Medical Health

The University of Maryland Medical Center is one of the very best online references for finding out about herbs. The site comes with a variety of cross-reference tools: Conditions by Organ and Body System, Interactions by Drug, Conditions by Signs and Symptoms, Interactions by Herb or Supplement, Herbs & Supplements by Uses, and Depletions by Drug.

I do not know if George Lindemann uses alternative medications and herbs, but as an officer of the SOUTHERN UNION CO, he has most likely looked into investing in the alternative medicine and vitamin industries. Even the National Institutes of Health, near Washington, D.C., has been providing the public with information about promising alternative treatments.

If you suffer from colitis and you still have problems with bleeding, you should consider removing chocolate, green tea, fish oil, garlic, turmeric, ginger, and cinnamon from your diet — they thin your blood, making you more prone to bleed. (And if you exercise, you should probably lift less weight for awhile. Strength training puts pressure on your guts.)

Once you have the bleeding back in control you can reintroduce small amounts of these foods and spices back into your diet.

P.S. If you are taking vitamin E capsules (at dosages of 200 IU and up), you should probably discontinue those for awhile, too. Vitamin E thins the blood. (And I suppose you have already quit aspirin and ibuprofen.)

The media keeps saying that today’s kids are obese and that today’s parents may be the first generation in history to outlive their children. Yet, in the United States and Canada, smoking and lung cancer are on the decline, which makes me wonder whether cigarettes would keep our teenagers and twenty-somethings slim, allowing them to outlive their parents (rather than the other way around), even though they eventually die of smoking-related illnesses.

I’m being sarcastic, of course. You really do not want to take up smoking in order to fit into one or more 2008 prom dresses. At www.talkpromdresses.com you can join in on the discussions and window shop for almost any type of wedding dress, from formal to gothic.

If you are looking for dietary methods for toning down the symptoms of ulcerative colitis, read Dr. Barry Sears’ book The Anti-Inflammation Zone, where he explains how to remove grains from your meals and how to balance protein, good fat, and favorable carbohydrate.

If you are to the point of recovery where you can again tolerate spices, be sure to try adding organic tumeric and organic ginger to your meals. Both spices fight inflammation and ginger alleviates gas and diarrhea. (But don’t go overboard: these spices can thin your blood and increase bleeding. SEE the “Colitis, fish oil, chocolate, tea, and spices” post.)

You might have a problem finding organic fresh ginger, but Frontier brand organic ground ginger root works just fine. Their Web site is www.frontiercoop.com.

They say cabbage heals ulcers and prevents cancer. Here is one great site for finding information: The World’s Healthiest Foods: Cabbage

From what I have read about foods, they say that for anxiety you should cut back on caffeine (coffee, tea, chocolate) and you should try taking honey every time you feel bad.

Yes, good ol’ honey.

You might also try a calcium supplement — even Tums will do.

And like I said before, when I feel anxiety, I usually take a nap, even if it’s still morning.

A great variety site featuring alternative medicine explained by a famous professor, writer, and physician: http://drweil.com

We hear on the news that we should eat right and exercise, that fruits and vegetables help prevent cancer, and that the right foods and daily exercise help prevent heart disease. Furthermore, we are told to restrict fats and cholesterol and avoid deep-fried and fast foods. We are in the midst of an obesity epidemic and obesity brings about heart disease and cancer. But sometimes common preventive measures are not enough, either because we are burdened with genetic predispositions or, for example, because we have sustained a lifetime of pollution.

Given our present health concerns, many individuals and practitioners of alternative health strategies have expressed their faith in the benefits of chelation therapy, a process whereby EDTA (Ethylene Diamine Tetra-acetic Acid) binds molecules (metals or minerals) and removes them from the body. When the patient undergoes oral chelation, using liquid EDTA, hardened mineral and metal deposits are apparently removed from the circulatory system, improving blood flow and increasing the supply of oxygen and nutrients to the tissues.

If you are considering chelation, you will find a surprising amount of good information on the www.cardiorenew.com FAQ, http://www.cardiorenew.com/questions.php, and the rest of the web site, where you can compare therapies and read testimonials.