Toward Health

03/12/2026

🚨 Public service announcement: when your family is hospitalized BE THERE 🚨

Your grandmother wakes up in a strange room surrounded by strangers.

She doesn’t know where she is.
She doesn’t know why she is there.
Nothing in the room looks familiar.

The lights are brighter than home.
Machines are beeping.
People in scrubs move in and out of the room.

She asks where she is.
She asks where her family is.
She tries to get out of bed.

To the hospital staff, this often looks like agitation.

Clinically, this moment has a name.
Acute hospital delirium often begins when a patient wakes up and does not recognize where they are.

Most people have felt a small version of this.

You wake up in a hotel room, a friend’s house, or a relative’s spare bedroom.
For a few seconds your brain cannot place the room.
The ceiling is wrong.
The furniture is unfamiliar.

Then your brain catches up and the confusion fades.

For many elderly patients with cognitive impairment admitted to the hospital, that confusion does not fade.

They wake up in a place that makes no sense.
Their glasses may be missing.
Their hearing aids may be gone.
Every person around them is a stranger.

They try to stand.
They try to leave.
They call for family.

To an overwhelmed hospital unit, this behavior becomes a problem to manage.

The fastest way hospitals often manage it is medication.

Haloperidol.
Quetiapine.
Lorazepam.
Midazolam.

Sometimes opioids layered on top.

These are called chemical restraints.

Instead of fixing the confusion, the patient is sedated until they are quiet and compliant.

Family presence changes this.

A familiar voice can orient them.
A familiar face can calm them.
Someone can remind them where they are.

If you care about your elderly family members, show up when they are in the hospital.

Because when family is present, patients are supported.

When family is absent, the system often defaults to sedation.

03/10/2026

03/10/2026

What does the KETO diet have to do with improving mental health and alleviating anxiety/depression? Quite a lot, according to Dr. Erin Bellamy ().

03/10/2026

WOW! Who knew a simple dietary change could fix such serious behavioral issues…

Thanks Dr. Ann Childers () for joining us on the podcast!

03/10/2026

Do you want to start a low carb diet but don’t know how? Here are some quick FOUNDATIONAL tips for you.

03/09/2026

They have suppressed fasting and animal-based eating for decades

Atkins knew and they ridiculed him…

03/07/2026

This way of eating is “restrictive” according to modern dietetics

03/06/2026

Want to know a simple diet tip that is absolutely ESSENTIAL for sustainability? Here ya go!

03/06/2026

Are OBGYN, Family Medicine, and Internal Medicine residents receiving adequate training on how to treat menopausal women for their symptoms?

Thanks Dr. Laura () for joining us on the podcast!

03/05/2026

Conquer Hunger with Dr. Jason Fung

03/05/2026

I’m proud to introduce Dr. Mary Talley Bowden as a new Toward Health affiliate partner.
Dr. Bowden is a specialist & founder of BreatheMD in TX where she focuses on helping patients breathe, sleep, and live healthier.

We sat down to talk about the importance of comprehensive cardiac screening, especially since heart disease remains the leading cause of death and many people never receive the deeper testing that could identify risk earlier.

DM me BOWDEN for the full interview!

03/05/2026

Many supplements are useless... basically expensive urine...

But a few have randomized trial evidence showing measurable physiologic effects on blood pressure, cognition, wound healing, and cardiovascular risk.

Here are supplements with actual clinical data. 🧵

“Magnesium supplementation resulted in a significant reduction in systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure.”

PMID: 27402922
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27402922/

“Magnesium supplementation significantly lowered systolic blood pressure by 4.18 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure by 2.27 mm Hg.”

PMID: 22364157
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22364157/

Nattokinase

PMID: 18971533
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18971533/

“Nattokinase supplementation resulted in significant reductions in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure.”

PMID: 26131950
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26131950/

“Nattokinase administration significantly reduced plasma fibrinogen, factor VII, and factor VIII concentrations.”

Omega-3 fatty acids (EPA/DHA)

PREDIMED Trial
DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1200303
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23432189/

“The two Mediterranean diet groups had a significant reduction in the primary end point of major cardiovascular events.”

PMID: 20434961
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20434961/

“DHA supplementation improved learning and memory function in adults with age-related cognitive decline.”

PMID: 16267143
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16267143/

“Children of mothers supplemented with DHA had significantly higher IQ scores at 4 years of age.”

PMID: 18065578
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18065578/

“Infants receiving DHA supplementation showed improved problem-solving ability.”

REDUCE-IT Trial
PMID: 30415628
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30415628/

“Among patients with elevated triglyceride levels despite the use of statins, the risk of ischemic events… was significantly lower among those who received 2 g of icosapent ethyl twice daily than among those who received placebo.”

Key outcomes from REDUCE-IT:

• 25% reduction in major cardiovascular events
• 20% reduction in cardiovascular death

Primary composite endpoint:
CV death, MI, stroke, revascularization, unstable angina.

17.2% vs 22.0% (HR 0.75).

Vitamin C (ascorbic acid)

PMID: 29207231
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29207231/

“Vitamin C plays an essential role in collagen synthesis and contributes to normal wound healing.”

PMID: 29099763
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29099763/

“Vitamin C contributes to immune defense by supporting epithelial barrier function and promoting oxidative killing of microbes.”

N-Acetylcysteine (NAC) for anxiety and compulsive disorders

PMID: 19593179
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19593179/

“A double-blind trial showed that N-acetylcysteine resulted in significant improvement in symptoms compared with placebo.”

PMID: 25562813
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25562813/

“N-acetylcysteine significantly reduced anxiety symptoms compared with placebo.”

L-Theanine

PMID: 31758301
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31758301/

“L-theanine administration significantly reduced stress-related symptoms and improved sleep quality.”

PMID: 18296328
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18296328/

“L-theanine increased alpha-brain wave activity, indicating a state of relaxation without drowsiness.”

Creatine (cognition / brain energy)

Systematic review of randomized trials
PMID: 29704637
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29704637/

Quoted result:
“Oral creatine administration may improve short-term memory and intelligence/reasoning of healthy individuals.”

Recent meta-analysis
PMID: 39070254
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39070254/

Quoted result:
“Creatine supplementation showed significant positive effects on memory and attention time.”

Vitamin K2 (menaquinone)

Knapen MHJ et al. Three-year low-dose menaquinone-7 supplementation helps decrease bone loss and improves arterial stiffness in healthy postmenopausal women.
PMID: 23525894
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23525894/

Quoted result:
“MK-7 supplementation significantly decreased age-related stiffening of the artery wall.”

Gast GCM et al. A high menaquinone intake reduces the incidence of coronary heart disease.
PMID: 19179058
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19179058/

Quoted result:
“High dietary menaquinone intake was associated with a reduced risk of coronary heart disease.”

Beulens JWJ et al. Dietary phylloquinone and menaquinones intake and risk of coronary heart disease.
PMID: 17474821
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17474821/

Quoted result:
“High intake of menaquinones was associated with reduced risk of coronary heart disease.”

Brandenburg VM et al. Vitamin K supplementation and progression of coronary artery calcification.
PMID: 37252246
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37252246/

Quoted result:
“Vitamin K supplementation significantly slowed the progression of coronary artery calcification.”

Most supplements fail because they were never designed to target a real biological pathway.

But some do.

When you look at the literature, a small group repeatedly shows measurable physiologic effects.

Blood pressure:
Magnesium
Nattokinase

Cardiovascular outcomes:
EPA (icosapent ethyl)

Vascular calcification biology:
Vitamin K2
Vitamin D3

Metabolic health:
Berberine

Brain and cognition:
Creatine
DHA

Compulsive behavior and anxiety circuits:
N-acetylcysteine
L-theanine

Tissue repair and immune defense:
Vitamin C

The takeaway:

Supplements are not magic.

But a handful have clinical trials, known mechanisms, and measurable outcomes.

Know the difference between marketing and physiology.