By Aylah Clark, ND Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease where gluten consumption triggers an inflammatory response and damage to the intestines. It is caused by a complex interaction between genetic predisposition, intestinal microbiome, environment, and immune system. Symptoms & Diagnosis Symptoms can vary widely but can include gastrointestinal symptoms such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, bloating, and mouth sores, but …
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How to Use Nutrition to Help Combat Addiction
By Aylah Clark, ND Though the rates of cigarette smoking, alcohol abuse, and cocaine use have declined in recent years, addiction to these and other substances continue to be a serious problem. Sometimes addiction can even start with a prescribed medication that may have been very beneficial to reduce symptoms and improve quality of life at the time. 2.5% of …
Forest Medicine & The Science Behind Shinrin-Yoku
By Aylah Clark, ND Less than 0.01% of our species existence has been in our modern, urbanized surroundings. (1) Throughout the 99.99% of our species’ time before this urbanization, we had many more interactions with nature and subsequent adaptations of our immune system, genetic expression, microbiota ecosystem, and stress response. Our bodies respond to airborne plant compounds and work in symbiosis with microorganisms. Our …
5 Steps to Ending Your Screen Addiction
By Aylah Clark, ND How often do you check your phone? Do you ever think you feel your phone vibrating but it wasn’t? Do you look at your phone to check the time and end up spending 10 minutes on Facebook, finding you never actually looked at the time? Have you eaten across the table from someone who spent more …
The Role of Inflammation in Body Weight: An Intro to the Biology of Fat
By Aylah Clark, ND Inflammation comes up a lot in my practice. It promotes many chronic diseases and correlates with worsening signs and symptoms whether it be autoimmune disease, arthritis, cardiovascular disease, or others. Inflammation is also intrinsically tied to obesity and this connection is well-established. How are inflammation and body weight related and what can we do about it? What is inflammation? …
How Reducing Toxin Exposure Can Promote a Healthy Weight
By Aylah Clark, ND It may not surprise you that the majority of my patients come in with some level of concern about their weight. Even if it is not their primary concern, the issue is on their short list. Certainly part of that comes down to societal constructs of what we think we should look like, comparing perfectly healthy …
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Struggling with weight loss? Lipedema may be the reason why.
By Aylah Clark, ND “It all started in menopause. The weight started to come on gradually, primarily in my arms and legs, and I couldn’t seem to get it to go away. I tried everything. I eat a super clean diet and I work out religiously. The weight barely budges. I feel like something is wrong with me. I just …
Tried & True Ways to Stick to Your Health & Fitness Goals
By Aylah Clark, ND We’ve all been ther Individualize Your Plan Your friend or your co-worker may have things that work very well for them, but don’t be surprised if their plan doesn’t work for you. You have your own obstacles that you need to overcome and the first step is to identify them. Below I will walk through the …
Garcinia cambogia – worth the weight loss hype?
By Aylah Clark, ND Recently we’ve had patients asking about Garcinia cambogia due to a Dr. Oz show that touted its weight loss-promoting properties. Let me start by saying this herb is not a new discovery. Researchers have known about it for many years and it is found in many weight loss supplements. Perhaps this might also tell you that whatever impact …
10 Things You Can do to Help Control Healthy DNA Expression
If you have a parent or other family member with a health condition like high cholesterol or cancer you’ve probably considered you may have a genetic predisposition for those conditions. Though this may be true, it doesn’t mean you can’t influence your risk. It’s no secret that diet and exercise can have positive influences on your health and risk for …