My motivation for searching out ways to reverse disease is deeply personal.  When I was in the 8th grade my father had a massive myocardial infarction (heart attack) that led to anoxic brain injury, leaving him in a persistent vegetative state.  His diabetes was a major reason that his heart attack was so devastating–it’s possible that he may have survived […]

The easiest way to explain Integrative Medicine is to share a little of how I recently approached a new patient.  She is a 33 year-old woman who has had three back-to-back c-sections that have been uncomplicated and presented to me with right sided pelvic pain.  The pain was moderate to severe at times and had been going on for at least 3 months.  An […]

The primary series of Ashtanga Yoga is designed as a systematic method to purify the body and make it healthy. The systematic application of breath, vinyasa, asana, dristhi, and awareness causes highly beneficial physiological adaptations to all body systems. As a physician I have had the privilege to experience and understand its effects. These effects are important because they connect us […]

Last year, while trekking in the Himalayas I read Norman Doidge’s book The Brain’s Way of Healing, a book on neuroplasticity. It was a fitting read while being in such a spiritual place close to the Heavens. Literally, we were at above 4500 meters on the Tapovan plateau. Doidge’s book was a revelation and felt like a book of miracles […]

There is a common misconception among many of the patients that I see. They think that the genes in their cells, their DNA, determines whether they will get diseases like diabetes or heart disease. I once believed  this as well. Enter the microbiome. The microbiome is the genetic material of all the microbes – bacteria, fungi, protozoa and viruses – that […]