Fingernails: A window into your metabolic soul
Nails. They’re a handy surface to decorate; they help us pick up objects, scratch an itch and protect our fingers and toes. But did you also know that nails can tell us a lot about your health and your well-being?…
A pack of smart, hedonistic creative types with a lot of anxiety and high brain dopamine: A case history of a family homozygous for the COMT Val158Met mutation.
I admit it. I’ve harvested a scientific nugget or two from the Daily Mail. Not long ago, sandwiched between a story on toast and the five-second rule, and a selfie of Zac Efron eating a worm, was this…
Proteome, metabolome, microbiome, exposome: Glancing into the OMES with Dr. Richard Lord
Dr. Richard S. Lord, nutritional biochemist extraordinaire and Chief Science Officer at Metametrix Clinical Laboratory (now Genova) recently retired after 25 years. Richard was the director of the Medical Education team when I was in Atlanta at the lab. Richard…
Say It Ain’t So! The Standard American Diet (SAD) is Feminizing Our Men
I was reading an article the other day lamenting that men in the US are being all feminized due to the politically correct environment in which we apparently exist. But is this the issue? Can we blame politics for hypogonadism?…
Viva la Commensal Biofilm
Gastrointestinal biofilms are an important topic, and those comprised of pathogenic microbes are getting much well-deserved attention in the integrative medical community.
Metabolic Syndrome: The Deadly Quartet
In a moment, I’m going to throw out a few rather depressing statistics about metabolic syndrome (MetS) and the state of health in the U.S. These stats need articulating.
Autism and Cerebral Folate Deficiency
I work with a family with two young sons, both diagnosed with autism. They live in a large, West Coast city.
Lead and Homocysteine Levels in a Series of Individuals Diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease
I recently saw a patient who had been diagnosed with idiopathic Parkinson’s disease (PD) in 2000 when she was just 39. Her history was compelling in that everyone in her family was well –no neurological diseases, parents hearty and healthy…
BRCA Mutations, Breast Cancer and Epigenetics: Is the Risk Modifiable?
It’s been a busy, productive and rather amazing Fall. Lots to write about. In celebration of the gorgeous New England weather, I’ve been spending much time on my bike the last couple of months, and it feels great! I just…
Gluten Free and Thyroid Disease Free: An Update on Lilly
The last time we met, Dear Reader, before I high-tailed it on out of the blogosphere for the summer, I introduced you to Lilly and her thyroid woes. Below are her original thyroid studies that she obtained from her primary…
Book Review: Almost Finished
June 10, 2013 – I want to introduce you to an exquisite book that I’ve been reading. It’s called Almost Finished. It’s a memoir by Justine Bowen-Jones. Justine lost her father to pancreatic cancer when she was six years old.…
Gluten-Free: Cliché or Catastrophe?
What do Al Roker, country singer Josh Turner and pregnant “celebutant” Kim Kardashian have in common? If you head over to www.glutenista.com, you will learn that they are all eating gluten free. As is Lady Gaga. She’s apparently “gluten free…
OMG, I have the flu!!
I had the flu last week. Here’s the e-lament I managed to tap out on my phone in a shameless plea for sympathy: “I am so sick it hurts to pee or breathe or think or move my eyes.
For the Twelve Days of Christmas My True Love Challenged the Conclusion of the 2012 JAMA Meta-Analysis
On the first day of Christmas, my true love pondered: Of all the supplements out there, fish oils are one of the best accepted and most widely used because the research on it is so plentiful
Connecting the Dots: A Functional Medicine Approach to Treating Hypertension
Identifying and treating the underlying cause of imbalance, which in this case was gluten sensitivity, contributed to improvements in blood pressure, weight and GI function and coincided with a measurable improvement in hearing.
Potassium: The Little Element that Could (significantly reduce the cost of the global medical crisis)
Spring has sprung, the flowers are out, and if you’re not planning and planting your garden, stake out your local farmers’ markets. Of the myriad reasons to do so, chances are extremely high that you need some potassium.
Nutra India Summit
I had the privilege of presenting an overview of Functional Medicine at the 8th annual Nutra India Summit in Mumbai, India, a few weeks ago, some of which is available on YouTube.
Look Closely: What are your risk factors for developing metabolic syndrome? (Hint: If you don’t think you have any, think again.)
I recently returned from a remarkable trip to Hong Kong, teaching about the global epidemic that is metabolic syndrome. Asians are developing metabolic syndrome and diabetes at rates nearing the West.
Cesium: Coming to a fish near you?
“The fact that many fish [in the ocean around Fukushima, Japan] are just as contaminated today with cesium 134 and cesium 137 as they were more than one year ago implies that cesium is still being released into the food…
Naked Mole Rat, You’re My Detox Hero!
There’s no disputing these guys are homely at best, hideous at worst. They’re wrinkled, beady-eyed, hairless (except for whiskers), subterranean rodents with massive protruding front teeth.