A large proportion of our society (36.9% at last estimate) now suffers from “metabolic syndrome.” Metabolic syndrome, which greatly increases the risk of developing heart disease, diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), is defined as having at least three of the five following conditions:abdominal obesity (waist circumference greater than 102 cm in men or 88 cm in women)high blood pressure (systolic blood pressure at least 130 mm Hg or diastolic blood pressure at least 85 mm Hg or taking hypertension medications)high blood sugar(fasting plasma glucose level at least 100 mg/dL or taking diabetes medications)high triglycerides (greater than 150 mg/dL)low levels of high density lipoprotein (HDL), the “good” cholesterol (less than 40 mg/dL in men or less than 50 mg/dL in women)Epidemiological studies link fructose found in table sugar (a combination of fructose and glucose) and high fructose corn syrup with metabolic syndrome, but it’s been hard to prove causality. Obesity…

It only makes sense to do whatever we can to strengthen our immune systems during the continuing COVID pandemic, and one of the best ways to do that is by supporting a thriving and varied population of beneficial bacteria in our intestines.More than 2/3 of immune cells are located in the gut, where they work synergistically with up to trillions of beneficial bacteria to support immunity.Beneficial gut bacteria activate and support almost every aspect of both innate and adaptive immunity. They increase production of and activate macrophages (the first responder immune cells that literally have pathogens for breakfast—they engulf and devour them) natural killer cells, messenger cells (cytokines), B-cells and T-cells; and they strengthen the gut lining; modify the immune system so it doesn’t overreact and cause too much inflammation; improve absorption of many nutrients; and produce their own natural antimicrobial substances. One of these, acidophilin, is more powerful than pharmaceutica…

Our gut microbiomes—those 3-5 pound communities of bacteria and other bugs that live in our intestines—have recently been under siege by modern diets high in sugar and low in fiber, antibiotics and other drugs, and environmental toxins. But even when diets were much healthier and environments far cleaner, traditional cuisines included probiotic foods that bolstered gut health.Sauerkrauts, pickles, yogurt, kefir, miso, and many other fermented/cultured foods supplied our ancestors with healthy microflora (probiotics) at 10-20 billion live and healthy organisms daily. Indeed, our bodies evolved to live in a healthy, symbiotic relationship with microbes. These helpful bugs that we call probiotics have been with us since time immemorial, protecting and enhancing our resilience and resistance by competing for space inside our bodies with any harmful pathogens to which we might become exposed, thus preventing them from becoming established and proliferating. Revered physicians throughout hi…

Excessive amounts of salt in the diet damages healthy bacteria living in our intestines and leads to high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis, and fatigue.But we need some salt. If you perspire, whether it's from exercising, using a sauna, or living in a hot climate, you can lose too much sodium and other minerals in your sweat causing serious consequences, even death. People with weak adrenals often don’t retain enough salt leading to excessively low blood pressure, so they need extra salt.According to Mark Kurlansky, author of Salt: A World History, humans began to include salt in their diets once crops were cultivated and grains introduced. Salt mobilizes enzymes that help to digest grains and balance their acidity with alkalinizing minerals. (Unless it’s conventional salt, stripped of its natural minerals, in which case it will only increase the acidifying effect of eating grains. More about that later.)The problem is most people are getting too much salt, and it’s…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Our bodies are designed to maintain us at a weight that is perfect for us (although perhaps not perfect by fashion model standards) by telling us when we’re hungry, what we’re hungry for, and when we’ve had enough. But while some people just naturally eat this way, many of us have become desensitized to our body’s signals and need to relearn Intuitive Eating (IE).In the past twenty years, IE has been the subject of many of scientific studies. They’ve found that rejecting diets, being supported to love and accept ourselves as we are and learning to trust our own intuition when it comes to food choices lead to substantial gains in emotional well-being and quality of life. IE also greatly reduces risks for compulsive eating, binge eating and other eating disorders, and it’s been linked to lower weight, lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels independent of weight loss, and increased glycemic control in type 2 diabetes. For those who are re-learning IE, Dr. Steven C. Straus, MD, sugge…

“My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.” — Dalai LamaIn these distressing times, kindness and gentleness can be an antidote to stress, a balm for body and soul. When someone is kind to us, especially when we’re feeling vulnerable or it’s unexpected, it feels like Grace. We breathe a sigh of relief and begin to release accumulations of tension that have built up throughout our tissues. We can even feel ourselves expand from a contracted state and resume our natural shape, come alive in our senses and become more fully present, more fully who we really are. As we release inner tensions, air and blood circulate more freely throughout our bodies, bringing fresh nourishment to our cells and removing toxic debris. If lack of nutrients and the presence of toxins are the two sources of all disease, tension and stress increase both. No wonder stress is linked to so many diseases. Dis-ease is the absence of ease. Ease comes with that sigh of relief that we are not deserving of…

Most of us spend a lot of energy avoiding uncomfortable feelings. Why on earth should we welcome them?Well, for one thing, suppressing anger, guilt, envy, fear, shame, grief and other painful feelings doesn’t really work; the more we try to numb them, the more demanding they become, draining our energy and creating tension, stress and dis-ease!Another reason for welcoming feelings is that they convey information that’s helpful to hear and digest.Finally, the strategies we devise for suppressing them—our various addictions to food, drink, exercise, overwork, shopping, TV-watching, internet surfing, or just getting into our heads and losing touch with our body and senses—create additional problems.So how can we welcome our various feeling “guests,” even the unpleasant ones?Psychologist Abby Seixas, who recommends “befriending feelings,” says: “Befriending a feeling means neither indulging nor repressing, nor trying to manipulate it in any way.” Rather she recommends the following step…

When I first found the second-floor flat in San Francisco that I’ve called home for the past 25 years, I was thrilled that it had a backyard and that I could see neighboring yards with trees and gardens as well as distant green hills from my back windows. I didn’t know then that scientists had begun investigating the benefits of nature and greenery to the human body and psyche. I just knew that looking out on or being in my backyard fed my soul.More recently, when a Chinese Massage (Chi Nei Tsang) therapist found my liver was tight and congested, she recommended a daily practice of looking at something living and green—as close as possible to the color of new grass—with my palm over my liver, and visualizing inhaling the color into my liver to soothe and heal it. Was it just my imagination or could I actually feel the color filling my liver, releasing and revitalizing it?As the world’s population has exploded, cramming more and more of us into crowded cities, we’re getting less and les…

“Self care is really important in tough times, but I think we often get the self care wrong. We think it’s only about a nice bubble bath or a glass of wine alone, but the research shows that effective self care often looks a lot more like community care.” — Laurie Santos, PhDThe importance of friends and community is often omitted from discussions about self care, but apparently that’s changing. According to Well+Good, a website devoted to wellness, these troubled times of pandemic, hate-politics, and reckoning with our history of systemic racism have increased our need for reaching out to others for mutual support.Dr. Laurie Santos, PhD, a professor at Yale University, whose course, “The Science of Well-Being,” has been seen by nearly 3.5 million viewers since it went online in mid-March, cites research showing that relationships are a vital part of self-care, for example, buying gifts for others yields more happiness than buying things for oneself. The Well+Good a…