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…)

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…)

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

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

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…)

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…)

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

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…)

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…)

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

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…)

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…)

 Researchers from Wageningen University in The Netherlands reviewed the research on the LDL (bad) cholesterol–lowering effects of different phytosterol doses. (more…)

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…)

“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…)

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

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…)

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…)

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…)