Nutrition & Lifestyle

Processed Foods & Energy Drinks: A Public Health Emergency

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

Highly processed foods and energy drinks do more harm than good—and Americans have a huge appetite for them. That’s bad news for the future health of the country.  According to a new analysis of data from nearly 41,000 US adults, consumption of ultra-processed foods rose markedly from 2001 to 2018, accounting for nearly 60% of […]

Uric Acid is Detrimental to Gut Health

By Kristen Schepker

“People who suffer from chronic elevated uric acid tend to harbor unhealthy biomes,” says neurologist David Perlmutter, MD.

In his latest book, Drop Acid: The Surprising New Science of Uric Acid, Perlmutter presents several studies showing that adverse changes in the gut microbiome directly relate to our ability to metabolize and eliminate uric acid (UA).

The intricate interplay between hyperuricemia and the gut microbiome is still a relatively new field of research. But it has already led to some interesting discoveries.

FDA & AMA Team Up to “CMEar” Dietary Supplements

By Erik Goldman, Editor

If you want to understand why so many Americans distrust the Food and Drug Administration and the medical mainstream, look no further than the FDA’s new online medical education program on dietary supplements. Produced in collaboration with the American Medical Association, this three-part continuing medical education (CME) course—and I use that term loosely—is part of […]

Dropping (Uric) Acid with Dr. David Perlmutter

By Kristen Schepker

Conventional medical wisdom holds that uric acid is a harmless, inert form of metabolic waste, and most physicians were trained to see it as a “trivial, incidental byproduct of our normal biology.” But contemporary research reveals that this compound is “anything but meaningless or unworthy of our attention,” says neurologist David Perlmutter, MD. In his […]

Food Triggers, Immune Dysregulation, and Autoimmunity

By Chad Larson, NMD, and Mark R. Engelman, MD

We hear a lot these days about the impact of diet for boosting immunity. While it is true that carrots, kale, or oranges are good sources of immunity-boosting phytochemicals, it is also true that foods—even ‘healthy’ foods– can also cause immune dysregulation or autoimmune disorders in some patients. Compounds—especially dietary proteins– within ordinary foods, are […]

A 5% Investment in Self-Care Gives Big Health Payoffs

By Erik Goldman

Many people think “getting healthy” requires a total lifestyle overhaul, a major investment of time and money, and a lot of work.  Too often, those expectations solidify into an insurmountable obstacle, people feel intimidated, and consequently they never set out on the journey to better health. The truth is, devoting just 5% of the day […]

FODMAPS & IBS: Don’t Throw the Baby Out with the Bathwater

By Sally LaMont, ND. LAc

What do apples, onions, hummus, and ice cream have in common? They’re all rich in FODMAPs: a set of short-chain carbohydrates that can set off the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), such as bloating, gas, cramping, constipation and/or diarrhea. Short-term adherence to FODMAP-free diets can be very effective in reducing the symptom burden associated […]

Eyeing Practice Evolution, Fullscript Acquires Emerson

By Erik Goldman

Fullscript CEO Kyle Braatz is on what he calls a “forever” mission: to establish a comprehensive technological infrastructure for the transformation of integrative and functional medicine into simply “medicine.” With the acquisition of its main competitor, Emerson Ecologics, Fullscript has taken a major step toward fulfillment of that mission. The deal, announced in mid-March, will […]

Addressing the Repair Deficits That Underlie Chronic Pain

By Russell Jaffe, MD, Contributing Writer

Roughly one in five people suffers from chronic pain of some sort. It is one of the leading causes of disability, reduced productivity, and escalating medical care costs.  While pain is often multifactorial, there’s a lot we as clinicians can do to help our chronic pain patients once we understand the relationship between inflammation, repair […]

All Choked Up: Harvesting the Health Benefits of Artichokes

By Sally LaMont, ND, LAc, Contributing Writer

Artichokes are the edible flower buds of a thistle plant called Cynara scolymus. The botanical name derives from a Greek myth about Zeus, who fell in love with a beautiful woman named Cynara. The story goes that Zeus was visiting his brother Poseidon one day on a small Aegean island, when he came upon the […]