MedWorm: Complementary Medicine

How to Make It to the Final Whistle

Al Sears, MD Natural Remedies — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 06:00:25 +0100

Did you watch the Super Bowl? We even got to see it in Africa. It’s such a huge event around the world now… almost as big as the World Cup for soccer, the rest of the world’s version of football. I Was Sure I Was a Goner… I’d heard in the news that chimpanzees in [...] (Source: Al Sears, MD Natural Remedies)

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A placebo-controlled trial of Korean red ginseng extract for preventing Influenza-like illness in healthy adults

BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 05:00:00 +0100

This study is a randomized placebo controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of the KRG extract compared to placebo and will be provided valuable new information about the clinical and physiological effects of the KRG extract on reduction of ILI incidence including flu and upper respiratory tract infections. The study has been pragmatically designed to ensure that the study findings can be implemented into clinical practice if KRG extract can be shown to be an effective reduction strategy in ILI incidence. Trial Registration: NCT01478009. (Source: BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine)

A Rationale of Ginseng as a Novel Addition to the Antihirsutism Armamentarium

The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:00:31 +0100

The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine , Vol. 0, No. 0. (Source: The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine)

Your Body Knows Better

Al Sears, MD Natural Remedies — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:53:51 +0100

Cardio doesn’t work. Modern fitness “experts” have been pushing the idea that cardiovascular endurance training is the only way to get fit. But your body knows better. It’s why you dread that long, boring, painful workout. So don’t do it anymore. I have something better. And it’s the opposite of “exercise.” It’s easy to do, [...] (Source: Al Sears, MD Natural Remedies)

A systematic review on use of Chinese medicine and acupuncture for treatment of obesity

Obesity Reviews — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:43:24 +0100

SummaryObesity is a major health hazard and despite lifestyle modification, many patients frequently regain any lost body weight. The use of western anti‐obesity drugs has been limited by side effects including mood changes, suicidal thoughts, and gastrointestinal or cardiovascular complications. The effectiveness and safety of traditional Chinese medicine including Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) and acupuncture provide an alternative established therapy for this medical challenge. In this systematic review, we used standard methodologies to search, review, analyse and synthesize published data on the efficacy, safety and relapse of weight regain associated with use of CHM and acupuncture. We also examined the rationale, mechanisms and potential utility of these therapies. A total of 12 e...

No Breast Cancer Protections From Soy Isoflavone Supplements

Health News from Medical News Today — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 08:00:00 +0100

Soy isoflavone supplements did not decrease breast cancer cell proliferation in a randomized clinical trial, according to a study published in Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. Lead researcher Seema A. Khan, M.D., professor of surgery at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, said the results of this study are consistent with the findings of previous studies that were designed to test cancer prevention benefits of dietary supplements. "Simply put, supplements are not food... (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)

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Ginsenoside Re: Its chemistry, metabolism and pharmacokinetics

Chinese Medicine — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 05:00:00 +0100

Ginsenosides, the bioactive components of ginseng, can be divided into two major groups, namely 20(S)-protopanaxatriol (e.g. Re, Rg1, Rg2, and Rb3) and 20(S)-protopanaxadiol (e.g. Rb1, Rb2, Rc, and Rd). Biological and environmental factors may affect the content of ginsenosides in different parts of ginseng plant. Evidence from pharmacokinetic and metabolic studies of Re demonstrated that (1) the absorption of Re is fast in gastrointestinal tract; (2) Re may be metabolized mainly to Rh1 and F1 by intestinal microflora before absorption into blood; and (3) Re is quickly cleared from the body. (Source: Chinese Medicine)

Diet supplements recalled on unlabeled drug worries

Reuters: Health — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 21:50:32 +0100

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Healthy People Co is recalling 15 lots of seven different dietary supplements because they contain appetite suppressants or a drug for male erectile dysfunction, the Long Beach, California, company said. (Source: Reuters: Health)

Healthy People Co. Dietary Supplements: Recall - Undeclared Drug Ingredient

FDA MedWatch — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:00:00 +0100

Recalled products pose significant risk to patients with a history of coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, arrhythmias, or stroke. (Source: FDA MedWatch)

Psychedelic drugs: more a case of 'turn off, tune in, drop out' | Johnjoe McFadden

Guardian Unlimited Science — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 08:00:00 +0100

Magic mushrooms work by shutting down parts of the brain, not expanding the mind, according to new researchSix thousand years ago palaeolithic hunters painted images on the walls of the Selva Pascuala caves in Spain that look remarkably similar to locally abundant Psilocybe hispanica, one of the many "magic mushrooms" that contains the hallucinogen psilocybin. The same or similar mushrooms have been used throughout the ages to induce states of religious ecstasy, spiritual enlightenment, mystical meanderings or simply to have a great time. But how do they work? Timothy Leary, who famously told a generation of Americans to "turn on, tune in, drop out", claimed these "mind-expanding chemicals … acts as a chemical key – it opens the mind, frees the nervous system of its ordinary patterns a...

I Found the Pearl of Africa

Al Sears, MD Natural Remedies — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 06:00:47 +0100

I’ve been to some of the most beautiful places on Earth. But I made my home base for my trip to Africa near Kampala, Uganda, because it’s by far the most incredible landscape I’ve ever seen. It’s the heart of Africa, and it’s unique because it’s where the dense, Western forest meets the dry savannah. [...] (Source: Al Sears, MD Natural Remedies)

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Well: How Massage Heals Sore Muscles

NYT Health — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 05:01:23 +0100

Researchers have found what happens to muscles when a masseur goes to work on them. (Source: NYT Health)

Clinical Efficacy of Macrophage-Activating Chinese Mixed Herbs (MACH) in Improvement of Embryo Qualities in Women with Long-Term Infertility of Unknown Etiology.