SAD Archives - Amazing Health Advances

Seasonal Weight Gain in the Fall

The AHA! Team — Wed, 18 Sep 2024 08:13:49 +0000

Michael Greger M.D. FACLM via Nutrition Facts – SAD doesn’t just stand for the standard American diet. There’s a condition known as seasonal affective disorder that is characterized by increased appetite and cravings, as well as greater sleepiness and lethargy, that begins in autumn when light exposure starts to dwindle. This now appears to represent the far end of a normal spectrum of human behavior. We appear to eat more as the days get shorter. There is a “marked seasonal rhythm” to calorie intake with greater meal size, eating rate, hunger, and overall calorie intake in the fall. In preparation for winter, some animals hibernate, doubling their fat stores with autumnal abundance to deal with the subsequent scarcity of winter. Genes have been identified in humans that are similar to hibernation genes, which may help explain why we exhibit some of the same behaviors, and the autumn effect isn’t subtle. As you can see in the graph below and at 1:06 in my video Friday Favorites: Why People Gain Weight in the Fall, researchers calculated a 222-calorie difference between how many calories we consume in the fall versus the spring. This isn’t just because it’s colder, either, since we eat more in the fall than in the winter. It appears we’re just genetically programmed to prep for the deprivation of winter that no longer comes. It’s remarkable that, in this day and age of modern lighting and heating, our bodies would still pick up enough environmental cues of the changing seasons to have such a major influence on our eating patterns. Unsurprisingly, bright light therapy is used to treat seasonal affective disorder, nearly tripling the likelihood of remission, compared to placebo. Though it’s never been tested directly, it can’t hurt to take the dog out for some extra morning and daytime walks in the fall to try to fend off some of the coming holiday season weight gain. Bright light therapy is used to treat seasonal affective disorder People blame the holidays for overeating, but it may be that “rather than the holidays causing heightened intake, the seasonal heightening of intake in the fall may have caused the scheduling of holidays at that time.” Regardless, as you can see below and at 2:15 in my video, other “specific recommendations for the prevention of obesity and metabolic syndrome by improving the circadian system health,” based on varying degrees of evidence, include: sleeping during the night and being active during the day; sleeping enough—at least seven or eight hours a night; early to bed, early to rise; and short naps are fine. (Contrary to popular belief, daytime napping does not appear to adversely impact sleep at night.) Also recommended: avoiding bright light exposure at night; sleeping in total darkness when possible; making breakfast or lunch your biggest meal of the day; not eating or exercising right before bed; and completely avoiding eating at night. This was the last video in my chronobiology series. If you missed any of the others, check out the related posts below. Key Takeaways Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is characterized by increased appetite, cravings, sleepiness, and lethargy, starting in autumn with reduced light exposure. This aligns with a seasonal rhythm in human behavior, showing greater calorie intake, meal size, eating rate, and hunger in the fall. Human genes similar to those in animals preparing for hibernation have been identified, suggesting a genetic predisposition to seasonal eating behaviors. The body may be genetically programmed to store more fat in preparation for potential winter scarcity. Research indicates a 222-calorie difference in caloric intake between fall and spring, with increased consumption in the fall. This phenomenon cannot be solely attributed to colder temperatures, as eating in the fall exceeds eating in the winter. Despite modern lighting and heating, environmental cues still influence seasonal eating patterns. Bright light therapy, which addresses SAD, may help mitigate some of the increased calorie intake during fall. Recommendations for preventing obesity and metabolic syndrome include maintaining a healthy circadian system by sleeping during the night, being active during the day, ensuring sufficient sleep (seven to eight hours), adopting an early bedtime and waking time, taking short naps if needed, avoiding bright light exposure at night, sleeping in darkness, making breakfast or lunch the main meal, refraining from eating or exercising right before bedtime, and avoiding nighttime eating. To read the original article click here.

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Are You Hooked on America’s Deadly Diet? Heal Your Body with These Life-Saving Foods

AHA Publisher — Fri, 09 Sep 2022 07:00:59 +0000

Lorie Johnson via CBN News – The pandemic consumed most health news for two years, but underneath it all there’s been a deeper issue – a majority of the fatalities and serious cases involved patients with significant underlying health problems. Medical issues like diabetes, heart disease, and obesity were already a serious health risk for millions of Americans, and the outbreak only made matters worse. Even before COVID, scientists were pointing out that the Standard American Diet (SAD) causes even more deaths than smoking. This diet largely consists of ultra-processed foods loaded with chemicals, added sugars, and industrial oils. A growing number of doctors and other health experts recommend replacing the SAD diet with one that’s full of whole, plant-based foods. Whole foods are ones that are as close to their original state as possible, and plant-based foods, as the name suggests, are those that grew out of the ground. A Grandmother’s Testimony As a young boy, Michael Greger saw how food can be medicine. When doctors couldn’t treat his 65-year-old grandmother’s heart disease, they sent her home to die. However, at that time she started eating a plant-based diet, reversed her heart disease, and lived to the ripe old age of 96! Astounded by what he saw in his grandmother’s life, Michael decided to help others achieve the same results. Now as a physician, Dr. Greger offers free nutrition advice, including hundreds of healthy recipes on his non-profit website, nutritionfacts.org. Dr. Greger points to an increasing number of scientific studies showing a plant-based diet proves to be the healthiest of all diets for people like his grandmother who deal with heart problems. “Not only can heart disease be prevented and arrested with a plant-based diet,” he told CBN News, “It’s the only diet ever proven to reverse heart disease in the majority of patients, opening up arteries without drugs, without surgery.” Every Small Change Can Make a Difference Every 37 seconds someone in America dies from heart disease. Cardiologists like Dr. Deepak Talreja urge their patients to switch to a whole-food, plant-based diet before it’s too late. For some patients, particularly those who’ve been eating processed foods for many years, they’re encouraged to do the best they can. “We try to push people towards as optimal a diet as they can really stick with,” Dr. Talreja told CBN News. In short, he tells them to eat as many plants and as few animals as possible. He also recommends eating foods as close to their natural state as possible. For example, instead of highly processed breakfast cereal, Dr. Talreja recommends whole-grain oatmeal. He says every small change can make a difference. “Some people are very committed and they’ll fall into a program where they do 100 percent the right thing,” he explained, “Some people can’t do that, but if they can do the right thing 70 or 80 percent of the time that moves them closer to where they’re either going to get more committed or at least get some benefits from that diet.” Prevents Other Causes of Death Heart disease is just one of many chronic diseases a plant-based diet has been shown to prevent or reverse. The list includes other leading causes of death including cancer, diabetes, and obesity. Case in point: Loma Linda, California, is the American city with the highest percentage of centenarians per capita. It’s also home to the highest concentration of Seventh Day Adventists, a denomination which advocates a plant-based diet. Dr. Larry Beeson, a researcher at the Loma Linda School of Public Health, analyzed over 50 years of studies done by himself and others. “Adventists have approximately the same proportion of people who die of cancer, heart disease or stroke,” he told CBN News, “But the age that they get diagnosed is much later.” Beeson said within the Seventh Day Adventist community, people follow various plant-based diets, but noted the ones who ate more plants and fewer animal products lived longer, healthier lives in general. Different Plant-Based Diets Here are the four major plant-based diets. 1. Vegan: 100% plant food. No animal products whatsoever 2. Vegetarian: Mostly plants but some eggs and dairy foods 3. Pescatarian: Mostly plants but some eggs, dairy and seafood 4. Flexitarian: Mostly plants but some eggs, dairy, seafood, poultry, and meat For the last 15 years, dietician Julieanna Hever has been teaching people how to switch to a more plant-based diet, which she says can reverse Type 2 Diabetes, high blood pressure, and more. “It reduces obesity and extra weight,” she said. “It reduces medication requirements. I love to say decreasing your medication results are normal. My clients get off their medications.” In her cookbook, The Healthspan Solution, she offers recipes and tips for newcomers to this lifestyle, adding there’s a bit of a learning curve. “I liken it to learning a new language,” she said, “Anything, when you’re transitioning to something major, like the way you’ve eaten your whole life, you just have to learn a few new words, a few new ingredients, tie them together in sentences and paragraphs and some recipes and then if you keep doing it over and over again you become fluent.” Hooked for Life Dr. Greger says if he can get his patients to try a plant-based diet for three weeks, they’re usually hooked for life. “They’re going to sleep so much better, their digestion’s better, their periods {are} less painful, they have more energy,” he said, “In fact, some people say ‘Oh, I felt fine, Doc,’ but then they didn’t realize they had chronic indigestion. They just thought it was normal to feel like this after a meal. But no, you don’t know how good you’re going to feel until you give it a try.” Dr. Greger tells his patients to consume the following plant-based foods each day: 3 Servings of Beans (such as hummus, lentils or tofu) 1 Serving of Berries 3 Servings of Other Fruit 1 Serving of Cruciferous Vegetables (such as broccoli, cauliflower or Brussels sprouts) 2 Servings of Greens (such as kale, romaine or collards) 2 Servings of Other Vegetables (such as mushrooms) 1 Tablespoon of Ground Flaxseed 1 Serving of Nuts 1/4 Teaspoon of Turmeric 3 Servings of Whole Grains (such as 100% whole grain bread, oatmeal or pasta) ***** HEALTHY RECIPES ***** Recipe for Pat Robertson’s Minestrone Soup: Ingredients: 1 can (14.5 oz.) chicken broth, low sodium, NO MSG 1 can (approx. 15 oz.) chickpeas, drained 2 cans (15 oz. each) diced tomatoes 1 can (11-15 oz.) corn, drained 2 large red potatoes (with skins), diced 1 zucchini, diced 1 large onion, diced 3 large stalks celery, diced 1 package (10 oz.) frozen spinach 2 cups chopped kale 2 cups chopped cabbage (outer leaves preferred) Half a 16-oz. package frozen peas 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil Worcestershire sauce, sea salt, and pepper to taste Directions: Place all ingredients into a large pot and mix well. Bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for four or five hours, adding a small amount of water as needed. For a hearty meal, serve with your favorite whole-grain bread. Leftover soup can be kept in the refrigerator for up to three days. Use it as a quick heat-and-eat meal or savory first course. • Optional: For extra spice, try one can of regular chopped or diced tomatoes and one can (10 oz.) of diced tomatoes with green chiles Recipe for Butternut Squash, Ginger, Turmeric Soup Courtesy of Elizabeth Lindemann Ingredients: 1 large butternut squash cooked (see notes) 2 tablespoons fresh ginger peeled and chopped 1 onion diced 1 tablespoon coconut oil or olive oil, or butter 2 cups chicken stock/broth or vegetable broth, for vegetarian/vegan 15 oz. canned coconut milk kosher salt to taste black pepper to taste 1 teaspoon ground turmeric roasted squash or pumpkin seeds and fresh cilantro for serving (optional) Directions: In a large pot, sauté the ginger (2 tablespoons) and diced onion in oil (1 tablespoon) over medium heat until softened (about 3 minutes). Add the stock (2 cups), bring to a boil. Add the cooked butternut squash. Stir in the can of coconut milk. Season with salt, pepper, and turmeric (1 teaspoon). Use an immersion blender to blend to a smooth puree (alternatively, you can use a standing blender in batches). Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Serve topped with roasted seeds and/or fresh cilantro, if desired. Notes: To cook the butternut squash, place it whole in your slow cooker for 3 hours on high or 6 hours on low. Remove, let cool, halve, deseed, and remove flesh from the peel. Or, purchase about 4 ½ cups cubed, raw squash and roast on an oiled pan in your oven at 425 degrees for 25 minutes or until fork-tender. To read the original article click here.

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Want to Live Longer? Here Is How Caloric Restriction Can Help You Achieve a Long, Healthy Life

AHA Publisher — Tue, 24 Aug 2021 07:22:42 +0000

Stephanie Woods via NaturalHealth365 – Calorie restriction for weight loss is nothing new. Experts and healthcare professionals have been recommending it for decades to help those who want to drop a few pounds. In fact, several studies have recently found that restricting calories can also improve your health and even prolong your life. What’s So Wrong With the American Diet? The American diet is inundated with processed foods that are barely recognizable as food, loaded with glyphosate, sodium, sugar, and chock full of preservatives. Combine this with the extreme excess that is not just accepted but promoted and encouraged in modern society. It’s easy to see why type 2 diabetes, cancer, obesity, and neurodegenerative disorders are so prevalent and rapidly growing each year. This unhealthy diet is responsible for chronic health conditions and the breakdown of the body. Organs are impacted, so they don’t function as they should, which causes fatty liver, disorders of the gallbladder, and blockages in arteries leading to the heart. The digestive system begins to malfunction with conditions like acid reflux and IBS. Even the chemical makeup is altered, which leads to anxiety and depression. What Is a Healthy Caloric Restriction? Caloric restriction is simply a different way of looking at eating. While most people think it is just limiting the calories they eat each day, it is actually a little more than that. There is a two-prong approach to caloric restriction: Limiting or restricting how many calories you consume each day Get enough nutrients to avoid malnutrition This means making every bite count and taking a good multivitamin every day, as well as staying well-hydrated. So How Does Restricting Calories Extend Life? Certain cellular changes occur within the body when a person follows a caloric restriction diet. Scientists have identified five benefits: Increase sirtuin function – These proteins regulate cellular health. They also help protect cellular components when the body is under stress. Increase AMPK activity – This enzyme helps to regulate metabolism, which helps with weight loss and all over bodily function. Reduce mTOR activity – This protein is linked to chronic disease and aging, so reducing its activity can help stave off many harmful conditions. Block cellular senescence – It helps prevent cells from aging, which prevents older cells from no longer functioning as they should. Encourage autophagy – This means to compel cells to remove damaged, older components inside and replace them with healthy, new ones. Each of these actions helps protect the body against the effects of aging, accelerated aging, and chronic disease. Here Is How to Follow a Caloric Restriction Plan A calorie restriction diet is not easy for most people, and it can be unpleasant. The good news is, as your body adjusts to the new way of eating – and receives more nutrients – your hunger will actually subside and return to normal. In addition, your ghrelin and leptin levels will stabilize, giving you a better handle on your hunger and returning it to a healthier cycle. These tips will help you succeed at following a caloric restriction plan: Talk to your doctor. An integrative physician – with nutrition experience – can help you determine how many calories you should consume and how you should balance carbohydrates, fiber, fat, and protein. Keep a food diary. There are many great apps you can use, such as MyFitnessPal, which calculates your calories, fat, carbs, protein, and other nutrients and helps you with important information about the food you eat. It can also be used on your computer as well as the app. Stay hydrated. Even low-level dehydration can cause you to feel run down and sick. It can also impair how your body functions, particularly when processing the foods you eat. Stick to whole foods. Avoid processed foods and stick to whole, natural foods like organic fruits and vegetables, 100% grass-fed beef and wild-caught fish. And, don’t forget the nutritional value of organic sprouts, nuts, seeds, herbs and spices. Consume only high quality, nutritional supplements. For many people, correcting nutritional deficiencies can make a world of a difference, especially as it relates to vitamins B, C and D. Plus, let’s not forget the importance of getting enough zinc, selenium and magnesium. Eat enough fiber. Fiber is important for keeping your heart and body healthy. It also keeps you from getting constipated. Just remember, you’ll need both soluble and insoluble fiber. Sleep well. Your health is greatly affected by your sleep habits. Most people would feel better by getting 6 – 8 hours of quality sleep – every night – for optimal body and brain performance. Make sure your bedroom is dark; avoid using electronic devices about 1-2 hours before bedtime and, if needed, do some kind of activity to help you to “wind down” like, a warm bath or deep breathing exercises. What’s the bottom line? A caloric restrictive diet can help you prevent or reverse chronic health conditions, help you lose weight, reduce the signs of aging, and help you feel better. It is well worth the effort, and you are going to love the benefits. Sources for this article include: LifeExtension.com NIH.gov NIH.gov MyFitnessPal.com To read the original article click here.

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Western High-Fat Diet Can Cause Chronic Pain, According to UT Health San Antonio-Led Team

AHA Publisher — Mon, 28 Jun 2021 07:00:13 +0000

University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio via EurekAlert – SAN ANTONIO, June 23, 2021 – A typical Western high-fat diet can increase the risk of painful disorders common in people with conditions such as diabetes or obesity, according to a groundbreaking paper authored by a team led by The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, also referred to as UT Health San Antonio. Moreover, changes in diet may significantly reduce or even reverse pain from conditions causing either inflammatory pain – such as arthritis, trauma or surgery – or neuropathic pain, such as diabetes. The novel finding could help treat chronic-pain patients by simply altering diet or developing drugs that block release of certain fatty acids in the body. The paper, more than five years in the making, was published in the June edition of the journal Nature Metabolism by a collaborative team of 15 local researchers, headed by first co-authors Jacob T. Boyd, MD, PhD, and Peter M. LoCoco, PhD, of the Department of Endodontics at UT Health San Antonio. In all, 11 of the co-authors are from UT Health San Antonio, including seven current or former students of its Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences; three represent the Department of Chemistry at the University of Texas at San Antonio; and one is from the Department of Neurology with the South Texas Veterans Health Care System. “This study exemplifies team science at its best – multiple scientists and clinicians with complementary expertise working together to make lives better,” said Kenneth M. Hargreaves, DDS, PhD, professor and chair of the Department of Endodontics at UT Health San Antonio, and senior author of the paper. Fatty Acids and Pain Chronic pain is a major cause of disability around the world. But although fat-reduction often is advised to manage diabetes, auto-immune disorders and cardiovascular diseases, the role of dietary lipids, or fatty acids, in pain conditions has been relatively unknown. In the new paper, Dr. Boyd and his colleagues used multiple methods in both mice and humans to study the role of polyunsaturated fatty acids in pain conditions. They found that typical Western diets high in omega-6 polyunsaturated fats served as a significant risk factor for both inflammatory and neuropathic pain. Omega-6 fats, mainly found in foods with vegetable oils, have their benefits. But Western diets associated with obesity are characterized by much-higher levels of those acids in foods from corn chips to onion rings, than healthy omega-3 fats, which are found in fish and sources like flaxseed and walnuts. Generally, unhealthy foods high in omega-6 fats include processed snacks, fast foods, cakes, and fatty and cured meats, among others. Reversal of this diet, especially by lowering omega-6 and increasing omega-3 lipids, greatly reduced these pain conditions, the researchers found. Also, the authors demonstrated that skin levels of omega-6 lipids in patients with Type 2 diabetic neuropathic pain were strongly associated with reported pain levels and the need for taking analgesic drugs. “This paper is a high-profile contribution for a huge unmet translational need as there are no treatments altering the nature of this neurological disease,” said José E. Cavazos, MD, PhD, professor of neurology, assistant dean and director of the National Institutes of Health-designated South Texas Medical Scientist Training Program at UT Health San Antonio. In an editorial accompanying the paper, Duke University researchers Aidan McGinnis and Ru-Rong Ji wrote, “This comprehensive and elegant study from Boyd et al. may serve as a foundation for new clinical trials and ultimately provide new avenues for the clinical treatment of neuropathies.” To read the original article click here.

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Foods That Can Reduce Anxiety, Depression & PTSD with Nutritional Psychiatrist Dr. Uma Naidoo

AHA Publisher — Tue, 18 May 2021 07:00:30 +0000

Dr. Caroline Leaf – Nutritional psychiatry is the use of healthy, whole foods to improve mental fitness, which includes our emotional health and mental wellbeing. This is fairly new science; over the past two decades, scientists have just begun to realize that what we eat and how we feel are very connected. Nutritional psychiatry is based on personalized eating plans that suit the individual best. It is not a “one size fits all” program. Rather, nutritional psychiatry is based on a holistic, integrated and functional approach that allows you to work closely with your physician to design an eating plan that works best for you and your mind. Dr. Uma talks about this approach to mental health in detail in her new book This is Your Brain on Food. As she notes, when it comes to mental health, we need to speak to the person, not just label them and move on. We need to understand the context behind their mental distress and take a holistic and integrated approach to their healing. What are ways to help the patient feel better that actually work for them? The basis of nutritional psychiatry is the conversation that goes on between the gut and the brain.Both the gut and the brain arise from the exact same cells in the body during fetal development, and they are connected through the vagus nerve—a two-way superhighway between these two organs that is busy 24/7. In fact, around 95% of our serotonin is produced in the gut, while it is also responsible for an estimated 75% of our immune system. The gut truly is a massive and important organ! As Dr. Uma notes, the close relationship between the gut and brain makes what we eat very important when it comes to our mental health. For example, highly processed and refined junks foods can impact the gut-brain connection if eaten regularly over time and affect our mental and emotional wellbeing. On the other hand, during the colder and darker months, what we eat (such as foods high in Vitamin D) can help us feel better and manage seasonal affective disorder. One of the easiest tweaks many of us can make right now is to eat more fruits and vegetables. As Dr. Uma notes, this is one of the main principles of the Mediterranean diet. But does this mean that the Mediterranean diet works for everyone? No—we are all different, and we all have different nutritional needs when it comes to our mind and body. There are many ways to incorporate good foods into our diet to improve our physical and mental health, such as eating more fiber-rich foods and fermented foods, which studies have shown can help improve overall gut health and the communication between the gut and brain. Of course, in a perfect world, we should try to get most of our nutrients from our food. But because we don’t live in a perfect world, sometimes we may need to supplement (with the advice of a medical professional) to get what we may be missing in our diets. This article has been modified. To read the original article click here. For more articles from Dr. Leaf click here.

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How to Cure Seasonal Affective Disorder + Dangerous Wellness Trends & Simple Tips to Quickly Boost Mental and Physical Health from Functional Medicine Expert Dr. Lipman

AHA Publisher — Wed, 19 Feb 2020 08:00:18 +0000

Dr. Caroline Leaf – With so many advances in medicine over the past several decades, it is easy to think that we will find a cure for everything, and that there is nothing we cannot achieve when it comes to the human body. Yet, in many cases, we benefit from looking to the past as well. Good medicine, as I discuss in this week’s podcast with Dr. Frank Lipman, a leading expert in the field of functional medicine and New York Times’ bestselling author, uses the best of both modern advances and traditional practices like acupuncture. Dr. Lipman’s approach to good medicine is relatively simple: add what is beneficial and remove what is harmful. Over the years, he has noticed that more and more people are getting sicker younger, and for longer. And, although Western medicine is very good at crisis care, it doesn’t always know how to deal with the long-term chronic issues, such as autoimmune diseases and gut issues, many people today face. This is why Dr. Lipman encourages the people he works with to take charge of their own health by: 1. Thinking about what they are putting into or onto their body, from toxic products and foods to toxic relationships. What can they remove from their lives that is upsetting their physical and mental health? 2. Investigating what they can add to their lives. What are they deficient in? Whether it is more exposure to natural light and healthier foods, or more human connection, Dr. Lipman focuses on finding ways to improve their mental and physical wellbeing by focusing on things that benefit the whole person, body and mind. We need to think about both these things if we want to improve our health and wellbeing, especially with so many conflicting wellness trends out there. We should avoid falling in line with one wellness “tribe” or another, such as veganism or the keto diet, and explore, research and investigate what works for each of us as individuals. We are all different; no one thing works for everyone! Indeed, wellness trends can become very dangerous when they become exclusive or obsessive. We all know sleep in incredibly important, for instance, but when we become obsessed with sleep, tracking our habits using one app or another and stressing when we fall short of a desired sleep goal, our desire for wellness can become toxic, which will only further disrupt our sleeping patterns and overall health. We should also be wary of latching on to the next “big thing” in the wellness world, and focus more on the everyday wisdom we find in the world around us. In many cases, Dr. Lipman has found that ordinary things can have extraordinary effects, such as a walk in the park, dinner with friends or a change in diet. Why? Most of our genes are affected by how we live our lives: what we think, say and do can impact our genetic predispositions by affecting how our genes are expressed, which is known as epigenetics (for more on epigenetics see my book Think and Eat Yourself Smart and Switch On Your Brain. We cannot disregard the significance of our lifestyle choices; what we think, say and do can have a dramatic effect on our health and wellbeing. Although this may sound daunting, it is good news! We can take charge of our health by changing the way we live our lives. We can all do this, right now, which is why, in his excellent book How to Be Well, Dr. Lipman discusses how certain lifestyle changes can make an extraordinary difference in our lives and relieve toxic stress, especially when it comes to issues like Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): 1. Get more natural light, especially in the morning. For more on light and mental health, see my recent blog and podcast. 2. Prioritize sleep. 3. Practice deep breathing. One technique I highly recommend (and use often!) is to breathe in deeply for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds, and breathe out for 4 seconds. You can also breathe in one side of nose and out the other side, which also helps you decompress. 4. Eat real food mindfully and avoid industrialized and processed foods (even though they may seem healthy, like highly processed vegan burgers!). For more on this see my book and online program Think and Eat Yourself Smart. 5. Exercise regularly, finding a type of exercise that works for you. 6. Practice mindfulness and meditation, including meditative exercises like yoga and Tai Chi. My new app SWITCH, which I designed to help people deal with their issues and overcome negative thought patterns and behaviors through the mental process of reconceptualization, is a great tool to help teach you how to practice mindful thinking and meditate. For more information on good medicine, wellness trends, taking charge of your health and how you can improve your mental and physical health, listen to my podcast with Dr. Frank Lipman (episode #128), check out Dr. Lipman’s website, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and his book How to Be Well. To read the original article click here. For more articles from Dr. Leaf.

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