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 »
In these uncertain times, we are seeing a vast increase in the number of people who constantly feel depressed, anxious and out of balance. Major depressive disorder affects more than 16 million Americans and 40 million adults (1 in 5 people) regularly suffer from anxiety and panic attacks, with irregular heartbeat, shallow breathing, heart attack… Read more »
Nine months after treatment and a year after starting an integrative cancer care protocol, today, I am cancer-free. In January 2019 I was diagnosed with early stage invasive ductal breast cancer and chose to have my tumor frozen versus a lumpectomy or mastectomy. “Cryoablation” as it’s called is much less invasive and my results are… Read more »
Despite the billions of dollars spent on cancer research and treatments, cancer rates continue to skyrocket. It is currently estimated that 1,735,350 new cases of cancer will be diagnosed this year and 609,640 people will die from cancer.1 Approximately 38.4 percent of men and women will be diagnosed with cancer at some point during their… Read more »
With 70 percent of Americans being overweight or obese, most people have excess body fat. Being lean means having low body fat, and many of us with this healthier state are often accused of being underweight. What makes us have excess fat? This is commonly misunderstood. Our genes play a role, but that is generally… Read more »
Editor’s note: The connection between Alzheimer’s and nutrition has been covered often in Desert Health, but as the topic is both new and important, we will continue to publish editorials by a variety of practitioners. Previous articles can be found at here. The statistics around Alzheimer’s disease are highly concerning. Alzheimer’s is the 6th leading… 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 »
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 »
Breast cancer is a common health problem, affecting one out of eight women in the United States. Instead of worrying about whether you are going to get it, or what to do if you have it, be proactive and take breast health into your own hands. An excellent book on this subject is Breast Cancer?… Read more »
In my practice as a nutrition consultant, I am continually trying to support people in their struggle with foods that sabotage their health goals. In my own life I am constantly battling my own “sugar addiction.” Eating and the desire to eat stimulate different mechanisms in the brain. Dopamine, the neurotransmitter I introduced in the… Read more »
Medical aromatherapy (also known as clinical aromatherapy) is a practice that is rapidly gaining acceptance in the medical world. Education, awareness and practice-based evidence have been the drivers behind the emergence of this new aromatic healing paradigm. Each plant-derived essential oil has unique uses, benefits and healing properties, and many oils work synergistically when combined.… Read more »
Really? Hypnosis for dementia? That’s the usual response I get when people first learn I’ve been using hypnosis for people with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease since 1997. In 2007, a lengthy study conducted in the U.K. by Simon Duff, PhD, and Daniel Nightingale, PhD, found that people living with dementia who received hypnosis therapy showed… Read more »
Cannabidiol (CBD) continues to gain attention in orthopedic and health care circles and is used in the treatment of anxiety and chronic pain, as well as other conditions. CBD plays a major corrective function in the endocannabinoid system (ECS), which may make it a viable treatment alternative for people experiencing back or joint pain. What… Read more »
Which came first, the chicken or the egg? This question has a new application for me as I pursue optimal brain function for patients. For most of my “doctor life” I’ve believed brain function to be dependent on the right environment and care – a fragile organ sustained by the right brew of vitamins, nutrients… Read more »
One of the most common chronic maladies affecting people is low thyroid function. Symptoms which bring patients to a doctor may include unexplained weight gain, fatigue, loss of hair and lateral eyebrows, brain fog, feeling cold when others are warm, cold hands and feet, and menstrual irregularities. These symptoms are caused by lack of the… Read more »
Cancer patients and survivors often experience significant problems with pain, fatigue, sleep, stress, anxiety, trauma and grief associated both with the cancer diagnosis and side effects of treatments. Hypnosis can be powerfully effective for the physical, mental and emotional fallout that comes with the disease – and after, when life is often profoundly different. Cancer… Read more »
Siddhartha Mukherjee, MD, an oncology fellow at the time, wrote a detailed biography of cancer in his 2010 book Emperor of All Maladies. In it he reports that early in human history, cancer was a very rare disease. As we all know, cancer has become increasingly common, especially since the industrial revolution. This increase cannot… Read more »
Wellbeing is defined as the state of being comfortable, healthy or happy. In past Desert Health articles, I have discussed aspects of lifestyle to achieve brain health for quality of life; now I’d like to dive a bit deeper into brain chemistry and discuss the importance of dopamine. Dopamine is one of the brain’s neurotransmitters,… Read more »
Fasting is currently one of, if not the, most popular eating pattern these days and is believed to be an important therapeutic tool for longevity. Well-nourished calorie restriction (fasting) can enhance healthy aging in a number of ways. Perhaps most easily observable to the naked eye are reductions in waist circumference and total body fat… Read more »
When I tell people I’m a medical hypnotherapist, I’m usually met with a bewildered look. If you’re like most people, you’ve probably seen stage show hypnosis either in person or on TV and may be wondering if I’ll make you cluck like a chicken—well, only if you really want to cluck like a chicken! The… Read more »