If you’re interested in the current status of alternative medicine in the US, consider a sample issue of Townsend Letter.
Now in its 25th year of continuous publication under the direction of pioneer integrative physician Jonathan Collin, MD, the publication is subtitled “The Examiner of Alternative Medicine.” I learned early on that a subscription to Townsend Letter was virtually a requirement if I wanted to keep abreast of the many fields of complementary and alternative therapies.
The Bach Center has prepared a self-help questionnaire to guide you through the remedy selection process. The questionnaire is usually tucked next to the remedy display at health food stores, but is also online by clicking here.
Last time we talked about Edward Bach, the British homeopathic physician who combined homeopathy with the mind-body connection in treating emotional states such as chronic grief, loneliness, hypersensitivity, and lack of confidence in order to cure chronic health disorders.
I first encountered flower remedies when visiting a couple who had just lost a long-awaited infant by miscarriage. Although their home was very much a place of mourning, they bore their grief with fortitude. At one point during the conversation, they brought out a small bottle, placed a few drops under each other’s tongues, and then continued talking.
Q I saw an article in our local paper on citicoline, which they called a natural substance found in all living things. The article said taking citicholine as a supplement could boost the power of aging brains. Is this true? Also, what exactly is it?
Last time we talked about the Vitamin D Council and its research on vitamin D deficiency. Today I’ll add some observations from the front lines of doctoring, as well as my updated recommendations on supplementing with D.
Nutritionally oriented physicians agree that the hottest topic over the last couple of years has been vitamin D.
If you travel at all, you don’t need me to describe the dismal food options at most airports. Yes, there are occasionally some decent choices, but what to do in the face of cinnamon buns, cold white-bread lunchmeat sandwiches, and mini-pizzas?
When a young family member set up life in his first apartment, the inevitable shopping list for stocking the kitchen posed a good question. Just what are the basics you need to function day-to-day and meal-to-meal?
Meditation is embraced by conventional medicine today as a perfectly acceptable means of lowering blood pressure, reducing pain, helping migraines, easing menstrual cramps, and, most importantly, reducing stress and anxiety.
Meditation is the simplest relaxation technique to explain and by far the hardest to master.
Like acupuncture, yoga, sushi bars, and Thai restaurants, meditation comes to us from the East, from religious practice that required quiet contemplation in order to induce a state of tranquility.
I doubt the subscription list of the Journal of Pineal Research is significantly beyond the high two digits, but it did contain the following nugget.
If push-ups bring forth the dim (and grim) memory of gym class, stay with us for a minute while we discuss the benefits.
Click here for the original post. Even though I’m a doctor who specializes in nutritional medicine, the article in The Journal of Nutrition was a technically difficult read. It discussed how combining the antioxidant resveratrol (the compound found in grapes, purple grape juice, red wine, peanuts, and certain berries) with genistein (a soy isoflavone) reduced […]
Click here for the original post. This breathing-out-stress exercise can be done when you’re all alone, with eyes closed in a quiet place, or when chaos seems to surround you, such as rush hour traffic (but with your eyes open and hands on the wheel). Sit quietly in a straight-backed chair with your eyes closed, […]
Click here for the original post. Q: I just read in Consumer Reports that vitamin E doesn’t help prevent heart attacks. Is this true? If so, is there any reason to take E? A: As early as 2001, clinical studies around the world were beginning to cast some doubt on the effectiveness of vitamin E […]
Click here for the original post. Here’s a fast-food favorite that’s new to us: skinless, boneless Alaskan salmon in a pouch. No liquid to drain and no cans to open, making it an utterly convenient lunch or snack food. It makes an easy dinner too. Several brands offer this presentation. One we see here in […]
When you use guided imagery, you deliberately and consciously use the power of your imagination to create positive images (called healing visualizations) that will trigger healthful changes within. The whole concept of guided imagery works because in terms of the physiology inside your brain, picturing something and actually experiencing it are very similar. Let’s pretend […]
Click here for the original post. If you study nutritional medicine long enough, some concepts make good intuitive sense, but then you find nobody has done a study to verify the assumptions. It’s always struck me that if you did aerobic exercise–you know, the huff-puff of jumping jacks or other high-intensity activity–you’d get a greater […]
Click here for the original post. A surprising number of so-called alternative therapies actually have their roots in conventional medicine. For example, reflexology, originally called Zone Therapy, was first discovered by an ear, nose, and throat specialist who used pressure from rubber bands applied to the fingers and toes for surgical anesthesia. “Bach” of Bach […]