One of my favorite nutrition publications I get is Health Alert by Dr. Bruce West. Each month I look forward to the latest edition. The official title is Health Alert: When All Other Treatments Fail. I think you get the picture. Dr. West is a Chiropractor and a big fan of Standard Process products. He is also a big fan of the truth. February’s issue was full of juicy nuggets that I’d like to share. Nugget #1: Almost all treatment for heart disease is unnecessary! Dr. West states that most of the cardiac procedures are all band-aids as they ignore the underlying issue and are unnecessary for 70% of patients. He also cites a study showing five behaviors in men cause 86% of all heart...
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Filtered by topic: Health & Wellness
The Cardio Myth
I have recently introduced you to the book Body by Science by Doug McDuff, MD and John Little. This book offers a clear explanation of the actual science of exercise, how activity relates to hormones, and how this determines what happens in your body. In short, it answers the question I am frequently asked. “Why am I gaining weight when I am working out every day?” In the introductory article I summarized his key points. In this article I will address one of those key points. His recommended method of exercise is what he terms high intensity training (or HIT). It benefits both the aerobic and anaerobic energy pathways. Most “cardio” only works the aerobic pathway. High...
Why and How You Can Work Out Every Day and Gain Weight
“I don’t understand. I work out every day and I’m still gaining weight.” Believe it or not I hear this question quite frequently. On the surface it seems to be quite the paradox. All the conventional wisdom tells us to lose weight all we need to do is watch what we eat (meaning to eat less) and exercise more. Follow this simple formula: use more calories than you take in. In the past I’ve explained part of this myth - how all calories are not created equal. Based on what the calorie is from (protein, fat, or carbohydrate) it will have a different effect in your body. If you need a refresher you can find that article on my blog at http://brwellness.com/nutrition-news/?p=99. Now...
Exercise Fights Cancer
A new study (Bonn et al., 2014) published online in the journal of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention reported lower rates of all-cause and prostate cancer-specific mortality in men who engaged in regular exercise. Although these findings can’t prove causation, they are a good reminder to move your body with daily physical activity for long-term health – especially after cancer diagnosis. The details: This study used data from the National Prostate Cancer Register of Sweden Follow-up study. Subjects were 4623 men with localized prostate cancer. Men who biked or walked 20 minutes a day or exercised more than one hour per week had a 26% lower rate of mortality...
Are "Low T" Treatments a Fountain of Youth for Men?
Today we welcome a guest writer, David DeLuca, to share his perspective on hormone replacement therapy for men: From countless sources we hear a dangerous and seductive message: “youthfulness is good, and aging is bad.” We see advertisements for all sorts of drugs, ointments, and even surgical treatments that aim to hide the outward effects of aging. Some celebrities exfoliate their skin by bathing in wine. Yes, bathing in wine. A less outrageous technique, hormone replacement therapy (HRT), is marketed as a treatment for hypogonadism, a decrease in hormones that results in reproductive dysfunction. HRT promises boundless energy and a happier life to men and women alike. But the...
Nutrition Made Simple - Why Sugar is bad for You
Of course this is nothing new. If there’s one thing that almost everyone in the nutrition world agrees on is that sugar is bad. It’s really quite simple. Sugar disrupts how your body works. Here’s how (in no particular order): 1.Sugar depresses your immune system for up to five hours after you consume it. 2.Sugar depletes key vitamins and nutrients, particularly your B vitamins and minerals. 3.Sugar feeds the “bad” bacteria, fungus, yeast, and parasites. 4.Sugar feeds cancer cells. 5.Sugar fuels hormone imbalances by raising insulin levels which effects thyroid, adrenal, and sex hormone balance. If you want to get the full picture click here and see over 150 reasons how...
The Three Minerals You Need to Balance Your Nervous System – The Importance of Phosphorus, Potassium, and Calcium
The nervous system has two main components: the central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral nervous system (PNS). The central nervous system consists of the brain and the spinal cord. The peripheral nervous system is what connects the rest of the body to the central nervous system. There are three types of peripheral nerves: autonomic (involuntary nerves), somatic (voluntary nerves), and sensory nerves. For our purposes here we will focus on the autonomic nervous system (ANS) - sometimes thought of as the “automatic nervous system.” That is because what it controls are for the most part involuntary activities. It will conduct nerve impulses from the central nervous system to...
Nutrition Made Simple - New Blog Series
I’m pleased to announce a new weekly Blog series I’m calling “Nutrition Made Simple.” My tendency is to write longer articles with detailed explanations. It has come to my attention that some clients also like “short and sweet.” So, I will start offer these short blogs that get right to the point – Nutrition Made Simple – one blog per week on Thursdays. Topics will include: 1.Why sugar is bad for you 2.Why artificial sweeteners are bad for you 3.Why trans-fats are bad for you 4.Why saturated fat is good for you 5.Why you need cholesterol 6.Why protein is important 7.Why you need the right kind of stomach acid 8.Why you want to hang on to your gall bladder 9.How...
Probiotics: Do We Need Them or Not?
Digestion is one of my favorite topics. Many of my clients suffer from a variety of digestive issues: from gas, bloating, and occasional heart burn; to constipation, diarrhea, and acid reflux; and then on to IBS, Crohn’s, colitis, Celiac, and diverticulitis. In my late teens, through college, and into my mid-thirties I too suffered with digestive issues. I was diagnosed with IBS and the “solution” was to eat more fiber. That didn’t really work. As I began to learn more about healthy eating it turned out to be a relatively simple fix – stop eating bagels and cereals for breakfast – and soon my digestion was vastly improved and my seasonal asthma was gone! To say we are only as...
Supporting Your Immune System or How to Give Your Body Its Best Shot Against Unwanted Viruses (Such as the flu, E68, HPV, or even dare I say Ebola)
I’ll admit right off the top I’m certainly no expert on Ebola, but it seems quite apparent neither are the “experts” be they in the Federal Government (the CDC) or your major medical institutions.And I’m no expert on the latest “new and mysterious” Enterovirus 68 (or E68) virus or the flu or any of the other viruses that wreck havoc on us – Herpes, Epstein-Barr, HPV, etc. But what I do know is that with all these viruses about us the best way to protect ourselves is with a strong immune system. Without that we are prone to these unwanted invaders. To best understand our internal immunity we look at the relationship between four important nutrients – Vitamin C, Vitamin...