Health Matters with Paul Rosen: Recent Episodes
AcuNatural Family Healthcare
"Health Matters" with Paul Rosen is a resource for anyone who wants to live a better, healthier lifestyle through nutrition.
Nutrition and alternative health expert Paul Rosen customizes individual solutions for patients suffering from fatigue, digestive issues, body aches, migraines, arthritis, bursitis, osteoporosis, heart disease, food sensitivities, and countless other issues.
Learn how to make yourself better through nutrition, and how to properly read food labels and avoid environmental hazards in your very home and neighborhood that may be making you sick.
Bad back, chronic headaches, shoulder pain? All these aggravations are related to unhealthy organs and glands. Here's how to fix those problems and end the agony.
The common, often related causes of high cholesterol, high blood pressure and high blood sugar.
Maintaining the efficient function of dozens of hormones in our bodies is critical to good health.
Dieting can be dangerous, unless you're picking food tailored specifically for your nutritional needs.
The reasons more Americans are suffering from heart disease are easy to identify, and once identified, they can be fixed.
Immediate, easy measures to ensure your safety, and the safety of everyone around you, during the pandemic.
First step: don't be a jerk.
Even if your health has suffered for years, you can start fixing it now, and keep it fixed for good. Here's how.
Never more critical than right now, here are simple, everyday steps to help protect you and others during the pandemic.
Dangerous chemicals are not only in our foods and household products, but even in our furniture and clothing.
How can we identify which chemicals are in what products, what are the alternatives?
In Europe, more than 13,000 chemicals in lotions, soaps, toothpaste, cosmetics and other personal care products are banned.
What do they know that we don't? If these chemicals are so dangerous, why are we still using them?
The answer to your migraines, acid reflux, high blood pressure and countless other conditions isn't a prescription medication. In fact, the meds may make it worse.
One example? Medication isn't the best solution for acid reflux. What you need for that is more vitamin B1, and the best source of vitamins is nutrition.
If you think you and many others are more irritable, anxious or depressed during winter, you're not wrong. Here's why.
The foods you buy every day are loaded with dangerous chemicals. What are the alternatives?
Irritable? Anxious? Blue? Hyperactive? Chemicals in your body are making you that way, and your personal habits are making you worse.
Plus, the dangers of Skittles.
Toxic chemicals in cosmetics, cleaning products, soaps, detergents and even building materials are harming us every day.
The surprising solutions include cloth curtains and plants, as well as old school answers like vinegar and baking soda.
Washing your face or laundering your shirts can be unhealthy for your long-term health.
Frankenfoods, GMOs, GM seeds, transgenic crops: call them what you will, genetically-modified foods are everywhere in the food chain. The dangers are proven. Why, then, hasn't the FDA worked harder at regulation?
The fact that our air and water are polluted by multiple contaminants from many sources is a given: industry, agriculture and even sewage systems are just a few of the origin points for air and water contamination.
So how is this happening, and why haven't government regulatory agencies stepped up and stopped it?
Yes, Americans are more overweight than ever, and the costs are measurable in cash. The typical overweight consumer, in fact, spends hundreds more dollars in health care every year than his peers of healthy weight.
But losing weight isn't just a matter of regulating calories and fat. Even exercise isn't a magic cure.
Only if you know the myths and truths of weight loss, and what's right for your individual situation, can you begin to make yourself healthier.
Yet another faddish health product is alkaline water, which contains less acid than tap water. The theory is that there are health benefits to lower acid levels in the body.
But it's not that simple. Our bodies need minimum levels of acid to function properly. If those levels are unbalanced, your health will suffer.
So how do you determine the right balances, and how do you make sure you have them?
Who doesn't want to feel better and live longer? Who's willing to give up sugar immediately and abandon their other ingrained habits to make it happen?
The answer to the first question is "everyone." The answer to the second is...complicated. But to get better, to get past medications, to stop treating symptoms and start addressing causes, we have to change the way we think about health. Here's how to begin.
Why is it that more American consumers are suffering from obesity? If the Guiness Book of World Records is to be believed, the heaviest man who ever lived lost two-thirds of his body weight after being hospitalized.
If he can do that, why can't we at least cut down on desserts?
Government agencies like the USDA and the FDA routinely cite studies about food and nutrition to guide our dietary choices. These studies often involve years of research, and they’re expensive, sometimes costing millions.
But what if this government research isn’t financed by the government? The fact is, some of the studies meant to inform about us about food, beverages and alcohol are funded by the food, beverage and alcohol industries.
Few tout the health benefits of eating tires. But the steel-belted radials on your car contain some of the same ingredients that go into your food. One foodstuff is found not only in tires, but in cleaning products, industrial solvents, and many other places you're unlikely to seek nutritional value.
Why is this food so ubiquitous, and if we want to avoid it, are there other, healthier substitutes?
As a child, the greatest American Olympian ever suffered from ADHD. How did he work past all that? The same way you can, and you can get started today.
An unhealthy immune system means your body is less able to fight invaders. Infections and viruses can not only infiltrate your body, but hide out and spring back to action later, when your system is weak.
The consequences can be serious. There are literally dozens of autoimmune diseases, and one serious misconception about all of them.
Menopause isn't just for women. Many of the same symptoms, the irritability, hot flashes and night sweats, are experienced by men of a certain age, just as they are for women. And usually, the causes are the same, too.
The solution? Your diet. Change what you eat, and you can make all those changes in your body changes for the better.
Sugar is so bad for us in so many ways, it's tough to create a comprehensive list. Sugar's addictive properties are for real: if you crave it, it's because your body chemistry has been trained to pine for it.
The alternative? Healthy, organic foods that sweeten your palate, enhance your diet, and don't turn you into an addict hungering for your next non-nutritional fix.
Every spring and summer, millions of Americans reach for medications they hope will help relieve the sneezing, hacking and pain of seasonal allergies. Many are also convinced that if they can limit their exposure to pollen, they can control the extent of their allergic reactions.
Not true. Pollen's not the problem. It's other things in our environment that are causing all the trouble. And yes, we can manage our exposure to hazards and better control our allergies.
The very ground upon which we walk may be toxic, and more importantly, the soil in which our food is grown is toxic, too.
Soil polluted by synthetic fertilizers and other pollutants produces foods that are deficient in nutrients and essential vitamins and minerals. These deficiencies can't always be corrected by dietary supplements.
So how do we account for tainted soil that produces unhealthy food?
Painful episodes of indigestion or acid reflux are common, and so are medications meant to address them. It's a classic case of the cure being worse than the disease.
Our systems need acid to function properly. Medications that reduce acid in the stomach actually make the problem worse. And failing to address digestive issues can lead to more serious issues, including ulcers.
So what's the answer? How do we fix digestive issues in a way that provides more than a short-term solution?
Americans of all ages are susceptible to arthritis, bursitis and tendonitis. Millions of sufferers understandably reach for medications for temporary relief from pain.
But even over-the-counter medications like aspirin can cause more problems than they solve. And if that's the case, if arthritis meds are a poor long-term solution, what can you do to lessen or fix the problem?
America's billion-dollar bottled-water industry includes many brands of alkaline water that claim to help lower levels of acid in the body. Water ionizers costing hundreds or thousands of dollars supposedly provide similar benefits.
But are these really benefits at all? Our bodies need minimum levels of acid to function properly. Is there a better way of determining your body's particular needs, and how to address them?
Salt gets a bad rap. It's not the health-killer it's made out to be, and in fact, it's essential for total health.
Sea salt is the best, of course, but why? What is it about sea salt that makes it superior to processed table salt, and why should it be your first choice as a food seasoning and preservative?
Our homes are full of toxins like formaldehyde and other building products that pollute the air, in addition to the cleansers, detergents and other common, health-damaging products we rely on every day.
Plants can help. They cleanse the air and make our homes healthier, and specific plants provide specific health benefits.
Tens of millions of Americans are considered obese by the Centers for Disease Control, and the number is growing. What's going on? Why are we getting so fat so quick?
One myth is that calories are the culprit. Counting calories is NOT an effective way to lose weight. In fact, focusing on calorie control can be entirely self-defeating.
If you're tired and in pain, if your head and body ache and you find it difficult to function, the thing to do is get some medical tests, right? You can't fix a problem until you diagnose it.
But what happens when the tests are no help? What if they can't find anything wrong? More problematically, what if the tests appear to making things worse?
This conversation between Paul Rosen and a patient answers these questions, and more.
The first thing to know about any skin condition, large or small, eczema, psoriasis, acne, rosacea, or any other, is that the cure isn't to be found in ointments or creams or anything else you may choose to apply to your body.
It's your diet that counts. What you eat can help eliminate the skin conditions that may be wrecking your appearance and your self-esteem, and in some cases, subjecting you to chronic pain.
At any point in your life, you may experience fatigue, mental fog, general pain and fading energy. You may even reach a point where any of all of these symptoms sap your motivation to get up and get going every day, or they may incapacitate you entirely.
So what do you do? If you've tried everything, and nothing works, is it time to give up?
Over the past couple of decades, hand sanitizers have mutated into a billion-dollar industry. You may keep hand sanitizers at the ready in your house right now, and many offices and businesses position them for employees to use at will.
But you shouldn't be using them at all. They're often full of ingredients that can do you a lot more harm than good.
So you want to eat healthy, but you don't want to hassle with lengthy preparations and ingredients. You don't have to, procrastinating chefs of the world.
There are many tasty foods you can acquire easily and prepare handily, and your body will thank you for it.
If you have consistent aches and pains, or common problems like gas and bloating, or if you're tired all the time, or even if you're relying on medications every day, you're not as well as you think.
Minor symptoms may indicate bigger problems. But how do you know which symptoms matter, and what health problems they're telling you to fix?
Who hasn't enjoyed a sandwich with some lunch meat, some bologna or salami, pastrami or ham? If somebody's told you that lunch meats are full of salts and unhealthy fats, they're not wrong. But that's not what's most dangerous about them.
Lunch meats are often jammed with preservatives and chemicals to make them look and taste better. Even the packaging is sometimes full of stuff you don't want infecting your food. And all those added ingredients are toxic to your health.
If you're tired or depressed, or if you feel antsy and anxious about even the most minor things, maybe the problem isn't the stress of your job, the rude drivers you may encounter everywhere, or any concerns you may have about your financial health.
It's your body chemistry. And your body chemistry can be controlled, just like your moods.
How is the health of your stomach related to the health of your brain? Chemicals like serotonin and dopamine are produced in the stomach, and these neurochemicals directly impact the functioning of our minds.
The foods you choose help ensure a healthy stomach and a healthy mind. So what foods are right for you?
In some cultures, the shape of your food was believed to determine the food's nutritional value. Walnuts are shaped like human brains, so walnuts are good for the brain, right?
Or is that right at all?
A vegetarian or vegan diet may have some benefits, but they're seriously lacking in essential vitamins like B12, which is readily found in meat and fish.
Consumers who choose vegetarianism for health or ethical reasons need to find ways to supplement their diets so that important elements of all healthy diets aren't left out.
Let's assume that sodas, with their huge concentrations of sugar, are bad for you. So is an alternative possible, a home soda-making system that creates carbonated beverages just as tasty as regular soda, but with far less sugar?
Yes...but no. A soda with less sugar still has a lot of sugar. Fortunately, those who prefer sparkling beverages have still other alternatives, healthy choices you can whip up right in your own kitchen.
Our bodies are complicated systems that can react harshly to food, if we've developed a food sensitivity. Food sensitivities are more common than ever, partly because of the way our food is grown and manufactured, and the way it's jammed with additives and preservatives.
So how do you know whether or not you have a food sensitivity? And even once it's identified, what do you do?
Milk has been a staple of young diets for decades. But are we giving our kids something that's unhealthy for them? And if milk isn't necessarily all that good for us, what are the alternatives?
Goats and coconuts are among the sources for healthy milk choices. Soy, not so much.
Whether or not you choose to vaccinate against the flu, the United States Supreme Court has a few things to say about it. A 2011 court ruling provides protection for vaccine manufacturers in the event a vaccine harms a consumer, based on legislation passed by Congress in 1986.
What do you need to know about liability and protections for the developers of vaccines?
Minerals are essential parts of healthy living, and some of the minerals in food aren't what you'd expect. Did you know, for example, that sulfur is in broccoli? And that salts in our water like sodium chloride help power our bodies?
Together, minerals, vitamins, proteins, fats and other nutrients are what make us go. But specifically, why are minerals important, and what happens when our diets are mineral deficient? And how are modern agricultural techniques making the food supply less rich in minerals than it should be?
Hot flashes and night sweats are among the common symptoms of menopause. Over the years, many medications and procedures have evolved to help women deal with these symptoms, including hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and estrogen replacement therapy (ERT). These therapies are not without their dangers, including a heightened risk of breast cancer.
The alternative? Safe and natural preventative measures tailored to each woman's particular needs.
The best source of vitamins is food, but if the food source is faulty, the food we buy isn't as rich in nutrients as we might expect. Depleted soil and toxic chemicals in the environment are among the culprits.
Are supplements the answer, the means by which we can compensate for the declining quality of food? Or are they part of the problem?
How can we expect our immune systems to protect our bodies if we're doing things every day to weaken them? By over-stimulating our systems, we create conditions that make us more susceptible to toxins.
What over-stimulates the system? Some flu vaccinations, for example, may lessen symptoms, but byproducts in the vaccines may create more problems than they solve.
The answer is to strengthen your body with diet, and to do it consistently.
Your body maintains direct connections between your brain and your immune system, while your stomach, believe it or not, is the center of the immune system.
With all these connections, all this additional plumbing, things can go wrong at any point and help ruin your health.
So what do you do when you suffer from a faulty immune system? Better, how do you prevent it from happening in the first place?
Our immune systems help keep us safe from all manner of diseases and illnesses which would otherwise leave us helpless. But if we're not maintaining a healthy balance in our diets and limiting our exposure to environmental hazards, we can create conditions that throw the immune system out of whack.
If we're not careful, the immune system attacks the very body it's supposed to be protecting.
Water supplies across the country are full of stuff you don't want there. These contaminants include runoffs of herbicides and pesticides from agriculture, as well as poisons from other industries. Plus, dated infrastructures are leaking lead and other dangerous elements into the water we use every day.
What can we do? Start filtering, and start now.
Thousands of years ago, physicians prescribed seaweed as a treatment for goiters, or enlarged thyroids. Was this quackery, or did doctors who worked in the age of togas and chariots know something?
It turns out they did. Seaweed is a source of iodine, a trace mineral critical for many functions of the body, including the thyroid. But there are much better sources for the essential ingredients we need for healthy thyroid function.
The numbers bear out the bad news: Americans, young and old, are getting heavier, to the point where it constitutes a threat to public health.
Why are we getting fatter, and what can we do about it? One myth is that we should be counting calories. Contrary to common belief, a calorie isn't what we think it is, and our focus on calories distracts from the true sources of our national obesity epidemic.
Restless legs are just what they sound like, the involuntary moving or shaking of your legs. It's a common condition, and it makes relaxing or just getting through the day difficult.
It's just one more way your body tells you that bigger problems may be in your future, including more serious issues with your autonomic nervous system. But if you make changes now, if you improve your diet by including some things and absolutely avoiding others, you can put your legs at peace.
Our endocrine systems are complex networks of glands, including the thyroid and adrenal glands, that regulate bodily and organ function. Disruptions to the proper functioning of the endocrine system can be disastrous, and that's exactly what we're doing to ourselves with the chemicals in many household products, including the cosmetics we apply and the water we drink.
The solution? Choose products without the harmful chemicals. They're available, and they're easy to find.
First, emotional imbalances among the general population are not at the crisis level some sources would have you believe. And second, the medications that have been created to treat various disorders are not only unhelpful, but often harmful.
Behaviors like inattention and hyperactivity are often related to thyroid issues. Fix the thyroid, and you fix the problem.
In our age of instant gratification, with immediate access to news and all manner of communications with mobile devices, many Americans have become less physically active. Is this turn away from exercise and even basic physical activity a contributing factor to illness, and to diabetes in particular?
Yes, if you accept the notion that a less rounded, more sedentary lifestyle makes us more careless about our general health.
There's a laundry list of symptoms that could indicate the onset of diabetes, including dramatic weight loss, increased thirst or hunger, blurred vision, and headaches, just to name a few.
But these problems are symptomatic of many serious conditions. If you're experiencing any of these discomforts, how do you know whether or not you're in danger of developing diabetes?
Almost a third of the total population in the United States is diabetic or pre-diabetic, and the numbers are especially egregious among the very young and very old.
What's going on? What are we doing that's led us to this disturbing point?
It's the diet, folks. The culprit is everything you eat. And yes, you can adjust your diet in ways that'll keep you from becoming another diabetes-related statistic.
Pity the egg. This mainstay of the world diet has been slandered for years, displayed as a dangerous delivery system for cholesterol and other health-killing ingredients.
The misconceptions begin with cholesterol itself, which isn't the villain the hype would have you believe. In fact, eggs are loaded with healthy stuff like fat and protein. Yes, those things are good for you, and eggs are where to find them.
Just what are superfoods? Depends on who you ask. To some food companies, superfoods are whatever the marketing department says they are. They may tell you that certain superfoods are good for heart health, or for maintaining a healthy gall bladder, or for enabling you to grow wings and resist fire.
But the true superfoods aren't necessarily that specific. Fresh food and foods rich in nutrients are superfoods. There are more, and there are certain places you can find them in almost any supermarket.
Fillings have been a common tool of dentistry for decades. They're typically an amalgam of metals like silver, tin and copper, with liquid mercury added to bind it all together. And mercury is bad for us, period.
Exposure to mercury can result in everything from chronic illnesses to mental health problems. But there are safe alternatives, and all you have to do ask.
Energy bars and protein bars are popular with health-conscious consumers looking for a quick shot of energy as they prepare to jog, hike or work out, or even as a meal substitute.
But they're kidding themselves. Many products marketed as healthy snacks are candy in another name, loaded with sugar and other junk that should horrify anyone who cares about maintaining health.
Flaxseed oil has been touted as everything from a cure for constipation to a balm for hearth health, and even as an effective means to prevent cancer. It's available as a supplement and in other health productions like lotions. Oh, and it's also an ingredient in everything from paint to linoleum.
So is there anything to the hype, or is it just hype?
What are probiotics, and why do we need them? Simply put, probiotics are bacteria and yeasts that are good for you. They help keep your gut healthy, which relates directly to your overall health, everything from your digestive system to the health and functioning of your brain.
Probiotics are available in certain foods and can be used as a supplement, but some products may not be as probiotic-rich as they claim.
Many functions of your body are out your control: your digestive system, your immune system, your nervous system. If you had to think about every breath you took, you'd wear out yourself remembering to inhale.
But what if your body isn't regulating every function properly? Hello, fatigue and insomnia, symptoms that your body's worn out. However, there is a technology that allows you to access the problems, and to fix them.
Back pain, neck pain, joint pain. Yes, you can suffer a trauma or accident that can make you ache. But a trip and fall or a car collision aren't the only things that can throw your body out of whack and invite the agony of chronic pain.
Pain is a symptom of problems elsewhere in your body. Fix those problems, and you fix your pain.
Billions of dollars in medical treatment and lost productivity are among the consequences of migraines. The problem is, millions of migraine sufferers are treating symptoms, not causes, and they're creating more problems with medications may provide temporary relief from pain, but leave users at the mercy of serious side effects.
The solution, even for those with chronic headaches? Stop relying on short-term relief and find out what's causing the pain. Then take the necessary, individualized steps to fix your aching head.
Osteoporosis is a loss of bone density that occurs over the course of decades. Even though you may show symptoms at a young age, the real problems begin as you grow older.
If you're eating poorly or leading a sedentary, non-active lifestyle, osteoporosis may be an unwelcome part of your future.
Over 60-million Americans suffer from some form of cardiovascular disease, but nobody is doomed by genetics or habits to a bad heart.
There are strategies you can adopt at any time in your life to avoid heart disease. But the sooner you begin, the better.
Hint: No matter what you've heard, cholesterol and fats aren't the problem.
The world's most dangerous food is everywhere. It's an ingredient in countless products on your store shelves and the subject of decades of misinformation from food manufacturers.
What is this scourge, and how can you keep yourself safe from it?
Is your food making you sick? Anything from simple indigestion to inflammation could be a result of a food sensitivity. If you're eating something your system can't handle, get ready for chronic pain and many other ugly symptoms.
Environmental hazards can contribute, too. But to make yourself healthier, you first have to know which foods may be bad for you, and why.
No medication is free from the dangers of side effects. If you're treating high blood pressure, say, with a prescription medication, and you start experiencing fatigue, dizziness, weakness, brain fog or other symptoms, your drugs may be to blame.
So what do you do? Reach for more drugs, or consider something safer and more effective?
Your body can't do much of anything well if you're not getting proper rest. Chronic sleep problems may be the result of nutritional deficiencies, chemical imbalances or even home electronics. Yes, that electric blanket you love so much may actually be costing you sleep.
The bad news? Our homes are full of building materials and other environmental hazards that create indoor air pollution, a toxic brew of chemicals we breathe through our nostrils and absorb through our skin. In fact, the air inside can be several times more toxic than the air outside.
The good news is that awareness and avoidance of key products can help you avoid making your home unhealthy. You can be even more proactive by running a fan, opening the windows once in awhile, or using an air purifier.
What's the big deal about genetically-modified foods? It's that modified and engineered foods may result in bigger yields and huger profits for food producers, but they're just not good for you.
The battle over GMOs is ongoing. What should you know, and what sources of information are most reliable?
The secret to a powerful immune system, a means of making your body resistant to illness and disease, isn't medication, raw garlic, or useless hand sanitizers.
Wash your hands with soap and water, wash them well, and you're doing the best thing possible to strengthen your body's ability to stay healthy. Anything else, including vaccinations, may in fact increase your system's susceptibility to making you sick.
Millions of consumers believe that small, daily amounts of alcohol are heathy. That's not an unpleasant notion, but it's way too simple.
Wine, for example, includes healthy ingredients like antioxidants. But those healthy ingredients are just as readily available in berries and other foods, and the health benefits of antioxidants have been oversold, anyway.
Booze isn't health food, and the notion that red wine is good for heart health is as credible as the latest Bigfoot sighting, and not nearly as exciting.
If you want to know what's in your food, read the label. If there's an ingredient on there you don't recognize, don't buy it. If the food includes added sugars, set down the package and leave it.
As for the nutritional information on food labels, it's mostly bunk. Learn why that's the case, and the red flags that may make you a better, healthier shopper.
Every year, millions of Americans line up and pay up for flu vaccinations. But even the manufacturers of vaccines concede that the flu virus constantly mutates, and it's a crapshoot as to whether or not any given vaccine will be effective.
Is there an alternative, something better than jabbing yourself with a needle and hoping for the best?
Irritability, depression, hair loss, forgetfulness, carpal tunnel syndrome, irregular heart rhythms, migraines and many other debilitating conditions may be symptoms of a faulty thyroid.
If you're suffering from any of these problems, or if your health is poor in general, job number one is to fix your thyroid.
Since 1990, the USDA has been required by law to issue recommended dietary guidelines for Americans. But these guidelines are based on countless misconceptions about cholesterol, grains, fad foods like kale, and more.
More importantly, there's a complete absence of personalization. Here are some of the things you should be considering when planning your daily diet, as opposed to relying on guidelines based on faulty data.
Atkins, Pritikin, Beverly Hills, Blood Type, Mediterranean, Paleo, South Beach, Macrobiotic, South Beach, Five-Bite, and Werewolf. Yes, werewolf. These are among the countless fad diets that promise better living through eating like a caveman, dining by lunar cycles, and enjoying all the butter-basted lobster you want, among other dubious notions.
Is there any fad diet that may actually work for you? Or should you avoid them all?