How does acupuncture help with headaches? Why do people get insomnia? And what is the connection between what we eat and our mental health?
People have many questions about their health, but it’s often hard to find trusted, digestible answers from medical experts. Dr. David Hilden, an internal medicine physician and hospitalist at Hennepin Healthcare, has made it one of his missions to provide people with knowledge they can put into practice.
Through a radio show for 13 years and now the Healthy Matters podcast, Hilden has casual conversations with other Hennepin Healthcare clinicians to gather answers to common medical questions.
“I have a large network of colleagues, and that’s a strength of our podcast. No one is getting paid to promote any particular product or point of view,” Hilden says. “We’re talking to practicing physicians and other health care professionals who are excited about their fields and want to spread quality information.”
Some episodes focus on one topic—like allergies or addiction. Others, called “Hilden’s House Calls,” allow listeners to email, call, or tweet the good doctor with inquiries. In every episode, he highlights health information with the intention of helping people make smart decisions. Here are three examples.
ALL ABOUT ACUPUNCTURE
Seeking to remove some of the mystery surrounding acupuncture, Hilden converses with licensed acupuncturist Jessica Brown. She explains what happens during a session and the different conditions that acupuncture can help alleviate, such as headaches, back pain, menopause symptoms, and digestion.
“Maybe people have heard about acupuncture but don’t know very much about it,” Hilden says. “Some people think it’s hocus-pocus and you’re getting stuck with a million needles.”
Brown explains that acupuncture stimulates increased circulation, releases natural painkillers like endorphins, and activates brain centers for rest and relaxation. People often leave an acupuncture appointment with a renewed sense of well-being.
NOODLING ON NUTRITION
Foods like mangoes or avocados are available year-round—one of the perks of the global economy. And while that makes for happy cooks, it’s not really optimal for our digestive system and overall health. It results in people eating many of the same foods throughout the year, giving our guts less diverse nutrients to break down and contributing to a suboptimal microbiome. Dr. Kate Shafto, an integrative health physician, dives into these issues, sharing her wealth of knowledge about how nutrition impacts people’s mental and physical health.
“Dr. Shafto is brilliant at breaking down food and its relationship to your daily life and our food system,” Hilden says. “She takes something as basic as an apple you’re about to eat and makes you think about it in a different way.”
To start, Shafto covers how eating ingredients like corn or soy—that crop up in so many foods—affects human health and the environment.
PILLOW TALK
Everyone wants to talk about sleep—how much they are getting, why they can’t sleep, and what is up with weird dreams? Sleep medicine specialist Dr. Ranji Varghese dives into this fundamental function and why it sometimes goes off the rails.
“Dr. Varghese has seen it all. Everyone wants a better night’s sleep, and he’s a great teacher,” Hilden says. “It’s meant for people to pick up tips that are applicable to their lives.”
Varghese explores what is happening in our brains when we’re sleeping and dreaming, as well as the mental and physical implications of not getting enough sleep (ahem, eight hours for adults). Tune in to learn the four Ps of insomnia and how to break the habits causing people to toss and turn.