The power of positive drinking

Amanda Ross
Editor of Nutrition & Healing

According to this study from UCLA, light to moderate consumption of alcohol - of ANY sort - could reduce your risk of developing a physical disability. In other words, having a few drinks a week may actually keep you out of a nursing home! (Or, at the very least, it could help you avoid a dignity-robbing situation where you need help to carry out basic, everyday functions like walking - and even getting dressed.)

The study included 4,276 people and considered "light to moderate" drinkers as those who consumed fewer than 15 drinks per week. Those who consumed more were considered "heavy drinkers." And those who drank fewer than 12 drinks per year were labeled "abstainers". The researchers tracked the subjects for five years and found that:

"Light to moderate drinkers had a 17.7% chance of becoming disabled or dying in five years, compared with 26.7% for abstainers and 21.4% for heavy drinkers. Among survivors, the risk for new disability was 12.5% for light to moderate drinkers, compared with 20% for abstainers and 15.6% for heavy drinkers."

There is one catch, though. The health benefits only applied to the light-to-moderate drinkers who were already in good health at the outset of the study. The good news is, even if you're not quite there yet, following the advice Dr. Wright provides each month in Nutrition & Healing will help you reach that goal. And it's nice to know that toasting that newfound health could take you even further.

The simplest mouth ulcer treatment

Dr Jonathan Wright
Nutrition & Healing

Q: A few months ago, I had a painful mouth ulcer, and I feel another one coming on. Do you know of any natural solutions to keep this from happening over and over?

Dr. Wright: If you wait long enough, mouth ulcers usually go away on their own. But there may be an even easier solution that could help you from getting them in the first place: switching toothpastes.

In one study, 10 people with recurrent mouth ulcers were given two different toothpastes to use, for three months each. One contained 1.2% sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and the other was SLS-free. Otherwise, the toothpastes were identical. When researchers compared the three-month periods, they found that the group using the SLS-free paste had 64% fewer mouth ulcers than the other group.

The problem is, virtually all of the popular brands of toothpaste contain SLS. However, there are some lesser-known brands sold in health fshops that are free of the compound.