Do you have gas, bloating, diarrhea, constipation, IBS…or maybe all of the above? Then you may have SIBO, or small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. Doctors have long blamed stubborn gut problems on stress. For the person whose life is dictated by the cruel whims of their digestive system, this can feel like shame and blame. Thanks to …
Gas, bloating, constipation, or diarrhea? Could be SIBO Read More »
One of the many downsides to a modern junk food diet low in vegetables is that it makes your body too acidic. The human body must maintain a healthy pH for optimal cellular function. When it’s too acidic, diseases take root. A body that is overly acidic sets the stage for obesity, diabetes, heart disease, …
Are you alkaline enough or too acidic? Learn what to do Read More »
If you handle store receipts or use plastics (who doesn’t?), brace yourself for some disturbing new findings about BPA (bisphenol-A), the toxin in plastics and store receipts. A new study shows BPA is linked with an autoimmune reaction that destroys the lining of nerves. Autoimmune nerve sheath degeneration is connected to autism spectrum disorders, multiple …
It used to be warnings about cell phone safety were deemed conspiracy theory or quack science. Not anymore — the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) now recommends limiting cell phone use for children based on a large government study linking cancer with cell phone radiation. The study found exposure to wireless radiation significantly increased the rates of …
Cell phone cancer risk in children finally legitimized Read More »
Nutrition experts recommend women consume less than 25 grams, or 6 teaspoons, a day of added sugar (9 teaspoons for men). Yet the average American consumes almost 20 teaspoons a day! And that doesn’t even include fruit juice, a known sugar bomb. How did we allow ourselves to stray so far? Powerful lobbyists with deep …
Sugar industry funds studies to influence nutrition Read More »
If you dread allergy season, then you know what it’s like to suffer from itchy skin, red eyes, a runny nose, sneezing, sinus pressure, and headaches. Likewise, you may react to certain foods with hives, headaches, nasal congestion, skin problems, a racing heart, or irritability. What is the common denominator in both scenarios? Histamines. While …
Extended fasting during the night fast may lower your risk of breast cancer or improve your prognosis. Fasting has also been shown to decrease the risk for other types of cancer, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. In the first study of its kind, researchers analyzed 11 years of data from non-diabetic breast cancer patients, with surprising …
Fasting 13+ hours reduces cancer and disease risk Read More »
If you take birth control pills, it’s important to understand how oral contraceptives can affect your hormone balancing, your liver, your thyroid, and your brain. This functional medicine viewpoint can help you make an informed decision about contraception, or give you insight into buffering potential consequences. Birth control pills flood the body with an unnatural …
A functional medicine viewpoint on birth control pills Read More »
Have you noticed how shockingly bright streetlights are these days? Although they’re great for night time visibility, the newer LED streetlights tamper with the body’s internal clock, skewing metabolic function and raising disease risk. The effect of blue-rich white light at night on human health is so significant that the American Medical Association (AMA) issued a policy …
LED streetlights: Should you wear sunglasses at night? Read More »
Do you crash when you go too long without eating, losing energy and becoming “hangry?” Hanger—hunger plus anger—is that explosive combination of low blood sugar and irrepressible irritability that turns a normally nice person into a multi-headed hydra. People joke about being hangry, but when it happens regularly, it means your body and brain are …
Research has confirmed what many people have long known: Gluten sensitivity is a real thing. A Columbia University Medical Center study found gluten sensitivity is not an imagined condition, as many seem to think these days, and that celiac disease or a wheat allergy are not required to react to gluten. Although people with gluten sensitivity …
Scientists confirm gluten sensitivity is a real thing Read More »
It’s a frustrating but not uncommon scenario: You struggle with food or chemical sensitivities, suspected autoimmunity, and leaky gut symptoms. You plunk down hundreds of dollars (or more) for state-of-the-art testing from Cyrex Labs, eager for specific guidance. And all the results come back negative. Or they all come back positive. Either way, you’re poorer …
How to prep for Cyrex Labs tests so you don’t waste money Read More »
Star Trek’s Zoe Saldano recently revealed she has Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism, a thyroid disease affecting millions of women that causes weight gain, fatigue, depression, cold hands and feet, brain fog, constipation, and many other symptoms. Hashimoto’s is an autoimmune thyroid disease. Autoimmunity is a condition in which the immune system attacks and destroys body tissue, in …
Star Trek’s Zoe Saldano needs better Hashimoto’s info Read More »
Most cases of chronic disease can be linked to stress, even if that stress is more physical than psychological. About two-thirds of doctor’s visits are for stress-related complaints. How does stress causes disease? The body responds to stress by making adrenal hormones (such as epinephrine, norepinephrine, and cortisol that cause the “fight or flight” response. This response …
How stress is hard on the body and what to do about it Read More »
PCOS, or polycystic ovarian syndrome, is the most common female hormonal imbalance today. PCOS has far reaching consequences, including an increased risk of autism in offspring. The good news it may be reversible through diet and lifestyle changes. PCOS is a condition in which an imbalance in estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone causes cysts to grow …
PCOS: The causes, consequences, and how to reverse it Read More »
It’s a common argument: “You don’t need to take supplements if you eat a good diet.” Although a good diet is foundational to good health, supplements play an instrumental role in various health conditions. People who don’t understand the value of supplements think they exist only to profit off of “suckers for snake oil.” To …
Are you often wide awake around 3 or 4 a.m., your mind racing with anxiety, but then collapsing into a near coma in the late afternoon? This maddening cycle of waking up and falling asleep at inconvenient hours is often relieved by managing low blood sugar. Why you’re wide awake at 3 or 4 a.m. …
Crash in the afternoon but wide awake at 3 or 4 a.m.? Read More »
Aging can cause us to feel invisible and unwanted in a society that worships youth. However, the key to staying youthful into your latter years doesn’t lay in the hands of your hair stylist or medical spa, but instead in your attitude. Research shows internalizing negative stereotypes about aging harms your health, which speeds up aging. However, …
We often think of good health in terms of blood pressure or cholesterol levels, but your libido is also an important indicator. If yours has gone missing, it could be a red flag that important underlying health issues need to be addressed. People who turn to functional medicine for other health issues, such as low …
How to use functional medicine to boost your libido Read More »
Those with high blood pressure and heart disease know to avoid salt, but researchers have learned salt comes with another risk — too much alters immune cells in a way that promotes autoimmune disease. Examples of autoimmune disease include Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, lupus, and type 1 diabetes. Autoimmune disease rates have skyrocketed …
Although we’ve all read the stories about marriage being good for your health, a bad marriage is bad your health. In fact, bad marriages are far worse for you than healthy marriages are good for you. In other words, if your marriage is a constant stressor, you’ll lower your risk of chronic disease either going it alone …
Trapped in a hostile marriage? It’s healthier to be alone Read More »
New research has found a link between gut bacteria and anxiety — the diversity and quantity of your gut bacteria can affect your anxiety levels. Scientists believe this could play a role in treating PTSD, or post-traumatic stress syndrome. In the study, researchers subjected mice to stressful conditions until they showed signs of anxiety and stress: shaking, …
Your gut bacteria can play a role in anxiety and PTSD Read More »
It’s an addiction to insanity in our culture, one of the most overfed populations in human history — the weight loss diet. Despite plenty of scientific evidence that diets don’t produce lasting results for most people and despite countless numbers of dieters, most of them women, thrown into a lifetime of damaging despair, low self-esteem, …
For decades, media experts have promoted a diet high in omega 6 fats — found in corn, soybean, canola, and safflower — to lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease. We now know excess omega 6 fatty acids is connected to type 2 diabetes, heart disease, obesity, psychiatric issues, and cancer. Omega 3 …
Omega 6 and 3 fats: Which to eat and which to avoid Read More »
You’ve probably heard that depression and other mental health issues are based on a lack of brain chemicals such as serotonin and GABA. Conventional treatment is to give medications that trick the brain into thinking it has enough chemicals. But new research shows in many cases mental health issues are related to chronic inflammation, not …
If you have an autoimmune disease, chronic inflammation, or signs of brain inflammation (such as brain fog), you may have noticed it can be tough to tame the inflammation. This is because the body can get trapped in vicious cycles that feed the inflammation. Luckily, researchers have pinpointed what perpetuates these cycles and ways to …
Use nitric oxide to tame inflammation in body and brain Read More »
It’s an all-too-common scenario for teen girls today: That time of the month comes around they are home from school white-knuckling it through agonizing menstrual cramps, having only just endured a week of equally debilitating PMS depression and anxiety. It’s just your standard entry into womanhood, right? Not! Although hormonal irregularity is normal in the …
When teen menstrual cramps and PMS are disabling Read More »
You’d have to live under a rock to not recognize the popularity of gluten-free diets by now. But if you think going gluten-free is just another fad, think again. Although it may be a passing fad for some, a gluten-free diet is powerful medicine for most. The benefits, which attain almost miraculous heights for some …
If you’ve been googling how to manage your chronic health condition, chances are you’re heard of leaky gut. Leaky gut is what it sounds like — the lining of the intestines have become “leaky,” allowing undigested foods, bacteria, and other undesirables into the sterile bloodstream. This causes system-wide inflammation that becomes chronic health issues: autoimmune …
10 things that can cause leaky gut and wreck your health Read More »
Your doctor says your hypothyroid condition has been treated, but do you still suffer from symptoms of low thyroid function? Fatigue Weight gain Hair loss Constipation Depression Memory loss Cold hands and feet If so, you may suffer from Hashimoto’s, an autoimmune disease that attacks and destroys the thyroid bland. Hypothyroidism is usually caused by …
Still have hypothyroidism despite normal lab results? Read More »
Do you suffer from brain fog? That muggy feeling your brain is operating in a puddle of mud and life is moving in slow motion. People think brain fog is funny or normal, but it’s not. It’s a red flag your brain is inflamed, functioning poorly, and likely degenerating too quickly. What causes brain fog …
Got brain fog? Here are five possible reasons why Read More »
While concussions have gained attention for their link to dementia, did you know they also increase the risk for suicide? Just one concussion can triple the long-term risk of suicide in otherwise healthy people. Although brain-injured football players have been receiving all the attention lately, the typical concussion patient is a middle-aged adult. Most concussions …
Have you ever wondered why a walk in the woods makes you feel so good? While that Zen feeling is partly about “getting away from it all,” studies show time in nature is also powerfully therapeutic for the body and brain. More than half of the world’s population lives in an urban setting, and by …
Nature is powerful medicine for the body and brain Read More »
While volunteering is good for those in need, the giver cashes in big on generosity, too. Studies show the benefits of generosity and volunteering include a heightened sense of well-being, increased self-worth, and improved emotional and physical health. How generosity makes you happier Generosity and volunteering produce hormones that relieve stress, promote happiness, cause a …
Generosity and volunteering proven good for health Read More »
Most pet lovers find their furry, feathered, hoofed, and scaly companions count among their best friends. But pets aren’t only good company — research shows they greatly benefit your mental and physical health. Pets help the developing immune system A study in Finland showed that babies who grew up in a home with cats and dogs were …
Want to be happier and lower disease risk? Hang out with a pet Read More »
If you’re like most Americans, you eat a high-carb breakfast packed with grains, dairy, and sugar, or you don’t eat breakfast at all either because you’re too busy or you want to lose weight. Either way, you’re not doing yourself any favors. Breakfast is exactly what it sounds like — the breaking of a fast. …
When we think of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) we think of the boys — they’ve received the lion’s share of diagnoses and attention. But turns out we’re focusing mainly on characteristically boys’ symptoms, leaving a lot of girls in the dust with their symptoms and very bad outcomes in adulthood. While boys act out …
Many girls’ ADHD misdiagnosed as depression, anxiety Read More »
If you’re one of the many people with high cholesterol, you may have been prescribed statin drugs and told to eat a low-fat diet — the standard advice for decades. However, experts have now reviewed the research and found there is no link between heart disease and total fat, saturated fat, or dietary cholesterol. Statins made me …
Busting the low-fat myth: Cholesterol is good for you Read More »
Everyone feels lonely from time to time. Maybe you miss a party, move to a new city, or lack a close circle of friends. Ideally, loneliness is temporary, but when it becomes chronic, it can have far-reaching consequences for our health. While we’ve known for decades that perceived social isolation, or loneliness, is a major risk …
Are you chronically stressed out, chronically fatigued, or both? Are you careful about your diet and lifestyle but nothing works? You may want to consider whether post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) plays a role in your poor stress-handling ability. Studies show PTSD alters the body’s ability to regulate cortisol, our primary stress hormone produced by the adrenal glands. …
Is undiagnosed PTSD causing your chronic stress or fatigue? Read More »
With the promise of good intentions around the corner, the end of the year can turn into a downward spiral of too much sugar and alcohol. It’s hard to get back on the healthy eating wagon, but knowing a few things about how sugar and alcohol affect the body can help. Recovering from the sugar …
Managing an autoimmune condition is hard enough. Throw in holiday travel, staying with relatives, meals out, and exhaustion, and autoimmune management goes to a new level of difficulty. However, failing to follow your plan can wreck the holidays with symptom flares or an energy crash. What to do? First, take a deep breath and adopt …
Don’t let travel derail your autoimmune management Read More »
Researchers have discovered that polycystic ovarian syndrome, or PCOS is linked with an almost 60 percent greater risk of giving birth to a child who will develop an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). As many as one in ten women of childbearing age have PCOS, a hormonal disorder, and it can affect girls as young as 11. …
Maternal PCOS can raise the risk of autism in children Read More »
Autoimmune patients expend considerable effort finding the right diet, supplements, lifestyle, and practitioner to manage their autoimmunity. But did you know your experiences from childhood could be provoking your autoimmunity as an adult? Abuse, belittlement, insults, neglect, loss of loved ones, parental acrimony… the traumas children weather unfortunately become a lifelong “operating system” that has profound influences …
Did childhood trauma play a role in your autoimmunity? Read More »
You probably already know the planet is experiencing an extinction crisis; scientists estimate we’ll lose up to 50 percent of current species during the next 20 years. But did you know there’s also an extinction crisis of gut bacteria happening among civilized humans? The modern diet, which is high in processed foods, meats and sugars …
The mass extinction of species happening in your gut Read More »
Do you suffer from depression? People succumb to depression for different reasons. It’s important to look for the underlying cause of your depression. Consider these five: 1. Poor communication between brain cells Depression happens when neurons in certain areas of the brain don’t communicate well with each other, or “fire.” This causes poor brain function …
Five things doctors don’t tell you about depression Read More »
If you tested for whether gluten might be behind your chronic health issues but a blood test came back negative, are you wondering, “Now what?” Although it’s possible gluten may not be a problem for you, there’s a high probability that test result was inaccurate. Conventional testing for gluten sensitivity misses many important markers and …
Why your negative gluten test may have been wrong Read More »
It seems almost everyone has insomnia these days, including, possibly, you. People either can’t fall asleep, they wake up after a few hours of sleep and can’t go back asleep, or they aren’t able to sleep deeply. The reasons for insomnia vary from person to person, but it’s typically not due to a sleeping pill …
Do your fingers whir across the keyboard, but your brain is left in the dust? One small but effective way to improve brain health is as simple as putting a pen to paper for a little bit each day. Research shows that although keyboards make writing fast and easy, they also make for sloppier brain …
It’s not easy being a healthy American. We are constantly besieged by the lure of sugary, starchy treats (salted caramel latte and a scone anyone?). Yet behind the innocent disguise of these lures is the threat of chronic disease, the leading cause of death.Heart disease, stroke diabetes, arthritis and Alzheimer’s are among the most common and expensive health problems …
Why high blood sugar can give you deadly diseases Read More »
