Nola Family Acupuncture

11/20/2025

A new study found that older adults who drank beet juice for 2 weeks had healthier blood pressure.

But why?

Here’s how it works:

✔ Beets are rich in nitrate
✔ Nitrate gets converted by oral bacteria into nitric oxide
✔ Nitric oxide helps relax blood vessels and support circulation

The study found that beet juice even shifted the oral microbiome in a healthier direction—boosting good bugs and lowering harmful ones.

✨ In functional medicine, we look at how the gut, microbiome, and vascular system are all connected.

Curious about how this might work for you?

Reach out, we’d love to help!

PMID: 40615058

11/19/2025

A new study found that older adults who drank beet juice for 2 weeks had healthier blood pressure.

But why?

Here’s how it works:

✔ Beets are rich in nitrate
✔ Nitrate gets converted by oral bacteria into nitric oxide
✔ Nitric oxide helps relax blood vessels and support circulation

The study found that beet juice even shifted the oral microbiome in a healthier direction—boosting good bugs and lowering harmful ones.

✨ In functional medicine, we look at how the gut, microbiome, and vascular system are all connected.

Curious about how this might work for you?

Reach out, we’d love to help!

PMID: 40615058

11/19/2025

Easy ways to get the body moving:

🚶‍♀️ 10-minute walk after meals
🧘 Gentle yoga between Zoom calls
🧍 Stretching between tasks
🎧 Dancing during your favorite song

These micro-movements:

Boost circulation ✔️
Support blood sugar balance ✔️
Stimulate mitochondrial function ✔️
And improve mood and mental clarity ✔️

I’m all for a gym session or a long walk when time allows…

But sometimes you just need a quick way to get the body moving.

These short movement breaks keep your energy up naturally.

What’s your favorite way to sneak in movement during the day?

Drop it in the comments! 👇

11/19/2025

11/16/2025

There could be more to the story.

In functional medicine, we investigate to figure out what’s going on under the surface:

🔍 Cortisol imbalances (when your stress hormones are off, you can feel wired at night and drained during the day)
🔍 Nutrient deficiencies (low levels of B12, iron, magnesium, or vitamin D can impact your body’s ability to make energy)
🔍 Mitochondrial dysfunction (your cells might not be producing energy efficiently, no matter how much rest you get)

If you're ready to stop guessing and do some testing to figure out what’s actually behind your fatigue, send us a message. We’d love to help...

11/14/2025

A new study found that older adults who drank beet juice for 2 weeks had healthier blood pressure.

Why?

✔️ Beets are rich in nitrate
✔️ Oral bacteria turn nitrate into nitric oxide
✔️ Nitric oxide helps relax blood vessels

Plus, the beet juice also improved the oral microbiome ✨

PMID: 40615058

11/13/2025

Sometimes our energy is begging us to sync with the rhythms of the day.

Your circadian rhythm (internal body clock) runs on light.

And morning sunlight is one of the most powerful signals you can give it.

Here’s how to support your rhythm naturally:

✅ Get 10–15 minutes of natural light within 1 hour of waking
✅ Go outside even if it’s cloudy
✅ No sunglasses if possible (at least for this morning reset!)

Morning light helps regulate cortisol and anchor your energy for the day.

Try it for 7 days and watch what shifts.

Have you tried this?

Let me know below 👇

11/12/2025

Everyone’s different, but burnout can feel like physical exhaustion, mental fog, or even just apathy.

Burnout is not an official diagnosis, but it is a very real experience for so many people.

To support the body in moving back toward vibrant energy, here are 4 things I look at in my practice:

1️⃣ Your nervous system
Chronic stress keeps your body stuck in fight-or-flight, so nervous system regulation is key.

2️⃣ Your nourishment
Magnesium, B vitamins, amino acids, and other nutrients are all needed for energy, so we look to food as fuel.

3️⃣ Your recovery
Sorry to be the one to deliver the news, but you cannot recover from burnout without allowing your body to rest.

4️⃣ Your biochemistry
Adrenal hormones, blood sugar swings, and inflammation all play a role in energy and resilience.

With the right support, your energy can return.

If you're ready for a whole-body reset, comment the word ENERGY and I’ll send you next steps..

11/12/2025

Mitochondria are the powerhouses of your cells 💥

They take the food you eat + the oxygen you breathe and convert it into energy.

If your mitochondria are overworked, underfed, or damaged…

You feel it. 🥱

Low energy, poor recovery, brain fog, inflammation.

Here’s a non-exhaustive list of things that impact mitochondrial function:

❎ Nutrient deficiencies (especially CoQ10, B vitamins, magnesium)
❎ Blood sugar swings
❎ Stress
❎ Inflammation
❎ Environmental toxins (like mold, heavy metals, and pollutants)

But our mitochondria are resilient too!

When we support mitochondrial health, your energy can return from the cellular level up.

This is exactly what we do in functional medicine.

If you’re ready to stop masking fatigue and start fueling real energy, comment MITO and we’ll get back to you with next steps.

11/09/2025

A major new Swedish study found…

When people ate healthier foods in their 60s and 70s, they were slower to develop chronic illnesses (like dementia and heart disease).

But diets heavy in red meat, refined grains, and sugary drinks?

Those were linked to faster disease accumulation over time.

The most protective foods included:
☀️ Vegetables
☀️ Whole grains
☀️ Nuts & legumes
☀️ Healthy fats

This was based on research that followed 2,400+ older adults for 15 years.

Of course, the best approach is always personalized, and that’s exactly what we offer.

Want guidance on eating to support brain and heart health as you age?

DM us and we’ll share how to get started..

PMID: 40721973

11/07/2025

👋🏽 Raise your hand if you can relate to any of these things:

Exhausted in the morning?
Anxious in the evening?
Poor sleep at night?
Feeling rested NEVER?!

Here’s one possible explanation:

Cortisol.

Cortisol is your body’s stress hormone, but it also follows a daily rhythm that affects your energy.

Cortisol is meant to be:
☀️ High in the morning to wake you up
🌙 Low at night so you can sleep

But if that rhythm is out of sync, it can disrupt your energy, mood, sleep, hormones, and more.

Here’s what we can do about it:

✔️ Test your cortisol pattern to see if it’s disrupted
✔️ Support your stress response with foods & supplements
✔️ Weave in habits to regulate your nervous system & hormones

Want better energy naturally?

Comment the word ENERGY and I’ll send you next steps..

11/06/2025

Functional labs to determine the root cause of low energy are listed below, but first

If you are constantly tired, there’s a reason.

Do not accept that you are just busy or stressed or getting older ❎

Here are some labs we can run to make sense of what’s happening.

☀️ Nutrient Testing
B12, iron, folate, magnesium, and vitamin D are all essential for energy production and can be tested through labs.

☀️ Thyroid Panel
Routine bloodwork will check TSH, but we do a full panel because optimal thyroid function is critical for metabolism and mental clarity.

☀️ Cortisol Pattern
Healthy cortisol levels follow a daily rhythm. We can test this to see how stress and burnout may be affecting your system.

☀️ Blood Sugar Markers
Even slight imbalances in insulin or glucose can cause brain fog, mood dips, and afternoon crashes.

☀️ Gut Health Testing
Yes, your gut can influence your energy! Inflammation, dysbiosis, or poor nutrient absorption might be playing a role.

Not everyone needs all of these tests.

We can prioritize what makes the most sense for you.

Once we have the information, we connect the dots to create a plan!

That’s how we do things around here.

If you want a root-cause approach and sustainable energy, comment “ENERGY” and I’ll send you next steps.