- Medical Weight LossMany of you are probably wondering what I think about the hype that has been spreading about the once per week injections that demonstrate remarkably better effectiveness in assisting with weight loss than any medicine that has ever come before them. This much does seem true, and we all know how significant extra weight can be on many short and long term health outcomes. So when a tool like this becomes available, it is worth taking a serious look at it.
- Sleep DisordersStudies are beginning to show the consequences of desynchronization. Night nurses have significantly higher rates of heart attacks and breast cancer than the general population (up to 70 percent higher in some studies). Rotating shift workers have increased coronary artery disease, sleep disorders, respiratory problems, lower back pain, intestinal disorders, job stress, emotional problems, injuries, and drug and alcohol abuse. Those of us who routinely go to sleep at night may not suffer such extreme symptoms, but they are a warning of how serious desynchronization can become.
- Female Infertility
- Labor and DeliveryBoth women and men experience monthly cycles in hormone production and other bodily processes. Women’s menstrual cycles were once regulated by the cyclic changes in moonlight. Artificial and electric lighting throw off those cycles, resulting in menstrual irregularities, infertility, premenstrual depression, and difficult childbirth.
- Internal Medicine1 accentuates just how important at least some sun exposure can be. Researchers followed close to 30,000 women for 20 years, comparing causes of mortality to differences in sun exposure. One of their conclusions was particularly striking.
- Depression
- Mental HealthIt is important that we get fresh air every day. Spending some time outside in nature is important for our physical and mental health. When we put our attention on our breath, it retrains the body to breath more deeply. Breathing in deeply, results in a longer exhale. When we exhale, we let go, and this allows our body to release and eliminate toxins. Spending 10 minutes every day on a breath practice can go a long way in helping the body to detox.
- Skin CancerIncidence of melanoma was significantly lower for those who studiously avoid the sun, the risk of dying once you have been diagnosed was eight times greater in this group. And your risk of dying is 4 times greater once you have been diagnosed with nonmelanoma skin cancer if you have been a sun avoider.
- FungusThis picture of fungus growing on a dead tree branch was taken in my compost pile. We are beginning to understand more profoundly the amazing role of fungal and mycorrhizal networks in the Earth’s ecosystem. Myco (fungus) and Rhiza (root) specifically refers to the symbiotic associations between a green plant and a fungus. For example a plant provides the mycorrhiza with sugar and carbohydrates while the mycorrhiza helps deliver mineral nutrients and water to the plants roots.
- Back Pain