Here’s a diagnosis that doctors only started thinking about as recently as the 1980’s and now, decades later, although there are now plenty of gluten free items available both in grocery stores and on restaurant menus, doctors are still arguing about its existence. Many don’t even mention it to their patients with irritable bowel syndrome. “Why […]
Author: WholeHealth Chicago
VITAMIN B-12: OUR MOST POTENT VITAMIN
Over the years of writing Health Tips, I was surprised to discover that one I’d written a few years ago about Vitamin B 12 Deficiency had received the most comments and questions from readers. Since there have been some interesting developments in both the diagnosis and treatment of B12 deficiency, and since B12 deficiency remains […]
HEAVY METALS AND YOUR HEALTH
For those who were inattentive that day long ago in high school chemistry, the “heavy metals” refer to a group of especially dense metals or metal-like substances (called metalloids) found in our environment. Best left outside and not inside our bodies. These metals–specifically lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium, and aluminum–unfortunately can all be absorbed by your […]
IS A ‘LEAKY BRAIN’ THE CAUSE OF YOUR ‘BRAIN FOG’?
If you’ve been troubled by any of the symptoms listed below and your doctor(s), including your neurologist, has told you, “We can’t find anything wrong,” you probably should get tested for ‘leaky brain’ syndrome’ (LBS). It’s the same mechanism behind the familiar ‘leaky gut’ (a/k/a intestinal hyperpermeability) which took conventional physicians decades to accept as […]
ACTOR NAOMI WATTS, SURPRISED BY MENOPAUSE, WRITES A GOOD BOOK ABOUT IT
“Dare I Say It”, is subtitled, “Everything I Wish I’d Known About Menopause”. Being female has never been a walk in the park for Ms. Watts. She was last in her class to have her first period at eighteen, needed the guidance of Cosmopolitan Magazine and Sidney Sheldon novels (anyone remember those?) to learn the […]
ME-CFS: THE “REAL” CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME: WHAT YOU’LL NEED TO KNOW IF IT’S YOU
The full name is “Myalgic Encephalomyelitis”. “Myalgic” is a medical term for chronically painful muscles. “Encephalomyelitis” means your brain, spinal cord and nerves are inflamed, cause unknown, although the current thinking is the trigger is some sort of phenomenon occurring after a viral infection (‘mono’, ‘flu’, COVID). The result is “chronic fatigue”. You are tired […]
MYALGIC ENCEPHALOMYELITIS: THE “REAL” CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME
The statistics are dreadful. Almost four million Americans are estimated to suffer this chronic and debilitating condition (almost a million more were added as victims of “long” COVID). Of these millions, seven out of ten remain undiagnosed (“we don’t know what’s wrong with you”). And, since there are no specific diagnostic tests for ME-CFS, they […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
BRAIN FOG: WHY DOCTORS AREN’T HELPING YOU
You can’t remember the name of the Netflix movie you saw last night, scant hours ago. That actor–what was his name? He was in, you know, that other movie, with that woman with the hair. “Oh, where is my mind?”. Then you get a notice from Verizon that they’re turning off your phone for nonpayment. […]
FIRST IT WAS LYME DISEASE, NOW IT’S BABESIA
Oh, these tick borne illnesses! Since we saw three new cases this week of one you may not have heard of, Babesia, I thought I’d share some information. You know, forewarned is forearmed and so forth. It’s estimated that half the ticks in that summer suburb of Chicago the locals call, “Wisconsin” are currently carrying […]
YOUR OUT-OF-WHACK HORMONES AND THE “DUTCH” TEST
Let me start by saying that in real life, endocrinologists are probably nice people and not the arrogant, dismissive and too frequently rude specialists that have been reported to me by patients over the years. One of them, over at the mega-medical center a few blocks away is notorious for tossing into her wastebasket any […]
What is “FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE”? and Can it Help Me?
More and more new patients to the WholeHealth Chicago Network are asking for a “functional approach” to their longstanding undiagnosed symptoms. Many times these are digestive in origin (bloating, GERD, food intolerances), but other symptoms are vague: “fatigue”, “brain fog”, or just “feeling old”. They’ve been reading about “Functional Medicine”, but when asked their primary […]
POLYCYSTIC OVARY SYNDROME (PCOS): NEW HOPE ON THE HORIZON!
A recent report revealed that there are so many cases of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) in the US that costs for diagnosis and lifetime treatments are estimated to be $8 billion a year. If you have PCOS, obviously you’re not alone. It’s estimated that PCOS affects one woman in seven (estimates go as high as […]