Long-term abuse of alcohol wreaks havoc on brain and liver health.

An interesting study suggests that extracts of 2 common kitchen herbs are potent alcohol-detoxifying agents that could protect the liver and brain from the kind of damage that accrues with continuous alcohol abuse.  (more…)

A best-selling glutamine powder from NOW Foods.

Some supplements really do a lot for the time, money and trouble you go to take them. We’ve recently been discussing a few of them here such as alpha lipoic acid and coconut oil. Another good one is the amino acid L-glutamine. Strictly speaking, glutamine supplements are not usually clinically or nutritionally essential, but there are limits to how much the body can produce and how much can be obtained from food.  So since glutamine supports so many critical functions and structures in the body - muscle mass,  immune function, pH balance and many others - millions of people use daily glutamine supplements to support overall health by ensuring that there’s there’s plenty of glutamine  to go around at all times. (more…)

Curcumin supplements are good for you. Unless you smoke.

In a study reminiscent of the back-and-forth over whether beta carotene increases lung cancer risk in smokers or not, a study now suggests that curcumin too can increase the risk of lung cancer development when cancer-promoting factors like smoking, or a history of smoking, are present.  As a possible mechanism for this effect, the researchers suggested that curcumin may  promote cancer in smokers by accelerating the formation of free radicals in damaged lung tissue.

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You do need exercise and fresh air, gas masks are optional.

In Part One of AllStarHealth.com’s New Year Detox Guide, we laid down the basic principles of detoxification.  As we said near the beginning of that article, there’s no universally agreed-upon definition of or approach to detoxification, and the range of options and opinions runs the gamut from legitimate and useful to outright scam.

The BBC picked up on this theme with a story on today, but their headline is misleading when it says (more…)

Many supplements have similar-sounding names, leading to confusion and disappointment with results.

With thousands of dietary supplements on the market and more emerging every day, there are a growing number of similar-sounding products making it all too easy to buy the wrong product for your needs.  For example, there’s calcium ascorbate, calcium pyruvate and calcium d-glucarate,  but none of these is actually a calcium supplement.   Here’s a guide to help you sort out the most  commonly-confused supplements. (more…)