There are many (legal) drugs and they all pose a threat to health, even when used according to the approved instructions.Before sharing the top three worst, I want to reiterate my basic concern about excess drug use. Of course, people taking the drugs are at risk for harmful side effects. But, probably more importantly, those [...]
Ask Larry: Question: I remember running into you some years ago and you had your knee fixed somehow by a natural method. I would love to see if it is an option for my 83 year old dad instead of surgery. He was a painter climbing ladders and now has a bad knee. Could you [...]
Q: My wife's doctor has tried about 5 medicines to control her migraine headaches. None have worked, and she said there isn't an effective alternative therapy. She gave her a script for Midrin, which is discontinued. Is there a better/safer alternative? Her migraines are severely debilitating, and the preventatives haven't worked. She teaches special ed [...]
SERENDIPITY, making fortunate discoveries by accident. I read a note on Facebook about an organization focused on stopping smoking bans, especially the ones imposed by government fiat. I happen to agree that a majority of the bans are based on bad science and they are intrusions into personal liberties. One piece of information caught my attention. [...]
Arthritis is commonly treated by focusing on the symptoms - inflamed and sore joints. When the pain relievers are stopped, the “disease” returns. Nothing in our modern medical arsenal is designed to remove the underlying causes of arthritis. Is this a problem? Yes. However, it isn’t just a problem for people with arthritis. Except for [...]
Constipation is common. At any given time, as many as 1 in 3 of us have missing or difficult bowel movements. It might be easy for health care “professionals” to quickly pass it off, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t serious enough for concern. Once the basics are covered (diet, adequate fiber and water, and [...]
Statin is a term used to describe a category of drugs used to lower cholesterol levels. They are made to block the production of cholesterol in the liver. There are many statin drugs on the market today. Statins are easy to identify because the ending of each of their names is “statin”. Hence, the category [...]
Question: Larry, What's your take on stress and cholesterol levels? It is my belief that high cholesterol isn't caused necessarily by food consumption, but by the stress in our lives. I'm curious to what your thought on this topic are. Larry's Response: I have found that cholesterol levels fluctuate in response to a multitude of [...]
What is it? Naltrexone is an opioid receptor antagonist used primarily in the management of alcohol dependence and opioid dependence. This means it works AGAINST narcotics and opioids. It blocks the narcotic receptors on the cells. It should not be confused with naloxone (which is used in emergency cases of overdose rather than for longer-term [...]
It seems I opened a can of worms on my Facebook page when I mentioned I use soap to clean my teeth. I’ve been doing it so long that I’ve forgotten that most people would think it’s strange. That’s what I thought, too, until 2004 when I was first introduced to using soap instead of [...]
I received a report from a respected medical organization today. It lists 18 stories that are related to health. Half of them about political or payment issues. The remaining were about drugs or treatments. One word is common to every one of these. Babies born to obese mothers may be at increased risk for death [...]
Have you ever known someone who coughed - a lot? They don't have a cold, and medical exams seems to test out okay. Yet, they cough "all the time" - and it isn't even a productive cough. Just hacking, Hacking, HACKING. If you are close to the person - a spouse or co-worker, for example [...]
On March 2, 2011, the FDA issued a SAFETY WARNING about a serious side effect from PPI drugs. PPIs work by reducing the amount of acid in the stomach. They can cause low serum magnesium levels when taken for prolonged periods of time. Low serum magnesium levels can result in serious adverse events including: muscle [...]
Wayne asked, “Are there any positive reports of using low-dose naltrexone [LDN] for the treatment of psoriasis?” I receive questions similar to this often and my first response is usually, “Give it a try. What do you have to lose?”Instead of any published reports, I responded to Wayne with my conclusions, based on what I [...]
The conversations are becoming more frantic and people are raising questions about using iodine supplements as a protection from radioactive iodine I 131. Some folks are upset that our president is recommending that we do something about the dangers by "taking a chill pill". I'm sorry to say that I do not stock chill pills, [...]
I observe that many modern doctors fit into the Myers-Briggs sensing trait. As the name implies, people with this trait get their information about life from their senses. They are realistic, down-to-earth people, but they tend to see everything in rather simplistic, concrete, black-or-white terms. They focus on details; see through a microscope, depend on [...]
Yogurt is milk that has been fermented with probiotics - good bacteria. s it good for you? Maybe. It has long been thought of as a healthy product. In fact, health workers have routinely recommended yogurt to people who are taking antibiotics. Those drugs are good at killing bacteria, but they’re not smart enough to [...]
The incidence of breast cancer in the United States is around 12% (SOURCE). After evaluating 111,140 participants of the Nurses’ Health Study from 1976 to 2006 for active smoking and 36,017 women from 1982 to 2006 for passive smoking, study makes two valuable points about cigarette smoking and breast cancer. One, smoking is likely responsible [...]
Is this important? At first glance, this seems to be striking news...“Compared with other osteoporosis treatments, compounds such as nitroglycerin -- which deliver nitric oxide to tissues -- are inexpensive, widely available, and come in many generic formulations, the researchers noted.” This is interesting, but probably not really important. As with the “standard” treatments for [...]
People who spend more time in the sun and those with higher vitamin D levels may be less likely to develop multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a study published in the February 8, 2011, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. This should be intuitively obvious - but [...]
