Your empowerment through information is the underlying principle of our site. Our mission is not only to provide information that relates to specific medical issues, but even more importantly, information that reveals the keys to maintaining health and preventing disease. Welcome!
Over the past several years a mechanistic concept has arisen that seeks to explain the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease. This has been called the bioenergetic theory. Basically, it describes a situation in which the highly energy demanding cells of the brain are somehow compromised in their ability to use fuel. Make no mistake about it, brain cells require an incredible amount of energy to perform their function. In the resting state, the brain, which typically represents only 2 to 5% of total body weight, consumes up to 25% of calories burned.
The brain’s primary fuel is glucose. And one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive failure of the brains ability to use this source of fuel, basically a situation in which brain cells are not able to utilize glucose for energy. In fact, specialized PET scanning of the brain can visualize signature areas of the brain that are less functional in terms of glucose utilization that correlate with Alzheimer’s disease. Continue reading
Our world today has certainly become far more chaotic than we had anticipated. As such, it becomes challenging to avoid toxic threatening thoughts and downstream manifestations like depression or anxiety. As our guest today makes clear, we don’t have to settle into this mental mess as if it is just our “new normal.” There is hope and there is help available to us, and the road to healthier thoughts and more happiness may actually be shorter than we think. Continue reading
Your brain is always listening and responding to an incredibly large number of hidden influences, and unless you recognize and deal with them, they can steal your happiness, spoil your relationships, and sabotage your health. My good friend Dr. Daniel Amen calls these influences “dragons” in his new book Your Brain Is Always Listening, and with good reason as he explains. Importantly, this book will teach you to tame the dragons and regain what, for many, has been so elusive, especially these days. Continue reading
There is so much discussion these days about things like intermittent fasting, time restricted eating, and caloric restriction, and with good reason. There is robust research data that supports the health benefits of these practices.
There’s a lot going on in the area of longevity science. Researchers are hard at work trying to unravel the mysteries of what causes the disease we know as aging.
But beyond the actual bench research, dedicated thought leaders are doing their part to facilitate the science and bring attention to this burgeoning discipline. And one of the pivotal players in this arena is my good friend, Sergey Young. Continue reading
There are a number of factors that are clearly associated with risk of dementia, and specifically Alzheimer’s disease-related dementia. For example, there’s a dramatic increase in risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease in people who have been diagnosed with type two diabetes. Sedentarity, meaning lack of physical activity, is also associated with increased risk as are early life stress, head trauma, and low educational level.
Research has also demonstrated a relationship of Alzheimer’s risk to childhood socioeconomic status as well as school performance.
But an important missing link in these studies that demonstrate associations is an actual demonstration, not of the cognitive impairment, but of actual physical changes that take place in the brain that may then relate to decline in the brain’s function. Continue reading
Some 30 years ago I had the opportunity to attend a medical conference and heard a presentation by Dr. Alan Gaby. Truthfully, this event marked a turning point in my career destiny for reasons that we will touch upon in this interview. But suffice it to say that I have a great deal of gratitude in my heart for the dedication to the art of medicine that so characterizes Dr. Gaby’s efforts over so many productive years.
Dr. Alan Gaby received his undergraduate degree from Yale University, his M.S. in biochemistry from Emory University, and his M.D. from the University of Maryland. He was in private practice for 19 years, specializing in nutritional medicine. During that time he developed a wide spectrum of innovations that remain in widespread use today.
Food allergies are an ever increasing problem in our world. And the problem can be life-threatening, and certainly life-changing for as many as 11% of our population. This is why I wanted to bring on the program a world leader on the topic of food allergy who could explain to us exactly what food allergies are all about in terms of their causation, their increasing prevalence, how to handle them on a day-to-day basis, and what the future looks like in terms of developing therapies.
Our program today is with Kari Nadeau, MD, PhD, author of the terrific book The End of Food Allergy. Continue reading
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