Today’s show features a focus on running form with special guest David Jacquier of Joint Dynamics.  If you are interested in any aspect of running from preventing injury, to being faster and more efficient, this show is for you!  Get your notepads ready because David shares a ton of super helpful information.  I can honestly say I think about running completely different now after talking with him and he has actually made running fun for me again.  We cover gait analysis, shoes, injuries, mobility, strength training, cadence, the thoracic spine, if foot strike is important, common mistakes many runners make, running music, easy running cues for your head, shoulders, arms, hands, torso, hips, knees, legs, feet, and lots more!If you learn one thing from this show it is that you shouldn’t try to change your run form with a 2 minute YouTube video on foot striking.  There is some serious science to running properly.  David has me excited about running for the first time in a long time!  I hope you enjoy this episode and it helps you be a better runner.Resources discussed in this episode:Joint DynamicsGray InstituteReady to Run Book by Dr. StarrettBOOST Health Patreon PageExtra BOOST Strength Training GuideStudies discussed in this episode:A meta-analysis on the UpToDate website noted that nearly half of runners in the US are injured at some point and that the knee is the most injured area.  A 2018 study in the American Journal of Sports Medicine followed 300 male and female runners for two years. They found that 73 percent of women and 62 percent of men were injured during the period and 56 percent were injured more than once.A sports medicine expert named Dr. Jordan Metzl was interviewed on the Runners World site and he noted that repeat injuries are a huge problem for runners and that the biggest cause of running injuries is not doing enough strength work.Please click the link below to your favourite podcast app to listen in or watch the show on BOOST Health TV

I recently had one of my corporate wellness clients ask me to do a presentation on sleep and stress as that was a common theme issue with folks in their office.  I agreed and started digging into the research, like I always do, to make sure I was bringing the latest and greatest.  I started noticing a lot of crossover with these and the topics of routine and productivity.  I realized that they all actually work in feedback loops with each other.  According to the businessdictionary.com a feedback loop is defined as “a channel or pathway formed by an ‘effect’ returning to its ’cause,’ and generating either more or less of the same effect.”  Consider productivity and stress for example.  Good productivity generates lower stress, which generates more productivity, and so on. This would obviously be a good feedback loop to be stuck in.  But you can also get stuck in a poor feedback loop.  Using productivity and stress again, you could have a high amount of stress which could cause low productivity, which in turn could cause more stress, and so on.  Interestingly you can apply this type of better makes better and worse makes worse feedback loop to any arrangement of the topics of sleep, stress, productivity, and routine.  With this in mind I will cover the latest and greatest research in each of these topics with regard to your health.  As we go through each you will notice the common ground and why getting one area under control can help prevent a domino effect in other areas.SleepEven as we are learning more and more about the importance of sleep on overall health and longevity, it seems to still be grossly underestimated.  I get lots of giggles when I say my bedtime is 8:30.  Why is that?  Why is it silly or uncool to go to bed early?  Nobody laughs when I say I woke up at 5am.  That is tough.  That is cool.  I think we need to remove this shame around getting to sleep early and getting enough sleep.  The old saying, “I will sleep when I am dead” is similar to the Marlboro man ads in my opinion.  We used to think that they were tough and cool but now realize they are killing us.  Sleep is important, sleep is cool, and as we will discuss, more quality sleep will make you live longer.2 Sleep SystemsBefore we dive into all the amazing research on sleep to get you inspired to sleep more, it is important to understand how our sleep systems work.  2 major systems in our body cause sleepiness: homeostatic and circadian.The homeostatic system basically works on time that you are awake creating more sleepiness.  Your brain builds up a chemical called adenosine that makes you sleepy the longer you go without sleep.  Basically being awake longer creates a drive to get more sleep and balance out your system.  It should be noted that caffeine temporarily blocks adenosine, hence the lack of sleepiness when you drink coffee.  Also exercise increases adenosine.  As many of you know I recommend getting some sort of exercise in daily, and now we can add good sleep quality to the list of reasons why.The circadian system works with the sun’s day-night cycle and it is linked with our biological rhythm. Biological clocks are part of this circadian system as our innate timing device.  These clocks are found in nearly every tissue and organ in our bodies for regulating timing and rhythm.  All of these individual clocks are managed by a master clock in our brain which is a large group of 20,000 neurons.  The main cue for influence of our circadian rhythms is light.   When the master clock perceives less light through the biological clocks it will tell the brain to make more melatonin,

Symptoms Of Low TestosteroneI have had the topic of testosterone on my list of podcast topics for a long time.  When a friend of mine reached out recently for some advice about reduced testosterone, I decided this would be a good time to bring it up on the show and dig into the research. According to a 2006 study in JAMA, the symptoms of low testosterone include:Decreased muscle mass* Decreased bone mineral density* Increased fat mass (especially in the abdomen)* Insulin resistance* Decreased libido* Low energy* Irritability* DysphoriaFor my friend it has been a complex cocktail of intense endurance training, low body mass, and too little calorie intake that has likely brought about this unfortunate low level of testosterone.  This dangerous combo is not uncommon in endurance athletes as we will discuss later.  That said, anyone who is exercising so intensely that they are overtraining, could be at risk for hormonal imbalance like this.  On top the symptoms mentioned above, my buddy also mentioned he had:* Poor workout recovery* Digestive issues * Poor sleepHe is a young man so this is obviously a bit scary for him to be going through.    He is working with a doctor on getting his testosterone back to a safe level and he has agreed to join us on a future episode to share his experience and what strategies were helpful.  In the meantime I have put together 11 tactics to improve testosterone levels naturally:1.  Not Just For The FellasFor you ladies that think testosterone is only important for men, think again.  A 2015 study in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology mentions that testosterone is an essential hormone for women (not just men) and is critical for many functions including cardiovascular, cognitive, and musculoskeletal health.In a 2011 study in Sports Medicine, strength training and acute endurance training increase testosterone in men and women.  The authors mention that having enough testosterone is critical for men and women in the health of the reproductive system, muscle growth and the prevention of bone loss.  They also mention that chronic training or overtraining can cause a decrease in testosterone.A 1998 study in the European Journal of Applied Physiology and Occupational Physiology found that concentrations of total testosterone were increased in men and women with resistance training 2-3 times per week.  The testosterone levels were noted to be significantly higher after 6 and 8 weeks of training over the 8 week study period.2. Full Body Strength TrainingAs discussed previously, strength training is a great way to increase your testosterone levels.  The actual strength training program itself can make a difference in how much testosterone is increased.  As I mentioned in my article on Full Body Strength Training versus Split Group Strength Training, a 2016 study in Biology of Sport found that a full body workout will actually increase testosterone more than a split group workout.  This makes sense intuitively if you think about it. What is going to ramp up your hormones more?  Will sitting on a bench doing bicep curls or performing a squat with overhead press create a bigger hormone response?  I think the answer is clear.  Also your biggest muscles in your body are in your legs and glutes.  Think of the difference in hormone response if we train t...

Anyone who has switched to a plant-based diet has heard the normal set of questions and remarks from friends, family, and co-workers: “How do you get enough protein?”  “What about fish?”  “What about eggs?” “What about dairy?”“How do you get enough calcium?”  “I don’t think I could live without my _____.” “I am just not sure if this type of eating is really for me.”  “I exercise a ton and feel like I would need more calories than I could get from just plants. “These are not bad questions and comments.  They were things that I thought about before I started on this journey myself over 5 years ago.  You can’t help but have these feelings and concerns when you have eaten completely different for your entire life.  It is totally normal to wonder if you will be able to perform at the same level with such a major shift in diet.Since I am often asked how I get enough nutrients to keep and put on muscle while training aggressively in both cardio and strength disciplines, I decided to finally go ahead and break it down for a day.  I am not suggesting this is the holy grail of nutrient breakdowns, in fact I even highlight a few opportunity micronutrients for myself. Instead, my goal is to show that plenty of nutrients can be acquired through plant-based nutrition, even for athletes. I am not a calorie counter or macronutrient obsessor, but I do have a few simple self-induced nutrition rules that I follow:  * I fast every night for at least 12 hours* I fast once per week for 24 hours * I only eat plant-based whole foods* I eat when I am hungry if it has been more than 2 hours since I ate last and I am not fasting* I make sure to eat fruit, vegetables, healthy fat, protein, and carbs with each meal* I supplement daily with B-12, a multi-vitamin, 5 grams of master pattern aminos, and 5 grams of creatine First let’s take a look at dietary reference intakes to establish a goal.  This  Dietary Reference Intake Calculator (DRI) is on the USDA website and was created by the Health and Medicine Division of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.  It appears to be a purely scientific tool to help healthcare professionals recommend general nutrition guidelines based on age, gender, height, weight, and activity level.  It doesn’t seem to be tainted with any obvious influence from big agriculture like other tools.  For example the Choose My Plate tool still has “dairy” as it’s own category along with fruits, vegetables, grains, and protein.   What is dairy doing there?  I think we all know.  Anyway the DRI seems free of this kind of influence so I decided to use it for reference with my plant-based diet to see how I was doing. So I put in my inputs into the DRI calculator: Gender – MaleAge – 40Height – 6 feet and 0 inchesWeight – 174 poundsActivity Level – Very active (highest level)























For my listeners and readers outside of the US, don’t worry it has the option to do the calculator in metric system units as well.  After putting in your details it generates a nice little report of your needs for calories, macronutrients, and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals).  Mine came back with macronutrient requirements of 3,605 calories, 406-586 grams of carbohydrates, 63 grams of protein, and 80-140 grams of fat. So the question you may be wondering is could I hit those ...

Disclaimer:  Sauna bathing may not be appropriate for you.  Please check with your doctor before beginning any sauna bathing program.I started my career in wellness and fitness as a personal trainer while I was still in university.  I had the opportunity to work at several different gyms while I was in school and one of them didn’t have saunas in the locker rooms.  It was a new gym with all new equipment and the footprint was enormous so it was not a capital issue or a space issue.  The owner told us that he didn’t put saunas in because there wasn’t enough research on benefits. I remember hearing our members complain about the lack of saunas and that some of them may go to a different gym because of this. I didn’t really get the whole sauna thing to be honest.  It seemed like a “lazy” way to burn calories instead of just hitting the treadmill or going for a bike ride.Fast forward to 5 or 6 years ago and I started hearing about cold thermogenesis and heat therapy from more and more wellness experts.  I did the cold shower and cold pool swimming thing off and on.  But never really stuck with it and the research on benefits was only ho hum in my opinion.  Heat was a bit scary to me though.  I had once over heated very badly playing golf on a super hot and humid Kansas day.  Before you laugh I was actually sprinting as fast as I could with a push cart around the entire course attempting to get a workout in and the temperature was over 100 degrees Fahrenheit.  The course was also extremely hilly so I was getting a pretty intense workout.  I made it to hole 16 and started to feel dizzy, high heart rate, and nausea.  Basically classic symptoms for heat stroke.  I had to quit golfing and the office sent a cart out to get me with a large ice water.  I remember struggling to drive home. I had a terrible headache and nausea for the rest of that day and it took most of the following day before I felt normal again.  Ever since this incident I have felt more susceptible to heat exhaustion. Riding around Hong Kong in the summer time has been tricky as it can get extremely hot and humid here.  Even early in the morning before the sun comes up it is like riding in an oven.  So when I initially heard some of the benefits of sauna, I just figured it wasn’t for me.But then I heard about some incredible longevity benefits of sauna from Dr. Rhonda Patrick and I was intrigued.  If you watched or listened to my show last week (Episode 50 on fasting) you know I am very interested in longevity and am doing everything I can to make the environment for my cells a happy and healthy one.  When I heard Dr. Patrick talk about heat shock proteins and aging I figured I had to at least give sauna bathing a try.  We are very fortunate to have a decent gym, pool, and saunas at our building here in Hong Kong.  I have been using it almost daily for the last few weeks and am totally addicted.  I will talk more about my routine and anecdotal findings at the end of the show.  After we review these 11 Science-Backed Health Benefits Of Sauna, I think you will understand why I am hooked.1. LongevityA 2015 study in JAMA Internal Medicine is one of the most exciting findings sauna bathing research.  They looked at over 2000 middle-aged Finnish men (42-60 years old) for an average period of 20 years and found that the more sauna sessions they did per week, the lower their risk was for sudden cardiac death, coronary heart disease, fatal cardiovascular disease, and all-cause mortality.  This is a massive study over a substantial time period and it is pretty hard to beat all-cause mortal...

Disclaimer:  Fasting is not appropriate for everyone.  Please check with your doctor before beginning any fasting program.
Over the last few years I kept hearing about the benefits of intermittent fasting like reduction in body fat, better insulin resistance, reduced inflammation, etc.  Since I had already been doing an overnight fast of 16 hours for several years, I felt like I had already ticked that box.  Then I started hearing that there are some other very exciting benefits of fasting kick in at around the 24 hour mark. 
Fasting isn’t anything new of course.  Yes it is a bit trendy now with all of the health benefits coming out in research, but it has been used for centuries.  In fact Hippocrates, widely regarded as the “Father of Medicine”, is one of first physicians to be documented as a supporter of fasting as he felt it helped the body heal itself.  This was over 2,000 years ago!
Google “fasting” and you will bombarded with articles and websites on intermittent fasting and weight loss.  There is seemingly not as much love for prolonged fasting of 24 hours or more.  Maybe because a 24 hour fast sounds very difficult.  I know it did for me.  It took me years of hearing the benefits before I summoned the energy to give it a try. Also I have noted there is a funny thing with fasting terminology.  Some say 24-48 is prolonged or long term and others say this is a short fast or even intermittent.  It seems that most of the research journals describe prolonged fasting as 24 hours or more, and as such this is the definition I will use.  And my focus with prolonged fasting is not weight loss or six pack abs.  It is all about longevity.
Here are the tips, benefits, and what to expect for your first 24 hour fast:
1. It Is All About The Autophagy
The most exciting to me is the process of cell turnover called autophagy.  This is basically a spring cleaning for your cells where your body gets rid of dysfunctional cells (like cancer cells) and creates new ones!  With a history of cancer in my family this really got me fired up to give it a try. I recently heard Dr. Stephen Cabral call prolonged fasting (fasting 24 or more hours) the “fountain of youth”.  He uses it in his practice as a tool to help patients heal themselves from the inside.  
A  2010 study in Autophagy showed a large amount of autophagy in fasting mice, especially between 24 and 48 hours of fasting. 2018 article on MIT website showing that stem cells in intestine can double in regeneration with 24 hours of fasting in study on mice. As we get older our bodies natural ability to do autophagy cell cleaning can be reduced and this can lead increased risk of cancer and Alzheimer’s.  Basically we need to give our bodies an occasional dedicated rest from eating so it has time to get rid of the cellular trash.
2. Build Up With Intermittent Fasting First
If the prospect of not eating for an entire day sounds scary to you at first, it was for me, then you can slowly work you way up to a 24 hour fast with intermittent fasting.  There are various types of intermittent fasting but my favorite is the basic 12-16 hour overnight fast.  Basically it is as simple as waiting at least 12 hours from your last meal of the p...

Today’s show features special guest Cristina Lopez McLauchlan, founder of The Vibe Tribe.  We had a great chat and cover lots of different wellness topics including a mid-life awakening versus a mid-life crisis, gratitude beyond the 5 minute daily habit, eco-friendly and upcycled fashion, what the best wellness retreat should include, the power of breathing, getting into the much sought after but rarely attained parasympathetic state, and how Cristina finds her balance. Enjoy the show!Resources discussed in this episode:Ask PaulVibe Tribe Website1 Giant MindThe 5am ClubRedressHand Me Down CollectiveWellness Retreat Article on CNN.comThe 5 Love Languages by Gary ChapmanLearn yoga from Cristina Integrative Nutrition Let Us Be HeroesMana!Please click the link below to your favourite podcast app to listen in or watch the show on BOOST Health TV









































































Extra BOOST Guide | Strength Training | No Equipment37 pages of pictures, videos, audio cues, and descriptions. Includes dynamic warm up, full body workout, and cool down.

Today’s show features special guest Andrew Sillitoe. He is a business psychologist, performance coach, public speaker, and author.  His most recent book, “The 4 Keys: How to Win in Your Business, Body, Relationships, and Mindset”, discusses something that we chat about each week on the show…finding wellness balance.  As such we had a fantastic chat and cover a ton of topics on the show including why he chose those specific keys, how finding balance requires work, how if you look at balance of work and life as 50/50 you will never catch up, getting ahead early in the day and the week to create “space”, slowing down in one area of life to bring up another, always saving some reserves in your energy tank, and much more!Resources discussed in this episode:Andrew’s websiteRisk of heart attack greater on Mondays Article on 7 dimensions of wellness balanceIncrease longterm health by 10% with gratitude journalingAndrew’s interview on Recruiter TVDarryl EdwardsNational Wellness Institute – Wellness DimensionsPlease click the link below to your favourite podcast app to listen in or watch the show on BOOST Health TV

Today’s show features special guest Sonalie Figueiras also known as The Green Queen.  I have been a fan of her work for a while, and after I became recently inspired to do more to save our planet, I asked her to join the show.  Even if you are not personally inspired to do more for our planet, you should know that an environmental dimension has been added to most wellness balance models, so appreciating and taking of your environment is for your own good.  Aside from that, I challenge you to listen to Sonalie speak and not be inspired to be an eco warrior.  We cover a ton of topics including how to inspire change with positivity and inclusivity, the parallel between our health and our planet’s health, easy ways to change the world, the next best thing to a plant-based diet for reducing your carbon footprint, why Sonalie is so excited about the Loop project and circular economy, why men are not marketed to as much as women to become eco-warriors, CBD, her wellness trend predictions for 2019, and tons more!  Don’t miss this jam packed episode!Resources discussed in this episode:Green Queen WebsiteArticle About Tanja Wessels Not Buying Clothes For 1 YearA Zero Waste Journey PodcastThe Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and ApparelH&M FoundationStartup Company Making Coconut “Leather”Piñatex Pineapple “Leather”TerraCycle CEO Explains LOOPLive ZeroEdgarFoodcraftReCover in NYCInfiniti C in Hong KongBeyond BurgerPlease click the link below to your favourite podcast app to listen in or watch the show on BOOST Health TV























































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