Stairs and Piano Keys

When I see patients and encourage them to engage in regular movement, I encourage them to do something they find fun. Go for a run in the park with your dog and throw a frisbee with her! Jump on a trampoline with your kids! Do a water aerobics class, and wear the brightest, fanciest-colored arm floaters you can find! Go run through a sprinkler!

Notice I said "movement," not "exercise." Too many people associate exercise with hitting the gym and doing a set routine of exercises, lifting weights, running on a treadmill, or taking the stairway to nowhere. And lots of people consider that a chore more than actual fun. If it isn't fun, we figure, why do it? It's not long before we stop out of boredom or losing sight of a goal.

In Sweden, some people took the idea of making "exercise" fun and, uh, ran with it. They made taking the stairs much more fun that it usually would be. Check out this video. And do something fun today!



(Disclaimer: I have no association with The Fun Theory or with Volkswagen.)

Video: John Williams is the Man!

Here's another great video. The plot for Star Wars (at least the three movies that were released first), sung to music by John Williams. Only here's the catch: none of the music is from Star Wars. It's all from other films!

Although this video is not the original, and he actually lip-syncs the whole thing, I find his the most fun. So enjoy!

The Muppets - Bohemian Rhapsody

It's been a long time since I've contributed to this blog. This is a trend I hope to end. So why not do it with some fun?

Here's a hilarious video I recently saw of the Muppets performing Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody." In my opinion, Gonzo's part at the beginning is the least interesting. And any video where Gonzo's part is the least interesting has to be great, right?

Enjoy!

Mentos and Diet Coke

No, I don't advocate eating Mentos. I especially don't advocate drinking Diet Coke, for many reasons. At the top of the list is Nutrasweet. Also known as aspartame, Nutrasweet is made of two amino acids: phenylalanine and aspartate. Aspartate is well-known to increase the tendency of neurons to fire. In physiologic doses, this is perfectly fine, and indeed important for optimal neurologic function. But ingesting high doses of aspartate can actually lead to overexcited neurons, and may be linked to a number of neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease), Huntington's disease, and Alzheimer's disease. You can read Excitotoxins: The Taste that Kills by Russell Blaylock for more information.

But throw Mentos into a bottle of Diet Coke, and the result can be quite effervescent. Enjoy this video and see what happens when this tendency is harnessed to create a neat fountain display.
(And as you'd imagine, it is an EXTREMELY bad idea to drink Diet Coke and eat Mentos at the same time!)

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Do you have health issues that aren't being adequately addressed by traditional medicine? Naturopathic care may be the answer you're looking for. Visit my website for more information about naturopathic medicine, and begin your journey toward optimal health!

Music: "Ave verum corpus" by W.A. Mozart

I'm a great music lover. More than anything, I sing - in the car, in the shower, with a karaoke machine, in a choir, wherever. For a while, I even considered majoring in music in college and becoming a music director or a conductor. But life had other plans for me. Still, it's perhaps my favorite activity outside of helping people become healthy.

Music has well-documented effects on human physiology, even though its most basic effects don't need to be proven in a laboratory. Place anyone trying to study in a room filled with blaring rock music, and they probably don't accomplish nearly as much as someone trying to study in a room where unobtrusive, calming classical music is playing.

One of my favorite songs of all time, Mozart's Ave verum corpus, powerfully demonstrates the ability of music to calm the soul and put one at ease. In college, I would often meditate, and then listen to this song by candlelight to peacefully mark the end of the day. On bad days, it could be the highlight of the whole day.

Give it a try. Turn the lights down, make sure you're in a quiet room where you won't be disturbed, and close your eyes and just listen to this piece. It may be a wonderful way to begin or end meditation or prayer time as well.

I may write more on the healing power of music in another blog post, but for now, I couldn't wait to post this song and hopefully pass on a wonderful gift to you all.

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Do you have health issues that aren't being adequately addressed by conventional medicine? Naturopathic care may be the answer you're looking for. Visit my website for more information about naturopathic medicine, and begin your journey toward optimal health!

Best Wedding Procession Ever

It's been a busy week here, so instead of leaving you empty-handed, I wanted to post this fun video. Everyone's wedding processions should be so fun.

Enjoy!

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Do you have health issues that aren't being adequately addressed by conventional medicine? Naturopathic care may be the answer you're looking for. Visit my website for more information about naturopathic medicine, and begin your journey toward optimal health!

Swine Flu: The Basics and Vitamin D

Swine flu is currently at the forefront of our health concerns. Experts are predicting a pandemic this season. The White House estimates that roughly 90,000 people will die of the swine flu - more than twice the number in a typical flu season. Vaccine manufacturers are working overtime to create a flu vaccine; this vaccine is expected to be ready by the middle of October.

The symptoms of the swine flu are pretty much identical to the symptoms of regular influenza, including a cough, fever, achy muscles, and a headache, so it will be difficult to tell the difference - and perhaps beside the point. Also, just like the regular flu, swine flu is spread through airborne droplets from coughing, or from direct contact with a person who has swine flu.

It is important to know who is most likely to contract swine flu. Those at highest risk include:

• Children aged 6 months up to their 19th birthday (but the younger the child the higher the risk)
• Pregnant women
• People 50 years of age and older
• People of any age with heart or lung disease (asthma, COPD, emphysema), diabetes
• People with weakened immune systems.

Since the swine flu is a new strain of the flu that we have not been exposed to yet, we have yet to develop immunity, and everyone is at risk of contracting the swine flu. This is why people are so concerned about the swine flu this year.

There are many people who are leery of the swine flu vaccine for various reasons. It is not my intention to persuade those who are ready to take the vaccine not to take it. But there are other ways to prevent the swine flu using natural methods, and to decrease its severity if it does hit. Simply doing nothing and passively relying on the body's ability to heal itself is foolish. We need to actively support the body's ability to fight off the swine flu.

First off, we can look at the common sense basics that apply pretty much to all common upper respiratory tract diseases (common colds, influenza, etc.) These include:

• Decreasing your intake of sugars and other simple carbohydrates. These have been proven to suppress the immune system by reducing the white blood cell count for up to 24 hours.
• Drinking plenty of water...ideally, at least 1 ounce per 3 pounds of body weight per day. (150 lbs = 50 oz of water.)
• Getting plenty of sleep.
• Washing your hands often, particularly if you are around people who may be sick.
• Optimizing your nutritional status

This last one is a bit vague...after all, if you're eating well or at least taking a multivitamin, don't you have good nutritional status? The short answer, almost without exception, is "no." The food we eat nowadays is usually deficient in vitamins and minerals for various reasons. And multivitamins are helpful, but I consider multivitamins a good basic "insurance plan," when the goal is just health maintenance. In this case, our goal is to prevent the swine flu, so it is good to tailor nutritional supplementation accordingly.

The most discussed natural method of preventing the swine flu this year is vitamin D supplementation. Vitamin D is often found in food in doses that are laughably low compared with what our body needs. Certain coldwater fish are the only significant dietary source of vitamin D. The best source of vitamin D is the sun. Light-skinned individuals can produce up to 20,000 IUs of vitamin D merely by spending 15 minutes in direct sunlight, while one cup of fortified milk provides only 100 IUs of vitamin D. The recommended daily allowance of vitamin D is 200 IUs for adults, 400 IUs for children - but this is only to prevent bone diseases like rickets or osteomalacia, not to optimize immune function.

There is significant evidence nowadays linking low vitamin D levels in the body to low immunity. Indeed, some health care professionals and scientists - myself included - consider the lack of sunlight exposure in the winter months (and the resultant lack of vitamin D absorption) a significant reason why colds and the flu are so prevalent at this time.

It is a good idea to get your vitamin D levels checked right now. They should be above 50 ng/mL. If you are an adult, and your vitamin D levels are low, start high-dose supplementation of 5,000 IUs per day, then check again in 3 months. Or get plenty of sunshine - at least 15 minutes of direct sunlight on as much skin as possible every day.

For more information on using vitamin D to prevent the swine flu this year, check out this excellent video by Paul Bergner, a medical herbalist and an expert on dealing with disease from a natural perspective.

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Do you have health issues that aren't being adequately addressed by conventional medicine? Naturopathic care may be the answer you're looking for. Visit my website for more information about naturopathic medicine, and begin your journey toward optimal health!

Laughter is the Best Medicine - The Ultimate Commute

Now, don't you wish your commute was just like this? Watch and enjoy!

Note: I have no links to Barclaycard, a British company. But I'm very impressed with their marketing department.

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Do you have health issues that aren't being adequately addressed by conventional medicine? Naturopathic care may be the answer you're looking for. Visit my website for more information about naturopathic medicine, and begin your journey toward optimal health!

Video: Naturopathic Medicine and Chronic Disease

I was pleasantly surprised this morning to open up my Facebook profile and see this video about naturopathic medicine and its role in treating chronic disease. Paul Mittman, ND, is the main speaker and the president of Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine in Tempe, Arizona. Joining him is Jane Guiltinan, ND, a clinical professor at Bastyr University in Kenmore, Washington, and a past president of the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians. Together, they give a good introduction to naturopathic medicine and what it can contribute to the health epidemics of diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and other related conditions. (These conditions are, unfortunately, rampant in what my old pathology professor referred to as "the overdeveloped world," or the first world countries.)

Watch and enjoy!

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Do you have health issues that aren't being adequately addressed by conventional medicine? Naturopathic care may be the answer you're looking for. Visit my website for more information about naturopathic medicine, and begin your journey toward optimal health!

Video: Food Sensitivities

Have you been dealing with health issues that just don’t seem to go away? Are you frustrated with taking pharmaceutical drugs that don’t seem to work for you? Would you like to pursue a more natural route to health that honors your body?

What if you were regularly eating a food that was sabotaging your health, and you didn’t realize it? Would you want to know about it? If you are dealing with a chronic health issue, chances are you are also dealing with a food sensitivity, and this may be a cause of your symptoms.

A food sensitivity is basically an immune response to food that your body construes as an invader. The resulting immune reaction can result in a multitude of symptoms. Food sensitivities have been linked to a number of chronic conditions, including irritable bowel syndrome, ulcerative colitis, eczema, chronic fatigue syndrome, recurrent ear infections, attention deficit disorder, celiac disease, depression, migraines, and insomnia.

If you are dealing with any of these conditions and are looking for a better route to health, consider getting tested for food sensitivities, find out what they are, and eliminate them. Also, feel free to check out my website for more information about food sensitivities and naturopathic medicine, and what they can do for you. Thank you for visiting, and be well!

Video: Naturopathic Philosophy - First Do No Harm

My brother, who has a great sense of humor, gave me an excellent book for my birthday a few years ago. It was called Kill as Few Patients as Possible, by Oscar London. What a worthwhile goal! (Fortunately, most doctors, being intelligent, skilled, confident, and circumspect, manage to keep most of their patients alive.)

Here is a video on the basic tenets of naturopathic philosophy. The first principle is perhaps the most fundamental principle, not only for naturopathic medicine, but for health care of all sorts: first do no harm. Watch this video for an interesting spin on this principle you may not have considered before. And be well!

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Do you have health issues that aren't being adequately addressed by conventional medicine? Naturopathic care may be the answer you're looking for. Visit my website for more information about naturopathic medicine, and begin your journey toward optimal health!

Water bottles: plastic vs. glass

As I mention in this video, it is prudent to stay away from plastic water bottles that leach out bisphenol A, or BPA. For those of you who are curious about which water bottles those are, they're the ones that seem virtually indestructible - the prototypical Nalgene water bottles. Ironically, Nalgene water bottles were originally marketed as water bottles that would not leach plastic byproducts. They once were seen as the environmentally sound brand. Oops.

So what is the big deal about BPA? Studies have linked it to a number of estrogen-sensitive conditions: obesity, breast cancer (even the CDC acknowledges this), premature onset of puberty in girls (the average age of menarche, or a woman’s first menstrual cycle, has dropped by at least one year, if not more, over the past 50 years or so), gynecomastia (development of breast tissue in males) and birth defects. BPA was actually used as a estrogen mimicker in lab tests during the 1930s before diethylstilbestrol (DES) replaced it as a stronger estrogen substitute. (Babies were exposed to DES when their mothers took it to prevent miscarriages. Unfortunately, we discovered that “DES daughters” experienced a greater risk of vaginal and cervical cancer, infertility, and pregnancy complications. It was subsequently taken off the market years ago. But I digress.)

Which plastics leach BPA? Apparently, the hard plastics (like Nalgene) that are imprinted with the number 7 inside the recycling symbol are the ones to avoid. According to this website, plastic #7 is a catch-all for “miscellaneous plastics.” This includes Tupperware. Often, plastic #7 is not recyclable.

There are a few arguments against studies showing the dangers of BPA. First, some studies have shown that BPA doesn’t really increase the risk of, say, cancer. These studies, though, don’t take into account the synergy that occurs when other compounds interact with BPA, and the combination can be particularly dangerous. (Also consider that adipose tissue, or fat, in itself tends to favor the production of estrogen. Being obese may also act synergistically with BPA. With obesity being rampant in society today, this issue becomes even more vital to address.) One could also argue that these studies have all been performed on rats and not humans. Unfortunately, humans are often more sensitive to toxins than rats, particularly when fetuses are exposed to them. BPA is no exception. (And who would willingly undergo a study that exposes them to a potentially carcinogenic substance?)

Stick with glass water bottles if you're looking for an environmentally sound alternative to plastic water bottles. If you want to get something more stylish and perhaps more resilient than glass, there are many companies that sell excellent metal water bottles. Like glass, these water bottles do not leach out harmful substances, and they are completely recyclable after being used. They just cost a bit more.

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Do you have health issues that aren't being adequately addressed by conventional medicine? Naturopathic care may be the answer you're looking for. Visit my website for more information about naturopathic medicine, and begin your journey toward optimal health!

Video: How did I get into naturopathic medicine?

Part of my goal of being a naturopathic doctor is that I can help prevent stories like mine below. And my story is pretty far from tragic. But knowing now what I didn't know then, I could have made a huge difference in my health using the materials that, literally, have nurtured us for thousands of years. I could have done it without the use of drugs with unwanted side effects. I hope to make that difference in the lives of others. Maybe I could help you!

So here's a little video about my personal history, and how I ended up discovering naturopathic medicine. I hope you enjoy it. And, of course, if you're interested in any further information, check out my website at http://www.drscottisaacs.com/. Thanks, and be well!




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Do you have health issues that aren't being adequately addressed by conventional medicine? Naturopathic care may be the answer you're looking for. Visit my website for more information about naturopathic medicine, and begin your journey toward optimal health!