“What supplement can I take to replace my medication?”
This is a question I hear all the time as a doctor of naturopathic medicine.  People are often surprised when I tell them that I try to use as few pills as possible — whether pharmaceuticals or supplements.  The foundations of health start with a healthy lifestyle:  diet,

Ah, Thanksgiving:  the holiday where we pause and reflect on what we are truly grateful for.

Okay, that took about 30 seconds… now bring on the FOOD!

On a day where food plays such a prominent role, remember that even today, moderation can make a big difference.  The easiest place to start is portion size:

• A serving of meat (such as turkey) is 3 ounces —

In my last entry, I wrote about biology not rewarding our good intentions — it only responds to the actual inputs of a healthy lifestyle (diet, exercise, sleep, stress management).  A particularly interesting phenomenon in this category is what psychologists call “permissiveness.”

You might not have heard this term, but you’re probably familiar with the scenario:  “I just did a 30-minute workout at the gym,

One of the fundamental principles of naturopathic medicine is to rely on the healing power of nature, and use the gentlest form of treatment possible.  The starting point for this is always lifestyle:  a healthy diet, exercise, adequate restful sleep, and purposeful stress management.  We can debate endlessly about the best format for each of these,

Welcome back to standard time, folks… did you remember to set your clocks back this weekend?
One more question:  did you notice it was much easier to adjust to the time change this weekend than to the switch to daylight savings time in the spring?  It seems logical, since we “gained” an hour of sleep on Saturday night.

“It’s all about eating less, exercising more.”

Obesity and overweight affect two-thirds of American adults.  You’ve probably heard this oversimplification of a plan to lose excess pounds, and from a basic science point of view, that’s what it boils down to.  Unfortunately, the real life situation is more complicated.

I’ve talked to my patients for years about something called the set-point theory: