Although I am very fortunate to have never experienced a migraine headache, I treat a significant number of people who are debilitated by them regularly. In fact, almost 20% of American women suffer from migraines.
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If you’re a TV channel surfer, no doubt you heard the latest news released throughout the media this weekend – food allergies are becoming more common and more severe based on a large, patient reported research study out of Northwestern University this month.
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90 Day Shred is still going strong! For most of our members, this is their second time doing the 90 day Shred with us. With Phase I behind us, their results are fantastic!
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In response to Kathie’s comments on The Power of Poop post: Unfortunately, many conventional medicine ‘experts’ do not place an emphasis on the therapeutic potency of functional elimination through the colon, kidney, skin and liver. The liver and colon play a critical role in the removal of fat soluble toxins
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Yes, I said it. Poop. Not only did I just say it, I make it a point to say it in every, single one of my Living Wellness University lectures- whether it is about the digestive system or it’s about your hormones- it applies and is critical to your health. This guarded act of defecation has somehow become such a secret affair for adults..
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The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has released new advice regarding the view our little kiddos should have during the first two years of life (in the car that is). In the April 2011 issue of Pediatrics, the AAP is now advising that we should keep children under the age of 2 in a rear-facing car seat or ‘until they reach the maximum height and weight for their seat’.
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Ken was was your typical 50 year old man – enjoyed a good meal, relaxed with a few beers on the weekends, not very physically active and carrying around an extra 20-30 lbs. He recalls being diagnosed with high cholesterol ‘a few years back.’
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Earlier this month, researchers published the results of a study designed to understand if adults with children are healthier than adults without children. Before I get into the details, ask yourself….were you healthier before you had children?
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Last week the LA Times featured an article that caught my eye. It wasn’t a feature story by any means, but it jumped right off the page at me (or computer screen in my case). The article was titled, “If Food Addiction Exists, Blame The Brain – Not The Cookies”.
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In the Land of Primary Care there are a few medical diagnoses that really scare people like diabetes, and rightfully so. Most people may not realize it is an inflammatory disease caused by poor blood sugar management. (If you haven’t heard the latest buzzword in medicine called ‘inflammation,’ you better understand it soon.)
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Why is it so hard to believe that a specific food could be the cause of so many of your health problems? This is the question I pose to patients day in and day out. As a patient of an integrative or functional medicine doctor,
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"These days, our culture encourages patients to find a doctor who understands their needs best, and to seek out treatment that best suits them", health experts say.
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Way to go 90 Day Shredders!!!! Your dedication to this program is overwhelming! Cheryl, Lynn and I are thrilled to be your instructors guiding you through such significant changes and we can already see major strength gains in every single one of you!
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It’s strawberry season here in Florida. Having lived in San Francisco for 10 years, I used to believe that California strawberries were the best. My husband and I used to stop right in front of the Watsonville Farm for strawberries that were picked first thing that morning. Sounds like heaven right? It was….until I had a Plant City Strawberry!
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What an amazing week for the 90 Day Shred at the Center for Living Wellness. Kudos to everyone in our 6am and 6:30pm groups! Every ‘Shredder’ has had perfect attendance this first week and based on the class energy, I’m expecting nothing less for the next 83 days!! The most exciting part of this is how all walks of life are represented here.
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The motives of pharmaceutical companies have always been a polarizing debate amongst patients and physicians alike. These massive institutions have the capacity to wield a tremendous amount of good with their mega-monster capabilities in research and development. Of course, with that comes an equally seismic cost that must be reclaimed somehow.
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I’m an ‘all in’ kind of person. When I decide I’m going to accomplish a goal, it takes over my life completely. I buy books about the topic, bookmark websites, basically throw myself into it 150%! But, like most ‘All Inners’ like myself, that level of dedication doesn’t last very long.
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As a family that deals with a few food allergies, I find navigating theme park restaurants with food allergies or sensitivities can be incredibly frustrating, however, over the last year or so, Disney Parks are making great headway at catering to those with food allergies.
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The suffering caused by the terribly violent events in Tucson, Arizona bring into focus the desperate need of our society to focus on a solution to this type of behavior. When we forget that we are all simply the same 'human' creatures, made of the same organs, feeling the same happiness and avoiding the same suffering, we tend to lose our 'humanity.'
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Should doctors be held to a higher standard of healthy living as they are mentors, advisors and leaders to their patients on these matters of disease prevention and management? If you saw your oncologist smoking a cigarette out back or your cardiologist chugging down a sugary soda with his greasy burger, would your confidence and respect waiver?
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"Watson Pharmaceuticals has just been granted FDA approval for a chewable low-strength birth control pill." When I first heard of this, I thought it was a joke! A birth control for people who can't swallow pills?
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It may come as no surprise that I consider myself a work in progress. I am the kind of friend that wants to hear criticism and thoroughly enjoys being critiqued by those who know me well. So naturally, during this busy time of the year, I'm working on something. Right now, I'm focusing on staying present and mindful as much as possible.....not just ho-hum 'present and mindful' but really PRESENT AND MINDFUL!
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Oh yes...it's that time of year! A traditional time of overindulgence that begins with Thanksgiving and continues through to the New Year. Maybe it starts with not making the time to fit in exercise. Maybe it starts with that first delicious bite of pumpkin pie and carries you through the final toast on New Year's Eve.
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My husband's cousin is visiting from India and the topic of what I do always seems to get some good conversations and questions rolling. Believe me, I know it's not because of me. It's because the concept of being healthy makes everyone reflect on their own personal performance and curious about what they could be doing to get some more health in their day to day life.
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I had another amazing experience at the office today. A 77 year old woman came to us just a few months ago with arthritis, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, acid reflux and prediabetes- not to mention her obesity.
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I was reading an article in the New York Times November 28, 2010 edition tonight and found a catchy title that obviously had me at 'Junking.' The title, "Junking Junk Food" did not prepare me, however, for the subject matter- should politicians be involved with the food choices that Americans make.
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Now, let's get back to the idea that soy acts like estrogen. Our bodies produce three different types of estrogen: estrone, estradiol and estriol. They are called E1, E2 and E3 respectively. E2 the most powerful form of estrogen which, when out of balance, can cause or worsen health challenges.
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One of the biggest debates in the health food-minded world today surrounds the use of soy and soy derived products. Some extol the benefits of soy ranging from healthier skin to breast cancer prevention, while others condemn the bean as a key contributor to hormone-related cancers. How can one little legume stir up so much controversy?
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Did you know that most people have a natural dip in their blood pressure (BP) while they are sleeping? Yeah, it can drop up to 20-30 mm Hg. The real benefit is that when your blood pressure drops, your blood vessels and your heart don't have to work as hard.
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How many times have you heard the terms "fish oil," "omega 3," or "omega 3 fatty acid" being plastered in health bulletins or recommendations lately? If you are paying any attention, it's everywhere! Why? Because there is so much excitement over the prospect of these 'good fats' in helping prevent and treat the #1 killer of Americans today- heart disease.
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The connection between the health of your brain and the health of your heart is irrefutable. It will take some time until scientists comb through the data to decide whether or not they will change "The Guidelines." These are the commandments that physicians will follow as they work to guide you in your disease management.
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Addiction is a word that conjures up many images- usually of the heroin addict, the alcoholic or the chain smoker. But have you ever thought about whether or not you might have an addiction to something less melodramatic? Did you ever think that your attachment to your coffee was something more than your love for a hot, comforting liquid?
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Some of the most important additions to my team are midlevel practitioners. Physician assistants and nurse practitioners, as they are more commonly known, have long been involved in helping physicians take care of patients in a meaningful way.
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We care for a patient who suffered from panic attacks, social anxiety, tremor, weakness, pain, headaches, muscle pains and the list goes on. She had made countless attempts to correct these symptoms by a variety of 'natural' methods before coming to see us. Before that, she had tried the conventional way, seeing specialists, trying lists of medications.
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Dr. Donald Abrams, Integrative Oncologist at the University of California San Franscisco, enjoys exploring and analyzing the integrative research to find additional options (AKA hope) for cancer patients. One simple recommendation (simple to understand, a little more complex to implement)- avoid sugar and red meat. Sugar and red meat feed cancer.
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As you well know, they don't always have fame and fortune for easy identification. One night, I was having one of those thought-changing talks with my brother-in-law (affectionately called Jijaji). Outwardly, he is a health-conscious, Harvard educated physicist living a simple life, doing the things he loves, surrounded by those he loves.
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Did you know that a newborn's developing immune system relies on certain bacteria from the environment getting into the body during the birthing process to become strong and balanced? When a baby is born through the vaginal canal, there are certain friendly bacteria that live in the vagina that get into and take residence in (inoculate) the baby's digestive system at that time.
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One important aspect of Vitamin D is its interconnectedness with a strong immune system. Well, this is the time of year when your immune system is of prime importance, right? Sure, this is when all the flus, colds, pneumonias, sinus infections, bronchitis' and everything else snotty, phlegmy and achy start to plague people with more and more momentum.
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Running. How do people do this activity for minutes and hours on end in one day? And then when you think they had all that time to think about what they were doing step after step after step, these runner people wake up the next day and do it again!!! "Amazing," I used to think.
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There is one word that strikes fear in the hearts of every diabetic that I have ever diagnosed in my office. One word that conjures up images of needles, syringes, blood, pricking yourself day in and day out, chasing high blood sugars and low blood sugars to avoid the dismal future of uncontrolled diabetes.
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More and more, I find women are apprehensive about starting medications for osteoporosis or osteopenia. The most common of these pharmaceuticals, called bisphosphonates, include popular brands like Fosamax, Boniva, and Actonel.
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One area of interest that is particularly a passion for AzCIM's founder, Dr. Andrew Weil, is the world of mental health. An excerpt from my Fellowship Training in Integrative Medicine was one that I think will really make you rethink your "just 1-2 cups of coffee a day" safe-place.
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For the record, I want to state up front that not every food that passed through my family is organic. I, like most of you, make decisions and prioritize my organic dollar. I know that there are some of you that exclusively purchase organic foods.
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Not a day goes by in our Integrative Medicine office that we don't see a "unexpected" manifestation of allergies. Most patients think that allergies are something that many people get because things like pollen, dust and other environmental allergens are unavoidable. What they don't always know is that having an allergy problem is having an immune system problem.
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It's been a long week at the office with plenty of excitement. It's rewarding on most days and occasionally emotionally draining on others. But today, I wanted to share a pull-at-your-heartstrings type of visit that I had.
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You're probably thinking, "Why is this a dreaded topic?" Well, the answer is pretty simple. I don't believe in pointing the finger or calling out another person, practice or company. Rather, tolerance helps battle negative emotions, a negative mind & spirit and the consequent unhealthy body (but that's another topic).
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So, let's talk about the Global & Environmental Impact of organic farming. In January, 2010 the USDA reported that 93.7 million cows live in the US. Some are dairy cows and others will make their way to our dinner tables. The US consumes over 33 million of these cows annually.
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The first key factor we'll consider is one that appeals to me both as a physician and mother of two beautiful children. That factor is Chemical Toxins. First off, what is a 'Chemical Toxin," you may ask?
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In the last twenty years, Americans have been a part of a fast-growing movement. It's a movement so strong that even the nation's largest food companies and retailers could not overlook it.
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Dinnertime at my house was always different as compared to the typical house in Suburbia, USA. As Asian Indians, we ate a vegetarian diet complete with grains, veggies, legumes and yoghurt. We ate with our hands and did many things just as my ancestors did.
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Working in an Integrative Medicine practice, I encounter many patients with high cholesterol and a resistance to taking certain cholesterol lowering medications. Statins, including popular names like Lipitor, Zocor, Vytorin, Crestor and generic medications ending in -statin, have been associated with liver damage and muscle pain which have sparked patient concerns.
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A well-informed mother brought her 18 month old daughter in for a routine well check. Her daughter was diagnosed with a dairy allergy as a young infant and she was working hard to reduce/eliminate dairy from her daughter's diet. Surprisingly, the daycare was reluctant to let Mom bring in a special lunch for her every day.
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As a first born Asian Indian American growing up in New York City, I never spoke a word of English until I began school. Naturally, my parents spoke to me in our mother tongue and conducted day to day life as authentically Indian as they could in a new country.
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Pap smear testing has come a long way. Hopefully, your doctor is still not smearing your cells on a slide and spraying a fixative on it. If you see a little liquid-filled vial on the counter, your doctor is likely with the times.
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You might have read my latest blog and just maybe you wondered if you were low in Vitamin D. If you didn't wonder, then let me say it again because chances are, you are low!
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Vitamin D is one of the "hottest" avenues of research in allopathic medicine* today. There is increasing physician and patient awareness about having the right vitamin D level for optimal health. Interestingly, vitamin D, the vitamin we get from the sun, is shockingly low in most patients. Of course you might not be surprised if I said nearly the whole state of Minnesota is vitamin D deficient, but could you absorb it if I said to you that I practice in sunny Florida and over 75% of my patients are low in vitamin D.
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If you've read Michael Pollan's work, you may already know how, decades ago, Americans were emphatically urged to cut fat out of their diet in order to avoid heart disease. The promise: the more foods you converted to low fat and nonfat versions, the better your health would be. The food industry had invented many processed foods that would improve your "well-being."
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Summer is here and it's time for America's favorite past-times- outdoor barbeques, trips to the beach and pool parties. Wherever you go, the motto is to do it up! Big, cheesy burgers, mounds of deep fried chips, liters of sugary sodas, artificially colored popsicles and towers of brownies flood the picnic table. We justify this as OK because summer is for fun, a time to reward ourselves with treats. I use the word "treats" loosely because the word itself implies we don't get them often. But here's the real 365 day calendar most party people follow before the Summer-o-Excess even begins.
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Integrative Medicine, Alternative Medicine, Natural Medicine, Holistic Medicine- many people are confused about the differences between these words but people are not confused about what they want from their doctor in concept. Integrative Medicine combines the knowledge of Western medicine practiced with alternative and complementary types of healing usually based on Eastern medical sciences.
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