I referenced a powerpoint presentation in my last post but thought it might be easier to find it in it’s own post.  Here it is:  powerpoint-exercise!

Throughout time, human beings have had to use their feet for transportation and work. Early on, walking was a way of life, whether for hunting or growing crops, collecting wood for fires or food to eat, or collecting water for home—all required walking, lifting, stretching. Survival was often determined by humans’ ability to protect themselves from danger, build habitations for living and make tools and weapons.

As man moved into modern urban society, more “time-saving” conveniences were made. More time was spent at a desk. Stresses of life increased (how ironic, with all those time-saving devices!). Man became more sedentary.

This sedentary lifestyle, combined with poor eating (with its accompanying malnutrition and increased toxin exposure) has created an ever-increasing epidemic of poor health. In this fifth Habit in the Habits of Highly Healthy Humans, I have chosen to address the importance of moving to maintain good health. Let’s start with the simple act of walking, since walking is a natural form of movement.

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Yep, you already guessed what I’m going to say, but I’m going to say it anyway. One of the key issues in the presidential election is health care for the uninsured. I haven’t seen the proposal I’m pondering anywhere yet, so I thought it would be worth putting out there: [Read more →]

Looks like 8-gold-medal-winner Michael Phelps will be featured on the box of specially marked Frosted Flakes.

While I can understand the cover on Sports Illustrated with Phelps proudly displaying all eight gold medals on his chest, the question came to my mind: what exactly is this “winner” teaching our kids about healthy nutrition?  Folks, I’d really like your take on this.

Take the following true-false test and see how you do. I’ll give you the correct answers below, from an alternative medicine standpoint, and I’ll explain each answer so you can understand the science behind them. (Of course, what you might call “correct” depends on if you believe the information I share with you or the present prevailing philosophy).

1) I will be healthier and live longer if my total cholesterol level is low, especially less than 200. [Read more →]

Introductory video from the “About” page:

The recent New York Times article in the July 25, 2008 issue talks about Europe and their lack of endorsement of cloned animals and their milk for human consumption.  They maintain that there is inadequate studies, too many questions unanswered, and will not permit their import into Europe yet:

The European Food Safety Authority pulled back on Thursday from giving milk and meat from cloned animals a clean bill of health, making it less likely that such products could reach store shelves in Europe anytime soon.

Dr. Gardner’s comments: I couldn’t agree with Europe more. I am very concerned about the lack of long-term studies in this whole field of genetically modified food, cloning, and food safety. Give me grass-fed and free-range animals anyday over concentration camp conditions of breeding and raising and inadequately studied cloned animals.

It can hit unexpectedly—usually following a stressful occurrence or a heavy meal. You lie in bed, exhausted, needing to sleep, knowing you have a full day tomorrow. But your mind keeps racing, mulling over details, thinking through the events of today, evaluating what you need to do later, worrying about issues that lie ahead. As time ticks on, you begin to worry that you will not be alert to meet the demands of the next day; beginning to panic as you continue glancing at the clock, you worry that you will not sleep at all. The pressure becomes even more intense, and your nervous, tight muscles will not allow you the restful lapse into sleep.

A colleague of mine had me treat his wife, who was plagued with a challenge that is common today: insomnia. As his wife became older, she noticed that it was increasingly difficult to let her mind and body relax into sleep. The difficulty worsened as she began to panic about not being rested sufficiently to function the following day. I was grateful that I was able to help her get better. Until she was treated, she had joined the ranks of countless thousands, even millions, who suffer with this problem. Is there an answer? Or are there many answers? Let’s explore some information. [Read more →]

RESEARCH

Another update on insulin resistance, the precursor to diabetes mellitus, type II.

From Journal of the American College of Nutrition, October 2007, Volume 26, Number 5; A MUFA-Rich Diet Improves Postprandial Glucose, Lipid and GLP-1 Responses in Insulin-Resistant Subjects, pp. 434-444. Authored by Juan A. Paniagua, MD, et. al., in Cordoba, Spain.

Eleven subjects with insulin resistance, who were first-degree relatives of Type II Diabetics, were chosen for this study. They were each subjected to three separate diets of 28 days duration [Read more →]

Poison ivy update—I had a patient show me a product he purchased called White Flower. He placed the liquid oily solution on the poison ivy reactions on his skin and experienced marked improvement. My patient is an individual who wears gloves, long sleeves, long pants and boots when he knows he will get exposed to poison ivy—he’s extremely sensitive to the toxic oil on the plant. If you or your loved ones have adverse reactions to poison ivy, it’s worth a try to use White Flower on it, and it’s not that expensive. If that’s not available to you, many of my patients have also had good success with Zelfel, which is over the counter at pharmacies. I found a site where you can order White Flower. As of right now I don’t have a way you can get it on this site, so I’ll work on that. In the meantime, if you want to get some, try this link