Notice how easy it is to hang on to anger, shame, guilt, worry, and other negative emotions? Are these emotions so horribly delectable you just can’t let go? You’re not alone. However, you could be worsening your health by giving in. Scientists have discovered negative emotions have an addictive quality that trigger the reward centers in the …
If you are managing your autoimmune disease through diet and lifestyle, then you probably know about the autoimmune diet supplements, non-toxic home and body products, and getting enough rest.But are you aware of hidden sources of stress that may be triggering autoimmune flares?Common autoimmune diseases today include Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism, multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, psoriasis, celiac …
Five little-known things that make autoimmunity worse Read More »
Have you been told you don’t need your gallbladder? Think again. Sure, you’ll live without it, but the gallbladder is actually a vital digestive organ. The gallbladder stores bile, a chemical made by the liver that emulsifies fat, and secretes it into the small intestine when needed. Bile is necessary for the digestion and absorption …
When most people think of inflammation they think of arthritic joints, or maybe a sprained ankle. But did you know your brain can become inflamed, too? The problem is an inflamed brain won’t hurt. Instead you should look for other symptoms of brain inflammation. These include brain fog, slow thinking, fatigue, and depression. Brain fog is …
Do you have an inflamed brain? How to tell and what to do Read More »
We all want enough sleep so we’re less cranky and more alert. We want it for our kids too. But recent research found an even more important reason: Sleeping less than six hours a night for one week can lead to more than 700 changes in the way our genes behave. Among these are genes that regulate …
Lack of sleep; early mornings cause gene changes Read More »
Do you always lose your keys, forget where the car is parked, or find words stick on the tip of your tongue? We associate these behaviors with aging, but losing your memory and brain function isn’t necessarily “normal” aging. Instead, it’s a sign of accelerated brain degeneration, or a brain that is atrophying too fast. …
Loss of memory does not have to be part of aging Read More »
Do your eyelids droop and does your energy flag every afternoon around 3 to 4 p.m? Is your answer to energy crashes a soda, coffee, energy drink, or sweet snack to sustain you until dinner? If so, you’re making a bad situation worse. Even though it’s fairly common, the “afternoon crash” isn’t normal. Instead it’s …
If recovering from exercise is so difficult it feels like it’s ruining your days and sapping your motivation, you may be suffering from loss of exercise tolerance. Exercise is supposed to make you feel better and give you more energy, not make you feel worse. The occasional off day is nothing to worry about, but …
Seven reasons exercise recovery can be difficult Read More »
When stress levels go too high, the first thing many in the alternative health do is support the adrenal glands. The adrenal glands are two walnut-sized glands that sit atop each kidney and secrete stress hormones. Popular supplements include adrenal glandulars (adrenal tissue from animals), minerals, B vitamins, and a variety of herbs — all …
Nothing refreshes the mental landscape better than an exciting trip to a foreign land. However, nothing can have you regretting that adventure more than being glued to the toilet with traveler’s diarrhea or vomiting instead of traipsing through temples and markets. With some advance planning and knowledge about gut health, stomach bugs, and supplements that …
How to keep your gut healthy while traveling abroad Read More »
One of the primary things we look for when someone has autoimmunity is leaky gut, a condition in which the intestinal wall is damaged, as it is usually a key factor. Autoimmunity is an extremely common disorder today in which the immune system attacks and destroys part of the body. Common autoimmune disorders include Hashimoto’s …
If you have autoimmunity you need to look at leaky gut Read More »
Do you have chronic, mysterious symptoms that drag your life down but your lab tests come back normal? You may have an autoimmune reaction, a disorder in which your immune system attacks and destroys a part of your body. Autoimmunity can strike any tissue or compound in the body and symptoms will vary based on …
Mystery symptoms? Lab testing can reveal whether it’s autoimmune Read More »
Now even the U.S. Government is on board with what health specialists have known all along: partially hydrogenated oils and the industrial trans fats they contain are not safe for human consumption. The FDA already requires food manufacturers to list the amount of trans fats in their products. It also removed trans fats from the …
McDonald’s is closing 700 stores this year due to poor performance. Although it’s a drop in the bucket compared to the more than 32,000 stores worldwide, flagging sales and closing stores are a sign of changing times — customers are opting for healthier food, such as that served by Chipotle and gourmet burger chains. In response …
Do you have trouble falling asleep? Do you fall asleep around 2 or 3 a.m. and sleep until noon? Or do you wake up at 4 a.m. and can’t fall back asleep? Studies show insomnia does more than make the days drag — it raises your risk of dementia later in life. Heart disease, diabetes, …
Memory loss and dementia are valid concerns for everyone these days: one in three seniors dies of Alzheimer’s or dementia and Alzheimer’s is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. Fortunately, dementia is largely preventable with many lifestyle and dietary adjustments, one of which is including plenty of greens in your diet. New research …
Worried about losing your memory? Eat your greens Read More »
Managing your hypothyroidism isn’t just about losing weight and having warm hands and feet. If you’re a woman who could get pregnant, it could play a role in whether you have a child with autism. A 2015 Finnish study that looked at risk factors associated with autism found that women who tested positive for autoimmune hypothyroidism, or …
The end of winter seems like a good thing until your allergies go haywire. If you’re tired of allergy meds and always feeling stuffed up and zonked out, consider lasting relief by healing your gut to balance your immune system. The good news is that if you have Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism, the same approaches will help …
Fight underlying causes of allergies for lasting relief when you have Hashimoto’s Read More »
We’ve long been told if we want to be healthier and live longer we need to drop the pounds, but turns out being fit is the best predictor for longevity, even if you’re overweight. A team of researchers examined a collection of studies that together looked at thousands of people for as long as 16 years. They …
Fitness, not fatness, predicts how long you live Read More »
A man with celiac disease is suing the FDA, demanding they take action on the undisclosed use of wheat in an estimated 150 different prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) medications. Although about 1 percent of the population suffers from celiac disease, vastly more have gluten sensitivity and must also abstain from eating wheat to avoid a variety of …
FDA sued over gluten in medications; protect yourself Read More »
After studying dieting for 20 years, a researcher concluded diets simply don’t work, a fact countless Americans have spent 20-plus years of their own lives validating. Why? Dieting is constructed around faulty principles that defy human biology and psychology. The “calories in versus calories out” model fails to account for hormonal shifts during weight loss, the psychological …
Why diets don’t work and what you can do about it Read More »
High blood sugar is ground zero for chronic disease: diabetes (obviously), heart disease, dementia, autoimmune disease, chronic pain, and hormone imbalances. Testing your HbA1c on a blood panel can tell you whether high blood sugar is setting you up for major health problems. High blood sugar can: Trigger chronic inflammation, thus setting the stage for …
What HbA1c and a glucometer can tell you about disease risk Read More »
In the 1800s the average girl didn’t hit puberty until she was 15. Today the average age of puberty is 12, while the numbers of children showing signs of puberty before age 10 is at all time high and rising. We have seen the age at which children, primarily girls, hit puberty drop in just the last …
Why are girls starting puberty so early these days? Read More »
For some, managing autoimmune Hashimoto’s is as easy as going gluten-free. For others, it requires trial and error to find the triggers. And for those with severe or multiple autoimmune disorders, symptom management requires a conscious, lifelong approach to diet and lifestyle. Hashimoto’s is an autoimmune condition in which the immune system attacks and destroys …
Hashimoto’s not improving? Here are 10 reasons why Read More »
Do you feel you need anti-depressants or anti-anxiety medications, or has your doctor said you do? Although true depression or anxiety disorders need management, many women are misled into believing they need treatment for what is actually normal behavior. Women are designed to be sensitive to their environments, emotionally in tune with their children and …
Moody and need meds or just a healthy, normal female? Read More »
Do you have an older loved one in your life who seems to be wasting away no matter what you do to keep them nourished and healthy? This may be due to a condition called SIBO, or small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. SIBO happens when bacteria that normally belong in the large intestine travel backwards to …
Do you “crash” after a busy or stressful event, suffering from extreme exhaustion that keeps you confined to your bed or couch? Do these crashes last anywhere from a day to a week or even longer? If so, you’re not alone and you may suffer from autoimmunity, a condition in which the immune system attacks …
Do you sometimes “crash” with debilitating fatigue? Read More »
Do you curse every spring when we have to move the clocks forward for Daylight Saving Time (DST)? Does it take you weeks to recover? You’re not alone. Studies show DST is hard on our health and dangerous to boot, making it an outdated relic that adds stress to an already over-stressed society. DST doesn’t …
Botox, fillers, and plastic surgery seem de rigueur these days, with anti-aging spas in practically every strip mall. No longer the domain of celebrities, Botox treatments are more affordable than ever and hence accessible to the masses. But at what price? Some research suggests those regular wrinkle-relaxing Botox shots may be messing with your brain — in …
Botox can mess with your brain in more ways than one Read More »
Nicely scented products can trigger pleasant memories or a good mood. In fact, some of the chemicals used in perfumes have been found to have a mild narcotic effect. Sadly, however, they can also trigger serious physical illnesses and reactions in people who have developed a chemical sensitivity, and the numbers of such people are growing. But …
If you’re like most people, you probably have a vague notion artificial food coloring is “bad.” You’ve also probably heard it makes some kids hyperactive. But did you know the science on artificial food dyes is so thorough and damning that they are banned in two European countries, require warning labels throughout the European Union …
Artificial food colorings: What you don’t know can make you sick Read More »
We live in a time of unprecedented abundance of food and medical advances yet we are sicker than ever. It is considered normal to suffer from insomnia, PMS, depression, chronic pain, heartburn, constipation, diarrhea, and so on. But in reality these are our bodies’ warning signs that something is wrong. “All disease begins in the …
North to south through the gut – what can go wrong Read More »
The adrenal glands are two walnut-sized glands that sit atop the kidneys and that can make the different between being bouncy and energetic or run down and burned out. This is because they release stress hormones and the hormone cortisol, which, among other things, gives us energy. Unfortunately, the adrenal glands are under siege by …
Aging people have long since been resigned to living out their latter years avoiding salt and eating a bland, tasteless diet. But new research shows the risks of salt may be overblown. Also, if you have low blood pressure, salt can actually serve as a boost to your health. Salt has been recognized as a precious commodity throughout human …
Salt is not as fearsome as you’ve been led to believe Read More »
Everyone is familiar with addiction to some degree, whether it’s that daily dose of chocolate you can’t give up or watching a loved one succumb to drug abuse. Many factors play a role in addiction, but some research suggests loneliness plays a pivotal role in encouraging addiction, and that taking measures to remedy loneliness can be powerful …
If you regularly drink diet soda and use artificial sweeteners because you think it will help you lose weight, you’re unwittingly sabotaging your efforts. Sure, artificial sweeteners like sucralose, saccharine, and aspartame save on calories, but a recent Israeli study shows they can skew the composition of gut bacteria, or our microbiome in a way that …
If you’re like most people you are hoping to start the New Year by losing a few pounds. However, did you ever stop to wonder just where those pounds go when you lose them? Turns out most experts don’t know either, and the answer may surprise you. Most people think that when we burn fat …
Do you like to play a little Candy Crush or surf Facebook before bed? Or maybe you’re vegging out in front of your giant LED television or reading a novel on your iPad. Then when you turn the lights off you toss and turn frustratingly into the wee hours of the morning, glancing constantly at …
Your phone, computer, tablet, and TV cause insomnia Read More »
Most of us are starting the New Year with resolutions to improve, but few changes will improve your life more than regular exercise. However, starting an exercise habit can seem insurmountable to the chronically sedentary. This article offers tips to get you motivated to begin and stick with regular exercise. First off, there’s more to …
America is on a never-ending quest to satisfy its sweet tooth without the health risks of sugar and other sweeteners. Anyone with a natural bent knows to avoid toxic artificial sweeteners such as aspartame and sucralose, but what about the more “natural” ones, such as xylitol, erythritol, and sorbitol? Although they’re found on the shelves of health food stores, …
Are xylitol, erythritol, and other sugar alcohols safe to consume? Read More »
Do you often wake up at 3 a.m., your mind racing with thoughts, and you can’t fall back asleep? Try this crazy sounding but highly effective tip: Eat something! Make sure it’s not something sweet but instead something with protein and fat, such as nut butter, a bit of hard boiled egg, or some meat. …
Awake at 3 a.m.? Try this quick and easy trick to fall back asleep Read More »
A candida infection is an overgrowth of the fungus Candida albicans. It can affect the skin, mouth, throat, genitals, or blood. Common expressions of a candida infection include oral thrush, a vaginal yeast infection, jock itch, athlete’s foot, and even brain fog and fatigue. If the infection enters the bloodstream, it is called invasive candidiasis and causes …
Eating disorders affect an estimated 5 to 10 percent of the population and are generally thought to be a psychological disorder. However, new research from France shows gut bacteria can also play a role in causing eating disorders. The study showed eating disorders developed in mice who had an immune reaction to a protein made by gut …
Gut bacteria may play a role in eating disorders Read More »
Teens burn through life because, well, they can, and research shows two out of three teens are severely sleep deprived. But what teens and the adults in their lives don’t realize is that sleep deprivation raises the risk of car accidents and driving fatalities (driving sleepy is as bad as driving drunk), obesity, diabetes, depression, risk-taking behavior, …
Teens need enough sleep as much as they need air, water, and food Read More »
BPA (bisphenol-A) is gaining recognition as an undesirable toxin that people now try to avoid in plastics, particularly water bottles. But it’s harder to avoid than you think – research shows handling those seemingly innocuous store receipts quickly raises blood levels of BPA. BPA on store receipts Store and fast food receipts, ATM receipts, airline tickets, gas …
BPAs in store receipts can trigger autoimmunity and other health issues Read More »
By now you’ve probably heard of CoQ10 and it’s anti-aging potential. The newest discovery in the anti-aging world is PQQ (pyrroloquinoline quinone). PQQ works inside your cells like CoQ10 by defending them from damage. But what sets PQQ apart is that it can also energize your cells so they function better. This is done by …
It seems the times when we most need to support ourselves with healthy habits is when we are most apt to fall off the wagon. It can happen during major life changes or stressors, such as a move, the end of a relationship, or change in job status. Although the desire to comfort ourselves with …
Did stress push you off the healthy habits wagon? How to get back on track Read More »
When it comes to battling inflammation and autoimmunity, research shows resveratrol and curcumin work better when taken together than separately. Supplemental resveratrol is derived from Japanese knotweed and the compound is also found in the skin of red grapes. Curcumin is derived from the curry spice turmeric. Both are well known for their antioxidant, inflammation-quenching …
Combine resveratrol and curcumin for maximum inflammation-quenching Read More »
Alzheimer’s and memory loss can seem like a sort of death sentence that strikes out of the blue and has no cure. Although genetics play a role, so does your diet and lifestyle, which means you can do something about Alzheimer’s and memory loss before the damage is too great. In the first study of its kind, …
Diet and lifestyle changes reverse memory loss and Alzheimer’s Read More »
So you’ve either just gotten the results back from your food sensitivity test or your practitioner says you need to follow the autoimmune diet, also called the leaky gut diet, to manage your autoimmunity. The autoimmune diet comes as a shock to many due its strict limitations and compliance can be tough. The trick to sticking to the autoimmune …
How to stick to the autoimmune, or leaky gut, diet Read More »
