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Garlic for
Bacterial and Fungal Infections -
Does it Work?
Yes, according to the studies.
Skin infections are some of the most common medical problems people have to deal with.
Many skin infections are the result of bacteria or fungus.
Hippocrates:
Garlic has a strong history as a
remedy for skin infections, particularly for fungus. Many studies have shown this to be
true. There are a substantial number of well done studies to show garlic's effectiveness
against bacterial infections as well.
Sliced cloves or commercial garlic
oil is applied two to three times a day to treat infections on the skin. The infection may
need to be treated for 1-2 weeks.
Alternative Medicine
Alert, Vol.2, No.3, March 1999.
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Pyruvate
-
An Alternative Approach to Weight Loss?
Among alternative approaches to
weight loss, pyruvate is one of the supplements showing up more and more in health food
stores and on the internet, where some sites claim it is the newest and best "fat
burner". It is said to boost overall weight loss by 37% and enhance fat loss by 48%.
Promoters say it lowers cholesterol levels, improves cardiovascular health, and increases
athletic endurance.
Pyruvate is a breakdown product of
glucose. Pyruvate's mechanism in weight loss is unknown, but it appears that the substance
improves glucose use by the skeletal muscles.
Unfortunately, in the studies
presented in this paper, very little additional weight was lost by those taking pyruvate.
In conclusion the author says, "preliminary studies show that pyruvate provides a
very small benefit to a select group of obese women."
Alternative Medicine Alert,
Vol.2, No.3, March 1999.
10 Truths
About Your Health
A working definition of health
according to Andrew Weil, MD, is - a dynamic and harmonious equilibrium of all elements and
forces making up and surrounding a human being. Dr. Weil in his book Health and
Healing, lists ten health principles to consider:
- Perfect Health Is Not
Attainable -
Change is the essence of life. We do have
periods of "relative illness" when our bodies reorganize and change.
- It Is All Right to Be Sick -
Sickness is the way to the next relative period of health and one state
cannot exist without the other.
- The Body Has Innate Healing
Abilities
-
Healing is the body's attempt to restore balance.
- Agents of Disease Are Not
Causes of Disease -
Germs do not cause disease - they are
potential carriers looking for an opportunity to grow and reproduce.
- All Illness is Psychosomatic
-
All illness has physical and mental manifestations. Physical symptoms
caused directly by the mind are called psychogenic.
- Subtle Manifestations of An
Illness Precede Gross Ones
-
Illness follows a universal wave
form from subtle beginnings to peaks, then passing on.
- Every Body Is Different
-
The universal treatment or the perfect system of medicine is as much a
fantasy as the perfect diet.
- Every Body Has A Weak Point
-
It is useful to know if this is your throat or your stomach or some
other area of your body as this is the place that will register stress and warn of
impending breakdowns in health.
- Blood Is a Principle Carrier
of Healing Energy -
A healthy circulatory system is the
keystone of the body's healing system.
- Proper Breathing Is a Key to
Good Health
-
Full deep expansion of the lungs, with
expiration at least as long as inspiration and the rhythm of breath slow and quiet is
"proper breathing".
Reducing Colon Cancer
Risk
Taking a quality multivitamin
formula can reduce your colon cancer risk by 51%, according to Edward Giovannucci, M.D.,
assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, Boston. What's more, adds Dr.
Giovannucci, Vitamin E at about 200I.U.'s daily reduces colon cancer risk by 57%.
For persons who smoke or have
smoked, this information is important, as colon cancer risks, among even former smokers,
may remain elevated for some time.
Solgar® Vitamin and Herb Company
and Twinlab® have excellent multivitamin and mineral formulas and can be found in health
food stores.
Saw Palmetto and Prostate Health
Elsewhere in the world, especially
Europe, many men are able to avoid prostate surgery and drugs via the use of natural
remedies. This news, however, isn't reaching mainstream consumers in the United States, as
these natural medicines, which cannot be patented, simply aren't profitable enough to the
large drug companies to stimulate their large scale sales here. Two of the herbs are being
used for prostate health by knowledgeable practitioners are:
Saw Palmetto Berry Extract - a
traditional Native American remedy for the prostate, native to the Atlantic coast. The use
of this plant extract has been shown to be more effective than the drug finasteride in
terms of improving urinary flow rate. The herb can be used for long periods of time
without toxicity.
Nettle Root - an herb that has its
origins in Indian medical history where it is used to relieve the stinging and prickling
feeling of a prostate infection and enlargement, hence its name "stinging
nettle".
Healthy Living, Vol.2
No.8
More
On Saw Palmetto
The
Herb Cabinet
This Information is for
Educational Purposes Only. This Information is Not Meant to Advise, Treat or Cure
Any Disorder. Please Act Responsibly and Contact Your Health Care Provider if You
Have Any Unusual Health Situation.
If Everything
I Eat Is Low-Fat or No-Fat...
Why Am I Still Fat?
A whopping 33% of American are now
considered obese and 15%-20% of all American children also are now overweight.
The fact is, Americans are not
eating less fat, they are eating more fat. The percentage of fat in our diet has dropped
not because we are eating less fat but because we are eating more calories than ever
before. About 20 years ago, Americans consumed about 1900 calories a day and 40% of those
calories came from fat. Today we are consuming about 2300 calories a day, and 34% of those
calories are from fat.
The average American currently
consumes over 20 teaspoons of sugar per day, which accounts for 15-20% of their caloric
intake. Many fat-free products contain as many - if not more - calories than the original
version of the food. In the following examples, the calories in the fat-free versions are
the same or higher because of sugar.
Fat-Free Fig
Cookie....................... 70
calories
Regular Fig
Cookie......................... 50
calories
1/2 cup non-fat ice
cream.............. 190
calories
1/2 cup regular ice
cream.............. 180
calories
2 Tbsp. reduced fat peanut butter....190 calories
2 Tbsp. regular peanut
butter.......... 190
calories
Health Science, March/April 1999
Read labels carefully. Two companies - Snackwells®
and Healthy Choice® - have discontinued their fat-free lines and replaced them with low-fat
products. One of the Healthy Choice low-fat cheeses has 30% of its calories coming from
fat - more fat and more calories than it did before! The wording "low fat" is
very small on the new labels, whereas "fat free" was much larger and more
prominent. People can easily assume that it is still the same product they used to buy.
You Can Visit Our Discount Vitamin & Herb
Shop Here.
Where Are Those Calories
Coming From?
Dieter's who congratulate
themselves for skipping brownies at dinner might consider what they drank that day.
Americans drink the equivalent of that brownie and more, says Richard Mattes, professor of
foods and nutrition at Purdue University, who believes America's spreading girth has more
to do with the massive consumption of soda and fruit drinks than with that of sweets and
fatty treats.
The researcher asked volunteers to
eat 450 calories' worth of jelly beans every day for a month and to keep track of
everything else they ate. Next, they replaced the jelly beans with 450 calories of daily
soda ( about 3 cans). Sure enough, after the jelly beans they ate smaller meals and didn't
gain weight. But they made no such adjustment for the soda, and indeed, put on pounds!
For more information about eating
go to
The Glycemic Index
and read about the Satiety Index of
Foods.
Spirituality
- Can It Relieve Depression?
Researchers at Duke University
followed 87 patients over 60 years old who were diagnosed with depression. The researchers
discovered that patients with more of a personal spiritual life experienced faster
remission of depression than patients without a spiritual life.
American Journal of
Psychiatry, 155 (4):536-542,1998.
Vitamin
E
Studies have shown Vitamin E to be
everything from "probably helpful" ( secondary prevention of
coronary artery disease) to "possibly helpful" ( treating tardive
dyskinesia, lower extremity claudication, premenstrual syndrome), to "probably not
helpful" (treating Parkinson's Disease and preventing cataracts).
Vitamin E is one of the most
powerful antioxidants. It is essential for protecting cell membranes from attack by free
radicals. Vitamin E intake has been associated with a lower incidence and a slower
rate of progression of Alzheimer's Disease.
Vitamin E appears to be very safe.
In contrast to other fat soluble vitamins such as Vitamin A, which can cause serious liver
toxicity in high doses, no serious effects have been linked to Vitamin E.
The highest concentrations of
Vitamin E are found in fruits, vegetables, whole grains (especially wheat germ), seed
oils, and vegetable oils.
While it is too early to recommend
Vitamin E for the treatment of Alzheimer's Disease there is consistent evidence that it
might be mildly effective, and there is no evidence that it is harmful. This is in
contrast to the antioxidant provitamin beta-carotene which has been shown to increase the
rate of certain cancers in smokers.
Alternative Medicine Alert,
February, 1999
Can Herbs
change the way prescription medicines work?
From American Family Physician,
March 1,1999.
Some Medicines
Should Not Be Taken With Herbal Products.
- Don't take Ginko biloba if you are
taking aspirin, ticlopidine (brand name: Ticlid), clopidogrel (brand name: Plavix™) or
dipyridamole (brand name: Persantine™).
- Don't take St. John's Wort if you
are taking an anti-depressant.
- Don't take ephedra if you are
taking a decongestant or a stimulant drug, or if you drink caffeinated beverages.
- Don't take Kava products if you are
taking a benzodiazepine, a barbiturate, an anti-psychotic medicine or any medicine used to
treat Parkinson's Disease. Don't drink alcohol with kava products. If you take kava
products, you may feel sleepy, get a rash or have strange movements of your mouth and
tongue, or other parts of your body.
View
The Herb Cabinet
Diet & Sleep
Can Avert Migraines
Women can avoid
menstruation-associated migraines with proper exercise, sleep and diet, neurologists
report.
Perhaps 10% to 15% of women who
suffer migraines have them only in association with menstruation. Dr. Merle Diamond of the
Diamond Headache Clinic in Chicago says, women should be "vigilant about noticing
what sets things off". Lisa Mannix, MD, a neurologist at the Adelman Headache
Wellness Clinic in Greensboro, NC says, "diet and good sleep habits play a big role
in reducing the frequency and severity of migraines and relaxation training is helpful for
many women."
Sleep Help
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possibility that you can take responsibility for your health and the health of those you
love."
Information on
this site is provided for informational purposes and is not meant to substitute
for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professional. You
should not use the information contained herein for diagnosing or treating a
health problem or disease, or prescribing any medication. You should read
carefully all product packaging. If you have or suspect that you have a medical
problem, promptly contact your health care provider.
Information and statements regarding dietary supplements have not been
evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and are not intended to diagnose,
treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
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