We like to stay on top of the latest news in functional medicine and nutrition. If you do too, you’ll find our monthly, easy-to-digest compilation of research and news articles right here. Check back regularly to find updates, or follow us through our newsletters and social media to ensure you don’t miss any.
NSAIDs May Increase Risk for C. Difficile Infection
Protein & Fat Sources Matter on a Low-Carb Diet
Prebiotics Improve Bone Formation in Children with Celiac Disease
Update: Histamine Intolerance Symptoms
Sleep Disruption Creates Inflammation
Transforming 21st-Century Medicine – Clinical Ecology
Data Suggests Early-Life Antibiotic Exposure Tied to Celiac Risk
The Emergence of ‘Nutritional Psychiatry’
NSAIDs May Increase Risk for C. Difficile Infection
Antibiotics are most-often blamed for increasing the risk for C. difficile infection. However, new research implicates NSAIDs as another contributing factor. It is theorized that the mechanism involved is the inhibition of prostaglandin production by NSAIDs that the body normally produces to combat C. diff infection. NSAIDs have also been found to disrupt the gut microbiome.
Protein & Fat Sources Matter on a Low-Carb Diet
If you’re on a low-carb diet, what you’re replacing those carbs with matters. In this recent study published in The Lancet, favoring animal-derived protein and fat sources was associated with higher mortality, whereas favoring plant-derived protein and fat sources was associated with lower mortality.
Prebiotics Improve Bone Formation in Children with Celiac Disease
What do prebiotics have to do with bone health? Quite a bit! Through their effects on our gut microbiome, nutrient absorption and immune system response, a type of prebiotic (oligofructose-enriched inulin) administered daily for 3 months has been shown to improve bone formation markers in children with Celiac Disease. Levels of osteocalcin increased and markers of bone resorption decreased significantly.
Update: Histamine Intolerance Symptoms
What are the symptoms of histamine intolerance? This recent report lists abdominal bloating as the most common, followed by postprandial fullness, diarrhea, abdominal pain and constipation. Other symptoms may or may not include flushing, heart palpitations, rash/eczema, headache, dizziness, and nasal congestion. A low histamine diet can help, plus reducing endogenous histamine production and supporting histamine clearance.
Sleep Disruption Creates Inflammation
Sleep disruption promotes cardiovascular disease, but how? New research shows that persistent sleep disruption ‘causes the brain to signal the bone marrow to increase the production of white blood cells.’ In particular monocytes and neutrophils, types of white blood cells involved in sustaining chronic inflammatory disease, including cardiovascular.
Transforming 21st-Century Medicine – Clinical Ecology
Planetary health is arguably inextricably linked with human health. The chemicals that we are exposed to, the health of our food chain, our microbial environments, opportunities to connect with nature – these are just some of the direct links with physiology. Don’t miss this inspiring article on the topic of Clinical Ecology co-authored by Jeff Bland.
Data Suggests Early-Life Antibiotic Exposure Tied to Celiac Risk
Childhood exposure to antibiotics, particularly before age 2, may be a risk factor for later onset of celiac disease according to a recently-published observational study of 1.7 million children in Denmark and Norway. The intestinal microbiome is a major player in health, including in immune related conditions such as celiac disease. However, not all types of antibiotics may have the same effect, and there are likely many other factors that can influence the impact of antibiotic exposure.
The Emergence of ‘Nutritional Psychiatry’
Nutritional psychiatry is a ‘thing’ – that’s pretty cool. In Functional Medicine, we know that harnessing the connection between the gut and the brain, via the vagus nerve, microbiome, diet, and nutraceuticals is a powerful point of leverage. What foods change your mood?
