AAHH: updates and questions answered

Are you one of the many people who is bothered by chronic or intermittent abdominal pain with changes in your bowel habits?   Do certain foods get revenge on your GI system after being chewed and swallowed?   Does stress or anxiety show up first in your tummy?   If yes to any of those, you may be part of a very large club that no one wants to join.   Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) affects an estimated one out of every 10 to 20 people in the US, so if it’s not you, you know someone who suffers from this condition.    Why does this happen?   It’s common in kids, and common in adults, and though there are differences between kids and adults, some common reasons exist.   IBS is thought to be a disorder of gut-brain interaction. Through nerve pathways and chemicals in the blood, the brain and gut are “talking” to each other constantly, in both directions. Things like anxiety, poor sleep and depression make IBS more likely, and changes in gut barrier...

Spring is here, but respiratory season isn't over. Between seasonal colds, lingering winter viruses, and day-to-day life, your immune system is working hard. Today I want to talk about one of the most studied and time-honored herbs in natural medicine: Echinacea purpurea — the purple coneflower.   What Is Echinacea Purpurea? You've probably seen it growing in gardens or spotted it on the shelves of your local health food store. Echinacea purpurea is a striking flowering plant native to the eastern United States that has been used as medicine for centuries — first by Native American peoples, and later widely adopted in both European and American botanical medicine. Of the three common types of this flower, (E. purpurea, E. angustifolia, and E. pallida), Echinacea purpurea — particularly the above-ground parts of the plant harvested at flowering time —   is the species recognized by Germany's Commission E, one of the world's most respected herbal medicine regulatory b...