Vitamin B6 has been widely used in the treatment of morning sickness, and other types of nausea. B6 has been known to have antiemetic effects since the 1940s. There are multiple forms of B6 in blood circulation and knowing which form had the most significant effect on nausea and vomiting had been a bit of a mystery until newer research pointed to the pyridoxal-5-phosphate (P5P) form of B6 as being associated with the decrease in nausea and vomiting symptoms. But, it's not just this simple (of course)

Magnesium is an essential mineral for life. It is the catalyst of over 300 different enzymatic reactions. It is also tricky to absorb and requires the perfect environment.

Even if everything is perfect, dietary magnesium is, at best, 50% absorbed. 

When you are low in magnesium, it is important to make sure you are absorbing as much as you. Knowing what increases and decreases absorption is the first step.

Nutrition is a critical determinant of immune responses and malnutrition is the most common cause of immunodeficiency worldwide. Your body requires both macronutrients and micronutrients to do its job of keeping you safe from invading pathogens. Deficiency in protein, and micronutrients zinc, selenium, iron, copper, vitamins A, C, D, E, and B-6, and folate, even mild deficiency, is associated with immune dysfunction and increased infection complications. 

Menorrhagia is the medical term for menstrual bleeding that is abnormally heavy or prolonged. The amount of blood loss needed to be diagnosed with menorrhagia is extreme, and the prolonged bleeding often times multiple weeks in length. Menorrhagia affects approximately 10 million American women, mostly in their 40's and 50's, and accounts for 20% of gynecological visits.

The goals of alternative treatments for menorrhagia are the same as the goals of conventional treatment: control the bleeding, prevent and treat anemia, and restore an acceptable menstrual pattern. Through my functional medicine approach to treatment, I look at etiology, nutritional deficiencies, and how these two factors create a pattern of dysfunction. With correct identification of the pattern of dysfunction, treatment of menorrhagia can be more precise and effective.

Most of have been touch by cancer in our lives. Whether it is a mother, daughter, cousin or friend, at some point we will all have a loved one diagnosed with cancer. According the the National Cancer Institute, it was estimated that 1,735,350 new cases of cancer were diagnosed in 2018. The most commonly diagnosed cancers in the United States are breast cancer, lung and bronchus cancer, prostate cancer, colon and rectum cancer, melanoma of the skin, bladder cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, kidney and renal pelvis cancer, endometrial cancer, leukemia, pancreatic cancer, thyroid cancer, and liver cancer. Approximately 38% of Americans will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetimes. 

Nutrition in the treatment and prevention of cancer is important to better outcome success. Nutritional dysfunction can be caused by the disease, or be related to previous health issues and lifestyle, or be a complication of chemotherapy and other drug use in treatment. In either case, proper nutrition is paramount in treatment and prevention of relapse.

Medications save lives and help many people live more full lives. But with all medications there comes risks, and side effects. This is the same with all forms of birth control. It would be naive to think that adding a synthetic hormone to your body would not cause a disruption. This is a non-natural addition to your biochemistry. As such it changes aspects of your biochemistry, some with positive and wanted effects, and others negative. These negative changes cause side effects. Some mild and some severe. Side effects are caused by a number of factors including the diminished ability to properly metabolize the additional hormones, allergic reactions to the medications, the act of disrupting your natural hormonal patterns, and nutrient depletion among others. In this article we will be addressing the nutrient depletion component. 

We have all read articles talking about fats...don't eat this fat, eat lots of this fat, etc.... How many of you actually know what kind of fat is what? What are Omega-3 fatty acids and how do they differ from Omega-6 and 9 and even Omega 7? What is polyunsaturated vs. Monounsaturated vs. saturated?

​Well, hopefully I can give you a quick break down and help with any confusions.

Preeclampsia is a prenatal and postpartum condition that is hallmarked by gestational hypertension and the presence of protein in the urine. It occurs in approximately 5-8% of pregnant women, and can be life threatening. Woman who have had preeclampsia with a previous pregnancy are at a higher risk of developing it again. 

There have been several studies linking different nutritional deficiencies with an increased risk of developing gestational hypertension and preeclampsia. In this article I will address the individual nutrients linked in these studies, as well as nutritional principles to get you started. ​