It’s time to come clean. I’ve been putting off writing this blog for several days. The research was ready. I had a mental outline of what I wanted to say. But, I was concerned that I wouldn’t do the topic justice. And, perhaps more importantly, composing this column will make real for me an event that I so wish never happened: the death of Dr. Wayne Dyer at the young age of age 75.

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Recently, an old friend asked for some suggestions to protect her eyes from the “normal” visual decline associated with aging. Now, you’ve probably seen more than a few eye supplements at your local health food stores and pharmacies. And, most of these products contain similar ingredients such as beta carotene or pro-Vitamin A, copper, lutein, Vitamin C, zinc and so on. All of these nutrients and phytochemicals have been shown to benefit ocular function or health in one way or another. Having said that, some newer, far less common botanicals may provide additional protection. What’s more, these lesser known extracts are generally not found in nutraceutical formulas intended to support eye health.

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Glaucoma is an eye condition which affects approximately 2.5 million men and women in the United States alone. It is characterized by increased inner eye pressure which can cause damage to the optic nerve and, thereby, result in vision loss. Fortunately, the combination of two nutraceutical ingredients has recently shown a reduction in intraocular pressure and an improvement overall eye health. (1) Read more »

Do you ever find yourself in a situation where you have too much to do in the time you have available? These days, that’s where I am. One way that I deal with such situations is to set up parameters for myself. I try to do it in a constructive manner which deflects the stress that often accompanies a typical time crunch. Instead of feeling as if I don’t have enough hours in the day, I think to myself: How can I do something different with the limited time I do have? What I usually come up with is a challenge. My challenge for today is to present three health promoting news items that are no longer than three sentences in length each – a sort of rapid fire version of my typical daily column.
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Glaucoma is an eye condition which affects approximately 2.5 million men and women in the United States alone. It is characterized by increased inner eye pressure which can cause damage to the optic nerve and, thereby, result in vision loss. Fortunately, the combination of two nutraceutical ingredients has recently shown a reduction in intraocular pressure and an improvement overall eye health. (1)
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We’ve all seen commercials for prescription medications on television. The images on the screen are always very optimistic and pleasing to the eye. Not surprisingly, they give the impression that the advertised drug will make you feel happier and generally improve the quality of your life. However, the accompanying narration often paints a vastly different picture. Take, for instance, commercials for medications that address erectile dysfunction. The couples portrayed in the ads seem like they couldn’t be happier or more satisfied in every conceivable way. Perhaps that’s because they haven’t personally encountered the headaches, loss of color vision or muscle aches that sometimes occur in regular users of these drugs. Read more »

One of most common problems that writers have is a nagging inability to self edit. It may seem odd, but it’s much easier for many scribes to write articles, novels or screenplays that are too long rather than too short. When I compose my daily column, I find that I generally have an over abundance of information to share. Therefore, I need to carefully pick and choose among my source information. But even so, I still end up with blog entries that tend to be lengthier than desired. This is especially problematic because I very much want to provide clear and concise resources on this site. One possible solution I’m currently toying with is the use of occasional lists. Instead of writing columns that are comprised of densely constructed paragraphs, I’ll simply select 5 noteworthy studies or topics and briefly describe their relevance as I see it. Read more »

It’s difficult to conceive of any circumstance in which you’d purposefully eat the bark of a tree. Fruit from a tree, sure. Seeds? Possibly. Leaves? That might be pushing things a bit, but still plausible. But tree bark?! Technically, you can eat some varieties of tree bark in a survival situation. But I think most people would need to be in pretty dire straits to resort to that last ditch option. Fortunately for us all, a select group of scientists have been studying the health benefits of a specific tree bark in an attempt to derive a natural medicine from it. I’m pleased to report that their promising research now allows mankind to benefit from the goodness of tree bark by swallowing a pill rather than chewing on “tree skin”.
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There are several stages in the time line of any disease. Even before any symptoms are evident, there are physiological forces at work in the body that eventually bubble to the surface. Take varicose veins, for example. If you have a genetic predisposition for chronic venous insufficiency (CVI), you may not see the effects until well into adulthood. But that doesn’t mean that the forward march of this condition is inevitable and solely based on advancing age. If you understand the genetic blueprint that nature plans for you to follow, then you can proactively work to change that course. In the instance of CVI, this may be achieved by lifestyle modification and the selective use of nutritional supplements. Read more »

If you have osteoarthritis or just your fair share of aches and pains, this is the blog for you. And if you don’t fall into either category, stick around anyway. I’m sure you know someone who might benefit from the following information. Read more »