Endocrine Wellness

11/23/2025

Why is it that women experience stress more intensely than men? Drs. Daina Parent and Annette Schippel discuss the connection between women's hormones and the effects of stress on the female body. Dr. Schippel offers invaluable clinical tools and takeaways to create a strong foundation for any woman to navigate stress management and optimal wellness with nutrition, herbs, lifestyle and more.

Why is it that women experience stress more intensely than men? Drs. Daina Parent and Annette Schippel discuss the connection between women’s hormones and th...

11/19/2025

Ok mommas! Check this out!

Could the answer to the current allergy epidemic in our children be as simple as feeding them blueberries? A rigorously run infant RCT suggests that adding blueberries as one of the first solids may nudge immune balance in an anti-allergic direction and help allergy-type symptoms settle during the first year—while also shifting the gut microbiome in potentially favourable ways.

The first year of life is a critical window for establishing immune competence and preventing allergic diseases. Dietary exposures during this period can influence the induction of immune tolerance, epigenetic programming, and gut microbial succession.

In a double blind, randomised, placebo-controlled feeding trial in Denver, USA, exclusively breast-fed infants (n=61, start age 5–6 months) received freeze-dried blueberry powder (10 g/day) or an isocaloric, colour/flavour-matched placebo until 12 months of age.

The blueberry group started out with more respiratory/allergy-like symptoms at baseline yet showed a greater resolution over time vs placebo (trajectory p=0.05). Immune biomarkers: IL-13 (pro-allergic/Th2 response) fell significantly with blueberries (p=0.035); IL-10 (anti-inflammatory/regulatory) trended up (p=0.052). However, the changes in these cytokines could not directly explain symptom changes. However, specific gut microbiome changes at 12 months correlated with the cytokine changes, hinting at gut-immune crosstalk.

In a companion paper in the same cohort, blueberry introduction altered gut microbiota composition/diversity (trends toward higher alpha diversity; increases in short-chain fatty acid-associated genera such as Subdoligranulum/Butyricicoccus and reductions in potentially unfavourable organisms such as Escherichia/Streptococcus).

The findings align with broader evidence showing that diverse, fibre- and polyphenol-rich complementary diets plus early allergen introduction help shape the gut-immune axis toward tolerance.

For more information see: https://bit.ly/4i7mr2M
and
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40944184/

11/18/2025

10/29/2025

Here you go my crazy winter athletes! (I say that with love! 😉). Although I plan on doing more green tea with ginger this winter just to stay warm. 😊

A recent study found that teaming green tea with ginger gave athletes an extra edge—helping them last longer, feel warmer and recover faster, especially in the cold. Green tea alone boosted endurance but adding the ginger resulted in a significant cold-weather performance combination.

This crossover RCT (in 16 recreationally active male adults, average age 23.4 years, VO₂max 46.8 mL/kg/min) was conducted under two environmental conditions: normothermic (21–24 °C) and cold (5–7 °C).

There were four intervention arms, each tested in both environmental settings: placebo (maltodextrin), green tea extract (500 mg, ~45% EGCG), ginger (1 g), and the combined green tea + ginger.

The exercise test was submaximal time-to-exhaustion (TTE) cycling at 70% VO₂max. Outcomes measured were TTE (endurance capacity), respiratory exchange ratio (RER) reflecting substrate usage (fat vs carbohydrate), ratings of perceived exertion (RPE), thermal sensation (TSS) and muscle soreness (Visual Analogue Scale, VAS) 24 hours post-exercise.

Under normothermic conditions green tea (and the combination with ginger) significantly increased TTE versus placebo, and reduced RER (suggesting greater fat oxidation) compared to placebo. The combination also lowered RPE compared to both the placebo and ginger alone. Under cold conditions the combined herbs significantly improved TTE, lowered RER and improved TSS compared to placebo and ginger alone. Ginger by itself did not meaningfully affect TTE or RER under cold, but it did improve thermal sensation and reduce muscle soreness (VAS) relative to placebo. All treatment arms (green tea, ginger, combined) reduced muscle soreness (VAS) compared to placebo (in cold). The placebo under cold conditions had higher RPE and higher VAS (muscle soreness) than in normothermic conditions, confirming that cold imposes additional stress.

This was a well-designed exploratory trial, with each participant serving as their own control, reducing intersubject variability (crossover design). Limitations include that it was in men only, the small test number and the fact it was only a single dose study.

The take home message is that green tea extract seems to boost endurance and shift metabolism toward fat oxidation under “normal” temperatures, whereas in cold stress, combining green tea with ginger confers additive or synergistic benefits: boosting performance, improving thermal comfort and aiding recovery. In particular, ginger appears to contribute more on the perceptual/comfort/soreness side rather than on pure endurance or an energy substrate shift under cold conditions.

For more information see: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41010475/

10/28/2025

Don’t miss out on this virtual presentation coming up on Nov. 7th and 8th for health care practitioners! Visit www.endocrinewellnessgroup.com for more information and to sign up!!!

10/15/2025

OA and RA can have better outcomes when treated earlier. Research like this shows promise for a more natural route. And like all herbal products, quality matters! I use MediHerb formulas and then pair them with additional joint and connective tissue support. MediHerb combines boswellia, turmeric, celery seed and ginger in a supplement called Boswellia Complex. I believe the synergy of the herbs offer greater benefits to patients with these conditions. The study doesn’t include Cat’s Claw but it is another excellent choice for OA and RA! This is why it is so important to work with a qualified health care practitioner that truly understands herbal therapy. They can make sure you are getting the right product at the correct dose and any other supporting nutrients that are needed!!!

Hand osteoarthritis (HOA) is a degenerative joint disease that primarily affects the distal and proximal interphalangeal joints (DIP/PIP) and the first carpometacarpal joint at the base of the thumb, causing pain, stiffness, reduced grip/pinch strength, and characteristic bony nodules (Heberden’s and Bouchard’s nodes). Compared with knee or hip OA, HOA more often presents in mid-to-late life women, frequently involves multiple small joints symmetrically, and impairs fine motor tasks rather than weight-bearing function.

High-quality herbal trials in HOA are rare; most phytotherapy studies focus on knee OA. That’s why a recent Belgian multicentre, double-blind trial of standardised Curcuma longa (turmeric) and Boswellia serrata extracts is noteworthy: over 3 months, the combination achieved a statistically significant reduction in pain versus placebo and was generally well tolerated.

The double blind, randomised controlled trial included 162 adults with symptomatic hand OA (mean age, 63.1 years; 76.5% women) who reported hand pain on ≥ 50% of days in the prior month and ≥ 48 hours before baseline, with pain ranging from 40 to 80 mm on a 100-mm visual analogue scale (VAS) in at least one hand over the last 24 hours. The primary outcome was the mean change in finger pain on both hands during the past 24 hours on the VAS over 3 months.

At 3 months (intention-to-treat analysis), patients who received the plant extracts had a greater mean VAS pain reduction of 24.7 mm compared with 16.2 mm in those who received placebo (difference, -8.5 mm; P = 0.03); similar benefit was observed at month 1 (difference, -7.0 mm; P = 0.04). Patients receiving the plant extracts vs placebo also showed significant improvements in the patient global assessment (difference, -9.6 mm; P = 0.01) and quality of life score (P = 0.01) at month 3. There were no significant differences vs placebo for the number of painful/swollen joints, functional score, grip strength and analgesic consumption.
The number of adverse effects did not differ significantly between the two groups, and most of them were unrelated to the use of plant extracts. However, one patient taking the herbal combination developed acute hepatitis, judged as “probably related” (no further details provided).

The trial intervention was two tablets/day of a product containing Curcuma longa (turmeric) standardised dry extract: 237 mg, providing 200 mg curcumin and Boswellia serrata oleoresin: 51 mg, standardised to 65% boswellic acids and vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol): 3.6 μg (144 IU). (Note there is an error in the paper that states each tablet contained 1.4 mg of vitamin D (56,000 IU). Whoops!) Higher doses of these herbs might well achieve a better result.

This was a robust, well-designed RCT with a clinically relevant primary endpoint and a statistically significant and moderate benefit vs placebo.

For more information see: https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/combination-plant-extracts-shows-promise-hand-osteoarthritis-2025a1000h5o?ecd=mkm_ret_250830_mscpmrk-OUS_InFocus_etid7668522&uac=48709HJ&impID=7668522

and

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40554037/

09/24/2025

Informed consent is knowing all the risks and benefits so we can make better choices. And trying to understand all the possible triggers for NDD is ALSO about making better choices. That could be cleaning up the environment, our food, better vaccine testing…spacing out vaccines…whatever is necessary to protect and keep our kids healthy. I don’t understand how anyone would be against that…

09/23/2025

09/18/2025

Eat your cabbage! But if you don’t want to do that, take Cruciferous Complete! The most natural DIM product out there because it’s actually concentrated cruciferous vegetables. It will have multiple health benefits beyond just taking a DIM supplement. 🥦

Diindolylmethane (DIM) is a metabolite naturally produced from glucobrassicin after the consumption of cabbage family vegetables. It has attracted scientific interest for its potential health benefits, particularly in hormone regulation and cancer prevention. DIM influences oestrogen metabolism by promoting the conversion of oestradiol into less potent metabolites, which may reduce oestrogen dominance-related conditions. But it also has antimicrobial properties.

In a novel finding, scientists have recently discovered that DIM can cut plaque-causing bacteria in the mouth by 90%. The human mouth provides an ideal environment for bacteria such as Streptococcus mutans, a key contributor to tooth decay. After eating, S. mutans thrives in the warm, sugary conditions inside the mouth, forming a sticky biofilm on the teeth. This biofilm leads to plaque buildup, erodes enamel and causes cavities.

The study found that DIM was able to attenuate S. mutans biofilm formation by 92%. Also, treatment with DIM lowered extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) production and decreased its durability significantly under acidic conditions. EPS is the protective, gel-like matrix secreted by bacteria that surrounds the cells in a biofilm. These anti-biofilm and anti-virulence properties of DIM against S. mutans bacteria in an "oral setting" provide clear evidence for its usefulness in reducing biofilm formation, and potentially for caries prevention.

“The molecule, which was found to have low toxicity, could be added to toothpastes and mouthwashes to greatly improve dental hygiene,” says lead author Prof. Ariel Kushmaro.

In the meantime, I guess we can chew on the tablets!

We might also wonder if DIM can exert antibiofilm properties elsewhere in the body, such as in the gut and bladder. In other test tube studies, DIM consistently prevented biofilm initiation and weakened EPS matrix production across Gram-negative, Gram-positive and fungal pathogens at low- to mid-micromolar concentrations. It was less effective against established/mature biofilms, but did show antibiotic synergy.

If you want to generate significant amounts of DIM in your digestive system (from the stomach downwards), bloodstream and ultimately urine, you will need to eat your Brassica vegetables raw and chew them well. Anyone for coleslaw?

Unfortunately, you can’t generate DIM in your mouth by chewing on cabbage; we need our stomach acid for that.

For more information see: https://scitechdaily.com/natural-molecule-wipes-out-90-of-cavity-causing-plaque/
and
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37370336/

09/14/2025