PHILADELPHIA—Holistic medicine is often considered more preventive than therapeutic, especially when it comes to cardiovascular disease. But even patients with advanced heart disease can benefit greatly from multimodal natural therapeutics.
White Adipose Tissue (WAT), the raw material of love handles, secretes a wide range of signaling substances that can radically change metabolism. Dr. Jay Udani reviews the new science emerging on this topic, and explains why it becomes progressively more difficult for obese people to lose weight, even when they try very hard.
While herbal medicines are generally considered to be quite safe, there are currently no laws mandating physicians to report adverse events associated with herbs to federal authorities. Similarly, there are no laws requiring the FDA to investigate reported incidents. Without better national reporting and follow-up systems, it is difficult to gauge the true safety of common herbal medicines.
After a protracted struggle with the California Medical Association and organizations representing other holistic practitioners, Naturopathic Doctors (NDs) in California won the right to licensure. Under SB 907, NDs in California will now be able to practice as independent primary care doctors.
Teaching children to “clean their plates,” and “eat every last bite,” made a lot of sense in times of want. In the era of supersized meals full of saturated fat, sugar and salt, it is a set-up for obesity. Interestingly, human infants have an innate capacity to regulate food intake based on energy need, but as they grow, they’re taught to eat more than they really need.
Managing menopause symptoms without conventional hormone replacement therapy requires much more than substituting soy or Black Cohosh for PremPro. Elena Barengolts, MD, a holistic endocrinologist, describes her comprehensive approach that includes plant phytoestrogens, ginseng, calcium, vitamin D, and various herbs to promote better sleep.
As we’ve learned more about the importance of vitamin D in preventing heart disease, colon cancer, diabetes and depression, some people have begun to challenge skin cancer reduction efforts focused on sun avoidance. But careful review of the science shows that oral vitamin D supplements can more than compensate for any vitamin D lost through sun-avoidance. For light skinned people, sun protection makes most sense—just make sure to use eco-friendly products.
Daily supplementation with Vitamin D, 50 mcg (2,000 IU) per day, produced a marked increase in circulating levels of interleukin 10, an important anti-inflammatory cytokine, in patients with chronic congestive heart failure.
As use of herbal medicines continues to grow, supplement industry trade groups are implementing a number of self-regulation systems to try and improve the quality and reliability of botanical medicine products.
The federally funded clinical trials in natural medicine now underway are essential for evolution of the field, but they do not go far enough, according to Marc Micozzi, MD, PhD, director of the newly formed Policy Institute for Integrative Medicine. His goal is to translate findings from clinical trials into actionable public health policy.
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