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Welcome
Welcome to Alternapedia, the online encyclopedia where researchers, educators and practitioners in naturopathic and other forms of integrative medicine edit and create the encyclopedia entries.
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Today's Quote for the Open-Minded Scientist: "Be not astonished at new ideas; for it is well known to you that a
thing does not therefore cease to be true because it is not accepted
by many." - Spinoza
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Positive Thought for Today: Keep track of your thoughts.When you catch yourself thinking negative thoughts, try jotting them down. You may find a pattern and figure out some ways to reverse how you're seeing yourself or negative situations.
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Highlights
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Nigella sativa is an annual flowering plant, native to south and southwest Asia. It grows to 20–30 cm (7.9–12 in) tall, with finely divided, linear (but not thread-like) leaves. The flowers are delicate, and usually coloured pale blue and white, with five to ten petals. The fruit is a large and inflated capsule composed of three to seven united follicles, each containing numerous seeds. The seed is used as a spice.In the Unani Tibb system of medicine, black cumin is regarded as a valuable remedy for a number of diseases. Sayings of the Islamic prophet Muhammad underline the significance of black cumin. According to a hadith narrated by Abu Hurairah, he says, "I have heard the Messenger of Allah, saying that the black granules (kalonji) is the remedy for all diseases except death." |
Pantothenic acid, also called pantothenate or vitamin B5 (a B vitamin), is a water-soluble vitamin discovered by Roger J. Williams in 1919.[2] For many animals, pantothenic acid is an essential nutrient. Animals require pantothenic acid to synthesize coenzyme-A (CoA), as well as to synthesize and metabolize proteins, carbohydrates, and fats.Pantothenic acid is the amide between pantoic acid and β-alanine. Its name derives from the Greek pantothen (πάντοθεν) meaning "from everywhere" and small quantities of pantothenic acid are found in nearly every food, with high amounts in whole-grain cereals, legumes, eggs, meat, royal jelly, avocado, and yogurt.[3] It is commonly found as its alcohol analog, the provitamin panthenol, and as calcium pantothenate. Pantothenic acid is an ingredient in some hair and skin care products.[4] |
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Fish oil is oil derived from the tissues of oily fish. Fish oils contain the omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), precursors of certain eicosanoids that are known to reduce inflammation throughout the body, and have other health benefits. Fish do not actually produce omega-3 fatty acids, but instead accumulate them by consuming either microalgae or prey fish that have accumulated omega-3 fatty acids, together with a high quantity of antioxidants such as iodide and selenium, from microalgae, where these antioxidants are able to protect the fragile polyunsaturated lipids from peroxidation.Fish oil supplements are available as liquids, capsules, and tablets. Some pills are enteric-coated to help prevent indigestion or 'fish burps,' however; enteric-coated products have the potential to release ingredients too early or late in the digestive process. Fish oils are best tolerated when taken with meals, and, if possible, should be taken in equally divided doses throughout the day. |
Charles Sanders Peirce (September 10, 1839 – April 19, 1914) was an American philosopher, logician, mathematician, and scientist, sometimes known as "the father of pragmatism". He was educated as a chemist and employed as a scientist for 30 years. Today he is appreciated largely for his contributions to logic, mathematics, philosophy, scientific methodology, and semiotics, and for his founding of pragmatism. In 1934, the philosopher Paul Weiss called Peirce "the most original and versatile of American philosophers and America's greatest logician". He saw logic as the formal branch of semiotics, of which he is a founder. As early as 1886 he saw that logical operations could be carried out by electrical switching circuits; the same idea that was used decades later to produce digital computers. |
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Datapunk is a unique web-based suite of programs that provide an assortment of bioinformatic services. Datapunk currently supports two bioinformatics platforms: Quodlibet (QUOD), a suite of biologic network creation, editing and querying software and HUNCH, a clinical Electronic Medical Records System. QUOD is a software application that displays biochemical pathway data in a way that is interactive and information intensive. QUOD networks combine topological analysis, combinatorics and a variety of unique graph algorithms to produce the framework for the analysis of emergent phenomena. HUNCH, is a clinical scenario development platform that uses semiotic structuring. Every tile (anything from an ICD code to an acupuncture point) has a unique ID that gives it a semiotic (symbolic) significance. When these tiles are placed in an 'instance' (the workspace that describes the encounter) their location in the grid (matrix) gives them an additional semantic significance. |
In traditional Chinese culture, qì (also chi or ch'i) is an active principle forming part of any living thing.[1][2][3] Qi is frequently translated as "life energy", "life force", or "energy flow". Qi is the central underlying principle in traditional Chinese medicine and martial arts. The literal translation of "qi" is "breath", "air", or "gas".
Concepts similar to qi can be found in many cultures, for example, prana in Vedantic philosophy, mana in Hawaiian culture, lüng in Tibetan Buddhism, and Vital energy in Western philosophy. Elements of the qi concept can also be found in Western popular culture, for example "The Force" in Star Wars.[4] Notions in the West of energeia, élan vital, or "vitalism" are purported to be similar.[5] |
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William Clouser Boyd (1903-1983) appears to be one of those fascinating people who go on to dominate an entire area of research for a generation. It seems as if his creativity knew no bounds. In the 1940’s Boyd noticed that the protein agglutinin in lima bean would agglutinate red cells of human blood group A but not those of O or B. He had in fact discovered that many of these blood agglutinins were actually specific to one blood group or another. With Elizabeth Shapely he coined their modern-day name, lectins, which is Latin for 'to pick or choose.' Along with Isaac Asimov Boyd put the first modern scientific approach to race forward in a simple, readable, and completely forgotten book called Races and People. Written in 1955, it is an unabashed championing of the essential value of any human being. |
Homeopathy or homoeopathy is a system of alternative medicine. The underlying concept of homeopathy is "like cures like" and is based on "the principle of similars", which asserts that substances known to cause particular symptoms can also, in low and specially prepared doses, help to cure diseases that cause similar symptoms , thus its derived name from the Greek hómoios (similar) and páthos (suffering). Remedies are prepared by diluting drugs and other compounds into extremely small doses, sometimes so diluted that there is no molecular content, and then they are vigorously shaken ("succussed") in water or ethanol and dispensed in pills or liquid form. Homeopaths believe that this succussion process is what gives the remedies their potency. However, many scientists believe that homeopathy is ineffective because the remedies are diluted to the point of no molecular content, and any positive effects are likely to be placebo. |
Trehalose, also known as mycose or tremalose, is a natural alpha-linked disaccharide sugar In 1832, H.A.L. Wiggers discovered trehalose in an ergot of rye,[3] and in 1859 Marcellin Berthelot isolated it from trehala manna, a substance made by weevils, and named it trehalose.[4] It can be synthesised by bacteria,[5] fungi, plants, and invertebrate animals. It is implicated in anhydrobiosis — the ability of plants and animals to withstand prolonged periods of desiccation. It has high water retention capabilities, and is used in food and cosmetics. The sugar is thought to form a gel phase as cells dehydrate, which prevents disruption of internal cell organelles, by effectively splinting them in position. Rehydration then allows normal cellular activity to be resumed without the major, lethal damage that would normally follow a dehydration/rehydration cycle. Trehalose has the added advantage of being an antioxidant.
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Music therapy is an allied health profession and one of the expressive therapies, consisting of an interpersonal process in which a trained music therapist uses music and all of its facets—physical, emotional, mental, social, aesthetic, and spiritual—to help clients to improve or maintain their health. Music therapists primarily help clients improve their health by using music experiences (e.g., free improvisation, singing, songwriting, listening to and discussing music, moving to music) to achieve treatment goals and objectives. It is considered both an art and a science, with a qualitative and quantitative research literature base incorporating areas such as clinical therapy, biomusicology, musical acoustics, music theory, psychoacoustics, embodied music cognition, aesthetics of music, and comparative musicology.
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Since ancient times, A. paniculata (Kalmegh) is used in traditional Siddha and Ayurvedic systems of medicine as well as in tribal medicine in India and some other countries for multiple clinical applications. From a biomedicinal perspective, the therapeutic value of Andrographis is due to its mechanism of action which is perhaps by enzyme induction. The plant extract exhibits antityphoid and antifungal activities. Kalmegh is also reported to possess antihepatotoxic, antibiotic, antimalarial, antihepatitic, antithrombogenic, antiinflammatory, anti-snake venom, and antipyretic properties to mention a few, besides its general use as an immunostimulant agent. A study conducted at Bastyr University, showed a significant rise in the mean CD4 lymphocyte level of HIV subjects after administration of 10 mg/kg andrographolide, the chief constituent extracted from the leaves of the plant.
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John Uri Lloyd (19 April 1849 – 9 April 1936) was an American pharmacist influential to the development of pharmacognosy, ethnobotany, economic botany, and herbalism.
He also wrote novels set in northern Kentucky. His most popular novel was the science fiction or allegorical Etidorhpa, or, the end of the earth: the strange history of a mysterious being and the account of a remarkable journey (1895). First distributed privately, it was later illustrated and printed in eighteen editions. Translated into seven languages, it was widely read in Europe as well as the United States and was extremely popular.
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Did you know that Barry Marshall, the physican who discovered the link between bacteria and stomach ulcers, was unable to find a publisher to release his findings? That Ignac Semmelweis (1818–1865), a physician described as the "savior of mothers" for his discovery of the importance of what later became hand disinfection, was regarded with suspicion by many fellow scientists, who viewed his theories as unscientific, baseless speculations? Check out our salute to famous quack and cranks of years past. |
The Blood Type Diet is a nutritional diet advocated by Peter D'Adamo, a naturopathic physician, and outlined in his book Eat Right 4 Your Type. In his writings D'Adamo theorizes that ABO blood type is an important factor in determining a healthy diet, and he recommends distinct diets for each blood type. It enjoys worldwide popularity, and its theories are utilized by a large number of integrative medical practioners.
D'Adamo bases his ideas on the ABO classification of Karl Landsteiner, William Boyd and Jan Janský, and some of the many other tissue surface antigens and classification systems, in particular the Lewis antigen system for ABH secretor status.
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Magnesium deficiency refers to an intake of dietary magnesium below minimal levels, which can result in numerous symptoms and diseases. These can generally be remedied by an increase of magnesium in diet or oral supplements. However intravenous supplementation is necessary for more severe cases.
57% of the US population does not meet the US RDA for levels of magnesium. The kidneys are very efficient at maintaining body levels, but not in cases where the diet is deficient.
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Imhotep (sometimes spelled Immutef, Im-hotep, or Ii-em-Hotep; called Imuthes (Ἰμούθης) by the Greeks), fl. 27th century BC (circa 2650–2600 BC) (Egyptian ỉỉ-m-ḥtp *jā-im-ḥātap meaning "the one who comes in peace, is with peace"), was an Egyptian polymath, who served under the Third Dynasty king Djoser as chancellor to the pharaoh and high priest of the sun god Ra (or Re) at Heliopolis. He is considered to be the first architect and engineer and physician in early history.Imhotep's historicity is confirmed by two contemporary inscriptions made during his lifetime on the base or pedestal of one of Djoser's statues (Cairo JE 49889) and also by a graffito on the enclosure wall surrounding Sekhemkhet's unfinished step-pyramid.
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Astrocytes (etymology: astron gk. star, cyte gk. cell), also known collectively as astroglia, are characteristic star-shaped glial cells in the brain and spinal cord. They are the most abundant cell of the human brain. They perform many functions, including biochemical support of endothelial cells that form the blood–brain barrier, provision of nutrients to the nervous tissue, maintenance of extracellular ion balance, and a role in the repair and scarring process of the brain and spinal cord following traumatic injuries.
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The jackfruit (alternately jack tree, jakfruit, or sometimes simply jack or jak; scientific name Artocarpus heterophyllus),[6] is a species of tree in the Artocarpus genus of the mulberry family (Moraceae). It is native to parts of South and Southeast Asia, and is believed to have originated in the southwestern rain forests of India, in present-day Kerala, coastal Karnataka and Maharashtra. This tree is widely cultivated in tropical regions of India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. Jackfruit is also found in East Africa, e.g., in Uganda, Tanzania and Mauritius, as well as throughout Brazil and Caribbean nations such as Jamaica.
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