We are typically told that once a diabetic, always a diabetic—that is, diabetes can be managed but it is not reversible once you have it. Dr Sarah Hallberg challenges this viewpoint, based on her clinical experience using a high-fat diet. Her program has been highly successful in reversing diabetes and other metabolic diseases. Continue reading
In this TED-Ed talk, William Li, MD presents a new way to think about treating cancer and other diseases. It is anti-angiogenesis, which means preventing the growth of blood vessels that feed a tumour. He says the crucial first (and best) step is eating cancer-fighting foods that cut off the supply lines and beat cancer at its own game.
Watching this reminds me of three things that are important and easily forgotten:
In June of 2016, Science Daily published a report describing initial results of a study underway at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging. The title: “Pre and post testing show reversal of memory loss from Alzheimer’s disease in 10 patients.” It goes on…
This is the first study to objectively show that memory loss in patients can be reversed, and improvement sustained, using a complex, 36-point therapeutic personalized program that involves comprehensive changes in diet, brain stimulation, exercise, optimization of sleep, specific pharmaceuticals and vitamins, and multiple additional steps that affect brain chemistry.
This is stunning in a healthcare culture where “everyone knows” that Alzheimer’s is a sentence to steady decline over a long period of time with no hope of recovery. Continue reading
The Adverse Childhood Experiences Study (ACE Study) is a research study of over 17,000 people conducted in the US by Kaiser Permanente and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Participants were recruited between 1995 and 1997 and have been followed to see what happened to their health over the years since then.
This study has come up frequently in recent health seminars because it demonstrates an association of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) with health and social problems in adulthood.
Here is Dr. Vincent Felitti, one of the principal investigators on this study, to tell you more about how childhood trauma can lead to serious illness later in life. Continue reading
My overall theme is living consciously so we can thrive, not just survive. My first book was about conscious spending. Recently I’ve been writing about conscious health.
Health and spending money don’t seem to be related. But actually they are, because happiness is a contributor to our overall health.
In this short TED talk, based on research at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, Michael Norton explains that relationship. Continue reading
It depends on what we set in motion.
This new year I was surprised to find myself more aware of it than usual. When I heard that 2017 is the beginning of a multi-year cycle, my heightened interest made sense. Each new year is a time for new beginnings, but the first year of a new cycle sets the tone for the next decade or so. Worth paying attention to, I’m thinking!
Another view of the significance of this time of year has to do with nature’s seasonal cycles. We have just passed the winter solstice, the time when we have the least amount of daylight and the days are cold in my part of the world. In terms of nature and growth, the harvest is completed and there’s a tendency toward rest and hibernation.
So there you have it. I decided in favour of tradition. I got out my recipe card and the 1950s candy thermometer that my aunt passed on to me. I went back to making marshmallows for Christmas.
Not without some thought, as you might have guessed. Last week I said I’d be thinking about it, considering that sugar is a primary ingredient in homemade marshmallows. So this post is about how my thinking got me from there to here. If you want the recipe, you’ll find it here. Continue reading
Stress is the enemy—to be avoided if possible, and managed when unavoidable.
Last week I wrote about the inch-by-inch principle. This is the viewpoint that regaining health is a process rather than a goal. After reading that post, you may have thought I’m a proponent of aimless wandering through life. Not at all!
I’ve always been intrigued by the notion of having my cake and eating it too. Why not a process with direction instead of one or the other? Continue reading
We live in a culture oriented toward goals rather than processes. The expectation is that we set a goal, achieve it, and then that’s done. It’s a linear way of looking at things, and it works for some people in some instances. Health doesn’t work that way.
Achieving health is an organic process with built-in feedback loops. As changes are made, we get internal information about what’s working and what isn’t. Then we adjust accordingly and go from there. Like gardening. Continue reading