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For Colitis, Boswellia Beats Drugs

People with ulcerative colitis were given either boswellia resin, boswellia extract or the drug sulfasalazine. The herb worked as well or better than the drug. Remission rates were 70% in the resin group compared to only 40% in the drug group and 82% in the extract group versus 75% in the drug group.

• reported in Altern Med Rev 2008;13:165-7

Goji Makes You Feel Good!

Though goji is just becoming popular in the west, it has a long history of use in China, where it is known as lycii berry, wolfberry and Gou Qi Zi. In a recent study, people were given either 120ml of goji juice or a placebo juice. They rated themselves as significantly better after two weeks of drinking goji juice in the following catagories: athletic performance, sleep quality, ease of waking up, fatigue, focus, stress, calmness, happiness, feeling healthy, bowel regularity, improved skin, reduced desire for sweets, menstrual pain and increased sexual activity. Pretty good!

• J Altern Complement Med 2008;14:403-12

Colon Cancer: More Bad News for Trans Fats
As if there weren't enough bad things about all the trans fats in our foods, a new study has found that people who eat the most trans fats are 86% more likely to develop colorectal adenomas than people who eat the least. Colorectal adenomas are polyps that can develop into colon cancer if left untreated.

• Am J Epidemiol 2008;168:289-97

Vitamin C Helps You See

Can Vitamin C help you see? The answer seems to be "yes". A study that followed people over the age of forty-eight for ten years found that the ones who got the most vitamin C from food and supplements had a significantly reduced risk of cataracts compared to the ones who got less. Those who got more of the combines antioxidants vitamins C, E, betacarotene and zinc also had a reduced risk.

• Am J Clin Nutr 2008;87:1899-905

Ginseng Helps Women With Breast Cancer

This huge Chinese study of women with newly diagnosed breast cancer gives reason to start taking your ginseng now. It found that women who regularly used ginseng before getting breast cancer had better overall survival rates and better disease-free survival rates than women who didn't. When the women began taking ginseng upon diagnosis, they also experienced significant improvements in their quality of life.

• Am J Epidemiol 2006;163:643-53

Buttering Up Allergies With Butterbur

This systematic review of studies on herbal solutions for allergies concluded that butterbur is the most researched allergy herb. It also found that it works. Three out of four placebo-controlled studies found it to be effective. The review also found that two studies comparing it to non-sedating antihistamines found it to have similar effects.
   Actually, the herb had equal effects and was even the more desirable treatment because in at least one of the drug comparison studies, the herb had fewer side effects.

• Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 2007;99:483-95

Pharmaceutical Advertising Dollars Bias Medical Journals

Researchers looked at eleven major medical journals, including the Journal of the American Medical Association, Canadian Medical Association Journal, British Medical Journal and the New England Journal of Medicine. They found that the journals who carry the most pharmaceutical ads were significantly more likely to publish articles claiming that natural supplements were unsafe. And the difference was huge. 67% of articles on natural supplements concluded that they were unsafe in the journals with the most pharmaceutical ads compared to only 7% in the ones with the middle amount of pharmaceutical ads and only 4% in those with the fewest. Further evidence of author bias comes from the fact that while only 2% of studies reported raised concerns about natural supplements being unsafe, 8.8% of editorials and reviews and 11% of other articles did.

• BMC Complement Altern Med 2008;8:11

Lifestyle Changes Improve Quality of Life after Cancer

This study surveyed 9,105 survivors of breast, prostate, colorectal, uterine, skin and bladder cancer. It found that survivors of breast, prostate and colorectal cancer who ate at least five servings per day of fruits and vegetables or who did not smoke enjoyed significantly superior quality of life than those who didn't. Survivors of all the cancers who were more physically active had higher quality of life than those who got less exercise.

• J Clin Oncol 2008;26:2198-204

Simple Cinnamon Continues to Show Promise for Diabetes

A small study fed 300 grams of rice pudding either with or without 6 grams of cinnamon to fourteen people. Those who got the cinnamon had significantly lower blood glucose concentration than those who didn't. Earlier research has also found that cinnamon lowers glucose levels while also lowering the harmful LDL cholesterol and triglycerides (Diabetes Care 2003).

• Am J Clin Nutr 2007;85:1552-6

Eat More Berries for a Healthier Heart

It is not new news that berries are good for you. But this new study sheds some light on at least one of the ways they are. Of seventy-two people with risk factors for heart disease half ate berries equaling 100 grams plus one small glass of berry juice each day. Amongst those with the highest blood pressure, systolic blood pressure dropped 7.3mm Hg in the berry group compared to only a .2 drop in the control group. The berries also inhibited platelets, reducing the risk of blood clots. So berries help keep circulation healthy.

• Am J Clin Nutr 2008;87:323-31

Wheat Grass: Out of the Shadows

Wheat grass is one of the first healthy, natural things you hear about, but you never hear anything solid or scientific about it. But now wheat grass steps out into the spotlight. A new study has found that it is an incredible source of antioxidants. Better, according to this study, even than spirulina. In this thirty day study that compared the super green foods wheat grass and spirulina, wheat grass came out on top, significantly reducing markers of free radical damage and significantly increasing plasma total antioxidant status. So it's not just folk lore, science says think of wheat grass when you're thinking of supplementing antioxidants.

• J Altern complement Med 2007;13:789-91 (Letter to Editor)

Despite All the Scare Mongering and Negative Media, the Actual Chance of an Herb-Drug Interaction is Very Low

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic conducted a massive survey to see how many of the potential herb-drug interactions that are listed actually occur. They also looked at drug interactions with amino acids, enzymes, organ tissues, glandular extracts and metabolites. But despite the frequency of the warnings that scare people of herbs, not one person in the study actually experienced serious harm from any of the potential interactions. Not one actual interaction occurred, meaning that the potential for harm is, actually, very low.

• American Journal of Medicine 2008;121:207-11

Mediterranean Diet Reduces Your Risk of Cancer and Heart Disease

The Mediterranean Diet is rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts and fish and low in red meat and dairy. When researchers followed over 380,000 people for five years, they found that those who stuck most closely to the diet were protected against both cancer and heart disease. Women were 12% less likely to die from cancer during the study and 20% less likely to die from heart disease. Men received even more protection. They were 17% less likely to die from cancer and 22% less likely to die from heart disease.

• Arch Intern Med 2007;167:2461-8

Pycnegenol: A New Treatment for Menopause

As the latest studies continue to add cancer scares to using hormones to treat the symptoms of menopause, a new natural treatment may be emerging. This novel study gave 100mg of pycnogenol or a placebo to 155 women for three and a half years. The pycnogenol significantly improved all the symptoms of menopause, while the improvement by the placebo was not significant. The pycnogenol managed to reduce both the frequency and the severity of the symptoms. And, as an added bonus, it also improved antioxidant status and the ratio of the good HDL cholesterol to the bad LDL cholesterol.

• Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica 2007;86:978-85

Devil's Claw Eases Back Pain and Osteoarthritic Pain

People suffering from lower back pain or from osteoarthritis were given the herb devil's claw for 54 weeks to see what effect it had on their pain. Between the first week and the last week, the number of people experiencing no pain increased from just 3% to 31%, the number of people suffering mild pain jumped from 22% to 36%, the number of people in moderate pain declined from 45% to only 21%, the number of people who were in severe pain went down from 25% to only 11%, and the number of people suffering excruciating pain went down to just 1% from 5%. Overall, 75% of the people given devil's claw responded.

• Phytomed 2007;14:371-6

Warding Off More than Just Vampires: Eat More Garlic and Onions

Benign prostatic hyperplasia, or enlargement of the prostate, will affect half off all men in their lifetime. But a huge new study of diet suggests that it may not have to.

The study found that men who eat onions four or more times a week have an unbelievable 59% lower chance of developing benign prostatic hyperplasia. It also found that men who eat the most garlic have a 28% lower risk compared to men who eat the least.

• Urology 2007;70:672-6

Vitamin D: Doing Battle With Cancer Again

Vitamin D just keeps proving itself against cancer. This time, researchers compared the blood levels of vitamin D in 1,394 postmenopausal women with breast cancer with the levels in 1,365 postmenopausal without. They found that higher levels of vitamin D were associated with a lower risk of breast cancer.

• Carcinogenesis 2007;e-pub ahead of print

Diet Helps Prevent Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic cancer is one of the cancers with the poorest prognosis. Since it is one of the hardest cancers to treat, prevention becomes even more important.

This new study shows that increasing the amount of fiber in your diet can help prevent pancreatic cancer. When researchers compared the diets of people with pancreatic cancer with the diets of people without, they found that those who got the most fiber in their diet had an impressive 35-48% lower risk of pancreatic cancer than those who got the least.

So there's one more huge reason to move towards a high fiber diet!

• Am J Epidemiol 2007;166:1174-85

Contrary to Claims: Herb Research is of a Better Quality Than Drug Research

Natural medicine’s critics used to say--and some who clearly don’t look at the literature still do--that there was no scientific research behind its claims. With the explosion of studies in the past several years, that criticism is no longer available. So the critics said that the research there was was of a lower quality than the research on drugs. So researchers put that criticism to the test . . . and now it’s no longer available either. They matched herb studies with drug studies for the same conditions and found that 21% of the herb studies were of high quality methodology while only 5% of the drug studies were. They concluded that “ . . . the quality of trials of . . . herbal medicine is on average superior to trials of conventional medicine”

• Journal of Clinical Epidemiology 2007;60:787-94

Helping People Who Suffer from Dementia with Lavender Essential Oil

Most people who suffer from dementia also experience feeling of agitation that interfere with daily activities and social interactions.

But when seventy people with dementia--forty-four of them with Alzheimer's--and significant agitation were given either lavender essential oil or a placebo oil in diffusers on either side of their pillow while they were sleeping, the agitation decreased significantly in the lavender group, but not at all in the placebo group.

• Int J Geriatr Psychiatry 2007;22:405-10

Antioxidants Keep Elderly People Mentally Strong

3,831 elderly people had their cognitive abilities assessed at the start and then three more times over a seven year study. The people who had a higher intake of vitamin C either alone or combined with vitamin E had higher cognitive scores at the beginning of the study. Over the course of the seven years, the ones who got less vitamin C, vitamin E and carotene had a greater decline in cognition than the ones who got more. So antioxidants may delay cognitive decline in old age.

• J Nutr Health Aging 2007;11:2230-237

Curcumin Holds Great Promise For Cancer

Of all the natural supplements for cancer, curcumin, the active ingredient in the herb turmeric, is one of the most exciting.

A recent review of curcumin in cancer therapy has concluded that curcumin has anti-cancer effects at several stages of cancer formation: carcinogenesis (formation), cell proliferation (growth), apoptosis (safe death specifically of cancer cells), metastasis (spread) and angigenesis (the formation of blood vessels by the tumour that allow it to feed itself and grow).

It also concluded that curcumin increases cancer cell's sensitivity to chemotherapy and radiation while protecting the healthy cells. In other words, it increases the effectiveness of conventional treatment while protecting from its side effects.

The article concluded that "[E]xhaustive research and numerous investigations . . . suggest that curcumin has great potential in the prevention and cure of cancer".

• Curr Probl Cancer 2007;31:243-305

Eating Whole Grain Keeps Blood Pressure Perfect

When researchers followed almost 29,000 healthy women who were forty-five years old or more for ten years, they found that the more whole grains you eat, the less high blood pressure there was. Women who ate more than four servings of whole grains a day were 23% less likely to get high blood pressure than women who ate less than half a serving a day.

• Am J Clin Nutr 2007;86:472-9

Cola Causes Kidney Disease

In addition to all of its other draw backs, it now seems that drinking cola causes kidney disease.

When 465 people with kidney disease were compared to 467 people without, it was discovered that the people with kidney disease drank more cola. In fact, drinking two or more colas a day--not uncommon in our culture--actually doubled the risk of chronic kidney disease. And it made no difference whether the cola was regular or artificially sweetened.

• Epidemiology 2007;18:501-6

Cancer Myth-Information

People undergoing cancer treatment are often told that they can’t take antioxidants during chemotherapy. But the claim is based on theory and not on actual studies.
A just completed review of 280 studies, including 50 human trials, found that every one of them demonstrated that antioxidants do not interfere with chemotherapy or radiation. In fact, they helped! Antioxidants decrease adverse effects, protect healthy cells, increase tumour killing and, in some studies, increase survival. Eight human studies on vitamin A all found no interference with chemo or radiation, but increased survival and response rates and less adverse effects. Two on betacarotene found no interference with chemo or radiation, but decreased adverse events, and ten on vitamin E found no interference, but improved response and reduced adverse effects.

• Altern Ther 2007;13:22-8

Ginkgo Biloba Helps More than Just Memory in Dementia

As if the cognitive decline is not cruel enough, people with dementia often suffer from psychological problems as well. Depression, apathy or agitation and aggression each occur in about a third of people with dementia.

Ginkgo is the best treatment for dementia, so researchers decided to see if the herb could help with the psychological problems too. And it did.

The results of this double-blind study of 400 people with dementia and psychological symptoms found that while the placebo group had their psychological symptoms stay the same or worsen, the Ginkgo group had theirs improve. Cognitive function improved in 65.7% of them, but only in 6.1% of those using the placebo. That's not new news. The new news is that while caregiver distress caused by the patient's psychological symptoms worsened by 4% in the placebo group, it decreased by 35% in the Ginkgo group.

• Arzneim Forsch Drug Res 2007;57:4-11

Pregnant Women Need More Vitamin D

Lately, all kinds of research is showing the benefit of higher doses of vitamin D than used to be recommended. This latest study adds pregnant women to the list of people who could benefit from more vitamin D: or rather, their babies could.

This huge study of 1,200 pairs of mothers and children found that the mothers who got the most vitamin D during pregnancy (724IU) had a 61% lower risk of having a child with recurrent wheezing than the mothers who got the least (356IU).

Another recent study (J Nutr 2007;137:447-52) found that despite taking prenatal mutivitamins, many women still gave birth to babies with vitamin D deficiencies, suggesting again the need for higher doses. They recommend pregnant women get 1,000IU of D

• Am J Clin Nutr 2007;85:788-95

Lower Dose of St. John's Wort Effective Against Major Depression

At a dose of 900mg a day, St. John's wort has consistently been shown to equal or better antidepressant drugs. Several studies in the last couple of years have shown that a smaller dose of 500mg may work just as well for mild to moderate depression, making it easier and cheaper to benefit from this great herb.

And now another study has added to the evidence. This double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 332 people with mild to moderate major depression compared the low dose of 600mg of St. John's wort to 1,200mg and to a placebo. The two doses of the herb were equally effective and both were significantly superior to the placebo. 70% of the people given the low dose responded and 61% of those given the high dose responded while only 32% of the placebo group did. As far as complete remission goes, the numbers were just as impressive: 33% of the low dose group, 40% of the high dose group and only 15% of the placebo group. The doses of St. John's wort were both safe and were equally effective.

Uterine fibroids are the leading cause of hysterectomy. But new research shows that getting more exercise can reduce your risk of getting uterine fibroids. The study looked at exercise levels in 1,189 women between thirty-five and forty-nine years of age. Women who did vigorous exercise for at least four hours a week were less likely to develop uterine fibroids than women who were less active. The most active women were an incredible 39% less likely to develop uterine fibroids than the women who were least active.

• Am J Epidemiol 2007;165:157-63

Make Your Juice Healthier: The Picture is Getting Cloudier

Most juices that we buy are perfectly clear because they have had the fiber and pulp removed. But a new study shows that, although these juices are healthy, more natural juices that are more cloudy because they retain their pulp are even healthier.

This study compared clear apple juice without pulp to cloudy apple juice with pulp. Both were rich in health promoting antioxidants, but the cloudy juice was richer. How much richer? The juice made from one variety of apples was 50% richer and the juice from another variety 80% richer in antioxidant flavonoids. Not surprisingly, then, the cloudy juices also had more antioxidant activity.

• J Sci Food Agric DOI:10.1002/jsfa.2707

Review of Studies Reveals Power of Sugar Cane Wax Extract over Cholesterol

A review of twenty-nine double-blind, placebo-controlled studies on sugar cane wax extract reveals just how powerful this amazing nutrient is for people with cholesterol problems. The herb was able to drop the harmful LDL cholesterol by an average of 23.7% compared to only .1% on a placebo. The sugar cane wax extract was also better than the placebo at dropping total cholesterol, raising the heart helpful HDL cholesterol and lowering the ratio of LDL to HDL.

Cola contains caffeine and phosphoric acid, both of which have been shown to leach calcium out of the body. This incredibly long study followed people's cola drinking habits for thirty years and found that women who drink cola on a daily basis have significantly lower bone mineral density than women who only drink cola once a month. The results were the same for diet cola.

This amazing study reveals a cheap, easy and delicious way to prevent Alzheimer's disease. Incredibly, the study found that simply drinking three glasses of fruit or vegetable juice a week reduces your chances of getting Alzheimer's by 76% compared to people who drink juice less than once a week!

Enlarged prostate affects 50% of all men in the second half of their lives. When 558 men with benign prostatic hyperplasia (enlarged prostate) were given either stinging nettle or a placebo for six months in a double-blind study, 81% improved on the nettle compared to only 16% on the placebo. Symptom scores went down from 19.8 to 11.8 in the herb group, but from 19.2 to only 17.7 in the placebo group. The prostate glands also shrunk modestly in the nettle group (40.1cc to 36.3cc) but not at all in the placebo group.

Sixty-five diabetics who were being treated by diet or withoral medications, but not with insulin were given either a cinnamon extract or a placebo. The extract was the equivalent of taking 3g of cinnamon a day. The study lasted four months. Fasting blood glucose levels went down by 10% in the cinnamon group but not at all in the placebo group. An earlier study found that cinnamon significantly lowered glucose levels as well as total cholesterol, harmful LDL cholesterol and triglycerides (Diabetes Care 2003).

Though little known in North America, a South African herb called Pelargonium sidoides has been extensively studied for acute bronchitis and is commonly used in Germany. The Zulus have long used it to treat coughs, upper respiratory infections and tuberculosis. Recently, a double-blind study gave either Pelargonium sidoides or a placebo to 124 people suffering from acute bronchitis. Bronchitis scores improved significantly more in the herb group than in the placebo group. 90.6% of people given the herb had a rapid recovery compared to 41.7% in the placebo group. In the herb group, 84.4% had a major improvement or a complete recovery compared to only 30% in the placebo group. The herb was as safe as the placebo. In a previous double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 468 people with acute bronchitis, Pelargonium sidoides was once again found to be significantly better than a placebo (Phytomedicine 2003;10(suppl 4):7-17). Though this herb is little known here, it is available in North America.

Over the years, the advantages of breast feeding over formula feeding have continued to pile up. And here's a new one to add to the pile. For the first time, breast feeding has been compared to formula feeding for their antioxidant power. The study compared fifty-four infants between the ages of three and six months. The antioxidant capacity of the blood was significantly higher in the breast fed babies. This study shows that breast feeding is a significantly better source of antioxidants, contributing to better protection against disease.

Here's a simple, tasty way to prevent heart disease. When postmenopausal women were given 50g (that's about 3 tablespoons) of ground toasted sesame seeds a day for five weeks, their total cholesterol went down by 5% and their levels of harmful LDL cholesterol went down by 10%. These levels did not change at all in a group of women given a placebo powder. The women in the sesame group also had more vitamin E in their blood and slower oxidation of LDL cholesterol, and important factor in preventing heart disease.

People with diabetes are twice as likely to develop high blood pressure. This new study found that the great heart herb, hawthorn, is able to lower blood pressure in diabetics even if they are already on blood pressure meds. In this study, 79 diabetics, most of whom were on blood pressure meds, were given either 1,200mg of hawthorn extract standardized for 2.2% flavonoids or a placebo. The hawthorn group had a significant reduction in blood pressure compared to the placebo group.

Though this herb has been used for centuries in the Ayurvedic tradition of India, it is one of those herbs that has never gained the respect it deserves in the west. Used for high blood pressure, asthma, allergies, eczema, psoriasis and glaucoma, research now points to it as a weight loss herb. Now the west will notice! In this double-blind, placebo-controlled study, thirty overweight men were given either 250mg of Coleus forskohlii, standardized for 10% forskolin, or a placebo twice a day. The Coleus forskohlii group had a significant decrease in body fat and a significant increase in bone mass.

In this month's issue of The Natural Path there is a feature on treating hay fever naturally that features, among other treatments, the herb butterbur. Now a new study adds to the evidence. 186 people were given either a placebo, low dose butterbur or high dose butterbur. When it came to the itching, sneezing, runny nose and nasal congestion of hay fever, both doses of the herb were significantly better than the placebo. And the high dose was significantly better than the low dose.

This study is remarkable because the fifty-seven people in it actually had advanced coronary artery disease, including high triglyceride levels that had not responded to statin medication. But they hadn't tried grapefruit yet! In addition to a low fat, high fruit and vegetable diet, people in the study ate either one red grapefruit, one yellow grapefruit or no grapefruit each day. People in both grapefruit groups had significant decreases in total cholesterol and in the dangerous LDL cholesterol. What's more, even though statins couldn't lower their triglyceride levels, the red grapefruit did. Red grapefruit was also superior to yellow grapefruit because it produced a greater increase in antioxidant levels.

Low dose daily aspirin is a frequent prescription for the prevention of heart attack and stroke. While it is very well known that aspirin causes ulcers, a new study shows that aspirin causes even more ulcers than thought. When 187 people on low dose aspirin to prevent heart attack and stroke were examined, there was an ulcer rate of an astounding 28%. Natural alternatives to aspirin for preventing heart attack and stroke include sugar cane wax extract, bromelain, Ginkgo biloba, garlic, omega 3 essential fatty acids and vitamin E.

Omeprazole (Prilosec) is an ulcer medication that treats the symptoms (but not the cause) of ulcers by inhibiting the production of hydrochloric acid in the stomach. Hydrochloric acid is necessary for the absorption of calcium. 18 people were given either Prilosec or a placebo for one week. They were also given a multivitamin and additional calcium. The Prilosec led to a 41% decrease in calcium absorption compared to the placebo. Hydrochloric acid in the stomach is also necessary for the absorption of many other nutrients and for the prevention of bacteria and candida.

Canadian research has once again found that giving antibiotics to children in the very early years increases the risk that they will get asthma. This meta-analysis looked at eight studies in which antibiotics were given in the first year of life. It included 12,082 kids. It found that children were twice as likely to develop asthma when they had received at least one prescription of antibiotics. That's double the risk from one round. Each additional round of antibiotics increased the risk by another 16%. (3) This study is not the first to find this serious result. As we report in the current issue of The Natural Path (Vol.9, No.7), earlier research has also found that giving antibiotics to children increases the risk of asthma. One study found that the risk was especially great when the antibiotics were given in the first year (Clin Exp Allergy 1999), while the other found that the risk increased when antibiotics were given in the first two years (Thorax 1998). For natural alternatives to antibiotics, see The Natural Path Vol.7, No.7.

A review of three studies has found that acupuncture is effective at relieving the pain of labour. In the first study, women who received acupuncture requested significantly less pain relieving medical intervention, including Demerol and epidurals. In the second, women receiving acupuncture also needed significantly fewer epidurals as well as significantly less non-medical pain intervention. In the third study, acupuncture was compared to placebo acupuncture, in which needles were inserted in non-acupuncture points. The acupuncture group experienced significantly less pain during labour. There were no adverse effects from acupuncture in any of the three studies. Given the potential side effects of drugs and epidurals and the efficacy and safety of acupuncture, acupuncture may be an important aid to women giving birth.

This study tested a whole pile of vegetables and spices to determine their antioxidant content. Among the vegetables, some of the richest in antioxidants were broccoli, cabbage, artichoke, beets, red chili, yellow pepper and red chicory. When the vegetables were steamed, they retained 80% of their antioxidant value, but when they were boiled, they retained only 30%. Among the herbs, sage, marjoram, cumin, ginger, rosemary and thyme were not only very high in antioxidants, but much higher than vegetables. When herbs were added to a salad, they dramatically increased the antioxidant value of the salad. Lemon balm and marjoram increased the antioxidant value of a salad by 150-200% when they were added. So eating vegetables raw or steamed and adding your favourite herbs to your salad are great ways of increasing your antioxidant protection.