Applying Blue Zones and Maimonides’ Principles for Endocrine Health

GoodHormoneHealth Webinar: "Applying Blue Zones & Maimonides’ Wisdom for a Healthier Life with Endocrine Problems"
In this insightful webinar, GoodHormoneHealth explores the connection between Blue Zones, Maimonides’ principles, and endocrine health. Discover how these ancient wisdoms and modern research can guide you towards a healthier lifestyle, especially for those managing endocrine conditions.

🔍 Topics Covered:
✅ Who was Maimonides? Learn about his impactful life and health philosophies
✅ The 14 Wisdoms of Health: How Maimonides' timeless advice is still relevant today
✅ The Importance of Moderation: Why balance is key to maintaining health
✅ The 5 Blue Zones: Discover the regions where people live the longest and healthiest lives
✅ Common Traits: What do Blue Zones have in common, and how can they influence your lifestyle?
✅ Endocrine Health: How Blue Zones principles can be applied to improve the health of patients with endocrine conditions

📌 For more tips on leading a healthy life and improving your endocrine health, visit:
🔗 GoodHormoneHealth.com

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:07

Welcome to the Good Hormone Health webinar on March 23rd, 2025, entitled How Can Blue Zones and MMONES Principles Be Applied to Lead a Healthy Life for Patients with Android Problems? And I'll talk up, give this talk for probably 30 or 40 minutes or so. And then the people that aren't interested in the compounded turse separatide and semi-glutide can log off, and then I'll talk about the updates on them in the last 20 minutes or so. I'd like to start by talking about the difference between health and wellness. Health means the absence of both physical and mental diseases. Diseases. Wellness means a state of healthy living. Wellness, you're thriving, you're feeling really good, your life is good, your health is good, and you're doing well. You're not just merely not being sick. So I like to have the three pillars of endocrine health: correct diagnosis, optimizing hormones, and optimizing lifestyle. You need to do all three of these to be healthy and well. I like to focus on both health and wellness. My main approach for patients to be healthy is to diagnose and treat their endocrine problems, such as hypothyroidism, cushion syndrome or growth hormone deficiency that may lead to symptoms such as weight gain and fatigue. However, as a result of my other endocrine conditions, even after some of them are treated, they still feel overweight and they still feel like crap. So I work on optimizing their hormones. Often this requires several appointments to get the people at a good balance of their hormones. And simultaneously encourage people to eat and be healthy. This means basically eat a low-calorie diet, a large amount of vegetables. I'm a big fan of my vegetable diet. It's on my website. Vegetables have a lot of uh nutrition and not many calories. Um, so they're really good for people. And then I want people to move and do a lot of activity and exercise. Other key things to do are get a good night's sleep, have good mental health, um, don't be stressed out, or if you're stressed out, at least don't let it bother you. I went on a hike today with my son, so be outside and be in nature. It's hard to be depressed if you're outside in some beautiful sun. And learn from the blue zone. So we'll talk about what the blue zones are today and how you can learn from them. So I'm going to talk about two sort of dispersed, disperse of uh sources, disparate sources, ammonies and blue zones. And you'll see how they sort of come together nicely, even though Maimonides is a thousand years old and blue zones is 10 years old or so. Um, and so this way people with endocrine problems can be healthy and uh thrive. And at the end, after we talk about the um monies and blue zones, we'll talk a little bit update on compounded GLP ones. So, who was my outline of the talk today is who is Maimonides? What are his 14 wisdoms of health that are still relevant? Why is moderation important? What are the five, where are the five blue zones and how are they discovered? What do they have in common? And how can their principles be used to improve your health if you have an endocrine condition? And um, as Abraham Lincoln said, and in the end, it's not the years in your life that counts, it's the life in your years. So I really stress quality of life, not just quantity of life. Um, there's also several passages in the Jewish Alma that go over this principle. So it's really important principle to have good years, be healthy, not just live a long time and be sick, but to have a good, healthy life with good quality life. The Martin College of Lifestyle Medicine talks about six pillars of health. There's several pictures of this. I like this one here for among other of them. Um so these six pillars of health for lifestyle medicine would be nutrition, uh, exercise, stress management, social support. The people that are lonely, don't have anyone to talk to, usually have trouble. The few uh sleep is crucial and avoiding risky behaviors. The Mercall Lifestyle Medicine talks about smoking and alcohol and caffeine, maybe. Um, I also like to say, you know, avoid, uh make sure you drive safely and avoid falling and other risky behaviors. And there are other areas, some people have other areas they may want to improve. Um, and um, most people sort of want to improve on one or more of these. I recommend tackling as many of these as you can, along with getting your hormones fixed. Um, I have given talks on a healthy lifestyle and what that means. Um, to summarize a little bit, it's try to be at the best body weight you can be at. Um, I like to distinguish between a diet, which is short term and a lifestyle change, which is the rest of your life. So do things that you can last, that can last for a long time and that you can stick with. Another new concept I'm trying to go over with my patients at Martin Luther King Alpatient Center in Los Angeles is make the change in the habit. Don't just have a goal, I want to lose weight. Make a habit that I'm gonna eat three vegetables a day. So your habit is a positive thing that you incorporate into your lifestyle. You put on your calendar, you make sure you do it every day, like you brush your teeth. Um, eat healthy. I recommend a definite veget uh lots of fruits and vegetables, whole greens, fish and chicken. And avoid ultra-processed foods. These are foods with too many preservatives and additives, ingredients you can't pronounce. Um, most of like a gas station, a grocery store and a 7-Eleven have most of these foods. The grocery stores are in the middle of the aisle. Really try to shop the edges of the stores. Try to fill up your grocery cart with healthy vegetables and fruit. And you can do some fresh meat and fresh fish if you want, some dairy products if you want a small amount if you want them, also eggs if you want that. But avoid the center of the store that has all the cookies and doodles and fruit loops and cakes and things like that. Um, and uh certainly avoid sodas. Sodas are also a big part of the group, the center of the grocery store. Avoid sugar, uh, corn syrup, mostly sweets and the simple carbs. I would probably stay away from them, and avoid fried foods. So, who was Maimonides? Memonides was an ancient physician and philosopher. He was born in Spain and he spent a good portion of his life in Northern Africa and settled in Egypt. He's commonly known as Maimonides or the Rombom, Rabbi Moshe bin Naiman. He lived from the years 1135 to 1204, so you know, a good 850, 900 years ago. Um, and his writings about nutrition and health have stood the test of time, even though it's been 800 years since he wrote most of these. And here are 14 bits of wisdom from Manis, who wrote about all the relevant nutritional, medical, and philosophical teachings of his times. And he stressed moderation in life. I think that's one of the key things that he always stressed. Don't be extreme, don't do extreme things, sort of be the middle of the road, don't do too much of certain things or too little of certain things. So moderation is crucial. His first principle is you should eat only when you're hungry and drink only when you're thirsty. Second principle is overeating is like a poison to the body and can lead to illness. So again, don't uh stuff yourself, don't be, don't overeat. The preservation of health lies in abstaining from satiation. So you don't want to be overly full, you want to eat of smaller portions and just be no longer hungry. Principle number four even someone who exercises regularly would become obese if he constantly eats refined bread or white bread, as we would say now. And again, it's amazing how these 800, 900 years ago, this is the same issues we have now. Flour that has been sifted so well that no bran remains, or white bread, is an unhealthy food and should not be eaten in quantity. This another six is very interesting. If wine is consumed properly, it is a major factor in the preservation of health and the cure of many illnesses. And I think studies have borne that out that a small amount of wine is quite beneficial. Number seven, one of the most powerful forces of human nature is habit. I mentioned how I'm trying to teach my patients about habit and try to incorporate habit in my own life, irrespective of whether these are actions or perceptions. For instance, you may choose bad foods to which you're accustomed over good foods to which you're not accustomed, even though it's a less correct choice. So part of the that Mamani talks about is make sure you have good habits and make sure you do you do positive things, and um, even though you might be more used to doing something that's not healthy for you. Number eight, if you do not exercise, you'll suffer from pain and depleted energy levels, even if the correct foods are eaten and all the rules of medicine are followed. Exercise is crucial. Number nine, the most beneficial hours of sleep are the eight hours until sunrise. So most people should go to bed about 11 or so and wake up about seven, give or take, or go to bed at 10 and wake up at six, get those eight hours of night's sleep, is what Mumanini said. Number 10, this is again turning out to be very important. One may pay one must pay attention and constantly consider one's emotional activities. Maintaining them in equilibrium during health and illness must take precedent over any other regimen. Number 11, constant anxiety damages the body. Number 12, it is human nature to be influenced by your environment. You should only associate with people who have a positive influence. The Nabelin Journal had an article on obesity networks. The people that are around other obese people usually tend to gain weight. The people around people that are losing weight tend to lose weight. Try to be around people that want to be healthy, want to get healthy, just like you. Number 13, accept the truth from whatever source it comes. So people should be open to learning about new things, exploring things. Um and um, if your doctor says, you know, suggests things, you can be skeptical about it, but often try to listen to it and explore it and make sure it's um it's reasonable. And the 14th one is let a person replace stress and anxiety with hope. This idea about being positive and thinking um thinking positive thoughts and being hopeful. So Mamani has maintained that the whole person must be treated, not just the symptoms of illness. You didn't just call a doctor when you're sick. You went to the doctor to discuss your general state of well health and physiological well-being. If you were sick, the doctor would examine your eating habits, your fitness level, and your emotional state of mind. Cause of illness was first discussed before the symptoms were diagnosed and treated. Mind-body balance was maintained in both times of illness and health. And I think this little summary of Maimonides makes you realize that we really should practice what Maimonides advocated 800 or 900 years ago. I'm going to next switch to the blue zones. And I think the blue zones sort of a little bit of a similar philosophy to Maimonides, or uh 20th or 21st century uh uh discovery. Um, the blue zones were founded by adventure and author Dan Butner, who was the keynote speaker at the Murray College of Lifestyle Medicine Conference I was at in Orlando last November. Um he was an explorer who once circled the globe on his bicycle to earn three Guinness Book of World Records. He discovered five places in the world, dubbed blue zones, where people live the longest into being in their hundreds and are the healthiest. These all stress social relationships and also practice healthy eating and physical activity. The five blue zones are Acaria, Greece, Loma Linda, California in our backyard, Nicoya, Costa Rica, Sardinia, Italy, and Okinawa, Japan. Blue zone stresses uh three things that intersect. Sort of interesting how this is um depicted here and how they intersect, but people, places where people live, and policy. Does your city have policies that encourage these blue zone activities? Or do you have to drive everywhere or billboards, or do you have a policy that encourages walking and being healthy? And the name blue zone is derived simply during the original survey by scientists who used a blue pen on a map to mark the villages with the longest-lived populations. You can see Loma Linda, California on the left, Nicolia is Costa Rica, Sardinia, Italy, um Icaria, Greece, and Okinawa, Japan. I'll start with Sardinia, and I won't go over all the things in Sardinia. You can see Sardinia is an island, and really the area of Sardinia that's the healthiest is sort of this eastern central area. It's very mountainous, it's right next to the ocean. And the people there have to walk up these hills to get to their houses. The people in Sardinia eat a plant-based diet of just a little bit of meat. The meat's usually reserved for Sundays and special occasions, but most of the whole grain breads, beans, garden vegetables, fruit, um, and some parts of mastic oil. They eat a special type of cheese from grass-fed sheep. They're very into the families. Put family first, start getting these strong family values, help assure that every member of the family is cared for. People who live in strong, healthy families have lower rates of depression, suicide, and stress. They drink goat milk. Goat milk has compounds that may help in anti-inflammatory, might be anti-inflammatory, they often help diseases such as heart disease and Alzheimer's. And they celebrate elders, such as the grandparents are cherished, they provide love to their children. Um, their families often eat together and live together. And this allows for better adjusted and longer-lived children, longer-lived people overall. Sardinian, they do a lot of walking. Uh, they walk typically five miles a day. Uh the Sardinian shepherds do that. They get cardiovascular uh benefits and they get bone uh bone improvement and effect on muscles. It's not like running a marathon, it's just part of their life. They drink a glass or two of red wine daily, they drink wine modestly, they have uh flavonoids that um help um produce, uh decrease your heart rate, heart disease. And moderate wine consumption may explain the lower levels of stress among men. They laugh with friends. Men in this bloom are famous for their sardonic sense of humor. They gather in the street in the afternoon and talk with each other, they laugh and they have a good time together. The next area is Acaria, Greece, and this is a Greek island. It's really close to Turkey. There's a beautiful picture on the far right of that. Um, they usually are fairly poor people, but they lived in the island's highlands. They exercise mindlessly. They don't go to a gym. They have do gardening, they walk to their neighbors, they do the yard work. So their exercise, their activity is part of their daily life, more mindless movement into their lives. They eat a Mediterranean-style diet. They eat uh lots of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans, potatoes, and olive oil, and they cook with olive oil, which has monounsaturated fats. They interesting, consume a lot of herbal teas. Um, these are things like wild rosemary, sage, oregano teas. They often go on the in the wild to pick these themselves, and then you make teeth out of them. Um the these act as a diuretic, they get rid of extra sodium and water, and they have antioxidants in them. They take a mid-afternoon nap. Um, the people who nap regularly have a lower chance of dying of heart attacks, and this lowers your stress hormones. People in echaria also fast occasionally. They're religious Greek Orthodox Christians. There's uh fasting days every about half the year, although I don't think people would fast all those days. This caloric restriction as part of their fasting is a way to cut out calories and proves uh a proven way to be anti-aging. Um very foster social connections. They um they get out there, they're around their friends and their family, and this helps with overall health and longevity. And also, like the um the people in Sardinia, they drink a lot of goat's milk. It provides potassium and tryptophan, and it's usually uh tolerated people that are lactose intolerant. The next uh area, blue zone, is called Nicoya, Costa Rica. And you can see the map of Costa Rica on the left there. And this is a peninsula on the Pacific side of Costa Rica. It's a beautiful place. Um, and there they have a plan de video. They have a purpose, sense of purpose, they feel needed and want to contribute to the greater good. Their water has high calcium content, and this may help explain lower rates of heart disease as well as strong bones and fewer hip fractures. Although I think in general, people are getting away with calcium supplementation. The fact that they get in the water may be healthier for them. They focus on their family, they tend to live with their families, and children and grandchildren all live together. There's a sense of purpose and a sense of belonging. Um, they eat a light dinner, they eat um uh for a small uh uh meal in the evening, and they eat a traditional Mesoamerican diet for decades. And these are called the three sisters of agriculture, squash, corn, and beans. So even at least sound a little bit like high carbs. The squash beans and corn have a balanced amount of protein in them, a complete protein, and they're quite healthy for you. The people in Nakoya, uh, Costa Rica are maintain social networks. They get frequent visits from neighbors, they learn how to listen, laugh, and appreciate what they have. They work hard. They're every day, they do physical chores. They don't just sit around all day. They get sensible sun, they go outside for sunshine, they get vitamin D, enough vitamin D naturally, and it helps prevent um heart disease and osteoporosis. And uh, you know, people can supplement this, but if you're outside, it's a good way to get your vitamin D. And the next um blue zone is Lo Melinda. This is um about uh 40 minutes or about an hour outside of Los Angeles, depending on the traffic. And the people in Lo Melinda are seventh-day adventists. Um, they have their Sabbath, like uh the Jewish people do on Saturday. And I don't know how strict they are about it, um, but they gives them a time to focus on family, God, camaraderie, and nature. I don't think they lose a use of electronics, they don't work, they spend this time with their family. And this once a day once a week relieves the stress, strengthens in social networks, and provides consistent exercise. They maintain a healthy body weight. Um, they're active, they eat meat sparingly, they have very low rate there because of the religion, they are vegan, most of them are, and that leads to lower blood pressure, lower blood cholesterol, less heart disease, um, than the heavier rest of Americans with a higher BMI. Um, they get moderate regular exercise, they go on a lot of walks. It's sort of a mountainous area, and they get regular low-intensity exercise, like daily walks, helps prevent heart disease and cancers. They don't necessarily go to a gym. Um, you have this famous picture of this woman here driving her Cadillac. I think she's well in her 90s and she's out driving every day and being healthy. There's a nice picture of a walk, I think, by uh the Loma Linda campus on the far right. Um they spend a lot of time with their other co-religionists. They share each other's values and support each other's habits. They also consume a fair amount of nuts. I don't recommend a huge amount of nuts because of the high amount of calories, but eating nuts can have a positive impact on health and life expectancy. Um, like many faiths, the Seventh-day Adventist Church encourages and provides opportunities for its members to volunteer and be part of the religion. Many Adventists follow a vegetarian or vegan diet. They consume a lot of whole whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, and they do a smaller amount of meat. It's often a side dish. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a pauper, dinner like eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper. So eat an early, light dinner and spend get more of your calories earlier in the day. And they have a biblical diet of greens, fruits, and nuts and vegetables. They cite Genesis chapter 1, verse 29. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb-bearing seed which is upon the face of the earth, and every tree in which the fruit of a tree yielding seed to you, it shall be for meat. The Adventists encourage a well-balanced diet with nuts, fruits, and legumes, low in sugar, salt, and refined grains and meat. Now, the last blue zone is quite interesting. It's Okinawa, Japan. And this is an island off the coast of Japan that was a very important battleground in World War II. They also have a lot of tornadoes and hurricanes. So both the people have to be hardy and the plants that grow there are hardy. They eat mostly a plant-based diet, especially the older ones. They've eaten a plant-based diet the most of their life. They eat a lot of sweet potatoes. The sweet potatoes are very hardy, so that the winds and the tornadoes don't destroy them. They eat stir-fry vegetables, they eat a lot of tofu. Tofu is high in nutrition and low in calories. They eat uh goya, which is uh, I think some kind of um um um soy product. Look that up. Um, and they eat a little bit of pork, but only on special occasions. They're very interested in their gardens. Most of them either had a garden or do have a garden now. It's a constant source of vegetable and gives them a lot of exercise. They eat a lot of soy, they make tofu and miso soup. The flavonoids and tofu may help prevent breast cancer. Fermented soy foods are um quite healthy for you and have nutritional benefits. And this is one of the most interesting things. They have what's called a moy. These are social networks that start when they're young. So a group of people in a neighborhood would be assigned to other friends, they stick together, they meet regularly, they're like a safety net, they lend financial and emotional support in times of need and give all their members the stress, shedding security of knowing that there's somebody always there for them. So they have this group of friends that they hang out with constantly. They're outside, they get a lot of vitamin D that helps their bodies. They're active, they're active walkers and gardeners. Um, there's very little furniture. They most of the time sit on the floor and they get up and down the floor several times a day. That builds lower body strength and balance, which help prevents falls. They have a garden that has different herbs that have medicinal benefits and helps protect them against nature. And they have an attitude. They're hardship tempered. Um, they have a little bit of smugness, they're likable, and they keep the young people and their company well into their old age. Tragically, Okinawa is no longer considered a blue zone, or it's uh maybe still technically a blue zone, but it's no longer has those activities. On the Ritual Podcast in March 2020, uh Dan Butner revealed that due to the introduction of the Western diet, you could see all these fast food places in downtown Okinawa has suffered the worst degeneration of all five blue zones and now has the highest rate of obesity and diabetes in the original blue zones. Now, the people that I guess live in a more rural area and still follow their original diets and activities maybe are exempt, but overall, this island is changing. It really shows how the environment can change or create blue zones. Um, Boulder, Colorado may become a blue zone because they have a lot of uh legislation to encourage uh walking and hiking and healthy diets. They have a lot of vegan restaurants there, so the blue zones may change. Um, the common themes of blue zones include moving naturally, having the right outlook, including purpose and downshifting. They often take breaks, they go, they uh they don't work constantly 24-7, they eat wisely, they drink wine, they eat mostly plants. And the most important thing probably is the belonging. They're part of a tribe, part of a community. They cherish their loved ones and cherish family. So to summarize what um uh what is true, what is important for them, and I have a picture of my family in our most recent trip to San Diego on the left, and our family in our trip to Belize a couple years ago on the right. So our family really tries to stick together, and I think that's really nice of uh the key thing. Uh so family is everything, but the people in blue zones use it to as a key to longevity. Um, the your tree, not just your nuclear family, but they have grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins. So we had our cousins uh all get together frequently, many in the walking distance. And um the this large support group is crucial, and I think that lets people live healthier, happier lives. Um they have a sense of purpose. Um, if you have a reason to get out of bed, if you don't have a reason to get out of bed, you're not living the blue zone life, whether it's your job, game, garden, or family, all those things. If you have a sense of purpose, it leads to longevity. And you know, more one or more purposes is crucial. Take it down a notch. They're keeping up with the Joneses, maybe a very stable life, but in the rarity in the blue zones, they usually work less hours, they take more breaks, they have time to rest, they have time for the religion and the community, and this leads to longevity. Um, and they often take longer vacations than the people in the um wet more Western societies. Um, they have a social network, it's not just FaceTime, Facebook, or uh online role-playing. Um, they're often involved in volunteering, sewing circles, sports teams. This leads to um uh longevity, it gives them a sense of purpose. Um, and I think a good start would be to look in your religious environment, and there's always volunteering opportunities in that. Um, believing in God is uh and having a spiritual life is important. Longevity secret from the blue zones, not only does it give a sense of purpose, but also a sense of community and belonging. The power of prayer has been shown to have positive health effects. Family dinners are crucial. People sit down and share, uh share the help of making the dinner, eating and clean up after, since their food's prepared at home. There's no additives, there's no uh harmful ingredients. Like when you get takeout, it's often quite unhealthy. Um, it actually has a lot of long and long um longevity benefits. High plant diet. Um, eating fruits and vegetables are an important part of a diet. They're crucial for the blue zones. A study by Dr. Merkin said that 70% of us eating a high plant diet had normal blood pressures compared to 40% of people on a fruits and vegetable diet and 23% on the control diet. So eating a lot of fruits and vegetables helps lower your blood pressure, helps lower your weight, and helps you be healthy, helps reduce your cancer rates of cancer. I recommend at least eating three servings of vegetables with each meal. Um, you can try to go up to uh two servings with each meal. Um but you can do start with two, but a three would be even better. And I think this will lead to a lot of good health. This is a plant-based diet. You don't have to be strictly vegan, but try to eat mostly vegetables. There's a lot of fruits and vegetables on the left side of the plate. I recommend plant proteins such as chickpeas, lentils, uh, beans, and imami at the upper right, and whole grains such as faro, millet, wild rice, uh, quinoa are good. And so a little bit of plant fats such as avocado and olive oil. Uh, another uh idea that the blue zone stress is uh pomegranate juice. There's a nice picture of pomegranates. I love eating uh the pomegranates. I get a trade of Joe's. It's an excellent non-alcoholic attraction to red wine. It has many similar antioxidant properties. And uh bicycling, um, not only is it good for the planet and keeps your gas bills down, but it can lead to longevity. People in the blue zone often note the bicycle to the houses of friends and families, the market and more. It's easier on the joints and the relaxing experience. There's my sister with her bicycle on the lower left and my two bike riding partners, Dave and Mike, we go on a bike ride every Thursday night. Um I think this is at the LA Airport, actually. We went there one time. Um, but bike riding is one of the best sports. If you want to find out more about the blue zones, there's a Netflix um uh special, Lift 100, The Secrets of the Blue Zones is great. It really is informative. It's like a I think a five or six part series, and um I recommend it um to people who want to learn more about the blue zones.