The Integrated Pharmacist

  Cardiovascular disease refers to the disease of the heart and blood vessels. Although we continue to learn more about this disease, it continues to be one of the top killers in the United States. Today, I'd like to take a look at what integrative and functional medicine have to offer. Cardiovascular disease is a multifaceted problem that results in life threatening cases of heart attack, embolism, and stroke. These different events are all caused by a problem in the arteries. As we understand it currently, molecules that carry cholesterol called low-density lipo-proteins (or LDL) get stuck under the linings to our blood vessels. As they build up, immune cells try to consume them. Their high cholesterol content causes the immune cells to foam up. As more cholesterol builds up in the vessel lining, bulges begin to obstruct the flow of blood and (perhaps more importantly) red blood cells. This fatty build up can become calcified, making the vessel brittle. Brittle and bu...

Greetings, listeners!  Welcome to another episode of the integrated pharmacist podcast.  Today I'd like to share with you one of my favorite herbal medications - the elderberry.  With the current COVID-19 pandemic causing socioeconomic upheaval, people are scrambling for some miracle product that will prevent themselves from getting the dreaded disease.  From disinfectants and face-masks to unproven medications, very little seems to be off the table at his point. Elderberry has taken some spotlight in all of this, because of its history of use in other viral infections.  Research suggests one of it's effects is similar to the human hormone interferon.  Interferon is a chemical that virus-infected cells release that helps prevent neighboring cells from getting infected.  The in-vitro trial I refer to demonstrates mostly late-stage activity against influenza virus infection as well as immune response activation to up-regulate specific cytokines dur...

How do flowers make you feel?  How do emotions effect our health?  Today on the Integrated Pharmacist Podcast, we're talking about a very specific therapy derived from flowers.  Bach Flower Remedies were created in the 1930s by an English scientist named Edward Bach.  This flower therapy is based on two beliefs: the homeopathic idea that dilution makes the treatment stronger; and the metaphysical idea that thoughts and feelings can manifest as physical problems.  Bach believed the essence of flowers was released by the rays of the sun in natural spring water.  Preparations of Bach Flower Remedies involve either collecting dew off of flowers, infusing water with flower essence while exposed to 3 hours of sunlight, or potentially by boiling for a short time in spring water.  Brandy is then added to enhance the medicinal effects of the infusion.  Each of these preparations are designed to infuse the spring water with the energy of the flower invo...

Fasting is the practice of going without food for a period of time.  People engage in fasting for health and religious reasons.  Today, on the Integrated Pharmacist podcast, we're talking about the effects of fasting on human health. The goals for fasting might include weight reduction, toxin elimination, better mental clarity, improved cardiovascular health, blood sugar control, and even improved cancer treatments. There are multiple ways to fast.  Intermittent fasting includes limiting food consumption to an 8 hour period every day.  Some people go without any food or water for 24 hours.  Some fasts include water and may extend the fast to 48 hours.  Still others consider fasting for as long as 21 days while on a liquid-only diet.  This type of diet typically includes vegetable juices or some other way of providing the body with essential vitamins and minerals while keeping caloric intake to about 250 to 350 a day. Although many people have found ...

***Disclaimer: This blog is not meant to be used as legal or medical advice.  It is written as my person perspective on how medical professionals could blend western medicine with other modalities*** A growing number of people are developing sensitivity to gluten without having celiac disease.  Is there something they can do to improve these negative symptoms?  This week on the Integrated Pharmacist Podcast, we're talking about Enzyme Therapy.  This approach to health recognizes that foods we eat can affect overall health.  Enzymes throughout the body can help certain chemical processes happen.  If the right ones are administered, food can potentially be digested even better.  This could lead to healthier guts and bodies.  We already practice this in western medicine.  We have medications that are concentrated pancreatic enzymes.  These are typically given to patients whose pancreas does not work optimally such as in cystic fibrosis ...

***Disclaimer: This blog is not meant to be used as legal or medical advice.  It is written as my person perspective on how medical professionals could blend western medicine with other modalities*** Welcome to this week's episode of The Integrated Pharmacist Podcast.  In episode 2, I discussed the benefits of acupuncture.  Many studies have demonstrated its effects on pain.  In more recent years, therapists have added mild currents of electricity to acupuncture to enhance the healing effects.  Even though acupuncture has a lot of clincal evidence by itself, some patients and therapists are still hesitant to use this therapy.  Because the acupuncture needles penetrate the skin, there are some complications with blood exposure, sanitation, and potentially breaking needle tips in the skin.  For these people, a new form of acupuncture was created.  Dr. Clyde Shealy an American neurosurgeon was credited with inventing a machine in 1974 that cou...

***Disclaimer: This blog is not meant to be used as legal or medical advice.  It is written as my person perspective on how medical professionals could blend western medicine with other modalities*** Greetings, and welcome to another episode of the Integrated Pharmacist Podcast.  Fad diets come and go.  So often, they're built on extreme limitations with the goal of dropping weight quickly or offering longer, more vibrant life.  These fad diets came into being during the 19th century when people drifted culturally away from ethnic and locally grown foods to diets based more on comfort and pleasure.  This new style of eating obviously had a negative effect on health and wellness, so new diet trends continue to spring up.  Extreme diets have included low-fat, low-carb, high fiber, and high protein.  There have been diets based on specific foods or food-groups like cabbage and grapefruit, restrictive diets, liquid diets, and much more. Of course, fad ...

***Disclaimer: This blog is not meant to be used as legal or medical advice.  It is written as my person perspective on how medical professionals could blend western medicine with other modalities*** Greetings, listeners.  Welcome to another episode of the Integrated Pharmacist Podcast.  Today I'm talking about detoxification.  This is a topic that involves subjects I've covered in previous episodes including #10 chelation therapy and #12 colonic therapy.  This therapy revolves around the idea that toxic chemicals surround us.  It's in our food, in the air, on the grass, and in our beds.  Literally the paper receipt you're given at the store has harmful chemicals on it.  Some people think these environmental toxins build up in our bodies and we need help getting rid of them. Detoxification therapy can include fasting and special diets, chelation, colonics, hydrotherapy, and hyperthermia.  The idea of needing to detoxify arose in the 1800'...

***Disclaimer: This blog is not meant to be used as legal or medical advice.  It is written as my person perspective on how medical professionals could blend western medicine with other modalities*** Today on The Integrated Pharmacist Podcast, we're talking about Craniosacral Therapy.  This is a branch of medicine closely associated with Osteopathy.  It involves the gentle manipulation of the skull and spine to induce self-healing.  Dr. William Garner Sutherland developed this modality as an extension of osteopathy.  He studied the human skull as his life's work.  Although he had been taught that the bones of the skull were fused, his experience lead him to develop his theory of the Primary Respiratory Mechanism.  This theory describes the flow of cerebro-spinal fluid, the slight movements of the skull and the involuntary movement of the sacrum.  This mechanism is called primary because of its central role in the body and its ability to hea...

***Disclaimer: This blog is not meant to be used as legal or medical advice.  It is written as my person perspective on how medical professionals could blend western medicine with other modalities*** Gut health is a growing topic in the medical community.  With emerging evidence about the gut microbiome, scientists and doctors are reevaluating how we treat the gut.  Today on The Integrated Pharmacist Podcast, I'm going to discuss colonic therapy.  Historically, pharmacy walls were lined with elixirs, formulas, and herbs meant to treat diarrhea and constipation.  Even today, we have medication that help use evacuate our bowels such as Magnesium Citrate and MiraLax.  Intuitively, we recognize the danger of not being able to defecate.  If constipation is left untreated, it can lead to bowel impaction which is where the stool becomes so big or hard that the bowels are unable to pass it on their own.  If impaction is not treated, it can lead to s...

***Disclaimer: This blog is not meant to be used as legal or medical advice. It is written as my person perspective on how medical professionals could blend western medicine with other modalities*** How many of you have ever stretched your back or neck and had those spinal joints crack and pop?  Have you noticed how you feel afterward?  Today on The Integrated Pharmacist Podcast, we're talking about chiropractic therapy.  Literally translated "Done by Hand", this includes the physical manipulation of the body to promote health.  It focuses primarily on the spine as a key element to total-body health.  The main belief is that by realigning the vertebrae, the nerves are better able to function.  When nerves operate optimally, the body can better heal itself.  The communication channels for self healing are open.  When the vertebrae are misaligned, those nerves get pinched and become poor signal transmitters.  These misalignments...