This is the question I have been hearing it a lot lately maybe because we are now past holidays season and some of that celebrating took a toll on our skin

Well, if you only listen to the dermatology, cosmetic and plastic surgery advice you will end up with a multitude of cream and potions and procedures.

I take a different approach. What if I tell you the secret to have a beautiful young-looking skin is about what you put in your body and about how you nourish your body. Things like food intolerance, toxins and nutrient deficiency will affect your skin!

That does not mean you should not take care of yourself from the outside-there are great products that I recommend to my patients. But that’s not going to ultimately going to solve the problem especially if you have acne, eczema or psoriasis for example.

So, for today I am going to focus on nutrient deficiency!

Our skin requires vitamins, glucose from healthy carbs, ceramide, fatty acids to heal, perform and look good.

So, what are the most important vitamins for the skin?

Vit A and C – will help skin retain moisture and hydration. Vitamin A also helps the skin make new collagen so make sure it is s present every day in your diet. Collagen is the matrix that holds our skin together from inside so cannot forget about this one.

Vit D – helps with healing and has anti-inflammatory effect not to mention the important role in autoimmune illnesses like psoriasis. Soaking up the sun is the way to get it but do not get fooled-it takes a good amount of time being outside to achieve that and most of us are not doing that frequent enough.

Vit E – healing, you know when you have small ulcerations or small skin cracks? that’s the one that might be missing!

Vitamin B deficiency can mess up your skin bad too – flaky skin, cracked lips, wrinkles …and let’s not forget we are talking about 8 different types of B vitamins.

Copper Increases skin thickness and elasticity so that’s something we always check as well with a blood test.

Zinc and selenium have antimicrobial activity and prevent photodamage aka sunburn.

And these are just few of the ingredients our skin needs!

So, what do you do?

We diagnose the imbalance, address the causes first and then help the body repair and regain balance. The body’s natural ‘’healing’’ intelligence takes care of the rest.

Testing for all those vitamins and minerals is easy and it is a finger pricking blood test. Once we get the results, we can build a regimen that is meant for you instead of a plain multivitamin that might not cover your needs.

If you have struggled with skin issue, what strategies did you use to make it better?

To your health and amazing skin,

Dana Neacsu, MD

Learn more info at www.mcimatlanta.com and Share this with someone who needs it!

• Quite the opposite, about 6 million cases per year! They are however less likely to speak about it and they tend to focus on the physical aspects of it like headaches or insomnia. It is not ‘’all in your head’’ and we can help with supplements and various brain optimization devices.

2. Men do need testosterone replacement therapy.

• Unless levels are truly low or severe symptoms, they should focus on lifestyle changes, replacing the vitamins deficiency, working on liver support for a whole-body detox and balancing cortisol and blood sugar should be the first steps! JOOVV infrared light has amazing studies showing increased testosterone levels as well. Our patients love it!

3. Hair loss is not caused by wearing hats!

• And by the way there are so many options available for treatment including exosomes therapy but always try to discover the real cause behind it: autoimmune diseases, poor nutrition status and even stress.

4. Erectile dysfunction or ED affects only older men

• In fact, obesity, diabetes, stress, and smoking can cause ED in younger men. The ED is defined as inability to get an erection or sustain it. Start addressing all the risk factors asap! Let’s look at the rest of the hormonal levels: insulin, cortisol and thyroid and let’s fix that balance.

5. Self-exams are not only for women!

• Testicular cancer affects young men, and it is curable if detected even at a later stage. Oh, and just to clarify this one too-men do get breast cancer as well! Pay attention to your body and report any change to your doctor.

6. Just because you exercise does not mean you can eat unhealthy foods or neglect your stress level.

• And long, strenuous exercise sessions are not necessarily better. Aim for variety: strength training, walking, running, stretching.

7. Elevated PSA does not always equal prostate cancer.

• Inflammation or minor trauma can cause a PSA leak as well (long bicycle ride anyone?). Monitor the trend rather than just one value.

So, with all the misinformation available on the internet how do you what path is right for you? Why guess when it is easy to test and design a treatment meant for your body needs?

Start looking for answers and we will be happy to help you!

Stay healthy and happy,

Dana Neacsu,MD

My pumpkin spice latte is ready! The calming energy and memories are flowing, the fall colors outside are now in my mind. The crispy air whiffs me to the mountains somewhere, happy and carefree… and then the phone rings. I reluctantly answer before taking my first sip, hoping there is no emergency.

It was way worse than that: the lab tells me about the biopsy results for one of my patients, and it’s bad. In fact, it is super bad – it’s cancer.

Suddenly, the coffee doesn’t taste good, the pictures in my head are gone, and I am back in the grayish-white hallway. My heart is really heavy. I got to know this patient well over the last couple of days. I met his wife, and we shared stories about our kids (theirs are much older than mine, lucky them). We discovered along the way that we are from Transylvania – the land of vampires thanks to Mr. Stokes and his book but in reality, the most beautiful land in Eastern Europe. We bonded over food and holiday memories, talked about upcoming trips, and what we would do once there. He was retired, so his plans were always longer than mine and made me sigh every single time.

And now it’s all gone. It’s cancer. It’s an upcoming fight and medications and hospital visits. I walked to his room and right before knocking; I just peeked inside. The big doors have a window area so I could see him and his wife talking and smiling at times. She was showing something on the phone and he was nodding. They were so much at peace in their own world. And that was when it hit me. I was about to shatter all that. Their world their peace their plans their life. Their life won’t be the same the moment I step into that room and say the word cancer. I don’t even need to say anything I have one of those faces easy to read – bad for gambling. And suddenly I could not do it. I could not make myself enter the room.

In 18 years of hospital work, this certainly wasn’t the first time I had to share bad news with someone. After a certain point, we as doctors get used to pain and have our armor up, so whenever moments like this hit, the shock is blunted and absorbed by it. But sometimes the pain goes through and you feel like hit by a bullet.

So, I kept on watching them. I reasoned with myself: maybe I’ll come back or at least I give them a bit more time before their life is changed forever. Just a few minutes. Why not let them have a bit more time with normalcy and calm and worry-free?

“What are you dreaming of here?? Did you talk to them? I need him to go for the tests you all want. Go talk to him!” – she almost shoves me in. ‘She’ is one of the nurses on the floor, one of the best, in fact, but boy, she is not for the faint-hearted. She reminds me of Rachett, the nurse from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and here now I was the poor Jack Nicholson’s character trying to rebel. But I knew better. Some nurses make doctors feel like young residents still, even with two decades of experience. And I knew she was right. I needed to tell them.

So I walked in, and, yes, the moment his wife looked up at me – she knew, so her hand went over his. He was less attentive, probably still thinking about their conversation.

But he was listening, and as I was talking, I could see the waves of emotions flowing through his eyes and the sadness was the worst of all. I made the message it as hopeful as I could while making sure I go over everything and trying to forget that I just shattered their peaceful day and I now will always be that mark in their life that changed everything for the worst.

And they were so gracious. They accepted the news, asked their questions, and silently cried. And all this time I was apologizing for the news as if I were the cancer cell myself. And then they looked at me… and thanked me for being there for them, and taking care of him, and “just being an angel who tried to comfort” them. They shifted their focus to make me feel better and, my goodness, we are so funny as human beings – I did feel better! I eventually came out of the room and burst into: “They called me an angel”. I couldn’t help it – feeling a bit less heavy on my feet, seeing the light and the colors coming back.

And right there and then: “You are an angel alright, the angel of death”. The nurse’s voice came out of nowhere and hit my bubble like a missile, exploding me back into the grayish-white world.

I have been the angel of death many times before and after that. Sometimes it hurts like hell. Sometimes, we manage to hold our breath until the stinging pain is gone, and we can move to the next patient and fight the battle. Me and all my fellow doctors – we know that we do sometimes lose, even when we do our best. And the very next day, we have to stand up and fight again against sickness and death, fully knowing we might still lose and someone s life will be shattered. And it takes the life out of us so many times and leaves scars nobody will ever see.

But we have no choice – we fight. In fact, even if I had had a choice, I would still do this. Every time. Because it’s a privilege and an honor to be someone’s angel even if in the end it’s the angel of darkness. I still bring compassion and care and a steady hand that they can lean on – until the end. And I just can’t think of a better place to be.

This is a tribute to all my fellow doctors and nurses and everyone struggling to do their best during this year and pandemic. In this darkness, I SEE YOU!

So, there is a big difference between mushrooms, and from a roughly about 1.5 million mushrooms around the world there is a little bit over 300 mushrooms that have the actual health beneficial and medicinal purposes.

Interesting enough actually about half of the drugs in the world are derived from fungi-penicillin the famous antibiotic for example.

Now, in recent times with functional medicine and nutrition going mainstream, we are seeing a resurgence of interest in these amazing superfoods.

What Are the Most Common and How Are They Beneficial?

Shiitake and Maitake-Food mushrooms

In addition to immune stimulating capacity maitake is used for blood pressure control and the shiitake is also used for liver detox and cardiovascular disease.

It is easy to cook with these mushrooms and they are also loaded with B-vitamins so it will help with your energy, blood sugar levels and inflammation in the body!

Reishi-nature’s Xanax

This mushroom is generally used for people with anxiety, insomnia, stress due to calming effect but it also a known immunomodulator. Interestingly it also has some antifungal activity against Candida as well!

Cordyceps-Energy booster

Great for workout, endurance, and physical stress due to energy boost. Also great for   lung related issues like asthma or even seasonal allergies

Look for the Cordyceps militaris-commercially cultivated species since the true Cordyceps sinensis is extremely rare on our market and it is almost always myceliated grain aka high amount of fillers.

Lion’s mane-Mind Mushroom

Used for the Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s type of diseases and to help with memory. Lion’s mane is rare in the fact that it helps the production of a bioprotein called Nerve Growth Factor and myelin (an insulation around nerve fibers)

Turkey tail-Fight the cancer

Turkey tail contains a compound called polysaccharide-K (PSK) that stimulates the immune system and it is used for anti-cancer properties. Used also during chemotherapy!

What should you be looking for when it comes to mushroom supplements?

Check the amount of active compounds for the immunity and hormonal balance in each supplement.

Mushrooms need to grow on a mycelium and not rice bran and preferably in the nature not a lab for the best healing activity

Should be tested for pesticide, heavy metals, and mycotoxins (mushrooms can have their own bad mushrooms!)

Try the powders, coffees, extracts or find a recipe you like and cook with them! But do not eat the mushrooms raw because they have no bioavailability unless they are edible mushrooms like portobello-then you are eating more for the protein or the carbohydrates.

Always talk to your doctor beforehand to confirm if adding medicinal mushrooms to your diet is safe, especially if you are using certain medications or are pregnant.

So, which one are you going to try first?

To your health,

Dana Neacsu, MD

An Air Purifier is one of those machines that will make your life easier and will provide you with the best quality air indoors without you making a lot of effort.

Now more than ever it is time to look into additional ways of protecting your health!

All you need to do is know what to buy, what the features are and how can this device benefit you. Once you know all this you can go ahead and buy without any hesitation

What are The Benefits of Using an Air Purifier?

Some basic benefits of using air purifiers are as follows

1. It helps with people who have allergies and people who are suffering from asthma.
2. They prevent and trap tobacco and cigarette smoke thus preventing from lung disease.
3. They also, remove outside fumes and smells keeping indoors fresh and clean.
4. It lowers or almost removes the carbon dioxide levels in your home thus resulting in you breathing cleaner air.
5. If in a hospital, it helps purify the hospital air making you feel safe even in a hospital building or clinic.

From Perfect Sizes to What Features to Look For

Air purifiers can range from small to whole house size which will help you decide what size you can put where and if it will be effective or not. The features that you need to look for in an air purifier are pretty simple.

1. Go for an air purifier that saves money and conserves energy, like the ones that are energy star rated by the EPA
2. You can find air purifiers that can be turned on and off through Wi-Fi. All you need to do is get an air purifier with the features that allow internet connectivity and use it to your advantage.
3. Indicators of the air quality that gives you real-time evaluation of what the air quality is indoors and if it is getting better or not.
4. Other multiple features can include easy mobility and fan control where you can control the speed and thus adjust it to your liking. Quiet performance and change filter alert features are important as well
5. You want to invest in a HEPA filter so it can capture the smallest particles and ideally a dual system which will allow removing of the VOC/carbon/gas trap as well.

Air Purifiers are becoming an essential part of life, especially because the air quality has been steadily decreasing over the years. The one thing that you do need to look into is what kind of purifier you need and is it enough for your room size. Once you have done that, along with knowing the features, you can select the best version and buy it for yourself or your loved ones!

Here is one suggestion: www.austinair.com contact Heather Welsh at  heather@rutrulyhealthy.com or 770-367-5298  for help with choosing one and a great price/ 15 % discount for our readers!

It makes you think how healthy are we really? What can I do to improve my chances? Because truth is we do not know at this point for how long we will battle this virus or if we win this time what else is lurking around the corner.

And there is only way to be sure or have the upper hand- strengthen your body and your immune system because then and only then no matter how new and strong the virus is you will have a chance. You might feel terrible. You might come out all bruised and tired from the fight, but you will survive. Your family will be with you.

However, if you think that just taking some supplements that you heard might be good for immunity (vitamin C and so on) you are possibly wrong. That should be the cherry on top or the last step once everything is taken care of.

We all heard that diabetics, chronic kidney and lung disease people are at risk I would also add to that people with liver disease and on immunosuppressive drugs based on what we see in the hospital and yet I do not see enough emphasis on changing our lifestyle immediately. Do we really have time to lose here?

Here is an article posted just now about the gravity of the illness directly related to obesity rates

Read Here!

And here is the TV interview of an Infectious Disease doctor talking among other things about how changing the way we eat makes a difference.

Watch Here!

So then what are we waiting for?

We can’t stop the aging, but we do have control on many other things like:

• Using food like medicine to nourish your body and help it regenerate
• Balance your blood sugar so it won’t mess up your immunity
• Strengthen your heart so it can help your lungs and won’t get affected by the virus
• Balance your hormones
• Calm the autoimmunity -there is no need for extra cytokine the virus makes plenty
• Work on your stress level
• Exercise

These are the pillars of health we all need to have in place in order to have a strong immune system!

Here is a webinar replay to help you understand -> Watch Here!

Let’s look at your health needs at this moment.

Reach us to us and let’s start your 21 days immune bootcamp asap! No time to lose!

To your health,

Dana Neacsu,MD

And with that all those annoying symptoms…By now if you are working with our practice you should feel much better and well prepared to fight this. I still like to remind you of one of the most important steps: allergy-proof your life!

Here is how:

1. Place pillows in the dryer on high heat for 20 minutes and wash linens in hot water weekly.
2. Vacuum weekly preferably with a HEPA filter vacuum and purchase at least one portable HEPA air filter for your rooms.
3. Clean your windows or shelves with a green, chemical free product or a wet cloth weekly.
4. Buy houseplants-great, beautiful natural air filters.
5. Invest in a humidifier-will keep your sinuses moist and less irritated and your skin glowing.
6. Candles can be a big problem but if you find the soy or beeswax candles you might be able to tolerate them easier.
7. Keep your pets and their litter box clean.
8. Wash hands, avoid touching your face, eat local honey or bee pollen and try nasal irrigation-I know it sounds scary but it is easy and very effective (do not forget to use filtered water).
9. Wear a mask when cleaning the home and taking care of pets.
10. Ask us about our ‘’Fight the allergy’’ program and let’s get you ready for the season!

To your health,

Dana Neacsu, MD

Uncover sneaky food allergies

It’s very common to experience ongoing digestive problems even when eating an overall healthy diet. Why? Because all it takes is one or two unidentified food allergens to make a big impact.

For example, 52 patients with Eosinophilic esophagitis — an esophageal disorder predominantly triggered by food allergies — underwent an elimination diet as part of a 2014 study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. Seventy percent of patients experienced remission!

The patients had no idea that they were allergic to such foods, so they didn’t respond to past treatment methods until the allergens were identified. They only finally experienced improvements and relief when specific allergens were removed long-term.

Helps Reduce IBS Symptoms

When 20 patients with irritable bowel syndrome underwent elimination diets as part of a 2006 study conducted by University of Kansas Medical Center, 100 percent of patients experienced significant improvements!

After six months of being on the elimination diets and taking probiotics, patients were reassessed – and every single one reported improvements in bowel movements and control over IBS symptoms.

Useful for Healing Leaky Gut Syndrome

In many cases leaky gut syndrome is the underlying cause of allergic reactions, autoimmune disease, and body-wide inflammation. Leaky gut occurs when the lining of the digestive tract develops tiny holes that allow specific substances to pass through into the bloodstream, damaging your system.

Leaky gut is a major contributor to autoimmune diseases like Chron’s and ulcerative colitis. Development of leaky gut can also cause malabsorption of vital minerals and nutrients – including zinc, iron, and vitamin B12. It’s believed that leaky gut is commonly caused by gluten intolerance but can also result from a range of other food allergies and sensitives, too.

Heals Skin Irritations Like Eczema and Acne

Strong evidence exists that skin conditions like eczema and acne are related to undiagnosed food allergies.

Nuts, tomatoes, milk, eggs, and cereal grains are the most common allergens, but I have seen people reacting to all sorts of things.

Working on the gut health is the first step I take with all my patients and for many patients the benefits are unmatched.

Helps Prevent or Treat Learning Disorders like ADHD and Autism

Common food allergens, such as gluten and pasteurized dairy products, may increase the risk of developing ADHD and autism because proteins from these foods can cause intestinal permeability. This occurs when substances leak through the gut and then recirculate within the bloodstream, sometimes acting in the brain like an opioid drug. Once substances make it to the bloodstream, they meet large numbers of immune cells that trigger inflammation.

High intake of sugar also worsens ADHD symptoms, same for additives and preservatives. All of these will be removed during an elimination diet which explains why many people feel better immediately.

 Combats Migraine Headaches

Elimination diets are an effective and inexpensive therapeutic strategy for patients who suffer from frequent migraine headaches.

Following the elimination diet, patients report significant differences in the number of migraine attacks they experienced monthly, the duration of attacks and the level of pain intensity.

Promotes detoxification of the body

When we remove the inflammatory and offending foods our body will be allowed to deal more effectively with the existent toxins. I always encourage people to stay hydrated, use saunas if possible or even dry skin brushing to enhance this natural detoxification process.

Weight Loss!!!!

This might not be the initial goal, but I have seen it happen repeatedly and can’t tell you how happy everybody is at the end. How do I explain this? Well, think for a minute here: you remove the triggers, you cool the inflammation, you make sure your body has healthy food and enough water…Makes sense, right?

This diet can be empowering and motivating but it must be done right. There are some tips and tricks, however, to increase patient success so seek help. We would be happy to guide you through the process!

 Dana Neacsu, MD