Blue Earth Medicine

08/24/2026

OPENINGS AVAILABLE: we have an opening this Wednesday at 10:30am and on Thurs, 9/3 @10:30am. FCFS

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08/19/2026

Wildfire Smoke & Inflammation – Did You Know?

Wildfire smoke is more than an air quality inconvenience; it's a direct trigger for inflammation in the body. Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is small enough to bypass your body's natural filters, reaching deep into the lungs and even entering the bloodstream, where your immune system responds as it would to any foreign invader.

In its acute form, this response is protective -- your body is doing exactly what it's designed to do. But repeated or prolonged smoke exposure during fire season can push that response into overdrive, contributing to airway irritation, oxidative stress, and systemic inflammation that doesn't necessarily stop when the smoke clears.

This kind of exposure-driven inflammation has been linked to worsened respiratory and cardiovascular symptoms, increased fatigue, and flare-ups in those already managing autoimmune or inflammatory conditions, making air quality a real factor in your overall health picture, not just a seasonal nuisance.

08/17/2026

𝐁𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐌𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞. Even if we don't currently accept your insurance, we can provide you with an invoice that you can submit to your insurance company for reimbursement. Rest assured that we are committed to making naturopathic medicine accessible to all and will work with you to find a payment solution that fits your needs.

𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞:
• Regence Blue Shield
• Premera Blue Cross
• Blue Cross/Blue Shield
• American Specialty Health Group
• Healthcare Management Administrators
• First Choice Network (New 5/26)

We highly recommend checking with your insurance carrier to confirm if Dr. Jill M. Johnson, ND is listed before booking an appointment.

Located: 330 King Street, Ste 6, Wenatchee, WA 98801
Visit: www.blueearthmedicine.com

07/23/2026

Blue Earth Medicine will be closed from July 24th through August 9th for a mid-summer break. See you when we returned refreshed! :)

07/08/2026

NOTICE - Blue Earth Medicine will be closed Thursday and Friday (July 9-10).

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07/08/2026

At 𝐁𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐌𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐞 we’ve seen a significant number of folks with IR. Insulin Resistance can lead to several serious medical conditions. Let’s dig into it.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐧: 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈𝐑 𝐃𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬
This is where the full scope of the problem comes into focus. IR is not simply a "pre-diabetes" issue, it sits upstream of an enormous range of chronic diseases:

𝐓𝐲𝐩𝐞 𝟐 𝐃𝐢𝐚𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐬
The most well-established link. Insulin resistance is the foundational mechanism driving T2D, which affects roughly 1 in 10 Americans and costs the healthcare system enormously.

𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞
Triggered by multiple environmental factors and genetic predisposition, IR paves the way for cardiovascular diseases and cancer, and the liver plays a central role — with excess glucose, lipids, and compensatory hyperinsulinemia collectively driving chronic liver disease and fostering a pro-carcinogenic environment.

𝐍𝐨𝐧-𝐀𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐲 𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 (𝐍𝐀𝐅𝐋𝐃/𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐋𝐃)
Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is closely linked to insulin resistance, lipotoxicity, and chronic inflammation, and in turn contributes to cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, type 2 diabetes, and hepatocellular carcinoma.

𝐀𝐥𝐳𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞
One of the more striking recent findings. Emerging evidence links insulin resistance to Alzheimer's pathology through neuroinflammation, amyloid-β accumulation, and tau hyperphosphorylation — the hallmarks of the disease — leading some researchers to characterize Alzheimer's as "Type 3 Diabetes."

𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐲𝐜𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐎𝐯𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐞 (𝐏𝐂𝐎𝐒), 𝐌𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞
IR appears to be a common contributing factor to type 2 diabetes, polycystic o***y disease, dyslipidemia, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, sleep apnea, certain hormone-sensitive cancers, and obesity.

Visit 𝐰𝐰𝐰.𝐛𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐞.𝐜𝐨𝐦 to book an appointment with Dr. Jill and take charge of your health today!

07/03/2026

We've outlined the notable rise in Insulin Resistance across the US, now we turn our attention to what's actually happening in our bodies with IR.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈𝐬 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲? Insulin resistance is defined as the impaired biological response of target tissues to insulin stimulation. The primary tissues involved are the liver, skeletal muscle, and adipose tissue. When these tissues resist insulin's signal, glucose disposal is impaired, the pancreas compensates by producing more insulin, and a state of 𝐡𝐲𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐚 develops.

An important and emerging debate in the research: recent studies have questioned whether hyperinsulinemia may actually precede insulin resistance — meaning the excess insulin itself becomes a driver, not just a consequence. This has significant implications for how we think about early intervention.

𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞 𝟐 𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝟏𝟎 𝐭𝐨 𝟏𝟓 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 — meaning there is a long window of opportunity to intervene before frank diabetes develops, but it requires detection.

07/01/2026

Yesterday we began discussing the growing 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 (𝐈𝐑) problem. Today, we answer the question: "𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐈𝐑?"

The scale of insulin resistance (IR) in the U.S. is staggering and still growing. In 2025, global IR prevalence is estimated at 26.53%, and 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲, 𝐢𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝟐𝟗.𝟓%. Perhaps most concerning is the trajectory: among nondiabetic U.S. adults, the age-standardized prevalence of hyperinsulinemia climbed from 28.2% in 1999–2000 to 41.4% in 2017–2018, with IR prevalence rising from 24.8% to 38.4% over that same period.

It's no longer just an older adult problem. 𝐀 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟏 𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐍𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐄𝐒 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝟒𝟎% 𝐨𝐟 𝐔.𝐒. 𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝟏𝟖 𝐭𝐨 𝟒𝟒 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐧-𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 — and this rapid increase was not solely associated with rising obesity rates; hypertension, dyslipidemia, and limited physical activity also drove the trend. Even adolescents are affected: among non-diabetic, non-prediabetic U.S. adolescents, the prevalence of hyperinsulinemia rose significantly from around 15% in 1999–2000 to over 21% by 2017–2020, with a relative increase of roughly 3.4% per two-year survey cycle.

Higher prevalence rates are consistently observed among males, non-Hispanic Blacks, Hispanics, and individuals with lower education or income levels — underscoring deep health disparities.

If you're concerned about your health we encourage you to book an appointment with Dr. Jill at (Wenatchee, WA).

Tomorrow we discuss what's happening physiologically with IR.

06/30/2026

We've been seeing an increasing number of patients with Insulin Resistance over the past few years. So, let's dig into "𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞?"

Insulin resistance is when your body's cells — mainly in the liver, muscle, and fat tissue — stop responding well to insulin, the hormone that normally signals them to take up glucose from the blood. Because the cells are "deaf" to insulin's signal, glucose doesn't get absorbed as efficiently, so blood sugar starts to creep up. Your pancreas compensates by pumping out more and more insulin to try to force the message through, which leads to chronically elevated insulin levels (hyperinsulinemia) even before blood sugar itself becomes abnormal.

Over time, this compensatory mechanism tends to fail — the pancreas can't keep up — and blood sugar rises further, eventually progressing to prediabetes and then type 2 diabetes if unaddressed. It's typically thought to precede a type 2 diabetes diagnosis by 10–15 years, which is why it's often described as the "hidden" early stage of metabolic disease — present and doing damage long before it shows up on a standard glucose test.

How big of a problem is Insulin Resistance? That will be the next topic we discuss.

05/12/2026

𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 - Blue Earth Medicine, a naturopathic medical clinic in Wenatchee, WA is seeking a naturopathic doctor for a new position. The new naturopathic doctor will work with our team as a 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐫 with a 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧'𝐬 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡. Position to begin Fall 2026.

𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐒 𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐎 𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐋𝐘.

Reach out to us for a link (email address available on our website).