Micronutrients include vitamins and minerals. Minerals and vitamins, although part of energy-yielding reactions in your body, cannot provide energy directly. Many have antioxidant, or cell-protecting, functions (e.g., vitamins A, C, and E; copper; iron;...
Sure a breath of fresh air invigorates and calms. But plenty of research suggests that nature’s lush gardens, golden rays, and cool breezes may have holistic healing powers. During Great Outdoors Month, help your...
Constant overstimulation of the immune system can also lead to an autoimmune disorder in which the immune system can mistake the tissues of the body for an invader. The white blood cells and T...
When permeability increases, unprocessed substances can be passed on to the liver, completely undigested. This means that the liver would have to process undigested foods, bacteria, toxic chemicals, or whatever happens to be in...
Our bodies are constructed from the products of our digestion – we literally are what we eat. With that in mind, think of the digestive tract as an entire ecosystem, a self-contained environment supporting...
Why is it so important to chew our food well? Chewing well mixes our food with saliva to begin digestion and makes it easier to swallow. Chemicals in our saliva (enzymes) start breaking down...
The liver is the Grand Central Station of our metabolism, handling an enormous amount of molecular traffic. The liver is the site of a huge variety of processing, whose vital roles include: Breaking down...
Deficiencies of vitamins and minerals are as individual as any other aspect of health and can be a major cause of illness. You may know, for example, that vitamin C deficiency can cause scurvy,...
A government recommendation to screen all unborn babies for Down syndrome may be overkill, according to a new study. The study, published in the current issue of British Medical Journal, shows the tests may...
“The intellect has little to do on the road to discovery. There comes a leap in consciousness, call it intuition or what you will, and the solution comes to you, and you don’t how...
Women with Turner syndrome often have confusion about space and distance and learning disorders. Turner syndrome is a chromosomal disorder characterized by short stature, ovarian failure, and incomplete sexual development. Many women with this...
It is a confusing question for many postmenopausal women, whether or not to take estrogen replacement therapy. There are reported benefits and downfalls to the use of hormones. A new study finds women with...
How did the Institute of Medicine’s study regarding the use of marijuana for medical purposes came about? Dr. Joy: It came about because the ONDCP, the Office of National Drug Control Policy, otherwise known...
Headache, confusion, sudden loss of vision, dizziness — these are the symptoms of a stroke that can come at any moment, and getting help fast is crucial to a stroke victim’s recovery. Now a...
Do you ever feel an uncontrollable urge to move your legs? You could have a condition called restless legs syndrome. It often goes misdiagnosed despite estimates that up to 15 percent of the adult...
Nothing puts a damper on getting that passport stamp like contracting illness overseas. Unfortunately, traveling abroad carries risks. Unregulated quality control standards on preparation and sanitation can make some foods or water unsafe to...
Dyslexia is defined as difficulty learning to read. A commonly held myth is that it’s just the confusion of different letters. Now researchers say it’s more than that, and that information is leading to...
People with diabetes are not only at increased risk for heart disease, kidney failure and blindness, but simple routines such as walking down a hall can become dangerous for them, their co-workers and their...
A new study shows parents aren’t always sure just how much over-the-counter medicine to give their sick child. It can be pretty confusing. Not quite two years old, little Aaron has an ear infection...
Alzheimer’s disease attacks nearly four million people every year. Recent genetic discoveries may better explain why it happens, but what can be done to delay it? Doctors in Seattle may have found one answer....
Reflex sympathetic dystrophy is a complex name for an easy-to-understand problem: severe pain that will not go away. Treatments for the disorder range from acupuncture to medicine to surgery. We’ll tell you about another...
As a caregiver of an Alzheimer’s patient, you see the mood shifts change almost daily. Some good days, others bad. But when the sun goes down each evening, it also changes the mood for...
Almost everyone has heard of tennis elbow and many people have suffered from it. However, about ten percent of all elbow overuse injuries are a result of medial epicondylitis — golfer’s elbow. Golfer’s elbow,...
It could be one of the most difficult challenges you’ll ever face. Caring for a loved one who has Alzheimer’s disease. Seventy percent are cared for at home, but that can be a confusing,...
What is osteonecrosis? Dr. Lieberman: Osteonecrosis is when the blood supply to the femoral head is jeopardized in some way leading to the death of bone cells. Necrosis means death. Osteo means bone. So...
More effective medications are helping AIDS patients live into their 60s. A surprising number of people are becoming infected during their “golden years.” Sixty-two-year-old Jane got HIV 12 years ago when she began dating...
Parkinson’s disease affects about one million people in the United States. Levodopa, the most common drug used to treat Parkinson’s, is effective. Yet long-term use causes many patients to develop disabling complications, such as...
An estimated 40 thousand Americans suffer severe spasticity due to diseases such as multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injuries. The problem causes muscles to contract involuntarily or tighten up. There’s a new way to...
Your daughter collides with another player in a high-school soccer match, knocking her head hard. She doesn’t lose consciousness, but is briefly dazed. The team’s star forward, she grudgingly sits out the rest of...
Much of the information we have about the effects of vitamins comes from clinical trials. A clinical trial is an experiment conducted with patients as subjects. The strongest experimental design is the randomized design...