FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE BLOG
Includes over 800 monographs reporting on emerging studies in the medical and scientific literature of practical clinical importance, easily searched for content.
Hypoglycemia increases inflammatory reactions, cardiovascular risk
"These data provide novel mechanistic insights into how hypoglycemia could increase CV risk through upregulation of inflammatory responses."
Magnesium mediates insulin resistance, diabetes risk
Low serum magnesium levels are associated with an increased risk of prediabetes, with comparable risk estimates to that of diabetes.
Autoimmune diabetes (type 1): half develops after age 30
Half of autoimmune diabetes occurs in adults. "Physicians shouldn't be complacent when...not bringing A1c down to target when they should."
Fasting insulin reliably shows insulin resistance
Insulin resistance can be reliably shown by fasting plasma insulin levels above 10.7 μU/ml.
Skipping breakfast worsens blood glucose and insulin later
Skipping breakfast worsens blood glucose and impairs the insulin response for the rest of the day.
Insulin resistance indicated by neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio
We recommend that the NLR values of diabetic patients be calculated as NLR is a cheap, predictive, and prognostic marker for IR. High NLR values were independently related to IR.
CKD (chronic kidney disease) expected for 50% over age 30
Chronic kidney disease incidence is rising steeply and projected to affect half the population aged 30 to 64. Key causal factors are metabolic syndrome with insulin resistance and hypertension. These are made worse by added sugars than by salt.
Low-normal thyroid function and cardiometabolic disorders
Observational studies suggest that low-normal thyroid function may be implicated in the pathogenesis of CVD. Low-normal thyroid function could also play a role in the development of MetS, insulin resistance and CKD...
Coffee is a liver elixir
Coffee has been documented in a multitude of studies to have metabolic, cardiovascular and brain benefits, and it is especially salubrious for the liver. A paper just published in the Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology handily summarizes several of the virtues that coffee has for liver function.
Nuts reduce inflammation and all-cause mortality
In the absence of allergy, the evidence supports the consumption of nuts as wholesome foods with anti-inflammatory and metabolic benefits, exactly what paleo diets intend to accomplish.
Prediabetes also damages the heart
A study just published in the journal Circulation demonstrates that prediabetes causes unfelt damage to the heart that substantially raises the risk of future coronary artery disease and heart failure regardless of cholesterol levels.
Prediabetes increases cancer risk
Prediabetes, elevated levels of blood sugar that are still 'within' the normal range, increases cancer risk among its mob of other afflictions as further validated by a meta-analysis just published in Diabetologia.
Nigella sativa, a true 'wonder medicine'?
Nigella sativa, also known as black cumin, produces seeds with a mind-boggling wealth of medicinal virtues. For colleagues and others who may not be familiar with the abundance of scientific evidence for the use of Nigella sativa seed extract in clinical practice, this selection of citations serves as an introduction to its wide range of indications.