FDA urges caution with potentially lethal Licorice; Overlooks Prilosec, Accutane, Meridia, Crestor, Bextra, and Serevent.

An article appeared on October 29, 2011 on the Consumer Reports website Health.org (http://news.consumerreports.org/health/2011/10/fda-black-licorice-candy-treats-can-cause-heart-tricks.html ) captioned “FDA: Black licorice treats can cause heart tricks” and warning of the potentially lethal effects on heart function of ingesting black licorice - an herbal remedy used for thousands of years, in a globe-spanning variety of cultures and traditions, and, used knowledgeably, without ill effect on the general population.
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Book Review: Alchemical Medicine for the 21st Century

Alchemical Medicine for the 21st Century (subtitled ‘Spagyrics for Detox, Healing and Longevity’) written by Clare Goodrick-Clarke, is among the best “first” books for someone new to alchemy, providing the reader with a concise and very well-written compilation of alchemical history as well as practical facts and easily-implemented suggestions on how to use the healing properties of plants and the ancient art and science of spagyrics for the treatment of contemporary health problems.
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Would Conventional Medicine Have Killed Steve Jobs? Did it?

An article appeared in the October 12, 2011 internet edition of Medpage Today, a widely read online medical professional website entitled “Did Alternative Medicine Kill Steve Jobs?” by a Colorado-based gynecologist named Michelle Berman, MD.

Every once in a while, when one thinks that the partisans of medical orthodoxy have gone about as far as they can go in asserting the ridiculous to enhance their claims of scientific correctness and exclusive access to The Truth (capitals intended), they go and make a jump into the sublime, surprising us all.  I am thus surprised by this article, although perhaps I shouldn’t be.

In substance, “Did Alternative Medicine Kill Steve Jobs?” speculates that the delay between his diagnosis with pancreatic cancer and his undertaking conventional treatment (i.e., corrective surgery) was – coupled with his subsequent pursuit of alternate therapeutic modalities – likely what cost Jobs his life.

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Diabetes – An Ayurvedic perspective

Diabetes is the fifth deadliest disease in the USA. According to ADA (American Diabetic Association) 23.8 million people in USA suffer from diabetes i.e. almost 8 % of the total population of USA. Not only in USA, but all over the world there is an increased number of diabetic cases. In India, there are 25 million diabetic cases and unfortunately India
ranks as the largest diabetic populated country. Statistically every fifth diabetic in the world is an Indian.

According to Ayurveda, Diabetes can be correlated to “Madhumeh”. Madhumeh is categorized under the disease “Prameh” which is extensively described in all major Ayurvedic texts.  The word ‘madhu’ means honey (sweet) and ‘meh’ means urination. Hence ‘madhumeh’ means a disease in which person urinates honey like urine.

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Book Review: Ayurveda: A Comprehensive Guide to Traditional Indian Medicine for the West

Ayurveda is a lineage of healing that has evolved from the primordial past in a far-off land with an unimaginably different cultural context from the West and has endured through oral legacies of countless generations of healers as well as literal translations of radically varying quality and completeness. This text demands that Western readers peel off the sheaths of their way of thinking about the origins of matter and life - that is, discard their cultural preconceptions and - its most rewarding aspect - opens their eyes to a new way of thinking about health and healing.
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Ayurveda & Myasthenia Gravis

Myasthenia Gravis (MG) is a neuromuscular disease characterized by increasingly severe fluctuating muscle weakness and fatiguability. This weakness is brought about by an over-active immune response by the body against its own tissues; hence, it is termed an autoimmune diseases.

Myasthenia Gravis is caused by a defect in the transmission of nerve impulses to muscles. It occurs when normal communication between the nerve and muscle is interrupted at the neuromuscular junction - the place where nerve cells connect with the muscles they control. Normally when impulses travel down the nerve, the nerve endings release a neurotransmitter substance called acetylcholine. Acetylcholine travels through the neuromuscular junction and binds to acetylcholine receptors which are activated and generate a muscle contraction.
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All About Kapha Dosha

The physical universe is derived from three powers: energy, light and matter. Energy works through the air element, light works through fire, and matter is dominated by water. When these factors are imbued with prana, or life force, the three doshas (vata, pitta and kapha) are created. These doshas determine our conditions of growth, aging, health and disease; they produce the physical body and oversee its substance and function; and they relate to our individual habits and proclivities–from bodily structure to emotional responses.

Kapha dosha

Kapha dosha is composed of earth and water. These properties make this dosha stable, and it is responsible for growth and homeostasis of the body. Kapha dosha is produced in the body as a post-digestive product (in the form of energy), and its quality and quantity depend on the substances consumed and their proper digestion.
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Cancer: A Comparative Study Of Modern And Ancient Ayurvedic Thoughts About Pathology Of This Disease

The human body is a multicellular organization or ecosystem whose individual units - cells - grow and reproduce by cell division and organize themselves in collaborative groups of tissues. Tissues further assemble to form organs, pathways and systems. In this functional society of cells where each cell is an independent as well as an interdependent life unit, there occur cellular births, deaths, functional and territorial limitations, maintenance of population sizes, nurturance in favorable habitats, the performance of specific types of work, etc., just as is the case in any society or ecosystem.
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All About Vata Dosha

According to Ayurveda, there is a direct relationship between the elements that make up the natural universe–earth, water, fire, air and space–and the human body. Therefore, it is important to know about the basic constituents and principles of a well-functioning body and the physiological aspects of Ayurveda.

Concept of doshas-dhatus-malas

In our bodies there are certain activities that are going on constantly, both structurally and functionally, from the gross outer level to the most minute internal tissue and cellular level. These activities can be divided into three groups:
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Book Review: Messages from the Dream Body

Messages from the Dream Body
by Nancy Dakota Adlman
(CreateSpace/Amazon.com, 2011)

Messages from the Dream Body is a compelling poetic account of the Shaman’s path.

Nancy Dakota Adlman, the author of “Messages from the Dream Body” is a social work educator, clinical social worker and a psychotherapist in private practice as well as a Shamanic practitioner who has studied extensively with Shamans and healers from the Peruvian, Ecuadorian, and New Mexican traditions. She has incorporated this ancient and powerful form of healing into her work with clients.
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