By Dustin Strong, CHN, ACN There’s a pattern I see far too often, one that leaves people feeling confused, discouraged, and sometimes even hopeless. Symptoms appear out of nowhere. They don’t quite fit into a neat diagnosis. Tests come back “normal.” And yet, the struggle is very real. So the search begins… usually with adding something new. Another cream. Another supplement. Another prescription. But what if the answer isn’t in adding more, but in looking more closely at wha

By Dustin Strong, CHN, ACN When Symptoms Don’t Add Up: Could Heavy Metals Be a Missing Link? It’s one of the most frustrating experiences in health: You’re doing “all the right things,” yet your symptoms persist...or even worsen. For many people navigating chronic or unexplained conditions, there’s a hidden factor that often goes overlooked: Toxic burden...especially from heavy metals. A Story That Illustrates the Bigger Picture Recently, I spoke with a practitioner who had b

By Dustin Strong, CHN, ACN The Coronary Artery Calcium Score (CACS) is widely used as a non-invasive tool to assess cardiovascular risk by quantifying calcified plaque within the coronary arteries. Robust evidence supports its predictive value for future cardiovascular events, particularly when used alongside traditional risk factors (Greenland et al., 2018; Budoff et al., 2018). However, while CACS is a valuable marker, its interpretation is often overly reductionist - frame

By Dustin Strong, CHN, ACN A new era in brain health—and a new kind of question We’re entering a new era in cognitive health. For decades, Alzheimer’s disease was something we detected late —often after symptoms had already begun to interfere with daily life. But today, emerging biomarkers are shifting that timeline earlier… sometimes years  earlier. Which raises an important question: How early is too early to look for signs of cognitive decline? A newly published study in N

By Dustin Strong, CHN-ACN Every year, like clockwork, allergy season arrives. And with it comes the same familiar story ... itchy eyes, congestion, fatigue, brain fog. For many, it’s accepted as inevitable. Something to manage. Something to get through. Most people walk into my office expecting solutions that control  their symptoms. What I hope to offer them is something far more valuable: A new way of thinking. The Lesson That Changed Everything One of the most important le

Many people have been asking me about this film, and many of them have been making drastic changes in their lives.....But here's something that is not talked about it this documentary... For years in clinical practice, I’ve leaned into the quiet power of plants. Not trends. Not hype. But time-tested, often overlooked foods that support the body in deeply intelligent ways. Two of those plants - okra and fenugreek - have been staples in my work for years. And now, science is

A recent article titled “A New Dawn in Asthma Care: The First New Treatment in 50 Years Offers Hope”   highlights the promise of benralizumab, a monoclonal antibody designed to reduce asthma and COPD flare-ups by targeting eosinophils - immune cells involved in inflammation. At first glance, this does sound like progress. And for those suffering from severe, life-disrupting symptoms, any new option can feel like a lifeline. But as we move forward in medicine, it’s worth askin

We live in a time where access to health information has never been greater. Lab testing is widely available.Supplements are everywhere.And protocols are just a search away. But there’s a growing problem hidden inside all of this access: More information does not equal better outcomes. Because healing is not just about what  you do. It’s about when , why , and in what order  you do it. A Real-World Example I recently worked with a client whose labs, at first glance, didn’t lo

By Dustin Strong, CHN, ACN I love when emerging research challenges us to pause and rethink what we think  we know. Before we begin, let me set the stage clearly—this is a preprint study , meaning it has not yet been peer-reviewed. So this is not clinical truth… yet. But it is compelling. And perhaps more importantly, it aligns with patterns many of us are already observing in practice. This study, analyzing nearly 5,000 real-world nights of sleep and dietary data, suggests s

By Dustin Strong, CHN, ACN Functional mushrooms have earned their place in the world of integrative and longevity-focused healthcare. Mushrooms = powerful, clinically relevant tools BUT… when something becomes heavily marketed + simplified , we need to slow down That’s the tension here: Mushrooms = real medicine Mushroom coffee = consumer product Those are not always the same thing. Compounds found in mushrooms like Lion’s Mane, Reishi, and Cordyceps have been studied for the