Inflammation II: The Biology Behind an Immune Response
In an earlier blog post, I developed a clinical picture of the ways in which inflammation presents itself to the clinician. If your patient presents with a cut on the hand, a broken bone, or a known food allergy, or the flu, it is easy to see that the inflammatory process is in action. Molecular […]
Inflammation I: An Introduction to Immune Function
Inflammation is one of those words so easily tossed around in medical parlance, yet it would appear that there is some confusion as to its meaning. Is inflammation a bad thing, one that should be avoided at all costs, or is it good? The answer is that it is both; it is essential for our […]
How Insurance is Keeping People from Getting Good Health Care
It is my opinion that the current health care establishment in the United States is actually impeding our ability to obtain and maintain a good state of health. How can this be? How is it that an institution invested in health care delivery could be in a position to actively prevent us from being well? […]
Hormone Replacement Therapy — What’s the Best Route?
So you and your physician have decided that the best thing for your health, your wellness, your sexuality, your cognition, your erections, your stamina or your menopausal symptoms is to initiate a course of hormone therapy. You have hopefully discussed the risks and benefits of therapy, and with a physical exam in conjunction with appropriate […]
Energetics of Food
“What is food and why is it needed?” Different perspectives and interpretations stem from this broad question. The first step is not to see food simply as something we stuff in our mouths when we are hungry or bored — see it as a vehicle for the transfer of energy. The natural law of conservation of […]
Detoxification
Detoxification. The process by which our bodies eliminate waste. I encourage you to incorporate this important concept into your wellness plan. I would expect the results in which you look, feel and think will be tangible. They will be compelling enough that you will incorporate the tenants of detoxification into your daily diet, your health routines and […]
Core Four Supplements
I am often asked what I think about nutritional supplements. As a doctor who specializes in a more ”natural” form of medicine, it is fair to say that the use of supplements is a significant part of my medical armamentarium. I use nutrition and directed supplementation in the care of my patients because I think […]
Cardiovascular Testing and Interpretation
An ongoing topic in healthcare in this country is the testing of cholesterol levels, and once this data is obtained, how it is used to guide recommendations for lifestyle modifications and treatment. Treatments which, almost uniformly across the board, direct the patients and physicians to incorporate the use of the cholesterol-lowering statin class of drugs. It is […]
A New Look at Laboratory Testing
There is no reason why a medical blog wouldn’t promote the use of new or descriptive vocabulary word, particularly when it is exceedingly appropriate for the medical topic at hand. The word for today is “perfunctory”. It is pretty useful, particularly when discussing some of our daily routine (traffic, daily progress reports, computer passwords, kid’s […]
A Functional Look at Anxiety
Anxiety. This is one of the vague symptoms that are often very difficult to clearly characterize. As with dizziness and fatigue, a patient’s anxiety promotes little insight into the cause from a mainstream medical practitioner. Cause of anxiety The search into the cause of anxiety is frequently derailed by a perfunctory medical evaluation that looks for anemia — a low […]
4 Steps to Functional health. A Personal Journey
What do you do to manage your health and aging as an “anti-aging” doctor? This is a fair and reasonable question that I occasionally get asked by my patients. It’s best to get your medical advice from someone who practices what they preach. They say you should “never trust a skinny chef.” The same may […]