Category Archives: General Health

Why it’s Not a Good Idea to Slow Down With Age

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness

February 14, 2022

We’ve been raised with the idea that, when we reach a certain age, we should retire. Just slow down and live the good life.

I think this is a problem. We’re already less active than we should be, simply due to the fact that while we know we need to be active, advances in  everything from transportation to TV remotes has allowed us to stay on our behinds. As recently as the 1800s, if you wanted to go somewhere, you walked. Or you got on your horse. You didn’t get into your car to drive one mile.

Back then, most people lived on farms. They didn’t have John Deere tractors like we do today. So they had to walk behind a horse with a plow. Continue reading →

These aren’t Your Grandparent’s Fruits and Veggies

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness

February 9, 2022

Over the years, the growing soil for our fruits and vegetables has been stripped of nutrients and and their microbiome. That’s because we screwed it up.

We put poisons, like pesticides and herbicides, into the soil. We focused on higher yields instead of leaving fields unplanted for a season or two to allow them to renew their soil. We’ve failed to rotate crops the way we’re supposed to….basic knowledge was ignored or forgotten. “Six years you shall sow your land and gather in its produce, but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow.

In the last 60-80 years, these degenerative agricultural practices have been wiping the nutrients and life out of our soil so that plants can’t pull what we and they need from a robust and recycling earth environment into their roots ,– and into the fruits and vegetables we’re eating. Soil is not just a matrix to retain minerals and keep plants in one place. Evolving research indicates that the soil microbiome may well have an even more positive effect on our health than previously thought. Remember  the saying, (paraphrasing here) “ Kids need to eat their pound of dirt” to be healthy? Continue reading →

Sneaky Ways to Drink More Water

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness

January 24, 2022

Back in 2018 a video made the rounds on social media. It featured Odell Beckham, Jr., who was a wide-receiver for the New York Giants at the time. And he was having a horrible problem with muscle cramps, something that can be avoided with something as simple as drinking water.

But what did he have to say about it?

“I really don’t like water,” he said. “I’m trying, I really just don’t like it, when you get that stomach feeling, it’s all slushy. I’m trying to stay hydrated but sometimes I just gotta get an IV.” Continue reading →

Weak Bladder and Falls Go Hand-In-Hand

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness

January 14, 2022

Isn’t it funny how you can feel the need to urinate when you’re driving home, but you don’t have any problem holding it? You’re fine. But the second you pull into your driveway the urge gets really bad. And then, when you put your key in the door, the need to pee suddenly becomes urgent. You can barely hold it in.

What just happened in the last five seconds?  It’s almost as if, when you placed the key into the lock, it unlocked your bladder. And now you’re rushing as fast as you can to get to the toilet.

There’s actually a name for this. It’s called “latchkey urgency.” Or, if you actually experience leakage, it would be “latchkey incontinence.” Continue reading →

These Caffeinated Drinks do More than Energize You

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness

January 5, 2022

Coffee and tea are both fantastic energizers. Like a lot of people, I’ll usually have a cup of coffee or green tea in the morning to get my day started. Then I’ll have two or three cups of green tea during the day. But some people stick with coffee throughout the day.

Whether you’re a coffee or tea drinker – or both – you’re doing more than just giving yourself a boost when you drink it.

In general we know that the caffeine, terpenes, polyphenols and other things in the coffee will lower your chances of all sorts of health conditions. Stroke, dementia and fatty liver are a few of them. Continue reading →

The Silent Danger of Chronic Inflammation

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness

December 31, 2021

Everybody knows that when a wound turns hot, red and weepy, it’s inflamed. When you pull a muscle and it starts aching and throbbing, it’s inflamed. It’s usually easy to see or feel.

We call this acute inflammation. Most times it comes on quickly, but only lasts a short while. It’s a good thing.

When we’re talking about chronic inflammation, it’s an entirely different story. You don’t have to have an injury or infection. The immune system just goes into overdrive for any variety of reasons. Stress, poor diet, bad sleep habits, obesity and so many other things can contribute to it. Continue reading →

Do Personalized DNA-Based Diets Work?

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness

December 27, 2021

Dieting doesn’t work the same for everyone. Some people swear that Keto is the best. Others will tell you vegan is the way to go. There’s Pegan, paleo, Atkins or The Zone. You name it, and it worked for somebody.

We’re all different, so it makes sense that there’s no one-size-fits-all plan for weight loss.

Some people need more or less protein in their diets. Some do well with more fat or fewer carbs. And if you have the C677T gene mutation where you need methylated B12 and folate to keep you healthy, that’s something else entirely. Continue reading →

Holiday Drinking: Let’s Keep it Safe!

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness

December 24, 2021

The holiday season is here, and over the next few weeks you’ll be invited to any number of gatherings. And chances are good that alcohol will be flowing pretty freely.

Even if you don’t normally indulge, you’ll probably find yourself with a drink in your hand on more than one occasion.

The fact is, more people overindulge in alcoholic beverages during the winter holidays than at any other time of the year. And it’s not hard to find yourself more than a little “tipsy” before you realize you’ve sipped one drink too many. Continue reading →

Weird Music Relieves Stress and Anxiety

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness

December 15, 2021

When I go to bed at night, I often use a sound app on my phone to help me sleep. I like to listen to cricket noises or rain. Anything from nature works. But sometimes I just want white noise. On those nights, I play an air conditioner background noise. It blocks out most other ambient noises and it’s constant.

But you would be surprised at the effect certain sounds can have on your health, and how sound is gaining ground for its role in relieving stress, soothing anxiety and positively shifting brain chemistry. In fact, we actually have two speakers in our March, 2022 “Planetary Health to Human Health” conference who will be speaking on the topic.

Sound has been used to soothe and stimulate since the beginning of time. For example, the unique sounds of the Andean panpipes, or pan flutes, have been around for thousands of years. Originally, they were made from bone and clay, but now they use bamboo. Continue reading →

What’s Ruining Your Liver?

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness

December 13, 2021

During the past two years during the COVID pandemic, a lot of people have put off their regular doctor’s visits. But delaying or avoiding healthcare is never a good idea, even if you have no known health conditions.

There are a lot of health issues that can sneak up on you, and are often only discovered when you get your annual checkup.

One that I find very concerning is non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, or NAFLD. There aren’t any symptoms ahead of time. So people are walking around with the beginnings of a very serious liver disease, and they don’t even know it. But if it’s not diagnosed and treated early, it can become very aggressive. It can even advance to cirrhosis and liver failure. Continue reading →