Statistics show that in 2020 50% of those 65 or older had a chronic condition. 80% of that same age group were on at least 1 prescription drug and 50% were on 4 or more drugs. Statistics also show that if you are on 3 or more drugs there is a good chance they are interacting.
I am not against pharmaceuticals. Some of my patients would not be here without them. However, pharmaceuticals treat symptoms, not causes. This is great for big pharma, the medical device industry, and the medical indus...
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Cancer Care
The Link Between an Untreated Infection and Brain Cancer
I recently came across 2 prospective studies suggesting a link between a common parasite and the development of a malignant brain tumor (gliomas). These studies examined the association between antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii and the risk of glioma development. The results of these studies suggest an increased risk of developing a glioma with this parasitic infection, especially in individuals who showed higher levels of antibodies in gliomas.
Toxoplasma gondii is one of the most common para...
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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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Cancer or Covid, it’s all about inflammation: Obesity and Inflammation
According to a new study, individuals with obesity (defined as a BMI greater than 30) may not benefit as much from the COVID-19 vaccine as individuals who are not obese (BMI less than 25). The study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, found that obese individuals only formed HALF the number of antibodies 7 days post-vaccination compared with individuals who were underweight or normal weight.
The CDC reports 42.5% of adult Americans are obese and 73.6% are overweight OR obese. Obesity is ...
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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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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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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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Colon Cancer in Young People – The Warning Signs
According to data provided by the American Cancer Society, it is estimated that almost 105,000 Americans will be diagnosed with colon cancer in 2020. The colon, or large intestine, is the final part of the digestive tract. Tumors of the colon develop gradually from abnormal collections of cells that produce polyps. These are typically “silent,” meaning a person has no idea that anything is amiss. This is why colonoscopies are recommended starting at age 50, or earlier if there is a family hist...
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