Patient Advocates

Your HealthCare Safety Net

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Raise your hand if you’ve heard of leptin! No? This could be one of your keys to losing weight!

Dr. Leila Turner explains that “leptin is a hormone that is released from your fat cells when you are “full” towards the end of a meal. If ,however, your leptin receptors are “resistant” then they do not tell the brain you are “full” and that second portion of spaghetti ends up being “needed” to make you feel full. Again, testing for this is a simple blood test, if your blood leptin is elevated, when fasting then you have a degree...

Up to 80% of Americans are low in magnesium. So? Should we worry?

Perhaps. Better yet, get your RBC magnesium level checked (insurance pays for this) and see if you are low. It’s an easy fix. Magnesium is critical for heart health, to reduce blood pressure and lower stroke risk. Millions are on “stomach acid blockers” like Prevacid or Prilosec. Problem: they block absorption of magnesium. Dr. Mary Ackerley, a leading psychiatrist in Tucson, explains “Symptoms of magnesium deficiency are anxiety, depression, constipation, twitches, headaches and migraines, high blood pressure and restless legs....

What’s in our bottled water besides water?

We all drink bottled water nowadays – ever mindful that water trumps juice or soda for health, right?  Right.  However, that water may contain contaminants.  The Environmental Working Group has done an exhaustive study. 18% of all bottled waters refuse to cite the source of their water and 32% refuse to disclose anything about the treatment or purity of their water.  This could be a problem since, along with the BPA in the plastic itself (released with heat – perhaps...

Can’t sleep? Sound familiar? Tired of being tired?

The pharmaceutical industry is making $billions due to this problem.  These drugs can be dangerous or addictive.  Might there be a better approach? To figure this out, first understand why you are not sleeping?  Is it too much caffeine, the imachine effect which may block melatonin (your brain’s sleep med) – learn more about this problem here, prolonged stress and the resulting high levels of cortisol, or soft tissue blockage at the back of your throat.  What to do? M....