Dr. Allison Apfelbaum, Naturopathic Doctor at Tree of Health

04/16/2026

📣WANP 2026 Annual Conference | Speaker Highlight📣

We actually have THREE presentations on pain at this year's conference - but all taking a slightly different approach. We are thrilled that Dr. Bill Walter will join us from Oregon to cover "Pain Management: Key concepts and assessments." Dr. Walter brings to this presentation years of experience working in a community health/primary care clinic and will consider patient access, costs, and psychosocial factors as he discusses the evidence behind chronic pain.

*****

Chronic Pain is a common condition, prompting patients to seek care from a range of healthcare providers. This lecture will review key principles in assessment of chronic pain (including psychological factors that must be understood), natural treatment approaches, and opioid and non-opioid pharmacological treatment. We will additionally discuss critical aspects related to the use of controlled substances.

*****

Register by April 18 to save yourself some money: wanp.org/2026conference

04/15/2026

How to avoid harsh chemicals

04/09/2026

This is your sign to attend the Networking breakfast! Held at Fairwinds Brittany Park. Today we talked about upping your social media game with .co and making reels for your business!

04/03/2026

**Introducing microneedling with PRP (platelet rich plasma)**
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03/21/2026

With the costs of medical school going up and physician shortages, something tells me we'll be seeing this more often..
https://www.phillyvoice.com/drexel-university-medical-school-physician-shortage/?utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawQrKJRleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFBRXM0TUFaVExIVERhd1Jnc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHuhwWtN6ra1I1Qh1TPnVpkSblAiTE_mxM_wpH-cKBS4iToDH7L2FwvFZ8RZA_aem_DPYvT5CTCqUWMAvZ7UWSqw

Drexel's medical school is the first in Southeastern Pennsylvania to add an accelerated degree program. There are more than 30 nationwide.

03/18/2026

📣WANP 2026 Annual Conference | Speaker Highlight📣

Are you curious about ways you can be more proactive with patients in terms of their cardiovascular health? Do you have questions about how environmental exposures can affect long-term cardiovascular wellness? Are you looking for additional options for detoxification and prevention - beyond just reacting to routine screening?

If so, you'll definitely want to hear Dr. Brenden Cochran present on "Next-Generation Approaches in Cardiovascular Care: From a reactive to a proactive approach" at our upcoming CME conference.

*****

Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide—yet the majority of clinical strategies still emphasize reactive management rather than proactive prevention and optimization. This presentation explores an evolution in cardiovascular medicine that integrates systems biology, metabolic insight, and precision prevention to shift from late-stage intervention to early restoration of vascular and mitochondrial health. Through clinical pearls and real-world examples, we will examine emerging diagnostic and therapeutic approaches—including endothelial function assessment, oxidative stress biomarkers, mitochondrial efficiency, and inflammatory modulation—as key tools for personalized cardiovascular risk reduction. Attendees will gain practical strategies to identify subclinical dysfunction earlier, support endothelial repair, optimize nitric oxide pathways, and integrate metabolic and inflammatory profiling into everyday clinical decision-making. By reframing cardiovascular care as a continuum—from risk prediction to resilience building—this session empowers physicians to adopt a forward-looking, proactive framework that complements traditional cardiology with the latest insights from functional and regenerative medicine.

*****

Register today: wanp.org/2026conference

03/16/2026

This is actually huge! I already use lpa and apolipoprotein B as well as CAC scoring to determine risk for cardiovascular disease beyond lipid panel, but this will make it more acceptable to do preventative screenings and have insurance coverage for it.

The 2026 ACC/AHA Dyslipidemia
Guidelines

These new updates bring major shifts in risk assessment, novel lipid markers, and cholesterol targets.

Here are the most salient features you need to know.👇
https://www.jacc.org/doi/10.1016/j.jacc.2025.11.016

03/14/2026

All virtual conference, May 1-3

📣WANP 2026 Annual Conference | Speaker Highlight📣

This presentation by Drs. Fuller and Hamilton is so good we offered them extra time to share more of their extensive and well-researched knowledge on this incredibly important topic!

*****
Perimenopause and menopause are increasingly recognized as critical neuroendocrine transition states - not just reproductive milestones. During this period, abrupt declines and fluctuations in estrogen and other steroid hormones can disrupt brain energy metabolism, neurotransmission, and connectivity, leading to the unmasking of previously compensated or subclinical neurocognitive and psychiatric vulnerabilities. This phenomenon explains why women may experience new or worsened depressive episodes, anxiety, subjective cognitive complaints, mild cognitive impairment, or mild behavioral impairment during the menopausal transition. Beyond psychiatric and cognitive syndromes, neurologic diseases including migraine, seizures, early Parkinson’s disease, and multiple sclerosis also demonstrate shifting patterns during perimenopause and menopause, some worsening in association with hormone withdrawal.

This presentation will explore the mechanisms, risk factors, and clinical relevance of unmasking, review evidence for management strategies (including the timing and role of hormone replacement therapy), and highlight opportunities for individualized, integrative, and functional approaches to supporting brain health across the menopausal transition. Participants will leave with practical tools for identifying at-risk patients, understanding the neuroendocrine mechanisms at play, and navigating complex decision-making about HRT, pharmacological, and non-pharmacological interventions.
*****

You won't want to miss this one!

Register today: wanp.org/2026conference

03/09/2026

Maybe they'll hire ND's to teach their classes? We get over 100 hours!

03/08/2026

This is too general of a statement. What they mean is, avoid omega-6 (linoleic acid) fats in high quantity (especially high heated and oxidized). Like soy, corn and canola, sunflower, sesame oil . Even peanut oil fits into this (not a seed). Seeds that contain omega-3 (linolenic acid) that are actually anti-inflammatory and are also “seeds”: flax,chia, h**p. In addition to this, your body does actually also need omega6 fats because they are essential and necessary. Just getting more omega3 than 6 and 9 puts the body in more of an anti-inflammatory state. You cannot only have avocado/olive oils(omega 9). All of these omegas are good for the heart, brain and skin barrier. High heat of fatty acids damages them. Packaged processed foods change and alter their original ingredients due to heating, altering and adding preservatives. It helps to understand the “why” behind a generalized statement!

02/27/2026

💫 This post is not meant to be inflammatory but rather informative. I truly believe all practitioners can and should integrate and work together.
💫 With that said, the term “Functional medicine” provider is vague, it’s an umbrella term, and in my opinion is not rigorous enough to sit on the same playing field as a Naturopathic Doctor.
💫 At the moment, a “functional medicine” provider can be anyone, who has any degree, of any kind, and decides to practice more “functionally”. What does this mean? That’s the problem, the interpretation is variable.
💫 There is no medical degree program for functional medicine, there is only a certificate program. This program is geared to professionals who have already completed a medial degree , as an after thought. Let me tell you why that’s a problem..
💫 Naturopathic Doctors spend 4-5 years doing rigorous curriculum to meet standards of prescribing all the aspects of allopathic standards of care AND integrate all the principal of “functional medicine “ from day 1 and more.
💫 NDs include philosophy of healing that differs from EVERY OTHER degree in the healthcare world. It’s integrated and taught through the entire degree. You can’t shortcut your way into this training.
💫 I see “functional medicine “ providers making all kinds of mistakes because of this. The way of thought , the after school training, the missing large pieces of treating the whole person. And RARELY do the Dr Ozs (MD) and the Dr Axes (DC), Dr Hymans (MD) acknowledge they made a mistake, they should have gone to ND school, they came out realizing their medicine doesn’t get people better, and PROMOTE our f*cking profession! (Sorry not sorry but it’s true).

💫 Also God bless the NDs who took the 14K functional medicine program also just to see what it’s all about 🤣

medicine