Archive for April, 2009
Thursday, April 30th, 2009
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…)
Alcoholism/Drug Abuse, Diabetes Mellitus, Diet-Nutrition, Exercise, Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure, Obesity, Omega-3 Fatty Acids, Smoking Cessation, Stroke, Trans Fats | Comments Off on Causes of death in the United States
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009
 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…)
Cholesterol/Lipids, Consumer Alert, Diabetes Mellitus, FDA/FTC/CDC, Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure | Comments Off on Consumer Alert: Libimax
Tuesday, April 28th, 2009
 Probably not, according to researchers at the University of Edinburgh, in the UK. (more…)
Asthma/Allergy, Omega-3 Fatty Acids, Omega-6 Fatty Acids | Comments Off on Do fatty acid supplements prevent allergic disease?
Friday, April 24th, 2009
 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…)
CAM Education | Comments Off on Best websites for black cohosh info
Friday, April 24th, 2009
 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…)
Consumer Alert, Pain, Turmeric | Comments Off on Consumer Alert: Turmeric supplements
Friday, April 24th, 2009
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…)
CAM Education, CAM Politics, Children, Diet-Nutrition | Comments Off on The limits of choice in selecting healthy meals
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009
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…)
Diet-Nutrition, Folic Acid, Infants, Pregnancy | Comments Off on Caution on folic acid food fortification
Monday, April 20th, 2009
 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…)
CAM Education, CAM Politics, Chinese Medicine, Homeopathy, Osteoporosis | Comments Off on Stop testing Chinese and homeopathic treatments
Sunday, April 19th, 2009
The benefit depends on the therapist, according to this study from the UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in Piscataway, New Jersey. (more…)
Osteoarthritis, Pain-Knee, Qigong | Comments Off on Qigong therapy for osteoarthritis of the knee
Saturday, April 18th, 2009
Despite limited evidence, this Cochrane review concludes that women should have the choice of using transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) during labor. (more…)
Pain, Pregnancy, TENS/FNS/VNS | Comments Off on TENS for pain relief in labor
Friday, April 17th, 2009
Some changes are reported.
But from a practical perspective, the benefits of music are unclear, according to this Cochrane review. (more…)
Art, Music, Dance, Cochrane Library, Heart Disease | Comments Off on Music therapy for patients with heart disease?
Friday, April 17th, 2009
This Cochrane review evaluated homeopathic medicines used to prevent or treat side effects of cancer treatments. (more…)
Cancer, Cochrane Library, Homeopathy | Comments Off on Is homeopathy compatible with cancer therapy?
Thursday, April 16th, 2009
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…)
Asthma/Allergy, Nasal Irrigation | Comments Off on Steroid-sparing nasal irrigation for allergic rhinitis?
Thursday, April 16th, 2009
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…)
Anxiety (Panic)/Depression, Reiki, Relaxation, Therapeutic Touch | Comments Off on Distinguishing between reiki and therapeutic touch
Thursday, April 16th, 2009
Researchers from Canada and the US studied the effects of marijuana and tobacco on the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). (more…)
COPD, Marijuana (Cannabinoids) | Comments Off on Marijuana and the risk of COPD
Wednesday, April 15th, 2009
 This study by researchers at the University of Toronto focused on the management of anxiety. (more…)
Fatigue, Pre, Pro, Synbiotics | Comments Off on Treating chronic fatigue syndrome with probiotics
Wednesday, April 15th, 2009
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…)
Diabetes Mellitus, Electronic Media | Comments Off on Using the Internet to improve diabetes control
Tuesday, April 14th, 2009
 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…)
Diet-Nutrition, Omega-3 Fatty Acids | Comments Off on Walnuts vs fatty fish for cardiovascular protection
Tuesday, April 14th, 2009
 Dr. Eric Chan and Dr. Leslie Cho from the Cleveland Clinic, in Ohio waste no words in an excellent review. (more…)
Heart Disease, Omega-3 Fatty Acids | Comments Off on A pithy review of omega-3 fatty acids
Tuesday, April 14th, 2009
Researchers from Paraiba Federal University, in Brazil evaluated the effect of soy isoflavones extract on depressive symptoms in women with climacteric syndrome (menopause). (more…)
Anxiety (Panic)/Depression, Bone Fracture, Flavonoids (Soy), Menopause | Comments Off on Soy isoflavones and depression during menopause