Category: Uncategorized

Leading Edge Cardiac Risk Predictor! What if your doctor could tell you what your risk was for heart disease and stroke, without using needles or blood work, and that no invasive or expensive testing was required?

This is possible with the Endo Pat 2000. Heart attacks occur when the linings of your arteries  – the endothelium – are damaged.  For many reasons, they can become inflamed, have fatty deposits and “hardening of the arteries” – atherosclerosis.  This is actually an ongoing inflammatory, damaging process which can lead to the formation of a type of clot called a “thrombus”.  Heart attacks are the result. Thus, measuring the health of this arterial lining is critical as a means...

Gluten Sensitivity: What is the real issue? 1 in 20 Americans has some degree of gluten sensitivity – most undiagnosed – and the health effects are wide-ranging. Could this be you?

Symptoms are far-reaching:  Dr. Mary Ackerley explains “Here is where it gets interesting. Gluten sensitivity is not just a disease of the gut. It is a multi organ, multi symptom disease. The antibodies gluten releases can cause a lot of harm by increasing inflammation and autoimmune reactions. The long term consequences of having a gluten allergy can be devastating. Autoimmune disorders shown to be adversely affected by gluten include insulin dependent diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, irritable bowel and hypothyroidism. Women with...

Are you losing bone? Have osteopenia or osteoporosis? Wonder if your treatment is working? Options. Always helpful to have options.

Although they appear quite solid, bones are constantly breaking down and rebuilding in a process called remodeling.  When more bone cells are being discarded than are being created, the first condition that occurs is osteopenia, the precursor of osteoporosis. DEXA Scans are very helpful to determine how much bone mass you have the day of the test.  However, you wait another year or two until the next DEXA to see the effect of your therapy. When bones remodel, there are...

Breast cancer screening. So much conflicting news, so many options, what is the best approach for you?

Medical science is constantly evolving – hence the conflicting news.  Let’s look more closely: Mammograms are a valuable – though not the only valuable – tool used for breast screening.  Martha Grout, MD, explains that “Mammography has been the state-of-the-art screening test for several decades. However, considerable controversy remains regarding its value, particularly in women under the age of 50. Results from the widely accepted BCDDP study documented that the overall ability of mammograms to detect cancer was only 70...

Cholesterol: want the whole picture? Order the whole test! What?

Standard cholesterol testing measures only a fraction of the indicators of cardiac risk.  Remember that half of the people who suffer heart attacks have normal cholesterol! So what is the rest of the picture?  There are many subtypes of both HDL and LDL particles, each carrying different degrees of risk.  Size matters.  Particle size is extraordinarily important; research shows that small dense LDL cholesterol is inflammatory and toxic to blood vessels.  Large particles – HDL – are protective while the small...

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Summer is here. Get out your sunscreen, right? There is no proof that sunscreens prevent most skin cancers. Can this be true? Are there good sunscreens?

Despite heavy sunscreen use, the rate of melanoma has tripled over the last 35 years. The Environmental Working Group has published a list of 9 surprising facts about sunscreens and how to pick the best ones. 1. FDA’s sunscreen rules have changed but products haven’t improved. 2. The common sunscreen additive vitamin A may speed development of skin cancer. 3. Don’t be fooled by high SPF. High-SPF products tempt people to apply too little sunscreen and stay in the sun too...

Question: Is there more than one cause for low thyroid function? Yes. Is it critical to understand which cause affects your own low thyroid function? Absolutely.

The most common cause of hypothyroidism is called Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, is an autoimmune illness(immune system attacking the body itself).  Affecting 2-7% of the population, only about 10% are accurately diagnosed.   The problem:  if the cause of your low thyroid condition is Hashimoto’s, then the medication treatment you may be receiving may not work well or actually make it worse. Mary Ackerley, MD, explains: “Typically Hashimotos patients have been identified by standard testing as being deficient in thyroid. This is not because the thyroid is...

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Know about juicing? Having trouble eating all those servings of fruits and vegetables the nutritionists tell us we need? Looking for a healthy jump start on losing weight?

Juicing is emerging as a wonderful approach to easily improving your health in a number of ways.  Martha Grout, MD, suggests that we consider these benefits: Detoxify:  You can detoxify through fasting without actually giving up everything except water. You can get more vitamins that you could possibly eat if you ate the whole fruits and vegetables Decrease insulin resistance (precursor of diabetes) without actually having to take a pill Lose Weight! Can you imagine actually eating the following every...

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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....