The Natural Medicine Journal is an open-access, peer-reviewed e-journal for integrative healthcare practitioners, as well as students and faculty who focus on the field of natural medicine. The monthly journal and website provide scientifically-valid, clinically-relevant information.
The September issue features the following articles:
Aloe Vera Gel Research Review by Oliver Grundmann, PhD
Women's Health Expert, Tori Hudson, ND, Chooses Her Top 10 Scientifically Substantiated Botanicals by Karolyn A. Gazella
What Went Wrong: The Truth Behind the Clinical Trial of the Enzyme Treatment of Cancer by Greg Nigh, ND, Lac
N-Acetylcysteine in the Treatment of Childhood Autism by Kaycie Rosen
Omega-3 Fatty Acid and Epilepsy by By Barry Ritz, PhD
Ubiquinol for Idiopathic Male Factor Infertility By Setareh Tais, ND
Pelargonium Sidoides Bronchitis in Pediatrics By Jaclyn Chasse, ND
Appreciating Coffee in Its Full Complexity by By Petra Eichelsdoerfer, ND, CN, RPh
Exploring Environmental Medicine with Women's Health Expert Marianne Marchese, ND by Karolyn A. Gazella
To subscribe to the complimentary journal, please visit www.naturalmedicinejournal.com.
Frequent Chocolate Consumption May Lower BMI -
Again, another one up for chocolate consumption! This study is worth a read to form your own opinion. I found it especially valuable that the while frequency of eating chocolate was linked to lower BMI, it was not linked to greater activity, an obvious confounder. This article could help to put worries of gaining weight while eating chocolate for health at bay – probably in moderation, though!
Posted by: My Lien | October 12, 2012 at 12:45 PM
Type 2 Diabetes, Depression, and Magnesium -
Wow! This is news to me. The benefits of magnesium. I understand its importance as far as balanced blood chemistry, but the potential health benefits are an area for me to review further. Natural Standard's monograph will be a great resource for this one!
Posted by: My Lien | October 12, 2012 at 12:44 PM
High Fructose Corn Syrup and Pancreatic Cancer -
Extremely interesting and with an introduction to the mechanism of cancer growth by dietary fructose. Studies such as this one will add new information as we sort out the data and controversy on high fructose corn syrup.
Posted by: My Lien | October 12, 2012 at 12:31 PM
Bitter Melon Nutrient Profile-
Very interesting review. I know from personal experience in the Vietnamese culture that bitter melon has long been regarded as having medicinal value. Surely, the research will continue and with stronger studies in order to fully understand this culturally important plant.
Posted by: My Lien | October 12, 2012 at 12:08 PM
After reviewing numerous articles from this new journal, I believe the journal is a valuable venue for publications on CAM; as well as a reliable resource for evidence-based CAM information. Looking forward to the next issue.
Posted by: My Lien | October 05, 2012 at 03:00 PM
Regarding: Pelargonium Sidoides for Pediatric Bronchitis. This is a completely new area for me. It is important to see more similar CAM studies to equip practitioners and consumers with alternatives to treatment. This is especially important in our era of over prescribing of antibiotics, increased antimicrobial resistance, and decreasing novel antibiotics to combat infections.
Posted by: My Lien | October 05, 2012 at 02:54 PM
The article, Appreciating Coffee in Its Full Complexity, is a good read that educates one on some of the associations between coffee drinking and health conditions as revealed in the participants followed. Any investigation into the effects of coffee on health is confounded by the many variables associated with its use (from quantity to other health habits). For more information on coffee, review some of the over 1400 articles on coffee compiled in the Natural Standard's database.
Posted by: My Lien | October 05, 2012 at 02:47 PM
Regarding: Ubiquinol for Idiopathic Male Factor Infertility. Another study evaluating the use of ubiquinol (reduced form of coenzyme Q10). Coenzyme Q10 has a Natural Standard evidence grade of C for Unclear or Conflicting Scientific Evidence for Idiopathic asthenozoospermia, and states “There is early evidence that supports the use of CoQ10 in the treatment of increasing sperm count and motility. Better studies are needed before a strong recommendation can be made.” The current study should be added to the body of literature as it may further support this use.
Posted by: My Lien | October 05, 2012 at 02:25 PM
Regarding: Cherry Juice Supplies Melatonin and Improves Sleep. The study reviewed in this article suggests that drinking tart cherry juice concentrate can improve sleep duration by providing an increase in exogenous melatonin. I find it interesting that Natural Standard’s monograph on Cherry has no mention of use for sleep or melatonin. Perhaps an update is needed. Have others seen the use of cherry juice for improving sleep?
Posted by: My Lien | October 05, 2012 at 02:10 PM
Regarding: Assessing Egg Quantity with Anti-Mullerian Hormone. Extremely interesting and enlightening - the review of substances for alternative therapies for infertility in women. Many women may find this information valuable as they consider treatments. Unfortunately, few may be aware of CAM for the treatment of infertility.
Posted by: My Lien | October 05, 2012 at 01:51 PM
Regarding the article: Cannabinoid-Opioid Interaction in Chronic Pain. The author describes this paper as a first investigating the topic. An important consideration for medical applications of Cannabis as an alternative to opioids.
Posted by: My Lien | October 05, 2012 at 01:40 PM
Regarding the article on Aloe Vera Gel Research Review by Oliver Grundmann, PhD - interesting. In Vietnam, I have seen the gel taken internally as a tonic and as a laxative. These uses were not covered in the review. Have others seen these uses?
Posted by: My Lien | October 05, 2012 at 12:56 PM
This journal is indeed very interesting. I have never heard of Omega-3's for epilepsy previously either. Omega-3's are grade C for epilepsy according to Natural Standard. And yoga is evidence grade B for epilepsy! That's exciting to know!
The coffee article seems a little skewed towards how coffee has so many health benefits. I would like to see more studies on this subject area.
Posted by: Marina | September 20, 2012 at 05:06 PM
One of the benefits of doing a pharmacy rotation with Natural Standards is discovering the many resources that are available to learn more!!! This Natural Medicine Journal is an example. I look forward to browsing its pages!
Posted by: My Lien T. Nguyen | September 20, 2012 at 03:49 PM
This edition looks like it has some interesting articles in it that I am looking forward to reading. I wonder what research has been done on Aloe Vera that will be reviewed here in this journal. The title doesn’t give much insight. I am also interested in reading the article about omega-3 and epilepsy. I find it neat when people discover new uses for a supplement, like omega-3.
Posted by: anonymous | September 14, 2012 at 01:03 PM
I am happy to see that Natural Standard has made this journal available, as it contains a lot of clinically relevant information about natural products. I was particularly interested in the article about coffee. The article reports that men that drink over 6 cups of coffee per day are 40% less likely to die from diabetes! I found this particularly interesting as in pharmacy school, our diabetes teacher taught us to always be on the lookout for coffee-drinking patients as many pour way too much sugar into their drinks, and 6 cups can result in a very high daily sugar intake from coffee alone. Perhaps men are less likely to add a lot of sugar? Regardless, this was a very interesting read.
Posted by: ki | September 13, 2012 at 12:12 PM
The article on coffee is interesting. According to the article, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, women who drank more than 6 cups of coffee daily had reduced overall mortality. However, coffee drinkers were also more likely to consume alcoholic beverages daily, eat red meat, exercise less, and eat fewer fruits and vegetables, factors which would seem to reduce mortality. Perhaps the antioxidants in coffee exert a protective effect against these other factors?
Posted by: Angela | September 13, 2012 at 10:52 AM
I've started reading some of these articles and I am really impressed! The choice of topics are really interesting and the writing comes off as analytical and unbiased. I will definitely continue reading this in the long run.
Posted by: Marina | September 07, 2012 at 11:30 AM
In the article about long term effects of coffee, a part of the study’s findings that stood out for me was that caffeinated coffee vs. decaf did not make a big difference in health benefits. According to the mechanism of action section of the Natural Standard monograph, coffee (called “green coffee”) contains chlorogenic acids which are strong antioxidants. If the health benefits from coffee are coming from the antioxidants then maybe we can avoid the caffeine.
Posted by: Carla | September 07, 2012 at 10:42 AM
I have never heard of this journal. It is great that it is available to view for free. This will be a great way to keep up on all of the new research in natural medicine after my rotation here at Natural Standard is over.
Posted by: AS | September 07, 2012 at 10:35 AM
This seems like a great resource! I am definitely going to bookmark this site. The topics are interesting and the information is presented in a way that is easy to understand. I liked the article about the study of NAC in childhood autism, not because it showed some benefit, but because a natural product, rather than a synthetic one, could become a viable treatment option for this condition.
Posted by: NA | September 07, 2012 at 12:43 AM
How exciting! There looks like there are some great articles in this issue. I am interested to read the article on N-Acetylcysteine and Autism. I didn’t know Autism was something you could treat, and that of all things to treat it! Another article that I am interested to read is the “Appreciating Coffee in Its Full Complexity.” Even though I do not drink coffee, I know a lot of people that do. I always like reading about it because it seems like there are so many articles with conflicting opinions on coffee as to its health benefits and detriments.
Posted by: MK | September 06, 2012 at 11:17 AM
This issue looks like it has a lot of really interesting articles! I just read the article about Omega-3 and epilepsy. I had no idea that it was being studied for this condition. While the study only looked at 10 patients I was excited to see that 6 patients showed a reduction in seizures. I would be interested to see more research done on more patients and perhaps over a period that is longer than 3 months. Omega 3 currently has many health benefits and it would be nice to add another one to the list!
Posted by: anonymous | September 06, 2012 at 11:02 AM