Wellness

Do you want to live longer? If you’re like most people, your answer is probably, “Yes!” And, you probably want to live not only a longer life, but also a healthier one. If so, you don’t have to look very far to find claims about how to improve—no, “optimize”—your health. Want to reverse chronic disease? […]

Randomized controlled trials show that lowering saturated fat intake can lead to improved breast cancer survival. The leading cause of cancer-related death is metastasis. Cancer kills because cancer spreads. The five-year survival rate for women with localized breast cancer is nearly 99 percent, for example, but that falls to only 27 percent in women with

Palmitic acid, a saturated fat concentrated in meat and dairy, can boost the metastatic potential of cancer cells through the fat receptor CD36. The leading cause of death in cancer patients is metastasis formation. That’s how most people die of cancer—not from the primary tumor, but the cancer spreading through the body. “It is estimated

For three cents a day, black cumin may improve our cholesterol and triglyceride levels, blood pressure, and blood sugar control, as well as accelerate the loss of body fat. Black cumin, also known as Nigella sativa or simply “black seed,” is not related to cumin; it’s a member of the buttercup family rather than the

What are the risks versus benefits of drinking kombucha? Is Kombucha Tea Good for You? is one of my first videos. It was featured in a blog entry entitled “NutritionFacts.org: the first month,” where I marveled the video had reached nearly 100,000 people. You can see it below and at 0:20 in my video Kombucha’s

What were the results of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of a daily half teaspoon of powdered black cumin in Hashimoto’s patients? “Autoimmune thyroiditis, also known as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, is an organ-specific autoimmune disorder,” where our body attacks our own thyroid gland, often leading to hypothyroidism due to destruction and scarring of the gland itself.

Is the apparent protection of plant-based diets for thyroid health due to the exclusion of animal foods, the benefits of plant foods, or both? Several autoimmune diseases affect the thyroid gland, and Graves’ disease and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis are the most common. Graves’ disease results in hyperthyroidism, an overactive thyroid gland. Though slaughter plants are supposed

How much nori, dulse, or arame approximates the recommended daily allowance for iodine? Dairy milk supplies between a quarter and a half of the daily iodine requirement in the United States, though milk itself has “little native iodine.” The iodine content in cow’s milk is mainly determined by factors like “the application of iodine-containing teat

Most plant-based milks are not fortified with iodine. “Adequate dietary iodine is required for normal thyroid function.” In fact, the two thyroid hormones are named after how many iodine atoms they contain: T3 and T4. “Given that iodine is extensively stored in the thyroid gland itself, it can safely be consumed intermittently,” so we don’t

How effective are flu shots, elderberries, echinacea, and cranberries? The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that everyone over the age of six months get a routine flu shot every year, unless you have some sort of contraindication, such as an allergy to any of the vaccine’s components. CDC recommends getting vaccinated