Ancestral Health: What It Is and How It Can Help You
We’re living in a time of innovation, yet we’re sicker than ever before. Find out how ancestral health can halt or even reverse the chronic disease epidemic.
Healthy Fats: What You Need to Know
Fats get a bad rap in our heart-healthy and fat-obsessed diet culture. Yet fats play important roles in immune function, regulating body temperature, and maintaining healthy skin and hair.
Changing Habits? You Need to Shrink the Change
Are you changing your habits? Maybe your goal is to eat healthier and lose some pounds or get more sleep. Whatever your objective, you’re more likely to achieve your goal if it’s small and attainable.
How Working with a Health Coach Can Help You Fight Chronic Disease
Change is hard. Find out how working with a health coach can help make changing your diet, exercise, and lifestyle easier.
What Is Nutrient Density and Why Is It Important?
You’ve probably heard the term “nutrient density,” but do you know what it means? I’ll explain the concept of nutrient density and you can use it to choose the right foods for your nutrient needs.
How Hyperglycemia Drives Gut Barrier Dysfunction and Dysbiosis
Obesity, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome have long been associated with gut barrier dysfunction and an altered gut microbiota composition. Now, a new study suggests that hyperglycemia itself might be to blame. Read on to learn what the researchers found and what implications this has for restoring gut health.
Iron-Deficiency Anemia Is Rarely Tested for in IBD but Should Be
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) predisposes patients to developing anemia, a condition that negatively affects quality of life. Unfortunately, doctors do not always test for anemia, and when they do, both the screening and treatment are often incomplete. Read on to learn about the causes of anemia in IBD patients, strategies for managing iron-deficiency anemia, and what Functional Medicine has to offer for IBD patients.
What Really Causes Oxidative Damage?
Oxidative damage is a crucial factor in the development of chronic diseases. To prevent and reverse chronic disease in our patients, we must address the underlying causes of oxidative damage. Read on to learn what causes oxidative damage and how dietary and lifestyle interventions can inhibit the progression of this harmful physiological process.
Nutritional Support for Dementia and Alzheimer’s
Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias are truly heartbreaking for patients and their families. Drug trials target amyloid-beta plaques in a bottom-level approach that has yet to be successful. In contrast, Functional Medicine offers a top-level approach that addresses the many underlying causes of dementia. Read on to learn about the lesser-known causes of Alzheimer’s disease, what nutrients support brain function, and what a Functional Medicine approach to dementia looks like.
How Stress Contributes to SIBO
Despite following aggressive antimicrobial treatment protocols and making dietary changes, many patients experience ongoing problems with SIBO. In fact, two-thirds of SIBO cases are chronic or relapsing in nature. (1) A growing body of research suggests that stress, trauma, and nervous system deregulation may be to blame for recalcitrant SIBO. Read on to learn about how stress contributes to SIBO and why managing stress is essential for restoring gut health over the long term.
How to Treat Hypertension without Prescription Drugs
Two-thirds of Americans have either prehypertension or hypertension, both of which are major risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD), the leading cause of the death in the United States. However, prescription drugs may not be necessary to treat high blood pressure. Read on to learn what dietary changes, lifestyle strategies, and supplements can help lower blood pressure naturally.
Five Thyroid Patterns That Won’t Show Up on Standard Lab Tests
In medicine, accurate diagnosis is essential for selecting the most effective course of treatment for a patient. Unfortunately, misdiagnosis is commonplace in the management of hypothyroidism. Countless patients with hypothyroid symptoms are dismissed because their lab values don’t fit within the narrow diagnostic criteria established by standard thyroid panels; others are given prescriptions for thyroid hormone replacement, a blanket approach that fails to address the underlying causes of hypothyroidism. Many of these patients suffer from patterns of thyroid dysfunction that don’t show up on standard lab tests and that are unfamiliar to conventional doctors. Read on to learn about the five patterns of thyroid dysfunction that are missed by standard lab tests and how you can successfully correct these patterns and restore thyroid health in your patients.
The Fundamental Problem with Most Nutrition Research
Nutrition research relies heavily on diet recall and food diaries. But how accurately do people report what they eat? Read on to learn about the flaws of diet reporting, the implications for interpreting nutrition research, and the future of the field.
Well Fed but Undernourished: An American Epidemic
Despite an abundant food supply, research indicates that Americans are significantly deficient in many critical nutrients. Several factors are responsible for the “well fed but undernourished” epidemic sweeping the nation, including a high intake of processed foods, declining levels of nutrients in our soils, and the increasing prevalence of chronic health conditions that influence nutrient needs. Read on to learn about the epidemic of undernourishment in the United States and other parts of the developed world and how you can help your clients maximize their nutrient intake to create a foundation for lasting health.
Goitrogenic Foods and Thyroid Health
Warnings about goitrogenic foods are popping up on alternative and conventional healthcare sites alike. The truth is, goitrogens can be a problem, especially for patients with thyroid problems. Read on to learn what foods are goitrogenic, how food can be prepared to limit them, and which patients should be extra concerned about goitrogens.
Are Videophilia and Nature Disconnect Harming Our Health?
We’re more disconnected from nature than we’ve ever been. While nature was once an inseparable feature from the rest of our lives, it has largely been replaced by our growing addiction to electronic devices—a condition known as “videophilia.” What are the consequences of this shift? How do videophilia and our disconnection from nature impact our health? And how can you help your patients and clients reduce their screen time and reconnect with the wonder and beauty of nature? Read on to find out.
Heavy Metals and Cardiovascular Disease Risk
Hypertension and family history are well-known risk factors for cardiovascular disease. But did you know heavy metal exposure could also be contributing to CVD risk? Read on to learn about the associations between heavy metal exposure and cardiovascular disease, the benefits and risks of chelation therapy, and what other treatments might help.
The Link between Diabetes and Alzheimer’s Disease
The incidence of Alzheimer’s disease in the United States has risen exponentially over the past two decades. A growing body of research indicates that Alzheimer’s is closely linked to diabetes and suggests that the correction of blood sugar dysregulation may represent a crucial step in the prevention and treatment of this devastating disease. Read on to learn about the link between Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes and how you can help your patients protect their brain health through diet and lifestyle strategies that improve blood sugar control and insulin sensitivity.
Is It Possible (Or Even Desirable) to Reverse a High Coronary Calcium Score?
The coronary artery calcium (CAC) score is a noninvasive imaging technique that quantifies arterial calcification. Read on to learn the benefits of knowing a patient’s CAC score, why serial measurements are not advised, and how to treat arterial calcification.
The Clinical Utility of Zonulin Testing
In recent years, intestinal permeability, or “leaky gut,” has been linked to an increasing number of chronic inflammatory diseases, and zonulin, a small protein produced in the gut, has emerged as a potential biomarker. But is there any use in diagnosing someone with leaky gut? Read on to learn about the utility of zonulin testing and other measures of intestinal permeability in clinical practice.