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Five ways eating more vegetables makes you happier
New research shows increasing your intake of fresh fruits and vegetables can boost your well-being in as little as two weeks. Although the study didn’t explain why, previous studies show eating more vegetables impacts brain, immune, and gut health — all of which affect your mood. The New Zealand study divided more than 170 young adults into…
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Is too much iron causing your chronic inflammation?
Did you know too much iron is toxic and inflammatory? If you are working to manage a chronic inflammatory condition, make sure high iron levels aren’t sabotaging your efforts. (Likewise, low iron levels can also make it difficult or impossible to heal.) Hemochromatosis is a genetic disorder in which the body absorbs too much dietary…
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Hydrochloric acid (HCl) and enzymes for digestion
Do you suffer from acid reflux, indigestion, slow gut transit time, or feeling like there’s a brick in your stomach after eating? Or perhaps you’re on a restricted diet for a chronic health condition but still react to an ever shrinking list of foods. If so, you need to work on restoring digestion. Many factors…
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Why lab testing is important in functional medicine
Lab testing is foundational to functional medicine, and for good reason. It can show you what is causing your symptoms, if you are headed toward a disease (even if you don’t have symptoms), track the progress of your protocol, and motivate you to stick with your protocol. Lab testing includes many different tests. Some examples…
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What is leaky gut and why should you care?
Does stuff really leak out of your intestines when you have leaky gut? The truth is, contents of the small intestine escape through the wall into the bloodstream. This can trigger many different inflammatory disorders and autoimmune disease, a disease in which the immune system attacks and destroys body tissue. Leaky gut is associated with…
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Three ways to make the placebo effect work for you
The placebo effect is a target of ridicule but studies show it has become increasingly effective in recent years, particularly in the United States, where drugs for pain, depression, anxiety sometimes barely outmatch placebos. Fortunately, researchers have decided to study how and why the placebo effect works. By embracing the mystery of the placebo effect, you can harness its…
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Diets sodas are dangerous and they make you fat
Millions of people drink diet soda in the belief they’re preventing weight gain, and the soda industry invests millions of dollars to perpetuate this belief. Research, however, paints a different picture — diet sodas are dangerous and can make you fat. Artificial, low-calorie sweeteners used in diet sodas confuse the body and derange its ability to metabolize…
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Start the new year with an anti-inflammatory detox diet
If you’re like most people, you over indulged during the holidays and now you’d like to reboot your health with a detox diet. The autoimmune diet calms inflammation, stimulates repair and recovery, and boosts energy while preventing hunger. It also helps tame autoimmunity and repair leaky gut. Remove foods that cause inflammation Many foods people eat daily…
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Is stress making you sick? Use an adrenal stress test
You’ve probably heard it over and over: Stress raises the risk of disease. But how do you know if your stress is the disease-causing kind? It’s helpful to know some signs and about the adrenal stress test. Severe stress can either cause you to be fatigued all the time, wired all the time, or a…
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What is functional medicine? Look for the root cause
You may have noticed the term “functional medicine” becoming more popular. What is functional medicine and how is it different from regular medicine? Functional medicine addresses health disorders by looking at their root causes rather than masking symptoms with drugs or surgery. By looking at root causes, you improve your energy, sleep, vitality, and even…
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