Healing Outside The Box – Details, episodes & analysis

Many athletes involved in all types of sports add protein powders to their daily regimen, assuming that it will help stimulate muscle mass as they train.
But does it?
You would assume many research studies are looking into this, and you would be correct.

I discuss an elaborate study that shows that provided the protein intake is adequate, exercise will help strengthen muscle somewhat, as well as improve the weight of bone mass. Additional protein does not work any better than adequate protein. Here is the link to the study.

I found an interesting article That refers to many studies on building muscle mass later in life. The article can be found here.

The national Institute of Health (NIH) recently put out a literature review of many randomized control studies on the subject of muscle mass with exercise in older individuals. That link can be found here.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to reach out to me on my website contact page, at healing outside the box.com.

That idea for this episode was sparked by an article in the Guardian about a woman who changed her yard into a suburban micro-farm. That article hit so many positive notes that I thought it was worthy of an entire episode.

But first, I did a quick review of the new documentary "Food Inc. 2". This is a sequel to the popular but controversial documentary "Food Inc", produced in 2008. Although they made excellent points in this sequel and it's an important topic for the front burner, I would have to put this one in the category of "more of the same". I recommend that you may be better off watching the first of this pair of documentaries, which is available on YouTube TV, Netflix, and other places.

This educational piece on micro-farming used a specific example of one woman's brave step into what will hopefully be the future of local farming. In 2014, the Obama Administration started the micro-farm program which joined forces with local farmers and wanna-be farmers to provide financial incentives for homeowners to grow their own food.  At a time when folks are concerned about the rising price of supermarket food, this program provides an opportunity to have free food or nearly-free food grown in your neighborhood.

This program utilizes water recycling and overall water conservation, community access to organic soil,  space-preserving technology, natural pest control, farm subsidies, and a path to cash for sharing your harvest.  All this program needs now is a nudge from our leaders.

We all know that rates of cancer seem to be rising for many different types of cancer. Most notably colorectal, breast, prostate, and skin cancer. But why?

This is a complicated question with no simple answer. Colorectal cancer is definitely food-related, but smoking, weight, and epi-genetics play a role. Breast and prostate cancer can be influenced by hormones, but also by quality of food intake. Even skin cancer, which is tied to the amount of protective melanin in your skin and lower UV protection in the atmosphere, can result in improved healing and prognosis with an anti-cancer diet.

In part 2, I go through the evidence of specific nutrients and their potential role in preventing and treating cancer. I refer to a large review article in the journal Nature. The link can be found here.

There is a quote from the Harvard Gazette that I mentioned:  “Diet directly affects microbiome composition and eventually these changes can influence disease risk and outcomes.”

The National Institute of Health also posts a large review article saying the same thing. It can be found here. 

I did 2 episodes on the benefits of broccoli sprouts for symptoms of autism. They are episode 255 and episode 256. 

If you wish to reach me for any reason, don't hesitate to contact me on my website contact page, healingoutsidethebox.com

There have been stories in the media recently about cancer rates increasing in younger people in this country.  That is also true in England, but not so much in Asian countries (where folks eat less processed meat and more plant-based foods). Among the 14 cancer types on the rise, eight are related to the digestive system.

The recent news is based on a large study that makes the link between changes in our diet since 1990 and cancers of the digestive system. We certainly don't have any answers for sure, and I am not the go-to expert on this, but it certainly warrants a closer look.

Before I get into the studies, I want to remind everyone that the Healthy Incentives program is happening at farmers markets throughout the country. It's a federal program that is very successful here in Massachusetts. But if you need advice on how to find out if you're eligible for $40 of free produce every month, just contact me on my website contact page, at Healing Outside the Box, and I can let you know how to find out if you are eligible in your town.

I also mentioned that my memoir is now out in paperback. It's called "Helpers Anonymous" and it explores my relationships with my caregivers during the rise in the opioid epidemic. If you decide to get the book on Amazon and would like to contribute a review, I would greatly appreciate it!

There was an article in the Guardian from July that points out the rates of cancer-related to the digestive system as particularly alarming. There has been a 70% increase in the rate of colorectal cancers from 1990 to 2019.

Scientists are now interested in the link between food eaten when we are young and the balance of healthy and pathogenic bacteria in our gut. There was a large review article in Nature, that mentions all of the digestive-related cancers on the rise and suggests that it might be an imbalance in our microbiome. They also looked at epi-genetics and suggested that even small mutations in our genetic material can put us at greater risk of many cancers.

In part two next week, I will look into what the National Institute of Health has to say about all of this. And finally how we can hedge our bets with some tweaking of our dietary habits to lower our risk of all cancers.

Now, I mean this in only the nicest possible way. But sometimes I review a documentary so you don't have to watch the whole darn thing yourself. Unless you want to; which you may in this particular case.

I'm reviewing a documentary called "The Need to Grow", which tells us about two pioneers in the sustainability/save the planet field.

These two men are Eric Cutter and Mike Smith. Eric Cutter is a micro farmer who uses the latest technology to grow a whole bunch of organic produce on an urban plot. Mike Smith uses science to make electricity from algae and combine that with carbon technology to replenish the soil with microbes and nutrients. These two guys join forces to make the magic happen.

If you want to find out more about the importance of biodiversity, The Food Revolution Network people have reprinted an article on the subject, that can be found here.

If you would like to watch the documentary yourself, there are a few ways to get to it. You may still be able to get it free of charge by clicking here. 

If you want to look into some resources to find out what you could do in your community, check out the website of the documentary producers. The website can be found here.

If you have any questions or would like guidance in your journey to eat more sustainably, I am available for nutrition counseling on my website, Healing outside the box.

I don’t mind telling you that I have been obsessed with Balance of Nature supplements since I have been forced to listen to numerous replays of TV ads during one of my favorite shows. I hear myself yelling things like. "have you no shame?" at the TV, but the ads just keep coming.

Spoiler alert: These snake oil salesmen will deduct $90 – $100 from your credit card every month for a whole lot of nothingness in a capsule. You will be much better off nutritionally and financially, buying organic fruits and vegetables yourself.

I googled "balance of nature" and looked at the list of websites that popped up. The first one was called healthy expert reviews.com. The title at the top of the page read "good value or a scam?" When you open the website, it pushes you to buy another equally scammy product similar to balance of nature. 

The second one was called smart supplement reviews.com. This is a bogus website pushing another ridiculous product called "sustenance – fruits and greens".

The third website I looked into was called total health reports.com. This looks like someone who was paid to write a one-page blog about how wonderful Balance of Nature is... even though I had googled "is balance of nature a scam?".

I also googled the Balance of Nature website and got only large pictures of the front of the label. Noticeably missing was any information about what is in these capsules.

I then calm down and get about the business of advising you on how to get all of those nutrients and fiber that you were hoping to get from Balance of Nature. There is a short video about the many benefits of fiber that I discuss, which can be found here. 

By the way, the paperback version of my new memoir called "Helpers Anonymous" has just come out. I am offering a copy of my memoir free of charge until July 24th. For the next 10 days you can get either a Kindle version or a paperback version sent to you. You can email me on my website contact page (healing outside the box) and send either your email or your address-if you prefer the paperback-and I will send it to you. You can read the blurb on Amazon.com. If you wish to also leave a rating and review, that would be terrific!

For this episode, I go where few podcasters are brave enough to go; that is, a discussion of healthy poop. And more specifically, how to improve the quality of your gut bacteria to have that desirable poop.

But first, I get on my soapbox once more to discuss Balance of Nature supplements. The consumer fraud reporting people discuss this company in more detail on their website, which can be found here. I've looked around to find other reviews of these products, but it is hard to find a review that doesn't send you back to Balance of Nature's own website. I had to go to Amazon and get a pick of the nutrition label. As you can see, there is literally nothing in this product.

In the body of this episode, I discuss a not unrelated topic: the restoration of natural gut bacteria with fecal transplants. There is a podcast that has been ongoing for some time called "the perfect stool". They have episodes on this topic. The first episode is from March 30, 2022, and it is on the treatment of C diff infection with fecal transplants. The second episode is from January 10, 2023, on the treatment of autism with fecal transplants.

I looked into a couple of reliable sources for my information on this topic. The first is a study from Mount Sinai hospital and the second is a study from Johns Hopkins.

I have a couple of episodes on the general topic of building a healthy gut microbiota. They are episode 223 and episode 229 which can be found on my website page, Healing Outside the Box.

Have you been wondering if the rise in auto-immune diseases is a real thing? 

Well, it is. The question creating much discussion among scientists is the cause for this rise in many conditions triggered by an overactive inflammatory response. The blame has been focused on the Western diet, and specifically within the US and England. The cases of multiple sclerosis, lupus, inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn's, ulcerative colitis, and psoriasis have increased substantially in the last 50 years. But what, specifically in the western diet is creating this over-active inflammatory response?

Scientists aren't sure. But there are some interesting discussions out there about the role that additives in our food supply might be playing.

Before I get into that, I discuss what herbs you may on my not want to grow at home, if you trying to save money and put together some recipes. The one gadget I think might be worth the money is a root starter kit that you can find on Amazon. The one I purchased can be found here.

There is an NIH article that describes how chronic inflammation is associated with many disorders that may surprise you, such as heart disease and depression.  

And this Guardian article is a good over-all reference that ties auto-immune diseases to processed foods pretty convincingly.

I discussed the relationship between inflammation and colon cancer in episode 283. There will be more research on these relationships in the future,

If you need to reach me, don't hesitate to text my Google number at 978-712-9556. You can also send me an email at my Healing outside the box website.

Before I tell you about the wonderful benefits of oatmeal, I go on a rant about Balance of Nature vitamins. The first and perhaps only thing you need to know... Is that there are no nutrients listed on the label because there are no nutrients in that bottle. For $100 per month, you get only practice swallowing big pills.

Historically, oatmeal was a treatment for adult onset diabetes. More recently, researchers decided to study the actual change in the blood sugar numbers. They were pleased to find out that the results were even more promising than they anticipated. A short video describing these findings can be found here.

A meta-analysis (grouping of many studies on the same subject) of the metabolic effects of oatmeal in diabetic patients was published in the Journal, Nutrients.

The Canadian Journal of diabetes published another study showing dramatically improved blood sugar control on a plant-based diet with plenty of oatmeal. The results can be found here. 

There are now two ways to reach me if you want health and wellness coaching. You can email me on my website contact page, Which Is Healing Outside The Box. Or you can send a text to my Google voice, which is 978-712-9556.

Two independent researchers have recently discovered that inflammation (which is occurring in a tumor in our bodies) is contributing to the tumor's growth. Does this mean that anti-inflammatory compounds can contribute to slowing or even stopping the growth of tumors?

Well, that is exactly where the research is heading, and it looks promising. Today I look into the details of these two independent studies.

The first comes from researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai hospital. The details that explain how cancer cells replicate uncontrollably and are enhanced by inflammation, can be found here. 

The second article I discuss comes from Science Daily and can be found here. The research comes from the Brigham and women's Hospital cancer research labs, here in Boston. This study links the growth of colon cancer cells to a certain type of gram-negative bacteria that can grow in our gut. This bacteria is linked to our so-called Western diet, in particular to higher amounts of saturated fat from meats, especially processed meats. These bad bacteria can produce endotoxins, which is the theory behind why they enhance the growth of colon cancer.

There was also a short nutrition facts video that talks about endotoxins as it relates to our food, and in particular, high and low-fiber foods. that video can be found here.   

I now have a Google number for texting me with questions, requests for recipes, and suggestions for future episodes. It's 978-712-9556. I'm usually online between 7 PM and 8 PM ET most evenings if you want to catch me live. If you're interested in a free PDF of my upcoming memoir, you can text me there and leave your first name and email in the text message. Comments and reviews are welcome!

You can also reach me at my website contact page, at healingoutsidethebox.com.