What do the following conditions have in common? Age-related memory decline; high-grade gliomas (brain tumors); hyperlipidemia (elevated cholesterol and triglycerides), polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and stroke? According to several recent studies, all of these health concerns may be responsive to natural therapies. Read more »

When I was growing up I imagined that the absolute greatest job in the world was to be a film critic. What could possibly be better than making a living watching movies and then telling people all about them? But, as time went on, my perspective changed somewhat. I think it’s partially because my desire to create surpassed any interest I had in critiquing the work of others. When I started writing films myself, I began to understand how very difficult it is to write a good, let alone great screenplay. What’s more, it dawned on me that the writing process is but one small piece in a much larger production. I think this is why I’ve ultimately phased out movie review columns on this site. My original intent was to recommend obscure but noteworthy films that I hoped would entertain and inspire. But writing (and reading) exclusively positive reviews tends to be rather boring and, frankly, my initial reservations about motion picture critiquing began to haunt me once again. Read more »

Trust but verify. That’s a key principle in both life and medicine. Use the best information possible to guide your decisions and then make sure that the expected outcome actually occurs. In health care, this can be accomplished by being consistent with any new treatment and then following that up with some sort of objective testing method. If you’re going to go to the expense and the effort of making a real change in your life, it’s important to determine whether it’s really effective in your individual circumstance. As a wise man once said, “I am not a statistic”. Read more »

The foods we eat contain a multitude of chemicals that we’re often not aware of. Some of these substances tend to promote health while others are associated with an increased risk of disease. Ellagic acid is an example of a regularly consumed phytochemical (plant chemical) that may very well contribute to the betterment of our health.

The question many people have is, “How do we really know if something is healthy for us?”. In the case of ellagic acid the answer is found in the condition of the skin. But this is a unique substance, in that it helps whether you consume it in a food/supplement form or apply it directly to the skin.
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Prostate cancer (PC) is the leading form of cancer among men. It is estimated that nearly 30,000 men will die from this dreaded condition this year alone. That’s the problem. The solution may be found, in part, in the judicious use of natural medicines. Read more »