Women’s Health

Probiotics in Clinical Practice: Simple Stories, Complex Realities

By Erik Goldman

Twenty years ago, “the microbiome” was an obscure little domain within microbiology, and the term probiotic, to the extent anyone had heard it at all, usually meant eating yogurt and fermented vegetables in the vague hope it would promote longevity.  Today, the microbiome is one of the most widely known and fastest growing healthcare phenomena […]

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 […]

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% […]

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 […]

Clearing the Fog Around Mast Cell Activation Syndrome

By Erik Goldman

Mast cell activation syndrome—a multi-system disorder characterized by aberrant activity of these key immune cells—is widely prevalent, and on the rise as the world becomes more toxic, infectious, and stressful, says Tania Tyles Dempsey, MD, a clinician who specializes in this common but mis-diagnosed problem. The syndrome differs from mastocytosis or mast cell cancers in […]

BREESI & QUEESI: Tips for Diagnosing MCAS

By Erik Goldman

Mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS) is inherently complex, and it can manifest in a bewildering number of ways. Patients may experience waxing and waning symptoms in seemingly unrelated organ systems, with no obvious pattern. MCAS overlaps with other chronic syndromes such as Ehlers-Danlos (EDS), Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), and chronic fatigue/fibromyalgia. It’s a complicated […]

Non-Rx Female Hormone Support Made Simple

By Erik Goldman

Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy (BHRT) has improved the lives of millions of perimenopausal and menopausal women. But let’s face it: fulfilling BHRT prescriptions at compounding pharmacies is a hassle for patients and practitioners alike. It is also a lost revenue stream for practitioners. There has never been a comprehensive non-prescription hormone balancing system that delivers […]