Below is a link for a 2002 article written by one of my mentors in pediatric acupuncture, Soma Glick. Unfortunately she moved from Colorado last year. I have found Pediatrics to be one of the most fascinating fields to work in and was fortunate to have her as a teacher many years ago.
http://www.acupuncturetoday.com/archives2002/oct/10glick.html
Monday, April 24, 2006
Sunday, April 16, 2006
Happy Spring / 9 News Heath fair /credit cards
Happy Spring!
Just wanted to give the link and a reminder that the 9news health fair is coming up April 22-30th. Great way of getting inexpensive health assessments done.
I am glad to be back in the US and lovely to come home to such beautiful weather. But being that it is Colorado and April, I am sure it will snow sometime this week.
On a more business note, the office is now accepting credit cards (visa and MC).
Yours in Health,
Michelle
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Health Fair and Upcoming Office Vacation
I will be out of town..actually out of the country... from April 5th-17th. Please call me beforehand if you need any supplements for those weeks. I will be able to return all messages left after April 5th on Monday April 17th. If you need any acupuncture while I am gone, please call Allison Dinn. She is located in Denver near Wild Oats on Washington and her # is 303-733-4500. She does not do pediatrics, but does everything else and is very good. For pediatrics I would recommend Jake Fratkin in Boulder. Still trying to find a good referral here in Denver, so I apologize for not having a Metro area referral for pediatrics yet.
Also here is a link for the 9 news Heath Fair. It is a very low cost way of getting necessary blood tests and physical assessments done. I highly recommend taking advantage of this. If you get any tests done and would like me to go over the results with you, please feel free to bring them to your next visit.
http://www.9healthfair.org/
Yours in Health
Michelle
Also here is a link for the 9 news Heath Fair. It is a very low cost way of getting necessary blood tests and physical assessments done. I highly recommend taking advantage of this. If you get any tests done and would like me to go over the results with you, please feel free to bring them to your next visit.
http://www.9healthfair.org/
Yours in Health
Michelle
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Ambien and sleep eating
I also heard sleepwalking and sleep driving is being linked to this drug. Here is one article.
Unconscious food forays tied to Ambien sleep aid
The New York Times Salt Lake Tribune
The sleeping pill Ambien seems to unlock a primitive desire to eat in some patients, according to emerging medical case studies that describe how the drug's users sometimes sleepwalk into their kitchens, claw through their refrigerators like animals and consume calories ranging into the thousands. The next morning, the night eaters remember nothing about their foraging. But they wake up to find telltale clues - mouthfuls of peanut butter, Tostitos in their beds, kitchen counters overflowing with flour, missing food, and even lighted ovens and stoves. Some are so embarrassed, they delay telling anyone, even as they gain weight. ''These people are hell-bent to eat,'' said Mark Mahowald, director of the Minnesota Regional Sleep Disorders Center in Minneapolis and one of the sleep experts researching the problem. He and colleagues are preparing a scientific paper based on their findings - that a sleep-related eating disorder is one of the unusual side effects showing up with the widespread use of Ambien. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic, in Rochester, Minn., have made similar findings. Most of the people who use Ambien say the drug puts them to sleep, and they wake up without incident. But several doctors and a number of report a variety of unusual reactions to the drug. The reactions range from fairly benign sleepwalking episodes to hallucinations, violent outbursts and, most troubling of all, driving while asleep, a subject explored in an article last week in The New York Times.
Unconscious food forays tied to Ambien sleep aid
The New York Times Salt Lake Tribune
The sleeping pill Ambien seems to unlock a primitive desire to eat in some patients, according to emerging medical case studies that describe how the drug's users sometimes sleepwalk into their kitchens, claw through their refrigerators like animals and consume calories ranging into the thousands. The next morning, the night eaters remember nothing about their foraging. But they wake up to find telltale clues - mouthfuls of peanut butter, Tostitos in their beds, kitchen counters overflowing with flour, missing food, and even lighted ovens and stoves. Some are so embarrassed, they delay telling anyone, even as they gain weight. ''These people are hell-bent to eat,'' said Mark Mahowald, director of the Minnesota Regional Sleep Disorders Center in Minneapolis and one of the sleep experts researching the problem. He and colleagues are preparing a scientific paper based on their findings - that a sleep-related eating disorder is one of the unusual side effects showing up with the widespread use of Ambien. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic, in Rochester, Minn., have made similar findings. Most of the people who use Ambien say the drug puts them to sleep, and they wake up without incident. But several doctors and a number of report a variety of unusual reactions to the drug. The reactions range from fairly benign sleepwalking episodes to hallucinations, violent outbursts and, most troubling of all, driving while asleep, a subject explored in an article last week in The New York Times.
Just a Great Story
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/preps/basketball/2006-02-28-mcelwain-hollywood_x.htm
Make sure and hit the video link attached to the above page.
Make sure and hit the video link attached to the above page.
Saturday, March 11, 2006
Heart Health
The heart's main metabolic fuel is long-chain fatty acids, which are "burnt" in the heart muscle cells when oxygen is present. But if the heart can't utilize these fatty acids properly, they build up in the muscle tissue and damage it. Any defect in your ability to use these fatty acids will greatly increase your risk of angina pain if there is even a slight shortage of oxygen. The nutrients carnitine, pantethine and CoQ10 are all essential in the metabolism of fatty acids and prevent their accumulation in the heart muscle. Pantethine is a fundamental component of coenzyme A, which is involved in the transport of fatty acids to and from cells. Heart pantethine levels have been shown to drop during periods of reduced oxygen supply, so this nutrient is also likely to be of great benefit to angina sufferers (Jap. Heart J. 26: 289-96, 1985). Clinical trials have shown, incredibly, that carnitine at a dose of 600 mg a day is as effective as calcium channel blockers and other anti-angina drugs in reducing angina symptoms. (Drugs Exptl. Clin. Res. 10: 213-217, 1984).
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Zicam
This is from an email newsletter put out by a naturopath here in Denver. Thought it was interesting enough to post here since I have had many patients sing the praises of Zicam recently.
Zicam claims to be homeopathic Zincum gluconicum in 1 x potency. What this means in English is that it is a 10% solution of zinc gluconate. Typically homeopathic remedies are sold in much more dilute solutions. For example a 6 x potency is one part in a million of the original substance. A 12 x potency is one part in a billion. A 30 x potency is so dilute that there isn’t even a molecule of the original substance left. This is why homeopathic medicines are considered safe; there is little or nothing left to cause harm. In the case of Zicam, by calling it homeopathic and adopting the homeopathic terminology, the manufacturer found a way to market a 10% solution of zinc gluconate without FDA oversight. In other words Zicam is just an intranasal zinc solution. Intranasal zinc has been known to destroy the ability to smell in both animals and people. In the 1930s, zinc compounds were used in attempts to prevent polio. About 10% of the people who received the zinc compounds lost their sense of smell permanently. For years there had been no attempt to use intranasal zinc in humans. However because Zincam products fall under the homeopathic provision of FDA laws, these products are not required to get FDA approval before they were put on the market.By the way loss of smell is called anosmia. It is not even clear that these products are useful for treating colds. While two placebo-controlled trials found that intranasal zinc gluconate modestly shortened the duration of cold symptoms two other placebo-controlled studies found intranasal zinc to be of no benefit.In the most rigorously controlled of these studies, intranasal zinc gluconate did not affect the severity or duration of cold symptoms in volunteers inoculated with rhinovirus, a common cause of colds. These studies did find evidence of anosmia and warned about the condition. The reports stated that since zinc-associated anosmia may be irreversible. Earlier this month the manufacturers of Zicam agreed to pay $12 million dollars to settle a class action law suit brought by 340 consumers who had lost their ability to smell after using Zicam products. The company which made $46 million dollars in the first 9 months of 2005 does not plan to take their products off the market. Even with settling the lawsuits the products are still very profitable.Some people have told me they find Zicam an effective aid in treating their symptoms. Yet if we heed Hippocrates’ injunction to, First, Do no harm, we must consider Zicam an unacceptable risk and suggest not using it..
by Jacob Schor ND
Zicam claims to be homeopathic Zincum gluconicum in 1 x potency. What this means in English is that it is a 10% solution of zinc gluconate. Typically homeopathic remedies are sold in much more dilute solutions. For example a 6 x potency is one part in a million of the original substance. A 12 x potency is one part in a billion. A 30 x potency is so dilute that there isn’t even a molecule of the original substance left. This is why homeopathic medicines are considered safe; there is little or nothing left to cause harm. In the case of Zicam, by calling it homeopathic and adopting the homeopathic terminology, the manufacturer found a way to market a 10% solution of zinc gluconate without FDA oversight. In other words Zicam is just an intranasal zinc solution. Intranasal zinc has been known to destroy the ability to smell in both animals and people. In the 1930s, zinc compounds were used in attempts to prevent polio. About 10% of the people who received the zinc compounds lost their sense of smell permanently. For years there had been no attempt to use intranasal zinc in humans. However because Zincam products fall under the homeopathic provision of FDA laws, these products are not required to get FDA approval before they were put on the market.By the way loss of smell is called anosmia. It is not even clear that these products are useful for treating colds. While two placebo-controlled trials found that intranasal zinc gluconate modestly shortened the duration of cold symptoms two other placebo-controlled studies found intranasal zinc to be of no benefit.In the most rigorously controlled of these studies, intranasal zinc gluconate did not affect the severity or duration of cold symptoms in volunteers inoculated with rhinovirus, a common cause of colds. These studies did find evidence of anosmia and warned about the condition. The reports stated that since zinc-associated anosmia may be irreversible. Earlier this month the manufacturers of Zicam agreed to pay $12 million dollars to settle a class action law suit brought by 340 consumers who had lost their ability to smell after using Zicam products. The company which made $46 million dollars in the first 9 months of 2005 does not plan to take their products off the market. Even with settling the lawsuits the products are still very profitable.Some people have told me they find Zicam an effective aid in treating their symptoms. Yet if we heed Hippocrates’ injunction to, First, Do no harm, we must consider Zicam an unacceptable risk and suggest not using it..
by Jacob Schor ND
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Kids Health Link
With the cold/flu season upon us, here is a link for some questions you may have regarding illnesses and their signs and symptoms.
http://kidshealth.org/index.html
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Hot spices and Leaky Gut
Hot spices influence permeability of human intestinal epithelial monolayers.Jensen-Jarolim E, Gajdzik L, Haberl I, Kraft D, Scheiner O, Graf J.Department of General and Experimental Pathology, University Hospital AKH, Logo, Vienna, Austria.Indirect evidence suggests that hot spices may interact with epithelial cells of the gastrointestinal tract to modulate their transport properties. Using HCT-8 cells, a cell line from a human ileocoecal carcinoma, we studied the effects of spices on transepithelial electrical resistance (TER), permeability for fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-labeled dextrans with graded molecular weight, and morphological alterations of tight junctions by immunoflu! orescence using an anti-ZO-1 antibody, a marker for tight junction integrity. Two different reactivity patterns were observed: paprika and cayenne pepper significantly decreased the TER and increased permeability for 10-, 20- and 40-kDa dextrans but not for -70 kDa dextrans. Simultaneously, tight junctions exhibited a discontinuous pattern. Applying extracts from black or green pepper, bay leaf or nutmeg increased the TER and macromolecular permeability remained low. Immunofluorescence ZO-1 staining was preserved. In accordance with the above findings, capsaicin transiently reduced resistance and piperine increased resistance, making them candidates for causing the effects seen with crude spice extracts. The observation that Solanaceae spices (paprika, cayenne pepper) increase permeability for ions and macromolecules might be of pathophysiological importance, particularly with respect to food allergy and intolerance.
From Jo Phillips- DFH
From Jo Phillips- DFH
Monday, January 16, 2006
Another Pediatric health site
Here is a link regarding Vitamin D in Pregnancy and the website link where you can find more information regarding pediatric health issues.
http://www.hpakids.org/holistic-health/
http://www.hpakids.org/holistic-health/
Friday, January 13, 2006
Friday Fun Facts from Designs for Health
Here are some 'Friday fun facts' that were sent from Designs for Health. Thought I would share a few here.
#1.
Research as far back as 1975 told us that hyperactive children have low levels of serotonin. Oral doses of pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6) resulted in an appreciable increase in the serotonin content and a very large increase in the PLP (pyridoxal phosphate) content of blood in these hyperactive patients according to a study published in the journal Pediatrics. Click here for related abstract.
#2.
There is evidence that H. Pylori infection may be the cause of stomach autoimmune disease that leads to decrease in stomach acid production and intrinsic factor production, that leads to B12 deficiency, that leads to pernicious anemia. Click here for related abstract.
#3.
SAMe protects against acetaminophen-induced liver toxicity in mice. Click here for related abstract
#1.
Research as far back as 1975 told us that hyperactive children have low levels of serotonin. Oral doses of pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6) resulted in an appreciable increase in the serotonin content and a very large increase in the PLP (pyridoxal phosphate) content of blood in these hyperactive patients according to a study published in the journal Pediatrics. Click here for related abstract.
#2.
There is evidence that H. Pylori infection may be the cause of stomach autoimmune disease that leads to decrease in stomach acid production and intrinsic factor production, that leads to B12 deficiency, that leads to pernicious anemia. Click here for related abstract.
#3.
SAMe protects against acetaminophen-induced liver toxicity in mice. Click here for related abstract
Sunday, January 08, 2006
Heavy Metals, Methylation Info
Received this link from a colleague here in Denver who works extensively with chelation and Heavy Metals. If you are interested in this and want to know more I will gladly pass on his info to you, just call or email me.
Dr.-Yasko-MTHFr,-Methylation,-&-Metals-DVD
Dr.-Yasko-MTHFr,-Methylation,-&-Metals-DVD
Saturday, January 07, 2006
Go Australia!
A survey of more than 3000 South Australians during 2004 found 52.2 per cent used complementary and alternative medicine ( CAM), such as herbal remedies, aromatherapy and Chinese medicine. This is higher than other regions of the world such as the US where a 2004 study estimated a third of the population to be using CAM. CAM includes herbal medicines, Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine, vitamin, mineral and nutritional supplements, homeopathic medicines and aromatherapy products. The new study also included a range of therapies like chiropractic, osteopathy, naturopathy, homeopathy and acupuncture. In the Australian research, nearly 40 % of CAM users were taking vitamins, more than 20 % took herbal medicines and 13.6 % were taking mineral supplements.
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Health websites...Just FYI
Here is a site with interesting information regarding various health issues. http://www.heartspring.net/ I also had a patient ask about a site to look up various neurological medications and their possible side effects. This one is run by a layperson, not a MD or pharmaceutical company, so it has a real sense of humor. It is http://www.crazymeds.org/
* disclaimer*
I am not responsible for the info listed on these sites or any sites I list on this blog. With that legal thing out of the way...hope you had a great New Years!
* disclaimer*
I am not responsible for the info listed on these sites or any sites I list on this blog. With that legal thing out of the way...hope you had a great New Years!
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