Published June 17, 2010

Is there any truth to the “Acid-Ash” diets?

You may have heard that as people grow older, and especially when they become sick, their bodies become progressively more acidic. You may have even heard about some new diets on the market called “Acid-Ash” diets. Should you be on one of these diets?

Early in my alternative medical career, someone told me it’s the foods we eat that cause this acid accumulation. They said certain foods, known as acid foods, leave an acidic residual when your body metabolizes them. Other foods leave an alkaline (opposite of acid) residual. Therefore, the reason that people become acidic is because they eat too many acid foods and not enough alkaline foods. But is there any truth to this theory?

Read More

Published June 16, 2010

Big Pharma finds another legal way to kill you

You probably already know that acetaminophen, aka Tylenol, causes liver damage. Sometimes that damage is severe. Because this has been all over the news, some people think they can use other Big Pharma drugs instead. And many of them are dying for it.

That’s right! Another Big Pharma drug is killing people (or causing liver failure) – and the news won’t cover it. Diclofenac is a common prescription NSAID drug. And the damage can come very quickly. In fact, some cases of liver toxicity occur in the first month of treatment. But they can occur at any time.

Read More

Published June 11, 2010

How to predict (and stop) Alzheimer’s years before you have symptoms

Alzheimer’s is one of the most feared degenerative diseases. No one wants to lose their memory. And, until now, we couldn’t usually diagnose it until rather late in the progression of the disease. If we could pick it up earlier, there might be a lot we could do to prevent its progression — or at least slow it down. Well, we might have a new way to diagnose Alzheimer’s — up to 10 years before you have symptoms.

Before researchers discovered this new technique, the diagnosis required a physical exam of the brain. That’s a tough nut. It required an actual biopsy of the brain matter. That carries significant risk — and it’s fairly expensive. So doctors were slow to order the exam. And the results were not always conclusive.

Read More