The nails are a great indication of health — as well as a harbinger of disease that should not be ignored.

The idea of a carefree life with loyal robots available to do our work for us has always had some appeal — think back to the Jetsons, Star Wars, and Buck Rogers. But doing dishes for us is one thing. Doing surgery on us is another thing entirely.

The latest study shows that individuals with high vitamin K levels experienced a 41 percent reduction in “incident cardiac heart disease.”

Shallots had the highest antioxidant activity among the 11 varieties tested, with six times more phenolics than the lowest-ranked onion, the Vidalia.

In fact, some experts believe that sunscreen might actually be contributing to increasing skin cancer rates by offering a false sense of security and keeping people from looking toward better protection.

Beta-carotene has been a buzzword in cancer prevention circles for some time, but that one carotene doesn’t tell the whole story

Most doctors bounce their patients from one prescription pain reliever to another, which offer just temporary relief from painful symptoms for a nice chunk of change

A recent study showed that various Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) procedures and techniques are more effective with fewer side effects than anything the drug companies have come up with for seasonal allergies.

Once a staple on American dinner tables, the white potato has been shunned as a high-carb food outcast for the last couple of years.

As we were wrapping this issue up and sending it to press, we got some breaking news from our contacts at the Alliance for Natural Health in Great Britain about their landmark case against the EU Food Supplements Directive. And for once, the news is good.

If you have bursitis, it’s also extremely likely that you have another hidden problem that (if left untreated) can result in lots of other health problems down the road.

Thanks to the extensive research that’s been done on Ginkgo over the years, we already know that its helpful for Alzheimer’s disease, poor memory, and impaired circulation. But the research hasn’t stopped there, and, based on some new findings, ‘starting to look like theres not much Ginkgo isn’t good for. Here are some of the most recent discoveries on this increasingly useful herb.

In March, all the media touted the results of two studies that examined patients whose heart attacks were caused by a large clot completely or almost completely blocking a major coronary artery. The studies found that adding the patent medication Plavix to standard anti-clotting treatments- aspirin, heparin, and the patentable, expensive, and intravenous-use-only clot-busting enzymes TPA and streptokinase- reduced the risk of death, stroke, or another heart attack, compared with the use of these treatments without Plavix.

If you’re taking thyroid for hypothyroidism-whether its the whole natural variety or the single-hormone, synthetic type-you’ve probably improved your energy levels, become a bit more alert, lowered your cholesterol and risk of atherosclerosis in general, and improved the health of your skin and fingernails. But unless you’re getting enough iodine, you may also be raising your risk of breast cancer by taking that thyroid supplement.

IN THIS ISSUE: Add this insulin regulator to your diabetes-prevention arsenal; 14 ways to reduce stroke and heart attack risk without Plavix; Ginkgo gone wild: Brand-new benefits from the old brain-boosting standby; Beyond bursitis: The hidden problem you might not know you have;