Author: Madeline Vann

“When your whole body is a giant toothache, nothing fixes it,” observes Charley Pavlosky, 65, recalling the systemic pain that plagued him 14 years ago. A lifelong athlete, he was familiar with the aches and pains of being active – he’d even had surgery to repair a disc – but this was new to him. His chronic pain was so severe that he was only getting two hours of sleep a night, and during the day he experienced anxiety and panic attacks. The Santa Barbara, Calif., resident found a comprehensive nonpharmaceutical pain management program developed by spine surgeon David Hanscom,…

The solution to a lifetime of statins could lie in a diet based on vegetables, whole grains, beans and fruit. The medical community recommends statins as a front-line (first-choice) treatment for high cholesterol levels that may also cut your chances of having a heart attack. Yet studies show that other cholesterol-lowering strategies, including dietary changes, reduce the risk of a cardiovascular event just as well as statins. An additional benefit of eating better is avoiding the side effects of statins, which include an increased risk of developing diabetes and, in many people, muscle weakness and pain. Statin Side-Effect Worries Prompt…

Eczema, also known as dermatitis, is a condition that causes red, inflamed, itchy rashes, and blistered, cracked patches of skin. People with eczema have very dry skin, which prevents the skin’s outer layer, the epidermis, from functioning properly as a protective barrier. Treating eczema is possible.  The most common type of eczema is known as atopic dermatitis, which is chronic eczema characterized by flares of disease followed by periods of clear skin. The causes of eczema are not known for sure but could include changes in genes, inappropriate immune reactions, or exposure to certain things in the environment, such as…

Billions of dollars a year are spent on skin products that claim they can slow the aging process. Which ingredients in those products actually work?

Chances are, if you get a prescription for antibiotics, your physician has also recommended probiotic-rich yogurt or a probiotic supplement to reduce the risk of getting diarrhea. At the same time, you might be wondering whether you should follow the advice from friends, family and popular culture to take probiotics for everything from a healthier gut to a healthier brain. “Probiotics are essentially additional bacteria that are either adding benefit or reestablishing benefit to what your body has,” explains Joshua Pullo, Pharm D, clinical adjunct faculty member in the University of Florida College of Pharmacy in Gainesville and a practicing…