Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health, in Boston studied dietary, lifestyle, and metabolic risk factors.

Toping the list were smoking and high blood pressure. (more…)

 The ingredients are listed here.

But, oops. Nature & Health Co. forgot to mention it also contains tadalafil (Cialis), a prescription drug used to treat impotence (aka erectile dysfunction). (more…)

 Probably not, according to researchers at the University of Edinburgh, in the UK. (more…)

 It’s nice when people appreciate your work.

Bessed is a new website that lists the best of this, that, and other things. Here’s their list of the 6 best websites for information about black cohosh. (more…)

 The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) has recalled 2 brands of anti-inflammatory turmeric food supplements contaminated with nimesulide.

The products are called Fortodol and Miradin. (more…)

Simply “adding 1 or 2 healthy items to a menu is essentially the worst thing you can do,” according to researchers from Duke University, in Durham, North Carolina in a press release.

What are the implications for school food programs? (more…)

Folate depletion is associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer.

But research from the University of Chile, in Santiago suggests, “A folate fortification program could be associated with an additional risk of colon cancer.” (more…)

 For these healing disciplines where the interaction between therapist and patient are so closely entwined and it’s difficult to show consistent benefit over sham or placebo, I propose we stop testing these treatments.

We would do better to test the therapists. (more…)

The benefit depends on the therapist, according to this study from the UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in Piscataway, New Jersey. (more…)

Despite limited evidence, this Cochrane review concludes that women should have the choice of using transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) during labor. (more…)

Some changes are reported.

But from a practical perspective, the benefits of music are unclear, according to this Cochrane review. (more…)

This Cochrane review evaluated homeopathic medicines used to prevent or treat side effects of cancer treatments. (more…)

Jala Neti (saline nasal irrigation) involves using a special “neti pot” filled with warm, slightly salted water.

Researchers from Nanjing Medical University, in China report, “It permitted the use of less topical steroids for controlling allergic rhinitis in children.” (more…)

Actually, it’s not that easy to do.

Several years ago, Dr. Pamela Potter was supervising Reiki volunteers at Yale-New Haven Hospital in Connecticut as a doctoral candidate in the School of Nursing.

She’s qualified, if anyone is, to distinguish between these two disciplines.

(more…)

Researchers from Canada and the US studied the effects of marijuana and tobacco on the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). (more…)

 This study by researchers at the University of Toronto focused on the management of anxiety. (more…)

Giving people with type 2 diabetes the opportunity to manage their care through the Internet improved long-term blood sugar control, according to this study by researchers at the University of Washington, in Seattle. (more…)

 Walnuts are a plant source of omega-3, while fatty fish is (you guessed it) a marine source of omega-3.

Here’s a comparison of their effects on cholesterol, and a practical application of walnuts to expand the food supply and create functional foods. (more…)

 Dr. Eric Chan and Dr. Leslie Cho from the Cleveland Clinic, in Ohio waste no words in an excellent review. (more…)

Researchers from Paraiba Federal University, in Brazil evaluated the effect of soy isoflavones extract on depressive symptoms in women with climacteric syndrome (menopause). (more…)