All Posts in Category

Respiratory

Coffee: Exploring Health Benefits

ECONOMICS OF COFFEE Coffee consumption is the leading beverage, worldwide, just behind water, with its 2019 sales exceeding that of 87 billion dollars within the United States alone.1,2 Coffee remains one of the most widely and globally traded commodities, supporting the livelihoods of over 100 million individuals, and 26 million farmers across 52 countries.2(1) The…

The Common Cold: Immune Support With Quercetin

The common cold affects children, on average, 6-8 times a year while adults contract 4-6 colds per year.1 Such cold viruses generally maintain their presence throughout all seasons and account for 40% of time lost from jobs and approximately 30% of absenteeism from school.1(1289) Considering absenteeism from school, work, and associated unfavorable symptoms (chills, sniffles,…

Lung Cancer: Potential Support With Berberine and Cinnamaldehyde

Cancer remains a leading cause of death, worldwide, despite advances in early screening and patient care. Although systemic therapies exist, such as chemotherapy and hormone therapy, toxicity and side effects from such approaches often erode their appeal to patients suffering from cancer.1 Natural therapeutic approaches, which include botanical interventions, have been used for generations to…

Upper Respiratory Tract Infections: Support With Aromatic Herbs

Herbal medicine has been practiced in regions of the world for generations, and continues to emerge in Westernized societies as an alternative to conventional approaches.1 Interestingly, aromatic herbs are known to exhibit a wide spectrum of pharmacological properties used both in culinary herbs and traditional remedies.1(1) One particular use for such herbs could be for…

Acute Bronchitis: Support With Ivy Leaf Extract

Acute respiratory tract infections (ARTI) account for the most common outpatient visits in the United States each year, averaging 68 million visits per annum.1 70% of prescriptions for ARTI often include the use of antibiotics, which is effective in less than 50% of patients consuming said drug.1(183) Thus, ARTI demands more effective interventions to help…

Asthma: Management With Vitamin D

As mentioned in this author’s last post, emerging evidence has suggested that nutrition, or lack thereof, has been implicated with asthma signs, symptoms, and underlying inflammation.1 Currently, most patients do not receive optimal asthmatic control despite high dose treatments of medications.2 Such outcomes behoove medical and nutrition professionals to consider adjunct therapies, at minimum, to…

Managing Asthma with Zinc

Asthma is a condition induced by underlying inflammatory events, which affects as many as 300 million people causing as many as 300,000 deaths to date.1 Emerging evidence has suggested that nutrition, or lack thereof, has been implicated with asthma signs, symptoms, and underlying inflammation.1(1) One micronutrient, zinc (Zn), has been implicated/associated with inflammation and free…

Managing Asthma With Lifestyle and Nutritional Interventions

Asthma is a product of a well-known overactive immune response that targets the lungs and effects an estimated 300 million individuals.1 Its symptoms include wheezing/shortness of breath/coughing and the understanding of its causes has grown to include genetic and other drivers.1(189) As research has mounted regarding the pathophysiology of asthma, more evidence has suggested that nutritional…

Are There Health Risks With Food Flavouring?

Processed foods use a myriad of techniques to enhance visual appeal, ease of consumption, aroma, texture, temperature, viscosity, and taste.1 In addition to the natural flavors found within foods that are processed, additional chemical flavorings (CFs) are added to enhance the taste and experience of said foods. However, such additional flavorings can carry risk both…

Fatty Acids: Function and Metabolism

Fat is a macronutrient necessary for several key physiological roles in the body. Specifically, fatty acids (carbon bonds ranging from 4-24 with a carboxyl group) which form fats, is a large energy source and provider of cell membrane constituents (Calder, 2015; Lord & Bralley, 2012). Fatty acids (FAs) also have biological roles that include tissue…