The National Institutes of Health (NIH) states that five out of every 100 Americans over the age of 12 have hypothyroidism. The prevalence of this disease increases with age.(1) This makes hypothyroidism the most common disease arising from a hormonal insufficiency.(2) Gender is an influencing factor, as women are three to seven times more likely to develop hypothyroidism than men.(1) Known risk factors that increase the likelihood of developing this disease include having a family history of hypothyroidism and pregnancy.(1) Recent research by the British Medical Journal (2021) suggests that taking birth control pills, or oral contraceptives (OCs), may also increase the odds of developing hypothyroidism.(3) Birth Control Pills Statistics Oral contraceptives are a widely used form of birth control by women. Many individuals turn to these medications for reasons other than birth control such as relief from symptoms such as abnormal uterine bleeding, endometriosis, hormonal and menstrual irregularities, etc.(3)Approximately 6 million women in the US, aged 15-49, take oral contraceptives (OCs) each year.(4) The National Survey of Family Growth (2015-2017) reported that OCs are the second most common method of contraception used by women between the ages of 15-49.(4) The use of OCs is higher among younger populations and decreases with age. Approximately 90% of women taking birth control pills are < 40 years old and 54% are under the age of 20.(1)Therefore, an association between the use of OCs and the risk of hypothyroidism could potentially affect a significant number of individuals. These individuals, when presented with other options for contraception and/or better monitoring of thyroid function, may be able to avoid the increased risk of morbidity and mortality associated with hypothyroidism. Birth Control Pills and Risk of Hypothyroidism The British Medical Journey (2021) recently stated that women with a history of taking OCs for more than 10 years have greater odds of developing hypothyroidism (OR, 3.837; 95% CI 1.402-10.500; p=0.0090). Their finding was the result of a retrospective, cross-sectional study derived from information gathered in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2007-2012. This large epidemiological survey included a total of 30,442 participants. Of this number, 5116 females met the inclusion criteria for participation in the study. These individuals were divided into two groups: those with a history of OC usage (n=3034) and those that had never used OCs (n=2082). Approximately 16% (830) of the combined individuals were identified as hypothyroid. Hypothyroidism was more frequently diagnosed in those with a history of taking OCs (17.7% vs 14.1%). The state of being hypothyroid was defined as either those taking levothyroxine, regardless of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) or those with a TSH >5.6 mIU/L.(3) Women should therefore consider the long-term health effects of OCs and the increased odds of developing hypothyroidism associated with their use. This study had several strengths, including the large population surveyed, and the strict criteria used to control for confounders. Limitations were also inherent in this type of study. One of the main limitations is the lack of data to differentiate between the types of OCs used, including their chemical composition. Knowing the types of contraceptives used, i.e.: combined contraceptives containing estrogen and progestin versus progestin only contraceptives, may have provided different outcomes. Other limitations included possible recall bias due to the use of self-reported data from individuals, which can often be incorrect. These factors may have skewed the results obtained. It is also important to recognize a cross-sectional, retrospective analysis can only demonstrate an association between the OCs and hypothyroidism and cannot establish causation.(3) According to the National Institute for Health (NIH),

Functional Medicine Research with Dr. Nikolas Hedberg

Can Birth Control Pills Cause Hypothyroidism?

In this episode of Functional Medicine Research, I interview Palmer Kippola on how to beat autoimmune disease and her new book "Beat Autoimmune: The 6 Keys to Reverse Your Condition and Reclaim Your Health". We had a great talk walking through her F.I.G.H.T.S. protocol which includes food, infections, gut health, hormones, toxins, and stress. Our focus in this interview was on practical strategies for those with autoimmune disease to implement right away into their lives. Palmer has dealt with autoimmune disease herself, so she offers a unique perspective. Full Transcript on How to Beat Autoimmune Disease with Palmer Kippola Dr. Hedberg: Greetings everyone, and welcome to "Functional Medicine Research." I'm Dr. Hedberg, and I'm looking forward to my conversation today with Palmer Kippola. She's a best-selling author, speaker, and functional medicine certified health coach who specializes in helping people reverse and prevent autoimmune conditions. She developed a framework called F.I.G.H.T.S, which stands for food, infections, gut health, hormone balance, toxins, and stress to help others beat autoimmune conditions based on her two-decade battle to overcome multiple sclerosis. Her book is "Beat Autoimmune: The 6 Keys to Reverse Your Condition and Reclaim Your Health," with a foreword by Mark Hyman. And as she shares the science stories and strategies to help people heal and thrive, today she provides total health transformation programs for people who seek to heal from any autoimmune condition by addressing the root causes head-on with functional lab testing and comprehensive mind-body strategies. She also serves a growing community of people in a guided online membership program called Beat Autoimmune Academy. Palmer, welcome to the show. Palmer: Thank you so much, Dr. Hedberg. It's such a pleasure to be here. Dr. Hedberg: Right. So, as I mentioned in the bio, you dealt with multiple sclerosis. So, I'm sure there's a story there. So, why don't you walk us through your healing journey, what that was like, and that whole process? Palmer: Sure, sure. I do need to take you back in time a little bit because I was diagnosed at 19. Let me tell you the story. I was a happy, healthy, well-adjusted 19-year-old, by all accounts. I was home for summer after my freshman year of college, and I was working as a hostess in a restaurant. And one day I woke up and the soles of my feet were tingling, like that feeling you have when you've slept on a limb too long, when the blood flows back, it gets all tingling. But this particular morning, the blood wasn't flowing back. But I thought it'll just go away, so I went off to work. And the tingling just continued to creep up my legs like a vine. It got to my knees and by that time, I knew something was really wrong. So, I called my parents who called the family doctor who said, "Get her over to the neurologist at UCLA today." And we did. That's where we were that afternoon. And this particular neurologist had me do really simple heel-toe walking across her floor and tapped my reflexes. And after about five or six minutes, pronounced that she was 99% certain that I had MS, multiple sclerosis. And if she was right, there was nothing I could do except take medication. And we were absolutely shocked. Remember, this was in the mid-80s, so there was no guidebook, there was nothing. We had never heard of MS. And we just left that office completely confused, devastated, and with very little hope. But I was sent home and that night, my mom lay in bed with me and she was holding me and I was crying and she was crying and it turned out that all of the parts of my body that had been tingling, which by the time I got to the neurologist's office, it had reached right under my collarbone, so all the way up, full body. And then by the time we got into bed that night, all my body went completely numb from the neck down and I would stay numb for a full six weeks. So,

Beat Autoimmune Disease with Palmer Kippola

Functional medicine practitioners often take a “Foods First” approach, recommending dietary modifications to improve health. However, for those with low stomach acid, diet alone may not be enough to ensure adequate nutrition. Low stomach acid can impair digestive ability, causing nutritional deficiencies even in those individuals consuming an optimal diet. This article will focus on the main digestive chemical associated with the stomach, hydrochloric acid. The causes of low stomach acid and the associated symptoms will be covered. In addition, natural treatment options for low stomach acid, such as betaine HCL and herbal bitters will be discussed. What is Digestion? Digestion is the process of breaking food down into particles small enough so that the nutrients in the food can be absorbed and then transported throughout the body. Digestion begins in the mouth with the mechanical process of chewing along with salivary enzymes that begin the digestive process. This process is continued as the food passes into the stomach, activating the release of hydrochloric acid. The bolus of food then passes to the small intestines where the majority of digestion takes place. The useful nutrients are digested and absorbed and the waste products are sent through the large intestines for evacuation as feces. Why Does the Stomach Contain Hydrochloric Acid? The stomach is a naturally acidic environment, especially following a meal, with a normal pH value of 3 and an absence of stomach acid (achlorhydria) is obtained with a pH > 7.1 This acidity comes from the hydrochloric acid that is secreted by the parietal cells in the lining of the stomach. Healthy stomach acid levels serve as an immune system barrier, providing a first line of defense against unwanted bacterial or microbial invaders that enter the stomach. Hydrochloric acid is also necessary for the digestion of proteins. Proteins are a conglomeration of amino acids folded together into different shapes. Stomach acid serves to denature (unfold) the proteins and expose the bonds that hold the amino acids together. These bonds can then be cleaved by pepsin, which breaks the protein down into smaller, easier to digest, amino acids. The formation of pepsin from pepsinogen is dependent on sufficient stomach acid levels as well. Hydrochloric acid is also responsible for deactivating the enzymes of salivary amylase as it enters the stomach and for stimulating the release of cholecystokinin in the small intestines. Both processes are essential for healthy digestive function. Certain vitamins and minerals depend on hydrochloric acid to liberate them from their carriers, such as vitamin B12 and calcium. Having low stomach acid levels can impair all of these functions. What causes low stomach acid levels? Factors that contribute to low stomach acid include: Chronic stress Aging Poor diet Infections Medication use Stress—Stress impairs digestion. Chronic stress may decrease the production of hydrochloric acid in the stomach due to associated nutrient deficiencies.2 Stress also causes the vagus nerve to lose its proper tone. The vagus nerve is a major part of the parasympathetic nervous system, and it is deeply involved in stomach acid production. With chronic stress it loses its ability to fire properly which disrupts normal stomach acid production. Aging—Low levels of stomach acid following a meal are more common with aging. Studies that compared stomach acid levels in young individuals (mean age 25) versus older individuals (mean age 75) found that older individuals experienced low levels of stomach acid following a meal for a greater length of time than their younger counterparts. It took 89 minutes for the elderly participants versus 42 minutes for the younger participants to regain normal stomach acid levels (pH 3.0) following a “standard meal”.1, 3,

How to Increase Stomach Acid Naturally

In this episode of Functional Medicine Research, I interview Sally Norton in a discussion about how oxalates affect your thyroid and your health. We covered what oxalates are and how they can damage the body. We also discussed how oxalates affect gut health, liver health, thyroid health as well as all the symptoms and associated conditions connected to oxalates. If you're really struggling to get well, but your diet appears to be healthy, oxalates may be the missing link. Full Transcript on Oxalates and Thyroid Health Dr. Hedberg: Well, welcome everyone to "Functional Medicine Research." I'm Dr. Hedberg, and I'm really looking forward to my conversation today with Sally Norton. Sally is a consultant writer, educator, and speaker with over 30 years in the health promotion and wellness field. Sally specializes in helping people improve their health with an oxalate-avoiding diet. Sally holds a nutrition degree from Cornell University and a Master's of Public Health degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She worked in the field of medical education at UNC Medical Schools Program on Integrative Medicine and as a research grant writer and research administrator at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine. Despite a healthy lifestyle, she struggled for over 30 years with seemingly unanswerable health challenges, including chronic pain and fatigue. When she finally discovered the cause and turned her health around, she committed to teaching and reaching out to others stuck in similar frustrating situations. Sally, welcome to the show. Sally: Thank you. It's great to be here. Dr. Hedberg: Yeah, I'm looking forward to this and we were kind of discussing this early on. Oxalates is something that I've always kept my eye on for the last 17 years and I was really looking forward to this conversation. So why don't we lay a little bit of bedrock for the listeners? And if you could just talk about what are oxalates, and do we know why plants actually have oxalates? Sally: Yes. Plants are a major producer of oxalate and obviously, it's also ubiquitous in nature itself. Soil is loaded with it. Even apparently sea spray produces some oxalate and polluted air produces oxalates, so, in really heavily polluted cities, the air has got oxalate in it too. So oxalate is this really minuscule molecule that its parent compound is called oxalic acid. And acids ionize and become charged particles because they drop off the acidic protein and so they become these negatively charged ions that attract positively charged things and oxalates can have a one negative or two negative. It is a tiny, tiny little compound. It has four oxygens, which is a heavy load of oxygen on just two little carbon molecules. So it's very oxygen-heavy, which is probably partly why it's such a pro-oxidant molecule, you know. Oxidation is very bad for tissues, membranes, mitochondria, and it is a great mitochondrial poison, membrane destroyer, and troublemaker. And it's not just the oxygen, though. It's much more about this reactivity that the charge creates where it bonds with minerals and becomes salts. And so, salt is a chemical term for things that can dissolve, but when it...because it can have two negative charges, it will also hook up with minerals that won't dissolve well. So calcium, for example, is a two positive charge mineral. With that double-positive and double-negative marriage between the two, you create an insoluble oxalate, which is the backbone of oxalate you see in nature because calcium is everywhere in soils and in nature, and plants are having to manage their calcium. And one of the ways they do that...because too much calcium can be toxic to the plant. So one of the ways they do that is they make oxalic acid. Often they make vitamin C first, very similar compounds, and vitamin C naturally degrades just hanging around into oxalic acid and oxalates. So plants will create vitamin C and they'll cre...

Are Oxalates Damaging Your Thyroid?

In this episode of Functional Medicine Research, I interview Dr. Theodore Belfor in a discussion on cranial facial development and airway resistance. If you have read James Nestor's new book "Breath" then you are aware of Dr. Belfor's work. We talked about the causes of abnormal cranial development and how this causes airway resistance and a number of health problems including sleep apnea, insomnia, IBS, bruxism, and more. Our cranial bones don't form properly when we aren't breastfed and eat a modern diet of processed foods. Dr. Belfor's oral appliances help to correct these abnormal developments to restore proper facial bone structure and improve the airway. Full Transcript with Dr. Theodore Belfor Dr. Hedberg: Well, welcome everyone to "Functional Medicine Research." I'm Dr. Hedberg, very, very excited today to have Dr. Theodore Belfor on the podcast. I first heard about Dr. Belfor in James Nestor's new book called "Breath." And we're gonna be talking about all of that today on the show. And Dr. Belfor, he's a graduate of New York University College of Dentistry, and a senior certified instructor for the International Association for orthodontics. In the 1960s, Dr. Belfor was sent to Vietnam to work as the sole brigade dentist for 4000 soldiers of the 196 Light Infantry from the jungles of Vietnam to Park Avenue in Manhattan. Upon his return, he opened his own private dental office in New York City, and has been in private practice for more than 40 years. And Dr. Belfor specializes in the treatment of the cranial facial system, and that's what we're going to be diving into today. So, Dr. Belfor, welcome to the show. Dr. Belfor: Well, thank you for having me. It's my pleasure. Dr. Hedberg: Excellent. So, why don't we start by talking about how this all began, and go back to, you know, what happened that changed the cranial bones, the cranial structure, our skulls, that led to this epidemic of airway issues, breathing issues, and all of the health issues that come with that? Dr. Belfor: Well, how we develop, how we grow and develop is based on how we breathe, how we swallow, and how we chew. So, just looking at how we chew, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture today, in the U.S., 63% of our diet is processed and refined foods. So, without the proper stimulation to the body, we are not fully expressing our genes, we're not developing to our full potential. Because of that, particularly when our jaws do not grow forward enough, the retrusion of those jaws helps to push the tongue backwards into the airway and down the throat, so now we have compromised sleep and breathing. Dr. Hedberg: So, it's a combination of things. I know Dr. Nestor talks about it in his...or James Nestor talks about in his book, the changes in diet, soft food, not enough hard foods, not breastfeeding. Can you talk a little bit more about these changes in our society and some of these predisposing factors that can cause an abnormal airway? Dr. Belfor: Well, for me, the enlightenment came, when almost 20 years ago, I was treating performing artists who couldn't wear braces and they wanted straighter teeth, and I used an appliance and had a unilateral bite block, which basically, in essence replaces the missing hard food in our diet. And guess what? The actors, performers were coming in, and their makeup artist was telling them that their faces are changing, and the singers were coming in and saying they were reaching higher notes. So, that's what set me on the path. You see, the concept in dentistry is to balance the bite all the time. And it's kind of an anathema to have, when you bite down, to hit on one side. However, if I give you a stick of gum to chew, nobody on the planet is going to chew on both sides at the same time. We chew on one side then we chew on the other. And apparently from the research, many articles that have been written, the latest one in August 2018,

Dr. Theodore Belfor on Cranial Facial Development

In this episode of Functional Medicine Research, I interview Dr. Ron Parks in a discussion about COVID-19 and the mental health crises. Dr. Parks has written a new book "COVID-19 and Mental Health Crises" which we discuss as well as a variety of other topics that can help those afflicted by this pandemic. The mental health aspects of COVID-19 are often overlooked with more of a focus on the physical aspects of the illness, medications, vaccines etc. As usual in the United States, mental health is pushed to the back of the bus with little to no dialogue or support for those who need psychological support. Dr. Parks provides a voice for those in need with his excellent new book. Full Transcript on COVID-19 Mental Health Crises Dr. Hedberg: Well, welcome, everyone, to Functional Medicine Research. I'm Dr. Hedberg. Very excited today to have my good friend and colleague, Dr. Ron Parks, on the show. And we're gonna be talking about his new book. And Dr. Parks is a respected physician, teacher, book author, writer, and mentor, with an integrative and holistic perspective. He especially trained in internal medicine, nutrition, preventive medicine, and board-certified in psychiatry. Currently, Dr. Parks is the medical director and psychiatrist for The Center for Spiritual Emergence and Katharos Sanctuary in Asheville, North Carolina. He has an MD from the University of Maryland and a master's degree in public health and health service research from the University of California at Los Angeles. He has completed specialty training and internal medicine at George Washington University, preventive medicine at UCLA, and psychiatry at the University of Maryland. Dr. Parks is a former assistant professor at the Albany and University of Miami Medical School, chief of internal medicine at the Homestead Air Force Base Hospital in Florida, former director of the Center for Preventive and Nutritional Healthcare in Baltimore, Maryland, and founder of the MacroHealth Medicine, a comprehensive and holistic consultative and treatment service, formerly in Asheville, North Carolina. Dr. Parks, welcome to the show. Dr. Parks: Well, thank you, Nik. Thank you for having me. Dr. Hedberg: Yeah. I'm looking forward to this. So, you've written a new book, it's called "COVID-19 and Mental Health Crises." So, we're gonna dig into that. But before we do that, can you just talk a little bit about how you got into integrative functional medicine and psychiatry? Dr. Parks: Well, that's a good question. Actually, it started when I was very young. I think I write a little bit about this in the book. I came down one summer as a kid with polio. And it was very upsetting, of course. And I compared it to the current COVID crisis. Back then there was no treatment and everybody had been waiting 10 years, 8 to 10 years for a vaccine. But here I was, a young, healthy, athletic kid that suddenly was running high fevers and a stiff neck. So, I ended up in the hospital at a children's ward. And back then the only treatment they had was more of a natural treatment called the Sister Kenny treatment. It was like a heat treatment. They wrap you in warm towels. And so that was my first exposure to, you know, what I would call functional medicine or holistic medicine. Though I had a sweat through it, but luckily, I didn't end up with the paralytic form of it, but sometimes I do think I have some of the long...they're talking about with a new virus, the long hauler syndrome. But with polio, there were some aftermaths there, and I think maybe some of the weakness I had some time in the legs and things like that might be from that. But anyway, that got me started on the path of interest in broader treatment programs. But a lot of it came, though, from my being formally, formally trained in internal medicine, where everything was about labels and diagnosis. And I remember in training, I got yelled at by the pathology teacher because I looked at a slide and ...

COVID-19 Mental Health Crises

In this episode of Functional Medicine Research, I interview Tom Fabian, PhD in a detailed discussion about the GI-MAP stool test interpretation. We covered virtually every aspect of the GI-MAP stool test including what the test results mean and how to use them in clinical practice. Dr. Fabian has tremendous knowledge of the gut microbiome and the intricacies of the GI-MAP stool test markers. This is a vital interivew to listen to if you're utilizing the GI-MAP stool test in your practice. Full transcript of the GI-MAP Stool Test Interpretation interview with Dr. Tom Fabian: Dr. Hedberg: Well, welcome, everyone to Functional Medicine Research. I'm Dr. Hedberg, and I'm looking forward today to my conversation with Dr. Thomas Fabian. He is a PhD., and he's a clinical laboratory consultant, translational science expert, functional nutrition practitioner, educator, and speaker. He is a former biomedical research scientist and deep expertise in the role of the human microbiome and health, chronic disease and aging. As a leading expert in translational applications of microbiome research and functional medicine and integrative health settings, Tom's primary focus is on providing educational resources and consulting services for practitioners and scientific advisory and consulting services for clinical testing laboratories. Dr. Fabian, welcome to the show. Dr. Fabian: Thanks so much, Nik. It's great to be here today, and I'm looking forward to the conversation. Dr. Hedberg: Excellent. So, we're gonna be talking about the diagnostic solutions, lab, GI-MAP test, and we're gonna cover interpretation, you know, what these markers mean. And so, for all the practitioners listening, they'll have a strong idea of how to approach this test and how to use these things clinically. So, why don't we start with...take it from the top in the pathogen section? And I wanted to ask you specifically about C-diff. There's toxin A and toxin B Clostridium difficile markers on this test. And what is your interpretation of this if it's positive and the patient is symptomatic, and then you treat them, and then they're no longer symptomatic, but the toxin still shows up on the stool test? Can you elaborate a little bit on that type of presentation? Dr. Fabian: Sure. No, I haven't personally seen that particular scenario but, in general, it's important to keep in mind a lot of people can be carriers of C-diff. So, the majority of the time that we see it detected positive, whether it's low levels or high levels, typically, patients don't have the classic symptoms. So, that suggests that they're probably just a carrier. And there's, sort of, kind of, a gray area in between where there still may be some effects of C-diff. Of course, that's one of the purposes of looking at the markers on GI-MAP like calprotectin, zonulin, etc. to see if there seems to be any evidence that may be have an impact, even if there aren't symptoms. So, we're also learning a lot more from research about factors that can control or influence the ability of various pathogens to thrive and also whether or not they can cause infection or if they have their, you know, typical pathogenic effects. So, that's essentially factors that influence virulence. So, one of the first things I want to mention is all the microbial markers on GI-MAP are assessed based on detection of DNA. So, when you're looking at DNA, you're looking at detection of the organisms or the genes but not necessarily whether the genes are being expressed. And that's definitely true for toxins. So, lots of research has been coming out in research years in terms of, again, as I mentioned, things that regulate toxins, and it's very specific. So, pathogens tend to only express those toxins under very specific conditions when conditions are favorable for them. So, for example, if you've detected C-diff and it really syncs up with what's going on with the patient, symptomatically,

GI-MAP Stool Test Interpretation

In this episode of Functional Medicine Research, I interview Robb Wolf about his new book and documentary Sacred Cow. We had a great conversation dispelling some of the myths about meat and saturated fat as well as climate change, plant-based diets, sustainable agriculture, veganism, cattle and methane, and the ethics of eating animals. This was a well-rounded interview packed with information that should help people make better decisions about what they eat but also become educated about the facts around meat. I highly recommend watching the Sacred Cow documentary and reading the book which goes into tremendous detail on these issues. Full Transcript of Sacred Cow with Robb Wolf Interview Dr. Hedberg: Well, welcome, everyone, to "Functional Medicine Research." I'm Dr. Hedberg. And I'm really looking forward to my conversation today with Robb Wolf. And Robb is a former research biochemist, and he's a two-times "New York Times," "Wall Street Journal" bestselling author of two books, "The Paleo Solution" and "Wired to Eat." And he coauthored a book with Diana Rodgers, which we'll be talking about today, called "The Sacred Cow," and that explains why well raised meat is good for us and good for the planet. Robb has transformed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people around the world via his top ranked iTunes podcast, books and seminars. He's known for his direct approach and ability to distill and synthesize information to make the complicated stuff easier to understand. Robb, welcome to the show. Robb: Doc, a huge honor to be here. Thank you. Dr. Hedberg: Great. Yeah, I had Diana on last year. And we talked a little bit about plant-based diets and meat and things like that. And then since then, we've had the "New Sacred Cow" book that you co-authored, and the documentary, which is excellent. And so, why don't we begin by...I'd really like to focus on helping the listeners understand some of, you know, the misunderstandings and the truths and the myths about eating meat versus plants and things like that. And so why don't we start with a discussion about why meat has become a scapegoat. And I think, and you can expand on this, of course, but I think part of this probably goes to Ancel Keys' work in the 20th century, his promotion of misinformation on saturated fat. Can you take us from that point up to where we are now, and why you think meat has been getting such bad press? Robb: Yeah, you know, it's interesting and worth noting the book covers the health, environmental, and ethical considerations of a meat or animal product-inclusive food system. You know, so the raising and the selling and the slaughter and the whole deal. And all of those points are important, and all of those points have some really interesting, historical antecedents, I guess, kind of describing why in different cultures meat would become vilified to varying degrees. And like, food is an interesting cultural tool for defining self from non-self. Like, if we look within the Abrahamic religions, there are some very specific delineations of what is and is not allowed within, say, Judaism versus Christianity versus Islam. And we see similar things within different Buddhist traditions and whatnot, so I mean it...Or even just within Christianity itself, you have like the Seventh Day Adventists versus, you know, certain rules and followings within Catholicism, you know. And so, it's interesting that food is a powerful tool for defining self from non-self. And not infrequently it is the beginning point of creating out of accepted groups of people. Like, there's some pretty ugly historical examples of where the different food practices of one religion or one type of people start being used as a means of, kind of, ostracizing and, kind of, walling those folks off. But we have these three different pieces that if we're really gonna do diligence on this topic that we have to address. And, you know,

Sacred Cow with Robb Wolf

In this episode of Functional Medicine Research, I interview Ashok Gupta about his limbic system retraining program. Trauma of any kind can change the brain and nervous system in a way that prevents one from getting well. Many people never get well because they don't address the underlying trauma that has triggered or contributed to their health challenges. If you've tried eating right, exercising, sleeping well, taken the best supplements, and managed your stress, but you still aren't feeling well, your brain and nervous system may be out of balance. The Gupta Program is designed to change the neuroplasticity of your brain and nervous system so you can heal and feel well again. We discuss a new and exciting published paper that validates this method of limbic system retraining. Full Transcript on Limbic System Retraining Interview Dr. Hedberg: Well, welcome everyone to "Functional Medicine Research." I'm Dr. Hedberg, and I'm very excited today to talk to Ashok Gupta about limbic system retraining. And Ashok is an internationally renowned speaker, filmmaker, and health practitioner who has dedicated his life to supporting people through chronic illness and achieving their potential. Ashok suffered from myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome about 25 years ago when he was studying at Cambridge University, and through neurological research that he conducted, he managed to get himself 100% better. He then set up a clinic to treat others and then published the well-known recovery program known as "The Gupta Program" in 2007. He's published several medical papers and he's continually researching these conditions. You can find out more information at guptaprogram.com. Ashok, thanks for coming on the program. Ashok: Thank you so much for inviting me. Very excited to be here. Dr. Hedberg: Yeah. So, the limbic system is something that I've been interested in since I started practicing 17 years ago, and you know, I have a variety of recommendations that I give to patients for that. You know, things like meditation, mindfulness training, therapy, or just a number of things, but your particular limbic system-intensive program, I heard about it recently and became very interested in it. And why don't we begin by talking about just the limbic system itself? Can you give people kind of an overview of what the limbic system does and why it's important? Ashok: Yes. So, there are many different ways of describing the limbic system. I think primarily if we start with this idea of it being a defensive system to ensure survival, right? So, most people would associate the limbic system with our emotional responses and medicine often separates the kind of psychology and the emotional responses from defense responses as if they're something different, you know, physiological defense responses versus emotional defense responses. But I see the limbic system as the automatic survival systems that we've inherited over generations of different animals and whatever that actually create responses that ensure survival. And so, a fight or flight response, a fear response, an anger response, a memory of a previous experience, all of these things are designed to ensure survival. So, that is for me the primary motive or motivation of that limbic system. And within that limbic system, there are different structures that play specific roles. And a lot of our research focuses on the amygdala, which are two almond-shaped structures that sit behind our eyes that essentially are taking all the incoming information from the outer world and the inner world, process it according to the previous experiences we've had in life, our memories, and then creates a coordinated response across the brain to ensure survival, yeah? And one way to look at this Dr. Hedberg, which I find fascinating is to ask the biggest question of all, you know, why are we here? And we can answer that question from a philosophical perspective,

Limbic System Retraining with Ashok Gupta

In this episode of Functional Medicine Research, I interview Dr. Deb Matthew about her new book on male sexual health "Why Can't I Keep Up Anymore?: A Guide to Regaining Energy, Focus, and Peak Physical & Sexual Performance for Men Over 40". We discussed the causes of male sexual dysfunction, lab testing, causes of low testosterone, stress and cortisol levels, sex hormone binding globulin, testosterone replacement methods, how sleep affects hormones and much more. This book isn't just for men. If your male partner is showing signs of low testosterone then this book is a must-read with resources on how to find the right kind of doctor to get well. Male Sexual Performance with Dr. Deb Matthew Interview Transcript Dr. Hedberg: Well, welcome, everyone, to "Functional Medicine Research." I'm Dr. Hedberg, and I'm really excited today to have Dr. Deb Matthew on the show. Dr. Matthew is a medical doctor, and she's also known as the happy hormones doctor. She's a best-selling author, international speaker, educator, wife, and mother of four. And after suffering for years with fatigue and irritability, her quest to resolve her personal health led her to change everything about her practice of medicine. She has been featured on national podcasts, radio, and broadcast shows, including NBC, ABC, CBS, and Fox. Dr. Matthew, welcome to the show. Dr. Matthew: Thank you so much. It's great to be here. Dr. Hedberg: So, we're going to be talking about your new book, "Why Can't I Keep Up Anymore?: A Guide to Regaining Energy, Focus, and Peak Physical & Sexual Performance for Men Over 40," which I read recently. It's an excellent book. Wanted to have you on and talk about something that is...well, I would say most male issues are overlooked, but testosterone is really a big one and so is sexual performance and male hormones. So, why don't we begin by talking about why testosterone is so important for men? Dr. Matthew: Yeah. You know, hormones, in general, play a big role in how we feel on the inside, how we relate to the world around us, how we react to other people. And so, testosterone drives a lot of how men feel and even behavior, and it really plays a role in men feeling like a man. So, it's important for drive and for motivation so that when you wake up in the morning and your boots hit the floor, you're ready to take on the world. And when testosterone levels are not quite right, men just don't quite feel right. And for women, when we go through our hormonal changes, it's pretty obvious. We either get menstrual problems or, you know, we get hot flashes. And so, there's some pretty obvious things that happen at some pretty obvious times in our life in order to notify us that our hormones may be changing. But for men, it's much more subtle. So, it is something that often happens gradually over time. And so, what I hear men say a lot is, you know, "I just don't quite feel like myself anymore. I'm just not quite keeping up the same way that I used to. But you know, maybe it's just my age." I hear that all the time, "It must just be my age. I'm not 18 anymore." And so, you know, maybe it's not fair to compare to an 18-year-old, but if you're 40 or 50, like let's not blame it on age. If you're 95, okay, fine. We'll blame it on your age. But when you're younger, even though things change, they don't have to feel that way. And so, one of the things that could be contributing to not quite feeling like yourself anymore is low testosterone. Dr. Hedberg: One of the things I see in practice is men who, you know, they're diagnosed with low testosterone or they have the symptoms and they see their conventional medical physician and they try a testosterone, but it doesn't work at all. Sometimes they get a little bit worse. Sometimes there's really no change. What do you think the conventional medical approach is missing when something like that happens to a man? Dr. Matthew: Oh,

Male Sexual Performance with Dr. Deb Matthew

In this episode of Functional Medicine Research, I interview my friend and colleague Cass Nelson-Dooley, M.S. in a discussion on how to heal your oral microbiome. Cass recently published the book "Heal Your Oral Microbiome" and we discussed many important topics about this often overlooked health issue. We discussed what conditions may be connected to a dysbiotic oral microbiome, how oral microbiome dysbiosis affects your health, health sweeteners, strategies to heal the oral microbiome, testing, dental products and more. If you're struggling with healing your gut or have a health issue that won't resolve, your oral microbiome may be the missing link. Full Transcript on How to Heal Your Oral Microbiome Dr. Hedberg: Well, welcome, everyone, to "Functional Medicine Research." I'm Dr. Hedberg. And I'm very excited today to have my friend and colleague, Cass Nelson-Dooley, on the show. And Cass studied medicinal plants in the rainforests of Panama in 2003 as a Fulbright Scholar and then launched a career in science and natural medicine. She researched the pharmacology of medicinal plants at the University of Georgia and AptoTec, and then joined the innovators at MetaMetrics clinical laboratory and Genova. She enjoys teaching, presenting, writing, and researching how to address the underlying causes of disease, not just the symptoms. She has over a decade of experience teaching doctors about integrative and functional laboratory results. In 2013, she started Health First Consulting, a medical communications company with a mission to improve human health using the written word. She created innovative videos and patient education handouts to improve practice efficiency and motivate patients. Miss Nelson-Dooley is the author of the book "Heal Your Oral Microbiome," which we'll be focusing on today. And has published case studies, book chapters, journal articles about natural medicine, nutrition, and laboratory testing. Her website is healthfirstconsulting.com. Cass, welcome to the show. Cass: Thank you, Nick. So happy to be here. Dr. Hedberg: Yes. It's been a while. We were just kind of reminiscing about the days at MetaMetrics and I read your new book, "Heal Your Oral Microbiome." So, I was excited to have you on about that because no one's really talking about it. So, why don't we talk about, kind of, the foundation of what we're talking about here, which is periodontal disease? And so can you just talk a little bit about what that is? Cass: Sure. Sure. So, yeah, it's great talking with you after all these years and in the starting out, getting to know you in the functional lab industry. But, yeah. So, this book was a really fun book to write, especially from the jumping-off point of gut health, right, which is kind of a central tenet in functional medicine. And that's some of the testing that we used to talk about years ago. So, so much of what we know about the gut really just perfectly translates to the mouth. And periodontal disease, you know, I kind of like to just simply say that it is a dysbiosis. It's an oral dysbiosis that...and an aberrant or an over-reactive immune response to that dysbiosis. So, one of the fascinating things, when I was writing this book, was realizing that so many of the things that plague our mouths are really just dysbiosis, you know, which we talk about all the time in regards to the gut. So, periodontal disease is an imbalance of oral bacteria that triggers an immune response that attacks and destroys bone and teeth. Cavities are a bacterial dysbiosis in the mouth. Root canal infections are bacterial imbalance in the pulp of the tooth. And then you can get cavities on the root of a tooth, which is, again, dysbiosis. So, it was pretty fun to realize, wow, all of these problems just go back to the oral microbiome and we just need to try to rein in that oral microbiome and make it healthier in order to prevent these diseases. Dr. Hedberg: Yeah.

Heal Your Oral Microbiome

In this episode of Functional Medicine Research, I interview dietician Tracey Long in a deep discussion about how to overcome mold and biotoxin illness. Tracey has firsthand experience with mold and biotoxin illness so she brings a unique and valuable perspective to this topic. We discussed Tracey's personal journey with mold and biotoxin illness, how to test your home for mold, lab testing, associated conditions, symptoms, and management strategies to get well. Full transcript on How to Overcome Mold and Biotoxin Illness Dr. Hedberg: Well, welcome, everyone, to "Functional Medicine Research." I'm Dr. Hedberg. Really excited today to have my good friend and colleague, Tracey Long, on the show. Tracey is a registered dietician, with specialty certification training in Integrative and Functional Medical Nutrition Therapy and The Bredesen Protocol to End Alzheimer's. She owns a private practice, Big Picture Health in Hendersonville, North Carolina, where she sees clients via video consultations. She specializes in working with clients with neurodegenerative conditions, biotoxin illnesses, gastrointestinal conditions, and nutrigenomics. She is a published author and teaches health coaches for Chris Kresser's Health Coach Training Program. Tracey's education includes a master of public health, an emphasis on nutrition and exercise physiology from the Colorado School of Public Health, where she studied under Dr. Loren Cordain who many of you may know as the author of "The Paleo Diet." And she's also a registered yoga teacher and certified exercise physiologist. Her personal interest include hiking with her husband and dog, urban farming, teaching yoga, foraging for mushrooms in the mountains of Western North Carolina, growing medicinal herbs and produce, paddleboarding, and visiting her three grown daughters in Colorado. Tracey, welcome to the show.   Tracey: Thank you so much, Nik. I'm so happy to be here with you today. Really appreciate the opportunity. Dr. Hedberg: Yes. Yeah. It's gonna be fun. So why don't we begin by talking about your personal journey with mold? And that's gonna be the topic of today, mold and biotoxin illness. So why don't you share your personal journey? Tracey: You bet I'd love to. And really, my personal journey, Nik, really started with a professional journey in that I became very interested in neurodegenerative conditions and I completed Dr. Bredesen's training, as you mentioned, The Bredesen Protocol to End Alzheimer's. And Dr. Bredesen has sub-categorized underlying causes of Alzheimer's, and one of those underlying causes he refers to as type three Alzheimer's that's really related to toxins. And he's identified three categories of primary toxins. The first one is heavy metals and the second one is biotoxins. And in that category, biotoxins, certainly, mold is included and also tick-borne illnesses. And now even recently we've added COVID-19, especially from the standpoint of, you know, people who have had COVID-19 and they haven't recovered. You know, we're referring to them as long haulers. And I bring that up. I'll tie that all in in just a minute. The third type of toxin Dr. Bredesen addresses are organic compounds. So there are things like herbicides and pesticides, things that we can be highly exposed to in the environment. It was interesting in that journey that I had that training and I started working with clients with all the subtypes of Alzheimer's, little did I know that I would end up having my own personal experience. So I was assisting clients who had been exposed to mold, certainly, and then we ended up moving to North Carolina. It's in the South. It's very moist here, as you know, I know you live here too. So, you know, we've had a year of record rainfall here. So I moved from Colorado, which was very hot and dry to the Southeast, which is living like in the tropics, really. We're living in a rental house. And when we found the house,

How to Overcome Mold and Biotoxin Illness

The Paleo Diet is a popular diet that can work well for many chronic diseases, especially autoimmune diseases like Hashimoto’s disease. However, the Paleo Diet can be somewhat restrictive which can result in deficiencies if the dieter doesn’t carefully review their food and micronutrient intake. Iodine is one important micronutrient that may become depleted on a Paleo Diet. The Autoimmune Paleo Diet is an even more restrictive diet so the same deficiency may happen. Let’s review what the research shows about the Paleo Diet and iodine deficiency. A paper published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition entitled, “A Paleolithic-type diet results in iodine deficiency: a 2-year randomized trial in postmenopausal obese women” sheds some light on this question. Introduction to this study on the Paleo Diet and iodine deficiency This study was done in Sweden and the authors begin by stating >50% of iodine intake comes from iodized table salt followed by dairy and seafood. The Paleo Diet is void of dairy, grains, legumes, refined sugar, processed oils, and salt thus removing two important sources of iodine. 150 micrograms of iodine per day is recommended by the Nordic Nutrition Recommendations (NNR) but the thyroid can function at 70 micrograms of iodine per day. Urinary iodine concentration (UIC) by spot urine is recommended for determining iodine status. Adequate iodine intake is a UIC of 100-199 ug/l. Mild iodine deficiency is a UIC of 50-99 ug/l. Moderate iodine deficiency is 20-49 ug/l. Severe iodine deficiency is 

Can the Paleo Diet Cause Iodine Deficiency?

I would like to report on the new product GI Meal Select from Moss Nutrition. With the increasing prevalence of gut disorders, we need more strategies to help patients get well quickly and effectively. GI Meal Select has been carefully formulated to address many aspects of gut healing in an affordable and effective product. GI Meal Select is designed to provide optimal nutrient sustenance so it can act as a stand-alone meal replacement. It is easy to digest, pleasant tasting, and reasonably priced. One of the issues with many meal replacement products is the carbohydrate and fat content which can cause gut issues like gas and bloating so this product has almost completely eliminated both. It also contains no protein powder such as whey and pea which most people with gut issues can no longer tolerate. Instead, it uses the Reginator amino acid blend to maintain muscle mass and promote tissue repair. Resting the digestive organs can be paramount in helping to enable proper gut healing and repair, provided there is an ongoing presence of protein building blocks (essential amino acids) to prevent tissue breakdown, and sufficient micronutrient cofactors to enable enzyme function and structural support. GI Meal Select provides these requisites along with two targeted gut health nutrients: a potent 2 grams of immunoglobulin rich IgY Max plus 1.75 grams of pure L-Glutamine, the primary fuel of enterocytes (cells lining the digestive tract). All the nutrient components in GI Meal Select are provided in their basic, predigested or “elemental” forms, taking a great burden off the digestive organs. In this sense, GI Meal Select offers restorative and reparative benefits similar to those of elemental formulas. However, GI Meal Select is very low in calories and free from added carbohydrates and fats, macronutrients which may trigger symptoms in GI patients. Individuals who do tolerate fats may be advised to add one teaspoon of a liquid omega-3 supplement such as EPA/DHA HP Select (high potency fish oil), Icelandic Cod Liver Oil (also a good source of vitamins A & D3) or flaxseed oil to their GI Meal Select shake. While not appropriate for extended use as the sole source of daily nutrition, GI Meal Select can be taken one or more times per day, as directed, in place of a regular meal or between meals. By allowing the digestive organs to temporarily rest, removing dietary components that feed gut microbes, supplying the body with elemental nutrition and directly nourishing the gastrointestinal tract with immunoglobulins and amino acids, GI Meal Select may help to promote repair of the intestinal lining, decrease the severity of inflammatory GI conditions, diminish the incidence of small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) and help to reset overall gut health, structure and function. A COMPREHENSIVE MULTIPLE VITAMIN/MINERAL Each serving of GI Meal Select contains a complete array of vitamins and minerals. Fat soluble vitamins A, D3, E and K2 help to heal mucous membranes and support healthy immune function, bone and vascular health. B-complex vitamins in bioactive forms, featuring methylated folate and B12, and vitamin B6 as P-5-P, promote healthy energy production, detoxification and nerve cell transmission. Buffered vitamin C is gentle on the stomach. Full spectrum minerals, essential for countless physiological mechanisms, are provided in natural, carrier-free forms to minimize the potential for irritation in hypersensitive gut patients. Moderate rather than therapeutic V/M dosing allows GI Meal Select to be taken more than once daily if needed. FREE-FORM ESSENTIAL AMINO ACIDS (EAA) represent the microscopic building blocks for all the proteins in the body—from skeletal and smooth muscle tissue to enzymes and antibodies. In contrast to food-bound proteins and protein powders such as whey, rice or pea protein, free-form EAAs are already broken down or “predigested” hence they require no effort to process,

Heal Your Gut with GI Meal Select

In this episode of Functional Medicine Research, I interview Dr. Sam Yanuck in a discussion about his latest paper on COVID-19, written with co-authors Drs. Joseph Pizzorno, ND, Helen Messier, MD, PhD, and Kara Fitzgerald, ND.  Their excellent paper outlines a phased approach to COVID-19 with specific strategies on prevention, management throughout the infection, and into the recovery period.  Dr. Yanuck has an erudite understanding of the immune system which you'll find to be extremely useful in navigating this virus. Below is a transcript of the interview with Dr. Yanuck on a phased approach to COVID-19 Dr. Hedberg: Well, welcome, everyone, to Functional Medicine Research. I'm Dr. Hedberg. And I'm really looking forward to my conversation today with Dr. Sam Yanuck. And Dr. Yanuck is the CEO and Director of Education for cogenceimmunology.com. It's an online functional immunology course whose growing community includes nearly 5,000 clinician participants from more than 60 countries around the world. He's an adjunct assistant professor in the program on integrative medicine in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine where he teaches topics in functional immunology. Dr. Yanuck is clinical director of the Yanuck Center for Life and Health, a functional medicine clinic in Chapel Hill, North Carolina where he sees patients with complex autoimmune disorders and other immunologically challenging cases. Dr. Yanuck has been seeing patients from everywhere since 1992. He also provides online consultations to clinicians around the world. And you can connect with the Yanuck Center at yanuckcenter.com. And today, we're gonna be talking about Dr. Yanuck's paper and his colleagues. They recently published a functional medicine perspective on COVID-19. And that paper is entitled "Evidence Supporting a Phased Immuno-Physiological Approach to COVID-19 From Prevention Through Recovery." Dr. Yanuck, welcome to the show. Dr. Yanuck: Thanks, Dr. Hedberg. It's a pleasure to be here. Dr. Hedberg: Great. So, this is an excellent paper outlining four phases of approach to COVID-19. Before we jump into those phases, why don't we just talk a little bit about who is at the greatest risk of developing COVID-19? And what would make someone at a greater risk for contracting the virus and having a difficult time with this particular virus? Dr. Yanuck: Sure. Well, this is really a moving multifactorial equation. There are ways that a person can be surprisingly predisposed to having a severe case of the illness that may not be obvious. Those are kind of wild cards that relate to things like antibodies against interferon, and so on. And so the challenge here is that we can come up with a sensible sort of view of who is and is not at higher risk, and yet, it's important to understand that those views, those descriptions are going to be inherently imperfect because of this wildcard effect where there are cases that have been characterized where the idiosyncrasies of a person's own diminished capacity to kill this kind of virus may only become apparent when the person is in the ICU, when the person gets the virus. And despite the fact that there are, you know, 22 or something, they may nonetheless have a terrible time of it and end up dying of COVID-19, surprisingly, despite not meeting the usual profiles. So, that's kind of a caveat to any such attempt to describe or profile who is or is not at risk. And I can tell you just personally that I'm personally connected to someone, you know, by about a two-steps level of separation, a person who was, you know, feeling flu-like on a Friday. This is like a guy in his 40s who's healthy and fit and so on. Feeling flu-like on a Friday and found dead on Monday. So, that's a kind of a cautionary tale about any attempt to say, "Here's who is and here's who isn't at risk." Now, having said that,

A Phased Approach to COVID-19: Prevention to Recovery

Functional Medicine Research with Dr. Nikolas Hedberg covers cutting-edge research with practical health information that you can actually use in your life to understand your body and get healthy. Dr. Hedberg covers Functional Medicine, thyroid disorders, gut health, autoimmune disease, nutrition and much more. If you’re tired of long-winded podcasts without useful information that actually works then this show is definitely for you.

hubhopper

Functional Medicine Research with Dr. Nikolas Hedberg

hubhopper