A Burning Question – Got the -itis? Bronch-itis, arthr-itis, gingiv-itis? The -itis signifies inflammation, as in flame and burning, but inflammation is also at the root of cancers, heart disease and the rest. Inflammation is an acute and usually obvious “get to the doctor” problem where Continue reading
Did You Know…
… a popular cosmetic ingredient is key to a fortified immune system?
Ancient Ayurvedic tradition teaches that the most effective way to ensure optimum health, longevity, and immunity is to detoxify your digestive system. Some sources indicate as much as 80% of your body’s immunity is determined by the condition of your digestive tract.
“Keeping the digestion a well-oiled machine is the golden key to immunity,” Continue reading
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Did You Know…
… that Boneset was one of most widely used medicinal plants of early America and has been used well into the 21st century to treat a variety of ailments…particularly influenza and fever? Continue reading
The next time you reach for the bacon, ham, pork chops or pork steaks, you may want to rethink your dining choice: A majority of samples of “the other white meat” that were obtained in a recent study contained bacteria, potentially deadly drugs or a combination of both.
According to Consumer Reports, samples of U.S. pork chops Continue reading
Some of the most powerful health supplements can often come from very ordinary products. And, recent research has shown that one of the best ways to fight harmful bacteria is simply to drink some lime juice. Limes, those deliciously tart citrus fruits, are often passed over at the grocery store in favor of lemons, but can be an important part of a healthy diet. Of course, this doesn’t mean you should stop eating lemons-they’re an excellent healing food that can help your liver get rid of toxins. But, limes are just as effective at protecting your health-particularly when it comes to combating harmful bacteria.
Lots of supplements fight bacteria, Continue reading
Earaches are a very common nuisance, and can be the source of a lot of pain and irritation. Here are seven top homeopathic remedies to help take the pain away.
1. “Chamomilla:” This soothing herbal remedy could heal acute earaches that can be very painful. It is worse at night. Your cheeks may redden and you become restless and Continue reading
Today we present five sure-fire healing secrets from deepest China that you might be able to use to battle the nasty yet formidable common cold. To have these secrets under your belt means you are truly in the know.
1. Andrographis Continue reading
Homeopathy, established in the 1800s, is loaded with a wide variety of natural healers. Many have poisonous elements to them, but these pose no risk to humans. After all, only a tiny fraction of the plant is used, and even then it’s decocted. Today let’s take a peek at “Aconite,” which has multiple excellent uses.
Deceptively pretty with its violet flowers, the Aconite plant has poisonous roots. In fact, its poisonous powers are legendary: long ago, in the Alps, hunters were said Continue reading
And How to Make Sure You’re Never a Victim of…
The Pain Killer Conspiracy
When the pain becomes too much to bear, it’s tempting to reach for the pill bottle, with little or no thought to long-term health consequences. But taking over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription pain medications is as potentially lethal as playing a round of Russian roulette.
Pain medications, including OTCs and prescription meds, Continue reading
Once the temperature drops, cold and flu season looms over health like dark storm clouds. Our fast-paced lifestyles, holiday travels and festivities, along with seasonal changes lead most of us to believe that colds and flu are inevitable facts of winter. But a healthy diet, lifestyle choices and supplementation offers protection year-round with natural solutions that help strengthen your defenses and keep you vibrant and energized.
Cold or Flu? Know the Difference
As an integrative physician, my patients often come to me with an important question: “How can I tell whether I have a cold or the flu?”
Both colds and flu are respiratory illnesses, but each is caused by different viruses. Colds are usually milder and present symptoms that include nasal stuffiness, sneezing and a runny nose. Adults and older children generally have minimal or no fever, but infants and toddlers often run a fever in the 100-102 degrees Fahrenheit range. Depending on which virus is the offender, a cold may also produce a headache, cough, postnasal drip, burning eyes, muscle aches or a decreased appetite — but the most prominent cold symptoms are usually in the nasal passages. Continue reading
If you received a polio vaccine — and who didn’t? — you may have been exposed to a virus that turns normal cells into cancerous ones.
Even worse, the infection may mysteriously be passed on to your children and grandchildren.
Mass vaccination campaigns of the 1950s and 1960s are now suspected in thousands of deaths per year via a cancer-causing virus contained in the early polio vaccines. But this doesn’t mean you’ll get cancer for sure. Keep reading and I’ll explain.
Researchers discovered this deadly vaccine tragedy in 1994 — when Dr. Michele Carbone found the SV40 virus in 60 percent of lung cancers (mesotheliomas) studied, 33 percent of osteosarcoma bone cancers and 40 percent of other bone cancers. Continue reading
Make sure you wear long pants and shirts when outside between sunset and sunrise. At least that’s the recommendation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
It seems that the number of West Nile cases is on the rise. The CDC reported that, in 2009, there were 720 confirmed cases of West Nile and 32 fatalities. In 2010, numbers were up, with 1,021 confirmed cases and 57 deaths.
Peak mosquito season is in August and September and the number of West Nile cases is expected to rise even more in 2011.
If you are infected with West Nile, Continue reading
It can be scary when your child’s forehead feels abnormally warm to the touch. So it’s only natural for parents to stress over how to treat a fever in their child. But your impulse to bring that fever down immediately with ibuprofen or acetaminophen may not be the best move, according to a new American Academy of Pediatrics clinical report, published in the journal Pediatrics. The reason: Your child’s fever is a physiologic mechanism that has beneficial effects in fighting infection, so reducing the fever may actually hamper healing.
The details: Even when a child has a mild fever, many parents want to administer antipyretics such as acetaminophen and ibuprofen, according to the report. That’s natural; we all want to be reassured by that “normal” 98.6 reading on the thermometer. But according to the AAP researchers, there is no evidence that fever itself worsens the course of an illness, or causes any long-term neurologic complications. “Thus, the primary goal…should be to improve the child’s overall comfort rather than focus on the normalization of body temperature,” the report says. Continue reading
Mosquitoes make proteins to help them handle the stressful spike in body temperature that’s prompted by their hot blood meals, a new study has found.
The mosquito’s eating pattern is inherently risky: Taking a blood meal involves finding warm-blooded hosts, avoiding detection, penetrating tough skin and evading any host immune response, not to mention the slap of a human hand.
Until now, the stress of the hot blood meal itself has been overlooked, researchers say.
Scientists have determined in female mosquitoes Continue reading