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THRIVE is a collaborative platform of conventional, integrative, & functional medicine practitioners coming together in one setting to provide personalized healthcare to clients.
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Functional and Integrative Medicine

Thrive Carolinas / Functional and Integrative Medicine (Page 5)

Your Health is Your Most Valuable Asset

Your Health is Your Most Valuable Asset   You can expect to spend a lot more time when you visit a Functional Medicine practitioner than you would with a conventional provider.  You can also expect to do a lot of talking, as a large part of Functional Medicine is exploring your detailed personal and family history, the circumstances around your first symptoms, and the experiences you have had with other healthcare providers.  What the Institute for Functional Medicine teaches practitioners is how to uncover the underlying causes of your health problems through careful history taking, physical examination, and laboratory testing.   People may find that working with an IFM-trained provider helps them get to the bottom of perplexing problems that have eluded other clinicians for years. Patient Tips for Working...

Monday Motivation: The Case Against Cola

A 20 oz Cola has 17 tsp of sugar and is associated with an increased risk of developing diabetes and heart disease.   [embed]https://vimeo.com/342080072[/embed]   The caramel coloring is linked to cancer and vascular abnormalities. Drinking diet Cola can cause a 2-fold reduction in kidney function. If that is not enough maybe hearing some other uses for Cola will make you think twice before cracking open a can…. Remove Rust You can use Cola to take rust off wheel spokes or other outdoor equipment ladened with rust. The phosphoric acid in the cola is responsible for this process. You can also use to loosen rusted bolts. Bring an old battery to life… If your car battery is dead you can use cola to clear oxidized terminals on the battery. It is...

Under Pressure: The Hypertension Effect

Under Pressure While everyone has pressure in their lives, some are under far more severe pressure than others. High blood pressure (hypertension) is a condition in which the stress that your blood exerts on the interior of your blood vessels is significant enough to pose potential health risks over the long term. Hypertension can present in a variety of ways, and many have no symptomology at all. ​Hypertension Symptoms​ Headaches Shortness of breath Nosebleeds It is important to note that none of these can point directly to hypertension, but if the pressure is severe enough to have symptoms, it can mean that the pressure is elevated enough to pose significant risk. Luckily, a hypertension diagnosis can be as simple as taking your blood pressure! Blood pressure should be...

A Fountain of Youth at the Cellular Level

A Fountain of Youth at the Cellular Level Nancy Palermo Lietz, MD Since Ponce DeLeon’s unsuccessful search for the Fountain of Youth in 1513, the fascination of maintaining youth has continued. Whether in mythical tinctures or herbs or expensive skin creams the obsession lives on. While aging is a natural inevitability it seems, there are things we can do to compound the process. Our lifestyles filled with processed foods, refined sugars, poor antioxidant intake, inadequate sleep, environmental toxins, technology overload, and unrelenting stress seem to be speeding up the process. In fact, science has shown this to be true. The study of telomeres, the tips on the end of our chromosomes, has provided more information on just how lifestyle and diet can impact our aging process. Telomeres are the...

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The Problem with Plastics

Over 10,000 chemicals are added to food and food packaging materials in the United States. Many of these chemicals are known carcinogens and have been found to result in adverse health effects.  Multiple negative effects of these chemicals appear by disrupting hormonal signals.  The scientific term for this is ‘endocrine disrupters’ and these types of chemicals could interfere with the body’s hormonal systems and produce developmental, reproductive, neurological, and immune dysfunction.  Some products that endocrine disruptors are found in are plastic bottles, the linings of metal food cans, detergents, flame retardants, food, toys, cosmetics, thermal receipts, and pesticides.  Ideally, it’s best to avoid drinking from plastic water bottles and cups, both disposable and reusable. Some chemicals that are in plastics that should be avoided are Phthalates: found...

The Health Benefits of Napping

“No day is so bad it can’t be fixed with a nap.” – Carrie Snow  According to the National Sleep Foundation, adults typically need between 7 and 9 hours of sleep per night in order to function at their very best.  Getting less than 7 to 9 hours for a few nights in a row can have the same effect as staying awake for 24 hours straight.  One way to battle the effects of sleep deprivation is to incorporate daytime napping into your daily schedule.  In fact, the length of the nap and the type of sleep that you get during that nap will help determine its potential health benefits. Here are the Potential Health Benefits that come with a certain Nap Duration. 10-20 minutes: Reduces sleepiness;...

The Power of Rest in Creating Optimal Health & Wellness

Rest is one of the most important factors for creating wellness. Restorative activities can include mental, physical, and/or emotional activities that help to promote resilience.  If you are under chronic stress, restful activities can break the cycle of stress and assist you on the path to health.  By getting unstuck from bad habits you can learn how to be healthier, happier, and more connected.  If you focus on the process of restoration, rather than current complaints or states, it allows you to take charge of your own health and wellness. Some Restorative Activities are Meditation Gratitude Journaling Deep breathing/breathing techniques Activities that are assisted by Restoration Therapies Anxiety, depression, and mood disorders Cancer Asthma Many people turn to television, alcohol, or other semi-harmful activities to counteract stress.  Restoration activities...

Avoiding Toxins in Oral Health Products

In our everyday personal care products, our bodies are exposed to a wide variety of toxins & chemicals. Regrettably, some of these ingredients are commonly found in products that are used for oral health such as toothpaste and mouthwashes. The mouth and gums are specifically prone to absorbing and transporting substances quickly into the bloodstream. Some ingredients that should be avoided are… Triclosan: used as an antibacterial/antifungal agent which can contribute to making bacteria resistant to antibiotics. Sodium lauryl sulfate: can cause canker sores, and cracking at the corners of the mouth. Plastic abrasives or microbeads made of polyethylene and similar plastics are added to many kinds of toothpaste. Microbeads are able to trap bacteria in the gums which can then lead to gingivitis and periodontal disease. ...

Are You Suffering From Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)?

Are You Suffering From RA? Rheumatoid arthritis, commonly known as RA, is an autoimmune disorder that causes chronic inflammation in your joints. As an autoimmune disorder, it is due to your bodies immune system mistakenly attacking its own tissue. Compared to osteoarthritis, which is usually due to normal wear-and-tear on your body, RA directly affects the lining of your joints, causing swelling that can become painful and even result in deformity and erosion of bone. Despite its significant effect on, and therefore association with, joints, RA can also affect multiple other body systems. These alternatively involved systems can cause symptoms that may not generally be associated with RA. ​Other Involved Body Systems and Associated Symptoms​ Skin - Rheumatoid nodules (small lumps under the skin over bony areas) ...

IBD vs IBS

IBD vs IBS Despite many people suffering from either IBD or IBS, there is some confusion between the two. Irritable bowel syndrome, IBS, is the less severe of the two conditions, affecting the mainly the colon or rectum. It is non-life-threatening and does not increase one's risk of other more serious conditions such as colitis, Crohn's disease, or colon cancer. It is important to note that bleeding or black stool is not a symptom of IBS. Irritable bowel disease, IBD, is generally considered to be more severe and refers to a variety of bowel-related diseases including Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and others. ​IBD Diseases​ Crohn's disease Ulcerative colitis Enteritis Ileitis Proctitis Crohn's Disease ​Crohn's disease is a chronic inflammation of the bowel that can even cause ulceration. Crohn's...

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