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What We Know About Omicron

By Leo Galland, MD, Contributing Writer

As the Omicron blizzard sweeps across the country, so many questions have emerged. My comments here are based on available scientific data and, where indicated, on my clinical experience with the latest surge. Here are a few key points we can safely say we know about the Omicron variant: It is Highly Transmissible: Omicron is […]

Preventing COVID-19 with Nasal Sprays

By Leo Galland, MD, Contributing Writer

In my search for strategies that can limit Covid-19, I’ve discovered a potential role for non-toxic anti-viral nasal sprays. You may want to consider them for yourself and your patients, in situations in which you or they are potentially exposed to the virus, including work, travel, school or social encounters. The mucosal lining of the […]

NAC Supplements Face Ban Unless FDA Reverses Course

By Erik Goldman

Americans could lose access to N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) supplements in 2022, unless the nutrition and dietary supplements industries can prove to the Food and Drug Administration that this glutathione precursor was in widespread use as a supplement or food ingredient prior to the mid-1990s. Last year, the FDA made clear that it views NAC as […]

Vitamin D: A Top Priority for Protecting Your Patients This Winter

By Tom O'Bryan, DC, DACBN

Back in March of 1918, the ‘Spanish flu’ was spreading rapidly across the globe, killing millions and terrifying a world already ravaged by the first world war. During that summer the pandemic died down, only to rear its ugly head the following winter, killing many more. More than a century later, we are now into […]

New Studies Strengthen Case for Zinc Against COVID, Respiratory Bugs

By Erik Goldman

Daily supplementation with zinc picolinate markedly reduced the prevalence of severe symptomatic COVID-19 among a cohort of high-risk patients in the state of Florida, according to data from a new case-control study. “Individuals in the control group were 5.93 times more likely to develop symptomatic COVID-19 infection as compared with individuals in the treatment group,” […]

Is Echinacea Antiviral? It Depends

By Erik Goldman

Echinacea is consistently among the top selling herbal supplements in the US, and has been for decades. Many people take it as a go-to remedy for respiratory infections such as influenza and rhinovirus, and for general immune system support. It’s no surprise that sales of this popular herb jumped by more than 50% in the […]

“Next-Generation” Microbes & Probiotics for Metabolic & Immune Health

By Erik Goldman

The gut microbiome exerts profound influence on immunological and metabolic health.   Recent research points to two “next generation” microbes– Akkermansia muciniphila and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii –as especially important metabolically and immunologically. In healthy people, these organisms are plentiful.  But they are found at much lower levels in people with obesity and other metabolic and inflammatory diseases. […]

Parasites Lost: Helminths, Pleiotropy, and The Prevention of Dementia

By Michael McEvoy, Contributing Writer

The ability to link specific genetic features with particular diseases is among molecular biology’s greatest achievements. But there’s a downside to that scientific triumph: it has oversimplified the picture of the relationships between genotype, environmental factors, gene expression, and health or illness, and created blind spots in our understanding. The truth is, there are many […]

Preparing Patients for This Winter’s “Twindemic”

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

As we head into the peak months for the flu, we as health care providers need to be especially vigilant about the integrity of our patients’ immune systems. Paired with COVID-19, this year’s flu season carries the serious risk of compromising their future immune response.  A key step in preventing these complications lies in helping […]

Caring for Cancer Survivors: An Opportunity For Holistic Practitioners

By Grant Jackson, MD, Contributing Writer

Stacy Ford was in her early forties when her doctor first noticed a lump in her left breast.  She was worried, but thought that at her age it would be unusual to have breast cancer.  But a suspicious mammogram and further testing confirmed a ductal carcinoma. She met with her oncology team (including her oncologist […]