Sound Integrative Health Blog

Plateauing in the process of change. I have experienced and you have experienced it. Things are going well and then we hit a flat point of progress. The typical  response to the plateau that  I have seen is to "do more" ,"add more", and "be more". It makes sense,right? Or does it? You're climbing a mountain after learning, growing, acquiring skills, and carrying  more responsibility, motivation, and discipline. It  seems worth it because you're seeing your health improve, relationships improve, mental health improve, and  spiritual health improve. Then you suddenly you're at a flat point. Things are not quite where they need to be and you have acquired new things, skills, tools that require maintenance and nurturing. If you don't continue them you would... well....fall back down the mountain. Or would you? So we add more stuff, more noise, more ideas, more skills, and suddenly we look like a pack mule climbing to our asc...

The economy of Inflammation I spend much of my day talking about inflammation. Why? Simply because I feel inflammation is the marker of the economy of the body.  If we are overly inflamed the economy begins to deteriorate and we start to first see belly fat, stiffness, fatigue,  skin changes, mood changes, and this progresses to  high cholesterol, insulin resistance, and/or hypertension. If the economy takes a hit for too prolonged period we see the body express imbalance in a degree where we see conditions such as Diabetes, Gout, Chronic Kidney Disease,  Fatty Liver Disease, Osteoarthritis, Depression, Fibromyalgia, and yes, sometimes Cancer. This is so much of what I see happening in my practice that I have thought about changing my practice to the Sound Inflammation Clinic. The remedy to inflammation are plants in our diet, omega-3’s and other healthy fats, mild exercise, stress release, sound sleep, and a whole array of herbal and nutritional supplement...

Many of us have heard the trend of bullet-proof coffee (which is basically coffee that is blended with grass-fed butter or medium chain triglyceride oil (MCT oil). I  must admit 3 years ago I jumped on the trend and jumped right off. My love of iced-americano's has been the main reason I strayed.  Also I don't really need another reason to like coffee...I like  it enough. Fast forward and I have been doing a lot of study and research on the impact of food on blood sugar. Its amazing to me how many of us fall into the pre-diabetic category and even with a normal caloric diet  and adequate exercise carry an extra 30-40 lbs. This is a complex web that involves stress, sleep, gut health, and hormonal health. So the emphasis in this arena today is to add healthy fats as the main caloric feature of your plate. Some people state that you can get to place where your body is more "fat-adapted" and not "carb-adapted. When you are fat adapted you burn fat for ...

This is a sleep remedy that comes from India. I learned it from one of my students a long time ago. The properties are very interesting as the healthy fat (ghee)content calming to the brain and the drink is also rich in magnesium which calms glutamate in the brain. Poppy works on the  benzodiazepine receptors in the brain. When you try it...it will probably remind you of how you felt when your mom rocked you to sleep. Hot Milk with Almond and Poppy seeds 1 teaspoon blanched almonds 1/2 teaspoon poppy seeds Succanut to taste 1 pinch of nutmeg powder 1 teaspoon ghee 1 1/2 cup 2% or low fat milk( or almond milk) Place almonds and poppy seeds in a coffee or spice grinder and grind until reduced to fine powder. Add nutmeg and grind one more time to mix the spices well. In a heavy non-stick sauce pan, combine the milk with the spice mixture and bring to boil, stirring over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, stirring for 1 minute. Pour the milk in a cu...

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is defined as recurrent depressive episodes that occur yearly in the fall and/or winter seasons and remits spontaneously in the spring. Although this syndrome is now being fully recognized as a valid disease, the physiologic pathways are still not well understood. Several theories exist surrounding SAD. Most focus the absence of sunlight during the winter months (artificial indoor light is not a protective or therapeutic measure) causing hormonal imbalances in the brain, particularly the pineal secretion of melatonin. Other theories focus on SAD being associated with deficiencies in serotonin synthesis which is melatonin’s close cousin in biochemical pathways. The common unifying element is that lack of sunlight does seem to influence serotonin and melatonin regulation which in some people makes them susceptible to the symptoms of SAD. (Murray & Bongiorno, 2006) Those of us most likely to experience SAD are: those living in temperate zones...

You are not infected. SIBO is an overgrowth of normal bacteria or archaea of your gut who have migrated (north) from the Large Intestine to Small Intestine. They have moved and have found a hospitable home in a normally inhospitable location. There are many reasons that one develops Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth and the most common is like due to a chronic functional bowel disorder like Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Other reasons you might develop SIBO is due to chronic intestinal problems like Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Prolonged use of Proton Pump Inhibitors, or history of bowel surgeries. Your food choices don’t cause SIBO but may have worsened it. People on really healthy diets get SIBO too….but since bacteria feeds on rapidly ferment-able  carbohydrates and starches you may have been feeding the problem. However don’t blame your food for the problem there is usually a deeper underlying cause. The standard treatment is an antibiotic called Rifaximin but herbal medici...