Hello Everyone! Welcome back to another Friday blog. Today I wanted to take a close look at vitamin D3 - What is it - where do we get it - what does it do - and why is it so important? What happens when we don't get enough? Let's delve in. Vitamin D is a fat-soluble essential nutrient that we make in our skin and intake from our diet. In the skin, it is made from cholesterol. We also need to eat fat to absorb it - and it is stored in our fat. However, the more obese you are, the more is locked-up in fat and the more you need to run your larger body. The opposite is also true. The thinner and f ..read more

Hello Everyone! Welcome back to another Friday blog. Today I wanted to take a look at what foods keep us hungry and drive us to continue to reach for snacks and munchies - even after a meal when we should be full and satisfied. This leads to overeating and high calorie consumption causing us to gain weight. Why does this happen and why are we not satiated? Ever eat a meal and not feel satisfied - then forage around looking for something else to munch on? We are driven to eat frequently, snack every couple hours and eat late at night. What's doing this to us? The driver behind this is a combina ..read more

Happy Friday Everyone! Welcome back to another Friday blog. As this year rapidly comes to an end and we contemplate plans for our future and make New Year’s resolutions, it is important to think about planning and designing our later years. I’m not talking about financial retirement, although that is very important - I’m talking about our health - our physical and mental wellbeing. I don’t know about you, but I’m not on board with spending the last 10-15 years (and all my assets) unable to care for myself because of physical or mental impairment.  Unfortunately, the majority of us do ..read more

Happy Friday Everyone! Today I wanted to take address happiness and the health of our brain. Ask yourself, are you happy? Are you waiting for something to happen, and then you'll be happy? Who's really in charge - you or your brain? Is our happiness being sabotaged without us even knowing it? Let's delve in. We don’t really even think about our brain until we are in dire straits. Most of us set goals and work toward them with the thought that once we attain them, we will then achieve happiness. We throw ourselves into work, thinking we are “doing good.” However, many times at the expense of fa ..read more

Happy Friday Everyone! Welcome back to another Friday blog! Today I wanted to take a close look at osteopenia and osteoporosis - Why are we losing our bones? Did you know that 1/3 women and 1/5 men over the age of 50 worldwide have osteoporosis? “Osteoporosis is a multifactorial skeletal disorder, characterized by deterioration of bone microarchitecture and reduced bone mass.” It is a disease marked by significant bone loss and reduced bone strength affecting roughly 10 million Americans aged 50 and older. What exactly is causing us to lose our bones - and what can we do about it? Let's d ..read more

Happy Friday Everyone! Welcome back to another Friday blog. Did you know that a heart attack happens every 40 sec here in the U.S.? ?Each year 805,000 people have a heart attack - 1/5 are silent and create damage that we are completely unaware of. Further, one person dies from CVD (cardiovascular disease) every 33 seconds!!! CVD is the leading cause of death and costs the US (taxpayers) $239.9 BILLION per year. Even more terrifying is that 1/6 children ages 8-17 have elevated blood pressure! WHAT?!!! What can we do to protect ourselves and our children from CVD and a potential heart attac ..read more

Hello Everyone! Welcome to another Friday blog. Did you know that ~ 1/3 of our DNA codes for enzymes? Enzymes are the workers of the body - they perform many jobs. These enzymes can't do their many jobs without cofactors - vitamins and minerals. Today I want to focus on our minerals. Cofactors are like the key in the ignition - they activate an enzyme so it can perform its function appropriately. We need lots of vitamins and minerals to perform optimally - the RDI (recommended daily intake) put out by our government is based on the minimum required to prevent disease - not the o ..read more

Hello Everyone! Welcome back to another Friday blog. Today I wanted to highlight the importance of getting a “healthy dose” of sunshine. Here in Texas, we have lots of sunshine - especially now that summer is upon us. Here we are with our two oldest grandkids at Fort Worth Water Gardens ❤️ We tend to practice avoidance - stay indoors in air conditioning, or slather on sunblock if we go outside. We know it is important to balance under-exposure with over-exposure in order to synthesize vitamin D - without causing skin cancer. However, there are way more benefits from getting enough exposur ..read more

Hi Everyone! Welcome back to another Friday blog. Today I wanted to take a look at “long-Covid” - symptoms and strategies - that we can implement to improve and restore vitality and quality of life. The CDC began collecting data in June 2022 on symptoms of Covid-19 that lasted > 3mo and reduced ability to perform day-to-day activities. Of note - incidence is nearly double in women ? Let’s delve in. Did you know roughly 20 million people are suffering from prolonged symptoms following SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) infection or exposure to the spi ..read more

Hello Everyone! Welcome back to another Friday blog. Cancer seems to popping up everywhere. Unfortunately, it is increasing in adults <50 yo worldwide - and is the 2nd leading cause of death in the U.S. It is now estimated that 1 in 3 people will have cancer in their lifetime! WHAT??? ? 1.7 million get diagnosed with cancer and 600,000 die every year. Leading the way in expected new cases in the US for 2023 - is breast cancer (300,590), followed by prostate cancer (288,300), lung cancer (238,340) and colorectal cancer (153,020). We spend $185 billion per year on can ..read more