For decades, doctors were trained on a version of psychiatric drug data that had been filtered, reframed, and in some cases ghostwritten. The full record tells a different story. In the early 1990s, a drug called Paxil was being taught to American doctors as a breakthrough. Cleaner than older antidepressants. Safer. More precise. The science, they were told, was settled. It wasn't. And the evidence for that was sitting inside the FDA's own files -- available through the Freedom of Information Act -- for anyone who knew to look. When a pharmaceutical company seeks approval for a psychiatric drug, it submits its complete clinical trial data to the FDA -- not summaries, not press releases, the raw results. These are documents the public almost never sees. In the late 1990s, psychologist Irving Kirsch used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain the FDA's complete trial records for the most widely prescribed antidepressants in America: Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, Celexa, and Effexor. What he found was not what doctors were being taught: ~50% of submitted antidepressant trials failed to show benefit over placebo 1.8 pts average drug–placebo difference on depression rating scale (3 pts = clinically perceptible) 75–80% of improvement in trials occurred in the placebo group, not the drug group The FDA reviewers noticed. On Paxil, an FDA medical reviewer wrote that the drug showed minimal improvement over placebo. In a Prozac FDA statistical review, the clinical significance of the observed difference was questioned. On Celexa, a reviewer wrote that the effect size is small. That language exists in the approval documents. It was not transmitted to medical schools. "Many trials failed. Average benefits were small. Placebo did most of the work. Clinical relevance was questioned by FDA scientists themselves. And yet doctors were taught that antidepressants correct a chemical imbalance." In 1998, GlaxoSmithKline completed a clinical trial testing Paxil in adolescents. The trial had a number: Study 329. The data were unambiguous -- the drug failed to outperform placebo on its primary measures, and adolescents on Paxil experienced significantly higher rates of suicidal thoughts and attempts.

Sourced from the tiny, black pepper-like seeds of the black cumin plant (Nigella sativa), this golden oil is naturally rich in beneficial fatty acids, including palmitic, palmitoleic, oleic, stearic, linoleic, and linolenic acids. This nutrient-dense oil also delivers naturally occurring antioxidants, minerals, and powerful compounds like nigellone and thymoquinone. These key compounds are widely recognized for contributing to the oil’s valued properties. Black cumin is known for its exceptionally diverse nutritional profile, containing over 1,600 beneficial components. The oil derived from this plant delivers a broad spectrum of essential nutrients, including protein, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, zinc, copper, manganese, vitamin A, and B vitamins. It also contains a rich array of fatty acids, including myristic, palmitic, stearic, oleic, gadoleic, linoleic, linolenic, and arachidonic acids, along with omega-6 and omega-9 fatty acids, to help support overall wellness. In addition, black cumin seed oil contains three notable phytochemicals: thymoquinone, thymol, and thymohydroquinone, which contribute to its antioxidant properties.

Seed Oils, the Hidden Inflammatory Food in Every Pantry You've switched to "healthy" oils. You avoid saturated fat. You use vegetable oil and margarine for cooking because it's light and cheap. You're doing what you've been told is good for your heart. But here is what most advice misses: Industrial seed oils are among the most inflammatory foods you can put in your body. Soybean oil, canola oil, sunflower oil, corn oil, grapeseed oil, rice bran oil, "vegetable oil" blends. They are everywhere, in almost every processed food, restaurant meal, and home kitchen. And they may be a primary driver of your chronic inflammation. What Seed Oils Actually Are: Seed oils are not traditional foods. They are industrial products. They are extracted from soybeans, canola seeds, sunflower seeds, corn, and other crops using high heat, pressure, and chemical solvents. These oils did not exist in traditional diets. Your ancestors cooked with animal fats, butter, ghee, olive oil, and coconut oil. Seed oils are a modern invention. And your body was not designed to handle them in large amounts. Why Seed Oils Cause Inflammation: Seed oils are high in omega-6 fatty acids. Omega-6 fats are not bad in small amounts, but they become problematic when they dominate your diet. Your body needs a balance of omega-6 and omega-3 fats. Omega-6 promotes inflammation. Omega-3 reduces inflammation. Both are necessary. The problem is that modern diets have an extreme imbalance. The ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 in traditional diets was about 1:1. Today, it is often 20:1 or higher, primarily because of seed oils. This imbalance drives chronic inflammation throughout your body. The Chemistry of Inflammation: When you eat seed oils, your body incorporates their fats into your cell membranes. These membranes become more unstable and prone to oxidation. Oxidized fats trigger inflammatory responses. Seed oils are also easily damaged by heat. When you cook with them, they oxidize and form harmful compounds called aldehydes. These compounds are directly inflammatory and have been linked to many chronic diseases.

Hello! My name is Kim Symons, and I am the Practice Manager and Nutrition Coach at Mind and Body Solutions. I am a Certified Nutritional Health Coach through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and hold a Bachelor’s degree in Health Sciences with an emphasis in Health and Wellness. My role is to help you turn your health recommendations into practical, sustainable changes that work in your everyday life. I work alongside our clinical team to support your individualized care plan, with a strong focus on nutrition, metabolic health, lifestyle habits, and long-term success. Together, we can focus on helping you understand what to eat, why it matters, and how to make it work for your specific needs and goals. Depending on your individual situation, this may include: - Reviewing your current eating habits and identifying areas for improvement - Creating personalized meal plans and food recommendations - Identifying foods that may be contributing to inflammation or unwanted symptoms - Increasing protein and nutrient intake - Improving blood sugar balance - Navigating food sensitivities, dietary restrictions, or other nutritional concerns - Developing realistic strategies for grocery shopping, meal preparation, dining out, and everyday life A large part of nutrition coaching is also education. During our visits, I can help you better understand topics such as blood sugar regulation, protein needs, healthy fats, carbohydrates, meal timing, hydration, inflammation, and how nutrition can support your overall treatment plan. Rather than simply giving you a diet to follow, my goal is to help you understand your choices and build healthy habits you can maintain long-term. I also provide ongoing support and accountability. During follow-up visits, we will review your progress, discuss what is and isn't working, troubleshoot challenges, make realistic adjustments, and continue moving toward your health goals. While even one nutrition coaching session can be beneficial, meaningful and lasting change usually takes time. For this reason, I typically recommend 4–6 visits, depending on your individual needs and goals. Appointments are 45 minutes, $60 per visit, and are generally scheduled about two weeks apart to give you time to implement what we discuss before we meet again.

February is American Heart Month. Much of the conversation will center on cholesterol numbers, long-term disease risk, and stern advice to "eat less salt." Here's what often gets missed: Your heart is an electrically-driven muscle that you use all day, every day. And electrolytes are a key part of how it does its job: - Sodium supports blood volume and the electrical signaling your heart needs to beat on cue. Too little can be problematic. Blanket recommendations don’t serve folks with individualized needs. - Potassium is essential for cardiac muscle contraction and maintaining normal heart rhythms. Higher intakes are linked to a lower risk of hypertension. - - Magnesium helps stabilize the heart rhythm and promotes relaxation of cardiac muscles. About 30% of the population is deficient, and this deficiency is linked to higher inflammation, a key driver of chronic disease. - Calcium helps blood vessels contract and expand to stabilize blood pressure. It's best obtained through food since studies show calcium supplements may increase cardiovascular risk. - Your heart is an active system with constant needs. It contracts roughly 100,000 times per day, driven by precise electrical signals that depend on electrolyte balance. When that balance is off, disrupted rhythms and changes in blood pressure can occur quickly.