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

Archive for the 'CAM Politics' Category

Does water really improve health?

Thursday, September 12th, 2013

indexFirst lady, Michelle Obama tells us that drinking more water will improve the health of kids and all Americans.

Really? Here’s what we know. (more…)

Too fat to live in New Zealand

Sunday, July 28th, 2013

little-guy2If campaigns to promote more healthful eating are ineffective, how else might society address the obesity epidemic?

MailOnline reports that deportation is an option. (more…)

What’s trending now in visits to homeopaths

Saturday, July 21st, 2012

Two recent studies report marked differences in the use of homeopathy.

First, homeopathy in the US. (more…)

Ethics of alternative vs traditional medicine

Monday, December 19th, 2011

Ms. Elaine Hirsh is a reader of this blog and has authored this comment on several issues that should concern people who opt to use CAM options. She is interested in a wide range of topics ranging from education to technology to public policy. She is currently working as a writer for a masters degree website. (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…)

Failed policy: Banning sugar-sweetened drinks in schools

Tuesday, November 8th, 2011

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago determined the effect of state policies that regulate beverages among adolescents. (more…)

Increasing the legal age for tanning

Thursday, October 20th, 2011

Medical New Today reports that the youngest legal age for using tanning beds has gone up from 14 to 18 years in California now that Governor Jerry Brown signed a new bill into law. (more…)

Herbal supplements: Caveat Emptor

Thursday, August 11th, 2011

Researchers at the University of Leeds, in Woodhouse, evaluated written information provided with commonly used herbal products in the UK in advance of a European Union Directive that tightens regulations for some herbal products, including requirements to provide safety information. (more…)

Kaiser points out the 800-pound gorilla

Thursday, June 23rd, 2011

“14 states and the District of Columbia have launched a medical experiment that doesn’t follow any of the rules of science. By approving the use of marijuana as a medicine, they are bypassing the federal government’s elaborate processes for approving medicines.”

It has happened only once before. (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…)

Rising risk of infection from acupuncture

Saturday, April 2nd, 2011

In the British Medical Journal, Prof. Patrick Woo from the University of Hong Kong describes what might be “the tip of the iceberg.”

He calls for more rigorous infection control guidelines. The National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine responds. And success in treating these infections is summarized as part of an update to this original post. (more…)

Potential for licorice-drug interactions

Friday, April 1st, 2011

Glycyrrhizin is a major ingredient of licorice, which is sometimes used in the treatment of various diseases such as chronic hepatitis.

In animals, licorice or glycyrrhizin alters the activity of the CYP3A drug-metabolizing enzyme. Researchers at Central South University, in Hunan, People’s Republic of China looked for an effect in people. (more…)

New recommendations for salt intake for Americans

Friday, December 17th, 2010

Here’s the Report of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010. It tells us, “Americans consume excessive amounts of sodium and insufficient amounts of potassium.”

Their latest recommendations follow. (more…)

Alcoholic energy drinks being banned by FDA

Tuesday, November 16th, 2010

Deaths and hospitalizations have been reported in young people, according to New York Senator Charles Schumer. (more…)

Do you trust advice from your local supplements sales clerk?

Sunday, November 7th, 2010

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) presented to congress the results of a “secret shopper” investigation, which found that in some stores, salespeople made inappropriate or illegal claims about dietary supplements.

What to do? (more…)

Food is healthier since banning trans fatty acids

Wednesday, November 3rd, 2010

That’s the conclusion by Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian of Harvard Medical School, in Boston. (more…)

Benefits and potential risks of artificial sweeteners

Thursday, October 21st, 2010

Surprisingly, only about 15% of Americans use sugar substitutes.

What might be the public health issues associated with recommending a switch from sugar to artificial sweeteners? (more…)

The cost of obesity

Tuesday, October 12th, 2010

Obese people spend an additional $1429 a year — or 42% more — on healthcare than their normal-weight counterparts, according to research by RTI international and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (more…)

Prevalence of CAM use in England

Friday, August 13th, 2010

The English commonly combine CAM with prescription drugs.

Let’s compare these findings by Prof. Ernst and colleagues to CAM use in other countries. (more…)

Placebo effect with homeopathic vs conventional drugs

Thursday, August 12th, 2010

Wikipedia states, “Claims of homeopathy’s efficacy beyond the placebo effect are unsupported by the collective weight of scientific and clinical evidence.”

But this study from Germany concludes that the evidence doesn’t support this belief. (more…)