Community ClicksQ: I’ve had chronic, severe insomnia all my life.
All I get from well-meaning people is the advice to stop drinking coffee.
All I get from doctors are more and more drugs, which work for a while, then quit.
I go days at a time without sleep.
My brain is so fried.
Any suggestions?
A: Although yours is an extreme case, you are not alone.
Millions of people also have great difficulty falling asleep.
Others awaken in the middle of the night and can’t fall back asleep.
Regardless, sleep deprivation can contribute to a range of health problems, from hypertension and forgetfulness to impaired immunity and weight gain.
Some tricks to try include vigorous exercise early in the day, a hot bath an hour before bedtime or a high-carb snack half an hour before climbing into bed.
Nondrug approaches such as relaxation CDs, magnesium, melatonin or herbs like valerian, hops or lemon balm also may be helpful.
We are sending you our Guide to Getting a Good Night’s Sleep with more details on prescription sleep aids like Sonata and Lunesta as well as further details on nondrug approaches.
For a copy, send $3 in check or money order with a long (No. 10), stamped (61 cents), self-addressed envelope to: Graedons’ People’s Pharmacy, No. I-70, P.O. Box 52027, Durham, NC 27717-2027.
It also can be downloaded for $2 from our Web site: www.peoplespharmacy.com.
Q: My partner just ate one Brazil nut, and within minutes his tongue swelled to five times its thickness and double its width.
He could barely talk.
He took an antihistamine (chlorpheniramine), and we called the doctor.
The doctor said that if the reaction worsened, he should go to the hospital.
He has no allergies to anything else and never knew he was allergic to Brazil nuts.
Neither of us had any idea they were so dangerous.
A: Your partner will need to avoid Brazil nuts in the future.
Allergic reactions to these nuts are not uncommon, and they can be life-threatening.
Some people experience a reaction that requires emergency medical treatment with epinephrine.
The traditional holiday nut bowl may lead to unexpected exposures.
Here is a report from another reader: “For years at Christmas, my eyes would get irritated and watery.
“One holiday season, I was at my friend’s house, and his children needed some nuts cracked.
“I picked up a Brazil nut and cracked it.
“Within seconds, my eyes started watering, so I rubbed them with my fingers.
“Within one minute, my whole face had swollen up. I looked like Rocky (at the end of ‘Rocky’ part 1).
“There is always an open bowl of nuts somewhere at Christmastime, but now I avoid them.”
Q: I wake up slowly in the morning and often take about a half-hour before I get out of bed.
I almost always get eight hours of good sleep.
My slow rising irritates my wife, as she gets up quickly, wide awake.
Is there a delayed-release pill I could take at bedtime that would release caffeine just before my desired wake-up time?
A: There is no timed-release caffeine pill that you could take before bed and have it kick in at 7:00 a.m.
You might be able to convince your wife to bring you a cup of coffee in bed to give you the motivation you need to get going.
Unless you are missing appointments, perhaps your wife needs to cut you some slack and adapt to your gradual wake-up routine.
Q: I have suffered from arthritis in my right hip for several years.
By last fall, it got so bad I could hardly walk.
Through the years, I tried all of the supplements for joint health advertised on TV.
I also have had two expensive injections into my hip that gave me relief for only a few days.
Nothing was helping.
I was unable to exercise and was having a very difficult time doing my job.
My X-rays looked horrible, and the surgeon who will do my hip replacement wondered how I was even walking.
I don’t remember when I heard about cherries, but I started eating Bing cherries in the spring.
I also started drinking tart cherry juice concentrate mixed in water.
I finally got some real relief!
It has been a very effective anti-inflammatory for me. I can climb stairs, exercise, mow the grass and work without a lot of pain.
These are things I have not been able to do for a few years.
I will still go in for hip surgery next summer, but until then, tart cherry juice is the best!
A: Tart cherries contain anthocyanin compounds that inhibit enzymes called COX-1 and COX-2 (Phytomedicine, September 2001).
These enzymes are targeted by anti-inflammatory drugs like Celebrex, diclofenac and ibuprofen, so it is not surprising that cherry juice appears to alleviate pain (Behavioural Brain Research, Aug. 12, 2004).
We discuss many other natural remedies for joint pain in our Guide to Alternatives for Arthritis.
For a copy, send $3 in check or money order with a long (No. 10), stamped (61 cents), self-addressed envelope to: Graedons’ People’s Pharmacy, No. AA-2, P.O. Box 52027, Durham, NC 27717-2027.
Or download it for $2 from www.peoplespharmacy.com.
Q: I used to catch lots of colds every year.
When I was tested for vitamin D a few years ago, it was really low.
I took a lot of vitamin D to get into the normal range.
Since then, I’ve had two colds, each three days long.
Vitamin D made a huge difference in my immune system.
A: Research shows that vitamin D is extremely important for the immune system.
It helps to regulate T cells, which are important immune actors.
It also turns on the gene that produces cathelicidin, a natural antimicrobial compound that fights infection (Future Microbiology, November 2009).
Since many Americans don’t get enough vitamin D because we stay out of the sun, recommendations for supplementary vitamin D may rise beyond the current RDA of 400 IU daily.
Many experts believe vitamin D intake should be five to 10 times higher than that.
Q: I take several medications, so I was pleased to learn that the herb milk thistle may reduce the liver toxicity of certain drugs.
I am very conscious of maintaining healthy liver function.
When purchasing the herb, however, I got confused.
It is available in various strengths, and the dosing instructions seem inconsistent.
What advice can you give me?
I don’t want to take too much.
A: The dosage varies depending upon the purpose for which milk thistle is being used.
For general liver protection, 200 mg of an extract standardized to 80 percent silymarin (the active ingredient) is taken two or three times a day.
ConsumerLab.com recently tested milk thistle products and found that relatively few of them meet the claims on their labels.
Details are available for a fee at www.consumerlab.com.
