Probiotics have really stepped into the spotlight in the past few years. New research linking gut health and pathologies like depression is proving what naturopathic doctors have been saying for a long time – the gut-brain connection is not to be ignored. By extension, gut health is of prime importance. To be clear, probiotics are… Read more »
Integrative Medicine
The What and Why of Support Groups
- By Litsa Mitchell, LMFT
- March/April 2016
Support groups are made up of people with common interests and experiences. People who have been or are going through a similar circumstance can do more than sympathize with you—they can truly understand your thoughts, feelings and questions. Often, people who have been through what you’re going through have fewer judgments about what you “should”… Read more »
Peyronie’s Disease and Modern Stem Cell Therapy
- By Elliot B. Lander, MD, FACS
- March/April 2016
Peyronie’s disease (PD) is a curvature of the penis that is sometimes painful and can interfere with sexual function. It is an acquired condition of abnormal fibrous tissue overgrowth of one of the inner layers enveloping of the body of the penis. In other words, the covering of the elastic dual chambers that make up… Read more »
Robert hadn’t even celebrated his 30th birthday when he was told he had months to live…or a few years at best…and that he should get his affairs in order. Just as he’d barely begun a promising career and had been settling into a life he loved, everything was suddenly turned upside down. Robert’s doctors still… Read more »
Probiotic, micro-biome, gut-brain axis, leaky gut, food intolerance…these words have become more common in the past few years, and yet there is a lot of confusion about what is going on with our gut. We used to think of the gut or gastrointestinal tract as a somewhat indestructible channel through the body that had no… Read more »
Is Rejuvenation Biology the Future of Wellness?
- By Joseph E. Scherger, MD, MPH
- March/April 2016
Human biology is changing rapidly. Just as Moore’s law was applied to the exponential growth of computer technology 50 years ago, experts now believe that human biology has started a period of exponential change following the mapping of the human genome and new technologies to understand how life works. Rejuvenation biology is a growing medical… Read more »
Desert AIDS Project believes in the body’s ability to care for itself and offers a variety of programs that aid that process. World AIDS Day on December 1 was a time to remind clients, volunteers, board members, and donors that D.A.P. offers comprehensive compassionate care to treat the body and the soul. On this holiday… 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 »
Cryopreservation of Your Own Stem Cells
- By Elliot B. Lander, MD, FACS
- January/February 2016
Autologous (your own) stem cells from fat have been used for repair and regeneration on an investigational basis for various degenerative conditions including orthopedic, urologic, neuro-degenerative, cardiac and auto-immune diseases. These cell therapy procedures are generally performed on an outpatient basis and involve the use of cells from liposuction fat that are prepared on the… Read more »
Advances in Stem Cell Therapy
- By Elliot B. Lander, MD, FACS & Mark H. Berman, MD, FACS
- November/December 2015
Stem cell science took a giant leap forward when it was discovered that there are literally millions of stem cells lying in the collagen matrix of your fat sitting just under the skin and easily accessible by a simple outpatient liposuction procedure. The harvested fat is processed in the operating room into a mixture of… Read more »
It’s that time of year again, and flu shots are being offered at every pharmacy and doctor’s office. Vaccine safety is a controversial topic, dividing people into pro- or anti-vaccine groups, and stifling individual choice. U.S. Law has defined vaccines as “unavoidably unsafe.”1 Based on current evidence, I believe that there are no safe vaccines,… Read more »
Before losing her battle with cervical cancer, Tracy Lane of La Quinta and her husband Derek started a foundation to further Tracy’s final mission in life: to generate awareness for the importance of regular Pap smears to ensure other young women would be spared her fate. Tracy passed in August 2013, but her work and… Read more »
Fatigue Is Your Friend
- By Darren FX Clair, MD
- November/December 2015
Who is the better friend-the person who doesn’t tell you that you have food between your teeth when you are about to give a speech or the one who lets you know and thereby saves you from embarrassment? For me, a good friend lets you know when something is wrong, even if it may be… Read more »
Understanding the HCG Diet Program and the Importance of Phase 2
- By Darren FX Clair, MD
- September/October 2015
The HCG Diet is a much talked about plan for weight loss. There are many professionals and successful dieters who favor it, as well as professionals who have questioned its effectiveness. Knowing what the HCG diet program entails, you will be better able to decide whether it is for you. The underlying purpose of this… Read more »
Eliminating Diabetes – Diseases of Mal-nutrition
- By Joseph E. Scherger, MD, MPH
- September/October 2015
Diabetes mellitus is a group of diseases that have in common an elevated blood sugar. They are disorders of carbohydrate metabolism. The frequency of diabetes has increased exponentially since 1980 along with the increase in overweight and obesity, and emerging scientific evidence points to malnutrition (not the starvation type, but rather eating the wrong foods)… Read more »
As discussed in this issue, the bacteria in our gut are essential to our health. They perform important functions and even have a compelling impact on our mental health and general brain function. And they are normally present in our gut throughout the large and small intestine, but in very different amounts. The large intestine… Read more »
Recently, I was privileged to train with a leading brain specialist who repeatedly reviewed with our team that the brain always does the best it can with the resources it has available. She demonstrated clinical examples how water intake, excellent nutrition, sleep, and listening to body cues alter brain function. Brain disorders affect 1 in… Read more »
Bacteria That’s Good For You
- By Pam Salvadore
- July/August 2015
It’s a fact that the brain controls the body, but what controls the brain? In his new book, Brain Maker, David Perlmutter, MD, describes an emerging field of science that contends that the gut controls the health of the body, including the health of the brain. As you may recall from Dr. Perlmutter’s first book… Read more »
The “Dietary Guidelines for Americans” are revised every five years to fulfill a mission of identifying foods and beverages that support Americans in achieving and maintaining a healthy weight, promoting health and preventing disease. The 2015 Guidelines reflect “two fundamental realities. First, about half of all American adults – 117 million individuals – have one… Read more »
Understanding Addiction
- By Suzanne Jessee MA, CHt
- July/August 2015
Every day in millions of homes throughout the country, those who love another addicted to drugs or alcohol asks, “Why are they addicted?” “Why can’t they just stop?” “Don’t they see what it’s doing to them – and to me?” “Why doesn’t treatment work for us?” These are sincere and valid questions about the insidious… Read more »