Transforming Health Through Nutrition, Empathy, and Research

Auto-Brewery Syndrome

This one stopped me in my tracks.

Auto-Brewery Syndrome. Your gut bacteria literally fermenting sugar into alcohol — inside your body — without you ever taking a drink.

People losing jobs, getting DUIs, having their families think they’re lying about drinking. For decades, doctors dismissed it. Patients were told it was in their heads.

It’s not in their heads. It’s in their gut.

A brand new study in Nature Microbiology (PMID: 41507585) finally mapped what’s happening at the microbial level — E. coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae overgrowth, fermentation genes switching on during flares, blood alcohol levels hitting nearly 3x the legal limit from endogenous production alone. And here’s what really got me: a fecal microbiota transplant put one patient into complete remission. 16 months and counting.

But here’s where it gets even more interesting for those of us working in mental health. Researcher Alan Logan and his team have been connecting the dots between gut microbial metabolism and cognition, impulse control, aggression, and mood. They coined the term “legalome” — because this science is literally changing outcomes in courtrooms (PMID: 41008344). DUI charges dismissed. The gut-brain axis isn’t a wellness buzzword anymore. It’s evidence.

Now — is Auto-Brewery Syndrome common? No. But the underlying mechanism — dysbiotic bacteria producing neuroactive metabolites that mess with your brain — that is incredibly common. And most people have no idea it’s happening.

This is exactly why I built a practice around comprehensive gut testing. If you’ve been dealing with unexplained brain fog, mood instability, cognitive issues — especially after antibiotics — the answer might not be in your head. It might be in your microbiome.

#autobrewerysyndrome

New research just dropped in Science Advances (PMID: 41616060) confirming something I’ve been passionate about for a long time: the vagus nerve plays a direct role in dopamine reward signaling 🤯

Let me say that again — your GUT is shaping how your brain experiences pleasure and motivation. This ain’t woo. This is neuroscience 🧠

As someone who works at the intersection of nutrition, mental health, and addiction, this hits. So many of the clients I’ve worked with over the years have had significant GI issues alongside their mental health struggles. And for too long, we’ve treated those as separate problems.

They’re not.

The vagus nerve — “the wanderer” — connects it all. And when it’s compromised by trauma, chronic stress, or dysbiosis, it sets the stage for everything from disordered eating to substance use.

The encouraging part? Vagal tone is something we can influence. Breathwork, yoga, cold exposure, mindful eating, gut-supportive nutrition — these aren’t just wellness trends. They’re evidence-informed strategies for healing the gut-brain axis.

If you or someone you know is in recovery, dealing with chronic gut issues, or working through trauma — this is worth grasping.

Drop a 🧠 if you learned something new.

#VagusNerve #GutBrainAxis #Addiction

I came into the nutrition field believing we could change things. Better food, better health, better outcomes — it felt straightforward enough. But the more I learned, the more I realized the system wasn’t broken. It was working exactly as designed — just not for the people it’s supposed to serve.

So I started studying why. Why do well-intentioned efforts keep failing? Why does the science get ignored? Why do the companies causing the most harm keep getting more powerful?

The answer has a name: the commercial determinants of health. It’s the framework that explains how corporate actors shape our food environment, influence our professional organizations, fund the research that suits their interests, and lobby against the policies that would actually protect people.

This article from Knowable Magazine lays out something I’ve been talking about for years — we don’t even track corporate crime the way we track street crime. There’s no centralized database. No national statistics. The last comprehensive federal report was from 1979. That’s not an accident. That’s by design.

But here’s what gives me hope: the conversation is shifting. Researchers, clinicians, and advocates are connecting these dots in ways that weren’t happening even five years ago. Legislation is being reintroduced. People are waking up to the fact that their health struggles aren’t just personal failures — they’re predictable outcomes of a system that prioritizes profit over wellbeing.

It’s an uphill battle. It always has been. But for the first time in my career, it actually feels like we’re gaining ground.

Are you feeling optimistic or nah?

I found yoga about 12 years ago after years of heavy lifting. Truthfully, my body resisted it at first. My muscles were constantly sore and tight, and the stretching was uncomfortable. But after a few months of easing in, something shifted. I went from lifting 5x/week to yoga 3x/week with lighter weights in between. I lost some muscle mass — but my anxiety dropped significantly. My whole world opened up 🧘🏽

I’m convinced that trauma stored throughout my fascia tissues was released. Science is beginning to support this hypothesis 🧬

That led me to yoga retreats with @brentasana and @jaycoyoga — still some of my best memories in this life. Then the pandemic hit, then two kids, and my practice fell off. Sound familiar?

In recent months, I’ve gotten serious again. I’m practicing at @yogazan in Santa Monica (shoutout to @dianemagnette classes) and hoping to get my wife @miracleworkher on the mat with me soon 👰🏻‍♀️

Here’s what I wish I’d understood earlier: yoga isn’t just exercise. It’s a nervous system reset. A new systematic review (PMID: 41108584) looked at 10 clinical studies on yoga for IBS and found moderate-to-large effect sizes for reducing GI symptoms — in one trial, yoga performed as well as a low-FODMAP diet. The mechanism? Yoga restores vagal tone, the connection between your brain and gut. When stress tanks your vagal tone, digestion suffers.

The poses matter. But the breathing might matter more 🧎🏻‍♂️

I compiled specific poses matched to specific GI symptoms — bloating, constipation, diarrhea, stress-driven gut issues. Save it. Try them. Your gut will tell you if it’s working.

#yoga #guthealth #ibs #ibsrelief #functionalmedicine

New research just dropped in the BMJ, and it’s a big deal…

Transnational food corporations are now marketing “healthy” ultraprocessed foods — think high-protein snacks, vitamin-enriched drinks, and plant-based burgers — as solutions to the very problems their products helped create. This new analysis from Rezende et al. (2026) exposes exactly how this narrative is being used to undermine front-of-pack labeling, block marketing restrictions, and delay real policy change.

Here’s what the data actually shows:

📊 92 out of 104 cohort studies link UPF consumption to at least one adverse health outcome — obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, mental health disorders, and all-cause mortality.

📊 UPFs now account for more than 50% of calories consumed in the US and the UK.

📊 The mechanisms go beyond nutrients. Mediation analyses and randomized crossover trials indicate harms associated with the processing itself.

The industry’s playbook? First, it was “no food is harmful in moderation.” Now it’s “only SOME ultraprocessed foods are bad.” The goal is to fragment the science and confuse the public so that meaningful regulation never arrives.

But the world is catching on. More than 10 countries have incorporated the NOVA classification into dietary guidelines. Brazil restricts UPFs in schools. Colombia has introduced UPF taxes and mandatory front-of-package warnings. California recently passed legislation restricting certain UPFs in school meals due to harmful additives.

So what can we do RIGHT NOW?

Check out @nonupfprogram — a nonprofit certification program that is putting real pressure on the food industry to be transparent about what’s in their products. Food companies can now get certified as Non-UPF, giving consumers a clear signal at the point of purchase. This is a huge step toward holding Big Food accountable and recognizing the companies that are actually committed to public health over private profits. Certification is available now.

This is not fringe science. It has been published in the BMJ, The Lancet, and Diabetes Care. It’s driving global policy. And it demands systemic change — not just individual behavior change.

The idea of having a concert for children is brilliant. The Intelligence knows that kids need more than pop songs 🌎

Kids need to touch their roots. They need to sing and they need to dance. We have to work hard to remember who we are and there are things we can do 🧘🏻‍♂️

Eating commercial food and watching commercial news is a recipe for forgetting who we are. My family refuses to be indoctrinated. Instead, we celebrate love and focus on raising flourishing children 🏡

This is how we can give back to the world ✨

A calm nervous system and dialectical brain is the real medicine and it can never be commercialized.

Mi casa es mi corazon ♥️

After 40 years of treating binge eating disorder, documented outcomes haven’t improved. Published literature suggests that recovery rates have declined over time. PMID: 41345043

Meanwhile, the field has become so hostile to certain questions that asking them risks your social stance in the treatment community. It feels less like a scientific community and more like a schoolyard sandbox.

Professional organizations are shrinking and collapsing. Thoughtful clinicians are leaving. Researchers self-censor to protect their livelihoods.

And patients who don’t fit the dominant framework? They’re told their experience isn’t real — or they quietly stop seeking help.

When a field can’t tolerate internal debate, when scientific inquiry is met with professional threats rather than curiosity, when legitimate protective instincts harden into unchallengeable dogma — something has gone wrong.

This isn’t about picking sides in manufactured culture wars. It’s about asking who actually benefits when we’re too busy policing each other to examine the systems that shape our practice.

The answer might surprise you. Or maybe it won’t.

I wrote about it. It’s uncomfortable. It’s meant to be.

Drop “BLOG” in the comments if you want the full article.

New research is clarifying the role of selenium in brain aging—and it’s worth paying attention to.

I just finished reviewing a comprehensive 2025 paper that examines how this trace mineral supports hippocampal neurogenesis, protects against oxidative damage, and influences multiple pathways relevant to cognitive health.

Key findings:
* 500 million to 1 billion people worldwide may be selenium deficient
* Selenium is incorporated into selenoproteins that regulate neuroinflammation, synaptic plasticity, and even new neuron formation in adulthood
* The SEPP1/LRP8 transport axis is critical—and exercise appears to enhance it
* Genetic polymorphisms affecting selenoprotein synthesis may explain individual variation in selenium requirements

The science is pointing toward selenium as a modifiable factor for cognitive resilience as we age. It’s pretty easy to modify.

But here’s the nuance: more isn’t always better. Selenium has a narrow therapeutic window—deficiency AND excess can cause problems. This is why I’m a fan of food-first approaches (Brazil nuts, seafood, eggs) and functional testing when needed.

If you’re working on longevity, mental health, or just trying to age well—micronutrient status deserves your attention.

#selenium #functionalmedicine