I’ve been getting more and more inquiries about prescription medications, supplements, and infusions all being promoted for their ‘anti-aging’ and ‘longevity’ benefits. Patients want to know, quite reasonably, what’s real? What’s not? What’s dangerous? What’s crazy? Let’s spend this Health Tip on an update among the world of the anti-aging ‘gurus’ (There are plenty of […]
CHRONIC DIARRHEA? GET YOUR FECAL CALPROTECTIN CHECKED!
Fecal calprotectin? Never heard of it, right? A calprotectin stool test measures a protein called calprotectin in a sample of your stool (poop). It’s used to check for inflammation (swelling and irritation) in your small and large intestines. It’s normal to have a small amount of calprotectin in your stool. But high levels are a […]
“BRAIN FOG” or “I’M JUST NOT THINKING CLEARLY”
The uptick in “brain fog” as a complaint among new (and many returning) patients at WholeHealth Chicago offices really began with the COVID pandemic. As the numbers were being collected, first nationally, then globally, that one out of five people who had experienced COVID also had “long COVID,” with “brain fog” as a major long […]
HILLARY WAS SENT TO THE MAYO CLINIC FOR PMS? SERIOUSLY?
Really frustrated by the lack of progress on her bevy of unexplained symptoms, Hillary’s primary care provider and a couple of specialists, unable to make a diagnosis of her symptoms, a combination of joint pains, skin eruptions, mood swings and minor abnormalities in blood tests, agreed to refer her to the Mayo Clinic. The symptoms […]
COLOSTRUM: IS IT WORTH ADDING YET ANOTHER SUPPLEMENT?
The word keeps popping up in emails from patients, and I’m seeing it more and more on their smoothie “lists”. Then, when I saw an article in the Washington Post about colostrum, I thought I’d better write about it myself. Colostrum was your first taste of food when you were born, the first milk produced […]
“DIARRHEA HAS CONTROLLED MY LIFE FOR DECADES!”
My 50 year old patient related the following history: “The diarrhea started in my teens and has dominated my life. It got worse when I went away to college, stress was my first trigger, final exams, a date, then almost anything could trigger it. Imagine trying to find a toilet at a Big Ten football […]
RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS: ANTIBIOTICS AND YOUR GUT MICROBIOME
An astonishing 1% of the U.S, population suffers the joint pain and swelling of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), women far outnumbering men, usually starting midlife 30’s to 40’s. RA is one of the 100 or so autoimmune diseases in which your immune system, generally a “good guy” meant to fight “bad guys” like infections and cancer […]
Can an Over-the Counter Nasal Spray Reverse Alzheimer’s Disease?
The relationship between insulin and Alzheimer’s Disease has actually been on the radar screen of neurologists for quite a few years but the public has very little knowledge of it. Since insulin itself is not “owned” by Big Pharma, there’s no reason for them to tell you. Insulin, the 100 year old medicine used for […]
LEAD POISONING AND CHELATION THERAPY
I prefer the term ‘poisoning’ over ‘toxicity’ as there are no ‘acceptably safe’ levels of lead in the human body, just as there are no ‘acceptable levels’ of cyanide or strychnine. Low levels of lead won’t kill you with the swiftness of cyanide, but they sure can damage your health, and especially the health and […]
HEAVY METAL TOXICITY (ESPECIALLY LEAD!) AND YOUR HEALTH
For those who might not have been paying attention that day in high school chemistry, the heavy metals refer to a group of dense metals or metal-like substances (called metalloids) found in the environment. These metals–specifically lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium, and aluminum–can all be absorbed by your body and stored there. Our environment is already […]
MORE STEPS TO PRESERVE YOUR BRAIN AND PREVENT DEMENTIA
High on the wish list (probably highest, actually) of a new patient coming into WholeHealth Chicago for “wellness” is not just “longevity” but “longevity plus ‘brains/wit/wisdom’” a la Betty White, Norman Lear, George Burns, late Chicago actor Mike Nussbaum. So let’s talk “brain” and say you’re in one of these four situations: 1. There’s dementia […]
MEDICAL STUFF YOU REALLY WANT TO ASK ABOUT, BUT DON’T.
Two or more women chatting together have no problems discussing when the topic comes to menstrual cycles, labor, delivery, a new gynecologist. Men, who visit doctors less often anyway, gab on about wrenched back muscles from a golf swing and a ‘great’ personal trainer. They’ll lower their voices an octave or two if the topic […]
Delay Aging and Monitor Your Progress
Most people figure they must be getting older based on how they feel and look. We wince at our first grey hair, deepening wrinkles, and shifting body fat. We huff and puff climbing the stairs, forget names, and occasionally leak fluids. We relate to the line from a Leonard Cohen song, “I ache in the […]
ONE OF THOSE REALLY INTERESTING COINCIDENCES…..
I had planned this vacation for a long time, and now I was having breakfast at my hotel in Tokyo, Japan, planning what sites I would be visiting. Suddenly, my eye caught an internet article in the Washington Post that held my chopsticks mid-air: “Travel Can Slow the Aging Process” The lead author, Fangli Hu, […]
Repair Your Gut…Immediately
Last week, I talked about how naturopathic and functional medicine experts often start the healing journey (and aim to prevent future health issues) by focusing on the 30-foot digestive tract running from your mouth to your anus. The essence of good gut health is essentially how well you’re digesting, absorbing, and using the food you […]
Start By Healing Your Gut
About 25 years ago, when I was organizing what today is WholeHealth Chicago, I attempted to learn everything I could about all the fields of what was then called alternative medicine. Since naturopathic medicine, or naturopathy, didn’t really exist in Illinois (perpetually blocked by the Illinois State Medical Society), I flew to the west coast […]
AKKERMANSIA: THE “SHINING STAR” OF YOUR GUT FLORA
No, that nickname is not from me. However, it definitely is one of the praises heaped upon by scientists around the world as they describe the wonders of this one strain of bacteria in your intestinal microbiome. Read carefully. Link to the research papers if you like. If you have enough Akkermansia (full name Akkermansia […]
NUTRITIONAL INFLUENCES ON DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY
Depressed? Anxious? In the cynical ideal world of your insurance company’s CEO, he’d like you to have a one visit with your primary care provider (PCP) and, if you absolutely must, a referral to a visit to a mental health counselor. Not too many of these visits, as these cost money and you’re usually allowed […]
GETTING YOUR PRESCRIPTIONS FILLED AND REFILLED AT WHOLEHEALTH CHICAGO
“I’m about to run out of my hormones….my Adderall..my blood pressure meds.” “My pharmacist said he sent a FAX…I need an early refill…I’m leaving for Paris in 3 days!” Okay, okay, slow down. I’m going to walk you through the incredible complexity of rules and regulations concerning your prescriptions. On the one hand, my dedicated […]
YOUR “LOW ESTROGEN FACE” AND HOW WE CAN HELP
Sex hormones are not to be taken lightly. Some recent research measuring blood levels of estrogen in several hundred young women and then making facial “composite photos” showed that those with normal to high (but not too high) levels of estrogen were more physically (read “sexually”) appealing. Go overboard with estrogen and all sorts of […]