August 19, 2025 • 24 mins
In this episode we feature:
An interview with Lung Health Expert, Dr. David Weill
Clean your water bottle.
Take care of your houseplants and they’ll take care of you.
Don’t text and walk.
And more ways you can improve your health today!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Unknown (00:00):
Gib. Hello and welcome to another edition of the
(00:10):
podcast. I'm Gib Gerard. Todaywe have for you another special
intelligence for your healthwith Connie salica edition of
the show. Herguest today is none other than
lung health expert, Dr DavidWeil. He's going to talk about
everything from smoking totoxins, things that can damage
your lungs, all of that stuff.
So if you care about your lungs,or you have anybody in your life
(00:31):
that does you need to hear thisinterview. So here, without
further ado, is intelligence foryour health. With Connie Celica,
if you have knee pain, try this.
Massage your quadriceps. Yourquads are your thigh muscles
above your knee. A study in theInternational Journal of
therapeutic massage found thatmassaging the quads not only
improved people's ability towalk, it made going upstairs
(00:52):
easier on the knees and theresults last, massaging your
quads in the early afternoon canhelp you sleep with less knee
pain. Just use long, smoothstrokes on the front and sides
of your thighs where they jointhe knee for five minutes, even
if your reusable water bottlelooks clean, it's probably
(01:13):
covered in an invisible biofilmthat can make you sick. And why
you microbiology professor DrPhilip Tierno compares biofilm
to the soap scum that builds upin your bathtub over time. It's
simply a layer of bacteriaclinging to the inside of the
bottle. Biofilm mostly containsbacteria from your own mouth as
(01:35):
well as pathogens from theenvironment, including sickness
causing staph bacteria andnorovirus. So how did these
germs get inside your waterbottle? Dr tiernose says it's as
simple as touching an elevatorbutton or ATM keypad, then
twisting off the top of yourbottle or flipping up the
(01:55):
mouthpiece. Each time you dothat, you're transferring germs
that love to cling to wet, darksurfaces, to the opening your
mouth touches. It's why Drtierna recommends buying a
bottle brush and using it toscrub inside your bottle every
time you use it, then sanitizethe brush by soaking it in a
(02:16):
bowl of hot, soapy water andvinegar, better yet, stick the
bottle in the dishwasher. Hesays those are the only proven
ways to remove biofilm and keepfrom getting sick coming up.
We'll talk to Dr David Weil,former director of the Stanford
Center for Advanced lungdisease. He'll explain why
smoking is so dangerous, and itis the top reason people need
(02:39):
lung transplants. But first, areyou having trouble staying
focused while driving? Turn offthe traffic report, because
trying to visualize thelocations of traffic jams takes
over the visual processing areasof the brain. That's why, when
drivers and simulators listenedto traffic updates, only 23% of
(03:00):
them saw an elephant by the sideof the road, while those who
didn't hear the report werethree times more likely to see
it. That's why we should listento the traffic report before we
get in the car. We've talkedbefore about how dill pickle
juice is packed with probiotics,the healthy live bacteria and
(03:20):
yeast that boost gut health anddigestion. But the latest
research shows anothersurprising benefit of dill
pickle juice, it can helpprevent cavities. That's
according to the journalfrontiers in microbiology. The
study subjects were rats, whichhave similar body chemistry to
humans, half of them were fed acocktail of bacteria found in
(03:42):
pickle brine, then the entiregroup was infected with a cavity
causing bacteria known forspeeding up tooth decay. The
result, after 35 days, the ratsthat were fed pickle juice had
up to 30% fewer cavitiescompared to those who did not
get any pickle juice. The reasonbecause the microbes contained
(04:05):
in the probiotics helpedeliminate the bacteria that
causes tooth decay. Theresearchers say that doesn't
mean you can do shots of picklejuice and skip brushing and
flossing, but you could reduceyour risk for cavities by adding
a variety of pickled foods toyour diet, including dill
pickles, Kim Chi, Sauer Krautand pickled onions, carrots and
(04:26):
cauliflower. Okay, listen tothis. If you're taking a walk,
whether you're outdoors or on atreadmill, put your smartphone
down and stop texting. Accordingto the journal Computers in
Human Behavior, texting ortalking on your phone while
walking lowers your workoutintensity, plus it throws off
your balance by as much as 45%and that, of course, raises the
(04:50):
risk of injuries. So if you'reworking out to music, turn on
your radio app, then put yourphone in your pocket. Today, our
guest is Dr David Weil. He's theformer director of the Stanford
Center for Advanced lungdisease, whose latest book is
called exhale Hope Healing and alife in transplant. And one of
the top diseases that causespeople to need a lung transplant
(05:14):
is emphysema, that's a conditionin which the air sacs of the
lungs are damaged and enlarged,and the biggest cause of
emphysema is smoking. So I askedDr Weil what it is about
lighting up that makes it sodangerous. With
regard to smoking relatedchanges the body actually can
(05:34):
repair in people that quitsmoking some of the damage
that's caused by cigarettesmoke, but it doesn't really
repair all of the damage. Ithink what the best way to look
at at it is you have a lot ofredundant lung tissue. In other
words, we have a lot more thanwe need, and cigarette smoking
(05:56):
slowly but surely takes awayyour lung function, to the point
that actually you run out of it,and you get to the point where
you have difficulty breathing.
The key, though, you know, is tostop and to stop that process.
Everyone, as they age, startingat age 20, loses a little bit of
lung function, even those of uswho don't smoke, but if you
(06:16):
smoke, the loss of lung functionis about four or five times what
it would be in a non smoker,just another reason not to
smoke.
More health intelligence fromlung health expert Dr David Weil
and besides not smoking, he sayssome of the best ways to
maintain healthy lungs includeavoiding exposure to common
(06:36):
toxins found in the workplace,including asbestos, coal dust,
silica and other toxicchemicals, which significantly
raise our risk for asthma. Butwhat about common irritants
found in our own home, includingdust that makes us cough and
sneeze? Is that dangerous? Too?
Doesper se just household dust, you
know, is not harmful, even dustwe see, you know, when the light
(06:59):
shots that, or when we clean acabinet in our house, dust, per
se, is not toxic. What I'mreally more concerned about is
not the irritants, but thethings that actually can cause a
lung disease. And you know,those are, fortunately less
common than things that justirritate us. And I think that
(07:19):
that's an important distinctionfor listeners to understand, is
just because something causesyou to cough or to sneeze and
have a sore throat, doesn't meanit's causing lasting damage. It
just means that the long defensemechanism is picking up on her,
and one of the ways that wedefend ourselves is to cough and
sneeze. So in some ways, it's agood thing that's happening
(07:42):
is your gag reflex easilyactivated. Maybe you can't stop
yourself when you see someoneelse who's getting sick, or
maybe you gag brushing your ownteeth, or because you're queasy
from car sickness or seasickness. Well, try this to stop
your gag reflex. Hum, Dr KaranRajan is a surgeon at the
University of Sunderland in theUK, and he says you can't gag
(08:07):
and hum at the same time. Youcan also try sniffing lavender
to stop feeling queasy. Theactive compound linoleum lowers
nausea, triggering chemicals inthe body that helps your stomach
stop churning. Today's medicalterm thrombocytopenic purpura,
or ITP, that's a rare buttreatable condition that could
(08:30):
explain why you're bruising moreeasily than usual. Basically,
people with ITP have a quirk intheir immune system that causes
it to attack and destroyplatelets in their own blood,
and without platelets, it'sharder for your blood to clot,
so even a minor cut might bleedfor hours, and even a slight
bump, say against a table, mighttrigger a scary looking bruise.
(08:54):
Many people also develop aseries of tiny purplish spots on
their skin that they can'teasily explain. Those spots are
simply the result of internalbleeding that your body is
struggling to stop. The goodnews, studies show many kids
develop ITP after getting aviral infection, and once the
infection is gone, the conditionnormally clears up on its own.
(09:17):
Also, despite what you may haveheard, there is no evidence that
having ITP raises your risk formore serious blood disorders
like leukemia or autoimmuneconditions like lupus, but see a
doctor if you regularly getbruises or tiny purple spots
that you can't explain becauseITP is easily treated with
(09:39):
medication, and that's today'smedical term, immune
thrombocytopenic purpura comingup. We'll hear more from Dr
David Weil, author of the bookexhale, Hope Healing and a life
in transplant. He'll tell usabout some of the exciting new
therapies coming out that aremaking it possible for some
serious. Ill patients to neverneed a lung transplant, but
(10:03):
first snack on trail mix in theafternoon, sleep like a baby
tonight. According to thejournal sleep, the standard
trail mix ingredients likealmonds, cashews, pumpkin seeds
and dried banana chips are allhigh in magnesium, that's a
mineral that relaxes muscles andcalms the central nervous
(10:24):
system. It also acts on brainchemicals to support sleep. In
fact, 20 years of data showsthat people with higher
magnesium intake sleep betterand longer touch hugs and
cuddles improve well being andreduce pain, depression and
anxiety, that's according to thejournal Nature human behavior.
(10:45):
To come to that conclusion,researchers analyzed years of
data that compared people whohad been physically touched over
the course of an experiment,consensually, of course, to
people who had not been touched.
The result, sick people showedgreater mental health benefits
from touch than healthy people,although Healthy People saw
positive results too. Newbornbabies benefit more from their
(11:07):
parents touch than a stranger'stouch. Women are more comforted
by touch than men, and touchinga person's head was found to be
more beneficial than touchingtheir torso. The experts
theorize that since our sense oftouch is the first to develop in
babies, it's crucial to ouremotional and physical well
(11:29):
being, and the more often peopleexperience touch, the greater
the benefits. Okay, listen tothis. Getting creative makes you
more creative. Meaning, doingthings like sketching, painting
or even decorating cakes makeyou a better problem solver.
Research from Dartmouth Collegefound that practicing some type
(11:50):
of visual art re organizes thebrain's prefrontal cortex, the
region associated with planningand problem solving and being
artistically creative increasesdivergent thinking, which gives
you the power to imagine moreinnovative out of the box
solutions. So decorate a cakeand come up with brilliant new
(12:11):
ideas and solutions for a workissue. Back with more health
intelligence from lung expert DrDavid Weil. His latest book is
called exhale hope, healing anda life in transplant, and it's
all about his experiences as alung transplant doctor. In fact,
at one time, Dr Weil was incharge of deciding who got to be
(12:32):
on the lung transplant recipientwaiting list, which involved
making difficult assessments ofa potential recipient's age and
health status, but there areother factors that Dr Weil says
are important when consideringwho gets a lung transplant.
This is important. There's aneed for a support system in
(12:54):
place so psychosocialconsiderations such as, does an
individual have a supportivefamily, a friend base that they
can rely on to help them throughthis difficult therapy is very
important, and do they have thewherewithal to take care of the
organ? In other words, are theya compliant patient? Are they
(13:16):
going to do everything to makesure that they treat this organ
as a precious resource, becauseit is, you know, we don't have a
lot of them to go around, and wewant to make sure that the
patients understand that andthat they really take care of
it, so patients that have ahistory of, you know, not paying
(13:36):
such great attention to theirhealth can be turned down for a
transplant because we don't wantto use that resource on a
patient that may not take careof it back. With more health
intelligence from lung healthexpert Dr David Weil, he says
each year, only about 2000 NorthAmericans will get a lung
transplant. But thanks to thebreakthroughs in gene therapy,
(13:58):
there are a growing number oftreatments available to patients
without ever needing a lungtransplant, and one of the
conditions that's now treatableis Cystic Fibrosis, that's a
genetic disorder that causesproblems with breathing. So I
asked Dr Weil to explain howgene therapy is helping people
with that condition live longerwithout a transplant.
(14:22):
With regard to cystic fibrosis,you know, we found out, I think
it was in the early 1990s theexact genetic mutation that
leads to people getting cysticfibrosis. So it was only a
matter of time before therapywould be available. So if you
fast forward from the early 90s,15 or so years later, there
(14:42):
began to be good studies showingthat we can actually fix the
mutation with medication. Inother words, patients can take a
pill and the mutation is fixed.
In other words, they don't theydon't have it anymore. And so.
That's a great example of genetherapy actually taking a
(15:03):
disease like cystic fibrosisthat again, when I got into the
field 25 years ago, the lifeexpectancy was around 17 or 18
years. Now it's over 40, andit's getting pushed back every
year because the medication isnow available sooner, there'll
be 50, and then it'll be 60, andthen it'll be a normal lifespan,
(15:25):
and transplant really won't berequired anymore. I don't think
those patients so it's a greatexample of the promise of gene
therapy. We hope that we can godisease by disease and apply
those kinds of therapies to makethose diseases essentially
vanish, and that's whyeverybody's so excited in my
(15:46):
field about gene therapyfor a better mood. Sit under a
tree for 10 minutes. TheUniversity of Michigan says the
aromatic compounds that treesrelease prompt the brain to
produce the calmingneurotransmitter GABA that helps
us feel relaxed yet alert bycalming our central nervous
system so we feel less tense,all from sitting under a tree
(16:08):
for 10 minutes. More healthintelligence from lung health
expert Dr David Weil, if you'dlike to know more about him or
his latest book, exhale, checkout David Weil, md.com, his last
name is spelled W, E, I, L, L,and when it comes to boosting
our health and staying alivelonger, one of the best
(16:30):
interventions that Dr Weilpersonally follows is to take a
daily walk. So I asked him whysomething as basic as walking is
really good for our lungs andour overall health. I
think that the worst setup forone's emotional health, health
is probably to be inside andsedentary, to be honest. And I
(16:53):
always found that if I couldmove, ride a bike, hike in the
woods, go to a body of water,because water is very calming. I
think the better off that Iwould be, and I think that
that's actually now, kind of, itwas intuitive, I think, for most
of my life. But I think now,actually there is good there are
(17:13):
good studies out there that showthat mankind and humankind is
really meant to be in nature,and probably not the way many of
us live, which is in big citiesand a lot of concrete. I think
we're better suited, you know,to have some natural environment
around us. And I do think it'sreally important for us to get
(17:36):
out and try to do that.
We all know that lifting weightscan build up our muscles, but
strength training also causeschanges in the inner workings of
our cells. The result studiesshow, as our muscles get
stronger, our fat cells shrink.
Now in adolescence, the numberof fat cells we have is fixed.
After that, they simply expandand contract with our weight
(17:59):
fluctuations, but with weighttraining, we burn fat for at
least 24 hours afterward, andaccording to Iowa State
University, people who evenoccasionally lift weights are
30% less likely to become obesethan those who never Lift that's
because muscle is metabolicallyactive and burns calories even
(18:21):
at rest. So adding muscle massincreases our energy expenditure
and resting metabolic rates, butour muscles actually talk to our
fat cells, something calledcellular crosstalk, and our
muscles tell our fat cells torelease their stores to be used
as fuel. So as our muscles getstronger, our fat cells shrink.
(18:45):
It's as simple as that. Here'san email I received at Connie at
intelligence for yourhealth.com. It comes from
Julianne Shire, who writes, Whendoes a headache mean I need to
go to the ER? How bad does ithave to be? Julianne, luckily,
most of the time, a headache isnot an emergency, but if it's
(19:06):
the worst headache of your life,or if it's severe, and unlike
any headache you've had before,that's when you need immediate
medical attention, becausesomething that severe could be
the first sign of a brainaneurysm in which a blood vessel
in your brain is leaking. Ifthat is the case, you'll need an
MRI or CT scan to know for sure,and you may need emergency
(19:30):
surgery, because if that bloodvessel completely bursts, it
could be life threatening. Theother type of headache you need
to be concerned about is onethat comes with numbness or
facial weakness, because thatcould be the sign of a stroke,
and you'll need to get to the ERas soon as possible, because you
only have about three to fourhours from when a stroke first
(19:50):
occurs to prevent permanentdamage. Thank you for your
email. Julianne, I hope thishelps. Okay, listen to the. As
to lower your stress andanxiety, just spend a minute
caring for your house plants.
Michigan State Universityresearch suggests just a few
minutes spent caring for a plantnoticeably lowers levels of the
(20:13):
stress hormone cortisol. Thescientists say small
interactions with nature calmthe central nervous system and
reduce negative emotions for 75%of people. Research in the
journal Psychological Sciencefinds that having a happy spouse
leads to a longer marriage and alonger life, too. Participants
(20:34):
who had a happy partner at thebeginning of the study were less
likely to pass away over thenext eight years compared with
participants who had less happypartners. In fact, the study
found that your spouse's lifesatisfaction is an even better
predictor of your mortality thanyour own life satisfaction. In
general, life satisfaction isassociated with behaviors that
(20:57):
can positively affect health,like eating a healthy diet and
exercising. And people who havea happy, active spouse, for
example, are likely to have anactive lifestyle themselves. The
opposite is also true. If yourpartner is down in the dumps and
wants to spend every nighteating chips in front of the TV,
(21:17):
that's how you'll probably spendyour nights too. More health
intelligence from lung healthexpert, Dr David Weil, author of
the book exhale, it's all abouthis experiences as a lung
transplant doctor and earlier,Dr Weil said one of the more
surprising reasons some peopleare kept off the National Lung
(21:38):
transplant waiting list is theydon't have a strong enough
social support system. So Iasked him to tell us more about
why having strong social supportis an essential part of
surviving a lung transplant.
Well,I think there's a lot of studies
that are now showing, firstly,that loneliness in our country
is exponentially increasing.
(22:01):
People are alone more and morenow than ever before, and some
people would say the lonelinessis the new smoking. I know that
sitting is supposed to be thenew smoking, but I think that I
think loneliness is hugelyimportant and something to be
avoided. People with good familysupport and social structures do
(22:22):
well from an emotionalstandpoint. And I think very
much the emotional well being anindividual is directly tied to
their physical well being. I'velead to that for a long time and
seen plenty of examples of it.
So I think that that connectionis important. But the more
practical consideration is,after you've got a trans, after
you've received a transplant,you're not we don't get people
(22:43):
right off the operating table,and then they're perfectly well.
There's a recovery period andtheir ups and downs, and
sometimes you need help at homewith daily activities, feeding
yourself, bathing, taking careof yourself generally, and so
people have to help. You. Haveto get help getting back and
(23:04):
forth to the clinic to come seeus. It's a real family effort to
make the success of atransplant.
That's it for our show today,our special intelligence for
your health with Connie Selig,edition of the podcast, I'm Gib
Gerard. Don't forget to ratecomment and subscribe on Apple
podcast. Spotify, wherever youget your podcast. It helps us
(23:27):
out a lot. And also you canreach out to us on social media.
All of our links are listed downin the show notes. We try to
respond to every DM, everymention of the show, because
ultimately, we do the show foryou guys. So thank you so much
for listening. You Gib.
Gib. Hello and welcome to another edition of the
(00:10):
podcast. I'm Gib Gerard. Todaywe have for you another special
intelligence for your healthwith Connie salica edition of
the show. Herguest today is none other than
lung health expert, Dr DavidWeil. He's going to talk about
everything from smoking totoxins, things that can damage
your lungs, all of that stuff.
So if you care about your lungs,or you have anybody in your life
(00:31):
that does you need to hear thisinterview. So here, without
further ado, is intelligence foryour health. With Connie Celica,
if you have knee pain, try this.
Massage your quadriceps. Yourquads are your thigh muscles
above your knee. A study in theInternational Journal of
therapeutic massage found thatmassaging the quads not only
improved people's ability towalk, it made going upstairs
(00:52):
easier on the knees and theresults last, massaging your
quads in the early afternoon canhelp you sleep with less knee
pain. Just use long, smoothstrokes on the front and sides
of your thighs where they jointhe knee for five minutes, even
if your reusable water bottlelooks clean, it's probably
(01:13):
covered in an invisible biofilmthat can make you sick. And why
you microbiology professor DrPhilip Tierno compares biofilm
to the soap scum that builds upin your bathtub over time. It's
simply a layer of bacteriaclinging to the inside of the
bottle. Biofilm mostly containsbacteria from your own mouth as
(01:35):
well as pathogens from theenvironment, including sickness
causing staph bacteria andnorovirus. So how did these
germs get inside your waterbottle? Dr tiernose says it's as
simple as touching an elevatorbutton or ATM keypad, then
twisting off the top of yourbottle or flipping up the
(01:55):
mouthpiece. Each time you dothat, you're transferring germs
that love to cling to wet, darksurfaces, to the opening your
mouth touches. It's why Drtierna recommends buying a
bottle brush and using it toscrub inside your bottle every
time you use it, then sanitizethe brush by soaking it in a
(02:16):
bowl of hot, soapy water andvinegar, better yet, stick the
bottle in the dishwasher. Hesays those are the only proven
ways to remove biofilm and keepfrom getting sick coming up.
We'll talk to Dr David Weil,former director of the Stanford
Center for Advanced lungdisease. He'll explain why
smoking is so dangerous, and itis the top reason people need
(02:39):
lung transplants. But first, areyou having trouble staying
focused while driving? Turn offthe traffic report, because
trying to visualize thelocations of traffic jams takes
over the visual processing areasof the brain. That's why, when
drivers and simulators listenedto traffic updates, only 23% of
(03:00):
them saw an elephant by the sideof the road, while those who
didn't hear the report werethree times more likely to see
it. That's why we should listento the traffic report before we
get in the car. We've talkedbefore about how dill pickle
juice is packed with probiotics,the healthy live bacteria and
(03:20):
yeast that boost gut health anddigestion. But the latest
research shows anothersurprising benefit of dill
pickle juice, it can helpprevent cavities. That's
according to the journalfrontiers in microbiology. The
study subjects were rats, whichhave similar body chemistry to
humans, half of them were fed acocktail of bacteria found in
(03:42):
pickle brine, then the entiregroup was infected with a cavity
causing bacteria known forspeeding up tooth decay. The
result, after 35 days, the ratsthat were fed pickle juice had
up to 30% fewer cavitiescompared to those who did not
get any pickle juice. The reasonbecause the microbes contained
(04:05):
in the probiotics helpedeliminate the bacteria that
causes tooth decay. Theresearchers say that doesn't
mean you can do shots of picklejuice and skip brushing and
flossing, but you could reduceyour risk for cavities by adding
a variety of pickled foods toyour diet, including dill
pickles, Kim Chi, Sauer Krautand pickled onions, carrots and
(04:26):
cauliflower. Okay, listen tothis. If you're taking a walk,
whether you're outdoors or on atreadmill, put your smartphone
down and stop texting. Accordingto the journal Computers in
Human Behavior, texting ortalking on your phone while
walking lowers your workoutintensity, plus it throws off
your balance by as much as 45%and that, of course, raises the
(04:50):
risk of injuries. So if you'reworking out to music, turn on
your radio app, then put yourphone in your pocket. Today, our
guest is Dr David Weil. He's theformer director of the Stanford
Center for Advanced lungdisease, whose latest book is
called exhale Hope Healing and alife in transplant. And one of
the top diseases that causespeople to need a lung transplant
(05:14):
is emphysema, that's a conditionin which the air sacs of the
lungs are damaged and enlarged,and the biggest cause of
emphysema is smoking. So I askedDr Weil what it is about
lighting up that makes it sodangerous. With
regard to smoking relatedchanges the body actually can
(05:34):
repair in people that quitsmoking some of the damage
that's caused by cigarettesmoke, but it doesn't really
repair all of the damage. Ithink what the best way to look
at at it is you have a lot ofredundant lung tissue. In other
words, we have a lot more thanwe need, and cigarette smoking
(05:56):
slowly but surely takes awayyour lung function, to the point
that actually you run out of it,and you get to the point where
you have difficulty breathing.
The key, though, you know, is tostop and to stop that process.
Everyone, as they age, startingat age 20, loses a little bit of
lung function, even those of uswho don't smoke, but if you
(06:16):
smoke, the loss of lung functionis about four or five times what
it would be in a non smoker,just another reason not to
smoke.
More health intelligence fromlung health expert Dr David Weil
and besides not smoking, he sayssome of the best ways to
maintain healthy lungs includeavoiding exposure to common
(06:36):
toxins found in the workplace,including asbestos, coal dust,
silica and other toxicchemicals, which significantly
raise our risk for asthma. Butwhat about common irritants
found in our own home, includingdust that makes us cough and
sneeze? Is that dangerous? Too?
Doesper se just household dust, you
know, is not harmful, even dustwe see, you know, when the light
(06:59):
shots that, or when we clean acabinet in our house, dust, per
se, is not toxic. What I'mreally more concerned about is
not the irritants, but thethings that actually can cause a
lung disease. And you know,those are, fortunately less
common than things that justirritate us. And I think that
(07:19):
that's an important distinctionfor listeners to understand, is
just because something causesyou to cough or to sneeze and
have a sore throat, doesn't meanit's causing lasting damage. It
just means that the long defensemechanism is picking up on her,
and one of the ways that wedefend ourselves is to cough and
sneeze. So in some ways, it's agood thing that's happening
(07:42):
is your gag reflex easilyactivated. Maybe you can't stop
yourself when you see someoneelse who's getting sick, or
maybe you gag brushing your ownteeth, or because you're queasy
from car sickness or seasickness. Well, try this to stop
your gag reflex. Hum, Dr KaranRajan is a surgeon at the
University of Sunderland in theUK, and he says you can't gag
(08:07):
and hum at the same time. Youcan also try sniffing lavender
to stop feeling queasy. Theactive compound linoleum lowers
nausea, triggering chemicals inthe body that helps your stomach
stop churning. Today's medicalterm thrombocytopenic purpura,
or ITP, that's a rare buttreatable condition that could
(08:30):
explain why you're bruising moreeasily than usual. Basically,
people with ITP have a quirk intheir immune system that causes
it to attack and destroyplatelets in their own blood,
and without platelets, it'sharder for your blood to clot,
so even a minor cut might bleedfor hours, and even a slight
bump, say against a table, mighttrigger a scary looking bruise.
(08:54):
Many people also develop aseries of tiny purplish spots on
their skin that they can'teasily explain. Those spots are
simply the result of internalbleeding that your body is
struggling to stop. The goodnews, studies show many kids
develop ITP after getting aviral infection, and once the
infection is gone, the conditionnormally clears up on its own.
(09:17):
Also, despite what you may haveheard, there is no evidence that
having ITP raises your risk formore serious blood disorders
like leukemia or autoimmuneconditions like lupus, but see a
doctor if you regularly getbruises or tiny purple spots
that you can't explain becauseITP is easily treated with
(09:39):
medication, and that's today'smedical term, immune
thrombocytopenic purpura comingup. We'll hear more from Dr
David Weil, author of the bookexhale, Hope Healing and a life
in transplant. He'll tell usabout some of the exciting new
therapies coming out that aremaking it possible for some
serious. Ill patients to neverneed a lung transplant, but
(10:03):
first snack on trail mix in theafternoon, sleep like a baby
tonight. According to thejournal sleep, the standard
trail mix ingredients likealmonds, cashews, pumpkin seeds
and dried banana chips are allhigh in magnesium, that's a
mineral that relaxes muscles andcalms the central nervous
(10:24):
system. It also acts on brainchemicals to support sleep. In
fact, 20 years of data showsthat people with higher
magnesium intake sleep betterand longer touch hugs and
cuddles improve well being andreduce pain, depression and
anxiety, that's according to thejournal Nature human behavior.
(10:45):
To come to that conclusion,researchers analyzed years of
data that compared people whohad been physically touched over
the course of an experiment,consensually, of course, to
people who had not been touched.
The result, sick people showedgreater mental health benefits
from touch than healthy people,although Healthy People saw
positive results too. Newbornbabies benefit more from their
(11:07):
parents touch than a stranger'stouch. Women are more comforted
by touch than men, and touchinga person's head was found to be
more beneficial than touchingtheir torso. The experts
theorize that since our sense oftouch is the first to develop in
babies, it's crucial to ouremotional and physical well
(11:29):
being, and the more often peopleexperience touch, the greater
the benefits. Okay, listen tothis. Getting creative makes you
more creative. Meaning, doingthings like sketching, painting
or even decorating cakes makeyou a better problem solver.
Research from Dartmouth Collegefound that practicing some type
(11:50):
of visual art re organizes thebrain's prefrontal cortex, the
region associated with planningand problem solving and being
artistically creative increasesdivergent thinking, which gives
you the power to imagine moreinnovative out of the box
solutions. So decorate a cakeand come up with brilliant new
(12:11):
ideas and solutions for a workissue. Back with more health
intelligence from lung expert DrDavid Weil. His latest book is
called exhale hope, healing anda life in transplant, and it's
all about his experiences as alung transplant doctor. In fact,
at one time, Dr Weil was incharge of deciding who got to be
(12:32):
on the lung transplant recipientwaiting list, which involved
making difficult assessments ofa potential recipient's age and
health status, but there areother factors that Dr Weil says
are important when consideringwho gets a lung transplant.
This is important. There's aneed for a support system in
(12:54):
place so psychosocialconsiderations such as, does an
individual have a supportivefamily, a friend base that they
can rely on to help them throughthis difficult therapy is very
important, and do they have thewherewithal to take care of the
organ? In other words, are theya compliant patient? Are they
(13:16):
going to do everything to makesure that they treat this organ
as a precious resource, becauseit is, you know, we don't have a
lot of them to go around, and wewant to make sure that the
patients understand that andthat they really take care of
it, so patients that have ahistory of, you know, not paying
(13:36):
such great attention to theirhealth can be turned down for a
transplant because we don't wantto use that resource on a
patient that may not take careof it back. With more health
intelligence from lung healthexpert Dr David Weil, he says
each year, only about 2000 NorthAmericans will get a lung
transplant. But thanks to thebreakthroughs in gene therapy,
(13:58):
there are a growing number oftreatments available to patients
without ever needing a lungtransplant, and one of the
conditions that's now treatableis Cystic Fibrosis, that's a
genetic disorder that causesproblems with breathing. So I
asked Dr Weil to explain howgene therapy is helping people
with that condition live longerwithout a transplant.
(14:22):
With regard to cystic fibrosis,you know, we found out, I think
it was in the early 1990s theexact genetic mutation that
leads to people getting cysticfibrosis. So it was only a
matter of time before therapywould be available. So if you
fast forward from the early 90s,15 or so years later, there
(14:42):
began to be good studies showingthat we can actually fix the
mutation with medication. Inother words, patients can take a
pill and the mutation is fixed.
In other words, they don't theydon't have it anymore. And so.
That's a great example of genetherapy actually taking a
(15:03):
disease like cystic fibrosisthat again, when I got into the
field 25 years ago, the lifeexpectancy was around 17 or 18
years. Now it's over 40, andit's getting pushed back every
year because the medication isnow available sooner, there'll
be 50, and then it'll be 60, andthen it'll be a normal lifespan,
(15:25):
and transplant really won't berequired anymore. I don't think
those patients so it's a greatexample of the promise of gene
therapy. We hope that we can godisease by disease and apply
those kinds of therapies to makethose diseases essentially
vanish, and that's whyeverybody's so excited in my
(15:46):
field about gene therapyfor a better mood. Sit under a
tree for 10 minutes. TheUniversity of Michigan says the
aromatic compounds that treesrelease prompt the brain to
produce the calmingneurotransmitter GABA that helps
us feel relaxed yet alert bycalming our central nervous
system so we feel less tense,all from sitting under a tree
(16:08):
for 10 minutes. More healthintelligence from lung health
expert Dr David Weil, if you'dlike to know more about him or
his latest book, exhale, checkout David Weil, md.com, his last
name is spelled W, E, I, L, L,and when it comes to boosting
our health and staying alivelonger, one of the best
(16:30):
interventions that Dr Weilpersonally follows is to take a
daily walk. So I asked him whysomething as basic as walking is
really good for our lungs andour overall health. I
think that the worst setup forone's emotional health, health
is probably to be inside andsedentary, to be honest. And I
(16:53):
always found that if I couldmove, ride a bike, hike in the
woods, go to a body of water,because water is very calming. I
think the better off that Iwould be, and I think that
that's actually now, kind of, itwas intuitive, I think, for most
of my life. But I think now,actually there is good there are
(17:13):
good studies out there that showthat mankind and humankind is
really meant to be in nature,and probably not the way many of
us live, which is in big citiesand a lot of concrete. I think
we're better suited, you know,to have some natural environment
around us. And I do think it'sreally important for us to get
(17:36):
out and try to do that.
We all know that lifting weightscan build up our muscles, but
strength training also causeschanges in the inner workings of
our cells. The result studiesshow, as our muscles get
stronger, our fat cells shrink.
Now in adolescence, the numberof fat cells we have is fixed.
After that, they simply expandand contract with our weight
(17:59):
fluctuations, but with weighttraining, we burn fat for at
least 24 hours afterward, andaccording to Iowa State
University, people who evenoccasionally lift weights are
30% less likely to become obesethan those who never Lift that's
because muscle is metabolicallyactive and burns calories even
(18:21):
at rest. So adding muscle massincreases our energy expenditure
and resting metabolic rates, butour muscles actually talk to our
fat cells, something calledcellular crosstalk, and our
muscles tell our fat cells torelease their stores to be used
as fuel. So as our muscles getstronger, our fat cells shrink.
(18:45):
It's as simple as that. Here'san email I received at Connie at
intelligence for yourhealth.com. It comes from
Julianne Shire, who writes, Whendoes a headache mean I need to
go to the ER? How bad does ithave to be? Julianne, luckily,
most of the time, a headache isnot an emergency, but if it's
(19:06):
the worst headache of your life,or if it's severe, and unlike
any headache you've had before,that's when you need immediate
medical attention, becausesomething that severe could be
the first sign of a brainaneurysm in which a blood vessel
in your brain is leaking. Ifthat is the case, you'll need an
MRI or CT scan to know for sure,and you may need emergency
(19:30):
surgery, because if that bloodvessel completely bursts, it
could be life threatening. Theother type of headache you need
to be concerned about is onethat comes with numbness or
facial weakness, because thatcould be the sign of a stroke,
and you'll need to get to the ERas soon as possible, because you
only have about three to fourhours from when a stroke first
(19:50):
occurs to prevent permanentdamage. Thank you for your
email. Julianne, I hope thishelps. Okay, listen to the. As
to lower your stress andanxiety, just spend a minute
caring for your house plants.
Michigan State Universityresearch suggests just a few
minutes spent caring for a plantnoticeably lowers levels of the
(20:13):
stress hormone cortisol. Thescientists say small
interactions with nature calmthe central nervous system and
reduce negative emotions for 75%of people. Research in the
journal Psychological Sciencefinds that having a happy spouse
leads to a longer marriage and alonger life, too. Participants
(20:34):
who had a happy partner at thebeginning of the study were less
likely to pass away over thenext eight years compared with
participants who had less happypartners. In fact, the study
found that your spouse's lifesatisfaction is an even better
predictor of your mortality thanyour own life satisfaction. In
general, life satisfaction isassociated with behaviors that
(20:57):
can positively affect health,like eating a healthy diet and
exercising. And people who havea happy, active spouse, for
example, are likely to have anactive lifestyle themselves. The
opposite is also true. If yourpartner is down in the dumps and
wants to spend every nighteating chips in front of the TV,
(21:17):
that's how you'll probably spendyour nights too. More health
intelligence from lung healthexpert, Dr David Weil, author of
the book exhale, it's all abouthis experiences as a lung
transplant doctor and earlier,Dr Weil said one of the more
surprising reasons some peopleare kept off the National Lung
(21:38):
transplant waiting list is theydon't have a strong enough
social support system. So Iasked him to tell us more about
why having strong social supportis an essential part of
surviving a lung transplant.
Well,I think there's a lot of studies
that are now showing, firstly,that loneliness in our country
is exponentially increasing.
(22:01):
People are alone more and morenow than ever before, and some
people would say the lonelinessis the new smoking. I know that
sitting is supposed to be thenew smoking, but I think that I
think loneliness is hugelyimportant and something to be
avoided. People with good familysupport and social structures do
(22:22):
well from an emotionalstandpoint. And I think very
much the emotional well being anindividual is directly tied to
their physical well being. I'velead to that for a long time and
seen plenty of examples of it.
So I think that that connectionis important. But the more
practical consideration is,after you've got a trans, after
you've received a transplant,you're not we don't get people
(22:43):
right off the operating table,and then they're perfectly well.
There's a recovery period andtheir ups and downs, and
sometimes you need help at homewith daily activities, feeding
yourself, bathing, taking careof yourself generally, and so
people have to help. You. Haveto get help getting back and
(23:04):
forth to the clinic to come seeus. It's a real family effort to
make the success of atransplant.
That's it for our show today,our special intelligence for
your health with Connie Selig,edition of the podcast, I'm Gib
Gerard. Don't forget to ratecomment and subscribe on Apple
podcast. Spotify, wherever youget your podcast. It helps us
(23:27):
out a lot. And also you canreach out to us on social media.
All of our links are listed downin the show notes. We try to
respond to every DM, everymention of the show, because
ultimately, we do the show foryou guys. So thank you so much
for listening. You Gib.
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