Category: alternative medicine
Is black salve, a paste made from bloodroot, safe and effective for the treatment of skin cancer? “Despite warnings from the American Academy of Dermatology and being listed as a ‘fake cancer cure’ by the FDA, black salve is still promoted on the internet through anecdotes and unsubstantiated claims as a natural alternative remedy for […]
We shouldn’t ever swallow aloe vera, but how does using it topically for a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease compare to steroids? Lichen planus is a chronic autoimmune disease, typically of our moist membranes, such as the inside of our mouth, but it can also affect other body surfaces, like our “skin, hair, nails and genitalia.” […]
Historians have gathered evidence showing that people—from long ago and from around the world—have used herbs, often in a sophisticated way. Quinine from Cinchona bark, for instance, was used to treat the symptoms of malaria long before the disease had even been identified, and the raw ingredients of a common aspirin tablet have been a […]
Shark cartilage supplements carry risks, but so do many cancer treatments. The question is, do they work? When it comes to marketing unproven cancer treatments, the “Internet has become the Wild West, so to speak. Fraudsters are really able to…get out there in ways they hadn’t before to take advantage of people.” “Cancer Patients Find […]
I discuss the risks and benefits of aloe vera. “Aloe vera is one of the most popular home remedies in use today, yet most physicians know little about it. In fact, most dismiss it as useless while their patients firmly believe in its healing properties…The usual tendency of most physicians and nurses is to dismiss […]
Do calcium citrate and calcium carbonate have as much lead as calcium supplements derived from dolomite and animal bone? You may remember I’ve explored the role calcium supplements may play in reducing lead exposure during pregnancy and breastfeeding, but that assumes the supplements themselves are not contaminated. Supplements with lead? It all started with an extraordinary case report published in 1977, entitled “Lead-Contaminated Health Food.” As I discuss in my video Lead in Calcium […]
How can the beta glucan fiber in brewer’s, baker’s, and nutritional yeast improve wound healing and, potentially, anti-cancer immunity? My video Benefits of Nutritional Yeast for Cancer opens with an image of an article titled “The Treatment of Inoperable Cancer.” It noted that “200 years ago it was observed that a certain number of malignant growths disappeared after an attack of erysipelas [a type of […]
What evidence exists to suggest oil pulling can effectively treat serious diseases, such as paralysis, meningitis, cancer, and AIDS? I’ve produced videos on how coconut oil is safe to put on your hair or put on your skin, but you certainly don’t want to eat it. In fact, you may not even want to be in the same kitchen when coconut oil is being heated. I don’t know where people got the idea […]
What works better against aphthous ulcers? Honey applied with a cotton swab three times a day after meals was compared head-to-head against an over-the-counter soothing pain-relieving paste and a prescription steroid cream. We’ve known about painful aphthous ulcers, commonly referred to as canker sores, for thousands of years. “They are the most common lesion of the oral mucosa,” the lining of our mouths, perhaps named by […]
In the new normal scenario of Healthcare, where the approaches are patient-centric and no longer product-centric, traditional and integrative medicinal practices are rooting to the greater extent so does the ‘Ethno-pharmacy’. At the intersection of social and natural sciences, Ethno-pharmacy is a field that focuses on the traditional medicines (and pharmaceuticals) and the cultural determinants […]
The spice saffron is pitted head-to-head against the leading drug for severe Alzheimer’s disease. What’s the latest on treating memory disorders with the spice saffron? As I discuss in my video Saffron Versus Memantine (Namenda) for Alzheimer’s, “saffron has been widely used in the Persian traditional medicine for memory problems,” but it wasn’t put to […]
While the insurance industry, and especially the Medicare program, continues to expand benefits there remains a lot of opportunity for improvement surrounding alternative medicine coverage.
Extracts of amla (Indian gooseberry) were pitted head-to-head against cholesterol-lowering statin drugs and the blood thinners aspirin and Plavix. Indian gooseberries, otherwise known as amla, have been touted as everything from a cancer fighter to a hair tonic to a refrigerant. (A refrigerant? Like Freon?) Amla’s even been labeled a snake venom detoxifier—but based on […]
Are the apparently amazing benefits of amla—dried Indian gooseberries—too good to be true? In reference to amla, also known as the Indian gooseberry, it’s been said that “medicinal plants are nature’s gift to human beings to promote a disease free healthy life.” The fruit has also been described as “the Ayurvedic wonder.” You hear a […]
The same diet that helps regulate hormones in women may also reduce exposure to endocrine-disrupting pollutants. Fibroids are the most common benign tumors in women. They can grow to a foot in diameter and affect the majority of women before they hit menopause. Although fibroids tend to be asymptomatic, when symptoms do occur, they tend […]
Natural topical remedies for eczema, including licorice root gel, St. John’s Wort cream, and emollients such as coconut oil, mineral oil, and petroleum jelly, are put to the test. Despite the availability of drugs with proven efficacy for eczema, like topical steroids, many patients seek out natural alternatives. Which plant, then, should be used for […]
Are there dietary supplements that can help with atopic dermatitis? Atopic dermatitis, more commonly known as eczema, ranks “as the skin disease with the greatest health burden worldwide” because it’s just so common, affecting maybe one in ten kids and about 3 percent of adults, causing patches of red, itchy skin. Topical steroids, like cortisone […]
What are the risks and benefits of getting an annual check-up from your doctor? Physicians and patients have come to expect the annual check-up as a routine part of care. “However, considerable research has not demonstrated a substantial benefit,” so a “revolt is brewing against the tradition of periodic” check-ups. “Even the Society for General […]
The sulforaphane found in five cents’ worth of broccoli sprouts has been shown to benefit autism in a way no drug ever has in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. You may remember my series of videos, which includes Prevent Cancer from Going on TOR, about target of rapamycin (TOR), the engine-of-aging enzyme. Kids with autism […]
One food may be able to combat all four purported causal factors of autism: synaptic dysfunction, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and neuroinflammation. In a keynote address at an autism conference, Harvard neurologist Martha Herbert said, “I think we need to conduct research as if we know this is an emergency.” Already, up to 1.5 percent […]
What are the effects of both oral and topical application of the spice saffron for impotence in men? “Saffron has traditionally been considered an aphrodisiac.” The spice has been shown to improve Prozac-induced sexual dysfunction in women and men, significantly improving erectile function. If it works for drug-induced dysfunction, might it also work for just […]
What’s the latest on treating depression with the spice saffron? Years ago, I covered a head-to-head comparison of saffron versus Prozac for the treatment of depression in my video Saffron vs. Prozac, and saffron seemed to work just as well as the drug. In the years since, five other studies have found that saffron beat […]
Report reveals country has failed to fully regulate trade despite promises to crack down The Chinese government continues to allow the use of pangolin scales for traditional medicine despite promises to crack down on a trade that has made them the most illegally trafficked mammals in the world. A report by the Environmental Investigation Agency […]
Which plant should we use for which skin disease? That’s the topic of my video Natural Treatment for Acne and Fungal Infections. Thousands of studies have been published to date about the health effects of green tea, but it wasn’t until fairly recently that researchers began to look at the possibility of using green tea […]
Improving cognitive performance with aromatherapy in young, healthy volunteers is one thing, but how about where it really matters? As I discuss in my video Best Aromatherapy Herb for Alzheimer’s, a group of Japanese researchers had a pie-in-the-sky notion that certain smells could lead to “nerve rebirth” in Alzheimer’s patients. Twenty years ago, even simply […]
How Mindfulness Changes Your Brain Mindfulness has a solid neuronal basis and there is increasing evidence of its salutary effect on emotional health and behavior. The Doctor Weighs In
Vitamin C is pitted head-to-head against antibiotics for bacterial vaginal infections. A study published in 1999 raised the exciting possibility that “cheap, simple, innocuous and ubiquitous vitamin C” supplements could prevent a condition known as preeclampsia, but after a decade of research, we realized that was merely a false hope and that vitamin C supplements […]
These 8 Life-Changing Tips Will Help You Age Well Ilchi Lee, the author of I’ve Decided to Live 120 Years shares his life-changing tips on how to feel content and fulfilled until the last moments of your life. The Doctor Weighs In
There are all manner of purported hiccup “cures,” which include everything from chewing on a lemon, inhaling pepper, or, our dog’s favorite, eating a spoonful of peanut butter. In my video How to Strengthen the Mind-Body Connection, I talk about the technique I’m excited to try the next time I get hiccups: “supra-supramaximal inspiration,” where […]
Nearly everyone has experienced hiccups, but what exactly are they? It used to be thought that a hiccup is just a simple muscle spasm of the diaphragm, but that was apparently disproven more than 40 years ago. Instead, hiccups involve a complex, orchestrated pattern of muscle contractions. But, why? Hiccups might be a leftover from […]