Nothing says sex appeal more than a great head of hair and both men and women are incredibly concerned when their hair is thinning.  What are the natural options?

Best of Health!

Visit our Natural Product Pharmacy for top prices and FREE SHIPPING on hundreds of natural products from professional brands like: Metagenics, Douglas Laboratories, Pure Encapsulations, Integrative Therapeutics, Thorne Research, and Carlson Labs!

Taryn DeCicco, ND, LAc, LDN

Naturopath

Acupuncturist

Clinical Nutritionist

Professional Vitamins and Supplements

Chinese Herbs

Natural Skin Products

Arlington Heights, IL

www.apple-a-day-clinic.com

We specialize in Acne, Skin, and Digestive disorders!  Please contact us for a free consultation!  I do work long distance.  Thank you from the bottom of our cart!  We truly appreciate your product purchases, visits, and referrals!  They enable us to give people the help they need and continue our valuable work.

Dietary Changes Prompt Swift Improvements in Inflammation

Best of Health!

Visit our Natural Product Pharmacy for top prices and FREE SHIPPING on hundreds of natural products from professional brands like: Metagenics, Douglas Laboratories, Pure Encapsulations, Integrative Therapeutics, Thorne Research, and Carlson Labs!

Taryn DeCicco, ND, LAc, LDN

Naturopath

Acupuncturist

Clinical Nutritionist

Professional Vitamins and Supplements

Chinese Herbs

Natural Skin Products

Arlington Heights, IL

www.apple-a-day-clinic.com

We specialize in Acne, Skin, and Digestive disorders!  Please contact us for a free consultation!  I do work long distance.  Thank you from the bottom of our cart!  We truly appreciate your product purchases, visits, and referrals!  They enable us to give people the help they need and continue our valuable work.

Take my word for this we are either circulating or stagnating.  If we are stagnating in our bodies...illiness is the inevitable result. Check out all our wonderful articles on Chinese Medicines and herbs and visit our store for over 400 natural products at great prices, and FREE shipping.

Best of Health to you all.

Happy Valentine's Day

Visit our Natural Product Pharmacy for top prices and FREE SHIPPING on hundreds of natural products from professional brands like: Metagenics, Douglas Laboratories, Pure Encapsulations, Integrative Therapeutics, Thorne Research, and Carlson Labs!

Taryn DeCicco, ND, LAc, LDN

Naturopath

Acupuncturist

Clinical Nutritionist

Professional Vitamins and Supplements

Chinese Herbs

Natural Skin Products

Arlington Heights, IL

www.apple-a-day-clinic.com

We specialize in Acne, Skin, and Digestive disorders!  Please contact us for a free consultation!  I do work long distance.  Thank you from the bottom of our cart!  We truly appreciate your product purchases, visits, and referrals!  They enable us to give people the help they need and continue our valuable work.

After last week's posting we got MANY inquiries regarding how to tell if one is toxic...TADA!  Take our quiz..

Best of Health!

Visit our Natural Product Pharmacy for top prices and FREE SHIPPING on hundreds of natural products from professional brands like: Metagenics, Douglas Laboratories, Pure Encapsulations, Integrative Therapeutics, Thorne Research, and Carlson Labs!

Taryn DeCicco, ND, LAc, LDN

Naturopath

Acupuncturist

Clinical Nutritionist

Professional Vitamins and Supplements

Chinese Herbs

Natural Skin Products

Arlington Heights, IL

www.apple-a-day-clinic.com

We specialize in Acne, Skin, and Digestive disorders!  Please contact us for a free consultation!  I do work long distance.  Thank you from the bottom of our cart!  We truly appreciate your product purchases, visits, and referrals!  They enable us to give people the help they need and continue our valuable work.

You're  in LALA Land

Eating is awesome. The feel, smell and satisfaction of food are one of the main pleasures of life. You may miss these food advantages though if you're like most Americans and spend your meals and snacks in front of a TV, computer screen or newspaper. If this sounds like you, you're probably taking in way more calories than you think. A 2010 study in the Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that adding stimuli during mealtime increased not only the amount of food an individual consumed at that particular meal, but also increased calorie consumption later in the day as well. Further, a 2004 study in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine found an association between television viewing and obesity and metabolic syndrome. Take the time to enjoy your food.

Your Friends & Family Sabotage You

Have you ever had a friend  or family member who knows you're trying to lose weight and eat healthy, but still tempts you with "it won't kill you to have a few bites of (insert tempting high sugar, fat and calorie food here)." Support is crucial when it comes to successful weight loss and maintenance, and having a toxic person or people close to you can really throw you off. What you really need is a supportive buddy who you can lean on in good times and bad; someone who will keep you on track and compliment you when you lose weight. A 2005 study in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology found that individuals were most successful with weight loss when they "buddied" up with like-minded people with the same healthy goals as they had. Besides....If you have completely different lifestyles and values what exactly are you DOING with these people????

You "Diet" During The Week -- But Go  Wild On The Weekends

So many of my patients come to me with the same complaint: "How come I'm not losing weight? I barely eat anything!" At the most basic level, weight loss is a matter of numbers; consume fewer calories than you expend and you'll lose weight. However, in this case, too much of a good thing can actually sabotage your weight loss effort. The daily functions of keeping you alive require calories for fuel (and I'm talking about the basics -- breathing, beating heart, etc.) and when you don't provide your body enough energy, it slows down. It's very much like filling up your car with gas. With a full tank, you can go for miles at any chosen speed. When the gas tank is nearing empty, there is the need to drive slower to conserve gas consumption until the tank is filled again.

Metabolism works in much the same way. When we feed our body the proper fuel, we have endless energy. As the intake of calories drops to sustinance levels the human body moves into starvation mode. This starvation mode triggers a lower metabolism as the body becomes super efficient at using what little energy or fuel it receives. Fewer calories are burned and weight loss comes to a stop very inefficient metabolisms will actually conserve to the point of GAINING. A recent study in the American Journal of Physiology described an "energy gap" to explain the difference between appetite and expenditure requirements. Researchers found that energy requirements after weight loss decreased, meaning you needed fewer calories to maintain your current weight loss. As you ate less, the cycle continued and, over time, biology would take over and your ability to continue to lose weight diminished. If, on top of that, you choose to give yourself a "pass" on the weekends for all your hard work starving yourself during the week, expect more weight GAIN. Slow metabolism plus a Saturday/Sunday food and drink fest ... you do the math.

You're Getting Fewer Than 5 Hours A Night

Losing weight like any worthwhile pursuit takes ENERGY. Sleep is great for your  body, brain, your skin, and, as it turns out, your weight as well. An abundant amount of research indicates that a lack of sleep alters the digestive , not to mention stress hormones that are responsible for hunger and fullness. A lack of sleep may mean a loss of control of your portions the next day and an increased craving for sweets, fat and carbohydrates. Shoot for eight hours of sleep each night and you're more likely to achieve great skin, great productivity at work and home and a great weight!

DIGESTIVE Issues

Slow Digestion or digestive problems = Weight GAIN

Time and time again I have fixed digestive troubles in people and weight loss is one of the many great health results.

These are general topics if you wish to learn why YOU are not losing weight....schedule an appointment. I've achieved wonders with nutrition naturopathy and acupuncture...don't delay.... make an appointment today...

For safe natural weight loss aids visit our weight loss aisle of our store.

Best of Health!

Visit our Natural Product Pharmacy for top prices and FREE SHIPPING on hundreds of natural products from professional brands like: Metagenics, Douglas Laboratories, Pure Encapsulations, Integrative Therapeutics, Thorne Research, and Carlson Labs! We offer 10-20% OFF Listed prices on orders over $99. Discounts are given at check out.

Taryn DeCicco, ND, LAc, LDN

Naturopath

Acupuncturist

Clinical Nutritionist

Professional Vitamins and Supplements

Chinese Herbs

Natural Skin Products

Arlington Heights, IL

www.apple-a-day-clinic.com

We specialize in Acne, Skin, and Digestive disorders!  Please contact us for a free consultation!  I do work long distance.  Thank you from the bottom of our cart!  We truly appreciate your product purchases, visits, and referrals!  They enable us to give people the help they need and continue our valuable work.

Do NOT Miss our Natural Health Book Sale Saturday from 10-?  Titles like: Healthy Dog, Natural prescriptions for Healing, SuperFoods, The Yeast Connection, and hundreds more will be available very inexpensively until everything is SOLD!!!  Do not miss out.

  IS the Neti Pot in part responsible for brain eating amoeba deaths which occurred in Louisiana recently?

Louisiana's state health department has issued a warning about the dangers of improperly using nasal-irrigation devices called neti pots, responding to two recent deaths in the state that are thought to have resulted from "brain-eating amoebas" entering people's brains through their sinuses while they were using the devices.

Both victims are believed to have filled their neti pots with tap water instead of manufacturer-recommended distilled or sterilized water. When they used these pots to force the water up their noses and flush out their sinus cavities — a treatment for colds and

Jonathan Yoder, an epidemiologist with the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said the Louisiana cases are still being investigated to ascertain that the deaths did indeed result from exposure to treated tap water in neti pots, rather than exposure to untreated water in a pond or lake. If so, they are the first known incidences of the disease in the U.S. resulting from　N. fowleri　organisms surviving the water treatment process.

"Nearly all the cases have resulted from exposure to warm recreational water, such as　lakes and ponds

, and the kind of exposure where the water would be forced up the nose — for example, diving and water sports," Yoder told Life's Little Mysteries, a sister site to LiveScience. The amoeba thrives in natural waterholes, especially those in the South, and several Americans die every year from swimming in these waterholes, or using untreated water from them. However, "in the last 15 years, I'm not aware of other cases [in the U.S.] associated with　treated　drinking water," he said.

Municipal water undergoes a rigorous purification process to make it potable, including being treated with chlorine to kill microorganisms, he explained. "We consider chlorination to be effective in killing [N. fowleri]. I can't comment on any water system in Louisiana, but in general … you may start out with 1 million amoebas and your goal is to reduce it with chlorine, and you might get 99.9 percent out. But you're probably never going to eliminate 100 percent.

That goes for amoebas, parasites, bacteria, viruses. So while we say our drinking water is safe, it's not sterile."

But if you only use distilled or previously boiled water in your neti pot, and you avoid snorting water when diving into waterholes, can you be sure you won't get PAME simply by splashing your face with the water out of your faucet — especially if you live in Louisiana?

Yoder said the CDC maintains that the risk of getting PAME from normal exposure to tap water is very low, but they are helping Louisiana's health department investigate the water treatment process in the state.

"In general, what we're committed to is even though there are very few cases, CDC is very committed to learning more about the organism so we can prevent further infection by developing science-based prevention methods. But it is a very tragic infection and we're very sad for the families."

Information derived from Natalie Wachova-Live Science, and NBC news.

Professional Neti Pot available in our store here! FREE Shipping!

Best of Health!

Visit our Natural Product Pharmacy for top prices and FREE SHIPPING on hundreds of natural products from professional brands like: Metagenics, Douglas Laboratories, Pure Encapsulations, Integrative Therapeutics, Thorne Research, and Carlson Labs!

Taryn DeCicco, ND, LAc, LDN

Naturopath

Acupuncturist

Clinical Nutritionist

Professional Vitamins and Supplements

Chinese Herbs

Natural Skin Products

Arlington Heights, IL

www.apple-a-day-clinic.com

We specialize in Acne, Skin, and Digestive disorders!  Please contact us for a free consultation!  I do work long distance.  Thank you from the bottom of our cart!  We truly appreciate your product purchases, visits, and referrals!  They enable us to give people the help they need and continue our valuable work.

Mold: Frequently Asked Questions

The information found in the following Frequently Asked Questions was developed through a joint effort between the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and the Wisconsin Section of the American Industrial Hygiene Association whose contributions are kindly acknowledged.

Health

How can mold affect me?

Health effects associated with airborne mold exposure are allergic reactions, eye and respiratory irritation, infection and toxicity. About 10% of the population is allergic to one or more types of mold. Many of these people will be affected by outdoor as well as indoor exposures to mold.

Respiratory mold infection (growth in the lungs) can occur, but is rare. Occurrence is limited almost exclusively to immune-compromised patients, including those with transplants, chemotherapy, AIDS, neonates, etc. Toxicity is related to the ability of some molds to produce mycotoxins.  Anyone suspecting they are ill from environmental indoor mold exposure should seek treatment and advice from a medical doctor. It should also be noted that other factors can influence indoor air quality such as other organisms, chemicals such as solvents and pesticides, or gases such as carbon monoxide.

When is mold considered toxic?

 Molds may produce substances called mycotoxins that modify their environment. Some of these substances are useful as antibiotics; but others are potentially harmful, especially if eaten. However, there is some evidence that breathing mycotoxins in mold-contaminated buildings represents a health hazard.  One mold, Stachybotrys, is frequently singled out. Initially thought related to cases of a lung disease called idiopathic pulmonary hemosiderosis among infants, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control has stated, "In a further review of our first investigation, CDC reviewers and an external panel of experts determined that there was insufficient evidence of any association between exposure to S. atra or other toxic fungi and idiopathic pulmonary hemosiderosis in infants." Current guidance of federal and professional organizations is that mold growth should be controlled in an appropriate manner, regardless of the type of mold

Can mold affect people with allergies and asthma?

A person with asthma who is sensitive to molds could have an asthma attack triggered by either indoor or outdoor exposures. People with mold allergies have frequently been overprescribed antibiotics at some point. With respect to allergy, the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) states, "While indoor molds are well-recognized allergens, outdoor molds are more generally important

For people with asthma, controlling allergies is paramount!  A common health strategy is to avoid exposure by minimizing the amount of dust in the home. Humidity control is also very important. ACOEM supports indoor moisture control and the broad array of indoor respiratory challenges it affects. Moisture control is also strongly supported by the National Academy of Sciences as outlined in its report, Damp Indoor Spaces and Health.

For those with depressed immune systems, it is important to minimize exposure to dust & mold both at work and at home.  Care should be taken to minimize dust using wet cleaning methods and HEPA vacuuming. In particular, exposure to soil and plant materials such as compost should be avoided as they can have large numbers of mold.  Raking leaves should also be avoided.

If your seasonal allergies are acting up, NOW is a great time to schedule an appointment to get them under control with supplements and/or acupuncture, before your respiratory tract becomes more chronically inflamed.

Call us at 847-577-4455 to schedule an appointment TODAY!  We also have a variety of homeopathics appropriate to desensitize people to environmental mold counts that cannot be avoided.

I'd like to thank the clients who have posted google reviews....sorry they haven't posted so I have not seen them as yet....

Also MARK YOUR CALENDAR for our Natural Health Book Sale on Saturday 10/27 from 10 am to 2 PM EVERYTHING MUST GO and these are great books so load up on some good reading material for the indoor months.

Visit our allergy aisle for great products and discounts and FREE shipping on all orders!

We appreciate your visits, referrals and supplement purchases very much.

Best of Health!

Visit our Natural Product Pharmacy for top prices and FREE SHIPPING on hundreds of natural products from professional brands like: Metagenics, Douglas Laboratories, Pure Encapsulations, Integrative Therapeutics, Thorne Research, and Carlson Labs!

Taryn DeCicco, ND, LAc, LDN

Naturopath

Acupuncturist

Clinical Nutritionist

Professional Vitamins and Supplements

Chinese Herbs

Natural Skin Products

Arlington Heights, IL

www.apple-a-day-clinic.com

We specialize in Acne, Skin, and Digestive disorders!  Please contact us for a free consultation!  I do work long distance.  Thank you from the bottom of our cart!  We truly appreciate your product purchases, visits, and referrals!  They enable us to give people the help they need and continue our valuable work.

Before delving into this week's topic please check your emails in the next couple of days for some exciting halloween treats! Also mark your calendar for Saturday 10/27 9:30-??? to come to our natural Book Fair. I need to thin my personal inventory and you will find many exciting books for your fall and winter reading pleasure at very low prices.

This week's topic is how to waste your money on alternative medicine.

The Chicago Tribune reported earlier this month that an obscure federal agency, the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, has spent $1.4 billion over the last 12 years studying folk remedies as coffee enemas, acupuncture and ginkgo biloba.
Some critics say much of the money has been misspent looking at cures so obviously ridiculous that no research should be necessary. The coffee enemas – purported to treat pancreatic cancer – are an example.

Actually, the money may be well-spent – but according to the government, only to the degree it subjects outside-the-mainstream therapies to rigorous, skeptical review. Tens of millions of Americans dump $34 billion a year into alternative medicine, according to a 2007 survey by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
Not all of the money is wasted. “Alternative medicine” is an overbroad label that covers just about any treatment that doesn't originate in a physician's office or hospital. Some of those treatments have track records of efficacy: Acupuncture, for example, is demonstrably effective in relieving back pain. Yoga can be a powerful stress-reliever.
It is a governmental concern that many of those billions of dollars wind up in the pockets of people peddling dubious alternative nostrums. The United States may lead the rest of the world in Nobel prizes, but legions of skeptical Americans are suspicious of “complementary medicine” and believe consumers, suckers for cures rooted in ludicrous notions – think homeopathy – or outright mysticism.
Remedies from China – herbal mixtures and manipulations of mysterious energy flows – seem especially alluring to the credulous. Alternative medicine can be harmful as well as a waste of money. Some Chinese potions, for example, have been shown to be toxic.
More often, the concern is the danger comes from diverting patients from maligned conventional treatments that might heal them or save their lives. 

I have practiced alternative medicine, IE nutrition and herbal medicine, supplements, flower essence therapy, acupuncture and Chinese medicine for 15 years and have seen it work frequently.  I have also seen many clients throw a lot of money away due to their own issues and that is today's topic of discussion.  I wanted to summarize some of the ways that my unsuccessful clients waste their time and money on alternative medicine.  I hope you will not join this population.

#1.  Be a “doctor hopper”:  These clients flit from expert to expert and modality to modality committing to nothing and no one.  These folks are intent upon gathering opinions, and never doing anything about their problem.  They return from time to time to “check in” and flit off again.

#2. Believing that MLM companies can help them.  Multi Level Marketing companies provide anecdotal information regarding their product: supplement, herb, magnet, etc…and the gullibility factor as well as laziness factor has many people believing that they are participating in some level of alternative care and treatment where instead they are just buying snake oil which reported heals everything wrong with the world.  If it sounds too good to be true…well it is!

#3 Becoming an expert on your problem.  This person is so fixated on their problem they have little time or interest in getting a resolution.  They have attached to their illness and label and spend all their time gathering the latest data about it.  They may check out an alternative provider from time to time as they will any expert but have no interest in solving their problem.

#4 Treating oneself.  Most, if not all people  and even professionals should not attempt to treat themselves. First, they do not have the knowledge, and clinical expertise which takes many years.  Second they lack objectivity, with respect to their issue and this is true even of professionals.  Occasionally, a person arrives at my clinic with their own erroneous plan of treatment which they would like me to put a magical stamp on….this is a waste of time and money.

The most important ways to avoid these problems as well as others is to choose wisely.  Choose the modality you believe is most effective for your problem and seek out an experienced practioner who has had clinical success in that area.  Make certain your personalities meld, and then commit fully to your treatment plan.  If you do these things I think you will find complementary medicine to be a great bargain in your health quest.  Want to SAVE money?  Visit our Natural Pharmacy for great prices, discounts and FREE shipping on all orders!

Best of Health!

Visit our Natural Product Pharmacy for top prices and FREE SHIPPING on hundreds of natural products from professional brands like: Metagenics, Douglas Laboratories, Pure Encapsulations, Integrative Therapeutics, Thorne Research, and Carlson Labs!

Taryn DeCicco, ND, LAc, LDN

Naturopath

Acupuncturist

Clinical Nutritionist

Professional Vitamins and Supplements

Chinese Herbs

Natural Skin Products

Arlington Heights, IL

www.apple-a-day-clinic.com

We specialize in Acne, Skin, and Digestive disorders!  Please contact us for a free consultation!  I do work long distance.  Thank you from the bottom of our cart!  We truly appreciate your product purchases, visits, and referrals!  They enable us to give people the help they need and continue our valuable work.

It's been a technically challenging day to welcome in October and I hope you will check out all the great forums and events we have planned...even a Natural BOOK SALE!  I appreciate your ordering refills online. Check your emails soon for a treat not a trick for this month only. 

Also earn $25.00 towards your next visit by giving us a review on google find the link on top of the events page right here...there is a beautiful new meditation room and more. One more heads up...we are getting much busier and already I've turned a few of you away and I expect it to get much more so so make your appointments NOW!

Apple-A-Day Clinic has won the Talk of the Town Award for 2012 for Medical & Acupuncture in Arlington Heights.  This award is the second we've won in a month and is given to less than 5% of businesses.  I will publish more about it this week. No, I do NOT solicit these honors.

Our first Forum in October is:  How to Get and stay sick, and here is the scenario: While I do not concur with this...if you want to get and remain sick here's the way to do so....

Best of Health!

Visit our Natural Product Pharmacy for top prices and FREE SHIPPING on hundreds of natural products from professional brands like: Metagenics, Douglas Laboratories, Pure Encapsulations, Integrative Therapeutics, Thorne Research, and Carlson Labs!

Taryn DeCicco, ND, LAc, LDN

Naturopath

Acupuncturist

Clinical Nutritionist

Professional Vitamins and Supplements

Chinese Herbs

Natural Skin Products

Arlington Heights, IL

www.apple-a-day-clinic.com

We specialize in Acne, Skin, and Digestive disorders!  Please contact us for a free consultation!  I do work long distance.  Thank you from the bottom of our cart!  We truly appreciate your product purchases, visits, and referrals!  They enable us to give people the help they need and continue our valuable work.