Dr. Aylah Clark

09/07/2023

I'm excited to announce that I am now a Fellow of the American Board of Naturopathic Endocrinology! Though I still see all kinds of conditions, including gastrointestinal, autoimmune, cardiovascular, and more, I find that endocrinology tends to influence nearly every condition - that's how hormones work! Specializing in endocrinology and enhancing my knowledge in this area allows me to treat all patients better. The endocrine system is an essential part of lipedema, diabetes/prediabetes, thyroid disorders, menopause, weight concerns, fertility, and even mood disorders. 
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To learn more about the FABNE certification or the Endocrinology Association of Naturopathic Physicians, go to endoanp.org - this is also where you can find other FABNE certified NDs throughout the US and Canada. 
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If you're an ND with an interest in endocrinology (what ND isn't?!) seriously consider coming to our retreat this October in Palm Springs where there will be CE on some great topics in an intimate and relaxing setting.
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06/12/2023

Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death in people with type 2 diabetes and ApoB is considered one of the best predictors of cardiac risk. Insulin plays a key role in regulating ApoB and in insulin resistance states, ApoB secretion increases and clearance decreases. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3810413/

11/03/2022

Check out our new office in Farmington!

10/14/2022

Whole Health Wellness Center is relocating to Farmington, CT! Our new office will help us to better serve our patients from a central location next to American Red Cross, in front of UConn Health Center, and near 1-84.

Our Avon location will be closing at 12:30 PM on Friday, October 28th and remain closed through Wednesday, November 2nd to prepare for our relocation. We will open our office in Farmington on Thursday, November 3rd. We hope to see you there!

02/28/2022

Free webinar tonight (Monday)! If you have a personal or family history of high cholesterol or heart disease, or have been told your levels are “borderline,” this is a great talk to join! I will be discussing better ways to understand YOUR cardiac risk that can help us fine tune our prevention strategies and I will be diving into the research on our modern understanding of nutrition and heart health… with some unexpected findings!

This Monday, 2/28/22 at 7 pm EST. Hope to see you there!
Register here: https://wholehealthwellnesscenter.online/event-registration-23?fbclid=IwAR3DNWVYUSSTGKa4ubel9dWp2x3JagSL-nqFzn0mvXWDZ7LIF-fx0ve5bvE

02/25/2022

According to a study published last year in the journal Circulation, cutting 20% of sugar from packaged foods and 40% from beverages could prevent 2.48 million cardiovascular disease events (such as strokes, heart attacks, cardiac arrests), 490,000 cardiovascular deaths, and 750,000 diabetes cases in the U.S. over the lifetime of the adult population.

There is a reason why guidelines for reducing cholesterol and improving heart health gloss over sugar and almost exclusively focus on fat: for decades, a large portion of nutrition research has been funded by the sugar industry. In 2016, JAMA Internal Medicine published an explosive study exposing internal documents from the sugar industry and their plan to downplay the harmful effects of sugar, including evidence of bribing scientists to promote their view. One of these scientists became head of nutrition at the United States Department of Agriculture. Nutrition research and guidelines, including the Academy of Nutrition & Dietectics have been riddled with bias in the form of financial ties to corporations in the sugar and processed food industries.

In the past few years we have seen mounting evidence that we have been misled. Even saturated fat is much more nuanced and plays less of a role in cardiac risk than we once thought.

My free webinar on Monday 2/28/22 at 7 pm EST will discuss the evidence and shed some light on our modern understanding of nutrition and cholesterol. I will also be discussing cardiac risk markers beyond the basic cholesterol panel that are better at predicting risk and can help us tailor our prevention strategy to you.
Register here!: https://wholehealthwellnesscenter.online/event-registration-23?fbclid=IwAR3DNWVYUSSTGKa4ubel9dWp2x3JagSL-nqFzn0mvXWDZ7LIF-fx0ve5bvE

PMID: 34445886
PMID: 27617709
PMID: 30232060

02/18/2022

I often have new patients who have been told to avoid egg yolks because their cholesterol is high. Though some cholesterol does come from food, this recommendation is outdated and not evidence-based. The more effective nutrition strategy is to avoid foods that cause our livers to make more cholesterol. This includes sugar, which not only increases LDL "bad" cholesterol and triglycerides, but lowers HDL and, perhaps most importantly, a diet high in sugar has been associated with a 3-fold risk in death from cardiovascular disease.

On 2/28/22 at 7 pm I will be doing a free webinar, primarily on important risk markers beyond the basic lipid panel and will highlight some of the main nutrition myths around cholesterol. Register here!: https://wholehealthwellnesscenter.online/event-registration-23?fbclid=IwAR3DNWVYUSSTGKa4ubel9dWp2x3JagSL-nqFzn0mvXWDZ7LIF-fx0ve5bvE

02/08/2022

You may have heard that cholesterol "isn't everything," but what does that even mean? For one, it means that basing our assessment of cardiac risk (of an event occurring like a heart attack or stroke) only on a basic cholesterol panel doesn't tell the whole story. In fact, there are markers that are better at predicting cardiac risk and can help provide a more individualized risk assessment. These are not on standard blood work ordered at most physicals, though many people think they should be. LDL particle number is one example that studies have shown is more predictive of cardiac risk than any of the standard cholesterol markers including LDL "bad" cholesterol. This doesn't mean we should throw out the basic cholesterol panel, but that we can do better in personalizing treatment.

I will be doing a deep dive into these markers on 2/28/22 at 7pm EST in a free webinar which I highly encourage people with family history of high cholesterol and heart disease to attend, along with people with "borderline" labs, those unable to tolerate statins, or if your cardiac risk is unknown. A link to register for the webinar will be posted in my bio close to the event.

01/28/2022

Several studies have shown that people with depression tend to have higher levels of inflammatory markers such as IL-6 and hs-CRP. This opens the door to new strategies for treatments.

A few clinical trials have shown that curcumin, a go-to natural anti-inflammatory derived from turmeric, can be effective for some people with major depressive disorder.

Studies have shown the mechanism of action for curcumin in depression may be multifactorial as it appears to affect several pathways affecting neurotransmitters (monoamines, glutamate, endocannabinoids), influence the HPA axis which relates to stress response, affect insulin response which can in turn decrease depressive symptoms, have neuroprotective effects, all in addition to the immunoinflammatory mechanism.

My webinar on chronic inflammation is 2/2/22 at 7 pm. Follow this link to register: https://wholehealthwellnesscenter.online/event-registration-20
Study: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.572533

01/20/2022

A tried and true naturopathic strategy to decrease inflammation for many conditions is through the gut. Why? This is where most of our immune system is because it is the part of our body that has the largest area of interaction with the outside world (even more than our skin!).

Studies have shown that in inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, there is increased gut permeability (aka "leaky gut") in part related to dysbiosis (imbalanced gut bacteria). The good news is that the evidence also points to it being treatable.
This is unsurprising, as I commonly see improvements in joint pain with therapeutics aimed at reducing gut inflammation and permeability. In this study they used a molecule called AT-1001 on mice which was able to inhibit intestinal permeability and reduce joint inflammation.

On Feb 2, 2022 at 7 pm EST I will be doing a free webinar on inflammation and strategies similar to this to put out the fire. Keep an eye out for the registration link in the next couple of weeks!
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.medj.2021.04.013

10/18/2021

Free webinar this Thursday on Lipedema! See below for details.

REGISTER TODAY: https://wholehealthwellnesscenter.online/event-registration-15

Join Dr. Aylah Clark this Thursday, October 21st for Understanding Lipedema, a free webinar presented by Whole Health Wellness Center!

Lipedema is an under-diagnosed condition affecting as many as 10% of women. It is characterized by weight gain and difficulty losing weight primarily in the lower extremities but can affect the arms. Often, it can be painful, result in texture changes in the tissue, and many people experience bruising.

Register today to join our interactive chat, ask any questions you may have and find out how to get a FREE body composition test!

REGISTER TODAY: https://wholehealthwellnesscenter.online/event-registration-15