Category: Herbs and Nutrients

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A Bogus Study Makes False Claims About Statins Versus Supplements

Statins for Lowering Heart Disease: A Bogus Study Fuels False Claims

Do statins for lowering heart disease work? The headlines recently announced that low doses of statins reduce the risk of heart disease, while supplements do nothing. 

For instance, a CNN headline from November 7 reads: “Don’t bother with dietary supplements for heart health, study says.”

ScienceBasedMedicine.org crows: “Study – For Lowering Cholesterol, Statins Work, Supplements Don’t.”

This blanket mainstream praise of statins for lowering heart disease comes from a new study: “Comparative Effects of Low-Dose Rosuvastatin, Placebo and Dietary Supplements on Lipids and Inflammatory Biomarkers.” The study was conducted by an impressive team of researchers from several esteemed institutions, including the Cleveland Clinic and the University of Pennsylvania.

Let’s take a closer look.

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Whole Grain Bread: Why You Should Make Your Own

Whole-grain bread is delicious. It’s also very healthy. In fact, whole-grain bread is so good for you that I encourage you to learn to make your own. As I’ll explain below, there are several compelling reasons to make your own whole-grain bread.

You might be surprised to read this recommendation, especially if you’ve been avoiding grains. But I spend hours every day reading the most updated scientific literature about health. So I can tell you with confidence that the current fad pushing people to eat a high-fat no-grain diet is not backed by tradition, culture, or science.

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Health Benefits of Whole Grains

bowl of whole grains next to golden ladle

Whole Grains are Super Foods for our Health


The many health benefits of whole grains are why I often write about this subject.

The data continues to mount on the health benefits of these humble foods. This is because they are not only good for human health, but also for the health of our planet.

I recently watched the TV series “The Chosen.” When someone asked Jesus what his favorite food was, Jesus said, bread. 

While it is fashionable now in some health circles to denigrate bread, bread is also my favorite food. Especially bread made from freshly milled whole grains. The health benefits of whole grains are so pronounced—and the taste so delicious—I’ll take a slice of hardy whole-grain bread over just about anything.

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Resveratrol – “Privileged Structures” with Unique Advanced Health Promoting Properties Acting as an Epigenetic Modifier of Cancer Risk –

Many plant molecules, such as polyphenols, interact with and modulate key regulators of mammalian physiology in ways that are beneficial to health. The more we understand about this interaction, the more effectively we can target both the prevention and treatment of disease.

Polyphenol compounds, when ingested, interact with receptors and enzymes within the consumer. The fact that stress-induced plant compounds tend to upregulate pathways that provide stress resistance in humans and animals suggests that plant consumers may have mechanisms to perceive these chemical cues and react to them in ways that are beneficial. The term xenohormesis is used to explain this phenomenon (from xenos, the Greek word for stranger, and hormesis, the term for health benefits provided by mild biological stress, such as cellular damage or a lack of nutrition).[1] 

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Herbs and Spices as a Path to Health and Wellbeing

In the Kitchen with Donnie

As a passionate home chef, I can’t imagine cooking without a full array of herbs and spices. And as an herbalist, I can’t imagine creating a health protocol without the use of herbs and spices. Fortunately, culinary and medicinal herbs are often one and the same. As Hippocrates said: “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”

As an herbalist, nutritionist, jazz musician, and chef, I find that food preparation and cooking is similar to combining herbs for medicine or composing music. Home cooking is a creative endeavor, and the reward is a delicious and healthy meal that can be savored with family and friends.

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Zinc: The Most Important Nutrient for Immunity

How Zinc Supports Immune Function

Zinc is well known for the significant role it plays in immune response and immune health. It enhances both innate and adaptive immunity, is vital for immune cell function, and is crucial for the formation and modulation of inflammatory processes. In persons with zinc deficiency, zinc supplementation improves not only type I and II interferon production/response, but also immune cell survival, maturation and function.1-4

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