Just days after the world was almost brought to a standstill because of a single technology glitch, I had the opportunity to head into the Sequoia National Park to drop off my son and three buddies who were embarking on an eight-day backpacking trip called the High Sierras Trail (HST). This trek runs 70 miles across the entire park and culminates at Mt. Whitney, the...
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One of the best ways to monitor your health is through the testing of the most vital of bodily fluids—your blood. Flowing into every nook and cranny of your body, blood carries oxygen and important nutrients and hormones to your cells, as well as transports waste products to the lungs, liver, and kidneys for excretion. Thus, your blood provides a treasure trove of information on...
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My cat Oscar died last weekend. He was diagnosed with a heart condition just two weeks earlier at not quite six years old, barely middle aged. However, this is not a story about a cat but a very human story about how we accept the status quo, the marketing messages and what everyone else seems to be doing, rather than thinking critically and doing our...
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Much of modern medicine is guided by the germ theory of disease, a framework that led to the development of the first antibiotics in the 1940s. While credited with saving millions from once deadly infections, the current explosion in chronic conditions highlights the shortfall in this narrow view of what ails us and how to tackle it. The nearly forgotten model of terrain theory, proposed around...
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Have you been told your “bad cholesterol” is too high? Maybe you’ve been prescribed a class of drugs called statins, which are designed to lower your LDL—low-density lipoprotein—also known as “bad cholesterol.”Statins do what they are designed to do but there are two major problems. First, the mechanism of action causes a multitude of side effects that can lead to worse health. Second, there is...
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Health care is an industry just like any other. Doctors, hospitals, pharmaceutical drug makers, medical device manufacturers, and all the associated software and equipment companies are in business to make money. You are the consumer. When you need a plumber or some house repairs you probably do some research, shop around for a good price, and maybe see if there is part of the job...
Read MoreI was recently interviewed by the Nutrition Therapy Institute about the career opportunities in corporate wellness for their students and others with a background in nutrition.It was an engaging conversation and got me thinking about the typical corporate wellness professional who tends to have an HR background or perhaps a qualification in public health. Useful skills but not necessarily well suited to addressing the myriad...
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Wandering around the US Healthcare Conference in San Diego this week, looking at the sea of vendor booths, I was struck by the dilemma facing many employers today. A similar dilemma faces the solution-providers themselves when strategizing on the best path for their business. On the one hand there are many incredibly innovative health solutions really moving the needle on specific aspects of employee health...
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