medicine (Page 11)

Newswise – While many of us turn to our chiropractor when we develop asore back, there has long been controversy about whether ornot chiropractic techniques really ?work.? Some doctors sendtheir patients to chiropractors, while others thinkchiropractors are out of date practitioners of a type oftreatment that has long been superceded by more modern drugsand surgery. But there is a growing body of evidence thatgoing to the chiropractor can reduce your other health carecosts.

In a study published in the Journal of Vertebral SubluxationResearch, researchers found that chiropractic care caninfluence DNA repair. These findings offer a scientificexplanation for the positive health benefits reported bypatients who regularly visit chiropractors.
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From the Middle Ages to the 19th century, bloodletting?bycutting or using leeches?was one of the major “cures” usedby doctors. It was abandoned in the mid-20th century afterantibiotics were invented. It seems primitive and dangerousto us today, but scientists have found that there was areason behind it.

Microbiologist Eric P. Skaar has discovered that the staphgerm, a leading cause of infections, fuels itself with iron.Removing red blood cells from the body removes the iron thisbacteria feeds on.

Iron specialist Tracy Rouault says, “How could a procedurepopular for 2,500 years have really been completely worthless?”
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Weeds may be unwanted, but they’re more valuable than you think. Anthropologist Richard Steep says, “If I had one place to go to find medicinal plants, it wouldn’t be the forest. There are probably hundreds of weeds growing right outside people’s doors they could use.”

Stepp looked through scientific journals to find drugs that come from plants instead of being created in laboratories. He discovered that although only about 3% of the world’s quarter-million plant species are weeds, they make up more than a third of the 101 plants used to make drugs.
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Some heavily advertised products actually do you more harm than good. A recent study shows that sunscreens are totally worthless, but using them makes people complacent, so they spend more time in the sun, which can lead to skin cancer. And taking too many antacids can lead to dangerous food allergies.
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