Latest Stories

You might remember the first Pap smear you ever went through. It’s one of the most important things you can do for your health, though none of us look forward to it. Thing is… the Pap test can identify cervical cancer in the early stages — when it’s not too late to save your life. So don’t let age hold you back!

When you go for your yearly checkup, one of the boxes you’ll have to check on their forms is about whether you’re taking hormone therapy drugs. While it does come with some benefits, it’s been discovered that the risk it carries has been dramatically underrepresented…

Doctors prescribe statins to control cholesterol levels and protect the heart. Ironically, these very same statins could make it more likely that diabetes could develop, which weakens blood vessels, which can make you a target for heart disease. And round and round it goes…

If any disease desperately needs new treatment options, it’s Alzheimer’s. It’s been 17 years since a new drug was approved. And right now, the treatments available only offer minor symptoms relief. In the fight against this devastating and stubborn disease, hope is a very good thing, and it starts in your gut…

Here come the holidays… and the potential for weight gain. But if you go into the season with a game plan, you can still indulge without feeling deprived or being desperate to lose weight after the new year…

So many people love running. And there are a lot of solid reasons to. Runners get that release of feel-good brain chemicals known as a runner’s high. They can load up on carbs because they’re burning crazy amounts of calories. But there’s one more thing you may be missing out on if you’re not running…

Remember that there is no safe blood level of lead. It’s been tied to illnesses ranging from mystery military ailments to heart disease. Fortunately, it’s treatable. Chelation is a method of binding up metal molecules so it can be eliminated via the urine. There are also antioxidants that help get your health back…

It takes a lot of experimentation to get the right sleep program that puts you out at night — and most importantly, keeps you out! So, here are some alternative sleep therapies you may want to try.

Subjective age is the term used for that number you give when someone asks, “How old do you feel?” How do you answer? It matters because it’s that sort of thinking that can not only prevent physical disabilities and ailments but can even protect against future dementia and Alzheimer’s…

Research has shown that exercise helps keep dementia at bay. There’s a pretty logical connection here: Poor sleep is a known dementia risk factor. Physical activity promotes better and deeper sleep, for one thing. Of all the “exercise” you can partake in, some of the best for your brain involve no sweating at all…

More than 75 percent of Americans take vitamins. In the over 35 group, that number goes up to an impressive 81 percent. Yet, with all of the vitamins we’re taking, there’s one that many people don’t know about in spite of multiple clinical studies that have proven the necessity of the vitamin for fighting off age-related concerns.

For those of us who put the pounds on easily and can’t seem to get them off again, here’s some news: It appears some of us actually have an “obesity gene.” This may sound like very bad news, when in fact, it’s not as bad as it sounds. That’s because research found an exercise more powerful than your genes.

When you first start eating a healthy diet, you feel fantastic. You have more energy. Maybe you even resolve long-standing health issues. But despite the amazing benefits (or perhaps because of them), healthy eating can easily become an obsession. This obsession even has a name — and it’s considered an eating disorder.

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…

Vascular dementia is the second most common form of dementia after Alzheimer’s. Its causes and risk factors are different from AD, its symptoms show up differently, and it’s much more under our control. Symptoms of vascular dementia can vary. Here’s what to watch for and how to identify your risk…

Because obesity is a factor in so many health conditions, including diabetes, heart disease, and even cancer, it’s estimated that the extra weight Americans carry is responsible for one in five deaths. But a compound found in a certain green fruit could help not only kick obesity to the curb but diabetes with it!

I recently read about a U.S. Army veteran who went through years of misdiagnosis and was even accused of faking his health problems by the Army before finding chronic lead poisoning was making him so ill. I’d like to share his story with you and new findings about lead and heart disease…

Getting back in shape after you’ve let your physical fitness slide for years (or decades) isn’t easy. But if you can break through the wall of negative thoughts and get your butt moving, you’ll find some pretty amazing benefits waiting for you. And the older and more out of shape you are, the better these benefits are.

Menopause symptoms can be miserable. Some women turn to hormone replacement therapy (HRT). But a lot of women don’t feel comfortable with the potential side effects, including a higher breast cancer risk. So, what else can you do? Check out herbs that work just as well…

As you get older, your brain ages with the rest of the body. If you want to keep a better-working brain, here are seven steps you can take to keep your wits about you as you grow older.

Lung cancer is an incredibly scary disease… Not only is it the leading cause of cancer deaths in both men and women — beating out colon, prostate, ovarian and breast cancers combined — it’s also very sneaky, generally showing no symptoms until it has reached an advanced stage.

This time of year, I start wondering what flu season is going to be like. So I started digging and found my answer: a report from Harvard Medical School confirmed my worst suspicion. In fact, they say that we are likely to have an “active and possibly severe flu season.” Let’s get ready to beat this…

If you’re a smoker who’s tried to quit, you know it’s a hard addiction to fight. But what if you only smoke “once in a while?” Are you safer than those pack-a-day smokers? Well, reducing the number of cigarettes you smoke daily may be the first step to quitting entirely, but you’re far from out of the woods…

You’ve probably heard that trans fat is the unhealthiest kind of fat you can eat. It increases your risk of heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes. In fact, they’re so bad they were banned… but you’ll be surprised to learn you may still be eating them and they could increase dementia risk by 50 percent…

The keto diet is a big thing these days. No wonder, since it’s been shown to have the potential to boost weight loss, improve heart health and brain function, and maybe even reduce the risk of cancer. But not everyone should just jump into the keto diet headfirst…

Living with diabetes puts you at greater risk of infection, including skin and respiratory infections. Why? High blood sugar weakens your immune system, leaving you a wide-open target for infectious bacteria. That means you must be vigilant about more than your blood sugar. You must know these signs of infection…

You may know that hypertension in middle age is also associated with dementia and Alzheimer’s later in life. Long-term blood pressure damages vessels in the brain creating “white matter lesions” which can be seen on brain scans. But the good news is that this damage can be reversed…

Once you turn 50, things in your body start to change. We expect some changes in appearance and abilities, but a few of these are just plain weird. If you know they’re coming, you’ll be better prepared for them. You may not be able to reverse them, but there are ways you can continue to feel like yourself and enjoy what’s to come.

For a long time, healthy living and coffee drinking were at odds. But by and large, the perspective on coffee and health has changed a lot in the past 20 years. Why? Because science keeps proving that coffee is good for you. Case in point: A recent study shows coffee brews better gut bacteria…

In 2018, there was a big hullabaloo about the heart health benefits of fish oil. The major news outlets reported on a research review of existing clinical trials on the heart health benefits of fish oil — and found that there really weren’t any. But a bigger, better and higher quality review has all those naysayers eating crow.

As a doctor who only wants to relieve my patients’ suffering, it can be frustrating working at getting to the root cause of an allergy — especially one causing chronic health issues.

If you eat without thinking about what you’re eating, you’re missing out on an unsurpassed chance to improve your well-being. Functional foods are just that: foods that can help your body function at its best. If you’re not eating these, you’re starving your body of the nutrients it needs to be healthy.

Curry is not only tasty, but is also reported to have medicinal properties. Used for centuries in Ayurvedic medicine, it contains turmeric, a root known as a potent anti-tumor agent.

Gratitude begins with a thought. If believed, it grows into that wonderful feeling of “well-being” that begets balance and wholeness in the entire body. The really good news is that you can experience gratitude whenever you wish…

In the U.S. alone, more than 60,000 chemicals are used in industry, agriculture and household products, none of which require real safety testing. Despite their widespread use, these chemicals pose real harm, and none of us are immune…

If you only turn to cranberries for bladder help, you’re missing out. The benefits of this underrated berry are so great, researchers believe they are just beginning to understand the superpowers cranberries can bestow on the human body.

You already know it can help you lose weight. But calorie restriction has some amazing health-boosting benefits that go far beyond your waistline. And this common-sense trick will give you the will power to reap them all…

Interstitial cystitis can seem like a chronic urinary tract infection. But unlike a UTI, no bacterial infection is present. All the other annoying symptoms are however, especially the frequent and often painful urination…

Would you give up one snack a day if it meant you could live a disease-free life? Because that could be all that’s standing between you and the ticking cancer-causing time bomb in your body…

Remember the ephedrine weight loss craze of the 90s? Since it was natural it had to be safe right? Wrong. Fortunately another natural compound has come forward that may give dieters the fat-burning boost they’re looking for with no ill effects.

When planning your meals, if you follow a specific diet, sometimes it seems easier to determine what you shouldn’t be eating than what to include. But one thing I’ve learned is to be a little skeptical about the food advice you find online.

It’s no news that fruits and vegetables are important for your health. What you may not know, though, is that they’re crucial for your sexual health too. Here’s how to get the most helpful nutrients into your meals.

Michael Pollan, a celebrated food writer is someone with whom I generally agree. We share many platforms, including the benefits of whole food, real food, a high volume of plant food, and a return to cooking. However, he recently criticized the paleo diet and with this, I must take issue.

Taking a probiotic supplement is one of the best things you can do for your body. The special microorganisms that we call beneficial bacteria dwell in your gut (intestinal tract) where they help maintain a healthful, balanced environment that is critical for overall health.

Making mistakes is OK when dealing with health and trying to recreate a better quality of life. But when you don’t realize you are making mistakes, serious problems occur that put success out of reach…

Tightness is the lower body can alter the way you carry out your daily activities. Stretches can do wonders for loosening the low back, hip and legs to help you feel better and increase your ability to do the things you enjoy.

Stem cells work like magic in your body. They can replenish themselves over and over and over again, which means they can take damaged tissues or organs and make them as good as new. As we age they reproduce less and less unless you do this to keep them coming…

Multitudes of studies have been carried out on different types of tea and herbal tea preparations, but understanding the differences between them can be daunting. But with a little guidance and effort you can find a tea suited for just about any health issue you may need to relieve.

When most people diet, one of the first foods they tend to shy away from is real cheese. But when you combine fat and protein you satisfy your hunger pangs in a way that will last for hours…

Cancer is challenging; Yet preventing cancer is not necessarily rocket science. In fact, research has shown that the majority of risk of developing cancer is associated with many environmental and lifestyle factors you can control…

Changing your diet is hard. That’s why 95 percent of people who go on diets fall off the wagon eventually. But if you’re one of them, don’t get discouraged. Follow these tips for real success…

Scientists say a world where antibiotics no longer work is not far away… and that’s more than frightening. It turns out the solution to this problem has been under our noses the whole time…

Summer can be a very energetic time of year, a time when you head to the outdoors for increased activities during the longer, warmer days. All the extra activity and time spent outside can do wonders for your health, but at the same time, it’s important to pay close attention during the “season of heat.”

Certain types of cancer are closely tied to obesity, and breast cancer is one of them. But It turns out the relationship between fat and your hormones is what really makes all the difference in your breast cancer risk…

A racing mind contributes to anxiety. But once you help your mind and body relax, release tension, return to equilibrium and rejuvenate your entire being, you’ll be able to direct the path you want in life…

No matter where you go, you can’t get away from it. And research in the journal Cell Biology shows that too much of it could actually be making you older and sicker.

Like most folks with a chronic ailment, you may not suspect that the very foods you are eating could cause your symptoms. Why not? Because you don’t feel an immediate reaction.

Have you heard of blue zones? There are a few of these special places scattered across the globe, and one them is Ikaria, Greece. What makes it and other blue zones so special? Maybe the food…

Learning gets harder as you get older. But that doesn’t mean you should send your brain on a permanent hiatus once you hit middle age. Because, contrary to popular belief, you can teach an old dog new tricks…

Remember being told fats were bad and that was that? Well, the truth is, when it comes to your health, dietary fat has never really been black and white. But it can be easier to understand if you follow three simple rules…