Q: I know your position on x-rays—you advise avoiding them if they’re not medically necessary—but what about MRIs? I have been having lower back pain, and my doctor has suggested that I get one. — S. Alexander, Burlington, VT. A: Our position on MRIs is the same as it is on x-rays—avoid unless absolutely necessary. The contrasting dyes used in MRIs are quite toxic and can produce mild to serious side effects, including kidney failure. As for the magnetic resonance technology itself, we don’t know yet all that it does to the human body. A competent orthopedist will gain much more insight into what’s causing your back pain by doing a medical history and physical exam than from an MRI. MRIs are an adjunctive diagnostic tool at best. They can reveal abnormalities, but very often these abnormalities are not causing the pain. For example, one review article looked at 5,000 findings from low-back MRI studies. Half of the group with abnormal MRIs had no pain; half of the group with norm…

Q: What are your suggestions for getting rid of cellulite? — D. Cox, Bethesda, Md. A: There are many factors involved in developing cellulite, and just being a woman is one of the big ones. About 90% of all post-adolescent women, whether fat or thin, have cellulite, whereas men rarely develop this problem. It may be impossible to totally eliminate cellulite, but you can certainly minimize it. Cellulite develops in the layer of fatty tissue just under the skin called subcutaneous fat, usually in the thighs, hips or buttocks, but sometimes in the calves, ankles, abdomen, arms, knees and even the upper back. It occurs when tiny blood and lymph vessels become damaged so that circulation of blood and lymph are compromised. This means nutrients can’t get in and wastes can’t get out. Fluid accumulates expanding the subcutaneous fat layer so that it puckers and you get that unattractive dimpled appearance. Effective treatments involve improving circulation, both general circulation an…

Addressing Root Causes Acne is not simply a skin issue; it’s closely connected to diet, hormones, inflammation, and gut health. Addressing these underlying factors often leads to meaningful improvement—without relying solely on long-term medications. How Diet Influences Acne Research shows that high-glycemic diets—those rich in refined sugars and rapidly absorbed carbohydrates—can worsen acne by disrupting normal hormone signaling. High-glycemic foods (such as refined bread, pasta, sweets, and sugary drinks) can: Rapidly raise blood sugar and insulin Increase IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor-1) Stimulate excess skin cell production, which can clog pores Increase androgen signaling, leading to higher oil (sebum) production Together, these effects can promote reminder breakouts and inflammation. Shifting toward a lower-glycemic, whole-food diet—emphasizing vegetables, quality proteins, healthy fats, and minimally processed foods—often suppo…

How Much Vitamin C Do You Really Need? There isn’t a single “correct” dose of vitamin C that works for everyone. An individual’s vitamin C needs vary based on: Genetics Environmental stressors (pollution, toxins, lifestyle) Current health status (stress, inflammation, illness) Because vitamin C is rapidly used and excreted, blood levels alone don’t always reflect functional need—especially during periods of increased demand. Why Needs Can Be Higher Than Minimum Recommendations Vitamin C is involved in hundreds of biological processes, including: Antioxidant protection Immune defense Collagen formation Adrenal and stress response Detoxification support During times of stress or illness, the body uses vitamin C much more quickly, which is why requirements may increase temporarily. The Concept of “Bowel Tolerance” (Used With Caution) One method sometimes used to estimate personal vitamin C needs is called bowel toleranc…

When to Take Your Supplements for Best Results The body performs different functions at different times of the day. Timing supplements thoughtfully can help improve digestion, absorption, and effectiveness. Below is a simple, practical guide to help you get the most from your Beyond Health supplements. Calcium (Beyond Health Bone Mineral Formula) Best taken in the evening or at bedtime Calcium is primarily utilized at night and may support relaxation and sleep Magnesium is required for calcium to function properly—our formula includes both, so no additional magnesium is usually needed Multivitamins & Fat-Soluble Vitamins Many vitamins are best absorbed with food. Fat-soluble vitamins require dietary fat for absorption: Vitamins A, D, E, and K Take your multivitamin with a meal that contains fat Vitamin C Vitamin C remains in the bloodstream only a few hours For best results: Divide your daily dose throughout the day (for example, with each meal), or…

—air pollutants included—can contribute to overall inflammatory burden. Every exposure either adds to or subtracts from the body’s adaptive capacity. Reducing Impact Through Smart Choices For those who choose to continue using wood heat, risk reduction strategies may include: Improving ventilation and chimney efficiency Using EPA-certified stoves Avoiding indoor smoke leakage Limiting exposure duration, especially for children Resources such as woodheat.org provide practical, evidence-based guidance on cleaner wood-heating practices. Supporting the Body’s Resilience Beyond Health’s philosophy emphasizes that reducing exposure and strengthening resilience work together. Key areas of support include: ? Antioxidant Protection Combustion byproducts increase oxidative stress. A diverse antioxidant network helps neutralize free radicals and supports cellular defense mechanisms. Commonly used antioxidants include: Vitamin C Vitamin E Selenium…

Question:  I have a stomach ulcer and have been diagnosed with an H. pylori infection. My doctor wants to put me on antibiotics. Is there an alternative treatment for H. pylori? B. D. – Patternson, NJ Answer: Yes. Any infection is an indication that immunity is weak, and has probably been weak for some time. An alternative approach would be to strengthen the immune system while eating a bland diet to avoid irritating the ulcer; taking herbs that heal mucous membranes, like licorice, aloe vera extract, slippery elm and/or marshmallow root extract; taking glutamine to rebuild the stomach lining; and using herbal antimicrobials like olive leaf or oregano oil and oregano capsules in place of antibiotics. For information on using oregano oil therapeutically, see Dr. Cass Ingram’s The Cure is in the Cupboard. Coconut oil is also very good for killing H. pylori. See Coconut Cures, by Bruce Fife, for how to use coconut oil therapeutically. Any of my books will describe the holistic li…

Question:  For years the Food and Drug Administration has maintained that the antibacterial triclosan is safe. Now they’re backtracking and asking manufacturers that include triclosan in their products to prove it is safe and effective. What is your opinion of triclosan? – Internet Answer: Triclosan is a chlorinated aromatic compound that kills bacteria by breaking open their cell walls. Evidence from animal and test-tube studies has established that triclosan interferes with normal biochemistry and is not safe for human use. It inhibits fatty acid synthesis. It has been shown to be an endocrine disrupter that impairs thyroid function and alters estrogen levels. A series of experiments reported last year in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences tracked the effects of triclosan on mice, fish, minnows and human cardiac and skeletal muscle. These experiments found triclosan hindered muscle contractions at the cellular level by impairing the flow of calcium into and out…

Question: What supplementation would you suggest for an athletic 11 year boy with asthma? — Internet Answer:You should pride yourself in recognizing that supplementation is needed for young athletes.I would recommend Beyond Health Multi-Vitamin, Cod Liver Oil, CoQ10, and vitamin C, D, and E. An active child should take additional Vitamin C to keep their immune system strong.I would recommend at least one tablet twice a day.To reverse inflammatory conditions (like asthma) we often recommend Vitamin C “to bowel tolerance.”Athletes also require extra antioxidants.CoQ10 is an antioxidant and would be beneficial to your son’s program.With his asthma, Beyond Health Vitamin E Formula and Cell Repair would also be excellent additions as they would bolster his immune system.As for Vitamin D, one multivitamin will give him 200 IU of Vitamin D and each teaspoon of Cod Liver Oil will give him additional 400 IU.A tablespoon plus the multivitamin would give him a substantial total of 1,400…

Question: I have celiac disease and I have been off of gluten for almost a year.  I have been very careful about avoiding gluten.  Unfortunately, I still have lots of symptoms and my doctor has no suggestions.  Do you have any suggestions? H. A. – Chapel Hill, NC Answer:   There exists today a pandemic of bowel disease that sometimes manifests as celiac disease (gluten intolerance).  As you are surely aware, celiac can be quite serious, but it is usually controlled by carefully avoiding the gluten found in grains such as wheat, rye, barley, and oats. There are many contributing factors to the development of celiac disease including our excessive consumption of wheat, our poor diets, and our consumption of chlorinated drinking water.  However, the most important cause of bowel diseases may be the irrational use of antibiotics by our physicians.  Antibiotics damage the natural balance of the bacteria in our digestive systems, causing overgrowth of abnormal flora, disrupting gut…

Question: I have cervical dysplasia.  Do you have any suggestions as to how I can help myself? B.T. – Tarrytown, NY Answer:   Cervical dysplasia is abnormal cells found in the cervix, usually leading to cervical cancer.  It can be caused by infection or physical trauma, but is usually the result of estrogen dominance.  As mentioned above, this can be caused by the excess estrogen you consume in meat and dairy products.  However, there is another reason for estrogen dominance – the consumption of environmental chemicals called xenoestrogens.  Xenoestrogens are chemicals that have a different chemical structure than estrogen, but they have the ability to attach to estrogen receptor sites on cells and provide an estrogen effect.  Xenoestrogens are everywhere in our environment, so you must make an effort to avoid them.  These include pesticides, phthalates and bisphenol-A. These xenoestrogens are fat-soluble molecules.  They build up in your body with time.  The best way to get r…

Question: I heard you talk about thermography.  Could you tell me more about this, how it works, and how good it is?  N.F. — Kentfield, CA Answer: Thermography is a safe and effectivealternative to cancer-causing mammography.  It is a way of measuring the temperature of the breast and of detecting changes in temperature as a tumor begins to receive its own blood supply.  A cancerous tumor will be warmer than the surrounding tissue and will stand out when the temperature of the breast is measured.  Thermography appears to be a far more accurate way of detecting tumors and at a much earlier stage. According to the National Cancer Institute, in 95 percent of cases, a tumor found by mammography or physical examination is already eight years old and has had ample opportunity to metastasize.  Thermography, on the other hand, can find tumors two to three years before any other means of detection.  In addition, thermography can differentiate between a cancerous tumor and fibrocystic g…

Question: I am taking St. John’s Wort for depression.  Are there any downsides to doing this?  M.P. — Delray Beach, FL Answer: St. John’s Wort has been well studied and it is effective in treating depression.  Regarding downsides, the one you should be most concerned with, especially living in Florida, is it makes your skin more sensitive to the sun.  So be careful of getting more than a little sun.  It is also not good to take this herb with prescription drugs as it can interfere with their metabolism and make them even more toxic. Your best bet is to stop being depressed by getting on a good diet, getting off of sugar, taking our Basic Wellness Kit, getting adequate sunlight, and exercising.  This will take care of most depression.  Be sure to read my article on depression at www.beyondhealth.com.…

Question: In your books, you recommend avoiding all sweetners other than stevia, primarily because of their effect on blood glucose/insulin levels.  However, many holisitic practitioners allow xylitol (a sugar alcohol) as well as stevia.  Xylitol is even an incredient in my vitamin D supplement, and I've heard that xylitol is helpful in combatting yeast.  I am led to understand that these sugar alcohols have minimal effect on blood sugar and insulin release and have no side effects.  Is there any other reason why a cancer patient should avoid sugar alcohols, such as xylitol and erythritol? Also, I have read that cancer patients should avoid oranges.  Why is that?  -- LP, Internet Answer:  We are wary of xylitol, erythritol and the other sugar alcohols. Whereas they don't appear to cause rapid elevations of blood sugar, whether they are safe for long-term daily consumption is unknown. I don't know why a website on combating cancer would single out oranges; all fruits contain sugar…

Q: Hello, I am looking for information about breastfeeding.  I am  trying to get pregnant now.  I breastfed my first child for 6 months but my milk dried up and I don't want that to happen again.  I was aiming to breastfeed for 2 years. A: Thank you for your question. I would like to direct you to an article that Raymond wrote on breastfeeding. “Women who don’t breastfeed are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes. A study in the September issue of the American Journal of Medicine concluded that mothers who did not breastfeed their children have significantly higher rates, twice the risk, of type 2 diabetes later in life than mothers who breastfed. This study is just one more argument for breastfeeding. Another problem is when women are not breastfeeding; they are feeding inappropriate food to the infant, causing obesity in the children. A recent study in American Journal of Medicine concluded that mothers who did not breastfeed their children have significantly higher rates,…

According to a study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry, approximately 10 percent of Americans are taking antidepressant medications.This means that over 31 million Americans are gobbling Prozac, Zoloft, Norpramin, Luvox, Paxil, and other antidepressant psychiatric drugs like M & M's. This drug use accounts for billions of dollars in pharmaceutical sales annually. Yet according to a landmark study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association say that antidepressant medications work - as well as placebos and not more. In other words, people in depression studies who are given sugar pills instead of antidepressant drugs do as well as the group who gets the drugs. Before you ask yourself whether you should simply take a Tic Tac instead of a Paxil, there is more disheartening news about these drugs. Many Americans are taking antidepressant medications instead of changing their own behavior or life circumstances. According to Maryland medical doctor Ronal…

We don’t fully understand the aging process. Some people believe that our cells are programmed to divide only so many times and then they stop. However, we do know that the a group of 30,000 people called the Hunzas who lived on the mountain peaks of the Himalayas, lived to be an average age of 120 without being sick a day in their lives. We recognize there is nothing that can be done about getting chronologically older, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have to become biologically older. Raymond, at age 70+ has the arteries of a 30-year-old, and he hopes that at his next check-up he will have the arteries of a man younger than 30. Our mission at Beyond Health is about slowing down the aging process and staying healthy for life.…

As long as the anodized finish remains in tact, you are protected and will not get aluminum in your food. However, if the finish gets damaged, your aluminum wok will no longer be safe to use. Aluminum ingested in food is in a different form from the aluminum you would ingest from the cookware. Although you would be ingesting much less from the cookware than you would be getting from food, it would be in a dangerous form that would bioaccumulate in your tissues.…