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I’d like to ask about alcohol intake. How many drinks a week do you consider alcoholism? Some studies consider more than 12 drinks a week. However, I have clients who get drunk with half a glass of wine and the majority of my clients have many drinks daily and they don’t think it is a problem. So how to know when alcohol is a problem.

Dr. Amy Nett: So this is a great question. I think of alcohol as being a problem when there is...

I’m surprised by the patient’s resistance to eliminate screen time in the hours before bed. I’ve had many tell me, well, that’s not going to happen. Is the use of blue-light blockers for screens a good enough compromise? Or are they still causing circadian rhythm harm?

Chris Kresser: Yeah, I mean, this is just really endemic in our culture now. People can’t even imagine not doing...

Does wearing sunglasses when outside decrease the benefits of daytime sun exposure?

Chris Kresser: Yes, it does. And so we recommend to patients that when they go outside for a walk during...

What suggestions do you have for bringing in on the cortisol awakening response during winter months when people might be awake for several hours before the sun rises? Do light machines used for seasonal affective disorder have any effect on morning cortisol production?

Chris Kresser: Yes, they do. And that is the recommendation for people that live in those latitudes.

In the modern industrialized world, we’re taught, we’re walking most of time on hard surfaces, concrete, asphalt, wood subfloor. I looked into buying Vibram minimalistic shoes and even tried them. Comfortable for sure, but my understanding is that in order to get the full benefit from barefoot walking or running, our feet need organic matter, Earth, to grasp onto for the majority of the time. Plus I live in a place geographically where I could walk in minimalistic shoes only about five months of the year because of cold temperatures. I decided it may not be worth buying some. I also question how good it would be for my feet and structure flipping back and forth between regular shoes and minimalistic shoes. Would you be able to shed some light on my concerns?

Chris Kresser: Yeah, I mean, I think if you’re trying to mimic the evolutionary template, the best option would be...

Do you ever leave a patient on adaptogens or the adrenal support supplements long term to support with the immense amount of stress our lifestyles have? I know we work on lifestyle changes as well, but there’s some circumstances that could be difficult to change.

Chris Kresser: So, yeah, in the case of the adaptogens, it’s a similar answer to what I just gave. Ideally...

This is a participant that has recently gone through a very traumatic experience, and I’m sorry to hear that. And this traumatic experience has provoked a severe episode of insomnia, waking very early in the morning and not being able to fall back asleep and total disruption of energy, of course, because of that and health and emotions. And just wondering I think overall, how to deal with this kind of situation.

Chris Kresser: So, yeah, the more I do this work, the more I am in awe of the impact of...

When you use Doc Parsley’s Sleep Cocktail, I know in several of the case studies you use it in addition to 5-HTP and melatonin. I also was wondering when it would be advised for any sleep disturbance. Also, in one of the case studies you mentioned 5-HTP even though the patient had normal melatonin levels. Is this common for you to use if melatonin is normal if they have sleep disturbance?

Chris Kresser: Okay, for the Sleep Cocktail, the reason I like it is it has a really low dose of...

I’d like to ask about sun exposure versus skin cancer. Personally, I have a history of melanoma in my family, and I’ve been avoiding sun because of it for a long time.

Chris Kresser: We’re going to talk about it in detail when we cover vitamin D in the blood chemistry unit....

I mentioned that music lowers cholesterol compared to DHEA. Is this a certain type of music or any music?

Chris Kresser: The therapeutic effects of music, the studies vary. Some studies suggest that only certain types of music...

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