Cancer Does Not Discriminate

Cancer does not discriminate. It affects people of all ages, races, backgrounds and lifestyles. And sometimes it finds those you’d least expect – those who have lived the healthy, balanced life that we all strive to achieve. This year, breast cancer found Shay Moraga at 39 years old. A yogi who lived a clean, balanced… 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 choice I plan to maintain.… Read more »

And the Welly Award Goes to…

The second annual Desert Health® Wellness Awards took place on a spectacular May evening with five deserving finalists taking home a Welly. The festive celebration, which took place at The Pavilion at Indian Wells Golf Resort, began with an outdoor reception, silent auction, and putting contest. Close to 250 health-conscious guests including doctors, health coaches,… Read more »

Sunshine & Smiles

Why do we do all this crazy health stuff? Because more and more of us are beginning to see the significant value of maintaining good health as we age. We’re fueling our bodies with essential nutrition over taste, exercising and practicing mind-body therapies because they feel good both physically and mentally and create a more… Read more »

Movement Disorders and the Role of Imaging

The passing of one of the greatest athletes in history, Muhammad Ali, has brought attention to the debilitating condition he suffered:  Parkinson’s disease.  This neurodegenerative disease affects as many as one million Americans which is more than the combined number of people diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy and Lou Gehrig’s disease combined, according to… Read more »

Neck Pain: Common Causes and Treatments

Neck pain is a frequently encountered problem in society.  It is associated with a significant decrease in quality of life and a significant increase in time off work, which is associated with a decrease in national economic productivity.  Patients typically present to either their primary care doctor or the emergency room with complaints of moderate-to-severe… Read more »

Chromium-6 in the Coachella Valley Water Supply

The Flint water crisis has been one of the most publicized water contamination disasters in several decades. Concerns have surfaced, however, regarding water purity and safety in other parts of the country. In the Coachella Valley, there is apprehension over hazardous chemicals that include chromium-6. Chromium-6 is the carcinogenic agent that was cause for the… Read more »

Relief Today Can Cause Future Problems

My experience as a practitioner providing care to dry eye patients has led me to be significantly more cautious about the risk of potential damage to the ocular surface. Nowadays, I am much more judicious when recommending any type of eyelid surgery, especially with patients that have had laser vision correction. The majority of dry… Read more »

Using Technology to Plan Your Year

Why aren’t more people as productive as they should be? Procrastination seems obvious, but is there more to it? People of all ages simply don’t do the things they could potentially do to deliver their highest quality product or service. Why is this? Often, the best product or service is simply the end result of… Read more »

Could Poliovirus Treat Brain Tumors?

Since 2012, medical researchers at Duke University’s Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center have been studying the utility of what was formerly a major threat to the public as the new treatment modality for one of today’s scariest killers. Glioblastoma multiforme is the most common primary brain tumor. Radiation and genetic predisposition are thought to… Read more »

Living Through the Lens Of Loss

Usually, my goal in writing on various subjects in Desert Health® is to mentor, teach, and provide support. This article on loss is coming from a unique perspective, more of a personal view, since my mother passed away April 15 of this year. As I walk through the steps of grief and loss, my hope… Read more »

Neurofeedback: An Effective Tool for Mood Disorders

More than 20% of all Americans, approximately 57 million people, consume prescription drugs intended to treat mental health issues including anxiety, depression, and panic disorders. Developing safe, targeted and effective drugs to treat these conditions has increasingly become a struggle for the pharmaceutical industry. As a result, there has been a gradual withdrawal of research… Read more »

Living Wellness with Jennifer DiFrancesco

Don’t Retire…Just Rewire

A number of incidents in my life recently converged, causing me to examine stages of life, quality of each transition, and my preoccupation with aging. This awareness began after listening to Craig Marshall, a magnetic life coach, deliver a talk entitled ‘Don’t Retire, Just Rewire.’ At 23 years of age, Craig became a yoga monk with… Read more »

Gluten-Free with Tiffany

After a hard workout the body develops tissue inflammation as an immune response to the wear and tear. We don’t question why, nor do we worry whether the pain will go away. How can we explain the millions of people who experience chronic pain each day, uncorrelated to exercise? Dr. Osborne, founder of glutenfreesociety.org, says,… Read more »

Pulse Diagnosis

Feeling a patient’s pulse is a diagnostic technique used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), as well as traditional Tibetan and Indian Ayurveda medicine. Using the pulse to determine body functions, deficiencies or imbalances dates back thousands of years and has changed over the course of time.  Today there are many styles of this diagnostic tool… Read more »

Is Sunscreen Safe?

When the weather gets hot, conversations with patients often turn to which sunscreen is best and whether it’s always necessary. I am even asked if sunscreens can cause – or prevent – cancer.  This may be a surprising question given public awareness regarding the danger of solar radiation and the growth of the sunscreen industry,… Read more »

A Healthy Head of Hair

Why do some people lose their hair early in life? This question is not such a mystery if you understand the factors that contribute to hair loss and how, for some, it is possible to regenerate hair growth. There are 10 commonly known factors that contribute to hair loss: Poor diet Stress Vitamin & mineral… Read more »

Breaking Myths about Stress

Though people want to live a stress-free life, they often falter because of their wrong beliefs. The deeply rooted myths about stress in this society cost people their money, relationships, happiness, and sometimes even their life. With proper knowledge, you can reclaim lost peace, joy and balance in life by breaking those myths. Actions you… Read more »

The Dish on Fat

It seems straightforward. Calories in equal calories out. If we eat less and exercise more, we’ll lose weight. NOT TRUE! The truth is: Eating calories isn’t the same as burning calories. When you eat sugar and refined carbs (bread, pasta, crackers, chips, cereals), an increase in the hormone insulin occurs. This hormone fuels fat cells… Read more »

Rhythm

One of the beauties of life is the repetition of patterns that serve as teachers of life’s great themes. Nature must know that we humans are slow learners and therefore offers us example after example of this important truth: rhythm is a vital component to virtually every part of our existence. Our heart has a… Read more »