Natural Standard Blog

Featured Audio: Echinacea

Natural Standard is pleased to announce the availability of NEW multi-media audio recordings of over 200 evidence-based English Bottom Line Monographs. Audio will be available for all English Foods, Herbs & Supplement topics in the coming months.

This month's featured audio recording is Echinacea. Natural medicine experts frequently recommend oral extracts of echinacea for the treatment of the common cold and for other conditions requiring immune stimulation. Access to the full audio recording is now available here.

NEW Recipe Database Search Interface

Natural Standard is pleased to announce the availability of a new advanced search interface within the increasingly popular Recipe Database.

In addition to regular exercise, well-balanced meals and sensible portions are important to overall health. The Natural Standard Recipe Database, launched in May 2012, features a wide range of healthy recipes in the following categories: Beans & Legumes, Dairy, Eggs, Fruit, Meat, Pasta, Poultry, Rice & Grains, Seafood, Vegetables and Nuts, Fats & Oils.

Each recipe provides details on preparation time, difficulty, special diet and nutrition information, as well as direct links to Natural Standard evidence-based systematic reviews for studied ingredients.

The new advanced search interface allows users to quickly narrow results by various filters, including servings, cook time, difficulty, main ingredient, meal, cuisine and special diet, simplifying the search process as the database continues to grow. Users may also continue to scroll through the complete list of available recipes if desired.

To try the NEW advanced search interface, please visit Natural Standard's Recipe Database.

Lack of Sleep May Cause Weight Gain

New research suggests that insufficient sleep may result in increased food intake and weight gain.

Sleep disorders occur when an individual has problems with his/her sleep cycle. As a result, it may take patients longer to fall asleep, patients may wake up during the night, wake up early, they may fall asleep throughout the day, have severe nightmares (called night terrors), act out their dreams, or stop breathing during sleep. Most sleep disorders can be managed with lifestyle changes and/or medications. High workplace stress or long work hours may also result in insufficient sleep.

In a recent study, researchers evaluated 16 adults throughout a fifteen-day inpatient study. Each participant experienced five consecutive nights of insufficient sleep to mimic the effects of a long work week. Researchers then reviewed data on food consumption and energy expenditure during days of inadequate sleep and compared results to those from nights of adequate sleep.

The researchers found that when participants received insufficient sleep, their food consumption increased beyond what was needed for normal energy balance. The authors noted that consumption increased particularly at night after eating dinner. Furthermore, insufficient sleep resulted in an average weight gain of 0.82 kilograms. Additionally, lack of sleep affected women more than men. Weight was maintained in women who received adequate amounts of sleep, but increased during nights of insufficient sleep.

Many integrative therapies have been studied for their potential effects on sleep. In older adults, music may result in significantly better sleep quality as well as longer sleep duration, greater sleep efficiency, shorter time needed to fall asleep, less sleep disturbance and less daytime dysfunction. There is also evidence of benefit in elementary-age children or stable preterm infants. Music therapy may also be as effective as chloral hydrate in inducing sleep or sedation in children undergoing EEG testing.

For more information about integrative therapies with evidence of benefit for sleep quality, please visit Natural Standard's Comparative Effectiveness Database.

Journal of Dietary Supplements: New Issue

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.

NEW Audio Feature

See, hear, understand. Natural Standard is pleased to announce the availability of NEW multi-media audio recordings of over 200 Natural Standard evidence-based English Bottom Line Monographs. Audio will be available for all English Foods, Herbs & Supplement topics in the coming months.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Health Interview Surveys, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is used by 38 percent of adults in the United States, and fewer than half of users disclose this to their healthcare providers. Over $40 billion is spent on CAM in the United States alone and more than 75 percent of healthcare providers seek clinical CAM information each year.

The aim of this NEW feature is to facilitate the education of healthcare providers and patients, encourage shared decision making and adherence by engaging patients in the learning process, and to improve health outcomes. Adding audio recordings to Natural Standard's online decision support tool aims to broaden accessibility to CAM information for individuals with limited time, active/mobile lifestyles, visual impairments and individuals with an auditory learning style.

Users may access this new feature by selecting the English Bottom Line reading level of a monograph. The audio option will appear on the left side of the screen. Currently available audio recordings include popular topics such as cinnamon, aloe, chia and creatine.

To listen to the NEW Natural Standard Audio Recordings, please visit Natural Standard's Foods, Herbs & Supplements Database.

Natural Standard Featured CE/CME: Cranberry

Natural Standard's featured CE/CME for the month of February is Cranberry: Safety & Effectiveness.

Cranberries come from small evergreen shrubs with tart, red, edible berries. The berries are used in sauces, jellies and drinks. There is some human evidence supporting the use of cranberry juice and cranberry supplements to prevent urinary tract infection (UTI), although most available studies are of lesser quality. Clear dosing guidelines are lacking, but given the safety of cranberry, it may be reasonable to recommend the use of moderate amounts of cranberry juice cocktail to prevent UTI in non-chronically ill individuals.

Natural Standard offers CE/CME modules for multidisciplinary healthcare professionals. Students and other users may take courses for training purposes without generating credit certificates. Continuing Education requirements differ based on discipline, license and location. If you are unsure of your specific needs, please contact your local agency.

Recipe of the Month: Chocolate mousse

Natural Standard's featured healthy recipe for the month of February is Chocolate mousse.

This low calorie, low fat, low cholesterol chocolate mousse recipe is a delicious and healthy dessert for Valentine's Day.

Natural Standard's new Recipe Database features a wide range of healthy recipes in the following categories: Beans & Legumes, Dairy, Eggs, Fruit, Meat, Pasta, Poultry, Rice & Grains, Seafood, Vegetables and Nuts, Fats & Oils.

Natural Standard welcomes submissions of non-copyrighted healthy recipes for inclusion in the Recipe Database. If you would like to submit a recipe, please email recipes@naturalstandard.com.

For more information, please visit Natural Standard's Recipe Database.

FDA Approves Botanical Drug

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved crofelemer (Fulyzaq™) to treat diarrhea symptoms associated with antiretroviral therapy for HIV/AIDs.

This is only the second botanical prescription drug to be approved by the FDA. Sinecatechins (Veregen®) was approved as a treatment for external genital and perianal warts in 2006.

Although current antiretroviral drugs cannot cure HIV/AIDS, they may suppress the virus, even to undetectable levels. Individuals taking antiretroviral drugs frequently experience side effects such as nausea and diarrhea. According to the statement issued by the FDA, taking crofelemer (Fulyzaq™) twice daily may relieve the associated diarrhea side effects.

Crofelemer (Fulyzaq™) is derived from the red sap of the Croton lechleri plant, also called Sangre de grado. Sangre de grado (the Peruvian name) or sangre de drago (the Ecuadorian name), meaning "blood of the dragon," is a medium-sized tree that grows in the upper Amazon region of Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia. It has large, heart-shaped, green leaves and greenish-white flowers. Upon injury to the bark of the tree, a dark red resin spills out of the tree. Sangre de grado is still used in traditional medicine in South America, where it is used for hemorrhaging and wounds, and as an antiseptic. It is also used for protection against ulcers, including those of the stomach, mouth, throat, and intestines; as an antiviral, anticancer and antidiarrheal agent; and topically for skin conditions and insect bites.

For more information about sangre de grado, please visit Natural Standard's Foods, Herbs & Supplements Database.

NEW Pregnancy & Lactation Checker

Natural Standard recently launched a NEW Pregnancy & Lactation checker, an easy-to-use tool for consumers and healthcare professionals seeking safety data on integrative therapies for pregnant and breastfeeding women.

According to research presented at the International Research Congress on Integrative Medicine and Health 2012, 89.1 percent of women from the Australian Longitudinal Study of Women's Health reported taking vitamins and minerals while pregnant, of which 43.7 percent were self-prescribing. Furthermore, 53 percent of women used herbal medicine during pregnancy, while only 7.2 percent reported visiting an herbalist or naturopathic physician. Studies in the United States and United Kingdom have reported similarly high usage rates among pregnant and breastfeeding women, highlighting the need for easy access to evidence-based safety data.

This new decision-support tool allows clinicians to quickly search for safety data on specific integrative therapies that have been studied for use during pregnancy and lactation, thus opening communication between healthcare providers and patients as integrative therapy use in pregnancy continues to rise.

Natural Standard's evidence-based systematic reviews also feature pregnancy and lactation data. The new Pregnancy & Lactation Checker conveniently compiles this information in one location for easy use.

To try this new tool, please visit Natural Standard's new Pregnancy & Lactation Checker.

Many Caffeine Supplements May Have Misleading Labels

A new study suggests that supplements containing caffeine may have misleading labels.

Caffeine is a naturally occurring compound found in the leaves, seeds, or fruits of more than 60 plants, including coffee beans, cacao beans, kola nuts, guarana berries and tea leaves. Caffeine is consumed regularly in the United States and throughout the world. It is found in many beverages, including coffee, chocolate, some energy drinks, and tea.

In people, caffeine may be useful to stimulate the heart and increase urine flow. Caffeine has been shown to affect mood, endurance, the brain, and blood vessels, as well as activity in both the stomach and colon. Caffeine has also been marketed as a weight loss tool and is often included in various weight loss supplements.

In the recent study, researchers chose 31 of the most popular caffeine supplements sold as capsules, purchased from a supplement retail store. Researchers quantified the amount of caffeine in the capsules, using high-pressure liquid chromatography.

Out of the 31 supplements, only 20 products listed caffeine as an ingredient. Of the 20 supplements listing caffeine, six products did not include the amount of caffeine and five products included an inaccurate amount of caffeine.

The eleven products that did not have caffeine on the label instead listed herbs that naturally contain caffeine, such as green tea extract. Laboratory analysis showed that these eleven products had minimal amounts of caffeine, ranging from zero to three milligrams.

The researchers concluded that more accurate labeling of caffeine levels should be provided on supplements.

For more information about caffeine, please visit Natural Standard's Foods, Herbs & Supplements Database.

Common Herbs and Supplements: A Review of Safety and Efficacy

Natural Standard is offering a series of 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.

Common Herbs and Supplements: A Review of Safety and Efficacy: Marina Shkayeva, PharmD, Natural Standard PGY-1 Pharmacy Resident, reviews the available evidence for several popular therapies, including acai, coenzyme Q10, fish oil, red yeast rice, ginkgo, DHEA, garlic, St. John's wort and others. Complimentary access is now available here.

Holiday Gift from Natural Standard

Natural Standard wishes all a happy and healthy holiday season.

In celebration of the season of giving, Natural Standard offers all Professional Database subscribers a free Natural Standard Smartphone app (iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, etc.), iPad or desktop download, valued at $79.95, as well as a 15% discount on 500+ clinical, drug & diagnostic references offered by Skyscape.

This abridged version of the Natural Standard Professional Database provides easy access to evidence-based data on integrative therapies at point-of-care. Additionally, with Skyscape's powerful SmartLink™ cross-linking capability, users can quickly and easily access any related disease and diagnostic topics across their entire mobile reference libraries.

To receive your healthy holiday gift, please email memberservices@naturalstandard.com. Please include your mobile device details as well as the name of your organization. A member of our team will reply with the appropriate download instructions. To receive the 15% discount on additional Skyscape references, please visit www.skyscape.com/naturalstandard and enter discount code 93821.

Thank you and Happy Holidays!

Journal of Dietary Supplements: New Issue

The latest issue of the Journal of Dietary Supplements (JDS) is now available online. 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 features several original scientific papers, as well as a Natural Standard evidence-based systematic review on Vitamin A:

Aqueous Extract of Dried Fruit of Berberis vulgaris L. in Acne vulgaris, a Clinical Trial by Rohollah F. Fouladi

The Effect of Garlic Tablet on Pro-inflammatory Cytokines in Postmenopausal Osteoporotic Women: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial by Hassan Mozaffari-Khosravi, Hamideh-al-Sadat Hesabgar, Mohammad-Bagher Owlia, Hossein Hadinedoushan, Kazem Barzegar and Mohammad Hossein Fllahzadeh

Mondia whitei, a Medicinal Plant from Africa with Aphrodisiac and Antidepressant Properties: A Review by Hellen A. Oketch-Rabah

Interaction of Different Extracts of Primula heterochroma Stapf. with Red Blood Cell Membrane Lipids and Proteins: Antioxidant and Antihemolytic Effects by Seyed Mohammad Nabavi, Seyed Fazel Nabavi, William N. Setzer, Heshmatollah Alinezhad, Mahboobeh Zare and Alireza Naqinezhad

Potential Toxicity of Caffeine When Used as a Dietary Supplement for Weight Loss by Morgan Pendleton, Stacy Brown, Christan Thomas and Brian Odle

An Evidence-Based Systematic Review of Vitamin A by Natural Standard Research Collaboration

To submit a manuscript for a future issue online, please visit the http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/wjds.

For more information, please e-mail jds@naturalstandard.com.

New Healthcare Documentaries: "Money and Medicine" and "Escape the Fire"

Natural Standard would like to share two new healthcare documentaries.

Money and Medicine: This documentary aired just last month on PBS. The documentary focuses on reducing healthcare expenditures and improving health outcomes through better coordination of patient care, shared patient decision-making, and through the practice of evidence-based medicine.

Escape the Fire: This documentary received a limited release last week and is being advertised as An Inconvenient Truth for healthcare. The documentary promotes prevention and wellness as effective alternatives to disease management.

Roger Ebert's review of Escape the Fire is available here.

Please share your thoughts.

 

NEW Natural Standard Therapy Finder

Natural Standard recently launched a new Therapy Finder, an easy-to-use tool for consumers seeking personalized information about therapies to meet their specific healthcare needs.

This new tool opens communication between providers and patients by empowering consumers with evidence-based information about integrative therapy options.

Users enter details about their background, including age, height and weight, as well as medical history, diet, lifestyle, current therapies and health interests. The tool then generates a personal profile and calculates which integrative therapies may meet their healthcare needs. Users may then review the available evidence for each potential therapy to discuss with their healthcare provider. Healthcare providers may refer to Natural Standard Professional monographs for in-depth research.

Natural Standard does not recommend specific therapies or practitioners. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before beginning a new therapy.

To try this new tool, please visit Natural Standard's new Therapy Finder.

Recipe of the Month: Autumn chicken stew

Natural Standard's featured healthy recipe for the month of September is the Autumn chicken stew.

This low calorie, heart healthy, high protein stew is a delicious recipe for fall.

Natural Standard's new Recipe Database features a wide range of healthy recipes in the following categories: Beans & Legumes, Dairy, Eggs, Fruit, Meat, Pasta, Poultry, Rice & Grains, Seafood, Vegetables and Nuts, Fats & Oils.

Natural Standard welcomes submissions of non-copyrighted healthy recipes for inclusion in the Recipe Database. If you would like to submit a recipe, please email recipes@naturalstandard.com.

MHRA: Echinacea May Be Unsafe for Children

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in the UK recently cautioned consumers about the use of echinacea supplements in children under 12 years-old. The MHRA is a government agency that oversees the safety and effectiveness of medical devices and medicines in the UK.

Traditionally used for a range of infections and malignancies, the roots and herb of echinacea species have attracted scientific interest due to their purported immune stimulant properties. Oral preparations of echinacea are popular in Europe and the United States for the prevention and treatment of upper respiratory tract infections or the common cold.

The MHRA recommendation resulted from the conclusions of the European Herbal Medicinal Products Committee (HMPC) and from the UK Herbal Medicines Advisory Committee (HMAC). These committees reported that the risk of allergic reaction to echinacea is higher in younger children. The MHRA stated that echinacea is still safe for children over 12 and adults.

The products Echinaforce Junior Cold & Flu Tablets and Echinaforce Chewable Cold & Flu Tablets will be relabeled to reflect this recommendation. The MHRA is working to relabel other echinacea products on the market.

For more information about echinacea, please visit Natural Standard's Foods, Herbs and Supplements database.

Remington: The Science and Practice of Pharmacy Discount

For generations of pharmacists, Remington has been the single reliable source of reference for guidance to eager students and mature professionals. For over a century, Remington has featured in the careers of pharmacists across the globe, introducing them to the fundamentals of practice, examining the discipline in its social context, mapping developments in pharmaceutical science and relating it to the practicalities of patient care.

Now, in a new and fully revised edition, Remington has an even more international outlook and an array of new content, including a chapter on Complementary and Alternative Medical Healthcare written by the team from Natural Standard, led by founder Dr. Catherine Ulbricht, that makes it an indispensible companion throughout a pharmacist's lifetime.

By special arrangement with Pharmaceutical Press, Natural Standard members are being offered unprecedented savings on the cost of the upcoming new edition of this core resource.

Place an order no later than August 31 to receive an additional 25% discount off the publisher's special pre-publication price. At only $112.50, this member-only price represents a more than $37 savings, with the added bonus of free shipping.

To take advantage of this offer, please visit www.pharmpress.com.

NEW Google Search Interface

Natural Standard recently launched a new Google search interface allowing users to quickly search all Natural Standard databases and view the most relevant results fast.

This new technology allows clinicians, researchers and manufacturers to search for foods, herbs, supplements, alternative modalities and medical conditions separately or together. Search results provide finely tuned results at the top and Google's traditional search algorithm below.

In addition to the new Google search technology, Natural Standard also offers an Advanced Search feature. This feature allows users to filter their search by the following:

Reading level: Professional, Bottom line, Flashcard

Language: English, Spanish

Limit: Title, Text

Database: Food, Herbs & Supplements; Health & Wellness; Medical Conditions; Comparative Effectiveness; News & Events; Brand Names; Dictionary; References; Interactions; Charts & Tables; Depletions: Herbs & Supplements; Depletions: Drugs & OTCs

NEW Adverse Effects Checker

Natural Standard recently launched a new Adverse Effects Checker, a point-of-care resource for healthcare professionals.

Currently, dietary supplements are not approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for safety and effectiveness. It is the responsibility of manufacturers and distributors to ensure products are safe before they are marketed to the public. Manufacturers have been required to report all serious product-related adverse effects to the FDA since December of 2007.

This decision-support tool allows clinicians to quickly search for potential causes of reported adverse effects alphabetically or by category. Users can click on specific adverse effects (such as abdominal cramps or hair loss) to see which integrative therapies may have these effects. The checker results are based on evidence from laboratory and animal studies, human case reports and trials, as well as expert opinion and anecdote.

Natural Standard has also added a Case Report button, which allows users to easily submit case reports for integration into Natural Standard monographs and submission to the FDA.

Natural Standard's evidence-based systematic reviews have always featured potential adverse effects of integrative therapies. The new Adverse Effects Checker conveniently compiles this information in one location for easy use.

To try this new tool, please visit Natural Standard's NEW Adverse Effects Checker.