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David Richards
Colon Cancer on the Rise: The Hidden Crisis in Young Adults

Jan 28, 2026

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25 min read

Colon Cancer on the Rise: The Hidden Crisis in Young Adults

There are milestones to ageing. One of those, for me, was after turning 50, when my first colorectal cancer kit arrived at my house. At the time fifty seemed like an arbitrary age, and I was correct, but for all the wrong reasons.

David Richards
David Richards
Digital Detox: Restoring Your Brain in the Age of Screens

Dec 31, 2025

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29 min read

Digital Detox: Restoring Your Brain in the Age of Screens

Is that what productivity looks like in the digital age? When we’re attending five meetings at once but can’t give any of them our full attention? When rest is optional, but Slack is 24/7?

David Richards
David Richards
Blue Zones: Longevity Secrets or Lucrative Lifestyle Brand?

Dec 10, 2025

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26 min read

Blue Zones: Longevity Secrets or Lucrative Lifestyle Brand?

As soon as I learned about Blue Zones, I recalled Élie Metchnikoff's wishful thinking that yogurt was a key to longevity, based on the observation that Bulgarian peasants who consumed large amounts of fermented milk (yogurt) appeared to live unusually long lives. This turned out to be more likely a case of poor record keeping and exaggeration, unintentional and otherwise.

David Richards
David Richards
Red Light Therapy: Health Miracle or Photonic Fraud?

Dec 3, 2025

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23 min read

Red Light Therapy: Health Miracle or Photonic Fraud?

I concede that I came at this article with a great deal of skepticism born from the number and boldness of claims and by the fact that it only seems to have fringe support. Although this can all be attributed to the relative newness in the mainstream, I feel it is worth asking a simple question: is red light therapy a scam, or is it backed by science?

David Richards
David Richards
Seed Oils and the Raging Health Debate

Nov 26, 2025

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27 min read

Seed Oils and the Raging Health Debate

What I personally can’t shake is this: Most seed oils require industrial processing to be edible. The crude oil extracted from soybeans or cottonseed is not safe for human consumption until it’s chemically altered. That’s a sticking point for me.

David Richards
David Richards
Why 45 and 60 Just Hit Differently

Nov 19, 2025

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28 min read

Why 45 and 60 Just Hit Differently

Aging is not a smooth and linear deceleration. It is more of a gearing down with measurable delineations, two of which are particularly jarring.

David Richards
David Richards
When Eating Healthy Becomes Unhealthy: An Overview of Orthorexia

Oct 22, 2025

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24 min read

When Eating Healthy Becomes Unhealthy: An Overview of Orthorexia

In today's wellness-obsessed society, it's simple to commend someone who plans their meals carefully, stays away from processed foods, and avoids sugar. However, what occurs when the strict adherence to a healthy diet begins to harm one's physical and mental well-being?

David Richards
David Richards
Why Creatine Might Be the Smartest Supplement You're Not Taking Yet

Oct 15, 2025

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19 min read

Why Creatine Might Be the Smartest Supplement You're Not Taking Yet

A few decades later, and the supplement has garnered renewed interest. An increasing number of studies hint at another role for creatine: helping to support brain health, cognitive function, and mood regulation.

David Richards
David Richards
The Forever Fantasy: Why Living Forever Isn’t in Our DNA

Oct 8, 2025

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15 min read

The Forever Fantasy: Why Living Forever Isn’t in Our DNA

Every so often, headlines announce the possibility of extending life well beyond what we currently think possible—some even hint at immortality. But let’s be clear: we are nowhere close to living forever, and arguably, we never will be.

David Richards
David Richards
When Productivity Becomes a Drug: Inside Cortisol Addiction

Oct 1, 2025

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23 min read

When Productivity Becomes a Drug: Inside Cortisol Addiction

I noticed recently that I have lost the ability to do nothing. In my youth, I was a champion at it. This discovery led me to my second realization: I pack up my days so that I don’t have to contend with the possibility.

David Richards
David Richards
Adult-Onset Allergies: What You Need to Know

Sep 24, 2025

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24 min read

Adult-Onset Allergies: What You Need to Know

While it's acknowledged that adults can develop environmental allergies even without a childhood history, precise percentages quantifying this occurrence are not readily available. However, it, too, is not zero. As the global population ages, allergy manifestations among the elderly will become more common in the future. This is the topic we will be discussing in the third and final installment of our immune system series.

David Richards
David Richards
Immunity Starts in the Kitchen, Dietary Essentials

Sep 17, 2025

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26 min read

Immunity Starts in the Kitchen, Dietary Essentials

While genetics and exercise play a role, what we eat can have a significant impact on how well our immune system functions. A well-balanced diet full of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants can support and even boost immune health, while poor dietary choices can weaken immune responses and increase the risk of illness.

David Richards
David Richards
Sweat Your Way to a Stronger Immune System

Sep 10, 2025

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25 min read

Sweat Your Way to a Stronger Immune System

Driven by the pandemic, the human immune system briefly took centre stage as a worldwide concern, and though that concern has somewhat subsided, it remains a forefront topic. With an aging population, I don’t believe that is going to change.

David Richards
David Richards
Tinctures 101: Nature’s Potent Little Extracts - Why You Need to Know About These Herbal Powerhouses

Aug 20, 2025

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24 min read

Tinctures 101: Nature’s Potent Little Extracts - Why You Need to Know About These Herbal Powerhouses

I am someone who uses diet, exercise, sleep, and stress management as primary tools for healing and prevention. My approach to health and wellness does not exclude pharmaceuticals and all that conventional medicine has to offer; I merely leave it as my last line of defence. In this regard, I have been lucky with my past two family doctors, as they too have embraced that philosophy. One of my favorite herbal tools, both simple and powerful, is the tincture.

David Richards
David Richards
Muscles Over Time: How to Stay Strong as You Age

Aug 13, 2025

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27 min read

Muscles Over Time: How to Stay Strong as You Age

When COVID hit, I, like all gym enthusiasts, needed to rethink my approach to exercise. Free weights and other equipment, which I suddenly no longer had access to and could neither afford nor spatially accommodate in my home, had dominated my workout regimen.

David Richards
David Richards
See the Difference: How Diet Impacts Your Eye Health

Aug 6, 2025

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22 min read

See the Difference: How Diet Impacts Your Eye Health

When people, including myself in the past, consider vitamin and mineral supplements, they typically do not associate them with vision care. Yet, studies have demonstrated the clinical benefits of nutrients in slowing, preventing, and improving various eye diseases and conditions, including macular degeneration, dry eye, night blindness, and cataracts (more on these below). I find it surprising that eye exams do not discuss the role of a healthy diet in vision care. At least none I’ve been to.

David Richards
David Richards
The Silent Link Between Hypertension and Memory Loss You Need to Know

Jul 30, 2025

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21 min read

The Silent Link Between Hypertension and Memory Loss You Need to Know

In January 2022, my partner had what our family doctor at the time thought to be a mini stroke. He put in a request for a CT scan, which, due to the sad state of Canadian health care, took place in the early fall of 2024. To the relief of my partner and me, there was no evidence of a mini stroke, and, to my own private relief, there was also no evidence of Alzheimer’s. Prompted by my partner’s seemingly escalating absentmindedness, this possibility had been a nagging concern.Yet the news was not entirely good. Longstanding hypertension had left its mark.

David Richards
David Richards
Sweet and Sour Science: The Truth About Glycation

Jul 23, 2025

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22 min read

Sweet and Sour Science: The Truth About Glycation

I have some good news: sugar is beneficial for you. As a matter of fact, it is essential in normal biological operations. I have some bad news for you; just ignore that first statement. It’s terrible stuff.

David Richards
David Richards
The Unspoken Risk of Foregoing the Shingles Vaccine

Jul 9, 2025

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22 min read

The Unspoken Risk of Foregoing the Shingles Vaccine

When people hear “shingles,” they usually think of a painful rash on the torso. But what many don’t realize is that shingles can also strike the face and eyes—with serious, and sometimes permanent, consequences. In fact, shingles can lead to blindness if it involves the eye, a condition known as herpes zoster ophthalmicus (HZO).

David Richards
David Richards
Hidden in Plain Sight: The Surprising Ways Aluminium Enters Your Diet

Jun 25, 2025

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35 min read

Hidden in Plain Sight: The Surprising Ways Aluminium Enters Your Diet

I can’t remember how many years ago it was, several is my best estimate, when I first read the ingredients listed on the bottle of the over-the-counter heartburn medication I was taking and saw the word aluminium. The word struck me as memorably odd because, up until that moment, my strongest association with it was as the primary metal used in the construction of storm doors. Even without a warning label prompting concern, I wondered if aluminium was something people should be ingesting.

David Richards
David Richards
Detox Myths Busted: Your Liver’s Got This!

Jun 18, 2025

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27 min read

Detox Myths Busted: Your Liver’s Got This!

While the popularity of detox diets is undeniable, it’s important to approach their claims with a balanced perspective. Some benefits people report, such as increased hydration or eating nutrient-dense foods, can indeed support overall well-being. However, there’s limited scientific evidence to back extreme detox regimens for long-term health benefits. In fact, these regimens can sometimes result in nutrient deficiencies or dehydration.

David Richards
David Richards
Bone Health 101: What You Need to Know to Stay Strong

Jun 4, 2025

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25 min read

Bone Health 101: What You Need to Know to Stay Strong

Several factors influence bone health, including nutrition, physical activity, tobacco and alcohol use, salt intake, body weight, hormone levels and age-related changes, medications, and, of course, genetics.

David Richards
David Richards
Gut Check: Why Your Digestive Health Matters More Than You Think

May 28, 2025

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25 min read

Gut Check: Why Your Digestive Health Matters More Than You Think

At the risk of oversharing, I started having intestinal issues around the age of twelve, and the threat of flare-up has plagued me ever since. Back then, there wasn’t a name for it, or at least I wasn’t aware of the name, but somewhere along the way, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) slipped into the lexicon, and the definition seemed to fit. I won’t drag you through the details, but some bouts were horrendously painful. So, it was and, seemingly, would always be, until I stumbled upon a remarkable preventative measure: eat salad. Not even every day. Just regularly. That was all it took. Such was the sad state of my diet.

David Richards
David Richards
Alzheimer's: Are you playing sugar roulette with your brain?

May 21, 2025

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31 min read

Alzheimer's: Are you playing sugar roulette with your brain?

Dementia is an umbrella term for symptoms affecting cognitive function. Alzheimer's disease, on the other hand, is a specific type of dementia and the most common cause, accounting for 60 to 80 percent of dementia cases.

David Richards
David Richards
Intermittent Fasting Decoded: Is It the Secret to Better Health?

May 14, 2025

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27 min read

Intermittent Fasting Decoded: Is It the Secret to Better Health?

In my youth I practiced time-restricted eating, or TRE, for a year; only, at the time, I didn’t know that was what it was called. While extremely effective, I found that it took up a lot of mental real estate. Dieting awareness was front and centre through most of my day.

David Richards
David Richards
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PeakWell is a free, trilingual, health and wellness weekly newsletter that aims to equip our subscribers with better options for healthy living by providing better information.


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