Articles written by Steve Christensen

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About me - Steve Christensen

As a board-certified Family Physician and ER doctor, I was expected to adhere to what has become known, in the vernacular of Western medicine, as "the standard of care." It is a standard that's dictated by forces that have nothing to do with wellness.
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Health & Fitness > Kidney & Urologic Diseases Kidney stone symptoms: 1 of 17

I've seen my share of kidney stones. Whenever I have examined one as it nestled in a coffee filter, or lay in the bottom of a baby food jar, or rested upon a urine strainer, I have marveled that such a small fragment of grit can cause so much misery. One of my patients - a woman who had endured both the travails of childbirt...
Home & Garden > Gardening (Other) Organic gardening 101: 1 of 17

Americans are "going green." They're converting their back yards to vegetable gardens; flower beds are showing off the stocky blooms of cauliflower as well as rosebushes. Not since Eleanor Roosevelt planted her Victory Garden on the White House lawn and inspired millions of Americans to do likewise has our country seen such ...
Health & Fitness > Medical Issues (Other) Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS): Symptoms and treatment: 2 of 29

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), also known as functional bowel syndrome, spastic bowel, spastic colon, or irritable colon, affects 10 to 15 percent of the American population. The condition is defined as "abdominal pain and discomfort with altered bowel habits in the absence of any other mechanical, inflammatory, or biochemi...
Creative Writing > Memoirs Memoirs: My true story about gardening with my parents, grandparents, or children: 5 of 44

Mom and Dad would never have considered themselves avid gardeners. They occasionally planted a plot of vegetables when they were young, and Mom was enamored of roses and pansies which she raised in beds outside our front door, but many growing seasons passed when they didn’t sow a single seed. Sadly, the mischief wroug...
Style & Beauty > Skin Care (Other) Natural remedies for summer: 2 of 16

Sunburn is as much a part of summer as barbecues and beach parties, but it can occur at other times of the year, too. Sunburn results from exposing one’s unprotected skin to ultraviolet (UV) light. UV light of a particular wavelength – namely UV-B – is responsible for most of the skin damage that arises fro...
Creative Writing > Poetry Poetry: In the meadow: 13 of 66

Outside in the new morning's stillness, there arises a tentative shrillness. From the beak of some hormone-laced bird comes a riotous tune. How absurd that he, in his myriad voices (as the sun spills across him) rejoices, while I from a late nightmare stumble toward the window and, finding it, fumble with the ever-recalcitra...
Health & Fitness > Alternative Therapies Careers in alternative medicine: 1 of 5

We spend more per capita for health care in the United States than any other country ($7,000 per man, woman and child in 2006), but when the World Health Organization compares the quality of our care to that in other nations, we consistently come up short. For example, in 2004, 40 countries had better infant mortality rates ...
Health & Fitness > Depression How to tell if someone is depressed: 1 of 5

Depression is characterized by a sense of sadness that is severe enough or persistent enough to interfere with a person’s normal daily function. Depression is often accompanied by a loss of interest in activities that are normally pleasurable for the individual in question; other physical and psychological symptoms are...
Health & Fitness > Diabetes Can medicine help prevent or delay diabetes?: 1 of 4

An upsurge in the incidence of diabetes is arguably the most compelling issue currently facing American health experts. It is feared that the expected increase in diabetic complications (blindness, amputations, strokes, infections, and heart disease) will consume an inordinate proportion of medical resources and overwhelm th...
Health & Fitness > Depression Identifying depression in the elderly: 1 of 3

Approximately one in five Americans over the age of 65 is clinically depressed, and nearly a million of these individuals suffer from major depression. Remarkably (although not surprisingly), the rate of depression among residents of long-term care facilities can be as high as 30 percent, and elderly people who live alone ar...