Babies Get It, Grade Schoolers Get It, So Why is it So Hard For Us?
Several studies over the past few years have found that kids as young as 18 months old possess deep feelings of compassion. One study found that when toddlers show kindness to others, it’s motivated by innate feelings of compassion — not just a desire to please the adults in their lives. In the study, when
Countdown Reason # 6: What Stress Does to the Gut, and What the Stressed Gut Does to the Brain
Two new studies tell us an interesting story about stress, the gut and the brain. We have a LOT of organisms in the gut. Cell for cell, we’re largely made up of bacteria. In fact, single-celled organisms, mostly bacteria, outnumber our own cells 10 to 1. Most of these live in our gut. Any alteration
Countdown Reason # 7: Life Channel or Pain Channel?
Research tells us that although 70 % of our day is relatively good, 28 % of it neutral, and only about 2 % of what happens to us is actually bad, we think about that negative 2 % almost all the time; it’s what we ruminate over as we shower, drive, and fall asleep.[i] It
Countdown Reason # 8: How Did We Miss This Chronic Disease Epidemic?
How did we miss the chronic disease epidemic now facing America? And why are we so behind in meeting the needs of the 1 out of 2 adult Americans who suffer from them? I wanted to find out the answer to that question. So I reached out to Laurie Edwards, author of the upcoming book
Countdown Reason # 9: It Doesn’t Have to Be This Way
Today I was listening to NPR as I was driving. The discussion centered on new approaches to addiction — and the fact that addiction is now being classified as a “chronic brain disease.” Experts said that 22 million American’s suffer from it. (Add this to the 133 million Americans suffering from a range of other
Countdown Reason # 10: Turtle Wushu, Anyone?
A week ago I wrote this at the end of a blog on joy, memories and the brain (see Countdown Reason # 19: Why Emotional Memories of Joy Matter so Much): “I’m going to think of how to make a joy memory today. I’ll let you know how that works out on an icy, windy
Countdown Reason # 12: The Number of Kids with Chronic Conditions is Skyrocketing
I’ve written about how chronic pain is on the rise, as are rates of chronic disorders. But two new studies extend our knowledge about the prevalence of chronic conditions among Americans into an area that’s quite troubling: America’s children. One study, published in the journal PAIN found that “recurrent chronic pain is overwhelmingly prevalent in
Countdown Reason # 13: The American Stress Crisis
A new study released today by the American Psychological Association found, after studying 2000 Americans, that the day-to-day stress the average American is living with surpasses healthy stress levels. Americans say their daily stress is at a 3.6 on a 10-point scale. Just think of that for a minute in terms of the physical “pain
Countdown Reason # 14: The Autoimmune Epidemic Was Just the First Half of the Journey
THE LAST BEST CURE will be in stores, on Amazon, Indiebound, and everywhere else in two weeks. I can hardly believe it. Many of you are fans of The Autoimmune Epidemic (now in its 5th printing!). Which, as you know, talks about all the environmental stressors and toxins we encounter in our lives that add
Countdown Reason # 21: An Excerpt From The Last Best Cure!
For me, this is huge. You’re finally getting to see what I’ve spent the past two years of my life doing — researching, journeying, writing. I’ve described the book to you in a dozen ways but nothing can give you a better sense of what this book is about than delving into the book itself.