63 year old patient, one year after prostate cancer surgery, see’s me at the clinic for his recent diagnosis of recurrence PSA. He looks at me strangely. I ask him – what’s wrong? He responds, “ I thought I don’t have to ever worry about prostate cancer again since I had it taken out. I expect my PSA to be zero forever, no? I’m confused” – he says. The confusion with PSA recurrenceMen who opt for aggressive treatment of prostate cancer (i.e. Radical prostatectomy, Radiation Therapy, etc), unfortunately believe they are “home-free” after treatment. If this were to be true, why are patients required to return to their urologist every 3 to 6 months for a PSA test after...
Viggor
Viggor is a guiding light on your journey to improve your health and quality of life. Our Expert panel is driven by a common desire to freely share their training, experience, research, insights, and knowhow with you. In this spirit, welcome to Viggor!
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The Miracle of Magnesium
Many who see me professionally know that one of my favorite supplements to recommend is magnesium. Magnesium is a mineral that has become depleted in our soils and food supply leading to widespread deficiency. What does magnesium do? Magnesium is a mineral that is required for 325 enzymatic processes in the body, including the creation of energy by the activation of ATP, our fundamental energy storage molecule. Magnesium is nature’s muscle relaxant. When there is excess calcium in the cell and insufficient magnesium, cramping, twitching and spasms occur. Magnesium also helps to transmit nerve impulses to and from the brain and is required to synthesize protein. Magnesium has been...
Eat These Too! Ten More Foods to Nourish Your Body
In a previous post I listed ten foods to eat as part of a healthy diet. The truth is there are many healthy foods to eat. So, I decided to discuss another ten foods to include in your healthy diet. Again, they are in no special order. They are all healthy foods that I recommend you eat on a regular basis, unless you are allergic, intolerant, or sensitive. Broccoli is a cruciferous vegetable. Other crucifers include cabbage, cauliflower, kale, bok choy, and Swiss chard. They are all good for you. Broccoli is a great source of protein, fiber, potassium, calcium, vitamin C, folate, magnesium, phosphorus, beta-carotene, and vitamin A. It contains isothiocynanates that fight cancer and...
Natural Remedies for Heartburn and GERD
One of the most over-prescribed and profitable medications (for Big Pharma) are acid suppressing drugs used to treat heartburn and gastro esophageal reflux disease (GERD). These strong medications should be used as a short-term therapy (a few weeks) rather than for years as people often do. Long term use of these medications make them difficult to stop, lead to increased susceptibility to infections such as clostridium difficile and pneumonia, and increase the risk arrhythmias and bone fractures due to decreased mineral absorption. Fortunately, there are other safer, healthier and natural solutions to relieve heartburn and GERD. Our Stomach Produces Acid For A Reason Why is the...
Tips on Stress Reduction
Stress Reduction is one of the keys to a leading a Mr. Happy life. For your consideration, here are 7 simple suggestions to simply mull over: Give up all hope for a better past. Regrets and grudges are a waste of your here and now. As is worrying about an uncertain future. It is how you take advantage of and use your here and now that will determine your future. Act accordingly. Apparently not everyone is in your hurry. Yes, I’m talking to you. Traffic is traffic, and it is not our job to teach the world how to drive. And that is just one example. The more we react to things that we cannot affect, the more stress we needlessly inject into our daily life. Avoid the absurd and...
Animal protein as bad as Smoking? Really?
Study published in the journal of Cell Metabolism says diet high in animal protein may kill you prematurely if you are between the ages 50 to 65. If you are over 65 then animal protein may protect you. One of the headlines online read: Diet High in Meat, Cheese Can Be as Bad as Smoking Study Details: This was an observational epidemiological study where researchers look at the relationship with one or more occurrences (consumption of animal proteins) and its relationship to (in this case) disease and death. 6,381 US men and women aged 50 and above were observed for 18 years. The participants were categorized into three groups based upon their protein consumption (low, med,...
Tips to Enhance Immunity
The kids are back at school and a chill is in the air, which means Fall is quickly approaching. The following are my recommendations for staying healthy through the upcoming months. 1. Get Your Vitamin D Checked Vitamin D has been shown to enhance immune function and provide protection against many other conditions. Since Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin, it should be monitored with blood testing. Healthy levels of Vitamin D should be in the 30-55 ng/mL range. If your levels are low you can replace with it 1000-5000 IU/daily for 8 weeks followed by a retest. Make sure your Vitamin D supplement is D3 (cholecalciferol) rather than Vitamin D2, which is poorly absorbed. Additionally,...
Fitness is a Choice, Choose Well
The benefits of exercise cannot be overstated and are far reaching. This is why improving your fitness level is a key to to "turning back the clock" and reclaiming your health and quality of life. As encouragement, I want to quickly share with you a recent experience. Several months ago, I made and lost a friendly wager with my 11 year old that resulted in us buying and doing the Insanity Workout program together. The program is aptly named. Actually, the name is a bit of an understatement. It is beautifully designed and produced. It is a remarkable challenge and experience, and an accomplishment to complete it. Some quick comments: Did you know that underneath your “love handles”...
Eat These Ten Foods
As a nutrition consultant the most common question I get is, “What should I eat?” I’ll keep the answer simple – eat these ten foods (and as a bonus I throw in a few more!) The ten are in no special order. They are all healthy foods that I recommend you eat on a regular basis, unless of course you are allergic, intolerant, or sensitive. These foods emphasize what lacks in many American diets – vegetables and fruit for vitamins and minerals to fuel our metabolism, and healthy fats that are sources of Omega 3’s and vitamins A, D, E, and K. Blueberries taste great and are loaded with vitamins and minerals. Blueberries have been found to have anti-inflammatory and...
Introduction to Mr. Happy
Introduction to Mr. Happy from Mr. Happy on Vimeo.