Archive for the ‘Natural Remedies’ Category

Ginger Can Help Soothe Chemotherapy Side Effects

Thursday, September 2nd, 2010

A combination of Chinese herbs in use for more than 1,800 years reduced the gastrointestinal side effects of chemotherapy in mice, while actually enhancing the effects of the cancer treatment, a new study has found. It appeared in the latest issue of “Science Translational Medicine.”

Peonies and a purple flower called “skullcap,” together with licorice and fruit from a buckthorn tree, make up the Huang Qin Tang concotion. This is a herbal medicine used in China to treat intestinal disorders such as diarrhea, nausea and vomiting. Recently, a preliminary study found that this herb reduces stomach damage caused by chemotherapy in colon and rectal cancer patients.

Researchers from Yale University used a form of Huang Qin Tang (called “PHY906″) to find that its healing properties stem from an ability to target many biological processes. The subjects were mice, where all groundbreaking findings begin.

Everyone knows that chemotherapy can cause a host of very unpleasant and lifestyle-altering side effects. Identifying ways to relieve these effects will not only improve quality of life, but also help a patient continue with a stretch of therapy that might eradicate the cancer.

In the new study, researchers treated cancerous mice with chemotherapy, which shrank tumors but also caused massive destruction in the intestines. After a few days with PHY906, the medicine restored the damaged intestinal linings. Stem cell signaling molecules were in higher than normal levels in the mice’s guts. It seems the herbal remedy mixed with an enzyme in the gut to replace damaged intestinal stem cells with healthy ones — and blocked inflammation in the gut.

This all came, importantly, without affecting chemotherapy’s ability to kill cancer cells. This amazing ability might represent a new path for dealing with the physical costs of treating cancer.

While we’re on the subject, it’s good to know of another Chinese herb that could help here as well. Ginger has been found effective in reducing or even eliminating nausea and vomiting during chemotherapy. While the evidence is mixed, some have found that taking ginger every day does have a significant effect. Even adding ginger to the mix when taking anti-nausea medications can add further benefit.

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Rooibos Tea, Sweet Cherry Juice Found to Help Fight Cancer

Wednesday, September 1st, 2010

Food is natural — it has evolved along with us and is specially adapted for use by our digestive systems and our organs. Some foods are healthier than others, while some are not healthy at all. Unfortunately, there are a lot of the latter available in our culture right now. You must make a conscious decision to reach for the healthy stuff. But you will be infinitely rewarded if you do. Healthy foods taste great, boost your immune system, fight disease, slow aging, improve your mood, and give you energy. There isn’t a single excuse for not eating nutritious, whole food.

Now take a look at an interesting study recently conducted at the Institute of Toxicology in Germany. For the study, researchers wanted to look at the effects certain foods had on something called “heterocyclic aromatic amines”, or HAAs. HAAs are often formed when you cook meat and fish at high temperatures. These substances are associated with an increased risk for cancer.

Going on the premise that diets rich in fruits and vegetables could protect against cancer, the research team studied three teas, two wines, and the juices of 15 fruits and 11 vegetables to gauge their protective effect against the toxic effects of HAAs. Here’s what they found:

–Black, green and rooibos tea moderately reduced the toxicity of HAAs, whereas red and white wine were less active

–Amongst the fruit juices, sweet cherry juice had the highest inhibitory effect on HAAs, followed by juices from kiwi fruit, plum and blueberry

–The juices from watermelon, blackberry, strawberry, blackcurrant, and red delicious apple showed a moderate effect against HAAs, whereas sour cherry, grapefruit, red currant, and pineapple juices were only slightly active

–Granny Smith apple juice and orange juice proved inactive

–Of the vegetable juices, strong inhibition of HAA toxicity was seen with spinach and onion juices

–Broccoli, cauliflower, beetroot, sweet pepper, tomato, chard, and red-cabbage juices suppressed toxicity moderately

–Cucumber juice was ineffective

Now here’s where the study gets particularly interesting: it seems that sour cherry, blueberry, and blackcurrant juices suppressed the first step of HAA activation, whereas most vegetable-derived beverages inhibited the second step. What does that mean? It means that when you add fruits AND vegetables to your diet, you are instigating a powerful two-step form of protection against cancer.

So, here is a simple task for you: just add sweet cherries, spinach and onion to your diet and you’ll be greatly increasing your chances of maintaining a healthy body.

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Potato Juice to Relieve Heartburn

Wednesday, September 1st, 2010

The good news about heartburn is that it can often be eased by using a few simple home remedies. The simplest of all these remedies is water. The next time you have an attack, drink a large glass of water. If that doesn’t work for you, try a glass of raw potato juice. Just wash a potato and throw it in a juicer. Don’t remove the peel first. Drink immediately after you prepare the juice. Take three times a day. Alternately, a glass of fresh cabbage or celery juice might do the trick.

Ginger is known to absorb stomach acids and, at the same time, it can calm your nerves. Fresh papaya (with the seeds) can aid digestion, as can pineapple. Both contain special enzymes that help food break down in your stomach and keep this part of the digestion process running smoothly. Another popular home remedy that many people vouch for is a vinegar tonic. Mix one tablespoon of vinegar in a glass of water and drink during your meal.

Don’t eat before bedtime. Try to wait at least three hours after eating before you lie down. Some prescription drugs can aggravate heartburn. Even over-the-counter medications like aspirin and ibuprofen can cause heartburn. One more trick for easing heartburn: lie down on your left side. This keeps your stomach below your esophagus, helping to keep it acid-free.

Remember these three basic rules:

1. Don’t overeat.
2. If you’re having a heartburn attack, don’t lie down.
3. Find out your trigger foods and try to avoid them.

Here’s one more thing to consider: a recent clinical trial has a new take on how to prevent and treat heartburn. Researchers looked at celiac disease (CD) patients and found they often complain of symptoms consistent with reflux disease. So, they set out to assess the prevalence of heartburn symptoms in celiac patients and to determine the impact of a gluten-free diet on these symptoms.

The research team evaluated 133 adult CD patients and 70 healthy controls. Fifty-three patients completed questionnaires every three months during the first year and more than four years after diagnosis. Heartburn symptoms were evaluated using a symptoms rating scale.

The researchers found that, after diagnosis, celiac patients had a significantly higher reflux symptom mean score than the healthy controls. After three months of treatment on a gluten-free diet, they found there was a rapid improvement with reflux scores — so much so that scores were actually comparable to the healthy controls from the three-month mark onward. They concluded that reflux symptoms are common in untreated CD patients and that a gluten-free diet is associated with a rapid and persistent improvement in reflux symptoms that matched the healthy controls.

If nothing else has worked for you, give a gluten-free diet a try and see if your heartburn symptoms disappear.

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Emodin: The Chinese Herb to Help Type 2 Diabetes

Thursday, August 26th, 2010

A new study found that a little-known natural product could help those with type 2 diabetes. And, as we all know, that is not a small number.

It’s called “emodin,” and it’s a natural product that can be extracted from various Chinese herbs, including “Rheum palmatum” and “Polygonum cuspidatum.” It shows promise as an agent that could reduce the impact of type 2 diabetes.

It’s still a bit early here, but the news is well worth sharing. The study in question is published in this month’s edition of the “British Journal of Pharmacology”. It showed that giving emodin to mice with obesity lowered blood glucose and insulin, improved insulin resistance, and led to healthier levels of cholesterol in the blood. It also lowered body weight and reduced central fat mass.

If these effects are possible in humans, all of these changes would be extremely beneficial for people affected by type 2 diabetes or other serious diseases associated with insulin resistance.

Research is increasingly showing that an enzyme — “11β-HSD1″ — plays a role in the body’s response to sugar found in a person’s diet. When someone eats sugar-containing food, a heavy dose of glucose floods into the bloodstream. In response, the body releases insulin. This hormone triggers various actions that help to clear excess glucose from the blood. The body, however, also has another set of hormones, known as “glucocorticoids”, which have the opposite effect to insulin. Here is where 11β-HSD1 fits in, because this enzyme increases glucocorticoids’ ability to act.

This study is the first to show that emodin can stop the actions of 11β-HSD1, effectively limiting the effect of the glucocorticoids. This, in turn, lessens the symptoms of diabetes and improves insulin resistance.

It’s another great study for Traditional Chinese Medicine, which uses countless herbs for a wide variety of purposes. This new Chinese herbal extract might help point the way to a new way of helping people with type 2 diabetes, and other problems such as obesity and high cholesterol. Stay tuned for more on this great new possibility. There are a lot of answers waiting to be found in the ancient wisdom of Chinese medicine.

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A Bit of Alcohol May Actually Help Your Brain

Wednesday, August 25th, 2010

On and on the wheel turns, feeding the huge stockpile of information regarding alcohol and human health. Is it good; is it bad? How much? Which kinds? Most experts at this point concede that no more than two glasses a day, particularly of red wine, can yield positive benefits in the body. But any more than that negates those benefits.

Here’s a new study that examined a link that doesn’t get as much attention as, say, wine being heart-healthy. No, this one focused further north — the brain, to be precise. And it pondered the question: could moderate drinking actually make the mind stronger?

Indeed, a large study of about 5,000 adults in Norway has reported that moderate wine consumption is associated with better performance on cognitive tests. The subjects were on average 58 years old and had not suffered a stroke. They were followed over seven years, during which time they were tested with a range of cognitive function tests.

They found that, in women, there was a lower risk of a poor testing score for those who consumed wine at least four or more times over two weeks in comparison with those who abstained. The study does acknowledge that any positive effects of wine could only be possible for those who keep a nutritious diet and avoid harmful lifestyle choices such as smoking and not exercising.

Still, in the study, not drinking was linked with a significantly lower cognitive performance in women. This held true after certain risk factors were accounted for, including age, education, weight, depression, and heart disease.

The results of this study support findings from previous research on the topic: In the last three decades, the association between moderate alcohol intake and cognitive function has been investigated in 68 studies comprising 145,308 men and women from various populations with various drinking patterns. Most studies show an association between light-to-moderate alcohol consumption and better cognitive function and reduced risk of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease.

What may be responsible are the antioxidant chemicals, polyphenols, which are present in many types of alcohol, most predominantly wine. Alcohol may help protect against hardened arteries, blood clotting, and inflammation, which can impair cognitive ability.

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Why This Herb Won’t Help You Quit Smoking

Thursday, August 12th, 2010

For centuries, this particular herb has been used to treat nerve pain and mental disorders. Long ago, herbalists used it as a sedative and a topic treatment for burns and wounds. Now, it is famously used to help treat depression, as well as anxiety and sleep disorders. While the evidence is mixed (as usual), the herb offers possibilities for those with mild-to-moderate depression.

We’re talking here of St. John’s wort. In the spectrum of herbal medicine, it is one of the most commonly taken supplements. While it’s been found promising for several conditions, how it works in the human body remains unclear. It remains a subject for investigation.

And speaking of investigation, a new study tried to see if St. John’s wort had any good potential for helping smokers kick the habit.

To that end, researchers conducted a randomized, placebo-controlled study with 118 participants. They were randomly assigned to take 300 mg or 600 mg of St. John’s wort, or placebo. They took the supplement three times a day, and researchers provided some behavioral intervention for 12 weeks. The participants reported whether they abstained from smoking or not, and the researchers confirmed it by measuring air carbon monoxide.

The average age of the participant was 37 years old, and they had smoked an average of 20 cigarettes a day for the past 20 years. Obviously, these are significant, chronic smokers. Nearly half the participants dropped out, a large number.

Those who remained showed this result: no significant differences were observed at 12 or 24 weeks between placebo takers and those on St. John’s wort. The herbal remedy also did not help reduce withdrawal symptoms among those trying to abstain from cigarettes. There was no change in abstinence rates between the herbal and placebo groups. No significant side effects were noted with St. John’s wort, either.

On all accounts, it seems this is not the herbal agent you want to help you with smoking cessation. This study finding, in combination with data from other studies, suggests that St. John’s wort does not have much of a role in the treatment of tobacco dependence.

Sometimes it’s good to know what isn’t effective, as it narrows the path toward the remedies that are.

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This Plant Extract Fights Inflammation

Wednesday, August 11th, 2010

Resveratrol, a popular plant extract, has long been known to prolong life in yeast and some animals. That is due to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant abilities. As it turns out, these same abilities are at work in the human body, too.

That’s where it gets interesting. Researchers at the University at Buffalo have found evidence that resveratrol could suppress inflammation in people. It’s based on what is believed to be the first human trial of the extract. The finding is set for publication in the “Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.”

Resveratrol is produced naturally by some plants when a plant is under attack by a bacteria or fungi. More famously in natural medicine, it is found in the skin of red grapes and, as a result, floating in red wine and grape juice. You can find it in any health store.

The plant-based compound has been shown to prolong life and to reduce the rate of aging in several living things: yeast, roundworms and fruit flies, to be exact. (That may be why red wine is a favorite drink for the flies.) This is thought to be because resveratrol strengthens a gene (i.e. increases its expression) that is linked to living longer.

Resveratrol is also thought to play a role in insulin resistance, a condition related to oxidative stress, which has a significant detrimental effect on overall health. Since there was no information on how this applies to humans, the researchers decided to determine if the compound reduces the level of oxidative and inflammatory stress in more advanced living things: namely, humans.

They used a supplement containing 40 mg of resveratrol in the study. One group of 10 participants received the supplement, while the other group received placebo. Participants took the pill once a day for six weeks. Researchers took blood samples at the start of the trial and at weeks one, three and six.

Results showed that resveratrol suppressed free radicals, which are the dangerous, unstable molecules known to cause oxidative stress and inflammation, thus damaging cells and blood vessels. Researchers also noted fewer markers of inflammation in those who took the supplement. This, the study said, helps shield the body from type 2 diabetes, aging, heart disease, and stroke.

Those on the placebo had no change in inflammation. So, as of now, this is good news for a very promising supplement.

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Wake-up Call for Those with Kidney Disease

Monday, August 9th, 2010

Millions of Americans in the early stages of chronic kidney disease are at a higher risk of having atrial fibrillation (AF) and don’t know it, according to a new study. Researchers at Wake Forest University uncovered this link between kidney disease and AF — a major risk factor for stroke — and believe it to be concerning.

In the medical community, it’s known that patients with end-stage kidney failure have high rates of AF. But new findings show that patients in early stages of kidney disease experience similar rates of AF. This means that millions of Americans, who have a long time left to live, are faced with this dangerous condition when it was previously thought that they were at low risk.

The study was recently published in the “American Heart Journal.”

AF is the most common sustained arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat) in society, and is one of the strongest risk factors for stroke. Approximately one to eight percent of the general population develops AF, but those numbers spike to between 13% and 23% of those with end-stage kidney disease.

Thus far, researchers have looked at AF as it pertains to patients with end-stage kidney disease who are on dialysis. But there is less information on people newly diagnosed with the disease. The truth is that more than 25 million U.S. adults have chronic kidney disease and most are not on dialysis. Thus, figuring out any link with AF is a big public health concern for this sizable segment of the population.

In the study, nearly one in five participants with early kidney disease had evidence of AF. This rate is similar to those with end-stage kidney disease, and as much as three times greater than the AF rate in the general population. Researchers also found that risk factors for AF among kidney disease patients aren’t the same as the general population, thus more research is needed to uncover that link.

What’s clear is that whatever processes in the body that lead to AF happen early on in kidney disease patients. It means these patients need to understand this and that doctors need to monitor the situation closely.

People in the United States are living longer and getting older, and both AF and kidney disease are common in aging populations. Speak to your doctor or a local Heart Association office for information on preventing atrial fibrillation.

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The Many Powers of Hand Therapy

Thursday, August 5th, 2010

Deep from the files of Korean medicine comes an intriguing hands-on treatment called “Koryo Hand Therapy.”

Koryo Hand Therapy (KHT) uses the main idea from acupuncture — placing pins in the skin at specific points — and applies it directly to the hand. It is performed to improve a
person’s overall health or to treat a specific condition. KHT is gaining in popularity all around the globe, with training centers housed in 50 different countries, and counting.

Created by a Korean acupuncturist in the early 1970s, KHT uses theories from reflexology to heal a patient. In reflexology, a practitioner presses on specific points in the feet and hands — points that correspond to organs and systems in the body. The same principle applies in KHT.

Points all over your two hands provide direct links to places inside the body. By simply using your two hands, healing can be spread virtually anywhere. You need a qualified practitioner who knows exactly where these points are. If you look at your palm, and draw a straight line from the tip of your middle finger down to the base of your hand, there are 15 invisible points that directly correspond to points on the front of your body — a straight line from the tip of your head to your pelvic area.

There isn’t a ton of Western research on the subject, but one study stands out. It addressed migraine headaches to see if KHT could remedy them without side effects. Researchers examined 100 people with migraine pain, looking for all tender points, tightness, and stiffness in the head. They also carefully took down each patient’s medical history. Then KHT was performed on their left hand, right hand, or both. They found it led to significant symptom relief, fewer migraines and no side effects to speak of.

KHT practitioners generally agree that their treatment is useful for improving many health complaints, including digestive problems, skin rashes (e.g. eczema, dermatitis, shingles), migraine, headache, diabetes, swelling, toothache, inflamed gums, and virtually any type of pain experienced in the body.

A brand new study has uncovered evidence that KHT appears to help minimize symptoms of menopause in women as well. Food for thought!

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A Herb You Need to Take Before Prostate Surgery

Thursday, August 5th, 2010

Seen in more than 50% of men over 60 years of age and 90% of men in their 70s and 80s, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) occurs when the prostate enlarges, putting pressure on the urethra, causing an obstruction of the bladder and urine flow. It is quite common for men’s prostates to enlarge as they age. During puberty, a boy’s prostate will double in size and, when he reaches 25 years of age, the prostate will begin to grow again.

Research continues on the cause of BPH, though some theories suggest it might be caused by the normal decrease in testosterone, resulting in higher levels of estrogen, which might promote the growth. Symptoms can include the need to urinate more often — including getting up more during the night — difficulty starting to urinate, dripping after the flow ends, painful urination, incontinence, or urinary retention.

These symptoms may be signs of other more serious complications, which should be ruled out by your physician. If left untreated, BPH can sometimes cause severe complications, including kidney damage and bladder stones. Herbal supplements, such as saw palmetto, may help relieve symptoms of BPH. Also known as “Serenoa repens,” saw palmetto has been used to treat BPH in Europe for quite some time. Derived from the berries of the saw palmetto tree, found in the Southeastern U.S. and the West Indies, this herb is said to ease the discomfort of BPH. While it won’t cure the illness, research has shown it may stop the prostate from further growth.

One study found that treating BPH for five years with saw palmetto resulted in a decrease of symptoms, and a reduction in prostate size in 60% of participants. The Russian study concluded that using saw palmetto to treat BPH was both safe and effective.

But saw palmetto’s healing ability doesn’t stop there. Italian researchers have found that, in addition to helping with the treatment of BPH itself, saw palmetto improved symptoms before and after surgery for those who underwent a procedure.

A total of 144 patients with BPH were admitted to the study and randomized to receive either a daily pre-treatment with 320 milligrams of saw palmetto for two months prior to surgery or to undergo surgery without any pre-treatment. Preoperative and postoperative symptoms were carefully monitored for each patient.

For those taking saw palmetto, the duration of surgery was significantly shorter. The researchers also found that there were no complications during surgery and transfusion needs were much lower than in the control group. Postoperative results were also significantly improved in the saw palmetto group, including much shorter hospital stays overall. The research team concluded that treatment with saw palmetto before surgery for BPH is effective in reducing complications during and after surgery.

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