Conditions

Try these natural options for relief of menopause symptoms.

Are bioidentical hormones safer? Is it perimenopause? HRT and age: is younger better? Get the answers!

A 2008 study found that 80 percent of women now use complementary and alternative medicine to lessen perimenopausal symptoms.

Are food allergies really increasing? Or is it a case of increased awareness? Both, according to allergist and immunologist Stefano Luccioli, MD.

School lunch programs have been the focus of rigorous criticism and change, with junk food tossed out in favor of healthy foods. But are kids eating the more nutritious school lunches? A new behavioral-psychology approach claims that a few simple, low- or no-cost changes could help kids choose healthy school food.

Weight loss and diet supplements can work in many ways—by enhancing fat burning, suppressing appetite, increasing metabolic function, and increasing digestive efficacy.

One critical supplement for weight loss is CLA (conjugated linoleic acid), which is clinically proven to reduce body fat, particularly in the abdominal area, by improving the body’s sensitivity to insulin. The mineral chromium aids appetite control by combating sugar cravings. Digestive enzymes such as bromelain and papain can help the body digest foods fully, getting the optimum nutrition from food consumed.

Several herbs also show promise in weight management. Extracts of green tea contain epigallo-catechin gallate (EGCG) and caffeine, which may speed up metabolism, while studies suggest cayenne reduces appetite and increases metabolism of dietary fats. Extracts of crape-myrtle, such as glucosol, work by blocking the sugar rise associated with eating high-GI foods, thus preventing body-fat storage.
Vitamins also have clinical efficacy in supporting weight loss. One recent study showed that increased supplementation of calcium and vitamin D had significant effects on weight loss.

American consumers are increasingly interested both in prevention and in natural healing modalities.

Your secret weapon to weight loss could simply be upping your intake of two important
supplements, calcium and vitamin D, according to a new study
published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

How to best feed and care for your one-and-only brain? Try these tips from Martha Howard, MD, of ChicagoHealers.com.