Functional Medicine, COVID-19 & Racial Disparities: Bridging the Gaps Webinar
I am so grateful for the participation of the panel in the roundtable discussion on Bridging the Gaps in Functional Medicine, COVID-19 & Racial Disparities.
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The Utility of a Low Nickel Diet in Refractory Celiac Disease
A low nickel diet may be helpful for refractory Celiac Disease symptoms, according to this new study, published in the journal Nutrients. Especially if other contributors such as positive food IgE, SIBO, IBD, H pylori, and lactose intolerance have been ruled out and correct adherence to a gluten-free diet is ensured. Interesting points from this…
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Fecal Microbiota Transplant Passes Phase 1 Clinical Trial for Alcohol Use Disorder
This phase 1 trial shows that FMT is safe and associated with short-term reduction in alcohol craving and consumption with favorable microbial changes versus placebo in patients with alcohol-related cirrhosis with alcohol misuse. There was also a reduction in AUD-related events over 6 months in patients assigned to FMT.” FMT = fecal microbiota transplant /…
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From The Lancet – Very High Cortisol Predicts Poorer COVID Outcome
As with most things biology, there is a relatively tight range for optimal: insufficiency of compound X is a problem and excess of compound X is a problem as well, for a different, but related, set of mechanisms…. I have been particularly interested in this concept for the duration of my career, seeing this U…
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Early Cytokine Signatures Predict COVID Severity and May Guide Interventions
According to this new Nature paper, those with severe COVID are spiking higher cytokine signatures early on. This would suggest value in testing, including possibly IFN-gamma (see below), and addressing it early through anti-inflammatory diet and lifestyle, as well as targeted anti-inflammatory nutraceutical interventions. This is, of course, a ‘standard’ approach used in Functional Medicine,…
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More Robust Data Now Emerging on Vitamin D and COVID
COVID patients with poor prognosis have significantly lower serum levels of vitamin D compared to those with good prognosis, according to new data from a systematic review that pulled data from seven previous studies into its meta analysis. A total of 1,368 COVID-19 patients were included in the pooled results. Those with poor prognosis had…
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New Data on Effects of Ketogenic Diet in Breast Cancer
This is an important new trial providing for the use of ketogenic diets in certain cancers, coauthored by our valued colleagues Dr. Thomas Seyfried and Miriam Kalamian. This randomized, controlled trial of 60 patients with locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer and planned chemotherapy found that those receiving the 12-week ketogenic diet intervention experienced a…
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From CDC: Weekly Death Counts for Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) 02-01-20 through 08-01-20
What do you think is going on here? The main report is that the death counts lag behind infection rates. But the pandemic (I like the term “patchwork pandemic”) has been raging through Florida, Arizona and Texas for quite some time now. Are we looking at a less lethal SARS CoV-2? It would appear so.…
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Are Children Major COVID-19 Spreaders? Evidence is Mixed But Leans Against School Closures
It’s an understandable concern based on past experiences with other viral infections, such as influenza and measles, where children are known to be significant transmitters. However, according to several recent publications, infected children are less significant spreaders of COVID-19 and their own source of infection may more likey be symptomatic or pre-symptomatic adults. Adults who…
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BRCA Gene Mutations and Hypermethylation – The Flavonoid Potential
BRCA1/2 gene mutations, not included in direct-to-consumer genetic testing, are associated with higher rates of ovarian cancer (17-44%) and breast cancer (69-72%). A new study argues that routine testing for these gene vulnerabilities could prevent up to an estimated 2,666 cases of breast cancer per million women, and up to 449 ovarian cancer cases per…
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Racial differences are consequential in COVID-19 outcomes
COVID-19 outcome disparities are rapidly becoming apparent for people with obesity and multiple black, Asian, and minority ethnic (BAME) groups.
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Distinct subtypes of polycystic ovary syndrome with novel genetic associations: An unsupervised, phenotypic clustering analysis
We’ve known clinically that PCOS doesn’t always present as, well, PCOS. There is a far broader collection of phenotypes for PCOS than has been adequately documented. Thus, I was pleased to see this recent paper looking at PCOS subtypes and genetic associations.
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An open letter to MedPage Today on their recent quercetin and COVID-19 article
In reference to the article: Quercetin: New Hype for COVID-19? We appreciate MPT’s reference to our phases paper and quote of Sam Yanuck, as well as their mention of the East Virginia Med School work. But there are more human clinical trials than the pharma PhDs suggest, which demonstrates bioavailability and efficacy. As…
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Billions paid out over potential ties between talc powder and Roundup, and cancer
Two important legal battles reached decision points on settlements and damages recently – one against Johnson & Johnson’s talc products and the other against Monsanto’s Roundup, both for causing cancers. If you don’t already avoid these products, we recommend that you do. Johnson & Johnson is ordered to pay $2.1 billion to women who claim…
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COVID Antibodies Decline, But The Question About Lasting Immunity is Still Unanswered
Protective antibodies against COVID-19 may only last a short time after infection, new evidence shows. However, it doesn’t mean that scientists have definitively answered the question about lasting immunity for this particular virus. The current thinking is that even low levels of powerful neutralizing antibodies may still be protective – after all, the immune system…
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