Blog

By Kelly Parcell, ND One of the greatest areas of confusion and natural medicine today, especially in Boulder, is the subject of bioidentical hormones.  Consumers, practitioners, manufacturers and the media all contribute to some of this misunderstanding.  How are bioidentical hormones different from synthetic hormones?  A bioidentical hormone is a hormone that is biochemically identical to the human hormone. You have wanted to try estrog...

By Steve Parcell, ND On January 1st marijuana became legal to purchase in Colorado with or without a medical prescription. As marijuana is now legal in Boulder I have seen I slight increase in concerns about breast enlargement (gynecomastia) in men. Speculation that men who smoke pot are prone to develop abnormal breast tissue or "man boobs" has been around for decades. The first scientific paper examining the clinical impact of the drug's a...

By Steve Parcell, ND Valsartan is a common blood pressure lowering agent that I like for it beneficail effect aging. Now there is new data on Valsartan and plaque reversal. In the  EFFERVESCENT trial researchers hypothesized that the angiotensin receptor blocker valsartan (Diovan, Novartis) would reduce carotid artery wall thickness and inhibit atherosclerotic plaque progression. The EFFERVESCENT trial included 120 participants with ca...

By Kelly Parcell, ND According to the CDC up to one quarter of the population is deficient in vitamin D. Many people are on the low end of normal as well. Vitamin D is perhaps the single most underrated nutrient in the world. Even in Boulder many patients are low! The reason has a lot to do with sunscreen in the Summer and layes of clothing in the Winter. As we move into Winter in Colorado, it's a good time to have your vitamin D level checke...

By Steve Parcell Several theories have been proposed for how this treatment may work. One theory suggests that EDTA chelation might work by directly removing calcium found in fatty plaques that block the arteries, causing the plaque to decrease in volume. EDTA chelation therapy may work by reducing the damaging effects of oxygen ions and reactive transition metals (oxidative stress) on the walls of the blood vessels. Reducing oxidative stress cou...