The story of the Trojan horse is well known: the Greeks allegedly delivered to the city of Troy a massive wooden horse, which the Trojans mistook for a gift and pulled inside their city. At night, this hollow horse released a band of Greek men who had been hiding inside of it, and they opened the city gates so that their army could strike the final blow in the Trojan War.

The concept of integrative medicine has gained in popularity since it was coined by Dr. Andrew Weil in 1994 and it is important to recognize it as the Trojan horse that it is. Although the metaphor usually implies deception, many fans of integrative medicine promote this gift horse without misleading intentions, but the damage may well be the same.

The claim at the heart of integrative medicine is that conventional medicine is not enough and that so-called complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is also insufficient, but that by integrating the two, patients get the best of both worlds. Medicine is accused of being hyper-focused on disease and on the use of pharmaceuticals, failing patients with chronic illnesses. CAM is positioned as the answer to this, the yang to conventional medicines yin to yield a complete, holistic perspective.

On its surface, the CAM half of integrative medicine looks wonderful. We are usually told it involves nutrition and exercise. Similarly, proponents of integrative medicine claim its added value is in holism, meaning focusing on the whole person. Strangely though, as has been argued by many people, conventional medicine at its best is focused on the whole person. But integrative medicines seductive, superficial messaging does not end there.

This Trojan horse has been making major in-roads inside of academic hospitals, and it moves on four wheels: the appeals to nature, antiquity, authority, and popularity. Hospital directors and patients alike are told that integrative medicine prioritizes natural treatments... without mentioning that synthesized products are not necessarily harmful and natural ones, not necessarily harmless (or useful). They are told that many of these interventions, like acupuncture, have been used for a long time... just like bloodletting was in ye olden days. They are told that many serious university hospitals, like Johns Hopkins, Duke, and Yale, are already offering integrative medicine... but keeping up with the Joneses is no substitute for a critical appraisal of the body of evidence. And they are told that many, many people are clamouring for these therapies. Market forces being what they are, the Trojan horse rolls into town and we may wonder what pours out of it.

Inside the Trojan horse of integrative medicine, painted in the colours of nutrition and exercise, we find unproven and disproven remedies like homeopathy, the 200-year-old philosophy that claims that the more a substance is diluted, the stronger it becomes. We find Reiki and other energy healing interventions, which pretend that hands-off massages of an undiscovered force field around the body can provide healing. We find poorly regulated herbal remedies, problematic therapies like acupuncture, and things like reflexology, where a foot massage can somehow help your stomach heal itself. The horse also contains more benign interventions, like art therapy and massages, but the majority of CAMs contribution puzzles the mind. These often pre-scientific folkloric therapies often lack plausible mechanisms. Given our extensive knowledge of biology, it makes no sense for the entire human body to be represented on the sole of our feet (see reflexology). Given our extensive knowledge of chemistry, it makes no sense for vast dilutions that leave behind no trace of the ingredient to work (see homeopathy). Yet proponents often throw their hands up when confronted with this and simply claim that it works, how ever it may work.

Universities can easily fall under the spell of integrative medicine because of what I would call the two towers. Imagine two towers that visually represent the evidence we have for conventional medicine and for complementary and alternative medicine, things like homeopathy and Reiki. The conventional medicine tower has an old foundation and is continually being extended and repaired with better materials. By comparison, the CAM towers foundation is made of cheap, imitation material, and while theres a shell that gives it its full height, the bricks have not been laid yet. But the structure is draped in a banner that illustrates what the tower will look like when finished. From a distance, both towers appear similar. Same height, same look. But when you get closer to the CAM tower, you notice how grossly incomplete it is. Dont worry, you are told, what we have so far is very promising and we will keep building it. This slogan never goes away. The CAM tower will always be sold as promising, year after year, convincing many people to invest in it.

Studies of ear acupuncture, craniosacral therapy, homeopathy and many other complementary interventions are usually small, poorly done, and encouraging. When rigorous trials are completed, they fail to demonstrate efficacy, which leads CAM proponents to return to smaller studies and extract hopeful results from those. This tower of promising results can then be presented to academic health centres by philanthropists who believe acupuncture or homeopathy cured them, and their generous donations can lead to the creation of integrative medical centres within these hospitals. Impressive consortia are created to advocate for integrative medicine and to put pressure on medical school curricula to pull the Trojan horse in.

There are clear harms to this. Obviously, if I were to argue that because astronomy is insufficient, it needs to hold hands with astrology in university faculties, it would be easier to see the potential for intellectual harm. Similarly, I have seen Canadians elevating Indigenous ancestral knowledge to the same level as science and asking for its integration into medicine, without testing these claims with the most rigorous tools we have, and I find this equally troublesome

Theres also the financial harm to selling invalid therapies to patients, but perhaps an even bigger eye-opener on the subject of harm is vaccination. Integrative medicine frequently does not embrace immunization, one of the most important public health interventions we have. Dr. Daniel Neides, former director of the Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute, infamously wrote a furious anti-vaccination screed in 2017 on the website Cleveland.com. Meanwhile, a survey completed by 290 members of the American Board of Integrative and Holistic Medicine revealed them to be more likely than their conventional counterparts to believe misinformation about vaccines (e.g. alternative schedules, toxicities, link to autism). Chiropractors, whose practice is often rolled into integrative medicine, are notorious for harbouring a significant percentage of antivaxxers; ditto for naturopaths. Given how many CAM disciples worship at the altar of Mother Nature and see toxins everywhere, a vote for integrative medicine often risks bolstering unnecessary vaccine hesitancy.

If you are caught looking this Trojan horse in the mouth, the most likely retort you will hear is that conventional medicine has problems. Yes, it does. It is true that medicine does not offer great solutions to many chronic conditions, chief among them chronic pain. Some of its solutions, like opioids, have also caused significant harm because of misplaced economic interests. But the medicine tower gets fixed. Moldy parts are extruded and replaced. Meanwhile, the CAM tower remains deeply flawed and mostly illusory. The bricks are coming, we are told, and soon we will have the proof we need.

If I may bring one more metaphor to this crowded landscape, it would be Dr. Ben Goldacres pearl of wisdom. Problems in aircraft design, he says, do not mean that magic carpets can actually fly. As the Trojan horse of integrative medicine knocks on the doors of our institutions, we must remember that what we need is not a hollow prize with a corrupting cargo; we need to keep fixing the real tower.

Take-home message:-Integrative medicine is a philosophy that advocates for the integration of conventional medical care with numerous complementary and alternative therapies, like Reiki and homeopathy- The evidence for these complementary therapies is often lacking but they keep being sold as a promising solution to the problems of real medicine- Its important to remember that just because there are problems with airplanes, the solution is not to switch to flying carpets

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Beware the Trojan Horse of Integrative Medicine | Office for Science and Society - McGill Newsroom

Daylight saving time ends on Nov. 1 at 2 a.m. While many simply see this as gaining an hour of sleep on Sunday, there are various lasting effects that this time change will bring, both mentally and physically. Yahoo Life is joined by two experts who share what to expect and ways to combat the negative effects.

Integrative medicine physician and wellness expert Dr. Taz Bhatia explains that when we set the clocks back, were also adjusting our internal clock and throwing off our circadian rhythm.

Our circadian rhythms, or the flow of when we sleep and when were awake, dictates so many different processes in the body, says Bhatia.

When our circadian rhythms are thrown off, our sleep cycles become inconsistent, our weight is less regulated due to a change in insulin, and the risk of heart disease, stroke and heart attack increases.

Judy Ho, a licensed clinical and forensic neuropsychologist, highlights how experiencing one less hour of light each day can heavily impact ones mood, causing us to experience more depression and sadness.

So what can we do to cope with these changes? During the day, its crucial to take advantage of any kind of sunlight, whether its indirectly through a window or through a sun lamp as light therapy has been proven to work wonders on mood and sleep.

With less sunlight during the day, we also receive less vitamin D, also known as the sunshine vitamin. We can, however, make up for the lack of vitamin D in other ways. It's important now more than ever to exercise regularly, as it helps with the endorphin release and boosts our mood, says Bhatia.

Ho recommends establishing a calming nighttime routine that involves putting away all devices, especially blue light devices. To combat sleep deprivation, people should go to bed earlier, but not too early.

You dont want to go to bed too early just to make sure that youre in bed by a certain hour because then you might be awake for longer than you need to be, Ho explains. Then the bed becomes associated with anxiety and stress.

Since 2020 has been anxiety-inducing for many, Bhatia points out that our threshold for anxiety and depression is lower right now.

When we have additional disruptions like disruptions to our sleep cycle, disruptions to the amount of light we're getting in when we're awake, its just one more factor in an already really tough year for so many people, she says.

Ho reiterates how beneficial it is to maintain social connections on a daily basis with friends and loved ones.

Even a brief interaction like that can bring you a lot of positivity and feeling of community when you need it most, she says.

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When it comes to fighting inflammation with diet, following a specific program is not a necessity. In fact, many of the so-called anti-inflammatory diets are more hype than real science. That said, a couple of diets round up all the anti-inflammatory elements into one eating plan and have more evidence of benefit than other diets. If you aren't sure where to start, these diets are good choices.

People who live in countries ringing the Mediterranean Sea, like Italy and Greece, have traditionally eaten a diet consisting mainly of fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, whole grains, fish, and olive oil the same foods that experts recommend to bring down inflammation. Over the years, researchers began to discover that people who followed this style of eating had lower rates of disease and lived longer than people in the United States who ate a Western-style diet.

The Mediterranean diet is ranked high among doctors and dietitians, and for good reason. Studies show it protects against diseases linked to inflammation, including cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, and type 2 diabetes. And, because it includes a variety of foods, the Mediterranean diet is relatively easy to follow and stick with.

Although its name may suggest the "grab-and-go" section of the supermarket, DASH is anything but a fast-food regimen. DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. It was originally developed to lower blood pressure without medication, but is now widely considered to be one of the healthiest eating patterns around. It includes foods low in total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol, and lots of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Protein is supplied by low-fat dairy, fish, poultry, and nuts. Red meat, sweets, and sugary drinks are limited. DASH is high in fiber, potassium, calcium, and magnesium and low in sodium.

Another anti-inflammatory diet with science to back it up comes from Harvard-educated integrative medicine practitioner Dr. Andrew Weil. He started talking up anti-inflammatory measures decades ago, long before the idea began trending. His anti-inflammatory diet could be described as a Mediterranean diet with Asian influences. About 40% to 50% of calories come from carbohydrates, 30% from fat, and 20% to 30% from protein.

Where Dr. Weil's diet wins is in its emphasis on plant-based foods and healthy protein sources, as well as specific elements (fatty fish, fruits, vegetables, oils, nuts, and seeds) that help to reduce inflammation. It also minimizes highly processed foods, which can contribute to inflammation.

For additional advice about ways to reduce inflammation, read Fighting Inflammation, Special Health Report from Harvard Medical School.

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Disclaimer:As a service to our readers, Harvard Health Publishing provides access to our library of archived content. Please note the date of last review or update on all articles. No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.

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PARIS, Oct. 28, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Rarecells, Inc. (USA), a leading Liquid Biopsy company, is pleased to announce thatNational Institute of Integrative Medicine's (Melbourne, Australia) researchers obtained striking results in a group of Australian men using the ISET test for early prostate cancer diagnosis through the detection of Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA)positive Circulating Tumor Cells (CTC).

The peer-reviewed article published in the journalFrontiers in Oncology (article), shows that the prostate cancer test based on CTC harvested with the ISET technology and identified by the Immuno-Cytochemistry (ICC) PSA marker has an estimated positive-predictive-value (PPV) of 99% and negative-predictive-value (NPV) of 97%, providing a more reliable screening test for prostate cancer than the standard PSA blood test (PPV = 25%; NPV = 15.5%).

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer and the fifth leading cause of cancer deaths in men worldwide. Due to the limited sensitivity and specificity of the standard PSA test, a relevant proportion, close to 75%, of unnecessary prostate biopsies are performed every year, generating avoidable costs and suffering.

"This new non-invasive test based on ISET technology allows for early detection of prostate cancer more accurately than the standard PSA test. Improving the accuracy of tests for early cancer detection may reduce the burden of unnecessary biopsies," said NIIM Director of Research, and Chief Investigator Associate Professor Karin Ried.

Davide Brechot, Deputy Director and CTO at Rarecells commented: "NIIM's preliminary data obtained with the ISET technology opens the way to a more reliable prostate cancer screening test driving earlier curative interventions while reducing unnecessary, painful and costly prostate biopsies.They add to the body of published evidence of ISET technology's excellence in cancer diagnostics and management"

ISET has been validated by more than 85 independent scientific publications on 3,400 cancer patients and more than 1,200 cancer-free individuals (see http://www.rarecells.com). It demonstrates unparalleled performance for the isolation and characterization of individual CTC and CTC clusters.

About RARECELLS (www.rarecells.com)

Rarecells develops high value, innovative diagnostic tests in the fields of liquid biopsy and early cancer diagnostics. The company is the exclusive licensee of the ISET patent portfolios owned by University of Paris, INSERM and Assistance Publique-Hpitaux de Paris (AP-HP).

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ISET test results show substantial improvement in early detection of prostate cancer by identifying PSA-positive Circulating Tumor Cells - PRNewswire

LOS ANGELES GTs Synergythe beloved and world-renowned Kombucha brand, today announced a partnership withChopra Global, a leading whole health platform founded by Dr. Deepak Chopra. GTs Synergy is the first-ever branded content partner of Chopra Global; the two brands are joining forces in support of GTs recently launched Rooted In Nature campaign to reinforce the message thatholistic health for mind, body, and soul are all rooted in the natural world.

GTs Synergy and Chopra Global aim to provide the world with tools and resources for mental health and wellness maintenance. Starting today, new GTs email subscribers can receive free GTs Synergy Kombucha and a complimentary 1-year membership to Chopra Globals new Meditation and Well-Being App, while supplies last. The Chopra App features a comprehensive library of simple self-care guidance and meditations for mind, body and spirit to help create and sustain a healthier life. Chopra Global launched its app offering in September and is currently available on iOS.

At GTs, everything we do is rooted in our mission to be a guide and helping hand for peoples health & wellness journeys. With Chopra Global by our side as part of our Rooted In Nature campaign, together we can reach even more people to share a message that a healthy mind is just as important as a healthy body, says GT Dave, Founder and CEO of GTs Living Foods. For 25 years, Chopra Global and GTs alike have pioneered our respective industries with approaches inspired by Eastern philosophies and the natural world. Now more than ever, in our increasingly modern lives, so many people are losing that connection to nature and self-care. We are honored and grateful to partner with Chopra Global to emphasize the importance of Mother Nature and meditation as part of a healthier, more holistic way of living.

Many brands market their commitment to the consumers well-being, yet few actually invest in that mission, says Tonia OConnor, CEO of Chopra Global. GTs, like Chopra Global, was founded on the platform of advancing well-being and promoting healthy lifestyles. Offering their subscribers free access to our new well-being and meditation subscription app further demonstrates GTs dedication to serving its customers. We are thrilled to partner with a company that values Chopra Globals self-care guidance and the opportunity to share a co-produced content series with new audiences in different formats.

For more than two decades, Chopra Global has been at the forefront of health and wellness, empowering personal transformation for millions of people worldwide to expand our collective well-being. Anchored by the lifes practice and research of Dr.Deepak Chopra, a pioneer in the fields of integrative medicine, consciousness, and meditation, Chopra Globals signature programs have been proven to improve overall well-being through a focus on physical, mental, and spiritual health.

Additionally, GTs will present a special Chopra Globalco-produced digital meditation series in November that will offer bite-sized guided meditations focused on gratitude and the importance of being in nature. The series will feature Chopra Globals trained and certified instructors along with special appearances fromChopra Global CEO Tonia OConnor, and the health and wellness pioneer himself,GT Dave.

GTs Meditation Series will be completely free and available via GTs and Chopra Globals social channels.

For more information on GTs Living Foods and the Chopra Global partnership, please visit:GTsLivingFoods.com/rootedand follow along on social media: @GTsKombucha.

About GTs Living Foods:

We believe that Mother Nature is the Worlds greatest healer. Since 1995, GTs Living Foods has revolutionized how people think and feel about Kombucha and fermented foods in the Western World. From the womb, founder GT Dave was raised vegetarian and taught that food can be medicine. He continues to uphold that philosophy with always pure, potent, and plant-derived fermented offerings produced in their most authentic form, never compromised. The fiercely independent, family-owned, and operated company is available in over 55,000 retailers across North America and Europe. Today and beyond, GTs Living Foods driving purpose is to spread a global message that food can be medicine and through proper nutrition, one can heal thyself. For more information, please visitgtslivingfoods.com.For more information, interact with the team onFacebook,TwitterandInstagram.

About Chopra Global:

Chopra Global is a leading whole health company that is empowering personal transformation for millions of people globally to expand our collective well-being. Anchored by the lifes practice and research of Dr.Deepak Chopra, a pioneer in integrative medicine, Chopra Globals signature programs have been proven to improve overall well-being through a focus on physical, mental and spiritual health. Chopra Global has been at the forefront of health and wellness for more than two decades with a portfolio that includes an editorial archive of more than 2000 health articles, expansive self-care practices and meditations, a comprehensive mobile app, masterclasses, teacher certifications, immersive live events and personalized retreats. By providing tools, guidance and community, Chopra aims to advance a culture of well-being and make a healthy, peaceful and joyful life accessible to all. For more information, interact with the team onFacebook,TwitterandInstagram.

About Deepak Chopra:

Dr.Deepak Chopraisa world-renowned pioneer in integrative medicine and personal transformation. He isthe founder ofChopra GlobalandThe Chopra Foundation, a non-profit entity for research on well-being and humanitarianism.Chopra is a Clinical Professor of Family Medicine and Public Health at theUniversity of California, San Diegoand serves as a senior scientist with Gallup Organization.For the last thirty years, Chopra has been at the forefront of the meditation revolutionand has authored over 90 books translated into over forty-three languages, including numerousNew York Timesbestsellers.His newest book,Total Meditation(Harmony Book,September 2020) helps to achieve new dimensions of stress-free and joyful living.TIME magazine has described Dr. Chopra as one of the top 100 heroes and icons of the century.

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Maui Grown Therapies webinar titled, Cannabis and the Anti-Inflammatory Lifestyle is scheduled to take place on November 5. It will be presented by Andrew Weil who is MD, founder, and director of the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona and chief science offer for Maui Grown Therapies.

Maui Grown Therapy is Hawaiis first state-licensed medical cannabis dispensary. The timing of the webinar is set at 11:00 (HST) to 2:00 (PST) on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2020. The webinar will highlight the importance of living an anti-inflammatory lifestyle to improve overall health and wellness. It will end with a live Q&A post the online presentation.

Dr. Andrew Weil has always supported the anti-inflammatory lifestyle to live a healthy life. He is globally renowned for his pioneering work in integrative medicine. He earned his undergraduate degree in botany from Harvard and he completed his M.D. from Harvard Medical School. It was in 1969 when Dr. Weil conducted the nations first human trials with the use of cannabis.

The participants of the webinar, Cannabis and the Anti-Inflammatory Lifestyle will learn a lot of ways to reduce inflammation and boost the natural defense mechanisms of the body. In addition to this, the value of compounds in cannabis plants such as CBD, THC, and terpenes will also be discussed.

Dr. Weil always endorses the consumption of cannabis seeds to gain healthy fats and essential fatty acids. One can register for the webinar for free by clicking the link below.

Register for the Webinar https://manao.mauigrown.com/maui-grown-manao

Youtube Link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yz8ryqanQDM

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YOUR GUIDE TO CANNABIS & THE ANTI-INFLAMMATORY LIFESTYLE

Your Guide to Cannabis and an Anti-Inflammatory Lifestyle by THE MEDIA BUTLER

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Maui Grown Therapies' Webinar, Cannabis and the Anti-inflammatory Lifestyle to be Held on Nov. 5 - California Herald

Viewers Kati Lucas and Kimberly Horton are joining 3News Meteorologist Jason Frazer on a healthy living journey with Cleveland Clinic's Wellness Center

The Coronavirus pandemic has brought many challenges, and if it's also taken a toll on your physical and mental health, you're definitely not alone.

That's why 3News is launching a new series "The New You" with Jason Frazer and Cleveland Clinic's Wellness Center. And we're inviting two special 3News viewers along for the journey.

Meet Kati Lucas. She's a busy mom of three in her late forties, who also works as a nurse.

"I'm just busy, busy, busy bee running around and dealing with [everything] and then I come last. Then by the time I realize I need to take care of me, I'm dead tired," Kati said.

That's a feeling Kim Horton can relate to. She's in her early sixties, retired for the last few years, but mom to two grown kids and proud grandma to her first grandson. She told us, she's ready to make a change.

"At some point in your life, you got to say it's time out for fear and those things that keep you from moving forward, and maybe this is going to help me move forward."

Kati and Kim both told us the pandemic has brought additional challenges to lifelong struggles with their weight.

"This year's just been challenging on many fronts for me personally and I want to feel better. I'm sick and tired of feeling sick and tired," said Kati.

These are smart successful women. They're active too. Kim told 3News she's always been athletic.

"I consider myself still an athlete [and] my husband and I play tennis at least two or three times a week," she said.

They also are well aware of the importance of making healthy choices.

"[As a nurse] I understand how obesity can lead to inflammation and inflammation can lead to disease and so forth," said Kati.

Yet, like so many of us, both Kati and Kim have struggled to make a lifestyle change until now. That's where Cleveland Clinic's Wellness Center comes in.

"In the center of integrative and lifestyle medicine we try to address not just physical pain or physical symptoms but also look at emotional health," said Dr. Irina Todorov, Interim Medical Director for the Center of Integrative and Lifestyle Medicine.

Over the next eight weeks, Jason, Kati and Kim will have an opportunity to work with the Center to take a mind, body and spirit approach to healthier living.

"The goal of the program is to learn lifelong habits. The first week may be a nutrition consult, the second week will be massage therapy, the third week will be acupuncture, [for example], she said.

"I'm humble enough to admit that I need help...I saw this as a perfect opportunity to to just get my butt ingear and just reclaim a sense of agency about myself," Kati told us.

"Sometimes doggone it, you got to be selfish," laughed Kim. "And just say this is what I have to do for me."

They're ready to go, and we hope you'll follow along too.

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'The New You'| Meet Kati and Kim and follow their health journey - WKYC.com

As someone who struggled with a miserable opiate addiction for 10 years, and who has treated hundreds of people for various addictions, I am increasingly impressed with the ways in which mind-body medicine can be a critical component of recovery from addiction. Mind-body medicine is the use of behavioral and lifestyle interventions, such as meditation, relaxation, yoga, acupuncture, and mindfulness, to holistically address medical problems. Mind-body treatments can be integrated with traditional medical treatments, or used as standalone treatments for certain conditions. Mind-body medicine is now being studied by the National Institutes of Health and effectively used in the treatment of addiction, and it will likely play a role in addiction recovery programs in the future.

Mind-body principles have been around since the start of the recovery movement in 1937, and they are a big part of Alcoholics Anonymous. The 12 Steps of AA feature concepts such as surrender, meditation, gratitude, and letting go all critical components of mind-body medicine. Most 12-step meetings end with the Serenity Prayer: God, grand me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Mutual help groups play a role in recovery for many people, and the principles of mindfulness that are part of these programs in addition to the social support shouldnt be overlooked.

When I was sent to rehab for 90 days by the medical board due to my addiction, we participated in a lot of activities that seemed to be meant to approximate mind-body medicine, but they were haphazard and not particularly scientific, and I dont believe they had the intended effect or were at all therapeutic. For example, we did shrubbery mazes (Id get lost); we sat meditatively in silence (everyone around me chain-smoked, triggering my asthma); we had repeated lectures about letting go and letting God (I still have no idea what this means); wed spend 30 minutes staring at a red square projected onto a screen (this gave me a migraine); and we went to a local acupuncture place where they hooked up extra electric current to the needles to give us extra chi (I felt like I was being cooked for dinner). Given that rehab is a $50 billion industry, I felt this was a lost opportunity to utilize mind-body medicine in a way that wasnt superficial or trivial.

Fortunately, there are now several scientifically-based mind-body medicine options for people in recovery. Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention (MBRP) is a technique that uses meditation as well as cognitive approaches to prevent relapse. It aims to cultivate awareness of cues and triggers so that one doesnt instinctively turn to using drugs. It also helps people get comfortable sitting with unpleasant emotions and thoughts their distress tolerance, a persons ability to tolerate emotional discomfort without automatically escaping by taking a drug. Improving distress tolerance is a common theme to many, if not all, approaches to addiction recovery, as a large part of the appeal of drug use is replacing a bad emotion with a good emotion for example, by using a drug.

Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) is another technique to address addiction in recovery. MORE attempts to use both mindfulness and positive psychology to address the underlying distress that caused the addiction in the first place. There are three main pillars of MORE: it has been proven to help with distress tolerance; cue reactivity (the way people with addiction respond to cues, such as seeing a bottle of prescription drugs, which often trigger cravings); and attentional bias (the way an addicted brain will pay extra, selective attention to certain things, such as a pack of cigarettes when one is quitting smoking).

Mindfulness-Based Addiction Therapy (MBAT) is a technique that uses mindfulness to teach clients how to notice current emotions and sensations, and how to detach themselves from the urge to use drugs. This is called urge surfing, and we practiced it extensively in rehab. The aim is to break the automatic link between feeling uncomfortable, craving drugs, and, without thought or reflection, taking a drug to alleviate that discomfort.

While there is promising research that mind-body treatments for addiction are effective, some of the research is contradictory. According to a meta-analysis in the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, mindfulness is a positive intervention for substance use disorders, it has a significant but small effect on reducing substance misuse, a substantial effect on reducing cravings, and, importantly, it is a treatment that has a large effect on reducing levels of stress.

However, not all studies of mind-body medicine for addiction have shown overwhelmingly positive results. Some studies showed that the treatment gains diminish over time. Some randomized controlled trials did not show that mind-body medicine was better than cognitive behavioral therapy in decreasing alcohol and cocaine use, or in abstaining from cigarette use.

The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health did a thorough review of much of the current literature surrounding mind-body medicine as it applies to addiction treatment, and summarized the impact of certain mind-body treatments as follows:

At this time, we need more and better evidence, and more definitive conclusions, about how helpful, ultimately, mind-body medicine will be in helping to treat addiction in different treatment settings. But a takeaway message is that mindfulness-based treatments are certainly quite effective as adjunct treatments for addiction, in that they can help people with their anxiety, distress tolerance, and cravings, and quite plausibly will turn out to help people put down the drink or the drug, and to avoid relapsing, once they have managed to get themselves into recovery.

If mind-body medicine can significantly reduce stress, then one must ask if it can also help us prevent addiction by helping our society deal with the chronic, overwhelming stress that it is facing. Addiction is in large part considered to be a disease of despair. Important contributors to addiction are untreated anxiety and depression, unresolved childhood trauma, social isolation, and poor distress tolerance. If all of us can learn, or be trained, to be more mindful, grateful, present, and connected, perhaps the need, and eventually the habit, of fulfilling our most basic needs with the false promise of a chemical that merely wears off and leaves us worse off will become less of a problem in our society.

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Mind-body medicine in addiction recovery - Harvard Health Blog - Harvard Health

TORONTO, Oct. 28, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CB2 Insights (CSE:CBII; OTCQB: CBIIF) (CB2 or the Company), one of the largest multi-specialty healthcare systems in the United States, is pleased to announce that it has completed the asset acquisition of Tacoma-based medical clinic owned by Dr. Jackson (JMC) in University Place, Washington. The acquisition of JMC expands the Companys bricks and mortar and telemedicine services to 15 States.

JMC has been operating in Washington for over 20 years and has a growing patient base of over 10,000 from its operations. Services to patients include primary care and urgent care. Services provided by JMC are primarily reimbursed through insurance carriers including Medicare, Medicaid and other commercial payors. The Company can expect to leverage the expertise of management and operations across its network of existing clinics to further optimize organic growth activities.

The Company anticipates continued growth in patient registrations and visits as JMC continues to thrive among the challenges most clinics have faced due to the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Further, the Company will work quickly to expand on the current offering of services by leveraging its existing telemedicine infrastructure to provide access to patients across the state of Washington. The Company will also evaluate the current services offered to determine growth in new and complimentary medical services, add new lines of revenue from insurable services, and expand overall patient care. The Company will also launch its subscription-based telemedicine offering at $199/year designed to support the needs of uninsured American with urgent and acute care needs.

Our goal remains committed to establishing a national network of healthcare clinics to help millions of American gain access to affordable and accessible quality care, said Prad Sekar, CEO, CB2 Insights. With the expansion into Washington by way of acquisition, we welcome the opportunity to leverage our multi-disciplinary model to expand quickly on the services delivered by JMC to include telemedicine, sub-specialty, allied health and other complementary services for current and new patients of the practice.

JMC represents the second acquisition by the Company since its recently announced oversubscribed private placement of CAD 5.13 million in September 2020. The acquisition is also part of a 3-pronged growth model which includes growth from the current infrastructure, new services and acquisitions. The Companys experienced management team continues to develop a robust pipeline of accretive and strategic acquisition targets that are revenue generating, profitable and offer significant opportunities for growth. The Company paid a total cash consideration of CAD 0.37 million for JMC. Terms of the transaction include a customary transition by the previous owners for a period of up to 1 year to ensure successful continuity of care for patients in the practice. JMC reported revenues in 2019 of CAD 0.7 million and net income of CAD 0.1 million.

About CB2 Insights

CB2 Insights (CSE:CBII OTCQB:CBIIF) is a healthcare services and technology company, working to positively impact patient health outcomes. The Companies mission to improve the lives of patients through the prevention and treatment of health conditions and using proprietary technology to monitor, assess, and generate insights to help improve patient outcomes. The Company owns and operates a proprietary virtual telehealth platform, and a network of over 30 medical clinics across 14 states in the US, providing multi disciplinary, primary and urgent care services to over 120,000 patients annually.

The Company has created works primarily to roster and treat patients seeking traditional and alternative treatments due to the ineffectiveness of conventional medicine, inability to find support through their existing care network, or in some cases, inability to access a primary care network. The Company offers both primary care via a traditional insurable services model and a disruptive low-cost subscription based urgent care offering for patients seeking immediate need to a healthcare provider via telehealth.

The Company differentiates itself by being one of the largest integrative medical practices in the US that owns its own proprietary technology, data analytical assets, and clinical research expertise to support new market expansion, market access, data collection and analysis and drug discovery.

The Company operates a proprietary electronic health record platform Sail (Sail) to document, treat, monitor and report on patient health outcomes. Developed in 2015, Sail is used internally across all of the Companys clinical operations. Sail features a robust telemedicine platform that the Company uses to provide care to its National patient base. To support patient care and positive health outcomes, the Company is also focused on advancing safety and efficacy research surrounding alternative health treatments by monitoring and assessing Real-World Data (RWD) and providing Real-World Evidence (RWE) through our proprietary technology, data analytics, and a full service contract research organization.

For more information please visit http://www.cb2insights.com or contact:

Investor RelationsJonathan L. Robinson CFAOak Hill Financialjrobinson@oakhillfinancial.ca416-669-1001

Forward Looking Statements

Statements in this news release that are forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties concerning the specific factors disclosed here and elsewhere in CB2s filings with Canadian securities regulators. When used in this news release, words such as "will, could, plan, estimate, expect, intend, may, potential, believe, should," and similar expressions, are forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements may include, without limitation, statements regarding the Companys unaudited financial results and projected growth.

Although CB2 has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements todiffer materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, there can be other factors that cause results, performance or achievements not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended, including, but not limited to: dependence on obtaining regulatory approvals; investing in target companies or projects which have limited or no operating history and are subject to inconsistent legislation and regulation; change in laws; reliance on management; requirements for additional financing; competition; hindering market growth and state adoption due to inconsistent public opinion and perception of the medical-use and recreational-use marijuana industry and; regulatory or political change.

There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate or that management's expectations or estimates of future developments, circumstances or results will materialize. As a result of these risks and uncertainties, the results or events predicted in these forward-looking statements may differ materially from actual results or events.

Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this news release are made as of the date of this release. CB2 disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise such information, except as required by applicable law, and CB2 does not assume any liability for disclosure relating to any other company mentioned herein.

No securities regulator or exchange has reviewed, approved, disapproved, or accepts responsibility for the content of this news release.

Originally posted here:
CB2 Insights enters Washington with acquisition of Primary Care Medical Clinic with $0.7 million in Revenue and Positive EBITDA - BioSpace