In functional medicine, we are trained to think about root causes and this requires thinking about the upstream. For example, according to this study Vitamin D can be traced far upstream in the development of ADHD, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Rather than simply waiting until a disease or symptom occurs and then responding with a…
Both conventional and functional medicine can agree that most people in our nation need more fiber. The average American diet includes more and more processed ingredients with less and less old-fashioned fiber, leaving many missing out on fiber’s benefits. We can all agree that most patients can see benefits like lower cholesterol, better gut health…
Parents of children with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) search for anything that will help their children overcome the hindrances of this condition. They watch their children struggle with school and relationships. The parents struggle with the stress of ADHD on their own relationship with the affected child. Arguments and frustrations can abound. With this…
Health prevention comes down to a risk reduction number-game. Primary prevention serves as a term describing how to keep a healthy person healthy. At the point of primary prevention, we don’t know who is going to develop which disease so we treat a lot of people the same way trying to prevent as many as…
Despite decades of food industry propaganda blaming fat as the scapegoat, more and more research points towards sugar as being a major contributor to inflammation in the diet. Many studies have correlated sugar consumption with a variety of inflammatory conditions. Scientists are not, however, satisfied with correlations. We want mechanisms of action to be clear…
The world of conventional medicine seems to continue in its doubt of natural therapies until its own methods prove a natural therapy worked… and then they hijack it for a medication. Once again, researchers have found omega 3’s, in this case the EPA form, to have significant benefit for patients with cardiovascular disease. Therefore, of…
Most are aware of vitamin D and vitamin C as well as minerals like zinc, but do you know about the role that iron plays in our immune defenses and microbial invasions like Lyme? As functional medicine strives to optimize the terrain for potential or actual microbial attacks, we must consider the battle over iron…
Today’s report brings together two studies into one soup that impacts health from infancy to adulthood. While the two groups of researchers know little to nothing of each other, their work comes together to guide families, society, and medical providers on the importance of early childhood nutrition and family meals. On one hand, the group…
We should all be looking for ways to strengthen our immune systems and the immune systems of our vulnerable loved ones. As we do so, we should search for those therapies that are most cost effective not only for ourselves, but for society as millions could benefit from such insight. Finding $1000 a pill therapies…
Vitamin D stands out among the most critical and most researched nutrients. The list below only scratches the surface of known and suspected benefits that we gain from maintaining adequate vitamin D. It is actually more of a hormone than a vitamin in its mechanisms of action and is produced by humans from cholesterol metabolism.…