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If you help correct hypoglycemia in a patient you will obviously be improving their health, but did you also know you might be improving their marriage as well?

Low Blood Sugar and Mood

In 2014, a team of researchers gathered up 107 married couples to test this. They gave them each a voodoo doll, a bunch of pins, a glucometer, and specific instructions.

The couples were instructed to measure their glucose every night and insert between 0 and 51 pins into the doll, depending on how angry they were with their spouse for 21 days. 

At the end of the 21 days, the couples returned to the lab and were asked to play a game with their spouse.  This “game”, if you could call it that, was to see which person could press a button faster.

The winner was awarded the opportunity to send a blast of noise - as long, annoying, and loud as they wanted - straight into the headphones of their better half.

As expected, the lower the glucose level, the more pins spouses added to...

It’s us again, your friendly neighborhood Functional Medicine practitioners, out to remind you that protocols are killing your business, whether you know it or not.

This time, we are going after reactive hypoglycemia.

What is Reactive Hypoglycemia?

You know, that little section on your intake form where you ask if someone gets “shaky, lightheaded, or irritable” between meals?

Reactive Hypoglycemia is generally to blame. 

While it seems innocent enough, it contributes to bigger problems down the road like hormone imbalances, cognitive issues, mood disorders, oxidative stress, inflammation, and more.

How to Treat Reactive Hypoglycemia

When we ask practitioners what they do for these patients they say, (in almost a zombie-like fashion), “small, frequent meals” and then tack on a couple of their favorite supplements.

Is that you? Keep reading. Oh, and don’t feel bad if it is. That was us too, but now we know better and we want you to as...

Here’s a quick question for you.

If you had to choose between one of the following, which one would you choose?

1. Chronically elevated glucose

OR

2. Large fluctuations of glucose

The first option has an elevated hemoglobin A1C. The second one, a normal A1C.

If you're like most people, you chose door number two - large fluctuations of glucose. But according to research, that might be the wrong option.

Just about every research study on the topic of excess glucose fluctuations, or glycemic variability as it is typically called, suggests excess glucose fluctuations are far more damaging to the body than chronically elevated glucose. 

Even when the total glucose load is lower, glycemic fluctuations still appear to be more damaging than chronically elevated glucose. 

Glycemic variability seems to lead to more oxidative stress, vascular complications, endothelial dysfunction, and cardiovascular issues than does chronically elevated glucose. 

Even...

Our culture loves to vilify things, don’t we?  

We enjoy pointing the finger and finding something to blame. It’s easier, generally makes for a good story, and doesn’t require much thought.

What’s the cause of heart disease? That’s easy – cholesterol.

Why are you so tired all the time? Nailed it – adrenals!

What’s the cause of all things horrible with glucose dysregulation? I could do this with my eyes closed – insulin!

But you know the funny thing? We are horrible judges. We almost always accuse the wrong character and, in light of new information or research, that character is usually vindicated and set free. (We're looking at you, egg yolks.)

Let's look at three reasons why insulin should be added to your "falsely accused" list.

1. Insulin is anti-inflammatory

Hyperglycemia (high blood glucose) is considered very pro-inflammatory. There is speculation in the research that one of the reasons...

What is Adrenal Fatigue?

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve heard the phrase “adrenal fatigue”.

You know, wiped out, overworked adrenal glands that have taken such a beating that they can’t muster up enough strength to make any more cortisol. This leaves their owner feeling rundown, lethargic, and generally unwell.  

Nice story. Not true.

Yes, people don't feel well. No, this isn't because of rundown adrenal glands.

It turns out, low cortisol is real, but it’s probably not due to wiped-out or rundown adrenal glands.

What Causes "Adrenal Fatigue"?

For one, viruses. 

Viruses want to avoid, evade, and otherwise sabotage their host’s immune system. After all, the more they can undermine, or misdirect, the immune system, the more they can replicate, take over the body, and ultimately survive.

If a virus was an evil supervillain, we might call him ImmunoEvader. 

Check out how they do it.

1. Some viruses have an amino...

There is MUCH more on a blood chemistry report than is printed…

No really, there is. 

And if you’re not using the numerous calculations available to analyze the data further, you’re missing out big time. 

Welcome to installment #3 of Three Ways Practitioners Are Missing Out BIG TIME when it comes to blood chemistry interpretation. 

Recap:

#1 Practitioners Are Not Using Optimal, Evidence-Based Reference Ranges

#2 Practitioners Are Not Using the Most Up-To-Date Information on Biomarkers

Now, let’s dive into #3 Not Implementing Easy-To-Use Calculations to Extract the Most Information from the Test

If you regularly wish you had more information on your client to direct their case better, you’re going to love this. 

While there are numerous scientifically validated calculations taught in our Blood Chemistry Interpretation course, let’s use viscosity as today’s example. It’s a valuable, yet way underappreciated...

In the last installment, we discussed one of the biggest mistakes health practitioners make in their practice - messing up blood chemistry interpretation.

Recap:

If you are not running blood chemistry panels, this is a problem.

If you are running functional lab panels BEFORE a blood chemistry panel, this is a problem.

If you are running blood chemistry panels, there's a good chance you're misreading them. Therefore, this too is a problem.

Note: Up until now, this hasn't been your fault. There's a good chance you learned misinformation because this subject is being taught all wrong. However, this is your wake up call. From this point forward, you now have no excuse to continue doing what you're doing.

There are three main ways practitioners are messing up blood chemistry interpretation. Last week, we discussed #1 Practitioners Are Not Using Optimal, Evidence-Based Reference Ranges.

Now, let's dive into #2 Practitioners are Not Using the Most Up-To-Date Information on Biomarkers...

Listen, as an industry we can't mess up the most valuable and cost-effective test available today, a standard blood chemistry test. 

We get it - it's poorly taught. Even in our 4-year doctorate program, we were taught only conventional methods. And as for the vast majority of online courses, seminars, and materials available today (except ours, of course), they're all the same, repackaged information that lacks scientific evidence to support their claims. 

We want you to buckle up and come along as we share three ways that most practitioners are missing the boat on this incredible tool. 

Before that, let us point out that the first way to mess up a blood chemistry test is by not using it at all and/or using other tests instead. Practitioners love organic acid tests, urinary hormone tests, stool tests, and genetic tests. While those tests are attractive to run, fun to talk about, and entertaining to look at, none have the scientific...

Imagine a giant building is going to be built.  Specific people are necessary to make it happen.  

First, there's the Idea Guy – the one who comes up with the idea and loosely how to do it. 

Then there's The Architect.  This is the person who will design the building and create the blueprint for how to make it happen.

Lastly, there's The Foreman.  This is the person that oversees the building being built to make sure it goes as planned.  

Clearly creating a motor program in your brain is complicated, and not even fully understood by science, but the above analogy can help us make some sense of it.

The Idea Guy is the motor cortex found in the pre-central gyrus of the brain.  This is roughly where the idea for the movement comes from as well as a general idea of how it should be done.  For example, let's say you want to pick up a glass of water and drink it.  The motor cortex makes some big decisions about it, like to use...

If you're a clinician, there are few subjects, if any, more relevant to your clinical success than physiology.

Why?

Think about this. Diagnosis is everything. Sure, it's great if you're a nice person, a good listener, and make patients feel comfortable. And yes, colorful lab reports feel fun to look at and share with your patients. Of course a "system" within your practice, with slick marketing techniques to fill your roster sounds amazing. But, if you can't figure out what is going on with your patients, those things do not matter. Period.

Here's an example. A patient comes to you for fatigue, and you think its due to thyroid hypofunction. You recommend the latest, greatest hypothyroid protocol, complete with the hottest supplement trend on the market. You're excited. Your patient is excited. But three months later, they come back and don't feel any better. And on top of that, they're out a few hundred bucks. All because it was never hypothyroid in...