Natural Standard Blog

Honey May Help Nighttime Cough

A recent study focusing on the benefits of honey for the treatment of nighttime cough in children found the use of honey to be more beneficial in comparison to conventional treatments.

The study included 139 young children (24-60 months of age) who were experiencing coughing from upper respiratory tract infections. The participants were randomly assigned to receive 2.5 milliliters of honey or one of two commonly used drugs, dextromethorphan or diphenhydramine, before going to sleep. A fourth group was randomly assigned supportive therapy and served as the control group.

After 24 hours, the researchers used a questionnaire to measure the benefit of each treatment based on cough frequency and quality of sleep in the children and their parents. The authors noted that there was a significantly larger decrease in coughing for the children treated with honey as opposed to the other three treatment groups.

Although this study suggests that there may be a potential benefit for the use of honey in the treatment of nighttime couching in children, further research is necessary.

For more information about honey, please visit Natural Standard’s Foods, Herbs & Supplements database.

Natural Standard: NEW Web 2.0 Site

Natural Standard has a newly redesigned website.

The homepage prominently features Natural Standard's Evidence-based Validated Grading Rationale™, which is used to evaluate the available scientific evidence of effectiveness for integrative therapies.

The new site is faster and offers improved navigation. Now users can access Natural Standard's evidence-based systematic reviews more quickly to facilitate clinical decision making.

To help users navigate the new site, Natural Standard is offering several free training sessions. Register for a session by clicking on a date below.

• Tue, Nov 16, 2010 2:00 PM - 2:40 PM EST
• Thu, Nov 18, 2010 2:00 PM - 2:40 PM EST
• Tue, Nov 23, 2010 2:00 PM - 2:40 PM EST
• Tue, Nov 30, 2010 2:00 PM - 2:40 PM EST

Once registered, attendees will receive e-mail confirmation with information on how to join the webinar.

System Requirements:

• PC-based attendees: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server
• Macintosh®-based attendees: Mac OS® X 10.4.11 (Tiger®) or newer

CNN Interviews Natural Standard

CNN recently interviewed Dr. Catherine Ulbricht, co-founder of Natural Standard and Senior Attending Pharmacist at Massachusetts General Hospital, about the safety and effectiveness of red yeast rice supplements, which are popularly used to lower cholesterol.

The news article highlights a recent study that found that red yeast rice supplements may contain varying amounts of monacolins, the active ingredients responsible for their cholesterol-lowering effects. One of these ingredients, monacolin K, has the same chemical structure as the prescription drugs lovastatin and mevinolin.

The researchers purchased 12 commercial red yeast rice supplements and analyzed them for their monacolin content. Although the products were said to contain 600 milligrams of red yeast rice, they contained anywhere from 0.31 to 11.15 milligrams of monacolins per capsule.

Many supplements, including red yeast rice, are not standardized to contain specific ingredients or dosages, Dr. Ulbricht told CNN.

Four of the supplements also contained detectable amounts of citrinin, a toxin that has been shown to cause kidney damage in animals.

Red yeast rice has also been studied as a potential therapy for coronary artery disease and diabetes, although evidence of effectiveness is currently inconclusive in these areas.

For more information about red yeast rice, please visit Natural Standard's Foods, Herbs & Supplements database. To schedule an expert interview or book signing with Dr. Ulbricht, please e-mail questions@naturalstandard.com.

Natural Standard Common Cold Review Published

A Natural Standard evidence-based review of integrative therapies for the common cold will be featured in the December 2010 edition of Alternative and Complementary Therapies.

Colds are one of the leading causes of doctor visits and missed days from school and work. In the United States, most colds occur during the fall and winter. The seasonal variation may relate to the opening of schools and to cold weather, which often prompt people to spend more time indoors and increase the chances that viruses will spread from person to person. Viruses are also more prevalent in cold, dry environments.

Integrative therapies discussed in the article include andrographis, echinacea, sage and vitamin C, among others.

For more information about integrative therapies for the common cold, please visit Natural Standard's Comparative Effectiveness database.

DHA May Not Slow Alzheimer's

According to a recent study, supplementation with the fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) may not slow cognitive decline in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Fatty acids, particularly omega-3 fatty acids like DHA, are important for the growth and functional development of the brain in infants. Earlier evidence has suggested that fish oil, which contains DHA and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), may help prevent cognitive decline in older adults.

The study, funded by Martek Biosciences (the manufacturer of the DHA pills used in the study) and the National Institute on Aging, included 401 adults with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease. The participants were randomly assigned to receive either 2 grams of DHA or placebo daily for 18 months. A total of 295 people completed the trial.

Cognitive function was evaluated using the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale and Clinical Dementia Rating and was found to be similar between both groups. When the researchers reviewed MRI scans in a subset of patients, they found that DHA did not appear to affect the rate of brain atrophy.

Although no benefit was reported in this study, fish oil has been shown to have various other health benefits. For instance, fish oil is commonly taken to help prevent heart disease, and supplementation has been shown to help lower triglyceride levels and blood pressure, reduce mortality rates and abnormal heart rhythms and prevent strokes and atherosclerosis. However, high doses may have harmful effects, such as increased risk of bleeding.

For more information about omega-3 fatty acids, please visit Natural Standard's Foods, Herbs & Supplements database.

BPA and Sperm Quality

New evidence suggests that bisphenol-A (BPA), a chemical commonly used in hardened plastics, may have detrimental effects on sperm quality in humans.

Earlier studies linked BPA to reduced sperm quality in male animals. Moreover, in female rats, BPA has been linked to early-onset puberty, ovarian malformations and premature loss of the estrus cycle.

The recent study included 218 male factory workers in China, some of whom were exposed to high levels of BPA at work. The researchers measured the amount of BPA in the participants' urine and assessed sperm quality, including sperm concentration, total sperm count, sperm motility and sperm vitality.

The researchers found that men with detectable BPA levels were 2-4 times more likely to have poor sperm quality than those with non-detectable BPA levels.

Several manufacturers in the United States have voluntarily stopped using BPA as a precautionary measure. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's National Center for Toxicological Research is working collaboratively with the National Toxicology Program and the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences to evaluate the safety of BPA. Last month, Canada became the first nation to officially declare BPA a toxic substance.

For more information about sperm quality, please visit Natural Standard's Medical Conditions database.

Natural Standard Fibromyalgia Review Published

The fall edition of the Journal of the American Association of Integrative Medicine (JAAIM) features a Natural Standard review of integrative therapies for fibromyalgia.

Fibromyalgia causes pain and fatigue in the muscles, ligaments and tendons. Researchers believe that several factors, including sleep disturbances, injury, abnormalities in the nervous system and changes in the muscle metabolism, may lead to the development of fibromyalgia. Featured integrative therapies include 5-HTP, acupuncture, chlorella and chiropractic therapy, among several others.

For more information about integrative therapies for fibromyalgia, please visit Natural Standard's Comparative Effectiveness database.

Job Strain and Heart Health

Women with high job strain may have an increased risk of heart disease, researchers reported at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2010.

Job strain was defined as having a stressful job, but having little-to-no decision-making authority or opportunity to use one’s creative skills.

In situations of stress, there is increased activity of the sympathetic nervous system, which leads to the "fight or flight" response. Physiological changes include increased heart rate, blood pressure, breathing rate and blood supply to the muscles, as well as dilated pupils. It has been proposed that frequent stressful situations may lead to negative health effects, such as high blood pressure, increased cholesterol levels, gastrointestinal distress and a weakened immune system.

In the recent study, which was funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), researchers analyzed data from 17,415 healthy women who participated in the landmark Women’s Health Study.  Most participants were Caucasian, and their average age was 57. The women answered questions about their job strain and job security. They were followed for more than 10 years and monitored for the development of heart disease.

The researchers found that women who reported high levels of job strain had a 40 percent increased risk of heart disease, including heart attacks, ischemic strokes, coronary artery bypass surgery or balloon angioplasty and death. When looking at specific heart problems, the researchers found that high job strain was linked to an 88 percent increased risk of heart attack and a 43 percent increased risk of having bypass surgery or another invasive heart procedure.

The researchers also found that job insecurity may also be linked to heart disease risk factors, such as high blood pressure, increased body weight and high cholesterol.

For more information about work-life balance, please visit Natural Standard’s Health & Wellness database.

Webinar Forum: Insect Bites - An Integrative Approach

Natural Standard is offering a series of upcoming complimentary webinars on integrative medicine. Natural Standard offers these impartial webinars as an informational public service. All webinars are recorded and archived at www.naturalstandard.com/webinars.

Using resources from Natural Standard's database, Scott Morrissey, PharmDc, discusses different types of insect bites, as well as available treatment options.The PowerPoint slides, created by Todd Schoen, are also available for download.

To listen to the webinar, please click here. Complimentary access to the webinar is available November 1-30, 2010.

 

Webinar Forum: Q & A with Jeff Corwin

Natural Standard is offering a series of upcoming complimentary webinars on integrative medicine. Natural Standard offers these impartial webinars as an informational public service. All webinars are recorded and archived at www.naturalstandard.com/webinars.

Catherine Ulbricht, PharmD, co-founder of Natural Standard, and Karina Gordin, PharmD recently interviewed Jeff Corwin.

Corwin is a wildlife biologist who has worked for the conservation of endangered species, natural resources and ecosystems around the globe. He is the host of several television shows, including Animal Planet's Jeff Corwin Experience and Food Network's Extreme Cuisine and is the author of several books, including 100 Heartbeats: The Race to Save Earth's Most Endangered Species.

To listen to the webinar, please click here. Complimentary access to the webinar is available November 1-30, 2010.

Webinar Forum: Q & A with Brendan Brazier

Natural Standard is offering a series of upcoming complimentary webinars on integrative medicine. Natural Standard offers these impartial webinars as an informational public service. All webinars are recorded and archived at www.naturalstandard.com/webinars.

Catherine Ulbricht, PharmD, co-founder of Natural Standard, and Karina Gordin, PharmD recently interviewed Brendan Brazier.

Brazier is a professional Ironman triathlete, bestselling author on performance nutrition and the creator of whole-food nutritional products called VEGA. He is also a two-time Canadian 50km Ultra Marathon Champion.

To listen to the webinar, please click here. Complimentary access to the webinar is available November 1-30, 2010.