MAY 29, 2011 REGRETS--I'VE HAD A FEW...

"White bud! that in meek beauty dost lean

Thy cloistered cheek as pale as moonlight snow,

Thou seem'st, beneath thy huge, high leaf of green,

An Eremite beneath his mountain's brow."

- George Croly

"Where scattered wild the Lily of the Vale

Its balmy essence breathes."

- James Thomson

These words speak love. What is love? Is it kindness?

"KINDNESS PUT OFF UNTIL TOMORROW MAY ONLY BECOME A BITTER REGRET"

When I see Lily of the Valley I think of kindness. I think of my mother. She was a kind, generous loving woman with beautiful brown pooled eyes. We only had 20 years together, but it was a loving twenty years. May is the month for Convalleria (Lily of the Valley) and Mother's Day. I try to the best of my ability not to put off kindness. I might not get the chance the next day and I do not want to have a regret. I loathe regrets. I have had regrets in the past. Have you had any regrets from the past? You wouldn't be human if you did not have regrets.

Be kind today as you may not have the chance tomorrow.

Inflammation is a key word in medicine. The anti aging approaches to decreasing inflammation involve many modalities. Some of these modalities may be hot laser therapy, biomodulation with infrared pads, acupuncture, physical therapy, supplements/vitamins and herbs. Inflammation is complex and mediated by the activation, production, secretion and activities of a host of cellular biochemicals. This could get very technical because it does involve enzyme reactions, tumor necrosis factor, cyclooxygenase pathways and probiotics.

Many individuals use over the counter anti-inflammatory agents to decrease inflammation. These OTCs have been linked to blocking choline in the brain and are now associated with Alzheimer's Disease.

The herbs I utilize for inflammation are green tea, ginger, tumeric and Boswellia. I also use white willow bark. I do not use one herb for inflammation but a complementation of many herbs.

For centuries Boswellia (Indian Frankincense) has been known to decrease inflammation.

Boswellia contains boswellic acids which act as the primary anti-inflammatory agent. This herb does a lot of down regulation of immunomodulators much like the pharmaceutical drugs. So why use drugs?

The answer is that you can make more money by manufacturing drugs than by growing and selling Boswellia herb. Lately, it ALWAYS seems to come down to the money when dealing with medicine.

There are two double blind studies on osteoarthritis of the knees and the use of Boswellia. Not only did it reduce stiffness, it also improved joint function. There are now studies using Boswellia for inflammatory bowel disease and asthma.

Until tomorrow...