Q: Although we have periodic consultations with our integrative medical practitioner to help us to maintain good health, I am 84 years of age (my wife does not allow me to reveal her age!) and don’t get around as much anymore, so we are also constantly guided by your newsletter and your Health-e-Tips…

Q: I want to thank you for the huge difference D-mannose has made in my quality of life! I was diagnosed with interstitial cystitis and told there was no cure for my problem. The abdominal pain and frequency of urination were interrupting every area of my life. Meanwhile, the restrictive diet, devoid of almost all fruit, and invasive long-term treatments seemed counter-intuitive.

Years ago, ice cream was made simply of eggs, milk, and sugar, and you had to crank it by hand in the old-fashioned ice-cream makers. It took so long to make that a scoop or two was an occasional family treat and didn’t do much harm. Today, though, in this age of mass production, synthetics, and substitutes, ice cream is another matter entirely.

Researchers have suspected a link between acid reflux and asthma for a long time. It sounds strange, I know: How can acid irritating the lower esophagus lead to a reaction in the lungs? But evidence suggests that reflux can be an important cause of asthma.1 In one study, 61 percent of patients with asthma had reflux.2 The ongoing debates about this connection revolve around two topics. First, is the reflux causing coughing, or is it the other way around? (It’s like the “chicken or the egg” argument of the medical world.) I recently came across a scientific paper published in a journal called Gut that tackled this subject once again.3 The researchers studied more than 100 chronic adult asthmatics and found in the majority of cases it was the reflux that caused the coughing-not the other way around.

wasn’t always like this. From 1783 through the early 20th century, all Americans had the right to decide which treatments were safe and effective for them. But not anymore. These days, your freedom of choice has been all but eliminated.

Turns out it’s not only the strict use of the death penalty lowering crime rates in some areas of Texas. And while I’m sure “Dubya” would be quick to take credit, it’s not stricter laws or changes in sentencing guidelines either. Using 10 years of data accumulated from 27 Texas counties, researchers found that the incidence of homicide, rape, burglary, and suicide, as well as other crimes and drug use, were significantly lower in counties whose drinking water supplies contained 70-170 micrograms of lithium per liter than those with little or no lithium in their water.

IN THIS ISSUE: The misunderstood mineral, Part 2: Lithium fights crime and some of your most nagging health concerns; Your doctor could be ignoring the best treatments available-and not even know it!; The surprising root of that nagging cough-and the surprising roots that can cure it; Ice cream’s evolution: From milk and eggs to antifreeze and rubber cement; The interstitial cystitis treat- ment that isn’t “supposed” to work–but just may; Original answers to your original human diet questions;