The People's Perspective on Medicine, since 1976
Helping you to make informed decisions about both traditional and alternative treatments.
Show 1146: Why You Should Share Your Stories
Facts are essential for scientific understanding. Stories are critical for wisdom, understanding the arc and meaning of our lives. Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen, author of two wonderful books about stories, …
Will Hospitals Adopt Ways to Reduce Harmful Medi…
Medical errors are a leading cause of death and disability. Some patient safety experts estimate that between 250,000 and 400,000 people die annually because of medical mistakes (BMJ, May, 2016; Journ…
Will a Mediterranean Diet Protect Your Heart?
Will the Mediterranean diet protect your heart? Such diets have a reputation as a tasty way to cut your risk of heart disease. Previous randomized controlled trials, such as the Lyon Diet Heart Study …
Which Coffee Compounds Protect the Brain?
If you, like many people, can’t face the day without a hot cup of coffee, there’s good news. Scientists at Rutgers have evidence that the combination of caffeine with a special fatty acid present …
Is Holiday Hospital Discharge More Hazardous?
Nobody wants to be hospitalized during the holidays if at all possible. There are medical reasons to avoid hospital discharge during the winter holidays if you can. What Is the Problem with Holiday Ho…
Do Your Christmas Shopping at The People’s…
If you are like us, you may still have a few people who deserve Christmas gifts that you haven't yet purchased. Have you considered a book or holiday gift bundle from The People's Pharmacy? If you ord…
Generic Drug Companies Played Nice in the Sandbo…
A large antitrust suit against generic drug companies has been building for a few years. When we first heard about this situation in November, 2016, approximately a dozen generic firms were implicated…
Will Yellow Mustard Ease Cramps from Statins?
Millions of people take statins to lower their cholesterol levels.Here are just a few examples of the numbers of prescription filled each year: atorvastatin= 97 million; simvastatin= 65 million; prava…
Celebrate with a Cool Gift from The People’s P…
What is the most precious gift of all? Hint: It’s not a new car, a smartphone, an electronic gadget, jewelry or clothing. The most extraordinary gift is good health. Many of us take our health for g…
Authorized Generic Drugs Offer Quality and Affor…
Have you ever heard of authorized generic drugs? Most people, including physicians and pharmacists have no idea what they are. That’s largely because the Food and Drug Administration tells the world…
How to Make Thyme Cough Medicine
Have you ever found yourself coughing in the middle of the night and reached for the cough medicine? If your household is like ours, once in a while that bottle was used up two months ago. Luckily, yo…
Is There a Natural Remedy for Cold Sores?
During cold season, many people suffer from outbreaks of cold sores, also called fever blisters. Perhaps when the immune system is busy fighting off another infection, the herpes simplex virus that ca…
Will Sugar-Free Gum Keep You Awake on the Road?
How do you keep yourself awake behind the wheel? This seems like an innocuous question, but it is in fact vitally important. Driver fatigue contributes to traffic accidents and fatalities around the w…
Can You Get Brand Name Synthroid at a Reasonable…
Generic medicines are supposed to save you money, but not all generic drugs are interchangeable. Many people are aware that generic levothyroxine and the brand name Synthroid can't always be freely sw…
What Should You Know About Xofluza Side Effects?
Whenever a new drug is introduced, we want to know two things: how well does it work? and also, what are the side effects? We recently wrote about the flu medicine Xofluza, which shortens the duration…
Show 1145: Are Big Corporations Hacking the Amer…
The distinction between pleasure and happiness might seem like a philosopher’s quibble. Fat Chance author Dr. Robert Lustig tells us why this difference is vitally important to our national wellbein…
Did the Maker Recall Ibuprofen for Your Baby?
Parents across the country have been alarmed today to hear that some brands of ibuprofen sold as fever medicine for infants have been recalled. What led the manufacturer, Tris Pharma Inc., to recall i…
How Safe Are Mail-Order Medicines If Not Tempera…
We know we sound like a cracked record when it comes to mail-order medicines. That's because no one seems to want to take responsibility. The FDA has very strict guidelines for temperature fluctuation…
Can You Kill Lyme Bacteria with Essential Oils?
Lyme disease can sometimes be hard to treat because the bacteria that cause it, Borrelia burgdorferi, can go dormant. When Lyme bacteria are not actively reproducing, antibiotics can’t kill them. Es…
CAR-T Immunotherapy Produces Stunning Results vs…
We have been waiting for long-term survival data from a pricey new immunotherapy called CAR-T. That stands for chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy. Patients donate blood so that their white blood…
People Are Dying Because of the High Cost of Med…
In the movie Wall Street we are told by actor Michael Douglas (Gordon Gekko) that “greed is good, greed is right, greed works, greed clarifies, cuts through and captures the essence of the evolution…
Do Personal Care Products Speed Up Puberty?
Many personal care products such as soaps, shampoos, deodorants, perfumes and cosmetics contain endocrine-disrupting chemicals. These include phthalates, parabens and phenols such as triclosan, which …
Does Fructose Raise Your Risk for Diabetes?
Do people who often indulge in sugary soft drinks sweetened with fructose have a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes? Previous studies have suggested a link. Processed Foods and Diabetes: An ana…
Shingrix: Should You or Shouldn’t You? A Pharm…
Currently, in community/retail pharmacy, there is a large focus on immunizations. Especially in the fall months, much time is spent on vaccinating patients against influenza (flu) and pneumonia. Recen…
Can Clonazepam Increase the Risk for Dementia?
Millions of people take benzodiazepines every day. Such drugs are variously described as anti-anxiety agents, sedatives, hypnotics (to aid sleep) or benzos for short. At last count about five million …
Why Would a Veterinary Office Use Coca-Cola?
For decades, we have been warning people not to drink sugar-sweetened soda pop. Not only is it bad for teeth, those liquid calories sneak in too easily and add up too readily. However, we recently wro…
Did Turmeric Help Man Overcome Dupuytren’s…
Middle-aged and older men sometimes suffer from a condition known as Dupuytren's contracture. Their fingers may curl in to the palm. They may find it difficult if not impossible to open the hand fully…
Iodine for Scans Triggers Hyperthyroidism
Americans undergo an enormous number of scans each year. It is estimated that over 80 million CT scans are performed annually. That doesn’t include other scans such as coronary angiography, arthrogr…
Will CBD for Pain Make You Fail the Marijuana Te…
One lesson learned from the terrible opioid crisis of the past few years: a lot of Americans are in a lot of pain. With doctors increasingly reluctant to prescribe narcotics for pain relief, people ar…
Save Your Lips While Saving Money Too!
Are your lips dry and cracked or moist and kissable? At this time of year a lot of people are suffering from dry cracked lips. That’s because the weather has turned cold and the heat is on. Humidity…