Mad Health & Wellness

ENGAGING IN FAITH BASED PRACTICES SUCH AS PRAYER, RELIGIOUS RITUALS, ETC. (NOT JUST SAYING “I BELIEVE IN GOD”) EXPERIENCE SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN PHYSICAL & MENTAL HEALTH • - On the Huberman Lab podcast out this week Dr David Desteno, a professor and researcher at Northeastern University, shares findings from experiments in his laboratory which show that people who believe in God and who engage in faith based practices, derive tremendous health benefits. - He describes experiments that found increased compassion and honesty, as well reduced levels of stress, etc., in people that pray. Praying also seems to increase longevity and reduce illness. This is independent of social connection (which too is healthy). - We also discussed the big themes related to science and religion. For instance, whether a belief in the scientific method is contradicted or supported by a belief in God and vice versa. - We also discussed the big questions about afterlife, life’s purpose, and much more in the context of scientific data and how these questions are answered by religion. - Dr Desteno is unique in how he approaches these issues because he relies on experimental data, not speculation. Many of the results of his lab studies will surprise you and our discussion ought to be of interest to those who are religious, agnostic, atheists or those who are still living in the questions and exploration. - And we also discuss the difference between religions and cults, and why so few new religions last longer than 12 months despite the fact that many new ones crop up each year. - To find the episode in all formats, you can go to hubermanlab.com. It is time stamped so you can navigate quickly to the topics most of interest to you. Meanwhile, if you have any questions or comments about this episode or other topics or guests you’d like me to host on the Huberman lab podcast, please put them in the comments section below. And as always, thank you for your interest in science! @stanford @stanford.med @howgodworkspod #neuroscience #science #ciencia #neurociência #longevity #action #prayer #community #health

Decades of research have proven that our dietary choices have an immense impact on our health.

For example, simple changes in diet and lifestyle have been shown to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, and even colon cancer.

There is no more powerful lever you can pull to change your biology in real-time. And I’m not talking about something that takes decades or even weeks. Literally days or minutes, you are changing your biology with every single bite of food.

If you’re not sure what you should eat, I always follow these principles from my Pegan Diet:

Eat mostly plants
Eat more foods with healthy fats
Eat more nuts and seeds
Choose regeneratively raised animal products whenever possible
Eat pasture-raised eggs
Eat sustainably raised or harvested low-mercury fish, high omega-3 fish
Try to avoid sugar
Avoid refined vegetables, bean, and seed oils
Avoid or limit dairy

To learn more, check out my book, The Pegan Diet.