Natural Health Advisory

It’s that time of the month and your cramps have landed you on the couch . . . again. Many women experience cramps during their menstrual cycle, but they can be so painful for some that they become debilitating. If you often find yourself out of commission due to severe menstrual cramps, try these natural, effective treatment options. One of the best dysmenorrhea remedies is to boost your intake of omega-3 fatty acids, which can help prevent cramps and pain during your cycle.

What is dysmenorrhea?

Natural Health Advisory

I often find myself opening up my phone to look something up, send a quick text, or use Facebook when I get in bed to fall asleep. And my phone spends the night on the bedside table right next to me. It’s a habit I have trouble breaking, even though I know it is a bad one. These days, it seems that everyone has a cell phone, iPod, tablet, or other handheld electronic, even young kids. You probably know of many kids who tuck into bed with their cell phone or iPod. But are cell phones dangerous to keep next to you as you sleep? Studies show that cell phone screens and other electronic devices in the bedroom may be interfering with sleep quality in children.

The importance of good quality sleep for kids

Kids need sleep. Many children do not get enough of it, especially during the transition to adolescence, when sleeping habits tend to change. But insufficient sleep can compromise children’s health in a variety of ways, and the effects can be long lasting. Sleep helps improve school performance, reduces risk-taking behaviors, and enhances immunity in kids. Inadequate sleep in childhood is considered a major risk factor for developing obesity in adulthood, and it might also be related to hypertension, heart disease, and stroke later on as well.[1]

Electronic media in children’s bedrooms

Natural Health Advisory

As winter drags on, more and more people around me are getting sick. I have been sure to have vitamin C, zinc, echinacea, and other immune-boosting supplements on hand and ready to use at the first signs of a cold or flu. A recent addition to my list is elderberry. Studies show elderberry benefits include activating the immune system, reducing inflammation, and binding to the influenza virus itself.

Why does elderberry help the flu?

Elderberries, the dark, purple berries from the elder tree, are rich in phenolic compounds, including flavanoids, catechins, and proanthocyanidins. These are all potent antioxidants, and they can help enhance the immune response by stimulating the production of immune cells.[1,2,3] They also fight inflammation, which may partly explain reduced flu symptoms of pain, aches, and fever seen in some studies using elderberry.[2]

Certain compounds in elderberry actually directly act on the influenza virus, preventing it from replicating and taking root in your body.[1] Extracts from elderberry can also have antiviral activity against viruses including the H1N1 flu, herpes simplex virus, and others as well.[2,4]

Does it work?

Natural Health Advisory

As attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medication use spreads, so does the controversy surrounding it. The explosion of prescriptions for ADHD medications for kids may be due to several factors, such as enhanced marketing by pharmaceutical companies, the inclusion of milder cases in ADHD diagnoses, and the illegal purchasing of ADHD medications by consumers, like college students, who want stimulants to boost their focusing power in school.[1]

But are ADHD drugs actually needed as much as they are used and prescribed? And are they even helping? Research shows that stimulants like Ritalin or Adderall might not even do their job of helping children with ADHD in the first place.

Risks of ADHD medications for kids

Natural Health Advisory

I take zinc when I feel a cold coming on and find that it definitely helps to keep me from getting sick. Many people use zinc for this immune-boosting purpose, but zinc has far more benefits for your body than just that. The benefits of taking zinc include lowering your risk of heart disease , treating Parkinson’s disease, and even helping clear up acne .

As if that weren’t enough, yet another reason to love zinc is that it can be helpful for diabetes care. Zinc is highly concentrated in the islet cells of the pancreas, where insulin is produced.[1] Zinc promotes healthy insulin function, can provide natural blood sugar control, and might even help to prevent diabetes in the first place.

The zinc-insulin connection