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

Archive for the 'Phytoestrogens' Category

Relationship between functional foods and adherence to statins

Monday, December 12th, 2011

It’s thought that people using functional foods with approved health claims may be less likely to adhere to prescribed drug therapy.

Researchers in The Netherlands assessed the influence of the use of phytosterol/-stanol-enriched functional foods on adherence to statin (cholesterol-lowering) therapy among patients initiating treatment. (more…)

Soy vs hormone therapy to treat hot flushes

Tuesday, October 4th, 2011

Researchers at San Marcos University, in Lima, Peru, conducted a meta-analysis of their effect on the severity of hot flushes in postmenopausal women. (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…)

Safety of phytoestrogens reviewed

Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010

phytoestrogensResearchers from the Medical University Vienna, in Austria report that phytoestrogens are generally safe. (more…)

Ranking diet and exercise to manage high cholesterol

Saturday, May 15th, 2010

Dr. Robert Kelly (photo) is associate director and curriculum coordinator for the Fairview Hospital /Cleveland Clinic Family Medicine Residency Program.

He lists aspects of diet and exercise that are most and less effective in controlling cholesterol. (more…)

Red clover to treat depressive symptoms in older women

Thursday, April 15th, 2010

Last year, a review of herbals to treat menopausal symptoms concluded that red clover provided no benefit.

A year later and researchers from the General Teaching Hospital Korneuburg, in Austria report more positive findings using red clover extracts (MF11RCE). (more…)

Functional foods and cardiovascular risk

Sunday, April 4th, 2010

Researchers from the University of Milano, Italy, list what we know. (more…)

Red clover extract to treat depressive symptoms

Sunday, March 14th, 2010

Last year, a review of herbals to treat menopausal symptoms concluded that red clover provided no benefit.

A year later and researchers from the General Teaching Hospital Korneuburg, in Austria report more positive findings in postmenopausal women using red clover extracts (MF11RCE). (more…)

Treating kids with high cholesterol

Monday, November 9th, 2009

Recently, the American Academy of Pediatrics published guidelines for screening children for high cholesterol blood levels.

Now, researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia have estimated the number that might need treatment. (more…)

Side effects of phytoestrogens

Thursday, October 8th, 2009

edamameResearchers from the Medical University Vienna, in Austria reviewed the published research. (more…)

Herbals for arthritis and other musculoskeletal conditions

Wednesday, July 15th, 2009

Ms. Meenakshi Khatta is a nurse practitioner and associate professor at the University of Maryland in Baltimore. Nurse Khatta has reviewed the use of CAM to treat pain due to musculoskeletal conditions.

Here are her findings on herbal supplements used to treat fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis. (more…)

Herbals vs hormones to treat cognition in menopause

Monday, July 13th, 2009

Dietary herbal supplements, such as black cohosh, have shown mixed and inconclusive results in placebo-controlled studies of menopausal symptoms.

Researchers from Northwestern University, in Chicago, Illinois compared black cohosh and red clover to hormone therapy for their effects on cognition (reasoning). (more…)

Lowering cholesterol with phytosterols

Tuesday, February 10th, 2009

 Researchers from Wageningen University in The Netherlands reviewed the research on the LDL (bad) cholesterolĂ¢â‚¬â€œlowering effects of different phytosterol doses. (more…)

Tofu associated with worse memory

Saturday, June 28th, 2008

Laboratory studies suggest that phytoestrogens, found in soy products such as tempe and tofu, could protect against cognitive (reasoning) decline. But an earlier study in humans suggested the opposite.

Here’s what researchers from Loughborough University in the UK found. (more…)

NICE says no to cholesterol-cutting foods

Monday, June 16th, 2008

“People should not routinely be recommended to take plant sterols and stanols for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD).”

That’s the word from the London-based National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE). (more…)

Almost the definitive study on bone health in postmenopausal women

Wednesday, May 14th, 2008

Treatment with genistein — a naturally occurring estrogen in soybeans — has the potential to regulate bone metabolism without harmful estrogenic activity in the breast and uterus,” says Dr. Herbert Marini from the University of Messina in Italy.

In this study, genistein had positive effects on bone health in postmenopausal women who had evidence of bone wasting.

Unfortunately, they didn’t measure fracture rate. (more…)

The relationship between dietary phytoestrogen and breast cancer risk

Sunday, January 6th, 2008

The extent of the benefit is related to the person’s body mass index, according to researchers from the University of Toronto in Ontario. (more…)

Reviewing the benefits of soy isoflavone on bone in menopausal women

Sunday, December 9th, 2007

Researchers from the University of Yamanashi in Japan reviewed studies of soy isoflavones (ie, phytoestrogens [plant estrogens] found chiefly in soybeans) and report “It decreases bone loss in the spine.”

But… (more…)

Update on soy, isoflavones, and the risk of prostate cancer

Monday, November 12th, 2007

The effect of genistein, daidzein, miso soup, and soy food on the risk of prostate cancer differs based on the stage of the disease.

(more…)

Probing the value of isoflavones in patients at risk for cardiovascular complications

Thursday, November 1st, 2007

Isoflavones are one of the phytoestrogens found mainly in soybeans. Here’s a somewhat technical study from researchers at the Queen Mary Hospital in Hong Kong where isoflavones had beneficial effects on blood flow in people at risk for cardiovascular complications. (more…)