Health Care Hierarchy: a Call for Opinions

What do you do about a headache? Notice that a quick reaction is to think of pills like aspirin, acetominophen, or ibuprofen. It is no surprise..

What do you do about a headache? Notice that a quick reaction is to think of pills like aspirin, acetominophen, or ibuprofen. It is no surprise. We want instant relief. We know that thousands of good scientists have spenthundreds of years and billions of dollars to create these solutions. Theyhave spent billions of dollars to advertise them to us, and we have paidbillions in response. Read the rest of this entry »

Information About Anthrax

What is anthrax?

Anthrax is a spore-forming bacteria known as bacillus anthracis that infects both domesticated and wild herbivore animals such as cattle, sheep, or goats. There are three forms of this disease: cutaneous, inhalation, and gastrointestinal.

The cutaneous, or skin infection form of the disease is the most common type of anthrax and is caused by handling infected material from an animal such as hides, hair, or wool. It usually enters through a cut in the skin near the face, neck, or arms where they are exposed and can take two to seven days to incubate. At first the exposed skin area will itch, with a small bump occurring; this becomes filled with fluid and eventually forms an ulcer with a black (necrotic) center. Swelling of the lymph glands under the arm can also occur as the disease advances. This form is highly treatable with antibiotics; if it is not treated, 1 in 20 individuals will die from it. Read the rest of this entry »

The How and Why of Garlic

With all the publicity that Garlic is receiving I’ve been asked a variety of questions from friends and family as to just what garlic does and how. I hope to answer a few of those questions now.

This wonderful little pungent herb garlic most recognize from the use of the cloves, or root of the plant, although the flowers are an excellent addition to your fresh salad. The healthiest form of garlic is of course fresh. Freeze dried and processed forms of garlic have lost most of their health benefits through the fermentation process. Read the rest of this entry »

The Right Time for Meal Times

When we eat is just as important as what we eat. Skipping meals habits or erratic eating  undermines our energy levels. To get the most out of eating the right foods in the right proportions, we have to eat at the right times of the day too.

Food variety is key to maintaining our energy, sleep patterns, moods and lowering those junk food spending habits. To ensure we have covered the nutritional bases each day, we should eat a large variety of energy and nutrient packed foods including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, colorful salads, legumes, seeds, nuts, meat and dairy products. Variety also means eating something raw at each meal–raw nuts or seeds, a celery stalk or salsa.
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FDA Approves Asthma Medications

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved two new asthma medications. Here’s a look at the medications and how they work.
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Is the Correct Depression Medication for You Zoloft or Lexapro?

It is all too common for so many people with busy, rushed lives to experience depression, anxiety and general tension. A lot of health professionals are prescribing anti-depression medications as a method to treat these conditions, and among these are two of the most popular treatments currently available, Zoloft and Lexapro.
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Anti-inflammatory Drugs as Pain Relievers

We know about painkillers because we have been prescribed them for pain when we’re sick, or used them to treat our backaches or headaches, but sometimes they just don’t work as well as we want them to, and instead of treating the condition causing the pain, only mask the pain.
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Rrescription Drugs and Other Remedies Against Arthritis Pain

A third of all adults experience the pain of arthritis. There are two types of this painful inflammation of the joints known as arthritis that we can suffer from, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
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Mother’s Little Helper. Part 2

…continued..

To be fair, doctors and drug companies don’t deserve all the blame. The more liberated, educated, and empowered we’ve become the more aggressively we’ve demanded that extra boost to “get by.” Supply and demand go hand in hand. Today’s high-achieving young woman has no time for life. The feminist movement told us we could do anything the boys could do and off we went, rushing madly to keep up with our male competitors, more than willing to swallow whatever concoction necessary to get up earlier, strive harder, be more positively energetic, and forget how overwhelmed and disconcerted we really were. Read the rest of this entry »

Mother’s Little Helper. Part 1

Society has never been very good at dealing with “women’s problems.” We are, after all, complicated beings, downright messy with our enigmatic emotions, insecurities, and needs. To paraphrase dissident feminist Marie Jose Ragab, “our little hearts get broken more easily.” We’re hardly less durable than men, just more sensitive, and as a result, more vulnerable to suggestions that a pretty pastel pill holds the answer to every ill. If you get tired, lonely, depressed, fat, pregnant…the antidote can be found just behind the medicine cabinet door.
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