Healthy Aging

Vitamin B12 Deficiency Often Eludes Detection

By Jill C. Carnahan, MD, Contributing Writer

Vitamin B12 deficiency is more common than many people realize. Large epidemiological surveys suggest that roughly 6% of all US adults under age 60 years are deficient, with the number rising to about 20% in people over age 60. Some estimates put the prevalence as high as 25%. Those are certainly big numbers, but recent […]

Digestion, Inflammation, and Immunity: An Ayurvedic Perspective

By Charles Elder, MD, MPH

In recent years conventional biomedicine has begun to recognize that disruptions in the composition of the microbiome and the integrity of the gut lining are key factors in the pathogenesis of certain chronic disorders.  For example, we know that in celiac disease, exposure to gluten induces an immune response which in turn triggers inflammation. This […]

Dispelling the Mythology Of Low Midlife Metabolism

By Erik Goldman

It’s a common clinical scenario: A middle-aged patient comes in, saying something like, “I used to be so thin and now I’m not. I exercise as much as I did when I was younger, and I eat the same. But I keep gaining weight. I just can’t keep it off. It must be my metabolism.” […]

Frequent Coffee Consumption Reduces Womens’ Diabetes Risk

By Erik Goldman

Good news for women who love coffee. Those who drink 4 or more cups of caffeinated coffee daily have a markedly lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared with those who drink less than one. That’s the conclusion from a recent prospective study involving 4,522 women with prior histories of gestational diabetes, who were […]

Quenching the Dehydration Nation

By Deanna Minich, PhD & Erik Goldman

Earlier this year, a game-changing study looking at the long-term health impact of dehydration gained the attention of CNN, NBC News, and other major media outlets. The massive project, part of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study, followed over 11,000 individuals for 25 years, to test a hypothesis […]

UPshots: Nutrition Research Roundup

By Janet Gulland, Contributing Writer

Research on vitamins, herbs, and nutraceuticals continues to grow worldwide. Here are summaries of a few recent studies that have grabbed our attention here at Holistic Primary Care. Modified Atkins Reduces Seizures in Drug Resistant Epilepsy A modified Atkins diet—a less restrictive version of the “classic” high-fat, low carb ketogenic diet—can reduce seizure frequency and […]

Winter Tips for Optimal Skin Health

By Erik Goldman

With a surface area of more than 20 square feet, and a weight comprising roughly 15% of a person’s total mass, the skin is the body’s largest organ. It is the place where the inside meets the outside world, and vice versa. Because conventional medicine has divided the body into departments or “ologies,” primary care […]

Framingham Data Link High Omegas with Better Midlife Brain Health

By Erik Goldman

New data from the third generation of the Framingham Heart Study indicate that higher red blood cell Omega-3 concentrations correlate with healthier brain structure and better cognitive function in midlife. The study also suggests that the effects of Omega-3 fatty acids on the brain are mediated, to some degree by apolipoprotein-E (APOE) genotype. “In multivariable […]

Krill Oil Improves Arthritic Knee Pain in Large Australian Study

By Kristen Schepker

Fish oil is a commonly recommended holistic treatment for joint pain. Does krill oil — a related supplement with strong anti-inflammatory properties — impart similar benefits? The answer is “Yes,” according to researchers at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia’s national science agency.   A large CSIRO study of a commercially available […]

The Transformative Benefits of Nicotinamide Riboside and NAD+: Targeting a Root Cause of Aging

By Erik Goldman

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “At the biological level, aging results from the impact of the accumulation of a wide variety of molecular and cellular damage over time.” Age-related functional decline occurs from exposure to physiological and metabolic stressors that cause subsequent epigenetic changes. Overall health depends, in large part, on cellular resilience […]