When I was in undergraduate school, I took a class called Nutrition Ecology. It talked about the ecosystem in which food is manufactured and how the environment moves various pesticides, pollutants, and toxins into our food supply.  Required reading for the course included “Silent Spring,” a book by Rachel Carson. Carson discussed how the use […]

I often talk about unhealthy fats, like saturated fats and trans fats, that increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. Omega-3 fatty acids are the best example of healthy fats that the body needs to function at an optimal level. The three most important types of omega-3 fatty acids are ALA (alpha-linolenic acid), DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), […]

Earlier this month, Reuters published a roundup of studies on COVID-19 that focused on risk factors, treatment options, and other issues. The top headline of the article focuses on how gut health affects COVID-19 severity and immune response. More specifically, a two-hospital study of 100 patients found that gut microbiome composition was significantly altered in […]

As we head into another presidential election cycle, we’re starting to hear from people who want to bring back civics courses to every school in America. People need to learn about how government works, the rights and responsibilities of citizens, and why these rights and responsibilities are important. We also hear people demand that schools […]

Although nutrigenomic is a relatively new area of scientific study, we’ve already seen tremendous results at Natural Healthcare Center. In the simplest of terms, nutrigenomics tells us how food affects your metabolism and your genes, and how certain nutrients affect gene expression. This allows us to make truly personalized nutritional recommendations based on your genetic […]

If you sprained your ankle, would you jump off a table 15 times in a row? Then why in the name of all that is reasonable would someone with inflammation continue to fill their body with inflammatory foods? I get that the pain you would feel by repeatedly jumping on a sprained ankle would be […]

A reader of my blog sent me a screenshot of paid content from the American Beverage Association that appeared on a major news network’s website. When I say “paid content,” I’m referring to advertising that’s dressed up to look like the kinds of articles that visitors actually go to the website to read. There were […]

In Part 1 of our blog series on intestinal permeability, we explained what intestinal permeability is and why it’s a problem. When there’s an imbalance of gut bacteria, the passage of toxins, digestive proteins, bacteria and viruses from the gastrointestinal system into the bloodstream becomes unregulated. When permeability isn’t tightly controlled, it can cause the […]

In Part 1 of our blog series on intestinal permeability, we explained what intestinal permeability really is and why the more popular term, leaky gut, doesn’t make sense. The gut is supposed to “leak” to allow nutrients into the bloodstream while the immune system fights off any toxins that sneak through the gastrointestinal wall. However, […]

Leaky gut has become a bit of a buzzword as more healthcare providers wake up to the fact that the food we put into our bodies can get into the bloodstream and affect our health. Unfortunately, we’ve found that many people don’t take the term “leaky gut” seriously. Not only does it sound silly, but […]