While more scientific evidence is necessary to solidly confirm efficacy of many complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies for RA, there are CAM modalities with preliminary data suggesting its benefits as adjunctive therapies in RA management.

There are a few fundamental principles I impart regularly to my patients, and so since I have come to see all of my readers as a regular part of my clinic family, I would like to similarly impart these principles to you.

In my clinic, I teach my patients to use common sense with their health more so than anything else. In the end, being overly cautious is always better than not being cautious enough.

Most physicians know that diet and exercise matter, we learn that even in medical school. But this concerned me -- that there are still doctors out there who don't believe in a healthy lifestyle pattern, and want their patients to depend heavily on drugs to be "healthy."

If you are interested in using vitamin A or E supplements, check with your doctor first to see whether they are a good idea for you, or if simply eating a well-balanced, plant-based diet is enough for you to get adequate levels of these in your body.

When you do a search on the Internet, there are abundant studies that suggest both for and against vitamins -- so what are we to make of all the results? Should we or should we not take multivitamins?

The so-called popularity of vitamin D has reached a level such that even people and doctors who do not generally believe in vitamins or supplements have started to jump on the bandwagon of keeping vitamin D levels hearty.

While these early studies on melatonin are truly exciting and indicate a potential wide array of health benefits, I am excited to see further studies that will help to clarify these possibilities.

Many patients think that probiotics are only good for gastrointestinal issues, but they have other benefits as well. Sure, it can be a great friend to our gut function, but it also can help those with frequent infection issues.

One of my patients asked me about a recent article she read in a magazine that said that fish oil supplement consumption may lead to increased risk of cancer. She has rheumatoid arthritis, and takes fish oil for help with controlling inflammation in her body.

I frequently see patients who have gotten saliva testing for various hormone levels, a common practice in many integrative and complementary health clinics, who want to know whether they can fully test the saliva testing results.

At this point, if you are someone who is interested in supplements and vitamins, you might be getting tired of hearing about all the extensive virtues of vitamin D.

If living a long and healthy life is one of your goals, just remember to put more attention toward your environment, the people and relationships you have in your life, relaxation, daily activities that make you feel supported and happy, and your diet.

I am clearly not opposed to supplements, and I find them to be helpful in augmenting treatment and health goals -- but they are not supposed to be quick fixes that take the place of healthy habits.

For decades now, we've heard about taking aspirin daily as a way to prevent heart disease. Some of my patients have even taken it upon themselves to start taking a daily baby aspirin because they think that it is a healthy thing to do.

As a clinician who sees the basic science findings translate into clinical care, it is always exciting to learn more about cellular functioning on a molecular level, because it helps me explain information to my patients about how our body is full of checks and balances.

One of my patients recently brought in a mainstream magazine piece that cited an article from a medical journal regarding calcium increasing risk for heart attacks.

In medicine, when we talk about the "nocebo effect," what we are referring to is the concept that adverse health or clinical events can be produced or influenced by negative expectations.

While we cannot monitor every molecular change in our body on a global scale at any given point in our life, our body will in fact give us little clues as to how we are doing health-wise.

When you see that "fatty liver" diagnosis on your ultrasound report, see it as an indication that you need to make sure your cholesterol and sugar levels are okay and that you keep your weight and lifestyle as healthy as possible.