Category: Blog

It’s easy enough to undergo basic lab work that highlights key information like your cholesterol and blood sugar levels, but those labs fail to offer a comprehensive picture of your health. You might be struggling with symptoms that don’t seem to make sense with your lifestyle or have no obvious trigger. If so, you need more than basic lab testing. You need functional medicine testing.

What Is Functional Medicine Testing?
Functional medicine testing is distinctly different than traditional lab testing. In most doctors’ offices and hospitals, physicians run standard blood work to see if they find an established disease process. Action is taken only when the lab results are out of the “normal” range.

This standard blood work process fails to help or recognize the many patients who have chronic symptoms but will not show anything remarkable or out-of-the-ordinary in blood work. Functional medicine lab testing is used to assess subtle patterns of imbalance that would otherwise be ignored.

More than anything, the goal of functional medicine testing is to prevent disease before it happens by identifying potential or developing problems and guiding patient care accordingly. Continue reading Functional Medicine Testing and What It Means to Your Overall Health

Most people use the terms sunscreen and sunblock interchangeably to refer generally to a lotion that protects the skin from the sun, but the two words actually carry very different meanings. This difference was recently highlighted by Hawaii’s decision to ban certain sunscreen sales due to their danger to coral reefs. Before you head out into the harsh Florida sun this summer, it’s important to understand which type of sun protection you are using and if it’s the best for your health and skin.

Sunblock Creates a Physical Barrier on the Skin

Sunblocks sit on top of the skin to absorb, reflect, and scatter the sun’s rays away from your skin. They are also known as mineral sunscreens because they contain natural mineral ingredients like zinc and titanium oxide. They sit on top of the skin to block the sun’s rays instead of entering the skin or bloodstream. Sunblocks can be thicker and a bit more difficult to apply to the skin, but they are considered the safer choice because they do not contain harmful chemicals. Sunblock products are definitely the best choice for young children, pregnant and nursing women, and those with sensitive skin. Continue reading The Best Ways to Protect Your Skin from the Sun’s Harsh Rays

Living in Florida has many benefits but also makes your skin significantly more vulnerable to sun damage. The good news is that you can choose between many different gentle and efficient treatments to counteract signs of sun damage and keep your skin looking healthy and youthful. Try the three below to look like the best version of yourself.

Stock Up on Vitamins A and C

Vitamin A and vitamin C are both essential skin rejuvenation nutrients. The derivative of vitamin A known as retinol encourages cell turnover and increases collagen production to regenerate damaged skin and encourage new, healthy skin cells to replace the old. Retinol is a powerful product that can also improve the color, tone, and texture of your skin while encouraging brown spots to fade away. Be sure to add retinol into your routine gradually since it is so potent. Begin by applying every other or every third day and work toward once per day. Continue reading 3 Quick Treatments that Will Erase Signs of Sun Damage

You don’t need to reminded about the essential role that oxygen plays in your survival. But did you know that oxygen can be harnessed in the form of ozone to dramatically improve and enhance your overall wellness? It’s true; ozone therapy has been used as a medical treatment in Europe since the 1950s, and it has now become a leading alternative medicine treatment in America.

How Does Ozone Help the Body?

Ozone, or O3, has the potential to improve your health in many different ways. Since it suppresses infections by killing viruses, bacteria, and yeast, ozone effectively eliminates pathogens found in chronic conditions like Lyme disease. Ozone also improves circulation, boosts the immune system, enhances antioxidant protection, and so much more. Continue reading Should I Receive IV or Rectal Ozone Therapy?

Ozone Therapy, also called Ozonotherapy, is the use of medical grade ozone to stimulate healing within the body. Though research has been available on the power of ozone therapy for decades, it is only now coming into the spotlight as a safe and effective treatment for a wide range of health problems and conditions. If you experience any of the following health issues, ozone therapy could be the surprising and unexpected solution.

Ozone Therapy Is Based in Chemistry

As a single atom, oxygen is deficient in electrons and must be paired with another oxygen atom to exist in nature. This stable molecule, O2, is the air we breathe. When three oxygen atoms manage to pair up, the resulting combination is called ozone, or O3. All three oxygen atoms in ozone share the same electrons. This makes ozone unstable, yet powerful as a biological stimulant. Continue reading 3 Reasons to Use Ozone Therapy to Improve Your Health

Did you know that even if you take a multivitamin, each pill faces a host of obstacles – caffeine, stress, unbalanced gut bacteria – as it tries to work through your digestive tract and into your bloodstream? You might assume that taking a multivitamin effectively safeguards your health, but you may actually only benefit from a fraction of the nutrients that enter your body. This is a major problem!

IV vitamin therapy solves this problem by helping your body safely and effectively receive the vitamins, minerals, and amino acids it needs to thrive. Did you know that many of the health problems you face, from mental fog and migraines to digestive disorders and chronic pain, can actually be traced back to nutrient deficiencies? This means they can be resolved with the right IV vitamin therapy formula.

Detoxify Your Body Continue reading 5 Unique Uses for IV Vitamin Therapy

If you are lucky enough to live in the Sunshine State, you enjoy warm temperatures and bright, sunny skies most of the year. However, this benefit is also a major threat to your skin. Florida’s intense sunlight puts your body at serious risk of damage from ultraviolet and infrared rays.

The Dangers of the Summer Sun

The sun sends its energy to Earth in many forms. Ultraviolet light, for example, isn’t visible to the naked eye and can easily infiltrate your body without warning. UVA and UVB rays are the two types of ultraviolet light that break through the ozone layer. When they penetrate the skin, they actually affect the DNA of skin cells to cause sunburn, wrinkling, discoloration, and the formation of skin cancer.

UVA rays penetrate the skin all the way down to subcutaneous tissue, and they remain consistently intense during daylight hours, regardless of season or cloud cover. UVA rays are primarily responsible for accelerating signs of sun damage and skin cancer. UVB rays are more potent but don’t penetrate the skin as deeply. They are the primary cause of sunburn on the skin, but also play a role in the development of skin cancer and visible photoaging. Continue reading The Importance of Protecting Your Skin from the Summer Sun

There are many different nutrients that play vital roles within the body, which means that when the body becomes deficient in those nutrients, symptoms of illness begin to appear. Magnesium is one of the most essential macro-minerals needed by the body, yet most people don’t receive enough magnesium on a regular basis.

The Role of Magnesium in the Body

Magnesium is one of the seven essential minerals that the body needs in relatively large amounts each day. It is absolutely essential because it supports more than 300 enzymatic reactions needed to function in the body, from metabolism of food and transmission of nerve impulses to synthesis of fatty acids and proteins. All of this means that magnesium makes it possible for the body to produce and use energy, contract and relax muscles, and control vital body functions. True health and wellness cannot be achieved without magnesium! Continue reading Magnesium: Why You Probably Need More

Yoga has become a trend exercise choice across the country, especially as celebrities credit yoga for their toned figures. However, yoga is also an ancient artform that harmonizes the body with the mind through breathing exercises, meditation, and body poses. This combination has the ability to restore balance by strengthening the body, calming the mind, improving focus, and confirming self-confidence.

Yoga Supports the Heart

Breathing, stretching, and increased mindfulness combine into a powerful experience that has positive impacts on the heart. Studies have shown that yoga can lower heart disease risk, help the body lose weight, reduce blood pressure, lower cholesterol, control blood sugar, and so much more!

Yoga Can Move the Body Past Injuries Continue reading 5 of Yoga’s Lesser Known Benefits

We are all familiar with osteoporosis by name, but do you understand exactly how the condition develops and why it impacts your health? Knowledge is power, and by gaining a more comprehensive understanding of osteoporosis you can take the necessary steps to prevent the deterioration of your bones.

What Is Osteoporosis?

The term “osteoporosis” actually means “porous bone.” Since bone is a living tissue composed of calcium and protein, it remains healthy by continually remodeling itself. If you are healthy, small amounts of bone are constantly being absorbed into your body and immediately replaced. Osteoporosis occurs when the creation of new bone doesn’t keep up with the removal of old bone. At times the body breaks down bones by reabsorbing calcium that is stored in the bones to maintain blood calcium levels that is essential for proper functioning of the heart, brain, and other organs. This causes bone density to decrease, which leads bones to become weak and brittle with risk of fracture.

Can You Prevent Osteoporosis? Continue reading Understanding Osteoporosis: Preventative Measures and Current Treatments