Conquering Cultural Stress - Howard Murad PDF
Conquering Cultural Stress - Howard Murad PDF
Conquering Cultural Stress - Howard Murad PDF
CULTURAL
STRESS
The Ultimate Guide to
Anti-Aging and Happiness
Howard Murad, MD
3 Steps to Looking,
Living, and Feeling Better
Copyright © 2015 by Howard Murad, MD.
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Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Murad, Howard (Professor of dermatology)
Conquering cultural stress : the ultimate anti-aging
secret : 3 steps to looking, living, and feeling better
/ Howard Murad, MD. -- First edition.
pages cm
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-939642059 (cloth)
ISBN 978-1-939642066 (ebook)
1. Aging--Prevention. 2. Aging--Psychological
aspects. 3. Health. I. Title.
RA776.75.M87 2015 613
QBI14-600148
First Edition
19 18 17 16 15 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Disclaimer: This publication contains the opinions and ideas of its author. It is
intended to provide helpful and informative material on the subject matter covered.
It is sold with the understanding that the author and publisher are not engaged
in rendering professional services in the book. If the reader requires expert assis-
tance or counseling is needed, the services of a professional should be sought. Every
attempt has been made to present accurate and timely information. Nothing con-
tained herein should constitute an absolute with regard to this subject matter or be
considered a substitute for legal, medical, or psychological advice. The author and
publisher assume neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with
respect to any direct or indirect loss or damaged caused, or alleged to be caused
by the information contained herein, or for errors, omissions, inaccuracies, or any
other inconsistency within these pages, or for unintentional slights against people
or organizations.
P art I
Returning to Your
Youth Is the Path
to Health and
Happiness
Conquering Cultural Stress
2
C hapter 1
3
Conquering Cultural Stress
4
How the Toddler in You Can Save Your Life
5
Conquering Cultural Stress
6
How the Toddler in You Can Save Your Life
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Conquering Cultural Stress
have severe clinical depression and who would do well with tradi-
tional medicine to treat their illness. I’m referring to the millions of
us who walk around dreaming of a better, more fulfilling life where
we radiate health from a deeply rooted sense of contentment and
peaceful well-being. In fact, when I ask people what the one thing
is that will make them happy, they rarely mention money, a better
career, or a facelift. Instead, they refer to the holy grail: being 100
percent comfortable and confident with who they are. Isn’t that the
ultimate goal? I know that for myself, my job today as a doctor who
helps people identify with themselves in ways that support health
and maximize their potential is what’s been my own “becoming.”
I’ve become the real me after years of developing my practice, estab-
lishing an inclusive health center, and learning from patients and
research alike about the true path to wellness.
I treat an enormous array of people, from those who seem to
have no reason to complain about feeling and looking older than the
calendar says to individuals struggling with persistent conditions
that call for constant attention. We all know that chronic illnesses
besiege millions today and dominate our health challenges, including
insomnia, obesity, chronic pain, arthritis, anxiety disorders, depres-
sion, headaches, chronic fatigue, panic anxiety, allergies, irritable
bowel and other gastrointestinal problems, and skin disorders such
as acne and eczema. Although rarely do patients come to me to treat
a chronic condition unrelated to skin, the vast majority of them expe-
rience relief from their maladies once they go through my program.
It can work in brilliant synch with any other form of treatment with
another doctor, including the use of prescriptions. So yes, my prac-
tice may be different from that of other doctors, but one thing we
increasingly all witness is the growing number of patients suffering
from chronic conditions that are often reflected in their skin and that
demand to be taken into consideration when we drum up a solution.
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How the Toddler in You Can Save Your Life
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Conquering Cultural Stress
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How the Toddler in You Can Save Your Life
come to the right place. Chances are, you picked this book up for a
reason. Maybe it’s the chronic exhaustion, the lack of a healthy glow,
the thinning hair and brittle nails, the extra ten or fifteen pounds you
didn’t have a year ago, the “older” person looking back at you in the
mirror, a recent diagnosis at your doctor’s office that scares you, or
simply the fear of getting sick and watching your life hit an abysmal
ditch. Or perhaps you’re among those lucky few who are in excellent
health now but you want to do more and learn a fresh approach to
preserving your longevity. I’m going to present a revolutionary way
to think about taking care of yourself, and you’ll soon agree that your
frustrations with aging have nothing to do with wrinkles. They go
much deeper than that. My hope is that you’ll finish this book with a
whole different perspective on yourself and your approach to health.
It never ceases to amaze me how my patients have watched
their medical problems diminish or in some cases, completely van-
ish. Among the hundreds of thankful letters that I receive routinely
from people who’ve taken my ideas to heart, a singular thought is
spoken many different ways: “I feel amazing—better than I’ve ever
felt in my life.” Patients share not only how their skin problems have
cleared up since they started following my program but how their
health—both physical and mental—is changing significantly for the
better. Significantly. Medical problems are lessening that had not
responded to other treatments by other physicians. Excess weight
is melting away. Patients report sleeping better, growing stronger
hair and nails, and feeling energy they haven’t felt in years. Just as I
had personally observed changes in my own body while following my
own advice, my patients are confirming what I’ve known for years.
Indeed, their bodies are acting younger, and so will yours.
When you begin to take care of yourself, you do a lot more than
regain your health and beauty. You build confidence. Self-care helps
you take control of your life when it seems off balance. Then you find
it transfers to other parts of your life as well. Every person who walks
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Conquering Cultural Stress
12
C hapter 2
Water loss is the final common pathway to all aging and disease.
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Conquering Cultural Stress
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The Mystery of Happiness and the Wonder of Water
life. They also remind me to stop my typical routine and play with
my creativity—just like a kid—once in a while, to color beyond the
lines we draw in our adult lives. I sometimes wonder, what else will
I discover about myself? Out of a painful and frustrating experience
with my eye came this wonderful revelation about myself. And I also
started to see the world differently, both literally and metaphorically.
It was as if I was now seeing in Technicolor, whereas everything was
just black-and-white before.
I’ve always said the best is yet to come, and I firmly believe in
that statement. Not just for me but for everyone who puts a posi-
tive effort and attitude forward and reveres one of my most impor-
tant tenets: be imperfect; live longer. And become free to be yourself.
This may be the ultimate path to health and happiness. Put another
way, being an emotional youthful person who embraces the power
of imperfection and who being that genuine and capable person you
really are is the key. It’s also the secret to conquering cultural stress.
I’m not equating emotional youthfulness with emotional imma-
turity. Much to the contrary, I’m referring to the person who is eter-
nally playful, spontaneous, eager to learn something new, unafraid
to take risks, unencumbered by fears of failure, and joyful in the com-
pany of others. Think about all that you had to learn on your own
when you were just figuring out how to crawl, sit up straight, walk,
and eventually talk. You went through copious rounds of trial and
error. You failed oh-so-many times. And along the way you probably
laughed and cried so hard out of sheer bliss or frustration that your
belly hurt. When’s the last time you had that experience? Those are
emotions we all have, but as adults we’ve learned to hold them in.
And as adults, we fall into the perpetual trap of judging ourselves,
being overly critical of ourselves, trying to be perfect, and living very
controlled lives. We rarely give ourselves permission to say no (like
a toddler being defiant!) and instead take on too much in our daily
responsibilities.
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Conquering Cultural Stress
11. Columbia
11. Malaysia
11. Netherlands
11. Ireland
16. Denmark
16. Kuwait
16. Oman
16. Indonesia
16. Honduras
I’m not surprised that most Americans don’t claim to be the hap-
piness people on the planet. I witness the unhappiness daily in my
work with patients. It’s achingly palpable. And it stems from all kinds
of issues—work stress, family strife, illness, divorce, death of a loved
one, loneliness, and, of course, cultural stress, a real phenomenon
we’ll explore in chapter 3.
I should point out, however, that other methods of evaluating
happiness across various cultures and countries have arrived at bet-
ter results for us Americans. In 2014, the Organization for Economic
Co-operation and Development (OECD) released its latest “Better
Life Index,” which ranks countries according to eleven criteria it con-
siders essential for a happy life. These include data on health, educa-
tion, income, and environment. The survey also takes into consider-
ation people’s responses about their priorities in life and evaluates
their “sense of happiness.” Here are the top ten countries:4
1. Australia
2. Norway
3. Sweden
4. Denmark
5. Canada
6. Switzerland
7. U.S.
8. Finland
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The Mystery of Happiness and the Wonder of Water
9. Netherlands
10. New Zealand
We as humans are by nature compassionate beings capable of
manipulating the way we interact with our environment and how we
perceive our experiences. As such, we work hard, attempt to deflect
conflict, seek to maintain stability, and perhaps spend most of our
time chasing desires, whether external, internal, or emotional. There
is something to be said for those who “learn” to be happy or who
work through processes to cognitively create their happiness. But
whether happiness is a biologically controlled function, a learned
state of mind, or a cognitive process remains the subject of count-
less studies, with pharmaceutical companies leading the way on the
biological studies.
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Conquering Cultural Stress
a positive outlook on life even though he’d lost his wife a few years
previously, and enjoyed a healthy diet that included eggs every other
day. Ted may have had a good set of genes, but I knew that his chosen
lifestyle dictated how well he lived more than anything else. He was
just one of thousands who offered me insights into aging well, and
I took his wisdom to heart. After all, I myself was looking for the
recipe to feeling and looking as vibrant as possible. Patients like Ted
helped me see where I could make improvements and then share that
knowledge with others.
One feature that emerged from my gleanings was the fact that my
healthiest patients shared the ability to hold water without the clas-
sic “water retention” in the wrong areas. In other words, they were
well hydrated (and looked it) yet were
not bloated and did not have to lug
Life can be described as a
process during which the around bottles of water all day. My
highly hydrated state of own experience as an avid hiker who
fertilized oocytes, embryos, continually felt dehydrated on strenu-
newborns, toddlers, and so ous climbs inspired me to think in a
on, is transformed into a new way about how to encourage my
gradually more and more
cells to hold more water. I theorized
dehydrated one.
that the water conserving strength of
the cell’s membrane—its ability to
keep water inside the cell (hence, cellular water)—was the fundamen-
tal marker of health and youthful vitality. The diets of my healthiest
patients like Ted were rife with the very nutrients that make up cel-
lular membranes, the outer yet permeable boundary of a cell that
envelops its interior and allows certain molecules to enter or exit the
cell.
Eager to translate this theory into practice, I used my background
as a pharmacist and a physician to attack the problem of cellular
water loss. I naturally became the first case study as I experimented
on myself by taking various nutrients in the hopes of creating an
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The Mystery of Happiness and the Wonder of Water
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The Mystery of Happiness and the Wonder of Water
the simple lifestyle modifications I had these women make led to sig-
nificant changes at the molecular level, which resulted in their bodies
acting and behaving much younger than their chronological age. We
were also able to confirm what I’d long thought to be true: health
could be measured by how strongly the cells were holding water. The
results indicated that the women’s genes were expressing themselves
in positive ways thanks to well-hydrated cells. In other words, they
were less susceptible to disease.
Moreover, these women, who ranged in age from forty-six to
fifty-three, were uniquely vulnerable to depression at the start of
the program. In fact, on average they had a 33 percent lifetime risk
of suffering from depression based on certain laboratory measure-
ments. (In the general population, one’s average risk is about 16 per-
cent.) But after just twelve weeks, they had reduced their levels of
risk by nearly 20 percent.
While you might think these lifestyle modifications were all about
diet and exercise (e.g., chewing on raw kale and using a treadmill),
that’s far from the case. At the core of the program was what I’ve been
talking about since the beginning of the book: tapping the power of
imperfection and gaining control of the cultural stress in their lives.
This, it turns out, has a huge say in your body’s ability to turn back its
clock and turn on its youth genes. These women harnessed the power
of maximizing the 40 percent of happiness that’s under one’s con-
trol and reaped big rewards that could be clinically measured. And
contrary to what you might think, they didn’t do it just by switch-
ing up their diets and taking daily walks. By the time I was treating
this group of women and taking them through my program, I knew
that among the most powerful things I could do for them at the start
was share my words of inspiration. Over recent years, I’ve amassed
a library of insights that I use with patients, finding that they help
encourage people to make the initial shift in attitude that can then
open the door to a new, better life. The results I was getting from
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Conquering Cultural Stress
Your Wellspring
Despite what your high school biology text taught you, you are not 75
to 80 percent water. You once were—long ago when you were a bab-
bling baby fresh from your mother’s watery womb. But now you’re
closer to 50 percent water. What happened? Well, you’ve aged, and
since your early years, internal and external factors have damaged
your cells and weakened their ability to retain water. This explains
the signs of aging that probably emerged in your late twenties or (if
you were lucky) early thirties: your skin began to become drier, fine
lines and wrinkles appeared, your sleep patterns changed, your flex-
ibility took a hit, your digestion slowed, and your energy wavered.
You started to complain about more aches and pains, need more
caffeine to get through your day, and have a tougher time keeping
excess weight off. No, this didn’t happen overnight, although it may
have seemed that way one random day when you “suddenly” noted all
these changes in a mirror, on a scale, or in your doctor’s office.
What’s been going on has been a slow, inevitable decline in your
cells’ capacity to hold water for good use. If you drank a gallon of water
a day and I called you dehydrated, would you believe me? Probably
not. But it’s true: unless your cells can retain the water they require
to support cellular functions, then drinking all the water in the world
won’t make much of a difference (and you’ll need to keep drinking).
Every part of the body, from your brain to the tendons and ligaments
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fats that can clog your arteries. You may even be recommended to an
acupuncturist known for heart-healthy treatments.
That’s all fine and good, but it still puts the focus on a single organ,
your heart. What about your stress level and emotional health that’s
contributing to high blood pressure? What if you’ve got an undiag-
nosed problem festering in your lungs or brain that’s exacerbating
your heart condition? This is akin to not seeing the forest for the trees.
What I love about the Water Principle is that it not only regards
the health of the whole individual but does so by considering every
single cell in the body. When every cell functions at its highest level,
the body’s environment is optimized for the health of every organ
and system—not just one. So let’s take, for example, the theory about
telomeres again for a moment. Like plastic tips on the ends of shoe-
laces, telomeres sheathe the ends of chromosomes to keep them from
“fraying” and losing their genetic content. Without telomeres, the
chromosomes and the genes they hold would come apart. Telomeres
are necessary for cells to divide and are involved in directing the num-
ber of divisions. In essence, telomeres have a say in cell life (or death)
and how well we age. So how can you protect your telomeres?
Well, think about it. Telomeres are part of a cell. To protect our
telomeres, we have to protect our cells. We have to preserve nor-
mal cellular functioning. And that is exactly the goal of the Water
Principle. Another way to think about it is to see the Water Principle
as the means by which we gain control of our cellular health. It sup-
ports optimal functioning of all cellular roles, from maintaining telo-
meres and encouraging cell division to reducing dangerous inflamma-
tion and removing waste products and pathogens. It acknowledges
and values both the forest and the trees, so to speak.
Hence, “inclusive health” relates to the whole body and all its
trillions of cells. Wouldn’t you rather address every single cell in
your body than treat just a cluster in your heart or liver or brain?
Everything in your body is connected. Though it’s become customary
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direct damage to its nucleus. Both the cytoplasm and the nucleus are
predominantly made up of water. Your heart, brain, bones, and outer
skin layer are all made up of cells.
Connective tissue is the fibrous material that binds your muscles
and organs in place and connects one organ to another. This tissue
has very few cells and contains what’s called the body’s matrix, which
is a semisolid matter made of materials such as hyaluronic acid, a
water-loving substance that can actually attract up to one thousand
times its weight in water. Collagen and elastin, two structural pro-
teins you’ll learn more about later in this chapter, keep the connec-
tive tissue firm and hold its shape. You get the tools you need to
manufacture collagen and elastin from the amino acids in the foods
you eat. Blood vessels, nerves, tendons, ligaments, and your internal
layers of skin are all connective tissue.
As we age, our cells and connective tissue break down. They lose the
ability to attract and hold on to all the water they need to function at
their best, like they do in a baby’s new body. The water that seeps out
wanders aimlessly through the
spaces between cells and connec- What happens when you age?
tive tissue. This, as you know by • Wrinkles
now, is what I call wastewater. • Sun damage
• Less hair in some places,
Not only is wastewater use-
more in others
less, but it can cause problems. • Poor memory
It can build up in inconvenient • Lack of sleep
ways, leaving you with puffy • Lack of energy
• Poor digestion
ankles or eyelids. Your body can • Reduced circulation
be full of this wastewater and • More stress
still be dehydrated because the • Chronic disease
• And more
water can’t reach the cells and
connective tissues where it’s
needed most and where it keeps your heart, lung, brain, liver, and
skin healthy and vital. Can anything be done about this wastewater?
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skin that will reverse visible signs of aging and help prevent further
decline. These include appropriate topical skincare regimens that you
can follow at home, or with the help of an esthetician at a spa, and
cosmetic medical services—all of which I’ll cover in chapter 5.
Fundamentally, we now know that the key to healthy skin is
found at the cellular level and that a youthful outer layer relies on
optimizing the condition of your outermost cells, which are con-
stantly under siege by the environment. Healthy skin cells that can
function properly and replicate predictably will preserve your health,
hold healthy water in, and ultimately slow down the natural aging
process. People often forget that skin cells need the same constant
supply of water, oxygen, vitamins, and nutrients as every organ and
tissue in the body does. Skin also contains connective tissues that
thirst for attention, just like the connective tissues found in blood
vessels, nerves, joints, tendons, and ligaments.
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The Mystery of Happiness and the Wonder of Water
few times a week—have a higher cellular water content. They are able
to stay hydrated much more easily than a sedentary person. Why?
Muscle—not fat—is the ultimate compartment for cellular water.
It holds much more water than fat does, which also explains why
bioelectrical pulses sent through a body to measure its composition
move quickly through people who carry more muscle than fat. Those
pulses speed through water and trip on fat. How fast those pulses
move determines your fat-to-muscle ratio.
The lesson: the more muscle you have, the better your chance of
supporting cellular water. Exercise ultimately fosters hydration; the
fitter you are, the less water you need to drink. (By the way, this has
nothing to do with “bulking up.” When you build lean muscle, you
melt away fat and uncover a toned, healthy, and hydrated body. No
wonder people glow after exercise!) Being physically active will also
spill into other aspects of your life that honor the Water Principle.
As you shape up, you’ll reach for healthier foods and generally feel
motivated to pay greater attention to your lifestyle habits. You’ll also
be able to combat cultural stress.
Although the power of exercise in reducing stress in general is
well known, here’s something you might not have known: exercise
makes your blood circulate more quickly, transporting the stress hor-
mone (and fat-friendly) cortisol to your kidneys and flushing it out
of your system. Cortisol encourages your body to store fat—espe-
cially dangerous belly fat—which releases fatty acids into your blood,
raising cholesterol and insulin levels and paving the way for heart
disease and diabetes. This is why several studies have shown that
regular exercise can dramatically help control blood sugar and reduce
the risk for metabolic disorders like insulin resistance and type 2
diabetes. One study found walking briskly for a half hour every day
reduces the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 30 percent.11
The physical benefits of exercise are no doubt a powerful force
against the ravages of aging. And on the flip side of the coin,
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People who “age well” don’t look their age because they don’t act
their age.
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Conquering Cultural Stress
drive and fun factor that they once had in their youth. Every day is
the same, and even though they may be very active with social media
or busy themselves with a lot of work, at the same time they feel iso-
lated and lonely. It’s as if their lives have lost meaning. Nothing gets
them excited anymore, and their despair and apathy are practically
palpable. Little do they know, however, that a solution exists that has
nothing to do with pharmaceutical drugs and everything to do with
reigniting the playfulness, creativity, and novelty-seeking behavior
of a child. And when they make that change, it’s as if magic happens.
Something literally gets turned on inside as they go from lifeless to
lively. From hopelessness to happiness. From aging fast and losing
cellular water to aging gracefully and using cellular water to promote
health. All of this, in turn, feeds a beautiful cycle of wellness. It is
what I call my Circle of Life.
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