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Category: Naturopathic Medicine

Welcome Casey Kelley, MD

Finding Dr. Casey Kelley has been an 11-year project for me. That’s how long I’ve been scanning the horizon for the perfect holistically oriented MD associate. And believe me this project was no walk in the park.

Overall, newly minted MDs avoid primary care specialties (family practice, internal medicine, pediatrics) because by choosing one of them they’ll earn barely enough to pay off their medical school loans. Each time I’d actually locate a well-trained primary care physician, I’d quickly discover that while he or she might “like” the idea of integrative medicine the number who’d actually be willing to devote their professional career to a holistically oriented practice was excruciatingly small.

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Posted in Blog, C, Functional Medicine, Healing Touch, Homeopathy, Integrative Medicine, Internal Medicine, Knowledge Base, Naturopathic MedicineTagged , , , ,

Lady Gaga, Madonna, Andy Warhol, and Me

There’s an exhibit opening next month at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London entitled “Postmodernism: Style and Subversion 1970-1990.” You’re puzzled, I’m sure, by how a subject as confusing as Postmodernism could relate to a health tip, but it actually does, in a big picture sort of way.

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Posted in Acupuncture/Traditional Chinese Medicine, Alternative Therapies, Blog, Chiropractic & Physical Medicine, Homeopathy, Integrative Medicine, Knowledge Base, L, Naturopathic MedicineTagged , , , , , ,

Slippery Elm

Well before the first European settlers arrived in North America, Native American tribes had discovered that by scraping away the rough outer bark of the majestic slippery elm tree (Ulmus rubra), they could uncover a remarkable healing substance in the inner bark. They beat the bark into a powder and added water to create a “slippery” concoction ideal for soothing toothaches, healing scrapes, and dispelling constipation.

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by WholeHealth Chicago
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Posted in Blog, E, Internal Medicine, Knowledge Base, Naturopathic Medicine, Nutrition, Nutritional Supplements, Vitamins, & Herbal Remedies, STagged , , ,

Nettle

Also known as “stinging nettle” because the prickly hollow needles on its dark green leaves sting and burn upon contact, nettle (Urtica dioica) is an ancient herbal remedy for snakebites, asthma, arthritis, urinary tract inflammation, and excessive menstrual flow. While the above-ground parts of the plant–the leaf and the stem–are generally still used for these purposes, the roots are now popular for treating the discomforts of an enlarged prostate.

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by WholeHealth Chicago
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Posted in Blog, Knowledge Base, N, Naturopathic Medicine, Nutrition, Nutritional Supplements, Vitamins, & Herbal RemediesTagged , ,

Lipotrophic Combination

Nutritional supplements known as lipotropic combinations (or lipotropic factors) are designed to enhance liver function and increase the flow of fats and bile from the liver and gallbladder. By definition, a lipotropic substance decreases the deposit, or speeds up the removal, of fat (lipo=fat, tropic=stimulate) within the liver. Lipotropic combinations are well known in naturopathic medicine but are little used by conventional physicians.

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by WholeHealth Chicago
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Posted in Blog, Knowledge Base, L, Naturopathic Medicine, Nutrition, Nutritional Supplements, Vitamins, & Herbal RemediesTagged , ,

Herbal Digestive Formula

Naturopathic doctors have long recommended a classic herbal digestive combination (variously known as Robert’s or Bastyr’s Formula) for controlling the intestinal pain and inflammation associated with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, both inflammatory bowel diseases.

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Posted in Blog, D, Digestion, H, Knowledge Base, Naturopathic Medicine, Nutrition, Nutritional Supplements, Vitamins, & Herbal RemediesTagged , , ,

Naturopathy

Naturopathy is a distinct system of medicine that is based on a belief in the healing power of nature–and especially in the body’s innate ability to fight disease and heal itself. Practiced by naturopathic doctors (also known as naturopaths or N.D.s), it uses a wide range of natural treatment methods, rather than drugs or surgery, to stimulate the body’s own healing powers. Among the therapies many naturopaths frequently prescribe are diet and lifestyle modifications, nutritional supplements, homeopathy, acupuncture, hydrotherapy, detoxification, spinal manipulation, and more.

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Posted in Blog, Functional Medicine, Homeopathy, Integrative Medicine, Knowledge Base, N, Naturopathic MedicineTagged

Iridology

Iridology is the study of the colored part of the eye (called the iris) to determine potential health problems. Iridologists believe that changing patterns and markings in the iris can be used to reveal emerging conditions in every part of the body and to identify inherited weaknesses that may lead to physical and emotional disorders.

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by WholeHealth Chicago
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Posted in Alternative Therapies, Blog, Homeopathy, I, Internal Medicine, Knowledge Base, Naturopathic Medicine, Preventive MedicineTagged

Hydrotherapy

Hydrotherapy is the use of water to maintain health or promote healing. Ice, steam, and hot, tepid, and cold water are all used in a number of different ways–some widely accepted, others controversial. For example, external treatments, such as the application of ice to a sprained ankle or soaking in a hot tub to soothe sore muscles, have become common remedies and some are universally prescribed by both conventional and alternative practitioners, particularly naturopaths. However, internal therapies such as colonic irrigation are considered suspect and even dangerous by most mainstream doctors.

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by WholeHealth Chicago
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Posted in Alternative Therapies, Blog, H, Internal Medicine, Knowledge Base, Naturopathic MedicineTagged , ,

Fasting

Strictly defined, fasting is abstinence from all food and drink (except water) for a limited period of time to maintain or improve health, or treat a specific illness. Juice fasting, a popular variation, is abstinence from all food and drink except water, vegetable juices, and fruit juices. A modified fast includes small amounts of solid food, usually raw fruits as well as raw and steamed vegetables. Some advocates of fasting include other modifications as well, such as vegetable broth, herbal teas, and nutritional supplements. Most of the research into the therapeutic value of fasting has explored the water-only method.

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by WholeHealth Chicago
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Posted in Alternative Therapies, Blog, F, Internal Medicine, Knowledge Base, Naturopathic MedicineTagged

Chelation Therapy

Intravenous chelation (pronounced key-LAY-shun) therapy has been a respected and widely used medical treatment for heavy-metal poisoning–especially lead poisoning–for more than 50 years. However, some physicians also promote the therapy as an alternative treatment for arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), including coronary artery disease, peripheral vascular disease (blockage or narrowing of blood vessels in the legs), and the mental deterioration caused by small strokes.

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by WholeHealth Chicago
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Posted in Alternative Therapies, Blog, C, Infusion Therapy, Knowledge Base, Naturopathic MedicineTagged , ,

Psoriasis

When I was a kid, there used to be a magazine advertisement that began “Do you suffer the heartbreak of psoriasis?” I couldn’t understand the connection between a skin rash and a broken heart until I began actually treating people with this skin condition. Psoriasis, which affects about 6 million Americans, is indeed a frustrating disorder, for both patient and doctor. Although the exact cause is unknown, we do know that new skin cells reproduce and accumulate faster than they can be sloughed off. The condition can range in severity from a few small patches to large and unsightly thick plaques that appear just about anywhere on the body.

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by WholeHealth Chicago
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Posted in Blog, Dermatology, Diseases, Knowledge Base, Natural Apothecary, Naturopathic Medicine, P, Preventive MedicineTagged

Candida Overgrowth Syndrome

At least once a week, a patient comes in, saying, “You’re the fourth [or seventh or tenth] doctor I’ve seen. I feel simply terrible but am always told that my tests are normal, and there’s nothing wrong with me. Recently I read about yeast overgrowth, and the symptoms seem to fit my case exactly. The doctors, however, all tell me there’s no such illness.”

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Posted in Blog, C, Digestion, Homeopathy, Knowledge Base, Most Viewed, Natural Apothecary, Naturopathic MedicineTagged , , , , , ,

Anxiety and Panic

Everyone has occasional episodes of worry. It’s part of being a person. I mean, you’re almost supposed to worry a bit when your company is downsizing, or you’re unprepared for an approaching exam or the notice of a tax audit arrives in the mail.

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Posted in A, Blog, Knowledge Base, Mental Health, Natural Apothecary, Naturopathic Medicine, PTagged , , , ,

Angina

An attack of angina, especially the first one, is a terrifying and life-changing experience. You’ve raced up the stairs or you’ve run to catch a train; suddenly an elephant is standing on your chest or a huge hand is squeezing your heart. Then you’re sweaty, lightheaded, and nauseated. You stop in your tracks; you wait; you pray you’re not having a heart attack. At last the elephant lifts his foot or the fist opens, the world slowly brightens, and slowly, carefully, you go home. (You really SHOULD go to an emergency room.)

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by WholeHealth Chicago
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Posted in A, Blog, Cardiovascular Health, Knowledge Base, Natural Apothecary, Naturopathic MedicineTagged , , ,

Acne

Because their bodies are adjusting to the hormonal changes of adolescence, virtually every teenage boy and most teenage girls develop some form of acne. This may range from the common pimple (“Oh God! Another zit!”) to the large inflamed nodules of cystic acne.

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by WholeHealth Chicago
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Posted in A, Blog, Dermatology, Internal Medicine, Knowledge Base, Natural Apothecary, Naturopathic Medicine, UncategorizedTagged , , ,