The new issue of the Journal of Dietary Supplements (JDS) features a Natural Standard evidence-based review on Tongkat Ali (Eurycoma longifolia).
The international, peer-reviewed journal aims to help consumers and clinicians make informed decisions about the preparations, foods and botanicals that are used to improve health.
The new issue includes the following articles:
Potential Toxicity of Caffeine when Used as a Dietary Supplement for Weight Loss, by Morgan Pendleton, Stacy Brown, Christan M. Thomas, and Brian Odle.
Effects of Glycine-Arginine-α-Ketoisocaproic Acid Supplementation in College-Age Trained Females during Multi-Bouts of Resistance Exercise, by Benjamin Wax, Laura Hilton, Brad Vickers, Katherine Gilliland, and Mandy Conrad.
A Randomized, Double-Blind Clinical Study on the Safety and Tolerability of an Iron Multi-Amino Acid Chelate Preparation in Premenopausal Women, by Gameil T. Fouad, Malkanthi Evans, Prachi Sharma, Joshua Baisley, David Crowley, and Najla Guthrie.
The Efficacy of Irvingia Gabonensis Supplementation in the Management of Overweight and Obesity: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials, by Igho Onakpoya, Lucy Davies, Paul Posadzki, and Edzard Ernst.
Chemical Composition and Biological Evaluation of Physalis peruviana Root as Hepato-renal Protective Agent, by Souad E. El-Gengaihi, Emad E. Hassan, Manal A. Hamed, Hanan G. Zahran, and Mona A. Mohammed.
An Evidence-Based Systematic Review of Tongkat Ali (Eurycoma longifolia) by the Natural Standard Research Collaboration, by Catherine Ulbricht, Julie Conquer, Kelly Flanagan, Richard Isaac, Erica Rusie, and Regina C. Windsor.
To submit a manuscript for a future issue online, please visit the mc.manuscriptcentral.com/wjds.
For more information, please e-mail jds@naturalstandard.com.
Physalis peruviana can help protect your liver and kidneys? Im interested. Turns out it is also called cape gooseberry, Inca berry, Aztec berry, golden berry, giant ground cherry, Peruvian ground cherry, Peruvian cherry, pok pok, poha, ras bhari, aguaymanto, uvilla, and uchuva. For those of you keeping track, that's 14 different names for the same thing (I haven't heard of any of them!). I'm glad I have a resource like the Natural Standard to help me sort them all out!!
Posted by: Zach | March 13, 2013 at 03:34 PM
The article in this book that caught my eye was Irvingia Gabonensis (African Bush Mango) for weight control. This review found a statistically significant reduction in weight with african bush mango...I wonder if this is similar to the effect of avocados on weight? Maybe these individuals were just eating healthier in general (more fruits and veggies).
Posted by: Zach | March 13, 2013 at 03:29 PM
I am glad that I read the article about potential caffeine overdose when using weight loss supplements. I am a pharmacist, and I was just counseling someone yesterday about weight loss supplements. As I was talking to her, she let me know that she has an atrial fibrillation, which certainly made me steer her clear of many of the available supplements. This article being at the forefront of my mind reminded me of this danger with weight loss supplements.
Posted by: bz | March 07, 2013 at 06:59 PM
Thanks for posting the link to these articles! I found the article on using the iron product in premenopausal women particularly interesting. I recommend iron supplements to premenopausal women constantly, and have many taking slow release iron as their preferred product. It was nice to read about an alternative product for some of these women!
Posted by: bz | March 01, 2013 at 01:47 PM
I just read the article about the negative effects caffeine can have in dietary supplements. The author presented a case about an otherwise healthy 38 year old female who presented with blurred vision and a grand mal seizure after consuming Zantrex weight loss product. Caution should be advised when counseling patients on over the counter medications used to for weight loss, as they are not regulated by the FDA and can have serious complications. Even in this patient who did not have any prior history of seizures.
Posted by: kj | February 28, 2013 at 03:38 PM
This may be a bit of a tangent, but article about caffeine got me thinking about how much people drink in energy drinks these days, which led to the vitamin B content of many of these drinks now. I've had several people tell me that they're ok to drink because they have so much of the vitamin B in them and that "their provider" told them the vitamin B was what was giving all the energy. I never quite bought that, and this gave me a chance to look it up! According to the NS monographs, B12 has been studied for fatigue, but only receives a grade of C. It doesn't sound like overloading on vitamin B supplements is going to be the energy cure people are looking for! I personally still think it's just the combination of caffeine and sugar that gives the boost!
Posted by: bp | February 28, 2013 at 11:54 AM
I love to read the new issues of the Journal of Dietary Supplements as they become available, and this looks to be another great issue! I am particularly interested in the article on caffeine and the potential for toxicity when using it for weight loss. Caffeine is in so many products these days that people don't always realize how much caffeine they are taking in during the course of a day. I am looking forward to reading more about its potential toxicity so I can remind my patients of this potential issue.
Posted by: bz | February 21, 2013 at 11:28 AM
Caffeine is a vital component to multiple OTC weight loss supplements including Hydroxycut, Xenadrine, Lipo-6, 1-EZ Diet, Slim-Quick, and some Raspberry Ketone products. One of the key articles presented in this issue of the Journal of Dietary Supplements describes a case report of blurred vision and seizures resulting from use of caffeinated Zantrex-3 dietary supplements for only two months. According to one Zantrex-3 research trial comparing it's weight loss to an ephedra-based dietary supplement's weight loss, the authors claim that participants lost 546% more weight with Zantrex-3 after 45 days without diet and exercise. I would like to see the actual study design, materials, methods, and statistical analyses for this trial because I'm not convinced! Before starting any dietary supplements, I would advise individuals to talk to their doctors and/or pharmacists about possible side effects and explore other weight loss avenues.
Posted by: kl | February 20, 2013 at 07:11 PM