Integrative Health Blog

A Nation With Constipation?

Posted by on Wed, Feb 17, 2016

What does opioid-induced constipation (OIC) have to do with the Super Bowl?

Not much, I would have imagined, but thinking broadly, after the 112 million people who tuned in1 finished laughing, maybe a few hundred thousand viewers might connect the dots.

That’s because, in 2014, an estimated two million people in the United States suffered from substance use disorders related to prescription opioid pain medicines2. And nearly half of those on long-term opioids experience OIC3.

At a recent continuing medical education event, I was surprised to find an entire 90 minute session (plus a non-credit mini-session provided by a pharmaceutical company) devoted to opioid-induced constipation.

Apparently, as a nation, we are such avid users of prescription drugs like oxycodone, hydrocodone and codeine, that we must now be concerned about people blowing out their colons because of severe OIC3. This goes far beyond stool softeners and every-so-often laxative use. Bowel perforation is certainly no laughing matter.

But the topic made me think of the common complaint of garden-variety constipation, and so I polled my colleagues at NIHA for their favorite approaches to constipation. 

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Tags: holistic health, constipation

Inflammation and Cancer Prevention

Posted by on Mon, Feb 15, 2016

The American Cancer Society states that aside from tobacco use, the most important risk factors that can be changed for cancer prevention are: body weight, diet and physical activity. For disease prevention, an anti-inflammatory diet is second to none! A nourishing, anti-inflammatory diet focuses on whole foods that are colorful, rich in nutrients, and full of fiber and healthy fats.

Nature’s bounty gives us so many vegetables and fruits that are colorful - that’s our clue that a food is full of nutrients. The deeper and richer the color, the more vitamins and minerals are present. It doesn't matter which vitamins or minerals are in a particular food because they are all important for health. Whole foods are essential when creating an anti-inflammatory lifestyle. 

Processed foods don't provide an anti-inflammatory effect on the body. They can cause inflammation in the body. They are usually made with Omega 6 oils like corn, soybean or canola that have been heated at high temperatures and have therefore been damaged. These oils create free radicals in the body, which, along with the high sugar content of most processed foods, creates inflammation. Research has shown that chronic inflammation paves the way for most chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

Sugar = Inflammation

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Tags: inflammation, cancer

How the Environment Can Impact Your Health: What’s in Your Water?

Posted by on Tue, Feb 09, 2016

Edited: November 11, 2021

It depends.

If you use tap water, you can find out relatively easily by perusing the website of your local water utility. Local water utility websites (District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority, and Washington Suburban Sanitation Commission, for example) and EPA.gov contain a wealth of information on regulated contaminants, like lead and coli-form bacteria (like E. Coli), and on currently unregulated (but periodically tested for) contaminants, like chromium 6 (entered into popular culture by the movie Erin Brockovich) and strontium.

If you use well water, testing every few years by a laboratory certified to do so should disclose the contents of the water, the results of which are subject to activity or industry near your property, above or underground. 

What does this have to do with your health?

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Tags: water, detoxification, toxins

7 Tips for a Happy Marriage or Partnership

Posted by on Tue, Feb 02, 2016

Whether you are an engaged couple, married couple, or partners who have been committed to one another for a long time, there is often more that you can do to enhance your relationship.

Would you like your marriage to become just as perfect as your wedding, or even better? So many couples seem to be a “perfect match,” but what does that really mean? How can you make and keep the very best possible relationship, built to last a lifetime?

Most of us desire things like a really attractive and sexy partner who is independent, reliable, earns a decent living, who gets along with our family and friends, and whose friends and family we really like, as well. Most of all, we desire to be with someone we love and who loves us. But even if you have all those things, how do you know this relationship can really work well and last a lifetime? Here are seven tips to a happy marriage plus four signs you are in fact, a “perfect match.”

Four signs your partner, spouse, or fiancé is the “perfect match” for you.

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Tags: energy therapies, life coaching