Sick woman using laptop at home

Are You Nutritionally Prepared? Protect Your Body and Mind This Cold and Flu Season

Judging from the way 2020 has shaped up, this winter season may be like no other we’ve experienced before. Metabolic Maintenance, our sponsor this month, tells us about the mood and immune-boosting nutrients we need to have on hand for an unprecedented cold season. I have a long history with this family-owned company, going back to my days as a resident at Metametrix Clinical Laboratory. They make high-quality, novel therapeutics that I trust and use in my practice routinely. I especially like their vitamin D, zinc, and antioxidants. Don’t get caught unprepared for illness this winter. Shore up your immune defenses early so you can have a fun, safe, and healthy winter season!

The Perfect Pumpkin and Breast Cancer: An Ode to Autumn and Functional Medicine

by Melissa Parker   As part of Breast Cancer Awareness month, one of our current nutrition residents, Melissa Parker MS, bravely and graciously shares her own story, highlighting the differing options she was offered for breast cancer treatment and why she chose to include the functional medicine (FM) path. Her experience shows just how powerful…

Microscope in laboratory

Hidden in Plain Sight: The Skin Microbiome and Gut-Brain-Skin Axis

When you hear “microbiome,” you may think of gut bacteria first. Cutting-edge research, however, shows that the skin biome is another vital population of microorganisms that influences human health in surprising ways. From 2009 to 2019, the annual number of peer-reviewed papers examining the skin biome increased more than ten-fold. (1) Scientific interest in the topic is growing exponentially as new sequencing techniques allow the identification of previously undiscovered species, as well as novel insights into the roles they play in wellness and disease. (2)

Cardiometabolic Disease

How Gut Health Impacts Cardiometabolic Disease

As research on gut barrier function and gut microbes (aka the gut “microbiota”) expands, more is realized about the interconnectedness of the human body.  One of the surprising areas is in the way that an unhealthy microbiota is a key driver of obesity, fatty liver disease, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, and cardiac risk.