Intelligent Medicine

Meet New York City’s first integrative gastroenterologist—Dr. Alexandra Shustina. While versed in conventional methods of addressing GI complaints, she has concluded that “many patients are treated inappropriately.” Powerful drugs are invoked when natural therapies, like diet, supplements, and stress management are insufficiently leveraged. Calling upon her training in osteopathic medicine, Dr. Shustina employs visceral manipulation to address such conditions as GERD, IBS, and severe constipation. She describes the constraints she experiences in introducing a holistic perspective to her young GI trainees in a hospital setting. She discusses the limitations inherent in using powerful immunosuppressive drugs for ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s Disease. What problems are associated with the pervasive use of potent acid-suppressing medications? When can digestive enzymes help GI complaints? What role for probiotics? Colostrum? Chinese herbal formulas? Vitamin D? Is the Specific Carbohydrate Diet the best regimen f

Dr. Hoffman continues his conversation with Dr. Alexandra Shustina, New York City’s first integrative gastroenterologist.

Study: High-sugar diet can damage the gut, intensifying risk for colitis; Policosanol or Pycnogenol for claudication?; What supplements are good for recovering from joint replacement surgery?; I was hit by a drunk driver and have two broken ankles--one was a compound fracture. How can I enhance healing?

How many supplements would be considered too many for an elderly female who is sedentary due to pain?; If my carotid artery stenosis goes above 50%, my cardiologist wants me to take a statin. What can I do to control the plaque?; What system can I have in place to communicate my refusal to have a blood transfusion in the event of a medical emergency where I'm unable to communicate?; What advice would you give to reduce anxiety about Covid?

Dr. David Perlmutter is America’s foremost Integrative neurologist and pioneering author of "Grain Brain." Five years after its publication, with over a million copies sold worldwide in twenty languages, he reflects on its success and the vindication of its central tenets: That America’s low-fat high/carb mania has promoted an epidemic of diabetes, just when optimal blood sugar is gaining recognition as fundamental to brain health; that gluten is demonstrably harmful via its effects on gut permeability; and that fat and cholesterol phobia has deprived our brains of essential nutrients. He emphasizes the centrality of exercise to prevention and reversal of dementia. The latest research underlies the concept of neuroplasticity—that the adult brain has the capacity to repair and regenerate. What newly-discovered factor helps to literally regrow brain cells? Does genetics dictate our neurological fate? Or can lifestyle overcome our heredity? What roles for sleep? Stress reduction? Coffee? Alcohol? Bio-identical h

Dr. Hoffman continues his conversation with Dr. David Perlmutter, America’s foremost Integrative neurologist and pioneering author of "Grain Brain."

Cold-water swimming benefits; What Fauci missed in his face-off with Rand Paul on herd immunity; Can supplements supplant the need for high blood pressure medication? Study links obesity with reduced brain plasticity; Poll reveals vaccine resistance growing--majority of Americans won't be early adopters of "Warp Speed" shot; FDA issues unprecedented warning about mercury in dental fillings.

Despite uptick in cases in certain regions, less than 1% of teachers, students infected since schools reopened, and COVID-19 fatalities dramatically lower; Advice on non-toxic cookware and bedding; Diet halves seizure rates among kids--and it doesn't even have to be strict Keto; Teen's death highlights risk of social media-driven "Benadryl Challenge"; Natural treatment for high platelet disorder; Study supports role of vitamin D in blood pressure control; A healthy microbiome may aid sleep; Exercise helps memory by kindling endocannabinoid system; DHA and vitamin E for male infertility.

On the heels of yesterday's episode with Dr. Joseph Pizzorno, Nutritionist Leyla Muedin weighs in on the human health effects of exposure to pesticides, herbicides, and insecticides.

Dr. Joseph Pizzorno, one of the founders of Integrative and Functional Medicine and author of "The Toxin Solution," takes a look at how environmental toxins affect our health. He has undertaken one of the largest studies to date that links various forms of toxic exposures to common diseases like diabetes, Alzheimer’s, coronary artery disease, fatty liver, and even childhood behavioral problems. Toxins are ubiquitous in our modern environment. How to tell if you're toxic? Are there blood or urine tests? Is it worth it to eat organic foods exclusively? What are other ways that toxins find their way into our bodies even if we’re not industrial workers or farmers applying pesticides and herbicides? What are “Obesogens”? Are there ways to facilitate detox? What role for glutathione? Milk thistle? Dietary fiber? What’s the deal with heavy metals? Arsenic? Can they be removed?

Dr. Hoffman continues his conversation with Dr. Joseph Pizzorno, one of the founders of Integrative and Functional Medicine, and author of "The Toxin Solution: How Hidden Poisons in the Air, Water, Food and Products We Use Are Destroying Our Health—And What We Can Do To Fix It."

Just say "NO" - Study underway to explore benefits of nitric oxide; Regular exercise as cancer prevention; Too much exercise may promote inflammation and suppress immunity; I'm a long time vegan with a HgbA1c close to 6. What can I eat to lower it?; My neighbor who is a nurse told me to stop taking so many supplements. Can you help me defend my position?; I recently developed geographic tongue. Is there a treatment for it?

I know that you say saturated fat is not an issue. Would you change your advice regarding saturated fat intake if one had coronary artery plaque?; I very much appreciate your protocol on Mitral Valve Prolapse. Is there one for Atrial Fibrillation?; Whose advice should I follow with regard to the care of my thyroid?

Professor Tim Noakes is a South African medical doctor and a respected exercise physiologist. Decades ago, he wrote the best-selling "The Lore of Running," in which he advocated a low-fat carbo-loading diet for optimal athletic performance. But when he himself developed Type 2 Diabetes, he had second thoughts and began researching the low-carb, high-fat (LCHF) dietary paradigm. The result: He reversed his diabetes, sold 200,000 copies of his new book, "The Real Meal Revolution," but then became the target of an Inquisition-style prosecution for dietary heresy. In what became dubbed “the Nutrition Trial of the Century” Professor Noakes valiantly upheld science in the face of a concerted attack from the medical orthodoxy. We discuss how he finally prevailed. Why has the diet controversy become so politicized? Why does Professor Noakes consider the Agricultural Revolution “one of mankind’s biggest mistakes”? Why is the Banting diet particularly suited to the dietary needs of South Africans? Don’t some people do

Dr. Hoffman continues his conversation with Professor Tim Noakes, author of "The Real Meal Revolution."

What’s missing from 2020 candidates’ talking points on healthcare; The controversy over “herd immunity” explained; How much zinc is too much? Coffee and green tea forestall diabetes death risk; D for dementia; The final word on the breast cancer/hair dye & straightener link

34% of older adults are prescribed potentially inappropriate drugs; Natural therapies for claudication; Sugar consumption may be linked to ADHD, bipolar disorder, aggressive behavior; Patients soon to have full access to doctors’ notes; Hot flashes may herald heart risk; Is cardiac ablation the only alternative for PVCs? Apples, berries, and tea for blood pressure; FDA issues new warning on NSAIDs during pregnancy.

It's not 'all in your head' after all: The microbiome, stress hormones, and gut function. Study associates gut microbial metabolism with mental health.

Dr. Melvyn Grovit specializes in the nutritional treatment of Crohn’s Disease and ulcerative colitis—especially in kids. He describes his first case, that of a 17-year-old with Crohn’s Disease who was emaciated, debilitated, suffering from uncontrollable diarrhea, subject to frequent hospitalizations for intestinal obstruction, his academic career on hold, and at serious risk of early death. The Big Reveal: that patient was Dr. Grovit himself 65 years ago! Now 82, Dr. Grovit is healthy, in full remission without the aid of drugs, and actively treating patients in his nutritional practice in White Plains, New York. What type of diet supports healing of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)? Once healing has occurred, can you occasionally cheat? Which nutraceuticals has Dr. Grovit found helpful? Probiotics? Omega 3 fish oil? Specialized pro-resolving mediators (SPMs)? Fish peptides? Amino acids? Curcumin? What role can growth hormone (HGH) play in facilitating kids’ recovery? Why hasn’t the gastroenterology establis

Dr. Hoffman continues his conversation with Dr. Melvyn Grovit, who specializes in the nutritional treatment of Crohn’s Disease and ulcerative colitis—especially in kids.