Category: Health/Nutrition

Q. I love milk and dairy products but I am coughing up large amounts of mucous in the morning. I switched to soy milk but I don't like it in coffee. Would evaporated goats milk (or any goats milk) be a reasonable choice? Does goat milk produce mucous the way cow's milk does?

Thank you, Claire

Q. I have read that soy milk can cause digestive problems in some people. Have you read anything about rice milk or almond milk causing the same problems?

Thanks, Nancy

In the last column we took a look at cholesterol, good and bad, and developed the concept of nutrition based upon heredity. I would like to explore this idea a little further and focus on climate, seasons of the year and just what constitutes a healthy daily diet.

Q. My doctor is concerned because my cholesterol level is rather high. I tried following her dietary recommendations to lower my cholesterol level to no avail. Now she wants to put me on a prescription medication, which I don't want to do. Is there anyway I can avoid taking these drugs and still get my cholesterol under control?

Q. In the past year or so, the local markets have been selling a brand of soft drink that’s fortified with healing herbs. At first I thought this was great, since one of the brands has echinacea in it and I thought this would be a good way to keep my immune system boosted. But, the other morning, I was watching the Today show and a doctor was saying that echanacia works fine if you take it when you need it, but that it can actually lower your immune response if you take it over long periods of time. Is this true? Should I stop drinking this brand of soda?

Q. I take a variety of supplements on a daily basis. As summer draws to a close and I prepare myself for fall and winter, I've been wondering if I should take a different regimen according to the season, or if I should stick to the same vitamins and supplements year round? Currently I take a multi-vitamin that is heavily weighted towards the B complexes, an additional 1000 mg daily of vitamin C (my multi-vitamin only has 100 mg), a 400 I.U. tablet of vitamin E as well as a magnesium and calcium supplement. Should I stick with this throughout the year, or should I add something during the winter months?

Q: For many years, my husband and I have used medicinal herbs and natural supplements to maintain our health. We have always purchased these herbs and supplements at our local health food store, but recently I’ve noticed that the chain drug stores are beginning to sell some of these products under a store brand for less money than we’ve been paying. I certainly don’t want to spend more than is necessary, but I also don’t want to waste money on worthless products. Could you tell me if the herbal supplements sold at the chain pharmacies are as good as the products offered at the health food stores?

We’ve all heard of the wonderful attributes of Tofu, the oriental soybean curd. The isoflavones are wonderful for all of us, from helping with menopausal symptoms (it’s high in phytoestrogens) to it’s high protein content and cancer preventative properties. Studies have shown that countries where people eat lots of soy have a much lower incidence of breast cancer. But many westerners never fail to ask me, “But it’s so yucky, how do you prepare it?” I say it’s not any yuckier than a slab of animal flesh. In fact, I prefer it to flesh and so do my children!

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As far as we’re concerned, the two best reasons to be a vegetarian is that it’s goodfor you and it tastes good. Besides, mama always made us eat our vegetablesif we wanted desert.

We have all heard of the benefits of eating garlic for it’s helpful effects in lowering blood pressure and arteriosclerosis, but did you know of its powerful immune system stimulant properties? Garlic is an antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral. It works where high tech medicine fails us. Our traditional western doctors can treat a bacterial infection with antibiotics but antibiotics have no effect upon viral and fungal infections. Garlic is especially helpful to women who suffer from recurrent yeast, urinary tract and bladder infections. It is an excellent preventative to invading organisms from cold and flu viruses to more debilitating viruses such as herpes. Garlic is also a wonderful digestive aid and helps to eliminate excess mucus associated with chronic bronchitis. Garlic helps to fight intestinal illnesses such as dysentery, cholera, typhoid and other ugly bugs that can make us miserable. It was once famous for it’s ability to purge the intestines of parasites and is widely used for this purpose in countries that have not thrown out their proven natural remedies.