BY Trevor Murphy MS3, Samuel Mathis, MD, MBA   In recent years, gut health has garnered significant attention—and for good reason. The gastrointestinal tract plays a crucial role in digestion and influences our mood and overall well-being. Our gut health is predominately determined by our intestinal microbiome. The proportion of “good” vs “bad” gut bacterial can have significant impacts on our health. Lately, more attention has been given to terms that were originally designed to...

BY Samuel Mathis, MD, MBA   Lately, I have had numerous patients present with symptoms surrounding grief. This is either due to the loss of a loved one or even loss in their personal life due to pain or disability. When we see these patients, it can be a challenge to identify therapies or strategies to help them overcome or engage with their grief in a healthy way.   It is well documented, that morbidity...

BY Samuel Mathis, MD, MBA, Assistant Professor, UTMB   Every other week, I have a patient who comes to see me for acupuncture. During his visit, he always listens to a particular style of music known as binaural beats because it helps with his pain. In fact, the research shows binaural beats may be useful for many health conditions, and we are still learning about all the possibilities of their use.   Binaural beats refer...

BY Samuel Mathis, MD, MBA, Assistant Professor, UTMB   Recently, I have had patients request that I order whole-body MRI (WB-MRI) evaluations for preventative services. The trend of WB-MRIs has gained some traction in Europe over the past 5 years and is becoming increasingly popular in the US. A quick internet search found 3 different companies in the greater Houston area that offer these studies with multiple new organizations opening in the next 6-12 months....

BY Samuel Mathis, MD   Recently, I read an article in Lancet Rheumatology that documented the growing prevalence of neck pain worldwide. Over the past 30 years, from 1990-2020, neck pain has increased slightly, around 0.2%. However, the trend that has occurred recently projects that the prevalence of chronic neck pain will increase by 32.5% over the next 30 years (1). This could cause significant issues in the future with this increased burden of disease....

BY Samuel Mathis, MD, Assistant Professor, UTMB   One of the most frequent recommendations I provide patients is to improve their diet. The evidence is clear that if we fix our diet, we can significantly improve our overall health. One clear example of diet’s effect on our health is through improvement in arthritic symptoms. Both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis affect a significant portion of the population and prevalence only increases with age. This is why...

By: Samuel Mathis, MD, Assistant Professor, UTMB “All I need in life is Jesus and my green tea.” – Mary Mathis (my grandmother) One question often asked by Integrative Medicine physicians is how much green tea an individual drinks daily. At Integrative Medicine conferences, green tea is everywhere. I am fairly sure I even saw a green tea beer on tap one year ago. And why wouldn’t we love green tea? It is one of...

BY Samuel Mathis, MD, Assistant Professor, UTMB   In December of last year, the Lancet published an article about the effect nano-plastics can have on our health and organs. The primary location that nanoplastics have been found is in the ocean, though now research indicates that micro(nano)plastics (MnP) are “found in every environmental compartment on earth, within tissues and gastrointestinal tracts of thousands of species, including humans” (1). As someone who lives near the ocean,...

BY Samuel Mathis, MD, Assistant Professor, UTMB   In the field of Integrative Medicine, one must always be wary of supplements that claim to have effects that seem impossible to believe. One supplement that has undergone extensive scrutiny recently is Ginkgo biloba. Ginkgo biloba is one of the oldest and most widely used supplements in the world. It has been extensively studied in neurological conditions and is regularly recommended for conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease,...

BY Samuel Mathis, MD, Assistant Professor, UTMB   Recently, there has been increased interest in the use of ketamine therapy for psychiatric conditions. Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic that also contains hallucinogenic effect. It was first approved for use in the 1970s. It is often used for short surgical treatments that do not require full anesthesia. I remember using it in the Emergency Room during residency to perform small procedures such as stitches or foreign...