Garlic: Garlic has antibiotic and antiviral properties and is used to treat sinus infections brought on by seasonal allergies. It is available in capsule form, tinctures or fresh. When using raw garlic cloves, garlic breath can be avoided by chopping the cloves into small pieces before swallowing.

Ginger: The medicinal properties of ginger come from the rhizome (similar to the root) of the plant. Ginger alleviates nausea and motion sickness and relives chest congestion associated with colds and allergies. Use 100% ginger only in the form of fresh rhizome, crystallized, extract, ginger syrup or capsules.

Nettle: The leaves and roots of nettle reduce symptoms caused by allergies such as hay fever.

Slippery Elm: Slippery elm is available in the form of lozenges, powder and capsules and it is derived from the inner bark of the elm tree. It is used to alleviate coughs and soothe sore throats that often accompany allergies and colds.

It is important for allergy sufferers to maintain a healthy lifestyle that includes a nutritious diet, exercise and plenty of rest in order to keep their immune systems strong. A weak immune system is more taxed by the stresses of everyday life, and will compromise your body’s ability to fend off the allergens that cause your symptoms.

Yours in good health,

Obesity is fast becoming the number one health problem of domestic animals in this country, with one in four pets fitting the profile of overweight or obese. Unfortunately, most pet owners don’t fully understand the devastating toll that obesity can take on their furry friends.

A pet is considered to be overweight if it is 10%-20% above its ideal weight and is considered obese if it is greater than 20% above ideal. Certain breeds and species seem more susceptible to obesity.In dogs, Labradors have a tendency to gain weight, as do cocker spaniels and beagles. Less-active cats such as Persians are also prone to weight gain. The tendency to become obese is greater as pets get older and become less active.

The serious health problems associated with pet obesity are similar to those of their human counterparts and include:

Preventing weight gain in pets can be every bit as challenging as preventing weight gain in humans. An even bigger challenge is trying to get your pet back to a healthy weight once it has become obese.

Here are some measures that may help:

Because pets play such a vital role in our physical and mental health, it is important that we take care of them. Increasing activity and limiting calorie intake can add years to the life of your beloved pet.

Yours in good health,

Work with your body, rather than against it!

We used to think that the human growth hormone naturally produced by the body was only necessary until we reached maturity. However, studies now show that the human growth hormone, or hGH, is vital in virtually all functions of the body throughout our entire lives, even into old age!

Sadly, as our bodies mature, the level of hGH decreases accordingly, leaving us at the mercy of time, increasing our chances of premature aging, and all the joys that come along with it: creaking bones, back pain, weight gain, loss of sex drive, loss of eyesight, and more.

Many people try to continually replace these hormones with injections that can cost about $1,000 a month, month after month, after month! Luckily through the research of Dr. L.E. Dorman, we now know that there is a natural way to stimulate our own body's release of its own natural hGH!

Sleep experts say that the time change comes as a jolt to our internal clocks, and it can take as long as two weeks for our bodies to adjust. Recent European studies show that Daylight Savings Time essentially disrupts our body’s natural tracking of dawn. This disruption affects our moods, our ability to get things done and our ability to concentrate.

If our bodies could adjust naturally then the change would not be so disruptive. Unfortunately, there are many aspects of our lives that depend on unnatural signals (odd work schedules that keep us working late at night or doing shift work, pre-dawn wakeup calls, drugs to keep us either asleep or awake). Unlike our cavemen ancestors, who let the sun dictate their day-night cycles and define the hours of rest and work, we let the demands of everyday life decide when we eat, sleep and work.

According to Dr. Victoria Sudelescu, a sleep expert with the University of Cincinnati Sleep Center, the “spring forward” clock change in March is more difficult to adjust to than the “fall back “change. To adjust to the change she recommends at least eight hours of sleep in order to stay healthy and alert during the day.

Yours in good health,