Happy New Year! Whether you are sad or glad the holidays are over, you get a fresh start on a new year. The Center will be getting a fresh start, too! We are developing new programs that truly reflect our integrated approach to physical, emotional, spiritual, and sexual well-being. Please read Dr. Huang's article about the upcoming re-birth of the Center.

MEDICAL NEWS
Bringing You the Synergy of Integrated Medicine

With the arrival of the New Year, we at The Center for Optimal Health have reaffirmed our mission and vision. In the year 2006, our Center is going through a “rebirth” process to bring you the true synergy of integrated medicine to assist you in achieving and maintaining “optimal health”.

True integration does not only involve having health care specialists from different disciplines under the same roof. It is so much more! True integrated medicine is a new concept that we at the Center would like to pioneer in our community. It involves a total change in the healthcare paradigm. Integrated medicine looks at every individual as a whole human being with mind-body connection in the context of their environment. It involves promoting wellness on all the layers of human health – physical, hormonal, mental, emotional, sexual, social and spiritual. The integrated wellness on all these levels is the true state of “Optimal Health”.

Read more about integrated medicine at the Center...

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH NEWS
Change: A Way of Life

Happy New Year! Whether you are starting the new year with optimism or trepidation, one thing is certain: 2006 will bring change. How do I know this? Because change is an inevitable part of life, even if we human beings want to pretend this is not so. In fact, you are changing right now, as you sit and read this text. Your cells are generating and dying. You are both creating and eliminating thoughts. The way in which you deal with change affects the quality of your life.

When I think of change, I often think of human development. If you have taken a basic course in human development, then you know that we seem to develop in stages that are an interaction between physical changes within ourselves (which includes brain development, hormonal regulation, and preparation for reproduction) and the environment (which includes people, systems, places, things, and experiences). We are constantly in a state of flux, constantly trying to adapt to challenges by using our physical abilities and psychological experiences.

Read more about handling change...

EXERCISE NEWS
Ten Tips for Terrific Exercise Benefits

Getting more exercise is always a good resolution, any time of year! Even though the days are short, there are still the same number of hours in a day — and always enough time to exercise!

Here are a few tips to get you started:

1. For most people, working out before the day gets past them is helpful. Eat a light snack, such as a carton of nonfat yogurt, and take a walk while the day is young.

2. Incorporate strength training 2-3 times a week, if your physician gives you the okay. Even light weights can be helpful in building muscle, which revs up your metabolism.

Read more tips to help you include exercise in your daily routine...

NUTRITIONAL NEWS
Resolution Ready in 2006

The New Year is here and we are surprisingly half way into January! 2005 came and went and what we are left with are resolutions for the New Year. Many people set weight loss or health as their resolution. However, it seems that we make the same resolution each year without ever being successful. How can we make 2006 the year we meet our resolutions?

When it comes to New Year’s resolutions it is important to be quite specific with our goals. In this article, we'll see how to do that.

Read on to find out five steps for accomplishing your goals...

SEXUAL HEALTH NEWS
Sex: A Biopsychosocial Event

Usually when people with sexual concerns contact The Center, they are seeking an appointment with either Dr. Huang or with me, usually not both. Once the patient has an appointment with one of us, they are usually reluctant or hesitant to seek help from the other. However, most patients that I see would benefit from a consultation with Dr. Huang, and vice versa. Overall, sexual concerns usually lie somewhere on a continuum, with some problems being more biological and others being more psychological, but almost none being only one or the other.

Let’s look at a common concern for women, lack of libido or sex drive. Many women who believe that their hormones are to blame are disappointed to learn that there hormone levels are within normal range. In fact, there are women with low hormone levels who experience no problem with drive at all. There are women with normal levels who experience strong drive. While there is a hormone-drive connection, obviously something else may be going on.

Read more about the nature of human sexuality...