True Life

“Happiness” is a dramatically popular topic today, we must assume because people by far and large are NOT happy and want to be. A very real issue however is whether you have the mental and physical ability to even engage with happiness, and further, joy and hope. Meaning, imagine I had a pitcher of your favorite beverage, maybe wine, coffee, or tea. You hold your mug or glass out and I pour in the glorious elixir. But alas, before your container reaches your lips, the liquid drains out through multiple cracks. You get nothing. Are your circumstances so dire there is nothing to be happy, joyful, and hopeful about? Or do those things reach you yet fall through the cracks of your compromised body and mind which don’t have the capacity to contain them? This is a very real and present issue, a growing issue, in our culture today. 

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Our bodies are like a wood burning stove. To a degree you can throw anything in them and they’ll burn it for energy to keep your heart beating. So putting in 10 twinkies or a salad, what’s the difference? Most of our culture’s focus just goes to weight gain or loss, so the idea is the salad has less calories and the twinkies will make you fat. But let’s put weight on the backburner and just focus on overall wellness and ability. Think about it, if calories alone are the focus, then a top Olympic or pro athlete would simply go for the most calories to burn. They may as well only eat pizza, fast food burgers, and pints of Ben & Jerry’s, as they are burning enough not to worry about weight gain. Why would the marathon runner or NFL running back ever mess with salad and whole, healthy foods? Let’s make brain function and energy the muse. Let’s make our physical and mental function the muse. Our overall capability and longevity. How do we eat for those goals? How do you eat so you feel more energetic? More hopeful and joyful? How does food factor into mental health? Depression? Food is far more than just fuel. It is our most powerful medicine. Or...poison. We spend the bulk of this episode discussing the psychology and concept of what and how we eat, then around the 60 minute mark talk about the literal foods we eat and advocate. 

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What exercise is really enough? Few of us live lives that require much of any physical effort. Yet our wellness depends on it. So...what must we do? We’re going to let you, the audience, instigate the discussion. I asked this question on Facebook, “How often do you exercise, for how long, what exercises do you do, and why? You are going to hear a lot of ideas and perspectives that Dr James and I will talk and counsel you through. This is a great show to share with those who struggle with exercise, as we hit on some of the goofiness of it, though of course uphold the necessity. 

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Prescription drugs and surgeries are prescribed at a rapid rate in the American “healthcare” system. So when do we need them? Do we ever need them? Coming from our health and wellness perspective you could easily get the idea we are against ever taking pharmaceuticals or having a surgery. In a perfect world with perfect health, we’d generally agree. But it’s not a perfect world and none of us can be in perfect health. And in our adventurous lives, sometimes true accidents happen and then we are mighty grateful for some help. In this episode we’ll cover some concepts behind drugs and surgeries and their relevance.

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It’s hard enough to motivate and instigate our own good health, much less our kids. Toilet training, room cleaning, doing homework, and more are pain enough. Getting kids to eat and live healthy is another level of effort. But then, what is our goal? What do we want for our kids? What responsibility do we take for their well being? Are you hoping your kid will someday move out, get a great education, land a job or start a business, make money and raise a family? Then how do we equip them for that? What about right now as well though? I want to enjoy my kids and have them be well now. How? There are no easy answers and in this show Dr James and I discuss the challenges and consequences of fostering wellness in our kids. For context, Dr James has three kids in his home between 14 and 10, I have five at home between 15 and 8. And please let me tell you it is always a struggle, so rest assured you won’t hear us brag about our kids happily eating raw carrots and hummus for every meal. But friends I’ve seen the battles with kids and spouses completely sabotage someone's efforts at wellness. This is a big show. 

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We are human beings and as such we are slaves to our appetites. We are and we will continue to be. You don’t have great self-discipline and will power and a higher calling and leave your appetites behind. You just upgrade them. The best benefit you will receive from this show is realizing you can embrace your appetites! Dr. James and I will talk about some of the main, natural appetites that bring us down, and some ideas and tactics on upgrading them to lift us up!

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What we know is subservient to why we do it. The knowledge of what creates health is worthless if we don’t take the necessary, daily actions on that knowledge. So I wanted to hear from the True Life audience. I asked them this question, “For all my health, wellness, and fitness minded friends, what is the primary motive (reason) that drives you to stick with your healthy lifestyle plan?” We received a wealth of responses and Dr. James and I spent a good while talking through many of them. There were definite threads and recurring themes of motive and I believe you'll find yourself inspired and equipped to further commit to your pursuit of being as well as possible.

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What is the biggest obstacle to achieving the level of health, wellness, and fitness you desire and achieving the energy and vitality to fulfill all your pursuits? What if it’s a culprit you aren’t even aware of? What if it’s not your willpower and knowledge and time? Friends, a very real and present danger and hindrance is bigger than you. It is the culture we live in. The behavioral psychology of being a human drives us to want to belong and to trust society. But to live a health oriented lifestyle requires you to jump out of the norm, and this is a much bigger obstacle than you realize. In this show we strive to get the cards on the table regarding a heavy resistance to your progress you may not be well aware of. We also address the reality that in America we spend $3.7 trillion on “health care” and arguably 80% or more is preventable. We have more and better knowledge on health than ever, and the greatest ability to share the information. With that in mind, why is chronic illness and disease not just rising, but spiraling out of control? Again, this is important to understand because the “resistance” as we’ll call it, is a very real and present issue for all of us. To withstand it we need to know the score. No, this is not a conspiracy theory, it’s merely humanity and our very nature.

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To know what is really going on under the hood of our physical health we can utilize cutting edge labs and tools. However, just like with supplements, you can get overwhelmed under a sea of tests and costs. So what labs and tests are worthwhile? As with all things Functional Medicine, it’s very personalized, but we strive to do the topic justice and give you some understanding of what to look for.

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Today’s global headlines are awash with fears of the “coronavirus”. We’re going to take the opportunity to address your priority defense, not just for this current health scare, but all sicknesses and illnesses. We’re not minimizing any specific illness, if anything we are elevating them. Just as in traditional medicine, what gets all the attention are symptomatic treatments. Washing your hands and wearing a mask is good. But the status of defense inside your body is the main barrier. Let me state that again, the status of defense inside your body, is the main barrier. Imagine a stone fortress of old which surrounds a city and all the inhabitants inside. An angry mob is moving toward the one opening in the front. And that opening has...a giant surgical mask over it. Yeah. Wouldn’t you rather have a five foot thick wall of steel as the gate? It is not a guarantee of safety, but the odds are dramatically higher. So what makes up your steel wall, or thin veil of a surgical mask? That is what this show is about. 

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