Low back pain is not only the leading cause of chronic pain and disability in adults, but it also tops the chart when it comes to opioid prescriptions. For many reasons, treatment with opioids is far from the best approach. Now there’s one more reason to find a better solution for pain management: opioid antibodies created by your own immune system.

Research shows that about 1 in 10 people deal with negative effects after taking antibiotics. This could include anything from chronic diarrhea to the sudden appearance of allergies to issues with blood sugar. But of all the potential impacts antibiotics can have on your health, there’s one that’s starting to appear more common — and more serious — than all the others…

More than 15 million people in the U.S. take proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) to control stomach acid, heartburn, and the symptoms of acid reflux or GERD. But most don’t know that PPIs are actually able to bypass the blood-brain barrier and can affect your brain itself.

Ranitidine-based medications were found to contain an impurity considered a probable human carcinogen. The FDA thought the amount and impact was small, but things have changed: If they’re in your medicine cabinet, you should know the danger has increased significantly…

There are obvious problems with prescribing opioids for tooth pain. The biggest being the potential for addiction and side effects. But beyond these problems with opioids in dentistry, there’s a very surprising one that proves it’s not worth any of these risks…

Jim was a patient of mine years back. He had come to me for holistic advice on heart health. His doctors were recommending statins to control his cholesterol. When Jim came to see me later in the year, I was struck by his decline. That’s when we discussed easing him off drugs and starting a recovery program…

Say you start taking a new blood pressure medication and suddenly feel nauseous and dizziness all the time. What would you do? Probably call your doctor. But if you’re suddenly feeling down or anxious, you may not immediately connect it to your blood pressure medication. Especially, if no one warned you…

With the season’s falling temperatures comes an increased risk for upper respiratory infections… If you find yourself coughing, sneezing or wheezing anytime soon and your doctor places an antibiotic prescription in your hands, make sure you’re not trading an infection for a heart problem…

Tramadol is far less addictive than some “big gun” drugs. In fact, when it was first released, it wasn’t even classified as an opioid (but that’s changed). Tramadol also has fewer side effects than other painkillers. Or so we thought… As more people turn to this “safe” pain reliever, risks are bubbling to the surface…

Thyroid hormone balancing is confusing for mainstream doctors including endocrinologists (but they may not admit it). That’s because they use only lab tests. The problem with that is there are many medications that affect your thyroid hormone and confound the interpretation of standard thyroid tests…

You’ve probably never heard the term “Ambien zombie” before. So, let me explain this growing problem… When you take Ambien or other sleep aids, they do two things that can get you in trouble: They give you Teflon brain, meaning new memories won’t stick. They also release your inhibitions…

Been told you need a statin and questioning whether it’s the right step for you? You’re not alone: According to the Mayo Clinic Proceedings every man over 65 and every woman over 70 qualifies to be on statin drugs. But should everyone take a drug just because they reach a certain age? This doc says no…