Category Archives: Health & Wellness

DAVID PETERS I almost left medicine as a fourth year student. Science was ascendant in a system I found dehumanising. In staying, I resolved to change it, at least within myself. Rather than diseases and interventions, my work became centred on people, their capacity for healing change, and the conditions that affected this — within […]

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 […]

VENKATESH GOVINDARAJAN Sleep disorders are far more variegated and complex than you think. The causative factors are numerous and the complementary, synergistic effects they have, make this a challenging field for physicians, psychiatrists and psychologists. It is also more psychosomatic than one can imagine. This piece is a ‘free’ translation of a booklet this writer […]

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 […]

RICHARD FIRSHEIN Nora Samuels, aged fifty-six, had gone through menopause, six long years ago; she was still suffering hot flashes. She had initially tried hormone-replacement therapy [HRT], but the medications had made her feel even worse than she had before she began treatment. Over the years, her symptoms had increased. If her hot flashes let […]

RICHARD FIRSHEIN Steve, for one, was not alone in neglecting to pack his diet with the proper nutrients. In fact, the United States, or any other country, as a whole is guilty of consuming insufficient amounts of B vitamins. While the optimal dose of folic acid, for instance, is 650-1,000mcg a day, most of us […]