Interesting article on Orthomolecular Medicine
See here for an excellent article on the practice of orthomolecular medicine, which involves the use of nutrition to treat many diseases and maladies.
read moreAllergies
Trees budding. Grass greening. Flowers blooming. Birds singing. Nature reborn. Hope renewed. Once again. One more year. Spring. Noses running. Eyes watering. Throats itching. Lungs coughing. Sinuses aching. Allergies reborn. Misery renewed. Once again. One more year. Spring. Allergies and asthma. Very big problems for a whole lot of people. How big a problem? Annually, $7.9 billion treating allergies alone. Asthma? $18 billion. The average cost per asthma sufferer? $4,900 each year. How many people? More than 50...
read moreFibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia. Is it real? What is it? What causes it? What can I do if I have it? Lots of questions. With “fibro,” the questions are easy. It’s the answers that are tough. First, is it real? That one’s easy: Absolutely it’s real! To the 5 million fibro sufferers in America, it’s an insulting question. End of discussion. But what is it, precisely? And what causes it? Okay, that’s more difficult. While we can describe it, and while the diagnostic criteria are clearly defined, there’s no real test for it. Blood...
read moreToxins & Detox
Some say it started in a letter Olga Huckins penned to an old friend in early 1958. On the receiving end? A lady named Rachel Carson. The issue: the alarming number of birds Olga found dead around her home. As if fallen from the sky. The then-suspected cause: pesticides. Intended to kill insects, but now killing birds. Working their way up the food chain. How far up? Scary question, then and now. Others say it all started much earlier, and innocently, even patriotically enough, during World War II. In the Pacific theatre and...
read moreStress, part 4
To improve your body’s ability to handle stress, it’s important to know what dietary pitfalls to avoid and which foods to emphasize and eat regularly. Five things to avoid or limit: All processed foods. Simple sugars, including starches (breads, pastas, chips, crackers, cereals, pastries, candy) Trans fats, hydrogenated and partly hydrogenated oils. Excess caffeine and alcohol. Food additives, preservatives, and artificial sweeteners. Five things to eat daily: Whole, fresh foods. Try them raw. Brightly colored vegetables. Healthy...
read moreStress, part 3
So, the acute stress response is crucial to keeping us alive and safe in the moment of danger. Long-term, though, the chronic stress response only leads to chronic disease and debility. So what are our options? What can we do? Actually, lots. Most importantly and fundamentally, we need to take steps to lower our exposure to stress in the first place. In today’s hectic, demanding culture, that’s very difficult. We have constant demands upon our time. Cell phones allow the world 24/7 access to our lives. We desire to...
read moreStress, part 2
Chronic stress, however, is a different matter entirely. Beyond the immediate crisis, when faced with stress day after day, week after week, month after month, bad things happen. Really bad things. Lots of them. In response to stress, the body increases the production of cortisol. It’s been called our “stress hormone.” In short bursts, that’s a good thing. In the long term, though, high cortisol leads to such problems as immune dysfunction and increased risk of illness, cancer, and debilitating auto-immune diseases. It...
read moreStress, part 1
Feeling stressed? You’re not alone. According to Time magazine, 75-90% of all primary care visits are for stress-related problems. 75% of all chronic disease in Western society is directly related to stress. Eight in ten adults report suffering “great stress” at least once each week. It’s not just an epidemic; it’s a pandemic! But what is stress, anyway? Depends on how you look at it. Technically defined, stress is “a state of threatened or perceived threatened homeostasis.” And homeostasis? It’s our...
read moreCHRONIC FATIGUE
Did you know? 24% of adults report always feeling tired. More than 25 million Americans have severe fatigue, lasting at least one month, at any given time. The estimated annual cost per patient for fatigue-related problems is $2,300 to $8,700. For society, it’s $2 – 7 BILLION!!! Have you ever wondered? Where did my get up and go … go? When is fatigue normal? Abnormal? When should I be worried? As I get older, shouldn’t I expect to feel more tired? What causes abnormal, chronic fatigue? Let’s tackle that last one. The answer,...
read moreADHD
ADHD – It affects millions of children, and adults, and their families. But why? What’s causing this growing epidemic? Is it real? Is it over-diagnosed? Isn’t it just a diagnostic fad, made popular by the media? Isn’t it just an excuse for bad behavior and poor parenting? And once we answer all that, and if it’s real, is there hope? Is it treatable? Is it curable? If so, how? Medication? Therapy? Nutrition? Supplements? Prayer? Let’s tackle this one first: Is it real? Absolutely!!! Any parent raising a child with...
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