Health is a Choice
Would you like butter with your coffee?
It may be a little hard to swallow, but this latest trend is receiving praise from not only butter lovers, but the integrative health and fitness communities as well. The concept is simple. Most of us should start our day with a heavy dose of fats versus carb-heavy cereal, toast Read more…
Time for a Seasonal Time Out
Here we are, in the peak of our local high season. We welcome the influx of snowbirds from the cooler climates and recognize that all the Coachella Valley has to offer is in full flight! As a health and wellness professional, I see many people with commitments to activities, fundraisers, Read more…
Let’s live this New Year full of gratitude
– gratitude for our family, our friends, our community and for those in our life who make each and every day a little better. Are you grateful for someone who inspires you towards good health and wellness? If so, we would like to help you honor them with the Desert Read more…
Pain is killing us in large numbers.
Drug overdose is now the leading cause of accidental death in the U.S., with 47,055 lethal drug overdoses in 2014. Opioid addiction is driving this epidemic, with 18,893 overdose deaths related to prescription pain relievers, and 10,574 overdose deaths related to heroin in 2014. In 2012, 259 million prescriptions were Read more…
When it comes to health, there is strength in numbers
Whether it’s a workout buddy, Zumba class, or a Spartan team, working towards wellness alongside others creates a sense of accountability, motivation and fun. So why is it that the place many spend most of their day with the largest group of people–the workplace–is often the least healthy? From hours Read more…
The Grain-free Wannabe Athlete
I have been grain free for the last 2+ years and love the physical benefits I continue to see and feel. I’ve made it through the cravings stage and while I do admit to a gluten-free wrap or crackers every once in a while, living primarily grain-free is a lifestyle Read more…
Why practice integrative health care?
This was the topic of a recent panel hosted by Women Leaders Forum (WLF) and moderated by Desert Health® publisher Lauren Del Sarto. The panel featured a medical doctor, chiropractor, acupuncturist/herbologist and naturopathic doctor discussing how conventional and complementary modalities are working together for whole person care. So why the Read more…
Convenience is Key
Green smoothies are addictive especially when you make them at home where you can tweak the flavors and health benefits to your liking. Adding pineapple provides bromelain for achy muscles, cinnamon cuts the taste of heavy greens and helps stabilize blood sugars, avocado creates a smooth texture while providing healthy Read more…
Surviving Cancer Against the Odds
Why do some people survive cancer against all odds when others do not? That question sent Kelly Turner back to school to get her Ph.D. As a cancer patient counselor, Turner was searching for answers in an effort to help her clients and was angered at the fact that no one Read more…
Learning to Trust the Trail
This summer did not go well. In July, I lost my mother to a brutal disease, and thus inherited her responsibilities: keeping her home, caring for my father, and the minutia of wrapping up her “paper existence.” At the same time, my own family expanded. Our grandson moved in for Read more…
Recharging Your Batteries
What did you do this summer to recharge your batteries? Hopefully you got away from the heat, spent time with friends and family, and simply checked out for a while. No matter how full your plate may seem, taking time away from the everyday is an important choice for good Read more…
Health is a Choice: Doctors Have the Ability to Heal
Doctors have the ability to heal. Unfortunately, the current health care system has turned many away from their natural ability to do so. But things are changing. A core aspect of integrative medicine is whole person care by doctors who take the time to listen and understand their patients, and Read more…
Alternative Therapies for Lyme Disease
Lyme disease is on the rise. Once prevalent only in the northeast, the infectious disease has now been reported in every state in the US, and throughout the world. In 2012, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported 30,000 cases annually, only to revise that statistic to 300,000 in 2013.1 Read more…
Health is a Choice: Lisa Genova
Lisa Genova had a dream. She wanted to someday write a book, but as a Harvard-trained neuroscientist, her family and colleagues laughed at the thought. Ironically, life circumstances led her to that dream sooner than expected, while her grandmother’s diagnosis of Alzheimer’s led her to the valuable research that made Read more…
Food Intolerance Testing
Choices for health can be complicated – especially when you have health care practitioners with different opinions and/or the information available is contradictory. This is why it is important for us as consumers to do our research and make informed decisions for ourselves. Such is the case with food sensitivity Read more…
Health is a Choice: Involving Kids
When kids are involved in the choice, they are more inclined to take part. That is the philosophy behind FIND Food Bank’s Kids Summer Feeding Program: Don’t just feed the children, make them part of the selection, education and preparation. Teaming with valley Boys & Girls Clubs and local YMCAs, Read more…
Celebrating Edith Morrey at 102
In 1932, Edith Morrey was 20 years old. You may know Edith as the “Grande Dame of Fashion” whose chic clothing boutique, the first on El Paseo, helped launch the famed street. At 20, she lived in Portland and it was there she would attend the most impactful event of Read more…
Coachella Valley Expedition 2014
Health is a choice, but when access to health care is a challenge, that choice can become a luxury. For some, the choice comes down to a dental filling for your child or food on the table; a pair of glasses for your spouse or paying rent; a doctor’s appointment Read more…
A Beacon of Hope
Mariel Hemingway knows balance. The Academy Award-nominated actress continues to pursue her career, while also succeeding as a health activist and author, eco-enthusiast, executive producer, and a loving mother of two grown daughters. Getting to the “best place in her life” took hard work and much conscious thought. She is Read more…
The Prescription Drug Epidemic
How many prescription drugs are you taking? One or two? You are not alone. Nearly 7 in 10 Americans are on at least one prescription drug, and more than half take two, according to a recent report by the Mayo Clinic and the Olmstead Medical Center.1 20 percent of us Read more…
Perimenopause & Bio-Identical Hormones
As young women, we grow up hearing horror stories about “going through the change” when hormone fluctuations create often unbearable symptoms like hot flashes, crazy brain, and mood swings. And we know that when this time comes, we will have to make choices for ourselves. In my early thirties, I learned Read more…
Meet Eisenhower’s New Residents
Good health is a conscious choice often brought on by a strong passion for change. Choosing to go into health care often starts with the same passion, but is directed at helping others. And with the many changes and challenges facing today’s health care system, launching into medicine with that Read more…
Health is a Choice
We often meet people who consider themselves ‘conscious eaters,’ but rarely do we meet someone whose passion is converting others. In her own personal effort to address America’s obesity issues, Registered Dietitian Sarah Gaete is teaching the value of nutrition to as many people as she can. She is passionate Read more…
Ms. Carol Channing
One of our Valley’s most beloved residents is Ms. Carol Channing. At 92, she is still the beaming ray of light we know from stage and screen – gracious and kind, full of positive energy and endearing spunk. If you ask Carol how she accounts for her long, healthy life, she Read more…
Health Is A Choice
Throughout the decades, the concept of ‘healthy habits’ has evolved. One longstanding premise seldom challenged is that physical fitness–to maintain muscle and cardiovascular health–serves you well in the present, and in future years. This concept was challenged in the 1960’s by those who thought muscle mass would infringe on a Read more…
Children taught healthy habits often keep them for life
Just ask the Alberici Sisters, Maria Lauren and Linda Eichberg. They grew up in 1960’s Philadelphia as part of a health-conscious vegetarian family–a choice their parents made for health, not religion. When kids were bringing Wonder bread and bologna sandwiches to school, they had vegetables on sprouted wheat bread that Read more…
Health is a Choice: Making a Difference in Our Schools
Improving nutrition in schools is no small task.It requires the motivation, inspiration and action of a hard working team to instill long-lasting change. In this year’s Healthy Lifestyle Challenge, schools competed against valley cities, companies and organizations for the “Best of the Best” award. The goal for each program was Read more…
Health is a Choice: Yoga Awareness Month
September is Yoga Awareness Month. Most of us would admit that our muscles could use a little more stretching; however, we think ‘yoga is for the young, or for tree huggers, and my body could never do those crazy positions.’ But yoga is so much more than stretching, and how Read more…
Health is a Choice: Patti Wright
When you have your health, anything is possible. When you don’t, nothing else matters. This is the message at the bottom of Patti Wright’s emails. And she certainly embodies this sentiment. Patti was a successful professional who raised a son on her own and enjoyed good health. But in her Read more…
Health is a Choice
BASEBALL AND BEER. For a large portion of his life, Palm Springs native Trent Hauswirth cherished these favorite American past times. He was a high school jock who excelled at baseball. He was drafted out of high school and played minor league ball with the Kansas City Royals for three Read more…
Health is a Choice: Richard Long
Health Is A Choice showcases individuals who have significantly changed their life and/or the lives of others by making health a priority. We are pleased to present Richard Long of Rancho Mirage who was nominated for this feature and is an inspiration to us all. Richard Long is 98 years Read more…
Health is a Choice: Bill Clinton
Health Is A Choice showcases individuals who have significantly changed their life and the lives of others by making health a priority. In this issue, we are honored to feature former President Bill Clinton’s personal journey and how his international efforts to make the world a healthier place are now Read more…
Health is a Choice: Bronwyn Ison
After reading Desert Health’s October feature on breathing, I expressed my appreciation for this newsworthy editorial, and was asked to share my life-changing struggle with Valley Fever (VF). VF is a debilitating lung disease which is challenging to diagnose as its symptoms mirror those of other conditions. Everyday we use Read more…
Health is a Choice: Steve Sanchez
Steve Sanchez was stabbed 4 times in the heart, diaphragm and back. It was last December, and I remember hearing about it on TV. They said a La Quinta resident had tried to help a friend being accosted by two men. I always wondered what happened to this local hero Read more…
Health is a Choice: Mickie Riley
Mickie Riley had it all…A successful business, expensive cars, a loving family and money in the bank. He enjoyed the good life: great friends, good food, expensive wine. He was well known and respected in the community. His life was good. His entire life, Mickie worked and played to excess. Read more…
Health is a Choice: Dr. Steven Gundry
Hard to Change Habits? Blame Your Killer Genes Dr. Steven Gundry is a world-renowned Cardiologist/Cardiac Surgeon who pioneered infant and pediatric heart transplants and (with his partner) has performed more such transplants than any other surgeon in the world. He is the inventor of leading surgical technology and is considered Read more…
Health is a Choice: Dr. Oz, Dr. Roizen
“You are what you eat.” You’ve heard it a thousand times, but have you ever really looked beyond those words? We know if we eat too much junk food, eventually it will appear on our belly and hips. Do you know what happens under your skin and what food is Read more…
Health is a Choice: Mary T. Roche
Life Lessons From Indian Wells Councilwoman and Former Mayor, Mary T. Roche Significant life changes are often driven by singular events and the knowledge gained while coping with them. This was certainly true for Mary Roche, whose life experiences resulted in her making long-term health and wellness a personal priority. Read more…
