Should you take a bioactive mushroom?
Bioactive mushrooms (also known as medicinal mushrooms) are a class of mushroom that contains compounds with specific physiologic effects on humans. They have been used for millennia in traditional medicine systems and are particularly common in East Asian medicine. These mushrooms are rich in a variety of compounds that offer several health benefits. While beta glucans are typically the compounds in mushrooms that are cited as being particularly bioactive (Krestin in turkey tail, for example—more on that below), they all have complex profiles of bioactive compounds, including polysaccharides (complex carbohydrates that can have immune-modulating effects—beta glucans fall into this category), triterpenes, peptides, phenols, sterols, alkaloids, and glycoproteins. Bioactive mushrooms are used for a variety of purposes, ranging from general health promotion to specific therapeutic properties. Described benefits include immune system support, antioxidant effects, anti-inflammatory properties, adaptogenic qualities (an adaptogen is botanical that helps the body adapt to stress and maintain balance), brain health, blood sugar regulation, heart health, gut health, bone health, and cancer treatment support.
When is an egg not an egg?
Eggs have been a dietary staple for cultures around the world for thousands of years, and for much of that time have been considered nutritional powerhouses. They are a good source of protein, including all the essential amino acids. They are rich in a variety of vitamins and minerals, including vitamin B12, vitamin D, vitamin A, riboflavin, and folate. They are an excellent dietary source of choline, which is an essential nutrient that plays an important role in brain health, nerve function, and metabolism. They contain lutein and zeaxanthin, antioxidants beneficial for eye health. They are also rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which have a variety of important roles.1 In addition to being nutrient-dense, eggs are versatile and affordable.
Medicine’s relationship with eggs has been a complicated one in recent years, though, with concerns that they may lead to high cholesterol and inflammation. Are eggs healthy? Are they not healthy? How do we know?
The answer is—it depends on the egg, and it depends on the person. But with the right egg, they can be an excellent food.
Are you highly sensitive?
The highly sensitive person, or HSP, refers to an innate personality trait characterized by heightened sensitivity to stimuli in one’s environment, including emotional, sensory, and social cues. HSPs tend to process information more deeply than individuals who do not possess this trait. And while sensitivity may sometimes be perceived as a bad thing in our society, it brings a lot of intriguing qualities (and in other cultures is perceived very favorably).
How does acupuncture work? The Western perspective
I was a long-time skeptic of acupuncture. I didn’t have any training in the system during medical school, and it just didn’t make sense to me how needles inserted in seemingly random parts of the body could produce meaningful changes. When i first saw it used in practice, though, I was completely blown away. I saw patients with a huge array of conditions, many of which are difficult to treat from a Western perspective, who were clearly getting a huge benefit from the therapy. I immediately became a believer.
From an Eastern medicine standpoint, there isn’t a mystery as to why acupuncture works—one “believes” in acupuncture the same way one would “believe” in Western medicine—but the Eastern standpoint is a story for another post. What I found is that it can be difficult to articulate how and why it works in a Western context.
A number of theories have been proposed. Most of them I find to be unsatisfactory, though they have become increasingly sophisticated in recent years. The most comprehensive theory I have encountered is the growth control model of acupuncture.
Should you use IV vitamin C during cancer treatment?
One of the most common questions I get from patients with cancer is whether or not IV vitamin C is helpful during cancer treatment. I think the answer is usually yes. I think it’s also worthwhile to clarify why it can be helpful and address some common misconceptions about how it does (and doesn’t) work.
The Story of Systems Medicine
Modern medicine has brought some amazing advancements. The development of antibiotics. Increasingly sophisticated and targeted cancer treatments. Medical imaging techniques, like PET scans and MRIs. Cardiac surgery, organ transplantation, and minimally invasive surgery. These advancements have led to increased life expectancy and have enhanced quality of life for many people.
The greatest strength of modern medicine, though, can also be its greatest weakness: the challenge of greater and greater specialization and precision. We seek to understand things by taking them apart, down to their most basic elements, studying individual genes, proteins, or molecules in isolation. In doing so, we run the risk of losing sight of the big picture.
This is where systems medicine comes in.
What is nutrigenomics?
Nutrigenomics examines the interactions between nutrition and genetics. Specifically, if focuses on how subtle individual genetic variations caused by a single change in the coding sequence of a gene (a single nucleotide polymorphism, or SNP) influence a person’s response to different nutrients, and how those nutrients influence gene expression and function. Nutrigenomics seeks to understand how the food we eat interacts with our genes to create health or to influence susceptibility to disease.
Bones and Bone Health
Bones are the foundation of the body—the scaffolding on which everything else rests. They serve as the core for our mobility They support and protects vital organs. They serve as a mineral reserve (of calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and other vital minerals) to support the needs of the body. They hold tissues that allow for the growth of blood cells (the bone marrow) and the skeletal system itself. What can we do to care for these critical parts of our body?
Integrative approaches to prostate cancer
An integrative approach to prostate cancer treatment is founded on conventional therapies and emphasizes additional evidence-based approaches to enhancing a patient’s health and well-being can not only help patients feel better—it may affect the course of the cancer itself.
Energy Psychology
Energy psychology (EP) is a family of integrative approaches to psychology that brings together the insights of energy systems (such as the channel system in Chinese Medicine) with contemporary psychology.