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News and ideas worth your attention.
Four decades of writing on living long and living well, with 1,000+ posts on functional and longevity medicine.
438 written by Dr. Frank Lipman
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May 8, 2023 · Healthy Aging7 Ways Positive Relationships Support a Healthy Brain, Heart and Life!
While we have finally emerged from the social darkness that came with the pandemic, a lot of us are still working on finding our footing again. It’s not unusual for patients to tell me they don’t go out as much anymore, or don’t see friends and relatives as much as they used to before COVID changed the ground rules. While these slightly untethered feelings are fairly normal, and may be with us for a while, it’s extremely important that we work on rekindling relationships and retraining ourselves to cultivate new ones. Why? Because social interaction is one of the keys to health and longevity.
May 1, 2023 · Nutrition7 Trendy ‘Health Foods’ that Aren’t as Healthy as You Think
The idea of wholesome foods being great for body and mind is almost a no-brainer, what’s not always so clear is what, exactly, constitutes a truly healthy option versus one that seems good for you but, in reality, isn’t.
Apr 24, 2023 · Sleep5 Thoughts on What Happens to Your Brain When Don’t Sleep Enough
There are any number of ways to keep your brain healthy, having to do with healthy diet, movement and stress reduction. But one of the big brain savers is all about what you do at night, and by that we mean sleep. It is truly amazing, refreshing, restorative stuff and if you’re not getting enough or just not doing it very well, the consequences can be more serious than you might think. Sure, an under-slept brain won’t be able to perform particularly well on the team Zoom call or, for that matter, doing any kind of activity that rises above the routine, but that’s just the beginning of the problems.
Apr 17, 2023 · Healthy AgingWhether you have Insulin Resistance, Metabolic Syndrome, or Pre-Diabetes, You Can Stop Diabetes Before it Gets its Hooks in You
The food we eat to keep our metabolism running and us alive can, if we’re not careful, poison us. If we’re consuming too many carbs and not burning them off, glucose (sugar) builds up in the bloodstream which in turn drives up the hormone insulin required to get it out of the blood and into our cells for fuel. Unchecked, that sends us down the path of “insulin resistance” -- the pancreas can’t make enough insulin to do the job because the cells on the receiving end are becoming progressively less sensitive to it. Worst-case scenario: type 2 diabetes – but you don’t have to go there.
Apr 10, 2023 · Gut HealthStep Away from Sweeteners To Keep Your Gut Happy and Healthy
As people have become conscious of the dangers of sugar, many are making an effort to purge it from their lives – and that’s a big step in the right direction. If you’re in the process of kicking sugar, keep up the good work, and give yourself a pat on the back. But I’ve got some news for you that you may not want to hear, even though you need to. If you’re relying on non-sugar, ‘non-nutritive’ artificial sweeteners (NNS) to ease the transition, you’ve got to kick them too. The problem is, sweeteners of any stripe are as crappy for your body as sugar, but in different ways.
Apr 3, 2023 · MovementHere’s Why You Must Add Strength Training to Your Fitness Mix
Having a solid cardio routine is great for your cardiovascular system but, what many people overlook, even among those who are really into exercise, is the importance of strength training. It is absolutely vital for maintaining health and well-being, particularly as we push into middle-age and beyond. One thing that can get in the way for many people is the desire to avoid spending time in the gym pumping iron and flexing in the mirrors with a bunch of sweaty strangers, and I can’t blame them for wanting to steer clear. But the good news is there are many other ways to challenge your muscles, and maintain your physical strength by finding a routine that suits you best.
Mar 27, 2023 · SleepSleep Tech that Actually Helps Upgrade Your Nightly Zzzzzzzs
The core good-sleep habits that I’ve advocated for long before our lives were upended, are now even more important ---but the good news is you’ve now got a new sleep ally in your corner – in the form of an array of sleep tracking devices that have the potential to change the rules of the sleep game in your favor. Where to start? Here’s my in-a-nutshell guide to the ‘sleep tech’ that’s ‘disrupting’ sleep in a good way – and why you should take advantage:
Mar 20, 2023 · Gut Health9 Ways Your Microbiome Impacts Your Metabolism
Your gut bugs have more to do with your metabolism than you may realize –research shines a lot more light on how intertwined they may be.
Mar 13, 2023 · Health & WellnessThe Main Factors Impacting Your Blood Sugar and How To Manage Them
Advances in medical science have refined our understanding of how diet and lifestyle affect glucose levels (that is, the amount of sugar that circulates in the bloodstream), putting more power in your hands to ensure that sugar isn’t doing a number on your health. It’s never been easier to identify the trouble-makers so you can clean up your sugar act before real metabolic trouble begins – and the time to start is now.
Mar 6, 2023 · Health & WellnessYes, You Really Do Need a Multivitamin
Taking a multivitamin is essential for sustaining your health and improving the quality of cell functioning. Most vitamins serve as catalysts to reactions occurring in our body, like the spark plugs in an automobile. Your body on the other hand is like a factory, with a hundred trillion cells working to keep you healthy. These cells need raw materials, the 13 essential vitamins, to roll down the assembly line. Without these raw materials, your body needs to scavenge from your bones or your liver, or the assembly line shuts down. This causes energy loss, pain, disease, depression and aging. So yes, you really do need a multivitamin.
Feb 27, 2023 · NutritionThe Perils of Moderate Drinking – Especially for Women
So, what if your drinking doesn’t quite fall into what most would consider a problem, but more of a relaxing, end-of-day ritual? Here too, I urge you – and particularly women – to take a hard, clear-eyed look at how alcohol bashes the health of your body – even if you are doing everything else ‘right’ – and start taking steps to end this very unhealthy relationship. To get started, here’s some food for thought.
Feb 20, 2023 · NutritionDon’t Let Sugar Hurt You: Here’s How A Continuous Blood Glucose Monitor Can Help
Wearable health technology has come of age, giving us a window into the working of our bodies. It represents an important step in taking control of your health – and away from Big Pharma and putting it, whenever possible, where it belongs – in your hands. One such personalized device: continuous glucose monitors or CGMs. Though they’ve been available for diabetics for about twenty years, now, ever-more refined models are attracting the interest of healthy, health-savvy customers who are using them to help ensure they never cross the line into pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes – a wise idea if ever there was one.
Feb 13, 2023 · NutritionNot-so-Healthy “Health Foods”
Here’s my round up of unhealthy foods most commonly mistaken for the ones that actually can do your body good.
Feb 6, 2023 · Healthy Aging7 Thoughts on Why Everyone Should Explore Wearable Health Tracking Devices
OK, so let’s say you’ve resolved to improve your health this year but got disheartened when the mirror and the numbers on the scale didn’t appear to reflect the effort you’ve been putting in. How to stay motivated regardless? Wearable health tracking devices provide a great boost. Not only do they show you the stuff below the surface, that you literally cannot see, but they provide both doctor and patient with a clearer picture of what’s going on with your physiology before the real ills can get a toehold – that is, if you start monitoring early enough. Wearable health trackers can be literally life-changing, not to mention potentially life-saving – and it’s why I’m encouraging my patients to start using them – and you should too!
Jan 30, 2023 · Healthy Aging5 Foods To Get Rid Of For Better Brain Health
The classic bad-for-your-brain foods are the kinds I’ve talked a lot about a lot over the years – they’re the ones that inflame the body, and drive up risk for numerous chronic health conditions like obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes, etc. But what we often forget is that this stuff is bad for your head too – pro-inflammatory foods are simply awful for brain health in the near term – think brain fog, anxiety, depression – and long-term, increased risk of developing – Alzheimer’s, dementia, neurological disease., etc. Simply put: you need to kick them now to save your brain.
Jan 23, 2023 · Healthy AgingIs Melatonin The New Anti-Aging Hormone?
Melatonin is becoming a hot corner of the anti-aging research world. A lot of folks are taking a second or third look at melatonin, including me.
Jan 16, 2023 · Health & WellnessMake Healthy Habits Stick With ‘Habit Stacking’
As you wade into the waters of this brand new year, you can increase the odds of making positive changes stick by letting go of the old school all-or-nothing mentality that can torpedo good intentions (in a matter of days!). Instead, work on developing new healthy habits over time. What’s the best way to do that? One approach to consider, borrowed from behavioral science, is known as ‘habit stacking’ – it can help make 2023 a banner year for your body and your mind.
Jan 9, 2023 · Health & Wellness21 Immune System Boosters and ‘Triple-demic’ Fighters
This winter, it’s all about immunity and boosting yours needs to become a top priority, the sooner the better. The mission: to fortify your body against opportunistic invaders, make it harder for them to get a toehold into your system, and ideally, be able to repel them quickly if they do. To achieve the strongest immunity possible, I recommend a three-pronged approach that combines health-supporting foods immunity-boosting supplements, and pleasurable, health-boosting habits to pack your winter with wellness.
Jan 2, 2023 · Sleep9 Ways Your Sleep Position Can Help – or Harm – Your Health
With sleep taking up roughly a third of each day, it’s important to do it well. As you probably know first-hand, sleeping well can be easier said than done. Even in the best of times, sound sleep can be a challenge and the past few years have only added to it. While there are almost countless ways for a good night’s rest to be interrupted, perhaps one of the most overlooked is sleep position. If your body’s not in a comfortable, nicely aligned position, not only may you struggle to get your 40 winks, you may find other aspects of your health impacted as well.
Dec 26, 2022 · Health & Wellness23 Wellness Wishes to Make this New Year Shine
With external change greeting us at just about every turn, among the positives to come out of it is internal: we’ve learned how to be more flexible; to persevere; to be a bit more patient and a lot more resilient – all skills that will serve us well as we embark on our journey into 2023. To honor the fresh start of this new year, rather than going into full-throttle, resolutions-or-bust mode, I encourage you to take a kinder, gentler approach: think ‘evolution’ not revolution.
Dec 19, 2022 · Health & WellnessTop 10 Most Popular Blogs of 2022
Finding ways to incorporate new (or old) healthful habits into the day-to-day is essential. If you don’t know where to start, we have gathered our 11 top helpful (and health-full) blog posts of 2022 to optimize well-being in 2023!
Dec 12, 2022 · Healthy Aging7 Ways to Save Your Bones and Keep them Healthy
Bones are the scaffolding that holds us up and when they’re lashed together by connective tissue in joints, they allow us to move. When everything is working the way it should, they’re pretty easy to take for granted, that is until you take a tumble and fracture your wrist or your hip. That’s when many women discover that their bones are precariously thin, or worse, dangerously fragile. But, as I tell my patients, the time to wake up to the reality of thinning bone is now, before there’s a calamity and when there’s still time to slow down the loss of bone tissue.
Dec 5, 2022 · Health & Wellness8 Ways To Enjoy Winter – And Use It To Improve Your Health
While there’s no stopping winter’s arrival, with a bit of forethought, you can fend off much of the moodiness, lethargy, carb-cravings and depressive tendencies that can make the season anything but bright. What’s the secret to beating back the metaphorical darkness? Accept the inevitable, tend to your physical and mental health, and stack the deck with feel-good activities. Call it seasonal self-care or simply your winter battle plan, with a little forethought, you can make this the best winter ever. Here’s how…
Nov 28, 2022 · Sleep9 Ways to Use Melatonin Safely for Sleep
Increasingly, people are becoming more aware of the dangerous downsides of prescription sleep meds and switching to non-pharmaceutical alternatives. Enter melatonin supplement, which can have a place in your good-sleep program, that is, if you understand the pros and cons, what it can and can’t do. For many melatonin new-comers there’s a temptation to think of it as a sleep panacea or a cure-all, that’s it’s OK to pop a pill every night without giving it a second thought. Not so. Here’s how to use it wisely.