Dr. John Day, Cardiologist

Do These 3 Things to Protect Your Brain Cindy could not remember where she put her keys.  The night before she forgot the name of someone she knew.  When she shared these experiences with her friends over lunch they all laughed it off as "senior moments." Was it really a senior moment?  Cindy is just 55.  Could her forgetfulness be a sign of early dementia? What is normal brain aging and what is early dementia?  How can you tell? In this article,…

The Best 4 Nuts to Prevent Heart Disease In this podcast, Drs John Day and Jared Bunch discuss the best four nuts to prevent heart disease.  Below you will find the topics Drs Day and Bunch discuss.  Here is a link to the original article in Everyday Health which was written by Dr. Bunch. How to Listen to this Podcast To listen to this podcast you can click on the "play icon" below the photo above or you can listen…

Is the Paleo Diet Good for Your Heart? By the time Bob turned 40 he was overweight, had high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and had developed adult-onset diabetes.  He felt horrible. His doctor had a "heart-to-heart" talk with him and told him and told him he had to go on medications for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and his diabetes. Bob went online and studied the Paleo Diet.  At the age of 40 he said to himself, "I am too…

6 Ways to Stop Feeling Hungry All the Time The holidays are the worst time of the year for Josie.  Josie is just 16 and all she can think about is food.  She is obsessed with food and is hungry all of the time.  Regardless of how much she eats, she is always hungry. According to her mother, "Ever ingredient is meticulously measured and the calories counted.  When she was younger, screaming tantrums would begin if the clock ticked past the…

9 Ways to Stop Being a Night Owl Jeff struggled with weight issues his entire life.  He was a computer programmer and told me, "I do my best work between 8 pm and midnight."  Does this also sound like you? The trouble was that he was always hungry late at night, had troubles getting up in the morning, and was now was seeing me for heart problems.  Could his night owl ways be contributing to his heart condition? One third of…

How to Diagnose Palpitations A reader recently shared with me, "Last July I was laying on the couch and out of nowhere I had a weird series of beats. Thump thump thump thump….just hard, slightly faster, off rhythm beats. I sat up and my heart beat returned to normal. For whatever reason, I had a totally random thought that this was an indicator of some serious underlying heart issue and I panicked. I basically had a full on panic attack…

Do Mormons Live Longer? Mormons don't drink, they don't smoke, and they even have detailed health guidelines in their scriptures.  They also tend to have a tight knit spiritual community.  Does this translate into better health and a longer life expectancy? In 2008, UCLA researchers published the "Mormon Longevity Study" in the journal Preventive Medicine.  In this article I will share the results of the Mormon Longevity Study, evaluate the role of spirituality on lifespan, and compare the results of this…

Avocados Lower Cholesterol Naturally In this podcast Dr. Day interviews Dr. Jared Bunch about a recent article he wrote for Everyday Health on avocados lower cholesterol naturally. This podcast discusses the following topics: 1. Nutritional benefits of avocados. 2. Avocados or statins to lower cholesterol. 3. The recently published study showing that avocados can significantly lower cholesterol. Subscribe to the Podcast If you liked this podcast, please be sure and subscribe to the Dr. John Day Show in iTunes or…

How to Prevent Alzheimer's Disease My dear friend just learned this week that her father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease.  The tragedy is that he is only 50 years old. Does Alzheimer's run in the family?  Is there anything you can do now to prevent you from suffering the same fate?  In this article I discuss the 10 things you need to do now to minimize your risk of ever suffering from this devastating condition. Do You Have the Alzheimer's Gene? If…

How to Test Your Genes Have you ever wondered what secrets your genes hold?  Will you live a long and healthy life or will you suffer from the diseases that run in your family? These are the same questions that I had.  I had to know what my future looked like so that by making the right changes now I could change my fate.  You may discover that you have an easily correctable genetic defect, like difficulties absorbing vitamin B12,…

How to Eat Healthy for Cheap A reader recently commented, "you recommend healthy eating because you can afford it as a cardiologist."  Sadly, I have found that many people use "cost" as an excuse not to eat healthy. Can you really put a price tag on the lost years of work from diabetes, obesity, or other medical conditions?  Also, what about the co-pays for all of the medications, doctor visits, and medical procedures? We have all seen how even the homeless in any…

Coconut Oil versus Olive Oil Is coconut oil or olive oil best for the heart?  In this interesting interview, I press Dr. Jared Bunch to answer this and other questions based on an article he recently wrote on Everyday Health. In this podcast interview we discuss the following topics: 1. Why is it that the Vedda people living in Sri Lanka as well as some Polynesian cultures are protected from heart disease, despite many cardiac risk factors, by eating coconuts? 2. Is…

10 Surprising Ways to Stop Allergies Increasingly, more and more Americans are suffering from seasonal allergies.  Is it climate change or are we too "clean?" Regardless of the cause, I will share 10 surprising ways to stop allergies.  What we eat may be more important in controlling seasonal allergies than taking medications or locking ourselves inside. My Allergies I remember dreading my lawn mowing duties as a child.  My parents had an acre of land and it would take me a couple…

How Much Calcium Do You Really Need? No one wants brittle bones or to be hunched over.  While the American Dairy Association would have us believe that the answer is to drink more milk, some studies suggest that more milk might actually make things worse.  Popping calcium supplements instead may just increase your risk of a heart attack.  In this article, I'm going to share six things you need to do for strong bones and attempt to answer the question,…

How to End Loneliness with These 7 Strategies Would you believe me if I told you that loneliness and social isolation was more dangerous to your health than smoking or even being an alcoholic?    How about twice as dangerous as being obese? Do you ever feel alone in a room full of people you don't know?  I know I often feel this way. Over the last 20 years the number of people in America who said they have no one…

How to Maintain a Healthy Weight All her life Mary struggled to maintain a healthy weight.  She had spent thousands of dollars on all of the diets and programs.  When I saw her in my cardiology clinic she even described herself as the "poster child for the yo-yo dieter." Half of all Americans are worried about their weight.  Unfortunately, the deck is stacked against these people as studies have shown that up to 98% of dieters will regain all of…

3 Easy Ways You Can Optimize Dietary Iron and Cardiac Blood Flow Conventional wisdom would have us believe that when it comes to iron in the diet, more is better.  New research suggests that eating too many iron rich foods may damage the heart.  In this article, I will teach you three easy ways to optimize dietary iron and cardiac blood flow. Should Jennifer take the iron supplements her doctor prescribed? Jennifer was borderline anemic.  In other words, her hematocrit…

10 Ways to Boost Brain Function with BDNF Did you know that you have a 1 in 3 chance of developing Alzheimer's Disease or another form of dementia? Is there a way to boost brain function now and prevent dementia later in life? The solution may be to raise your BDNF levels. In this article I will share with you 10 ways to boost brain function naturally with BDNF. What is BDNF? Brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a protein…

How To Overcome the 5 Most Addictive Foods Do you struggle saying no to pizza, chocolate, chips, cookies, ice cream, or french fries?  If so, you are not alone.  We are all in this same boat together.  This article will help you to overcome your food addictions and finally shed those extra pounds! Are You a Food Addict? Did you see the recent media coverage asking if you are a food addict?  Can foods really be addictive? There is a…

Can You Live 7 Years Longer by Smiling? Would you believe me if I told you that researchers can predict exactly how long you will live based entirely on a photograph of you?  Sounds like fortune telling, right?  Interestingly, science backs up this claim and in this article we will discuss how smiling can help you to feel better today and extend your life. Baseball Cards, Smiling, and Longevity Study In 2009, researchers Ernest L. Abel and Michael L. Kruger…

Squat Toilets, Hemorrhoid Prevention, and Longevity Are you like 50% of Americans who have developed hemorrhoids by age 50?  Do you worry about your parents or grandparents falling in their homes?  Are you losing leg muscle strength as you are getting older? If you answered yes to any of these questions then perhaps the answer just might be a squat toilet.  This article is just for you. My First Experience with a Squat Toilet At the age of 21 I was…

The Easiest Diet to Lose Weight: Focus on Fiber Have you ever tried to drop a few pounds?  Did you struggle to follow a complex new way of eating?  If so, please read on as this article is just for you. This is exactly the question researchers sought to answer in this new study that was just published in the prestigious Annals of Internal Medicine.  How well would just encouraging people to eat more fiber compare to the very rigid…

Do You See Everything? Inattentional Blindness I was very worried about Jeff's shortness of breath. He had difficulties even walking across the street. I was so concerned about his condition that I ordered a chest CT scan to evaluate his lungs. I specifically told the radiologist that I wanted him to look at his lungs, specifically his pulmonary veins, very closely. To my initial relief, his chest CT report came back with no significant abnormal findings. As I was still…

Does Cholesterol Still Matter? The New Nutrition Guidelines Did you see the latest headlines that it is OK to eat cholesterol according to the new nutritional guidelines?  Are eggs now officially considered "healthy" again and how can we make sense of these ever shifting nutritional guidelines? The New Nutrition Guidelines To begin with, the guidelines have not officially changed yet.  We are still stuck with the last set of guidelines from 5 years ago.  It should be noted that we get…

Can Wine and Grape Juice Really Burn Fat? Did you see the latest news headlines that drinking wine or red grape juice can help to burn fat?  A red wine and grape juice diet seems too good to be true, right? Would you be surprised to learn that there actually just may be some truth to this media headline?  This news story comes from a new scientific study exploring the effects of ellagic acid. Just what is ellagic acid, is there a better way to…

What Dogs Teach Us About Health and Nutrition Why do 95% of diets fail?  Why is it that most people who start an exercise program quit within 6 months?  Why is it just so hard to live healthy? If you have ever struggled with eating healthy or getting enough exercise this article is just for you.  Dogs really can teach us a lot about how to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Our Dog Andi In March of 2010, after years of intense lobbying…

5 Ways to Heal Yourself with the Power of Your Mind Did you see the recent worldwide headlines which boldly proclaimed that an "expensive placebo" could reverse the neurologically crippling Parkinson's Disease?  This was not just an isolated medical study.  Indeed, countless other studies have shown that up to 62% of people can be cured of whatever medical condition they have from just a "dummy pill" or a placebo. What do these studies teach us?  Namely, that if we can tap into the power…

Do You Really Need 8 Glasses of Water Daily? Your mother probably told you to drink 8 glasses of water each day. Many health “experts” also recommend getting at least 8 glasses (64 ounces or about 2 liters) of water each day. Are you wondering if there’s actually any science backing up this advice?  Just how much water should we be drinking to lose weight and maintain optimal brain and heart function? What the Science Tells Us about 8 Glasses…

Could Using This Word on Twitter Cause a Heart Attack? What you say on Facebook and Twitter better predicts your heart attack risk than smoking, diabetes, obesity, or high blood pressure based on the findings of this new study from the University of Pennsylvania.  Researchers also found that using just one word in a Tweet can predict with great accuracy who will die from a heart attack.  Just what is the most dangerous word to use in a Tweet? Tweets…

Recent Medical Studies Podcast In this podcast, I discuss four recent medical studies.  As I discuss each of these studies, I provide simple strategies we can all implement to enjoy the health benefits from these studies. You can listen to these podcasts directly from the website or you can subscribe through iTunes or Stitcher by clicking these links to make sure you never miss an episode! 1. Is Cognitive Function Determined by Occupation? (Links below) News report: Actual study: 2.…

How to Boost Metabolism: Cold Thermogenesis The world's greatest swimmer, Michael Phelps, consumes 12,000 calories each day. Based on my calculations, he only burns 9,602 of these calories leaving him 2,398 extra calories each day that are simply unaccounted for. Why doesn't he gain any weight from overeating by the equivalent of more than 4 McDonald's Big Macs each day (2,398 calories)?  Could these unaccounted for calories be due to cold thermogenesis? Just what is the science behind cold thermogenesis…

In this podcast episode I discuss these four recent studies and what they mean for us.   Here are the links to these four studies: 1. Does Bad Luck Cause Cancer? News report Actual study 2. Volunteer to Prevent Depression Study 3. Weights Beat Cardio for Fat Loss News report Actual study 4. BPA Free Plastics May Cause Brain Damage News report Actual study If you enjoy this podcast, please try subscribing to it on iTunes or Stitcher by clicking the links.  Now…

7 Ways to Extend Life and Prevent Cancer with IGF-1 NFL football players typically die in their 50s from heart disease or cancer.  In contrast, Laron Dwarfs from Ecuador live incredibly long lives without ever getting heart disease or cancer.  Could too much or too little IGF-1 be the reason?  In this article I will teach you how to optimize your IGF-1 levels to maintain muscle mass, extend life, and prevent cancer. 1986 Superbowl On January 26, 1986 all of America…

Is Resveratrol the Fountain of Youth? At the age of 122, the French woman, Jeanne Calment was still as mentally sharp as ever.  A woman who had met Vincent Van Gogh when he still had two ears while she was a young woman in Arles, Jeanne had become an international celebrity for being the oldest documented person to have ever lived. At the age of 90, the woman who would one day go on to be the oldest person to have ever…

Children and Fast Food, Zen of Yoga, and Dangers of Diet Pills In this podcast I cover the following medical articles and studies: 1. Children and Fast Food News report: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/287414.php Actual study: http://cpj.sagepub.com/content/early/2014/12/04/0009922814561742.abstract 2. Zen of Yoga News report: http://www.bbc.com/news/health-30475999 Actual study: http://cpr.sagepub.com/content/early/2014/12/02/2047487314562741.abstract 3. Dangers of Diet Pills News report: http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2014/12/taking-diet-pills-don-t-waste-your-money/index.htm

Benefits of Almonds, Turning Medical Challenges into Blessings, Avocados Lower Cholesterol, Longevity with Real Whole Grains, and Best and Worst Diets In this podcast I cover the following recent medical studies and articles: 1. Benefits of Almonds News report Actual study 2. Turning Medical Challenges into Blessings News report 3. Avocados Lower Cholesterol News report Actual study 4. Longevity and Real Whole Grains News report Actual study 5. Best and Worst Diets News report To make sure you never miss…

The Four Personality Secrets of Centenarians Do You Have the Right Personality to Live to 100? Only one in every 4,400 people in the US lives to be 100 years old. For many of us, thriving to 100 sounds like almost an unattainable goal, but I’m here to tell you that that’s actually not the case. In fact, there are plenty of ways you can work towards having “a healthy personality” that will help to keep your health intact well into…

How to Bulletproof Your Heart: The Roseto Effect More than four in 10 Americans will die from a heart attack or other heart problems.  Not only is heart disease still the number one killer for both men and women but the same people who suffer from heart problems are also the ones more likely to suffer from Alzheimer's Disease, strokes, and poor brain function later in life. Is it possible to bulletproof your heart so that regardless of your diet…

7 Surprising Reasons Why You Need Capsaicin Are you gaining weight because your metabolism is too slow?  Perhaps you suffer from chronic pain or just have high cholesterol? Could one solution to these medical problems be as simple as chili peppers?  Indeed, capsaicin, one of the key natural ingredients in chili peppers, has been shown to have many health benefits. My Experience with Chili Peppers Growing up, I steered clear of spicy foods.  As a child I even believed the old…

Dear Podcast Listeners, Here are the topics and links to the articles and studies discussed on my latest podcast.  If you are not yet a subscriber, please subscribe to my podcast by clicking this link to iTunes. 1. Lemon Juice and Vinegar can help to lower the glycemic effect of foods which could help in weight loss. 2. What does 2,000 calories look like?  Here is the link to the New York Times article. 3. Hugs can prevent the common…