Vitamin D deficiency has been linked with everything from psoriasis and osteoporosis to cardiovascular disease, diabetes and autoimmune diseases. But the relationships may not be as simple as we’d like to believe. Neither is the relationship between sun exposure and vitamin D production in the skin.
The “No Fat” approach health maintenance makes very little sense, says Dr. David Riley. Rather than focusing on eliminating fat calories, physicians should be counseling patients on how to choose and use healthy, nutritious oils like flax, olive, walnut, macadamia and avocado. A little knowledge of fatty acid science can go a long way in clearing up confusion about “good” versus “bad” fats.
Biomedical science has reduced foods to the sum of their calories and micronutrients. While it is important to understand the biochemistry of what we eat, it is also important to realize that the qualities, colors, textures of our foods and the ways they are cooked play just as much of a role as their “nutrient content” in influencing our health. Traditional Chinese medicine has much to teach us on this subject.
Acne, psoriasis, rosacea and other common skin disorders are reflections of the same systemic inflammatory processes that underlie heart disease, diabetes, irritable bowel, and many other chronic disorders. Eliminating high-glycemic foods, restoring hormone balance, and minimizing inflammation will not only resolve these skin problems, they will also reduce risk of more serious diseases along the way.
A growing number of primary care doctors are discovering that clinic-based exercise centers are a good “fit” for their patients’ physical health, and for their own fiscal health. A turnkey model called Integrative Health Network (iH3) is enabling more doctors to bring exercise medicine into their practices and to people who might never set foot in a commercial fitness club.
Gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT) is a hepatic enzyme that indicates levels of oxidative stress in the liver. A large body of research suggests that it can also predict onset of insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. At under $10 per test, it could be a very valuable asset in clinical practice.
The notion that the patterns of color and texture in the irises of the eyes can indicate the health or dysfunction of various organ systems, has been around for several hundred years. Unfortunately, scientific study of iridology fails to support it as an accurate method for detecting diseases. Despite the lack of evidence, the practice remains popular, particularly in Europe and the UK.
Despite consuming greater quantities of food than any other population on Earth, many Americans are suffering multiple nutrient deficiencies. In this second part of his lecture Steven C. Masley, MD, a family physician and nutritionist, offers guidelines for supplementation with B vitamins, calcium, magnesium and other key nutrients.
To investigate the health impact of fast food, filmmaker Morgan Spurlock subjected himself to 30-days on an all-McDonald’s diet. A team of three physicians tracked the physiologic changes that occurred. Spurlock gained 25 pounds, his cholesterol soared and his liver enzymes underwent shocking changes, all of which are well documented on film.
Over the last decade, there’s been an explosion of “alternative” diagnostic methods purporting to identify nutrient deficiencies, detect environmental toxins, predict serious diseases, and help guide health conscious individuals in their diet and supplementation choices.
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