Itchy skin, also known as pruritus, is a common concern among my dermatology patients. 

There are few things more aggravating than being itchy.  In fact, one of the reasons we scratch when we itch is that the pain that comes about from scratching distracts ourselves from the itch.  We would rather endure the pain of scratching than be itchy! 

Itchy Skin Can be Due to Several Factors

It is very common to experience dry skin which can lead to itchiness.  At certain times of the year such as winter and early spring itchy skin is common because we have been in low humidity, heated homes all winter. But there are a variety of possible reasons for itchy skin, other than the lower humidity in the air.  There are external factors, internal factors, as well as certain diseases that can lead to itchiness.  Skin diseases such as eczema, mycosis fungoides, bullous pemphigoid, kidney/liver problems, and infectious diseases such as HIV or parasitic diseases are a few of the possible causes.  Most of the time itchiness is not related to a serious condition, but it is always important to rule out medical causes before assuming that the skin is just dry and itchy.

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The short answer is…..because we assume it is due to excess calories and not enough exercise.

And although these are factors, they are often not THE answer.

It is also not about the total calories but rather, where the calories are coming from.  In other words, what types of foods you are eating.  We can all agree that 200 calories worth of Oreo cookies does not provide the same health benefit as 200 calories worth of broccoli.  In fact, most of today’s current diets have more in common than not.  They are all filled with non-processed, real foods and a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables.  

But what if you are one of those people already on this healthy diet, eating clean and getting in daily activity but still can’t lose weight.  You then have what we call, “resistant weight loss” which is much more complex and best treated through a functional medicine approach as this article will discuss.

Resistant Weight Loss and a Functional Medicine Approach

There are several potential causes of resistant weight loss.

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Join us for a lecture and mini-workshop!  

This talk is Part 1 of the series, "Understanding the Connection Between the Mind, Emotions and the Body."

Title: “Healing Beyond the Body- The Mind-Body Connection"

Date: Tuesday, April 30, 2019

Time:  6:30 – 7:30 PM

Location: National Integrated Health Associates

Presenter: Kuno Bachbauer, Dr.med. (Austria), L.M.F.T. (D.C.)

REGISTER 

Understanding the Mind-Body Connection

In my workshops, I often show a picture by the famous visionary painter Alex Grey. I share an understanding of how an invisible underlying “energy grid” is directly linked to mind, emotions and the functioning of our physical body and thus at the root of health and illness.  This is also the explanation for how the mind shapes the body and how the body can influence mind and emotions and how energy “energy and consciousness” inter-relate. I show that our bodies are part of a larger field of information that holds consciousness.

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Two kinds of “perfect diets” exist.  The far more common, propagandized, “perfect” diet is the one-shoe-fits-all diet that bases their recommendations on a small slice of scientific evidence of one kind or another, such as the Fodmap Diet™ or a Paleolithic Diet ™.  The latter uses anthropological evidence about what humans and pre-humans have been eating for the last few million years, which makes some sense.  Such diets become popular based mostly on how well they are marketed and not on their validity.  A far less common “perfect diet” is the one that is congruent with your personalized needs, based on your immunological, allergic, endocrine, toxicological, nutritional, metabolic and genetic uniqueness. Functional medicine focuses on identifying and treating the many unique factors which can contribute to disease or poor health.

In the last year, as we have taken on the challenge of supporting the recoveries of cancer patients, we have mined ever deeper into the science-based, personalized, “perfect diet” that could add years to our patient’s lives and life to their years.  We are up against a healthcare system which has only recently begun to acknowledge, despite amassed studies for decades, that diet and lifestyle does matter in cancer recovery.  Despite a thawing of the healthcare system’s assumptions about lifestyle and diet, mainstream medicine is still far from acknowledging that a unique, “perfect diet” that is congruent with each and every cancer patient’s personalized needs, is extremely important to the recovery of each and every cancer patient.

How to Personalize Your Diet

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I know that it may seem incongruous for an integrative medical practice to offer neurotoxic protein such as Botox Cosmetic and Xeomin. 

However, it works, and this popular non-surgical procedure works very well to temporarily smooth moderate to severe lines in the forehead, crow's feet and between the eyebrows. The Botox brand has been around for sixteen years and has an excellent safety record.

Yes, the neurotoxin does migrate and does get detoxified by the liver.  I wouldn't recommend it to people who have severe detoxification dysfunction. Botox is safe for most people and so many, many people want it.  You would be surprised at how many people you know get Botox injections (even some who say they do not).  Botox Cosmetic, Xeomin, and Dysport brands do more than just help us look better.

Botox Cosmetic: Looking Better, Feeling Better

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Luke Perry’s death was shocking even for people who did not know him, but for death to occur at the age of 52 from stroke is tragic.

Those over age 65 are at most risk for stroke, but surprisingly, 10% of all strokes occur in people under the age of 45.

Most of us are aware that strokes are caused by disruption of the blood flow to different parts of the brain. This can occur by a blood clot forming in an artery in the brain or a clot that has traveled from somewhere else, usually the heart, lodging on one of the brain arteries, but the worst and most deadly strokes occur due to hemorrhage or blood leaking out of a brain vessel.

Many Causes for Stroke

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Melatonin’s benefits for a wide array of medical conditions are well substantiated:  treatment of insomnia, support of circadian rhythm, hormone balancing, reproductive health, cognition, mood, blood sugar regulation, bone metabolism, antioxidant protection and lowering of blood pressure are some of its studied benefits. 

Of note is that melatonin does not easily cross the blood brain barrier, so its benefits for sleep may be more related to its effects on other organs, especially since many organs in the body have far more melatonin receptors than the brain has.  This article will focus on the use of melatonin as a possible preventative and as an adjunctive therapy for cancer.

Possible Role of Melatonin and Cancer

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Throughout my years in practice, I have developed a method of eliciting a positive Lyme Disease diagnosis from a typically negative western blot in those I feel fit the picture of a Lyme sufferer.

These symptoms can include but are not limited to fatigue, joint pain, memory weakness, irritability, alopecia (hair loss), cognitive impairment, muscle weakness, anxiety, night sweats, neurological issues, sudden onset of allergies, depression, stomach pain, hormonal imbalance, tics and tremors, fevers, and the list goes on. These symptoms may be stand-alone issues but often overlap with many other disease states including co-infections of Lyme Disease.

I have countless patients who have come into the office with seemingly benign issues like alopecia or eczema and despite conventional interventions, they continue to struggle.

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This 3-part series will delve deeper into your true health - starting with your heart health.

Your current blood tests may not be enough to give an accurate picture of your true health- especially when it comes to cardiovascular health and your risks for a cardiac event or chronic disease.

Cardiovascular disease is STILL the leading cause of death in men and women. 

Unfortunately many adults undergo their yearly health exam with labs revealing a “normal” lipid panel.  They leave the office with a false sense of their true risk of having a cardiac event as conventional medical labs fall short of accurately assessing your health.

The basic lipid panel looks at your total cholesterol, triglycerides (fats), and the good and bad cholesterol (HDL and LDL, respectively).  And while this test may be adequate for most of today’s teenagers and young adults, if you are older than 35 or have other risk factors, a more extensive panel is warranted.

Let's look at additional cardiovascular risk factors to get a more complete picture of heart health. 

NMR or Cardio IQ Test

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Please join us for an educational lecture on the role of minerals in the body:

Rethinking Chronic Disease

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