Stanwood Integrative Medicine

11/11/2025

Today is Veteran’s Day. These amazing individuals took a portion of their lives to serve our country and many are still suffering the consequences of this decision. Our service members often suffer higher rates of PTSD, depression, su***de, traumatic brain injuries, environmental exposures, substance use disorders, and chronic pain. Additionally, there are a higher number of our veterans that are homeless as they have had difficulties re-integrating into society. If you know a veteran in need of help, please lend a hand. These individuals may be helped by the Veteran’s Administration and often local communities and counties have their own veteran’s support. Thank you to all of our veterans for your service and your sacrifice as well as to their loved ones who faithly remained by their side to ensure there was a family to come home to.

https://snohomishcountywa.gov/598/Veterans-Assistance-Program
https://www.skagitcounty.net/Departments/HumanServices/vets.htm

The Veterans Assistance Program is operated by Skagit County Public Health, in partnership with Community Action’s Skagit Vets Connect Program. Veterans Assistance is provided to make sure that the residents of Skagit County, who have honorably served our country, are never forgotten. Upon determi...

10/27/2025

I will keep this one fairly brief but hopefully informative. As many know, one of medical passions is regenerative medicine. There are so many amazing applications that are being developed it seems almost daily and newer research is coming out about the use of this form of medicine to help individuals achieve a new state of wellness and recovery. Today, I want to focus on inflammation and particularly joint inflammation (such as osteoarthritis). The conventional medicine treatments include: over the counter NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories), then prescriptive NSAIDs of not enough control and finally steroid shots into the injection. Well, this typically then results in a joint replacement when these modalities fail. So the question is why do they fail....the short answer is our natural biology. When we are in a state of osteoarthritis, our chondrocytes (the cells that make up are cartilage) are in a catabolic state (think about your cat that wants to tear things up...break things down). When we add in medications such as NSAIDs (aspirin, Aleve, ibuprofen, Diclofenac, Celebrex, meloxicam) these are also catabolic and leads to further joint degeneration. Then many people get steroid shots (often more than one) and there is research supporting that corticosteroids also contribute to further joint degradation even though they may provide temporary relief. There are other options for supporting joint health with a strong potential to help stimulate regeneration.

10/27/2025

Quick Admin note with a 2nd post to follow...well here we are at the end of October already. This Friday, 31 Oct 2025, the clinic will be closed. We will re-open on Tuesday 04 November 2025. If you experience any medical emergency or urgent medical need, please go to the ER or Urgent care. I hope you all have a safe Halloween.

10/23/2025

This is for the ladies and it would be nice if the guys listened as well but at least you will all be a bit more informed. This is an excellent podcast with some leading women in the healthcare and exercise science setting. They discuss all phases of reproductive health for females and discuss some interesting concerns about birth control that haven't been discussed before. Now, we want to make sure that women aren't getting pregnant if it isn't desired at the time but the wanton use of birth control for things like acne may have a down side. Please ladies take a listen and if you have teenage girls that are also athlete's please take a listen. This is from the Diary of a CEO. It is long but EXCELLENT!

The 4 leading powerhouses in women’s health break down urgent topics facing women today: irregular periods, PCOS, endometriosis, perimenopause, and the best ...

10/17/2025

I have been wrestling in my mind for the past few days on what to post first for you all. There have been 2 very interesting podcast I think are worth listening to. The first one that I am going to share is from Dr Peter Attia's podcast, the Drive. He did an interesting podcast on the "association" of tylenol with autism. We have to remain vigilant about what is being reported on as they take key highlights without providing the details behind this. If there is an association with tylenol use and autism it is very loose.

“Science is not about being right or wrong in an absolute sense. It's really about constantly updating our priors, understanding the probability of something as new evidence becomes emergent.” —Peter Attia

10/09/2025

Administrative note. I have 2 important administrative isssues to post today. First, Dr Ashley Scharbach, will be moving on to her own practice starting 01 Jan 2026. For those patients that want to follow on with her, we will make sure you have her contact information once it is available. We have appreciated the time that Dr Scharbach has been with us and wish her the best of luck in her new adventure. Second, it is with tremendous consideration that we have decided to no longer take insurance at Stanwood Integrative Medicine. The insurance companies become increasingly difficult to deal with and there are sadly financial considerations as well in that reimbursements are getting smaller. We will continue to provide you all the current services at the clinic but starting in Jan 2026, patients will be paying cash to receive care. A super bill will be provided so that you may be reimbursed directly. As of 01 Jan 2026, Premera and Molina will not be accepted at the clinic and as of 31 December 2026, the Regence based insurances will no longer be accepted. We will continue to support you, our amazing patients, through this transition. For those who decide to change providers, I want to thank you for allowing me to be a part of your health care. For those who are electing to stay, I am equally honored that you continue to trust us with your care.

09/25/2025

Happy Thursday All! So brief admin message. Today, 25 Sept 2025, we have having problems with the phones in that we are NOT currently receiving any incoming calls and are having difficulties calling out to patients. Apologies for any inconvenience.

09/17/2025

Happy Wednesday! You are halfway through the week and hopefully you all have wonderful plans for the weekend. Today is a little bonus post. Some of you know that we do offer some regenerative aesthetics procedures in office and I wanted to share a few items that I have learned myself as I continue my own education. There are biostimulants that can help regenerate the face in general. Many reach for their tried and seemingly true product of filler. The problem with cross-linked hyaluronic acid based fillers is that they can actually spread creating almost a cement like structure within the tissues that can't always be dissolved. Additionally, used in the lips it can cause vaso-occlusion (compression of the vessels) in the lip area that can cause this tissue to die. Additionally, the typical fillers used don't stimulate collagen or elastin formation in the face and lips and don't stimulate new vascular growth in areas that need it. For example, as we age, our lips start to lose their height, volume and color. This can add to the "aging of the face." If you are interested in a more regenerative application, give us a call.

09/15/2025

Well here we are in the middle of September already. The younger children are back at school and for some college will be starting soon. As we shift back into the rhythm of fall and winter, we are getting our schedules adjusted for nutrition, exercise and sleep. Today, I want to spend a moment to cover nutrition. It seems that people have a variety of nutrition plans they follow. When talking with patients, I do my best to not say the word diet as this often implies only a short term change when we often need a full lifestyle change to get a good foundation of health under our feet. There is an article in Medical News Today whose headline is a bit misleading. There are numerous studies on intermittent fasting and its overall benefit to health and longevity. This article makes it seem that not eating breakfast within a few hours of waking can negatively impact your health but this study was done as a survey like questionnaire. Now they did follow these patients over a 20 year period but their conclusions are a bit muddled. Luckily the author of this article reached out to a separate nutritionist who summed up their conclusion much more succinctly. Dr Andrew Huberman's podcast, The Huberman Lab, recently went into excellent details on intermittent fasting. I will post both links for you to review on your own. Please keep in mind that headlines are there to grab your attention and the conclusions may not be as exciting as the headlines. If you are interested in adding in intermittent fasting, please take a listen to Dr Huberman's podcast.

https://www.hubermanlab.com/episode/essentials-effects-of-fasting-and-time-restricted-eating-on-fat-loss-and-health

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/eating-breakfast-late-linked-biological-aging-depression-oral-health -findings-with-no-proof-of-causation

Could the time of day people eat meals affect longevity? A new study finds links between meal times and conditions such as depression, fatigue, and oral health problems in older adults.

09/05/2025

Quick administrative post for all. The new year will bring some changes to the clinic and I will address those in the next few weeks but the most immediate change is that the clinic will now be closed on Mondays. If you have urgent or emergent health care needs, please make sure to go directly to the ER or urgent care clinic. I hope you all have an amazing weekend!

09/01/2025

Happy Labor Day for all of my hardworking (and retired) SIM followers. Labor day typically marks the end of summer and the return to the routine of school, work, sports, etc. I hope everyone found a moment to unplug and enjoy the summer. Today, I wanted to talk about supplements, particularly those involved in the methylation process. People know about MTHFR, this is a specific methylation process and they know it is important but on a broader sense may not understand why it is important. Methylation is a process in the body by which a methyl group (CH3) is donate to support a function like turning on or off genes. Poor methylation causes the mitochondria to not function well, increases fibrosis (scarring), and increases inflammation to name a few consequences of poor methylation. It is estimated that up to 30% of the population has some defect in methylation. Now we can test for poor methylation but it wouldn't change what we would do to support better methylation which includes the use of a methylated folate and methylated B12 (methyl cobalamin). Another "hot topic" supplement that support methylation is methylene blue. Please note that NOT everyone can use methylene blue (depending on medications currently being used like SSRIs or late stages of poor kidney function) but it can be used safely in a number of individuals. Please support your cells by making sure you are taking a good version of vitamin B12 and folate (look for methyl folate and methyl cobalamin).

08/29/2025

Just a reminder that we are entering into the Labor Day weekend. The clinic will be closed on Monday 01 September 2025 and we will reopen on Tuesday 02 Sept 2025. If you experience a medical emergency please go to the ER or urgent care.