Ian Spohn, ND

A Case for Homeopathic Singles

January 31, 2022 by Ian Spohn, ND

As a healthcare provider, there are few things more satisfying than watching a patient's condition improve or resolve completely with a single treatment. Among the many holistic treatment modalities, homeopathy is one of few that targets the vital force directly, and has been the agent of some of the most dramatic natural cures, in some cases the sole agent. In some cases, it is a single dose of a single remedy, and these cases are perhaps the most satisfying although more often, it requires repetition of the remedy or multiple remedies to achieve a satisfying result, as anyone who has worked with homeopathy knows.

Vitamin Support for New Year’s Resolutions

December 28, 2021 by Ian Spohn, ND

Encouraging patients to make healthy lifestyle changes is integral to the practice of holistic medicine, since so many modern diseases relate directly to modern lifestyles. The new year provides a perfect occasion to prioritize this with patients, since so many people spontaneously resolve to relinquish old habits around this time, or begin new ones, often with the specific goal of improving their health. But we all know from experience how many of these people are likely to fail, and wonder perhaps if there are natural means to assist patients in keeping their new year’s resolutions to become healthier.

Natural Support for the Olfactory Nerve

November 29, 2021 by Ian Spohn, ND

Anosmia, or loss of smell, is a common symptom of numerous upper respiratory infections, and in some cases can persist long after the infection resolves.

The Case for Solomon’s Seal

October 31, 2021 by Ian Spohn, ND

While science can discover new uses for plants, and prove what we already know, it often seems that in the realm of botanical medicine, there is tremendous pressure to use science from a defensive position, to justify the new “alternative” practice of continuing to do something that has worked for generations. From a world-historical perspective, the bizarre modern experiment of not using plants as the primary source of our medicines is in fact the alternative practice.

Seasonal Transitions – Mood

September 27, 2021 by Ian Spohn, ND

The seasonal transition to autumn brings with it cooler days and darker nights, but while some relish this change it can also wreak havoc on patients with certain mood disorders. The remarkable association between winter darkness and depression has been termed seasonal affective disorder, but the onset of autumn can affect other mood disorders as well. Less well-known is the autumn spike in manic episodes for patients with bipolar disorder, a condition increasingly recognized to follow complex seasonal patterns.

Are New Plant-Based Burgers Causing Digestive Problems?

August 31, 2021 by Ian Spohn, ND

Sometimes, treating digestive disorders can require unraveling a complex tangle of interrelated psychological, immunological, and gastroenterological factors. It can involve identifying and addressing such problems as hypochlorhydria, histamine intolerance, hiatal hernia, microscopic colitis, ileocecal valve dysfunction, or a microbiome devastated by multiple rounds of antibiotics. Other times, the most intractable digestive disorders can be effectively addressed by simply eliminating one particular food trigger from the diet.

What’s Causing the Myopia Epidemic?

July 31, 2021 by Ian Spohn, ND

The prevalence of myopia, or an inability to see distance objects clearly, has skyrocketed in young children over the last year. After optometrists noticed an alarming increase in the number of children needing corrective lenses, a study published by the American Medical Association found that myopia has doubled and in some places

Taurine’s Underappreciated Role in the Nervous System

June 30, 2021 by Ian Spohn, ND

Given the rapidly aging population, there is an increasing demand for methods to support healthy brain aging and address the changes in cognitive function often associated therewith.

SUPPORT AFTER CORTICOSTEROIDS

May 31, 2021 by Ian Spohn, ND

Although corticosteroid withdrawal is a verified phenomenon, and has been reported in some cases to persist as long as 6-12 months[i], patients are not supposed to be experiencing side effects years after discontinuing their medication. Yet, sometimes patients report stubborn weight gain, beginning while taking a course of corticosteroids, which never went away and seems to resist all efforts to reverse.

Is Choline Truly Essential?

April 29, 2021 by Ian Spohn, ND

Known at one time as vitamin B4, before being stripped of its essential status, choline is a molecule required by every cell, being especially important for mitochondrial energy production, fetal neurological development, and healthy liver function. It also plays an underappreciated role in the methylation cycle, which bears upon everything from gene expression to cardiovascular health. So it seems inexplicable that such an important molecule could lose its vitamin status.

Pollen-Food Syndrome

March 31, 2021 by Ian Spohn, ND

Though pollen is often blamed for allergies, and while it plays an undeniable part, it is unlikely that pollen alone should cause otherwise healthy people to suffer such misery.

Detox Paradox – from St. John’s Wort to Grapefruit

February 28, 2021 by Ian Spohn, ND

The herb St. John’s wort is shrouded in folklore. Its very name is a reference to Saint John the Baptist whose feast day was chosen by the early Christian church to replace Litha, the pagan festival of midsummer. This figure likely became the herb’s namesake due to the ancient magical belief that, as a source of solary virtue, it was best when gathered at noon on midsummer’s day when the sun’s influence is at its strongest.

INTACT LUNG: A NATURAL SOURCE OF VITAMIN C AND COLLAGEN

January 29, 2021 by Ian Spohn, ND

From its humble beginnings as the basis of glue and gelatin desserts, collagen is rapidly becoming one of the most promising food-based dietary supplements. Research has already shown that oral collagen supplementation is effective to support wound healing and healthy skin aging with a capacity to increase skin hydration, skin elasticity, and dermal collagen density . Because collagen plays an important role in maintaining the elasticity of the skin, collagen support has become one of the cornerstones of anti-aging medicine.

Guarding Against a Zinc-Copper Imbalance

December 28, 2020 by Ian Spohn, ND

With zinc supplementation on the rise - driven by an interest in immune support - it is important to keep in mind a potential downside of taking excess zinc which is copper deficiency resulting from a zinc-copper imbalance. Copper deficiency is relatively uncommon and is typically only seen in conjunction with genetic disorders of metabolism and certain malabsorption syndromes but it can also be induced by overly zealous zinc supplementation.

Weight Loss Tips

November 30, 2020 by Ian Spohn, ND

The winter holidays are a time when many people gain weight, shortly after which many people will make resolutions to lose weight. To this end they may consult the medical profession, and unfortunately conventional medicine’s approach to weight loss is as misguided as its approach to most health matters.

Brief Guide to Monolaurin

November 15, 2020 by Ian Spohn, ND

In essence, monolaurin is a concentrated form of the immune-supporting elements1 of coconut oil. Native cultures in the tropics have long since recognized coconut oil not only as a healthy food, but as a beneficial topical application as well.

LIVER’S MYSTERIOUS ANTI-FATIGUE FACTOR

October 29, 2020 by Ian Spohn, ND

It tends to be taken for granted that all of our vitamins have been discovered, and yet the entire notion of vitamins is a relatively recent phenomenon. Perhaps because diets were once held relatively constant over generations by their tradition of proven effectiveness, and were comprised of foods much less processed and tampered-with than many of today’s, it seemed that all you had to do was eat the very same foods that kept your parents alive and healthy enough to produce you, and everything would be fine.

Vitamin A: The Forgotten Key to Immune Support

September 30, 2020 by Ian Spohn, ND

As we move into autumn, seasonal allergies will once more rear their ugly head. While the seasonal pattern of allergic rhinitis is well-known, autumn can also be a time of aggravation for patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Interestingly, IBS is reportedly more commonly in patients with allergic symptoms

The Sinus Colon Connection

August 30, 2020 by Ian Spohn, ND

Vitamin E: An Underappreciated Tool to Support Men’s Health

July 30, 2020 by Ian Spohn, ND

It has been known for quite some time now that testosterone levels in modern men are falling, a phenomenon which, while unexplained, still has important implications for men’s health. Despite the fact that testosterone replacement therapy remains a controversial subject in medicine, men’s health clinics are popping up everywhere that do essentially nothing more than prescribe testosterone to aging men.

IS ACNE A VITAMIN DEFICIENCY DISEASE?

June 29, 2020 by Ian Spohn, ND

Acne is one of the most common skin problems prompting visits to dermatologists and also one of the most stubbornly difficult medical conditions to treat.

COVID-19, Bats, and the 5G Rollout

June 4, 2020 by Ian Spohn, ND

The year 2019 saw the deployment of 5G cellular networks worldwide, and while COVID-19 continues to occupy the center of everyone’s attention, the consequences of the 5G rollout on those with electromagnetic field (EMF) sensitivities have gone relatively unnoticed.

THE SODIUM CONNECTION WITH MIGRAINES

April 28, 2020 by Ian Spohn, ND

Although migraines are considered a neurological, not a gynecological, disorder, it is interesting that the majority of migraine sufferers happen to be women.

THE TURPENTINE TREND: A POISON OR THE ULTIMATE ESSENTIAL OIL?

March 29, 2020 by Ian Spohn, ND

In a bizarre echo of the ludicrous snake oil treatments that were prevalent in the 19th century, it has become a recent fad in alternative medicine to take turpentine. Yes turpentine, that distillate of pine tar most famous for its use as paint thinner, is now being touted much as it was by the doctors of long ago, as a sovereign cure for parasites with the astounding ability to somehow benefit just about every medical condition.