Topic: Health & Healing

More than 90 percent of ChiRunning students report the innovative technique has played a role in preventing injuries and improved ease of running.

A recent study conducted by doctors at West Virginia University with more than 2500 respondents, showed that 91 percent of ChiRunning students reported the technique has played a role in preventing running injuries. In fact, 95 percent of the survey respondents said their ease of running has improved.

Studies show that nearly all sufferers of sinusitis will recover without drugs. Even so, many doctors routinely offer prescriptions for antibiotics, despite the fact that sinusitis is usual a viral infection and antibiotics against which antibiotics are not effective.

When suffering through a sinus infection, many people ask for an antibiotic to speed their recovery. However, a recent review of clinical trials found that while antibiotics can provide minor improvements in uncomplicated sinusitis cases, most patients recover without the drugs within two weeks.

In many ways, we have become a world of victims. To overcome our victimhood, we could learn a lesson from the Greek story of Persephone.

There is much at stake. Embracing the patterns of victimhood has cost the human race a great deal. Headlines of terrorism, violence, and disaster assault us with increasing frequency. And the mass of victims grows daily. Individuals blame one another. Communities put up walls. Nations blame nations. How can we turn the victim tide, reaching out to the growing number of hurting individuals, providing the hope and support they need to transform into survivors who seek to fulfill their potential, who aspire to thrive? Can we help ourselves do the same? Will we start reaching out to others, connecting our hardship and theirs? It takes courage and a lot of hard work to turn the tide. It requires letting go of past resentments and bitterness. It means moving forward. I hope, by our example, we can help the world do likewise, building a future with survivors united.

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Recent findings suggest that omega-3 fatty acids can be useful in treating depression, which has led some researchers to hope that they might be used to treat bipolar disorder.

Despite intriguing findings that omega-3 fatty acid supplements could alleviate depression symptoms, there is still not enough evidence to say whether omega-3s are useful treatments for people with bipolar disorder, according to a review of recent studies.

The writer of this article hails from the UK, so when he speaks of football, he's talking about a game played in shorts, with a black and white round ball. We're reminded of the old Andy Griffith standup routine "What It Is Is Football" - but that was a whole 'nother game.

Most alternative clinics have various experts on which to call when needed, and we get to deal with some very odd cases, but my Wednesday booking illustrates a growing phenomena which I would like to share with you.

This new site teaches self-massage techniques to active people of all kinds, including runners, swimmers, cyclists, triathletes, yoga and Pilates practitioners, martial artists, weight trainers, massage therapists and more.

Get the benefits of massage without the costs. That's the premise behind the new website for runners and active people at SelfMassageForAthletes.com. The only catch is you have to deliver the benefits yourself.

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Foods that may provide a health benefit beyond basic nutrition, identified as functional foods, are becoming a key part of everyday life, according to a new article appearing in "Food Technology," a publication of the Institute of Food Technologists.

Liz Sloan, has identified the top 10 trends in functional foods.

Sloan, a contributing editor and president of Sload Trends and Solutions, has published her findings in the journal Food Technology. The article noted that the majority of Americans, 69 percent, are incorporating foods into a preventative lifestyle, while 27 percent are utilizing food as a treatment to manage a preexisting health condition. Over a third of shoppers are trying to reduce the risk of developing a health condition, following a doctor’s advice, or manage/treat a specific condition on their own.

Most of the acne treatments on the markets these days are nothing more than a synthetic form of vitamin A - and you can get the vitamin A you need in a more heathful fashion through your diet.

Most of you will know about Accutane, Isotretinoin, or any of the other names given to the synthetic drug prescribed for severe acne sufferers. However, if you have not researched it or taken it yourself you may not be aware that this drug is simply a synthetic (manufactured), pre-formed vitamin A replacement.

For many people, mistletoe conjures up images of Christmas holidays, but in parts of Europe, mistletoe extract is widely used as a therapy for cancer patients. However, a new review of studies finds only weak evidence that the treatment provides any benefit.

Mistletoe proponents believe it strengthens the immune system while minimizing the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy, thereby improving survival and increasing quality of life during treatment. In 2002, mistletoe extract was the most frequently prescribed therapy in German outpatient cancer clinics, outstripping tamoxifen.

Anthropologists are discovering that knowledge of botanical medicine is flourishing in remote communities in the Ozark and Ouachita mountains in Arkansas.

Rural herbalists from Cherokee and European American backgrounds come from different traditions, yet research at the University of Arkansas shows they end up adopting similar patterns of plant use.