One of the big buzzwords in health care these days is "functional medicine." And, perhaps like you, for years I had no idea what it meant. When I first heard about it, during my days writing for the now-shuttered WellWire, people tried to explain: "It's what you do as...
Although my practice is very diverse, cancer is one of the few things I do not treat. Unfortunately, this diagnosis is horrifically common. When my friends and loved ones ask for my thoughts on a cancer diagnosis, I tell them to take advantage of all the tools...
Every year there’s one particular plant that grabs my attention and won’t let go. I’ll start seeing it everywhere. And I get excited in that way you do when you have a new friend — even if it’s an old friend. So far this year violets are my jam. There have been at...
In the same way whole foods are a better source of nutrients than a multivitamin, there are things the sun can do that a supplement cannot. When it comes to health, Nature almost always does it better.
Wednesday is veggie box day at my house, and it's been really helping me up my personal food game. I often recommend delivery services like this one from Full Circle to patients as a way to help keep fresh vegetables in the house — because eating veggies is a...
You've been to your primary-care doctor. You've been to a specialist. Maybe you've even been to multiple specialists. And they've given you bad news, or confusing news, or they say there's nothing wrong when clearly something is. That's where the third level of care...
You know that sugary sodas aren’t healthy, but are they really that bad? A 2010 study reported in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, put out by the American Association for Cancer Research, found a huge health impact in a small number of...
You know the smell that's left on clothes, furniture and hair after being around cigarettes? Turns out the chemicals causing that smell, dubbed "third-hand smoke," offer a whole new kind of cancer risk. When cigarette smoke mixes with nitrous acid — a common household...
Cell phones are now indispensable to many people around the world, but are they endangering your health? Not all the research is clear, but some studies find strong connections to cancers of the brain and saliva-producing parotid glands with extensive use over time....
Radon, common in Portland basements and homes, is the second-leading cause of lung cancer after smoking. Here are resources to learn more about radon — and protect yourself from its harmful effects.