Tick found on me- ready to get shipped for testing. As an emergency medicine and integrative medicine physician, I spend a lot of time helping patients prevent and treat tick-borne illnesses. But recently, I found myself on the other side of the conversation. I got bit by a tick for the first time this year. Living on our farm in Tennessee, I knew it was a possibility. We spend a lot of time outside, and while I do everything I can to prevent tick bites, sometimes they still

From a functional medicine perspective, uric acid is more than just a marker for gout. It can serve as a clue to metabolic health, oxidative stress, mitochondrial function, kidney clearance, and dietary patterns. Functional interpretation of uric acid Low uric acid Often overlooked, low uric acid may suggest Low protein intake or poor amino acid status Low purine intake Poor liver function or reduced purine production Copper deficiency (less common) Excess oxidative stress, s

Most Americans think ticks only mean Lyme disease. The reality is that ticks can transmit bacteria, viruses, parasites, and even trigger a lifelong red meat allergy after a single bite. As Lyme disease continues to spread across the United States, another tick-borne illness is quietly gaining attention among infectious disease experts: Powassan virus. While still rare, Powassan virus is one of the most concerning tick-borne infections because it can cause inflammation of the