I was 19 years old when my mom died of metastatic breast cancer. From that point forward, I identified as a “patient-in-waiting.” In my narrative I, of course, would eventually be diagnosed with breast cancer, it was only a matter of when. Each time I went for a screening, I thought, “Is this the time? Will I finally move from patient-in-waiting to just patient?” Every time I felt a change in my body I thought, “Oh this must be cancer.”…
Tags: lab testing
The role that iodine plays in the thyroid is well established. We need iodine to make thyroid hormones, and the numeric designation in T3 and T4 represents the number of iodine molecules attached to the amino acid tyrosine. In part one of this series on iodine, I examined the versatility of this unique element and its uses throughout history...…
Tags: Iodine, Thyroid Health
Your body is made up of 60% water [1] and drinking enough of it is essential to good health. There are numerous benefits of drinking water: improvements in your skin, organ and brain function; flushing out toxins; aiding in digestion and the gastrointestinal (GI) tract; ability to exercise at your best, and overall feeling more energetic and less sluggish. Most people do not drink enough water.…
Tags: Skin Vitality, Brain Health
The use of iodine dates back to 4th century China where seaweed and burnt sea sponge were effectively used to treat goiter. It was not until 1811 that iodine was isolated as a specific element that exhibited properties similar to the other halogens of bromine, chlorine, and fluorine.…
Tags: Iodine, Heavy Metals, Thyroid Health
Adequate sleep has long been known to be vital to good health but not getting enough sleep can be detrimental on many levels. Sleeplessness at night results in lack of alertness during the day, impairing your judgment and increasing the risk for accidents. Chronic sleeplessness can affect the appearance of your skin, reduce libido and overall vitality, decrease cognitive function, contribute to…
Tags: Sleep
The COVID-19 pandemic has only magnified what we already know: Working in health care can be stressful. A survey conducted by Mental Health America between June-September 2020 of 1,119 health care workers found that 93% were experiencing stress in addition to anxiety, frustration, exhaustion, burnout, and feeling overwhelmed. (1)…
Tags: Stress, Covid19, Mental Health
In part 1 of this blog post, we discussed the use of inositol for insulin resistance and related conditions. However, in the late 1990s and early 2000s researchers were largely focused on the effects of inositol on mood. A link between insulin resistance and depression has been established since, and may eventually provide one possible mechanism of action.…
Tags: Brain Health, Mental Health
Numerous clinical trials and meta-analyses have evaluated the effectiveness of inositol therapy for conditions including metabolic syndrome, polycystic ovary syndrome, and fertility. Inositol acts as a second messenger - or intracellular signaling molecule - throughout the endocrine system and in the brain, relaying signals within the cell from an extracellular hormone such as insulin or from a neurotransmitter such as serotonin. Its ability to influence metabolism, hormone production and signaling, ovarian function, and neurotransmitter balance have sparked interest in the potential benefits of inositol as a nutritional supplement. Within the last few years alone, numerous clinical trials and meta-analyses have evaluated the effectiveness of inositol therapy for conditions including metabolic syndrome, PCOS, and fertility.…
Tags: PCOS, Mental Health, Menopause
There it is again! That distinct flutter in your chest that kicks up your heart rate and leaves you feeling a bit breathless. It might feel as though your heart just skipped a beat or flip-flopped in your chest and you’re left wondering, “Did my body just take me on a little roller coaster ride or was that a heart palpitation?”…
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It’s an everyday occurrence when someone calls the doc line at the lab and wants to know how they can change the labs to improve their patients’ symptoms. However, it’s important to take a step back and look at what labs can tell us. While it’s true that abnormal lab findings can contribute to symptoms – high thyroid-stimulating hormone reflects hypothyroidism, high testosterone reflects polycystic ovary syndrome, and hyperandrogenism or low cortisol may contribute to fatigue. Yet, in many other conditions, labs reflect the medical condition happening in that patient’s body and not a cause of the problems. Let’s look at a couple of examples of this chicken-and-egg discussion.…
Tags: Cortisol, Estrogen, Testosterone, Menopause
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