Relevant, focused articles designed to help you live your healthiest life.

There are a myriad of reasons you may be experiencing digestive pain or discomfort. It could be bloating, constipation or gas from a recent meal or something more serious, like Irritable Bowel Syndrome or ulcerative colitis. (We always recommend speaking with your health care provider about any lingering symptoms or concerns.) One way to reduce…

Insulin resistance defines a person’s tolerance to glucose. As the insulin levels rise, the cells can become resistance and alter the signaling that leads to less glucose uptake and a further elevation of glucose which further perpetuates the cycle. Insulin acts as the key that no longer fits into a lock (the receptor on glucose).…

Quality sleep is one of the most critical components of feeling and living well. Most adults (over 60%!) will experience some kind of sleep disorder at some point in their lifetime. If you have struggled to fall asleep or stay asleep, it can be a frustrating and exhausting (literally) cycle. One simple way to help…

We have all experienced the unexpected emotion of being scared. Whether you purposefully seek it out by watching a horror movie or inadvertently encounter a mountain lion while on the trail – the physical reaction playing out in your body is the same. Let’s breakdown what happens in our brains during those moments, whether it…

The autumn season is book-ended by the carefree warmth of summer and the looming stress of the holiday season. The fall colors, cooler temps and pumpkin-spice everything are hallmarks of this transition that many people look forward to with anticipation. But for others, this shift in the seasons can also trigger stress and anxiety. This…

Hormones affect everything, from blood sugar to blood pressure, growth/fertility, sex drive, metabolism, and even sleep. Their influence goes as far as changing the way we think and act day to day. At least 80% of us will struggle with a hormone problem in our lifetime, significant enough to cause disruption in our life quality,…

Our guts are host to millions of bacteria of multiple different species and functions. In fact, there are so many bacteria in our gut that they outnumber the amount of cells in our body. This may sound a bit unsavory, especially when we are brought up believing that bacteria equals disease, but the bacteria in…

Summer eating is full of poolside popsicles, juice boxes, barbeque cookouts, easy snacks for road trips and dining out while on vacation. With back to school is just around the corner, it is a perfect opportunity to recalibrate your child’s nutritional habits to help them feel good and perform well at school. The Committee on…

Fuel Your Movement The Empowered Health Team What to eat, how much to eat and when to eat it are all important components of your workout regimen. The other factor that figures into this equation is what kind of workout you are doing. It can be challenging to navigate all this information. Feeling overwhelmed, many of…

“Fasting is the greatest remedy-the physician within.” -Paracelsus, 16th Century Physician What is intermittent fasting?  Fasting is one of the oldest remedies in human history and has been part of the practice of virtually every culture and religion on earth. Fasting is the voluntary absence from food for spiritual, health or other reasons. It may be…

Looking for something to fill your time this summer that will help you maintain social distancing but boost your immune system and get you out of the house? Starting an herb garden might be just the thing for you! There are a few options to consider when you decide to grow your own herbs. Will…

Proper hydration is important all year long, but especially in the summer when the days are longer and hotter. With the abundance of outdoor activities available to us in the Tri-Cities, many of us are spending long hours in the sun and the heat. How Your Body Uses Water An adult human’s body can contain…

At Empowered Health, we offer many precision medicine advanced testing tools that include a deeper awareness to provide the most educated medical decisions for the persons’ individual health journey. Psychotropic genetic testing is another advanced test that we utilize across all age groups. GeneSight psychotropic testing analyzes how your genes affect medication outcomes by important…

A natural way to regulate your mood and increase your overall sense of well-being is to increase your body’s production of a group of hormones that are often referred to as the “feel good” hormones. This quartet includes:  Dopamine – Linked to the brain’s reward system and involved with reinforcement of behaviors   Serotonin – Related…

Metformin has been a mainstay and frontline medication for treatment of type 2 diabetes for decades. It is now gaining popularity in the longevity field and studies are underway with prevention of certain cancers too. Current studies are showing a reduction in cancer risk and mortality particularly for tumors of the lung, colon, pancreas and…

Menopause is a significant milestone in every woman’s life. It can look and manifest differently for each woman which is why the individualized nature of a precision medicine approach can be so beneficial in navigating this stage of life.   What is menopause?  Menopause is defined as the permanent cessation of a woman’s menstrual cycle, which…

At Empowered Health, we offer many precision medicine advanced testing tools that include a deeper awareness to be able to make the most educated medical decisions for the persons’ individual health journey. One advanced test that we offer is the cortisol awakening response test (CAR). Cortisol levels naturally begin to rise by an average of…

Healthy Exercise Habits We’ve talked about Intuitive Eating and the benefits of moving away from diet culture towards a practice that is more focused on eating with an intention of self-care and trust in your body. There is another lifestyle area that diet culture has a negative impact: Exercise.  As with nutrition, diet culture can…

Signs & Symptoms of Eating Disorders by Haley Scellick, ARNP Eating disorders are complex mental health conditions that are more common than often diagnosed. Although the term eating is in the name, eating disorders are about more than food. In the United States alone, an estimated 20 million women and 10 million men have had…

What is IV Nutrient Therapy? IV nutrient infusion formulas are used to deliver vitamins and minerals directly into the bloodstream, offering superior absorption over oral supplements. These are administered by a provider through a simple IV insertion and infused over approximately one hour. 1) Brainstorm: Improve overall brain function, increase memory recall and improve aspects of…

Galleri test offers early detection of 50 types of cancers. Cancer is presently the second leading cause of death in the United States.   71% of these cancer deaths are from cancers not commonly screened. The Galleri™ test is an innovative breakthrough in early cancer detection that can find 50 typesof cancer as early as…

Symptoms, Root Causes, Diagnosis & Treatment Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is a multisystem syndrome with variable causes that put women at increased risk for a variety of health issues. It is a common problem among women of reproductive-aged years with the most common manifestations of menstrual abnormalities, infertility and abnormal hair growth in unwanted places.…

Mindful vs Intuitive Eating by Erika Zink, NBC-HWC There are many opinions available about how you should eat to optimize your health. What many of these suggestions don’t consider is you are unique and how your body processes and utilizes food is going to vary from those around you. Knowing this, it could be said that…

Plant Provide Mental, Physical & Emotional Health Benefits Hypertension is the most common primary care diagnosis in the United States and a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, heart attack, stroke or renal failure when not detected early and treated appropriately. The American Heart Association estimates that approximately 45% of Americans have hypertension. Over 90%…

A new era of cancer screening is here. We are excited to announce for our members the availability of a new revolutionary blood test for early cancer detection. This cutting-edge technology allows for the EARLY detection of up to 50 different types of cancer before it would otherwise be found. One of our key goals…

Did your medical practitioner suggest you follow a Cardiometabolic Food Plan? If they did, it is likely to be because you are either at risk of or are trying to manage cardiovascular disease. The Cardiometabolic Food Plan is specially designed for people with this concern and is one of the many lifestyle changes that can have an influence on the symptom severity and the progression of the disease.  This food plan…

Biofeedback is a technique that trains people to improve their health by controlling certain bodily processes that normally happen involuntarily, such as heart rate, blood pressure, muscle tension, and skin temperature. Heart rate variability is a common type of biofeedback therapy which measures beat to beat variations in heart rate (the time interval between heartbeats).…

Plant Provide Mental, Physical & Emotional Health Benefits It is widely known that spending time in nature and green spaces can reduce stress and improve a person’s mood. This can be a challenge during the winter months because of the shorter days, more darkness, the bare landscape and poor weather restricting time outdoors.  When winter…

Proactive Skin Care with Advanced Testing WHAT IS MOLE MAPPING? Mole mapping is a proactive and simple way to get your annual skin screening and identify any moles or lesions that may be of concern. Not only do we look at your skin now, we track changes in your skin over time. This is one…

Fatigue is more than just feeling tired. Well, it’s complicated, and it’s much more than just feeling tired or worn out. Fatigue can mean many different things to many different people.  Feelings of tiredness, muscle weakness, mental fatigue can all impact one’s life in numerous ways.  The standard dictionary definition is this:  “Fatigue is extreme…

Finding Your Healthy Balance At Empowered Health, we offer a body composition analysis that evaluates your body’s balance between muscle and fat. This easy-to-use device measures factors such as total body water, body fat percentage and skeletal muscle mass percentage.  Body composition is essential for understanding your physiological makeup and is appropriate for all age…

Is Inflammation Impacting Your Health? by Erika Zink, NBC-HWC How do you know if inflammation is negatively affecting your health?   If you want to find out your Medical Symptom Questionnaire score and whether you should talk to your doctor more about inflammation, you can take the quiz here: https://drhyman.com/downloads/MSQ_Fillable.pdf.    How do you know if inflammation is negatively affecting your health?  …

What is Fiber?  Fiber is an undigestible carbohydrate found in plant foods. It comes in two forms: soluble and insoluble. Both perform important functions with regards to digestion and are necessary for maintaining a healthy body.  SOLUBLE FIBER: Easily dissolved in water and functions to slow the digestion of glucose.  INSOLUBLE FIBER: Does not dissolve in water and…

While there’s no one perfect temperature or recommendation for everyone, we have a few things to keep in mind while you go out for your cold weather movement. One of the benefits of working out in the cold is that endurance is often increased. Because of the cooler temperatures the heart does not have to…

“Our brain’s performance is being gravely manipulated, resulting in behaviors that leave us more lonely, anxious, depressed, distrustful, illness-prone, and overweight than ever before. At the same time, we feel disconnected from ourselves, from others and from the world at large.” What if I told you that your day-to-day decisions are being influenced by more…