Shay’s Story: Yoga

Shay Moraga was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer at the beginning of 2016 and shares her journey with Desert Health® readers in an ongoing column… If a cancer diagnosis has changed your life like it has mine, then you have been immediately thrown into the world of doctors, treatments, surgeries, fears, and overwhelming opinions… Read more »

Holding Space: The What and The How

Recently, there was another school shooting. There was tragic loss of life and the unbearable grief that family members, friends, classmates and colleagues have had to endure. My mentor’s wife went to that high school and is now watching her high school classmates suffer imaginable loss. The grief and disbelief is palpable and left my… Read more »

Spring: Time to Find Balance

Does life ever feel as though you’re sitting on a giant swing? Flying through the air to hit a peak, rushing back toward the earth just to rise up into another peak? Does it ever feel like this giant swing represents all of the emotional ups and downs you experience? If you have had these… Read more »

Extracting Heavy Metal Toxicity

Heavy metal exposure is a growing health concern worldwide due to multiple industrial, domestic, agricultural, medical and technological uses which have affected the worldwide environment. Their toxicity depends on several factors including the dose, route of exposure, length of exposure, as well as the age, gender, genetics and nutritional status of the exposed individuals. Because… Read more »

Living Wellness with Jennifer

The Power of a Pen Pal on Health and Wellbeing

Who could have predicted the power of the first letter written by Shelley Sachs from Central Washington in 1968? A pen-pal letter, written by Shelley in sixth grade, secured a connection, which has lasted fifty years, with Gloria Alvarez who resides in Indian Wells. The first letter written landed in an elementary school in Miami,… Read more »

The Wellness Room

There is a positive trend taking place across the country as more and more of us start to understand – and honor – the importance of preventive health. It’s the addition of wellness spaces conveniently located where people are most likely to use them – at home and work. Realizing that happy and healthy employees… Read more »

Understanding the Use of Marijuana

With the passing of Proposition 64 this past November, marijuana (aka cannabis) is now legal in California with some restrictions, depending on local and municipal guidelines. Marijuana is still considered illegal under Federal law. Despite records dating back 4,700 years documenting medicinal uses of marijuana, no one knew how it worked until 1964 when a… Read more »

New Nutritional Labels Aid Shoppers

In 2016, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) formally announced that the Nutrition Facts Label would have its first significant makeover in over 20 years. Originally, the compliance date was set for July 2018; yet the FDA recently stated that the deadline was extended with no new date offered. The new changes have been… Read more »

RAW or COOKED?

Why do some choose a raw food diet? Eating raw means food is not cooked over 116 degrees.  When foods are cooked, the natural enzymes in foods that are most beneficial to our gut and bodies become inactive.  This applies to any plant- or meat-based natural food; however, eating raw meat is not advised.  Most… Read more »

How to Tame Your Lizard Brain

Did you know that a lizard may be controlling you and trying to prevent your success? Until you learn to recognize and tame this reptilian part of your brain, it will be difficult to achieve all the goals you desire. Your Lizard Brain is the part of your brain that wants to prevent you from… Read more »

The Six Pillars of Brain Health

This is the fifth of a six-part series on brain health from Deborah Schrameck, NC, PT, of the Eisenhower Wellness Institute. Preceding articles may be found here. In the last few years of my grandmother’s life she complained that food “just didn’t taste good” and that she really wasn’t hungry. This is a common complaint… Read more »

Healthy Cocktails for the New Year

The holiday season focuses on family and friends and goes hand-in-hand with another helping of dessert and just one more glass of wine. Do you need a cleanup from the extra holiday cheer? Start your New Year’s detox with a different kind of cocktail. IV nutrient cocktails can rev up your metabolism, pump up your… Read more »

Try Essential Oils Before Drugs

For nearly a century, antibiotics have been used to control bacteria that can make us sick. But in recent decades, bacteria have evolved to be resistant to some or all known antibiotics. These are called “superbugs,” with MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphlococcus aureus) being the best known. Certain strains of tuberculosis, pneumonia, gonorrhea and diarrheal diseases also… Read more »

The Benefits of B12

Vitamin B shots are popping up all over. You can now get injections in doctors’ offices, weight loss clinics, and even health food stores. This article answers some frequently asked questions about this popular therapy to help you to decide if vitamin B shots are right for you. What is vitamin B12 good for? Vitamin… Read more »