Healthy Living Archives | DonnieYance.com

July 7, 2025July 4, 2025

Prostate Cancer: The Pitfalls of Conventional Assessments

By Donnie Yance

Questioning Conventional Screening Approaches

According to the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) analysis of two major randomized clinical trials, routine Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening prevents approximately one prostate cancer-related death per 1,000 men screened.¹ This sobering statistic challenges the historical perception of PSA screening as an essential preventive measure. Moreover, recent studies suggest that the psychological burden and financial costs of widespread PSA screening may outweigh its limited mortality benefits. Many of these biopsies turn out to be unnecessary, causing anxiety and discomfort for patients that in some cases plagues a man for the rest of his life.

I am not of the opinion that men should not test their PSA. However, I do believe PSA testing should include more comprehensive testing methods, including PSA total and free percentage, along with several new urine tests that are considered even more accurate than a biopsy. Also keep in mind that healthy PSA ranges differ for each man. In other words, my healthy range may be different from your healthy range, and prostate enlargement and prostatitis both can cause elevated PSAs.

June 30, 2025June 30, 2025

It’s Surprisingly Nice To Hear You: The Impact of Communication Media on Social Connection and Wellbeing

By Donnie Yance

“I Fear the Day That Technology Will Surpass Our Human Interaction” -Albert Einstein

“We communicate by the tone of our voice, with our eyes, with our body language, with our hands. The influx of our voice. There are so many things that we use to communicate,” notes communication researcher Amit Kumar. This multifaceted nature of human interaction becomes critically important when examining how different communication media affect our social connections and overall well being.

Technology can connect us to the world, but can disconnect us from each other,

Cell phones can have a negative impact on close relationships, closeness, connection, and conversation quality.¹

Believe it or not, I still used a flip phone until about a year ago, when it finally broke. Now I use my son’s hand-me-down iPhone. I’ve deliberately kept it disconnected from my computer and haven’t set up email on it. Since I spend countless hours on my computer each day, I’ve made a conscious decision that when I step away from my desk, I want to be truly free from the digital world.

June 16, 2025June 12, 2025

Why Americans Pay So Much for Health (Sick) Care

By Donnie Yance

“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”

– Buckminster Fuller

The Evolution of Medicine: Why We Need a Paradigm Shift

The greatest challenge in advancing global health and well-being lies not in incremental improvements, but in recognizing the need for fundamental transformation. This transformation must extend beyond simply enhancing existing healthcare systems—it requires a comprehensive reimagining of multiple interconnected systems that influence human health.

Research by the Whole Health Institute has identified thirteen distinct yet interrelated systems that significantly impact health and well-being, each requiring revolutionary change. From healthcare delivery and education to social services and environmental factors, these systems form a complex web that determines the overall health outcomes of populations worldwide. Understanding and addressing these systems holistically, rather than in isolation, is crucial for achieving meaningful and lasting improvements in global health.¹

June 9, 2025June 7, 2025

The Science of Laughter: A Path to Longevity and Health

By Donnie Yance

Can our behavior influence disease outcomes? The answer may lie in one of humanity’s most natural expressions: laughter.

Ancient wisdom has long suggested a connection between joy and health. The biblical proverb that “a merry heart does good like a medicine” (Proverbs 17:22) finds modern validation in scientific research. Democritus, the “laughing philosopher” who reportedly lived to 109, may have intuited what today’s researchers are proving: laughter can extend and enhance life.

May 12, 2025May 9, 2025

Healing Foods For Brain Health and Alzheimer’s Prevention

By Donnie Yance

“God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December.” – J.M. Barrie

How Diet and Genes Affect Brain Health

Recent studies show that the brain strives to maintain a steady energy supply over time, a process called “energetic homeostasis.”¹ This balance is important because energy metabolism affects how brain cells work, communicate, and adapt. These changes can influence thinking and memory.

What we eat plays a major role in brain function. Certain foods can have long-term effects on brain health by changing the way brain cells grow and connect. These effects happen through epigenetic regulation, which means that food can change how genes are expressed without changing the DNA itself. Eating the right nutrients helps support energy use in the brain and strengthens connections between neurons, much like exercise does. Research on brain injuries suggests that whole foods and supplements can help reduce damage to brain cells.²

April 1, 2025April 1, 2025

The Art of Living: Finding Balance in a Fragmented World

by Donnie Yance

In our hyper-connected yet somehow disconnected modern world, many of us find ourselves longing for something deeper—a sense of wholeness that transcends the fragmentation of daily life. We seek not just physical health, but a harmonious existence that nourishes body, mind, and spirit equally. This integration isn’t just a luxury; it’s increasingly becoming essential for navigating our complex lives with grace and purpose.

The Forgotten Wisdom of Wholeness

Ancient healing traditions from around the world share a common understanding: true wellness emerges when we honor the interconnectedness of our physical, emotional, and spiritual dimensions. From Traditional Chinese Medicine’s concept of qi balance to Franciscan spirituality’s reverence for natural harmony, these wisdom traditions remind us that fragmentation leads to suffering, while integration leads to flourishing.

The Latin root of the word “health” is salvus, which is also the root of “salvation”—suggesting that true healing involves both physical restoration and spiritual wholeness. Similarly, the words “health,” “whole,” and “holy” share linguistic origins, pointing to an ancient understanding that true wellness encompasses far more than the mere absence of disease.