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…
My son has already burst my Scrabble bubble by pointing out that vomocytosis is too long for the standard rules of Scrabble. Nevertheless, it will be a useful word to sound smart. All that aside, the relationship of vomocytosis and fungal infections intrigues me more than Scrabble success. Researchers from the University of Birmingham…
Modern medicine signs its name with “allopathy” when pressed for its roots. Allopathy basically means that we come against disease (pathos). If bacteria invade our body’s sanctuary, we respond with anti-bacterials. If cancer arises, we respond with anti-cancer agents called chemotherapy. This paradigm has served us well for decades in the acute war against disease.…
In a fast paced world where novelty drives our appetites, the typical American spends a lot of time and money eating out. Staying home for a home cooked meal takes time and can seem mundane. Going out for the latest new dish from restaurants offering endless variety draws us as does the need to get…
We can thank Harvard for the answer to an age-old health riddle. They appear to have found the link between stress and gray hair. For centuries, if not millennia, mankind has noted how high stress can trigger sudden hair graying. Many tried to find the exact mechanism by which this occurs., but Harvard researchers finally…
We live in an age of epidemic metabolic disease without clear answers for why. Many point fingers at dietary factors like sugars and trans fats. Others point fingers at lifestyle factors like sedentary life without exercise. While functional MD’s like myself acknowledge these factors, we also look at toxic contributors to diabetes, heart disease, and…
Where can we find the metabolic fountain of youth? Centuries are filled with an endless variety of magicians and now scientists searching for that magic potion to help us live forever. While I ultimately know that only heaven will be forever, present world research into the process of aging can lead to very beneficial therapies…
We live in an age of heart disease and strokes where medicine often focuses solely on a patient’s LDL cholesterol number as the most important factor to prevent these deadly diseases. A functional MD like myself hopes to see that perspective shift as more research like this article comes to light. The researchers from Ohio…
In the early days, coal miners would use canaries deep in coal mines to monitor for dangerous gases which might kill the miners. The canaries were more sensitive and would show signs of distress at low gas levels before the miners would sense danger themselves. In our cells, something must sound the first alarm and…