Boswellia

Boswellia Serrata, also known as Frankincense, is one of my favorite herbs for treating osteoarthritis and autoimmune arthritis.  Another herb I use frequently is Turmeric but here I am focusing on Boswellia because it is an unsung hero while turmeric has been getting a lot of press lately. Boswellia Reduces Pain and Inflammation Multiple studies have shown that Boswellia reduces pain and inflammation equally or better than non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen and naproxen for people with osteoarthritis and autoimmune arthritis.  NSAIDs work well at reducing inflammation and pain but they have many side effects including stress on kidneys and

Arthritis: Root Causes and Treatments

Whenever we talk about arthritis, it's important to define it and discuss the different types of arthritis. Arthritis means inflammation of the joints and there are two main categories of arthritis: autoimmune arthritis (rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, psoriatic arthritis) and osteoarthritis.  Autoimmune Arthritis Autoimmune arthritis usually begins in the thirties or forties, although we have been seeing it more often in younger people as well. A hallmark of autoimmune arthritis is that the pain and swelling are the same on both sides. There can be more pronounced swelling with autoimmune arthritis than osteoarthritis and sometimes there are other symptoms present like

Community Resources: Allergy-Friendly Bakery

Over the weekend, I planned to bake a dessert for my friend's 70th birthday. She cannot eat dairy and I planned to make a dairy-free torte. Unfortunately, my oven started to shut itself off so I found myself searching for a bakery that would make a dairy-free cake. This is easier said than done. In the end, I am so grateful that my search led me to Still Delicious, a wonderful bakery and community resource created by Mark Israel and Caren Smith-Israel. This bakery is entirely gluten-free, soy-free and nut-free. They also make many dairy-free, corn-free, vegan and paleo baked

Health Tech Resources: App for Discovering Personal Root Causes of Digestive Symptoms

Cara is a fantastic app that helps people correlate digestive symptoms with foods, menstrual cycles, sleep, water intake, pain, stress and physical activity. When I heard about this app I thought "finally, my dream app exists" because I have been wanting a way for people to track multiple factors that relate to digestion that includes different ways to look at the data. This app was designed by doctors and has reliable ways to track subjective symptoms. I found that this app is easy to use and after around one to two weeks of using it, I found that the data

Root Causes of Constipation and IBS-C

You may be surprised by how many people take laxatives or stool softeners every day. Many of these products were prescribed by a medical provider. When people who have chronic constipation come to our office, we ask questions to determine the cause of their constipation so that we can treat their constipation without the side effects associated with laxatives. No Single Cause of Constipation There is no single cause of constipation and often people will have more than one of the root causes on this list. Inadequate water intake - This is a very common cause of constipation especially in

Health Tech Resources: Meal Planning

I often prescribe diet changes to patients for treatment of conditions, weight loss or for general overall health. Diet changes are challenging because often people have trouble finding new foods that they like to prepare and eat. Here are some meal planning resources that can support diet changes for long-term success. Making Meal Planning Easier The Fresh 20 This is an easy-to-use meal planning service that helps you increase your intake of vegetables and whole foods and/or avoid dairy or gluten. For $1.50-2.00 per week, you get a shopping list with 20 items and recipes for a week's worth of

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