Best Exercises for Diabetes & Pre-Diabetes

If you have diabetes or pre-diabetes, you’ve probably heard from your physician about the importance of a good diet and regular exercise. Consistent body movement (which goes beyond walking to the fridge) will help boost energy, better manage blood sugar levels, reduce insulin needs, manage stress, improve your mood and promote better sleep. If you’re like me and have glucose management issues, the temptation to sit on the couch after a long day is often overcome by my uplifted mood and energy level after a brisk walk or workout. So here are some of the best exercises to engage in. Aerobic dance Dancing not only provides a physical workout but boosts your memory with the mental work required to remember steps and sequences. Have you tried Zumba? It’s a form of dance that’s a fun way to increase physical activity, lower blood sugar and reduce stress. In this study, a 16-week Zumba dance class program improved markers of health and fitness in Type 2 diabetic or overweight women. Here’s a...

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Kicking off the New Year With Intent – Diet and Exercise

I’m sure many of us are happy to say goodbye to 2020 and have plans to kick off the new year with resolutions, lifestyle changes and programs to improve our well-being. I am not a fan of New Year’s resolutions as I always break them so I prefer to make small changes as I go. So in this blog, I’m providing some simple tips and guidelines on diet and exercise that you could consider and easily adopt as part of your new lifestyle in 2021. Diet It’s often easier to add something to a diet than to eliminate something completely. So, here are some suggestions on what to add to your diet to improve your overall well-being when it comes to eating. Fat – Opt for healthy fats like olives, avocados, flax seeds, MCT oil and fat from pasture-raised meats and wild-caught small fishFruit – Stick with low-glycemic fruits like berries and grapefruit and eat them whole with the fiber, not in juice formNon-starchy veggies, cruciferous vegetables and mushrooms – Kale, Swiss chard, lettuces, fennel, leeks,...

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Dr. Joel Kahn Podcast Review: Heart Health, Mitochondria & The Gut

I recently listened to one of the earlier podcasts by Dave Asprey (the Bulletproof Executive) on heart health where he interviewed Dr. Joel Kahn, a cardiologist and author of the best-selling book, The Whole Heart Solution. Dr. Kahn is a well-recognized clinician in the field of invasive, interventional and preventative cardiology and was awarded the title of “America’s Holistic Heart Doc” by Reader’s Digest. He is a Clinical Professor of Medicine at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit, MI and the Director of Cardiac Wellness.

It was interesting to hear that Dr. Kahn is a low-fat vegan (which is something Dave Asprey is not a fan of for various reasons) and in this interview, he mentioned that when dealing with patients with cardiac artery disease (CAD), a mostly vegetable and low fat diet (oil free, not fat free) has been proven to help. Note that he didn’t advocate this necessarily for prevention but for treating severe CAD patients.

Here are some key highlights:
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Dr. Daniel Amen Podcast Review: Memory Rescue – How to Stop Alzheimer’s & Dementia

Dr. Daniel Amen is one of the leading authorities on brain health – he is a physician, founder of Amen Clinics and BrainMD, a double board-certified psychiatrist and nine-time New York Times bestselling author.  I found this podcast easy to listen to with great tips from his Memory Rescue book (published in 2018) on how to take control of your brain. Here are the key highlights: Alzheimer’s disease is expected to quadruple in the next 35 years. What most people don’t realize is that this disease starts decades before symptoms appear. Based on imaging studies, a 59-year-old woman diagnosed with Alzheimer’s most likely had negative changes to her brain in her twenties. There is also no known cure on the horizon and it is estimated that 50% of people 85 or older will be diagnosed with it.  This may be a cause for people not wanting longevity in their life!   Depression has increased by 400% since 1987 and it now affects 50 million Americans. It is also a major risk factor for Alzheimer’s....

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Tackling Coronavirus: How I Boost My Immune System

With Coronavirus dominating the headlines and being classified as a global pandemic, people are looking for natural ways to boost immunity and/or lessen the severity of cold and flu-like symptoms. My philosophy has always been prevention so here are some of the things I do to keep my immunity level functioning at its peak.Sleep – This is a simple solution but not easy to achieve for many including myself. I have trouble staying asleep so some of the things I do to try and get as many hours of sleep include:No drinking liquids after 7:30pm (to minimize middle of the night restroom visits)Turning off all electronics and wi-fi (or put on airplane mode to listen to an Audible book)Putting blue-light protectors on my iPad (I use my iPad at night to wind down)Taking melatonin and GABA supplement (when I need it)Shutting down all work-related emails/chats after 8pmImmune booster supplements – I’ve been taking 3-4 grams of vitamin C (buffered or liposomal), lysine powder (good anti-viral), bet...

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More Natural Ways to Boost Your Defense Against COVID-19

As a follow-up to my previous blog on boosting immunity, I’ve put together summaries of some recent articles on COVID-19 and managing our health during this crisis.  Five powerful supplements for immunity This article highlights that the best line of defense against a viral infection is to boost immunity – in addition to a high nutrient diet, adding these five supplements to your regimen can provide us the boost we are all seeking.  These supplements and associated evidence are as follows: Vitamin C B VitaminsVitamin DZincElderberry https://www.womansworld.com/posts/health/supplements-for-immunity Lack of sleep leaves us vulnerable to infection Although there are no studies on the effects of sleep on COVID-19 yet, researchers in 2015 found that volunteers deliberately infected with the common cold were four times more likely to develop cold symptoms if they slept less than six hours than those who slept for a minimum of seven hours. It is during sleep that our immune system produces an...

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Webinar: Boosting Immunity During the Coronavirus Pandemic

With Coronavirus dominating the headlines and impacting our lives in ways we’ve not imagined, more people than ever are now looking for natural ways to boost immunity and manage their health and well-being through the pandemic. This webinar will highlight strategies on staying healthy and mentally sound during this difficult time. These health tips, backed by clinical evidence, will include key areas such as sleep, stress reduction, diet, exercise, and nutritional supplementation. The presenter is NCHICA member Helen Pak-Harvey, PhD, Founder of Wholistics.Health. https://youtu.be/qTU_94csN8I...

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Coronavirus Myth Buster Part 1

Separating Fact from Fiction There’s so much information (and misinformation) out there about COVID-19 that it’s becoming mind-boggling even for me – everything from supplements and dietary recommendations to the latest medical treatments purported to treat the coronavirus. In the first of a series of blogs I will be posting, here are three of the common ‘myths’ that are currently in circulation, reviewed from the perspective of scientific evidence base. There’s no evidence that Vitamin C can prevent or treat coronavirus While there’s minimal published data on COVID-19 given the novelty of this virus, there is plenty of evidence on the impact of vitamin C on the common cold and how deficiency can be associated with respiratory illnesses like pneumonia (here’s just one example). There are more than 400 published articles on PubMed on vitamin C interventions for viral conditions. As mentioned in my previous blog, seriously ill coronavirus patients in New York’s largest hospital system ar...

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Coronavirus Myth Buster Part 2

Separating Fact from FictionHere’s part two of our Coronavirus Myth Buster series and two more common ‘myths’ that are currently in circulation, reviewed from the perspective of scientific evidence.1. Does staying indoors impact your immunity?We’ve all done our part during the pandemic by staying at home and only stepping out for essential supplies. While this greatly reduced our chances of exposing ourselves and others, it unfortunately has led us to be more vulnerable in other ways. Being outdoors enables our body to produce vitamin D in response to sun exposure.  While the major natural source of vitamin D is from the sun, it can also be absorbed through nutritional supplementation. There are already numerous reported health benefits of vitamin D in boosting immunity, including this randomized trial of vitamin D supplementation to prevent seasonal influenza in schoolchildren.Vitamin D enables our lungs to activate immune cells and to produce an antimicrobial peptide called cathelici...

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5 Natural Approaches for Managing Diabetes

In the United States, an estimated 30 million adults live with diabetes. This chronic illness can take a toll on individuals and families, with frequent doctor’s visits, medication costs, and dietary restrictions. Still, there are a number of natural remedies that can assist people with diabetes with the daily management of their condition. Nutritional supplements and mind-body practices hold promise for helping individuals with diabetes stay on track and even reduce symptom severity.This article details five natural, research-based remedies for individuals with diabetes. Below you’ll find information on the benefits of two dietary components: cinnamon and fiber, as well as the mind-body practices of Qi Gong, acupuncture, and yoga. Continue reading to learn about the simple steps you can take toward the prevention and management of diabetes.Nutrition and Dietary SupplementsNutritional supplements are a common approach to the natural prevention and management of a number of conditions, ...

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