The Colorado Association of Naturopathic Doctors

04/29/2026

There’s been a noticeable shift in the research coming out of the JAMA Network (okay...maybe not your normal reading material...)

Cardio-metabolic risk—things like blood pressure, insulin resistance, and weight-related changes—is showing up earlier, often in teens and young adults.

If you’re a parent trying to do parenting "differently," it can feel like you’re swimming upstream. You make small changes—real food instead of the packaged option, getting your kids outside instead of offering more screen time, holding some kind of line on sleep—and it’s not always noticed or appreciated.

But these are the things that actually shape long-term health.

This isn’t about getting everything right. As a parent myself, I know there's not a day that I get it all right.

It’s about recognizing that what happens at home, day to day, carries more weight than it seems in the moment.

I want to ENCOURAGE YOU: it feels like a lot sometimes, or like it doesn’t make a difference—it does.

04/22/2026

Chronic disease now drives the majority of healthcare burden worldwide—largely shaped by lifestyle, environment, and long-term habits.

Conventional medicine is excellent at diagnosis and acute care.
But prevention and long-term behavior change? That’s where gaps still exist.
Naturopathic medicine works in that space.

It focuses on:
• Nutrition and metabolic health
• Physical activity and stress physiology
• Patient education and long-term behavior change
• Personalized, whole-person care
Not as an alternative—but as part of a more complete system.
The future of healthcare isn’t either/or.
It’s collaborative, preventive, and patient-centered.

If you’re ready to take a more proactive approach to your health, start with us:
Find a registered naturopathic doctor in Colorado → www.coloradond.org/find-a-nd

04/17/2026

From our own Colorado ND member, Dr Charley Cropley.

A reflective exploration of professional conflict within naturopathic medicine and a vitalist framework for restoring integrity, dialogue, and collective healing.

A Naturopathic Detox from the COVID Era: Healing the Profession Through Truth and Compassion by

Read the full article in this month’s edition of NDNR Journal of Applied Natural Medicine.

04/17/2026

Chronic low-grade inflammation is now recognized as the common underlying mechanism of virtually every major chronic disease — heart disease, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, cancer, autoimmune conditions, and depression. It is not a single disease. It is the biological environment in which disease thrives.

Inflammation is a normal and necessary immune response. Acute inflammation — the redness, swelling, and heat that follows an injury or infection — is how the body heals. The problem is chronic inflammation: a persistent, low-level activation of the immune system that never fully resolves, quietly damaging tissues and accelerating aging throughout the body.

What you eat is one of the most powerful drivers of systemic inflammation — in both directions. Ultra-processed foods, refined sugars, refined seed oils, white flour, and artificial additives consistently elevate inflammatory markers including C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha. Conversely, whole foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids, polyphenols, fiber, and antioxidants — fatty fish, leafy greens, berries, olive oil, turmeric, nuts, and seeds — consistently reduce these same markers.

Every meal is a choice about the inflammatory state of your body. There is no neutral option. The food on your plate is either adding to the fire or helping to put it out. This is not about perfection. It is about understanding that what you eat three times a day is one of the most powerful levers you have over your long-term health.

04/14/2026

We’ve been taught to look at cholesterol like a simple scorecard.
Good. Bad. High. Low.

But it’s not that simple.

Cholesterol is doing a job in the body.

What matters more is how it’s moving, how many particles are on the road, and what kind of environment they’re traveling through.

That’s where things start to shift.

This article goes deeper into that idea—
why LDL isn’t inherently the problem, and what actually drives cardiovascular risk.

If you’ve ever been confused by your labs, it’s worth the read.

https://coloradond.org/understanding-cholesterol-what-your-lipid-panel-may-be-missing/

Confused by cholesterol numbers? This guide explains why LDL isn’t simply “bad” and what truly matters for assessing cardiovascular risk and overall health

04/14/2026

This is not a “5 ways to lower your cholesterol” post.

Researched and written by Colorado Naturopathic Doctor Donald Spears of Whole Systems Healthcare Boulder, It’s a deeper look at how cholesterol actually functions in the body—
and why the good vs. bad narrative falls short.

It talks about particle numbers. Oxidation.
The internal environment that changes how these markers behave.
In other words…this is about understanding, not shortcuts.
If you want the full picture, it’s worth the read.
[link]

Confused by cholesterol numbers? This guide explains why LDL isn’t simply “bad” and what truly matters for assessing cardiovascular risk and overall health

04/14/2026

This is not a “Five Ways to Lower Your Cholesterol” post.

It’s a deeper look at how cholesterol actually functions in the body—and why the good vs. bad narrative falls short.

It talks about particle number. Oxidation.
The internal environment that changes how these markers behave.

In other words…this is about understanding, not shortcuts.
If you want the full picture, it’s worth the read.

https://coloradond.org/understanding-cholesterol-what-your-lipid-panel-may-be-missing/

04/10/2026

We’ve become very good at measuring health.

Blood pressure. Blood sugar. Cholesterol.

We track it, monitor it, and adjust treatment to keep those numbers within range. That matters, and it plays an important role in reducing risk—especially for acute events.

But it’s worth stepping back and asking a broader question.

Are we getting healthier?

Because at the same time, more people are living with chronic conditions, and many are developing them earlier in life.

Managing numbers is not the same as improving the underlying health of the body. It often means we are controlling risk, not changing the trajectory.

And this is where you (and I) come in.

A lot of what influences health happens outside the exam room—how the body is functioning day to day, and the habits that support or strain it over time. Sleep, movement, food, stress, and how we spend our time all play a role.

None of this replaces medical care. But it protects and improves health.

Naturopathic doctors work alongside conventional care to help people build that foundation in a practical, sustainable way.

If you want to explore that approach, you can find a registered ND in Colorado here:
www.coloradond.org/find-an-nd

04/08/2026

Out hiking this morning and my friend Ami says—
“Wait…so now it’s supplements, chlorophyll, vitamins, squats, jumping jacks, sunlight…
how is this a simple life?”

And I laughed…she’s not wrong.
We’ve been told for years that life is getting more convenient. Easier. Say What?

So why does it feel like there’s more to keep up with than ever?
More things to do right. More habits to stack.
More ways to feel like you’re behind.

And none of it showed up all at once. It just kept getting added.

Meanwhile, a lot of the basic things that used to just be part of life....
moving your body, being outside, eating real food—
somehow got pushed out.

But now we’re trying to add them back in…on purpose.
Like it’s a new idea.

No wonder it feels like work.

Let's get out of the trap of adding more and more and take some stuff off our plates.

We wrote more about this here:
https://coloradond.org/convenience-at-what-cost/

04/08/2026

Uh-oh. Here it comes again. News. And more news. Our Facebook "friends" hitting the panic button and battening down the hatches. It's a way of coping..."sharing" our emotions and concerns and fears...

There’s a lot coming at us right now. And most of us are taking it in without question.
Headlines. Images. Video. Commentary.

We call it “staying informed.”
But your body doesn’t experience it that way.
Your nervous system reads repeated exposure to threat—real or not—as stress input. Not once, but over and over again. And without enough recovery, it doesn’t reset.

That’s when people (me, for instance 🥹) start to feel off.

Not because something is wrong in their immediate world—
but because their system has been sitting in a constant low-grade alarm state.

Please hear me say: This isn’t about ignoring what’s happening. It’s about understanding what your body can realistically hold.

You don’t have to absorb everything to care.

You don’t have to stay flooded to stay compassionate.

If this has been hitting close to home, we wrote more about it here:

https://coloradond.org/do-you-have-to-watch-it-all-to-care-avoiding-the-news-or-protecting-your-nervous-system/

Constant exposure to distressing news and images affects the nervous system. Learn the neuroscience of media overload and how mindful limits support resilience and health.

04/06/2026

We look like our habits. Not our goals. (Dang it) !

Most people don’t suddenly wake up unhealthy. It’s usually more subtle than that. Over time, things start to shift—sleep gets shorter, meals get more convenient, stress becomes something you just carry. Nothing dramatic, nothing that feels urgent. Just small patterns repeating often enough that the body starts to reflect them.

And then one day you notice you don’t feel quite like yourself anymore.

What naturopathic doctors tend to do well is step into that space and help make sense of those patterns without turning it into a judgment or a complete life overhaul. They’re trained to look at what’s happening day to day—what your body is actually responding to—and to help you untangle how you got here.

Because the same way we move out of balance gradually, we can move back in the same way. Not all at once. Not perfectly. But with some attention, some intention, and a willingness to shift what’s happening consistently.

That process doesn’t have to be overwhelming. In fact, it works better when it’s not.
If you’re ready to take a closer look at your own patterns, you can find a naturopathic doctor here:
www.coloradond.org/find-a-nd