The Health Benefits of Gratitude: A Comprehensive Overview

It’s a bit ironic, isn’t it? We need a dedicated holiday to remind us to be grateful. In the whirlwind of daily life, compounded by relentless news cycles designed to stoke fear and instability, we lose sight of just how good we actually have it. As a species, we have a knack for catastrophizing—forever convinced that the sky is falling and that the past was always brighter, safer, and simpler. Maybe this tendency is hardwired into our survival instincts, an evolutionary quirk to keep us vigilant against whatever might threaten our existence.

But here’s the thing: in focusing so intently on what’s wrong, we often fail to appreciate what’s right. Especially here in the United States, where we live with freedoms and opportunities that countless others could only dream of. We enjoy a system of government that, while imperfect, protects our ability to speak our minds without fear of persecution. A system that has fostered unprece...

Introducing PCOS: Your Guide to Balancing Hormones and Embracing Wellness

PCOS, short for polycystic ovary syndrome, is a very mysterious disease in the complex world of female endocrine physiology.

Picture this: Every month, like clockwork, your face throws a pimple party - note that this is not your average "oops, I have a little blemish" party. No, this type of acne feels like your pores are rebelling.

Those pesky pimples are like miniature protesters, highlighting signs of inflammation and demanding attention as if your skin has decided to start a revolution. But wait, there's more to this mysterious condition than just acne.

PCOS has many surprises in store. PCOS likes to play hide-and-seek with your menstrual cycle, which can lead to "irregular periods," which can be a headache. It's as if your ovaries have decided to have a follicle festival with fluid-filled sacs known as "follicles" or "cysts." Now, everyone has follicles, but PCOS likes to bring an extra guest to the part...

"Most people overestimate what they can do in a day and underestimate what they can do in a month. We overestimate what we can do in a year and underestimate what we can accomplish in a decade." ~Mathew Kelly "The Long View."

How the hell do we actually make a change in our lives? How do we dig in and make our lives and our health better?

In today's fast-paced world, pursuing personal growth and self-improvement can often feel overwhelming. However, a simple yet powerful principle can transform your life without requiring drastic changes or grandiose ambitions: the 1% rule.

The math game and thought process are relatively simple; you start as a whole 1, and if you increase just .01 (1%) every day at the end of the year, you have moved 37 times bigger than your original 1. 

(1.01)^365 = 37.78

However, if you do nothing and stay the same, remaining at 1.00, then nothing changes!

(1.00)^365 = 1.

Now the worst is when entropy and atrophy start to take hold in life; when you actually...

We've all been stolen from, and no, I'm not talking about taxes! I tried calling the Police because it is something very precious to me too! But the Police couldn't do anything about it. 

The thing that was stolen from us was an hour of sleep! The problem was it was the Government in their infinite wisdom decided to implement daylight savings time.  

The week after daylight savings time starts is my least favorite week of the year, look I know some of you LOVE this time of year. I get it the "We get more sunlight in the evening" is somewhat valid. Blah, blah, blah, I call BS I'm not too fond of it, not the daylight in the evening but that is annoying also. Have you ever had to logic with a 7 or 8-year-old why they have to go to be when it's still light out? If you haven't and have kids, teach me your ways Jedi Master (and no the answer isn't let them stay up till the sun goes down). The real problem comes in a month or two here in Texas when it doesn't get dark until at least 9 PM! 

Most of us have been taught anger is terrible.  And I will say it can easily be horrible when it is misplaced or an overreaction to someone or something.  And if your anger is way to close to the surface and you take it out on your loved ones, coworkers, or other people in your life, then YES anger is bad.  But what if anger could be the root of all change? What if you can use your anger with something to make a change in your life productively, and what is around you?

Let's get this straight I have this strange dichotomy of thoughts in my head.

On one side, I have the Stoic philosophy of Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and modern thought leaders like Gary John Bishop.  What Stoicism says about life is that happiness brought through accepting the moment as it is, nothing more nothing less.  Not getting angry or upset with the circumstances accepting them as they are and keeping calm and move on, stay in the damn moment.

This keeps you from being controlled by the drives for pleasure or the...

Wow, times they are getting crazy!

People are seriously losing their minds getting ready for the Coronavirus onslaught.  Erin went to Costco today (Monday), and it was like a Saturday, and everyone was loading up on water, toilet paper, and other essentials.  

There are a ton of ways to build your immune system, but we always want to think along the lines of what we can do structurally, chemically, and emotionally to balance our bodies so that we don't get sick.

Obviously, I believe getting adjusted can help you stay well and function optimally (Video of Dan Murphy DC, talking about chiropractic and 1918 flu). Let's talk about what we can do to keep ourselves healthy through the potential pandemic.  

Coronavirus or COVID-19 symptoms if you haven't googled them yet are shortness of breath, fever, and cough with an incubation period of 2-14 days. 

Disclaimer: This is intended to be informative and not medical advice.  Consult with your physician if you feel like you have an infecti...

You Might Have Fewer Allergies If You Ate More Dirt

The title sounds like clickbait. It's not. There's substantial evidence that early-life exposure to dirt, dust, animals, and microbes significantly reduces the risk of developing allergies and asthma. This isn't fringe science—it's the hygiene hypothesis, supported by decades of epidemiological and immunological research.

I'm not advocating eating mud pies or abandoning hand washing after using the bathroom. The medical profession's adoption of hand washing in the mid-1800s dramatically reduced maternal and infant mortality from puerperal fever. Ignaz Semmelweis, the physician who proposed that doctors wash their hands between autopsies and deliveries, was ridiculed by his colleagues, institutionalized, and died shortly after—only to have his theories validated posthumously as germ theory became accepted.

Hygiene matters. But our modern obsession with sterilizing every surface, eliminating all bacterial exposure, and using antimicr...

Well, that sucked!

Yesterday was Memorial Day, and since I got sucked into this CrossFit thing, the tradition at our gym is to do a workout called Murph. For those of you not part of the Crossfit craziness there are a ton of what are called benchmark workouts, these are things like "hero" workouts or "the girls," and Murph is possibly the most famous of the hero workouts.

It was named after Lt Michael Murphy a Navy SEAL that gave his life trying to save his platoon (Movie: Lone Survivor). The workout that was submitted to honor him and carry his name was supposedly one of his favorite workouts. Run 1 mile, do 100 pull-ups, 200 pushups, 300 squats, Run another mile in a 20lb vest (if you are crazy). To call this a painful workout is generous, it f-ing sucks.

Now at certain times in my life, I have been fit and in shape but most of my 42 years have been in "another" shape... round is a shape damn it! And not even at my fittest would I have believed I could have done 100 pull-ups in a ...

Ordinary people do this 23,040 a day, 8,409,600 a year but you will likely never notice it unless it is taken away or you can't seem to catch it. It can be taken away by something beautiful or the love of your life. It can calm you down when your anxious or you can pass out from doing it to fast!

Have you guessed what this is? Today we are talking about your breath. It is one of the things that we massively take for granted until you can't catch it.

Breathing is massively essential to life and optimal function. It's how we get oxygen to all aspects of our body. The problem is you don't have to be that efficient at breathing to get "enough" to survive. The problem is that "enough" isn't nearly enough to do the things you want to do.

Let's prove it to you that you aren't breaking enough, and it is affecting how you feel!
Rate on a scale of 1-10 how alert and energetic you feel

After your next exhale, breath in full (count to 4)
Hold your breath for a six-count
Let your breath out slowl...

The new trailer for the latest Star Wars movie dropped last week, and my inner geek got excited!

It is also a great segue into a post I wanted to write! Double score!

I’ve been listening to a bunch of podcasts of late one of them was with “humble the poet” who is publishing a new book Unlearn. When I heard the title, my inner nerd went straight to Yoda ~ “You must unlearn what you have learned.”

This got me thinking so much about our journeys into health, do we have to add one more thing to our lives or do we need to stop doing (unlearn) something that we thought was helping and health for us?

My experience is the latter in all aspect, structurally, chemically and emotionally.

For me, I vividly remember having “yelling” matches with one of my college roommates about wheat… and I was on the side of eating wheat. As many of may know I had a sugar starch and beer problem when I was in college. I have also fully indoctrinated in the FDA based nutrition and biochemistry “science.” I re...