23

Jan

Peer-To-Peer Mentoring With Tara Joyce: New Year Edition

Happy New Year and welcome back to our peer-to-peer mentoring series where the talented and thoughtful, Ms. Tara Joyce and I exchange one another’s insights into how we can grow, evolve and create the change we’re working toward in our personal and professional lives.

Today Tara answers a question for me about sprucing up and adding dimensionality to my professional curriculum vitae. Sometimes the tasks I perform for my business development clients that I can attend to with colorful creativity are the ones I have trouble accessing in my own professional life. Look how lucky I am though- Tara is going to jump-start my personal creativity by sharing her own charm today!

My Question For Tara

“Currently I keep an updated CV on file. While I’m proud of my profile and professional history, I’d like to put together a jazzed up version. I’m thinking of doing a website resume- what are your thoughts on the effectiveness of this plan and how would you proceed creatively?”

Tara’s Terrific Response

I love the idea of a website resume! I have pondered creating the same thing for myself. For now, I use LinkedIn as the place where I share my professional history (my profile) though I do find it limiting in truly expressing who I am and my unique talents.

Somewhat recently, I changed the tone of my LinkedIn profile. Before, it said nothing about how I actually spent, nor spend, my days. It said little about ME, other than where I went to school (can’t you see how smart I am?), where I’ve worked (yes, THEY hired me!) and what titles I was given (don’t I sound impressive?). I had created a very inaccurate picture of how I add value to the world.

So, I made some changes to it, with the new perspective that my resume’s purpose is not to make myself sound impressive but rather to share with you where my true value lies. For I feel my greatest competitive advantage is that I am figuring out who I am and becoming it. So, in my re-write, I focused on understanding and showing who I really am.

If I was to create a more robust and fun CV than what can be found on LinkedIn, I would absolutely take a digital approach. about.me offers a free and effective means for creating such a digital CV. It allows you to create a simple, branded webpage that can link to your various activities online and allows you to design how you would like to present yourself, whether that be in a more traditional CV format, or using a less traditional, more visual approach.

If/when I do create such a place for myself online, my design strategy would be to spend time brainstorming as to how I could present relevant information about myself in a fun, interactive way. I’d share what I have done to understand and embrace the skills – or perhaps even one skill – at which I excel. And I would attempt to hone in on what I see as my true calling and do my best to express that through whatever means felt right for me to employ. Beyond that, I’d just have fun creating what I feel is a professional, accurate representation of why I am awesomely unique!

You can read Tara’s question for me, here. I have to give credit to Lucia and Jim over at Mindopoly Center for Change for inspiring how I shaped my response to Tara’s thoughtful question.

Like this post? Want to develop a peer-to-peer mentoring series on your blog or program for employees within your business? Ask me how to get started here!

Your comments are valuable. Let’s hear them below!

4 days ago Short URL Comments

Peer to Peer Mentoring/Your Socially Conscious Business

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17

Jan

Are You Making Sense Out of Dollars?

My private practice office is a safe space for all types of conversations with patients. I hear the good, bad, ugly and sometimes awkward. The conversation that brings up the “cost” of living can be one of those awkward times.

It’s interesting to hear about somebody’s new boat, car, beach house, shiny watch, the shirt they just bought at Nordy’s or extravagant dinner enjoyed the weekend before, yet in the next breath tune-in to, “but organic food is so expensive” or “I can’t afford my supplements.” Really? Really?

I guess this is the week to talk perceptions and beliefs-probably a good time of year to do so as we all attempt to mold our behaviors for the “good” of our well-being and health in the new year ahead. How we perceive the flow of money in our lives is directly related to what we believe to have “worth” to us. Last week at the coffee shop I heard a woman talking to her friend about buying all the guys in her office several rounds of drinks at the bar. She followed up by asking her coffee partner if she’d like to see a movie that afternoon. When the friend said she couldn’t really afford it after the holidays, the same friend who’d treated all the guys to three rounds of drinks didn’t even offer to take the friend to the movies and only replied that maybe they could go another time when she could. Now, I might be reading between the lines on that one and drawing my own conclusions, but imagine how that made the friend feel after hearing the story about her generosity toward a group of people she barely knew? While I’m sure she didn’t expect her friend to pay for her at the movies, it likely made her wonder about how her friend prioritizes money matters.

How Money Matters

1. Make a list of everything you M U S T buy this week. Now go back to review that list. Did you omit anything? On the edge of your paper, list your ommissions.

2. On the reverse side of this list, write down everything you purchased in the past week. Drink at the convenient market, gum, coffee, a new shirt… maybe nothing at all. Whatever it was list it. At the bottom of this page make a numbered list that reads like this:

* I need the gum I bought because…….
* I need the shirt I bought because…..
* I need the x, y and z because………
* I need to go out for lunch because….

Now put down a guestimate of what all of these things cost. Let’s say it was $100.

3. For the last written part of this exercise, go back to your omitted list. Ask yourself why you omitted those items. Could you not afford them? Could you go another few days until you got paid again? Or, is it that you have a belief attached to that product or service related to your personal needs? Make notes about what you explore to come back to later.

Looking At Dollars And S E N S E

If a new shirt costs $45 dollars, but you omitted a $3 bag of organic lettuce, ask yourself why you value a new shirt more than a bag of lettuce. Is it that you believe your new shirt can make you feel better than a salad that offers your body nutrition? I’m not suggesting that you should or shouldn’t, only asking you to consider your choices related to your beliefs surrounding the shirt and the salad.

If you totaled $50 in going out to lunch this week, omitted a $3 bag of salad, a $6 package of organic chicken and your $12 bottle of supplements, why? What about going out for lunch three times was more important than providing yourself with enough healthy, organic food that would likely make you five salads, a dinner and an extra lunch? Those items still cost less than your spending on going out to lunch, but for some reason, you believe they aren’t as important as purchasing something that will yield more “product” for less money and likely provide more health benefit to you.

Beliefs And Spending

Bottom line is it is never too late to look at how our goals and beliefs match up to how we spend money. If you’re playing victim, crying, “I can’t afford it, I can’t afford it,” but going out on the town, buying new cars and then not purchasing the services and goods you actually need to sustain everyday living, it’s time to take a look back. The “real cost” of goods is reflected in the ways we invest into our futures and that includes our health almost more than anything. If you need help learning how to budget, ask for it. If you bought a new car last week and now aren’t sure how you’re going to afford your groceries, health care visit or supplements, it might be time to take a closer look at how you prioritize your spending.

If you can afford it all, great! That’s awesome! But if you are frivolously spending on items that hold little future value, consider the items that could yield more than their price tag the next time you pull out your wallet. Remember, how you think and believe is directly related to how you feel.

Learn more about money myths and the real cost of health food from my visit to Juli Novotny’s blog, Pure Mamas.

Have tips of your own? Share them with readers here in the comments section.

11 days ago Short URL 1 Comment

Everyday Health/Keep In Mind

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13

Jan

How We Feel Is O U R Responsibility

“You live your life according to what you believe to be true of yourself and of the world – even if what you believe to be true isn’t real.”

-Jim Cervelloni of Mindopoly Center For Change

Think it’s SO hard to take care of yourself? Then change your thinking because it’s a lot easier than you may be allowing yourself to think… Want things to be easy, make them. Want to feel better, make yourself. While this article isn’t a lesson in “tough love” it is a practice in R E A C H I N G B E Y O N D N O W. Being dedicated to my patients means getting them out of their comfort zones to truly self-reflect. I let them know if they want to feel better, the first step is learning to communicate with themselves. Once they can consistently commit to this, their world of wellness can be experienced through different eyes!

You Get To Decide How You Want To Feel. Yep, It’s True

How we F E E L is a direct correlation to how we T H I N K and B E H A V E… or put differently, if we aren’t thinking about how we feel, or are on auto-pilot, then we might be disconnected from ourselves, not even realizing that we “feel bad” or are “under stress” and that type of behavior can lead to the blame game.

A great way to start feeling the way you want is to take ownership of how you C O M M U N I C A T E with yourself. If you aren’t communicating with yourself, that is, translating the signals your body is sending to your brain every moment, then how can you efficiently communicate with the outside world? Some of experience stress, anger or sadness without realizing it and still wonder why we “feel bad” or “get sick.”

In-Short, Problems Are Self-Perceptions

Many patients come to me with a “problem” or a “sickness or illness” that they’ve allowed to define themselves. It’s not something people do on-purpose per se, it’s just very common. Jim Cervelloni of Mindopoly Center For Change will tell you that how we view ourselves; how we think and feel is centered around our beliefs. Change your beliefs+change your behavior+change your thoughts+change your habits=feel the way you want. Sounds pretty cool right?

Looking at how we think and behave offers the greatest insight into how we are likely feeling or could be feeling. Instead of looking for “blame” or triggers from the outside world, consider what’s going on inside…

An empowering example of looking inside is the practice of evaluating self-consistency. It’s very common for a patient to come for a visit with what they describe as a perceived “problem.” Then upon further inquiry we discover that this “problem” may be an issue with actual self-committment and self-consistency. Everyone wants to feel good, but feeling good if something is stirring around internally takes some time to discover the intricacies. Sometimes this can take months or even a year depending on the individual because it requires us to admit things to ourselves we may not want to at first. Trying this or trying that, starting and stopping diets or supplements, going through highs and lows of stress, little exercise or over-exertion, good sleep or not enough sleep all contribute to the “problem.” Identifying our own personal patterns and behaviors is an activity many of us don’t always enjoy doing. It’s easier to blame others or outside factors, yet committing ourselves to this practice can yield the greatest of discoveries.

We Work Hard, Now You Work Hard

Healers, doctors, therapists, guides.. they can create the outline for success in wellness, but it takes dedication to the self on the patient’s part. It generally isn’t an issue with the actual advice the health care provider offers or the therapy received; it’s how we perceive or believe it affects us.

Let’s say we take a supplement for a week or two weeks. One week goes by, nothing. Two weeks go by and something unfavorable happens. What do we do? We blame it on the supplement. Why? Because it’s easier to find blame in something rather than take the time to self-reflect and research the other factors that could be influencing how we feel. Maybe we are under stress, we ate something that our body didn’t like or we simply didn’t give it enough time. When we’ve been experiencing health concerns for months or years, the body doesn’t simply change 100 percent over night. We need time to assimilate, stay C O N S I S T E N T and give things time. Our brain likes regularity as much as it does spontaneity. In terms of healing, developing a pattern of consistency is often what your brain prefers for your body to respond favorably over time.

Dedication to Y O U R S E L F

Dedication for the self to discover… even the things the “self” doesn’t always like to admit. Going along with Jim’s theory, roadblocks with this success in wellness isn’t due to your lack of willpower, it’s about understanding your beliefs- how they first relate to your self and then how you use those beliefs to relate to the rest of the world around you.

Okay I Want To Feel Different, I Want To Change

Want to feel different, better, changed? If you’re playing the blame game, take a pause and trade that activity in for looking at your beliefs. The next time you’re wondering why you feel the way you do, sit down, literally and push the pause button. Pause the auto-pilot and ask, “self, why could I could be feeling this way?” Maybe you’ll discover that you need a pattern, you need some consistency and you need to commit and dedicate yourself to Y O U R S E L F. If we really sit down to think about how we shape our beliefs, the possibilities are endless.

Ready? Get inspired by taking your pause and viewing this TEDx video on “minding our mitochondria.” When you’re done doing that, check out Mindopoly Center For Change’s series on beliefs one, two and three. Change never felt so good!

Thanks to Jim and Lucia at Mindopoly Center For Change for helping me inspire change!

14 days ago Short URL Comments

Brain Matters/Everyday Health/Reaching Beyond Now

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05

Jan

That About Sums It Up

I sent a lot of emails and talked to a lot of people today. Here’s what it was all about..

Set up a book promo about organic housekeeping

Discussed the microbiological influences of home-ecology on the environment

Designed a gluten free menu for a cafe

Explained intestinal permeability to a patient

Talked about the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas

Wrote an article explaining how to properly have your thyroid tested

Sent my biography for a gluten-free cooking class I’ll be teaching

Let’s see, what else?

Had a very poignant anthropological discussion with a friend and new business partner

Discussed the launch of two new food products and a nutriceutical related to neuroscience that Garden Eats and I are developing

Made plans to teach a functional medicine seminar to a group of physician’s assistants on integrative endocrinology and immunology.

Why am I telling you all of this? I’m not looking for a pat on the back I promise. I’m writing today because I’m often asked, “now exactly what do you do?” With a giggle, I generally reply, “oh, I do a lot.” In essence, my “work” is a true sense of integrated learning and design for modern living.

At the heart of what of I do is contribute to society in a consientious, heartfelt way that helps people grow, evolve, advance and learn to co-exist better among one another. With my hands in the social sciences, medicine and wellness, organic methods and socially conscious community based living, I guess I’m a modern day anthropological dork. Can that go on my next set of business cards?

So the next time you ask, you’ll get a long response… But know that I work, because I am deeply connected to all of you and how we can all have a little fun, together.

Cheers to cultivating the new year ahead-looking forward to all of you who will be a part of it!

Yours Truly;

Professional Smileypants

23 days ago Short URL 3 Comments

Reaching Beyond Now/Your Socially Conscious Business

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31

Dec

Happy New Year!

It’s been a fun and wonderful year! Thanks to all of my patients, clients, collaborators and friends for being a part of it all! See you all in 2012!

27 days ago Short URL Comments

Reaching Beyond Now

17

Nov

Antibiotic Resistance: From Prediction To Today’s Reality

Think Antibiotics are your answer this cold and flu season? Think again and think about it harder than usual.

I still have patients coming to the office saying, “well, I’ve had this for a few days, I’m probably going to get an antibiotic.” And I think, “have I not been educating these very patients on the dangers of antibiotic resistance?” Because, I have, and am, yet, many people are still slanted toward the pill-for-every-sniffle phenomena.

I remember in the late 90′s when I began studying antibiotic resistance. We clearly knew it existed, medical researchers revealed their findings and medical journalists reported it in the journals. While their reports described antibiotics as a looming health crisis in the developed world, much of the writings speculated on how resistance would develop and spread over the next decade.

Then, in 2003 we saw the huge spread of MRSA. What’s MRSA? An antibiotic resistant form of streptococcus that was spreading through medical facilities and hospitals nationwide. This form of strep was characterized by flu-like symptoms accompanied by a lovely pattern on non-healing ulcerative crusting wounds. MRSA posed issues for sterile environment control in facilities and was difficult to manage for patients who suffered from the resistant infections. I remember our entire school met in the clinic to discuss the special development of a new decontamination room that was reserved for MRSA patients.

Maybe you need antibiotics, maybe you don’t. One thing is for sure, if you are ill, a culture is one of the only accurate ways to determine what’s present-identify what the microbiological factors are so proper treatment can best reflect the situation.

Practitioners: Dig Deeper- Five More Minutes Equals Gold To Patients

Want to gain patient trust and confidence in your abilities? Dig deeper, it only requires a few more minutes of your time. When faced with immune issues in the office, some practitioners still say, “oh we had to act, there was no time to wait for a culture.” There is definitely justification for these cases and as a health care practitioner, I’ve seen them. I’ll refer a patient for antibiotics if it’s absolutely necessary, but in most cases immuno-modulation rather than complete eradication of microbiological factors is my treatment of choice. If your patient is constantly contracting what’s going around, that offers an even better opportunity to follow the pattern, get a culture and work to immuno-modulate; that is, to prevent future infections by enhancing individualized immunity. Not all patients are created equal (right patients!), so look to their constitutions. Perhaps they’re always coming down with GI complaints when immunity is compromised-this means look to intestinal features such as microfloral strains and antibody complexes such as SIgA. You’ll find your answers to individualized immunology by digging deeper. In the long run, you’ll save time, avoid innappropriate spending and gain the trust of your patients. The next time you think, “well I’m a primary care doc, how can I diagnose those issues?” think that you can, because that’s what makes you a medical detective-exercising your ability to diagnosis individually from head to toe. Remember, just because you’re a primary care doc doesn’t mean you can’t prescribe ascorbic acid, rest, a massage, use of a neti-pot and vitamin D3. Those are the basics for any primary care provider-antibiotics are not your only resort.

Two Tips For Patients Before Using Antibiotics

1. Got a kid with an earache? Put on the breaks! Most inner ear infections are of a viral nature rendering those synthetics un-useful and wasteful. If you’re a parent, print my article on earaches 101 found at Bonjour Baby.

2. Learn how to spot the differentiating signs and symptoms of a virus or bacteria. And, if you must take a course of antibiotics, be sure to follow the instructions to the tee!

My advice for doctors and patients is the same: when in doubt, get a culture. You’ll be happy to hear that new techniques have been developed and are being researched to more accurately diagnosis infections. Read more about them here. Remember, with hundreds of phyto- and nutriceuticals readily available to treat all spectrums of immunity, there’s no reason not to reserve those antibiotics for when they’re really necessary.

71 days ago Short URL Comments

Advocacy/Everyday Health/Health Your Patients/Reaching Beyond Now/Seasonal Wellness

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14

Nov

Patient Practitioner Mixin’ & What’s Ahead

I’ve been doing a lot of writing, mixing up the talk to address both patients and practitioners simultaneously. From this mixin’ I’ve received a myriad of favorable responses from readers. A few readers have been missing my writing at WellWire (ah, thanks by the way) where for some time I was focusing on more medically based writing. In the past I haven’t done much hardcore writing featuring my practice specialty, psychoneuroendocrinology because I largely reserved that for individualized patient conversation as well as my consulting to docs. Because I value your exceptional feedback, I’ll be featuring more medically based topics in the upcoming months related to PNE. And, I promise to continue including the socio-cultural implications of all topics to keep each topic current and relevant as it relates to modern living. You guys keep firing great questions at me, you’re all so smart-I love that my readers are pro-active researchers!

Coming up I’ll be discussing more immune, endocrine and neuro-psych concerns as they relate to psychoneuroendocrinology and the integrative functional treatment and lifestyle modalities we can use to interpret these concerns. A large part of my practice is dedicated to seeing thyroid related and GI concerns. I’ll be featuring an article on comprehensive evaluations and current progressive research for thyroid concerns. A lot of patients are pregnant or planning to become pregnant right now- you won’t want to miss my article on enhancing SIgA and other immune complexes before baby is born.

It’s likely no surprise that queries are coming in about balancing immunity-tis the season! Everyone wants to know about the flu shot, antibiotics, their children’s immune health, nutritional suggestions and food therapies for immunity. No problem. In the past few years, I’ve written on and consulted heavily about immuno-modulation-I’ll share previous features in the article that follows this, yet encourage you to continue writing with your thoughtful questions. And, health care practitioners-don’t be shy, we’re all here to learn-as a consultant to the health care community I’m constantly learning and researching. Asking questions shows your commitment to the profession and your patients, so please, ask away. Sharing expertise is the greatest gift health care providers can offer one another.

Your thoughts are what make this blog roll; keep the comments coming!

74 days ago Short URL Comments

Ask Me/Everyday Health/Health Your Patients/Seasonal Wellness

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07

Nov

LeeLa Will Teach You How To “Play” Around With Meditation

Most of us endeavor to develop a dedicated meditative practice in an attempt to curb the stress of daily living. Even our most earnest attempts are sometimes curtailed by the baby crying, wandering thoughts or just a difficult time getting started. Deepak Chopra has created what he hopes will be the ultimate interactive meditative experience with his new meditation video game, LeeLa- yep that’s right, a video game!

LeeLa will offer users a personalized opportunity to create a meditative experience incorporating visual and full body movements to unwind and rejuvenate.

Check out the demo at Tangible Tools!

82 days ago Short URL Comments

Brain Matters/DESIGNhealth/Functional Objects of My Desire

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01

Nov

Peer-To-Peer Mentoring With Tara Joyce: October Edition

My question for Tara

“Social optimization is at the heart of all my business endeavors. For this reason, any pitch I offer to a potential client is always authentic-I aim to reveal how working together will mutually accentuate their product, service and relationships with their potential customers and clients. Unlike many businesses that wait for clients to come to them, I approach clients to help them see the need for my specialized services.

What creative design ideas or tips can you suggest that will help make my pitch strategy more fun and multi-dimensional?”

Tara’s Expert Advice

Without knowing the cool tactics your genius self already came up with, these are a few of my thoughts on how you could support potential clients in seeing the value of working with you.
Talk to their ‘pain’ – aka Find their meaning.

Spend time uncovering and understanding these things about them (before you offer your service as their solution, aka sell to them):
what they feel their problem (or pain) is
what you feel their root problem (or pain) is
how you can support them healing this root pain

Why find their meaning?

If you can show a potential client that you 1. Understand their ‘pain’, and 2. have a authentic understanding of how you can relieve it, they will feel seen and you will be persuasive in instilling hope for positive change.

Personalize it – aka Appeal to their style

Everyone has their own unique style and way of doing things. And I bet every single one of the clients you approach has unique aspects about how they operate with you, and in the world. It’s their way of expressing them self in the world. Tap into that essence in your potential client.

Take notice of:

In what way do they take action?
What drives them to take action?

When you communicate with them, do so with their approach and attitude in mind. Alter your tactics so that you are speaking to them in the way they need. Pay attention to where they are at, and develop a pitch that meets them there.

Why appeal to their style?

You can build trust and understanding with greater ease when you can adapt your actions to the sensibilities of another.

Before & After – aka Show them what you can do

People always love a good story. Why not share with a potential client the evolution (visual and/or auditory) of one of your clients that had a similar ‘pain’ to them? You could also create for them a proposal ‘before & after’. A simple, tailored-to-their-pain ‘before & after’ showing them where they are and where they can be if they work with you.

Why show them what you can do?

A understanding of where they are and where they can get to will help your potential client to conceptualize the long-term benefits of your service.

Empower them – aka Show them how it’s done

Provide your potential client with information on your methods, systems and approaches, in a fun way. Perhaps by creating informative graphics. Help them to see and trust in the bigger process being employed in solving their ‘pain’.

Why show them how it’s done?

Referring to a method will provide them with a sense of security and structure when they are feeling uncertain about their project. You being transparent about your methods breeds trust.

Interested in creating a space for your clients to offer feeback about the work you provide? Check out my thoughts for Tara over at Elastic Mind on cool ways to gather endorsements.

88 days ago Short URL 2 Comments

Peer to Peer Mentoring/Your Socially Conscious Business

27

Oct

It Must Be True, I Heard It On The Nightly News

Where do you get your news from? The local nightly news? The national news? The Today Show? Maybe Bill Maher?

Whatever you answered, now ask yourself why you choose the news sources you do. Have they got the latest and greatest? And, if you answered yes to that question, I’ve got one for you-how do you know? What makes you know your news source is the latest and greatest? How do you evaluate the quality of your news? Do you always believe what you hear first-hand without doing your own investigation?

The Not So Timely Nightly News

Tonight on the local nightly news, the headlining report was, “is the flu shot as effective as we think it is? Maybe not.” Gee thanks, you’ve only been telling the masses for years now they’re bad people if they don’t get their flu shot, what’s the story now?

If you recall the swine flu scare and hugely exaggerated media hype, reporters and advocates told a grim story, “if you don’t get the flu shot, you’re risking your life.” Skeptics and research reviewers warned that the swine flu vaccine wasn’t necessarily the best idea. Little long-term research had been conducted in wide-spread populations and it was speculated that there could be problems with adjuvants contained within as well as laboratory production standards.

So what’s the most effective way to prevent the flu? While the CDC still backs the flu shot, a healthy, proactive, vaccine-free lifestyle might be your best bet… Clearly, the research is incomplete.

Using Gardisil As An Example of How To Evaluate Research

You may’ve seen my recent tweet warning that the new propaganda for HPV vaccines for the American young male population is about as ridiculous as it is for young women. Some will say, “prove it, prove your claim that we shouldn’t vaccinate our teenagers.” The “necessary” proof lies in better, more well-designed, long-term research procedures and studies. With documented reports of deaths and serious side affects, you have to ask yourself, “does the actual treatment outweigh the risk?” Lead Merck researcher, Dr. Harper says, “probably not.”

Let’s look to the research and suggested use for Gardisil. The CDC currently suggests girls (and now boys) age 11 receive the vaccine. Current research shows the vaccine is only “effective” for a duration of five years. Let’s add-11+5=16. Are your 11 and 12 year old kids sexually active? Maybe that’s a parenting issue, not a health issue? Skeptics question, with all of the known side affects and the fact that it only lasts five years, is exposing your young, still developing child to this treatment worth the risk?

“The risks of serious adverse events including death reported after Gardasil use in (the JAMA article by CDC’s Dr. Barbara Slade) were 3.4/100,000 doses distributed. The rate of serious adverse events on par with the death rate of cervical cancer. Gardasil has been associated with at least as many serious adverse events as there are deaths from cervical cancer developing each year. Indeed, the risks of vaccination are underreported in Slade’s article, as they are based on a denominator of doses distributed from Merck’s warehouse. Up to a third of those doses may be in refrigerators waiting to be dispensed as the autumn onslaught of vaccine messages is sent home to parents the first day of school. Should the denominator in Dr. Slade’s work be adjusted to account for this, and then divided by three for the number of women who would receive all three doses, the incidence rate of serious adverse events increases up to five fold. How does a parent value that information,” said Harper.

-CBS News Investigates, Sharyl Attkisson

When you ask medical professionals off the record if they’d expose their kids or family members to chemotherapy, a great deal will tell you, “not a chance”-the same strong comments are milling about the Gardisil vaccination. Another lead Merck researcher had his daughter vaccinated resulting in such serious side affects that she developed un-explained conditions that took her out of school, sports and caused dependency on strong immuno-suppressing pharmaceutical agents.

Whether you’re a non-medical professional or a health care provider, if you’re a parent, it’s your number one job to protect your children. When parents come in asking, “what should we do?” I offer them the research. All sides of it.

As health care providers, we can’t make decisions for you, but we can work as tenaciously as possible to offer the most conclusive, comprehensive information and research available on whatever topic we’re exploring. If you’re a patient, press your providers to disclose their research sources. If their research relies on pharmaceutical manufacturers and scientists working for the drug company in question, you’re getting a biased source. While these sources may be and are often reliable, they aren’t always, so find out how your provider objectively evaluates the latest techniques and research before committing to a treatment that could affect all aspects of your health and well-being.

Before you or your health care providers make a decision that will affect your or your children’s health, spend time referring to legit research sources because the nightly news just doesn’t cut it.

What’s Ahead?

There will be some people who respond without any traceable affects now or later with some suffering the affects similar to the kids I mentioned above. Immune systems respond differently. The more we begin to understand how how genetic makeup is affected by socio-cultural dimensions, environmental exposure and demographics, the better we’ll be able to prescribe treatments to the masses.

Want To See What People & Researchers Are Saying About Vaccine Safety & Efficacy?

Your vaccine questions answered by Dr. Heather Zwickey, microbiologist and immunologist.

The Lancet: Infectious Diseases: Efficacy and effectiveness of influenza vaccines: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Lead Merck researcher for Gardisil speaks about the real risks the vaccine poses.

Non-expert, medical doctor’s socio-cultural and medical evaluations of vaccines and genetics.

She says the flu vaccine doesn’t work. Read why and see if you agree.

Flu shot not as effective as researchers previously reported and real people’s responses to findings.

CDC on flu vaccines.

Judicial Watch reports on Gardisil.

Trust.org: Reuter’s humanitarian global website.

This article is solely intended to inform and protect public health, offering compounding research and socio-cultural awareness of current health trends. If you’ve made it this far and think it’s a completely biased dig against vaccines, I invite you for a second read. These references do not necessarily reflect my personal political views and exist to offer readers a place to get started researching on their own.

92 days ago Short URL Comments

Advocacy/Everyday Health/Health Your Patients/Kids/Reaching Beyond Now

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24

Oct

You Don’t Work For The Insurance Company You Work For Your Patients

I started teaching health care providers about the use of functional medicine and comprehensive lab testing to help patients make the most of their resources to help advocate for optimal patient health and well-being. Another motivator is to help teach providers that they work for their patients and not the insurance companies.

I don’t know about you (if you’re a health care provider), but I write over 100 letters of medical necessity to other health care providers per year. Why? I’m an integrative health practitioner-it’s vital for patients’ other providers to possess a clear idea of how their patient is thriving, how we can work together or in some cases, how they can bridge “the gap”.

A huge gap exists between what takes place in research and how it is disseminated among health care practitioners in practice. As providers get busier, they make less time for independent research, often at the expense of their patients. As artist Ed Ruscha concisely put it, “Science Is Truth Found Out.” Science is ever-evolving new diagnostic features, specialty lab tests and innovate multi-systemic technologies to extend to our patients in private practice. These innovations aren’t meant to live in research labs though. Innovation, by virtue of its meaning is all about creating new, useful tools. So, why deny patients tools that will heal them, empower them… offer them reliable health options?

It’s About Doing The Right Thing & It Doesn’t Really Involve Your Beliefs

After going back and forth with one of my patient’s providers for about two weeks in an attempt to have her order comprehensive thyroid labs for a clearly ill patient, she refused claiming that she didn’t believe it was necessary. Not only did she believe it was unnecessary, she claimed that if the patient did in fact elicit what I hypothesized, that it wouldn’t matter anyway because the patient was at an advanced age and the thyroid could simply burn out on its own. SAY WHAT? I suppose I wasn’t terribly surprised considering that she had informed the patient the day before that the tests weren’t available in the state of New York, but if they were, insurance companies would never cover such a thing. A bold faced lie or a complete lack of un-knowing? Either way, bad, very bad. Ever heard of the more conservative comment, “I’ll look into this and get back to you”???

Turns out I see three of this provider’s patients. To save patients on expenses I always order labs via their primary providers to have their insurance cover it. Since it was a no-go with this doc, I referred the three frustrated patients to another reliable colleague to have the comprehensive labs completed.

Here’s what I found out:

1. Patient One: Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis with gluten intolerance.
2. Patient Two: Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis
3. Patient Three: Hypothyroidism with exceptionally disproportionate ratios of free, un-bound thyroid hormones.

What does this mean? First off, the patient that was referred to as being in advanced age-she’s 50! I’m not one for medical labels, but leaving ill patients under- or mis-diagnosed is completely unacceptable. There are so many health factors pivoting on thyroid health such as reproductive concerns, cognitive and emotional well-being, overall immune health, cardiovascular health and related endocrine issues such as diabetes and adrenal insufficiency.

What This Means For My Patients

If patients can get tests performed great. It can spell new opportunities for healing and disease prevention. It can answer so many mysteries for patients who have suffered for years without real answers. For these patients I mentioned above, here’s what it meant:

Patients one, two and three because they were able to undergo comprehensive thyroid testing are all now on bio-identical, non-synthetic therapies that regulate and balance all aspects of thyroid health (not T4 only meds which rarely address the full scope of thyroid health). May make for increased monitoring to place patients on bio-identical prescriptions, yet patients subjective health is a valuable tool in these cases.

Patients one and two, before the testing were complaining of fatigue, weight gain and un-explained stress and anxiety. Although neither opted for their use, the same provider who refused the tests offered the patients anti-depressants to address their concerns. With their new-found results however, an auto-immune thyroid concern called Hashimoto’s was discovered. Before this, both patients ingested nutriceuticals with iodine. Fine and helpful for a non-auto-immune case, but quite harmful over time to those with the presence of auto-immune antibodies. Both patients were switched to non-iodine containing nutriceutical programs.

All three patients report a re-newed sense of health and overall improved well-being.

Patients-here’s a message for you-if your providers can’t or won’t help with your concerns, it’s okay to fire them. Imagine if you took your vehicle in for repairs and the mechanic refused to fix certain parts, but still charged you the same amount of money each time. Would you settle for that? Absolutely not! So why settle for this with your health care providers?

Team Care

Find a team of providers who are willing to work together to hear your concerns, guide you and bring you toward your best health yet. As your health care providers and guides, we’re here to challenge you and move you beyond your comfort zone, but only when that will create a better state of health.

What This Means For Providers

Bottom line, if you aren’t willing to work for your patients, they will leave you for another provider who is. A more serious concern is whether you could be held in a negligible state for not addressing a patient’s imminent concerns. Would you settle for a health care provider treating your spouse, parent or child that way? You wouldn’t.

The system we practice in is flawed, but what we offer to our patients doesn’t have to be. You work for your patients, not for the insurance companies. So what if you need to spend a few extra hours filling out special insurance claims or writing letters for your patients. At least you’ll know you tried as hard as you possibly could to serve your patient. And, rather than say to a patient’s face that they don’t need a test or that the other provider who suggested it doesn’t know what they’re talking about-refer out if you aren’t aware of the topic or let them know you simply need to look into it further. Create change for patients, not roadblocks to their health.

And remember, there’s a time and place for beliefs. Think churches, personal conversations, but about re-futing fact-based research and science?.. get ready to travel on a two way street if that’s your modus operandi. Theories and hypotheses are meant to be blown apart, but if you haven’t done the research and you’re swapping belief based information for inference, that could spell trouble.

Don’t Know What’s Going On In Your Own Back Yard?

As many of you know, my private practice resides in Rochester, New York. Home to many great institutions of higher education-one you’ve likely heard of is The University of Rochester (my very own practice specialty, psychoneuroendocrinology traces some of its roots here). The U of R offers new and recent research in Chinese medicine and the science of acupuncture, studies of the neuro-hormonal affects on immunity and endocrinology and stem cell therapies.

Despite the fact that the U of R’s research touches far stretches of the globe, little of it seems to make its way into local health provider’s offices. Providers, unless it’s about one of the drugs you provide, the information isn’t going to land in your lap, you must seek it out.

Practitioners need to take research in their private practices to a new level.

No more eye rolling or telling your patients something isn’t valid just because you haven’t heard of it. You’re the medical professional, so do your research. Your patients shouldn’t have to beg you to do your job.

Demographics Matter, Look Around

Although the situations I’ve described above could occur anywhere, I’m specifically describing the Rochester, New York area. I have a very unique perspective on this topic because of my own demographics. When I’m not in Rochester seeing patients, I’m consulting to all types of health care providers, assisting to establish integrative medical modalities in their practices as well as comprehensive and functional lab testing. Rochester providers are surprised to hear that I almost never run into issues with other providers or insurance companies in California (where my residence is). A majority of primary physicians tell me they know they need to step the game up if they want to offer the modern patient what they’re looking for. Sure, some still want quick fixes, but modern patients are cultured, smart and looking for preventive wellness that will keep them sharp, active and happy for many many years to come.

Whether you’re new to the profession or a seasoned provider, never ever stop learning. And learn about a wide variety of research, done by a wide variety of folks, because some of it is outstanding and some not so great. The more you review, the more you can compare and make use of in practice. Look beyond your own specialty and beyond the regular reviews. You might be surprised to find that a new treatment is just waiting for one of your patients. So embrace change and evidence-based innovation because some day you might need it to help heal a family member, or even yourself!

Some of you will still say, “but the problems are so complex with the insurance companies and we don’t always have the time or…”

My answer to that is a question-I’m making it work, so why can’t you? You can, I know it. Work smart and think in possibilities for your patients. Don’t be afraid to advocate for what you know can pave the way for others to reach health.

Providers-we are all part of the same thing and that thing is health CARE. Doesn’t matter what school we attended or what initials now come after our names. Our obligations to our patients are the same-keep them safe, keep them well and give them all we’ve got to make it happen.

95 days ago Short URL 2 Comments

Reaching Beyond Now

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24

Oct

Are You A Socially Conscious Business?

I love this via the Dachis Group. Are you a socially minded business? How do you see your model fitting into the community-conscious eco-system?

Thanks to Cool Infographics.

95 days ago Short URL Comments

Your Socially Conscious Business

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06

Oct

Your True Calling: Steve Jobs

‎”Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on.”

Steve Jobs
1955-2011

113 days ago Short URL Comments

Advocacy/Everyday Health/Reaching Beyond Now/Your Socially Conscious Business

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02

Oct

Visualizing Your Possibilities

Everyday we visualize the possibilities…

Google Earth visualizes the possibilities for Geoscience education.

Graphic design firms visualize possibilities with Adobe Illustrator and Photo-shop.

Scientists visualize the possibilities for eradicating modern disease through their research of stem cells.

Through the use of modern tangible tools, we’re not only seeing the possibilities, we’re living them.

YOU are your most tangible tool to critically think, grow and change. The life, the job, the relationship, the Nobel Peace Prize, achieving happiness, changing your diet, becoming more environmentally friendly, spending more time with your children, learning how to knit… Lofty goal or not, it’s all possible.

Start developing a mindful attitude (here’s how to start), a little bit of patience and SEE your goals as possibilities. Make an idea board, meditate, talk about your aspirations. Act. Before you know it, you’ll be living the visualization. Oh yeah, it’s okay to ask for help on your path to reaching your goals.

117 days ago Short URL Comments

Everyday Health/Reaching Beyond Now/Your Socially Conscious Business

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30

Sep

Peer-To-Peer Mentoring With Tara Joyce: September Edition

My question for Tara

What methods do you have in place or have made use of that allow you to obtain objective feedback on your web-design to be sure you’re reaching your target markets? Do you have anybody who specifically markets in your field or perhaps an un-biased colleague who helps “test” your site to be sure that they would “buy”? Please share how you research and refine this topic in your work.

Tara’s Expert Advice

While I know you’re question is asking specifically about my website and how I determine it’s effectiveness, my answer is one that can be applied to all marketing tactics I employ for Elastic Mind.

My approach to designing any marketing or communication tactic, whether it is my website, or a client’s logo, is, before I create anything, to first consider and understand three things:

1. What the long-term goals/vision of the business are
2. Who the ideal market(s) for the business are and what they need to hear
3. How this marketing tactic can assist the business in reaching it’s target vision and market

I feel that in exploring these considerations we can find the WHY? of any business design. And in clearly defining the purpose of WHY? something needs to be created, before any action is taken, it allows you to get very clear on how you can determine if the tactic is effective.

The answer may be as simple as — did this tactic help us towards reaching our long term goals?

For myself and my business marketing, I’ve created everything, including my website, in isolation, but with a focus on the above 3 considerations. In every marketing tactic I design, I’ve determined it’s effectiveness by the realization of my business goals. I see my website as a success because of the amount of pleasure I get from expressing myself through it, the relationships I have built via it and how it has been my primary tool in realizing my career dreams.

When I work with a client on co-designing their site, we use the same tool for measurement. We define where they want to go with their business, and how a website can help get them there, and together we co-create a tool to help them realize this. If my client feels that their website has aided them in getting where they want to go, we determine it a success.

In my experience as a marketer, designer and business owner, whatever we create to express our brand, whether it is a website, a business card, or a logo, if we create with our ideal client and our values in mind, it will be effective. Cultivating a meaningful connection with your ideal market, regardless of what any expert might say about it, is the truest measure of marketing or design success.

This month Tara asked me about making time for all of her endeavors, passions and interests. See how I applied past peer mentoring discussions to inspire my advice for her this month here!

120 days ago Short URL Comments

Peer to Peer Mentoring/Your Socially Conscious Business

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28

Sep

Growing Food: Soil-Less Agriculture

Dr. Mori’s Soil-Less Gardening System

Based on a medical-membrane technology Dr. Mori calls “hydromembrane”, the seeds planted within contain a culture medium with all necessary nutrition and hydration the plant requires for development. Unlike the huge reserves of water land grown agriculture depends on, Dr. Mori’s system uses 1/5 of what is required to do so.

How Do They Taste?

Because the system helps plants to regulate sugar and amino acids, the results have not only been sweeter, but even more nutrient dense than your average crop!

Why This Is So Cool?

  • Membrane blocks harmful viruses and germs making pesticides in growing unnecessary.
  • Allows cultivation on sand, concrete and ice.
  • Eliminates soil contamination.

Dr. Mori hopes this technology can help restore agriculture along Tohoku’s poisoned coast, where sludge, oil and environmental waste left behind from the March 2011 tsunami have been deposited in the soil. Watch Dr. Mori putting the growing system into action in his TEDx presentation.

122 days ago Short URL Comments

DESIGNhealth/Dreaming of Japan/Eat Like I Eat/EcoLOGICAL/Everyday Health/In the Garden

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