Arthritis The word arthritis is a combination of two Latin words, “arthro” meaning joint and “itis” meaning inflammation, so inflammation of a joint. Inflammation is defined as swelling, redness and pain but what is actually going on is part of a healing process. Our bodies create swelling and pain while repairing tissue. That in turn …
What Do The Numbers Mean? Blood pressure is expressed as a fraction, as in 120/80. What do those two numbers represent? The top number is called “systolic”. It represents the force of contraction of the heart sending a pulse wave down the artery. The bottom number (diastolic) measures resistance of the artery to compression, either …
Dr. David Wells shirtless inside a glacier in Iceland, February 2019. Since the dawn of time, humans have struggled to get enough to eat, to rest and to stay warm. Naturally, we continue on this path despite most of us being over-fed, sedentary and completely climate controlled. The point of this article is to show …
Digestion – What You Need to Know About 600 million years ago, tube worms evolved and subsequently developed into every animal you can think of from dinosaurs to humans. The “tube” in tube worm is the digestive tract. That should tell us something about how important digestion is to us all. We all have …
So what exactly is hyperthyroidism? Your thyroid gland produces a hormone (thyroxin) that sensitives all your cells to the metabolism stimulating effects of adrenal hormones. You can think of thyroid hormone as your body’s metabolic cruise control system. It sets the speed of your metabolism, from how warm you are to how fast your heart …
Marsha is tired all the time. She wakes up with a dull headache and needs coffee before she can be civil with her husband and kids. Her skin is dry despite practically soaking in lotion. Her hair is getting thinner and more brittle. She has gained a lot of weight and feels cold much of …
The most exercise common mistake I see in my clinic is people who try too hard to lose weight through exercise. Most people know that aerobic exercise is the best way to lose weight. Unfortunately, many people think that if they push harder, they will lose weight faster. This is not the case. The “aer” …
Measuring your waistline is a lot easier and cheaper to do (not to mention less painful) than getting your cholesterol tested, but it reveals much the same information. As a consumer of health care, I’ve always wanted to have simple, do it at home tests and treatments for health conditions. Here is one I want …
Why Are Acupuncture Points Located Where They Are? Patients often ask, “Why are you needling my hand when the problem is in my sinuses, or needling my foot to treat tooth pain? Why are the points always somewhere other than where my problem is?” The quick answer is that these are the most effective points …
Some of the most common questions we hear after an injury are, “Should I use ice or heat? Movement or rest?”. While all rules have variations to account for individual circumstances, more often than not the answer will be ice and movement. Let’s break that down. Immediately after an injury, there is inflammation. Like the …
