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THE CONFUSING CHALLENGE WE ALL FACE ....
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Most information available to consumers is anything but reliable. Why am I making this "rash" statement? Because it's true. It's probable you, like most consumers, are bewildered by the wildly varying reports available on health-related issues. One article will say: "Drugs are safe; herbs are dangerous." Next you may read, "If it's "natural" it's safe. You should NEVER take any drugs." [A tip: Ask yourself whose axe is being ground.]
The truth lies somewhere in the middle. Often, the right pharmaceutical can be like an answer to a prayer. For example, when I had a kidney stone attack I wasn't demanding that I be brought an herb right away-- I was begging for morphine. [Blessedly, I got some very quickly.]
On the other hand, I propose that if you want to use herbals for health reasons, it's advisable to take the responsibility to do some homework and make sure you know what you're doing. Herbs are used as real medicines. They need to be treated as such even though they are generally safer and have far less side effects than pharmaceutical drugs, especially if they are actually natural [non-standardized].
Well, then, where DO you go to find authentic facts?
One good source is The Herb Research Foundation [www.herbs.org]. They are universally respected and a good place to find valid study reports and developments you need to know.
Science-based magazines published by The Herb Research Foundation and its sister organization, the American Botanical Council: HerbalGram is a peer-reviewed journal featuring research reviews, legal and regulatory updates, and in-depth articles on medicinal plants. HerbalGram has a scientific focus that makes it a must for serious herb students and those in the herb business. Co-published by the Herb Research Foundation and the American Botanical Council, HerbalGram comes out four times a year and contains no product advertising. Herbs for Health, published by Interweave Press six times a year, offers basic, practical information on using medicinal herbs. It presents articles, resources, recipes and gardening tips that are especially appreciated by newcomers to the world of herbs.
Another is Pubmed, the Federal Government's website for public medicine information [www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query]. Here at your fingertips is the National Library of Medicine with its millions of research documents. You can search for pretty much anything you choose.
For those with the curiosity and nature of an explorer, check out the following website -- it's a storehouse of searchable information compiled by Dr. James A. Duke, author of the famous "Green Pharmacy", the single best [in my studied opinion] herb reference book on the market. And heaven knows, there are a lot out there. [www.ars-grin.gov/duke]
Books: For anyone desiring to know more about common [and some not so common] herbs and their use, the book touted above [The Green Pharmacy, by Dr. James A. Duke] can not be beat. It's simple, handy to consult, and based on science. Fact is, any book Jim Duke has published is going to be more reliable when it comes to research-based information than most on the market. We often have one or more titles on hand; just ask when you order. [Dr. Duke worked with the USDA for around 30 years and was fondly called "The Maverick Herbalist" of the USDA. In his "retirement" he travels the world teaching all about medicinal plants to people fortunate enough to hear him speak. ]
And of course, here at The Well, LLC,
you can count on obtaining factual information.
We'll post articles here for you to check out -- see link below photograph, top of page;
plus you can email us and ask for researched material on the health issues you specify.
Here are articles you can browse.
Acetyl-L-carnitine improves pain, nerve regeneration, and vibratory perception in patients with chronic diabetic neuropathy: an analysis of two randomized placebo-controlled trials.
Sima AA, Calvani M, Mehra M, Amato A; Acetyl-L-Carnitine Study Group.
Department of Pathology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Michigan 48201, USA. asima@med.wayne.edu
OBJECTIVE: We evaluated frozen databases from two 52-week randomized placebo-controlled clinical diabetic neuropathy trials testing two doses of acetyl-L-carnitine (ALC): 500 and 1,000 mg/day t.i.d. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Intention-to-treat patients amounted to 1,257 or 93% of enrolled patients. Efficacy end points were sural nerve morphometry, nerve conduction velocities, vibration perception thresholds, clinical symptom scores, and a visual analogue scale for most bothersome symptom, most notably pain. The two studies were evaluated separately and combined. RESULTS: Data showed significant improvements in sural nerve fiber numbers and regenerating nerve fiber clusters. Nerve conduction velocities and amplitudes did not improve, whereas vibration perception improved in both studies. Pain as the most bothersome symptom showed significant improvement in one study and in the combined cohort taking 1,000 mg ALC. CONCLUSIONS: These studies demonstrate that ALC treatment is efficacious in alleviating symptoms, particularly pain, and improves nerve fiber regeneration and vibration perception in patients with established diabetic neuropathy.
Publication Types:
- Clinical Trial
- Multicenter Study
- Randomized Controlled Trial
PMID: 15616239 [PubMed
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STUDY: CHOLESTEROL AND CINNAMON
Cinnamate supplementation enhances hepatic lipid metabolism and antioxidant defense systems in high cholesterol-fed rats.
Lee JS, Jeon SM, Park EM, Huh TL, Kwon OS, Lee MK, Choi MS.
Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Korea.
This study investigated the effect of cinnamate, a phenolic compound found in cinnamon bark and other plant materials, on lipid metabolism and antioxidant enzyme activities in rats fed a high cholesterol diet. Three groups of rats were given a diet containing 1 g of cholesterol/kg for 6 weeks. The control group only received the high cholesterol diet, whereas the other two groups received a diet supplemented with lovastatin or cinnamate (0.1 g/100 g of diet). The plasma high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol levels were significantly higher in the cinnamate group than in either the control or lovastatin groups, and the atherogenic index was significantly lower in rats with cinnamate supplementation. Supplementation with cinnamate resulted in significantly lower hepatic cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Accumulation of hepatic lipid droplets was higher in the control group than in the rats supplemented with either cinnamate or lovastatin. Hepatic 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl CoA (HMG-CoA) reductase activity was significantly lower in the cinnamate group compared with the other groups, whereas only acyl-CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase activity was significantly lower in the lovastatin group compared with the control group. Cinnamate supplementation resulted in higher catalase and glutathione peroxidase activities, while hepatic thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances were significantly lower in both the cinnamate and lovastatin groups. The fecal acidic sterol was higher in the lovastatin group than in the control or cinnamate groups. These results suggest that dietary cinnamate inhibits hepatic HMG-CoA reductase activity, resulting in lower hepatic cholesterol content, and suppresses lipid peroxidation via enhancement of hepatic antioxidant enzyme activities.
PMID: 14585184 [PubMed
*NOTE: You don't need to waste your money on expensive products which try to take advantage of this discovery. One teaspoon daily of plain cinnamon powder is enough to provide a therapeutic dosage. Stir it into oatmeal, yogurt, a smoothie. Try our cinnamon [see "Spices & Such" page] -- it's much fresher and less expensive than off the grocery shelf.
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*Tip: Keep it simple-- just use fresh, inexpensive cinnamon powder. See "Spices & Such"
Cinnamon improves glucose and lipids of people with type 2 diabetes.
Khan A, Safdar M, Ali Khan MM, Khattak KN, Anderson RA.
Department of Human Nutrition, NWFP Agricultural University, Peshawar, Pakistan.
OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine whether cinnamon improves blood glucose, triglyceride, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and LDL cholesterol levels in people with type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: A total of 60 people with type 2 diabetes, 30 men and 30 women aged 52.2 +/- 6.32 years, were divided randomly into six groups. Groups 1, 2, and 3 consumed 1, 3, or 6 g of cinnamon daily, respectively, and groups 4, 5, and 6 were given placebo capsules corresponding to the number of capsules consumed for the three levels of cinnamon. The cinnamon was consumed for 40 days followed by a 20-day washout period. RESULTS: After 40 days, all three levels of cinnamon reduced the mean fasting serum glucose (18-29%), triglyceride (23-30%), LDL cholesterol (7-27%), and total cholesterol (12-26%) levels; no significant changes were noted in the placebo groups. Changes in HDL cholesterol were not significant. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study demonstrate that intake of 1, 3, or 6 g of cinnamon per day reduces serum glucose, triglyceride, LDL cholesterol, and total cholesterol in people with type 2 diabetes and suggest that the inclusion of cinnamon in the diet of people with type 2 diabetes will reduce risk factors associated with diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
Publication Types:
- Clinical Trial
- Randomized Controlled Trial
PMID: 14633804 [PubMed
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**You'll find lots of flax seed studies on pubmed: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query
*NOTE: Though we sell flaxseed oil in bottles and capsules in our store, we feel that using flaxseed MEAL is the better choice, for it's unrefined and provides great fiber for the system. A couple of nutty tasting tablespoons daily, in hot cereal or a smoothie, or sprinkled over salad, is all you need.
Flaxseed improves lipid profile without altering biomarkers of bone metabolism in postmenopausal women.
Lucas EA, Wild RD, Hammond LJ, Khalil DA, Juma S, Daggy BP, Stoecker BJ, Arjmandi BH.
Department of Nutritional Sciences, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma 74078, USA.
The risk of cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis drastically increases at the onset of menopause. Phytoestrogens have been suggested to inhibit bone loss and protect the cardiovascular system, in part by improving lipid profiles. The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of flaxseed, a rich source of the phytoestrogens called lignans, on lipid metabolism and biomarkers of bone turnover in postmenopausal women. Postmenopausal women who were not on hormone replacement therapy were assigned to one of two treatment groups in a double-blind randomized study. Women were asked to consume 40 g of either ground flaxseed or wheat-based comparative control regimen daily for 3 months. In addition, all subjects received 1,000 mg calcium and 400 IU vitamin D daily. Flaxseed supplementation lowered (P < 0.05) both serum total cholesterol and non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol by 6%, whereas the comparative control regimen had no such effect. Flaxseed regimen reduced serum levels of both low-density- and high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol by 4.7% and triglyceride by 12.8%, albeit not statistically significant. Serum apolipoprotein A-1 and apolipoprotein B concentrations were significantly (P < 0.005) reduced by 6 and 7.5%, respectively, by the flaxseed regimen. Markers of bone formation and resorption were not affected by either of the treatments. The findings of this study indicate that flaxseed supplementation improves lipid profiles but has no effect on biomarkers of bone metabolism in postmenopausal women.
Publication Types:
- Clinical Trial
- Randomized Controlled Trial
PMID: 11932276 [PubMed
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Dietary flax seed in prevention of hypercholesterolemic atherosclerosis.
Prasad K.
Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada.
Oxygen free radicals (OFRs) have been implicated in the development of hypercholesterolemic atherosclerosis. Flax seed is the richest source of omega-3 fatty acid and lignans. omega-3 Fatty acid suppresses the production of interleukin-1 (IL-1), tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and leukotriene B4 (LTB4), and of OFRs by polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNLs) and monocytes. Lignans possess anti-platelet activating factor (PAF) activity and are antioxidant. PAF, IL-1, TNF and LTB4 are known to stimulate PMNLs to produce OFRs. Flaxseed would, therefore, reduce the levels of OFRs and hence would prevent the development of hypercholesterolemic atherosclerosis. The effects of dietary flax seed on a high cholesterol diet-induced atherosclerosis, lipid profile and OFR-producing activity of PMNLs (PMNL-CL) were investigated in rabbits. The rabbits were divided into 4 groups: group I, control; group II, flax seed diet (7.5 g/kg daily, orally); group III, 1% cholesterol diet; and group IV, same as group III but received flax seed (7.5 g/kg daily, orally). Blood samples were collected before and after 4 and 8 weeks on their respective diets for biochemical measurements and aortae were removed at the end of 8 weeks for estimation of atherosclerotic changes. The high cholesterol diet increased the serum level of total cholesterol (TC) and PMNL-CL without altering the levels of serum triglycerides (TG). These changes were associated with a marked development of atherosclerosis in the aorta. Flax seed reduced the development of aortic atherosclerosis by 46% and reduced the PMNL-CL without significantly lowering the serum cholesterol. Flax seed in normocholesterolemic rabbits increased serum total cholesterol and decreased PMNL-CL without significantly affecting the serum TG. Modest dietary flax seed supplementation is effective in reducing hypercholesterolemic atherosclerosis markedly without lowering serum cholesterol. Its effectiveness against hypercholesterolemic atherosclerosis could be due to suppression of enhanced production of OFRs by PMNLs in hypercholesterolemia. Dietary flax seed supplementation could, therefore, prevent hypercholesterolemia-related heart attack and strokes.
PMID: 9247361 [PubMed
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The cardioprotective and antiadrenergic activity of an extract of Rhodiola rosea in stress
Maslova LV, Kondrat'ev BIu, Maslov LN, Lishmanov IuB.
The course of administration of Rhodiola rosea extract was studied for effects on the pattern of stress-induced cardiac damage which was assessed by 99mTc-pyrophosphate accumulation in the heart. Rhodiola rosea was found to prevent stress-induced cardiac damage. Simultaneously, myocardial catecholamines and cAMP levels were measured. Rhodiola rosea was ascertained to prevent both stress-induced catecholamine release and higher cAMP levels in the myocardium. Moreover, the adaptogen prevented lower adrenal catecholamines during stress. The findings suggest that the antistressor and cardioprotective effects of Rhodiola rosea are associated with limited adrenergic effect on the heart.
PMID: 7756969 [PubMed
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STUDY: Rhodiola rosea protects the liver.
Hepatoprotective properties of liquid extract of Rhodiola rosea]
Iaremii IN, Grigor'eva NF.
Medical Chemistry Department, Bukovinian State Medical Academy, ul. Bogomol'tsa 2, Chernovtsy 58000, Ukraine.
The effect of a liquid extract from Rhodiola rosea on the functional state of rat liver with experimental toxic hepatitis was studied. The extract produces a hepatoprotective effect, as manifested by normalized activity of aspartate aminotransferase and alkaline phosphatase, normalized content of medium-molecular-weight peptides, urea, and bilirubin, and reduced activity of alanine aminotransferase and glutathione-S-transferase in the blood plasma of rats with the toxic hepatitis model.
PMID: 12596536 [PubMed
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You've heard about green tea's health benefits. Read the details here, reprinted from an article in Tea A Magazine.
The Many Health Benefits of Tea
ACCORDING TO A SEATTLE market-research firm, the Sage Group, in the five years between 1990 and 1995, tea sales in America quadrupled to four billion dollars a year. Tea is a drink whose time has come — again.
In the American colonies, tea was the most popular beverage until England's efforts to monopolize the tea trade, undercut American tradesmen, and capitalize on tea taxes turned the colonists against it. Besides throwing British tea into the Boston Harbor, the Americans expressed their rebellion by switching to a thicker, more bitter source of caffeine: coffee. But the Tea Tax no longer exists, and there are good reasons to switch back — not political this time, but scientific.
For years, studies in China and Japan have shown that the folklore about tea does contain some truth — it does promote longer life. In lung-cancer experiments with rats, the rats drinking green tea had only half the cancer rate as the non-tea-drinking rats. In other animal experiments, green tea was found to protect against colon cancer, skin cancer, stomach cancer, and breast cancer.
Japanese smokers have only half the lung cancer rate as American smokers. In areas of Japan where the most tea is drunk, the rate of stomach cancer (a big killer in Japan) is the lowest. In a study of 6000 Japanese women, those who drank five cups or more of green tea per day cut their risk of strokes by 50%.
GREEN EAST VERSUS BLACK WEST
In the West, we've been slow to study tea because, even with the increase in the popularity of tea, merchants still sell four times as much coffee. In addition, the studies emanating from Asia are about green tea, and Westerners customarily drink black tea.
Does black tea have the same health-promoting effect? Zhi-Yuan Wang of Rutgers University wanted to find out. He gave mice some carcinogens that normally cause skin tumors. A fourth of his mice were given green tea, a fourth got black tea, another fourth got decaffeinated black, and the last fourth got plain water. Sure enough, the green-tea-drinking mice developed 70% fewer tumors than the water drinkers. SEVENTY PERCENT FEWER! These are the kinds of findings that have awakened so much interest in tea. The numbers are big.
There are a lot of things people can do to improve their health, but usually the effect of any one of them is relatively small. Tea is different. For something so easy and pleasant to do, it is startling how great a difference it can make. The good news for us black tea lovers is the the black-tea-drinking mice also had 70% fewer tumors than the water drinkers. The decaf drinkers had 60% fewer tumors — still a good showing.
RESEARCH ACCELERATION
Many studies are now being done in the West. Not only does tea reduce the rate of the cancers already mentioned, but it lowers the incidence of esophageal and liver cancers, too — also by dramatic amounts. And there is even more good news: tea lowers the risk of heart disease.
The two deadliest diseases for Americans are cancer and heart disease, and here is one substance — a substance that is easily available, inexpensive, and contains no calories — that lowers the incidence of both, and by a large margin!
A fifteen-year study in the Netherlands on 552 Dutch men aged 50-69 found that those who drank more than two cups of (in this case, black) tea daily were 50% less likely to have a fatal heart attack. The same study found that those who drank five cups of tea a day were 69% less likely to suffer a stroke than those men who only drank half as much tea.
In a study at the University of Southern California School of Medicine, elderly people who drank more than two cups of tea per day and had done so for a long time had a 63% lower risk of pancreatic cancer than people who had drunk less than a cup per day. The Norwegian government did a large-scale study (20,000 people) and found that the overall death rate was lower for those who drank at least one cup of tea per day.
Studies in both Norway and Israel have found that tea drinkers have lower blood cholesterol. This partially explains the reduced risk of heart disease and stroke, but it's even better than that: studies have shown that LDL, the "bad" cholesterol, only clogs arteries when it is damaged by oxidation. Tea is full of phytochemicals (chemicals found in plants) which act as powerful antioxidants. In a test-tube study of 39 food-derived antioxidants, the phytochemicals in tea were the most potent inhibitors of LDL oxidation. In fact, one compound in tea was found to be 20 times stronger than the potent antioxidant vitamin C.
One of the antioxidants in green tea is epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG); when you brew a cup and then let the water evaporate, half of what you have left is EGCG. Fifty percent of the solid matter of a cup of tea is a potent antioxidant.
We've all heard that a glass of red wine per day is good for us, primarily because of its antioxidants, one of the most potent being catechins. Let's compare tea with wine: a glass of red wine contains 300 milligrams of catechins; a cup of black tea, 210 milligrams. That's quite good; but the winner is green tea, with a whopping 375 milligrams per cup, and you can drive home afterwards.
A Dutch study of some 800 men found that those who had the most flavonoids (another kind of phytochemical) in their diet were 66% less likely to develop heart disease than those who consumed the least. For those who got the most flavonoids, their main source was black tea.
Research is exploding to the point where previous studies are being re-examined. The famous "Seven Countries Study" done in the 1960s has been re-analyzed in light of what we now know about tea. This study achieved fame because it was the first to show that the amount of fat in the diet affects heart disease. Re-analyzed, it seems that a high intake of antioxidants, mainly from tea, explains the lower incidence of heart disease in the tea-drinking countries.
An assistant professor at the University of Minnesota, Wei Zheng, MD, PhD, studied the tea-drinking habits of 35,369 postmenopausal women. Over an eight-year period, the women who drank at least two cups of tea per day had 32% fewer cancers of the digestive tract (including colon and esophagus) than women who only drank tea occasionally or never. They were also 60% less at risk from cancers of the bladder and kidneys. The women who drank at least four cups of tea had even fewer of these cancers.
ANTIOXIDANTS AND BEYOND
The ways in which tea produces its healthy effects go on and on. Women's livers metabolize estrogen and then send it through the gall bladder into the bile to be eliminated. Certain kinds of bacteria in the intestines change that estrogen into a potent cancer-producing hormone, which is then reabsorbed by the intestines, contributing to the development of breast cancer. Studies show that tea stops those bacteria from changing the estrogen into something dangerous, according to Herb Piersen, PhD, former director of the National Cancer Institute's Designer Foods Program.
Another way tea creates a healthy effect is by neutralizing nitrosamines (from cured meats) and heterocyclic amines (from cooked meats). "Drinking tea with meals in Japan and China," says a cancer researcher at the University of British Columbia, "is thought to be a major reason for the low cancer rates in these countries."
Tea also helps prevent tooth decay in several ways. It contains a solid dose of fluoride, and according to researchers at the Tokyo Dental College, it fights the kinds of bacteria in the mouth that cause gum disease and the eventual loss of the teeth. It worked better, in fact, than the antibiotic tetracycline. It also kills Streptococcus mutans, the greatest cavity-causing bacteria in the mouth.
Substances in green tea also lower hypertension in mice. In the test-tube, it inhibits the proliferation of viruses, including influenza.
There is a downside to tea: it increases the passage of B and C vitamins and calcium through the body, although not very much. If you take a vitamin-mineral supplement, you're probably getting enough extra B and C vitamins to neutralize this effect.
One of the paradoxically valuable things about tea is that it contains caffeine. Caffeine is addicting. Once you start drinking tea, you tend to do so regularly, and this turns out to be a good thing. It keeps an uninterrupted flow of antioxidants going through your cells, cleaning up the damaging oxygen, killing dangerous bacteria, neutralizing carcinogens, lowering your cholesterol, preventing cancer, and keeping your veins from clogging.
Americans turned away from tea as a rebellion against oppression. Now we're switching back. Times are changing, and so are we — for the better, for our health. We have a new slogan: Drink your TEA. It does a body good.
Editor's note: Iced tea works as well as hot tea in bestowing healthy benefits, as long as it is brewed and not instant iced tea. Iced tea is an American invention and very rare in the rest of the world, but 80% of the tea Americans drink is iced.
This article originally appeared in TEA a magazine in the June/July 1997 issue.
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