The Integrated Pharmacist

 There are few universal experiences quite like sleep.  When it's done right, it can be enjoyable, rejuvenating, and healing.  Adequate, appropriate sleep can help athletes recover from tough exercises.  It can help students set important information in their memories.  When done poorly, it can be grueling, tedious, and even...nightmarish.  According to the CDC and the Sleep Foundation, most adults need between 7 and 9 hours of sleep, but across the United States, about 1/3 of adults get 7 hours or less.  Poor sleep can lead to more frequent acute illnesses like viral infections, chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease, and mental diseases like depression.   In a perfect world, you would avoid computer or TV light 60 minutes before bed while performing a wind-down routine like meditation.  Between 9 and 10pm, you would retire to your bedroom which is cool, dark, and quiet.  Your comfortable bed would only be used for sleep and ...

Greetings, listeners!  Welcome to another episode of the integrated pharmacist podcast.  Today I'd like to share with you one of my favorite herbal medications - the elderberry.  With the current COVID-19 pandemic causing socioeconomic upheaval, people are scrambling for some miracle product that will prevent themselves from getting the dreaded disease.  From disinfectants and face-masks to unproven medications, very little seems to be off the table at his point. Elderberry has taken some spotlight in all of this, because of its history of use in other viral infections.  Research suggests one of it's effects is similar to the human hormone interferon.  Interferon is a chemical that virus-infected cells release that helps prevent neighboring cells from getting infected.  The in-vitro trial I refer to demonstrates mostly late-stage activity against influenza virus infection as well as immune response activation to up-regulate specific cytokines dur...