A paradigm is defined most simply as a model; I’ll be using the term in this discussion as our cultural perception and expectation of our health care model, or our cultural idea of what health care should be and do. As we begin, I’d like to ask you to think for a few minutes about…
If changes are inevitable in every life, and changes, even positive changes, add stress to our already stressful lives, why don’t we plan for change? Why don’t we take charge of those inevitable changes so that we can minimize disruption in our lives? More specifically, why do some women transition so smoothly through perimenopausal and…
In our earlier discussion about menopause we recognized that this transition, although marketed as a disease of crisis proportions by the pharmaceutical industry, is in reality a normal part of life. Cessation of ovulation and the concurrent decline in ovarian hormone production does not automatically initiate the myriad symptoms associated with menopause. Many women, in…
We spend so much time working with women’s hormone issues we sometimes neglect the role hormone balance plays in men’s health. Without the years of cycling changes women routinely experience and generally without overt short term changes in later life, most men take their hormones for granted (if they think about hormones at all). Much…
From a functional perspective our health is the product of the interaction between our genes (genetic predisposition for particular responses) and our environment (biochemically, what we eat or drink or breathe). If we accept, as I do, the concept that we are designed to be healthy and self repairing, then we must recognize that our…
One of the most common questions we hear in the pharmacy, especially as we start a new year, relates to what we might suggest to reduce someone’s appetite so they might lose weight. Some of those who ask don’t believe my simple answer- that there is nothing appropriate for that purpose. I guess they want…
In our last discussion we looked briefly at basic lifestyle principles underlying our systems of metabolic regulation. As we continue this journey exploring healthy weight management we will move on now to an overview of endocrine regulation of metabolic rate. This is not just a sight-seeing excursion; we need to understand that the endocrine system…
As we started our discussion we examined lifestyle issues associated with maintaining metabolic function, then in part 2 took a closer look at the effects of endocrine regulation of cellular energy metabolism. As we continue this exploration, we will delve now into some specifics of using nutritional agents to enhance metabolic regulation; to boost our…
Three articles ago we started a journey together, exploring the functional processes that must be balanced and efficient for us to restore a healthy weight and improve overall health. Understanding these processes and making lifestyle choices based on that understanding could very well lead to experiencing more life in your years as well as more…
If we read the mainstream magazines filling the newsstands we find an overwhelming number of articles on heart health. Raising public awareness of major health risks is wonderful but I’m disturbed that most of these articles appear to be written by the marketing departments of major pharmaceutical manufacturers. The theme is usually the same- a…