Psyche, Soma & Spirit

Maternal Marijuana Use is Bad News for Baby

By Janet Gulland, Contributing Writer

Use of marijuana during pregnancy, especially in the first trimester, significantly raises the risk of preterm birth, low birth weight, and perinatal complications that require neonatal intensive care. Those are the main conclusions of a massive metanalysis and systematic review of 57 studies looking at the impact of in utero cannabis exposure. Combined, the studies […]

In Memoriam: Roland R. Griffiths, PhD (July 19, 1946–October 16, 2023)

By Erik Goldman

Holistic Primary Care honors the memory and legacy of Roland Redmond Griffiths, PhD, a visionary neuroscientist and psychopharmacologist who was among the leaders of the recent renaissance of serious clinical research on psychedelics. Griffiths died at the age of 77 of metastatic colon cancer on October 16, 2023, at his home in Baltimore, MD. He […]

Gladys T. McGarey: Wisdom from The Well-Lived Life

By Meg Sinclair, Publisher

Usually I’m a voracious reader.  I’ve always enjoyed reading and gobbling up books.  But this year it seemed I couldn’t get past more than a couple of pages of anything at any time. “The Well-Lived Life” –a new book by Dr. Gladys McGarey–had been sitting on my desk collecting dust for months. Finally, I picked […]

Ayurveda Meets Allopathy: Getting The Best of Both Worlds

By Charles Elder, MD, Contributing Writer

Are contemporary allopathic medicine and Ayurveda mutually compatible? Is it possible to merge modern biomedical science with ancient healing principles defined millennia ago? Is there any relevance in today’s medical clinic for a paradigm centered substantially around pulse diagnosis, or for therapeutics focused on behavior modification, herbs, mind-body therapies, and detoxification? Most importantly, what purpose […]

Reflections on the Psychedelic Renaissance

By Maya Shetreat, MD, Contributing Writer

Psychedelics have been hitting the headlines nonstop these days. The New York Times, and other major media, have run a slew of articles highlighting the promise of psychedelics for hard-to-treat clinical conditions like major depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and addiction. Important discoveries are emerging from prestigious academic centers worldwide that have dedicated millions of dollars […]

Phototherapy Shows Promise in Mitigating Dementia

By August West, Contributing Writer

A metanalysis of 12 clinical studies representing a total of 776 patients diagnosed with dementia shows that phototherapy interventions can significantly improve cognitive function as indicated by changes in Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores. Phototherapy did not, however, have measurable impact on depression, agitation, or sleep patterns. Researchers at the Institute of Geriatric Medicine, Chinese […]

Air Pollution Exacerbates Symptoms of Depression

By Janet Gulland, Contributing Writer

Exposure to polluted air is associated with increased depression symptoms in people with bipolar disorder (BPD), according to a new study by psychiatrist Joseph Hayes, MD, PhD, and Aaron Kandola, at the University College London. In the first project of its kind, Hayes and Kandola tracked symptoms of depression and mania against real time changes […]

A Field Guide to Massage Therapy Part One: Thai Yoga Massage

By Stacy Collier, LMT, CPT, Contributing Writer

Massage provides many benefits. In addition to simply loosening tight muscles, it can help calm the nervous system, improves range of motion, correct postural imbalances, reduce stress, increases self-awareness, improve blood flow, speed healing time, improve the appearance of scars, and much more.  But with so many different styles of massage now available, this field […]

Pain Brain: Chronic Pain Drives Cognitive Decline

By Jacob Teitelbaum, MD, Contributing Writer

A massive new study of data from over 19,000 individuals shows that chronic pain is associated with loss of hippocampal volume and increased risk of dementia. Compared with pain-free control subjects, those who had five or more areas of chronic pain showed neurological changes equivalent to eight years of excess brain aging (Zhao W, et […]

Diet, Inflammation, and Immunity: Modern & Traditional Perspectives

By Erik Goldman

Ayurveda–India’s 4,000-year-old system of medicine–can provide modern healthcare professions with many time-tested, lifestyle-based approaches to mitigate the burden of chronic inflammatory diseases that affect so many of our patients. In this free webinar, the core faculty members of the Maharishi International University (MIU)–the leading US ayurvedic training center–share their experience applying ayurvedic principles for improving […]