On any given day, countless patients make the decision to visit a health care professional who practices alternative medicine. Sometimes they do so as an adjunct to the care they’re already receiving from a conventionally trained physician. In other instances, they simply want something different. Hence the term “alternative medicine”. But not every alternative is created equally nor does it need to be administered or monitored exclusively by a holistic physician.

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It’s hard to believe but I’ve been writing this blog for over a year and half now. In that time I’ve written hundreds of columns that I hope will be relevant for many years to come. The best way to ensure relevancy is to revisit old topics from time to time. This is an advantage for online writers. Unlike text book authors, we can update our work with the most current scientific data without having to request a revision from a publisher. This provides a winning situation for the readers, the writers and the trees that won’t be turned into pages.
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The history of hemp products in the natural health industry has been one largely dominated by uncertainty. So it didn’t surprise me when a client recently asked me about them. I offered a brief summary and my best opinion. Needless to say, it differed from what he had previously been told. This is a common occurrence in my chosen field. For every health topic, there are numerous opinions. Some are generated by the conventional medical establishment. Others are promoted by the makers of hemp products, the media and health food store employees. The likelihood that all of these disparate sources will agree on anything is infinitesimal.
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Have you ever been in the presence of a truly gifted salesman? I think most of us have at one point or another. In fact, I suspect that merely asking that question conjured up an image or memory from your past. In all likelihood, the vast majority of you were thinking of someone who was selling something mostly for profit. Please don’t get me wrong. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with turning a profit. But I sometimes wish that it was as easy to sell the concept of charitable giving and good health practices as it is to sell alluring products.
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On board for this week’s edition of Twitter Thursday is Devon Schuyler of the Los Angeles Times, Dr. Michael Eades from ProteinPower.com and Martha Rose Shulman of the New York Times. At first glance, some of the issues addressed may seem more serious than others. An example is an examination of statin-induced side effects vs. a recipe for a creamy cucumber salad. But if you view food as medicine, then the comparison changes considerably. That’s one of the shifts I’d like to see more in modern medicine. This is my latest contribution toward that end.
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When it comes to herbal medicine, doctors and patients often share similar reservations. Among them is a question about the utility of natural remedies in a real world setting. They frequently doubt that the positive results found in animal and in-vitro (“test tube”) experiments will hold true in human subjects. Another area of skepticism has to do with the breadth of activity that many dietary supplements claim to possess. For instance, how is it possible that an herbal extract can improve seemingly disparate health conditions? It might surprise you to know that I sympathize with both of these points of view, but only up to a point. When there’s evidence that some natural remedies do, in fact, benefit human beings and support a variety of systems in the body, that data needs to be reckoned with and acknowledged. Read more »

Today’s edition of Twitter Thursday focuses of three topics that I think can positively impact your health care. In the first segment I’ll continue my quest to dispel the myth that eggs are an unhealthy food because of their cholesterol and saturated fat content. The middle segment will bring to light an emerging theory that some cases of appendicitis may not require surgical intervention. Lastly, I’ll add my two cents to a popular list of the “12 Best Smoothie Ingredients”. By the time you’re done reading today’s column, I hope you’ll take away a few ideas and insights about how to better serve your own wellness and beyond.
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Every once in a while I stumble across a “Where are they now?” program on television – a show documenting the lives of famous figures long after the spotlight has left them behind. A similar analogy could be made in the field of medicine. Select foods, medical procedures and supplements are always the recipients of media attention, but typically, it doesn’t last for very long. Does this mean that they’re no longer noteworthy once the spotlight has left them behind? Not from my perspective. That’s why I think it’s so important to continually update the columns I’ve written in the past. Read more »

I’m really excited about today’s recipe for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, I never thought of myself as the type of guy who could successfully pull off a dish like this. From a distance it just seems too exotic for a simple fellow who was born and raised in Southern California. But I’m equally happy to report that this particular recipe is very easy to make and lends itself well to leftovers and other interesting food combinations. Read more »

It’s not uncommon for me to have a glass of biodynamic or organic red wine with my evening meal. As I was planning dinner last night, I got to thinking about why I enjoy wine and also about the rather substantial number of people who can’t or choose not to include alcohol in their lives. That thought process lead me to a decision to brew a cup of chamomile tea instead of having my usual glass of Pinot Noir. I remembered a study from last year that described the anti-anxiety properties of chamomile. So I wondered whether this herbal brew could provide a similar soothing effect as I’d come to expect from wine. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it did. This experience is the basis for my Healthy Monday tip of the week: Drink more herbal tea! (1) Read more »

Many conventional nutritionists and physicians pass along a standard piece of advice with regard to managing heart disease via diet: follow the guidelines set forth by the American Heart Association (AHA). After all, who better to offer guidance than an organization that specializes in matters relating to cardiovascular disease? My Health Monday tip of the day is to discuss different, and I think, more promising, dietary options with your health care team.
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Here’s an age old question: “Do you need to see something in order to believe it?”. The answer for some is “yes” and many require visual proof before they can accept something as legitimate or real. But there’s a whole other camp of thought. Some ascribe to the notion that you must first believe something is possible before you’re capable of seeing it. There isn’t a chance in the world that I can negotiate an agreement between these two schools of thought. However, a recent post on Twitter adds an interesting twist to this debate.
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According to the American Heart Association’s Statistics Committee, heart disease will cost the United States approximately $316 billion dollars in health care spending this year alone. That isn’t a figure that any nation would be proud of. However it is a reality and it needs to be acknowledged. What’s also true is that much of the money spent addressing this health crisis focuses on the role of pharmaceutical and surgical interventions. Today I’m going to take a critical look at several nutritional options that may mitigate the general trend that cardiovascular disease is taking in the US and well beyond its borders. (1) Read more »

Throughout the ages there’s always been a clash between the norms of past and present generations. We see this is in the way people dress, the music they listen to and even the way they talk. And while there are always groups on both sides of the debate, there are also bystanders who watch on and think: “The more things change, the more they stay the same”. That argument can be logically made in the cultural arena. But I don’t think it holds water when it comes to dietary shifts that have largely taken place over the past few centuries. One of the more pronounced differences in the dietary composition of modern man vs. Stone Age dwellers is a shift in the ratio between sodium and potassium. Read more »

What’s good for the individual is good for society. That adage may not always be true, but it often is with regard to health care. But even if you accept this principle, you still have to establish the meaning of the word “good” in the realm of medicine and nutrition. This past week on Twitter I discovered several examples of “good” advice from a varied group of health experts. Some of the recommendations presented may very well surprise you. Read more »

In this week’s edition of Twitter Thursday I’m going to focus on practical ways to avoid some common pitfalls of 21st century living. Our expert line-up today includes a few familiar faces, such as Dr. Michael Eades, author of The 6 Week Cure for the Middle-Aged Middle and Rick McGuire, one of the most informative and prolific health figures on Twitter. But there are also some new contributors in the bullpen: Dr. Soram Khalsa, a founding member of the American Holistic Medical Association; Joy McCarthy, an influential nutritionist from Toronto, Canada and last, but not least, some words of wisdom from Neatorama – one of the more enjoyable and entertaining sites on the worldwide web. Read more »