Why Is Detoxing The Body So Important? Here is the cruel reality: our bodies are exposed to numerous toxins each day. These toxins include environmental toxins, chemical pollutants in the air we breathe, and toxins from our food and beverages. Although your body has an amazing ability to remove these harmful toxins, they continue to accumulate and can have many negative effects on your body. Your organs can become bogged down, and toxicity can manifest in your body through a wide variety of symptoms. Many of the symptoms are vague and persistent. To see if you are experiencing some of the negative effects of your toxic load, consider completing an MSQ questionnaire ( see below ). This may provide you with the motivation to consider a detox...
“It is not happiness that makes us grateful. It is gratefulness that makes us happy. Every moment is a gift. Whatever life gives to you, you will respond with joy. Joy is happiness that does not depend on what happens. It is the grateful response to the opportunity that life offers you at this moment.” ― David Steindl-Rast Thanksgiving is that time of year when we show gratitude for family, friends, and lives well lived. For a short period of time, we feel happiness-counting our blessings with an overall sense of contentment. Then, when Monday rolls around, it is business as usual. If we reaped any benefits from the holiday weekend, they quickly disappear with the return of stress, negativity, depression, and loneliness. Our lives focus on the materialistic,...
Nancy A. Palermo MD We have always suspected that ultra-processed diets were linked to chronic diseases, including psychiatric diseases like depression and anxiety, but a recently published in JAMA (September 2023) showed that women who consumed the most ultra-processed foods (foods high in salt, sugar, refined carbohydrates, hydrogenated oils, and artificial additives) were 50% more likely to suffer from depression than those women who avoided these foods. This is yet another study to support the fact that mental disorders are not distinct entities and have a tremendous overlap with other physical disorders. A poor diet can largely influence both mental disorders and physical disorders. Some researchers, like Dr. Christopher Palmer, a Harvard Psychiatrist and researcher and author of Brain Energy, have even suggested that many mental disorders can...
We hope you and your families enjoy a relaxing and rejuvenating summer. Check out the list of do’s and don’ts we put together below. Our summer here at Thrive is off to a busy start. We are excited for another year of growth and are looking forward to counting to serve you and your families. Don’t Put on Sunscreen… At least for the first twenty minutes, you are in the sun. Vitamin D deficiency is common, with over 80% of Americans being deficient. This is a result of our overreaction to the risk of skin cancer with sun exposure. Vitamin D is important for adequate immune function and control of inflammation, neurological and cardiovascular function, bone-building, fighting depression, and, most importantly, fighting and preventing cancer. The body...
May is Mental Health Awareness Month! 💚 We can’t consider mental health without talking about our neurotransmitters. Our neurotransmitters are the chemicals that help connect different neurons and different parts of our brain and other areas in our body to help regulate things like our mood and flight or fight. Dr. Palermo talks about one of these calming neurotransmitters - GABA, in today’s Motivation ...
[caption id="attachment_4832" align="alignleft" width="300"] Nancy A. Palermo MD[/caption] Getting quality sleep is foundational for optimal health yet one out of every three Americans is not getting sufficient sleep. This reduction in sleep quantity and quality is leading to an array of health issues including obesity, diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, and mental disease. The conventional approach to sleep issues is a pill but this is not without side effects. Prescription sleep aids are associated with reduced sleep quality and even worse they pose a 5 times greater risk of memory and concentration problems, 2 times increased risk of falls and fractures, and 2 times the great risk of motor vehicle accidents. Long-term use is also associated with parasomnias-abnormal behaviors like sleepwalking, sleep eating, and sleep-driving. Recent data has shown...
[caption id="attachment_8086" align="alignleft" width="227"] Nancy A. Palermo MD[/caption] If you are looking to heat things up in the bedroom, you might want to consider these overlooked aphrodisiacs. Scientific studies published over the past several years have found that lifestyle and dietary changes that promote heart health also promote sexual health. So basically, what is good for the heart is also good for the penis and clitoris. A 2011 study from the Mayo Clinic reviewing clinical trials of 740 men showed that men with ED (Erectile Dysfunction), even on medications, were 2.5Xs more likely to show improvements in sexual function when exercising more and eating a heart-healthy diet. So why is it? Well, it’s all related to blood flow, of course. Poor habits like eating the Standard American Diet (SAD),...