Several approaches to health care have emerged in the industry, many of which intersect and stem from one another and provide different means of eliminating disease and promoting health. Among these include functional medicine and integrative medicine. While both challenge the status quo of conventional care, they are nuanced in practice and benefit patients in…
It’s no secret that vitamins are essential components of health. The body is an intricate, connected organism that operates at a microscope level making highly sophisticated interactions using different molecules to carry out specific tasks. Vitamins and minerals assist these interactions by supporting the development of necessary compounds and structures in the body that keep…
The food we eat powers our everyday lives and our health. What we put in our body can either support health and longevity or can undermine it. However, there is a significant amount of “noise” in the health and wellness industry that can cause confusion around what an optimal diet looks like and how we…
Approaching a health condition can look different depending on who you ask. Healthcare consists of several different perspectives in treating illness, ranging from strictly conventional to wildly alternative. In most cases, a conventional medical perspective prioritizes treating symptoms to manage a condition or disease. This can look like prescribing medication, surgery or other interventions that…
The conversation around hormones and health has been historically elusive; however, there is no denying the impact hormones have on our lives. Our very own Jennie Welner, FNP-BC, ABAAHP, FAARM, is a Family Nurse Practitioner at Essential Health’s flagship location in Cary, NC and an expert in hormone balancing. She lends her expertise in the…
Achieving your best health can often seem straightforward, at least in theory. All it takes, a bounty of evidence has found, is adopting a lifestyle that balances activity, nutrition, socialization, and rest. In reality, it’s usually not that easy. The pressures and demands of life, like pursuing a fulfilling career, raising a family, and simply…
What are the Benefits of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy? With every breath we take, our lungs fill with a life-giving substance: oxygen. Oxygen, along with nitrogen and carbon dioxide, are among the main elements that contribute to life on this planet and the living things that call it home. For humans, oxygen is necessary for proper…
“You are what you eat” isn’t just a silly idiom: every morsel of food and drink we consume is broken down, processed, and absorbed by the body at a cellular level, for better or for worse. Nutrition is the cornerstone of internal health, therefore, food we eat is a direct reflection of our overall health.…
Living a healthy lifestyle means staying consistent with healthy behaviors, including eating well, staying active, warding off stress when possible, and getting great sleep. If you ask any functional medicine provider what they consider the most impactful aspect out of all of these behaviors, the likely and unanimous answer would be sleep. The health benefits…
Optimizing your health as you age means taking proactive steps to understand where your health stands currently, and determining what interventions or protocols are needed to evolve from disease management to a state of total well-being. Lab testing is typically the first frontier of information a provider and patient must gather in order to assess…