In the last post we explored the curious and complex world of digestion. Having completed that primer, we can discuss some common conditions that compromise gut function. Specific to the small intestine are two very insidious pathologies that can develop over the course of years but seemingly manifest with symptoms overnight. These conditions are dysbiosis […]
Home Remedy: Sauerkraut
Teeming with life and full of bubbly deliciousness, sauerkraut is digestive vigor in a jar. Cheap to make and easy to prepare, one head of cabbage yields about a quart of sauerkraut and trillions of beneficial bacteria to supplement your gut flora. In addition, cabbage is high in the amino acid glutamine which is the […]
Going Against the Grain: Our Baby’s First Foods
Followers of the Cheap Medicine Blog know that one of the cornerstones of vibrant health is access to and consumption of whole nutrient-dense foods. It should come as no surprise then that choosing the first foods for our baby daughter would be going against the grain – literally and figuratively. Most Moms and Dads of […]
Heat or Ice?
One item of contention between practitioners of Western and Eastern medicine is whether to use heat or ice on an area of pain. Whether the pain be acute or chronic, the standard line from most chiropractors, physical therapists, and doctors is to put ice on the affected area. We are told that cold reduces swelling […]
Hydrating Yourself to Death
We have been told that we are mostly made up of water and that we should drink a minimum of 64 ounces a day to maintain hydration; perhaps more if we are active and sweat a lot. Being a skeptic of standardized recommendations that negate our body’s wisdom and its numerous means to communicate to […]
Battle of the Bulge: Our Pets Now Too?
The rise of obesity in our pets has paralleled the obesity epidemic in people. Considering obesity is rare in nature, we must seriously question how and what we feed our furry friends to ensure they are nourished with a diet that allows them to live to their fullest potential. Whenever I am invited to lecture […]
The Great Blood Sugar Balancing Act
High blood sugar is the scourge of our times, playing a major role in most all of the chronic degenerative diseases from which we suffer. Elevated blood sugar can be effectively controlled with appropriate diet changes, stress reduction, and moderate exercise. The most obvious end result of high blood sugar is type II diabetes or […]
Ahhhhhhh Chooooooo!
Allergy season is upon us and while some greet spring with a deep breath, others suffer with red puffy and drippy eyes, sneezing, and congestion. You would think that an allergic reaction is genetic; some people have allergies and some don’t, and it tends to run in families. However, clinical evidence supports the notion that […]
Choosing the Best Nutritional Supplements
When it comes to optimum health and wellness, a diet rich in nutrient-dense foods is an absolute cornerstone. In a perfect world we would all eat plant foods that were organic and locally grown and animal foods that were pastured and ethically raised. The seeds for our vegetables would come from heirloom varieties, and our […]
Three Kinds of Pain
Pain is a sensory phenomena. Irrespective of its cause, pain is a message, mediated by the nervous system to relay information about the state of the body. Simply put, pain is the body’s way of communicating to us that something is wrong. Since your body doesn’t speak english (or any other language for that matter) […]