Is yeast overgrowth contributing to a more important underlying illness? Candida, a normal part of your natural microflora, is the most common cause of fungal infections worldwide¹. Although it may be a contributing factor in some illnesses, it may be the cause of others. However, it almost always accompanies intestinal, immune, degenerative, or toxicity related illnesses. Recovery from Candida overgrowth requires a whole lifestyle healing approach and once it is diagnosed, the very first step is to detect the underlying cause. So the first question is, how is yeast overgrowth diagnosed?

The truth is, everybody has Candida in their bodies and it lives in your mucous membranes. Yeast overgrowth is something of a controversial illness, and many medical professionals have not yet recognized it. There are a few tests that are recognized to determine the levels of possible Candida overgrowth. The culture test is for skin and genital yeast infections where a small skin sample is cultured...

It’s the middle of summer now and prime time for backyard BBQ’s and pool parties. But be aware with the rain and heat comes ripe conditions for mosquito breeding. Fears of a Zika virus outbreak of epidemic proportions are being barraged upon us from the daily headlines. Are such fears really necessary here in the United States?

The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed a bill that would provide $622 million to fight Zika virus. Yet even by White House estimates, they claim this sum will fall well short of the necessary amount. Public health agencies and government experts have recommended $1.9 billion to fight this most recent public health emergency.

According to Chris Barker, Ph.D., a mosquito-borne virus expert from UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine: “I think the risk for Zika actually setting up transmission cycles that become established in the continental U.S. is near zero,” he recently told WebMD.¹

Even in specific U.S. regions that are...

High blood pressure is often referred to as the “Silent Killer”, because it virtually has no symptoms but is one of the greatest risk factors for stroke, heart attack and death. About one in three American adults have high blood pressure (hypertension), and according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)⁶,⁸, high blood pressure is “the second greatest public health threat” in the United States.

Just What is Blood Pressure?

Blood pressure is the result of the heart muscle contracting, which produces the force needed to move blood through the arteries. ¹¹ Blood pressure is usually diagnosed based on consecutive elevated readings. Readings are given in fraction of systolic blood pressure over a diastolic blood pressure. The systolic pressure indicates the blood pressure when the heart contracts. Diastolic pressure is the pressure put on the heart/arteries between heartbeats.10 Normal blood pressure is considered to 120/80 mmHg...

In case you missed last month’s issue, we talked about Vitamin D deficiency and its relationship with pregnancy complications and hormonal imbalances. We’ll continue this month talking about Vitamin D and its relationship to cancer, heart disease and cognitive function.

Cancer

The high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency, combined with the discovery of increased risks of certain types of cancer in those who are deficient, suggest that vitamin D deficiency may account for several thousand premature deaths from colon, breast, ovarian, and prostate cancer annually.⁵
A study designed in Norway involving over 115,000 diagnosed cases of breast, colon, and prostate cancers concluded that a high level of vitamin D3 at the time of diagnosis, and thus, during cancer treatment, may improve prognosis of the three cancer types.6 Another interesting part of the study suggested that diagnoses during summer and fall, the seasons with the highest level of vitamin D3, revealed the...

“Vitamin D deficiency and its consequences are extremely subtle, but have enormous implications for human health and disease. It is for this reason that vitamin D deficiency continues to go unrecognized by a majority of health care professionals.” —Dr. Michael Holick, University of Boston

Vitamin D is a hormone that needs sunlight in order for the body to produce it. There are many factors that can affect the body’s ability to make and absorb vitamin D. Such variables include where you live, the different seasons, time spent outside, skin pigmentation, age, and absorption capacity.

Vitamin D’s benefits have been widely studied. However, most Americans are deficient in vitamin D and daily multivitamins don’t provide enough. Compelling research has demonstrated that vitamin D blood levels in the range of 50 to 80 ng/mL are associated with reduced mortality and a lower risk of common diseases.¹

For the next 2 issues, we’ll take a look at some...

The Lipid-Associated Sialic Acid (LASA) test is a specific blood marker that can allow the clinician and patient to gain invaluable knowledge in assessing overall states of health, specifically related to cancer cell presence or absence. The addition of this test on our male and female cancer panels have made huge strides in the ability to find the presence of leukemia and lymphoma.

When one reads the table included later in this article it will be easy to see that when testing leukemia patients 90% of them had elevated LASA tests and for Hodgkin’s lymphoma patients, 94% of those tested showed an elevated level too. This emerging test fills in a gaping hole where clinicians formerly had no laboratory options for assessing the potential for development, existence and monitor treatment efficacy of blood cancers.

Just like with many of the other tumor markers that we regularly check on patients, the numbers don’t serve as the be-all-end-all value but rather as a scoreboard...

For nearly two decades, the topic of cholesterol was rarely discussed. Now, cholesterol is the scapegoat for nearly every case dealing with heart disease. It’s plastered on billboards; it’s on commercials and on signs in your doctor’s offices. Each display piece is trying to persuade you for the need of medications to lower cholesterol and listing the consequences if it goes too high. But what if high cholesterol was really just your body’s attempt to heal and repair? Cholesterol is needed for fat digestion, the utilization of Vitamin D, hormone production, and repair and growth of every cell in the body. The notion that cholesterol is the cause of heart disease is very much engrained in most people’s minds.

Fortunately, it is a myth that is slowly being put to rest. Cholesterol is a vital component of every cell membrane on Earth. Lowering cholesterol too much actually increases mortality risk. People with low cholesterol do not fight off...

Many women dread the anticipated symptoms of menopause. They fear the potential hot flashes, weight gain, bloating, memory loss, or night sweats. Every woman is different and will approach menopause at different ages. However, you can experience what is called “early menopause” as young as in your mid-thirties. However, there is no reason to fear this change in your life. If you take the proper steps before your body goes through these natural changes, emotional and physical health can be affected. It is important to take care of the body prior to these changes for the best outcome.

As you approach your mid to late 30’s, hormones begin to change as your egg supply gradually decreases. You may start noticing shortened menstrual cycles or different PMS symptoms. The estrogen and progesterone levels will fluctuate and then eventually your estrogen levels will drop till you have no menstrual periods. These are normal menopausal symptoms. Abnormal menopausal symptoms...

Thinking about swapping out soda for a sports drink instead? This may sound like a healthier option, but most sports drinks sold in the United States contain higher amounts of sugar than other beverages. This adds calories to diets and is contributing to the national obesity epidemic.

Over the past three decades, U.S. children and adolescents have significantly increased their consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, which many people assume only means sodas (1). But the beverages also include sweetened tea, fruit-flavored drinks, punches and sports drinks. A review published by Health Eating Research found that “Though the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends most children and adolescents shouldn’t consume sports drinks, more than 27 percent of parents believe sports drinks are healthy” (2).

Sports drinks are designed to replenish fluids that are lost during physical activity. The sugars in sports drinks provide carbohydrates to the muscles. However our...

Is the lack of a good night’s rest the simple answer to your problems? Did you know there is such thing as World Sleep Day which falls in March to draw attention to the issue of sleep deprivation? New research shows that throwing off our body’s natural circadian rhythms over the long term can critically disturb the body and brain, causing weight gain, impulsive behavior, and loss of memory. (1) Increased risk of diabetes, high blood pressure and thyroid deregulation are also side effects of not getting the right amount of sleep at night.

Natural production of leptin, a hormone produced that triggers our “fullness” or satiety feeling, is lessened when we are sleep deprived while ghrelin, a hormone which triggers hunger, is heightened. Results of one study conducted at the University of Chicago in Illinois showed that when sleep was restricted, leptin levels went down and ghrelin levels went up, appetite increased proportionally, and the desire for high...