I watched Dr. Chris Miller talk about stress and breast cancer on Radiant Health Dialogues. One of the interesting points that he raised was how the brain via the vagus nerve could alter the intestinal microbiome. With that statement, I had to investigate! I found an article which verified this idea. This adds evidence that mind-body practices like yoga, can help your health. Yoga, meditation, qigong, and tai chi reduce the impact of stress on the body and the brain. Stress r

“An apple a day keeps the doctor away,” is an old saying. I read Dr. Bulsiewicz’s book, “Fiber Fueled”. He talked about how an apple has its own microbiome. This was a mind-bending realization for me! I thought that washing my apple would remove all harmful bacteria. I never thought that bacteria existed inside the fruit! I wanted to find a reference to substantiate this claim. And voila, here it is! This means that an apple is a prebiotic AND probiotic food! Indeed, the old

My healthcare professional colleagues and I are troubled. Clients have spent a great deal of time making appointments, rearranging their day’s activities, and arriving for their COVID-19 vaccine. Just before vaccination, they inquire about which vaccine they are receiving. Once they are told that it is either the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine or the Moderna Vaccine, some people refuse the vaccination because they received the other for their first dose. This is not only a

Atrial fibrillation, “a. fib”, is a common heart condition. The electrical system of the heart is dysregulated which causes irregular and excessive heartbeats (arrhythmias). This condition is serious. The irregular heartbeat can create blood clots which cause heart attacks and strokes. “The more you drink, the more likely you are to develop a. fib”. ~ Amy Leigh Miller, MD, PhD Alcohol has been associated with a higher risk of atrial fibrillation. Please click here for an expl

I am starting to hear from people who are hesitant to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. I have been investigating their reasons. I found a post by Dr. Philippe Legacé-Wiens, an infectious diseases specialist in Manitoba. He mentioned that Dr. Byram Bridle, a researcher at the University of Guelph, has been creating doubt about the current COVID-19 vaccines. Dr. Bridle has appeared in numerous television news segments. It turns out that he is creating his own COVID-19 vaccine!! S

The definition of a human being is changing. Research exists that humans are not merely organisms, but rather holobionts or superorganisms depending on the research discipline. These two concepts refer to the idea that numerous organisms exist in one being. For example, fifty percent of cells in a human being are actual human. The remainder are microorganisms. There are probably more microbes in a compost pile than in any human being! Humans have effectively created more gene

Resistance training is an important component in the physical activity pillar of lifestyle medicine. The American College of Sports Medicine defines resistance training as “a form of physical activity that is designed to improve muscular fitness by exercising a muscle or a muscle group against external resistance.” They recommend 8 to 12 repetitions of an exercise in 2 to 3 sets performed 2 to 3 times/week. Resistance training can be more difficult during the pandemic because

Metformin, cholesterol medications called statins, and acid lowering medications called proton pump inhibitors (PPI) can cause diarrhea. Some prescribers will prescribe an antidiarrheal medication such as loperamide. This creates a prescribing cascade. As I talked about in a previous blog, a prescribing cascade happens when the side effect of one medication is treated as a new condition with another medication. A lifestyle medicine approach gets at the root cause of the probl

The ancients understood health. A quote that is attributed to The Buddha stated, “Every human being is the author of his own health or disease.” What story are you writing with your lifestyle choices? Thanks for reading! #lifestylemedicine #seniors #olderadults Photo by Artem Beliaikin on Unsplash

I watched an interesting segment on Marketplace about N-95 respirators. They have scientifically tested commercially available masks and found that some brands failed! The story starts at Minute 15. Please skip the story about eggs. They compared conventional grown to an organic small farm and failed to talk about the downside of eating eggs - higher cholesterol levels and TMAO! Oh well, they tried! #n95 #lifestylemedicine #MaskUp #covid19 Photo by visuals on Unsplash

I was reading an article in the New York Times by Dr. Adam Woo from King’s College Hospital from the United Kingdom. He explained how anxiety heightens the perception of pain. Antidepressants and antipsychotics such as duloxetine (Cymbalta), amitriptyline (Elavil), and olanzapine (Zyprexa) are used to treat chronic pain. People can get anxious when prescribed these medications and this anxiety makes their pain worse. A better way of thinking about them is as neuromodulators.

The AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine is now available for people between 60-64 years of age at certain pharmacies in Kingston, Toronto and Windsor-Essex County. On my first day administering the vaccine, there was some confusion about whether people aged 59 or 65 would qualify. So I consulted the current eligibility requirements dated Mar 12, 2021 and discussed the issue with the pharmacy manager. We figured out that to be eligible for the AstraZeneca vaccine, your birthday mu

I am happy that people are starting to be vaccinated from COVID-19. Everyone needs to be vaccinated so that we get herd immunity. Herd immunity is a term that is being frequently mentioned. It means that once a certain percentage of the population is vaccinated the transmission of the virus from person to person is unlikely. At the time of this writing, the exact percentage for herd immunity with COVID-19 is not known. I have seen the percentage between 70-85% of the populat

Stress can cause stomach ulcers. Proton pump inhibitors are used to treat stomach ulcers (omeprazole-Losec, pantoprazole-Pantoloc, esomeprazole-Nexium, dexlansoprazole-Dexilant, lansoprazole-Prevacid, rabeprazole-Pariet). People take one of these medications and can control the symptoms without changing the stress in their lives. The stress is causing them harm that extends beyond their stomach. The ulcer is a red flag that something is wrong. Meditation or yoga are two ways

As a pharmacist, I get asked, “How can I make my skin (or nails) better?” At a recent online summit, I heard dermatologist Dr. Jessica Krant say that you can improve hair and nail health with better gut health. She linked psoriasis, hidradentis suppurativa, acanthosis nigricans , skin tags, unwanted facial hair, and acne to obesity She has found that if you lose weight, skin conditions get better. She has also found that rosacea and eczema will improve with a better microbiom

I have blogged about deprescribing before. Deprescribing is the planned discontinuation of a medication that is no longer needed. As a pharmacist, deprescribing is a part of lifestyle medicine where I can be of assistance. Prescription cascades occur when a medication causes a side effect that is interpreted as new symptom. As a new symptom, it is then treated with another medication. This can happen repeatedly. A common cascade that I see is with sleeping medications to trea

I came across an interesting study that medical students submitted to the American Heart Association. They found that the more medications people were prescribed, the greater the chance of death. Medications do not make you healthy. They slow down the disease process without treating the underlying cause. If you want to die slower, lifestyle medicine will help! Another way of looking at medications is through a harm-reduction perspective. The medication methadone is prescribe

I listened to a presentation by Dr. Janese Laster, a gastroenterologist. She mentioned the harmful effects of emulsifiers on the digestive microbiome. The microbiome is the collection of microorganisms that live on or in the human body. Emulsifiers are food additives that help oil parts in an ultra-processed food mix with the water parts to form a consistent mixture. If you have eaten old fashioned peanut butter, the oily part separates from the solid part. People tend to mix

You may have already made some New Year’s Resolutions to enhance your health. Motivation is the key to sustain lifestyle changes. One tool to understand the deeper reason for your resolution is the 5 Whys. Start by asking yourself “Why I want to make this change?” You are asking why is this important. You continue this process until you have questioned your previous answer five times. For example, Why do I want to have lifestyle medicine practices in my life? Answer: I want

Dr. Carney had many insights in her talk to the Vegetarian Society of Hawaii. One of the points that amazed me was the effect of caffeine on fertility. She remarked that caffeine decreases fertility. She did not provide a reference to this point, so I did some research to back this claim. I found an article that discussed caffeine and sperm viability. The authors mentioned that caffeine can cause DNA breaks in the sperm. They stated that there is no clear causation between ca