Topic: disease prevention

How To Reverse Diabetes, Without Drugs

Type 2 diabetes is now considered one of the major public health problems in the United States. But it doesn’t have to be. A growing number of doctors and other health care professionals say that diabetes can be reversed via lifestyle changes, including a diet and exercise overhaul. Dr. Joel Fuhrman, whose new book The End of Diabetes will be released later this month, is one of these physicians. I talked to him to learn more about how to reverse diabetes, without drugs. More »

5 Seriously Disturbing Facts About the Smoking Scene In China

If you’re smoking in a public space in China right now (bar, restaurant, hospital waiting room, domestic flight, hotel lobby, etc.), then you’re breaking the law. But then again, if you’re smoking in a public space in China right now, you probably won’t get into much trouble, even though the country’s new smoking-in-public-places ban legally went into effect two days ago. (Oh, and you can still smoke at work. Yay!) The reason you’ll get away with lighting up at your leisure? The punishment for violators is nominal and negligible: Sure, maybe a restaurant or bar will get fined $5,000 or less for letting its patrons puff for pleasure. But first, that law would need to be enforced by someone. Which, by any and all accounts I’ve read, it’s not, and may never be. And so far, there aren’t any penalties for individuals who break the new law. WTF, China? Where the hell are all your standard draconian consequences?

Now, I have no desire to deprive Chinese citizens of any of their individual human rights, including their right to smoke if they so choose. (Historically, China has infringed upon its citizens’ rights all too effectively on its own.) But if this country is going to make a weak, half-baked attempt to ban smoking in public places (even just to appease the World Health Organization), then it really should impose some realistic penalties and consequences on those businesses and venues that violate the law. More »

I Am Documentary: One Director’s Journey From Hollywood to Healing and Happiness

I may be the only person I know who can be emotionally inspired by a segment on Nightline. (And I know I’m the only person I know who actually watches Nightline with any regularity. I learned this habit from my parents, who used to stay up “late” with Ted Koppel when I was in high school, and the sound of it always was and still is oddly comforting to me.) But last night it was just current host Bill Weir and me.

Ever heard of Tom Shadyac? Probably not, and no one could blame you for that. But I’m guessing you’ve heard of a few of the movies he’s directed. Any of these sound familiar? Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Liar, Liar, The Nutty Professor, Bruce Almighty, Patch Adams, and I Now Prounounce You Chuck and Larry. Now, these works of art may not be Shakespeare (or even art), but combined they’ve grossed almost two billion dollars. Which means that Tom Shadyac is a very, very rich man. By Hollywood and most societal standards, he’s also a very, very successful one. As such, he bought into everything that his accomplishments afforded him: Hollywood A-Lister pals, the sprawling mansion in Beverly Hills, the private jet, the original artwork, the world travel, the adventure.

But for some reason, he wasn’t happy; and he wasn’t content. More »

Battle Against Obesity: Jamie Oliver Takes on Sugary Flavored Milks

Unfortunately, we have to wait almost an entire week to see a new episode of Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution on ABC, but I caught the Naked Chef on Jimmy Kimmel Live last night talking about season two of his excellent reality TV show, in which he’s basically trying to overhaul the seriously disturbing food offerings in the Los Angeles public school system. Jamie brought along a new friend, Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Superintendent, Dr. John Deasy. Now, these guys really should be mortal enemies. (How would you feel if some rich and famous guy from another country showed up at your workplace, demanded access to it, and then told you that you were doing your job badly and ineffectively, and in a way that was harmful to the health of others? Because that’s basically what Jamie has been saying to the LAUSD (albeit in a more polite way and with a charming British accent). But now these two blokes are actually forming a union in order to work together to change what kinds of foods our schools offer to kids, which is important because, as you know, kids quickly turn into adults, and whether or not those kids grow up to be overweight or obese depends largely on the eating habits they learned and developed at home and at school. And then our fractured health care system has to find a way to pay for all those obesity-related illnesses. Not a healthy dynamic. More »

I Live With Addiction: No Alcohol, But Tons of Temptation

I know people who never think about having another drink once they’ve given up booze. They hit their bottom line, came to their senses, and walked away from the stuff with little afterthought. They are not tempted.

I sure as hell wish I were one of them.

The truth is that for me, not drinking is still hard. Sure, it’s much easier than it was 22 years ago, when I white-knuckled it through every weekend on a campus of 20-year-olds whose favorite pastime was getting completely trashed. I’m pretty sure that staying sober throughout my four years of college will go down as one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life – an impressible feat that nurtured with me a source of self-esteem and self-confidence I didn’t know I had.

So, yes, it’s far easier today. But it’s not easy. More »

IBS, the Sequel: Still Single, Still Suffering

I like to think that IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) stands for “I’m Back, Sucka!” Talk about being kicked in the gut when you’re down. This week has been fraught with familial trials and tribulations, ex-dating stress, and plain old bad eating habits. I think I’ve lost about seven pounds because nothing I eat seems to agree with me. (And during IBS Awareness Month, no less!) This is the polite way of saying that I have something more like the alimentary canal of an earthworm as opposed to a human intestinal tract. This is not a good way to lose weight; along with the pounds go nutrients and muscle mass. (And I ain’t got much of the latter to sacrifice.)

Back in the days when I was flush with green from my miserable federal job, I used to go to a polarity therapist who really, really balanced my energies. At my first session, she “read” my body and told me about all the things that bothered me. And she was dead on. For a skeptic like me, it was quite unnerving. But she truly helped me cope with the symptoms of IBS, cleared out a lot of negative energy (turns out, my solar plexus chakra was full of it!), and helped me learn to r-e-l-a-x. Apparently, having a pierced navel (guilty) doesn’t jive well with your solar plexus or navel chakra, which rules your digestive system. I’ve had said ring taken out before, guess when: Incarceration? Tonsillectomy? Both? I’ll never tell. What I’m trying to say is that during the days it was out, I really didn’t notice any difference in my five-foot friend, a.k.a. the large intestine. More »

In the Hospital? Better Be Your Own Health Advocate

As I mentioned last week, a good friend of mine went into the hospital on Tuesday for major surgery. (You know it’s major when they want you to stay there for five whole days.) Thankfully, his recovery is going well so far, but he knows as well as I do that has as much to with the medical care he’s received as it does with this fact: When you’re in the hospital, you have to be your own health advocate.

Now, I don’t actually know this from personal experience (knock wood). The only time I’ve ever been technically admitted into a hospital as a patient was when, as a 13-year-old, I sliced my ring finger open with a Swiss Army knife as I was attempting to cut something (maybe a piece of tape?) for my then three-year-old niece. Why the hell didn’t I just use a pair of not-so-sharp scissors? I guess my answer is: I was 13. I remember getting six or seven stitches (haven’t had any since, knock wood again), but I don’t remember any part of my ER visit requiring either myself or whichever guardian was with me at the time to act as my health advocate. (I don’t imagine the hospital staffers would’ve listened to much of anything a sullen tween would’ve had to say, anyway.) More »

The C Word‘s Pam Murphy on How Breast Cancer Is Hilarious

Pam Murphy is a professionally funny lady currently starring in her own solo comedy show, The C Word (which she wrote), at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York City. What’s it about? Oh, you know, just her getting diagnosed with breast cancer — that’s all. Drawing room comedy stuff. No big deal. Actually, you’re about to get a sense of just how hilarious Pam makes cancer become while she’s onstage, and why it’s so important for our mental health that we laugh about the worst thing that’s ever happened to her in her life. (C’mon, she wants us to!)

You had cancer and made it funny with your solo show, “The C Word.” Pretend that I’m also professionally hilarious. Is it okay for me to make fun of cancer and cancer survivors, even if I’ve never had the disease myself? More »

Q&A: The Hormone Diet‘s Natasha Turner on How Your Sleep Patterns Are Making You Fat

Meet Dr. Natasha Turner, a Naturopathic Doctor and founder of Clear Medicine, an integrated medicine wellness boutique in Toronto, who recently authored a ground-breaking wellness tome called The Hormone Diet: Lose Fat, Gain Strength, Live Younger Longer. Trust me: This is no diet book — it’s a clinical series of revelatory lifestyle changes based on the hormones that your body naturally produces (or doesn’t produce enough of, as the case may be), many of which will likely be very new to you, no matter how healthy you think you are. Soon, Dr. Turner will begin contributing weekly posts to Blisstree about health, wellness, Naturopathic Medicine, and how our hormones can help us (and we in turn can help our hormones). But in the meantime, I asked her a few questions about her very intriguing “non-diet” diet book. More »

What We're Reading:

Animals Hoarding: Health Hazards of Living With Exotic Pets

Animal hoarding, which has become prevalent enough to warrant its own reality TV show, took a turn for the truly bizarre this week in Shirley, New York, near the eastern end of Long Island, where an elderly woman was found to be harboring more than 100 animals in her home. But instead of the usual mix of cats, dogs, and birds, she appeared to be assembling her own ark, complete with chinchillas, deer, pigs, and even a cow. Which would be fine if this woman lived on a farm, but these poor animals were residing inside her house. Just like the song “The Circle of Life” – the Marilyn Manson version, that is.

Just when we were getting over the potential safety issues of letting our cats and dogs share our beds at night, now we need to face the potential health hazards of snuggling up with pigs, goats, and deer. What hath Paris Hilton wrought? More »

My Strange Addiction to A&E’s Reality TV Show Heavy

I’m an addict. Deep down, everyone knows that TV addiction is certainly unhealthy, especially when the drug of choice is reality TV. But my addiction has nothing to do with hoarding, competing chefs, fashion designers, or salon owners, spoiled housewives, eating chalk, or the Kardashian family. I am addicted to Heavy, the latest weight-loss reality TV show. (This one’s on A&E.)

Of course, for years The Biggest Loser has dominated the small screen with its huge participants on NBC, and then there’s Thintervention With Jackie Warner on Bravo, which I’ve blogged about on Blisstree. But Heavy is a completely different animal.

For those of you who haven’t seen an episode of Heavy (A&E calls it a “docudrama”), it follows 22 participants (two each week) as they attempt to make serious lifestyle changes and lose a ton of weight during a six-month in-patient/out-patient treatment program. But this is no contest; there’s no money to be won, prizes to gain, or titles to claim. There are no celebrity trainers with major endorsement deals and product lines. And because of these differences, Heavy is much smarter and more sensitive and comprehensive than any other weight-loss reality TV show out there. More »

No Smoking: (In Chinese films anyway.) But this new ban probably won’t prevent 1.2 million Chinese residents from dying of smoking-related diseases every year, because they can still smoke in enclosed public places, and don’t pay taxes on smokes. (GOOD)

Hospital Horror: Surgeons Leave Patient Something to Remember Them By

Check out this post about a Rhode Island hospital by Deborah Huso on AOL Health.

Last week a surgical instrument, likely a forceps, was discovered inside the abdomen of a patient who had recently undergone surgery at Rhode Island Hospital in Providence. This is not the first such case at the hospital. In August, a piece of a broken drill bit was left inside a patient’s scalp following brain surgery. More »

When I came home for Thanksgiving during my sophmore year, my mother thought I was jaundiced. Though a fair assumption for a college student in New Orleans, it wasn’t the Jägermeister or Jim Beam that proved to be the problem. It was the carrots. I had carotemia – mainly due to an excessive intake of carrots. Carrots contain significant amounts of carotenoids. When the amount of carotenoids a person ingests exceeds the body’s ability to use or store it, levels build up in the bloodstream, which causes the skin to turn orange or yellow. Way too much of a good thing.

– Foodtrainers founder Lauren Slayton on the hidden health dangers of certain unprocessed foods, from her post: Can You Overdose on Natural Foods? Nutritionist Lauren Slayton Weighs In

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