Category Archives: Mind-Body Medicine

Benefits of Fasting

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healthy foodIn over-fed America, fasting may seem a far-fetched idea. Why would anyone in their right mind want to starve themselves? The reasons are many and may surprise you. It is also a practice that has been practiced for thousands of years, and was often prescribed by the ancient physician, Hippocrates. A revolutionary physician known as Paracelsus, during the Middle Ages stated, “Fasting is the greatest remedy – the physician within.”

What is Fasting?

First of all, fasting has nothing to do with starving yourself. In its most basic form, fasting is abstaining from food and liquids other than water. There are different kinds of fasting, but the one thing they have in common is the exclusion of selected foods or liquids for a specific period of time.

In today’s modern world, the definition of fasting has been expanded to include different varieties of modified fasting. Modified fasting permits the addition of certain foods such as fruit juice or broth, or other healthy food. Technically, these are actually “diets.” They are sometimes called “detox diets,” “cleansing diets,” or even “fasting diets.” There are many shades of grey when it comes to fasting, cleansing and a regular diet.

In his book Fasting Can Save Your Life by Herbert Shelton, he states that fasting is 1695650382_989846bf18_zabstaining from food when a person has enough nutritional reserves to provide nourishment to vital organs. Starvation begins when a person’s reserves are exhausted and vital organs begin to suffer damage.

The Benefits of Fasting

Over the centuries, fasting has been encouraged as a way of healing many health problems, as well as providing mental benefits. The benefits of fasting are:

  • Allows for detoxification and cleansing of the body
  • Cleanses and heals “stuck” patterns of emotions
  • Rests the digestive system
  • Promotes mental clarity
  • Provides an increasing energy level and a feeling of physical lightness
  • Enhances spiritual connections and promotes inner peace

Many call fasting a “miracle cure” because it can be used to treat most any ailment, among them, arthritis, digestive disorders, allergies, cardiovascular disease, asthma and skin disorders.

The body becomes overworked with the constant influx of food, which takes energy to process. When we fast, that energy is turned to other processes in the body, such as healing. While fasting, the body does housecleaning and rids itself of toxins, repairs cells, and produces new healthy cells.

Doctor Gabriel Cousens, a doctor of psychiatry, family therapist and doctor of holistic medicine probably sums it up best. He speaks about observations he made during a study on fasting. He observed that after four days, the participants’ concentration and creative thinking appeared to improve, insomnia stopped, depression and anxiety lifted, and the mind became more calm and the spirit more joyful. He believed that the act of fasting allows the body to rid the brain of harmful toxins that inevitably leads to clearer thought processes.

The clearing of toxins from the body and the energy made available during fasting
allows the body to renew and heal itself.

Even a short, one day fast can be beneficial, but two or three days is more effective. You might try an apple fast over the weekend. Eat 3-4 apples each day and drink 2 quarts of water. During your fast, you may experience flu-like symptoms, as when you have the flu, your body is working to heal itself.

The body truly has the ability to heal itself when provided the opportunity. Your body can be its own internal medicine doctor through holistic medicine and integrative medicine practices. Achieving health and wellness takes work, but the benefits are priceless.

If you would like to learn more about holistic and integrative medicine, contact Dr. Jorge Bordenave at Miami Integrative Medicine and learn what a difference alternative treatments can make to your health and life.

Published by Axiom Health Care Marketing

 

Mammograms: Are They Really Necessary?

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5224604214_6381448fa2Mammograms are a special kind of x-ray procedure used to scan the breasts and take a picture so that it can be read by a radiologist to check for breast cancer or other types of breast problems. Some women get them every year as part of their women’s wellness checkups. However, some people question if getting these tests are really needed annually and if the radiation danger warrants not getting them that often.

Who Should Get Mammograms?

Health providers encourage women to get mammograms for several reasons, most especially if a woman has found a lump while doing monthly self-breast exams. Also, it is a good idea to get mammograms if there is a history of breast cancer in the woman’s family, as this can make her more prone to getting breast cancer during her life. If any woman in their family was diagnosed with breast cancer, then the women in that family should get screened for breast cancer annually, unless otherwise recommended by their doctors.

A woman or her doctor won’t be able to feel a lump until it is at least a few centimeters in size, and once that occurs, the breast cancer has already gotten to stage two out of the four stages of cancer. A mammogram, however, can find a lump long before this and so the woman would have better odds of surviving breast cancer as a result of the medical information gotten from the scan.

Women who are post-menopausal should also get mammograms at least every two years, as this procedure works well in detecting breast cancer in this type of women. They should also continue to do breast exams every month as part of her health and wellness activities. Another group of women that mammograms work well for are women who are over 40 years old.

A study done in Sweden showed that 29 percent of the women who got annual mammograms in their 40s, and 10 percent over 50, were able to have breast cancer detected early and at a stage where it could be successfully treated.Doctor_viewing_mammogram

Should Younger Women Get Mammograms?

While studies have shown that mammograms may be valuable for women over 40, it is not certain how valuable they are for women under 40. There are mixed reviews in answering this question. On one hand, women under 40 have breasts that are denser than older women, therefore a mammogram might not work as well on them as it will on an older woman.

The American Cancer Society says that women ages 20 to 40 should do monthly breast exams to check for lumps or other signs of breast cancer. The best day to do this is the day after their period ends each month. They recommend starting at 40, to get a mammogram, but if there is cause for getting one prior to this age, such as family history, it should be discussed with their doctors to see if the risk of radiation from the mammogram is worth the possible risk of breast cancer.

All women should follow a nutritious diet and exercise program and talk to their doctors about whether or not they should get an annual mammogram. Integrative medicine is a proponent of regular mammograms, especially for those with a family history of breast cancer.

To learn more about how to eat right and attain health and wellness for your body and mind, contact Dr. Jorge Bordenave today at Miami Integrative Medicine and set up an appointment for a health care consultation.

 

Serving the Hispanic Community

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Jorge BordenaveDr. Jorge Bordenave was born in Havana, Cuba and moved with his physician father and educator mother to Miami, Florida when he was an infant. Being a medical doctor seems to run in his family, as his grandfather was also a physician.

First Focus

Dr. Bordenave’s first focus was internal medicine and he spent his medical internship in the Bronx, New York, at St. Barnabas Hospital. St. Barnabas is a teaching hospital and Dr. Bordenave was exposed to a wide range of medical conditions and diseases. This is where he first developed a strong interest in cardiovascular disease. He relocated to Chicago to complete his residency in general internal medicine.

Throughout his residency, his interest in cardiology grew and when it was completed, he applied to Mt. Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach for a three-year cardiology fellowship.

Cardiology

His application to Mt. Sinai’s cardiology fellowship was accepted and he went on to become proficient at a great number of cardiac procedures such as cardiac catheterization and transesophageal echocardiography. He had a keen interest in new technology and began to learn about nuclear cardiology. This new method of diagnosis was non-invasive and involves the use of radioactive elements that show where blood is flowing through the heart and more importantly, where it was not, or where blood flow was restricted. Dr. Bordenave was on the ground floor of the use of this new method and was among the first cardiologists in South Florida to start using the practice in the field.

After several years in private practice as a clinical cardiologist and having performed hundreds of cardiac catheterizations, Dr. Bordenave realized that he was seeing younger and younger patients. He noticed a growing dependence on drugs, testing and invasive procedures. He decided to stop performing invasive procedures in his practice and wanted to find alternative treatments for helping his patients. With a mind toward holistic medicine, he took up another fellowship, this time in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona under Dr. Andrew Weil.

Focus on Integrative Medicine

While at the University of Arizona, Dr. Bordenave became reacquainted with the belief that the body has a natural ability to cure itself. His training and continued learning has placed him as a leader in preventative medicine in south Florida.

As a teacher at Florida International University, sought after lecturer and author, Dr. Bordenave is passing on his passion for patient’s health and wellness through teaching other medical professionals the benefits of integrative, complementary medicine.

Connecting with the Hispanic Communityfamily

Dr. Bordenave is well known throughout the south Florida communities in which he serves, but he places a special focus on the Hispanic community.

The doctor presents weekly television and radio programs in Spanish that features experts and advice from other fields that provide information on a wide range of medically related topics. Dr. Bordenave and Your Health is geared toward giving the Hispanic community the kind of information that they might not normally have access to; information that can help them live healthier lives.

Dr. Bordenave provides information in Spanish about obtaining a healthy body and mind through the use of proper nutrition, exercise and a peaceful mind. The information he provides cover subjects as diverse as coronary artery disease; Tai Chi for arthritis, diabetes, back pain and osteoporosis; meditation; depression; sleep apnea and insomnia; kidney disease; acupuncture and of course, nutrition for optimum health. He also puts out a Spanish language monthly magazine, Su Salud.

His outreach doesn’t stop at health, wellness and medicine. In addition, Dr. Bordenave provides information to Spanish speakers regarding Medicare and now, The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare. The information and resources he provides is invaluable to the Hispanic community.

As a leader in preventative and integrative medicine, Dr. Jorge Bordenave has been serving south Florida from his Coral Gables location since 1996. He has a sincere interest in patient health and wellness and teaching the Hispanic community how to obtain these through lifestyle choices, diet and exercise. Contact him today for an appointment and learn how the integrative medicine approach can help you achieve wellness.

Published by Axiom Health Care Marketing

 

When Something Bad Happens

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Your general outlook on life has the most to do with your happiness. You can discover your view of yourself and the world around you by paying attention to the conversation that goes on in your head. Dr. Bordenave suggests that when you encounter setbacks, you shift your perspective to one of not a woes-me to “this is an inconvenience, but I can cope”.

 

Staying at Peace

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Maintaining an inner peace is just as important to your health and wellness as the food choices you make. Learning to focus your mind on goodness will bring healthy benefits to your life; Peace and wellness are a healthy partnership. Dr. Bordenave suggests that you focus your mind on positive thoughts and you won’t be as inclined to overindulge or over-react.