Three decades ago, when I was still in medical school, autism affected one in 10,000 children. Today, autism is estimated to afflict as many as one in 50 children.

Mounting research indicates that brain disorders are the result of excessive exposure to toxins from multiple sources—including the mother, while in utero.

Another critical factor appears to be related to gut bacteria, which are of course also adversely affected by toxic exposures of all kinds, from food, environment, and medicine.

The interconnectedness of your gut, brain, immune, and hormonal systems is impossible to unwind. The past few years has brought a scientific flurry of information about how crucial your microflora is to your genetic expression, immune system, body weight and composition, mental health, memory, and minimizing your risk for numerous diseases, from diabetes to cancer.

Researcher Jeroen Raes, featured in the TED Talk, discovered that you might even belong to one of a few “microflora types”…

Heart disease claims the lives of about 1 million Americans every year, making it the leading cause of death for both men and women. The most common form of heart disease is coronary artery disease (CAD), which can lead to a heart attack.

This year alone, 920,000 Americans will have a heart attack, and close to half of them will occur suddenly without any prior warning signs.1

A heart attack occurs when blood flow to a part of your heart becomes blocked. This is often the result of plaque build-up inside your arteries (atherosclerosis), which may rupture and form a blood clot that blocks blood flow.

Ghrelin has been dubbed the “hunger hormone” because in previous studies people given the hormone became so ravenous, they ate markedly more than their usual food intake.

Ghrelin may act on your brain’s “pleasure centers,” driving you to reach for another slice of cheesecake simply because you remember how good the first one tasted and made you feel (at least in that moment).1 In short, one of the forces driving you to eat (and overeat a second helping…