Dr. Mark and Dr. Chip's Healthy Blogs

  Hi Natural Health Family. We got some rain this weekend! It was definitely refreshing and great to see something different. I am sure many of the farmers were happy to see that along with anyone that has grass. Time to mow again haha. Just like waiting for the rain we can be more patient in other aspects of our life.  Have you ever had something happen that you thought was bad or perhaps a mistake by yourself or someone else? However, after perhaps days, weeks, months you look back and realize if that didn’t happen then you would have never realized something that helped you down the road, a blessing in disguise. Many times people get caught up in thinking that this event that happened was so bad or that it should have never happened. When we are quick to judge something then we may keep ourselves from seeing something more clearly. Of course it is okay when we get frustrated from time to time, but then we can redirect ourselves to see whatever happened in a different way we can le

  Hello Everyone in Natural Health Nation-                 I hope that you enjoyed your weekend and were grateful for the rain that we have gotten. Looks like there was a little hail in there but it didn’t amount to much. I was traveling over the weekend and was in Florida for a nutrition seminar, and learned a lot. Most of the information was on how to help the office to run smoother and so will try to implement these suggestions over time to make your visits even easier and quicker. We may even send out a survey, or two, to get your feedback on how we do things here at Natural Health and how we can make them better for you. We returned from Florida at the Belleville airport near St. Louis and things are greener there. I’m hoping that this rain that we got this weekend, will help to green up a lot of the brown grass and countryside and start looking more like it should this time of year. Hopefully, the farmers can take a breath now and we will start getting normal rainfall.       

  STORY AT-A-GLANCE Atrial fibrillation (Afib) is an abnormal, often rapid, heart rhythm that can lead to serious complications, including stroke and heart failure Symptoms of Afib include lightheadedness, dizziness, fatigue, chest pain and a feeling that your heart is fluttering or pounding; sometimes Afib causes no symptoms Obesity, sedentary lifestyle, poor sleep and stress may increase your risk of Afib Lumbrokinase, a complex fibrinolytic enzyme extracted from earthworms, naturally thins the blood, which is useful for Afib patients, who are at increased risk of blood clots Oxidative stress and increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) can play a role in the development of Afib; ubiquinol and CoQ10 supplements help reduce oxidative stress Atrial fibrillation (Afib) 1  is an abnormal, often rapid, heart rhythm that occurs when the atria, your heart's upper chambers, beat out of sync with the ventricles, the heart's lower chambers. It's a common symptom in those with heart

  Hello again to the great family at Natural Health. It really seems like time goes by quickly. We go from one week to the other and do not realize it’s almost July already. Wild! Anyways, over the weekend I learned that some of our past songs that we used to sing when we were kids have quite a bit different meaning then just what you hear in the song. It got me thinking about all the information that has led many in this world and why taking another look can be very helpful. Let’s talk about the differences in what we have known in previous years to today and what we have been told recently.  I would think everyone knows the game “Simon Says?” Of course it was an old children's game that when you give a command to do something you must do it but only if Simon tells you to. Now if we think about many years ago we can at least fathom that there were many ways to help ourselves with our own health and well-being. Not until relatively recently were we told that there are new ways th

 Hello Everyone in Natural Health Nation-                 It was a beautiful weekend but we missed the rain, darn it! We’re noticing quite a few patients having problems with sinus and allergy issues, and one of the farmers that I talked to noticed that we haven’t had enough heavy rain to get rid of the early spring pollen, so there is lots of dust and pollen out there. I don’t always think that this means that people have allergies, it’s just that the body has to deal with all this dust and pollen that you breathe in and it does that by normally going through the lymphatic system into the liver and out. Many people’s livers are full of junk already, so it overflows back up into the sinuses and out. All of this gunk in their can lead to histamine release, which would give people allergy type symptoms. Hopefully we will get some rain soon and wash all this dust and pollen out of the air but it doesn’t look like this week. It looks to be a very nice and sunny week so we’ll see when the

  STORY AT-A-GLANCE With the goal of reducing inappropriate antibiotic use by half by 2021, the U.K. Department of Health has proposed guidelines recommending the use of honey as a first line of treatment for coughs Antibiotics do little to improve colds and flu or symptoms like coughs and sore throat because they are not designed to treat viral infections, which typically run their course within a week or two The antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties of honey are well-known, making honey a great alternative to prescription drugs when treating coughs I highly recommend Manuka honey, which has a long history of use as a treatment for bacterial infections and wounds, making it a beneficial natural health remedy Editor's Note: This article is a reprint. It was originally published September 10, 2018. Given the growing concern about antibiotic resistance, it's no surprise the U.K. Department of Health has proposed guidelines recommending the use of honey and o

  Welcome back Natural Health Family! How is everyone doing today? I imagine you are off to a good start or at least moving in the right direction. We are moving into summer and with that being said it is important to keep up with the basics.  In regards to health we want to help ourselves but eating good food and staying hydrated especially as the temperatures get warmer. The year comes in cycles and summer is a time to get outside when we can and do activities that we otherwise wouldn’t be able to do when it is colder. I think we can all agree that when the sun is shining and we can get outside it feels good. There is good research to show that a little sunshine is good for our health and well being. Many times when we eat good foods and stay hydrated that we feel and function better. It can also work the other way. When we feel good by moving and allowing ourselves to enjoy the summer time we tend to resonate more with eating good foods and drinking good fluids. So when you have a f

  Hello Everyone in Natural Health Nation-                 We finally got some rain so it was nice to see everything greening back up again this morning. And it’s cooled down some so that’s great to keep the air-conditioners from running all the time. I’m sure we’ll have plenty of time for that as we will have summer here soon. One of the biggest things were seeing at the office, that is weather-related, is people getting dehydrated. And just as an explanation, dehydration is not just a lack of water or fluids, but the need for the electrolytes as well. The term “Electrolytes” is just a fancy word for salt. We teach people at Natural Health to use sea salt or mineral salt, not the refined white junk salt that you see on all the snacks, and processed foods, and restaurant tables. I think this is something that is so simple that’s overlooked by most people and can help prevent a lot of health problems throughout the summer. I even think that people that are well hydrated, with fluids a

  STORY AT-A-GLANCE Over 15 years of research study culminated in a 2023 study demonstrating that poor flavanol intake is associated with age-related memory loss and signs of cognitive aging in the hippocampal area of the brain Flavanols, the subject of the featured study, are also called flavan-3-ols in reference to a hydroxyl group in the compound or catechins. You may recognize two flavanols that are found in tea, chocolate and berries: epicatechin and gallocatechin Kaempferol and quercetin are two important flavonoids that help support a sharp mind. Quercetin helps prevent and/or treat high blood pressure, obesity, metabolic syndrome, NAFLD, gout and mood disorders Kaempferol also selectively inhibits cancer growth and has been used for thousands of years to improve memory and cognition. Other strategies to help protect brain health include staying hydrated, exercising, getting quality sleep and reducing or eliminating anticholinergic drugs A 2023 study 1  published in the Proceedi