Once thought to be relatively rare, celiac disease is actually very common, and physicians need to pay more attention to it. A naturopathic physician who has the condition herself offers insights on diagnosing, treating and living with this complex digestive disease.
Natural medicine has much to offer individuals with hepatitis C (HCV) infection and other chronic liver disorders. And that’s a good thing, because the burden of HCV, in terms of individual morbidity and socioeconomic cost, is growing at a disturbing rate. Antiviral pharmacotherapy, while clearly better than it was a decade ago, still leaves much room for improvement.
Few American communities have been as hard-hit by diabetes as the Native American communities in the Southwest, where Type-2 diabetes affects up to 50% of all adults. Don Warne, MD, an Oglala Lakota physician, approaches the problem with a combination of allopathic medicine and traditional healing practices aimed at addressing the spiritual, cultural and social factors that drive the epidemic.
Careful glucose monitoring is essential for patient self-management of IR and T2D. In one recent study, 70% of patients with T2D who tested themselves daily were able to keep their A1C’s below 8%. Among those who did not, only 18% maintained A1C’s below 8% (Harris MI, et al. Diabetes Care 1999; 22:403–408).
According to Bikram Choudhury, founder of the widely popular Bikram style of yoga, Type 2 diabetes reflects “a poor marriage between the kidneys and the pancreas.”
The trace element chromium, and particularly chromium picolinate, will likely find a greater role in the management of insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes (T2D) in the coming years, as clinical evidence accumulates to support its antiglycemic, insulin-sensitizing effects. Chromium researchers from across the globe recently gathered to share their findings at a summit sponsored by the Council for the Advancement of Diabetes Research and Education (CADRE).
Type 2 diabetes and its precursors like impaired glucose tolerance and insulin resistance represent “a complex set of interrelated problems requiring a comprehensive treatment approach,” said Lev Linkner, MD, at a course on holistic medicine sponsored by the American Board of Holistic Medicine (ABHM).
Obesity and associated chronic diseases cost this country roughly $147 billion a year in direct medical expenses. It’s not a problem that will be legislated away by health care reform plans that perpetuate status quo medical approaches. Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) therapy, when combined with a careful diet plan, regular exercise and other hormone-based treatments, can make a huge difference in helping people lose weight, and could help trim the nation’s health care budget as well.
The Institute of Medicine’s current guidelines for vitamin D intake, established in 1997, recommend 200 IU per day for people under 50 IOM, and 400 IU for those between 50-70 years old. Those numbers are way too low, say many physicians. In light of new studies showing myriad benefits and few risks from higher levels, IOM is likely to increase its recommended intake in its updated 2010 guidelines.
SEATTLE—Nutritional strategies can make a world of difference for patients with chronic pain and inflammation problems like arthritis, low back pain, and fibromyalgia, said Benjamin Kligler, MD, at an Integrative Pain Management symposium sponsored by Columbia University’s Rosenthal Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
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