If you believe you’re suffering some of the chronic symptoms caused by mold exposure, you’ve probably also heard the discouraging mantra, “We can’t find anything wrong with you—all your tests are normal.” You’ve told your doc that you’ve read about toxic mold. You point out that you’ve had some water damage, that some rooms smell […]
Category: Immune System
Your immune system is your body’s protector, tackling viruses, bacteria, parasite, and cancer cells. It’s important to make sure your immune system is functioning properly.
Six Commonly Missed Diagnoses +1: Rx Drug Side Effects
I’d planned a series of six commonly missed diagnoses, but today I have one more, a life-threatening addition you’ll want to add to your mental list. If you’ve been following this series you know we’ve covered low levels of vitamin B-12 and vitamin D, subtly underactive thyroid, gluten sensitivity, intestinal parasites, and candida (yeast) overgrowth. […]
Getting Tough With Your Immune System
Originally published Dec 2015 No reasonable physician (I modestly include myself here) can refrain from crowing delightedly when a new clinical study confirms the value of a treatment he or she had been using for years, even if that treatment had contradicted prevailing standards. Ever since I learned something about natural medicine, I’ve been reluctant to […]
Getting Tough With Your Immune System
No reasonable physician (I modestly include myself here) can refrain from crowing delightedly when a new clinical study confirms the value of a treatment he or she had been using for years, even if that treatment had contradicted prevailing standards. Ever since I learned something about natural medicine, I’ve been reluctant to prescribe antibiotics for […]
Understanding Leaky Gut
If you read much about health, you know about controversial diagnoses. The list might start with candida overgrowth, food sensitivities, and toxic mold syndrome and end with adrenal fatigue, heavy metal toxicity, chronic Lyme, and multiple chemical sensitivity syndrome. Because controversial conditions aren’t routinely covered in medical textbooks, they can easily fly under the radar […]
Mushrooms
Along with the bold yet delicate taste that shiitake, maitake, and reishi mushrooms add to soups and other dishes, these gourmet delicacies are prized as herbal medicines. Traditional Asian healers have used them for centuries to strengthen the immune system and promote longevity. Recently, an extract from a different mushroom altogether–PSK (Coriolus versicolor)–was identified as a possible ally in the fight against cancer. While mushrooms other than these may well have specific health-promoting actions, they haven’t been as thoroughly researched for medicinal purposes.
Marshmellow
Since ancient times, Europeans have relied on the root of the marshmallow plant (Althea officinalis) to concoct cough and sore throat remedies. Interestingly, the “Althea” in the herb’s botanical name comes from the Greek word for “heal” or “cure.” And the plant’s common name–marshmallow–comes from the habitat that it favors: marshes and other damp environments.
Astragalus
An herb native to China, astragalus (Astragalus membranaceous) has been used for more than 2,000 years to balance the vital energy–or qi–which is thought to flow through all beings. A relative of licorice and the pea plant, astragalus appears to give the immune system a powerful boost. Teas, tablets, and other healing formulations are made from the plant’s flat, yellowish root.
Sore Throat
You know the sensation. First, it’s an uncomfortable little “awareness” in the back of your throat, and the thought crosses your mind, “I hope I’m not coming down with something.” Slowly, over the next few hours or so, your awareness increases. Then the next morning, you awaken with the sensation of having swallowed a blowtorch. And, since a sore throat is all too often the first act of a bad cold, you know what the next few days are going to be like, and wonder what you can do to prevent things from getting worse. Here are some suggestions from WholeHealth Chicago.
Sinusitis
In my town, doctors refer to it as the “Denver drip,” but of course the “Chicago crud” or “Manhattan mucus” serve just as well. In fact, that decidedly unpleasant, back-of-the-throat, thick-as-molasses post nasal drainage is simply your sinuses, endlessly trying to empty themselves. What with clogged heads, tickly coughs, constant nose blowing, and voices perpetually needing a “harrumph!” to clear them, it’s little wonder that sinus sufferers are willing to undergo repeated surgeries for temporary relief. Or borrow somebody’s old antibiotics. Or fantasize about plunging a Craftsman power drill up their nostrils.
Lupus
Lupus means “wolf,” maybe because wolves are sly and lupus is the slyest of the autoimmune diseases–conditions in which the trusty immune system, which normally tracks and destroys viruses, bacteria, and cancer cells, suddenly turns and attacks the body. Most of the autoimmune diseases are satisfied with seizing one organ (say, the thyroid or the liver) or the joints. But lupus has imperial ambitions. The skin, joints, muscles, brain, kidney, and all the connective tissue can become victims of the very system that once guarded their existenc
Cough
As any doctor will tell you, there are coughs–and then there are coughs! All coughs, though, are a response by your body to rid itself of something that wants to get out. This could be infected mucus in your lungs or the piece of popcorn that “went down the wrong tube.” Basically this means you don’t always want to interfere with the process. You feel the first type of cough, called bronchitic, deep in your chest. For these coughs, you need an expectorant to help the lungs bring up phlegm, to be “productive,” as doctors say.
Colds
Doctors call them “viral upper respiratory infections” or “acute viral nasopharyngitis” because big words always sound impressive to patients. But the common cold is…well, common. Most of us get two or three a year. Colds are caused by upward of 200 viruses and it’s this large number that not only prevents developing a “cold vaccine” but is also responsible for the woeful complaint, “Another cold? This isn’t fair! I just got over one.” Neither conventional nor alternative medicine can cure a cold yet, but our WholeHealth Chicago remedies will get you feeling better muy pronto and may just might knock a few days off the usual seven to 10 days you can expect a cold to last. And you might even build up some more resistance to fend off the next cold virus that comes your way.
Cold Sores
Any condition that keeps you from smiling and kissing is inherently dislikable. Cold sores (also called fever blisters) are generally a harmless condition I’d classify as a medical “annoyance,” like dandruff or hemorrhoids–not a danger to life or limb. Nevertheless, no one wants to go through the day with a large, unsightly sore on the lip, especially since they seem to appear on days you’re set for an interview or an important photograph. Actually, good news is here. At WholeHealth Chicago, we’ve found some safe and effective natural therapies that can either prevent the eruption of a cold sore or inhibit the virus that causes it, heal the inflamed skin, and shorten its unsightly life. (One such remedy is an herb with the lovely name of melissa.)
Bronchitis
Most people have had a brush with bronchitis–an inflammation of the bronchi or the breathing tubes–at some time in their lives. And 7 million people, virtually all of them smokers, experience the symptoms of bronchitis every single day for years. Bronchitis comes in two versions. Acute bronchitis occurs when an infection, usually a virus or bacteria, inflames the bronchial tubes. It produces a raw, hacking, painful cough that can sometimes be relieved with self-care measures but often requires antibiotics.
Help! I’m Getting the Flu
Click here for the Health Tip link. We’ve talked about the flu in my last couple health tips, but let’s review before we discuss Tamiflu, the antiviral drug. First, learn to differentiate a common cold from the flu. With a cold, most of the symptoms you feel are evidence that your body is trying to […]
Preventing Flu
Click here for the Health Tip link. The advice in this health tip works for preventing virtually all virus infections, including the flu. Of the 150,000 genetic variations of mushrooms on our planet, it’s guesstimated that about 5% have useful medicinal properties. Of these, we know something about just a scant handful. Like every other […]
Flu Shot: Do I Need One?
Posted 09/23/2008 The quick answer is, probably yes. Influenza (Italian: influence, a reference to the fact that the disease has always occurred in recognizable epidemics) makes its appearance virtually every winter and may last as long as spring. The biggest believers in flu immunization are those who’ve been through one bad flu episode. No one […]
Sinus Infections
Click here for the original post. One of the most common wintertime phone calls/office visits/e-mails I receive from my patients is the desperate need for something (namely, an antibiotic) for self-diagnosed sinus infection. Most people are quite good at making this diagnosis. Typical sinusitis develops a week after a cold that almost seemed to go […]
Q&A: Muscle Strength and Your Immune System
Click here for the original post. Q: When we strengthen our muscles, is our immune system strengthened too? A: The answer has to do with what else you’re doing for your immune system. If you’re building your muscles with regular exercise, you likely rehydrate well with pure water, eat a healthful diet, sleep well, have […]