Health Podcast with Connie Sellecca: Eat Fat to Lose Weight; The Ultimate Workout Supplement: Cranberries; Keep a Stress Journal

In this episode we feature:

An interview with survival expert, Dr. Joe Alton.

The weight loss benefits of fatty fish.

The cancer fighting power of black pepper

How cranberries boost athletic performance

Essential items for a well stocked Emergency Kit

And more ways you can improve your health today!

For more information, and to sign up for our private coaching, visit tesh.com

Our Hosts:
John Tesh: Instagram: @johntesh_ifyl facebook.com/JohnTesh
Gib Gerard: Instagram: @GibGerard facebook.com/GibGerard X: @GibGerard

Transcript

Unknown: 0:07

Gib, hello and welcome to the podcast. I'm Gib Gerard here with another special intelligence for your health with Connie selika editions of the podcast today on the show, we've got, again, a whole bunch of actionable intelligence that you can use to improve your health today, plus an interview with survival expert, Dr Joe Alton. So without further ado, folks, here is intelligence for health. With Connie Celica, burning fat is as simple as eating fatty fish, like wild salmon and sardines three times a week, according to Kyoto University in Japan, those who eat a diet high in fish or omega three fatty acids gain up to 25% less body fat than those who don't consume as much fish. The reason fish oil turns our white fat cells, the ones that create our love handles, into brown fat cells, those are the kind that rev up our metabolism and help us burn more calories. So make fatty fish a bigger part of your diet to lose weight. If you want to lose weight, drink less, exercise more and improve your sleep, what should you tackle? First all of it, that's according to a study conducted by UC Santa Barbara, when researchers had study participants commit to eating better, exercising more, cutting back on alcohol, getting more sleep and practicing mindfulness all simultaneously. It worked. After six weeks, the study subject showed improvement on all fronts. They were stronger, healthier, had higher self esteem and were happier. Brain Science Professor Michael mazek led the research and says each lifestyle change supported the others. Exercising makes it easier to sleep. Sleeping well makes it easier to eat well, and being mindful makes it easier to make good choices. So if you have a lot of changes you'd like to make, go for it, do them all at the same time coming up. We'll talk to survival expert, Dr Joe Alton. He'll share a list of emergency kit essentials that he recommends keeping on hand at home and at work, including why a packet of honey could be a life saver, but first, if you're a runner or a wannabe runner, load up on cranberries. According to Montreal's Concordia University, cranberries can boost a runner speed by nearly 2% they're calling it an all natural ergogenic aid, meaning that it's performance enhancing. For the study, runners from track teams and local running clubs took a cranberry supplement and were monitored for a month, taking the extract two hours before they ran, and generally speaking, the runners had noticeable improvement in performance and muscle fatigue. So what difference can a 2% boost in performance make the experts say, when it comes to athletes, it can make the difference between finishing fifth or on the podium. So to improve your running, eat more cranberries or take a cranberry supplement two hours before you head out. How bad is workplace stress for our health as bad as breathing in second hand smoke. That's according to a new study by Harvard Business School and Stanford University. The report found that a high pressure or super stressful job increased the odds of illness by 35% and long work hours increased the chances of early death by almost 20% so what stresses us out the most? By far the biggest stressor was being worried about losing the job. That increased the odds of having poor health by about 50% The researchers hope the study will help companies think about the way they manage their employees. But we also need to take stress relief into our own hands. Here's what the experts recommend. First, keep a work stress journal. The Mayo Clinic suggests writing down when you feel stressed. For example, was it during conversations with a particular person that signals it may not be your job, but a co worker who's causing your stress also do a reality check. Although the study showed the biggest stressor is the worry about being fired, ask yourself how likely that is. It may be something you're worrying about for no reason. Lastly, find something anything you like about your job. Psychologist Joanna Lipari says people who enjoy what they do deal with stress, much better. Okay, listen to this. 55 different natural anti cancer substances were tested on breast cancer cells, and one substance was the most effective, piperine, the active compound in black pepper. That's from the American Association for Cancer Research. Instead. Studies, they found piperine prevents cancer development. It basically forces pre cancerous cells to die, and blocks the flow of blood that feeds cancerous cells. And you can get the benefits simply by adding a quarter teaspoon of black pepper to your meals every day. To get the biggest anticancer punch, use freshly ground whole black peppercorns, they contain the highest levels of piperine. Today, our guest is Dr Joe Alton. He's a Board Certified Obstetrician turned survival expert who's made it his mission to help his clients prepare to survive any disaster or medical emergency. And since we're always told to keep a basic first aid kit on hand for emergencies. I asked Dr Alton, what are some essential items we should be putting in that kit? Well, every good emergency kit has a few things in common. It has non perishable food. It's got a fire starter tool, a way to disinfect water, a sturdy, sharp knife, light sources, solar blankets, spare clothes and a medical kit. Now, what should go into that kit depends a little on the medical issue or disaster you're most concerned about. But in general, you want materials to deal with minor injuries, like moleskin for blisters, maybe, but also supplies that deal with serious things, bleeding, orthopedic injuries, burns, gi complaints and more. So you might want to have things like tourniquets, blood clotting manages, pressure dressings, gauze wraps, burn gel, all sorts of things like that. That would help you deal with injuries and illness, and when it comes to treating cuts and burns, I understand you also recommend keeping honey in our emergency kits. Why would that be helpful? Well, Rob process, honey has definite antibacterial, antiviral, anti parasitic properties, and it's an excellent way to deal with issues that can cause problems with infection. So I think that if you use raw, unprocessed honey, in other words, honey that has not been adulterated by heat, then you can actually use that and have the best chance to decrease the chances of bacterial infections. Today, we're talking to Dr Joe Alton, who's been described by American outdoor guide as America's favorite survival medic, and he was just saying that every good emergency kid should have a way to disinfect water. So I asked Dr Alton to share his expertise on the most effective tools and strategies for doing that. Well, I have to say there are really good, portable, commercial water filters at work for this purpose life, straws, Sawyer minis, just to mention a couple. But let's assume you don't have one. Let's go low tech. So yes to boiling water, getting a nice roiling boil for one full minute will kill almost all bacteria, viruses and parasites at high temperatures, high altitudes, though the boiling point of water is actually lower, so over 6500 feet boil for three full minutes to get the same effect. Now, chemical disinfection is an option when you can't produce enough heat to boil for that eight drops of unsetted household bleach per gallon of water will do twice that. Of course, if the water is cloudy, then wait in a half hour or so to allow it to work its magic, and you should be good to go. Now, iodide is also used. Chlorine Dioxide. We have that in tablet form of some of our kits so but let's say you don't have a way to chemically disinfect water. What you should do then is take a clear, two little liter bottle, fill it 80% full with the questionable water, and leave it in direct sunlight for six to eight hours, and the ultraviolet light will actually kill disease causing organisms. We're three times more likely to have sleep problems in the summer, when hot, sticky weather makes it hard for our body to produce sleep hormones. Here's the fix, According to psychologist and naturopath Dr Elaine Wilkes, walk barefoot in the grass for five minutes in the evening, when it's cooler, that will stimulate pressure points on your feet that reduce stress hormone production. Dr Wilkes says that one thing will help you fall asleep faster and get 22 more minutes of quality sleep. And if you can't go outside or there's no grass near you, a foot massage can have a similar effect. Today's medical term enuresis, that refers to involuntary urination, which many of us experience as kids in the form of bed wetting. In fact, one in five children will experience enuresis by age five, making it the most common type of bladder elimination disorder. What causes it? It's usually down to not having full bladder control. Yet. It can also be caused by stress. For example, if a child's starting a new school, or there's a new baby in the family, or they're spending the night away from home. All of those things can raise stress levels in a way that causes kids to react by wetting the bed. It can also be genetic. So if you wet the bed when you were a kid, your own children probably will too. In fact, in 75% of kids either a parent or a first degree relative. Positive also wet the bed in childhood. The good news, 99% of kids outgrow enuresis by age 10. But talk to your doctor if your child is wetting the bed at least twice a week for more than a few months, because that could be a sign of a medical problem from a small bladder to sleep apnea. But bed wetting caused by a medical problem is rare. It only happens in 3% of cases, and that's today's medical term enuresis coming up. We'll hear more from Dr Joe Alton, author of the survival medicine handbook. He'll explain why many of the foods we keep in storage for emergencies are not ideal for everyday meals, even though they're perfectly safe to consume. But first, a lot of smokers think cigarettes calm their nerves, but actually, the opposite is true. Smokers who quit have less anxiety, depression and stress. That's according to the British Medical Journal. In fact, smokers who quit get a mood boost that's equivalent to taking antidepressants. So why do smokers think cigarettes relax them? Because they interpret their withdrawal symptoms as stress, and those symptoms can come on after only a couple of hours without a cigarette, then once they light up again, those withdrawal symptoms go away, but within six weeks of quitting ex smokers experience a significant improvement in mental health. Here are a couple of tricks for better memory and brain power. First, when you need to figure out a tough problem, sit next to a window, Michigan State University says that improves your problem solving skills by 30% because light stimulates the brain's hippocampus, reducing brain fog, another brain trick. If you've ever walked into a room and forgotten, why do this next time, use the point and call technique. It's an industrial safety technique used by rail workers, and it reduces workplace errors by up to 85% all you have to do is point to the room you're going into and call out what you're doing, like, I'm going into the kitchen to preheat the oven. By engaging multiple senses, you increase awareness and reduce the chance of error. You can also do it when you're leaving the house, point at your curling iron and say, I turned off my curling iron, you'll never get halfway to work and have to turn around to check and to remember something. Walk 10 steps as if you're wearing a superhero cape while thinking about what you need to remember, according to San Francisco State University, a more purposeful posture tells your brain you're alert that sharpens your thinking and recall by up to 56% Okay, listen to this. You do not have to go all out on every run. In fact, you should take it easy on four out of five runs. That means being able to sing along with your workout playlist between breaths, then for the fifth run, push yourself to the point that you cannot sing, according to the book 8020 running that will help you get faster and fitter and avoid burning out, because low intensity runs burn more fat, while high intensity ones burn more calories overall, more health intelligence from survival expert Dr Joe Alton, and if you or a loved one is planning something like a camping trip. It makes sense to be prepared for surviving an emergency in the wilderness, just in case. But what if your vacation is a cruise or at a resort? I asked Dr Alton if there's any reason we should be preparing for emergencies in that scenario. I've got to tell you before you go, it's always a good idea to ask these various cruises and hotels and other resorts, what provisions have they made for medical issues and especially emergency situations? I mean, can these guys handle a case of food poisoning like norovirus, which causes all those big outbreaks on cruise ships. What if you break a boat in a fall? What if you have a heart attack? What if you have medical issues like, I don't know, high blood pressure, diabetes, could they handle complications? Is medical facility nearby, so I always recommend that everyone bring some medical supplies when you travel getting together things like band aids, antiseptic, sun block, anti diarrheals, laxatives, pain medicines, gosh, cold and flu meds, elastic wraps, gauze, bandages, all this stuff should be part of your packing ritual. Back with more health intelligence from survival expert Dr Joe Alton and in the emergency preparedness community, there's been growing demand for long shelf life food that can last a year or more. And you may have even seen those so called emergency food buckets sold in places like Costco and Sam's Club. But just one thing, Dr Alden says, Save the meals in those food buckets for emergencies only. Because there's a common health issue associated with eating them every day. Well, you know, a lot of families have a supply of these military rations that are called MREs, that stands for meals ready to eat, for people who have had to rely on it for a couple of weeks or three weeks or more. Well, it's more like Meals refusing to exit. I mean, even the Department of Defense doesn't want its soldiers eating that stuff for more than a few days. And there are actually studies, I mean, studies that show that people that eat MREs for, let's say, three weeks have fewer bowel movements per week than those people eating regular food. The reason given is that MREs just aren't good at maintaining a good gut microbiome. So what you're going to need to do is add things like stool softeners, laxatives to your medical supplies, just like you would need, let's say an anti diarrheal in case of a GI infection or food poisoning. So this is something that you really could use, let's say a vegetable garden, to get the fiber that you need, so carrots and broccoli, legumes, all that kind of stuff. These are better options. There's no such thing as a base tan. Dermatology professor Dr crystal Aga, from Johns Hopkins, says any browning of the skin is sun damage, even if you didn't burn first. And don't think a tan will protect you from burning or from sun damage, DNA damage or skin cancer. A tan is the equivalent of an SPF three. So basically, it's like having no sun protection at all, more intelligence for your health. From Dr Joe Alton, author of the survival medicine handbook, The Essential Guide for when help is not on the way. And in light of the recent pandemic, when it was important for infected people to quarantine, I asked Dr Alton if he thinks it's smart to consider setting up a separate sick room in your house, and if so, what should be in it? Well, the answer is yes to that, or at least a plan to put one together quickly so during the worst of the pandemic, we had hospitals that were crowded. We had overworked staff that actually led the CDC to suggest that if you have a mild to moderate case in your family, that you should treat that person at home, and for that, you needed a room that was away from household traffic, or at least had a barrier that gave you the six feet between the Healthy People and the infected people. You needed to have a room that would be well ventilated, well lit, something that had minimal furnishings, and it preferably not upholstered in fabric. That's important, because the fabric harbors organisms. You need other things like gloves, masks, gowns, other personal protection, protection gear, as well as soap and water or hand sanitizers, of course. And I think that in really highly contagious epidemic diseases that people should have dedicated bedding and bathing supplies, clothes, utensils for the actual sick person. And you want to have containers that you can close, that you can put them in after they're used. I've also heard that some preppers keep hazmat suits and gas masks in their homes. Is that something you'd recommend we all consider? Well, I think you'd have to have a, gosh, an Ebola or a Marburg, like hemorrhagic fever outbreak or or maybe like a chemical emergency from that train derailment that we saw recently in Ohio to need all those bells and whistles hazmat suits and gas masks and and like, but you just have to decide whether this is a possible concern for you and your family. There are examples of things like that actually happening in 2014 during the Ebola epidemic, the lack of personal protection gear and and the knowledge of how to use it caused a couple of cases of Ebola in nurses that were exposed to a sick person in a Dallas hospital. I don't know if you remember that, if you want to feel like your vacation is lasting longer, make sure it has plenty of variety. According to The Wall Street Journal, one of the reasons our vacation seems so short, both during the vacation and in our memory later on, is because our days are so similar to each other. So in your memory, they blend together into one very long day, rather than a week long vacation on your next trip, try to make the days more different from one another. If it's a beach trip, try surfing one day, go snorkeling another day, or get off the beaten path and try some local cuisine, even if you end up doing some activities that you enjoy less, like souvenir shopping, the ability to differentiate that day from the other days will help you to categorize the vacation as a series of distinct experiences, rather than one big stretch of lounging on a chase by the pool. And you'll get more joy from the vacation and your memories of it down the line, here's an email I received. Connie at intelligence for your health.com. It comes from Tamara Morris, who writes, I feel like my feet are getting larger as I get older. Is that normal? Tamara, it's completely normal. According to the Royal College of podiatry, even though we stop growing in height around age 18 or 20, our feet can keep growing because bearing the weight of our whole bodies year after year, causes our feet to slowly flatten and widen. One study of male veterans found that almost half of them experienced an increase of at least one shoe size in their adulthood, usually between ages 45 and 60. And it is not just our individual foot size. Historians say human feet have gotten larger over the last century. In 1900 the average man in North America wore a size six and a half shoe, and the average woman wore a size four and a half shoe. Now the average shoe is four sizes larger. The theory is that we're just bigger people now we weigh more and we're taller, but as far as your feet fluctuating in size, our feet can grow half a size in one day simply from use. The only time you should be concerned is if you have sudden swelling in one foot that could be a sign of a blood clot or heart failure, and you should see a physician immediately. Thank you for your email. Tamara, I hope this helps. Okay, listen to this. What's better than a sleeping pill a dinner high in fiber and low in fat. Fatty foods stimulate neurotransmitters called orexins, which keep us awake. Meanwhile, fiber takes longer to digest, so the nutrients are released more slowly into the bloodstream, and that helps our body wind down more easily at night. And according to the Journal of Clinical sleep medicine, people who eat a high fiber dinner fall asleep 12 minutes faster than average. We already track our sleep, our steps and our heart rate. So what's next? Our glucose, meaning our blood sugar levels. It's one of the fastest growing trends in health and wellness, and it's not just for diabetics anymore. One in three North American adults are now living with diabetes or pre diabetes. But even if you're not, more people want to monitor their blood sugar, and the FDA just approved the first over the counter device. It uses sensors attached to micro needles to continuously measure glucose levels, and it's being marketed to non diabetics. The thinking is when people can see how food and exercise affect their glucose levels, they can adjust their lifestyle, and by keeping glucose levels stable, people can burn stored fat for energy and lose weight. But Endocrinologist, Dr Scott Isaac says most people don't need a glucose tracker. It's essential for diabetics, because monitoring glucose can help prevent complications like heart attack, stroke, kidney disease and amputation. But for people without diabetes, it's normal for your blood sugar to fluctuate throughout the day, and your body is equipped to handle it. I'm Connie Celico with more intelligence for your health from survival expert Dr Joe Alton, if you'd like to know more about him, or the latest edition of the survival medicine handbook, check out Doom and bloom.net. And when most people think about survival, they think about stockpiling food, learning how to make a fire, and maybe having some hunting skills. But I asked Dr Alton if it's true that another important component of survival is even simpler than that, just get to know your neighbors better. Yes, you're absolutely right. It's it's community is very important, because you might see a lone survivalist actually survive an off grid challenge on some of these TV shows. But the truth of the matter is, is that it's hard. There are a lot of responsibilities, and you may have skills that I don't. I may have skills that you don't, and I can do a lot of things. From a medical standpoint, I could treat injuries and illness. I can deliver a baby, I can take out an appendix, but I don't know how to build a shelter. I don't know how to make a fishing net, or I can't build a boat, and I don't know martial arts. And there are things that I can do and things that I can't do. You need a community to have all those skills come together and have a life that is worth living. It something that's not a miserable existence off the grid and the people that can help you might live right next door. It's making you the healthiest person you know. Intelligence for your health with Connie selika, that's it for our show today, our special intelligence for your health. With Connie selika. Edition of the podcast. I'm Gib Gerard. Don't forget to rate comment and subscribe on Apple podcast. Spotify, wherever you get your podcast. It helps us out a lot. And also you can reach out to us on social media. All of our links are listed down in the show notes. We try to respond to every DM, every mention of the show, because ultimately, we do the show for you guys. So thank you so much for listening. You.