Do You Have SAD This Winter? This week’s podcast deals with the issue of Seasonal Affective Disorder - better know as SAD. At this point in time there is no good understanding of the causes of SAD, that makes it very difficult to find solutions for managing it. SAD is a disorder that occurs during “winter” time (i.e. short days and long nights). There are various treatments available but none of them work for everyone who tries them. There are light boxes that simulate the sun, there are anti-de...
Feb 01, 2021•10 min
Mushrooms as Food and Medicine Today’s guest is Jeff Chilton, the owner of Nammex (North American Medicinal Mushroom Extracts). Jeff’s interest in mushrooms started when he was a student at the University of Washington in the late 1960’s. He became a mushroom grower in 1973 and in 1989 he founded his company Nammex which raises organically certified mushrooms for the Nutritional Supplement industry. We had a very interesting (and long) conversation which I’m sure you’ll enjoy if you like to eat ...
Jan 25, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 87
Live a Stress-Free Day This week’s podcast is another short but valuable show. I have collected a number of ways that we can, in a short amount of time calm down and let go of whatever stress we are feeling. You’ll notice that all of them do essentially the same thing - break the thought and feeling that is keeping us tied up in our heads. They are all versions of time-outs - like we give our family members except these are some you can give yourself as well. Pick out a couple that appeal to you...
Jan 18, 2021•10 min•Ep. 85
Dr. Jay - The Brain Doctor Dr. Jay Sordean has over 40+ years of experience as an acupuncturist, herbalist, nutritional therapist, homeopath, and wellness consultant. His office is in Berkeley, California but his clients come from all over the US. It was a very interesting interview although we had a bit of a disconnection towards the beginning of it. Dr. Jay related how he contracted leprosy during a trip to Asia and was treated by a homeopathic doctor in Nepal who gave him herbs which cured it...
Jan 11, 2021•54 min•Ep. 85
Can Medical Hypnosis Help You? That’s the question I address in this podcast. Medical Hypnosis has become a much more respected tool in the medical toolbox. In most people it can help with: phobias and PTSD hot flashes pain control insomnia quitting smoking overeating and obesity plus many more We all grew up watching comedy skits or movies where someone is hypnotized and then sent out to do something dastardly which they can’t help themselves from doing. Makes for good drama or comedy but it’s ...
Jan 05, 2021•14 min•Ep. 84
From Medicine to Wellbeing Wednesdays My guest today is Giles P Croft, a former NHS (National Health Service, UK) surgeon who stepped aside from clinical practice for a decade to explore a number of career paths, including health informatics, cycling journalism, public speaking and high street retail with his wife. He is now back in the healing profession, tackling the root cause of chronic mental stress and its many harmful effects by helping clients reconnect to their natural, inbuilt state of...
Dec 28, 2020•46 min•Ep. 83
My 2020 Holiday Message This holiday podcast is very short because I am taking some time off during the Hanukah and Xmas holidays. But I did want to send a health & wellness message to everyone and especially for those of us over 50! Next week I will be sharing an interview I had with Giles P Croft, a health & wellness professional from Wales. It was a fun and enlightening conversation and I’m sure you’ll enjoy listening to or watching it (depending on where you follow the podcast). Hope...
Dec 22, 2020•4 min•Ep. 82
As we get older it can get harder to get all of the vitamins and minerals we need from our food. There are various reasons for that but mostly it has to do with less stomach acid to break down our food into essential vitamins. One of those vitamins is B12. B12 helps us maintain and improve our red blood cells, nervous system, digestive system, and our production of DNA to name just a few. If that sounds important you’re right and it is. Some of the B12 deficiency symptoms that show that you’re n...
Dec 15, 2020•13 min•Ep. 81
An MDMA Love Letter Charley Wininger is a psychotherapist in private practice, and the author of "Listening to Ecstasy: The Transformative Power of MDMA", a story of his life and marriage, that he calls An MDMA Love Letter. Licensed as a Psychoanalyst as well as a Mental Health Counselor, he specializes in relationships and communication skills, and has been treating couples and individuals in his NYC office for over 30 years. I asked Charley to come on HTA50 to talk about Aging and Ageism. Our ...
Dec 05, 2020•55 min•Ep. 80
Get Some Exercise Everyday! Today’s podcast is all about exercise and how important it is (or should be) in our lives. Especially with all of us limited to exercising outside or in our house/apartment (at least that’s how it is here in California). Exercise is so, so important to our health, under regular circumstances! It’s how we keep our hearts, lungs, muscles, brains, … working at their best. Today that translates into having a better chance of surviving COVID if we get it. But it also means...
Dec 01, 2020•13 min•Ep. 79
The Naturopathic Path to Health My podcast guest this week is Dr. Cris Azzola, ND. Dr. Cris is a licensed naturopathic doctor in San Francisco, CA, and is a descendant from a long line of physicians who believed in balancing conventional medicine with natural healing techniques. From early childhood, she was inspired by her family’s dedication to helping others and became curious about the natural remedies her family used to stay healthy, always wondering “how grandma’s stuff worked”. That’s why...
Nov 23, 2020•45 min•Ep. 78
Reminder to Take Care of Your Hearing This week’s show is a rebroadcast of one from the middle of 2019. I’m running it again because hearing and hearing loss is such an important subject, especially during this pandemic. We are all staying close to home and even more so for us older people. We are the ones who are most at risk for hearing loss and not getting it checked regularly and/or taken care of can make us more vulnerable to brain issues. There are many studies showing that people with hea...
Nov 17, 2020•21 min•Ep. 76
Getting Stronger and Healthier As We Age My guest today is Joseph Oniwor. Joe is a pro arena football player turned transformation trainer who has been in the fitness industry for 28 years. His mission is to help women 48 years old and older to take back control over their bodies while they are dealing with the energy loss and weight gain that typically comes along with menopause. Listen in as we talk about what family and personal health issues brought him to become a health coach and to work w...
Nov 09, 2020•56 min•Ep. 76
Coffee & Caffeine - Are They Healthy For Us? I read an article about coffee and the health benefits of it which aroused my curiosity and led to this week’s podcast subject - Coffee & Caffeine. I found quite a few recent studies that showed the health benefits of coffee and especially of caffeinated coffee. The only bad kind of coffee is very hot coffee - drinking that can increase your risk of developing esophageal cancer. Otherwise it can lower your risk for multiple kinds of cancer, th...
Nov 02, 2020•17 min•Ep. 75
An Interview with Nina Lockwood Nina Lockwood is a transformative coach, author, speaker and artist who shares the joy of creativity, inner freedom and genuine aliveness. Nina has over 30 years of expertise in psychology and personal development and over 20 years in the field of energy medicine. Our discussion was wide ranging and mind opening. We discussed trying to stay in the present moment as much as possible and being aware of our thoughts and feelings and how we respond to them. Expanding ...
Oct 26, 2020•49 min•Ep. 74
Cruciferous Vegetables and Fibre - How Much to Eat? Results from 2 studies in the UK both dealing with the impact of vegetables and/or fruit in the diet. The first shows the relation between higher amounts of cruciferous vegetables in one’s diet and a lower rate of abdominal aorta calcification. In the study a group of women over 70 years old eating 1/4 cup or more of cabbage, broccoli, brussel sprouts, or cauliflower were 46% less likely to have aortic calcification. And having aortic calcifica...
Oct 20, 2020•16 min•Ep. 73
Kari Klein - Changing Her Message and Her Vocation My guest on this week’s podcast is Kari Klein. Kari was a chiropractor for 16 years before she decided that she wanted to work with people from a more whole body/mind point of view and not just specific aches and pains. To help people to live from a deeper sense of well being. Some of the areas we talked about included looking at health & wellness as encompassing not just physical and mental health but also how mindset and inner wisdom are b...
Oct 12, 2020•46 min•Ep. 72
Multi-Subject Podcast As the title says, this podcast is made up of 5 different short subjects. There were so many new and interesting studies that had been published that I thought it would be a good change from the longer one subject podcasts and the interviews I’ve been doing recently. The different subjects are: 1) Chemotherapy and breast cancer 2) Covid-19 and its impact on loneliness 3) Gender and Alzheimer’s 4) Exercise for back pain 5) Soy and heart problems I hope you find these to be a...
Oct 07, 2020•15 min•Ep. 71
How Relaxation Makes You Healthier My guest today is Jeff Kelton, PhD, self-described incessant wanderer and author of An Insider’s Guide to the Art of Deep Relaxation. We had a very good conversation about his background and grounding as a clinical psychologist, consultant, and nowTransformation Coach. Jeff also created his own process where he guides “leaders, truth seekers, and creatives to find and use their “Inner GPS” to navigate their journey in life”. The process is called GlobalWalkabou...
Sep 28, 2020•52 min•Ep. 70
Reducing Food Loss and Food Waste We human beings produce a lot of food waste and loss. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations is observing their first International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste on September 29. It will be an online event. To learn more go to this link: http://www.fao.org/platform-food-loss-waste/events/detail/en/c/1269190/ To register to attend go to this link: https://fao.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_qNIr9R8wRtWGHv5ExXPjQw The FAO and the U...
Sep 23, 2020•16 min•Ep. 69
Health & Wellness Coach Cheryl Borchardt My guest this week, Cheryl Borchardt, is a Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach and National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach. She helps individuals calm bothersome symptoms associated with chronic disease and autoimmune conditions by helping them get their lifestyle and gut healthy. We talk about how her own personal journey to good health led her to become a health coach working with integrative and functional medicine physicians. Her...
Sep 15, 2020•47 min•Ep. 68
A Full, Interesting, and Meaningful Life Mary Howick spent almost 30 years in leadership positions with multi-national financial institutions. She is also a single mother which means she spent a lot of time balancing those two parts of her life. She also decided to become a psychotherapist, Reiki Master and Isha Judd System facilitator at the same time. Then she got cancer and that changed her life (like it does for so many people). She retired from her corporate job and went to Uruguay for 3 ye...
Sep 07, 2020•43 min•Ep. 67
How Good is Your Balance? As we age our bodies get weaker and then our balance starts to get worse as well. Once that happens we have a tendency to take a fall. Falling is one of the main reasons that older (over 65) people end up in the emergency room and the hospital and that every 19 minutes an “older adult” in the U.S. dies from a fall. Scary isn’t it? This is also a huge financial burden on the U.S. Medicare system. It can also become a vicious cycle once people start taking falls - they ge...
Sep 01, 2020•18 min•Ep. 66
Yoga During the Pandemic This week's podcast is a rebroadcast of an interview I did with Louise Tyrrell back when the Covid-19 sheltering started. I think that it is just as valuable to revisit the information and Louise's Free 7-Day Yoga Challenge. Louise is an Inspirational Speaker, Yoga Teacher, and the founder of ZenLife Yoga & Wellness Retreats. We had a very interesting conversation about her life and the ongoing Shelter In Place and Quarantine that we are all living under. (Louise liv...
Aug 24, 2020•42 min•Ep. 65
What Song Makes You Get Up and Dance? For me I love almost any kind of music and it makes me feel good to know that there are positive, physical benefits from listening (and dancing) to it. I talk about an NIH-funded music and health initiative. It’s so exciting to learn about some wonderful results they are getting from their research into Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and stroke recovery. There are also interesting updates related to the grieving process, using music to help be more productive, an...
Aug 18, 2020•12 min•Ep. 64
Where Are the Minorities and Women in Clinical Trials? This podcast is about something that was mandated to be changed/fixed in 1997 and, although it’s a little bit better, it is still broken. What I’m talking about are the clinical trials that try out a new medication or new procedure to see if it’s safe and does what it says it’s supposed to do. It is supposed to treat an illness or a condition that can mean the difference between living a longer, easier, and more fulfilling life or being in p...
Aug 11, 2020•13 min•Ep. 63
THE SILENT HEART ATTACK There is something called a Silent Heart Attack (SMI) and there are a lot of people who have one. Depending on the studies or the source it is thought that up to 50% of all heart attacks could be SMI’s. SMI stands for Silent Myocardial Infarction, and a Myocardial Infarction the scientific name for a heart attack - so SMI is a silent “heart attack”. Makes sense right?? I had never heard of an SMI before but now that I have it is definitely on my radar to watch with myself...
Aug 04, 2020•15 min•Ep. 62
Living With Uncertainty This show is a little more on the psychology side of things and has to do with what I have been seeing and feeling over the past few months. It started before Covid flared up but became even more true and insightful for me after Covid started. We are all experiencing a lot of anxiety and stress (as I’ve been talking about quite a lot in my podcasts) and I’ve covered some of the physical manifestations of that in today’s show. But I also get into the basic issues causing o...
Jul 28, 2020•14 min•Ep. 61
WALKING FOR EXERCISE DURING A PANDEMIC Exercising anytime is important and it’s particularly important during a pandemic like we’re experiencing right now. We all need to support our immune systems to be able to fight off this disease and to be strong in case we actually end up getting it. Being over 50 makes us especially vulnerable so we need to do what we can beef up our immune system. Because so many of us are at home most of the time that means that we are sitting more than usual, on our co...
Jul 22, 2020•17 min•Ep. 60
Eating Enlightenment with Jared Levenson Today’s podcast is very interesting. My guest is Jared Levenson and we talked about eating, Intuitive eating, Enlightened Eating, Comfort Eating, and a number of other kinds of eating. We talked about how to eat so you’re not hungry all of the time and how he works with clients to enable them to stop the constant all day hunger and be content. He has an interview on his website with someone he helped with her binge eating. Jared and I both have an interes...
Jul 06, 2020•50 min•Ep. 58
