Best of the Year in Functional and Integrative Medicine – 2018

Kara Fitzgerald, ND

5 years ago

Best of the Year in Functional and Integrative Medicine - 2018

Dear Readers,

It is truly our privilege to continue to bring you the latest in Functional Medicine. It is our hope that through our clinical experience and science-based research and education, we can help change the landscape for patient care for the better.

As we look back over the wealth of content we have shared this past year, we have been so humbled by your feedback and engagement. Below, we highlight our most-read and listened-to articles and podcasts over the past 12 months.

We welcome your comments of course, and please pass share these with anyone in your life who you think may benefit.

-Dr. KF & Team

7 Underlying Causes of SIBO That You Might Be Missing

Sometimes a simple low FODMAPs diet, or a course of prescription or botanical antimicrobials, is enough to shift a case of SIBO. But if your experience is anything like ours, some cases are much harder to address and can be much more prone to recurrence. If you’re presented with a difficult SIBO case (or if you yourself feel like a difficult case!), read on to find out what else you should be thinking about. By Romilly Hodges

Food - What the Heck Should We Eat? With Dr. Mark Hyman

As the food as medicine movement gains popularity, more people are trying rigid diets and restrictive food protocols to ease their symptoms and achieve optimal health. But what diet is best? Paleo? Vegan? Vegetarian? And have some patients taken regimented eating and food restriction too far? Can a rigidly healthy diet be too much of a good thing?

By. Dr, Kara Fitzgerald.

Methylation – What’s All the Fuss?

If you or anyone you know has a history of heart disease, depression, Alzheimer’s disease, ADHD, diabetes, insomnia or autism, these are just some of the conditions that have been linked to faulty methylation. If you are pregnant, or thinking of becoming pregnant, then supporting methylation to prevent neural tube defects (and actually lots more!) is super-important too. It’s the reason your doctor tells you to make sure you’re getting enough folate (or folic acid). By Romilly Hodges

Curried Mung Bean Soup

A warm and deliciously spicy mung bean curry, coconut oil, onions and carrots. Enjoy as a soup or serve with brown rice for a more substantial meal. Purely Vegan, and of course gluten free. By Dr. Kara Fitzgerald

Fasting Mimicking Diet: Beyond Caloric Restrictions with Dr. Valter Longo

In recent years, interest in fasting—and in diets that offer some of the same benefits as fasting—has surged. Dr. Valter Longo was ahead of the curve: he has been studying the secrets to longevity, including fasting and fasting-like diets, for over 20 years. Now he’s pioneered a new way to accrue many of the benefits of fasting without the potential long-term consequences of chronic calorie restriction.

By Dr. Kara Fitzgerald

Leaky Gut Bone Broth

Bone broth (or stock) is fabulous for healing intestinal permeability. It contains collagen, which nourishes the intestinal lining and reduces inflammation. Plus, it’s easy for a damaged gut to digest and reap the benefits of its protein and minerals. Our version contains added gut superfoods that will take its gut-restoring potential to the next level. By Dr. Kara Fitzgerald

The Safest Cookware Choices for You and Your Family

Not all cookware is considered safe by Functional Medicine standards. Read on to find out which products can leach toxins into your food (and should be avoided) and which ones are the ones we consider safest:

When I moved into my first apartment, I decided not to purchase the cheapest items I could find. It made more sense to thoroughly research my big ticket items and purchase high-quality products that would both function seamlessly and last a long time. By Dr. Kara Fitzgerald

The Gut Thyroid Connection with Dr. Ruscio

In the past several decades, the incidence of autoimmune conditions, including autoimmune thyroiditis (Hashimoto’s), has skyrocketed — and the use of thyroid pharmaceuticals has gone up accordingly.

What’s often overlooked in conventional medical practices, however, is the strong connection between the gut and the thyroid, and how improving gut health can ease symptoms and reduce the need for thyroid medication. Functional medicine practitioner, Dr. Michael Ruscio, DC, specializes in the gut-thyroid connection.

By Dr. Kara Fitzgerald

How to Get the Most EGCG From Your Green Tea

Green tea is a known superfood, primarily for its EGCG content. But did you know that there is huge variation between the content of EGCG in different brands of green tea? That how you prepare and drink the tea can significantly change how much EGCG it imparts? And that your microbiome also influences how beneficial the EGCG effects are? By Dr. Kara Fitzgerald

The Epicenter of Epigenetics with Dr. Randy Jirtle

The field of epigenetics has exploded in the last decade, thanks almost exclusively to the research of Randy Jirtle. His 2003 study on the effects of nutrition on epigenetic gene regulation is the most cited paper in the history of science, and his trailblazing discoveries have expanded our Functional Medicine’s understanding of human health and the etiology of disease.

By Dr. Kara Fitzgerald

Low Homocysteine - When is it a Concern?

The issue of having too little homocysteine is still as relevant now, as it was then. In the excitement over reducing a high homocysteine, and overcoming methylation deficits, it’s easy to forget that homocysteine still has a positive role to play in Functional Medicine.

By Dr. Kara Fitzgerald