From the Editor Fall is one of my favorite times of year. Warm days, cool nights, and the vibrant, changing colors of autumn. This is a time of year where many people spend a lot of time outdoors, before the freezing days of winter. Fall is also a time of tick-borne diseases. While many people consider late spring through summer to be prime time for these infections, they are also easily transmitted to humans in fall,1 particularly since the hypervigilant tick checking of the spring and summer months has waned. Given these facts, I am delighted and honored that my friend and colleague Dr. Darin Ingels agreed to write the spotlight article for this issue of FOCUS. Dr. Ingels is a world-renowned expert in Lyme disease and has treated over 7,000 patients with tick-borne diseases. Because fall is also a time of increasingly longer periods of darkness, we wanted to highlight a novel probiotic strain, Lactobacillus plantarum DR7, that has substantial human data to support its positive effects on cognition, mood, and immunity, all via the gut-brain axis. We decided to write our last article on vitamin B3 (niacin). This is because, as a naturopathic physician and representative of Allergy Research Group, I receive frequent questions about the different forms of niacin and how they contrast. We take a deep dive into the various forms of B3 and their individual mechanisms of action, along with translating that into how to address patients’ needs.
Yours in Health,
Dr. Todd A. Born, ND, CNS
Editor-in-Chief 1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US). Division of Vector-Borne Diseases (DVBD), National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID). Tick Bites by Week/Month. [Internet]. Atlanta (GA): U S Department of Health and Human Services; 7/12/2021. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/ tickedvisits/tick-bite-by-week-month.html
Editor-in-Chief Todd A. Born, ND, CNS
Executive Editor Meagan Purdy, ND
Copy Editor Katie Van Amburg
Graphic Designers Matt Ivan Kristin Wood
Want more educational resources? Visit our blog at www.allergyresearchgroup.com/blog for more articles, including these related articles.
Herbal and Nutritional Allies for Tick-Borne Illness
Lactobacillus plantarum DR7: A Probiotic for Stress Relief
B Vitamins for Brain Health
Niacin for Alcoholism
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