At our fingertips
Want to make the most of preventive medicine? Supplement your annual physical with the ancient Chinese technique of pulse diagnosis. Tijn Touber | September 2008 issue "Good news. We didn’t find anything." The doctor delivered her verdict from the doorway of my room in the emergency ward of a Read More...
Fancy butter
Rediscover our old spreadable friend. Elbrich Fennema | September 2008 issue Photo: Pieter De Swart Fat was once considered evil. Then we learned there were good fats and bad fats. Shortly thereafter, we heard the news that cholesterol was a menace. Now we know there’s good and bad Read More...
Toilets can change our lives
While scientists may regard penicillin or vaccinations as the greatest medical breakthroughs of all, Jack Sim claims toilets have done more for our health. Sim, founder of the Singapore-based World Toilet Organization, wants everyone to have access to a clean and safe toilet. Marco Visscher | Read More...
Quiet, please!
Noise pollution can damage your health and shatter your peace of mind. Here’s how to turn it down. Mary Desmond Pinkowish | July 2008 issue A leaf blower, snow blower, lawn mower and two huge dogs—Peter D’Epiro can describe in excruciating detail how his neighbour’s lawn equipment and pets Read More...
Cancer's Achilles' heel
An old, once-abandoned theory about cancer is revived, offering hope for a raft of new non-toxic treatments. Tony Edwards| June 2008 issue Medical progress is invariably considered futuristic, but one bit of buzz in the world of cancer research surrounds a man who did most of his work in the 1930s. Read More...
Prescription for peace
Bernard Lown invented the defibrillator, saving the lives of countless heart attack victims. He won the Nobel Peace Prize for his ongoing campaign against nuclear weapons. And at 86, he’s still delivering shocks to the system. Marco Visscher | June 2008 issue The décor of Bernard Lown's home in Read More...
Small can be healthy
Toxins like radon and even DDT may have beneficial effects at very low doses. Ursula Sautter | May 2008 issue A glass of red wine after dinner a couple of times a week can help prevent heart disease; a nightly magnum of the stuff will corrode your liver. This is pretty much accepted wisdom. But Read More...
The spices of life
Is it time to trade that aspirin tablet for a teaspoon of turmeric? Kim Ridley| March 2008 issue By the middle of the afternoon, Ellen Ryan was out of steam. A community organizer in central Maine, Ryan says her energy crashed every afternoon. To get through the rest of the day, she’d grab a Read More...
Power points
Acupuncture has been practised for millennia in China, but it's only now getting the attention it deserves from western medicine. Kim Ridley | Jan/Feb 2008 issue Judy Becker Worsley’s rapid recovery from an accident last summer astounded her orthopedic surgeon. A truck ran over her foot and Read More...
Long march across Germany
An organic food pioneer company rallies opposition to genetic engineering. Ursula Sautter | November 2007 issue Milling around a ramshackle VW bus painted in rainbow colours that sports the slogan “Biomobil,” a steadily growing crowd is forming at the onion-spire-topped St. Martinus church of Read More...