Parkinson’s disease is the second commonest neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s, affecting 1% of the over-65 population and 2% of the over-80’s. Recent research (1) published in Biological Psychiatry from the Institute of Biophysics, Academia Sinica in Beijing indicates that... Read more →

There is a new chocolate bar on the market called “Heart Chocolate” that claims to lower blood sugar and cholesterol. The secret behind this healthy chocolate is said to be a mixture of bitter melon and cinnamon (CM-X). Supposedly if you eat three portions throughout the day it controls... Read more →

Depression sucks, and we have probably all heard that it can be combated with proper diet and adding in missing nutrients. But who are we are fooling? Often, a clinically depressed person would prefer chocolate cake and potato chips for dinner rather than the salmon and salad that would help their condition.... Read more →

Can the mind cure the mind, working on itself? Well, although the entire self-help psychology industry survives on an assumption that it does — with various techniques, young and old, aimed at self-therapy, scientific research on the subject is still in its early stage. Mindfulness meditation,... Read more →

We live in a world in which medical researchers design double-blind trials of prayer, ministers talk about the brain and the immune system from the pulpit, monks meditate inside brain imaging machines, and studies of “the placebo effect” and “positive attitude” frame discussions... Read more →

Mainstream psychiatry is becoming more biology-based in practice and today uses medication as a major form of treatment. The problem with this, say some, is that psychiatric medication is dangerous or over-prescribed. Alternative medicine offers other therapeutic choices for people who are against... Read more →

When last we met I was standing in a Chinese herbal store with plastic bag full of dried chrysanthemum flowers in my hand. The pharmacist instructed me to combine the flowers with something called Wolfberry fruit an herb that resembled a little like a red crystal rock. In typical Western style, I asked... Read more →