Night sweats are episodes of sweating that occur while a person is sleeping. The person affected by night sweats can wake up with their night-clothes and bedding damp with sweat. Some people can al-so sweat excessively during the day. Night sweats also involve the hypothalamus, but in this case, the kidneys and adrenals are also involved. In TCM, it can signal a depletion of the energy the Chinese call jing, which is our basic life energy.

The adrenal glands work with the hypothalamus to regulate inflammation and body temperature. They produce cortisol, a hormone which cools down inflammation and heat in the body. When the adrenals are weak or exhausted, levels of heat and inflammation can rise. The adrenal glands influence the kidneys and the kidneys influence the hypothalamus to help regulate water retention and loss.Continue Reading

Thirty-seven percent of Americans mistake dehydration for hunger. They eat when they should drink.

You should drink a number of fluid ounces equal to half your body weight. For example, a 200-pound man should drink 100 ounces (about 13 cups) per day; a 120-pound woman should drink 60 ounces (about 8 cups) per day.

Pregnant women should drink a minimum of 80 to 104 fluid ounces per day.Continue Reading

On April 1, CBS aired a piece they called “Sugar”, which reported on new research coming out of some of America’s most respected institutions. Some of these researchers are calling sugar a toxin and naming it a driving force behind a few of this country’s leading killers, including heart disease and cancer. Others are declaring it to be as addictive as drugs and alcohol.

In the report, CBS spoke to Eric Stice, a neuroscientist at the Oregon Research Institute, who is using functional MRI scanners to learn how our brains respond to sweetness. In his research, Dr. Stice has found that sugar activates our brain in a way similar to how it reacts to drugs like cocaine. Scans were taken while the subjects were given sips of a sweet beverage and they found that Dopamine, a chemical that controls the brain’s pleasure center is being released, just as it would in response to drugs or alcohol. By scanning hundreds of volunteers, he’s learned that people who frequently drink sodas or eat ice cream or other sweet foods may be building up a tolerance, much like drug users do. “As strange as it sounds, it means the more you eat, the less you feel the reward. The result is, you eat more than ever,” explains Dr. Stice.

When we think of electrolytes we think of sports drinks. But do you really know what electrolytes are and how important they actually are for the proper functioning of our body?

Electrolytes are essential because they are what the cells of the nerve, heart and muscles use to maintain voltages across their cell membranes. They transport electrical impulses such as nerve impulses and muscle contractions across themselves and to other cells.

Electrolytes are also very important macro minerals that help the body absorb minerals. Electrolytes are the smallest of chemicals important for the cells to function and allow the body to work. Certain electrolytes, such as sodium and potassium are critical in allowing cells to generate energy and maintain the stability of the cell wall, as well as to function in general.Continue Reading

Of the 2.4 million deaths in the US each year 75% of them are a result of nutritional related factors
-Former US Surgeon General Dr C. Everett Koop

The cost of health care continues to go up, but if you could avoid spending all your retirement sitting in a doctor’s office and spending all your money on health expenses, would you?

According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute, if a 65 year old couple wanted 90 percent certainty of affording their future retirement health expenses, they would need to have saved $807,000 if they turned 65 and retired in 2009. This would include out of pocket expenses as well as Medicare and supplemental insurance premiums. For a couple turning 65 in the year 2019 wanting to have that 90 percent level of assurance would require them to have nearly $1.4 million in savings.Continue Reading