Doctor Cass Naumann, DACOM, LAc. Original Spirit Healing Arts,PLLC

10/17/2025

Chronic inflammation is a silent driver behind many of the world’s deadliest diseases—from heart disease and diabetes to Alzheimer’s and cancer.

Now, scientists are discovering that one of the body’s most powerful tools in fighting it may not be a drug, but a nerve. The vagus nerve, which runs from the brainstem to organs like the heart and gut, plays a crucial role in regulating inflammation. When functioning properly, it keeps the immune response in balance. But when it malfunctions, chronic inflammation can take hold.

Enter vagus nerve stimulation—a promising bioelectronic therapy that uses electrical pulses to "reset" immune activity and reduce inflammation. Unlike medications, this approach may offer long-term relief without major side effects. Already FDA-approved for epilepsy and depression, vagus nerve stimulation is now being explored for autoimmune conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn’s disease, as well as neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

With researchers working to map the vagus nerve and refine stimulation techniques, this innovative therapy could soon offer millions of patients an alternative to lifelong drug regimens—potentially marking a revolutionary shift in how we treat chronic disease.

REFERENCE:
"Inflammation, vagus nerve stimulation, and your health", Northwell Health (Medically reviewed by Kevin Tracey, MD).

10/15/2025

New research suggests ovarian function may be closely tied to overall lifespan. From a functional medicine perspective, this reinforces what we’ve long understood: ovarian health is not just about fertility, but about systemic aging and overall healthspan.

Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) is emerging as a potential marker to track and preserve ovarian function, with implications for both longevity and women’s health. Supporting ovarian health means addressing inflammation, nutrient status, hormonal balance, and lifestyle factors early and consistently.

This is an important frontier in women’s health and one where functional medicine can lead the way in advancing strategies that extend both reproductive and overall healthspan.

Source: https://www.pharmacytimes.com/view/ovarian-function-may-be-associated-with-lifespan

10/14/2025

🫁✨ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗜𝘀 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗜𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱!✨

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗔𝘀𝗸𝗲𝗱:
“Is the lung part of a continuous fascial-organ system that communicates with the rest of the body?”

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱:
*Hyaluronic acid (HA) formed a seamless network through all lung compartments, connecting with vessel walls and nerve sheaths linking directly to the global fascial system.

*Tiny airborne carbon particles travelled through this connective network — inside and beyond the lungs!

*Mouse lungs showed similar organization but lacked HA in alveolar walls, a subtle species difference in fascial architecture.

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗜𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀:
The study shows that interstitial spaces are communication highways between organs; pathways through which inflammation, infection or cancer may spread (even hinting at a fascial link between the lung and brain).

𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗠𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 & 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀:
Every breath , movement and touch transmits force through this HA-rich matrix — shaping physiology, immunity & health.

🧠 “𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 — 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 — 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗮.”

Source: Journal of Anatomy (2025) | Ordner, Narula, Theise et al. https://doi.org/10.1111/joa.14280

Click to read full paper: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/joa.14280?domain=p2p_domain&token=PZMWVE9FPQF5AHVZVXVM

10/13/2025

By Sarah E. Hill, PhD - 30 Q&As - Unbekoming Book Summary

10/08/2025

10/08/2025

Who’s Actually Afraid of Integrative Medicine?
How policy, payment, and old habits—not a “cabal”—shape what care you get

For years, the debate about integrative medicine has been framed as a showdown: “Big Pharma” and bureaucrats versus acupuncturists, herbalists, and mind–body clinicians. The reality is less cinematic and more revealing. Around the world, integration is happening—just unevenly, and mostly where policy, payment, and evidence line up.

This is the story the data tell.
The world has moved (quietly) toward integration

In 2024, the World Health Organization released its draft Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicine Strategy 2025–2034, calling on countries to “integrate safe and effective TCIM into health systems” and to strengthen regulation and evidence. Four priorities lead the plan: build evidence, regulate for safety/quality, integrate what works, and improve cross-sector collaboration. That’s not fringe—it’s a roadmap. WHO Apps+1

A 2023 BMJ Global Health stakeholder analysis reached a similar conclusion: integration should be evidence-informed, culturally respectful, and patient-centred—and it’s already advancing in multiple regions. gh.bmj.com

Case studies: when policy meets evidence, access follows
Switzerland: a democratic nudge, then national coverage

Swiss voters endorsed complementary medicine in a 2009 referendum. Since then, basic health insurance (LAMal) has recognized several disciplines when delivered by certified physicians—from acupuncture/TCM pharmacotherapy to anthroposophic and herbal medicine. In 2025, the upper chamber (Council of States) backed continued reimbursement for these therapies under basic insurance. Integration there isn’t a theory; it’s statutory. ITCIM.ORG+2PLOS+2

How big is the spend? Small. A 2024 policy brief estimated about CHF 18 million per year from basic insurance—tiny relative to Swiss health outlays—suggesting the debate isn’t about cost blowouts but standards and scope. css-institut.ch
Germany: reimburse what randomized trials support

After large German acupuncture trials, the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) added acupuncture to the statutory benefits (since 2007) for chronic low back pain and knee osteoarthritis—and not for other indications lacking sufficient evidence. It’s a narrow but clear example of evidence-triggered integration. Europe PMC+3G-BA+3PubMed+3
UK: mainstream guideline endorses acupuncture for chronic primary pain

The 2021 NICE NG193 guideline recommends considering a course of acupuncture (alongside exercise and psychological therapies) for chronic primary pain—while advising against many drugs with poor risk–benefit profiles for this indication. It’s a blunt, evidence-driven rebalancing of options in mainstream care. NICE
The “why not everywhere?” problem: incentives, institutions, inertia
1) The Flexner legacy (good science, collateral damage)

The 1910 Flexner Report professionalized North American medicine around lab-based biomedicine—an undeniable win for safety and efficacy. But historians note it also closed many pluralistic schools and hospitals, narrowing what counted as “medicine” for decades. Today’s uneven integration sits partly in that long shadow. PMC+1
2) Follow the money (and what it’s designed to buy)

Public and private payers are built to reimburse licensed procedures, drugs, and devices with strong trial data. Complementary medicine that lacks big-budget trials struggles to enter fee schedules—creating a loop: no coverage → less research investment → no coverage.

Consider the U.S.: the NIH’s National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) had an FY2024 budget of ~$170 million—tiny beside disease-area institutes and far below pharmaceutical R&D. Underfunded fields produce fewer pivotal trials, which then limits reimbursement decisions. NCCIH+1
3) Reimbursement rules matter more than rhetoric

Where rules specify that a therapy must demonstrate additional benefit versus a comparator (Germany’s G-BA) or meet cost-effectiveness thresholds (NICE), some complementary approaches cross the bar—and are adopted. Others don’t (yet), and remain outside. That’s a filter, not a plot. G-BA
What the evidence actually supports—today:

Acupuncture: reimbursed in Germany for chronic low back pain and knee OA after positive trials; recommended by NICE (with limits) for chronic primary pain. PubMed+2reposit.haw-hamburg.de+2

Physician-delivered CAM in Switzerland: covered under basic insurance for five disciplines, reaffirmed by lawmakers in 2025; many other therapies remain in supplementary insurance. PLOS+1

Global policy direction: WHO strategy urges regulated, evidence-based integration rather than exclusion or laissez-faire adoption. WHO Apps

This is the opposite of a blanket embrace or blanket ban. It’s selective adoption where data exist.
So…who’s “afraid” of integrative medicine?

When you look at the trail of policy documents, payer rules, and guideline tables, fear isn’t the main driver. Structures are. Health systems reward what’s been definitively tested, economically modelled, and easy to regulate. Where complementary approaches meet that bar, they’re in. Where they don’t, they stay out—until better trials arrive.

If you want faster, fairer integration, the levers are clear:

Fund high-quality trials for promising integrative therapies (dose, comparators, long-term outcomes).

Standardize training and regulation to protect patients and ease reimbursement.

Target conditions with unmet needs (e.g., chronic pain) where guidelines already invite non-drug options.

Measure value, not just efficacy—patient-reported outcomes, reduced polypharmacy, safety.

That’s not a cabal; it’s governance. And it can be changed—with evidence.

Final Thoughts: When Evidence Speaks, Walls Fall

Medicine has always evolved through tension — between what we know, what we feel, and what we dare to test. “Evidence-based” practice was meant to be the antidote to dogma, yet somewhere along the way, it became one itself. Too often, the phrase is used not as an invitation to explore, but as a gate to keep new ideas out until they fit old molds.

But real science isn’t about defense; it’s about discovery.

The history of medicine is full of truths that began at the margins: handwashing, bacteria, ulcers caused by Helicobacter pylori, mindfulness in pain recovery. Every one of these was first dismissed — until the data made disbelief impossible.

Integrative medicine stands at the same threshold. Across Switzerland, Germany, the UK, and far beyond, the proof is quietly accumulating: when therapies are studied carefully, standardized responsibly, and evaluated honestly, they earn their place beside conventional treatments.

And once the evidence is clear, no lobby, no bureaucracy, no “cabal” can bury it for long. Because medicine, at its best, always returns to its first principle — to help and to heal.

The path forward isn’t confrontation, but convergence: bringing together the precision of modern biomedicine and the depth of traditional wisdom into one, evidence-lit continuum of care.
That isn’t alternative medicine. It’s simply good medicine — finally whole again.

Sources (selected)

WHO Traditional, Complementary & Integrative Medicine—overview and Strategy 2025–2034. World Health Organization+1

BMJ Global Health: global stakeholder perspective on WHO’s strategy. gh.bmj.com

NICE NG193 (2021): chronic primary pain—recommendations incl. acupuncture. NICE

Germany (G-BA): acupuncture coverage decisions & background. G-BA+2PubMed+2

Switzerland: referendum & 2025 decision to continue basic-insurance coverage of five CAM disciplines (physician-delivered). ITCIM.ORG+1

NCCIH budget & policy (NIH). NCCIH+1

Flexner Report historical impact on medical pluralism. PMC+1

Cost context (Switzerland): estimated CHF 18 M/yr from basic insurance for CAM. css-institut.ch

10/08/2025

In a brand new study, researchers found that women who wore rose essential oil on their clothing for just 30 days had significant increases in gray matter volume across the whole brain on MRI scans.

When the aromatic molecules of rose essential oil are inhaled, they travel through the olfactory system to the brain’s limbic system, which governs emotions and memories.

The posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) is particularly responsive to the rose scent. The researchers suggest that the sustained exposure of the PCC to the rose scent leads to continuous processing and memory storage related to the scent, leading to an increase in gray matter volume.

This process of sustained scent exposure also appears to engage and stimulate memory-related neural pathways, driving neuroplasticity and positive structural brain changes.

Increased gray matter is associated with enhanced cognitive function (memory, learning and executive functions), better emotional regulation, reduced stress and anxiety and improved overall mental health.

PMID: 38331299

10/07/2025

At first glance, slow-moving practices like taijiquan and qigong might seem easier than fast-paced exercise, but many practitioners quickly discover that they can be surprisingly demanding. The difficulty lies in the combination of physical control, structural alignment, and internal awareness required.

Read more at: www.qi-journal.com/3464

09/20/2025

Scientists have achieved a groundbreaking milestone in the fight against HIV by developing a CRISPR-based therapy that removes HIV DNA from infected human cells and prevents the virus from returning. This revolutionary approach targets the viral genetic material directly, effectively erasing HIV from the cell’s genome and halting its ability to replicate.

In laboratory studies, treated cells showed no signs of viral rebound, offering a potential pathway toward a permanent cure for HIV, a disease that has affected millions globally. Unlike traditional antiretroviral therapies, which only suppress the virus, this CRISPR therapy tackles the root cause, providing hope for a one-time treatment with long-lasting effects.

Researchers emphasise that while early results are promising, further studies and clinical trials are required to ensure safety and efficacy in humans. If successful, this therapy could transform HIV treatment and bring the world closer to ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic once and for all.

09/15/2025

Acupuncture may ease chronic lower back pain in older adults more effectively than standard care, a new JAMA Network Open study finds.