What is the one thing that attracts and repels people and situations into your life? To my mind, it’s how you view the world. It’s absolutely vital to understand how you really feel about the important issues of life. But from that point on, the decisions you make become even more interesting. Will you choose to surround yourself with people and places that wholeheartedly agree with your outlook? Or, will you invite in other points of view that challenge your philosophical notions? From my perspective, the latter and more difficult of the two options is probably the better way to go. Maybe that’s why I like Twitter so much. Read more »

One of my least favorite sayings is, “Everything in moderation”. I think it’s a problematic piece of advice for many people who think they need such guidance in the first place. You wouldn’t tell a mother to let her child eat lead-based paint in moderation. It would be foolhardy to suggest to an alcoholic or drug addict to indulge every once in awhile, provided that it’s done moderately. So why then do family, friends, nutritionists and physicians insist on passing along this ubiquitous adage when it comes to eating unhealthy food? In my opinion, it’s largely rooted in a belief that most people just aren’t capable of doing what’s right for themselves on a long term basis. But I think there’s a better solution. Read more »

Today I’m announcing a new feature on HealthyFellow.com. Every Thursday I plan to highlight some of the more informative and useful messages I find on Twitter. As you may know, HealthyFellow has a very active presence on Twitter where I share facts, research and tips in addition to what is covered on this site. I also use this form of social media to follow some of the leading health experts in the field. Here are some of the more noteworthy “tweets” that I came across during this past week. (Please note that “tweets” are often written in a short-hand style because you are limited to 140 characters per message.) Read more »

Improving personal health and the health of our communities, countries and the world at large can take place one small step at a time. I was thinking about this the other day and I wondered whether there was a simple change that I could implement and suggest in order to do my part. Pretty much everywhere I go, I see people of all kinds drinking soda. The drinks range from high-calorie to no-calorie, loaded with caffeine or caffeine-free and artificially or naturally flavored. Some of the fizzy pop is as clear as water while other varieties are chemically enhanced to produce any color of the rainbow and beyond. But the one thing that these beverages have in common is that they always contains some questionable ingredients and virtually never provide any nutritional content. In my opinion, a health promoting alternative to such popular drinks is long overdue.
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I’m entirely open to seeing a doctor and having appropriate medical tests conducted. I’m even willing to judiciously use medication if it’s truly warranted. But there are many conditions that effect quality of life without threatening mortality. These are the types of health concerns that are often best addressed by natural means. A good example is a common problem that afflicts a large segment of the adolescent population. Acne vulgaris is a skin condition that’s a major cause of both physical and psychological harm. It just so happens that there is an all natural, inexpensive and safe treatment plan that may help abate the suffering. Read more »

A few months ago I wrote a column about a relatively obscure sweetener known as luo han guo. It was of interest to me because it’s a natural, zero-calorie sweetener that doesn’t appear to impact blood sugar levels and may even possess some health promoting properties. The real question in my mind was how luo han guo compared to another similar sweetener called stevia. To that end, I did some very basic blood sugar testing on myself in order to compare how luo han guo and stevia affected me.
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The concept that aging inevitably brings about negative changes in our bodies and minds is widespread. Many people simply accept the “fact” that the physical body will weaken, eyesight will become blurry and the brain will no longer cooperate like it used to. To that I say: fight it! Accept what can’t be changed, but do whatever is possible to improve the things that are pliable. For example, we can and should adopt a philosophy that an aging brain can learn new tricks. Read more »

The world of nutrition was rocked this past week by a seemingly innocuous little study. It came in the form of a scientific presentation by Professor Bart Hoebel from the Princeton Department of Psychology. Dr. Hoebel and his team, which included members from the Princeton Neuroscience Institute, revealed findings that suggest that sugar can indeed be addictive. Read more »