AAHH: updates and questions answered

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Are walking and cancer risk related?

August 09, 2025

Everyone knows that the goal for your daily step count should be 10,000 steps, right??? But wait, where did that number come from? And was it based on science or myth? It turns out that the 10,000 step goal originated in Japan in the 1960s, and was based more on Japanese culture and values rather than on any science. I kept that number as a step goal for many years without any reason other than it "felt right." But now we have some solid science that suggests the number may have real value for your health! Let's start by talking about what leads to health declines in old age. Chronic low-level inflammation, sometimes called "inflammaging," leads to decreased immunity, muscle loss, brain declines, risk of heart disease, and many cancers. What leads to that chronic inflammation? Poor food choices is a big factor (more about that in separate posts), and at least as important is the lack of physical activity. So, a person with a diet of high...

Why is fiber in your diet so important?

March 21, 2024

Let's make this very practical. This is not the first time you have heard that fiber is important, so I want to not only remind you of why this important, but give you practical safe steps to get there. First, be suspicious of high fiber health claims on boxes of packaged or prepared foods. While the claim may be technically true, it may also be a distraction from other health problems with the item in question, such as high sugar or salt content. Also, to make an otherwise unhealthy product qualify for a health claim, some manufacturers are using “fiber additives” such as inulin, maltodextrin, and polydextrose. It seems doubtful that these are as healthy as natural fibers occurring in foods. Take home point: foods with a long list of ingredients should raise suspicions. Second, it's easy to add fiber without making radical changes, and just picking a few of your favorites to include on a daily rotation. Beans and le...

Why do I need to focus on my breath when I already do it without trying?

October 23, 2022

OK, be honest now. Have you ever been puzzled about why wellness coaches tell you to pay attention to your breath? Don’t you already know how to breathe? And it happens automatically. So what? When Gail and I took the five-day professional education course from the Center for Mind-Body Medicine in September, our small group practices always started with a time to focus on the breath. And it was remarkable how that simple practice focused our attention on our work and time together, and how it calmed any sense of rush or stress we were bringing into the moment. We were able to be fully present with each other and also to be more aware of our own important thoughts and feelings in that moment. We felt that our thinking was clearer after such a breath awareness time, such an important gift for a group working together. I suspect that (if you are like me) there are plenty of times when you have too many thoughts happening at once...

Dark Chocolate: are we getting away with something?

May 31, 2022

Your doctor wants you to eat...chocolate? I know what you're thinking. "Does chocolate really belong with all these other healing foods? I've heard him touting the delights of tofu, and beans, and vegetables, and fish... there must have been some mistake." But no, for you chocolate fans, it's your lucky day. With a slight catch. Let me explain. Chocolate is actually a very imprecise name, for any number of blended foods that contain some amount of cocoa (produced from cacao beans). And yes, the "a" and the "o" are reversed depending on whether you are talking about the beans or the solid extract from the beans. Actually in the case of "white chocolate" the only ingredient from the cacao bean is the fat (cocoa butter) that was pressed out of it, so it's not really chocolate in my view, just fat and sugar (hint: stay away from that one....) But on the "real chocolate" continuum, there's a lot of variety. It...

Apples: keep me and my kind out of your life!

May 15, 2022

Let's take a fresh look at an old friend. Apples are as familiar as any food in the kitchen , and it's hard to find someone who doesn't like them, so let me spend a few minutes encouraging you to spend more time with this beautiful fruit and not take it for granted. What's so great about apples? One word: fiber. Well actually, two kinds of fiber: soluble and insoluble. Apples are a good source of both, and therefore carry a double serving of benefit for your health. The soluble fiber is primarily pectin, which like similar soluble fibers FOS and inulin play a role in the health of the intestinal lining. The soluble fiber, known as a prebiotic, provides its intestinal benefit at least in part by encouraging the growth of healthy probiotic bacteria in the intestine. This in turn benefits immunity and seems to decrease the likelihood of colon cancer. Soluble fiber also decreases LDL cholesterol, improving heart health. And ...

Should you be taking Vitamin D?

March 11, 2022

If you were to ask me, "where does good health come from?" you would almost certainly hear an answer that sounded like "your good health will not come from pills." Even doctors can fall into believing that pills can be the answer to staying well, but time, experience, and good science have told me that our personal choices are so much more important. Good health comes from good food, healthy social connections, physical activity, and adequate sleep. But... Even that core of good health choices may not get you enough vitamin D. Humans were designed to get vitamin D from sunshine exposure on our skin, and unless you work outdoors in a warm climate without much skin covering, you are not going to get enough vitamin D. And most of us are spending too much time indoors, or in artificial light anyway. Why is vitamin D important? You probably have heard that it's good for bo...

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