On the VPK blog

Admittedly, I picked the first doctor in a fairly juvenile way. I was a self-employed writer with the cheapest insurance I could find and, reliably healthy, I had never used it. The tingling in my fingertips, however, seemed like it meant something — like my fingers were trying to tell me something — so I looked at the HMO’s website and picked the doctor with crazy, curly hair.

Her brown mop was unruly just like mine, and I took that as a good sign. In the end, though, the primary care doc and I didn’t know each other long, and I never grew to trust her. She kept me waiting for 25 minutes, then spent five minutes with me and referred me to a neurologist. “Goodbye,” she said as she slid out the door. There had been no time for questions or discussion. She was gone.

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From the VPK Blog

There was no siren nor light nor gentle nudge that woke me up. Nothing external interrupted me and yet, suddenly, in the middle of the night, I was awake and my brain was racing.
I wanted sleep; I needed sleep; and none was coming. All I could do was lie there, frantically making mental lists and composing what seemed to be brilliant and urgent plans that I would no doubt forget in the morning.
I didn’t even need to look at the clock. I knew what it would say. It had said the same thing every night for a week: 2:30 a.m. To read more...

From the Deseret News

For centuries, germs have gotten a bad rap. Generally vilified as carriers and causes of disease, these microscopic organisms are on the verge of a complete image makeover.

Thanks to better technology, scientists can now take a closer look at the bacteria, fungi and viruses that humans inhale, eat and touch everyday. And instead of telling us to avoid or kill all these germy creatures, scientists are now advising us to take better care of them. To read more...  

Investing in Functional Medicine to Cure Disease, not just Sooth Symptoms for Patients
From the Deseret News

​When the head of the world-renownedCleveland Clinic approached Dr. Mark Hyman about creating a department that would employ the doctor’s specialty of “functional medicine,” Hyman was typically blunt.
“If I create a program there, it would cut the number of angioplasties and bypasses in half, and reduce hospital admissions,” he told clinic CEO Toby Cosgrove.
To read more...