Studies commonly report less stress among people who practice yoga. Examples are here in pregnancy, here among musicians, and here in healthy women and cancer survivors.

This study, by Ohio State University researchers searched for the mechanism underlying the benefit. (more…)

Millions of postmenopausal women use multivitamins.

Does it matter? (more…)

Prolonged physical exertion and environmental stress may depress immune cell function and increase the risk of an upper respiratory tract infection (URTI).

Researchers from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia studied the response to vitamin C under these conditions. (more…)

The effects of music therapy on stress, anxiety, and depression in pregnant women were studied by researchers at the National Tainan Institute of Nursing in Taiwan. (more…)

Dr. Darrell Hulisz from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio has written a continuing education article on herbals.

Here are the author’s take-away points, with additional references added. (more…)

In college students, meditation-based stress-management practices reduce stress and enhance forgiveness, according to this study by researchers at the University of California at Berkeley. (more…)

 Here’s a follow-up to earlier posts here and here on the use of CAM in the US.

The findings come from a survey by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM). (more…)

 It “could be an easy and inexpensive way to decrease aggression and abnormal behavior among preschool children,” according to researchers at Uppsala University in Sweden. (more…)

Researchers from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Florida report that adding lavender-scented bath oil to the infant bath results in lower stress in the mother and child, less crying, and better sleep. (more…)

Research published in the Archives of Internal Medicine shows that psychosocial factors, such as cynical distrust, chronic stress, and depression are associated with higher blood levels of C-reactive protein (associated with acute inflammatory reactions), interleukin-6 (stimulates an immune response to tissue damage), and fibrinogen (causes blood to clot).

All are related to an increased risk of heart disease.

What can we do about this?

(more…)