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Articles by William Cole
Does Nicotine Microdosing Boost Brain Function?
If you’ve been following me for a while, you know I love exploring a new trend or biohack. Nicotine microdosing is a biohacking strategy that has been getting a lot of attention lately—while the potential cognitive benefits of low dose nicotine have been a subject of research for a few decades, new products like nicotine pouches are bringing the concept to a wider audience for the first time.
What Is Oxidative Stress?
In our modern world, we have many different names for many different kinds of chronic disease. Symptoms and presentations can vary significantly, but the underlying drivers of illness are often the same. One common root imbalance is oxidative stress, a term that often gets thrown around when people are talking about other drivers of disease like inflammation. Many of my telehealth functional medicine patients tell me they’ve heard of oxidative stress, but don’t really know what it is.
Your Guide To The Best Diet For Healthy Bowel Movements
What and how we eat is one of the biggest determinants of our health. And often, digestive disruptions point us to something being “off”. So if you’re experiencing irregular bowel movements, constipation, diarrhea, or other uncomfortable symptoms, changing what you eat (and don’t eat) can make a huge difference. But with so many different diets out there, and conflicting advice, how do you know what to change?
What Does It Mean?
We’ve all had the experience of hearing our stomach make sounds, sometimes seemingly out of nowhere. Our stomachs naturally gurgle, grumble, growl, and make several other sounds. These rumbling sounds and other intestinal noises are known as “borborygmi”. Even if inconvenient, these sounds are often harmless. In fact, sounds generally indicate our digestive system is functioning correctly, sort of like the sounds pipe systems make as water flows through.
Breaking Down The Connection
Long COVID and mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS) are deeply connected. I almost always see a significant mast cell activation component to cases of long COVID, and ongoing research is solidifying this relationship. So what’s really going on? Is long COVID actually just a form of MCAS? Why and how is the COVID virus triggering this inflammatory storm for so many people? And what can we do about it?
Should You Get A Food Sensitivity Test? Here's What To Know
Food sensitivity testing can be a useful tool when it comes to improving your health, but it’s important to understand exactly what a food sensitivity test can tell you (and what it can’t). Food sensitivity tests have their benefits and limitations, and I’m going to break them down for you here, along with key insights from working with patients and these tests in my functional medicine telehealth clinic.
Raynaud’s Treatment Options And Hidden Root Causes
Raynaud’s syndrome is often dismissed or managed only at the surface level. Today, I’ll break down what Raynaud’s really is, possible hidden causes and underlying risk factors, and what you can do to address underlying causes, improve circulation, prevent further dysfunction, and feel your best.
The 15 Best Natural And Home Remedies For Psoriasis
While conventional psoriasis treatments aim to alleviate symptoms, they often fall short when it comes to addressing underlying causes and providing long-term relief. Other treatments can create their own problems and side effects. As a functional medicine expert, I’m always searching for the simplest, safest, most effective remedies and healing strategies, and working to address the root cause of symptoms and disease.
The Top 10 Magnesium Benefits + How To Get Enough Of It
As a functional medicine practitioner, I am no stranger to the important role a daily intake of magnesium plays in the health of my patients. Unfortunately, our modern diets and lifestyle factors can make it difficult to get enough nutrients. 92% of people are deficient in at least one nutrient, and magnesium deficiency is one of the most common. Many of my patients aren’t even aware of the role of magnesium until we discuss it during a consultation.
What Is EMDR Therapy?
We often talk about the mind-body connection, which is a very useful term but one that doesn’t fully do justice to what it describes. From a holistic health perspective, the mind and body aren’t just connected, they’re actually inseparable. The nervous system is constantly translating our emotional experiences into the physical, and emotional stress and trauma can become held and stuck within the body, creating a cascade of physiological effects.
A Functional Medicine Perspective
If you’re experiencing lingering symptoms or new problems after COVID, including fatigue, brain fog, or dysautonomia or POTS, you may have heard about a spike protein detox as a way to help your body recover. So what’s the story with these proteins? Can you detox them, and should you? How does it work? This is a controversial topic, and my intention with this article is to step away from the noise and provide a nuanced and balanced perspective, informed by research and clinical experience.
Here's What You Need To Know About Blastocystis Hominis
Just the word “parasite” is enough to make most people uncomfortable. But parasites are surprisingly common, and they’re often misunderstood. Blastocystis hominis is a great example. I see this parasite all the time on stool tests, and it’s the subject of a lot of debate and confusion. Is blastocystis hominis a problem? Could it be the cause of your symptoms? Does it need to be treated, or is it a red herring?
Post-COVID Brain Fog Is Real: How To Get Your Clarity Back
I’ll start this one off with a statistic: more than 80% of individuals with long COVID experience brain fog as a symptom. (1) Whether or not you are dealing with other post-COVID symptoms, lingering brain fog is very common and I know just how disruptive it can be. So why does post-COVID brain fog happen, and how can you restore your mental clarity, cognitive function, and concentration holistically? That’s what I’m going to break down for you today.
The Overlooked Connection
One of the biggest concerns I have about the way health and medicine are often thought about in the modern world is that we miss a lot of important connections. Gradually, some of these have become better known: for example, the gut-brain axis has (finally!) gotten some well-deserved attention over the last decade. Today, I want to talk about another connection that is just as intricate but still commonly overlooked: the gut-lung axis.
How To Follow A Low Histamine Diet (+ Is It Right For You?)
I’m seeing more histamine intolerance in my functional medicine telehealth center than ever before. If you’re here, you may suspect or know that you are dealing with histamine intolerance too. You may have noticed that you’re reacting to certain healthy foods like avocado or spinach, or you may be experiencing symptoms including headaches, heart palpitations, itchiness, and fatigue that you haven’t been able to figure out or resolve.
Exactly How Digestive Enzymes Can Help Your Gut Health
If there’s one thing I know for sure, it’s that healthy digestion is the foundation of health and wellness. As a functional medicine practitioner, I rarely see patients that don’t have some form of gastrointestinal issue going on, whether that is bloating, constipation, or an undiagnosed food sensitivity. In most cases I see multiple contributing factors behind digestive distress, and one of them can be a lack of digestive enzymes, which your body uses to break down and absorb food.
What Are Postbiotics And Why Do They Matter For Gut Health?
Beyond digestion, the health of your gut microbiome influences everything from your mood and cognition to your immune system function and metabolism. As our collective understanding of the importance of gut health continues to grow, we’ve seen an increase in the popularity of probiotics, prebiotics, and other supplements designed to support the microbiome. More recently, gut health researchers and wellness enthusiasts have been talking a lot about postbiotics.
The Longevity Power Of Flavanols, VO₂ Max, Zone 2 Movement & More
In this episode, I catch up with my friend Dr. Amy Shah - physician, author, and leading voice in women’s health and nutrition. Together, we unpack the latest science on flavanols, nitric oxide, and why these so-called “non-essential” nutrients may be essential for thriving and longevity. We talk about the COSMOS study and why cocoa flavanols are showing incredible promise for heart and brain health, circulation, and even VO₂ max.
Psychodermatology, Stress, And The Mind-Skin Connection
How’s your skin doing lately? The answer to this question may be able to tell you more than you realize. That’s because your skin is intricately connected to your gut, your immune system, your hormones, and, as we’ll zoom in on today, your brain and mental health. I often think of your skin as being a window into what’s going on internally. A large body of research links the skin and the mind, and with my patients at my functional medicine telehealth center, I see this connection every day.
The Best Foods To Eat That Kill Parasites
Parasites are way more common than most people think. And while they’re actually not always problematic, they definitely can be! Diet alone isn’t necessarily enough to solve the problem of pathogenic parasites, but it’s a crucial component of a holistic treatment strategy. First of all, parasites literally feed off of what you eat. And while some foods may allow them to proliferate, others can help to kill them off.
The New Microbiome-Metabolism Science & The GLP-1 Connection You Need To Know
I was so excited to welcome back my friend Colleen Cutcliffe, PhD, co-founder of Pendulum, for this deep dive into the gut microbiome and its role in metabolic health. Colleen shares the latest research on keystone strains like Akkermansia and Bifidobacterium infantis, explaining how they strengthen the gut lining, support insulin sensitivity, and stimulate your body’s own GLP-1 production.
A Functional Medicine Take
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, like so many other chronic diseases, is on the rise. We work with NAFLD patients often in my telehealth functional medicine practice, and the good news is that it’s very possible to overcome with the help of the right diet and lifestyle strategies. NAFLD is a form of, or you could say a symptom of, metabolic dysfunction. It’s the body’s response to an imbalance, and that imbalance can almost always be corrected.
How To Follow A Fasting Mimicking Diet For A Metabolic Reset
One of the most powerful health-promoting tools I use in my telehealth functional medicine practice and in my personal life is fasting. While it’s not right for absolutely everyone, research has demonstrated a multitude of benefits of fasting, including reducing inflammation, improving metabolic function, and extending both lifespan and healthspan. But there are a lot of different ways to fast. Personalization and flexibility are central to my philosophy on fasting.
Surprising Adult ADHD Symptoms
ADHD has long been viewed through a much too narrow lens, resulting in many adults and many children (especially females) going undiagnosed, misdiagnosed, or being diagnosed late. (1) At the same time, I do think there’s been an increased awareness lately of how ADHD can manifest in different groups, like high-functioning adults, with many people sharing their experiences online and in public spaces. I’m a big supporter of embracing and understanding our individual minds and neurodiversity.
Biofilm Disruptors 101: The Key To Gut Healing?
In functional medicine, our focus is always on identifying and treating the root cause of disease. One underlying cause of illness that is often essentially hidden in plain sight is biofilms. These sticky formations of microbes are often overlooked, even though they’re a significant contributing factor to recurrent or treatment-resistant infections, antibiotic resistance, and chronic diseases including SIBO, urinary tract infections, IBD, and candida.
How Inflammation Causes Weight Gain And Tips To Reduce It
There are so many factors that can affect our ability to lose weight and keep it off, and one of the biggest ones is chronic inflammation. Inflammation touches nearly every aspect of overall wellness, including how hard it is to stay at a healthy weight. Food intolerances, stress, underlying health conditions, and microbiome imbalances are all triggers for inflammation and, as a result, issues with weight loss.
The Power Of Boredom, Boundaries & Building Mental Resilience
In this episode, I’m joined by bestselling author, TEDx speaker, and wellness expert Jennifer Cohen to talk about the mindset shifts we need to make for a stronger, healthier future. We break down why “coddle culture” is hurting resilience, how social media fuels fragility, and the role of boredom in creativity and problem-solving.
Your Daily Poop Routine (Habits For Better Bowel Movements)
When I wrote about the viral 7-second poop routine recently, it got me thinking about how the best routine for healthy bowel movements isn’t a quick practice you do once in the morning and then forget about. Digestion is a complex process that interacts with the other systems and processes in your body throughout the day. When it’s working well, you’re more likely to have healthy, regular poops.
What Can Stem Cell Therapy Do?
As a functional medicine practitioner, I’m always on the lookout for innovation. I get excited by cutting-edge ideas, new treatments, and research that can help us better understand ourselves, heal our bodies, nurture our minds, and thrive well into our later years. I’m also committed to the fundamentals. No matter how many genuinely groundbreaking tools and therapies emerge, I always want to make sure people understand first and foremost what’s needed for a foundation of health.
Should You Get An OAT Test? All About Organic Acid Testing
As a functional medicine practitioner, I’m always doing detective work. When someone is experiencing unexplained symptoms, from fatigue and brain fog to bloating or pain, my job is to find that explanation and then treat the root cause. Often, there is more than just one cause.
The Best Natural Remedies For Autoimmune Disorders
Autoimmunity occurs when the immune system mistakenly over-reacts to the body’s own tissues, attempting to destroy them with inflammatory cells. The immune system is, of course, meant to protect against viruses, bacteria, and other intruders, so why would it suddenly mistake the body for an enemy? Actually, in most cases there is nothing sudden about it.
The Best Poop Posture (According To Science)
If you’ve ever had a difficult bowel movement, you’ve probably noticed that adjusting your position on the toilet can make a difference. The reality is, your position matters more than you may realize when it comes to effective evacuation. So whether you regularly experience symptoms of constipation or you’re just looking to optimize, I’m going to break down what we know about the best position for comfort and function, and why and how it works.
The Parasite-Autoimmune Connection & What It Means For You
In functional medicine, we’re always looking for the “why”. In most autoimmune cases, the answer is layered. There isn’t just one cause, but a combination of factors—because everything is connected. The mind, the body, the gut, the immune system, the brain, the endocrine system. Our genetics, our environment. The more we can put the puzzle pieces together, the more we can restore someone’s health and get them feeling well.
These Are The Best Natural Treatments For Type 1 Diabetes
As a functional medicine practitioner, I spend every day looking into the root causes of people’s health conditions in order to be able to provide a more holistic, whole body healing path. Not only is every condition different, every individual case is different. Not every disease can be completely reversed. But functional medicine and the right natural approaches can pretty well always help. Today, I want to focus on type 1 diabetes.
Biofeedback And Your Nervous System: How It Works
There’s so much health and wellness technology out there these days that it seems like there’s nothing we can’t learn about ourselves, provided that we have access to the right tools. Continuous glucose monitors, wearable HRV trackers, and other devices are keeping the health-conscious more attuned to the inner workings of the body than ever before. And there’s definitely a point at which this can become an overload.
A Guide To Grounding: Restoring Your Mind-Body Connection
In today’s world, our attention is constantly in demand by everything from screens to commutes. And in cities, big and small, the taxing effects of those demands are compounded by bright street lights, street and construction noise, and vast stretches of concrete. In some cities, it’s easy to go days, weeks, even months without slowing down or getting into nature.
Semaglutide For Alcohol Cravings? What New Research Says
The peptide semaglutide (sold as Ozempic, Wegovy, or Rybelsus) is famous for its use as a weight loss drug and to treat type 2 diabetes. But new research points to another possible, less-discussed benefit: reducing alcohol cravings. As someone who has worked with patients for years on gut health, metabolic health, food addiction, cravings, and everything in between, this doesn’t surprise me.
Top Manuka Honey Benefits For Whole Body Health
Not all foods are created equal. As a functional medicine expert, I know that different foods can affect each person differently – even the healthiest foods like spinach can be problematic for some people. But there are also a few foods that consistently show up in both research and clinical practice as being profoundly supportive to overall wellbeing. And one of those is Manuka honey.
Bloated After Eating? Here’s What Your Gut Is Telling You
Your gut is talking to you all the time, through every symptom and every nuance of how you feel on a given day. But understanding what it’s actually telling you can take some time and practice. Through my work as a functional medicine practitioner, I have learned a ton about how to decode messages from the gut. Everybody is different, but there are some key signs and signals that we can all use to help us figure out what’s going on with our digestion. Which brings me to today’s topic.
The War On Wellness: Control, Controversy & What Comes Next
I had the incredible opportunity to sit down with two of the most thought-provoking – and at times polarizing – voices in the health space: HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Dr. Jay Bhattacharya. Whether or not you agree with their viewpoints, I believe these conversations matter.
Oxalate Dumping Symptoms
If you’re dealing with an oxalate overload or sensitivity, the last thing you need is to feel worse when you start a low-oxalate diet. But this is exactly what can happen with what’s known as oxalate dumping: a phenomenon where your body reacts strongly to the elimination of oxalates. I’ve also seen this happen with certain patients who aren’t specifically cutting back on oxalates but are starting a new diet that happens to eliminate them, most commonly the carnivore diet.
10 Inflammatory Foods You Need To Ditch Now, According To A Functional Medicine Expert
Spend any time reading about health and wellness and chances are high that you’ve come across the topic of inflammation. Although inflammation is a natural, protective response from your body, it can quickly spiral out of control due to various inflammatory triggers we face on a daily basis, including toxin exposure, stress, and, of course, our diets. The reality is, the food we eat on a daily basis is either feeding inflammation or fighting it.
A Holistic Approach
Lichen sclerosus, like most inflammatory skin conditions, is often misunderstood. Standard treatment focuses on trying to reduce inflammation on the surface, but ignores the root causes of inflammation and immune dysregulation within the body. To really heal from lichen sclerosus, we need to address these causes and focus on calming the system from the inside out.
Natural Remedies For POTS
I’ve talked a few times recently about the massive increase in POTS cases we’ve seen (in our functional medicine telehealth clinic and in the general population) since 2020. POTS, like all inflammatory and autoimmune conditions, exists on a spectrum, and can be triggered by a combination of different factors. No two cases are exactly the same. But that never means we should throw our hands up.
Methylation: What It Is, Why You Should Care About It + What To Do If It Isn't Working
You are alive because of brilliant biochemistry. In my telehealth functional medicine clinic I spend every day looking at people’s health cases and lab work and seeing how true this statement really is. As we go through our daily lives barely giving it a second thought, every system inside the body is working diligently alongside each other to help us live, breathe, and perform all of our daily functions as optimally as possible.
How To Heal Your Gut Naturally
A healthy gut is essential to overall health, and a balanced gut microbiome influences every aspect of wellness. When your microbiome is weakened or damaged, it can trigger the onset of conditions that aren’t always obviously connected to your gastrointestinal health. As a functional medicine practitioner, educating patients about the connection between their gut and seemingly unrelated symptoms is a huge part of what I do.
The Gut-Skin Connection
As a functional medicine practitioner, I see skin issues all the time. Breakouts, eczema, rosacea, psoriasis, dry skin, irritated skin, sensitive skin, rapidly aging skin… to name just a few. I think of skin disruptions like a check engine light. They’re a signal that something is going on beneath the surface– and a mirror of your internal environment. And when I go upstream to find the root cause, I almost always find a gut problem there.
What Are Normal TSH Levels?
Let’s talk about TSH levels, and thyroid labs in general. We have reliable tests, widely and conventionally available, to measure thyroid function and thyroid hormone levels. So why is there still so much confusion and disagreement around thyroid labs? In holistic and functional medicine, we see a big problem in the way conventional medicine interprets thyroid tests.
Identifying & Reversing Leptin Resistance
Leptin resistance is one of the most overlooked hormonal imbalances, and it could be why weight loss feels like an uphill battle no matter how clean you eat or how much you exercise. It’s one of the most common hidden drivers of weight gain that I see in my telehealth practice, and it’s nearly impossible to turn this condition around on your own if you don’t know what’s going on.
Surprising Clues
I see mold toxicity all the time in my virtual functional medicine practice– and often, my patients have no idea they had a mold problem. Mold exposure can trigger all kinds of different symptoms that affect different systems within the body, from fatigue and brain fog to bloating and weight gain (to name just a few).
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