News You Can Use - 4/27/26
Two Articles This Week!
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Frustrated with your doctor? Your insurance plan? Confused about supplements and drugs, and tests, and online claims? Stuck in a "healthcare rut" and looking for motivation and inspiration to break free?
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✨TIME TO REGISTER | SAVE THE DATE✨
Wellness Forum will be hosting a live conference in Columbus, Ohio September 25-27 AND only 50 in-person tickets are available!
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Special Event: Should You Be Concerned About Parasites?
Wed. June, 17th at 8PM ET
Some health experts claim that parasitic infection is common, and that parasitic infection is responsible for symptoms ranging from digestive disorders to mood swings. They also claim that specific cleanses and supplements are required to eliminate them. Others say “not so fast” – parasitic infection is rare, and the remedies are useless. Which is true? This workshop will explore parasites, who is vulnerable to infection, reliable (and not so reliable) tests, and how to address real parasitic infection. You’ll enjoy learning the truth about Parasitology!
Tuition $149 OR purchase one month of smoothie supplies (2 Smoothie Mix, 2 Green Tea, 1 Flax, 1 Brewer’s Yeast ($127.75)
Two Articles:
Exercise and the Brain &
More Reasons to be More Skeptical of Medical Information
Pam Popper, President
Wellness Forum Health
This newsletter features two articles because both topics are so important. Almost everyone I meet needs to engage in more exercise. I’m hoping the first article will motivate you to do more of it. And almost everything we see, read and hear about health is false. I’m hoping the second article will motivate you to be more discerning.
Exercise and the Brain
Exercise is sometimes referred to as “nature’s antidepressant.” It’s true, and there are hundreds of studies that prove it. For example, a systematic review that included 1039 trials and 128,119 participants concluded that exercise was significantly more effective than therapy or medications for treating depression, anxiety, and generalized psychological distress. The effect was dose-dependent – higher-intensity and longer- duration physical activity was associated with more improvement.[i]
The positive effect is not limited to mental health. Exercise builds brain volume, improves cognitive ability, and increases neuroplasticity and neurogenesis. A 2006 study showed that aerobic training increases brain volume, which results in improved cognitive function, better memory, learning capacity, and better recall.[ii] Many other studies confirm these findings.[iii]
Strength training also helps to build a better brain, and there is a direct relationship between muscle strength and cognitive ability. After lifting weights for six months, older adults with mild cognitive impairment gained muscle strength and most had positive changes in cognitive function too.[iv] Another study showed that strength training improved cognitive function for older adults better than computerized cognitive programming, and reversed atrophy of the hippocampus (responsible for memory formation, consolidation of memories, and spatial navigation.[v].
Aging in Westernized countries is associated with mental and physical decline. Emotional and mental health have worsened in people of all ages, particularly in recent years. The solution to these challenges is not more drugs – it’s healthy food, lots of exercise, sunshine and healthy habits. Get moving!
More Reasons to be More Skeptical of Medical Information
Fake news in the medical field is increasing at an alarming rate. The fake news includes fake diseases, fake images, and fake articles authored by fake authors. The fakery is showing up everywhere. Artificial intelligence manufactures a lot of it, and social media spreads it far and wide.
There’s another, much more subtle contribution to inaccurate info and fake news that is even more disturbing – questionable research practices, or QRPs. Marta Entrada is a researcher in Lisbon who studies research integrity. She and her colleagues surveyed over 1500 researchers working at Portuguese universities to determine just how common QRPs are. They focused on practices that were in the “grey area” but were not considered absolute fraud. These practices included not conducting a thorough literature review, developing a hypothesis after seeing the results of an experiment, and using another researcher’s ideas without giving credit. The result: 91% of the researchers reported participating in at least one QRP, and 32% reported six or more.
Developing a hypothesis after research is particularly egregious. It violates scientific objectivity by encouraging researchers to look for statistically significant data points and create theories to match them. It leads to confirmation bias, focusing only on data that supports the after-the-fact conclusion. It’s the opposite of how research is supposed to work – a hypothesis is developed, and then research is conducted to determine if the hypothesis is true – or not. In fact the best way to do this is to “falsify the hypothesis” – try to prove it false and if the hypothesis survives this process, it’s likely true.
Some of the other egregious practices Entrada’s group uncovered included:
Citing papers without reading them, sometimes using another person’s or group’s summary instead
Failing to cite studies that contradict predetermined beliefs
Citing scientifically irrelevant information due to friendships and other relationships
Carrying out research without ethical approval
Not reporting findings that contradicted the researcher’s theories
Entrada’s group reports that researchers’ behavior was often at odds from their stated values. For example, nearly a third of them reported believing that not conducting a thorough literature review was “very serious,” but almost 65% of them did it anyway. The questionable practices were more prevalent among those who conducted more research.[vi]
What does this mean for healthcare professionals and patients? It’s important to consider all health-related information with skepticism because it’s highly likely that almost anything you read or hear about health is wrong, or partially wrong. Learn how to check things out on your own. Join Wellness Forum so we can show you how.
References:
[i] Singh B, Olds T, Curtis R et al. "Effectiveness of physical activity interventions for improving depression, anxiety and distress: an overview of systematic reviews." Br J Sports Med 2023;57(18):1203-1209
[ii] Colcombe SJ, Erickson KI, Scalf PE et al. "Aerobic Exercise Training Increases Brain Volume in Aging Humans." J Gerontol 2006 Nov;61(11):1166-1170
[iii] Oberlin LE, Verstynen TD, Burzynska AZ et al. "White matter microstructure mediates that relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness and spatial working memory in older adults." Neuroimage 2015 Oct;131:91-101
[iv] Mavros Y, Gates N, Wilson GC et al. "Mediation of Cognitive Function Improvements by Strength Gains After Resistance Training in Older Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment: Outcomes of the Study of Mental and Resistance Training." J Am Geriatr Soc 2017;65(3):550-559
[v] Suo C, Singh MF, Gates N. "Therapeutically relevant structural and functional mechanisms triggered by physical and cognitive exercise." Mol Psych 2016 Nov;21(11):1633-1642
[vi] Entradas M, Feng Y, e Sousa IC. "The ‘shades of grey‘ in research integrity – Researchers admit to questionable research practices that they do not perceive to be serious." PLOS One 2026 Jan; https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0339056
For ALL Wellness Forum Members
#1 INFORMED Health™ 101 Bootcamp: Free for all Wellness Forum Members
This will be the FIRST time the NEW AND IMPROVED INFORMED Health 101 has been taught live via zoom by Wellness Forum’s favorite instructor Don Rothenstein. Available to Wellness Forum members only, so join now so you can participate!
Note: This bootcamp qualifies for Learn and Earn points -even if you have already taken the old version of this course!
Saturday, May 9 11:00AM-1PM 2:30-5:30PM
#2 Advanced Study Book Review with Don Rothenstein (FREE for Professional, Concierge, and Annual Pass Wellness Forum members)
A World Appears: A Journey Into Consciousness by Michael Pollan
When neuroscientists began studying consciousness in the early 1990s, they sought to explain how and why three pounds of spongy gray matter could generate a subjective point of view—assuming that the brain is the source of our perceived reality. In Pollan’s exploration of consciousness, he discovers a world far deeper and stranger than our everyday reality. Eye-opening and mind-expanding, the book takes us into the laboratories of our own minds, ultimately showing us how we might make better use of the gift of awareness to more meaningfully connect with the world and our deepest selves.
Part I - Tues, May 19 - 7:00PM
Part II - Weds, May 20 - 7:00PM
#3 Conversations With Pam (eastern time)
Tues, May 12 - 12:00PM | Thurs, May 28 - 12:00PM | Wed, June 10 - 7:30PM | Tues, June 23 - 12:00PM
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For more details, email pampopper@msn.com
IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER
The news and other items in this newsletter are intended for informational purposes only. Nothing in this newsletter is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice.