blog
vitamin D: what you need to know
If you're a human and you don't live at the equator, your levels are probably low. Doctors used to test this rarely, worrying only about the disease of severe deficiency (rickets), but now it's tested routinely. Low vitamin D has been implicated in everything from fatigue to psychiatric disorders to low bone density. Huh? What's the unifying thread here? How does this work? Why should you care?
Brain fog is not just in your head.
Brain fog" was not a term I heard often in my practice until a few years ago. It's now a frequent, and often frustrating, concern that patients bring. The term first appeared in scientific literature in 2004, with a dramatic uptick in the last two years. Perhaps this symptom is becoming more common, perhaps the language now used to describe it has consolidated, perhaps science is becoming more adept at measuring it, or maybe all three.
The placebo effect and you
The placebo effect is evidence that bodies can take healing cues from the mind. Perhaps the cartesian dualism of separate mind and body is overlooking a fundamental truth about humans and the way we function. How does meditation lower blood pressure? How does anxiety cause an upset stomach? How, indeed, does belief that you are being treated lead to healing?
Diet Science: Support for Plant-Based Eating
This study showed that a low-fat vegan diet can improve some important health markers in overweight adults in a real-world setting. Good to know! Helpful! This increases my confidence that, for a patient who wanted to do it, a low-fat vegan diet is likely to improve their metabolic health.