Health & Wellness

The many benefits of licorice root

Dr. Mercola
Mercola.com
Mon, 21 Mar 2016 14:14 UTC

The scientific name for licorice root, Glycyrrhiza, comes from "glukos" (sweet) and "riza" (root). This "sweet root" contains glycyrrhizin, a compound that can be up to 50 times sweeter than sugar. So it's not surprising that when many people think of licorice, they think of the confectionery by the same the name.

However, licorice is a perennial herb native to the Mediterranean that's been prized for its medicinal properties for centuries. In fact, its use is documented in Assyrian clay tablets and Egyptian papyri.

It was valued in ancient Arabia for treating coughs, while in ancient Greece it was also used for coughs along with asthma. The herb also has a history of use in China, where it was used to relieve irritation of the mucous membranes and spasms in the gastrointestinal tract.

Virtually all Chinese herbal formulas contain licorice because it assists in gastrointestinal absorption and "harmonizes" the herbal blends.¹ In other words, it helps to enhance the effects of the other herbs.

In India, traditional Ayurvedic medicine regards licorice root as an expectorant, spasm-relieving, and anti-inflammatory, demulcent (relieves irritation of the mucous membranes) that also affects the function of the adrenal glands.²

Why hospitals need to recognize the science of healing thoughts

Arjun Walia
Collective Evolution
Tue, 15 Mar 2016 22:43 UTC

The interaction of our thoughts with the physical material world is of huge interest today, garnering increasing attention by academics around the world. Despite a wealth of scientific data showing that one can influence the other, and even more evidence proving that certain emotional states can lead to chronic illness, many who work in mainstream medicine remain entirely ignorant of these concepts.

Perhaps this is why more and more people are gravitating towards alternative forms of medicine. As Garth Cook from Scientific American points out:

A growing body of scientific research suggests that our mind can play an important role in healing our body — or in staying healthy in the first place. . . There are now several lines of research suggesting that our mental perception of the world constantly informs and guides our immune system in a way that makes us better able to respond to future threats. That was a sort of 'aha' moment for me — where the idea of an entwined mind and body suddenly made more scientific sense than an ephemeral consciousness that's somehow separated from our physical selves.

Comment: Placebos, nocebos, and the symptoms of healing

The U.S. Attorney General is slandering supplements

Alliance for Natural Health
Tue, 15 Mar 2016 18:35 UTC

Last week, Attorney General Lynch released a video for National Consumer Protection Week about supplements. Excuse us, but since when is the US attorney general an expert on this subject? Since she obviously isn't, she must be relying on distortions and untruths she has been fed by other agencies of the government such as the FDA and Centers for Disease Control.

For instance, Ms. Lynch warns consumers against "ingesting substances whose safety and efficacy are not guaranteed" by FDA study. As we pointed out in our response to PBS, pharmaceutical drugs are also not studied by the FDA. The agency relies on industry studies to determine if new drugs can come to market. No independent review is done to check the industry's results, which has led to all kinds of manipulation and sometimes disastrous outcomes (see the examples of Vioxx and Avandia). And after approval is granted, the actual medicine itself is never tested, even though it may be manufactured in Chinese plants or other faraway locales.

Comment: Public Broadcasting System: A front for Big Pharma?

Comment: Natural health false flag? Attacks against multivitamins & supplements continue

Chances are, you've recently been barraged by not-so-subtle headlines attacking multivitamins and supplements as a whole. The mainstream articles in 2013 were very loosely and poorly based on three simultaneous and ridiculously flawed studies - and are still being referred to today. If anyone bothers to read the studies, they might find that they are simply a vehicle for an attack - an attack so gratuitous and heavy handed as to make one wonder about their modus operandi.

But the real attack on multivitamins stems from a mere editorial cited by a media regurgitating the words "case closed," "we don't need multivitamins," "evidence mounting [against multivitamins]," "enough is enough" and projections like the "vitamin industrial complex." Oh...so the gavel has been slammed...God forbid someone have their own preference about a consumer product.

Doctors more likely to misdiagnose patients who act like jerks

Julia Belluz
Vox
Sat, 19 Mar 2016 17:28 UTC

Going to see the doctor can bring out the worst in people. Being sick and fitting an appointment into an overcrowded schedule can be stressful. So can a long sit in the colorless cube of a waiting room.

But if you've ever given a doctor attitude, next time you might want to think twice — or risk being misdiagnosed.

That's the implication of two new studies published in the journal BMJ Quality & Safety.Separately, the authors demonstrated that clinicians are more likely to make errors of judgment when they're treating frustrating and difficult patients.

Comment: Doctors are human and like most humans they react negatively to jerks. However, even agreeable patients who are involved participants in their care run the risk of being misdiagnosed and receiving subpar care. That's just the nature of allopathic medicine.

Are you suffering from a Dopamine imbalance?

Dan Fries
Collective Evolution
Sat, 19 Mar 2016 16:47 UTC

You know how it feels.

That unmatchable sense of satisfaction you get after you accomplish something that you had always wanted to.

Whether it's breaking the weightlifting record at your gym, getting into an energetic mode and completing eight hours of work in five hours, or achieving a long-term goal that your friends (and even your Dad) thought you'd never do, that feeling can be highly motivating to take the next big step in your life.

That feeling is dopamine rushing down your spine.

What is Dopamine? It's a chemical compound present in the body as a neurotransmitter. It acts as a messenger between brain cells. Despite being generated by just a handful of brain cells, it acts as a powerful stimulant for many major physical and cognitive functions, including memory, movement, motivation, and pleasurable reward.

Comment: Healthy ways to increase your brain's dopamine levels

Research study: Women need more sleep than men because their brains are more complex

Hailey Eber
news.com.au
Mon, 14 Mar 2016 16:30 UTC

Researchers at Loughborough University's Sleep Research Centre in Leicestershire, England say women need more sleep than men because their brains are more complex.

"Women's brains are wired differently ... so their sleep need will be slightly greater," says Professor Jim Horne, the director of the Sleep Research Centre. 'Women tend to multi-task — they do lots at once and are flexible — and so they use more of their actual brain than men do."

UC Berkeley study finds organic diet cuts pesticide exposure in children

Alison F. Takemura
Santa Cruz Sentinel
Sun, 14 Feb 2016 14:40 UTC

© Kevin Johnson - Santa Cruz Sentinel
Camila Torres feeds her daughter Lily, 1, a spoonful of carrots with mango organic baby food at Boulder Creek Elementary with her 6-year-old daughter Bella on Saturday. Torres, a Boulder Creek resident, makes her own organic baby food.

Organic food matters to Camila Torres, so grappling with its higher prices has made her resourceful.

When the Boulder Creek resident makes baby food for her 1-year-old, Liliana, she tosses prepackaged, frozen, organic vegetables from Trader Joe's into a blender, adds a little water, then purées and warms up the mush before "airplaning" a spoonful into her daughter's mouth.

Torres wants her two girls to grow up on organic food - and frozen products help her afford it.

"I try to find any way within my means to keep potentially harmful things from entering their little bodies," said Torres, 28, an independent contractor who works with a company that captions videos.

Comment: The myth of safe pesticides & the negative effects on children

There are studies showing that organophosphate pesticides damage other tissues, including the myelin (the protective covering of nerve cells), and key nerves such as the optic nerve, causing permanent damage to eyesight including blindness. Other studies show genetic damage to the cell chromosomes. This is usually regarded as a sign of a precancerous condition.

The Glycemic Index? Forget about it!

Kelly Brogan, MD
Natural Blaze
Sat, 19 Mar 2016 21:03 UTC

We are so saturated with information. With stimulus. With advice. With authoritative edicts on health. A chain of gurus have come before me seeking to guide patients into the light of wellness. People are blinded by it, however. They feel confused, skeptical, and disenfranchised. And then they default to consensus and conformity around FDA standards of disease-care. There is a better way.

It involves awakening your inner guru. Getting in touch with your own inner compass.

This is necessary because there is no one just like you out there. No one has walked your path, accumulated your exposures. Grown and changed in response in quite the same way.

Modern medicine doesn't acknowledge the vital importance of biochemical individuality. About how we are a unique collective of organisms, an ecology within that is connected to an environment without like a snowflake in a winter sky.

Comment: GI Blues: What's wrong with the glycemic index?

Have dairy products set your body on fire?

Kelly Brogan, MC
Natural Blaze
Fri, 18 Mar 2016 00:00 UTC

I used to be a dairy addict. When my naturopath asked me to give up gluten and dairy 6 years ago, it was approximately 2 more years before I stopped fantasizing about cheese, milk, ice cream, ricotta (yes, I'm Italian), and yogurt. It turns out we have a decent explanation for the deep pleasure associated with dairy and its best friend, wheat, and it's the exorphin compounds from these foods that interact with opiate receptors in the brain and other bodily tissues.

There is a burgeoning literature in psychiatry that supports immune responses to the protein casein in dairy, primarily cow, as playing a role in pathologies ranging from depression to schizophrenia.

This is not to say that dairy is a problem for everyone, or that all dairy is a problem for some. In my experience, reintroduction of dairy after a month of elimination is enough to tell you which camp you fall in. In fact, I have had patients report vomiting upon re-exposure - to something they have eaten daily for decades!

Comment: Consumption of all forms of dairy - including all milk products, cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt, kefir and ice-cream is related to a myriad of diseases including cardiovascular diseases, autoimmune diseases, cancer, allergies, asthma, digestive diseases, thyroid problems, and neurological diseases among others.

General Mills to label products with GMO ingredients

Alyssa Navarro
Tech Times
Sat, 19 Mar 2016 17:37 UTC

© Mike Mozart | Flickr
General Mills on Friday said it will start putting labels on all its U.S. products that contain genetically modified organisms as ingredients. The changes will hit grocery stores over the next several weeks.

American food manufacturer General Mills announced on Friday that it will begin labelling all its products in the United States that has genetically modified organisms as ingredients. The move was prompted by a new state law in Vermont, which requires companies to put such information starting July 1.

However, the company cannot label products for only one state without driving up costs for consumers, said General Mills Vice President Jeff Harmening, so the company's response is to put up labels nationwide.

Still, Harmening said one thing is needed to tackle the issue of genetically modified food: a national solution.

"All sides of this debate, 20 years of research, and every major health and safety agency in the world agree that GMOs are not a health or safety concern," said Harmening. "At the same time, we know that some consumers are interested in knowing which products contain GMO ingredients."

Comment: Overly processed, sugar-laden foods shouldn't be consumed whether they contain GMOs or not -- but thanks anyway, General Mills.

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Health & Wellness

The many benefits of licorice root

Why hospitals need to recognize the science of healing thoughts

The U.S. Attorney General is slandering supplements

Doctors more likely to misdiagnose patients who act like jerks

Are you suffering from a Dopamine imbalance?

Research study: Women need more sleep than men because their brains are more complex

UC Berkeley study finds organic diet cuts pesticide exposure in children

The Glycemic Index? Forget about it!

Have dairy products set your body on fire?

General Mills to label products with GMO ingredients

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