Vitamins have their place, but they are no substitute for eating well

 When it comes to vitamins, being informed requires taking a look at one’s diet and what nutrients might be missing, then balancing that against gender, age and other health factors.

Part of the journey is understanding that some vitamins — C and the B complex family — are water-soluble, thereby excreted by the body and needing [...]

Medicine, massage and meditation

Justin Laube knew he was interested in integrative medicine, so when the time came to choose a medical school he went with the University of Minnesota. A big part of the reason was the campus’ Center for Spirituality and Healing.
Thanks to resources at the center, the second-year medical student has already had an immersion experience [...]

Aromatherapy, massage healthier alternatives to drugs

Casie McNaughton
When taking pills and over-the-counter drugs seem too overwhelming, some simple practices such as aromatherapy and meditation may be the key to a healthy body, mind and soul.
 
When taking pills and over-the-counter drugs seem too overwhelming, some simple practices such as aromatherapy and meditation may be the key to a healthy body, mind [...]

Which Alternative Remedies Really Work?

When Dr. Andrew Weil, the alternative medicine guru, hurt his knee, he skipped pain relievers and went straight to acupuncture, reports CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen in her online column Empowered Patient. “It worked,’’ said Dr. Weil. “My knee felt much better.’’
Acupuncture is one of five alternative therapies highlighted by Ms. Cohen in a recent [...]

Alternative ways of treating an enlarged prostate

 By Drs. Kay Judge and Maxine Barish-Wreden
Q: My prostate is enlarged and my doctor wants to put me on medication to avoid surgery. Is there a more natural approach?
A: Prostate enlargement, or benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) as we say in the business, is very common in middle-aged and older men, especially in the Western [...]

Why garlic is good for the heart

Researchers have cracked the mystery of why eating garlic can help keep the heart healthy.
The key is allicin, which is broken down into the foul-smelling sulphur compounds which taint breath. These compounds react with red blood cells and produce hydrogen sulphide which relaxes the blood vessels, and keeps blood flowing easily. The University of [...]

Exercise, diet work wonders

By Kathleen Louden | Special to the Tribune
October 9, 2007

The idea of controlling diabetes through diet and exercise has gained importance following renewed warnings about heart risk from some diabetes drugs and with the release of a University of Chicago study showing many diabetics believe treatment is as burdensome as complications of their [...]

The benefits of using flaxseed oil

By Meredith Cohn | sun reporter
October 11, 2007

Supplement taken by athletes thought to build energy, stamina 
Olympian Marion Jones once said she used it. And so did Tour de France winner Floyd Landis and home-run record holder Barry Bonds.
Not steroids, but plant oil.
Flaxseed seemed to be getting endorsements from every celebrity athlete on the [...]

Alternative Treatments That Work

It’s hard to decipher through all the hype about alternative medicine. How do we know what works and what doesn’t?
Well, CNN got the lowdown from experts in the field on which alternative treatments actually work for what.
Here are highlights:

Acupuncture for pain - Hands, down, this was the No. 1 recommendation from our panel of experts. [...]

Med student: Integrative medicine is ‘new way of healing’

Justin Laube is a second-year medical student at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.
MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota – In a recent column, Emily Breidbart, a second-year medical student at New York University School of Medicine, expressed concerns about her medical education and the frustrating health-care system she will soon enter.
What deeply troubled me was her passive viewpoint [...]