Did you know that acetaminophen overdose prompts over 100,000 calls per year to Poison Control Centers in the U.S? It accounts for more than 56,000 emergency room visits, 2,600 hospitalizations, and an estimated 458 deaths due to acute liver failure each year.

Yes, acetaminophen is readily available over-the-counter in many single or combination products to the tune of 1 billion US dollars in annual sales for Tylenol products alone. The marketing emphasizes its safety compared to nonsteroidal analgesics “NSAIDs”. And if you don’t read labels, you may not know you are overdosing by taking acetaminophen in several products at once.

Without going into the criminality of the continued marketing of something that can kill a person, let’s find out what you can take for minor aches and pains, instead. What follows is an excerpt from the First Aid section in my Future Health Now Encyclopedia.

The most effective first aid pain therapies are homeopathic and herbal remedies.

* For pain, aching, bruising (from dental extractions, joint sprains, fractured bones, and concussions), take Arnica 12X by mouth every two hours. Arnica can be used in tincture or cream form locally for contusions, bruising, or swelling. If the skin is broken, however, Arnica is inappropriate for topical application and must not be used.

* For sprained tendons or ligaments, bruised bones, joint or tendon inflammation, or shin bruises, Ruta is especially useful (after Arnica 12X), 12X, one dose every one to four hours as needed. It is also good for eye injuries.

* For bone fractures, oral Symphytum 6X or 12X is extremely useful for speedy healing.

* For ruptured ligaments and tendons around joints, especially wrists and ankles, Rhus tox is the best remedy, 6X or 12X, one dose every two to four hours.

Whenever I injure myself, I use homeopathy and clay. I soak in clay or poultice with it. Clay draws out inflammation and takes the pain away. It’s an amazing external treatment that does the opposite of pain medications – it removes toxins, it doesn’t add to your toxic load.

The clay I recommend is LL’s Magnetic Clay. Start with “Natural Clay.” Simply blend up 1/2 to 1 cup of clay in your blender with lots of water and pour that into your hot water foot bath or tub. Soak for 30 min and shower off.

In my Future Health Now Encyclopedia, Part Five covers 31 common homeopathic remedies for the common ailments I talk about in the rest of the book. Homeopathy is the safest way to treat minor illness. It’s also incredibly inexpensive and the perfect medicine for these times. You can safely take homeopathic remedies if you are pregnant, breastfeeding or if you are on other medications. I’ll do a blog next week about homeopathy—the medicine of the past and the future!

Reference: Lee WM. Acetaminophen and the U.S. Acute Liver Failure Study Group: lowering the risks of hepatic failure. Hepatology. Jul;40(1):6-9, 2004.

I’m often asked to give an opinion on the latest supplements on the market. Rather than comment on every supplement, and along the lines of teaching someone how to accomplish a task rather than doing it for them, I’ll show you how to track down a good supplement. Here’s a checklist that you can follow.

1.) If the supplement is patented, often the product is not “natural.” Supposedly you can’t patent nature although companies are trying to do it all the time.

2.) Patenting a product will most assuredly increase its price.

3.) If a supplement is all dressed up with a nice story that sounds “too good to …

Pain, according to Webster’s dictionary is defined as:

1.) Localized physical suffering associated with bodily disorder (as a disease or an injury).

2.) Acute mental or emotional distress or suffering.

Webster’s gives an either/or definition but I say the two are remarkably interchangeable. Physical pain can cause mental or emotional distress. And mental or emotional distress can cause physical pain.

When I consult with clients, I usually begin by addressing the physical aspects of their condition. But there is always an underlying current of why they have that condition in the first place. If, as some philosophers say, “There are no accidents,” what is the mechanism …

Calcium is prominent in the news these days. A July 29, 2010 British Medical Journal meta-analysis says that “Risks outweigh benefits for calcium supplements.” This study indicates that calcium supplements cause more cardiovascular events (such as heart attacks and stroke) than the number of fractures they prevent.

The study analyzed data on 12,000 people involved in the 15 trials. The increased risk was about 30 percent. The seven authors of the study say the risk is modest but they are concerned that with so many people taking calcium supplements “even a small increase in incidence of cardiovascular disease could translate into a large burden of disease in the population.” They even go so far as to “suggest that a reassessment of the role of calcium supplements in the prevention and …

A few months ago, at the end of a consultation a client asked what I would recommend for her 15-year old son who had severe acne. I briefly said:

1.)  Avoid sugar, wheat, dairy

2.)  Detox with clay baths.

I just heard back that her son’s acne cleared up. This is what he did:

1.) He avoided dairy and red meat.

2.) He occasionally ate hard candy sweetened with honey or cane juice and used
Stevia as a sweetener in his tea.

3.) He took clay baths three times a week for three weeks.

The bonus for this young man was not just eliminating unsightly acne but …

Jini Patel Thompson is a hero to many people. Jini suffered debilitating Crohn’s disease, first diagnosed in 1986. For a time she was locked into the medical system to try to overcome her illness. But it didn’t work for her. Maybe it does for some but Jini just kept getting worse and was only offered more drugs and surgeries.

Jini came from a family of physicians and pharmacists and grew up with complete faith in medical science. She didn’t know anything about alternative medicine. After three years of suffering, Jini was feeling worse. She was on a handful of drugs and weak from the disease, the tests, and the feeling of …

It is no coincidence that we fear disease, the following sound bites keep running through our brains – “doctors know best,” “if we only raise a few billion more dollars we will find the cure for cancer” and “America’s health care system is the best in the world.”

These beliefs are just a few that we harbor about modern medicine but they are not facts and they are not true. They are skillfully crafted pieces of propaganda that have been artfully peddled to the public over decades by well-trained opinion molders who are paid top dollar. Edward Bernays, father of the …

I try to keep my blogs at around 300 words because people say they can read that amount easily on their PDA’s. There’s lots I can say about arthritis and I’ll try to cover as much as possible.

a) Diet:

For me, everything begins with diet. What you put in your mouth or don’t put in your mouth has a dramatic effect on your health.

First try eliminating foods that may be inflaming your joints. Start with number one and work your way down the list over the next few weeks to see what diet helps.

1.) Avoid artificial sweeteners.

2.) Eliminate the most allergenic foods such as sugar, wheat, dairy, and …

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On July 12, 2010, I had a great interview on Death by Modern Medicine and The Magnesium Miracle with Deb Bailey that you can listen to at Power Women Magazine.

There were a lot of case histories and personal health stories discussed during the hour. After discussing magnesium deficiency as it relates to gall stones, heel spurs and kidney stones, Deb told me about her son. At age 16 he suffered kidney stones to the point of requiring kidney surgery! She asked if I thought that indicated a magnesium deficiency. The hair on the back of my neck stood up…and I told her, absolutely.

Most kidney stones have calcium as the base. They often form because there isn’t enough magnesium to keep calcium in solution. Calcium and magnesium go hand-in-hand. Without enough magnesium, calcium deposits in …

A diet that shuns fake food and a gentle exercise program will help you prevent stiffness and arthritis.

I find it disturbing when people complain to me that even at the tender age of 40 they can barely walk when they get out of bed in the morning because of pain and stiffness in their feet and legs.

There are several things at play here and you’ll have to decide which is uppermost in your world. First there’s the issue of diet and lifestyle. Many years ago in New York I’d wake up with stiff fingers that were slightly swollen. It took me a while to realize my fingers felt that way after I ate sushi. I didn’t eat raw sushi but I did liberally dip my California rolls in sodium-laced soy sauce.

Begin by keeping a diary. Keep track of your food, activities and “toxic exposures” to identify what …