Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is an inflammation of the liver caused by an accumulation of fat deposits in liver tissue. Today, “fatty liver” closely mirrors the global epidemics of obesity and type 2 diabetes. Since its first description in the early 1980s as “a poorly understood and hitherto unnamed liver disease,” NAFLD is now… Read more »
Integrative Medicine
Last month, brain health was top of mind at the annual Institute for Functional Medicine conference. It was discussed that, while it has been a generally accepted scientific fact that the human brain is incapable of growing new brain cells, we now know that brain cells do continue to grow throughout one’s lifetime with the… Read more »
This last month, the American Heart Association released a Presidential Advisory titled, “Dietary Fats and Cardiovascular Disease.” You may have seen attention-grabbing headlines such as, “ Coconut Oil Isn’t Healthy. It’s never been healthy,” or, “Health Alert: Coconut Oil is Just as Bad as Butter and Beef Fat, Heart Docs Say.” Obviously, the controversy about… Read more »
The Microbiome Solution is not your ordinary diet book. It’s more of an education in how our bodies work and how we can impact them to produce better health. Health expert and author Dr. Robynne Chutkan honed the information she shares in the book through observation, trial and error in her practice as an integrative… Read more »
The dog days of summer are upon us as we have just passed the summer solstice here in the northern hemisphere. What this means for us year-round desert rats is long hours of daylight, soaring temperatures, fewer crowds and open roads. Just as winter draws people into hibernation, our summer does something quite similar. We… Read more »
We may take better care with our car tires than our feet. We rotate the tires regularly; we switch them out with uneven wear and also replace them at a certain mileage. For the average adult, the 100,000 milestone for the feet comes around the age of 50, according to the American Podiatric Medical Association. … Read more »
When a loved one is diagnosed with cancer, is going through treatment, or has passed away from cancer, the children and teens in the family may experience a range of emotions that they have never had to deal with before. Because each child responds in his or her own unique way, it is crucial that… Read more »
Stability and mobility are the cornerstones of functional movement. Joint mobility is defined as the degree to which an articulation (where two bones meet) is allowed to move before being restricted by surrounding tissues; joint stability is defined as the ability to maintain or control joint movement or position. Stability is achieved by coordinating actions… Read more »
Erectile dysfunction (ED) affects as many as 30 million American men, including 30 to 50 percent of men between the ages of 40 and 70. There are multiple causes including medications, chronic illness, poor blood flow to the penis due to plaque and calcification or vessel damage, excessive alcohol consumption and other lifestyle factors. Until… Read more »
How do we reverse the chronic disease epidemic plaguing our country? Indio High teacher, Jason Tate, says to start with the next generation. He knows the value first hand. Over the past ten years, he has been teaching the biology of nutrition and recently created a Health & Wellness Academy at Indio High where pre-med… Read more »
Pillar One: Social Interactions Have you watched, or are you caring for, someone you love suffering from declining brain function, dementia or Alzheimer’s disease? Watching my grandmother, better known to all as “Nan,” decline to the point where she didn’t recognize me was heartbreaking and motivating. Loss of our brain health and function is a… Read more »
Shingles, also known as the herpes zoster, is a painful viral disease that causes skin rash and blisters appearing only on one side of the body along the peripheral nerve in a type of stripe. The outbreak is very painful, and the goal is to clear the condition quickly – something that proper diet can… Read more »
Do you ever feel overwhelmed? Whether it is because of the number of tasks on my to-do list, or the complexity of a situation, I sometimes find myself feeling frozen because of the multitude of things to do. Because of my work in health education, I am frequently explaining how systems of the body work… Read more »
Today, more than 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease. A new case of Alzheimer’s disease is diagnosed every 66 seconds. By mid-century, the number of people living with Alzheimer’s disease in the United States is projected to grow to 13.8 million. Between 2000 and 2013, deaths resulting from stroke, heart disease, and prostate… Read more »
The human body is approximately 70-80% water. Water is the basis of who you are and how healthy you are. Your cells are composed of water, and that water is what the body uses to wash itself internally. We all know that drinking water is healthy, but this statement can be misleading. Drinking pure, clean… Read more »
When we strive for peak performance or simply want to help combat the aging effects, muscle maintenance is one area of fitness that needs attention. However, there is more to it than just strengthening sessions and increasing weights at the gym. Communication between your brain and your muscles is an important factor to consider, and… Read more »
We all long for a doctor who takes the time to listen to our true concerns: someone wise enough to have answers, but open to others’ ideas; someone we can count on in good health and bad, a partner in our personal care. And while the movement towards integrative medicine and complementary modalities encourages whole… Read more »
Five exabytes of data were created between the birth of the world and 2003. In 2013, statistics show us that 5 exabytes of content are created every day. To put this into perspective, 5 exabytes of data is the equivalent of all the words ever spoken by mankind. The way that we share information is… Read more »
What if you could share your experience of being diagnosed with and treated for cancer–including the emotions you felt and how you coped–and that sharing could contribute to research that will improve the lives of others? Well, you can, through a valuable online resource called the Cancer Experience Registry. As a cancer survivor who just… Read more »
Often we use the word “balance” to describe the illusive horizon of a happy, healthy life. When our priorities are out of order, or we are feeling drained of energy, we think, “I need more balance,” or “My life is out of balance.” I propose that balance may not be what we are truly seeking.… Read more »