Alpine Valley Wellness Center

07/02/2025

Yes, personalized dietary interventions can help improve sleep!

Eating too much dairy, especially if you have lactose intolerance, may be causing nightmares and sleep disturbances, a new study has confirmed.

06/26/2025

As a veteran, Dr. Piscopo has worked with the VA for over a decade and is a referral partner with the Central Washington Veterans Counseling center. He is very concerned about the lack of leadership and funding that has created this situation. The damage of not handling this crisis quickly and skillfully will be significant.

If nothing is done nearly 100 veterans will lose their mental health care as of next week, according to Heather Hill with Central Washington Veterans Counseling

06/10/2025

There are many nuances in this area that many medical providers have no clue about.

Older adults typically live with multiple chronic conditions, requiring their weight loss management to be coordinated and multidisciplinary. Beverly Tchang, MD, explains why this is so important.

05/22/2025

New dimension of health are opening up as we explore lifestyle more deeply. Our doctors are experts on integrating these new dimensions into your life. Come chat with us!

Regular workouts didn’t protect brain health for people who spent too much time sitting, a new study found.

04/18/2025

“The study shows that even at around age 50, individuals can make substantial changes to their lifestyle or prevention strategies on a personal level to significantly influence their life expectancy,” said Holger Thiele, MD, PhD, director of the Heart Center Leipzig at the University of Leipzig.

This kind of integrative, functional medicine is the core of what we do. Give us a call!

A reduction in risk factors like high blood pressure can delay cardiovascular events by 2.4 years for women and 1.2 years for men, while quitting smoking adds 2.1 years for women and 2.4 years for men.

04/03/2025

Just a quick note that Dr. Thomas will be out of the office until Tues, April 8th. Also, due to an unexpected staff absence, the clinic will be on a reduced schedule this week. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

03/18/2025

Longevity, also called healthy aging, is a complex area with many moving parts. Give us a call if you would like to remain active, healthy, and engaged throughout your lifespan. And no, we aren't talking about Ozempic here.

Exposure to heat can alter the way your DNA works, according to a new study. The effects could lead to long-term health outcomes.

03/13/2025

One of the challenges most people have in navigating our currently struggling medical system is the lack of health literacy. Health literacy is understanding how the medical system works, how your body works, medical terms and so on. Lack of health literacy, like not knowing the language in a foreign country, leaves you open to misunderstanding, misinformation, and manipulation.

Dr. Dawn Holford, a specialist in decision-making psychology and the prevention of misinformation, explains why people pick up inaccurate health information, and how to make sure that the info we access is trustworthy and correct.

03/03/2025

Just a reminder, before you jump out of bed to start your day, that the clinic is now on a new 4-day schedule. We will be closed on Mondays. To stay abreast of happening, please consider signing up for our newsletter on our website.

01/29/2025

This issue is a major reason we are rethinking and reorganizing our clinic this year. See our newsletter for more information - you can sign up here: https://alpinevalleywellnesscenter.com/contact-us/

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/26/us-health-insurance-system-doctors

Firms including United Healthcare have denied basic scans and taken months to reconsider, physicians say

12/24/2024

As we’ve said many times, these kind of click bait headlines should flash "Danger Will Robinson!" in your mind.

First, the idea that the pharmaceutical industry can “cure” PTSD with drugs is a fantasy. Second, there is nothing novel here. Many patients with PTSD have tried an SSRI plus atypical antipsychotic combo. The only thing that is “new” is that patients will now pay a huge “new” price for this combo. Third, drugs like brexipiprazole often require a major prior authorization battle with insurance companies – one more type of ordeal that contributes to physician burnout and, often, departure.

Finally, interventions that might work – tailored psychotherapy, clinical applications of enthogens and botanical medicine, and personalized lifestyle optimization (which is the bulk of what WE do) – and that have the potential for significant, long lasting benefits, are not covered or covered poorly.

Despite that, we are still here. Dr. Piscopo does a great deal of work with PTSD, including work with veterans. Please give us a call.

A drug that combines an atypical antipsychotic and an SSRI is under FDA review, and if approved will be the first FDA-approved medication for PTSD in more than 20 years.

12/20/2024

As the article notes, like obesity, chronic pain is multifactorial and is best managed with multidisciplinary intervention, using a biopsychosocial approach. Dr. Piscopo is an expert with over 25 years of clinical experience. There is a lot that can be done around relief from chronic pain. Please give us a call!

The rise of life-limiting pain conditions reflects the general decline in the health of the population.