The Medical Advisor

OneDayMD | Practical Wellness & Evidence Review Updated: October 13, 2026 · Reading time: about 10–12 minutes A small herb garden can make everyday cooking fresher, attract pollinators, and give you a convenient supply of aromatic plants traditionally used in home care. But a plant's long history of use—or activity seen in a laboratory—does not automatically mean it treats an illness in people. This guide reviews 10 herbs commonly recommended for a home apothecary: sage, thyme, rosemary, oregano, lemon balm, chamomile, fennel, lavender, calendula, and garlic. It explains the most practical uses, what the research can and cannot tell us, how to grow each plant, and the main safety issues to consider before using herbs medicinally. Important: Think of these plants as a kitchen and gardening resource—not a substitute for diagnosis, prescribed treatment, or urgent care. Evidence and safety depend on the species, plant part, preparation, dose, and person ...

For over a decade and a half, the medical community has grappled with a paradox in cardiovascular health management: statins, the widely prescribed cholesterol-lowering drugs, while undeniably effective in lowering cholesterol, do little to reduce heart disease risk and cause significant side effects, including an increased risk of Type 2 diabetes.    In 2017, the Annals of Internal Medicine published an article titled "Statin Denial: An Internet-Driven Cult With Deadly Consequences." The article concluded : "What can thoughtful physicians do to counter these dangerous cults? We must work together to educate the public and enlist media support, and we must take the time to explain to our patients that discontinuing statin treatment may be a life-threatening mistake. Passive acceptance of harmful pseudoscience is not an option."! How do you distinguish truth from falsehood? If you find the recommendations of various professional groups confusing and prefer a well-ro...

Executive Summary Dr. Thomas N. Seyfried , Professor of Biology at Boston College, proposes a metabolic model of cancer that challenges the dominant genetic explanation and conventional oncology treatments. Rather than viewing cancer as primarily driven by gene mutations, Seyfried asserts it is fundamentally a metabolic disease centered on dysfunctional cellular energy production. This reframing draws on and expands the historical Warburg effect , emphasizing how cancer cells rely on fermentative metabolism of glucose and glutamine due to defective mitochondrial function.  A 2026 large-scale population study published in Nature Communications demonstrated that machine learning-predicted insulin resistance was associated with increased risk of 12 cancer types in nearly 500,000 individuals from the UK Biobank. This finding strengthens a growing thesis: Metabolic dysfunction is not merely a comorbidity —...