Category: Healthy Living

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Are Smartphones and Social Media Our #1 Threat to a Healthy Life?

 I discovered that technology’s quest towards the unknown
requires us to accumulate more and more control,
whereas growing in virtue requires an altogether different capacity:
more and more surrender.
~Nipun Mehta

Believe it or not, I do not own smartphones. I’m not averse to technology. But I spend so much time on my computer engaged in research and writing that when I take a break from my work, I truly take a break. I want to be fully present in life without the temptation of looking at my smartphone. Instead of focusing on my phone, I walk down the street enjoying my surroundings and smiling at people as I pass by. If I need directions, I ask someone directly, engaging in real communication with another human being.

Along with the benefit of being engaged in life, removing myself from the seductive pull of technology frees up time for my mind to wander, which is essential to creative thought and wellbeing.

On average, people in the U.S. check their smartphones 46 times per day (up from 33 times per day in 2014). And it’s worse for users in the U.K. A study by Nottingham Trent University found that adults ages 18-33 checked their smartphones 85 times a day, or once every 10 minutes—and they don’t even know they are doing it.1

We are giving up our uniqueness as individuals, becoming mere facts and statistics plugged into technology and artificial intelligence. Many believe this is a good thing and will improve our lives. But as we create smarter robots that are increasingly human-like, humans are at the same time becoming more robot-like. What happens to the human spirit in this race for technology?

I am deeply concerned about the physical, emotional, and spiritual price we are paying for technology, which is advancing at a speed that is impossible for us to adjust to. Drug addiction, drug overdosing, and suicide are epidemic in our society, and feelings of isolation are a primary cause. Social interaction is emerging as perhaps the single most important factor to a long, healthy and happy life, but overdosing on technology leads to isolation, not interaction.

My new motto has become: “Together we heal.” Continue reading “Are Smartphones and Social Media Our #1 Threat to a Healthy Life?”

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Understanding Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio (Part 2): Research Demonstrating its Role as a Valuable Prognostic Marker in Cancer

Understanding Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio (Part 2): Research Demonstrating its Role as a Valuable Prognostic Marker in Cancer

A large body of research (as well as my clinical observations) point to chronic inflammation as a powerful force in the initiation, growth, and spread of cancer. As a result, an essential component of my protocol for health includes addressing inflammation.

As I discussed in part 1 of this series, there are three points to consider when evaluating the role of inflammation in cancer. First, a chronic inflammatory state can initiate cancer development. Second, it’s important to discover and address the root cause of the inflammation—for example, pathogenic (chronic infection), life-style, stress, and/or poor dietary habits. And third, recognize that the cancer itself creates inflammation—as the cancer energy mutates and gains intelligence, it manipulates the immune system, creating a pro-inflammatory micro-environment favorable to cancer growth.

Research indicates that the systemic manifestations of inflammation can provide a valuable biomarker for prognosis and treatment stratification. In particular, numerous studies indicate that a simple indicator of systemic inflammation—based on neutrophilia and/or lymphocytopenia—can provide prognostic information in a wide range of cancer types. In particular, the value of one index (the dNLR) derived from total white cell and neutrophil counts, is enabling large retrospective studies to be carried out.

Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio May Be a Predictor of Mortality in All Conditions

White blood cell (WBC) count is one of the useful inflammatory biomarkers in clinical practice. For example, even if WBC is within normal range, subtypes of WBC including N/L ratio may predict cardiovascular mortality.

N/L ratio is a readily measurable laboratory marker used to evaluate systemic inflammation. There are many different conditions that can affect N/L ratio, including hypertension, diabetes mellitus, metabolic syndrome (1), left ventricular dysfunction, acute coronary syndromes, valvular heart disease, abnormal thyroid function tests, renal or hepatic dysfunction, known malignancy (2,3,4), local or systemic infection, previous history of infection (<3 months), inflammatory diseases, and any medication related to inflammatory conditions.

Here’s one example of how the N/L ratio can be useful as part of the evaluation of a specific cancer and the treatment protocol: not only N/L ratio but also mean platelet volume, red cell distribution width (5), platelet distribution width, CRP, uric acid and gamma-glutamyl transferase (6) are easy markers to evaluate the prognosis of colon cancer patients (7). However, one should keep in mind that N/L ratio itself alone without other inflammatory markers may not give exact information to clinicians about the prognosis of colon cancer patients. (8,9).

Continue reading “Understanding Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio (Part 2): Research Demonstrating its Role as a Valuable Prognostic Marker in Cancer”

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The ETMS Diet: A Mediterranean-Inspired Diet Customizable for Optimum Health

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I’ve spent the past four decades researching and refining the diet that I’ve found best supports health and healing. The Eclectic Triphasic Medical System (ETMS) approach to diet is based on traditional wisdom and supported by scientific research. It is sensible, balanced, diverse, nutrient-rich, and delicious.

In my last post, I addressed the currently popular ketogenic diet, which many people have adopted for weight loss. Other people pursue the carbohydrate-restrictive, fat-laden keto diet with the hope of curing cancer. Neither of these outcomes is supported by research.

Guidelines for the ETMS Diet: An Optimal Nutrition Plan

The primary guidelines of the ETMS diet are based on a pesca-flexa-vegetarian diet, which I describe in detail here: https://www.donnieyance.com/pesca-flexa-vegetarianism.  Continue reading “The ETMS Diet: A Mediterranean-Inspired Diet Customizable for Optimum Health”

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Health Considerations and Consequences of the Ketogenic Diet

Health Consequences of Ketogenic Diet

I have been involved in the health industry for four decades and in clinical practice for three decades, and have seen every possible variation of supposedly health-promoting diet come and go. Macrobiotic, raw food, fat free, vegan, and high protein diets have been touted as diets for preventing or healing from cancer, most of them offering up a confusing array of contradictory advice. The most recent diet to appear on the scene is the ketogenic (keto) diet, a high fat and low protein regime virtually devoid of carbohydrates. I would like to share my opinion on why I am not in favor of the ketogenic diet in general and the very rare and specific circumstances in which it could possibly have benefit with short-term use in people with brain cancer.

Health Consequences of Ketogenic Diet
A keto diet is high fats, moderate in protein, and extremely low in all carbohydrates (both good and bad). By restricting all (including healthy) carbohydrate consumption to a mere 20-50g per day the keto diet aims to starve the cell of body (including the brain) of glucose. When glucose stores are depleted due to starvation or extremely low carbohydrate consumption, the body goes into ketosis (this is where the name keto diet comes from). In ketosis, the liver breaks fat (and secondary protein) down into ketone bodies as a secondary fuel source for the brain. While this diet, by inducing fat breakdown via ketosis can produce impressive weight loss, this “quick fix” can also come at a cost. Continue reading “Health Considerations and Consequences of the Ketogenic Diet”

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Can Stress And Low Level Exposure to Toxins Improve Health And Longevity?

Almost daily, we are warned of the dangers of exposure to toxins from pollutants in our air, water, food, home, and workplace. The reality of modern life is that no matter how careful we may be, we are inevitably exposed to a variety of toxins. For many people, knowing that toxins are linked to cancer, cardiovascular, neurological, and other diseases creates a great deal of anxiety.

What most people don’t realize is that virtually any substance can be toxic—even pure water. We’re constantly encouraged to drink plenty of water, but drinking too much water in a short period of time can cause hyponatremia (basically, water intoxication). In severe cases, water intoxication can lead to seizures, coma, and even death.

The example of water as a potential toxin makes it obvious that not all potential toxins are toxic at any level. And it raises the question: Should we take extreme measures to aggressively detoxify and rid our bodies of substances deemed toxic?

Fear and Misunderstanding Concerning Toxins

The reality is that it is impossible to avoid toxins in our modern world (and in truth, there have always been toxic substances in our environment). A vast industry has arisen that plays into the fear and misunderstanding of toxins. Many companies promote products that claim heavy duty “cleansing” of our organ systems, encouraging extreme approaches that can actually cause more harm to the body than the exposure itself.

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Continue reading “Can Stress And Low Level Exposure to Toxins Improve Health And Longevity?”

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The Pursuit of Truth in Medicine

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Pursuit of Truth requires being and listening, rather than doing and assuming; and slowing down rather than speeding up. You must cultivate Truth. The great Eclectic School of Medicine of the early 1900’s had a Motto, which I stand by today. It read: “To Love the Truth, To Prove the Truth, To Apply the Truth, and To Promote the Truth.”

In today’s times, the term “evidence based medicine” is often used and in the past decade has been readily adopted largely by the naturopathic field when speaking in the context of plant-based medicines (the primary “toolbox” of wholistic practitioners) in an effort to gain more acceptance through applying equally high standards of “safety and validity” to those of conventional medicine. However, this is often far from what can be called “truth” since the motive behind clinical research is not to prove “truth” but to have a drug or device approved by the FDA. The problem with using “evidence based medicine” exclusively, rather than “evidence informed medicine”, which I prefer, is that the term originated from the randomized controlled trial research paradigm used to study drugs. Such clinical studies are set up specifically in a reductionist method, removing all variables, which is essential for a drug. Continue reading “The Pursuit of Truth in Medicine”