Better You Health Coaching

06/07/2026

7 mile trail run. I haven’t signed up for any races yet, but I have a whole different kind of endurance event coming up at the end of the year that I feel like I’m training for. 😆
But if anyone has any fun runs or races coming up, let me know!

06/03/2026

Most research on vitamin D and dementia has looked at people already in their 60s or 70s. A new study from the Framingham Heart Study, published in Neurology Open Access, asked a more consequential question: does your vitamin D level in your 30s and 40s affect your risk of Alzheimer's disease decades later? Among 793 dementia-free adults with an average age of 39, those with higher blood vitamin D levels showed significantly less accumulation of tau on brain scans conducted an average of 16 years later. Tau is a protein that misfolds and builds up in the brain in Alzheimer's disease, and it tends to accumulate in the brain's memory regions well before symptoms appear. The biology behind the link is plausible: the memory centers of the brain are packed with vitamin D receptors, and low vitamin D appears to trigger a chain reaction that accelerates abnormal tau buildup. This adds to an overwhelming body of evidence on vitamin D's importance for long-term brain health and reinforces the value of monitoring your levels before problems emerge.

In a group of dementia-free individuals, higher serum 25(OH)D at early mid-life was associated with lower tau deposition on brain PET a mean of 16 years later. Low vitamin D in mid-life may represent a potentially modifiable target to mitigate the risk of neuroimaging signs of preclinical dementia.

06/02/2026

This research hits home. It just gives me another reason to attend more retreats! A new paper in Communications Biology examined 20 participants before and after a 7-day retreat combining guided meditation, exercises designed to change how participants think about the mind-body connection, and group healing sessions. Using brain scans and extensive blood analysis, the researchers found significant changes across multiple biological systems after the retreat. Levels of proteins that support brain cell growth and survival increased. The body's natural pain-relieving compounds, including endorphins, rose substantially. Brain scans showed quieted activity in the region responsible for mind-wandering and self-critical thinking. The blood data also suggested positive shifts in how cells produce energy and how the body regulates mood-related chemistry. The study is observational and small, and the combined intervention makes it impossible to pinpoint which element drove which effect. But the breadth of measurable changes across independent biological measures adds to a growing body of evidence that intensive mind-body practice produces real physiological effects.

Mind-body interventions offer promising avenues for improving physical and mental health, yet the comprehensive biological effects of increasingly popular mind-body retreat interventions remain poorly understood. The neural and molecular effects of a 7-day retreat intervention combining meditation,....

06/01/2026

One of the most persistent claims in mainstream nutrition is that eating meat increases the risk of dementia and reduces longevity. A 15-year study published in JAMA Network Open directly contradicts that, at least for a genetically defined subset of the population. Among 2,157 older adults followed for up to 15 years in Sweden, higher meat consumption was associated with slower cognitive decline and a 55% lower dementia risk, but only among people who carry the APOE4 gene variant, one of the strongest known genetic risk factors for Alzheimer's disease, affecting roughly a quarter of the global population. For people without this variant, no meaningful association was found in either direction. The researchers also found that a higher proportion of processed meat in the diet was associated with increased dementia risk across all groups regardless of gene type, which reinforces the distinction between unprocessed and processed meat. This is a compelling case for precision nutrition. Broad dietary recommendations that ignore genetic differences may be inadvertently harmful for a meaningful portion of the population. If you don't know whether you carry the APOE4 variant, it's worth finding out, as it has significant implications not only for dietary choices but for your overall dementia prevention strategy. If you are interested in testing your genetics, I can help!

In this study, higher meat consumption was associated with better cognitive trajectories and lower dementia risk among individuals with APOE34/44 genotypes. The expected cognitive disadvantage among individuals with APOE34/44 genotypes was not observed at high meat consumption, suggesting clinical a...

05/26/2026

Functional medicine detoxes matter. There is research showing how toxins affect metabolism and our world is so toxic now! I am here to help walk you through your first one if you are interested!

To meet the increased need for food and energy because of the economic shift brought about by the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, there has been an increase in persistent organic pollutants (POPs), atmospheric emissions and metals in the ...

05/24/2026

In constant gratitude for the small, magical moments like this one. It might seem inconsequential to most. It was a special moment for me. This frog was holding my gaze and winking at me!! Did I miss my chance of finding my prince?! 😆🐸🤴💋

05/23/2026

This massive survey of over 6,000 people with eating disorders revealed something fascinating: while traditional antidepressants were rated as helpful for general mental health, cannabis and psychedelics (especially psilocybin) were rated most highly for improving actual eating disorder symptoms. Among those with anorexia or ARFID, cannabis was linked to improved appetite and weight gain. For those with bulimia or binge eating disorder, psilocybin showed promise for reducing binge episodes and enhancing body image. Of course, these are self-reported experiences, not clinical trials. But given the persistent challenge of treating eating disorders, and the high rates of treatment resistance, this study adds to a growing body of research suggesting that psychedelic-assisted therapy could play a valuable role.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2836693

This survey study explores the use of prescription and nonprescription drugs among respondents self-reporting their various eating disorders.

05/22/2026

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21495900/

Amla powder for blood sugar regulation and cholesterol! I use it in my smoothies.

The present study evaluated the anti-hyperglycemic and lipid-lowering properties of Emblica officinalis Gaertn. fruit in normal and diabetic human volunteers. The results indicated a significant decrease (P < 0.05) in fasting and 2-h post-prandial blood glucose levels on the 21st day in both norm...

05/21/2026

Common IBS medications may carry more risk than most patients are told!!

Irritable bowel syndrome affects roughly 10 to 15 percent of the global population, and pharmacotherapy is among the most common management strategies. A large retrospective cohort study published in Communications Medicine using U.S. electronic health records from nearly 670,000 IBS patients found some concerning signals. Antidepressants, the most commonly prescribed class at over 52 percent of patients, were associated with a 35 percent higher risk of all-cause mortality across all subclasses, including SSRIs, SNRIs, and TCAs. Loperamide was associated with a 2.39-fold increased mortality risk in IBS-D patients, likely through cardiac mechanisms involving QT prolongation. Antispasmodics, rifaximin, eluxadoline, and secretagogues showed no significant mortality association. Whether these associations reflect causation or confounding remains an open question, but they are cause for concern. The deeper issue is that most pharmacological approaches to IBS don't address root causes, and if the medications themselves carry risk, the case for dietary interventions, targeted supplementation, and working with a functional medicine practitioner becomes even stronger.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s43856-026-01498-6

Mehravar et al. use U.S. health record database to evaluate all-cause mortality in adults with irritable bowel syndrome on medications. Antidepressants and μ-opioid antidiarrheals are associated with higher mortality, while rifaximin, eluxadoline, bile acid sequestrants, polyethylene glycol-3350 an...

05/21/2026

Mount Rainier expedition trip- Didn’t go exactly as planned! Unfortunately we were not able to summit due to the mountain being “avalanchey.”
We still got some mountaineering done but only made it to 11,200 feet. This mountain has been a difficult one to check off my list! I’m still grateful for the opportunity to come out here and explore and have moments that took my breath away. Cheers to life and all there is to experience! 🥳💕🗻❄️🥶