FeldMed

Heart Rate Variability (HRV) is another "new thing" to help you live better

Everywhere I look at health stuff, people are talking about and measuring HRV (Heart Rate Variability). And it makes sense when you understand that better (higher) HRV reflects improved mortality — people live longer. HRV measures the time between heart beats — the more variation, the better. Greater variation reflects a higher parasympathetic tone — more relaxed, less stressed. Not surprisingly, when the body doesn’t feel as stressed, it lives longer!

Virtually all the decent wearables measure HRV. Some are terrible, others are pretty good. One great method to enhance HRV is Heart Math — a heavily researched and validated scientific method of “breathing through your heart”. Consistent training improves HRV, resulting in big improvements from sleep, concentration, up through heart attacks and anxiety.

I’m happy to discuss HRV, Heart Math and whatever else you might want to talk about.
Give me a call and let’s chat.

www.feldmed.com/blog-2/heart-rate-variability-hrv-is-another-new-thing-to-help-you-live-better

Does drinking more avoid kidney stones?

Lots of people get kidney stones - more than 10% of the population. Everyone is told to drink more in order to avoid recurrences. No one tested the question, until now. Results - SURPRISE! Doesn’t make a difference. Solution? None offered. Of note there are some homeopathic remedies that help, along with other non standard approaches.

What’s the point?

Conventional medicine will invoke “sounds reasonable” ideas that become dogma. Decades go by before anyone checks. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s useless, sometimes it turns out to be terrible.

We don’t want to work that way.

Examine the situation, get some data, make a plan, follow the plan, then adjust according to results.

That’s how we work.

Love to hear from you.

www.feldmed.com/blog-2/does-drinking-more-avoid-kidney-stones

Heart Rate Variability (HRV) is another "new thing" to help you live better

Everywhere I look at health stuff, people are talking about and measuring HRV (Heart Rate Variability). And it makes sense when you understand that better (higher) HRV reflects improved mortality — people live longer. HRV measures the time between heart beats — the more variation, the better. Greater variation reflects a higher parasympathetic tone — more relaxed, less stressed. Not surprisingly, when the body doesn’t feel as stressed, it lives longer!

Virtually all the decent wearables measure HRV. Some are terrible, others are pretty good. One great method to enhance HRV is Heart Math — a heavily researched and validated scientific method of “breathing through your heart”. Consistent training improves HRV, resulting in big improvements from sleep, concentration, up through heart attacks and anxiety.

I’m happy to discuss HRV, Heart Math and whatever else you might want to talk about.
Give me a call and let’s chat.

www.feldmed.com/blog-2/heart-rate-variability-hrv-is-another-new-thing-to-help-you-live-better

Longevity = Epigenetics

We all came into this world with a set of blueprints — our DNA. But if you have ever had to build something - whether from IKEA or a whole house, you know it’s the guy reading the plans that ultimately decides if your newborn will be sleeping on the floor (after the crib collapses), or the dining room is going to be flooded from the upstairs bath! The “BIG GUY (or Gal) “upstairs” laid out the plans (your GENES - your DNA - your genetics). But ultimately it’s up to you how the construction project turns out. You are the contractor — you control your EPIGENETICS. That’s what controls how people end up. Genes only account for between 25 and 35% of how we turn out — the rest is epigenetics. They are the switches that get turned on and off with everything we do, think, eat. Everyone is in charge of their own destiny by the daily choices we make. You can change your future right now! In fact, just reading this post has flipped some switches in your genetic code — hopefully they went in the right direction!! More about the specifics next time.

Be well.

www.feldmed.com/blog-2/longevity-epigenetics

What is Longevity?

Everyone is talking about Longevity. How do we want to think about it?

Healthspan is the key — how long can you be healthy? How long can you keep doing the things you want to do, the things you think are important? Longevity is preserving those abilities. Live Long and Prosper — with the emphasis on PROSPER!

Over the coming year we’re going to talk a lot about LONGEVITY.

As usual when we’re talking about the HUMAN CONDITION, it can get complicated, but often simple things will get you most of the way there.

More to come!

Be well.

www.feldmed.com/blog-2/what-is-longevity

MEAT - movement, exercise, analgesia and treatment.

The attached study reports how ICE actually slows healing, and in fact, it’s only heat that produces a positive healing response. This study showed how heat (at 107 deg for an hour) improves the healing response. I’d point out that the study did some terrible damage to the participants — loss of >50% strength in the affected muscle, with only partial recovery by the end of the study period. With that kind of injury, you certainly want better recovery. Typically, RICE works if swelling and pain are the biggest issues, but if recovery is key, then MEAT is the way to go.

www.feldmed.com/blog-2/im-injured-rice-or-meat

WHEN should I eat?

Are you a morning person or an evening person? If you don’t know which you are, you can take the questionnaire and figure it out. (https://reference.medscape.com/calculator/829/morningness-eveningness-questionnaire)

Why do we care?

A recent study showed that if you adjusted your calorie intake to match your CHRONOTYPE (“time” type), you would do better at managing weight. Evening person, eat later, morning person eat earlier. Only makes sense, but it cuts against the long-held belief that everyone should concentrate calories early in the day (heck, even I said that!).

www.feldmed.com/blog-2/when-should-i-eat

IT MUST BE THE SHOES!

In the famous words of Mars Blackmon (classic NIKE commercial) — IT MUST BE THE SHOES! And in this case, IT IS!

Something like 12 years ago I heard of APOS Health — a funky shoe for arthritis of the knees and hips, also helping to relieve back pain. And now I finally see an article!

By wearing these computer designed personalized shoes for 15-30 minutes a day, knee replacements are avoided for years. It was a great technology then, and it still is.

If your joints aren’t what they used to be, and surgery doesn’t sound like something you’re ready for, call me — we’ve got options!

www.feldmed.com/blog-2/it-must-be-the-shoes