November 19, 2019

The Many Splendors & Benefits of Dill

You may have a nutritional and culinary gift growing in your garden right now; dill weed. Dill (anethum graveolens) can be used beyond flavoring pickles, a common preparation. This herb is used in cuisines around the world and also has some fascinating potential health benefits when used medicinally. Native to the Mediterranean and Russia, dill seeds and leaves are used as a spice to flavor foods. Used in traditional medicine, dill is known for calming the digestive tract and has been used since ancient times. It is especially popular in Ayurvedic medicine of India. Medicinally, dill is used to treat: […]
October 15, 2018

Meds or Natural Alternatives? Choose Wisely

Modern medications can be necessary and life-saving – many illnesses demand their use. But what happens when our reliance on powerful pharmaceuticals blinds us to their risks? Painful side effects and dependency are common, and adverse drug reactions are America’s fourth leading cause of death. In MIND OVER MEDS: Know When Drugs Are Necessary, When Alternatives Are Better – and When to Let Your Body Heal on Its Own, by bestselling author Dr. Andrew Weil alerts readers to the problem of overmedication, and outlines when medicine is necessary, and when it is not. Dr. Weil examines how we came to […]
May 8, 2018

Sage Advice: One Spice’s Long List of Benefits

Soft, fuzzy sage leaves have a rich history and use culinary as well as medicinally. Sage has been used in Europe for centuries as a spice and a medicine. There are many different species of sage, perhaps as many as 900, but Salvia officinalis is most commonly used medicinally, horticulturally, and commercially. Used commonly as a savory culinary spice in everything from sauces to poultry seasoning to modern cocktails, sage also has a rich history of medicinal use. The essential oil in sage contains monoterpenes and tannins which may contribute to the way it can benefit health and the human body, exerting […]
April 3, 2018

The Next Wave: Personalized Medicine

Personalized medicine, also known as precision medicine, is a process that tailors medical decisions, practices, interventions and/or products to individual patients based on their predicted response or risk of disease. It is showing great success rates and we are certain to see more doctors practicing it in the future. Here is one story that helps illustrate the power of this futuristic way of practicing medicine. Pamela Smith, MD, MPH, the Director of the Center for Personalized Medicine in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, spoke at the A4M Anti-Aging Medicine Conference in Las Vegas in December about how genetic testing can lead to […]
February 5, 2018

What I Learned at Anti-Aging Medicine Conference

In mid-December I attended the A4M World Congress 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. It’s a three-day conference centered on developments in anti-aging medicine. As a cookbook author who focuses on anti-aging foods, I was most interested in the latest research on nutrition and its power to keep us young. Many doctors and health practitioners attend the seminars and present papers and patient case studies to the audience. A very inspiring keynote address on Friday was given by entrepreneur Peter Diamandis, MD, but I’ll tell you more on that later. On Thursday, the first day of the conference, I learned about […]
January 3, 2018

Unconventional Medicine A Health Cure?

The world is facing the greatest healthcare crisis it has ever seen. Chronic disease is shortening our lifespan, destroying our quality of life, bankrupting governments, and threatening the health of future generations. Sadly, conventional medicine, with its focus on managing symptoms, has failed to address this challenge. The result is burned-out physicians, a sicker population, and a broken healthcare system. In Unconventional Medicine, author Chris Kresser presents a plan to reverse this dangerous trend. He shows how the combination of a genetically aligned diet and lifestyle, functional medicine, and a lean, collaborative practice model can create a system that better […]
August 1, 2017

Heartburn Meds Linked to Increased Risk of Early Death

Although popular Fourth of July foods such as hamburgers and hot dogs can trigger heartburn, sufferers may want to rethink the use of popular over-the-counter remedies, which a new study links to early death. Researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis concluded that prolonged use of proton pump inhibitors (PPI), which suppress the secretion of stomach acid and is found in popular heartburn medications such as Prilosec, Nexium and Prevacid, increased an early risk of death by 25 percent, compared to people who used H2 blockers, another known inhibitor of stomach acid. The study, titled “Risk of death among users of Proton […]
July 18, 2017

Herbal Staple Wins Thyme After Thyme

The delicious culinary herb thyme is a staple in most kitchens and one of the most popular herbs today, but there may be health benefits to using it medicinally as well. Thyme, or Thymus vulgaris, is a perennial shrub with small grey-green leaves native to the Mediterranean. Culinarily, thyme is used in a variety of seasonings from poultry and other meats to vegetables, dressings, sauce, soups and stews. But thyme is also used medicinally for: Lung issues (cough, bronchitis) Gastrointestinal troubles like gastritis, colic, diarrhea Stimulating appetite Sore throats Skin disorders Thyme oil and extract is used topically and in […]