Today is Day number 286 of my carnivore diet journey, and I have only eaten animal-based foods. I did have a few small departures. I started the diet with two specific goals: eliminating chronic medial epicondylitis and tenosynovitis in my left thumb. I have officially achieved both goals. I have realized numerous benefits as well and would like to share them in today’s post.
Read MoreAt our grocery stores and dinner tables, even the most thoughtful consumers are overwhelmed by the number of considerations to weigh when choosing what to eat—especially when it comes to meat. Guided by the noble principle of least harm, many responsible citizens resolve the ethical, environmental, and nutritional conundrum by quitting meat entirely. But can a healthy, sustainable, and conscientious food system exist without animals? Sacred Cow probes the fundamental moral, environmental, and nutritional quandaries we face in raising and eating animals, especially the most maligned of farmed animals, the cow.
Read MoreThere are millions of patients in institutions who are incapable of attending to their own oral hygiene needs for one reason or another. The population includes the elderly, traumatic brain injury patients, Alzheimer's patients, stroke victims, those with limited mobility, and those with several other chronic and acute illnesses too numerous to name. The staff provides little to no oral care. There is a much greater chance of finding a hair salon in these facilities than a dental operatory. Considering that brushing twice daily and flossing once is the standard recommendation, this is a tragedy. Speech pathologist and Swallowing specialist Marta Marta Kazandjian Ranaldo has graciously taken time out of her busy schedule as a nationally recognized swallowing specialist to enlighten us more on the subject.
Read MoreIn the history of the human race, eating was regarded with the highest priority. The taste was unimportant. Today, overly tasty foods act on the brain the same way alcohol, meth, cocaine, heroin, and many other drugs do. They cause a dopamine hit that will stimulate reward-seeking behaviors that are difficult to control. Flavorful foods are hijacking our brains. Drugs and hyper-palatable/highly processed foods are precisely the same. In both cases, the immediate short-term pleasure overtakes long-term health and wellness. I will cover this unfortunate shift and what we can do about it in this post.
Read MoreI am a proponent of using botanicals to help treat numerous conditions. Allicin from garlic and sulforaphane from cruciferous are two great examples of botanicals that are effective in treating a variety of illnesses. Many websites cite them as home cures for dental abscesses. I did a quick search on the web and found 27 home cures for dental infections. I searched PubMed for studies supporting claims that any of the 27 could cure dental infections. The research, sadly, did not support these claims. Today I am going to give a short primer on the three types of dental infections to explain why I was not surprised by the fact that, in most instances, they will have little to no effect.
Read MoreEver hear of saving face? Myofunctional therapy does just that. In today’s guest post, myofunctional therapist, Brittny Sciarra talks about how improper tongue posture, mouth breathing, and other problems can lead to improper facial development, difficulty breathing, and even swallowing. Brittny works with patients to establish proper lip seal, nasal breathing, and tongue posture to help them develop healthy beautiful faces and airways.
Read MoreI recently took care of a patient who developed two cavities. He was shocked because he was convinced his diet was healthy. I was not convinced that his diet was totally healthy, and I was not shocked.The simple fact is that getting cavities (also known as caries) is very easy in western society. After a bit of an investigation, I found some processed foods in his diet. I don’t think he knew that they were highly processed. I want to draw attention to the stealthy nature of how processed foods can enter the diet, and if enough of them make it in, tooth decay and other problems can arise. Hopefully, after reading this post you will be able to identify them more easily and avoid potential health risks.
Read MoreA very recent article in The Journal of the American Medical Association boldly states, "Over the long term, a diet in which only 5% of total calories come from carbohydrates makes it impossible to obtain optimum amounts of antioxidant phytonutrients from fruits and vegetables." They do not state what an optimum level is because there is none. Information like this then gets circulated by journalists, and the result is a perpetuation of dietary myth. Who doesn't think that plant fiber and so-called phytochemicals (phytonutrients) aren't great for our health? After all, we hear about their virtues all the time. How true is this? It turns out that it is mostly BS. Let me explain…
Read MoreThe literature is replete with the adverse health effects of incorrect sun exposure, and I don't dispute them. These include sunburn and increased risk of skin cancer and eye diseases. However, summer is in full swing, and I love the additional sunlight it brings in the northern hemisphere. I crave sun exposure and feel much better when I can get it regularly. Some people have noticed that I am very tan (at least for me) and warned me that I might be jeopardizing my health. My skin type allows me to spend up to two hours in the sun, which is not enough for me to burn, even though I don't use sunscreen. I want to explain why the risks are exaggerated and why it is essential to get regular non-burning sun exposure.
Read MoreIt has been over two hundred days since my experiment with the carnivore diet began, and I continue to see improvements in my health. More importantly, I have had no adverse side effects, including scurvy. I want to talk about some more of my health improvements today.
Read MoreThe death rate from obesity for the world is 60.14 per 100,000-almost as bad as the worst region for Covid-19! The United States is even worse at 71.95 per 100,000. How come our politicians have not locked us all in a health clinic and created a healthy weight reduction program until nobody dies from obesity? When we get rid of the current Covid-19 epidemic, it would be a great idea to start on the obesity epidemic. We can do this ourselves, we don’t need our politicians forcing changes. What do they know anyway? Their track record on health recommendations for us is a big part of our obesity epidemic. Let me explain.
Read MoreWe can produce glucose from the protein we ingest in the absence of fat and carbs in the diet. Making glucose from protein is a process known as gluconeogenesis. The problem is that our ability to synthesize glucose from protein is very limited and will not sustain us longterm. Luckily, we have such an abundance of food today, most people will never have to rely on gluconeogenesis, except for me. Today, I would like to share my story and put the knowledge I gained from my experience into the larger framework of human evolution and biology.
Read MoreDietary salt intake has been a hot topic for many decades. The consensus is that salt in the diet should be limited, mainly because it increases blood pressure, which is the most significant risk factor for heart disease. How much truth is there in this recommendation? We will find out today.
Read MoreThe list of comorbidities on the CDC's Coronavirus pages is extensive. Still, distressingly, it does not include any references to oral infections. Adding periodontal disease would significantly increase the average number of comorbidities to 2.75. The reason for my distress is that their public health efforts will fall short. Here’s what you can do about it today.
Read MoreBecause we don't move very much anymore, the concept of exercise seems much more plausible today. The idea of sitting at a computer desk all day and then spending an hour on a treadmill to make up for all that lack of activity makes total sense. Only, science says it doesn't really. Exercise, in fact, does not counteract the adverse effects of prolonged sitting. In other words, sitting too much is really bad for you. Today I talk about what you can do to avoid the pitfalls of being too sedentary.
Read Moream sure most of you have never heard of GGT. It is not your fault; it is not considered to be as important as a marker for disease as others, such as cholesterol by most medical practitioners. As you will find out today, it may be the single most important predictor of disease and mortality medicine has today.
Read MoreMany vitamins have received time in the spotlight. Unfortunately, vitamin K2, which is also known as menaquinone, is not one of them. Vitamin K2 turns out to be crucial for optimal health and may be the missing nutrient responsible for many of today's chronic illnesses. Most of you have probably heard of vitamin K, and you might even know it is associated with blood clotting. So, what is vitamin K2? That’s what today’s post is all about…
Read MoreI am on day 118 of the carnivore diet today. No surprise that I don’t have scurvy, and don’t expect to get it. I have recently noticed an improvement that I did not expect…
Read MoreI had the idea for a post about the different kinds of teeth we have a few weeks ago and thought it might be too simple. But then I had a patient that was asking me about the different kinds of teeth and their functions in chewing, so I am going forward with the post. Maybe this is not a very exciting topic, but knowledge of the functions of the different kinds of teeth we have could help patients who are experiencing problems because they are not correctly using them.
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