Tri-State Neighbor: South Dakota Farm Newspaper

Q:You have saved my sanity. I've always enjoyed your column, but never needed your advice until last year.

I had been suffering in silence as my hair changed its texture from wavy to straight. Then my fingernails began to deteriorate. I thought it was another consequence of growing older, until I read in your column that too much selenium in the diet could affect hair and nails adversely.

At the time, I was taking a supplement that contained selenium along with the lecithin I wanted. I immediately switched to a lecithin-only supplement. After about six months, my nails began to recover. In another four to six months, my hair had become wavy again, and my nails were much stronger.

A:Problems with hair and nails are often difficult to diagnose, so we are glad we gave you the clues you needed. Selenium is an essential mineral, but excess selenium can be toxic. Loss of hair and nails has occurred both among Chinese people whose diets were naturally high in selenium and in Americans taking supplements with too much selenium.

The tolerable upper limit of selenium is around 400 micrograms daily. Brazil nuts are high in selenium, and an ounce (roughly half a dozen) provides 800 micrograms. Overindulging regularly could lead to selenium toxicity.

Q:I have been diagnosed with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). My symptom is a gagging reflexive cough.

I have accidentally found out that I get relief from the chronic cough by sucking on dried cloves. This is the most comforting relief I have had from this condition in many years. When the cloves are soft, I usually eat them. I eat two to four a day. Are cloves safe to eat?

A:Cloves have been used as a spice for seasoning food for centuries, and they are generally recognized as safe for that use. Dentists have used clove oil topically for pain relief, and some Eastern medical traditions suggest that cloves can be helpful against heartburn and cough.

We would discourage you from eating cloves every day, however, as there are some disturbing data suggesting that an ingredient in clove oil (eugenol) may alter DNA (Mutagenesis, May 2006). Whether this would lead to cancer is unknown.

Q:I have been using castor oil for years on bruises in my family. It truly works.

It also works wonders as an anti-scar ointment. I used it on a surgical scar after the stitches were removed. When I went back for a post-surgical appointment, the doctor could not locate his work. I had to point out the incision to him.

A:You are not the first person to recommend castor oil topically on bruises. You may be the first, however, who has reported such success for healing scars. A component of castor oil, ricinoleic acid, has been shown to have anti-inflammatory activity (Mediators of Inflammation, Vol. 9, issue No. 5, 2000).

Some people may be allergic to castor oil, so caution is called for. Testing a drop or two on the inside of the forearm should be adequate.

Q:An old doctor told my husband that Kyolic garlic capsules might bring his blood pressure down. I started taking them myself, one in the morning and one at night. Now my blood pressure is lower than normal most of the time. My doctor has taken me off the atenolol and lisinopril I used to take.

A:You did this experiment properly, with your doctor's supervision. People should not stop blood pressure medication on their own.

There have been many studies on garlic and blood pressure, but the results have been mixed. A recent review and meta-analysis from Australia concludes that garlic works better than placebo in lowering blood pressure (BMC Cardiovascular Disorders, June 16, 2008).

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