Introduction to Tongue Nutrient Diagnosis in Functional Medicine

“Red, raw tongue; red, raw gut.” —Jeghers, New England Journal of Medicine, 1942. In 1942 it was understood that what was happening in the gut was often reflected in the tongue. A red, irritated tongue was thought to mirror a red, irritated gut. This was seen in B-vitamin deficiencies, glossitis and ileitis. Simply correcting the B deficiency…

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What Are Phthalates and Do They Affect Your Health Part 1

You may have heard the term before, maybe have had some concerns about how it might affect your health. Like BPA, phthalates have been getting more and more exposure in the media due to their relative widespread use and potential health risk. Also like BPA, phthalates are known to be hormone disruptors, meaning they can…

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The Variable Calcium Content in Leafy Greens

Just today I was reviewing a nutrient intake evaluation with a patient of our clinic, let’s call her Trish, who is on (among other things) a dairy-free Food Plan. Since we are sometimes implementing relatively complex elimination diets in our patient population with severe allergic disease, nutritional balance requires careful attention. We regularly request diet…

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The Mouth: A Mirror of Health or Disease

Cass Nelson-Dooley and I had a great time exploring the oral microbiome in our recent podcast. It got such a great response, I asked Cass to do a follow-up blog on the topic this month. I am convinced that as research emerges, we will be addressing the oral microbiome as carefully as we do the…

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Safe Soil for Your Home-Grown Veggies

When we moved from our tiny New York City apartment out to the ‘burbs’ some nine years ago now, I rubbed my hands with glee. No longer was I constrained for veggie-growing locations (growing food was something I’d longed to do more of). Space was abundant! I began planning my first ‘real’ garden, eyeing up…

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Nutrition Physical Exam: Tongue & Nails Suggest Gut Health

Two of the most useful — and often overlooked — components of the nutrition physical exam are the tongue and fingernails. Together, abnormal findings can often be sourced to gut. In this blog, I’m presenting a case where tongue and nails were extremely useful in providing clear treatment direction. Next month, I’ll give some additional…

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Get Your Health on For the Fourth of July!

Following a healthy diet doesn’t mean you have to go without when it comes to Holidays! Here are some food-related ideas for celebrating Independence Day that will keep you true to your health goals. They are low-carb, anti-inflammatory, gluten-free, dairy-free and elimination-diet friendly. But don’t let that fool you, they’re absolutely scrumptious! Use Meat Marinades…

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Fabulous Fats

Most of us know by now that fats do not automatically make you fat (in fact, and as I’m sure you know, sugar is a bigger culprit, see our post about that here). It even looks like the USDA may (finally!) be adjusting their Dietary Guidelines for Americans to reflect what the scientific literature has…

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The Rash That Wouldn’t Quit

Clinicians, if you read anything today, read this: A case of total body contact dermatitis of unknown etiology, hives and dermatographism. Ellen found my practice after listening to a podcast I did on allergic disease with Dr. Amy Meyers for her Autoimmune Summit. It’s at times like these that I’m glad I do outreach of…

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Potassium-The REAL Special K+

Did you know that LESS THAN 8% of the US population actually achieve adequate potassium intake? So outrageous. And on average, ALL ADULTS ingest a full 200% of our daily sodium requirement. We SHOULD be ingesting way more potassium than sodium, about three times as much. And we don’t. Not even close. We are the…

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Are You a Hospitable Host to Your Microbial Partners?

Are you enriching their lives with good, healthy food choices and lifestyle habits or are you angering your trillions of guests, pushing them towards causing disease? I wrote my thesis in medical school on stealth infections, where I concluded that health had much to do with how well we tended our microbial garden… I was…

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3 Essential Nutrients Gut Bugs Create for Us

Those gut microbes are one busy “organ!” Aside from honing our immune system, balancing our metabolism, protecting our gut lining, neutralizing pathogens, and helping our brain function, did you know that these little critters are also making nutrients for us to use… One such nutrient is folate, which is a critical nutrient for methylation pathways…

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6 Tips for Fighting Seasonal Allergies Naturally

It’s that time of year again. Pollen season in the North East hits full swing, so much so that I can see the layer of yellow dust coating our car. If you suffer with seasonal allergies (or hay fever), it can really be miserable this time of year. What happens in a seasonal allergic reaction?…

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