The C.A.M. Report
Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Fair, Balanced, and to the Point

Archive for the 'Herbals' Category

The reality of herbal supplement contamination

Thursday, October 17th, 2013

little-guy2Adulteration of herbal products is common and a threat to consumer safety.

Researchers from Canada and India are the latest to investigate the integrity of herbal products. (more…)

Profiling and assumed herb-induced liver toxicity

Wednesday, August 7th, 2013

little-guy2Alternative explanations are common in about 47% of suspected drug-induced liver injury.

Researchers in Germany raised the question of whether a similar frequency might prevail in cases of assumed herb-induced liver injury. (more…)

Contaminated and adulterated herbals

Wednesday, August 1st, 2012

Prof. Ernst and colleagues reviewed the evidence and they aren’t sanguine. (more…)

Use of dietary supplements to enhance sports performance

Monday, February 6th, 2012

Researchers at Texas Chiropractic College, in Pasadena, studied children in the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) in order to estimate their use of supplements. (more…)

Use of herbal medicines during HIV/AIDS treatment

Thursday, February 2nd, 2012

Researchers at Mbarara University of Science and Technology, in Uganda evaluated the use of herbal medicines among patients at the HIV clinic of Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital. (more…)

Use of herbal supplements by pregnant women

Monday, January 2nd, 2012

Researchers at the University of Oslo, in Norway, studied the use of herbal supplements by pregnant Norwegian women. (more…)

No regulatory double standard for natural health products

Wednesday, November 16th, 2011

That’s the editorial position of the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Here’s their reasoning. (more…)

Increasing popularity of dietary supplements

Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011

Dietary supplement use has steadily increased since the 1970s.

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health estimated dietary supplement use based on the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2003–2006, a nationally representative survey. (more…)

Side effects from herbals used as laxatives

Wednesday, October 26th, 2011

Researchers at the University of Rome, in Italy, report on adverse reactions associated with herbal laxatives reported to the Italian Medicines Agency and the Italian National Institute of Health over 9 years. (more…)

Use of dietary supplements by medical specialists

Thursday, October 6th, 2011

Here’s a look at the use of dietary supplements by physicians in 3 specialties in the US: cardiology, dermatology, and orthopedics. (more…)

Herbal and dietary supplements on cognition in menopause

Tuesday, September 27th, 2011

Prof. Ernst and colleagues evaluated the evidence regarding the effects of herbal and dietary supplements on cognition (ability to reason) in menopause. (more…)

Effect of EstroG-100 on menopausal symptoms

Wednesday, September 7th, 2011

Researchers in Korea and the US studied EstroG-100 — a mixture of standardized extracts of Cynanchum wilfordii, Phlomis umbrosa and Angelica gigas. (more…)

Herbals for weight loss: Counseling by pharmacists and nonpharmacists

Thursday, August 4th, 2011

Researchers at Midwestern University, in Glendale, Arizona, assessed the extent of appropriate counseling provided by pharmacists and nonpharmacists in retail settings. (more…)

Risk of interactions between supplements and blood thinners

Thursday, July 14th, 2011

Dr. Jennifer Strohecker at the Intermountain Medical Center, in Salt Lake City, Utah, tells us the safety of warfarin (Coumadin) use can be compromised by many popular herbal and nonherbal supplements.

Here’s what we know from her research. (more…)

Review: Black chokeberry

Saturday, June 25th, 2011

Products derived from the black chokeberry, Aronia melanocarpa, are claimed to be beneficial in disorders or diseases associated with oxidative stress. But these claims are based primarily on laboratory and animal research.

Researchers at Hebrew University, Jerusalem reviewed the evidence in people. (more…)

High percentage of supplements are contaminated

Friday, May 20th, 2011

The New York Times reports, “Nearly all herbal dietary supplements tested in a Congressional investigation contained trace amounts of lead and other contaminants, and 16 of the 40 supplements tested contained pesticide residue that exceeded legal limits.

Here are the details of what the Government Accounting Office found. (more…)

Review of herbals to treat asthma

Tuesday, May 10th, 2011

Today is Worlds Asthma Day.

So, researchers from the UK and China reviewed the evidence supporting the use of herbs and plant extracts to manage asthma. (more…)

CAM use among cancer patients during drug trials

Sunday, May 8th, 2011

A key outcome of early cancer drug studies is the toxicity of a new experimental drug. The use of CAM in patients with advanced cancer might make it difficult to make this determination.

Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, in Houston, studied the prevalence of CAM use in their patients participating in experimental cancer drug treatment studies. (more…)

Use of herbal supplements by people taking blood thinners

Friday, May 6th, 2011

During the American Heart Association meeting, Dr. Jennifer Strohecker, at the Intermountain Medical Center, in Salt Lake City, Utah, reported that documentation of supplement use in the medical chart is poor. (more…)

Review: Acupuncture to manage PMS

Friday, January 14th, 2011

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) refers to physical or emotional symptoms that typically occur about 5 to 11 days before a woman starts her monthly menstrual cycle.

Researchers at Kyung Hee University, in Seoul, Korea reviewed the evidence. (more…)