You may have heard of oxalate because it is infamously implicated in kidney stone formation. Oxalate is damaging in higher concentrations, cannot be metabolized, and needs to be excreted. Given their direct role in oxalate excretion, the kidneys often sustain the most severe damage in states of oxalate excess, but other tissues can suffer as well. This post will cover oxalate, what foods contain it, the problems it can cause, and what to do about reducing oxalate if you are experiencing a problem.
Read MoreMore commonly known as canker sores, recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) can be quite a nuisance. Because the sores are associated with systemic inflammation, I believe that they can be preventable, and I have seen this first-hand in patients. Today I want to cover three important ways you can help prevent them. I also want to tell you about a surprising at-home treatment that has proven to be more effective than prescriotion medication.
Read MoreVitamin B12 deficiency is way more common than most conventional physicians are willing to admit. The literature states that only 7% of the population is deficient, but t the current limit of 200 ng/ml is probably too low. Neurological symptoms can be experienced in the low-normal range, and western medicine ignores this fact. Using functional medicine standards, which are higher, nearly half of the population may be suffering from B12 deficiency. Data from the Tufts University Framingham Offspring Study suggests that 40 percent of people between 26 and 83 have plasma B12 levels in the low-normal range. Most surprising to the researchers was that low B12 levels were as common in younger people as in the elderly. This is alarming as children suffer irreparable neurological damage with chronic B12 deficiency. Today I would like to talk about B12 deficiency and how to avoid it.
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