I have a confession to make. Even after many years of using and working with natural medicine, I still have an underlying fear of chiropractors. Not the men and women who make up the profession. But the actual process of getting an adjustment. I’ve just never gotten used to the cracking and popping sounds brought about by manual adjustments. However my concerns are often at odds with some of the positive evidence that exists about this widely utilized holistic technique. The most recent figures published by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine estimate that upwards of $4 billion a year is spent on “chiropractic or osteopathic manipulation” in the US alone. It appears that many health conscious consumers do not share my reservations about visiting their friendly, neighborhood chiropractor. Read more »

One of the most frequent questions I’m asked has do with which supplements are the most essential. Many people who inquire are already taking a multivitamin. It’s not always the best multivitamin, but at least it provides the basic nutrients that are often lacking in the modern diet. However, there are certain minerals that are never provided in adequate amounts in a standard one-a-day supplement. They’re simply too bulky to be contained in a single capsule or even a large tablet. Read more »

If you took a poll that asked people to identify the most popular vitamin in the world, you’d likely find that Vitamin C tops the list. But if you posed that same question to researchers who are currently conducting scientific studies, their answer would almost certainly be Vitamin D - and I’m not just referring to researchers in the field of nutritional science. Specialists from all over the medical map are expressing an interest in the role that the “sunshine vitamin” may play in conditions ranging from asthma to cardiovascular disease to diabetes, and even lesser known conditions such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). These days, the scientific literature is simply lit up with references to ergocalciferol (Vitamin D2) and cholecalciferol (Vitamin D3).
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Many of the health benefits attributed to natural therapies are actually brought about by re-establishing practices that ought to come naturally to the body and mind. There is nothing more basic and essential than breathing. But there’s a difference between breathing to live and breathing with the goal of improving and/or maintaining good health. The difference between these practices generally has to do with two factors: the conscious act of breathing properly and how deeply air is inhaled and exhaled via the diaphragm and lungs. Read more »

In the field of nutritional science, there is no hotter nutrient than Vitamin D. Scientists are steadfastly studying the effects of D on everything from arthritis to cardiovascular disease and even psychiatric conditions such as schizophrenia. One area of particular interest is that of Vitamin D deficiency and pulmonary health. There is a desperate need to identify preventive measures and safe treatments for lung conditions because of the shockingly large number of people who are affected by them. It is estimated that approximately 300 million people worldwide suffer from asthma alone, and that number is growing at a staggering pace.
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