What is detoxification? The term is as widely used as it is misunderstood. The underlying concept is that the toxins that accumulate in your body can cause illness and disease, and that by ridding your body of these toxins you are boosting your body's innate ability to heal. The goal of detoxification is to convert toxins into a water-soluble form that can enter your bloodstream, be processed by your liver, and then be eliminated through urine or fecal matter. Where are these toxins coming from? Primarily from you. Most toxins enter your body along with the food you eat, the water you drink, and the air you breathe. Rather than stopping all 3 of these activities, you can reduce your...
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Filtered by topic: Health & Wellness
B4: The Vitamin For Heart Health You May Never Heard Of
Vitamin B4 - ever heard of it? If I were a betting person I’d say probably not.Well perhaps there is a reason. Maybe someone doesn’t want you to know what it is you are missing. Here’s a little historical background. The discovery of vitamins began in the early 20th Century. One of the leading scientists was Casimir Funk who discovered what he called “vitamines” – short for “vital amines” or chemicals that were vital for life. The vitamins were named sequentially and initially associated with a specific deficiency condition. Vitamin A was for night blindness, B for beriberi, C for scurvy, and D for rickets. Initially, each vitamin was thought to be its own unique...
Is it true that aspirin reduces prostate cancer risk?
New research published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that a low dose of aspirin (81mg a day) may decrease the risk of prostate cancer in men who are high risk. According to the study, high-risk men who took aspirin or another NSAID lowered their risk for overall prostate cancer by 13% and potentially deadly prostate cancer by 17%. This association (not causation) is thought to be a result of reducing the inflammatory marker Cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) in the body. Over six thousand men between the ages of 50 and 75 participated in the study. They included men from North American and Europe. It would seem like this is great news. After all, anything that reduces one’s...
Healthy Kids: Back to School Ideas
In the spirit of “back to school” here are a few ideas on nutrition for kids. (Of course this information is good for adults too!) Nutrition for kids is the most challenging aspects I face when working with clients. While it is hard enough to get adults to eat healthier, kids are often a greater challenge. The food producers and manufacturers have developed special foods that they call “kid’s food”. If you take the time to read the list of ingredients you will find that most of it is not food and should not be consumed by anyone, particularly our children. Our children are growing and need the healthiest foods available to properly fuel their minds and bodies...
Dysfunction in the Medical Industry
Our medical industry is suffering from systemic dysfunction. The drivers behind much of this dysfunction are two-fold: conflict of interest and lack of transparency. The net result is eroded trust and reduced effectiveness. As a society, we can and must do better. Doing so will require us to collectively demand more from the various participants in the system. Today I would like to share with you our perspective here at XY Wellness on what the core issues are, and on what reforms we would like to see take place. To begin, we believe that the potential side effects of a recommended course of treatment should never be more serious than the health condition now being treated. We believe...
The Strong Link Between Nutrition and Erectile Dysfunction (ED)
Have you ever wondered why there seem to be so many advertisements for erectile dysfunction (ED) medication - Viagra, Cialis, and Levitra - on television and in the magazines you are reading?I did, and began an investigation that would ultimately become my Doctoral dissertation.The reason is quite simple – there is a lot of erectile dysfunction (ED).Over 30 million men in the United States suffer from it.ED affects over 50% of men between the ages of 40 and 70 and the incidence of complete ED triples between those ages.Even more disconcerting, experts expect cases of ED to more than double over the next 25 years. Erectile dysfunction imposes significant social costs.It impacts a man’s...
Nutrition Myth: Agave Nectar High Fructose Corn Syrup in Disguise
As I warn all my clients, there is a lot of hype around nutrition. The "health food industry" is in fact that - an industry. Unfortunately, that can mean it is concerned with profits and not necessarily providing truly healthy food. The latest of these hypes to come to my attention is agave nectar. Given this new information, I have removed it from my list of acceptable sweeteners to use as alternatives to sugar. Like many of these nutrition hypes the agave nectar story begins with a basis of truth. We are told how native Mexicans used the "product" for thousands of years for a variety of purposes, including medicinal. Then we get the truth - the "nectar" is not produced as the ancients...
Natural Ways to Boost Your Energy - Part 2
In my last article I introduced you to six natural ways to boost your energy through healthy eating behaviors.As a quick reminder those were: 1.Eat protein with each meal. 2.Eat a diet balanced with protein, fat, and carbohydrate. 3.Don’t fear fat. 4.Reduce your sugar intake. 5.Eat breakfast. 6.Don’t skip meals. Now, here are six more, to give you a healthy dozen ideas. Get more sleep.Well this one may be rather obvious, but guess the number one reason people are tired and lack energy.They don’t get enough sleep! In fact 50 million of us suffer from chronic, long term sleep disorders while another 20 million experience occasional sleep problems.Why do we need sleep? It...
Natural Ways to Boost Your Energy - Part 1
Are you feeling tired?Run down? Don’t have the energy you used to have? Unfortunately you are not alone.One of the most common complaints of my clients is just that – being tired and not having the energy they desire to do what they want to do during the day (and night).Since it is such an important topic I plan to devote the next couple of articles to it.The material I’ll present can be found in greater detail in best-selling nutrition author Jonny Bowden’s The 150 Most Effective Ways to Boost Your Energy: The Surprising, Unbiased Truth about Using Nutrition, Exercise, Supplements, Stress Relief, and Personal Empowerment to Stay Energized All Day.As you can see, the book covers...
Cancer: How to Talk to the Newly Diagnosed
How do you talk to the newly diagnosed? There is no more a potent reminder of how fragile and fleeting life is than being diagnosed with cancer. You may have family or friends who have been affected by cancer. Based on that, you may think that you understand what they are going through and how best to support and help them. You don’t. Unless you have had the words “you have cancer” directed at you, you have no idea.And I know this first-hand. I thought I understood, but apparently mortality is nothing more than an abstract concept until it is not. Today, I want to share with you three suggestions on how best to talk to and help a loved one who is newly diagnosed with prostate or...