On food budgets both large and small, one can eat poorly or one can eat well.

Since many of us are experiencing income reductions, following are some simple guidelines to reinforce your healthy high-raw or all-raw diet on a reduced budget. I’ve also included a few survival tips as I’ve become very interested in smart survival methods for healthy eaters! Read the rest of this entry »

The recent “Time Magazine” cover shocked a lot of people, but attachment parenting involves a lot more than breastfeeding.

After the divisive article, “Are You Mom Enough?” appeared in Time Magazine on May 21, 2012, a lot of people started asking: “What is attachment parenting, anyway?”

We got a lot of you talking when we asked for your opinions on the cover shot, which showed a mom breastfeeding a boy of about four years old. Thanks for your responses! Whatever your thoughts on the cover, let’s talk about this concept, where it came from, and what it means for a lot of parents and children.
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Here’s a general rule: Never let any doctor put you on any drug for more than one year without questioning the consequences or without regular, detailed follow up. Never take any drug for life without knowing the consequences or without finding an alternative, natural approach.

The science of health is exploding in a good way. For my style of medical practice—integrative, hybrid, evidence-based, biological, “natural”—it’s an amazing time. My last blogs were about cardiovascular health and the benefits and dangers of statin drugs. This one questions HDL, the once upon a time “good” cholesterol.

Just this week a great study came out about HDL in the prestigious British journal, The Lancet. With over 120 participating scientists and doctors, this study may prove to be a major myth buster.
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I wish eye exercises were as enjoyable as this…

I’ve spent a lot of time wondering if those eye exercises that some people talk about will really help my vision…

In this second part of my interview with Dr. Jeffrey Anshel, we discuss eye exercises, the Bates Method, dry eyes, itchy eyes from allergies and homeopathic remedies.

Here’s where you can listen to this interview now (my written comments follow!)… Read the rest of this entry »

Doctors often discourage the use of antioxidants during chemotherapy, but are they right to be so cautious?

According to the American Cancer Society, in 2011, over 570,000 Americans were expected to die of cancer, more than 1,500 people a day. Cancer is the second most common cause of death in the U.S., exceeded only by heart disease, despite the widespread use of radiation, chemotherapy, and immunotherapies, along with improved diagnostic techniques. Why has there been so little progress in treating cancer?

I sometimes think it’s because oncologists stubbornly resist new therapies. For example, one of the most frustrating controversies in cancer patient care revolves around antioxidant supplements, including vitamin C and similar substances. Antioxidants, which are found in many whole foods, are one of the foundations of good health. These potent substances neutralize rogue molecules known as free radicals, which damage cells throughout the body.

Doctors who understand nutrition know antioxidants can have a huge positive impact on a patient’s health. So why are oncologists wary of these healing substances?
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