Author Archives: Richard Firshein

RICHARD FIRSHEIN Kate [34], suffered from irritable bowel syndrome [IBS], characterised by gas, bloating, diarrhoea, and food sensitivities, as well as shortness of breath. She had also been losing weight rapidly, shedding 20kg in the last two months. Her job as a freelance computer analyst required her to hop from office-to-office, offering her expertise for […]

RICHARD FIRSHEIN When Jeff Walker, a sixteen-year-old with mononucleosis, came to see me, he was completely exhausted, and his liver enzymes were alarmingly elevated. He’d been bedridden for three weeks, and his doctor had advised him to take off the last semester of high school, which meant delaying his entrance to Yale University in the […]

RICHARD FIRSHEIN Julie Thomas was a fifty-seven-year-old actress who visited my office to rid herself of postmenopausal symptoms. She’d suffered from premenstrual syndrome [PMS] throughout her life, and she was now experiencing crippling joint pains, stiffness, and alternating chills and hot flashes due to menopause. She also noticed swelling in her legs and ankles. She […]

RICHARD FIRSHEIN Most news journalists will tell you that their job is their life. Hopping from story to story, from scandal to scoop, leaves little time for romance, or family — not to mention eating, or sleeping. Steve was the highly paid, highly acclaimed, highly stressed producer of a popular New York TV news programme. […]

RICHARD FIRSHEIN Cindy Patton was a woman who, like many, had battled with her weight for years, but never seemed to make much progress in controlling it. For Cindy, avoiding obesity was of the utmost importance for her health. First, she had a family history of high cholesterol, elevated triglycerides, and diabetes. Her mother had […]

RICHARD FIRSHEIN Chronic fatigue syndrome [CFS], according to the Centers for Disease Control [CDC], US, is a diagnosis of exclusion, meaning that certain conditions must be ruled out before a true diagnosis can be made. There are specific major and minor criteria that must be fulfilled for at least a six-month period. Some of the […]

RICHARD FIRSHEIN People the world over love the smell and taste of licorice: the root itself was found buried with King Tut in his tomb and was used as a medicine in ancient Egypt. In China circa 3,000 BC, licorice was included in religious ceremonies. For many of us, black licorice whips and twirls were […]

RICHARD FIRSHEIN Why is it so hard for some of us to give up foods like ice-cream, juicy steaks, and potato chips, especially if we know that eating those foods regularly is actually making us ill and shortening our lives? When I ask my patients why they continue to eat these foods, they say, “Because […]