It’s not often that I recommend natural remedies because there’s rarely any scientific evidence that they work better than a placebo. But when there’s data supporting their use I’m all for it. Such is now the case in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) as shown by a review of research recently published in the British Medical Journal. Turns out that two of the best treatments for IBS, peppermint oil and fiber, are old-fashioned, inexpensive and widely available over-the-counter (OTC). And I don’t mean that these are just two of the best natural remedies or two of the best OTC remedies, they are two of the best remedies period.
The research review found three IBS treatments to be consistently better than placebo. In addition to peppermint oil and fiber, the anti-spasmodic scopolamine (also called hyoscine), a natural product derived from certain plants, is also effective […]
Original post by natalieb and weightlossopinions.com
Have you heard of the National Children’s Study (NCS), an ambitious new research undertaking that will examine the effects of environmental influences on the health and development of 100,000 children from before birth to age 21? It’s already been 10 years in the making and will finally begin enrolling pregnant women in January 2009. That means it’ll take more than another two decades to complete, at an estimated cost of some $3.2 billion. But because the study will follow children over time, it will uncover and report different information as the children are born and as they age.According to a recent National Institutes of Health press release “[B]ecause the study will enroll pregnant women and, in some cases, women who are not yet pregnant, study scientists hope to identify a range of early life factors that influence later development. ‘With more than 100,000 participants, we believe […]
Original post by natalieb and weightlossopinions.com
Add Web searching to the list of mental activities like crossword puzzles that are thought to keep the aging mind engaged and healthy. Why? Take a look at the pictures below of two functional MRI (fMRI) brain scans. The one on the left shows brain activity while reading a book, while the one on the right shows brain activity while doing an Internet search. The differences are obvious and dramatic and the implication is that Web searching can be good for your mental health.
UCLA Newsroom - http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/srp-view.aspx?id=34812
At least that’s the conclusion of researchers at UCLA’s Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior who studied 24 volunteers between the ages of 55 and 76. According to their press release, “[T]he study results are encouraging, that emerging computerized technologies may have physiological effects and potential benefits for middle-aged and older adults,” said principal investigator Dr. […]
Original post by natalieb and weightlossopinions.com
This post is important for all pregnant women, mothers who are breast feeding their babies and for parents of infants, children and adolescents (please forward it to your family, friends and others as appropriate).
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has revised their recommendations for vitamin D supplementation of the diets of all newborns, infants, children and adolescents. The new recommendations (detailed below) basically double the amount of vitamin D recommended from 200 IU/day to 400 IU/day. The AAP’s recommendations were described in an October 13, 2008 press release as well as in a more detailed free online Clinical Report.
The new recommendations come at a time when the importance of vitamin D in maintaining health and preventing disease, and the near ubiquity of vitamin D deficiency are being recognized as critical public health concerns. It seems that every other day there is new information linking vitamin D […]
Original post by natalieb and weightlossopinions.com
St. John’s wort, an herb long thought to be effective for the treatment of depression, is used widely in many countries for this purpose and is available over-the-counter in the United States (but not approved by the FDA as an antidepressant). But clinical studies have sometimes yielded conflicting results, in part because of variations in study designs (such as the exact definition of depression) as well as variations in the preparation of the herbal extract and the dosages used. But a new meta-analysis has reviewed 29 separate studies involving nearly 5500 patients and found that, overall, St. John’s wort was more effective than placebo and similar in efficacy to both older antidepressants (such as those called tricyclics of which amitriptyline is typical) and newer ones (such as those called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, of which Prozac and Celexa are typical). Most of the patients studied […]
Original post by natalieb and weightlossopinions.com
Election day, Tuesday, November 4, is fast approaching and I encourage everyone to register and vote in this historic presidential election. But a new study has found that if you drive on election day during voting hours, you should exercise extra caution. That’s because, as strange as it may seem, there’s an 18 percent increased risk of dying in a motor vehicle accident during voting hours on a presidential election day than on a non-election day. The research was published in the October 1, 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The researchers examined all eight presidential elections since 1976 and found a consistent pattern of increased fatalities on election days across the decades. They compared the number of traffic accident-related fatalities on presidential election Tuesdays with the numbers on the Tuesdays before and after, which served as controls. On average, there were […]
Original post by natalieb and weightlossopinions.com
While the FDA dithers and the chemical industry stalls, now’s the time for you to act by reducing your and your family’s exposure to the toxic chemical bisphenol A, commonly referred to as BPA. That’s because the results of the first major epidemiologic study looking at the potential health effects of BPA in humans, published in the September 17, 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) , found a significant relationship between the amount of BPA that people had in their body (as measured by its excretion in their urine) and the occurrence of cardiovascular disease, diabetes (type 2 or what’s typically called adult onset diabetes) and abnormalities of liver enzymes (suggesting some type of liver damage). And while a study of this type cannot prove causality (that BPA actually caused these problems), it comes on the heels of many previous studies showing the […]
Original post by natalieb and weightlossopinions.com
After surgery for colon cancer, you are still at risk, both for cancer recurrence and for development of another new colon cancer. Because of this it’s important for colon cancer survivors to be followed closely and monitored carefully. But new research has found that many such survivors aren’t getting the proper follow-up care. And it looks as though the fault lies more with the doctors than it does with the patients. If you or someone you love is a colon cancer survivor, it’s important to know the guidelines for follow-up in order to ensure you’re getting the right tests.
In the study, published online in the journal Cancer on September 8, 2008 - only 40 percent of colon cancer survivors who were followed for three years had all the right doctor visits and tests. But since 92 percent of patients had all the proper office visits, […]
Original post by natalieb and weightlossopinions.com
Received wisdom has long held that people with diverticulosis (described below) should not eat nuts, corn or popcorn because these foods would increase the risk of their developing diverticulitis, a serious complication sometimes requiring surgery. In fact, most physicians specifically tell their patients with diverticulosis to avoid these foods even though there was never much evidence to support such a recommendation. But research just published in the Journal of the American Medical Association has found that eating these foods does not increase the risk of either diverticulosis or its potential complications. Moreover, for men with the highest intake of nuts and popcorn, there was actually a reduced risk of developing diverticulitis (20 percent reduction with regard to nuts and 28 percent reduction for popcorn). So much for received wisdom!
So just what is diverticulosis and diverticulitis? Diverticulosis is a very common condition in which there is […]
Original post by natalieb and weightlossopinions.com
The New York Times has initiated some controversy with its July 24, 2008 article entitled “What’s Lurking in Your Countertop?” The article reports on the finding of worrisome levels of radiation being emitted from some granite countertops that were tested in a few homes. But the controversy is not whether granite countertops emit any radiation, but how much and if some pieces are more radioactive than others.
That’s because granite naturally contains some uranium, which is radioactive and which decays into radon that can also be released (radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer). It’s generally thought, however, that the amounts contained in most countertops are very small and not enough to pose a significant health hazard. Most experts agree that this amount of radiation exposure is insignificant in comparison with the “normal” background radiation we are all exposed to all the time from […]
Original post by natalieb and weightlossopinions.com
