There’s been an explosion of research in the past couple of decades on the relationship between gut microbiota (the 3½-4 pounds of microscopic critters that live inside our intestines, especially the bacteria in our colons) and health. One surprising finding is that these colonic microbes have a considerable influence on our ability to deal with stress and anxiety. New challenges posed by the COVID pandemic have made it all the more important to maintain stress resiliency—the ability to roll with the punches and deal with stress and anxiety in a healthy way. Like most health resources, at Beyond Health we’ve often recommended “stress reduction” practices, like meditation, exercise, and simple things like enjoying music or nature to reduce the impact of stress. But an equally powerful way to increase stress resilience is by making sure you have good bacteria in your colon! There is a complex bi-directional communication system between gut microbiota…

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…