by Bianca Garilli, ND Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the most common form of heart disease in the US, resulting in over 370,000 deaths annually.1 Because of its frequent and often fatal nature, it is important to understand the risk factors associated with heart disease and ways to mitigate that risk. A partial list of common CHD risk factors include: elevated blood pressure and cholesterol levels, diabetes and prediabetes, smoking, overweight or obesity, sedentary lifestyle, family history of early heart…

Host: Deanna Minich, PhD, CNS, FACN, IFMCP Guest: Paul Thomas, MD, FAAP, ABAM, ABIHM Obesity and chronic disease are on the rise in our nation’s children. Prevalence of neurological and mood disorders is also increasing. Drs. Paul Thomas and Deanna Minich discuss how exposure to various toxic inputs from the environment and home are burdening our nation’s children and how childrens’ guardians and practitioners can begin to combat this complex issue by strategically improving the home environment and via personalized medicine. Diverse,…

by Sara Gottfried, MD and Lewis Chang, PhD Media headlines have claimed that aspirin has no benefit for older adults. What’s the truth? Should we, as one major news website suggests, toss our aspirin? Aspirin is derived from the bark of several species of willow trees. It has been used for centuries for pain and inflammation. As a low-dose therapy, aspirin has been prescribed to reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, and stroke based on the results of multiple…

by Ashley Jordan Ferira, PhD, RDN Color your plate, so the slogan goes. A 2018 study took this advice literally, incorporating pictures of fruits and vegetables (F&V) into school lunch plates with the goal of improving F&V consumption in preschoolers.1 F&Vs are a low-calorie, nutrient-dense (macro-, micro-, and phytonutrients) food group, but the US is getting a “failing grade” when it comes to F&V intake because typical Western diets are lacking in plant-based nutrition. Health behaviors, including dietary consumption patterns,…

by Melissa Blake, BSc, ND By 2020, more than 20% of the US population will be 65 and over.1 Healthy aging is and will continue to be an important focus in many Functional Medicine offices. Sarcopenia, the gradual loss of muscle mass that occurs in healthy adults as they age, begins after the age of 30 and accelerates after 60. The difference between the muscle mass of a 20-year-old vs. an 80-year-old is about 30%.2 Loss of muscle contributes to…

by Noelle Patno, PhD Colonoscopy is one of the most common medical procedures, used for screening various bowel diseases, including colon cancer, to examine for any pathological findings (e.g. polyps, ulcers, or inflamed tissue). Barriers to colonoscopy include patients’ fears related to invasiveness, pain, or complications.1 Complications may be as minor as bloating or as severe as bowel perforation (rare); factors that may predict increased risk for complication include insufficient bowel preparation (not completely cleaned out and therefore more difficult…

by Bianca Garilli, ND It’s a well-known fact that cruciferous vegetables, including broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, and many others, should be a major cornerstone of any healthy, nutrient-dense diet. Not as well known, however, is that the bioavailability of some of the most desired nutritional bioactives from the Brassica vegetables, including isothiocyanates (e.g. sulforaphane), will vary depending on numerous factors. These factors can be broken down into plant-intrinsic and plant-extrinsic components. Plant-Intrinsic Factors Mainly found in cruciferous vegetables, glucosinolates (GL)…

by Bianca Garilli, ND Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), the most common liver disorder in Western industrialized countries, can be categorized into two major groups – non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFL), which is not associated with significant inflammation, and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), which is associated with hepatic inflammation.1 Both of these conditions involve hepatic steatosis. The US prevalence of NAFLD is 10-46%.1,2 Worldwide, the prevalence is estimated to be between 6-35%, with some researchers noting up to 50% incidence in the…

by Lewis Chang, PhD A ketogenic diet is a dietary approach that promotes nutritional ketosis by restricting carbohydrates and increasing the intake of fat with adequate consumption of protein. According to systematic reviews and meta-analyses, ketogenic diets may prevent an increase in appetite on reduced calorie diets1 and help achieve long-term body weight reduction.2 Emerging studies have suggested that ketogenic diets may be beneficial in diabetes management and exercise performance.3,4 Compliance with ketogenic diets can be difficult because the amount…

by Bianca Garilli, ND Obesity, a preventable condition, has tripled worldwide since 1975, with 340 million children and adolescents between 5-19 years of age with overweight or obesity in 2016 according to the World Health Organization (WHO).1 In children and adolescents, BMI-for-age growth charts are used to determine weight status; >85th and <95th percentile is considered overweight, while ≥95th percentile is obese.2 In the US, overweight and obesity disproportionally affect children of low-income households, whereas the risk of overweight and…