Tag Archives: preventive medicine

Q & A With Jill Carnahan MD, ABFM, ABIHM, IFMCP

October 31, 2014

Dr. Jill Carnahan is a board certified physician in both Family Medicine and Integrative Holistic Medicine. In her practice, she emphasizes an integrative holistic approach to wellness, using both conventional medicine and evidence-based complementary therapies. Dr. Carnahan’s own journey through breast cancer was a powerful force in shaping her passion to teach people how to heal with functional medicine.

Q: Dr. Jill, what sparked your interest in anti-aging and preventive medicine? How has it changed your practice?

A: I was diagnosed with a very aggressive breast cancer at the age of twenty-five. I was able to survive, beat the cancer and go on to thriving and living well through integrative holistic medicine, diet/nutrition principles and functional medicine.

I wouldn’t have it any other way, and I believe that I’ve been given a new chance at life and health so that I can help others! It’s my mission and passion to share that knowledge to help patients in their own healing journey.

Q: Would you recommend a more preventive approach to patient care to your peers?

A: Yes, indeed! We work in a disease-care system, not a true “health-care “system. True wellness and vitality starts with clean organic real food. The foundational healing principles of a whole food, clean, healthy diet are essential to wellness and disease prevention.

So many of the chronic disease epidemics faced today are not cured or fixed with medication, but instead by finding the root cause and transforming patients’ health with basic principles of good sleep, lowered stress, proper nutrients from diet and supplements, and great fulfilling relationships with those we love.

As physicians, we are not going to make a dent in diabetes, obesity, cancer, autoimmune disease, or cardiovascular disease until we get to the root of our patients’ lifestyle factors like diet, sleep and fulfillment/purpose in life.

Q: Based on your experience, what are some of the challenges/considerations for physicians looking to apply a more integrative approach in their practice?

A: Once I decided to take the leap to a private cash practice, there were not too many challenges. I recommend keeping overhead low in the beginning, doing intake and office management yourself, until you grow. Start small and let the practice grow organically.

For anyone starting out, I recommend taking the leap and not being held hostage to fear of stepping out. Patients are looking for physicians who will take time to really listen and guide them to find the root cause of their symptoms, instead of just prescribing medications. They are willing to pay for time and personalized medical care, and there will be no shortage of business for a doctor willing to spend the time to help patients get well.

Q: What is your wish for the future of medicine?

A: I believe that it is essential to address the underlying root cause of illness, and to take a personalized approach to disease. That would include assessment of individual genetics, nutritional status, any underlying metabolic imbalances and infections, and then treat the patient as an individual with an individualized treatment plan.

There is no cookie cutter or one-size-fits-all approach that will work in addressing our patients’ illnesses. Most important, we need to model healthy behaviors, and teach patients to relax, sleep well, eat well and thrive

UTMB Study Shows Testosterone Therapy Does Not Increase Heart Attack Risk

October 30, 2014

Previous research on the effects of testosterone therapy on cardiovascular outcomes has yielded inconsistent results. Jacques Baillargeon, from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (Texas, USA), and colleagues examined enrollment and claims Medicare data 25,420 Medicare beneficiaries 66 years or older treated with testosterone for up to eight years.. Men of the same age, race, Medicaid eligibility, and health status who did not receive testosterone therapy were used as a control group for comparison.   The analyses showed that testosterone therapy did not associate with an increased risk of heart attack. Further, testosterone users with a higher probability of cardiovascular problems had a lower rate of heart attacks in comparison to equivalent patients who did not receive testosterone therapy. Observing that: “Older men who were treated with intramuscular testosterone did not appear to have an increased risk of [heart attack],” the study authors submit that: “For men with high [heart attack] risk, testosterone use was modestly protective.”

For more:  http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-07/uotm-uss063014.php

10 Proteins Top Alzheimer’s Biomarkers

October 29, 2014

Often, the biological processes of Alzheimer’s Disease begin many years prior to the display of symptoms, making the pursuit of predictive diagnostics a paramount effort.  Simon Lovestone, from King’s College London (United Kingdom), and colleagues analyzed blood samples from 1,148 people: 476 with Alzheimer’s, 220 with mild cognitive impairment and 452 elderly controls without dementia. The researchers honed in on 26 proteins previously found to be linked with Alzheimer’s Disease, and found that 16 of the  proteins were strongly associated with brain shrinkage in either mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer’s.  The team then ran a second series of tests to see which of these could predict which patients would progress from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer’s; they identified a combination of 10 proteins capable of predicting with 87% accuracy whether people with mild cognitive impairment would develop Alzheimer’s disease within a year.  Writing that: “We have identified 10 plasma proteins strongly associated with [Alzheimer’s] disease severity and disease progression,” the study authors submit that:  “Such markers may be useful for patient selection for clinical trials and assessment of patients with predisease subjective memory complaints.”  For the news source visit: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/07/08/us-health-alzheimers-idUKKBN0FC2IC20140708

Hye A, Riddoch-Contreras J, Baird AL, Ashton NJ, Bazenet C, Lovestone S, et al.  “Plasma proteins predict conversion to dementia from prodromal disease.”  Alzheimers Dement. 2014 Jul 3.