When it comes to managing a broad range of common chronic conditions and quickly improving patients’ overall sense of wellbeing, few things pack as much therapeutic punch as the B vitamins. A look at this family of friendly vitamins and how best to use them.
Our medical minds like simple answers, a tendency sometimes at odds with the complexity of biological phenomena. Take the question of soy and women’s health, for example. There’s little doubt that overall, soy is a healthy food, and a great source of protein for women. But when one looks at specific tissues, and tries to determine whether soy isoflavones enhance or inhibit endogenous estrogenic effects, the simple answers quickly evaporate.
Pycnogenol, an extract of French Maritime Pine bark, and Avocado-Soybean Unsaponifiables (ASU), compounds extracted from soy and avocado oils, work as well or better than available anti-arthritic medications. They also have fewer side effects and cost less.
ANAHEIM, CA—Statins will only go so far in reducing the incidence of cardiovascular events, said H. Robert Superko, MD, at Nutracon, an annual conference on advances in nutraceutical product development.
Say the word “probiotic” and people think, “gastrointestinal health.” That’s natural, since probiotics are invaluable in the management of digestive system problems. But they are also helpful for other health challenges, including infections of the female urogenital tract, like bacterial vaginosis, vulvovaginal candidiasis and related problems.
Niacin is every effective in reducing LDL and elevating HDL or “good” cholesterol. But it is under-used in part because many people taking standard forms of niacin experience intense flushing. Extended release forms of niacin are now available that eliminate this problem. A statin-niacin combination called Advicor is “the ideal drug combination” for reducing heart disease risk, says cardiologist William Insull, MD.
Daily consumption of magnesium-rich whole grains took a 30% bite out of the risk of diabetes among a cohort of more than 40,000 Black women, according to a recently published transatlantic study.
Standardized botanical extracts are sold under a plethora of different brand names, making it difficult for physicians and consumers to choose the most effective products. A guide to the most well researched herbal extract ingredients and the brands under which they are marketed.
Citing a number of deaths associated with ephedra, the FDA opted to ban this herb as a dietary supplement for weight loss, and may soon go after similar herbs like Bitter Orange. Herb industry leaders and natural medicine practitioners contend that the deaths were due to abuse, and that when used appropriately under practitioner supervision, the herb is safe.
New food allergen labeling regulations, effective in January 2006, will make it easier for food-sensitive people to avoid allergy triggers.
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