Intelligent Medicine | The Best of High Tech Medicine and Alternative Modalities

Heart Association clashes with RFK, Jr., doubles down on recommendation for low-fat diets; Why the evidence for meat and full-fat dairy avoidance is weak; What are the health benefits of circumcision? The ultimate weight loss plan—the Boring Diet; Substituting famotidine for PPIs for reflux; Midlife vitamin D curbs Alzheimer’s risk; Natural support for polymyalgia rheumatica; What teens eat could...

Leyla Muedin, a registered dietitian nutritionist, discusses a UK Biobank analysis published in the Journal of Cachexia, “Sarcopenia and Muscle” (Nov 2025) linking continuous long-term statin use (e.g., Lipitor, Zocor, Crestor) to accelerated declines in grip strength and appendicular lean mass compared with never-users. Among 35,557 with follow-up data, grip strength declined by a mean 0.315 kg/y...

Highlights from Dr. Hoffman's New Zealand bike trip Do you prefer whey protein isolate or concentrate? My liver enzymes went up taking a statin drug. My doctor recommends I take milk thistle. What are your thoughts? If any supplement protocols are out of stock, should we make substitutions?

What are your thoughts on peptides? So it's not possible to get enough protein from plants only? What about the downsides to animal protein? Are there any negative reports on the usage of extra virgin olive oil? Is it true that the nutritional value of farmed seafood is the same as wild caught?

Dr. David Clarke, president of the Psychophysiologic Disorders Association , details the link between stress and chronic pain and the scope of brain-generated symptoms. Clarke says many patients have symptoms not explained by disease or injury, estimating about 20% of U.S. adults (about 50 million) live with chronic pain, with costs estimated at $650 billion, and notes clinicians are often not tra...

Dr. Hoffman continues his conversation with Dr. David Clarke, president of the Psychophysiologic Disorders Association .

How Continuous Glucose Monitors Can Optimize Metabolic Health—and Where GLP-1 Drugs Fit: Emergency physician-turned-preventive/metabolic medicine specialist Dr. Paul Kolodzik of Metabolic MD reveals how continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) are a tool not only for diabetics but also for non-diabetics and pre-diabetics to personalize diet, sleep, and exercise by seeing real-time glucose patterns inste...

Dr. Hoffman continues his conversation with Dr. Paul Kolodzik of Metabolic MD .

Are eggs good or bad for the brain? Low levels of a key nutrient can foster anxiety; Dealing with muscle cramps that develop hours after exercise; Garlic mouthwash outperforms chemical antibacterials; 76% of the world’s population aren’t getting enough omega-3s; Surgery may hasten progression to Alzheimer’s, but a vitamin may help; After marijuana legalization, some states want a do-over.

The pros and cons of natural vs synthetic vitamins; Telehealth site for ADD meds lands founder in prison; Why eradicating H. pylori may set the stage for Alzheimer’s; Why integrative physicians often don’t accept insurance; Far-infrared phototherapy may offer “electroceutical” treatment for dementia; Hobbies may forestall all-cause mortality—by 29%! 

Nutritionist Leyla Muedin discusses nutrition and menopause, defining menopause as 12 months without a period and noting it can occur naturally or due to surgery/medical procedures. She links declining estrogen to increased cardiometabolic risk, endothelial dysfunction, vascular aging, musculoskeletal pain, and higher risks with early menopause (including cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney dis...

Half of US adults are interested in GLP-1 agonists for weight loss Is spelt matzoh better than traditional wheat matzoh for Passover? Is a dry red wine preferable to sweet wine or grape juice? Is Einkorn flour a better alternative to modern wheat? Which liver support supplements are best for alcoholic issues?

I was diagnosed with Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency. Which digestive enzymes are best to take? I still have pain and tingling after a shingles outbreak. What can I take for it? So many protein shakes contain carrageenan, but isn't it a carcinogen? My 5-year-old grandson has pancolitis.  Do you have any recommendations? What do you think of an organic acids test for chronic fatigue? How can I fi...

Oral Health, Inflammation, and Periodontal Disease: Dr. William Levine, a board-certified periodontist and chief scientist at Peri Active Oral Rinse , offers a deep-dive on periodontal disease as an infectious inflammatory condition with autoimmune-like tissue destruction. It affects over 50% of U.S. adults over 35 and rises with age. He details bidirectional links between gum disease and systemic...

Dr. Hoffman continues his conversation with Dr. William Levine, a board-certified periodontist and chief scientist at Peri Active Oral Rinse .

Herbal Medicine, Quality Control, and Adulteration Prevention: Mark Blumenthal, founder and executive director of the American Botanical Council (ABC) , recounts his entry into herbalism via vegetarianism in 1968, off-grid living, and starting a wholesale herb business in 1974 before shifting to nonprofit education, research, advocacy, and quality control. The discussion covers the evolution from...

Dr. Hoffman continues his conversation with Mark Blumenthal, founder and executive director of the American Botanical Council (ABC) .

New weight loss drugs may portend end of “Fat Acceptance” movement; Celebs and Southerners embrace GLP-1s; Trump clears path for more access to diet drugs; Mid- and late-life exercise slash dementia risk; “Ethicists” urge more tick-borne meat allergy to save planet—as alpha-gal syndrome claims first fatality; What’s wrong with the melatonin study that claims it leads to heart failure? How to detox...

Can natural herbs aid recovery from anorexia? What an analysis of Hitler’s DNA tells us about how genes shaped his personality; Can surgical anesthesia accelerate memory loss?  Bananas could be interfering with your smoothie’s health benefits; Not just sun, but pesticides and herbicides increase risk for melanoma; Chemical residues on produce impair male fertility; Proliferation of fast-paced soci...

Registered dietitian nutritionist Leyla Muedin discusses a New England Journal of Medicine paper (July 2024, cited via Holistic Primary Care) warning about drug-induced magnesium depletion, especially from diuretics, proton pump inhibitors (e.g., Nexium, Prilosec), and certain antibiotics. She notes magnesium is often not routinely measured despite links between deficiency and cardiovascular, meta...

A discussion of the book "Rethinking Diabetes" by Gary Taubes CORRECTION: Transcatheter Mitral Valve Replacement (TMVR) The impact of hops on the microbiome A listener's suggestion on avoiding microplastics

What do you think of continuous blood pressure monitors? Should certain supplements be taken at different times of day or apart from each other? My pediatrician couldn't provide a list of calcium-rich foods for my kids with dairy intolerance What are your thoughts on the HPV vaccine? Remembering a long-ago debate with a Quackbuster

Harvard-trained psychiatrist Dr. Georgia Ede is the author of " Change Your Diet, Change Your Mind: A Powerful Plan to Improve Mood, Overcome Anxiety, and Protect Memory for a Lifetime of Optimal Mental Health ." She links diet to the mental health crisis and dementia risk. Ede explains that conventional psychiatric training ignored nutrition, and she later incorporated dietary strategies alongsid...

Dr. Hoffman continues his conversation with Harvard-trained psychiatrist Dr. Georgia Ede, author of " Change Your Diet, Change Your Mind: A Powerful Plan to Improve Mood, Overcome Anxiety, and Protect Memory for a Lifetime of Optimal Mental Health ." 

Dr. Bret Scher, medical director of the Coalition for Metabolic Health , discusses making metabolic health the foundation of medicine amid rising obesity and type 2 diabetes and reports that 93% of Americans have suboptimal metabolic health. Scher defines metabolic health using markers including glucose, insulin, triglycerides, HDL, blood pressure, and waist size, and cites evidence linking insuli...