Loading...
Follow a bottle of "vegetable oil" through history. 1920: It doesn't exist. People cook with butter, lard, and tallow. Heart disease is rare. 1950: Procter & Gamble introduces Crisco, made from hydrogenated cottonseed oil. Originally an industrial lubricant. 1961: The American Heart Association recommends replacing saturated fat with polyunsaturated vegetable oils. 1980: Soybean oil consumption explodes. It's cheap, shelf-stable, and subsidized. Every fast food restaurant, every packaged food, every salad dressing. 2024: Soybean oil is the number one source of calories in the American diet, accounting for 7-8% of total caloric intake. Linoleic acid (omega-6) consumption has increased from 1-2% of calories to 8-10% over the past century. Heart disease is the number one killer. What if the oils we were told to eat are part of the problem?
Seed oils (soybean, corn, canola, sunflower, safflower, cottonseed) didn't enter the human diet in significant quantities until the early 20th century. The technology to extract oil from seeds at industrial scale didn't exist before the invention of chemical solvent extraction and mechanical pressing.
Cottonseed oil came first. It was a waste product of the cotton industry, originally used for industrial lubrication and candle-making. Procter & Gamble figured out how to hydrogenate it (adding hydrogen to make it solid at room temperature), creating Crisco in 1911. Marketing genius turned industrial waste into a "pure" cooking fat.
Soybean oil followed. US soybean production exploded after World War II. The oil was cheap, bland, and shelf-stable. Food manufacturers embraced it for cost savings.
Canola oil (from rapeseed) was developed in the 1970s in Canada, bred to reduce erucic acid content (the original rapeseed oil contained 40% erucic acid, which caused heart lesions in animal studies). Canola is marketed as "heart healthy" based on its monounsaturated fat content, though it also contains significant omega-6.
The American Heart Association began recommending polyunsaturated vegetable oils over saturated fats in 1961, based largely on the diet-heart hypothesis promoted by Ancel Keys. This recommendation drove massive shifts in the food supply.
Blasey and colleagues documented the history of seed oil introduction in the American diet in Nutrients (2021), showing that linoleic acid consumption increased from approximately 2% of total calories in 1909 to over 7% by 2010.
Two randomized controlled trials from the 1960s-70s tested the hypothesis that replacing saturated fat with vegetable oils would reduce heart disease. Both produced unexpected results. Both had their data buried for decades.
The Minnesota Coronary Experiment (1968-1973): 9,423 patients in mental hospitals and nursing homes were randomized to either a diet rich in saturated fat or one where saturated fat was replaced with corn oil (linoleic acid). The corn oil group achieved significant cholesterol reduction.
But they didn't have less heart disease. They had more mortality.
The results went unpublished for 16 years. Lead researcher Ancel Keys (yes, that Keys) never published the full data. Ramsden and colleagues finally recovered and analyzed the original data, publishing in the BMJ (2016). They found that every 30 mg/dL reduction in cholesterol from the corn oil diet was associated with a 22% increased risk of death.
The Sydney Diet Heart Study (1966-1973): 458 men with recent coronary events were randomized to either their usual diet or replacement of saturated fat with safflower oil (linoleic acid). The safflower oil group had lower cholesterol. They also had higher rates of death from all causes and cardiovascular disease.
Ramsden and colleagues recovered this data too, publishing in the BMJ (2013). The researchers concluded that substituting linoleic acid for saturated fat increased rates of death from coronary heart disease and all causes.
Two trials. Both showed vegetable oils lowered cholesterol. Both showed they increased death. Both were suppressed for decades.
Seed oils are high in linoleic acid, an omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid. Linoleic acid isn't inherently toxic. Your body needs small amounts. The problem is quantity.
Historical human intake of linoleic acid: 1-3% of total calories. Current American intake: 7-10% of total calories.
This represents a 3-5x increase in omega-6 consumption. The omega-6 to omega-3 ratio has shifted from approximately 1-2:1 to 15-20:1.
Why does this matter? Omega-6 fatty acids are precursors to pro-inflammatory eicosanoids. When omega-6 overwhelms omega-3, the body shifts toward a pro-inflammatory state.
Linoleic acid also oxidizes easily. Polyunsaturated fats have multiple double bonds in their carbon chain. These double bonds are chemically reactive and vulnerable to oxidation. When oxidized, linoleic acid produces oxidized linoleic acid metabolites (OXLAMs) including 4-HNE and MDA, which are toxic to cells.
Ramsden and colleagues published in the British Journal of Nutrition (2013) that increased tissue linoleic acid content correlated with increased oxidized LDL, a key driver of atherosclerosis.
The modern diet doesn't just contain more omega-6. It contains more oxidized omega-6, because seed oils are processed at high temperatures (deodorizing at 450-500 degrees F, bleaching, chemical extraction with hexane), creating oxidation products before the oil even reaches your kitchen.
The manufacturing process for seed oils is industrial chemistry, not food preparation.
Step 1: Seeds are cleaned and ground. Step 2: Oil is extracted using hexane (a petroleum-derived solvent). The seed meal is washed repeatedly with hexane to extract maximum oil. Step 3: Hexane is removed through distillation (residual amounts may remain). Step 4: Degumming removes phospholipids using phosphoric acid or water. Step 5: Neutralization with sodium hydroxide (lye) removes free fatty acids. Step 6: Bleaching with bleaching clay removes pigments and some oxidation products. Step 7: Deodorizing at 450-500 degrees F under vacuum removes volatile compounds that would make the oil smell rancid. This is the step that produces trans fats (0.5-4% of the final product, even in oils labeled "0g trans fat" due to rounding rules).
The result is a clear, odorless, tasteless liquid that bears no resemblance to the original seed. It's been chemically extracted, bleached, and deodorized. Any naturally occurring antioxidants, vitamins, or beneficial compounds have been destroyed.
Compare this to olive oil production: olives are crushed and the oil is separated mechanically. No solvents. No high heat. No bleaching. Extra virgin olive oil retains polyphenols, tocopherols, and its natural flavor and color.
Or butter: cream is churned. That's it.
The difference in processing alone should give pause.
Before the introduction of seed oils, the human omega-6 to omega-3 ratio was approximately 1-2:1. This ratio is consistent across hunter-gatherer populations studied by anthropologists.
Cordain and colleagues published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2000) that ancestral diets contained roughly equal amounts of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids.
The modern Western ratio is 15-20:1.
This shift occurred primarily because of two changes: massive increase in seed oil consumption (omega-6 up) and reduction in omega-3-rich foods like wild fish, pasture-raised meat, and organ meats (omega-3 down).
Grain-fed livestock (the majority of American meat) have much higher omega-6 and lower omega-3 content than grass-fed or wild animals. The animals themselves are eating an inflammatory diet, and we consume their inflammation.
Simopoulos published in Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy (2002) that reducing the ratio to 4:1 or lower was associated with 70% reduction in cardiovascular mortality, significant improvement in asthma symptoms, and reduced rheumatoid arthritis inflammation.
A 2:1 ratio reduced colorectal cancer cell proliferation. A 1:1 ratio showed the greatest cardioprotective effects.
You can't supplement enough fish oil to overcome a diet saturated with seed oils. You have to reduce the omega-6 intake simultaneously.
Replace seed oils with fats that humans have consumed for millennia.
Extra virgin olive oil: The most researched healthy fat. Rich in oleic acid (monounsaturated, anti-inflammatory) and polyphenols (powerful antioxidants). Estruch and colleagues published the PREDIMED trial in NEJM (2013): Mediterranean diet with extra virgin olive oil reduced cardiovascular events by 30%. Use for low-to-medium heat cooking, dressings, and finishing. Smoke point: 375-410 degrees F.
Avocado oil: High in oleic acid (similar to olive oil). Higher smoke point (500+ degrees F) makes it versatile for all cooking methods. Choose refined for high-heat cooking, unrefined for flavor.
Coconut oil: High in lauric acid (medium-chain saturated fat). Stable at high heat. Good for sauteing and baking. MCTs are readily converted to energy. Some concern about LDL elevation, but studies show it raises HDL as well.
Butter and ghee (grass-fed): Contains butyrate (feeds gut cells), CLA (conjugated linoleic acid, anti-inflammatory), and fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, K2. Ghee (clarified butter) has a higher smoke point and is tolerated by many with dairy sensitivity.
Tallow and lard: Traditional cooking fats. Stable at high heat. Rich in monounsaturated and saturated fats. Low in polyunsaturated fats (resistant to oxidation). Historically the default cooking fats before seed oils replaced them.
Read ingredient labels. Seed oils (soybean oil, canola oil, vegetable oil, corn oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil) are in virtually every packaged food, restaurant meal, salad dressing, and snack. Avoiding them completely requires cooking at home with the fats listed above and choosing restaurants that use olive oil or butter.
Seed oils are not food. They're industrial products that entered the human diet less than a century ago, promoted by corporations and endorsed by health organizations based on incomplete and sometimes suppressed evidence. The Minnesota and Sydney trials showed that replacing saturated fat with seed oils lowered cholesterol but increased mortality. These results were buried for decades. The omega-6 to omega-3 ratio has shifted from 1:1 to 20:1. Chronic inflammation is the predictable consequence. Cook with olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, butter, and ghee. Read labels. Avoid soybean oil, canola oil, corn oil, sunflower oil, and safflower oil. Your grandparents cooked with butter and lard. They didn't have an obesity epidemic. Something changed, and it wasn't saturated fat. It was what we replaced it with.
What is the human biofield, and how can measuring it reveal imbalances before they become symptoms? A deep dive into Gas Discharge Visualization and energy medicine.
From unexplained fatigue to anxiety, HRV testing can reveal hidden patterns in your autonomic nervous system. Here are five signs it might be right for you.
How AI, biofield imaging, and ancestral wisdom are converging to create a new paradigm in healthcare—one that sees the whole person, not just symptoms.
You're exhausted, gaining weight, and struggling with brain fog. But your doctor says everything's normal. Here's what those 'normal' labs are missing—and why optimal ranges matter more than you think.
For six decades, we've avoided eggs, butter, and red meat. Heart disease is still the leading killer. What if the low-fat, low-cholesterol dogma got it backwards?
The CDC calls water fluoridation one of the greatest public health achievements. Harvard researchers call fluoride a developmental neurotoxin. Both can't be right.
Your cholesterol is 220. Your doctor prescribes a statin. 'This will save your life,' he says. But will it? The research tells a more complicated story.
For decades, we've been told depression is caused by low serotonin. The largest review of the evidence found no convincing proof. The theory that sold billions of pills was marketing, not science.
In 1977, the U.S. government told Americans to cut fat and eat more carbs. Obesity doubled. Diabetes tripled. Heart disease remained the #1 killer. What went wrong?
The EPA says glyphosate is safe. The WHO calls it a probable carcinogen. Internal Monsanto documents reveal ghostwritten studies and suppressed research. Who do you trust?
Your TSH is normal, but you still have brain fog, weight gain, and crushing fatigue. Hashimoto's isn't a thyroid problem—it's an immune system problem attacking your thyroid.
Chronic fatigue isn't a diagnosis—it's a symptom. Thyroid dysfunction, mitochondrial impairment, chronic infections, mold toxicity. Find the cause, and energy returns.
Your doctor says diabetes is chronic and progressive. The research says otherwise. Remove the carbs, reverse the disease.
Mainstream medicine says autoimmune diseases are genetic and irreversible. But research shows increased intestinal permeability precedes autoimmune disease onset. Heal the gut, modulate the immune response.
You've been diagnosed with IBS. 'It's just stress,' your doctor says. But your bloating gets worse after eating healthy foods. Turns out 60-80% of IBS is actually SIBO.
Your fasting glucose is 95. 'Normal,' your doctor says. But your fasting insulin is 18, three times optimal. You have severe insulin resistance driving weight gain, inflammation, and chronic disease.
Your TSH is 2.8. 'Normal,' your doctor says. But you're exhausted, cold, gaining weight, and losing hair. Your Free T3 is low. Your Reverse T3 is high. You have functional hypothyroidism.
Your annual physical includes a CBC, CMP, and maybe a lipid panel. These catch acute disease but miss the slow burn of metabolic dysfunction, nutrient deficiency, and inflammation.
Your ferritin is 18. Your doctor says it's normal. But you're exhausted, your hair is falling out, and you have restless legs. In functional medicine, ferritin below 50 is deficient for women.
Your doctor checked your TSH. It's 2.9. She says your thyroid is fine. But you're cold, tired, gaining weight, losing hair. Let me teach you how to read your thyroid labs like a functional medicine doctor.
Type 2 diabetes doesn't appear overnight. It builds over 10-15 years. Fasting insulin rises first. Then triglycerides climb and HDL drops. By the time your doctor diagnoses prediabetes, you've been insulin resistant for years.
Magnesium is involved in over 300 enzymatic reactions. Fifty percent of Americans are deficient. Symptoms: anxiety, insomnia, muscle cramps, migraines, constipation, arrhythmias.
Omega-3 fatty acids reduce inflammation, improve cardiovascular health, and support brain function. But most Americans have an omega-3 index below 6%. Here's how to choose and dose correctly.
The RDA is 600 IU. That prevents rickets. It doesn't optimize immune function, reduce autoimmunity, or prevent cancer. Most people need 4,000-8,000 IU daily to reach optimal levels.
Your gynecologist diagnosed PCOS and prescribed birth control. But PCOS isn't a gynecological condition. Seventy percent is driven by insulin resistance. Lower insulin, and symptoms resolve without hormones.
Your psychiatrist diagnosed generalized anxiety disorder and prescribed Lexapro. But what if your anxiety isn't psychiatric? What if it's hypoglycemia, thyroid dysfunction, gut dysbiosis, or nutrient deficiency?
Endocrinologists say adrenal fatigue isn't a real diagnosis. They're right. But millions of people experience the symptoms. The actual condition: HPA axis dysfunction. And it's treatable.
25% of people carry genes that prevent them from clearing mycotoxins. If you live or work in a water-damaged building, mold could be causing your fatigue, brain fog, and chronic symptoms.
You've been told to limit salt to 1,500 mg per day. But the PURE study of 100,000 people found that 3,000-5,000 mg was the sweet spot. Going too low increases cardiovascular risk.
Adaptogens are herbs that help your body resist stress by modulating the HPA axis. Ashwagandha, rhodiola, holy basil, and others have centuries of traditional use backed by modern research.
N-acetyl cysteine is a powerful antioxidant, liver protectant, and mental health support. It raises glutathione, thins mucus, and has clinical evidence for OCD, addiction, and PCOS. The FDA tried to remove it from supplement shelves.
You know your triggers: red wine, chocolate, stress, weather changes. But triggers are the match, not the gasoline. The real drivers are magnesium deficiency, mitochondrial dysfunction, and gut inflammation.
Peptides are short chains of amino acids that signal your body to heal, regenerate, and optimize. BPC-157 repairs gut and tendon tissue. TB-500 accelerates recovery. Thymosin Alpha-1 modulates immunity. Welcome to the frontier of regenerative medicine.
For 40 years, Russian scientist Vladimir Khavinson has researched organ-specific peptides that regulate cellular function and extend lifespan. His peptides are used clinically in Russia. The West is just catching up.
The pill is prescribed to 140 million women worldwide. It's called 'safe and effective.' But it depletes nutrients, disrupts the microbiome, increases clotting risk, and may permanently alter mate selection. Informed consent would change everything.
Germ theory says pathogens cause disease. Terrain theory says your internal environment determines whether pathogens can cause disease. Both are true. The question isn't which is right -- it's which you can control.
The DEA calls cannabis Schedule I (no medical value). Meanwhile, 38 states have legalized medical marijuana. Thousands of chronic pain patients have replaced opioids with cannabis. The research shows it works -- and it's safer than what your doctor prescribed.
For 50 years, psychedelics were Schedule I, research was banned, and they were dismissed as dangerous drugs. Now Johns Hopkins, Imperial College London, and UCSF are publishing breakthrough results: psilocybin for depression, MDMA for PTSD, ketamine for suicidal ideation. The paradigm is shifting.
Electrohypersensitivity (EHS): headaches, fatigue, brain fog from Wi-Fi and cell towers. The WHO says there's no causal link. Patients say their symptoms are real. Both can be true.
Most vaccines are safe for most people. But adverse events happen. Chronic fatigue, autoimmunity, neurological symptoms after vaccination. These protocols address inflammation, detoxification, and immune modulation.
Flushing, hives, GI distress, anxiety, headaches after eating. Your doctor says it's anxiety. It's mast cell activation syndrome. Your mast cells are degranulating inappropriately, flooding your body with histamine.
Fasting is medicine. Autophagy, metabolic switching, stem cell regeneration, immune reset. But which protocol? 16:8? OMAD? 3-day water fast? 5-day ProLon? This is your guide.
Near-infrared light penetrates tissue and stimulates mitochondria. Wound healing accelerates. Pain decreases. Skin rejuvenates. Testosterone increases. NASA uses it. Athletes swear by it. The research is solid.
Walk barefoot on grass. Sleep on a grounded mat. Your body absorbs free electrons from the Earth, which neutralize free radicals and reduce inflammation. It sounds woo-woo. The research supports it.
90% of serotonin is made in your gut. Your microbiome produces GABA, dopamine, and acetylcholine. Dysbiosis drives anxiety, depression, and brain fog. Heal your gut, heal your mind.
Lead, mercury, cadmium, aluminum accumulate in tissue and impair mitochondrial function, hormone production, and neurotransmitter synthesis. DMSA, EDTA, chlorella, cilantro, and minerals pull them out.
Bloating, diarrhea, constipation, fatigue, brain fog, food sensitivities. Your doctor says it's IBS. It might be parasites. Wormwood, black walnut, clove, and pharmaceutical antiparasitics clear them.
Synthetic hormones (Premarin, Provera) increase cancer risk. Bioidentical hormones (estradiol, progesterone, testosterone) restore balance without the same risks. Here's how to do BHRT right.
40% of people have MTHFR gene variants that impair methylation. Methylation is required for detoxification, neurotransmitter synthesis, DNA repair, and gene expression. Methylfolate fixes it.
Root canals harbor bacteria. Mercury amalgams release vapor. Cavitations hide infections. Your teeth and gums affect your heart, brain, and immune system more than conventional dentistry acknowledges.
Conventional gastroenterologists say colonics are unnecessary and risky. Functional medicine practitioners swear by them. Coffee enemas stimulate glutathione production. Here's what the research actually shows.
Homeopathy is dismissed as placebo. Yet studies show effects beyond placebo, especially in animals and infants. Nanoparticles, hormesis, and water memory are proposed mechanisms. The jury is still out.
Electrodermal screening measures skin conductance at acupuncture points to assess organ function and detect sensitivities. Widely used in Europe. Dismissed in the U.S. What does the evidence say?
Prenuvo, Ezra, SimonOne: full-body MRI for early cancer detection. No radiation. Detects tumors, aneurysms, and structural abnormalities before symptoms. Is it worth it, or just expensive anxiety?
Your doctor reviews labs in 90 seconds and says 'everything's normal.' You deserve to understand what those numbers mean. This is your guide to reading CBC, CMP, lipids, thyroid, and more.
Your gut microbiome weighs 2-3 pounds and contains more cells than your body. It regulates immunity, mood, metabolism, hormone balance, and disease risk. Dysbiosis is at the root of most chronic disease.
Racetams, modafinil, nicotine, caffeine, L-theanine, lions mane, bacopa, rhodiola, alpha-GPC. Some nootropics have solid evidence. Others are overhyped. This is your evidence-based guide.
Melatonin helps some people. For others, it doesn't touch the root causes: cortisol dysregulation, blood sugar crashes, sleep apnea, blue light exposure, magnesium deficiency, or circadian misalignment.
NAD+ declines with age, impairing mitochondrial function and DNA repair. NMN and NR restore it. Resveratrol activates sirtuins. Senolytics clear senescent cells. Aging is no longer inevitable.
The AIP diet removes inflammatory foods (grains, dairy, legumes, nightshades, eggs, nuts, seeds) to calm immune overreactivity. Many autoimmune patients achieve remission. Here's how to do it.
Both address root causes. Both use labs, supplements, and lifestyle. Functional MDs have conventional training plus functional approach. NDs have naturopathic training. Here's how to choose.
Gabriel's Practitioner Score (GPS) rates clinicians on evidence-based practice, patient outcomes, transparency, and safety. Not all 'holistic' doctors are created equal. Here's how we separate signal from noise.
Gabriel rates every protocol with our Evidence-Based Score (GBS): mechanistic plausibility, clinical trials, real-world outcomes, and safety data. We don't promote treatments just because they're 'natural.'
Oura Ring, Whoop, Apple Watch, CGMs, Levels, Ultrahuman, Eight Sleep. Wearables track HRV, sleep, glucose, and recovery. Some are gamechangers. Others are expensive toys. Here's the breakdown.
Antidepressants to amino acids. Statins to red yeast rice. PPIs to DGL and zinc carnosine. These patients transitioned from pharmaceuticals to natural protocols under medical supervision. Their stories.
You are not a machine. Symptoms are not malfunctions to suppress. Healing requires addressing physical terrain, emotional patterns, and spiritual alignment. This is Gabriel's philosophy.
Ear infections, ADHD, eczema, allergies, recurrent illness. Conventional pediatrics reaches for antibiotics and stimulants. Natural pediatrics addresses immune function, gut health, nutrition, and toxin exposure.
Standard Lyme tests miss 50% of cases. Babesia, Bartonella, Mycoplasma: coinfections complicate treatment. Years of symptoms dismissed as fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue. Herbal protocols and long-term antibiotics both have roles.
MTHFR C677T and A1298C variants are common. They impair folate metabolism and methylation. Some people need methylfolate. Others don't. Testing clarifies. Here's when it matters.
Hashimoto's destroys your thyroid slowly. Conventional medicine waits until it's gone, then prescribes levothyroxine. Functional medicine intervenes early: remove gluten, supplement selenium, heal the gut. Antibodies drop. Progression stops.
Bloating after meals. Constipation alternating with diarrhea. Brain fog. SIBO is bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine. Breath tests diagnose it. Herbal antimicrobials (oregano, berberine, neem) or rifaximin treat it.
Your hemoglobin is normal. Your doctor says your iron is fine. But your ferritin is 15. You're exhausted, losing hair, cold all the time. Ferritin below 50-70 causes symptoms even without anemia.
The vagus nerve is your parasympathetic command center. It reduces inflammation, supports digestion, calms anxiety, and regulates heart rate. Stimulate it with cold exposure, breathwork, humming, and gargling.
All-meat diet: beef, salt, water. Nothing else. It sounds insane. Yet patients with severe autoimmune disease (Crohn's, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus) achieve remission. Is it sustainable? Is it safe? What does the research say?
Controlled breathing modulates the autonomic nervous system. Wim Hof method reduces inflammation. Holotropic breathwork accesses altered states. Box breathing calms anxiety. Ancient practices meet modern research.
Los Angeles has hundreds of practitioners, but which ones truly understand autoimmune disease? Here's what to look for when seeking root-cause treatment for lupus, Hashimoto's, or rheumatoid arthritis in LA.
San Francisco's top naturopaths treat thyroid problems by addressing gut health, nutrient deficiencies, and autoimmune triggers -- not just replacing hormones. Find the right practitioner for Hashimoto's or hypothyroidism.
Portland has a thriving naturopathic medicine scene. Find practitioners who specialize in gut health restoration, from SIBO treatment to microbiome rebuilding and digestive enzyme support.
Seattle's naturopaths treat anxiety by addressing gut health, nutrient deficiencies, and HPA axis dysfunction -- not just prescribing SSRIs. Find practitioners who understand the biochemistry of mental health.
Austin's functional medicine practitioners specialize in chronic fatigue, addressing mitochondrial dysfunction, viral infections, and adrenal exhaustion that conventional doctors miss.
Miami's functional medicine practitioners treat hormonal imbalance by addressing root causes -- liver detoxification, insulin resistance, and stress hormones -- not just prescribing synthetic hormones.
San Diego offers integrative cancer care that combines conventional treatment with metabolic therapy, immune support, and detoxification. Find practitioners who specialize in oncology support.
Houston's functional medicine practitioners treat PCOS by addressing insulin resistance, the root cause driving irregular periods, acne, and infertility. Find doctors who understand metabolic healing.
New York has some of the highest Lyme disease rates in the country. Find functional medicine doctors who understand co-infections, biofilms, and detoxification protocols that conventional doctors miss.
Dallas fertility specialists take a functional approach, optimizing egg and sperm quality, balancing hormones, and addressing underlying conditions before resorting to IVF.
From FDA trials to legal retreats, here's everything you need to know about the current state of psychedelic medicine and how to access it safely.
Two of the most powerful plant medicines serve very different purposes. Here's how to know which path is right for your healing journey.
Ketamine therapy is now widely available across the U.S. Here's how to find a quality provider and what happens during treatment.
Psilocybin is racing toward FDA approval. Here's where the research stands and how you can participate in groundbreaking trials.
The psychedelic experience opens doors, but integration is walking through them. Here's how to make sure insights translate into lasting change.
Not all naturopathic doctors practice the same way. Learn what makes a doctor truly holistic, red flags to watch for, and how to find the right practitioner for your health journey.
Insurance coverage for naturopathic doctors varies wildly depending on where you live and what plan you have. Here's everything you need to know about getting your ND visits covered.
Both functional medicine practitioners and naturopathic doctors focus on root causes and personalized care, but their training and approaches differ significantly. Here's how to choose.
Psilocybin therapy is legal in Oregon and expanding elsewhere. Here's exactly what a guided session looks like, what it costs, how to find a facilitator, and who it's best suited for.
More families are seeking natural approaches to ADHD, whether as alternatives or complements to medication. Here's what naturopathic doctors actually do for ADHD and what the evidence shows.
Explore how naturopathic medicine addresses anxiety at its roots through gut-brain axis optimization, HPA axis support, targeted nutrients, and evidence-based botanicals. A comprehensive guide beyond conventional SSRIs.
Why standard thyroid treatment often fails patients and how naturopathic medicine uses comprehensive testing, targeted nutrition, and individualized hormone therapy to optimize thyroid function.
A comprehensive ranking of gut health supplements based on clinical evidence. From probiotics to butyrate, discover which supplements work, optimal dosing, and who benefits most.
Deep dive into the clinical evidence for ashwagandha's cortisol-lowering effects. Examine key trials, compare extract types, understand optimal dosing, and learn who should avoid this popular adaptogen.
Explore natural compounds that stimulate GLP-1 secretion, from berberine to specific fibers. Understand realistic expectations compared to pharmaceutical GLP-1 agonists and who benefits from natural approaches.
DHT shrinks follicles. That's what your dermatologist told you. Take finasteride, block DHT, keep your hair. But the DHT theory is incomplete at best, dangerously wrong at worst.
Hair loss isn't a DHT problem. It's a metabolism problem. Ray Peat's framework and Danny Roddy's protocols show how optimizing thyroid function, reducing stress hormones, and fixing cellular energy production can restore hair growth.
Balding scalps have 60% less blood flow than non-balding scalps. Tissue is fibrotic and calcified. The pattern follows the galea aponeurotica. This is mechanical, not hormonal.
Two psychedelics, two mechanisms, two very different experiences. Ketamine is legal and accessible. Psilocybin has deeper research but limited access. Here's how to choose.
Three minutes in 50-degree water triggers cold shock proteins, spikes norepinephrine 250%, activates brown fat, and reduces inflammation. Here's what the research actually shows.
Soybean oil, corn oil, canola oil. Once nonexistent in the human diet, now 20% of our calories. Linoleic acid oxidizes in your body, wrecks mitochondria, and drives chronic disease.
Your cortisol is dysregulated. Either too high all the time, flatlined and exhausted, or spiking at night when it should be low. This one hormone explains your weight gain, insomnia, and brain fog.
Ozempic and Wegovy work by activating GLP-1 receptors. Berberine, high-protein meals, specific fibers, and yerba mate do the same thing naturally. Not as powerful, but without the $1,000/month price tag or side effects.
Wavelengths 630-670nm red and 810-850nm near-infrared penetrate tissue, activate cytochrome c oxidase in mitochondria, increase ATP production, reduce inflammation, and improve hair growth, skin, pain, and thyroid function.
Your gut produces 90% of your serotonin. The vagus nerve connects your gut to your brain. Gut bacteria produce neurotransmitters. Leaky gut causes brain inflammation. Fix your gut, fix your mood.
Magnesium is required for over 300 enzymatic reactions. It regulates sleep, mood, muscle function, blood pressure, and blood sugar. Modern diets and soil depletion leave 50% of Americans deficient. Here are the 7 forms and when to use each.
Walking barefoot on the earth transfers electrons into your body, reduces inflammation, normalizes cortisol, and improves sleep. Clint Ober and Gaetan Chevalier's research shows measurable physiological changes. Here's the science.
Your TSH is 3.5. Your ferritin is 30. Your vitamin D is 32. Your doctor says you're normal. But functional ranges tell a different story. Here's why normal isn't optimal.
MIT research and UTHSCSA breakthroughs reveal two converging technologies that clear brain plaques, reverse zombie cells, and may unlock biological age reversal. The science is real.