Latest Stories

Doctors prescribe statins to control cholesterol levels and protect the heart. Ironically, these very same statins could make it more likely that diabetes could develop, which weakens blood vessels, which can make you a target for heart disease. And round and round it goes…

If any disease desperately needs new treatment options, it’s Alzheimer’s. It’s been 17 years since a new drug was approved. And right now, the treatments available only offer minor symptoms relief. In the fight against this devastating and stubborn disease, hope is a very good thing, and it starts in your gut…

Here come the holidays… and the potential for weight gain. But if you go into the season with a game plan, you can still indulge without feeling deprived or being desperate to lose weight after the new year…

So many people love running. And there are a lot of solid reasons to. Runners get that release of feel-good brain chemicals known as a runner’s high. They can load up on carbs because they’re burning crazy amounts of calories. But there’s one more thing you may be missing out on if you’re not running…

Remember that there is no safe blood level of lead. It’s been tied to illnesses ranging from mystery military ailments to heart disease. Fortunately, it’s treatable. Chelation is a method of binding up metal molecules so it can be eliminated via the urine. There are also antioxidants that help get your health back…

It takes a lot of experimentation to get the right sleep program that puts you out at night — and most importantly, keeps you out! So, here are some alternative sleep therapies you may want to try.

Subjective age is the term used for that number you give when someone asks, “How old do you feel?” How do you answer? It matters because it’s that sort of thinking that can not only prevent physical disabilities and ailments but can even protect against future dementia and Alzheimer’s…

Research has shown that exercise helps keep dementia at bay. There’s a pretty logical connection here: Poor sleep is a known dementia risk factor. Physical activity promotes better and deeper sleep, for one thing. Of all the “exercise” you can partake in, some of the best for your brain involve no sweating at all…

More than 75 percent of Americans take vitamins. In the over 35 group, that number goes up to an impressive 81 percent. Yet, with all of the vitamins we’re taking, there’s one that many people don’t know about in spite of multiple clinical studies that have proven the necessity of the vitamin for fighting off age-related concerns.

For those of us who put the pounds on easily and can’t seem to get them off again, here’s some news: It appears some of us actually have an “obesity gene.” This may sound like very bad news, when in fact, it’s not as bad as it sounds. That’s because research found an exercise more powerful than your genes.

When you first start eating a healthy diet, you feel fantastic. You have more energy. Maybe you even resolve long-standing health issues. But despite the amazing benefits (or perhaps because of them), healthy eating can easily become an obsession. This obsession even has a name — and it’s considered an eating disorder.

Jim was a patient of mine years back. He had come to me for holistic advice on heart health. His doctors were recommending statins to control his cholesterol. When Jim came to see me later in the year, I was struck by his decline. That’s when we discussed easing him off drugs and starting a recovery program…

Vascular dementia is the second most common form of dementia after Alzheimer’s. Its causes and risk factors are different from AD, its symptoms show up differently, and it’s much more under our control. Symptoms of vascular dementia can vary. Here’s what to watch for and how to identify your risk…

Because obesity is a factor in so many health conditions, including diabetes, heart disease, and even cancer, it’s estimated that the extra weight Americans carry is responsible for one in five deaths. But a compound found in a certain green fruit could help not only kick obesity to the curb but diabetes with it!

I recently read about a U.S. Army veteran who went through years of misdiagnosis and was even accused of faking his health problems by the Army before finding chronic lead poisoning was making him so ill. I’d like to share his story with you and new findings about lead and heart disease…

Getting back in shape after you’ve let your physical fitness slide for years (or decades) isn’t easy. But if you can break through the wall of negative thoughts and get your butt moving, you’ll find some pretty amazing benefits waiting for you. And the older and more out of shape you are, the better these benefits are.

Menopause symptoms can be miserable. Some women turn to hormone replacement therapy (HRT). But a lot of women don’t feel comfortable with the potential side effects, including a higher breast cancer risk. So, what else can you do? Check out herbs that work just as well…

As you get older, your brain ages with the rest of the body. If you want to keep a better-working brain, here are seven steps you can take to keep your wits about you as you grow older.

Lung cancer is an incredibly scary disease… Not only is it the leading cause of cancer deaths in both men and women — beating out colon, prostate, ovarian and breast cancers combined — it’s also very sneaky, generally showing no symptoms until it has reached an advanced stage.

This time of year, I start wondering what flu season is going to be like. So I started digging and found my answer: a report from Harvard Medical School confirmed my worst suspicion. In fact, they say that we are likely to have an “active and possibly severe flu season.” Let’s get ready to beat this…

If you’re a smoker who’s tried to quit, you know it’s a hard addiction to fight. But what if you only smoke “once in a while?” Are you safer than those pack-a-day smokers? Well, reducing the number of cigarettes you smoke daily may be the first step to quitting entirely, but you’re far from out of the woods…

You’ve probably heard that trans fat is the unhealthiest kind of fat you can eat. It increases your risk of heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes. In fact, they’re so bad they were banned… but you’ll be surprised to learn you may still be eating them and they could increase dementia risk by 50 percent…

The keto diet is a big thing these days. No wonder, since it’s been shown to have the potential to boost weight loss, improve heart health and brain function, and maybe even reduce the risk of cancer. But not everyone should just jump into the keto diet headfirst…

Living with diabetes puts you at greater risk of infection, including skin and respiratory infections. Why? High blood sugar weakens your immune system, leaving you a wide-open target for infectious bacteria. That means you must be vigilant about more than your blood sugar. You must know these signs of infection…

You may know that hypertension in middle age is also associated with dementia and Alzheimer’s later in life. Long-term blood pressure damages vessels in the brain creating “white matter lesions” which can be seen on brain scans. But the good news is that this damage can be reversed…

Once you turn 50, things in your body start to change. We expect some changes in appearance and abilities, but a few of these are just plain weird. If you know they’re coming, you’ll be better prepared for them. You may not be able to reverse them, but there are ways you can continue to feel like yourself and enjoy what’s to come.

For a long time, healthy living and coffee drinking were at odds. But by and large, the perspective on coffee and health has changed a lot in the past 20 years. Why? Because science keeps proving that coffee is good for you. Case in point: A recent study shows coffee brews better gut bacteria…

In 2018, there was a big hullabaloo about the heart health benefits of fish oil. The major news outlets reported on a research review of existing clinical trials on the heart health benefits of fish oil — and found that there really weren’t any. But a bigger, better and higher quality review has all those naysayers eating crow.

There’s been a lot of talk over the last decade about so-called superfoods that have the power to ward off disease, slow aging, and help you stay healthier and more active longer. But one of the really super ones is a drink — tea. And now we know more about its amazing effects on the brain…

You’ve probably read about the benefits of drinking red wine. As long as you stick to a glass or two a day, you can get those protective benefits. However, there are certain times when drinking wine, or any other alcoholic beverage, will do more harm than good. Here are three everyone should be aware of…

Breast cancer is alarmingly common these days. In fact, one in every eight women will develop breast cancer at some point in their lifetime. So if you’re a woman, it’s safe to say that prevention should be your top priority.

If you’ve ever visited Hawaii, you can’t help but be enamored of its beauty. But when you get away from the resorts, you realize that the modern native Hawaiian has a very real health problem weighing them down.

Stretching is not enough to get the legs ready to exercise. Often there are old injuries to work through, scar tissue adhesions that bind, and trigger points to release. To do all of this would require visits to the gym, massage therapist and physical therapist. Fortunately, there is a device…

We are urged to do more early screening for cancers and get more aggressive treatments. We are even told to get genetic testing and consider mastectomies (and other drastic preventative surgeries) if the wrong genes are found. But none of those actions prevent us from getting cancer.

A common argument I hear from people who try to forego the over-processed, store brought foods is that they can’t afford to eat healthy food. But after seeing what it does to your body, you’ll be asking how can you afford NOT to…

Most men only think about their gut when they lose the six-pack they once (may) have had. But a healthy gut means much more than abs of steel.

Are you ready to make a small dietary change that will have a big impact on your health? Here are 6 foods which provide you with gut-healing, anti-cancer benefits.

No matter the cause of your fatigue, there is a simple solution that can provide relief. And it won’t even cost you a penny. In fact, it’s a treatment you can give yourself in the comfort of your own home…

Does your upper back feel tired and your head feel heavy at the end of the day? That’s because the muscles of the upper back and shoulders are fatigued from doing countless “forward head” activities, like: texting, typing, reading and the like. To feel better…

I’ve been using my iron skillet more and more lately, and I’ve discovered that I like pan-roasting most vegetables in it — including new potatoes. An added benefit of cooking in a cast iron skillet is the additional iron it can add to your diet.

Finding the motivation you need to reach any goal can be difficult. To keep working at reaching your wellness goal can often be overwhelming. Even though the payoff can be huge, we feel like we need that “something” that keeps us going.

Everything you do in life, you do for one reason: to be happy. But what if I told you that the key to happiness is somewhere you never thought to look — on your plate…

Music’s healing effect has been demonstrated on everything from colds to cerebral palsy. And the latest science suggests you could harness that power to accomplish some pretty amazing things. But some tunes work better than others…

The findings of a new review suggest that dietary omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil fight prostate cancer on several levels.

We all experience those moments from time to time — a forgotten name, a hazy memory, misplaced keys. After all, in today’s age of multitasking madness, it’s easy to lose track of a few details. But when these “senior moments” happen regularly, they become more than just passing phenomena …

When I got a surprise summer cold recently, I went to my local health food store in search of vitamin C. The woman working in the vitamin department saw me trying to decide what type to buy, and gave me a tip that will probably change the way I take vitamin C forever.

Have you ever thought about what it would be like to live to 100? Some people say they don’t want to because they picture themselves feeble and sickly — like a prisoner in their own body. But the latest research on centenarians shows that this just isn’t so.

Acupuncture is one ancient method that has caught the attention of the modern medical community. It’s several thousand years old and has helped millions of people with everything from sprained ankles to pregnancy to the flu. And science is showing it works…

When your doctor says your illness is “idiopathic,” don’t believe it! The “idiopathic” condition is one that has no known cause. Every illness has more than one cause — you just have to discover them.

According to the Almond Board of California, one ounce of almonds contains about the same amount of disease-fighting polyphenols thought to ward off heart disease and cancer, as a cup of broccoli or green tea.

What you’re eating right now could make all the difference whether you develop chronic health problems or even deadly diseases like cancer down the line. Because even though food can be medicine, food can also be poison. Take the relationship between diet and cancer…

If you’re an American, you’re no stranger to scary food ingredients. In fact, your food is filled with some of the scariest additives around… remember the ‘wood pulp’ found in Parmesan cheese? But the latest food being manufactured in China, may be scarier than anything you’ve seen before…

Do men and women require different approaches to health and nutrition? Aside from the obvious differences, it’s only recently that researchers and conventional healthcare providers have tuned in to the subtle and not so subtle biological differences between the sexes.

Based on mounds of research, the Mediterranean diet could be the healthiest diet around. But the accolades usually omit one important component of a traditional Mediterranean diet: pasta. Has that been a mistake?

Few things are as uncomfortable and unnerving as painful urination or urinary frequency, also called dysuria. And more than one condition can be the reason for the pain. But most often the blame can be placed on one of three conditions…

Have you ever thought about how much easier life would be if you could just turn off your cravings for pizza, candy, cake and other foods that are high in calories and low in nutrients? You can with a single…

Balanced blood sugar is an important key to a healthy life. And not just if you want to fend off diabetes. Unbalanced blood sugar creates inflammation in your body that leads to a host of problems like rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s and even cancer..

My blood pressure issues go way back. Early in my life, my high blood pressure surprised my doctors since I wasn’t overweight, exercised frequently and ate what they thought was a healthy diet. But it wasn’t until …

The sun is good for your health when it enables your skin to make vitamin D. But you need to protect yourself against sunburn. Learn which foods and supplements can help your skin limit sun damage and possibly help defend against cancer.

Autoimmune diagnoses are tough. The “good” news is that now there are drug options to treat the most severe autoimmune diseases.