Blog - Page 2 of 24 - The Akasha Center for Integrative Medicine The Akasha Center for Integrative Medicine

The Gift of Being a Present Dad

“When a baby is born, so is a father.”

By Edison de Mello, MD, PHD

Being a dad is so much more than passing on genes to our offspring. It’s about compassion, patience, and careful listening. It is about being present. And so, for this Father’s Day, I want to honor the people who taught me those invaluable skills: my kids.

As we continue to evolve past the stereotype of the traditional meaning of fatherhood – breadwinner, strong, hardworking, man-of-the-house – we have come to understand ...

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Categories: Men's Health

Tags: fatherhood, men's health

Healthy Aging Men: Would You Like a Spot of T?

By Bren Boston, MD

Aging in men does not carry the same taboo as it does for women. There is not the same pressure to dye your gray hair and botox your wrinkles if you are a guy. But men have the same desire for longevityand prolonging the feeling of vitalityas women.

Healthy aging requires a whole lifestyle approach:

Anti-inflammatory foods that promote cellular health
Exercise to increase lean muscle mass
Stretching to maintain elasticity
Stress reduction
Detoxification with healthy liver & kidneys
Avoiding environmental toxins
Mood boosting with meditation, mindfulness, and altruism

As ...

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Categories: Men's Health, Newsletter Articles

Tags: men's health, testosterone

May Nutrient of the Month: Women’s Health Essential – Folate

By: Amanda Miller MS, RN Clinical Integrative Nutrition Nurse Consultant

Anyone trying to promote women’s health, a healthy pregnancy, and a safe birth is probably confused by competing research regarding folic acid.

Unfortunately, research is never black and white and confusion can set in — even for trained researchers.The fortification of our food supply with folic acid in 1998 reduced spina bifida birth defects by 19 percent. Great! But some estimate it may have caused an additional 15,000 cancer deaths per year. ...

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Categories: diet, Nutrition, Uncategorized

Tags: folate, folic acid, women's health

Where’d My Brain Go?

By Bren Boston, MD

Many women who enter the transition into menopause will say, “I’m so frustrated! I can’t remember the word that’s on the tip of my tongue, or where I left my keys!”

While some of this can be chalked up to the fact that women in mid-life are typically juggling their whole family’s schedules, to-do lists, and endless multitasking, a decline in estrogen also plays a role.

Our brains have estrogen (estradiol) receptors that mediate protection of our brain cells (neurons). The ...

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Categories: Cognitive Health, Women's Health

Tags: brain health, estrogen, women's health

Can Your Hormones Be Preventing You From Losing Weight?

Maggie Ney, ND

How frustrating is it to be eating well and exercising but not see a change in your body? This is a very common experience among the women I see in my practice. Understanding weight loss and metabolism is so much more complex and interesting than calorie in and calorie out. When weight is stagnant, despite a healthy diet and exercise, it is essential to do a comprehensive review of your entire health so that all variables that affect metabolism ...

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Categories: diet, genetic testing, Nutrition, Uncategorized, Women's Health

Tags: bio identical hormones, hormones

Wonder Woman Health

By Danél Lombard, MPT, MA, E-RYT

As we honor Mothers this month, we shift our focus to women’s health. The term women’s health generally conjures up thoughts of annual pap smears and mammograms. And even though these are really important parts of women’s health, I’d like to talk about how we as women can stay healthy amidst an onslaught of TV ads and magazines telling you what your body should look like and feel like (and don’t we get ...

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Categories: Women's Health

Tags: women's health

April Nutrient of the Month: Omega 3 Fatty Acids

By: Amanda Miller MS, RN

When it comes to Omega 3 fatty acids, there are few nutrients that pack this many health benefits into one compound. It is quite the understatement to stay Omega 3’s are crucial to achieving optimal health. In fact, they benefit everything from fetal development to heart health and stress reduction.

Omega 3’s are a polyunsaturated fatty acid and consist of 4 different types.

Kinds ...

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Categories: Uncategorized

Stress Eating: How to Break the Cycle

By Bren Boston, MD

You know the feeling of your internal pressure cooker building up, when work demands, deadlines, financial burdens, and interpersonal conflicts conspire to send your stress level through the roof. At those times, you want something QUICK and EASY to soothe your frayed nerves. And for lots of people, that soother is sugary foods. It makes sense from a medical perspective. Sugar has a drug-like effect in the reward center of the brain. Sugar causes a surge of ...

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The Autonomic Nervous System’s Role in Managing Stress Symptoms

Kevin Kunkel, MA, CMT, CYT, LMFT

Chronic stress can stay in your nervous system and affect your short- and long-term health. It can impact every part of the body, leading to a weakened immune system, digestive disorders, heart and autoimmune diseases, chronic body tension or challenges healing from injuries, and more. We will always have stress, but we can learn to build internal resiliency to heal from past stressors and bounce back from current stress.

Normal path of stress

It is normal to ...

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Anxious Child? Natural Remedies to Reduce Anxiety.

By Jean-Marc Sobczyk, MD, ND

According to research, childhood anxiety disorders are the most common type of psychiatric problem in children. It may cause severe impairment and excessive distress. Although effective psychosocial and drug therapy exists, let’s focus on more traditional and natural ways to help our children.

Although thought to be benign, these disorders can interfere with academic, social, and family functioning.

How to recognize anxiety in children: Common signs.