference?Researchers sought to answer this question by following a group of 5,000 men and women who had or were at high risk of developing knee OA for seven years, on average. The researchers determined that the very earliest sign of knee osteoarthritis showed up as knee pain while going up and down stairs. This symptom showed up even before x-rays showed any evidence of arthritis. Osteoarthritis is a progressive disease, so without intervention, it progressed from pain on the stairs, to pain while walking, then in standing, and finally in sitting and lying in bed. No one wants to wind up being kept awake by pain when they’re trying to sleep, so what can you do if you find your knees hurting each time you walk up and down a flight of stairs?The good news is that there is a lot you can do…

Glucosamine is primarily known as supplement for supporting joint health; in Europe it’s even been approved as a drug for treating osteoarthritis. But researchers have found that people taking glucosamine supplements for their joints have been getting additional benefits they weren’t aware of—benefits to their hearts! Specifically a lower risk of cardiovascular disease events, coronary heart disease, stroke and death from heart disease.Although glucosamine is found in high concentrations in joints, it is a naturally occurring molecule found in almost all body tissues. It’s the first biochemical component of connective tissue and plays an important role in the non-muscular component of blood vessels and also in heart valves. It’s also found in the mucous membranes of the gastrointestinal and respiratory tracts. Throughout the body, glucosamine exerts antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.Utilizing data from almost half a million participants in a large database in the United Kin…

A 2014 study indicates that glucosamine supplements aren’t likely to work well if you’re deficient in the trace mineral boron.By now, lots of studies have verified the ability of glucosamine supplements to relieve the pain of osteoarthritis (OA), often better than over-the-counter anti-inflammatory pain relievers (although it takes longer for glucosamine’s effects to fully kick in). And unlike these drugs, glucosamine, a natural molecule found in most body tissues, can be taken safely long-term. Also unlike drugs, glucosamine goes way beyond symptom relief: It’s been shown to inhibit joint deterioration and to stimulate and support joint healing and repair. There’s only one problem. Glucosamine supplements don’t always work. This leads many people to give up on them and go back to pain-relieving drugs that provide more reliable relief.Why don’t they work?Well first, there are vast differences in glucosamine quality. Glucosamine is an expensive ingredient, and its popularity has prompte…

We haven’t taken sides on whether or not you should get the COVID vaccine. Following in Raymond Francis’ footsteps, we are skeptical about vaccines in general and continue to maintain that the best defense against disease is making the effort to achieve optimal health with what we’ve called “the Beyond Health Lifestyle.” There are also many unknowns about the new technologies used in the COVID vaccines, and enough is known about the older vaccines and the drug companies making the new vaccines to cause concern. Still, even with the best of intentions, not everyone will be able to achieve optimal health. The vaccines appear to be saving lives and allowing a return to something approaching normality, and the pressures to be vaccinated in order to fully participate in the new world that’s being created are intense. With that in mind, we’ve been reading what various experts in nutrition recommend for making vaccinations as safe and effective as possible. Would it surprise anyone if we star…

Nothing is more important in creating optimal health than our habits. We all know that we should be exercising regularly, eating a sensible diet, getting a good amount of sleep, minimizing stress and ideally establishing some kind of stress-reduction practice. It’s the actual doing that’s the problem. Too many lofty goals fizzle out, leaving feelings of shame and incompetence in their wake.One secret to successfully adopting and integrating a good health habit into your life is to put the lofty goal(s) aside for the moment and focus on taking small, but consistent steps in the right direction.See this one-minute TED talk by sociologist Christine Carter, who successfully eased regular running into her life by starting out small. And I mean small. Her initial commitment was one minute a day! But she did it consistently, and gradually it turned into more and more minutes. Consistency was the key. Because every time she put on her running shoes in the morning she etched the new habit…

Why do some people exceed expectations at work with seemingly little effort, while others struggle just to get through their workload? Maybe the Fred Astaires among us intuitively work with their bodies instead of against them.Working with your body’s natural rhythms is something that the folks at Asian Efficiency, a productivity training company” teach people to do, based on the work of sleep researcher Nathaniel Kleitman and later performance psychologist Jim Loeher. In the 1950s, Kleitman discovered that humans have daytime cycles (rest-activity cycles) as well as sleep cycles. He found we work best and are most productive and effective when we engage in a task single-mindedly for 90-120 minutes, and follow this by a period of rest, from 20-30 minutes. Fifty years later, Jim Loeher with business writer Tony Schwartz published their best-seller, The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time, is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal, an energy-m…

More of us than ever are working from home and ordering what we need online, wedding us ever more closely to our computers. And while Americans were sitting too much before, it’s only gotten worse.While there’s nothing wrong with sitting per se, sitting in the same chair hour after hour actually changes body chemistry for the worse, increasing insulin resistance, blood sugar and triglycerides. Since these changes are linked with diseases like heart disease, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, obesity, dementia and cancer, and even to earlier death, sitting has been called “the new smoking.”Many people try to counteract the negative effects of too much sitting with a daily walk or run, or going to the gym after work, but although these forms of exercise are helpful in reducing the negative effects of sitting (and have their own additional benefits), they are much less effective than getting up out of your chair every 15 minutes or so and moving around a bit.Former NASA scientist Dr. Joan Ver…

Allergy season is upon us, and New York Times reporter Tara Parker-Pope, who’s been covering the pandemic for the Times, wrote an article to help her readers distinguish between garden variety respiratory allergies and COVID. We thought our readers might also like some added clarity on the differences between the two. Here’s what she said:1. If you generally have allergies in the spring, are your symptoms the same as always? If they’re different, especially if you’re getting sicker or have had a potential COVID exposure, get tested. 2. Although typical allergy symptoms—sneezing, a runny nose and itchy eyes—can occur with COVID, that’s generally not how it starts. COVID can start in different ways, but dry cough, fever, fatigue and loss of sense of smell are four common symptoms. Unlike flu, which typically comes on fast, COVID symptoms may emerge over several days. It often starts with fatigue or a minor cough.3. COVID symptoms that aren’t common allergy symptoms include chest tig…

PFAS (per- and profluoroalkyls) are a group of toxic man-made chemical compounds used in a variety of non-stick, water-repellent, and grease and stain-resistant applications. Detrimental to just about every body organ, they’ve been associated with a host of diseases including weakened immune function, cancer, and developmental problems in children.Unfortunately, PFOA, the best known of the PFAS, is found in just about all Americans, and has a half-life in humans of about four years. After a lot of bad press, PFOA and its close cousin, PFOS, were banned by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), so their levels in our bodies are going down. But they’re being rapidly replaced by new PFAS that, according to environmental advocacy organization, the Environmental Working Group (EWG), are just as bad. No level of PFAS is desirable in the human body. And since there doesn’t seem to be any way to facilitate their removal (even sweating in an infrared sauna didn’t help to…

Disease has two basic causes: nutritional deficiency and toxicity. We’ve talked a lot about strengthening immunity with nutrients like vitamins A, C and D; minerals like zinc and selenium; and fats like the omega-3 fatty acids. But protecting your cellular machinery from toxins that gum up the works is just as important.A case in point is a group of toxic, man-made chemicals called PFAS (per- and profluoroalkyls), the best-known of which, PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid), is the key ingredient in Teflon-coated pots and pans. But PFAS have many other applications and are used in a variety of non-stick, stain-resistant and water-repellent coatings in everything from rugs and upholstery to pizza cartons and dental floss. PFAS are harmful to nearly every human organ and cause or contribute to all kinds of disease. Arthritis, cancer, asthma, allergies, hormone abnormalities—particularly reproductive and thyroid issues, obesity, high blood pressure, increased cholesterol, heart disease, liver…

Heavy metals, like lead, mercury, cadmium and arsenic, are one of our biggest health problems. Used to manufacture many common products, they’re now found throughout our air, water and food. Virtually all of us harbor toxic heavy metals in our bodies.Heavy metals bioaccumulate, so even small exposures add up over time, triggering problems like heart disease, thyroid disease, dementia, neurological disease and birth defects. Tiny amounts of mercury have been shown to damage the brain of a developing fetus or child.Heavy metals cause problems by displacing other minerals needed for essential body functions. For example, cadmium can replace zinc in key enzymes, causing those enzymes to malfunction so critical biological functions can’t be performed.Many physicians use chelation to remove heavy metals—a “chelating agent” is ingested that binds with heavy metals and carries them out of the body through urine and/or feces. Chelation therapy is especially recommended, and has often been a “m…

A primary concern that prompted Beyond Health's mission to improve the health of the American people was that he feared our epidemic of chronic disease would bankrupt our economy.Nowhere is this concern more justified than in the case of Alzheimer’s disease. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, in 2021, 6 million Americans have Alzheimer’s, one out of every three seniors dies with the disease or another dementia, and dementias will cost the nation $355 billion, including $239 billion in Medicare and Medicaid payments combined. Without a major scientific breakthrough, by 2050 the Association projects there will be 13 million Alzheimer's patients, costing more than $1.1 trillion (in 2021 dollars) annually.Yet, as we have described previously, Dr. Dale E. Bredesen at UCLA, who was influenced by Raymond and his two causes-six pathways theory of disease, has shown that Alzheimer’s is preventable and reversible if treated early enough and addressing multiple factors that may be involved…

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to soaring rates of depression in the US. A study in JAMA Network Open found that the number of people reporting depressive symptoms has tripled compared with pre-pandemic levels, with more than 25% of our population now affected. Indeed depression has become a second pandemic.Depression is more than being unhappy. Its symptoms include a hopeless outlook and thoughts of suicide; feelings of worthlessness and guilt; a loss of interest in life and in things that used to provide pleasure and comfort; trouble concentrating, deciding and remembering; increased fatigue and sleep problems; anxiety and irritability; unwanted gain or loss of weight; uncontrollable, roller-coaster emotions; and sometimes unexplained physical pain. It often leads to substance abuse, which, although a temporary escape, makes the depression worse. Although the researchers in the above study found increased stress leading to depression at all income levels and in all demograph…

“I believe that inflammation is at the basis of virtually every disease process.” – Nicholas Perricone, MDTake a deep breath. Fill your lungs with one of Mother Nature’s most precious gifts: oxygen! There is no life without oxygen. But oxygen can also be dangerous. Every chemical process that involves oxygen—and there are many in the human body, including extracting energy from food and attacking and killing pathogenic viruses and bacteria, and many outside the human body, including fire and rust—creates oxidative byproducts. Like the embers of a fire, these byproducts need to be quenched by antioxidants. It’s a matter of balance. In terms of Chinese medicine, oxygen is Yang—the active, heating, energizing force, while antioxidants are Yin—the restful, cooling, restorative force. We need both, but in the modern world we are getting too much Yang, not enough Yin. The body is not repairing itself from oxidative damage as it should, and this produces inflammation…