In researching on Lyme disease, it becomes immediately obvious that understanding Lyme re-quires embracing complexity. Many people—patients and practitioners alike, shy away from a delving into Lyme because it feels overwhelming – and it can be. Here are 15 overlooked, but essential facts in understanding Lyme disease Lyme Disease is a bacterial infection caused by Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb) that can be trans-mitted to humans and pets by the bite of an infected tick. Not all ticks are infected, and even if they are, that doesn’t mean they will infect you if they bite you. Lyme disease can lead to...

Your body is an amazing machine. When things are not right, your body will give you subtle messages that it might need your attention. Messages such as feeling a little run down, minor aches and pains, increased gas and bloating and mood and sleep disturbances. If you fail to listen to these messages, they will continue to get louder until you are eventually forced to listen. The way to hormone balance is different for every woman. Nothing clarifies this more than the findings of the Women’s Health Initiative: You cannot put all women on the same dose of the...

“We are used to cleaning the outside house, but the most important house to clean is yourself – your own house – which we never do.” – Marina Abramovic Was one of your resolutions to get healthy for 2017? Many of us start out craving a healthy change in January because of 6 weeks of holiday indulgences; however those indulgences aren’t the only thing you need to recover from. Your body is actually bombarded every day with toxins which can play a part in how you feel and whether or not you can lose weight. Collective Dust and Dirt...

The decision to start a family is scary and exciting and when you decide it is time to become parents you assume that making that decision is all it takes and it will happen naturally right away. For over 80% of fertile couples that is the case; most become pregnant within 6 months of trying. However, for approximately 15% of couples, they can find that they are still not pregnant despite trying for over 12 months. This is the medical definition of “infertility”; however some prefer to call it “delayed conception” as most of those couples do eventually become...

My earliest and strongest memory as a child to the downside of allergy relief pills was bearing witness to my mother chronically suffering from hay fever. She would painstakingly cut her allergy pills into small fragments to avoid the full on side effects. This is probably nothing out the ordinary aside from the fact she complained about it religiously and must have felt it equally relieving to protest against it to me and my young siblings all of our lives. On some days when she was acting out of sorts, tired, foggy and downright miserable, she would always announce...

Are you addicted to one of these? • worrying • sweets • social media • perfectionism • shopping • smoking • cell phone • being right • heart break • potato chips • alcohol • procrastination • criticizing • not being good enough Most of us don’t know we’re addicted to everyday toxins. We simply think of them as our daily routine. Have you heard yourself say these words in the last six months? “It’s just the way I am.” “That’s just me.” “It’s fine.” “It’s not a big deal.” “I’ve been this way my whole life.” “I’m fine,...

Welcome to March: a month just far off enough from those New Year’s Resolutions to forget they were even made! January can be a time full of anticipation, and when March arrives—after weeks of dark, cold weather, the return to our busy work days, and the occasional post-blizzard shoveling day—we are suddenly faced with the stark reality that not much has changed. We are the same. Our circumstances are the same. And once the energy of “New Year, New You” wears off, we are back into our usual habits. What we don’t normally acknowledge is that our ideas about...

A very common phrase many financial planners hear from their clients is, “My parents never talked to me about money.” That’s because our society isn’t comfortable talking about money in anything but the vaguest terms. The most specific someone might get is to say that something is “very expensive” or they “got a really good deal.” The trouble with this is that our kids learn so much about the world through seeing how we handle things. We actively teach them important life lessons – how to eat healthy, that we should be kind and respectful of other people, that...

(This is the 3rd article is a series of 7 to introduce you to all the chakras) There are seven chakras in our bodies and they are the centers in which energy flows through. Blocked energy in our chakras can often lead to illness, so it’s important to understand what each chakra represents and what we can do to keep this energy flowing freely. The second chakra is the Sacral Chakra which spins just below your naval. The color is orange and it reminds us we can create, express and desire. This chakra helps us define our individuality based...

Is the treatment of varicose veins a cosmetic cure or a medical procedure? This is a very common question. Most healthcare providers would agree that if a patient is having pain and is unable to perform his or her work due to varicose veins, then it is medically necessary. But all factors must be weighed when drawing a line between medical and “simply cosmetic,” not the least of which is restoring patients’ confidence and overall well-being. Even if a patient isn’t experiencing physical pain – but won’t swim in a pool or wear shorts to the beach because they’re...

Your body is an amazing machine. When things are not right, your body will give you subtle messages that it might need your attention. Messages such as feeling a little run down, minor aches and pains, increased gas and bloating and mood and sleep disturbances. If you fail to listen to these messages, they will continue to get louder until you are eventually forced to listen. Understanding what is causing these signs and symptoms and addressing the root cause is key to optimal healing and recovery. The problem is many of us take the quick fix, band-aid approach to...

Many women go into pregnancy not knowing a lot about it and having a lot of questions so they search the web and ask friends, family, midwives or doctors; and then end up having more questions! One of the things that comes up, for some women, is a breech presentation for their baby before delivery. This means that instead of having the baby head down for delivery, they are head up, which can lead to a c-section or complications in labor/delivery. Many families would like to avoid a c-section because it is abdominal surgery and having to recover from...

What is it about exercising and eating a balanced diet that is so awful, so unbearable, that we’d rather choose shortening our lives just to avoid one or both? Surely at the start of 2017 we can all agree that a lack of exercise and a poor diet is killing more people around the world than drugs, alcohol, and unprotected sex put together, as concluded by the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition. When you think about your future, how far ahead do you look? Kids, grandkids, world-travel? Do you plan for retirement? Have you ever...

It is a New Year. Many of you will ring it in with a toast and a wish for a year filled with good health and happiness. You will once more set those resolutions to lose weight, exercise more, eat healthier and do all it takes to reach your wellness goals-maybe even the same ones you set last year that have slipped away from you as life got in the way. It can be frustrating and overwhelming when you are following the latest diet, exercising more and still not seeing results, especially if you are dealing with a debilitating...