When Eating Feels Like a Minefield: A Story of MCAS, Ketotifen, and Low-Dose Naltrexone By Yoon Hang Kim, MD, MPH Board-Certified in Preventive Medicine | Integrative & Functional Medicine Physician 🎥 Watch the short version: MCAS, Ketotifen & LDN — a client story For people living with mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), eating can feel like a minefield. A food that was fine last month triggers flushing, hives, gut pain, or brain fog today. Over time, many people respond

Functional Medicine in San Antonio: A Root-Cause Approach with Yoon Hang Kim, MD, MPH Board-Certified in Preventive Medicine | Integrative & Functional Medicine Physician If you've spent years cycling through specialists, tests, and prescriptions — and you still don't feel well — the problem may not be you. It may be the model of care. Conventional medicine excels at acute crises, but chronic, complex illness often demands a different question: not "What is the diagnosis?" bu

An Evidence-Graded Review of Over-the-Counter Botanicals and the Two FDA-Approved Prescription Options Yoon Hang Kim, MD, MPH Board-Certified in Preventive Medicine | Integrative & Functional Medicine Physician Medical Disclaimer: This article is for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment, and it is not a substitute for individualized care. Supplements and prescription medications carry real risks and intera

Low Dose Naltrexone in San Antonio: Why It Works, and Why Dr. Kim Yoon Hang Kim, MD, MPH Board-Certified in Preventive Medicine | Integrative & Functional Medicine Physician Living with a chronic condition can feel like working through a to-do list that never quite ends. You try a medication, a symptom quiets down for a while, and the thing underneath it never really moves. If that sounds familiar, Low Dose Naltrexone — usually just called LDN — is worth understanding, beca

Yoon Hang Kim, MD, MPH Board-Certified in Preventive Medicine | Integrative & Functional Medicine Physician www.directintegrativecare.com Medical Disclaimer: This article is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The information presented reflects general principles of integrative and functional medicine and is not intended as a substitute for individualized care from a qualified healthcare provider. Al

Yoon Hang Kim, MD, MPH Board-Certified in Preventive Medicine | Integrative & Functional Medicine Physician www.directintegrativecare.com Disclaimer: This blog post is intended for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Low dose naltrexone (LDN) is used off-label for essentially all of the conditions discussed below; it is not FDA-approved for any of them. Always consult with a qualified clinician before st

www.directintegrativecare.com The Layered Approach to Mast Cell Activation Syndrome: Integrating Dr. Afrin's Framework with Functional Medicine Therapeutics LDN, Ketotifen, Methylene Blue, Quercetin, and Luteolin in a Stepwise Clinical Model Yoon Hang Kim, MD, MPH Board-Certified in Preventive Medicine | Integrative & Functional Medicine Physician Medical Disclaimer This article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

Why Choose Yoon Hang Kim, MD, MPH for Functional Medicine in San Antonio Board-Certified in Preventive Medicine | Integrative & Functional Medicine Physician www.directintegrativecare.com If you have been searching for a functional medicine doctor in San Antonio, you have probably noticed that every clinic's website sounds the same: root cause, personalized care, advanced testing. Those are the right words — but words alone do not tell you whether a provider will actually del

Why Work With Dr. Yoon Hang Kim for LDN Therapy: The Membership Model Advantage for Complex Conditions Board-Certified in Preventive Medicine | Integrative & Functional Medicine Physician If you're living with a complex, multi-system condition — Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, POTS, autoimmune disease, fibromyalgia, chronic Lyme, CRPS, or a cancer diagnosis where you're looking for evidence-informed adjunctive support — you've probably already learned a hard truth: conventiona

Beyond the Blue Pill: A Functional Medicine Approach to Erectile Dysfunction Yoon Hang Kim, MD, MPH Board-Certified in Preventive Medicine | Integrative & Functional Medicine Physician Medical Disclaimer: This content is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Erectile dysfunction can be a sign of serious underlying health conditions, including cardiovascular disease. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before star

Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) can feel like navigating a maze with no clear exit. Symptoms vary widely, and traditional treatments sometimes fall short. That’s why I want to share insights into holistic MCAS treatment—an approach that looks beyond symptoms to address the whole person. By combining conventional medicine with lifestyle changes, nutrition, and mind-body techniques, we can find a more balanced path to relief. What Is Holistic MCAS Treatment? Holistic MCAS

Direct Integrative Care Yoon Hang Kim, MD, MPH Board-Certified in Preventive Medicine | Integrative & Functional Medicine Physician Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) therapy should only be initiated under the guidance of a qualified healthcare provider. Always consult your physician before starting, stopping, or modifying any treatment. Living with chronic health issues

Yoon Hang Kim, MD, MPH Board-Certified in Preventive Medicine | Integrative & Functional Medicine Physician Berberine has moved from a centuries-old botanical remedy to one of the most studied supplements in metabolic health. This guide reviews what the evidence actually supports, how berberine works, who may benefit, and — just as importantly — what it cannot do. It is written for readers exploring berberine for a specific health goal and who want a clear, honest, clinically

Innovative Integrative Treatments for MCAS: A New Path to Healing Yoon Hang Kim, MD, MPH Board-Certified in Preventive Medicine | Integrative & Functional Medicine Physician For people living with Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS), the search for relief can feel like chasing a moving target. Symptoms flare unpredictably, span nearly every organ system, and rarely respond to a single medication. The most meaningful progress I have seen in clinical practice does not come fro

Yoon Hang “John” Kim, MD, MPH, FAAMA Board-Certified Preventive Medicine | Integrative & Functional Medicine | LDN Research Trust Presenter The short version If you’ve been told LDN will make you better but every dose so far has made you worse, you aren’t broken and you aren’t a “bad responder.” You may be a canary patient — exquisitely sensitive, with a depleted endorphin reserve.For canary patients, the standard 1.5 → 4.5 mg climb is too much, too fast. The fix isn’t abando

Looking for a Functional Medicine Doctor in San Antonio? Here's How I Work — From Anywhere in Texas Many patients experience the frustration of pursuing symptom relief for years, moving from one specialist to another, only to receive more prescriptions without real solutions. I am Dr. Yoon Hang "John" Kim, specializing in integrative and functional medicine for complex cases often overlooked by standard practices in San Antonio. My practice operates virtually. I provide care

The LDN Sleep Paradox: Why a Healing Medication Disrupts Your Rest You started Low Dose Naltrexone hoping to feel better — not to lie wide awake at 2 a.m. watching the ceiling fan spin. If your LDN sleep experience has involved vivid, almost cinematic dreams, sudden 3 a.m. wake-ups, or a wired-but-exhausted feeling you can't shake, you're not imagining things. The forums are full of people asking the same question: Is this medication helping me or destroying me? Here's the su

by Yoon Hang Kim MD MPH www.directintegrativecare.com Is Your Naltrexone Causing Headaches? You Aren't Alone That throbbing, pressure-behind-the-eyes pain that hits after your naltrexone dose isn't a sign something has gone terribly wrong — but it is one of the most common reasons people consider stopping the medication altogether. Headaches from naltrexone affect users across the board, whether they're taking a standard 50mg dose for addiction recovery or a much smaller amou

Most people who take a magnesium supplement assume they're covered. They're not — and the reason has almost nothing to do with dosage. According to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, approximately 50% of the U.S. population consumes less than the Recommended Dietary Allowance for magnesium. More striking still, up to two-thirds of people in the Western world may never meet their daily needs through diet alone. Yet supplement sales are booming. Something isn't addi

by Yoon Hang Kim MD | www.directintegrativecare.com That frustrating inability to find the right word mid-sentence. The executive function that simply refuses to fire. The sensation that your thoughts are moving through wet concrete. These aren't signs you need more coffee — they're brain fog symptoms, and they represent a specific, measurable cognitive impairment that deserves serious attention. Brain fog is frequently dismissed as tiredness or stress, but that framing is da