What do you get when you ask doctors from the world-renowned Mayo Clinic to bare their tortured-artist souls?

For the second year in a row, Mayo dermatopathologists are competing in a friendly art contest, using the images they see every day on lab slides as creative inspiration. “Every single day, dermatopathologists get to see beautiful images under the microscope, and most people never have the opportunity to see that,” says Dr. Julia Lehman, the creator of the contest. “So I thought it would be a nice way to show not only the science of dermatopathology, but also the art.”

Last year, the winning entry was “Hair Follicle Triplet,” created by Dr. Alexander Meves by introducing fluorescent dyes to a photo of hair follicles.

“Art can be seen in every aspect of life,” Dr. Lehman says. “You just have to have an open mind and be looking for it.” But while the gorgeous images from the competition highlight the amazing beauty of even the tiniest parts of the human anatomy, they’re also a great reminder of what we destroy when we neglect to wear sunscreen.

Check out all the 2012 contest entries and then vote for your favorite here.

Images: Mayo Clinic

The post Doctors at the Mayo Clinic Get Artistic With Dermatopathology appeared first on EcoSalon.

Indigestion and Heartburn

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It almost goes without saying – but consider why you’re getting heartburn in the first place. Did you overeat? Too much grease or spicy food? Eating late at night? Scout out the cause and try to stop this before it happens. Then, put down the antacids. The belching, bloat and heartburn caused by indigestion come about because you don’t have enough stomach acid to do the job right. A spoonful or two of apple cider vinegar will help break down the excess food that is causing you trouble and bring your stomach back to balance.

Sore Throat

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Sore, scratchy throats are usually a sign of a cold or flu coming on, so you don’t want to ignore this symptom, but you can relieve the pain by gargling with warm salt water a few times a day and then drinking a soothing honey-lemon tea.

Sore Muscles and Bruises

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After a hard afternoon of rowing with a friend, I resigned myself to a few days of burning muscles and soreness. But my friend saved the day with a tube of arnica cream. He rubbed it on my shoulders and voila, instant relief and absolutely no aches the next day. The humble arnica flower makes an incredible cream that no medicine cabinet should be without. Use it immediately to speed up the healing of bruises, sprains, sore muscles and other general aches.

Stop Bleeding

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You’d think it would burn, but a sprinkle of cayenne pepper on a cut will quickly stop the bleeding and actually relieve the pain.

Ear Infections

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Ear infections can become quite serious and cause permanent damage, so please see a doctor if your ear ache has become severe. But if you feel like your infection is mild and at the beginning stages, put a few drops of garlic oil or white vinegar into your ear canal and lay down on the opposite side to let those drops do their work. Garlic and vinegar create an environment that won’t support the bacteria causing the infection. Repeat a few times a day until the symptoms disappear. (If your symptoms last longer than a few days, you should definitely see a doctor!)

Burns

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So you bumped up against the stove again? Ouch. Rinse first with cold water, but then immediately apply aloe vera gel to the burn. For those of us who don’t have aloe in the house, slice a potato and rub its cool, soothing juices all over the burn. And honey, with its antibacterial properties, is also good topical ointment. If you can catch the burn immediately, mustard is also reportedly a great salve.

Athlete’s Foot

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It’s a foot fungus, and it stinks. Air those piggies, then soak them in salty water, wash them with garlic juice, or soak them with diluted white or apple cider vinegar. All of these things will help kill the fungus. But you have to be persistent, consistent and diligent: no matter what treatment you use, do it a few times a day and stick with it until at least a week after you think the symptoms are gone! Fungus excels at hiding out and coming back when you least expect it.

Rashes and Allergies

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Prescription and OTC antihistamines can cause some serious side effects. Before you head for the strong stuff, try green tea, which contains compounds with antihistamine properties. You’ll need to drink 2-3 cups a day to get the full effect.

Acne and Sensitive Skin

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First you really have to look at your lifestyle, because imbalances in your health can show up in your skin. But in the meantime, wash your face with oatmeal. It’s a gentle exfoliant and draws out oil and impurities.

Flatulence

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Some foods, like beans and raw veggies, are more likely to cause gas, but if you find flatulence to be too common of an occurrence, try taking a digestive enzyme with your meals. You can find these at any health food store. In the meantime, make use of digestive spices such as ginger, anise, peppermint, coriander and dill. You can make tea with these ingredients or incorporate them into your food.

Headache and Migraine

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Try rubbing peppermint or lavender oil on your temples and the base of your neck; sniffing these oils may also help. Rub a fresh cut lemon or lime on your forehead. Feverfew is a good herbal remedy for headaches. Have a little caffeine by way of green tea, and don’t forget to use an ice pack for 20 minutes to dull the throbbing.

Dandruff

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Have you looked at the ingredients in dandruff shampoo? It seems like they contain almost everything in the Toxic Ingredients You Must Avoid list. Better to try something natural first before resorting to chemicals. Many people swear by rubbing aloe vera gel onto the scalp (leave it on for 20 minutes than rinse it out). This will certainly help with dry, itchy scalp. Another remedy is a rinse with apple cider vinegar. Try these remedies a few times before deciding if they work for you. Even dandruff shampoo requires regular use to see results, so give the natural stuff a chance!

Nausea

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The classic cure for nausea or carsickness is ginger tea or candied ginger. You can chew on the stuff raw, if you like, but it’s so spicy and strong it might just make you feel worse. Sniffing real peppermint or lavender oil can also help.

Constipation.

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First (and we’ll spare you a picture), drink more water and eat more fruit and salads. You’re backed up for a reason and taking lots of laxatives is not the answer. Meanwhile, drinking a few teaspoons of olive oil mixed with a bit of orange or (diluted) lemon juice can help things get moving. Another surefire remedy is 1/4 teaspoon of epsom salts drunk in 1/2 a glass of water. Sometimes calorie restriction or avoidance of healthy fats (such as the good fats found in fish, nuts and avocados) can worsen constipation. And though it’s counterintuitive, some people relieve their constipation by actually cutting back on grain consumption! True, grains contain fiber, but some people don’t digest grains very well. Other causes of constipation include stress, depression, inactivity and nutritional deficiencies. If your constipation is chronic, it may be a sign of a more serious problem, so please seek medical advice and adjust your lifestyle.

Toothache.

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There’s nothing so bad as the shooting pain of a toothache. You don’t want to ignore a tooth problem, because an infection that close to your brain can be extremely dangerous if it spreads. But in order to reduce swelling and pain while you wait for your dentist appointment, try putting a few drops of clove oil on your tooth and gums, and bite down on a smashed piece of garlic (which has excellent antibacterial properties). This has always worked for me.

Give some of these remedies a try – and share your own tried-and-true treatments, too.

Each week here at EcoSalon, the editors choose a post from the archives that we think you’ll love. The original post can be found here.

Images: FXR, Muhammad Adnan Asin, Mr Wabu, Goldring, Unhindered by Talent, Fotoos Van Robin, titanium22, aussiegall, craig Cloutier, Muffet, tillwe, Stuart Pilbrow, Creative Tools, sh0dan, Fotoos Van Robin, Stephen Brace

The post Best Natural Remedies for the 15 Most Common Aches, Pains and Health Complaints appeared first on EcoSalon.

Is the economy beating you up? It’s time to get creative. Next time you have an ache or pain, forget about a costly trip to the drugstore and test drive some of your grandmother’s remedies instead. It’ll save money and be gentler on your body and the environment. Recessionistas (and Gents), welcome to the DIY medicine cabinet.

Indigestion and Heartburn

It almost goes without saying – but consider why you’re getting heartburn in the first place. Did you overeat? Too much grease or spicy food? Eating late at night? Scout out the cause and try to stop this before it happens. Then, put down the antacids. The belching, bloat and heartburn caused by indigestion come about because you don’t have enough stomach acid to do the job right. A spoonful or two of apple cider vinegar will help break down the excess food that is causing you trouble and bring your stomach back to balance.

Sore Throat

Sore, scratchy throats are usually a sign of a cold or flu coming on, so you don’t want to ignore this symptom, but you can relieve the pain by gargling with warm salt water a few times a day and then drinking a soothing honey-lemon tea.

Sore Muscles and Bruises

After a hard afternoon of rowing with a friend, I resigned myself to a few days of burning muscles and soreness. But my friend saved the day with a tube of arnica cream. He rubbed it on my shoulders and voila, instant relief and absolutely no aches the next day. The humble arnica flower makes an incredible cream that no medicine cabinet should be without. Use it immediately to speed up the healing of bruises, sprains, sore muscles and other general aches.

Stop Bleeding

You’d think it would burn, but a sprinkle of cayenne pepper on a cut will quickly stop the bleeding and actually relieve the pain.

Ear Infections

Ear infections can become quite serious and cause permanent damage, so please see a doctor if your ear ache has become severe. But if you feel like your infection is mild and at the beginning stages, put a few drops of garlic oil or white vinegar into your ear canal and lay down on the opposite side to let those drops do their work. Garlic and vinegar create an environment that won’t support the bacteria causing the infection. Repeat a few times a day until the symptoms disappear. (If your symptoms last longer than a few days, you should definitely see a doctor!)

Burns

So you bumped up against the stove again? Ouch. Rinse first with cold water, but then immediately apply aloe vera gel to the burn. For those of us who don’t have aloe in the house, slice a potato and rub its cool, soothing juices all over the burn. And honey, with its antibacterial properties, is also good topical ointment. If you can catch the burn immediately, mustard is also reportedly a great salve.

Athlete’s Foot

It’s a foot fungus, and it stinks. Air those piggies, then soak them in salty water, wash them with garlic juice, or soak them with diluted white or apple cider vinegar. All of these things will help kill the fungus. But you have to be persistent, consistent and diligent: no matter what treatment you use, do it a few times a day and stick with it until at least a week after you think the symptoms are gone! Fungus excels at hiding out and coming back when you least expect it.

Rashes and Allergies

Prescription and OTC antihistamines can cause some serious side effects. Before you head for the strong stuff, try green tea, which contains compounds with antihistamine properties. You’ll need to drink 2-3 cups a day to get the full effect.

Acne and Sensitive Skin

First you really have to look at your lifestyle, because imbalances in your health can show up in your skin. But in the meantime, wash your face with oatmeal. It’s a gentle exfoliant and draws out oil and impurities.

Flatulence

Some foods, like beans and raw veggies, are more likely to cause gas, but if you find flatulence to be too common of an occurrence, try taking a digestive enzyme with your meals. You can find these at any health food store. In the meantime, make use of digestive spices such as ginger, anise, peppermint, coriander and dill. You can make tea with these ingredients or incorporate them into your food.

Headache and Migraine

Try rubbing peppermint or lavender oil on your temples and the base of your neck; sniffing these oils may also help. Rub a fresh cut lemon or lime on your forehead. Feverfew is a good herbal remedy for headaches. Have a little caffeine by way of green tea, and don’t forget to use an ice pack for 20 minutes to dull the throbbing.

Dandruff

Have you looked at the ingredients in dandruff shampoo? It seems like they contain almost everything in the Toxic Ingredients You Must Avoid list. Better to try something natural first before resorting to chemicals. Many people swear by rubbing aloe vera gel onto the scalp (leave it on for 20 minutes than rinse it out). This will certainly help with dry, itchy scalp. Another remedy is a rinse with apple cider vinegar. Try these remedies a few times before deciding if they work for you. Even dandruff shampoo requires regular use to see results, so give the natural stuff a chance!

Nausea

The classic cure for nausea or carsickness is ginger tea or candied ginger. You can chew on the stuff raw, if you like, but it’s so spicy and strong it might just make you feel worse. Sniffing real peppermint or lavender oil can also help.

Constipation. First (and we’ll spare you a picture), drink more water and eat more fruit and salads. You’re backed up for a reason and taking lots of laxatives is not the answer. Meanwhile, drinking a few teaspoons of olive oil mixed with a bit of orange or (diluted) lemon juice can help things get moving. Another surefire remedy is 1/4 teaspoon of epsom salts drunk in 1/2 a glass of water. Sometimes calorie restriction or avoidance of healthy fats (such as the good fats found in fish, nuts and avocados) can worsen constipation. And though it’s counterintuitive, some people relieve their constipation by actually cutting back on grain consumption! True, grains contain fiber, but some people don’t digest grains very well. Other causes of constipation include stress, depression, inactivity and nutritional deficiencies. If your constipation is chronic, it may be a sign of a more serious problem, so please seek medical advice and adjust your lifestyle.

Toothache. There’s nothing so bad as the shooting pain of a toothache. You don’t want to ignore a tooth problem, because an infection that close to your brain can be extremely dangerous if it spreads. But in order to reduce swelling and pain while you wait for your dentist appointment, try putting a few drops of clove oil on your tooth and gums, and bite down on a smashed piece of garlic (which has excellent antibacterial properties). This has always worked for me.

Give some of these remedies a try – and share your own tried-and-true treatments, too.

Each week here at EcoSalon, the editors choose a post from the archives that we think you’ll love. The original post can be found here.

Images: FXR, Muhammad Adnan Asin, Mr Wabu, Goldring, Unhindered by Talent, Fotoos Van Robin, titanium22, aussiegall, craig Cloutier, Muffet, tillwe, Stuart Pilbrow, sh0dan, Fotoos Van Robin, Stephen Brace

The post Best Natural Remedies for the 15 Most Common Aches, Pains and Health Complaints appeared first on EcoSalon.

A weed is just a plant growing in the wrong place – a plant which, in many cases, could be used ease indigestion, fight the flu, treat poison ivy rashes and even make a tasty meal. They may mar otherwise perfect mats of green grass, but many weeds are chock full of vitamins, minerals and surprising healing abilities. So why throw away the medicine cabinet and free food in your yard? Check out the benefits of these 10 weeds including yarrow, purslane and kudzu.

(Of course, don’t consume any wild plants if you’re not 100% positive you’ve identified them correctly. This article is not a substitute for a good plant identification book.)

Dandelion

With its long, strong taproot, the humble dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) is no favorite of those seeking a weed-free lawn. But not only does it have rather pretty little yellow flowers, it’s a nutritional and medicinal powerhouse. When young, its trademark saw-toothed leaves are a delicious addition to spring salads and can also be sauteed as a vegetable. They’re rich in vitamin A, vitamin C, folate and calcium. The flowers are also edible.

If you let your dandelions grow strong and proud, you’ll end up with large roots that can be harvested and dried as a medicinal supplement. Used commercially in many detox formulas, dandelion root acts as a powerful diuretic and kidney and liver cleanser.

Chickweed

Starry white flowers with cleft petals, dainty pairs of fuzzy green leaves and purple stems identify the star chickweed plant, which – along with its relatives common chickweed and mouse chickweed – is a great source of vitamins A, D, B complex and C. It’s also packed with minerals like iron, calcium, potassium and zinc. Chickweed (Stellaria media) has a delicate cornsilk-like flavor when eaten raw, and tastes like spinach when cooked.

Chickweed can also be finely chopped and applied externally to soothe irritated skin. An infusion made by steeping ¼ cup in a cup of boiling water for 15 minutes has benefits similar to dandelion root.

Yarrow

Tall and stately, yarrow (Achillea millefolium) bears fuzzy fern-like foliage and bouquets of tiny white or yellow flowers. Some of its other names, including Nose Bleed, Staunchweed and Bloodwort hint at one of its most prized abilities – slowing down bleeding. Found in meadows, pastures and roadsides across America, yarrow has long been used in herbal medicine not just for wound care but to increase appetite, ease indigestion and fight colds and flu.

The fresh leaves can be used as a compress with a little warm water, or even chewed up and applied to wounds if you’re out hiking or camping. A teaspoon of the dried leaves, added to a cup of boiling water and allowed to steep for 10 minutes, is said to reduce fever and help clear the sinuses.

Stinging Nettle

It looks harmless enough, but once you make the mistake of touching stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) with your bare hand, you’ll never do it again (unless you have arthritis – but more on that in a minute). This plant – often found growing near water – has a piercing sting with tiny needle-like hairs infused with several painful chemicals. But once it’s cooked, soaked in water or dried, the fibers are disarmed and the plant can be used both medicinally and as food.

Anemia, internal bleeding, eczema, bladder infections, prostate enlargement and bronchitis are just a few of the conditions that are often treated with nettle in dried leaf, tincture or tea form. But believe it or not, some people intentionally apply raw nettle leaves to arthritic joints to relieve pain. Scientists believe that it reduces levels of inflammatory chemicals in the body, interfering with pain signals.

And even if you don’t want to eat it, nettle can be a big help in a surprising way: as an extremely effective liquid fertilizer for the garden. Get an easy tutorial on its preparation from SeasonalGardener.com.

Jewelweed

If you make the unlucky mistake of brushing up against some poison ivy, don’t wander off – your savior is likely just a few yards away. Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) often grows in the same areas as poison ivy and can be used as its antidote. A substance called lawsone in jewelweed actually binds to urushiol oil, the component in poison ivy that’s so irritating, preventing it from binding with the proteins in your skin.

Jewelweed is typically the main ingredient in poison ivy soaps and creams, but you can simply chop up some of the stems and leaves, boil them until the liquid is orange and then freeze the strained liquid in an ice cube tray for quick, soothing relief.

Plantain

It’s not exactly pretty, but for the plantain (plantago) growing out of the crack in your sidewalk or the edge of your garden bed, it’s what’s on the inside that counts. This perennial weed (different from the banana-like plant of the same name) has a low-lying rosette of dark green oval leaves and cylindrical flower spikes, which produce seeds and seed husks used as the main ingredient in psyllium laxatives.

Mucilage is the magic word when it comes to plantain’s effectiveness. This slippery substance – contained within the entire plant – relieves sore throats and inflammation in the digestive tract. Plantain also has antibacterial properties, healing as it soothes. For colds and flu, add a tablespoon of fresh or dry plantain seed heads and leaves to a cup of boiling water, steep for 10 minutes, strain and drink several times daily.

Purslane

Want to add some more of those all-important Omega-3 fatty acids to your diet? Go out in your yard, snip some purslane (Portulaca oleracea) and add it to a salad. This succulent plant is commonly found in warm, temperate regions of the U.S. and around the world, and has been used historically as a remedy for arthritis and inflammation in Chinese medicine.

Purslane has more beta-carotene than spinach and can be used in much the same way in salads, pasta dishes, burritos, stews – just about any savory dish. It has a juicy, chewy texture and a mild sweet-and-sour flavor.

Peppergrass

Found in fields and roadsides in virtually every state of the union and much of Canada, “peppergrass” (Lepidium virginicum) is in the mustard family and has a flavor similar to that of arugula.  Sometimes called “poor man’s pepper”, peppergrass leaves can be eaten raw in salads or used to season soups and stews. The peppery flavor diminishes with cooking, so add it at the last minute.

Mullein

Got bronchitis? One of the best things you can reach for isn’t in your medicine cabinet, but growing outside your window. Mullein resembles the ornamental plant known as lamb’s ear, with soft fuzzy leaves that grow in a rosette pattern and tall stalks of flowers that can be yellow or white.

Mullein leaves are an expectorant, stimulating coughing to clear congested lungs. The dried leaves can be taken as tea or in capsules to treat a number of respiratory ills including athsma, and oil made with the flowers is a natural remedy for ear infections.

Kudzu

Anyone who has ever taken a drive through the South has seen the tenacious beast that is kudzu (Pueraria lobata). This vine was introduced to the U.S. from its native Japan to help control soil erosion, but quickly overtook everything in its path from trees to entire buildings. It’s a menace that can grow up to a foot a day during the summer, but at least it has a few good uses.

Kudzu, “the vine that ate the South”, is related to peas and the tender shoots take on the flavor of whatever they’re cooked with. The root, dried and pulverized, is used in place of cornstarch to thicken soups and gravies. Some people even fry the leaves and eat them like potato chips.

It has also been used in Chinese medicine for centuries to treat a host of ills including dysentery, allergies, migraines and diarrhea and it’s currently being researched for use in Western medicine as a treatment for alcoholism.

Images: Muffet, Calliope, The Equinest, Mick E. Talbot, Wikimedia Commons, Bob Richmond, Wikimedia Commons, Wikimedia Commons, Wikimedia Commons, Wikimedia Commons, Kitten Wants

The post From Coughs to Colds, These Common Backyard Weeds Offer a Medicinal Boost appeared first on EcoSalon.

Kaiser Permanente is prescribing big doses of sustainability in the sixth season of its $50 million Thrive ad campaign.

Two new ads – Emerald Cities and Connected – reinforce the health care provider’s commitment to the planet by dramatically reducing paper use – no small task for an industry long married to countless charts and forms. For most of us, being ordered to “Fill this out” is as rote as, “Hop on the scale,” and just as painful.

The Emerald pitch describes how Kaiser is allowing patients access to their own medical data via Kaiser Permanente HealthConnect, the world’s largest civilian electronic health record.

Not just a handy core tool for patients, the online system is apparently saving thousands of trees annually. And, as of September 2009, Kaiser estimates its members completed six million doctor’s visits without using one gallon of gasoline. Guess they got the help they were seeking by going online.

“We will be entirely paperless by 2010 and these ads illustrate how we are doing our part in some way to help the environment,” I’m told by Lisa Ryan, Director of National Advertising at Kaiser. “Having a healthy environment creates a healthy community that helps individuals thrive.”

In these appealing ads, actress Allison Janney, the KP spokeswoman since 2004, drives home the point in her now familiar, smooth-as-a-surgical-glove delivery:

“By putting an end to paper medical records, we have ushered health into the digital age.”

To paraphrase the tagline: I think that I shall never see, a 62-page medical report as lovely as a tree.

“Our ode to trees talks to the fact that when you have online capabilities and a way to connect, it  does eliminate the need to drive to a facility or to an office visit,” says Ryan.

The Connected spot highlights the convenience of securely e-mailing your doctor, checking your medical records, reviewing test results and booking appointments online. This spares not just trees but the stress of being forced to listen to bad “music” after being placed on hold the second your doctor’s receptionist answer the line.

Kaiser clinicians are digitally connected to each other, which ultimately helps them stay connected to  members. The closing line of the ad summarizes, “At Kaiser Permanente, we believe that if knowledge is power, shared knowledge is even more powerful.”

Personally, I have struggled to attain the elusive power of shared knowledge while advocating for loved ones at hospitals where overworked, impatient doctors seemed agitated when pressed for too much info. Getting them to return phone calls was even harder. Then again, my family doesn’t use Kaiser. Maybe their doctors are more generous.

“Our primary care physicians are at center of who we are and we have great accessibility in person, on the phone and email,” says Ryan. “Ive had great experience with my own doc whom I have spoken to on the phone and through email. All of our new alternative ways to reach out and stay connected really help.”

I was glad to see the green connection extends to its Thrive website, which give readers tips on being “thriving communities” by buying locally-grown food, using fewer shopping bags, making their own cleaning supplies and avoiding exposure to chemicals in the home.

Ryan told me all of this effort, including the ad campaign, has been an extension of proven sustainability practices at Kaiser’s newly-built facilities, such as centers in Modesto and Santa Clara, using solar panels, pavement treatments to recycle run off water and friendly denim material in the walls as green insulation.

“The advertising is a great bridge between the sustainability message and the innovation of who we are,” Ryan  says. “It was a huge undertaking to go digital and to retrain the care staff, but it all speaks to our overall concern with the health of individuals and the community. ”

Prior to the green thrust, Kaiser treated us to daily ads on prevention, reminding our unhealthy nation that the more we exercise, eat well and get screened for diseases, the less we will have to spend on health care.

I think the ads resonate with the radio-listening masses facing poor health along with a poor health care system that has yet to be reformed.

With $50 million invested in the message, let’s hope Kaiser proves to be one of the needed cures.

Images: Kaiser Permanente, Wiki

The post Kaiser Permanente: Save Trees and Thrive appeared first on EcoSalon.

Being elected into The Institute of Medicine (IOM) is considered one of the highest honors in the field of health and medicine. It recognizes those who’ve demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service.

Earlier this month the IOM announced the names of 65 new members and five foreign associates who’ve made major contributions to the advancement of the medical sciences, health care and public health. What’s especially interesting is that in order to assure diversity, they required that at least one-quarter of those selected be from outside of the health professions. They were chosen from such fields as the natural, social and behavioral sciences; law, engineering and the humanities.

We think that’s very “eco”.

This year, five of those selected are from the University of Southern California:

• Deborah Grady, MD, MPH is an international expert on menopause and the risks and benefits of postmenopausal hormone therapy. Grady has trained and mentored over 40 young researchers interested in women’s health. With colleagues at UCSF, she designed and conducted the Heart and Estrogen/progestin Replacement Study (HERS), a clinical trial of 2800 women with known coronary disease.

• Lawrence W. Green, DrPH specializes in population science research in cancer and other chronic diseases. In a current project, he’s looking at screening for colorectal cancer in the context of flu vaccine clinics. Once director of the Office of Health Promotion in the Carter Administration, he participated in the early development of the Healthy People Initiative, which since 1979 has continued to contribute to programs in health promotion and disease prevention. At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, he led international programs in tobacco control and national programs in community-based participatory research.

• Michael R. Harrison, MD is professor emeritus of clinical surgery, pediatrics, obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences, and director emeritus, Fetal Treatment Center, UCSF Children’s Hospital. Harrison is internationally renowned for his expertise and innovation in pediatric and fetal surgery, and is author of more than 400 hundred peer-reviewed articles and several textbooks. He performed the first successful human fetal surgery for congenital diaphragmatic hernia and later for a number of other fetal anomalies. And he initiated the first National Institute of Health-sponsored clinical trials for fetal surgery. Harrison’s current research focuses on pediatric orphan device development.

• Sam Hawgood, MBBS is the dean and vice chancellor for medical affairs, UCSF School of Medicine. Hawgood has led the school in expanding research, fostering patient-centered care and furthering global health. He also directs a major NIH grant supporting a range of projects that seek a new understanding of lung biology and pulmonary diseases.

• Roger Nicoll, MD is a professor of cellular and molecular pharmacology and physiology. He’s renowned for his pioneering discoveries about the way the brain learns and remembers. Over several decades he’s shown that learning and memory occur when neural connections between nerve cells in the brain are strengthened. Nicoll’s research focuses on the brain’s hippocampus, which is severely damaged in Alzheimer’s disease. Understanding the chemistry of thought could enhance drug design for Alzheimer’s and other degenerative diseases of the brain.

Image: apdk

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Oh, this is way too cute. The “Help, I Need Help” folks are at it again.

First they charmed us with clever little (eco-friendly!) packages labeled “Help, I have a headache,” and “Help, I’ve cut myself,” containing acetaminophen and bandages.

Now they’ve expanded their product line – or rather their packaging line. After all, they’re really just selling ibuprofen, but in a Zen little package labeled “Help, I have an aching body,” just to make sure you don’t forget what ibuprofen is for.

Fully compostable corn-based packages, did I forget to mention?

And even though I avoid OTC medications and prefer natural remedies for my aches and pains, I can’t help but be delighted by their wide-eyed faux-naivete. Take yourself on a visit to their Help, I’m Bored page for some McSweeney’s kind of fun.

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A few years ago, a dentist told me I’d need dentures by the time I was 50 – that’s how bad my teeth and gums were. Granted, they didn’t look bad – my teeth are strong, straight and pearly white – but my gums were already declining. I was brushing twice a day, but I wasn’t flossing and I was eating plenty of sweets.

After two root canals (and I’m only 30!), I take much better care. I still don’t floss as often as I should, but at least it’s more than I used to. I’d like to save my teeth, and save money too. Here are my natural dental care tips:

First and foremost, use a tongue cleaner. I know, it sounds icky, but the slimy stuff on your tongue when you wake up is plaque. It’s ickier to leave it on.
You have to floss. There’s no way around it. Do anything to make it fun! My husband and I have made a pact to remind each other to floss every morning. Do we always remember? No, but it’s a start!
Use ayurvedic toothpaste for the best blend of warming, astringent and detoxifying herbs. These herbs will promote gum circulation, tightening and cleansing.
Sprinkle baking soda on your toothpaste for extra cleansing and whitening.
Brush a few times a week with a paste made of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide. Rub this on your gums too.
Rinse with green tea for a natural fluoride wash.
If you get a toothache after all that, clove oil works wonders. Apply directly to the painful tooth with a Q-tip so you don’t get the burning oil on your gums. A paste of ginger and cayenne powder also works.
Check out Pristine Planet’s dental care page for a variety of natural products for teeth and gums.

May as well green up the routine, too! Use a Preserve toothbrush made from recycled plastic.

I often grumble about all the work and time it takes to care for my teeth, but I suppose it’s better to have teeth to take care of in the first place! Let us know your own dental care tips in the comments below.

Image: ninette_luz

The post Do You Know These 9 Natural Tooth Care Tips? appeared first on EcoSalon.

Uh oh. You feel that little tickle in the back of your throat. You want to deny it. It’s nothing, really, it’ll go away after a cup of tea. But it doesn’t. By the end of the day you have to admit, you’ve got a full-on, hurts-to-swallow sore throat.

Don’t rush for the antibiotics just yet; most sore throats are caused by the flu or common cold, which are viruses and won’t respond to antibiotics. Sometimes your sore throat might simply be a symptom of mouth breathing, sudden changes in the weather or air that’s too dry.

Of course, strep throat, caused by bacteria, is always a possibility too. If a severe sore throat persists for more than a few days, there’s white pus on your tonsils or you have a fever, you should seek medical attention. Otherwise, try these tips:

The old standard: gargle with warm salt water (1 tsp salt dissolved in one glass of water) at least a few times a day.

Try using a humidifier if you suspect dry air may be the culprit.

As with any condition signifying an imbalance in your body, rest and drink plenty of water (acidic drinks like orange juice can cause more pain).

Avoid fried or cold foods, too-cold drinks and anything sour. These can aggravate a sore throat.

Suck on throat lozenges. Try St. Claire’s Organic Throat Soothers, or anything with zinc or slippery elm, which is soothing to a scratchy throat.

A folk remedy worth trying is to gargle with 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar diluted in a glass of water. Repeat a few times a day. The acidity of the vinegar will help to kill bacteria, if your infection is in fact bacterial.

Avoid dairy products, which can cause excess mucus in your throat. Drink licorice tea to clear up any mucus you may have.

Apply a warm heating pad or compress to your throat to help relieve pain.

Use the silent treatment. Avoid straining your throat by talking too much, especially talking loudly.

Let us know if there are other sore throat remedies that have worked for you.

Images: chaparral, nate steiner, easement, blmurch, Jake Spurlock, partycja, tambako the jaguar, Ross C., billaday,

The post 8 Natural Sore Throat Treatments and Remedies appeared first on EcoSalon.

“Nature Knows Best” is a safe rule of thumb – hence the exciting field of biomimicry. For more examples of ideas that we’ve borrowed from the best, have a look at this fifteen-strong list over at Brainz.

Have you used vinegar to clean your coffee-maker, or chalk to keep ants in check? If not, you might want to flick through these extraordinary uses for 16 household items, over at Woman’s Day.

Uh, Bill, what are you doing? At the Technology, Entertainment, Design conference, Microsoft founder Bill Gates illustrated the threat of malaria by releasing live mosquitos into the audience – accompanied by the less-than-reassuring words “There is no reason only poor people should be infected”. Luckily for his audience it was only a stunt (the mosquitos were malaria-free) but one with a deadly serious message.

If you’re indoors, you’re away from the nefarious effects of air pollution, right? Wrong. In fact, staying indoors might be the unhealthiest choice you could make, as The Daily Green explains.

While the leaders of the electronic industry struggle to clean up their act and get a favorable rating from Greenpeace, it’s a chance for other companies to sneak into the lead by trying something wholly new. Take the fascinating Recompute desktop PC, as featured at core 77. Its body is corrugated cardboard (recyclable, renewable and biodegrading), and it operates on a modular system where you upgrade it by plugging USB devices (eg. a wireless modem) in the side. Lovely idea – but it’s worth reading the accompanying comments for a few question marks over how useful it will really be in practice.

You’ll be aware of the humanitarian crisis enduring in the Sudanese region of Darfur – but you might not know that it’s underpinned by an equally catastrophic environmental meltdown. Desertification is an ecological change that we’ll be seeing more and more of – even now, every year, deserts worldwide swallow up productive land roughly the size of Nebraska. But there are ways and means of pushing back, and in Darfur, the Village Reforestation and Restoration Initiative is on the case. (Thanks to Global Patriot for the details).

And speaking of dessication, you’ll see it bandied around that precious water is fast becoming “the new oil”. Joel Makower would like to amend this statement – he believes it’s closer to the truth to call it “the new carbon”. Read why at Green Biz.

In the last couple of years, something happened that profoundly changes our relationship with the environment – we became a mainly urban species. Most of humanity now lives in cities or built-up urban areas. And the urban paradox facing us is that urban life may be the most efficient and exciting way forward, but it’s also a way rife with social and environmental problems. Can we make our cities fulfill their potential as places fit to live in?

Canadian hairdressers may be having a bad hair week. The chemicals D4 and D5 (siloxanes found in many shampoos) have just been labeled a threat to wildlife, and banned. Expensive shampoos 0, environment 1. (So why not do it yourself, and save a lot of cash?)

Non-eco is, like, so yesterday. It’s the old black. And that’s why green is the new black, see? Except it absolutely isn’t – because that suggest that the eco-friendly revolution is a fickle, transient, ephemeral thing that will dry up like the morning dew. And this couldn’t be more wrong. We’re firmly behind The Good Human on this point.

In the Washington Post’s Checkup column this week: where are we with discovering just how safe hormone therapy is?

Getting dream homes to match reality – it’s quite the challenge. And for Northfield Design Associates architect Don, there’s the added hurdle of squeezing his dream into a 27.5-feet wide plot. Here’s how he got on.

Of all the uses for used coffee grounds – the obvious being to sprinkle them on the garden (in moderation) – I’d never expect them to be turned into printer ink. But as Inhabitat shows, that’s what one designer has done (as an entrant for the Greener Gadgets Design Competition). Love the idea. Although it wouldn’t do good things to my caffeine intake when deadlines are pressing.

We spotted these Botanist Benches over at greenUPGRADER and were intrigued for a number of reasons. The use of super-recyclable aluminum, amongst other sustainable manufacturing techniques. The cutting of each bench with diamond-dust-impregnated water, ensuring no nasty fumes or by-products. But mainly, we were intrigued by the pictures. If there are more unlikely places to use desks than those pictured, we’d like to see them.

And finally, just to lower the tone in the interests of a healthy environment – public transport powered by poo!

Image: Nrbelex

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