I know we are living in crazy times right now, and we are seeing it all unfold in front of our eyes. It’s so easy to fall into the fear trap. I know, I get it. I think all the time how it’s so much scarier because I have children to take care of in the midst of all we are facing. This compounds the intensity. But I stay strong because I always fall back on faith.

Sperm have always been a precious commodity, given the critical role they play in generating new life. Even a relatively small change in the typical sperm count has a substantial impact on the percentage of men who will be classified as infertile or subfertile. It’s not just about sperm count, however; certain qualities, including movement patterns, are also essential for them to swim upstream to meet the egg of their dreams.

The psychological and medical burdens of dealing with fertility issues have been placed squarely on the women’s shoulders. Not only is this incorrect on the most basic level - given that it takes viable sperm + a healthy egg to create a pregnancy- it’s especially wrong now, when a high proportion of infertility issues can clearly be placed at men’s feet.

For couples who experience recurrent miscarriages, recent research has found that men have twice the level of DNA fragmentation in their sperm and 4 times higher levels of reactive oxygen species in their semen, which can cause DNA damage to sperm, than men whose partners didn’t have a history of miscarriage. In couples with recurrent pregnancy loss, the men also had reduced sperm mobility and morphology, compared to their peers.

The study of sperm began, unsurprisingly, in a fairly bizarre fashion. In 1677, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, a Dutch tradesman and self-taught scientist who was fascinated with microscopes, collected his semen and examined it under a microscope, where he saw millions of tiny, wriggling shapes called animalcules (little animals) swimming in the fluid. He believed that each sperm contained a miniature, preformed human being that would unfurl and develop inside the mother after being nourished by the female egg.

I believe that the “bandaid” approach to medicine is more harmful in the long run, as important signals and messages (aka symptoms) are giving clear signs about what is wrong with your health. When the symptoms are silenced, healing is further suppressed.

Healing is a personal journey. No one can do it for you, but there can be powerful allies along your path. Something that works for someone else may not be the best option for you. We are all unique regardless of the label (diagnosis) that may be given.

Studies have shown a strong link between autoimmune thyroid disease and gluten intolerance. In fact, it is suggested that all people with autoimmune thyroid disease be screened for gluten intolerance and vice versa; however, this rarely happens in a conventional medical setting. In fact, most people diagnosed with thyroid dysfunction are rarely told to make dietary modifications, which could ultimately save their health.

Traditional Chinese Medicine in combination with NAET and functional medicine create a complete and comprehensive treatment plan to address all aspects of health - emotional, mental & physical. By combining these modalities, I can truly see the relationship of symptoms and how each one stems (most commonly) from a common source of disharmony or imbalance.

In this fast paced, over stimulated and stressed out environment, anxiety and depression continue to impact the masses. Anxiety can show itself in many forms and can affect people differently. As these numbers rise, anxiety disorders are becoming one of the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 40 million adults in the United States age 18 and older.

With the lurking fear surrounding infectious disease, it is clear that foundational health is more important than ever. Pathogens cannot thrive in a healthy environment, and that environment is you…

Although acupuncture and Traditional East Asian medicine (TEAM) for the treatment of infertility has been practiced for thousands of years, the combination of acupuncture with in vitro fertilization (IVF) and intrauterine insemination (IUI) has emerged in recent years as an effective method for improving pregnancy and live birth rates.

As a doctor of Chinese medicine specializing in fertility, pregnancy, and women’s health, the majority of my patients come to see me when they are trying to conceive, and while many of patients continue care throughout their pregnancy and beyond, others fall off, seemingly unaware of how much acupuncture is able to help throughout the three trimesters and in preparation for labor and birth. Some women have even been told by their western medical doctors not to come in for acupuncture when they’re pregnant, even if they previously recommended it for fertility!

One of the most important aspects of health lies in the food that we eat because food is information, and can thereby be either medicine or poison. Food is medicine; it has the power to heal and the power to kill in literal terms, and there is mounting evidence to show the link between diet and chronic illness, including autoimmune disease, hormonal imbalance, infertility, degenerative disease, depression, anxiety, diabetes, hypertension, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and all other chronic health conditions.

Continuous cell phone use, WiFi, and smart meters have been linked to ever growing health concerns. ⠀⠀

1. CANCER. Yep, cancer. Due to high metabolic rates, our brains are much more sensitive to oxidative stress and damage. Published papers out of Sweden have found an increase in brain cancer associated with extended cell phone use, directly correlated with same side of brain as cell phones are used to talk on phone.

Celiac disease (CD) was initially described in the 1st century by a Greek physician, but it didn’t become clear that CD was caused by an autoimmune reaction to gluten until 1950. Since then, the mainstream view of gluten intolerance has been black & white: either you have celiac disease or you’re tolerant. The truth is, like most things, there are many shades of gray. It turns out most recent research shows it’s possible to have gluten intolerance without having CD. This is known as non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS), and gluten intolerance is more a spectrum of conditions than a single condition.

The most up to date theory states that the intestinal barrier largely determines whether we tolerate or react to toxic substances we ingest. (Food sensitivities, anyone?) The breach of the intestinal barrier (leaky gut) by food toxins like gluten and chemicals like arsenic or BPA causes an immune response which affects the gut and other organs and tissues, including the skeletal system, pancreas, kidneys, liver, and brain.

“All disease begins in the gut.” Hippocrates

As we learn more about the origins of chronic illness, it is becoming clear that Hippocrates knew something 2,000 years ago that modern medicine has been ignoring. Research over the past two decades has revealed that gut health is critical to overall health, and an unhealthy gut contributes to a wide range of diseases, including diabetes, obesity, depression, autism, chronic fatigue syndrome, and autoimmune diseases.