by Sara Gottfried, MD  Introduction Anxiety is on the rise, and it occurs more commonly in women compared with men. Identifying anxiety in patients, performing root cause analysis, and collaborating on natural solutions beyond a pill-for-every-ill requires clinicians to practice both the art and science of medicine. Fortunately, the biological underpinnings of anxiety involving the gene/environment interface, along with a growing evidence base of natural remedies, provide a strong foundation for us to help our patients. One of the most…

by Bianca Garilli, ND Understanding Lyme disease What do The Platters and Lyme disease have in common? Both, although for totally different reasons, are associated with “The Great Pretender.” The Platters landed their “Great Pretender” connection through the 1955 recording of the song by the same name, which would go on to reach the #1 position on the R&B and pop charts just a year later.1 Lyme disease, on the other hand, is unfortunately connected to the term “The Great Pretender”…

by Bianca Garilli, ND Depression and anxiety are two of the most common mental health disorders across the globe according to the World Health Organization (WHO); both conditions can range from mild to severe and may endure for months to years. Depression affects approximately 300 million people worldwide, or ~ 4.4% of the entire world’s population, and is a major contributor to suicide.1 Anxiety is nearly as prevalent, estimated to affect over 260 million people (3.6% of the global population).1…

by Bianca Garilli, ND Migraines are a painful, oftentimes debilitating condition experienced by over 20% of women and 10% of men throughout their lifetime; according to the World Health Organization’s 2012 Global Burden of Disease figures, migraines ranked in the top 40 conditions causing worldwide disability.1 Causes of migraines vary. Some have genetic etiology, while other people are triggered by known external or internal causes. But for some migraine sufferers, the origin is a mystery, making the ailment even more…

by Bianca Garilli, ND The demarcations of a woman’s physiological stages of life are often delineated by the various, unique phases and cycles associated with fertility, reproduction, and the hormones at work behind the scenes. These stages include:1 Signaling of possible fertility at menarche Rhythm of monthly menstrual cycles controlled by the peaks and valleys of estrogen and progesterone Miraculous growth of new life during pregnancy Production of irreplicable nutrition for baby via breastmilk Rebalancing dance of hormones during postpartum…

by Ashley Jordan Ferira, PhD, RDN Once upon a time, I had a thyroid. Three years ago, to be exact. I had to undergo an emergent total thyroidectomy as a result of a severe, complicated case of Graves’ disease, further exacerbated around the time of diagnosis by another debilitating autoimmune condition, chronic urticaria. My family history for autoimmune thyroid dysfunction was significant, but looking back, I believe that my autoimmune disease trajectory may have been malleable. To what extent, I…

by Sara Gottfried, MD and Nilima Desai MPH, RD Dynamic duos exist throughout culture: Batman and Robin. Thelma and Louise. They also exist in lifestyle medicine, because nutrients don’t fly solo. They interact often interdependently, act as cofactors in metabolic pathways, and compete for receptors. One example is how vitamin C helps you absorb more iron, like you find in red pepper hummus. Other examples are zinc and copper, vitamin B12 and folate, or even the combination of berberine and…

by Whitney Crouch, RDN, CLT Women are often educated around the changes they’ll see in their bodies as they journey through pregnancy, however there tends to be a vast knowledge void when it comes to mother’s health and expectations after baby’s arrival. Once the much-anticipated new addition has arrived, moms are followed up within six weeks after childbirth, likely asked about or given a questionnaire assessing postpartum depression symptoms, and physically evaluated by her care provider.1 The American College of…

by Whitney Crouch, RDN, CLT What is stress? An integrated definition of stress states that it is a constellation of events, starting with a stimulus (stressor) that precipitates a reaction in the brain (stress perception) and results in the activation of the physiological fight-or-flight systems in the body (stress response).1 Stress is a fact of life. We all face stressors of some sort in our day-to-day lives; whether psychological, physiological, or physical. We have evolved with stress, and many of…

by Melissa Blake, BSc, ND Mental health continues to be a growing concern worldwide. Both Statistics Canada and The National Institute of Mental Health estimate that 1 in 5 Canadians and Americans live with a mental illness.1,2 The World Health Organization lists depression as the #1 cause of disability globally.3 Considering the rising rates and significant disease burden of mental illness, the increasing level of interest in novel clinical support options is no surprise. One such option being explored is…