Years ago, my older brother had type 2 diabetes which he managed with insulin injections. Eventually his kidneys failed, and after five years of dialysis and multiple secondary complications, he passed. When my brother first told me he had diabetes, it scared me. I knew how it could end and that I was also at… Read more »
Functional Medicine
Your doctor diagnoses high blood pressure or cholesterol, and you await a call from your pharmacy to pick up the prescription you may be on for life. What if instead, you anticipate an email with your newly prescribed 10-day meal plan? You swap reading a long list of side effects for recipes that can address… Read more »
When it comes to your health, do you rely solely on the advice of your primary care physician, or do you also seek input from a natural health provider? If faced with a serious health concern, you’d probably get a second opinion to understand all your options, so why wouldn’t you do the same to… Read more »
What exactly is resonance? You may be familiar with a demonstration that features a vocalist singing a particular note where upon a crystal wine glass breaks into pieces. What actually happens is that the atoms in the glass begin vibrating at a frequency identical to the frequency of the note sung by the vocalist. This… Read more »
A client recently described fibromyalgia as “widespread pain throughout my body which feels like my nerves are on fire.” She further stated, “Myofascial release seems to send a message to my nervous system that says, ‘You are safe.’” Fibromyalgia is a chronic, debilitating condition that affects approximately four million adults per year. It is more… Read more »
Photomedicine Therapy (PMT), more specifically Low Level Light Therapy (LLLT), is the application of red and near infrared light to areas of the body to assist recover from injury or damage. LLLT is different from natural light in that it is one precise color; it is also coherent (travels in a straight line), monochromatic (single… Read more »
When it comes to health care, there are many options of providers and specialists. This is to your advantage, but it can all be so confusing. This article is intended to clarify a few of the different types of medical doctors and common terms. While not an exhaustive list, it is meant to aid you… Read more »
Barbra Angel (Romanowska) is a musical prodigy. As a child, her world was a symphony. Everyday sounds filled her head in a chorus of pitches that made it hard to focus on schoolwork and socializing. She lived in a world of her own which helped save her from the harsh reality of growing up in… Read more »
Microscopic nutrition is the study of your blood, cells and plasma. It offers the opportunity to see how healthy these life liquids are and what is really going on inside your cell body. The process involves a small prick of the finger to obtain a few drops of blood, which is then viewed under a… Read more »
Music has always played a critical role in celebrating cultural traditions, sporting events, holiday celebrations, civil rights protests, and entertainment. Music therapy has been in practice for centuries, but today, is increasingly recognized in the medical community as a treatment for depression, anxiety, and trauma. It is now being administered in hospitals, nursing homes, recovery… Read more »
Cysteine is an amino acid your body uses to create collagen, the major type of protein in connective tissue. Besides building your hair, skin and nails, cysteine helps convert glucose to energy and is a component of glutathione, a powerful antioxidant. Cysteine is classified as “conditionally essential,” meaning your cells can create it if other… Read more »
Youthfulness and longevity is the ultimate health goal, right? It’s no wonder anti-aging supplements and products are popping up everywhere. We all strive to feel and look amazing, but many of these marketed products aren’t backed by scientific research and can potentially be a waste of money. One product that many naturopathic and functional medicine… Read more »
Most people try to avoid surgery or aggressive treatment if possible. Conservative care, which may include physical therapy, occupational therapy, exercise therapy, nutritional counseling, chiropractic, talk therapy, home management and over-the-counter medications, offers less invasive options and may be beneficial as a starting point or in conjunction with more aggressive treatment plans. Conservative care… Read more »
Now more than ever, people are suffering from anxiety. In a time when our normal routine has been turned upside down and the ways in which we typically process our experiences (community, exercise, being outdoors, etc.) are less accessible, this makes complete sense. Let’s zoom out and discuss the perspective that makes up our experiences… 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 »
Blood sugar testing with a glucometer is a great tool for anyone to assess their body’s unique response to food and lifestyle choices. We normally associate blood sugar testing with diabetes, but this tool can be helpful to support health goals such as improving body composition, making exercise and diet changes, identifying your carbohydrate tolerance,… Read more »
Millions of people have been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease and the numbers, which include rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis, eczema, psoriasis and celiac disease to name a few, are increasing rapidly. With so many people affected and very little time and attention offered by traditional medical doctors, most people are left feeling helpless. However,… Read more »
The devastating loss of human life from COVID-19 has recently highlighted the immense power of tiny, invisible microbes to shape our human experience. Microbes are microscopic organisms, including a variety of widely diverse species of bacteria and viruses. Bacterial species are highly adaptable to surviving almost any habitat, be it boiling geysers, the depths of… Read more »
When I created Desert Health 10 years ago, one of the primary objectives was to elevate the work of our valley’s naturopathic doctors. Their philosophy of identifying the root cause of disease versus simply treating symptoms and “whole- person care” approach, taking time to understand and address lifestyle patterns, is significantly more effective than the… Read more »
Sometimes it takes a personal struggle and a hero emerging from it, to teach the rest of us (doctors included) that we can and should do better when it comes to our health. Terry Wahls, MD, founder of the Wahls Protocol, did not seek to practice medicine in a way other than how she was… Read more »
