Dr. Josh Shields

Dr. Josh Shields Integrative Wellness Centers, located at 38777 Six Mile Road Suite 401, is Michigan's premier functional and naturopathic health destination.
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TRANSFORMATION → through Better Thoughts | Better Behaviors | Better Biology
Helping you heal from the inside out by addressing the root cause through a systems-based approach. Our expert team of holistic health professionals offers personalized care to help you achieve optimal wellness by addressing the root causes of your health concerns. As a leading wellness center near you, we specialize in

integrative approaches that blend the best of conventional and natural medicine. Discover how our holistic health center can support your journey towards renewed vitality and well-being. Experience the difference with Michigan's best in functional medicine and start your path to healthier living today.

Time-restricted eating gets marketed mostly as a weight loss tool, and it can work for that, but the underlying mechanis...
08/31/2026

Time-restricted eating gets marketed mostly as a weight loss tool, and it can work for that, but the underlying mechanism is more interesting than “eat less by eating in a shorter window.”

Insulin sensitivity follows a circadian rhythm. Research consistently shows the same meal produces a smaller blood glucose and insulin response when eaten earlier in the day compared to that identical meal eaten late at night. This isn’t about calories at all. It’s about your cells being genuinely more responsive to insulin’s signal during daytime hours, tied to core circadian biology that governs far more than just sleep.

This is part of why late night eating, even of otherwise reasonable food choices, tends to produce worse metabolic markers over time than the same food eaten earlier, and part of why shift workers show elevated rates of metabolic syndrome independent of what they’re actually eating.

I don’t push extreme fasting windows on patients. What I do push is front-loading the bigger meal of the day earlier when possible, and treating a late, large dinner as a bigger metabolic event than most people assume it is.

This is one of the lower effort changes I recommend, and one of the ones patients most consistently underestimate.

Struggling with blood sugar or metabolic markers despite eating what seems like a reasonable diet? Get my Free Balance Toolkit — comment BALANCE.

Research: Morris CJ, et al. “Endogenous circadian system and circadian misalignment impact glucose tolerance.” Proc Natl Acad Sci.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=circadian+rhythm+insulin+sensitivity+meal+timing

When blood pressure comes up, the conversation almost always centers on one thing:"Cut back on sodium."For some people, ...
08/31/2026

When blood pressure comes up, the conversation almost always centers on one thing:

"Cut back on sodium."

For some people, that advice might help. But it's only part of the picture.
Sodium and potassium work together throughout the body to help regulate fluid balance, nerve signaling, muscle function, and blood pressure. Rather than looking at either mineral in isolation, research suggests the sodium-to-potassium ratio may be a better predictor of blood pressure and cardiovascular health than either nutrient alone.

The challenge is that most Americans consume this ratio in the wrong direction.
The typical diet is high in processed foods that are loaded with sodium while being low in potassium-rich whole foods like leafy greens, beans, potatoes, squash, avocados, and many fruits. Improving that balance may be just as important as simply cutting back on salt.

Research has consistently shown that increasing potassium intake can help lower blood pressure, particularly in people with hypertension, and combining higher potassium intake with appropriate sodium reduction appears to be more effective than focusing on either strategy alone.

That's why, when I'm working with patients on cardiovascular health, I want to know whether they're eating enough potassium-rich whole foods to create a healthier overall balance.

The goal isn't to fear sodium.

It's to stop looking at sodium without considering the other half of the equation.
Struggling with blood pressure despite making healthy lifestyle changes?

Comment BALANCE and I'll send you my Free Balance Toolkit.

Research: Aburto NJ, et al. “Effect of increased potassium intake on cardiovascular risk factors and disease.” BMJ. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=potassium+sodium+ratio+blood+pressure

Ask most people what vitamin E does and you'll probably hear one word: "Antioxidant."That's true—but it's only part of t...
08/30/2026

Ask most people what vitamin E does and you'll probably hear one word: "Antioxidant."

That's true—but it's only part of the story.

Vitamin E actually exists as eight naturally occurring compounds: four tocopherols and four tocotrienols. Most vitamin E supplements—and much of the vitamin E added to fortified foods—contain primarily alpha-tocopherol.

Tocotrienols, found naturally in foods like annatto, rice bran, and palm oil, have a different chemical structure and have shown promising, unique effects in research involving antioxidant activity, cardiovascular health, and brain health. They're an exciting area of study, but that doesn't necessarily mean everyone should be taking a tocotrienol supplement.

Interestingly, some research suggests that high-dose alpha-tocopherol supplementation may reduce circulating levels of tocotrienols by competing for the same transport pathways. It's one more reminder that nutrients often work as families—not isolated compounds.

The biggest takeaway isn't that everyone needs a different supplement.
It's that the name on the front of the bottle rarely tells the whole story.
Whenever possible, I encourage patients to get vitamin E from whole foods like nuts, seeds, avocados, and other minimally processed foods, where vitamin E naturally occurs alongside many other beneficial nutrients. If supplementation is appropriate, the specific form should match the reason you're taking it—not just the label on the bottle.

Confused what supplements to take and wondering whether you're taking the right forms of the nutrients your body actually needs?

Comment BALANCE and I'll send you my Free Balance Toolkit.

Research: Sen CK, et al. “Tocotrienols: vitamin E beyond tocopherols.” Life Sci. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=tocotrienol+tocopherol+vitamin+E+forms

There’s a body of research I’ve found genuinely useful for patients stuck on calorie counting without results, and it re...
08/30/2026

There’s a body of research I’ve found genuinely useful for patients stuck on calorie counting without results, and it reframes the whole conversation.

The protein leverage hypothesis, developed by researchers Stephen Simpson and David Raubenheimer, proposes that your body prioritizes hitting a specific protein target above hitting a specific calorie target. If a diet is diluted with enough refined carbohydrate and processed fat relative to protein, the body keeps signaling hunger, driving you to eat more total food, more total calories, in an attempt to finally reach that protein target buried inside all the other food.

This would explain a pattern I see constantly. Patients eating what looks like a reasonable calorie range but built mostly around low protein, highly processed foods, staying hungry, and overeating as a direct consequence, not a willpower failure.

Simpson and Raubenheimer’s research spans both animal models and human dietary intervention studies, and while the theory doesn’t explain every case of overeating, the mechanism is compelling enough that I now check protein intake specifically, not just total calories, with almost every patient working on weight or appetite regulation.

Hit protein first. Everything else tends to fall into place more easily after that.
Struggling with hunger or overeating despite tracking calories carefully? Get my Free Balance Toolkit — comment BALANCE.

Research: Simpson SJ, Raubenheimer D. “Obesity: the protein leverage hypothesis.” Obes Rev. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=protein+leverage+hypothesis+Simpson+Raubenheimer

Most people think coffee's effects begin and end with caffeine.They don't.Every cup of coffee has to be processed by you...
08/29/2026

Most people think coffee's effects begin and end with caffeine.
They don't.

Every cup of coffee has to be processed by your liver, primarily through an enzyme called CYP1A2, part of the cytochrome P450 family responsible for metabolizing many medications and other compounds.

Here's where it gets interesting.

Not everyone processes caffeine at the same speed. Much of that difference comes down to genetics. Some people are "fast metabolizers," clearing caffeine relatively quickly. Others are "slow metabolizers," meaning caffeine stays in their system much longer.

That helps explain why one person can drink coffee after dinner and sleep just fine, while someone else has a cup at lunchtime and is still staring at the ceiling at midnight.

It's also why people can experience very different responses to the exact same amount of caffeine—whether that's jitteriness, anxiety, a racing heart, or disrupted sleep.

Coffee can also interact with how your body processes certain medications, although the effects depend on the specific drug, your genetics, and other individual factors. If you're taking prescription medications, it's worth discussing potential interactions with your healthcare provider.

I'm not telling anyone to quit coffee.

I'm simply pointing out that coffee isn't "just a stimulant." How your body responds depends on far more than the size of your mug.

Understanding how you metabolize caffeine is often more useful than following someone

Struggling with reactivity, anxiety, or medication effects that seem inconsistent day to day? Get my Free Balance Toolkit — comment BALANCE.

Research: Lampe JW, et al. “Modulation of human glutathione S-transferases by botanically defined vegetable diets.” Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=coffee+cytochrome+P450+liver+enzyme+induction

This is one of the more genuinely confusing pieces of nutrition advice patients get, and I don’t think the confusion is ...
08/29/2026

This is one of the more genuinely confusing pieces of nutrition advice patients get, and I don’t think the confusion is unreasonable.

Mercury and selenium bind to each other tightly in the body, and selenium appears to have a protective effect against mercury toxicity, partly by forming an inert complex with it. Fish naturally contain both mercury and selenium, and the ratio between them varies dramatically by species. Some fish, sardines, wild salmon, have selenium levels well in excess of their mercury content, a favorable ratio. Others, certain large predatory fish higher on the food chain, king mackerel, swordfish, shark, accumulate mercury at levels that can outpace the selenium available to bind it.

That ratio is the reason blanket advice, either “eat more fish” or “avoid fish for mercury,” misses the more useful conversation, which is about species and consumption frequency. Smaller, shorter lived fish generally carry a far better selenium to mercury ratio than large, long lived predatory species.

I don’t tell patients to avoid fish. I tell them which fish, and how often, based on this ratio rather than fear alone.

Struggling with symptoms you suspect could be related to mercury exposure, or confused about safe fish choices? Get my Free Balance Toolkit — comment BALANCE.

Research: Ralston NV, Raymond LJ. “Dietary selenium’s protective effects against methylmercury toxicity.” Toxicology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=selenium+mercury+ratio+fish+toxicity

I get asked about this constantly, usually framed as “why can’t I handle alcohol like everyone else.”When your liver met...
08/28/2026

I get asked about this constantly, usually framed as “why can’t I handle alcohol like everyone else.”
When your liver metabolizes alcohol, the first step converts it into acetaldehyde, a genuinely toxic, reactive compound. The second step, run by the enzyme ALDH2, converts acetaldehyde into harmless acetate. A common genetic variant, found in a meaningful percentage of people of East Asian descent but present in other populations too, produces a version of ALDH2 that works far less efficiently. Acetaldehyde builds up. Flushing, rapid heart rate, headache, nausea, all from that toxic intermediate hanging around longer than it should.

This isn’t just an uncomfortable inconvenience. Research links this variant to a higher risk of esophageal cancer specifically with regular alcohol consumption, because that tissue is repeatedly exposed to elevated acetaldehyde levels, a genuinely carcinogenic compound, for longer stretches than in people who clear it efficiently.

If you flush after one drink, that’s not weakness. It’s useful biological information, and honestly it’s a data point worth taking seriously rather than pushing through with antihistamines to mask the flush, which some people do, and which doesn’t address the actual toxin buildup underneath.

Struggling with alcohol intolerance or flushing you’ve never gotten a real explanation for? Get my Free Balance Toolkit — comment BALANCE.

Research: Brooks PJ, et al. “The alcohol flushing response: an unrecognized risk factor for esophageal cancer.” PLoS Med. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=ALDH2+alcohol+flushing+acetaldehyde

Izabella Wentz is a pharmacist by training who was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis in her twenties, at a point wh...
08/28/2026

Izabella Wentz is a pharmacist by training who was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis in her twenties, at a point when standard care meant a levothyroxine prescription and a “come back in six months” follow up plan. She kept feeling worse despite lab numbers technically improving on medication.

Her background gave her a specific advantage, deep familiarity with pharmacology combined with direct patient experience of a disease that conventional endocrinology often treats as fully managed once TSH normalizes. She began investigating root cause drivers of autoimmune thyroid disease specifically, gut permeability, nutrient deficiencies, gluten cross-reactivity, chronic infections, and built structured protocols addressing those layers rather than medication alone.

I want to be clear about scope. Her published surveys of thyroid patients following her protocols are self-reported outcome data, not randomized controlled trials, and that’s a real limitation worth naming rather than glossing over. But the underlying clinical logic, that Hashimoto’s is an autoimmune condition with upstream drivers worth investigating beyond thyroid hormone replacement alone, lines up with how I run this practice.

Medication manages the hormone deficit. It doesn’t address why the immune system is attacking the gland in the first place.

Struggling with Hashimoto’s symptoms that persist despite medication and “normal” TSH? Get my Free Balance Toolkit — comment BALANCE.

Research: Krysiak R, et al. “The effect of gluten-free diet on thyroid autoimmunity.” Exp Clin Endocrinol Diabetes. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Hashimotos+root+cause+autoimmune+thyroid+gluten

I need to correct a claim that gets repeated so often it’s become accepted wisdom. “Sweating detoxes heavy metals from y...
08/27/2026

I need to correct a claim that gets repeated so often it’s become accepted wisdom. “Sweating detoxes heavy metals from your body.”

Some research does show trace amounts of certain metals, arsenic and cadmium specifically in a few small studies, present in sweat.

But the concentrations are low, and the total quantity of heavy metal actually cleared through sweat compared to what’s cleared through kidney and liver processing is minor in most of the available data.

This is not the primary detox pathway for heavy metal burden, and treating a sauna session as equivalent to actual chelation or targeted clinical detox protocols oversells what the mechanism can realistically do.

That doesn’t mean sweating is useless. I use sauna with patients regularly, for the cardiovascular benefits, the heat shock protein and BDNF effects I’ve written about separately, and genuine relaxation value.

I just don’t market it to patients as their heavy metal detox strategy, because that promise isn’t well supported and it can create false confidence that delays someone from pursuing actual testing and treatment if genuine heavy metal burden is present.

If you have real concern about metal exposure, mercury from fish, lead from an old house, get tested properly. Don’t rely on a sauna session to handle it.

Struggling with symptoms you suspect might be related to heavy metal exposure? Get my Free Balance Toolkit — comment BALANCE.

Research: Genuis SJ, et al. “Human excretion of bisphenol A and phthalate esters via sweat.” J Environ Public Health. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=sweat+heavy+metal+detoxification+sauna

BPA, bisphenol A, gets talked about so often that the phrase has almost lost meaning. I want to be specific about what’s...
08/27/2026

BPA, bisphenol A, gets talked about so often that the phrase has almost lost meaning. I want to be specific about what’s actually happening mechanistically, because the specifics are what make it worth taking seriously.

BPA’s molecular structure closely resembles estradiol closely enough that it can bind to estrogen receptors and, depending on the tissue and receptor subtype involved, either mimic or block normal estrogen signaling.

That’s the basis for classifying it as a xenoestrogen, an external compound acting on the same receptor system your own hormones use.

BPA exposure comes primarily from food and beverage contact, the lining of canned goods, certain hard plastics, and thermal paper receipts, which absorb readily through skin contact.

“BPA-free” plastic alternatives aren’t automatically a solution either, some replacement compounds like BPS show similar receptor activity in research, just under a less recognizable name.

I’m not telling patients to panic about every can of soup. I’m telling you that reducing canned food frequency, avoiding microwaving in plastic, and washing hands after handling thermal receipts are low effort changes that measurably reduce a hormone-disrupting exposure most people never think about.

Struggling with hormone symptoms and wondering about environmental contributors nobody’s mentioned? Get my Free Balance Toolkit — comment BALANCE.

Research: Rochester JR. “Bisphenol A and human health: a review of the literature.” Reprod Toxicol. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=BPA+xenoestrogen+estrogen+receptor+binding

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38777 Six Mile Road, Suite 401
Livonia, MI
48152

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