True Life

#91: Not all vegetables are created equal. In a recent episode, Dr James quipped about his kids going for the most sugar-full veggies like carrots and snap peas and it sparked a listener to ask which veggies were in fact, “better”. We intended to discuss the “better” foods in five categories but found just getting through veggies was a complete episode. To give you some Cliff’s Notes, his “top tier” picks for the most nutrient dense veggies were broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, spinach, cabbage (especially purple) and kale. Tier two? Peas, corn, carrots and okra. Why? You’ll serve yourself to understand, so listen on to the episode.

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#90: In this episode of the True Life podcast, an exhaustive review of good sleep habits. Pun intended. The point...for you to get insight into anything that can help you achieve a better, more restorative night’s sleep that fuels your life for the better. This was a listener request and though we’ve talked extensively about the power and necessity of quality sleep for our lives to be abundant, we realized we hadn’t specifically gone through tangible habits. As we unpacked them we were a bit surprised to realize just how many integers there are regarding our sleep. From food we eat prior to sleep, to our mattress, to light and sound and even the topic of our last waking thought. What we thought would be a quick run through of our list turned into our longest show yet, but resulted in even us realizing just how many things can influence our sleep quality

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#89: Have you ever been in a place of feeling like you are eating clean, not eating that much, you are exercising well, but still not losing weight? Or not enough weight? Or even gaining weight? In this episode we hit the reality that a calorie isn’t a calorie, but even further, any certain calorie may be fine for one person and not so much for another. The weight loss industry wants to give answers everyone can simply follow, but they just don’t exist. Ultimately you must have some understanding of food and calories and your personal makeup in order to find a nutritional and exercise plan that gives you the results you desire. In this episode we strive to help you get a grasp on finding your ideal plan.

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#88: Do you know what happens to you when you’re faced with too many choices? You are inclined to choose nothing. Why? Because figuring out the best decision causes stress and we are generally suffering from decision fatigue. Now think about the reality of life today that always has an infinite amount of choices for anything at any given moment. It produces a culture of anxiety. We’re calling it “choice pollution” and in this episode we talk about the problem, the solution and the anti anxiety drugs being prescribed for it.

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#87: Irritable bowel syndrome affects nearly everyone to some degree, even those living a very clean, healthy and active lifestyle. Diarrhea, constipation, gas, bloating, abdominal aches and pains and general discomfort down there should not be “normal” and there is hope to address it. When you do a search in Google and type in, “How often should you…” the number one search is “wash your hair”, number two is “poop”. You are not alone. In this episode Dr James and I candidly talk about IBS, SIBO and...poop.

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#86: Nearly 50% of American’s have high blood pressure...hypertension. Most just take a medication to control it. Is that good enough? There are little side effects to the medication itself, but what else is going on? Being overweight is the primary correlation but then you have seemingly fit people like actor Will Smith who is on them too. How does that happen? Join us.

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The culture talks about “life span”, which is how long we live from the day we are born until the day our heart stops beating. Health span however, is how long you are well and able. Do you care more about living to be 100, in a nursing home, in a wheelchair, hooked up to oxygen, wearing diapers, and completely devoid of any conscious thought, or being active and able in body, mind, and spirit, well into your sixties, seventies, or eighties? Dr Randy James and I recorded this segment following our weekly, Friday guys gathering where we share our lives together. One of the guys had just spent time with his family and witnessing his elderly mother who could not get around much and was not able to join the family in much of any activity other than eating. While we want to be sensitive, he was just aware she has peers who are fully capable in body and mind and he’s aware of her lifestyle choices that have not helped the disability she finds herself in. Randy and I have a candid and I hope compassionate discussion on this and it brings to light what our goals are, and how our daily actions are supporting these goals.

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Health comes from our controlled actions, right? Hopefully from good nutrition, exercise, and sleep. If it’s acute, maybe a medicine or surgery or treatment. “Thinking yourself healthy” is woo woo psycho babble and hardly tangible science. Or is it? Dr James and I have been studying the topic and thinking through it in our own lives. A book we are reading cites a study where people worked out their biceps, with dumbbells, just as we expect in order to grow a bigger bicep. But half of the test subjects were tasked with just thinking about growing their bicep. The first group using dumbbells, grew their biceps. They measured bigger. The second group who just thought about it, also, got bigger biceps. Not as much, but take the measuring tape, and sure enough...bigger. Yeah. So take that to your health. As you’ll hear in this show, I talk about an injury I have. The only mental input I give it is...negative. According to this study I could be helping heal it with my thoughts, but currently I’m making it worse.

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Your thyroid regulates much of your body and we as a culture are having more and more dysregulation. In this episode we dig into what problems thyroid dysregulation causes within us so you can hopefully ascertain if you are being negatively affected. We cover how traditional medicine treats it, and then of course how Dr James would treat it from a Functional Medicine perspective, even down to nutritional supplements and recommended dosages. Here in America many people suffer from hypo and hyper - thyroidism, though hypo is most common and the result is feeling the brakes are on in your physical health. You are pushing forward and feeling like you’re in quicksand. Tune in for help.

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Everything in our lives is speeding up. Technology and artificial intelligence and deliveries and...boom. We can fill every second with something new and interesting and the marketplace is focused on delivering us instantaneous gratification in any way possible. Compared to our grandparents and especially great grandparents, the speed and convenience of life and survival is supersonic. We can do in one hour, maybe even 20 minutes, what it took them all day to achieve. So how is it working for us? Are we awash in free time and leisure? Are we happier and healthier and more at peace than ever? Exuding so much joy as a result of all the privilege we have? You know the answer. We as a culture are sicker, sadder, and more anxious than ever. But the speed and convenience is not bad, only our management of it. I can have a burger for a dollar in a minute at a drive through, or have one that costs $10 and an hour over my grill. Which will serve me better? Dr James and I talk through this issue, not with certainty, but with grappling.

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