Resources on Health / General
Health encompasses broad topics including physical, mental, emotional and the environment one resides in. My motto has been that we should all be striving to be better versions of ourselves. The resources listed cover a variety of topics, but I believe are in the spirit of self improvement and awareness of our environment and others. These are some highlight items that I think are valid for the majority of people and I have listed them in bulleted fashion.
Supplement with Vitamin D 2000 IU per day taken with the largest meal of the day. Caution with doses greater than 4000 IU per day as this may have detrimental effects despite normal appearing levels.
Exercise on most days with the goal of at least maintaining your level of fitness but preferably improving it.
Consume 2 servings of dairy per day (milk, cheese, yogurt, cottage). If not take a calcium supplement.
Avoid buying bottled water or other beverages in plastic bottles as the plastic residue in the bottles is likely harmful.
Eat at least 2 servings of fish weekly. Choose wisely as to what you consume. Consult the Seafood Watch website consumer guide for information.
Eat a small handful of nuts daily (peanuts not included as they are not nuts). And not if you’re allergic!
Use olive oil and lots of it!
Eat a whole foods, plant based diet and minimize processed foods. If it comes in a box or doesn’t look like it did when it existed in nature, it is likely processed.
Avoid drinks with calories other than milk. This includes artificial sweeteners.
Eat at least one fruit or vegetable with each meal.
Try to get at least 7 hours of sleep per night.
Eat a more Mediterranean style diet, NOT a low fat diet.
Consider intermittent fasting as appropriate. Worth a discussion prior to starting.
Add about a shot glass worth daily of All Bran buds cereal to your diet if you need more fiber which most people do.
Don’t make a smoothie out of things you would eat in its whole, natural form. Some of the fiber gets ruined in the blender.
Recommended Reading
Autoimmune Disease - When Our Immune System Goes Haywire
While many people are familiar with the term autoimmune disease, many don’t have a clear understanding of what that means. Perhaps much of the mystery and confusion behind diseases such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and thyroiditis lies in the fact that the biological basis and the symptoms that accompany such debilitating illnesses may not be linked to a specific infection. Rather, autoimmune disorders occur when our very own immune system—a complex system to begin with—begins to attack our body.
READ MORE
Good Night, Sleep Tight
Sleep is the one thing that humans are unable to give up for any length of time. Even more so than water or food, our body simply shuts down when deprived of sleep. Yet, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), “more than 100 million Americans of all ages … regularly fail to get a good night’s sleep” for one reason or another, leading to “a lowered quality of life and reduced personal health.”
READ MORE
The Complexities of Cholesterol
What do we really know about cholesterol? The lower the better, doctors have told us since the 1960s, when the “cholesterol hypothesis” became widely accepted as fact, and millions reluctantly gave up bacon and eggs for cereal with skim milk.
Despite shaky science, Americans were quick to accept the thinking that high cholesterol foods were the chief villain in the disease of atherosclerosis—the process whereby fatty deposits build up in arteries, hardening and narrowing them, eventually starving the heart of blood.
READ MORE
Recommended Viewing
We’re All Grieving. This Is How We Get Through It.
By Esther Perel
As the coronavirus robs us of the life we cherish, a renowned therapist has some advice.
WATCH HERE
Dr. Jason Fung - 'Therapeutic Fasting - Solving the Two-Compartment Problem'
Dr. Jason Fung completed medical school and internal medicine at the University of Toronto before finishing his nephrology fellowship at the University of California, Los Angeles at the Cedars-Sinai hospital.
He now has a practice in Ontario, Canada where he uses his Intensive Dietary Management program to help all sorts of patients, but especially those suffering from the two big epidemics of modern times: obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Dr. Fung uses innovative solutions to these problems, realising that conventional treatments are not that effective in helping people.
Let's put birth control back on the agenda | Melinda Gates
Contraception. The topic has become controversial in recent years. But should it be? Melinda Gates believes that many of the world's social change issues depend on ensuring that women are able to control their rate of having kids. In this significant talk, she makes the case for the world to re-examine an issue she intends to lend her voice to for the next decade.
Brené Brown: The power of vulnerability
Brené Brown studies human connection -- our ability to empathize, belong, love. In a poignant, funny talk, she shares a deep insight from her research, one that sent her on a personal quest to know herself as well as to understand humanity. A talk to share.
Listening to shame | Brené Brown
Shame is an unspoken epidemic, the secret behind many forms of broken behavior. Brené Brown, whose earlier talk on vulnerability became a viral hit, explores what can happen when people confront their shame head-on. Her own humor, humanity and vulnerability shine through every word.
Monica Lewinsky: The price of shame
"Public shaming as a blood sport has to stop," says Monica Lewinsky. In 1998, she says, "I was Patient Zero of losing a personal reputation on a global scale almost instantaneously." Today, the kind of online public shaming she went through has become constant -- and can turn deadly.
Robyn Stein DeLuca: The good news about PMS
Everybody knows that most women go a little crazy right before they get their period, that their reproductive hormones cause their emotions to fluctuate wildly. Except: There's very little scientific consensus about premenstrual syndrome. Says psychologist Robyn Stein DeLuca, science doesn't agree on the definition, cause, treatment or even existence of PMS. She explores what we know and don't know about it — and why the popular myth has persisted.
Why Medicine Often Has Dangerous Side Effects for Women | Alyson McGregor | TED Talks
For most of the past century, drugs approved and released to market have been tested only on male patients, leading to improper dosing and unacceptable side effects for women. The important physiological differences between men and women have only recently been taken into consideration in medical research. Emergency doctor Alyson McGregor studies these differences, and in this fascinating talk she discusses the history behind how the male model became our framework for medical research and how understanding differences between men and women can lead to more effective treatments for both sexes.
Al Vernacchio: Sex needs a new metaphor.
Here's one ...
For some reason, says educator Al Vernacchio, the metaphors for talking about sex in the US all come from baseball -- scoring, getting to first base, etc. The problem is, this frames sex as a competition, with a winner and a loser. Instead, he suggests a new metaphor, one that's more about shared pleasure, discussion and agreement, fulfillment and enjoyment. Let's talk about ... pizza.
Everything you think you know about addiction is wrong | Johann Hari
What really causes addiction — to everything from cocaine to smart-phones? And how can we overcome it? Johann Hari has seen our current methods fail firsthand, as he has watched loved ones struggle to manage their addictions. He started to wonder why we treat addicts the way we do — and if there might be a better way. As he shares in this deeply personal talk, his questions took him around the world, and unearthed some surprising and hopeful ways of thinking about an age-old problem.
Both a surgeon and a self-experimenter, Peter Attia …
Peter Attia has dedicated his medical career to investigating the relationship between nutrition, obesity and diabetes. A surgeon who developed metabolic syndrome himself despite the fact that he ate well and exercised often, Attia realized that our understanding of these important health issues may not actually be correct. From 2012-2015, he devoted himself to using vigorous scientific inquiry to test both our assumptions and new hypotheses through the Nutrition Science Initiative, the nonprofit he co-founded with journalist Gary Taubes.
Dr. Maryanne Demasi - 'Statin Wars: Have we been misled by the evidence?
Dr. Maryanne Demasi is a former medical scientist who completed her PhD in Medicine at the University of Adelaide. Her research focused on the pathology of Rheumatoid arthritis and potential therapies. Her innovative research has appeared in several internationally published medical journals.
Madonna Woman of The Year Full Speech | Billboard Women in Music 2016
This year Billboard honored Madonna as the Woman of The Year so please enjoy her incredibly moving speech in its entirety at Women in Music 2016.
Notice this video uses Explicit Language!!!!
Please know this video has language that may not be suitable for young viewers.
Jim Jefferies -- Gun Control (Part 1) from BARE -- Netflix Special
Part 2 (Explicit language)
Please know this video has language that may not be suitable for young viewers.
Jim Jefferies -- Gun Control (Part 2) from BARE -- Netflix Special
The Social Dilemma | Official Trailer | Netflix
We tweet, we like, and we share— but what are the consequences of our growing dependence on social media?
Your body language may shape who you are | Amy Cuddy
Body language affects how others see us, but it may also change how we see ourselves. Social psychologist Amy Cuddy argues that "power posing" -- standing in a posture of confidence, even when we don't feel confident -- can boost feelings of confidence, and might have an impact on our chances for success.
Feeding Bill Gates a Fake Burger (to save the world)
Sometimes the scientific method takes us to new frontiers. Thanks to Bill and Melinda Gates for partnering with me on this video.