Describes our health dilemma.
Last week’s post included a list of various chronic diseases that we are suffering from at higher rates than our paleolithic ancestors. Included in that list, to the surprise of many, were certain types of cancers. We have good evidence to link colon, breast, lung and prostate cancers to modern lifestyles. These are all among …
Best estimates are that homo sapiens have been roaming the Earth for ~315K years. For >95% of that time we lived as hunter gatherers. In comparison to our paleolithic ancestors we suffer from a large number of diseases that used to be rare. How do we know that? Obviously there are no writings from that …
Once in a while someone will come along having watched some sort of health documentary asking if its true that doctors don’t learn about nutrition in medical school. If not, they take it as a fact that medical schools are not particularly interested in nutrition or even worse are aligned with Big Pharma to push …
In theory, we ought to have a system in place that rewards those who bring benefit to individuals and society and disincentivizes those who bring harm. And yet, contrary to what we’ve been taught in school that is not the system we have in place. In fact, in many cases, companies profit most when they …
Resolving to exercise more and eat healthier? Unfortunately, most of us will give up on our yearly New Year weight loss resolution well before year end. Before long, we’ll blame ourselves and our lack of will power. Not to let anyone off the hook but maybe it’s not a will power issue, maybe there is …
There is a trend below which is a problem if you are concerned about health: Outside Food = Less Healthy Food I wrote a post explaining why mixing capitalism, food, and human biology predictably leads to chronic disease (though it is not inevitable and we can do something about it – see the orange box …
Earlier this year the US Surgeon General, Vivek Murthy called attention to an unusual epidemic affecting us: an epidemic of loneliness. Because it’s something we’ve all experienced it, many of us are not surprised. On the other hand, it is unusual given that our lives are simultaneously more interconnected than in the past. What’s going …
As anyone who knows a little about health can tell you, every healthy person has a few things in common: they exercise regularly (often outdoors in nature), they consume nutritious food, and they sleep well. While healthy overlaps considerably with happiness, to be happy you also need a healthy supportive social network with the freedom …
I once gave a talk to a room full of physicians of various specialties. Here’s what I said: “Today, as you all know, 73% of Americans are either overweight or obese. Diabetes is ten times more common than it was a hundred years ago. Anxiety and depression rates among children in particular are skyrocketing. Now …
My father passed away not long ago. He had a number of medical problems but thankfully he lived to old age, lived to see his grandchildren, and to leave a lasting impression on many, especially me. But in the late 1980s he suffered a heart attack in his early 50s. I remember the day vividly. …
