Pros & Cons of Exercise During the podcase I did with Alazra Alagic on Biohackher we discussed exercise.  Alazra asked me about my recommendation for moderate exercise. In my book, this relates to exercise during pregnancy, but the following information may help you understand that while our bodies are meant to move, there are some more extreme forms of exercise that can place additional burden on us.  These generally relate to high intensity and long duration sports, in particular marathons and triathlons.  Studies have identified interesting, and concerning, correlations b ..read more

When reading Dr Mercola’s article, one could be led to believe that all oestrogens are bad for our health.  However, I’d like to make a distinction between the natural oestrogens produced by the human body and the toxic, cancer-causing synthetic oestrogens in our environment.  They are different but the action of the synthetic versions are many times more toxic than our natural oestrogen. You can read more about environmental oestrogens and how prevalent they are in our environment in my book, How to Have a Healthy Baby. You can read the entire article at Dr Mercola-Hidden Hazar ..read more

Worldwide difference between healthspan and lifespan •  Healthspan: the length of time a person is healthy. •  Lifespan: the length of time a person lives. •  The United Nations reports the world’s lifespan is approximately 73 years. •  Healthspanis approximately 64 years. •  The estimated gap between living a healthy life and living with a chronic illness or disability is 9 years.1 What happens as we age? There are many areas of our body’s functioning that decline with age.  These include progressive loss of physiological integrity – strength, muscle mass, mobil ..read more

Magnesium (Mg) is an essential mineral which influences many areas of your health and how your body functions.  Recent research highlights its role in Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) and insulin regulation. Due to the definitive known effect of magnesium on insulin resistance and the fact that insulin resistance is a main aetiology in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), it is assumed the use of magnesium supplements can improve insulin resistance, lipid profiles, and glucose and thus may also play a role in improving the clinical condition of patients with PCOS. A 2023 study (Shahmoradi ..read more

The following information is based on research compiled by Dr Deanna Minich Water is imperative to human survival, yet dehydration, or the disproportionate loss of fluids relative to what is ingested, is prevalent. One study estimated that only 40% of men and 60% of women across 13 countries met the adequate intake of water from fluids set by the European Food and Safety Agency. However, water is involved in life-supporting enzymatic reactions and is an essential component of metabolism as it is consumed or produced in one third to one half of known enzymatic reac ..read more

It is always wonderful to read about advances in medicine. Especially when this involves doctors acknowledging the importance of nutrition for our health.  For decades doctors have, and many still do, claim that “you can eat what you want” or “diet makes no difference” to your health.  Perhaps this is due to the fact that their university education does not offer training in nutrition or the biochemistry involved other than identifying the three main food groups: Protein, Carbohydrates and Fats. Dr Mark Hyman is a functional medicine doctor in Massechusetts, USA, who offers  ins ..read more

Sleep remains an underestimated component of health, and the gut microbiome may be a significant influence. Connections exist between the GI microbiome and sleep physiology. The Gut Brain Axis, variations in the light/dark cycle, inflammation, as well as microbiome abundance and diversity may elucidate factors linking the gut microbiome and sleep physiology. Addressing the Gut Brain Axis may be an avenue to support sleep in tandem with host physiology. — Julia Malkowski, ND, DC So what does that actually mean? There is ongoing research and ever increasing evidence that the health of our gut is ..read more

Ginger has many health-promoting benefits.  It is also easy to grow yourself – get a fresh ginger rhizome from your organic farmer’s market and break of the small knobs.  Plant these into a very large pot, or well draining garden bed, about 10cm below the surface.  Ginger likes full sun and warm-hot weather.  Water well but don’t drown it.  Be patient as it can take 8 – 10 weeks before shoots come through.  Over the next six months or so your ginger will grow quickly.  It’s ready to harvest when the leaves begin to droop or dry.  Scratch below the soil s ..read more

The following article is written by Delia McCabe – Are you feeling overwhelmed? And what to do about it. The world may seem like a scary place right now. Some people are predicting WW3, environmentalists are predicting ongoing natural catastrophes, a global recession may be on its way, and mental health seems to be plummeting among our youth (and among many adults too). Anyone would be forgiven for feeling overwhelmed. Part of the problem is that we’re ALL exposed to far too much information! Most of it is useless, and we can’t do anything about it. Some of it can be damaging, even dangerous ..read more

Hair elemental analysis, (when performed properly), can serve as a highly accurate and qualitative screening test for exposure to toxic metals. But due to some of its limitations, namely that it is not considered capable of detecting acute toxicity (i.e. those stemming from a more immediately recent exposure) it is therefore not considered an acceptable method of diagnosing ‘metal toxicity’ in the conventional medical use of the term. An Issue in Terms The issue of differentiating ACUTE heavy metal ‘toxicity’ (aka ‘poisoning’) from the far more prevalent (albeit hard to quantify) situation of ..read more