In my 20+ years of practicing medicine, I have often found stress levels in my patients to be higher in May - especially for those with school-aged children. The problem with letting all that stress get to you is that higher levels of stress hormones can really MESS with your other hormones! The Stress-Hormone connection is REAL - and it’s a vicious cycle. As I often discuss with my patients, hormones “dance” with one another. When one set of hormones becomes imbalanced - this is likely to wreak havoc on other hormones.

Every chronic disease in the world today can be linked back to this same thing. Chronic Inflammation. Learn about the multitude of symptoms and conditions linked to inflammation, as well as the primary root causes driving chronic inflammation.

In November, I presented data showing the benefits of walking in the woods on your brain health. Now, in Northern Michigan, where I am based, the ground is covered in snow. Should I still go out for a walk if it’s snowy? Yes!

I have been practicing in Northern Michigan for over 20 years, and year after year, I see two waves of seasonal mood changes in my patients and friends: November and February.

Many begin to feel the symptoms of seasonal mood changes in November when the days become darker and shorter. Fatigue and lack of motivation are common complaints in November when we are digging out our light boxes and preparing for the winter ahead.

Are you having trouble getting into an exercise routine? Do you find yourself making excuses and/or skipping exercise because you feel like you don’t have time for an hour-long workout? Maybe you should start with “baby steps”, as a new study in the European Heart Journal found that even a little exercise can go a long way.

As I have mentioned in prior blogs, your hormones dance with one another. This is why, when evaluating hormone balance, you have to take into account the various hormones interacting in your body. When one hormone becomes imbalanced this can lead to other hormonal imbalances. Stress hormones and thyroid hormones are good examples of this.