A review published in American Family Physician covers a broad range of herbal and dietary supplements for treating anxiety disorders.
I’ll focus on the best of the lot, kava (Piper methysticum). You can read the rest of the article here. Continue reading Compiling the evidence for kava to treat anxiety
Soy food intake in the amount consumed by Asian populations may have protective effects against breast cancer, according to researchers at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Continue reading Dietary soy and breast cancer risk
The natives of Guam use fadang — the seed of the false sago palm (a cycad) (photo) — as an ingredient in their traditional medicine and food.
According to Marjorie Whiting, a nutritionist/anthropologist who lived with the native Guamanians, “Everybody knows that the fadang is toxic… The people go to a lot of trouble to process it in order to detoxify it.”
Now, we’re learning about the risk factors for toxicity they missed. Continue reading The risk of fadang in dementia
Federal regulations allow food labels to say there are zero grams of trans fat as long as there’s less than a half-gram per serving, according to this AP story.
“The problem is that often people eat a lot more than one serving,” says Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian of Harvard School of Public Health. Continue reading Zero trans fat is not the same as no trans fat
Drs. Kalyanakrishnan Ramakrishnan and Dewey Scheid from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center have published a review of treatment options for sleeplessness.
Melatonin, valerian, and several non-drug treatments are compared to benzodiazepines and non-benzodiazepine options. Continue reading Comparing treatments for insomnia
During the First North American Regional Epilepsy Congress, researchers from the University of Texas reported that men with epilepsy who take enzyme-inducing antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) have lower levels of vitamin D and calcium, plus higher parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels.
The AEDs involved included the following.
Continue reading The need for vitamin D in people with epilepsy
A study of more than 2000 non-demented individuals conducted in 2006 concluded that better adherence to the Mediterranean diet was associated with a lower risk for Alzheimer’s disease.
Now, the Mediterranean diet appears useful in people already diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Continue reading Mediterranean diet for Alzheimer’s disease?
Not when compared to general practitioners’ care alone, according to researchers from Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Continue reading Is physical therapy cost-effective care for sciatica?
In the ongoing game of catch me if you can, these products have been caught. Continue reading Consumer alert: Blue Steel and Hero products
A published (and widely circulated in the lay press) study by researchers at Lund University in Sweden reported that high folate intake by women 50 years and older was associated with a lower incidence of postmenopausal breast cancer.
Of greater interest is an editorial by Dr. Cornelia Ulrich from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington. Continue reading Reconsidering the effect of folate on breast cancer risk
Not according to the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Care Products.
L. Ramon Cuesta Laso and Mara Teresa Alfonso Galn reviewed Spanish and European Union legislation and other sources regarding this topic.
Their conclusion? Continue reading Can homeopathic products contain active substances not in homeopathic dilutions?
Men receiving support before prostate surgery showed improved quality of life following surgery, according to a study presented during the American Society of Clinical Oncology 43rd Annual Meeting and reported on Medscape. Continue reading Stress-management for radical prostatectomy patients
This is apparently the first study of pycnogenol (French maritime pine bark extract) to treat peri-menopausal symptoms. Continue reading Peri-menopausal symptoms treated with pycnogenol
An article published by John Borneman and Robert Field on the Hyland’s website (and here) provides insight to the regulatory differences between these drug categories in the US.
It’s instructive to appreciate the similarities and differences. The authors believe the guidelines for homeopathic medicine could serves as a model for approval and postmarketing oversight of dietary supplements. Continue reading Dietary supplements, allopathic, and homeopathic medicines
A study in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism reveals that dieting alone is as effective at reducing weigh and fat as a combination of diet and exercise — as long as the calories consumed and burned are equal.
There was one important difference, however.
Here are the details.
Continue reading Fewer calories or more exercise: Which is best for weight loss?
The answer is yes — especially among people with high blood pressure, diabetes, or low socioeconomic status — according to researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. Continue reading Will adopting a healthy lifestyle in middle age improve your health?
Michael Pollan, writing in The New York Times Magazine advises, “If you’re concerned about your health, you should probably avoid food products that make health claims. Why? Because a health claim on a food product is a good indication that it’s not really food, and food is what you want to eat.
What’s this got to do with you?
Taking echinacea after the onset of a cold shortens its duration or decreases the severity of symptoms, according to the results of most clinical trials. The best results are achieved using products containing alcoholic extracts and pressed juice preparations of the aerial (above ground) parts of the plant.
No evidence suggests echinacea can prevent the onset of the common cold or that it’s effective in children.
Not much evidence is available. But here’s what 2 researchers from the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania discovered during their review of 20 published studies. Continue reading Mind-body interventions for chronic pain in older adults
Researchers from the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada report, that “music is effective in reducing anxiety and pain in children undergoing medical and dental procedures.” Continue reading Music for pain and anxiety in children