This book is about much more than dogs. Forever dogs, forever people. Authors Karen Shaw Becker, DVM, a functional medicine veterinarian, and Rodney Habib, an internationally-acclaimed pet health leader, are on a mission to save dogs from a life of junk food and poor health practices. Since many people take better care of their dogs… Read more »
Book Reviews
Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art
- A Review by Joseph E. Scherger, MD, MPH
- January/February 2022
Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out…While breathing is instinctual, breathing well is a conscious act. So says science writer James Nestor who, in his illuminating book, Breath (Riverhead Books, 2020) compiles some of the science and complexities of breathing. Breath is filled with thoughts and techniques, as well as product and service recommendations… Read more »
Guapo’s Giant Heart: The True Story of the Calf Who Kept Growing
- Review by Doris Steadman, MEd, MSW
- January/February 2022
Guapo’s Giant Heart is the lovable story of a calf who is adopted into a pet-farm family by caretaker, Lynn Jamerson of Mecca. The true tale illustrates Guapo’s journey as he grows from a cute little calf into an extraordinarily large bovine. Written by Janet Zappala and Wendy Perkins and illustrated by Lara Calleja, the… Read more »
Reflections on Michal Oshman’s What Would You Do If You Weren’t Afraid?
- By Amy Austin, RN, PsyD, LMFT
- November/December 2021
In her new book, Michal Oshman, head of company culture, diversity and inclusion at TikTok Europe and former leadership expert for Facebook, recalls seeing a sign hanging in the reception area on her first day at Facebook that read, What Would You Do If You Weren’t Afraid? The quote really hit home with her at… Read more »
Bredesen’s The First Survivors of Alzheimer’s: How Patients Recovered Life and Hope in Their Own Words
- A Review by Joseph E. Scherger MD, MPH
- November/December 2021
Recovering from Alzheimer’s disease is complicated work. Dale Bredesen, MD shocked much of the world with his first book, The End of Alzheimer’s (2017). The science was clear and published in scientific journals, however, doing the protocol to reverse the disease was not spelled out clearly and was confusing. His second book, The End of… Read more »
Hidden chronic infections are common. They are likely a cause of many inflammatory autoimmune diseases and some Alzheimer’s disease. That is the opinion of Steven Phillips, MD, a Yale-trained general internist in Connecticut who became severely ill and recovered from Lyme disease. Dr. Phillips has dedicated his clinical practice to treating a wide variety of… Read more »
The End of Alzheimer’s Program
- By Joseph E. Scherger, MD, MPH
- July/August 2021
The 2017 book The End of Alzheimer’s by Dale Bredesen, MD caused a sensation. For the first time, there was scientific documentation on a wide scale of the reversal of cognitive decline using lifestyle factors. Bredesen, a research professor of neurology at UCLA and founder of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, first reported… Read more »
Eat to Beat Depression and Anxiety
- By Joseph E. Scherger, MD, MPH
- May/June 2021
Drew Ramsey, MD, a psychiatrist in New York who lives on a family farm in Indiana, introduced me to nutritional psychiatry. I did not realize such psychiatrists existed; it turns out they have international meetings. Leading the way is psychiatrist Daniel Amen, MD, who has authored over 30 books and established more than 7,000 clinics.… Read more »
Dr. Amy’s Inaugural Children’s Book
- Review by Doris Steadman, MEd, MSW
- May/June 2021
Desert Health contributor Amy Austin, RN, PsyD, LMFT has published a warm and educational children’s book based on real characters from her own life. The book tells the story of Shaina, a striking black poodle, and her best friend Chuckles, a llama. The unlikely pair were actual friends and Shaina, a beloved pet of Dr.… Read more »
Link Between Parkinson’s and Pesticides
- By Joseph E. Scherger, MD, MPH
- January/February 2021
Most of us are aware that Alzheimer’s disease is on the rise due to high blood sugars and excessive inflammation. These factors are also related to the rise in overweight, obesity and type 2 diabetes. Less well known is that the frequency of Parkinson’s disease is also on the rise and may be the… Read more »
Time-Restricted Eating: The Key to Good Health?
- By Joseph E. Scherger, MD, MPH
- November/December 2020
When we eat is more important than what we eat. That is the claim of Satchin Panda, PhD, leading expert in circadian rhythm research. Dr. Panda is the founder of the Center for Circadian Biology at the Salk Institute and an adjunct professor at the University of California, San Diego. He has ample research to… Read more »
The Inflammation Spectrum
- A Review by Joseph E. Scherger, MD, MPH
- May/June 2020
Following an anti-inflammatory diet can be confusing. Where do I start? What are the most inflammatory foods? How can I personalize such a diet for the food intolerances I have? Will Cole, DC, a functional medicine expert in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, simplifies this topic in his new book, The Inflammation Spectrum (Avery, 2019). Dr. Cole does… Read more »
The Nature Cure: A Doctor’s Guide to the Science of Natural Medicine
- A Review by Joseph E. Scherger MD, MPH
- November/December 2019
In Germany, doctors must complete medical school and specialty training before they can become trained and certified in naturopathic medicine. Andreas Michalsen, MD, is professor of clinical complementary medicine in Berlin at the largest university hospital in Europe. He is board-certified in internal medicine, emergency medicine, nutritional medicine, and physical medicine and rehabilitation. He has… Read more »
The Art of Dying Well
- A Review by Joseph E. Scherger, MD, MPH
- September/October 2019
Benjamin Franklin said that nothing in this world is certain except death and taxes. Since some people do not pay income taxes, death has become the only certainty. No one gets out of this world alive. Given that inevitability, you would think that all of us would prepare for dying. Unfortunately, that is far from… Read more »
A Review of Ornishes’ UnDo It!
- By Joseph E. Scherger, MD, MPH
- March/April 2019
Dean Ornish and his wife Anne have a formula for achieving great health and avoiding or reversing heart disease and cancer, as well as the risk factors that lead to these. Ornish was the first to show coronary heart disease could be reversed by a very low fat diet (Dr. Dean Ornish’s Program for Reversing… Read more »
Book Review: The Diabetes Code
- By Joseph E. Scherger MD, MPH
- November/December 2018
Author Jason Fung, MD, of the University of Toronto has taken “Ockham’s razor” to simplify the management of type 2 diabetes. William of Ockham (1287-1347) was an English friar and philosopher famous for postulating that with complex problems, the hypothesis with the fewest assumptions is usually correct. In his book The Obesity Code (2016), Dr.… Read more »
An Awakening Walk
- By Lauren Del Sarto
- November/December 2018
Jennifer Johnson was looking for something to lift the weight of negative self-image that had plagued her most of her life. As a desert resident, she had a successful catering business, was a practicing yogi, and had many close friends, but was seeking something more. In March 2015 she first heard about the walk of… Read more »
Are There Genius Foods?
- By Joseph E. Scherger, MD, MPH
- September/October 2018
A young filmmaker and health care journalist, Max Lugavere, teamed with a concierge wellness physician in New York, Paul Grewal, MD, to write Genius Foods: Become Smarter, Happier, and More Productive While Protecting Your Brain for Life (HarperWave, 2018). After reading three detailed books on brain health and nutrition: Brain Maker by David Perlmutter, MD,… Read more »
Food: What the Heck Should I Eat?
- A Review by Joseph E. Scherger, MD, MPH
- July/August 2018
It is important news for the healthy nutrition world when Mark Hyman, MD, comes out with a new book. Dr. Hyman is the director of the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine and chairman of the board of the Institute for Functional Medicine. He practices and directs the UltraWellness Center in Massachusetts and served as… Read more »
A Review of Gundry’s The Plant Paradox
- By Joseph E. Scherger, MD, MPH
- May/June 2018
The Coachella Valley is fortunate to have Steven Gundry, MD, practicing restorative medicine here since 2002. The former head of cardiothoracic surgery at Loma Linda University, he changed careers when he realized the power of nutrition to transform health. I share several patients with Dr. Gundry and they all sing his praises and are grateful… Read more »
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