Gut Health… From Antidepressants?
We all know that gut health is associated with mental health. Or at least we should all know this. With the extensive amount of research supporting this, it is my belief that one is remiss to be addressing mental health issues without considering the impact of the gut. More and more, research shows that the […]
A New Paradigm on Mental Health
May the new year bring hope, optimism for new opportunities, and a brighter future to the world. Covid, politics, climate change and instant connectivity have all made the past few years challenging, and unique in the history of humans. With these challenges, our collective mental health has been pushed to its limit. There […]
Birth Control Pills and Fatigue.
Are your birth control pills causing your fatigue (and depression, anxiety, insomnia, low libido, weight gain, mood changes, pelvic discomfort…?) This world is filled with women who are unnecessarily suffering from the side effects of their hormonal contraception. The purpose of this post is to help you to understand the truth behind birth control pills, […]
Hormone Replacement Therapy in Women
I have been following posts about hormone replacement therapy in various Facebook groups, and have seen some unsettling comments. As a doctor, I have seen so many cases of women being put on what I believe to be the wrong hormones, at the wrong dosages, and for the wrong reasons. And Facebook just corroborates this. […]
Estrogen Detoxification for Hormonal Health
What is estrogen detoxification? So much of “adrenal fatigue” is associated with an estrogen/progesterone imbalance in women. I saw a comment on a post recently asking how to lower an elevated estrogen level, and I thought I’d offer my perspectives. Incidentally, estrogen is super-important in men, too. It follows the “Goldilocks Principle”—we want it to […]
Estrogen Dominance: Why, How and What to do About it.
One of the common themes that I have seen in social media is the association of estrogen dominance with adrenal fatigue. Now, I don’t like the term adrenal fatigue because it’s not medically accurate, but I’ll use it here for convenience. The important thing is to understand how this relates to the adrenal glands, because […]
Supplement Wisely: Four Important Factors
If you want to supplement wisely, ask yourself this question. Are your supplements helping you or hurting you? I read a Facebook post today that presented that question, and wanted to weigh in. To begin with, all of our supplements should be supplemental. This means that their use should be to replace deficiencies, or to […]
Are Toxins Causing Your Fatigue?
How often do people consider exposure to toxins as a part of their fatigue? I had a patient come in once with his wife. He was probably 60, and after questioning him, I discovered that he worked in a high tech manufacturing plant. He painted tactical weapons (they were making high grade military throwing hatchets!!) […]
Pregnenolone: Do We Need to be Taking it?
So many people taking pregnenolone! I posted recently that I personally didn’t use it in my patient population because I didn’t feel that there was good research in humans to support its use. So I thought I would return to the literature to see if this still held true. I’ll show you what I’ve found […]
The Importance of the MTHFR Gene Mutation. Why Methylation Matters.
The MTHFR gene mutation is frequently measured in the treatment of fatigue. I have seen quite a few posts relating to it in social media. Here is my perspective as a Functional Medicine practitioner. Hopefully this will add some clarity to this important part of our physiology. MTHFR Gene Mutation: Defined In the broadest terms, […]
Fatigue Treatment: The Energetic Triad
Over the past decade of my medical career, I have retrained myself to rethink the treatment of fatigue by changing how we look at the acquisition, storage and utilization of energy in our bodies. I wanted to challenge the reader to consider this perspective of energy. Too often physicians compartmentalize the individual components of energy […]
Why your TSH normal range isn’t normal
Have you been told that your TSH is normal when you know that it’s really not normal? I’m guessing that the picture looks something like this: You went to your doctor’s office with legitimate complaints. You may have been struggling with weight gain, fatigue, cognitive changes, mood changes, depression. Perhaps you presented with constipation, or […]