Does it seem like the advice on how and what to eat swings from one extreme to another? One perspective says avoid fat, the other says fat won’t hurt you. A headline warns about the dangers of red meat and another says you need more protein. Unfortunately, this confusing barrage is likely to continue, and… Read more »
Has it been challenging for you to maintain a positive outlook this summer? I’ve been struggling. It seems like the outlook nationally is ominous; it’s hot and not as thrilling to be outside and I’ve allowed the economy to add to feeling constricted and scarce. These are not the feelings I like to have. They… Read more »
We have been hearing a lot about the benefits of intermittent fasting as decreased inflammation and weight loss often accompany eating less or eating in less hours of the day. The main reason this works is because of autophagy (“aa-TAA-fuh-jee”), which is the self-cleaning our body does when we have fasted more than 10 hours.… Read more »
The gift of choice is what makes us human. The psychologist Albert Bandura wrote extensively about our free will to choose and described our human choice as “agency.” In his words, agency refers to the human capability to influence one’s functioning and the course of events by one’s actions. In our health experiences it is… Read more »
Has it been a difficult season for you? Several friends and I have had extra curveballs thrown our way, and together we are searching for hope amidst hardship. When the going gets tough, sometimes it feels as if all reserves are exhausted. That makes this a good time to tune in to your own very… Read more »
When challenges occur, we often imagine getting “through” the hard times and then getting “back to normal.” Our society has hoped for this as we have lived with the pandemic, and I had imagined this with my cancer experience over the past 15 months. It has been a surprise to me that the time after… Read more »
In August, I received a scary phone call. My mom was on her way to the hospital with symptoms of a stroke. Thankfully her symptoms fully resolved, and all of the testing showed no damage, but we were all shaken. One of my sisters asked the question, “What made this happen?” This question recurs over… Read more »
Over the years of partnering with patients on brain health and the prevention of dementia, I have seen amazing restoration of health and brain clarity. Through lifestyle changes and dedication to addressing whole-system health, it is possible to stop brain decline and continue active engagement in life. It has been a beautiful extension of this… Read more »
Spring is often a reminder of the annual cleaning of our homes, but what about our bodies? We accumulate environmental by-products and toxins throughout our lives, and over time, we carry a load of unwanted baggage that may take special attention to eradicate. I’m noticing that most of my patients have toxins hidden away in… Read more »
Do you have mixed feelings about going “back to normal?” The past year has required many changes to our routines and socialization. The pandemic precautions included the cessation of so many activities. We stopped going to school. We stopped eating out. We stopped exercising in gyms or studios. We stopped gathering at church. We stopped… Read more »
I’ve been doing a deep dive on how thoughts create reality. During my quest toward personal health, I have been learning how Eastern cultures view disease as originating in the soul. This concept takes healing to a whole new level! When I was diagnosed with cancer, I began asking myself the question, “What needs to… Read more »
It now seems cliché to say that 2020 has brought unexpected challenges. We have all adapted to the constant of change. Personally, my biggest change was a diagnosis of bilateral breast cancer. Initially, I responded with calm analysis, keeping reality at arms-length by “doing” what needed to be done. I made a notebook, set up… Read more »
2020 has been challenging. These months of sheltering in place, cessation of our normal social activities and extra worry have increased anxiety and stress. In addition, there is a sense of uncertainty along with an extra expenditure of effort to get things done. Whether you have been working harder than previously or isolated from your… Read more »
Living through a pandemic raises our awareness of the importance of our immune system. In preventing illness, there are generally two main principles: Don’t get it in the first place; Have a strong defense system in place to fight the intruder and render it inactive. We have rapidly transitioned to behaviors that address the first… Read more »
Our bodies are well designed to sort everything we encounter into a beneficial input to be absorbed and utilized or a useless or toxic input to be repelled or eliminated. From the food we eat and the air we breathe to organisms we encounter, these systems are robustly built to protect us and allow us… Read more »
As I write this column, I’m sick at home. It is a rare day that I don’t push through and go to work, but as I continued to chill and sweat through the night, I knew I had to cancel my clinic day and just stay in bed. This doesn’t sound newsworthy but hear me… Read more »
I looked down at my toes as I lay in the restorative yoga pose and noticed one pant-leg pulled up on my shorter leg, accentuating the way I was born. My right leg is an inch shorter than my left leg and so my body has compensated. My back curves to balance above uneven hips.… Read more »
Brain adaptation is key to our survival. Our unconscious mind processes millions of data bits per second, and our ability to “think about our thinking” is one of the features that makes humans unique among mammals. Much of the time our brain adaptation is beneficial, but in many cases preserving our physical existence comes at… Read more »
It is expected that 45 million Americans will develop Alzheimer’s in their lifetime. Once viewed only as a slow and suffering death sentence, science has now demonstrated that cognitive decline can be prevented – and reversed – by identifying contributing factors and prescribing lifestyle and supplementation. With Alzheimer’s, western medicine has largely focused on identifying… Read more »
Most of us love traditions. As I write these words, I have just finished cleaning up the final dishes from our Thanksgiving holiday, with family and friends gathered around a bountiful table and expressing gratitude. I’m for tradition as much as anyone. However, there are places that tradition is harmful. In western medicine, the desire… Read more »