Let’s find the root cause of your illness and fix it.

As a physician who focuses on the reasons why my patients become ill, I’ve come to appreciate just how much the environment around us impacts our health. Whether it is lead in our drinking water, mold in our air, or plastics in our food, it seems that wherever we turn we are confronted with yet another environmental threat. How can we stay healthy in an increasingly toxic world?

In my practice, I frequently use a nutritional formula called Elemental Select from Moss Nutrition to help patients prolong fasts and see similar results. An elemental formula is one in which fats, proteins and carbs are broken down so that they are very quickly and efficiently absorbed in the GI tract. For weight loss, I ask patients to begin fasting by skipping breakfast, and drinking only coffee, tea or bone broth.

We are being exposed to a growing number of toxic chemicals every day - and our health is declining as a result.  While some exposures are unavoidable, the key is to look for simple changes that can reduce our toxic load so that we can live longer and healthier lives. Let’s talk about tea.

Many patients with mold exposure develop problems that go far beyond runny noses - these patients are plagued by a variety of symptoms. Crippling fatigue, severe depression, brain fog and anger are quite common. Many develop chronic pain, and other patients show signs of neurologic damage through symptoms of tremors, neuropathy and even seizures.

Many functional medicine doctors have taken to calling themselves “medical detectives.” But are they following the right clues, or has the case gone cold?

I love the ketogenic diet. I use this myself to help control my blood sugar, and find that it can be extremely helpful for a range of medical conditions. For the right patient, using this diet can be life changing. I have seen several patients who have struggled with weight their entire life find that the ketogenic det was the first diet where they realized steady weight loss that stayed off. Others have been able to suppress seizures and reduce their need for seizure medication. Still others love the convenience of staying energetic for long periods of time, and find that they think better and are more productive when they use this diet.

There are problems in Functional Medicine that need to be openly discussed.

Over the years, I’ve listened closely to my patients so that I can learn what is making them sick. Because I commonly see people who have worked with many different doctors before finding my office, I have learned a lot about how different practices operate.

It isn’t always pretty.

In my clinical practice, one of my main areas of focus is helping patients improve their longevity. I am consistently looking for areas that my patients can change so they can live healthier and happier lives. Let’s talk about an overlooked risk factor - heavy metal exposure.

We know from established research that high levels of lead are associated with elevated blood pressure, increased heart sizes and increased deaths from heart attacks and strokes. After the disaster in Flint, MI many people are becoming aware of the harms that can come from lead exposure.

We are living in an increasingly polluted and toxic world. Estimates are that blood lead levels are ten times to 100 times higher than people living in the preindustrial era.