Cypress essential oil is obtained from the needle-bearing tree of coniferous and deciduous regions — the scientific name is Cupressus sempervirens. The cypress tree is an evergreen, with small, rounded and woody cones. It has scalelike leaves and tiny flowers. This powerful essential oil is valued because of its ability to fight infections, aid the respiratory system,…
Spoiler alert: all of us will die at some point. But how we die is fascinating, because it provides insight into the health “trends” in our society as a whole, like what progress we’ve made and where we’re lagging. A great measure of that is the Global Burden of Disease (GBD), released annually by the Institute for Health Metrics…
You're vomiting. You can't stop going to the bathroom. You're exhausted and all this terribleness just seems to have come out of nowhere. Could it be the stomach flu? If it is, you probably want to know how to get rid of the stomach flu fast! If you have the stomach flu, it likely may…
If you're like many adult men, you've thought about your prostate health at some point in your life. It's an important issue because 90 percent of men experience some kind of problem with their prostate by the time they are 70 years old. And one of these problems is prostatitis. Prostatitis is a common condition…
Scleroderma is a rare and difficult disease. Also known as systemic sclerosis, it affects about 75,000 to 100,000 people in the United States. It can be a severe condition that can cause significant physical distress, disability and shortened life expectancy. Many patients with scleroderma are uncomfortable and self conscious about their appearance. This leads to…
Is a grain-free diet right for you? There are a number of healthy diet options these days. Depending on your goals, convictions, and conditions or disease risk, you should have no problem (with some research legwork) figuring out what is best for your needs. One popular option, particularly for those with celiac disease, gluten intolerance…
Locust bean gum is a natural food additive that comes from the carob seeds of the carob tree. Similar to guar gum and gellan gum, locust bean gum is added to a variety of food products, including yogurt, cream cheese and ice cream. In food, it's used primarily as a thickening and stabilizing agent. Locust bean gum…
With quite a history dating back thousands of years to traditional Chinese medicine, mandarin is known to be the sweetest and the most calming of all citrus essential oils. Why? Mandarin essential oil is very mild and known for many healing properties. For instance, mandarin essential oil is useful in helping to reduce acne, brighten the skin,…
For centuries, people all over the world have used horehound (Marrubium vulgare) to naturally treat respiratory conditions. In recent times, some of the top makers of herbal cough drops and cough syrup include horehound in their formulations, which is no surprise since it is said to be one of the oldest known cough remedies! This is…
Syphilis is a curable sexually transmitted disease. However, if left untreated, it can cause serious health conditions and even death. According to the World Health Organization, each year there are an estimated 357 million new sexually transmitted infections worldwide from chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis and trichomoniasis. This staggering number includes the nearly 1 million pregnant women…
