Functional Medicine

A Good Relationship Gone Bad: Recognizing & Restoring Health in GI Candidiasis

By Erik Goldman

Candida is a commensal microorganism living in the digestive tract of the vast majority of our patients. For most, it causes no harm. But certain common lifestyle factors and medication exposures promote overgrowth of Candida species, leading to a fungal-predominant dysbiosis with sometimes severe systemic symptoms. Candidal overgrowth is often an important piece of the chronic illness […]

Be Alert for Drug-Induced Magnesium Depletions

By Meg Sinclair, Staff Writer

Be on the lookout for drug-induced magnesium depletions. That’s one of the major messages from a comprehensive new paper on the clinical impact of magnesium deficiencies recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Many of the most widely prescribed drugs, including diuretics, proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), and certain antibiotics, can cause magnesium wasting. […]

Quality & Integrity of Botanical Therapies: A Clinician’s Guide

By Erik Goldman

Herbal supplements are very popular, and for good reason: when chosen carefully and used appropriately they provide considerable support in restoring health and mitigating a host of disorders. But how do you—and your patients—know which brands will actually deliver on their claims? Which are free from contaminants, adulterants, and allergens? Which companies are truly investing […]

Covid Virus Can Cause Retinal Damage

By Janet Gulland, Contributing Writer

Add retinal damage to the long and growing list of potential sequelae of Covid-19. Researchers at the University of Missouri have shown that the SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for triggering the ‘classic’ respiratory and immunologic symptoms of Covid can also pass the blood-retinal barrier, causing retinal damage and visual impairment. Like the blood-brain barrier, the blood-retina […]

Hibiscus & Lemon Verbena: Herbal Allies for BP Regulation

By Jonathan Jones, PhD, Contributing Writer

Hibiscus sabdariffa (hibiscus) and Lippia citriodora (lemon verbena) are two polyphenol-rich botanicals that, when combined, can act synergistically to regulate blood pressure. Oxidative stress, a key factor in the development and progression of hypertension, can lead to vascular damage and atherosclerosis. Mitigating oxidative stress is, therefore, an important aspect of managing hypertension. Natural polyphenols, like […]

FDA Increases Oversight of Diagnostic Tests

By Erik Goldman, Editor

The Food and Drug Administration has issued new rules aimed at bolstering the agency’s oversight and regulation of the diagnostic testing field. Specifically, the FDA is taking aim at Laboratory-Developed Tests (LDTs), which are defined as in vitro medical tests designed, manufactured, and processed by a single clinical laboratory. Historically, LDTs were unique, highly targeted […]

The Latest Applications of Predictive Genomics in Longevity Medicine

By Erik Goldman

Risk assessment is a foundation of good clinical practice. Accurate and individualized risk prediction allows for informed decision-making, enhanced disease screening and personalized risk-reduction strategies for your patients. We’re all aware of the use of penetrant genes like BRCA1/2 as genomic markers for cancer susceptibility. But there is a lesser-known disease susceptibility indicator known as […]

Three Ways Supplement Companies Deceive You—And Your Patients

By Administrator

There are significant gaps in the regulation of the supplement industry, resulting in a situation where some companies are producing excellent, safe, and effective products with exacting quality standards, while others are not.  In this free webinar, we’ll go over how you as a clinician, and your patients, can tell the difference. Specifically, we will […]

Women & Autoimmune Disease: An “Xist”ential Question

By Janet Gulland, Contributing Writer

The statistics have been clear and consistent for decades: autoimmune conditions are at least three times more common among women than men. Some studies suggest it’s more like a factor of four. For specific diseases like Lupus, the disparity is 9-fold. For Sjogren’s syndrome, it’s 19 to 1. This appears to be an objective biological […]

Fraudulent Research Floods Nutrition Field, Corroding Credibility

By Erik Goldman, Editor

Good medical practice is based on trust. Patients trust that practitioners are knowledgeable, and that they use their knowledge intheir patients’ best interests. In turn, practitioners trust that researchers run their studies honestly, and that editors and peer-reviewers of the medical journals carefully scrutinize the papers they receive, sift out the garbage, and only publish […]