The State of NOW 2013 conference promised a grand tour of the fascinating realm of health, wellness & social media. Along with that, it delivered a big dose of extra-strength corporate spincraft.
Many people–including many physicians–are confused about the difference between an infection with a disease-causing pathogen, and an overgrowth of a normally harmless member of the microbial ecosystem that becomes harmful when it grows out of proportion. This distinction is important for shaping rational treatment plans.
All this “Listeria Hysteria” that followed the reports of contaminated cantaloupe reminds me of a Twilight Zone episode. We’re destroying a relatively healthy food by the ton, issuing dire warnings about deadly pathogens, and generally scaring an already scared public, all without taking stock of what’s really going on. I don’t mean to downplay the […]
The Institute of Medicine’s new Vitamin D and Calcium guidelines, released late in November, sent shockwaves through the natural health care and integrative medicine community. The IOM review committee asserted that most Americans do not need vitamin D supplements, that 600 IU/day is sufficient for maintaining healthy bones, and that there’s no firm evidence that […]
It’s salty, sweet, and very seductive. It promises pleasure, but delivers disease. It’s ubiquitous, and it’s corrupting the very health of our country. I’m talking about Cornography. The slick and sleazy marketing of “foods” and beverages made out of genetically-modified corn, corn syrup, corn meal, and other refined forms of corn. This crap is stacked […]
From our vantage point at the crossroad where conventional and holistic/integrative medicine converge, we’ve witnessed tremendous creativity and innovation over the last ten years, as well as a fair bit of turbulence and struggle. This is all characteristic of the emergence of….dare I say it? A new paradigm. It’s an overused word, but it fits, […]
It is really important to increase the amount of fruits and vegetables in our diets, and to encourage our patients to do likewise. Unfortunately, though, we need to be mindful of the toxins that contaminate even the healthiest of foods. Pesticides & fungicides have become ubiquitous in our environment. Crops these days are heavily sprayed […]
Internally, your body houses an ecosystem that contains more microbes than human cells. This is normal, or at least common. You don’t express disease from these “germs” as long as their numbers are kept in check. But if they are given an environmental edge, they will overgrow and cause disease. Acne, for instance, is caused […]
Like a rampant autoimmune disorder, there’s a pernicious process at work in our nation’s social “tissues,” and it’s causing a lot of damage. The symptoms were readily apparent during the health care reform debates. I’m not talking about the reform plan itself. For the record, I’m not a fan of the Obama administration’s proposal or […]
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