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Features is the place to find stories from select neighborhood sources.
Considering a home construction or remodel project? A few things you may ask yourself are: “Is this project necessary right now, and is it a wise investment?” “Is it something I can do on my own, or do I need to hire a licensed contractor?” “Are there ways I can cut costs and still achieve the same outcome?”
Whether you decide to begin your remodel project now, or down the road after the economy makes a stronger rebound, one fact remains -- a home remodel project is an investment, and you should recover those costs when it comes time to sell your home. Make the decision to begin your kitchen remodel, upgrade your bathroom, or add on a family room to your home now, and you’ll enjoy the benefits of the project in the short term and the long term.
With the economy as it is today, many costs of construction and contracting are down - meaning you could actually save money if you begin your remodel project now. Wait until the economy bounces back, and you may end up spending more to complete the same project.
Let’s do the math. Just how much can you expect to recoup from your remodel project when you sell your home? It’s important to understand that not all home remodel projects will add value to your home, but here are a few remodel projects that will.
Other home remodel and construction projects that can add to the value of your home includes: renovating a room, adding energy-efficient windows and insulation, and other basic updates like painting and updating hardware. With these and other remodel projects, remodel costs will vary based on materials used, and how many bells and whistles you add to your design. Though you could save costs on labor by doing it yourself, working with a licensed contractor is always a safer bet.
If you’re considering a home construction project, give CB Construction a call today. Let the experienced CB Construction team guide you through the process from planning to completion.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call or email me.
5711 Mercedes AvenueDallas, Texas 75206214.773.5566
http://www.chrisblackconstruction.com
How much sleep is enough? According to the National Sleep Foundation, newborns typically need between 12 to 16 hours a day. School-age children require between 10 and 11, teenagers need a little over nine, and adults should average seven to nine hours. Not getting enough sleep can have negative effects on your health in both the short and long term.
To help raise awareness of the importance of good sleep habits, The Sleep Center at Doctors Hospital at White Rock Lake will recognize March 5 to 11 as National Sleep Awareness Week. An on-line screening quiz is available on the hospital’s website at www.DoctorsHospitalDallas.com/SleepQuiz to learn more about how to get a good night’s rest, snoring, and sleep quality. For an informative overview on why sleep is important, facts about sleep disorders, and help for sleep problems visit www.DoctorsHospitalDallas.com/Sleep.
Inadequate sleep can harm your health, contribute to poor school or work performance, and increase the risk of injury. So if you want to get a better night’s rest and improve your sleep, here are a few tips to help you catch some more Zzzzzzs.
The Sleep Center at Doctors Hospital at White Rock Lake provides treatment designed to alleviate or prevent sleep disorders and help sufferers enjoy a good night’s rest. For more information about The Sleep Center, visit www.DoctorsHospitalDallas.com/TheSleepCenter.
Doctors Hospital at White Rock Lake 214 324-6100
www.doctorshospitaldallas.com
DALLAS, Texas (May 4, 2012)—From macaroni and cheese to battered and fried anything, Americans love comfort food. But, what if your comfort food is the source of your discomfort?
For author Beverly Kotsanis, her goal is to help people feel good with food that’s also good for them. That’s why she co-wrote “Food For Thought: The Free Food Cookbook” (CreateSpace, 2012)
“A large percentage of our population has a gluten intolerance,” Beverly said. “This book will help you become more aware of food allergens,” and help those affected learn to heal.
It’s a hefty paperback chock-full of recipes and information to help readers build a diet that’s free of gluten, casein (milk protein), and many common allergens and toxins, some of which are believed to produce the symptoms observed in children on the autism spectrum.
Using food to heal is something Beverly’s been working on for about 20 years with her husband, Dr. Constantine Kotsanis, a well-known Otolaryngic allergist and founder of the Kotsanis Institute, a holistic practice based in the Dallas suburb of Grapevine that fuses traditional healing, modern medicine, and nutrition to optimize patient health.
“Healthcare has gotten more technologically advanced,” Beverly said, “but it’s forgotten about its foundation.”
That foundation, as “Food For Thought” indicates, is the water you drink and the food you eat and all of the minerals and nutrients in them.
“We wanted to give people the benefit of all of this information,” said Beverly, who is the CEO of the Kotsanis Institute. Readers can learn to stock a pantry free of the “Great Eight Allergens,” and how to find items in restaurants and on the shelves that won’t disrupt a special diet.
Also inside “Food For Thought” are testimonials from patients whose lives were drastically changed by changing their diet. Some, overwhelmed with the symptoms of ADD, autism spectrum disorders, auto-immune disease, and side effects from cancer treatment, were able to find hope and recovery with specially-tailored diets.
But one testimonial you won’t find inside the book is Keller mom Kendra Jean Finestead’s. That’s because her name is on the cover.
Finestead, who co-wrote “Food For Thought” with the Kotsanis’, founded Greater Tots Organization after searching for a way to help her daughter, who is on the autism spectrum. She met the Kotsanis’ at an autism support group meeting and decided she was going to find a way to help other mothers. So she started developing recipes for gluten-free, casein-free foods that were kid friendly.
Or, as she says, Finestead is on a mission to “redefine the happy meal.”
In all, Beverly believes that the more people who discover the benefits of an allergen-free diet, the better.
“It’s about a more holistic way of living,” Beverly said. “[This cookbook] helps people understand that food can be medicine. The person who buys this cookbook is taking responsibility for their own health.”
You can find out more about the trio’s cookbook, available through Amazon.com, at www.foodforthoughtbook.com.
Below is a sample recipe, Beverly’s Pancakes, from “Food For Thought: The Free Food Cookbook.”
Ingredients:
Add remaining ingredients.
Blend until just mixed.
Place large, nonstick skillet that has been lightly coated with oil over medium heat.
Pour batter into skillet and cook until tops are bubbly (2 to 3 minutes).
Turn and cook until golden brown (30 seconds).
Makes about eight 4-inch pancakes.
2260 Pool RoadGrapevine, TX 76051817.380.4992
http://kotsanisinstitute.com | info@kotsanisinstitute.com
The Kotsanis Institute is located in Grapevine, Texas - close to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)
Do you suffer from allergies? Seasonal? Food? and/or Chemical?
If so, you will not want to miss this FREE Lunch & Learn at the Kotsanis Institute on May 9th at 12:00pm
The Kotsanis Institute2260 Pool RoadGrapevine, TX 76051
Are allergies a sign of an imbalanced immune system? Learn what you can do to attack allergies with diet, nutrition, supplements and LDA (Low Does Antigen) treatments.
Enjoy a tasty nutritious allergen free lunch with recipes from our just published cookbook - Food for Thought: The Free Food Cookbook.
At The Kotsanis Institute, we practice better health through the integration of traditional medicine, functional medicine, nutrition and mind/body balance.
The focus of our FREE Learn & Learn series is to educate individuals to take control of their health regardless of their conditions. Feeling better and optimizing your health is at your fingertips. Join Us to Learn More!
Dr. Constantine A. Kotsanis MD complements traditional medicine with functional medicine and nutrition to optimize health, wellness, and the anti-aging process.
Dr. Kotsanis specialties include Insulin Potentiation Targeted Low Dose Therapy (IPTLDSM) in the treatment of Cancer, Comprehensive Cancer Care & AfterCare, Autism, Hormone Imbalances, Allergies, Digestive Disorders, Chronic Fatigue and Chronic Disorders.
Mother’s Day is right around the corner. You could give her flowers and candy. Or, another way to express your love and appreciation would be to encourage her to have a mammogram.
Mammograms are a very powerful tool in the fight against breast cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer is the most common form of cancer among American women, except for skin cancer. Approximately one woman in eight has a chance of developing invasive breast cancer at some time during her life.
At Doctors Hospital at White Rock Lake, women over the age of 40 can schedule their own screening mammogram without a referral from their primary care physician. The hospital is a Certified Softer Mammogram Provider that uses the MammoPad®, a soft foam cushion that decreases overall discomfort and is designed to provide a softer, more comfortable mammogram. Convenient evening and weekend hours are available for appointments by calling 214-324-6220.
To learn more about screening mammograms and other recommended health exams, Doctors Hospital at White Rock Lake is offering a free Women’s Health Tests & Screenings slideguide. This handy pocket guide also describes symptoms and treatments for a variety of conditions, and lists the latest American Cancer Society guidelines. Call 866-764-3627 for your free copy today.
MammoPad is a registered trademark of Hologic, Inc.
In many ways, the Lakewood and Lake Highlands neighborhoods of Dallas are opposite sides of the same coin.
They’re both located in the city but have different school districts. They’re both built around White Rock Lake but one is older and established while the other is young and trendy.
But, the fact that they’re so different means that instead of sharing a rivalry, they can actually use their different strengths to help one another, say residents of both communities.
“I don’t think there’s a rivalry between the two,” Lakewood resident Tim Hudson said. “As a matter of fact, I think they can live in harmony because they both have distinctive personalities. I don’t think there should be an ‘us vs. them’ kind of thing.”
Dallas, a sprawling city of nearly 400 square miles and more than a million residents, is fortunate to have two strong neighborhoods near its urban core.
Lakewood
The history of Lakewood is irrefutably tied to White Rock Lake itself, which recently celebrated its centennial birthday. The Lakewood Country Club, one of the focal points of the Lakewood community, was constructed in 1912, a year before White Rock Lake was filled up to capacity.
White Rock Lake Park is over 1,015 acres in size, which means it’s larger than Central Park in New York. It is also the largest urban lake in the entire country.
The local high school, Woodrow Wilson, first opened its doors in 1928, and the local middle school, J.L. Long, opened in 1933.
The social scene in Lakewood is dominated primarily by two locales – the Lower Greenville Avenue district, which goes to Mockingbird Lane to the north and Ross Avenue to the south, and the Lakewood Shopping Center area, located at the intersections of Gaston Avenue, Abrams Road and La Vista Drive.
The Lakewood Shopping Center is filled with multiple neighborhood businesses, family-owed restaurants and the historic Lakewood Theater.
Lower Greenville, on the other hand, truly comes to life after sunset. The street is mostly lined with bars and restaurants, but residents can also enjoy a night of live music at the Granada Theater. Lower Greenville will also be the location of one of the first coveted Trader Joe’s grocery stores to open in Texas. When California-import In-N-Out Burger first arrived in Dallas, it caused a great stir. The hope is that Trader Joe’s, which also originated in California, will have the same effect when it opens at the site of the old Arcadia Theater, which was destroyed by fire in the summer of 1996.
“Greenville Avenue, first and foremost, is a nightlife-type of area,” said Lakewood’s Hudson, owner of Belmont Ice House, an advertising agency near downtown. “As long as the neighborhood and demographics – right out of college up to first child young couples – stay the same and have a more social-bent to their lifestyle, then I think there is a place for that here in Dallas, and I think Greenville serves that very well.”
Lake Highlands
The Lake Highlands community, on the other hand, is a much younger neighborhood that is barely half the age of White Rock Lake. Lake Highlands Elementary School was completed in 1955. Lake Highlands High School wasn’t finished until the mid-1960s. But, despite its relative youth, the community is tight knit and connected.
“You can’t find this sense of community everywhere,” said Lake Highlands resident Andrea Speer. “I can name everybody up and down our street. There are block parties. It’s like a small town in the middle of a big city.”
Lake Highlands is filled with small shopping centers and home to pockets of local interest and lots of community involvement. However, the community, unlike Lakewood, lacks a central focal point that could otherwise be defined as the “core” of Lake Highlands.
However, that could soon change as the community and the city of Dallas are working hard to bring the Lake Highlands Town Center to life.
The Lake Highlands Town Center is using the largely successful Mockingbird Station, located at Mockingbird Lane and Central Expressway, as its primary model. Mockingbird Station was able to successfully combine residential, retail and office spaces in one area while relying on DART light rail and buses to provide easy and convenient transportation to and from the station.
At the Lake Highlands Town Center, only the DART station and needed infrastructure – the roads, the underground public utilities and a 20-acre, fully landscaped park with hike and bike trail, as well as an amphitheater with stone-tiered seating – have been completed.
The town center is still in search of a grocery store anchor that will become the location’s needed magnet that will attract other retailers.
Lake Highlands residents pushed hard for the Trader Joe’s but it went, instead, to Lower Greenville in Lakewood. Whatever grocery store decides to drop its anchor at the Lake Highlands Town Center, residents want guarantees that it won’t hurt neighborhood-based businesses.
“The Lake Highlands Town Center could be a real benefit to the community, as long as it doesn’t damage existing shopping centers,” said Lake Highlands resident Roger Hohnstein, who owns the Lake Highlands-based My Office with his wife, Karen. “It all depends on how it is completed.”
But, one thing that Lake Highlands can hang its hat on is its school district. Even though their schools are located within the borders of Dallas, schools in Lake Highlands belong to the Richardson Independent School District, which is rated as a “Recognized” school district by the Texas Education Agency.
Lakewood schools belong to the Dallas Independent School District, which generally has been ranked lower by the TEA. DISD schools have had to endure several rounds of budget cuts and teacher layoffs.
“Lake Highlands has great schools, and Richardson ISD is a great district,” said Hohnstein. “Some of the schools seemed like private schools and were a natural fit for my family.”
The schools of Lakewood may belong to DISD, but they are working hard to improve and have succeeded in some cases. Lakewood Elementary School, one of the primary elementary school for the neighborhood, is rated as an “Exemplary” school, which is the highest ranking a school can achieve. Woodrow Wilson, conversely, was ranked “Academically Unacceptable” in 2011 but hopes to improve that rating by offering a new International Baccalaureate program.
Perhaps the biggest difference between Lakewood and the rest of Dallas ISD is how much parents and the community care about their schools. It’s a characteristic shared by many of the top schools in Lake Highlands, and more then one resident believes it’s that level of involvement that makes schools better.
“I think Lakewood schools are superior to other DISD schools because of parent involvement,” said J.L. Long Middle School PTA President Stacy Stabenow. “I’m talking about Lakewood, Stonewall, Lipscomb – the elementary schools that feed into our J.L Long, Woodrow Wilson cluster.”
Although both Lakewood and Lake Highlands are stable, prosperous neighborhoods, each faces different futures. Although a few businesses may close and some new ones may open in Lakewood, the neighborhood won’t be changing any time soon.
On the other hand, Lake Highlands is a work in progress. Apartments and new homes are under construction all the time and work at the Lake Highlands Town Center could begin soon.
The one constant icon both communities share is the local jewel both neighborhoods claim as “theirs”: White Rock Lake. With an average annual attendance rate of about a million users, White Rock Lake is a place that all Dallas residents can leave behind the steel and concrete jungle of the city and enjoy a slice of nature.
“White Rock Lake provides a green space in a sea of concrete,” said Hudson of Lakewood. “One thing I love about this area specifically is that I can be walking at the lake, and I don’t feel like I’m in Dallas. I totally decompress in about five minutes.”
“White Rock Lake is a great place for people to be outdoors,” said Hohnstein of Lake Highlands. “You forget you’re in a city; it’s so relaxing and calm.”
http://iptforcancer.com/conference
Cancer and chemotherapy are two words that have become almost synonymous in a country where half of all men and one-third of all women will develop cancer during their lifetimes.
Along with being well known for its use as a treatment for cancer, chemotherapy is also notorious for its harsh symptoms: hair loss, nausea, extreme fatigue, and pain among others. The patient’s body must endure not only the disease, but also a treatment that attacks the entire body-not just the cancer culprit.
That’s why many physicians, like Constantine Kotsanis MD of the Kotsanis Institute in Grapevine, Texas, have turned to IPT or Insulin Potentiation Therapy. IPT uses traditional chemotherapeutic drugs and insulin to more effectively transport the drugs across cell membranes and into the cancer cells, resulting in a treatment that is tougher on cancer and easier on the body.
Dr. Kotsanis’ main focus when treating his patients, no matter the illness, is focusing on their entire body. While many doctors prescribe a traditional high-dose chemotherapy treatment that can wreak havoc on other parts of the patient’s body, Kotsanis uses targeted low dose therapy, which results in a kinder, gentler, chemotherapy. In his book, “The Kinder, Gentler Cancer Treatment: Insulin Potentiation Target LowDose Therapy,” Dr. Kotsanis explains how patients can thrive and continue to live a life filled with dignity and productivity when choosing to undergo IPT over traditional cancer treatment approaches.
To learn more about IPT and the ways it can help you or someone you love in the fight against cancer, you can attend the 2012 Annual International IPT/IPTLD Integrative Cancer Conference. Held on Saturday, April 28 at the Hilton Dallas in Southlake Town Square.
This conference will feature presentations by noted experts, including Dr. Kotsanis, in their fields on different aspects of integrative cancer care with an emphasis on therapies that are kinder and gentler, but still very effective.
Two sessions are offered: 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. or 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sessions are $25 each.
Dr. Constantine A. Kotsanis MD complements traditional medicine with functional medicine and nutrition to optimize health, wellness, and the anti-aging process. Dr. Kotsanis integrates both mainstream and complementary medicine. This practice, known as functional or integrative medicine embraces principles and treatment methods which may or may not be accepted or embraced by conventional medicine providers, individual physicians or other health care institutions.
Located in Grapevine, Texas - close to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)
You great-aunt Edna had red hair. Your father is six feet tall. Your uncle served in the military, and your brother is following in his footsteps. It usually is easy to track the physical or historical information about a family. But what about your family’s health history? Did your grandmother have breast cancer when she died at age 45? Has anyone in your family tree had heart disease?
It is important to know your family medical history because this information may hold the key to your future. Many physical traits, such as hair color and height, are inherited. Certain health conditions also can be passed on from one generation to the next. When several family members have heart disease, diabetes or some cancers, you may be at increased risk for that health problem as well.
This does not mean you will automatically inherit high blood pressure or ovarian cancer. But by compiling your family medical history, you can have a greater understanding of your health risks and take steps to reduce or prevent adverse health outcomes. The best way to start a family health history is to talk to relatives. Start with information about yourself and add medical background on your parents, siblings and children. Then start going back one generation at a time to include extended family members.
Doctors Hospital at White Rock Lake offers a free mobile app designed to help you track your health information. The app can be downloaded from iTunes, BlackBerry AppWorld or Android Market. Search for “Doctors Hospital at White Rock Lake”.
A family health history is a living document that should be reviewed and updated every couple of years. For a free, downloadable version of My Family Health Portrait developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, visit https://familyhistory.hhs.gov.
Constantine Kotsanis, M.D. and his staff at Kotsanis Institute combine traditional mainstream medical care with complementary medical treatment methods for a dynamic individualized approach to patient health. It is his passion for the practice of helping patients that keeps Dr. Kotsanis at the forefront of medical innovation.
Originally from Greece, Dr. Kotsanis' family immigrated to Chicago when he was a teen. He is an alumnus of Northern Illinois University and a graduate of medical school at the University of Athens. His residency in otolaryngology was completed at Loyola University in Chicago, where he met his wife Beverly.
Dr. Kotsanis has been in practice in the DFW area for almost 30 years. He is a board certified otolaryngologist (head and neck surgeon) and otolaryngic allergist and is also certified as a clinical nutritionist. Dr. Kotsanis' practice combines the best of traditional medicine, functional medicine and nutrition. This way of practicing medicine is called integrative medicine - a practice method that seeks to optimize your health, wellness, and the anti-aging process.
Dr. Kotsanis' medical practice represents the best of medical innovation -blending the relatively new discipline of modern conventional medicine with the age-old, time-tested wisdom of older disciplines to craft unique treatments for each patient. He has added methods such as homeopathy, nutrition, acupuncture, and structural medicine to conventional medical practice to benefit each of his patients.
All patients come to Kotsanis Institute with a unique set of symptoms, conditions, circumstances and needs. During the diagnosis process, Dr. Kotsanis listens carefully as patients explain their medical history. He asks questions to learn more about them. Next, he performs a physical examination and a series of diagnostic tests to determine specific treatment needs. He and his well-trained team then analyze the interactions of genetic make-up, environment, lifestyle and diet to provide a highly customized treatment strategy that addresses the root causes of illness, chronic condition or disease.
The individual treatment plan Dr. Kotsanis creates helps patients reach specific health goals and serves to elevate their health and wellness.
“I strongly believe that the human body represents the ultimate biosphere and ideally all of its systems are in dynamic balance. But if one of the work horses – endocrine (hormonal) system, immune (defense) system and the metabolic/digestive system – are not in sync, attaining optimum heath becomes a challenge. Treating symptoms is only one part of the equation and to truly elevate heath and wellness, the whole body must be considered,” says Dr. Kotsanis.
To learn more: www.kotsanisinstitute.com
Since penicillin was introduced in the 1940s, more than 150 antibiotics have been developed. These drugs have helped save many lives by fighting bacterial infections, some fungal infections and some parasites.
Through the years, though, certain bacteria have developed the ability to resist the antibiotics that were designed to kill them. Organisms such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis are becoming world-wide problems.
We can take steps to prevent more bacteria from developing a resistance to antibiotics. Here are some things you can do.
Know when to take antibiotics. The first step in using antibiotics safely is to know when you should take them. Antibiotics won’t work against viral infections including colds and the flu. Viruses also cause most ear infections, coughs, sore throats, acute bronchitis and stomach flu. With a viral infection, the best thing you can do is try to relieve the symptoms.
Follow directions. If your doctor does prescribe an antibiotic, make sure you understand exactly how it should be taken. Some medications work best if taken with food while others should be taken on an empty stomach. You also should take all of the antibiotics in the prescription. Don’t stop taking them when you feel better or save some for the next time you feel sick.
Prevent infections. Proper hand washing remains our best defense against both bacterial and viral infections. Other ways to prevent the spread of infections include covering your nose and mouth when you cough or sneeze, keeping food preparation areas clean, and cleaning often touched surfaces such as door knobs.
To learn more about taking medications, take the free, online over-the-counter medicines quiz on the Doctors Hospital at White Rock Lake website at www.DoctorsHospitalDallas.com/MedicationsQuiz.
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