Last week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that asthma rates are on the rise although pollution and second hand smoke exposure is declining. According to data collected in 2009, approximately 25 million Americans are now living with this inflammatory lung condition which causes coughing fits, shortness of breath, tightness in the chest and wheezing. What’s more, no age or ethnic group is immune to this trend. However, those without medical insurance are more at risk because the typical price tag associated with conventional asthma treatment rings in at over $3,200 per person/year. This explains why roughly 40% of uninsured asthma patients report that they’re unable to buy the prescription medications needed to address their symptoms. (1) Read more »

There are a great many gaps of knowledge in the field of natural medicine. A plethora of hypotheses abound, but hard data pertaining to serious medical conditions is often difficult to come by. This unfortunate reality places patients and physicians in a decidedly awkward position. Some choose to wait until more evidence of higher quality presents itself. Others apply the admittedly incomplete or preliminary information currently available as best they can. To my mind, a balance between these two camps is generally the most judicious way to proceed. My ideal approach is to keep an eye out for breaking new research and, at the same time, use the evidence that’s currently available when putting together an integrative plan of action. Read more »

In the vast majority of cases, cancer doesn’t develop quickly. A tumor doesn’t just appear out of nowhere. Rather, it forms through a complex set of circumstances that are affected by aberrant cellular changes, growth factors, hormonal influences, increased blood flow and inflammation. Technically speaking, carcinogenesis is “largely comprised of three phases: initiation, promotion and progression”. Medical researchers are keenly interested in understanding the process behind the formation of malignancies because it’s far more preferable to interfere with the genesis of cancer than to try and destroy it once it’s fully formed.
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This week’s edition of Twitter Thursday offers up several important reasons to exercise more often and new information about a nutraceutical/spice which may protect against the damage caused by heavy metal exposure. My guests today are Shari Roan, a health columnist from The Los Angeles Times; Dr. Joseph Pizzorno, the founding president of the Bastyr University and Missy Chase Lapine, “The Sneaky Chef”. Read more »

It’s a good thing that some scientists never paid attention when their mothers warned them not to play with their food as children. If they had, they may never have discovered that topically applied onions, soybeans and turmeric powder can demonstrably improve the appearance and cellular health of skin. Several new presentations at this year’s meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology explain the exact “hows and whys” of this phenomenon. Read more »

The work life of a writer tends to be quite solitary. I research on my own. I come up with topics in a committee of one. I even read the final drafts of my columns out loud to myself before I post them. That’s why I sometimes like to imagine that I work in a large advertising firm. Just like all the other worker bees, I’d have to march into the main conference room each morning and pitch my ideas to the “head honchos”. In that scenario, the one thing I can be sure of is this: If my material isn’t compelling enough, it won’t go into production. Read more »