When a patient complains of subtle bloating and heartburn, typically doctors diagnose them with high stomach acid and prescribe acid-blockers. However, reducing stomach acid frequently compounds the problem because in many cases the issue isn’t high, but low stomach acid caused by a pervasive H. pylori infection. H. pylori is a common bacterium that burrows…
We’re led to believe there are good and bad bacteria, and that if you take good bacteria then it will support your gut health. However, we now know probiotics have a completely different effects from one person to the next. This is going to change how they are used in medical practice. So how do…
Gastrointestinal problems are some of the most common complaints functional medicine practitioners face from new patients. However, many practitioners treat the gut with a one-size-fits-all protocol — probiotics, digestive enzymes, gut supplements, and a gut-healing diet that cuts out all the “bad” foods. Unfortunately, many patients continue to suffer because a cookie-cutter approach doesn’t work…
Many of our patients today suffer from chronic anxiety and nervousness. They also may be overly sensitive to quick movements or motions (perhaps they have to close their eyes during the roller coaster ad at the start of a movie), light, sounds, crowds, emotions, and other stimuli that overwhelm them. These patients often do not…
Do you or your patients ever suffer from brain fog, that feeling like you’re disconnected from the world, moving in a daze, and slow to process information? If so, you should take this symptom very seriously as it’s one of the earliest signs of neurodegeneration, or accelerated brain aging. This means you are at increased…
Traditional treatment for chronic depression typically involves medications that impact brain neurotransmitters — brain chemicals responsible for mood, motivation, behavior, and mental activity. However, many patients with depression do not respond well to pharmaceutical treatment or natural remedies such as 5-HTP or Saint John’s Wort. While the conventional medical model insists on sticking with these…
For many years we thought brain function was only about neurons, synapses, and neurotransmitters. However, recent developments in neuroscience have shown us how the brain’s immune cells, which outnumber neurons 10 to 1, are vital to how well the brain functions. We have Albert Einstein’s brain to thank for that discovery — his brain had significantly more immune cells…
We are facing an explosion of childhood development disorders these days. The rates of ADD, ADHD, autism, and dyslexia continue to mushroom, and kids today are increasingly having a hard time maintaining healthy brain function. Research shows much of this is due to brain inflammation. As research continues to reveal these underlying mechanisms, we can…