Sugar & Obesity

A recent article in the SF Chronicle by scientists at UCSF talks about the toxicity of sugar and supports ways to get people to kick the sugar habit. In a paper published by Robert Lustig, MD and colleagues in Nature magazine, they argue that sugar consumption is responsible for much of chronic disease that is rapidly increasing throughout the world. Ever since Lustig did a lecture on “Sugar: The Bitter Truth”  which went viral and had over a million hits, he has become the naysayer of sugar in food.

Sugar: The Bitter Truth

Robert Lustig, MD on Sugar

Polycystic Ovary Disease

What is it?           

Polycystic ovary disease (also known as Polycystic Ovary Syndrome or PCOS) is defined as a condition in which there is an imbalance in female sex hormones. This can lead to a number of changes including abnormal and irregular menses, acne and infertility. The typical woman with PCOS is thought of as being overweight, with acne, excess body hair and other signs of androgen excess such as male pattern baldness and even clitoral enlargement.

Sugar and Insomnia

Disease or hormone imbalance?

I have been plagued by insomnia for years and years. I have attributed it to many things and have been diagnosed with a variety of “disease states”. Depression is associated with insomnia, check. Too much stress from the loss of loved ones to the stresses of medical school and residency, check. The perils and pitfalls of perimenopause and menopause, check. But, I have discovered a new one that gets barely a mention and is thought to be inconsequential by most physicians, and I believe it may be contributing to the legions of people suffering from insomnia in our society.

Tracking Your Health – Simple enough for a 2 year old!

Thank you to all who came on Saturday for our “Holiday Cheer” event. Some folks experienced an Anti Aging Galvanic Facial and many of you tried the Pharmanex BioPhotonic Scanner for the first time. The scanner is so simple – even a two year old can do it!  Wishing you and yours a happy and healthy holiday.

Even a 2 year old can be scanned!

For more on the scanner, read on.

Low Fat and Fish Oil: Men Get a Boost to Eat Healthier

I’d like to welcome guest blogger Allison Brooks. Allison’s interest in healthy eating stems from her study of biomedical anthropology.

Everybody knows the saying, “You are what you eat” and now there is more scientific truth proving that statement. In today’s society, most understand that the fat and grease in a burger are not as good for the body as fruits and vegetables; but try getting your man to practice that on Football Sunday. I’m sure more would choose hot dogs, chips, and chicken wings before they nibbled off a veggie platter. But now researchers and doctors are coming down hard on men to clean up their diet to improve prostate health.

Holiday Cheer & Specials from H.E.A.L. Medical

Marsha Nunley MD & H.E.A.L. Medical Corp

cordially invite you to join us in some

End of Year Holiday Cheer

 SATURDAY, December 17  from Noon – 6PM

We will be offering free Anti Aging Galvanic Facial Demonstrations, plus a mini health fair, wine & cheese

Gratitude is Good for Your Health

As Thanksgiving day approaches, my thoughts turn to gratitude. I have been seeing articles in the paper recently about the positive effects of gratitude and positive thought. Studies exist that show that people who express gratitude are less aggressive, happier, and more optimistic. In the studies, simply writing down five things you are grateful for on a daily basis was enough to influence people in a positive way. An online search for gratitude research turns up many articles, as gratitude has become a hot topic for research.

Sugar Anyone?

A viral email was sent to me this week with 18 pictures of food/drinks and the amount of sugar each item contained, represented by a cube of sugar (equivalent to 1 tsp of sugar or 4.2 grams). The tagline was “We know the facts, but this brings it into perspective quickly, doesn’t it?”

Kudos to the person who took the time to put together this illustration – if you see this post, please contact me so I can give credit where credit is due.

Blood Sugar, Prediabetes, and Diabetes – Are you at risk?

I never thought that diabetes would be something for me to worry about.  I have never been overweight, love to exercise, and thought I ate healthy.  When I was in my 30s, I worked long hours pulling a 36-hour shift hour shift at least once a week.  My breakfast was usually a bagel and cream cheese or biscuits and gravy (it was Texas), lunch was a sandwich or burger sans fries (even then I knew that fries were not good), and not infrequently dry cereal and milk for dinner.  I remember a day when I had no time for lunch and had a 6 pm meeting.  I grabbed a roll of Girl Scout chocolate thin mint cookies and by the time I made it to the meeting, I had eaten the entire package of cookies!  Mind you, this was all “low fat”.  I needed a constant flow of high carbohydrate to boost my flagging energy.