My husband drinks fruit and vegetable juices first thing in the morning, before he eats any solid food. He feels this is a good and gentle way to get his digestive system started on a daily basis. The blender or juicer does all the chewing for him so that his body can quickly begin absorbing all the nutrients from the produce. I insist on using organic fruits and vegetables for his juices and make sure everything is washed carefully before it’s blended up. A super-strong blender preserves the fiber from the fruits and vegetables, whereas a juicer separates out […]
Preparing school lunches for our gluten-free kiddos is no simple task. While kids can often times be picky eaters making mealtime complicated no matter the location, school lunches introduce even more factors: Will the food keep until lunch time? What if his lunch is different from everyone elses and he is embarrassed? What if the other kids make fun of him? What if he doesn’t understand the severity of his intolerance and is buying school lunch without telling me? Read on for tips on how to navigate this process, and suggestions for gluten-free lunch ideas that your munchkins will love! […]
As a health conscious individual, you probably know the importance of drinking plenty of fluids. It is likely that you sip lemonade on hot days, drink water during tough workouts and pack sports drinks in your child or grandchild’s lunch bag for soccer practice. These are all important steps to squelch the common causes of dehydration, but what about the uncommon causes that catches you unaware? A wide array of medical issues can lead to dehydration. Considering that our bodies are made up of 50% to 65% water, this element is critical to virtually all our physical functions. Every organ […]
I recently attended an integrative medicine conference. For those of you who don’t know what integrative medicine is, it’s “integrating” traditional medicine with alternative medicine practices to get the best of both worlds as treatment for your patients. At the conference, I met many interesting healthcare professionals. One of them was a naturopathic doctor from California who specialized in Traditional Chinese Medicine. In his practice, he used a combination of herbs that have been used by Chinese doctors for centuries in the treatment of various health problems. But, this doctor also was a licensed acupuncturist and made use of the […]
The gluten-free diet has been widely adopted by people that don’t have celiac disease or gluten intolerance. Why? Well, in many cases there is a good reason to try it out, but there are also many misperceptions that lead people down the wrong path. Can eating gluten-free really make you lose weight? Are all of the processed gluten-free foods healthy, and, are they healthier because they don’t have gluten? Why are gluten-free items located in the “health food” section of my grocery store? There’s certainly a lot to discuss, so let’s look at these questions and more. I can still […]
Ashwagandha, an exotic Indian herb, has remarkable stress-relieving properties comparable to those of powerful drugs used to treat depression and anxiety. In addition to its excellent protective effects on the nervous system, ashwagandha may be a promising alternative treatment for a variety of degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Ashwagandha has powerful antioxidant properties that seek and destroy the free radicals that have been implicated in aging and numerous disease states. Even more remarkable, emerging evidence suggests that ashwagandha has anti-cancer benefits as well. Powerful Protective Effects on the Nervous System Stress, environmental toxins, and poor nutrition all have […]
At this time of year, I’m reminded to also ask my older patients how their mental health is doing. Older
On Wednesday, October 8, San Clarita Valley area doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals participated in the second annual New Roads to Health seminar. The event, which kicked off a series of lectures in the Los Angeles area, was held in honor of the Founders Day celebration of G&E Healthcare Services, and was sponsored by FoodTrients.com in cooperation with Henry Mayo Hospital in Valencia. It was hosted by Grace Mercado Ouano (Grace O) and took place at the state-of-the-art Henry Mayo Education Center. Featuring experts in the fields of nutrition, health and light therapy, the event was held in order […]
The great playwright George Bernard Shaw once said, “We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing “. As an Anti-Aging Medicine doctor, I couldn’t agree more. For you to stay healthy as you get older, you have to both take care of your physical health as well as your social and emotional health. You can retire from a job but you should never retire from life. That’s why, in honor of “National Active Aging Week” this November, I’d like to share with you the many health and social benefits of Active Ageing. I’ll also give […]
We all dream of our babies inheriting what we consider our best qualities: patience, spontaneity, cleverness, or ocean blue eyes. What we don’t want is to pass celiac on to our little ones. Many parents have this concern, and there is a lot of new research and information available that better clarifies what we need to know about babies and celiac. What are the symptoms? When should my baby be tested? Should I give my baby gluten, or avoid it entirely? Is there anything I can do to help prevent celiac from developing? There may just be. Celiac, which […]