You may have read earlier this summer about the public health statisticians who announced that Chicagoans could get a reasonable estimate about how long they’ll live based on their neighborhood, sort of a Death by Zip Code. If you live in Streeterville, you’ve got a good chance to reach 90. If you’re struggling in Englewood, […]
Dandruff, Fungi, and Cancer of the Pancreas
It’s an eye-catching title, I’ll admit. But the links are quite real and further research may guide medicine in new directions of cancer prevention and treatment. It all starts in your gut microbiome, the totality of microorganisms–bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and fungi–present in your gastrointestinal (GI) tract, mouth to anus. Until recently, researchers and clinical physicians […]
New Hope For Sinus Sufferers
When osteopath Dr. Rob Ivker moved to Colorado in the 1980s to set up his family practice, he had no idea that when he stepped off the plane he’d succumb to symptoms of chronic sinusitis that just wouldn’t go away: stuffy nose, thick mucus, pressure behind his cheekbones and above his eyebrows, dull aching headache, […]
2019/2020 Flu Season: Prepare Yourself With IV Therapy
I was struck by this New York Times piece on the severe flu outbreak in Australia with an unusually nasty virus. It took a moment for me to realize it’s spring in the Southern Hemisphere and they’ve just finished their winter flu season. The CDC (Centers for Disease Control) predict that our flu season could […]
Director of IV Therapies Katie McManigal, BSN, ANP
Most people at some point in their lives have had an intravenous (IV) line. An adept nurse warned you about the tiny pinch of the needle as it was smoothly inserted and taped in place. Then the fluid dangling above your head slowly started making its way through a tube and into your body. IVs […]
Welcoming Sandra Subotich to WholeHealth Chicago
Normally, when I write a welcome Health Tip announcing a new WholeHealth Chicago practitioner, I go right to the person’s biography to illuminate why you might consider making an appointment. Dr. Sandra is a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and her bio is rich with detail, so I’m saving it for the end. First, […]
Hey Doc, When Are You Going to Write Up My Case?
I hear this question virtually every time I see Alan, an extremely healthy, energetic man in his forties who could easily pass for someone in his twenties. He comes to the office once a year for a check-up (he’s always just fine), but since we cross paths at our health club I’m reminded about his […]
Your Body Keeps Score
This may be an emotionally difficult Health Tip for some of you. Imagine you’re a small child and for as long as you can remember, no one’s face has ever lit up with a smile when you walked into a room. In fact, to avoid being struck by a family member, you’ve learned a variety […]
Are Generic Drugs Different? You Bet!
Bob lay wide awake at 2 AM, wondering if he’d even taken his Ambien. Melissa’s hands and feet felt cold and she was losing hair. She knew these underactive thyroid symptoms well and quickly scheduled an appointment to ask about increasing what she thought was her Synthroid prescription. Despite enjoying a relatively calm life, Peggy’s […]
Heal Your Gut…Now
Last week I discussed how naturopathic and functional medicine practitioners usually begin their healing process (and prevent future health troubles) with careful attention to that 30-foot food tube meandering through you from your lips to your anus. The essence of good gut health is essentially how well you’re digesting, absorbing, and using the food you […]
First, Heal 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 […]
Chronic Lyme Disease: Best Testing, Best Treatment
Last week I suggested if you’ve been suffering longstanding but otherwise unexplained symptoms, a long-ago tick bite might be an overlooked possibility and you could now be dealing with chronic Lyme disease. I added that your recovery may well be delayed by some totally unnecessary and immature bickering among physicians about the correct name for […]
Chronic Lyme Disease? Me? Are You Serious?
Yes, I am serious. These days, from what we’re learning about Lyme disease (more about its specific terminology later), anything is possible. If you regard yourself as healthy and were asked, “Overall, how do you feel?” and you answered “Just fine, thanks,” then Lyme in any form is very unlikely and testing you would be […]
Case History: The Madness of Overmedication
You’d think knowing that the fourth leading cause of death in the US is correctly-taken prescription drugs would push physicians to prescribe fewer of them. But the facts haven’t entered the collective brain of the medical profession. Big Pharma advertising controls both that brain and yours with its ubiquity of magazine, internet, and TV ads […]
When Your Female Sex Drive Is Circling The Drain
I don’t mean to catch you mid-croissant on this topic, but it may have recently dawned on you that your sex drive is not what it was when you were younger. In fact, when you think about it, maybe you never had much of a sex drive at all, no matter which of your decades […]
Case Study: High Blood Pressure
Phyllis B. was a longtime patient of mine whose medical problems were happily under control and who usually came in only for annual check-ups. As I’d just seen her last month, I expected today’s visit meant some new problem had emerged. “I’m here for Kirk,” she began. I’d only met her husband once, years earlier. […]
Are Lifestyle Changes Impossible?
Many years ago, I became exhausted dealing with a friend who ignored my advice on living a healthy lifestyle. His attitude toward exercise was similar to Oscar Wilde’s “I often take exercise. Why only yesterday I had breakfast in bed.” His attitude toward food, especially restaurant food, was that he didn’t care much about quality […]
Case Study: Tracy’s Eczema From Hell
She had wisely trimmed her fingernails to avoid injuring her own skin, but as she sat in my office she continuously rubbed one part of her body or another with the ball of her thumb in order to relieve the itching. Tracy was in her 20s and accompanied by her mother. Although I could see […]
Male Menopause: Is It Real?
Short answer: Yes, but don’t hope for any quick fixes—that’s pharmaceutical industry-think. Another way to view male menopause: Sure, a ball will bounce, just not as high over time. I get asked about male menopause all the time, almost always by women (who, admittedly, represent the majority of my patients) and only rarely by my […]
How To Not Gain Weight
Please note this Health Tip will not tell you how to lose weight. If you want to browse the offerings on that topic, go to amazon and search for diet books. Once our largest bookstore attempted to track the numbers, but when they surpassed 95,000 it apparently gave up and now tell us that the […]