WALNUT CREEK, Calif. – James Revier, of San Jose, Calif., had no idea his heartburn was anything more than a nuisance until six years ago, when a piece of beef became logged in his esophagus and sent him to the emergency room. The on-call internist removed the meat and suggested Revier see a gastroenterologist for the lingering redness. It’s a good thing he did. Revier had developed Barrett’s esophagus, a condition caused by prolonged acid reflux. Over time, it produces cellular changes which can lead to adenocarcinoma, a type of esophageal cancer. “I’d had acid reflux for 15 years but […]
Many of my patients are battling with weight issues and are always asking me how they can boost their metabolism so they can lose weight. They’re confused
Last week, a patient, Ted, came in saying he had been experiencing a funny, metallic taste in his mouth for a while and was worried that it may be serious. I explained to him that there were a number of possible reasons for him having this taste in his mouth but we’d do a complete exam and see what we come up with. If you experience a metallic taste in your mouth, you’ll want to know what I told Ted about his funny taste. When Something Tastes Funny Every now and then you might get a funny, metallic taste in […]
An international coalition of researchers has proved in the laboratory that a comprehensive ‘cocktail’ of nutritional supplements significantly increased youthful life span. Since aging is a multifactorial process with overlapping causes, scientists formulated a 30-ingredient nutrient mixture with overlapping benefits designed to halt or slow the major causes of aging. The nutrient mixture, developed by a team of life scientists led by Dr. C. David Rollo of McMaster University in Canada, targets five key mechanisms of aging. Researchers postulated that by slowing or reversing these five universal processes, they could slow or reverse the major factors of aging. While this […]
I see patients all the time who are confused about antioxidants. Often they think if they take vitamin C, they’ve got their bases covered. This just isn’t the case. To understand why, let’s take a deeper look at how your body works. When you eat food, the process your body uses to convert it to energy creates byproducts called free radicals. These free radicals are reactive molecules. When they encounter a healthy cell, they damage it and also create more free radicals. This process happens all through your body both in water-based tissues and in fat-based tissues. Your body uses antioxidants to clean up […]
Imagine you sit down to eat your favorite dinner. You can remember how this meal used to make your mouth water… how you couldn’t wait to take the first bite. But now, you’re dreading the first bite because you know it’s not going to taste like you remember. It’s not going to taste like it’s supposed to. Millions of people live with “taste dysfunction”. Some people with taste disorders lose their sense of taste entirely, but this is rare. For most people, a taste disorder distorts tastes or it affects some types of tastes, like sweet or salty, but not […]
A good night’s sleep is one of the foundations of well-being. If you are battling an illness, sleep is your body’s time to repair and strengthen its defenses. If you are healthy, getting enough quality sleep helps to keep you feeling good and gives you the energy you need to tackle all the responsibilities of your busy life. One of the simplest tricks for improving sleep is modifying your diet. It couldn’t be easier. All you have to do is learn what foods help you sleep and what foods keep you from getting the rest you need. Foods that Keep You Up […]
The June, 2012 issue of Cell Metabolism reports the discovery of
When I ask my patients how many ORACs they take in a day, they give me a kind of lost look. One patient humorously asked me once, “Is that some kind of fruit?” Well, yes and no. ORACs are in fruit – but they’re not a food per se. Let me share with you what I tell my patients about the ORAC value of foods and its importance to your health. What’s ORAC and Why Is It In My Food? ORAC is the acronym for Oxygen Radical Absorbency Capacity – an antioxidant measurement system developed by researchers at the National […]
Like myself, and most of my patients, you probably have insurance policies on many things – your house, your car, your health, and, most importantly, your life. Why? Because they give you peace of mind. They cover, and perhaps even prevent, possible problems that might occur that could cost you a fortune to solve – even cause you to go bankrupt. In the same way, taking supplements – vitamins, minerals, certain herbs on occasion – are like taking out a nutritional insurance policy for yourself. Like all your other insurances, I feel that supplements offer additional peace of mind that […]