Dr Wanita Patterson DNP

10/11/2024

15 years apart Wyatt and Levi spend quality time together during Hurricaine Milton.
Nicole's place survived beautifully. My ancient live oaks faired well as I had them trimmed up this spring. All in all, I feel immensely grateful

02/14/2024

Dr Michael Greger explaining how the brain clears itself from toxins

One function of sleep is the clearance of toxic waste byproducts through a newly discovered drainage system in the brain.

02/11/2024

Love our hormones for anti aging but healthy eating is a must as well

We are what we eat, which is good news because it means we have the power. We could expect that changing from a typical diet to a more optimized way of eating starting at age 20 would increase the lifespan of women by about 11 years and men by 13. Now, for those who aren’t 20 anymore, not to worry. Starting to eat more healthfully at age 60 could still add 8 or 9 more years to your lifespan. Even beginning to optimize your diet as late as age 80 could add years!

Eating more legumes— more beans, split peas, chickpeas, and lentils—may give us the largest life expectancy gains. So, if you do only one thing, eat legumes for longevity. But why stop there? Add more whole grains and nuts, and eat less meat.

Changing your health destiny and longevity can start at your next meal.

Watch the “How Not to Age – Live Presentation” at https://see.nf/45P50wv to get a sneak peak into Dr. Greger's new book. How Not to Age is out now! Borrow a copy from your local library or order one today: https://see.nf/HNTABook

02/07/2024

02/06/2024

For those who want to review the research.

Does eating every other day prevent the metabolic slowing that accompanies weight loss, or does it improve compliance over constant, day-to-day caloric

01/19/2024

High homocysteine levels increase risk of CV disease and stroke

01/14/2024

More than a dozen randomized controlled trials have been published on zinc lozenges for the common cold, and, overall, researchers have found that oral zinc, when taken within the first 24 hours of symptom onset, may be beneficial in reducing both duration and severity of the common cold. Zinc lozenges appear to shorten colds by about three days and significantly reduce nasal discharge, congestion, hoarseness, and cough.

What’s the best way to take zinc for the common cold? Lozenges containing around 10 to 15 milligrams of zinc taken every two waking hours for a few days, starting immediately upon symptom onset, as either zinc acetate or zinc gluconate without binders (such as citric acid, tartaric acid, glycine, sorbitol, or mannitol) may work best.

Supplementing with zinc long-term doesn't appear to reduce getting sick in the first place, though. We should instead focus on including healthy whole-food sources of zinc in our diet by eating foods such as legumes, nuts, and seeds.

Watch the video “Would Zinc Lozenges Help with COVID-19?” at see.nf/zinc to learn more.

12/29/2023

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ultimate-health-podcast/id921854276?i=1000475846264

‎Show The Ultimate Health Podcast, Ep Dr. Satchin Panda - Time-Restricted Eating (TRE) & Managing Your Light Exposure - May 26, 2020

11/29/2023

Love this idea of optimal levels with diet and life style. If that can't be ahieved then balance benefit risk of botanicals and prescription medications

Having a so-called normal cholesterol in a society where it’s normal to drop dead of a heart attack isn’t necessarily a good thing.

11/19/2023

A new way to think about cholesterol

Consistent evidence from a variety of sources unequivocally establishes that bad LDL cholesterol causes atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, strokes, and heart attacks—our leading cause of death. This evidence base includes hundreds of studies involving millions of people. Cholesterol is the cause of atherosclerosis, the hardening of the arteries.

With heart disease being the leading cause of death in the United States, we definitely don’t want to have normal cholesterol levels; we want to have optimal levels—and not optimal by current laboratory standards, but optimal for human health.

Normal LDL cholesterol levels (total cholesterol under 200 mg/dl) are associated with the hidden buildup of atherosclerotic plaques in our arteries, even in those with so-called optimal risk factors by current standards.

Maybe we should define an LDL cholesterol level as optimal only when it can no longer cause disease. An LDL level of 50 to 70 mg/dl may seem low by American standards, but it is a normal cholesterol range for people who eat a diet centered around whole plant-based foods. An LDL of 70 isn’t only possible on a healthy enough diet—it may be normal.

Watch the video "How Low Should You Go for Ideal Cholesterol Levels?" at https://bit.ly/3eMIJrg.

11/14/2023

Read this! Balanced diet is best

11/14/2023

Are you having this blood test checked?

Having higher levels of C-reactive protein in your blood may increase your risk of dying prematurely by 42 percent. Those with the highest levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), another marker of inflammation, may increase premature death risk by 49 percent. What can we do to lower these levels?

The most pro-inflammatory food component is saturated fat, which is found in meat, dairy, eggs, and junk, along with other pro-inflammatory food components like cholesterol and trans fat.

The most anti-inflammatory food component is fiber. It appears that an increase of just 10 grams of fiber per 1,000 calories would equate to four fewer years of cellular aging. Now, of course, diets high in fiber and diets with significant amounts of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains go hand in hand. So, fiber just may be a marker of eating lots of whole, healthy plant foods.

Anthocyanins, the antioxidant pigments that give berries those bright red, blue, and purple colors, have been demonstrated in dozens of randomized controlled trials to reduce inflammation.

Half a dozen studies combined show that pomegranates, a fruit packed with anthocyanin pigments, can bring down inflammation over time. Turmeric, garlic powder, and ginger powder were also found to reduce IL-6. Antioxidant supplements, specifically vitamins C and E, beta-carotene, and selenium, as well as turmeric supplements, however, provided no benefit for reducing markers of inflammation.

How else can we bring down inflammation? When individuals switched to strictly plant-based nutrition, their diets flipped to become anti-inflammatory. Not all plant-foods are anti-inflammatory, though. If all you do is boost your intake of less healthy plant foods, like juice, white bread, white potatoes, soda, and cake, you can end up with more inflammation. A really clean diet of whole plant foods can significantly reduce levels of Lp(a) (which we didn’t even think was possible with diet), as well as drop LDL cholesterol. It can also reduce levels of inflammatory markers. We’re talking about a 30 percent drop in C-reactive protein and a 20 percent drop in IL-6. Cutting down on both animal products and processed foods may be the most effective dietary strategy to combat inflammation.

How Not to Age is now available for preorder and releases on December 5. https://see.nf/preorder

Watch the videos “Which Foods Are Anti-Inflammatory?” at https://see.nf/plantshift and “What to Eat to Prevent Telomere Shortening” at https://bit.ly/3Y2jXsR. Learn more about anti-inflammatory diets at https://see.nf/3PxxVid.