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Metabolic syndrome is the leading cause of heart disease, diabetes, and a variety of other chronic illnesses in this country. What is it?

The Cleveland Clinic teaches us that “Metabolic syndrome is a collection of heart disease risk factors that increase your chance of developing heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.” Also known as Syndrome X, this condition affects more than one in five Americans.  This number increases with age.   What does it look like? A waistline of 40 inches or more for men and 35 inches or more for women (measured across the belly) A blood pressure of 130/85 mm Hg or...

Sun Shine

Protection from the sun.Yes! Protection from sunscreens that can lead to damage. What? Not all sunscreen are created equal.

Things to consider: Don’t be fooled by high SPF.  High-SPF products tempt people to apply too little sunscreen and stay in the sun too long. The FDA has proposed prohibiting the sale of sunscreens with SPF values greater than 50+, calling higher SPF values “inherently misleading.” The common sunscreen additive vitamin A may speed development of skin cancer.  The sunscreen industry adds a form of vitamin A to nearly one-quarter of all sunscreens. Retinyl palmitate is an anti-oxidant that slows...

Depressed? The National Institute of Health suggests we put down that can of soda – diet or regular. Soda and depression…really?

A study by the NIH, reported at the annual American Academy of Neurology in March, reported that people who drink four cans or more of soda daily are about 30 percent more likely to be diagnosed with depression later in life than people who don’t drink soda! Fruit punch had an even greater effect, with participants who drank four cans, or cups, a day 38 percent more likely to develop depression, according to the study. The study also showed a greater...

Always tired and wondering why? Need lots of caffeine to keep going? Lots of stress in your life? What’s going on here?

You might be experiencing a condition known as Adrenal Fatigue or non-Addison’s hypoadrenia and it is diagnosable and treatable.  The previous post explaining your Adrenal Gland and its importance mentioned a hormone it produces called cortisol.   Cortisol (which is produced from cholesterol) gives us energy in the morning, helps to keep us going during exercise, daily work and stress.  It is the “fight or flight” hormone, or what gives us the “shivers” in near accidents in traffic.  When you...

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Smaller than a walnut, no heavier than a grape…affects every function in our bodies. What? Your Adrenal Glands! Unsung hero of our bodies.

Your adrenal glands sit atop your kidneys and orchestrate your whole metabolism.  Little gland with a huge role.  These powerful little hormone producing glands manufacture and secrete almost 50 different hormones, including steroid hormones such as adrenaline, cortisol, aldosterone, and the precursors to estrogen and testosterone that are absolutely essential to our health and vitality. Protective: the anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant adrenal hormones like cortisol helps to minimize negative and allergic reactions, such as swelling and inflammation, to alcohol, drugs, foods,...

Homocysteine – what is it? Why do we need to know? Ask your heart.

Since 1990, the National Library of Medicine has posted thousands of scientific studies showing that homocysteine is a significant risk factor for disease. What disease?  Higher levels of homocysteine raise the risk of premature cardiovascular disease affecting the heart, brain, and peripheral blood vessels.  Elevated homocysteine may speed the progression of atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) in the arteries in your heart and the rest of your body.  Osteoporosis: Women with high homocysteine levels were found to have significantly lower...

Could your house be making you sick? The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) tells us that more than a quarter of U. S. buildings are water-damaged.

Water damaged buildings can promote the growth of molds – and you do not have to see or smell it for it to be present. Living in a moldy household or water damaged building increases the risk for depression by 33-44 percent.  Many other conditions can be caused by mold as well:  chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, multiple chemical sensitivities, Lupus, MS, migraines, autoimmune illnesses. Symptoms may include: Breathing: Difficult, Tightness in chest, Asthma Emotions: irritable, anger Extremities: Tingling Hands and Feet...

What’s in your teeth may be causing your high blood pressure…and be a cause factor of heart attacks and strokes. How does that happen?

Nicholas Gonzalez, MD, explains: “According to a research paper published in the 2011 issue of The Journal of Clinical Hypertension, mercury affects the heart and blood vessels in several ways:” Mercury in your body increases inflammation It causes thrombosis (the formation of blood clots in the veins) Mercury contributes to abnormal endothelial function (remember that the endothelium is the thin layer of cells that lines the interior surface of your arteries and is a prime indicator of cardiovascular health or...

We are only 10% human. What? Microbes outnumber human cells by 10 to 1 and are essential to our health.

There are the harmless ones, the ”favor traders” who rely on us for survival as much as we rely on them for survival (this is the greatest percentage), and the small percentage of potentially dangerous ones called pathogens.  These microbes are every bit as important – and perhaps more – as the genes we inherit from our parents.   Your inherited genes are fixed – although you can influence which ones become more or less active – while it may...

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Confused about the latest controversy with vitamins? All is not as the headlines say.

Mark Hyman, MD, a leading clinician of Functional Medicine and renowned educator, cautions us that “The recent media hype around vitamins is a classic case of drawing the wrong conclusions from good science. “ He explains several flaws with the recent study: • Hormone replacement was not taken into consideration. Women in the study who also took hormone replacement therapy were more at risk already for increased rates of cancer and heart disease and strokes (remember the Women’s Health Initiative...