Words: Dr Richard FIRSHEIN It is often so hard for some of us to give up foods like ice-cream, juicy steaks, and French fried potatoes, even when we know that eating these foods regularly is actually making us ill and shortening our lives. When I ask my patients why they continue to eat these foods,
Words: Dr Richard FIRSHEIN You’ve heard of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ cholesterol. Just as there is good and bad cholesterol, there are ‘good’ and ‘bad’ oestrogens. Bad oestrogens are responsible for the promotion of tumours; they are found in high proportions in synthetic oestrogen used in birth control pills, or prescribed for the ‘treatment’ of menopause.
Words: Dr Richard FIRSHEIN CoQ10 [Co-enzyme Q10], a naturally-occurring substance that our body produces, is more than a biochemical sparkplug. It is a nutraceutical found naturally in the body. It helps to convert food into energy. It is a powerful antioxidant. It tends to deplete as we age — especially after 40. So, one ought
Words: Dr Richard FIRSHEIN Dawn Perry, a personal chef, cooking instructor and certified holistic health counsellor has put together a list of wonderful recipes that are filled with powerful nutraceuticals. Dawn was trained at the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco and the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York City. Each of the delicious
Words: Dr Richard FIRSHEIN Flaxseed has actually been a part of the human diet for thousands of years. It has a rich history of use. Four thousand years ago, in southern Mesopotamia, citizens constructed irrigation systems primarily for the growth of flax, and the plant was cultivated in Babylonia, Circa 3,000 BC. The famed philosopher-physician
Words: Dr Richard FIRSHEIN Selenium and N-acetylcysteine [NAC] help the body produce glutathione, one of the most powerful free-radical fighters produced by the body. Glutathione is crucial in protecting the body from destructive by-products of many chronic illnesses, including asthma. It is found throughout the body but in higher levels in the lungs and the
Words: Dr Richard FIRSHEIN Many people use the words vitamin and supplement interchangeably. Technically, this is inaccurate. Supplements can be broken down into vitamins, minerals, amino acids, fatty acids, and a host of other compounds including bioflavonoids and isoflavones. I will focus on the relatively small army of researched Nutrients For Asthma that can help
Words: Dr Richard FIRSHEIN Allergies can be as wide-ranging as the world itself. Perhaps, the most common form is allergic rhinitis, the technical name for sneezing, coughing, runny nose, watery eyes, and itchiness that many of us experience every year. The seasonal pollination of trees, grass, and weeds distributing airborne allergens varies little from year
Words: Dr Richard FIRSHEIN Milk thistle is my centrepiece in restoring the healthy functioning of the liver. It not only protects the liver from damage, it actually stimulates the growth of healthy new cells. Amazingly, studies have shown that this humble herb can reverse liver damage, protect against hepatitis and cirrhosis, speed recovery from jaundice,
Words: Dr Richard FIRSHEIN I am privileged to be practicing integrative medicine during a time of revolution –– the Nutraceutical Revolution. Nutraceuticals are nutrients that have the capacity to act like medicines. They are ‘natural’ pharmaceuticals. The real miracle –– nature’s power to heal — has always been available to us. But, now science has
