Dr Edwin Hopson - Anew You

If you want to increase your lifespan, eat beans. The intake of legumes—beans, chickpeas, split peas, and lentils—may be the single most important dietary predictor of a long lifespan.

Based on a study of more than 400,000 people, replacing just 3 percent of calories of animal protein with plant protein was associated with a 10 percent reduction in overall mortality risk. That comes out to be about an extra year of life, just from swapping out 3 percent of any animal protein with plant protein. However, it’s not just about adding years to your life, but life to your years.

A whole food, plant-based diet can aid in the prevention—and, in some cases, the reversal—of some of the leading chronic diseases in the United States.
Learn more and see the study references on https://bit.ly/3ekYbIJ:
"Increased Lifespan from Beans" at http://bit.ly/2q7l6OZ
"The Best Diet for Healthy Aging" at https://bit.ly/3S8Cn6L

But what’s even more fascinating is how vitamin D regulates and controls genes.⁣
⁣
It acts on a cellular docking station called a receptor that then sends messages to our genes. That’s how vitamin D controls so many different functions – from preventing cancer, reducing inflammation, boosting mood, easing muscle aches and fibromyalgia, and building bones.⁣
⁣
These are just a few examples of the power of vitamin D. When we don’t get enough it impacts every area of our biology, because it affects the way our cells and genes function. And many of us are deficient for one simple reason. Your body makes vitamin D when it’s exposed to sunlight. ⁣
⁣
In fact, 80 to 100 percent of the vitamin D we need comes from the sun. The sun exposure that makes our skin a bit red (called 1 minimum erythemal dose) produces the equivalent of 10,000 to 25,000 international units (IU) of vitamin D in our bodies.⁣
⁣
The problem is that most of us aren’t exposed to enough sunlight.⁣
⁣
Overuse of sunscreen is one reason. While these products help protect against skin cancer – they also block a whopping 97 percent of your body’s vitamin D production.⁣
⁣
If you live in a northern climate, you’re not getting enough sun (and therefore vitamin D), especially during the winter. And you’re probably not eating enough of the few natural dietary sources of vitamin D: fatty wild fish like mackerel, herring, and cod liver oil.⁣

You need magnesium for a healthy heartbeat, energy and neurotransmitter production, bone metabolism, sleep, relaxation, and so much more. Since magnesium is involved in so much, deficiency symptoms can show up just about anywhere.

Magnesium supplementation can get kind of tricky. There are many different forms to choose from. Each form of magnesium comes bound to a chelator that helps transport it where we want it to go in the body. Your specific needs will help you pick what form of magnesium is right for you.

These are the type of magnesium supplements I recommend to my patients based on their individual needs.

Magnesium glycinate comes bound to the amino acid glycine and has a high bioavailability without a laxative effect. Magnesium glycinate is an excellent broad-spectrum magnesium supplement. It can help raise blood levels and correct deficiencies, making it prophylactic for osteoporosis and heart disease. It also works well for those suffering from depression, anxiety, insomnia, and high blood pressure.

If you’re having trouble “going” and need some relief, magnesium citrate can help get your bowels moving. High doses of magnesium citrate can deplete other essential minerals, so it’s best to start with a smaller dose and work your way up. You’re also going to want to take this form during the day, at home, or wherever you have comfortable access to a bathroom.

Magnesium L-Threonate is a salt produced from the combination of magnesium and threonic acid. Early animal research suggests that taking L-Threonate can help overall brain health including the ability to improve memory and learning, and mood disorders such as depression. More studies are needed to confirm these findings.

Fibroids are the most common benign tumors in women. They can grow to a foot in diameter and affect the majority of women before they reach menopause. Although fibroids tend to be asymptomatic, when symptoms do occur, they tend to manifest as heavy menstrual bleeding—so much so that women may get anemic and experience a lot of pain. So, what can women do?

Researchers collected fresh fibroids, as well as normal uterine tissue from hysterectomy surgeries, and found that the fibroid cells have significantly fewer antioxidant enzymes. So, might antioxidant-rich foods help suppress fibroid growth?

A randomized, controlled clinical study in 2013 put high concentrations of green tea compounds to the test. Participants taking daily green tea compounds in a pill by mouth showed consistent improvement, reporting lessening symptoms and feeling better each month. Those taking green tea also found an improved health-related quality of life, one that was significantly better than the control group.

This study used green tea compounds in a pill, but, remember, in general, we should try to avoid extracts and drink green tea instead. If you have fibroids, it couldn’t hurt to add a few cups of green tea to your daily diet and see if you start feeling better.

Watch the video "The Best Food for Fibroids" on https://bit.ly/3ekYbIJ to learn more: https://bit.ly/3vrIwBm

Viruses can trigger cancer by either turning on cancer genes or turning off cancer suppressing genes, but they can also contribute to tumor formation just by causing chronic inflammation.

About 40 years ago, bovine leukemia virus (BLV) was identified as a cancer-causing cow virus. At the time, only about one in ten U.S. dairy cows were infected, but now it’s closer to five in ten.

BLV has been detected in beef and dairy products in the marketplace. In fact, about half of the milk and meat samples turn up positive for the virus. You can even sample the virus straight out of the air on dairy farms, on surfaces, and in the milk itself. While most milk is pasteurized, many other dairy products, like raw aged cheeses, are not.

People are not only exposed to BLV, but they are actively infected with it. In 2015, we learned that infection rates were highest in cancerous breast tissue, with as many as 37 percent of breast cancer cases potentially attributable to exposure to BLV. Watch the video "Bovine Leukemia Virus as a Cause of Breast Cancer" at https://bit.ly/3suoZQJ to learn more.

I often hear patients say a good workout relieves excess stress. That’s because exercise reduces cortisol – the stress hormone.

Too much cortisol and you become insulin resistant and store belly fat. Too much cortisol also makes you crave sugar and carbs and seek comfort food.

Let’s consider some of the other reasons why exercise is important:

BETTER INSULIN SENSITIVITY: Exercise makes your cells and muscles more sensitive to insulin so you don’t need as much. Less insulin means less belly fat.

LESS STRESS: I often hear patients say a good workout relieves excess stress. That’s because exercise reduces cortisol – the stress hormone. Too much cortisol and you become insulin resistant and store belly fat. Too much cortisol also makes you crave sugar and carbs and seek comfort food.

BETTER BRAIN HEALTH: Your brain on exercise performs so much better. Exercise improves memory, learning, and concentration. Vigorous exercise is a better antidepressant than Prozac. Exercise creates brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDMF), which is basically miracle grow for your brain. When you exercise, your brain becomes more elastic. Exercise also helps to improve your mood, boost your energy, and reduce overall stress in your body and mind.

REDUCED RISK FOR CHRONIC DISEASE: Exercise does this through several mechanisms. It protects your heart and reduces your risk of heart attack and stroke. It reduces inflammation (the cause of almost every disease of aging). And it balances hormones, therefore reducing breast and other common cancers.

ENHANCED DETOXIFICATION: Besides stimulating the colon, intense exercise allows your body to release toxins through your skin. It boosts detoxification of environmental chemicals. Vigorous exercise will help you work up a sweat, but gentle exercise keeps your circulation going and flushes out all the toxic fluids that build up in your lymphatic system. If your daily exercise routine doesn’t cause you to sweat profusely, take a steam or infrared sauna, if possible.

IMPROVED SEXUAL FUNCTION: Increased circulation and more energy are two of many reasons that consistent exercise can spark up your s*x life.

When you are introduced to a stressful situation, your body releases a hormone called cortisol. Cortisol is responsible for setting off all the physiological responses associated with stress.

Studies have shown that when cortisol is released into the bloodstream you become less sensitive to leptin, the hormone that tells your brain you are full. When this happens, you tend to eat more and crave more sugar.

Prolonged, unremitting stress may lead to insulin resistance. High insulin and insulin resistance create fatigue after meals, sugar cravings, blood sugar swings or hypoglycemia, high triglycerides, low HDL, high blood pressure, problems with blood clotting, and increased inflammation often accompanied by low s*x drive.

Use the methods listed above to better manage your stress and insulin levels. If you continue to have issues, consult with a Functional Medicine doctor in your area.

The best strategy for a long and healthy life is to eat your medicine—get your drugs at the farmacy, not the pharmacy! Food is far more than just calories or energy to fuel our bodies. It is information, instructions that regulate every function of our bodies in real-time.

Food is not only a source of energy, joy, connection, and pleasure; it can also rejuvenate us and even reverse disease. When we think of food, we think of protein, carbohydrates, fats, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. But the most important parts of food may be the tens of thousands of medicinal compounds embedded in plants and even animal foods that regulate, modulate, and influence nearly all of the 37 billion billion chemical reactions that occur in our bodies every second. I call this process symbiotic‐phytoadaptation. It means our bodies use chemicals found in food to beneficially influence each of our biological systems.

Through evolution, we have borrowed the molecular magic embedded in foods to optimize and supercharge our biology. For example, we can’t synthesize vitamin C or omega-3 fats; we have to get these from nature. And it’s not just the obvious essential fatty acids, amino acids, and vitamins and minerals we get from our food; we also get important molecules called phytochemicals.

There are 25,000-plus phytochemicals in the plant kingdom identified to date, and they’ve only recently been deemed critical for health. Surprisingly they are also found in animals, such as in grass-fed cows, who consume a wide array of nutrient-dense plant foods. While deficiency of these phytochemicals may not result in an acute disease like scurvy or rickets or in protein malnutrition, it can lead to long-latency deficiency diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, obesity, dementia, depression, and more.

The only way to take advantage of these disease-fighting compounds is to focus on our food quality. Deeply colorful plant foods, organic and grass-fed meats, and wild fatty fish are abundant in compounds that protect our cells and fight off invaders. Every time you take a bite of food, consider that you are programming your biology for health or disease.

The fructose found naturally in fruits is packaged with fiber and antioxidants, which may help to explain why people experience positive health benefits when they eat fruits. Adding berries to a meal can help blunt an insulin spike from high glycemic foods, for instance. The fiber in fruits can help slow the release of the sugar, and fruit phytonutrients can help inhibit the transportation of sugar into our intestinal walls and bloodstream.

Similarly, the fat found in whole plant-based foods comes packaged with health-promoting nutrients, such as fiber and phytonutrients. Nuts can help lower cholesterol and oxidation, as well as improve our arterial function and blood sugar levels. Just a few small servings of nuts a week may increase our lifespan and lower our cancer risk. Removing saturated animal fat from our diet and substituting in avocados may lead to a significant drop in cholesterol and triglycerides. However, simply adding avocado without also reducing saturated animal fat intake does not appear to result in any benefits to cholesterol.

To see the research studies and to learn more, see the following videos on http://NutritionFacts.org:

"If Fructose Is Bad, What About Fruit?" at https://bit.ly/2nPCyZw
"How Much Fruit Is Too Much?" at https://bit.ly/3kGLPP4
"The Effects of Avocados on Inflammation" at http://bit.ly/2Mne3gy
"What Do Avocados Do to Your Cholesterol?" at https://bit.ly/3doONWs
"Nuts May Help Prevent Death" at http://bit.ly/2vLHaRm

What happened when flaxseeds were put to the test for hypertension? In a prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial, researchers secretly introduced ground flaxseeds into the daily diets of half of the participants to see if it made any difference.

After six months, those who had started the study hypertensive and were randomized to unknowingly eat the placebo foods stayed hypertensive, despite the fact that many were on a variety of blood pressure pills. And the hypertensive subjects in the flax group? Their blood pressure dropped from 158/82 down to 143/75. A seven-point drop in diastolic blood pressure may not sound like a lot, but that would be expected to result in 46 percent fewer strokes and 29 percent less heart disease over time—just from eating ground flaxseeds every day.

Watch the video “Flaxseeds for Hypertension” at https://bit.ly/3k0WbbB.
See our Flaxseed topic page at https://nutritionfacts.org/topics/flax-seeds/ to learn more.

The health of the community of microbes living in and on our bodies—100 trillion single-cell organisms, outnumbering human cells 10 to 1—has become a top priority.
⁣⁣
With good reason: Our gut bacteria regulate many of our bodily functions, from creating vitamins to controlling our immune system, our brain function and of course, our metabolism and weight. They are critical to our long-term health.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
Meanwhile, modern living and our bad lifestyle choices have been hard on those little bugs. The standard western diet is impoverished of the things our beneficial gut bacteria require. All the chemicals from processed foods and the environmental toxins we take in only make the situation worse. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
Our guts become damaged when we eat a processed diet that’s high in sugar and starch, don’t eat enough of the right fiber and prebiotics, or take too many gut-busting drugs (like antibiotics, acid blockers for reflux, anti-inflammatories, hormones, and more). Think of your gut as an inner garden; just as with any garden—when you let the w**ds take over, you get into trouble.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
It’s our job to encourage the good microbes by feeding them the things they need and avoiding the things that damage them. Not surprisingly, good bacteria love healthy whole, organic, plant-based foods, ones that are high in fiber and nutrients and contain no artificial ingredients. ⁣

How do you incorporate a variety of vegetables into your diet?

An easy way to include more colorful fruits and vegetables into your day is to have blue and red berries in your smoothie, leafy greens with your lunch, purple carrots and orange and yellow bell peppers at dinner.

Four Nuts Once a Month | NutritionFacts.org A single serving of Brazil nuts may bring cholesterol levels down faster than statin drugs and keep them down even a month after that single ingestion.

6 Ways Broccoli Fights Cancer Life Extension Magazine®

One Daily Cup of Blueberries Found to Improve Cognition | NutritionFacts.org Blueberries can significantly improve cognitive performance within hours of consumption. When you search the medical literature for studies on berries,

Important Message! Please read and share…

We’re up against powerful biochemical mechanisms created by food addiction. Willpower becomes useless when industrial junk food and sugar are in charge of your brain chemistry.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
Fake foods we’ve been introduced to in the 20th century – many of which contain high-fructose corn syrup and other added sugars – have hijacked our brains, our hormones, and our metabolism. These Frankenfoods have literally created a vicious cycle of hunger and cravings.⁣⁣

There is no such thing as junk food. There’s just junk, and there’s food.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
I have a simple yet radical proposal: Let’s send the trillion-dollar junk food industry a message and eat real food. That means foods nature created, which don’t come with barcodes, fake ingredients, or an ingredient list at all. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
To do that, we need to rewire our brains. A researcher at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) told me the real regulator of our weight and metabolism isn’t our stomach, but our brain chemistry. The right foods send a message to your brain to shut down hunger and cravings so you burn fat and feel great. Sugary, processed foods send the opposite message.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
We can start to do this by eating whole, real foods. Make sure that every meal consists of 75% plant foods, healthy fats, and sustainable protein. And try to avoid anything high in sugar, high in starches, and processed foods. ⁣

The immune system: we hear about it all the time, especially this time of year as cold and flu season is in full swing.⁣
⁣
I wanted to share with you some suggestions for staying healthy. Here are some foods that can help you get essential nutrients we need to keep our immune system happy. Inspired by a blog post by my colleague at The UltraWellness Center, Elizabeth Boham. ⁣
⁣
Soup can be a great way to include a variety of vegetables to get in many different vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. And the stock found in bone broth includes many immune-boosting amino acids. ⁣
⁣
Mushrooms are a great source of Vitamin D. Adequate vitamin D status is critical for optimal immune function and this cannot be achieved without supplementation during the winter months. ⁣
⁣
Seafood—especially oysters—red meat, and pumpkin seeds are the best food sources of Zinc. You can take an additional supplement or consume more foods high in this powerful immune supporting nutrient. ⁣
⁣
Fish oil is an old time remedy for good health and robust immunity that still stands true! In addition to the good fats, cod liver oil contains additional vitamin A and D for added immune protection. Eating fish also helps with reducing inflammation in the body and contains selenium which aids in glutathione production which is an important antioxidant and detoxifier. ⁣
⁣
Citrus fruits such as oranges, grapefruits, lemons, and limes are notoriously high in vitamin C. Many other vegetables and fruits such as spinach, broccoli, kiwi, and tomatoes are also very high in vitamin C. The role of vitamin C in supporting the immune system has long been known. ⁣

Keto Diets: Muscle Growth & Bone Density | NutritionFacts.org Ketogenic diets found to undermine exercise efforts and lead to muscle shrinkage and bone loss.

More than one million new cases of skin cancer are diagnosed every year, and about one in three Americans are affected within their lifetimes. Most skin cancers are from chronic, excessive sun exposure and sunburns.

If you eat a lot of antioxidant-rich foods, like tomato sauce, for ten weeks to three months before the start of beach season, you may reduce the redness of sunburn by up to 40 percent. Now, it may not be as protective as wearing high SPF sunblock, but using dietary strategies with sun-protecting properties may give you a substantial, beneficial boost in added protection.

Conversely, alcohol consumption decreases the protection within our skin. Studies have shown an association between excessive alcohol intake and higher rates of sunburn. This may be due to the free radicals that are produced as our body breaks down alcohol. Watch the video “Preventing Skin Cancer from the Inside Out” at https://bit.ly/3g6PKnW to learn more.

Visit our Skin Cancer topic page at https://nutritionfacts.org/topics/skin-cancer/ for even more on prevention through diet and lifestyle.

Subscribe to http://NutritionFacts.org’s free newsletter to receive an infographic summary of Dr. Greger’s recommendations for Vitamin D: ⁠
https://nutritionfacts.org/subscribe/⁠

It turns out the microbiome is likely the most important regulator of our overall health. There are 100 trillion microbes in you, 10 times the number of your own cells, and 100 times your DNA. We have 20,000 genes. Your microbiome contains 2 to 5 million microbial genes, all making proteins, cell-signaling molecules, messengers of health or disease. Some scientists estimate that a third to half of all the molecules in our blood come from microbial metabolites. They interact with our genes, hormones, immune system, brain chemistry, and every single process in our biology. Our gut microbes also provide us with essential vitamins: vitamin K and biotin.⁣
⁣
Sadly, our gut microbiome ain’t what it used to be. We eat gut-busting foods, live a gut-busting lifestyle, and take gut-busting drugs. Want to grow toxic w**ds in your gut? Feed them a processed diet high in sugar and starch, food additives, and the microbiome-destroying w**d killer glyphosate, used on 70 percent of all crops. ⁣
⁣
The bad bugs drive inflammation, which is at the root of almost all chronic diseases and obesity. Sixty percent of your immune system is in your gut, right under a one-cell- thin layer of gut lining.⁣

Delayed-onset muscle soreness is the discomfort that starts the day after a particularly grueling workout. This pain is thought to be due to inflammation caused by muscle cell damage, little micro-tears in the muscle. If it’s an inflammatory reaction, then might anti-inflammatory phytonutrients help? Ramping up our diet with phytonutrients, such as anthocyanin flavonoids found in berries, may help to deal with the inflammation.

A randomized crossover study compared a blueberry smoothie or antioxidant-matched placebo smoothie 5 and 10 hours prior to exercise, and then 12 and 36 hours afterwards, to study the effects on exercise-induced muscle damage. The blueberry smoothies were about a cup and a half of frozen blueberries, a banana, and apple juice, while the placebo smoothies were made without the berries, but had dextrose and vitamin C added to match it for calories and antioxidant power. What were the results? The blueberries worked better at mopping up damaging free radicals. Without blueberries, oxidative stress went up and stayed up; with blueberries, however, it went right down and stayed down. A day later, there was significantly faster restoration of peak muscle strength, demonstrating that the ingestion of blueberries can accelerate recovery—something that may be especially relevant to athletes who compete over successive days.

Interestingly, while the absorption of these phytonutrients can help with exercise, exercise may help with the absorption of these phytonutrients. The thought is that intense physical activity may change the activity of the good bacteria in our gut, which then boosts the bioavailability of these phytonutrients.

Other foods that may be helpful for muscle soreness after an intense workout include watermelon, cherries, spinach, and ginger.
Learn more and see the research studies on http://NutritionFacts.org:
"Watermelon for Sore Muscle Relief" at http://bit.ly/2qaxXiu
"Berries for Inflammation and Osteoarthritis Treatment" at https://bit.ly/3yWKVHw
"Reducing Muscle Soreness with Berries" at http://bit.ly/2kNUDFa
"Ground Ginger to Reduce Muscle Pain"at http://bit.ly/2IXpldv
"Foods to Improve Athletic Performance and Recovery" at https://bit.ly/32s4Dtp

Bloat-Relief Recipe Wellness Blog

Great article providing some clarity on the consumption of seed oils and how to reduce your risks of overconsumption

Are Seed Oils Bad? Wellness Blog