The Integrated Pharmacist

 There are few universal experiences quite like sleep.  When it's done right, it can be enjoyable, rejuvenating, and healing.  Adequate, appropriate sleep can help athletes recover from tough exercises.  It can help students set important information in their memories.  When done poorly, it can be grueling, tedious, and even...nightmarish.  According to the CDC and the Sleep Foundation, most adults need between 7 and 9 hours of sleep, but across the United States, about 1/3 of adults get 7 hours or less.  Poor sleep can lead to more frequent acute illnesses like viral infections, chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease, and mental diseases like depression.   In a perfect world, you would avoid computer or TV light 60 minutes before bed while performing a wind-down routine like meditation.  Between 9 and 10pm, you would retire to your bedroom which is cool, dark, and quiet.  Your comfortable bed would only be used for sleep and ...

***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, I'd like to talk about biofeedback.  This is an approach to healing that connects the patient with a monitoring system.  As unconscious processes are relayed to the patient in real time, the patient makes conscious adjustments to make the unconscious process come into a healthier range.  What does this look like?  A simple example would be heart rate.  A biofeedback practitioner connects a heart monitor to a patient who suffers from anxiety.  The machine reflects back to the patient any changes in heart rate that occur as it is happening.  The biofeedback practitioner might guide the patient to do things that will cause relaxation such as meditation or deep breathing exercises.  The patient knows what actions work based on real time fe...