The NutrEval comprehensive assessment | Navigating the Big Three aging processes | Creating a personalized annual healthcare budget | The five pillars of aging.
Please consider offering a one-time donation option. There are SO MANY really good substacks that I can’t possibly afford to subscribe to all that I read - and I’m small potatoes, reading maybe half a dozen. I would be happy to contribute periodically for great stories like this, but I honestly don’t have $400/ year for all the ones I read.
Jen, I totally understand. And, you and I are apparently on a mind meld because I was just researching this very thing — a donation vs a subscription — as I saw your note. I completely agree that the mechanism needs to be more agile than only subscriptions to nothing. As I just learned a few minutes ago, there are ways to incorporate donation solicitations on Substack, via third-party vendors. Thanks for raising this issue. I’ll report back on a possible solution.
As someone with complex chronic illness, conventional markers like A1c, CRP, and standard nutrient panels often fail to reflect the underlying pathophysiology in complex chronic illness. For example, functional B12 or folate deficiencies may not show on serum labs due to issues with cellular uptake or transport. Inflammatory markers like CRP and ESR can remain normal despite significant neuroinflammation. Similarly, autonomic dysfunction and mitochondrial impairments that drive fatigue and dysregulation for me are not captured by routine metabolic panels. That said, a naturopathic doctor can be a valuable starting point, especially one open to deeper investigation beyond standard labs.
Rachel, I appreciate you making this point. I know you have a book coming out in the near future, about food and recipes that are healthy for people with complex illnesses like yours (and everyone else, too, I think). Have you thought also about writing about the complex journey you had via the traditional healthcare system (or around it, more likely) to discover what is going on with you? Not that you don't already have a lot going on.
Paul, I’ll be honest—absolutely not. That journey through (and around) the traditional healthcare system is such a rabbit hole. More importantly, I’ve realized it’s healthier for my psyche not to relive it.
What I do feel called to share is a broader message—one that can empower people every day through the choices they make, especially around food. My focus is on helping people understand the fundamentals of how diet affects not just illness, but health at its core, through things like epigenetics. I believe that even those who feel healthy today should understand why what we eat truly matters. That’s where I feel I can be most useful.
Understood. I'm not at all surprised by your response. Avoid that which is not healthy, by all means. The everyday choices are so important, and food is a big one of those choices.
In Ohio where I live, a Naturopathic doctor is not licensed. So for instance, if they claim to help with nutrition, I have to look for that credential. Otherwise, it can just be marketing. In regards to a medical testing budget, have had sex hormone labs, Dexa scans and a heart calcium test all covered by insurance via my gynecologist but I still pay out of pocket for a breast MRI, hopefully that changes. I do think you are spot on with the “pillars of health”, however there is no way I am spending a day or two sipping bone broth, cuz this girl has got to eat or the whole exercise pillar suffers. I really appreciate you bringing this forward I found lots of bits to investigate further.
Marianne, I'll be honest: I didn't realize some states don't regulate naturopathic medicine. You're absolutely correct to verify unregulated claims in Ohio. (In California, naturopathy is licensed and regulated.) I hear you about no two-day fasts. I haven't managed, or wanted, to do more than a 24 hours every month or two, mostly to show myself I can (and also just in case it turns out that 24-hour fasts are a longevity wonder drug that we don't yet know about). I'm glad you found the interview with Dr. Young helpful and thought provoking.
What, if you don't mind me asking, will you investigate further? I can't help asking...
Paul, I started with styrene. Usually an occupational type blood test, and levels of exposure typically leave the body quickly? I was glad to hear your Dr. mentioned watching this over time. Then I looked into microplastics and how that differed ? Also, VO2 max test. I haven’t had an official one in over 10 years, not sure it is useful for my training at this point. I tend to focus on my heart rate recovery now. Also better oxygenation, how do you improve oxygen to tissues?
Marianne, you seem to certainly know what you're doing and how to approach these issues. Do you have a clinical background? After I recorded the podcast with Dr. Young, I realized something about potentially why my styrene was so astronomically high: I was quite close to the Palisades fire here in L.A., in January, and I took the NutrEval test in, I think, March. The fire burned a lot of homes and businesses, and air quality has been, and likely remains, an issue in this area. As Dr. Young said to me off camera: it could be that most people where I live also have elevated styrene levels, or it could be just you (ie, me). So we'll see.
Re your Q about how to improve oxygenation, do you mean in addition to regular physical exercise?
Wow, the fires. That makes sense. I am a retired corporate chef. I have always chased the next thing in health and fitness, so I love reading data on scientific research.(NIH) I am also certified in yoga, so I am wondering if I need to bring more breathing techniques (Pranayama) to my practice as a way to get more oxygen to tissues, especially on days when exercise is not happening for whatever reason.
The LA fires definitely heaved untold millions of pounds of toxic micropollutants into the air and ocean water here. As for bringing more oxygen to one's tissue, tomorrow's AGING with STRENGTH post will discuss a disturbing new research finding about air quality and cognitive health.
Marianne, slight revision to the schedule: Wednesday's post explores the leading causes of death across different age groups on four different continents. Friday's post will include the air-quality research.
Please consider offering a one-time donation option. There are SO MANY really good substacks that I can’t possibly afford to subscribe to all that I read - and I’m small potatoes, reading maybe half a dozen. I would be happy to contribute periodically for great stories like this, but I honestly don’t have $400/ year for all the ones I read.
Jen, I owe you a cinnamon role. You prompted me to research and get this donation link started. https://ko-fi.com/agingwithstrength
Thank you for mentioning it again. Big appreciation.
Jen, I totally understand. And, you and I are apparently on a mind meld because I was just researching this very thing — a donation vs a subscription — as I saw your note. I completely agree that the mechanism needs to be more agile than only subscriptions to nothing. As I just learned a few minutes ago, there are ways to incorporate donation solicitations on Substack, via third-party vendors. Thanks for raising this issue. I’ll report back on a possible solution.
As someone with complex chronic illness, conventional markers like A1c, CRP, and standard nutrient panels often fail to reflect the underlying pathophysiology in complex chronic illness. For example, functional B12 or folate deficiencies may not show on serum labs due to issues with cellular uptake or transport. Inflammatory markers like CRP and ESR can remain normal despite significant neuroinflammation. Similarly, autonomic dysfunction and mitochondrial impairments that drive fatigue and dysregulation for me are not captured by routine metabolic panels. That said, a naturopathic doctor can be a valuable starting point, especially one open to deeper investigation beyond standard labs.
Rachel, I appreciate you making this point. I know you have a book coming out in the near future, about food and recipes that are healthy for people with complex illnesses like yours (and everyone else, too, I think). Have you thought also about writing about the complex journey you had via the traditional healthcare system (or around it, more likely) to discover what is going on with you? Not that you don't already have a lot going on.
Paul, I’ll be honest—absolutely not. That journey through (and around) the traditional healthcare system is such a rabbit hole. More importantly, I’ve realized it’s healthier for my psyche not to relive it.
What I do feel called to share is a broader message—one that can empower people every day through the choices they make, especially around food. My focus is on helping people understand the fundamentals of how diet affects not just illness, but health at its core, through things like epigenetics. I believe that even those who feel healthy today should understand why what we eat truly matters. That’s where I feel I can be most useful.
Understood. I'm not at all surprised by your response. Avoid that which is not healthy, by all means. The everyday choices are so important, and food is a big one of those choices.
❤️
In Ohio where I live, a Naturopathic doctor is not licensed. So for instance, if they claim to help with nutrition, I have to look for that credential. Otherwise, it can just be marketing. In regards to a medical testing budget, have had sex hormone labs, Dexa scans and a heart calcium test all covered by insurance via my gynecologist but I still pay out of pocket for a breast MRI, hopefully that changes. I do think you are spot on with the “pillars of health”, however there is no way I am spending a day or two sipping bone broth, cuz this girl has got to eat or the whole exercise pillar suffers. I really appreciate you bringing this forward I found lots of bits to investigate further.
Marianne, I'll be honest: I didn't realize some states don't regulate naturopathic medicine. You're absolutely correct to verify unregulated claims in Ohio. (In California, naturopathy is licensed and regulated.) I hear you about no two-day fasts. I haven't managed, or wanted, to do more than a 24 hours every month or two, mostly to show myself I can (and also just in case it turns out that 24-hour fasts are a longevity wonder drug that we don't yet know about). I'm glad you found the interview with Dr. Young helpful and thought provoking.
What, if you don't mind me asking, will you investigate further? I can't help asking...
Paul, I started with styrene. Usually an occupational type blood test, and levels of exposure typically leave the body quickly? I was glad to hear your Dr. mentioned watching this over time. Then I looked into microplastics and how that differed ? Also, VO2 max test. I haven’t had an official one in over 10 years, not sure it is useful for my training at this point. I tend to focus on my heart rate recovery now. Also better oxygenation, how do you improve oxygen to tissues?
Marianne, you seem to certainly know what you're doing and how to approach these issues. Do you have a clinical background? After I recorded the podcast with Dr. Young, I realized something about potentially why my styrene was so astronomically high: I was quite close to the Palisades fire here in L.A., in January, and I took the NutrEval test in, I think, March. The fire burned a lot of homes and businesses, and air quality has been, and likely remains, an issue in this area. As Dr. Young said to me off camera: it could be that most people where I live also have elevated styrene levels, or it could be just you (ie, me). So we'll see.
Re your Q about how to improve oxygenation, do you mean in addition to regular physical exercise?
Wow, the fires. That makes sense. I am a retired corporate chef. I have always chased the next thing in health and fitness, so I love reading data on scientific research.(NIH) I am also certified in yoga, so I am wondering if I need to bring more breathing techniques (Pranayama) to my practice as a way to get more oxygen to tissues, especially on days when exercise is not happening for whatever reason.
The LA fires definitely heaved untold millions of pounds of toxic micropollutants into the air and ocean water here. As for bringing more oxygen to one's tissue, tomorrow's AGING with STRENGTH post will discuss a disturbing new research finding about air quality and cognitive health.
Marianne, slight revision to the schedule: Wednesday's post explores the leading causes of death across different age groups on four different continents. Friday's post will include the air-quality research.
transcript please
John, you can access the transcript in the post, underneath my byline. There’s a “transcript” button on the right side. I hope that helps.
It’s not anything close to what you called it. But dumb and juvenile is enough. Thanks for pointing it out