Why Sinuses and Supplements?

I'm Jim Atkins, MD, the owner and founder of Atkins Expert Sinus Care. I'm a board-certified otolaryngologist (ENT physician) that specializes in rhinology, which is the treatment of sinus and allergy problems. I have consulted for medical device companies large and small. I've helped develop the field of balloon sinuplasty as well as posterior nasal nerve ablation for chronic rhinitis.

About 80% of my weekly newsletters will focus on the most common questions I get from my patients. The other 20% will focus on the importance of diet and supplements in maintaining good sinus health. It is all handwritten. No AI-generated content here.

You may be wondering how the supplements part got in the title. Let me give you the background on that.

Several years ago a world-renowned sinus specialist and friend of mine was giving a talk on difficult patients he had treated. He focused on a 35-year-old woman who had chronic sinus infections. He showed video of a great surgery he did on her. Six months later, her infection returned. He took cultures from her nose and treated her with antibiotics specific for her infection. That wasn't successful, so he repeated her surgery. Again, he showed videos of the surgery and post op CT scans showing that the surgery had gone well. A few months after her second surgery, her infections came back again. He operated on her a third time with the same results.

After the third surgery, he put her on an anti-inflammatory diet and probiotics. She cleared up and remained infection-free.

At the time of the lecture I had no idea what an anti-inflammatory diet was and only a slight inkling of what probiotics did. But as soon as I got home I researched both and started some of my more challenging patients on this regimen. It worked great. Since then I have added to my knowledge of healthy diets and supplements and routinely add them to the treatment of my chronic sinus patients.

Do I believe diet and supplements can cure sinus problems alone? Rarely would be my answer to that.

Do I believe diet and supplements can improve your immune system and complement traditional treatments for sinus problems. YES, because I see it daily in my practice.

I'll focus on traditional topics and throw in a sprinkling of what I have learned about diet and supplements along the way.

Jim Atkins, MD