The medical literature is replete with oodles of studies and articles supporting the benefits of exercise for everything under the sun. Some call it one of the strongest medicines available for the treatment of chronic illness. While we know how good it is, we don’t always know why it works for so many conditions. In…
Whether you stand on the conventional side of medicine or the functional side of medicine, we all love research that supports what we already believe and do. There can be a risk of confirmation bias from only acknowledging study findings that we like, but as studies uncover the actual mechanisms of a supplement’s actions, we…
Correlation is not causation, but when researchers find that higher levels of specific omega 3 fatty acids and an omega 6 fatty acid do correlate with longer survival in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, they take note to research further. Researchers from Harvard found the link intriguing, though they caution against too much excitement, but those of…
In functional medicine, we apply both the best of natural and the best of conventional medicine to bear upon the root and the fruit of whole person dysfunction. This means understanding the therapies we use in terms of their mechanisms and targets and applying them in a personalized fashion to each patient. In order to…
Functional medicine looks to research for support of its protocol and therapeutics. Much of this accumulated wisdom requires piecing together data and finding from multiple different studies, then applying them to real world situations. Occasionally, that work is made easier by meta-analyses which combine multiple studies, or consensus groups that attempt to systematically bring all…
There can be such an adversarial relationship between the average medical provider and the world of supplements or natural medicine. Each side lobs their stereotyped hand-grenades over the dividing wall, hoping to discredit the other. By its very name, however, integrative medicine should work to integrate the best of both worlds. By its emphasis on…
G.I.DetoxTM from Bio-Botanical Research Inc. offers a multi-modal detox in a single product for our biotoxin patients who suffer from mold toxicity, Lyme, disease, toxic algae, Bartonella, and more. Over time, we may shift focus to a single agent such as clay or charcoal or cholestyramine alone when we find only 1 toxin remaining, but…
Functional and natural medicine live in a world where their angry cousin, conventional medicine, keeps shouting for evidence, for studies, and for proof. Thankfully, the vast majority of what we do has sound evidence to support it directly or indirectly. The moaning and groaning of the grumpy cousin are therefore unwarranted- except for the rare…
In practicing functional medicine, we use the best of both worlds of medicine, and both worlds benefit from quality studies looking at the therapies we recommend to our patients. Regardless of whether we’re recommending an herbal or a pharmaceutical, we want some evidence to back up our plans. Clinical experience always guides our protocols, but…
The methylation cycle shows up in all kinds of disease processes. Researchers had linked high homocysteine levels with NASH, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, in other studies. In this mouse study, they found that the addition of B12 and Folate not only lowered homocysteine levels, but also lowered the frequency of homocysteine being attached to liver proteins and…