Common Medical Maladies
Read more about Common Medical Maladies and how they can be properly diagnosed and how to seek the get the proper treatment to help you improve the quality of life.
You are… how old?
I review medical histories before I meet a new patient because I like to hit the ground running. I also think if a patient takes the time to fill out a form, then I should give it my full attention. This week I read the history of a typical middle age man. He complained of …
Do You Feel Broken After Pregnancy?
Common Problems After Pregnancy In my practice, I commonly encounter women who developed a number of physical problems that seemed to start after pregnancy. In spite of consultations with their primary care doctors and multiple specialists, women are told that “everything is normal” and sent on their way with a few prescriptions to dampen their …
How Pregnancy Changes a Woman’s Brain
We know a lot about the links between a pregnant mother’s health, behavior, and moods and her baby’s cognitive and psychological development once it is born. But how does pregnancy change a mother’s brain? “Pregnancy is a critical period for central nervous system development in mothers,” says psychologist Laura M. Glynn of Chapman University. “Yet …
Diarrhea, Urgent Stools and Bacterial Overgrowth Syndrome
Bacteria and Our Intestinal Tract Our intestinal tract is home to billions of bacteria which are made up of 35,000-50,000 different strains. Each strains of bacteria has the potential of producing a unique chemical that may influence how our body functions. This mass of life is only beginning to be recognized as a potential factor …
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Do You Have Trouble Concentrating?
Psychologists are finding out that even when people try to focus on a task they tend to lose concentration within 40 minutes, and sometimes as little as 10 minutes. The studies are based on a new technique, called transcranial Doppler sonography, that uses ultrasound to monitor blood flow velocity in the brain. The technique could …
Proton-Pump Inhibitor Therapy Induces the Symptoms it Is Used to Treat
Many individuals are placed on medications called proton-pump inhibitors (Nexiun, Prilosec, Aciphex) by their physicians for heartburn. These drugs do a fairly good job of reducing the production of stomach acid but there is a catch. It seems these drugs also cause a rebound increase in acid production once you stop them. This study and accompanying …
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“Pickles and Ice Cream” or Why You Crave Sweets
Salty or Sweet: Your Brain’s Need for Increased Blood Flow Most people crave either salty or sweet food. They sense these foods make them feel better and because of that they like to eat them. But many people have never been taught what these food cravings actually mean to their brains. The reason for your …
Mummies and Atherosclerosis
A Brief Overview of Atherosclerosis Atherosclerosis is a process of chronic inflammation of the cells lining the arterial walls. Overtime, scar-like tissue builds up with some deposition of calcium and small dense cholesterol molecules in the tissue. Ultimately, the inflamed atherosclerotic lesion can rupture, a blood clot suddenly forms and an individual will experience a heart …
A Reader Asks – “How Do You Know When You Are Done ‘Detoxing’ After Reducing Carbs?”
Wikipedia – “Detoxification (detox for short) is the physiological or medicinal removal of toxic substances from a living organism, including, but not limited to, the human body.” Phrases such as ‘withdrawal from sugars’, ‘detoxing from carbs’ or ‘having low blood sugar’ are often used when people describe the feelings they experience after significantly lowering their carbohydrate intake. I can understand why …
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Obesity Does Not Cause Heart Disease
The Problem According to the American Heart Association, more than 910,000 Americans still die of heart disease annually. And more than 70 million Americans live every day with some form of heart disease which can include high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, stroke, angina (chest pain), heart attack and congenital heart defects. The Myth “Being overweight or …
Carbohydrate Reduction and Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common hormone disorder among women of reproductive age. PCOS affects approximately 5-14% of women (depending on the definition used). here is no significant difference between white and black women with regard to incidence of PCOS when controlling for BMI and age. PCOS is often associated …
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Headaches and Lightheadedness
Headaches, A Common Malady A common problem many people experience from time-to-time is a headache. We can still function through the day with a mild headache but they can sometime become so severe as to incapacitate a person. There are many known causes of headaches but there are only a few that occur quite commonly …
How to Start Your Low Carb Diet
The approach taken on this blog is not the Adkin’s diet. Completely eliminating carbohydrates is not the intention, but more a reduction. Reducing the amount of carbohydrates eaten in a day and increasing protein in the diet is one of the best steps toward weight loss. Besides the benefits of weight reduction, reducing carbohydrates in …
America, The Snacking Nation
A recently published study from the University of North Carolina looking at trends in snacking behavior probably won’t surprise you: Almost all adults (97%) now report snacking at least once a day (up from 71% in the 70s) Adults are snacking more frequently per day. Our snacks contain higher amounts of salt and carbohydrates (dessert foods, salty …
French Fries Are The New Cigarette Of Health
Obesity is now a bigger overall threat to people’s health than smoking, according to results of the longest ongoing health study of adults in the United States. Obesity causes as much or more disease than tobacco, says the study, conducted by researchers from Columbia University and the City College of New York. It adds that …
Tired Even After A Long Night’s Rest?
Waking still fatigued in the morning in spite of sleeping for many hours is referred to as ‘non-restorative sleep’ and is one of the hallmark symptoms of a variety of sleep disorders. The most common sleep disorder is Sleep Apnea. Sleep Apnea causes abnormal breathing when asleep and leads to prolonged periods of low blood …
How Stress Affects The Body
A 2004 study that followed mothers of chronically ill children showed that the stress of caregiving actually caused these women to age faster on a cellular level than did the mothers of healthy children who constituted the control group. When cells divide, the protective caps on the ends of the chromosomes, called telomeres, shorten slightly …
Public Smoking Bans Quickly Decrease Heart Attack Rates
A major report by the Institute of Medicine confirms that bans on smoking in public places reduce the risk of heart attacks among nonsmokers. The report’s concluded that while heavier exposure to secondhand smoke is worse, there’s no safe level. It also cited evidence that even less than an hour’s exposure might be enough to …
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How To Get A Better Night's Sleep
Don’t worry about work just before going to bed – make a list of your priorities for the next day instead. Go to bed and get up at the same times, even at the weekend – it’ll strengthen your circadian rhythm. Reserve the bedroom for rest, sleep and sex – no computers, Blackberries, TVs or …
How Much Secondhand Smoke is Too Much?
Surprisingly, as little as 30 minutes of secondhand tobacco smoke is as bad for the blood vessels of your heart as actually smoking a pack a day of cigarettes! This was one of the unspoken reasons why cities where trying to ban smoking in public places. The good news is that 90% of the risk …
Why Do Some Get A Sinus Infection Every Fall?
“Yea Doc, I’ve just got my usual Fall time cold.” This is a very common scenario reported to me by my patients. They may change it up a bit by saying it happens in the Spring or June or Winter, etc. But all of these case all have a common underlying cause, allergy congestion in …
