PRESS RELEASE - VITAMINS & MINERALS JUNE 1ST 2007
The Health Products Association has noted a review article in the 28th February 2007 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). The conclusions of the review article suggest that treatment with betacarotene, vitamin A and vitamin E may increase mortality. The researchers added that the potential roles of vitamin C and ...
Click here to read the full article now!
HPA BLACK COHOSH POSITION STATEMENT
1. The HPA executive has been monitoring scientific literature and the opinions and statements of associations and regulatory authorities abroad, relating to the safety of Black Cohosh (Cimicifugae racemosae rhizoma) and whether label warnings relating to these safety issues should be placed on products that contain Black Cohosh.
2. ...
Click here to read the full article now!
SA CAMS INDUSTRY BOOMING
PRELIMINARY results from a business survey commissioned by the HPA point to an increase in financial growth for the CAMS industry from R2,3 billion in 2003 to R4 billion in 2007 and to a growth among participating companies of 27% for 2006/2007.Although less than a third of HPA members participated, their responses have been used to ...
Click here to read the full article now!
NATURAL MEDICINE MAGAZINE
Natural Medicine magazine is a South African publication that serves as a valuable vehicle on the uses and benefits of natural medicine. It provides practical information to the general public, healing practitioners and those in the natural medicine industry. Specialist articles are written by professionals with ...
Click here to read the full article now!
PAIN RELIEVING MINT
A team from Newcastle University in the UK has proven in a study on mice that Brazilian mint (hyptis crenata) has pain relieving qualities equal to commercially available analgesics. Hyptis crenata has been prescribed by Brazilian healers for millennia to treat various ailments. To ensure they used the treatment method prescribed by these ...
Click here to read the full article now!
HIGH DOSE SUPPLEMENT DIRECTIVE DELAYED
The EU draft amendment of the maximum permitted levels (MPLs) for nutrients in food supplements has been delayed until January 2010. The health supplements industry in the UK and various EU states - as well as numerous retails outlets - could be under threat if the MPLs are set too low. The UK lobby group, Consumers for Health Choice (CHC) ...
Click here to read the full article now!
FLAX OIL MAY PROTECT AGAINST OSTEOPOROSIS
Flaxseed oil could help protect against the development of osteoporosis according to an Egyptian study. Mer Harvi and colleagues at the National Research Center, in Cairo, Egypt, tested the effect of dietary flaxseed oil in female rats that were rendered diabetic and/or had their ovaries removed to mimic menopause. They established that the ...
Click here to read the full article now!
ANTIOXIDANTS COULD DIMINISH DNA DAMAGE
People exposed to ionising radiation - from both natural and made-made sources - are at risk of DNA damage. Airline flight crew workers are exposed to higher average doses than any other worker, according to the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR). Now scientists from the US National Institutes of ...
Click here to read the full article now!
CRN ENCOURAGES RESPONSIBLE BEHAVIOUR
Steve Mister, president and CEO of the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), believes that most of the problems that burden the US dietary supplements industry are self-generated. As an association committed to consumers, CRN is critical of unscrupulous companies who put prescription drugs into products, market substandard products and ...
Click here to read the full article now!
LOW MATERNAL FOLATE LEVELS LINKED TO HYPERACTIVITY
Low maternal folate levels have been linked with an increased risk of the development of attention deficit disorder and hyperactivity in children in a study, conducted by Dr Wolff Schlotz and colleagues from the University of Southampton in England. It included children of 100 mothers who took part in an earlier study of prenatal nutrition and ...
Click here to read the full article now!
SKIN BENEFITS FROM SUPPLEMENTS
Ageing skin can be rejuvenated with the aid of a dietary supplement containing coenzyme Q10, antioxidants and minerals, according to research conducted at the Srinakharinwirot University, Bangkok, Thailand. Sixty female subjects were randomly assigned to either the supplement, manufactured by Australian-based nutritional supplement manufacturer ...
Click here to read the full article now!
REDUCE FRACTURE RISKS WITH VITAMIN C
Researchers at Tufts University, Harvard Medical School and Boston University School of Health have established that vitamin C could protect against hip and nonvertrbral fracture risks. They evaluated data from 929 participants in the Framingham Osteoporosis Study who were part of the original Framingham Study cohort. Dietary questionnaires ...
Click here to read the full article now!
STRAWBERRY POWDER SHOWS CHOLESTEROL CUTTING POTENTIAL
A freeze-dried strawberry powder supplied by the California Strawberry Commission has been found to cut cholesterol levels by approximately five percent and decrease by 14 percent levels of malondialdehyde - a marker of oxidative stress. Researchers led by Arpita Basu from Oklahoma State University conducted the study on 16 women with three ...
Click here to read the full article now!
OBESITY-INDUCED GLUCOSE INTOLERANCE REDUCED WITH CHILLI EXTRACT
A study with mice has established that capsaicin, the compound that gives red pepper its heat, may prevent the development of diabetes-like symptoms in obese people. South Korean researchers, led by Rina Yu from The University of Ulsan, fed male obese mice a high-fat diet for 10 weeks and the separated them into two groups: Both continued to ...
Click here to read the full article now!
OMEGA-3 COULD LOWER RISK OF AMD
A new study from the UK National Eye Institute supports earlier findings that omega-3 fatty acids may reduce the risk of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD) - the leading cause of legal blindness for people over 55 years of age in the Western world, according to AMD Alliance International. For the study, lead researcher John Paul ...
Click here to read the full article now!
AMINO ACID MAKES TEETH STRONG
A simple amino acid is the key to strong teeth. Scientists led by Tom Diekwisch, professor and head of oral biology at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry have discovered that the amino acid proline could offer clues on how to engineer tooth enamel. Proline is repeated in the centre of proteins found in tooth enamel. When ...
Click here to read the full article now!
POLYPHENOLS FROM PAPER WASTE
Pulp and paper processing waste is an unlikely source for health products. However a Lausanne-based Swiss company is recovering polyphenols from an Indian paper company's facility in the Punjab, employing a method based on hydrolysis to extract an unadulterated form of the polyphenols from wheat, straw, sarkanda as well as bagasses grass ...
Click here to read the full article now!
BEAT THE BLUES WITH GREEN TEA
Dr Kaijun Niu, at Tohoku University Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering in Sendai, and colleagues have found that men and women aged 70 and older who drink four or more cups of green tea daily are 44% less likely suffer from depression. As several prior studies have linked green tea consumption to reduced levels of psychological distress, ...
Click here to read the full article now!
VITAMIN C BOOSTS STEM CELL RESEARCH
New research suggests that Vitamin C may help adult cells generate embryonic-like stem cells. The researchers found that vitamin C boosted the process in both human and mouse cells. However, they say that the process doesn't work very well Senior study author Duanqing Pei, of the South China Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative ...
Click here to read the full article now!
LYCHEE EXTRACT MAY PROMOTE FAT LOSS
Researchers from Hokkaido Information University, Sapporo Bio-S, and Amino Up Chemical Company in Japan report that a commercially available lychee extract may reduce abdominal fat in people with metabolic syndrome and a lead to improvements in overall health. For the study, 18 volunteers aged between 25 and 59 were recruited. All had a waist ...
Click here to read the full article now!
MILK THISTLE COULD REDUCE CHEMO-INDUCED LIVER INFLAMMATION
A small study led by researcher Dr. Kara Kelly, from New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center's Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center in New York City has established that the herb milk thistle can reduce liver inflammation caused by chemotherapy. For the study, Kelly's team randomly assigned 50 children undergoing ...
Click here to read the full article now!
LIPOSOME ENCAPSULATION BOOSTS CURCUMIN BENEFITS
A new Japanese study strongly suggests that using liposomes, (little microcapsules made from phospholipids), to encapsulate curcumin can quadruple the body's absorption of this substance. Curcumin has numerous health benefits, but much of the compound is destroyed by gastric juices in the digestive system. As a result, little gets into ...
Click here to read the full article now!
ANTI-AGEING MARKET
In a report entitled "The Market for Anti-Ageing Foods", Leatherhead Food Research has revealed that the anti-ageing food market has huge potential. Although interest and activity in anti-ageing foods and drinks has started to rise, it is still highly fragmented and mainly confined to products fortified with antioxidant vitamins and ...
Click here to read the full article now!
SHARING NUTRIENT INFORMATION
Accurate nutrient information is vital for companies wanting to compile health claim dossiers under the European Union's health claims system. To assist in this process, some companies have decided to pool nutrient information and make it available at a fee to interested parties. One firm doing this is the French Consultanct, NutraVeris, ...
Click here to read the full article now!
NEW VITAMIN C DISCOVERY
A new research discovery published in the January 2010 print issue of the FASEB Journal reports that vitamin C reverses abnormalities caused by Werner syndrome gene, including cancer, obesity, diabetes, heart failure and high cholesterol. In the research report, a team of Canadian scientists show that vitamin C stops and even reverses ...
Click here to read the full article now!
NERVE PAIN NUMBED BY NUTMEG
A clinical trial conducted at the University of the West Indies has ascertained that a spray containing nutmeg could help relieve the pain caused by diabetic neuropathy. This condition results when the nerves become damaged by too much sugar in the blood and affects up to 70% of diabetics. The nutmeg compound is sprayed on the affected area ...
Click here to read the full article now!
INCREASING DEMAND FOR NUTRACEUTICAL INGREDIENTS
A research report entitled "World Nutraceutical Ingredients", conducted by The Freedonia Group claims that global demand for nutraceutical ingredients will reach $21.8bn by 2013. According to the report the most promising growth categories are soy protein nutrients, functional food and beverage additives lutein, lycopene, omega-3 ...
Click here to read the full article now!
CRN RESPONDS TO GINKGO BILOBA STUDY
In response to the publication of a study, "Ginkgo biloba for Preventing Cognitive Decline in Older Adults," published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), the leading trade association representing the dietary supplement industry, issued the following statement: Statement ...
Click here to read the full article now!
GINGER ALLEVIATES CHEMO-INDUCED NAUSEA
Ginger root has, for centuries, been used in herbal remedies. It is known for its ability to prevent nausea related to motion sickness, morning sickness and over-indulgence as well as alleviate heartburn, vomiting, stomach cramps and loss of appetite. Now there is evidence that ginger can also prevent chemotherapy-induced nausea. In the largest ...
Click here to read the full article now!
WHITE BEAN SUPPLEMENT COULD LOWER FOOD GI
A dietary supplement derived from a white bean may reduce the glycemic index (GI) of foods, according to s study conducted by researchers from the UCL School of Medicine. They studied the effects of the supplement on the GI of white bread in 13 subjects. During in-vitro analysis, the white kidney bean derived supplement called Phase 2 was shown ...
Click here to read the full article now!
HOPS COMPOUND COULD AID IN PROSTATE CANCER PREVENTION
Xanthohumol - a natural compound derived from hops - has been found to aid in the prevention of prostate cancer by blocking the male hormone testosterone. Clarissa Gerhauser, Ph.D., group leader of cancer chemoprevention in the Division of Epigenomics and Cancer Risk Factors at the German Cancer Research Center, in Heidelberg, Germany, and ...
Click here to read the full article now!
CAN POMEGRANATE CHEMICAL COMBAT SUPERBUGS?
A chemical found in pomegranate rind may hold the key to fighting drug resistant infections. Professor Declan Naughton, biomolecular scientist at the University of Kingston, Surrey, and his team created a lotion made of three ingredients - pomegranate rind, vitamin C and a metal salt. They found that this combination produced ...
Click here to read the full article now!
SLIMMING PILL RECALL
Yet another weight loss dietary supplement has been recalled in the US after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found that the product contained undeclared drug ingredients. A FDA laboratory analysis of the GMP Herbal Products supplement Pai You Guo, found undeclared sibutramine, an FDA-approved drug used as an appetite suppressant. ...
Click here to read the full article now!
MEDICINAL PLANTS AND EXTRACTS REPORT
The 33rd issue of the Market News Service (MNS) Medicinal Plants and Extracts report was released in December 2009. Prepared by the International Trade Centre, the aim of the report is to promote international trade in medicinal plants and botanical extracts. This new, revised version includes substantially more information on the structure ...
Click here to read the full article now!
AAMPS INITIATIVE
The African Association for Medicinal Plants Standards (AAMPS) together with the International Foundation for Science (IFS) have launched a special joint initiative to develop the capacity of young scientists and encourage applied research in the field of quality control, quality assurance and the preparation of standards/monographs for ...
Click here to read the full article now!
ANTIOXIDANT COMPOUND REDUCES COLORECTAL ADENOMAS
A selenium-based antioxidant compound has been found to decrease the risk of new polyps developing in the bowels of people who have had colorectal polyps removed. Luigina Bonelli, M.D., head of the unit of secondary prevention and screening at the National Institute for Cancer Research, in Genoa, Italy and his colleagues studied patient aged 25 ...
Click here to read the full article now!
HOT FLASHES RELIEVED WITH ST JOHN'S WORT
Marjan Khajehei, of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in Iran, and her colleagues have conducted a small study on the effects of the herb St John's Wort on menopausal hot flashes. They recruited 100 women aged on average, 50 years old, who had been having moderate to severe hot flashes at least once a day. The women were randomly assigned ...
Click here to read the full article now!
HEALTH BENEFITS OF SOY PEPTIDE
A soy peptide that is usually discarded at soy processing plants could have some important health benefits. University of Illinois Professor of Food Science and Human Nutrition Elvira de Mejia and her group conducted two studies that established that the soy peptide - lunasin - has the ability to fight leukemia and block the inflammation ...
Click here to read the full article now!
VITAMIN D DEFICIENCY DIRECTLY LINKED TO HEART DISEASE
Scientists from the Heart Institute at Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City claim that they have fresh evidence directly linking vitamin D deficiency to heart disease. For more than a year, the Intermountain Medical Center research team followed 27,686 people who were 50 years of age or older with no prior history of cardiovascular ...
Click here to read the full article now!
ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESPONDS TO NUTRIENT COCKTAIL
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cecil H. Green Distinguished Professor of Brain and Cognitive Sciences Richard Wurtman, MD and his colleagues report that a combination of the vitamin choline, the omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and uridine improves the memory of men and women with early Alzheimer's disease. Dr Wurtman ...
Click here to read the full article now!
PROBIOTICS REDUCE CHILDREN'S INFECTIONS
Results of a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 281 children who attend day care centres in Zagreb, Croatia suggest that the probiotic lactobacillus GG (LGG) can decrease the children's risk of upper respiratory infections. The children were randomly allocated to receive LGG at a dose of 109 colony-forming units (CFU) ...
Click here to read the full article now!
SEPSIS CONTROLLED WITH FISH OIL SUPPLEMENTATION
Intravenously administered omega-3 fatty acids derived from fish oil have proven beneficial for intensive care patents with sepsis - a potentially lethal blood infection. Researchers at the University of Southampton in England led by Dr Philip Calder randomised 23 patients hospitalised with sepsis in the intensive care unit (ICU) of Hospital ...
Click here to read the full article now!
GLUCOSAMINE COMBINED WITH OMEGA-3 IMPROVES JOINT HEALTH
A new study conducted in Germany has established that the combination of glucosamine sulphate and omega-3 fatty acids achieves better improvements in joint health that glucosamine alone. Lead author of the trial, Dr Joerg Gruenwald, and his co-workers recruited 177 people with moderate-to-severe hip or knee osteoarthritis and randomly assigned ...
Click here to read the full article now!
VITAMIN C HELPS PRODUCE STEM CELLS
Stem cell therapy generates a great deal of controversy. One method of stem cell regeneration that avoids the ethical controversy of obtaining cells from human embryos is reprogramming adult cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). This process involves turning on a set of genes, which recent research has aided by the introduction of ...
Click here to read the full article now!
COLON CANCER PROTECTION IN SOY COMPOUNDS
Scientists from the Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland report that natural lipid compounds found in soy - sphingadienes (SDs) - may be behind the potential anti-cancer effects of soy. The study's lead researcher Dr Julie Saba and her co-workers showed the effectiveness of the compounds in a mouse model of colon cancer. Their ...
Click here to read the full article now!
CANCER RISKS REDUCED WITH TOMATO AND BROCCOLI POWDERS
Tomato and broccoli powder with enhanced bioactive contents have been found to increase levels of potential anti-cancer compounds in a study conducted on rats at the University of Illinois. For the study John Erdman Jr and his co-workers fed male rats diets supplemented with 10 per cent powders of a standard tomato powder, a ...
Click here to read the full article now!
CAN NANOPARTICLES KILL CANCER CELLS?
A team of scientists from the University College, London is developing ways to use nanoparticles as tiny magnets to heat up and kill cancer cells without harming healthy cells. Described by the researchers as a ‘new way to treat cancer', the researchers have found that iron-oxide nanoparticles can be attached to cancer-seeking antibodies, ...
Click here to read the full article now!
CRANBERRY JUICE DOESN'T INTEFERE WITH UTI ANTIBIOTICS
As little is known about the interactions between cranberry juice and the antibiotics frequently prescribed to women for urinary tract infections, NCCAM-funded researchers at the University of Washington have studied the effects of cranberry juice on the two most common antibiotics prescribed for this condition - amoxicillin and cefaclor. ...
Click here to read the full article now!
POTENTIAL ROLE FOR COQ10 IN MANAGING PARKINSON'S DISEASE
A study to determine whether Coenzyme Q10 can slow the progression of Parkinson's disease is being conducted in a large-scale, multi-center clinical trial in the U.S. and Canada with Rush University Medical Centre. Several studies have shown that Parkinson's patients have impaired mitochondrial function and low levels of coenzyme Q10 and ...
Click here to read the full article now!
SUPPLEMENT AIDS RECOVERY FROM VISUAL FATIGUE
According to a new study from Japan and Singapore, signs of visual fatigue could be reversed by a supplement containing lutein, zeaxanthin and blackcurrant extract. This randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over trial adds to the ever growing body of science supporting the eye health benefits of lutein and zeaxanthin. The ...
Click here to read the full article now!
HIGH DOSE VITAMIN D FOR FALL PREVENTION
Apparently high doses of vitamin D can help reduce the risk of falling among elderly people by up to 19%. To establish the efficacy of vitamin D as a treatment to minimise falls, an international team of researchers analysed the results of eight fall prevention trials conducted among people aged 65 and over. The pooled results showed that ...
Click here to read the full article now!
HEART BENEFITS FROM WHEY PROTEIN
A randomised, double-blind study has revealed that a whey-protein-rich ingredient can increase artery dilation in healthy people by 28%. This is the first time that a natural peptide has been shown to positively impact vascular function using these techniques and researchers from the University of Connecticut, led by Dr Jeff Volek, state that ...
Click here to read the full article now!
SOY REDUCES HIP FRACTURE RISKS
Soy-based foods could help decrease hip fracture incidents in postmenopausal women according to a study from the National University of Singapore. Dr. Woon-Puay Koh and his team assessed dietary soy intake of more than 63,000 Chinese men and women who were 45 to 74 years old when, between 1993 and 1998, they enrolled in the Singapore Chinese ...
Click here to read the full article now!
LIQUORICE OIL MAY AID WEIGHT LOSS
A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study published in Obesity Research & Clinical Practice has revealed that liquorice oil may increase fat loss and aid in weight management. Researchers from Kaneka, Tokyo's Kaiyuu Clinic, Haradoi Hospital, and Kiryu University in Japan found that overweight volunteers supplemented ...
Click here to read the full article now!
VITAMIN D BENEFITS BREAST CANCER PATIENTS
Luke Peppone, a research assistant professor of radiation oncology at the University of Rochester Medical Center, has stated that it's important for women with breast cancer to boost their vitamin D levels. "Vitamin D is essential to maintaining bone health, and women with breast cancer have accelerated bone loss due to the nature of ...
Click here to read the full article now!
OMEGA 3 SLOWS AMD
A study funded by The Intramural Research Program of the National Eye Institute, the National Institutes of Health, and the American Health Assistance Foundation has found that a diet high in omega-3 fatty acids may prevent the development of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Omega-3 fatty acids - particularly DHA - play an important ...
Click here to read the full article now!
GREEN TEA REDUCES PNEUMONIA RISKS
Drinking green tea seems to reduce the risk of dying from pneumonia, particularly among women, according to a new study from Japan. Ikue Watanabe, from Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine in Sendai, Japan and his colleagues assessed over a 12-year period, how drinking green tea affected the risk of dying from pneumonia among 19,079 ...
Click here to read the full article now!
IRISH SUPPORT FOR SUPPLEMENTS
A media campaign to promote the positive role of food supplements has been launched by the Irish Health Trade Association (IHTA). The campaign mounted by IHTA chief executive officer, Dr Alan Ruth, comes in the wake of a host of stories in the mainstream press that have questioned the value of taking various food supplements and highlighted ...
Click here to read the full article now!
LYCOPENE HAS HEART HEALTH ATTRIBUTES
Lycopene - the antioxidant found in red and pink fruits and vegetables - has been shown to have heart, blood pressure, prostate, osteoporosis and skin benefits. A new study has now confirmed that higher levels of lycopene in the blood are associated with decreased levels of artherosclerosis. The researchers, led by Jong Ho Lee from the ...
Click here to read the full article now!
CHOCOLATE - A HEART HELPER?
A joint US-Swedish study - apparently the first to assess the possible effects of chocolate consumption on the prognosis of men and women following a heart attack - has established that increased intakes of chocolate may decrease the risk of a heart attack victim from dying from heart-related problems. The researchers, who are affiliated ...
Click here to read the full article now!
AUTISTIC SPEECH IMPROVES WITH OILS
According to new research published in the journal Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, daily supplements of omega-3 and vitamin E were associated with speech improvements in austistic children as well as in imitation, eye contact, and behaviour. The researchers, Claudia Morris from the Children's Hospital and Research ...
Click here to read the full article now!
IADSA CLARIFIES CODEX MYTHS
The International Alliance of Dietary/Food Supplement Associations (IADSA) has spoken out against false statements vilifying the goals, purpose and transparency of Codex Alimentarius' work on food supplements.
IADSA, which has been monitoring the work of Codex for the last 10 years, said that the statements circulating the ...
Click here to read the full article now!
SOY PRODUCTS HELP LUNGS AND BRAIN FUNCTION
Soy products and soy isoflavones have been shown in Japanese and Australian studies to elicit positive effects on both the lungs and mens' memory. In the Japanese study, researchers looked at patients aged 50-75 who had been diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). They found that, "a significant reduction in COPD risk ...
Click here to read the full article now!
RADIATION DAMAGE DIMINISHED WITH GINGKO
Antioxidant extracts of the leaves of the Gingko biloba tree may protect cells from radiation damage, according to a study published in the International Journal of Low Radiation. Chang-Mo Kang of the Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences in Taegu and colleagues collected human white blood cells, lymphocytes, from ...
Click here to read the full article now!
CURCUMIN KILLS CANCER CELLS IN LAB TEST
Research conducted by a team at the Cork Cancer Research Centre have shown in a laboratory test, that curcumin - a chemical found in the spice tumeric - can destroy gullet cancer cells. Dr Sharon McKenna and her team found that curcumin started to kill cancer cells within 24 hours and observed that the cells also began to digest themselves ...
Click here to read the full article now!
CHC PRO HIGH-DOSE SUPPLEMENTS CAMPAIGN
A pro high-dose supplements campaign has been launched in the UK by the Consumers for Health Choice (CHC). Tailored to consumers, manufacturers., retailers and practitioners in the UK, Ireland, Italy, France, Germany, Spain and Poland the campaign is aimed, says the CHC ‘at ensuring everyone makes their voices heard at this critical ...
Click here to read the full article now!
POMEGRANATE POWER
Numerous health benefits have been attributed to pomegranate juice and pulp. According to a recent study, the oil from pomegranate seeds also has potential - it may prevent the development of diabetes. The research, led by Brian McFarlin from the University of Houston, was conducted on mice that were fed a high-fat diet. The results established ...
Click here to read the full article now!
HARVARD SUPPORTS VITAMIN D SUPPLEMENTATION
The necessity of vitamin D for health maintenance is receiving a great deal of publicity as an increasing number of health issues have been linked with vitamin D deficiencies. Now the prestigious Harvard Medical School has endorsed vitamin D supplementation - an usual stance for an institution that supports the theory that vitamin intake should ...
Click here to read the full article now!
KUDZU ROOT ALLEVIATES METABOLIC SYNDROME SYMPTOMS
Scientists in Alabama and Iowa suggest that extracts from roots of the kudzu vine could modulate glucose, lipids and blood pressure and may therefore play a role in the prevention or improvement of symptoms related to metabolic syndrome. The researchers, led by J. Michael Wyss used stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats as a model for the ...
Click here to read the full article now!
HEAVY FINES FOR MISLEADING CLAIMS
In the United States, marketers of two dietary supplement products - Supreme Greens and Coral Calcium - have been ordered to pay almost $70m for deceptive marketing. According to the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Donald W. Barrett and his affiliates had "deceptively touted" the supplement Supreme Greens to treat, cure, or prevent ...
Click here to read the full article now!
FISH OIL ACTION CLARIFIED
Scientists from Queen Mary, University of London and Harvard Medical School have found an explanation for the beneficial action of fish oils on inflammatory conditions like arthritis. They believe this is due to the body converting the DHA found in fish oils into a chemical called Resolvin D2, which reduces the inflammation. Mauro Perretti, a ...
Click here to read the full article now!
CLEAR DIETARY REFERENCE FOR EPA AND DHA OMEGA-3S
The Global Organization for EPA and DHA Omega-3s (GOED) and a consortium of eight leading scientific, trade, and consumer advocacy organisations have petitioned the US Institute of Medicine (IOM) to convene an expert panel to establish clear dietary reference intakes (DRIs) for the EPA and DHA omega-3 fatty acids. Industry support is ...
Click here to read the full article now!
SOY HELPS REDUCE CHOLESTEROL
According to results published in the Journal of Nutrition consumption by diabetics of 40 grams of soy protein isolate (SPI) per day for 57 days resulted in significant reductions in both LDL cholesterol and the ratio of LDL to HDL cholesterol, compared to consumption of the same dose of milk protein. This new study, says study leader ...
Click here to read the full article now!
DE-STRESS WITH DARK CHOCOLATE
A small study by German and Swiss researchers has established that about an ounce and a half of dark chocolate a day for two weeks reduced the levels of stress hormones in highly stressed people and partially corrected other stress-related imbalances in the body. The study, led by Sunil Kochhar from the Nestle Research Center in Lausanne, ...
Click here to read the full article now!
QUERCETIN MAY MINIMISE COLON CANCER RISKS
The risk of developing colon cancer could be reduced by increased intake of quercetin according to a study conducted by researchers from the University of Aberdeen, Ireland's National Cancer Registry and the University of Ottawa. Tea is the main dietary source of flavonoids in the UK. Study leader Janet Kyle said that participants were drawn ...
Click here to read the full article now!
CHINESE HERBAL MEDICINE MAY BENEFIT PEOPLE WITH PRE-DIABETES
In China and other Asian countries, Chinese herbal medicines have been used for decades to prevent or delay the onset of diabetes. A recent review, funded in part by NCCAM, examined related clinical trials to see whether scientific evidence supports recommending Chinese herbal medicine as a treatment option for people with pre-diabetes. The ...
Click here to read the full article now!
ANTIOXIDANT SUPPLEMENTS COULD HELP CELIACS
Findings published in Clinical Biochemistry, reveal that sufferers of celiac disease could benefit from antioxidants and appropriate dietary supplements. Because data concerning the antioxidant status of celiac patients is scarce, researchers from the University of Belgrade set about studying the role of oxidative stress and ...
Click here to read the full article now!
OMEGA-3 AND COQ10 COULD BENEFIT KIDNEY DISEASE PATIENTS
Researchers from University of Western Australia and Royal Perth Hospital report that a combination of omega-3 fatty acids and coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) may decrease blood pressure and heart rate in people with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Study leader Dr Trevor Mori and his co-workers recruited 85 people with CKD (average age 56.5, average ...
Click here to read the full article now!
POLYPHENOL POTENTIAL
Research into polyphenols - the antioxidant compounds in fruit and vegetables - is increasing as the ability of these substances to absorb free radicals as well as provide possible protection against certain diseases becomes more apparent. The chemical compounds called phenylpropanoids, includes flavonoids, and hydrolyzable tannins such as the ...
Click here to read the full article now!
SOY COMPOUND ALLEVIATES MENOPAUSE SYMPTOMS
According to research presented at the North American Menopause Society's 20th annual meeting in October 2009, postmenopausal women who consumed supplements containing a metabolic product of soy known as S-equol experienced a reduction of 59 percent in hot flashes after 12 weeks, "The compound appears to have a promising future role in ...
Click here to read the full article now!
MELON EXTRACT COULD HELP EASE STRESS
A French study has revealed that superoxide dismutase (SOD) extracted from melon may help relieve stress and fatigue. Scientists from the University Henri Poincaré and Isoclin, a clinical research organistion teamed up with the French companies Bionov and Seppic to conduct a randomised, double blind, placebo controlled study on the ...
Click here to read the full article now!
FOLATE FOR HEART HEALTH?
A study by scientists from Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital NHS Trust, the University of East Anglia, and the Institute of Food Research, has established that supplements of either folic acid or 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (5-MTHF), the naturally circulating form of folate, could reduce homocysteine levels, improve cardiovascular health ...
Click here to read the full article now!
POSTVIRAL OLFACTORY LOSS ALLEVIATED WITH GINKGO
The herb Ginkgo biloba helps improve the ability of glucocorticoid treatment to restore sense of smell following upper respiratory viral infections, according to Korean researchers. The loss of olfactory sense can occur after a common cold infection. It is believed to be caused by neurodegeneration of olfactory neural system cells ...
Click here to read the full article now!
AMA BELIEVES MARIJUANA HAS MEDICINAL VALUE
The American Medical Association (AMA) has voted to reverse its long held position that marijuana has no medical value and the group is planning to entirely review its current cannabis policy. The AMA's House of Delegates has adopted a new position which demands that: "Marijuana's status as a federal Schedule I controlled substance ...
Click here to read the full article now!
FOLIC ACID AND IRON SUPPLEMENTATION HELPS REDUCE CHILDHOOD MORTALITY
Parul Christian, DrPH, MSc, and colleagues from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health report that children born to mothers who received folic acid and iron supplements during their pregnancies were less likely to die during childhood than children of mothers who did not supplement with these nutrients. This investigation was a ...
Click here to read the full article now!
SAFE PHYTOESTROGENS
A meta-analysis from Austria supports the safety of phytoestrogens like soy and red clover isoflavones, revealing that these are not linked to serious side-effects like increased cancer risks and heart problems. The researchers, led by Clemens Tempfer from the Medical University Vienna, looked at all isoflavones, and identified 92 randomised ...
Click here to read the full article now!
FDA DECREES 'VITAMINS USEFUL'
The US Food and Drug Administration has issued a consumer advisory supporting the use of vitamins. Barbara Schneeman, PhD, director of FDA's Office of Nutritional Products, Labeling, and Dietary Supplements recently stated that "Supplements can be useful when they fulfill a specific identified nutrient need that can't be met by food or ...
Click here to read the full article now!
US HEALTH INDUSTRY COALITION ADVISES AGAINST USE OF DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS FOR SWINE FLU
With swine flu causing panic worldwide, the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA), the Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA), the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), the Natural Products Association (NPA) and United Natural Products Alliance (UNPA) have endorsed the following unified advisory for marketers and retailers, ...
Click here to read the full article now!
PSSA OPEN LETTER AND HPA RESPONSE
Many pharmacists have expressed concern regarding claims made in advertising complementary medicines. In the PSSA Newsletter #14 of 31 March 2009 is an open letter from the PSSA to the Medicines Control Council that deals with the call-up of complementary medicines. Below is the open letter in its entirety. This is followed by a ...
Click here to read the full article now!
MONICA FAIRALL-MORRELL - A TRIBUTE
Renowned broadcaster, journalist and media personality, Monica Fairall-Morrell, died on the winter solstice of 21 June, 2009. She had been diagnosed with myeloma in late 2008 and finally succumbed to complications arising from pneumonia. Despite the discomfort of her condition and the side-effects of aggressive treatment, Monica remained ...
Click here to read the full article now!
STRONGER BONES WITH GREEN TEA
A new study has looked at three tea compounds found in green tea and found that these may lead to stronger bones by promoting bone formation. Researchers from the Chinese University of Hong Kong used rat cells to study the effects on bone health of green tea compounds - epigallocatechin (EGC), gallocatechin (GC), and gallocatechin gallate ...
Click here to read the full article now!
VITAMIN D LINKED TO MELANOMA SURVIVAL
More support for the health benefits of Vitamin D has come from new research which suggests that higher levels of vitamin D are linked to less severe and deadly melanoma lesions in people with skin cancer. The study, conducted by dermatology professor at the University of Leeds Dr Dr. Julia A. Newton-Bishop, and her colleagues looked at the ...
Click here to read the full article now!
RED YEAST RICE - AN ALTERNATIVE TO STATINS?
The first randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to evaluate red yeast rice in patients who cannot take statin drugs because of muscle pain has rendered interesting results. In the study (funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, with additional support from NCCAM), researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and Thomas ...
Click here to read the full article now!
RESVERATROL SHOWS PROMISE AS HRT ALTERNATIVE
A new study has established that resveratrol is the best phytoestrogen alternative to hormone replacement therapy for postmenopausal women. Phytoestrogens are natural plant substances found in food that exert weak estrogen-like activity, such as daidzein, genistein and glycitein found in soybeans and soy products, coumestrol in mung bean and ...
Click here to read the full article now!
CALCIUM AND VITAMIN D PROMOTE COLORECTAL HEALTH
Cell health in the colon and rectum could be normalised by a combination of calcium and vitamin D, thereby offering potential protection from tumour development, according to researchers from Emory University, the University of Minnesota, and the National Cancer Institute and the National Institutes of Health. They conducted a pilot, ...
Click here to read the full article now!
PYCNOGENOL BOOSTS EYE HEALTH
A new study suggests that Pycnogenol (pine bark extract) could improve the eyesight of people with early stage diabetic retinopathy. Researchers from G D'Annunzio University in Italy and Horphag Research (the company behind the pine bark extract), conducted a randomised controlled study with forty-six diabetics. They randomly assigned 24 ...
Click here to read the full article now!
DARK CHOCOLATE MAY PROTECT DNA
Italian researchers report that eating dark chocolate containing 860 milligrams of polyphenols, and 58 milligrams of epicatechin, resulted in a 20 per cent reduction in DNA damage two hours after consumption. Led by Angela Spadafranca from the University of Milan and using chocolate supplied by Ferraro, the researchers assigned 20 healthy ...
Click here to read the full article now!
SPICES COULD BOOST BREAST HEALTH
Researchers from the University of Michigan report that curcumin (found in turmeric), and piperine (found in black peppers), may reduce the risk of breast cancer formation by stopping the growth of the stem cells that spawn the tumours. The research, conducted in vitro, is apparently the first to suggest these dietary compounds could reduce the ...
Click here to read the full article now!
DIETICIANS SUPPORT SUPPLEMENTS
According to the "Life...supplemented" campaign in the US, more than 80% of registered dieticians believe that nutritional gaps in the diet can be filled with dietary supplements. Seventy-six percent of those surveyed said that supplements can address their own diet gaps, 96% confirmed that they take supplements and 87% acknowledged ...
Click here to read the full article now!
SIMPLY SLIM RECALL RAISES CONCERNS ABOUT BITTER ORANGE
The Medicines Control Council (MCC) has suspended sales of the weight loss product Simply Slim as they believe it may pose significant risks to the South African public. Simply Slim, which is being promoted and sold as a complementary herbal weight loss product, is not registered by the MCC. Sample tests revealed that certain batches of the ...
Click here to read the full article now!
COFFEE COULD REDUCE PROSTATE CANCER RISKS
A US study with almost 50,000 men has found that men with the highest intake of coffee had significantly lower risks of developing aggressive prostate cancer. Researchers from Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health used data from the Health Professionals' Follow-Up Study to investigate the association between regular and ...
Click here to read the full article now!
EXCESS SELENIUM IN SUPPLEMENT LINKED TO HEALTH PROBLEMS
A recent report revealed that in the US in 2008, numerous people fell ill after taking the supplements "Total Body Formula" and "Total Body Mega Formula. They started losing their hair and began suffering from fatigue, diarrhoea, nausea and other symptoms. The symptoms, first reported by patients of a Florida chiropractor who was ...
Click here to read the full article now!
EYE HEALTH BENEFITS FROM DIETARY CAROTENOIDS
A new study published in the Institute of Food Technologists' Journal of Food Science, supports the theory that dietary sources of the oxygenated carotenoids, lutein and zeaxanthin, benefit eye health. Carotenoids, a group of pigments found mainly in green leafy vegetables and coloured fruits, are deposited selectively in different ...
Click here to read the full article now!
IMPORTED DIET PRODUCTS NOW NEED MCC CLEARANCE
No diet product may be cleared by South African customs if the Medicine Control Council has not analysed the product, a Beeld report states. It notes that the MCC banned the product "Simply Slim" a few weeks ago after it was found to contain the prescription drug sibutramine. Tests have also shown sibutramine in ...
Click here to read the full article now!
SHEA TREE EXTRACT COULD AID JOINT HEALTH
An Australian study has indicated that an extract from the African shea tree (Vitellaria paradoxa) could be beneficial for joint health. The study - utilising a supplement known as SheaFlex70 - was conducted at the Australian Centre for Complementary Medicine Education and Research in Brisbane, and received funding from BSP Pharma, ...
Click here to read the full article now!
TEA AND COFFEE MAY DIMINISH DIABETES RISK
A new review and meta-analysis reveals that drinking three to four cups of tea or coffee a day may cut the risk of developing diabetes by 25%. Reviewers, led by Rachel Huxley from the University of Sydney, Australia, studied data of more than 500,000 individuals with over 21,000 cases of type-2 diabetes from prospective studies. ...
Click here to read the full article now!
OMEGA 3 COULD HELP PREVENT PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS
Researchers from Austria, Switzerland and Australia have established that daily fish oil capsules containing long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) may help prevent psychotic disorders in high risk individuals. In a randomised, double-blinded trial, G. Paul Amminger, MD of Medical University of Vienna, and his colleagues gave 81 ...
Click here to read the full article now!
POTASSIUM SUPPLEMENT BENEFITS
According to the results of a double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial on 42 men and women with mildly elevated blood pressure, potassium supplements can be of benefit to the heart and bones. The participants received potassium chloride for 4 weeks, potassium bicarbonate for 4 weeks, or a placebo for 4 weeks in random order over a 12 ...
Click here to read the full article now!
HERBAL VIAGRA WARNING
The UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), has warned the public off all herbal products offering to treat erectile dysfunction. The MHRA issued the warning after global recalls demonstrated that many ‘herbal viagra' products were adulterated with unauthorized pharma ingredients such as sildenafil, tadalafil, ...
Click here to read the full article now!
SUPPLEMENTS COULD REDUCE BLADDER CANCER RISK
Researchers, led by Maree Brinkman from The Cancer Council Victoria in Australia, have established that vitamins E and D as well as carotenoids, niacin and thiamine could cut the risk of bladder cancer, particularly in older people and heavy smokers. Brinkman and her co-workers analysed dietary data from 322 people with bladder cancer and 239 ...
Click here to read the full article now!
CHOCOLATE ASSOCIATED WITH LOWER STROKE RISK
According to the results of a Canadian analysis, higher flavonoid intake from chocolate sources may be associated with lower incident risk of stroke and stroke-related mortality. Sarah Sahib, BScCA, of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, along with Gustavo Saposnik, MD, MSc, of St Michael's Hospital and the University of Toronto evaluated ...
Click here to read the full article now!
BLUEBERRY MEMORY BOOST
A new study from the United States has established that drinking approximately 500 ml of blueberry juice a day can improve learning and word list recall, as well as reduce depressive symptoms in older people with early memory problems. Researchers, led by Robert Krikorian from the University of Cincinnati Academic Health Center state that their ...