Anxiety – A META Medicine Perspective

Posted April 4th, 2013 – 149 Comments

By Bella Dodds of Higher Mind Health There have been great posts written on adrenal fatigue so I thought we could expand on this topic and look more closely into the body’s bio-logical purpose and response to stress… which then leads to symptoms like anxiety and adrenal fatigue. But before we jump right into looking for the bio-logical purpose, we first need to address the nebulous mind-body-emotion connection. At this point in 2013 we are finally starting to make the slow and steady mass migration away from the 1600′s Descartes belief system that the human body and mind are separate – to the present day scientific understanding that yes in fact, the brain is actually inside the body affecting the physiology, (rocket science here!) and that emotions are neuropeptides –… Read more »

Low-Intensity Exercise Part III – Lactic Acid and Growth Hormone

Posted April 3rd, 2013 – 82 Comments

growth hormone lactic acid aging diabetes anorexia

There isn’t a whole lot more that I wanted to say about low-intensity exercise other than for some indivuals, particularly those very sensitive to stress, may fare better keeping intensity level very low. But I did want to get a few words in about lactic acid and growth hormone, as there is a huge blind infatuation with growth hormone these days. Growth hormone is far from being worthy of blind worship. Growth hormone is something that surges when the body is subjected to major stresses. Two of the most major stresses – fasting and high-intensity exercise at or near one’s maximum heart rate, stimulate the most dramatic increase in growth hormone. Anorexics, for example, have much higher levels of growth hormone, and are even thought to develop resistance to growth hormone similar to what happens… Read more »

Going Gray: A Sign of Healthy Aging

Posted April 1st, 2013 – 31 Comments

By Rob Archangel, 180DegreeHealth.com staff writer Special Announcement This will be the last post of 180 Degree Health. Time to shut ‘er down and move on to our exciting new venture: rapid weight loss methods, just in time for the warm weather. It’s gonna be great- feel free to send your credit card information our way right now so you can be on the ground floor for this exciting, once in a lifetime opportunity. Also, after the Grimaldi’s Pizza get together on Saturday (email rob@180degreehealth.com for details), Matt and I, artists of impeccable confidence, will open bidding on our recently acquired East River crossing. This is your chance to secure a revenue stream for your great grandchildren and beyond; thanks to the budget shortfall here in New York City,… Read more »

Adrenal Fatigue: Getting Back to Basics

Posted March 30th, 2013 – 191 Comments

By Julia Gumm Adrenal Fatigue is one of those shadowy - is it real or isn’t it, kind of dis-eases that sort of hangs around the periphery of medicine. Sure, it’s often an accessory to the crimes of high blood pressure, back pain, arthritis, fibromyalgia and allergies- but for some reason, doctors are loathe to pin the patsy on these inconspicuous perps. Nope, they’re off the hook. Sweet deal the adrenals have, unless they’re all in on the crime, they get away scot free. Blame the pancreas, blame the heart, blame the immune system! Don’t blame us! Nothin’ to see here but us chickens! Or uh, glands! So that’s how come you can show up at your doctor’s office with a laundry list of symptoms- weak ankles and knees, muscle aches,… Read more »

180 Audiobooks are Here!

Posted March 29th, 2013 – 11 Comments

Diet Recovery 2 and Eat for Heat audiobooks are finally here! They are narrated by me of course and are available with purchase of the 180 Platinum Collection. Also, be sure to listen to my talk “Metabolism and Stress: An Inner Tug of War” at the Healthy Life Summit today, Friday, March 29th. It’s casual, informative, and the audio quality is good. Free to listen all day today.

Part II – The Maffetone Method

Posted March 28th, 2013 – 67 Comments

Time to jump right in to the continuing series on the case for low-intensity exercise. As those who are familiar with me know, my stance on exercise has moved continually in the direction of higher intensity exercise after looking at everything from the vantage point of metabolic rate. And, more and more research continues to pour in that shows that vigorous exercise will give you a lot more in terms of fitness, strength, fat loss, sex drive, aerobic capacity, growth hormone, and other factors associated with youth and athletic performance. With a narrow and limited hormonal research perspective, there seems to be no compelling reason to do light activity at all. In fact, it looks like something that should be avoided at all costs to get the best results. Indeed… Read more »

The Case for Low-Intensity Exercise Part I

Posted March 25th, 2013 – 119 Comments

The whole world is drowning in the incredible, magnificent, growth-hormone spiking, heart-rate variability improving, lung-expanding, fat-burning benefits of high-intensity exercise. I define high-intensity exercise as basically the type of exercise that you can’t do for more than a minute or two at a time before either a) dying or b) slowing down and catching your breath. The superiority of high-intensity over low-intensity exercise just keeps on rolling in. And the fitness world has been thoroughly hijacked by it. Crossfit, Insanity, P90X, HIIT, Plyometrics, Bodyrock – it’s all grueling work at high heart rates in excess of the lactate threshold (the level of oxygen-deprivation where lactic acid starts being produced at a high rate). The case for high-intensity exercise – interval training, hard weightlifting, etc., is a strong case. So how… Read more »

Healthy Life Summit

Posted March 23rd, 2013 – 18 Comments

Today is the last day to get all the recordings for the Healthy Life Summit before the price doubles. Of course, you can also listen to all the recordings on the day they come out for free just by registering your email address. That’s how all these online conferences seem to work. There are definitely a few interesting talks amongst the 35 speakers presenting at this online “Summit.” My talk with the host, AnnMarie Michaels, airs on Friday, March 29th. Hopefully you can listen in to some of the talks without getting too swept away and cast back into the pit of dietary puritanism. If you do I’ll swoop in on Friday and rescue you, as AnnMarie and I talk about how the results she got from embracing some 180 principles far exceeded any help… Read more »

Central Nervous System (CNS) Fatigue

Posted March 20th, 2013 – 84 Comments

One of the primary objectives of 180DegreeHealth is to provide information, not on the dangers of sitting around on the couch pounding big bags of Doritos and 3 Liter bottles of Mountain Dew, but on the dangers of the modern exercise and dieting fads that have arisen in response to the unhealthy modern diet and lifestyle. A few weeks ago I wrote a post that included some thoughts about the dangers of bodybuilding. In the comments, Eric Lepine, who has an encyclopedic knowledge of exercise physiology, bodybuilding, and other forms of intense physical training, mentioned that his research has led him to the conclusion that some of the dangers of intense training stem from Central Nervous System (CNS) Fatigue. I invited him to write an article for the site about… Read more »

Terrible Tragedy of the Healthy Eater

Posted March 17th, 2013 – 186 Comments

A while back I posted links to some of the best articles I had recently read. Readers seemed to really enjoy being directed to these great reads. Here’s another installment… The first is an absolute must-read. I love information, but I have a weakness for really clever and creative writing. This article combines both in one of the best pieces I’ve read on the modern disease known as healthitis… The Terrible Tragedy of the Healthy Eater Next is by Scott Abel. I’ve been impressed with Scott for years, and his material just seems to get better and better. This is a powerful article about how the dieting mentality influences young kids – certainly an inspiring motivator for ending the diet cycle. Warning – it mentions some really gruesome stats on… Read more »

Nutrition Comparison

Posted March 15th, 2013 – 65 Comments

I hosted a fun game on the 180DegreeHealth Facebook page last night. Sort of a “Guess this food” type of game based on the mineral content. Today, we square two foods off against one another. On the left side we have Sample Food A, weighing in at a whopping 100 grams. The challenger, Sample Food B also weighs in at 100 grams – an even head to head comparison of nutritional strength and prowess. We could squabble about the merits and evils of every known food on the planet. Almost every food has it upside and its downside. But this is an interesting perspective to look at from a purely nutritionist point-of-view. For now, see if you can guess which two foods we are comparing here. It should be noted that anywhere… Read more »

The Potato Hack!

Posted March 13th, 2013 – 140 Comments

For months I’ve been left speechless by the latest development in the world of Paleo – the “Potato Hack!” Based on Chris Voigt’s 20-potatoes a day extravaganza, which was done as a publicity stunt in defense of the potato (somebody’s gotta love it amongst all those tater-haters out there), the potato hack has set the Paleo world ablaze with the last thing it needed - more weight loss frenzy. Today, I weigh in on the good, bad, and ugly of the blossoming tater trend. And I hope to abuse potato references along the way. Just so you homefries know, the potato hack is basically a mono diet – meaning your diet consists of one food. That one food is potatoes. Mash ‘em, boil ‘em, but don’t stick ‘em in a stew. … Read more »

Housework and Obesity

Posted March 9th, 2013 – 340 Comments

By Julia Gumm Ok ladies. I’ll tell you straight up, I’m a feminist. At least I’m pretty sure I am. I dunno, I never went to college and took a women’s studies class, but I did grow up with a strong, working woman in the dominant role in my household. I never for a second believed my ovaries to be a hindrance to anything I should want to do, besides maybe pee on a wall. I’m in my late twenties, don’t have much interest in renting out uterus space to any would-be dependents and I see no problem whatsoever in demanding my boyfriend wash the dishes. In fact, I expect it. I have always encouraged my girlfriends to assert their independence within their relationships, which, I can assure you, has… Read more »

Small Changes Big Results

Posted March 4th, 2013 – 205 Comments

When I first started health-geeking I lost touch with reality and practicality. I was just a single 20-something dude with a seasonal job, no debts, and very low expenses. I could afford to up and leave wherever I was living and just milk cows in exchange for raw milk, or volunteer at an organic farm to load up on local produce – both of which I did. I also had plenty of time and space just to allow my life to revolve around gathering, cooking, and eating my food. I, like so many of us who have congregated here, was painfully perfectionistic about my health exploits. The results were mediocre at best, the effort was completely life-eclipsing. I enjoyed myself don’t get me wrong. It was all part of my… Read more »

8 Badass Ways to Get Healthy

Posted March 2nd, 2013 – 159 Comments

Last year I wrote this for a somewhat edgy foreign publication that seems to have been cryogenically frozen, if not gone the way of the Dodo. I think it deserves a relocation from the files on my laptop to the blog. Enjoy… 8 Badass Ways to Get Healthy Take a moment to relax. Breathe in deeply. My buddy Daniel Larusso does it. And when he does, wow! Watch out! We were once traveling in Okinawa together and he broke like 10 fat slabs of ice with a single karate chop! Actually, come to think of it, that was a movie. Sorry. I grew up in America. Try as I might, I spent so much of my childhood in front of the television that I honestly have trouble separating my actual childhood… Read more »

Massachusetts Fat Letters – BMI Report Cards

Posted February 27th, 2013 – 246 Comments

The timeless practice of “looking busy” has reached new heights, and I suspect this is just a small sample of what’s in store for the world in dealing with the “childhood obesity crisis.” Massachusetts has taken upon itself to issue “fat letters” to parents when a child reaches a body mass index that is significantly above normal. Yes, this is really happening. Accompanying this letter are some recommendations on how to take action against rising body weight. Pretty scary when the recommendations they are advising are most likely to be conscious calorie reduction and increased physical activity – both of which are well-known and thoroughly proven to increase body fat percentage over time – not to mention increase the risk of many adulthood diseases like heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and even cancer. Of… Read more »

What I Want to Be When I Grow Up

Posted February 23rd, 2013 – 120 Comments

Ever since I can remember, I had a deep, burning desire to have a striking physique. In Kindergarten we were asked “What do you want to be when you grow up?” to be presented at our graduation ceremony. I had watched a lot of sports on television at that age, and loved boxing and greats like Marvin Hagler. Marvin had deep, ebony skin tone and was very lean and defined. Put some sweat on him during a hard boxing match and he looked like he was a man carved out of wood with a fresh coat of paint laid down on him. I proudly announced to my Kindergarten teacher, precisely because I was so enamored with this look, “I want to be a black boxer.” I’m not making this up. … Read more »

The Effect of Bodybuilding and Figure Competition on Metabolism

Posted February 21st, 2013 – 181 Comments

Most people in the modern world look at images like the one of Tom Venuto in stage-ready condition to the left, as being the iconic portrait of a healthy metabolism. Likewise, I think a lot of health and fitness writers and other people in health circles glue the concept of health with people’s selfish desires to meet the current aesthetic ideal set forth by the bodybuilding, fitness, and modeling industries. Sticking these two concepts together makes the desire to diet down and overexercise to the point of extreme leanness even more desirable, and provides rational justification in one’s mind for putting so much time and effort into what, under the surface, has nothing to do with health and everything to do with a desire to achieve an elite level of awesome dominance over other members of the same sex. Basically, this… Read more »

Eat for Heat on Dr Marty’s Wellness Experience

Posted February 19th, 2013 – 35 Comments

By Rob Archangel, 180DegreeHealth.com staff writer Hey party people- Rob here, giving you a heads up about a live internet radio appearance with Matt tonight on Dr Marty’s Wellness Experience . I reached out to Dr. Marty a couple months ago about Eat for Heat and he wanted to have Matt share some of the tips and tweaks for increasing the metabolic rate by adjusting our food and drink patterns. You can call in live at 7pm EST and listen at (347) 633-9769 or tune in later to catch the archived edition here.

The Feedbag Method: How to Beat Food Cravings, Bingeing, and Emotional Eating

Posted February 18th, 2013 – 169 Comments

In line with the shift in focus in the new Diet Recovery, I thought it was worthy to post this insightful passage from Geneen Roth’s book, When Food is Love. It’s about letting kids regulate their own eating, but certainly applies to making the same leap ourselves. I had posted this in an old blog of mine that no longer exists, and it’s worth the reposting – especially for all the health-conscious moms out there who, despite really wanting the best for their kids, are disheartened by the fact that efforts to get junior to eat healthy have resulted in junior being a ravenous sugar fiend. There is mounting evidence that the more a parent interferes with a child’s eating, the more harm is done. The human body is fully equipped with a very sophisticated energy-regulating… Read more »