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Posted in Blog Mental Health Perspectives Political

By F. Nicholas Jacobs, FACHE

Modern Healthcare’s February 4th, 2013 issue was titled, In Denial. It was about immigration reform and the fact that health coverage will, at the present time, not be offered to those 11 plus million immigrants who will be permitted to get in the queue to become legalized citizens.

According to the article “Proponents of giving limited healthcare benefits to currently illegal immigrants argue that doing so would alleviate some problems that affect everyone and could reduce costs. The number of uninsured residents would fall much closer to zero; reimbursement for hospitals and health centers would improve; and...

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Posted in Blog General Health Health guidelines Lifestyle Mental Health Nutrition Specific Health Conditions Supplements

By James Roach, MD, ABIHM

www.themidwaycenter.com

Improved working memory, executive function and higher IQ can rest in the mutation of a common gene, COMT.  But as it controls estrogen, neurotransmitter, and toxin elimination, anxiety and mood swings are prevalent.  Specifically, stimulating dopamine, adrenalin, and norepinephrine levels can be four-fold higher.

‘Warriors’, as The New York Times Magazine recently referred to non-mutaters, only focus when stimulated, as in battle.  The mutated, it states, are ‘Worriers’, with continuous focus but subject to meltdown under high stress.  Worriers get better grades but Warriors do better on tests.  Interestingly, when students were told that anxiety during tests...

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Posted in Blog Health guidelines Nutrition Specific Health Conditions

By Victor Sierpina, MD, ABIHM

Previously published in the Galveston Daily News

Some good news came out recently for those with type 2, non-insulin dependent diabetics that will lower the burden and costs of your care. If your hemoglobin A1C (HbA1C) level is under 8 and you are on oral medications, you don’t need to monitor your glucose daily beyond the first 6 months of starting therapy. This is also true of those on medical nutrition therapy. A review of multiple studies by the Cochrane Collaboration found that monitoring home blood sugars 4-7 times a week in such patients does not reduce...

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Posted in Blog Mental Health Perspectives Spirituality in medicine

By Jim Roach, MD, ABIHM, www.themidwaycenter.com

Previously published in the Lexington Herald-Leader

Our nation prides itself on intellectual achievements.  We seek rational solutions.  We live in an “information age” where knowledge is king.

Yet we are not solving drug addiction, violence, or war.  After a record eleven years, war is routine.  Mass gun murders occur monthly.  One-third of us take anti-depressants.  We have the biggest gap between rich and poor, and the smallest middle class, in three-quarters of a century.  In a country that prided itself on education, debt increasingly precludes college and our international ranking is at new...

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Posted in Blog Educational opportunities Specific Health Conditions

Today is the last day to register for the Gateway Medical Conference at the early bird rate, unless you are an ABIHM Diplomate. Co sponsored by the American Holistic Medical Association and the American Academy of Environmental Medicine, the conference is titled Fatigue: The Modern Dilemma: A Debilitating Disorder for the Patient and a Diagnostic Dilemma for the Practitioner, held in St. Louis April 17-21, 2013. Take a look at this array of fantastic speakers:

The conference plenary sessions are...

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Posted in Blog Perspectives

By Victor Sierpina, MD, ABIHM, DABFM
Previously published in the Medical Journal of Houston Integrative Medicine Column

Do you remember your first doctor’s bag? My mother bought me my first black bag when I started medical school. It was about the size and shape of a loaf of bread, nice black leather with a latch that locked. I carried it proudly and fully recognized its symbolic nature and the change my life had taken. Like the executive with his briefcase or the tennis star with her racket bag, the black bag was an icon at the start of my professional...

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Posted in Blog Perspectives Specific Health Conditions

by Sanford Levy, MD, ABIHM

For years, at conferences and in journal articles and books, I have been hearing about and reading about measuring the ratio in either serum or urine of 2:16 hydroxyestrone. The word was that this ratio predicted breast cancer risk. The theory made sense, as 2-hydroxyestrone has minimal estrogenic effect, whereas 16-alpha-hydroxyestrone has an estrogenic effect similar to estradiol. I was aware of a published study which showed a 40% lower risk of breast cancer in women with a higher 2:16 hydroxyestrone ratio. This diagnostic test is readily available through Genova/Metametrix at a reasonable cost. If the...

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Posted in Blog Health guidelines Nutrition Perspectives

By Victor Sierpina, MD, ABIHM, DABFM

Dr. Sierpina is the W.D. and Laura Nell Nicholson Family Professor of Integrative Medicine and Professor of Family Medicine at University of Texas Medical Branch

Previously published in the Galveston Daily News

Checking out of Bucee’s on the way back from San Antonio last week, we grabbed a 99-cent pack of hot cashews that festooned the exit counter. The aroma and appearance were hard to resist. We both shrugged, smiled, and said, “Why not?”

Let’s face it, nuts have always had a bit of a seedy reputation. Calling someone a nut isn’t exactly a compliment. How would you...

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Posted in Blog General Health Mental Health

By Victor Sierpina, MD, ABIHM, DABFM
Previously printed in the Galveston Daily News

Maybe the reason chocolate is associated with Valentine’s Day is that it is associated with the release of phenylethylamine (PEA), a chemical released when we are falling in love. Chocolate also is known to affect pleasure receptors in our brain by stimulating endorphins. The theobromines in chocolate act like a mild dose of caffeine and are a brain stimulant. Of course, the carbs, sugar, and fat content of the typical chocolate bar all give us a burst of pleasure as well.

What you might not know is that...

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Posted in Blog Health guidelines Lifestyle Specific Health Conditions Supplements

By Peeyush Bhargava, MD, ABIHM
http://www.vedic-healing.com

In today’s society obesity is an epidemic. It is a risk factor for many chronic diseases and takes a toll on the individual, their family, and the whole society. Body Mass Index (BMI) is an accurate representation of body’s fat content as it takes height into account. BMI of 25 of more is considered overweight and BMI of 30 or more is considered obese. According to recent estimates, about 33.3% of US adults are overweight (BMI...

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