There probably is more than one way to skin a cat, but why would you do that in the first place? What do you do with the pelt, make a coat? or the flesh? Stew? Nah. Still there is more than one way to approach a job and to get it done. This philosophy applies to healthcare as well as to mechanical tasks.

Like children on a see-saw, some minerals work to balance each other in the body. Almost everything in nature is about balance. In humans and animals it’s called homeostasis, which is the property of the body to maintain its internal environment in a stable, constant condition. Occasionally, mainstream medicine overlooks the balance aspect and tends to look at isolated parts and actions of the body.

Bert Lance, who worked for Jimmy Carter in the Budget office, is credited with saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” as cited in the May 1977 issue of the magazine Nation’s Business. Sometimes we carry this admonition too far, as when we ignore body parts that don’t hurt. Not everything that’s out of order lets us know right away.

Unlike other organs of the body, skin nutrition can be enhanced by “direct deposit” through topical application of micronutrients, which can complement dietary acquisition and result in a stronger, healthier barrier to the world. Did you know that, when you look at a person, you are looking at dead skin? That would be the horny, keratinized outer layer called the stratum corneum.

There are some things in life we just can’t control. The weather is a good example, but other people’s behavior runs a close second. In fact, sometimes we have a hard time controlling our own behaviors. Take a look at the last éclair in the box. Isn’t it calling your name? Although we can’t direct weather patterns, we can prepare for their uncertainties.

If you’re among the more than sixty million American adults who have heartburn at least once a month, odds are you’ll pick an OTC medication rather than see your doctor. With what you hear on TV and what you see in magazines, you know there’s a slew of remedies to pick from. The one you buy, though, is the one with the most valuable coupon from the Sunday inserts, right? Right.

Have you noticed that medicine is called a practice? Maybe that’s because everybody isn’t the same. What works for you possibly won’t work for your neighbor, despite that the same doctor prescribes the same medicines for the same reason in the same doses for both of you. The age of individualized medicine is upon us, a time when what goes into your body, whether food or medication or supplement, will be geared toward your individuality.

Your checkbook might be. Your diet should be. If you walk a fine line, you must be. The national budget isn’t. Mental stability might be. Balanced, that is. Physical equilibrium, called equilibrioception among the experts, is what we mean here. It’s that state required for walking or standing, and is achieved by a complex interplay of opposing sets of muscles.

For a long time we’ve heard that green tea does this and green tea does that and green tea has this and that benefit, while poor old black tea sits in the cupboard waiting for its chance on the stage. There’s little question that green tea and its army of polyphenols have distinct nutritional value.