For example, if you've got fallen arches, just type 'fallen arches' into a good search engine and you'll be presented with heaps of info. E-mailing fellow sufferers will provide decent advice and then it's just a question of matching the treatment to your ethics and lifestyle. If you want to spend £45 quid on new insoles then fine, if you can stand 3x10 minutes a day of rigourous toe exercise, go for it.
Carcinogen
Potency Database Project -- If you lean towards the neurotic when it comes to
chemicals and their effects then this is the site for you. It gives online results of
chronic, long-term cancer tests--both positive and the negative results of analyses of
5000 experiments on some 1230 chemicals. For the squeamish, there are comparisons of the
effects of rat carcinogens on different organs and the site includes information on the
causes and prevention of human cancer.
The CPDB is backed by such big names as Bruce N Ames and Lois Swirsky Gold who have
published numerous arguments against the public's often irrational fear of chemicals and
the "everything gives us cancer" school of thought.
Healthworks Online - Yet another huge health resource - this one is based in the UK and is aimed largely at medical professionals. It offers access to Medline - the largest single database of published medical literature in the world- at £35 per month, with a free trial period. It also contains descriptions of more than 330 journals worldwide, a mall of medical businesses and press releases from health organisations and companies.
Achoo -- This directory of medical resources contains more than 5,000 links, each of which gets a brief description. The whole database is keyword searchable, and further services like bulletin boards are promised later. If you are in the health profession yourself or just in its clutches, this looks as if it will become the best place to start looking for information.
Natural Medicine &endash; If you want to look away from pharmaceuticals and GPs for healthcare advice and treatment then this US site might be start. There's a good FAQ section but beware the blatent product plugs amongst the 'lifestyle' editorial
