Author name: DocKaren.com

A worthy goal for teaching natural health is to reconcile scientific research with natural health approaches. It is sometimes a difficult task. All of the medical journals sell ads to drug companies and it should be obvious that economics help to determine what appears in the journals. But occasional natural health gems appear; they are […]

Researchers from the University of California at Irvine College of Medicine have found a connection between oxidative stress and high blood pressure. Their results were published in the journal, Hypertension (2000;36(1):142-1). Oxidative stress has already been linked to inflammation and heart diseases. Oxidative stress can reduce the levels of nitric oxide thereby increasing blood pressure.

Because of increased carbon dioxide and global warming, pollen from ragweed and other allergens could be on the increase. According to a study appearing in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, (March, 2002) researchers from Harvard Medical School found that ragweed grown in air with twice the current amount of carbon dioxide produced 61% more pollen

Normally you have between 4 and 7 pounds of bacteria in your colon. Normal and well-balanced bacteria have many beneficial functions. Beneficial bacteria do the following: Produce vitamins like folic acid and B12. Nourish the lining of the colon by feeding on vegetable fiber and producing butyric acid. Adequate butyric acid levels reduce the chances

Infants fed non-human breast milk before the age of four months have an increased chance of suffering from allergies and asthma according to a study published in the British Medical Journal (September 25, 1999;319:815-819). Researchers followed over 2,000 children from birth through age six. Children given milk before the age of four months (not human

In a small study, published in the August 19, 2000 issue of the British Medical Journal, 24 patients were given a homeopathic remedy daily and 27 patients received a placebo. Although it was a small group, the study was double-blind, placebo-controlled and randomized. For four weeks the subjects kept a diary where they recorded their

Scientists from the University of Michigan Medical School found with experiments with laboratory mice, that changes in microbes of the GI tract brought on by antibiotic use can affect how the immune system’s response to allergens in the lungs. ”Antibiotics knock out bacteria in the gut, allowing fungi to take over temporarily until the bacteria

There is further evidence for the theory that allergies may be due, in part, from living in environments that are too sterile. Some believe that a certain amount of bacterial exposure is good and makes the immune system act more appropriately. The theory is that immune system, when denied bacteria to interact with, will be

An adult has between six and eight pounds of bacteria in his or her intestines. The total of bacterial cells in the colon is more than the number of cells in the entire body (the bacterial cells are much smaller). The bacteria belong there. The right species of bacteria will produce nutrients, remove toxins, support