Sarah (00:16)
Hello everyone, welcome. Thank you so much for joining us today. We’re all so excited to be here. This is our first episode of Health Talk by Doctors Health Press. I’m Sarah Cownley. I’m a nutritional therapist, but for today I’m going to be your host. For this new podcast. I really truly believed that this is going to be one of the keys to take your health to the next level. Now, through each podcast we’re going to be covering all things including alternative health. We’re going to be covering natural wellness advice and we’re gonna be doing all of this through insightful chats and interviews with really some of the best in the field of healthcare. Okay, so to kick things off today, we’re going to be speaking with James, Palow. Now James is a holistic and wellness educator and his main philosophy really is that the best way to fight disease is actually through prevention. James is a former marine. He was a high school teacher and he was even an international real estate investor, but in 2008 when the recession hit, unfortunately James pretty much lost everything. Even his health really started deteriorating at this time and this is when he decided he needed to start his own journey. He really needed to find what it meant for him to be truly healthy and whole. Again. James, welcome to the show and thank you so much for being with us today.
James (01:44)
Good morning, Sarah. Thank you for having me.
Sarah (01:46)
Well, James, it sounds like you’ve been through a pretty rough time and that you’ve had quite a journey to get to where you are today with your health. Now, for those of you who don’t know, James is actually my husband, so I know all about his backstory, but James, for our listeners, can you just go into a little bit more about your story, the health issues you encountered and more about your journey to where you got yourself to where you are today?
James (02:18)
Sure. It’s interesting to note that I’d always been in good health and then always been quite athletic until about 2008 when my health really took a big downturn. And this started of course, because of a lot of professional and financial stress. This is what people refer to as a triggering event. So this stress started the snowball. First, my sleep became very disrupted. I wasn’t getting that deep nourishing sleep. That’s so important for health. Uh, my eating habits then because of the sleep and stress then started to deteriorate. I started eating a lot of convenience foods and fast food. And then of course the exercise routine that I had been dedicated to my entire life, started to get slacked on. I started to not really commit myself to it as much. My energy levels were extremely low. That mental and physical energy and the straw that broke the camel’s back was then my focus and concentration at work. My energy levels had affected it so adversely that I found myself having problems at work as well.
Sarah (03:18)
Okay. So I guess at this stage is where you really started to feel like enough is enough and you needed to seek some medical help.
James (03:28)
Yes, that’s correct. I did what almost anybody would do, including your listeners. And that is I sought out the attention of a doctor. Well I had to figure out first what type of doctor? So first, because I thought my biggest fear was perhaps this is early onset Alzheimer’s, I saw a neurologist and had a battery of tests, eeg, blood tests, everything you could think of. Everything came back fine. So then I saw an endocrinologist who thought maybe it was hormonal and, because of my energy levels, but I hit a dead end there. So ultimately I wound up in a psychiatrist’s office and of course I think we all know psychiatrist only have one tool at their disposal, which is psychotropic drugs. So I had been put on 13 different types of drugs, up to six at one time because I’d been told that this is actually what they cause psychosomatic illness or my mind was making my body sick when in reality I learned later that it’s actually a matter of psychic illness. It was what was wrong in my body that was affecting my body, my energy levels and my mind. So I had been put on all these drugs and then I started having even further problems, because of course, any synthetic drug disrupts homeostasis in the body, it knocks everything off balance. So I had started having the list of side effects, which by the way side effects are actual effects of drugs. That’s just a marketing term and all of these drugs just really compounded the problem and made it much, much, much worse.
Sarah (04:56)
So it must have been a little bit frustrating and also a little bit scary being bounced around from doctor to doctor. Really the only one offering any help was the one that put you on these psychotropic medications with so many side effects.
James (05:10)
Yes, that’s right. So I was just given a bunch of pharmaceutical drugs to manage the symptoms, but I wasn’t getting any answers as to what was actually causing these symptoms.
Sarah (05:21)
Oh, okay. So I’m guessing this is the time when you really decided to start your own journey and where you really had to become your own doctor. Yes, exactly.
Well James, I know you’re definitely not alone in this. There are so many people really who are sicker than ever today in the US and that’s in spite really if fist being one of the richest countries in the world and we have easy access to healthcare just seems like more and more people are being diagnosed with cancer, diabetes, heart disease and all these other chronic diseases and when they go to doctors, they seem to really be hitting sometimes a brick wall. Now I’ve heard you speak before how we do have this high rate of disease in the US and that’s because we often focus on something called disease care instead of a healthcare model. Can you just elaborate a little bit more about this and explain exactly what you mean by this.
James (06:20)
Okay. I’ll start by saying that our current medical system is the best in the world when it comes to acute healthcare needs, if you’re in an accident or if you had the disease that has progressed so far to where you need some sort of an operation. We have the best system in the world, but when it comes to chronic diseases or disorders, we were really missing the mark. I mean, just think about it. 100 years ago, the leading causes of death were infectious diseases like pneumonia, tuberculosis, and influenza. Now, fast forward 100 or so years and it’s diabetes, heart disease and cancer. So really what went wrong? We need to start looking at the root cause. Currently with the current health paradigm, we just, we treat the symptoms. A lot of people will use the, the tack and the shoe analogy. If you had a tack that was causing your foot to bleed and causing you pain in your shoe, we could just give you drugs to take away the pain, right?
James (07:22)
But wouldn’t it be? Wouldn’t make a lot more sense and be easier to take the shoe off and then to remove the tack? Well, that’s what we’re talking about, about getting to the root cause of a variety of maladies and diseases. So the current medical system offers you two options, either drugs or surgery or both. Surgery, of course, has drawbacks because it causes trauma to the body and of course it’s not applicable to every condition. And drugs, of course, causes an imbalances in the body. It disturbs homeostasis, and often you can have complications from the drugs. We need to start focusing on proper health care, preventative care, and giving the human body the conditions it needs to thrive and avoid these diseases to begin with. So part of that is nutrition, proper nutrition. Part of that is also a detoxifying the body from various chemical and metal toxins. And a variety of other environmental factors that the body needs to thrive. The emphasis when it comes to a true healthcare model would be to make lifestyle choices that are congruent with the needs of the human body.
Sarah (08:34)
Okay. So treating the root of the problem and following a healthcare model, using preventative care seems like one of the keys to avoiding disease now. What exactly would it look like? I’m guessing maybe using natural supplements and some alternative treatments.
James (08:52)
Well, first let me explain the magic pill mentality. Often we go to the doctor and we expect to receive some sort of a magic pill that’s going to solve some sort of a problem in our physical or mental health. This is an very over simplistic view of the way the body works. And as I said before, often a drug will cause other imbalances in the body. This translates over as well to the natural supplement industries. People take that exact same mindset and then they think that some sort of an herbal supplement is going to cure them of whatever discomfort or disease they may be suffering from. What many of us fail to realize is that our poor state of health is actually the result of a variety of different factors, not just one thing that requires one pill or supplement to completely cure.
James (09:42)
So, it makes sense that what we look to, to remedy the situation or to remedy a certain condition is a variety of different factors. And it’s all the factors that the human body needs to be able to thrive. The fact is, when the human body is given all the proper conditions in nutrients, it needs to manage all of these critical metabolic processes than nutrients are properly absorbed by the body. Energy levels are stable, sleep quality is improved, and the human immune system is able to do its job in fighting infectious pathogens like viruses and bacteria, and so on. All you need to do is really look back in history and ask yourself, how did we survive as a species for over 200,000 years? How do we get to this point in our evolution where we’re at such a disease state? The fact is that our ancestors were exposed to what I call the five pillars of health. And though it may seem overly simplistic, it’s actually quite simple. Air, water, solar exposure, exposure to the earth and nutrition.
Sarah (10:46)
Okay, So, far it seems pretty simple. But let’s get into the more in depth and let’s start out by talking about nutrition. Now, I do know that this is one that most people do struggle with. I mean, we all know that we should eat healthy, but it can get confusing when there’s so much information out there about what we should be eating and what we shouldn’t be eating. It really does seem like there’s a new fad diet popping up every month. So, is there a specific diet that you would recommend for people to follow or is everybody different?
James (11:18)
Let’s start off by identifying the foods that are detrimental to health and almost every population and individual, aside from the chemical dyes, additives and preservatives, four of the most problematic foods that people eat on a regular basis are sugar, wheat, soy, and dairy. Sugar is almost ubiquitous in all processed foods and comes in many hidden forms such as dextrose or Maltodextrin. So it’s very important that you read food labels. The most important thing to remember about sugar is that it is highly inflammatory and it weakens the immune system which leads to a variety of diseases or undesirable health consequences. Diabetes of course, being the most obvious one. Let’s talk about wheat. Wheat contains gluten proteins which can breach the intestinal wall and cause immune system dysfunction, which of course leads to a variety of autoimmune diseases. It also contains gluteomorphins, which are opioid like peptides that can cause brain fog and memory loss and wgas or wheat germ agglutinins, which bind to almost all of your cells, makes them clot up and causes a further immune system response and leads also to immune diseases, soy.
James (12:26)
What about soy? Soy is extremely high in phytoestrogens, which are natural plant estrogens, but these can cause hormonal imbalances and lead to a variety of different diseases such as breast cancer. Dairy, dairy contains proteins. Many individuals will have an allergic reaction to. It’s also high in estrogen like wheat. It also has opioid peptides that cause brain fog, memory loss, called casomorphins, and let us not forget that milk is specifically designed by nature to make a small animal grow as big and as fat as quickly as possible. It’s one of the only food sources with high amounts of sugar and fat, so what foods are ideal for the human body where we can confidently say without question that variety of fresh meats, fish, vegetables, unlimited amount of fruits in the in the warmer months as well as some nuts and seeds are universally healthy food sources which can be not coincidentally found in cultures around the world.
James (13:21)
So we can take this a step further by looking at those foods which are healthy for every population by looking at an individual’s unique genes to determine more precisely what meats and vegetables for example, would be best for that person’s unique biochemistry. For example, we now know that a proper intake of dietary fat is critical to human health. Most especially brain health. So if you’re a Mediterranean descent, you’ll most likely do best with a diet that’s high in Omega-9 fats such as olive oil, which people in that region have evolved to eat for thousands of years. If you’re of northern European descent, in contrast again due to thousands of years of evolution, your body will most likely have a higher need for animal fats with a particular need for Omega- 3 fats that are abundant and cold water fish that are not coincidentally a staple of many diets in that region.
James (14:14)
So you can see it’s a version of a magic pill mentality to think that there’s one specific diet that’s ideal for every individual in the world, just as there’s one pill to cure every disease. In the diet Industry, quite frankly, they know this and that’s why it’s such a profitable industry and why most fad diets yield only temporary results and lead to very little improvement in general health. So then how do we get started and coming up with a nutritional plan tailored to one’s individual needs. The first step is to eliminate all the foods that are harmful to the body to include those I mentioned before such as sugar, wheat, soy, dairy, as well as corn and peanuts and every processed, food or any food that comes in a bag box or can, think about that. Choose fresh organic meats, fish, fruits and vegetables, experiment with different varieties of these and if known, try to choose those that are specific to your culture. Take a note of how these foods are making your body feel. How are your energy levels? What’s your sleep quality like? Do you notice any allergic symptoms after you eat a particular food, like an itchy nose or maybe some mucus or postnasal drip? It takes a lot of trial and error, but eventually you will begin to learn what foods are best for your individual health and which foods your body is giving you subtle signals about that can lead to poor health and disease down the road.
Sarah (15:32)
Okay, so that’s, actually really interesting and I guess it really does make sense that we should eat where our ancestors came from. So if we keep in mind the foods that our ancestors ate, then we should really know how to tailor our diet specifically to our individual needs. So let’s move along to the other pillars. So air and water seemed pretty simple. I mean everyone knows we have to drink eight glasses of water a day and we have to go outside and get fresh air. But is it really that simple or maybe is there something that we’re missing here?
James (16:04)
Okay, let’s start off with air quality because that’s the one that most of us take for granted. There are numerous people around the world who live in heavily urban areas or near heavy industry where the air is significantly polluted. Even if you live in a rural area, you’re not completely out of the woods because your air quality is most likely just less polluted because, for example, airborne toxins can cross the Pacific from China and about just six days depending on wind conditions. Many of these toxins are known carcinogens or many of them have a potent neurotoxins. that can lead to a variety of neurodegenerative diseases. Indoor air quality is often just as toxic, if not more. We think these environments are very clean because we keep our house clean, but there are what we call volatile organic compounds or VOC’s that emanate from furniture, carpets, and other household goods.
James (16:58)
Now, those are inorganic toxins that lead to a variety of different diseases. Let’s talk about more natural toxins, what we call biotoxins. One out of four buildings in the US at a minimum, in some cases it’s three out of four buildings at a minimum contain toxic mold. So we’re constantly breathing these mycotoxins, these fungal toxins. And just because you can’t smell it, doesn’t mean it’s not there. If you can smell mold, that means you have an absolute infestation. No one stops to ask the question, why is lung cancer still the number one form of cancer? In spite of the fact that smoking has dramatically decreased? And indeed many of these people that are contracting lung cancer have never smoked one day in their life. So what do we do about all this? Aside from the obvious, which may be impractical to some people of moving to an with cleaner air, there are few things that you can do first off, avoid being outdoors during peak traffic hours.
James (17:55)
We’ve all been in that experience where the car in front of us blows exhaust into our car and you could smell the toxins in the air. Go out and get some green time, spend some time in nature. Even in a big city like New York or Chicago, you can find some sort of a park to go to, to be in nature for a while to get some clean air. Iin so far as indoor air goes, this is what we have the most control over. Start out with removing all carpeting from your house. Carpet is extremely nasty and just think, your children and/or grandchildren are playing down in that carpet all day long. Choose furnishings that use the least amount of chemicals in their manufacturing process. You can look this up online, have your home properly tested for mold and commit to sort and sort of mold remediation if necessary by a qualified contractor.
James (18:44)
And I’d say the easiest is to invest in a high quality air filter. There are air filters that will utilize different types of filters, a hepa filter, carbon filter, a voc filter to eliminate all these different types of toxins. So investing in a good air filter will pay back dividends in regards to your help more than we can really quantify. At the very least, even if you’re out working all day long, you can at least take this air filter in your bedroom since at least you know, for about eight hours every day you’re going to receive filtered quality, fresh air.
Sarah (19:18)
Wow. So it really does seem like air quality is a problem that really does affect all of us. I think most people are really unaware of just the link between this and possible chronic disease. I mean, who would think the new carpet that you’ve just put into your home could be adding to your illness? And I mean, I, for one, I don’t think about it when I’m outside. I just think it’s pure clean air that I’m breathing. Okay. So now what about water? Um, is this pillar more than just simply making sure you get your eight glasses of water a day?
James (19:53)
Well, it’s a bit more complicated than that. Your water consumption is based off of your size, your body size, and also the climate you live in. But let’s talk about water quality since this is really a lot easier to tackle then let’s say air. Most of our water supply, tap water is contaminated with high levels of industrial fluoride, which is a potent neurotoxin by the way, leads to a neuron death. Chlorine and other disinfection byproducts which disrupt proper gut function and to most people’s shock, even a variety of pharmaceutical drugs such as high blood pressure medications, birth control pills, and more are found in your local, local city or county water supply. Many people may think that the solution to this is then to drink bottled water, but this can be quite expensive and not as healthy as you would think. Many brands of bottled water have tested positive for contaminants and even distilled water, which seems benign, can leach the plastics.
James (20:48)
Many of these plastics are endocrine disruptors and they could leach these plastics into seemingly clean water and you’re drinking all of that. So what do we do about this? If you’re fortunate enough to live by close to natural spring, you can get clean mineral rich water. However, that can be a little bit laborious in a impractical. If you’re like most of us, a minimal investment in a water treatment device can ensure that you’re drinking the cleanest water possible for years of use. You can invest in a cheap counter top water distiller. I, I purchased one personally and I’ve had it for five years. It hasn’t broken down and it costs me about $200. So that has paid dividends over and over again. The only thing if you distill water is you’ll want to re-mineralize the water. You can buy liquid minerals, at your local health food store online, or you can also purchase a reverse osmosis system either for the whole house, which be preferable.
James (21:45)
Or if you’re on a budget, you can, you can get the most economical option, which is an under, under counter unit, under the kitchen counter. Doing something about the quality of your water is literally something that you’ll see a difference, and be able to taste. Now, let’s talk about the water we bay then because in many cases that can be just as important because we often forget that our skin is like a giant sponge and absorbs a variety of different elements from our environments. We’ve heard of topical medications and other herbal treatments. This, is the principle, how this works. It absorbs through the skin. When we take a shower, though, we’re exposed to the same toxins we find in drinking water. A hot shower poses an additional risk because you’re putting toxins like chlorine in a gaseous form to be breathed in. Remember, the chlorine gas was used as a weapon during the first world war. This is not something you want to be breathing in, so unless you have a whole home purification unit, the simplest solution is to install an inexpensive showerhead water filter.
Sarah (22:50)
Now, I must admit, since you put the shower filter on our shower here at home, it is nice knowing I’m really bathing in clean water, and I also like the fact that I don’t smell like I just got out of a chlorinated swimming pool. Okay, so now let’s get into the last pillars that you had mentioned. Now these were sun and earth. I’m guessing this is about getting outside, getting more sun, Vitamin D
James (23:15)
At its core. Yes it is that simple. But let’s get into the “why?” Does it make sense that we’re born into this world naked, but the sun is the sole cause of skin cancer. I mean, a lot of this has to do with the climate and your ethnic heritage. Of course, you know, if you are of Irish descent, you live in the American southwest or down in Florida, the sun is probably too intense for you, but a lot of the ill consequences of solar exposure have to do with other factors, other toxins, other foods. So, the sun is really gotten a bad rap. Now, think of this, most of us spend about 90 percent of our days indoors. So aside from the poor air quality indoor air quality I mentioned before, we’re not being exposed to an adequate amount of solar radiation.
James (24:02)
At its core. Yes it is that simple. But let’s get into the “why?” Does it make sense that we’re born into this world naked, but the sun is the sole cause of skin cancer. I mean, a lot of this has to do with the climate and your ethnic heritage. Of course, you know, if you are of Irish descent, you live in the American southwest or down in Florida, the sun is probably too intense for you, but a lot of the ill consequences of solar exposure have to do with other factors, other toxins, other foods. So, the sun is really gotten a bad rap. Now, think of this, most of us spend about 90 percent of our days indoors. So aside from the poor air quality indoor air quality I mentioned before, we’re not being exposed to an adequate amount of solar radiation.
James (25:10)
You’ll find the sun is very, very instrumental in setting our circadian rhythms, which is instrumental in getting a good night’s sleep. When you do that, when you go out into the sun without sunglasses in the morning, you will put your body into daytime mode, which will increase your energy levels and minimize the chance that you’ll experience insomnia later in the evening because your body will readjust to the circadian rhythm because the sunlight will stop your penial gland from producing melatonin so that then it’ll reset the clock and later that evening, usually after a few hours of darkness, then your body will then start producing melatonin as per its normal cycle. Other things you can do include eating meals outdoors or take a break during your lunch hour and get outside. Focus your recreational activities outdoors instead of indoors. There’s so many little things you can do, but they all revolve around getting exposure outdoors and they all have a cumulative effect.
James (26:05)
All of these lifestyle changes also have an effect on the next piece of the puzzle we’re going to talk about which is earth. The human need for contact with the earth is the least understood, but it works in harmony with the other pillars. Back in the 1950’s, experiments were conducted on students in Germany where they were placed in sealed underground bunkers, insulated from the earth’s natural electromagnetic frequencies. The results were absolutely astonishing to researchers right across the board is these young fit students experienced a host of physical and mental problems from migraine headaches to depression. We need to think of the earth is the master of all antioxidants. How this works is that bear in mind that most modern diseases are the result of chronic inflammation in the body. Like when you stub a toe, it’s a protective effect. But what happens is that inflammation lingers and it stays chronic.
James (26:59)
What would the earth does is that it has a very, it exchanges negatively charged antioxidant electrons from the earth and allow them to enter the body and it neutralizes positively charged free radicals that are the sites of these inflammation. Your internal organs, your brain and the list goes on. So think about it, how much time do you actually spend with your body in direct contact with the earth? Our ancestors would have spent all day barefoot and contact with the earth and perhaps more importantly, they would have maximize this antioxidant activity by laying in full contact with the earth for 68 hours of sleep. Right? Every night when the body repairs and restores itself.
Sarah (27:42)
Okay. So are you suggesting we say all go outside and lay on the grass or is this something that can be accomplished just say walking through the grass with bare feet and is there a difference? Can we walk, say bare free in our house? Or does it have to be directly on the earth, say in the grass or on sand at the beach or somewhere like that.
James (28:03)
Okay. That’s a good question. Obviously, unless you have an earth floor hut, you’re not going to be able to get a lot of contact with the earth, right, but you’re on the right track. When you say go outdoors, layout in your backyard, in contact with the earth, maybe just with a towel, a separating your body from the earth, go to the beach, lay out on the sand, walk barefoot, but it’s important to note that we spend most of our day indoors, right? Wearing synthetic souls, the insulate against this electron transfer. Similarly, there are certain materials like concrete sidewalks that we’ll conduct this energy. Whereas other materials like asphalt will actually insulate against it. So what’s the solution? Obviously, as I said, spend as much time outdoors, barefoot. If you can engage in activities where you have more contact with the earth, like gardening, or spend some time laying on a towel on the ground in and enjoy the benefits of the sun, the earth at the same time. There’s even some new technological innovations like magnetic mattress pads that simulates sleeping on the bare ground, but most of this can be addressed by simply spending more time outdoors.
Sarah (29:11)
Okay, so that’s actually a great idea. Like you mentioned, if you go outside with 40 percent of your skin exposed, you’re really getting, I guess, three of the pillars all at once, right? If you’re laying on the ground, you’re getting the earthing, if the sun is out, you’re getting the sun and breathing some fresh air, and I guess this would offer an accumulative effect. And all of this working together can really come together and help maximize, I guess, your chance to avoid illness, disease. Now, James, if there’s one thing that you could leave our listeners with, let’s say maybe your one big piece of overall advice, what would it be?
James (29:52)
Well, I would say it’s most important for your listeners to realize that no one pill or combination of pills can make you healthy. These prescription or herbal remedies simply suppress the symptoms and those symptoms are your body telling you that something is wrong. Give your body the conditions, it needs to be healthy. Ask yourself, what lifestyle would my ancient ancestors have lived? Realizing that our environment today is much more toxic, so things that were effortless for them will require some effort on your part to include eating whole foods, drinking clean water, breathing clean air, getting out and moving all day, sleeping in rhythm with the natural cycles of the sun and getting daily sun exposure and finally refreshing contact with the earth and nature. Our modern lifestyles are incongruent with what our bodies are designed for, so by living in harmony with nature, we can maximize our chances of living a disease free life.
Sarah (30:44)
Well, James, thank you so much for joining us today and giving us the wakeup call that maybe some of us did need to hear.
James (30:51)
Anytime. Thank you for having me.
Sarah (30:53)
Now you can find out more about James and his wellness education by visiting www.indigo-revolution.com. Thank you so much for listening today and I really do hope you’ve enjoyed the premier podcast of Health Talk by Doctors Health Press. As a special bonus, we’re offering a discounted doctors health press publication this week. For all of our listeners, just visit doctorshealthpress.com/podcast deal to see this special offer. So that’s doctorshealthpress.com/pod cast to deal. That’s all one word to see this offer, and if you haven’t already, please do sign up for the Doctors Health Press e-bulletin. This is our free daily email letter and this has even more great alternative and natural health advice. You can sign up for this for free on our website at doctorshealthpress.com. Until next time, I’m Sarah Cownley reminding you that it’s never too early or too late to work towards being the healthiest version of yourself.
People in the United States are sicker than ever today, in spite of us having some of the best healthcare in the world. Many people are being diagnosed with chronic disease, and doctors seem to be treating only the disease itself, rather than dealing with the root of the problem.
