Alcohol consumption has been rising since the mid-90s but since the onset of the pandemic, alcohol consumption has risen significantly more. This significant increase is likely due to boredom, easy access from being home more, stress, or some combination of these three factors. The National Institute for Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), a part of NIH, defines a standard drink as 12 ounces of beer, 8-9 ounces of malt liquor, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of liquor (aka a “shot"). The NIAA...
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Author: Dr. Cynthia Bye, ND, FABNO
Is Your Diet Improving Your Health? Or is it Increasing Your Risk of Breast Cancer?
New research from the European Perspective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study has determined a link between pro-inflammatory diets and the development of breast cancer. This study followed over 300,000 women for 14 years, of which about 13,000 developed breast cancer. Most studies prior to this have only looked at single nutrients or foods. Assessing the whole diet rather than just single nutrients or foods allowed the researchers in the study to make more accurate health conc...
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Do you love sugar… so do all Cancers
New research has found an association between early-onset colorectal cancer (EO-CRC) and consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs). EO-CRC is defined as being diagnosed with colorectal cancer before age 50. The Nurses’ Health Study 2, a prospective study followed roughly 95,000 female nurses between 1991-2015. The participants who consumed 2 or more SSBs per day in adulthood had a more than doubled risk of EO-CRC when compared with those who consumed less than 1 serving per week...
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Long term side effects of cancer care.
A recent article in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI) regarding the long-term side effects of cancer care caught my eye. The title of the article “Strategies to Prevent or Remediate Cancer and Treatment-Related Aging” the National Cancer Institute convened a think tank to “share evidence of promising strategies to prevent, slow, or reverse the aging consequences of cancer and its treatment.” It basically is good old fashion naturopathy. Everything they talked about in this ar...
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How Trauma Impacts Health
As practitioners of naturopathic oncology, we know that the vast majority of cancer diagnoses occur within 5 years of a major trauma. These include the death of a loved one, divorce, loss of a job, to name a few. However, even early childhood trauma can have negative health outcomes many years after the fact. ACEs, or “Adverse Childhood Experiences” are recognized by the CDC as contributing to conditions like heart disease, diabetes, depression, and cancer. When I did my residency at Cancer Tre...
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What is a Naturopathic Oncologist?
Naturopathic physicians (NDs) go to medical school like their MD colleagues. The first two years of school follow the same track, with classes in basic science. Biochemistry, anatomy (including cadaver lab…ughh), physiology, and so on. You can’t change basic science no matter what medical philosophy you study. The last two years are where we diverge. Yes, we learn Pharmacology and all the other ologies, and we can prescribe drugs in licensed states. However, in their last 2 years, MD students...
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Risks and Benefits of Medication
As naturopathic doctors, prevention of disease is a top focus. Our goal is to teach our patients how to take care of themselves so that they do not end up needing to take medication regularly. One of the things we love best is when we are able to help people improve their health enough to reduce or even discontinue medications! The point must be made that there is a time and a place for meds: someone who has malignant hypertension, advanced diabetics, people with stomach ulcers to name a few. H...
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Let’s Talk About Supplements
The supplement industry contributed over $150 Billion to the U.S. economy in 2019 and is expected to hit $216 billion by 2026. More than two-thirds of Americans take supplements each year, ranging from vitamins and herbs to fish oil. Studies show that 60 to 80% of cancer patients are going online to Dr. Google and using supplements during their treatments to mitigate side effects. Almost all of these items are over the counter so they must be safe, right? No. This is dangerous especia...
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Tips for Lung and Heart Health in This Scary Era of Massive Fires
An unfortunate side effect of a changing climate is an increase in wildfires. Over Labor Day the west coast erupted into flames, sending thousands of citizens fleeing and blanketing the region with thick smoke. The air quality in Portland Oregon and surrounding areas reached more than 500 ppb. 301 to 500 is hazardous to all living things. People with pre-existing conditions such as asthma or allergies are struggling the most, but everyone is being affected. There are things...
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Could You Have Histamine Intolerance?
Histamine is a substance that is made and stored primarily by certain white blood cells called mast cells and basophils. Histamine is also produced in the brain, where it acts as a neurotransmitter, and in the stomach, where it triggers the release of stomach acid. All in all, histamine is known to be involved in 23 different physiological functions. Once it has been released from storage histamine is quickly broken down by two different enzymes: DAO in the gut and HMT in the rest of the body. ...
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