Nearly everyone‘s heard of the grapefruit diet. It‘s a short-term approach to weight loss (low carb, healthy proteins) with one unique feature. For 12 days you‘re supposed to eat a serving of grapefruit with every meal. It appears that by adding grapefruit to a protein-based meal, your metabolism gets kicked into overdrive.

This diet‘s a quick fix and it‘s really for those folks looking to drop a few pounds quickly. But I‘ve always had a hunch that there‘s something worthwhile about this diet just waiting to be discovered. Sure -- grapefruit is healthy. It‘s packed with vitamins. But why does adding it to your diet seem to spur on weight loss?

Is your sex drive diminishing or just plain gone?  You may not be alone.  Recent research suggests that over 40 percent of women between the ages of 18 and 59 suffer from some form of female sexual dysfunction. 

The leading culprit is lack of interest or hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD).  Most of the research in the area of sexual dysfunction has been on men and has focused on erectile dysfunction.  A recent study indicates that for women part of the puzzle is how their brain is functioning.

Are your hormones out of balance?

Does your life feel like a song played badly out of tune?

If so, the problem may have to do with imbalances in your hormones, which are wreaking havoc on your body and mind.

There is one hormone in particular I am going to focus on today, and it could be at the root of your problems.  I will share with you 12 tips you can start using immediately to begin rebalancing your hormones and bring your life back into tune.

Q: I’ve been getting mammograms every year for 10 years—I put up with it because my sister had breast cancer, so I’m supposedly at greater risk. But I’m getting pretty concerned about all that radiation. I’ve been hearing a lot about breast themography lately—should I be getting that done instead?

—B. Cavalli, Cedar Rapids, IA

This French word fills every woman's heart with great dread.  It describes a distressing cosmetic defect.  The principal areas of involvement are the thighs and buttocks, but also, to a lesser extent, on the lower part of the abdomen, the nape of the neck, and the upper parts of the arms, of women.

The berries of saw palmetto (Serenoa repens) have a long history of use in the Americas, dating back to the Mayans who used these berries as a general tonic. In more recent times, saw palmetto is often used in the treatment of benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH), which frequently affects a large number of males in their later years. Saw palmetto is also a very popular herb used to treat symptoms in the male genital and urinary system, ranging from erectile dysfunction to low sperm motility.

Question: Do you have any information on natural treatments for candidiasis?

Q: My “insurance plan” doctor tells me I shouldn’t take estrogen—even bio-identical estrogen—because it will increase my risk of a blood clot and maybe a stroke. Is this true?

––CS, via e-mail

It was too good to be true -- the hype that drinking wine leads to strong hearts and healthy bodies. While it does appear true that wine exerts some mildly beneficial effect on the heart, new research reveals the dark side of the "fruit of the vine."

The average American diet is seriously deficient in the essential omega 3's, DHA and EPA. Except for certain types of fish, there are very few sources of these vitally important fats.

Unfortunately, fish supplies around the world are becoming scarcer each year. Even I see it, every year that I go to Maui the fish are becoming far less abundant. And, add to that the fact that much of the fish that is available are grossly contaminated.