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Halt Heartburn With Three Lifestyle Changes

Are you ready to beat heartburn? Recurring heartburn can disrupt your eating habits AND your sleeping habits. Believe it or not, food isn’t generally the cause of recurring heartburn. Stanford University reviewed one hundred different studies on heartburn and gastroesophageal reflux disease to figure out the most effective remedies. Stopping the late-night snacks or changing what you eat in the evening didn’t make the list. Here’s what did. Lose weight. Dropping twenty pounds or more can reduce your heartburn or GERD symptoms by as much as forty percent! Doctors think that the weight loss does two things for you: it … Continue reading →

Lovage

What a romantic name — lovage sounds like it comes from “love” and “age” if you ask me. (Though it probably has a totally different origin!) Lovage was most popular during the Middle Ages — even the emperor Charlemagne kept lovage on the grounds. The herb was planted in both kitchen gardens and medicinal gardens. The roots of lovage were thought to be where the best medicine resided. They were used to treat rheumatism, jaundice, sore throat, kidney stones, and stomach problems. Some herbalists used lovage to relieve menstrual problems. The plant was used as a diuretic. Chewing on a … Continue reading →

Oregon Grape

Before moving to Oregon this spring, I’d never heard of Oregon grape. This is an evergreen shrub that bears deep blue and purple grapes. The leaves are shiny and the flowers are fragrant — but the true medicinal value of the plant lies beneath the ground. Native Americans used Oregon grape for both food and medicine. The berries were used in jellies, wines, and soups. The root was crushed and dried for use in remedies for ulcers, heartburn, rheumatism, kidney disorders, skin conditions, and poor appetite! Early settlers on the western frontier learned of the root from the natives. During … Continue reading →

Gallstones: Symptoms

The most common symptom of gallstones is pain. The pain may appear in the stomach or higher up under the ribs on the upper right side of the abdomen (known as the epigastric area). Gallstone pain can develop suddenly and spread into the upper back or under the shoulder blades. It is often hard to get comfortable with this pain; movement does not make the pain go away. You may have trouble breathing deeply or normally. The pain can appear after meals or may wake you from a sound sleep. A bout of gallstone pain can last anywhere from fifteen … Continue reading →

Cayenne Pepper

Hot red peppers aren’t just for spicy foods! Cayenne pepper has a host of medicinal uses, too. Cayenne pepper is native to subtropical and tropical zones around the world — in Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America. The spice has probably been used for thousands of years! Explorer Christopher Columbus is the first Westerner credited with taking note of food flavored with hot red pepper. There isn’t much in the way of literary evidence of cayenne pepper; there is no word for cayenne in ancient tongues like Chinese, Latin, Sanskrit, and Hebrew. Perhaps the first appearance of hot red pepper … Continue reading →

The Vagus Nerve Experiment

There is no doubt that gastric bypass surgery is an extreme form of weight control and is reserved for those patients for whom weight loss is a life or death situation. However, it carries with it significant risks and consequently researchers are always looking for new things to do that will be as effective without the risk. Now lap band procedures are being performed as well and thus far, seem to carry much less risk. Doctors however, are playing with a new method. . .snipping the vagus nerve in hopes that doing so will trigger additional weight loss. The vagus … Continue reading →