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…)

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…)

Cleansing products from NOW, Nature's Way and Yerba Prima

Q:  We’ve noticed the many different cleansing products available now and have a few supplement-using friends that strongly advocate cleanses.  We wonder if you could give us a little guidance on choosing the best one?

A:  We get quite a few questions about cleansing products; Do I need one? What are the differences between cleansing products? How do I go about choosing a product?  Here’s an overview of cleansing products and what they can and can’t do for you. (more…)