Before there was modern-day medicine and its pharmacopeia of synthetic drugs, there were plants, and ancient civilizations knew how to use them strategically to treat common ailments and even life-threatening diseases.

The ancient Egyptian Ebers Papyrus, a scroll from 1550 BC that’s over 100 pages long, details 700 medicinal herbs and how to use them. The Greek Corpus Hippocraticum from the 16th century BC also details the use of herbal medicine…

The interconnectedness between soil, microbes, plants, pests, and ultimately human health, is a fascinating area of study.

With the rapid evolution of technology, much of what used to be common-sense farming and gardening knowledge was lost. However, science is starting to reaffirm age-old wisdoms, showing that nature is far smarter than we may have given it credit for…

The GMO food labeling movement has gained momentum over the past several years, passing labeling laws in three states. America’s awareness of the risks of genetically engineered (GE) foods and genetically modified organisms (GMOs) to their health and the environment continues to expand.

The Future of Food is not a new film, but still does an excellent job of covering contemporary issues that continue to threaten your health, including genetic engineering, gene patenting, and the corporatization of the food supply.

Vegetable juice is an enormously helpful tool for improving your health. Dr. Andrew Saul, who’s been a guest here many times before, is a lifelong juicer.

His book, Vegetable Juicing for Everyone: How to Get Your Family Healthier and Happier, Faster!, is a fantastic resource, offering lots of practical tips for integrating juicing into your life, and having fun doing it…

A recent Huffington Post1 article penned by David Bronner, President of Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, highlights the dire problems we face as pesticide use on genetically engineered crops continue to rise.

It’s quite shocking to realize that the way we grow food in the US, as well as many other regions of the world, is producing a toxic legacy that our descendants will undoubtedly struggle with as time goes on…

Many spices have powerful medicinal properties, which is why they’ve been used to promote healing for thousands of years prior to the advent of patented synthetic drugs.

Some spices are clearly more useful than others, and one “star player” within Nature’s pharmacy is turmeric, a yellow-pigmented curry spice often used in Indian cuisine. Turmeric also has a long history of medicinal use in traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurveda…

The majority of health care expenditures (75 percent) in the US are spent on preventable diseases, while only 3 percent of such expenditures are invested in disease-prevention programs, according to a new report funded by the Council for Responsible Nutrition Foundation (CRNF).1

At the heart of such programs should be, undoubtedly, attention to proper nutrition. And when I say “proper,” I’m referring to whole foods, including not only plenty of vegetables but also healthy fats like organic…

Those silver mercury fillings whose vapors readily pass through cell membranes, across your blood-brain barrier, and into your central nervous system? The damage doesn’t stop there.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently cited studies showing that approximately half of the mercury in the environment is there due to dental offices’ amalgam (i.e. silver filling) waste.

Obesity is a frequently overlooked factor that can contribute to an increased cancer risk, yet less than 10 percent of Americans are aware of this link.1 According to the National Cancer Institute,2 an estimated 84,000 annual cancer cases are linked to obesity.

Obesity may also affect the efficacy of cancer treatments. With rising obesity rates among young children in particular, it’s becoming really important to understand this link…

Aging

Last month’s National Honeybee Day (August 16) marked the sixth annual event – a day started by beekeepers to build community awareness of the bee industry. This year’s theme, “Sustainable Gardening Begins with Honey Bees,” showed that concerned citizens are increasingly getting involved in efforts to save the bees.

While beekeeping is most often thought of in regard to large farms and agriculture, bees are important to each and…