Herbal Medicine
Hypericum Lights the Path Toward New Bladder Cancer Therapies
St John’s wort for cancer? Bladder cancer is more common in men, for unknown reasons, and is most frequent in later decades of life, presumably due to long-term exposure to carcinogens and epithelial irritants. Carcinoma of transitional epithelium is the most common type of bladder cancer, followed by squamous cell carcinoma, which is most often […]
Read MoreThe Harmony of Inside-Out and Outside-In: A Comprehensive Approach to Skin Conditions
As naturopathic doctors, we have a comprehensive approach to treating our patients. In this way, we differ from conventional practitioners of medicine. One way this is very evident is our perception and care for our patients’ skin. The skin is the largest organ in the body and can be seen as a barometer of what […]
Read MoreUrinary Colic & Lithiasis
Herbal Specifics Renal colic due to kidney stones can present as vague to excruciating pain, no matter the size of calculi. Renal colic pain is not due to the stone itself, but rather is due to obstruction of the urinary flow by the kidney stone causing increased pressure on the urinary tract wall, smooth muscle […]
Read MoreInterstitial Cystitis In Men
Tolle Causam For a long time the medical dogma has been that interstitial cystitis (IC) affects women 10 times more often than men.1 This idea was flawed for several reasons, particularly the simple absence of any attempt to look for IC in men with pelvic pain and instead labeling them as having chronic prostatitis. A large […]
Read MoreAddressing Acute Allergy Concerns Naturally
I occasionally have been guilty of wanting to be the quintessential ND, looking comprehensively at a patient’s presentation, scrupulously following our principles and digging deep to understand the multifactorial clinical tapestry as to effectively “identify and treat the cause(s),” unfortunately, sometimes all the while ignoring our hierarchy of care and the patient’s acute concerns: his […]
Read MorePicrorhiza & Neopicrorhiza: Applications in Allergic & Inflammatory Lung Disorders
Neopicrorhiza schrophulariiflora and Picrorhiza scrophulariiflora have been used traditionally for allergies, asthma, and inflammatory disorders, including liver disease. Neopicrorhiza grows in high-altitude locales of the Himalayas and is an herbaceous perennial plant of the Scrophulariaceae family whose leaves, stems, and roots are used medicinally. Picrorhiza kurroa was the species originally used in Ayurvedic medicine; however, due to severe overharvesting, it is now […]
Read MoreThe Stars of Medicine
Introduction to Naturopathic Medicine Naturopathic medicine is a practice of medicine that focuses on holistic care, proactive prevention, comprehensive diagnosis, and non-invasive treatment. By using interventions that are all-natural or low-risk, naturopathic doctors help restore the body’s innate ability to heal itself. Naturopathic doctors (also known as NDs) are hybrid doctors; we are trained not […]
Read MoreBeyond Saw Palmetto: The Complexity Of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia
The common condition benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) remains relatively poorly understood clinically. There is much room for improvement, including a long way to go beyond just providing Serenoa repens (saw palmetto) and clearing up all the misunderstanding of this herb’s role, in general. In this article, the causes of BPH will be discussed along with approaches to […]
Read MoreChoosing Among Adaptogen Herbs
Adaptogens, or safe herbs that help patients cope with stress, occupy a place of prominence in herbal medicine. Stress is a major factor in creating mind-body illness, and adaptogens are a useful part of correcting imbalances. Naturopathic physicians are generally familiar with the common adaptogens and many prescribe them routinely. However, many adaptogens are frequently […]
Read MoreHerbs For Sperm Disorders
Decreasing sperm counts and impaired function leading to reduced fertility are a major problem in the Western world, and growing worse. Numerous reports have documented declining mean sperm counts and increasing rates of asthenospermia in developed nations over the past 50 years (Carlsen et al., 1992; Auger et al., 1995). These trends have been increasingly […]
Read MoreChronic Prostatitis & Pain: Getting To The Root And Resolving It
“Chronic prostatitis” is a common but under-recognized, poorly researched entity that addresses a spectrum of disease in men. It includes interstitial cystitis (IC), a condition formerly believed to occur largely in women until men were actually inspected and found to have it at similar rates; chronic pelvic floor hypertonicity; and non-inflammatory and neuropathic chronic pain […]
Read MoreHypertension: A Symptom, Not A Disease
Tolle Causam Hypertension is regularly mismanaged in conventional and naturopathic medicine. The tyranny of the concept of “essential hypertension,” coupled with the widespread tendency to treat hypertension as a disease rather than a symptom, is at the root of this problem. Here, a more holistic approach to the patient with elevated blood pressure will be […]
Read MoreCinnamon, Spice And Everything Nice: Insulin-Sensitizing Spices
In recent years, several common spices have received attention as possible insulin sensitizers. Many of these spices, including Cinnamomum spp (cinnamon, cassia) bark and Syzygium aromaticum (clove) flower buds, were once central players in the spice trade. These and similar flavorful, well-known herbs could become critical components for helping people overcome or avoid metabolic syndrome and diabetes mellitus. Cinnamon […]
Read MoreXenoestrogens: The Assault On Reproductive Health
Synthetic compounds structurally distinct from estrogen that nevertheless act as estrogen receptor agonists are known as xenoestrogens. The list of xenoestrogenic compounds that industry has polluted the globe with is long and growing—dioxins, phthalides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), DDT, organochlorines, bisphenol A, and so on. The worsening estrogenic soup we appear to be bathing ourselves and […]
Read MoreFrom Herbalist to Author: the Writer’s Journey
How long does it take to publish a textbook series? For this naturopathic doctor and renowned herbalist, the journey spans nearly a decade. “I think this is the culmination of my many notes and class handouts and conference venues and powerpoint presentations or lecture notes that I would give to students or give to conference attendees. […]
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