One principle of integrative and naturopathic medicine is that every client, patient and student is a unique individual with different desires, needs and points of view. In my line of work, this sometimes presents itself in the form of a client who is seeking a specific result but only willing to approach it in a limited way. I’ve learned that the best way to manage this situation, as challenging as it may be, is to find a way to provide truthful information that falls within the parameters of what they are willing to do. By doing so, they often become more receptive to my suggestions down the line. The recent headlines about Zocor, a popular cholesterol medication, provide a good illustration of what I mean.
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An important lesson cardiologists have learned over the past few decades is that patients don’t necessarily need to be overweight or out of shape to be at risk for heart attacks and strokes. Even more surprising to some is that the processes that underlie heart disease often begin very early in life. Fatty deposits in arteries or atherosclerosis is no longer considered the exclusive domain of adults. These undeniable facts provide justification for a steady stream of new information about how to best manage the current and ever growing cardiovascular crisis. Read more »

Over the past month or so I’ve engaged in a sort of experiment on Twitter. In addition to the topical health information I normally post, I started including thought provoking quotations from historical and modern figures. My thinking was that we all could benefit from taking momentary breaks from daily life to reflect on grander issues. A sentence or two echoed from revered men and women affords us a simple way to take a step back and contemplate greater goals and issues.

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Most people have endured one or more serious traumas in their lives. However, the extent of suffering and the exact definition placed on the word “trauma” vary greatly. What’s more, for reasons that aren’t entirely clear, certain individuals are more susceptible to the serious, long term consequences of trauma than others. Some survivors of abuse, assault, natural disasters and war develop a form of anxiety known as PTSD or post traumatic stress disorder. Symptoms of PTSD include emotional detachment, flashback episodes, memory loss, physical pain, recurrent nightmares, sleep disturbance and social withdrawal. Fortunately, some scientists are examining and finding success by utilizing select natural therapies in those living with traumatic memories.
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This week’s edition of Twitter Thursday offers up several important reasons to exercise more often and new information about a nutraceutical/spice which may protect against the damage caused by heavy metal exposure. My guests today are Shari Roan, a health columnist from The Los Angeles Times; Dr. Joseph Pizzorno, the founding president of the Bastyr University and Missy Chase Lapine, “The Sneaky Chef”. Read more »

People visit this site daily from all corners of the world – from Canada to India and in between. If not for the World Wide Web, these readers would probably never know about me. The same can be said for my recent discovery of a truly unique individual in the field of integrative medicine, Nancy Onyett, FNP-C. Read more »

Today I want to discuss a very special kind of pharmacy. It’s open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It doesn’t close for holidays and the staff is always on call. One of the best features of the place is that all medications in stock are 100% natural and entirely compatible with your individual physiology. I know what you may thinking: “This place sounds very expensive”. Or perhaps: “My doctor or health insurance company never works with these ‘holistic-type’ facilities”. Fortunately for us all, none of these concerns apply here. Read more »

While preparing today’s column I did a search on the phrase, “differences between men and women”. Any guess on how many hits this query turned up? 10,000? 100,000? 1,000,000? Try 17,700,000! One of the sites I stumbled upon contained a quote by the comedian Bill Cosby. He summed up the general sentiment conveyed by noteworthy figures throughout the ages: “Men and women belong to different species, and communication between them is a science still in its infancy”. I’m sure many of you nodded your head while reading that and with good reason. The tales my wife could tell! However, I believe our similarities far outnumber our differences. The same holds true if one were to examine the inner workings of the female and male body. Read more »

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have a mind like Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, Leonardo Da Vinci or Socrates? It’s an intriguing daydream to “guesstimate” what we could accomplish if only we had greater cognitive faculties. But at the end of the day, we’re all at the mercy of our genetic blueprint, environment and upbringing. That is unless you’re willing to dig deep in order to try to stretch your mental boundaries. There are, in fact, certain steps that can be taken by ordinary men and women to optimize brain function. I’m not claiming that it’ll turn an average Joe into a 21st century genius, but it just might give you enough of an edge to get further in life than you ever suspected. Read more »

I hear a lot of advice about diet and exercise in my daily life. Many of the statements made by so-called experts and laypeople alike are quite definitive in nature. “Eating fatty foods and sugar will make you fat.” “The key to staying slim is moderation.” “It doesn’t matter what you eat, just eat sensibly.” “You need to exercise if you really want to lose weight. Diet alone won’t cut it.” But nutrition, much like life, is shaded with many gray areas. There are fine distinctions that apply to almost every diet “rule”. One aspect of weight loss which received a lot of attention this year has to do with the role that exercise plays in weight management. Read more »

One of the top news stories of this past week involved a proposed change in the current breast cancer screening protocol. Mammograms have been generally recommended for all women 40 years and up. However, new guidelines announced by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force now suggest that routine testing begin a decade later, at age 50. At the moment there is a passionate debate about whether or not this recommendation and others, such as only having a mammogram every two years instead of one, would result in equivalent or improved health outcomes in older women. But controversy is no stranger to the field of breast cancer research. The topic of breast cancer prevention is perhaps the hottest issue in this category. Some experts are confident that dietary and lifestyle factors can, in fact, impact the odds of a women developing breast malignancies. Other researchers subscribe primarily to the notion of “genetic destiny”. In their minds, whether you get cancer or not is a essentially a roll of the dice. If you happen to have a family history of breast cancer, the dice are loaded against you. Read more »

The last thing anyone wants to do when in pain is exercise. Certain injuries require allowing the body time to recover. However, mental and physical discomfort shouldn’t always be used as an excuse to slow down. In fact, many times, the desire for bed rest may actually be counterproductive. This certainly appears to be the case with some very common, inflammatory conditions that affect both the body and the mind. Read more »

Physical strength isn’t just a characteristic of athleticism and youth. Rather, it’s something we rely on in order to live the type of lifestyle we choose. It’s not imperative that we look like bodybuilders on Muscle Beach or bikini models in a sports magazine. But, we all hope to have enough power in our muscles to take walks in the park, shop at a sprawling super market and to play catch with our grandchildren. Unfortunately, maintaining lean body mass as we age is not a given. For many, it requires actively railing against the course that nature has plotted. Read more »

Many of the health benefits attributed to natural therapies are actually brought about by re-establishing practices that ought to come naturally to the body and mind. There is nothing more basic and essential than breathing. But there’s a difference between breathing to live and breathing with the goal of improving and/or maintaining good health. The difference between these practices generally has to do with two factors: the conscious act of breathing properly and how deeply air is inhaled and exhaled via the diaphragm and lungs. Read more »

When we think of a serious work out our minds often conjure up images of lifting heavy weights, running long distances or employing advanced technologies such as elliptical trainers. Frequently, swimming and aquatic therapies are not regarded as highly as the previously mentioned exercises. But fortunately, science doesn’t care much about popular perception. In the past few years, a good deal of study has investigated the merits of water based exercises. The results may have far reaching implications for the modern management of a number of health conditions. Read more »

If I asked you to invent a form of physical activity that supports the body, mind and spirit, you’d be hard pressed to come up with something better than dancing. Let me start by telling you that I am not a dancer. When I do dance, the only benefit that I’m aware of is the laughter that it incites in others. It’s just not something that comes naturally to me. But that’s really beside the point. There are very good reasons to consider incorporating dance into your life. As odd as it may seem, scientists from all over world are asking their patients to put on their dancing shoes. Read more »