Posted 06/23/2009 Patients linked me to a couple of interesting articles last week, one from Newsweek (a magazine I thought no one read anymore) bashing the health advice given on Oprah’s TV show as harmful to your health because it was unscientific and unproven. The other, a thoughtful rebuttal by Dr. Deepak Chopra, was posted […]
Category: T
Trimming the Tummy Fat
Click here for the Health Tip link. Last week we talked about how stress, which triggers cortisol production, plays a role in accumulating tummy fat. But of course other factors are involved. Some you can fix, others you pretty much have to live with. For example: • Menopause changes metabolism, predisposing you to weight gain. […]
Where Did This Tummy Fat Come From?
Click here for the Health Tip link. Now that the swine flu appears to be playing itself out, we can take up a health concern that I am asked about at least ten times a week, always by women and always with various degrees of desperation in their voices. “I never had this before!,” she’ll […]
Turmeric
Although best known as a spice that gives a distinctive flavor and yellow color to curry powder and mustard, turmeric (Curcuma longa) is a member of the ginger family and has long been used for healing. Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani, and other traditional medicine systems practiced in India have relied on this pungent spice for centuries, and so it’s not surprising that the Asian subcontinent is where the most intensive research about this herb has been conducted.
Trace Minerals
As the name implies, only trace amounts of certain minerals are needed for the body to function properly. Nearly all function as coenzymes–substances that work in tandem with enzymes (complex proteins) to speed up chemical reactions in the body. Trace minerals are part of DNA, our genetic material. There are a number of trace minerals, including boron, fluoride, manganese, molybdenum, silicon, and vanadium. Several particularly important trace minerals–zinc, selenium, magnesium–are discussed separately
Thiamin (B1)
As the first B vitamin to be discovered, thiamin can rightly claim the name of vitamin B1. This nutrient is essential to normal growth and development. It participates in converting the carbohydrates from foods into energy and promotes proper functioning of the heart and nervous systems.
Tea Tree Oil
It was centuries ago that Australian aborigines probably first started plucking leaves from a native tree (Melaleuca alternifolia) to treat skin infections. In 1770, sailors from Captain Cook’s expedition to the South Seas ventured ashore at New South Wales and brewed a tea using the leaves of the same tree. This event engendered the herb’s English name “tea tree”–which is actually something of a misnomer because the Melaleuca species bears no relation to the Camellia species, the usual source of tea leaves.
Taurine
Taurine, an amino acid derivative found in meat and other animal foods (except for milk and milk products), appears to shield the heart from harm. It’s best known for empowering bile acids to clear cholesterol from the body. It may also fight cellular troublemakers that can damage the heart. Studies in animals suggest that taurine lowers blood pressure as well–yet another heart-healthy property. Although research has produced conflicting results, taurine may also benefit vision disorders, epilepsy, and gallstones.
Milk Thistle
Healers have used the prickly milk thistle plant to treat liver ailments for more than 2,000 years. Somehow these early practitioners figured out that preparations of this purple-flowered member of the sunflower family could stimulate the flow of bile from the liver, improving digestion and various liver-related ills.
Natural Healing from Trauma
Click here for the Health Tip link. Since the Vietnam War, there has been a growing awareness that modern warfare produces terrible psychological wounds. Last year, a RAND corporation study found that 20% of soldiers back from Iraq and Afghanistan report symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). That’s 300,000 soldiers. PTSD symptoms typically include nightmares, […]
Trager Approach
Also known as Trager work or Trager psychophysical integration, the Trager approach is a unique method of “body education” that involves extremely gentle and painless hands-on manipulation of the limbs, joints, and muscles by a trained practitioner. It also includes the teaching of free-form movement sequences to increase body awareness and enhance agility.
Traditional Chinese Medicine
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a system of health care based on the late-twentieth-century standardization of medical practices that originated in China some 2500 years ago. Two classic medical texts, the Nei Jing (compiled from 100 B.C. to 100 A.D.) and the Nan Jing (written circa 100 to 200 A.D.) were important early documents that presented the core concepts of TCM, and they have informed generations of scholars and practitioners ever since. These core concepts suggest that disease is the result of imbalances in the flow of the body’s vital energy, or qi (pronounced “chee”), and that the human body is a microcosm of the basic natural forces at work in the universe.
Therapeutic Touch
Therapeutic touch is a healing technique in which a practitioner’s hands are passed in wavelike motions inches above a person’s body. (Despite the name, the practitioner typically does not make contact with the body, although some practitioners do include physical touch.) It is believed that by doing therapeutic touch, the practitioner can break up a person’s energy blockages and thus improve health and well-being.
Tai Chi
Tai chi (pronounced “tie chee”) is an ancient Chinese discipline that integrates mind, body, and spirit. Practitioners use meditation and deep breathing as they move through a series of continuous exercises, called “forms,” which resemble slow-moving ballet. Though it originated as a martial art (evolving from qigong), tai chi is now practiced more for its therapeutic benefits, which include reducing stress, promoting balance and flexibility, and even easing arthritis pain.
Thyroid Disease
Here’s a section you can read to gather some information on your thyroid, a vital gland located in your neck that controls how fast or slow everything (but everything!) operates in your body. Compare it to the gas pedal of your car, with the gearshift in neutral. Too slow, and the motor dwindles and grinds to a halt. Too fast, and you’ll burn your engine out. Although most thyroid disorders are treated either by replacement hormones or prescription drugs, an inappropriately operating thyroid places all sorts of burdens on the smooth functioning of your body. Many of these can be helped with dietary changes and selected nutritional supplements.
Sore Throat
You know the sensation. First, it’s an uncomfortable little “awareness” in the back of your throat, and the thought crosses your mind, “I hope I’m not coming down with something.” Slowly, over the next few hours or so, your awareness increases. Then the next morning, you awaken with the sensation of having swallowed a blowtorch. And, since a sore throat is all too often the first act of a bad cold, you know what the next few days are going to be like, and wonder what you can do to prevent things from getting worse. Here are some suggestions from WholeHealth Chicago.
Toxic Food Syndrome, Part 2
Posted 02/06/2009 What surprised me most about toxic food syndrome (TFS) is the number of chronic medical conditions that have been linked to it. Now certainly not every person with one of the following conditions can attribute the symptoms to toxic foods, but if I or a family member was suffering from any of these, […]
Toxic Food Syndrome
Posted 02/03/2009 • A 35-year-old woman who has had two unsuccessful sinus surgeries and still remains chronically congested.• TR, 44, described by the rheumatology department of a leading Chicago teaching hospital as having “seronegative rheumatoid arthritis,” meaning she had all the features of rheumatoid arthritis but her blood tests were negative for the condition.• A […]
Oprah: Poster Child for My Book, The Triple Whammy Cure
Click here for the Health Tip link. It comes with being a doctor, I suppose. I just can’t keep myself from reading about illnesses of the rich and famous. So when I saw Oprah’s name linked with the words “depressed,” “overweight,” and “thyroid,” I had to explore further. You can read about her major health […]
T’ai Chi: Getting Started
Click here for the Health Tip link. To get started on this health-enhancing, stress-busting, strength-developing project, you’ll need to find a class. Although an endless array of tapes and DVDs are available, I believe you need an instructor to help you see what you might be doing right and wrong. I’ve tried the tapes myself, […]