All Videos for Side Effects

Are Acid-Blocking Drugs Safe?

Do the benefits outweigh the risks for acid-blocker drugs (proton pump inhibitors like Nexium/Prilosec/Prevacid)? What about baking soda?



Best Food for Labor and Delivery

Shorten labor time by hours, with less induction and less postpartum bleeding, with a humble fruit.



Aloe Vera for Psoriasis

Aloe gel is put to the test head-to-head versus steroids against the chronic inflammatory skin disease psoriasis.



Are Apples the Best Food for a Better Sex Life in Women?

Addyi (flibanserin), the drug marketed for “hypoactive sexual desire disorder,” is ineffective and unsafe. What about dietary approaches for female sexual dysfunction?



The Role of Dairy and Gluten in Canker Sores

Does excluding dairy products, food additives, and gluten-containing grains from one’s diet help those with recurring canker sores (aphthous ulcers)?



Do Mammograms Hurt?

Excessive breast compression during mammography may not improve image quality and can cause unnecessary pain.



Consequences of False-Positive Mammogram Results

Odds are most women will get at least one false-positive mammogram, but, thankfully, most women who are called back for further testing of a suspicious mammogram finding do not end up having cancer after all.



Soy Phytoestrogens for Menopause Hot Flashes

Does soy food consumption explain why Japanese women appear to be so protected from hot flash symptoms?



The Institute of Medicine Report on the Health Effects of Marijuana

What did the 2017 National Academies of Sciences’ 468-page report conclude about cannabis?



Saffron vs. Memantine (Namenda) for Alzheimer’s

The spice saffron is pitted head-to-head against the leading drug for severe Alzheimer’s disease.



Saffron for Erectile Dysfunction

What are the effects of both oral and topical application of the spice saffron for impotence in men?



Best Food for Antidepressant-Induced Sexual Dysfunction

The spice saffron may not only work as well as SSRI antidepressant drugs like Prozac, Paxil, and Zoloft without the side effects, but it may even be able to treat the adverse sexual side effects that occur in up to 70 percent of people taking the drugs.



Do Vitamin C Supplements Prevent Colds but Cause Kidney Stones?

What are the benefits and risks of taking vitamin C supplements?



How Did Doctors Not Know About the Risks of Hormone Therapy?

Women were placed in harm’s way by their physicians, who acted as unsuspecting patsies for the drug companies.



Can Morbid Obesity Be Reversed Through Diet?

How extreme was Dr. Kempner’s rice diet compared to traditional surgical approaches? Is there a safer alternative?



Striking with the Root: Turmeric Curcumin and Ulcerative Colitis

A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial found a dramatic effect of the anti-inflammatory spice pigment curcumin against inflammatory bowel disease.



Fighting Lupus with Turmeric: Good as Gold

A quarter teaspoon of the spice turmeric was put to the test for the treatment of uncontrollable lupus (SLE) nephritis in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial.



Preventing Gout Attacks with Diet

If the uric acid crystals that trigger gout come from the breakdown of purines, should gout patients avoid even healthy, purine-rich foods, such as beans, mushrooms, and cauliflower?



Fennel Seeds for Menstrual Cramps and PMS

Fennel seeds can work as effectively as drugs like ibuprofen for painful periods, and an eighth of a teaspoon of ginger powder three times a day can cut menstrual bleeding in half.



What to Take Before a Colonoscopy

By preventing colon spasms, peppermint oil can both reduce the pain and discomfort of colonoscopies for the patient, as well as make insertion and withdrawal of scope easier for the doctor.



Are Calcium Supplements Effective?

What is the optimal daily dietary calcium intake and might benefits for your bones outweigh the risks to your heart from taking calcium supplements?



Are Calcium Supplements Safe?

The unnaturally large, rapid, and sustained calcium levels in the blood caused by calcium supplements may explain why calcium from supplements, but not from food, appears to increase the risk of heart attacks.



Brown Fat: Losing Weight Through Thermogenesis

Brown adipose tissue is a unique organ that burns fat to create heat, improving temperature regulation in infants and weight loss in adults.



How Doctors Responded to Being Named a Leading Killer

What was the medical community’s reaction to being named the third leading cause of death in the United States?



Peppermint Oil for Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Peppermint essential oil should be considered the first-line treatment for IBS.



Stomach Stapling Kids

Bariatric weight-loss surgery (like Roux-en-Y gastric bypass) is increasingly performed in children as young as five years old.



Music as Medicine

Music can beat out anti-anxiety drugs, Mozart can reduce allergic reactions, and how listening to your favorite tunes can significantly affect your testosterone levels.



Ginger for Migraines

An eighth teaspoon of powdered ginger was found to work as well as the migraine headache drug sumatriptan (Imitrex) without the side effects.



Is a Neutropenic Diet Necessary for Cancer Patients?

Immunocompromised patients, such as those undergoing chemotherapy, are often denied fresh fruits and vegetables to ostensibly protect them against foodborne illness.



Nutritional Yeast to Prevent the Common Cold

Beta glucan fiber in nutritional yeast may improve immune function, but there is a concern about lead contamination in some brands.



Do Antidepressant Drugs Really Work?

Freedom of Information Act documents show drug companies hid critical findings from doctors and the public.



Why Prevention Is Worth a Ton of Cure

More people might be open to changing their diet and lifestyle if they knew how little modern medicine has to offer for combating chronic diseases.



The Actual Benefit of Diet vs. Drugs

The medical profession oversells the benefits of drugs for chronic disease since so few patients would apparently take them if doctors divulged the truth.



Flaxseeds for Hypertension

Extraordinary results reported in a rare example of a double-blinded, placebo-controlled, randomized trial of a dietary intervention (flaxseeds) to combat one of our leading killers, high blood pressure.



Preventing Alzheimer’s Disease with Plants

If foods like berries and dark green leafy vegetables have been found protective against cognitive decline, why aren’t they recognized as such in many guidelines?



Caloric Restriction vs. Plant-Based Diets

What is the best strategy to lower the level of the cancer-promoting growth hormone IGF-1?



Turmeric Curcumin & Pancreatic Cancer

Carcinogens in grilled and baked chicken may increase the risk of pancreatic cancer, while curcumin, the yellow pigment in the spice turmeric, may sometimes help even in advanced stages of the disease.



Can Flaxseeds Help Prevent Breast Cancer?

Flax seed consumption may play a role in preventing and treating breast cancer by blocking the inflammatory effects of interleukin-1.



Protecting Teeth from Hibiscus Tea

How can we protect our tooth enamel from the erosive natural acids found in sour foods and beverages?



Hibiscus Tea vs. Plant-Based Diets for Hypertension

How do the blood-pressure lowering effects of hibiscus tea compare to the DASH diet, a plant-based diet, and a long-distance endurance exercise?