Integrative Practitioner’s top articles of 2021

By Avery St. Onge

As we start a new year, the Integrative Practitioner team is reflecting on our most popular articles of 2021. In doing so, we gain insight into the top industry trends of last year and get a preview of what’s to come in 2022.

With last year being the second year of the pandemic, our audience was especially interested in the long novel coronavirus (COVID-19) phenomenon. In addition, fighting disease with nutrition as well as maintaining gut health and microbiome health were all heavily viewed topics.

As we enter a new phase of the pandemic, healthcare remains a top priority and integrative medicine continues to gain momentum. Read more to see last year’s top 10 articles and get ideas about where the industry is headed in 2022.

Resilience and recovery for COVID-19 long haulers

As the healthcare industry continues to face the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic head-on, there is much discussion around post-COVID-19 syndrome, also known as long haul syndrome. The 2021 Institute for Functional Medicine Annual International Conference hosted Leo Galland, MD, Sue Haddow, MD, Imran Khan, MD, and Marwa Hazzah, MD, for a panel discussion on building resilience and supporting recovery in COVID-19 long haulers.

Click here to read more

A functional nutrition approach to Hashimoto’s thyroiditis

I recently had a patient who sought nutrition counseling after her endocrinologist explained she would likely be on medication for the rest of her life for hypothyroidism. She had done some reading on her own and decided she wasn’t satisfied with that option, so she contacted me in hopes of working toward medication-free management.

Click here to read more

How dysbiotic oral microbiome drives systemic histamine symptoms

Six months ago, I started working with a young male patient in his thirties presenting with anxiety and laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR), which he said had experienced for the past four years with little respite. He had recently had a root canal replaced, as it had been causing him severe pain, and since its replacement, had experienced sinusitis, migraines, and post-prandial burning mouth syndrome every time he ate, which was impacting his quality of life.

Click here to read more

How to address Epstein-Barr virus reactivation with natural approaches

I have seen a massive surge of viral reactivation in patients who are experiencing long-term effects of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), also known as long COVID-19. In clinic, I am seeing patients coming in complaining of inflamed lymph nodes, recent gluten or egg sensitivity, digestive issues, extreme fatigue, and brain fog, as well as those who already have a diagnosed autoimmune disease such as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, or multiple sclerosis.

Click here to read more

An integrative nutrition approach to high cholesterol

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States and, while its development is multifactorial, suboptimal lipid levels can certainly predispose individuals to the disease. However, the standard oversimplified approach of prescribing cholesterol-lowering drugs and recommending the avoidance of cholesterol-containing foods neglects to take into consideration individual risk factors and the vital importance of cholesterol in the body.

Click here to read more

Gut microbiome links to autoimmune disease

I have personally struggled with an autoimmune disease for most of my life, so I completely understand the frustration many of my patients with autoimmune symptoms feel. It’s common for these patients to endure years of medical appointments and harsh medications before receiving a diagnosis. Then, despite their symptoms finally having a name, there is often no effective treatment presented for healing. 

Click here to read more

The gut’s role in viral immunity

An individual patient’s immune response to infection is closely linked to their gut health. Patients with healthy gut microbiomes tend to have an immune system that responds quickly and appropriately to viral attacks. An unhealthy gut is linked to immune activation, mild chronic inflammation, and greater susceptibility to viral infection and more severe illness. During a long viral pandemic, helping patients restore or maintain a healthy gut microbiome and a healthy immune system has never been more consequential.

Click here to read more 

Restoring gastrointestinal balance after infection

I recently had a patient who had experienced eight months of concerning gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms. While she had completed treatment for a suspected giardia infection post-travel to Jamaica, she was still struggling with GI symptoms and had significant anxiety related to her bowel movements. She was convinced she was still infected, and her quality of life was declining.

Click here to read more

Common errors practitioners make addressing gut microbiome imbalances

Many clinicians are starting to offer more integrative approaches to their patients. The biggest challenge I believe many practitioners face is learning to navigate the complex protocols taught by experts, companies, and leaders in the field with their own thought processes, as well as building confidence to apply these concepts to an individual patient—with their unique health history, drivers, triggers, and mediators—in a way that will allow them to heal and improve in a progressive manner.

Click here to read more 

Approaching SIBO treatment with naturopathic medicine

When I began my practice twenty years ago, small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) was not commonly tested for or diagnosed. Over time, I learned that the diagnosis is important, however, SIBO can be difficult both to diagnose and to treat. It is common for me to have a new patient who has been diagnosed with SIBO by another doctor, has undergone treatments, but has not improved clinically. In these cases, I fall back on the principles of naturopathic medicine to navigate clients back to health.

Click here to read more

Join us in 2022 

Would you like to help form the integrative healthcare trends of 2022? Click here to contribute an article to Integrative Practitioner.

Click here to join our Editorial Advisory Board where you’ll be prominently recognized in Integrative Practitioner publications and receive a free gold membership during your years of service.