In his book, “How to Change Your Mind,” which I wrote about last year, author Michael Pollan writes of Peter Hendricks, a psychologist conducting a trial using psilocybin (aka magic mushrooms) to treat cocaine addicts. According to Hendricks, “People who are addicted know they’re harming themselves – their health, their…
Last year, at the end of a virtual presentation to participants in the Year Up program (a wonderful program I have been speaking at, and donating to, for many years), the event moderator read questions posted in the chat. They were good ones, so I'm sharing them here, with my…
I recently stumbled on a piece on WebMD on sugar addiction. The piece provides information about sugar cravings and excellent advice on how to tame your sweet tooth. I recommend the entire piece. Here are some highlights: Your Brain on Sugar Your brain...sees sugar as a reward, which makes you…
In a past post about the importance of reading food labels and understanding serving sizes, I wrote about serving sizes of breakfast cereals. A few years ago, I was on a mission to find a tasty, yet not-too-sugary granola. In the end, I moved to Bob's Red Mill Muesli, which…
Earlier this year, I heard Dr. Sanjay Gupta interviewed by Terry Gross on Fresh Air about his most recent book Keep Sharp: Build a Better Brain at Any Age. In the interview, he spoke about these four important activities for better brain health: Exercising Eating well for heart health Getting…
I've been writing COVID-19-related articles for the last few weeks, and I likely will continue to do so in the coming weeks. I don't write about weight loss, other than to say if you want to lose weight, eat less and exercise more. My focus is on healthy eating, and…
I stopped eating red meat about 20 years ago, and I was barely eating it for a number of years before that. My mom’s mom died young from a heart condition, so many years ago when my mom about red meat’s connection to heart disease she shared that knowledge with…
When I was a child, my mom made hamburgers for us many nights a week until she learned red meat wasn't good for your health. She cut way back and by the time I went to college, I was rarely eating red meat. Then, 15 or 20 years ago, I…
Thanks to a recommendation from my wife, I have been taking in some wonderful health advice by following Dr. Mark Hyman on Instagram. Dr. Hyman’s posts are packed with important, easy-to understand information, as well as simple, inspiring health quotes, graphics, recipes, and more. For example, here are three posts…
As reported by Dr. Gabe Mirkin, the American Cancer Society estimates that more than 40 percent of cancers are associated with modifiable lifestyle factors, such as: • Smoking • Alcohol • Chronic inflammation • Obesity • Lack of exercise • Cumulative lifetime exposure to radiation • Cumulative lifetime exposure to…
As I have written and spoken about many times, including earlier this year here, if you are looking for a new healthy eating habit, eliminating soda from your diet is a great place to start. To be clear: this means all kinds of soda, including diet soda, and there is…
Dr. Gabe Mirkin, whose newsletter I have been reading for years, and highly recommend, reported on a study published last summer: you can reduce your risk of dementia by up to 70 percent when you follow the same healthful habits that help to prevent heart attacks. The study found that…