Nutrition & Lifestyle

Food Insecurity Drives Healthcare Spending

By Erik Goldman

Food insecurity, which currently affects more than 60 million Americans, is a serious problem in its own right. But it is also a major driver of increased healthcare spending, according to data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. Deepak Palakshappa, MD, an internist at Wake Forest University, led a team that analyzed data from 14,666 […]

Teenage Diabetes on the Rise

By August West, Contributing Writer

If current trends continue, the total number of American teenagers living with diabetes will rise by at least 12% by the year 2060, a surge driven largely by a staggering 70% increase in Type 2 disease. That’s the troubling message from Thaddäus Tönnies and colleagues at the Leibniz Center for Diabetes Research at the Heinrich […]

Mediterranean Diet Reduces Risk of Gestational Diabetes, Ecclampsia

By August West, Contributing Writer

Women who follow a Mediterranean diet pattern—high in fresh vegetables and fruits, nuts, whole grains, legumes, and fish, but low in saturated fats, red meat, and processed foods—have a markedly lower risk of gestational diabetes, eclampsia, pre-eclampsia, and other adverse outcomes of pregnancy. That’s the key signal from a new study of nearly 8,000 geographically, […]

One in Every Two IBD Patients Is Zinc Deficient

By Janet Gulland, Contributing Writer

One in every two people with irritable bowel disease (IBD) is zinc-deficient, according to a recent systematic review of nine studies representing more than 2,400 IBD patients. The prevalence of zinc deficiency, based on serum zinc measurements, was higher among those with Crohn’s disease (CD), affecting 54% of the patients in this subgroup, versus 41% […]

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 […]

New Research Points to the Gut As Key for Depression Treatment

By Chad Larson, NMD, DC, and Mark Engelman, MD, Contributing Writers

They say the way to a person’s heart is through the stomach. The same could be said about a person’s brain. With all that we’re now learning about the gut-brain axis, it is becoming clear that mood, cognitive function, sleep cycles, and many other aspects of our psychological health are directly influenced by factors originating […]

The Truth About Melatonin: Dosing, Quality, and Clinical Uses

By Deanna Minich, PhD, Contributing Writer

Over the last five years, melatonin has become one of the world’s most popular dietary supplements, with global sales topping $1.5 billion. An endogenous neurohormone, melatonin also functions as an antioxidant, chemopreventive, and anti-inflammatory molecule. It is most commonly known for sleep promotion, but it has other clinical uses, including immune health support, adjunctive treatment […]

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 […]