Vitamin, Mineral & Herb Remedies
Dietary supplements can be surprisingly helpful for many common disorders. There is substantial science supporting the use of herbs, vitamins, minerals and other supplements.
Headache Relief Elusive
Q. I am desperate to find a way to relieve my headaches. I have been prescribed at least a dozen different drugs for tension headaches and migraines. Here is a partial list of what I have tried in vai…
Magnesium Eases Leg Cramps
Q. I have had restless legs and Charlie horse cramps for years and tried everything I could. I did not want to take the prescription drugs I see advertised and found something else that works. I take …
Natural Approaches Can Lower Cholesterol
Q. My primary care doctor wants to put me on statins to lower my cholesterol, and that scares me to death. Several family members and friends who have been put on statins have become incapacitated at …
Vitamin C Eased Hives
Q. In a message on your site, the mother of a 14-year-old boy with chronic hives suggested vitamin C. I've been searching for a cure for hives, as they have been plaguing my husband for years now. We …
Higher Heart Risk with Lower Vitamin D
Minority groups, especially African Americans, have a greater chance of dying from strokes and heart attacks than people with pale skin. Possible explanations for this disparity include less access to…
Vitamin D Strengthened Immune System
Q. I used to catch lots of colds every year. When I was tested for vitamin D a few years ago, it was really low. I took a lot of vitamin D to get into the normal range. Since then I've had only two co…
Niacin Works Better Than Zetia
Q. Recently I heard a suggestion that niacin would be better and cheaper than Vytorin for lowering cholesterol. I know there has not been an extensive study on this. I exercise and watch my diet prett…
Milk Thistle May Protect Liver During Cancer Tre…
Liver damage is a potential side effect of some chemotherapeutic agents. Now scientists from Columbia University report that the herb milk thistle was helpful in protecting children undergoing treatme…
Pregnant Women Warned to Beware Licorice
Pregnant women are frequently warned to avoid drugs unless their obstetrician has specifically verified that they are safe. Now, a study from Finland suggests that they should also have their candy se…
Vegetarian May Need Vitamin Supplement
Q. My son is a vegetarian. As far as I know, he sometimes eats eggs or cheese, but not fish or any kind of meat. He's very picky about what he eats and has been anorexic in the past. Can you give me s…
Vitamin C Eased Hives
Q. My son, age 14, has suffered from chronic idiopathic urticaria (hives) for five years. Several months ago, your column featured another person suffering from hives. He had success with vitamin C so…
Ginkgo Won’t Help Heart, but Alleviates Le…
Ginkgo biloba has become a popular herb in health food stores because of its reputation for improving circulation and brain function. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Associati…
Can Simple Supplements Improve Sex Life?
Q. I've suffered from vaginal dryness for several years and found a great help by accident. I started taking omega-3 and vitamin E capsules every morning to help with my dry skin. Three weeks into thi…
Cinnamon Toothpaste Linked to Sore Mouth
Q. The inside of my mouth became very sensitive to salt, acid and anything spicy. When my wife looked, she said it looked like thrush. I went to my dentist to have it checked out. After a visual asses…
Treating Vitamin D Deficiency
Vitamin D deficiency is common, but new research shows that it can be treated easily and cheaply. Scientists in Boston report that they used 50,000 IU of vitamin D2 once a week to treat vitamin D defi…
Dietary Supplement Eases Urge to Pull Out Hair
Q. I am desperate and hope you can help. I suffer from trichotillomania. I pull hairs constantly and this leaves little bald spots. No matter how hard I try I cannot stop. I seem to recall hearing on …
Will Pycnogenol Live Up to Hype?
Q. I have read in your column that Pycnogenol may be helpful for hot flashes. Now a major warehouse club is selling it as a powerful antioxidant that is supposed to have beneficial effects on cardiova…
Who Should Regulate Dietary Supplements?
Millions of Americans are now taking dietary supplements that are not well regulated by any government agency. Many dietary supplements contain a wide variety of undeclared pharmaceutical ingredients.…
Celery Seed Conquers Gout Pain
Q. I began taking celery seed extract capsules six months ago for gout. Within a day, all foot pain was gone. A blood test six weeks later showed normal levels of uric acid. I take two capsules each m…
Are You Overdosing on Vitamins?
Q. I worry that people are overdosing on vitamins. They're putting vitamins everywhere these days, even in bottled water. My medical book (20 years old) says you could go a year without any vitamin A …
Kids and Grown-Ups Missing Out on Vitamin D
Parents can't win. Dermatologists tell them to keep their kids out of the sun or slather them with sunscreen to prevent skin cancer later in life. But now scientists say that an astonishing number of …
Pectin for Arthritis Pain
Q. I'm an active 69-year-old man. I ride my bicycle, work out 5 days a week and do my own landscape work. I no longer play softball since my knee operations. I have arthritis, and the left knee is clo…
Vitamin C Eased Hives
Q. I suffered from chronic hives for years without much help from the allergist or the dermatologist. The medicines they prescribed did little to relieve my symptoms and left me in a fog. I was becomi…
Ground Flaxseed Solves Constipation Problem
Q. I have been having constipation problems for over a year. I tried everything, from increasing my activity level to adding more fiber to my diet. I took soluble fiber supplements and Chinese herbal …
Kelp Supplement Corrected Thyroid Problem But Be…
Thyroid dysfunction is common, so common, in fact, that Synthroid is the most prescribed drug in the country. That is a synthetic thyroid hormone, levothyroxine. But while many people take Synthroid o…
Cascara Sagrada Use May Lead to Laxative Depende…
Q. I have had severe constipation for years, just like my mother before me. I've been using cascara sagrada for a daily bowel movement. If I don't take it, I get bloated and very uncomfortable.I read …
Is Cinnamon Safe for Diabetes?
Q. I have type 2 diabetes and I have recently started taking cinnamon capsules to help control my blood sugar. I have been extremely pleased with the results so far.The metformin I was taking was neve…
Muscle and Memory Problems with Cholesterol-Lowe…
Q. I have read that Lipitor may cause memory impairment. I am taking Lipitor and am having trouble with speaking and memory along with intense muscle soreness. My lab tests are within the normal range…
Persimmon Tea Eases Acid Reflux
People who suffer from serious heartburn often use PPI medications such as Dexilant or Nexium to control their symptoms. When a home remedy helps, however, they greet it with glee. Many people find th…
Boswellia Fights Pain at a Price
People with arthritis are caught between a rock and a hard place. If they find a medication that alleviates pain, they may discover that it has unacceptable side effects. Popular NSAIDs like ibuprofen…
Frankincense Oil on Skin
Q. You wrote about frankincense oil for ganglion cysts. Frankincense oil should be diluted before applying it to the skin because it can be irritating. Sweet almond oil is a good base. A. Thanks for t…
Dermatologist Defends Poison Ivy Treatment!
Q. Several weeks ago you had a question from someone about using poison ivy extract to get rid of warts. You suggested that this is a bad idea and not very safe.I am a retired dermatologist and disagr…
Glucosamine and Chondroitin May Boost Cholestero…
Q. I have always had good cholesterol levels, but in 2007 I tried taking a glucosamine and chondroitin supplement for joint pain. After taking it for a few months my total cholesterol went from 200 to…
Bilberry Helped Reverse Macular Degeneration
Q. My wife had macular degeneration, and our ophthalmologist said it would just get worse. We immediately started taking bilberry fruit capsules because I wanted to be pro-active. A year later, we ret…
Marijuana Once Smoked for Asthma Relief
Q. As a child I had bouts of asthma and sniffed smoke from a burning powder called Kellogg's Asthma Relief (Stramonium and Lobelia). I am now in my late 70s and I seem to have again developed mild ast…
Vitamin D Helps Relieve Pain
Q. I have leg pain when walking and hip pain at night. I have a vitamin D level of 14. Is it too late to take vitamin D and if not how much should I take? A. Your low vitamin D level might account for…
Cinnamon and Ginkgo for Better Sex Life
Q. You recently ran a letter from a fellow who was disappointed in the herbal sex pills he bought. I too am an older gentleman who has faced challenges in the virility department. I'd tried maca, horn…
L-Lysine for Cold Sores
Q. You recently mentioned the value of l-lysine for dealing with cold sores. I have struggled with cold sores and fever blisters for over 50 years. About 20 years ago, I first tried l-lysine. I've fou…
Non-Drug Ways to Chill Hot Flashes
Q. I am 56 years old--well into menopause--and stopped taking prescription hormones about four months ago. While they helped somewhat with the hot flashes, they did little for the vaginal dryness and …
Vitamin Lack Might Cause Toe Tingles
/2/17Q. My fingers and toes started tingling unpleasantly about three months ago. My internist recently did blood work and found no diabetes or other abnormalities. When the nurse asked me if I was st…