Ask anyone — even the staff here at BioDesign Wellness — if it’s okay to overindulge a bit during the holidays. Of course, it is, but notice the emphasis on a bit (it’s italicized because we feel moderation is the key to long-term happiness, especially this holiday season). If you’re new to our functional medicine practice in Tampa, or even if you’ve been visiting our office for the last year or so, you know how much emphasis we place on maintaining healthy habits one day at a time. Now, when we say one day at a time, you know that what we really mean is the rest of your life. But if you just say, “I’m going to make good food and exercise decisions today,” it seems a little less daunting. And then, of course, we encourage you to say the same thing tomorrow! In addition to listing our office hours for this […]
One of the key issues undermining health in the United States and especially here in Tampa, Fla., is the simple fact that our modern healthcare system treats patients as consumers instead of as partners in health. The average primary care physician sees three to four patients per hour. That averages out to about 15 to 20 minutes per patient visit, not counting the time the doctor spends between patients and time spent writing prescriptions, ordering and reviewing test results, and so on. Subtract that time, and we estimate the average time a doctor actually spends communicating with a patient is about seven minutes. Seven minutes is certainly enough time for a doctor to hear a patient describe one or two primary symptoms and to write a prescription or make a referral to a specialist. However, it is not nearly enough time for a doctor to establish the sort of partnership with a
Cameron Ackerson, CSCS, is Director of Nutrition here at BioDesign Wellness Center, where he runs our nutrition/weight loss division. Cameron joined us in October of 2017 as a Nutrition Coach specializing in weight loss. Our doctors were so impressed with his knowledge, professionalism, and his kind candor with our patients that he was promoted to his current position in July of 2018 — less than a year after his arrival at our Tampa functional medicine practice. Cameron educates our patients on how to find a meal plan that is not only sustainable for them but also enjoyable to prepare and consume. His job involves taking complex dieting concepts and breaking them down into smaller, more practical courses of action. He meets with many of our patients on a weekly basis and holds them accountable to a mutually agreed-upon diet so they can attain the best results possible when it comes
If you visit our functional medicine office in Tampa and we determine you might have a health issue related to exposure to mold, we believe a physical checkup of your residence and/or workplace is every bit as important as the medical checkup and treatment you sought through us in the first place. The World Health Organization (WHO) recently issued a report claiming 50 percent of all buildings in the United States are water damaged. And here in Tampa, we believe that percentage to be much higher. We also believe that finding a professional to conduct a home or office mold inspection should be taken as seriously as it was for you to discover that BioDesign Wellness Center had the expertise and track record to help you regain your health through the proper treatment of mold-related disorders. Unfortunately, we have seen too many patients ignore our advice about a home or
In a recent article in The New York Times Magazine, “What Is Causing This Woman’s Life-Threatening Anemia?,” Lisa Sanders, M.D., relates the story of a middle-aged woman, Sherry, who has been battling anemia for 18 years. Sherry’s doctors have run every test they could think of to identify the cause, but as of the date the story was posted were unable to solve the mystery. Sherry’s doctors suspect she has an autoimmune condition, which is causing the destruction of her red blood cells. They have tried suppressing her immune system through the use of steroids and have even removed her spleen, where they suspected the blood cells were possibly being destroyed. While these treatments have provided some partial or temporary relief, they have caused additional health issues, including a weakening of the joints (likely due to a combination of the anemia and long-term use of steroids at high doses); Sherry
Are you an anxious over-achiever? If so, you have something else to worry about — adrenal fatigue. Adrenal fatigue occurs when the adrenal glands, positioned on top of the kidneys, produce too much or too little stress hormones (including cortisol and adrenaline) due to long-term exposure and response to stress. That being said, adrenal fatigue is admittedly a bit of a misnomer. That’s because the brain actually signals the adrenal glands, which fatigues. Regardless, the result is the same — neuroendocrine imbalance. As a result, you may feel anxious and irritable or burned out and depressed. Or you might alternate from one state to another as your adrenal glands sputter and spit in an attempt to keep you going. Unfortunately, conventional medicine refuses to accept adrenal fatigue as an illness. It recognizes only two adrenal diseases: Addison’s Disease (low cortisol), also referred to as adrenal insufficiency, typically results from an autoimmune