In it’s new position paper on treatment of IBS, the American College of Gastroenterology has formally recognized the value of certain probiotics. Natural medicine has much else to offer patients struggling with this difficult chronic condition.
As we’ve learned more about the importance of vitamin D in preventing heart disease, colon cancer, diabetes and depression, some people have begun to challenge skin cancer reduction efforts focused on sun avoidance. But careful review of the science shows that oral vitamin D supplements can more than compensate for any vitamin D lost through sun-avoidance. For light skinned people, sun protection makes most sense—just make sure to use eco-friendly products.
“From diabetes to hypertension, cancer to drug addiction, stroke to intestinal motility, memory and learning disorders to septic shock, sunburn to anorexia, male impotence to tuberculosis, there is probably no pathological condition where nitric oxide does not play an important role.”
Of all the nutrients, herbs and drugs used to treat patients with chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia, D-ribose is the singlemost effective because it corrects the core metabolic problem underlying these syndromes. D-ribose supplementation can have a profoundly positive effect in CFS/FM patients, especially women.
Immune system function tends to diminish with advancing age, leaving many elderly people more susceptible to influenza, common colds, and pneumonia, as well as various cancers. A new study shows Active Hexose Correlated Compound (AHCC), a mushroom-derived compound used in Japan as an adjunct in treatment of cancer and hepatitis, can boost T-cell mediated immune function in otherwise healthy elders.
It can be difficult for physicians and patients alike to design a dietary supplementation program that truly meets an individual’s metabolic needs. Enter NutriScan, a computerized system for assessing nutritional status and dispensing corrective supplements.
Despite consuming greater quantities of food than any other population on Earth, many Americans are suffering multiple nutrient deficiencies. In this second part of his lecture Steven C. Masley, MD, a family physician and nutritionist, offers guidelines for supplementation with B vitamins, calcium, magnesium and other key nutrients.
Vitamin D deficiency has been linked with everything from psoriasis and osteoporosis to cardiovascular disease, diabetes and autoimmune diseases. But the relationships may not be as simple as we’d like to believe. Neither is the relationship between sun exposure and vitamin D production in the skin.
A wealth of studies in recent years have underscored the health threats posed by vitamin D deficiency. But considerable debate has raged over which form of the vitamin is the best for supplementation. Many clinicians believe that vitamin D3, derived from fish and other animal sources, is more potent than D2, the “vegetarian” form. But new data suggest that may not be true.
Copper seldom gets the attention lavished on other minerals like calcium and magnesium, but it is an essential factor for myelination of nerves, activation of immune system cells, synthesis of collagen and formation of hemoglobin. Copper deficiency, which is very common, may underlie anemia, osteoporosis, heart disease, and it may even mimic multiple sclerosis. Drugs that suppress stomach acid, as well as zinc and vitamin C supplements, contribute to copper deficiency.
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