Making your own tinctures.

If nothing else, God made me scottish. It is both a failing and a strength. That is why I prefer powders and liquids for supplements because you get twice as much for the money by doing so. You pay for the    capsules themselves, and the amortization of the machinery to put the material in the capsules. Now, if whatever it is will not get by the tastebuds, yes, then I buy the capsules.
Recently, I have been using several herbs as tinctures, because tinctures are also so much cheaper. Saw Palmetto for the prostate and Astragalus for the immune system are examples. I am posting an article from the Bulk Herb Store about making your own tinctures, which would make their cost even lower. By the way, the Herb Store is a wonderful site run by a Christian family in Tennessee that I highly recommend. The more I get into nutrition, the more I have realized that herbs can be an inexpensive alternative to pharmaceuticals. Herb Pharm in Oregon is another company I often buy from and respect. Here is the link to the Bulk Herb Store.

Making your own tinctures

New York Times questions Statin Use.

I have thought for a long time that Statins are  way over-prescribed. Now it seems that the New York Times  seems to agree. Here is the link. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/31/business/31statins.html

Selenium, a new use in Contact Lenses

Selenium is a very interesting metal from a nutritional standpoint. We only need it in tiny amounts, like 200 micrograms (thousandths of a gram) daily. Thyroids need selenium in order to make thyroxine, a life sustaining hormone. Selenium has also been shown in multiple studies to reduce the rates of  most cancers     by about half. That's a 50 percent reduction! That is why selenium should be in virtually every multivitamin. If it is not in yours,  get a better multi. My recommendation is the Perfect Multi from Purity Products. It is available on my website.
Now comes a  completely new use for selenium. Making soft contact lenses resistant to colonization by pathogenic bacteria. Dr. Mark Willcox, a microbiologist and professor of Optometry and Vision Science at the  University of New South Wales in Sydney Australia has incorporated selenium into an organic compound and bonded it to the lens material. Growth of Staph aureus was decreased by 1000 %. Pseudomonas aeruginosa growth was less. What is so good about this is that there were no deleterious effects on the corneal epithelium. Those of you who have had an infection from contact lens wear know how important this may be. Those of you who have had an infection from contact lens wear know how important this may be.
Knowing how slowly the FDA operates, it may be some time before this is available to the general public.

Detecting Alzheimer's from an Eye Exam

It seems that Alzheimer's disease affects the retina of the eye as well as the brain. Two researchers from University College London, Francesca Cordiera and Stephen Moss are developing a confocal scanning  laser  ophthalmoscope to detect the protein beta amyloid in the retina, the same protein that collects in the brains of Alzheimer's patients. It is not ready at this point, but how nice it will be to  go to your ophthalmologist to confirm the  diagnosis of Alzheimer's, especially in the early stages when do one is quite sure what is happening. I believe we have only scratched the surface of diseases and conditions that we will be able to diagnose via an eye exam.

The role of toxins in Autism

Below is an abstract from Dr. Landigan, the head at Mt Sinai Medical Center in NYC talking about the role of toxins in the development of Autism. His credentials are impeccable. Getting rid of toxins in our bodies, from amalgam fillings containing mercury, to fluoride in our water, is critical. 


Current Opinion in Pediatrics:
April 2010 - Volume 22 - Issue 2 - p 219–225
doi: 10.1097/MOP.0b013e328336eb9a
Therapeutics and toxicology: Edited by Robert O. Wright

What causes autism? Exploring the environmental contribution
Landrigan, Philip J

Abstract
Purpose of review: Autism is a biologically based disorder of brain development. Genetic factors – mutations, deletions, and copy number variants – are clearly implicated in causation of autism. However, they account for only a small fraction of cases, and do not easily explain key clinical and epidemiological features. This suggests that early environmental exposures also contribute. This review explores this hypothesis.
Recent findings: Indirect evidence for an environmental contribution to autism comes from studies demonstrating the sensitivity of the developing brain to external exposures such as lead, ethyl alcohol and methyl mercury. But the most powerful proof-of-concept evidence derives from studies specifically linking autism to exposures in early pregnancy – thalidomide, misoprostol, and valproic acid; maternal rubella infection; and the organophosphate insecticide, chlorpyrifos. There is no credible evidence that vaccines cause autism.

Summary: Expanded research is needed into environmental causation of autism. Children today are surrounded by thousands of synthetic chemicals. Two hundred of them are neurotoxic in adult humans, and 1000 more in laboratory models. Yet fewer than 20% of high-volume chemicals have been tested for neurodevelopmental toxicity. I propose a targeted discovery strategy focused on suspect chemicals, which combines expanded toxicological screening, neurobiological research and prospective epidemiological studies.

Mediterranean diet protects against stomach cancer

Mediterranean diet protects against stomach cancer

The Full Plate Diet

The Full Plate Diet is a new book that approaches dieting in a completely new direction. It is written by two MD's, Stuart Seale and Teresa Sherard and a PhD nutritionist Diana Fleming  and published right here in Austin, Texas. I highly recommend this book to you first because I love its emphasis on eating more fiber, and second, because it may be how you maintain your weight, or lose that extra weight that you may be carrying around. It has lots of good background information on fiber which I think is important. It also shows many ways to make moderate adjustments in your eating habits in order to increase the amount of fiber intake in your diet. The whole purpose of fiber here is to make you feel fuller more quickly, and to delay the time for you to get hungary again. Look for it on Amazon.com. You will be healthier as a result.