It’s not merely a matter of “the more the merrier” for therapeutic probiotic bacteria.
Preliminary evidence reported here and here supports the value of the probiotics Bifidobacterium infantis 35624 in treating irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Now, a study in more than 350 women with IBS reports that the dose of B infantis 35624 has an effect on the ability to improve symptoms.
Here is an example of a Chinese herbal medicine (dan shen) interacting with a lab test to cause an inaccurate digoxin blood level result.
The international trend toward using a simpler “traffic light” nutrient labeling system was discussed here earlier. It tells consumers at a glance if food contains high (red), medium (orange), or low (green) levels of sugar, salt, fat, and saturated fat.
Now, a survey of 200 people in the November issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine shows just how much the current system needs to be overhauled.
This blog has chronicled the lipid-lowering effects of policosanol, which lowers LDL (bad) cholesterol levels by 20% to 30%. Its mechanism of action differs from statins. However, it’s close enough that for safety, I would be cautious taking policosanol and a statin at the same time. One-A-Day Cholesterol Plus contains policosanol.
Now, a new study reports that policosanol has a positive effect on recovery in patients with ischemic stroke. This might be an overstatement, but let’s take a closer look.
So many posts on probiotics have been written here that I made it a separate subcategory of entries.
Another site for information on probiotics and the intestines can be found here.
GutFlora.org is “a general and independent website for the advancement and dissemination of the knowledge about probiotics.”
Is that specialized enough for ya?
Illustration: Flora
9/29/06 15:28 JR
A side effect of treatment with antipsychotic drugs is increased weight, which leads many patients to stop taking their medicine. In fact, up to 80% of patients on antipsychotic medication gain a significant amount of weight.
Now, a study shows that early behavioral intervention prevents much of the weight gain associated with antipsychotic drug therapy.
How’d they do that?
The movement to ban trans fats in restaurants and fast food outlets picked up more support earlier this week. The New York City Board of Health voted to move forward with plans to prohibit the city’s 20,000 restaurants from serving food that contains more than a minute amount of trans fats.
The next steps are a public hearing on October 30th and a final vote in December. The board is authorized to adopt the plan without the consent of any other agency. So, it’s likely that life in NYC will be come a bit healthier by 2007.
You can track back to other related posts starting here.
9/26/06 23:22 JR
In 2002, the FDA advised consumers of the potential risk of severe liver injury associated with the use of kava-containing (Piper methysticum) dietary supplements.
In 2003, the U.K.’s medicines regulatory body banned kava when it was linked to a number of deaths and liver damage around the world.
So, where are we today?
A project to better scrutinize and challenge claims made by manufacturers of supplements has been started by the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) and the National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus (NAD).
CRN and NAD will “address not only comparative advertising claims among makers of dietary supplements, but also substantive claims that are deceptive or misleading and clearly go beyond what’s supported by research.”
Could be good depending on how they define going “beyond what’s supported by research.”
9/26/06 21:31 JR
Every time I turn around, another agency is warning its constituents to beware of black cohosh.
Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has now issued a warning to Japanese users of black cohosh. While there are no actual examples of the herb causing health problems in Japan, care should be exercised regarding its intake.
The risk of liver toxicity with black cohosh was reviewed here in an earlier post.
9/26/06 21:08 JR