Straight Shot Health Talk

Rick Kaselj from ExercisesForInjuries.Com joins us today. In this episode he answers: Should you exercise when injured? How would you do it? Why is exercise and movement important–especially when you’re injured? Plus a few more. Rick has a bunch of specific exercise programs for different injuries (including back, shoulder & knee injuries). You can find...Read More »

John Holt was a bookish kid…until he found Muay Thai. With a new found love of the martial arts he trained incessantly, became a professional fighter and made his way to the World Kickboxing Championship. His dream was coming true… …until it was lost. Sinking into depression he became, as he describes it, a “before”...Read More »

I get five emails from Google every week. Each email contains recent news articles or blog posts about particular health topics. One of those emails is on back pain and…as I talk about in this episode…I have a hard time reading that one. There are SO many bad “myths” on back pain already but when...Read More »

What can thinking about airplanes tell us about healthcare?  More than we may think… Things like… What should be your goal when you get on an airplane (or go into a hospital)? Why a common way to pick your airline doesn’t mean it’s safe. How can a key airline strategy improve healthcare (& your own...Read More »

  Danny Heinsohn was  23 years old, had just graduated from college and was leaving for Europe in two days. Then he heard news no one wants to hear… “Most people with your disease only live five years.” 10 years later, he started his foundation My Hometown Heroes. His story of struggle, survival and the...Read More »

Kyra Bussanich, the three-time winner of the Food Network’s “Cupcake Wars,” is our guest today. She’s the owner and chief baker at Kyra’s Bake Shop in Lake Oswego (listed as one of the “Top 10 Reasons To Visit Portland”) and author of “Sweet Cravings:  50 Seductive Desserts for a Gluten-Free Lifestyle.” She was also diagnosed with Crohn’s disease while...Read More »

Katie of WellnessMama.com joins us today. We talk about her experiences with health and why she started her blog. The focus of this interview is how Katie educated herself about health and took control of her lifestyle. Good stuff and always enjoyable talking with her. Things discussed in this episode… Hank Green on Epigenetics  <–This...Read More »

Links to points discussed: Institute of Medicine, Conflict of Interest, & their report  Relieving Pain in America, A Blueprint for Transforming Prevention, Care, Education, and Research. The original Institute of Medicine report “Relieving Pain…” and it’s number of “100 million Americans” with chronic pain is widely quoted and the data is bad.  I pulled the...Read More »

In a world with too much information… where do you start? Here’s a simple 3 step solution to figuring out how to make your healthy choices. Some of what we talk about in today’s episode: School of Fish (and a fascinating Wikipedia entry on shoaling & schooling fish behavior) White Bears & Thought Suppression:   Dr....Read More »

I ask every person who subscribes at StraightShotHealth.com what their health fears or frustrations are. I read every response. Today’s episode was based on questions from Katrina and Curt. Some of the studies and articles mentioned in the episode are below (all should be clickable links): Sitting linked to certain cancers. Sitting too much is...Read More »

Annual physicals are supposed to keep us “healthy” but do they really? Here’s how what you think you’re supposed to do for your health may actually harm you. Links: The $50,000 Physical (JAMA) Overscreening for Prostate Cancer Overscreening for Colon Cancer The Danger For Hunting For Cancer (Time article) Overtreatment is Taking A Harmful Toll...Read More »

In 2014 it’s estimated the United States will spend $3,800,000,000,000 on healthcare. That amount of money is greater than the GDP of Germany ($3.4 Trillion and also the world’s 4th largest economy). Yet what do we get? We’re 42nd in the world in life expectancy and our health outcomes are worse than most other countries–including less...Read More »

How often have you heard the term “Work-Life Balance”?  Or seen articles saying how “Work-Life Balance” is getting worse?       In today’s episode we talk about why the entire idea of Work-Life Balance is wrong and how trying to maintain it could worsen health… And what we should be focusing on instead. Click...Read More »

For today’s episode we talk about “Choosing Wisely” for health. What is Choosing Wisely? Well it’s a campaign created by the ABIM Foundation to “spark conversations between patients and providers.” Does it work?  I’ve got my own opinion for another time… Instead we’ll go over 3 recommendations:   One for back pain, another for colds...Read More »

What is the First Step to good health? This isn’t a rhetorical question because knowing this step is the KEY for good health…and a good life! This episode is probably the most important episode I’ve done to date. I also HIGHLY recommend reading Dr. Carol Dweck’s book!