As part of patient care, I have conversations about the introduction of processed grains to our diets about 10,000 years ago and all the detrimental effects that came with it; tooth decay, gum disease, stunted growth, etc. I also discuss the introduction of industrially processed seed oils like corn, canola, and soy and their connection to heart disease, diabetes, obesity, inflammation, and more. A frequent response I hear is the phrase, "everything in moderation." I am unsure what they mean, and I wonder if they do either. I believe seeking moderation has risks. I suggest optimizing as a better approach to health. This post will cover the difference between the two and seven things we should optimize for health.
Read MoreI wrote about the increasing number of people dying in 2021 in August. The trend started around 2009. Interestingly, CDC death rates increased from 2020 to 2021, except for persons aged 75 and over. In other words, the increase in death was due to younger people dying, representing the ages least likely to die from Covid-19. As I had mentioned in the August 15 post, life insurance death claims for the five largest companies were up an average of 30% for people ages 18 to 64, corroborating the CDC findings. We were extremely worried about the rising death toll in 2020, but not in 2021, when more people died than in the pandemic year. I was distressed that nobody seemed interested in why this would be. I was on vacation then and said I would look into it to find out what was happening, and I have. I will discuss the CDC’s statistics from 2021 and a few other things I found out.
Read MoreUnfortunately, we have an overwhelming tendency in the health profession to address diet, exercise, smoking, and drinking over the simple fact that just having a solid relationship is more important. Dr. Debbie Stoewen, a veterinarian and registered social worker, has observed that of the eight aspects of wellness, only two are commonly addressed in medicine; physical and environmental. As a result, I unintentionally spend much more time talking about them on this site and in my office to my patients. The other six components are intellectual, emotional, social, spiritual, vocational, and financial. 3 These remaining aspects of wellness have a high degree of overlap and interconnectedness. In this post, we will take a brief look at them.
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