What I Do for My Patients and Why Many adult patients beyond a certain age have multiple and/or complex concerns. They often take more medications than they would prefer and wonder whether anything can be discontinued. Most want to explore ways to address their...
As a holistic physician, I am often asked about sun protection, especially as the weather turns warm and beautiful. I have a friend who has instructions from one of her several physicians to slather herself with SPF 45 sunblock. Every day. All over. Apparently physical blocking like hats, shirts, long sleeves, etc. is insufficient, because of her autoimmune disease diagnosis.
We don't always talk about it- but it is important to know how to boost your mental wellbeing. We all get "down" sometimes, but If your mental health isn’t 100%, you must take action to improve it now. The first thing to remember is that you’re never alone; many...
Lifestyle choices can make a profound impact on heart health. Many of us don’t realize the simple yet powerful steps we can take to prevent, improve and even reverse some of the most worrisome conditions such as cardiovascular disease (CVD) and metabolic syndrome....
For quite some time, the public view towards drug or alcohol addictions was more focused on the problems of personal will power and lacking self control. But fortunately, the smoking cessation treatment programs in recent years have started to shed more light into our understanding about the unique biological needs in certain individuals driven by particular genetic predisposition and environmental factors.
During this time of social distancing, most of us are spending much longer periods of time indoors, inside our homes. As a pediatric physician, I always recommend spending as much time as possible in nature, but not every family has the benefit of a backyard that’s...
Human beings tend to overcomplicate a lot of things. Many of us are guilty of thinking that anything worth achieving requires a lot of time and effort. For example, if we want to lose weight, we must go on a complicated diet program designed by some famous doctor or health guru on the best sellers list. Or, if we want to gain muscle, we have to work out every day for hours. On the other hand, we think if it’s easy it’s probably too good to be true or it won’t help, yet many of us want “easy” in this complicated, busy world. The bottom line is, whether easy or hard, the basics of a healthy life need to be adhered to. What are the basics?
Food poisoning is a common illness in the body from consuming contaminated food or water but natural home remedies can help alleviate the unpleasant symptoms. Foodborne or waterborne microorganisms can cause vomiting, diarrhea, cramping, weakness, and can range from...
Some time ago, I blogged about my friend who was instructed by her primary care doctor to use sunscreen daily, all over. At that time, the doctor suggested SPF 45, but he has since retracted that recommendation and now suggests using SPF 100. I have recently delved a...
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy, or HBOT, is the infusion of pure oxygen deep into the tissues of the body to promote healing. Oxygen is essential for life and can provide many health benefits. There is a growing interest in hyperbaric oxygen chamber treatments as athletes...
In functional medicine, depression is not viewed as an isolated, unfortunate situation that can be fixed quickly with a pill and some talk. Functional medicine recognizes that in the human body, every cell affects other cells. As a physician, I want to know what is...
Most of us do not eat enough vegetables each day. One of the best ways to consume more vegetables is to drink them! Freshly made raw, green juice is full of vitamins, minerals and enzymes which can be readily absorbed by your body because they do not need to be broken...
Why is a healthy gut essential? Gut health is crucial to optimal health but is often overlooked in health circles. Unhealthy gut can be a significant contributor to inflammatory conditions such as chronic pain and immune issues. It can slow down energy and hamper...
What Does Opioid-Induced Constipation (OIC) Have to do with the Super Bowl? Not much, I would have imagined, but thinking broadly, after the 112 million people who tuned in1 finished laughing, maybe a few hundred thousand viewers might connect the dots. That’s...
Although we may eat and drink our way through the days between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, almost to a person, we wake up on January 1st with every intention of doing things differently for throughout the coming year. But what about just trying to clear the...
This holiday brittle recipe is the perfect combination of a healthy and delicious treat. I am always looking for treats like this to make and share for the holidays. This recipe from Rebecca Katz's The Healthy MInd Cookbook is one of my favorites, and I thought I...
Whole Foods Market has unveiled its new rating system called Responsibly Grown for fruits, vegetables and flowers. This system rates produce as “Good” “Better” or “Best”. You would think that fruits and vegetables with the “best” rating would mean just that…..the...
I’m about to change your life. Ready? A Raw brownies recipe that is simple, wholesome and delicious. Who knew brownies could be packed with protein, omega 3 fatty acids, fiber, and antioxidants? These raw brownies are made with wholesome ingredients. Best of all,...
Hormones play an important role in your life every day. They are your body’s chemical messengers, traveling in your bloodstream to tissues and organs. They play a role in your growth, metabolism, sexual function, reproduction and mood. If you doubt the power of...
Calories in, calories out. A calorie is a calorie is a calorie…. But, are calories important and are they all equal? As long as you expend the same amount of calories that you take in then you can be healthy, not gain weight and feel good, right? This has been taught – and still is being taught – by health professionals around the country and the world. But is it sound advice? Let’s take a look at caloric
Is it really possible to grow a 6 pack of abs and still eat butter? I had to find out. November 2013: I sat in my NYC hotel room looking into the mirror. I felt swollen in my jeans as my muffin-top was puffing out of them. It was actually difficult to zip them but I...
Guest Author: Allan Balliett, Founder of Fresh and Local CSA My Passion for Whole Foods I’m the founder and farmer of Fresh and Local CSA, located in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. I am a passionate advocate for properly grown, fresh, local produce. Over 20 years ago, after many conventional doctors had failed to help me, I […]
April is Autism Awareness Month. A holistic approach to autism, treating the whole person, may help improve symptoms of the disorder. It is estimated that 1 in 68 children in the United States has autism, a complex disorder which impairs social and communication...
Sensory Delights of Juicing To an avid juicer like myself the benefits of juicing fresh fruits and vegetables seem endless – it is convenient, nutritious, great for the immune system, helps to detox, and on it goes… All of the above are true. For me, however, first...
Why choose an integrative doctor for primary care? An integrative doctor for primary care offers not only traditional primary care but also incorporates the best of complementary and alternative healing therapies from around the world to help you achieve optimum...
One of the most important decisions you have to make as a parent is the choice of pediatrician. Whether you are expecting a baby, or have just moved into a new area, or are simply no longer satisfied with your current pediatrician, you have the task of choosing the...
Depression and anxiety have spiked in recent years. But, people may have differing ideas of what depression is, and what causes it. A functional medicine approach to depression helps treat the whole person by addressing the root cause, and the causes may...
While spring is a welcome relief from the cold and dreary winter for many of us, it can be a time of misery for children suffering with asthma. The blooming of trees with the accompanying pollen trigger wheezing, coughing, and other unwelcome symptoms for a rising number of children with asthma. Asthma now affects 1 in 11 children. The incidence has been rising over the past few decades,
It seems to be an especially brutal flu season this year. Deep, bronchial coughs echo through the aisles of the grocery store, Snuffaluffagus is answering the phone at the bank and sneezes flutter over cubicle walls with hot zone wings. If you or one of your beloveds is suffering from respiratory congestion it is a good time to start thinking of a steaming mug of medicinal tea, ideally full of honey and steeped with love. While there are plenty of great teas on the market – Breathe Easy or Throat Coast by Traditional
As part of the holistic and biological dentistry approach to dental care, there are herbals which are useful to promote good dental health. Most of us have experienced the cleansing of a salt water rinse after a dental appointment or during times of mouth pain. The gentle swishing of the water and the abrasiveness of the salt cleanse and promote healing.
Subscribe to National Integrated Health Associates' (NIHA) newsletter and see the latest from the Integrative Health Blog. Receive great content delivered weekly straight to you. Stay on top of the latest health news in Integrative Medicine and Holistic Dentistry, and...
Summer officially starts this week, on Friday, June 21. Most of us have air conditioning these days, but many of us can remember sleeping on sticky sheets with the fan in the window during the summer! Which never worked, by the way!! When it gets hot, who wants to be in the kitchen using the oven or the stove? Now is the time to try all those recipes that don’t require cooking!! Salads of all types – green salads, fruit salads, raw kale salads, gazpacho soups, cold cucumber or melon soups, and caprese salad – taste wonderful and don’t heat up the kitchen.
Do you have a plan for what to do when you are faced with a plethora of sweet treats and drinks? In the spirit of good health habits, here are some tips on navigating the holidays so you enter the new year without the guilt (and extra weight).
Holistic Health: Is Plastic Harmful? A holistic health approach considers plastics to be possibly quite harmful. By now many of you have heard about the controversy around Bisphenol A, or BPA, an estrogen-like plastic used in products we are exposed to every day in...
Disease Prevention is Better for Health After working as a nurse on the oncology unit in the hospital (many years ago) and then as a home care nurse, I realized that intervention at that point was too late and it made more sense to prevent problems and disease. The...