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Venture Capital In Medicine: The Bad, The Bad, And The Ugly
RVUs are the commission structure Stark was written to stop: In the late 1980s it became illegal to pay a physician bonuses and commissions the way you pay a salesperson, for exactly the reason you would expect. Those laws are still law. They are also not enforced, and relative value units do the same job with better branding. Ask what a November surgery date is really about: A slight limp, no MRI, no ultrasound, no x-ray, ten minutes of face time, and a hip replacement booked to land before the calendar year closed. Most doctors are not working this way. But once compensation rides on volume, that question stops being cynical and starts being basic diligence. The consolidation play is turning on the people who built it: Buying up locations was supposed to create leverage against the payers. The payers set the reimbursement rate, and lowering it is how a hospital becomes a cheap acquisition. Corporate practice of medicine statutes are the lever a few states are finally reaching for.
What Doctors May Miss When Treating Cancer | Dr. Jim Chialtas
Functional medicine looks beyond the diagnosis Dr. Chialtas explains that functional medicine focuses on the mechanisms and underlying factors associated with a condition rather than simply treating the diagnosis. He discusses looking for early metabolic, nutritional, thyroid, blood sugar, and inflammatory patterns through more comprehensive testing. Nutrition, movement, and gut health are foundational The conversation emphasizes returning to whole foods, reducing highly processed foods, staying physically active, and increasing the diversity of plant foods and fiber. Dr. Chialtas discusses the relationship between gut health, the microbiome, immune function, and overall health, while stressing that dietary approaches should be individualized. Cancer care should address the whole person Dr. Chialtas emphasizes that functional medicine can be used as supportive care alongside conventional oncology, with careful attention to timing and potential interactions. He also highlights emotional and spiritual well-being, relationships, hope, and quality of life as important parts of navigating cancer.
Men Have Hormones Too
Normal labs can still leave a man feeling off. A total testosterone test on its own can look fine while much of that testosterone is bound to sex hormone-binding globulin, which a colleague of mine calls the Uber that drives hormones around the body. Dr. Mark wants the fuller panel checked before anyone says everything looks fine. Sleep may be the biggest lever. Dr. Mark says men who regularly sleep less than six and a half hours a night can expect their hormones to take a hit. Resistance training at least twice a week and a healthy body weight help too, and none of it needs a prescription. Erectile dysfunction can be an early heart warning. Diseased arteries affect blood flow everywhere, so trouble with erections at any age can be the first sign of cardiovascular disease. It's a reason to get a proper heart workup, and a reason to look past the band-aid pill.
Why Probiotics Stop Working (And What Actually Rebuilds Your Gut)
Probiotics Are Fertilizer, Not Seeds Shaina Cahill explains that probiotics are "vacationers." They support the bacteria already in your gut, then pass through and leave. If a keystone species like Bifidobacterium is completely gone, a probiotic is like fertilizer on an empty pot: nothing grows. She also warns that taking probiotics during a stool test can make it look like you have bacteria that disappear a week or two after you stop. FMT Transfers a Healthy Gut's "Instruction Manual" FMT captures a snapshot of a healthy donor's microbiome and processes it into an enema, a capsule, or a tasteless, odorless oral powder. Only about 1% of donor applicants qualify. They're screened for birth method, antibiotic history, family health history, and pathogens, then re-tested every 90 days. Treatment windows are getting longer so patients can build new diet, sleep and movement habits while the new bacteria settle in. Your Gut and Brain Have Been Talking Since Birth The gut is one of the first systems to mature, taking on its adult-like setup by around ages 3 to 5, and it helps set the pace for immune and brain development. Shaina says most of the body's serotonin is made in the gut, which helps explain brain fog, food-driven mood cycles, and why she's seeing neurological disease rethought through the gut. Her advice is to start small. Adding one new food, taking the stairs, and sleeping when it's dark all shift your gut within days. Real habits take about three months, not 21 days.
Menopause Myths That Keep Women From Feeling Better
Reaching menopause can leave the symptoms in place. Menopause means 12 months in a row without a period, at an average age of 51 in the US, and everything after that is postmenopause. Hot flashes, night sweats, and poor sleep can hang on for years, with the average around seven, so it's worth coming in even if your periods are long gone. Low libido isn't always about testosterone. Many women with low desire are dealing with vaginal dryness and painful sex, and once that is treated, often with a vaginal estrogen cream, the libido problem can take care of itself. Low vaginal estrogen can also sit behind frequent UTIs. Hormone therapy has to be individual. Bioidentical doesn't mean risk-free, and not every woman needs testosterone. A history of blood clots, stroke, or a hormone-sensitive cancer can change what's safe, which is why a thorough history, the right delivery method, and regular follow-up labs matter as much as the prescription.
Unintentional Weight Loss in Older Women: Causes and Health Risks
Understand why unintentional weight loss becomes a concern as women age, including how changes in appetite, digestion, taste, medications, mobility, and social connection can contribute to reduced food intake. Recognizing these factors can help identify potential problems before muscle loss and frailty become more serious. Discover how anorexia of aging differs from eating disorders in older women, including why anorexia nervosa, bulimia, and binge eating disorders are not limited to younger people. Menopause-related body changes, emotional stress, and depression may contribute to eating difficulties that deserve medical attention. Recognize the connection between weight loss, declining muscle mass, and frailty, and why losing weight unintentionally may have consequences for strength, mobility, and long-term health. Learn why unexplained weight loss or concerning eating behaviors warrant evaluation by a healthcare professional.
Perfect at Homecoming. Then Unrecognizable. What Was Hiding in Their Home?
Ava was homecoming queen, healthy and thriving in her senior year of high school. Then everything changed. Her mother, Ashley, noticed changes in Ava’s complexion. Then Ava passed out in a school bathroom. Within days, a severe rash spread over her face and body, and she became almost unrecognizable. The family began looking for answers. On this episode of The Deeper Healing™ Podcast, host Danielle Howley speaks with Ashley about her family’s experience navigating Ava’s unexplained symptoms, investigating potential environmental concerns and making difficult decisions about their home and daily lives. According to Ashley, environmental testing identified elevated mold spore levels in Ava’s bedroom. The family also found a bad AC hookup that was blowing air directly on Ava’s face, and a contractor discovered a shower leak after opening the ceiling above the bathroom. Ashley shares that Ava was later found to be sensitive to mold. The family faced practical and emotional challenges along the way. Ashley describes temporarily leaving the home, and Ava taking time away from school during this period. Ashley reflects on the uncertainty of that time, the importance of seeking appropriate professional guidance and the challenge of supporting a loved one when the reasons for their symptoms are not fully understood. She also talks about how she tried to create a supportive home environment, and how hearing another family’s story helped her hold on to hope. According to Ashley, Ava is attending college and moving forward with her life. Ashley and Ava’s story is also featured in the film Body Burden, featuring Deeper Healing. This conversation offers a personal account of a family navigating unexpected health concerns and investigating potential indoor environmental problems. It also highlights the emotional, practical and financial considerations that can arise when families seek answers. Important health information This episode shares a personal experience and general educational information. It is not medical advice and does not establish mold exposure as the cause of Ava’s symptoms or any specific medical condition. The account does not establish that any dietary practice, lifestyle change, environmental intervention or treatment caused a particular outcome. Individual circumstances and outcomes vary. Consult a qualified healthcare professional regarding symptoms, diagnosis and treatment. Consult appropriately qualified environmental professionals regarding suspected moisture or mold problems.
NAD and Methylene Blue: Can You Take Them Together?
NAD precursors like NMN and NR support oxidative phosphorylation from one side, while methylene blue supports it from the other. Combining them can be powerful, but doses often need adjusting to avoid too much stimulation. For educational purposes only. #NAD #MethyleneBlue #MitochondrialHealth
Why Your Nervous System May Be Keeping Chronic Lyme Stuck
Discover how chronic illness may train the brain and nervous system into a persistent threat response that continues driving inflammation, fatigue, brain fog, pain, and other symptoms. Understand why constantly monitoring symptoms, searching for triggers, and expecting danger may unintentionally reinforce the brain’s learned threat pathways—even when patients are actively treating infections. Learn how the Gupta Program combines nervous system regulation, brain retraining, somatic work, and neuroplasticity exercises to help patients move from chronic threat toward a state that better supports healing.
How to Make Nutrient-Dense Eating Easier
Discover why removing junk food, counting calories, or meeting protein goals does not necessarily guarantee a nutrient-dense diet. Understand why Chef James views organ meats as concentrated sources of whole-food nutrition and how taste, cooking, and sourcing can discourage people from trying them. Learn how to begin with small steps, such as adding chicken hearts to sauces, grating frozen liver into ground meat, or using organ-based seasoning on familiar foods.
The Better Question: How Can Resiliency Be Measured?
Sensitivity Without Specificity Sends You Chasing the Wrong Problem. Traditional food sensitivity testing measures whole proteins, which can trigger "molecular mimicry" errors — for example, flagging corn when wheat is the real trigger. Vibrant tests at the peptide level (50,000+ peptides), reporting 99% sensitivity and 100% specificity, so practitioners can link exact biomarkers (like elevated transglutaminase-3) to symptoms such as eczema or adult acne. Toxin Load Is a Missing Link in Hormones, Fertility, and Heart Disease. Endocrine disruptors, heavy metals, mycotoxins, and PFAS "forever chemicals" quietly undermine hormone optimization and are frequently overlooked in male fertility workups — not just female. On the cardiac side, markers like actin (from a leaky gut panel) and ceramides can flag smooth muscle disruption and plaque risk years before a cardiac event occurs. A "Leaky Brain" Can Predate Diagnosis by Years. The Neural Zoomer detects antibodies that cross the blood-brain barrier — including anti-tubulin, found in 56% of Hashimoto's patients even without cognitive symptoms. Left unaddressed, this kind of blood-brain barrier breach is linked to later-stage outcomes like brain fog, dementia, and Alzheimer's, making early detection a critical longevity tool.