I am always struck by how much athletes sacrifice to pursue Olympic dreams. The extent of this desire might best be captured in the published response to Dr. Goldman’s survey. Fifty-two percent of Olympic athletes surveyed said they would take a pill that guaranteed 5 years of record-breaking success, only to claim their very life in five years.

Emperor Motecuhzoma was the ruler of the Aztecs who mistook the Spanish conquistador Cortes to be a god. Motecuhzoma’s people felt betrayed by their leader and stoned him to death.

An emeritus professor at Johns Hopkins took the stairs at a brisk pace. One breathless student told the professor that he wanted to be in her kind of shape when he is in his eighties. The professor looked puzzled by the compliment. If the student weren’t in her kind of shape now, what would he change to be in better shape in fifty years?

Cut sugar with chromium and zinc-fortified willpower!

Substitution is a simple and effective tool for behavior change. Whether you are raising children, training a pet, implementing a management decision, or treating a medical condition, the advice is often the same, “Substitute.”

On selecting healthy dietary fats

The proportion of fat in the American diet has gone down. At the same time, America’s body fat has gone up. Part of the explanation for this seeming paradox is the change in the types of fat we eat. Stick to the right fats and the fats won’t stick to you.

Tips for Safe Fasting

To promote fossil fuel alternatives, one vehicle is making a transcontinental drive powered by French fry grease. The human body’s engine is similarly designed to run on a fuel other than food. It can run on body fat. Whenever this metabolic engine runs on body fat, be it for medical, spiritual, political, or shortage reasons, we call it fasting.

Nutrition for gut immunity

The gut is continually deciding what food to absorb and discard. The gut’s immune system is highly specialized to serve as the first line of de-fence. Think of the gut as exactly that, a 10-meter-long fence. When it comes to building fences, take advice from Wyoming ranchers. Make your fences bull-strong, horse-high and pig-tight.

We are taught to accept a present with grace. “Never look a gift-horse in the mouth.” Why stare at a horse’s maul anyhow? The mouth says a lot about overall health for horses and humans. Possibly the most powerful diagnostic tool in my black bag is the tongue depressor, affectionately known as the aah stick.

In ancient times, healers dispensed herbs. The Middle Ages replaced herbs with prayers. The Renaissance replaced prayers with medicine. Today many say medicine is too strong, too expensive and too late. Give me that herb! In short, “there is nothing new under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 1:9