When it comes to female libido, sex drive, and performance, the prevalence of advertisements for products addressing erectile dysfunction and low testosterone lead many to believe that these issues belong exclusively to males. Unfortunately, females are just as susceptible to sex drive and performance issues. Not all females are as oversexed as the lead characters in Sex and the City or Cosmo contributors who freely share stories about their sexual exploits and sizzling romances. Many women and others with female physiology suddenly realize that sex is no longer pleasurable, or they just aren’t as interested in it as they once were. Is that a problem? Well, it could be. Not only does this issue have the potential to significantly lower your quality of life, but it can also be symptomatic of an underlying hormonal imbalance. And it can actually cause or worsen such an imbalance. Believe it or not, orgasms […]
Cierra Gritzinger joined us at BioDesign Wellness Center in the summer of 2019, intent on completing her Medical Assistant externship. After the successful competition of that important medical credential, she was invited to join the BioDesign team officially. She soon became a Certified Phlebotomist and currently serves as our Tampa functional medicine practice’s Patient Care Coordinator. In that position, Cierra works with both patients and our medical staff to ensure effective, organized, and seamless care. She sets up labs, orders tests, and makes sure our patients have a clear understanding of their plan of care. We asked Cierra to tell us a little about her career and give us some personal tidbits about her life. Here is what she had to say: BIODESIGN WELLNESS CENTER: What did you do for work before joining us at BioDesign? CIERRA GRITZINGER: I started working in Early Childhood Education while I was in high
People often brag about how little sleep they get or need as if that’s a good thing. While it’s true that some people can function better than others on less sleep, quality sleep enables our bodies to fight infection, repair damage, and recover from illness. Here at BioDesign Wellness Center, we take sleep very seriously, both as a symptom of underlying dysfunction and as an essential tool for restoring optimal health and fitness. In this post, we present some of the evidence that attests to the importance of sleep in combating illnesses (including COVID-19). We highlight some additional benefits of quality sleep and explain how we work with our patients to ensure they get the sleep they need. Exploring the Connection Between Lack of Sleep and COVID-19 According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, adults of any age with certain underlying health conditions have an increased risk of
Insights into cortisol’s connection to hot flashes and night sweats.
It goes without saying that Thanksgiving 2020 is going to be a different animal than past turkey days, capped this week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) suggestion that we should perhaps cancel this year’s holiday travel plans and large family gatherings. All signs point to a Covid-19 resurgence this holiday season with disturbing numbers of Americans testing positive for the virus in nearly every state, including here in Florida. So, for this holiday season at least, it behooves us all to meet the challenges of protecting ourselves and our families by making health a top priority. Here at BioDesign Wellness Center, we have several health tips for those who believe their family circle is small enough — and safe enough — for an in-person holiday gathering. Healthy tips for Thanksgiving Day feasting If you have a food allergy or sensitivity, bring food you can eat, so
We often talk about the human body as though it is a machine assembled with various components — brain, heart, lungs, stomach, liver, kidneys, skin, bones, and so on. In some ways, the body does function like a machine, but unlike a machine. The body is organic. Every human body is a living organism consisting of approximately 30 trillion cells plus about 100 trillion microbes, most of which live in the gut (you couldn’t live without these microorganisms). Your health basically boils down to how well these approximately 130 trillion cells function alone and together. Each cell is a living entity, consuming nutrients from food, converting those nutrients into energy, carrying out specialized functions, and even cloning its own replacements. Healthy cells make a healthy body. The waste products that cells produce daily are eventually expelled from the body. The chemicals included in these waste products provide valuable clues for