Here’s an update to earlier posts about the pet food debacle. It’s relevance to CAM is that it points out (again) the endemic problem of quality control in the food industry in China, and by extension the risks that a lack of oversight and quality control pose to people who use traditional Chinese medicines.
The New York Times reports an epidemic is killing pigs in southeastern China. Continue reading Is contaminated feed killing pigs in China?
Health Canada advises consumers not to use this product due to concerns about possible side effects.
Urat Madu is a red capsule sold to treat erectile dysfunction (impotence). Continue reading Consumer alert: Urat Madu
Today, more than 400 firefighters and other 9/11 responders are taking 4 pills composed of up to 20 herbs twice a day. They claim to feel healthier than they did after undergoing Western remedies for their ailments.
Now, Councilman Michael McMahon is requesting funding of more than $200,000 from New York City to help pay for Ayurvedic therapies.
Now, there’s this… Continue reading Councilman requests city funding for Ayurvedic therapies
I wrote about this last week. Specifically, how the exportation of contaminated ingredients from China that are used in pet food is only the tip of the iceberg. It affects CAM and mainstream medicine. And now The New York Times reports that this contamination is a world wide problem. Continue reading Worldwide implications of the pet food contamination debacle
A 12-hour course in Ayurveda is being offered to American medical students, residents, faculty, and practicing physicians. Continue reading Going on the road to introduce Ayurveda to American medical students and physicians
The purpose of this survey was to develop suggestions for actions that might foster closer communication between mainstream (MM) and CAM practitioners. Continue reading Looking for common ground between CAM and mainstream medicine
Health Canada advises consumers not to use this product. It contains the undeclared prescription drug estazolam (Prosom), which can be habit-forming when used for as little as a few months. Continue reading Consumer alert: Eden Herbal Formulations Serenity Pills II
An article by the Canadian AIDS Society says not enough is being done to get Canadians to use legal marijuana.
Apparently legalizing a drug with no credible scientific evidence for its use as primary or secondary treatment for anything is not enough. Continue reading Legalizing marijuana: Does it matter?
Italian physicians, led by former Health Minister, Prof. Umberto Veronesi from the Istituto Europeo di Oncologia di Milano, claim “these therapies risk depriving patients of effective cures, unlike modern medicine, which is based on centuries of science.”
The doctors are particularly concerned about homeopathy, chiropractic, acupuncture, and herbal medicine as examples of “increasingly popular therapies whose usefulness is not certain.” Continue reading Pushing back against CAM in Italy
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced a nationwide recall of H S Joy of Love dietary supplement because it could interact with prescription drugs. Continue reading Consumer alert: Chinese herbal medicine Joy of Love is recalled
Here is a website that tells you how many people in your neighborhood are as sick as you. Continue reading Who is sick?
The Associated Press is reporting a second tainted pet food ingredient, which has added more pet food products to the recall list.
The connection with CAM is that contamination is not a new or rare event when it comes to food imports from China or traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Continue reading The pet food recall and the CAM connection
Over 3 decades, the potential health benefits of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids have been studied, debated, and explained.
If you’ve been looking for a single authoritative and well-documented source on this subject, look no further than this article in the Journal of Nurse Practitioners on Medscape. Continue reading A major review of omega 3 fatty acids
Health Canada is advising consumers not to use this product due to concerns about possible side effects. Continue reading Consumer alert: Lexscl Fat Rapid Loss capsules
Overall, they are positive, at least at the University of Minnesota. Continue reading Attitudes of pharmacy faculty and students toward CAM
Remote access to patients with chronic heart failure (by telephone or telemonitoring) has a positive effect on health and wellbeing.
Researchers from Australia and Canada reviewed 14 studies of remote monitoring in more than 4000 patients.
Here are the results. Continue reading Using the telephone in place of clinic or home visits
As drug experts, pharmacists are expected to counsel patients on the safe and effective use medicine, which technically includes homeopathic products.
Considering that many pharmacists feel that homeopathy is based on unscientific theories that lack supporting evidence, is this a reasonable expectation? Continue reading Should homeopathy be included in pharmacy school curricula?
The answer (in the UK at least) is yes when taken by patients after their first heart attack. Continue reading Is Lovacor cost-effective therapy?
Dr. Frederick Burgess, who is clinical associate professor of surgery (anesthesiology) at Brown University in Rhode Island, has these thoughts from the American Academy of Pain Medicine Annual Meeting this past February. Continue reading The status of marijuana to treat pain and nausea
V-Max advertises itself as “a totally natural product containing herbal preparations scientifically proven to increase sexual performance and pleasure.”
Apparently, one of the “natural” ingredients is aminotadalafil, similar to tadalafil (Cialis), an FDA-approved drug used to treat erectile dysfunction.