Patient Advocates

Your HealthCare Safety Net

Category: Best Practice

chicken and flu

Check that chicken! What?

According to a recent study by Consumer Reports, 97% of the chicken breasts they test harbored bacteria that could make you sick. Analyzing more than 300 chicken breasts purchased across the US, the scientists found potentially harmful bacteria in almost all of them, including organic brands.  More than 50% of the breasts contained fecal contamination.  Around half of them contained at least one bacteria that was resistant to 3 commonly used antibiotics.  This resistance to antibiotics is becoming a major...

Food in shape of heart with green food on left and red foods on the righ

So, if chemicals in our food, water, cleaning products, air and the surrounding environment can make us fat, what foods can help flush these out of our bodies (detox)?

We hear about detoxification in magazine articles and on TV.  What is detoxification?  Simply stated, it is the removal of harmful substances from our bodies.  As noted in the last article, certain toxins (chemicals) can have far reaching health effects, like heart disease, diabetes and weight gain. Many companies are trying to sell you detox programs.  Buyer beware!  A true medical detox program should be overseen by a health care professional knowledgeable in the full spectrum of the internal chemistry...

The cells of our body need that initial spark provided by CoQ10, in order to function.”

Coenzyme Q10!

Have you heard of this wonderful antioxidant that our bodies produce? We produce less as we age and so need to understand what role this plays in our health.  Tori Hudson, ND, a nationally acclaimed teacher and clinician, explains “Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is one of those nutrients that just keeps surprising you- with it’s diversity, it’s benefits, safety, and research. It is widely found in nature where it is synthesized in humans, animals, plants and microbes.  An essential component of...

vitamin-b12-benefits1

Do you need Vitamin B12? Just how helpful is this vitamin and what does it do?

  The amazing role of B12: • Reduces homocysteine which in turn reduces cardiac risk • Plays an important role in the production of energy from fats and proteins • Supports in the production of red blood cells and the oxygen carrying ability of red blood cells • Maintains healthy nerve cells • Helps in the production of DNA and RNA – your body’s genetic material (still produced all the time we are alive as cells need to replace themselves) • Supports healthy immune functioning • Plays...

Skeleton doing hand stand

Let’s talk about bones. . . about types of calcium to build bones. . . about medications used in osteoporosis.

Bones are constantly breaking down bone cells and building new ones (called remodeling).  How does calcium fit in here?  Which medications might be helpful (or harmful)? Americans take more calcium supplements than any other group on the planet – and we have one of the highest rates of osteoporosis.  Why?   Calcium is only one of many different components necessary to help build and maintain strong bones.  The calcium in your bones accounts for approximately 20% of the entire makeup...