Nymphomania: The Insatiable Need for Sex

In 1948 the famous sex researcher Dr. Alfred Kinsey provided an element of scientific realism to the subject of nymphomania with the publication of his landmark studies of male and female sexuality (Kinsey Reports), describing a nymphomaniac as “someone who has more sex than you.”  Kinsey basically concluded that terms like “nymphomania,” “over-sexed," and “hypersexuality,” had no scientific basis, contending that rates of sexual activity naturally vary widely among humans and that there is no readily distinguishable point past which the frequency (or infrequency) of sex becomes pathological (a disease).  Read more . . .

Herbs That Promote Prostate Health

What do these well-known men all have in common?  Actor Bill Bixby, poet Robert Frost, novelist Langston Hughes, 1960s counterculture icon Timothy Leary, poet Pablo Neruda, actor Jerry Orbach, Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling, guitarist Johnny Ramone, actor Telly Savalas, Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau, and musician Frank Zappa.  Yes, they all died from prostate cancer.
Although cancer of the prostate is certainly not a new disease (though until recent years was rarely openly discussed), many specialists in this field note what they believe to be a sharp increase in incidence of this often-deadly illness.  Read more . . .

Herbs That Boost Testosterone

From the time of birth, testosterone plays a key role in the development of male reproductive tissues such as the testis and prostate, as well as contributes to behavioral patterns and sense of individuality.  In adolescence, testosterone is responsible for promoting secondary sexual characteristics such as increased muscle, bone mass, penis and gonad size, sperm development, facial and pubic hair, a deeper voice, and of course, sex drive.  Read more . . .

Kosher, Iodized, Sea: What's the Salty Difference?

“Kosher” salt, (a term recognized as primarily American in usage), is a variety of edible salt with a much larger grain size than that of most common table salt.  Like common table salt, kosher salt consists of the chemical compound sodium chloride, but unlike table salt, kosher salt typically contains no additives such as iodine–although some brands include anti-clumping agents in small amounts. (The Salt Institute, located in Alexandria, VA, claims "Kosher salt contains no additives".)  Read more . . .

Herbs That Promote Ear Health

A middle-ear infection is one of the most common and troublesome childhood health issues, and is often a baby’s first significant illness.  Often seeming to establish a life-long trend, chronic ear infections can plague many individuals, leading to a near-endless succession of doctor visits and medications.  With ear illness and hearing problems exacerbated by exposure to loud noises, high fever, nerve damage, infection, drug use, and smoking, more and more herbalists, nutritionists, and medical specialists are advocating the use of particular herbs known to cure common ear ailments, maintain good ear health, and prevent or reduce the progression of hearing loss.  Read more . . .

Herbs That Promote Eye Health

For at least 2000 years, various herbs have been utilized throughout the world to promote eye health–consumed regularly to prevent failing eyesight, and prepared as topical infusions to treat everything from common eye strain to glaucoma.  While there is little modern evidence to support many of the documented and anecdotal claims concerning some of these traditional herbal remedies, others have gained considerable supported from the medical community in recent years, scientifically recognized as containing healthful substances that can indeed prevent or treat eye ailments, and support overall eye health.  Read more . . .

Erectile Dysfunction: Current Options and Answers

As most adults are aware, treatment for men unable to achieve a natural erection took a giant step forward when the first oral erectile dysfunction (ED) medication, Viagra, hit the market in 1998.  Easy to use, fast-acting, and predictable, Viagra–and now a whole host of similar drugs–has added an entirely new dimension to the sex lives of the many men who’d thought that sex would have to remain just a pleasant memory of younger days.  But as effective as Viagra is for countless men, it is not the answer for all men suffering erectile dysfunction--for a wide variety of reasons.  And it is for those reasons that science continues to explore other options; vastly improving less effective options from the past, while seeking new approaches that may be effective for every man in the future.  Read more . . .

The Enteromammary Pathway: A Baby's Secret Weapon

While for several decades breastfeeding and the importance of breast milk fell out of favor across much of the world with the advent of baby formula, few have ever denied the many health benefits mothers’ own milk provides.  Recognized as the biological and sociological norm for humans, experts today emphasize that breastfeeding is the superior, species-specific nourishment for infants; one that cannot be artificially replicated or replaced.  And no sooner would we expect an elephant to feed its offspring horses’ milk, nothing–not cows’ milk nor prepared formula–can do what a human mother’s own breast milk can do for her baby.   Read more . . .

Female Herbs: Herbs Just for Her

Through the centuries, various cultures around the world have not only discovered that plants fall into categories in terms of their biological sex (with male and female plants often having completely different curative properties from one another), but that plants can also be categorized by which sex they best serve: female or male.  Thus, certain herbs are routinely designated as “female herbs.”  The following herbs have traditionally been singled out by many societies around the world as having curative and medicinal properties especially geared to a woman’s body; herbs specifically effective in treating female reproductive conditions for a wide range of women regardless of age, ethnicity, or cultural heritage.  Read more . . .

The Health Benefits of Fenugreek

Fenugreek is a deep-rooted annual herb resembling hay and alfalfa whose seeds have been used both as a curative and as a spice (called methia) for at least 6000 years.  Charred fenugreek seeds have been recovered from ancient sites both in Iraq and Israel (radiocarbon dated to 4000 BCE), and dried fenugreek seeds were even discovered in the tomb of the Egyptian boy-Pharaoh Tutankhamen.  Grown in Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, and China since before recorded history, fenugreek is perhaps best known today as a common ingredient in curry powder and chutney.  A dull yellow powder produced from the roasted seeds, fenugreek is readily available fresh and dried, whole and pulverized.  Read more . . .

The Health Benefits of Grape Seed Extract

Grape seed extract, as the term suggests, is a natural chemical extract made from the seeds of grapes.  Most often, the seeds left over from the commercial production of wine or juice are used; harvested, ground, and extracted.  Especially high in particular chemical compounds science terms OPC’s (oligomeric proanthocyanidins), grape seed extract increases the strength of weakened blood vessels, and is also one of the most potent antioxidants known.  And in terms of cost-efficiency, grape seed extract is one of the least expensive ways to get your daily dose of these highly beneficial compounds.   Additionally, grape seed extract contains a vast array of health-supporting ingredients including substantial amounts protein, lipids, carbohydrates, and polyphenols (which come mainly in the form of flavonoids, also known as bioflavonoids).  Read more . . .

The Health Benefits of Essiac Tea

Essiac tea is a blend of herbs believed by many to have unique cancer-fighting properties and a number of other health benefits. Originally used by Native American medicine men, the recipe was rediscovered in 1922 by a Canadian nurse named Rene Caisse as she was attending a woman who claimed to have been cured of breast cancer with an herbal remedy given to her by a North American Indian shaman in the 1890s.  After learning for herself the health benefits of this herbal blend, Rene named her version of the recipe ESSIAC—her last name spelled backwards.  As nurse Caisse discovered, the four main herbs that make up Essiac, burdock root, the inner bark of slippery elm, sheep sorrel, and Indian rhubarb root, each have unique properties that have been utilized for centuries, both as an herbal infusion as well as for topical poultices and plasters.  Read more . . .

Ending Global Hunger and Poverty: Heifer International

Heifer International is a nonprofit charitable organization based in Little Rock, Arkansas, dedicated to relieving global hunger and poverty.  It provides gifts of livestock and plants, as well as education in sustainable agriculture to financially-disadvantaged families around the world.  The Heifer Foundation, established by the board of Heifer International in 1990 to manage the endowment of Heifer International, was created to generate ongoing support for the work of Heifer International by educating the public and serving as an agency for donations.  Founded by American farmer Dan West, West was serving as a Church of the Brethren relief worker in Spain during the Spanish Civil War when he became frustrated at being tasked with deciding how to allocate a very limited amount of food aid.  Upon his return to the United States, he founded Heifers for Relief, an organization dedicated to providing permanent help to starving families by providing them livestock and training so they "could be spared the indignity of depending on others to feed their children."  Read more . . .

Estrogen: Physiological Function and Natural Sources

Estrogen is a hormone comprising a group of compounds which include estrone, estradiol, and estriol, and is the main sex hormone in women, essential to the menstrual cycle.  Although estrogen exists in men as well as women, it is found in significantly higher levels in women, especially those of childbearing age.  Estrogen also plays a key role in the development of secondary sex characteristics, the physically-defining differences between men and women that don’t relate directly to the reproductive system including enlarged breasts, widened pelvis, and increased amounts of body fat in the buttock, thigh, and hips.  Estrogen also contributes to women having less facial hair and smoother skin.  Read more . . .

Breastfeeding: Health and Practical Benefits for Moms

As most everyone is aware today, breastfeeding is the most natural and beneficial act a mother can do for her child.  Proven beyond a doubt, dramatic health benefits pass from mother to child through breast milk–from antibodies which protect an infant at birth, to the exclusive nutrients in mother’s milk which have been shown to prevent a number of childhood diseases–the benefits are incalculable.  In fact, it is said that there is no other single act by which a mother can so greatly impact the present and future health of her baby than breastfeeding.  But what many mothers are unaware of is the many health and practical benefits they themselves enjoy from the breastfeeding experience.  Read more . . .

La Leche League International: Mothers Supporting Breastfeeding

La Leche League International (LLLI) (la leche, Spanish for "the milk") is an international nonprofit, nonsectarian organization that promotes breastfeeding throughout the world.  Founded in 1956 in Franklin Park, Illinois, by seven mothers (including Mary Ann Cahill, Edwina Froehlich, Mary Ann Kerwin, Viola Lennon, and Betty Wagner) who had breastfed their own children and were motivated to help mothers who had difficulties with breastfeeding, La Leche League is now a presence in sixty-eight countries, dedicated to providing education, information, support, and encouragement to women who want to breastfeed.  All women, especially pregnant and nursing mothers, are welcome to attend their meetings.  The name, La Leche League, was inspired by a shrine in St. Augustine, Florida, dedicated to “Nuestra Señora de la Leche y Buen Parto,” meaning “Our Lady of Happy Delivery and Plentiful Milk.”  Read more . . .

The Anatomy of Fear: Why We Enjoy Being Scared

Are you someone who enjoys being scared?  Do you love the works of Edgar Allan Poe?  Do blood-curdling screams and the thought of gushing blood excite you like nothing else can?  Are horror films your favorite kind of entertainment?  This article is about you!  Read more . . .

International "Let's Get Naked Day"

What do you suppose would happen if everyone around the world were to go publicly au naturale for just one day?  I mean, what do you think would be the result if every man, woman, and child went naked for 24 hours–in the name of sociological experimentation? Declare an International “Let’s Get Naked Day?"  Well, they might discover that color, size, and shape are pretty much all that distinguish one butt from another; one pair of breasts from another, and that their neighbor’s aren’t nearly as perfect sans the latest bulge-controlling fashion--and certainly nothing to be envious of.  They might notice that most bodies are pretty much the same–give or take a few pounds, and that imperfections are the norm, not the exception.  Read more . . .

Caffeine: Natural Sources and Man-Made Uses

Caffeine, perhaps the most popular natural drug in the world, is a stimulant found in many plant species including coffee, tea, and cocoa, although a number of other plants produce caffeine-like chemicals.  Less commonly used sources of caffeine include the yerba maté and guarana, two South American plants that have only recently become known around the world, used with greater frequency in the preparation of energy drinks.  Two of caffeine’s alternative names, mateine and guaranine, are derived from the names of these plants.  A typical energy drink made with guarana can contain as much as 259 mgs of caffeine; twice the caffeine found in coffee beans (about 2–4.5% caffeine in guarana seeds compared to 1–2% for coffee beans).  As a dietary supplement, guarana is an effective energy booster, but the long-term effects of this and similar chemicals are as yet unknown.  Read more . . .

The Water/Weight Equation: How Water Affects Diet

Whether you’re trying to lose weight, or just plain health-conscious, here are some important facts about the “water-weight” equation you’ll want to know.  In addition to the many essential health benefits water provides the human body, scientists say it has a direct effect on how our body reacts to weight-loss dieting.  Water suppresses appetite naturally and helps the body metabolize stored fat.  Studies have shown that a decrease in water intake will actually cause fat deposits to increase, while an increase in water can reduce fat deposits.  Read more . . .