gibran

Photo by I woz ere. Dr. Heather Zwickey has a Ph.D. in Immunology and Microbiology from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver. She completed a post doctorate fellowship at Yale’s School of Medicine and currently serves as Director of Research at Helfgott Research Institute , Dean of Research at National College of Natural Medicine , and co-founder of a physician level vaccine educational service, Vaccine Consult . We discussed vaccines, adjuvants (the additives in... Read Full Story

A study released recently by the Environmental Health peer reviewed journal found that there is mercury in high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Everyone knows that HFCS is a very common sweetener in everything from soda to baby food. What shocked most of the scientists conducting the study was the prevalence of mercury in the HFCS containing products sampled. 45% of the samples contained mercury from 0.005 to 0.570 micrograms mercury per gram. "But that doesn't seem like a lot"... It is if you... Read Full Story

President Obama's Inaugural Address As prepared for delivery. My fellow citizens: I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition. Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still... Read Full Story

Twenty years ago, I drove a cab for a living. One night I took a fare at 2:30 AM, when I arrived to collect, the building was dark except for a single light in a ground floor window. Under these circumstances, many drivers would just honk once. But I had seen too many impoverished people who depended on taxis as their only means of transportation. Unless a situation smelled of danger, I always went to the door. This passenger might be someone who needs my assistance, I reasoned to myself. So... Read Full Story

Why do we get sick? Answering this question can help physicians understand whether or not a treatment is palliative or curative. As physicians, we must acknowledge that what we call disease is actually an adaptive physiological response to some imbalance or stressor. The stressor can be a pathogen, an environmental stress like subzero cold, or even emotional like mania. Often physicians mainly focus on treating symptoms. It is often very insightful to ask why does the person need this or that... Read Full Story

A couple of questions to begin with in an exploration of defining holistic medicine are: “How is health different from wellness and How is illness different from disease? In the modern materially based medicine of “western” society, health has become the focus and goal of healing. I would posit that even if a patient is ill they can still be well. It comes down to the “direction” of a patient’s/doctor’s intent in healing. By the same reasoning a disease-free person can still be in a state of... Read Full Story

Appearance is only skin deep…right? Actually, the answer within our modern world is a definite, “No.” What we wear changes not only our appearance, but also our long term health especially when what we’re wearing is cotton. “…but cotton is all natural so its safe, right?” Not as natural as you think Cotton is a natural fiber derived from the Gossypium spp. plant and grows best in dry tropical and subtropic climates. The world demand for cotton is huge at 56 trillion pounds per year and keeps... Read Full Story

Natural... is...Overused. You will find it on anything and everything from toothpaste to sugar...What, sugar!? Yes, I even saw "all natural" on a sugar package the other day at the supermarket. The entire sugar industry is disappointed that the FDA refuses to define the word "natural. " Sugar is natural and is derived from nature, but nothing in nature is ever that sweet. This brings me a bit closer to my current thought of what natural medicine is. Today I had an interesting discussion with... Read Full Story

As I mentioned in the last posting, sleep is one of the most important ways to optimal wellness. In my clinical experience, I have yet to see a person "recover" and "heal" from disease and move toward wellness without good sleep. Lack of sleep contributes to many diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and obesity . It is no wonder these diseases are considered now to be at epidemic proportions. Sleep can help us not only prevent many chronic illnesses, but also recover faster from acute... Read Full Story

I'll just check my email one last time after clicking that stumble upon button one last time...you struggle to keep your eyes open... All the while we get the latest news report on the Center for Disease Control study finding that " Sleep Deprivation, a Public Health Problem. " Do we have less hours in the day than before? It sure feels that way sometimes. Although it seems like we can make it through the day just "fine" on 5 and 1/2 hours of sleep, we were never meant to function, to live... Read Full Story