August 5, 2008 (Leesburg, VA)–Carla Deniz of Moonlit in the Sun

We live in an incredibly stressful world. Research has long shown that stress can be detrimental to a person’s health. For example, stress has been shown to decrease white blood cells (lymphocytes), reducing their ability to fight off infections (Kang, Coe, McCarthy, & Ershler, 1997; Kiecolt-Glaser & Glaser, 1991). Additionally, stress has been shown to negatively affect wound healing (Marucha, Kiecolt-Glaser, & Favagehi, 1998).

Relaxing music has been shown to decrease heart rate, lower blood pressure and cortisol levels, and reduce anxiety (Kight & Rickard, 2001; Miluk-Kolasa, Obiminski, Stupnicki, & Golec, 1994). In fact, researchers have recently been investigating the effect of music on surgery as a means of reducing stress and aiding in faster recovery (Leardi, Pietroletti, Angeloni, Necozione, Ranalletta, & Del Gusto, 2007; Uedo, Ishikawa, Morimoto, et al, 2004)

Moonlit In The Sun, a classical string and piano ensemble, is working with the Restaurant at Patowmack Farm to help people have a truly stress-relieving and tranquil experience. The music performed by Moonlit In The Sun has been specifically selected to give listeners a calm, peaceful sensation. Dr. Deniz, executive director of Moonlit In The Sun, notes “I cannot emphasize enough how important it is for people in today’s metropolitan lifestyle to use music to help them recover from the barrage of stressful events in their daily lives.”

Beverly Morton Billing, owner of The Restaurant at Patowmack Farm, has selected dates for this experience to specifically fall when there is a full moon. Says Beverly, “Full moon and soothing music, stars and dining. It’s a great combination.”

The Restaurant at Patowmack Farm is located on Lovettsville road just ½ mile west of Route 15 near the Point of Rocks Bridge. It overlooks the Potomac River in Lovettsville, VA. Moonlit In The Sun will be performing there on Thursday August 21, September 18, and October 16 (the weeks of the full moon). For reservations call 540.822.9017.

For more information on Moonlit In The Sun, visit their website at www.moonlitinthesun.com or call 571.223.5321 Read the rest of this entry →

Leesburg Pharmacy’s Take Back Program

One of my new clients sent me this trailer, and it looks very interesting.

You are what you eat seems to be the overall message. Might be worth a gander at the whole movie.

Ken (a very spry 70 year old) asked me, “How does strength training increase bone density?”

Well, the basic mechanism is very simple: Think of your skeleton as the framework of the body, the base upon which the body is built. Load up that framework with weight, and the body, being that dynamic organism it is, makes the framework stronger. Certainly an explanation you’ve heard before from your doctor, your trainer, or your media talking head of choice.

Here’s the implied but rarely mentioned “twist” that makes this all possible: Your bones are alive.

Not in a Night of the Living Dead creepy sort of way, but alive just like the rest of your body’s cells are (save hair and some skin cells). Bone isn’t some inorganic matter like the 2 X 4s in your bed frame or the piping under your kitchen sink. It’s a dynamic, ever-changing organ, constantly building and breaking itself down.

Cells called osteoblasts and osteoclasts work 24-7 at reshaping and remodeling your bone structure (even after you reach full adulthood). Load a bone with a heavy weight, and osteoblasts lay down new bone tissue to reinforce the points of stress, much like a young beach-going lad would add more sand and water to reinforce a wall of his sand castle. Repetitively load a bone in the same way, and you make that bone stronger by stimulating osteoblast activity, over and over again. Over time, these osteoblasts lay down so much new bone tissue that they trap themselves in it, becoming osteocytes (which always remind me of this). Not to worry for our osteocytes, however; they continue to chug away and do their job of reinforcing bone in a less…mobile…fashion.

Osteoclasts have a less celebrated but equally important role: They break down bone tissue by acidifying the bone matrix, releasing its constituent minerals into the bloodstream. Now, why would a fine, upstanding cell like an osteoclast want to do something like break down bone tissue? Well, low levels of calcium ions (one of the main minerals in bone) would be one reason. Calcium ions feature heavily in intracellular function, from DNA transcription, neurotransmitter release, and (most importantly for our discussion) muscular contraction. If you don’t have enough calcium available, the body simply draws from its calcium stores, and the largest calcium stores in the body? You guessed it: Bone.

(Aside: Why are osteoclasts always depicted in mechanism diagrams as goofy-looking Metroids?)

Without going into the ridiculously complex and numerous mechanisms for osteoporosis, let’s just say for brevity’s sake that you want to stimulate osteoblast activity, not osteoclast activity. And strength training just happens to be a fantastic tool for doing just that.

And now, you know why.

Summer Safety and your Breastfed Baby

Got this today from the NAHU:

Health consulting firms help coordinate healthcare services for individuals.

The Boston Globe (6/23, Wertheimer) reported, “During the last six years, a number of personal health advising firms and solo consultants have opened shop, catering to people willing to pay fees ranging from $150 an hour to $100,000 a year for advice on the best doctors and treatments for their maladies.” The advisors “are trying to fill a gap in healthcare created by overworked primary care doctors who have less time to coordinate patient care, while also catering to the desire of a growing number of patients to take charge of their healthcare.” The consultants “help clients find specialists and also will make calls to ensure that a patient’s various doctors are communicating with each other.” Although several of these consultants cater to the wealthy, others “see themselves as performing more of a neighborly service for clients, who tend to be more middle- than high-income, and need immediate help with a health dilemma.”

“[H]elping patients navigate the medical system used to be the role of the primary care doctor,” notes Jacob Goldstein in the Wall Street Journal’s (6/23) Health Blog. “But as primary care docs have grown busier and the system has grown more complicated, patients often find themselves on their own — creating a market for” health advising firms.

Not a bad idea given the demand for accurate and comprehensive medical expertise. I wish more family doctors, internists, generalists treated their practice like a “health advising firm.”

A little news I thought might be worth mentioning:

The Loudoun SBDC is putting on an event this coming Tuesday, April 29th, from 6:00 to 8:30pm, titled “Health-Care Options for Small Businesses” (Full info here). There will be various representatives from the health field (yours truly included) talking about how Small Businesses can best contain risks and Health-Care costs for their companies and employees.

SO please:

a) attend (IT’S FREE!), but register ahead of time.
b) forward this along to your respective networking groups, organizations, committees, etc, so that all those seeking an education on this topic will have the opportunity.

Any questions about the event, please direct to the Loudoun SBDC.

April is Autism Awareness Month. During the month of April we are raising money for the Aurora School which is a private non-profit school that is designed for students who are unable to reach their full potential in a public school setting or in a traditional classroom. The Aurora School will be relocating to the Paxton property in Leesburg once renovations are complete. Please stop by Leesburg Pharmacy and purchase an autism magnet or tee shirt or a chance to win a wonderful gift basket. Proceeds will be donated to the Aurora School.

For Leesburg Pharmacy another big part of Autism Awareness Month is educating the public about Autism and its treatments. Autism or Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects 1 in 150 children. Autistic Spectrum Disorder is characterized by difficulty in communicating and relating socially. Children with ASD often have repetitive behaviors or movements and sensory dysfunction. Therapies for ASD involve multiple approaches. Often patients benefit from diets that eliminate food sensitivities such as gluten and casein. Medical supplements are also a big part of the therapies used for Autism. Vitamin and mineral supplements, as well as probiotics and detoxification supplements are often helpful.

Leesburg Pharmacy carries a wide variety of supplements used in the treatment of ASD. In our Compounding Center we can compound medications with the autistic patient in mind. We make customized preparations to meet the unique needs of each child.

• Medications that are free of gluten, casein, sugars, dyes, lactose, alcohol and preservatives.
• Individualized dosing and alternate dosage forms such as suspensions and transdermal gels.

According to the CDC, between 1994 and 2006 the number of children with ASD enrolled in public special education classes has grown from 22,664 to 211,610. These growing numbers make Autism Awareness even more important. We appreciate everyone’s efforts in supporting this worthy cause.

Leesburg Pharmacy Supports Autism Awareness

OUTRUNNING THE FINANCIAL LIONS–Here’s a new take on a popular fable. Everyday, three financial “lions” come roaring after you. Find out who they are, and what you can do to avoid being caught by them.

BUY-SELL AGREEMENTS–Many profitable businesses are built on the combined efforts of two or more people. But what happens when one of the partners isn’t there anymore? A brief overview of the most effective responses to the departure of an owner.

USING A FALSE IDENTITY TO FILE A TAX RETURN–It’s the latest bit of twisted ingenuity by identity thieves: Stealing your ID to file a false income tax return, either to receive a refund, or to hide other income.

DO YOU HAVE AN “INHERITANCE PORTFOLIO?–If you can’t take anything with you, are there some things you’d like to be sure you leave behind? This article explains why certain types of assets might be better suited to be passed on as an inheritance.

THE SODA GAME–A neat game you could play with your children or grandchildren to teach them the value of money, and the importance of saving. Oh, and there’s a grown-up version as well.

For the full PDF, click here.

Here’s a grand example of how Congress can talk out of both sides of its mouth. On one side they are concerned about making Health Insurance more affordable; and on the other, they want to make it just a little more difficult for us to manage our own healthcare. First of all, this story does not mean that HSAs really lose any of their benefits, but it is simply the Congress trying to “save” tax dollars by making it more bureaucratic to save money in an HSA. It’s complete nonsense and is further evidence that those in Congress that talk about Health Care “affordability” only want that affordability to exist within the framework of Socialized medicine:

This week, the House passed legislation that included a provision to require every HSA transaction be reviewed and verified as a legitimate medical expense. Democrats say this is to ensure that consumers are using their tax-free withdrawals for a knee replacement, rather than a new iPod. In reality it adds a layer of bureaucracy that could sharply reduce the appeal and cost savings of HSAs.

A key player here is Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chairman Pete Stark, whose main purpose in politics is to give the U.S. a government-run health-care system. He is a known opponent of HSAs – once comparing them to “weapons of mass destruction” – because they introduce more individual choice into the health-care marketplace.

Pushing for the provision was a company called Evolution Benefits, which has patented a system for the substantiation of health-care expenses. Evolution’s lobbyist, John McManus, was the former staff director of the Health Subcommittee under Republican Bill Thomas. The company first lobbied for the HSA provision, then withdrew its support when Republicans began to focus on its role. But Ways and Means Chairman Charlie Rangel helped make sure the provision was in the bill, which passed largely on partisan lines.[emphasis mine]

But hey…we want to keep “Special Interests” out of Washington, right? If we as health-care consumers want to continue to have control over our health-care without the Government making it difficult for us, we need to make sure this provision does not pass. Call YOUR Senator, and while you’re at it, call the three that are running for President, and make sure this bill is stopped.