Seasonal allergies can surely put a damper on energy and vitality. Allergies are a series of symptoms caused by irritation from outside triggers. These symptoms may range from simple eye irritation to skin problems, intestinal issues, sinus congestion and infection, respiratory issues, and even asthma. The effects of allergies can reach every part of a person’s “being.”

I’m often asked what can be done to improve the likelihood that your brain will remain healthy throughout life. After all, health without awareness is pointless to most of us. Of course we know to optimize our diet, to stop smoking, control our weight, stop drinking alcohol, stop smoking marijuana, and exercise. But you may be surprised to know that there is something that trumps all of these.

Sprouts are easy to grow year-round in your kitchen. They are inexpensive and densely nutritious. If you grow sprouts, make sure they get proper air circulation and drainage to avoid mold.

You might think of the three dimensional framework of health as those things related to space – where we find ourselves, how we move within that space, and the choices we make within that space. These aspects incorporate our social settings and relationships; our access to health food, water, and availability for exercise; exposure to nature or toxins; our rest and recharge; and our professional lives. These actions occur in this instant, in this moment, in the present. Yet healing is an action that occurs over time. Time is a key and missed component necessary to optimize health.

Health isn’t found in a bottle – not a bottle of medications, not a bottle of botanicals, supplements, minerals, or vitamins. Very often, bottled natural products are difficult to digest. The pills are compressed and the components are synthetic. They often do not contain enough of any component for those with significant issues, and may be too much for those who are already nutritionally well-balanced.

I am a 50-year-old man and I feel like I’ve hit a wall. My stamina is gone. I am gaining weight. My enjoyment of life has decreased. I feel like I’m falling apart. Is there something I can do?

Love and your microbiome. Just another reason to wonder who is really running our show: our minds, our hearts/emotions, or our gut and its treasure trove of bacteria? Does a more diverse microbiome help you or your bacteria identify and mate with your best prospective spouse? It is a gut level question.

Buying supplements can be a daunting task for the average consumer. Yet, it is not difficult to buy good quality, effective supplements if you are well informed.

Supplements should never be used as a replacement for the basic tenets of health. No pill, tablet, capsule or liquid, natural or pharmaceutical, can replace a healthy lifestyle combining proper nutrition, exercise and stress management.

If you happen to be one of the millions of Americans who experience gas and bloating, then read on.

Gas and bloating most often happen after eating. That’s the clue. It has to do with how the food you eat is being digested by the bacteria in your stomach.

As we continue to make our way through the New Year, I’d bet a few of your intentions have yet to manifest. Procrastination is often to blame.

The challenge many of us have chosen for the year ahead is to implement healthier behaviors. Perhaps you chose to exercise more or reduce sweets, or stop alcohol or smoking, or to journal more regularly, or reduce the number of hours you watch television. Clearly the list of behaviors designed to improve health can be long. Sometimes we find that the behaviors we seek to implement are beyond our control because we may have a slight or significant addiction to the offending objects or behaviors such as television, sweets, alcohol, tobacco, distraction.

The Social Safety Theory describes how our social environment influences our thoughts and feelings which then triggers physiologic processes through our sympathetic nervous system, our stress response, our vagal nerve responses, and our ability to conceive of our world. Social Safety is protective.

In the case of EBV, the data is growing that indicates EBV can cause Multiple Sclerosis which is a disease that breaks down the insulation around nerves and causes the nerves to lose functionality. It is a challenge to conclude that EBV can cause any particular disease because EBV infects almost 90% of the population, usually when we are young.

At night this molecule (along with others) determines how easily and rapidly we slip into and out of sleep. If we are too reactive, we may not spend much time in restorative sleep or we may slip out of sleep very rapidly. It would appear that a more relaxed brain retains memories more easily.

Several recently published articles question the usefulness of taking vitamins and supplements.

Children, Parents, Grandparents. They all have different health needs, and yet there is a common thread in the approach to achieving optimum health regardless of a person’s age.

Pain is a natural experience that most everyone will have at some time in their lives.

Functional medicine is the new language of medicine through which chronic disease can be reversed and health can be optimized.

Our medical providers may not tell us about the interactions between food and medicines.

Fresh water quality and supply is the great geopolitical issue of our time.