The People's Pharmacy

For more than a century, people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease have been condemned to a relentless slide into dementia. Experts stress that there is no cure for this devastating condition. Even the drugs that FDA has approved for treatment help only a little, slowing the progression of cognitive decline. Although the agency approved a new drug recently, aducanumab ( Aduhelm ) has been shown to...

Are we in the midst of a Great Sleep Recession? Sleep deprivation is common and serious but not always appreciated. One of the tipoffs that people may not be getting adequate shut-eye is that they wake up tired, have difficulties paying attention and may frequently be in a bad mood. But can people really learn how to sleep? Science to Help You Learn How to Sleep: Our guest, Dr. Rafael Pelayo, says...

Medical bills are notorious for being difficult to understand as well as expensive. Most people are intimidated by medical professionals and the bureaucracy. But we can and should fight back, according to our guest Marshall Allen. Errors in medical bills are common, and fraud is not unheard of. Why does Allen urge us never to pay the first bill? Is the Proposed Treatment Really Necessary? One way...

Hormones are essential to every cell in our bodies, but most of us don’t know much about them. We might recognize estrogen and testosterone as sex hormones, but these crucial compounds go far beyond that. Endocrinologists specialize in treating hormonally-related problems, but even they may not be focused on the hidden hormone epidemic we are facing. Endocrine disruptors in our environment are alt...

Is it true that we only use 10 percent of our brains? That seems to be a myth, along with the relegation of logic to the left brain and emotion to the right. How can we engage in whole brain living? How a Stroke Led to Insights: Years ago, Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor suffered a devastating hemorrhagic stroke. It affected much of the left hemisphere of her brain. Although she was speechless and unable to...

In your great-grandparents’ day, hardly anybody exercised. There were sports enthusiasts who raced or danced or rode horses, played ball or rowed for fun. But then, as throughout evolution, very few people went to the gym. Still, they stayed physically active, either because their work required it or because they had found something, such as wandering in the woods, that they really enjoyed. Can we...

Bellyaches and heartburn are among the most common problems driving people to the pharmacy to seek relief. Heartburn, a burning sensation behind the sternum, happens when acid escapes from the stomach up into the esophagus where it doesn’t belong. People used to chew antacids like Tums or Rolaids to neutralize the acid. Do you know the best way to manage your heartburn? These days, many people tak...

Pain is a difficult topic. To begin with, the experience of pain is completely subjective. There are no independent objective measures that doctors can use to assess a patient’s pain. They have to take her word for it. Second, pain has a very significant emotional component that must be addressed along with any physical causes. In addition, pain affects more than a single individual. Each patient’...

In addition to our interviews with Dr. David Sinclair and Dr. Terrie Moffitt in Show 1263, we also spoke recently with Erin Sharoni. In this conversation, the entrepreneur (co-founder of Juvicell) discusses the importance of epigenetics. She also addresses the evidence on several of the ingredients in the Juvicell supplement and describes some simple approaches that may help delay aging.  Lif...

Can you reset your biological clock? You can’t make time run backward, but you may be able to slow or even reverse the aging process. Dr. David Sinclair believes that aging is far more reversible than we thought. He told the New York Times, “Cells can clean themselves up, they can get rid of old proteins, they can rejuvenate, if you turn on the youthful genes through this reset process.” He and hi...

Hearing loss is a common problem, but many people with difficulties don’t know how to address it. Not everyone who has trouble hearing in noisy spots like restaurants or busy workplaces needs hearing aids. However, they need ways to manage a situation when they can’t hear what people are saying. Reducing background noise–which might be tricky in a busy space–can help a great deal. Overcoming Heari...

Last year, just when more people than ever needed the help of a therapist, stay-at-home restrictions made it difficult or impossible to get face-to-face counseling. Moreover, most therapists were completely booked and couldn’t accept new patients. As a result, people increasingly turned to online therapy, either with apps, online support groups or one on one. How well does online therapy work? Wha...

Cases of Parkinson’s disease have been rising steeply, but what we see now could be just the tip of the iceberg. The accumulation of certain chemicals in the environment may be contributing to an increased risk of this neuromuscular disorder. Pesticides such as chlorpyrifos appear to increase the risk for farmers and farm workers, while a compound called trichloroethylene has contaminated wells ar...

Integrative gastroenterology combines the perspective of conventional allopathic medicine with a holistic approach to patients and their lives–mind, body and soul. Sometimes adjusting diet or lifestyle can be even more effective than using medications, especially when it comes to establishing a healthy gut balance. COVID-19 and the Digestive Tract: Although we think of SARS-CoV-2 as a respiratory...

During the pandemic, fewer people by far have been making ordinary appointments with the dermatologist to have their skin checked. However, some skin conditions can become much worse if they are neglected. Summer-stressed skin may also need attention. In general, people should consult a dermatologist if there is a persistent change in a spot on the skin. People with darker skin should make sure th...

Dr. Peter Hotez has been working on vaccine development and the treatment of neglected tropical diseases for decades. Now that vaccines are the key to returning to something like normal life, his expertise is greatly sought after. A History of Vaccines: Dr. Hotez describes the first vaccines that were useful in Western society. In fact, this is where we get the name “vaccine,” as this was a cowpox...

In the middle of a pandemic, it’s important to know how to stay healthy. Sleep, stress management, handwashing, exercise and a healthful diet (cutting back on refined flour and sugar) are all crucial. In addition, supplements and herbs might help maintain a robust immune response. The Value of Vitamin D: There is significant evidence that people with low levels of vitamin D are more susceptible to...

The experience of COVID is highly variable, as we have all learned by now. For some people, the infection is so mild they may not even notice the symptoms, while for others the virus wreaks devastating havoc. The post-COVID syndrome may afflict even those who had mild infections initially, and it can make life very difficult. What Do We Know About POTS? Among the possible complications that can af...

Over the past year, the world has faced a global pandemic due to a previously unknown virus. People wanted and needed to know how the virus spread from person to person. At first, the focus was on fomites. Consequently, people spent a lot of time wiping down groceries and sanitizing surfaces. Gradually, it became clear that SARS-CoV-2 is far more likely to float through the air to find its next vi...

Have you ever had horrible heartburn or a really bad bellyache? Most of us have experienced digestive distress at one time or another. When do you need to seek medical attention for your problem? What Causes Digestive Distress? When the gastrointestinal tract is working as it should, you chew your food and swallow it. Then it traverses the esophagus and goes into the stomach through a valve (the l...

Over the last year, hospitals and their intensive care units have been stretched to the breaking point caring for the huge number of people desperately ill with the coronavirus. What is the impact of COVID-19 on American health care? Will the changes we have seen to date continue? Who Pays for COVID Care? Days and weeks in the hospital add up to some mighty big bills. Who is paying? Many of those...

Hand sanitizers have become ubiquitous in homes, doctors’ offices, supermarkets, banks and dozens of other establishments. There have been problems with some products that were contaminated with methanol, also known as wood alcohol. Read about this known problem here . Now a new impurity has surfaced. A surprising number of hand sanitizers are contaminated with the carcinogen benzene. Valisure Unc...

Sperm counts have been falling for decades. In fact, they’re down 50 percent over the last four decades. Should we worry about young men’s health and fertility? How can we explain this trend? Threats to Health and Fertility: Sperm counts are not alone in their decline. Men’s levels of testosterone have also been dropping steadily, about 1 percent per year since 1982. Research suggest that some of...

COVID-19 restrictions have interfered with the way many of us exercise. Yet the benefits of moving, for both our physical and mental health, are more important than ever. How can we keep moving to feel better, despite the pandemic? Moving at Home to Feel Better: You may not have a home gym, but there are still things you can do to tap the benefits of physical activity. Hand weights, resistance ban...

After a year of COVID-19, the country (and the world) is in a race to get people vaccinated before the new, more transmissible variants of the coronavirus can gain the upper hand. We talk with two experts on these COVID-19 vaccines and variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus to get you the information you need. New COVID-19 Vaccines Are on the Way: Health departments and healthcare systems have been admi...