In the News
Designs for Health Unveils New Website Platform, Bringing Functional Medicine to Life
Kyowa Hakko USA: New Narrative Review Highlights the Power of Setria® Glutathione and Citrulline for Better Blood Flow and Performance
Bioengineering Breathes New Life into Failed Cancer Treatment
New Study Reveals Sharp Differences in Omega-3 Status Across Dietary Groups — Vegans Show Lowest Levels
Brain-Body Therapy App Will Debut as First-of-Its-Kind App Blending Therapy and Exercise to Transform Mental Wellness
9/11 Study Shows How Toxic Exposures May Lead to Blood Cancers
Designs for Health Unveils New Website Platform, Bringing Functional Medicine to Life
Designs for Health®, the leading practitioner-recommended supplement brand, today announced the redesign of its website, introducing expanded education and purpose-built tools designed to advance the practice of functional medicine. The all-new https://www.designsforhealth.com empowers practitioners and their patients with smarter tools and powerful upgrades designed to drive clinical precision and sustainable practice growth. With over 75% of Americans report taking supplements, there's a clear and growing need for smarter tools and trusted clinical support to promote safe, effective, and personalized use.
Designs for Health Unveils New Website Platform, Bringing Functional Medicine to Life
Designs for Health Unveils New Website Platform, Bringing Functional Medicine to Life
Unlike conventional medicine, functional medicine focuses on uncovering root causes rather than simply managing symptoms. The redesigned website reflects this philosophy, enabling more personalized and lasting care. Health-minded individuals now have free access to connect with a practitioner in their area, ensuring supplement choices and care plans are guided by clinical expertise. At the same time, both new and established practitioners — as well as students preparing for clinical practice — benefit from enhanced tools that strengthen professional relationships, expand education, and support sustainable practice growth within a unified functional medicine ecosystem.
"This redesign is more than a website upgrade; it reflects our vision for the future of care. Functional medicine is about precision, personalization, and empowering patients through practitioner guidance," said Jonathan Lizotte, Founder & Chairman of Designs for Health. "As I often say, the most expensive supplement is the one you don't need. Our platform ensures new visitors are guided towards finding a practitioner and those existing patients receive what supports their health, grounded in science and clinical expertise."
The enhanced platform introduces several major innovations aimed at improving both clinical outcomes and user experience including:
Enhanced Virtual Dispensary – A faster, more flexible way for practitioners to recommend and patients to access supplements, with simplified checkout and patient referral options—all without the need for inventory or fulfillment management.
Expanded Payment Options – Integration with Truemed allows patients to use HSA and FSA funds for eligible purchases. In addition, Apple Pay and Google Pay are now supported, helping reduce friction in checkout and ensuring patients can easily follow through on practitioner recommendations.
Optimized eScripting tools – Practitioners can now create and send individualized care plans and personalized supplement recommendations directly through the platform, making it easier for patients to follow guidance and order trusted products—all without managing inventory.
Clinical Education Hub – featuring CE-accredited training, evidence-based protocols, and the latest functional medicine insights to advance practitioner development.
Guided by practitioner and user feedback, the redesigned homepage highlights the benefits of partnering with Designs for Health — for both practitioners and guests seeking expert care. It offers quick access to high-quality products, Spotlight Functional Testing, research and education resources, and tools tailored to each user's journey. With simplified navigation and smarter search, users can now find what they need and explore with ease.
"We've designed this platform to make the practitioner–patient connection stronger, smarter, and more seamless," said Rick Sheppard, Chief Marketing Officer of Designs for Health. "From simplified checkout and patient referral tools to new clinical education resources, every update is rooted in our Science-First™ philosophy. It's about making personalized wellness more accessible while equipping practitioners with tools to grow and succeed."
With over 36 years of innovation, a community of more than 237,000 health professionals, and 6.8 million patients served, Designs for Health continues to lead the industry in delivering care that is rooted in science, guided by practitioners, and centered on the whole person. The brand is transforming care from the inside out, replacing one-size-fits-all solutions with evidence-based, personalized wellness, raising standards, and redefining the healthcare landscape to design a well world.
Whether you're exploring supplements for the first time, partnering with a practitioner, or managing a thriving practice, you'll find trusted tools, uncompromising quality, and clear guidance every step of the way. To learn more about Designs for Health's comprehensive portfolio of products, visit https://www.designsforhealth.com.
About Designs for Health, Inc.
Family-owned Designs for Health, Inc. offers high-quality nutritional supplements and functional foods to health care professionals and their patients. Guided by its founding philosophy of "Science-First™," the company holds an unwavering commitment to creating research-driven formulations with meaningful quantities of functional ingredients that maximize the potential for successful health outcomes. For over 36 years, Designs for Health has been many health-care professionals' trusted source for not only product innovation but also leadership in clinical education and practice development solutions. https://www.designsforhealth.com/our-story
SOURCE Designs for Health
Kyowa Hakko USA: New Narrative Review Highlights the Power of Setria® Glutathione and Citrulline for Better Blood Flow and Performance
A newly published review in the Journal of Exercise and Nutrition sheds light on a powerful combination for athletes and active individuals: Kyowa Hakko USA's Setria® Glutathione and citrulline. The review, titled "Optimizing Nitric Oxide Production for Exercise Performance and Vascular Function: A Narrative Review on the Combination of Glutathione and Citrulline," emphasizes how this pairing supports improved nitric oxide production, which is vital for circulation, vascular health, and exercise performance.
Setria Glutathione
Setria Glutathione
Often called the body's "master antioxidant," glutathione is essential for protecting cells, supporting detoxification, and maintaining immune strength. But beyond baseline wellness, its role in active nutrition and sports performance is gaining new recognition. According to this 2025 review, the synergy between glutathione and citrulline has been shown to amplify nitric oxide pathways, with significant benefits for exercise capacity and vascular health.
The review highlights four human clinical trials demonstrating:
Improved nitric oxide production and bioavailability
Enhanced blood flow and vascular function
Possible benefits for exercise performance and recovery
The unique role of Setria® Glutathione in optimizing these outcomes
Glutathione has long been recognized as the body's "master antioxidant," essential for overall health by protecting cells, supporting detoxification, and maintaining a strong immune system. However, according to Katie Emerson, MS, RD, CISSN, its benefits go well beyond basic wellness, as it also plays a role in active nutrition and sports performance. This narrative review highlights four human clinical trials showcasing the benefits of Setria® glutathione when combined with citrulline. "This is where science meets innovation, and it's a must-read for anyone looking to optimize their health and performance," said Emerson.
The publication further strengthens the growing body of evidence supporting glutathione's role not only in immune and detoxification pathways, but also in advanced sports and vascular nutrition applications.
The full article is available in the Journal of Exercise and Nutrition, ensuring that this valuable information is accessible to all. Read the abstract here.
About the Author:
Katie Emerson, MS, RD, CISSN is a registered dietitian and nutrition professional with specialized expertise in sports nutrition and dietary supplementation. With extensive experience working with collegiate athletes, first responders, and other high-performance populations, Emerson has developed a strong foundation in optimizing health, recovery, and performance through evidence-based nutrition strategies. Currently pursuing a PhD in Health Sciences with a concentration in exercise and human performance, Emerson combines academic research with practical field experience to advance the understanding of how nutrition and supplementation influence performance outcomes. Passionate about bridging science and practice, Emerson continues to contribute to the growing body of knowledge in sports nutrition and human performance as the senior manager of scientific affairs at Kyowa Hakko USA.
About Setria:
Setria® Glutathione, manufactured by Kyowa Hakko Bio Co., Ltd., is a clinically studied and patented form of glutathione that, when taken orally, has been shown to replenish the body's reserves, which may be depleted as a result of poor lifestyle choices, stress, or natural aging. Called the "master antioxidant," glutathione helps protect cells in the body from the damaging effects of oxidative stress and toxins. Setria® Glutathione is manufactured through a patented fermentation process to yield high purity and high quality, is non-GMO, vegetarian and allergen-free. For more information, visit http://www.SetriaGlutathione.com.
About Kyowa Hakko USA:
Improving Lives with Health Science
Kyowa Hakko USA serves as the North and South American headquarters for Kyowa Hakko Bio Co., Ltd., a global pioneer in specialty ingredients within Kirin Holdings' Health Science group. Building on over 75 years of fermentation innovation and Kirin's 100+ year legacy of fermentation excellence, Kyowa delivers premium, science-backed branded ingredients to the nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, functional food, beverage and wellness industries. The portfolio features branded solutions like Cognizin® Citicoline, Setria® Glutathione, Pantesin® Pantethine and Eyemuse™
Lacticaseibacillus paracasei KW3110. Committed to quality, sustainability, and creating shared value, Kyowa empowers partners to create transformative health solutions, advancing Kirin's vision of improving health and well-being. For more information, visit http://www.kyowa-usa.com/.
SOURCE Kyowa Hakko U.S.A
Bioengineering Breathes New Life into Failed Cancer Treatment
Many advanced cancers develop resistance to treatment and become highly aggressive, often leaving patients with limited treatment options. In some cancers, including lung, pancreatic and prostate tumors, a key driver of treatment resistance and metastasis is a protein called integrin αvβ3, which is absent in normal tissues but enriched in aggressive tumors. Previous attempts to target αvβ3 with antibody therapies worked by activating a specific type of cell in the immune system called natural killer cells, but this approach ultimately failed to significantly improve patient survival in clinical trials, potentially because the tumors didn’t have enough natural killer cells to mount a strong immune response.
Now, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have developed a new approach that overcomes this barrier by taking advantage of the tumor’s own immune landscape. By engineering a new anti-αvβ3 antibody that activates macrophages — a type of immune cell already abundant in advanced αvβ3+ tumors — the researchers were able to trigger powerful anti-tumor responses in both patient tumor samples and in mouse models.
Key findings include:
· In both patient tumor samples and mouse models, the new antibody killed cancer cells more effectively than the older version, leading to increased tumor cell death and reduced tumor growth.
· The antibody reprogrammed macrophages to attack tumors by increasing levels of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), a critical enzyme that helps the immune system kill cells that are infected or cancerous.
· The anti-tumor effect depended entirely on macrophages; when macrophages were depleted, the therapy lost its effectiveness, while depletion of natural killer cells had no impact.
The results suggest that customizing antibody therapies to target the dominant immune cells present in a given tumor could dramatically improve outcomes for patients with aggressive, drug-resistant cancers. Further, because integrin αvβ3 is absent from healthy tissues, the new antibody is highly selective and will have no negative impact on surrounding cells, making it a potentially safer alternative to conventional therapies.
The researchers believe that their antibody optimization strategy could serve as a blueprint for treating other treatment-resistant tumors, potentially improving a wide range of existing immunotherapies and offering new hope for patients with advanced cancers.
The study, published in Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, was led by Hiromi I. Wettersten, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Pathology at UC San Diego School of Medicine and member of UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center. The study was funded, in part by the National Institutes of Health, Alpha Beta Therapeutics, San Diego Digestive Diseases Research Center, and California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. Wettersten is coinventor on a patent for this treatment approach.
New Study Reveals Sharp Differences in Omega-3 Status Across Dietary Groups — Vegans Show Lowest Levels
A recent peer-reviewed study published in Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids (PLEFA) has shed new light on how diet patterns influence long-chain omega-3 levels (EPA and DHA) across different groups. The research, conducted among members of the Adventist Health Study cohort, demonstrates that individuals adhering to vegan diets have significantly lower Omega-3 Index values (scale above) compared to those on lacto-ovo vegetarian, pescatarian, and non-vegetarian eating patterns.
Key Findings
The study measured both dietary intake and red blood cell levels (i.e., Omega-3 Index) of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), including EPA and DHA, among vegan, lacto-ovo vegetarian, pesco-vegetarian, and non-vegetarian participants.
Vegans had the lowest Omega-3 Index among all groups.
In comparison, pescatarians and non-vegetarians achieved notably higher Omega-3 Index values, consistent with consumption of fish or marine-derived omega-3s.
The results underscore that diet alone may be insufficient for certain populations—especially strict plant-based eaters—to reach optimal Omega-3 Index levels without supplementation or fortified foods.
The study supports the notion that omega-3 status is strongly influenced by dietary source, and that baseline differences by diet group should be accounted for in both nutritional research and personalized health strategies.
Implications for Health & Nutrition
This research adds important nuance to the dialogue around plant-based nutrition and omega-3 adequacy. While vegan diets offer many health benefits, these results suggest that without careful planning (e.g., use of algae-based EPA/DHA supplements or fortified foods), some individuals may fall short of achieving beneficial levels of long-chain omega-3s. In turn, suboptimal Omega-3 Index values have been associated in other studies with increased risk for cardiovascular, cognitive, and inflammatory conditions.
Given the growing global interest in plant-based diets, this work prompts a reevaluation of dietary recommendations, educational messaging, and supplement strategies to ensure that those avoiding animal-sourced foods can still maintain robust omega-3 status.
“As more people move toward plant-based eating, it’s critical to understand the nutritional gaps that can come with that shift,” said Dr. Bill Harris, President of the Fatty Acid Research Institute (FARI) and co-author of the study. “This study provides clear evidence that omega-3 status is one of those gaps—and it’s one we can easily fix through awareness, testing, and smart supplementation.”
Study link: Dietary and erythrocyte PUFAs in vegan, lacto-ovo vegetarian, pesco-vegetarian, and non-vegetarian participants of the Adventist Health Study-2
Link for above: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0952327825000468?dgcid=coauthor
Brain-Body Therapy App Will Debut as First-of-Its-Kind App Blending Therapy and Exercise to Transform Mental Wellness
Brain-Body Therapy, an innovative mental health app, is set to launch. Designed to support mental wellness through a holistic, research-backed approach, the platform integrates physical exercise with the emotional depth of counseling. Each session lasts about 45 minutes and combines therapeutic guidance with movement to improve mental health through overall fitness, making high-quality, evidence-based care more accessible than ever.
Brain-Body Therapy's program offers personalized plans based on responses to a clinically informed questionnaire–because healing isn't one-size-fits-all. Each plan is delivered through a series of videos that blend therapy-inspired themes with movement, including a warm-up, main workout, and a cooldown. Each session opens with a therapeutic topic that flows into a workout, with the second half celebrating the user's effort while thoughtfully concluding the counseling theme of the day. This structure encourages reflection, supports the processing of emerging emotions or thoughts, and helps integrate insights for lasting mental and physical well-being. Users can track their progress in the app and choose to share it with a therapist or healthcare provider for additional support.
Backed by five years of research and development, each workout is carefully crafted to engage both body and mind. The program draws on proven strategies to support mental health, with customized plans for a variety of conditions like anxiety and depression, and future offerings planned for ADHD and PTSD. It leverages neuroplasticity—the brain's ability to form new connections and adapt over time—by using movement as a therapeutic tool. Exercise naturally boosts mental function by releasing endorphins, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), dopamine, and serotonin, while reducing cortisol, the body's primary stress hormone. This powerful biochemical response supports emotional regulation, stress relief, and cognitive resilience. By engaging the body, users are actively training their brains to become more flexible, grounded, and emotionally strong.
Founder and entrepreneur Rio Wilson is a testament to the program's impact. Brain-Body Therapy was born from her journey through depression, anxiety, and C-PTSD, and the transformative role movement played, and continues to play, in her healing. Through consistent physical activity, she experienced significant improvements in her mood, focus, and emotional stability, ultimately transforming her life from the inside out.
"The mind-body connection is undeniable, and the evidence supporting exercise as a mental health intervention is overwhelming," said Rio Wilson, Founder of Brain-Body Therapy. "Yet it remains vastly underused in traditional care. With Brain-Body Therapy, we're introducing a new kind of therapy that merges movement with mental health to promote truly holistic well-being and revolutionize mental health care."
Brain-Body Therapy is available for download on the Apple App Store. To learn more, visit www.brain-bodytherapy.com.
9/11 Study Shows How Toxic Exposures May Lead to Blood Cancers
A study led by researchers at the National Cancer Institute-designated Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center (MECCC) has found that mutations in blood-forming cells may explain the increased risk for leukemia and other blood disorders among first responders exposed to the 9/11 World Trade Center (WTC) disaster site and its toxic dust. The study also points to a novel strategy for use against inflammation and blood disorders associated with environmental toxins. The research was published today in Cancer Discovery, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
"Our findings provide new insights into the long-term health impacts of environmental catastrophes, such as wildfires, and suggest targeted interventions for those affected by 9/11 or similar disasters," said study leader Amit Verma, M.D., associate director for translational science, MECCC; chair of oncology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System; and professor of oncology, of medicine, and of developmental & molecular biology at Einstein.
The collapse of the WTC produced tremendous quantities of airborne particulate matter—a potent mixture of carcinogens and genetically toxic substances to which an estimated 400,000 responders, area workers, and residents were exposed. In previous studies, Montefiore Einstein researchers noted a higher incidence of cancers, cardiovascular disease, and other health problems among 9/11 first responders compared with the general population. However, few studies have examined how such environmental exposures can lead to blood cancers.
Toxic Dust and Unique Genetic Changes
For this study, Einstein scientists sequenced blood samples from nearly 1,000 first responders who were exposed to the WTC site, along with blood from two control groups: 255 firefighters who were not at the WTC and 198 unexposed people in the general population. All samples were collected between December 2013 and October 2015. The toxic 9/11 dust cloud was found to be associated with mutations in the blood cells of many responders.
Compared with control-group individuals, WTC-exposed first responders had a significantly higher prevalence of clonal hematopoiesis (CH)—a condition in which a group, or clone, of a person's blood-forming (hematopoietic) stem cells contain the same gene mutations. Typically associated with aging, CH is a pre-cancerous condition known to increase the risk of blood cancer and inflammation.
Overall, first responders with elevated CH mutations were nearly six times likelier to develop leukemia than those without the mutations. Exposure of mice to WTC dust led to high levels of inflammatory markers and an increase in mutant cells, suggesting that toxin-induced inflammation plays a key role in propagating the blood cells.
In addition, researchers found that younger first responders (those under age 60) with elevated CH possessed a set of gene mutations quite distinct from the classic mutations associated with age-related CH—indicating that the gene-altering toxins in WTC dust may contribute to cancer risk by accelerating the aging process.
Identifying a Protein Culprit
To learn how exposure to toxins is associated with CH mutations and increased leukemia risk, the researchers tested the dust collected from the WTC site in a mouse model. The dust caused an inflammatory response traced to the protein IL1RAP; the high levels of IL1RAP were associated with increased numbers of defective blood-forming stem cells—mimicking the high CH levels observed in the first responders. Importantly, the researchers found they could prevent the rise in defective mutant cells by knocking out the gene that codes for IL1RAP.
"We now know that IL1RAP is a very attractive target for strategies aimed at suppressing the growth of these mutant clones," said Dr. Verma, who is also the Susan Resnick Fisher Academic Chair in Brain Cancer Research at Einstein. He noted that IL1RAP has been implicated in many types of cancer as well in inflammatory and autoimmune diseases and that several drugs aimed at inhibiting the protein are being evaluated in clinical trials.
"Our work has implications for people exposed to wildfires, air pollution, military burn pits, and many other exposures," said Dr. Verma. "By screening toxin-exposed populations for CH, we could identify people at risk for blood cancers and then potentially treat or even prevent those cancers by targeting IL1RAP."
The study is titled, "Elevated clonal hematopoiesis in environmentally exposed 9/11 first responders has distinct age-related patterns and relies on IL1RAP for clonal expansion." The co-corresponding authors are Divij Verma, Ph.D., Ulrich Steidl, M.D., Ph.D., both at Einstein; David Prezant, M.D., at Einstein and the Fire Department of the City of New York; and Michael Savona, M.D., at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville, TN. Rachel Zeig-Owens, Dr.P.H., and David Goldfarb, M.D., are co-first authors with Dr. D. Verma at Einstein. The work was in part supported by the Jane and Myles Dempsey Fund, the Neil Hirsch Foundation, the Edward John and Patricia Rosenwald Foundation, Blood Cancer United (formerly Leukemia & Lymphoma Society), the Edward P. Evans MDS Foundation and the Valvano Foundation.
About Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Albert Einstein College of Medicine is one of the nation's premier centers for research, medical education and clinical investigation. During the 2024-25 academic year, Einstein is home to 712 M.D. students, 226 Ph.D. students, 112 students in the combined M.D./Ph.D. program, and approximately 250 postdoctoral research fellows. The College of Medicine has more than 2,000 full-time faculty members located on the main campus and at its clinical affiliates. In 2024, Einstein received more than $192 million in awards from the National Institutes of Health. This includes the funding of major research centers at Einstein in cancer, aging, intellectual development disorders, diabetes, clinical and translational research, liver disease, and AIDS. Other areas where the College of Medicine is concentrating its efforts include developmental brain research, neuroscience, cardiac disease, and initiatives to reduce and eliminate ethnic and racial health disparities. Its partnership with Montefiore, the University Hospital and academic medical center for Einstein, advances clinical and translational research to accelerate the pace at which new discoveries become the treatments and therapies that benefit patients. For more information, please visit einsteinmed.edu, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and view us on YouTube.
SOURCE Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center