Integrative Health Blog

NIHA is pleased to announce the addition of Sherif Hassan, MD, to the medical team.

In this age of information technology we are bombarded with misinformation.  Take Osteoporosis, for instance. The word Osteoporosis has a Greek origin. Osteo means "bone" and poros means “porous,” so osteoporosis is a condition in which the bones become more porous, brittle and fragile. I like to think of Osteoporosis or Osteopenia as a condition, not a disease. Therefore, it is reversible, treatable, and preventable, but also dangerous if we choose to ignore it. The skeleton makes our body stand, and without good bones and good muscle mass we will crumble. The good news about maintaining good bone health is that not only will it allow keep us upright, but higher bone density is also associated with improved cardiovascular health. (1) I don’t know about you, but if youthful bone mass allows me to stand straight and offers less cardiovascular mortality, sign me up.

It is well known that Osteoporosis affects elderly populations, but let’s see who really is at risk by taking a look at the many risk factors that can contribute to osteoporosis.

In my over 30 years of practice as a holistic doctor, I have seen both types of patients. Those who arrive to my office with bags full of prescribed medications, and those who arrive with a suitcase full of “natural supplements.” (I’ve even seen fellow doctors do this.) What is wrong with this picture?

Sometimes well intentioned doctors prescribe their patients a medication without reviewing what she or he has already been prescribed by another doctor, or sometimes patients neglect to mention a medication or supplement. When that happens, the new prescribed medication may dangerously interact with another the patient has already taken. Hospitalizations due to untoward effects of correctly prescribed medications range from 1.5 to 2.7 million cases per year. The death rate from the consumption of prescribed medications in the USA is estimated to be five times that of the rate for opioid abuse.

Fatigue is one of the most common reasons for a doctor visit, and is often a way for the body to cry out for help. Fatigue can be the overriding symptom in many medical conditions including stress, autoimmune diseases, insomnia, sleep apnea, allergies, hormonal imbalance and cancer. Fatigue can manifest from one or multiple medical conditions and multiple medical issues can compound the problem.

Of course, fatigue is a normal response after a strenuous workout, or a long day working without breaks, or going too long without eating. However, if you feel fatigue or drained by the end of a work day every single day, without energy to enjoy life, it is time to listen to your body. It may be trying to tell you something.

President Donald Trump[1] has just proclaimed September 2017 as the National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month.  One can’t fault any concerned American for bemoaning our #1 national epidemic that continues to escalate with no solution in sight.  In true Trumpesque form, the issue is being met head on and brazenly confronted, a welcomed call to action. 

Deaths from drug abuse kill more Americans by far than any other disorder, with tobacco alone killing nearly a half million Americans per year and underlying much of the death and disability of the classical #1 and #2 killers, heart disease and cancer.  Deaths from opioid abuse alone, heavily fueled by the prescription pad, now tally more than the deaths from auto accidents and gunshot wounds combined.  Why can’t addictions be solved like many other medical problems; find the cause, address them, and be done with it?

Osteoporosis is a common disease that affects bone health. Osteoporosis and low bone density affect about half of all adults age 50 and over, and places them at greater risk for broken bones from minor falls.

However, most older Americans who suffer bone breaks are not tested or treated for osteoporosis.

Get A Baseline on Your Bones with Functional Medicine Testing 

A human being’s genetic blueprint is housed in our 23 chromosomes which is where the name of the genetic test “23andMe” gets its name.

Each of our 23 chromosomes has an average of about 1000 genes, and each gene has an average of about 100 quirky substitutions, which are sometimes referred to as mutations or polymorphisms. These millions of quirky substitutions partly explains why we are all so delightfully unique in the way we look, think, act and feel about life’s challenges. Most of these mutations or polymorphisms are not considered to be detrimental, but a handful could be important under certain circumstances and cause serious diseases and other health problems, which is why it is important to know about them.

National Integrated Health Associates (NIHA) is pleased to welcome Margarita Kullick, MD.

Margarita Kullick, MD, is a physician with over thirty-five years experience in Internal Medicine and Nephrology. She is trained in functional and holistic medicine and has been practicing anti-aging medicine for the past 20 years. She received her medical degree from Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, Mexico, and completed her Internal Medicine residency postgraduate studies at Georgetown University Program and Nephrology Fellowship at National Institutes of Health. Dr. Kullick is a member of The American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine.

Searching for the Root Cause of Illness

Dementia is a broad category of brain diseases associated with long term, irreversible, gradual decrease in the ability to think and remember which is great enough to affect a person's daily functioning and which is worse than would be expected with normal aging.  

For decades, scientists have studied brain tissue samples of Alzheimer’s Disease victims, the largest dementia subcategory, (>50%), and have found distinctive pathological changes in the brain such as “plaque” and “neurofibrillary tangles” that are thought to somehow be causative of the disease.  The new sciences of Omics sheds new light on Dementia and is challenging long held views about its causes and treatments.