Ask Dr. Prom

Q) What is in your Medicine cabinet?  -Curious in Corbett

A) Dear Curious, As you may have guessed I try to avoid pharmaceutical drugs whenever possible. All you have to do is listen to the disclaimers at the end of the latest drug ad on the nightly news to know why…”may cause loss of hearing or vision, etc.”  Even taking things such as ibuprofen on a regular basis can be bad, because they are not natural substances. You are a natural being and putting an unnatural substance in your body can and does cause conflicts with your body. Here’s some of the things I use and take…

Glucosamine Sulfate for achy joints, mostly for my knees. As we pass age 30 our bodies do not regenerate cartilage anymore. Cartilage lines the ends of all bones and helps joints glide. Without that lining you start to get resistance to full motion in your joints and they ache. Glucosamine Sulfate (not Glucosamine HCl) is a building block of cartilage.

Bromelain as an anti-inflammatory. Bromelain is a proteolytic enzyme made from pineapple. It works naturally to reduce inflammation and heal damaged tissue. I sometimes take Bromelain as a preventive measure just before playing softball or if I know that I am going to be working out extra hard that day. Of course it can also be taken after an injury.

Fish Oil does so many good things to keep your heart and body healthy. I was recently tested and found to have slightly high cholesterol. There is no way I would take a statin drug with all their side effects. I choose to take fish oil instead. I take the capsules, because they are easier to store than the liquid, but either would help. Make sure you get a reputable manufacturer on this. They can vary.

Lysine. If I eat too much chocolate or peanut butter, then I will get a cold sore. Lysine will knock out the cold sores in no time flat. Certain foods contain high levels of Arginine. Cold sores live on Arginine. Lysine and Arginine are amino acids that compete for the same receptor sites on cells. Extra Lysine crowds out the Arginine and makes the cold sore go dormant.

Vitamin D. If you lived in the tropics, like I would like to, we would get all the Vitamin D we needed from the sun. But that is not the case; we live in the great northwest. Your skin absorbs sunlight and your body converts it to vitamin D. It is essential for strong bones, muscle tone, heart health, and mental well being. Maybe that is why we all feel better when the sun comes out. A large percentage of Oregonians have been shown to me deficient in Vitamin D. Maybe you are one of them

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