The world of nutrition can be a maze of confusion, leaving many of us frustrated and unsure of how to achieve our health and weight goals. At the center of it all is calories, a word you've almost certainly heard, but may not fully understand. There is a lot of misinformation around calories, which doesn't help. You've probably heard contradictions like "Calories are the only thing that matter for weight loss" vs. "Calories don't matter for weight loss as long as you are eating foods in xyz p...

The world of nutrition can be a maze of confusion, leaving many of us frustrated and unsure of how to achieve our health and weight goals. At the center of it all is calories, a word you've almost certainly heard, but may not fully understand. There is a lot of misinformation around calories, which doesn't help. You've probably heard contradictions like "Calories are the only thing that matter for weight loss" vs. "Calories don't matter for weight loss as long as you are eating foods in xyz p...

We're getting closer to the 2024 election. I don't normally pay much attention to politics, but the past couple of months has been an exception because it's been all over my Twitter feed and a popular topic of conversation among friends and family. Some stories have caught my interest and I've gone down rabbit holes. Now, after learning more about key players and policies on both sides in the past 3 months than I have in the past 30 years, I feel compelled to write about my viewpoint from the...

We're getting closer to the 2024 election. I don't normally pay much attention to politics, but the past couple of months has been an exception because it's been all over my Twitter feed and a popular topic of conversation among friends and family. Some stories have caught my interest and I've gone down rabbit holes. Now, after learning more about key players and policies on both sides in the past 3 months than I have in the past 30 years, I feel compelled to write about my viewpoint from the...

Cruises are one of my favorite kinds of vacations because it’s easy to practice good health habits. On my latest cruise, I ate a lot of high-quality protein, fruits, vegetables, and got plenty of steps and sun. I never felt bloated or hungover because I hardly drank and came back feeling really good. Afterwards, I got asked how I resist all of the temptations, treats, and snacks on the cruise ship. I thought about it, and the best answer I could think of is practice. I go on a couple of cruis...

Cruises are one of my favorite kinds of vacations because it’s easy to practice good health habits. On my latest cruise, I ate a lot of high-quality protein, fruits, vegetables, and got plenty of steps and sun. I never felt bloated or hungover because I hardly drank and came back feeling really good. Afterwards, I got asked how I resist all of the temptations, treats, and snacks on the cruise ship. I thought about it, and the best answer I could think of is practice. I go on a couple of cruis...

If you are serious about disease prevention, here's an important question for you: How often are you measuring your blood pressure? If your answer is once or twice a year at your doctor's visits, that's not enough. Many people don't check their blood pressure at all. Hypertension often presents no symptoms. Without frequent measurements, you may remain unaware of elevated blood pressure, which can increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, and kidney damage. In this post, I will share my app...

If you are serious about disease prevention, here's an important question for you: How often are you measuring your blood pressure? If your answer is once or twice a year at your doctor's visits, that's not enough. Many people don't check their blood pressure at all. Hypertension often presents no symptoms. Without frequent measurements, you may remain unaware of elevated blood pressure, which can increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, and kidney damage. In this post, I will share my app...

Something unusual I do that I'm surprised more people don't is pay for a monthly virtual assistant service. My VAs do tasks I don't want to do, like researching travel, price comparisons on big ticket items, and finding gifts for others. It's not that expensive, but people look at me like I have two heads when I tell them I do this. I posted about this on X the other day and got a couple of questions.1. What kind of service is it?The service I use is called Fancy Hands They're US-based, all t...

Something unusual I do that I'm surprised more people don't is pay for a monthly virtual assistant service. My VAs do tasks I don't want to do, like researching travel, price comparisons on big ticket items, and finding gifts for others. It's not that expensive, but people look at me like I have two heads when I tell them I do this. I posted about this on X the other day and got a couple of questions.1. What kind of service is it?The service I use is called Fancy Hands They're US-based, all t...

I recently watched a short YouTube video by Thomas DeLauer discussing the nutrition habits of the Costa Rican Blue Zone in the Nicoyan Peninsula. One thing stood out as unique from other Blue Zones. While all Blue Zones focus on nutrient-dense foods and have a strong sense of community, the Costa Ricans don’t emphasize a predominantly plant-based diet as much as others. They consume a lot of lean meat, particularly poultry, and have a moderate amount of animal protein in their diet. This show...

I recently watched a short YouTube video by Thomas DeLauer discussing the nutrition habits of the Costa Rican Blue Zone in the Nicoyan Peninsula. One thing stood out as unique from other Blue Zones. While all Blue Zones focus on nutrient-dense foods and have a strong sense of community, the Costa Ricans don’t emphasize a predominantly plant-based diet as much as others. They consume a lot of lean meat, particularly poultry, and have a moderate amount of animal protein in their diet. This show...

You can go a long way to improving your health by focusing on areas with high frequency of exposure, like food, water, and breathing. I mean, we all breathe countless times a day, eat several meals, and drink water constantly. By adjusting a few habits, you can dramatically alter the inputs entering your body.Concerns with conventional waterWith water, conventional options fall short. Tap water? I avoid it at all costs. Even filtering tap water has been shown ineffective at removing all toxin...

You can go a long way to improving your health by focusing on areas with high frequency of exposure, like food, water, and breathing. I mean, we all breathe countless times a day, eat several meals, and drink water constantly. By adjusting a few habits, you can dramatically alter the inputs entering your body.Concerns with conventional waterWith water, conventional options fall short. Tap water? I avoid it at all costs. Even filtering tap water has been shown ineffective at removing all toxin...

Over the past few years, I’ve developed a strong interest in longevity, and as a result, I’ve learned a lot about centenarians. Centenarians are people who have lived to be over a hundred years old (reportedly less than 0.01% of the world’s population as of 2020). Researchers like Dan Buettner have studied and documented centenarians’ lifestyle habits extensively. The common understanding has been they lead more traditional, almost rural lifestyles and are more concentrated in certain regions...

Over the past few years, I’ve developed a strong interest in longevity, and as a result, I’ve learned a lot about centenarians. Centenarians are people who have lived to be over a hundred years old (reportedly less than 0.01% of the world’s population as of 2020). Researchers like Dan Buettner have studied and documented centenarians’ lifestyle habits extensively. The common understanding has been they lead more traditional, almost rural lifestyles and are more concentrated in certain regions...

The deeper into the gut health rabbit hole I go, the more frustrated I get about what it takes to be healthy. Like most people, I want to believe in the 80/20 principle, i.e. if 80% of my diet comes from nutritious whole foods, then I don’t need to worry about the other 20%. While this may be true for many people, those with gut-related autoimmune diseases seem to be subject to a different (and much stricter) set of rules:Compliance may need to be much higher (e.g., 95%, 99%, maybe even 100% ...

The deeper into the gut health rabbit hole I go, the more frustrated I get about what it takes to be healthy. Like most people, I want to believe in the 80/20 principle, i.e. if 80% of my diet comes from nutritious whole foods, then I don’t need to worry about the other 20%. While this may be true for many people, those with gut-related autoimmune diseases seem to be subject to a different (and much stricter) set of rules:Compliance may need to be much higher (e.g., 95%, 99%, maybe even 100% ...