Health Matters Sonoma

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About he Shaolin Way: 10 Modern Secrets of Survival from a Shaolin Kung Fu Grandmaster Paperbac

Born in the projects of Spanish Harlem to a disabled mother and an abusive father, Steve DeMasco spent most of his childhood lost and angry. Drifting from one job to another, he stalked the streets as a troubled youth, barely surviving while all of his peers were either dead or in jail, until he found himself on the steps of the Shaolin Temple.

Originating more than 1,500 years ago in ancient China, the Shaolin monks were simple farmers and worshippers of Buddhism who learned to protect themselves from the constant danger of bandits and overlords with a kind of "meditation in motion," a nonlethal form of self-defense that didn't violate their vows of peace. As their legend grew, they became known as the Shaolin Fighting Monks, revered across the land for their spiritual dedication, enlightened message, and amazing fighting skills.

DeMasco entered the Shaolin Temple to battle the demons of his past. But he got more than he bargained for. Besides learning how to wield weapons and take on multiple attackers at once, he discovered an ancient philosophy that helped melt away preconceived notions of the world, and gave him a powerful platform on which to live and grow. In The Shaolin Way, he adapts these teachings for the modern world, singling out ten secrets of survival that can help anyone live a more fulfilled life.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit healthmatters.substack.com

About The Case for Medicare for All

Largely privately funded with relatively little public regulation, the United States healthcare system is both expensive and inefficient, providing poor care to large parts of the population.For decades, Americans have wrestled with how to fix their broken healthcare system. In this razor-sharp contribution to the healthcare debate, leading economist and former adviser to Bernie Sanders Gerald Friedman recommends that we build on what works: a Medicare system that already efficiently provides healthcare for millions of Americans.  Rejecting the discredited idea that healthcare should be treated like any other commodity, Friedman shows that healthcare is distinctive and can be best provided only through universal program of social insurance. Deftly exposing the absurdities of the opponents of reform, Friedman shows in detail how the solution to our health care crisis is staring us in the face: enroll everyone in Medicare to improve the health of all Americans.This bold and brilliantly argued book is essential reading for anyone who wants to see Congress and the White House act to provide America with a 21st century healthcare system.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit healthmatters.substack.com

About Metabolical: The Lure and the Lies of Processed Food, Nutrition, and Modern Medicine 

Dr. Robert Lustig, a pediatric neuroendocrinologist who has long been on the cutting edge of medicine and science, challenges our current healthcare paradigm which has gone off the rails under the influence of Big Food, Big Pharma, and Big Government.

You can’t solve a problem if you don’t know what the problem is. One of Lustig’s singular gifts as a communicator is his ability to “connect the dots” for the general reader, in order to unpack the scientific data and concepts behind his arguments, as he tells the “real story of food” and “the story of real food.” 

Metabolical weaves the interconnected strands of nutrition, health/disease, medicine, environment, and society into a completely new fabric by proving on a scientific basis a series of iconoclastic revelations, among them: 

* Medicine for chronic disease treats symptoms, not the disease itself

* You can diagnose your own biochemical profile 

* Chronic diseases are not "druggable," but they are "foodable" 

* Processed food isn’t just toxic, it’s addictive

* The war between vegan and keto is a false war—the combatants are on the same side

* Big Food, Big Pharma, and Big Government are on the other side

Making the case that food is the only lever we have to effect biochemical change to improve our health, Lustig explains what to eat based on two novel criteria: protect the liver, and feed the gut. He insists that if we do not fix our food and change the way we eat, we will continue to court chronic disease, bankrupt healthcare, and threaten the planet. But there is hope: this book explains what’s needed to fix all three.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit healthmatters.substack.com

About

Dr. Robert Lustig, a pediatric neuroendocrinologist who has long been on the cutting edge of medicine and science, challenges our current healthcare paradigm which has gone off the rails under the influence of Big Food, Big Pharma, and Big Government.

You can’t solve a problem if you don’t know what the problem is. One of Lustig’s singular gifts as a communicator is his ability to “connect the dots” for the general reader, in order to unpack the scientific data and concepts behind his arguments, as he tells the “real story of food” and “the story of real food.” 

Metabolical weaves the interconnected strands of nutrition, health/disease, medicine, environment, and society into a completely new fabric by proving on a scientific basis a series of iconoclastic revelations, among them: 

* Medicine for chronic disease treats symptoms, not the disease itself

* You can diagnose your own biochemical profile 

* Chronic diseases are not "druggable," but they are "foodable" 

* Processed food isn’t just toxic, it’s addictive

* The war between vegan and keto is a false war—the combatants are on the same side

* Big Food, Big Pharma, and Big Government are on the other side

Making the case that food is the only lever we have to effect biochemical change to improve our health, Lustig explains what to eat based on two novel criteria: protect the liver, and feed the gut. He insists that if we do not fix our food and change the way we eat, we will continue to court chronic disease, bankrupt healthcare, and threaten the planet. But there is hope: this book explains what’s needed to fix all three

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit healthmatters.substack.com

Ned gets interviewed by host Elia Haworth on KWMR Original Minds

About Original Minds

On alternate Saturday mornings, I interview people with creative minds–farmers to physicists. Our conversations are about their work, passions and life-lessons. I often interview locals from Coastal Marin- who we may know but not know their rich backstories. Each person brings fresh ideas, insights and inspiration.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit healthmatters.substack.com

About La Luz Center

In 1985, the wine industry was booming in Sonoma Valley. Hundreds of workers were hired from Mexico, Central and South America to work in the vineyards. On weekends they attended church where they met Ligia Booker.  Born in Colombia to a large philanthropic family, Ligia saw Sonoma Valley through the eyes of an immigrant. She learned that the vineyard worker families had basic unmet needs like language skills and access to food, clothing and housing; assistance with medical, legal and financial issues presented more complicated, longer term challenges.

Ligia and a group of Sonoma residents came together to provide needed assistance and began to call themselves La Luz, Spanish for “The Light”. Over the years, La Luz Center has  expanded capabilities through strong community partnerships and a talented, resourceful La Luz staff that now delivers a wide-range of programs, services and responsive support to families in Sonoma Valley.

Ligia understood the unique relationship between the people of The Springs and the economy of Sonoma Valley. The Latino community, now comprising approximately 28% of the Sonoma Valley population and 58% of our public school enrollment, significantly contributes to the vitality of the Valley. La Luz Center continues to bring “The Light” to Sonoma Valley residents and we invite you to explore our website to learn more about current La Luz Center partnerships, services, and programs.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit healthmatters.substack.com

About Bicycling with Butterflies: My 10,201-Mile Journey Following the Monarch Migration

Outdoor educator and field researcher Sara Dykman made history when she became the first person to bicycle along­side monarch butterflies on their storied annual migration—a round-trip adventure that included three countries and more than 10,000 miles. Equally remarkable, she did it solo, on a bike cobbled together from used parts. Her panniers were recycled buckets.In Bicycling with Butterflies, Dykman recounts her incredible journey and the dramatic ups and downs of the nearly nine-month odyssey. We’re beside her as she nav­igates unmapped roads in foreign countries, checks roadside milkweed for monarch eggs, and shares her passion with eager schoolchil­dren, skeptical bar patrons, and unimpressed border officials. We also meet some of the ardent monarch stewards who supported her efforts, from citizen scientists and research­ers to farmers and high-rise city dwellers.With both humor and humility, Dykman offers a compelling story, confirming the urgency of saving the threatened monarch migration—and the other threatened systems of nature that affect the survival of us all.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit healthmatters.substack.com

About 72 Reasons to be Vegan: Why Plant-Based. Why Now.

Better sex, glowing skin, and more money…by going veganDid you know that if you adopt a vegan diet you can enjoy better sex? Save money? Have glowing skin? You can ward off Alzheimer’s, Type 2 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and other metabolic diseases. You can eat delicious burgers. Help save the planet. Join the cool kids, like Gandhi, Tolstoy, Leonardo—and Kyrie Irving, Kat Von D, and Joaquin Phoenix. Oh, and did we mention have better sex? (It’s about blood flow.)Those are just some of the 72 reasons we should all be vegan, as compiled and persuasively argued by Gene Stone and Kathy Freston, two of the leading voices in the ever-growing movement to eat a plant-based diet. While plenty of books tell you how to go vegan, 72 Reasons to Be Vegan is the book that tells you why. And it does so in a way that emphasizes not what you’d be giving up, but what you’d be gaining."Bestselling vegan activist Kathy Freston and the movement’s best chronicler, Gene Stone, team up to give us 72 reasons to go plant based (and better sex is just one of them!) A must-read for anyone concerned about the future of our planet, their own health, or the moral ramifications of meat-eating.”—Dan Buettner, National Geographic Fellow and author of The Blue Zones

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit healthmatters.substack.com

About The Ayurvedic Reset Diet: Radiant Health through Fasting, Mono-Diet, and Smart Food Combining

A step-by-step guide to Ayurvedic dietary resets to gently cleanse your digestive system and reboot your body and mind• Presents easy-to-follow instructions for a full 6- or 8-week Ayurvedic rest diet, as well as a simplified 1-week plan, detailing what to eat and drink day by day• Includes recipes, mindful eating tips, and meal prepping techniques• Explains the healing science of Ayurveda, the rejuvenating benefits of fasting and mono-diets, and how to maximize nutrient absorption with food combining

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit healthmatters.substack.com