Regular breast self-exam may be safer and more effective than mammograms.

Breast awareness is critical to the all-important early detection of possible breast disease.  Men get breast cancer also, and it’s not rare in men, although it is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women, after lung cancer. [Read more →]

Apparently “standards of care” (the medical model’s sacred cow) are shifting.  The NY Times recently published a good article about PAP screenings.

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There has been a lot in the press lately about the utility and effectiveness of various types of screening tests for common cancers.   This is not all bad news however, because some forms of cancer screening actually endanger patients, to the tune of millions of dollars annually. [Read more →]

Overheard in the Healthfood Store

Two friends, Linda and Jenna, who work at Rainbow Foods in beautiful downtown Juneau, Alaska, agreed to pick out a few quirky popular requests from customers and pass them along to me. [Read more →]

random clinical pearls from the 2008 Naturopathic Medicine convention in Phoenix, AZ
(Aug 13-17, 2008) on DIABETES management, the question of SOY, Vitamin D, kidney stone prevention… [Read more →]

There are 2 main types of anemia — iron deficiency, where the red blood cells are too small to “magnetize” sufficient oxygen to the cells, and so-called pernicious anemia, where the red blood cells are too big to fit through the capillaries, our tiniest blood vessels.  [Read more →]

written for NDNR (www.ndnr.com) and published Feb 2008
Heart disease is the leading cause of the death in the U.S. The World Health Organization estimates that 17.5 million people died of CVD in 2005, representing 30% of all global deaths. [Read more →]

Milk thistle (Silybum marianum), particularly the seeds, has been used medicinally for over 2000 years.  Ancient writings recommend milk thistle not only for liver and gall bladder disorders, but for poisoning of all kinds including from toxic mushrooms and snakebites.  [Read more →]

Origanum vulgare (Oregano) is native to Greece, but mostly produced today in Turkey. Like all mints, the plant has a squared stem and is extremely aromatic.

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Abnormal lipids (fats) in the blood are considered one of the major risk factors for cardiovascular disease, a leading cause of premature death.  Conventional wisdom has been to evaluate blood lipids after abstaining from food for 12 hours. 

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