FDA Nixes NAC in Dietary Supplements

A spate of warning letters issued by the Food and Drug Administration offers a clear indication that the agency wants to limit the availability of N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) in dietary supplement products. NAC, a precursor to the key antioxidant glutathione, is widely recommended by functional medicine and naturopathic practitioners. It is a common component in […]

It “Should Be Like Masks” Resolution Urges Congress to Recognize Value of Vitamin D

Vitamin D “should be like masks. Everybody should know about it. The government agencies should be pushing it that way,” says Congressman Glenn Grothman (R-WI). Grothman, representing Wisconsin’s 6th congressional district, wants to see vitamin D become part of the nation’s COVID control efforts. Last month, he introduced a resolution urging the federal agencies to […]

California Grants NDs Permission To Give COVID Vaccines

The California Department of Public Health recently authorized licensed naturopathic doctors to become COVID vaccine providers, permitting them to participate in the state’s vaccination efforts if they so choose. Under the California’s Business and Professions Code, naturopaths may give the COVID vaccines provided they are licensed in the state, and they are doing so at […]

Biden COVID Plan Overlooks Vitamin D, Nutrition

Search the Biden administration’s new National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness for the term “Vitamin D” and you will come up with nothing. Vitamin C? Nothing. Zinc? Nope, nothing. The word “nutrition” does appear thrice, but only in the context of malnutrition, and the need to bolster the government’s food aid programs. […]

The Brain-Gut-Microbiota Axis: A Primer for Clinicians

The brain-gut-microbiota axis provides a bidirectional route of communication between the gut microbes and the brain. The axis involves the vagus nerve, short-chain fatty acids, tryptophan, cytokines and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. New evidence suggests that gut microbes are involved in neural development and function, both peripherally in the enteric nervous system and centrally in the […]

New Biden COVID Task Force A Mixed Bag for Holistic Medicine

The Biden-Harris administration’s new COVID-19 Advisory Board promises to bring a strong public health perspective to the nation’s pandemic response and a welcome shift away from the haphazard, willfully anti-scientific policies of the Trump administration. But it could be a thorn in the paw for the dietary supplement industry and for some practitioners of natural […]

It Was 20 Years Ago, Today…. Reflecting on HPC’s First Two Decades

On October 15, 2000, the first edition of Holistic Primary Care rolled off the presses at Democrat Printing & Lithography in Little Rock, Arkansas, and into 60,000 doctors’ offices across the country. And just like that, an idea had back in 1986 had suddenly become a tangible reality, giving voice to a movement aimed at […]

IFM: We Must Expand Access to Functional Medicine in Vulnerable Communities

In medicine, racial and economic differences determine both the quality and the type of health care an individual receives, and this is unacceptable. The disparities in health outcomes between whites and people of color are exceedingly stark. This is true across the field—from conventional medicine to Functional Medicine and beyond. At The Institute for Functional […]

In Memoriam: Robert Anderson, MD (April 3, 1932 – April 6, 2020)

The field of holistic medicine lost one of its brightest and most enduring lights with the passing of Robert Anderson, MD, on April 6, 2020, just three days after his 88^th birthday, after a prolonged period of declining health.

If Social Distancing is Key, Why Aren’t Our Leaders Role-Modeling It?

Watch a clip or look at a photo of Donald Trump at any of his recent COVID-19 press conferences.

There he is, flanked tightly by a phalanx of dutifully stone-faced cabinet members, advisors, and health experts—all within a sneeze of each other. All apparently unconcerned about catching or transmitting the very pathogen that is tanking the global economy and throwing turmoil into millions of peoples’ lives.