‘“It’s like nothing we’ve seen since World War II,”’ he [Steven Woolf, MD] said. ‘“1943 was the last time the US had such a large decrease in life expectancy.”’

Virginia Commonwealth University released a report examining the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on life expectancy worldwide. The study, led by Woolf, reveals US statistics that are lower than those of 16 peer countries and that expose racial disparities, with life expectancy dropping 3.88, 3.25, and 1.87 years for Hispanics, blacks, and whites, respectively.

A study from West Virginia University researchers reveals that unrepaired DNA damage, caused by exposure to cigarette smoke, industrial chemicals, ozone, and other pollutants, triggers the body to produce free radicals that accelerate aging. Poor nutrition and other unhealthy lifestyle factors also increase free radicals, as do normal metabolic processes. This coupled with excessive toxin exposure overpowers the body’s ability to eradicate free radicals and advanced aging manifests.

Botox is a protein created from the Botulinum toxin that causes botulism, a poisoning characterized by difficulty breathing, paralysis, and even death. In fact, Botox itself can cause breathing difficulties, anaphylaxis, and other perilous side effects.

To avoid these health risks and still achieve smooth, taut skin, maintain a lifestyle that includes anti-aging practices, foods, and nutrients, such as exercising, eating berries and greens, and applying non-toxic sunscreen, and use natural, age-defying skincare products.

Research from Cleveland Clinic’s Lerner Research Institute indicates that the gut microbiome not only influences stroke severity but also affects functional impairment after a stroke. Dietary choline and to a greater extent TMAO (trimethylamine N-oxide), which gut microbes produce when digesting animal products, amplify stroke size and severity as well as post-stroke motor and cognitive deficits. Scientists note that dietary changes could lower TMAO levels and consequently stroke risk.

Neurogenesis is the process by which new neurons (nerve cells) are created in the brain. Research shows that neurogenesis contributes to learning and memory and is essential for robust brain function. In fact, various conditions, such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s disease, are triggered when neurons die.

As one ages, living a life that facilitates brain health becomes increasingly critical. Running and swimming, fasting, meditation, and other lifestyle practices stimulate neurogenesis to maintain and boost brain function.

A recent analysis, led by researchers at NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing, evinces that tooth loss raises the risk of cognitive impairment and dementia. Even more telling, among study participants, each additional missing tooth increased cognitive impairment and dementia in a step-wise manner, 1.4% and 1.1% per tooth respectively. Researchers note that dentures appear to provide a protective effect, eliminating the link between diminished cognitive function and tooth loss.

The gut microbiome affects metabolism, digestion, nutrient absorption, mental health, disease risk, immunity, and much more. An unbalanced microbiome or dysbiosis, caused by a poor diet, chronic stress, antibiotics, and other lifestyle factors, fuels disease, from obesity and brain fog to diabetes and cancer.

Positive lifestyle changes can reverse dysbiosis relatively quickly. Consuming wholesome non-processed foods, adding probiotics and digestive enzymes to one’s supplement regimen, and meditating can all facilitate a gut reset.

Aluminum is found in the soil, mineral compounds, and rock, but not in the human body. According to experts, chronic aluminum exposure can fuel pneumonia, asthma, cardiovascular thrombosis, intestinal permeability and inflammatory bowel disease, infertility, neurodegeneration, necrosis, and numerous other ills. Avoiding canned goods, aluminum foil, as well as aluminum-containing medications and other products can help to prevent aluminum toxicity.

Non-stop, demanding days as well as hormonal imbalances and digestive issues that fuel inflammation can produce nighttime jitters. Addressing health issues and making various lifestyle changes can facilitate calm and a peaceful night’s rest. Research indicates, for instance, that enjoying morning and evening sun exposure decreases anxiety and that taking supplements such as magnolia bark and reishi—Eastern medicine staples—also quells angst to help one effortlessly drift off to dreamland.

Researchers at UCSF dispel the current notion that short workouts confer adequate health benefits and that even governmental guidelines recommending at least two-and-a-half hours of exercise per week are sufficient to maintain health, particularly normative blood pressure levels. Their study, including 5,000 plus adults, showed a step-wise decline in the likelihood of developing hypertension, which raises heart attack and stroke risk, with increased physical activity throughout life.

A lifestyle of hunting, gathering, fishing, and farming is paramount to avoid dementia and cognitive and functional decline as one ages, according to a study conducted by USC researchers. Senior author Andrei Irimia, PhD, assistant professor of gerontology, neuroscience, and biomedical engineering, and his team examined the Tsimane of the Bolivian Amazon, who are very active and eat only vegetables, fish and meat, and discovered that their brains age 70% slower than those of Westerners.

Ditch the “summertime sugar bombs” like smoothies and iced lattes and relish refreshing, salubrious teas. While those desiring a caffeine boost may choose to drink black, red, green, or white tea, imbibing herbal tea avoids the jitters while bolstering health. From hibiscus and peppermint tea’s antiviral properties to rooibos tea’s rich mineral content to turmeric tea’s anti-inflammatory qualities, these herbal teas and others are the ultimate health hack.

Chances are, inspecting any bottled, bagged, or otherwise packaged food will reveal a longer than expected ingredient list that includes foreign substances, known as food additives, that the typical consumer does not recognize. Three of the most common, yet underdiscussed additives are xanthan gum, guar gum, and sodium benzoate. Find out what these substances really are, discover their uses in the pharmaceutical and food manufacturing industries, and most importantly, determine whether they elicit negative health effects.

Maryam Jawid

Research published in Free Neuropathology reveals a link between Parkinson’s disease and chronic gut inflammation. Using a mouse model, study authors discovered that sustained intestinal inflammation triggers a protein called alpha-synuclein to clump in the colon walls and immune cells. The same protein aggregates in the brains of Parkinson’s patients and likely causes its progression. Moreover, gut inflammation early in life worsens alpha-synuclein aggregates in the brain of older mice.

Dr. Mark Burhenne, DDS, functional dentist, asserts that fluoride is a toxin. He states that research indicates that if a woman is pregnant and drinking fluoridated water or adding tap water to her infant’s formula, her child’s IQ can drop several points. Studies also demonstrate fluoride’s ability to promote neurotoxicity, arthritis, and osteosarcoma or bone cancer and even influence metabolism. Using fluoride to just avoid, on average, one extra cavity is simply not worth the risk, he stresses.