Low levels of Vitamin D may increase the risk of death from all causes by 26 percent, suggests a study with 13,000 initially healthy men and women.

The study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, highlights the importance of maintaining healthy Vitamin D levels.

”Further observational studies are needed to confirm these findings and establish the mechanisms underlying these observations. If confirmed, randomized clinical trials will be needed to determine whether Vitamin D supplementation at higher doses could have any potential benefit in reducing future mortality risk in those with 25(OH)D deficiency,” wrote lead author Michal Melamed from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

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You may not be aware but there are two competing paradigms within healthcare.  The first focuses on symptom-management, emergency medicine, and empowering the doctors.  The second involves taking care of yourself, the conservative use of healthcare, and empowering the individual.

One says perform "diet and exercise" (whatever that is) and when it fails we have all the drugs and surgery you'll need to get well again.  If there are no symptoms and none of the tests are positive then you have a "clean bill of health."   The emphasis here isn't on prevention it's on diagnosis and treatment.

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Have you heard of the health benefits of Dark Chocolate, Green Tea, and Red Wine?  Each of these items has been shown in clinical studies to be helpful in enhancing and protecting human health.  Dark Chocolate, Green Tea, and Red Wine contain compounds called "Polyphenols."

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In our 24-hour news society we now can potentially overdose on bad news.  After 9/11 much of the US suffered from a collective depression.  I think much of that can be attributed to the continuous coverage of such a tragic event. It was like a car accident, horrible to watch, but impossible to turn away.  Maybe for our own health, we should have.  Maybe we should have kept an eye on our own health and mental state and made the conscious decision to turn the TV off.

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You may have noticed a lag in my posting.  I've been grabbing some much needed rest.  Which brings me to a point that I think is rarely made in today's fast-paced world, Rest.

Why push it when you're exhausted? Wouldn't it make better sense to take some time and rest? You would probably find that you would be more productive if you took the time to rest up and then started again.

When we look at behavioral patterns in those with chronic fatigue we often see a history of the person ignoring their own need for rest. This may be out of a sense of obligation to work or loved ones.

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Here's a simple 5-minute exercise you can use in times of stress and anxiety---

Here is an article by a good friend of ours, Julie Halevan on the benefits of yoga:

Discovering Deep Peace, Tranquility and Healing Through the Practice of Classical Yoga

In the fast-paced world we create for ourselves, scurrying here and there, trying desperately to get all the stuff done and feeling drained in the process, I believe at some point we come to this understanding that we’re really not living at all. Our minds, like untamed monkeys, are constantly in motion; often dwelling on the past or fretting about the future. It begs the question – When are we ever really living in present-time? And, let’s face it- being in a state of frenzy does indeed affect our biology.

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You may not realize it, but the health of your stomach and intestines is a vital component to your overall health.  Seventy percent of your immune system resides around your gut.  That means that the health of your bowels and stomach largely controls the immunity of your whole body! 

Most people don't even know the simple basics about how to keep their gut healthy.  We each come into the world without an owner's manual, unfortunately.  So here's what information I've been able to absorb through my years of clinical experience and research.  This isn't a replacement for treatment if you have a condition, but if you're looking to improve your overall gut function try a few of these things:

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I have a friend that is very interested in the future of a science called "nanotechnology" which involves development of devices that are smaller than microscopic.  These devices have a variety of uses and are reported to be possible solutions for a wide variety of humanity's problems.  So in essence, this field is a "science of small things."

I think it may surprise him that him and I are in very similar fields of study.  My passion for chronic disease prevention and treatment has led me down a similar road, understanding the small things.

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Balance is a requirement for good health, one that isn't talked about very often.  Our culture, and by default it's people, lack balance in nearly every aspect of their lives.  There is a very real sense that things are spinning out of control for people.  This is evidenced by our growing beltlines, personal debt, increasing rates of depression, increased dependence on medications, increased stress and fatigue, decreasing life expectancy, and the increasing numbers of children and adults developing a chronic disease.

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Antibiotics have helped modern medicine best many forms of infectious disease.  They are life-saving and have helped millions of people recover from bacterial infections.  There is one problem, they are being applied improperly.  In this article I will explain how antibiotics can harm the health of your intestines and what you can do about it.

It happens, one of my patients falls ill to a sinus infection or strep throat and goes to get antibiotics.  Because of the many resistant strains out there, they are often prescribed a "broad-spectrum" antibiotic which kills many different kinds of bacteria not just the "gram-positive bacteria" that penicillin kills.  The broad spectrum antibiotics have the effect of killing nearly every kind of bacteria in the body.  Therein lies the problem.

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Check out this great life expectancy calculator from www.livingto100.com!     Is your score more or less than you thought?  If less, what do you feel you should change to live healthier?

Many people think that health and disease are equal and opposite.  They think that if you are not sick, then you're healthy.  They think that if you don't have symptoms, you're not sick.  They think that if you don't have symptoms, then you're healthy.  However, science is littered of examples of disease processes that occur without us being aware of them.  That is to say we are sick, but we don't realize it, because it hasn't yet produced symptoms to make us aware. 

What does 1/200th of a Heart Attack feel like?  Nothing.

What does 1/1000 of Breast Cancer feel like?  Nothing. 

But over time these subtle disease processes add up to be something undeniable. 

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