Fertility and Preconception Planning

If you’re a woman thinking about starting a family or actively trying, it can be a strange time. After spending your whole adult life trying not to get pregnant, it can seem as if once you start trying things will go off without a hitch-and they often do. But when it comes to optimizing your and your future baby’s health, it can be a bit more complicated than ditching the birth control and taking a prenatal.

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7 Ways to Make Seasonal Allergies Less Annoying

Stinging Nettle

Ah-choo!

Many of us will be spending time outdoors with our families this summer, but the beautiful blooming flowers and trees producing airborne pollen may put a damper on our plans, as they cause sniffing and sneezing. While seasonal allergies are a reality and affect about 35 million Americans, there are proactive and integrative approaches you can take to lessen your symptoms and fully appreciate summer’s splendor.

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Racism, Public Health, and My Commitment

Systemic racism and oppression are public health crises

I would like to begin this message by apologizing for the delay in formulating my thoughts and words for my patients, colleagues and the community. It was never my intention to appear uncaring by remaining silent during this monumental time in our lives and our history, and I assure you that I continue listening, learning and taking action to serve the community as a whole.

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Considering Running? Now’s the Time!

The Rewards Of Running

If you’re considering a new exercise regimen during this time of sheltering, I’d like to put in a plug for running. In completing research recently on longevity and healthy aging, I came across “The Runner’s Study,” which prompted me to want to convey the rewards of running, something I started in elementary school, continued throughout college and medical school and today still find beneficial for both the body and mind.

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Integrative Medicine is Not Alternative Medicine

Integrative Medicine is Not Alternative Medicine

Over the years I have been approached by patients who seek my care in an effort to bypass conventional medicine. It’s understandable, as many are dissatisfied by the tendency of conventional medicine to focus on high-tech interventions and pharmaceutical management of established disease. There are beneficial aspects of conventional care, most notably acute and surgical care, but I am concerned about those forgoing the preventive aspects of conventional medicine, such as cancer screenings, immunizations and medications that can prevent complications or progression of disease. In addition, I have also seen those declining curative cancer therapy.

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Maintaining a Healthy Immune System During the Ongoing Threat of COVID-19

Maintaining a Healthy Immune System

With the recent and ongoing threat of COVID-19, we are reading more than ever about the immune system, its function, and its failures. And while it would be a hopeful prospect to improve upon a normal and/or healthy immune system, there is little to no evidence that we can take supplements or drink juices to make it work more efficiently. In short, “immune-boosting” is not a possibility.

The good news is that we can make changes in our daily lives to maintain a normal immune response. Here are a few ways that we can keep our system strong.

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