Entries by drweitz

Mediterranean Diet Improves Cognition and Reduces Cognitive Decline, Dementia, and Alzheimer’s Disease

We have an ageing population and degenerative neurological diseases like dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease are an increasing concern. Such conditions are marked by progressive deterioration of memory, learning, orientation, language, comprehension, and judgement.  There are no effective drugs to treat dementia, so prevention is crucial and evidence based preventative strategies are needed.  A recent meta-analysis […]

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Specialized Pro-Resolving Mediators Resolve Inflammation

Acute inflammation is the body’s natural response to injury or to pathogens and is beneficial, but too much inflammation leads to severe pain and without resolution, inflammation can become chronic. The body naturally creates Specialized Pro-Resolving Mediators (SPMs) from both omega 6 and omega 3 fats that resolve or end the inflammatory process at the […]

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Low FODMAP Diet Effective for Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Traditional wisdom has been that patients with digestive disorders should consume more fiber, since fiber reduces constipation and keeps food from sitting in the intestines for too long and rotting.  And constipation might mean that certain chemicals, like estrogens are reabsorbed back into the blood stream rather than being excreted, which can raise the risk […]

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Exercise Reduces Cancer Risk

Exercise Reduces Cancer Risk Increased physical activity reduces your risk of 13 different types of cancer, according to a new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine. This was a meta-analysis of previous studies and the cancers prevented include esophageal, liver, kidney, stomach, endometrial, leukemia, myeloma, colon, head and neck, rectal, bladder, and breast cancer.  This study […]

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Andrographis, An Immune Strengthening Herb

Andrographis paniculata is an herb that has been used in traditional Ayurvedic medicine to treat a variety of conditions.(1)  Like other plants that are recognized as having medicinal properties, the efficacy of andrographis may be due to compounds that impart a bitter flavor.  Plants protect themselves from being eaten by animals with bitter taste and this […]

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Dark Chocolate Improves Athletic Performance

Consuming dark chocolate improves athletic performance. It was found that when consuming 40 g of dark chocolate daily, amateur cyclists were found to use less oxygen when when riding at a moderate pace for 20 minutes. These cyclists also traveled a longer distance in a two minute timed trial, during which they went rode as hard […]

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GALLBLADDER DISEASE

This is the outline of the summary of gallbladder disease that I prepared for our Functional Medicine Discussion Group meeting on 3/24/2016. It is intended primarily for Functional Medicine doctors and practitioners.   GALLBLADDER DISEASE What is Gallbladder Disease?  Essentially we are talking about gallstones and the inflammation of the gallbladder and the symptoms that […]

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Fish Oil Reduces Breast Cancer Risk in Obese Women

A new study published in Cancer Prevention Research found that women who were obese and who took 4 gms of fish oil per day had a lower risk of breast cancer.(1) This study looked at women who had an increased risk of breast cancer due to increased breast density.  Other research has shown that women […]

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Low Magnesium Increases Heart Disease

We have known for many years that magnesium is one of the most important minerals for our health, including our heart health. A new study has found that those who are at low risk for heart disease but who have low serum magnesium levels, are at increased risk of coronary artery disease. They examined 34,553 people […]

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Have Gas and Bloating or Abdominal Discomfort? You May Have SIBO.

If you have been suffering from intestinal gas or bloating or discomfort or flatulence or diarrhea or constipation, there may be a solution.  There is a disorder of your intestinal tract that may explain your symptoms that can be tested for and is treatable. This condition is known as Small Intestinal Bacteria Overgrowth (SIBO).  This […]

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