Autoimmune Disease

Understanding celiac disease, wheat allergy, non-celiac gluten sensitivity, and other gluten-related disorders   It used to be quite rare to meet somebody who avoids gluten – the protein [...]

Eating gluten may drive autoimmune destruction of the thyroid gland. The thyroid is the body’s master of metabolism, regulating important functions like digestion, energy production, mental [...]

Our immune systems consist of two parts: the innate (or general) immune system and the adaptive (or acquired) immune system. In this video, I explain the basics of these immune systems, [...]

  What are T cells and what do they do? Dr. Zelfand explains the importance of these special white blood cells. She illuminates how T cells can transform into T Helper (Th) Cells 1, 2, 3, or [...]

In this video, Dr. Zelfand explains how our bodies react to stress and how those reactions can, if left unchecked, wreak havoc on our immunological function. Topics covered include adrenal [...]

No matter the time of year, there seems to always be some excuse for dessert. If it isn’t pumpkin latte season, then it’s the winter holidays, or Easter, or Passover, or somebody’s birthday. Or [...]

MTHF-Huh? MTHFR stands for methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase, a gene that codes for an enzyme of the same name. However, if the MTHFR gene is mutated, the enzyme produced is imperfectly [...]

In this video, I discuss the importance of overcoming obstacles in order to bring about the deepest healing possible. If a patient came in with a sore finger and I gave them anti-inflammatory [...]

It would be a stretch to say that I hated the rose bush in my backyard, but not a big one. The rose bust would send its thorny branches out between those of the nearby laurel, snagging the skin, [...]

E-mail hyper-vigilance and compulsive smartphone use is frying your nervous system, wrecking your sleep, causing anxiety, ruining your sex life, and compromising your productivity at work. . [...]

Genetics alone can’t explain the rise in allergic diseases we’ve seen in the industrialized world. Allergic conditions are on the rise. In fact, the rate of peanut allergy has doubled in the US [...]

Just about every day in my practice, a new mom breaks down in tears. “I mean, I’m a new mom, it’s supposed to be hard and I’m supposed to be exhausted, right? I wish I could just toughen up.” All [...]

Why Getting the Occasional Cold or Flu Might Not Be Such a Bad Thing Every now and then I have a patient who boasts proudly, “I’m healthy as a horse! I haven’t had a cold or flu in [...]

This is the gold standard for determining your food intolerances. When the gut is inflamed and irritated, it can begin reacting to foods that might otherwise not bother it. The elimination and [...]

Many dermatologists manage eczema with steroid creams. But is a steroid deficiency really the cause of dry, itchy skin? Eczema – or, as we doctor-types like to call it, Atopic Dermatitis – has [...]

As more and more research shows the harmful effects of gluten, a protein found in wheat, many people are cleaning up their diets and going gluten free. Although I recommend a gluten free diet to [...]