Health Topics

Most athletes stretch more when they get hurt. They assume tight muscles are the cause, even though the tightness often returns within hours. Not to mention the risk of injury with static stretching. The real issue is usually proprioception—your brain’s ability to sense joint position, load, and movement. When proprioception falters, muscles misfire, joints lose precision, and injuries repeat. The nervous system, not the muscle length, is the dominant variable….

Estrogen dominance is often framed as “too much estrogen,” but the deeper issue is almost always poor estrogen clearance, not overproduction. The body may be making a normal amount of estrogen—yet struggling to process and excrete it through the liver, bile, and gut. When Phase I and Phase II detoxification pathways become unbalanced—especially glucuronidation (UGTs) and sulfation (SULTs)—estrogens linger longer, recirculate through the gut, and bind receptors more aggressively. This…

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) is not ordinary exhaustion. It represents a global energy failure driven by mitochondrial shutdown and neuroimmune miscommunication. Patients often describe the feeling as a battery that won’t recharge, no matter how much they rest. Even mild activity can trigger post-exertional malaise (PEM)—a delayed crash caused by impaired cellular energy systems and an overly-sensitive neuroimmune network. The most current research points toward two deeply intertwined drivers:…

Introduction Alpha-gal Syndrome (AGS) has become increasingly common throughout the Midwest, especially in regions populated by the Lone Star Tick. Most patients who suspect AGS come in with stories like: “I feel inflamed or nauseous hours after eating meat — not immediately.” “I react to beef one day, dairy the next, and gelatin randomly.” “My labs are positive, but nobody can explain why it’s inconsistent.” This inconsistency is the hallmark…

Introduction Many patients are told their thyroid labs are “normal,” yet they still feel tired, cold, foggy, inflamed, or simply “not themselves.” A normal TSH does not guarantee optimal thyroid function. TSH is a signal, not a measure of hormone conversion, cellular utilization, gut-liver processing, or inflammatory stress. The thyroid is not a single gland operating alone — it is tied to nutrient status, mitochondrial efficiency, immune balance, digestion, liver…

Introduction We’ve all heard the phrase “running on adrenaline.” But what happens when your body can’t keep up? Chronic stress, inconsistent sleep, and blood sugar swings can push the adrenal glands—and the entire hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis—beyond their capacity. The result isn’t just fatigue. It’s a systemic communication breakdown that affects mood, hormones, metabolism, and resilience. In functional medicine, we see this pattern daily. Patients may have “normal” labs yet describe…