Vitamin, Mineral & Herb Remedies
Dietary supplements can be surprisingly helpful for many common disorders. There is substantial science supporting the use of herbs, vitamins, minerals and other supplements.
New Guidelines on Flavanols Can Help Improve Hea…
For generations, children have been urged to eat their fruits and vegetables. Now, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has issued guidelines that support this advice (Advances in Nutrition, Oct 3, …
Vitamin D Supplements for Babies May Boost Kids&…
Vitamin D is an essential nutrient for both children and adults. Long ago, scientists dubbed it the "sunshine vitamin" because skin can synthesize it in the presence of sunlight. Doctors in northern c…
Should You Be Taking Vitamin Supplements?
Vitamins were among the most exciting discoveries of the early 20th century. Since then, however, doctors have been expressing a lot of skepticism about the value of taking vitamin supplements. Last y…
Natural Ways to Get Your Cholesterol Down
Cholesterol is only one of numerous risk factors for heart disease. However, physicians can't do much about some of your other risk factors, such as your family history. They can prescribe medications…
Is Fish Oil Linked to Heart Rhythm Changes?
Could a supplement that people take for heart health actually lead to heart rhythm changes? Most people take fish oil with the expectation that it will lower their likelihood of a heart attack or stro…
Curcumin from Turmeric Helps People Manage Their…
Recently, there has been a great deal of excitement about prescription drugs to promote weight loss. Drugs such as Wegovy and Ozempic are expensive, however, and they are not available everywhere. Tha…
Probiotic Can Help Prevent C. Diff Due to Antibi…
Have you ever experienced a bad bout of diarrhea after finishing a course of antibiotics? This reaction is not uncommon. Now, researchers are beginning to recognize that often this problem is caused b…
Study of Vitamin D Supplements Results in Disapp…
Millions of Americans are low in vitamin D, but taking vitamin D supplements may not do any good. A study of vitamin D supplements published in The New England Journal of Medicine (online, Nov. 10, 20…
Are Gummies a Good Way to Take Supplements?
What vitamins and minerals do you take? Do you prefer pills, capsules, drops, softgels, chewable tablets or gummies? There may be differences in how well your supplements work, depending on their form…
St. John’s Wort Can Lift Mood, But May Dam…
About twenty years ago, people who were reluctant to take prescription antidepressants were excited to learn that the herbal medicine St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum) could help alleviate mild t…
Breaking the Nail-Biting Habit
Ask people who bite their nails why they do it and you are likely to get a range of answers: stress, boredom, anxiety, excitement. Sometimes a hangnail or roughness can trigger the urge to bite. It is…
Show 1307: Cocoa Compounds and the COSMOS Trial …
This week on our nationally syndicated radio show, we explore the power of cocoa compounds to help heart health. Our first guest is Harvard’s Dr. JoAnn Manson, lead investigator of the COSMOS trial.…
Zinc for the Common Cold
People have been searching for a cure for the common cold for centuries. To date, we have seen nothing that actually overcomes cold viruses the way antibiotics conquer bacteria. (By the way, antibioti…
Will Vitamin D Supplements Really Protect You fr…
Avoiding colds and flu is challenging. Physicians will tell you that vaccination is the only protection against influenza. Frequent hand washing is the other standard recommendation. Unfortunately, im…
Will You Lower Your Cholesterol With Milk Thistl…
Is your cholesterol high? If you have a family history of high cholesterol, particularly if you had parents or siblings who died of heart disease, your doctor will do as much as possible to help you c…
Does Vitamin D3 Improve Survival of COVID-19 Pat…
Ever since the start of the pandemic, doctors have been looking for ways to improve survival of COVID-19 patients. They have explored several different treatments with varying results. Two studies pub…
Is It Safe to Take Red Yeast Rice for High Chole…
Statisticians have shown that people with elevated levels of LDL cholesterol are more likely to develop clogged arteries and coronary artery disease (Heart, Lung & Circulation, March 2018). If sen…
Can You Lower Your Cholesterol with Bergamot?
How do you control your cholesterol? Many people take a statin medication such as atorvastatin or simvastatin to keep their blood fats within normal range. On the other hand, you might prefer a more…
How Dangerous Are High Vitamin B12 Levels?
Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) wasn't fully described until 1956. It is essential for the development of red blood cells. It is also critical for the brain. Myelin, the fatty sheath that surrounds neurons, d…
What Supplements Could Help Ease IBS Symptoms?
Irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS, is a frustrating diagnosis. Doctors describe it as a "functional" GI disorder, meaning that they can't find any physiological reason for the patient's suffering. None…
Why Don’t Vitamin D Supplements Work as Ex…
If you are taking big doses of vitamin D in the hopes that it will ward off all sorts of health problems, you may be disappointed. Most research has not demonstrated that taking high doses of vitamin …
Why Don’t Doctors Prescribe Vitamin C for …
Pain gets everyone's attention. Whether it's a stubbed toe or a headache, heartburn or arthritis, pain signals that something has gone wrong. With appropriate treatment, most of these conditions are m…
How Do Herbs Interact with Each Other?
If you take multiple dietary supplements, do you worry about how your herbs interact? A number of studies have addressed herb-drug interactions. However, we suspect that herbal medicines might also af…
Could a Daily Multivitamin Help You Stay Sharp?
A common multivitamin may provide some protection against cognitive decline as we age. Findings from the COSMOS-Mind study have just been published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia. The res…
Can Taking a Probiotic Product Help You Sleep Be…
If you have heard about taking a probiotic product, a pill or beverage containing millions or billions of beneficial bacteria, chances are you were thinking about digestive health. Some people take su…
Is There Any Science to Support Glucosamine for …
For decades, we have been agnostic about the use of glucosamine for arthritis. Some readers praised this dietary supplement while others denounced it. Studies have arrived at conflicting conclusions. …
Will Elderberry Extract Help You Recover from Fl…
Natural approaches to healing are getting extra attention right now, as people try hard to stay out of doctors' offices if they can. After all, if you don't have COVID-19, you don't want to go anywher…
Give the Best Gift This Holiday: Better Health f…
The most valuable gift is good health, not a new wallet, a fancy phone, or a smart speaker. The last thing mom needs is a new gadget. How about health info that lasts for years? What is most important…
Too Little Vitamin D Could Be Deadly
Vitamin D (also known as calciferol) is one of those nutrients that is surrounded by controversy. That’s because when people get too little vitamin D, they are at risk for many serious health proble…
Spicy Supplement Solves Pain Problem
We love skeptics. These are people who approach both prescription drugs and home remedies with a healthy dose of doubt. That is as it should be. Outcomes matter. Do NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflamm…
Are You Wasting Money On Supplements Against Hea…
Doctors appear to hate dietary supplements. That is the conclusion I draw from their reaction to a new study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (Nov. 6, 2022). We have he…
Will Adequate Magnesium Keep Your Heart Healthy?
Magnesium has long been a neglected mineral. Health care providers are more likely to pay attention to minerals such as potassium, although some of the same drugs that lead to potassium depletion al…
Can N-Acetylcysteine (NAC) Help Cancer Patient?
We don't often hear about doctors suggesting dietary supplements, but occasionally a compound sold as a supplement functions like a pharmaceutical as well. N-acetylcysteine, abbreviated NAC, falls int…
Supplements to Help Ease Diabetic Neuropathy
Diabetes threatens the health of millions of Americans. In 2019, doctors had diagnosed more than 37 million people with this metabolic disorder. People with diabetes either don't make insulin (type 1 …
Could Fat from Fish Be Good for Your Brain?
The old wives used to claim that fish is brain food. Little by little, scientists are catching up to this idea. People with Higher Levels of Omega-3 Fats Perform Better on Tests: Investigators at the …
How to Ease Arthritic Knees with Natural Remedie…
Osteoarthritis puts its victims in a dreadful double bind. The nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) that are the standard pain relievers for arthritis, such as diclofenac (Voltaren), ibupro…
Can Magnesium Help Your Restless Legs Syndrome?
"Restless legs" hardly sounds like medical terminology, but it describes a neurological condition first described in the late 17th century. People with the condition describe sensations similar to som…
Will Horse Chestnut Extract Ease Tired Legs?
You can see varicose veins as lumpy twisted veins under the skin. They tend to stick up from the surface of the limb (usually the leg or foot). That distinguishes them from spider veins that are visib…
Can Magnesium Pills Counteract Recurrent Headach…
People who suffer recurrent headaches may find themselves in a bind. Taking medication day after day can actually lead to rebound headaches if the dose is missed. No wonder people would like to know h…
Can Quercetin Control Your Allergy Symptoms?
Hay fever season is looming, and many allergy sufferers may be wishing they had a way to prevent the misery of sneezing and sniffling. One reader made a serendipitous discovery: quercetin taken for gl…