Early Spring Newletter 2011
In this edition:
Out of Office 2/10-2/16
Robert Whitaker speaking 2/10
High Fructose Corn Syrup Hype
Agave
Yelp and Healthgrades
Homeopathy and Depression
PANDAs
Hydrotherapy, Bronchitis and Pneumonia
Upcoming talks
Out of the Office February 10th – February 16th. Please call or email before then for refills, scheduling, or other concerns. Dr. Krista Tricarico, ND, and Dr. Julie Brush, ND will be on call for me during that time. Dr. Tricarico can be reached at (503) 593-8900, and Dr. Brush can be reached at (503) 655-0044.
Robert Whitaker speaking this week
Robert Whitaker, the author of Anatomy of an Epidemic, will be speaking Thursday, February 10th, at 5pm at the Unitarian Church downtown. Whitaker is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist. In his most recent book, Anatomy, he has made a clear case based on the evidence in the medical literature that many psychiatric medications do more harm than good. He presents good, solid research in a very compelling way. Details are at the following website:
http://www.realwealthpdx.org/meetings_and_events/robert-whitaker.html
http://www.robertwhitaker.org/robertwhitaker.org/Anatomy%20of%20an%20Epidemic.html
High Fructose Corn Syrup Hype
Have you seen the recent advertising campaign to make high fructose corn syrup to be natural and healthy? If you’ve ondered if this is science or hype, the article linked below should help lay out the facts a bit more clearly. Bottom line is, caloric sweeteners of any kind should be restricted to a very small percentage of your daily caloric intake. An additional problem with HFCS is that it blocks leptin receptors. Leptin is a hormone in the body that makes us feel full. That means that when people consume products with HFCS, they typically do not stop eating when they feel full. It is likely that HFCS is a major contributor to the obesity epidemic in this country because of its leptin blocking properties.
Agave
Agave was once thought to be the great hope of healthful sweeteners. It looks as if this is not actually true. Most agave is produced in the manner of high fructose corn syrup. Even ones labeled “raw” have often been found to be mislabeled. Agave production is a poorly-regulated industry. Most of the studies finding agave to be a low glycemic index food were using a different type of agave syrup as its study subject, one that is not currently on the market. Agave is to be used only sparingly in the diet, similarly with other caloric sweeteners.
Yelp and Healthgrades
If you have a moment to do me and the general public a favor, please write a rating on Yelp or Healthgrades. This will help people get a better idea of what type and quality of services I offer. Thanks in advance!
http://www.healthgrades.com/health-professionals-directory/Elissa-Mendenhall-ND-7AE1AACA/patient-ratings
Homeopathy and Depression
A 2009 Brazillian study comparing classical homeopathy to fluoxetine (Prozac) treatment of moderate to severe depression found that they were statistically similar in effects at 4 and 8 weeks. The one noted difference was that the fluoxetine group reports more side effects. I’ll be posting this and several other articles about homeopathy soon on my website.
www.doctorelissamendenhall.com
PANDAs – a viral cause of obsessive-compulsive disorder.
What do unusual Asian mammals and obsessive-compulsive disorder have in common? Little except the acronym. PANDAs stands for Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Streptococcus. Once considered rare, it has now been documented in adults as well as children, and can cause a number of neuropsychiatric symptoms. It typically follows a strep throat infection within 2-4 weeks, and causes typical symptoms of obsessions and compulsion behaviors in children. Recommend treatments include resolving of underlying streptococcal infection and immune support.
Hydrotherapy, Bronchitis, and Pneumonia
This winter has brought an unusually high number of cases of pneumonia and bronchitis to Portland. I have found administering hydrotherapy treatments at home and in the office to be a safe, effective, and rapid treatment for bronchitis and pneumonia, even when antibiotics were not providing complete resolution. If you or someone you know could benefit from a hydrotherapy treatment, please consider coming in to the office.
Upcoming Talks
Dr. Elissa will be speaking to a patient group at the Oregon State Hospital later in early March. (Postponed from February 1st due to illness). Dr. Elissa will also be presenting at Grand Rounds at the National College of Natural Medicine on February 28th. She is planning another talk for practitioners and for the general public later this spring, but no firm dates as of yet.
If this information is helpful or of interest to someone you know, please feel free to pass it on.
In wellness,
Dr. Elissa
