Alternative Health News

Word of the Year Describes Eco-Friendly Eaters

(NewsTarget) Ever hear the word 'locavore?' This was the New Oxford American Dictionary word of the year for 2007. A locavore is a person who chooses to eat food that has been grown and produced locally.The word was coined in 2005 by 'concerned culinary adventurers' in the San Francisco area. They challenged others to eat only foods grown within a 100-mile radius of their homes for an entire month. The idea behind the organization Locavores, (www.locavores.com) , has attracted members...

(NewsTarget) The world remains at great risk of infectious disease epidemics and pandemics, and new diseases are emerging at an "historically unprecedented" rate, according to an annual report from the World Health Organization (WHO).The report, titled "A Safer Future," says that never before have new diseases developed at such a high rate, averaging more than one per year. Since the 1970s, the WHO has identified 39 new diseases, including Ebola, SARS, bird flu, Nipahvirus and Marburg hemorrhagic fever. With the...

(NewsTarget) World Hypnotism Day is on Friday, January 4, 2008. World Hypnotism Day is a day when professionals in the field of hypnotism from many different organizations around the world will be sharing their expertise and promoting the truths and benefits of hypnosis.There has been as enormous amount of research in the field of hypnosis in the past several years. People have experienced great benefits from hypnosis in various aspects of their lives. Everything from weight loss, quitting smoking, to...

Q: I'm beginning to see flax seed oil and MCT oil powders sold as supplements, particularly to the bodybuilding community. Are these powders safe alternatives to the oils, or does the extra processing they go through destroy their health-promoting qualities?A: The ideal way to consume your food would be minimally processed. Additionally processing will tend to increase damage to the food and the benefits it can provide to your body. This is especially true for highly perishable essential fatty acids...

Q: I greatly appreciate the information your website provides. I know that you are not in favor of unfermented soy products, so how can soy lecithin be an acceptable product as an ingredient listed in Whey Healthier Shake product in your webstore? Thanks for your time.A: Soy lecithin in small amounts presents no problems. If you were to take thousands of milligrams a day for long period of times that could present a problem.

U.S. regulators have warned that Pfizer's anti-smoking drug, Chantix, appears increasingly likely to be linked to serious psychiatric behavior. The FDA called for stronger label warnings. After analyzing reports of suicidal thoughts and behavior, the FDA said the drug is effective but that patients should talk to their doctors about this new safety information. The drug has been prescribed to about 4 million people in the U.S. since in 2006.

Thirteen of the twenty best-selling drugs in the U.S. are made in plants in Puerto Rico. But an investigation found dozens of examples over four years of lapses in quality control in the Puerto Rican pharmaceutical industry. Even modern Puerto Rico drug plants, under the watch of U.S. regulators, have failed to keep laboratories sterile and have exported tainted pills. FDA inspections from 2003 to 2007 found many problems, including machinery pins ending up inside bottles of Effexor (a depression treatment) and...

Q: What do you do for body lotion, most lotions have soybean products in them? Would it be just as hazardous to use those lotions as it is to eat soy?A: The safest moisturizer that I recommend is pure coconut oil.  It is inexpensive and all natural - the important point that needs to be understood is that anything applied to the skin is absorbed by the body and processed through the organs.  Think twice before you apply...