The Environmental Working Group has released the new shopper’s guide.   They have a “Dirty Dozen” produce items that need to be purchased organic and “clean 15″ that have low residues of pesticides.  I was surprised to see corn as #2 on the “Clean 15″ list since any non-organic corn is almost guaranteed to contain genetically modified protein sequences that have unknown physiological effects.   However then I read the preamble to the list where they suggest purchasing organic corn if we are concerned about GMO.   We all need to be concerned about GMO foods. Read the rest of this entry

Acupuncture studies using the standard “Evidence Based Medicine” are difficult to conduct as there are limitation to how an effective placebo can be carried out. Even studies that use so called “sham” acupuncture may not necessary be a placebo as the sham can have physiological effects beyond just the mind. I know from a clinical perspective that acupuncture works, but showing it within the confines of the current research model is difficult. Anyone that says acupuncture is only a placebo effect I suggest they talk to someone that brought their animal (dog, cat, horse) to someone that does animal acupuncture. The results are often outstanding so if it is a placebo effect these creatures are experiencing then they are a lot smarter than we think.

An interesting study was just released that looked at acupuncture’s efficacy for preventing migraines. Read the rest of this entry