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

“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…

Monitoring your health has never been easier. There are a plethora of ways to track data related to your health, including your steps, hours of sleep, heart rate, and blood pressure to name a few. What you may not know is there is also a value you can use to measure your body’s resilience and…

Can being grateful really affect your health? Turns out it can.  The holidays are a time of anticipation and celebration, but they can also be exhausting and quite stressful. Between the food preparation, managing emotions, social commitments and relatives (both good and bad), who wouldn’t feel strained and off balance?   Throughout the stresses of the season, expressing gratitude and making…

You may not give it much thought when you reach for the cinnamon spice to add to your favorite dessert or coffee drink. Grown in tropical regions in and around Indonesia, cinnamon has been used in cooking, baking and for health benefits for thousands of years.   Did you know there is more than one variety of cinnamon? Cassia and…

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…

Hormone replacement therapy is such an important topic and so many women have questions around if using hormones is beneficial or harmful. This article will discuss everything hormone related in relation to menopause and provide information regarding if, when, how long and the benefits/risks of hormone replacement therapy.   The natural progression of aging in women…

Zen Buddhist monk Thích Nhất Hạnh puts it, “Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.”  Mind-body practices, such as meditation or yoga, have been shown to improve symptoms for people suffering from chronic diseases. These effects may be reflected in benefiting people with hypertension and cardiovascular disease through the lowering of…

We have all heard of cholesterol. What exactly is cholesterol and the different types? How do we check for problems with cholesterol? At what age should we be screening for problems with cholesterol? How do we manage high cholesterol from lifestyle interventions? These are all questions that will be discussed in this article. Heart disease is the #1 killer in the United States and is…

Time in nature has reduced drastically as humanity has moved to more urban locations. It is believed that approximately 83% of people living in the United States currently live in an urban area, up from 64% in 1950 (1). Research is beginning to show that this separation from nature may be a contributing factor towards…

With the new FDA emergency use authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine being announced there is an abundance of questions and misinformation being spread. We are here to set the record straight on the science behind this new vaccine and give our medically informed recommendations. What’s new (but maybe not as new as you thought)…

What is Functional Medicine?  Functional medicine is a branch of holistic or integrative medicine that looks for the root cause of chronic disease or conditions. It focuses on functional systems-based rather than organ-based and is concerned with conditions versus diseases.  The functional laboratory testing often looks deeper than the routine tests, even to the cellular…

Difficulty with tolerating foods has been increasing globally and chances are that you have had an unpleasant symptom after a meal once or twice. You have probably heard of food allergies, intolerances and sensitivities. But what do these terms mean? It is important to differentiate between these, because the reactions can range from just plain…

The vagus nerve is one of twelve cranial nerves that link the brain to other parts of the body. These nerves can send signals that involve sensory functions (smells, sights, tastes, and sounds) or they can be involved with movements or have motory functions. The vagus nerve is one of a few that can do both of these functions and is…

Migraines truly can be a real pain. For about 3 million Americans migraine pain is a frequent reality. Chronic migraines can be disabling and difficult to treat due to the lack of understanding of their underlying causes. Certain drug treatments do exist, but they can be both ineffective and expensive. Due to this gap treatment, many turn to one of the most…

As of 2020, 30-40% of adults in the United States suffered from chronic pain – an amount higher than the number of Americans living with heart disease, cancer or diabetes. Defined as any sort of persistent or recurrent pain that lasts longer than three months, chronic pain can be completely life altering and debilitating. Biological…

Osteoporosis, meaning “porous bones,” is a common, progressive condition in which bones become more brittle and fragile, resulting in increased risk of fracture. Most often it is a disease of aging. Bone strength and eventual loss is primarily determined by genetics, then affected by lifestyle and other medical conditions. Risk factors for osteoporosis include excessive…

Relaxation. It’s probably something you crave in this fast paced world of ours. But between work, kids, housework, taking care of elderly parents, social obligations, and now the ever-present COVID realities, when are we supposed to find the time? These types of busy lifestyles can easily lead to burnout, or complete mental, physical, and emotional…

You have likely heard of estrogen and probably know that it is a hormone that females have. But what are hormones? They are vital chemical substances in our bodies that carry information and instructions from one group of cells to another. Hormones influence almost every cell, organ and function. They regulate our growth, development, metabolism,…

What is inflammation? Our immune system’s response to protect against infection, disease or injury. In most circumstances this is a normal part of our immune health. During this complex process, the cells release chemicals to alert the immune system. In the short term, our body may be fighting off a cold or healing a wound…

When we think of testosterone, you may think of men and body building being macho and aggressive. But testosterone’s role in macho, bad behavior is largely a myth. Testosterone plays important roles in health and disease in ways that may just surprise you. For example, did you know that it declines 1-2% every year with…

This is the second installment of our two-part blog post on the HPA Axis. The Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis is your stress response system. It’s that internal system that triggers the fight-or-flight response when you find yourself in a dangerous situation. How can you influence the HPA axis to your benefit? Prolonged activation of the HPA…

The Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis is your stress response system. It’s that internal system that triggers the fight-or-flight response when you find yourself in a dangerous situation. For example, imagine you are hiking a trail on Badger Mountain when you suddenly hear that tell-tale sound of a rattlesnake. Your first response is to freeze and listen…

Our bodies are miraculous wonders of biology. Filled with systems to keep us moving toward homeostasis or a balance within our physiological systems. One of the biggest disruptors of homeostasis is chronic stress. Whether that stress is from a 400-pound grizzly bear running right at you or a looming deadline at work, our body will…

Vitamin D is a unique vitamin that is very important to our overall health and wellness. It is valuable in reducing inflammation and promoting cell growth, glucose metabolism and immune function. It also helps regulate calcium and phosphate in the body, both nutrients we need to keep muscles, bones and teeth in tip-top shape. Without sufficient…

In the year that has passed since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the scientific community has been hard at work researching new and improved treatments, vaccines, and the science behind the virus. With this new research and knowledge come new revelations. One of the biggest revelations since last March is the discovery of the…

What is an Elimination Diet, and why should you do one? At Empowered Health, you will often hear us use the phrase “Food is medicine.” We believe this because the foods you eat can have a profound impact on your physical, mental, and emotional health.  One of the tools we use to help our members…

If the definition of functional medicine is a little ambiguous to you, you’re not alone. While certainly not a new medical discipline, the functional medicine method, gut inflammation and the role of nutrition, is still a bit obscure for many people.  What is Functional Medicine? Functional medicine seeks to find the root cause of a…

Do you know what the largest organ of the human body is? It’s not your brain, your stomach, or even your intestines. It’s your skin! We often don’t think of our skin as an organ, but it is just as important – if not more – than some of your internal organs. Skin helps us…

A good cooking oil is an important part of any recipe. Not only do they have their own health benefits, but they can also help to enhance flavor, nutritional quality, and influence the overall feel of the food. They can also have an influence on the quality of certain cooking techniques.  When it comes to…

Consumption of processed food is a prominent topic on the health foods circuit these days. There is an abundance of evidence to support that a diet of highly processed foods are a large contributor to obesity and diabetes. However, the definition of “processed food” is quite broad; some processed foods are part of a healthy…

Over the last year COVID-19 has majorly shifted our “normal.” Thankfully, scientific research into the virus and potential treatments has have made huge strides during that time. Information discovered about the COVID-19 pathology – including the devastating cytokine storm – have resulted in new and effective treatments that have successfully reduces the death rate of the virus. Research…

There is nothing as satisfying as a good night’s rest, that feeling of waking up feeling restored, rejuvenated and ready to tackle the day. Sleep is an essential function within our bodies just like digestion and circulation, regulated by hormones and orchestrated by the brain. Sleep is as important to our survival as food and…

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of death in adults in developed countries and can often exist in patients with minimal or no symptoms. Because of its mortality rate, it’s incredibly important to catch it as early as possible in order to reverse the effects before long term damage is done. In fact,…

Has your doctor ever told you you’re at risk for developing metabolic syndrome? Maybe you’ve also heard it referred to as insulin resistance syndrome, the deadly quartet or simply syndrome X. So what is this many-named condition and why should you care? Metabolic syndrome has about as many definitions as it does names, but generally…

Low-carb diets seem like all the rage these days. Many “health food companies” boast that these diets are a cure to any ailment that may befall you. But what’s fact and what’s fiction when it comes to companies trying to market their newest product to you? Well as it turns out with most things, the…