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
Words: Dr Richard FIRSHEIN The existence of vitamin E was first uncovered in 1920, but Agnes Fay Morgan and her colleagues at the University of California at Berkeley are credited with the 1937 discovery of vitamin E’s special role in the body. While myriad studies have shown the promise of other natural herbs and supplements,
Words: Dr Richard FIRSHEIN John, a thirty-seven-year-old executive, was rushed to the hospital after collapsing. When he regained consciousness, his doctors told him he suffered from a severe case of adult-onset diabetes. His blood sugar reading was 830, nearly 700 points above normal. For the rest of his life, he was told, he would have
Words: Dr Richard FIRSHEIN A strange thing happened in the late 1970s. An extract from hamburger was found to inhibit tumours in mice. In 1987, this extract was identified as conjugated linoleic acid [CLA]. CLA belongs to the omega-6 fatty acid family. After nearly thirty-five years of research on this ‘designer fat,’ we’ve found out
Words: Dr Richard FIRSHEIN GL, a thirty-one-year-old interior designer with a bright future [and, a hot temper], was literally saved by magnesium. His job was extremely deadline driven and required fantastic precision as well as an ability to understand global trends. The first time he walked into my office, he told me that he’d already
