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New Choices in Natural Healing: Over 1,800 of the Best Self-Help Remedies from the World of Alternative Medicine Bill Gottlieb See book keywords and concepts

You can get these nutrients in many multivitamin/mineral supplements, he says. For information on foods rich in calcium and magnesium, refer to "Getting What You Need" on page 142. Yoga Daily practice of the complete breath exercise and meditation will help soothe hostility, says Alice Christensen, founder and executive director of the American Yoga Association. Fear is the true cause of hostility, Christensen says, and spending 5 minutes doing the complete breath exercise (see page 152) and 15 to 20 minutes doing meditation (see page 153) will help you deal with that fear.

Manifesto for a New Medicine: Your Guide to Healing Partnerships and the Wise Use of Alternative Therapies James S. Gordon, M.D. See book keywords and concepts

I'm grateful daily for supplements but recognize that they are an emblem of the difficult world we live in, and of our vulnerability. They are forced on us by our need to maintain ourselves in the face of chemical, biological, and social stresses, or by specific conditions that require them. Using food, herbs, and spices, on the other hand, is different, and far more satisfying. Sometimes the early stages are difficult. After all these years and many useful and even interesting fasts, I cannot say that I really enjoy the process.

I may eliminate foods that for one reason or another seem to be deleterious; and I suggest vitamins, minerals, and other food supplements that make up for deficiencies or enhance functioning. There is convincing scientific evidence for most of these therapies, and hundreds or thousands of years of experience back up others. But beyond any of these specific prescriptions, I am aiming at something else: I want people to discover the great joy of eating and to reclaim the intuitive knowledge of what and when and how much is good for them to eat.

The use of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, amino acids, and other nonprescription supplements may be even more of a problem for biomedicine and its practitioners. This is not surprising. Each year the evidence for their effectiveness is accumulating, and popular acceptance and use is skyrocketing. These substances, packaged as pills and capsules and advertised as therapies for specific conditions, look like and are used in ways that are similar to the medicines they claim to supplement or replace. They are, in short, therapeutic and economic rivals.

Because of their potency and the potential side effects of overuse, I tend to use these supplements more sparingly than I do foods or even herbs. Still, scientific evidence, human need, and personal experience have led me to prescribe some of them regularly and others occasionally, and to encourage my patients, students, and colleagues to learn more about them.

Nor, if we are so complacent about our requirements and so ill informed about our nutritional status, are we likely to pay attention to the studies that are demonstrating the therapeutic efficacy of larger or "mega"-doses of these same supplements. There are many examples of this blindness and, more important, many areas in which supplementation may offer significant relief to people who are suffering from, or are likely to suffer from, serious illnesses.

Intelligent Medicine: A Guide to Optimizing Health and Preventing Illness for the Baby-Boomer Generation Ronald L. Hoffman, M.D. See book keywords and concepts

Add foods or supplements that are rich in prostaglandin precursors, the "good" counterinflammatory prostaglandin precursors. These are nutrients like fish oil, flaxseed oil, borage oil, primrose oil, and black currant seed oil. An effective daily dosage: borage oil, three 500-milligram capsules; or primrose oil, six to eight 500-milligram capsules. • Add a Vitamin E supplement, proven effective against fibrocystic breast disease. Dosage: 400 to 800 International Units daily. • Add magnesium and iodine to the diet. They are sometimes helpful.

By eating healthier diets and taking the appropriate supplements, we can prevent or halt many gastrointestinal illnesses. Although it is difficult to change lifelong eating habits, to give up a cherished food allergen, or to stop eating sugar or fats, it's a small sacrifice to make for the huge improvement you'll notice in your health and sense of well-being —and you'll be around longer to appreciate it. If your health is good, an occasional fast gives your digestive tract a break.

It may be safer to avoid fortified milk and milk products if you can, and stick to supplements. A safe range for supplementation is 400 to 1000 International Units per day. When someone appears to have a risk of osteoporosis, imaging tests like MRI and X-rays are sometimes used to assess the condition. However, the standard X-ray can be misleading and is not a good screening tool because it will reveal osteoporosis only after a 30 percent bone loss! A regular X-ray may give you false reassurance. The radiologist may say, "Hey, your bones look O.K.," but you may actually have osteoporosis.

Eat yogurt with live culture of acidophilus or bifido, or take acidophilus supplements. (Flavor yogurt with cinnamon or vanilla rather than eating the highly sweetened fruit flavors.) • Eat cooler, lukewarm (not cold) foods. Heat speeds up the movement of food through the intestine. • Use natural medications. Certain natural clays can help absorb toxins from bacterial overgrowth and also firm up the stool. Bentonite is one of these, and so is kaolin, which is found in the the over-the-counter remedy Kaopectate (which also contains pectin, a soft fiber.) These are not toxic.

Use vitamin supplements, especially relatively high doses of vitamin E, up to 800 International Units daily. Vitamin C, mixed carotenoids, zinc, and selenium may be helpful. • Eat "five a day" — simply having five servings of fruits and vegetables every day helps prevent cancer. • Eat foods high in carotenoids — plant substances, some of which are easily converted into vitamin A by our bodies, that have been found to have cancer-preventive qualities. Foods high in carotenoids include spinach, carrots, pumpkin, mango, papaya, apricots, and sweet potato.

Dryness of the skin of the genitals and the vulva can be alleviated nutritionally with supplements of vitamins E and A, as well as zinc. Restorative douche: 1 to 2 teaspoons of distilled white vinegar to 1 pint distilled water; Vi to 1 teaspoon of acidophilus powder may be added. Treatment of Candida-induced Vaginitis Candida is a specific type of yeast that colonizes in humans. It can cause systemic problems such as fatigue, joint pain, memory deficits, and malaise, in addition to the common form of vaginitis.

Infinite Mind: Science of the Human Vibrations of Consciousness Valerie V. Hunt See book keywords and concepts

The emphasis on acid-alkaline blood balance came from Kitkoski's discovery that when the balance was disturbed, the blood could not absorb minerals and vitamins, regardless of the food or supplements ingested. The balance was upset by eating habits; toxic contaminants in air, food and water; and chemicals from drugs—tobacco as well as consciousness-altering substances. These enter the blood stream and become lodged in the cells, disturbing cell function.

The Politics of Cancer Revisited Samuel S. Epstein, M.D. See book keywords and concepts

But the decrease in these vitamins suggests that other related nutrients and beneficial plant substances, not available through supplements, may also have been decreased. Another area of possible carcinogenicity deals with workers who will be exposed to cobalt-60 or cesium-137 and communities where such radioactive materials are transported and stored. In 1988, at a Decatur, Georgia, plant that irradiated medical supplies, some steel rods corroded, exposing employees to radiation and contaminating twenty-five thousand gallons of water with radioactive isotopes.

The Longevity Code: Your Personal Prescription for a Longer, Sweeter Life Zorba Paster, M.D. and Susan Meltsner See book keywords and concepts

Perhaps that's why there is very little good data to show that taking fish-oil supplements is beneficial. Vary your seafood selection: • Tuna, salmon, and mackerel—fish high in omega-3 fatty acids • Shrimp, oysters, and clams—also high in omega-3s but with differing proteins • Cod, perch, halibut—low fat And remember to broil, boil, or poach your fish. The Friday-night fish fries across the country are an example of a good idea gone awry.

The Omega Solution: Unleash the Amazing, Scientifically Based Healing Power of Omega-3 & -6 Fatty Acids Jonathan Goodman ND See book keywords and concepts

It's true that EFA supplements can help when you aren't eating as regularly or as wholesomely as you'd like. But I always advise people to get these vital nutrients from natural food sources whenever possible, if only because foods also provide an abundance of vitamins, minerals, and phytochemi-cals that we need for optimal health. In the following pages we'll take a look at several of the best sources of EFAs. Some of them, such as fish or nuts, are available in any supermarket. Others, such as oils made from borage, fish, or evening primrose, may require a trip to the health food store.

The Okinawa Program : How the World's Longest-Lived People Achieve Everlasting Health Bradley J. Willcox, D. Craig Willcox, and Makoto Suzuki See book keywords and concepts

Those taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or blood thinners should not take turmeric as a supplement because of possible additive effects, nor should pregnant or lactating women take supplements, since side effects are unknown. Those on immunosuppressants such as steroids should use caution and check first with their physicians. Long-term use in pill form is to be avoided, as long-term effects are unknown. The bottom line. Turmeric seems to be living up to its health claims. It is on the GPvAS (Generally Regarded as Safe) list of the U.S.

Stop the Medicine! A Medical Doctor's Miraculous Recovery with Natural Healing Cynthia A. Foster, M.D. See book keywords and concepts

There are so many natural FOODS in the health food store we could use to heal ourselves, if we would only realize that it takes FOOD to rebuild a body, not synthedc supplements. If we could just fill our bodies full of good food and/or juices every day and live naturally with herbs and other powerful healing roudnes, we would find that we could rebuild any dssue in our body - no matter what the doctor says about it - no matter if the doctor says there is no "cure" for it. Let's discuss the word cure. Nothing in this life is perfect or guaranteed. There is no cure for anything. Period.

The nutritionist who helped me also helped thousands of people get well through only natural means - herbs, diet, homeopathy, natural supplements, detoxification, etc. But, as I later found out, she was among the many healers persecuted for her tireless efforts. She grew weary of organized medicine trying to force her out of business. She needed some kind of guarantee that her work could continue without the risk of being shut down. I was the M.D. who came out of nowhere. As her patient, I did all of the programs, and experienced dramatic results.

I walked out of that health food store with a huge grocery bag filled with supplements that I could barely carry, and figured that I had spent hundreds of dollars that day. It didn't really matter, though, since I figured I was going to die anyway. All of the patients there lovingly referred to it as "the Program." I saw many of them in the waiting room as I went for a recheck every week. We commonly discussed what had brought us there and what kind of results we were getting. I slowly built myself a support system out of the nutritionist's office staff and fellow patients.

She also said that a person taking the supplements would be healed of the seizures by first becoming aware that they are happening. This is exacdy what happened. From then on, I began to wake up right at the end of a seizure, knowing what it was. Now I understood the bruises and the dislocated shoulders came from the seizures in the middle of the night, in the afternoon, and after school. I understood exacdy the effects the seizures had on my body, and especially on my mood. I understood exacdy how my arms moved during a seizure so that my shoulder dislocated itself.

He began to make jokes at my expense about my funny eating habits and "natural" supplements. I resented the comments, and repeatedly told him he was crossing the line, but to no avail. I did not come to medical school to defend myself, but this is what I ended up doing. I felt like I was constantiy defending my right to treat my body the way I wanted to, like I had to constantiy defend my life. On this particular rotation, it was optional for the medical students to stay in the hospital overnight on call in order to see acute situations as they occurred at night.

I carried around a back pack filled with lemon water, distilled water, and botdes of supplements. I packed my own lunch as I refused to eat the overly processed, nutritionally depleted food that was served in the hospital. No wonder the patients took so long to recover. People always wanted to know why was I doing that? As I began to explain though, the reception was less than ideal. My really close friends said nothing. I supposed they didn't want to hurt my feelings.

Reclaiming Our Health: Exploding the Medical Myth and Embracing the True Source of Healing John Robbins See book keywords and concepts

From that point on, you can use the money you are saving with your far less expensive policy to buy supplements, healthy foods, time off, yoga classes, or whatever health building activity you might want. That way, you will get a real return on your dollar, and will be purchasing true "health insurance" —rather than "disease insurance," which is what insurance policies actually are. There is another advantage to this approach.

With her new doctor's support, Doris eliminated dairy products from her diet, and also undertook a healing regimen that included applying castor oil packs to her abdomen, and taking vitamin supplements. Doris had been through several miscarriages and abortions, and she now began writing letters to the unborn beings who had been in her body. She began to feel that in some way these beings "were still there in some form in my mind and had taken form as fibroids and maybe endometriosis in my body. The most incredible experience occurred after I wrote the letters.

The diet she recommends eliminates dairy products, red meat, chicken, and refined sugar. supplements include the lipotropic factors methionine, choline, and inositol (1,000 mg each per day), the vitamin B complex, and a multi-vitamin-mineral that contains at least 600 mg of magnesium. The results are impressive: "The vast majority of women who treat fibroids through diet get rid of their pain and heavy bleeding within three to six months.

Many of them also used vitamin and mineral supplements, and drank herbal teas.15 In 1995, the American Cancer Society commented simultaneously on vitamin C, the Hoxsey herbal therapy, the Gerson diet, the macrobiotic diet, and several similar dietary methods. "None of these approaches is supported by adequate clinical data," the organization began, neglecting to mention that a major reason for this is its own refusal to conduct or support any sort of testing that would provide adequate clinical data. "Some involve a diet that is nutritionally inadequate," the report continued.

With the right support," Keith Block says, "cancer patients can tolerate and respond far better to chemotherapy and radiation. supplements and food can make a colossal difference in this area of cancer care."62 His goal, he says, is to "produce a heightened sense of well-being, vitality, and emotional resilience," and to involve patients fully in the healing process. He believes that "giving the patient personal responsibility and a sense of personal power regarding his [or her] care is as important as prescribing the right medication.

New Choices in Natural Healing: Over 1,800 of the Best Self-Help Remedies from the World of Alternative Medicine Bill Gottlieb See book keywords and concepts

Vitamin and Mineral Therapy Add more calcium and magnesium to your diet with supplements, says Julian Whitaker, M.D., founder and president of the Whitaker Wellness Center in Newport Beach, California. He suggests taking 1,000 milligrams of each daily at the first sign of heel spurs, continuing until symptoms improve. Calcium and magnesium will also help prevent or ease the pain of future heel spurs, he says. See also Foot Pain Hemorrhoids Hemorrhoids may be one of the most joked about medical problems, but they're also among the most common.

The ABC Clinical Guide to Herbs Mark Blumenthal See book keywords and concepts

Translation of the German "Homoopathisches Arzneibuch (HAB 1) Amtliche Ausgabe." Stuttgart, Germany: Deutscher Apotheker Verlag; 1993;275-7. GHP. See: German Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia. Graham D, Smith J, Opekum A. Spicy food and the stomach: Evaluation by videoendoscopy./,4A£4 1988;260(23):3473-5. GSL. See: General Sale List. Health Canada. Drug Product Database (DPD) Product Information. Ottawa, Ontario: Health Canada Therapeutic Products Programme; 2001. Henry C, Emery B. Effect of spiced food on metabolic rate. Human Nutr Clin Nutr 1986;40(2): 165-8. Hoffmann D.

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