According to a review in the medical journal American Family Physician, the medical term for earwax is cerumen, and it serves an important function. Earwax keeps the thin layer of skin in your ear canal clean, moist, and protected from germs. Earwax is a combination of wax secreted by cerumen … Read More
Grapefruit seed extract uses are numerous due to its action as a highly concentrated, natural general antimicrobial and antioxidant. Benefits include killing all kinds of infectious microbes—bacterial, viral, and fungal—at least in test tube and animal studies.[1,2] Uses | How To Take | Benefits What’s in Grapefruit Seed Extract? The … Read More
Not all fats are created equal: Saturated vs unsaturated. Essential vs unessential. Healthy vs unhealthy. The hard part is knowing which fats are good for you and which you should avoid. Along those lines, let's compare omega-3 fatty acids to omega-6 fatty acids, with an eye toward balance. Both omega-6 … Read More
The lining of your gut is directly related to the health of your whole body. This lining forms a crucial barrier between you and the outside world. In a sense, everything inside your gut is outside of you. Only a few very specific substances are normally allowed through, and the … Read More
The one supplement most experts recommend to almost everyone—no matter your age, height, weight, or gender—is omega-3 fatty acids. Because of their wide-ranging health benefits, omega-3 supplements are the closest thing we have to a miracle pill. But why? Simply put, omega-3 fatty acids are essential. The body can synthesize … Read More
With the latest research showing that the benefits of probiotics extend far beyond digestion, the question is not whether you should be taking probiotics, but which probiotics, how much, and how often. As discussed in a previous post, probiotics are live microbes that help the healthy bacteria residing within you to thrive … Read More
Jane Murcia and Sara Hogan, MD
More people are upping their hand-washing game now that the CDC and health officials have emphasized that regular hand washing is imperative to helping curb the spread of COVID-19. But there's one step we all tend to forget after washing our hands or applying hand sanitizer – that critical layer … Read More
Q. I’ve heard that barley water can cure eczema. Is this true? A: Barley, wheat, and rye naturally contain azelaic acid, which has both antimicrobial (which kills organisms or stops their growth) and anti-inflammatory (which reduces swelling) properties. Azelaic acid is used as an exfoliator and cleanser to wash the … Read More
As a naturopathic physician, I use a variety of tools and strategies to help my patients. One of them—homeopathy—is widely misunderstood. Some people mistake homeopathy as just another word for natural medicine. Rather, it’s a specific technique that uses very small doses of highly diluted substances to stimulate the body’s … Read More
The skin is our body’s largest organ and the primary way we come into contact with the external environment. Acting as a barrier, it protects the body from various external chemicals and compounds and also prevents us from losing fluids and electrolytes from the inside. What causes dry skin, in … Read More
