Seaweed is a nutrient-dense superfood packed with iodine, minerals, and antioxidants. However, like all plants from the ocean, seaweed can absorb heavy metals such as arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury from the water in which it grows. Understanding the risks and how to choose safe seaweed is essential for anyone incorporating it into their diet.
It’s January 11th, so maybe I’m a little late to the game in chatting about Dry January—the idea of taking a month or longer off from drinking alcohol.
As the new year begins, it’s natural to reflect on where we’ve been and where we’re headed. At Tendwell, we believe in the transformative power of small, intentional actions to create monumental shifts in health and happiness. It’s all about synergy! Functional medicine plays a crucial role in achieving personal health goals, helping you understand the root causes of your challenges and guiding you to sustainable solutions.
At Tendwell, our Institute for Functional Medicine Certified practitioners take a root-cause, personalized approach. We also blend in Integrative medicine. You may be wondering what the differences are between the two approaches. While they are very similar, there are some differences. Taking as a case study, the general approach that might be taken to address perimenopause, this blog explains the similarities and differences in the two approaches.
Not all hormone testing is created equal. At Tendwell, we often use advanced hormone testing to obtain a nuanced and full picture of what is happening with an individual’s hormonal function. Sadly, this is not what usually happens in standard primary care. Most of the time, standard medical practices send patients to a company like Quest for blood-based hormone testing. This kind of hormone testing has its place but it often misses information that is truly valuable. A far better method is the one used in the DUTCH test (Dried Urine Test for Comprehensive Hormones), which is one of my favorites.
Many cultures have been drinking green tea for centuries. In fact, in places like Asia, consuming tea is a daily practice for young and old alike. Tea is used in cooking and baking. You’ll see teas used medicinally and for recreation. When I lived in Beijing China in 2005, I was able to enjoy this amazing aspect of Chinese culture. I took in tea in the many tea houses in parks around the city, and enjoyed restaurants serving unlimited green, black or flower teas. Tea culture is beautiful. Certainly, from the functional medicine perspective, teas can be considered a functional food, containing powerful phytonutrients bodies can harness to positive impact. Today I would like to put a spotlight on green tea and it’s most famous catechin: EGCG.