Testosterone Pellets for Women
By Staff of Forum Health Bloomingdale
Allergy Treatments: Relief from Pollen, Dust, and Mold
Itchy, watery eyes? Constant sneezing? Congestion and post-nasal drip? You may be allergic to pollen, dust, and/or mold – and we have some easy solutions to help you find relief. In this short video, Dr. Bill Epperly of Forum Health Bloomingdale shares the most effective treatments to fight allergies. Top 3 Effective Allergy Treatments: […]
The Problem with Whole Grain Breads
In TIME magazine a couple weeks ago, there was an article bemoaning the fact that the “whole wheat” or “whole grains” bread that is being sold today may not be so wholesome as they would have you believe. Maybe we’re being duped, it says. This article has to do with labelling laws. Companies can put various […]
Rheumatoid Arthritis – Thinking Outside the Box
Recently, a colleague of mine reported that a relative of his, who was previously in very good health, had suddenly come down with a severe case of rheumatoid arthritis. He asked a group of us to pray for this person, which we did. But even while we prayed, my mind whirled as I immediately began putting […]
“Escape Fire” A Movie Everyone Should Watch Recommended by Dr. Epperly
The movie, “Escape Fire” awakens us to how badly messed up our American healthcare system is and suggests how we as individuals can take action steps to become part of the solution instead of part of the problem. Here’s the blurb about “Escape Fire,” “ESCAPE FIRE: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare” tackles one of […]
“Forks Over Knives” A Must Watch to Help You Improve Your Health
Need a little motivational boost to adopting a healthier lifestyle? We know that in general, movies can inspire us. Rocky, Braveheart, Gladiator, Top Gun – just to mention a few of my favorites. Here is a new favorite of mine: Forks Over Knives. “Forks Over Knives” presents a very compelling case for eating a whole-foods, […]
Want to Save (Lots of) Money on Prescriptions? Do These 5 Things
One of the biggest costs of medical care are the cost of drugs. Fortunately for many of us, insurance will pay for much of our drug costs, especially if the drug is a generic. However, sometimes we have to pay out-of-pocket for drugs. So then the question is, how can you minimize the cost of getting […]
1-in-10 Women Will Be Diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, What You Need to Know
If you are a woman between the ages of 14-35, chances are that you have heard of polycystic ovarian syndrome or know someone diagnosed with PCOS. According to statistics, 1-in-10 women of reproductive age has PCOS. It is the most common endocrine problem among young women and the most common cause of irregular periods in reproductive-aged […]
Anxiety and Depression Treatment WITHOUT Drugs
A common way of dealing with depression or anxiety is to use a medication such as an SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) like Prozac or Lexapro or Zoloft on an everyday basis. And a popular Rx choice for immediate effect is Xanax or Klonopin. But research shows that using such drugs on a regular basis […]
Are there Heart Attack Genes? An Intro to Genetics and Heart Disease
When you go to the doctor for a regular check-up, most of the time, you’re asked if you have a family history of heart disease. It’s usually also a concern if parents or siblings have had a stroke or heart attack at an early age. That’s because it’s pretty well-known that genetics has something to […]
Discover the Latest Technology for Detecting Artery Disease – CIMT
Most people probably know that it’s possible to take “pictures” of the arteries in your neck to see if you have clogged arteries by doing an ultrasound. This test is done if the exam of your neck artery is abnormal, if you’ve had a stroke from a blood clot or had a TIA (transient mini […]
Cardiovascular Risk Assessment: Way More Than Checking a Cholesterol Panel
Have you ever tried drinking from a fire hose? That’s what attended this amazing two-day preceptorship on cardiovascular disease detection and prevention conference was like! There were about 40 practitioners from all around the country gathered together at a downtown New Orleans hotel for almost 20 hours of intense teaching and training on the real […]
Three Myths and Truths About Belly Fat
I recommend to almost everyone in my practice that if you want to maximize your chances for optimal health, pay very close attention to your waist management. Belly fat is more than an appearance, there is an actual correlation between the size of your waist and the risk for disease. For this reason, it is […]
Making Lifestyle Change Possible
So many of us know that our health would be better if we would just ____________. (Fill in the blank). But for a number of reasons, we get sidetracked or stymied. Our actions are somehow not enough to move us far in the direction we want to go. There are obstacles of many kinds, small […]
Benefits of Compounding Pharmacies for Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy
When I prescribe bioidentical hormones for men and women, I often write a prescription that can only be filled through a compounding pharmacy instead of a pharmacy such as Walgreens or CVS. So what’s the difference between the two kinds of pharmacies? Pharmacy vs Compounding Pharmacy The regular pharmacy of today is more of a […]
Understanding the “Bioidentical” in Bioidentical Hormone Therapy
Sometimes when a patient asks their gynecologist about bioidentical hormone replacement, their doctor says that they don’t do that. A response like that just demonstrates how little understanding there is sometimes about this term “bioidentical.” Some doctors think that bioidentical hormones are something that has to be specially prepared in compounding pharmacies and is not […]
How To Overcome Roadblocks to Exercise
You know you need to exercise, you want to exercise. But you keep hitting roadblocks that get in your way or knock you off course. Humans are motivated by two things: the avoidance of pain and the pursuit of pleasure. So to overcome the roadblocks, we need to maximize the pleasure of exercising and minimize […]
You Know Exercise is Good for You. So What’s Stopping You?
Most people accept the notion that exercise is good for your health. But not everyone can list all the benefits! Understanding specifically why exercise is good for you may serve as a handy reminder to get up and get moving. The Benefits of Regular Exercise Exercise can help you control your weight Improve your mood* […]
4 Ways to Support Your Gut for Better Overall Health
Your intestinal tract, or what we casually refer to as your gut, has a huge influence on your overall health. It’s not simply a way for your body to get water and nutrition. It contains most of your immune system and it affects your mental health. When the semi-permeable barrier between the inside or lumen […]
Keys to Sun Exposure: Avoiding Burn and Producing Vitamin D
Understanding how the sun affects skin and vitamin D production is key to safe exposure. Dermatologists around the world sometimes make it sound like the sun is evil. Even Boris Lushniak, MD, who was one of my interns at St. Joseph Hospital when I was a senior resident, and Surgeon General of the United States […]
How to Increase Energy
Fight Fatigue! Increase Energy! Many patients come to me complaining of fatigue and they want more energy. And let’s face it, wouldn’t we all like more energy? I would. So how do you get it? Well, first of all, you should make sure there isn’t some major identifiable illness going on such as anemia, kidney […]
GMO’s – Friend or Foe?
By now, you have probably at least heard of GMO foods, but you may not really understand what that is all about or why there is controversy. Or you may not think that GMO’s are a particularly relevant issue for you. But if you eat any processed foods, any kind of corn product, corn fed […]
How Do You Know if You are Buying the Right Supplement?
How Do You Know if You are Buying the Right Supplement? If you’re like most people, you know that choosing the right nutrition supplements can often be overwhelming and confusing. And one of the big questions is not just what supplement to take, but also what company brand to buy. Do I just buy the […]
Practical Advice for Fibromyalgia
Practical advice for fibromyalgia Fibromyalgia is a condition of widespread body pain (present in all four body quaudrants) in association with at least 11 out of 17 specific tender points (5 lbs. of pressure to the area causes significant pain), for which there is no other identifiable diagnosis. It is a rather common condition, although […]
The Importance of Nutrition Supplements
The Importance of Nutrition Supplements I can’t verify that this story is actually true, but I once heard it at a nutrition conference a number of years back. It has been reported that someone got 10 dieticians together and instructed them (or should we say challenged them) to compose a menu of food items that […]
Testosterone Replacement in Women
Testosterone Replacement in Women I recently gave a female patient of mine a prescription for testosterone skin gel, which she didn’t fill and use because her husband wasn’t comfortable with her using testosterone. I’m not sure why, but apparently he read some negative stuff on the internet about it. She was complaining of low libido […]
Create Healthy Habits
You CAN Create Healthy Habits! Humans are creatures of habit. Unfortunately, good habits are hard to form and easy to lose, and bad habits are easy to form and hard to get rid of. Why is that? For the most part, good habits go against entropy, which is the natural movement away from order and […]
Vaccinations in the Spotlight Again
Vaccinations There has been a recent breakout of measles in the Chicago area, and also one in California. So that again raises the controversy about certain vaccinations and whether they are associated with autism or other neurological diseases. That debate continues on even in spite of the fact that Dr. Wakefield in England, who originally […]
Time for a Lifestyle Change?
Lifestyle Change with the Help of a Lifestyle Educator For centuries, patients have gone to a doctor, and either received a treatment right then and there, or got a prescription to take to a pharmacy to get the drug that the doctor ordered. And sometimes, the doctor would make some additional suggestions like “try and […]
SLIT Allergy Drops – What Took U.S. So Long?
For years, the treatment of allergies to pollen, dust, and mold has meant avoidance, drugs like steroid sprays and oral antihistamines, and painful and inconvenient allergy shots. Avoidance techniques might include keeping the windows closed, running the A/C more than usual, keeping the house extra clean, getting rid of the dog or cat or at […]
Thyroid and hair loss
Thyroid and hair loss: A Connection? There is no doubt about it, your hair is very important to you. And when you start to see it falling out like crazy, it can really be cause for alarm. I have had patients actually bring in a baggie of the hair they have lost (I think in […]
Don’t Get S.A.D. This Christmas
S.A.D. during the winter season? Most of you know that SAD stands for something else besides Standard American Diet. You probably guessed it, Seasonal Affective Disorder. SAD is a real thing. It’s a form of depression that occurs during the cold months and is why it’s also called “winter blues” even though there is a […]
Overcoming Holiday Stress
De-stress during the holiday craziness Around the holidays, the hustle and bustle of the season can turn a season of peace and joy into a time of wanting to pull your hair out! But over the years, I have accumulated a list of action steps a person can take to reduce the stress and the […]
Good time to check on those allergies
Well, allergy season is coming to an end. And for some people, your response might be “Thank goodness!”. Pollen and mold counts are low and symptoms have diminished. The Allegra, Claritin, or Zyrtec may not be needed as much. Thoughts and efforts regarding your allergies might be fading into the background now. But wait. Not […]
They’re Catching On: Wholistic, Integrative and Lifestyle Medicine
Well, I just finished a day and a half of attending a mainstream medical conference full of various lectures on issues that family doctors and internists face in their practices, and I have to say that it looks like mainstream medicine is really starting to catch on to wholistic, integrative, and lifestyle medicine! The keynote […]
Working with and talking to your doctor
Working with and talking to your doctor Your time is valuable. So when you go to a doctor, you probably want to get as much out of your visit as possible during the time you have. Also, your doctor wants to be of maximum service to you in the allotted time for your appointment. And […]
Setting Health Goals
Setting Personal Health Goals If you don’t know where you are going, then any route will get you there. Do you want to live to be 100? Do you want to avoid ending up in a nursing home? Do you want to never need long-term prescriptions for anything? Do you want to barefoot water ski […]
Setting Practical Weight Loss Goals
Practical Weight Loss Goals One of my favorite motivational speakers, Zig Ziglar, used to say that if you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time. So in order to better attain something, we need to aim for it, which is another way of saying we should have goals. With no goals whatsoever, our […]
Weight Loss and Exercise
Weight Loss and Exercise: What’s the connection? When I ask patients what they are doing to lose weight, 99% of the time they begin by telling me how much they are exercising. I think that is because the prevailing notion is that if you want to lose weight, you have to exercise a lot. That […]
Losing the Battle of the Bulge
Unlike in World War II, I’d say that today, Americans are losing the “battle of the bulge”. The numbers of people in our country who are overweight or obese continues to increase rapidly. There are several reasons for this. One of them is that we consume too much food that is cheap and easy to […]
FirstLine Therapy
Reversing Metabolic Syndrome with Personalized Lifestyle Medicine One in 3 Americans have metabolic syndrome—a cluster of conditions that can lead to type 2 diabetes and heart disease , which can be preventable or reversible through a clinically proven lifestyle medicine program. If you have 3 of the 5 following markers, you are at risk: 1) elevated waist […]
Healthy Living: Lifestyle Medicine
Healthy Living: The Choice To Change “Shift happens.” In this case, I’m referring to the paradigm shift regarding how people try to become healthy and stay that way through healthy living. This shift will happen because of people’s feelings of frustration about their current healthcare and the economic unsustainability of our current paradigm. The shift […]
Diagnosing Thyroid Illness
Thyroid Illness: What You Need to Know You’re tired all the time, gaining weight, constipated, losing your hair, can’t think straight, and feeling depressed. You wonder if maybe you have a thyroid problem because you have heard that thyroid hormone has something to do with your metabolism and energy. So you go to a doctor, […]
Celiac Disease vs. Gluten Sensitivity/Intolerance – What’s the Difference?
Celiac disease: What is it and what can you do if you have it? Celiac disease is a disorder where your body reacts badly when exposed to a food protein called “gluten”. Gluten actually becomes like a poison to people who have this disease. Symptoms can be multiple and while usually involving the gut (intestinal […]
Allergies to Your Environment
Dealing with allergies to your environment? Sneezing, itchy eyes, runny and itchy nose, congestion, scratchy throat are no fun and can be more than just annoying. These are what we call “allergies”. It’s also sometimes called hay fever, even though it involves neither hay nor a fever. Allergies to your environment can ruin your quality […]
Autoimmune Disease: What is it and why is it increasing?
Autoimmune Disease becoming more common Rheumatoid arthritis, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, psoriasis, systemic lupus erythematosis, multiple sclerosis, Type I Diabetes, and celiac disease: What do all these diseases have in common? They all involve the body’s immune system attacking the body itself rather than foreign invaders. The term for this is “autoimmunity”. Autoimmunity and autoimmune disease are […]