True Life

Over time life evolves and what was not normal, now is. When you were a kid you probably seldom thought about your body and any aches or pains. How about today? Chances are, as you are listening to this show, you have some issues that are normal that you wish were not! In this episode Dr James and I highlight some norms in our culture that really, truly, should not be. So as is often the case, this is an episode to help you be aware of some of the things we culturally accept that are harming us.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The main issue with holiday health is guilt. Nobody talks about it, but more important than whether we gain or lose or maintain our weight is how we deal with it amongst more social pressure than ever. The goal of this show is to help you simply be at peace, whether your goal is to abstain or imbibe. I asked our True Life audience how they maintain their health and wellness during the holidays and the answer came in three categories. Some make some simple and prudent adjustments. Some attack the issue with gusto, actually upping their fitness and diet regimens. Some simply strive to maintain their normal routines. But proxy of how I posed the question, nobody responded saying they plan to fully imbibe and enjoy and maybe gain a pound or ten, though this is surely an option as well. Again, the point is to realize the social pressure and the high propensity of guilt, and find peace with your decision!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I simply asked our True Life audience, “What area of your health do you feel good about, what area do you not?” What followed were many personal testimonies of strengths and weaknesses in everyone’s personal wellness pursuit. Some of the deficits and struggles cited and discussed were hydration, weight, exercise, alcohol, and more, and we also delved into more complex issues of cholesterol, biotoxin illness, chronic fatigue, mental health and the all encompassing issue of the distinct individualization of our individual journeys.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Vacation! This may seem an odd topic, but it’s a major part of our lives and aimed at our health and wellness. Vacation has been part of life for a long time to give us a rest from the toil of everyday life. Even if you love your work it is beneficial to get away to rest and recreate. But a listener wrote in recently asking for ideas, as he recently got back from vacation and felt he wasted it. Many of us struggle with needing a vacation from our vacations because they were exciting, but exhausting. Randy and I ultimately zeroed in on three different types of vacation that all have benefits, the value is in understanding what you are getting into and what you can do to prepare and get the most out of your vacations. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We want our sleep to be like plugging our phone in overnight. You plug it in when the battery is low and wake to find it fully charged. Don’t you want to be the same? Go to bed and wake up fully charged. But is that happening for you? Do you ever sleep through the night only to wake unrested and not...fully charged? Do you have trouble falling asleep? Do you have trouble staying asleep? These issues don’t result in merely feeling tired for a day and medicating with an espresso, long term these can utterly destroy your life and that is no exaggeration. Dealing with anxiety? Depression? Hopelessness? The question is...how is your sleep? And how do you even know for sure? We’ll offer some resources as well. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you consistently struggle with low energy this is an incredibly important show. There is no one way to increase consistent energy, let’s lead with this. But there is much you can do to help yourself. Right now we are in another pandemic and it’s one of low energy. Most of us can readily remember a time when energy drinks aside from coffee did not exist. We now have a voracious appetite for any resource claiming to give us more energy but it’s generally like tying helium balloons to a sinking ship. The problem is the sinking ship. How can we get it riding high on the water on its own? In this episode Dr James and I discuss some of the key issues that zap our energy and the primary initiatives you can take to give you more energy. Not in the moment, but long term, every day. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here is an area of health I have not succeeded well in. I like to exercise and workout and tear my muscles down, every day, I don’t enjoy or give enough focus to resting and recovering my muscles so they can build back stronger. Likewise, I like to train and stress and grow my mind, my brain. I do not, however, give much focus to letting it rest and recover. Our topic today is meditation and it’s a strong argument that it is the key method for rest and recovery. But as you’ll hear today, they are also finding it is key in actually reprogramming our minds. How would you like to reprogram and recover from past trials and tragedies and traumas that have negatively affected you? Our guest is Ariel Garten. Ariel is a neuroscientist, innovator, and entrepreneur on a mission to help people understand how the mind works and empower them to live their best lives through meditation. She is the co- founder and visionary of a highly successful tech start-up called Muse, which tracks your brain during meditation to give you real-time feedback, guiding you into true rest and letting you know when you are actively allowing your mind to recover. Randy and I have been using Muse leading up to this. Muse is a multi-sensor meditation device, a headband, that syncs with an app on your phone and provides real-time feedback on your brain activity, heart rate, breathing, and body movements to help you build a consistent meditation practice. I use the “desert” mode and as I try to rest, it tells me how I’m doing by the level of the wind. As I slow down and settle my mind I hear the tell tale birds chirping. The app monitors my progress day to day so I can see my accumulative results and progress. It’s really ingenious and takes the guesswork out of wondering if you really have your mind at rest. This episode is about the benefits of resting your mind and being present, not the Muse app and technology. That said, you’ll likely be interested in getting one yourself. If you visit choosemuse.com/welcome, you can get 10% off by using the code, choosemuse. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I surprised Randy with this question and expected some lively discourse. Instead, we actually came into an answer. At face value it’s an unfair question, which is why I wanted to spar with Randy on it. The entire point of Functional Medicine and our show is how individualized and unique our personal health is and there is no one size fits all solution. So to ask what aspect of health is number one is not a fair question. But as we talked about the concept of, “If you can only pick one area of health, which is most important?” we found ourselves coming to an actual agreement and bit of a revelation. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Think of “accountability” as support and encouragement. Weight Watchers was founded in 1963 and to date is one of the most successful weight loss organizations of all time. Similarly Alcoholics Anonymous may be the most successful life change organization ever. Why? Social accountability. The support and encouragement from others. In recent times Peloton is a shining example of harnessing social accountability and support to the tune of an $8 billion dollar valuation and possibly claiming the top slot of top “unicorn investments” of all time. Social accountability is powerful because it works. Though there is an even stronger form of accountability, though it is much harder to create. Personal accountability. The definition of accountability is, the fact or condition of being accountable; responsibility. Where social accountability helps by being responsible to others, personal accountability is far stronger and enduring, when you are responsible to yourself. In this episode we cover some key aspects to harnessing and developing both social and personal accountability in order to achieve the health and wellness you desire. Ultimately the point of this show however, is to go find this valuable asset for your personal desires and progress.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Do you believe it? That Alzheimer’s can be stopped? It’s true. Does that mean it will be eradicated from our culture? We know how to stop obesity in an individual too, but it’s not happening here in America. This show is about you however, you and those close to you. Can you do something about preventing, stopping, and reversing Alzheimer’s? Absolutely. There are never any guarantees when it comes to one’s health, but there are probabilities you can count on. In this show we bring you quite possibly the world’s leading authority, not simply on Alzheimer’s, but again, the prevention, stopping, and reversing Alzheimer’s. Dr Dale Bredesen, author of, The End of Alzheimers and now The End of Alzheimer’s program. You need to realize most of the traditional leaders in the arena of Alzheimer’s aren’t of the belief you can do anything but manage Alzheimer’s and it’s inevitable decline. Alzheimer’s disease has become the third leading cause of death in the United States, after cardiovascular disease and cancer, destined to rob 45 million of the Americans currently living of their most fundamental reasoning capabilities if we do not do something to prevent and reverse the process. Dr Bredesen profoundly cites, “You know cancer survivors. Hardly anyone knows an Alzheimer’s survivor.” But he knows many. Dr Bredesen’s credentials and bio is long enough for a show in and of itself. If you are concerned about Alzheimer’s, and everyone should be, type on B R E D E S E N and Alzheimer’s in your search engine and you’ll find all you want. Better yet, go to wherever you buy books and get his brand new book, End of Alzheimer's Program. And visit drbredesen.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices