New Oregon Law Allows Women to Bypass Physicians for Contraceptives

From the time menses begins, to the time it ceases, a woman must make decisions that affect her fertility. Whether it's viewed as a gift, a curse or just a responsibility, a woman’s right to choose when, how and if a pregnancy occurs is a relatively new experience. Over the last 50 years a woman's access to birth control methods, whether oral, patch, or IUD, has greatly increased. However, such a…


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How to Use a Symptom Checklist to Choose a Hormone Test

Symptoms of hormonal imbalance can often be challenging to assess. Is your patient exhibiting signs of estrogen dominance because her estrogen is too high or is it due to the progesterone being too low? Is his fatigue because he’s not making enough testosterone or that his adrenal glands are working over-time? Are her imbalanced sex steroids the cause of her depression or is it the low thyroid…


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The Phenomenon of Vitamin D

Early in the 20th century, research in the nutritional arena was blossoming. Scientists were swiftly realizing that the nutritional requirements to "support life, growth and reproduction" in both animals and humans were more than simply proteins, carbohydrates, fats and minerals, as commonly believed. And, all scientists working in the field knew that this missing knowledge was key to relieving a…


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Controversy Surrounds an Upsurge in Thyroid Cancer Detection

September was Thyroid Cancer Awareness Month. It's October now, but the increasing incidence of thyroid cancer makes it a timely topic for any time of the year. In fact, something that every healthcare provider should know is that there's an expectation that 2014 will see a record number of papillary thyroid cancers being diagnosed, and the corresponding awareness campaign promotes a "neck check"…


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