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 […]
Category: G
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 […]
ANIMAL GLANDS USED AS MEDICINE
A surprising number of so-called alternative therapies actually have their roots in very conservative conventional medicine. While reflexology (once called Zone Therapy) is arguably thousands of years old, its modern use was made popular by an ear-nose-throat specialist who used the pressure from rubber bands applied to the fingers and toes for surgical anesthesia. The […]
GUM STORIES
Head tilted back, mouth stretched to the max to accommodate fingers, cotton, and something metallic and vaguely medieval, my plaque was sandblasted to smithereens. My dentist wrinkled his nose and peered inside, cocked an eye, and remarked, “You have very youthful gums.” I cannot deny my unalloyed pleasure hearing this. I’d been thinking about aging […]
Getting The Lead Out (And A Further Word About Immunization)
I’ll bet you didn’t know that Chicago has by far the worst problem with lead exposure in the entire US. It’s now estimated that fully 80% of our underground pipes are lined with lead. This means we’re all exposed to potentially toxic lead levels and the accompanying health risks. You’ll recall from last week’s Health […]
Glandular Therapies
A surprising number of so-called alternative therapies actually have their roots in conventional medicine. While reflexology (once called Zone Therapy) is arguably thousands of years old, its modern use was made popular by an ear-nose-throat specialist who used the pressure from rubber bands applied to the fingers and toes for surgical anesthesia. The “Bach” of […]
Get The Lead Out (And Other Toxic Metals Too)
In last week’s Health Tip we discussed the chemical swill accumulating in your body from a variety of sources, some obvious and some not. This week we’re looking at heavy metal toxicity. For those who were otherwise preoccupied that day in high school chemistry, the heavy metals are a group of especially dense metals or […]
A Genuinely Useful Blood Test
Many a time, in person or via phone, someone will say a variation of “Look, I’m taking all these vitamins and minerals but I really don’t know what I’m doing. I think I’m eating right, but I might have some vitamin or mineral deficiencies I know nothing about and I don’t know the consequences.” This […]
Getting Tough With Your Immune System
No reasonable physician (I modestly include myself here) can refrain from crowing delightedly when a clinical study confirms the value of a treatment he or she had been using for years, even if that treatment had contradicted prevailing standards. Ever since I learned something about natural medicine, I’ve been reluctant to prescribe antibiotics for respiratory tract infections, […]
Getting Off Blood Pressure Meds Forever, Contaminated Or Not
If you’re currently taking a blood pressure medication, the chances are pretty good that you’re on one of the ARBs (angiotensin receptor blockers). You can recognize these because they end in -sartan, as in losartan and valsartan. You also may have heard that two of the most popular ARBs (valsartan and irbesartan) were abruptly withdrawn […]
A Gynecologist Joins The Team At WHC: Welcome Andrea Lee, MD
It may surprise you to learn that WholeHealth Chicago has been trying to find the right gynecologist to join our group for more than 16 years. “What?” you ask. “Why so long?” We did know we needed one. Just sit in our waiting room or shop the apothecary and it occurs to you that a […]
Getting Tough With Your Immune System
Originally published Dec 2015 No reasonable physician (I modestly include myself here) can refrain from crowing delightedly when a new clinical study confirms the value of a treatment he or she had been using for years, even if that treatment had contradicted prevailing standards. Ever since I learned something about natural medicine, I’ve been reluctant to […]
Getting Tough With Your Immune System
No reasonable physician (I modestly include myself here) can refrain from crowing delightedly when a new clinical study confirms the value of a treatment he or she had been using for years, even if that treatment had contradicted prevailing standards. Ever since I learned something about natural medicine, I’ve been reluctant to prescribe antibiotics for […]
The Girl Who Smelled Like Pennies
She could not get rid of the awful taste in her mouth. Metallic, she described it, like having pennies in your mouth. Two years it had been. She’d tried a tongue scraper to no avail. Changed her diet, swished an assortment of mouthwashes, rinsed her sinuses with a neti pot, and then, thinking she might […]
On Good Bacteria, Enemas, And Your Health
In certain cultures, like middle class Jews growing up in Hyde Park in the 1950s, everyone remembers being chased through their home by a well-meaning mom armed with an enema bag. “Dr. Nachman said you needed this for a poopy!” I am tearful, dressed only in whity-tighties until caught in the steel grip of my […]
Vaccines, GMOs, and Big Pharma, All In One Film
Last week I received an email invitation to watch a free screening of Bought, subtitled “The Truth Behind Vaccines, Big Pharma, and Your Food.” Since all three are pretty hot topics, I settled back for what I knew would be one of those feel-bad movies. You know what I mean. Moonstruck is a feel-good movie, […]
Getting Off (Or Avoiding) Blood Pressure Meds
Posted 01/05/2015 If you’re currently taking a blood pressure medication OR your doctor has remarked that she’ll be keeping an eye on your “borderline” high blood pressure OR high blood pressure runs in your family and you have concerns about it, please read this Health Tip closely. The issues surrounding blood pressure are far more […]
Getting Off Antidepressants (Or Avoiding Them Altogether)
There’s an uncanny similarity between antibiotic and antidepressant prescribing in the US. If you’re currently taking one or both, took them in the past, or are considering taking one or both now, know that the odds are very strong you don’t need either of them. Numerous clinical studies confirm that both antibiotics and antidepressants are […]
Getting Off Your Meds, Part 1
Wait, don’t tell me. You’re taking a constellation of medications and you’d really like to stop. You hear the announcer listing all those side effects in TV commercials. Worse yet, you’re already experiencing some of them. You’re angry that every day of your life you pop a handful of…what is it you take exactly? You’re […]