Would you allow a government – academic collaboration to collect and analyze both your genetic data and other medical markers of health? This big-data driven mass collection of health information is called biobanking and the little country of Estonia in Europe has embraced it on a large scale. As a listened to a genomics podcast…
The internet buzzes with fad diets claiming amazing results for all-comers even to the extreme of becoming a Breatharian (eating only air and light). While I profess no interest in giving up food for a breakfast of air and light, I do strive to guide others in finding an optimal nutrition plan for them. Several…
The genomic revolution stands eager to answer the age-old medical question, “nature versus nurture”. In a sense, we know that the symptom of disease we see in patients results from both, only with the advancing technology to sequence DNA have we begun to uncover the genetics half of the equation. For chronic diseases like…
The number of correlations linking methylation cycle SNPS (single nucleotide polymorphisms) to various disease is growing. In this case, researching in Italy found three gene SNPS in higher frequencies for patients with vitiligo. This autoimmune attack on one’s skin melanin cells leaves behind an absence of pigment in coalescing patches. Stopping its progression across the…
A fellow functional MD, Ken Sharlin MD, alerted me to this article on Facebook. While no surprise to anyone in functional medicine, researchers found that the inflammatory marker, CRP (C reactive protein), correlated with faster cognitive decline in middle age study participants. The cohort study group of over 12,000 men and women to note…
Patients often ask whether their stress might be directly changing them physically; I always answer yes, and describe how our emotional and spiritual state interlaces with our physical condition. While they may be apparently distinct, both play an integral role in both good and bad health. Because of this, we at Sanctuary always pay careful…
The concept of cancer cells living off sugar has grown in recent years from just a functional medicine legend into mainstream science. Apparently, cancer does more than just grab a few morsels of glucose from the bloodstream like other cells. Scientists uncovered mechanisms by which mouse leukemia cells diverted glucose away from the body’s other…
Each year hundreds of millions of dollars are being poured into Alzheimer’s disease research and countless families are affected as a loved one begins the apparently irreversible downhill trajectory of this degenerative disease. Lives are being lost to this relentless thief. Are we any closer to discerning this thief’s entry points? Have we gained insight…
Our child had been sick for months, the slightest virus was a trial of strength, allergies amplified existent developmental challenges, and going outside was a dream from six months prior. We began to realize that each successive allergy and illness was sweeping away weeks of hard-earned progress. Could the functional medicine approach help our child?…
No doubt about it, we live in a toxic world. Our clinic treats countless different toxic conditions from metals to mold to synthetic organic toxins. From National Geographic and BBC nature documentaries, I knew that various wildlife could produce some pretty nasty toxins as well, but this story grabbed my attention. A fish tank threatened…