While some mainstream media outlets and part of society continues to disparage breastfeeding, science continues to support the benefits of breastfeeding for infants. As a functional medicine pediatrician seeking to counsel parents on the best ways to prepare their children for the world, breastfeeding will always be in the top 5 to 10 practices. Without…
Insomnia plagues the lives of many, robbing their daytime of energy and focus, robbing nights of peace. In functional medicine we offer many therapies to improve sleep such as supplements, lifestyle changes, and neurofeedback. This research may lead to another option as scientists further unravel the connections between prebiotics and sleep. Coming in various forms…
Curcumin, the multi-tool of functional medicine just got nano-scaled. As the article notes, curcumin has frustrated scientists for years. It clearly affects multiple bodily processes like inhibiting NF-kB, TNF alpha, and IL-6. Each of these substances play a role in inflammation. However, our body’s limited ability to absorb curcumin and the swiftness of its metabolism…
I only know one person whose favorite color is orange, but they may be on to something with weight loss. Western University researchers identified a substance called nobiletin from oranges and tangerines which modify how animal metabolism handles lipids (fats). In a study of rats fed a high-fat, high-cholesterol diet, those rats fed nobiletin ended…
Proverbs 5:1-6 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+4&version=ESV Warning Against Betrayal Again the writer of Proverbs calls his son to attend to a warning. The message is simple. While the words of the adulterous woman sound sweet as honey in the beginning, they lead to great bitterness and are sharp like a sword. They lead to death. While both the newlywed and the…
Given the fact that we have been eating for as long as we have existed and modern society focuses so much on weight control, you would think we would have our “system” down on the meal issue. We do tend towards 3 meals a day even if we have different names for them and different…
In medicine, scientists search for targets which can be manipulated for health benefits. The complexity of our systems makes such targets few and far in between. Still they hope to discern the key players in disease processes like neurodegeneration. For diseases like Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s, they have learned that inflammation and a leaky blood brain…
Forget the chickens and the eggs for now, let’s consider teas and berries for brain health. This research confirms that foods high in flavonoids benefit brain health as we grow older. By comparing the self-reported intakes of 6 different types of flavonoids in 2,800 people, they determined that those with higher intakes had 2 to…
Proverbs 4:20-27 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+3&version=ESV The Practices of Wisdom In a world which values expediency, we like the easy fixes. We look for the simple 3 step guide to everything. We want fast food and fast results. This selection from Proverbs 4:20-27 gets in the way of finding 3 steps to wisdom. We are told to: Be attentive Incline…
While many are considering COVID to be a four-letter curse word that they are sick of hearing, by necessity of its threat to human life, researchers continue to search for explanations and I continue to share their discoveries with you. We have addressed many other nutritional, pharmaceutical, and lifestyle therapies in past articles. Today we…