The Health Gazette - Alternative Medicine

New Research Finds African Plant Root Could Beat MRSA Infection

Sun, 17 Sep 2006 18:43:36 -0500

A plant root used in Africa as a traditional remedy could hold the key to combating the potentially fatal Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) infection, according to research findings presented at the British Pharmaceutical Conference in Manchester, 4 to 6 September, 2006.

Pharmacists at King’s College London have discovered that the roots of the shrub Paullinia pinnata possess anti-bacterial properties that are effective against MRSA.

MRSA infections are difficult to combat because the bacteria involved have developed complete resistance to certain antibiotics. Usually it is hospital patients with weakened immune systems who are most likely to become infected.

Health Canada Also Issues Black Cohosh Advisory

Wed, 23 Aug 2006 19:08:50 -0500

It appears that the herb Black Cohosh has come under fire by authorities again, this time in Canada. It is interesting to note that the alarm is being raised in markets where drug companies make -- and want to continue to make -- fortunes in profits from hormone replacement therapy (HRT). It may be that the large numbers of menopausal women in these places means that large amounts of black cohosh are consumed and therefore there is an incidence of the reported problems. However, knowing how the player work, I suspect there is drug company influence behind these alarms.

So now Canada, following similar recent moves in the UK and Australia, has issued an advisory about a possible link between black cohosh and liver damage. The herb is used widely in relieving menopausal symptoms, mainly because it works and increasingly women want to avaoid the serious risks associated with HRT. The US is notably missing from the growing list of countries which have flagged black cohosh.

Natural Compound Interests Lung Cancer Researchers

Tue, 11 Jul 2006 23:33:26 -0500

Milk thistle (with active compound silibinin) could inhibit lung cancer growth and progression according to research from the University of Colorado published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (Vol. 98, pp. 846-85). Silibinin, a flavanone compound in milk thistle, stopped lung cancer growth and spread in mice.

Lung cancer is the most common form of cancer worldwide with over 1.2m new cases diagnosed annually. It also has a poor survival rate, with approximately 75% of people diagnosed with the condition dying within 12 months.

Milk thistle extract is a widely used dietary supplement. It generally contain 80 per cent silymarin, a flavonolignan mixture which contains approximately 40 per cent silibinin. The research used pure silibinin, not silimarin.

Omega-3s Prove Anti-Depressive in Children

Fri, 23 Jun 2006 20:08:26 -0500

Researchers from Ben Gurion University of the Negev in Israel have reported in the American Journal of Psychiatry (Vol 163, pp. 1098-1100) that omega-3 fatty acids could help children suffering from depression, a condition that “may be more common than previously thought”. Studies reporting positive effects of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation have been increasing recently. Hopefully this reflects genuine progress in scientific discovery and not merely increased funding from related industy sources. The studies have shown benefits for children with learning difficulties, behavioural problems or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Hawthorn Useful as Anti-Hypertensive Adjunctive Therapy

Wed, 14 Jun 2006 22:34:08 -0500

Researchers led by Dr Ann Walker, senior lecturer in human nutrition at Reading University, have found that tablets made from hawthorn flowers and leaves significantly reduce blood pressure readings in patients already taking prescribed medicines for diabetes and hypertension. Significantly, the study showed it was safe to take a natural remedy at the same time as prescribed medication. The study, was published in the latest British Journal of General Practice.

Patients benefited after just four months of treatment with Hawthorn, as widely used herb for cardiovascular support. The anti-hypertensive effect worked in addition to the orthodox drugs being taken by patients.

Probiotics Could Reduce Liver Cancer Incidence

Thu, 01 Jun 2006 18:27:53 -0500

Liver cancer is the sixth most commonly diagnosed cancer in the world, and third most common cause of death from cancer, according to Cancer Research UK. However, it is true to say the cancer remains relatively rare, with 18,500 new cases in the US every year, and about 3,000 in the UK. Researchers led by Hannu Mykkänen from the University of Kuopio claim a daily supplement of probiotics could reduce the risk of liver cancer caused by fungal toxins in foods.

The research, published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Vol. 83, pp. 1199-1203), involved 90 male student volunteers from the Guangdong province where food ingested exposure to aflotoxins is said to be common. A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial design was employed with two parallel groups including randomly assigned volunteers to either the control or intervention groups. The intervention involved two probiotic capsules per day containing a mixture of the strains Lactobacillus rhamnosus LC705 and Propionibacterium freudenreichii ssp. shermanii. The control subjects received a cellulose placebo.

Another Study Documents Herb-Drug Interaction Issue

Wed, 31 May 2006 19:17:51 -0500

A report published in the March issue of Geriatric Nursing found that older women mixing herbal and prescribed medication could be risking their health. The study, at the University of Florida College of Nursing, looked at 58 women over the age of 65 who were taking both herbal and over-the-counter prescription medication. Seventy-four percent of the study's 58 participants were found to have a moderate or high-risk drug interaction.

Controversy over drug-herb interactions has come hand-in-hand with the growing popularity of herbal medicines and related nutraceuticals. The US retail market for dietary supplements was worth $8.3bn in 2005, a growth of six percent over 2004. What makes critics wary is that such supplements do not require pre-market approval in the US.

Nutraceuticals Research Presented at Canadian Medical Conference

Wed, 31 May 2006 05:43:16 -0500

Studies presented at the North American Research Conference on Complementary and Integrative Medicine point to the medical establishment's growing interest in alternative therapies. I personally believe they have few remaining options in the matter. They have tried to deride and to undermine and have attempted to usurp control. With the medical establishment's credibility at quite low levels and countless satisfied consumers of alternative medicine, their attempts have all failed. They are not yet ready to let go of tactics that seek to undermine or control but they increasingly seem to recognize that a more successful future rests in embracing alternative therapies, at least at some level.

UK Prince Charles Supports Alternative Medicine

Sun, 28 May 2006 05:18:33 -0500

In a speech on May 23, 2006 Prince Charles told the World Health Organisation in Geneva that alternative medicine should have a more prominent place in health care. The Prince urged every country to come up with a plan to integrate conventional and alternative medicine into the mainstream. Prince Charles heads his own Foundation for Integrated Health.

A report published last year in the New England Journal of Medicine held that use of herbal medicines in the UK is amongst the lowest in Europe, and few GPs prescribe them. However other European countries have significant alternative medicine users.

Pine Bark Extract Reduces Inflammatory Response

Mon, 22 May 2006 05:45:26 -0500

A daily supplement of the French maritime pine bark, Pycnogenol, could reduce the markers of inflammation by 15 per cent, says a joint German-Slovak study.

Inflammation is a normal protective and tissue repair response. However, chronic inflammation, brought about by an over-expression or lack of control of the normally protective mechanism, can lead to a range of inflammatory related diseases, including cardiovascular disease. The study, published recently in the Journal of Inflammation (Vol. 3), supplemented the diets of seven young, healthy volunteers (five men) for five days with Pycnogenol (200 mg). Blood samples were taken at day one after a 24 hour abstinence from flavonoid consumption, and again at day five.

Cinnamon Extends Virtues to Lowering Blood Pressure

Sun, 21 May 2006 23:03:54 -0500

The commonly used spice cinnamon could lower blood pressure in hypertensive people, researchers report. The new placebo-controlled, double-blind study, published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition (Vol. 25, pp. 144-150), supplemented the sucrose and non-sucrose containing diets of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) with whole cinnamon, a cinnamon extract, or chromium.

After three to four weeks of the experiment, the researchers found that the presence of whole cinnamon or cinnamon extract in the diet reduced the systolic blood pressure of the rats.

Some Foods Protect Against Stomach Cancer

Wed, 17 May 2006 01:59:21 -0500

A new study, part of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), followed 521,457 subjects in 10 European countries with an average age of 52. It has been described as the largest cohort study on fruit and vegetable intake and the incidence of stomach (gastric) cancer in Western countries and the first to look at adenocarcinoma of the oesophagus. The findings indicate that garlic and onions could help protect against stomach cancer but total fruit and vegetable intake has no benefit for this disease.

These findings are quite interesting. They appear in the International Journal of Cancer (Vol. 118, pp. 2559-2566) where lead author, Carlos Gonzalez, states: “We observed no evidence of association with fresh fruit intake or with total vegetable intake, even though a protective effect of total vegetables and onion and garlic was suggested for intestinal [cancer].”

Usual dietary intake over the previous year was measured using a country-specific validated questionnaire. Most countries used a self-administered technique with questionnaires typically containing between 88 and 266 food items.

Natural Antivirals

Thu, 11 May 2006 08:55:11 -0500

Regular readers know that I have no time for the nonsense relating to imagined bird-flu pandemics. However. I regarded the following item of sufficient novelty to be of some interest. You may judge its merits for yourself.

Research suggests certain natural foods may be as effective against virus H5N1 as commercial antivirals.

(PRWEB) May 10, 2006 -- A Biology teacher from Australia, named Stephen Jones, has done extensive research into the H5N1 virus and compiled a list of natural foods that are effective against it and listed others that are detrimental.

The list may come as a surprise to many people since foods such as spirulina and echinacea are listed as detrimental. This strange occurrence is largely due to the fact that the virus is immune to 2 cytokines that the body produces (TNF-a and IL-6). Cytokines are compounds produced by the body’s immune system that attack and remove foreign bodies. The problem is that when a foreign body is immune to certain cytokines, the body sees that its immune response is not working and tries even harder, which can lead to what is called a cytokine storm, where the body becomes flooded with these compounds and they eventually destroy the body itself. Foods such as Echinacea actually stimulate the production of these specific cytokines; hence consuming it is not a good idea if one suspects they may have the virus.

Special Diets Surpass Drugs in Autism Treatment Success

Mon, 08 May 2006 06:02:28 -0500

Public awareness of autism increased exponentially last week, when the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) released a report announcing the prevalence of autism in the United States. In 2003 and 2004, two national health organizations interviewed the parents of approximately 98,000 school-aged children, combined. The results estimated that nearly 1 in every 175 children is living with autism. This equates to approximately 300,000 autistic school-aged children in the U.S. alone. Some researchers believe this number may still prove to be conservative.

To most Americans, this news comes as quite a shock. However, for the hundreds of thousands of parents with autistic children it is a mere affirmation that this condition deserves far more attention than it has been receiving.

The Herbal Approach to Stress-Related Illness – UK Herbal Medicine Awareness Week

Mon, 08 May 2006 01:47:37 -0500

A little stress can be good for you but when it gets excessive, it can ruin lives. For this year’s Herbal Medicine Awareness Week, the U.K.'s herbalists are aiming to help people cope with stress and stress-related illness…the herbal way.

The National Institute of Medical Herbalists – Europe’s most respected professional body representing qualified medical herbalists – will stage a week of events, demonstrations and walks to celebrate Herbal Medicine Awareness Week – 19-26 May 2006.

This year the awareness campaign will focus on the herbal approach to treating stress-related conditions, from insomnia to tension headaches and eczema.