By: Yekta Dowlati, PhD Each new year brings a collective desire to “reset”—to cleanse, restore, and renew after the dietary excesses and stress of the holiday season. Yet, within the framework of functional medicine, detoxification is not a transient trend nor a restrictive cleanse—it is a complex, nutrient-dependent physiological process that sustains life itself. True detoxification is about nourishment, not deprivation, and it depends on supporting the body’s five primary organs of elimination—the liver, kidneys, gut, lungs, lymphatic system, and…

By: Yekta Dowlati, PhD The holiday season—rich in social connection, celebratory meals, and occasional indulgence—can also challenge the body’s natural detoxification capacity. The liver is the body’s biochemical command center—an organ of extraordinary metabolic intelligence that governs detoxification, nutrient processing, and redox equilibrium.1 Yet even this resilient system can become overburdened after periods of dietary excess and alcohol consumption common during the holiday season. The influx of macronutrient overload, advanced glycation end products (AGEs), and xenobiotic exposure heightens hepatic oxidative…

By: Yekta Dowlati, PhD Introduction Creatine is one of the most extensively studied dietary supplements, supporting its role in exercise performance, recovery, and clinical health. Despite this robust evidence base, discussions of creatine supplementation have historically centered on men, particularly athletes and bodybuilders.1 This has left a significant gap in the clinical dialogue on women’s health—despite the fact that women possess 70–80% lower endogenous creatine stores compared to men, and often consume less through diet.1 Emerging research now suggests that…

By: Yekta Dowlati, PhD The Hidden Crisis of Skeletal Decline Osteoporosis represents a major clinical and public health challenge, with an estimated one in two women experiencing an osteoporosis-related fracture in their lifetime. While fractures are often considered a problem of advanced age, the biological processes that predispose women to skeletal fragility accelerate dramatically during the menopausal transition. Bone is a dynamic tissue, continuously remodeled through the interplay of osteoclast-mediated resorption and osteoblast-mediated formation. This remodeling ensures that old, damaged…

By: Yekta Dowlati, PhD Vitamin C (ascorbic acid/ascorbate) is indispensable for immune defense, yet insufficiency remains widespread even in high-income nations. Data from the U.S. NHANES 2003–2006 survey revealed that 41.8% of adults had insufficient plasma Vitamin C levels, spanning deficiency (<11 µmol/L), hypovitaminosis (11–23 µmol/L), and inadequate concentrations (23–49 µmol/L).1 Notably, males, smokers, individuals with elevated BMI, and populations experiencing food insecurity were disproportionately affected. While scurvy is now rare, subclinical Vitamin C insufficiency exerts significant biological consequences. Inadequate…

By: Yekta Dowlati, PhD Pain is not merely a symptom; it is the consequence of disrupted immune resolution, tissue stress, metabolic dysfunction, and maladaptive neuroplasticity. The historical emphasis on symptom suppression through analgesics and anti-inflammatory drugs has overlooked the body’s own endogenous mechanisms for controlling inflammation and restoring homeostasis. As a result, conventional therapies often provide only temporary relief, while doing little to address the biological underpinnings of chronic pain. Emerging research in resolution biology, enzymatic signaling, and phytochemical immunomodulation…

Magnesium is a vital micronutrient involved in more than 600 enzymatic reactions, playing indispensable roles in energy metabolism, neuromuscular conduction, neurotransmitter synthesis, and cellular stress resilience.1,2 As the second most abundant intracellular cation after potassium, magnesium plays a critical role in maintaining ionic gradients, regulating intracellular hydration, and supporting cellular homeostasis under both physiological and stress conditions.3 Yet despite its ubiquity, magnesium deficiency, both overt and subclinical, is remarkably common and clinically underrecognized, especially in the context of chronic stress,…

As the widespread adoption of GLP-1 receptor agonists reshapes the treatment landscape for obesity and metabolic disease, a new and arguably more intricate challenge is emerging: guiding patients through the phase that follows with GLP-1 nutritional support. The discontinuation of GLP-1 therapy is not merely the end of pharmacologic appetite suppression; it represents a critical metabolic inflection point, where compensatory physiology can rapidly unravel previous progress if left unchecked.1,2 What follows is far from benign. Appetite mechanisms recalibrate, often overshooting…

By: Yekta Dowlati, PhD GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs), including semaglutide and liraglutide, have redefined therapeutic strategies for type 2 diabetes and obesity by harnessing incretin biology to achieve profound metabolic benefits.1 These agents enhance glucose-dependent insulin secretion, suppress glucagon, delay gastric emptying, and reduce appetite through central and peripheral pathways. However, the same physiological mechanisms that underpin their efficacy are intrinsically linked to gastrointestinal (GI) side effects—an area of growing clinical significance.2 Nausea, early satiety, bloating, diarrhea, and constipation…

By: Yekta Dowlati, PhD   The therapeutic landscape for obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has been revolutionized by glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs), with weight reductions approaching magnitudes once exclusive to bariatric surgery. Yet, alongside dramatic fat mass loss, emerging data underscore a concerning reality: a substantial fraction of weight shed on GLP-1 RAs is lean mass — up to 40% in some trials.1,2 As muscle quantity and quality are integral to metabolic resilience, physical function, and…