When you get thirsty, there are so many choices that are tastier than water. Soda, sweetened juices, or even a beer might sound good. And sure, all of these beverages do offer some hydration. But you have to consider all of the crap found in them. Things like sugar, corn syrup, sodium, artificial sweeteners and […]

The brain is an amazing thing. For our entire lives, it constantly sends electrical signals and messages that form trillions of neural pathways in the brain. But imagine that those pathways are just like the streets and highways that connect cities and states. Streets along older routes become damaged and may or may not be […]

I like nuts. They’re loaded with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other nutrients that fuel your body and protect against disease. Nuts are especially good for your gut microbiome. That’s because they contain prebiotic compounds that support the growth of healthy gut bacteria. And what’s good for your gut is good for your entire body. Nuts […]

There are many things that influence your ability to lose weight, and you know what most of them are. Getting plenty of physical activity. Avoiding fattening processed foods and sugars. Eating your fruits and veggies. These changes take time and effort, but they pay off in the long run. But there’s another factor I’ll bet […]

If you catch a cold this winter, you’ll probably find yourself standing in the cold-and-flu aisle at your local drugstore trying to figure out what to take. Do you need a decongestant, antihistamine, cough suppressant, or something else? The thing is, nothing you take will actually cure a cold or shorten its duration. And, according […]

As an Advanced Natural Wellness reader, you know that chronic inflammation is the driving force behind aging and age-related disease. It’s an underlying contributor to heart disease, diabetes, stroke, arthritis, non-alcoholic fatty liver, kidney disease, cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, Alzheimer’s disease, premature aging and so much more! Unlike acute inflammation – the kind of inflammation […]

When it comes to health, people place a lot of emphasis on their family history. They think “Oh, geez. Dad and grandpa both died so young that I probably don’t have much time left.” Well I have some great news for you. It turns out that genetics don’t play nearly as big a role in […]

The use of corticosteroid injections for the treatment of osteoarthritis has been controversial for a long time. And there is a good reason for that. While these injections may help relieve pain for a short while, they can actually worsen your arthritis. They damage bone and cartilage, cause rapid joint destruction, lead to stress fractures […]

I love fresh fruits and vegetables. They’re loaded with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that are good for my health… and yours. Eating fresh, plant-based foods is one of the easiest ways to prevent cancer. These foods protect against high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke and mental decline. They preserve your vision, prevent diabetes, keep you […]

Grocery store shelves are loaded with row after row of canned, boxed, bagged and other packaged foods that are so over-processed that I hesitate to even call them food. They fall into the category of “ultra-processed foods.” In addition to salt, sugar and fat, they contain a vast amount of artificial ingredients that would never […]

As we get older our sleep patterns change. It just seems harder to get as much sleep as we used to. And it could be caused by any number of reasons. One reason is that older adults sometimes produce less melatonin than they used to. This is the hormone that promotes sleep. So if you’re […]

Hypothyroidism is one of those misunderstood conditions that is often either undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. That’s because the symptoms are so wide-ranging that it can be difficult to pinpoint. Among other things, it can cause fatigue, brain fog, anxiety, irritability, depression, forgetfulness, weight gain, hair loss and dry skin. In women, many of these symptoms are […]

Some patients insist that they need an antibiotic for their cold or flu – even though antibiotics are 100% ineffective against viral infections. Still, there are plenty of doctors who will pull out the prescription pad and satisfy their request. This type of inappropriate prescribing of antibiotics remains widespread. And it can be seen in […]

If you flew anywhere last summer, you know how crazy things got. There were record-setting flight delays and cancellations. Many people were stuck in travel hell for days on end. Things have settled down quite a bit since then. Still, high travel demand, limited flight availability and winter weather could result in chaotic cancellations and […]

People over in Japan often eat a traditional cucumber salad called sunomono. This dish is really easy to make. It’s simply sliced cucumbers in rice vinegar seasoned with a little soy sauce and sugar, and topped with sesame seeds. Other items, like seafood, seaweed or tomatoes, can be added as desired. But there is something […]

As we age, we often find ourselves less socially active than we were when we were younger. Family and friends who have been bedrocks in our lives have passed away. Our adult children are busy with their own lives. Connections with our remaining friends dwindle. It’s depressing to think about. And it can leave us […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness One thing I notice when it comes to health concerns is that most people don’t pay nearly enough attention to their eyesight. This is a mistake. Your eyesight is your key to independence. Once it starts to go, all sorts of things happen.

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness A New England Journal of Medicine article recently received a lot of press, with headlines suggesting that perhaps colonoscopies aren’t that useful after all. But that’s misleading, because most of the news reports failed to focus on the most significant part of the article. As journalists like to […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness One of the biggest health threats here in the U.S. is the build-up of plaque in the arteries. It’s known as atherosclerosis, and it’s the underlying cause of about 50% of all deaths in westernized countries. As plaque builds up in the walls of blood vessels, it causes […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness With the arrival of winter weather, fresh fruits and vegetables are going to be shipped from further and further away. In fact, according to the Fruit Growers Supply Company, the average fruit or vegetable you purchase at a local US grocery store travels at least 1,500 miles over […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness I always start my morning with a cup of tea or coffee. Both of these caffeinated beverages are high in antioxidants. They help me start my day with focus and energy. They’re great for my cardiovascular system and my liver. They lower my risk of heart disease, stroke, […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness Millions of people take blood thinners to prevent blood clots that can lead to a heart attack or stroke. But combining blood thinners with aspirin can be risky business. Taken on their own, blood thinners can cause excessive bleeding from even the simplest injury, like a paper cut […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness Maybe you’re trying to lose weight or need to take better control of your blood sugar. So you’ve decided to do yourself a favor and substitute sugar with artificial sweeteners. I understand the appeal. The marketers for these fake sugars make it sound like they are the cure-all […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness We often hear about the negative health consequences of too much sodium in our diets.  It raises blood pressure, contributes to plaque formation in the arteries and raises your risk of heart attack or stroke. It is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes, can trigger kidney stones, […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness The debate over the link between aluminum and Alzheimer’s disease has been raging for over 50 years. Study after study shows that aluminum is a neurotoxicant. It generates an inflammatory response in the brain. It promotes the accumulation and misfolding of beta amyloid and tau proteins. And it […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness How many times have you heard that vitamins are a waste of money and you’re just making expensive urine, throwing money down the drain if you purchase them? But the fact is, vitamins are needed to fill in nutritional gaps that, if not addressed, could lead to some […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness I recently had an older patient who told me she couldn’t sleep at night. Every time she closes her eyes, all she does is worry about her children. They’re not doing well, and it is the only thing she can think about. This is very common among our […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness Your knees are important to you. You use them every time you sit, stand, walk, lift or jump. But when they become inflamed and irritated, it can become debilitating and interfere with even the simplest of daily activities. Around one in every two adults will develop symptoms of […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness Flu season is here, and if early data out of Australia is any indication, we might be in for a bad one. Over there, winter starts in June and ends in August, so we generally use their data to predict how the flu season will play out in […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness People seem to think that over-the-counter medications (OTCs) are safe. After all, why would they be sitting there for anyone to buy if they weren’t? Well, you have to remember that OTC meds are still drugs. And there is no such thing as a completely safe drug. Take […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness Even though gout is quite common, it’s one of the most misunderstood forms of inflammatory arthritis. Gout is caused by a build-up of uric acid in the body, a condition called hyperuricemia (pronounced hyper-yur-i-see-me-ya). This causes solid uric acid crystals to form in joints that results in excruciating […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness Ask someone what their breakfast consists of and you’ll get a wide array of answers. Some people skip it altogether. Others take the easy route. Coffee with a muffin, bagel or toast. Maybe cereal, a pastry, waffle or breakfast bar. Then there are the traditional breakfast eaters who […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness These days just about everyone knows a salty diet is bad for the heart. But did you know that sugar is also linked to heart disease? In fact, there was one 15-year study that found people who ate more added sugar were more than twice as likely to […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness It’s estimated that just over 40% of Alzheimer’s and dementia cases in America are caused by 12 modifiable risk factors: physical inactivity, obesity, high blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, excess alcohol consumption, depression, traumatic brain injury, hearing loss, fewer years of education, social isolation, and air pollution. That’s a […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness I remember when my relatives, with all of my great aunts and great uncles, would get together for a big holiday dinner. Not long after we finished eating, they would all get up and go outside to take a walk. You don’t see much of this anymore. That’s […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness We are not eating enough protein in our later years. That’s a fact. To top it off, as we age, our bodies have a harder time synthesizing protein. So even if you think you’re getting plenty of it in your diet, it won’t have the same affect it […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness People love their potatoes! The average American eats about 135 pounds of potatoes a year. That’s the equivalent of approximately one potato each day. Russet potatoes – sometimes called Idaho potatoes – are the most well-known type of potatoes in the United States. We bake them, mash them, […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness Back when I was in medical school decades ago, I was taught to treat the patient, not the symptoms…that if you really listened to them tell their story, it would tell you what their medical problem was. This is a message I took to heart. And as medicine […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness When talking about Alzheimer’s, we often refer to amyloid plaques and tau tangles. The common belief is that these are the underlying cause of the disease – and that if you get rid of them, you’ll be cured. But it turns out these proteins may actually be a […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness Back pain is the most common form of pain in the U.S. In 2019, 39.0% of people experienced some sort of back pain. And unfortunately, it hits almost everyone – around four out of every five people – at some point in their lives. The good news is […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness It’s amazing how confusing the concept of exercise can be. Ask five different fitness experts what you should be doing, and you’ll get five different answers. “You should workout every day…” “It’s okay if you only workout on the weekends…”

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness A lot of people get in a bad mood when they’re hungry. They can throw a temper tantrum and lash out at the simplest little thing. These days there is a name for it. We call it being “hangry.” But is it really just a mental state? A […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness Something we are seeing a lot these days are patients who say their grandsons – who are in their 20’s and 30’s – are looking to begin testosterone replacement therapy. That should never happen, because it will affect a young man’s testicular size and future fertility. The thing […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness Even though there are dozens of trials and dozens more ready to be done, the idea that men go through male menopause – or “manopause” – isn’t totally accepted in the medical community. It’s not even accepted by a lot of men. Does that make it any less […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness When you eat citrus fruits, cantaloupe or broccoli, you are boosting your vitamin C levels.  Nuts, seeds, avocados and spinach are going to increase your vitamin E intake. And you will get plenty of vitamin A from your leafy greens, along with your orange, yellow and red vegetables. […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness Not very long ago, scientists believed that when we lost communication between brain cells, those connections and memories were lost forever. But there is one nutrient that can actually increase the communication between your brain cells. The nutrient I’m talking about is phosphatidylserine (PS). It is an all-natural […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness On July 27th you learned all about blueberries, one of my favorite foods. Another favorite of mine is avocados. And while avocados have never “officially” been part of the Mediterranean diet, I think they fit perfectly with the Mediterranean style of eating. They are rich and creamy with […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness Some of the simplest foods are the ones that are best for you. In the past few weeks I’ve shared a few of my favorites with you. You learned all about the health benefits of blueberries and avocados. Now let’s take a look at the wonderful world of […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness Fresh organic blueberries are, by far, one of my favorite snacks. The taste alone is enough to have me hooked on these tiny berries. I might even eat them if they were bad for me. But they aren’t! As small as blueberries are, you wouldn’t think they would […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness In the July 25th issue of Advanced Natural Wellness you learned how antibiotics are contributing to inflammatory bowel disease in older adults. Today I would like to share more information on a specific class of antibiotics: fluoroquinolones. These drugs come with a long list of disabling side effects. […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness If you had chickenpox as a kid, you still have the virus in your body. It never really goes away after a chickenpox attack. Instead it sets up housekeeping in your nerves, where it can lie dormant for years. But when you get older it can be reactivated […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness It’s not just hot, it’s sweltering! And while it can be extremely uncomfortable, especially if you need to be outdoors or don’t have air conditioning, I have much larger concerns. The kind of scorching weather we’ve been experiencing recently can have a terrible effect on your health. Especially […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness There are a lot of reasons men experience erectile dysfunction. At the top of the list are vascular problems. If you don’t have a healthy blood flow, you’re not going to be able to get and maintain an erection. This connection is so well established that I often […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness Over 100 years ago, William Howard Taft was the heaviest President to ever hold office in the U.S. Weighing in at more than 340 pounds he was what we call morbidly obese. At 275 pounds, Grover Cleveland was the second-heaviest President. But it’s interesting to note that neither […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness Not very long ago, scientists believed that when we lost communication between brain cells, those connections were lost forever. But there is one nutrient that can actually increase the communication between your brain cells. The nutrient I’m talking about is phosphatidylserine (PS). It is an all-natural substance that […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness Baby, it’s hot outside! It looks like another temperature-breaking summer is here. And if it’s anything like last year, it’s time to find ways to stay cool and beat the heat. In addition to staying as cool as possible, one of the most important things you can do […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness Like a lot of other people, I usually have a cup of coffee or green tea in the morning to get my day started. Both of these caffeinated beverages are high in antioxidants. They boost my energy levels and brain function. They’re great for my liver and lower […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness Decreased walking speed often occurs as we age. And as a physician, I often use gait speed to get a handle on the general health, physical mobility and frailty of some of my older patients. Slow gait speed can also be a sign that mild cognitive impairment or […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness After getting a bad rap for the last 40 years or so, eggs are finally back on the menu! Years and years of scientific research has concluded that there is no link between egg consumption and high cholesterol. Even the US Dietary Guidelines recommend eating eggs as a […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness One of the most neglected parts of the human body is the feet. Most people – especially men, but women can be just as guilty – hide their feet inside a pair of shoes all day when they are out of the house, then tuck them into slippers […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness Ancient medicine had so many things right! Long before we had antibiotics, antacids, pain relievers and a drug for every ailment, plants were our number one form of medicine. They were used to treat anything and everything. Only recently are we rediscovering the healing power of herbs, spices […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness The Scandinavian people have been sweating their way to great health for centuries. It’s a hallmark of their culture, especially in Finland. These guys have somewhere around 3.2 million saunas for a population of 5.5 million Finns.  So that’s one sauna available for nearly every two people in […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness If you’re not getting enough sleep every night it might be by choice, or it might be involuntary. But either way, you probably don’t think of it as a health concern. That’s a mistake. And it’s not just because a poor night’s sleep leaves you with brain fog […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness When I was growing up, the only time people talked about fiber was when they were constipated. But most of them never actually tried to eat more of it. Instead, they would just take some castor oil, prune juice or ex-lax until the next time they experienced bowel […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness Here’s a number that will knock your socks off. About half of all U.S. adults – 116 million of us – have high blood pressure. Good grief! That’s one out of every two people! It’s no wonder blood pressure meds are taken by so many people. These medications […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness Two of the main reasons people avoid sugary foods is to minimize weight gain and maintain healthy blood glucose levels. What most people don’t realize is that sugar isn’t the only type of food that interferes with your weight and blood sugar. Let’s say you gave up donuts. […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness As we age, we reach the point where old bone breaks down faster than it’s being replaced. The result is osteoporosis… weak, brittle bones that break and fracture easily. And it’s not just women who are affected. Around one in three men over the age of 50 already […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness The biggest fear for women who have survived breast cancer is that it will come back. This is a threat that survivors of all types of cancer face every day. Sadly, there is no silver bullet to prevent recurrence. However there are things you can do in your […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness When people reach a certain age, they often think it’s too late to make changes IN their lives that will make a noticeable difference. It’s like they think they have a “best before date” stamped on their foreheads. But what if you didn’t have an age… didn’t know […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness Isn’t it odd how you can hear a song from a single moment in your life, and immediately be transported back into the memory of that place and time? We remember clearly who we were with… what we were doing… how we were feeling. We remember clearly who […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness Do you ever have that weird thing happen where you stand up and get dizzy? A lot of people think it’s because they stood up too fast. But it’s really more a function of your blood flow. When you sit for a while, gravity causes blood to pool […]

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness I know people who have tried to go on a raw food diet. And I realize how appealing the concept is. It sounds so “clean” to get living food enzymes and nutrients from raw food. And it is! Raw fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds are loaded with digestive […]