by Bianca Garilli, ND Body mass index (BMI) is used in the medical community for defining anthropometric height/weight characteristics.1 An individual’s BMI categorizes them as normal, overweight or obese and is often used as a risk factor for various chronic health issues including coronary artery disease (CAD).1 It has become apparent however that BMI is a gross estimate of adiposity; BMI is a poor indicator of percent of body fat and does not indicate site of body fat distribution, an…

by Bianca Garilli, ND In individuals with overweight or obesity, it only takes a 5% reduction in body weight to create potentially significant improvements in LDL and total cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood glucose.1 The challenge in the weight loss field however, is often less about losing this initial 5% but rather maintaining the loss over an extended period of time. In fact, only 20% of people maintain their weight loss over the long-term, with 10-80% of individuals returning to their…

This 12-week study evaluated the efficacy and safety of a nutritional product containing n-enriched tetrahydro iso-alpha acids and undenatured type 2 collagen in participants with chronic joint pain (including pain from symptomatic osteoarthritis and from rheumatoid arthritis). Tetrahydro iso-α acids (THIAAs), derived from Humulus lupulus (hops), have demonstrated anti-inflammatory effects in vitro and in an animal model of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Undenatured type 2 collagen has been found to be effective in clinical studies in RA and osteoarthritis (OA). OBJECTIVE:…

Lactobacillus salivarius UCC118 is a well-characterized and evidence-based probiotic strain. A feeding study led by Fergus Shanahan, MD and his research group at the University College Cork was conducted in patients with ulcerative colitis. This pilot-scale, open-label study aimed to determine the ability of L. salivarius UCC118 to adhere to human enterocyte epithelial cells. The bacterial strain was administered to patients with ulcerative colitis at ~109 CFU/day for 12 days. Biopsy specimen analyses demonstrated that the ingested bacteria effectively adhered to…

Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) has become a significant health problem seen in many clinical practices. The prevalence estimates for SIBO in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) range from 4-78% (higher prevalence in diarrhea-predominant IBS)1 and is thought to be almost as high in many other disorders of the digestive tract. Defined as an increase in the concentration of bacteria of more than 100,000 colony-forming units per mL in the small intestine, SIBO can lead to malabsorption and malnutrition that…

In this presentation “Novel Clinical Insights on Inflammation: Resolving not Blocking,” Andrew Heyman, MD, MHSA shares clinical experiences and observations related to health conditions associated with increased inflammatory biomarkers. Dr. Heyman explores the role of specialized pro-resolving mediators (SPMs) in the clinical management of chronic inflammatory conditions, such as chronic pain and fibromyalgia, focusing on evidence from a multi-center case series investigation. Dr. Heyman concludes with insights on novel clinical targets for resolvins in neuroinflammation, in addition to providing a…

In this video, Dr. Fergus Shanahan presents “An Overview of the Human Microbiome.” Originally delivered at ASPEN in 2015, this presentation provides a glimpse of success stories in the past with microbiome, as well as a glimpse into the future of using probiotics as preventive and treatment-focused therapies. He chooses to discuss the microbiome as a therapeutic target in the body. He also discusses the use of microbial biomarkers in the body for diagnostic testing. There are very few such…

In this presentation Jaclyn Chasse, ND and President of AANP discusses the role of nutrition in naturopathic medicine and how it has significantly changed over the years for the naturopathic doctor. Dr Chasse points out a few of the key diets that are used in managing nutrition today, among them are the ketogenic diet, the Mediterranean diet and the Paleo diet. She describes the methods many naturopathic doctors use that have had the most impact on improving patient outcomes, including the importance of incorporating phytonutrients…

Dale E Bredesen, MD, is the director of the Easton Center for Alzheimer’s Disease Research at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He is also the principal investigator in Alzheimer’s Disease at the center. Dr. Bredesen has taken a novel approach to clinical management of cognitive decline by integrating nutrition and lifestyle medicine into practice. Based on his research and clinical practice, we may be entering the era of treatable Alzheimer’s Disease. He also discusses Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI)…