Healthy Talk

Most humans are omnivores, incorporating both meats and plants into an everyday diet.

Some diets, like the paleo diet, are focused on eating significant amounts of meat and eliminating processed foods.

Unfortunately, all calories (and meat choices) are not created equal.

For example, indulging in a cheeseburger is not the same as eating grilled chicken. Yes, they are both meats, but the cheeseburger is unhealthier than the chicken. In fact, many doctors suggest limiting your red meat consumption due to risk of heart disease.

This may have you wondering: should humans be carnivores?

Gary L. Clayman, DMD, MD, FACS, shares his personal opinion on whether or not humans should be carnivores.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, there are two types of depression: major depression and persistent depressive disorder.

Major depression consists of severe symptoms such as persistent sadness, an inability to eat, sleep, or enjoy life, and thoughts of suicide.

Persistent depressive disorder is characterized by a depressed mood that lasts for at least two years.

There are several types of treatments that involve medications, psychotherapy and self-care. However, recent research published in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity has suggested that probiotics may help alleviate depression.

True probiotics are a form of good bacteria found in supplements and foods. Most known for aiding in digestive health (constipation, upset stomach, diarrhea, cramping), probiotics also support immune function and help your body better absorb nutrients.

How can probiotics alleviate depression?

Listen in as Dr. Mike shares the recent research that shows how probiotics can relieve your depression symptoms.

Here you'll find the answers to a wealth of health and wellness questions posed by Healthy Talk fans.

Listen in because what you know helps ensure healthy choices you can live with. Today on Healthy Talk, you wanted to know:

It appears that the average stomach pH while empty is one to three (very acidic). Stomach pH with food is between a four and five. I often take probiotics on an empty stomach. This seems like the opposite of what you should do. If you want to put the probiotic in the least acidic stomach environment, you would think you would want to take them with food. Also, what do you think about taking probiotics with water as a higher pH?

One of the problems is as the live bacteria travels from your stomach to your small intestine, and ultimately in your colon, most of the probiotics won't survive. When you're taking a probiotic pill, you want to get as many as those bacteria in your colon alive. There's a huge debate on how to do that, and on whether you should take the probiotic with food or not.

It may seem like a good idea to take a probiotic with food, but you are decreasing transit time, which means that your probiotic pill will sit in your stomach longer than it should. So, Dr. Mike says it's best to take a probiotic on an empty stomach, since it will move faster through your digestive tract.

I've been a loyal Life Extension member for many years. I live in New York and have a question on whether I should be taking or not taking vitamin D to correspond to the seasons. I take vitamin D, K from October to May, but not in the summer because I get plenty of sun. In the late fall through early spring I would not be getting much vitamin D since New York is so far north. Is it going against nature to be artificially raising my vitamin D level during a period when it normally would not be so high? Should the vitamin D levels be lower or higher?

Dr. Mike says that you want to have consistent vitamin D levels throughout the year, no matter what the season is. Dr. Mike believes a normal range is between 50-70 and wants you at that level constantly. You might want to consider getting your vitamin D level tested at least once a year to see where your level is at, and base your vitamin D dosing on that level.

Dr. Mike also wants to point out that just because during the summer months there is natural sun, you shouldn't stop taking vitamin D. Many people make that mistake and think they only need it during months where it might not be as sunny.

Dr. Mike wants you taking that vitamin D dose every day.

If you have a health question or concern, Dr. Mike encourages you to write him at [email protected] or call in, toll-free, to the LIVE radio show (1.844.305.7800) so he can provide you with support and helpful advice.

Here you'll find the answers to a wealth of health and wellness questions posed by Healthy Talk fans.

Listen in because what you know helps ensure healthy choices you can live with. Today on Healthy Talk, you wanted to know:

Dr. Sinatra has been suggesting nattokinase for some time to help reduce the amount of fibrin in the bloodstream to prevent clotting, thereby reducing the chance of a heart attack. Ralph Holsworth talks about other things to use, like serrapeptase for heart attack prevention. Do you have an opinion on nattokinase or serrapeptase?

Dr. Mike things that there should be more research on both of these types of therapies. Inflammation is part of most diseases, and Dr. Mike believes it's crucial to get inflammation under control to help prevent disease. Inflammation occurs when there are too many proteins within your blood.

Blood clotting also happens because of the excessive amount of proteins that are in your blood. Fibrinogen is what doctors target to help reduce blood clotting with enzymes like nattokinase or serrapeptase.

In Dr. Mike's opinion, nattokinase is the better therapy, because it targets fibrinogen more specifically and more potently.

If you have a health question or concern, Dr. Mike encourages you to write him at [email protected] or call in, toll-free, to the LIVE radio show (1.844.305.7800) so he can provide you with support and helpful advice.

Mipsagargin is a recent generic drug that was created by GenSpera, Inc., a leader in developing therapies for cancer treatments.

This is a new drug that contains a natural product (a poisonous weed) that kills the growth of tumors.

Currently, Mipsagargin is in phase two clinical trials for hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer) and glioblastoma (brain cancer).

Will this drug be expanding to other cancer treatments?

Dr. Craig Dionne shares what Mipsagargin is and how patients can receive this drug for treatment.

If you or someone you know has been diagnosed with cancer, it can make you feel like your whole world has turned upside down.

Besides the emotional roller coaster, you also have to figure out what your next step is in terms of treatment.

Typically, if you've been diagnosed with cancer, surgery, radiation and chemotherapy are the most utilized treatments.

Unfortunately, with all of these treatments, there are many physical and emotional side effects.

Are there any other potential cancer cures that have limited access?

Listen in as Dr. Craig Dionne joins Dr. Mike to discuss potential cancer treatments that have limited access.

Chamomile tea has been used in traditional medicine for many years. If you've ever wanted something natural to drink before bed to help soothe your body, your doctor might have recommended drinking this tea.

A recent study from the University of Texas and published in The Gerontologist showed that chamomile might help extend your life. Researchers studied the effects of chamomile in the Mexican-American female population.

They found that 14 percent of the women in the study who drank chamomile tea were 29 percent less likely to die over the seven-year period compared to those women who did not drink chamomile tea.

Listen in as Dr. Mike shares why chamomile tea is beneficial to your health and how it can help you live longer.

Here you'll find the answers to a wealth of health and wellness questions posed by Healthy Talk fans.

Listen in because what you know helps ensure healthy choices you can live with. Today on Healthy Talk, you wanted to know:

Can you review the foods that I can and cannot eat with gout?

Gout is a type of arthritis that occurs when uric acid builds up in your blood, which causes inflammation.

There are some foods you should probably avoid if you're prone to acute gout, including meat, dairy, fructose, and beer.

You might want to consider drinking more water and eating more nutritious foods, plant based protein, and fruit.

There are some supplements that can help acute gout, including drinking a combination of water, tart cherry extract, and vitamin C.

If you have a health question or concern, Dr. Mike encourages you to write him at [email protected] or call in, toll-free, to the LIVE radio show (1.844.305.7800) so he can provide you with support and helpful advice.

Here you'll find the answers to a wealth of health and wellness questions posed by Healthy Talk fans.

Listen in because what you know helps ensure healthy choices you can live with. Today on Healthy Talk, you wanted to know:

Are nutritional deficiencies to blame for being overweight?

When you lack proper nutrition, your body may be showing you signs that you have a nutritional deficiency. These signs can be a number of things like brittle nails, bleeding gums, painful joints, hair loss, acne, dry skin, and many others. What about weight gain?

A study from a children's hospital in Oakland, California conducted three eight-week trials involving the twice daily intake of nutrient bars for two months for 43 lean and overweight/obese adolescents. What researchers found was in the overweight/obese participants, there was a reduction in weight, weight circumference, diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, triglycerides, insulin resistance, C-Reactive Protein, and inflammation.

Nutrition is extremely important; in fact, it's listed as one of the nine pillars of successful weight loss Dr. Mike wrote about. The rest of the pillars are:

If you have a health question or concern, Dr. Mike encourages you to write him at [email protected] or call in, toll-free, to the LIVE radio show (1.844.305.7800) so he can provide you with support and helpful advice.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), heart disease is the number-one killer of U.S. men and women, accounting for 40 percent of all U.S. deaths.

That's more than all forms of cancer combined.

What antioxidants are the most important for preventing heart disease?

Listen in as Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum joins Dr. Mike to share how you can prevent heart disease with antioxidants.