Manufacturers of herbal remedies rely on industry support, word of mouth and the occasional, positive scientific study to spur the sale of their products. This basic formula is a necessity because most alternative “medicines” will never corner their respective market or successfully make their way into the mainstream medical system. What ends up happening is that much less money is spent actively promoting said products. Likewise the overall sales figures are also much more modest than what is found in the pharmaceutical sector. This dynamic tends to promote a climate where trends dictate what supplements become darlings and which ones are put out to pasture. Read more »

Just because something seems simple doesn’t necessarily make it so. This is a stumbling block that I often see conventional scientists run into when discussing alternative or complementary therapies. How can everyday food possibly be as effective as a medication that’s taken millions of dollars and countless MDs and PhDs to create? Laughter is an enjoyable activity, but it can’t possibly improve cardiovascular health or survival in cancer patients. The very notion that supposedly un-serious activities such as artistic expression, listening to music or practicing generosity and kindness can alter one’s physiology is a difficult pill to swallow for many allopathically minded researchers. Read more »

A common theme found in naturopathic medicine is that a substance used for one purpose often ends up benefiting other seemingly unrelated conditions. When this occurs, scientists generally scramble to determine how in the world such a turn of events is even possible. There’s certainly a great deal of value in identifying the underlying mechanisms by which a “medicine” works. But if the body is viewed as a whole, rather than in isolated parts, then the concept of broad spectrum healing tends to make more sense. One example is a rather obscure supplement that reduces the ill effects of oxidants in the body while also promoting a healthier environment in the brain. Read more »

According to the October issue of the AARP Bulletin, 10 of the most popular medications prescribed in the United States are used to address psychological symptoms. In fact, over 243 million prescriptions were written in 2008 alone expressly for this purpose. Anxiety, depression and insomnia top the list of conditions for which these drugs are dispensed. But that startling statistic doesn’t reveal whether or not any natural alternatives were tried prior to the use of these powerful, psychoactive agents. Read more »

Last week I described how Vitamin D was quickly becoming a major player in the landscape of modern medicine. Green tea is likewise gaining popularity in the medical literature. Exploring the benefits of Camellia sinensis provides a rather unique opportunity. Millions upon millions of people drink this beverage on a daily basis. This affords researchers fertile ground upon which they can conduct large population studies, in addition to more controlled experiments. Read more »

In life and in medicine we tend to categorize as a way of simplifying things. But every so often we learn something new about a medical technique that genuinely surprises us. Take the Mediterranean diet for instance. Doctors and patients throughout the world associate this way of eating with cardiovascular benefits. It’s the “heart healthy” diet. This view is both accurate and incomplete. Read more »

At this very moment in the United States there is a monumental debate going on about health care reform. Some citizens and politicians are proposing significant changes to the current paradigm while others are generally in favor of maintaining the system that’s already in place. I think there’s at least one issue that all sides can hopefully agree on - health care can and should be improved, in part, by the efforts made by individuals. One way to accomplish this is to take steps to improve personal health. Another important strategy is to help others enjoy better health. It may seem far-fetched, but simple acts of compassion and kindness can sometimes be a profound and essential adjunct to virtually any medical treatment. Read more »

Valerian root extract is perhaps the most intensely studied and widely used natural insomnia remedy known to man. But what’s both fascinating and infuriating about it is that many scientists still don’t agree about whether it’s a viable alternative to pharmaceutical sleeping pills. The two most likely reasons for this are: a) herbal extracts are significantly more complicated to study than most synthetic medications; and b) there isn’t much of a financial incentive to get to the bottom of this issue. The secondary point isn’t an attempt to indiscriminately knock the pharmaceutical industry. Both the allopathic and holistic camps have a financial interest in allowing this mystery to persist. Read more »

If you want to stick to a healthy diet over the long term, it helps to find ways to keep it interesting. Eating the same old things over and over again isn’t just boring to your taste buds, but it also severely limits the types of nutrients that your body has to work with. Fortunately, the variety of food available in the 21st century is greater than at any other time in human history. No matter what kind of diet you’ve adopted, you can hunt down exotic and rare menu items that were previously unavailable. Today, I’d like to introduce you to two “new” snack items from South America. Read more »

A cornerstone of my personal philosophy is to never give up hope while striving for true wellness. This isn’t always easy to do because it sometimes takes a considerable amount of trial and error before the right natural option is found. This type of optimism and patience is even more difficult for those who suffer from depression and/or severe mood swings. That’s why I focus so intently on natural alternatives to improve mood. Without a healthy mind-set, a healthy lifestyle is much harder to maintain.
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The ancient practice of yoga is as popular as ever. You’re as likely to find it in the trendiest parts of any given city as you are at remote Asian temples. Perhaps because yoga is often associated with both philosophy and religion, it hasn’t received a lot of scientific attention until recent years. But much like meditation, yoga is now being modified into more accessible forms that are starting to make their way into our modern system of health care. Here’s a brief overview of some of current findings about how yoga may be applied to improve your mental and physical health.
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If you’ve been feeling a little down lately, you may want to consider whether your zinc status is causing or exacerbating those “blue” feelings. By zinc status, I mean the amount of zinc you’re getting by way of diet and supplementation. Thanks to some really compelling research, I’d like to make a case for the use of zinc in maintaining and promoting a happier state of mind. Read more »

There are many people out there who suffer from varying degrees of depression. The causes are sometimes specific, such as a reaction to a traumatic event or a dysfunction of the thyroid gland. But most of the time, the origin of low mood states is simply unknown. When that’s the case, the typical treatment prescribed by a conventional doctor is an antidepressant medication. For some, such medications are literally life-savers. On the other hand, some people simply don’t react well to them. There’s also a sizable group of individuals who aren’t even open to the suggestion of taking this form of “therapy”. Read more »

Last week I reported on a study that found that spending time in nature could help focus attention and sharpen memory. Today’s blog discusses similar research. This time, however, a specific aspect of nature is in the spotlight: the Sun and it’s ability to help combat depression. Read more »

This is a time of year that’s supposed to be joyful. But for some people the holidays can make depression even more pronounced. Perhaps that’s why a particular question and answer column was published in the December issue of Clinical Psychiatric News.

In that piece, Drs. Jan Leard-Hansson and Laurence Guttmacher address the issue of patients who are depressed, but refuse to take prescription antidepressants. In particular, these psychiatrists assess whether the herbal extract of St. John’s wort (SJW) is a viable alternative to prescription medications for depression. Read more »

This is part one of a two-part series on the mental and physical benefits of simple, everyday exercise. In this first part, I want share some cutting-edge research that strongly suggests that exercising regularly can improve the odds of preserving our memory and mental function well into our “golden years”. Read more »