Although it’s good to exercise regularly, working out too much could work against you. A new study found that older women (ages 60 to 72) who worked out two to four times a week burned more calories each day and found exercise more pleasurable than those who worked out more.
If you have iron-deficiency anemia, it will be difficult to impossible to heal from chronic health issues. Because it robs the cells of oxygen necessary for basic functions, anemia is a deal breaker when it comes to improving your health. Knowing how to identify and address your anemia are crucial first steps to any healing program.
Brain injury prevention goes beyond whether you wear a helmet. Two people with the same injury can have two wildly different reactions—one mild, one debilitating—based on the health of their brain prior to injury.
It doesn’t just make newborns and Grandpa grumpy—constipation is a serious digestive issue that can significantly impact your health. Conventional medicine defines constipation as having hard stools with a bowel movement fewer than three times per week, and severe constipation as less than once a week. In functional medicine, however, good elimination is having one to three healthy bowel movements per day. Although harsh laxatives can override constipation, it’s best to address the underlying causes for lasting success.
We sit at desks, sit in traffic, and sit in front of the TV. Americans have lost touch with the most basic and unique human function: to walk. Walking daily not only wards off more diseases than you count on both hands, it also soothes the mind, inspires creativity, and heightens the mood. Even if you already work out regularly, walking can still deliver its ancient benefits.
If you have been following conventional advice, then you’ve been told to avoid fats to prevent heart disease. Turns out if you want to maintain a healthy vascular system and prevent heart disease, sugar is the target you want to seek out and eliminate.
Anti-aging skin products and treatments comprise a $10 billion market globally. Rosacea, psoriasis, and eczema affect millions of Americans, sending them in search of topical skin care solutions. While the effectiveness of skin care treatments range in their success, they overlook the most vital aspect of skin care: addressing skin health from the inside out.
Did your blood test for a health problem say you’re fine even though you suffer from fatigue, brain fog, hair loss, digestive issues, joint pain, or other symptoms? Does your doctor give you a prescription for antidepressants because your problems “don’t exist.”
Suffering from anxiety is like being held prisoner in a place where worry infuses every thought, your heart pounds, and the world seems jarring and disorienting. With anti-anxiety medications among the most commonly prescribed drugs in the United States, Americans are clearly suffering.
Is there a torture worse than hitting the sack exhausted from a long day only to toss and turn for hours, unable to fall asleep? Or perhaps you fall asleep but bolt awake a few hours later. By the time women hit their mid 30s or early 40s, many struggle with sleep.
Popping in a DVD for a baby or toddler can provide a brief but blessed break for the harried parent, and playing an educational video takes some of the sting out of the guilt. Unfortunately, even an educational video featuring classical music, shapes, colors, and early words may do more harm than good according to researchers.
You would think people who are overweight or obese would never feel hungry—after all, they have all that extra fat to burn. But in a cruel twist of metabolic trickery, carrying excess fat can actually make you hungrier thanks to a phenomenon called leptin resistance.
While practitioners of functional medicine have long understood the link between the health of a mother’s immune system and the risk of giving birth to a child with autism, asthma, allergies, and other disorders, it is validating to see this information in the New York Times: An Immune Disorder at the Root of Autism.
Vitamin B12 deficiency is more common than people realize and can mimic or cause other disorders. A B12 deficiency is linked with memory loss, anemia, cardiovascular disease, and autism, to name a few. B12 is necessary for the brain and nervous system to function and for other aspects of health. It’s believed B12 deficiency is due in most cases not to lack of dietary sources but to poor absorption of the vitamin in the digestive tract.
If your body becomes too acidic it can lead to health problems—good pH balance is necessary for cells to function properly. Too much acidity plays a role in obesity, diabetes, heart disease, chronic pain and inflammation, autoimmune disease, and other chronic conditions. Fortunately, we can make the body more alkaline simply through changes to the diet.
We all hear about the risks associated with high blood pressure, but having low blood pressure can also pose health risks. When you have low blood pressure your blood, which carries oxygen and nutrients, is not being sufficiently pushed into the tissues throughout your body, including the brain. This means your brain and other organs are not getting enough oxygen to work as well as they could.
We frequently hear about the dangers of high cholesterol, but keeping cholesterol as low as many doctors recommend may be doing your body more harm than good. Although conventional medicine has demonized cholesterol and many healthy foods as a consequence, too little cholesterol can be harmful in a variety of ways.
Exercise is the golden bullet when it comes to lowering your risk of heart disease, bone loss, dementia, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, and a long list of other modern health maladies. Yet many Americans just can’t seem to make the time or find the motivation.
If you check your thyroid levels in the afternoon with a blood draw, results may come back normal even though you’re hypothyroid, according to a new study. Checking your TSH in the morning can give you more accurate results.
No one can be blamed for wanting relief, especially when acid reflux makes it feel like molten lava is shooting up through your esophagus. Antacids can bring quick relief, but their long-term use can also bring lasting problems. It’s better to identify and address the underlying causes of acid reflux than simply to squelch the symptoms.
Do you meet the criteria for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and can’t find relief? Do you look pregnant thanks to a bloated belly? Are chronic diarrhea or constipation your constant companions? If so, you may be a victim of stubborn gut bacteria, also known as small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO).
When a chronic health issue has you feeling like crud, few things are more insulting than someone telling you to “keep your chin up” or “think positive.” Such advice sounds like a brush-off from someone who has no idea what it is to struggle with pain, fatigue, depression, and other frightening, life-altering symptoms.
Do you feel sleepy or have intense cravings for sugar after meals? Are you a woman whose hair is thinning, yet you’re growing facial hair? Are you a man who cries at movies and has “moobs” (male breasts)? If so, you probably suffer from insulin resistance. Not only does insulin resistance gender bend your hormones, research shows it also raises your risk for dementia and Alzheimer’s.
While childhood is full of surprises, some parents are unprepared for the staggering dental bills and persistent cavities children get, even when they brush and floss regularly. Parents know to restrict sugar, but what they may not realize is that a hidden gluten intolerance and poor gut health, not a fluoride deficiency, may be the cause of those cavities.
It’s the time of the month that so many women dread, the PMS days. For some, premenstrual syndrome is simply an irritating inconvenience, but for others it is a cause of extreme suffering. Yet because it is so common, many women don’t take PMS seriously, even though the effect on their lives is serious indeed
Talk to a group of women with Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism, and they’ll likely all share the same frustrating story. Frequently dismissed, misdiagnosed, or ignored by doctors, Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism is finally getting the recognition it deserves thanks to former Baywatch beauty and Playboy cover girl Gena Nolin.
Couples trying to conceive may want to add a gluten-free diet to their regimen. Research shows a clear link between celiac disease (gluten intolerance) and infertility in both women and men.
A recently published UCLA study shows what many have suspected all along: Eating too much sugar makes you stupid. Scientists found that just six weeks of bingeing on sweets and soda will sabotage both learning and memory. Fortunately, consuming omega-3 fatty acids can counteract some of the damage.
Failing to manage your Hashimoto's hypothyroidism condition could lead to future autoimmune diseases. A recent study revealed that roughly one in six patients with Hashimoto's has another autoimmune disease.
Your gluten-free third-grader walks in the door and immediately bursts into tears. Someone brought cupcakes to celebrate a birthday at school and everyone got one but her. "No one will want to be my friend because I can't eat gluten," she says between sobs.
Do you eat a healthy diet and exercise regularly but sit long hours each day at work? If so, you could be undoing all your good work.
Sitting, even if you otherwise practice healthy habits, is associated with poor cardiovascular health, higher inflammation, and more, according to a 2011 Australian study.
It's a constant refrain: We're too stressed out. But how stressed out are we really? An adrenal saliva test can tell you whether your cortisol (the stress hormone) is too high or too low, whether your circadian rhythm (the sleep-wake cycle) is normal, and also pin point the cause of your symptoms: adrenal fatigue or high adrenal hormones.
Do you feel toxic chemicals are out to get you? Studies link many chronic illnesses with toxic chemicals in our everyday environment. Man-made chemicals, pesticides, pollution, plastics, heavy metals, and artificial food additives are a normal part of life now.
Do beautiful spring days have you cooped up inside, sneezing and sniffing miserably? Before reaching for the antihistamines, consider the role your gut health plays in allergy symptoms. Allergies actually begin long before the hallmark symptoms of sniffling, sneezing, and itchy eyes manifest. How?
Gluten intolerance is not as straightforward as once believed. Many people test negative for gluten intolerance when, in fact, they have celiac disease or should be on a gluten-free diet. This is because standard tests are incomplete and fail to account for gluten cross-reactivity.
While the importance of play for children is well understood, many don't realize it's a necessary form of stress relief for adults. One also could argue it's the most enjoyable part of a wellness plan-say compared to giving up donuts or eating more broccoli-but can take just as much thought and practice to implement.
You never know when those chronic migraines, persistent hypothyroid symptoms, or that flaring arthritis pain might actually save your life. These are warning signals that your system is out of balance. By tending to your body's health with nutritional and lifestyle interventions, you may prevent cancer, as well.
Can't fall asleep? You may need to turn the lights off earlier. Studies show exposure to light after dusk, particularly light from computer screens, iPads, iPhones, televisions, and other electronic items, significantly inhibits the production of melatonin, your body's sleep hormone.
For many people, a gluten-free diet erases all their chronic health problems like a magic wand. For others, it doesn't make a dent, despite a proven gluten intolerance. What gives? A diet that also eliminates dairy, grains, and other foods may be necessary, along with nutritional compounds to restore gut health.
The term "antioxidant" has become popular in a multitude of products from acai to dark chocolate, but the most important antioxidant is the one made by your body: glutathione. Sufficient glutathione is vital for good health.
A recent study found a diet high in trans fats shrinks the brain and increases the risk of dementia. Trans fats are found in fast foods, processed foods, margarine, shortening, chips, flaky pastries, many fried foods, and many popular convenience foods. They can be identified in a list of ingredients as hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oil.
Thanks to exciting new research, we can more effectively manage autoimmune diseases and chronic inflammatory disorders that plague so many people today. This new approach involves the use of two natural compounds, resveratrol and curcumin, which have been found to work better when taken together than separately.
You could eat a "heart-healthy" diet, exercise regularly, and maintain a healthy weight and still be at risk for heart disease.
Why? Because the root cause of heart disease is inflammation, and managing inflammation goes beyond standard prevention advice.
Many dismiss childhood stomach aches as a normal part of growing up. However research shows that chronic childhood stomach aches could result in anxiety and depression later in life.
Are you a night owl who can't fall asleep? Are you half dead in the morning without several cups of coffee? If so, you may have an increased risk of developing dementia later in life. Our "body clock," or circadian rhythm, regulates our sleep/wake cycles.
Call it acid reflux, heartburn, or GERD, but having stomach acid splash back up into your esophagus is painful and distressing. Although researchers cite various causes, one that many doctors overlook is gluten, the protein found in wheat, spelt, rye, barley, and other wheat-like grains.
Mary was a mother of two who began a vigorous exercise program of weight lifting and running, one to two hours a day, six days a week. Not only did she fail to lose weight, she actually gained weight, and found herself battling fatigue, irritability, and constant colds and flus. As it turns out, Mary was exercising too much.
A new study found older women who take cholesterol-lowering statin drugs increase their risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by almost 50 percent. Researchers say it isn't clear why the drug raises the risk of diabetes, and that the findings could be applied to men.
Now that the food comas, sugar hangovers, and holiday binges are over, it's a good time to "clean house" with a detox diet.
The tin of peppermint bark is empty, the pies polished off, and the Yule log cake reduced to crumbs.
Left in their wake, however, is the sugar hangover, that annual holiday tradition that may include an upset stomach, headache, lethargy, brain fog, skin problems, join pain, mood swings, allergy symptoms, and a heap of regret.
7 Holiday weight gain curbing strategiesWith the Holiday Season upon us, I've put together a list of Seven different strategies that you can use to curb the "typical" weight gain. Enjoy! Can stress cause your baby's allergies?A calm, healthy pregnancy and postpartum period could reduce the risk of allergies in your baby, according to a new Swedish study. Researchers found infants with lower levels of cortisol, an adrenal hormone released in response to stress, developed fewer allergies than other infants. Vitamin D trumps vitamin C at preventing flu virusMove over vitamin C. When it comes to warding off the flu virus and colds, studies shows vitamin D trumps vitamin C. But are you getting enough vitamin D from sunlight and diet alone? |
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Pregnancy can trigger hypothyroidismQuestion: Why did pregnancy trigger my hypothyroidism? Answer: Natural immune shifts during pregnancy, together with a genetic tendency and other predisposing factors, can trigger hypothyroidism in some women.
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Build Stronger Bones - Avoid FracturesQuestion: Is it my imagination or are broken bones more common than ever today? Answer: Boys are 32 percent and girls 56 percent more likely to break a bone than children 40 years ago. Fractures are also common in older adults. |
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Food allergies and intolerances can make you fatQuestion: I learned I have intolerances and allergies to certain foods, and that I need to avoid those foods if I want to lose weight. Isn't it just a matter of eating fewer calories? Answer: Some people find they can't lose weight through calorie restriction alone. When that happens several issues need to be investigated. One of the most important is food intolerances. |
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Why am I so sleepy after eating?Question: I practically fall asleep in my plate after every meal. Why does eating make me so sleepy? Answer: Feeling sleepy after meals is a common symptom of insulin resistance, a risk factor for diabetes. |
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Poor digestion can cause depressionQuestion: I went to see my natural medicine practitioner for depression and she wants to work on my digestive health. I don't get the connection. Answer: Many people would be surprised to learn how greatly gut health affects brain health. A poor diet, inflamed gut, and intestinal permeability definitely can promote depression. |
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Why do antibiotics give me health woes?Question: It seems ever since I took antibiotics I haven't been the same. I'm sick more frequently, my digestion is messed up, and I have chronic yeast infections. Why? Answer: Antibiotics are one of modern medicine's life-saving miracles. However if preventive care isn't taken, their use, and especially their abuse, can lead to chronic health problems.
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Anemia is a barrier to better healthQuestion: I'm tired frequently and I have some chronic health issues I can't seem to resolve. Answer: Although multiple factors can cause both tiredness and chronic health issues, anemia should always be investigated. Unresolved anemia will thwart your journey to better health. |
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Why is autoimmune disease so common?Question: I have Hashimoto's and celiac disease, two autoimmune diseases. I have friends with eczema, arthritis, Type II diabetes, and MS. Why is autoimmune disease so common now? Answer: Incidences of autoimmune disease, in which the body's immune system attacks its own tissue, have skyrocketed in this country and continue to climb.
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Why is menopause so hard for some women?Question: I'm going through menopause and feel like I'm falling apart. I get severe hot flashes, mood swings that border on psychosis, and my brain isn't working. Why? Answer: As the ovaries begin to wind down production of the sex hormones the adrenal glands, our stress organs, are supposed to take over that job. |
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Could I have a food intolerance?Question: I'm told food intolerances can affect my health. How can this be true when I don't have any digestive symptoms? Answer: Sometimes it's difficult to connect a food we eat every day with such health complaints as joint pain, brain fog, mood imbalances, congestion, skin rashes, or chronic inflammation.
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Have Thyroid Symptoms Left You Feeling Hopeless?Here are the top seven reasons why you may continue to struggle with your Thyroid symptoms. Reason #1: Auto-Immunity is Often Overlooked or Mistreated. -- This is very important if you are to get better. Every patient we accept for care undergoes a detailed battery of tests to determine which health priorities need to be addressed first.
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Why do I crave sugar all the time? Consider reactive hypoglycemiaQuestion: I know sweets are bad for me, but why do I crave them all the time? Answer: Sweet cravings can signal a blood sugar imbalance. Addressing the imbalance can curb your cravings.
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New Medical Breakthrough for Chronic Back PainFinally a solution to one of the most expensive health care problems in America; back pain. According to Dr. Robert Olivieri, the most common cause of chronic back and neck pain is disc disease and it costs the American health care system more than $50 billion per year.
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A Revolutionary New Treatment for Immediate Pain ReliefAre you still putting off taking care of that nagging pain? What if there was a solution that can offer relief in minutes? Combining chiropractic care and the ATM®2 Systems Active Rehab Therapy, Olivieri Chiropractic and Rehabilitation can help you achieve that. Best of all: this treatment is covered by MOST INSURANCE PLANS! For more information about how you can reach optimal health, visit the South Jersey Institute of Functional Nutrition blog at sjifn.com.
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Great News!Horizon BC/BS and AmeriHealth Patients: Your insurance now covers Spinal Decompression Therapy. Horizon BC/BS and SOME AmeriHealth plans also cover Electric Stim, Traction and Exercise Programs |
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Click here to find out about our Sticker Stalker Contest! |
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| South Jersey Institute of Functional Nutrition website | ||
