| tasteforlife

Give Thanks for Harvest Supplements

By Gene Bruno

For many of us, the harvest season brings to mind celebration foods. While you’re enjoying your baked squash and other veggies, pumpkin pie, cornbread, and fall apples, consider that these foods provide a spectrum of natural substances and compounds to help keep you and your family healthy. The good news is these compounds are also available to you year-round in supplement form—carotenoids (beta carotene, lycopene, lutein, and zeaxanthin), pumpkin seed extract, corn silk, and apple pectin can be found at your local natural products store.

About the Author

Gene Bruno

Gene Bruno is the dean of academics for Huntington College of Health Sciences. As a clinical nutritionist/herbalist for the past 27 years, Gene has formulated products for many dietary supplement companies, as well as helped educate and train personnel from natural products stores and healthcare professionals. He is a sought-after speaker on topics relating to nutrition, herbal medicine, nutraceuticals, and integrative health, and has written numerous articles for a variety of trade and consumer magazines, as well as peer-reviewed journals and newsletters. His books include Ailments & Natural Remedies, Dietary Supplement & Drug Interactions Primer, and Medicinal Herb Primer.

L-Tryptophan Is Safe Once Again

By Gene Bruno

After hearing that his obituary had been published in the New York Journal, Mark Twain responded with the now-famous line, “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.” The same might be said of L-tryptophan (LT), which is good news for the millions of people who have used this amino acid in the past for a variety of purposes. You may have noticed that this supplement was off the market for a while. What happened to spur premature reports of LT’s demise?

A Bad Batch

About the Author

Gene Bruno

Gene Bruno is the dean of academics for Huntington College of Health Sciences. As a clinical nutritionist/herbalist for the past 27 years, Gene has formulated products for many dietary supplement companies, as well as helped educate and train personnel from natural products stores and healthcare professionals. He is a sought-after speaker on topics relating to nutrition, herbal medicine, nutraceuticals, and integrative health, and has written numerous articles for a variety of trade and consumer magazines, as well as peer-reviewed journals and newsletters. His books include Ailments & Natural Remedies, Dietary Supplement & Drug Interactions Primer, and Medicinal Herb Primer.

Chaste Tree For Female Reproductive Health

By Gene Bruno

Ready for a pop quiz? How did chaste tree get its name? If you’re thinking that maybe it has something to do with chastity, you’re right (or you cheated and read the next sentence). During medieval times, chaste tree (Vitex agnus-castus) was said to suppress the libido, so was often suggested for this purpose. Modern research conducted on chaste tree has not noted any libido-suppressing effects. Studies have, however, shown that this herb is singularly valuable for treating disorders of the menstrual cycle.

Pharmacology

About the Author

Gene Bruno

Gene Bruno is the dean of academics for Huntington College of Health Sciences. As a clinical nutritionist/herbalist for the past 27 years, Gene has formulated products for many dietary supplement companies, as well as helped educate and train personnel from natural products stores and healthcare professionals. He is a sought-after speaker on topics relating to nutrition, herbal medicine, nutraceuticals, and integrative health, and has written numerous articles for a variety of trade and consumer magazines, as well as peer-reviewed journals and newsletters. His books include Ailments & Natural Remedies, Dietary Supplement & Drug Interactions Primer, and Medicinal Herb Primer.

Supplements Derived from Flowers

By Gene Bruno

April showers bring May flowers—and May flowers carry health-promoting properties. In the world of natural healthcare, there are many valuable supplements derived from flowers, especially those with a history in botanical medicine—a history that, in some cases, goes back at least 2,500 years to Hippocrates. If they had not worked, these plants would not have stood this extensive test of time! Today, chamomile, echinacea, bee pollen, and red clover are part of the power of flowers available as supplements that provide a variety of health-promoting benefits.

About the Author

Gene Bruno

Gene Bruno is the dean of academics for Huntington College of Health Sciences. As a clinical nutritionist/herbalist for the past 27 years, Gene has formulated products for many dietary supplement companies, as well as helped educate and train personnel from natural products stores and healthcare professionals. He is a sought-after speaker on topics relating to nutrition, herbal medicine, nutraceuticals, and integrative health, and has written numerous articles for a variety of trade and consumer magazines, as well as peer-reviewed journals and newsletters. His books include Ailments & Natural Remedies, Dietary Supplement & Drug Interactions Primer, and Medicinal Herb Primer.

Gut Instinct: Natural Bowel Health

By Gene Bruno

Some have attributed the saying “All diseases begin in the gut” to Hippocrates.

About the Author

Gene Bruno

Gene Bruno is the dean of academics for Huntington College of Health Sciences. As a clinical nutritionist/herbalist for the past 27 years, Gene has formulated products for many dietary supplement companies, as well as helped educate and train personnel from natural products stores and healthcare professionals. He is a sought-after speaker on topics relating to nutrition, herbal medicine, nutraceuticals, and integrative health, and has written numerous articles for a variety of trade and consumer magazines, as well as peer-reviewed journals and newsletters. His books include Ailments & Natural Remedies, Dietary Supplement & Drug Interactions Primer, and Medicinal Herb Primer.

Treat Asthma with Homeopathy

By Gene Bruno

Asthma sufferers may have trouble breathing—and no wonder. This disorder involves a temporary narrowing of the bronchi, the airways branching from the windpipe (trachea) to the lungs. Allergic reactions to mold spores, fungi, animal dander, grass and tree pollens, and certain foods or chemical irritants—even exercise in some people—can bring on asthma attacks.

About the Author

Gene Bruno

Gene Bruno is the dean of academics for Huntington College of Health Sciences. As a clinical nutritionist/herbalist for the past 27 years, Gene has formulated products for many dietary supplement companies, as well as helped educate and train personnel from natural products stores and healthcare professionals. He is a sought-after speaker on topics relating to nutrition, herbal medicine, nutraceuticals, and integrative health, and has written numerous articles for a variety of trade and consumer magazines, as well as peer-reviewed journals and newsletters. His books include Ailments & Natural Remedies, Dietary Supplement & Drug Interactions Primer, and Medicinal Herb Primer.

Sports Drinks: Support a Serious Workout

By Gene Bruno

Intense training—as in a marathon or preseason training camps during hot summer months—requires extra care. For a routine workout lasting less than an hour, you may not need to consume much extra fluid, electrolytes, or carbohydrates during the activity. But for longer events or an extended, strenuous workout, it’s possible to become dehydrated or experience a number of other problems. Fortunately, specially formulated beverages can help keep you hydrated and prevent common problems associated with extended exercise.

Glycogen Depletion

About the Author

Gene Bruno

Gene Bruno is the dean of academics for Huntington College of Health Sciences. As a clinical nutritionist/herbalist for the past 27 years, Gene has formulated products for many dietary supplement companies, as well as helped educate and train personnel from natural products stores and healthcare professionals. He is a sought-after speaker on topics relating to nutrition, herbal medicine, nutraceuticals, and integrative health, and has written numerous articles for a variety of trade and consumer magazines, as well as peer-reviewed journals and newsletters. His books include Ailments & Natural Remedies, Dietary Supplement & Drug Interactions Primer, and Medicinal Herb Primer.

Prevent Kidney Stones

By Gene Bruno

It might seem like a modern ailment, but kidney stones are nothing new—scientists have found evidence of kidney stones in a 7,000-year-old Egyptian mummy. Today, kidney stones are one of the most common urinary tract disorders. In 2000, those suffering from the effects were responsible for 2.7 million visits to health- care providers, and more than 600,000 patients checked in to emergency rooms for the problem.

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

About the Author

Gene Bruno

Gene Bruno is the dean of academics for Huntington College of Health Sciences. As a clinical nutritionist/herbalist for the past 27 years, Gene has formulated products for many dietary supplement companies, as well as helped educate and train personnel from natural products stores and healthcare professionals. He is a sought-after speaker on topics relating to nutrition, herbal medicine, nutraceuticals, and integrative health, and has written numerous articles for a variety of trade and consumer magazines, as well as peer-reviewed journals and newsletters. His books include Ailments & Natural Remedies, Dietary Supplement & Drug Interactions Primer, and Medicinal Herb Primer.

Essential Minerals

By Gene Bruno

If you were to ask most people to name an important mineral needed for good health, they’d probably say calcium, based on advertisements in the popular media.

About the Author

Gene Bruno

Gene Bruno is the dean of academics for Huntington College of Health Sciences. As a clinical nutritionist/herbalist for the past 27 years, Gene has formulated products for many dietary supplement companies, as well as helped educate and train personnel from natural products stores and healthcare professionals. He is a sought-after speaker on topics relating to nutrition, herbal medicine, nutraceuticals, and integrative health, and has written numerous articles for a variety of trade and consumer magazines, as well as peer-reviewed journals and newsletters. His books include Ailments & Natural Remedies, Dietary Supplement & Drug Interactions Primer, and Medicinal Herb Primer.

Amino-Acid and Fitness Connection

By Gene Bruno

For decades, athletes (especially bodybuilders) have used amino-acid supplements as ergogenic aids (something that increases muscular work capacity) and to help meet athletic goals.

About the Author

Gene Bruno

Gene Bruno is the dean of academics for Huntington College of Health Sciences. As a clinical nutritionist/herbalist for the past 27 years, Gene has formulated products for many dietary supplement companies, as well as helped educate and train personnel from natural products stores and healthcare professionals. He is a sought-after speaker on topics relating to nutrition, herbal medicine, nutraceuticals, and integrative health, and has written numerous articles for a variety of trade and consumer magazines, as well as peer-reviewed journals and newsletters. His books include Ailments & Natural Remedies, Dietary Supplement & Drug Interactions Primer, and Medicinal Herb Primer.