Your Health In Mind

“Food Medicine” Show

I will cover the food medicine topic and discuss what I’ve learned about the tick issue brought up 2 weeks ago:

Lone Star tick: Known for transmitting the sugar molecule that causes red meat allergies.

American dog tick: Frequently found in grassy or open fields.

Black-legged tick: Known for carrying Lyme disease.Contributing 

FactorsWarm climate: Milder winters and warmer spring temperatures allow ticks to survive and stay active longer.Host populations: Higher numbers of deer and mice help feed and expand tick populations.Increased exposure: CDC data shows a regional rise in tick-bite-related emergency or clinic visits across the Southeast.

Prevention Tips:

Better ways than chemical..clay, 

DE

Use bug spray with DEET on skin and clothing.Wear long pants tucked into socks when walking in woods or tall grass.Check your body and pets thoroughly after being outdoors.

Food Medicine

– Medical food shake

Food list

Do’s and don’ts:

The phrase food is medicine means using healthy, nutritious food to prevent, manage, and treat health problems. 

Doctors and health groups use this idea to treat chronic illnesses like diabetes and heart disease through proper diet.

Core Interventions

Medically Tailored Meals: Ready-to-eat meals sent to patients with specific health needs.Produce Prescriptions: Vouchers or cards from doctors to buy free or cheap fresh fruits and vegetables.

Medically Tailored Groceries: Healthy food boxes given to people who lack access to good food.Main GoalsPrevent Disease: Stop health issues before they start by eating whole foods.

Manage Illness: Help the body heal and lower blood sugar or blood pressure.

Nourish Blood foods

  1. Beef Barley and wine

  2. Black beans

  3. Sunflower seeds (raw)

Talk soon ..

 ! Dean !

Special guest Jenine Stallard joins Dr. Lloyd and Michael for second hour.

The Best and Worst of bacteria.. Introducing the Progurt System

The Best (Helpful Bacteria)

Gut Helpers: Billions of good bacteria live in your stomach. They break down food, make vitamins, and stop bad germs from growing.

Food Makers: Friendly bacteria turn milk into yogurt and cheese, and ferment vegetables like pickles.

Earth Cleaners: Environmental bacteria break down dead plants, clean up oil spills, and return nutrients to the soil.

Main Types of Good Bacteria

Diverse bacteria ..Dr. Zack Bush

Lactobacillus: Lives in your small intestine; makes lactic acid to fight bad bugs. Common strains include acidophilus and rhamnosus.

Bifidobacterium: Lives in your large intestine; breaks down fiber and helps your immune system. Common strains include infantis and lactis.Saccharomyces: A helpful yeast type that protects the gut during stress or medicine use.How to Feed and Grow Good Bacteria

Eat Fermented Foods: Add live-culture yogurt, kefir, kimchi, or sauerkraut to your meals.Eat Fiber Foods: Munch on oats, bananas, garlic, and onions to feed the good bacteria.Take Supplements: Look for trusted Probiotics Guide from the Cleveland Clinic if you need a boost of billions of CFUs 

How Progurt works: 

https://www.progurt.com/pages/how-progurt-works

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The Worst (Harmful Bacteria)

Food Poisoning: Germs like Salmonella and harmful E. coli make people very sick with stomach pain and fever.

Dangerous Diseases: Pathogens cause severe problems like strep throat, pneumonia, and tuberculosis.

Superbugs: Drug-resistant strains like MRSA (Staphylococcus aureus) fight off normal medicines and cause dangerous hospital infections.

Story

The Black Death in England which arrived in June 1348 was caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. The disease spread primarily through fleas living on black rats aboard trading ships, wiping out 40% to 60% ..roughly 1/2 of England’s population.

What if this is the direction the culture is heading now..superbugs!

Biological Cause Bacterium: Infection by Yersinia pestis.

Vectors: Fleas biting infected rodents and jumping to humans.Strains: Manifested as bubonic, septicemic, and pneumonic plague.Transmission to EnglandOrigin: Started in Asia and moved along trade routes.

Arrival: Reached Weymouth, Dorset, on a ship from Gascony in June 1348.

Spread: Covered the entire country by 1349 via trade and human contact.

The social and economic effects on medieval England Medieval treatments and beliefs about the cause.

Modern science proves it was the bacterium Yersinia pestis spread by fleas on rats and airborne droplets. However, medieval English people lacked germ theory and relied on spiritual, astrological, and miasmatic beliefs to explain the catastrophe.

Biological Causes (Modern Fact)Bubonic Plague: Spread by flea bites from black rats on trade ships, causing painful swelling (buboes), fever, and black spots.

Pneumonic Plague: Spread directly through the air via coughing and sneezes, attacking the lungs with a near 100% fatality rate.

Arrival: Hit Dorset in June 1348, reached London by autumn, and swept through the rest of Britain by 1350.Medieval Beliefs and ExplanationsDivine Punishment: The dominant belief was that God sent the plague as punishment for human sin, greed, and wickedness.Astrological Alignments: Many believed bad luck was caused by an unnatural positioning of planets and stars.Bad Air (Miasma): 

People thought foul smells, stagnant water, and noxious vapors from decaying matter poisoned the air and bodily humors.Scapegoating: Ignorance and fear led to false accusations against marginalized groups, though anti-Jewish violence was less prominent in England compared to mainland Europe due to earlier expulsions.

Medieval Responses and CuresReligious Penance: Communities organized massive prayer processions, fasting, and flagellation (whipping themselves) to beg for God’s mercy.Royal Orders: King Edward III commanded mayors to clean filthy town streets to eliminate bad odors, unaware that clearing trash did nothing against rat fleas.Useless Remedies: Treatments included bloodletting, burning sweet-smelling herbs, and drinking concoctions of vinegar or crushed minerals.

The bacterium was scientifically proven centuries later.

Hummmmmmmmmin,

         ! Dean !

Description on Hour 1

Semantics: Definitions and Diagnostics (Public Perception)

Misleading public definitions and diagnostics stem primarily from overdiagnosis, shifting clinical thresholds, and commercial or social media distortion. These factors blur the line between normal variation and actual disease, creating widespread confusion.

Core Drivers of Public Confusion

Overdiagnosis and Creeping Thresholds: Changing medical definitions to include earlier or milder stages of a condition turns healthy individuals into patients, artificially inflating disease incidence rates. As noted in research on medical screening, “tracking side effects from treatments is generally easier than tracking the public health implications of overdiagnosis caused by testing.

”Social Media and Wellness Misinformation: Unverified claims and commercial promotions on digital platforms frequently misrepresent diagnostic tests and mental health conditions. A cross-sectional analysis found that “social media posts on medical tests with potential for overdiagnosis or overuse may be overwhelmingly misleading and fail to mention potential harms.”

Algorithmic and AI Black Boxes: Emerging automated diagnostic tools introduce systemic flaws and opacity that the public and general users struggle to interpret accurately. Studies demonstrate that “misleading AI explanations significantly degraded diagnostic accuracy, while correct explanations offered no significant improvement over a no-explanation control.”

** Confusing or incorrect medical diagnoses are very common, with millions of American adults affected each year. Overlapping symptoms, gradual symptom onset, and conditions that mimic common mental health or lifestyle issues frequently lead to diagnostic confusion.

Commonly Confused or Misdiagnosed Conditions

Thyroid Disorders: Hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism share broad traits like fatigue or anxiety that mirror depression or stress.

Autoimmune Diseases: Conditions like lupus or fibromyalgia are often hard to pinpoint early because their symptoms shift and overlap with other illnesses.Cardiovascular Events: Heart attacks can be mistaken for indigestion, muscle pain, or anxiety.Gastrointestinal Issues: Colorectal problems are sometimes initially written off as simple hemorrhoids or irritable bowel syndrome.

Why Diagnostic Confusion HappensSymptom Overlap: Many different diseases trigger the exact same baseline signals, such as fatigue, pain, or dizziness.

Atypical Presentations: Certain populations or individuals may present rare or non-classic signs of a common disease.Communication Gaps: Misdiagnoses frequently occur when early signs are subtle or when a patient feels their full history is unheard by the provider.

Hummmmmmmmmin,

         ! Dean !

Description on Hour 1

“The Quality of your Breath”

“The quality of your breath.”

There has been a lot of smoke in the west and elsewhere, I will be discussing:

1. Chest congestion: is the feeling of heavy, tight airways caused by excess mucus and inflammation, usually from a cold, flu, or allergies. To clear your lungs, stay hydrated to thin the mucus, use a Cleveland Clinic Chest Congestion home remedy like steam or a humidifier, and try controlled coughing to clear secretions.

Actionable Home Remedies Stay Hydrated: Drink plenty of water and hot tea to thin thick, sticky mucus so it is easier to cough up.

Inhale Steam: Take hot, steamy showers or breathe in vapor from a bowl of hot water to loosen lung secretions.Use a Humidifier: Place a cool-mist vaporizer in your room to soothe irritated airways.

Sleep Elevated: Prop your head up with extra pillows at night to prevent mucus from pooling and to ease breathing.Controlled Coughing: Sit upright, lean forward, and take a deep breath. Hold for a few seconds, then force the air out with two or three short, sharp coughs (a “huff”) to move the mucus up.

When to See a Doctor

While many cases clear up on their own, consult a medical provider if your symptoms worsen or if you experience severe symptoms like chest pain, high fever, or wheezing.

Questions:

How many days have you been feeling congested?

Do you have any other symptoms, like a fever, sore throat, or body aches?

Does your congestion make it difficult to breathe or speak in full sentences?

2. Asthma (a chronic lung disease that causes the airways (bronchial tubes) to become inflamed, swollen, and narrow. This makes breathing difficult and can trigger symptoms like coughing, wheezing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath)

Common Symptoms 

Persistent cough producing clear, white, or discolored mucus

Wheezing or a whistling sound when you breatheShortness of breath

Chest tightness or discomfort

Mild fever or body aches (often present in acute bronchitis due to a cold or flu)

and bronchitis (bronchitis is an inflammation of the bronchial tubes, which are the main airways that carry air to and from your lungs. The inflammation causes swelling and excess mucus buildup, leading to persistent coughing, wheezing, and chest discomfort. It is categorized into two main types: acute and chronic)  often occur together, a condition commonly called asthmatic bronchitis. Asthma is chronic airway inflammation, while bronchitis is an inflammation of the bronchial tubes usually caused by viruses or irritants. Together, they cause severe coughing, wheezing, and chest tightness.

Acute BronchitisAcute bronchitis is a short-term condition that usually develops from a cold, flu, or other respiratory virus.Duration: Symptoms typically last for one to three weeks.Symptoms: Include a persistent cough (often with yellow or greenish mucus), wheezing, low fever, and fatigue.Treatment: Because it is usually viral, it is often managed at home with rest, hydration, humidifiers, and over-the-counter cough medications. Antibiotics are generally not effective unless a doctor confirms a bacterial cause.Chronic BronchitisChronic bronchitis is a long-term, ongoing condition and is a major type of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).Definition: It is characterized by a daily productive cough (mucus-producing) that lasts for at least three months out of the year, for two consecutive years or more.Causes: Primarily caused by long-term exposure to airborne irritants that damage the lungs, most commonly cigarette smoke, secondhand smoke, dust, and chemical fumes.Treatment: Management focuses on quitting smoking, avoiding irritants, using prescribed inhalers (such as bronchodilators), and in some cases, pulmonary rehabilitation or supplemental oxygen.

If you are experiencing severe breathing difficulties, a high fever, or a cough that lasts longer than three weeks, you should consult a healthcare provider to rule out other conditions like pneumonia.

3a. Shortness of breath, medically known as dyspnea, is the uncomfortable feeling of not getting enough air, struggling to catch your breath, or feeling tightness in your chest. It can range from mild after exertion to a severe, frightening sensation at rest.

Common CausesBreathlessness is not a diagnosis itself, but rather a symptom of an underlying issue. The most frequent causes stem from:

Heart Conditions: Conditions like heart failure, heart attacks, or arrhythmias can cause the heart to pump less effectively, leading to fluid backup in the lungs.

Lung and Airway Disorders: 

Asthma, pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), or a pulmonary embolism (blood clot) restrict airflow or gas exchange in the lungs.Other Factors: Anemia (lack of healthy red blood cells), severe anxiety, panic attacks, and obesity can also make it difficult to breathe.

When to Seek Immediate 

HelpShortness of breath should always be treated with caution. Call emergency services or go to the nearest emergency room if your breathlessness is accompanied by:

Sudden or severe difficulty breathing.

Chest pain, tightness, or pressureBluish or grayish skin, lips, or fingernails.

Dizziness, confusion, or fainting

Rapid or irregular heartbeat.

3b. Trouble breathing—medically known as dyspnea—is the subjective feeling of breathlessness, chest tightness, or the inability to get enough air. It indicates that your body is working harder than usual to breathe or that vital organs aren’t receiving enough oxygen.

What It Feels Like Because it is a subjective sensation, the meaning can vary from person to person. You might experience it as: A feeling of suffocation. Chest tightness or heaviness. The need to force a deep breath or gasp for air. The feeling that breathing requires exhausting, hard work. Common Causes -Trouble breathing is usually a symptom rather than a diagnosis itself. 

The most frequent causes are rooted in your heart or lungs, including:Lung & Airway Conditions: Asthma, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), pneumonia, or respiratory infections like COVID-19. 

Heart Conditions: Heart attacks, heart failure, or heart rhythm problems.Other Factors: Anxiety/panic attacks, severe allergic reactions (anaphylaxis), or severe obesity.

Hummmmmmmmmin

        ! Dean !

Description on Hour 1

Meditation

Meditation for recovery from injury

  a. 3rd eye
  b. Heart Centering
  c. The Orbit
  d. Apple / visualization

Meditation varies from deep concentration to relaxed awareness. To find your fit, explore foundational practices like Mindfulness, focusing on breath; Transcendental Meditation, repeating a mantra; or Loving-Kindness, cultivating compassion.

Depending on your goals and attention style, meditation generally falls into these main categories:Focused Attention: Involves zeroing in on a single anchor-like a sound, breath, or candle flame. It trains the mind to catch when it wanders and gently return.

Techniques: Focused Meditation, Mantra Meditation, and Zen (Zazen).Open Monitoring: Cultivates a relaxed awareness of the present moment. You learn to observe your thoughts and emotions without judging or reacting to them.Techniques: Mindfulness Meditation and Vipassana (Insight) Meditation.Movement-Based: Uses physical action as a vessel for mindfulness, blending bodily awareness with meditation.

Techniques: Yoga, Tai Chi, and walking meditation. Loving-Kindness (Metta): Focuses on cultivating positive emotions and compassion by directing well-wishes toward yourself, loved ones, and eventually, all beings.

Body/Scan Relaxation: Systematically brings awareness to different parts of your body to release physical tension and promote deep relaxation.If you are just getting started, trying a guided audio or video session on apps like Headspace, Calm, or The Mindfulness App can help you learn the pacing of these different styles.10 sites16 Types of Meditation Techniques and PracticesHere are some types of meditation: 

* **Calming meditation** 

Focuses on a particular object, like your breath, a mantra, or a visua… 

Types of Meditation: Which One Is Right for You? – 

Which Type of Meditation Is Right for Me?

How to choose the right meditation form?

Hummmmmmin

    !  Dean !

Description on Hour 1