Worry, aka anxiety, is a pervasive problem. Repeatedly worrying about numerous things is likely to cause physical illness because there is, in truth, a direct connection between mind and body. A major point of worry for several years has been Climate Change, coupled with fears about what might happen if...
Is this you? You’re using Weight Watchers and exercising, tracking all of your food, now mostly just eating chicken, fruits, fish, and vegetables. You’ve been taking Levothyroxine (Synthroid) for years. Your thyroid levels are fine. Yet, you wear a Winter coat in the house and you’re still cold, and you...
Beating death? Scott was 85 years old when he died. He had been diagnosed with cancer and had just recently begun treatment. His health rapidly declined and he was removed from life support and allowed to die, approximately 60 days after his diagnosis. Many factors surround Scott’s death, but one...
Black Stools. Danger? Loretta told her doctor her stools were black and the doctor said it was probably caused by internal bleeding and that she needed more tests, immediately. Loretta was visibly upset and anxious when she relayed her story to me. There are some foods (red from beets) and...
By Larry FriedersBatavia, Ill. Are these the Golden Years? There’s always a wiseacre who will chime in with something such as, “Golden my patoot. I gotta decide between paying for drugs or food,” or something similar. Some believe that our latter years are fearful and they’re quick to share that...
When restaurant wait staff members ask if we’d like “something to drink”, our standard reply is “hot water with a wedge of lemon, please.” It started several years ago as an easy alternative to coffee, ice water, a cocktail, or a soft drink. We dine out often, and servers in...
Far better than expected. Anyone who had doubts that breathing is important has had them resolved in the past year. Inhaling through the nose is the better way to bring fresh air into the body. Snoring, dry mouth, hoarse voice, bad breath, and fatigue are common symptoms associated with breathing...
A man fainted at our church. His family suggested that there might have been some issue with his medications. It’s alarming. Too many of us intentionally take too many drugs, and I suspect many of them are unnecessary and harmful, especially when combined. A person taking three different drugs every...
A question came up about compounded All Purpose Nipple Ointment (aka APNO) that feigned outrage over using medicines that would be ingested by the new baby, and possibly cause some harm. Sure, too many people take too many drugs, and there always will be legitimate drug uses that relieve symptoms...
More than a decade ago, Dr. Bernard Bahari, MD, treated his patients with ReVia (Naltrexone Hydrochloride) and found that many of them couldn’t afford it. He advised them to cut the pills in half, then in half again. At that point, it became impossible to make a real cut into...
Gluten. Yes or no? Gluten is a protein naturally found in some grains, including wheat, barley, and rye, but not oats. It acts as a binder, holding food together. It adds an elastic quality. Without gluten, the dough would rip easily. Gluten is most often associated with wheat and wheat-containing...
MSG (Mono Sodium Glutamate), is a food additive suspected of causing reactions such as muscle pains, heart palpitations, facial pressure, headaches, nausea, flushing, tingling, chest heaviness, and numbness. MSG symptom complex is different than an allergy and not yet clearly understood. Because sensitivity to MSG is not a true allergy,...
A young mother called one morning to tell me her five-year-old son was vomiting and asked what she could do. I suggested the standard of rest, sips of Pedialyte, or Gatorade (not the sugar-free versions), and time. Later that day, when the vomiting hadn’t stopped, the mother called her pediatrician...
Salt, table salt, sodium chloride, NaCl, has a history that stretches back millennia. It’s mentioned several times in old texts, including the Bible, and it would be rare to find anyone who doesn’t know what it is and what it’s used for. Until recently salt has been on the good...
We can decide for ourselves. Pharmacists often talk to their customers. One refrain that seems woven throughout every conversation about prescriptions is both a question and a complaint. Customers ask, “Why do I have to take these medicines for the rest of my life when I feel so bad using...
The following column is from June 4, 2020, and continues to be my position today: “I am very careful, and hopefully humble in knowing that I don’t know everything about this disease.” Dr. Anthony Fauci said these words May 13, 2020 during a virtual Senate hearing. After more than 50...
A person’s overall well-being is not solely concerned with the physical body. There is a spiritual part and a mental element. Yes, three components of a single concept we refer to as health. The easiest to wrap our heads around is the physical. Our shared physical senses can detect variances...
Some individuals are walking around with low levels of thyroid hormone (hypothyroidism). They’re surviving with fatigue, sensitivity to cold, constipation, dry skin, weight gain, hoarseness, weakness, high cholesterol, muscle aches, tenderness, stiffness, pain, swelling of joints, thinning hair, depression, impaired memory, and more. They know they aren’t healthy, but the...
I read an article in a local newspaper that seemed to suggest that drinking tonic water helps relieve leg cramps. I did a little research and found two things, each the opposite of the other. One side claims that daily small doses of tonic water can help relieve pain and...
Thomas E. Levy, MD, JD, a board-certified cardiologist, recently stated that whether any therapy is embraced depends almost entirely on how much money can be generated from it. He strongly hints that this is the case with hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19. New drugs always generate more money than old, proven, safe...
